| Date |
# |
Topics/Activities |
| 2007‑01‑05 |
26 |
Movie night: A Home at the End of the World. After the film, we briefly discussed how well it followed Michael Cunningham?s novel. Considering that he helped write the screenplay, we agreed that it followed it well. We also agreed that Colin Farrell is the hottest thing ever to appear on CGM?s big screen. |
| 2007‑01‑12 |
31 |
Open discussion about the nature of obsession, hosted by George K. |
| 2007‑01‑19 |
27 |
Curtis M. led the group in a ?show & tell? meeting of sentiment and history. Ten attendees brought items to show. Some items were personal, but most items provided a connection to an ancestor. We saw several fathers and grandfathers in times of war, through their letters, photographs, flight jackets, clippings, and stories. |
| 2007‑01‑26 |
29 |
Terrill Park is in the news again. Jeremy read from the Concord Monitor story, in which it was reported that the police don?t generally patrol the park because they think they will be perceived as attacking the gay community. Does our minority status put us above the law? |
| 2007‑02‑02 |
|
Social night, introduced by Ron M. |
| 2007‑02‑09 |
44 |
Rev. Robert Wood was our guest tonight, presenting and discussing gay history in the years before Stonewall. What a rich history this man has experienced. |
| 2007‑02‑16 |
26 |
Open discussion led by Bob P on same-sex marriage vs. civil unions vs. cohabitation. The benefits are different between them. They differ between the states too. Luckily we had time to lighten the mood and discuss cultural differences of marriage between nations. |
| 2007‑02‑23 |
25 |
Movie night: Be Real: Stories from Queer America. This documentary highlighted the stories of six GLBT Americans who have struggled with their identity yet succeeded in making the transition to accepting themselves, being out, and having a positive impact. A post-film discussion was hosted by Alan A. |
| 2007‑03‑02 |
20 |
Games were brought but left unplayed. Instead, we read the just-released quarterly newsletter, helped a guy with his algebra, and socialized. |
| 2007‑03‑09 |
36 |
Len Gerwick shared his story tonight. He's a puppeteer and painter. He brought a small stage and performed one of Aesop?s Fables: ?The Fox, the Lion, and the Donkey.? Although Len remains active in this business, he enjoys painting even more. You can learn more at either of his websites: Puppets or Paintings. |
| 2007‑03‑16 |
7 |
Seven hardy souls braved a late-winter snowstorm to discuss art. What appreciates? What stagnates? Are the sketches of Roger Payne art or pornography? George put in a good word for Payne: his subjects are much more "human" than those of Tom of Finland. Thus the works depict real, albeit graphic, intimacy. |
| 2007‑03‑23 |
29 |
Byron, James, and Mark joined Jonathan in a discussion of the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New Hampshire and what Gay Men Fight AIDS is doing about it. |
| 2007‑03‑30 |
24 |
Bill A. led the group in a memoir of Barbara Gittings, a pioneer of the gay rights movement and editor for the Daughters of Bilitis in the mid-60s, before Stonewall. Robert Wood recounted having worked with her personally. Bill showed most of Out of the Past, the excellent 1998 documentary of several pre-Stonewall pioneers. |
| 2007‑04‑06 |
31 |
Tonight we recognized the historic enormity of the NH State House decision this week to pass a bill to recognize civil unions. We wondered how big the backlash will be, but were encouraged that the same tired rhetoric (“Two men don’t fit!”) is still the primary weapon against us. |
| 2007‑04‑13 |
15 |
Don Imus was fired this week for 3 spoken words. Rosanne Barr also made some comments that piqued our interest. What’s in a word, anyway? Tonight we discussed the words that pertain to us: homosexual, fag, gay, queer, and an old one, pansy. A dictionary aided our parsing the roots and meanings. Many thanks to Bob and Jonathan for hosting this meeting at their home (the church was hosting a conference tonight). |
| 2007‑04‑20 |
32 |
Sarah Strout from Southern New Hampshire University invited us to participate in her study, ?The Relationship between Mate Preferences, Mating Strategy, and Self-Perception.? After we took the questionnaire, she shared some of her preliminary results from UNH student participants. Results from our sample will be presented at a later date. Thanks to Chris T. for inviting Ms. Strout. |
| 2007‑04‑27 |
20 |
Guest speaker Nancy Greenwood urged us to examine our insurance situation and took our questions. It was an eye-opener for some of us. Nancy can’t sell insurance to us here in NH, but she is happy to advise. You can reach her at 978-683-7676 (Methuen, MA). |
| 2007‑05‑04 |
29 |
Mini-groups returned. We selected groups at random and let them discuss whatever they wanted. All 4 groups were still going strong at 9pm. |
| 2007‑05‑11 |
28 |
Mimzy was to be our guest tonight, leading us in an activity called “My Favorite Things.” Luckily, we had a more-than-adequate stand-in, Dennis M. He even brought cookies baked by Mimzy herself! |
| 2007‑05‑18 |
21 |
Bill A. presented us with the documentary Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World. |
| 2007‑05‑25 |
19 |
Jeremy led the group in an open forum discussion. Topics included whether “fagling” was a good word (decidedly yes), an update on whether civil unions were signed into law yet (not yet) and whether there’s a big backlash coming, and the deteriorating situation in Poland: if a group like CGM formed there, attendees would be risking big prison terms. |
| 2007‑06‑01 |
25 |
Has CGM evolved to the point where we’re ready to invite folks who are working presidential campaigns? Yes. However, invitees should be asked to honor the following: No press coverage is allowed, and we want a 2-way discussion. With this settled, we agreed to invite Greg Sargent from the Hillary Clinton campaign to speak to us. Also, we acknowledged that Governor Lynch has finally signed the civil unions law, which will go into effect on January 1. |
| 2007‑06‑08 |
23 |
Curtis and Doug led the group in an activity modeled on NPR’s This I Believe. Each attendee was invited to explore what he believes and what gives him focus. |
| 2007‑06‑15 |
22 |
Bill A. read from a Concord Monitor story on the historic vote in Massachusetts to block the gay marriage amendment. A brief discussion followed. Then we watched the first half (the darker half) of The Celluloid Closet, a truly remarkable film. |
| 2007‑06‑22 |
30 |
Greg Sargent and Nicholas Panagopoulos were our guests and lead the group in a mostly question-and-answer discussion about Hillary Clinton and her campaign for president. They were honest, intelligent, and very good guests. |
| 2007‑06‑29 |
19 |
Tonight Jeremy relayed every detail of his recent bicycle accident in a bid to get more folks to wear helmets. He was easily upstaged, however, by even more horrific tales from the other attendees! |
| 2007‑07‑06 |
21 |
Tonight Steven Law was our guest, teaching us how to “record our history.” Steve has written an autobiography of Rev. Robert Wood. Robert has been fighting for GLBT rights for 50 years and is ready to pass on the torch! |
| 2007‑07‑13 |
19 |
Dennis M. gave a preview of the kind of quality information CGM members can get each quarter in his new column, “One Man’s Trash.” In it he teaches you how to make your home look like a million bucks...for pennies. |
| 2007‑07‑20 |
22 |
Bob P. led the group in an open forum discussion. He asked what kinds of relationships are best suited for civil unions and whether they existed in the gay community. One member noted that they should make gay men work harder to maintain their current relationship rather than take the easy step and walk away from it. |
| 2007‑07‑27 |
23 |
Mini-groups and board meeting. The board took advantage of the mini-group format to meet earlier and finalize decisions for the anniversary party. |
| 2007‑08‑03 |
27 |
Benefit Auction. Tonight we held a fun event to raise funds for our anniversary and Christmas parties. Attendees donated items that Dennis and Jeremy auctioned off to other attendees. Some items fetched over $100. Wow! |
| 2007‑08‑10 |
20 |
“Being Gay In World War II.” The Rev. Robert Wood was our guest again tonight to share another of his fascinating life stories. This time he spoke of basic training, his months in combat, taking a bullet and bayonet, and recuperating from these injuries. He brought his diary from this period. He has a list of demands for politicians, including the reversal of dishonorable discharges for folks kicked out solely for being gay. Bob earned a rare but genuine standing ovation from the group tonight. |
| 2007‑12‑21 |
39 |
Christmas Party and Yankee Gift Swap. Tonight we enjoyed a hot supper from the Puritan Backroom. Yum! Dennis M. raffled pieces of his art, too. |
| 2007‑12‑28 |
20 |
Bill showed part II of a documentary on the ex-gay movement. |
