Lipstick's Novel - Jukebox

Hi friends, although we've moved our blog over to Curve's website, I thought I'd post some info about my debut novel, Jukebox here, too.

You can read all about it HERE.

Sign up for the mailing list (click on link above then "subscribe") and I'll be sure to keep you posted on events and readings.

Get your copy today!

We've Moved Our Blog -- Kind Of

Hi Faithful Friends

Dipstick and I have been pretty lax this summer blogging--our apologies. We've been busy enjoying the sunshine and good friends.

We have some exciting news, though. Our blog is moving over to Curve Magazine's website. We will be posting over there now most of the time.

You can follow us here: http://www.curvemag.com/

See the arrow for direction.

(You'll also notice Dipstick's purdy mug on there, too, so be sure to watch that video of her from the Olivia cruise on their home page.)

We will continue posting important events and information here, so don't delete us off your RSS or your favorites page.

Our first blog on Curve's page will be up today or tomorrow.

We heart you.

Stopping the National Organization for Marriage

I don't think I've seen a better response to a misleading ad than this one. Thanks Stop8

Got Plans Tomorrow Night?

If so, cancel them and go see one amazing singer/songwriter: Christine Havrilla. She's not only a great friend, but we also recently collaborated on an original song for the short film Patty and I are doing. The song is called Hightail and you can buy it HERE.

Havrilla will be at Mississippi Pizza's Atlantis Lounge tomorrow night from 6-8pm with special guests The Ragged Word.

Vancouver Queers :: Will You Be at Davie + Howe?

Vancouver is a-talking about what's coming to Davie & Howe in October and it's all the buzz....

Much speculation has been going around about what would be going into the prime intersection in gay-town.

While I was glad to hear it's not going to be a Starbuck's or a BlockBuster or yet another Safeway, I couldn't get the skinny on what was coming to the location exactly. I'm super intrigued, though, as I like the way "whatever-it-is" is flirting with the gay community.

What I Did Find Out

It's going to be a new Canadian brand and that they are launching in Vancouver before going national. Hmm.... a brand of what? We also heard from a very reliable source that this new yet to be named Canadian brand is going to definitely support the LGBT community.

Even though it's quite coy, I'm very curious--curious enough to join the online bandwagon! You should, too.

I'll keep my ear to the ground and let you know what I can uncover between now and Oct. I'm excited to see so many cute faces out and about and online! Join me in the fun.

Portia DeGeneres

Speaking of Ellen, Portia has petitioned the court to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres. Apparently, it's her 2nd anniversary gift to El. How sweet is that?

People magazine reports that it won't go into affect until the courts will hold a hearing in Sept.

Love it.

You can read more about it here.

Ellen DeGeneres Sat Here

I was at a garage sale this weekend and came across these chairs. I thought they would be good for my deck. The guy was selling them for $7 each. Way too much. I offered $10 for all four. He countered with $15 and I accepted.

As I was getting ready to load the chairs into my car, he told me Ellen DeGeneres sat in one of them. He said he used to work as a waiter at the Heathman, a high-end hotel in Portland. Ellen and Ann Heche were having drinks on the patio and invited him to come back when his shift was over and have a drink. He said Ellen was very nice.

I was glad to hear that, but I told him he could keep the Ann Heche chair.

Changent Cate Cameron

My friend, amazing photographer Cate Cameron, was selected for an initiative Proctor and Gamble is working on called Children's Safe Drinking Water. She just shipped off to NYC and will then be heading to an area of Haiti within Zone Code 4 (No Travel Advised), where she will be connecting and photographing with some of the world's poorest people in relation to access to clean water.

She is writing a blog about her life altering adventure and you can follow it here: http://givehealth.changents.com/cate-cameron

Lady Ga Ga Speaks her Mind

They asked her to boycott her shows in Arizona to protest SB1070. Instead, Lady Ga Ga activates the crowd. I love Lady Ga Ga.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck Thinks Lesbians Just Can't Find a Man

Have you seen this clip? During a recent episode of The View, Elisabeth Hasselbeck said that she thinks the reason lesbians come out later in life is because they just can't find a man.

Check it out!

What do you guys think?

Love is Love

I've seen a lot of ads for marriage equality, but for some reason this one got to me. It's from Basic Rights Oregon, our state-wide gay rights organization. They're raising money to put gay marriage up for a vote in Oregon, probably in 2012, to overturn anti-gay amendment. But first they're running campaigns like this one on cable TV stations. If all works out as we plan, Oregon could be the first state to legalize gay marriage by a popular vote.

Our Friend Kristin Wants to Be Top Guru

Ever want to quit your job, sell your house and travel? Who hasn’t? Our friend Kristin Flickinger, did just that. Now she’s in the running for a dream job with GayTravel.com. And she needs your help.

GayTravel is looking for a North American Gay Travel Guru. Kristin is hot. Don’t believe me? Go check her out. Then vote for her.

You must be signed in to vote, so make sure you create a profile and then activate it by checking your email. To vote for Kristin, Click "Guru" in the upper right hand corner, then "VOTE!" on the left side, then look for her bikini and click on her application. Then click "vote for Kristin" at the top and rate her "5" to show the love. Finally, make sure to "share" and "retweet" at the top. All of these things will help make her the GayTravel Guru!

Here’s the best part: Vote, and then let Kristin know you did and you're entered to win a "tag along" trip with her if she becomes the Guru. She gets the gig, and someone gets to go along for part of it. Spread the word! Checkout MidLeap.com for details.

Thank you all!

Help Curve Keep Publishing!

We know these are tough economic times. And print media is struggling to figure out its place in the wide world of instant internet gratification. If you value Curve magazine, the place that gave Lipstick & Dipstick it's start and the place that continues to publish our monthly column, please do what you can to help out.

This year Curve is celebrating it's 20th year. But unless the community comes out to support it, Curve will not make it to its 21st birthday. Curve is struggling financially. There are a few ways you can help.

Make a donation.

Subscribe. And when you do, you're entered to win a trip to Cozumel with Sweet Vacations. Unlike most magazines that rely on advertising dollars to sustain them, Curve relies on its subscribers. So don't just pick an issue up at the newsstand. Become a regular subscriber.

Advertise. If you own a business, consider advertising in Curve magazine.

Buy your tickets to the 20th anniversary gala in San Francisco.

We love Curve and we know you do too. So please, do what you can. If you already subscribe, consider buying one for a friend.

Where would our community be without Curve?

Rachel Maddow for President

Kate McKinnon is ****ing Hilarious!

The comical genius Kate McKinnon is at it again--making us laugh our asses off. Recently, she was part of a skit about the BP oil spill (with the UBC Theater). The skit made its way to the Rachel Maddow Show. If you haven't seen it, you must! Go Kate! Keep on keeping on. We need humor in light of the unstoppable awfulness that is happening down south.

SF Pride 2010

It's been almost a week since SF Pride and I think I'm just recovering now. Wow, what a fun and fantastic time. For the first time since we've been writing for them, Curve magazine had a float in the San Francisco Pride parade. I was so excited when I got the call. Did I want to ride on the float? Are you kidding me? I wouldn't miss it!

But before Sunday and the parade began, I had a lot of other partying to get through. I arrived in SF Friday morning. I spend the afternoon with my friends, before heading over to the Olivia/Curve comedy night show with Dana Goldberg, Julie Goldman, Sandra Valls and Gina Yashere. I ran into many friends from past Olivia trips and laughed my little a** off. Then it was off to Tease to dance the night away. Perhaps I should have started pacing myself earlier.

I had to be up early the next morning to join my friends over in Delores Park because I was helping out on stage at the Dyke March. My good friend Retts is stage manager and I volunteered to help out with stage crew. From noon until 7pm or so, we hustled ladies and dykes on and off the stage. Drummers and poets and politicians and singers and drag kings. What a lot of fun! I got to say hi to old friend Alix Dobkin and meet one of my butch Role Models, Phranc. The only bummer is we were wrapping things up at the stage and I missed the beginning of the march. The Dykes on Bikes. You know how Dipstick loves the Dykes on Bikes.

After a quick dinner and outfit change, it was time to head out for more dancing with Curve and Olivia. This time over at the Olivia headquarters where I got to hang out with new friends: Mikey from The Real L Word and Top Chef Josie. But the big thrill of the night was when a tall woman came up to me and said, "Hi, I'm Sheri Sam." As in, Sheri Sam, the amazing WNBA star. If there's one thing Dipstick likes better than Dykes on Bikes, it's women's basketball. What an amazing day this was turning out to be.

Lord knows what time it was by the time I got home to bed. And we had to meet at some corner at 10:15 am for the float. When I finally found the corner, I found the Curve ladies frantically gluing tissue paper and glitter to the Curve float. I grabbed a staple gun and got right to work.

I love coming down to San Francisco for Curve events, because I get to meet other Curve contributors, like the amazing photographer Cheryl Mazak and blogger Queerie Bradshaw. And of course, any time I get to hang out with Curve publisher Franco Stevens, it's a good day. Once the float was together, we relaxed a bit, practiced our butchest parade wave and watched all the beautiful people stroll by.

After about two hours of waiting, finally it was our turn! Our big cupcake float pulled out onto the street and the crowds were deafening. Our onboard DJ spun some old school Michael Jackson and of course, Pussy Cat Dolls. I waved and blew bubbles and looked for people I knew in the crowd while the ground crew handed out magazines to the crowd. The sun was out. We were happy and gay. And too quickly, it was over.

I headed back to my hotel room to rest up, because, no, oh no, there was still much more partying to be done. Met some new friends for Happy Hour, old friends for dinner and then we all went to see Red Hot Blues Sisters play in a small club downtown.

I stayed in San Francisco an extra day. I planned on spending some time hanging out and seeing the city. Instead, I got a late check-out from my hotel, met a friend for lunch and took the shuttle to the airport.

You can see why it took me so long to recover. I'm not as young as I once was. But still, Pride in San Francisco never gets old.

Sweet: My Sister is a Star!

In the Life was aboard the Sweet Cruise that Lipstick & I were on in November. They made an awesome video and Dipstick's sister Mary Belge is interviewed. Check it out!

Happy Canada Day!

It's Canada's Independence Day today and although it's cloudy out--boo!--it's sure to be a fabulous day. Here's hoping it burns off before my afternoon run.

We had a fantastic time in Portland last week visiting with friends and shooting the music video for Toby. Thanks again to everyone who came out for the fun. The sun was out, the voices were perfectly pitched and a great time was had by all, I think.

Come Be a Part of Til Death Do Us Toby!

Portland!

We are coming to town this week to film a portion of the short film Til Death Do Us Toby and want YOU to be a part of it.

DETAILS

Saturday, June 26, 2010
5 - 6pm
Laurelhurst Park*

*meet at the bathroom area (click on map embedded here)

We will be filming Christine Havrilla singing a song called Hightail, co-written by Gina Daggett and Patricia McKenny. With her jammin' acoustic guitar, we are going to film Havrilla in front of all of you, who will sing along with the chorus, which is super duper catchy...

Gotta break free

Gotta survive

Gotta find a way to stay alive

I just wanna run

I just wanna scream

I just wanna hightail out of this dream

What is this Til Death Do Us Toby movie anyway?

It's a short film about a girl named Sam and a neurotic dog named Toby, who are both trying to find freedom. In Sam's case, she's trying to break free from her controlling mother, Mimi, who doesn't like Sam's best friend who's quite the edgy dyke. In Toby's case, he misunderstands a conversation between Mimi and Sam and thinks they're out to kill him, so he's just trying to hightail out of electric chair (aka their house).

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It's going to be a ton of fun and won't take up a bunch of time, so come on out and be in the short film, which will be making the queer festival rounds next year. Lipstick would be forever grateful!

If you're coming, let us know on FACEBOOK!

Portland Pride This Weekend

Boy do I wish I was going to be in Portland this weekend!

Two of my favorite performers are singing or strutting their stuff on the Community Stage for the Portland Pride 2010.

First up: Christine Havrilla plays at 3pm on Saturday. Right after: Bang Bang Betty's Big Beautiful Bombshells (which includes our Executive Editor from Curve, Diane Anderson-Minshall) at 4:30.

Portland Peeps: get your pride on this weekend and go check out these fantabulous performances!

Be sure to check out the full lineup of great performers coming to Portland Pride this weekend. It's quite the talent draw: http://www.pridenw.org/

* Kina Williams Photography for Bang Bang Betty