No Apologies Given – None Needed

College wrestler Paul Donahoe posed nude for Framentv.com, an online site for gay men that shows photos of athletes.

Donahoe, although straight, was motivated to participate in a photo shoot for the site by money, but it ended up getting him kicked off the wrestling team after the pics were discovered. Donahoe and his teammate Kenny Jordan, who also was photographed for the site, were dismissed from their collegiate wrestling teams after the NCAA decided the two had broken the rule which prohibits college athletes from making money from their image.

Donahoe, now in another college and on a new team, considers himself fortunate to have been given another chance. He is not say sorry however. In a recent interview with The Globe, Donahoe stated:

“I didn’t do anything illegal. I didn’t hurt anyone. I don’t think I did anything wrong. Who should I apologize to?”

Although I understand why he was dismissed, which had nothing to do with the content of the site, but rather the pay he received, I am still glad to see the young man back in the sport which he excels, and back in school.

Hopefully this will be a good lesson for others to learn from.

Wedding on a Budget: Setting a Budget for Your Big Day

Newport Beach, CA (February 12, 2009) – Queercents (http://www.queercents.com), a personal finance blog serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, today announced the launch of its weekly series called Wedding on a Budget.

The average American couple spends $20,000 on their wedding. Serena Freewomyn, the author of the series, is challenging readers to set a budget of $2,000 for their wedding. She interviewed several gay and lesbian couples to hear how they planned their weddings and will be sharing their stories. In the following weeks she will be exploring the following topics:

• Setting a Budget and Tracking Your Expenses
• Should You Hire a Wedding Planner?
• Picking a Venue and Planning Your Reception
• Saving Money on Your Wedding Dress or Tux

The series was inspired when Freewomyn started to plan her own wedding. “There’s a lot of wedding magazines, books, and websites, but none of them are targeted towards lesbian or gay couples. Same sex couples can’t always count on their families to help out with the cost of getting married, so budgeting advice is even more important for us. “

Freewomyn received her education from Scottsdale Culinary Institute and has been writing a weekly food column for Queercents since June of 2008. She and her partner Shannon are planning a beach wedding for April 20th and will be spending their honeymoon in Amsterdam.

About Queercents:
Established by Nina Smith, Queercents originated the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender personal finance blog concept by aggregating financial tips from the distinct writings of several money bloggers. Readers love the straightforward advice and life-style oriented money tips posted daily, covering such topics as debt reduction, living frugally, wise investing, relationships & money, and retirement planning. The site recently surpassed 600,000 visitors since launching in April 2006.

Queercents… we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going shopping without coupons.

Contact:
Nina Smith
Queercents
nina@queercents.com

OutHistory.Org Needs Your Help!

OutHistory.org is an educational web site on LBGT history developed by the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) at the

City University of New York Graduate Center . Part archive, part museum, part encyclopedia, it is a rare resource in that it makes scholarship on LGBT history widely accessible outside of academic journals.

This very important project needs your help. Please make a donation if you can! Because of the economic crisis and its impact on public higher education in New York, CLAGS  can’t continue funding the project, and the grant that established OutHistory expires on December 31, 2008. In an email sent out today by CLAGS director Sarah Chinn and OutHistory director Ned Katz, the importance of the site and its need for funding is put like this: Continue reading after the jump

OutHistory publishes articles by renowned scholars in the field of LGBT history. It aims to distribute reliable work on LGBT history to a bigger and more varied audience than ever before.

But most innovatively, OutHistory is an experiment in LGBT history by the LGBT community. Using Wikipedia-style software, the site encourages anyone with data, documents, and citations to create open, collaborative entries. For example, community members are encouraged to create entries recording the local LGBT history of their village, town, or city.

OutHistory needs time to catch on. Teachers, students, historians, and the public are just now hearing about OutHistory.

$20,000 for OutHistory in 2009

The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies needs $20,000 to  keep OutHistory.org alive and developing in 2009.

OutHistory.org will go on making history if  2000 people give $10, if 1000 give $20, if 320 give $62.50, if 160 give $125, if 80 give $250.

OutHistory is asking members of the community to donate as much as they can, and every size donation is welcome. Contributions to CLAGS for OutHistory.org are tax deductible. CLAGS is an institute at the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Donatations can be made on line at OutHistory.org:  http://www.outhistory.org/wiki/Donate#DONATE_ONLINE

Donations can also be made by mail. Donors are asked to mark their donations “forOutHistory.org” and to send them to CLAGS, Room 7115, Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016-4309.

In your end-of-year giving please consider OutHistory. Even a small donation can help keep this project going, making sure that LGBT history is accessible to everyone. And please let your friends know about OutHistory, its important contribution to the sex commons (and the history commons!), and its need for support.

Check out Thea and Much More at ElectroQueer

Have you ever seen anyone more beautiful than the girl in the picture, Thea? I had the chance to see her perform at the last Popshow and she was brilliant – she had a table of four homosexuals all wanting more – it was a sight. Check her out on Myspace and particuarly her new track “Musiclicious”.

And check out more at ElectroQueer.com!