February 1994
PAGE 9 Q-Notes
Compiled by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
A new merchandise catalog of gay/lesbi-
an^isexual buttons, t-shirts, magnets, bumper
stickers, postcards, rubber stamps and more
is free for the asking. The catalog contains
over 80 different button designs, and quanti
ty discounts are available. For your free
copy, contact Dan Kaufrnan Graphics, Cat
alog Request, Dept. X, PO Box 4901, Wash
ington, DC 2008, or call (202) I’M OUT-
RU? (466-8878).
Republicans for Individual Freedoms
(RIF) wants to start a chapter in the North/
South Carolina region. WF presently has
chapters in New York, Hartford and Atlanta
with over200 members nationwide. RIF was
begun to fight homophobia in the Republi
can Party and to fight “Republiphobia” in the
gay community. They organize meetings
and rallies, letter writing campaigns and
issue policy papers. Chapters have three
main areas of responsibility: 1) speak out
when Republicans make homophobic state
ments, 2) hold Democrats accountable for
campaign promises to the gay community
and 3) insist that gay leaders represent all gay
citizens. For membership information, con
tact Republicans, PO Box 13162, Atlanta,
GA 30324.
out being blatant about it. The shirt has the
words “STOP AIDS” discretely woven in an
all-white pattern throughout the fabric. It
also features a timepiece button or cufflinks
to signify that time is running out to find a
cure. In addition to raising awareness, each
shirt manufactured will have a 20% donation
made to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Founda
tion. Retailers have also agreed to donate
from 10% to 100% of their proceeds to local
AIDS charities. Theshirtretailsfor$225. To
order or to find the nearest retailer, call 1 -
800-348-3866.
San Diego, CA will be the site of
Leatherfest VI, March 11-13. The annual
event for the Leather/S&M/Fetish commu
nity will consist of over 20 workshops and
demonstrations. In addition, there will be a
LeatherTip Square Dance, an Awards Ban
quet, and Erotic Leather and Latex Fashion
Show, a Leather Bazaar, a Welcome Recep
tion, a Fun Run, Dungeonfest parties, a 12-
Step Program and local bar events. To be
held at the Radisson Hotel Mission Valley,
special room rates of $59 (single) and $69 (2-
4 persons) per night have been arranged if
reservations are made by February 11 by
calling the hotel at (619) 260-0111 or
Radisson Worldwide Reservations at Leath
er Association members and $90 for non
members. For more information, write NLA/
SD, PO Box 3092, San Diego, CA 92163 or
call 1-800-598-1859.
Undersea Expeditions, a gay scuba and
snorkel travel package wholes^er, has an
nounced a series of trips for 1994. Cozumel,
Mexico is first up from February 26-march 5
at a ten-bedroom, private, oceanfront villa.
Also scheduled are trips to The Sydney Gay
Mardi Gras and the Great Barrier Reef, the
Red Sea and ancient Egypt, and to the off
shore reefs of Belize.Prices start at $669 for
a week in Cozumel, including beachfront
accommodations and meals. For more infor
mation, contact Undersea Expeditions, PO
Box 9455, Pacific Beach, CA 92169 or call
1-800-669-0310.
The Executive Committee of Stonewall
25 is seeking to hire a Domestic Outreach
Person who will be responsible for planing,
guiding and implementing outreach to gay
and lesbian organizations to gain their sup
port, endorsement and participation in the
March on June 26 in New York City. If
interested, send your resume to Susan Jester,
Stonewall 25, 208 West 13th Street, New
York, NY 10011.
An Orthodox Catholic community is be
ing formed in the Asheville area, and they
have extended an invitation to all gays and
lesbians. For more information, contact
Father Andrew Gentry, St. Seraphim Ortho
dox Catholic Mission, PO Box 64, Arden,
NC 28704.
The national federation of the Gay and
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
(GL A AD) is seeking to establish local chap
ters across the US. GLAAD is a media
watchdog organization which notifies the
gay community of both positive and negative
representations homosexuality in the media.
To become a member or to receive informa
tion on how to start a chapter in your area,
contact GLAAD, 150 West 26th Street, Suite
503,Newyork,NY 10001 or call Donna Red
Wing at (212) 647-1282.
Attention Skiers! Rather than spending
your money in Colorado for Gay Ski Week/
Aspen, consider Winterfest Tahoe ’94 at
Lake Tahoe, Nevada, March 13-20. Activ
ities include downhill and cross-country ski
ing, snowboarding, back-country skiing, ice
skating, sleigh rides, snow sculpture, snow
volleyball, tours, diimer shows, mixers, danc
es, apres-ski parties, barbecues, comedy
Continued on page 26
Clothing manufacturer Eton of Sweden
has designed a man’s shirt for those who
want to make a statement about AIDS with-
Long-term survivor
succumbs to AIDS
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
LOS ANGELES—Michael Callen, 38,
died of AIDS complications on December
27, 1993 after battling the disease since his
diagnosis in 1982. Callen was the former
lead singer of “The Flirtations,” featured in
the Tom Hanks/Denzel Washington film,
Philadelphia, and a prominent AIDS activ
ist.
Michael Callen (far left) and The
Flirtations
According to his lover, Richard Dworkin,
Callen never took AZT and opted for alterna
tive chemotherapy for AIDS-related cancer.
He promoted the use of buyer’s clubs for
inexpensive access to AIDS treatments, urged
usage of the term “people with AIDS” and
advocated safer sex practices in the early
stages of our understanding of the disease.
In addition to being an accomplished
singer and composer, Callen wrote “Surviv
ing AIDS,” was a member of the New York
City Mayor’s Interagency Task Force on
AIDS and the New York State AIDS Insti
tute. He testified before state and congres
sional committees on numerous occasions
and published several works on the disease.
Some companies
and brokers are
promising you “the
most money for your
life insurance policy,”
but they are breaking
Steve Simon, President their promises.
They promise to only represent your
interests...they promise to get you the
most for your policy..they promise that
everything is confidential...they
promise you will
not have to pay
their fee. They
promise you will
get your money
quickly. They
promise and they
promise and they
promise!
And who will
these brokers sell
your policy to? Not
the company that
will pay you the
most, but someone who will pay the
broker the most. Think about that! And
who are these “funding sources” that
they are sending your personal and
confidential medical records to?
Someone you can check out? Someone
you can trust? Someone you would
want owning your life insurance policy?
And who really pays the broker’s
fee? You! If you worked directly with a
There is nothing
sweeter than
a promise kept.
There is nothing
more bitter than
a promise broken.
company like American Life Resources
there would be no fee. The extra
money it costs to have a middleman
shop your policy to investors would go
directly to you. And copies of your pri
vate and confidential medical records
would not be floating around the country
like a chain letter.
We don’t need to find someone to
purchase your policy. We don’t have to
wait to get you your funds after you
have been
approved. We
have over 50
million dollars of
our own money
that is solely
dedicated to
purchasing life
insurance poli
cies. You receive
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hassles, no
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delays.
Call us for more information. You
don’t need middlemen and neither do
we. We keep our promises so you can
keep yours!
1 - 800-633-0407
American Life Resources is one
of the oldest and largest viatical
settlement companies in the
world. We have helped more
PWAs take control of their lives
than any other organization.
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A Viatical Settlement Company