(Time-Warp) One GIANT Step happened 51 years ago This WEEK!

The United States' Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon, on July 20, 1969. There have been six manned U.S. landings (between 1969 and 1972) and numerous unmanned landings, with no soft landings happening from 1976 until 14 December 2013. To date, the United States is the only country to have successfully conducted manned missions to the Moon.

A total of twelve men have landed on the Moon. This was accomplished with two US pilot-astronauts flying a Lunar Module on each of six NASA missions across a 41-month time span starting on 20 July 1969 UTC, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on Apollo 11, and ending on 14 December 1972 UTC with Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt on Apollo 17. Cernan was the last to step off the lunar surface.

(TIME-Warp) This Week marks the 37th Anniversary of Congress' First Gay Scandal!

Gerry Studds, a Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts who served from 1973 until 1997. He was the first openly gay member of Congress in the U.S. In 1983 he was censured by the House of Representatives after he admitted to having had an affair with a 17-year-old page on July 11, 1983. 

(TIME-Warp) Remembering Paul Broussard's Brutal Murder, 29 years ago this Week!

Paul Broussard (1964–1991), a 27 year-old Houston-area banker and Texas A&M alumnus, was beaten and stabbed to death in a gay-bashing outside a Houston nightclub on July 4, 1991 by ten teenaged boys. The youths had driven from the northern Houston suburb of The Woodlands to the heavily gay area of Montrose solely to "beat up some queers," in the words of one of the convicted teens. 

All ten of Broussard's assailants were eventually convicted. Activist Ray Hill lobbied the prosecutor and District attorney for "meaningful sentences" for the Woodlands Ten.

(TIME-Warp) Honoring the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall!

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of New York City. They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when people in the homosexual community fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.

One June 26, 2015, The Stonewall was finally registered as a Historical Landmark! 

(TIME-Warp) Vintage Men's Fashion Show Beefcake!!

"This collection of marvels aims to interpret the revolt of modern man against the restrictions of conventional design."

A must-see collection of menswear from 1951

(TIME-Warp) Honoring the 53rd Anniversary of Loving Day: The Landmark Supreme court decision that started it all!

Long before the fight for Gay marriage was the fight for  interracial Marriage. The similarities are astonishing.

In June of 1958, Richard Loving married Mildred Jeter in Washington D.C. This was no ordinary marriage because he was white and she was black. In that time, laws in their home state of Virginia forbade interracial marriage, thus the couple was forced to travel to another state to wed.

(TIME warp) Progress, Hope Mark the 39th Anniversary of AIDS!

Today marks the 38th anniversary of the first formal report of the disease that came to be known as AIDS. The disease baffled doctors and public health officials when it first appeared; described in some places as a "gay cancer," the HIV virus took three years to be identified and much longer than that for doctors to develop drugs that would effectively tamp down symptoms without debilitating patients. Below is the Music Montages of some of the greatest that have died and were alive and well 34 yrs ago.

(TIME-WARP) 33 Years after Barney Frank made History!

Frank (with Scott) in 2004

Barney Frank, 79, was the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 4th congressional district was considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States

According to Barney Frank, he "realized it was crazy" to try to have a romance with someone he cared for but was not compatible with due to his homosexuality. "That was the last effort to avoid being gay," Stuart Weisberg (Frank's Biographer) quotes Frank as saying. Frank never again dated a woman.

Frank started coming out as gay to friends before he ran for Congress and came out publicly on May 30, 1987, "prompted in part by increased media interest in his private life" and the death of Stewart McKinney, "a closeted bisexual Republican representative from Connecticut"; Frank told The Washington Post after McKinney's death there was "An unfortunate debate about 'Was he or wasn't he? Didn't he or did he?' I said to myself, I don't want that to happen to me." 

(TIME-warp): Remembering The Gay March on Washington on its 27th Anniversary!

The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 1993. Organizers estimated 1,000,000 attended the March, but the National Park Service estimated attendance at 300,000, details Wikipedia.

In the days surrounding the March, a wide range of events serving different subsets of the LGBT community were held throughout Washington, DC. These included historical exhibits, religious services, lobbying events, social gatherings, art exhibits, political workshops, public service events and candlelight vigils.

Speakers and performers at the rally following the march included Col. Grethe Cammermeyer, Judith Light, Melissa Etheridge, RuPaul, Martina Navratilova, Sir Ian McKellen, Eartha Kitt, Lani Ka'ahumanu, and Urvashi Vaid.

OVTV: (TIME Warp) 57 Years ago; The Beatles Invaded America and our Hearts!

In late 1963, Sullivan and his entourage happened also to be passing through Heathrow and witnessed how The Beatles' fans greeted the group on their return from Stockholm, where they had performed a television show as warmup band to local star Lill Babs. Sullivan was intrigued, telling his entourage it was the same thing as Elvis all over again. He initially offered Beatles manager Brian Epstein top dollar for a single show but the Beatles manager had a better idea—he wanted exposure for his clients: the Beatles would instead appear three times on the show, at bottom dollar, but receive top billing and two spots (opening and closing) on each show.

OVTV: (SOAP Q) Santa Barbara, a soap that started and ended with a Murder, left the airways 27 years ago TODAY! !

Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolves around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California. Other prominent families featured on the soap were the rival Lockridge family, and the more modest Andrade and Perkins families.

OVTV: (TIME Warp) Honoring the 50th Anniversary of 'All My Children'!

Lucci in 1970

50 years ago today All My Children premiered on ABC as a 30 min Soap. In 1977 it expanded to 60 minutes. The show of Erica Kane that lasted until Sept 23, 2011.   Read More Here.

(Time-Warp) When Unions Swept the UK, 14 Years ago this Week!

In 2003, the British government announced plans to introduce civil partnerships which would allow same-sex couples the rights and responsibilities resulting from marriage. The Civil Partnership Bill was introduced into the House of Lords on March 30, 2004. After considering amendments made by the House of Commons, it was passed by the House of Lords, its final legislative hurdle, on November 17, 2004, and received Royal Assent on November 18. The Act came into force on 5 December 2005, and same-sex, but not opposite-sex, couples were able to form the civil partnerships from 19 December 2005 in Northern Ireland, 20 December 2005 in Scotland and 21 December 2005 in England and Wales. Separate provisions were included in the first Finance Act 2005 to allow regulations to be made to amend tax laws to give the same tax advantages and disadvantages to couples in civil partnerships as apply to married couples.

(TIME-WARP) The Castro vs. AIDS: The '80s in Pictures!

San Francisco's gay-centric Castro was equal amounts thrilling and frightening in the 1980s. While the neighborhood attracted LGBT people from around the world, AIDS was decimating the population. Even as the residents fought back, protesting for research and education, life went on, and the Castro's 24-hour party never abated. In the following pictures by Thomas Alleman, part of the "Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws: Gay San Francisco, 1985-1988" exhibit at the San Francisco Public Library that opens on World AIDS Day, you can see the men and women who lived, loved, and fought for their lives during that heady time.

(TIME- WARP) The Death of River Phoenix Happened 26 years ago TODAY!

On the evening of October 30, 1993, Phoenix was to perform with his close friend Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers onstage at The Viper Room, a Hollywood nightclub partly owned at the time by actor Johnny Depp. Phoenix had returned to Los Angeles early that week from Utah to complete the three weeks of interior shots left on his last project Dark Blood, a film that was finally completed in 2012. His younger sister Rain and brother Joaquin had flown out to join him at the Hotel Nikko (now the SLS Hotel) on La Cienega Boulevard. Phoenix's girlfriend, Samantha Mathis, had also come to meet him. All were present at the scene of Phoenix's death, according to Wiki.

(TIME-WARP) Code of Conduct, a TRUE Tale of BULLYING revealed 27 Years Later!

by MK Scott

With the close of October's Gay History month,  21 years after Matthew Shepard, and 9 years after Tyler Clementi. There was another anniversary this month. 

There was a never before told story that I am working on as a potential Novel and Movie Script based on an incident involving a fellow Native Portlander who had a dream to be the first in his family to get a college degree.

According to my Friend, Matt as well as school documents, tells that in the Fall of 1992, Matt finally arrived at Northeastern University in Boston, MA to study communications. Problems fitting in were immediate and after changing dorms 3 times, he settled into a single room at Light Hall. Matt liked Light Hall because it was drug and alcohol free and that meant no distractions or Drama.

Matt had trouble fitting in, because 1) He came from Middle-class family from Oregon, 2)  He was registered as a Republican (known as Libertarian today) but supported Clinton, 3) He was 22, older than most freshman and 4) He was an Open Bi-Sexual with a boyfriend and a Girlfriend back home in Portland. The Democratic, conservative, Old values, hard drinking way of Boston was clearly the wrong place.

(TIME Warp) The AB101 Veto Riots; 28 years later!

In 2011, the GLBT History Museum in San Francisco held a program called “All the Rage: Stories From the AB101 Veto Riot,” featuring a documentary short about the queer riots in San Francisco in 1991 and a panel with organizers of the event twenty years ago and eyewitness accounts.  Called the AB 101 Veto Riot, it “ended with the police in retreat and a state office building in flames.”

I had never heard of the AB 101 Veto Riot before I got this press release, or the other two that accompany it in a trio, the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot of 1966 and the White Night Riot of 1979. It occurs to me that maybe no one has told you, either. Most of us got through school without even hearing about Stonewall, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to hear about. In honor of the people who put their safety on the line so that our rights had to be recognized, let’s take a moment to remedy that.

(TIME warp) After 34 Years, this show is still the Gold Standard!

The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida. It was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions, in association with Touchstone Television, and Paul Junger Witt, Tony Thomas, and Harris served as the original executive producers.

The Golden Girls received critical acclaim throughout most of its run and won several awards, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series twice. It also won three Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy. All four stars each received an Emmy Award throughout the series' run and had multiple nominations. The series also ranked among the top ten highest-rated programs for six out of its seven seasons.

Betty White is the last remaining Cast Member. Watch Reruns on Logo, Hallmark, Lifetime and TV Land! Wooo!

(TIME Warp) When a Governor Came OUT; 15 Years after the McGreevey Scandal!

On the afternoon of August 12, 2004, James McGreevey coupled the announcement of his decision to resign with a public declaration of his homosexuality and an admission to having had an extramarital affair with a man, Golan Cipel, an Israeli citizen and veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces, whom McGreevey appointed New Jersey homeland security adviser. Cipel, who had joined the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1994 as Chief Information Officer at the Consulate General of Israel in New York, subsequently left the United States and returned to Israel after their affair was revealed. McGreevey was the first and, to date, the only openly gay state governor in United States history. (ed...MK met McGreevey in 2006 and found him Happy to be an Out Gay man.)

 

Since leaving the governorship, McGreevey has attended the General Theological Seminary in New York City to obtain his Master of Divinity degree, a requirement to becoming an Episcopal priest. Reports in April 2011 indicate that McGreevey's bid to be ordained was rejected.

McGreevey's life after politics, his calling as a priest and his ministry to prison inmates is covered in a 2013 HBO documentary film, Fall to Grace, directed by Alexandra Pelosi.

In July 2013, McGreevey was appointed head of Jersey City's employment training commission

(TIME-WARP) Remembering Marilyn Monroe who died 57 Years ago today!

On August 5, 1962, at 4:25 am, LAPD sergeant Jack Clemmons received a call from Dr. Ralph Greenson, Monroe's psychiatrist, saying that Monroe was found dead at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California. She was 36 years old. At the subsequent autopsy, eight milligram per cent of chloral hydrate and 4.5 milligram percent of Nembutal were found in her system, and Dr. Thomas Noguchi of the Los Angeles County Coroners office recorded cause of death as "acute barbiturate poisoning", resulting from a "probable suicide".