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| | Room for Squares Not so long ago, an English bard asked the question: “What’s in a name?” For the star crossed lovers in his play, a name was everything; it single-handedly predetermined their fates and ultimately brought about their untimely deaths. But “Romeo and Juliet” is a 16th century play written for an Elizabethan audience. And while 400 years isn’t really a long time relatively speaking, it is ample time to remove us from the confines of taxonomy that existed around the time of the plays inception. Or at least it should be.More |  | Room for Squares Not too long ago, a new comic book store opened up in the Castro. Little neighborhood bookstores like it are becoming increasingly rare, so it was nice to see, nestled among the tireless window displays of topless men with large packages, a haven for the comic book geek that suggests gay men are into more than just looking like superheroes. It’s not a relation that’s often thought about with more than derision, but comic books and gay men actually have a lot more in common than meets the eye.More |  | Room for Squares A few years ago, I was watching “Queer As Folk” and Brian Kinney, in typical unforgiving candor, gave his opinion of straight people. He said, “There are only two kinds of straight people in the world: the ones who hate you to your face and the ones who hate you behind your back.” At the time, I thought that statement was too harsh and overly cynical, but something happened this last Pride weekend that almost made me change my mind.More |  | Room for Squares One thing I’ve learned from the hordes of people who come for Pride is that, when it comes to meeting other people, people are weird. It just seems that the formalities of first impressions almost always get in the way of true introductions. Every single time I meet a new person, I find myself having to sit through an exchange of niceties that is neither informative nor interesting. Meeting people should be easy, and getting to know them should be easier still. We just have to steer clear of a few fatal mistakes.More |  | Room for Squares This week’s entry marks the one year anniversary of this column. While a year isn’t really a long time and making it to the 52nd week of a weekly column isn’t exactly the same achievement as finishing the last chapter of “War and Peace,” it’s still long enough to have afforded me some well learned lessons. I started this column as a means of giving voice to what I thought were a marginalized few in the gay community: the squares. A year later, with Pride 08 just around the corner, I find myself asking the same questions, still wondering if we really are indeed “united by pride” and “bound for equality".More |  | Celebrating the Best In International Queer Cinema This summer’s Frameline Festival, Frameline32: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, will once again turn the focus of worldwide LGBT cinema to the heart of San Francisco. As it does every year, the program promises to provide entertainment and stimulation, to provoke intellect and emotion. In their quest to celebrate the best in international queer cinema, festival organizers have prepared a program that is robust in scope but directed in focus. The festival, which runs for 11 days beginning June 19, will feature 237 films, all of which have been selected for their innovation, cultural value and social relevance.More |  | Room for Squares Between the worlds of straight and gay, there has always been a great divide. Let’s imagine that on one side of the gap stands the Brawny man and on the other, sitting pretty in his Jack Purcells, is Jack McFarland. One is straighter than an arrow and the other is gayer than a pair of cutoff jeans on a navy vessel at a Cher concert. But between the two there runs an entire gamut of gay acting straight guys and straight acting gays.More |  | Hard to believe, but it’s already been 12 months since last year’s San Francisco Pride celebration. If you are lucky enough to have been there, then you’ll be even more excited to see what’s in store for this year’s festivities with celebrity grand marshals like Cyndi Lauper and Charo. But there is so much more to Pride than a weekend party; it’s a month long celebration of everything that is great about the queer community, from films and theatre to art and music, San Francisco Pride’s got it all and then some.More |  | Room for Squares The thing about twins is that they try really hard to separate themselves. Take the Olsens, for instance. One is more flower power hobo and the other looks more well-to-do, plastic chic. Simply put, one could care less about appearance and the other couldn’t care more. So whether or not you’re a fan of either Olsen twin, you have to admit that there is a world of difference between the two. A difference, some would say, not unlike the distinction between Northern California and Southern California.More |  | Room for Squares Another week, another missed opportunity for me to be some seldom heard, often ignored voice of reason. This time, I had intended to write some perfunctory piece about how Pride is good, Pride is great, Pride is hotter than jailbait. That regular mumbo jumbo about how far we’ve come, how we have so much to be proud of, blah blah blah. And don’t get me wrong, we certainly do. But there’s also a lot for which we shouldn’t be proud.More |
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