Its a pornographic day in the gayborhood, in the gayborhood! So lets make the most of it!

There has been a lot of scuttle going on in the national gay media markets, ranging from the two University of Nebraska champion wrestlers Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan, who were uncovered as performers on a gay adult website posing and masturbating for some easy cash (typically 2-500 dollars per scene) over the summer, by being outed on a blog dedicated to the raunchier side of campus life.

Paul (stage name: Nash) (nsfw) and Kenny (sn: Cal) (sources: Queer Click and Fleshbot) were both suspended and then dropped from the team around seventy two hours later after the controversial outing on the campus blog, The Scarlet Project, as they were made ineligible due to an NCAA rule involving commercial print work...

The scandal doesn't stop there though, according to the Associated Press, Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne (pictured @ right w/Donahoe and other teammates) says the two dismissed last week after appearing on a pornographic Web site had run afoul of NCAA rules on a previous occasion. Osborne said Friday "the athletic department had declared Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan ineligible once before for violating the extra-benefits rule. Osborne says the athletic department had to appeal to the NCAA to have the pair reinstated. Each was suspended one match."

The two had both indicated that they were hoping to continue with their college wrestling careers. At this point they'd have to apply to the NCAA at a different school to do so (Andy @ Towle's Road).", said John Marsh, owner of Fratmen, who continued with, "If Nebraska is going to be pigheaded and kick him off unreasonably there has to be another wrestling program that's going to want him.", in regards to Donahoe. He further went on to say, "I'm in my mid-40s, and my generation has a stigma about porn. The kids, the generation of the student-athletes, don't have that stigma. They really don't care.... The shame and stigma aren't there for them. They're mostly worried about what their parents are going to think, because their parents think it's horrifying." (Queer Click)

365 Gay News Center has finally reported that Donahoe, who "won the Big 12 championship at 125 pounds in 2008 and placed third in the NCAA tournament after winning the title the year before", has transferred to Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. He will not be able to compete there until the second semester and also must be reinstated by the NCAA.

The Omaha Nebraska periodical World Herald reports that when asked "if he was concerned scrutiny will follow him to Edinboro", Paul Donahoe with tears filling his eyes said, "I'm just really thankful they have given me this opportunity to come here and finish my career,... So far everyone I've met has been great." Edinboro Athletic Director Bruce Baumgartner told the Times-News, "If we hadn't taken him, there is a line of schools, schools in the Big Ten, that would have taken that chance. I'm sure we'll get some (criticism). People make mistakes all the time, and I think he deserves a second chance."

There is also the story of 34 year old, openly gay, Florida Police Officer, Mickey Verdugo who was a recent Reality Television Home Repair and Design contestant who previously did a BDSM (Bondage & Discipline) film (XTUBE) for Tom "Ropes" McGurk's Production Company back in 1996 (12 years ago), under the stage name of Jeremy Wess. He was outed back in 2004 when the department responded to a domestic disturbance and it ended up being two of their own male officers who were living together. Unfortunately the scandal has now caused him to be placed on suspension/ administrative leave until an investigation can take place.

Lets of course not forget to mention James Zinkand from Big Brother 9 who had previous exposure on a adult soap opera Dirty Tricks, and the source of a shitload of hits and page views for F6 still, and provided fodder for a cross blog debated on graphic content that is acceptable for reporting or commenting on the news of the moment.

From this season of Big Brother, Jessie Godderz (You Tube), (pics to left) *can we say woof!, was revealed as a performer on a Muscle Fitness site, Nude Model, and former contestant on MTV's NEXT & EXPOSED dating shows. His removal from the Big Brother House was the third time he has been ejected from a reality television game show. He was dragged out of the closet by several friends who distributed his promotional portfolio which contained very suggestive pictures to certain blog editors and it went viral within the week.

So much for rejected stereotypes, a gay agenda, and a liberal bias in the media. On to other news before I publish this post on Gays In Sports and Athletics, the coverage of the OLYMPICS by our news networks are not immune from discrimination and seclusion either.

Even after recently being profiled in The Advocate, a twenty year old Australian gold medalist diver Matthew Mitcham, who came from behind (no pun intended) for a major upset in the 10 meter platform dive during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, was ignored by the National Broadcast Company, and shoved back in the closet by FOX New's Sports Channel.

Openly gay diver wins gold
By Maggie Hendricks

Diver Matthew Mitcham, the only openly gay male athlete in the Beijing Olympics, won gold in the 10m platform. He beat Chinese favorite Zhou Luxin by 4.8 points, preventing China from sweeping gold in diving events. Mitcham is the first Aussie to win diving gold since 1924, but that's not the only thing that makes him a trailblazer.

He is hardly the first gay athlete to compete but he is one of the first to be out while competing. American diver Greg Louganis did not share his orientation until his diving career was over. To Mitcham, he is just living his life as a gay man and as a diver, and there is nothing extraordinary about that:

“Being gay and diving are completely separate parts of my life. Of course there’s going to be crossover because some people have issues, but everyone I dive with has been so supportive."

Though he wants to be known as more than a gay man, the LGBT community is proud of their star. At OutSports, a sports Web site that focuses on the gay community, his win is front-page news. The Web site brings up a good question -- will NBC mention Mitcham's orientation during tonight's broadcast?

To Mitcham, that doesn't seem to matter. He has gold, and has reached his goals:

"I’m happy with myself and where I am. I’m very happy with who I am and what I’ve done.

UPDATE: NBC did not mention Mitcham's orientation, nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands. NBC has made athletes' significant others a part of the coverage in the past, choosing to spotlight track athlete Sanya Richards' fiancee, a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers and Kerri Walsh's wedding ring debacle.
(source: Yahoo! Sports Blog)

NBC first defended the oversight and has now apologized: “We regret that we missed the opportunity to tell Matthew Mitcham’s story. We apologize for this.” The President of NBC's Olympics Gary Zenkel apologized in recent statement calling the oversight an "unintentional omission"!

F6 EDITOR'S UPDATE:
Anyone who wishes to follow Crazy James' tour across the world may add him on MySpace

Topher Time: What If Fred Phelps Was A Gay?

Montgomery Burns:
I should have known you were the only
one stupid enough to kidnap you!
Now get down here so I can spank you
in front of this gawking rabble.
Smithers, take off my belt.

Waylon Smithers:
With pleasure, sir!

So you are bitting your bottom lip for the Dark Knight to Return? You may have to wait three years....

So aside from that little (video above) scoop, this is going to be a long blog day. I have three posts that I wanted to write out last night, but between celebrating three Liturgies for the Solemn Feast of Mary's Assumption/Dormition of the Theotokos and the Memorial Feast of Saint Tarcisius also, and every possible crisis breaking out over the last week, it is becoming one of those weekends were you just want to sit back and have a beer or two tonight.




OH... goodie!

Legends Sports Bar behind Scott's Grocery on Clinton Street (SR 427) north of Fernhill and south of Coliseum Blvd (SR 930) are having a free beer night starting @ 9p with two local musical groups SYNCHRONICITY and HOMETOWN HOOLIGANS performing, and with the coupon to the right you can print it out and get half off the ten dollar cover.

I wonder what State Excise thinks of that?

EDITOR'S UPDATE:
Turns out The Dark Knight poster is a fake but it is cool!

UPDATE: FW PRIDE! And just to prove how open I am to all of your comments...

Apparently what I said would happen at Fort Wayne PRIDE during my reviewing and rating poorly the annual event a month before it was to take place, did happen to some degree several times. As reports trickle back through the grapevine and people leave random comments somewhere I receive a notice about them through other people who contribute silently to the information on this forum.

There were a string of comments on a local Yahoo! Group as a few of their younger members expressed similar sentiments such as, "I was just wondering if some of you thought the same as I did. Was last years pride much better? I mean not bashing anyone or anything. It just seems as if it was very well decorated last year, the stage was better for the shows, and it felt like the vendors were not cramped into so little of a space."

Also, I finally received permission to post this analysis letter as an update in reference to the PRIDE scandal "I caused". I received this from a good friend and trusted advisor he wrote me back within the last week or so and said that I could share it. Bear with me folks the drama is hardly over with yet.

"we will only become real people,
when we deal with the real issues."
written by Mark W. Stevens | artwork by Joe Phillips

I understand that your style is 'sarcastic' or caustic and that it is a style and not aimed at anyone in particular.

I also understand that Nikki is overprotective of her position and her 'baby'.

I also understand that the gay sheep of Fort Wayne are fucking incompetent when it comes to working together in public or in private.

That said:

You need to stop trying to pretend that you are unbiased when you write about things that you are passionate about. You aren't. You never will be. You are an opinionated person who doesn't want to feel that your bad feelings will shape the way that people feel about you. This is your 'blinder' in your writing and you need to learn to quit hiding from your own biases and simply own them without asking for permission or forgiveness for saying what you think. It just makes you look weak.

I understand that you do not want to alienate people or make them feel hostile or upset with you or with your writing, but at the same time you must see that the topics about which you write are controversial and inflammatory and arouse great passion in others. That is, in my opinion, your intention. It is the nature of the subjects you touch on. You come off as wishy washy or bland when you censor yourself so offhandedly, and it shows that you do not really trust your audience to intelligently read what you write and to be as forthcoming as you wish them to be. You concede to them that these are only your opinions as if you want them to believe that either your opinion is not important or that it carries no weight. Yet I know that you know better. This seems rather hypocritical and turns people against you before they have the opportunity to really hear you out. Quit asking if it makes sense as if you believe that it does not. Instead ask 'Do you agree' and 'How would you say that', either of which implies that you have owned your opinion and wish to have a dialogue and to learn the listeners opinion as well. Trust your own writing to be as powerful as your opinion. Don't undersell or oversell it, just put it out there where it can be seen and evaluated for what it is... an opinion.

As to Nikki's and her co-board person's replies:

I do not agree with most of what was written about the purposes of the Fort Wayne PRIDE events. I believe that the event is aimed at only one audience at this time and that is the young white gay person who wants to believe that they are doing something vital in the community without taking any real risks or making any real effort. It is a product of the me generation and as such it has as much substance as a glam rock love ballad... sickly sweet and sentimental, and as forgettable as yesterdays obituaries. Until a need for real and positive action, and a true desire for affirmative action meets the awareness of the real heart of the gay community in Fort Wayne, there will be no true unity and there will be no real community. This was proven by the shallow and unreal expectations and pomp of the UTSCC, and is still supported by all of those who broke and ran before the shit hit the fan there.

Unfortunately I must include myself in the cut and run crowd who did not have the balls to stand up to the board and to Mary when she could have been stopped. I must also say that I am not willing to put the effort into trying to make the PRIDE committee see the error of its ways at this time. Maybe I never will be. I know that at one time I had an opportunity placed before me that might have given me a voice in the community that could have made a difference, and I choked. Afterward nothing I could have done would have had any more affect than to make others believe that I was bitter and angry... which was true enough without being aired as dirty laundry. I am beginning to realize that I am beyond redemption because I did not make a stand when I was attacked and my voice has been taken from me.

Back to the issue at hand.

The Fort Wayne PRIDE Committee is trying very hard to do something important and I applaud their effort. But they have been just as infected as the rest of us with the idea that we must work very hard to be as low-key as possible and not offend anyone that they consider to be their people. Unfortunately they still believe that the celebration of who we are will convince people that we count for something. That is very idealistic, even for me. They want to believe that we can change people by just offering to temper our community with 'normality' and ignoring the negativity from the homophobic and bigoted crowds who control our laws and our lives. When they begin to see that there is more to this fight than feeling good about ourselves, there will be progress. I am counting on that.

What it all comes down to is this: We must own our opinions and our biases. We must move forward diligently and without fear of the reprisals that WILL come. We must be able to defend our opinions to ourselves and to those willing to hear us out, but not be upset when those who will not hear or who fall into their self-righteousness refuse to acknowledge that there can be a meeting of minds even among those who disagree. We must learn where our voice is and where it can be heard in a progressive environment. We must, and I stress this above all else that I say, WE MUST believe that someday we will make the difference in the mind of that one person who can change their world... ourselves.


EDITOR"S PREFERENCE:
F6 L<3VZ THE WORK OF JOE PHILLIPS & YOU CAN SHOW HIM SOME L<3VN 2!!

Dumpster Divas: A priceless quote found in the middle of a rubbish bin

"....Places in the universe must be very rare where we can walk naked away from our machines, breathe in the atmosphere, let the light of the nearest star fall on us, and find water to drink on the surface. While we can take technology with us to adapt to new places, it would be a good idea to take care of the one known place in the universe where we can do all these things......spaceship earth."



















As found in a 1978 Astronomy Textbook by Actor and Producer J. B. Ghuman, Jr. (aka Tyrese Johonson in Gay In The US of A and I Don't Like Your Bottom) of Reality Rejectz while rummaging through the trash.

LINKS: J.B.'s Personal MySpace | Reality Rejectz MySpace | Reality Rejectz Muzik | Lube The Movie

More details will be available soon but I want to personally say "Thanks!" to everyone whom came out Saturday to play in the sandboxes and throw balls back and forth to help Save Maumee!!

There is a ton of stuff going on this weekend around town!

First and foremost I have to send out a reminder that tomorrow from 3-11p is the Fair Play Charity Beach Volleyball Tournament for Save Maumee Grassroots Organization. I should probably mention that I serve as a Steward of Heartland Communities which is Save Maumee's fiscal agent and cooperative partner.

Teams of 6 are coming out to put in some sweat equity into saving our local watershed and having a grand old time as well. All ages are welcome to attend and play for free, suggested donations are $40 for individuals and $120 per team. This is about mutual cooperation.

All the proceeds raised will be going towards purchase of Natural Riparian Grass Seeds and Erosion Control Mats which keep the soil where its supposed to be and not in our river's bottom to be stirred up and continue the ongoing murkiness and inhospitable status to those whom enjoy swimming and fishing.

In addition to the actual Tournament there will be environmental education opportunities, games, food provided with cost, vendors, face painting, and henna by a local artist, and the performances of The Holiday from Indy, and wonderful local musicians The Freezing Scene, and from 9-11p is Rosemary Gates.

Be There Love, Or Be A Soccer Ball! There are many other events going on, almost to numerous to count - let alone advertise on here; but with due diligence, in promoting local culture and community events, your balls cracked editor is going to try.

Leave the kids at home or send them out to do other activities. The Downtown Improvement District's On the Landing events continue with the 2nd Annual Mardi Gras in August from 6p-12m for $5 dollars per person. Watch as Columbia Street West is transformed into Bourbon Street, featuring live music, tarot card reading, themed food and drinks, and more. Also on a further note of the PRESS, the Fort Wayne Reader has an interview and exposition of the new DID Director, Richard Davis.

Lastly, and this is awesome, the 32nd Annual Muddy River Run is also going on this weekend @ The Allen County Fair Grounds Complex (about 2 miles north of DuPont and Lima Road/State Road 3 and then left or west 2 miles on Carroll). Admission is $5.00. Children 12 and under are free. Open registration @ Don Hall's Guesthouse starts this afternoon and the preliminary kick off @ American Legion Post 47 on St. Joe Road from 8-11p. The actual Event Show begins on Saturday morning with a pancake and sausage breakfast both days from 7:30-11:30a and continues through with an hour cruising tour of Fort Wayne @ 5p on Saturday followed by a dance @ American Legion Post 499 on Hillegas Rd. to the final award ceremony @ 3p Sunday.

There are Chapel Services @ 9a on Sunday for those whom are @ the Fairgrounds too!!

Bridges To Bliss And The Boondoggles Buffet

So this post is late, my apologies; but I wanted to make sure I have my cite references and facts correct, before I post it. Before I continue where I left off on Saturdays post about local politics and a general review and update of previous stories covered on F6 I want to cover with a little more depth a story I mentioned on the last post which is relatively new on the blogosphere.

The local Redevelopment Commission issued an RFP two months ago (pdf) for their latest project to tear apart a perfectly good parking lot that is across the street from the County Jail, directly south of a major events venue, and is less than two blocks away from the City County Building and Courthouse in order to put in yet another strip of restaurants in downtown Fort Wayne. There are several reasons why this is a bad idea and why their overall failure to realize the diminishing return such a process would promote along with continuing to use and follow a blueprint that was written out back in 2002 is ridiculous.

The current plans without an overall review intial turning this ground level, flat fee ($2 per day), parking area into a 4 story multi tenant, Restaurant Row, with even more condominiums, that will cost at minumum 3.5 million dollars right next door to two historic restaurants in the area, Don Hall's Gas House with Japanese Sushi Bar & Drinking Lounge on the River and Club Soda which is in the old Wayne Textile Building. Parking in that area is already severely limited because a good portion is restricted by either any Event's Vendors or Performers and the main free parking is technically owned by the restaurant's that already exist near the location of the "planned new development". What parking is left during the week is used by people whom cant afford to pay to park or are handicapped and are going to be spending a longer period of time within the City-County Government Complex and cant risk there health by walking back and forth to their car to feed a meter.


There are several other things wrong with this plan and the overall parking issues in down town as a whole.

First the current plan

1. We dont need more restaurants in downtown yet, and truthfully we dont need more development of a perfectly good parking lot either.

2. This is the cheapest parking lot in the area and the next non metered paid public parking for 4 blocks from the City County Building and 5 blocks from the Jail is at two dollars an hour with a maximum per day of seven.

Just north of this parking area and Head Waters Park is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Bridge which will be undergoing a complete renovation also.

Second the FWRC

1. Some one needs to direct the Redevelopment Commission to stop offering a tax abatement as the first line of luring potential builders into one of their new tangled projects. Please reference article 7 of the RFP.

2. When the FWRC is putting the scandal and corruption (as noted by previous projects and the City's lack of forthrightness to provide the CITIZENS let alone City Council full and accurate details) right into the documents themselves (Article 13 of the RFP) it is time for the Citizens to stand up and demand an account for their tax dollars and order City Hall to cease and desist.

• 13:6 A list of teams submitting proposals may be made public, however because this project is designated as a real estate negotiation and contents are confidential, actual proposal contents will not be made public, to the extent allowable by law.
• 13:7 Communication regarding this process with other local officials is strongly discouraged in order to protect the integrity of the selection process.

So lets look at the overall area...

There is no other public parking in the area that is non metered besides the CCB Parking Garage (number 14 on the map) and costs seven dollars a day max.

Metered parking is restricted to two hours to the pointe that Parking Enforcement Officers now chalking tires to tell whether someone has been at a metered space for longer than two hours, which I consider subjectively harassment.

Additionally, we already have a crap load of restaurants in that area; why add more at tax payers expense? Because they want to spend taxpayer dollars as if it is a Cart Blanche ticket to make the City vital when in fact neither is the end result. Traditionally there is diminished return on the investment and more than likely in five to ten years half of those businesses will be out of the City Pet Complex especially when their tax abatement go away when Libertarians take over a majority of the City's elected offices in three years!

Lastly lets look at job creation.

Most restaurants wont be paying their employees 150% over Federal Minimum Wage so City Council will probably again override their own rules (McDonald's and Subway) when it comes to accepting an abatement proposal. So the taxpayer get screwed twice up the ass without the benefit of lube or a reach around; once for the substandard jobs, and two for the fact that the businesses wont be paying their share of the property taxes.

These new 15 -25 jobs to begin initially with the standardization of prices in public parking venues will be a great part time position for welfare parents to get back into the workforce all while they sit on their ass and collect money from us, as we can once again afford to do our business in downtown since we are then not getting wracked over the cement barricade to park our cars for several hours at a time.

So what should be done?

1. Eliminate Parking Enforcement and transfer the Officers to Nieghborhood Code Enforcement. Handicap parking enforcement can still be handled by a volunteer squad of citizens.

2. Standardize Parking Fees in PUBLIC lots and garages between .25 and .50 cents per hour all day every day and no nights and weekends free. This will add plenty of jobs to the economy and at a resonable rate of pay.

3. If tax payers payed for the garage or lot to be built they shouldnt have to pay to park there that includes on street parking, the Memorial Coliseum, and the Library.

4. Reset or review the 2002 blueprint and stop all further development according to the old plan until it is completely upgraded.

5. Force the Redevelopment Commission to be transparent in all dealings and process negotiations. Force City Council by active protest to direct FWRC to stop issuing incentives for development without authorization directly from that body on a case by case basis.

6. Be very weary folks the next thing coming down the pike is bicycle and moped registrations and paying to park them as well downtown.

Random thoughts and sarcastic intuition about local politics and community events

So technically this was suppose to be Wednesdays post; but with the constant heat and humidity (as previously explained), plus everything else going on, I have not been able to sit down at length to write til last night and today. Today I would also like to wish a joy filled Sabbath of Lammas to all of my Pagan/Wicca readers out there. May we all one day learn to break bread together.

A lot of interesting things have unfolded in the local political foray the last month or so, almost to numerous for any one person to keep track off let alone write summaries and commentaries over on a regular basis.

The bulk intent of this post is to continue following up on stories previously covered on F6 and then catch everyone up on some newer stories that just compound the overall ignorance of government (H/t Spaulding Brothers @ WGD,T? ) to manage things successfully. Tax abatement should never be offered as an incentive for development, we cant afford anymore!

So first lets go on a tour of the local blogoshpere just to get caught up. I have primary blogs that I use (lower center and right columns) as resource for local perspectives across the political and cultural landscape along our three rivers.

LOCAL POLITICS AND PANDERING

F6 previously has covered the Harrison Square continuing debacle (newest to oldest) here and here, primarily along with other posts and some posts in regards to our Mayor's promises during the election (3rd-5th ip) and actions while in office. According to local blogosphere (FWOB & FWP) coverage, a month ago my concerns regarding the campaign promise of "Safe Houses" have been validated almost entirely.

However, the main story for this post, is in direct reference to a previous story by Indiana News Center that was covered on F6 in mid March and at the time actually garnered an anonymous comment in opposition to some of my analysis and commentary.

In a more recent political news update, reported by Benjamin Lanka of the Journal Gazette, on Monday, Mayor Tom Henry, finally ups the anty on Harrison Square by putting a down payment on a one bedroom with den condominium for ten percent of the total price which will face the new ball field.

It is also reported as a rumor on Fort Wayne Politics that some one went ahead and purchased/put a down payment on a block of thirty condominiums at a seriously reduced rate, which screams of "save our corporate asses from this deadline, pretty please" as a typical reaction from a third party private investor who doesn't want to loose his shirt and pants (If he is cute though, I would pay to watch it happen) over the deal.

Now it'll be really hard to tell whether the foul balls from City Hall are coming or going.

I will continue this post on Wednesday the 6th, the Solemn Feast of the Transfiguration (2nd Peter 1:16) which is a universal major celebration in all the Anglican, Orthodox, Catholic Churches and Independent Sacramental Movement Communities. The Transfiguration of Lord Joshua~Emmanuel of Nazareth on Mt.Tabor this year also marks the tenth anniversary of Fr. James Koons death. May his soul, through Divine Mercy, always find eternal peace and happiness, may his prayers merit our true intercession with one another! He is truly a Saint.