A Very Special Glass

I met Barb on the Olivia Cruise. Barb is a fan of bright and sparkly things that light up, as you can see from her Halloween costume. While on the Olivia Cruise, Barb bought an amazing glass, but when she set it down to go dance, someone walked away with her prize possession. Barb tried and tried to get a replacement while on the cruise, but came away empty-handed.

She was sad, but determined. After getting home, Barb tracked down Holland America customer service and eventually had a glass shipped to her from a ship near Seattle. As you can see, Barb is very happy to have her special glass.

Taproot :: Green Web Hosting

Do you have a new website in the works? Are you looking for a way to be a little greener in your everyday life? Do you want to support a dyke-onwed company? If so, check out Taproot!

It's partly owned by our friend Stacy Bias, who continues to do amazing things in the world (does she ever sleep?).

Be green. Be good.

An Amazing Gift

A few weeks ago I got an email from Tam Martin, “Kathy, I have something I would like to give you…if you want it.” Now who can resist an intriguing message like that?

Tam is an old friend, a mentor and a booking agent to the stars. She works with Suzanne Westenhoefer, Kate Clinton, Holly Near and many of the greats of women’s music. Back when I was a baby dyke, Tam gave me advice on producing concerts and booking tours. She hired me to work at her festivals and even gave Lipstick & I advice about hiring an agent for booking speaking gigs. She is a treasure to the lesbian community.

I called Tam to see what she wanted to give me, having no idea what she had in mind. Well, it turns out, she and her partner are moving to a smaller house and she’s got a lot of women’s music memorabilia she needs to find a good home for. She thought (rightly so!) that I would like her autographed copy of the Laughing Matters poster.


When I showed up to collect the poster, she had an even bigger surprise for me. She asked if I had any way to play LPs. Sadly, I do not. I don’t even own a CD player any more. Tam is looking for a home for her collection of Women’s Music albums.

Even though I don’t have a record player, I have been searching for one particular lesbian album for years. Back in 1977 Olivia records released Lesbian Concentrate, in response to an anti-gay rights campaign in Florida, spearheaded by orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant. Tam had it and offered it to me. Although I don't have the means to play it, just owning this piece of lesbian history makes me smile.

The poster is hanging in my office. The album cover, I'm going to get that framed.

Katie Hearts Us and We Heart Katie

This came in today's email. We love hearing from you. Especially when you say stuff like this: 

I feel so drawn to write to you today, though I am not in a crazy, cuntliciously infused predicament at the moment. I devoured your book about a month ago and have started reading it again. You have absolutely NO idea how much your book saved me and made me laugh my ass off. I have been in the most important, earth-shaking relationship of my life for three years. She is quite a bit older, and we have had some rough hills and valleys, but I cannot imagine being able to live, see, or breathe without this woman. Now I am not newly infatuated with the lesbian life, I have known about my beautiful gay self since I messed around with girls in middle school. (Being a femme, people do not suspect such promiscuity so early). I live in a horribly stifled town in the south that is killing me. There is no gay community and I often times feel suffocated. So, I felt the need to write you and express to you that I feel closer to you than anyone I work with, see everyday in my community. Though we have never met, you two GET me and HEAR me more than this whole town could! You do not know how much this moves me! I fiercely thank you, Lipstick and Dipstick!

Hang in there Katie! We've got your back.

Become a Fan of Lipstick & Dipstick on Facebook!

Finally, we've arrived on Facebook. Personally, I've been whoring around Facebook for some time, catching up with people from my past I thought I'd never ever see again. Facebook is genius and if you haven't signed up yet, here this cattle call. It doesn't take much time and it's very intuitive to navigate. Once you sign up, you can be a fan of ours and keep up to date with all things L & D.

For those of you who are already on Facebook, click here to see our profile page. You have to be a member of Facebook to see it (it's free!).

We've posted a bunch of pictures and videos from our recent book tour, events that we've emceed, photoshoots from the magazine and more!

Dipstick @ the Opera

My friend Marc Acito has a blog where he tries something new everyday and writes about it. I thought about Marc Saturday night because I was trying something new ( going to the opera) and because Marc used to sing opera.

As my first time, I thought I’d share some observations. We went to see La Traviata put on by the Portland Opera. The first thing I noticed was that I was one of the youngest people there. For some reason white-hairs like the Opera. And people who love to dress up love Opera. I can understand that, where else in Portland do you have the opportunity to wear sparkly shirts, old prom dresses and designer suits. The crowd was sharp!

La Traviata started out kind of festive and a little bit raunchy. For opera standards, anyway. Lots of fun. And the singing was to die for. Seriously. People die at the opera, right? Usually the soprano. The story moved quickly, though from festive to overly angst-ridden to tragic. I don’t want to ruin it for you, but the heroine dies in the end. It’s all very Romeo & Juliet. Which I guess is ok for an opera written in 1853.

I learned a new trick at the opera. It wasn’t from the show either.

It was closing night and the opera was sold out. One person in our party couldn’t come because he was sick, so there was an empty seat in our row. A young woman, with a bike helmet and backpack came up to us at the first intermission (There were two intermissions at this show, I’m not sure if that’s opera standard or not.) and asked if the seat was taken. This cunning lass, waited until the first break, when the ushers no longer check ticket stubs and just walked in the front door. Sure, she missed the first (my favorite) act, but she got to see the rest of it for free. Ingenious.

So the next time I’m itching to see opera and I don’t have $80 burning a hole in my pocket, I’m going to try this strategy. Maybe I should suggest it to Marc, as one of his new things to try.


Here's "The Drinking Song" from La Traviata

Lesbian Weddings are So Much Fun!

Or at least this one was. How many weddings have you been to where they do "the wave?" No, not on the dance floor, but during the actual ceremony. The Brides, Chama and Sandy, know how to put on a party.  They rented out a summer camp and dubbed it the "Big Love Weekend." 

Friday night we hung out, laughed, ate pizza and actually got to visit with the Brides. Chama is from Venezuela and had friends and family in from all over: Miami, Columbia, Houston, Germany, Mexico and Venezuela. It was touching to see that so many of them made the trip for a big fat lesbian wedding.  Many of those Latin countries aren't exactly known for being gay-friendly. 

The ceremony was multi-cultural and multi-lingual. Chama looked stunning in the outfit she and I picked out: brown tuxedo pants and an understated, low cut tuxedo shirt. She couldn't show up her beautiful bride, who elicited gasps of approval as she strode down the aisle in a beautiful orange vintage dress.  

And while the brides did look stunning, I must admit, my date and I looked pretty hot too. Chama and Sandy, while standing under the hupa, waiting to say their vows, looked over at Tiger and I and commented to each other on how good we looked. Don't we? 

Dinner was a lesbian buffet. At least it wasn't potluck. Guests were seated at tables named after TV shows. We, of course, were at The L Word table. Our friends Pam & Vicky at Ugly Betty. Sandy named one table after Exes & Ohs, but it wasn't just for lesbians. That's where she sat all her exes. 

Of course we ate cake and danced our little birkenstocks off. (You really don't think I'm wearing birkenstocks in that outfit do you?)  Right after cake, there was a rousing version of The Macarena. 

It was a fun time and kinda cool that in Oregon they can actually get some rights to go with that party. You can't ask for more than that can you? Well, maybe full marriage equality, but I'm guessing that's right around the corner. 

Quartet Kegger

A friend of mine who is in a string quartet invited me to their annual summer concert.  Because they know classical music can seem highbrow, they decided to appeal to the masses by offering free beer. The Quartet Kegger is now something I look forward to every summer. 

And to prove they're not all classical snobs, they opened the show with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody;; 

They played some other stuff too. Like Bach or Mozart or something. But, being the lowbrow, beer swigging butch that I am, I couldn't tell the difference. It sure sounded nice, though. Here are some pics from the day.

Report from Beijing

My friend JP is in Beijing working at the Olympics. She sent me this report:

The city is much different then I expected and even better then I thought it would be. I will say all of it is better then Athens was in 04. I am able to read the Lipstick & Dipstick blog here, I had heard anything with blog would be blocked but you are readable in China! They are being more lenient on the online stuff since the international press complained.


Beijing isn’t what I expected. I expected people everywhere, crowds everywhere you walk and it isn’t that way. There are areas where things are more crowded but it’s so spread out, that it isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

My first experience at Olympic Green was not the best. There were not any signs in English, we didn’t know what entry we were going through, what venues we would find and since there are 3-4 at each complex we really didn’t know where we were going. None of the volunteers seemed to speak English, the little they did, they just kept pointing us down the road, and we had no idea we had to walk the entire complex and cross a bridge and enter a new complex to get to the Water polo venue. Oh and it was pouring rain that day. But we did make it.

I think it’s amazing that so many countries travel to the games and support their country. My friend Roz and I went to Men’s Water Polo and saw Hungry vs Montenegro. We found ourselves sitting in the middle of a huge group of Hungarians, all with flags, painted faces, horns, signs, everything you could imagine. They all knew every player’s name, chanted, screamed, yelled, it was very entertaining.
I’ve also seen swimming, but it was just a qualifier. We sat so high, I couldn’t get any good pictures. The Cube is amazing from the outside and incredible to watch at night, with the lights. I’ve been lucky enough to be up there two nights in a row. The inside isn’t that impressive, there is a neat hall between the venue and the practice pool and you can stand up there and watch all the athletes warm up and practice. Each country has its own area with massage tables, tv’s, etc. The US is under the bridge so we can’t see them. I did get to see some swimmers out there talking to family members, none I recognized.

At night up at Olympic Green, the Cube is going with its constant change of colors and the Nest is across the way and it’s all a glow in red, with the torch and the moon it is an amazing site.

We also saw diving 3m springboard qualifier which was great. We had great seats, sat behind the judges in row two and were on tv the whole time. Had it been the actual event, you could have seen us.

We also got to catch the end of the Today show and met Meredith, Ann, Matt and Al.

Yesterday we went down to the Velodrome and it was so much fun. So far they win the award for the nicest venue and best staff. It’s a bit out of town and at the end of a subway stop so a bit of a ride to get there. The winner was this woman Rebecca Romero and she became the first British woman to win two medals in two different sports. In Athens she won a silver in rowing, she returned, switched sports and won the gold, it was awesome.

Anyway, the event was fun as every seat is great, every staff member said hello, welcome, have fun and when we left they all stood in a line and clapped and said thanks for coming. Anyway, the one thing I will say is Beijing and China is very proud to be hosting these games, they feel it is their welcome party to the world.

The people here are nice, I have not had any bad experiences or anything that I would consider to be any different then the US. They do have a few customs that are a bit different, like kids wear split pants and no diapers, so when you have to go, you just go. I joke that not only do they take the dogs out in the morning, they also take the kids. Then the squat toilet is a bit of a hassle, I’ve used them a couple times but you can usually find a western toilet in the hotels or major restaurants.

People’s fashion sense here is hysterical, the men will wear plaid shorts and striped shirts and then crocs. Crocs are big here and the women wear like nude nylons with sandals.

The food has been much better then I expected. We live in an area full of embassies, so there is a German place, a great Thai place, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, everything you could want, oh yes and a Irish pub downstairs. I have enjoyed the Chinese food, you just make sure you are going to a good place. It is usually family style, everyone orders a bunch of stuff, you use your chopsticks and eat, just pulling from the dishes, etc.

There is one great place that has some awesome tofu, it’s the Bellagio and every server has the same haircut. It’s all girls and it’s short and it’s a requirement to have the haircut to work there. It is considered one of the nicer places and the food there is good. Food is also more spicy here then I expected it to be, they like spice.

Photos by James from Miami

See What I Missed Out On: Cat Cora Lesbian Chef

Last Saturday my friends Dionne and Tracy invited me to come down with them to "The Bite of Portland," some event for people who are really into food and cooking and know what truffle-infused salt is and actually enjoy it. Dionne and Tracy are foodies. Whenever I'm at their house, the Food Network is playing on the TV and they're bouncing off each other's butts in the kitchen whipping up some simple enchilada dish or a 17 layer dip.

That's one of the reasons I love going to their house. There's always something yummy to munch on. Even when it's just cheese and crackers, they've got seven different kinds of cheese I've never heard of and hand-baked sesame crackers. It's awesome.

But, to be honest, I was a bit intimidated to go to The Bite with them. I was sure I was going to be forced to plow through booths of expensive cutting utensils and gourmet pepper mills, trying to decipher which eggplant parmesan had fresh basil versus dried. Plus, I had just done a long hike at Mt. Hood and wanted to put my feet up and watch the Olympics.

But, by being food shy, I missed out. Little did I know Dionne and Tracy would be hanging out with lesbian celebrity and Iron Chef winner Cat Cora. Here they are downing shots of ouzo with her. They were thrilled.  Well, even if I didn't get to meet her, at least I know they showed that dyke chef a good time and represented well for the dykes of Portland. 

A Day to Float

I went kayaking with my friend Maggie yesterday. By kayaking, I mean we took the boats out to a peaceful little lake, cracked a beer and caught up on our lives.
As we wind pushed us from one end of the lake to the other Mags and I drifted from topic to topic, two friends enjoying a beautiful summer day, watching the herons, osprey and swifts overhead.

It’s been a stressful few weeks and just getting out and away from it all for a few hours was the perfect remedy. So glad I took a day to just float.

A Butch in the Sorority House

Five femmes and me in this Palm Springs rental house. I never knew you sorority sisters were such slobs! All weekend I’ve been picking up your empty beer bottles, Kit Kat wrappers and fast food containers. Which begs me to ask, how do you ladies stay so thin with a diet like that?

While Lipstick and her girls had their “Sorority Girls Gone Wild” weekend, this butch was much more subdued, playing the part of serious lesbian journalist. The highlight of the weekend, of course, being The L Word Press Conference with Rachael Shelley (Helena), Alexandra Hedison (Dylan), Elizabeth Keener (Dawn Denbo) and L Word creator Ilene Chaiken. (Note in picture where Keener’s hand is… I think she felt really at home at Dinah Shore!).


While Lipstick and her girls sucked down beers at the bar. (Again, how do they stay so skinny?!) I went to what was probably the funnest event of the weekend, the “Be Scene” event where women acted out scenes from The L Word. One of the girls in the house portrayed Helena in the scene where she loses a bet and has to sleep with that rich skank. Melissa did a great job, down to the accent. Celebrity judges Kate Moennig, Leisha Hailey and Rachael Shelley were very impressed and the team took third place in the competition. Unfortunately, somehow those photos got accidentally erased from my camera. Very strange.

This butch must have partied too hard all weekend, because on Sunday I woke up with a roaring head cold. After a few hours at the pool, I headed home for a long nap. I did wake in time to catch the first two games of the Women’s Final Four. Franco, our Curve publisher and “Daddy” and I cheered our Stanford girls to victory. Dionne and Franco tried to drag me to the closing night party at Hunters, but with my voice giving out and my nose stuffing up, I returned back to the sorority house and crashed almost immediately, tired, but with a smile on my face.

For more photos, go HERE.

_{All photos by Kathy Belge, except Kate Moennig, courtesy of Club Skirts}

My Old Friend Terese Genecco

I was at the gym the other day reading my Advocate magazine. Right up front was a tiny article about a powerful big band lead singer/cabaret performer. I thought, “Hey, that girl looks familiar.” We went to college together.

So I got home, googled her and sent her off an email. I heard back within hours. Not only did she remember me, she attached some photos from when we were hanging out in her apartment back in the day. I won’t say how long ago this was, but notice, I’m putting on an album.


It turns out Terese is now living in San Francisco and I was on my way there. Terese Genecco leads a little big band that is one of the hottest shows in San Francisco. She’s won all kinds of awards, including “Entertainer of the Year” in San Francisco.


She came to see us at the Curve/Dani Campbell party. We didn’t have a lot of time to talk, but it sure was fun to hook up with an old friend. Unfortunately, I had to leave before I got to see her show. But you can bet it’s on my agenda for the next time I’m in SF.

Be sure to check out Terese.
Terese Genecco and her little big band are currently starring in "LAST CALL!" on Saturday nights at 10:30 PM in The Rrazz at Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco.

Lesbian Easter Eggs

I’m sure you all have them. The friends you can count on to throw a really good party. It doesn’t matter what the occasion. Whether it’s a Superbowl bash or card night, you know when you go to these gals’ house, you’re going to have a good time. In my group, those friends are Dionne and Tracy.

So, when I got an invite to an Easter Egg Decorating Party, something I normally would never do, I accepted. Tracy spent hours gluing sequins and cotton balls to make a Ladybug Egg. Dawn decorated an egg for everyone who would be at her L Word party tonight. Dionne tie-dyed half a dozen ova. And Andrea proved that she had years of experience with nieces and nephews putting the color on the egg.

As sometimes happens at parties, things got ugly as the night wore on and the drink flowed. There was a controversial incident when Tracy reached for the glue and “accidentally” knocked over Robin’s dog egg. A full crime scene investigation ensued, complete with chalk outline. We’re still waiting the detective’s report.


_{Photos by D. Fox}

A Cute Girl We Love: Garrison Starr

My gay boyfriend Jonathan is really a lesbian. He’s a therapist, is in a monogamous relationship (and even complained to me once of lesbian bed death) and he loves lesbian music. I won’t tell you about the night we waited in the rain for hours for the Indigo Girls to come out to their tour bus. But I will tell you about his FAVORITE singer of all time. (Well, maybe behind Justin Timberlake, he is a little gay..) Garrison Starr.

Jonathan first saw Garrison Starr when she opened for Melissa Etheridge. Yeah, I saw her there too and I had to agree with Jonathan she is pretty darn cute and pretty darn talented. So when he heard she was coming to town, he practically jumped out of his chair when I said I would go with him. He was dying to hear her new album, but held off buying it so he could get her to sign it at the concert.

She played at a Borders bookstore, which was kind of weird, after seeing her perform with Melissa Etheridge and Melissa Ferrick. Especially when people walked right up behind her to browse the DVD selections.

But we had a great time. She's so talented. Way too big for a downtown bookstore. But, Jonathan got his CD autographed and got to fawn over her a little. The Starr is quite a singer/songwriter. Check out this video of hers, directed by none other than Margaret Cho.

Lesbian Beach Weekends Through the Years

I just returned from a weekend at the beach with a group of friends. We had a great time, but it really got me thinking about how beach trips with my lesbian friends have changed over the years.

Back in college a group of us took a trip to the beach for Spring Break. Days were spend playing football on the beach, followed by a nights of tequila shots followed by weeks of drama because someone inevitably slept with someone else’s girlfriend.

After college I fell in with a group of Goddess-loving, Birkenstock-wearing hippie dykes. Beach trips with that clan often involved a bonfire with the full moon as a backdrop, some kind of hand-holding circle and of course, a sing-alongs to a folk guitar.

In my later 20s and early 30s, I started hanging back out with athletic types, but instead of football games on the beach, we would go for long mountain bike rides, strenuous hikes and body surf until we were spitting out salt water. At night we’d soak in the hot tub, drink light beer and strategize about putting a team together for AIDS cycle.

Now that we’re in our late 30s and early 40s, beach trips are bit mellower. We might talk about waking for an early morning run, but soon it’s noon and no one has left the coffee pot. We hike -- into town for more bottles of wine and provisions for the gourmet meals we spend hours preparing. And instead of bouncing quarters into glasses, we sit around a large table playing board games, trying to keep our laughter down so as not to wake the toddler.

Through all these eras and phases, the key ingredient was a good group of friends to relax and have fun with. Isn’t that what life is all about?

This Just In: Fat is Healthy

Just as we suspected. The federal Centers for Disease Control has determined that overweight people have a lower death rate than people who are normal or underweight. Overweight people are less likely to have Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and lung disease.

Which just goes to show that Stacy Bias and Fat Girl Speaks are onto something. Fat is not only healthy, it's just a normal part of the diversity of the human body. Plus, it's sexy as hell. Especially when you feel empowered to flaunt your fabulous flab. That's exactly what Lipstick & I witnessed at the Third Annual Fat Girl Speaks. Read our account from Curve magazine.

Our Fans Chris & Christy

I met Chris & Christy (via email) before Exes and Ohs was ever aired on TV. But now, every time I see the show I think of them. If you haven't seen Exes and Ohs on Logo, there's a couple named Chris and Kris who are my favorite part of the show. They remind me of so many lesbian couples I know who fall into what we like to call "Lesbian Twin Syndrome."

I wonder if Chris & Christy wear matching sweaters, end each other sentences and have let their hair grow into the same style. When they go shopping for rain coats, does Chris get the blue one and Christy the red, of the same brand and style? Aside from sharing the close to the same name, I have faith that our fans Chris & Christy have better boundaries than that. But there are some of you out there who are dangerously close to becoming lesbian twins. Chances are you don't even see it.

To help you prevent Lesbian Twin Syndrome here are the Top 10 Things Dipstick says Lesbian Couples Should Never Do:

1. Poop when she’s in the bathroom. (ich!)
2. Always invite her to hang out with your friends.
3. Go somewhere or do something with her that you don’t really want to do. (Every once in a while is okay, but don’t make this a habit.)
4. Buy matching outfits.
5. Sell off your Ricky Martin CDs because she doesn’t like him.
6. Share underwear.
7. Share a Myspace page.
8. Share a diary.
9. Speak for both of you, saying things like, “We feel.. We think, etc.”
10. Buy a bicycle built for two.

Make Ashleigh a Star!

Our friend Ashleigh Flynn is an amazing singer/songwriter and we're trying to help make her a star. She's in the running to win a competition on Ourstage.com. See why we think she's so great and then go Vote For Her. (You have to register, but it's free.) Voting ends Sunday.

Not only is she a great singer, look at how cute she is!