What Do You Think?

For our next column in Curve, we'd like to include the best answer from you guys, too, along with our typical sass and fodder. What advice would you give Throwing in the Towel?

Post it here or drop us an email at ask@lipstickdipstick.com. Do right away! Time is of the essence and we want your opinion!


Dear Lipstick & Dipstick: I recently started emailing a 38-year-old woman with two young sons on a dating site. We met and somehow ended up in bed the first date. The sex was wonderful, but I had reservations about someone who just seemed to want to have a sexual relationship and not spend anytime getting to really know me. Within a couple weeks she was already talking about moving in together and being a family. I've been in several long term relationships (10 years and 12 years) in the past and maybe I'm just old fashioned. Is this the "norm" in the lesbian community these days? Is this what they mean by "renting the U-Haul on the third date?" When I told her that things were moving too fast for me, she said she felt rejected and didn't understand. I cancelled my membership to the on-line dating service and I'm wondering if I'm too old (46) for this dating game anymore?—Throwing In the Towel

Ashes + Snow

A couple years ago, a friend told me about an absolutely mind blowing art exhibit she'd seen called Ashes and Snow. Unfortunately, it's on tour around the world and it's next stop is in Brazil, so it might be some time before any of us get to see it first-hand. You can, however, have quite the visceral experience through their website. If your computer is able, click on the "Enter the Enhanced Experience."

To go along with this, I thought I'd also share a moving elephant story my sister-in-law sent me:

In 1972, Joe Miller was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Tulsa Junior College. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Joe approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee, inspected the elephant’s foot, and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it.

As carefully and as gently as he could, Joe worked the wood out with his knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.

The elephant turned to Joe, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Joe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Joe never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Thirty years later, Joe was walking through the Tulsa Zoo with his family. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Joe and his family were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Joe, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1972, Joe could not help wondering if this was the same elephant. Joe summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing, and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Joe's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.

A Salute to the Women in Our Lives

I've written a lot here about my girlfriends, both old and new, and have often brought myself to tears, especially if I'm just getting ready to bleed, recounting our past shenanigans and current ones. I have the best friends in the world and today, I salute them with this video.

Send this to the important women in your life and tell them today how much they mean to you. What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It's the only thing that there's just too little of.

Ellen Dishes Some Therapy

Recenlty dumped Lindsay Lohan was on Ellen yesterday and Ellen didn't let the pink elephant in the room go unnoticed (Ellen is so bold these days! Go E!). Lindsay, who seemed unhealthily thin, was kind of mess. She put on a brave face, but you could see and hear differently. She doesn't have any clue who she is and she's lost. I was expecting something a little more confident and hardened. She was like a little girl. It made me feel sorry for her.

Check Out Our Latest Webisode

Hey ya'll

Our most recent installment of the Lipstick & Dipstick Show is on Curvemag.com now, so check it out.

It is an "expose" of our photography in Curve Magazine, a peek behind the scenes on our photo shoots.

See it HERE.

Are you single and looking for a girlfriend?

Well, look no further, Lipstick & Dipstick have found the girl for you....

If you don't know who the girl in the eHarmony ad is, her name is Lindsay Lohan and she recently split up with her girlfriend, Samantha Ronson. I only say all this because last time I posted about Lindsay and Sam, someone said they didn't know who she was. (Are you living in a cave in Afghanistan?) Another layer of humor here is I'd heard eHarmony was only for breeders and that women seeking women wasn't even an option. Can anyone confirm this?

Anyhoo, all the single ladies, put your hands up! Ten points for Lindsay for being able to poke fun of herself, as it's essential in life.

Lindsay Lohan's eHarmony Profile from Lindsay Lohan

Gay Marriage Storm by Stephen Colbert

Like I said before. Gay marriage is really scary. And people's fears about it can be cause for great satire. Check out Stephen Colbert's gay marriage commercial:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Tax Day Sucks!

Nobody really LIKES to pay taxes, but for coupled gays and lesbians, this day is just another reminder of all the ways that we are not equal citizens. 

Because of Oregon's new domestic partnership law, for the first time this year, Tiger and I were able to file jointly on the state level. Our accountant says this saved us about $300. But, because of that lovely federal law, known as The Defense of Marriage Law, we had to file separate federal taxes. 

It didn't occur to me to ask our accountant how different our taxes would be if Tiger and I could file as a married couple.  Now I wish I had. 

Fellow Portland blogger Lelo in NoPo, however did have her tax person figure out the difference.  For them the result was a whopping $1800 more that they have to pay in taxes because their relationship is not recognized.

Today the group Join the Impact is planning tax day protests around the country. Here are just a few of the ways gays and lesbian suffer on Tax Day.

• We can't file jointly for federal taxes
  
• We pay the same social security as everyone else, but cannot access our spouses benefits like straight married people can
  
• We can still be fired from our jobs in most states for being gay, lesbian, bi or trans.
  
• We cannot sponsor our same-sex partners for immigration purposes
  
• We have to pay taxes on any inheritance we receive from our partners
  
• If our companies offer health insurance for same-sex partners (which not all do), we have to pay tax on that benefit as if it were income. Straight couples don't have to do this.
  

_{© Linda Long}

Really Scary Gay Marriage

Perhaps you've seen the ads from the National Organization for Marriage. The ones where they say a really scary storm is brewing and that by allowing gay people to marry Armageddon befall us. Here it is:



Of course the Human Rights Campaign is right on top of this ad, exposing its lies. We know those who oppose same-sex marriage are getting really scared right now. When middle America Iowa legalizes gay marriage, they know they're losing the battle. So they have to resort to scare tactics. That's nothing new.

But what I thought was really funny was that somehow HRC got a hold of the audition tapes for the actors who are in this ad. Rachel Maddow showed the tape on her show. Funny:

Dykes Love Dogs

Since we all love our furry friends so much, I thought I'd give you all a smile this morning. Enjoy...

CLICK HERE

Who’s Fat?

I’ve been watching a lot of women’s basketball over the past few weeks. It’ is Final Four time, after all. Normally I love the games, love to listen to the commentators tell how players spend six hours every day in the gym practicing free throws or hearing how someone’s brother or dad played in the NFL. But watching the games on Sunday, I was tempted to hit the “mute” button because I was so sick of hearing how two players in particular lost 20 pounds each.

Jayne Appel, the Stanford Cardinal star center almost set a record the other day by scoring 46 points in a game. Yet, more times than the announcers talked about that, they brought up the fact that Jayne went on Weight Watchers and lost 20 pounds in the off-season.

Courtney and Ashley Paris (twins) both play for Oklahoma. Both are big girls at 6-3 and 6-4. I don’t know what they weigh because the NCAA, who lists heights and weights of male players, doesn’t do the same for female athletes. But one thing I do know, because the announcers went on about it ad nauseam, is that Ashley lost 20 pounds over the summer.

Courtney Paris is the only player to be voted an All-American all four years of college. She set records for most consecutive double doubles (112) and is the only player, male or female, in N.C.A.A. history to have 700 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocked shots in a season. The girl is an Amazon.

And although no one flat out said she should also lose weight, the girls that did sure were given props. 

So what if Courtney weighs 20 more pounds than her sister? Would she be a better athlete if she were thin? I highly doubt it! On the contrary, it’s her size that helps her get position in under the basket, muscle her way into 22 points per game and create space to grab 15 rebounds per game.

All this while sporting a belly! Instead of going on and on about how other players have lost weight, why don’t we hold Courtney Paris up as a role model for heavy girls out there? You CAN be an athlete even if you’re not stick thin. As a matter of fact, you can be one of the best athletes in the world. If you asked me, I'd say that extra few pound is probably WHY she's the best center in the nation.

Snow Makes Me Wet

It was another beautiful day in Whistler yesterday. The sun was hot and the snow was dripping--no pouring--from rooftops. Spring is definitely in the air up here in the Canadian Cascades. Soon enough, people will be heading down the mountain on bikes instead of skis.

Patty and I took it easy yesterday, and decided to spend the afternoon strolling through the Village taking in some sun. We snapped this picture at Fitzsimmon Creek, which runs between Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb.

In a month or so, it will really be raging once the mountain starts melting.

Spring Skiing at Its Finest

We're up here in Whistler for a long weekend of spring skiing and what a day it was yesterday. This photo looks a little hazy, but it was sunny and warm--so sunny the Village was nearly sold out of sun screen.

This photo was taken from the top of Blackcomb Mountain, right before our final run.

The little phallic thing far in the distance is Black Tusk, which is rare to see. The clouds usually keep it well insulated.

More to come from the slopes...

The Arizona Recap

So, I've sorted through all the photos and videos from our recent trip to Arizona and have a few things to share. The first, a couple gems from our night out with the Posse. The photo was taken at Kyoto, where we enjoyed sake bombers for the last time (they're tearing it down soon and rebuilding some huge glitzy, Scottsdale building). We used to go there when we were in college. All these girls--who are still some of my absolute nearest and dearest--I've known for at least 23 years, some for over 30! We use to run around in diapers together.

From our night out, I've also included a video (albeit dark) of Melanie (who I went to Kindergarten with) and I doing Sweet Caroline at Geisha A Go Go, a fabulous karaoke bar in Scottsdale, where you can rent private rooms and sing your hearts out. And that we did! Patty was filming, but you can see her hand. Together, we sound like a bunch of howling cats. Our karaoke room has never seen such craziness. I'm sure they had to re-upholster the couch and repaint the walls as we bounced up and down on it with drinks all night.




When we weren't singing karaoke or laying by the pool, we played golf, enjoyed grilling out and had an all around fabulous time with my family and friends. We spent time with my uncle Stan and his family, as well as Nana and her best friend Mary Faye. They're pictured below together. They've been friends since grammar school" (Nana's words), so I guess long-term friendship run in the family. Hard to beat 70 years! But I'm sure my friends and I are on the same path and will be rocking out with our rockers when we're 80, laughing about our old shenanigans, too.

I slid in a little video of my mom and Nana doing a little jig to My Humps. Priceless.




For kicks, I also included a video of my parents' dog, Trapper, getting into it with their resident swan, who my mom feeds regularly.

Patty was quite entertained.

Cougars Rule

Did you hear that Barbie recently turned 50? In honor of her big 5-0, Mattell developed a special version of the blond-unrealistically-proportioned-bombshell; they created COUGAR BARBIE. Check her out below:




Speaking of Cougars, which we all love, I recently saw this hilarious sketch on SNL called the COUGAR DEN that I'll share here, too. I love Alex Baldwin (a comic genius) who is a "Cou-Gay" and love when Kiki pounces!