“Help is on the Way” is an elegant evening of fun designed to raise funds for Bay Area AIDS service provider agencies. We proudly support their efforts!

Don’t miss Fagbug’s San Francisco premiere at Roxie as part of the San Francisco United Film Festival on June 14th at 6p!

The Mo Diaries is described by film maker Tony Wilkins as a Mocumentary or a mock documentary infusing both scripted and non-scripted personalities into the film to tell the story of relationships. More information on his movie premiere in San Francisco!

Of all the “Real World” seasons, no one cast member has made more of a positive impact than “Real World: San Francisco’s” Pedro Zamora. His story touched millions of viewers, his courage educated many Americans and his life changed the MTV generation.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) will award outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in news and entertainment media at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards presented by IBM.

This year there are 185 nominees in 41 categories that include Outstanding Film; TV Journalism; Theatre; Music Artist; and Comic Book; and 15 Spanish language entertainment and news categories.

XXX: CUAV Turns 30!: Annual Benefit for Community United Against Violence information for their San Francisco special event!

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.

This upcoming weekend San Francisco based World of Good Development is holding their annual Holiday warehouse sale. In the past the organization has been donating half of the event’s proceeds to the organization.
With the same spirit this year, they aim to raise an additional $10K to support the craft communities worldwide.
Thousands of handmade jewelry, bags, scarves, house wares, and gifts up to 95% off retail price. Everything will be sold at $2 to $5. Half of proceeds to benefit supports artisan communities in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

They will be opening the warehouse to the public through the last two critical weekends of the Holiday shopping season to our friends and neighbors in the Bay Area. The perfect opportunity to shop for memorable, meaningful Holiday gifts for everyone on your list, the sale will feature sustainably-made Columbian pottery, hand-woven baskets from Africa, tote bags crafted from recycled materials, and unique jewelry hand made in India.

The foundation of this San Francisco based organization is focused round the goal to eliminate poverty and structurally improve the quality of life for artisans in very low-income craft producing communities around the world. The organization is partnering with businesses and organizations in order to build a stronger fair trade craft moments in USA. World of good development is investing in social and economic projects to promote the communities of craft producers.

So make sure to do some gift shopping this year that actually do good, not only for your family and friends, but for needing communities too.

World of Good Development Holiday Warehouse Sale
Friday and Saturday
December 20 and 21
10AM – 2PM
6315 Doyle Street
Emeryville, CA 94608
Corner of 64th and Doyle

Also check out their original line: http://www.originalgood.com/

Thanks to Ladies Lotto for the heads up!

Recently we asked for reader feedback on why they are against Prop 8 and for gay equality. For more information on this open call for participation and using YOUR voice: Why Are You Against Prop 8? Share Your Stories. Keep your submissions coming, here is Volume IV!

Read More: Against Hate and Prop 8 Series – Volume IV