(Time Warp) 1989: Gays Demand Marriage Licenses in Manhattan !

In 1989, 20 gay couples backed by ACT UP marched into the marriage bureau in Manhattan demanding marriage licenses in what WCBS-TV New York called a "violent protest".

Says Thomas Stoddard of Lambda Legal Defense in the report: "Within 20 years at least half the states will permit two men or two women to get married."

(TIME-Warp) a WEEK of LOSS and RETROSPECTIVE!

This week we pay homage to 2 anniversaries; the 28th anniversary (July 25) of the Death of Studio 54 owner, Steve Rubell and the 27th anniversary (July 28) of the infamous 175-photo retrospective of the work of the late-Robert Mapplethorpe at the Whitney Museum in New York City.

Mapplethorpe worked primarily in the studio, particularly towards the end of his career. Common subjects include flowers, especially orchids and calla lilies, and celebrities, including Andy Warhol, Deborah Harry, Richard Gere, Peter Gabriel, Grace Jones, and Patti Smith. Smith was a longtime roommate of Mapplethorpe and a frequent subject in his photography, including a stark, iconic photograph that appears on the cover of Smith's first album, Horses.

Other work includes homoerotic and BDSM acts (including coprophagia), and classical nudes. Mapplethorpe's X Portfolio series sparked national attention in the early 1990s when it was included in The Perfect Moment, a traveling exhibition funded by National Endowment for the Arts.

(Time-WARP) Tribute to The Guiding Light moved to Television 65 yrs ago!

Guiding Light (known as The Guiding Light before 1975, or simply GL) is an American television soap opera that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television history, running from 1952 until 2009, preceded by a 15-year broadcast on the radio. When combining its total run of 72 years on radio and television, Guiding Light is the second-longest running program of any kind in history, exceeded only by Music and the Spoken Word. With over 18 000 episodes produced, Guiding Light has more episodes than any program in the history of radio and television, and four times more episodes than Music and the Spoken Word.

(TIME-warp): Remembering when Gay Marriage became Legal in New England, 13 years ago this week!

Same-sex marriage is legal or has been legalized in six of the six New England states: Massachusetts became Legal on May 17, 2004, according to Wikipedia. The New England region has been noted for being the nucleus of the same-sex marriage movement in the United States with the region having among the most widespread and earliest legal support of any region. It was followed by three more states between October 2008 and June 2009. This followed Vermont being the first-in-the-nation with civil unions in 2000.

Currently, 36 states and the District of Columbia are the U.S. jurisdictions performing same-sex marriages, and California performed them for five months in mid 2008. DOMA was struck down in 2013.

(TIME-warp) Remembering Keith Haring!

Today marks what would have been artist Keith Haring’s 58th birthday. (He died at a young age due to an AIDS-related illness in 1991).Haring’s, distinct style led him to become one of the most notable artists of his generation. Happy Birthday, Keith!

As a celebration of his life, Madonna declared the first New York date of her 1991 Blond Ambition World Tour a benefit concert for Haring's memory, and donated all proceeds from her ticket sales to AIDS charities including AIDS Project Los Angeles and amfAR; the act was documented in her film Truth or Dare. Additionally, Haring's work was featured in several of Red Hot Organization's efforts to raise money for AIDS and AIDS awareness, specifically its first two albums, Red Hot + Blue and Red Hot + Dance, the latter of which used Haring's work on its cover.

By expressing concepts of birth, death, sex and war, Haring's imagery has become a widely recognized visual language of the 20th century.

(TIME Warp) The Untold Gay Story of 'Titanic' revealed 105 Yrs later!

The R.M.S. Titanic continues to remain a heartbreaking emblem of maritime history 105 years after her ill-fated maiden voyage. Now one historian is shedding new light on a considerably less-heralded segment of the tragedy: the ship's gay, or at least presumably gay, passengers.

In an OutHistory.org essay, historian James Gifford offers a scholarly survey on the private life of Archibald Willingham Butt, who served as an influential military aide to U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft prior to his death on the Titanic. Traveling with Butt was his friend Frank D. Millet, an artist who also went down with the ship (the pair, Gifford notes, was berthed separately on the ship).

OVTV: (TIME-Warp) This Week in History: Rove Vs. Wade; LBJ; Victoria; Laugh-In; Mozart!

Highlights of This Week in History: Rove vs. Wade decision; Lyndon Johnson dies; Britain's Queen Victoria dies; The Crucible debuts on Broadway; Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in premieres. Soviet troops liberate concentration camps; Paris peace accords signed, ending Vietnam war; Mozart born.

(TIME-WARP) When Liz Taylor Crashed a Wedding 35 years ago TODAY!

Luke and Laura married on November 17,1981, in a lavish ceremony officiated by the mayor of Port Charles, with hundreds of residents from Port Charles and Beecher's Corners in attendance. However, Mikkos' widow Helena Cassadine (then portrayed by Academy Award winning actress Elizabeth Taylor) arrives. She secretly places a curse on the couple during their reception, as she blames the duo for her husband's death. Later, Scott arrives. After catching Laura's bouquet, he declares he is contesting his divorce. As had occurred at Luke's aborted wedding to Jennifer, the men begin to fight. This time, Luke is the victor.

(TIME-Warp) Remembering the 31st anniversary of the guardianship case of Kowalski vs. Thompson!

Sharon Kowalski lived with her lesbian partner, Karen Thompson, in St. Cloud, Minnesota for about four years. Though Kowalski's parents were not aware of the relationship at the time, the couple had exchanged rings and named one another as insurance policy beneficiaries. On November 13, 1983, Kowalski suffered severe brain injuries in an automobile accident involving a drunk driver. The injuries left Kowalski with permanent physical disabilities, requiring her to remain in a wheelchair, and the mental capacity of a four to six year-old child.

Both Thompson and Sharon Kowalski's father, Donald Kowalski, petitioned to be named Sharon Kowalski's legal guardian in March 1984. With the understanding that she would have visitation rights, Thompson agreed that Donald Kowalski would be named Sharon Kowalski's guardian. The court's guardianship order, however, gave Donald complete control over visitation.

On July 25, 1985, Donald immediately cut off Thompson's visitation rights and moved Sharon from a nursing home near Thompson's home to one further away. Thompson appealed the order, but the appellate court affirmed the order initially, citing testimony by Sharon's family and nursing home staff that Sharon seemed depressed and sad after her visits with Thompson and postulating that it would be in Kowalski's best interest to discontinue visitation with Thompson.

(Time WARP) the GATE turns 79 and Remembering Robin Gibb!

Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to Marin County. It is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one of the modern Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Frommers travel guide considers the Golden Gate Bridge "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world. The project was finished by April 1937, $1.3 million under budget.

The bridge was visualized in such film classics as Vertigo, Star Trek IV and  View to a Kill.

The bridge-opening celebration began on May 27, 1937 and lasted for one week. The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed by foot and roller skate. On opening day, Mayor Angelo Rossi and other officials rode the ferry to Marin, then crossed the bridge in a motorcade past three ceremonial "barriers", the last a blockade of beauty queens who required Joseph Strauss to present the bridge to the Highway District before allowing him to pass. An official song, "There's a Silver Moon on the Golden Gate", was chosen to commemorate the event. Strauss wrote a poem that is now on the Golden Gate Bridge entitled "The Mighty Task is Done." The next day, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, D.C. signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon. When the celebration got out of hand, the SFPD had a small riot in the uptown Polk Gulch area. Weeks of civil and cultural activities called "the Fiesta" followed. A statue of Strauss was moved in 1955 to a site near the bridge.

(Time Warp) THREE YEARS LATER: Same-sex couples now account for 1 in 6 Washington weddings!

Jane  and her partner of 37 years, Pete-e , hold the very first same-sex marriage
 license  issued in King County on December 6, 2012. (Photo: THE SEATTLE TIMES)

This week was the Three-year anniversary of Washington’s same-sex marriage law. To mark the occasion, the state Department of Health has released marriage statistics gathered from the date the law took effect — Dec. 6, 2012 — through the end of September, date of most recent available numbers.

In that time, 7,071 gay couples tied the knot. That’s 17 percent of the total 42,408 new marriages, or one out of six.

(Blank on Blank) Kurt Vonnegut on Man-Eating Lampreys!

"Nothing means anything" - Kurt Vonnegut on November 8, 1970

From the Pacifica Radio Archives

Hear the full, unedited interview plus see Vonnegut's art work, learn secrets of Slaughterhouse-Five, and more nuggets of Vonnegut here: http://blankonblank.org/kurt-vonnegut

In November 1970, Kurt Vonnegut walked into a class room at NYU. He was a guest speaker that day. He’d prepared some handwritten notes on what he wanted to say: there were his thoughts on the art of writing, his childhood, the death of his parents. He jumped from topic to topic as he shuffled through his papers. Sometimes his voice trailed off. He delivered punchlines with perfect timing. The class roared. Listening to this tape, we get to be flies on the wall that day. So take a seat, but your book bag down and enjoy. Here’s Kurt Vonnegut

(SPECIAL) How We Got Gay?

How We Got Gay | Discovery Channel HD Documentary 2015

Facebook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_l59...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HdDocs

(Blank on Blank) Grace Kelly on JFK!

"He turned to me suddenly and asked: 'Is that a Givenchy you're wearing?' And I said, 'why how clever of you, Mr. President. However did you know?'"
- Grace Kelly

Interview by Paul Gallico / JFK Archives
June 19, 1965
Palace of the Principality, Monaco
Reel-to-reel

(Time-WARP) Remembering a Queen!

This week we honor the passing of the Pop Icon in 2012 (3 years ago last week), that shaped disco and Music. 

LaDonna Adrian Gaines, 63, was  known by the stage name Donna Summer, was an American singer-songwriter who gained prominence during the disco era of the late 1970s. She had a mezzo-soprano vocal range, and was a five-time Grammy Award winner. Summer was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach number one on the U.S. Billboard chart, and she also charted four number-one singles in the United States within a 13-month period.

(TIME-Warp) The Day when Camelot Ended!

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time (18:30 UTC) on Friday, November 22, 1963 (50 Years ago), in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was fatally shot by a sniper while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie, in a presidential motorcade. A ten-month investigation from November 1963 to September 1964 by the Warren Commission concluded that Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, and that Jack Ruby also acted alone when he killed Oswald before he could stand trial.

Although the Commission's conclusions were initially supported by a majority of the American public. polls conducted between 1966 and 2003 found that as many as 80 percent of Americans have suspected that there was a plot or cover-up. A 1998 CBS News poll showed that 76% of Americans believed Kennedy had been killed as the result of a conspiracy. A 2013 AP poll showed, that although the percentage had fallen, more than 59% of those polled still believed that more than one person was involved in the President's murder. A Gallup Poll in mid-November 2013 showed 61% believed in a conspiracy and 30% thought Oswald did it alone.

OVTV: (TIME-Warp) This Past Week in History; Hello Dolly Broadway debut! Rudyard Kipling dies! Kennedy's Famous Speech!

On this Day (Jan. 16) Operation Desert Storm begins; Space Shuttle Columbia final lift-off; Prohibition takes effect; Shah flees Iran; Hello Dolly Broadway debut.

(SOAP Q) Honoring 2 Soaps that left the airways on this Day!

25 years ago Today...Ryan's Hope aired its Final Episode (after 13 years) with Original Cast Member, Jack Fenelli (Michael Levin) marrying his long time Love, Leigh (Felicity LaFortune) , after finally letting go of the ghost of his first wife, Mary (Kate Mulgew). Mary died in 1980 from a car accident. Even Mary's spirit surfaced as she gave her blessing just before the wedding. Also at the Wedding, Pat learned he was indeed the father of Former Love Faith's daugher. 

(TIME Warp) San Francisco Gay Pride in the 70's, A RETROSPECTIVE!

Writes Ron Williams of this clip chronicling Gay Pride parades in San Francisco from 1970-80:

"Charles Roseberry is an early gay documentary filmmaker in 8 mm and Super 8 mm work that was used in the opening sequence of old Castro Street in the 'Milk' film. At 83, Charles is still practicing his talents as an film editor and videographer. This film will stir up those old Disco memories and get your blood pumping."

(SHOWcase) 1982 DOCUMENTARY SHOWS FIRST-HAND STORIES OF NYC'S MALE STREET HUSTLERS!

Accompanied by the tag line "hard facts and hard humor about a hard way of life," this newly resurfaced public access tv short documentary from 1982 interviews Manhattan's diverse male street hustler population about their stories and struggles. Created by Robert Burden and Dictelio Cepeda.