Lipstick and I were recently on our favorite public radio station KBOO in Portland. We spent about ten minutes talking on the Out Loud show with host Carla. Lipstick was out of town, so had to phone in, while Carla kept distracting me by taking my photo with her phone while interviewing me. In case you missed the show, you can listen here.
Also, Dipstick was recently a guest on Sisters Talk Internet Radio. Dipstick hung out for about 45 minutes with the charming host Genia Stevens. We chatted about all kinds of things: politics, Obama, lesbian sex, diversity in the LGBT community, and my work on About.com.
To all our Portland peeps, please come out and support the amazing work of The Q Center and meet Heather Matarazzo, aka Stacey Merkin the "vagina wig" from The L Word and her adorable girlfriend Carolyn Murphy.
This Saturday Saturday, January 31st at the amazing Nines Hotel. (Upstairs at Macy's.) The event is to celebrate all things Portland, including a performance by sexy Storm Large.
Tickets are $75 and all proceeds go to support the important work of Portland's LGBT Community Center. Buy them here!
What a week it's been here in the Rose City. Word came down, just as Obama was taking office, that our number one official, openly gay Mayor Sam Adams had an affair with an 18 year old back in 2005 and lied about it.
I don't necessarily condone a 42-year-old man to having sex with an 18-year-old, but there was nothing illegal about it. The 18-year-old pursued Sam. Sam was single at the time.
I don't think it was okay for the media to ask him about his relationships in the first place. I just wish Sam would have said, "I have never had sex with an underage person and my personal life is my personal life." Instead he lied. Like Bill Clinton, I guess.
But not like Clinton, because Sam is not married and didn't have sex with Beau Breedlove in his office at City Hall.
Sam lied because he wanted to be Mayor. And this I understand. Sam lied because of homophobia, especially internalized homophobia. Which is something that I think only GLBT people can understand. The first time someone asked me if I was a lesbian, I'm sure I denied it. And I've probably lied about sex, too. Who hasn't? Fortunately, I don't have weekly tabloids grilling me about my liaisons.
People in Portland went crazy, calling for Sam to resign. Yesterday he made the decision not to resign, and to return to work.
I support Sam. He made a mistake. He had sex a few times with a hot guy. Then lied about it. But there was nothing illegal about it. And I don't think it has any impact on his ability to be Mayor. Let's hope the people of Portland come around, and judge Sam for the work he does at City Hall and not for one brief lapse of judgement.
(Photos: Top: Sam Adams at No on Prop 8 Rally in Portland, November, Bottom: Sam Adams supporters rally at City Hall on Friday.)
Dipstick calm down, I didn't say chicks with dicks--I said Chicks with Picks! Last night was a blast at the Railyway Club, a Vancouver BC music venue that has seen some of the biggest names in music get their start. Notably kd lang, who signed her poster (see photo below). But last night wasn't about any of them; it was about two up-and-coming stellar performers who packed the house with the ladies.
My friend, Bonnie Ste. Croix (who ROCKS!) was one of them and Vicki Sjohall was the other, someone who I was happy to discover. This music series--Chicks with Picks--is put on my local promoter Trigger (GirlGigs) who is super cool and a friend of our friend Ashleigh Flynn (the lezzie community is so connected...by a beautiful web of guitar strings, estrogen, tofu and lube).
I took these little videos of Bonnie and Vicky and thought I'd throw them up here for you as a Monday morning present. (Bonnie had a bad cold, but still sounded amazing! This was in part thanks to the scotch, which soothed her throat so she could finish her set.) The video quality kind of blows, so you can see Bonnie's video for "You are the Reason" Here.
If you watched the new Lipstick & Dipstick Show yesterday on Curvemag.com, you may be waiting with baited breath for the crab recipe I passed off to Rainbow Girl. In case you're having a lezzie potluck soon, this is sure to be a hit. It was my mom's recipe (see photo of her cooking) and she's a great chef. Yumm. Thanks Mama! Rainbow Girl's mama liked it.
Lipstick's Mamalina Crab Dip
1 bar Philadelphia Cream Cheese
12 oz crab meat (fresh is better but canned will work)
12 oz cocktail sauce
1 box Ritz Crackers
Put cream cheese on a platter, cover with crab meat and pour over cocktail sauce. Use Ritz Crackers to serve.
Introducing the Lipstick & Dipstick Show! Head on over to Curve Magazine and check out the first ever Lipstick & Dipstick webisode. Instead of answering your questions in the magazine, we show up at your house, film the whole thing and put it on the web.
This week we pop in on Rainbow Closet Girl whose Mom is coming for a visit, but she's not out to her yet. What advice will Lipstick & Dipstick dispense? When will they agree and where will they differ? And most importantly, what is the great crab recipe that Lipstick shares?
Be sure to leave comments so we know what you like and how we can improve the show. And if you live in the Portland/Seattle/Vancouver, B.C. area and would like to be a part of the show email us your problem or question at ask @ lipstickdipstick.com.
What a fun night Dipstick and I had emceeing and entertaining the crowd who'd gathered at the Bagdad Theater on Sunday. Thank you all for coming out to support HRC.
About 700 women showed up (it sold out once again) to ring in the final season of the L Word, a season opener which began with the shocking death of the wildly loathed Jenny Schecter (played by actor Mia Kershner). Collectively, we raised thousands of dollars for HRC.
We played some super fun games. The first: pin the pasties on Jennifer Beals. In the picture here, Lipstick is measuring how far the candy pasties were from her nipples. The second game we played was the dildo ring toss. Here, Dipstick is rooting on one of our contestants.
It was so much fun and we will truly miss our L Word sisters!
The photo below is with our photographer Maggie Parker. Our friend Carla Remey took it.
Woot!!!! It's offish: Barack Obama has taken over power! It's a sunny day here in Portland, Oregon and there is a buzz in the air, as there is across the country. Change has finally arrived!
Dip and I have been busy these past few days (hence why we've been MIA) doing several things. On Saturday, we were in an all-day photo shoot with Curve. Photographer Maggie Parker captured the next six columns coming up in Curve. (Two upcoming shoots are pinned here.)
On Sunday, Dipstick and I emceed the L Word Premiere Party at the Bagdad Theater. We entertained the crowd before the season opener of the final season of the L Word. Those pics will be posted tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Last night was awesome. I met up with a few friends at Portland's Q Literati event, where LGBT writers come to read and listen to established and up-and-coming literary types read from their works. There were some funny essays, an intro to a mystery, a scary erotic piece and a few short stories. But the highlight of the evening for me was hearing Tom Spanbauer read from his book Now is the Hour.
Tom Spanbauer is an amazing gay writer, who has the ability to transport you from where ever you are into the heart, head and body of his characters. His command of storytelling and the rhythm of language is inspirational. I urge you to check him out, if you're not already a fan.
My friends and I were standing outside The Q Center, shivering and saying goodbye when I heard a train coming. I groaned, knowing it was going to block access to my car and I would have to wait for it to pass. But instead of getting upset, my friend Elizabeth got inspired. She raced toward the train, camera in hand and directed me where to stand. The result was this awesome photo.
Yeah, I need to hang out with people like this more often.
It's been a sad week at Dipstick & Tiger's house. A week ago today, we had to say goodbye to our old girl Juneau. She almost made it to 14, which for a 120 pound dog, is some kind of miracle.
Although she wasn't very active in her last few years, she did love to go out for her daily walks in the park, come home and have a cookie.
Every day for 14 years, she's been there, a part of our lives. When she was young, we used to mountain bike or hike for hours, just to wear her out. As she got older, a sniff around the park seemed to satisfy her. Then she would sleep the day away, often snoring or running in her dreams.
She had her quirks for sure. Like she couldn't be in the car without a window open, or she would howl and whine. That trip to the Southwest in December a few years ago was quite frigid.
Juneau was a serious dog. An old soul, she often had a concerned look on her face. She was known as the sheriff of the park, because she would break up dog fights. Not that she didn't start a few of her own, back in her youth. She would always come and nuzzle you if you were crying and was very protective of her cats.
She loved the snow. And digging in my garden. And babies and children. And could that girl sing!
She was terrified of fireworks, so every Fourth of July, we would pack up and go camping, just to get her away from them. She loved to run and play in the water, but didn't like to swim. When I would dive in and swim away from her, she would pace on the shoreline and howl and bark the most pathetic, concerned bark, until I came back. Every once in a while, she'd swim out after me, trying to round me up and coax me back to shore.
There was the time we took her on a whale watch and both she and Tiger got sea sick. And as she got older, she started to lose her hair, a condition the vets didn't know how to treat. It made her look ragged, but she didn't seem to notice, her once beautiful, full tail looked like a muskrat's.
She never liked to snuggle, but as she got older, she let us lavish her with love. The first thing I would do when I woke up in the morning was to give her a kiss on her muzzle and tell her how much I loved her. The house feels so empty without her here.
This is fabulous! The L Word is coming out with its own line of lipstick and holding a "Name that Tube" contest. I've had my own line of lipstick for some time, which we've sold at Pride festivals and events. Some of my favorite colors are Mommy Queerest, Closet Case, Frazzled Femme and Sexy Seductress.
Try your hand at naming one of the L Word Lipstick taglines by going HERE.
Don't forget, the L Word Season Six premiere is this Sunday, January 18 and there is a big party at the Bagdad Theater in Portland, Oregon that Lipstick & Dipstick are hosting. The details are below, but here is a sneak peek of what might be in store. You'll have to show up to find out more:
Pasties and Jennifer Beals A phone call with Helena and photo A free L Word Season 5 DVD set L Word Posters Curve magazine with cast autographs
DETAILS
Baghdad Theater (3702 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.)
January 18, 2009
5:30pm (doors open)
Premiere at 7pm
RSVP Here! Be sure to come early as it sold out last year.
In honor of the upcoming WinterPRIDE Dipstick and I are a part of next month, I thought I'd share this story with you, as it also gives a whole new meaning to "free balling." This happened in Vail, CO when a man, who was just trying to get on a lift to go skiing, somehow fell through the seat (rumor has it it wasn't working properly--duh) and it pulled his clothes off as he slid through, only to be caught by his ski boot. Rumor also has it there was a lawsuit filed (double duh).
When I first saw this (thanks for sending Dad!), I didn't want Dipstick to see it, as I knew this would be the lynch pin--coupled with the fact one of Whistler's gondola's recently collapsed and people were injured--for Dipstick backing out of her proclamation that she's going to take a skiing lesson while we're there. A day after Dad sent this to me, however, I decided it was too good not to share.
My first thought was how cold and humiliated the guy must have been. My brother, who is a male version of Lipstick, had a different immediate concern: "The horror for that poor little girl to have to sit there while this guy's junk was dangling in the wind!" Well said, brothah.
Lipstick & Dipstick return to the airwaves and will appear again on the Out Loud show on KBOO in Portland on Tuesday January 13th. If you live in Portland, tune into FM 90.7 from 6-7pm. We'll be talking about our upcoming gig hosting The L Word 6th Season Premier at the Bagdad Theatre. If you don't live in Portland, don't worry, the show will be available to download.
Also, this Sunday 1/11/09 Dipstick will appear on Sisters Talk radio. You can listen in live on your computer at 3pm (PST) and even call in to talk to me. Come hang out! It will be a blast.
When my sister was visiting, she and her girlfriend took a trip to the mall. Here's a photo she sent me from her iphone of our book on display with Harvey Milk at Barnes & Noble. Pretty cool.
If you haven't seen the movie Milk yet, make plans to see it. It documents an important piece of queer history. But also the parallels to today's struggles, especially Prop 8, are astounding.
It made me wonder, why haven't we learned from history? Why can't we build the kind of coalitions that Harvey built? Why didn't the "No on 8" people use Barack Obama's endorsement against 8 more vigorously?
And why are we fighting the same fight 30 years later? Milk is all at once inspiring and infuriating. If you see only one movie this year, see Milk.
Flying can pretty much suck these days. That's why it's easy to be grateful about little things. Like an empty seat next to you. Or an extra cookie in your snack box.
Well, my sister hit the jackpot yesterday on her flight home from visiting me. She had former UConn All American, WNBA all-star and Olympic Gold Medalist Diana Taursi on her flight.
Mary texted me to tell me. "Go say hi," I said. Mary said she was too shy. "How do you feel when people come up to you?" she asked. Actually, I love it.
While they were waiting for their bags, I convinced Mary to go up and tell Diane Taursi that her sister was a big fan and to ask to take a picture for me. When the request is not for yourself, it's a lot easier to ask.
Mary went up to Diana and was glad she did. She said she was super nice and they talked basketball for a few minutes.
In honor of New Years Eve, Patty and I went innertubing yesterday on Whistler mountain. It was a beautiful afternoon and we decided it was time to hit the slopes, kid-style. Patty shot this little video as we were sliding down the hill. Very good times. It's so much fun to be a kid again!
In lazy North American-style, you don't even have to "earn" the joy ride. They have a conveyor belt that totes you to the top. See pic of Patty hitching a ride below...
A measured blend of guidance, wit and sincerity from the femme and the butch perspective, Lipstick & Dipstick is a punchy advice column in CURVE Magazine, the nation's best-selling lesbian magazine.
"Finally! What we've been missing from Oprah and Dr Phil!! Lip and Dip bring unflinching truth to gay gals who are in, near or want a relationship. And they drench it all with great gobs of humor. Irresistible."
Honey Labrador said:
"Get ready to learn all you ever wanted to know (and more that you never wanted to know) about that girl you are SURE is 'the one' in Lipstick & Dipstick's Essential Guide to Lesbian Relationships. A real page turner and eye opener...but most of all, with a sense of humor! If we can't laugh at ourselves ladies, than who will? Thanks for the insights...better late than never!"
Diane Anderson-Minshall said:
"Move over Dan Savage and out of the way Ann Landers. There's a new guru in town (two of them!) and they're dishing out sexy, saucy, ribald and totally irreverent advice for girls who can't say no, aren't in the know, or are still on the down low. Lipstick & Dipstick's Essential Guide to Lesbian Relationships from Alyson Books tackles everything from titillating first dates to vengeful ex lovers, bisexual babes, and the top five wedding no-nos (only a couple of dykes would put strippers and Styrofoam on the same list). Want to know when to take the plunge? Dipstick's quiz will have you down on your knees or running for cover. Does your girlfriend talk to her softball coach 17 times a day? Apparently Lipstick knows just the answer. Though you may disagree with the sometimes incisive, sometimes flippant recommendations-heck, they disagree with each other-you can bet that what you're reading is a well tested, hard-to-find, how-to guide to life as a lesbian in the '00s. No lesbian should be without it."
