This month I’ve really been working my butt off! I know I know, Steve and I work our butts off every month, but this time Steve’s been mostly on his own with the magazine as I’ve been knuckling down big time on my studies.
Steve has always thought that with a little pruning (and blue contact lenses) I would look like Tobey Maguire. In Spiderman 2, looks aside, his whole dilemma of trying to be a superhero while still finding time for his studies was eerily familiar to me. People who see me out and around the community with Steve mainly just know Spiderman, and some don’t even realize there is a Peter Parker side of me. Those who see Peter Parker every day wonder why I’m always running off, not knowing there’s a Spiderman side to me too. I swear some of these comic book creators must have had gay people in mind – how many of us live totally different lives by night, with uncharacteristically boring day jobs?
In my case, by day I’m a mild-mannered Computer Science graduate student writing my Master’s thesis. Just this semester I’m acting as a Teacher’s Assistant for an undergraduate Computer Science course – the very one that got my supervisor to sign me on for post-graduate studies. This is slated to be the final semester of my studies, and I’ve been working hard on programming my project and writing about how it contributes to the realm of science and human factors that it involves – the sonification of awareness data for distance-separated social groups. And I bet you thought I was just around to look pretty, didn’t you?
I guess the problem is that when I’ve been programming for long periods of time, I tend to get into a state I call “Code-Head” – where my mind gets so used to concrete procedural thinking that I have trouble snapping back to the conventional thinking required for social contact. Luckily when we’re out I have Steve on the front lines doing the talking, while I just stand behind him and half-listen with a vague expression on my face. Steve has it perfectly timed that as my thoughts fully wander for even a moment, he will turn to me and ask me something that I couldn’t possibly interpret outside of the context of the conversation he was just having. That’s when I give my ever-charming confused look, with a “Huh?” and a “What?” Well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. So be warned, “Code-Head” will be out in full force the next couple of months until I become, as Steve likes to refer to it, a “Jedi Master”.
We’ve been having a great time watching Alykhan on HGTV’s Designer Superstar Challenge this month. So far Aly hasn’t been in any danger of getting voted off by the panel of judges. He’s been doing a great job of demonstrating his talent as an interior designer, and as of writing this article he has made it into the top 5. Watch the show every Monday on HGTV.
On Valentine’s day, I arrived home from school with an arrangement of flowers that I had ordered from La Fleur for Steve several days prior. Meanwhile, Steve had arrived home a mere 15 minutes earlier, also with an arrangement from La Fleur - in fact, he even remembered seeing mine waiting for pick up without realizing they were destined to be his! We thought it was really cute how the owner John had been so careful to keep our actions secret from one another – even confirming the times when we were planning to pick our flowers up so as not to ruin the surprise. We definitely appreciated the consideration!
Lesbians Galore
Our last month’s cover shocked a lot of people. Not in a bad way – in fact they were amazed at a gay publication including lesbians on the front page as we did. We had several people saying “I thought you guys only put twinks on your covers.” This left us shaking our heads for many reasons, obviously they were confusing us with someone else. In fact, we have had several female cover models in the past: Lorrie and Michele (Jan 2004), Josée Généreaux (March 2004), the Girls at Indulge (October 2004), Stacey M. (March 2005), the cuddling women in the red filmstrip (May 2005), and Bif Naked (August 2005). As for twinks, the youngest model we’ve photographed for our cover was Tawde (December 2005) – whether he identifies as a twink or not, I don’t know. We’ve also been unafraid to show drag queens and guys with fur. Our city is not so much about the fat-less hair-less raver bois as it may be with other cities, so why would we want to reflect this otherwise?
I guess what we’re saying is that we’re not scared to show a bit of diversity. Isn’t the very symbol of the gay community – the rainbow – a statement on the diverse nature of our community? Heaven forbid we show ALL our colours. We’re not like that at all – we’re continuously trying to build bridges toward a philosophy of community inclusivity, not exclusivity.
In fact, just this month we’re pleased to welcome another new lesbian writer on board. During the cover shoot for the February issue we met Shone (foreground left) who was excited to help out. Look for her articles in this issue, and issues to come.
On the other hand, we have gotten ribbed for not taking enough photos of lesbians when we’re out at events. Even ARGRA once expressed their concern that their dances were looking too much like a male-oriented event. There is a good explanation for this – the majority of lesbians that we ask to photograph would rather remain discrete. We saw this demonstrated perfectly at the girlsGo Valentine ’s Day dance last month. The camera came out, we asked permission, and everyone scattered. This is quite a sharp contrast to the gay men, who seem to lose clothing the moment the camera is out. So we’re definitely willing to have more lesbians photographed in our magazine, just not always able – so if you see us out photographing and want to be in the magazine, just let us know!
This Month
More and more people have been asking us to dig up past photos of them that we’ve taken for the magazine. Usually we agree, but need to be reminded a month or two later that we haven’t done it yet. Just this month we photographed at close to 25 events in the gay community, taking over 7000 shots that we had to sort through. In 4 months we have already clocked the camera’s file numbering odometer several times! We calculated the time it takes us each month to sort, select, and adjust photos for each issue and found it to be anywhere between 25 and 80 hours! So although we’re happy to dig up photos, don’t be surprised that it takes us a long time to work up the nerve to plunge into our ever-growing archives.
So what do you think of this month’s cover - is that a winter wonderland you’d gladly be walking in or what? Luckily it snowed only days before the shoot took place, saving us a trip all the way up to Canada Olympic Park. We’re very grateful to Shane and Scott for sacrificing a few degrees of their body core temperature to turn up the heat on this cover!
Speaking of winter fun, if you enjoy skiing and snowboarding then be sure to check out this year’s Powder and Pride, Calgary’s very own gay ski weekend! The event is being held in Panorama BC from March 24th-26th. It was a wonderful getaway for Steve and I last year when we were up there to take photos. If you’re interested in going, make sure you book your tickets right away!
Reader’s Choice Awards
The GayCalgary.com Reader’s Choice survey is now over, and we’re pleased to see that the quantity of entries has nearly doubled from last year! Now we have a lot of work ahead of us entering the data before we can determine the winners of the award categories. Thank god my affinity for Computer Science also includes the realm of database programming!
Steve and I had the pleasure of seeing the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s presentation of Disco Fever, along with several of our Earlybird prize winners. We were totally blown away hearing the live performance of so many songs that are held dear in the gay community. It was a one night only performance, so those of you that didn’t go missed a totally magical evening.
Bar Banter
The Calgary Eagle’s anniversary was packed! Everyone was so into chatting and having fun that when it came time to give away prizes, Johnathan couldn’t talk loud enough over the mic to get everyone’s attention. Steve and I ended up holding the prizes and ticket jar while Johnathan stood on one of the benches and hollered out ticket numbers at the top of his lungs. That got people’s attention for sure! Although the Eagle has maintained a fairly low profile on the “other side of the tracks” of the gay community, they still have done a phenomenal job supporting many non-profit groups. Straight to Diva 2 is one such fundraiser for the HIV Peer Support group – see the article on page 30.
On the very same night of the Eagle Anniversary, imagine my surprise when I was plucked out of the audience at Metro the Club’s Sexy Underwear competition to be the sole judge for their $1000 giveaway. From where I was standing it was a pretty close call, but one contestant had a little more oomph from the audience when they were asked to cheer for their favorites.
The Texas Lounge’s Valentine’s Day fundraiser for Beswick house was an amazing success. What a turnout for such a bitter cold night! It was apparent that the weather wasn’t going to deter patrons from giving to a good cause. Read the Letter to the Editor from Goliath’s and the Texas Lounge on page 48 for more details.
With Pulse going bust in January, female impersonator Mr. Devon Mills and guests have moved theirs over to Money Pennies under the new title “Illusion Factor”. Their next dinner show will be held there on March 16th. See their ad on page 42 for more details.
Twisted Element had undergone some major growth spurts this month. After much anticipation, they’ve opened up their lounge in the basement of the building. Take note of their new hours, as there are some days when only the downstairs will be open. Another addition has been their new shower on one of the pedestals just off the dance floor. Although it is meant for their new Wednesday night event, it has already taken off in popularity for those too eager to wait for the weekly $100 giveaways.
Since the cold of winter is finally here, you can go get cozy by the fireplace at the Backlot and escape all the noise and kafuffle at the other bars. The staff are always friendly and fun to talk to, so don’t hesitate to stop by for a drink or two!
If you’re looking rather to express your opinion, write a letter to the publisher by E-mailing Publisher@gaycalgary.com. If you’ve got something good to say about someone or something, then that’s awesome! If you’ve got something bad to say about someone or something…well, just try to keep those claws sheathed!
