GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE September 26, 2003

Roseland

Guest House & Campground

America's Scenic Resort. It's All About the View.

Roseland is 32 miles south of Wheeling, WV. Offering B&B style guest rooms, barracks, cabins, trailer sites & tent camping, Pool,2 hot tubs, hiking trails, food service, Mayloft Bar, conve nience store, recreation hall, deluxe bath facility, theme weekends, scenic views. Catering to gay men. Clothing optional. Gay owned & operated. .......................................... UPCOMING EVENTS............................. September 26-28: Halloween Weekend. Costume Party! VISA October 3-5: Fall Foliage Spectacular t. Chili Cook-off

LAW

R41 Box 1358B. Proctor West Virginim 26055 www.rev.net/roseland e-mail: roseland rcv.net

Only 2.5 hours from Columbu 3.5 hours from Cleveland, 4 hours from Cincinnati, 2.5 from Charleston WV.

(304) 455-3838

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eveningsout

What's the Polari for "nerd"?

Two books list the interesting and bizarre

The Gay Book of Lists by Leigh W. Rutledge Alyson, $14.95 paperback

Fantabulosa

A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang by Paul Baker Continuum, $16.95 hardcover

Reviewed by Anthony Glassman

In 1987, Leigh W. Rutledge published a little book called The Gay Book of Lists. Within a couple of years, it was joined by Unnatural Quotations and The Gay Fireside Companion, all three of which humorously looked at gay life near the end of the century.

The Gay Book of Lists was very much a product of its times, listing Anita Bryant among homophobes as if she were still someone whose name could be called up by anyone other than a student of history or a fan of bad music.

gabe xxx

beings • 13 cangka LEM SAYÁNG IN IR* * * UN SO

The

book lists

•-§§ 22:35 £890008

singai estas ses boxxx+2 **? BAT ÚR ZEROÈNERE SUÈ ÉSSKÉ928 2, G3

FÜR

Rutledge followed up with The New Gay Book of Lists, and now has given us an updated version.

Casual readers will laugh their tuchuses off as they peruse lists with names like "12 Classic Excuses Used by 'Straight' Men," featuring classics like, "I was just curious” and “Man, was I drunk last night. I don't remember a thing."

Gay Nerd Factor, or GNF. Readers of Lists will be able to tell rather quickly whether they're falling into the GNF abyss.

For instance, if one starts memorizing, in their totality, "6 Epitaphs," or, even worse, any of the "Really Odd Porn: 12 Descriptive Passages We Could Have Lived Without," one has definitely crossed the line and is a (gasp!) Gay Nerd.

The GNF problem is a little more insidious with Fantabulosa. First, the book is two dictionaries in one, making it difficult to pin down exactly when the GNF is notable. Is someone a nerd if they pick up a few choice terms from each? If they learn the etymology of Polari, a hip, gay slang that emerged in London in the Swingin' '60s? If they completely memorize every word and derivation in both halves of the book?

Okay, if they completely memorize everything, they're beyond GNF and are well into the realm of Rain Man Syndrome. Get them to K-Mart to buy their underwear, but make sure they're home in time for Wapner.

Half of Fantabulosa is devoted to Polari, a gay slang that formed out of. Cockney rhyming slang; Parlyaree, a sort of carnie slang; and words from various languages thrown together to

Paul Broker

Fantabulosa

However, there is a dark side to books like this and Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang by Paul Baker. That dark side is a thing called the

Michael A. Thomas

ATTORNEY AT LAW

Civil & Criminal Litigation Family Law, Partnership Agreements Discrimination Issues

Probate Practice & Estate Planning Landlord/Tenant Issues Wills & Trusts

1154 Linda Street Suite 250 Rocky River 440-356-6900 avukatmat@ameritech.net

Gay Male Retirement

The Fictionary.

dya and Gay Hung

create some-

thing entirely new and very campy.

In some ways,

it's similar to the slang used in A Clockwork Orange. When Anthony Burgess wrote the classic dystopian novel of teen violence, he combined the Cockney rhyming slang, in which "apples

pears"

and means stairs, and

threw in Russian words, combining the two into the seeming nonsense that Malcolm McDowell spouts throughout the 1971 film version.

For an example of Polari, try to decipher this seemingly meaningless string of words: "Oh, vada well the omee-palone ajax who just trolled in her with the cod lally-drags and the naff riah, dear."

Okay, "dear" is something one can understand. But the rest? Translated literally, it comes out roughly to, "Oh, see well the gay man nearby who just walked in, she with the bad trousers and the tasteless hair." Now, can you see how memorizing all of that would be a sign of GNF?

On the plus side, between the glimpse into the past and the completely exhaustive look at the contemporary lexicographical state of the gay community, the book is an invaluable resource to the unhip, those who want to learn more gay slang to show up their friends and the bitchy queens at the club. It's fun, it's cute and it won't take up too much space on a shelf.

Both books are absolutely indispensable. With the holidays only a few months away, they're the perfect gift, either together or separately.

Debra L. Dunkle, LISW

Jane Miller, LISW

216.229.2100

John O'Connor, LISW

Martha Webb, CCDC, LPC

12417 Cedar Road, Suites 21-24, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44106

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in nearby Akron, Ohio

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