gaelick » People we Love

I ♥ Alice ♥ I: Q&A with Amy Conroy

Bear — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:15:44 +0000

We hearted I ♥ Alice ♥ I very much indeed, so how lovely it was to quiz writer and director Amy Conroy about her award-winning play, her impressive multitasking and lesbian visibility in Irish theatre, for starters!

Gaelick: Hi Amy, thanks for talking with Gaelick! So, tell all. What got you started with the Alices?

Amy: Well, I ♥ Alice ♥ I is two things really. It’s a poke or a prod at the form and structure of documentary theatre, and it’s a love story. I really wanted to play with this form, I wanted to create characters and a story that were as compelling and honest as “real life people”, and I wanted to represent women of a certain age in love. I feel gay woman, particularly older gay women are really under represented on stage and screen.

G: How important is it to have “real” lesbian characters in Irish theatre?

A: I think it’s imperative… we need to see them, and ourselves on stage, hopefully the humanity of the story and the ladies transcend sexuality. I know this is a gay love story, but I tend to think of it as a human story. I hope it resonates for all.

G: You’re writing, you’re directing, you’re performing. How easy is it to combine these roles?

A: Combining these roles is manageable, it’s time that poses the problem… If you could solve this I’d be eternally grateful!

G: Claire Barrett is great! How did you two become a theatrical pair?

A: Yes, Clare Barrett is great! We have worked together several times over the years and she is a great friend of mine. She was the obvious choice, and the perfect fit for the other Alice. We worked really closely on developing the relationship between the Alices, and she came on board even when the idea sounded a bit mad.

G: Eternal Rising of the Sun was our favourite theatre outing during last year’s Fringe Fest. The character of Gina seemed like a bit of a departure for you – Alice she ain’t! Tell us a bit about where she came from.

A: I’m always drawn to “invisible people”, people that we tend to make snap decisions about and not consider too deeply. I like to scratch at the surface and expose the underneath of these characters: the beauty, delicacy, darkness and light. Alice, Alice and Gina are not too dissimilar in that regard, but Gina’s story is a lot darker that that of I ♥ Alice.

G: What would be your dream collaboration or opportunity?

A: I’m not sure yet… I’ll let you know when it happens!

G: You’re picking up trophies like a mad thing – congratulations on being nominated for an Irish Times Theatre Award! How are you at acceptance speeches?

A: Thanks a mill! It’s a pleasure to be nominated with all these power house women… I’ve got my “congratulations on your win” speech prepared!

G: Finally, what’s next?!

A: After I ♥ Alice ♥ I finishes up in the Peacock we’re off to NYC to run the show in the Irish Arts Centre – very exciting!

G: Thanks Amy!

Our contributor, Orange, reviewed I ♥ Alice ♥ I this morning. Take a look!

HotForTheatre’s I ♥ Alice ♥ I runs at the Abbey Theatre’s Peacock Stage until Saturday, February 18th next. Tickets range from €13-€25 and are available from www.abbeytheatre.ie.

The Abbey Theatre is also hosting an additional event with Senator Katharine Zappone and Dr. Ann Louise Gilligan who will tell the story of their lives and their love on Valentine’s Day, February 14th at 6pm. General admission is €3.

A is for A-list side kicks

Gooner — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:30:38 +0000

We continue our look at those lovely ladies whose names start with A. This time I am in the land of the unsung. Those characters that add greatly to a show or film but never really get any credit.

Astrid Farnsworth (Fringe)

Played by the out gay actor and artist Jasika Nicole, Astrid is more than just a background character on the show, she’s intelligent, caring and patient. After all, Walter calls her by the wrong name every time and it never gets old.

Astrid also ensures the programme passes the The Bechdel Test, which is most important. With a small cast, every character is pivitol and Astrid’s imput is always central to the plot.

Arizona Robbins (Grey’s Anatomy)

OK, so you might think she is more than a side kick but I disagree, I think she should be more, but sadly she and her sexy wife, Callie, are back-up characters to the main event. Played brilliantly by the gorgeous Jessica Capshaw, Arizona has been one of those characters that is totally out and proud and has taken lesbian visibility on TV to a whole new level. Wedding, child, co-parenting with bio-dad, all good stuff to get out there in a major TV show.

Ashley Davies (South of Nowhere)

Back in time a little here for this one. Ashley was Spencer Carlin’s best friend in the hit show about a family who moved cross country to start fresh. Mandy Musgrave had originally auditioned for the part of Spencer but in the end she did a great job playing the bisexual teen and Spencer’s love interest, Ashley. There aren’t enough bi characters on TV (I know, join the club) so seeing this strong teen make her mark was amazing, and very well written.

Angela Montenegro (Bones)

Played by the lovely Michaela Conlin, Angela is a scientist and artist, which all ads up to being a specialist in forensic facial reconstruction. What I love about this character, though, is that this time the scientist is sexy and out going, a welcome change to the stereotype. Angela’s character is more social than her co-workers, and adds a little spice to the show. Conlin is excellent and makes sure Angela does more than paint by numbers.

Abby Sciuto (NCSI: Naval Criminal Investigative Service)

Yet another forensic scientist I hear you say? I agree, but Abby is popular, and I mean mega popular. Actress Pauley Perrette was named most popular primetime TV star by Q Score for playing the role of this intelligent woman. Now that’s saying something when you consider the sheer number of shows out there. She is smart, insightful and definitely there to do more than make up the numbers.

Anna Milton (Supernatural)

Played by the wonderful Julie McNiven, Anna is a fallen angel reborn on earth who remains an outcast from Heaven. She can however, still hear angels’ conversations which left her committed to a mental institution. Having been freed she remembers through hypnosis that she was an angel who fell due to the misery she felt from the lack of free will she suffered. I know that probably all sounds totally mad, but she’s a great character in a really interesting show. Trust me!

Allison Cameron (House)

Another doctor, this time an immunologist, Allison was portrayed by the gorgeous Jennifer Morrison till she left the show in 2006. This show is all about the main man so it’s not easy to make yourself seen. Morrison does a great job with this feisty woman. Her character actually blackmailing the House into a date in order to regain her services having been let go. Sexual harassment I hear you say? Well they didn’t work together at the time so I guess it goes down to standing up against a strong character.

Lt. Alicia Washington (Terra Nova)

Well we can’t very well have a list of sexy ladies and not include a military type, can we? Second in commant Alicia, also called “wash” is refered to by this new show’s hype as “focused, sassy, and dry”. I don’t know about you, but my spider senses are tingling! Played by the sexy Simone Kessell, this woman is, well, hot stuff. Killed in the finale to season one I am hoping they get her back somehow.

So who have I left out? There is bound to be many more out there, so please comment!

Born This Way?

CanuckJacq — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:00:58 +0000

So everyone’s all annoyed at Cynthia Nixon because she said that being gay is her choice. Maybe it is. Why are we so ready to jump down her throat over it?

“I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line ‘I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.’ And they tried to get me to change it, because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice. And for me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me. A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it’s a choice, then we could opt out.”
New York Times

Although it’s catchy, from a thoughtful perspective, I’ve never much liked the Lady GaGa anthem “Born This Way”. Mostly because, despite being hyped as this super-progressive tune, she allows it to be chopped up to appease censors for the radio and television, and then talks about LGBT being ok because some “god” made us this way. No thanks. We don’t need some god’s permission to be who we are.

Tabula Rasa and Sinead wrote recently about people who identify as “queer”, and in a lot of cases you’ll find that we do identify that way because the LGBT labels are restrictive (not just to yourself, but also for your partner). I quite liked Michael Urie’s comment on why he calls himself queer.

When asked what letter in LGBTQ he identifies himself, Urie says Q, for queer.

“I’ve been in a relationship for a while now, and if you just met the two of us together we’d be ‘gay,’ ” he explains. “But that somehow means anything that happened before [we met] didn’t count—and I don’t feel that way. I know that some people feel that way. They were with women, but it always felt wrong. But it didn’t for me. It felt right at the time. It didn’t work out, but it also didn’t work out with other men—many times. That’s why ‘gay’ never seemed right.”
The Advocate

There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence that sexuality can and does change — not by force or anything, but a lot of people come out late in life, having been reasonably happily opposite-married for years. For years, we’ve ascribed all those to conforming to societal expectations, but it’s possible they all weren’t. They’re not always willing to say that those relationships were lies.

I remember this interview with Glee’s Chris Colfer on a fansite. He was asked when he knew he was gay. He answered:

I think high school, but I find out new things about myself every day.
Gleefan.com

It seems like it should be a natural fact that we change and evolve in many ways throughout our lives. The fact is, however, that most of our early advocates relied heavily on the argument that gay people are born irrevocably gay. The argument is “How can you criminalise someone for how they were born?”. It’s what they call “biological determinism” and it relies on the argument that somehow, we just can’t help ourselves.

In direct opposition to both the mainstream gay movement and Lady Gaga, I would like to state for the record that I was not born this way. I have dated both men and women in the past, and when I’ve been with men, I never had to lie back and think of Megan Fox. I still notice attractive men on the street and on television. If I were terrified of the stigma associated with homosexuality, it would have been easy enough to date men exclusively and stay in the closet my whole life.
The Atlantic

The problem with accepting the “born this way”, or biological determinism argument, is that we are then required to accept all others of the kind. So if someone says they were just born horribly violent and racist, well, we have to accept them too, right?

This is where discernment enters the picture.

You know, if someone turned to me tomorrow and said, “Hey, great news, Jacq, I can make you straight,” I’d punch their fucking lights out. I’m happy being queer. I’m not very happy with the world around me, but I’m happy with me, and my marriage and my life. Why would I change that? I wouldn’t care if they had empirical evidence of an out and out “cure” for the gay. I don’t want it. I’m making that choice right now. Nothing to do with how I was born. Everything to do with not thinking that being queer is a bad choice to make.

So in many ways, I think my queerness is a choice. If I had really wanted to, I could have married a guy and had a samey-wamey life that wouldn’t have made me particularly happy. My job proves that it’s possible to exist in less than ideal situations without entirely losing the plot. So I chose to be happy, to pursue the people I wanted to be with, the culture and subcultures of my choice. And no, I probably wouldn’t have chosen this if I wasn’t in some way predisposed to be attracted to women, but if someone else does, I don’t really mind.

At the end of the day, our message needs to change. No more “oh, poor us, we were born this way and just can’t help ourselves.” How about “It’s a legitimate lifestyle. It doesn’t hurt anyone and makes a whole lot of people really freaking happy.” Can’t we just leave it there? Does it matter if we were “born this way”?

A is for Ana Matronic

click here — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:30:22 +0000

The awkward moment when you publish a post (especially one like this) about a person who’s just started following you on Twitter.

Ah, well.

Ana Matronic is a member of (possibly) the queerest band on earth; she’s bi; she was born in the queer-girl-est city; her real name is Anna Lynch (so we’re claiming her as one of our own): she’s a talented artist, singer, business woman; and she’s only feckin’ gorgeous. So, when do we stop ticking the “Amazing” boxes?

Let us try, as we gaze upon her beauteous being..

Photo: David Sherry

Photo: ContactMusic

Photo: Kevin Tachman Vogue

Photo: PacificCoastNews

Photo: mimiblerg tumblr

Kissing Kylie!
Photo: AdelaideNow/AFP/The Daily Telegraph

With Florence!
Photo: Scissor Sisters FB page

With Jake Shears. Photo: Scissor Sisters FB page

Fabulous.

Poll: Thar be dragons!

click here — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:30:05 +0000

Today marks the start of the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival, and this year it’s the Year of the Dragon.

Good news for the morketing department of a certain Dublin bar, and the perfect excuse to ~~gawp at~~ compare and contrast the portrayals of a certain Scandinavian anti-hero.

So, here we have it: the girl with the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander. The Hollywood re-make is out at the moment, and in today’s poll I’m asking you: who is your favourite Lisbeth Salander? Noomi Rapace or Rooney Mara?

Get looking and then get voting!

Noomi Rapace

Rooney Mara

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

A is for Andrej Pejić

click here — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:30:23 +0000

Andrej Pejić has been genderfucking his way around the world ever since his family fled the war in Bosnia and eventually settled in the land of Oz in 2000; he says that from around the age of 14 he became aware of gender barriers, and began experimenting with his look.

Andrej Pejić is hot, don’t try to deny it. (Even if you are a homophobic, transphobic, gender-phobic, self-loathing FHM reader and/or staffer. Or Barnes & Noble.)

Strewth! Let’s have a Captain Cook at this antipodean beaut, y’flamin’ galahs:

Image: The Photodiarist

Image: Allison Joyce

Image: Dossier

Image: Getty

Out magazine talks with model Andrej Pejić backstage during Fall Fashion Week 2011 in New York. Video produced by Sara Karl.

A is for Andrej Pejić. And A is for Amazing Androgynous Abilities.

Stunning.

Zappone and Gilligan receive European honour

click here — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:42:08 +0000

This just in from our friends in Marriage Equality:

Senator Katherine Zappone and Dr Ann Louise Gilligan honoured among top inspirational female role models in Europe

Following a successful nomination to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) by Marriage Equality, Senator Katherine Zappone and her partner Dr Ann Louise Gilligan have been featured in the EU organisation’s “Women Inspiring Europe” 2012 calendar.

With the publication of the calendar, currently in its second year, EIGE aims to give visibility and pay homage to some of Europe’s most remarkable women, by highlighting their achievements and success stories.

Moninne Griffith, Director of Marriage Equality, said:

We’re absolutely delighted that Senator Zappone and Dr Gilligan have been featured in the ‘Women Inspiring Europe’ calendar. They are hugely inspirational women for the marriage equality movement – not only in Ireland, but around the world. Their struggle to have their Canadian marriage recognised here is a huge part of the reason that we have Civil Partnership legislation in Ireland today.

While Civil Partnership is an important step on the road to equality, there is still much work to be done before equality is achieved. Senator Zappone and Dr Gilligan’s continued challenge has inspired people from all across the country to join the campaign for equality for same-sex couples, our families and our children.

Marriage Equality nominated Senator Zappone and Dr Gilligan not only for their work with the marriage equality movement, but also for their tireless dedication to women’s rights.

In 1986 they founded The Shanty (An Cosán) – a distinctive model of community-based education aimed at tackling poverty, isolation, inequality and disadvantage that played a key role in crystallising women’s community education in Ireland and worked to gain recognition of women’s community education as deserving a state-supported role within the education system.

They have also established the Centre for Progressive Change, which aims to respond to the crisis of the breakdown of financial and social systems that Ireland is facing by promoting an ethical vision that puts community at the heart of public life. The CPC offers services and training to individuals and organisations aiming to implement progressive change in the development of public policies and laws, and the design and delivery of public services.

Senator Zappone and Dr Gilligan are featured in the month of May, which coincides with the International Day of Families (May 15th) and the International Day Against Homophobia (May 17th). The 2012 calendar is the first time a lesbian couple has been highlighted as an inspirational feature. The text accompanying their photo praises their courage and devotion as an inspiration to others who encounter a violation of their rights to fight for them.

Speaking at the launch of the calendar, EIGE Director Virginija Langbakk said:

So many women across Europe could be promoted as great examples of their career and actions. We selected 12 women … just to give Europe a glimpse of their potential and to demonstrate that people can make a difference – if they act, and in particular, if they act different.

The “Women Inspiring Europe” calendar will be widely distributed in EU policy making circles. A copy of the calendar can be found online here.

A is for Anne Catherine Frey

click here — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:00:36 +0000

Anne Catherine Frey. In her own words:

Une petite luxembourgeoise, assez timide mais très tenace, qui se lance dans l’aventure du monde de la mode à Paris.

This Luxembourg lass and fashion student was all over Paris Fashion Week (or something) last year, and here she is now with her androgyny-chic.

Regardez-vous!

À droite

Tout droit

À gauche

Grise

Blanche

Charbon

Le chapeau rouge

Voilà!

Is anyone else feeling un petit peu chaud around here..?

A List Voices

Gooner — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:32:51 +0000

Continuing on our look at some lovely ladies with first names starting with A, I decided to take stock of just a few of the amazing voices out there. Music is one of those mediums that can truly take you away to another place and time. Specific songs and voices can hit us right in the heart and uplift us or, let’s be honest, depress us totally.

To be able to get the right emotion across is a real gift and one that most people really appreciate, no matter what genre they relate to. So lets take a look at just a few of the artists that can strike right to our hearts by hitting that note.

Adele

Of course we have to start with the most obvious one. Adele. This singer songwriter defies her tender years by making even the strongest chin wobble with her honest emotional outpourings. She allows us to see her heartbreak so openly that we can’t help but relate to it. Who could forget lyrics like “don’t forget me I beg, I remember you said, sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead”. Incredibly simple but so true I don’t think there is a single adult in the world who doesn’t feel that lyric right where it hurts.

Aretha Franklin

Now we are in the realm of legends now. A word which is banded about a lot but really fits the wonderful Ms Franklin like glove. The daughter of a respected local preacher Aretha unsurprisingly honed her skills in the local church. She went on to rise to the very top, winning 20 Grammys (2 honorary) and having no less than 20 No.1 singles. Franklin has the most million selling singles for any female artist and was the first woman inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Respect!

Annie Lennox

Having hit the big time with the Eurythmics Annie embarked on her solo career in the 90′s. She has five solo albums to date and has won three Grammys. Lennox has also walked away with both the Golden Globe and the Oscar for her song “Into the West” which was part of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Lennox has used her celebrity to work hard as an activist and is especially active in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa, winning an OBE for her efforts. Annie has earned many accolades during her long career, including VH1′s “The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive”.

Agnetha Fältskog

As one of the leads in ABBA Agnetha’s voice is as familiar the world over as anyone’s. Having won the European Song Contest in 1974 with “Waterloo”, the group went on to concur the world and I can’t think of another band that everyone likes! When you don’t know what to play driving your car or pottering about your home, stick ABBA on and everyone is happy. Selling over over 375 million records worldwide they are in the top ten of the best-selling music artists in the history of recorded music. Songs like “Dancing Queen”, “The Winner Takes it All” and “Voulez-Vou” saw the band find a place in the hearts of people from every walk of life, and in 2010 they were finally placed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lets not forget the hit musical “Mamma Mia” either!

Alison Moyet

This bluesy voice is one that really resonates and gets inside you. Alison started out with electropop group Yazoo but it is her solo career that stands out for most of us. Her debut album, alf, included such classics as “Invisible” and “All Cried Out” and went on to be number 1 in the UK. Moyet went on to take part in Live Aid and released 7 albums, an eight is in the works and scheduled for release in 2012.

Alison has also stared as Matron ‘Mama’ Morton in the West End production of Chicago.

So what do you think? Have I missed out an obvious A-Lister? What female songstress makes you weak at the knees?

A is for Anne Doyle

click here — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 11:00:06 +0000

Here is the news:

Icon and utter legend Anne Doyle reads her final news broadcast at 8:50pm today, Christmas Day, after 33 years with RTÉ.

In honour of the Wexford woman’s last broadcast, here are some photos of the legend herself.

Anne, we salute you!

Linkage:

And that’s all from Anne (The Irish Times)
Goodbye: Anne Doyle’s last news bulletin to be on Christmas Day (The Journal)
Anne Doyle confirms retirement plans – as she’s honoured with a stamp (The Daily Edge)
Seven reasons why we adore Anne Doyle (The Daily Edge)
Anne Doyle photos from the RTÉ vaults (RTÉ)
The Anne Doyle Appreciation Society

Autostraddle calendar competition winners!

click here — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:30:27 +0000

Congratulations to Emma Blake and Mollie Staples, our Autostraddle calendar competition winners!

Emma and Mollie have each won for themselves a copy of the calendar, which contains 12 high quality pages, spiral-bound with a hard-cover, and with striking photography by Robin Roemer. The calendar is 100% produced, photographed, make-upped, hair-did and modelled by and for lady-lovin’ women.

Well done, ladies!

This competition is now closed. Keep an eye out for another Gaelick giveaway coming very soon, folks!

About Autostraddle:

Founded in March 2009 and still run by a dedicated team of indentured masochists, Autostraddle is an intelligent, hilarious & provocative voice and a progressively feminist online community for a new generation of kickass lesbian, bisexual & otherwise inclined ladies (and their friends).

Autostraddle is owned, run & operated by an volunteer army. It’s a serious labor of love — a personal dream that one day became a start-up and then somehow became the world’s most popular independently-owned lesbian website with over 320,000 unique visitors and 1.75 million views per month.

Autostraddle’s girl-on-girl culture is rooted in basic social values and ideals — the team wants women to feel good about themselves, they want equality and visibility for all marginalized groups and ultimately, they want to change the world.

Calendar images are (c) Robin Roemer and are reproduced with Robin’s kind permission.

A is for AmAzing lAdies

HAL — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:00:19 +0000

To continue the fantastic list of gorgeous women from here and here , I have entered my As. So to speak. Ahem.

Anne Cassin
What? She’s hot. Anne is an Irish journalist who has covererd everything from kids singing contests to the ploughing championships. She’s only lovely.

Alyson Hannigan
I’ve written about the ginger actress a few times already, but any chance and I’m all over her.

Amber Benson
The bewitching Amber who stole Alyson’s heart when vampire programmes on the telly were actually entertaining.

Anna Friel
When Beth kissed Margaret on Brookie all of those years ago, she was exploring a part of herself that I was just twigging onto too. Anna will always have my soft spot.

Alyssa Milano
Remember when she was a cute kid on Who’s the Boss? So was I, except for the cute part, and I couldn’t understand why I liked her so much. Hmmmmm…….now look at her. Boo-ya!

AutoWin! Autostraddle Calendar competition

click here — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:30:28 +0000

Lesbians! Bifolk! Transpals!

On Monday, we brought you a taste of the fabulous Autostraddle 2012 Calendar.

Well, with thanks to Autostraddle’s Alex, Robin and Reise we have not one but two calendars to give away to you! For free! Gratis! Sweet F.A.! Nada!

So, without further ado, here are the details:

What’s the prize?

We have an Autostraddle 2012 Calendar to give away to each of two lucky winners!

The calendar contains 12 high quality 8.5″x11″ pages, spiral-bound with a hard-cover, with striking photography by Robin Roemer. The built-in wire hook can be used to hang it on your wall, or alternatively use it as a desk-calendar. The calendar is 100% produced, photographed, make-upped, hair-did and modelled by and for lady-lovin’ ladies.

(I’m just jealous I can’t keep one for myself.)

How to enter!

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below – be sure to include a valid email address so we can contact you if you’re a lucky winner! (Your email will be kept private, and will not be used for any other purpose.)

The competition runs from 12:30pm today (7th December) and will end at 4pm on Monday (12th December).

After that, we’ll pull two winners’ names out of the hat.

Simples!

(P.S. – If you comment more than once, we’ll just count one entry. So no messin’.)

About Autostraddle:

A-course!

Calendar images are (c) Robin Roemer and are reproduced with Robin’s kind permission.

A is for Autostraddle

click here — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:00:39 +0000

A is for Austostraddle – specifically their fabulous 2012 calendar featuring oodles of gorgeous North American leslies. If you thought the All-Ireland Champions’ calendar was a good ‘un, well hold on to your hats: This one is produced, photographed, make-upped, hair-did and modelled by and for lady-lovin’ ladies.

Here – with thanks to Autostraddlers Reise, Alex and photographer Robin Roemer – we bring you a hint of what’s on offer.

(If you like what you see, stay tuned: We may just have an early Christmas present for a couple of lucky Gaelick readers. Watch this space!)

Happy new year indeed! You can also catch behind-the-scenes pics from the calendar’s photoshoot here.

The calendars are available to purchase ici!

Autostraddle: web / fb / twitter / youtube / 8tracks

The above images are (c) Robin Roemer and are reproduced with Robin’s kind permission.

A note:

In keeping with Autostraddle’s comment policy regarding their calendar, we won’t be taking any shit from anyone bad-mouthing the calendar girls.

In the words of Autostraddle: “These girls are half-naked and gay, and they’re saying so on the internet in a public place, which is pretty fucking sweet — they’ve dealt with the same feelings of discrimination and difference that you have, been told that what their body wants is wrong. But everybody’s body is right. You are all beautiful, just some of you haven’t realized that yet.”

Therefore: If you have nothing nice to say, your comment will be deleted. So keep it to yourself.

A is for All-Ireland champions

click here — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:00:58 +0000

A is for All-Ireland champions – or double All-Ireland champions, to be precise.

You may have heard about the Wexford camogie team’s 2012 calendar in aid of Wexford GAA players’ welfare funds.

Here are a couple of samples:

You can also catch behind-the-scenes pics from the calendar’s photoshoot here, and from the calendar launch night here. They’ve even been on d’telly.

The calendars are a tenner and on sale from Tom Doyle Supplies, Wexford: web / fb

(Oh yeah. And crisp manufacturers can go screw themselves. Hurrah!)

A List Athletes

Gooner — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:25:06 +0000

Following on from Webmaster’s wonderful A Bit of Alright, I bring you ladies a continuation to the A List of Lovely Ladies – Athletes. After all, there are an endless list of amazing women out there who have achieved and continue to achieve great things in the world of sport. Not to mention quite a lot of them are sexy as hell in the process. So lets take a look at the women who wow us with their beauty and their skill.

Annika Sorenstam

I certainly hope no one out there is saying who? This lady ruled the world of golf for many years, winning 93 professional titles, including 10 Majors as well as winning the Solheim Cup in her native Sweden. Annika is the all-time points leader in Solheim Cup history and was vice captain to the European team this year here in Ireland. Lucky you if you managed to get to see her in the flesh, a genuine legend.

Anna Kournikova

This Russian needs no introduction. Winning many hearts on the tennis court since debuting as a teenager, Anna has gone on to take part in The Biggest Loser US as a trainer but was not taken back for further seasons as some of the contestants weren’t mad on her tough-love approach. I don’t know about you, but I can think of a few people who wouldn’t mind going a round or two with this lady.

Abby Wambach

Wambach is a striker for magicJack (that’s a team from Florida) but is probably best known for her exploits with the US national team, which includes an Olympic Medal as well as appearing in several World Cups. She has one of the best goals per game ratio around and is the third highest scorer for the US. She has also received the accolade of U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year no less than four times. With more than 90,000 followers on Twitter, this ladies sure can draw in the crowds. Many people say she’s a lady who loves the ladies, and we indeed, love her right back.

Amanda Beard

No, not Amber Heard, Amanda Beard! Amanda is a swimmer who has 7 Olympic medals for the USA team, including two gold as well as being named the American Swimmer of the Year twice. She used to hold the world record for the 200m breaststroke but to many puns come to mind so I think we shall just rise above and move on. Beard now works as a model and has done work for the likes of Sports Illustrated and FHM. She’s a veggie and a spokesperson for Defenders of Wildlife. It proved difficult to get a work friendly picture of this one, so I thought “get her in her work gear” – oh!

Ashley Force Hood

What a great name for a drag car racer. Ashley started off in 2007 and won Rookie–of–the–Year and one year later went on to win her first professional race, beating out her father, John Force in the last lap. How cool must that have felt – I wonder did she wave on the way past? With speed in her blood she and her family appeared on the reality show Driving Force (see what they did there).

Angela Ruggiero

Ahhhh ice hockey, not just a brawl on a slippery surface, much much more. Angela plays as a defenceman for the Boston Blades in Canada and is a member of the USA national women’s ice hockey team. She has played in four Olympic games winning a gold (while still in high school), two silvers and a bronze medal. Ruggiero was also named an alternate captain in 2010.

Ana Paula Mancino

How could we have a list without a volleyball player? Ana is one of those women who always appears on lists like “the 30 hottest athletes of all time” or “the 50 hottest women in sport” and yes, that is how I have heard of her Born in 1971 this Brazilian beauty has played in her homeland as well as in Italy. However, finding a picture of her actually playing volleyball is difficult at best. You gotta love the internet.

Allison Stokke

Born in 1989, Stokke vaults for for the University of California at Berkeley having broken many records in High School including national US records, finishing 4th in the CIF State Championship finals (while injured). This is one young lady with the world at her feet. Stokke came to fame on the net when a picture of her, at 17, went viral. The poor woman was just at an event, but there you go, when you got it, you got it.

Aine O’Gorman

We can’t finish up without mentioning our own Irish national soccer team member Aine O’Gorman. Signed to the Doncaster Rovers Belles in 2010 Aine is currently on loan with Peamount United. O’Gorman can play on the right of midfield and up front and is lightening quick. With 39 international caps to her name and at only 22, this is a young woman with a big future.

A Bit of Alright

Webmaster — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:56:56 +0000

A is for lots of lovely ladies beginning with the letter A. Good Gaelick readers, you would not believe the work, the hard slog we endevaour to take to bring you these pics. Hours and hours on Google Images, believe me there are not enough hours in the day.

Here at Gaelick HQ we got talking one day, about the ladies and how you seem to like them a lot. One only needs to look at the traffic Álainn or Appallin’ generates. So we are going to bring you the A to Z of lovely ladies. They can be actresses, singers, tennis players, golfers, anything you like. If there is someone hot you think we are missing, for the love of Sigourney Weaver share!

Along the lines of Seasme Street (not sure if you are old enough to remember that) the letter will change but only when we run out of lovely ladies beginning with initial. Got the idea?

Without further ado, I give you

Ali Larter – Best known for her role in Final Destination 2 as Clear Rivers, oh Ali, I’d love to be your final destination

Amber Heard – Have you heard? Amber is a lesbian Sorry, I’ll stop with the bad puns now. Appreciate the walk.

Angelina Jolie – The ladies here at HQ are strangely divided on this one, some think she is hotness personified, * holds up hand *, others think she is skankalicious. What do YOU think. I think I want a strawberry, * fans self *

Anne Hathaway – Ah, Anne, me ould flower! The quintessential girl next door. And she loves us gays so she does * nods *

Angie Harmon – When she strides onto the tv screen and cocks the hip to one side showing off her badge, my heart does the strangest things.
Don’t get me started on her husky voice. Is it just me or is getting hot in here?

Who’s your favourite A lady? I notice all my choices were actresses, am pretty sure there are some lovely ladies who sing, dance, play tennis that I have missed

Letters to yourself: What would you say to 16 year old you?

CanuckJacq — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:59:06 +0000

A couple years ago, Stephen Fry wrote a letter to his 16 year-old self.

I know what you are doing now, young Stephen. It’s early 1973. You are in the library, cross-referencing bibliographies so that you can find more and more examples of queer people in history, art and literature against whom you can hope to validate yourself. Leonardo, Tchaikovsky, Wilde, Barons Corvo and von Gloeden, Robin Maugham, Worsley, “an Englishman”, Jean Genet, Cavafy, Montherlant, Roger Peyrefitte, Mary Renault, Michael Campbell, Michael Davies, Angus Stewart, Gore Vidal, John Rechy, William Burroughs.

So many great spirits really do confirm that hope! It emboldens you to know that such a number of brilliant (if often doomed) souls shared the same impulse and desires as you. I know the index-card waltz of (auto)biographies, poems and novels you are dancing: those same names are still so close to the surface of my mind nearly four decades later.

And now, a second edition of the book “Dear Me: More letters to my 16 year old self” has been released, with letters from Alan Cumming, Gillian Anderson, James Belushi, Stephen King and more.

And here’s some more:

Gillian Anderson:

Follow your dreams not your boyfriends.

And Alan Cumming:

You will love and be loved and be rich beyond your wildest dreams, and the best thing about this richness is that it has nothing to do with money. It’s all going to be okay.

A teacher at drama school is going to tell you that you’ll never make it as a professional actor. He is wrong. Wrong to say it, and just wrong because you do okay. Try not to let it dent you too much.

You’re never going to have children, Alan. You’re going to try, in relationships with both women and men, but it doesn’t happen, and that’s okay too. Right now you have the happiest family anyone could wish for.

It really is all going to be okay. I’ll see you in 29 years. Enjoy it.

Sandra Bernhard:

You long for independence and applause, love and celebration.
Patience, my dear Sandy, that is the key to happiness.
Sitting quietly and knowing all good things are on their way.
It appears at times that they aren’t, but it’s just a test of your own inner emergency broadcast system.

My quick note to my 16 year old self would go something like this:

Chill out. It is all going to happen. And more. In 20 years, you are madly in love, well traveled and have no idea what you want to do when you grow up. The love thing may not work out the way you’d imagine right now, but that will be ok too. Might want to start reading up on liberal theologians, actually.

There’s a reason you can’t study and it’s not because you’re lazy so stop beating yourself up over it. You’re going to do something that seems incredibly unwise when you’re 17, but it turns out to be the right decision. Don’t make fun of the awkward kid. Life gets really hard before it gets unimaginably wonderful. You’ll fall in love when you’re not looking. Just follow your heart; it hasn’t failed you yet.

PS: If this note makes you figure things out early, it might be worth approaching Miss F*****, Mlle L******, or Mr D****** for a chat. Or your best friend’s boyfriend.

What would you say to your 16 year old self?

More Yummy Mummies

HAL — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 06:00:01 +0000

They’re dreamy, they’re hot and they don’t mind if you sick up on their shoulders, yes ladies they’re yummy mummies. I wrote about a few of these delicious delictations a while ago, but you need more.

Sandra Bullock

She may have discovered the hard way just how shite men can be, but Sandy (she said we could call her that) has well and truly moved on. She now has two gorgeous men in her life, Ryan “abs” Reynolds and her son, Louis.

Jodie Foster

There didn’t seem to be a closet big enough for Jodie until a couple of years back when she actually mentioned her partner, Cydney, when accepting an award. Then she fecked off on Cyd with another women. Seems having two boys hasn’t lessened her lady-magnetism.

Vera Farmiga

I know some of you are thinking “who?”, but this one is for my wife, she’s mad about her. Vera is what she calls “that hot mamma from Up in the Air”. Literally a hot mama.

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet is one of those actors that I think I know. You know those types that seem you could have a pint with them and good ould laugh, that’s Kate. Plus, Gooner loves that she’s an Arsenal fan.

Tina Fey

Not liking Tina Fey is route one to having your lesbian or bi card revoked. Seriously, the next time you are in a group of lady-lovers say that you’re not mad about her and watch the reaction.

Julia Roberts

Jules set the commercial standard for actresses in Hollywood for years and was the first ever bankable female star. She’ll admit herself that she’s not the world’s greatest actress, but she stole hearts with that laugh. Check out her son, exactly the same mouth!

Alan Carr – Spexy Beast

Gooner — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 07:06:52 +0000

Last night I was at the O2 for a live stand up performance from none other than Alan Carr. I bought these tickets in early December last year, so it’s fair to say I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. Carr become a household name by co-hosting The Friday Night Project (later The Sunday Night Project) with Justin Lee Collins from 2006 till 2009. The two were a great pairing, working really well together to create a genuinely funny show with all manner of guest hosts making an appearance. During this time he also hosted Alan Carr’s Celebrity Ding Dong for channel 4. Now of course, he can be seen on Channel 4′s popular chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man.

It was upon seeing his DVD Tooth Fairy that I really became a big fan. One of my housemates got it for Christmas a few years ago and when the three of us rolled back into the apartment, after Christmas’ at home, it was exactly what the doctor ordered. We were falling around laughing. In it he talks about human behavior in an every day relatable way. My favourite is the sketch about annoying people eating sweets in the cinema – classic. There is lots of self deprecating humour of course,

I had glasses, I had a brace, I had a hearing aid.. I wasn’t deaf but its nice to have the full set

What am I supposed to do if I go bald? Get a wig? Fat, goofy, gay, wig. I might as well get a piano and start an Elton John tribute act!

You just have to warm to him.

Although openly gay and proud, Alan doesn’t believe in being a role model, saying

I just think gay people need to get over themselves. Just because you’re gay and on the telly doesn’t mean you’re a role model. I’m just a comedian. That’s all I am. If you find me funny, good

There are a few clips on YouTube (embedding disabled unfortunately), you can have a look here. I recommend it after a bad day, you won’t be able to keep in that bad mood after watching a few of his skits.

Last night my mate and I had great seats and we settled in for his new live show, Spexy Beast. We took our seats and I thought to myself, how tough must it be to walk out on that stage with a mic in your hand in front of over 9000 people to make them laugh. Of all things, to make them laugh!

The show started with a video on the big screen and then Alan appeared on stage, right from the off we were all in fits of laughter. From X Factor contestants to his car breaking down in the middle of the moors, the whole thing was laugh out loud funny. There was the inevitable interaction with the people right at the front too, Carr has lost none of his quick thinking that’s for sure.

After an hour or so there was an interval and all you could hear were friends saying, remember this bit, remember that bit. I think my favourite was pretending you’ve been up for hours when your phone rings and you’ve been having a lie on, my stomach was in pain laughing.

There was a group of three or four women directly behind my friend and I and I thought one of them was going to have a heart attack she was enjoying it so much. She had a great laugh too, a rare occasion when loud people around you ad to the night.

Carr uses a great deal of self deprecating humour, but you never get the impression he is feeling sorry for himself, quite the opposite. You spend two hours laughing till it hurts and then giggle all the way home in the car remembering the best parts. a wonderful way for anyone to spend a dreary Wednesday evening.