Gay Place

CASTING OUT

The gang at KOOP's OutCast graciously invited me to co-host last week and to consider making it a semipermanent deal (read: What were they thinking?). What fun. Radio is a blast, especially when you are there, live, making it happen, and you get to see all the dirty little behind-the-scenes bits. Not that there were any particularly dirty bits this past week, per se, but you know when you lock a couple of queens and a big ol' faggy dyke into one studio – well, get ready to hear some rainbow fireworks. Watching the eyeball daggers that host Heath Riddles throws (mostly at co-host Stephen Rice) while remaining so calm and soothing and in-control on air is a view I shall forever treasure. This week the show experimented with a new forum format, as opposed to the traditional Q&A. New guest host and new format, unrehearsed, all in one week is, in any situation, a potential stinkbomb, but Heath & Co. pulled it off with decent success, I think (and not just because I was part of "& Co."). We talked about the Equality March in Washington, D.C., and Obama's Human Rights Campaign speech, with Equality Texas' Paul Scott and I weighing in "pro" and defending hope, patience, and the grassrooters (surprise!) and H & S weighing in "bitchy" (shock of shocks). Oh, and then Rebecca Havemeyer came in and everything went crawfish-shaped. You can listen yourself, either live, Tuesdays at 6pm on KOOP 91.7FM or at www.outcastaustin.com.

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