Taking A Shot For Queer History: Absolut honors 30th Anniversary of the Rainbow Flag

Absolut Vodka is honoring the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Rainbow Liberation Flag created by Seamstress Gilbert Baker. To watch a video by HOMOVISION which interviews Gilbert @ an English pub regarding the new campaign please see Andy's post @ Towleroad. Here is the official press release explaining the three part campaign for Absolut Colours:



The History of the Rainbow Flag
by Steven W. Anderson
copied from Planet Out and originally published
in GAZE known as Lavender Magazine (Minneapolis)

Color has long played an important role in our community's expression of pride. In Victorian England, for example, the color green was associated with homosexuality. The color purple (or, more accurately, lavender) became popularized as a symbol for pride in the late 1960s -- a frequent post-Stonewall catchword for the gay community was "Purple Power." And, of course, there's the pink triangle. Although it was first used in Nazi Germany to identify gay males in concentration camps, the pink triangle only received widespread use as a gay pop icon in the early 1980s. But the most colorful of our symbols is the Rainbow Flag, and its rainbow of colors -- red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple -- represents the diversity of our community.

The first Rainbow Flag was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco artist, who created the flag in response to a local activist's call for a community symbol. (This was before the pink triangle was popularly used as a symbol of pride.) Using the five-striped "Flag of the Race" as his inspiration, Baker designed a flag with eight stripes: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. According to Baker, those colors represented, respectively: sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony and spirit. In the true spirit of Betsy Ross, Baker dyed and sewed the material for the first flag himself.

Baker soon approached San Francisco's Paramount Flag Company about mass producing and selling his "gay flag." Unfortunately, Baker had hand-dyed all the colors, and since the color "hot pink" was not commercially available, mass production of his eight-striped version became impossible. The flag was thus reduced to seven stripes.

In November 1978, San Francisco's gay community was stunned when the city's first openly gay supervisor, Harvey Milk, was assassinated. Wishing to demonstrate the gay community's strength and solidarity in the aftermath of this tragedy, the 1979 Pride Parade Committee decided to use Baker's flag. The committee eliminated the indigo stripe so they could divide the colors evenly along the parade route -- three colors on one side of the street and three on the other. Soon the six colors were incorporated into a six-striped version that became popularized and that, today, is recognized by the International Congress of Flag Makers.

In San Francisco, the Rainbow Flag is everywhere: It can be seen hanging from apartment windows throughout the city (most notably in the Castro district), local bars frequently display the flag and Rainbow Flag banners are hung from lampposts on Market Street (San Francisco's main avenue) throughout Pride month. Visiting the city, one cannot help but feel a tremendous sense of pride at seeing this powerful symbol displayed so prominently.

Although the Rainbow Flag was initially used as a symbol of pride only in San Francisco, it has received increased visibility in recent years. Today, it is a frequent sight in a number of other cities as well -- New York, West Hollywood and Amsterdam, among them. Indeed, the Rainbow Flag reminds us that ours is a diverse community, composed of people with a variety of individual tastes of which we should all be proud.

Gays In The Military: Two Brazilian Sergeants Come Out; Exposes Ten Year Relationship; Government Arrests One For "Desertion?"

Story from BBC NEWS: Gay soldier's fate grips Brazil
By Gary Duffy

BBC News, Sao Paulo~ Brazilian military police have arrested an army sergeant who revealed that he was gay in an interview with a national news magazine at the weekend. The ministry of defense says the sergeant is to be questioned about alleged desertion from the military and there is no question of discrimination. Sgt Laci Marinho de Araujo, who suffers from ill-health, was moved from a Sao Paulo hospital to the capital Brasilia.

Human rights groups say they are concerned about his welfare.

The arrest happened just as Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was due to address the country's first national gay rights' conference. Sgt Laci Marinho de Araujo and his partner, who is also a sergeant in the Brazilian army, featured on the front page of Epoca magazine. They gave an interview in which they talked openly about living together as a gay couple. The two soldiers said they had been in a stable relationship for 10 years. However, while they were taking part in a television interview on Wednesday, Sgt de Araujo was arrested by military police who surrounded the TV station until he came out.

Health problems

The sergeant, who says is being treated for a variety of medical problems including multiple sclerosis, was recently absent from his unit, and the army says he is accused of desertion. A human rights group which has been in contact with the couple says they called in desperation asking for help, and it is concerned for his welfare.

Brazil's first national gay rights conference is taking place over the next four days.

President Lula's government has hailed the event as historic. However, despite staging what is thought to be the biggest gay pride demonstration in the world in Sao Paulo, which this year attracted an estimated three million people, gay groups in Brazil say they still face enormous problems of discrimination and violence. Between 1963 and 2007, activists say that more than 2,800 people were killed in Latin America's largest country because of their sexual orientation.


Brazilian soldier arrested after discussing gay relationship
By Tony Grew

A gay Brazilian army sergeant has been arrested just as the country's first national gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans rights conference takes place. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is due to address the conference today, which is being credited as an important historic event in the history of Brazil. Sgt Laci Marinho de Araujo was taken into custody after he and his partner took part in a television interview on Wednesday. He was arrested by the military police who surrounded the TV station until he came out, and has now been taken to an Army prison. The sergeant had been featured on the cover of this month's Epoca magazine, where he and his partner Sergeant Fernando Alcantara de Figueiredo had given an interview. In it they talked openly about being in a stable relationship for 10 years, and how they had been living together.

Sgt de Araujo had been missing from his unit since April as he was suffering for a number of health and mental problems. He claims he has been a victim of 'sexual discrimination.' The ministry of defense has denied this, claiming that he had been arrested on the grounds of his desertion from the military. "This is not a problem of sexual discrimination, but rather one of discipline," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo. In spite of the positive shift of attitude towards gay men and lesbian women serving in the army, the arrest of the sergeant raises some serious doubts about how real and substantial the shift really is.

F6's SOURCES:
Gay News Watch | British Broadcasting Company | By The Fault by Charles Lemos | Pink News |

Made In Brazil Post 1, Post 2, | You Tube (note: in portuguese) News Follow Up | Epoca |

F6's RESOURCES: Posts: Gays In The Military | Links: Inclusive Military |

Videos: Adam and Eve or Steve?

Thursdays in June for Fort Wayne: Fun for the whole family for free?

For those whom don't want to deep throat a brat and chug beer from a stein until they puke @ Head Waters Park, there are two other options every Thursday in June for the whole family to get out and celebrate the beginning of summer in the Summit City. For free? Yes! I said free, with only the possibility of limited cost attached to certain features, and the expense of driving Downtown.

The Downtown Improvement District along with Comcast presents again the Freimann Family Thursdays from 6-9 p.m. every Thursday in June except for the 19th. Event attractions include such things as:

* A "Name That Tune" contest by WAJI Majic 95.1
* Atz's will be providing ice cream at all events
* A Guitar Hero Tournament with prizes every
night and the ultimate prize of a Wii
Sponsored by McVan’s
* Tumble X’s “TX Allstars”
showing and teaching basic techniques
* Higher Grounds does frozen drinks & smoothies
* Plenty of stuff for the kids like: face painting, chalk drawing, caricature artists, and a moonwalk!

This event has date specific items as well:

5th of June
* The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is coming
with giant African millipedes
* Musical Guest The Ark Band
(Reggae)
* A massive balloon release contest
* Along with food from Park Place Grill

12th of June
* Musical Guest Final Say
(Contemporary Hits)
* Food from Don Hall's Restaurants

26th of June *See info just below*
* YMCA is coming with corn hole, hula hoops,
jump ropes, and a water balloon toss
* Musical Guest Robbie Fulks
(Alternative Country)
* Food from Don Hall's Restaurants

*CALENDAR NOTE: THIS WAS CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER*, Stephen Parker @ Around Fort Wayne has the updated info regarding the Guitar Hero Finals. My apologies to our readers for not updating this post earlier, with everything else going on it slipped my mind. I do my best I am sorry.

Freimann Square is located on the corner of Clinton and Main Streets in Downtown Fort Wayne.

Freimann Family Thursdays is made possible with the help of Comcast, WAJI Majic 95.1, Fort Wayne Metals and Saint Joseph Hospital. Other participants include: TAG Art, It’s Playtime, FW Parks & Recreation, Trinity English Lutheran Church Youth Group.

Fort Wayne Museum of Art hosts
A Late Evening At The Museum
every Thursday 5-9 p.m year around. Admission is absolutely free. FWMoA is at Main Street north of Barr Street

Just a heads up & Happy German Fest!

Wednesdays post is running behind schedule. I have twenty three articles, ten stories, that I am working on to fit into three to five posts. I have already crashed my browser twice. And I have to go babysit for a few hours so I will be away, and the posts wont be done until tomorrow evening.

But alas you probably don't care because as of eleven this morning the keg has been tapped open @ Head Waters Park for the 27th annual German Fest!

When: Today through June 8
Where: Various locations, most activities happen in Head Waters Park Admission: Free for most events.
Hours of Operation:
11 a.m. to midnight Wednesday and Thursday,
11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
Admission to the pavilion is free before 2 p.m.,
$2 after 2 p.m. and $5 after 5 p.m.
The pavilion becomes 21-and-older after 9:30 p.m.
For more information, go to www.germanfest.org.

Beer, brats, bodices on tap for festival
By Steve Penhollow

It is time again for Germanfest:

Our 27th annual Germanfest starts today, [...4ip...] “In Munich beer has been the preferred beverage since the Middle Ages,” says Ruth Reichmann, president of the Indiana German Heritage Society and adjunct assistant professor and director of the Max Kade German-American Center of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “It was first brewed in the monasteries during those times when the drinking water was oftentimes a source of illness and even the plague. Beer and wine were safe sources of liquid. "However, wine was never very popular in the Alpine regions. It was not grown there. Grains and malt are readily available in the Alpine areas.”

Sibling Bavarian breweries Köstritzer and Bitburger will be well represented at Germanfest again. A new Köstritzer Night will happen at Club Soda, 235 E. Superior St., starting at 7 p.m. Monday. Germanfest marketing director Bob Anweiler says organizers needed to set aside a special night to celebrate “the black beer with the blonde soul.”

Of course, Germanfest isn’t just about beer, [...] A special bratwurst prepared by Heyerly’s Meat Market in South Whitley will be cooked up by Club Soda on Monday. It’s called Thüringer Rostbratwurst, and with an imposing name like that it may be the first sausage to come with steamship stacks. It won’t be available under the pavilion at Headwaters; the only place you can taste it is at Club Soda.

Less menacing brats will be multitudinously chomped at Headwaters, as will sauerkraut, German potato salad, kuchen (cake), pretzels and Landjäger, which Anweiler describes as “German beef jerky.” [...] “There are approximately 50 different kinds of potato salad which came from German-speaking areas to the U.S.,” Reichmann says. “Each area has its own specialty.”

There’ll be music and dancing at Germanfest, of course, and perhaps someone will start Schuhplattling, a dance inspired by the mating rituals of large grouses. [...] The chicken dance is based on duck movements! “It is actually called Ententanz,” Reichmann says. “Duck dance in Germany. If you observe the movements, you will notice that they do not fit the movements of chicken.”

You can avoid all poultry-prompted spats by participating in “Polka Like a Star” on Friday night – a reality-show-inspired competition that is also inspired by a Central European dance often danced by dancers wearing traditional central European garb. You may see men in lederhosen (leather short trousers) at Germanfest and women in dirndl (Alpine peasant dresses). [...] So we shall conclude with family activities: The wiener dog races and Kidsfest will happen Saturday at Headwaters.

See you all tomorrow, or at the rate we all get down with Polka in the Summit City, next week!!

NYC gives a DIY boost to local entrepreneurs to make your City pretty!

As most are aware I serve on the Board of Heartland Communities, Inc., which is the fiscal agent for and partner with Abigail Frost @ Save Maumee Grassroots Organization. Recently we have received a lot of attention in regards to the local controversy over the City's plan to amend to the green infrastructure around the area in order to satisfy a consent decree with the EPA. We are currently discussing alternatives to the previous best laid plans of the Administration. The City Council shot them down, rightfully so, I will add. In an effort to bring the City and her citizens to an awareness of what can be done both locally by the people and through entrepreneurial initiative, I offer this video narrated by Ethan Hawke courtesy of Andy @ Towleroad:



To visit the Highline's website click here