August 9, 2018 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

B.A.R.'s 'No obits' turns 20

Uneven start to Gay Games

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Vol. 48 • No. 32 • August 9-15, 2018

Mission captain addresses ‘lack of consistency’ of beat officers by Alex Madison

Courtesy CADPH

Marisa Ramos, Ph.D.

CA AIDS office director changes by Matthew S. Bajko

n interim chief of the Office of AIDS within the California Department of Public Health has been appointed following the departure of Dr. Karen E. Mark to work for a different state agency. Governor Jerry Brown appointed Mark, a lesbian, to the position in 2013 after having served as the interim state AIDS office chief for 16 months. This summer Mark was named the medical director for the California Department of Health Care Services. Succeeding her is Marisa Ramos, Ph.D., whose first day overseeing the AIDS office was July 13. She had been serving as the acting chief of the Surveillance, Research & Evaluation Branch in the Office of AIDS. In 2007, Ramos was named chief of the Office of Refugee Health within the state health department. She completed master’s and doctoral programs in biological nutrition with an emphasis in epidemiology at UC Davis, where she currently serves as a volunteer professor of public health. In response to the Bay Area Reporter’s request for an interview with Ramos, the state health department said she was unavailable. Citing the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, a spokeswoman for the state agency said she was unable to disclose Ramos’ age or if she is a member of the LGBT community. Dr. Gil F. Chavez, the state epidemiologist and deputy director for infectious diseases at the state public health agency, noted Ramos has “25 years of extensive experience in public health program management, administration, epidemiology, surveillance, and the protection of vulnerable populations” in an email announcing her appointment sent to health advocates around the state. While Ramos is not well known within HIV prevention circles, she impressed several AIDS agency representatives that she recently met with in Sacramento to introduce herself and her goals for the AIDS office. “I was very impressed with what she is prepared to bring to the office,” said Anne Donnelly, director of health care policy at Project Inform in San Francisco. “She really seems to understand some of the issues that have been See page 12 >>

ome Castro business owners have been unhappy with the “lack of consistency” of the San Francisco Police Department’s foot patrol officers. The officers are assigned to walk certain areas of the district at different times to help mitigate crime, loitering, and other issues. Gaetano Caltagirone was named captain of SFPD’s Mission Station, which oversees the Castro, last October. In his first months on the job, Caltagirone increased the beat officers’ coverage of the Castro because of need, but he still receives complaints from merchants and residents who feel they never see the officers. Currently, according to Caltagirone, the foot patrol officers work seven days a week. The Castro is assigned two beat officers per daily shift and has a regular group of about six officers who rotate shifts. One shift goes from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the other is from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. During last week’s Castro Merchants meeting, Caltagirone said he was working with his command staff on how to ensure a constant police presence on the streets of the Castro and other areas within his district. He would like to add a third shift from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. “I am trying to rearrange our staffing to get that extra foot beat up here,” he said at the meeting.

Rick Gerharter

San Francisco police Officers Paul McIntosh, left, and David Boyle prepare to head out to walk the beat on Castro Street Monday, August 6.

In June, the Bay Area Reporter received an email from Kathy Amendola, longtime owner of Cruisin’ The Castro Walking Tours, about the lack of beat cop presence in the area and the increased violent incidents with the homeless population. “The current lack of consistency is absolutely unacceptable for both tourist and residents alike,” said Amendola, in an email complaint she

sent to Caltagirone and forwarded to the B.A.R. “They should be covering our neighborhood daily at 9 a.m. during our heavy commute when the bodies are most concentrated.” When the B.A.R. spoke with Amendola, however, she said although the current situation is concerning and affecting her business, she is

SRO resident sues Ellis Hotel

See page 12 >>

by Alex Madison

gay San Francisco man is suing the owners of the Ellis Hotel where he lives, claiming LGBT discrimination, violation of the state Unruh Civil Rights Act, and emotional distress. Gary Converse, 54, has rented a single-roomoccupancy unit from the residential hotel located north of Market Street for about seven years. He suffers from diabetes, limited mobility, and impaired vision and has used licensed caretakers or In-Home Supportive Services providers, who are paid by the state, for many years. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court in April against the hotel managers and owners Ken Patel and Kelly Patel, who are not married or related. They have owned the hotel since May 2013. Defendants in the lawsuit also include the hotel’s co-owners, Tarun Patel and Nayan Patel. The complaint claims Ken Patel and Kelly Patel harassed many of Converse’s caretakers, causing them to quit, have barred their entry into the hotel on several occasions, and forced one of Converse’s live-in caretakers to move out. “Kelly Patel has gone as far as holding the door shut and screaming that she needs validity,” Converse said in a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter, referring to Kelly Patel’s attempt to restrict Converse’s caretakers from entering his room and requesting their identification. “She refused to accept my doctors’ notes.”

Rick Gerharter

Gary Converse sits in his room at the Ellis Hotel.

Converse also said Kelly Patel has made derogatory comments toward the caretakers’ appearance. The suit states, “Defendants have also harassed plaintiffs’ caregivers based on their homosexuality or perceived homosexuality. Defendants have made statements such as “Oh, another young cute one,” and, “They don’t allow that in my country.” The suit also claims that Kelly Patel has used the words “faggish” and “girlish” to describe the clothes of Converse’s live-in caretaker, Alberto Santos. It claims she said, “I know Alberto is gay,

just look at the clothes he is wearing.” Santos lived with Converse for about a year at the Ellis Hotel and was charged $20 a day to do so and $10 every time he used the showers, the complaint claims. This violates the Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board’s Uniform Hotel Visitor Policy, the lawsuit claims. “Caregivers of disabled tenants shall be exempt from visitor limitations. The owner or operator of the hotel may request medical verification or a See page 12 >>

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

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2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 9-15, 2018

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Protest held for drag queens facing eviction by Alex Madison

spirited protest was held Monday night in front of the home where four LGBT tenants and a straight woman are fighting an Ellis Act eviction. Well known figures, including gay former state lawmaker Mark Leno and gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, called for the repeal of the Ellis Act at the August 6 gathering at 1781 15th Street that included about 75 people. Tenants Fredy Miranda, aka Alexis Miranda; Richard Padilla, aka Renita Valdez; Donald Branchflower, aka Logos Branchflower; William Carmichael, aka Lucille Carmichael; and Jennifer Emperador, a straight woman and niece to Padilla, sued their landlords, married couple Leslie Wan and Brian Keller, in October 2017 alleging LGBT discrimination. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, went to mediation last month, but was unsuccessful and is now scheduled for trial in November. Under California law, the Ellis Act allows landlords to evict residential tenants if the landlords are going “out of the rental business.” The owners are offering $50,000 to be split among all five tenants as compensation for their eviction. The crowd listened as Miranda stood on the front steps of his home, in full drag, with a megaphone to share his story. “This is not just about our landlords, it’s about our city. I have been here for 31 years and have fought hard,” Miranda said. “The laws in this city need to be changed, not just for us, but for many of our friends.”

the house their family home without any tenants, Wan previously told the B.A.R. Wan did not respond to comment for this story before press time. Andrew Zacks, Wan and Keller’s attorney, said it’s the tenants who have broken the law, not the landlords, referring to the tenants’ having stayed longer than the Ellis Act time frame allows. “We look forward to having our day in court and vindicating our clients’ good names,” Zacks said this week. “The energy spent resisting this should be going to helping the tenants find a place to live, and the owners are willing to help in that, but the tenants aren’t willing to have that conversation.” Zacks said the owners were not home at the time of the protest. Leno, who recently lost his bid for San Francisco mayor, is a longtime friend of Miranda’s. “I am here to say that we, the state of California, need Ellis Act reform,” said Leno. In 2003, while in the Assembly, he successfully passed Assembly Bill 1217, which allows local governments to exempt single-room-occupancy hotels from the Ellis Act. But repealing the law has been a non-starter in the Legislature, as have been other efforts to amend it. “One-size-fits-all state statutes don’t save our community, they destroy our community,” Leno said. He urged politicians in San Francisco City Hall to “step up to the plate,” and utilize the small sites acquisition fund to buy the property. Leno also said if the city wanted to purchase the property it could do it

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Former state lawmaker Mark Leno spoke Monday in support of tenants threatened with an Ellis Act eviction on 15th Street. Tenant Fredy Miranda, aka Alexis Miranda, is to Leno’s left.

Miranda spoke about the two and a half year legal battle he has fought with his landlords. Discrimination, he said, should not be tolerated anywhere. The lawsuit claims that Wan has shielded the eyes of her 4-year-old son when Miranda has walked by in drag, has thrown out Miranda and Padilla’s drag clothes that were held in a communal storage unit, and thrown away Miranda’s barbecue and table and chairs from the backyard. Wan previously refuted these claims to the Bay Area Reporter, saying she asked the tenants’ permission to throw away the items and that the incident with her son never happened. Wan and Keller, who have two small children, want to make

Openhouse plans town halls compiled by Cynthia Laird

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penhouse, the agency that provides housing and services for LGBT seniors, has announced a series of town hall meetings with Executive Director Karyn Skultety, Ph.D. In the organization’s August newsletter, Skultety, who identifies as bisexual, encouraged seniors and others who are interested to attend one of several sessions and hear about Openhouse’s latest housing development, at 75-95 Laguna Street. “The project is currently ahead of schedule with an anticipated open date sometime in April 2019,” she wrote. “In addition to our plans for a successful lease-up of the 79 units of affordable LGBTQ-welcoming senior housing, we have big plans for service expansion and continuing our work to meet the needs of the LGBTQ seniors across the Bay Area.” Skultety said the town halls, which she also held last summer, will give her a chance to update the community and hear from people. “Most importantly, it will give you a chance to share ideas, ask questions, provide feedback and give me another important opportunity to learn from your experience at Openhouse,” she wrote. Town hall meetings will be held as follows: Monday, August 13, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at 501 Castro Street during men’s group, though all are welcome; Tuesday, August 21, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at 55 Laguna Street; Thursday, August 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Bob Ross LGBT Senior Center, 65 Laguna Street; and Tuesday, August 28, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at 55 Laguna Street. (The August 21 meeting will also be streamed on Openhouse’s Facebook page.) For more information, visit http://www.openhouse-sf.org.

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Kelly Sullivan

Openhouse’s Karyn Skultety

San Mateo Pride center events

The San Mateo County Pride Center will hold an intergenerational beach lunch Saturday, August 11, from noon to 3 p.m. at Rockaway Beach in Pacifica. The center will have food and drink, including vegetarian options. People are encouraged to bring snacks. The event is alcohol- and substance-free. To RSVP, contact Andres Loyola, peer support worker, at andres. loyola@sanmateopride.org or (650) 591-0133, ext. 151 or visit h t t p s : / / w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / events/183135732552950/. In other news, a gender and name change clinic will be held Saturday, August 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Pride center, 1021 South El Camino Real in San Mateo.

The center is joining with volunteers from Bay Area Legal Aid for a second name and gender marker change clinic. People can meet with an attorney or another volunteer for guidance in the process. There is no cost and Spanishspeaking volunteers will be available. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to case manager Alex Golding at (650) 465-6795. Finally, the center is accepting applications for its new community advisory board. The group will meet monthly and work together to oversee all Pride center program design and implementation. It will also work on outreach efforts to increase visibility. Those interested in applying can email info@sanmateopride. org or pick up a copy at the center (address above).

Drag queen storytime in San Jose

Over the Rainbow, a drag queen storytime event for kids, will take place Saturday, August 18, at 11 a.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. San Jose Public Library, 150 East San Fernando Street in San Jose. Drag queen host Talon Marks will help celebrate Silicon Valley Pride at this family-friendly event, and share age-appropriate stories and songs with children and families of all ages. Stories will highlight inclusion, diversity, and friendship. Children can also ask questions. A second event is planned for Saturday, September 15, at 11 a.m. at the same location.t

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<< Open Forum

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 9-15, 2018

Volume 48, Number 32 August 9-15, 2018 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 BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • Alex Madison CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Christina DiEdoardo • Richard Dodds Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • Juanita MORE! David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Tony Taylor • Sari Staver Jim Stewart • Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez Ronn Vigh • Charlie Wagner • Ed Walsh Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd • Jo-Lynn Otto Rich Stadtmiller • Kelly Sullivan Steven Underhil • Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith

Supes 2, pot 0 T

he San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ vote last week to ban cannabis dispensaries in Chinatown is another let down for supporters of legal and medicinal marijuana in the city. Unlike last October, when the board’s progressive bloc doomed the Apothecarium’s proposed dispensary in the Sunset by a 9-2 vote, this time the vote was 8-3. Kudos to new Supervisors Rafael Mandelman (District 8) and Vallie Brown (District 5), who made their first decisions on the issue and voted against the ban. They were joined by District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who last year sided against the Sunset dispensary. Supervisor Aaron Peskin, whose District 3 includes Chinatown, sponsored the carve-out to exclude pot dispensaries. After the board passed recreational marijuana regulations last December, ahead of the January 1 legalization under Proposition 64, Peskin proposed the Chinatown exclusion. He was unsuccessful and told his colleagues he’d be back. Asian-Americans made it clear to Peskin that they did not want dispensaries in their neighborhood and cited cultural aversion to cannabis as a reason. This argument is a smokescreen and a sweeping generalization that does not address the need for medical marijuana or the advent of legalized recreational cannabis. Brown was right when she said at the meeting that the city’s new regulations haven’t had time to work yet. She also expressed concern about “a domino effect” in the city, whereby other districts might come before the board with similar requests. That’s exactly the problem we envision, a potential slippery slope that could ban dispensaries elsewhere. Exceptions undermine the intent of Prop 64, and not what 75 percent of San

by Timothy Rodrigues

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that the supervisors seem more concerned with individual neighborhoods than crafting effective policy for the entire city.

Mayor Breed, Castro’s calling!

In January, when London Breed was serving as acting mayor, she had scheduled a merchant walk in the Castro. We were set to cover it, but it was canceled due to rain. Shortly afterward, Breed’s colleagues on the Board of Supervisors voted her out as acting mayor and installed Mark Farrell as mayor. Breed went on to win the June special election to fill the remaining term of the late mayor Ed Lee and was inaugurated last month. Since then, she’s made a point of doing walking tours of several of the city’s grittier neighborhoods. Former mayor and San Francisco Chronicle columnist Willie Brown wrote Sunday that since she’s been in office, Breed is “high-heeling it through some of the toughest neighborhoods in the city. And when she spots litter on the streets or doesn’t see cops on patrol, she lets department bosses know it.” We suggest that Breed take a tour of the Castro soon. As we report this week, some merchants and residents are concerned with what they perceive as a “lack of consistency” with beat patrol officers assigned to the neighborhood. Captain Gaetano Caltagirone, who took over Mission Station last fall, explains how the beat cops patrol the Castro and his desire to add another shift. Although he assures us that just because officers aren’t seen doesn’t mean they aren’t on patrol, we think it would be great for Breed to see firsthand how the foot officers patrol their beat, as well as efforts by the city, the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District, and others to keep the streets safer and cleaner. Mayor Breed, the Castro is calling. t

B.A.R.’s ‘No obits’ turns 20

ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small Bogitini

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Franciscans voted for two years ago. Board of Supervisors President Malia Cohen was also a disappointment. Last fall, she and thensupervisor Jeff Sheehy were the only two members to stand up to the anti-gay Pacific Justice Institute that rallied against the Sunset dispensary. This time, she flipped positions during the meeting. When discussion began, Cohen said Peskin’s carve-out could “perpetuate citywide division.” “Our role is to be objective,” she said. “Allowing permits to go through the planning process is fair, an exemption is not.” But about 30 minutes later, she changed her mind. After asking whether Peskin would consider a temporary moratorium (he would not), she said she changed her position and voted with the majority. The board must allow the regulations for recreational cannabis time to take effect. If issues arise, the usual practice is for the supervisors to hold hearings and draft the appropriate legislation. The board should not be caving to neighborhoods just because some residents have a problem with pot. We remain frustrated

f you had asked me when I wrote the “No obits” article in the Bay Area Reporter in 1998, I’m not sure I would have been able to say I would be around on its 20th anniversary, which is Monday, August 13. I had only just found out about my own HIV infection four months before the article was published. I was asked by our editor at the time, the late Mike Salinas, to write the piece because of my experiences in San Francisco, my history having worked at an AIDS nonprofit, and (especially) my recent HIV diagnosis. (I was not the best writer at the paper; she is now editor.) That the article had such an impact at the time was testimony to the exceptional fatigue permeating a community swamped by the unrelenting assault of the virus. Just about two years after the announcement of protease inhibitors as a treatment option and the promise they had shown in their short history, there was still an overwhelming sense of dread, apprehension, and incertitude. There wasn’t much information on the long-term effectiveness or side effects of these new drugs which, given experience with other treatments that weren’t sustainable, caused reasonable worry about their enduring success. So, it seemed to mean something that August 20 years ago to have reached the “No obits” milestone when, after years of relentless obituaries of people stolen by the virus, none were submitted to the B.A.R. that week. Or, at the least, it felt reasonable to lay down a marker of hopefulness, a stepping-stone that might give the community a foothold above the seeming incessant surging of grief. Of course, HIV remains a persistent scourge with nearly 40,000 new infections in the U.S. annually, nearly 2 million worldwide with 1 million deaths. Too many people who might benefit still do not have today’s better versions of treatments first heralded more than 20 years ago. Incomprehensibly, we still have to combat the repugnant stench of discrimination, shame, and stigma.

The “No obits” cover of the August 13, 1998 Bay Area Reporter.

So, as proposed in the original article, did a new reality take hold, and did the community enter “a new era of the epidemic?” On one hand, obviously yes, of course, yet we must acknowledge that two decades in, this “newness” still doesn’t reach all affected by the virus. And, as if to remind us all that the fight is not over until there are no new infections, stigma, or barriers to treatment – dare we say, until this “new era” leads to a cure – we only need look to the unexpected dismantling of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in 2017 and the recent report from UNAIDS suggesting recent “partial” successes are “giving way to complacency” – examples of how quickly progress can be challenged. Silence still Equals Death. I am fortunate to live the promise of this new era. Living openly HIV-positive with reasonably great health, with some side effects, on various new treatments, as they have evolved, speaks to some of the promise we hoped the marking

of “No obits” might be ushering. In fact, I (and some others) unexpectedly started showing negative results on the two most standard tests for HIV at the time (ELISA & Western Blot) – not a true measure of my infection but considered an indication of the powerful potential of the medicines to fight the virus. As well as I live with HIV, I feel compelled to tell younger people that I’d still rather be negative than positive, and they should practice safer behaviors to avoid becoming infected. But I continue to resist pressures of shame or stigma for living loud and proud with HIV. The pills I must take are omnipresent with side effects that feel cumulative. And, of course, there are the blasted reservoirs of virus that continue to elude elimination, meaning, despite living “undetectable,” I will have a resurgence of measurable virus if I stop treatment. More uncertainty. The frontier of research continues to offer great hope and discoveries that contribute to an overall understanding of diseases in the human body. I am thrilled to have been part of a long-term, ongoing, multi-pronged study at UCSF, originally through the Options Project, which has morphed into the broad SCOPE study and cure initiative. (One of several innovative approaches.) Research continues to expand and take on more diverse perspectives trying to imagine a “brave new world” where HIV is better controlled or eliminated. I was honored to write “No obits” and see it have such a hopeful impact on so many – a powerful example of community journalism that the B.A.R. continues. The HIV epidemic continues to be sprawling, complex, and insidious, but I have learned over my years living with the epidemic and, for 20 years, with my own HIV infection, that we should relish victories, even small ones, and continue to look for progress to a better future. t Timothy Rodrigues is a certified California naturalist, still living well with HIV, healthy, splitting his time between Sonoma County and San Francisco, and still trying to understand what it means to live “mindfully.”

Letters >>

August 9-15, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

More than a home

I urge a correction [“Castro drag queens sue to stay in their home,” August 2]. Queens do not live in mere homes. They live in palaces. Thomas J. Busse San Francisco

review of the recent Stern Grove performance [“SF Ballet brings joy to the fog belt,” August 2]. The Bay Area Reporter was the only newspaper to cover the event. Paul Parish never lets us down. His knowledgeable and articulate reviews have a huge fan base beyond your usual readers. He is a SF treasure. Bravo, B.A.R. for this quality journalism.

Enjoyed festival coverage

Burl Willes Berkeley, California

The many fans of San Francisco Ballet send collective thanks for the excellent

Gay men seek Dublin, Redwood City council seats by Matthew S. Bajko

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

ounting their first bids for public office this fall, gay men in Dublin and Redwood City are aiming to become the first out elected members of their city councils. Jason Galisatus, 24, is seeking a council seat in Redwood City, where he grew up. A co-founder and former president of the Peninsula Stonewall Democrats, Galisatus believes he would be the first out city council person elected in San Mateo County. “I feel like Redwood City needs a leader who can honor our city’s rich history and legacy while planning effectively for our future,” said Galisatus, a community relations associate at his alma mater, Stanford University. Running in Dublin is United States Navy veteran Shawn Kumagai. The 41-year-old is an instructional design consultant at Mosaic working on a project for PG&E and is a master chief petty officer in the Navy Reserve. He launched his council bid late last month and already picked up an early endorsement from the Lambda Democratic Club of Contra Costa County, which he co-founded and served on its board. It is believed that Kumagai would be the first out LGBT person elected to a city council seat in the Tri-Valley area of the East Bay. “A lot of Dubliners are concerned with the pace of growth and lack of infrastructure and diversity in the types of projects getting approved,” said Kumagai, who has lived in the Alameda County city for two and a half years. “I want to make sure Dublin becomes a community that we want 10 to 20 years from now.” Kumagai spent his early childhood living in the Bay Area until his parents divorced when he was 10 years old. He moved with his mother to Phoenix, who was part of a military family. She served in the Army nurse corps, her brother served in the Air Force, and their father enlisted toward the end of World War II. After college Kumagai enlisted with the Navy and was stationed in California, then Japan. His father is Japanese and came to the U.S. as a teenager for school. Now a permanent resident, he lives in Arizona. Kumagai’s mother had returned to the Bay Area to care for her ailing father. Three years ago she passed away, and her adopted son, Kevin, 16, from her second marriage came to live with Kumagai in Georgia, where he was on involuntary mobilization deployment. He ended up adopting his sibling and moved back to the Bay Area to enroll him in high school. “It was a big motivation for me to come back and find a communityoriented place with good schools, and that was Dublin,” said Kumagai. He rented for a year before buying a home, noting in an interview that he “was barely able to squeak in to the market.” Having put down roots in the city, Kumagai said he now wants to use the leadership skills he learned during his military service to give back to the

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Dublin City Council candidate Shawn Kumagai

Jason Galisatus is seeking a council seat in Redwood City.

community. Two of the council’s four seats are up this year, and no matter if both incumbents decide to seek reelection, Kumagai intends to remain in the race, which is run citywide. The filing deadline is Friday, August 10. “Dublin is facing unique challenges and opportunities, to be honest like every city in the Bay Area now. It has shifting economics and demographics,” said Kumagai, who is engaged to Alex Rafael and plans to set a date for their wedding sometime after the election. One of his main campaign platforms is to create a walkable city center for Dublin that can serve as a downtown area with stores and restaurants connected to one of the city’s BART stations. “We really need walkable streets facing small retail and small commercial spaces so that we have a city center feel in Dublin. We don’t have that,” he said. “Where do Dubliners go? They go to Livermore, Pleasanton, or Danville. They bring their tax dollars out of Dublin because we don’t have that kind of experience.” Having served under the military’s homophobic “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, despite being out to family and friends, Kumagai said he has never felt held back due to his sexual orientation. Now running as an out candidate for elected office, he doesn’t think it will be an issue with voters. “It has never been an issue for me; it has never prevented me from serving my country; and I don’t think it should prevent me from serving Dublin,” he said. To learn more about his campaign, visit www.shawnkumagai.com/.

job of the city council is to proactively address the challenges associated with that change,” Galisatus told the Bay Area Reporter in explaining why he decided to enter the race. Despite his youth, Galisatus already has built up an impressive resume in terms of his civic engagement. He was an inaugural co-chair of the San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission, which he pushed county leaders to form, and currently serves as vice chair of his hometown’s Complete Streets Advisory Committee, tasked with ensuring Redwood City’s road network is safe for pedestrians and bicyclists in addition to personal vehicles and transit. In high school, Galisatus founded and led the Bay Area Youth Summit, which advocated for LGBT students. Twice he was named the best LGBT youth activist, in 2013 and 2014, in the B.A.R.’s annual Besties awards. He doesn’t believe his youth will be an issue with voters. “There have been young people elected to office before,” Galisatus noted. “Voters care about if someone has a good head on their shoulders and comes to the table with smart ideas and is able to do the job.” Following college Galisatus briefly lived in San Francisco but returned to his hometown in 2016. He recently moved in with his partner of nearly a year, Chris Sturken, who also grew up on the Peninsula and works in community outreach at the Committee for Green Foothills. “If I am elected, I would be the only renter on the city council, which I feel is a much needed perspective,” said Galisatus, who has two younger sisters and whose parents still reside in Redwood City. To learn more about his campaign, visit http://jason4rwc.com/. t

Redwood City race

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on the latest campaign finance reports filed by LGBT candidates seeking state office.

Galisatus plans to officially kick-off his campaign at 2 p.m. Sunday, August 19, at the Canyon Inn in Redwood City. Last month, shortly after pulling papers for the race, he earned an early endorsement from BAYMEC, the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee that works to elect LGBT candidates in several South Bay counties. Three of the council’s seven seats are on this November’s ballot. Two will be open, as the incumbents opted not to seek re-election. Candidates run citywide in Redwood City, and the race is expected to draw a wide field. “Our city has undergone a lot of change in recent years. I believe the

Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes. Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

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<< Business News

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 9-15, 2018

LGBT businesses settle into Bernal Heights by Matthew S. Bajko

orking as a manager of Blue Bottle Coffee’s Hayes Valley location, JoEllen Depakakibo learned what it takes to run a successful coffee business. She decided to use that knowledge to open her own coffeehouse. Having spent five years searching for the right location, Depakakibo signed a lease for a storefront in Bernal Heights after making an opportune phone call to a local plumber who happened to own the building and was looking for a tenant. “I actually didn’t know Bernal Heights that much. I thought it was in Daly City, I was so detached from this part of town,” recalled Depakakibo, who grew up in Chicago and moved to the Bay Area in 2006. This September 12, Depakakibo will mark the fourth anniversary of opening Pinhole Coffee at 231 Cortland Avenue. It is named after the cameras that produce images without the use of a lens, an image capture technique that Depakakibo not only loves but also does herself. “It is symbolic of taking something small and making it big,” said Depakakibo, 35, who now lives in Oakland with her wife, Robin Quinn, a nurse who also formerly worked for Blue Bottle. Despite being unfamiliar with the neighborhood, Depakakibo found it to be “a magical pocket” worth taking a risk on to launch her business. “A lot of people do live in this neighborhood, so it wasn’t a concern for me. I believe in that motto of, ‘if you build it, they will come,’” she said. Steve Anker, who has owned a home in the area since the 1990s and also lives in Los Angeles, has become a regular when he is in town. “It is a nice place to hang out,” he said. “Most important, they make great coffee.” Since opening her doors, Depakakibo has been embraced by the neighborhood, she said. The business, whose staff is majority queer and female, raised $14,000 during this year’s Pride Week for two LGBT nonprofits. “This neighborhood is very special. It is very much run by small businesses and the community,” said Depakakibo. It is also home to nearly a dozen LGBTQ-owned businesses, according to a list Depakakibo compiled this summer. It is a little known

Rick Gerharter

Pinhole Coffee owner JoEllen Depakakibo, left, chats with regular customer Dan Rosenfeld under a mural painted by Joey D, Depakakibo’s brother, in honor of their father, Jose.

fact that she is trying to promote in order to attract more LGBT customers, locals and tourists alike, to the commercial corridor. “I don’t think it is a secret, but we are not the Castro,” said Depakakibo, pointing out how Bernal Heights is not as well known outside of the Bay Area as the city’s more famous gay district. And while not as centrally located as the Castro, which is home to two Muni subway stations, Bernal Heights is easily accessible via Muni’s 24-Divisadero bus line that also runs through the heart of the Castro. From the bus stop fronting Castro Street at Harvey Milk Plaza, above the Castro Muni Station, board a bus headed outbound to the Bayview and within 20 minutes it will arrive on Cortland Avenue, the main commercial corridor for Bernal Heights.

Welcoming environment

Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been a welcoming environment for lesbians. That reputation has been fostered by the presence of the lesbian-owned bar Wild Side West, which opened at 424 Cortland Avenue in 1976. The neighborhood being a somewhat hidden gem was a draw for Stacie Pierce, who opened Little Bee Bakery at 521 Cortland Avenue in October 2013. The former pastry chef at celebrated restaurants Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Foreign Cinema in San Francisco decided to go into business for herself in order to spend more time with her daughter, who turns 8 years old this month. “I really like the intimacy of

Cortland Avenue. I like being off the beaten track,” said Pierce, 46, who makes the most of her 600 square foot space, which has enough room for a table at the front window that seats six. There is an influx of people on Saturdays, said Pierce, due to the weekly Alemany Farmers Market held that morning. “On weekends we are definitely a destination for people,” she said. Pierce and her wife, Adria Nelson, have lived in Bernal Heights since 2004. When they had their daughter, Charlotte, she took a six-month leave of absence from Chez Panisse but started selling homemade pastries and dough as a side gig. After going back to work, Pierce grew tired of the commute and opted to take a chance on opening her own bakery. It is named after the nickname the couple gave their daughter as a baby. In addition to selling pastries and cakes, Pierce conducts baking classes for up to seven people at a time. She doesn’t do many wedding cakes, as the trend now is for dessert buffets featuring small bites of different sweets for guests and a small cake for the couple to cut. “I will do gay wedding cakes, obviously, you don’t have to sue me,” she joked. While she doesn’t think of her bakery as a gay business, just one that happens to be owned by a gay person, Pierce nonetheless enjoys being located in a neighborhood that embraces LGBT merchants. “This neighborhood is so chill about it. I feel fortunate it isn’t an issue,” she said. “I like that we can point it out and celebrate it.” Among the LGBTQ-owned businesses on Depakakibo’s list are several other eateries, such as Red Hill

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Rick Gerharter

Husbands and owners Sean Minnig, left, and Matthew Evans stand in their new store Bernalese, on Cortland Avenue in Bernal Heights.

Station (803 Cortland Avenue), the Thai food stall Mae Krua in the Marketplace (331 Cortland Avenue), and the butcher shop Avedanos (235 Cortland Avenue). One of the oldest of the LGBTowned businesses is Bernal Beast, the pet store at 509 Cortland Avenue that Tony Chrisanthis, 63, opened 24 years ago this September. The San Francisco native, who is gay, had moved into the neighborhood 12 months prior and saw a need for a local pet shop. “All the merchants here are great, whether gay or straight. We have a nice camaraderie,” said Chrisanthis, who recalled decades ago a number of the stores would have floats in the annual Pride parade. The biggest change impacting the local retail scene has been the advent of online shopping, said Chrisanthis. He dropped plans to open a second location and started his own website – http://www.bernalbeast.com – four years ago in order to compete. He now has customers from across the country who regularly order from him. And 10 percent of his online sales are donated to pet rescue groups. “Online has really taken a toll on every merchant. It doesn’t matter if you are gay or not. It has been the biggest drawback,” said Chrisanthis. Employing a staff of eight, Chrisanthis has no plans to close his physical location. He and his employees provide a valuable service for their customers, who often come in with questions on how best to care and feed their pets. “I want to keep the store as viable as possible,” he said. The newest LGBT-owned

business to open is the home décor store Bernalese at 307 Cortland Avenue, which welcomed its first customers July 14. Married couple Sean Minnig and Matthew Evans, who live three blocks from the store, launched the business as a way to share their love for antiques and contemporary housewares. “We always fantasized about having a little shop,” said Minnig. It is also the only place in the U.S. to sell the handmade whimsical wooden items made by the Italian company Bartolucci. They carry cartoon animal magnets and children’s items like holders for toothbrushes with hourglass timers or teeth to be given to the tooth fairy. Minnig, 59, who recently retired after a 25-year career in the tech industry, joked they decided to open the store “so we could work harder in retirement.” Evans, 54, will be retiring in October after working for 33 years as a budget analyst at Cal State East Bay in Hayward. Bernal Heights residents for 10 years, they have felt embraced by the neighborhood since opening the store. “So far it is going very well. We had more sales in our first 10 days than we expected,” said Minnig. Across the street at 328 Cortland Avenue, Barberella owner Cid Peaters has also felt welcomed since she started working at the hair salon 11 years ago. Within six months she had bought the business from the former owner. “It’s been a great ride,” said Peaters, a second-generation San Francisco native who grew up in Noe Valley. The lesbian cosmetologist, who said she always keeps her age “hush, hush,” explained that the name of her salon is not an homage to the movie starring Jane Fonda. Rather, it came from her late father always introducing her as a barber instead of as a hair stylist. Having only known of two other LGBT-owned businesses on the street, Peaters was surprised to learn how many there are now. Her clientele, and that of the two other cosmetologists that work out of her salon, come from all over the Bay Area. “We have been very fortunate,” she said. “It is a lot of work, but fun too, and you get to do what you love.” t Got a tip on LGBT business news? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

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<< Obituaries

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 9-15, 2018

Former B.A.R. editor Paul Lorch dies Saving space beautifully!

by Cynthia Laird

aul Lorch, a gay man who, as editor of the Bay Area Reporter in the early 1980s, opposed closing gay bathhouses to stem the spread of AIDS and published a list of gays he said were “enemies” of the community, died July 21. He was 86. Call Now to He died peacefully at his home in Make an Appointment with a Wallbed Expert! Guerneville of natural causes, said his former roommate and longtime friend, Rod Hoglan. 2 Convenient Locations Mr. Lorch published an “enemies 550 15th Street list” of 15 gay men and one lesbian who Suite #2 supported bathhouse closure in an inSan Francisco famous April 5, 1984 signed editorial ti415-854-7748 tled “Killing the Movement.” He was adamant that outlawing gay spaces would 2515 S. El Camino Real be akin to “killing the movement.” San Mateo “This group would have empow650-264-9541 ered government forces to enter our Newly Designed Location private precincts and rule over and regulate our sex lives,” he wrote. Accessories and More From The fight over bathhouse closure divided the gay community in the 1980s. At the time, public health ofLargest Selection of Murphy Wallbeds In Town! SFMurphyBeds.com ficials and many community leaders saw the move as a way to curb transmission of the HIV virus, while Wallbeds_053118.indd 1 5/30/18 10:46 AM those who wanted to keep them open argued that they provided an ideal setting for safer sex education. Others, like Mr. Lorch, were vociferously opposed to any closure and saw it as an assault on gay sexual freedom and a slippery slope to government intervention in one’s private life. There were also divisions in the business community. The baths were lucrative for their owners, as were

Courtesy Rod Hoglan

Paul Lorch

gay bars and other gathering places. Papers like the B.A.R. benefitted from advertising dollars from bathhouse owners, said current B.A.R owner and publisher Michael Yamashita, who was not with the paper during Mr. Lorch’s tenure. Ultimately, in October 1984, the bathhouses in San Francisco were closed. The ban did not target bathing facilities per se, but rather private rooms with closed doors that could not be monitored. Many of the people on Mr. Lorch’s list have since died. The editorial has been mentioned in several publications over the years, including the late gay reporter Randy Shilts’ book “And the Band Played On.” But some are still living, including the sole lesbian, former state senator Carole Migden, who said she was sorry to hear of Mr. Lorch’s passing. “He was very vehement and

vigorous,” Migden wrote in an email. “We differed on ‘bathhouse closure.’ “Yet with AIDS infections growing exponentially and countless gay men dying in a matter of months, I and others believed that the closure of bathhouses would help stem the spread of this relentless disease,” she wrote. “It did help, thankfully.” Tim Wolfred was another name on Mr. Lorch’s list. A gay man who at the time was on the City College board, Wolfred said in an interview last week that being named “didn’t have much impact on me.” “I was up for re-election to the college board and the B.A.R. endorsed me,” he said, adding that he won his race. “The next year I became executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.” Wolfred said that he and Mr. Lorch “always remained friendly.” Wolfred said that Mr. Lorch went on to work at City College of San Francisco. Hoglan said that before his retirement, Mr. Lorch served as the liberal arts dean at City College. “He was very erudite in many ways,” Wolfred said. Wolfred explained that the 1980s were “a very heated time” as AIDS began decimating the gay community and the bathhouse issue came to the fore. But he didn’t think Mr. Lorch’s list had a lasting effect on the careers of people on it. “It kind of came and went quickly,” he said, adding that he and Mr. Lorch never spoke about the list. See page 13 >>

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akir Musafar, an icon of the modern body modification culture, died at his home in Menlo Park August 1. He announced in May that he was fighting advanced lung cancer. He was 87. Born Roland Loomis, Fakir, as he was known, was widely known as a body modification pioneer and founder of the “modern primitive” movement. He was a photographer, performance artist, and taught body piercing and body play rituals to countless students worldwide. “He never set out to make a show of crashing through social and sexual barriers,” said longtime friend Patrick Mulcahey. “His earliest experiments in bondage, sensation, and out-ofbody journeys were performed entirely in secret. He wasn’t so much about breaking boundaries as he was just blind to them.” Fakir was born August 10, 1930, in Depression-era Aberdeen, South Dakota. He went to school with children from the local Sioux Indian reservation, learning from them about Native American culture. Fakir recalled being a bright and solitary boy who read encyclopedias from cover to cover, taking a particular interest in tribal cultures and their rituals. As recounted in his 2002 photography book “Spirit + Flesh,” as a teenager he began experimenting with body piercing and self-bondage in his family’s cellar. Fakir earned a degree in electrical engineering from Northern State University and, many years later, a master’s in creative writing from San Francisco State University. By the time he was working as an advertising executive in San Francisco and Silicon Valley in the 1950s

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and 1960s, his solo explorations had evolved to include hook suspensions, extreme corseting and other body rituals, much of which he documented in self portraits. In the 1970s and 1980s, Fakir began to connect with others who shared his interests. He recalled that he initially went public at an international tattoo convention in Reno in 1977. Fakir became involved with the gay leather community in Los Angeles, the Society of Janus, and the sex radical scene in New York City. Over his lifetime he embraced multiple sexual and gender identities. “Fakir and I became friends in 1982 when he was a nerdy advertising exec with ink-stained pockets and largely in the closet,” artist and former porn star Annie Sprinkle told the Bay Area Reporter. “Gradually he started fully living his dream. His life is a testament to following your bliss, without shame, and to enjoying one’s body.” Fakir gained wider attention with the 1985 film “Dances Sacred and Profane,” in which he and Gauntlet founder Jim Ward participated in a sun dance, a Native American ritual that involves pulling against hooks

in the flesh. His fame grew with the 1989 publication of the RE/Search book “Modern Primitives,” a term he claimed to have coined. Identifying as a shaman, Fakir emphasized the spiritual aspects of physical rituals, which offer a way to connect with ancient wisdom. He participated in Black Leather Wings, a radical faerie group incorporating BDSM and pagan rituals, and recreated the Hindu Kavandi and ball dance rituals. Fakir was frequently asked about appropriation of rituals from other cultures. “You can see it through the eyes of your own culture but you can still catch the fire ... Fire is fire, no matter where it burns,” he said in a 1992 interview. “I may have been inspired by them, but much of what I’ve done has been quite different. But I thank them and I’m very appreciative that I’ve had a chance to be inspired to do anything at all.” See page 13 >>

Correction

The August 2 article, “Legal experts: Path forward is with faith,” incorrectly stated that American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California Foundation senior staff attorney Elizabeth Gill argued the Masterpiece Cakeshop case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The ACLU attorney who did that was David Cole. The article also incorrectly stated that Gill heads the ACLU’s LGBT and HIV project. James Esseks holds that position. The online version has been corrected.

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<< Commentary

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 9-15, 2018

Proud Boys not welcome in Oakland by Christina A. DiEdoardo

leather and trans communities and will be sorely missed by many. Deepest condolences to her loved ones and may she rest in power.

akland recently served as an example to the entire country on what intersectionality means in practice by bringing together activists from all over the Bay Area to defend not only a city, but the memory of one of its lost daughters. The Proud Boys, a white supremacist group founded by Canadian Gavin McInnes, had announced a meet-up for July 23 at Make Westing, a bar at 1741 Telegraph Avenue in Oakland. Normally, when the Proud Boys – whose ignorance, in my personal experience, is matched only by their propensity for mindless violence – schedule these events, they pick a location whose owners either sympathize with their bigoted views or who are willing to tolerate them so long as they pay. In contrast, Make Westing not only didn’t want them there, but also reached out to the community for assistance in defending the bar to ensure the Proud Boys couldn’t enter. Then, on Sunday, July 22, the situation changed completely. A white man allegedly murdered Nia Wilson, an 18-year-old from Oakland, while she was standing on the platform at the MacArthur BART station, and slashed the neck of her 26-year-old sister, Lahtifa Wilson. Within hours, Oakland activists had planned a vigil for Monday, July 23, at the station – and a march to Make Westing. “I don’t know the motivation [of her killer],” said Oakland mayoral candidate Cat Brooks to a crowd of over 2,000 people outside MacArthur BART. “But

U.S. meddling in Central America

At 7 p.m. Friday, August 10, at 2969 Mission Street, the Party for Socialism and Liberation will host a discussion on “U.S. Meddling in Latin American Elections.” Suggested donation is a sliding scale of $3-$10, with no one turned away for lack of funds. The space is wheelchair accessible and refreshments will be provided.

Christina A. DiEdoardo

Oakland mayoral candidate Cat Brooks, left, in sunglasses, looks on as Tur-Ha Ak, right, addresses a crowd of protesters honoring Nia Wilson and opposing a Proud Boy incursion into Oakland on July 23.

I cannot ignore the fact that this happened right before white fascists said they were coming to our town. “We will continue to fight for our babies,” she added. Rebecca Kaplan, a lesbian and Oakland City Councilmember at large, echoed Brooks’ statements. “We must admit it so that we can fix it,” said Kaplan, a white cis woman who has endorsed Brooks for mayor. “Black lives are not as protected as white lives.” While the march to Make Westing was in progress, news broke that BART police had arrested John Lee Cowell, a 27-year-old felon with a documented history of violence, and charged him with Wilson’s murder. If BART and the Oakland Police Department thought that would take the

StevenUnderhill PHOTOGRAPHY

steam out of the action, they couldn’t have been more wrong. In short order, several thousand activists – black and white, queer and straight, trans and cis – claimed the ground in front of Make Westing as Brooks and others looked on and declared themselves ready for whatever the Proud Boys would throw at them. Looking at the determination of the crowd, I almost felt sorry for the inbound fascists. Almost. A few minutes later, the cry went up, “There they are!” and I saw about six white men trying to run through our lines. As one, the crowd yelled, “Get the fuck out!” and closed in on them. All were grinning, but those smiles quickly disappeared when the crowd caught up with them. Suffice it to say that even for a group known for bad ideas, trying to rush Oakland may go down as the worst one the local Proud Boys have ever had.

Rest in power, Cass Alecs Leung

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DISPLAY OBITUARIES & IN MEMORIAMS

On July 27, the activist community lost a vibrant voice as Cass Alecs Leung was taken from us far too soon. She was one of the first to go out into the streets in San Francisco against the Trump regime after the debacle of the November 2016 election and was a strong comrade at every action I saw her at. In addition to her antifascist work, Leung was a leader in the

‘Hot Witches Melt ICE’

At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, August 18, at the new Elbo Room Jack London at 311 Broadway in Oakland, Starr Noir and a group of other DJs and visual artists will host “Hot Witches Melt ICE.” Admission is $10, and the event is a benefit for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Gays Against Guns takes on FedEx

At 5 p.m. Sunday, August 26, at the FedEx location at 726 Market Street, Gays Against Guns will conduct an action to protest FedEx’s continued collaboration with the National Rifle Association. In contrast to several other companies like Delta Air Lines and Enterprise Holdings (which also owns Alamo and National Car Rental as well as its own Enterprise rental brand) that terminated their discounts for NRA members following the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, FedEx continues to offer discounts to NRA members who use its service to ship firearms.

Action alert for Oakland sex workers

Two-spirit Oakland City Councilmember Abel Guillén has introduced a proposed ordinance that would empower the Oakland Police Department to tow the vehicles of cars driven by those the police suspect are trying to employ sex workers. In response, the US PROStitutes Collective has issued an action alert asking sex workers and their supporters to oppose

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the measure, which they contend will only make conditions more dangerous for those engaged in street-based sex work. The ordinance, 18-0781, is currently on the agenda for the September 11 meeting of the council’s public safety committee. Thanks to the decision by federal law enforcement to shut down and prosecute Backpage.com earlier this year, I (and, I suspect, other criminal defense attorneys) have seen an uptick in street busts of alleged johns by local law enforcement. Previously, those agencies preferred to do stings on Backpage.com (where undercover officers placed fake profiles), presumably because it was easier to control the takedown, as the client would be lured to a hotel room and detained upon entry, at which point the police would text or call the client’s phone to verify it was them. To their credit, in my professional experience the Alameda County District Attorney’s office has been reasonable in resolving the cases of first offenders who are arrested in this way, but allowing OPD to impound vehicles is likely to disproportionally impact the working poor. Getting a car out of police impound can cost hundreds of dollars (if not more) that defendants often don’t have and – if the defendant is sharing a car with their family – can prevent their spouse and children from being able to get to work or to school. Decriminalization, as sex worker advocates have long pointed out, would solve a lot of these problems, as well as creating a situation where sex workers could report actual instances of child exploitation and human trafficking to the authorities without putting themselves at risk, as is the case currently. Sadly, until politicians and voters look behind scare headlines about human trafficking and talk to those affected, we’re likely to see more bills like Guillén’s. Guillén’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal. t Got a tip? Email me at christina@ diedoardolaw.com.

Sessions creates religious liberty panel by Lisa Keen

The Bay Area Reporter can help members of the community reach more than 120,000 LGBT area residents each week with their display of Obituary* & In Memoriam messages.

ttorney General Jeff Sessions has announced that he is creating a Religious Liberty Task Force and that the Department of Justice would “take potential burdens on one’s conscience into consideration before we issue regulations or new policies.” Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund was quick to say it considers the new task force “pandering” to religious right-wing conservatives, “aimed at empowering anti-LGBTQ discrimination and stripping away our recently won civil rights.” The task force announcement came in a speech Sessions gave July 30 at a Religious Liberty Summit hosted by the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. Sessions began his remarks by saying there was a “dangerous movement” afoot aimed at “eroding our great tradition of religious freedom.” “We have gotten to the point where courts have held that morality cannot be a basis for law; where ministers are fearful to affirm, as they understand it, holy writ from the pulpit; and where one group can actively target religious groups by labeling them a ‘hate group’ on the basis of their sincerely held religious beliefs,” he said.

Courtesy AP

Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Sessions said the task force would ensure that “all Justice Department components” are upholding the “guidance” he issued last October for applying religious liberty protections under federal law. Sessions used language that many opponents of equal rights for LGBT people have used to express their objections to allowing same-sex couples to marry or to refuse service to LGBT people in public accommodations. But he did become specific at one point – referring to the “ordeal faced so bravely by Jack Phillips.”

Phillips is the Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple because he said his religious beliefs oppose such marriages. Phillips won a technical victory from the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in June that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had demonstrated hostility to Phillips’ views on samesex marriage. (The high court has not ruled on whether a business can refuse service to a person by claiming a religious belief that requires him or her to refuse service.) In his speech, Sessions vowed that the department would go to court “across America to defend the rights of people of faith.” Sessions said the department’s new task force would be co-chaired by Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio and Beth Williams, assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Policy. The Human Rights Campaign said the new panel is part of the Trump administration’s “ongoing campaign to license discrimination against LGBTQ people in the public square.” The Trump administration is not the first to create a “religious liberty” entity within the Department of Justice. The department under President See page 12 >>

Sports >>

August 9-15, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

Notes from Paris by Roger Brigham

ere are some observations, reports, and comments from this scribe and wrestling coach who is in Paris for his fourth consecutive Gay Games. Every Gay Games acts on two levels: the macro and the micro. The macro level is exhibited in how ceremonies, events, and tournaments are organized – and how participants react to them. At that level it is easy to dissect, praise, or critique almost any major event. In the end, the apparent flaw or virtue of anything at the macro level is most important in how it affects life at the micro level – the level at which individual athletes and artists, who pay for the privilege and experience of competing and performing at the event, interact with each other. It is at that level that the magic of the Gay Games’ mission works. At the macro level, Gay Games X got off to an uneven start. Overall, the accreditation process went very smoothly, especially if participants had received every pre-games notice and fulfilled all of the requests to make sure their registrations were complete. Not so smooth for those who had not responded to the requests or who had not received the email notifications. But compared with previous Gay Games registration processes, this one was a relative breeze. Opening ceremonies were at a soccer stadium near the Roland-Garros tennis complex. As the masses arrived and passed through two consecutive security checkpoints, they found virtually no signage to steer them as they milled about outside seeking relief from the heat. This was especially problematic for some of the VIPs, including yours truly, who had been invited to a pre-ceremony reception to honor the Tom Waddell Award winners (Paul Oostenbrug from Albuquerque and Gert McMullin from Atlanta) and had been told the reception was in the lounge of the stadium. But several of us had not been told this involved going through a separate security checkpoint, most of the volunteers I encountered were unsure of how I could get from where I was to where I needed to be. By the time I had passed out of my security zone and through another to arrive, clothes sweated through, at the correct gate, an hour had passed since my arrival. And then there were the ceremonies. Before 2006, most Gay Games had finished in a deep financial hole largely because of the expense of opening and closing ceremonies, on which the hosts had historically been overly optimistic in their ability to sell tickets to the event. When ticket sales were below projections, the revenue to pay for lavish displays fell short. Gay Games VII in Chicago tightened the show up a bit and introduced a new twist, having the teams march into the stadium from two opposite gates, cutting the marching time in half and allowing the athletes and artists from far flung countries to meet and mingle – the true beginning of the micro level magic. Neither Cologne in 2010 nor Cleveland in 2014 continued the double-entrance approach but both shortened the ceremonies considerably, which made for a more enjoyable experience. The Paris ceremony offered a few highlights – a beautifully sung and inspiring rendition of “La Marseillaise,” energized and exuberant performances by cheer groups, and entertaining tricks by a pole dance group. As expected, during the parade of athletes the delegation from Taiwan was introduced over the loudspeaker as “Taipei, China,” a fictional name promulgated by the Chinese government to advance its claims over a country it has never ruled. Many athletes from around the globe had approached the Taiwanese athletes

Roger Brigham

Athletes from Taiwan marched in the Gay Games opening ceremony with their banner, although they were announced as being from “Taipei, China.”

for pins, shirts, and flags to counter the mislabeling of their country. The Taiwanese themselves set the record straight by carrying their national flag and a large banner declaring they were indeed “Taiwan, the first Asian country to legalize equal marriage.” I ran into several of the Taiwan athletes as they left the stadium. They said it was important for them to be able to carry the flag of the country with which they identified and were disappointed at how they had been announced. As for the constant pressure from the Chinese government that looms over their lives, one of them told me, “We’re used to it.”

Shortly after the lengthy march of athletes ended, the wheels started to fall off the truck. The stifling heat, insufficient concession staffing, “entertainment” that was numbingly slow paced, speeches that were ... well, you know, speeches – all of it led to thousands of athletes and artists pouring out of the stadium en masse in search of food, water, and relief – what Compete magazine referred to as an “Opening ceremony record for largest and fastest exodus from a stadium.” There were a few other macro issues as well. Seth Shapiro, a veteran of all 10 Gay Games and who missed being

recognized at the Waddell reception because a volunteer had sent him to the wrong stadium, mentioned a road cyclist leading his race who was then directed the wrong way by a course official and lost any chance to medal. He bluntly called Gay Games X “the worst organized Gay Games ever.” Me, I wouldn’t know, not having been to them all. I can say I feel that so far, organization does not seem to match up to the last three – and that is less conducive to optimal participant experience. For example, a totally unnecessary intense warm-up routine at the wrestling clinic was geared toward the elite athletes participating, not taking into account that in this inclusive group there were many aged from their 40s to their 70s, and many with physical disabilities. They already know how to warm-up their bodies. As the routine wore on in the steamy gymnasium, more and more fine wrestlers had to drop out of the group experience, excluded from participation as their health concerns arose. That alone showed deafness to the mission of inclusion and participation.

But that is at the macro level. At the micro level, the human level, the magic of that mission is so powerful it always overcomes the shortcomings of those of us who help steer the mission and the events. A defense of Taiwan being called by a different name was that the Gay Games are not about geopolitics, and that is true – but only to a point. Medal counts by country are not kept, nor are national anthems played, outside of the host’s, during the opening ceremony. But the athletes march in to the ceremonies separated and identified by political and regional labels. During the week of competition and performance, the labels are dropped, friends from other cultures are made, contacts are exchanged, and when they enter closing ceremonies there are no labels identifying their separations. They come in in random abandon, a glorious celebration of both their commonality and their individual differences, their celebration of freedom and support so often lacking back in their homes. More on that next week. t

<< Community News

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 9-15, 2018

CA AIDS director

From page 1

challenges for the state Office of AIDS in the near past.” Donnelly was referring to, in particular, the debacle that occurred when the AIDS office in 2016 switched contractors overseeing the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program. As the B.A.R. detailed in several stories last year, advocates had warned about doing so and sought a delay in the change, but their concerns were ignored. The result was many people who

Beat officers

From page 1

working with Caltagirone and is pleased with his responsiveness and believes the beat cops are doing their job adequately. “I do feel it is going in the right direction,” Amendola, a lesbian, said. A misconception about beat officers, Caltagirone said, is that when Castro residents and business owners don’t physically see a beat officer, they assume they are not working. Caltagirone explained that the officers do not have a specific area that they monitor every shift. If there have been more complaints from a specific area, their time is concentrated in that location. As well, if the officers arrest someone, it can take them off the street for hours in order to complete the booking process and associated paperwork. When that happens, Caltagirone has asked that an officer in a patrol car be sent to the neighborhood to provide coverage. Since he took over as captain and orchestrated the uptick in foot patrol coverage, the situation has improved, Caltagirone said. “A presence of the police makes a big difference,” he said. “When incidents occur it’s nice to have the beat

SRO resident

From page 1

caregiver I.D. card,” the visitor policy reads. Kelly Patel denied Converse’s allegations. She claimed Santos was not a livein caretaker, but was there 12 hours a day. Visitors are not allowed to use the showers, she said. “His caretakers were never charged visitor fees,” she said in an interview. “We didn’t make it difficult for them to come here. We have 50 residents and many of them have visitors.” Kelly Patel also denied that she and her husband, Rohit “Hamid” Patel, discriminate. “Me and my husband never called anyone any names,” she said. “We have tenants of all kinds, of all different types of genders.” Santos said he was advised by Converse’s attorney, Daniel Yockey, not to

Sessions

From page 10

George W. Bush promised to put a “priority” on “religious liberty and religious discrimination cases.” But the Trump administration has

Eviction protest

From page 2

for a “percentage of a percentage of a percentage point,” of the city’s twoyear $11 billion budget that Mayor London Breed signed August 1. Padilla, 59, also a drag queen, was emotional as he talked about his home of 22 years that is three blocks from his work and a part of his LGBT community. “They are taking our home away from us,” he said. “This whole Ellis Act is just crazy. You look out on the streets and see homeless people living in tents. I don’t want to be thrown out on the street.”

rely on ADAP had trouble getting access to their medication and the data for dozens of clients was breached. At a hearing held by state lawmakers last May to discuss the contracting issue, AIDS advocates called for more legislative oversight and more transparency from the Office of AIDS. “In the past several months Karen worked very hard to create more of a partnership with the community,” said Donnelly, adding that Mark’s new position “is a great place for her to be. I think it will really be a good move for her.”

As chief of the AIDS office, Mark had overseen the implementation in California of a statewide plan to end the transmission of HIV. She also was an advocate for the use of PrEP, the once-a-day pill shown to be effective in keeping people HIV-negative, and the expansion of needle exchange programs for intravenous drug users. In a emailed reply to the B.A.R., the state health department said that Ramos’ “highest priority” is to ensure that the Golden State remains committed to getting to zero new HIV transmissions. The

department added that, “as interim chief, her main goal is to ensure that all existing Office of AIDS activities/ programs continue to provide vital services without any interruption and following quality improvement principles.” She will be earning $10,633 a month as interim chief of the AIDS office. San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Joe Hollendoner said the nonprofit looks forward to working with Ramos on addressing the HIV, hepatitis C, and sexually transmitted disease “epidemics surging in

key populations throughout the state” in a statement to the B.A.R. this week. “California has the opportunity to change the trajectory of these epidemics through renewed leadership and expanded funding,” stated Hollendoner. “San Francisco AIDS Foundation remains committed to a strong partnership with CDPH and the Governor’s Office so that achieving zero new infections and zero AIDS-related deaths is within the reach of every community across the state.” t

officers right there on scene.” The beat officers respond to loitering people who are often sleeping in the doorways of businesses, publicly intoxicated people, fights, and store break-ins, among other things. The beat officers also always work in pairs, something Amendola initially thought was a waste of resources thinking they could cover more area if they were split up. But the captain reassured her that it’s a safer and more efficient way to police the area. “It’s a safety issue,” Caltagirone told the B.A.R. “Having two officers working together is safer than having one when they come up to an incident where someone has a knife or a weapon. With two officers, they are able to diffuse the situation more efficiently.” Although Amendola is happy with Caltagirone’s response, she believes the city needs to dedicate more resources to decrease homelessness and clean up the tent encampments, drug needles, feces, and trash in the area. “It’s just so sad the condition of the neighborhood and the city,” she said. “I am hoping the new mayor and supervisors will really take action.” During her morning and afternoon tours, Amendola has

experienced multiple incidents of violence from loiterers and homeless people, and so have her customers. In June, Amendola said a man in his early 20s approached her and began screaming close to her face while she was conducting a tour. “I’m so lucky he didn’t hit me. Not only was I shooken up, my entire group of 20 tourists were also,” she said in her initial email complaint. “I now have to carry spray in my hand as I operate tours should myself or tour members are attacked!” Another alleged incident happened when a man outside Cliff’s Variety on Castro Street threw a paper bag containing items in it at the heads of two of her tour attendees. She also mentioned the tent encampments that covered some of the historical Rainbow Honor Walk sidewalk plaques, a stop on her tour. “It’s affecting my business. It’s harming the city’s reputation and image,” she wrote. Another Castro business owner whose business has been affected is Isam Dougham, owner of Rossi’s Delicatessen, at 426 Castro Street. In the last four months, his front windows have been broken three separate times. Initially he reported the incidents to the police, but after nothing happened he stopped calling the cops.

“The city needs to spend more money on protecting the neighborhoods,” Dougham told the B.A.R. in a previous interview. “A lot of windows have been broken in the Castro and nothing has been done. The cops come and say ‘we are sorry that happened to you,’ but we need more than that.” The Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District provides services that improve the quality of life in the neighborhood, emphasizing clean, safe, and beautiful streets. Executive Director Andrea Aiello said the beat cops are very valuable to the community, but said the situation is still out of control. “Everyone really appreciates when we see the beat cops walking, but, it’s totally unacceptable,” Aiello said, referring to the incidents Amendola has experienced. The CBD, along with other Castro businesses, pay a fee to hire San Francisco Patrol Special Police officers to monitor specific areas. They are not sworn officers but are approved by SFPD. SFPSP is a privately owned entity. The officers carry firearms, wear uniforms, and can make arrests. The Castro currently has about five patrol special officers deployed in the neighborhood, according to Alan Byard, president of SFPSP. Amendola, Aiello, and Dougham

agree that these issues are not Castro-specific and that the city needs to be doing more to mitigate them. District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said, anecdotally, he feels there has been an increase in tent encampments in the Castro and that some homeless people are being pushed into the area due to crackdowns in other parts of the city. “I am particularly looking at the Castro/Upper Market area,” said Mandelman, a gay man, in a recent interview with the B.A.R. “I think people feel unsafe. I hear not just about seeing encampments that spring up, but actual physical violence.” He said that there needs to be housing for homeless people, particularly those with mental illness and substance abuse issues. The captain and Mandelman are working closely together, and with other city departments, to focus on these issues in the Castro. Mandelman added that Caltagirone is doing a good job and has been very responsive to Mandelman’s requests. With a new San Francisco mayor and District 8 supervisor, the merchants said they are hopeful that crime and homelessness will improve in the area, but the condition as it stands, they say, is becoming increasingly dangerous. t

speak to the media. The complaint also states that Ken Patel and Kelly Patel’s actions violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, among other protected classes. The law applies to all businesses in California. The lawsuit claims Converse was not given equal accommodations, privileges, or advantages at the hotel because he is gay and that he was subjected to “harassment ... invasion of privacy, [and] homosexual slurs,” by the Patels. “They’ve made references about me being gay to so many people and in front of people, commented on it, and made innuendos,” Converse said in the interview. Last week, Converse filed a police report for an incident in which Kelly Patel’s husband, Rohit “Hamid” Patel, violently pushed open the bathroom door while Converse was inside to, as Converse said, intentionally hurt him.

In a phone interview this week, Kelly Patel denied that accusation, and said her husband pushed open the door, which was unlocked, in order to clean the restrooms. “We are not the bad guys here,” Kelly Patel said. “We have replaced Gary’s mattress twice, painted his room, fixed his sink. We are in the business of providing clean and safe housing for people.” Not being able to adequately meet his care hours because of the constraints the Patels have put on his caregivers has affected his health, Converse said, including multiple emergency room visits, which the complaint claims is intentional emotional distress by the Patels. Converse has been through five or six caregivers since the Patels took over, he said. He has now hired his neighbor to care for him about 15 hours a month, to avoid the front desk, though he said his doctor recommends he get

96 hours of care per month. Converse still receives care from Santos and other IHSS workers. In a court filing, Michael Heath, the attorney for Ken Patel and Kelly Patel, responded to the complaint June 27. His answers deny all of Converse’s allegations and claim his complaint was not filed within the statute of limitations and that Converse breached his rental agreement. “Defendants alleged discriminatory conduct referred to in plaintiff ’s complaint, if any, is barred because plaintiff ’s conduct produced the alleged discrimination, not plaintiff status,” Heath wrote in his response. It also claims that the Patels’ conduct referred to in the complaint was not a substantial factor in Converse’s health impacts. Heath did not respond to requests for comment by press time. Converse has also filed a complaint

with the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing. The department’s representatives were not able to provide information because the complaint is currently under investigation. Alexsis Beach, a civil and human rights attorney with Alexsis C. Beach & Rachel Lederman, confirmed she is in the “nascent stages” of working on a civil lawsuit with a tenant or tenants of the Ellis Hotel though she did not say how many. Converse ran for the District 6 seat on the Board of Supervisors in 2009 and applied unsuccessfully for a seat on the San Francisco Police Commission in 2011. He said he has filed his notice of intent with the elections department to run in November 2022 for the District 6 supervisor seat. Throughout his life he operated several cab companies in the Bay Area. Currently, due to his disability, he is not working. t

probably taken more initiative than any other administration to strengthen religious liberty claims in a wide variety of arenas. In June, for instance, Sessions announced a “Place to Worship Initiative” to protect “the ability of houses of worship

and other religious institutions to build, expand, buy, or rent facilities” and to obtain grants. The program would seem to put the Trump administration in opposition to equal rights for LGBT people in conflicts over religious entities refusing gay

couples to serve as foster or adoptive parents, and conflicts where religious student groups want to use campus facilities but ban LGBT people from their meetings. In January, the department released a revised manual for U.S.

attorneys, directing all Justice Department lawyers to immediately inform and involve the associate attorney general about any lawsuit filed against the U.S. that raises “any significant question concerning religious liberty.” t

The tenants’ attorneys, Raquel Fox and Michael Zitani with the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, were also at the rally. They are working with Mandelman in hopes of getting the city to buy the property. Mandelman previously told the B.A.R. that he is working with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, which has a small sites acquisition fund, as well as the Mission Economic Development Agency. “It’s so wrong that the very people who make up the fabric of San Francisco, who make it a special and desirable place, are being pushed out,” Mandelman said at the rally. “We

need to make changes to local laws that stop these kind of evictions and recognize neighborhoods are not just investment vehicles, they are places where real people live.” Another person at the protest, who faced an Ellis Act eviction in the 1980s during the AIDS epidemic when many gay men were being forced out of their homes, was Brian Basinger, who is HIV+ and executive director of the Q Foundation. The nonprofit works to prevent homelessness for the LGBT and HIV-positive communities. “City Hall gives us lip service, but they don’t actually do what they could do to make it better for people on the

ground. They only do what we force them to do,” he said.

the owners served the current tenants an eviction notice with a “bad-faith” owner move-in, the current lawsuit states. The tenants sued, represented by the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, and the owners dismissed the eviction notice on the eve of the trial. The tenants also previously sued the owners over substandard living conditions, including roach infestation, insufficient heat and plumbing, and mold and electrical problems, among other things. It was only after the city issued notices of violations in 2018 and orders of abatement that the defendants made repairs. The suit claims the repairs were of substandard condition.t

Disrupting business

Previous dispute

As previously reported by the B.A.R., the tenants fought an earlier eviction attempt by Wan and Keller. The couple bought the property for $1.45 million in April 2014. They previously tried to evict Padilla, Branchflower, Carmichael, and Emperador, in October 2014 on the basis of an owner move-in, which allows a landlord to evict a tenant if the landlord plans to move into the property. After renting out the top unit for $5,000 a month to another tenant,

International News >>

t France’s LGBT expert works to reduce hate crimes by Heather Cassell

rance’s LGBT expert Frederic Potier is working to reduce hate crimes against the country’s queer community and improve LGBT lives throughout France. The Bay Area Reporter met with Potier while watching the Gay Games pétanque (France’s version of bocce ball) competition at Arènes de Lutèce August 7. Sitting in the stone stands of the more than 2,000-year-old Gallo-Roman stadium in the center of Paris, Potier talked and watched as Joel Deumier’s team qualified for the next level of the sport. Deumier is the president of SOS Homophobie, a French LGBT support organization.

Lorch obit

From page 8

Others were less generous. Ron Huberman, a retired investigator for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, said Mr. Lorch’s list still bothered him. “It’s still very sad to say, but most of the gay men listed as ‘enemies’ died of AIDS during the years after that was published,” Huberman wrote in a Facebook message, “including my best friend, Bill Kraus. “Somehow I survived, but I will never forget Paul’s role in creating that list,” he added. Longtime dermatologist Marcus Conant, who was one of the first

Musafar obit

From page 8

Over the years Fakir appeared in numerous documentaries, his writing and photography were featured in many magazines and anthologies, he lectured at universities and exhibited his work in galleries around the world, and he published his own magazine, Body Play & Modern Primitives. “Fakir’s every movement was a beautiful dance of exuberance,” artist and filmmaker Madison Young,

Potier, 38, is a straight ally who is married with two young children. He competed in the 10-kilometer run in the Gay Games in Paris August 6. He finished in the middle of the runners, at around number 300, he said. Following the race, France’s minister of sports, Laura FlesselColovic, an Olympic fencing champion, presented the medals to the winners and interacted with the runners, Potier said. “I’m really, really proud and happy to help this event because it helps us to change the image of homosexuality in France,” said Potier, whose office was the leading government sponsor of Gay Games X. “It provides another good image of my country, the image of tolerance, respect, and fraternity.”

August 9-15, 2018 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

Heather Cassell

Joel Deumier, left, president of SOS Homophobie, talked with France’s LGBT expert Frederic Potier at Gay Games X.

Hollande’s direction in 2016, he said. Potier, a career civil servant, officially took on LGBT issues in May 2017. Prior to his appointment, he worked on international issues as a specialist for France’s overseas territories before returning to the country. In France, he has worked on domestic issues, serving in both the presidential and prime minister’s cabinets and as a member of the national delegation. Hollande was moved by the 2016 massacre at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida that left 49 victims and the gunman dead. “It struck a lot the [former] French President Hollande and the [then]French Prime Minister Manual Valls,” said Potier. t

Potier is very involved with LGBT

community leaders. LGBT issues, particularly hate crimes against queer people, were added to his responsibilities overseeing racism and anti-Semitism under former French President Francois

physicians to diagnose and treat AIDS patients in 1981, was also on Mr. Lorch’s list. Conant, who’s 82 and still runs his practice, told the B.A.R. in a phone interview that while he thought Mr. Lorch “was fighting for a cause that was a just cause,” the media had a responsibility to provide factual information. “It’s extremely important for people in positions of responsibility to convey facts,” Conant, a gay man, said, adding that in the 1980s “there was no internet, no Google.” “Even the mainstream press like the New York Times and TV viewed AIDS as something affecting a marginal group,” he said. “So the B.A.R. was where the gay community was

going for information. “In 1984, Paul was so desperate to maintain what had been achieved for the gay community,” Conant added. “Unfortunately, in so doing, he deprived gay people of the information they needed.” During his tenure at the B.A.R., Mr. Lorch was a part owner of the paper. Publisher Bob Ross, the majority owner, terminated Mr. Lorch as editor two months after the editorial, in June 1984. Hoglan declined to provide the reason for Mr. Lorch’s firing and Paul Melbostad, the paper’s attorney, said he could not remember. Mr. Lorch later sued Ross for wrongful termination. The suit was settled by Ross buying back Mr. Lorch’s shares in the corporation

that owned the B.A.R. by mutual agreement, Melbostad said. Ross died in 2003. Mr. Lorch was born on May 10, 1932 in Bronx County, New York. He attended Regis High, the number one Catholic High School in the country. Hoglan said that he attended and graduated the University of Toronto. He served in the Army. Hoglan said he believed Mr. Lorch started living full time in San Francisco in the early 1960s. “Prior to that, he was teaching at a college in the Sacramento area,” Hoglan wrote in an email. Mr. Lorch’s partner, Thomas Pierson, died about 25 years ago, Hoglan said. B.A.R. publisher emeritus Thomas E. Horn said when he met Ross in 1981, Mr. Lorch was the paper’s editor.

“The three of us went to lunch in the Castro, but Lorch was running the show, and Bob was happy as a clam,” Horn wrote in an email. “Bob felt Mr. Lorch was responsible for taking the B.A.R. to a new level at one point,” Horn added. “He clearly played an important role in establishing the B.A.R. as the leading gay publication in San Francisco.” Hoglan said while Mr. Lorch lived in Guerneville, men would come up and thank him. “He was a good man,” Hoglan said. “He was a generous man.” t

who displayed his work at her former San Francisco gallery Femina Potens, told the B.A.R. “When I think of Fakir, I think of his passion, his joy, his transcending light, his magic, his epic fearless commitment to life, art, community, and the body as art. His radiant spirit always transcended well beyond the flesh it always will.” In his later years, Fakir largely focused on education, teaching body modification skills and ritual at his Fakir Body Piercing and Branding intensives workshops.

“I am grateful and honored beyond words to have known you – all of you who have been touched by my presence and followed my example,” he wrote in a Facebook announcement about his cancer in May. “I never expected our passions and practices to grow to a global phenomenon ... Thank you for embracing, growing, and embodying our art, craft, and energetic ritual practices. They have changed the cultural landscape worldwide.” Fakir’s archives and memorabilia

are held by the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley, the Leather Archives & Museum in Chicago, and the Association of Professional Piercers. Fakir is remembered by his wife, Carla Loomis (aka Cleo Dubois), and his chosen family, loved ones, and students in the Bay Area and throughout the world. A celebration of his life is being planned for the fall at a date and location to be determined. “Fakir was one of those rare treasures among us that quietly went about the work of making the world

a little bit better with everything he did,” said B.A.R. leather columnist Race Bannon. “Demonstrating to the world the power of being a kinky man living out loud and proud long before it was more commonplace. Helping others revel in their own forms of transformative spirituality. Passing down his knowledge and skill to future generations through teaching. Fakir will be missed, but not forgotten. His influence is vast and has touched millions of people, whether they might realize it or not.” t

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038214700

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038212900

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038209700

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554075

Potier’s office granted nearly $174,000 (150,000 euros) to the Gay Games in Paris, he said.

Championing LGBT rights

A longer version of this column is online at ebar.com.

To read the April 5, 1984 issue of the Bay Area Reporter, go to https://archive.org/details/ BAR_19840405.

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038214900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MC REMODELING, 415 DELANO AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MANLIO GONZALEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/26/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/10/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038217500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TANCCA, 776 BROADWAY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TEA KEY, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/10/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/10/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038216500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VICTORIA’S HAIR STUDIO, 3410 GEARY BLVD #218, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DAO KHUU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/12/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OMA SAN FRANCISCO STATION, 1737 POST ST #337, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MONSTER CHEF 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 07/11/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038209600

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038216700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO ACTING ACADEMY, 1050 SANSOME ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAUL GHIRINGHELLI. 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 07/05/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE 038207900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: S&K PRODUCTION, 2321 GALWAY DRIVE, SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94080. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JIN GUO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/02/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/02/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038199200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ITZ NETWORKS, 3327 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ITZ NETWORKS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/18/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038216800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MOKUKU, 332 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MOKUKU INVESTMENT INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/11/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038216000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OOVY STUDIOS, 590 6TH ST #206, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed OOVY STUDIOS INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 05/04/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/25/18.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EL PORTENO EMPANADAS; EL PORTENO; EL PORTENO RESTAURANT, 1 FERRY BUILDING, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed EL PORTENO INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/11/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: L’AMOUR DE SAIGON, 321 WEST PORTAL AVE #A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94127. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed TFLH CORP (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 07/09/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038215900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CONCENTRIQ, 3159 23RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed CONCENTRIQ PERSONNEL SERVICES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/11/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038216200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE HOMESTEAD, 2301 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed GCBC LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 11/11/05. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038217800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NOVELA, 662 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed N662, 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 07/12/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038217900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as:VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE IH0004, 1799 19TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122.This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HENLEY PACIFIC SF LLC (DE).The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/05/18.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/05/18.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18554088 In the matter of the application of: TAO LIANG, 519 39TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner TAO LIANG, is requesting that the name TAO LIANG, be changed to JEAN QINGFENG NALAN. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 23rd of August 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554047 In the matter of the application of: LISA FARMER AKA MELISSA MARIA FARMER, 2800 LAKE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner LISA FARMER AKA MELISSA MARIA FARMER, is requesting that the name LISA FARMER AKA MELISSA MARIA FARMER, be changed to MELISSA MARIE FARMER. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 23rd of August 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554059

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KAIYO RESTAURANT & BAR, 1838 UNION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed UNION STREET HOSPITALITY GROUP, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/12/18.

In the matter of the application of: JOSEPHINE LEE, 248 27TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner JOSEPHINE LEE, is requesting that the name JOSEPHINE LEE, be changed to JOSEPHINE LEE WON. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 28th of August 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 19, 26, AUG 02, 09, 2018

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018

In the matter of the application of: HUIJUAN HUANG CHUNG, 630 BURROWS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134, for change of name having been ﬁled in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner HUIJUAN HUANG CHUNG, is requesting that the name HUIJUAN HUANG CHUNG, be changed to SHELLY HUANG CHUNG. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 30th of August 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038227200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GLOBAL EPICURE, 175 BLUXOME ST, UNIT 129, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOINA LIAO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/16/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/20/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038227500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NEW GENERATION, 48 HAIGHT ST #1, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PEDRO J. SHAPIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/20/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/20/18/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038224500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TCR CONSULTING, 3012 CESAR CHAVEZ ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TARA CHAFFEE ROBINSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/04/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038220400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NATALIE BLAIR SKIN STUDIO, 301 MAIN ST UNIT F31, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NATALIE BLAIR MORRIS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/16/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018

<< Classifieds

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • August 9-15, 2018

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038222200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OYE MANAGUA, 3385 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed GABRIELA D. RIVAS SOZA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/18/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038224400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: INTREPID RIGGING AND WRANGLING; ANOMALY EVENTS, 140 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SCOTT RICHARD CAMERON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/18/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038228200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 5-7-9 MARS HOA, 7 MARS ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed SEAN GRANT & RAMON PERAZA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/23/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038216400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: B & M STUDIO, 3412 25TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed BENJAMIN GUERRA ESQUERA & MINERVA A. HALLACY . The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/11/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/11/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038203000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REVAMP SALON, 2164 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RE: GROUPE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/28/2018. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/28/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038202900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REVAMP SALON, 3167 16TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed RE: GROUPE INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/28/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/28/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038223100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CALIFORNIA CUSTOM METALS INC., 1321 EVANS AVE #C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CALIFORNIA CUSTOM METALS INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/17/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038219600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LA CUISINE CAFE, 1145 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed LA CUISINE CAFE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/10/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/13/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038224100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WHITE RABBIT, 3138 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed PIERCE PARTNERS 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 07/18/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038220800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EMPIRE JIU JITSU, 2356 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed EMPIRE JIU JITSU LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/09/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/16/18.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035677300

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: REVAMP, 2164 MARKET ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by HUY R. LE. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/24/14.

JULY 26, AUG 02, 09, 16, 2018 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-18-554100 In the matter of the application of: KYLE GEORGE SPORLEDER, 1845 LINCOLN WAY #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner KYLE GEORGE SPORLEDER, is requesting that the name KYLE GEORGE SPORLEDER, be changed to KYLE MAGALLANES CASTILLO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514, Room 514 on the 13th of September 2018 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038234800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HOWA ASSOCIATES, 551 37TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed J. HANA TORRISI HOWA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/27/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038233000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BILLYGOATS / CABRITAS CHILD DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, 330 MADRID ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANGELICA GUERRERO HERNANDEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/26/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/26/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038226000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KATLETKI, 2948 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HANNA KERNAZHYTSKAYA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/19/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038230000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ENDLESS SOLUTIONS CO.; TAXPROS365.COM, 345 15TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HUNG C. LY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/23/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038223400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KATHERINE MICHIELS SCHOOL, 1335 GUERRERO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed KATHERINE MICHIELS SCHOOL INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 09/01/84. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/17/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038233200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: URBAN CURRY, 523 BROADWAY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SANGAMSTAR FOOD INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/25/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/26/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038225600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHUN MAK DDS-PHD INC, 929 CLAY ST #205, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed CHUN MAK DDS-PHD INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 02/01/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/19/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038227700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ORIGIN, 745 CLEMENTINA ST UNIT A, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ORIGIN PROTOCOL, INC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/20/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/23/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038231100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 1667 GREEN STREET APARTMENTS, 1667 GREEN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a trust, and is signed JOHN H. KIRKWOOD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 01/01/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/25/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038234300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ROBINS TERRACE, 158 DOWNEY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed KAYKO WATANABE ROBINS & DONALD BRUCE ROBINS. 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 07/27/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038230300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE SHOESHINE GUILD, 555 CALIFORNIA ST, CONCOURSE LEVEL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed A SHINE & CO, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/18/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/24/18.

AUG 02, 19, 16, 23 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038235100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CIRCLES OF DETERMINATION, 280 NEWHALL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed HOUSE OF THE ORISHAS CULTURAL CENTER (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/26/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/18.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037687200

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: AB CLEANING SERVICES, 899 HILLSIDE BLVD #5, DALY CITY, CA 94014. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by ANIBAL RODAS. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/18/17.

AUG 02, 09, 16, 23, 2018

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AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038221100

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AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038227400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SOUF, 2261 MARKET ST #273, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SOFIA AVILA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/19/28. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/20/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038244300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HEALING REALMS, 605 CHENERY ST #B&C, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ROBERT GRANT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/31/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/01/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038238300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THRIVE BABY FOOD, 218 JERSEY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAULA PETERSEN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/27/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038241300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALENA’S MAGICAL SCHOOL, 2267 16TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EDWARD ROMANOV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/30/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038242500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: YOUNG MUSIC PRODUCERS, 518 1/2 LINDEN ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOSEPH M. RODRIGUEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/25/18. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038241600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO SURGICAL ENDOSCOPY, 3838 CALIFORNIA ST #616, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed T. PHILIP CHUNG MD, YANEK CHIU MD, LAWRENCE YEE MD, MICHAEL ABEL MD. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 08/08/16. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038242600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMSTERDAM, 930 GEARY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed AMSTERDAM CAFE (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 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018

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AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038240200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SPINNERIE, 1401 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 1401 POLK STREET INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/30/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038247900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE UPS STORE, 660 4TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed JING STORE, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 10/01/05. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/03/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038241800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BURMA GOLD, 695 3RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed UNITED KMA, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/12/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038240500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CLAIRE DE LUNE SKIN CARE, 2208 FILBERT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a individual, and is signed CLAIRE EVE ANDERSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 07/30/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038233400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VITALITY AND HEALING FUNCTIONAL WELLNESS SOLUTIONS, 1800 10TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed TODD JEFFREY RUTKIN & XIAORONG LI. 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 07/26/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-038235200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MIKMOI, LLC, 1666 GOUGH ST #306, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MIKMOI, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ﬁctitious business name or names on 06/30/18. The statement was ﬁled with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/27/18.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-037451900

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: ALENA’S MAGICAL SCHOOL, 2267 16TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by RIMMA S. DARZHINOVA. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 01/31/17.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035963600 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: RAINBOW BRIGHT’S CASTLE, 2270 21ST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by RIMMA S. DARZHINOVA. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/25/14.

AUG 09, 16, 23, 30, 2018

Notices >> THANK YOU ST. JUDE – May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, gloriﬁed, loved and preserved throughout the world now and forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us. St. Jude, worker of miracles, pray for us. St. Jude, helper of the hopeless, pray for us. Say prayer nine time a day. Publication must be

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Vol. 48 • No. 32 • August 9-15, 2018

www.ebar.com/arts

Courtesy the subject

Standing up to Mahatma Gandhi by Jim Gladstone

hen does political correctness cross the line to self-righteousness? When do spirituality and sexuality become incompatible? What happens when a group of feminist San Francisco theater veterans witnesses the triumph of Trump over Clinton? And for heaven’s sake, what happens when the body turns from a drum to “a sultry horn flowing in infinite sound?” “We want to live in the question,” says playwright and actress Anne Galjour, one of the aforementioned legends of the local stage, speaking in phrases not far afield of the yoga argot used by the characters in “#GetGandhi: A Seriously Radical Feminist Comedy,” which opens this Saturday, August 11, at the Mission District’s Z Space Below performance space. See page 19 >>

Playwright and actress Anne Galjour.

Kristen Loken

Bargaining with the Devil by Philip Campbell

hen revolutionary 20th-century composer Igor Stravinsky teamed with co-librettists W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman to write “The Rake’s Progress” in 1951, he was finally moving past his “neoclassic” period. For a composer who forever changed the course of music with radical works like “The Rite of Spring,” creating an opera based on an 18th-century model might have seemed baffling, but Stravinsky reused tradition to move forward in his own transformative way. See page 15 >> Tom Rakewell (Christopher Oglesby) enters Mother Goose’s brothel in London in Merola Opera Program’s production of “The Rake’s Progress.”

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

<< Out There

16 • Bay Area Reporter • August 9-15, 2018

Sierra Nevada, mon amour

Rick Gerharter

“Bloom,” by Ken Goldberg, Sanjay Krishnan, Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg, seen at Reno’s Nevada Museum of Art, changes to reflect real-time seismic activity in the Bay Area.

by Roberto Friedman

he atmosphere over the Sierra Nevada was brown and smoky last month, a result of the many horrific wildfires raging all over the region. It felt apocalyptic and thus very much of the historical moment. But Out There was visiting Reno for much more festive purposes. Why were we there? Our pal the

photographer Rick Gerharter was attending an important auction of Western art, and we went along for the ride. Why were we there? It was time for the Northern Nevada Pride Festival (shhh: it’s gay!). Why were we there? Checking up on the latest shows at the Nevada Museum of Art. The Pride Festival continues to grow in the years we’ve been visit-

ing, and The Reno Gazette Journal reported that this year’s event may well have been the biggest one since the festival began five years ago, according to the event organizers. “On Saturday, thousands packed Wingfield Park in downtown Reno. Many were wrapped in rainbowcolored flags. Brian Jensen, festival director for Northern Nevada Pride, said more than 10,000 people at-

tended the festival last year. The organization receives an estimated attendance count from the City of Reno several weeks after the event is over. Still, Jensen said he expects an estimated 12,000 to 14,000 people attended the festivities. “‘I feel like we’re having a lot bigger attendance here this year than we’ve ever had before,’ he said, adding the crowds watching the parade were about four or five people deep on each sidewalk. The festival featured live music, food trucks and more than 120 vendors.” OT was exhilarated watching the parade march down Virginia St. to the festival grounds. It takes more courage and determination to come out for a gay parade in a small city like Reno. There were no steel barriers, so parade participants and their supporters on the sidelines could freely interact. It felt a lot like smalltown America had come home to its values of freedom and inclusion. So long overdue. The Nevada Museum of Art in Reno offers a robust program of exhibitions. Presently you can see “Manet to Maya Lin,” a survey of artworks drawn from NMA collections and private loans including paintings by Édouard Manet, Vin-

cent van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (through Sept. 2). New York artist Simon Dinnerstein’s “The Fulbright Triptych” makes its West Coast debut in the traveling exhibition “The Lasting World: Simon Dinnerstein and The Fulbright Triptych.” The exhibit explores Dinnerstein’s creative arc from early, hyperrealist works to introspective and fantastical later works. The show’s centerpiece is “The Fulbright Triptych,” a monumental three-part work measuring 14-feet across and full of narrative detail (through Jan. 6, 2019). But our favorite piece in our traversal of the museum this year was “Bloom,” in which colorful abstract shapes are triggered by a continuous feed of online information about Bay Area seismic activity. It felt like a postcard from back home. The artists’ identification is in the caption. Yes, for years OT has disappeared up the crack of the mountain passes over the Sierra Nevada, only to reappear beyond the state line. On a map you can see how Nevada is forever spooned by California, the Silver State nestled in the haunches of our big coastal giant like a joey in his kangaroo pouch. We go from state to state every year.t

F minor, make arresting early appearances, settling any doubt about how substantive this recital is. But no matter the fare or the particular burdens it places on the pianist, Hough is out to entertain, and this time he’s fearless in the deployment of a quality eclipsed by his brainy virtuosity: charm. It’s the kind of mixed program I normally resist, because they’re usually unabashed about the pianism and slighting of the music. I don’t mind my mind wandering, but I hate having it pulled around. But Hough so completely supplies the concentration that this is playing you can relax into. Chaminade’s “Scarf Dance” sits atop a large stack of her character pieces that were everyday homepiano favorites before there were recordings, and for her Hough conjures the living room rather than the concert hall. Mompou’s “Jeune filles aux jardin” is the first piece Hough played and a favorite encore, and a delectable conclusion to the disc. Christophe Rousset broke onto the scene a quarter-century ago as a harpsichordist of uncommon musicality, verve and good looks. Recordings-wise, his work is now mostly with his ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, and as often as not in complete operas of signal historical significance if scant modern representation. It feels criminal to say of his new recording of Lully’s “Alceste,” the latest offering in his traversal of the gay 17th-century composer’s theater works, merely that it’s the greatest of them. His first solo recordings were with Harmonia Mundi, and he’s back with the firm with a superb two-disc set of suites by Louis Couperin. The elder Couperin was as distinctive a voice among his contemporaries as was Lully, and his music is of such striking individuality that it is currently making a startling comeback, nowhere more than here. Rousset has devised enthralling sets of pieces Louis Couperin in-

tended as suites. Lacking autographs, the order of the movements is left to the performer. Harmonia Mundi’s recording triangulates the listener somewhere between Rousset’s keen mind and his discriminating ears. He plays an exceedingly rare instrument, made by the Flemish-French builder Ionnes Couchet in 1652, restored in France in 1701, and now in the Stradivari Collection of the Musee de la Musique in Paris, an instrument ideal for this repertoire. Rousset has commented on the degree to which, contrary to popular misconception, the player’s touch affects the sonorities of the harpsichord, noting that he found it more robust on the second day of recording – as I read it, as if that they woke each other up having dreamed of one another overnight. The rapport is complete and consuming, the imagination and freedom of the playing supreme, the music itself transfixing – essential Rousset in repertoire he was born to play.t

Dreamy keyboardists by Tim Pfaff

or all we’ve written about two great gay keyboard artists, pianist Stephen Hough and harpsichordist Christophe Rousset, the fact is that we’ve skated over their recorded output. While both are extraordinarily active as performing musicians (and Hough as a composer, painter and writer), they also spend great amounts of time in the recording studio, with reliably remarkable results. As is most always the case, both have new CDs out, and we call attention to them because they are so deeply personal for both musicians that they’re testaments. Both see recording as an essential part of their

work, a vital tributary in the great torrent of activity. It has been their good fortune – or perhaps just their justifiable insistence – they’ve been blessed with unusually fine engineering on their latest. Hough’s “Dream Album” (Hyperion) is just that, in several senses. It is a collection of 27 pieces by a wide range of composers that one would normally hear mostly as encores, and have figured as Hough’s personal favorites. And yes, there’s something dreamy about all the pieces, most of which are transcriptions, many of those by Hough – and four Hough originals, two of which are from an ongoing set of tender, rambunctious pieces he has written for his now-partner.

e t ê Fatale F

Programming music this diverse is an art in itself, and Hough has been perfecting that over the years. This is not the first time we’re treated to rarities by Frederic Mompou and Cecile Chaminade, among others, but Hough’s abiding affection for them makes listening to them both individually and in sequence a real pleasure. One rifles the vocabulary about dreams to find the word that characterizes his playing on this disc overall. Delicate, fine-grained and evanescently beautiful as most of them are, they’re imposing in the way vivid dreams alone can be. There’s no holding back on the virtuosity. Two of Liszt’s “Transcendental Etudes,” the “Harmonies du soir” and the unnamed 10th in

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<< Fine Art

18 • Bay Area Reporter • August 9-15, 2018

Lew the Jew & his rebel friends

Courtesy of Don Ed Hardy

Unknown, Backpiece by “Lew the Jew” Alberts on San Francisco tattooer C.J. “Pop” Eddy’s promotional flyer (c. 1920).

by Sura Wood

ny show that has the balls to call itself “Lew the Jew” has a leg up on the competition in my book. Actually, the official title of the Contemporary Jewish Museum’s new original show is “Lew the Jew and His Circle: Origins of American Tattoo,” but who’s quibbling? Largely drawn from the collection of local tattoo maestro Don Ed Hardy, this slight exhibition will have its

greatest appeal among aficionados, the already converted and rebelsin-waiting. That said, it provides a colorful slice of underground American culture during the early 20th century, and a glimpse of an urban industry that began with a tight-knit community consisting of a few hundred hardscrabble artists. Currently they number in the thousands, with hundreds of thousands of customers generated by the Internet and cheeky, pop-culture trend-

setters like Angelina Jolie, Cher, and other self-styled outlaws. Rarely has light been shed on tattooing in a museum; it’s an especially complicated topic for a Jewish institution, given that passages in the Hebrew Bible appear to forbid the practice of marking the skin, making it unacceptable for Jews. There’s also the bitter, still potent memory of the barbaric Nazi policy of tattooing numbers on the forearms of concentration camp prisoners. Still, tattooing has become commonplace, and some descendants of Holocaust survivors have even inked their wrists in an act of solidarity with their relatives and the spirit of those lost. The exhibition’s star attraction, “Lew the Jew” Alberts, ne Albert Morton Kurzman (a birth name that, let’s face it, is not as catchy a moniker), was a pioneer in the field. The son of Jewish immigrants who settled in New York, he studied mechanical drawing, specializing in wallpaper design, at a Hebrew trade school, and learned the dark art as a solider fighting in the SpanishAmerican War. He came back to establish a thriving shop out of the Bowery amidst the top purveyors in the business. Members of the military were regular consumers, arriving each week flush from payday to get the latest body art. It could cost them $3 for small images, and up to $100 for major chest and back work, a procedure reserved only for the stout-hearted and thick-skinned. An entrepreneurial innovator, Alberts is credited with constructing one of the first electric tattoo machines, and originating the tattoo “flash” – sample design sheets available to prospective customers, printed and marketed to fellow tattooists. A selection of his detailed, small-scale, pencil-on-paper artworks featuring grinning animal faces, clowns, roses, anchors, coats of arms, a horned devil, and of

course, a bevy of alluring women, naked and otherwise, is on view. Alberts’ Lower East Side coteries, a cast of characters with unconventional resumes, flesh out the exhibition with contributions of their own. The best back-story belongs to Millie (Mildred) Hull. A tattooed lady and the foremost female tattooist in the land, she dropped out of school and ran away to the circus at 13, spending the bulk of her career as an exotic dancer, the secretarial pool not being an appropriate fit for a woman of her unusual talents. A color newsreel on Hull from 1937 playing nearby gives a sense of what she was like. Charlie Wagner, a Slovakian émigré who worked with Alberts on and off over the years, gained notoriety for tattooing a trio of Jewish boys whose parents reported him to the police. In 1904, we’re told, he filed for the second patent on an electric tattoo machine, and before he was wiped out by the Great Depression, he was touted as the King of the Bowery tattoo crowd. Best-known for his work

Courtesy of Don Ed Hardy

“Lew the Jew” Alberts, tattoo flash (c. 1950-53). Pencil on paper.

on circus sideshow performers, he’s shown in photographs tending to his clients, and promoting back and front views of his art-covered body, a kind a sandwich board without the board or the sandwich. Bay Area tattooist “Brooklyn Joe” Lieber, so named even though he lived in Alameda, corresponded with Alberts and helped popularize depictions of a triumvirate of panicked Pharaoh’s horses who drowned while pursuing the Israelites out of Egypt in the Exodus story. In a 1922 picture, the bespectacled Lieber plies his trade looking more like the town postman in a cap, vest and bowtie. A large black & white photograph of one of his customers, a brawny circus strongman, tattooed head-to-toe and naked save for his socks and wingtips, attests as much to Lieber’s patience as the other fellow’s threshold for pain. Bear in mind, the practice, which now attracts sophisticated professionals with Fine Arts degrees, was not nearly as safe, sterile or respectable as it is today. A portion of a wall is devoted to the good old bad days of “Pin-ups,” which were published by men for male consumption as early as the 1890s, and aimed at the libidos of lonely sailors and soldiers. The politics surrounding pin-ups being touchy, the text accompanying this section ranks as some of the most tactful ever written. Still, there they are, in all their ridiculous girlie glory and exaggerated curves, so silly and innocent by modern standards they don’t rise to the level of offensive. Lieber’s color “flash” sheets offer a rambunctious procession of buxom, leggy, male fantasies with swords and without, frolicking in martini glasses, scantily clad three-musketeer gear, and lusty, top-heavy mermaids beached for male pleasure. You name it, honey, you got it.t Through June 9, 2019. www.thecjm.org.

Underground gay dance movement by Brian Bromberger

hen asked what makes a good documentary, producer Adam Symansky replied, “Take me somewhere I have never been, show me something I have never seen, let me meet people I would never have a chance to meet, and show me the world from their perspective.” If Symansky’s criterion is the standard, then “When the Beat Drops,” the new documentary premiering on cable Logo TV Aug. 9 (then shown throughout the month and streamable beginning Aug. 10), hits the bull’s-eye. This vibrant movie received the Outstanding Documentary Jury Award at this year’s Frameline and a standing ovation when it screened. “When the Beat Drops” not only reveals the underground dance movement “bucking,” but also uncovers courageous creative resistance in the often-stigmatized world of black gay men. Bucking began over 30 years ago. Black female majorettes first performed this athletic dance, resembling a horse leaping with an arched back, at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), mostly in the south. This style became more mainstream when it was popularized in Beyonce’s music video “Single Ladies.” Its edginess, flamboyance, and sensuality immediately appealed to black gay men, who adapted it in their own safe underground LGBTQ nightclubs, fearing prejudice and promoting social stereotypes if they danced it openly. Like ballroom dance depicted in the landmark documentary “Paris

is Burning,” bucking led to its own unique culture, style, and rules, even its own feminine costumes, creating fiercely competitive teams. Directed by choreographer Jamal Sims, who has worked with Madonna and arranged the dancing in Disney’s live-action film “Aladdin” and the upcoming “Descendants 3,” this rapturous documentary echoes the passionate excitement of the dancers. The star is Big Tony (Anthony Davis), who spearheaded the buck sensation in Atlanta in the early 1990s, recruiting guys, teaching them the moves, then initiating the team competitions, “becoming a force of education and affirmation,” and in the process creating a family of gay black men in that city through their Phi Phi team. The film centers on several dedicated performers, their struggles and triumphs as they risk everything for the love of their art. Big Tony was mugged in a grocery store parking lot in 2003, shot in his left knee, never fully recovering, but his faith in God enabled him to persevere. He knew he was gay from a young age, wanting to be Wonder Woman rather than Superman. Fortunately, his family was supportive. He acts as the spiritual rock, exemplar, and mentor for the younger dancers, all of whom are educated professionals in their day (mostly corporate) jobs. We meet Napoleon, who teaches music in high school and is the CEO of a nonprofit music advocacy group, Band Room Nation. He worries that if students or parents find out about his bucking, he could lose his job. Flash, enrolled in a college

business management program, has his mother, a lesbian called Little Man, living with him, having been released from prison for selling drugs. He started the Buck Radio program, showcasing the dance and community issues. Together the team fights misconceptions about them: that they are feminine, wish they were girls, they’re all bottoms and flamboyant. They reveal that there are many in the gay community who aren’t open to bucking because of these biases. Reluctant to be seen in public, they view their performance as a potential threat

to their professional lives. Some are not even out to their families. The documentary culminates in a major competition, the Big Buck, against their chief rival, Sundari from Detroit. The judges are current and former female majorettes. The riveting face-off will leave audiences at the edge of their seats. The film succeeds at every level, particularly the hypnotic dance sequences. We observe team members arguing behind the scenes but also supporting each other as they encounter obstacles in their personal lives. The message

here mirrors mythologist Joseph Campbell’s dictum: Follow your bliss, especially if you have a passion for something, no matter how unpopular. Don’t allow society to judge or constrain you. But also, even in the gay community we need to accept each other as we are, recognizing the unique talents our differing backgrounds can offer, dealing with our own bigotry and internalized homophobia. Kudos to the fabulous gay team Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato for producing this dazzling introduction to a hitherto unknown world.t

Frameline

Scene from “When the Beat Drops,” coming to Logo TV.

Theatre>>

August 9-15, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 19

Julie Schuchard

Patricia Sliver and Jeri Lynn Cohen (l.-r.) in “#GetGandhi” by Anne Galjour, playing Z Space Below in SF.

Get Gandhi

From page 15

“#GetGandhi” takes its bodydrumming and sultry horn-playing at face value, while also playing slide-whistle and kazoo. It serves up a bowl of crunchy granola liberally dosed with Pop Rocks. Galjour collaborated on the play with longtime friends Jeri Lynn Cohen and Patricia Silver, both San Francisco Mime Troupe members, founders of Word for Word Performing Arts, and for decades, familiar onstage faces in Bay Area productions. The trio was later joined by nationally acclaimed director Nancy Carlin. “We’re this scrappy little group of postmenopausal hags,” Galjour says with a laugh, acknowledging the foursome’s first-wave feminist cred. “We would get together and talk about older women’s concerns, and about the differences between our generation and the next wave of feminists.” After being devastated by Hillary Clinton’s election loss and committing to move forward with their work-in-progress, the troupe took on a more official moniker as a production company: “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits Theatre Collective.” “We wanted to have fun and do a comedy,” Galjour emphasizes, “a zany caper that plays with important ideas.” That caper has its roots in a realworld movement inspired by philosopher Mary Daly, who has taken Mahatma Gandhi to task due to the iconic peacemaker’s practice of

asking young women to sleep naked beside him in order to test his selfdiscipline and moral purity. No less than the Indian novelist and social critic Arundhati Roy has expressed her support of this censure. “When the #MeToo movement came along in the midst of our working on this, it was like rocket fuel,” recalls Galjour. “The play got legs. Actually, I’d say it got claws.” In the play, a “coven of first-wave feminists” (surely not based on anyone we know) plots to topple and remove San Francisco’s Gandhi tribute statue on the Embarcadero. Their plan leads to exasperating arguments with daughters, husbands and each other about the relationship between the public idolization of Gandhi and the proper perspective from which to consider him. (Director Carlin’s real-life husband and daughter, Howard and Miranda Swain, are in the cast.) Resonant references to recent controversies about the removal of historic statues in the American South, sexual assault, and other timely issues give “#GetGandhi” an impressively of-the-moment frisson. “Each character in the play has a different response to Gandhi,” says Galjour. “They can be shortsighted and quirky and unconventional. Our biggest hope is that the play sparks dialogue and debate. And laughter, of course.”t The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuits Theatre Collective presents “#GetGandhi” through Aug. 26 at Z Space Below. Info: www.zspace.org.

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<< Film

20 • Bay Area Reporter • August 9-15, 2018

Sex lives of the stars! by David-Elijah Nahmod

t one point during director Matt Tyrnauer’s new documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood,” author Scotty Bowers attends a book signing for his memoir “Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars.” One reader chides Bowers for outing so many people in the book. “And what’s wrong with being gay?” Bowers asks. Throughout his life, the now95-year-old Bowers had an “if it feels good, do it” attitude towards sex. Beginning in the 1940s and for several decades, Bowers was a pimp for the stars, often partaking in the fruits of his labors. In his book and in Tyrnauer’s documentary, Bowers recalls his friendships with some of Tinseltown’s most legendary names. He speaks candidly about how he procured sex for them, and reveals the truth about their sexualities. Some of these revelations may surprise viewers of the film, while others have been common knowledge for many years. It’s unlikely that anyone will be surprised to hear that “roommates” Cary Grant and Randolph Scott were actually in a romantic relationship. There aren’t too many surprises in the stories about Rock Hudson either, whose homosexuality has been common knowledge since the 1960s, even if

Greenwich Entertainment

Scotty Bowers (standing, second from left) and friends, in director Matt Tyrnauer’s documentary “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood.

the industry pretended otherwise. But there are stories in the new film that may raise a few eyebrows. Bowers suggests that the relationship between superstars Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy was nothing more than a close friendship. He claims to have procured

some 150 women for Hepburn, and further claims to having had a few dalliances with Tracy. In fact, when interviewed by noted sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, Bowers cheerfully admitted to having engaged in every sex act known to man, with both men and women. In addition to

his encounters with Tracy, Bowers claims to have had a threesome with Lana Turner and Ava Gardner. It all began when Bowers, discharged from the military after WWII, began working at a Hollywood gas station, where he was picked up by gay actor Walter

Pidgeon. After Pidgeon spread the word about Bowers, other fancy cars began stopping by for gas and whatever else they could get. Before long that gas station became Ground Zero for Bowers’ burgeoning new business. The film shares many of these stories, often reminding viewers how difficult it was to be gay during that long-ago era, when careers and lives could be destroyed by the merest hint of homosexuality. We also learn a bit about who Scotty is in his private life. He speaks of sexual encounters he had during his childhood, which he insists were mutually consensual. He fights tears as he recalls the deaths of his daughter and his brother, both of whom died in their 20s. The camera also follows Bowers into his home, where he’s revealed to be a hoarder. There’s barely room to sit in the midst of the epic mess. Bowers’ patient wife Lois, a cabaret singer, overlooks the hoarding and the dalliances because she loves him. “Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood” is a portrait of a complex man who walks to the beat of his own drum and has no regrets. The film is also an indictment of Hollywood’s hypocrisy, which continues even today. It opens Friday at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission Theater. Director Tyrnauer and Scotty Bowers will appear at the theater on opening night, time TBA.t

Putting the spice in advice by Gregg Shapiro

hen I heard that Bianca Del Rio had written a book, I thought, “I didn’t even know she

could read a book!” The greatest success story that “RuPaul’s Drag Race” ever launched, Del Rio sells out venues for her live shows, has graced the Silver Screen in “Hur-

ricane Bianca” and its sequel, and has now written a book of advice, “Blame It on Bianca Del Rio” (Dey Street). Gregg Shapiro: What’s the best advice you ever received? Bianca Del Rio: It was really good advice, but I didn’t take it. “Don’t do drag. It’s a trap!” I found out later, they were right! In fairness, the best advice I truly did get was, “Laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself too seriously, and keep moving.” When I was younger I would get hung up on things. Now it’s like, “Fuck it! Get over it! Life’s too short!” This book: obviously I’m doing it as a joke to give the worst advice possible, because if you’re seeking advice from a 42-year-old drag queen, something’s wrong with you. But I’m fascinated by the stuff people share. People have no shame at all, none, I must say.

It was a 10 for me. It was like going back to high school. All the feels and smells were the same. When you film on the soundstage, there’s one side where the contestants are; the other side is where the staff, Ru and guest judges stay. It was interesting to be on the other side. I didn’t realize how fabulous it was until Audra McDonald was in the dressing room next door. My little gay heart got excited, and I realized this is some legitimate shit! What’s the best piece of advice you can offer this season’s queens? Be as honest and as real as you are. Even though we’re wearing wigs. The audience gravitates to

people that are real. It’s easy to get lost with cameras around you. To think, “I need to be this. I need to be that.” The audience can usually see through it. Your new movie “Hurricane Bianca: From Russia with Hate” is opening in theaters. It’s our second feature. My nemesis in the film is the brilliant Rachel Dratch. We pick up where we left off. I ruined her life, and now she’s determined to ruin mine. I end up in Russia! So it’s topical and fun. We have some great supporting players. The fabulous Janeane Garofalo, Cheyenne Jackson and Wanda Sykes. We were lucky to gather a bevy of talented people.t

How has your humor transferred from the stage to the page? I think it’s a lot harder. You can get away with murder on stage, by delivery. Whereas when you have something in print, it may come across differently. Usually, for me, it’s no-holds-barred. Everything is funny. But in print, it’s a little serious. You mention “insightful prying” in the author’s note. How can that be a useful tool? The answer is usually there, and people know it in their hearts. Some of them, I was like, “This is insane! The answer is right there in your question!” But I had to point it out for them. Some of the more amusing parts of the book are the wonderful photos. The publisher said they would like to include photos. Over four days, we did a photo shoot here in LA with a friend of mine who is a New York photographer, and we hit the road. We thought, “What are the most ridiculous things we could do?” On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the experience of your recent return as a guest on “RuPaul’s Drag Race?”

Courtesy the author

Bianca Del Rio: “Don’t do drag!”

Books>>

August 9-15, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 21

Three strong women in America by Tavo Amador

acqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (192994) was probably the most famous American-born woman of the second half of the 20th century. Much has been written about her, yet J. Randy Taraborrelli provides new insights in his fascinating “Jackie, Janet & Lee: The Secret Lives of Janet Auchincloss and Her Daughters, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill” (St. Martin’s Press, $29.99). Janet Norton Lee (190889) was born into a wealthy but unpedigreed family. Her father, attorney James Lee, made money in Manhattan real estate. He equated wealth with power, and didn’t give power away – a lesson Janet absorbed. In 1927 she married wealthy stockbroker John ”Black Jack” Vernou Bouvier III. The Bouviers were American aristocrats with two Long Island estates and a huge Manhattan apartment. He was handsome, charismatic, a womanizer, a heavy drinker, and a reckless spender. Jackie and Caroline Lee (b. 1933) adored him. But his infidelities led to a 1939 divorce, with Janet getting custody of the girls. Although Janet’s alimony was substantial, it wasn’t enough to meet her needs. Her father offered little help. Lacking her own money, she decided to marry another wealthy man. Hugh D. Auchincloss, a very rich investment banker descended from a patrician New York family, fit the bill. Hugh owned two country

estates – Hammersmith Farm in Newport, Rhode Island, and Merrywood in McLean, Virginia – and a lavish Washington, D.C. house. He had a son by his first wife, and a son and daughter by his second wife Nina Gore, mother of Gore Vidal. Janet accepted Hugh’s impotency. Artificial insemination resulted in their having two children, Janet, Jr., and James, known as Jaime. Jaime (b. 1947), a photographer, is gay, but never came out to his family. The Kennedy presidency and Jackie’s impeccable style as First Lady thrilled Janet. Jackie’s first White House reception was in Lee’s honor. They were very close as girls, although Lee was overshadowed by

Jackie. Her attempts at establishing herself as an actress, documentary filmmaker, and interior designer weren’t successful. The sisters were supportive of each other. Lee was at Jackie’s side following Kennedy’s 1963 assassination and Bobby Kennedy’s 1968 murder. Although Jackie loved Kennedy, his family wealth was critical to her marrying him. Lee was more impulsive. Her first husband, banker Michael Canfield, was successful but not rich. She married him at 19, knowing he might be gay. They moved to London, but the marriage failed. When Canfield asked Jackie what he needed to make Lee happy, she replied, “Serious money.” WWII left Lee’s second husband, Polish Prince Stanislaw Albrecht “Stas” Radziwill, broke, but he used his social connections to become a successful investment banker. They had a son, Anthony, and a daughter, Tina, and lived lavishly. The Kennedys eventually succeeded in getting Lee’s first marriage annulled, but by then she was having an affair with the extremely rich Aristotle Onassis (1906-75). Janet and Jackie, both faithful wives, strongly disapproved of Lee’s infidelities. Following the annulment of her first marriage, Janet, Jackie, and the Kennedys insisted Lee wed Stas in a Roman Catholic service. Onassis opposed it, warning Lee that it

would change their relationship. Lee reluctantly re-married Stas. Onassis kept his word. Following Kennedy’s assassination, the family gave Jackie a $150,000 annual allowance, a huge sum in 1963. It wasn’t enough. Bobby Kennedy got it raised to $175,000, still insufficient. Jackie needed another wealthy husband. Lee, who had introduced Onassis to her sister, was upset by their decision to marry, although she understood Jackie’s need for security following Bobby Kennedy’s assassination. She saw how relaxed her normally tense sister was around Onassis. Lee agreed to be matron of honor at their Greek Orthodox wedding on Skorpios, his private island. Janet, who disapproved of Onassis, didn’t attend. Lee divorced Stas and was hours away from marrying San Francisco real estate investor Newton Cope before canceling the wedding because he wouldn’t give her the monthly allowance Janet and Jackie insisted she had to have. Shortly before his death, Onassis, disenchanted with Jackie, disinherited her. With Teddy Kennedy’s help, Jackie obtained a $25 million settlement from Onassis’ estate, estimated at $500 million. Christina Onassis, Aristotle’s heir, disliked her stepmother and paid to get rid of her. Jackie’s final romantic partner, investment banker Maurice Tempelsman, shrewdly invested her money, increasing it many times over. Lee, Jackie, and Janet were shocked that Stas Radziwill died broke. Lee was worried about her children’s education, which Jackie agreed to finance. The sisters, however, were spending less time together.

Hugh Auchincloss also faced financial difficulties, forcing him to sell Merrywood. After his death, Janet sold large sections of Hammersmith Farm. Jackie strongly disliked Janet’s third husband, Bingham Willing “Booch” Morris, whom she felt abused her mother. When Janet developed dementia, Jackie actively organized her care. She had also been present when her half-sister Janet, Jr., began treatments for lung cancer before dying at age 39. Lee was away for most of her mother’s illness, although during a rare visit, Janet gave her $650,000, atoning for having favored Jackie when they were girls. Similarly, Lee was absent during Janet Jr.’s illness and death. But Lee was with Jackie during her final days, and was devastated by her death. Most of Jackie’s estate went to her children, Caroline and John, Jr., but she left Lee’s children $500,000 each. She made no provision for Lee, stating she had done so in life, which wasn’t true. Lee married former dancer, choreographer, and movie director Herbert Ross, whose late wife was ballerina Nora Kaye. He was widely believed to be gay. Lee felt sexuality was fluid and wasn’t bothered by Ross’ alleged homosexuality. They divorced shortly before his death. Lee’s $20 million settlement finally made her financially independent. She now lives in Paris. Her son, Anthony, predeceased her, as did her nephew, John, Jr. Taraborrelli isn’t a great stylist, but he is a thorough researcher. He captures the personalities of three distinct women whose resiliency helped them overcome tragedies and allowed them to thrive.t

Killed My Father,” in March 2019, detailing his father’s failing health and the French class system that

failed to support him as a member of the working class in his time of need.t

Stranger than fiction by Jim Piechota

History of Violence by Edouard Louis; Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $25

lready a famous author in his native land, Edouard Louis, born Edouard Bellegueule in Northern France, has now published his second work of autobiographical fiction here in America, fast on the heels of last year’s breakout bestseller “The End of Eddy.” “History of Violence” is a harrowing work of fictionalized fact that depicts the 25-year-old author’s rape and assault during a botched hookup. Writing in increments and from multiple perspectives and timeframes, Louis works through the posttraumatic mental instability of surviving a violent, near-death experience at the hands of a stranger with whom the author had been physically intimate just minutes before. Dictated in fits and starts in his own voice and that of his sister Clara, the narrative describes Louis meeting a pushy, smooth-talking Algerian named Reda in the predawn hours of Christmas Day in 2012 while walking home to his Paris apartment from a gathering with friends. Reacting to loneliness, the holiday season, or the rugged beauty and persistence of this alluring stranger, Louis invites the man to his home, where, once they begin to get acquainted, things go horribly wrong. Held at gunpoint, raped, then

strangled almost to the point of unconsciousness, Louis finally manages to escape. Panicked, wildly confused and physically hurt, he is unsure where to go or what to do besides wash and scrub every inch of his apartment and repeatedly launder his bedsheets in scalding water. Once he decides to file formal charges against Reda, he recounts the entire ordeal to officers who have no idea what gay cruising is, and reverse the blame onto Louis. Reda was immediately tagged “the Arab male” by the smirking racist policemen who took the author’s statement and filed a report. But Louis received little compassion or support from the police. This disconnect, coupled

with the careless editing found on the final police report, spurred Louis on to commit his ordeal to book form. Haunted by the trauma, Louis fights but too often fails to curtail obsessive periods of “manic talking.” Whether being triaged in the emergency room for post-exposure HIV medicine, meeting fellow authors, or with casual friends, the author compulsively felt compelled to spill out the entire ordeal with Reda at great length and in vivid detail. Adding to his psychological torture were episodes of paranoia, fearing that “anyone could turn dangerous, even the people I was closest to, that they might turn homicidal, and be seized by a lust for blood and destruction, and simply attack me.” The trauma endures as Louis writes of fearing Reda stalking him, lurking around corners, returning to finish what he’d started. In media interviews, Louis reports that Reda was indeed found, charged for the crime, and is now on parole awaiting trial, while Louis rejects any suggestion that his assailant go to jail. An anti-prison advocate, the author prefers rehabilitative therapy. Realizing jail time was inevitable for Reda, Louis was told that recanting his accusation to spare Reda jail time was not possible, though he tried. His case remains in the political hands of the French state. Louis will publish his third book, a work of nonfiction called “Who

Farrar, Straus & Giroux

“History of Violence” author Edouard Louis.

<< DVD

22 • Bay Area Reporter • August 9-15, 2018

Divine madness Since 1977

by Brian Bromberger

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n a notorious review of “Female Trouble,” gay critic Rex Reed complained, “Where do these people come from? Where do they go when the sun goes down? Isn’t there a law or something?” This is exactly the kind of response to tastelessness relished by the film’s cult writer-director John Waters, the self-proclaimed “King of Sleaze.” “Female Trouble,” in all its grotesque glamour, has been released on Blu-ray by the premier Criterion label in a new 4K digital resolution, an impressive feat considering the film was originally shot in 16mm on a $25,000 budget in Waters’ native Baltimore. Written as a star vehicle for Divine, the iconic drag queen lead, “Female Trouble” cemented Waters’ auteur status after his previous film “Pink Flamingo” and its infamous doggie-doo scene. Waters knew he could never top “Pink Flamingo” for its shock humor. Instead he created a melodrama on the trials and tribulations of a woman, a campy version of Douglas Sirk’s films, summarized

in its ad campaign: “She had a lot of problems.” “Female Trouble” was Divine’s favorite of all his films, and Waters’ favorite of his underground movies. The film follows the downward trail of obese Dawn Davenport, beginning with her juveniledelinquent high school years, sent to the principal’s office for eating a gigantic meatball sandwich in class. She has a hissy fit when she doesn’t get her requested cha-cha heels for Christmas, throwing the tree on top of her mother. She runs away from home; hitchhiking, she has sex with Earl Peterson (also played by Divine) on a dirty mattress alongside the road. Pregnant, Dawn resorts to robbing banks to support herself. She has her baby, Taffy (played as a teenager by Mink Stole) alone, biting off the placenta herself. To make ends meet, Dawn becomes a waitress, dancer, prostitute, though she is lousy at whatever she does. A terrible mother (she beats Taffy with a car antenna), her friends suggest she get a new hairdo at the trendy Lipstick Beauty Salon from the stylist Gater (Michael Potter). She eventually marries Gator, to the distress of his Aunt Ida (Edith Massey), who wants him to be gay.

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Rake’s Progress

From page 15

The modernist score with a Mozartian slant – with some bel canto thrown in – has always been esteemed by aficionados, but a little harder to love for the average operagoer. Too many productions cast a cynical eye on what is actually a surprisingly heartfelt little morality play. The Merola Opera Program presented “The Rake’s Progress” recently as the second of two fully staged productions in the Summer 2018 season at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. With typical energy and enthusiasm, the youthful crew got it just right, finding genuine pathos and human emotion in the highly stylized tale. Based on eight engravings by British artist and satirist William Hogarth, the story charts the rise and fall of Tom Rakewell, a lazy and reckless young heir who squanders his life and fortune to end up in the Bedlam insane asylum. Throughout his descent into debauchery, one woman remains steadfast in her love. As the aptly named Anne Trulove, Meigui Zhang (Chengdu, Sichuan, China) came close to stealing the show with her rich and pure, almost vibrato-less soprano. Stravinsky would have approved of her clear and unfussy line. Her subtly earnest portrayal combined tonal accuracy with emotion. As her wayward love Tom, tenor Christopher Oglesby (Woodstock, GA) could match her for wonderfully exact pitch, a crucial requirement in such seemingly plain but complicated music. He has a nicely rounded tone with a bright edge that added dimension to his interpretation. By the time Oglesby sang his final piteous aria in the loony bin, he had fully captured the audience’s sympathy. Baritone Jacob Scharfman (Boston, MA), as the mysteriously diabolical Nick Shadow, enabler of Tom’s worst instincts, hovered about the action with suitably arch humor. His steady and controlled sound was nicely nuanced and always audible.

“Honey, I wish you was queer, because heterosexuals lead such sick and boring lives.” The marriage ends because Taffy hates Gater. On her own again and desperate, Dawn becomes a model for the salon’s married owners the Dashers (David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce), who take pictures of her as she commits crimes to test their theory that “crime equals beauty.” Even when Ida throws acid on her face, hideously disfiguring her, the Dashers convince her she is more beautiful than ever. Dawn develops a nightclub act, jumping on a trampoline and cavorting with dead fish. When Taffy becomes a

As Baba the Turk, the famous bearded lady caught in the wake of Tom’s wild spree, mezzo-soprano Anne Maguire (Washougal, WA) managed an endearing performance that displayed an imposing range and jolly sense of humor. Other parts were ably enacted by sensuous mezzo-soprano Alexandra Urquiola (Bergenfield, NJ) as the whorehouse madam Mother Goose; bass-baritone Ted Allen Pickell (El Dorado Hills, CA) as Anne’s understanding father; and tenor Addison Marlor (Salt Lake City, UT) as the hilariously overthe-top auctioneer Sellem. Keeper of the Madhouse, bass-baritone Andrew Moore (Point Pleasant, NJ) made an immediate impression in his brief but effective appearance. The Chorus of 2018 Merolini enjoyed a boisterous field day as denizens of the brothels and byways of 18th-century London. Looking great in Christine Crook’s cleverly detailed costume design, they sounded remarkably full. As a hand-

Hare Krishna cult member, Dawn strangles her. Believing she is beautiful, on stage she belts out, “Who wants to die for art?” and starts shooting a gun into the crowd, killing several people. Put on trial and with the Dashers testifying against her, Dawn is found guilty. Sentenced to death, she will have a lesbian affair with another inmate before facing the electric chair, which she believes is the high point in her career, giving her final speech: “I’d like to thank all the fans who died so fashionably and gallantly at my nightclub act. And especially all those wonderful people who were kind enough to read about me in the newspapers and watch me on the TV news. Without all of you, my career could never have gotten this far. It was you that I will die for.” Waters was prophetic, predicting the criminal as celebrity and media obsession with lurid crimes, anticipating reality TV, the sensational nature of stardom, and the cult of personality. This satire on middle-class values is one of his best movies. In line with Criterion’s high standards, don’t miss Waters’ audio commentary, or the 33-minute “Lady Divine,” an archival interview shot at Andy Warhol’s Factory in 1975 featuring Waters, Divine, Mink Stole, and David Lochary.t

some and functional backdrop, Donald Eastman’s white-on-white scenic design, well-lit by Eric Watkins, matched the clear direction by Robin Guarino. Guarino’s mostly understated references (who could have resisted just a touch of Fosse in Mother Goose’s crib?) moved the cast simply throughout the action. Her sensibly modest approach proved more satisfying than memories of other bigger, overproduced versions. Conductor Mark Morash (Merola 1987) coaxed a luxurious sound from the orchestra, appreciably richer than other, more chamberlike readings. It helped the angular melodies elegantly resonate. Highly polished productions from the Merola Program are expected. Even by those standards, this “Rake’s Progress” was exceptional. The Merola Grand Finale of the 61st season takes place on Sat., Aug. 18, 7:30 p.m. at the War Memorial Opera House.t More info: merola.org

Kristen Loken

Nick Shadow (Jacob Scharfman) and Tom Rakewell (Christopher Oglesby) in Merola Opera Program’s production of “The Rake’s Progress.”

FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY 11AM - 4 PM

Vine to Table Experience Join us on The Terrace and indulge in our Vine to Table Experience, including five bites flawlessly paired with five Rodney Strong wines crafted by Winery Chef, Alejandro Garcia. Vegetarian and Library pairing option available upon request. Call or book online at VinoVisit or Opentable to make your reservation. Walk-ins welcome. rodneystrong.com | (800) 678-4763 | 11455 Old Redwood Highway Healdsburg, CA 94558

<< Film

24 • Bay Area Reporter • August 9-15, 2018

Spike Lee’s answer to Donald Trump by David-Elijah Nahmod

ased on a true story, director Spike Lee’s latest, “BlacKkKlansman” is the tale of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a rookie cop in Colorado Springs during the early 1970s. Facing racism within his own department, Stallworth takes on a daunting assignment: he hopes to infiltrate and bring down the KKK. Joining forces with Jewish detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), the two plan their moves. Stallworth talks to Klan Grand Wizard David Duke (Topher Grace) on the phone, while Zimmerman joins the organization undercover, using Stallworth’s name. The language in “BlacKkKlansman” is not for the faint-hearted. Scenes with Klansmen include some of the most racist and antiSemitic slurs imaginable, yet both Stallworth and Zimmerman stand their ground, determined to see their mission through. Stallworth

and Duke forge a close friendship over the phone, Duke having no idea that he’s talking to an African American man. Topher Grace may make viewers’ skin crawl with his portrayal of Duke, a handsome, charming white supremacist whose hatred for non-whites simmers just beneath the surface. The look on Stallworth’s face shows it’s not easy for him to listen to such talk, but he forges on. John David Washington is quite good in this role. He’s the son of Oscar winner Denzel Washington, and an upand-coming talent worth keeping an eye on. Zimmerman, meanwhile, has so impressed his new “friends” that he’s chosen to lead the Klan’s local chapter. Adam Driver is superb in these scenes as a Jewish man forced to listen to Holocaust denial and conspiracy theories about Jews. He has to take part in such talk so as not to blow his cover. He’s also forced to confront his own Jewish heritage, which he appears to have

kept under wraps. Eventually the two detectives uncover a KKK bomb plot. They must race against time to thwart it. “BlacKkKlansman” is a riveting film from start to finish, a disturbing look inside a dark and ugly world. Spike Lee doesn’t attempt to explain the minds of white supremacists. We simply see them for what they are: people whose hatred comes from a place deep within. Who knows where that hate comes from? Lee made the film as a direct response to the rhetoric of Donald Trump and all the hate it has inflamed. The film concludes with actual footage of the recent violent clashes in Charlottesville, VA, where white supremacists fought with anti-KKK protesters. Heather Hyer, 32, a peaceful protester, was killed during the riots when a white supremacist ran her over with his car. Lee dedicates the film to her memory. (Opens Friday.)t

Junkie chanteuse

Magnolia Pictures

Trine Dyrholm as the title character in “Nico, 1988.”

by David Lamble

“N

ico, 1988” is a sad, silly tale about a boho recording star

whose heroin-fueled demise was predictable, and for whom you may feel a dollop of sympathy once the credits have rolled. The film, whose

denizens are never without a lit cigarette, may have established a new record for second-hand smoke on-set. The 1960s album “The Velvet Underground & Nico” boasted a handful of terminally hip tracks with lyrics by Lou Reed. The album showcased the German-born underground singer who made listening to ballads about heroin addiction seem innocent. “Nico, 1988” opens on a close-up of a middle-aged woman smoking a long cigarette, sitting in front of an RCA DX microphone in a radio studio with walls tinted pastel green. The film, which mixes satire, parody, and harsh scenes of Communist-occupied Eastern Europe with an off-kilter sense of of nostalgia, comes into focus in this chat between a cranky, aging Nico and a peppy Manchester, England radio host. “So here we are with Lou Reed’s

femme fatale.” “Don’t call me that! I don’t like it.” “We’re all really proud that a big star like you is living here in Manchester, not Paris or New York.” “This reminds me of Berlin after WWII, when it was all in ruins. I like that.” “Do you want to tell us about your experiences with the Velvet Underground?” “No, I don’t. I started making my own music after the experience with the Velvet Underground, in 1968.” “1968, that’s almost 20 years ago. Those must have been some of the best days of your life?” “Well, we took a lot of LSD.” “Nico, 1988” comes off like a lost work from the late German sadist Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In one effective sequence, Nico and her pickup band are set to play to a young crowd in what would soon become the Czech Republic. The

enthusiastic young concert promoter tries to explain the penalties for him and his friends if the police catch wind of the event. While Nico is onstage singing up a storm, the young man and his friends are arrested. Nico is led to safety, unconcerned about the havoc in her wake. Writer-director Susanna Nicchiarelli pulls off her sendup with a cast of Euro celebrities headed up by Trine Dyrholm doing a spooky, mood-swinging impression of the over-the-hill lounge singer born Christa Päffgen. The other scenestealing role, Nico’s close friend Richard, is a small gem of a portrayal from John Gordon Sinclair. “Nico, 1988” devotes its 93 minutes to depicting the final year of Nico’s life, as she attempts to tour while coping with heroin addiction, hers and that of her adorable teen son, whose overdose is a major plot point. (Opens Friday.)t

late arrival of the sexual revolution in traditional Chinese society. He shows the fallout when restless 20somethings stumble across more freedom than life has prepared them for. The film ends on a long sequence where May loudly weeps while sitting in a park a few chairs away from an elderly man reading his paper. This little gem’s appeal flows from its maker’s life story. Tsai was born an outsider in 1957 Malaysia. The future star director graduated from the Drama and Cinema Dept. of the Chinese Cultural University of Taiwan, and worked as a theatrical producer and TV director. “Vive L’Amour,” his second feature, won Best Picture at the 1994 Venice Film Festival. His idiosyncratic body of work has attracted a global audience still growing in his seventh decade. His cinematic style gives his work the contemporary feel of a recent film school graduate: long, fixed shots, characters who have big problems communicating their feelings. For subtitle-challenged filmgoers, he gets extra points for using hardly any dialogue and very little music, except for a handful of 1930s Mandarin pop songs.

Water is a frequent element in his films, with floods, leaks, and large gusts of wind turning up in most. His characters, when they’re not talking, are experimenting with their sexuality or their bodies. He cites François Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” (1959) as his favorite film. In an interview on IMDB, the director describes meeting Kang-sheng Lee, his on-screen alter ego who plays the gay boy, at a videogame arcade. “When I found Lee Kang-sheng on the street, I invited him to be in my films. His perfect embodiment of an anti-actor has had a profound impact on my work. One day, to my shock, I realized I never wanted to move my camera away from his face, and it was then that I found the true reason for making films. “I feel like a citizen of the world, yet there’s no single place I can put my roots down and call home. I’ve never stayed in one place for long. Almost every time I rent a place, I have some sort of water leakage or flooding.” Widescreen, in Mandarin with English subtitles. DVD features: production credits, cast & crew filmographies. 118 mins. (Strand Releasing/Fox Lorber)t

Erotic awakening by David Lamble

n “Vive L’ Amour,” a nervous real estate agent, her hip streetvendor boyfriend and a homeless gay kid find sanctuary along with sexual shenanigans in an empty, high-end Taipei, Taiwan apartment. The story begins as May, an eager-to-please and flirty young realtor, tries to sell an expensive downtown condo that she uses for lunchtime flings with her humpy boyfriend. Meanwhile, a shy, homeless gay kid sneaks into the posh digs, hiding under the bed as the couple make out. Throughout the story we witness the characters confronting their own vulnerabilities in an impersonal society where everyone is a stranger. The two young men meet accidentally in the huge flat. They bond around shared meals and cigarettes. The gay boy lies under the bed as May and the vendor make out. When the girl leaves, the boy climbs into the bed, observing the sleeping, partially nude man. He moves close enough to kiss him on the lips before leaving the flat. Writer-director Tsai Ming-liang makes humorous allusions to the

Arts Events

Leather Vol. 48 • No. 32 • August 9-15, 2018

Guy Branum

Stand-up, TV writer and author on ‘new gay comedy’

by Jim Gladstone

uy Branum is the zaftig Sontag of comedy. His brainy magpie’s nest of a book, My Life As A Goddess: A Memoir Through Unpopular Culture, has just been released, and it presents a more prickly, philosophical and intellectual point-of-view than we usually expect from comedians. Branum will be reading and signing copies of his book at Book Passage on Saturday, August 18 at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma (Free, reserve online) and on Sunday August 19 at Book Passage in the Ferry Building. He’ll also perform at the first Pet-A-Llama comedy festival. “A lot of people don’t know what to make of the book,” says the standup comic, television writer (The Mindy Project, Joan Rivers’ Fashion Police) and, now, author. See page 26 >>

Guy Branum

Nightlife Events August 9-16

Listings on page 26

Sat 11

La Misa Negra @ Great American Music Hall

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

<< Comedy

26 • Bay Area Reporter • August 9-15, 2018

Guy Branum

From page 25

“They assume it’s going to be one of those comedian’s books that has their old stage material written down along with some stories from their childhood and that sort of stuff.” While that sort of book (Seinlanguage anyone?) serves primarily as a souvenir for fans happy to revisit their enjoyment of an already celebrated performer, My Life As A Goddess will hopefully serve as many

readers’ introduction to its author. Branum brings a well-ticked checklist of outsider bonafides to the comedy scene. He is gay, fat and was raised in the distinctly noncosmopolitan environs of Yuba City. He’s Jewish, which one might argue doesn’t count as ‘outside’ in comedy, but he’s a not a big city deli-and-sleepaway camp Jew; he’s a grew-up-in-farm-country-surrounded-by-rednecks-and-Punjabi Sikh farmers Jew. While spiked with humorous attitude and observations, Goddess

offers a singular mix of self-searching personal inquiry, outspoken sociopolitical opinion, and piercing philosophical exegeses of mass media artifacts. “But if you only know me from being a talking head on Chelsea Lately, you may not be ready for my queer theory,” jokes Branum, who counts his years as a writer and onscreen presence on Chelsea Handler’s show as his biggest career breakthrough to date and Handler herself as an important mentor. Within its extremely loose structure, Branum’s book has room for a brilliantly nuanced analysis of The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance, his dad’s favorite film, which also serves as a meditation on their tempestuous father-son relationship; and a surprising ten-page tangent on Canadian history, which Branum ultimately reels in and connects to his own life. “That actually does have something to do with me as a fat person and a gay person,” Branum reiterates during our conversation. “Here’s this country of 30 million people who are right next to us and we never pay attention to them. Who do we choose to pay attention to? Who do we ignore? Those are questions that really point to cultural arrogance and self-absorption.” Branum writes compellingly of being electrified as a teenager by Eddie Murphy’s concert film Raw and then re-watching it recently only to notice how it brims with blatant homophobia. “I’m still thinking about that,” he says, “How something so dismissive of me could also be so inspiring. It made me love stand-up and hate myself.” That sort of tempered, self-questioning response is typical of Branum’s thought processes. A Poly Sci degree from U.C. Berkeley and law degree from the University of Minnesota are at work behind the scenes

of his joke-writing. “A friend of mine teased that I don’t write jokes, I write essays about jokes. But it’s actually true. When I write stand-up, I write verbosely at first and then I chop it down, compress it.” Something Branum has been thinking a lot about lately is the continuing absence of any big name gay male comics in American culture. He points to Tim Dillon and Solomon Georgio among other examples of top-notch gay stand-ups who do a wide range of material, but who aren’t getting the booking or exposure that straight comics get. Part of it, thinks Branum, is a longtime curdling of gay men’s interest in supporting stand-up. “Look, stand-up comedy has not been a safe place for gay people. There were always jokes being made about us and how disgusting we were supposed to be.” His views have some common ground with those of Hannah Gadsby, the Australian lesbian comic whose current Netflix special is all the rage—and ends with her seeming to renounce stand-up as a form. “Don’t throw in the towel on comedy. Why does comedy have to be the villain here?” wonders Bra-

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle

Lizzo @ Bimbo’s

Rock bands play at the famed leather bar. $8. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Fri 10 La Bomba Latina @ Club OMG Drag show with DJ Jaffeth. $5. 9pm2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Boy Division @ Cat Club

Gooch

Fri 10

Cubcake @ Lone Star Saloon

For full listings, visit www.ebar.com/events

Thu 9 Desi Comedy Fest @ Multiple Venues Fifth annual South Asian comedy festival, created by Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni; 30 South Asian comedians from all over the US in San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Milpitas, Dublin, and Mountain View, and Santa Cruz. $17-$50. www.desicomedyfest.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge The weekly drag show with host Sue Casa, DJ MC2, themed nights and hilarious fun. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Puff @ The Stud Queer cannabis appreciation and drag night, with a Stoner raffle (but no smoking in/near the bar!). $10. 7pm10pm. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG KJ Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol; first Thursdays are Costume Karaoke; 3rd is Kinky Karaoke 8pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Royal Variety Show @ Moby Dick

Monthly party for cubs, bears, otters, with treats and DJ Chaka Quan. $5. 9pm-2am. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

G. Scott Lacy @ Hotel Rex

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 The Country-Western line-dancing two-stepping dance event celebrates 20 years. Free thru April 29; $5 after. 5pm-10:30pm. Also Sundays. 550 Barneveld Ave. sundancesaloon.org

Manimal @ Beaux Gogo-tastic dance night starts off your weekend. $5. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Vivvy’s Grand Opening @ The Stud

Guy Branum Bay Area appearances: Copperfield’s Books, 140 Kentucky St., Petaluma, Saturday, Aug. 18 at 7pm. Pet-A-Llama Comedy Festival Sat. Aug. 18, 10pm, at the Mystic Theater. Book Passage in the Ferry Building, SF, Sunday Aug. 19 at 2pm. www.guybranum.com

SF Outside Lands @ Golden Gate Park The multiple-stage includes dozens of concerts (Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae, Florence & The Machine, Bon Iver, Beck, Rainbow Kitten Surprise), comedy, with drinks, food, bicycle parking; shuttles to and from Civic Center ($48). August 10-12. $150$795. Golden Gate Park (Polo Field, Hellman Hollow, Marx & Lindley Meadows). www.sfoutsidelands.com

Marble, a night statue drag queens interacting and performing, with VivvyAnne Forever More.; DJ Sibhan Aluvalot $5-$10. 10pm-4am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Uhaul @ Oasis

Red Hots Burlesque @ The Stud

Vibe Fridays @ Club BnB, Oakland

The saucy women’s burlesque show will titillate and tantalize. $10-$20. 7pm-9pm. 399 9th St. www.redhotsburlesque.com

Popular women’s dance night, with queer DJs Koslov, and Von Kiss. $15. 10pm-2am. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

House music and cocktails, with DJs Shareef Raheim-Jihad and Ellis Lindsey. 9pm-2am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Dance it up at the historic (and still hip) East Bay bar. 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave. whitehorsebar.com

Sex and the City Live @ Oasis

The Bluegrass quartet performs lively music. $20-$24. 8pm. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. www.thefreight.org/

The versatile singer of soul, R&B, pop rock and more performs as part of the Outside Lands off-park concerts. $35. 10pm. 1025 Columbus Ave. www.bimbos365club.com

num. “You can always write better comedy and be more challenging. You don’t have to spoonfeed an audience exactly what they want. “It bothers me that the most significant comedy special by a queer person is the one that distances itself from comedy. It makes queer people feel like we’re somehow better than comedy. But if we step away, its not going to change. Partly because stand-up has been homophobic for so long, gay men don’t that excited about gay male comedians. We love female comedians.” And, of course, drag queens. “It’s a beautiful moment for drag, and I’m glad to see it,” says Branum, “It’s a part of our culture that’s been misunderstood for a long time and people are getting to know it. There are thoughtful queens like Ben de la Crème and Alaska and Jinx Monsoon who are doing great things. “But because a lot of drag is still done in gay bars, where people are drunk and trying to fuck, a lot of drag comedy tends to rely on short, loud, Catskills stereotypical kind of jokes. “When there’s a drag show,” says Branum, “At least we know it’s for us. We know that the performer is not going to humiliate us. I’m lucky because I’ve had exposure on television. But there’s still not much space for gay stand-up comedy in our community. Gay men need to get better about consuming material by and about the whole spectrum of gay men.”t

Friday Nights at the Ho @ White Horse Bar, Oakland

Friday Night Live @ El Rio

Nu-Blu @ Freight & Salvage, Berkeley

Lulu and DJ Marco’s Latin night with sexy gogo guys. 9pm-2am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Cubcake @ Lone Star Saloon

Queen Dilly Dally’s weekly fun variety show of drag, music and even puppets. 9pm-11pm. 4049 18th St. www.queendillydally.com Enjoy more drag parody episodes of the hit series about four women in Manhattan, with D’Arcy Drollinger, Sue Casa and others. $27-$250 (VIP tables). 8pm. Fri & Sat 7pm. Thru Sept. 8 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Picante @ The Cafe

The monthly queer New Wave night adds a Superhero theme; costumes encouraged; with DJs Xander and Donimo; multiple sounds in two rooms. $5-$10. 9:30pm-3am. 1190 Folsom St. wwwsfcatclub.com

Effable by Guy Branum

Enjoy the weekly queer and LGBTfriendly live acoustic concerts. $5pm. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

The accomplished pianist-vocalist performs I Have Found, his new personal cabaret concert. $30-$50. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. www.societycabaret.com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21 The popular Latin club with gogo guys galore and Latin music. $10-$20. 9pm-3am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. www.club21oakland.com

Sat 11

Biqtch Puddin at Mother @ Oasis

Nightlife Events>>

August 9-15, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 27

Stern Grove Festival @ Golden Gate Park

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre

Karaoke Night @ Club 1220, Walnut Creek

Weekly live outdoor music concerts in various genres; August 12: Ronnie Spector & The Ronettes. Thru Aug. 19. Sloat Blvd at 19th Ave. sterngrove.org/

Strip down with the strippers at the clothing-optional night. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Sing along at the East Bar gay bar; dance nights on weekends, and drag shows, too. 9pm-1am. 1220 Pine St., Walnut Creek. club1220.com

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room

Trivia Night @ Hi Tops

Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night @ Wild Side West

The weekly brunch and drag show with a panoramic view. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

David Wilson

Sun 12

Dandy @ Oasis

Sat 11 La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland Banda Los Shakas performs live at the LGBT Latinx night. $10. 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. club21oakland.com

DILF @ Lone Star Saloon Jock and underwear party at the bear bar, with DJ Tommy K. $5-$15. Also, cigar and pipe social on the patio, 9pm-12am. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Writers With Drinks @ The Make Out Room Authors and cocktails combine for a hilarious mix at the ongoing series, with host Charlie Jane Anders; with Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, Hannah Pittard, Laura Antoniou, Marlee Jane Ward, Jack Kaulfus and S.L. Huang. Proceeds benefit the Center for Sex & Culture. $5-$20. 7:30pm. 3225 22nd St. www.makeoutroom.com

Sun 12

House Party @ Powerhouse

Apocrypha @ SF Eagle

Furniture and rugs make for a cool space, but DJ Mohammad and laser guys Ky and Juan Martinez make it groovy. $5. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Mocha Fapalatte’s monthy goth/ witchy music and drag night, with DJ Spaz. $7. 7pm-12am. 8pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Joe Rosenmayer @ Hotel Rex Singer & multi-instrumentalist performs contemporary and classic songs, with guest vocalists Dustin Bankson, Walter Bishop, and pianist Ben Riggs. $30-$50. 8pm. 562 Sutter St. https://societycabaret.com/

Lips and Lashes Brunch @ Lookout

Big Gay Beer Bust/Imperial Chili Cook-Off @ The Cinch Benefits and plenty of beer at the historic neighborhood bar. Aug. 12 is an Imperial Chili Cook-Off, with $100s in prizes for best chili, Empress Pollo Del Mar and Emperor Leandro Gonzales, and Mr Cowboy and Miss Cowgirl 2018. Western attire encouraged. $10. 3pm-7pm. 1723 Polk St. www.cinchsf.com

Weekly show with soul, funk and Motown grooves hosted by Carnie Asada, with DJs Becky Knox and Pumpkin Spice. The yummy brunch menu starts at 12pm, with the show at 1:30pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Big Top @ Beaux

La Misa Negra @ Great American Music Hall

Carnie Asada’s fun drag night with Carnie’s Angels Mahlae Balenciaga and Au Jus, plus DJ Ion. 2023 Broadway. www.portbaroakland.com

The rousing Oakland cumbia AfroLatin band performs; Mission Delirium opens. $20-$45 (with dinner). 9pm. 859 O’Farrell St. slimspresents.com

Mother @ Oasis Heklina’s popular drag show, with special guests and great music themes. Aug 11 is a Disney song tribute, with guest Biqtch Puddin. DJ MC2 plays grooves. $15-$20. 10pm3am (11:30pm show). 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

Perfume Genius @ Bimbo’s The queer glam singer-composer Mike Hadreas performs with his band; Valen opens. $35. 10pm. 1025 Columbus Ave. bimbos365club.com

The Playground @ Club BNB, Oakland

Enjoy an extra weekend night at the fun Castro nightclub, plus hot local DJs and sexy gogo guys and gals. $8. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.Beauxsf.com

Blessed @ Port Bar, Oakland

Dandy @ Oasis Leigh Crow and Ruby Vixen cohost the drag king variety show with live and lipsynch acts; Aug. 11 is a ‘Hot August Nights’ theme. $15-$20. 7pm. 298 11th St. www.sfoasis.com

GlamaZone @ The Cafe Pollo del Mar’s weekly drag show takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:30-11:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

PoleSexual @ The Stud Ma-Pocalypse, Ma Shugganuttz’ finale as host of the pole-dancing night, with DJ Dakota Pendent and talented pole-cats and cubs. $5-$10. 10pm-4am. 399 9th St. studsf.com

Mon 13 Carmaig De Forest @ The Make Out Room The punk folk ukulele legend performs his original unique music, with Death Groove Love Party and Loretta Lynch $10. 7pm-9:30pm. 3225 22nd St. http://www.makeoutroom.com

Gaymer Meetup @ Brewcade

Queer femme and friends dance party with hip hop, Top 40 and throwbacks at the stylish intimate bar, with DJs Val G and Iris Triska. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Wed 15 Bondage-a-Gogo @ The Cat Club The weekly gay/straight/whatever fetish-themed kinky dance night. $7$10. 9:30pm-2:30am. 1190 Folsom St. www.bondage-a-go-go.com

Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi Tops

Munro’s at Midnight @ Midnight Sun

Olga T and Shugga Shay’s weekly queer women and men’s R&B hip hop and soul night, at the club’s new location. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway, Oakland. www.bench-and-bar.com

Drag night with Mercedez Munro. No cover. 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Play board games and win offbeat prizes at the popular sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

B.P.M. @ Club BnB, Oakland

Musical Mondays @ The Edge

Opulence @ Beaux Weekly dance night, with Jocques, DJs Tori, Twistmix and Andre. 9pm2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Underwear Night @ 440

Gaymer Night @ Midnight Sun Weekly fun night of games (video, board and other) and cocktails. 8pm12am. 4067 18th St. midnightsunsf.com

Hysteria Comedy @ Martuni’s The weekly joke night presents queer Oakland comic Michael Foulk on Aug. 14. 6:30pm. 4 Valencia St.

Karaoke Night @ The Stud Sing For Your Life, with LaLa and Remi; no cover, plus raffle prize drawings. 8pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Thu 16 Scott Thompson at Pet-A-Llama Comedy Fest @ Petaluma Venues

Castro Karaoke @ Midnight Sun Sing out with host Bebe Sweetbriar; 2 for 1 well drinks. 8pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. midnightsunsf.com

Club 88 @ Flore New weekly piano bar sing-along night with alternating hosts Maria Konner, Kitten on the Keys and Alan Choy. 9pm-12am. 2298 Market St. www.flore415.com

Comedy Showcase @ SF Eagle Kollin Holtz hosts the open mic comedy night. 5:30pm-8pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Dick at Nite @ Moby Dick Grace Towers’ weekly drag show at the fun local bar. 9pm-12am. 4049 18th St. www.mobydicksf.com

Groovy cruisy monthly night with DJs Robert Jeffrey, Taco Tuesday and Boy Young. $10-$15. 9pm-2am. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Gigante @ Port Bar, Oakland Juanita MORE! and DJ Frisco Robbie’s new weekly event, with Latin, Hip Hop and House music, gogo gals and guys, and a drag show. $5. 9pm-2am. 2023 Broadway, Oakland. portoakland.com

Shannon and the Clams @ Rickshaw Stop Retro-rock local fave band performs; Dick Stusso opens. $25. 10pm. 155 Fell St. www.rickshawstop.com

Sat 11

Perfume Genius @ Bimbo’s

Drag divas, gogo studs, DJed Latin grooves and drinks. 9pm-2am (free before 10:30pm). 2344 Market St. www.clubpapi.com

Queeraoke @ El Rio Dulce de Leche and Rahni NothingMore, Beth Bicoastal, Ginger Snap and Thee Pristine Condition perform, plus karaoke for queens. 9pm. 3158 Mission St. elriosf.com

Thu 16 Fuego @ The Watergarden, San Jose Weekly DJed sex party with Latin videos and musics, free salsa bar, half-price lockers, at the famed South Bay bath house. 4pm-12am. 1010 The Alameda, San Jose. thewatergarden.com

Hoe is Life @ The Stud Slutty “partee” at the historic bar. 10pm-4am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Pet-A-Llama Comedy Fest @ Petaluma Venues

Mica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Tue 14

Pan Dulce @ Beaux

MrPam and Dulce de Leche cohost the weekly underwear strip night and contest, with sexy prizes. $5. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www. powerhousebar.com

No No Bingo @ Virgil’s Sea Room

Strip down to your skivvies at the popular men’s night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm. 424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

Junk @ Powerhouse

Sing along to shows tunes on video, lip-synched, and live, at the Castro bar. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Pound Puppy @ SF Eagle

Molly House Records presents the producer and music-maker; DJs Bored Lord, London Jade, davOmakebeats. $10-$15. 10pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.suzianalogue.com

Vice Tuesdays @ Q Bar

The weekly LGBT video game enthusiast night includes big-screen games and signature beers, with a new remodeled layout, including an outdoor patio. No cover. 7pm-11pm. 2200 Market St. www.brewcadesf.com

Revamped night at the popular hip hop and Latin dance club. $5-$15. 9pm to 3am. 2120 Broadway. (510) 759-7340. www.club-bnb.com

Suzi Analogue @ The Stud

Play the trivia game at the popular new sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Jack White @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium The rockin’ psyche-groovy musician performs his exceptionally good music. Also July 16. $65. 8pm. Civic Center. www.apeconcerts.com

Inaugural comedy festival, with Scott Thompson (as Buddy Cole), Guy Branum, Brian Posehn, The Sklar Brothers, Rory Scovel, Caitlin Gill and others. Free/$25. Thru Aug. 18. Shows at The Mystic Theatre, The Big East and Copperfield’s Books. www.petallama.com/

Porchlight: Tattoo Tales @ Contemporary Jewish Museum The popular storytelling series presents revealing tales about tattoos and those who love them, with hosts Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick; storytellers Karen Roze (Berkeley’s Sacred Rose Tattoo), Shotsie Gorman (Alliance of Professional Tattooists). Penelope Starr, TK Moyer, Taemon Omololu, Dominic Riley.; in association with the exhibit, Lew the Jew and His Circle: Origins of American Tattoo. $15. 6:30pm. 736 Mission St. at 3rd. www.thecjm.org

Queer Karaoke @ Club OMG KJ Dana hosts the weekly singing night; unleash your inner American Idol; first Thursdays are Costume Karaoke; 3rd is Kinky Karaoke 8pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Secret Emchy Society, Shawna Virago @ Ukiah Brewing Co. The queer Americana band and the trans folk-rocker perform at the charming rural brewery-nightclub. 102 South State Street, Ukiah. https://ukiahbrewing.com/

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Disco guru DJ Bus Station John spins grooves at the intimate retro music night. $5. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com Want your nightlife event listed? Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event. Event photos welcome.

<< Arts Events

28 • Bay Area Reporter • August 9-15, 2018

Arts Events

Sat 11 A Brief Spark Bookended by Darkness @ The Lab

August 9-16

Brent Green’s ‘Southern Gothic’ stop-motion animated film, accompanied by musician Walt McClements, is screened with other works. $15. 8:30pm. 2948 16th St. www.thelab.org

Can You Dig It? The ‘60s @ The Marsh Berkeley Don Reed’s popular solo show about his unusual childhood in San Francisco. $20-$100. 5pm. Also Sun 5:30pm, thru Sept 9. 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. www.themarsh.org

Sat 11

Rosie Rally @ Craneway Pavilion

For full listings, visit www.ebar.com/events

Thu 9 Andrei Tarkovsky Films @ BAM/PFA Artistic and award-winning films, including documentaries about artists; ongoing. Tarkovsky films thru Aug. 30. 2155 Center St., Berkeley. www.bampfa.org

Anniversary! @ Z Space Word for Word presents staged versions of short fiction by authors Tobias Wolff and George Saunders. (Benefit event with the two authors Aug. 15, $125) $20-$50. Wed & Thu 7pm, Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 3pm. Thru Sept. 2. 450 Florida St. zspace.org

Classic and New Films @ Castro Theatre

Desi Comedy Fest @ Multiple Venues

Aug. 9: 30th anniversary screening of the cult apocalyptic thriller Miracle Mile, with writer-director Steve De Jarnett. Aug 10-12: Lawrence of Arabia (2:30, 7pm). Aug 13 & 14: Sorry To Bother You (7pm. 9:15). Aug 13: Down by Law (7pm) and Mystery Train (9pm). Aug 16: Paris, Texas (7pm) and Repo Man (9:40). 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com/

Fifth annual South Asian comedy festival, created by Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni; 30 South Asian comedians from all over the US in San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Milpitas, Dublin, and Mountain View, and Santa Cruz. $17-$50. www.desicomedyfest.com

Comedy @ Ashkenaz, Berkeley SF native Dan St. Paul, Milt Abel, NYer Jill Maragos, and MC Lisa Geduldig perform smart and funny stand-up comedy. $15-$20. 8pm 1317 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. http://www.ashkenaz.com/

A Guided Tour of Hell @ Asian Art Museum Concert of underworld-themed opera excerpts (Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Gluck’s Orpheé et Eurydice, Gounod’s Faust and more) are performed a special concert paired with the art exhibit. $5 + Gen. Admission. 7pm. Samsung Hall, 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

Diez Fridas @ Mission Cultural Center

Get Ghandi @ Z Below

Exhibit 2018 @ Harvey Milk Photo Center

Mascara vs Cabellera @ Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

Group exhibit of prints by members, volunteers and staff. 1pm-4pm. Thru Sept 16. 50 Scott St. www.harveymilkphotocenter.org

Opening reception for a new group exhibit of vibrant works interpreting the world of Mexican wrestling culture. $5. 6:30pm-9pm. Thru Sept. 8; reg hours Tue-Sat 10am-5pm. 2868 Mission St. missionculturalcenter.org

King of Cuba @ Central Works

Meow and cohost John Zipperer discuss LGBT issues with different guests. Weekly, 12pm. 110 Embarcadero. commonwealthclub.org

Queer Slam @ LGBT Center Intergenerational event of spoken word and open mic for queer poets and authors. 6pm-9pm. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

Radar Reading @ SF Public Library Show Us Your Spines, a reading with QTPOC authors DeWayne Dickerson, Jacq Greyja and Kevin Simmonds. Free. 8pm. James Hormel Center, 3rd floor. www.sfpl.org

Tenderloin Neon A-Z @ Tenderloin Museum Screening of a new film about neon art in San Francisco, plus historic films Gay San Francisco (1965-1970) and Drugs in the Tenderloin (1966). $10. 6:30pm. 398 Eddy St. www.tenderloinmuseum.org

Fri 10 All the T About That D @ Strut Drag Queens Talk Trade, with LOL McFiercen (Kevin Seaman) hosting a chat about hoooking up and sex in and out of drag. Free. 7pm-9pm. 470 Castro st. www.strutsf.org

Come Here Often? @ Exit Theatre Left Coast Theatre’s ensemblewritten and performed play set in a mythical Castro gay bar, where historic people visit for drinks and monologues. $16-$30. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun pm. Thru Aug. 18. 156 Eddy St. http://lctc-sf.org/

Grand Opening @ Transbay Terminal Opening of Salesforce’s large aboveground downtown mini-park above the new bus-train terminal; with food trucks music, fitness classes and more. 12pm-4pm. 425 Mission St. at Fremont entrance. salesforcetransitcenter. com

Harry Potter Concert @ Davies Symphony Hall

Cristina Garcia’s stage adaptation of her acclaimed novel features Marga Gomez as Fidel Castro, Grammy-winning ‘bongocero’ Carlos Caro and a cast of Latinx characters who portray Cuba’s political landscape. $15-$38. Thru Aug. 19. 2315 Durant Ave., Berkeley. www.centralworks.org

Michelle Meow Show @ Commonwealth Club

Intimate exhibit of interpretations on Frida Kahlo. Tue-Sat 10am-5pm. Thru Sept. 5. Chin Kana Gallery, 3rd floor. 2868 Mission St. www.missionculturalcenter.org

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuit Collective’s production of Anne Galjour’s ‘seriously radical feminist comedy’ about celibacy, celebrity, sexual hypocrisies and more. $15-$25. Thru Aug. 26. 470 Florida St. www.zspace.org

Fri 10

Third film series live concert and screening, this time, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. $76-$154. 8pm. Aug 12 at 1pm. 201 Van Ness Ave. www.shnsf.com

LGBTQ Histories from the WWII Home Front @ Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center, Richmond

Mascara vs Cabellera @ Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts

Sunday in the Park With George @ SF Playhouse Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine’s fascinating musical about painter Georges Seurat and his sculptor grandson gets a local production. $20-$125. Tue-Thu & Sun 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Also Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 8. 450 Post St. 2nd floor, Kensington Park Hotel. www.sfplayhouse.org

Urinetown: The Musical @ Rueff, Strance Theater Conservatory student production of Mark Hollman and Greg Kotis’ hit satirical musical about a town without pee-ty. $25-$38. Wed-Sat 7pm. Sat also 2pm. Thru Aug. 18. 1127 Market St. www.act-sf.org

Thu 9

Park indoor exhibit that showcases the lives of historic LGBT people. Open daily 10am-5pm. 1414 Harbour Way South, Suite 3000, Richmond. www.nps.gov/rori/index.htm

Rosie Rally @ Craneway Pavilion Home Front Festival, with hundreds of women, girls (& men!) dressed as Rosie the Riveter, the iconic WWII woman worker; with food trucks, programs, costume contest, Big Band and Texas swing live music, swing dancing and lessons. 11am4pm. 1414 Harbour Way South, Richmond. www.rosietheriveter.org

Desi Comedy Fest @ Multiple Venues

Arts Events>>

August 9-15, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 29

Thu 16

We Players’ Caesar Maximus @ Music Concourse

Playmates and soul mates...

San Francisco:

1-415-692-5774

San Francisco Mime Troupe @ Dolores Park

Steve Hurst @ Point Richmond Studio

Peter Hujar: Speed of Life @ BAM/PFA, Berkeley

The acclaimed theatre company returns with Rotimi Agbabiaka, Joan Holden and composer Ira Marlowe’s new political satire, Seeing Red: A Time-Traveling Musical, where a disgruntled Trump voter goes back to the Socialist movement of 1912. Free ($20 donations). At parks and venues throughout Northern California, thru Sept. 9. sfmt.org

The creator handmade clocks made from recycled items showcases his new work. 2pm7pm. 38 Washington Ave., 2nd fl. (Art reception and music concert Aug. 23 at Bridge ArtSpace, 23 Maine Ave., Richmond). stevenartclocks.com

Exhibit of photos by the New York 1970s-’80s art/celebrity scene gay photographer who died of AIDS in 1987; thru Nov. 18. Also, Way Bay 2, thru Sept 2. Cecelia Vicuna: About to Happen, thru Nov. 18. Ongoing film series at the Pacific Film Archive. Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archive, 2155 Center St. Berkeley. www.bampfa.org

The World of Frida @ Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek

Wild SF Walking Tours @ Citywide Enjoy weekly informed tours of various parts of San Francisco, from Chinatown to the Haight, and a ‘radical’ and political-themed LGBTinclusive tour. Various dates and times. $15-$25. wildsftours.com

Group exhibit of works inspired by Frida Kahlo; thru Sept 16. 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek. www.BedfordGallery.org

Mon 13 Empowerment in Print @ GLBT History Museum

Sun 12 Make Believe: The World of Glen Keane @ Walt Disney Museum Exhibit of animation art by the prolific artist (Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan ). Thru Sept 3. Also, Walt Disney’s Nine Old Men: Masters of Animation ( Bambi, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp ) , thru Jan. 7. Other exhibits of Disney artifacts and film screenings. 104 Montgomery St, The Presidio. $5-$25. 10am-6pm. Closed Tue. wdfmuseum.org

Music/Dance Concerts @ Stern Grove Weekly live outdoor music concerts in various genres; August 12: Ronnie Spector & The Ronettes. Thru Aug. 19. Sloat Blvd at 19th Ave. www.sterngrove.org

Queer Tango @ Finnish Hall, Berkeley Same-sex partner tango dancing, including lessons for newbies, food and drinks. $5-$10. 3:30pm6:30pm. 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley. www.finnishhall.org

Empowerment in Print: LGBTQ Activism, Pride & Lust, a miniexhibit of periodicals from the collection. Angela Davis: OUTspoken, a new exhibit of art and ephemera about the historic lesbian activist and scholar, and Faces of the Past: Queer Lives in Northern California Before 1930, part of the Queer Past Becomes Present main exhibit. $5. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Oth Kothsimeuang @ Strut Love is Love is Love!, the artist’s exhibit of cute gay illustrations. Thru August. 470 Castro St. www.strutsf.org

Westward @ City Hall Exhibit of large-scale photos by women photographers focusing on West Coast communities. Thru May 2019. North Light Court, Ground Floor, 1 Dr Carlton B Goodlett Place. www.sfartscommission.org

Tue 14 Conversation 7 @ SF Arts Commission Main Gallery

Respect: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom @ Oakland Museum Last day of the exhibit that visualizes the movement and sound of the music genre. Free-$16. WedSun. Thru Aug. 12. 1000 Oak St., Oakland. www.museumca.org

Dual exhibit of works by Marcela Pardo Ariza and Farah Al Qasimi, who explore queer representation and the depiction of women in the U.S. and Arab countries. Tue-Sat 11am-6pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. #126. www.sfartscommission.org

Wed 15 The Clyde Always Show @ The Marsh The Bard of the Lower Haight’s comic monologue solo show. $20-$100. Wed, 8pm thru Aug. 29. 1062 Valencia St. themarsh.org

Expedition Reef @ California Academy of Sciences Exhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth; Deep Reefs, Giants of Land and Sea, Gems and Minerals, and more. $20-$35. Mon-Sat 9:30am-5pm. Sun 11am5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Thu 16 After the Thrill is Gone @ MOAD Fashion, Politics and Culture in Contemporary South African Art. Also, Digitalia: Art & the Economy of Ideas, and Emerging Artists exhibit, each thru Aug. 26. Free/$10. Wed-Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St. www.moadsf.org

Caesar Maximus @ Music Concourse We Players’ performs Nick Medina and Ava Roy’s adaptation of Shakespseare’s Julius Caesar, with a circus theme, performed outdoors at the park’s museum area. $35-$65. Thu-Sun 5:30pm. Thru Sept. 30. Music Concourse Drive at Golden Gate Park. www.weplayers.org/

Pet-A-Llama Comedy Fest @ Petaluma Venues Inaugural comedy festival, with Scott Thmpson (as Buddy Cole), Guy Branum, Brian Posehn, The Sklar Brothers, Rory Scovel, Caitlin Gill and others. Free/$25. Thru Aug. 18. Shows at The Mystic Theatre, The Big east and Copperfield’s Books. petallama.com

Walking the Line @ GearBox Gallery, Oakland

Sun 12 Ronnie Spector, part of Music/ Dance Concerts @ Stern Grove

Group exhibit of works. Thu-Fr 12pm-6pm. Sat 11am-5pm. 770 West Grand Ave., Oakland. www.gearbocgallery.com To submit event listings, email events@ebar.com Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication.

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<< Leather

30 • Bay Area Reporter • August 9-15, 2018

Teaching an old dog new tricks If it’s not fun, why bother?

A few days after that epiphany on Folsom Street, someone I know asked me for my advice since he was a newcomer to BDSM. In the interest of sticking with the theme here of teaching an old dog new tricks and learning about kink, I thought I’ve included my advice here. I think BDSM beginners sometimes get confused by the onslaught of information and advice. So, here’s what I typically say to newcomers with the addition of telling them that if they have specific questions they’re welcome to ask. Perhaps you’ll find this useful too.

M. Simpson

The sexy pup that inspired Race’s Up Your Alley epiphany moment and the pup’s equally sexy Sir on the left and handler on the right.

by Race Bannon

ight after the bucket-load of events leading up to the iconic Up Your Alley street fair, I knew what I wanted to write about this week. The second a certain pivotal inspiring moment occurred at the fair, I knew I needed to mention it to my readers. Then something else happened, so this column is now about two things. Luckily, the two things I’m writing about relate to each other rather well. At the fair this year I had an amazing time, as usual. Lots of sexy men, friends aplenty, many of whom I only see once or twice a year at such events. An electric sexual charge was in the air that wafted through the crowd like erotic fairy dust. It was just an awesome time and I loved it. But, over the course of a few brief minutes during the fair I had one of those “ah ha” moments. An extremely buffed, sexy-bodied man in pup hood, pup mitts, harness and buttplug pup tail bounded up on all fours to a friend accompanying me. The interaction was quick, intense and fun. They played in the street as handler and pup for a few hot moments. I found it uncharacteristically sexy to witness. Then the pup came up to me. Pup handling is not my forté. It’s not historically been something I’ve resonated with mentally. That changed,

in an instant. Unexpectedly. In a flash, I “got” the turn on of pup play. It turns out that the sexy pup under the hood was a friend of mine. I hadn’t known about the pup side of his erotic personality, and I sensed that this was one of his first forays into publicly expressing that proclivity. It was so darn hot to have him at my feet, nuzzling me, pawing at me, rubbing against my crotch. For whatever reason, the planets aligned, and I plugged into the joy that evidently a lot of my pup and handler friends have known about for a while. Why do I mention this? Because at 64 years of age, and having been deeply active in the leather and kink scene since I was 18, I still learned something new. I learned something about a new kink. I learned something about myself. I was yet again reminded that our sexualities are not static things. They grow and morph over time in ways we can’t always predict. I think it’s vitally important to approach life with an open mind, ready to absorb new experiences and adopt them into our definition of self if we so choose. So it is with sex, kink and relationships. Never stop exposing yourself to new ideas. Don’t unknowingly block yourself from trying something that might ultimately prove to be a lot of fun. Realize that learning is ongoing. If you stop learning, in life and in sex, you shortchange yourself.

1. Dive into a social network of fellow BDSM people. Not just one person. Many people. Entertain different perspectives. Get different opinions. The more diverse your BDSM friends and acquaintances are the more realistic and grounded will be your own approach. Nothing replaces involvement in a community for entrance into any subculture, BDSM included. 2. Learn enough to have fun and keep you and your play partners safe. Don’t assume you have to know everything. The truth is most BDSM players play within a narrow range of erotic activities and most techniques aren’t all that difficult to learn. (Be prepared for that opinion to sound like heresy to some.) There are those who will tout their BDSM technique credentials or years of experience as some sort of pass to consider themselves at a higher level than you. They’re not. 3. Never forget that human connection is what it’s all about. The highly technically skilled BDSM player who walks through their play in a paint by numbers fashion is boring as hell. Take the person with whom you can be closely connected and bonded with over another who

just happens to have more technical expertise. Yes, enough knowledge and experience to play safely and enjoyably is needed, but technique takes a back seat to connection. I always try to remember Joseph Bean’s advice: If you’re not in love, don’t do the scene. Think of love and connection as the same thing in this case. 4. Never assume you know it all. That includes never assuming your way is the right way, or that anyone else’s way is the right way. How people approach and do BDSM varies person to person, situation to situation. Sexualities are as different as trees and snowflakes. No two are like, nor should they be. Create your own erotic life. Lift tidbits from others, but don’t parrot anyone. 5. Trust the red flags. As a friend once said to me, the red flags are not waving you in. If someone seems dangerous, boastful, arrogant, deceptive, or otherwise potentially bad to befriend, don’t. Trust your guts. Yes, ask others you trust about the person, but always trust your guts.

Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. www.bannon.com

For Leather Events, visit www.ebar.com/events

Up Your Alley street fair seems to have a high percentage of sexy attendees in full leather or other fetish gear.

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One of the most popular attractions in recent years at the Up Your Alley street fair is the Steamworks Twister stage, where barely -clad men twist and contort themselves for the titillation and amusement of the crowd.

And remember, your genitals and erotic brain will sometimes try to override good sense and reason. Be aware of that at all times. 6. Have fun. Let me repeat that. Have fun. If it’s not fun, why bother? BDSM is not supposed to be “work” or rigid or mired in countless sets of rules or checklists. Go with the flow and enjoy yourself and at the same time focus on your play partners also having the most fun possible. 7. Share what you know, mostly through your play. Nothing impacts someone as deeply as having a good, fun BDSM experience during actual play. Yes, sharing your knowledge and experience in other ways is important, but the play is the thing. 8. Have fun. I know, I said that before. But it’s really, really important.t

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August 9-15, 2018 • Bay Area Reporter • 31

Shining Stars Steven Underhill Photos by

iCandy @ The Café

t iCandy, one of the weekly events at The Café, the Castro District’s upstairs dance club (with an accessible elevator) draws a fun and diverse crowd of club kids, queens and cuties. The spacious balcony, lounge areas and friendly staff are also on point. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com See plenty more photos on BARtab’s Facebook page, facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at StevenUnderhill.com.