Gay couple featured in article in AARP magazine

[Jeff Wrangler]

Here's an odd little thing that I thought worth sharing.

Over lunch today I was reading an article in the July/August issue of AARP's magazine on living inexpensively when I was hauled up short by this sentence: "[Bruce] Ostyn, 59, and his longtime partner, Daniel Newman, 45, are prime examples of people who enjoy the good life while spending far less than their neighbors."

I have no idea whether this is any kind of "breakthrough" or not. I have virtually never read the magazine that AARP sends me, and I was only reading it today because I didn't have anything else to read while I was eating my lunch. In any case I am impressed by the casual matter-of-factness of including this couple in this article.

[Ellemeno]

That *IS* awesome.  Matter-of-fact is the best.

[serious crayons]

Especially for a magazine aimed at a 50+ audience, that's great.

The main if only time I usually see gay couples referred to matter-of-factly in magazines -- outside of articles that are directly about being gay -- is in decorating articles. Stories about beautiful homes owned by gay couples have been routine for years on years in shelter mags. I think I may also have seen articles where the focus is on a child, and the child's parents are of the same sex but that's not the point of the story, and maybe stories about groups of people doing something or other, and the group is a mix of straight and gay folks.

BTW, AARP is the country's highest circulation magazine. That's not as impressive as it would be if people actively bought subscriptions rather than just memberships in the organization, but still.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Especially for a magazine aimed at a 50+ audience, that's great.

The main if only time I usually see gay couples referred to matter-of-factly in magazines -- outside of articles that are directly about being gay -- is in decorating articles. Stories about beautiful homes owned by gay couples have been routine for years on years in shelter mags.

The "Home" section of the Friday morning Philadelphia Inquirer usually has a feature article on somebody's home or garden. Occasionally the home or garden being "profiled" will belong to a gay couple. It really surprised me the first time I saw one of those articles featuring a gay couple. Somehow this being in a daily newspaper strikes me as being more impressive than an article in a shelter mag.

Funny thing, though. To the best of my recollection, in all the articles I've seen--and, granted, this isn't a weekly happening--only one home was owned by a lesbian couple. All the others were owned by gay male couples. 

[serious crayons]

Somehow this being in a daily newspaper strikes me as being more impressive than an article in a shelter mag.

Yes, I think newspapers lagged behind magazines in this.

Funny thing, though. To the best of my recollection, in all the articles I've seen--and, granted, this isn't a weekly happening--only one home was owned by a lesbian couple. All the others were owned by gay male couples. 

Same here! I've seen maybe one or two articles featuring lesbian couples, and countless articles with gay male couples.

Not to get all stereotypical here, but maybe gay men are more likely to have connections in the decorating biz? Either they're decorators themselves, or work in some associated creative industry. I'm not sure how magazines and newspapers find homes to feature in those articles, but I'm sure they often get tips from people in the business. Many of the couples in those articles, straight or gay, are decorators, architects, or something similar.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Same here! I've seen maybe one or two articles featuring lesbian couples, and countless articles with gay male couples.

Not to get all stereotypical here, but maybe gay men are more likely to have connections in the decorating biz? Either they're decorators themselves, or work in some associated creative industry. I'm not sure how magazines and newspapers find homes to feature in those articles, but I'm sure they often get tips from people in the business. Many of the couples in those articles, straight or gay, are decorators, architects, or something similar.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if you're correct about this, having connections in the business, or working in it themselves. I guess it also goes to confirm the idea that there is some truth behind every stereotype.

[milomorris]

That *IS* awesome.  Matter-of-fact is the best.

Agreed. This is yet another step in normalizing sexual minorities.

I'm glad to see that you agree that matter-of-fact is the best way to go. What I've been saying all along about the out & loud approach is that it is not as effective.

[brianr]

It has not been so unusual in Australia for a few years now. (I am not sure what AARP is) There is a great article in Melbourne's main city newspaper this week about our recently retired High court judge. It is leading up to a documentary on National television next weekend. MichaeL Kirby is a particular hero of mine. He is 5 years older but we grew up in the same suburb and went to the same schools and university. His younger brother (also a judge) was in my class. He is also an Anglican although we lived in neighbouring parishes. He was a judge on the highest court of the land when he came out publicly in 1999. Since retirement he has been speaking regularly on gay issues and was not reticent even while still a judge.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/love-and-the-judge-20100619-yo2r.html

[Jeff Wrangler]

(I am not sure what AARP is.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AARP

It appears the organization is now known by what used to be just its initials. In the U.S., you hear from them first just before you turn age 50. 

[Marge_Innavera]

It has not been so unusual in Australia for a few years now. (I am not sure what AARP is)

The letters stand for "American Association of Retired People."  That 'retired' part is interpreted a bit loosely: the minimum age to join is 50.

The dues are very reasonable -- $16 for a couple -- and this came out the same week i've been intending to send in our renewal. That's a check I'll be glad to write this year.

[serious crayons]

One time a guy I know was trashing the AARP for what he claimed was their opposition to health-care reform. He said that because the organization provides health insurance, it opposed Obama's plan and reform in general.

Not so. AARP magazine and that other thing, the more newspapery-like AARP publication that members also receive, carried editorials strongly supporting health-care reform and Obama's plan, and ran articles explaining how it would work.

Jeff, does AARP no longer go by the words in the acronym? Maybe it's trying to increase its appeal to the pre-retirement 50+ market and, like KFC and ARC, wants to downplay something in its original name.

Also, I once read that there are several different versions of AARP magazine; which one you get depends on your age.

 

[Penthesilea]

In any case I am impressed by the casual matter-of-factness of including this couple in this article.

That *IS* awesome.  Matter-of-fact is the best.

Yes and yes.

Times are changing. Yesterday, during the soccer match of the German team, they showed the German coach and co-coach. My daughter casually stated "Those two would make a cute couple." and then went on about the the looks of the next man they showed. I registered because those were my thoughts exactly. I have no idea about their sexual orientation, but there's something about them which really makes them seem to be a good fit.
Anyway, it reminded me of this thread.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Jeff, does AARP no longer go by the words in the acronym? Maybe it's trying to increase its appeal to the pre-retirement 50+ market and, like KFC and ARC, wants to downplay something in its original name.

Also, I once read that there are several different versions of AARP magazine; which one you get depends on your age.

Well, according to the Wikipedia article I found, the organization has officially changed it's name to just AARP. I don't really know anything about age-related differences in the publications. The Wikipedia article says that AARP the Magazine used to be known as Modern Maturity, and I also receive the Bulletin, which reminds me of a Sunday-newspaper supplement (like Parade).

Here's the link again:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AARP

I found the section on the history of the organization interesting. I was going to skip renewing my membership, but then I actually got an AARP discount on a hotel in Denver in April, and I'm also getting an AARP discount on my new cell service. Consumer Cellular is sort of the "official" cell provider for AARP. I guess it's a little like getting the Royal License in England. 

I've always wondered why KFC wasn't Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore. 

[serious crayons]

I don't really know anything about age-related differences in the publications.

That's something I read on a site for magazine writers.

I also receive the Bulletin, which reminds me of a Sunday-newspaper supplement (like Parade).

Yeah, that's the one I was referring to earlier. What do you call that kind of thing? It's not really a magazine or a newspaper or a newsletter. And it is like Parade, but it's not a supplement if it's not supplemental to anything, right? 

I actually got an AARP discount on a hotel in Denver in April, and I'm also getting an AARP discount on my new cell service.

I got 30 percent off my new glasses!

As for hotels, I used to use AAA, which is about the same as the AARP discount. Now I use neither because I book through priceline.com or hotwire.com and get amazing deals.

I've always wondered why KFC wasn't Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore. 

They want to downplay the "fried."

[Jeff Wrangler]

Yeah, that's the one I was referring to earlier. What do you call that kind of thing? It's not really a magazine or a newspaper or a newsletter. And it is like Parade, but it's not a supplement if it's not supplemental to anything, right? 

Beats me! 

I got 30 percent off my new glasses!

 

As for hotels, I used to use AAA, which is about the same as the AARP discount. Now I use neither because I book through priceline.com or hotwire.com and get amazing deals.

Is priceline the one you "bid" on? I should check those out. I need a hotel in San Francisco in August, and in Denver then again, too.

They want to downplay the "fried."

Makes sense, I guess. 

[louisev]

I got an excellent priceline deal when I needed a motel room for a friend in Alexandria - $40 on a $100 room. I just kept bidding $40 on every toom in town till one said "accepted"!  It was great.

That being said, since I am getting spammed 6 times a day by AARP I have a constitutional aversion to signing on with them.  I have had AAA for many a long year, and I got $1000 from them in travel emergency reimbursement when I was hit in Minneapolis, and then I signed up for their "preferred traveler" accident policy which covers additional out of pocket expenses if I end up in an emergency room.  Because it's happened to me, and I sure don't want it happening again!

[serious crayons]

Is priceline the one you "bid" on? I should check those out. I need a hotel in San Francisco in August, and in Denver then again, too.

I have stayed in some unbelievably nice rooms for around $50, thanks to Priceline and Hotwire. Priceline lets you choose the level of luxury (1 to 4 or 5 stars) and what part of a city you want to stay in, then name your price. My advice: pick the highest number of stars and bid low, like maybe $50. If your bid isn't accepted the first time, you have to alter your request somewhat, so then you can go down a star if you want or broaden your geographic location and maybe raise your bid by $5. Hotwire has a slightly different setup -- I think it tells you what level of hotel and a price, but you don't know which exact hotel it is. Check them both out to see which you like better.

Before discovering Priceline, I had just been training myself to haggle with hotel managers for a better room. That sometimes works, too; once in Nebraska, for example, I managed to get a suite, priced at $130, for $75, the price of a regular room. But you can do even better with Priceline, etc., so now I don't bother with ordinary haggling.

[Marge_Innavera]

I've always wondered why KFC wasn't Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore. 

I keep wondering how the authors of these changes to acronyms want people to pronounce their names.  Maybe:


AARP:   "Arp."

KFC:  "Kefuck"

BP:  "burp."

[Jeff Wrangler]

I have stayed in some unbelievably nice rooms for around $50, thanks to Priceline and Hotwire. Priceline lets you choose the level of luxury (1 to 4 or 5 stars) and what part of a city you want to stay in, then name your price. My advice: pick the highest number of stars and bid low, like maybe $50. If your bid isn't accepted the first time, you have to alter your request somewhat, so then you can go down a star if you want or broaden your geographic location and maybe raise your bid by $5. Hotwire has a slightly different setup -- I think it tells you what level of hotel and a price, but you don't know which exact hotel it is. Check them both out to see which you like better.

Before discovering Priceline, I had just been training myself to haggle with hotel managers for a better room. That sometimes works, too; once in Nebraska, for example, I managed to get a suite, priced at $130, for $75, the price of a regular room. But you can do even better with Priceline, etc., so now I don't bother with ordinary haggling.

"Just for fun" this morning, I "played around" a bit on both priceline and hotwire. I had never used either site before. Priceline I had heard of, thanks to the William Shatner commercials  , but hotwire was totally new to me; oddly enough, now that I've heard of it through Katherine's post, I've also seen a TV commercial for it.

Anyway, I'm not so sure I like either of them. In both cases it seemed sort of like "buying a pig in a poke"; they will book your room and then you find out what the hotel is and where exactly it's located. With hotwire I wasn't aiming too low because I realized I was looking for a "nice" place in the heart of San Francisco; actually, I am aiming to stay close to the Ferry Building/Embarcadero because that's where the Amtrak "station" is that I will be using. I put in three stars and $100 a night (the site said the median for that area of the city is $169). Still, I don't know how I feel about "buying" a hotel room without first knowing what I'm getting.

Maybe I should start a thread on another area asking for opinions and experiences with these services?    I used hotels.com to find places for my Rail Odyssey last year--and found a really great (though not cheap) hotel in Seattle--but I found the site a bit cumbersome to use.

[brianr]

I have the same worries about those sites, especially being a foreigner, travelling by train and carting quite a large bag. I want to know the location of the hotel. I have found hotel.com very good. The only problem is they often take the money straight away from my account. The computer recognises I am in NZ and charges me in NZ dollars but my credit card is at an Aussie bank where most of my money is. I find it is best to research those sites and find prices then go to the hotels own site and book directly. It is often the same price and sometimes better. Yesterday I was booking a hotle in New Haven and put in senior. The price came up and then I found I had to have a US senior card (eg AARP) so I went back and put in adult and the price was the same 

Does Amtrak have a station in SF itself now?  When I travelled to SF by train back in 97 and 99 I had to board in Emeryville.
I am coming home through San Fran in October but flying in from Toronto and out to Auckland. Being the last 2 nights of a 3 months trip I have splurged a bit there and am staying at White Swan Hotel Au$206 per night, booked and already paid through Hotel.com

[milomorris]

I find it is best to research those sites and find prices then go to the hotels own site and book directly. It is often the same price and sometimes better.

Absolutely!! I almost never buy via the travel sites. Like you, I use them to do the research, and then book directly with the hotel or airline. The ONLY time I book via the sites is when the online price is lower.

Also, I use kayak.com because it returns results from multiple sites.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Brian, thanks for your input on the hotel-booking sites.

Does Amtrak have a station in SF itself now?  When I travelled to SF by train back in 97 and 99 I had to board in Emeryville.

There is no actual Amtrak train station in San Francisco proper. However, Amtrak has its own bus service, which transports passengers to and from the station in Emeryville. The buses stop at several different locations in San Francisco.

When I booked my Rail Odyssey last year, I had never been to San Francisco before, so more or less at random I booked my ticket to the "Ferry Building" stop in the city. I had to leave the Coast Starlight at Emeryville and board a dedicated bus, which then dropped me off at the "station" on the Embarcadero. When I left the city, I boarded a bus at the Ferry Building, and the bus took me back to Emeryville, where I boarded the California Zephyr.

Since I'm now familiar with the Embarcadero "station," I'm hoping to stay near it in August.

[brianr]

That is what happened when I travelled from Chicago to San Francisco in 1999 except I got off at a more central location in the city near the cable car stop.
Back in 1997 I rented a car to drive to Yosemite and back. Most of the way, driving on the "wrong" side of the road, I was very nervous. Returning I wanted to drop my bag at Emeryville as i was catching the train to Seattle about 10pm and I wanted to take the car back to an office in the city then be free to wander around. I could not find any directions to the station until, driving along, I noticed a bus going the other way with Emeryville on the destination. I quickly did a U-turn and followed it. I was quite proud of myself 

[Jeff Wrangler]

That is what happened when I travelled from Chicago to San Francisco in 1999 except I got off at a more central location in the city near the cable car stop.

That may depend on which cable car line you're looking for. When I was in San Francisco last year, of course I wanted to take a cable car ride. On Sunday afternoon, there were lines a block long and more for the Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde cars because they run from Powell and Market streets up to Fisherman's Wharf. I consulted my city map. The California Street line begins at California and Market, about a block from the Embarcadero. I didn't really care what line I rode, as long as I got a cable car ride, so I walked over to California and Market. Only two or three people were there waiting for the cable car. I had a lovely ride up California Street, over Nob Hill, and back, with no waiting. 

[serious crayons]

Back to the subject of priceline and hotwire, I think they are well worth a try. If you are really specific about what you need -- you want to be within two blocks of a station, for example, or you really like Hyatts but you hate Sheratons -- if you are extremely particular, in other words, they might not be the way to go. If you're OK with anywhere in a certain part of a city, and what you want is a really nice room in a well-above-average hotel, then I would not hesitate to use one of them.

I have stayed in some of -- literally -- the best rooms of my life for around $50 a night. And I've done a fair amount of traveling in my life. Honestly. More details if you request them.

Absolutely!! I almost never buy via the travel sites. Like you, I use them to do the research, and then book directly with the hotel or airline. The ONLY time I book via the sites is when the online price is lower.

Also, I use kayak.com because it returns results from multiple sites.

Priceline.com and hotwire.com really do not compare to the usual travel sites -- like expedia.com or kayak.com, for example -- at all.

If you guys don't want to believe me, then part of me is fine with that, actually. I do want to be of service, if possible. But when I started using priceline, my first reaction was, Oh my god, I'd better not tell anybody about this, because there's no way they (priceline) can keep doing this once a lot of people find out about it.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Priceline.com and hotwire.com really do not compare to the usual travel sites -- like expedia.com or kayak.com, for example -- at all.

If you guys don't want to believe me, then part of me is fine with that, actually. I do want to be of service, if possible. But when I started using priceline, my first reaction was, Oh my god, I'd better not tell anybody about this, because there's no way they (priceline) can keep doing this once a lot of people find out about it.

I believe you! I believe you!

If I were feeling a bit more adventurous this trip, I'd think seriously about giving it a try. This time out, though, proximity to the Amtrak pick-up/drop-off point is important. Not only will I be leaving San Francisco by train fairly early on August 9, I also plan on day-tripping via train to Sacramento to visit the California State Railroad museum. So I'll be using that "station" "a lot" during a four-night stay.

OTOH, like Milo, I've used Hotels.com for research but not booking--particularly when I went to Denver in April. And I just more or less picked Hotels.com at random last summer. When I needed to find places to stay in Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco for my Rail Odyssey, the plethora of travel web sites very quickly became bewildering. More or less on the theory of six-of-one, half-a-dozen-of-the-other, I went with Hotels.com.

[serious crayons]

I believe you! I believe you!

 

[milomorris]

Priceline.com and hotwire.com really do not compare to the usual travel sites -- like expedia.com or kayak.com, for example -- at all.

Oh, I believe you. I have gotten some good deals on Priceline in particular. But let's face it, travel & lodging can be a crapshoot. especially international travel.

[serious crayons]

Oh, I believe you. I have gotten some good deals on Priceline in particular. But let's face it, travel & lodging can be a crapshoot. especially international travel.

True. I haven't used Priceline for international travel. But I've had great luck with it for domestic hotels. I've used it maybe a dozen times, and the worst I've encountered was a snafu with the information getting to the hotel that resulted in my having to wait 20 minutes or so to get into the room. That was eventually cleared up, and has only happened once. The rooms have all been great.