Month: June 2013

Editors’ Note

7/12/2013


The views expressed in this news story are those of the author. USNA Out does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information provided.

USNA Out members Brian Bender ‘93, Joe Soto ‘83, and Jeff Morrison ‘04 and their friends and family completed the 5K Out-Fit Challenge on Saturday, June 29, 2013. The mud-run was held in conjunction with the New York City LGBT Pride in Tuxedo National Park approximately one hour outside New York City.

This Out-Fit Challenge is allegedly the first ever national LGBT mud-run. USNA Out members were at the starting line for the inaugural event. The six of us worked as a team helping one another over, under and through thirteen muddy obstacles completing the race hand-in-hand across the finish line. “No Man Left Behind,” a concept ingrained in us at USNA, still holds true.

The Out-Fit Challenge supports charities that are making a significant difference in the lives of LGBT individuals across the US.   The goal is to support one national charity and one local charity in every city at which they hold an event. We USNA Out members are proud to have completed this challenging event while at the same time support charities important and relevant to our community.

It was USNA Out that brought us together first as alumni, and then as friends. Although we hail from three distinctly different decades of alumni, we have that strong common bond of Annapolis that means so much, particularly as LGBT alumni.

BZ team!

-Jeff Morrison ‘04
Continue reading “6/29/2013 – USNA Out at the NY 5K Out-Fit Challenge”

Many of our San Diego alumni gathered together in our second and largest San Diego/SoCal gathering.

USNA Out members can Log-in to read more about the evening in the members only version of this story.

Editors’ Note


USNA Out gatherings are great means for us to come together, and in turn, do our part to support our mission and the mission of the Naval Academy. If you are interested in organizing a local USNA Out get-together in your area, please let us know!
Continue reading “6/25/2013 – San Diego Hail & Farewell”

---

What does USNA Out have to do with the film festivals? Not much, other than our own film OUT of ANNAPOLIS had its West Coast Premeir at Frameline 34 and did the full LGBT film festival circuit, and we know firsthand how films can change lives and minds.

This year’s festival at Frameline got off to a great start and that strength continued through the festival A few films that we can strongly recommend for our USNA LGBT audiences because of how they can relate so some of our members..

Our Festival Favorites

Free Fall (Freier Fall) -Narrative feature – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2617828 – Two men attend the Police Academy together, and later end up in the same precinct. As their forbidden love progresses, their lives become more and more intertwined and difficult, especially as one is the father of a newborn and has to explain his inattention to his wife, who suspects something is not quite right in their relationship.

Substitute Police Academy for Naval Academy and US Navy or Marine Corps for Baden-Württemberg police, and this is the story of many of our members. This show demonstrates how continuing to live against your sexual desires results in hurting a lot of people, particularly those whom you love the most in life.

(In German with English subtitles, gratuitous tobacco abuse)

The Out List (HBO) -Documentary – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2617828 – High profile members of today’s LGBTQ community reveal their struggles and triumphs of being “Out” in America. A well done documentary that has much to which many of our USNA Out member will be able to relate.

This film was televised on HBO beginning on Thursday, June 27th.

Burning Blue Written in 1992 by DMW Greer USNA ’80, a former Naval Aviator, the stage play of Burning Blue premiered to great critical acclaim on the London Fringe at the King’s Head Theater in early 1995 before transferring to The Theatre Royal Haymarket on the West End where the production received two Olivier Awards. Since then, it has been seen by more than 100,000 people in multiple productions around the world from Tel Aviv to Paris. Drawn from the Author’s life, this funny, deeply compelling and tragic love story set against the backdrop of the US Navy was shot entirely in New York City.

Film website: http://www.burningbluefilm.com/
Film teaser: http://vimeo.com/36794000
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1811307/
Film director DMW Greer Bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMW_Greer

Written and directed by USNA Alum David Greer and a leading role played by USNA Alum Rob Moyes ’08.

---

Festival Award Winners

Juried Awards

Best Documentary:

Winner: Valentine Road.
Honorable Mention: Big Joy
Honorable Mention: The New Black

Wells Fargo Juried First Feature Award ($7,500)
Winner: “Out in the Dark”
Special Mention: Compassion

Audience Favorite Awards

Short: dik
Documentary: The New Black
Feature: Reaching for the Moon

The is the second year that we have provide a report from the Frameline Festival. See our review of Films at Frameline 36.
Continue reading “6/29/2012 – Steve & Paul’s Frameline 37 Film Festival Favorites”

[This page is not indexed. This page is a publicly accessible version of a members only page. It has been made so that the three nonmembers can view the content. Please do not link]

So how’s the Cow?

USNA Out got heads up on three LGBT appointees to the Class of 2017 from three different sources. A big thanks to those USNA Out members who tipped us off.

To “welcome” the three appointees, USNA Out presented each of them a copy of Reef Points with a short recommended reading list on rates that they will need to eventually know by the end of their upcoming Plebe Summer. Just as younger siblings get the advantage of learning from their older brothers or sisters, our family of LGBT future midshipmen should have that same advantage.

So what’s best way to get up on your Plebe Rates??

OR perhaps

Perhaps we should have included a synopsis of the mutagenic effects of ultraviolet radiation.

The three candidates will all be issued their own personal copy of Reef Points 2013-2014 on I–Day. We hope that the Class of 2017 will help us “pass down” the tradition of welcoming the LGB appointees about whom we know each year before the Class of 2018 begins their first summer at USNA.

Appointees are not eligible to join USNA Out until after they have taken the Oath of Office as a Midshipman, and then, they will be without the ability to communicate until after Plebe Parent’s Weekend at the end of the summer.

Continue reading “[non-indexed page] USNA Out Welcomes the Class of 2017”