Sapphire Fund to Announce 2010 Beneficiaries

Philadelphia's Sapphire Fund, producers of Blue Ball, will host a fundraising event on Friday, November 20, 2009 from 5 - 8 pm at the Philadelphia Home Art and Garden (PHAG Shop - 1225 Walnut Street). During the fundraiser, which is by donation only, Sapphire Fund will announce its 2010 beneficiaries and its upcoming events for the new year. Those interested in attending should RSVP to info@sapphirefund.org.

Bacon Brothers to attend Mummer's Press Conference

The Philadelphia Mummers will hold a press conference at Paradiso (1627 E. Passyunk Ave.) tonight at 5pm. The event will feature the Bacon Brothers (Kevin and Michael), who will headline a benefit concert at Philadelphia’s Electric Factory on Saturday, December 5, 2009.

The concert will help raise money Mummer's Day Parade - one of the great cultural icons of Philadelphia - which has lost roughly $400,000 in city funding. The parade continues to be the nation’s oldest running folk parade - taking place each New Year's Day in Philadelphia.

Tickets are $39.50 for general admission, or $100 for VIP balcony seating (includes a special recording of the Bacon Brothers and Mummers performing “New Years Day” with archival footage of the Mummers, PLUS a free concert t-shirt).

Philly to Host National Roller Derby Event

The Philly Roller Girls are excited to host (and skate) in the final event of the 2009 Women's Flat Track Derby Association (WFTDA) Tournament season — Declaration of Derby. The derby takes place this weekend, November 13-15, 2009, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (PaCC) located at 13th and Arch Streets in Philadelphia. The top trio of teams in each of the four WFTDA divisions has earned a ticket to Philadelphia to decide the National Champion and award the Hydra Trophy!
To buy your ticket to the event - click here.

Pink Pub Crawl T-Shirts

Check out the new Pink Pub Crawl t-shirts Nightlifegay.com will be giving away at a bar near you!

Queer Literary Festival in Mount Airy

The queer literary community of Philadelphia is at the forefront again in Mt. Airy's second annual Queer Literary Festival at the Big Blue Marble Bookstore on Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 11am to 3:00pm. Diverse selections of prose, poetry, and creative non-fiction will be presented by writers Ashraf Osman, Jane Cassady, Laura Neuman, Nathan Long, Misia Denea, Saida Agostini, Kelli Dunham, Cassendre Xavier, and Janet Mason. The festival is free and open to everyone.

A special collaboration for this year's festival is the partnership of Mt. Airy's independent Big Blue Marble Bookstore and Philadelphia's premiere GBLT bookstore Giovanni's Room. Big Blue Marble Bookstore will give a percentage of the day's proceeds to Giovanni's Room to add to their fundraising efforts for the massive renovations project of the store's building. A schedule of the readings and biographies of the readers are below:

11:00am- Ashraf Osman
11:20am-Jane Cassady
11:40am-Laura Neuman
12:00-12:30pm-Break (Literary Lunch)
12:30pm-Nathan Long
12:50pm-Misia Denea
1:10pm-Saida Agostini
1:30-2:00pm-Break (Open Mic)
2:00pm:Kelli Dunham
2:20pm-Cassendre Xavier
2:40pm: Janet Mason

Visit BigBlueMarbleBooks.com for more information or call 215-844-1870.

Lady Gaga's New "Bad Romanace" Video

NY Senate fails to vote for gay marriage at special session

After weeks of uncertainty and pleas for action by Gov. David Paterson, New York's Senate failed to vote on a bill legalizing same-sex marriage during a special session Tuesday.

Advocates and opponents say the Senate lacked the 32 votes needed to approve the measure, which Paterson strongly supports and the Assembly already passed.

By evening, Paterson put same-sex marriage on agendas for new special sessions for Monday and Tuesday. Later, standing with supporters of the bill, Paterson said he had a commitment by the Senate to bring the issue to a vote by the end of the year, although its outcome remains uncertain. He urged senators who support the measure to ignore "an almost cowardice about battles."

"I implore them that I would rather see an up or down vote, than no action at all," the governor told reporters. "Historically, I think we have lost touch with how movements of equality were reached. There were a lot of ups and downs," he said, citing the civil rights movement as an example.

"If this bill is put on the floor, there are a lot of people whose consciences will let them vote for the bill, but who just don't want to stomach all the activity around them if they take a position before the vote," he added. (ap)

Mormon Church backs gay legislation in Utah

The Mormon church for the first time has announced its support of gay rights legislation, an endorsement that helped gain unanimous approval for Salt Lake city laws banning discrimination against gays in housing and employment.

The Utah-based church's support ahead of Tuesday night's vote came despite its steadfast opposition to gay marriage, reflected in the high-profile role it played last year in California's Proposition 8 ballot measure that barred such unions.

"The church supports these ordinances because they are fair and reasonable and do not do violence to the institution of marriage," Michael Otterson, the director of public affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said. (ap)

AIDS is the leading cause of death in women

In its first study of women's health around the globe, the World Health Organization said Monday that the AIDS virus is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44.

Unsafe sex is the leading risk factor in developing countries for these women of childbearing age, with others including lack of access to contraceptives and iron deficiency, the WHO said. Throughout the world, one in five deaths among women in this age group is linked to unsafe sex, according to the U.N. agency.

"Women who do not know how to protect themselves from such infections, or who are unable to do so, face increased risks of death or illness," WHO said in a 91-page report. "So do those who cannot protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy or control their fertility because of lack of access to contraception." (ap)

Giovanni's Room Benefit

A Benefit for Giovanni's Room, the nation's oldest gay book store, will be held this Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 8:00pm in the Mark Segal Ballroom located in the William Way Community Center (1315 Spruce Street, Philadelphia).

Keith Kaczorowski, Melissa Kolczynski and Tom Wilson Weinberg's are funny, political and touch the heart. This time the trio has fashioned a love song to Giovanni's Room. They'll sing about books, writers, community, a heartsick English teacher, a shy librarian, dental hygiene and the book of love.

Giovanni's Room has been a bookstore and friendly information center for 35 years. For many this small independent shop was their first venture into LGBT space. Now Giovanni's has been hit with a bill for $55,000 to replace an exterior wall and the community is rallying around the beloved store. For more information visit tomwilsonweinberg.com.