Lez Keep It Real

“Vacation, have to get away …”

What a great song. Do you remember what all-girl band from the 80’s sang it? I’ll give you a special, little prize if you get the answer right!

Anyway, it’s true. I have to get away. I haven’t taken a “real” vacation since September - and that was just a long weekend. This time I am taking consecutive days off, hitting the slopes on the upper east coast and snuggling by the fire with my girlfriend.

I’ll be gone the rest of the week, but I just might have some guest bloggers fill in for me while I’m away. So check back because you’ll never know what you might find. I am giving the guest bloggers the option to discuss anything they want, as long as they A. Keep it real, and B. cater the post to my wonderful GLBT audience.

Sound good? Good.

See you next week!

vacation, upper east coast, lez keep it real

Letdown.

Yep. That’s the way I felt last night after the L Word premier on Showtime.

Let down.

There has been so much hype about this season and while I feel as though the writing for the show has been far less than impressive, I thought this season might serve as redemption. After the first episode, I think I was wrong. Here’s why.

(more…)

Today’s Come Out & Play post spotlights Stories on Logo.

We all enjoy a good coming out story. Which is why I post them every Friday. If you have one, send it to me! Of course, I’m not the only coming out pit stop on the web. For more coming out stories, particularly of the video variety, I’ve got just the place. Head over to Logo. What better place to find coming out stories than an all-gay programming television station?

For those of you who have Itunes, you can download Coming Out Stories episodes to watch on your Ipod. Or just watch clips directly from Logo’s website.

In other news, yesterday was caucus day. You know, that political thingy in Iowa where all the presidential candidates get together and try to win over the Iowinians or something. And until I actually read something about it, I had no idea what a caucus was. Well, if you’re into that sort of thing, or if you are like me and aren’t quite sure what a caucus is, then head over to OurChart. Writer Elizabeth Birch not only informs you of the goings on at said caucus, but also shows you how to caucus like a lesbian.

As a side note, we seem to be in a little bit of a comment drought here. What’s up with that? I know you’re out there reading, so feel free to sound off below. There’s no prize for doing so. But really, the reward is the freedom of being able to voice your opinion. Even if you’re gay. Take advantage of it while you can! If Huckabee wins … this site just might be shut down.

Tune in every Friday for the Come Out & Play series, featuring coming out stories of celebrities, every day people, personal reflections, advice, tid bits and everything else concerning the complicated world of coming out!

Got an interesting coming out story to tell? Contact me and I will feature it in an upcoming post of Come Out & Play.

coming out, come out and play, coming out stories, logo, iowa caucus,

This week’s Notable Lesbian is:
Michelle Lynn Johnson better known as Meshell Ndegeocello
August 29, 1968 -

Ndegeocello is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, bassist, and multi-instrumentalist. She has been hailed in the music press as a redeemer of soul music. Her music incorporates funk, soul, hip hop, reggae, R&B, rock, and jazz and has been featured in a number of film soundtracks including How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Batman and Robin, Love Jones, Love & Basketball, The Best Man, and Down in the Delta. She has also appeared on recordings by Basement Jaxx, Indigo Girls, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and The Rolling Stones’ 1997 album Bridges to Babylon, playing bass on the song “Saint Of Me”. She can also be seen in the documentary movie Standing in the Shadows of Motown, singing The Miracles’ “You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me”. In the late 1990s, she toured with Lilith Fair. Not surprisingly, Ndegeocello has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards.

Interesting tid bit:
Although named Michelle Lynn Johnson at birth, Ndegeocello has had numerous name changes. She adopted the surname Ndegeocello, which means “free like a bird”, while still in her teens. Some outlets also state her birth name as Mary Johnson. Meshell Ndegeocello is pronounced MEE-shell n-deh-GAY-o-chel-o. Early pressings of Plantation Lullabies were stickered with the instructions. She has changed the spelling of this name a number of times during her career; however, the correct spelling of her stage name is now Meshell Ndegeocello, without apostrophes or any unusual capitalizations.

Ndegeocello was once a long time lover of writer Rebecca Walker; the relationship ended in 2003

Don’t forget about the Lez Keep it Real Contest! It’s still going on people because I haven’t had enough submissions. Submit and you can win!

More Notable Lesbians

If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, e-maill me at lyndsey.darcangelo@451press.net or use the contact form above and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.

*Some information provided by Wikipedia.com

rebecca walker, Meshell Ndegeocello, Michelle Lynn Johnson, notable lesbians, lesbian musicians

What is it with Iowa? Why is winning that state over such a big deal? Is it because the state holds the most electoral votes? I have no clue. Anybody want to fill me in on this?

In trying to stay abreast of the political undertakings that will eventually go on to define this year’s presidential election, I uncovered this press release from the folks over at ImGay.tv (YouTube’s lesbian step sister):

ImGay.TV Challenges Clinton Campaign Workers
Des Moines, Iowa — Day one into covering the Iowa Caucus, and staff reporters from ImGay.tv, the new all gay internet medium akin to YouTube, find out just what it means to be snubbed from a presidential campaign.

“I’m really disappointed,” report Michael Freincle on his vlog, a video blog. “She has supporters who don’t support all Americans, and yet Hillary’s trying to govern all Americans.” Freincle is one of seven staff reporters with ImGay.tv covering the Iowa Caucus in Des Moines.

Cate Colgan, internet entrepreneur from Clearwater, Florida launched ImGay.TV in the summer of 2007. With a slogan of “Where you don’t have to try out, you just have to be out”, the internet service offers free membership, and a place for anyone and everyone to post video, vlogs and all things gay. Colgan decided to take a team to Iowa to cover the Caucus in mid-December.

“As far as we know, we’re the only gay medium that can do this kind of coverage” Colgan says during a phone interview from the Des Moines Convention Center. “We do the interviews, videos or vlogs and post them that day. You don’t have to wait for the paper or the evening news, and we’re covering what’s important to the GLBT community.”

But getting campaign workers to talk has been a challenge, especially in some camps. “We really didn’t expect this from the Hillary campaign” says Colgan. Freincle and Dayna Firth are two college students volunteering to cover the caucus with ImGay.TV over Christmas break. A quick view of their initial vlogs reveals the struggles the duo are finding, “The crowd is kind of looking at us like we’re not really supposed to be there” notes Firth in her December 31st vlog.

Firth, a straight woman and President of her college’s Pride and Democratic Student Group jumped at the opportunity to go to the caucus. “It’s kind of concerning to me, that we weren’t turned down by anyone at the Obama campaign,” continues Firth “But then coming here to see Bill Clinton, there were many more people who didn’t want to see us here.”

“We want all of their reactions, and we’re seeking out every candidate’s campaign” says Colgan. In one day, the team has covered the camps of Barak Obama, Hillary Clinton and Bill Richardson.

ImGay.TV is accepting questions from registered members. “We’re also open to anyone posting videos or vlogs! Just remember, it’s where you don’t have to try out, you just have to be out!” says Colgan.

You can register for ImGay.tv on line. I have already checked it out and it’s a pretty cool sight. Because of the importance of GLBT issues in the 2008 campaign, it’s worth paying attention to what’s going on - even in Iowa. And considering the way other countries handle the democratic process, we’re lucky to be in the position that we are.

Iowa caucus, Iowa, presidential campaign, obama, clinton, youtube, imgay.tv