From the ‘Lest-You-Forget’ file, the Chicago Tribune (Aug. 20) reports that in India one can get a cell-phone ringtone in which a professional singer chants, a cappella, the word ‘condom’ more than 50 times. Would Queen Victoria, the founder of modern Indian morality, approve?
The Chicago Sun-Times (Aug. 19) contributes to the ‘Gay-Defense-of-Marriage’ file with a comment by a reader on previous coverage of a straight couple’s entirely too-raucous wedding reception in which the couple was arrested for fighting each other and other guests: ‘And we can’t have same-sex marriage because gays would damage the sanctity of marriage?’
From the ‘Old-News-But-Good-News’ file, Gay/Lesbian News (Aug. 21) quotes a Mr. Ven Shravasti Dhammika, who tells us that ancient Hindu writings indicate that ‘homosexuals were thought of as simply being ‘the third nature’ (tritiya prakti) rather than as perverted, deviant or sick.’ This is considerably more liberal than modern India, whose morality was installed by the aforementioned Queen Vicky and her soldiers.
From the ‘Smarmily-Yours’ file, Gay/Lesbian News (Aug. 21) has an item saying Hallmark is introducing a line of gay-marriage cards since ‘more than 1,000 newspapers across the nation accept wedding announcements from same-sex couples.’
The Guardian (July 25) brings us a tidbit from the ‘Revisionist-History’ file. Now bear with me—King Billy. Ring a bell? No? William & Mary College—maybe? OK, OK, I’ll tell you. Northern Ireland has marchers who celebrate their non-Catholicism (& non-Irishness, too). The marchers wear orange to celebrate King William (of England, but originally of Orange) who won a battle that kept the two countries separate. It happens that modern marchers are conservative and tend to be homophobes. The tidbit: newly discovered evidence that their hero, King Billy, was gay. Here’s the king: ‘It seems to me very extraordinary that it should be impossible to have esteem and regard for a young man without it being criminal.’
From the ‘Queen-Is-a-Queen-Is-a-Queen’ file, Vanity Fair (Sept. 2008) wastes—that is, has—a long article on one 69-year-old, Nicky Haslam, who pretends he is a gay young thing, has known everyone in society for the last 50 years and says nasty things about (male) stars who don’t worship him. He did appear in Antonioni’s flick Blowup; knew Tallulah Bankhead and the Rolling Stones; and has written a tell-all bio naming affairs with Jerome Robbins, Bill Blass and Phillip Johnson, among (many) others. He’s gone to Charles and Diana’s wedding. He introduced Andy Warhol to the ‘in’ crowd. And he does seem to have done a remarkable thing: made a lifelong career out of being ephemeral.