The Regulars by Karl Hampe

About Karl Hampe:

Karl Hampe has been drawing since he was old enough not to eat the chalk. A part-time litigation consultant and part-time cartoonist, he splits his time between Corporate America and hanging out at coffee bars pretending to do research for this strip. He sometimes confuses yelling at the television news with social activism (he can yell pretty loudly). Some – but only some – of the characters in The Regulars are based on his BFFs.

Out100 Awards: Adele and Cheyenne Jackson, photo by Ashley Torres!

This should put the world in perspective, great story regarding Tara & Bella and their friendship.

One thing I’ve always liked about memoirs is that you are reading something that actually happened. No matter how mundane the story is, you’re getting a slice of someone’s life, someone’s brain. StreetChild: An Unpaved Passage by Justin Early is anything but mundane. Here is the story of a ten-year old child who ends up on the streets, left to himself, except for the family that he’s able to make from the other street children. This book completely pulled me in. Here I was, reading about Justin’s life, and something bad would happen to him, like when he’s picking up a trick, or he’s getting high, and I’d forget that he was only just a kid. My childhood wasn’t like that… Then suddenly, a well-placed photo would appear, and there he was, immediately reminding me that hey, he’s only a baby. His whole narrative was great, the way he described his life with his street family alternated jarring things like the photos and realities of living on the street with normal scenes of hanging out with friends and the bonds they formed, which in a way made it more harrowing. Reading this book, I felt like I knew Justin personally. I started caring about him and what was happening. I cared so much that I’d have to take breaks from the book, and read other books. I cared so much that I started dreaming about things from the book. He’d be doing good, then something bad would happen, and I’d actually get mad at him. I’d tell my friends, ‘Justin is so stupid! How could he do that?!?’ I’d go from sad, to proud, then in awe, then mad, back to proud… literally an emotional rollercoaster. I admit, I can get overly into books, but it’s not every book that will be able to affect me that way. The storyline was reminiscent of Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle, with the writing style more like Michelle Tea, but still different.

Out100 Awards: Sam Sparro, Adele and Out Impact’s Director of Publicity Sean Oakley, photo by Ashley Torres!

From our friends at Be Your Own Queero and Be Your Own Hero:

This Sunday, Feb. 1st, 2009:
12:00 noon – 2ish
317 Castle St (Corner of 4th & Castle) Wilmington, NC

Bring items you don’t need, take what you want!

(please respect the space and clean up after yourself! take your items that no one takes to the rescue mission when you leave, or do whatever you want with them, just don’t leave them there!)

This is a community event, everyone is invited!

It’s easy for the pink brigade to heap criticism on people who have skeletons in the closet, because closets are for clothes. But here in post-Will and Grace America, we of the free to be you and me generation might take it for granted that full disclosure is imperative. I’m among those fruit flies who subscribes to the less popular opinion ‘in your own time.’ Must identity always be a political act?

Unlikely sex symbol Clay “Gay” Aiken, American Idol’s favorite nerd, had every right to find himself, in his own time. That said, no one was surprised to see the flaming headline on People Magazine: “YES, I’M GAAAAAAAAAAAAY.” But sashay out in style he did: Clay may be the only person in all of history to come out while holding his brand new baby in his arms.

The Women’s Resource Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington will present benefit performances of Eve Ensler’s award-winning play The Vagina Monologues Feb.12, 13 and 15, 2009. The event is part of the celebration of V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. All profits will go to the Wilmington Domestic Violence Shelter and the Rape Crisis Center at Coastal Horizons.

Performance dates, times and locations are:

Thursday, Feb. 12, Lumina Theater, Fisher Student Center, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 13, “Dinner & Show”, Warwick Center Ballroom, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 15, Lumina Theater, Fisher Student Center, 2 p.m.

Tickets are available at Kenan Auditorium Box Office and Sharkey’s Box Office in the Fisher Student Center. Credit card purchases must be made through the Kenan Auditorium Box Office at 910.962.3500 or 800.732.3643.

Prices for Feb. 12 and 15: $10 General Public; $8 Faculty, Staff, Alumni; $6 Students; Prices for Feb. 13 “Dinner & Show”: $40 Public; $35 Faculty, Staff, Alumni; $25 Students

Last year, more than 4,000 V-Day benefits took place around the world raising funds and awareness toward ending violence against women and girls. Since 1998, V-Day and these highly successful events have raised more than $60 million for organizations working to end violence in their local communities. The University of North Carolina Wilmington supports this global movement as part of the V‑Day 2009 College Campaign.

THANK YOU to everyone who came to support our first event of 2009! We packed The Soapbox with a enthusiastic and fun audience and we raised $80.00 for the American Kennel Club’s Canine Health Foundation’s Marcia Polimer Abrams Fund for Canine Behavior Studies.

We’d love your feedback if you attended our first Out Impact Friday – thank you for your support, we enjoyed putting on this great show for you! Look for photos and video footage soon! Special thanks to Andy Moore, Someone’s Sister, ilyAIMY and our bellydancer Kaitlyn for your amazing performances!

We will be doing our next event March 6, 2009 at The Soapbox for Equality NC! Don’t miss it!

Dear Matt Alber,

Please marry me and have my children.

Yours Always,

Dan.

If you’ve listened to Matt’s debut album Hide Nothing, you’ve probably considered writing similar fan mail. Don’t worry – you’re not alone. This personal and sentimental 10-track CD has had listeners swooning since its release last November.