SP Meeting - March 9, 2014, 12PM (noon) SLT

 There is a Second Pride public board meeting today at noon SLT, at the conference hall at Second Pride sim (SLurl).

For complete information on the vendor/sponsor packs for the Pride Festival please visit the Second Pride website.

Come one, come all!

Miss Wigstock 2014 - Seeking Contestants, Bloggers, a Videographer & Sponsors

I am pleased to share this press release from Gay Archipelago with you all, as my family has a stake in this contest ever since my brother Dejerrity Mycron won third place a couple of years ago. (Between us, he should have won of course!)

Dates to remember for Miss Wigstock 2014  

• March 21 - Contestant entries due
• April 19 - Preliminary events  
• April 27 - Miss Wigstock 2014, final event

Contestants 

Sign-ups for Miss Wigstock 2014 contestants are due by March 21st, 2014.  

Please fill out a notecard that you have named "Miss Wigstock 2014 Entry (your name)" with the required information (see below) and send it to Ricogenu and/or Parvin (a.k.a. Xcept Atlas) prior to March 21, 2014. 

SL Avatar Name: (your name)
Drag Stage name: (your preferred stage name) 

PRELIMINARY EVENTs on Saturday April 19 at 12 PM and 4 PM SLT, theme Burlesque:

1. Your choice of time for the preliminary event  12 PM or 4 PM SLT?:
2. Pick two songs you will perform at the preliminary event. 
3. Add a file of both the songs for the preliminary:

FINAL EVENT on Sunday April 27 at 12 PM SLT, theme Disco:

1. Please pick three songs you would be willing to perform (Only one will be performed)
2. File of the 3 songs for the final:
3. Do you require any background set or props?:
4. Additional notes for the organizers?

Oliver Elton will assist each contestant to get them ready for the shows.

Bloggers & a Videographer

Gay Archipelago are also seeking a videographer for the final event as well as bloggers to live blog the events.

Please contact Ricogenu and/or Parvin (a.k.a. Xcept Atlas) if you are interested in participating.

Sponsors

Gay Archipelago thanks its current sponsors who have signed on. They have donated cash, gift cards, their sims, and items:  GreyMyst Estates, JCNY, RGDW, Roby's style, Empire Emporium, N4RS, Corinthia Isle, GAYstar and HUG's.

Please contact Ricogenu and/or Xcept Atlas is you are considering sponsoring this event.

---

*Two preliminary Miss Wigstock shows at Corinthia Isle's "Cawk & Heels Drag Club"*

Each contestant will participate in one of the two shows where they will each perform two songs.

When: Saturday April 19 at 12 PM and 4 PM SLT

Theme: Burlesque

Host:: Edwin Wilmot of Corinthia Isle

DJ: TBD

Voting: Audience favorite, the contest board will be set to group allowed voting only. (Group tags will be given out during the show.)

Builder: Rene Bonaparte

Prize: Gift Cards/Gifts

                  

**  Miss Wigstock Finals will be on the big stage at GreyMyst **

We will have two full sims together, contestants on one sim, audience on the other. Each contestant needs to pick three songs, however they will only perform one at the finals. (This is to prevent duplicates among contestants.)

When: Sunday, April 27 at 12 PM SLT

Theme: Disco

DJ:  TBD

Builder: GreyMyst's builders

MC: Chris Magic Blackheart

Prizes: 

• L$15,000 First, 
• L$5,000 Second, 
• L$2,500 Third 
• Gift Cards/Gifts 

Judging: 

Judging will be handled by three impartial judges to be determined. Anyone connected to a contestant or a sim will not be permitted to judge. Each judge will have a scorecard, with scoring guidelines. The judges will give their scores to a scorekeeper who will total the points independently.

Last year's Miss Wigstock video 

If you have any questions or comments please contact Parvin (a.k.a. Xcept Atlas).

Ricogenu & Parvin

The Best Gay Possible

(via J.M.G.)

Irishman Rory O'Neill is a drag queen and gay rights activist. His drag persona Panti Bliss is an institution in Ireland.

In January 2014 O'Neill appeared on an Irish television program where homophobia was being discussed. O'Neill alleged that some individuals involved in Irish journalism were homophobic. The persons mentioned by O'Neill were the journalists John Waters and Breda O'Brien of the Irish Times, David Quinn, head of the Iona Institute, and three other members of that same institute. The homophobes later threatened the television company and O'Neill with legal action.

The television company gave in to the pressure and forthwith removed that section of the interview from their online archive and issued a public apology to the homophobes. The company also paid a hefty settlement of €85,000 to the six homophobes.

On February 1, 2014, O'Neill (as Panti) gave a speech at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in response to the events surrounding the controversy. This speech has now been set to music by the Pet Shop Boys.

Picture of the Day - 20

"Bad Romance" Photography by Nikolai Warden

If you wish to see more of Nikolai Warden's photography, please visit his Flickr photostream here.

Party Reminder

Judging by the many Instant Messages Tomais and I have received today concerning The Elopement Party I guess many of you need a reminder.

Poster by Tomais Ashdene

WHY: Tomais and I eloped and were married on January 1st, 2014. This party is not a wedding, we just want you to come, relax, have fun and share and celebrate our happiness at being together.

WHEN: Today Saturday March 8, 2014, at 1 PM - 3 PM SLT

WHERE: The Lounge in the Sky at Southern Charm (SLurl)

WHAT TO WEAR: The theme is "A Night at the Movies", so come as your favorite movie characters or just come as yourself. It is more important that you are there than what you are wearing.

WITH: DJ's Ryder Yowman and Rylan Sirnah will be providing the musical entertainment.

WHO: Everyone who cares about us and bring along your friends also! The more the merrier!

No gifts please! We have however set up two donation boxes for charities Tomais and I believe are worthy of your generosity, one for ACT (The AIDS Committee of Toronto) and the other for Second Pride. 

Lets have some fun!

Stop Telling Women To Smile

It's International Women's Day again and time to honor women's advancement and reminding us all of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.

As a gay man I may sometimes encounter homophobia and oppression in my life, but that is next to nothing compared to what women in our societies have to go through. 

The structural indoctrination and prevailing views teach us all from an early age - whether we are men or women, gay or straight - that women are worth less and less important than men. That a woman's place is to please, aid and support men everywhere and all the time. This gender discrimination leads to women being bought and sold like cattle, treated worse than animals, being underpaid, exploited, used and abused, maimed and killed at an incredible rate worldwide. 

We should use this day - atleast - to reflect upon this phenomenon and to consider how we as individuals, and as part of the societies we live in, can modify our ways of thinking and acting to change this horrific situation. One first step could be to do what the American artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh suggests, to stop telling women to smile.

"Stop Telling Women to Smile" is an art series by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh that started in Brooklyn in the fall of 2012. It is an ongoing, traveling series that will gradually include many cities and many women.

To find out more about the project and how you can get involved with it, have a look at the website. 

Picture of the Day - 19

"War Pigs" Photography by Pet Petrov

If you would like to see more of Pet's photography please visit his Flickr photostream here.