A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

ICOAA recognized with 2012 Jose Honors’ Court of Distinction

Please join Bent Alaska in congratulating the Imperial Court of All Alaska (ICOAA), which has been awarded the prestigious 2012 Jose Honors “Court of Distinction” among the existing International Court Chapters.

The Imperial Court of All Alaska is the oldest and largest not-for-profit GLBTA organization in the state of Alaska. Over the decades, ICOAA has raised over a million dollars for scholarships for Alaska students and for other charitable organizations in the state through fundraising events, benefits, titleholder Balls, and functions. Thank you, ICOAA, for all you do!

The Imperial Court System’s Jose Honors was founded in 1997 by the International Court Systems’ current leader, Empress Nicole the Great, as a tribute to the founder of the ICS, Empress Jose, to ensure that her legacy lives on for a very long time. This is the highest award given to members of the International Courts System for outstanding accomplishments within the Courts System and in the larger community they live in. Each year, the Jose Honors also recognizes an individual member Court for outstanding service.

This year, The Imperial Court of All Alaska, Alaska’s oldest LGBT organization and a major fundraiser and community service organization for the past 40 years, has been awarded the prestigious 2012 Jose Honors “Court of Distinction” among the existing International Court Chapters.

The ICOAA was chosen this year based on our many criteria, but one of our major attributes is our success while being isolated from other Imperial Courts. While we have been in existence over the past 40 years, we also have strong partnerships with other Court Chapters, even given the fact that our closest chapter is over 1400 miles away. This isolation allows us to be an even stronger partner to other in-state organizations, including our strong alignment with the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s); Identity, Inc.; the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Alaska (GLCCA); our university LGBT organizations and youth programs; The Roscoe Fund, an animal partnership program for people in our community; and fundraising opportunities supporting smaller, local organizations throughout our very large state. As Alaska’s oldest GLBTA Organization, the ICOAA helped to fund almost every other GLBTA organization as they were spin-offs of the Court when court members saw an immediate need and started new organizations.

The ICOAA is especially honored to have been acknowledged this year as a stand-out organization, and our members over the past 40 years are truly proud to have these successes acknowledged on this grand scale. While we are receiving the award this year, the contributions of many people in our Alaskan communities are an important reason that we are being recognized.

The ICOAA is a proud member of the International Court body, and is pleased to have been selected as the Court of Distinction for the 2012 Jose Honors. The official award ceremony and presentation will be held on February 24, 2012 at a special dinner in San Francisco, CA. A special thanks to everyone who has touched our organization over the past 40 years!

Happy Thanksgiving from Bent Alaska

Jeff Zarrillo and his partner Paul Katami are plaintiffs in the nationally-watched Prop 8 trial and appeared with co-plaintiffs Perry and Sandy Stier in a video from the American Foundation for Equal Rights discussing the importance of family and this Thanksgiving holiday. Happy Thanksgiving from Bent Alaska to you and your family — no matter what your family looks like.

Paige’s Birthday Wish: A Saturday evening of entertainment benefiting Operation Morale Boost

After spending Thanksgiving with loved ones, help celebrate Paige’s 31st birthday this Saturday, November 26, by helping Operation Morale Boost send off packages to servicemembers unable to be with their families this holiday season.

Open Projector Night 4, this Saturday night at Out North

The time has come  for Open Projector Night, the Alaska independent filmmakers’ open mic, presented by the Alaska Film Forum and Out North Contemporary Art House, on Saturday, November 26 at Out North.

Bring a short film or clip of something longer on DVD, BluRay, or digital format ( h.264/m4v, 720p). Projector slots will be given out on a first-come first-serve basis.

For filmmakers, this is a great opportunity to meet other people working in town and have your films screened for an audience. For everyone else, this is your chance to see the awesome work that the local filmmaking scene is putting out, and to show your support for independent filmmakers and filmmaking.

Schedule for the evening:

5pm – Media drop off begins at Out North
8pm – Doors open for socializing/networking time
9pm – Screening begins

• Date/time: Saturday, November 26, 8:00 to 11:30 PM
• Location: Out North Contemporary Art House, 3800 Debarr, Anchorage, AK (see map)
• Age restriction: This event is 21+. IDs will be checked at the door.
• Further info: see Facebook events page

Want to know more about Open Projector Night? Read Ben Anderson’s July 2011 story in the Alaska Dispatch.  Or, check out the video:

Open Projector Night 4 from Tri-Seven Pictures on Vimeo.

Alaska Film Forum and Borderline Productions helped to put this piece together to talk more about the creation of OPN and its role in the Alaska Film Community.

Thanksgiving potluck at the LGBTQ-welcoming Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

You are invited to join the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Day) at 2 p.m. for a community potluck Thanksgiving dinner.

We will gather around 1:00 to 1:30 PM for wine and cheese, and plan to start eating at 2 PM. Everyone is welcome, and if your plans change, come and join us (even if it’s the last minute). We can usually expect between 30 and 45 people. People can come early and help set up chairs and tables, etc. Come and be with your church family if your own isn’t an option. Let us celebrate together this wonderful, very American holiday with good food and fellowship.

Like the Unitarian Universalist Association as a whole, the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is LGBT-welcoming, inclusive, and affirming. They are also non-doctrinaire, holding the inherent worth and dignity of every person as one of their seven core principles. EVERYONE is welcome.

• Date/time: Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Day). Gather at 1:00 to 1:30 PM; Thanksgiving potluck at 2:00 PM.
• Location: Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 3201 Turnagain Street, Anchorage, AK (see map)
• Cost of admission: Free! But please bring a dish.
• Further info: Contact Shirley Dickens at 563-4499 if you need ideas about what to bring.

If you know of other LGBTQ-welcoming Thanksgiving celebrations anywhere in Alaska, please let Bent Alaska know by writing to bentalaska at gmail dot com or Facebooking us at https://www.facebook.com/bent.alaska.

Sara’s News Roundup 11/21/11: The Advocate’s list of 2011’s top 21 LGBTQ stories

The top 21 stories of 2011, 100 people of the year, bishops bearing false witness, and Nepal’s first lesbian film. That and other recent LGBTQ news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.

1) 21 Top News Stories of the Year
Advocate, November 2011

2) Brazil Grants Residency Based on Same-Sex Marriage
Rio De Janeiro, Associated Press, November 14, 2011

3) Catholic Charities Groups End Ill. Suit
Illinois, Advocate, November 14, 2011

4) New effort in state to legalize gay marriage
Seattle, Herald, November 13, 2011

5) New Options For Gay Retirees
Smart Money, November 14, 2011

6) North Carolina LGBT Activists Gearing up for Ballot Battle
Greensboro, N.C., Advocate, November 14, 2011

7) Bishops Behaving Badly
Pasadena, Calif., Huffington Post, November 14, 2011

8) Girl Takes Life After Gender-Based Taunting
Ridge Farm, Illinois, Advocate, November 15, 2011

9) Nepal’s First Lesbian / Gay Film Ever ‘Snow Flower’ Dubbed ‘Brokeback Everest’
Nepal, SheWired, November 16, 2011

10) Marriage: What’s It Worth?
Advocate, December-January 2011

11) Op-ed: The Beckhams, the Movie Tomboy, and Me
Advocate, November 16, 2011

12) People of the Year: The Out 100 Picks
Advocate, November 17, 2011

13) What It’s Like for Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys
Advocate, November 18, 2011

14) Colorado researchers seek LGBTQ participants for survey on health care providers
Posted November 16, 2011 by Bent Alaska

15) About World AIDS Day, December 1st
World AIDS Day, November 2011

16) Women driving means prostitution, pornography, homosexuality and divorce: Saudi
Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe Metro, November 18, 2011

Transgender Day of Remembrance: Remembering the dead — and the living

On Transgender Day of Remembrance, let’s remember those who have lost their lives to suicide and murder, but let’s also remember — and celebrate, honor, love, and welcome — the living. Even if we don’t “get” them. There’s so many worthy, cool, and interesting transgender and genderqueer people with all kinds of lives and all kinds of interesting stories to tell. And not only stories about being transgender.

Alaska favorite “I Can’t Think Straight” to become a web series — with your help

Last October, two films by independent lesbian filmmakers Shamim Sarif and Hanan Kattan were screened in Alaska, accompanied by Sheetal Sheth, costar of both films. Now one of those films, “I Can’t Think Straight,” based on the true story of Shamim’s and Hanan’s meeting, is set to become a web series — with your help. [Update: The project is on hiatus.]

Ask Lambda Legal: Options after Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Lambda Legal answers the question: Now that DADT has been repealed, can former servicemembers who were discharged under that policy re-enlist?

Colorado researchers seek LGBTQ participants for survey on health care providers

Researchers at Colorado State University investigating LGBTQ persons’ perceptions of their primary care providers. They’re reaching out to the broadest, most diverse group of LGBTQ study participants possible, which includes reaching out to community groups in understudied parts of the United States — like Alaska!

Please consider helping them out — full info below.

Participant Recruitment Notice:
Perceptions of GLBT Health Care

We are conducting an on-line study at Colorado State University to assess gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons’ perceptions of their primary care medical providers. The only requirements for participation in this study are that you are at least 18 years of age or older, self-identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, and currently have a primary care physician.

Participation in this research requires only that you complete a brief survey that asks questions about you and your perceptions of your primary care physician. We do not ask questions that require you to provide any personally identifying information, or to provide any information about the identity of your primary care physician. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential, and all data will be encrypted using the same standards that businesses use for handling credit card information.

If you are interested in participating in this research, please click on the link below for more information.

https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=143991

Principal Researcher: Dr. Jennifer J. Harman
Co-Investigators: Dr. Justin J. Lehmiller and Michael Ioerger

This project has been approved by the Colorado State University Institutional Review Board (Protocol #11-2944H).