Monday, April 23, 2018

Rhein Haus: Serving Up Weiners Und Balls in Downtown Denver

Rhein Haus is a gay-owned, two-story, 14,000 square-foot Bavarian-inspired restaurant in Downtown Denver with house made sausages, pretzels, and other authentic eats, 24 German and local drafts, Bavarian-inspired cocktail list, and four indoor bocce courts.

Nice To See StevieB: The First Mother

By StevieB


It is tough having your Mother pass-away on the same day as Barbara Bush.

All media sources seem to have prepopulated new stories about how the life of this wife and mother impacted the country. A loving mother raising children who changed the world. A supportive wife, who stood by her husband for seventy-three years. All these tributes to the former first lady portray her as a throwback to an earlier and almost genteel era of America. This silver-haired matriarch of a political dynasty. Barbara Bush Who used her rule to enrich the family and country she served.

Yet, as the warm glow softens the loss felt by the passing of such an impactful mothering presence; you begin to question this loyalty to memory. Was she not the lady that ripped her red AIDS ribbon from her blouse before joining her husband on the podium at the Republican National Convention? Agreeing, that yes “Barbara Bush was a generous and smart and amazing racist who, along with her husband, raised a war criminal.”*

As the people around me are speaking of the life and legacy of a woman who brought safety, warmth, and enrichment into their lives. I struggle to not think of the warmongering. I search my mind for any time that is not a war on terror. When my Christian name was not replaced with "that Dirty Democrat." When handing over the book, "Loving Someone Gay" it is tossed into the trash. How do you remember a dedicated racist? A person who used racism as an artist uses paint upon a canvas. The art of racism instilled so deeply in her children, it would take years of new coursework to learn tolerance and compassion?

I can almost accept that she was a throwback to an earlier and almost genteel era of America. But, it is also the time when the "N" word was used with joyous passion. I can accept the warm and nostalgic retelling of a life in which the person weaving the narrative had a much different experience to mine. They must have never experienced the warmongering. The removal of the red ribbon. Or, simply, they have and are better at understanding that when an individual dies, you only speak of the good things.

So, rest in peace. Your legacy is secure.

* Randa Jarrar

Do You Want To Reach Denver's Gay Community? Advertise With Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Do you want to advertise to Denver’s gay community? Of course you do, it’s the 7th largest in the United States! And the best way to reach them is with MileHighGayGuy – Colorado’s Best Gay Blog.
 

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After Forever, the Story of a Gay Couple That Have It All. Or Do They?

After Forever, premiering tomorrow on Amazon, is a unique, romantic, touching, funny and heartbreaking new short-form internet series that tells the story of Brian and Jason, a 50'ish New York City gay couple that have it all - until they don't.

The series stars Emmy-nominated Kevin Spirtas as Brian and Mitchell Anderson as Jason. Perfect for binge-watching, the episodes average 11 minutes each, allowing you to finish the entire season in 90 minutes.

Alexander Foundation's Spring Fling this Friday!

The 2018 Spring Fling - the Alexander Foundtion's biggest fundraiser - is this Friday. Socialize at the exclusive William D. Barrow mansion at the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association and support the Foundation's worthy causes. Purchase your tickets using promo code VROOM to get $5 off your ticket that includes complimentary cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres, an exciting silent auction and a brief program recognizing our scholarship recipients.

Benjamin Gibbard Performs 'And I Love Him' on Conan

 

Benjamin Gibbard performed "And I Love Him" recently on Conan. The song is from the new album UNIVERSAL LOVE, a collection of reimagined wedding songs for the LGBTQ community, celebrating the enduring and overwhelming power of love and music to unite.

The album includes boundary-changing songs from some of today’s most-beloved artists. Bob Dylan, one of the most influential and successful recording artists in American history, is among the visionary artists participating in this unprecedented project. Dylan re-recorded “She’s Funny That Way” as “He’s Funny That Way.” The album features five additional stellar artists whose involvement is a testament to the urgency of equality in entertainment: Kesha (“I Need a Woman to Love Me”), St. Vincent (“And Then She Kissed Me”), Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie (“And I Love Him”), Kele Okereke of Bloc Party (“My Guy”), and Valerie June (“Mad About The Girl”).

Tell the Colorado senate committee to ban conversion therapy today!

By Laura “Pinky” Reinsch, Political Director, One Colorado

Today, a committee in the Colorado Senate will be voting on a bill that will protect LGBTQ young people from so-called "conversion therapy” — a dangerous and discredited practice that falsely claims to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. Colorado Senate leadership has chosen to send the bill to the “kill committee” instead of giving this bill a fair hearing. For the fourth year in a row, Senate leadership has chosen politics over banning this harmful practice.

CLICK HERE to tell the committee to protect LGBTQ youth and support this ban.

All the nation’s leading medical and mental health organizations have come out against these practices — which include the use of shame, verbal abuse, and even aversion techniques like electric shocks. These practices pose serious health risks, including depression, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, social withdrawal, and even suicide.

You can help end these practices in our state by telling our lawmakers that you want them to protect young LGBTQ people by supporting this bill.

We know Vice President Pence supports funding groups that practice conversion therapy. It's time for Colorado to send a message that we support LGBTQ young people and don't want this happening in our state.

We can’t turn our backs on young people and allow one more young person to be targeted and hurt by these dangerous and discredited practices.




Friday, April 20, 2018

Do You Want To Reach Denver's Gay Community? Advertise With Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Do you want to advertise to Denver’s gay community? Of course you do, it’s the 7th largest in the United States! And the best way to reach them is with MileHighGayGuy – Colorado’s Best Gay Blog.
 

Just click the Advertising page or email sales@milehighgayguy.com to get started today.

National Geographic Symphony for our World - Earth Day Discount

National Geographic: Symphony for our World is a breathtaking live, multimedia journey through some of the world's most incredible wildlife spectacles. The orchestral performance combines National Geographic's stunning natural history footage with narration from Hamilton's Tony- and Grammy award-winning artist Daveed Diggs, and an original symphony created by Hans Zimmer's Emmy- and BAFTA award-nominated Bleeding Fingers Music collective.

Driven by a five-part composition, it pairs artistry with science as it brings viewers from the depths of the sea, up to the coastlines, onto land, through mountains, and finally into the sky. Each environment will be accompanied by a different orchestral movement, resulting in a powerful musical tribute to the beauty and wonders of our wild world.

This inspiring 90-minute live orchestral performance will be presented at Buell Theatre Friday, Oct. 19, 8 p.m. Featuring groundbreaking imagery and storytelling from 130 years of beloved National Geographic footage on a giant screen matched in perfect synchronization with a full live orchestra & choir.

As a special way to say "Happy Earth Day!" Spotlight subscribers are entitled to a special 10% discount using the promocode EARTHDAY at AXS.com Friday, April 20, 10 a.m. - Monday, April 23, 11:59 p.m.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Receive IGLTA's 2018 Pinnacle AwardIGLTA Honors: Pinnacle Award 2018

The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association is pleased to confer its prestigious Pinnacle Award for 2018 to the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, during its 35th Annual Global Convention in Toronto (9-12 May).

The Pinnacle Award recipient is selected by the Chair of the IGLTA board of directors and presented to an individual or business that has made the world a more welcoming place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travelers. Board chair Juan JuliĆ , founder and president of Barcelona-based Axel Hotels, will make the presentation

“I am incredibly proud to extend this IGLTA Honor to Prime Minister Trudeau. He presides over a country with some of the world's most advanced LGBTQ rights, but instead of

resting on those credentials, he makes it a personal point to vocally support our community and keep moving our issues forward,” JuliĆ  said. “There is no doubt that LGBTQ travelers are respected and embraced in Canada, and that welcoming message is amplified every day through his actions as prime minister."

Trudeau’s time in office has carried consistent messages of support for the LGBTQ community. In November 2017, he led the Canadian government in issuing a formal apology for a program of discrimination against LGBTQ Canadians (1962-1996) that was accompanied by US$85 million in reparations; this emotional address to Parliament elevated the global conversation on human rights. Trudeau also was the first Canadian Prime Minister to march in a Pride Parade (Toronto, 2016.)

In an interview with UK’s Attitude magazine, Trudeau said, “The LGBT+ community has become emblematic of the fight for human rights. The fact that so many people have gone for so long feeling that they had to be ashamed or hide about their core identity to fit into society is a lesson for everyone to push against.”

Mental Health, Child Welfare & Education Orgs Back Legislative Efforts to Protect LGBTQ Youth

This week the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released a letter signed by national organizations representing tens of thousands of licensed medical and mental health care professionals, educators, and child welfare advocates backing legislative efforts around the country to protect LGBTQ youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of so-called “conversion therapy.”

The letter is signed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Counseling Association, National Education Association, National Association of School Psychologists, American School Counselor Association, Mental Health America, Child Welfare League of America, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, National Association of Secondary School Principals, American Medical Women’s Association, and Voice for Adoption. It comes as a record number of state legislatures from coast to coast are considering legislation to protect LGBTQ youth from the harmful practice. Read the full letter here.

“These major child welfare organizations are speaking out at a critically important moment as legislative proposals to protect LGBTQ youth from so-called conversion therapy are pending in state legislatures across the country,” said HRC Legislative Counsel Xavier Persad. “No child should be subjected to this dangerous and discredited practice that amounts to nothing less than child abuse. Lawmakers from Maine to Hawaii must continue to move these crucially important protections forward before the end of session.”

“We stand firmly together in support of legislative and policy efforts to curtail the unscientific and dangerous practice of sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts,” state the organizations in the letter.

There is no credible evidence that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. To the contrary, research has clearly shown that these practices pose devastating health risks for LGBTQ young people such as depression, decreased self-esteem, substance abuse, homelessness, and even suicidal behavior. The harmful practice is condemned by every major medical and mental health organization, including the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, and American Medical Association.

Nearly 50 legislative proposals to protect LGBTQ youth from the abusive practice in more than 20 states are being or have been considered in 2018. So far this year, the state of Washington has passed the protections into law. The Maryland legislature recently passed a measure that is awaiting consideration by the governor. Last week, the Hawaii legislature passed protections, which now head to conference committee before moving to the governor’s office. Additionally, legislation has passed through one legislative chamber so far this year in the states of New Hampshire, Colorado, and Maine.

Connecticut, California, Nevada, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Washington all have laws or regulations protecting youth from this abusive practice. A growing number of municipalities have also enacted similar protections, including cities and counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Florida, New York, Arizona, and Wisconsin.

According to a recent report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, an estimated 20,000 LGBTQ minors in states without protections will be subjected to conversion therapy by a licensed healthcare professional if state lawmakers fail to act.

HRC has partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and state equality groups across the nation to pass state legislation ending conversion therapy. More information on the lies and dangers of efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity can be found here.

Alexander Foundation's Spring Fling is the Thing!

The Spring Fling takes place April 27 and is the Alexander Foundation's biggest fundraising event.

The Alexander Foundation (TAF) has been a crucial resource for Colorado’s LGBT+ community for more than 37 years. Their purpose is to raise money to support the health and dignity of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. They do this by providing assistance grants to those in need due to temporary life challenges, or to those who are suffering from chronic or life threatening illnesses. Alexander Foundation also provides scholarships for higher education students. 


Purchase your tickets in advance for a discounted rate that includes complimentary cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres, an exciting silent auction and a brief program recognizing the foundation's scholarship recipients. 

OUT on DVD/VOD: My Best Friend




My Best Friend held its world premiere at the Roze Filmdagen Amsterdam LGBTQ Film Festival, will hold its US premiere at OUTshine Miami, and will play Cine Las Americas International Film Festival and numerous prestigious festivals throughout the year to be announced shortly. 

My Best Friend follows Lorenzo, a quiet teenager living with his family at the edge of the world in beautiful Patagonia. One day, Lorenzo’s father decides to host Caito, the son of a friend from Buenos Aires who had to go to hospital for a long stay. At first, Caito appears shy, tough, and hardly ever speaks, but over time the two boys become friends. However, Caito quickly wears out his welcome with Lorenzo’s parents. Before he’s forced to relocate again, Caito reveals to Lorenzo the real reason why he was forced to leave home. With a secret to hold, a new responsibility to take, and a troublesome partner by his side, Lorenzo will begin to experience things he never imagined…

“Martin Deus debut feature is a quietly moving story of a relationship between two boys that builds into something both difficult and secretive”, said Richard Ross, Co-President of Breaking Glass. “Beautiful performances and assured direction make this a truly unforgettable tale of love and friendship.”

The film will be released on DVD & VOD on October 29, 2018.

Are You Gay With Something To Say? Bloggers Wanted For Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Are you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum for you than MileHighGayGuy?

MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.

These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.

If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at drew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.

Today is Give OUT Day: Support the Organizations that Support Denver's Gay Community

Today is Give OUT Day! It's a day where the LGBTQ community across the nation comes together to support the work of their local LGBT+ nonprofits, while also recognizing the significant work ahead for us to achieve full equality and justice.

Click the link for a list of Colorado's participating organizations