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Burlesque marshmallow man, via The Candy Pitch
* Seventy-five-year-old Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, the "first and only woman to pitch in the Negro American League," is set to be commemorated with her own field in Northeast D.C.
*Broadsheet's Tracy Clark-Flory reports on an X-ray manufacturer's foray into the pin-up market. Clark-Flory's take: "damn, these skele-girls got femurs for daaays. As the Weekly Vice suggests, I guess the message here is that beauty isn't skin deep, after all. Or something." I think the real message here is that even Skeletors can look [...]
This week, I wrote the paper's cover story on the gay wedding business that's popped up in the District since same-sex marriages were legalized in March, and how local businesses are competing for a piece of the pie. Pick up a paper or read it online here.
* The New York Times profiles Eve Tushnet, a "celibate, gay, conservative, Catholic writer" opposed to same-sex marriage:
When same-sex marriage was legalized in D.C. this March, Mike Newman offered himself up to officiate local gay marriages free-of-charge. Since them, Newman has wedded 44 of the District's same-sex couples—and one opposite-sex pair. Here's a taste of the ceremonies he's seen:
HuffPo's Jason Linkins phrases it bluntly: "This probably isn't a very nice way of putting it, but basically, the most significant segment of the population that opposes gay marriage is the one that's closest to death." As evidence, Linkins presents this nifty chart showing the age discrepancy in gay marriage support across the [...]
Today, the D.C. Court of Appeals will hear arguments over the fate of same-sex marriage in D.C. In January, the D.C. Superior Court decided that a ballot initiative to define marriage as between a man and a woman would violate the District's Human Rights Act; anti-gay-marriage activists appealed the decision.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery
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I'm home sick today, so excuse me if I have chosen to displace my blogging duties on to adorable little boy Calen (above), who has just learned that his two uncles are "husband and husband" who are married—not to wives!—but to each other. Watch the video to remind yourself that explaining same-sex marriage to the youth [...]
Thanks to the Economist for crunching the numbers on just how significant the legalization of same-sex marriage was for Washington, D.C. Of jurisdictions that currently allow gay marriage (or recognize out-of-state gay marriages, or grant equal rights to gay partnerships), the District of Columbia has the highest percentage of same-sex households by far. In other [...]
Today, the much-anticipated Fred Phelps counter-protest finally came to fruition—albeit a couple of hours after Phelps' homophobia parade got going. City Paper photog Darrow Montgomery was on-hand to document the results. (See all of Darrow's photos of D.C. gay marriage day here).
Below, counter-protesters utilize the Burger King Guy, God Hates [Blank], and unclear messages about [...]
