August 15, 2013 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter

Page 1

Protest in tony Atherton

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Binational couple runites, marries

ARTS

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21 see page 8

Priscilla approaches

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Sperm donor bill on hold by Seth Hemmelgarn

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state bill meant to protect some sperm donors’ rights has raised concerns about consequences for same-sex couples, especially lesbians, and is on hold. On Tuesday, August 13, the Assembly JudiJane Philomen Cleland ciary Committee voted Assemblyman 5-2 to hold Senate Bill Tom Ammiano 115, authored by Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), and not release it to the full chamber for a vote. Hill’s proposal would amend state law to clarify that the rules governing the treatment of a man who donates his semen for use in artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization of a woman other than his wife “was never intended to preclude the opportunity to prove the existence of the presumed father and child relationship” pursuant to other relevant sections of the state’s family code, according to a summary on Hill’s website. “The bill is not dead,” said gay Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), who’s not on the committee but chairs the California Legislative LGBT Caucus. “We are in a two-year legislative cycle. Senator Hill could attempt to move the bill” and possibly “get a vote on floor” in January, said Gordon. He said he didn’t know whether Hill would make any changes to the bill to get it out of the committee, which he could do in the interim period from mid-September until January. A spokesman for Hill didn’t respond to a request for comment. In a June 27 letter, gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) asked Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), who is chair of the judiciary committee, to postpone a hearing on the bill. “The true policy intent appears to really be focused on what should happen with a donor who changes his mind after the conceived child is born and wants parentage rights against the consent of the legal mother and possibly in defiance of the agreement made prior to conception,” Ammiano wrote. He said what he found “most troubling” was that SB 115 “is being pursued by the losing party in a family law dispute that is now going through the normal appellate process. Given that posture alone, I believe it is inappropriate for the Legislature to weigh in now on an ongoing case – as the courts should be given the chance to get this right through the judicial process.” Ammiano was referring to a lawsuit brought by actor Jason Patric, who’s in a custody battle with his ex-girlfriend over the boy to whom she gave birth. Patric donated the sperm through a medical procedure, according to news reports. In his letter, Ammiano also warned of “unintended consequences that could harm parents” and children and raised numerous questions about the bill. “Does this policy affect the thousands of single parent, same-sex parent and infertile families by placing a higher status on biological connection to a child conceived through alternative reproductive technology (ART) over the legal status of the non-biological legal parent?” he asked. See page 5 >>

Vol. 43 • No. 33 • August 15-21, 2013

Castro Street could see rainbow crosswalk San Francisco’s Castro district could see a rainbow crosswalk similar to this one in West Hollywood.

by Matthew S. Bajko

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he city’s gay neighborhood could see a permanent rainbow in it one day. There is a chance that the multi-colored sight could come in the form of a crosswalk painted on the street at one of the Castro district’s busy intersections. Last week the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District board voted to allocate $28,000 to fund decorative crosswalks at three intersections in the gayborhood. While the design for them has yet to be determined, it is conceivable at least one could be painted rainbow colors.

“Not sure if all will go for the rainbow idea ... we need input,” Andrea Aiello, the CBD’s executive director, told the Bay Area Reporter when asked about the possibility. Rainbow crosswalks, some temporary chalk installations others permanent fixtures, have been popping up in gay neighborhoods around the world, from Sydney, Australia and Vancouver, Canada to Seattle and West Hollywood. Such an idea had been proposed for San Francisco’s gayborhood during the community planning workshops held earlier this year for the Castro Streetscape Improvement Project. Due to budget limitations, though, plan-

Courtesy City of West Hollywood

ning staffers had dropped including specialty crosswalks in their final proposal for the $4 million sidewalk-widening project. With its own budget to fund neighborhood improvements, the Castro CBD decided to take on the crosswalks. It will pay for the installation of the enhanced street striping at four crosswalks that run east to west across Castro Street. The locations are at the intersection of Castro and Market streets from the Muni station entrance to the Twin Peaks Tavern; two at Castro and 18th streets, one from the Walgreens store across to the K Pop eatery and See page 17 >>

Archivists strive to protect gay home movies by Matthew S. Bajko

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he scenes in the cache of home movies at first glance are rather mundane, from a spirited 1957 New Year’s Eve party and a poolside get-together to a summer vacation in the Cape Cod resort town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, circa the 1970s. It is the people, mostly unknown men in their late 30s and 40s, captured on film who make the footage historic and worthy of preservation. Shown are intimate moments in the lives of a group of gay friends during a time when being out of the closet was career suicide for many people. “I’ve been in the film business 46 years and I have never seen footage like this because people didn’t allow these kinds of movies to be shot,” said Ron Merk, a San Francisco-based film producer and director with the Metro Theatre Center Foundation. “There just wasn’t a lot of gay home movies made.” The foundation has been saving and restoring old home movies of particular importance through its initiative the Preservation Project Partnerships with a support grant from Premiere Pictures International Inc. It has discovered a rare home movie of actor Spencer Tracy from 1931 and a color home movie of actor Stan Laurel. It collaborated with the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, Monaco Film Laboratory, and Nordisk ShorCut digital restoration in Copenhagen to restore the Laurel film, which recently was screened at the Castro Theatre as part of the Kings Of Silent Comedy program. “For the last year and a half we have been acquiring culturally and historically important home movies for a film preservation initiative we are working on,” said Merk. “These are important documents in they capture the zeitgeist of a particular experience in a way most commercially produced movies do not. They are capsules of information on how we lived, what we ate, what we did.” Last year Merk, who is gay, saw a posting on eBay for a batch of old film reels that had belonged to David Eugene Bell, a famous home designer at Bloomingdale’s whose clients included Carol Channing, Lucille Ball, and Joel Grey. In the 1970s he took up needlepoint and became

Courtesy David Eugene Bell Preservation Project

A restored still from one of David Eugene Bell’s home movies shows a parade in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

a celebrated artist. He lived in Connecticut with his partner, Donald Cotter, and died in 2006 in his mid-80s. According to Judith Gura’s book New York Interior Design 1935-1985 Inventors of Tradition, Bell was born Eugene Weir Bell in Pennsylvania in 1921 and served in the U.S. Navy during World Word II. Among the private moments Bell captured on film of himself and his friends dressing in drag, dancing with each other, and frolicking naked on the beach, there was also footage of Robert F. Kennedy marching in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the mid-1960s. Warned that many of Bell’s movies were being eaten away by mold, Merk nonetheless paid more than $1,000 for the 50 reels of 8mm and 16mm film. While some were in rather poor shape, with mold lifting the emulsion off the film, others were in better condition. Estimating that the cost to properly preserve the collection would be $15,000 to $20,000, Merk turned to the crowdfunding site Indiegogo to try to raise the funds. It was the first time the foundation had asked the public to financially contribute to the preservation project. It failed to attract donors, however, and Merk

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is now trying to find a single contributor who can fund the entire restoration work. He recently shared about 10 minutes of footage from Bell’s home movies with the Bay Area Reporter in an attempt to draw attention to the project and raise awareness about the value in home movies, especially those depicting gay life decades ago. “If we lose our history, we lose our future,” said Merk. “This stuff is not going to last a hell of a lot longer in its present condition.” It is a message fellow gay filmmaker Stu Maddux is also trying to bring to the public’s attention. He has been working on a documentary about gay home movies, titled Reel In The Closet, he hopes to premiere in early 2014. “With this film I hope there is a realization for anyone who sees it – and it motivates not just LGBT people to look at their history but everybody – to look at what is in their closet,” he said. “We hope to start a community discussion about saving home movies.” Reading about John Raines, a volunteer who has been digitizing old home movies in the archives of San Francisco’s GLBT Historical Society so they are more accessible to researchers, documentarians, and members of the public, See page 5 >>

<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

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Activists travel to Atherton to protest Castro eviction by David-Elijah Nahmod

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group of housing activists paid a visit to the leafy streets of tony Atherton on the Peninsula last weekend, staging a protest in front of the home of a man who is proceeding with an Ellis Act eviction against a gay Castro man who’s living with HIV. Real estate developer William Young, who lives in Atherton, was the target of the protest, organized by Eviction Free Summer. Last year, Young purchased the Noe Street apartment building that Jeremy Mykaels, 62, has lived in for many years, and served all the tenants with eviction notices. The Ellis Act is a 1986 state law that allows landlords to evict tenants in order to get out of the rental business. The landlord must remove all units from the rental market. Such tenants are paid to move. The amount they receive can vary depending on how many individuals occupy a unit, the tenants’ ages, or disability/HIV status. The amounts can range from $5,000-$15,000 per tenant, with an additional $3,403 paid to tenants who are senior/ disabled, according to information posted at the Tenant’s Union website.

For Mykaels, the payments are not enough for him to find another unit in the Castro, the neighborhood he’s called home since the 1970s. Mykaels told the Bay Area Reporter that he could not reveal the amount of his current rent without consulting his lawyer. “If I lose this fight, I will not only be forced to move from my home, but from the city I love and have lived in for the past four decades,� Mykaels said in a statement. “I will no longer be able to afford to live here. As a result I will also lose access to some of the most experienced HIV physicians around who have kept me alive since I was diagnosed 12 years ago with a practically non-existent immune system.� Mykaels was not feeling well enough to make the trip to Atherton. He hugged several of the protesters as they departed San Francisco last Saturday morning, August 10. It was a lively group that stood before Young’s home. The quiet, tree-lined road contained many large, elegantly appointed houses that were hidden behind huge gates. A sign reading, “Please stop trying to kick Jeremy Mykaels out of his home of 17 years. He is a seriously ill, disabled senior. Do the

Rick Gerharter

Lee Hepner, right, speaks on the phone with William Young, the landlord attempting to evict longtime tenant Jeremy Mykaels from his Castro district apartment, as other activists picket his home in Atherton Saturday, August 10.

right thing and stop this unjust Ellis Act eviction� was affixed to the front gate of Young’s home by the protesters. The wooden gate to the home features a prominent American flag painted on the front. Carmen Simon of Eviction Free Summer stood in front of the sign. “Hey, William Young,� she said, speaking into a bullhorn. “We want to say ‘hi’ on behalf of Jeremy

Mykaels. He wants to stay in his home. You have a nice house. You understand fine living. Jeremy just wants to live. Back off on the eviction!� The group applauded amid chants of “Hey, hey, ho, ho. Evicting seniors has got to go.� Several protesters observed that people could be seen inside the property, but there was no response from them.

Young himself was apparently out of town. “We’re looking for William Young,� said Fred Sherburn-Zimmer, as she took the megaphone. “We’re here today because you’re evicting a disabled senior with AIDS out of his home.� As the chanting and speeches continued, neighborhood residents driving by slowed down to read the signage. Protester Lee Hepner took out his cell phone and dialed Young’s phone number. “Mr. Young said that Jeremy was free to purchase the property or rent wherever he wants,� Hepner told the B.A.R. “This is what we’ve come to expect from serial evictors. This is a lack of compassion and an indifference to true San Francisco residents.� “Evicting a senior with AIDS in our community should not be tolerated,� said longtime housing activist Tommi Avicolli Mecca, who helped organize the protest. “There is simply no justification for it, especially when the motive is purely profit. Enough is enough is enough. Time to let the speculators and investors know that here in San Francisco we don’t tolerate tossing out the most vulnerable among us so that they can make scads of dough.� Others also spoke out against the eviction. “Seniors and people with disabilities are walking around with giant bullseyes on their backs,� said James Chionsini of Senior and Disability Action. “Every day we see people at risk of eviction. Where are they going to go?� After about 30 minutes, the protesters drove to Union City to conduct a similar action at Young’s office. On Monday, August 12, Mykaels told the B.A.R. that the group found a dentist’s office at the Union City address where he sends his rent checks – no real estate office was at the location. When the B.A.R. reached Young by phone, he said that he was unable to comment on this issue without permission from his lawyer. t

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4CharlesSpiegel_2x2_3313 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

Pre-Marital Planning: Now What? Rabbi Camille Shira Angel with Attorneys: Deb Kinney, Ora Prochovnick and Charles Spiegel.

Sunday Aug. 25, 4 to 6 pm, All Welcome. Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, 290 Dolores St. www.shaarzahav.org

ebar.com

<< National News

t Clinton promotes voting rights by Seth Hemmelgarn

F

ormer Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promoted voting rights during a speech in San Francisco this week, and also offered signals that she’s preparing to run for president in 2016. Clinton, who’s also been first lady, the first female U.S. senator from New York, and an attorney, said little specifically about LGBTs, but emphasized diversity as she spoke to hundreds of people Monday, August 12 at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting. The organization awarded Clinton its highest honor, the ABA Medal. During her speech, Clinton criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in June to strike down a key section of the Voting Rights Act, a 48-year-old law to prohibit discriminatory practices against racial minorities at the voting booth. The section in question considered whether states have a right to determine their own laws. Government is supposed to be by, of, and for the people, Clinton said, but there is “a long history of shutting people out,” including African Americans, gays and lesbians, and others. She recalled years of struggle to expand people’s ownership of the law and noted that the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is approaching. The court’s ruling “shifted the burden back on citizens facing discrimination” and the lawyers who stand with them, she said. “The law belongs to the people,” said Clinton, and it “should never privilege” some citizens over others. She said that so far in 2013, 80 bills have been introduced to restrict people’s voting rights. Discrepancies are especially felt in the African American and Latino communities, as well as among young people, she said.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke in San Francisco Monday at the American Bar Association annual meeting.

As an example, Clinton pointed to North Carolina, where one law includes photo identification requirements for voters. Many worry that some racial minorities and poor people aren’t able to easily obtain photo IDs. Clinton called for more enforcement from the Department of Justice, grassroots activism, and for Congress to take action to address the issues brought up by the Supreme Court’s ruling. Unless the court’s decision is fixed, which Congress can do, “citizens will be disenfranchised, victimized by the law,” said Clinton, and years of progress will be lost. Lawmakers should replace the parts of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court struck down, she said. Not surprisingly, Clinton, who was overtaken by then-Senator Barack Obama in her 2008 presidential bid, appeared to be cam-

paigning for the job again as the 2016 election approaches. She said that Monday’s speech was the first she would give over the coming months. Other talks will address topics such as national security and the country’s global leadership. As she presented the award to Clinton, outgoing ABA President Laurel Bellows recognized “all that she has given to the public good in a lifetime of social justice” and her decades of work to fight “boldly for the underrepresented and marginalized of our society.” As first lady, Clinton worked to expand access to health care coverage and education. As a senator, she took on equal pay for women. As President Barack Obama’s first secretary of state, she brought attention to genocide and women’s rights, among other issues. Clinton stepped down as secretary of state in February. In March she came out in support of marriage equality.t NEW ON MA RKE T

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From the Cover>>

Gay home movies

From page 1

inspired Maddux to make his film. Maddux, who lives in Novato, feels a personal affinity for the trove of celluloid material being safeguarded by various LGBT preservation groups around the country. He hopes viewers of his documentary will also become invested in saving and preserving the archived films for future generations. “This is to recognize it is historic. Their day-to-day lives, their picnics, their camping trips, their family reunions, their gatherings is all historic material,” said Maddux, who plans to launch his own crowdfunding campaign next month to raise the $35,000 he needs to complete his film. “It is not the events, it is the day-to-day life depicted on screen; that is what is so valuable. People don’t think they are part of history, but really, they are.” The oldest films in the local GLBT Historical Society’s archives date back to the late 1930s. Taken by filmmaker Harold O’Neal, the movies depict life in southern California and continue through the 1980s. The footage, according to the collection description, includes female impersonators performing at the Beige Room in San Francisco, gay men socializing in the 1940s including drag and other camp images, and gay freedom day parades from 1978 to 1980. Directors Jason Plourde and Sean David West turned some of the film into their 2004 documentary Harold’s Home Movies. Other archived footage comes from photographer Henri Leleu, who documented the leather community, motorcycle runs, tricycle races, drag events, demonstrations, and parades throughout the 1960s and 1970s, noted Marjorie Bryer, Ph.D., the society’s managing archivist. “We do have a strong collection,” she said. Bryer added there is also “very brief footage” of legendary drag queen Jose Sarria at the Black Cat, circa 1963, and some 8mm films from the late 1960s taken by an unknown filmmaker that feature footage of gay bars in the Tenderloin and Polk Street neighborhoods. “It is something we love to have here and share it with filmmakers and television show producers,” said Bryer, adding that they pay to use the footage on a sliding scale. “It really brings films to life to have historic footage.” Yet the society has not been able to fully catalogue its holdings, which not only includes 8mm and 16mm

<<

Sperm donor bill

From page 1

As for how he would vote, Gordon, whom Ammiano copied on his letter, said, “I had not yet decided on whether I could support this specific measure,” but “I do think there needs to be some ability” for the “small number of relationships” where two people have agreed to co-parent but haven’t signed the required legal documents to at least have their agreements considered in court. “I’m not sure Mr. Hill has quite hit the mark, but I think there’s a core of what he’s attempting to do that does make some sense,” said Gordon.

Opposing sides

Alice Crisci, government affairs liaison for the California Cryobank, opposes the bill. “We conduct the vast majority of sperm donor screenings in California, and we are responsible for helping to create tens of thousands of families that this bill will impact,” said Crisci in an interview last week. “This bill seeks to basically give any donor at any time the right to seek parentage,” she said. She’s also

August 15-21 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

films but also VHS videotapes. “One thing we would love to get is funding to do a survey to be able to document exactly how much footage we have,” said Bryer. “It is hard for me to say with the video collection what we have.” Some of the film is too fragile to handle in-house, noted Bryer, or requires special equipment to view. In order to digitize those reels, the society would have to hire an outside film preservationist. “It is expensive to do it. We need help from the community to donate funds or we need grants,” said Bryer, adding that sometimes filmmakers interested in certain footage housed in the archives will pay to have it digitized. “It is not out of neglect, it is a sheer question of resources.” Nonetheless, Bryer said the society welcomes donations of home videos, especially if they are Bay Area-based. She will also direct donors to other groups collecting such material with more resources for digitizing the film. “If we could get a concentrated bulk of them donated to the archives and generate a groundswell of people coming forward to give us film, we could use that to leverage getting grant money,” suggested Bryer. “I think it is always valuable to see representation of your life on film. People who see any of O’Neal’s films are really delighted to see footage of people like themselves being able to be free and themselves 50 and 60 years ago.” Maddux urged people to check their basements and attics for any old home movies stored away there and find a better place to protect the footage so that it will be preserved for posterity. “It gives me butterflies in my stomach to think the pre-Stonewall period is getting thrown away. People are dying and their estates are getting cleared out by people who don’t know what they have, or in some cases, don’t want their loved one remembered as an LGBT person,” said Maddux. “We have so limited information already, it is fading away like that photograph in the film that fades away in the attic. We are not going to have it in another 20 years.” Eventually the Bell collection, the first Merk has acquired that features LGBT content, will be housed in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Academy Film Archive, which is amassing a library of home movies featuring Hollywood stars to ordinary people. The footage is made available to scholars for study and can be licensed by filmmakers for commercial use.

The hope, said Merk, is that the home movies “will be self-generating income for other film preservation work.” Lynne Kirste, the special collections curator at the Academy Film Archive, stressed that no matter what condition the film may be in, people should not throw it out. “People will make a digital copy and throw the film away when we can make a way better copy. We will do color correction and speed change,” said Kirste, an out lesbian who serves as the home movie curator for the Los Angeles-based archive. “We can really pull a lot out of a film. When we only have a DVD to go by, though, there is a lot less we can do with it.” As for what the Academy’s archives collect, Kirste said she is interested not only in home movies made by screen legends but also those featuring LGBT people and people of various ethnicities who were rarely seen in classic mainstream films. “The strength of home movies, particularly when we are talking about people or groups of people that haven’t been well-represented in mainstream films, is that home movies are where you can find a lot of documentation of the lives and stories of these people,” she said. “These are their stories shot by their own cameras.” The footage counters the stereotyped portrayals of people of color and homosexuals in the early days of movies, added Kirste, who regularly holds screenings of the home movies in the archive’s collection to interest the public in the material. “We don’t want to have things sitting on shelves that no one is looking at. We really want people to see them and see that this is very important to our mission,” said Kirste, who has begun posting some clips to YouTube as one way to promote the archived films. “It is really important that we get our home movies into archives and get them preserved. I am really committed to that personally, and it is something the Academy archives takes seriously.”t

concerned about disruption to “thousands of families in California who’ve been living under a potentially false sense of protections with the existing law,” since the bill’s backers are “seeking to make it retroactive.” Crisci said “about 60 percent” of the bank’s business is LGBT. “One of our biggest class of parents we’re concerned about is lesbian couples, because if the non-biological mom has not gone through an adoption of the child, her parental rights will be trumped simply by the biology of the sperm donor,” she said. She added, “Not every lesbian couple has gone through the adoption process, because it’s expensive.” Crisci said her business “does not believe the Legislature should be moving this bill quickly through the system in the middle of a highly contentious custody case. We should not be acting like an appellant court.” On the other side, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has been supportive of the bill. “This is a really limited bill that is only going to address situations where a child truly has a parental relationship with someone,” said Cathy

Sakimura, family law director and supervising attorney at NCLR. But in an interview before Tuesday’s committee vote, Sakimura expressed support for delaying the bill. “We do know that there are a lot of concerns that people have addressed, and we think there should be more discussion on this bill and the best way to address this issue.” However, she added, “We also think that courts do need to have the flexibility to protect the families that children actually have.” The statewide LGBT lobbying group Equality California has also been supportive of SB 115, but in an email after Tuesday’s vote, EQCA Executive Director John O’Connor sought some distance from it. “Equality California has taken a support position on SB115, and while we stand by that support of the intent of the bill, it did not originate with us, nor did we ever lobby for its passage,” O’Connor said. “Given the range of concerns that have emerged, we are supportive of a twoyear timeline to adequately allow all stakeholders to come together and review the implications of the bill thoroughly.”t

See the online version of this story on ebar.com for a short video about Merk’s preservation work. More information about the project can also be found at http://www.MetroCenterFoundation.org. Anyone interested in donating to the project should email ron@ indieplex.org or call 415-441-1325. To learn more about Maddux’s film, visit http://stumaddux.com/ Reel_In_The_Closet_About.html.

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<< Open Forum

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

Volume 43, Number 33 August 15-21, 2013 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador • Erin Blackwell Roger Brigham • Scott Brogan Victoria A. Brownworth • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Chuck Colbert Richard Dodds • David Duran Raymond Flournoy • David Guarino Peter Hernandez • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Matthew Kennedy • David Lamble Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Elliot Owen• Paul Parish • James Patterson Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Philip Ruth • Donna Sachet Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Ed Walsh • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION T. Scott King ONLINE PRODUCTION Jay Cribas PHOTOGRAPHERS Danny Buskirk • Jane Philomen Cleland Rick Gerharter • Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Scott Wazlowski – 415.861.5019 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Out & About listings • jim@ebar.com Advertising • scott@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation. Advertising rates available upon request. Our list of subscribers and advertisers is confidential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

Gays and the Olympics

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he gay community has a long and tortured history with the Olympics. Back in the 1980s, the powerful U.S. Olympic Committee claimed it had trademark rights to the word “Olympic” and so took the fledgling San Francisco Arts and Athletics Inc. to court to prevent it from calling its sporting event the Gay Olympics. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the USOC’s position prevailed and local organizers were forced to rename their event the Gay Games. In recent years, the USOC and the International Olympic Committee have downplayed LGBT athletes; and NBC, which owns the U.S. rights to broadcast the games, has colluded with them. When gay Australian diver Matthew Mitcham stunned spectators at the 2008 games in Beijing and won gold in a shocking upset, NBC ignored the gay angle and its cameras cut away rather than show him hugging his boyfriend in the stands. Now, the world is finally hearing about the draconian anti-gay propaganda law that is in effect in Russia, just months before athletes and visitors converge in the resort town of Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics. But the IOC and USOC have been mostly silent on the issue when they should be loudly criticizing and calling for repeal of a law that is stifling, discriminatory, and just plain wrong. The law, ostensibly meant to “protect children,” according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, includes stiff fines and jail time for people who “propagate” homosexuality to minors. In practice it is used to rally nationalists and as a pretext to arrest Putin’s political enemies. The IOC is out of touch. Initially, it said that it had received “verbal assurances” from the highest levels of the Russian government that the law, signed in June by Putin, wouldn’t be enforced for those attending or taking part in the games. That turned out to be incorrect, and had the IOC backpedaling. Russian officials have since said that of course the law will be enforced, and will apply to everyone, visitors and Russian citizens alike, which shouldn’t surprise anyone.

This week, Slate and Gay Star News reported that the IOC is referencing its Rule 50 banning demonstrations or political, religious, or racial propaganda at Olympic sites in response to queries about Russia. In other words, LGBT athletes should stay in the closet. This is outrageous. As Slate reporter Mark Joseph Stern noted, “The notion that voicing support of gay people and gay rights, or that being gay is a ‘demonstration’ or ‘political propaganda’ in violation of Rule 50 is obtuse and insulting.” We’ve seen the calls for boycotts, moving the games, and the like, but the reality is that the Olympics will go on as scheduled next year, and they should. These young athletes train for years in order to compete and they should not be punished due to politics. There are, however, ways to highlight the problems in Russia and that’s where the focus should be. According to its website, one of the other provisions of the Olympic Charter is to

t

“act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic movement.” This is the appropriate charter statement the IOC must adhere to. The new Russian law is so vague that an Olympic athlete could run afoul of it just by speaking out in support of fellow LGBT athletes, or saying, “I’m gay.” Of course, the IOC has abdicated its responsibility before: it awarded the 2008 games to Beijing with full knowledge of China’s well-documented human rights abuses. Apparently the IOC’s commitment is selective, and that’s not right. Putin has been caught off guard with the heightened interest and publicity surrounding his anti-gay law, and that media scrutiny must continue. There are many countries with antigay laws but only Russia will be hosting the most watched international event next year. The bottom line is that Russia is hosting the Winter Olympics. The world’s attention will be on Sochi in February and the world deserves to hear and see just how homophobic Russia is right now. The athletes will return home after the games, but who will continue to speak up for LGBT Russians and those punished by Putin’s vague and discriminatory law?t

BET errs in B. Scott clothing fiasco by Rizi Timane

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ransgender people have so few role models in the media. So when BET hired openly transgender and gay TV, radio, and web personality B. Scott as its red carpet correspondent for the network’s BET Awards, it was a revelation. Here was an individual who had made a name for himself in his own right without regard to his gender expression. His website (http://www.lovebscott.com), an entertainment blog focusing on celebrity news, fashion, and music, launched in 2007 and has won the best video blog award from the Black Weblog Awards twice. In 2008 YouTube selected Scott to become one of the company’s partners, and in 2009 he launched an online talk and variety show called “The B. Scott Show” where he has interviewed the likes of Mariah Carey, Ne-Yo, Chaka Khan, and Ashanti. He has been a featured panelist at LGBT conferences and hosted events at the Hollywood Black Film Festival and Yale University’s gay Pride month. In short Scott is no joke. He is a media icon who has built his image and his career from the ground up, and he is an inspiration for transgender people of all backgrounds and LGBT people as a whole. He has shown us that hope for our future and simple acceptance from the public are possible. And then BET stepped in and crushed those dreams. After approving Scott’s on-air wardrobe for the pre-show – black heels, a pair of loose black pants, a sleeveless top, and a flowing, dark-blue tunic – the BET honchos decided it was inappropriate. By the time this decision came down, Scott had already appeared on live TV in this outfit and, I might add, looked damn good: the clothes were classy and stylish, perfectly fitting for an individual whose job it was to analyze and discuss the fashion of the evening. The appropriateness of the clothes, however, was not the problem for BET. It was that they were women’s clothes. Despite the fact

that Scott dresses as a woman, and for all intents and purposes is a transgender gay person publicly and on a daily basis, those in charge of the network found his garb offensive somehow. To them this was a man in women’s dress, and that just could not fly. After Scott was allowed on air in the outfit for one segment, he was pulled aside and told that if he wanted to continue, he would have to put on something – well, more manly. Not wanting to lose this job that would obviously be important to his career, he complied and appeared for the rest of the show in black trousers and a shiny-blue suit coat. His long, straight hair was pulled back in a modest ponytail, and the sparkling smile that was a permanent fixture on his face prior to this fiasco wiped away for good. Scott was not happy. He was embarrassed, angry, and uncomfortable. Anyone with eyes could have seen that. Yet the BET executives did not care. Scott looked how they wanted him to look now – in other words, like a man – and that was all that mattered. Eventually, BET pulled Scott off the air altogether, replacing him with a female host – who, because she was “born that way,” was fine in her dress and high heels. Which just went to show how deep this horrible, disgusting discrimination went. Women’s clothing was all right for a cis woman but not for a transgender gay individual? BET had made their rules clear, though unfortunately a little too late. Scott had already been singled out and humiliated, and who knows what damage this incident might have done to his reputation. To bring this egregious misconduct to light, Scott has now filed a lawsuit against BET charging the network with discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Though Scott is seeking $2.5 million in damages, I’m not sure any monetary amount could make up for what has been done. This is not just a mat-

ter of clothing choices and what an employer can or cannot ultimately make an employee do to retain their job, although those are certainly high among the practical concerns of any transgender individual. No, this is a question of deep-seated, insidious, and ingrained prejudices that unfortunately still rear their ugly heads – an underlying misunderstanding and even hatred that is always present even when it is not spoken. I cannot say I know the true motives of the BET representatives who told Scott to change his clothes, but I can guess the implied message of their actions: “You’re too weird. You need to conform no matter how uncomfortable it makes you.” If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that, either outright or implicitly, I would be as rich as some of the celebrities Scott interviewed on BET’s red carpet. So what does this all mean for transgender individuals? Whether we are public figures or not, what happened to Scott at the BET Awards is clearly another step back when we thought we were making some progress. I and many other transgender people were surprised but so happy that BET had made such a bold move when it brought Scott onboard. This was widespread international exposure for our cause and, more importantly, a chance to show the world that a transgender individual is just as capable and talented as anyone of any other gender expression. And then it ended in disaster. To say I am disappointed is an understatement; devastated is more like it, and all I can do is hope and pray that Scott’s courage will bring everyone more clarity in the future.t Rizi Timane, Ph.D., identifies as a trans man and is a commissioned minister and spiritual counselor within Rizi Timane Ministries, a Jesus-based ministry based in Burbank, California. For more information, visit rizitimaneministries.vpweb.com.

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Letters >>

August 15-21, 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

Calling on gay fashion designers

Have the American Olympic uniforms been designed yet? Why not weave a rainbow band around an arm or down the sleeves or legs? Why aren’t more democratic, pro-LGBT countries considering this? After all, I’ve heard rumors that a whole hell of a lot of clothing designers are LGBT folks and their straight allies. If any of you personally know anyone involved in the design of the uniforms, couldn’t you lean on them to push designs that promote freedom and counter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to replicate Hitler’s Olympics?

Changes in Lutheran denomination

I want to commend Chuck Colbert for his article on the election of a Lutheran bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America [“Lutherans to install gay bishop,” August 8]. It is well written, well researched, and comprehensive. As one of the leading congregations advocating for justice stretching over 30 years, the Bay Area Reporter has been consistent in reporting our struggle in accurate and responsible articles. We thank you for that. By the way, I will be attending the installation of Bishop Erwin in Los Angeles on September 21.

Tom Cardellino San Francisco

Embassies should fly rainbow flag

Taking advantage of diplomatic immunity, President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry should order the rainbow flag flown over the American Embassy in Moscow during the 2014 Winter Olympics. Furthermore, Kerry should work with our NATO allies to fly the rainbow flag, over their embassies, in Moscow. Diplomatic couriers, with diplomatic immunity, can carry the flags into their embassy without search. Displaying that flag would give the metaphorical finger to the Russian government for their fascistic anti-gay laws, and show solidarity with the Russian LGBT community.

Reverend James DeLange, Retired Senior Pastor St. Francis Lutheran Church San Francisco

City College

Congratulations to Community Housing Partnership for wonderful new projects for transition age youth [“Foster youth housing in SF to soon open,” August 1]. Happily, there’s one more in the pipeline. Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center and Mercy Housing are partners in developing 1100 Ocean Avenue on a site formerly owned by the Municipal Transportation Agency. Close to City College and surrounded by public transit options, 1100 Ocean will provide 25 new apartments for youth transitioning from the foster care system as well as 46 new homes for low-income families. An array of on-site services for the youth will focus on education, employment, and housing stability. We will break ground this summer, and expect to have the new units available in January 2015.

Community Colleges Chancellor Brice Harris, whom the Bay Area Reporter suggests step in to smooth procedures in its bone-headed editorial [“City College’s tough road ahead,” August 8] recently described the process thusly: it is analogous to an auto accident victim in critical condition on the operating table while nurses and doctors argue about hospital rules. At this late date, apparently the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges want tough choices and changes made, not editorials expressing the need for tough choices and changes. CCSF’s feet are being held to the fire to come into compliance. What happens if San Francisco comes five yards short of the goal line? Well, we know you lose the Super Bowl but do we lose City College? That depends. The person able to make the strongest case to ACCJC would be the quarterback – special Trustee Robert Agrella – who moved the ball downfield. So the B.A.R. is worried about local input? Not to worry. Only obstructionists will be ignored. Teamwork is needed now. Harris views protest, defiance, foot-dragging, and status quo resistance as inimical to success. Failure could very well become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Students, community members, San Franciscans – let’s not conflate preserving perks, privileges, and political careers with “saving City College” or heed egregiously wrong-headed newspaper editorials, because the result could be 85,000 “out” people.

Amy Beinart, Housing Director Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center

Steve Evers San Francisco

Steven L. Kendall Seattle, Washington

More youth housing in the pipeline in SF

Events to mark King march anniversary compiled by Cynthia Laird

yard Rustin Coalition will hold a civil rights rally from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on the steps of San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. The rally will commemorate the 1963 march and also honor Rustin, a gay man who was a prominent strategist to King. Last week, President Barack Obama announced that Rustin would posthumously receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. For more information, visit www. bayardrustincoalition.com.

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he 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is later this month, and locally several events are planned to commemorate the event, made famous by the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of hundreds of thousands of people on August 28, 1963. In Berkeley, Bill Doggett is hosting “The March on Washington at 50: A Bay Area Celebration” that will take place Saturday, August 17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Avenue. The keynote speaker will be Clayborne Carson, Ph.D., director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. In 1985 he was selected by King’s widow, the late Coretta Scott King, to edit and publish King’s papers and has extensively researched King’s life and the movements he inspired. Other speakers scheduled to participate include civil rights veteran the Reverend Phil Lawson, National Center for Lesbian Rights Executive Director Kate Kendell, the Greenlining Institute’s Orson Aguilar, and gay Berkeley City Councilman Darryl Moore. Doggett said that the event will focus on equal rights, social justice, youth, and inter-generational dialogues. The symposium will be simulcast live on YouTube by Berkeley Community Media and will begin with the West Coast premiere of a new documentary film on the 1963 March on

Civil rights icon Bayard Rustin

Washington, courtesy of Carson. The event is free and open to the public. In San Francisco, the Bayard Rustin Coalition will host two events commemorating the march. On Wednesday, August 21 there will be a panel discussion titled, “1963 March on Washington: 50 Years Later – Where Are We Now?” from 7 to 9 p.m. at the GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th Street. Panelists will include Kenneth Monteiro, dean of the College of Ethnic Studies and professor of psychology at San Francisco State University; Billy Curtis, executive director of the Multicultural Sexuality and Gender Centers at UC Berkeley; the Reverend Israel Alvaran, national organizer for economic justice at General Board of Church and Society; and Andrea Shorter of Atlas Leadership Strategies. The event is free for GLBT Historical Society members. Admission is $5 general and $3 for CA students. On Saturday, August 24 the Ba-

Workshop on post-DOMA immigration issues

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights will hold a workshop titled “Green Cards for Same-Sex Couples” tonight (Thursday, August 15) from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street. A panel of San Francisco-based immigration attorneys will provide an overview of the impact on immigration law in light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act. The attorneys include Emily Wages of the Law Office of Emily Wages; and Camiel Becker and Christina H. Lee, partners at Becker and Lee LLP. Robin Goldfaden with the lawyers’ committee will moderate. The workshop is free and open to the public.

Bathhouse FAQ available

The San Francisco Department of Public Health has released a frequently-asked-questions sheet about the permitting process for bathhouses in San Francisco. The health See page 8 >>

October

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6th, 2013

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<< Community News

t SF binational couple reunited

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

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same-sex binational couple from San Francisco reunited and married recently after an immigration ordeal ended. Federal officials had held Mexicanborn Pedro “Antonio” Ayon Garcia, 45, since June. Garcia, who’s lived in San Francisco with U.S. citizen Brad Frazier, 44, for more than a decade, was detained after trying to return to the U.S. from a trip to Mexico. Garcia, who had most recently been held in Pennsylvania, had a credible fear interview July 25. He found out the next day, July 26, that he was to be paroled, and he was released that day. Officials found that because of Garcia’s sexual orientation, there was “credible fear that returning to Mexico would endanger his life,” said Frazier in response to emailed questions this week. The couple married August 2 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. They returned to San Francisco last week after honeymooning in Provincetown. Frazier and Garcia’s trouble started June 2 as Garcia was returning from a visit to his mother in Mexicali, Mexico. He was stopped as he crossed from Mexicali to Calexico, California, Frazier said in a summary. According to Department of Homeland Security records, Garcia presented a DSP-150 visitor’s visa to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer and admitted that he’d been living and working in the United States without the proper visa. Eventually, he also “admitted living with his boyfriend in San Francisco” for the past decade, the documents say. His visa was canceled and he returned to Mexico, according to the file. On June 28, Garcia, who didn’t have a criminal record, tried to enter the U.S. through Arizona, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took him into custody. Authorities “acknowledged his request for asylum,” according to Frazier, and extended his incarceration. He was eventually moved from Arizona to Pennsylvania. Both states ban same-

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News Briefs

From page 7

department was asked to clarify the position regarding new bathhouses after several straight-oriented massage parlors and spas have sought bathhouse permits. The city’s gay bathhouses were mostly shuttered three decades ago after a judge issued an injunction forcing the owners to remove doors from private rooms and have staff monitor patrons to ensure they were practicing safe sex. As reported in the Bay Area Reporter last week, with the recent bathhouse permit applications, some people are questioning whether the city should again allow bathhouses that cater to gay men. To read the FAQ, visit http://www. sfhiv.org/wp-content/uploads/FAQregarding-Bathhouses-in-SF.pdf.

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LGBT families are welcome to attend Happy Kids Day, an event that takes place Saturday, August 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Memorial Park in Cupertino (Stevens Creek Boulevard and Mary Way). The day, organized by the Taiwanese Volunteer Group, is aimed at fostering a more peaceful community through better awareness and appreciation to achieve greater cultural understanding. There will be a range of international performers and diverse exhibits to provide cultural experiences. New this year will be the Taipei Youth Folk Sports Group, an International Village, Radio Disney, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium trailer.

Courtesy Brad Frazier

Pedro Garcia, left, and Brad Frazier were recently married.

sex marriage. Garcia doesn’t need to be sponsored for his green card, which designates him as a permanent resident, said Frazier. “He was released on his own merit, because they found credible fear that returning to Mexico would endanger his life,” said Frazier. “Now that Antonio is married to a U.S. citizen, this trumps everything. He will be given a green card, because he is married to a U.S. citizen. This now gives him two different pathways to obtain a green card and later citizenship.” The couple had been registered as domestic partners since 2011. Frazier had pressed for Garcia to be extradited to a California facility so that the couple could be married and Garcia could be released on bond. On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8 same-sex marriage ban. Two days later – the same day that ICE took Garcia into custody after he tried to enter the country through Arizona – the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed same-sex marriages to immediately resume in California. Frazier and Garcia’s ordeal had taken place despite outgoing DHS Sec-

retary Janet Napolitano’s announcement last year that she planned to direct ICE to issue guidance to field offices codifying that LGBT family ties would be recognized in immigration cases. She said after the Supreme Court decision in June that officials would begin reviewing immigration petitions for same-sex couples the same as for opposite-sex couples. Asked about why the couple married in Massachusetts, Frazier said, in part, “Since we were already near there when I flew to meet him in [Pennsylvania], we thought it a special way to celebrate our newly won right to marry. Provincetown is extremely gayfriendly and marriage oriented. We also didn’t want to wait. We had waited for nearly 10 years to be legally wed and recognized. We were anxious to join the ranks of real living, breathing, recognized relationships in this country. It does make a difference to be able to legally call someone your husband.” Frazier attributed his husband’s release to attorney Steve Shaiken and to Garcia. “I cannot guess for sure, but I think making noise on his behalf by the lawyer, and Antonio continuing to make noise from the inside, helped the process,” said Frazier. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”t

Admission is free. For more information, visit http://www.happykidsday.org.

ner Circle, 410 14th Street in Oakland. Tickets are $25 for the gala plus a VIP reception (9 to 10) or $15 for the gala only. For more information, visit “Saint Harridan Pop-Up Shop + Gala” on Facebook.

WOMAN Inc. benefit

WOMAN Inc. will be celebrating its 35th anniversary and is having a reception Friday, August 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Virgil’s Sea Room, 3152 Mission Street. The organization, formally known as Women Organized to Make Abuse Nonexistent, provides services to survivors of domestic violence in San Francisco and the larger Bay Area, including same-sex survivors. There will be speakers, food and beverages (including a new drink named after the agency), and a raffle.

Saint Harridan pop-up store, gala in Oakland

Saint Harridan, an online retailer specializing in classic men’s styled suits reconfigured to fit women and trans men, will have a pop-up store in Oakland this weekend, August 17-18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. The store will be located at the Show and Tell Concept Shop, 1300 Clay Street, Suite 160. The store is one block from the 12th Street BART station. Saint Harridan founder Mary Going, who was profiled in the Bay Area Reporter last December, said she’s excited about the event. “I can’t even believe we are about to make it happen,” she said. Show and Tell’s Alyah Baker and Nicole Payton invited Going to have her first pop-up in their space. A gala benefiting Saint Harridan takes place Saturday, August 17 from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. at Geoffrey’s In-

ABA OKs ‘gay panic’ resolution

By an overwhelming voice vote, the American Bar Association passed a resolution calling on state legislatures to ban “gay panic” and “trans panic” defenses in trials. The ABA’s House of Delegates approved the resolution at its meeting Monday, August 12 in San Francisco, where the lawyers’ group is wrapping up its annual meeting. “The ABA’s adoption of this measure sends a clear message to state legislatures that legal professionals find no validity in the sham defenses mounted by those who seek to perpetuate discrimination and stereotypes as an excuse for violence,” stated D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National LGBT Bar Association, an affiliate of the ABA. So-called panic defenses are sometimes used by defendants in trials as they attempt to cast blame on the victim. One notable example was the murder trial of Bay Area transgender teenager Gwen Araujo, where two of the defendants claimed that the discovery of Araujo’s birth gender had threatened their sexualities and selfimages. California has a law, the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act, which allows a judge to instruct jurors not to consider their own anti-LGBT biases during their deliberations.t

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Politics>>

August 15-21 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

Cities asked to suspend ties with Russian counterparts by Matthew S. Bajko

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merican cities that have relationships with Russian cities are being asked to suspend those ties due to recently adopted anti-gay propaganda laws signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. While calls to boycott Russian vodka brands and the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi have gained widespread attention, less noticed have been calls for the suspension of sister city relationships between U.S. and Russian municipalities. In the Bay Area, Oakland in 1975 became sister cities with Nakhodka, Russia, a coastal city on the Sea of Japan, while San Jose since 1992 has been sister cities with Ekaterinburg, Russia, where in 1918 Tsar Nicholas II and his family were murdered. Santa Clara County has a sister county relationship with Moscow. And California has sister state agreements with the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Region and the Altai Republic of the Russian Federation, according to the state Senate Office of International Relations. In recent weeks petitions have been launched to urge elected leaders in the various American cities to suspend their Russian relationships as a protest of the homophobic laws adopted by Soviet leaders. “The reported violence on our LGBT brothers and sisters is unacceptable. We must speak out,” gay San Jose resident Steve Kline, who has encouraged his neighbors to sign the online petition, told the Bay Area Reporter. “If we just look the other way, we are part of that violence. Dialogue is always available, but it takes two to create that conversation. I have not seen or read about any Russian official who wants

1012721

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to talk about equal rights for LGBT citizens. In fact, it seems that they are still threatening tourists, and the participants and spectators at Sochi.” In a letter sent last Thursday, August 8 to the state’s Legislative LGBT Caucus, several Bay Area activists urged the out lawmakers to “consider severing the two sister state pacts, as a method of telling Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian society that there is a diplomatic price to pay for homophobia.” There is not universal support for the tactic among LGBT people overseas, as some would rather see the sister cities relationships be used to dialogue with Russians about the need for LGBT rights. “We are of the view that cancellations of such relations may sadly foster the scapegoating of the LGBT community in Russia,” Bjorn Van Roozendaal, the program director for ILGA-Europe, which stands for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, told the B.A.R. in an email. “Cities with such sister links could probably better use their relations to foster dialogue and support local LGBT communities in their twinning cities.” St. Petersburg, Russia resident Polina Savchenko, an LGBT activist who visited San Francisco in 2011, wrote in an email to San Jose resident Gloria Nieto that she is conflicted about the calls for suspending ties. “Regarding cutting sister-city relations, I have a mixed feeling. It would not be good if all sister-cities did that, because then the LGBT people in Russia and Russians in general would end up isolated from the West and its ideas of human rights and freedoms,” wrote Savchenko. “But I think it is good when once in awhile one city or another suspends these relations until

the time when homophobic legislation is withdrawn.” Nieto, who shared her friend’s email with the B.A.R., in 2009 served on the Santa Clara County Moscow Sister County Commission, though she has never visited Russia herself. She has spoken to South Bay officials about suspending ties until the anti-gay Soviet laws are appealed in hopes it will spur their Russian counterparts to speak out against them. “If we suspend those relationships it is kind of doing a carrot and stick thing. We are not abandoning LGBT folks there but letting elected officials know we are not happy,” said Nieto, a longtime LGBT activist. “They should be doing something to affect what is going on in the Duma and other house. They can’t just shrug their shoulders and not do anything. They have to go and tell their elected officials this is affecting their cities.”

Some connections inactive

It does not appear, however, that most of the local U.S.-Soviet connections have been active in recent years. Several out state lawmakers told the B.A.R. they were unaware of the state pacts, while officials in both Oakland and San Jose were unsure of the status of their Russian sister cities committees. The one relationship that has fostered recent cultural exchanges between the countries is that of Santa Clara County and Moscow. According to the office of Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, a gay man who is serving as the Board of Supervisor’s president this year, the county recently hosted a Soviet delegation made up of nonprofit employees and social workers focused on working with youth in foster care and institutional settings. Another Muscovite delegation of social workers and police officers is set to visit Santa Clara County to study its juvenile justice programs. The commission “has worked very

Rick Gerharter

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Ken Yeager

hard to establish ties with Russian citizens working to affect positive change in their country’s social services sector. Building that trust took years,” Yeager wrote in an email to the B.A.R. Instead of severing ties, which Yeager does not support, he does plan to have the board vote on a resolution to officially condemn the anti-gay Russian laws and send letters to the appropriate ambassadorial contacts. “Official condemnations from governments at every level will help bring attention to the issue,” wrote Yeager. “However, I believe that severing such a productive program would do more harm than good for LGBT people in Russia, especially the youth.” In addition, when county staff meets with the visiting delegation, Yeager said he would insist that a portion of the program be spent on the importance of LGBT rights and “the vital need to protect the dignity and safety of all people.” “I will also ask the Moscow Sister County Commission to open a dialogue with local LGBT leaders so they can find ways to use citizen diplomacy to influence the issue,” added Yeager. Brendalynn Goodall, with the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, told the B.A.R. she supports Oakland suspending ties with Nakhodka, Russia.

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And Mayor Jean Quan is exploring how to put the ties between the two cities on hiatus, said her spokesman Sean Maher. “We are aware of the petition. We are glad to see it,” said Maher, noting that Quan sent a letter August 1 to the International Olympic Committee to express her concerns about the Russian anti-gay laws and the need to relocate the Winter Games if they are not overturned. “Oakland has long been home to LGBT communities and is a leader in diversity and inclusion.” Maher said the mayor would likely work with the City Council when it returns from its summer recess in September to address the calls for it to suspend its sister city ties to Nakhodka. According to the Washington, D.C.based Sister Cities International, the mayor of a U.S. city need only write a letter to their counterpart (and Sister Cities International) saying that they’d like to either cancel the relationship or put it into emeritus status. The organization’s policy, however, counsels that suspending a sister city relationship “due to disagreement over a government policy or practice can be counterproductive and contrary to the stated mission of sister city relationships” to promote peace through interpersonal relationships. “Canceling relationships is quite rare, although putting relationships into emeritus status is more common, usually due to inactivity,” Sister Cities International spokeswoman Megha Swamy told the B.A.R. in an email. “We encourage members to keep partnerships, even if they are Emeritus, since sometimes in the future citizens will decide to revitalize the relationship and make it active once more, and this avoids having to go through the whole twinning process again.” San Jose Councilman Ash Kalra, who this summer joined the group’s national board of directors, said he is discussing with his colleagues what acSee page 17 >>

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Sports>>

August 15-21 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

The Sochi Winter Olympics* by Roger Brigham

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oycott the Olympics? Ban the Ruskies? Ship the Olympiad off on the midnight train to Vancouver for a change of venue? Such are the questions racing through the world of sports as we brace for the next Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi, Russia – just months after that nation decided to pass a raft of homophobic legislation to try to take the lead position in the cesspool of social repression. It has been heartwarming to see the level of creativity and hysteria as people scramble to find ways to act decisively and appropriately. But are any of the proposed preemptive strikes practical or even likely to be attempted? And if athletes and spectators act spontaneously by showing waving rainbow flags, isn’t that just likely to produce Olympic disqualifications, police crackdowns, and an acceleration of Russian street thugs going about their street thuggery? I turned to some of the more active LGBT and ally voices in the debate for answers. We begin with whether Russian cops are likely to bust athletes and tourists during the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee has been asking for “clarification” from Russian authorities as contradictory statements have been forthcoming about the degree to which laws forbidding expressions of LGBT pride will be enforced. “There’s a zero percent chance the laws are enforced on athletes, coaches, staff, etc.,” said You Can Play’s Patrick Burke. “The Russian government wants a quiet, non-controversial Olympics. They are not going to go bursting into the athlete village and drag an athlete out to jail him. It’s simply not something they’re going to do.” Lou Englefield, director of Pride Sports UK and who has been working with the Federation of Gay Games to try to get a Pride House established for the Winter Games, concurred. “I think it’s highly likely the Russian laws will be enforced,” she said, “but I think the application of the law may vary from place to place. There may be some leniency around Sochi, but we need to be worried about what will be happening away from the spotlight to ordinary LGBT Russians.” Others also agreed. “It is hard to imagine that Russia would risk the international embarrassment and repercussions of having such an incident at the games,” said Athlete Ally founder Hudson Taylor. “It is also hard to know the scope of the IOC’s authority to protect against these laws; despite its recent assurances that the anti-propaganda legislation will not affect the athletes. Regardless, organized protest to these laws at the Winter Olympics, whether silenced or not, is the only way we can meaningfully improve the situation for Russia’s LGBT community.”

Pride Sports UK’s Lou Englefield has been trying, unsuccessfully so far, to open a Pride House in Sochi.

Author and activist Harvey Fierstein was one of the first to call for a boycott of the Olympics, but the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, one of the last impotent acts of the flailing Jimmy Carter presidency; and the retaliatory Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Olympics pretty much soured the global sports community on boycotts for good. (Full disclosure, a few weeks ago in this space I also called for a boycott, though I don’t think it will happen.) “No countries are even considering a boycott,” said Burke. “I don’t know why it’s still being considered as a possible option. Zero Olympic committees and zero governments are actually talking about this. There’s a bullshit media firestorm about ideas that aren’t possible. I don’t know why the media is insisting we waste our time talking about this. We should go, and if they do want to arrest people, then so be it. If USA Hockey invites me (which I don’t think they will), I will join my father in being pro-gay in Sochi. If they want to throw us in jail, fine.” University of Michigan rowing coach Charley Sullivan, a colleague of mine from Equality Coaching Alliance, was one of the early voices to reject the boycott call and suggest moving the location and time of the Olympics – say, Vancouver in 2015. “Boycotts don’t work,” said Sullivan. “Chief among these is that this would backfire on us as a community in the U.S.: we would become the whiny bitches who stopped some 15-year-old from getting her spin on the ice. I would rather see the games moved, even if that means delaying them a year. For the IOC’s structural reasons, I don’t see this happening.” The IOC is asking for Russian assurances that LGBT expressions won’t be prosecuted during the Olympics, but what form should those assurances take, and what value would they have? “I would not find any assurance as acceptable,” said Les Johnson, cochairman of the Federation of Gay Games external affairs committee. “Our Russian LGBT Sports Federa-

tion colleagues have to endure this law until its taken off the books – that is the only action the Russian government can do that I would truly find acceptable.” “I don’t think mere assurance of non-enforcement of the laws is enough,” said Taylor. “The Russian government needs to be pressured to repeal the law, and until it is repealed, any ‘assurances’ must be met with skepticism.” So, assuming the Olympics go on, should we flaunt the laws and wave our flags, and what difference will it make? “A highly visible LGBT presence draws attention to the issue on a worldwide scale that even the current debate cannot match,” said Burke. “In addition, it attacks the fundamental mindset behind the law. The laws are based on the ideas that gay people are lesser or weaker. Showing off the idea that LGBT athletes are powerful, that the world’s elite athletes are supportive of LGBT equality, and that the rest of the world is in opposition to the law. Russian LGBT activists have asked the games continue for this very reason. If there’s a boycott, the media will not show up in Russia, and we’ll lose the opportunity to show what is happening right now.” “I believe that having a strong presence, especially during the events of the two gay Olympians, speed skater Blake Skjellerup and figure skater Johnny Weir, is one of the most powerful ways that we can influence the world,” said Johnson. “Imagine for a moment that 4,000plus fans are cheering on Skjellerup as he skates. What if the crowd contained international celebrities as well like Elton John, Lady Gaga, or Greg Louganis. This is the world stage, and if our LGBT friends and allies show up along with hundreds and hundreds of fans, it will send an enormous message of love and support throughout the world. We must not let Blake or Johnny stand alone.” And: “The participation of out athletes at Sochi will be a reminder that we are a permanent part of the sports landscape, and that hateful legislation, violence and threats will not erase us,” said Christina Kahrl, a transgender activist and co-founder of Baseball Prospectus. “The Olympics are the biggest sports event on the planet, and the athletes who have been training to compete have devoted their lives to this narrow window of possibility to compete now, and compete for their country. As a result, we owe it to them to guarantee their ability to compete. For any of them to opt out as an individual would be an understandable and defensible choice, but my hope is that the IOC and our nation have the courage to support and protect those LGBT athletes willing to compete. And then, once those athletes are there, I hope they add a new chapter in the footsteps of Jesse Owens, or Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and not simply win, but make an indelible statement on the field through their excellence as athletes.” This is a lot to digest. I’ve chewed on it a bit and this is what I’ve spit out.

On the web Online content this week includes the Bay Area Reporter’s online columns, Political Notes and Wedding Bells Ring, and the Out in the World column. www.ebar.com.

Silence = Death

ACT UP has been telling us that for years, and apparently Russian head bad boy Vladimir Putin is gambling on it. Their laws are “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on steroids. Forget the love that dare not speak its name; in Russia, it dare not speak, kiss, suggest, hope, hold hands, dress funny. The Russians say they aren’t outlawing homosexuality, merely every expression of it.

perial schemes. Global warfare that put the Olympics on the shelf and destroyed millions of lives. Yeah, we really showed him up with those gold medals. I don’t think we should be thinking about Owens. I think we should be thinking about Neville Chamberlain and the gutless politics of appeasement. Give power hungry despots what they demand and they don’t go away – they just get greedier.

Why us and why now?

The scarlet asterisk

Pretty amazing this Russian furor erupts after a prolonged erosion of homophobia in sports in the rest of the world. Then again, we’ve seen repeatedly that LGBT folks are emerging as convenient scapegoats for all of the world’s ills, from global warming to tsunamis and earthquakes. Desperate political hacks here and abroad often feel safe blaming everything from a collapsed economy to high divorce rates on the gays.

You really want to bring up the 1936 Olympics?

Yes, Owens’s performance-forthe-ages was a great shot at Hitler. But it slowed down not one whit what was happening at the time and what followed – the round up and extermination of Jews, gays, political dissidents, and every other group that didn’t fit into the Fuhrer’s grand plan. The overrunning of every land that stood in the way of Hitler’s im-

Obituaries >> Ira Kleinberg August 10, 1962 – August 5, 2013

Ira Z. Kleinberg passed away at his home in Oakland on August 5, 2013. Although Ira had a history of heart disease, his early death was unexpected. Ira was an information technology visionary, taxonomist, and librarian. He was born and grew up in Miami Beach, Florida, earned a BA degree at the University of Illinois and moved to San Francisco in 1984. Here he started his business Back Matter and served as an indexer and consultant for technical publishers. He also wrote for the San Francisco Sentinel. Ira studied at Rutgers University in New Brunswick from 1991 to 1998, receiving an MLS degree and pursuing a doctorate in communications, information and library science. Happily returning to San Francisco in 1998, Ira worked at Netscape, as a technology consultant for Aquent, and at the San Francisco Public Library. For the past 10 years he has served as senior taxonomist at Pearson Education. Ira moved to Oakland in 2005 and loved his home near Lake Merritt. He was a gentle and generous man with incisive wit and sublime intelligence. He loved gardening, cooking, bicycling, camping, technology, media, and culture. Ira is survived by his parents Faith and Sheldon Kleinberg of North Miami Beach; his brothers Steven Kleinberg and David Kleinberg; beloved friends Bruce and Steve, David and Christian, Jenny and Eric, Jessica, Phillip and David, Scooter and Paul, Zillie, and many, many more.

Felipe Sanchez Paris September 29, 1941 – July 31, 2013

ebar.com

Relocation, boycotts, even disqualification of the Russians from being able to compete, as Outsports writer Cyd Zeigler has suggested – all of them are very complicated actions that are unlikely to happen, much less succeed. How, then, are we to mark the Sochi Olympics, which are to be a celebration of the right for all people to play, being held in a place where those very rights are so deeply under attack? With the way we always note evil transgressions in the world of sports: with an asterisk. Append an asterisk to every printed reference to the 2014 Winter Olympics. Send the medals back to the mint and re-strike them all with a big fat asterisk right on top of the Olympic rings. Let the asterisk serve as a permanent reminder that the Olympics without respect for the rights of all people is no Olympics at all: it’s just a fivering circus.t

Felipe (Phillip L) Sanchez Paris, Ph.D., who was for a brief period acting director of elections for the City and County of San Francisco, died at home peacefully in his sleep July 31, 2013. Born in Gary, Indiana in 1941, he

graduated from Georgetown University and the University of Southern California, from which he received an MA in 1967 and a Ph.D. in 1973. The majority of his professional career was dedicated to facilitating multicultural education and equity in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors. He was recognized as a “change agent” in executive and management circles and was utilized widely as a consultant in organizational behavior and change. In 1973 Mr. Paris became the state Title I coordinator, continuing education and community service. This federally funded program essentially worked through the institutional members of the California Post Secondary Education Commission. He then moved on to become the executive director of the Multicultural Equity Division of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland, Oregon. This technical training and technical assistance center provided services to elementary and secondary school districts in the Pacific Basin and the Pacific Northwest. From 1982 until 2000 he served as a professor of public policy and administration at California State University, Bakersfield where he was also acting graduate studies dean. Mr. Paris was an active lay leader in the Episcopal Diocese of California and a member of St. Gregory of Nyssa Church on Potrero Hill. In 2010, he played a key role in planning the Bay Area interfaith commemorations of the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. For several years he was a member of the board of Bayview Opera House, which he felt was a natural extension of his commitment to the equal access of all children to quality educational programs. Mr. Paris is survived by his husband, Otis Charles, the retired Episcopal bishop of Utah; two brothers Adrian and John and their spouses; nine children and their spouses; 11 grandchildren; four great grandchildren; numerous cousins in Almeria, Spain; and his San Francisco family and friends. There will be a Liturgy of Thanksgiving for the Life of Felipe Sanchez Paris on Saturday, August 24 at 3 p.m. at St. Gregory of Nyssa Church, 500 De Haro Street (at Mariposa), San Francisco. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Gregory of Nyssa Food Bank.

<< Automotive News

16 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

New hybrids try to match Prius by Philip Ruth

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his month we look at two new hybrid cars.

Honda

Honda CR-Z EX with Navigation, 34 mpg, $23,945. I was so excited when the CR-Z was dropped off, I was practically doing my jazz hands. It is the only hybrid to offer a true manual transmission, and that’s headline news for stick-shift lovers like me. And the two-seat CR-Z’s styling is a knife-edged update on the much-adored Honda CRX of yore. But when my week with the CR-Z was up, I unhooked my FasTrak and handed back the key; parting was no sweet sorrow. That was more about my unrealistic expectations than the car’s lack of merit. There is a way to appreciate the CR-Z, but it cannot in-

volve looking backward, because the CR-Z was built for the needs of today. First off, modern safety standards would prevent Honda from making a car like sub-2,000-pound CRX. Then add in the hybrid powertrain, and the CR-Z ends up at about 800 pounds heavier than a standard CRX. The CR-Z shows its bulk in switchback curves, where there’s some muddiness as the car transfers its weight from side to side. You also feel the weight while accelerating. There are three driving modes: Eco, Normal, and Sport. Sport helps a lot on San Francisco’s hills, where Eco and Normal had the CR-Z feeling slow. Normal suffices on level ground. Eco is for when you have extra

time to be green. For added surge in any mode, there’s an “S+” button on the steering wheel for what Honda calls the “Plus Sport System.” Push the button, and the hybrid battery gives some extra squirt when you leg it. It’s not a drag-racing tool, as you have to be above 19 miles per hour for it to work. If you do it too much, the battery needs time to recharge, like a camera flash. Probably its best use is when you’re passing traffic on two-lane roads and have a moment or two to plan for it. Something else to plan for is the “Auto Stop Idle Function” that kills the engine when the speed goes below that magic 19 miles per hour. Maybe more time with the CR-Z would breed familiarity, but for me, it felt like the car was narcoleptic; when it was time to go, I sometimes caught it snoozing. Two solutions: never leave first gear (neutral is a cue to cut off), or remember to blip the throttle to awaken the engine. A third would involve Honda including a means to switch off this unsettling feature. Enough with the caveats – well, one more. CRXs had wide-open visibility, and the CR-Z is styled with the same sweeping side glass. But here the actual window portion is small, which creates a long blind spot over the driver’s shoulder. So once again in the CR-Z, you’re taking an extra moment to confirm that things are in order before you can act. Again, this is the opposite of the flickable CRX. Changing the yardstick from CRX to other hybrids shows the CR-Z in its best light. Compared to them, the CR-Z manages a sportier feel, with an engine that likes to rev up. At 161 inches, it’s as parkable as a Honda Fit, and for a two-seater, it has lots of usable room, both directly behind the

t

Philip Ruth

The new Honda CR-Z hybrid has a sportier feel than other models.

Philip Ruth

The Ford C-Max hybrid puts a tingle in the steering.

seats and in the cargo area. The far-out instrument panel could be sourced from a CGI spaceship, and the sharp wedge of its side sculpting got lots of attention. I also had to admit that the CR-Z’s substantial structure felt safe, as opposed to the don’t-smush-me defensive posture of the CRX. So if your CRX memories are spurring you to relive them in the CR-Z, learn from my experience and let it go – the elder did not beget the younger. But if you want a hybrid without the genre’s typical somnolence, the CR-Z is worth a look.

Ford

Ford C-Max SEL, 47 mpg, $32,765. Any conversation about fun in a hybrid should include the Ford C-Max. Just as the CR-Z is not a sports car, the C-Max is not a sports wagon, and a romp through some tight curves will remind you of the extra hybrid weight. Rather, it’s in the day-to-day where the C-Max has a refreshing perkiness, especially when compared to its nearest competitor, the Toyota Prius V. I resolve not to be another auto writer nicking the Prius for its dullness, but I will say that for me, driving a Prius really makes the case for public transportation. Why bother guiding an anodyne appliance through traffic? I’d rather be on BART reading a book.

The C-Max, on the other hand, puts a tingle in the steering and a little skill in the suspension. Enough so that a long sweeping entrance ramp approaches as an invitation rather than an alert to secure the coffee cups against the imminent listing. The CMax is a Ford of European design, and it operates with the cool confidence of a car at ease in its work. There’s a nuance to its responses that makes the CMax both an agreeable errand runner and an engaging road-tripper, while the Prius is more like a Roomba – it’s pleasant at first and then slides quickly into the background. A word about fuel mileage: the EPA claims that the C-Max gets an eye-popping 47 miles per gallon. For me, the trip computer topped out at 35 and change, and the EPA’s website has owners checking in at about 39. The Bay Area’s hilly terrain drives down efficiency, and these are still good numbers, but if you’re weighing gas savings versus the extra cost of a hybrid, be sure that your calculations reflect reality.t Philip Ruth is an automotive journalist and consultant at http://www.gaycarguy.com. Go to ebar.com for more photos and a review of the 2013 Mitsibishi Lancer SE. See you next time.

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Community News>>

Rainbow crosswalk

From page 1

from Harvey’s restaurant across to the Bank of America building; and on the north side of 19th and Castro streets, going from the Buffalo Whole Food and Grain Company corner grocery store across to the Thai House restaurant. “The Castro Street Design Team will develop a few proposals for possible designs. At least one of the proposals will be some type of rainbow crosswalk,” explained Aiello, adding that any design and colors chosen must be approved by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. “The final decision/design selection will include community input. The CBD will work with the design team in managing this process.” It is estimated three of the crosswalks will each cost $4,000. The extrawide crosswalk that runs from Harvey Milk Plaza across Castro Street to Jane Warner Plaza is estimated to cost $13,000. The leftover funds are meant to cover the design process. According to the CBD, all four special crosswalks would be installed by October next year and should last five years. The CBD would then gauge community interest for repainting them, and if there is, would develop a plan to do so, said Aiello. The CBD board also voted last week to spend up to $38,700 for down wash lighting on 24 poles along the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street. The money will pay for two LED lights on each pole, plus the CBD will cover the cost of the electricity, which the city estimates would be about $10 per month. They could be programmed to be varying colors, noted Aiello, such as rainbow, all pink, or all red. “The Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District is charged with making improvements to the neighborhood, including beautification, above and beyond the city’s

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Political Notebook

From page 9

tion to take in response to the petitions. “No doubt a strong statement needs to be made to the Russian government from all corners. That includes our federal government, cities, and even organizations like Sister Cities,” said Kalra. “The question is to what degree do we respond.” He said the Sister Cities board has heard from cities across the country on how they should respond to the calls for suspending ties with their Russian counterparts. “From what I am gathering right now, if I had to make a call right now we will certainly make a strong statement regarding the relationship. I don’t know if it furthers that mission by suspending the relationship at this time,” said Kalra. As for suspending his city’s ties with Ekaterinburg, Kalra predicted it would be a hard sell with the other council members and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. “It has been difficult for me to get anything through the council in standing up for LGBT rights. It would be a heavy lift to suggest anything to end or suspend a sister city,” he said. “I am hoping it doesn’t get there and to find an appropriate way to make a strong statement to the Russian government while maintaining these relationships.” San Jose is set to host the 2014 Sister Cities International annual conference next summer. Kalra, who will serve as a co-chair of the gathering, expects the topic of how sister cities “can help to move social movements for equality” will be discussed. The issue of equal rights is one that many countries, including the U.S., continues to grapple with, noted Kalra. And having American cities suspend ties with Russian cities could prompt residents in various countries with grievances against American policies to take the same step, he cautioned.

baseline level of services,” wrote Aiello in an emailed response to questions. “These improvements fall outside of the city’s budget. In funding these beautification efforts we are meeting this charge.” There is still a chance the cost for the crosswalks will be included in the final project proposal that gets put out for bid in September. The SFMTA board is set to vote on the project at its meeting next week, Tuesday, August 20. “Needless to say, we are very pleased to hear that the Castro CBD will be partnering with the city on this project. The goal of the Castro Streetscape Improvement Project has always been to redesign and reconstruct Castro Street as a complete street and these elements will help us to do just that,” stated John Dennis, the project manager with the city’s Department of Public Works. “The celebratory lights and decorative crosswalks, along with the Rainbow Honor Walk plaques, each add placemaking elements that celebrate the street’s unique character and will undoubtedly serve to make our project more of a success.” The Rainbow Honor Walk is a privately funded project to honor LGBT people who have made important societal contributions. The plaques for the first group of 20 inductees will be installed next year as part of the sidewalk changes. The overall goal of the streetscape improvements is to make the Castro more pedestrian friendly and visually appealing. In addition to wider sidewalks, there will be new street trees planted, a bulb-out where the late Supervisor Harvey Milk had his camera store and campaign headquarters, and upgrades to Jane Warner Plaza. The SFMTA board is expected to approve the project when it meets next week. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. in Room 400 at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco.t

“There are a lot of sister cities around the world in many countries that have very poor records when it comes to LGBT rights and equality,” he said. “If the side effect is for us to have discussions about LGBT rights globally because of what is happening in Russia, I think we should take advantage of it.” The Legislative LGBT Caucus met Wednesday morning to discuss what actions it would take. Caucus Chair Assemblyman Rich Gordon (DMenlo Park) told the B.A.R. his inclination is not to end ties or conduct boycotts but to use the relationship to speak out for LGBT rights. “I think if these relationships exist then let’s try to use them to communicate and to influence. If the message falls on deaf ears then suspend the relationship,” said Gordon. “If it falls on something other than deaf ears, like hostility or anger, then maybe you end the relationship.”

Call to end investments

A tactic state lawmakers in the Senate are pursuing is asking the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System to discontinue directly investing in Russia. Gay Senators Ricardo Lara (D-Los Angeles) and Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) are asking their Senate colleagues to adopt a resolution aimed at curtailing the pension funds’ Russian investments. “It is a good opportunity for California to participate in raising the visibility of these draconian laws signed by Putin and Russia,” said Leno. “And hopefully it will encourage other states to follow our lead.” Leno does not support boycotting the Olympics, though he is amendable to adding language to the resolution asking non-athletes to stay home. And he supports cities deciding to send Putin a message by suspending their sister cities ties.t

August 15-21 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 17

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

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Legal Notices>> ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC13-549661 In the matter of the application of: JOSHUA EZRIN & LARA EZRIN,, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JOSHUA EZRIN & LARA EZRIN,, are requesting that the name ANA LUCERO EZRIN, be changed to ISABEL ANA LUCERO EZRIN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Rm. 514 on the 24th of September 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035254200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ANTHONY CIANCIOLO ENTERPRISE, 3488 22ND ST. #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANTHONY CIANCIOLO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/22/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/22/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035245400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TREEHUGGERS, 1562 PLAZA DR., SAN LEANDRO, CA 94578. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JUSTIN C. SPENCER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/17/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035247000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ASIANA TRAVEL, 3001 GEARY BLVD. #203, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DONG YOUNG LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035248100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOODFLOWER PAPER AND DESIGN, 1235B DIVISADERO ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MAUREEN BHAK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035249300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JOSHUA JOHNSON CUSTOM APPAREL, 225 HYDE ST. #103, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSHUA JOHNSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC13-549673 In the matter of the application of: RAYMOND FONG, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner RAYMOND FONG, is requesting that the name JIA CHENG FANG, be changed to ANSON FONG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 26th of September 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC13-549676 In the matter of the application of: ANTHONY T. HOANG, CHIN-YI LEE for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ANTHONY T. HOANG, CHIN-YI LEE, is requesting that the name ANTHONY TAI HOANG be changed to ANTHONY TAI HUANG; the name CHENNAN LEE HOANG be changed to CHENNAN LEE HUANG; and the name ANNIE LEE HOANG be changed to ANNIE LEE HUANG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 1st of October 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035252200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SOUL FOOD CITY, 403 EDDY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AMINE JEMAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/19/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035205900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REVENGE, 1427 NEWCOMB AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAZZ BANKS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/26/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035251000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COFFORNIA, 296 OCEAN AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed COFFORNIA LTD (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035255200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHABU TONIGHT, 1222 NORIEGA ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed IST, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/23/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035247800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE, 1211 FOLSOM ST., 4TH FL., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PUBLIC DESIGN STUDIO (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/17/02. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035241700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FOG CITY, 1300 BATTERY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 1300 BATTERY, INC., A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035221800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAHADEV HOTEL, 2420 VAN NESS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed S & S HOSPITALITY INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/27/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

August 15-21, 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035245100

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035285300

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035294200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TROCADERO CLUB, 701 GEARY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ALCYONE, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/13.

Dated 07/18/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: REGNO LIMONE LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 636 2ND ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. Type of license applied for

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: I DO I DID I CAN, 1060 PINE ST. #6, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BLUE YOUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/05/13.

Dated 08/06/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: MAGICAL CRUISE COMPANY LIMITED. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at PIER 35, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. Type of license applied for

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GS RIVERSIDE GRILL, 3751 GEARY BLVD., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed GS RIVERSIDE GRILL (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035221300

41- ON SALE BEER & WINE - EATING PLACE AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035235800

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035231800

62 - ON-SALE GENERAL DOCKSIDE AUG 15, 2013 NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035289200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LUCKY RIDER, 2665 GENEVA AVE. #408, DALY CITY, CA 94014. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PATRICK J. TIERNEY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035261500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RIGHTHAND WOMAN, 2014 21ST AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DENA BETH MENDELSOHN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/18/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/25/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035256400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PRIME REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT, 63 ELLIS ST, SAN FRANCISCO., CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN KONSTIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/10/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035270800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KNIGHTS INN, 1 RICHARDSON AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ASLEM A. SHAIKH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/29/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035232200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOLDEN BAY CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY, 936 RUTLAND ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSE A. CORTEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/11/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035208200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OCEAN ANTIQUE AND COLLECTIBLES, 2407 OCEAN AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WEI CHAO KUANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035273000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AIRWERKS, 1527 27TH AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed WILSON TAM & WING CHAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/30/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035264400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MULE RADIO SYNDICATE, 209 9TH ST. #300, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed MULE DESIGN STUDIO INC. (CA) & CALEB SEXTON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/26/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035236300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TWIN WALLS MURAL COMPANY, 3840 FOLSOM ST. #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed ELAINE C. CHU & MARINA PEREZ-WONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/12/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-0352704000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ASIAN BOWL; SIAM SAIGON 2; 629 BROADWAY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TIPSUWON INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/2913. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TALK STREAM NETWORK; TSN; 2500 MARIN ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SWIRL BROADCASTING, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/13.

JULY 25, AUG 01, 08, 15, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035270300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RATCHA THAI CATERING, 631 BROADWAY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TIPSUWON INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/29/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035271300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAFE PATIENT HANDLING SOLUTIONS, 1226 32ND AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SAFE PATIENT HANDLING SERVICES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035258000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TOSCA CAFE, 242 COLUMBUS AVE., SAN FRANCISCO CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed 242 COLUMBUS AVENUE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/20/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035252000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COBBLE & FORGE, 358 EDINBURGH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed COBBLE AND FORGE, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/15/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035266400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAATCHI & SAATCHI S, 501 YORK ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ACT NOW PRODUCTIONS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/07/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/26/13.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-033379400 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: KINDRED NURSING AND REHABILITATION CENTER-VICTORIAN, 2121 PINE ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by KINDRED NURSING CENTERS WEST, LLC (DE). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/28/11.

AUG 01, 08, 15, 22, 2013 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES Dated 07/31/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: CITY SPIRITS S.F., LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 587 POST ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102-1228. Type of license applied for

47 - ON-SALE GENERAL EATING PLACE AUG 08, 15, 22, 2013 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES Dated 07/15/13 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: WSF BEVERAGE CORPORATION. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 486-490 GEARY ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102-1223. Type of license applied for

47 - ON-SALE GENERAL EATING PLACE AUG 08, 15, 22, 2013

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BLADE & BLUE, 23 EUREKA ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PETER PAPAS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/10/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035276700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BARBARY ROUGE HAIR & MAKE UP STUDIO, 3150 18TH ST. #229, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JESSE GARCIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/01/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035275000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TRADER BUY, 1758 27TH AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARK SHARON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/15/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035283100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMERGENT LEGAL, 25 TAYLOR ST. #410, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHRISTOPER WIMMER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/05/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035271500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SALLY’S NAIL SPA, 3915 24TH ST. #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HUONG THI THU BUI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/30/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035274200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FINANCE SOLUTIONS LLC, 176 A HIGHLAND AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FINANCE SOLUTIONS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/15/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035269000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MISSION’S KITCHEN, 2738 MISSION ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TAQUERIAS EL FAROLITO, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/06/06. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/29/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035271900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RINCON LATINO, 5080 MISSION ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed JULIO E. MORAN & MARIA J. MORAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035241900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: S & S, 3251 20TH AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SUSANNA KWAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035243000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SMITH BRAND BOW TIES, 1546 HAMPSHIRE ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed IAN SMITH. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/13.

AUG 08, 15, 22, 29, 2013

Dated 07/30/2013 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: BUSWELL RESTAURANT GROUP LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 102 S. PARK ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107-1856. Type of license applied for

41 - ON-SALE BEER & WINE - EATING PLACE AUG 15, 2013 NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE Dated 06/10/2013 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: JOSE A ESCOLEROBONILLA. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 4234 MISSION ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. Type of license applied for

48 - ON-SALE GENERAL PUBLIC PREMISES AUG 15, 2013 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC13-549700 In the matter of the application of: ALAN RAFAEL DELAMORA MADEIROS, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner ALAN RAFAEL DELAMORA MADEIROS, is requesting that the name ALAN RAFAEL DELAMORA MADEIROS, be changed to ALAN RAFAEL DELAMORA ARAIZA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 3rd of October 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 15, 22, 29 SEPT 5, 2013 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC13-549701

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ANZ REFACING CABINETS, 1351 SHELTER CREEK LN., SAN BRUNO, CA 94066. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NICOLAY ZHUCHKOV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/07/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035284200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HAMMER AND HEART BUILDING, 1009 CABRILLO ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KELLY ROGALA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/05/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035259600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FEARLESS ENTERPRISES, 1230 MARKET ST. #520, SAN FRANSICO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MICHAEL SUDERMAN JR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/24/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035295100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GRAPHIC USER, 4789 19TH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed BRADLEY S. THOMAS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/09/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035285400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DC.JOES, 23 DARTMOUTH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSE JORGE MEJIA MEDINA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/05/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/05/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035247700

In the matter of the application of: MELISSA BOTH, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner MELISSA BOTH, is requesting that the name MELISSA BOTH, be changed to MICAH CAIDEN OAKS BOTH. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Rm. 514 on the 8th of October 2013 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUNSET SPROUTS, 1834 41ST AVE., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CAROLYN FOGARTY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035287100

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035288800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HILL/STEVENS DESIGN, 3421 16TH ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JEANETTE HILL & STEPHANIE STILLMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035294800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HOGWASH, 582 SUTTER ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a limited liability corporation, and is signed BUTTERS ENTERPRISES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/09/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035296300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KABUTO JAPANESE RESTAURANT, 5121 GEARY BLVD., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed KABUTO INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/09/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035294100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOCU INC., 560 SUTTER ST. #300, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed LOCU INC. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/22/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HL ORGANIC SKIN CARE, 6 CLEMENT ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HELEN LAM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/08/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/13.

AUG 15, 22, 29, SEPT 5, 2013

ebar.com SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT DISTRICT RFP NO. 6M4269A EXTENSION OF TIME FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the General Manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District has extended the time for receipt of Proposals until the hour of 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, August 20, 2013, at the District’s Offices, 23rd Floor Receptionist, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA 94612 (by Hand Delivery), or to the District Secretary’s Office, P.O. Box 12688, Oakland, CA 94604-2688 (by U.S. Mail), for On-Call Moving Services at Various District Locations. Dated at Oakland, California, this 2nd day of August, 2013. /S/ Jacqueline R. Edwards Kenneth A. Duron, District Secretary San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District 8/15/13 CNS-2518367# BAY AREA REPORTER

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971 Subject to terms, conditions and availability. © 2013 Allstate Insurance Co.

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

EVERYONE DESERVES TO BE IN GOOD HANDS

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Let an Allstate Agent help protect all that’s good in your life. Find an agent at allstate.com/lgbt

#outholdinghands

32

Pinter land

Diana ovations

28

Out &About

23

O&A

22

Grand slam

The

Vol. 43 • No. 33 • August 15-21, 2013

www.ebar.com/arts

Grammy Hall of Famer Patti LaBelle.

Fabulous Down Under

LaBelle & McKechnie arrive

by Richard Dodds

by Adam Sandel

Bryan West, as the character known both as Adam and Felicia, likes to sing Verdi while atop a giant shoe affixed to a bus in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, headed to San Francisco.

O

ne of the stars of Priscilla Queen of the Desert has retired a line he used to offer up in interviews: You can’t sweat and be glamorous. “There’s just no way,� Bryan West said of the perspiration predicament. “I have to give into it because my character� – Adam, a.k.a. Felicia

T

wo legendary musical divas will descend upon Bay Area stages this weekend. The disco soul Grammy Hall of Famer Patti LaBelle will open the newly remodeled Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa on Fri., Aug. 16. Tony-winning Broadway baby Donna Mc-

– “is flitting around all the time like a crazy nymph. I just keep a big towel offstage that I use whenever I can.� Priscilla is in the middle of a post-Broadway tour that brings it to the Orpheum Theatre for a two-week run beginning See page 34 >>

Kechnie will appear at Feinstein’s at the Hotel Nikko on Fri. & Sat., Aug. 16 & 17, and at the star-studded benefit Help is on the Way on Sun., Aug. 18. Patti LaBelle has been a fixture on the music scene for over 40 years, fronting See page 24 >>

Joan Marcus

Pier 24 revisited by Sura Wood

W

Courtesy the artist and Pier 24

“#6246� (2007) by Todd Hido, part of A Sense of Place at Pier 24.

hen it comes to communing with photography, Pier 24 is a singular venue. San Francisco investment advisor Andy Pilara renovated this vast, elegantly designed, 28,000-sq.-ft. historic building on the city’s waterfront to house his growing collection of 3,000 photographs. Since opening in 2010, it has operated largely under the radar, and though word has slowly gotten out, it remains one of the city’s hidden treasures. No more than 20-40 people are allowed inside at one time; admission is free, and visits, which are in two-hour slots

and can be scheduled online, are by appointment only. What this means is that with a little bit of planning you can be virtually on your own in the space, save for a couple of passing docents (usually enthusiastic art students) and the fortunate few who’ve signed up for the same time period. Just imagine trying to have this kind of serene, unfettered access to art mid-summer at the Louvre, or for that matter, the Legion of Honor. Neither a commercial gallery nor a museum, Pier 24 is a cathedral for still images that offers a contemplative, intimate experience you’d be hard-pressed

to equal anywhere else. Their mission is to provide a pure, unobstructed relationship between art and viewer, without the distraction of explication. To that end, titles and attribution for the works are not displayed, a point of contention for visitors who’d like to identify what they’re looking at; in coming weeks, names, titles and dates will be added to the gallery guides. Their latest show, A Sense of Place, substantially smaller than the previous exhibition of portraiture, enlists a similarly

20

Culture clash

23

Hello, Olivia!

30

Eagle's nest

Out &About

arts 2013 FALL

O&A

{ SECOND OF TWO SECTIONS } 26

Publishing on August 29 and September 5 in

PEHU 9RO ‡ 1R ‡ 6HSWH ZZZ HEDU FRP DUWV

PREview

cast of The Bride Bonni Suval head the Dalton Goulette and performed as by Michael Phillis being of Death, a new play Shocktoberfest celebration. part of Thrillpeddlers’

davidallenstudio.com

no matter how t’s become the magic word, You must search narrowly it need be defined. that don’t trumto find theatrical productions promotional material. pet the word “premiere� in Bay Area preThere are San Francisco premieres, North American premieres, Coast West mieres, premieres. For premieres, and someday, universal premiere,� and “world now, the gold standard is are set to open this at least a dozen of said events theater season gets unfall on area stages as a new

I

derway. a premiere if you Of course, everything is

Twisted Pair, about collaborator, has written The his new play Slugs and to hitch his wagon fers backstage comedy in a desperate scientist who tries House. Its population The Shocktoberfest Kicks being staged at Thick to the 1953 discovery of DNA. a beautiful actress, a Grand Guignol play includes a young gay actor, bill also includes the 1922 romantic. (Nov. 24collaboration between vicious queen, and a hopeless Coals of Fire, a musical Koldewyn, and the Dec 9; www.therhino.org) Leigh Crow and Scrumbly ’ anThrillpeddlers finale. (Sept. for 13 spook-show Number It’s lucky traditional lights-out that this year indlers.com) Starting here nual Shocktoberfest celebration Michael Phillis 27-Nov. 17; www.thrillped director, executive Rhino’s has a major plays. e Theatre John Fisher, cludes two world-premier Playwright Sheila Callaghan to provide his theater The Bride of Death to New York, which is can usually be counted on (D*Face) has contributed “downtown� reputation in and so it is as Rhino the actors in the story Home is headed afwith a new play each season, the program, and is one of where Port Out, Starboard anniversary. Fisher, mansion houses horSee page 32 gets ready to celebrate its 35th of a reclusive actress whose MuThe Medea: frequent Thrillpeddlers whose previous works include rible secrets. Rob Keefe, a Sarria Experience, ofsical and SexRev: The Jose

prior exposure to a haven’t seen it before, nor does tier. What follows title need relegate it to a second theater season, which is a selective look at the fall – world premieres. will begin with – what else?

Fall’s bounty in shows

To advertise, call our Advertising Director Scott Wazlowski at 415.861.5019

See page 34 >>

<< Music

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

In the shadow of SFMOMA by Roberto Friedman

T

he reality of the on-site closure of SFMOMA’s flagship building for its expansion has begun to sink in, a few months into its lengthy downtime. Last week Out There went to a small party to celebrate the reopening of SFMOMA’s MuseumStore, at 51 Yerba Buena Lane. The new store has about 40% of the retail space of its permanent site in the museum, but still offers impressive displays of local design, furnishings and art books. MuseumStore Director Jana Machin told us that the store fixtures are largely composed of reused materials from the original store. After the cocktail party, OT was invited by the young chef Kathy Fang, scion of a renowned San Francisco culinary family, to sample her cuisine at Fang Restaurant, 660 Howard St., right next to what will be the new SFMOMA entrance. The Fang family has run House of Nanking on Kearny St. since 1998. Kathy’s cooking blends

her Cantonese heritage with her native San Franciscan perspective and formal training at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School. Her menu reflects both tradition and innovation. Fang brought out course after course of chef ’s choices. Out There and peppy Plus One Pepi sampled Peking Buns filled with roast duck, Five Spice Whitefish with jade spinach and caramelized red peppers, Sesame Chicken with Choy Gwau and Sweet Potatoes, and savoury Won Ton Soup, washing it all down with Pomegranate margaritas (Pama Liqueur, sweet and sour, Bols Triple Sec, lime juice, and Zavano Tequila) and an almond cookie-crumb cocktail. It was quite a feast. The Fangs are putting up with the massive construction next door knowing that when the new museum opens, their restaurant will have the best location on the block. Neighbor-underconstruction aside, when we were there late on a Wednesday night, the place was positively hopping.

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Lots of Lodi

Then last Friday night we joined the Lodi Winegrape Commission for their WineFest, outdoors at Seals Plaza behind AT&T Park. Here’s what we learned, from the vintners’ own words: Lodi Wine Country is one of California’s major winegrowing regions, located 100 miles east of San Francisco near the San Joaquin/Sacramento River Delta, south of Sacramento and west of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. There you’ll find about 100,000 acres of wine grapes, farmed by more than 750 growers, producing over 32% of California’s premium Zinfandel. Vineyards there also produce Cabernet Sauvignon, planted along the eastern edge of the Lodi appellation, and Chardonnay planted along the western, cooler side. The hearty varietal Petite Sirah has seen a recent rise in popularity. Lodi Syrah has also become more prominent. Winemakers have also begun to explore the broad range of emerging varieties from similar climatic regions of Europe (Spain, Italy, Southern France, and Portugal): Albariño, Tempranillo, Verdelho, Sangiovese, and Viognier. We sampled them all, and found them worthy. Then, lulled into a mild torpor by the fruit of the grape, we entered the ball park, clamoring up above Left Field to watch the San Francisco Giants lose handily to the Baltimore Orioles. It was Orange Night, and Orange you glad OT’s not your sportscaster?

Courtesy MIR and Snøhetta

SFMOMA expansion, aerial night view from Howard Street.

Finally, the Italian Cultural Institute invited us to the closing night of The New Italian Design, an exhibition culled from the Triennale Museum in Milan, installed at the Cannery. We love Italian design: its

gorgeous materials, its Futurist flair. At the party, we sipped prosecco while Nino Rota music played and gallerygoers chatted away in Italian. We felt like part of a Fellini film. Arrivederci! t

All-American sensation by Gregg Shapiro

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n these days of instant Internet celebrity, overnight sensations are a dime a dozen. But Chicago-based gay singer/songwriter Steve Grand seems to be an exception with his song “All-American Boy” and its accompanying video. Sure, he’s breathtaking to look at, and that doesn’t hurt. He’s even put in time as a model. More than just a pretty face and amazing body, Grand is a musician with a message. Striking a chord across boundaries, Grand’s song and video of unrequited love, set to an unlikely country-music beat, have found a devoted audience, and earned more than a million views on YouTube. On the

boot-heels of this viral video, Grand has received media coverage from The Huffington Post, Good Morning, America and the Los Angeles Times, not to mention LGBT websites and publications. A proudly gay voice for his generation, Grand is still getting used to being in the spotlight. I spoke with him about his music and his future in mid-July.

Gregg Shapiro: Steve, how does it feel to be a YouTube sensation? Steve Grand: More than anything, I’m just grateful my song has reached so many people so quickly, and that it resonates with people emotionally. That’s all I hoped for. As far as being a YouTube sensation goes, I am more than one song and one video. I certainly hope that this is just the very beginning of a career. Because that’s what I got into this to do, not to be a flash in the pan. Is there anything in your background or training as an artist that prepared you for this moment? I started taking piano when I was six years old. Gay singer/songwriter Steve Grand. I was so fascinated even with just the aesthetic of a piano. I was obsessed listen to things. I have classical trainwith Schroeder from Peanuts, and ing, balanced with playing by ear. I his piano. My parents picked up on can read charts and sight-read. it, and they got us this old, shitty upBecause “All-American Boy” has a right piano, and we all started taking touch of twang, the song is being lessons. I was the one that was really pigeonholed as country, and even into it. I took music classes in high led to a favorable mention on a school. I didn’t really understand Nashville website. But being an music theory until I was a teenager, openly gay musician in Music City then everything started to click. can still be risky, as we saw when There was a guitar teacher who really helped develop my ear and help me See page 23 >>

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Theatre>>

August 15-21, 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Mind games in a Pinter landscape by Richard Dodds

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o Man’s Land is not Pinter at his most prime. At least it doesn’t feel that way after seeing the 1975 play in a starry, Broadwaybound production now at Berkeley Rep. While the dialogue can shimmer with mystery, danger, and absurdity, there are stretches when the talk circles the mundane and the pauses aren’t particularly pregnant. But despite any of this, you are commended to see the production thanks to two words: Ian McKellen. As a down-at-his-heels poet invited into a posh home, McKellen creates a character that lives in every morsel of the actor’s being. At times it’s as if Stan Laurel and Laurence Olivier are vying for supremacy in the shambling, angular countenance that McKellen inhabits. Just watching the tippling character struggle to pour a drink with a modicum of grace is a treat, and to be sure, many drinks are poured. McKellen plays Spooner, an outsider who threatens to upheave a household’s status quo, one of the distinguishing characteristics of many a Pinter play. If your ears are tuned to the right frequency, the circumstances of McKellen’s character being invited into the home of an obviously well-to-do Londoner sounds rather like an assignation begun as both characters

kevinberne.com

Ian McKellen, left, plays a hard-luck poet invited into the posh home of a fellow poet, played by Patrick Stewart, in Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land at Berkeley Rep.

were prowling Hampstead Heath. Spooner admits he has been called a “betwixt-twig peeper” for his habit of woodsy surveillance, though he has a moment of gay panic when he thinks his host has a sexual interest in him. Patrick Stewart plays Hirst, the master of the house, a stumbling alcoholic whose taciturn manner

only leads Spooner to nervously fill the void with unctuous ramblings that begin to turn hostile when still there is no conversational reciprocation. Through the first act, Stewart’s character is a kind of silent straight man to McKellen’s burlesquery, only occasionally tossing off a comment of dry insult. The second act sees Hirst bounding into the room as a

loquacious host who insists that he and Spooner were chums at Oxford, drew from the same stable of women, and even cuckolded each other. Stewart is welcome into our theatrical homes at any time, and there is gravitas to his work here. But there isn’t much dimension in his delivery, and it is in Hirst’s longer speeches that energy begins to slip

from the production. Of course, whatever Stewart does is seen in contrast to what McKellen is achieving, and that is not a fair match. No Man’s Land has unmistakable parallels to Pinter’s much earlier play The Caretaker. In that play, two brothers play mind games on a tramp invited into their flat. There is less agility in how a similar situation is realized in No Man’s Land, with the mind games being mainly carried out by a pair of ominous servants (or are they keepers?). Billy Crudup certainly conveys danger in his dead-end-kid guise of Hirst’s “amanuensis.” But in the less flashy role of a burly bodyguard, Shuler Hensley creates the more interesting character by finding nuance in stolidity. Director Sean Mathias’ handsome production unfolds on Stephen Brimson Lewis’ stately set that will travel to New York, where Stewart, McKellen, Crudup, and Shuler will perform No Man’s Land and Waiting for Godot in repertory. What a coup for Berkeley Rep to land No Man’s Land before Broadway. And what an opportunity, of the once-in-a-lifetime variety, to share the air with the sublime Sir Ian. t No Man’s Land will run at Berkeley Rep through Aug. 31. Ticket info at (510) 647-2949 or berkeleyrep.org.

to start releasing more music. As we speak, you’re at the airport on the way to New York. Have you been recognized? Not so far. In my hometown, I have, by people I don’t know! But not at the airport in my gym shorts. My hair looks terrible, and I’m wearing an old T-shirt.t

Scene from Steve Grand’s All-American Boy music video.

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Steve Grand

From page 22

Chely Wright came out as a lesbian. I never set out to write a country song. I would never dismiss that if it sounds like country to some people. That’s fine. At the heart of it, country music is good storytelling, and “AllAmerican Boy” is a story. Even if I am labeled as a country singer, which isn’t a label I gave myself, I certainly wouldn’t want to take away anything from the brave men and women who came before me. “All-American Boy” could just as easily have been arranged as a power pop tune, an acoustic folk number, or an electronic dance track. Are there plans for the song to be remixed for club play? I would be open to hearing what that would sound like. Have you recorded any other songs? I’ve been writing since age 11, so I have lots of music that I’ve written. I’ve been recording for a long time, too. Sometimes I’ll do a vocal take 300 times, so things take me kind of a while. For a lot of LGBT folks, “AllAmerican Boy” is instantly relatable, because everyone has had the experience of being attracted to someone straight or unattainable. How personal is that experience for you? We’ve all been there, and I mean gay, straight, bi, whoever you are,

but it especially rings true for LGBT people. It is the story of my life since I was 13. I grew up in a place where gay people weren’t visible. I was always crushing on my best friends. The song isn’t about anyone specific. It’s the accumulation of experiences. What kind of advice would you offer in that situation? Hold on and don’t make yourself fucking crazy! Unless you’re in a world that’s exclusively gay, it’s going to happen. I needed to get the song off my chest. I think it has helped people. I’ve read their messages, saying “Thank you for telling my story,” and telling me what happened to them with their guys. I try to play therapist! Because of your religious upbringing and what you went through with your family and exgay therapy, you are being looked up to as a symbol of strength and overcoming the odds. To some degree I feel like, wow, I can’t live up to that! Don’t put me in a position to be a role model. But the story is true. I don’t want to let people down. I got into this to play music as a way to express myself and tell stories. My focus now is not letting the people who put their trust in me down. What is the next step for you professionally? Trying to put together a team of people who can see my vision and can help point me in the right direction so that I’m staying true to myself and true to my art. Then I want

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24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

The stars come out for AIDS benefit by David-Elijah Nahmod

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ut of the ashes of tragedy came hope: lifelong friends Barbara Richmond and Peggy Ermet both lost sons to AIDS. The grief-stricken moms were undaunted. They put their heads together and formed the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. Today REAF hosts a variety of fundraising events not only to raise awareness, but also to raise funds for organizations that provide specific, hands-on services to people who live with AIDS. Peggy passed away in 1999, but Barbara, along with others, continues to carry the torch. Alex Newell, the rising young actor who plays transgender character Unique on the mega-hit TV show Glee, is the youngest performer who’ll appear onstage at Help Is On the Way, REAF’s annual gala fundraiser, Aug. 18 at Palace of Fine Arts. Though Newell wasn’t around for the 1980s peak of the AIDS epidemic, he’s well aware of the disease and its continued impact. “If we don’t find a cure, then it will affect you,” Newell told the B.A.R. “It’s great to be involved with Help Is On the Way because AIDS will affect you if you don’t do things to stop it. I just did Broadway My Way [a Los Angeles AIDS fundraiser featuring stars of the Great White Way]. I love the theater and everything it stands for, so it means a lot to do this.”

Beneficiaries for this year’s gala are the AIDS Housing Alliance, which provides housing referrals, rental assistance and other services to people with AIDS; Project Open Hand, which runs an AIDS food bank and delivers meals to the home-bound; Aguilas, a Latino LGBT organization that offers, among other services, an AIDS Awareness Program; and the Shanti Project, the longtime support organization that’s dedicated to enhancing quality of life for people with AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. Tony-winning Broadway star Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line) is among the many stars who will be donating time and talents for these organizations. “Losing so many cherished friends to this disease for so many years has had an impact on my life,” McKechnie explained to the B.A.R. “The sadness, the grief, the feelings of helplessness, the anger, and frustration have marked my life. It helps me to cope when I can find ways to rally and wage the war against it. I find great reward and strength to be with people, friends who work so hard behind the scenes and on stage, who gladly give their time and effort to help this cause.” This is not her first appearance at Help Is On the Way. “Many years ago I had the pleasure of doing the Gala in San Francisco,” she recalled.

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LaBelle, McKechnie

From page 21

the 1960s girl group The Bluebelles, then breaking through as LaBelle in 1974 with the disco classic “Lady Marmalade.” She went on to even greater fame as a solo artist throughout the 80s with smash hits including “New Attitude,” “On My Own” and “If You Asked Me To.” In addition to her musical achievements, LaBelle has found time for acting roles in film and television, as the author of three cookbooks and two memoirs, and as the creator of Patti LaBelle’s Lady Marmalade line of gourmet sauces. “I was born and raised in Philadelphia 69 years ago,” she proudly tells me in a recent phone interview. “I’ve got a new project that’s already

THE RICHMOND/ERMET AIDS FOUNDATION PRESENTS

IX YX

HELP I

THE W ON A S

Broadway & Beyond

Northern California’s Largest Annual AIDS Benefit Concert & Gala

AUGUST 18

PALACE OF FINE ARTS

BENEFITING AIDS Housing Alliance • Aguilas Project Open Hand • Shanti WITH JIM BAILEY • JASON BROCK CAROLE COOK • SPENCER DAY LORETTA DEVINE • ALEX NEWELL MAUREEN McGOVERN DONNA McKECHNIE JAKE SIMPSON • PAULA WEST LISA VROMAN • B.O.O.B.S! SALSAMANIA SF GAY MEN’S CHORUS and more!

Tickets: 415-273-1620 or helpisontheway.org SPONSORED BY

AAA Insurance • Wells Fargo United Airlines • Ketel One Vodka Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants Dot429.com • Charles Schwab & Co. BAY AREA REPORTER

Courtesy REAF

Glee star Alex Newell is one of the Help Is On the Way performers.

“I remember how well the evening was received, and I think they did very well raising money. I had wonderful reunions with friends like Robert Morse, who was the star of How to Succeed, the first show that I danced in. It’s difficult for me to say goodbye to good friends when a show ends, but we all get used to it, I guess. So when there in an opportunity to come together for such a wonderful and important cause that is meaningful to all of us, I am very grateful.”

done; we’ve recorded 14 songs, and it should be released by the end of this year or early next year. Aside from that, I’m busy walking my dog, cooking, and just chilling.” She tours a few times each month with a nine-piece band, including backup singers, and Friday’s concert will be her Santa Rosa debut. “It will be 75-90 minutes of me giving 110%,” she says. “We always have a planned set, but I’m sometimes unpredictable.” Despite LaBelle’s vast repertoire, she admits that there are some songs that the audience won’t let her leave the stage without singing, including her signature rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” “New Attitude,” “On My Own,” and of course, “Lady Marmalade.” Her influences as a young girl were Nina Simone, Gloria Lynne and Dinah Washington, but she’s not as inspired by many of today’s artists. “Some people are good, and there are a few ladies who can sing, but I’m sometimes disappointed in the live concert performances. Where’s the real voice? Where’s the showmanship?” LaBelle is looking forward to returning to the Bay Area. “I haven’t been in a while, and all my children are in the Bay Area, my gay children. My gay audience made me, and if they ever turned their backs on me, I’d cry!”

One singular sensation

Donna McKechnie will forever be remembered for her Tony Awardwinning role as Cassie in the original Broadway cast of Michael Bennett’s A Chorus Line, a role that was based on her life. The landmark musical was created from extensive interviews that Bennett held with a group of Broadway dancers. “The process of creating the show took a few years,” she says. “The first workshop performance was not good. It was a four-hourlong non-musical. But producer Joe Papp believed in Michael. He knew that it didn’t have to be wonderful immediately. But when [composer] Marvin Hamlisch and the writing team came on, and the music came about, it started to come together.” A Chorus Line was the pinnacle of McKechnie’s two-decade collaboration with Bennett, whom she first met when they were both dancers

“I’m helping humanity,” said Jim Bailey, the legendary female impersonator who’s well-known for his inconcert performances as Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and many of his other iconic idols. “There are certain things we must do. Because of my success, I choose to give back, it comes from my heart.” Bailey, who will be performing at Help Is On the Way, points out that he doesn’t consider himself a drag queen. “I’m an actor who sings,” he said. “When I’m on stage, I’m doing

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Judy, as if she were walking on stage, as though she’s there. I’m doing her life with honesty, it’s very detailed. Thank God I have the voice to do it.” Bailey was fortunate to become a personal friend of Garland’s during the final years of her life. “I saw a woman who was sensitive, giving, and who defended herself,” he recalled. “At the end she had truth in her. She was very kind when you got through all the celebrity stuff. She was down-to-earth, fun, and sad in some ways. I was very fortunate that I got to know Judy. I would love to have known her longer.” Garland was, of course, one of the first great gay icons. She befriended many gay men during her lifetime, so it seems appropriate that a close Garland friend who achieved fame by recreating her would appear to raise funds for AIDS, a disease that causes so much tragedy in the gay and LGBT communities. These stars, and others, will be joined by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus. For an evening of grand entertainment that will help to improve the lives of people with AIDS, join them all for Help Is On the Way on Sun., Aug. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.t Tickets to Help Is On the Way: www.richmondermet.org.

Tony-winning Broadway baby Donna McKechnie.

on the TV show Hullabaloo. They were briefly married, and remained close friends until Bennett died from AIDS in 1987. “His death was a real tragedy for American musical theatre,” she says. “I always thought that his best years were ahead of him.” Of the five books that have been written about the creation of A Chorus Line, she says, “Don’t believe everything you read. There’s more truth than not, and the message is always there, but there will always be different opinions.” She has more praise for the 2008 documentary film Every Little Step, which chronicles both the creation of the show and auditions for its Broadway revival. “That’s the version that Michael would have liked. And the audience reaction to that film is exactly what people described when they first saw the show.” McKechnie wrote, directed and choreographed the autobiographical show that she’ll perform at Feinstein’s, with musical direction by John McDaniel. “It’s the journey of a typical ingénue from the Midwest coming to New York, trying to juggle living in the city with

finding romance, and ending as a happy, healthy woman of a certain age.” McKechnie is still trim and gorgeous at 72. “The heartbeat of the show is losing Marvin Hamlisch [who died last year]. I knew him since I was 19 and he was 17, playing rehearsal piano.” McKechnie is also delighted to be appearing in Sunday’s star-studded Help Is On the Way benefit for the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. “I’ve done it before, and I’m really looking forward to that benefit,” she says. “Their work is so important.”t Patti LaBelle at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa. Fri., Aug. 16 at 8 p.m. Tickets: (707) 546-3600, tickets.wellsfargocenterarts.org/single Donna McKechnie at Feinstein’s at the Hotel Nikko, SF. Fri., Aug. 16 at 8 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets: (415) 394-1111, www.hotelnikkosf.com/feinsteins.aspx Help Is On the Way XIX – Broadway and Beyond, Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, SF. Sun., Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: (415) 931-0317, www.richmondermet.org

Read more online at www.ebar.com

August 15-21, 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

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26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

Under the Lavender Tube dome by Victoria A. Brownworth

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he summer is winding down, and with it some of our favorite shows of the season. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after the tear-jerking wedding scene on the season finale of The Fosters. Thank you, ABC Family, for not putting both women in dresses, since we know only Lena would wear one, and Stef looked so mad butch. We can’t believe the season is already over, but we look forward to the next season, which starts in January 2014. Under the Dome, the Stephen King/Steven Spielberg sci-fi-ish collaboration, has also been renewed for a second season, to which we can only say, where will food and medications come from for the town? It’s not like Revolution, where the people had 15 years to figure things out and access to whatever they could find and grow food. But we’ll still be watching, because even without the escalating queer storyline, this show is superb. The Killing just ended its season as well, and if Bex Taylor-Klaus doesn’t get an Emmy nod for her stunning performance as the young lesbian street kid Bullet, there’s no justice. True Blood airs its summer season finale on Aug. 18, so be sure to catch that, as it portends to be amazing. Even when this show is a mess, as it is at times, it’s always enthralling. Meanwhile, two other hot shows will run out the season: F/X’s The Bridge, which is exceptional, runs through Oct. 2, and AMC’s hit series Breaking Bad returned Aug. 11 to run out the remainder of its final season. Also finishing its eighth and final season is Showtime’s fabulous Dexter, which has been a favorite of ours since its bloody debut in 2006. The season and series finale airs Sept. 22. ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars, also referred to as Pretty Little Lesbians by devotees, and which could give any show on the CW a run for its pretty little money, runs through Aug. 27,

comes back for an episode in October, then runs out the season in January. The network has announced a spinoff (be still, our pretty little hearts) of the mystery/thriller Ravenswood, which will premiere in October. Just in time for Halloween, of course. Orange Is the New Black is the summer’s sensation, but the 12 episodes are nearly up. It will return in 2014, which is fabulous news. Laverne Cox, who plays Sophia Burset, a transgender woman, on OITNB, has been getting a lot of buzz because she’s fabulous. Off the small screen, Cox is also a trans activist, and she had her own makeover show on VH1 prior to OITNB, called TRANSform Me. The African-American actress has been touted as the first transgender actor to star in a nonreality TV series. Much as we love Cox, that’s simply not the case. The gorgeous Candis Cayne was the first out transgender actress on a scripted TV series, ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money, in 2007. Cayne, who was also in the films Wigstock and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar!, played Carmelita Rainer, a transwoman having an affair with New York Attorney General Patrick Darling, played by William Baldwin. There were many groundbreaking scenes of her naked in bed with Baldwin. We would also note that Aneesh Sheth, another transgender actress, had a recurring role on NBC’s sitcom Outsourced, in 2011. All three of these actresses deserve more roles, and we hope Cox’s recent success and visibility open more doors for trans actresses. Speaking of Baldwins, on Aug. 9, USA Today reported that Alec Baldwin, he of the violent, antigay diatribes, was in negotiations with MSNBC to host a new Friday night talk show. Really? It shouldn’t be this hard to separate our friends from our enemies.

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Courtesy CBS-TV

Scene from Stephen King’s just-renewed series Under the Dome.

Shining star

Fox has started running Cory Monteith episodes of Glee in anticipation of the September return of the show. It’s unclear yet what the show will do to honor Monteith, but watching last week we remembered just how much we loved Finn/Monteith, even though it was a particularly terrible episode from last season, and yet he was far and away the shining star. Speaking of untimely deaths, we were saddened to hear of the death of Real World star Sean Sasser, announced by MTV on Aug. 7. Sasser had been married to Pedro Zamora, the most famous of the MTV series’ castmates, from Real World, San Francisco. Zamora, who contracted HIV at 17, died of AIDS in 1994, mere hours after the last episode of the show aired. He was 22. The commitment ceremony between the two young men was a TV landmark, and received intense media attention at the time. Sasser was also HIV+, and had spent much of the intervening years as an AIDS activist. According to MTV, Sasser died of mesothelioma, a rare lung cancer. Speaking of endings, Joy Behar’s last day on The View was Aug. 9. We’ve always liked Behar, the last remaining original member of the show’s retinue. The comedian is genuinely funny and a great role model for women, since she hasn’t screwed with her face, yet at 70 looks a decade younger. More importantly, she has superb politics and has always been pro-gay. She famously walked off the set during a live show with conservative talk show host Bill O’Reilly. The always unpredictable Behar ended her stint on the show saying “something I’ve wanted to say for 16 years: F--- Harry Reasoner.” Reasoner was co-anchor with Barbara Walters, the first female anchor on a newscast. Walters has always said he was very uncomfortable with having to share the anchor seat with a woman, and made her life difficult. Former View co-host Meredith Vieira added to an extended lesbian joke by giving Behar a kiss on the mouth. The farewell to Behar lasted the full hour and included clips from her interviews with Pres. Obama and Sen. John McCain. View token conservative Elisabeth Hasselbeck left the show last month after a decade, to do a news show for Fox. Hasselbeck’s farewell lasted only 15 minutes. Viewers of one of this summer’s hit series, Ray Donovan, won’t have to feel short-changed, however, because Showtime has just signed onto a second season of the gritty crime drama. We don’t especially like RD, not being a Jon Voight fan, but some of you have written to us about the show, so we have definitely been remiss in not mentioning it. The series runs through Sept. 22, taking us right to the equinox, and returns in 2014. The Showtime favorite stars the dynamic Liev Schreiber as the title character. The show also stars all-time fave lesbian icon Katherine Moennig, who played heartthrob Shane McCutcheon on The L Word. It’s not that RD isn’t a good crime thriller, it is. We just would like it more sans Voight, whose right-wing politics disturb us so much we can’t watch the

show without thinking about his icky Tea Party-ness, his offensive statements about Obama and his ongoing feud with his philanthropist daughter, Angelina Jolie. If you can watch and separate him from his politics, we applaud you. We can’t.

August surprise

Speaking of politics, we like it when TV takes a political turn, we’re just surprised to see it happen in August, traditionally the least political month of the year. What happened to the October surprise? The 2014 Winter Olympics and 2016 presidential race brought out the celebrities as well as Beltway big-wigs to the news networks and pundit and tabloid shows. Pres. Obama himself discussed both in a full interview with Jay Leno on the Aug. 7 Tonight Show and an allnetworks press conference on Aug. 9. The Olympics, of course, is the big queer news. Much as we love our celebs standing up for us, it’s always best when the President does it on a TV show watched by millions, as he did on The Tonight Show. The pivotal exchange between Leno and Obama was this: Leno said, “Well, something that shocked me about Russia, and I’m surprised this is not a huge story: suddenly, homosexuality is against the law. I mean, this seems like Germany: Let’s round up the Jews, let’s round up the gays, let’s round up the blacks. I mean, it starts with that. You round up people who you don’t – I mean, why is not more of the world outraged at this?” (Loud applause.) Obama responded, “Well, I’ve been very clear that when it comes to universal rights, when it comes to people’s basic freedoms, that whether you are discriminating on the basis of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, you are violating the basic morality that I think should transcend every country. And I have no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them.” (Even more applause.) There was more, however, as Obama added, “Now, what’s happening in Russia is not unique. When I traveled to Africa, there were some countries that are doing a lot of good things for their people, who we’re working with and helping on development issues, but in some cases have persecuted gays and lesbians. And it makes for some uncomfortable press conferences sometimes. But one of the things that I think is very important for me to speak out on is making sure that people are treated fairly and justly, because that’s what we stand for. And I believe that that’s a precept that’s not unique to America, that’s something that should apply everywhere.” (Applause.) Leno then asked the question everyone has been asking: “Do you think it will affect the Olympics?” to which Obama replied, “I think Putin and Russia have a big stake in making sure the Olympics work, and I think they understand that for most of the countries that participate in the Olympics, we wouldn’t tolerate gays and lesbians being treated differently. They’re athletes, they’re there to com-

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pete. And if Russia wants to uphold the Olympic spirit, then every judgment should be made on the track, or in the swimming pool, or on the balance beam, and people’s sexual orientation shouldn’t have anything to do with it.” (Applause.) Leno ended the segment with, “Good enough for me.” Obama and Leno have a great rapport. Leno asks serious questions, but doesn’t take politicians to task the way fellow late-night host David Letterman is known to do. Thus when Leno asked Obama about NSA spying and Obama said the government wasn’t spying on Americans, Leno didn’t pursue it. You can see the full interview, worth watching, at NBC.com. The Olympics matter to everyone. They are the biggest show on TV, lasting two full weeks, night and day, on NBC and ESPN. It is the only sporting event that brings the entire world together. But the Olympics have a grim history with regard to human rights issues. Many believe that had the world boycotted the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, history might have taken a different turn. The massacre of Israeli athletes in 1972 at the Munich Olympics didn’t even disrupt the games, a harrowing fact recounted in Steven Spielberg’s gripping film Munich, written by Tony Kushner. If U.S. figure skating champion and two-time Olympian Johnny Weir is chosen for the U.S. figure skating team for 2014, he will literally be putting his life on the line. Young gay men looking very like Weir and his Russian ex-pat husband Victor Voronov have been kidnapped by street gangs and tortured. Weir is openly gay. Weir said, on coming out, “With people killing themselves and being scared into the closet, I hope that even just one person can gain strength from my story.” Weir has already had trouble for being gay at the last Olympics. Two Canadian broadcasters said Weir set a bad example for men, and that he should be tested to be sure he actually was male and not female. Weir held a press conference at the time and said such comments could hurt gay and lesbian kids. Now Weir is speaking out about the Sochi Olympics. Weir told CBS News, “Like anyone I’m afraid of being arrested, but I’m not afraid of being arrested. Just going to Starbucks in the morning, someone could arrest me because I look too gay.” Wearing a jacket that said Sochi across it, Weir said if it takes him getting arrested to bring attention to the law, so be it, he would be willing to take that risk. Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis said Russia’s anti-gay laws “violate everything I’ve spent my career fighting for, namely, love and respect for all people. It was hard enough to compete as a gay, closeted athlete in the U.S. It’s hard to imagine what it must be like for gay athletes in Russia, knowing that if you were to come out, you would be considered a criminal and could lose everything you’ve worked your entire life to achieve.” But like Obama and Weir, Louganis is against a boycott of the games. Others protesting the Russian Olympics include Oscar- and Emmynominated actress Kerry Washington, a long-time fave of ours. Washington stars in Scandal, the best political drama on the tube since The West Wing, which has a major queer storyline as well as out queer actors on the show. Washington was among the first to ask why the U.S. would be involved in next year’s Olympics in Russia with this kind of human rights abuse. Washington told MTV that “what is going on in Russia is heartbreaking,” and has tweeted out photos of Russian LGBT protestors being attacked and beaten. Out gay TV actor George Takei believes the Olympics must be moved. On Aug. 8, he was a guest on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence See page 34 >>

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Film>>

August 15-21, 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Memories of a model & a hustler by David Lamble

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he Artist and the Model, opening Friday in the Bay Area, is an elegant, understated and unpretentious memory piece. One of its great pleasures is the invitation Spanishborn director Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque, Chico and Rita) extends to dip back into a forgotten oasis on the sidelines of the horrific conflagration that we call WWII. It’s 1943, and the war is far from over, but in a tiny French town close to the Spanish border, it’s easy to pretend that bad things are playing out on a distant planet. The opening scene finds an elderly sculptor, Marc Cros (Jean Rochfort), wandering through a wooded glen on the small property he occupies with his younger wife and a female servant. The wife, Lea (Claudia Cardinale), is shopping for that evening’s supper in the town market when she spots a pretty young vagabond, Merce (Aida Folch), sleeping in a doorway. The invitation to the young woman to come back to the villa for a simple meal is not without calculation. Lea realizes that Marc, a proud man who indulges in spats of grouchiness, is badly in need of fresh company, a young muse to get the artistic juices flowing, for perhaps one final stab at his old purpose for living. As Merce wolfs down the soup

and bread in front of her, Lea gently quizzes her about becoming Marc’s live-in model. Her servant spots telltale signs that Merce has escaped from one of Spanish dictator Franco’s internment camps. As the cheeky job interview proceeds, the servant spices the proceedings with a blunt comment. “My husband works mainly with women. You have to assume positions and pose still while the artist works.” “Bare ass!” “Naked?” “Does it bother you? You’ve got the sort of body he likes. If you agree, you can stay up there in the workshop. We would feed and pay you. Listen, it’s like any job. I did it, too.” “You?” “Sure, for years. My mom would say, ‘So they pay you for not moving or doing anything?’” Shot in B&W that deliberately restricts the film’s aesthetic palette so that we, like Merce, become hungry for sensual stimulation, TA&TM eschews melodrama, leaving dramatic situations that would be story-launchers in other films merely hinted at and quickly truncated. Early in the film, we glimpse German soldiers carting a poor peddler off for possessing homing pigeons. What would Merce’s fate be if the Germans became aware of her suspicious origins and possible ties to

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h! At long last, the movie that was so famously and crushingly eviscerated upon its release in 1975 is back, just awaiting your surprised discovery. Peter Bogdanovich’s At Long Last Love had us show queens superexcited about its premiere. It was intended as a Valentine pastiche of the gossamer 1930s musical film, and we looked forward to musical comedy stars Madeline Kahn and Eileen Brennan, Burt Reynolds in a transparently wet wrestler’s singlet, 16 Cole Porter songs, and cinematography by Laszlo Kovacs. And we were decimated by the first screenings. “At Long Last Lousy” proclaimed reviews. But it was worse than lousy. It lay there, dead. “That’s what happens when you let heterosexuals make musicals,” said New Conservatory Theatre musicals director Allen Sawyer. The movie was recalled with such distaste that it never had VHS or DVD releases. So what has led to its recent release as a spiffy Blu-ray disc in a brand new edit? The backstory of this resurrection could be a movie itself. Flabbergasted at the positive comments about the once-reviled movie that Bogdanovich began hearing from friends who found it streaming on Netflix the last couple of years, the director watched it himself. And saw quickly it wasn’t the movie he’d made,

but an entirely different cut. Where’d it come from? Turned out the head of Fox Studios’ editing department had been keen on the movie he saw developing in the dailies, but was disappointed in the unsatisfactory cut that was rushed into release. So, with access to the original shooting script and all the archived footage, he simply pieced together his own cut. And years later, when Netflix requested a print to stream, he supplied his cut instead of the Studios’. Bogdanovich loved it when he caught up with it, and requested it when a film festival asked what he’d like them to screen at their retrospective of his work. It was so successful with audiences that Fox asked Bogdanovich to do some tinkering of his own, before releasing what’s now called the “Director’s Definitive Cut.” Well, whataya know – I and the friends I’ve screened it for agree. We said, “That’s not the movie I remembered,” and “That was entertaining.” I’m not saying it’s a masterpiece, or even a great movie. But it’s a good one. And chock-full of dandy things. It’s true that one has to simply accept the awkward Cybill Shepherd in the lead role. She has her moments, but her chops ain’t musical comedy, and she’s better at leaden repartee than the sparkling variety. But Ms. Kahn and the incredible Eileen Brennan? They make viewing compulsory.

20th Century Fox

Bamboozle of broads in the ladies’ loo: Madeline Kahn, Cybill Shepherd, Eileen Brennan in Peter Bogdanovich’s At Long Last Love.

story, so spare it’s truly appearing in a Supporting Role, unfolds and is resolved in classic format. The scenery, all marbled halls and white RollsRoyces, is pretty spectacular, and the costumes are fantastic. Finally, Bogdanovich is sensitive to Porter’s emotional currents, as well as the wonder of his word play. And when Bogdanovich gets at last to the song that in-

spired the movie, “I Loved Him (But He Didn’t Love Me),” and films it in an unending tracking shot that wanders forlorn through most of Central Park – well, it’s a heartbreaking song given a breathtaking setting. Allen Sawyer was impressed. I’ll grant you that discovering this once-scorned film may not cause at long last love. But it’ll certainly score at long last like.t

Scene from director Fernando Trueba’s The Artist and the Model.

the underground resistance? She befriends an allied soldier who has parachuted into the countryside. She stumbles upon the young man burying an American pal who didn’t survive the jump. Marc becomes agitated at the sight of the soldier. Is he jealous, or does he, too, have secrets? Things get even messier when a German officer shows up at the villa and turns out to be an art professor attempting to complete a biography of Marc before being summoned to the deadly Russian front. The officer, an apparently sincere cog in a brutal machine, is genuinely there for art’s

Bogdanovich redeemed by John F. Karr

sake, and even apologizes for the Nazi authorities burning masterpieces by Gide and Proust. The film pivots on an understated moment when Marc teaches Merce how to see life through the eyes of an artist. Using a cheap postcard reproduction of a famous Rembrandt – a cluster of women gather around as a child takes a first step – Marc demonstrates how the Dutch master created a minor miracle by having an idea about the nature of love he would illustrate exquisitely. Director Trueba’s love is for his sublime cast. Jean Rochfort, known to American audiences for The Tall

Blond Man with One Black Shoe and How to Make Good When One is a Jerk and a Crybaby, here employs his Gallic puss in a role of a lifetime, a subtle evocation of the things we count on French films to deliver. The magnificent Claudia Cardinale (8 ½, The Pink Panther) proves there are no small parts. She shows in a few deft screen moments how a loving wife cheerfully invites a younger women in to give her frail hubby one last shot at artistic consummation. Fresh off his collaboration on the astonishing adult animation Chico and Rita, director Trueba reminds one afresh of the deeper meanings behind his funny remarks accepting the 1994 Best Foreign Film Oscar for his masterwork, Belle Epoque. “I would like to believe in God in order to thank him. But I just believe in Billy Wilder, so thank you, Mr. Wilder.” Portrait of Jason The Roxie fulfills its burgeoning role as the unofficial West Coast version of New York’s iconic Film Forum repertory art-house. This week it presents an almost indescribable old chestnut, director Shirley Clarke’s rant by a black, gay hustler. A free-floating slice of the 60s reminiscent of the screen anarchy of the late Curt McDowell, this one is truly not for everyone, but is a must-see for lovers of authenticity, blended with heaping portions of moxie and guile.t

For a classic 11:00 showstopper, check out their socko number set in the women’s loo. To encourage spontaneity, Bogdanovich recorded the singing live and shot in long, continuous takes. The

<< Out&About

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

A Chorus Line @ Woodminster Ampitheater

Thu 15

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Strange Shorts

Michael Bennett’s classic Broadway musical about the final audition for a Broadway musical (so meta!) is performed by the community ensemble at the outdoor theatre. $27-$56. 8pm. Aug. 16-18. 3300 Joaquin Miller Park Road, Oakland. (510) 531-9597. www.woodminster.com

Donna McKechnie @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko Broadway legend (A Chorus Line) performs her new cabaret act. $30-$55. $20 food/ drink minimum. 8pm. Also Aug. 17. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. 394-1111. www.hotelnikkosf.com

Foodies, the Musical @ Shelton Theater

Lois Tema

Themeless

Morris Bobrow’s musical comedy revue of songs and sketches about food. $32-$34. Fri & Sat 8pm. Open run. 533 Sutter St. (800) 838-3006. www.foodiesthemusical.com

by Jim Provenzano

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o theme this week; no clever title (well, semi-clever). It’s just another buffet of talent for our cool-warm foggy-sunny summertime. Drag musicals, serious gay dramas (see American Dream, photo above, Fri. 16), benefits and exhibits with a queer edge, including Gumby and Pokey short films. Oh, come on. You know they were clay-makin’ it.

Thu 15 The Age of Beauty @ Exit Theatre Stuart Bousel wrote and directed this play about four women, straight and lesbian, whose friendships and affairs have reached various problems. $20. 8pm. Thu-Sat thru Aug. 16. 156 Eddy St. www.brownpapertickets.com

Butch Voices @ Oakland Marriott City Center Third biennial national conference for lesbians, transmen and their friends. With panels, performances, parties at various Oakland clubs, and more. $100 registration. www.butchvoices.com /2013-national-conference

Comedy Bodega @ Esta Noche Marga Gomez (often) hosts the weekly LGBT- and queer-friendly comedy night at the Mission club. This week, it’s the Pippi Lovestocking birthday show, with Pippi, Margo, plus Ronn Vigh, Kelly Anneken and Anita Driesberg. No cover; one-drink min. 8pm. 307916th St. www.comedybodega.com

Elaine Elias @ Yoshi’s Brazilian songstress and Multi-Grammy Award nominiee performs at the stylish nightclub-restaurant. $20-$25. 8pm & 10pm. Also Aug. 16. 8pm & 10pm. 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. www.yoshis.com

From Beatniks to Gay Liberation @ GLBT History Museum Allen Ginsberg and Queer San Francisco, a guest lecture by librarian Michael Flanagan, who read passages from biographies and memoirs of Ginsberg, Jack Spicer, Sam Steward, James Broughton and José Sarria, about the LGBT connections in the 1950s arts, literary and emerging gay scene. $3-$5. 7pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistorymuseum.org

Green Cards for Same-Sex Couples @ LGBT Center Informational panel of immigration attorneys help same-sex couples, and those interested, navigate the new post-DOMA legislation. 6:30-9:30pm. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

Jonathan Richman @ The Make Out Room Folk rock singer performs an acoustic concert with drummer Tommy Larkins. $15. 7pm. 3225 22nd St. 647-2888. www.makeoutroom.com

New and Classic Films @ Castro Theatre Enjoy classic (and popular new) films: Aug 15: 1984 with John Hurt and Richard Burton (7pm), and Will Smith in Enemy of the State. (9:15). Aug 16, Midnites for Maniacs presents Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (7pm), Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn (9:30), and Dario Argento’s Tenebre (11:45). Aug 18: 2001: A Space Odyssey (2pm, 8:15) and Solaris (the original in Russian; 4:50). Aug 20: Frances Ha (3:30, 7:15) and The Bling Ring (5:15, 9pm). Aug 21: Paul Newman in Hud (2:30, 7pm) and Midnight Cowboy (4:45, 9pm). Aug. 22, Blue Velvet (2:45,

7pm) and Neighbors (5pm, 9:15). $8-$12. 429 Castro St. 621-6120. www.castrotheatre.com

SPF6 @ ODC Theater Dance showcase of works by eight dance artists hand-picked by SAFEhouse founder Joe Landini; BodiGram, Jenni Bregman & Dancers, Aura Fischbeck Dance, Gretchen Garnett & Dancers, Angela Mazziotta, The Milissa Payne Project, Nine Shards, and Vinnicombe/ Winkler. $10-$20. Thru Aug. 18. 3153 17th St. 863-9834. www.odctheater.org

Strange Shorts @ Oddball Films Unusual vintage short films. This week, Stop-Motion Explosion III, with Gumby & Pokey, and many unusual claymation shorts from the ‘30s to ‘80s. Aug 16, Celluloid Sex, with naughty silent stag films, Lili St. Cyr’s bubble bath burlesque and more. Aug. 17, Adjust Your Tracking, a documentary about VHS movie tape collectors (VHS swap 7pmfilm with directors, 8pm). Each $10. 8pm. 275 Capp St. 558-8117. www.oddballfilms.blogspot.com

Sweet Bird of Youth @ Tides Theatre Local production of Tennessee Williams’ haunting play about a boozy has-been actress and her gigolo who escape to his small Gulf Coast hometown after a Broadway flop. $20-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Thru Aug. 24. 533 Sutter St. at Powell, 2nd floor. 399-1322. www.tidestheatre.org

Fri 16 All's Well That Ends Well @ Forest Meadows Ampitheatre, San Rafael Marin Shakespeare Company’s production of The Bard’s romantic comedy of mixed and missed affections. $20-$37.50. 8pm. Fri-Sun 8pm. Thru Sept 28. 890 Belle Ave, Dominican University of California, San Rafael. www.marinshakespeare.org

American Dream @ New Conservatory Theatre Center World premiere of Brad Erickson’s drama about a recently-out architect who falls in love with a Salvadorian teacher; a serious drama about marriage and immigration rights. $22-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 15. 25 Van Ness Ave at Market. 861-8972. www.NCTCSF.org

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi Musical comedy revue, now in its 35th year, with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. Reg: $25-$130. Wed, Thu, Fri at 8pm. Sat 6:30, 9:30pm. Sun 2pm, 5pm. (Beer/wine served; cash only). 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Camelot @ SF Playhouse Local production of Lerner and Loewe’s hit Broadway musical about King Arthur, Guinevere and his court, stars Tony Award winner Wilson Jermaine Heredia. $25-$75. Tue-Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm. Thru Sept 21. 450 Post St. (2nd floor, Kensington Park Hotel). 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? @ Phoenix Theatre Edward Albee’s darkly ironic play about a family whose lives are disrupted when the father reveals that he’s in love with a goat. $25-$50. Thu-Sat 8pm. Also Aug. 18 at 2pm. Thru Aug. 24. 414 Mason St. 6th Floor. (800) 838-3006. www.thegoat.brownpapertickets.com

God of Carnage @ Shelton Theater New local production of Yasmina Reza’s darkly funny play (translated by Christopher Hampton) about four parents whose negotiations about a bullying child descend into savagery. $26-$38. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Sept. 7. 533 Sutter St. (800) 838-3006. www.SheltonTheater.com

Hot Strokes @ Mark I. Chester Studio Exhibit of erotic, leather and kink-themed male nude drawings made at the studio’s drawing group. Thru August by appointment. 1229 Folsom St. www.MarkIChester.com

Iolanthe @ YBCA Lamplighters’ production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s beloved tale of fairies, half-fairies and British political rivalries. $15-$59. 8pm. Also Aug. 17 2pm & 8pm. And Aug 18, 2pm. 701 Mission St. (also Aug 24, 8pm and Aug 25, 3pm at Bankhead Theatre, Livermore) 227-4797. www.Lamplighters.org

Josh Klipp and The Klipptones @ Palace Hotel The local jazz crooner and his band perform weekly shows at the hotel’s lounge, with a growing swing-dancing audience. Extended thru Aug. 16. 7pm-11pm. 2 New Montgomery. www.joshklipp.com

Josh Kornbluth @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley The acclaimed thought-provoking solo performer’s Sea of Reeds explores his process of getting bar-mitzvahed in Israel as an adult, despite being an atheist. $20-$35. Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru Aug. 18. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Keith Moon: The Real Me @ Eureka Theatre Mick Berry’s solo show explores the life and death of The Who’s fabled drummer. $40. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. Extended thru Aug. 18. 215 Jackson St. (800) 838-3006. www.keithmoontherealme.com

Cherie Curry @ Red Devil Lounge

Sat 17 Amy Schumer @ Castro Theatre Popular stand-up comic, TV and film actress brings her act to the Castro; presented by SF Bear Pride. $32.50-$40.50. 8pm. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Bay Area Rhythm Exchange @ Marine’s Memorial Theatre Stepology’s annual concert of tap dance and rhythmic performance, with Channing Cook Holmes, John Kloss, Mark Mendonca, Jason Rodgers and more. $17-$25. 8pm. 609 Sutter St. 392-4400. www.Stepology.com

Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Enjoy the new exhibit of vintage prints, taken by the gay Beat poet, of his friends Jack Kerouac and others. Also, Beyond Belief: 100 Years of the Spiritual in Modern Art, part of the SF MOMA’s off-site collaborative exhibits; thru Oct 27. 2pm-5pm. Free (members)-$12. Thu-Tue 11am-5pm (Thu 1pm-8pm) 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

Be Bad…Do Good @ GLBT History Museum Be Bad…Do Good: Activism With a Beat, a new multimedia exhibit highlighting the history of the Real Bad benefit dance parties, which have raised nearly $1.7 million for local nonprofits. Thru Oct. 27. Reg. hours Mon-Sat 11am-7pm (closed Tue.) Sun 12pm-5pm. 4127 18th St. 621-1107. www.glbthistory.org

Can You Dig It? @ The Marsh Don Reed’s new solo show about the groovy 1960s. $15-$50. Sat 8:30, Sun 7pm. Thru August 25. 1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. 2823055. www.themarsh.org

Capacitor @ Aquarium of the Bay Okeanos, an aquatic dance show, is performed by the creative Bay Area dancetheatre team. $15-$30. 7pm. Saturdays thru Sept. Pier 39 at Embarcadero. 623-5300. www.capacitor.org www.aquariumofthebay.org

Former member of the groundbreaking band The Runaways performs classic hits and new music from her forthcoming album. $15-$18. 8pm. 1695 Polk St. www.reddevillounge.com

Concept Series 14 @ Sanchez Studio RawDance’s 14th edition of the experimental post-modern dance showcase, with Fog Beast, Nina Haft & Company, Stranger Lover Dreamer, Robert Dekkers of Post:Ballet, and Claudia Anata Hubiak. Pay-what-youcan. 8pm. Also Aug. 18, 3pm & 8pm. 66 Sanchez. At 14th. 686-0728. www.RawDance.org

The Cyrus Cylinder @ Asian Art Museum The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: a New Beginning, a special touring exhibit of the 2,500-year-old cuneiform script, considered the first written bill of human rights (www.cyruscylinder2013.com). Thru Sept. 22. Also, In the Moment: Japanese Art From the Larry Ellison Collection, an exhibit of 60+ artworks from the collection of Oracle’s CEO. Thru Sept 22. Also Art of Adornment, Southeast Asian Jewelry; Thru Nov 24. Free (members)-$12. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. 581-3500. www.asianart.org

Drag King Contest @ Space 550 Fudgie Frottage and Sister Roma cohost the annual wild drag king spectacle, show and contest, with dozens of performers and contestants. Proceeds benefit PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support). $20-$35. 10pm. 550 Barneveld Ave. www.sfdragkingcontest.com

Erika Sanada @ Modern Eden Gallery Opening reception for Odd Things, the artist’s solo exhibition of unusually lifelike yet strange sculptures of dogs and other creatures. Also, opening reception for Curiosities, a group exhibition of strange depictions of animals. 6pm-10pm. Thru Sept 6. Reg hours Tue-Sat 10am-6pm. 403 Francisco St. 956-3303. www.ModernEden.com

Family Winemakers @ Fort Mason 23rd annual large-scale tasting event, with

Wed 21

Orlando @ Live Oak Theatre, Berkeley TheatreFirst performs Sarah Ruhl’s adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s gender-bending novel. $15-$30. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru Sept. 15. 1301 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. (510) 981-8150. www.theatrefirst.com

Patti LaBelle @ Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa The iconic singer performs her inspirational soul, R&B and pop hits and favorites, with the JC Smith Band. $79-$119. 8pm. 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. (707) 5463600. www.pattilabelle.com www.wellsfargocenterarts.org

Robert Howard, Jeffrey LaDeur @ Old First Church Concert of cello and piano works by Schumann, Ginastera, Beethoven and Chopin. $17. 8pm. 1751 Sacramento St. at Van Ness Ave. 474-1608. www.oldfirstconcerts.org

Tension Blooms @ Ian Ross Gallery Opening reception for a duo exhibit of beautiful yet slightly creepy paintings by Rachelle Reichert and Brenton Bostwick. 7pm-10pm. Reg hours Mon-Fri 1pm-7pm. 466 Brannan st. 533-5758. www.IanRossGallery.com

March on Washington: 50 Years Later

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Out&About >>

August 15-21, 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Ramekon O’Arwisters @ African American Art & Culture Complex

Thu 22

Sugar in Our Blood: The Spirit of Black and Queer Identity in the Art of Ramekon O’Arwisters, an exhibit of multimedia folk art-inspired wprks by the local gay artist. Tue-Sat 12pm-5pm. 762 Fulton St. Thru Sept. 12. www.ramekon.com

Rita Moreno @ Commonwealth Club Jason Brock

The mulitple award-winning actress shares a conversation about her career with KQED’s Michael Krasny; she also signs copies of Rita Moreno: A Memoir. $10-$30. 6pm. 595 Market St. www.commonwealthclub.org

Sisters of Soul @ Yoshi’s Oakland more than 200 California wineries, including an upscale lounge for pours of wines from $85-$150 a bottle. Admission $45-$100. 3pm-6pm. Also Aug. 18. Festival Pavilion, 2 Marina Blvd. www.sfconsumer13. eventbrite.com

Pop Up Shop @ Saint Harridan, Oakland Two-day for the new clothier specializing in suits for women and transmen. 10am-6pm. Also Aug 18. Show & Tell Concept Shop, 1300 Clay St. #160. Oakland. www.saintharridan.com

Hedwig and the Angry Inch @ Boxcar Theatre The hit local production of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s popular transgender rock operetta features multiple actor-singers performing the lead. $25-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Also Sat 5pm. Extended with open-ended run. 505 Natoma St. 967-2227. www.boxcartheatre.org

Live in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza New twice-weekly (Sat & Sun) live outdoor music concerts presented by the Castro/ Upper Market Community Business District. Free. Castro St. at Market. 500-1181. www.castrocbd.org

No Man’s Land @ Berkeley Rep Legendary British actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart pair up in Harold Pinter’s darkly comic masterful 1974 stage play about two writers questioning their lifelong friendship; with Billy Crudup. The show will later move to Broadway. Tickets mostly available via subscription only, but lastminute deals are available. $35-$135. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed 7pm. Thu & Sat 2pm. Sun 2pm and/or 7pm. Thru Aug. 31. Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison st. (510) 647-2949. www.BerkeleyRep.org

North Bay Pride Dance @ Sebastopol Senior Center LGBT dance with DJ Dave Brown, proceeds benefit the Senior Center. $10. 6:3010:30pm. 167 North High St., Sebastopol. (707) 829-2440.

SF Hiking Club @ Point Reyes Join GLBT hikers of the SF Hiking Club for a 14-mile hike at Point Reyes from Bear Valley over Mt. Wittenberg and down to Sculptured Beach. Carpool meets 8:15 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. 242-4376. www.sfhiking.com

San Jose Pride @ Discovery Meadow Park 38th annual LGBT two-day festival of live acts Crystal Water, David Hernandez, Cheer SF, Morgan McMichaels, Xavier Toscano; plus dance bars and booths and a complimentary Matrimonial Grove! $15. 11am5pm. Also Aug. 18. www.sanjosepride.com

Steely Dan @ America’s Cup Pavilion Bestselling ‘70s rock-jazz-fusion band performs in concert. $35-$200. 8pm. Pier 27-29. www.steelydan.com

The Wiz @ Julia Morgan Theater, Berkeley Berkeley Playhouse’s local production of Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown’s Tony Award-winning musical update on The Wizard of Oz. $17-$60. Wed & Thu 7pm. Sat 2pm & 7pm. Sun 12pm & 5pm. Thru Aug. 25. 2640 College Ave., Berkeley. (510) 845-8542. www.BerkeleyPlayhouse.org

Yaelisa & Caminos Flamencos @ Yoshi’s Oakland Vibrant flamenco dance and music ensemble performs at the classy nightclubrestaurant. $24. 7:30pm. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

Yoga for Hope @ Union Square Fourth annual fundraiser for the yoga thera-

py sessions for people with life-threatening illnesses at City of Hope Medical Center. $40-$50. 10am-1pm. Union Square. 7881007. www.nationalevents.cityofhope.org

Sun 18 Cardboard Institute of Technology @ SFAC Gallery Bring the kids for a fun-filled afternoon of cardboard creativity, presented by the SF Arts Commission and the group that makes giant amazing cardboard sculptures. Free. 12pm-3pm. Check out the window exhibit thru Sept. 155 Grove St. 554-6080. http://cardboardinstitute.blogspot.com/

Estaire Godinez @ Yoshi’s Oakland Oakland-based vocalist and percussionist performs with her band at the classy nightclub-restaurant. $22. 7pm. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

San Francisco Opera @ Stern Grove Soprano Ailyn Perez, tenor Stephen Costello and other singers join the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in a program of works by Verdi, Wagner and Britten. Free. 2pm. 19th Ave. at Sloat Blvd. 252-6252. www.sfopera.com www.sterngrove.org

Vixen Noir @ White Horse Bar Sassy performance artist-singer performs live at Oakland historic gay bar’s ‘Debauchery’ night. $5-$15. 8pm. 6551 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.whitehorsebar.com

Mon 19 Help is on the Way XIX @ Palace of Fine Arts Theatre ‘Broadway & Beyond’ is the theme of the starr-studded concert benefit for the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, with Jim Bailey, Jason Brock, Carole Cook, Spencer Day, Tom Loew, Maureen McGovern, Donna McKechnie, Alex Newell, Paula West, the SF Gay Men’s Chorus and more, plus, a reception, silent and live auction. ASL-interpreted. $65-$150. 7:30pm. 3301 Lyon St. 273-1620. www.reaf.org

How to Make Your Bitterness Work for You @ Stage Werx Theatre Fred Raker’s darkly comic self-help parody solo show. $15. 8pm. Thru Aug. 27. 446 Valencia St. www.bitternesstobetterness.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni’s Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone). 9pm-1:30am. 4 Valencia St. at Market.

Tosha Silver @ Books Inc. Author of Outrageous Openness: Letting the Divine Take the Lead, reads from and discusses his new self-help book Make Me Your Own. 7:30pm. 2275 Market St. www.booksinc.net

Tue 20 Butterflies & Blooms @ Conservatory of Flowers Popular exhibit transforms the floral gallery into a fluttering garden with 20 species of butterflies and moths. 10am-4pm. Free-$7. Tue-Sun 10am-4:30pm. Thru Oct. 20. 100 JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park. 831-2090. www.conservatoryofflowers.org

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey’s Ronn Vigh hosts the weekly LGBT and gayfriendly comedy night. One drink or menu item minimum. 9pm. 500 Castro St. at 18th. 431-HARV. www.harveyssf.com

The Urban Diva Suite, a showcase of several Bay Area vocalists. $18. 8pm. 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland. (510) 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

Wed 21 March on Washington: 50 Years Later @ GLBT History Museum The Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition presents a panel discussion on the civil rights leader and gay man who was a prominent strategist for the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Participants also will look at the journey of the African American community, and its LGBT members, over the past half-century. $3-$5. 7pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistorymuseum.org

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert @ Orpheum Theatre Touring production of Stephan Elliot and Allan Scott’s Tony Award-winning hit musical (with more than 500 costumes!) based on the film, about a trio of drag queens touring the Australian Outback; the score includes many disco classics. $45-$210. Tue-Fri 8pm. Sat 2pm & 8pm. Sun 1pm & 6:30pm. Also Wed & Fri 2pm. Thru Aug 31. 1192 Market St. at 8th. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

Smack Dab @ Magnet The monthly eclectic reading and performance showcase cohosted by Larry-bob Roberts and Kirk Read, with featured guest Neeli Cherkovski. From the Canyon Outward, his biography of Charles Bukowsky, is the basis for the forthcoming James Franco film about the Beats. Got a five-minute song or spoken word piece to share? 7:30pm sign-up. Show 8pm. 4122 18th St. www.magnetsf.org

Thu 22 Andrea McArdle @ Feinstein's at the Nikko Broadway actress (the original Annie) performs 70s and Sunny, her unique vocal interpretations of 1970s classics songs, with biographical stories, too. $30-$55. $20 food/drink minimum. Also Aug 24. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. 394-1111. www.hotelnikkosf.com

Comedy Bodega @ Esta Noche Marga Gomez hosts the weekly LGBT- and queer-friendly comedy night at the Mission club. This week, Justin Lucas, Lydia Popovich, Shanti Charan, Paco Romane and Johan Miranda. No cover; one-drink min. 8pm. 3079 16th St. www.comedybodega.com

Jason Brock @ Feinstein’s at the Nikko The local singer with a powerhouse R&B voice performs his new show, San Francisco Razzle-Dazzle, at the new elegant cabaret nightclub. $25. 8pm. Hotel Nikko lobby, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

OutLoud Radio @ LGBT Center Listen in for “Sumer Stories,” a live LGBT Youth podcast with Ekight gay teens ages 16-21. 7pm. 1800 Market St. www.outloudradio.org

To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication. For more bar and nightlife events, go to www.bartabsf.com

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<< Music

30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

Massive masterwork by Tim Pfaff

tenor Werner Guera, and bass Gerald Finley, exemplary singers in ideal ensemble – perfectly capture both the solemnity of this music and its spiritual uplift. When Petersen’s silvery voice lifts off the rapturous, endlessly unfurling solo-violin obbligato in the Benedictus, angels hover nearby. Joost Honselaar’s camerawork is model, leading listeners to the instrumental details that conspire to make this literally splendid work in synch with the music. It becomes clear why you hear this Mass so infrequently in concert, but it has had a happy history in recording. Even so, Harnoncourt’s new Missa Solemnis becomes the choice recording. It’s less massive than some, but more Mass as meaningful ritual.

In an earlier time, Harnoncourt’s might have been an “original-instrument” Missa Solemnis, making it a boon that Philippe Herreweghe has made just such a recording for his new house label, Phi, released shortly before Harnoncourt’s. Herreweghe’s lighter instruments lend a welcome transparency to the dense music without for a moment slighting or trivializing it. Herreweghe, whose familiarity with the music that influenced Beethoven is as deep as Harnoncourt’s, takes some of the weight but none of the complexity out of the score. The solo violin in the Benedictus has a more vocal quality than in Amsterdam (though it was recorded in Belgium), if slightly less penetration over the long line. It’s the winds and massed brass that leaven the sound. There’s a magical moment in the Credo, at Christ’s ascension into heaven, when the high winds invoke birdsong. The tempos are, if anything, broader than Harnoncourt’s, but the energy never sags. When the fugues tumble out of the thickets of counterpoint like shoots from a plant, there’s an exemplary clarity of voices. Marlis Petersen, again, leads a well-integrated ensemble of lesserknown singers – Gerhild Romberger, Benjamin Hulett, and David Wilson-Johnson – and the Collegium Vocale Ghent and the Orchestre des Champs-Elysees, smaller ensembles Herreweghe has cultivated for decades, securely send the weighty work aloft.t

years with the band Mika Miko, the twosome alternates between a girl group-gone-garage sound (“Looking for a Fight,” “Waiting by the Telephone”) and pretty, peppy pop (“Outta My Mind,” “Guy Like You”). This is a ride worth taking. Representing the Brits, Big Deal (KC Underwood and Alice Costello) maintains the momentum on their second album June Gloom (Mute). Big Deal fleshes out its sound sharing vocal duties throughout the 12-

song disc, with respect for their 90s predecessors. Big deals on June Gloom include “Call Me and I’ll Come” and “Swapping Spit.” Mixed-gender duo Crushed Out could be The White Stripes in a better mood. The swinging Want To Give (Cool Clear Water) title cut definitely gets things off to a sunny start and “gives back” something worthwhile to the listener. “Weigh You Down” will make you lightheaded, “Sharkbite” has teeth, and “Push Down & Twist” qualifies as a dance instruction. Album closer “Country Star” gives Crushed Out a chance to twirl their twangy side. Melanie Krahmer and Richard Libutti of Sirsy shift the focus with their Coming into Frame (Funzalo) disc. “Cannonball” kicks the disc off with a bluesy rock riff, and the purr of “Lionheart” maintains the blues feel. But by “Picture,” there is a change in the air. Vocalist/drummer Krahmer can wail with the best of them whether she’s belting the blues or going for a more pop-oriented groove on “She’s Coming Apart.” On Hymn for Her presents Lucy and Wayne’s Smokin Flames (hymnforher.com), Philadelphia’s Hymn for Her (Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing) make enough noise for four times their number of people. Crossing “juiced-up backwoods country blues with desert rock psychedelia,” this daring duo even tosses in a scrap of scream on “Glistening Cowgirl.” Whether going for epics (“Trash the Sun”) or whiplashinducing cow-punk (“Rosa Park Blvd.”), Hymn for Her wants nothing more than to have you testifying to their roof-raising.t

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flinched as I always do when I heard that MTT had closed the SF Symphony season with Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. I haven’t the least doubt that it was as beautiful and penetrating as reported. But for me, pretty much forever, the Missa Solemnis has been not just one of the most challenging but also one of the most forbidding of musical masterpieces – uplifting at the specific price of a listener’s feeling less than it as a creation. My first encounter with it live was when former SFS Music Director Herbert Blomstedt conducted it as the summit of one of his Beethoven festivals. It made my hair stand up (in all the right ways), but truth to tell, it didn’t make me want to wade into its deep waters again anytime soon. I take its greatness and beauty as givens. It just shakes me to the core. How majestic does spiritual pain, and its acceptance, have to be? So, apparently, does it play on the deepest resonant strings of conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who leads it in a searching new DVD (C Major) with a much-reduced Orchestra of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Conducting without a baton, both hands sculpting the granitic structure with assurance, Harnoncourt comes forth with a sequence of intermittently terrifying facial expressions the producers of a DVD they wanted to sell might not have wished for. Such are the

wonders of live (April 2012) performance captured for television. With the austerity of a religious prelate, Harnoncourt stabs with his bug-eyes while smoothing with his arms, drawing the sound out of the musicians rather than beating it into them. At times his eyes point aloft so sharply that you see only their veined ivory undersides. And during his long pauses between the work’s five sections, which he takes at the side of the stage, you can see in him his vision of what is to come – and a kind of glare that all but dares anyone disturb the long, pregnant silences within anything as base as human speech. No one does. Yet what’s most clear is that Harnoncourt would prefer to be noticed not at all.

Way too loud! by Gregg Shapiro

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he White Stripes may have set the bar when it comes to the level of noise made by a duo, but Sleigh Bells raised then shattered it. On the aptly titled Reign of Terror (Mom + Pop), Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller “push it,” pulling us in, leaving us blissfully bruised. Beginning with the stadium-sized sonic assault of “True Shred Guitar” and the battering-ram anthem of “Born To Lose,”

Sleigh Bells jangles our nerves, but in a good way. The make-or-break stomp/clap of “Crush,” the devilish “Demons,” and the newfound glory of “You Lost Me” all make this a reign that will ring your bells. Delivering on the promise of their 2010 debut album with Red Night (Warp), Brooklyn’s The Hundred in the Hands (Jason Friedman and Eleanor Everdell) maintain their own unique corner of the ethereal electronic zone. That’s not to say

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What makes him such a sage guide to this vast tapestry of a Mass is his long familiarity not only with it but with its liturgical music predecessors Beethoven would have been delving into to set the foundation for what he knew would be one of his greatest works, if not the greatest. Harnoncourt’s got the long line of the piece, and when he interrupts the legato of its dense interweave of harmony and counterpoint with staccato phrases, they leap out at you. It’s leadership so great that the unexpected intervals that haunt this work front to back are just as surprising on this outing. The Netherland Radio Choir is superb and focused, and the vocal soloists – soprano Marlis Petersen, mezzo-soprano Elisabeth Kuhlman,

they can’t whip and froth it up when necessary. Just check out “Come with Me,” “Keep It Low” and “Tunnels.” According to the sticker on the Afraid of Heights (WB/Mom + Pop) CD by Wavves (Nathan Williams and Stephen Pope), the disc is “one of the most anticipated albums of 2013.” That’s a big claim to make. But there’s a lot to like in Wavves’ hazy bombast, like the surf grunge of “Sail to the Sun” and “Beat Me Up.” Recurring themes of sleeping and waking (“Lunge Forward,” “I Can’t Dream” and the title cut) and Jesus, and a fondness for an indie 80s sound (“Lunge Forward”) indicate that Wavves might be deeper than we think. With the double-disc set Shaking the Habitual (Mute), Swedish sibling duo The Knife (Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer) expand on the groundwork laid on their moody breakthrough 2006 release Silent Shout. Probably the most experimental pair here, The Knife manipulates more than keyboards and beats. The human voice is also sliced and spliced – listen to it burn on “Full of Fire.” The 13 songs, some sung, some instrumentals, ranging in length from 37 seconds to more than 19 minutes, are examples of the unlimited possibilities in modern music. Prepare to be shaken. Ride Your Heart (Dead Oceans) by Bleached, another sibling duo, features the Clavin sisters Jennifer and Jessica. Stepping out on their own together as Bleached after

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DVD>>

August 15-21, 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31

Victim or traitor? by Tavo Amador

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uring the grim early 1950s, Wisconsin’s Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy convinced much of a paranoid American public that communism and homosexuality were linked. He was abetted in this infamous accusation by selfloathing gay men like Roy Cohn. One of the few examples of such a tie took place in England, where openly gay Guy Burgess (1911-63) and Sir Anthony Blunt (1907-83), both members of aristocratic families (Blunt was distantly related to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother), were spies for the Soviet Union. Burgess defected and lived in bitter exile in Moscow until his death. Burgess’ life was the basis for Julian Mitchell’s fictionalized play Another Country, adapted for a 1984 film that has just been released in DVD. The movie opens in 1983 Moscow, where a frail, bitter Guy Bennett (Rupert Everett) is being questioned by a reporter about his life. The story then flashes back to the early 1930s, to an Eton-like school where the openly gay Bennett has become obsessed with James Harcourt (Cary Elwes). Bennett rooms with avowed Marxist Tommy Judd (Colin Firth), who is straight. They are, however, both outsiders. A teacher catches two boys mas-

turbating each other, shaming them. One of them commits suicide as a result. The faculty and the older boys are determined to keep the tragedy quiet – a scandal will damage the school’s reputation with parents. One senior boy, Fowler (Tristan Oliver), the house captain, who is obsessed with the army, dislikes Bennett and Judd. Fowler is determined to use the scandal to prevent Bennett from becoming a “God,” one of the two top prefects in the school. It’s an honor Bennett very much wants. Bennett has been able to flaunt the rules because he has blackmailed the other senior boys about their homosexual relations. Judd resists Bennett’s pleas to become a Prefect because he loathes the “oppressive” system that the school represents – making boys grow up to become like their fathers. It’s a ghastly “tradition.” Bennett and Harcourt fall in love and meet clandestinely. They are deliriously happy. Most of the boys have strong homoerotic attachments, but the school’s culture is officially rabidly homophobic. Thus, when Fowler intercepts a compromising letter from Bennett to Harcourt, he threatens to expose both of them. To protect Harcourt, Bennett accepts the standard punishment for his behavior: being caned on the buttocks by the Prefects. He remains

silent throughout the brutal, humiliating ordeal. It also ends his chances of becoming a “God.” Bennett realizes his dream of joining the diplomatic corps – of becoming Ambassador to France – will never be attained because of his openness about his sexual orientation. If he married, fathered children, but had discreet male lovers, everyone would look the other way. Judd, true to his convictions, fights the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War, where he is killed. Bennett is determined to avenge himself on the bigoted, small-minded, ignorant culture that cannot accept him for who he is, despite his brilliance and suitability for the diplomatic life. Hence, his decision to spy for the Soviet Union. Marek Kanievska’s direction is at times unfocused, but he gets superb performances from the cast. Everett is exceptional as Bennett – simultaneously courageous and reckless, making it clear that his feelings and

Elliot past & present by David Lamble

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he touching, funny, perceptive and deeply moving fable Elliot Loves, from gay Latino director Terracino, begins with an emotionally freighted kiss. “I didn’t mean to kiss you. I just wanted to make you stop talking.” The peripatetic adventures of a lovesick 21-year-old DominicanAmerican begin as a flashback. A nine-year-old TV-raised kid does an impudent spoof of his mom’s favorite shampoo ad. Because his kid self is the man of the house, we mourn the social smarts that adult Elliot loses as he dumbs himself down for the gay dating game. Terracino makes flashy use of parallel story structure to give us an Hispanic American queer-boy hero who transcends his ghetto-bound mom’s soap opera fantasies. Sitting down for an interview with filmmaker Terracino was a whirlwind tour through his decadelong struggle to translate his favorite filmmaker’s archetypal coming-ofage classic into queer terms. “The parallel stories were so important to me because flashbacks

to childhood are such a cliché. So many of us have been influenced by Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, but I didn’t want to remake The 400 Blows, I wanted to take the way Truffaut follows that character through subsequent movies and put those disparate elements into one movie, to see these running stories of Elliot in past and present. “When I was 26 and experiencing some success with my short My Polish Waiter, a psychic said, ‘Just because you think you’re done with your past, your past isn’t through with you. You can’t move forward until you look back.’ I think a lot of young gay people think they’re going to be better than their childhood, different from their parents, but the traps of their childhood find them. Elliot is 21 when he gets it together, and I realized in life he would be 30, 40 or 50. Watching somebody at 21 fall apart and get it back together is a lot more cinematic.”

David Lamble: The opening sequence, nine-year-old Elliot seducing the audience with his faux shampoo ad, is like a great Justin Bieber moment. It bonds us with this kid. Terracino: Quentin Araujo [young Elliot] is such a brave performer. He radiates this innocence, and Elliot is about a loss of innocence. We get to see him before things are horrible: he’s retreating into fantasy and we don’t know why, and then we see the brutality. Truffaut said, “Childhood is innocent and beautiful only for those who can’t remember.” Why did it take so long to bring this story to the screen? I finished the rough draft in

2001, and it won the MTV Films/ HBO New York Latino Film Festival Script Contest. I was approached by All My Children, and I ended up writing a script for them, and they paid me, which was great. In retrospect, I inadvertently entered into

actions are natural and not shameful. His characterization is free of anachronisms. Firth is splendid as the idealistic Judd. In one superb scene, he apologizes to Bennett for patronizing him by saying his homosexuality is just a phase that he will outgrow. The handsome Elwes makes Bennett’s infatuation very understandable. Their first date, a

dinner following Bennett’s widowed mother’s remarriage, is charming and touching. Oliver is excellent as the vengeful Fowler, suggesting that his hostility to Bennett includes an element of attraction that he does not want to face. Anna Massey is memorable in her few scenes as Bennett’s mother. British public schools, which educate sons of the elite ruling class, are notorious for the amount of homosexual behavior and homoerotic feelings among the students. Yet if boys are caught being intimate, they are often severely castigated. Another Country captures that world very well. At the same time, it makes Bennett’s decision to betray England seem spiteful and petty. Surely, the Soviet Union was hardly welcoming to homosexuals. The contrast to Judd’s idealism is striking. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating film about a dark period in history. It is disturbing that rampant homophobia remains the official state policy of Russia and many of the former Soviet Republics. Fortunately, it is no longer tolerated in most Western European countries, including Britain, which recently legalized same-sex marriage.t

development hell. They always told me we were about to shoot, but then it didn’t happen because I couldn’t get this or that star: it was always my fault. There’s so much racism and homophobia in Hollywood, but they’ll keep projects like this

in development to inoculate them against the charges. So I set up an Elliot Loves production company, shot it for $77,000, and it will be profitable very soon. Now I do panels on how Kickstarter works.t

<< Society

32 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

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Steven Underhill

Miss Diana Ross brought down the house last week at the Golden Gate Theatre.

Miss Ross triumphs in SF by Donna Sachet

D For bar and nightlife events, go to

bartabsf.com

iana Ross, unquestionably a reigning diva of popular music, again took San Francisco by storm with two energy-packed, capacity-crowd shows at the Golden Gate Theatre. We joined Rusty Best there Wednesday night from incredible front-row balcony seats as Ms. Ross belted out hit after hit, truly the soundtrack of our life, backed by percussion, guitar, keyboard, wind instrumentalists and a trio of singers. Her gowns were exquisite, including the red opener with floor-length ruffle coat, and a black sequin form-fitting stunner with see-through side panels. No costume change took longer than a few minutes, returning her to the stage, shaking her signature mane of hair and obviously relishing this loving San Francisco crowd. To everyone’s surprise, she delivered an unprecedented encore of “Reach Out and Touch,” dressed in street clothes and beaming her delight. This is the second time producer Rick Bartalini has brought Ms. Ross back to the city after a 20year absence, and we are so grateful. On Saturday afternoon, Jane Warner Plaza rang with music, part of the SummerSunSet series sponsored by Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District and a grant from Invest in Neighborhoods. We emceed, first introducing violin improvisationalist Kippy Marks, who infuses his music with joy and whimsy, and quickly drew a happy audience. Next was local singer and national sensation Matt Alber, who delivered a blended set of country-inspired songs, rich ballads, and danceable music, all with crystal clear vocals, engaging lyrics, and seductive charm. Both these performers are rising stars who deserve our attention. At the peak, over 150 people, mostly local neighbors, including Kile Ozier, Cleve Jones, Gary Virginia, Steven Weller, Mark Abramson, Patrick Holstine, Coco Butter, Tom Tarn, and Zoe Dunning, gathered for the gorgeous weather and beauti-

ful music. These afternoon concerts continue through October. The Imperial Court’s Golden Gate competition is in full swing, starting this past Sunday at Midnight Sun, where Reigning Emperor Drew Cutler, Reigning Empress Patty McGroin, and their Court of the Wild Kingdom introduced the candidates for Mr. & Miss Golden Gate selling raffle tickets, and various performers on stage, all raising money for the Monarchs’ Charity Fund. Energy was high, and the bar was packed. The race finale is at The Arc on Sun., Sept. 8, when the current Mr. Golden Gate Judd Singleton and Miss Golden Gate Kerri Hanna complete their year and the mayhem and fundraising tradition continues. By the way, check out the Imperial Court’s ongoing monthly shows: Dollhouse, every first Saturday at Midnight Sun, and Wild Wednesdays, every fourth Wednesday at The Edge.

Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation presents Help is on the Way XIX: Broadway & Beyond this Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at Palace of Fine Arts, with a blockbuster show and a stellar cast, including Jim Bailey, Carole Cook, Jason Brock, David Burnham, Spencer Day, Alex Newell, Lisa Vroman, and Paula West. Get your VIP tickets to be able to hob-nob with the stars at the post-show reception. Primary beneficiaries are Aguilas, AIDS Housing Alliance, Project Open Hand, and Shanti. On Wed., Aug. 21, we join a group of 40 for the first night of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: the Musical at the Orpheum Theatre, and we can’t wait! The show runs through Aug. 31. And the aforementioned Jason Brock has his first show at the new Feinstein’s at the Nikko the next night, Aug. 22. We first checked out the newly remodeled lobby bar and refreshed showroom for Bruce Vilanch’s show some weeks ago, and we love the new look and feel of the space. You’ll see us at Feinstein’s at the Nikko frequently!t

Steven Underhill

Legendary actor Sir Ian MacKellen opened in playwright Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land, last week at Berkeley Rep.

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Karrnal >>

August 15-21, 2013 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

Str8 talk by John F. Karr

EROS: THE CENTER FOR SAFE SEX PRESENTS

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joined Men.com so I could bring you the dish on the season’s historic event, Paddy O’Brian getting fucked for the first time (at least on film). Well, I wasn’t entirely selfless. I’d been curious to check out the site, and Paddy’s sodomific sacrifice provided the final impetus to go there. Was the Prodding of Paddy O’Brian worth seeing? I guess so (my review is in the previous B.A.R., 8/8/13). Keep in mind, it’s an expense I take off my income tax. So before you join, let me tell you what else I found there. Men.com was founded in 2011, so the site’s 371 performers mostly remain current. Their 773 scenes are divided among six brands. “The Gay Office” and “Big Dicks at School” offer up the well-worn tropes of boss or teacher defiling filing clerk or frat boy. “Men of UK” delivers British guys in the same sort of set-ups, but with more foreskin than the American-made sequences. “Jizz Orgy” presents group scenes, usually five guys. “Str8 to Gay” belabors straight men giving in to gay seducers, and “Drill My Hole” is aimed at quickly providing intense action. These varying brands share a pool of performers. Your favorite star may be gay in one scene and straight in the next. There’s little regard for how apt a performer may be at his assignment. Ages range from twink to adult, but share a site standard of well-groomed, safe-for-all-users homogeny – nothing ranges outside mainstream borders. That said, the site offers the day’s biggest stars. Johnny Rapid has 67 scenes. Trenton Ducati has only 14 scenes, but there are 20 or more for O’Brian, Di Maggio, Killian, Colter, Dylan, Wilde, Magnuson, Bryce Star, and others. Exclusives include Mr. Rapid, Andrew Stark (29 scenes), and Paddy’s BFF, Paul Walker (18 scenes). New exclusives include Tom Faulk, Connor Kline, and Billy Santoro. The best thing about the site is the technical quality of the films. There’s an appreciable gloss to the presentation. Camerawork, lighting and especially editing are laudable. The sets can be sterile, but they house sex that’s generally good, if regulation. With 20 minutes the near-standard run time, there’s not much time for mood-setting or foreplay; fucking’s the goal. I’d like more 69ing and more RCs, but can’t really complain. The worst thing about the site are

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the scenarios that are enacted, which range from stupid but innocuous, at office and school, to stupid and reprehensible, when ostensible str8 guys say No No No while their bodies go Yes Yes Yes. I don’t share the hunger for str8 men that propels viewers to accept the shoddiness of these representations, which reek to me of internalized homophobia, and are uniformly insulting in conception and execution. The performers in Str8-to-Gay scenes don’t seem to have been provided with scripts, so we’re at the mercy of amateur actors forced to improvise. It’s pretty witless to force a cute but callow young gay boy like Duncan Black to rely on his wits in his attempts to cajole a “str8” buddy out his pants. The clumsiness engendered is compounded by the str8 guy being someone we’ve known to be gay for ages. I’ve been suspending disbelief over a lot of things my whole life, but while watching these sorry excursions, I can’t suspend the belief that what Str8-to-Gay offers is

accomplished porn. Yet once the scenario is dispensed with, which can take anywhere from one to six or seven unendurable minutes, the sex can be just fine. And there’s an enjoyably light-hearted tone to a mock reality-TV show in which host Trevor Knight teaches a gay man how to turn his str8 crush gay. Yet I prefer the sex offered up with less travail, so I’m more easily aroused by the “Drill My Hole” scenes, which mostly get to it ASAP. Among other minor qualms are that it takes several steps to search performers, and there’s no Category activity search. Only select scenes are accompanied by photos, and when offered, these are somewhat canned posed shots. And there’s no easy zip option for downloading them. It’s hard to know what you’re getting, or remember Who’s Who, without scene descriptions or performer credits. And what does it say about general quality when a performer reveals he filmed five scenes in one day? To sum it up, Men.com looks swell, has stars and plenty of professionally made product. The key word being product.t

Men.com

Connor Kline, Rocco Reed, Andrew Stark, Liam Magnuson, and Johnny Ryder are Men in Blue at Men.com.

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34 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 15-21, 2013

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Bryan West

From page 21

Aug. 21. In the musical, based on the 1994 Australian movie, West plays a member of a hastily assembled performing trio of two drag queens and one transsexual. In an old bus dubbed Priscilla, they travel and bicker through a series of pinprick Australian towns of bemused locals on their way to a remote gig – as they also work their way through 20 or so songs that could all be found at the top of the charts at some point during the past three decades. In the movie, the threesome was purely a lip-sync act with a soundtrack pulled from famous recordings. So how do you tell a lip-sync story on Broadway, where lip-syncing is practically a capital offense? “I think it’s ingenious the way they worked that out,” said West, who was also in Priscilla on Broadway. “When we’re supposed to be performing to a track, we actually have three singing girls called the Divas who descend from the sky on cables, and they are like our soundtrack.” A soundtrack that includes the likes of “It’s Raining Men,” “Shake Your Groove Thing” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” But that doesn’t mean West and his cohorts don’t get to sing live. Unlike in the movie, where every

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Pier 24

From page 21

big-tent concept expansive enough to accommodate 300 to 400 photographs that range from grand-scale installations that occupy a room to more modestly-sized pictures. The artists included constitute a hit parade of veteran and emerging talents: Robert Adams, Thomas Demand, Todd Hido, Lee Friedlander (a room with 108 of his America by Car shots can be skipped without hardship), Stephen Shore, Jeff Wall, Rinko Kawauchi, Asako Narahashi, and many others. Local collector Paul Sack, whose amazing collection of San Francisco panoramas before and after the 1906 earthquake and fire will be familiar from SFMOMA exhibitions, has three galleries here showcasing images of cities, horizons and abodes. Erik Kessels’ installation 24 HRS in Photos comments on our throwaway culture and the obsession with documenting our every move. 300,000 of the one million pictures, uploaded to Flicker during a 24-hour period, are banked

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Lavender Tube

From page 26

O’Donnell and was unequivocal, telling O’Donnell, “Having the Olympics in Sochi would besmirch the Olympics name as well as all the corporate [sponsors].” Takei had said earlier in the week that “Given this position [Russia’s stance on LGBT rights], the IOC must do the right thing, protect its athletes and the fans, and move the 2014 Winter Olympics out of Russia. This is a situation of good versus evil. It is evil that is happening there, and we must not play into Putin’s game.” Takei appeared on PBS Aug. 9 suggesting that the Olympics be moved back to Vancouver, where they were in 2010. He has a petition for that on his blog. On Aug. 9, it had exceeded 60,000 signatures. Christine Brennan, the award-winning sportswriter, was on ABC’s This Week with ESPN’s African American and openly gay commentator LZ Granderson, talking about the Olympics and the LGBT dilemma. Both were succinct on the issue. Brennan, a long-time reporter on the Olympics, said the IOC had “dropped the ball” in not making demands on Russia with regard to human rights, something she said would have a lasting impact. Granderson was disappointed in Sec. of State John Kerry’s lack of response

song was part of a performance by the trio, the characters in the stage show have songs that have been interpolated into their personal stories. And so Bernadette, the older and wiser transsexual, sings “Don’t Leave Me This Way” when her partner dies; Tick/Mitzi, whose longunseen young son lives in the resort town to where they are headed, duets with the boy on “Always on My Mind”; and Adam/Felicia sings “Like a Prayer” simply because he wants to. “It’s my dream to hike to the top of Ayers Rock and sing Madonna in full drag,” West said of his character’s motivation. West tries to play Adam/Felicia “a little less snarky than Guy Pearce in the movie, and I love Guy Pearce. In fact, my accent is molded off of him. But I think for any audience to go with you, you can’t be too mean right out of the gate.” His character, he said, “has more one-liners than you can shake a stick at.” Stephan Elliott, who wrote the original screenplay, co-authored the musical’s libretto with Allan Scott. Debuting first in Australia in 2006, it arrived on Broadway in 2011. “The movie is a little darker than the stage show,” West said. “The way it’s filmed has this really gritty feel to it, whereas in the musical every thing is just beautiful and glitter and all that kind of stuff.”

Joan Marcus

Wade McCollum, Scott Willis, and Bryan West play a drag lip-sync trio who must travel through redneck Australia on their way to a gig in Priscilla Queen of the Desert.

Also recreating their work from the movie are costumers Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, who won an Oscar for their outlandish original designs, then picked up a Tony for their even more eye-popping work on Broadway. “They actually had a budget this time because in the movie they had no budget and were literally Scotch-taping costumes together for one take,” West said. “Our costumes have to be built to withstand eight shows a week for two years.”

on one side of a gallery, piled from floor to ceiling, with the rest scattered around. An essay in waste and the perils of oversharing, it’s a metaphoric garbage dump reserved for snapshots. Although more people have discovered the place since I was here last year, my visit felt remarkably private and untrammeled. With its soaring ceilings, meticulously calibrated lighting, spacious galleries and the meditative quiet of a monk’s retreat, it’s a welcome refuge from the throngs clogging the Embarcadero. Avail yourself of a guide with a layout of the 20 numbered galleries, but don’t feel compelled Courtesy the artist and Pier 24 to adhere to the order. Some gal#3878” (2005) by Todd Hido. leries contain works by several photographers; others are devoted to a single artist such as local upcontributes to the dreamy illusion of and-comer Eric William Carroll, who being lost in a thicket of trees in hazy deconstructs the photographic problue twilight. In a section titled Home, cess. Blue Line of Woods, a series of find Veronika Kellndorfer’s stand-out uniformly-sized diazotypes that look “Lovell Beach House” (2008). An imlike Asian hanging scrolls, rings a rectmense, three-panel ocean view from angular gallery whose diffused lightthe Rudolf Schindler-designed ode to ing – the floor is lit, not the images – modern architecture (1926) in New-

on the issue, and cited former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton’s “bold” defense of LGBT rights. “In 2011, Hillary Clinton gave arguably one of her most historical speeches in UN history when she talked about gay rights being human rights. And this was John Kerry’s opportunity to follow up with that, to show some consistency. The fact that we haven’t really heard from him, from his office regarding this issue, the fact that we had to have 83 lawmakers send a letter to him asking him to come out and say something, his support of gay Olympians, I think is a really, really poor sign of consistency from the secretary of state about gay rights being human rights.”

Hillary, the movies

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus (the gayest name this side of RuPaul’s Drag Race) sent a letter to Chairman of NBC Entertainment Robert Greenblatt and President of CNN Worldwide Jeff Zucker, calling on their networks to cancel their attempts to “influence Americans’ political decisions.” According to the RNC’s always-distorted take on things, both networks are airing programs “promoting former Secretary Hillary Clinton ahead of her likely candidacy for president in 2016.” The RNC seems to forget that they did their own Hillary movies in

2008, which became the source of a U.S. Supreme Court decision, but then historical memory has never been the strong suit of the Republicans, who still call themselves the party of Lincoln, as if they’d allow him in their party in 2013. The problem for the RNC is that NBC announced Aug.1 that it planned to produce a miniseries about Hillary starring Oscar nominee Diane Lane. Meanwhile, CNN is producing a Hillary documentary. Priebus told both networks, “If the productions are not canceled prior to the start of the RNC’s Summer Meeting, Chairman Priebus will seek a binding vote of the RNC to prevent the committee from partnering with these networks in 2016 primary debates or sanctioning debates they sponsor.” We’d love to see NBC and CNN come back with a “So what? No one watches your stupid debates anyway,” but that won’t happen. It’s no secret that Republicans are terrified of Hillary Clinton. They’ve been unnerved by her for decades, ever since she spoke out against the “vast right-wing conspiracy” that we’ve all seen in action in the intervening time. But her name comes up every Sunday on the pundit parade, always as the contender no one is likely to beat if she runs in 2016. The Republicans have already been talking

Many of the nearly 30 costumes he wears were built for him for the Broadway production. A member of the original ensemble, West understudied the role he now plays fulltime and got to perform it for three weeks while Nick Adams was recovering from an injury. “They still fit me perfectly, thank God,” he said of the costumes, though he planned for some incautious eating while home during a hiatus that ends with the San Francisco run. West shares a

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home in Brooklyn with his partner of two years, Joshua Buscher, who is the tour’s associate choreographer. West previously toured in Hairspray and Wicked, but musical comedy was an unexpected career turn. As a student in Baltimore, he studied classical music at the city’s performing arts high school, did a summer going country at Opryland USA, then headed to Europe to work as a singer-songwriter in a pop group. He ended up in Los Angeles, pursuing the singer-songwriter dream, when he read about an open call for the Hairspray tour. “I was working as a production assistant,” West said, “and I finally thought I just want to perform in anything, and I saw that ad. When I got there, there was like already a thousand people in line.” But he got a job, and Hairspray earned him his Equity card. Now that he is one of the leads in the Priscilla tour, he feels a bit like an ambassador from the Broadway production. “I’m the only cast member from the original, and I was just so proud of it that I wanted to be here and kind of take care of the show,” West said. “For some of the cast, it’s their first big production contract, and I wanted them to know that audiences won’t always react like they do at Priscilla. Most of us will never be in another show like this.”t

port Beach, it was shot through a window then silkscreened onto heated glass, an arduous process that yielded a rich palette of grays; bars and lines filter the vista and subtly direct the eye. Also in this group is Todd Hido’s suggestive bedroom; the unnatural aqua of the bottom a swimming pool, rumpled bed sheets and pillows bear the imprint of someone who recently rested there. Hido gets a dedicated gallery featuring large melancholy images photographed through a rainy windshield, like the blurry vision of a woman in a yellow raincoat and kerchief standing on a damp beach. Pier 24 has been expanding its purview, cultivating one-of-a-kind images such as the out-sized “The Stour from Dead Man’s Bridge, near Flatford,” the first landscape ever produced by Richard Learoyd, and commissioning emergent photographers like San Francisco megawatt talent John Chiara, who delivered the awe-inspiring “Embarcadero at Interstate 80.” To capture this pair of

unique, 48” x 60” pictures, he situated himself underneath the Bay Bridge and aimed upward. The result, which resembles the inside of a cauldron or an erupting volcano, is jaw-dropping; pitch blacks contrast with flaming orange in an industrial cityscape where light and shadow are reversed. As The New Yorker observed, Chiara’s largest prints “look like they were transferred straight from a blissed-out eyeball to the astonished wall.” He designed and custom-built his huge camera, climbs inside it to make adjustments, then processes the monumental images by hand. (In some cases he does so with the aid of a sewer pipe.) The opposite of speedy digital, it can take a day to produce a single picture. His mammoth box camera harkens back to the techniques of pioneering Western landscape photographer Carleton Watkins, though Chiara uses a flatbed trailer instead of a mule team to haul his equipment.t

up the meme that Hillary is “too old” to be president on various Fox talk shows. It’s a bizarre choice for a putdown, considering that the past two Republican presidential candidates are older than Hillary: John McCain a decade older, and Mitt Romney a year older. Ronald Reagan was older than Hillary will be in 2016 when he ran for president, and he’s still a Republican god. Hence the need to try blackmailing NBC and CNN. Meanwhile, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who is herself a soignee 73, is angry about the treatment the former Secretary of State is receiving, and was all over the tube on Aug. 9 talking about it. Pelosi has been very outspoken recently about sexism in politics. The House Minority Leader was largely responsible for Anthony Weiner’s ouster a few years ago, and has voiced her disgust that Weiner is back sexting as he runs for Mayor of New York. Pelosi made it a point to get all the networks listening to her Aug. 9. Pelosi’s latest outrage is over the online game called Slap Hillary, put up by “The Hillary Project,” a Republican PAC. The game allows participants to slap the former Sec. of State in the face. The game has already been the subject of a massive change.org petition to suspend it, but Pelosi used the strength of her own bully pulpit to say that the Slap Hill-

ary site “isn’t a game, isn’t funny,” and that “like all violence against women, it’s sick. The GOP needs to grow up and take this site down.” The site for Slap Hillary demands that Hillary not run in 2016 and tells visitors, “Hillary Clinton. The name alone strikes dread in the hearts of freedom-loving Americans. Can you imagine what damage a Hillary White House could do to our country? Our constitutional rights upended, our moral values eroded and taxes eating up more and more of our paychecks.” In his interview with Leno, the President was asked about Hillary. He said she had that “post-administration glow” when they had lunch together, said they had become quite close, and ended by saying in response to Leno asking if Hillary was measuring the drapes for the Oval Office, “Keep in mind she’s been there. She doesn’t have to measure them.” When you get to see the President chat with Leno on late night like he’s in your living room (Obama even referred to his relationship with Sen. John McCain as the perfect bromance), you know that TV is always full of surprises. Leno closed out the show with the inimitable and ultra gay-friendly Patti LaBelle. So for that kind of hour, and because Sochi and 2016 are closer than you think, you know you really must stay tuned.t

Through May 1, 2014; appts: Mon.-Thurs., 10 a.m.-5:15 p.m. www.pier24.org

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