Studio of Rick Chris, Positive Gay Images

New on the Purchase Gallery Page: Torn Paper - Jack Twist A "Torn Paper" (where the image is made to appear as torn paper floating above a white surface) rendition of Jack Twist as a heroic figure.	Click on the image to go to the Purchase Gallery page.
New on the Purchase Gallery Page: Torn Paper - SNIT (Second Night In Tent) A "Torn Paper" (where the image is made to appear as torn paper floating above a white surface) version of the SNIT scene with Jack cradling Ennis in his hands. A real jewel for the Brokeback collector.	Click on the image to go to the Purchase Gallery page.
New on the Purchase Gallery Page: A New Brokeback piece, another in the "Torn Paper" motif. This will make an excellent addition to your Brokeback Mountain collection. This is called "The Parting Glance" and shows Jack watching as his stubborn and stoic Ennis walks out of his life. The two images "floating" above a pristine white surface offer two views of the same scene allowing the viewer to see what Jack is seeing and feeling.	Click on the image to go to the Purchase Gallery page.
Jake Gyllenhaal Don't know if anyone would be interested <grin> but here's a portrait of Jake. Go to the Purchase Gallery page and scroll down to the Celebrities section.	Click on the image to go to the Purchase Gallery page.


I went through the catalogue of my Brokeback art, found the highest quality files and I'm making them available as prints. Go to the BBM print purchase page by clicking here.

During these tough economic times, your donation would certainly help keep my little web site going. If you enjoy the various features on rickchris.com, please help support this web site through a donation. Any amount is helpful. Many thanks! - Rick Chris

The not yet ready for prime time blog. The blog is something new - see how long it lasts. Doing a blog also violates one of my primary principles which is "Keep your mouth shut, Rick!"

July 7, 2008

To contact Rick Chris, send your email to: "rickchris 'at' (use the at symbol above the 2 on your keyboard) rickchris.com"

"We are all only here because of those who marched and bled and died, from Selma to Stonewall, in the pursuit of a more perfect union." - Michelle Obama

posted 7/7/08
Pride 2008
I've been busy getting the photos I took at this year's Pride festivities ready for web publication, I've got the new page nearly finished. In the meantime, here's a photo of the PFLAG contingent in the parade.

posted 7/7/08
The Darker Side Of Pride Month - The UpStairs Lounge Fire
I remember reading about the tragic fire at the UpStairs Lounge in New Orleans back in 1973 and seeing the horrific photo (see below) in the Advocate, again, years ago. The reports of the fire at the time said it was due to flimsy decorations in the bar which caught fire and the lack of adequate fire exits. From reading a recent article (below) about the fire, I now know that it was a fire bombing which was probably directed at the Metropolitan Community Church, one in a series of arsons directed at the church during the same time period, much like black churches involved with the civil rights movement were firebombed back in the 1960s. The Metropolitan Community Church had been using the lounge to conduct church services and many of the church's members were victims of the fire.

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On the last Sunday in June, 1973, the UpStairs Lounge was firebombed. The resulting blaze killed 32 people. At the time, the bar had recently served as the temporary home for the fledgling New Orleans congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church. Founded in Los Angeles in 1968, the MCC was the nation's first gay church. It was the third fire at a MCC church during the first half of 1973. The church's Los Angeles headquarters was destroyed on January 27.

That Sunday was the final day of Pride Weekend, the fourth anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising of 1969. Yet there was still no Gay Pride Parade in New Orleans. Almost two dozen gay bars dotted the French Quarter, but gay life in the city remained largely underground. Located on the second floor of a three-story building at the corner of Chartres and Iberville Streets, the UpStairs Lounge had only one entrance, up a wooden flight of stairs. Nearly 125 regulars had jammed the bar earlier that afternoon for a free beer and all you could eat special. After the free beer ran out, about 60 stayed, mostly members of the MCC congregation.

Before moving worship services to their pastor's home earlier in June, congregation members had been holding services at the UpStairs on Sundays. But the bar was still a spiritual gathering place. There was a piano in one of the bar's three rooms, and a cabaret stage. Members would pray and sing in this room, and every Sunday night, they gathered around the piano for a song they had adopted as their anthem, United We Stand, by The Brotherhood of Man.

"United we stand, divided we fall... And if our backs should ever be against the wall, We'll be together... Together...you and I."

They sang the song that evening, with David Gary on the piano, a pianist who played regularly in the lounge of the Marriott Hotel across the street. The congregation members repeated the verses again and again, swaying back and forth, arm in arm, happy to be together at their former place of worship on Pride Sunday, still feeling the effects of the free beer special.

At 7:56 pm a buzzer from downstairs sounded, the one that signaled a cab had arrived. No one had called a cab, but when someone opened the second floor steel door to the stairwell, flames rushed in. An arsonist had deliberately set the wooden stairs ablaze, and the oxygen starved fire exploded. The still-crowded bar became an inferno within seconds.

The emergency exit was not marked, and the windows were boarded up or covered with iron bars. A few survivors managed to make it through, and jumped to the sidewalks, some in flames. Rev. Bill Larson, the local MCC pastor, got stuck halfway and burned to death wedged in a window, his corpse visible throughout the next day to witnesses below.

This photo appeared in wire stories about the tragedy. Rev. Larson's body was not removed from the window throughout the initial investigation, and symbolized the city's uncaring attitude towards the mostly gay victims.

Bartender Buddy Rasmussen led a group of fifteen to safety through the unmarked back door. One of them was MCC assistant pastor George Mitchell. Then George ran back into the burning building trying to save his partner, Louis Broussard. Their bodies were discovered lying together.

29 lives were lost that night, and another three victims later died of injuries from the fire. The death toll was the worst in New Orleans historyup to that time, including when the French Quarter burned to the ground in 1788. It was almost assuredly the largest mass murder of gays and lesbians to ever occur in the United States.

Yet the city tried mightily to ignore it. Public reaction was grossly out of proportion to what would have happened if the victims were straight. The fire exposed an ugly streak of homophobia and bigotry. It was the first time New Orleans had to openly confront the existence of its own gay community, and the results were not pretty.

Initial news coverage omitted mention that the fire had anything to do with gays, despite the fact that a gay church in a gay bar had been torched. What stories did appear used dehumanizing language to paint the scene, with stories in the States-Item, New Orleans' afternoon paper, describing "bodies stacked up like pancakes," and that "in one corner, workers stood knee deep in bodies...the heat had been so intense, many were cooked together." Other reports spoke of "mass charred flesh" and victims who were "literally cooked."

The press ran quotes from one cab driver who said, "I hope the fire burned their dress off," and a local woman who claimed "the Lord had something to do with this." The fire disappeared from headlines after the second day.

A joke made the rounds and was repeated by talk radio hosts asking, "What will they bury the ashes of queers in? Fruit jars." Official statements by police were similarly offensive. Major Henry Morris, chief detective of the New Orleans Police Department, dismissed the importance of the investigation in an interview with the States-Item. Asked about identifying the victims, he said, "We don't even know these papers belonged to the people we found them on. Some thieves hung out there, and you know this was a queer bar."

In the days that followed, other churches refused to allow survivors to hold a memorial service for the victims on their premises. Catholics, Lutherans, and Baptists all said no.

William "Father Bill" Richardson, the closeted rector of St. George's Episcopal Church, agreed to allow a small prayer service to be held on Monday evening. It was advertised only by word of mouth and drew about 80 mourners. The next day, Richardson was rebuked by Iveson Noland, the Episcopalian bishop of New Orleans, who forbade him to let the church be used again. Bishop Nolan said he had received over 100 angry phone calls from local parishioners, and Richardson's mailbox would later fill with hate letters.

Eventually, two ministers offered their sanctuaries - a Unitarian church, and St. Mark's United Methodist Church in the French Quarter. It was here that a July 1 memorial service was held attended by 250 people, including the state's Methodist bishop, Finis Crutchfield, who would die of AIDS fourteen years later at age 70.

Although called on to do so, no elected officials in all of Louisiana issued statements of sympathy or mourning. Even more stunning, some families refused to claim the bodies of their dead sons, too ashamed to admit they might be gay. The city would not release the remains of four unidentified persons for burial by the surviving MCC congregation members. They were dumped in mass graves at Potter's Field, New Orleans' pauper cemetery. No one was ever charged with the crime, and it remains unsolved.

Thirty-five years from now, let's hope we look back and wonder what the fuss over gay marriage was all about. But history won't remember anti-gay bigots kindly, whether they were cowardly murderers like the unknown arsonist who firebombed the UpStairs Lounge in 1973, or the people of New Orleans who callously disregarded a fire that took 32 of their fellow citizens' lives because it happened at a gay bar. Or today's misguided opponents of same-sex marriage.

posted 7/1/08
You Ain't Paying Near Enough
With love from GW Bush and the high corporate profit Republicans

posted 6/30/08
Pride Photos

Congressional candidate Jared Polis at Denver's Pridefest.

Regarding the photos I took at this year's Denver Pridefest -- I haven't posted them yet. It's like this, kids. I wanted to expand the capacity of my digital camera, so I could take more photos. I went to some local camera stores to purchase a memory stick for the camera. However, I discovered that no one carries the type of memory stick that my camera needs anymore and I was told I'd have to purchase the memory on the internet. However, that proved to be not very easy to do either and there was no guarantee that I'd receive the memory stick in time for Pridefest. So, I dug out my trusty old 35mm camera, bought a few rolls of film and used that for most of the Pridefest shots. The 35mm camera also has a wide angle lens I used for some of the shots. In addition, photos taken with the 35mm camera tend to be sharper than the digital camera and, unlike the digital camera, my old camera takes the shot exactly when I want to, while the digital camera takes a second or two adjust itself and sometimes, to my great frustration, the camera decides it doesn't want to take the picture at all, so I'll miss a good shot.

The drawback to the 35mm camera, of course, is that I have to take the rolls of film in for developing. So, now I will have to find time in my schedule to take the rolls of film in, hopefully all the shots turn out, (haven't used the 35mm camera in quite awhile so I don't know if it's still in good working order) and then I'll have to scan the prints and post them on a new Pride 2008 page. With luck, I'll get that done before Pride 2009.

posted 6/27/08
On This Day In History…
New York City police, attempting to serve a search warrant, charged into the well-known gay hangout, the Stonewall Inn. Events quickly got out of hand. Police ejected customers, managers, bouncers. Everyone got booted outside onto the sidewalk.

The police had picked a bad day to raid the club. Earlier in the day, the idol of many club goers, Judy Garland, had been laid to rest at Ferncliff Mausoleum in Westchester, New York, adding to a grumpy mood. Plus, the gay crowd had grown sick and tired of constant police harassment and intimidation. As the police began to leave, an angered crowd begins throwing bricks, bottles and even coins at the officers who retreat back into the Stonewall. The mob breaks down the door, screaming "PIGS!" and "FAGGOT COPS!" One terrified officer tells them "We'll shoot the first motherf---er that comes through." Protesters then try and set the bar ablaze, while the cops bash one protester in the head a dozen times.

The plain-clothes police team was trapped inside the bar for over two hours before the the NYPD Tactical Patrol Force arrived and drove the mob from in front of the Stonewall. Police arrested and jailed many of the chanting gays. For the next few nights, the Stonewall Inn became the focal point of gay protests. The gay community began to organize and form committees to bring about change. For more info on the Stonewall Inn, see below.

To provide a soundtrack of the times for you, here's what WABC, New York City's most popular radio station in 1969 sounded like. Click on the vintage transistor radio to find out. Two others: mind off and most music.

From a WABC music survey of July 29, 1969, here's the top fifteen songs of that week.

1. In the Year 2525 - Zager & Evans
2. Crystal Blue Persuasion - Tommy James & the Shondells
3. My Cherie Amour - Stevie Wonder
4. Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears
5. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love) - Jr. Walker & the All Stars
6. Baby, I Love You - Andy Kim
7. One - Three Dog Night
8. Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones
9. Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond
10. Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet - Henry Mancini & his Orchestra
11. My Pledge of Love - The Joe Jeffrey Group
12. Love Me Tonight - Tom Jones
13. Good Morning Starshine - Oliver
14. Color Him Father - The Winstons
15. Quentin's Theme - The Charles Randolph Grean Sounde

Or you could view the actual larger survey here.

posted 6/22/08
Pridefest
Sunny and hot day in Denver for Pridefest and lots and lots of people attending both the parade and the festival.

The Obama for President booth was very popular.

You could get your photo taken through a cutout image of just married gay couples.

posted 6/21/08
Rick's At It Again!
As is my annual tradition, I'll be roaming among the general public at the local pride festivities giving away Rick Chris trinkets to surprised and possibly, annoyed, individuals.

Happy Pride everybody!

posted 6/21/08
Queer Music Heritage Celebrates Gay Marriage And JD Doyle Makes Time Magazine!
Queer Music Heritage celebrates the California gay marriage decision with a show featuring songs about gay marriage by artists such as Janis Ian, Ron Romanovsky (more about Ron in the SHOUTOUT section below), Alan Cumming, the Kinsey Sicks and more. For more information, check out the Queer Music Heritage section also under the SHOUTOUT banner below.

JD Doyle, the proprietor of QMH, has been quoted and his site given a link in a Time Magazine article called "What Makes A Gay Song". Check it out at:
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1816760,00.html

posted 6/21/08
10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage Is Wrong
1. - Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2. - Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3. - Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4. - Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5. - Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6. - Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7. - Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8. - Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9. - Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10. - Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

Plus - Gay marriage killed the dinosaurs! DUH!

posted 6/6/08
Bad Taste About Bolthouse Farm Juice
You may want to avoid buying Bolthouse Farm Juices in that the company's founder just gave $100,000 to fund the anti gay marriage amendment in California. To learn more, click here.

*******

Christmas A Million Times Over at rickchris.com
It's always been my policy to use my web site to bring some joy and entertainment into the lives of the mostly gay folks who visit my site. I realize how dismal things have been of late, with an economy which sucks to an extreme degree. I got to thinking how I might use my little site to help uplift people's spirits. With this being an election year, I got to thinking how the current United States administration seems to have a theme of making the very rich even richer. So I thought, why not have a theme for my web site for the rest of the year. The time of year most people seem to like is the Christmas season, and that's when my site gets the most traffic. Christmas is also one of my favorite times of the year, so I thought why not extend the Christmas season forward -- at least for my web site. So if my web site starts looking a little Christmasy, that's the reasoning behind the madness.

So that's what I'm going to do. On rickchris.com, it'll be Christmas for the rest of the year. Just my attempt at bringing some fun and frivolity into your life. Now if you're Jewish or agnostic or whatever, I don't mean to exclude you, just the contrary. I want to include you in a spirit of good times, sentimentality and giving. I haven't figured out on what sort of features I will be having on the site, but that's basically the direction I'll be going in.

So in keeping with this spirit, first up on the docket is the Rick Chris monthly contest. If you win, it'll be like getting a present at Christmas:

Your chance each month to win Rick Chris goodies or perhaps other items, like CDs. The contest winner(s) will notified by email during the first week of the following month.

The drawing for the winner of the May contest was held tonight, June 1, officiated by Purifina Ironfist, the rickchris.com staff censor and manager of standards compliance. Some of you may remember Purifina from the Rick Chris Christmas Show tapes I used to send out as my audio Christmas card. (Purifina is an imaginary character - but don't tell her that). All the names of the entrants were put on the same sized pieces of paper, rolled up into tight little rolls, put in a dark blue tinted bottle, the bottle shaken vigorously and the bottle then was opened, tilted to spill the paper rolls and the first roll with the winner's name came out.

And the winner is........
David (Cowboy Dave) Kopp of Canada!

My congratulations go out to Dave and lets all give him a round of applause!

I've also decided to award an additional upscale magnet set to a person who did not win. (I figure if Ellen Degeneres can do that with the contests on her show, so can I.) One entrant, Carla, entered on behalf of her gay son, Lucas, who she calls "wonderful". So I thought that equally wonderful sentiment deserved a reward, so I will be sending a set out to her as well.

Congratulations and thanks to everybody who entered the May contest.

Here's More Beef For You
Chapter two of the Beef Matson story, CATCH A FALLING STAR is now published online. CATCH A FALLING STAR, which is a prequel to A PERSON IN A POSITION OF TRUST, is darker in tone than APIAPOT. Chapter two features, among other things, corporate theft, a slutty pop star, a suicide, a murder, a young man who's planning on sending his fellow church members to heaven using automatic weapons, and a scene where Beef and his assistant Randy start getting it on. Click on the image at right to go to chapter two.

Yup, He's Funny, He's Wacky, He's The Prez

Harvey Milk And The Gay Revolution
Interviews with extras during the filming of the Gus Van Sant film, "The Life And Times Of Harvey Milk" starring Sean Penn, to be released this November.

Fighting For Peace by Ron Romanovsky

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Putting the spotlight on those who add value to the gay community through their creativity, talent and achievement. The Shout Out column is open to any gay creative type, performer, writer, artist, etc. I know how challenging it can be for gay creative types, so this is my small way of trying to lend a helping hand by offering a little publicity. Just send an email about yourself or someone you would like to be spotlighted. The cost? You only have to promise that you're going to try to be rich, famous and successful. I also accept news releases for shows, benefits and events.

TruthWinsOut.org - New Multi-Media Website Refutes 'Ex-Gay' Myth
Ex-Gay Watch Founder Michael Airhart To Blog Daily On Site
NEW YORK - TruthWinsOut.org (TWO) launched its innovative new website and blog enhancing its ability to fight the ex-gay myth and right wing propaganda. The site will be a leading educational resource and an all-encompassing look at the dangerous world of conversion therapy. For years, the ex-gay industry had dominated the flow of information on this topic. With this site, our movement has finally surpassed our opponents and we now have the means to counter ex-gay lies and reach vulnerable people with messages of truth and hope.

"TruthWinsOut.org is a one-stop-shop for information on the ex-gay myth and an action center for those who want to fight back against this insidious industry," said TWO's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "We believe this site will help people come out, keep families together and even save lives. This is a great day for those who have long wanted to stop the spread of ex-gay misinformation and help people escape the ex-gay trap."

"The ex-gay industry has declared war against GLBT people as it has become enmeshed with the far right," said Michael Airhart. "By joining with TruthWinsOut.org, I am answering a personal calling to defend individual liberties, religious freedom, constitutional rights, family unity -- and sexual strugglers -- against exploitation by divisive, intolerant and dishonest extremists."

TWO's website will include an extensive and unprecedented video catalogue of "ex-gay" survivors and sexual orientation experts. The videos and website highlight an active and robust year, where TWO will challenge the "ex-gay" industry across America.

TruthWinsOut.org is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.

Ron Romanovsky - On The Sanctity Of Marriage
Singer Ron Romanovsky (of the duo, Romanovsky and Phillips) offers us a new song, "The Sanctity Of Marriage" in which he offers the argument that if gay people can't get married then straight people can't get divorced. Ouch! Rick Chris thinks that outlawing divorce would certainly cut into the profits of the lush divorce industry, serial divorcees would have to find other occupations and might even cause a spike in the murder rate. (Now, now, we're just having a bit of fun here on the old web site.) Whatever your feelings are on the subject matter, "The Sanctity Of Marriage" is a fun ditty to listen to and you'll enjoy it.

TURN UP THE FUN is available at cdbaby.com, itunes or at romanovskyand phillips.com. The CD can also be purchased directly by sending $18.00 to Fresh Fruit Records
369 Montezuma Avenue #209
Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA

Other reviews:
Los Angeles Times: "Romanovsky's candid, often humorous, sometimes poignant songs have placed him at the forefront of gay-oriented music."

New Mexico Voice: "The humor and instrumentation of Wierd Al combined with the touching beauty of Rufus Wainwright."

Out West Magazine: " Romanovsky challenges any modern music listner with a virtuoso talent and an immeasurably charminng, yet downright sideways way of looking at the world."

There are also many extra sections, such as a page of Gay Marriage Songs (with free downloads), a page of songs about Matthew Shepard, a section on Gay Musicals, lots of info about drag artists, a page listing songs about AIDS, etc, etc.".

Unique to THE SMART RIDE is the organization's pledge to donate 100% of every dollar raised to the six agencies located throughout Florida. This year's recipients are scheduled to be the The Center For Positive Connections, Miami; Broward House, Fort Lauderdale; COMPASS Inc., West Palm Beach; AIDS Help, Inc., Key West; Metropolitan Charities, Tampa; and HUG Me Program, Central Florida.

All support staff, including the Director, work as volunteers. By virtue of their personal donation or through sponsorships, riders are committed to raisinng a minimum of $1,250 each. For those whose passion is bike riding and the urge to support the mission, the organization provides training and support for several months leading up to the venet. On the journey from Miami to Key West, riders are treated to lodginng, catered pit stops, on-site massage therapists, and ample support vehicles. All of the amenities are paid for by donation or sponsorship; none with fundraising dollars.

Registration is now available. Participating riders and crew are urged to sign on by visiting: http://www.thesmartride.org/ and click "Registration". There is a one-time, non-refundable registration fee of $75. To pledge a participant as a donor or sponsor, visit http://www.thesmartride.org/and click "Pledge". THE SMART RIDE: 1-866-696-7701.