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  Brad Usselman Brad Usselman, a Vancouver high schooler, recently (along with two friends) started a blog that is aimed at altering perceptions of LGBTQ athletes. They describe themselves as,
…3 young adults wanting to change the way LGBTQ athletes are viewed in the sports world. All of us are varsity athletes in high school who are on our own paths to being who we truly are. We invite you to take the stand with us and begin walking the road to equality.
Brad, a sophomore, has been on his school’s varsity track and cross country teams since he was a freshman, and his goal is to run for a Division 1 college team. I recently conducted a short interview with him.
Aly Sneider: What specifically inspired you to start the blog?
BU: The thing that inspired me the most to start this blog is wanting to help out the younger generations and make sure that they do not go through the internal struggles of acceptance that I went through. I also wanted to start a community where gay high school athletes are able to go and realize they that they are not alone.
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  Northbank gay bar in Vancouver It seems like my little home town, which I lovingly call the ‘Couv or Vantucky, is seeing its 15 minutes of fame these days. Later on we’ll have an interview with an out Skyview high school athlete conducted by new qPDX sports writer Aly Sneider, and right now I’m here to tell you that The Advocate ranked Vancouver, WA as the 6th gayest city in the country!
Now neither Portland nor New York City made the list, which of course brings their radically unscientific methods into question. If they hadn’t listed SF I would have called this list the gayest cities you never knew were gay. But alas, they admit their highly theoretical equation for coming up with the gayest cities could have produced these odd results.
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  Michelle Machete keepin' it real With new nights at Mississippi Studios, Saratoga and more it seems Monday nights are coming back as a night for queer fun. One particular night is taking a genre that has gained some mainstream ground and bringing it to our community and our hood. Not brand new, DJ Michelle Machete‘s Pansy Soul is bringing the jive to Sloans (36 N Russell) this Monday and it’s worth checking out.
I haven’t had a chance to really check it out myself so I wanted to get some insight from the Machete herself on what’s so great about Pansy Soul.
qPDX: When did you start PS and why?
Michelle (Machete) Garcia: I stared PD last Summer. After I started my radio show “Turn Down the Lights.” Langano Lounge needed a DJ for Sunday nights. I feel a lot of the queer music scene is saturated with a lot of poppy dance music and top 40; new and commercial. When I say queer music scene I mean dance parties I frequently dance at and have a great time. Just wanted change it up a bit and bring some California Chicano influence to the scene.
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  Comedian Dana Goldberg performs Saturday Thursday
Triskaidekaphilia (Just My Luck) – In case you missed the opening last week you have another shot at Jimmy Radosta‘s new play about comedic misfortune.
Friday
Street Corner A staged Reading – Already another theatrical piece f the weekend, this time a bit earlier in the process. One of several bits in a series of short plays, It Takes All Shorts, Street Corner stars Kevin Cook aka Poison Waters.
Glass Candy, Chromatics and Rude Dudes – Something of a straight hipster bastion, a Glass Candy/Chromatics show still produces great music and a great time. Rude Dudes have incredible dynamic duo superpowers on the decks, smashing genres together in a way that will make you want to dance, but be too enthralled to remember the moves.
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  I was in attendance last Saturday (the night of wildly competing queer events) for drag raunch queen Gula Delgado aka Eric Sellers‘ video release party. Held at Maricon at the Matador, the tiny dive bar west of downtown, the space was incredibly packed and difficult to navigate but the drinks were cheap and everyone was friendly despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of personal space.
A brilliant rendition of Robyn‘s Dancing On My Own, Delgado’ not only donned the parody outfit but actually sang the tune herself in the video directed by Devon McGrath. It wasn’t quite as out there as one might expect after seeing Gula do some really nasty things on stage, such as the sex, drugs and scattalogical references during her ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas performance but it was satisfying and easy to dance to. Some fans thought this might be an attempt not to completely scare the mainstream (or Marty Davis, who has already admitted her fear).
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  Producer Ryan Murphy, left, kisses actor Chris Colfer, both of television's "Glee," as they hold their awards at the Fox party following the Golden Globes. AP Photo Although The Social Network took the top prize at last night’s Golden Globe Awards several LGBT themed shows and/or actors also took top honors.
Many of these movies also appear on my best gay movies list of 2010 as well as the best LGBT on TV over the years. There’s several that I hardly know at all and certainly didn’t know the queer connections the shows have on their staff.
A complete list is below.
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  The Dream of the 90s is alive in Portland Those of us that missed the special Portlandia premiere that Portland’s Hollywood Theater got this weekend may be sad, but we have this coming weekend’s television premiere to look forward to. And besides, web savvy qPDXers can watch the first episode now on Hulu (and right here below!) for 3 more days.
The early leaked opening video, Dream of the 90s, did end up being the funniest part of the first episode but it was a great first start. The sketch with SNL‘s Jason Sudeikis as a polygamous organic chicken farmer was pretty hilarious. I have faith that it will grow as we get to know our mirror town and its inhabitants.
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  Kendall Clawson at the Q Center's ribbon cutting It’s been a week since Governor-elect John Kitzhaber announced the appointment of his closest aids. I would like to join with the rest of the queer community in congratulating Q Center‘s Kendall Clawson‘s hiring as Director of Executive Appointments.
This is a joyous, if slightly bittersweet, occasion, but will ultimately benefit the entire LGBT community. The Q Center might be losing its first permanent Executive Director, and a great one at that, but she will be in a position of power in the Gov’s office, a queer voice in our state politics.
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  Katastrophe performs Saturday with Athens Boys choir at Gaycation Whew! So one small weekend of only a few events and we’re back to the melee of 20 million dueling events. Here’s what you got to choose from.
Thursday
Triskaidekaphilia (Just My Luck) – Former Just Out arts writer Jimmy Radosta hasn’t had the best of luck. But his loss is our comedic gain with his one man show that highlights his growing up in Salem and other gay misfortunes. Billed as blending the dry wit of David Sedaris with the political humor of Jon Stewart and the cheeky musical stylings of “Weird Al” Yankovic, this love of 13 is surely a good luck charm for the rest of us.
Radical Act at the Reel Music Festival –Radical Act may have been made in 1995 but women in rock still have a glass ceiling. The film screened at Outfest in Los Angeles and appeared in 1999 as part of Miranda July’s “Break My Chainletter” collection, and now it’s being revived at the Reel Music Festival.
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  From left: Mary Timony, Janet Weiss, Rebecca Cole, Carrie Brownstein Amidst all the hype surrounding former Sleater-Kinney band member Carrie Brownstein‘s comedic project Portlandia, I hope you all haven’t forgotten that the funny lady still makes music. And her new band, Wild Flag, plays tonight at Bunk Bar (1028 SE Water St). With a tour in March, recording in April, and an album out in fall in the Flag is already flying.
To learn more about the super group, which also includes Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi) and Mary Timony (Helium) and Rebecca Cole (Minders) check out an introduction to Wild Flag penned back in September. And to check out some of their angsty anthems check out videos from Portland live shows below.
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