Ah, the joys of the holidays to shop till you drop and eat till you pop.  This is the time of the year where material guys and girls can be themselves and get that certain something that they have been waiting for all year long.  Or maybe you're the generous type, and like to buy presents to impress you friends and family.  Well I'm sure whatever it is that you give or receive, AIDS is not on top of that list.  But unfortunately this is the time of year where loneliness sets in for some and inhibitions leave town.

In October of 1998, Matthew Shepard , 21 years old and living in Wyoming, was robbed and violently beaten by two men who had offered to give him a ride home. Left tied to a fence, Shepard was not found for 18 hours. After five days in the hospital, he died from his injuries.

The Reel Pride Film Festival has been showcasing cutting edge and ground breaking GLBT films in Fresno for the past 18 years. With another successful festival under their belt, Reel Pride is committed to bringing more films to Fresno, more often. They will be offering film selections on a regular basis during the break between festivals. The premier film, Another Gay Movie, will play on Friday, November 24th at the Tower Theater.  I sat down with Jon Carroll, President of Reel Pride, at Irene’s in the Tower to talk about the  festival past and present.

Chris Jarvis: Is it true Reel Pride is considering doing a monthly film?

Jon Carroll: It was an idea we were pitching around trying to figure out what we wanted to do. Ideally we’d like to do that. It’s not actually going to be every month. We’d like it to be every month but we’re not quite at that point yet. Last year we did three screenings between the closing and opening of the festival. This year we’ll do four.

On Friday November 24, 2006, Reel Pride Film Festival presents its Night Out! screening of Another Gay Movie  by Todd Stephens at the Tower Theatre at 8:00pm.  General admission is $10 per person and $5 for Reel Pride VIP Members.

  Apply for 2007-08 BULLDOG PRIDE FUND Scholarship
The Scholarship Office at Fresno State is currently accepting applications for the 2007-08 academic year. Entering or existing, undergraduate or graduate students that have “demonstrated pride in the community” are eligible to apply for the BPF scholarship. The 2nd Annual BPF Scholarship is expected to be $1,000 and will be awarded in the Fall of 2007. The application period closes on November 31, 2006.  DETAILS: WWW.BULLDOGPRIDE.ORG

There is nothing like the joy of coming home after a hard day of work.  If you’re like me, you might put on some music, take a shower, coke some food, light candles and incense, and just simply relax.  Or maybe you’re a television watcher or a book reader, well whatever it is you do at home, I’m sure your glad you have one.  Well, that’s not the case for all people.  I just recently had an encounter with someone who had AIDS and he had trouble finding himself somewhere to live.  Particularly he was looking for a clean and sober living environment like a home of some type that could help him.  But the problem was, he said none of the places that he tried would accept him because he had AIDS!