From: Ttownqueer@aol.com Date: Sun, 15 Oct 1995 20:40:12 -0400 Subject: Be on TV!/Watch live call-in Specials!/Hotline: 818/771-7690 ________________________________________________ 24-HOUR AUDIO PRESS RELEASE/HOTLINE: 818/771-7690 ________________________________________________ This eMail contains a short program note, as well as an encore presentation of one of my columns, entitled "PROMO HOMO...WITHOUT APOLOGIES..." ________________________________________________ PROGRAM NOTES: ________________________________________________ On my next two live call-in shows (Century Cable Channel 3 - L.A. Metro Area): Saturday, October 21st - 11:30 a.m. - "Coming Out HIV+". A local media personality will be disclosing their HIV status and discussing the importance of doing just that. A representative from APLA will be on the show as well, to discuss political action in the fight against AIDS. Saturday, October 28th - 11:30 a.m. - "T.Q. Q&A" Nicholas Snow will be addressing recent accusations that he is exploiting the gay and lesbian civil rights movement for his own fame and fortune. The entire show will be devoted to viewer calls. If you have an opinion about queers in the media, or about Tinseltown's Queer!, call and express yourself on live T.V. No questions are off limits. Continental Cablevision Viewers (Los Angeles Region) can watch Tinseltown's Queer! for an hour, Fridays at 11:00 p.m. on Channel 28. United Artists Viewers can watch Tinseltown's Queer! for an hour, Saturdays at 11:00 p.m. on Channel 46. ______________________________________________ BE ON TV ______________________________________________ BE ON TINSELTOWN's QUEER 1995 Halloween Special! On the night of October 31st, between 8:00 and 10 p.m., Nicholas Snow and his crew will be at the intersection of San Vicente Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd., taping interviews with people in costume. IF YOU WANT TO PLUG YOUR ORGANIZATION, DROP BY TO TAPE A PSA, EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT IN COSTUME! ________________________________________________ Encore Presentation of "PROMO HOMO...WITHOUT APOLOGIES" ________________________________________________ Copyright 1995 by Nicholas Snow, All Rights Reserved Nicholas Snow is... TINSELTOWN'S QUEER! "News, Commentary and Gossip, With a Political Cutting Edge." A PROMO HOMO, WITHOUT APOLOGIES... Do you know what your dreams are? Are you following them? Or are you caught up in the day-to-day struggle of simply getting by? Do you feel self-actualized? Are you making a difference? Are you aware of your own personal power?... These are important questions for us all. As a senior in High School in Flagstaff, Arizona, in 1980, I fantasized about being an actor, as I had throughout childhood. While in high school, I starred in the requisite school plays and served proudly as the president of the FHS Drama Club. I spoke of going to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...some day. I thought about moving to Hollywood...some day. But I wasn't following my dreams that day. I felt compelled to pursue a "responsible" career--to get a degree that I could use "to support myself." After all, it would be impractical for me to have a degree in theater, right? I DID take the safe route, the supposed secure course of action, and majored in communication and marketing. I graduated from college in 1985 and put my dreams of being an actor on the back burner. Yet, because of my involvement in the lesbian and gay movement, and because of having people in my life who were (and are) living with AIDS, I began to honor my dreams a little bit more because I began to realize more fully that life is happening NOW. One day, I was walking past the Lee Strasberg Theater Institued in West Hollywood as I had done many times before, but this time I stopped. I looked through the large glass windows at the dozens of 8x10 glossies on the wall. I glanced over at the Marilyn Monroe Theater and listened to "Candle in the Wind" in my mind. This time I did not deny myself--I walked into the school and asked about audition and admission procedures, and I made an appointment for an interview which took place a few days later. I thought, "Maybe I can actually study with the greats. Maybe I can walk in the footsteps of Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino." During my personal interview at the Institute, I was asked, "Do you think an actor communicates truth or deceit in his or her craft?" In answering the question, I shared that, while the character an actor portrays may be deceitful in words or in deed, the actor's ultimate artistic privilege is to communicate some sort of truth about themselves or about life. It seemed to me that the goal of any artist (writers included), is to enlighten one's self and others through the mystery of inspiration and self-expression. In the process of studying at the Institute, I became very aware and tuned in to my own body. You see, the first hour-and-a-half of every class was devoted to relaxation exercises. I learned to discover feelings and emotions stored in different parts of my body, and I learned to express the truth within my body, whether it be stored anger, pain, fear, joy or ecstacy. Sometimes I didn't want to go to class because class felt like psychotherapy. Sometimes I knew it would be difficult, painful and exhausting to identify and release my stored emotions, and I wasn't too thrilled with the idea. In fact, I would often detour into the 7-11 convenience store for a donut before the Saturday class, or a candy bar and diet soda before night classes. At times, my choice was to stuff down my feelings with a sugar fix. My participation in the struggle for our civil rights and our battle against the ravages of AIDS, including experiences with death and dying, have taught me that my body--my instrument, my vehicle for self-expression--is very fragile. I could lose my instrument of self-expression at any time, without warning. After all, life has no guarantees. No one knows when it is "their time". All I now is that I have a vehicle for self-expression right here and right now. I have my heart, my soul, my mind, my body, my speech, my song, my touch and embrace with which to convey the little glimpses of truth that I may grasp from day to day. I want to help create a new Hollywood, which in turn, can help create a new world, by simply expressing its truth. There are probably more gay men and lesbians in the entertainment industry than any other (except for high tech). Yet, Hollywood is so resistant to speak the truth about gay men and lesbians...the celluoid closet and all. Tragically, most lesbian and gay entertainers are withholding the truth of who they are. They are not speaking OUT, with few exceptions. I know that if I don't speak out--for lesbians, gays and bisexuals; for people with AIDS; and for those who are hungry, poor and oppressed; using my instrument of self-expression to share my experience, strength and hope--that I'm a part of the problem, not the solution. We are all accountable and responsible for the well-being of the planet and its people. If we are not fighting AIDS, we are causing AIDS. If we are not fighting discrimination, we are causing discrimination. If we remain in the closet, then we are responsible for the continuing oppression of Queers everywhere. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO MIDDLE GROUND. Yes, I am a promo homo, full of myself, because I know no other way to be. I am Queer, hear me roar! We are all accountable for the evolution of humankind. So please, EXPRESS YOUR LIFE FORCE while you still can, and don't put off your dreams until tomorrow, because Silence does = Death, and Action does = Life. With love, TQ. Nicholas Snow, aka "TInseltown's Queer!", is the producer and host of the syndicated cable television show by the same name, the purpose of which is twofold: "To examine and strengthen the relationship between the entertainment industry and the Queer Civil Rights Movment--and to provide a media platform for issues pertinent to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community--thereby positively impacting the movement itself." Now in its third year of production, the comercially-sponsored and public access versions of "Tinseltown's Queer! reach almost half a million Los Angeles-area households on a regular basis. In addition to producing his show, Snow is pursuing a comprehensive entertainment career as a self-described "actor-writer-singer-songwriter-publisher-columnist-activist-diva." _________________________________________ PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PASS THIS ALONG THROUGH CYBERSPACE, THE WORLD WIDE WEB, ETC. _________________________________________ CONDITIONS FOR PUBLICATION and/or RE-DISTRIBUTION (modified 10/95). This is a FREE, periodic, syndicated column, distributed electronically via the internet, available to any interested print publication or on-line user. Although this material is copyrighted by the author, you are hereby granted permission to print (only in newspapers or magazines--no books) and distribute (electronically) this column on a one-time-per-column basis. EDITORS/PUBLISHERS: Please feel free to edit the column for length or timeliness, as it may simply be too long for your particular publication. IF YOU PRINT OR REDISTRIBUTE THIS COLUMN IN ANY WAY, YOU MUST LEAVE THE FINAL PROMOTIONAL PARAGRAPH(s) INTACT (That's why this column is free), and you must send a copy of each issue which contains the column to Nicholas Snow, The Tinseltown Queer, 7985 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 450, West Hollywood, CA 90046. IF YOU WANT A BLACK & WHITE HEADSHOT TO ACCOMPANY THE COLUMN, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR REQUEST AND MAILING ADDRESS TO Ttownqueer@aol.com.