November 10, 2011 edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 41 • No. 45 • November 10-16, 2011

Lee appears headed to full term as mayor

Adithya Sambamurthy/The Bay Citizen

Interim Mayor Ed Lee, left, leaves Tres restaurant after speaking to supporters on Election Night.

by Matthew S. Bajko

nterim Mayor Ed Lee, who upturned this year’s mayoral race with his switcheroo from not wanting the job permanently to seeking a full four-year term, appears headed to clinching victory after a nasty

skirmish for Room 200 at City Hall. Based on unofficial returns Wednesday morning, Lee was the clear frontrunner with 31 percent of the vote. His closest challenger was progressive Supervisor John Avalos, with nearly 19 percent. City Attorney Dennis Herrera placed third with 11 percent.

Rick Gerharter

With his wife, Karen Zapata, at his side, mayoral candidate John Avalos speaks to his supporters during an Election Night party Tuesday.

Because Lee fell short of the 50 percent plus one vote needed to secure victory Tuesday night, the other 13 candidates will each be eliminated starting with the person who received the least votes. The second choice, and if needed third choice, votes from those candidates’ voters will then be

tabulated until a winner is declared. Stopping just short of declaring victory, Lee sounded assured during his Election Night bash that he would remain in first place. “I think San Francisco wants us to do four See page 13 >>

Mirkarimi leads in SF sheriff race

Gascón ahead in district attorney race

by Matthew S. Bajko

upervisor Ross Mirkarimi held a significant lead in the race to be San Francisco’s next sheriff in the first round of voting Tuesday, November 8. According to unofficial returns Wednesday, he had a 10-point advantage over his closest rival, former undersheriff Chris Cunnie. But he fell well short of the 50 percent plus one vote needed to secure a victory on Election Night, triggering the city’s ranked choice voting system to determine a winner. The city’s Election Department planned to release the first round results in the instant runoff late Wednesday afternoon several hours after the Bay Area Reporter went to press. But it could take several days before the outcome of the race is determined. With all precincts reporting, Mirkarimi had 38 percent of the vote in the first round, while Cunnie came in second with 28 percent. There was a 13,224-vote difference between the two. Landing in third with 27 percent was Sheriff’s Captain Paul Miyamoto, while former deputy sheriff David Wong came up fourth with 6.5 percent of the vote. Under the ranked choice voting rules, Wong will be eliminated from the race and his second and third place votes will be added to the tallies

Jane Philomen Cleland

Supervisor and sheriff candidate Ross Mirkarimi addressed supporters at his election party Tuesday night.

of the other candidates. If Miyamato remains behind Cunnie – after Tuesday night he was short 1,160 votes – then his second and third place votes will be tabulated to decide the winner. Mirkarimi, a leader of the city’s progressives, See page 2 >>

by Seth Hemmelgarn ppointed District Attorney George Gascón appeared to be holding on to his job after Tuesday’s initial election returns saw him open a commanding lead in the race. Unofficial returns as of Tuesday night showed Gascón with 56,758, or 42.2 percent, of the vote. Criminal justice expert and former Police Commissioner David Onek and longtime Alameda County prosecutor Sharmin Bock were running close for second place, though, and one of them could overtake Gascón. Due to San Francisco’s ranked choice voting system, final results aren’t likely to be known for several days. Unofficial results showed Onek with 30,514 votes, or 22.7 percent, while Bock had 27,761 votes, or 20.7 percent. Gascón, who was appointed by former Mayor Gavin Newsom after District Attorney Kamala Harris was elected state attorney general, had said from the beginning that he would run to seek a full four-year term. “I feel very proud of the effort we put together,” Gascón said of supporters at his campaign party Tuesday night. He expressed gratitude for gay backers, including the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, which gave Gascón its sole endorsement in the race.

{ FIRST OF TWO SECTIONS }

Jane Philomen Cleland

District Attorney George Gascón thanked supporters at his election party Tuesday night.

However, he said, “It’s too early to say anything else.” He said he’d feel safe declaring victory “When we can statistically say the results are sound. I don’t think that’s the case yet.” But his closest challenger, Onek, noted in a statement Wednesday morning that he was See page 13 >>

<< Election 2011

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

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LGBT candidates win across the country by Lisa Keen

uesday was a very good day for openly LGBT candidates around the country, with three out of four of more than 60 winning their races, including Annise Parker, who secured a second term as mayor of Houston. But the real excitement in the November 8 results came in some of the low-profile races of the day, many in notoriously conservative places. Four out of five openly gay candidates won in conservative North Carolina, including LaWana Mayfield, the first openly LGBT member of the Charlotte City Council. Another lesbian, Caitlin Copple, became the first openly LGBT person elected to the City Council in Missoula, Montana. Attorney Mike Laster became the first gay man to be elected to the Houston City Council, and businessman Zach Adamson became the first openly LGBT member of the Indianapolis City Council. Alex Morse, 22, won an upset victory over a longtime public official to become mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and one of the youngest mayors in the country. Steve Pougnet glided to a second term as mayor of Palm Springs, California. And attorney Chris Seelbach, who helped overturn Cincinnati’s anti-gay charter amendment seven years ago, won a seat on the City Council Tuesday. Data collected independently by Keen News Service and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund indicates there were at least 63 openly LGBT candidates on the ballot Tuesday: 47 of them won, 14 lost, and two outcomes remain uncertain.

More gay mayors Eight of nine openly gay candidates for mayor won Tuesday. Parker in Houston secured 50 percent of the vote in a field of six candidates, though none of her five opponents had anywhere near the funding or organization that Parker did. Still, going into the race, Parker had reason to worry. In midOctober, a local television news poll found that voters were split on her effectiveness. Fifty percent rated her job performance in her first twoyear term as either “fair” or “poor,” while 47 percent rated it “good” or “excellent.” In an interview with KHOUTV, Parker attributed her poll split to people’s anxiety around the economy. “We have the worst economy here in Houston that we’ve had in decades and we have the worst economy that we’ve had nationally since the Great Depression,” Parker told KHOU. “I understand completely why people are anxious, unhappy. It is what it is.” KHOU noted the bulk of the low

Sheriff race

From page 1

had the support of outgoing Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who decided to retire after 32 years in the elected position. He also had considerable support among the LGBT community. The Bay Area Reporter and the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club both gave the District 5 supervisor a sole endorsement in the race. Openly gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), who remained neutral in this year’s mayoral race, worked hard to elect Mirkarimi, speaking on his behalf at campaign rallies and

Houston Mayor Annise Parker easily won re-election Tuesday.

job performance scores came from Houston’s unemployed and that mayors in other big cities around the country were polling similarly. Right-wing groups that opposed Parker in 2009 tried again to portray her as a lesbian activist, creating a YouTube video that showed a slow-motion clip of her giving her partner a peck on the cheek after being sworn in. It also showed a news clip of Parker appointing a transgender woman, Phyllis Frye, to a local judgeship, and a news clip of an executive order Parker issued to ban discrimination in public restrooms on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The video also showed a letter in which Parker referred to her partner, Kathy Hubbard, as “first lady.” In Holyoke, Morse, a recent college graduate but longtime local youth and community activist, won an upset victory against an incumbent who had been a top town official for many years. The key issue had been over casinos – with Morse being against and incumbent Elaine Pluta being for. Morse had served on the governor’s LGBT commission and started a nonprofit LGBT group. While attending Brown University in nearby Providence, Rhode Island, Morse worked for openly gay thenMayor David Cicilline, who is now in Congress. In Palm Springs Pougnet won re-election over a field of six other candidates, taking 70 percent of the vote. His victory came despite criticism last year over his not taking a stronger stand after a police sting resulted in the arrests of several gay men. The only losing mayoral candidate Tuesday was Bevan Dufty in San Francisco. As of Wednesday morning, Dufty had earned 4.73 percent of the vote in a field of 16 candidates. [See story, page 1.]

Alex Morse was the upset winner in the mayoral contest in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Copple, an out lesbian, won a seat to the Missoula City Council in Montana, a state with a very sparse LGBT population. While Copple’s connections to the gay

community were not consistently highlighted during the campaign, they weren’t hidden either. The local daily newspaper, the Missoulian, ran an article about her involvement “with the Pride Foundation, which works to connect and strengthen Montana’s gay rights movement.” Four of the 63 races Tuesday were for seats in state legislatures. One of the most important of those was Adam Ebbin, who moved from the state House to the state Senate in Virginia, becoming the first openly LGBT person in that chamber. Unfortunately, the state Senate lost a number of Democrats Tuesday and is switching from majority Democrat to majority Republican, giving the state a Republican majority now in both chambers and the governor’s office. Two gay men won Assembly seats in New Jersey: Tim Eustace and Reed Gusciora. The only loss on the state level was Patrick Forrest, who fell short in his bid for a state Senate seat in Virginia. Two out of three candidates for judgeships won yesterday. The winners were Anthony Cannataro in New York and Hugh McGough in Pittsburgh. Daniel Clifford, a Republican, lost his bid for a judgeship in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. All five candidates for local school boards won Tuesday, including Daniel Hernandez, with 60 percent of the vote, in Tucson. Hernandez is the openly gay aide to Representative Gabby Giffords (D-Arizona) who is credited with saving her life after a gunman shot and killed a number of people and wounded others, including Giffords, who were attending a meet-and-greet the congresswoman was hosting outside a local grocery store in January. Of the 41 candidates running for City Council or its equivalent in their cities, 28 won. Two others are still pending. Brad Bender’s bid for a Town Council seat in Southampton, New York, is too close to call. Lance Rhodes has been thrown into a runoff for a seat on the council in East Point City, Georgia.▼

featured prominently on mailers to LGBT households. Gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) and gay Supervisor David Campos also backed Mirkarimi, who pledged to maintain Hennessey’s progressive approaches to drug treatment and violence prevention in the city’s jails and diverse hiring practices. Cunnie also had attracted strong LGBT support, securing the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club’s endorsement in the race. Gay Supervisor Scott Wiener and city Treasurer Jose Cisneros were also key backers. Initially, Cunnie was Hennessey’s pick to replace him, but

after the unexpected death of his son last year Cunnie withdrew from public life. He then decided to enter the race in July, long after Hennessey had already switched his allegiance to Mirkarimi. Miyamoto won gay mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty’s first place endorsement in the race and played it up in his mailers to LGBT voters. He also had backing from the sheriff’s deputy union in the race. Early on two openly gay men had entered the race, former sheriff’s deputy Jon Gray and police officer Michael Evans. But both dropped out this summer after endorsements began going to the other candidates.▼

Other races

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Election 2011>>

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

Gay supe wins one initiative, loses two by Seth Hemmelgarn

an Francisco voters had a chance to decide the fate of several ballot measures addressing everything from school construction to campaign consultants on Election Day, Tuesday, November 8. Preliminary results showed openly gay Supervisor Scott Wiener would see the passage of one measure that he had sponsored, but the defeat of two others. Proposition B, which as of Tuesday night was passing 68 percent to 32 percent, would authorize the issuance of $248 million in general obligation bonds to make necessary capital improvements to streets and roadways. Wiener said he was “tickled pink” by the measure’s apparent success. “A lot of people did not think that was going to pass and get the twothirds needed,” he said, adding that he’d had his own concerns. Two other Wiener-sponsored measures seemed to be headed toward defeat, however. Both needed a simple majority to pass. Proposition E was being soundly defeated, with 66.8 percent of voters against it and 33.3 percent supporting it, unofficial results showed. It would allow the mayor and Board of Supervisors to amend or

Rick Gerharter

Supervisor Scott Wiener

repeal measures that the mayor or any four supervisors had put on the ballot. That action could be taken after a certain period and with a super-majority vote of the Board of Supervisors. The proposition would not apply to initiatives put on the ballot by voter signature. Wiener said he knew “from the getgo” that passing Prop E would be “an uphill battle.” However, he said ballot measure reform is needed, and he indicated he’d try again. The proposition is the beginning of “a long-term

conversation, and one defeat of one ballot measure should not end that conversation,” he said. Another proposal that Wiener was likely to see defeated was Proposition F, which was losing by a vote of 55.8 percent opposed to 44.2 percent in favor. The measure would apply similar registration and disclosure requirements to campaign consultants as apply to lobbyists. The proposition would make technical changes in the 1997 ballot initiative regulating local political consultants. It also would allow future changes to the ordinance to be made by a super-majority of the Ethics Commission and the Board of Supervisors, without the necessity of going back to the voters. Wiener said opponents waged a “misinformation campaign” about the measure by claiming that it would allow the commission to make changes unilaterally. He also said that while he’d sponsored the measure, it had come from the city’s Ethics Commission.

Other measures Voters also had the chance to weigh in on competing pension reform measures Tuesday. Proposition C was winning by a vote of 68.7 percent to 31.3 percent, See page 11 >>

Emeryville, Marin>>

Lesbians win council, college board races by Matthew S. Bajko

esbians sailed to victory Tuesday in a city council race in the East Bay and a contest for a college board in Marin. Emeryville City Councilwoman Ruth Atkin easily claimed a fourth term in office overseeing the bayside city known as the home of animated film company Pixar and the location of Ikea and other big box stores along Interstate 80. According to unofficial returns Wednesday from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, Atkin placed third with 25 percent of the vote. Fellow council member Nora Davis also won re-election, nabbing 25 percent of the vote, while newcomer Jacqueline Asher was the top vote getter with 27 percent. Councilman Ken Bukowski, who admitted to using methamphetamine in a news interview last year and saw longtime supporters turn on him, was turned out of office. He fell short with 13 percent of the vote. Atkin, a social worker married to wife Janet Tobacman, first won her seat on the council in 1999 and is one of the longest serving out elected officials in the East Bay. Marin County resident Stephanie O’Brien secured a seat on the College of Marin Board of Trustees. According to unofficial returns Wednesday, the public education consultant placed third with 18 percent of the vote in the sevenperson race for four seats on the board overseeing the community college. Incumbents Eva Long with 20 percent and Phil Kranenburg at 18 percent, as well as newcomer James Namnath, who nabbed 15 percent of the vote, all secured seats on the board, according to the preliminary polling results.

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Based on the latest financial disclosures filed by the candidates, O’Brien led in fundraising in the race with nearly $17,000 in contributions. She will join another lesbian board member, attorney Wanden P. Treanor, in helping to run the campus. The single O’Brien, 52, lives in Woodacre, an unincorporated town in west Marin. Her 12-year-old son, Alec Levy-O’Brien, attends seventh grade in the Lagunitas School District, where O’Brien has served on the school board for 10 years. She had secured the backing of

the Marin Independent Journal in the race, and this past Sunday openly gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), whose district includes Marin County, announced his support of O’Brien. Both Atkin and O’Brien had won the endorsement of the Bay Area Reporter as well as the national Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. ▼

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<< Open Forum

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

Volume 41, Number 45 November 10-16, 2011 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Thomas E. Horn Bob Ross (Founder, 1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador • Erin Blackwell Roger Brigham • Scott Brogan Victoria A. Brownworth • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Chuck Colbert Richard Dodds • David Duran Raymond Flournoy • David Guarino Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell John F. Karr • Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy David Lamble • Tony K. LeTigre Michael McDonagh • Paul Parish Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Ed Walsh • Sura Wood

ART DIRECTION Kurt Thomas PRODUCTION MANAGER T. Scott King PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland Marc Geller Rick Gerharter Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge Christine Smith

GENERAL MANAGER Michael M. Yamashita DISPLAY ADVERTISING Colleen Small Scott Wazlowski CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING David McBrayer NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Out & About listings • events@ebar.com Advertising • advertising@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com A division of Benro Enterprises, Inc. © 2011 Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation. Advertising rates available upon request. Our list of subscribers and advertisers is conﬁdential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

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Change needed in public financing N

ow that ballots have been cast in the San Francisco mayoral election – although we’ll have to wait a few more days for the results because of ranked-choice voting – it is time for city leaders to examine and fix public financing for candidates. The benefit of public financing is that it allows candidates to run who might not be able to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to effectively compete in a mayoral election. Under the current system, candidates who raised $25,000 on their own qualified for the program and whatever money they raised was matched, up to $900,000, if they agreed to cap spending at $1.5 million. The Bay Citizen, in a recent piece that looked at public financing, noted that nine of the 16 mayoral candidates qualified. By Election Day, the Ethics Commission reported that nearly $4.6 million in public funds had been given to nine mayoral candidates. The problem is that not all those candidates’ campaigns took off. In pre-election polling, especially once interim Mayor Ed Lee entered the race in early August, several of the major candidates were in single digits. Their chances of winning were slim. Yet if they dropped out of the race they would have had to repay the public money. It’s a no-brainer that not a single candidate who accepted public financing ended their campaign, even if they were at 0 percent in the polls. “If you don’t have enough to pay back financing, you stay in the race, even though you can’t win,” Corey Cook, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco, told Bay Citizen. The Ethics Commission’s intention with mayoral candidate public financing was to reduce the influence of large donors, a worthwhile goal. But there needs to be a better way to have this financing. During the campaign, former Supervisor and mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty acknowledged the problems with the current situation and suggested that disbursement of public funds

should occur after the filing deadline. This year, candidates began receiving public funds months before the early August cutoff. Dufty’s suggestion makes a lot of sense. By delaying the distribution of funds, candidates are forced to do their own fundraising in the months leading up to the filing deadline. Candidates with a base of support and a compelling message likely would do well, those without such a foundation might use the time to reconsider their bids for elective office. That’s how many supporters and political action committees decide whom to support: candidates need to be qualified (which the major mayoral candidates were this year) but they also need to be viable. Part of determining viability is the ability to raise funds. Most politicians detest fundraising and with

good reason: it is time-consuming and hard to ask for money, especially in these economic times. But when you’re running to be mayor of a major international city like San Francisco, there needs to be some distinction when it comes to accepting public money. Much of that $4.6 million given to the candidates could have been spent on health and social services, parks, roads, or other programs that have been cut to the bone during this difficult budget year. Instead, the city ended up shelling out money to candidates who knew they wouldn’t win and stayed in the race anyway. The Ethics Commission needs to seriously look at its public financing plan, and develop a policy for the next election that forces candidates to justify some level of viability before doling out millions of dollars.▼

Reflections on homophobia and LGBTQ youth smoking trends by Lee Staub

ctober 13, 1998 is a day that will burn in my memory forever. It was the day after Matthew Shepard, a college student from Laramie, Wyoming, was savagely beaten and left strung on a fence to die. His life was cut short for no other reason than he was a young gay man who strolled into the wrong bar at the wrong time. As a 16-year-old struggling with my own sexual and gender identity, I remember reading an article in the local newspaper about Shepard on my way to school that windy fall morning. I so clearly recall sitting in my English composition class that same day listening to my classmates around me calling each other “faggot” and “gay.” I sat there on the margins of the classroom, my fearful silence fanning the flames of the anger that burned inside. In many ways, things are better for today’s LGBT youth than they were 10 or 20 or 30 years ago. The mainstream LGBT rights movement made considerable strides over the past 10 years in the fight for marriage equality and most recently the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” However, queer and transgender youth still struggle with an escalated level of stress that may be compounded by other intersecting forms of oppression such as abelism, racism, and classism. It is no walk in the park to be a LGBTQ youth in today’s society. “A lot of my friends, like myself, are part of the LGBTQ community, and have to deal with constant scrutiny not only for being out to society but also for the things we do as teenagers,” stated Donovan, a recent Irvington High School graduate. Last year Dan Savage launched the It Gets Better project, which sought to shed light upon the epidemic of suicide and bullying afflicting LGBTQ youth across the nation. This campaign brought a lot of national attention to the fact that many LGBTQ youth experience higher levels of stress than many of their heterosexual peers due to living in a homophobic and transphobic society. Of the youth that do survive the taunting and teasing, how many turn to tobacco, alcohol,

or other types of substance use to cope with the stress? In 2009, the National Youth Advocacy Coalition conducted a nationwide research project that focused upon smoking trends among LGBTQ youth (ages 18-24). Their research found that of 989 questionnaires received (88 of which were committed due to missing or insufficient data) and about 50 focus group participants, a total of 51 percent of the respondents reported ever smoking and 42 percent considered themselves current smokers. Equally alarming is the fact that 20 percent of the self-identified non-smokers considered themselves “social smokers.” The findings from NYAC’s study is consistent with a 2004 California LGBT Tobacco Use survey that found that 44 percent of queer and transgender youth smoke cigarettes; two and a half times as much as their straight peers. Jose Armenta, a 22-year-old college student and aspiring filmmaker, was in third grade when he tried his first cigarette. Even as a child he describes experiencing pressure to conform to dominant ideals of masculinity. “The older kids told me I had to smoke [a cigarette] if I want to be a real man,” he said. “And there goes my dumb ass stealing a cigarette from my uncle’s room. I lit the smoke and oh, my god! It tasted horrible. I was coughing so badly. It made me zzzzzdizzy, but I told the other kids it was so good and then they told me I was the man! Can you believe I was the man! Even though I was in third grade I was the man! And I was accepted among my buddies.” Armenta has been smoking cigarettes on and off since high school. He started smoking regularly to fit in among his peers: “I wanted to have a lot of friends. I wanted to be the guy everybody was talking about. I did not care if cigarettes gave me cancer or other serious diseases. I was young and I was invincible, plus I had my own crew. I was accepted for being a gay guy that smoked at school.” Smoking created a facade of security and acceptance for Armenta. With each wisp of smoke came the illusion of rebellion, of masculinity, of an iconiclike coolness that clouded the stark reality of addiction and dependence. While he is well

aware of the health risks associated with smoking and has made multiple quit attempts he still relies upon cigarettes not only to manage his stress and anxiety, but even to help meet other guys: “It’s a good ice-breaker.” For many LGBTQ youth, like Armenta, smoking can serve a very specific purpose. “Smoking with a group of other LGBTQ identified people not only gave them a social space to make friends, but it was a vehicle for bonding over the stresses of being discriminated against for being LGBTQ at school and with their families and friends,” according to the NYAC survey. Many of the youth that participated in this study suggested that smoking is just a normal part of LGBTQ culture. Calvin, a gay 19-year-old college student, echoed a similar observation when asked about his perception of smoking trends within the LGBTQ community. “It seems like a normal thing to do,” he said. When did smoking become such a “normal” part of queer and transgender culture? With all the recent attention to bullying and the high suicide rates among LGBTQ youth it is vital to be aware of the many other insidious ways that homophobia and transphobia is wreaking havoc upon our youth. Sure, queer and transgender youth need to know that “it gets better,” and more importantly they need to know that they can be empowered to “make it better,” but what exactly does “better” look like? What are we as a community working toward? I hope for a society where LGBTQ youth don’t need cigarettes or alcohol to cope with discrimination and harassment. I wish for a plethora of safe spaces outside of the bar scene where queer and transgender youth can meet others like them and build community. Smoking does not need to be a normal part of LGBTQ culture. It is time that we as a community kick our dependence upon tobacco. We are better than this.▼ Lee Staub is a health education coordinator at Tri-City Health Center in Fremont. For free help quitting smoking call 1-800-NOBUTTS. Connect with Just for Us LGBT Tobacco Prevention Project online: Blog: www.queerpinklungs.wordpress.com; Twitter: @queerpinklungs; Facebook: Just for Us – LGBT Tobacco Prevention Project.

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Letters >>

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Supports new HIV policy

Appreciates coverage

Bravo to Luke Adams and Race Bannon for their excellent response to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s dangerous propaganda campaign against the use of Truvada as a tool in reducing HIV transmission. [“Brave new world: Test, treat, and PrEP,” Guest Opinion, November 3]. AHF’s campaign to prevent access to a medication that reduces HIV infections by as much as 90 percent is just plain wrong. I thank Messrs. Adams and Bannon for excellently articulating the falsehoods in AHF’s dangerous campaign to prevent access to a medication that significantly reduces HIV transmission.

I appreciate your coverage of the mayoral candidates attending the forum for HIV/AIDS policy [“Candidates address AIDS policy,” October 27]. HIV continues to make a deep impact, particularly in neighborhoods with the highest rates of economic and health disparities. In the Tenderloin, for example, many of the 1,700 people living with HIV/AIDS are homeless with cooccurring mental health and substance use issues. The lack of access to care and treatment, affordable housing, mental health, and substance use services contribute to climbing community viral rates among our most vulnerable residents. My hope is that our next mayor considers the importance of maintaining HIV funding throughout the city as well as funding for essential social supports.

Stephen Modde, Esq. San Francisco

Kim Gilgenberg-Castillo San Francisco

Gay band to lead Veterans Day Parade compiled by Cynthia Laird

o honor the end of the military’s anti-gay “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, organizers of this year’s Veterans Day Parade have asked the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Day Band to march as the honorary lead contingent this year. The parade steps off Market Street (at Montgomery) at 11 a.m. Friday, November 11. Band members said they were thrilled at the invitation. DADT was officially repealed September 20. “We’re so honored to be asked to represent the LGBT community in the city’s Veterans Day Parade this year,” drum major Michael Wong said in a statement. “We salute the community leaders who fought to end ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and the sacrifice of all our fellow Americans who have served this country through the armed forces.” The Veterans Day holiday is the anniversary of the signing of the World War I armistice. This year is the city’s 92nd annual and also recognizes the 70th anniversary of World War II and the 10th anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. A couple of the contingents with LGBT members are likely to participate. They include the Alexander Hamilton Post 448 of the American Legion and the Bob Basker post of the Legion. The Alexander Hamilton Post was among the first groups to carry a rainbow flag in the parade, according to band members. Band member Heidi Beeler noted that the San Francisco Veterans Day Parade has a long history of inclusiveness. The band has been invited to march in the parade since it formed in 1978, and has frequently participated over its 34 years. The band’s membership also includes several veterans of the armed forces. The public is invited to view the parade along the route, which goes along Market Street then south to the Civic Center area. The parade ends after passing the reviewing stand at the north side of City Hall.

Dance-a-thon for diabetes Sat. The nonprofit Dance Out Diabetes will hold a – you guessed it – dancea-thon in San Francisco Saturday, November 12 to raise funds for people at risk for or living with the disease to participate in the group’s monthly dance and educational programs. The party takes place from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Russian Center, 2460 Sutter Street. The event consists of four hours of dancing, educational and themed activities, health screening, diabetes industry displays, and free finger food and beverages, along with contests and prizes.

Jane Philomen Cleland

Paul Cox, right, marched with the Bob Basker Post of the American Legion at last year’s Veterans Day Parade, which occurred several weeks before the Senate voted to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Participants are encouraged to get sponsors or form teams to help raise money. Registration is $10 although no one will be turned away on the day of the event for inability to pay. Those participants living with diabetes are encouraged to bring their glucose testing equipment. The dance-a-thon also celebrates the one-year anniversary of Dance Out Diabetes and kicks off World Diabetes Day. For more information, visit www.danceoutdiabetes.org.

Women’s orchestra to hold Family Concert The Community Women’s Orchestra will kick off its 27th season with the annual Family Concert Sunday, November 13 at 5 p.m. at Lake Merritt United Methodist Church, 1330 Lakeshore Avenue, in Oakland. The program features John Williams’s “Star Wars Suite” – the 25th anniversary edition that includes music from the film not previously available for concert performance. And it should be a fun evening. Kathleen McGuire, conductor, said that the music is for people of any age. “The women of the orchestra are really excited about it, and will even wear Star Wars costumes while they play,” she said. Audience members are also encouraged to come in costume, and a contingent of Storm Troopers from the 501st Legion, along with Darth Vader, will make an appearance. Especially for kids, the orchestra will host an instrument zoo during intermission, during which children will have the opportunity to meet with members of the orchestra and learn about and play the various instruments. Special coloring books with line-drawings of orchestra members by artist and violist Judy

Johnson-Williams are also available to children. Tickets for the concert are $15 each or $25 for a family of two adults. Children are free. Tickets for seniors are $10. The Community Women’s Orchestra was founded in 1985 by conductor Nan Washburn. For more information, visit www. communitywomensorchestra.org.

Peninsula LGBT senior group to meet Peninsula Family Service is having the third meeting for its Peninsula Community Connections for LGBT Seniors. The group is a social and supportive space for LGBT people 55 and older to meet, talk, and connect as well as learn about local events happening throughout San Mateo County. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 16 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Peninsula Family Service (Winsom Room), 24 Second Avenue in San Mateo. The group will conduct its meeting first then walk downtown for an early dinner. For more information, contact Arquimides Pacheco, LGBT program coordinator, at (650) 4034300 ext. 4320 or apacheco@peninsulafamilyservice.org.

Lambda Legal symposium on marriage Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund will hold a free symposium and lecture, “Marriage Equality: What is to be done, right now?” on Friday, November 18 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 151 3rd Street. The lecture is in conjunction with SFMOMA’s new mixed media exhibit, The Air We Breathe, which showcases art and poetry of the marriage equality movement (museum admission is required to see the exhibit). [See related article in the arts section.] See page 6 >>

<< Business News

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

▼

Castro businesses put on their holiday finery by Raymond Flournoy

he Castro is gearing up for the holiday shopping season with plans for decorations, music, and special shopping events. Bank of America plaza near the corner of 18th and Castro streets will host the Castro Christmas tree again this year. The Merchants of Upper Market and Castro will kick off the holiday season with the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony on Monday, November 28 at 6 p.m. The festivities will be hosted by Bay Area Reporter society columnist Donna Sachet, and will include musical performances, appearances by city officials, and a word from the big man himself, Santa Claus. MUMC will also sponsor a number of special shopping events during the holiday season, with dates to be announced later. During these events, the Imperial Council will offer gift-wrapping while serenading the neighborhood with carolers. For information on the tree lighting and other shopping events, visit the MUMC website, www. castromerchants.com.

New Castro construction project unveiled At MUMC’s November meeting, the Strada Investment Group and Forest City Enterprises presented plans for a new development in the Castro. The project, combining commercial and residential space, would replace the Market Street 76 service station at 2175 Market Street with two buildings separated by a courtyard. The Market Streetfacing building would be five-stories with three commercial spaces on the ground floor. The building facing the 15th Street side of the triangular lot would be slightly shorter, reaching three stories in height and featuring porches and stoops on the groundlevel units. “We are very excited about the site. It sits right atop the Church Street station and will extend the merchant corridor, as there is a gap there now,” said David Noyola, associate at Strada Investment Group. The development would add approximately 85 to 90 rental units, of which 15 percent will be earmarked as affordable housing. The plans also include 40 parking spaces for residents. The Planning Department has begun environmental review of the project, and Strada and Forest City expect to go before the city’s Planning Commission next spring or summer, said Noyola.

Brooklyn style in the Castro A and G Merch, a Brooklyn-based home design store, has opened its first West Coast location in the Castro. The shop opened its doors in early October at 2279 Market Street, the large space vacated when Plant’It Earth relocated to Divisadero Street. Manager Scott Denardo said that

News Briefs

From page 5

Panelists include Andrea Shorter, formerly the marriage and coalition director for Equality California; and Camilla Taylor, Lambda Legal’s marriage project director.

A Day with HIV pics now online Back in mid-September, more than 120 people across America cap-

Steven Kasapi

Manager Scott Denardo has saved you a seat in the showroom of A and G Merch, newly opened in the Castro.

a number of cities were considered before San Francisco was chosen for A and G Merch’s second location. Denardo walked a number of neighborhoods in the City before settling on the Castro for the new shop. Denardo describes the store’s aesthetic as “an eclectic mix of fun stuff ... ranging from $2.50 hand wipes up to a $3,000 sofa.” In the back of the shop is a separate room that houses a rotation of special displays and pop-up stores. Currently, the space is occupied by a pop-up store run by another Brooklyn retailer, Dijitalfix, which specializes in electronic and audio equipment with an emphasis on neo-retro design.

Fast food facts The last month has seen a number of changes to the restaurant line-up in the Castro: In early October, Gingerfruit abruptly closed its doors. During the past year the site has featured two names, three managers, and three menus, but without success. After a long delay – which inspired legislative changes to neighborhood restaurant permit limits – Soup Freaks (499 Castro Street) opened its doors at the corner of Castro and 18th streets. Cafe Sophie opened its doors Pride weekend at 3463 16th Street, another location which has seen a rotation of closed businesses, including Kape and Caffe D’Amore. Co-owners Shawn Simon and Kirk Tarou serve coffee from Santa Cruz roaster Verve and Chinese teas imported by San Rafaelbased Silk Road Teas. Beautifull, the counter-service restaurant attached to Gold’s Gym at 2301 Market Street, closed for good on November 7 after less than six months in business. According to a sign taped to the window, “We have decided to focus our efforts on our California Street store.”

the Hotel Kabuki (1625 Post Street). The festivities begin at 8 p.m. and feature performances by Veronica Klaus with Tammy Hall as well as comedienne Marga Gomez. The GGBA is the first LGBTfocused chamber of commerce in the United States. The holiday event is sponsored by State Farm, Wells Fargo, Hotel Kabuki, B.A.R., New York Life, Barefoot Wine and Bubbly, Blue Angel Vodka, and O Izakaya Lounge. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased at www.ggba.com.

Under One Roof into the finals Under One Roof (518A Castro Street) is a finalist for 7x7 magazine’s title of “San Francisco’s Favorite Charity.” The Castro gift store, which funds a wide variety of local HIV and AIDS organizations, is competing against 48 other charities for the grand prize of $10,000, provided by PG&E. To see the full list of charities and to vote for your favorite, visit www.7x7. com/san-franciscos-favorite-charities-vote-top-49. Voting ends on November 15.

Days of wine from Rose’s Rose Cut Wine Bar, housed in the rear of D and H Sustainable Jewelers (2323 Market Street), is featuring the wines of Storrs Winery during the month of November. The Santa Cruz winery is dedicated to sustainable and organic production methods, in its vineyards as well as its apple orchard. On November 11 and 12 from 6 to 8 p.m., Storrs Winery will host a special wine tasting event at D and H supporting the Green Gem Foundation. This organization seeks to develop the African gemstone industry in an ethical manner, by investing in local communities and supporting humanitarian efforts. Current programs supported by the Green Gem Foundation include women’s education and clean-water initiatives.▼

The Golden Gate Business Association is hosting its annual gala tonight (Thursday, October 10) at

A donation of $25 is requested for the event. To RSVP, email info@dnhjewelers.com. For more information on the Green Gem Foundation, visit www. greengemfoundation.com.

tured a moment of their day to show the world the challenges and resolve of living with HIV. Their poignant images from Wednesday, September 21 are now collected in a photo essay, “A Day with HIV in America” and are online at www.adaywithhivinamerica.com. The images were posted last week by Positively Aware magazine (www.positivelyaware.com), which organized the day. The subjects of the photos range from the notable – Illinois state

Representative Greg Harris, one of only two state legislators in the country who is openly HIV-positive – to people such as Velietta Dickens Rogers, who led a very sheltered life because of HIV. Thirty-one of the images will be included in the November/ December issue of the magazine and the photos will also be shown at the U.S. Conference on AIDS, which takes place this weekend in Chicago.▼

GGBA holiday celebration

▼

Politics>>

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

Talk turns to election reforms in SF races by Matthew S. Bajko

ven before voters went to the polls in San Francisco Tuesday, talk already had turned to if the city’s electoral process needs to be reformed. Throughout this year’s campaign season rumblings about ranked choice voting and public financing of campaigns grew louder, with some calling for both to be junked. Tuesday during the Board of Supervisors meeting Supervisors Sean Elsbernd and Mark Farrell proposed a charter amendment aimed at ending ranked choice voting. It will need six votes to make it onto the ballot next year. “I think after this election a lot of people will be looking to make lots of changes, probably on ranked choice and public finance,” predicted Rafael Mandelman, a gay man who sits on the local Democratic County Central Committee and last year lost a bid for District 8 supervisor. “With ranked choice we will have to see how many people vote this year and how many vote for the winner. If it is indeed a minority of people who vote for the person who wins, I think the city may need to have a conversation about the benefits for ranked choice.” Another local Democratic Party official, Carole Migden, an out lesbian who served both on the board and in the state Legislature, has never been a fan of doing away with runoff elections when no candidate receives a majority in the general election. Having seen instant voter runoffs utilized last year in Oakland and this year in San Francisco, Migden told the Bay Area Reporter her opposition to the IRV system has not dissipated. If anything, it has only grown. “I think it is an abomination,” said Migden, who also sits on the DCCC. “I think one person, one vote is a sacred part of democracy.” On the flip side there are those who advocate for not only keeping the current system but also allowing voters to rank more than three choices in local races. Their argument is the three-vote maximum is too limiting and perhaps should be expanded to as many as five choices. In this camp is transgender activist and union organizer Gabriel Haaland, who told the B.A.R. he sees no reason to do away with ranked choice. “I agree we should look at what happened and see if we should tinker with it. But you don’t have to throw the whole baby out with the bath water,” he said. “If changes are necessary to improve it, I think everybody would look at that.” Asked about making fixes to how votes are tallied in local elections, gay Supervisor David Campos demurred this week from advocating for any specific changes. Instead he said, “I think it depends on what happens” in the races this year for mayor, sheriff, and district attorney. In an email to city voters this week Rob Richie, executive director of FairVote, defended ranked choice voting as helping to diversify representation on the Board of Supervisors and increasing voter turnout. If any changes are to be made, he argued, it should be to how election officials educate voters on how to cast their ballots. “San Francisco voters also have grown more engaged in these RCV elections. Far fewer voters now skip city races, for example,” wrote

Rick Gerharter

Local Democratic Party leader Carole Migden

Richie. “No voting method is perfect, of course. No method will always elect the candidate you want to win. And San Francisco’s RCV elections could be improved with more creative voter education and better equipment that allows for a cleaner ballot design and more rankings.”

City funding of races also questioned Questions about the city’s public financing system has also been raised, in particular with a stipulation that candidates who take city money and then drop out prior to Election Day have to repay the funding. The practical effect of the rule has been derisively described as creating “zombie candidates.” The term means that some mayoral contenders who normally would bow out of the race due to low polling numbers instead remain in the race so they are not on the hook for paying the city back. “I think public financing is important but we may need to tweak it. It is a weird incentive to force people to stay in the race, which we might not want,” said Mandelman. “In some weird way it sort of makes sense. Maybe the thresholds to qualify need to be higher, but I don’t want to see the thing eviscerated.” Migden faults the system for leading to a too overly crowded field. And she questioned how having so many candidates run is a benefit to voters. “I am hoping they change the campaign financing law. It is designed in a way to invite candidates to run and doesn’t discourage it,” she said. “I hope we make some quick and enduring changes. Not everyone should run.” Some detractors have also focused on the wisdom of spending city money on campaigns during a time of dwindling resources. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Ethics Commission reported that nearly $4.6 million in public dollars had been dispersed to nine of this year’s mayoral candidates. Migden, for one, called it a “travesty” for the city to spend millions on candidates who do not receive more than 5 percent of the vote. She likened the expenditures to throwing public dollars “in a garbage pail.” “I understand what the intent was,” said Migden, “but I am not happy with it.”▼

On the web Online content this week includes the Jock Talk and Out in the World columns. www.ebar.com.

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

Read more online at www.ebar.com

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

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Community News>>

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

Rick Gerharter

Medical cannabis dispensary manager Charley Pappas, left, joined attorneys David Michael and Matthew Kumin at a press conference Monday announcing a federal lawsuit against the government.

Lawsuits filed over feds’ pot crackdown by Seth Hemmelgarn

awyers representing medical marijuana advocates have filed suit against the Obama administration, hoping to stop the government’s recent crackdown on California dispensaries. In a press conference Monday, November 7, attorney David Michael said there are plenty of crimes the administration could be going after, rather than prosecuting those trying to help people living with HIV and AIDS and other illnesses. He said the government has engaged in a “massive assault” that’s “absurd.” Three of the lawsuits were filed in district courts Friday, November 4. The fourth was filed Tuesday, November 8. A request for a temporary restraining order, intended to allow clubs to remain open, also was filed Tuesday. In 1996, voters passed Proposition 215, the California Compassionate Use Act, which regulates medical marijuana. Many people use the drug to help ease pain related to HIV and AIDS and other illnesses. But U.S. attorneys representing California’s four districts have threatened criminal prosecution over medical cannabis dispensaries, despite the Obama administration’s previously saying it wouldn’t prosecute medical marijuana. Federal prosecutors have also threatened some clubs’ landlords with forfeiture of their properties. In early 2009, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder signaled that the administration would not target patients and providers in the states with medical marijuana laws. The federal government does not recognize Prop 215 or similar laws in more than a dozen other states and Washington, D.C. Charley Pappas, board chair of San Francisco’s Divinity Tree Patients’ Wellness Cooperative, was at the press conference Monday. The landlord for the Divinity Tree operation, which is on Geary Street, received a 45-day notice from the federal government September 28. Pappas said the shop would probably close Friday, November 11. He called the Obama administration’s actions “a complete injustice.” PJ Johnston, a spokesman for attorneys at Kumin Sommers LLP,

Initiatives

From page 3

unofficial vote tallies showed. The measure is meant to save taxpayers $1.3 billion over the next decade while providing a safety net for lower wage city employees by keeping contributions to benefit plans at current levels for those making less than $50,000 a year.

who are representing the plaintiffs, said in an email Tuesday afternoon that there had been no word on whether the restraining order would be granted. Jack Gillund, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, has said in an email to the Bay Area Reporter that the Department of Justice wouldn’t target “individuals with serious illnesses, or their individual caregivers, who use marijuana based on a doctor’s recommendation.” However, during a press conference in early October, another U.S. attorney’s official declined to say that patients wouldn’t be prosecuted. This week, Gillund said he had “no comment” on the latest lawsuit. Shin Inouye, Obama’s director of specialty media, has refused to discuss the situation with the B.A.R. Drew Hammill is a spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), a longtime advocate for people with HIV and AIDS. Hammill said in a recent email to the B.A.R. that Pelosi “disagrees with recent actions by the federal government that threaten the safe access of medical marijuana to alleviate the suffering of ill individuals in California, and undermine a policy that has been in place for the past two years where the federal government did not pursue individuals whose actions complied with state laws providing for medical marijuana.”

ebar.com

Another lawsuit Americans for Safe Access, an Oakland-based medical marijuana advocacy organization, filed suit against Holder and Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, on Thursday, October 27. That suit didn’t seek an immediate restraining order. ASA argues that the Department of Justice has “instituted a policy to dismantle the medical marijuana laws of the state of California and to coerce its municipalities to pass bans on medical marijuana dispensaries.” Joe Elford, ASA’s chief counsel, said in a statement that the 10th Amendment of the Constitution forbids the Obama administration “from using coercive tactics to commandeer the law-making functions of the state.”▼ The mayor, Board of Supervisors, public employee unions, and other stakeholders negotiated the proposition. Proposition D, another pension reform measure, was losing as of Tuesday, unofficial results showed. Prop D, which was promoted by mayoral candidate and Public Defender Jeff Adachi, would increase See page 13 >>

Read more online at www.ebar.com

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November 10-16, 2011 • Bay Area Reporter • 15

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Vol. 41 • No. 45 • November 10-16, 2011

www.ebar.com/arts

MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN ART & POETRY ‘The Air We Breathe,’ a mixed-media exhibit at SFMOMA by Sura Wood

approached the opening of The Air We Breathe, a new exhibition at SFMOMA in which 30 visual artists and eight poets were invited to respond to the legalization of same-sex marriage, with a mixture of high expectations and no small amount of trepidation. (The title comes from a 1938 Langston Hughes poem that reads, “Equality is in the air we breathe.”) On the auspicious side, the subject couldn’t be timelier or scarcely have greater resonance than it does in the Bay Area. But thematic “message” shows rarely engender the best art, and the exhibition evolved from an illustrated book project, The Air We Breathe: Artists and Poets Reflect on Marriage Equality, rather than the other way around. The book, it should be pointed out, is augmented by artist bios, and essays by Frank Rich, Eileen Myles and SFMOMA organizing curator Apsara DiQuinzio, supplemental resources not readily

No Title (Paint fills them...) (2003) by Raymond Pettibon, Angeles. pen and ink on paper, courtesy the artist and Regen Projects, Los Don Ross

See page 19 >>

Sleepless in South Asia 9th annual SF International South Asian Film Festival

etaining its cherished role as the last film festival of the year, 3rd i’s San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival, Bollywood and Beyond (Roxie Theater, Nov. 9-13; Castro Theatre, Nov. 12), is a sublime cinema sampler from India, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tibet and the North American Diaspora. The Festival’s queer accent comes in a quartet of shorts headed up by Anusha Nandakumar’s The Boxing Ladies, in which a trio of feisty sisters don gloves and punch their way through settled ideas about how Muslim women should behave in their small slum enclave. In Siraj ul Haque’s Chandni, a visit to the shrine of an Islamic

saint frees a child from the shame of being adopted by eunuchs. Bay Area filmmaker Neelu Bhuman’s Family in Frame employs an imaginative visual scheme to get her family to react positively to her coming out. In the pick of the litter, Jordache Ellapen’s cane/caine wraps a tale of ethnic violence in his native South Africa around some very sensual male lovemaking. Ellapen appears in person with his film. (Roxie, 11/13) Play Like a Lion: The Legacy of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan Director Joshua Dylan Mellars’ doc celebrates the life of a musical legend through the eyes of his Americanborn musician sons and celebrity disciples See page 28 >>

Courtesy 3rd i

by David Lamble

Alam Khan tuning, from Play Like a Lion: The Legacy of Maestro Ali Akbar Khan.

{ SECOND OF TWO SECTIONS }

<< Out There

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

▼

Press clippings by Roberto Friedman

t’s probably no surprise that Out There counts himself an avid reader of the popular press in its old-fashioned, printed-on-tree-pulp form. We much prefer a well-designed and laidout news hole to the click-click attentiondeficit version of online attractions. And don’t even get us started about those cyber-vampires, the aggregator sites, which take others’ original work in reporting and editing, re-package it, and present it as their own. So here are a few tidbits we found in the printed press and actual reportage. 1. This quote in Washington, DC’s

Metro Weekly is from cantankerous gay elder Larry Kramer about the NYC revival of his play The Normal Heart: “When we first opened, the older gays who we thought might come didn’t. I wasn’t surprised because I’ve learned from previous productions that gays are not always the best supporters of gay art, of gay writers. They just aren’t.” As it turns out, one gay old fogey who did go see it, with his 28-yearold boyfriend in tow, was former Ambassador James Hormel. He dedicated his new memoir “to all those who died of that (still) raging virus.” In it, he calls the AIDS epidemic “a world of pure terror.” In these outtakes from an interview with B.A.R.

reporter Matthew S. Bajko, he said about Kramer’s play. “My partner Michael [Nguyen] and I went to see The Normal Heart some months ago in New York. The play is 25 years old and still enormously powerful. The audience consisted largely of older people like me and younger people like Michael. It was male and female, gay and straight. The reaction of the audience was extremely powerful, just as powerful as 25 years ago. “Part of it is if you are under 30, you really haven’t been touched by the AIDS pandemic in the same way people who are older than 30 were touched by it. It is very difficult to imagine what it was like. It was really horrible. What made it even more horrible was how ignorant people were of the disease and how afraid they were of it, and how politicians backed away from doing anything about it. “Larry Kramer is an angry man, and is still angry today. He made it very clear what was going on. For three years in New York City, the little bit of attention he was able to get from the mayor’s office was mostly backroom kinds of attention. He got the most minimal contribution from the city coffers. It was pathetic, and he presented it very crisply in that play.” 2. Did you see that feature in the New York Times’ Style section, about a gay poetry club that doubles as a dating salon? In “The Wilde Boys Salon, for Poetry or Maybe a Hot Date,” the salon’s creator Alex Dimitrov explains, “I invited the cute gay poets right away. I sort of had a list of gays that I wanted to come, and some of them that I wanted to sleep with.” Here’s our favorite passage: “On one occasion, Mr. Dimitrov auditioned an applicant over drinks. ‘What’s your type?’ he asked. ‘Honey, my type is Times New Roman,’ said the man, a 20-something poet, fresh from the Fordham masters writing program, who was admitted.” 3. The Fri., Oct. 28 New York Times crossword puzzle offered a clue, the answer to which turned out to be

“transgendered.” We think this is the first mainstream crossword puzzle use of that term. 4. A profile of Oakland East Bay Symphony music director Michael Morgan in the Bay Citizen component of the Times last week quoted the maestro as saying, “All of my ideas about bringing people together come from seeing myself as an outsider. Being black in what’s considered a white music culture, being gay in a straight culture.”

photographer and gallery owner Robert Opel, lived a far more varied and eventful life than that. Now a new documentary, Uncle Bob (Breaking Glass Pictures), spearheaded by his nephew and namesake Robert Oppel, has been released on DVD. Turns out Opel was a free spirit and gay liberationist with a long history of provocation, art and activism. We see him in clips from Tricia’s Wedding and Elevator Girls in Bondage. His nudism was meant to be liberating, not sleazy. “It seems to me that if people took off their clothing, they would begin t relate to each other on a to different level,” he said. “Nude b not lewd.” but In 1979, Opel was shot a killed in his home by an and u unsavory character, a murder b based on misinformation and a drug deal gone wrong. While m much of this film sheds light o the totality of Opel’s life on d during a fascinating period o San Francisco history, of t filmmaker Oppel is too the c close to his subject for critical d distance. Sample narration: “ “This is the very house where m grandma saw him streak my th Oscars.” the

Wilkes reset W

Morgan describes the OEBS’ first concert of the season, in which Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety “will feature the acclaimed pianist Sara Davis Buechner, his longtime friend and colleague, who was once David Buechner. “So to recap, Mr. Morgan said, ‘we have a black conductor, a transgendered pianist, and we’re playing Bernstein, Duke and Gershwin. What more could you possibly want?” 5. Eh, and what’s this tiny glossy magazine, which declares itself “for all the stages of your life?” Does that seem a slogan for a proper periodical, or one for a feminine hygiene product? Inside we find a feature about an upcoming theatrical offering, written by the boyfriend of the play’s director, with no indication given of the connection. We guess this lack of journalistic disclosure and hidden conflict of interest are just par for the “stages of your life.”

Silver streak Anyone who was alive in 1974 and watching the 46th Academy Awards on live TV remembers the great moment when an anonymous man streaked naked across the stage behind co-host David Niven. (Some may even remember Niven’s brilliant ad-libbed response, “Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?”) It was certainly his most prominent moment of fame, but the streaker, gay San Francisco

Out There was in the house la last week when legendary cl clothier Wilkes Bashford l launched the top-to-bottom refit of his namesake specialty clothing store in San Francisco with the Mitchell Family, who are now his partners in enterprise. The new design will refurbish each level of the seven-floor retail space on Sutter St. in the manner of an Italian residential townhouse, complete with penthouse lounge rocking leather club chairs, a fireplace and a full wet bar. Upon arriving, guests to the celebration were handed hard hats emblazoned with the Wilkes Bashford logo and whisked up to the seventh floor, whose walls and ceiling were stripped bare in preparation for the renovation. Members of the Gensler design team described the project and displayed samples of the materials they would be using, including sumptuous Italian marble, mosaic and limestone. Wroughtiron balustrades and eucalyptus wood reclaimed from the Presidio offer connection to San Francisco culture. Over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, Bashford and the Mitchells engendered enthusiasm. Party attendees included Leah Garchik and Bashford’s BFF Willie Brown. Someone made reference to “the only seven-storied retail space in the Union Square district.” “Isn’t Macy’s seven stories, at least?” our “plus one” Pepi wondered out loud. “Shhhh!” we shushed him. “In this crowd, Macy’s is a dirty word.” The Bashford emporium will remain open as the refit is accomplished, floor by luxurious floor.▼

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Fine Art >>

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Air We Breathe

of the “other,” religiously-based sanctioned prejudice, and the most deeply felt and intimate of human choices converge; as a socioavailable to those who may political-legal arena with personal wander in off the street. ramifications, it couldn’t be more Displayed on a wall on the fraught or hard-fought. It’s difficult museum’s second-floor landing, to imagine another single issue the exhibition, which fortunately is that contains as many inherent more poetic than didactic, arrives pressure points or one that carries with a dynamite core concept and a such profound implications, not fine synthesis of poetry and images only for those it directly impacts, in a variety of media, from collage, but wider ones for what kind of drawing, video animation and a society we want to be. People will colorful, upside-down map of the bring their own attitudes, feelings U.S, to a typed list of countries and assumptions to the party, but where female-on-female sexual it’s doubtful they will take enough relationships are legal. Though away from this exhibition to have the artworks are tightly clustered their hearts and minds sufficiently together with not enough air to tweaked. breathe, pardon the pun, there’s In addition to Air, a new plenty of room for visitors to mill photography exhibition and a around. The idea is that people will Don Ross custom-designed installation find the setting – and the exhibition were unveiled at SFMOMA last itself – conducive to reflection, Untitled (2011) by Laylah Ali, gouache and ink on paper, courtesy the artist and weekend. When you enter the dialogue and debate. museum, gaze skyward at the Perhaps because its genesis 303 Gallery, New York. atrium, where you’ll discover Jim was a book, a radically different Campbell’s latest opus, “Exploded form with different structural Views,” a suspended, sculptural, imperatives than a museum show, streaming, 3-D cinematic the exhibition feels truncated and to pull off in a mixed-media context. installation that dazzles with hundreds the works shown feel like a prelude The transgender, gay, lesbian and of flickering LED lights and elusive to something bigger – a first act, if straight artists whose works were three-dimensional figures that take you will, with no second or third act commissioned for the show are from shape and vanish. From the stairway to follow. Granted, it’s a small-scale, all over the world, an inspired touch, balconies, the optimal vantage point, modest undertaking compared to and address love, connection, the you can discern the rippling dance the enormity of its complex and meaning of domestic partnership movements of the Alonzo King Lines controversial topic. In a questionable and the concept of equality with Ballet. (The digital films will rotate curatorial choice, none of the works poignancy, humor and observations every couple of months.) And in the are titled or attributed to artists who from a multitude of perspectives. first comprehensive retrospective of made them. This may have been But while the art is well-executed and her work in two decades, Francesca designed to promote an unobstructed contributed by thoughtful individuals Woodman reconsiders the brief but experience of the art, but confusion, such as D-L Alvarez, Nicole Eisenman, remarkable career of a fascinating not purity, is the result. Visitors Simon Fujiwara, Robert Gober, American photographer who must refer to a brochure with arrows Martha Colburn, Elliott Hundley, continues to exert a powerful influence and numbers to figure out what Raymond Pettibon and Laylah Ali, on other artists, especially women, 30 they’re looking at and who did what; along with new poems, some defiant, years after she committed suicide at distracted, they’re left to pore over a others ruminative or confessional, the age of 22. Watch this space next flow chart instead of engaging with by John Ashbery and Ariana Reines week for more on that one.▼ the art. Many pieces are in close among others, the overall effect is proximity to one another so, at first toothless. The Air We Breathe and Francesca glance, it’s not clear if some of these It’s not that stridency would be Woodman run through Feb. 20, works are autonomous or are part of desirable; it’s the absence of intensity Jim Campbell through Sept. 25, a grouping by the same artist. that’s surprising. Same-sex marriage at SFMOMA, 151 3rd St., SF. Info: What does succeed is the is a pressing civil rights issue where www.sfmoma.org. integration of poetry, which isn’t easy the state, homophobia, a primal sense From page 17

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<< Music

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

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Compare & contrast by Philip Campbell

ecent weeks featuring guest conductors on the podium at Davies Symphony Hall came to a satisfying close last Friday with Semyon Bychkov leading the San Francisco Symphony in a rich and amazingly compact program of works by Richard Strauss and Robert Schumann. The week before, New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert presided over an elegant concert of Beethoven, Haydn and Henri Dutilleux. Comparing the two conductors and their individual styles would be irrelevant, but contrasting their rapport with the orchestra and mutually astute understanding

of the auditorium’s variable acoustics proved illuminating. Both conductors have been to DSH before, and whether or not the positioning of the plastic panels over the stage makes any difference to most listeners, the maestros seem to grasp the importance of contouring the orchestra’s sound throughout the cavernous space. Their programs couldn’t have been more dissimilar. Bychkov opened with a forceful romp through the early Strauss tone poem Don Juan and finished the first half sensitively framing guest soloist Kirill Gerstein’s dexterous performance of the same composer’s Burleske in D minor for Piano and Orchestra. The orchestra

seemed remarkably unperturbed, considering the technical demands of both pieces. The horns (so important in Strauss) roared with a thrilling swagger and selfconfidence, and welcome associate concertmaster Nadya Tichman added sweetness with her violin solos. Whatever one thinks of the composer’s heavily weighted orchestrations, these scores swell with the exuberance of youth, and Bychkov managed to keep things moving with clarity and a smile. The welter of orchestral sound certainly posed no threat to Gerstein. He tore through the Burleske with gusto, and timpanist David Herbert got his licks in, too. The conductor let

Sheila Rock

Conductor Semyon Bychkov led a compact but rich program.

them both bask in the loud and appreciative applause. The evening ended with the Schumann Symphony No. 2 in C Major. In other hands it might have seemed pale compared to the raucous Strauss of the first half, but Bychkov opted for a powerful sound that still allowed for some wit and delicacy. Alan Gilbert has a relatively low-key presence, and one could never accuse him of acting the star. Still, he has an unmistakable air of command, and he definitely knows how to encourage the orchestra’s strengths. His concert opened with a defined and vibrant Beethoven Symphony No. 8 in F Major, and ended with Haydn’s Symphony No. 99 in E-flat Major. Papa Haydn was a teacher to Beethoven, so there was a nice consonance. We knew we were in good hands immediately, savoring Gilbert’s enforcement of the string section’s core strength. It added a richness and allure to the warmth and good humor of the composer’s invention. The biggest treat of Gilbert’s program was arguably the inclusion of the Violin Concerto, L’Arbre des songes (The Tree of Dreams) by Henri Dutilleux. Saying this might not endear me to some of the other

listeners. One patron was even heard saying to her seatmate, “God, I thought it would never end!” as they rushed to the lobby at intermission. I wanted to entreat her to give a listen to the old Isaac Stern recording, or read the excellent program notes again. The mysteries of the now 95-year-old composer’s sound world do not yield themselves easily, but they are well worth exploring. Stern was the dedicatee of the work commissioned for him by Radio France and premiered in 1985. The last (and only) time it was heard with the SFS was 23 years ago. I doubt I’ll be around for the next time. Needless to say, there was a sense of event about violinist Renaud Capucon’s recent performance. His technique and intense involvement made the most of Dutilleux’s exquisite sonorities and arching melodies. Gilbert surrounded him with a gorgeous forest of orchestral sound. The game players of the SFS responded with discipline and beautiful transparency. The title of the Concerto provides a touchstone for Dutilleux’s intentions, and whether others in the audience were reacting to the score’s lovely ambiguities or the brilliant performance (or both), the majority gave an appreciative ovation.▼

Mats Lundquist

New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert.

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Theatre >>

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 21

Clown time by Richard Dodds

he term for fear of clowns – coulrophobia – is of fairly recent invention, coined, perhaps, as enough grownups found they were not alone in lingering childhood queasiness over exposure to big people dressed like Bozo. For them, the title of Ronnie Larsen’s paired monodramas, Two Dead Clowns, may alleviate some of the coulrophobia inasmuch as the title characters are, well, dead. The catch is that though they are dead now, these real-life characters are brought back to life by Larsen as he reenacts the final moments of their lives through documentation, dramatic license, and imagination. Their names are Divine, the star of numerous John Waters films, and John Wayne Gacy, the rapistmurderer of numerous young men. These two men don’t really belong tethered, though Larsen does find ways to manipulate a dovetailing connection. Larsen, after a long hiatus from theater, has returned to San Francisco with two productions in repertory: a revival of his evergreen Making Porn and the Bay Area debut of Two Dead Clowns. The latter may seem like a departure for Larsen, best known for employing actual porn stars for his plays, but he has also written plays of serious intent, and even his productions that promise titillation often have a smart edge of social satire and even an aching romantic heart. In Two Dead Clowns, Divine and Gacy turn out to be unevenly matched. The luridly compelling details of the Gacy story provide for more dramatic fodder than Divine’s sad final act, and Larsen, both as the

In character and out: Ronnie Larsen plays serial killer and occasional children’s clown John Wayne Gacy (left) and entertainer Divine, seen here out of makeup as the actual Harris Glenn Milstead, in Two Dead Clowns at the Boxcar Theatre Studios.

writer and the performer, delves far deeper in the Gacy segment. The Divine section feels like a curtain-raiser for the main event. As Harris Glenn Milstead prepares a move to Hollywood, where he has been signed for a recurring non-drag role in the TV series Married with Children, he talks about his relief at being able to put the clownish Divine character behind him. This he does via a series of phone calls and encounters with unseen visitors, who usually get a blowjob in addition to expository conversation. But the conversations don’t go very deep, and it seemed at times as if Larsen was riffing while waiting for the scripted words to kick in. There is none of that looseness when Gacy becomes the subject. Here Larsen chomps down hard on the distressing story, playing a variety of characters in addition to Gacy

who speak directly to the audience with authentic passion. But Gacy is the star, and what makes the piece dramatically fascinating is not just the facts of his serial killings but a mind that lurches about in such contradictory realities. At times he boasts of his monstrousness, described in graphic detail, before becoming defensive about some small part of a rape-murder that might make him look like an unfeeling person. Gacy worked as a volunteer clown at charity events, and while his victims were not children, it’s still a creepy component of his persona. It’s enough to give coulrophobia a good name.▼ Two Dead Clowns will run through Nov. 26 at Box Car Theatre Studios. Tickets are $20 and available at www.clowntix.com.

Wonderful world by Richard Dodds

hen you learn how a magician managed a particular illusion, the answer is often surprisingly banal. A trap door. A false wall. A silhouetted stand-in. But behind the scenes at the Magic Kingdom can be more entertaining than the publicconsumption fantasy, at least if you’re old enough not to cry if I tell you – spoiler alert – there is no tooth fairy. In Working for the Mouse, a solo show written and performed by Trevor Allen now at the Exit Theatre, the real-life personalities of the minimum-wage hires who tread around Disneyland in obfuscating costumes are more interesting than the mute, expressionless versions of Pluto, Donald Duck, and Mickey Mouse that they present to the public. These mummified minions know it, too. They strive for the day when they can get “vocal clearance” and become a “face character,” and their journey to this higher plane of existence is filled with jealousies, pranks, initiations, and subversion. But mostly of the mild variety. As a teenager, Bay Area playwright Allen got his foot, or rather oversized paw, into the showbiz door when he graduated from waiter at a Disneyland hotel to “casual season pageant helper” as a substitute Pluto. The main area of dramatic focus is the locker room, where Allen communes with his jaded colleagues and supercilious bosses. The humor is soft and easily accepted, but the show cranks up a notch when Allen gets to join a roving set of characters from Alice in Wonderland. His fivefoot-five stature dictates the Mad Hatter, a face character with vocal clearance, and when he asks how the character should be played, he fortunately understands the reference: Ed Wynn. Ed Wynn, who worked in

Cheshire Isaacs

Trevor Allen recalls his time as a “casual season pageant helper” at Disneyland in Working for the Mouse at the Exit Theatre.

vaudeville, radio, film, and television, almost always offered variations on his Perfect Fool character, and he supplied the voice of the Mad Hatter in Disney’s 1951 animated feature Alice in Wonderland. Doing Ed Wynn impersonations is now a rare art, but Allen has the sputtering, fluttery, giggly voice and mannerisms down pat. Allen had shown vocal agility in recreating the diverse offstage voices of his coworkers, but his Mad Hatter is a further delight. Allen began developing Working for the Mouse in 1996 when he took a solo performance workshop, and even after multiple iterations, the show, directed by Nancy Carlin for Black Box Theatre, still reveals a

textbook template right down to the final imagery meant to cap things off with an “aww” moment of abruptly manufactured poignancy. Even so, on the simplest of sets and a costume of no more than a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, Allen is able to take us on his journey with an amiable grace. Working for the Mouse takes its potshots at the Disneyland phenomenon while never denying a gravitational pull that at times does still seem magical.▼ Working for the Mouse will run at the Exit Theatre through Nov. 17. Tickets are $20-$22. Call (800) 838-3006 or go to www.brownpapertickets.com/event/201528.

<< Film

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

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Mister Investigation by David Lamble

write this review of J. Edgar knowing that regardless of how I come down on this ambitious haunted house of a bio-pic, many of you have already booked a seat, probably for the first weekend. Juicy YouTube trailers and magazine chats with “Clint,” “Leo” and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black promise that this is a can’t-miss guiltypleasure spectacular. Depending on what kind of a Hoover hater you are, you’ll see this to confirm what a low-down, power-hungry, unscrupulous, racist, blackmailing SOB America’s one-time secretpolice chief was, or you’ll hope that J. Edgar confirms Harvey Milk’s

fiercely held beliefs about the dangers of powerful, paranoid men who harbor lustful feelings for other powerful, paranoid men. If this is what you want, J. Edgar delivers in spades. If, however, you’re looking for Pauline Kael-worthy “I lost it at the movies” moments, we’ve got problems. Partly because of the top-notch talent in the room and their uncompromising creative demons, J. Edgar alternates between provocative and snooze-inducing. The movie is a textbook example of why we’ve passed from the age of great one-off epics to the land of HBO miniseries – why Tony Soprano’s life is endlessly absorbing at 85 hours, while J. Edgar feels

Keith Bernstein

Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, avid compiler of rumors, gossip and intelligence.

overstuffed and undernourished at 140 minutes. First the good news. Director Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar kicks off with a sequence as arresting as Spike Lee’s opening salvos in X. We watch in fascination and horror as the home of U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer is bombed in the middle of the night. Part of what the filmmakers show us was a coordinated series of attacks by “foreign-born” anarchists against the administration of Woodrow Wilson during the chaotic period between WWI and the onset of the Jazz Age/Prohibition era. We see a young Justice Dept. crusader fresh out of college, John Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio), gathering physical evidence at a crime scene, contrary to the shoddy methods of the cops of that day. Soon young Edgar is on a date

with one Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts), showing the young lady his scientific theories on the collection of fingerprints. The scene concludes with Edgar on his knees in a proposal of marriage. Gandy refuses the proposal but does accept Edgar’s offer of what will prove to be lifetime employment as his personal secretary. Gandy becomes keeper of Edgar’s secret files, the vast compendium of rumors, gossip and intelligence that would allow him to blackmail a half-a-dozen presidents. The stage is set for a lover boy, the young Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer), who hangs around for half-a-century as Edgar’s second-incommand, confidant and constant companion. The relationship is deftly established in a scene where DiCaprio projects the surface bluster of a frightened, lonely man, and Hammer slyly emerges as the soft side of the pillow, an intelligent, self-assured, almost modern queen, who immediately makes himself invaluable. Feeling himself in the presence of somebody who can really appreciate his new powers, Edgar confides. “I’ve been given increased powers of surveillance, without warrants. The Secretary of State told me, ‘You investigate those cocksuckers!’” “How vulgar. Look, I’ll accept this job on one condition: that we’ll never miss a lunch or dinner.” “I would have it no other way, Clyde.” The scene resonates because of the fateful personal chemistry, both men evidencing the conflicted attraction and almost creepy codependency that would both serve and harm them and an unknowing nation. The filmmakers ironically gain our trust through the unabashed use of the one anti-gay slur that serves a necessary function. Even the straightest of homophobes who utters it enters into a kind of glorious complicity with the deed, and all the hobgoblins it conjures up in the American macho.

Hoover’s world Fans of Daniel Okrent’s superb Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition have absorbed a portrait of Wilson-era America as an unimaginable moral swamp with few or no heroes. Despite the dark side of Prohibition, it did enable women’s suffrage and the federal income tax amendment, plus the emergence of a new breed of collegeeducated lawman, personified by Johnny Hoover, who would see that Americans got a brand of law enforcement unknown in the rest of the hemisphere. Edgar’s strengths can be seen in his involvement in

the Lindbergh kidnapping case, the great scandal of early Depression years. Imagine a modern Mexico with cops who arrest kidnappers preying on honest citizens. J. Edgar sags by book-ending Hoover’s salad years with a 1960s present-tense device of the aging autocrat dictating his memoirs to a young agent. The makeup effects undercut our belief in the final days of Edgar and Clyde. Some of the bathos of their brutal personal relationship becomes painful in the wrong way when viewed through the scrim of these aging techniques that feel like a bad parody of the third act of Citizen Kane. A far better approach can be found in Matt Damon’s seamless transition in Robert De Niro’s underrated The Good Shepherd, or in DiCaprio’s revelatory approach as Howard Hughes in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. J. Edgar subjects us to cringeinducing and not terrifically entertaining moments with a controlling, emotionally castrating Mama Hoover (an unrecognizable Judi Dench) that reinforce clichés about bullying mothers and absent fathers. More believable is Edgar’s confrontation with a furious and frightened Attorney General Robert Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan), who bends to Hoover’s will after hearing that the FBI chief has evidence of President Kennedy’s alleged dalliance with an East German spy. At first I was startled by the novelty of the accusation, and the assumption that the very hetero JFK was implied to be having man-onman sex. Director Eastwood fearlessly ventures into political waters one could never have imagined for Dirty Harry. He does his best to keep the drama engaging, but he’s defeated by the clunky time-shifting structure. There is a lovely payoff at the very end which banished my yawns and got the old Nixonhating juices flowing. As Edgar dies, a riveting cameo shows a joyful Richard M. Nixon (terrific Canadian actor Christopher Shyer) in full expletive-undeleted form. “That old cocksucker – seal off his office, do whatever you have to do, I want those fucking files!” This is a robustly flawed movie about a horribly flawed human being whose pioneering crimefighting techniques bridge two morally compromised epochs of American life: the progressive/ racist politics of Woodrow Wilson, and the noxious mix of progressive and retrograde impulses that was Richard M. Nixon.▼

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Books >>

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Un-candid camera by Tavo Amador

oday, a motion picture star being an important politician no longer surprises, even if only one has become President. Just how this happened is the subject of Steven J. Ross’ superb Hollywood Left and Right: How Movie Stars Shaped American Politics (Oxford University Press, $29.95.) Ross asserts that Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) was the “first political actor.” The English comic, who overcame a Dickensian childhood, was sensitive to all forms of social injustice. His films captured the tragedy of the Great Depression, yet made audiences laugh. In the 1930s, many Americans favored isolationism as a foreign policy. Those who followed European affairs tended to be more concerned about communism than fascism. Chaplin, somewhat naive about the former, was well aware of the dangers of Hitler and satirized him in The Great Dictator (1940). WWII temporarily vindicated him, because Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union was our ally against Germany, Italy and Japan. Chaplin remained a committed leftist, had a messy personal life, and was linked to the Red Scare that prevailed in America following the end of WWII. Ultimately, he was barred from the US, but eventually returned to receive a special Academy Award in 1972. Despite the book’s title, Ross devotes a riveting chapter to Louis B. Mayer (1884-1957), who wasn’t a film star but ran MGM, the biggest, most important studio in Hollywood. Mayer, heavily influenced by his executive assistant Ida B. Koverman, championed Pres. Herbert Hoover. The 1932 election of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the resultant 20 years of a Democratic White House were disappointments to Mayer. But he used movies to challenge FDR’s “paternalistic” government philosophy, notably through the wildly popular Andy Hardy series starring Mickey Rooney. Set in a small town and depicting an idealized American family, with a wise father (Judge Hardy), a loving, stay-at-home mother, and good children who sometimes got into innocent scrapes, these films extolled the virtues of self-sufficiency, conventional morality, and flagwaving patriotism. Mayer also befriended studio contract actor/singer/dancer George Murphy (1902-92), a second-tier star who was once a supporter of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies but eventually became a staunch conservative Republican. In 1964, Murphy was elected US Senator from California, defeating Democrat Pierre Salinger in a race decided by television. Tall, relaxed, affable, Murphy, despite his vague message, demolished the short, heavy, brooding but intelligent Salinger during televised debates. Murphy also used his charisma to woo blue-collar Democrats and Independents. He warned of the evils of communism and big government, subtly equating the two. Murphy set the stage for his even more successful protégé, Ronald Reagan. More than Murphy, Reagan (1911-2004) had been a strong union man and a proud Democrat, actively campaigning for FDR. Like Murphy, he was elected President of the Screen Actors Guild. And like Murphy, he realized that some Hollywood liberals during the post-WWII era were naive about the American Communist Party and its goal of infiltrating the movie industry. While there were attempts to do so, they weren’t very credible. How real the USSR’s

threat to America was is still being debated, but no one doubts the horrors of the Stalin years in Russia and its satellite states. Like Murphy, Reagan understood the importance of television. Not a great theoretical thinker, he honed his message carefully, delivered it on camera with warmth, charm, and optimism, and despite initially being dismissed by the political establishment, was twice elected California governor and became a popular two-term President. Ross discusses Edward G. Robinson (1893-1973), a brilliant actor and an outspoken opponent of fascism who used his celebrity to help liberal causes, but who fell afoul of the notorious House UnAmerican Activities Committee. Robinson spent years defending himself against charges of being affiliated with communism, but ultimately, having drained his financial resources and fearing he would never work again, was compelled to publicly say he had been “duped.” It’s one of the most wrenching chapters in the book. Harry Belafonte (b. 1927), the first black actor/singer to become a mainstream matinee idol/sex symbol, was intensely involved in the civil rights movement, but stayed in the background, deferring to Martin Luther King and other politicians. Instead he made films like Island in the Sun (1957), depicting an interracial romance opposite Oscar-winner Joan Fontaine (b. 1917). Their scenes together were chaste, reduced to longing looks. Yet the exquisite Fontaine, a star for nearly 20 years, received a great deal of hate mail, which shocked her. Belafonte believes the role hastened the end of her movie career, although she has never made that assertion. Other chapters cover Jane Fonda (b. 1937), whose vocal opposition to the Vietnam War made her a polarizing figure; Charlton Heston (1923-2008), a liberal supporter of civil rights who became the spokesman for the right-wing National Rifle Association; Warren Beatty (b. 1937), who once hoped to be the liberal Reagan; and Arnold Schwarzenegger (b. 1947), whose popularity got him elected California governor, but who failed to deliver on his promises and ended his tenure in disgrace.

Ross is a skillful writer and an impeccable researcher. Each chapter is balanced, nuanced, and thoroughly footnoted. The most alarming aspect of this book is that the intellectual content of a political message matters far less than the way in which it’s delivered on television. Thus, empty suits who look good on camera, can articulate vague concepts with smiling optimism, will prevail. That’s scarier than any Hollywood horror film.▼

<< Out&About

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

Mark Twain Plays @ Humanist Hall, Oakland

O&A

Shoestring Players perform staged readings of the author’s little-known early 1900s gender-bending short fiction, “1002nd Arabian Night,” “Wapping Alice” and “How Nancy Jackson Married Kate Wilson.” Donations. 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. 411 29th St. Oakland. www.humanisthall.org

Out & About

Midnites for Maniacs @ Castro Theatre Triple-feature of underrated 80s fancifal comedic “lost” adventures: Ferngully (7:30pm), Romancing the Stone (9:30) and Ishtar (11:45). $12. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Kent Taylor

by Jim Provenzano

y the time you read this, we may or may not know who our local newly elected officials are. Sometimes, having so many choices is a good thing. When it comes to arts events, autumn brings more than enough to choose from. With plenty more online, here are my ranked favorites, in no particular order, other than alphabetical and chronological.

Doubt: A Parable @ Live Oak Theatre, North Berkeley John Patrick Shanley’s award-winning play about faith and the search for truth gets a local production by Actors Ensemble. $12$15. Fri & Sat 8pm. Thru Nov. 19. Shattuck St. at Berryman. www.aeofberkeley.org

Fabulous Divas of Hollywood @ Retrodome, San Jose

Bring on the Lumiere, Fri.

Fri 11>> Bring on the Lumiere @ ODC Theatre Choreographer Catherine Galasso and lighting designer Elaine Buckholtz’ innovative dance-theatre look at the lives of pioneering silent filmmakers the Lumiere brothers, and cinematic immortality; featuring unpublished music by Galasso’s late father, an award-winning film score composer. $17-$20. 8pm. Nov 12, 8pm. Nov. 13, 7pm. 3153 17th St. www.odctheater.org

Alan Plamer’s multiple-character solo show includes comedic impersonations of Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, Audrey Hepburn and other greats of the silver screen. $32.50. 8pm. Also Nov 12, 8pm and Nov 13, 2pm. 1694 Saratoga Ave. San Jose. (408) 404-7711. www.theretrodome.com

Fear Over Frisco @ Hypnodrome Theatre Thrillpeddlers’ new trio of Noir-Horror one-act plays, penned by “Czar of Noir” Eddie Muller offers a post-Halloween thrill. Prepare to be shockingly entertained. $25-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Nov. 19. 575 10th St. at Division/Bryant. 377-4202. www.thrillpeddlers.com

Hair @ Golden Gate Theatre Classic groovy musical performed with vibrancy by the touring company of the Broadway revival of the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical. $31-$95. Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Nov. 20. 1 Golden Gate St. at Market. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

Working for the Mouse @ Exit Theatre

Maharaja @ Asian Art Museum

Trevor Allen’s critically acclaimed solo show about his sex and drug-filled misadventures working at Disneyland as an employee portraying Pluto and other characters. $15-$20. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Dec. 17 (no shows Thanksgiving weekend). 156 Eddy St. (800) 838-3006. www.workingforthemouse.com

The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts, an expansive exhibit showcasing textiles, jewels and items from the heyday of the early Indian empires. Also, Sanjay Patel’s Deities, Demons and Dudes with ‘Staches: Indian Avatars ; Tateuchi Thematic Fallery,2nd floor, thru April 22. Other special events thru exhibit run. $7-$17. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. Thu til 9pm. Thru April 8, 2012. 200 Larkin St. 581-3500. www.asianart.org

New group exhibit of works by 30 contemporary artists and eight poets who explore the issues of legalizing same-sex marriage. Accompanying book will be on sale: The Air We Breathe: Artists and Poets Reflect on Marriage Equality. Free-$18. Thu-Tue 11am-5:30pm. 151 Third St. Thru Feb 20. 357-4000. www.sfmoma.org

Ottmar Liebert @ The Rrazz Room

Ranked Choice

Thru Nov. 28. Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St. at Shattuck. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

The Air We Breathe @ SF MOMA

42nd Street Moon’s production of George and Ira Gershwin’s 1926 musical comedy about Long Island bootleggers during Prohibition. $20-$50. 6pm. Wed 7pm. Thu & Fri 8pm. Sat 6pm. Sun 3pm. Thru Nov 20. 215 Jackson St. 255-8207. www.42ndstmoon.org

Sex Rev: The Jose Sarria Experience, Fri.

John Waters’ film actor Divine. $25-$30. Thu-Sat 8pm. Fri & Sun 7pm. Thru Nov. 27. 125A Hyde St. www.RonnieLarsen.com

Sat 12>>

Oh Kay! @ Eureka Theatre

Alexander Melnikov @ SF Conservatory of Music

Flamenco-jazz guitarist-singer performs. $42.50. 8pm. Also Nov 11 (8pm), 12 (7pm& 9:30pm) and 13 (7pm). 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.therrazzroom.com

Talented pianist stops through otown on his world tour to perform Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87. $35-$60. 1:30pm. 50 Oak St. 392-2545. www.sfperformances.org

PunkkiCo @ Dance Mission Theatre

Race @ American Conservatory Theatre Animales y Nahuales, Sat.

Animales y Nahuales @ Back to the Picture Gallery

Sex Rev @ CounterPulse

Group exhibit of Mexican folk art in wood, clay, and paintings, depicting people and their animal spirit guides. Portion of sales benefits SF SPCA and Rancho El Uno Reserve. Artists’ reception Nov. 12, 7pm, with music, wine and food. 934 Valencia St. Mon-Sat 10am-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. www.backtothepicture.com

The Jose Sarria Experience, Theatre Rhinoceros’ production of John Fisher’s funny, sexy retelling of Jose Sarria’s life, starring Tom Orr. $10-$25. Thu-Sat 8pm. Also Sat 10:30pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Nov. 27 (no show Nov 24). 310 Mission St. (800) 838-3006. www.TheRhino.org www.CounterPulse.org

The Soldier’s Tale @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Director Tom Ross and former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Muriel Maffre’s new production of the 1918 Igor Stravinsky musical play combines actor-singers and a life-size puppet. $10-$55. Tue Sun 7pm. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Dec. 18. 2081 Addison St. (510) 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org

Bay Area Rainbow Symphony @ Calvary Presbyterian Church Daniel Canosa and Jessica Bejarano conduct Poulenc’s Suite Francaise and Organ Concerto, Beethoven’s Symphony No, 7. Partial proceeds benefit Larkin Street Youth Services. $30. 8pm. 2515 Fillmore St. www.bars-sf.org

Sticky Time @ Brava Theater

Celebration of Craftswomen, Fri.

Celebration of Craftswomen @ Festival Pavilion 33rd annual showcase of 160 women artists’ handmade work in sculpture, fabric, ceramics, jewelry and more. Free-$12. 10am-5pm. Thru Nov. 13. Fort Mason Center, (650) 615-6838. www.celebrationofcraftswomen.org www.fortmason.org

Cirque du Soleil @ AT&T Park The Montreal circus spectacular returns with Totem, a visually striking exploration of human evolution, from amphibians to those who seek to fly. Look for the big tents across the bridge and east of the AT&T Park. $55-$360. Thru Dec. 11. (800) 450-1480. www.cirquedusoleil.com/totem

Charlie Varon and Jeri Lynn Cohen perform and co-wrote (with director David Ford) this comic show about the hazards of Internet exhibitionism. $20-$50. Thu 8pm. Sat 8:30pm. Sun 3pm. Thru Dec. 4. 1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Making Porn @ Box Car Theatre Ronnie Larsen returns with a new production of his popular play about, well, making porn, starring muscle stud Matthew Rush, with guaranteed male nudity; adults only! $25-$50. Thu 8pm. Fri & Sat 7pm & 10pm. Sun 7pm. Extended thru Nov. 27. 125A Hyde St. www.ronnielarsen.com

Marga Gomez @ The Marsh Veteran lesbian comic performs Not Getting Any Younger, a new solo show about her ‘coming of middle age.’ $15-$50. Thu & Fri 8pm. Sat 8:30pm. Sun 3pm. Extended thru Dec 17. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

The Matter Within @ YBCA Fascinating new exhibit of contemporary Indian art; installations, sculptures and other media. Don’t miss Sunil Gupta’s alluring gay photo series Love, Undetectable and Sun City. Special symposium on contemporary Indian art Nov 12, 10am5pm. Free-$12. Exhibit thru Jan 29. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. 978-2787. www.ybca.org

Tony Taccone and Rita Moreno’s must-see solo show about the award-winning actress’s life and times; with music, two very handsome back-up dancers, and a four-piece band. $14-50-$73. Tue, Fri-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Thu, Sat, Sun 2pm. Extended thru Nov. 13. Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Sarah Schulman @ Viracocha Prolific New York lesbian novelist and essayist discusses her latest, The Mere Future, a scifi satire, with author Michelle Tea. $10. 8pm. 998 Valencia St. at 21st. www.radarproductions.org Schulman also reads/signs Nov. 14, 7:30pm at Pegasus Books, 2349 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley. www.pegasusbookstore.com

SF Bike Expo @ Cow Palace Super-large bicycling expo, with hundreds of booths, products, deals, fashion, outdoor stun riding shows, and swag. $12-$20. Kids 12 and under free. Also Nov. 13. 2150 Geneva Ave., Daly City. www.sfbikeexpo.com

Shamanism Class @ LGBT Center Find your animal spirit guide at this drumming ritual event led by Liz Dale; monthly, 2nd Saturdays. $25. Details: Lizsanpablo@ aol.com 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

Bollywood and Beyond, art house classics and new documentaries, including the action comedy Delhi Belly (9:15pm). 429 Castro St. Continues thru Nov 13 at the Roxie Theater. www.thirdi.org/festival

Teatro Zinzanni @ Pier 29

Big Deal, Sat.

The Temperamentals, Fri

Lois Tema

Life Gone Viral @ The Marsh

Athol Fugard’s comic drama about British school boys and their gay professor gets a local production. $20-$40. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru Nov. 19. 414 414 Mason St. #601. (800) 838-3006. www.offbroadwaywest.org

South Asian Film Festival @ Castro Theatre

Crowded Fire Theatre’s production of Marilee Talkington’s multimedia scifiinspired woman’s journey through time. 255-7846. $10-$30. Thru Nov. 18. 2781 24th St. www.brava.org

Hella Gay Comedy @ La Estrellita Café, Oakland Charlie Ballard hosts another night of multiculti queer yet totally un-PC comedy; this month, the Brush Arbor Gurlz, a Native American drag troupe, with Landa Lakes. Full bar/dining available. $10. 21+. 9pm. 446 E. 12th St. (510) 891-0972. www.charlieballard.com

Master Harold and the Boys @ Phoenix Theatre

Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup @ Berkeley Rep

Raisa Punnki and two other dancers perform the creative and experimental Pick Cells, a new work, and Waiting. $10-$15. 8pm. thru Nov 13. 3316 24th St. 826-4441. www.punkkico.com

David Mamet’s scathing courtroom comedy about a white man accused of assaulting a black woman. $10-$82. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Nov. 13. 415 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

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The Temperamentals @ New Conservatory Theatre Center Jon Marans’ hit Off-Broadway drama about 1950s gay activist Harry Hay and Rudy Gernreich, and their struggle to form the historic Mattachine Society; stars J. Conrad Frank (Katya Smirnoff-Skyy). $25-$45. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Dec. 18 (no show Nov. 24). 25 Van Ness Ave at Market, lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Theatre Flamenco @ Marines’ Memorial Theater Local flamenco dance ensemble performs vibrant enthnic dances, with special guest artists from Spain. $30-$35. 8pm. Also Nov 12, 8pm; Nov 13, 3pm. 609 Sutter St. 771-6900. www.theatreflamenco.org

Two Dead Clowns @ Box Car Theatre Ronnie Larsen performs two one-act plays about serial killer John Wayne Gacy, and

Big Deal @ SOMArts Cultural Center Annual art sale and party, with 500 works of art for sale/auction at $165 or less; enjoy food, drinks, DJed music. $35-$100. 3pm VIP reception. 4pm open preview. 5pm fixed-price sale, with live auction of high-end art and luxury items afterwards. 934 Brannan St. 777-8242. www.visualaid.org

Carmen @ War Memorial Opera House San Francisco Opera’s production of Bizet’s passionate opera. $21-$330. Nov 12, (8pm), 15, (8pm), 17 (7:30pm), 20 (2pm), 23 (7:30pm), 26 (8pm), 29 (7:30pm) Dec 2 (8pm) and 4 (7:30pm). 301 Van Ness Ave. 864-3330. www.sfopera.com

How to Write a New Book for the Bible @ Berkeley Rep World premiere of Bill Cain’s new play about religion, and how parents’ sins ruin their children’s lives. $14-$81. Wed & Sun 7pm. Tue, Thu Fri Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm.

The new show Up in the Air, about a struggling radio station, stars Geoff Hoyle, blues musician Duffy Bishop, and a slew of amazingly talented acrobats, singers, musicians, a five-course dinner, and a lot of fun. $117-$145. Saturday 11:30am “Breve” show $63-$78. Wed-Sat 6pm (Sun 5pm) Thru Dec 31, when the show goes on hiatus for World Cup Sailing pier renovations. Pier 29 at Embarcadero Ave. 438-2668. www.teatrozinzanni.com

When I Grow Up @ LGBT Center Group exhibit of mixed media art by local LGBT elders. Thru Nov. 16. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

Sun 13>> Alvin Orloff @ Dog Eared Books Authors Ali Liebegott and Larry-bob Roberts join Orloff, who reads from and signs copies of his new gay novel, Why Aren’t You Smiling? 8pm. 900 Valencia St. at 20th. 282-1901. www.alvinorloff.com

Ajax @ Presentation Theater Theatre of War presents a staged reading of the Sophocles war tragedy for civilian and military audiences, with post-show discussions. Free. 7pm. Also Nov 14, 7pm. University of San Francisco, 2350 Turk Blvd. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

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Out&About >> of ‘reality.’ Exhibit thru Nov. 4122 18th st. at Collingwood. www.magnetsf.org

Marilyn Pittman @ Stagewerx Lesbian comic performs her solo show It’s All the Rage, about family tragedies, told with a dark humor. $20. Also Nov. 15. 446 Valencia St at 15th. www.marilynpittman.com

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Woody Allen Films @ Castro Theatre Crimes and Misdemeanors (3pm, 7pm) and Deconstructing Harry (5pm, 9pm). $10. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

The One Percent @ Unitarian Universalist’s Hall Screening of Jamie Johnson’s timely documentary about his own billionaire Johnson & Johnson family fortune, and his relatives’ lives. $5-$10. 7pm. potluck. 1924 Cedar St. at Bonita. (510) 841-4824. www.bfuu.org

Outspoken @ New Conservatory Theatre

Brett Kaufman, Thu.

One-night showing of the new anti-bullying show for teens before it tours California schools. 7pm. 25 Van Ness Ave. lower level. Free, but RSVP required: 861-4914, x116. www.nctcsf.org

Thu 17>>

Dancing With the Drag Stars @ Ruby Skye

Queer Comedy Night @ El Rio

Third annual hilarious and surprisingly good dance competition, with eight local celebrity drag performers paired up with ballroom dance professionals. Patrick Gallineaux, Donna Sachet and Sister Roma cohost. Judges include Bebe Sweetbriar, Ali Mafi and LaToya London. Performances by Anita Cocktail and Caroline Lund. Proceeds benefit the Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation. $20-$50. (5:30pm VIP reception $99). Tables of four $350. 6:30pm. After-party til 12am. 420 Mason st. 2825492. www.richmondermet.org

Host Lisa Geduldig welcomes comics Diane Amos, Loren Kraut, Mike Spiegelman and Paco Romane. $7-$20. 8pm. 21+. 3158 Mission St. (800) 838-3006. www.koshercomedy.com www.elriosf.com

Opening reception for the artist’s exhibit of unique multimedia works depicting gay icons like Allen Ginsberg, Harvey Milk and Oscar Wilde. 6pm-9pm. Re. hours Wed-Sun 11am-5pm. Exhibit thru Jan 11. 5 Claude Lane near Bush St. 956-1310. www.5claudelane.com

Dancing With the Drag Stars, Sun.

Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano @ The Rrazz Room New York cabaret favorites make their Rrazz Room debut with a witty sweet duo act. $30. 3pm. Also Nov 14, 8pm. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.therrazzroom.com

Flash Gordon, Dune @ Castro Theatre Two of the best-worst wonderfully overthe-top scifi films of the 80s. $10. Flash (2pm, 7pm) and Dune (4:10, 9:15). 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

A Funny Night for Comedy @ Actors Theatre Natasha Muse and sidekick Ryan Cronin pose hilarious and odd questions to guest witticists Mike Spiegelman, Brian Fields, Chris Garcia, Casey Ley, and Femikaze. $10. 7pm. 855 Bush St. www.NatashaMuse.com

Music Meditation Mass @ St. Francis Lutheran Church Concert of Palestrina’s Missa Eterna Christi Munera. 7pm. 152 Church St. at Market. 621-2635. www.st-francis-lutheran.org

Play @ Mezzanine Wayne G DJs this popular dance event with a military camoflage dress code. Partial proceeds benefit local nonprofits. $20$30. 5pm-11:30pm. 444 Jesse St. www.playtdance.com

SF Hiking Club @ Point Reyes Enjoy a strenuous 13-mile hike along the scenic trail, with LGBT outdoors fans. Carpool meet 8:45am at the Safeway sign, Market St. at Dolores. 378-5612. www.sfhiking.com

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet and Harry Denton host the fabulous weekly brunch and drag show. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.harrydenton.com

Sundayz @ Beatbox New weekly beer/booze bust and T-dance, with a portion of proceeds going to various local AIDS/HIV and LGBT non profits. DJs Russ Rich, Byron Bonsall, Brian Maier, Christopher B and Kevin Lee. $15 bust or $5 + cash bar. 3pm-7pm. 314 11th St. www.beatboxsf.com

You Roll Away Your Stone, I’ll Roll Away Mine @ Right Window Gallery Rotating group exhibit of varied photographic works curated by Jason Hanasik; Abner Nolan, Patrick Hillman, Melissa Wyman. Thru Nov. 992 Valencia St. at 21st. www.rightwindow.blogspot.com

Mon 14>> Isaac Bader @ Magnet Passages, Bader’s exhibit of subtle egg tempera paintings exploring the illusory concept

Writing Down the Past @ GLBT History Museum Gay Men Reveal Their Histories at this Litquake and Guy Writers-sponsored event, with James J. Siegel, Jim Roderick, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Vincent Meis, Gabriel Lampert and Mark Abramson. 7pm.-9pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Tue 15>> Man as Object: Reversing the Gaze @ SOMArts Gallery Diverse group exhibit of women’s art that takes on body objectification, using men and body parts. Events through exhibit run. Thru Nov. 30. Tue-Fri 12pm-7pm. Sat 12pm5pm. 934 Brannan St. 863-1414. www.somarts.org

Mom & Dad: I Have Something to Tell You @ Opera Plaza Cinema Israeli TV host Assi Azar premieres his memoir-documentary about coming out to his family. Post-screening Q&A. Free; advance RSVP required. 7pm. 601 Van Ness Ave. www.israeliconsulate.org

Period of Adjustment @ SF Playhouse Previews begin for the local staging of Tennessee Williams’ “serious comedy” about a man who brings his bride to meet his best friend. $20-$50. Tue-Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Opens Nov. 19. Thru Jan 14. 533 Sutter St. near Powell. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Russ Lorenson @ The Rrazz Room Local crooner performs a tribute to the music of Bobby Darin, with a four-piece band and back-up singers. $30. 8pm. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.therrazzroom.com

Wed 16>> Diane Schuur @ the Rrazz Room Grammy-winning jazz vocalist-pianist performs. $45-$47.50. 8pm. Also Nov. 17 & 18, 8pm. Nov 19 & 20 7pm. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.therrazzroom.com

Dining by Design @ Galleria Two-day fundraiser with over-the-top stylish dinner party design installations, and a fancy dining experience gala. $350-$1000 and up. 6pm-10pm, Nov 17 gala dinner 6:30pm-11pm. 101 Henry Adams St. 490-5865. www.diffasf.org

Our Vast Queer Past @ GLBT History Museum See the fascinating exhibit from the GLBT Historical Society, with a wide array of rare historic items on display. New mini-exhibit focuses on the legacy of activist and performer Jose Sarria. Free for members-$5. Wed-Sat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Smack Dab @ Magnet Hip hop performer Mone Goody headlines the fun often queer-themed open mic event. Sign-up 7:30; show at 8pm. 4122 18th st. www.magnetsf.org

Brett Kaufamn @ 5 Claude Lane Gallery

California Dreaming @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Jewish Life in the Bay Area from the Gold Rush to the Present, an exhibit about the lives of historic Western American Jewish people, from Levi’s jeans and Ginsberg’s Howl to Gump’s and LGBT synagogues. Also, Houdini: Art and Magic. $5-$12. Thu-Tue 11am-5pm. 736 Mission St. at 3rd. 655-7800. Thru Oct. 16, 2012. www.thecjm.org

Celebration of Phyllis Lyon @ LGBT Center Fundraiser for Lyon-Martin Women’s Health center, and birthday celebration for the pioneering lesbian rights activist. $87 and up. 6pm-9pm. 1800 Market St. www.lyon-martin.org www.sfcenter.org

Greta Garbo Films @ Castro Theatre Double feature of classics! Ninotchka (2:45, 7pm) and Grand Hotel (4:45, 9pm). $10. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Miryam Kabakov @ Bureau of Jewish Education Library Editor fo the anthology Keep Your Wives Away From Them: Orthodoz Women, unorthodox Desires discusses the book of Jewish LGBT-themed stories. 7pm. 1835 Ellis St. 567-3327. www.bjesf.org/library.htm

Patrizio Buanne @ Great American Music Hall Gorgeous Italian singer-guitarist performs pop music in English and Italian. $32-$35 ($55 w/ dinner). 8pm. 859 O’Farrell St. (888) 233-0449. (Also Nov. 19 at the Napa Valley Opera house). www.patrizio.tv www.gamh.com

Radar Reading @ SF Public Library Reading series with Vanessa Veselka, Elissa Perry, Dia Felix and Sloane Martin; hosted by Michelle Tea. 6pm. 100 Larkin St., lower level. www.sfpl.org

Ron Schmidt @ GLBT History Museum Author of Once-Removed discusses his memoir about his Catholic upbringing in the 1930s-40s, and his long struggle to come out. LGBT youth and parents speak on a panel as well. 6pm-8pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Same-Sex Dancing @ Queer Ballroom Ongoing partner dance lessons and open dancing in a variety of styles- Argentine tango, Cha Cha, Rhumba and more; different each night. $5-$25 open dancing to $55 for private lessons. 151 Potrero Ave. at 15th. www.QueerBallroom.com

Transgender Awareness Day @ City College Gender Diversity Project, HIV/STI Prevention Studies,Queer Resource Center and Queer Alliance sponsor a day of performance, spoken word, film screenings, panels and discussions and workshops. 11am-5pm. www.ccsf.edu/hiv/gdp

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

<< Society

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

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Moroccan dates by Donna Sachet

nly for a dear friend would we set the alarm for 6 a.m. on a Tuesday for an 8 a.m. breakfast! But Liam Mayclem called, and it was at the Fairmont Hotel, and it benefited the recently merged Haight Ashbury Free Clinic and Walden House, so there we were. This organization holds an amazing record of success breaking the cycle of repeat incarceration, drug dependency, and family disintegration. After powerfully moving speeches by clients and supporters, the several hundred guests reached willingly and deeply into their pockets. Although through barely open eyes, we spotted Rick Camargo, Hilary Newsom Callan, Ben & Dianne Fong-Torres, Raghu Shivaram & Beth Schnitzer, John Newmeyer, and Marilyn Cabak. Not only has amfAR been the leading organization dedicated to AIDS research since 1985, raising millions of dollars and funding worldwide research, but they know how to throw a party! Last Friday, Ken Fulk’s design studio was transformed into a Moroccan wonderland as Violet Eyes in the Red City paid tribute to the late great Elizabeth Taylor. Dinner on the top floor was strictly limited to 100 guests, who enjoyed a superlative meal prepared by renowned chef Gary Danko, a lively show headlined by popular actor Alan Cumming, and a brisk live auction, yielding thousands of dollars for the cause. Then things really picked up with hundreds of additional guests joining the party as it spread over all four floors and spilled into the adjoining tent, where Chaka Khan got everyone on their feet. Moroccan food, décor, and even luxurious apparel abounded. Top Chef-winning Yigit Pura

Steven Underhill

Chaka Khan got everyone on their feet at the Violet Eyes in the Red City benefit for amFAR last Friday night.

created delectable desserts. On the special guest list were socialites Denise Hale, Tatianna Sorokko, and Ed Hardy, Bravo TV’s Andy Cohen, Alec Hughes & Gavin Hamilton, Mario Diaz, Stephen King, Dan Bernal, Ron Jenkins & Jorge Hernandez, Peter Poulos, Mark Rhoades, Sister Roma, Rick Holland, Will Whitaker, Richard Sablatura, Jeff Doney, Derek Barnes, and Bahya Murad. Tomorrow night, Fri., Nov. 11, we are going to investigate for ourselves the much-talked-about revival of the Russian River. We’ll start on Main Street in Guerneville at Michael Volpatt’s Big Bottom Market at 6 p.m., when a delicious sandwich named after us will be unveiled: “The Sachet All Day!” The festivities will include wine tasting from Bjornstad Cellars of the Russian River Valley. After a stop at the long-running Rainbow Cattle Company, we can’t wait to see the progress at Ray Allen’s recently reopened r3, formerly the Triple R

Steven Underhill

Bravo TV’s Andy Cohen at the Violet Eyes in the Red City benefit for amFAR last Friday.

Resort. We hear that many familiar faces have resurfaced here, and that indescribable energy has begun to return. Join us up north, and expect a full report in our next column. The wait is over! Patrik Gallineaux’s Dancing with the Drag Stars 3 takes over posh Ruby See page 27 >>

Coming up in leather and kink Thu., Nov. 10: Locker Room Thursdays at Kok Bar (1225 Folsom). Features contests like sweaty balls, hairy crack, etc. Free clothes check. 9 p.m.-close. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com Thu., Nov. 10: Underwear Night at The Powerhouse (1347 Folsom). Show off your undies for drink specials. 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com Fri., Nov. 11: Master’s Den: Casino at the SF Citadel (1277 Mission) hosted by Maestro Stefanos. Socialize, learn, play & explore in casino/dungeon environment of decadence, service & respect. 7 p.m.-1 a.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org Fri., Nov. 11: Monthly Cockstar hosted by DJ Gehno Sanchez at Kok Bar. Pin the Cock on the Star contest, specials, 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com Fri., Nov. 11: Truck Wash at Truck (1900 Folsom). 10 p.m.-close. Live shower boys, drink specials, loads of fun! Go to: www.trucksf.com Fri., Nov. 11: Lick It hosted by Lance Holman at The Powerhouse. $5 cover for the Breast Cancer Emergency Fund. Go-go guys, raffles, bootblacks, 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com Sat., Nov. 12: All Beef Saturday Nights at The Lone Star (1354 Harrison). 100% SoMa Beef & Co. 9 p.m.-close. Go to: www.facebook.com/lonestarsf Sat., Nov. 12: Mystique at the SF Citadel. This is SF’s premier event for Dominant Women and those who wish to serve them. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org Sun., Nov. 13: SF Men’s Spanking Party at The Power Exchange (220 Jones). This is a male-only event, 18 years or older. $20, half off for students & military. Go to: www.voy.com/201188/ Sun., Nov. 13: Mama and the Sisters Christmas Toy Drive at The Lone Star. Bring a toy for the Sunburst Projects and enjoy the beer bust, Jell-o shots, and wet underwear contest! 4-8 p.m. Look it up on Facebook. Sun., Nov. 13: Hot Rod Launch Party at the Powerhouse. DJ Dirty Knees returns with a queer rock-

n-roll social. Grease monkeys, go-go boys, drink specials, $3 cover gets you a Hot (Rod) Dog! Go to: www.powershouse-sf.com Sun., Nov. 13: Night Cruise Sundays at Kok Bar. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com Sun., Nov. 13: Sunday Furry Sunday, Castro Bear Presents at 440 Castro. 4-10 p.m. Go to: www.castrobear.com Sun., Nov. 13: PoHo Sundays at The Powerhouse. DJ Keith, Dollar Drafts all day. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com Mon., Nov. 14: Trivia Night with host Casey Ley at Truck. Featuring prizes, insane fun and ridiculous questions! 8-10 p.m. Go to: www.trucksf.com Mon., Nov. 14: Happy Hour After Gym at Kok Bar SF. All day happy hour Mon.; Tue.-Thurs. 6-9 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. 4-9 p.m. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com Mon., Nov. 14: Dirty Dicks at The Powerhouse. 4-10 p.m. $3 well drinks. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com Tue., Nov. 15: 12-Step Kink Recovery Group at the SF Citadel. 6:30 p.m. Open to all kink-identified people in recovery who want a safe space. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org Tue., Nov. 15: Busted at Truck. $5 beer bust 9-11 p.m. Go to: www.trucksf.com Tue., Nov. 15: Ink & Metal at The Powerhouse. 9 p.m.-close. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com Wed., Nov. 16: Underwear Buddies at Blow Buddies (933 Harrison), a male-only club. Doors open 8 p.m.12 a.m. Play till late. Go to: www.blowbuddies.com Wed., Nov. 16: Bare Bear – a night at the baths at The Water Garden (1010 Alameda, San Jose). 6-10 p.m. Go to: www.thewatergarden.com Wed., Nov. 16: Bear Bust Wednesdays at Kok Bar SF. $6 all you can drink Bud Light or Rolling Rock drafts. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com Wed., Nov. 16: Nipple Play at The Powerhouse. Specials for shirtless guys. 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com.

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

DVD>>

Student bodies by Ernie Alderete

he main difference between AMG Story Classics: Slave Market, previously reviewed in these pages, and the similar AMG Theatre Film Classics: Teacher’s Pests is the duration of the features. While the overall running time is shorter here (only 70 minutes vs. 150 minutes for Slave Market), the six individual features are longer-running, if not more cohesive, in Teacher’s Pests. Another fundamental difference is that Teacher’s Pests is not a silent feature like Slave Market. But nobody in Teacher’s Pests really has anything memorable to say. My favorite segment is the only silent, blackand-white feature in the collection. It isn’t even listed on the cover, probably because it doesn’t really fit the same mold as the other shorts. A

very handsome young bodybuilder, Richard Thayer, supposedly filmed in 1966 (although it looks more like 1956), shows off his zero-body-fat build. It’s hard for a nude soloist,

h however handsome, t to keep constantly in m motion without resorting t to anything blatantly ssexual, but this young m man accomplishes his goal aadmirably. He’s no one yyou’ve ever seen before, yet h he does evoke the kind of ssexual fantasy you might h have had about Johnny C Crawford, the dutiful yyoung son back on the o old black-and-white TV p program The Rifleman. T This kid has a smile just aas infectious, and has the q quintessential snow-white b bubble-butt! The other five se segments date from 1969 to 1972, but all feel much m more modern than Richard T Thayer’s moment in the sun. These classic offerings fr from AMG might be fun to play at a party. They w won’t get your guests overly w worked up and humping ea each other, but they are ch charming, sexy, good for laughs, and a spark for convivial party banter. Retail price is $49.95, but you can find new copies at half that price, and lightly used ones for even less.▼

Music>>

Queer folk

numbers such as “California Now,” “Last Pioneers,” “A Greasy Griddle (and a Short Order Cook)” and “Step.” Melissa Ferrick hails from the fertile New England music scene. On Still Right Here (MPress), her 11th studio disc in almost 20 years, Ferrick is joined by lesbian guitar goddess Kaki King on “Headphones On” and queer icon Ani DiFranco on “You Let Me Be.” Other highlights include “Seconds Like These,” “One of a Kind,” “Singing With the Wind” and “I Will Back You Up.” When David Brown calls This Is My House (Chihuahua) his “forever and a day project,” he isn’t kidding. His first studio album since 2001’s Storm in a Teacup, House was worth the wait. The album goes from the gender politics of “It’s All Drag”

th through the vintage vibe of ““Honeypoo” (complete with ccrackling vinyl effects), the ccountry swing and stinging m message of “The Last Time I Saw Sharon,” the cover of L Luka Bloom’s “I Am Not aat War” to the unexpected SSuper Gay Anthem Mix of ““Nothing Taboo.” Actress/comedian, singer/ ssongwriter Fay Wolf’s SSpiders (Hermonica Music) w weaves a web in which you w won’t mind getting tangled. A Already a staple on the ssoundtracks to various TV series, Wolf narrows the focus to her songwriting and singing over the course of the disc’s 11 tracks. Songs such as “The Passing” and “Backstage Girl” put her in the company of Regina Spektor and Tori Amos without ever compromising her own distinctive musical identity and perspective. Queer singer/songwriter Anomie Belle’s The Crush (anomiebelle.com) is a far more bizarre affair. Her unique phrasing and vocal style combined with the production recalls Björk crossed with Macy Gray. It’s an exciting experimental effort that pays off more often than not, especially on “Inky Drips,” “Machine” (feat. Mr. Lif) and “Lavender Days.” Bobby Jo Valentine’s A Place To Belong (bobbyjovalentine.com) proves that gay Christians have something to say, and he says it better than many of his straight counterparts.▼

mirrored ball trophy. Judges include local drag star Bebe Sweetbriar, comedians Shann Carr and Ali Mafi, Latoya London of television’s American Idol and Broadway’s The Color Purple, and accomplished dancers Vaidas Skimelis and Jurga Pupylete, overseen by “scrutineer” Sister Roma. Caroline Lund, Anita Cocktail, and Cassandra Cass will provide additional entertainment. If the past two incarnations are any indication, we are in for an amazing

night benefiting Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation. Tickets are still available, but going quickly! And as a true sign of the fastapproaching holiday season, Under One Roof has its holiday store opening on Thurs., Nov. 17, hosted by Pollo del Mar, revealing Christmas trees decorated by various San Francisco notables, serving munchies and drinks, and offering the best unique gift selection in town.▼

by Gregg Shapiro

atie Curtis is not the first lesbian folksinger/ songwriter, but she’s still one of the best. Some 20 years since her major-label debut, New England native Curtis remains a force in folk as well as in country and pop. Stretch Limousine on Fire (Compass) has all of the elements that made Curtis who she is today as a performing songwriter. Songs such as the hot title cut, “Highway del Sol,” the exquisite piano and vocal number “River Wide,” the rhythmic “Another Day on Earth” and the back-to-back “I Do” and “Wedding Band” rank among her best. Not surprisingly, Curtis has talented musician pals including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lisa Loeb, Julie Wolf and Duke Levine, who appear on tracks throughout the disc. The late Steven Grossman, an out gay musician who released an album on a major label (Mercury) in 1974 with openly queer lyrics, is another AIDS casualty that we lost far too soon. Recorded in 1991, the same year as his passing, and finally getting an official release, Something in the Moonlight (Significant Other) is an essential part of the gay male singer/songwriter canon. Featuring an exceptional array of out musicians including Mimi Fox, Richard Dworkin and Toshi Reagon, the album contains memorable

On the Town

From page 26

Skye this Sun., Nov. 13, starting with a Stoli vodka VIP reception at 5:30 p.m., general admission at 6:30 p.m. and competition at 7:30 p.m. Eight fabulous drag queens, including Cockatielia, Patty McGroin, Rahni Simpson, and Lychee Minnelli have been rehearsing for weeks with their assigned professional dance partners to vie for the coveted tiara-topped

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28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • November 10-16, 2011

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Books >>

Byronic fantasia by Tim Pfaff

n Childish Loves (Faber/Norton), the final volume in Benjamin Markovits’ trilogy of novels about the English Romantic poet Byron, the novelist plunges into one of the murkiest areas of the poet’s biography: pederasty, as it plays out in his life from his induction into it as an adolescent to his practice of it as an adult. It’s a delicate, tricky subject that Markovits, for all his obfuscations, keeps in plain sight from the epigraph to the Afterword. Unlike the two previous novels, Imposture and A Quiet Adjustment, which could comfortably be called historical fiction, Childish Loves is more a fantasia on Byronic themes suspended from intricate literary scaffolding. The three long segments that make up the trunk of the book purport to be Byron’s journals – though they don’t feel particularly Byronic – documenting his childhood, his years at Cambridge, and the final years of his short life as a freedom fighter in Greece. Imposture and A Quiet Adjustment reappear in Childish Loves not as the finished novels we know, but as unpublished fiction by Peter Sullivan, a teacher fired for “fiddling boys” at a Boston school who takes low-profile refuge at a private school. Sullivan bequeaths

his papers to a student, named Benjamin Markovits, there. The character Markovits takes it upon himself to sift through the documents, learn what more he can about Sullivan, and get what’s publishable published. As he later forthrightly tells a Harvard dean puzzled by his project, “I want to find out what you can learn about people from the books they write – how much is true.” The novel’s cantilevered plot is considerably more complicated than that, but it’s to the novelist’s credit that he never leaves readers wondering what narrative strand they’re in. Still, if you’re going to play peek-a-boo identity games with your readers, you better hook them first. “I suspected his affection for me had a sexual element,” the character Benjamin Markovits tells us on page 5. But for good or ill, that’s the end of that narrative thread. The most elaborately drawn, if not the most compelling, character in this narcissistic book is Benjamin Markovits, who, like his real-life doppelganger, is a married-withchild American novelist who shuttles back and forth between the US and the UK. But it’s the character’s double life as a professor and scholar that allows him from time to time to go to the blackboard. It’s in that guise that he explains

the complicated world of male romantic friendships in the 19th century and, more specifically, Byron’s kinks. “He certainly had sex with a number of boys in Greece and Turkey, though these affairs came later, and after he had cast off the shackles of British respectability,” the professor tells us. “By our modern standards [Byron] was probably a pedophile and a rapist, at least of the statutory kind,” he later blurts out, “and it was hard not to imagine that Peter’s interest in him contained an element of something unpleasant.” For both Sullivan and Markovits, the “ingredient” of sex introduces an unpleasant “element.” But good for the reader that the second most credibly drawn character in Childish Loves is Lee Feldman, the adult version of the kid Sullivan fiddled. Interviewed by the professor, Feldman replies, “What did you expect me to do? My favorite teacher and the only adult I had any kind of trusting relationship with wanted me to touch his penis.

So I touched his penis. At that time I didn’t mind that he wanted to touch my penis, too. Up until that point my penis had never made me very happy.” As both character and author Markovits discover, what makes stories of pederasty real is summoning the feelings of the males on both sides of the equation. The two most powerful passages in the

n novel, a page each, conjure B Byron’s own experience as b both initiate and initiator. The first tempers the v violation of the act with a literal awakening on the p part of the child Byron. T The second piercingly im imagines Byron’s complex o feelings at the cool of r response he receives from t young Greek boy – wait the f it – Lukas. “It is clear for to me that I am nothing to h him, except as a source of so some amusement and … m many fine things. But at th the moment it strikes me as something to be grateful fo for – that I should live again im impassioned days.” Childish Loves is ac accomplished prose that d doesn’t accomplish much. W Words seem to carry equal w weight for Markovits, and long stretches of this novel – about Byron! – are numbingly boring. Perhaps with the poet off his back, he’ll get down to something more elemental. As a friend and confidant of Markovits asks him early on, about grubbing around in the Sullivan papers, “What’s in this for you? Why don’t you get back to your own work?”▼

Courtesy 3rd i

Scene from The Image Threads, a stunning visual poem. Courtesy 3rd i

Scene from Big in Bollywood: the Indian film industry copies American tabloid glitz.

SF S. Asian Film Fest

From page 17

Mickey Hart, Carlos Santana, John Handy and Derek Trucks. With a rich visual scheme and musical tapestry, the piece provides an intimate sense of how young Alam Khan works his way emotionally and

musically to accepting the legacy of a dad who was 60 years old when he was born, including assuming the mantle of running his dad’s famed music school. One moment Alam and his sweet younger bro are burying Dad, and the next they’re embarking on the latest chapter in an Indian classical musical heritage

that extends back over several centuries. (Roxie, 11/13) The Kite Prashant Bhargava uses the lyrical images of a provincial kite festival to explore family tensions during the visit of a wealthy uncle. After five years away, Mumbai’s latest tycoon Jayesh returns to his native Ahmedabad, supposedly for the kites and the explosion of childish glee they prompt across the generations, but actually wanting to exact a peculiar revenge: making his resentful clan an offer they shouldn’t refuse. Meanwhile grown daughter Priya films the kites while flirting with the motor scooterriding Bobby, who falls hard. While it’s hardly an Indian Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Bhargava displays a talent for breathing fresh life into ancient family grudges, and provides a pleasure akin to Southern Gothic family mayhem. Most memorable is the screw-up Chakku, who, while giving the neighbor lads lessons in petty theft, denounces Jayesh as if everything about him smells of mendacity. Priya, whose Super8 camera captures the elusive smalltown happiness that Jayesh spurns, is the sassy city girl who knows just how far to tease the rube. Her most

pungent putdowns are in English, no less. (Roxie, 11/11) Big in Bollywood When he’s not borrowing his neighbor’s lawnmower, Omi Vaidya, a Palm Springs-born actor and naturalborn joker of Indian descent, averages 20 auditions for every gig, where he’s usually the funny ethnic guy. Omi’s luck turns when he lands a juicy role in a Bollywood comedy, 3 Idiots. Big in Bollywood is Bill Bowles and Kenny Meehan’s madcap depiction of an LA boy adjusting to the disorienting spin of overnight fame in the world’s top film center, avoiding cultural vertigo by hanging onto his band of white college roomies. Omi never visibly loses his grip on reality, despite memorizing bathroom gags in a language he can barely speak. His dad compares Bollywood to a never-ending episode of I Love Lucy churned out by an Indian film industry that slavishly copies American tabloid glitz right down to an awards show that’s a Tower of Babel version of the Oscars, with twice the audience. Employing a hyper video style somewhere between YouTube and a less bitchy TMZ, Omi and his buds, with their fake press cards, SoCal hairstyles and bromance-friendly hugs and kisses, adapt to a culture

whose teeming masses affirm every second that the population clock has indeed struck 7 billion. (Roxie, 11/9) The Image Threads Indian director Vipin Vijay’s feature debut is a stunning visual poem that tracks the surreal journey embarked on by an IT professor, his female lover and his black-magician dead Grandpa. The special magic of this piece is that you can completely ignore the subtitles and still get a sumptuous tour through a hyperreality version of this world and some lovely virtual reality digressions. Look for an amusing queer moment where the professor engages in an online bit of sexy cross-dressing. (Roxie, 11/13) Way of Life Dave Driver probes artist Michael Daube’s way of helping folks in remote parts of India, Nepal and Mexico. Daube is seen traveling between a boyhood home where his extended family earns a small living running a never-ending series of garage sales to serendipitous moments where his being kidnapped by smugglers leads to an unexpected Buddhist education. A David Hockney canvas pulled out of the trash funds his first stab at a unique form of philanthropy. (Roxie, 11/13)▼ Info: www.thirdi.org/festival

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TV >>

November 10-16, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Wounded warriors by Victoria A. Brownworth

hat makes a holiday worthy of TV shows? A majority of the regular series, both dramas and sitcoms, paid homage to America’s second favorite holiday, Halloween. And let’s face it, who doesn’t love Halloween? Some of our favorite shows made Halloween especially ghoulish, grisly or just truly hilarious. Can there be a funnier show than Modern Family? Up All Night, Whitney, Suburgatory and New Girl are all terrific and smart new additions to the sitcom lineup, but MF still excels. And it’s soooo gay. Although we weren’t thrilled to see Cam kissing a woman this week, no we were not. We don’t care if he was a former football star. Do not go there, please, MF. NBC smartly debuted the superb new drama Grimm on Halloween weekend. This show is really, really good. Sharp and witty, it’s coasting in on the Walking Dead, True Blood, Once Upon a Time, Being Human trending in Supernatural (yes, those cute boys are still over on the CW, along with all the other cute boys) heroes and anti-heroes. Grimm, starring sexy/hunky/brooding David Giuntoli in the title role, is a highly imaginative, scary and often darkly humorous take on the German fairy tales. The Grimms in this case are a race of slayers: they hunt the terrifying fairy-tale creatures that still wander the earth maiming, killing and doing all sorts of unpleasant mischief. Giuntoli plays Nick, a modernday Grimm descendant. A police detective, he learns from his dying Aunt Marie (played with impressive creepiness by a bald Kate Burton) that this is his legacy, and she passes on her trailer full of exotic weaponry and complicated books of mystery to him. Clever, smartly written and well-acted by the principles, especially Silas Weir Mitchell as Eddie Monroe, the gay-ish Blutbad, a kind of werewolfish character who becomes Nick Grimm’s entree into the world of supernatural creatures. Their exchanges are extremely entertaining. NBC hasn’t had a good drama series other than the Law & Order franchise since ER closed down, so two good dramas (Prime Suspect is the other) in one season seems almost like over-reaching for the ratings-deprived bottom of the big four. Yet if you like things that go bump in the night, you’ll find Grimm as immensely engaging as we do. But we digress. The point we wanted to make is that Halloween hit the tube in grandiose style with corresponding advertising support. Most shows got their ghoul on during the Halloween week. But how many series commemorate Veterans Day, even though the country is actively engaged in several wars and armed conflicts? Sure, you’ll see local networks doing specialinterest stories on their newscasts, and there will be Veteran’s Day sales everywhere, especially as a lead-in to holiday sales. But where are the representations of vets on the small screen? On Nov. 4, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition featured an episode with Glenn Close, who many will remember won an Emmy and was nominated for a SAG and Golden Globe for her performance in the title role in the film Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story. Home Edition completed a house renovation for a wounded Iraq vet (who still suffers from PTSD) and his family. Ty Pennington and his team (which includes a queer member)

retrofitted the house to minimize all sounds, external and interior, because these can trigger flashbacks and anxiety for PTSD sufferers. The house was designed with tripleglass windows, insulated sheet-rock and cork floors, all to minimize the impact of the outside world on the still-wounded warrior. In addition, for the first time in the show’s history, there were no screams of hundreds of people yelling “Move that bus!,” the show’s signature call to reveal the makeover, because even that might trigger an episode. This wasn’t the first episode of the show dedicated to renovations for a returning war vet. There have been several others, mostly for vets so crippled by loss of limbs, blindness or paralysis that they needed serious retro-fitting just to be able to navigate their own homes with any level of independence. But why does it take a reality TV show to remind us of that other 1%? Not the 1% the Occupy protest movement is talking about, but the 1% of Americans who are members of the armed services bearing the entire weight of two decades-long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as several armed conflicts in other countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Libya. Last weekend veteran reporter Lucky Severson of Religion and Ethics Newsweekly on PBS went to the Warrior and Family Support Center in San Antonio, Texas. This place was developed by Judith Markel, who runs the center. It’s for severely wounded veterans of the current wars and their families. Markel thought that the severely wounded needed to have space to both recover and spend time with their families. The place is amazing, but is the only facility of its kind in the country. And as Scott Pelley, anchor of the CBS Evening News, reported last week, nearly 50,000 people have been wounded in Iraq over the nearly nine years of that war. What’s more, because of the ability to save lives with medical technology that wasn’t available even in the first Gulf War, more than half of those injuries are ones that would have killed their victims in previous wars: traumatic head injuries, extensive third- and fourthdegree burns, multiple amputations, multiple trauma. A case in point is J.R. Martinez, the first actual war veteran to play a war veteran on a TV series, when he took on the role of Brot Monroe on All My Children on Veteran’s Day 2008, and played him until the show ended Sept. 23. Martinez’ character brought the war home to audiences who had been allowed to distance themselves from it because the news had mostly stopped reporting on the wars, and the veterans were hidden to all but their families and friends. Martinez is currently on DWTS, likely to either win or come in second to Ricki Lake. He is also the actual face of the wars: burned and mutilated (he’s had 34 surgeries and spent nearly three years in the hospital) but still here and living a full life, despite his disfigurement and long-term physical and emotional pain. He’s America’s new veteran, and unlike so many others, has chosen to be in the face of the nation, reminding everyone of what war does. Since Pelley took over as anchor, CBS News has been the evening news to watch. Pelley reports regularly on the wars, and has an ongoing series on wounded warriors. A longtime war correspondent for CBS prior to becoming evening anchor, Pelley has never forgotten that the wars are still being waged, and that there are casualties of all sorts as a result. ABC’s This Week and PBS’

Iraqi war veteran J.R. Martinez, currently appearing on Dancing With the Stars.

NewsHour are the only places where Americans will see the war dead commemorated weekly. This Week runs a segment called “In Memoriam,” which lists the names, ages and hometowns of the war dead every week. NewsHour runs the photos, names, ages and hometowns of the war dead three times a week. In silence. What the viewer gleans from seeing the information about these dead military personnel is and should be disturbing. The majority of the dead are 26 and under, many as young as 18, and are from smalltown America. The lack of reporting on the wars and those fighting them is, to our mind, appalling at best. That on this Veteran’s Day we will see countless advertisements for Veteran’s Day sales but the only face of a veteran we will see will be if we tune into DWTS is even more disgraceful. Thousands of men and women across America have suffered devastating injuries while serving for America (including gays and lesbians), and their plight goes unremarked, unnoticed and to an almost criminal extent, unremunerated with either health care, support or jobs on returning. That deserves reporting. It shouldn’t be the role of reality TV shows to remind us that there are wars going on and that some people will never be the same again, after having served their country and us.

Whiz of Oz Speaking of serving one’s country, Dr. Oz, whose show has taken over the Oprah slot on daytime, is singlehandedly trying to save the lives of Americans. We love Dr. Oz and the simplicity with which he presents both complex health issues and also solutions, or at the very least, preventatives. If you aren’t watching Dr. Oz in the afternoons (and really, we actually urge against turning on the TV before the evening news, but that’s why God invented the DVR), you should be. This is the easiest selfhelp health program you could ever do. This week Dr. Oz told us we don’t get enough sleep, vitamin D, vitamin B or actual daylight. None of this might be news to you, but this is: Wheat germ in every meal will give you a vitamin B boost and jumpstart your metabolism. Getting a light lamp will both increase your vitamin D intake (essential, especially for people with immunodeficiency disorders) and help you sleep and wake better. (We researched them online; they aren’t expensive.) Did you know your penis and vagina might be years older than the rest of you? We learned that, too. (Shudder.) And also how to make them youthful again. Also, you can do what we did and join his Transformation Nation to lose 40 lbs. by spring. (Check it out at Fox. com.) We highly recommend the video he has of the divine Maks from DWTS teaching dance as exercise. No wonder Kirstie Alley looks like 60

Dr. Oz says we don’t get enough sleep or enough Vitamin D.

is the new 45! Dr. Oz often takes on serious social issues, too. On Nov. 1 he had several guests, including Montel Williams, who suffers from MS, discussing the always-controversial right to die. It was a fraught hour, and worth viewing online, because his guests were dealing with their terminal illnesses in very different ways. Check it out and make sure to fill out the Medical Proxy forms, as well. Private Practice addressed this same issue last week when Amelia Sheperd (Caterina Scorsone), the resident neurosurgeon and sister to Grey’s Anatomy’s Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), helped her friend Michelle, suffering from Huntingdon’s disease, die with dignity. Criminal Minds also raised the issue last week when Rossi’s first wife, recently diagnosed with ALS, asked him to help her die, and he had to make a decision about whether or not he could. We will all face end-of-life choices, for ourselves and possibly for partners and family. By raising the questions, TV forces people to deal with the inevitability of death and how we want to face it. Speaking of mortality, that was the subject of NBC’s delightful Up All Night this week. (Episodes are available at NBC.com.) A very smart show for the aging hipsters among us (you know who you are), the promos are deceptive. It looks like a show about parenthood, but it’s really a show about people in their 40s who had a baby they weren’t expecting and now feel old fogey-ish and want to stay as hip as possible. Christina Applegate (Reagan) and Will Arnett (Chris) are pitch-perfect as the newly-childed couple, and Maya Rudolph is in top form as Applegate’s Oprah-esque TV-host boss, Ava. We also like that Chris is a stay-at-home dad and Reagan a high-powered TV exec. The show is produced by Lorne Michaels and written and created by

Emily Spivey, a former SNL writer, and reflects how funny SNL people can be when given good material. Last week’s episode featured Blythe Danner and Richard Schiff as Reagan’s parents, two self-absorbed shrinks. Priceless. A must-see. We also are enjoying ABC’s new very queer-friendly Suburgatory. The delightfully deadpan Jane Levy is teenager Tessa Altman, transplanted by her single dad George (a bemused Jeremy Sisto). Tessa has a flamer for a counselor in Mr. Wolfe, with Rex Lee camping it up a la Carson Kressley (and fulfilling the de rigueur two-minorities role most TV series seem to demand). Last week Tessa introduced a homeless black tranny (see above for the two-minorities shtick), Gladys, to her school in an effort to get her self-absorbed, consumer-driven, food-wasting classmates to comprehend that not everyone has everything. The plan backfires in a hilarious fashion (check it out at ABC.com), but gets good social issue and LGBT play at the same time. The show follows Up All Night (and yes, you will have to switch channels) and leads into Modern Family for some really superb laughs with actual queer/queer-friendly characters, which makes for a fun-filled Wednesday. The pitfalls of the over-loaded Sunday of great TV continue. PBS’ Masterpiece Contemporary just began the fabulous Page Eight, a super spy series with a plethora of great English actors, including Bill Nighy, Michael Gambon and Judy Davis. This is breathtakingly good TV (the shows repeat late on Sundays and Fridays). Alas it plays against both The Good Wife and Homeland, also must-see. Finally, Grey’s Anatomy once again reminded us of what TV does when it makes queer characters integral to a series plot. Callie’s former motherin-law returned to Seattle Grace for surgery. George, to whom Callie was married briefly and disastrously, was killed in an accident, so the meeting is fraught for the two women. Callie has to tell her she’s married again, this time to a woman with whom she has a child. Her wife, Arizona, reminds her that coming out is an ongoing process. This doesn’t make it easier. The scene in which Callie tells Mrs. O’Malley that she “likes girls” is sweet, believable and deeply moving. And one more teachable moment from Shonda Rhimes, who has done so much to make queers real and not after-thoughts on her shows. We would add, GA also has two doctors who are Iraq vets, one of whom suffers from PTSD. Because Rhimes believes in total inclusivity. Which is yet another reason that you really must stay tuned. ▼

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30 • Bay Area Reporter • November 10-16, 2011

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