State Taxes for LGBT Military Families
As part of our mission in education, advocacy, and support for our modern military families, AMPA is proud to begin 2015 with an educational webinar series on "Federal & State Taxes for LGBT…
Monthly Archives: February 2015
9 Sweet LGBT Proposals to Celebrate Pride Month
Ricky Martin on Life as a Single Dad and on 'Inevitable' Nationwide Marriage Equality
Ricky Martin on Life as a Single Dad and on 'Inevitable' Nationwide Marriage Equality
In an interview with Billboard, Ricky Martin dished on life as a single father, his upcoming Spanish-language album A Quien Quiera Escuchar (To Whomever Wants to Listen), and his thoughts on the spread of marriage equality across America.
Said Martin of his twin 6-year-old boys Matteo and Valentino:
They’re stuck to me constantly. If I’m in L.A. and have to travel to Hong Kong for 24 hours, I’ll leave them with my mom. But fortunately, I have sons who are warriors and who were born on tour and don’t know anything else. They’re road babies. Some people say, “Ricky, your kids need stability,” and I say, “I’m their stability. They feel unstable if I’m not there.”
On marriage equality’s forward march:
It’s amazing, isn’t it? By June, the Supreme Court will say, “Let’s stop this nonsense and cover the entire country.” It’s inevitable — equality is inevitable.
Check out the full interview here. And be sure to check out Martin’s latest single “Disparo al Corazón” AFTER THE JUMP…
Kyler Geoffroy
"#Homophobia #kills". The new @interlgbt 's campaign to raise public awareness ! #LGBT #gayfr #gay
Big Dipper Drops 'DA MONEY' Video Off 'FREE MONEY' EP
Big Dipper Drops 'DA MONEY' Video Off 'FREE MONEY' EP
If you don’t know who Big Dipper is, you’ve been missing out.
The Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based queer rapper has a uniquely raw and unapologetic aesthetic that has earned him a substantial following over the years. Now, the body-positive musician is back with a new video for “DA MONEY,” the lead single off Dipper’s EP “FREE MONEY.”
“DA MONEY,” edited by Gabe Gonzalez, is a hard-hitting ballroom track featuring Monica Beverly Hillz of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fame and Mister Wallace of Banjee Report. Dipper also recently got his own channel on World of Wonder’s WOWPresents.
We chatted with Big Dipper about the video last week, as well as his philosophy as an artist and what we can expect from him in the future.
The Huffington Post: What was your concept for your EP “FREE MONEY” and this new video?
Big Dipper: “DA MONEY” was the first song we wrote for the EP and it came about really organically. I met Lemz, the producer, in San Francisco on a gig and I recorded some vocals for him. A few months later, totally unannounced, “DA MONEY” was in my inbox and I gagged. It was so good. Basically, I got really excited and organized a video shoot a week later in Chicago. We had access to a green screen, I made up some cute choreography and got all of my friends to learn it. My friend Tiger Lily was also able to hook me up with cheerleader costumes, so we made it like a sports, club, dance, stripper, money-themed video with really dope animations by Patrick Burnell. Sometimes the craziest ideas come out of limited time and resources.
So then I was left with a great song and a ton of video footage… but I didn’t know what to do with it — how to put it out. “DA MONEY” was so different from all of my other music — it’s all about creating a vibe and relying on repeated vocals. It’s a club track without verses, just hooks and beats. That was exciting to me because I had never worked with producers to make music like that. I wanted to find a way to be involved in club/dance music, even tho I don’t produce or create beats myself. So Lemz and I decided to shape an EP that was all club tracks with a handful of producers providing guidance and production… and that’s how “FREE MONEY” came about.
I know the project is a total departure for me because it isn’t lyric or verse-heavy, and it’s not really that funny… I know a lot of my other music has punchlines and word play, and “FREE MONEY” is much more straightforward than anything else I’ve worked on. But that’s why I love it! I’m an independent artist and I don’t have to answer to anyone, so I love that I get to experiment and play with different music styles.
Who is Big Dipper as an artist?
I’m an entertainer. I like to put on a show. Ideally I can do my show for you live but, if not, I want my lyrics, my vocals, my songs and my music videos to really entertain you. I’m big and loud and ballsy and expressive. As a lyricist I like wordplay but mostly I like how things sound back to back, flow, rhythm, syllables. I’m evolving with the kind of music that inspires me — that’s ever-changing — but if I had a mission statement it would be to “never be boring” [laughs].
I think when I first started there was more of a goal to be gay, sexual, shocking and funny, because I never really saw anything like myself in the hip hop world. Now my goal is to make people happy, challenge myself, have fun, make good music and put on a show.
If people hear/see a message of being a gay rapper or a gay presence in hip hop, that’s great. If people hear/see a message about being big body-positive, about embracing beauty and sexuality in a big, thick hairy body with a big belly, that’s great too.
I’m just grateful that people are listening and watching.
What does the future hold for Big Dipper?
2015 is going to be really cute. I’m going to put out two more music projects, a rap collaboration with Byrell the Great and then a pop music project that I will actually sell on iTunes! Also, at least three more videos before the summer.
I’ll also be out on the road playing more shows this year. I have plans to be in the Northwest for Pride this summer, the West Coast in the spring, Austin for SXSW and then some European prospects for the late summer. Also, my web show with World of Wonder on WOWPresents will continue and I’ll keep putting dumb shit on Instagram.
I’m gonna eat more vegetables, but never turn my back on donuts and bacon, and hopefully start lifting weights so I can carry my oversized luggage easier when I travel.
Want to see more from Big Dipper? Head here.
Vigil Staged Outside San Francisco Cathedral to Protest Archbishop's Anti-gay 'Purity Test' for Teachers
Vigil Staged Outside San Francisco Cathedral to Protest Archbishop's Anti-gay 'Purity Test' for Teachers
(Facebook)
San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s new anti-gay “purity test” for Catholic high school teachers was met with a protest vigil outside St. Mary’s Cathedral on Friday, the AP reports:
“I chose to send my children to Catholic schools because I wanted their education to be grounded in love, compassion, and a strong sense of social justice,” said Peggy O’Grady, a parent at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco. “This effort by the archbishop will do the opposite, and would run counter to all I believe and value in a Catholic education.”
Cordileone this week presented teachers at the four high schools owned by the archdiocese with a detailed statement of faith affirming that Catholic school employees “are expected to arrange and conduct their lives so as not to visibly contradict, undermine or deny” church doctrine on matters related to sexuality, marriage and human reproduction.
The statement, which the archbishop said would be added to the faculty handbooks, outlines the church’s teaching that using contraception is a sin and that sex outside of marriage, whether it is in the form of adultery, masturbation, pornography or gay sex, is “gravely evil.”
The “purity test” also calls on teachers to back doctrinal teachings against stem cell research and the ordination of women.
Watch video from Friday’s vigil, AFTER THE JUMP…
Post by Andrew Cassin.
Kyler Geoffroy
Richmond LGBT Wedding DJ
Richmond LGBT Wedding DJ
Richmond LGBT wedding DJ for fun celebration at your Gay/Lesbian wedding reception.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYdWeWEsDO0&feature=youtube_gdata
THIS FRIDAY ITS #FVCKLOVE #GIRLCODEFRIDAZE PRE VALENTINES DAY EDITION!!! W @djhoney215_ and @followthedj on the track!!! E/B FREE TIL 12AM + $5 CIROC B4 12AM!!! @vitaloungedc 1318 9th ST NW DC
Gallery of Geek: Tim Paul
Gallery of Geek: Tim Paul
Creative and quirky artist draws perfectly polished pop culture art.
Brian Andersen
www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2015/02/08/gallery-geek-tim-paul
Terminally Ill Plaintiff in Indiana Gay Marriage Case Dies of Ovarian Cancer
Terminally Ill Plaintiff in Indiana Gay Marriage Case Dies of Ovarian Cancer
Niki Quasney, the terminally ill woman who helped bring an end to Indiana’s discriminatory ban on same-sex marriage alongside her wife Amy Sandler, passed away Thursday, the Associated Press reports:
Quasney (far right) and Amy Sandler challenged Indiana’s ban on same-sex marriage as Quasney neared the end of a years-long battle with ovarian cancer. The couple from Munster, which is in northwest Indiana and just south of Chicago, obtained a civil union in Illinois in 2011 and married in Massachusetts in 2013, and they wanted Sandler listed as Quasney’s spouse on her Indiana death certificate to ensure that Sandler and the couple’s two young children received the death benefits to which married couples are entitled. […]
Last April, a federal judge ruled Indiana must recognize the couple’s marriage. The judge went on to rule the state’s ban on gay marriage unconstitutional – a ruling that was later upheld by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Said Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Paul Castillo:
Niki and Amy and their daughters became Indiana’s first family when they bravely joined Lambda Legal’s marriage case, which meant openly sharing very personal and painful parts of their journey together as Niki battled cancer. They brought this case and fought so hard because they loved each other and wanted their daughters to be treated with respect, just like any other family in Indiana. They also fought for all same-sex couples and their children in Indiana. They never wanted to be alone in recognition of their family. They knew that by coming forward they could help accelerate equality for all same-sex couples in Indiana by demonstrating the urgency of their need for equal dignity.
To date, this marriage case was the fastest from filing to victory through a federal circuit court. The courts were touched by Niki’s and Amy’s story, and accelerated not just Indiana’s marriage cases, but Wisconsin’s as well. The opinion from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals was one of the most scathing attacks on marriage bans from a court. Niki and Amy’s bravery made history. […]
We thank Niki and Amy for their courage to stand up for their family and lead the fight for marriage in Indiana. We all owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.
Kyler Geoffroy
