June Rainbow Award Winners
Of the 88 June submissions, 16 have been given the Rainbow Award,
www.gayamerica.com/awards/ This month's submissions were heavy on
teen and lesbian sites, which seem to be growing like topsy. People are also becoming more and more adept at creating dynamically animated sites that download almost effortlessly.
Joe Krinock's web-o-rama has been placed in both the Teens directory as well as the Infotainment Directory (found at www.gayamerica.com) with his clever postcard engine and his continuing on-line diary (from Jan., 96). Likewise, College 101 is in both directories because it is simply packed with useful info for any college student or student to be. Created by a grad student enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University Mass., check out his Housecleaning 101, Laundry 101 or "I upped my scores on College Boards. Up yours!" Aaron & Eric's Home Page, loaded with great Java applets along with loads of music, tells the tale of two young lovers who have exchanged vows and names.
Lesbianmoms and Gaydads United is not only well designed but also rich in content. It has been placed in the Family, Lesbian and Organizations Directories since it is such an excellent resource for GL parents. If you go there be sure to read "Gaybashing in Middle America." Alix North's Isle of Sappho, "a place for art, culture and learning for women-oriented women," is exactly that but swathed in a roaring 20s look. We placed this luscious site in both the Lesbian and Literature Directories. Falling squarely in the realm of lesbianism is Tiger and Bear's Homepage which is absolutely jittery with animated graphics. Their unique story is told with a great deal of humor.
Two new award-winning galleries have been added to our new Adult Directory. Both require Adult Check. Both employ sophisticated design. Kai's Gay Gallery
has a serene, Oriental feel, while Ray Dragon's Wyrm Hole continues to exhibit its designer's growth in webmastering. Check out Ray's Tattoo Parlor, The Meat Rack, The Back Room or The Weight Room.
Mark Seiling's Priapean Tomes has been placed in the Adult, Literature & Arts Directory. His site does for men what Alix North's Isle of Sappho does for women--his is an exhaustive collection of antiquarian gay books, movies, pictures, erotic art and ephemera presented in a cleanly designed format.
We placed two of June's winners in the Arts Directory. Chip Goltz' chip and todd's, while exhibiting superior photographic artistry also exhibits a campy, trashy sense of humor (listen to deceased Divine dish the dirt) so we also placed it in the Infotainment Directory. Paul Hamilton's beautiful pictures for an ugly world, displays otherworldly (and often humorous) digital artwork.
OutSmart Magazine, a Gay and Lesbian monthly e-zine covers the gay scene in Houston with style, color and flair and can now be found in the Media and Destinations Directory, while Cheryl Soriano's The Domicile of the Damned offers resources for bisexuals and lesbians of color and was placed in the Bisexual Directory.
Rob Tisinai's Rob's Site of Ulterior Motives is the most unique of this month's winners. Rob is a knock-down gorgeous California hunk who uses his semi-clothed body to lure the hapless surfer into his "ulterior motive," which is actually so noble we placed this lovely site in the AIDS Directory. Check it out.
Magnus Andersson, a Swedish theatre student, has created Magnus GaySite with both Swedish and English text. Placed in the International Directory, this is a one-stop site for all that is gay and online in Sweden since Magnus maintains a Swedish GayRing.
Alfred Kruger's Gaynet Cape Town was placed in the Travel Directory since Mr. Kruger's aim with his site is to introduce the foreign visitor to gay Cape Town and his site does this admirably.
Internet Companies Join Oprah, Rosie, Daytime TV for Fifth Annual AIDS Day of Compassion June 20
The Fifth Annual Day of
Compassion, Friday June 20,
will include a powerful lineup of television programming as well as a significant presence on the Internet. Day of Compassion is an international media event designed to model compassion and support for people affected by HIV and AIDS. Last year, the event helped to generate over 80,000 calls to the National AIDS Hotline-more than any other AIDS-related event or news story since the beginning of the epidemic.
For the first time this year, Internet service providers and search engines will join network and cable programmers to highlight AIDS compassion, awareness and hope. The list of participating Internet companies already signed on includes America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, Yahoo! and Infoseek. A web page containing regular updates on participating shows, photos, PSAs and other ways to participate is featured on Hollywood Supports' web site: www.hsupports.org.
Oprah! and The Rosie O'Donnell Show will join a host of other daytime talk shows that are either producing new episodes, updating previous shows or rerunning prior AIDS-themed episodes. The list of talk shows whose participation has been confirmed to date includes Sally Jessy Raphael, The Jenny Jones Show, Leeza, Montel Williams, Geraldo and Maury Povich.
Daytime dramas participating this year include Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, One Life to Live, Port Charles, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Guiding Light, and The Young and the Restless. Their participation will vary from complete story lines, such as the annual Nurses Ball for AIDS charities on General Hospital, to a conversation or simple moment devoted to awareness.
This year's cable television participation will include more than 70 cable networks, including AMC Channel, America's Health Network, Cartoon Network, fX Networks, The Food Network, Lifetime, Playboy Television, Showtime, Turner Network Television and USA Network. Other committed participants include Bicycling Magazine, CNN's Showbiz Today, NBC's The More You Know, Silver King Communications, Telemundo and Univision.
Day of Compassion began in 1993, when Los Angeles actor Neil Tadken watched an AIDS-themed episode of One Life To Live. Inspired by its honest communication of the AIDS crisis, he contacted other daytime dramas, and more than half agreed that year to participate in a day devoted to portraying compassion to people affected by HIV and AIDS.
Day of Compassion is an annual project of Hollywood Supports, underwritten in part by a grant from the Permanent Charities of the Entertainment Industries. Cable Positive, the cable industry's AIDS awareness organization, and GLAAD, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, have also generously given their time and support in generating participation and awareness for this year's Day of Compassion.
