3/19/98 Stranger Misc. Queers' Ears NEWS ITEM OF THE WEEK (NY Times, 3/4): "Jockey is introducin an advertising campaign intended to imbue the once-hidebound underwear company with a hipper image, particularly among younger shoppers." Just what's so bad about a "hidebound underwear company?" What other kind of underwear is there? Runner-up item (KIRO Radio News Fax, 3/5): "A Longview-area man plans a rally at the state Capitol to protest Indian hunting in the Mount St. Helens National Monument." I thought we were over that despicable era of Western history. GIRLY SHOWS: In recent weeks, the P-I Lifestyle section's run two wire service stories, headlined "A New Heyday for Teens" and "Teenage Girl Power at the Box Office." Of course, their idea of "girl power" is strictly limited to purchasing power, not political power or even the power to make films instead of just watching them. Still, that's at least something. Some music historians claim we should credit teen-female fans for "inventing" rock 'n' roll. In other over-the-counterculture news... QUEER NATION, INDEED: By now you've probably seen print ads for Triangle Broadcasting, "America's First Gay Broadcasting Network" (unless you count American Movie Classics). The L.A.-based company just opened its second branch operation here (the first is in Philly). It runs low-power transmitters out of Bremerton (1490 on the AM dial) and Tacoma, plus a three-person sales office in Pioneer Square. All the programming's beamed by satellite from Calif. They plan to include lotsa Seattle-based events listings and talk-show guests, but that'll diminish as more network-owned stations start up around the country. The debut lineup's mostly talk, with some dance-music hours at night. One host is described as "the queer Rush Limbaugh;" there's also a Dr. Laura-like tuff-advice lady and a wacky-wacky morning dude. The company's PR literature's light on discussing station content, but big on praising gays and lesbians the way corporate America likes to hear people praised--as upscale, upscale, upscale! I suppose it's progress or something like it if queers can now be depicted as not only non-threatening but as a key economic sector. But to effectively reach all those double-upper-income-no-kids households, they'll have to grow into something beyond gay/ lesbian topics tacked onto regular dumb ol' talk radio formulae piped in from out-of-state. Let's hope they do. Speaking of gay listening habits... INSERT OLD HOLYFIELD `EAR' PUNS HERE: If lesbians hear more like men, howcum there's not a male-appeal equivalent to Ferron? (Jewel doesn't count.) On a more practical level, imagine if a special tuning fork or whistle could be developed, producing a sound only lesbians (and men) could hear. Single lesbians could find one another in any crowd, avoiding those straight women who think it's hip to pretend to be bi. (And, if affirmed by further research, this could give further credence to something I've long believed-lesbians and straight men have more in common than the more bigoted members of both camps will admit.) Speaking of gender roles... BYTE OF SEATTLE: Employment fairs can be glum occasions, with self-esteem-challenged jobless folk solemnly filling out application forms whilst getting sermonized about good grooming and interview skills. A far brighter milieu was offered at the Northwest High Tech Career Expo at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Dozens of firms, from Microsoft and H-P down to temp agencies and software-catalog companies, even outfits not primarily tech-oriented like Starbucks and PACCAR trucks; all with flashy booths and smiling flunkies eager to take resumes and business cards--at least from applicants with enough years of the right experience. (Safeco even offered to help train folks without hardcore computer experience to learn to program in COBOL). And you didn't even have to be a short-listable candidate to pick up some of the freebies at the booths. More candy than Halloween. Sports bottles. Key chains, compasses, letter openers. Pens and pencils of most every variety. Luscious photo postcards (from digital stock-photo agency Photodisc). Sponges. Soap-bubble kits. Plastic mini footballs and baseballs (from Starwave). And the wackiest of all: Official Boeing-logo Hackey Sack balls! (Bet they bounce great off those tall hangar walls.)

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