September 6, 2012 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

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Vol. 42 • No. 36 • September 6-12, 2012

Arrest made in stylist’s murder by Seth Hemmelgarn

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an Francisco police announced they have made an arrest in the killing of a popular Castro hair stylist. As the Bay Area Reporter wrote in a blog post Tuesday, James Rickleffs, 45, was arCourtesy SFPD rested on suspicion James Rickleff s of killing Steven “Eriq” Escalon, 28. The body of Escalon, who was gay, was found bound and gagged in his apartment in the 5000 block of Diamond Heights Boulevard at 6 p.m. June 12. Escalon had worked as a stylist at Metamorphosis Salon on Market Street. Police and Escalon’s mother are asking others who have had contact with Rickleffs to come forward. At a Hall of Justice news conference Tuesday, September 4, Lieutenant Hector Sainez, head of the San Francisco Police Department’s homicide unit, said Rickleffs was arrested Sunday night, September 2 on a murder charge. Sainez said the arrest was based on “strong” witness and forensic evidence. He declined to say how Escalon had been killed or what the specific evidence was. However, he said Rickleffs had been found with some property that had allegedly been stolen from Escalon’s home. Items missing from the apartment had included a laptop, jewelry, and financial documents. A bulletin released earlier said police were seeking a man who had been seen getting into a cab with Escalon in front of the bar 440 Castro at about 1:30 a.m. the day he was killed. Sainez said Tuesday that Escalon had met Rickleffs at a bar. Police believe Rickleffs is the man featured in the “person of interest” sketch that was featured in the bulletin. Escalon had also withdrawn money from an ATM machine, Sainez said, but he didn’t believe he’d been forced to take money out. He said he didn’t know whether Rickleffs is gay. Police Chief Greg Suhr encouraged people who recognize Rickleffs, whether they “met him in casual conversation” or had a date with him, to contact police. “Please let homicide detectives decide See page 13 >>

Chris Valera at Oakland Pride.

Franklin Street in Oakland’s Uptown district was full of people for Oakland Pride.

Rick Gerharter

Rick Gerharter

Oakland Pride shows city’s fun side by Catherine Pickavet

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unning on the theme “It’s a Celebration,” the third annual Oakland Pride festival held Sunday was just that: a celebration of all things East Bay LGBT. A diverse crowd of about 20,000 people, according to the Oakland North blog, from

all over the Bay Area made the trip to Oakland’s Uptown neighborhood September 2 to experience how this East Bay of riches shows its pride: sunshine, good food, strong drinks, and live music on four stages. Headliner CeCe Peniston treated dedicated fans to a collection of new and old tunes. Toward the end of the day, festivalgoers

danced on tired feet to gear up for the after parties that spilled out into various locations throughout the city. Perhaps the most notable aspect of Oakland Pride was the way the event brought the community together, highlighting the vast diversity and sheer size of the East Bay LGBT See page 12 >>

SFPD seeks killers in cold cases

by Seth Hemmelgarn

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n the early afternoon of February 17, 1974, Stig Lennart Berlin was found stabbed to death in Apartment 9 at 725 Hyde Street. The 37-year-old gay man had been cut multiple times in his chest and other areas, according to the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s office. A bloody towel was in the bathroom, and more blood was in the sink. Papers and items from a chest were scattered on his closet floor. It appears he had been dead for more than two days. Almost 40 years later, there are no suspects, and police have re-opened investigations into Berlin’s killing, along with those of Joe Vasquez, a.k.a. Joe Barbarella, who was in his 20s, and Joseph Y. Rodriguez Jr., a.k.a. Lisa Yancey, 30. Both, who were killed in their Tenderloin homes in 1975, were also stabbed to death. The investigations are happening as the murder trial in another cold case approaches. San Francisco Police Inspector Pat Correa said the main obstacle in finding those responsible for Berlin, Vazquez, and Rodriguez’s deaths is finding people who knew the victims. “I can’t get to them, because they’re no longer here,” she said. “That’s the biggest challenge right now.” Correa said that with improvements in technology for testing DNA and other evidence, she’s hopeful “something may pop up,” but she indicated finding people who knew the victims is critical. “He had a life outside of his murder, and I

Rick Gerharter

Inspector Pat Correa, with cold case files, sits at her desk in the homicide unit of the San Francisco Police Department.

want to know what that life is,” Correa said, referring to all the victims. She said she’s looking for people “to put together their lives, to give me a picture of their lives,” and help guide her. Accounts of the killings offer a small glimpse of the city’s LGBT community as it was in the

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mid-1970s, just years before the AIDS epidemic hit and decimated much of the city’s gay population. Correa declined to share many details on the homicide cases, but reports at the medical See page 9 >>

<< Community News

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

â–ź

Prospect of gonorrhea ‘superbug’ alarms health officials by Matthew S. Bajko

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he prospect of seeing drug-resistant gonorrhea emerge in the U.S. has alarmed health officials and brought heightened scrutiny to new testing and treatment strategies being used to quell the sexually transmitted disease. While there has yet to be a case of the gonorrhea “superbug� found in the U.S., health officials fear it could be only a matter of time until that day comes. “We are concerned about it. There is good evidence it is probably going to happen,� said Dr. Heidi Bauer, chief of the STD Control Branch at the California Department of Public Health. “The good news is folks are doing research on alternative drugs currently and those may prove to be promising.� Caused by a bacterial organism known as Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the STD has long been resistant to most antibiotics. Last year Japanese researchers discovered a strain, named H041, impervious to all known forms of available treatments. The discovery alarmed health officials, and last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines on how doctors should treat patients with a gonorrhea infection. The federal agency now says the recommended treatment is to use a ceftriaxone-based dual regimen, where patients receive a 250 mg ceftriaxone injection and an oral dosage of 1g azithromycin or are prescribed to take 100mg of doxycycline orally twice daily for seven days. Nonetheless, the CDC predicts it is “very likely� that cases of gonorrhea resistant to the cephalosporin treatment “will emerge in the United States.� The federal agency also warns that gay and bisexual men are at particular risk. In their monthly STD report re-

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Rick Gerharter

SF STD chief Dr. Susan Philip

leased August 31, San Francisco health officials warned that “based on earlier resistance patterns to other classes of antibiotics, California will likely be among the first U.S. states to see cases� of the gonorrhea superbug. “People are wanting to know what it means and what do we need to be doing to prepare for this,� Dr. Susan Philip, director of STD Prevention and Control at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, told the Bay Area Reporter during a phone interview last month. “We are working with our lab partners to look for this in San Francisco.� Philip stressed that, so far, if someone is diagnosed with having gonorrhea, “it is curable. There is no untreatable gonorrhea in the U.S. that we have seen.�

Treatment has become harder But treating for the STD has become harder over the years. In 2010, 27 percent of all gonorrhea cases were resistant to penicillin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, or some combination of those antimicrobials, according to the CDC. Roughly 7 percent were resistant to all three antimicrobials, reported the CDC, which no longer recommends penicillin, tetracycline, or

fluoroquinolone antimicrobials as appropriate treatment for gonorrhea. In California “we do lots of testing� of STD strains, said Bauer. “We are seeing over time a large proportion able to survive larger concentrations of antibiotics. They are not drug resistant but it is concerning because it is a pre-curser to resistance.� Between 2000 and 2010 the national gonorrhea rate decreased nearly 22 percent, with 309,341 cases reported at the end of the decade. In California the state has seen gonorrhea rates decrease since 2007, when a total of 31,191 cases were reported. Last year the number had fallen to 27,455 cases, though that marked a slight increase over the 26,842 cases in 2010. Rates of gonorrhea have been rising, however, in San Francisco for several years now. Percentagewise, the number of gonorrhea cases in 2011 rose by double digits, from 1,943 in 2010 to 2,243 in 2011. In 2010 the STD section reported an increase of 8.6 percent in cases. This year is expected to see more increases. The reported cases of gonorrhea during the first seven months of 2012 are already higher than what was seen in San Francisco during the same period last year. According to the August STD report, there have been 1,475 cases of gonorrhea through July of this year compared to 1,221 reported in the first seven months of 2011. Cases of male rectal gonorrhea are also higher, with 456 reported through July this year compared to the 321 counted during the first seven months of 2011. San Francisco health officials for some time now have recommended doctors locally treat gonorrhea with the injection and pill protocol. More recently they have begun to advise sexually active gay and bisexual men to be tested for gonorrhea infections See page 12 >>

Challenges remain for Lyon-Martin

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fficials with Lyon-Martin Health Services indicated recently that the agency’s situation has stabilized, but challenges remain about a year and a half after it nearly closed. It was in late January 2011 that Lyon-Martin’s board of directors made the surprise announcement that the agency was more than $500,000 in debt and would shutter within days. But the news galvanized the community and saw people quickly rally to raise funds to help save the nonprofit, which serves women and transgender people, regardless of their ability to pay. In order to provide an update, an open board meeting was held Wednesday night, August 29 in the Market Street building that houses its offices. About 16 people, mostly board members and staff, attended. Executive Director Dr. Dawn Harbatkin presented data showing more stability for Lyon-Martin. She said as of July, the agency had 2,118 active patients, so they had the capacity to take in more. She also said the payer mix is improving, but even though there’s been a decrease in uninsured patients, Lyon-Martin is “staying true to serving underserved communities.� Long-term debt remains at about $1.2 million. Most of what’s owed is for taxes and paying back a bank loan. Harbatkin said the agency should start paying that back in 2013. John Gressman is president and CEO of the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, of which Lyon-Martin is a member. He presented several elements of the national Af-

Jane Philomen Cleland

John Gressman of the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium, speaks to attendees at the Lyon-Martin board meeting. At right is board chair Marj Plumb.

fordable Care Act reform that LyonMartin officials need to be prepared for, ranging from using electronic medical records and working to be attractive to patients. “The competition is going to be so fierce,� Gressman said. Harbatkin declined to guarantee Lyon-Martin’s survival. “There are no guarantees in this world,� she said. On top of the health care reform questions confronting Lyon-Martin and other agencies, she said the agency’s debt “is a big challenge we’re going to have to face.� However, she said, she’s “very hopeful we can do this.� Board Chair Marj Plumb, who took the position months after the nonprofit’s crisis emerged, said a question facing Lyon-Martin is “How do we reinvigorate more sustainable engagement with the community?� Sophia De Anda, 50, a transgender woman, said outside the meeting that

she quit receiving some services from Lyon-Martin after the financial crisis emerged last year. She said, “I’d like to give them a try� if the agency can show her it’s financially stable. “I want that guarantee,� she said.

New medical director Lyon-Martin has a new medical director, which had been Harbatkin’s job for a few years. Dr. Kerri Ashling, 49, said the main challenge she sees is “continuing and improving and expanding services.â€? Ashling, an out lesbian, has more than 16 years of experience as a family medicine physician, as well as training and experience in clinical process improvement. Most recently, she worked with Group Health Cooperative in Seattle. Her first day was August 21. Here salary is going to be $170,000. “I’m just really excited to be a part of this organization,â€? she said of the agency. â–ź

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Election 2012 >>

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

Elliot Owen

Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan spoke during a recent candidate forum that also featured Carol Lee Tolbert, left, Ignacio De La Fuente, and Theresa Anderson-Downs.

Public safety is top concern in Oakland at-large council race by Elliot Owen

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akland City Councilmember at-large Rebecca Kaplan, the city’s only out lesbian elected official, is fending off a challenge from District 5 Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente and several others as she seeks re-election in November and the candidates squared off at a recent forum where public safety was the top issue. The Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce sponsored the business-friendly debate that about 100 people attended. The Oakland Police Department currently has approximately 640 sworn officers whereas three years ago, 800 officers, filled the ranks. All the candidates except Theresa Anderson-Downs agreed that OPD is understaffed while the others discussed whether to find more money to revitalize the department or implement better policies to more efficiently use the resources at hand. “It’s one thing to say we want them all to do more,” Kaplan said at the August 29 debate at the Kaiser Auditorium, “but when any human being is working a double-triple shift, things are more likely to go wrong. We need accountability and the adequate numbers to actually do the job.” De La Fuente stated, “sometimes more [officers] doesn’t mean we’re attacking the problem” and that he would “make sure the police have what they need to do their jobs.” The success of gang injunctions implemented in North Oakland and Fruitvale last year was another public safety topic discussed. De La Fuente mentioned that gang injunctions are “one of the tools for police” while candidate Carol Lee Tolbert cited her granddaughter as feeling safer in the North Oakland streets since the injunction. Anderson-Downs swiftly showed her opposition to the controversial measure while Kaplan said, “they tend not to work” and suggested implementing Operation Ceasefire, a national crime prevention program with recent success in Los Angeles and Santa Cruz. In fact, city leaders met last month to discuss the Ceasefire program and hope to roll it out this month. The panel, three people representing local businesses, asked a number of questions about the local economy, most that centered around how to keep existing businesses in Oakland and how to attract new ones to create jobs. Kaplan expressed her intention to work to keep the Oakland A’s and Golden State Warriors in the area for employment purposes while also citing the repair of the city’s infrastructure

(potholes, sidewalks) to attract new businesses. The Warriors, of course, have already announced plans to build an arena in San Francisco. City leaders recently held a pep rally touting yet another plan to keep the A’s in Oakland with a stadium on land owned by the Port of Oakland. No representatives from the team were at the rally, where Mayor Jean Quan praised the proposal. While De La Fuente gave a nod toward the sports team issue he also indicated that it would not be a priority of his if elected to the at-large seat, citing instead “life and property” as his focus. Tolbert and Anderson-Downs agreed with De La Fuente that other issues need attending first but did express support in attracting larger department stores to combat the $1 million in retail leakage Oakland experiences every year. The candidates were asked if they had established priority issues that they would concentrate on during the first year if elected. AndersonDowns said she would focus on youth and prison rehabilitation programs while the three others included jobs for Oakland residents and public safety improvement among their priorities with Kaplan more explicitly citing illegal guns as a concern. Other issues addressed included city worker pension reform, more efficient tax use and healthy interpersonal relationships among councilmembers to improve the council’s productivity. Kaplan was elected to the at-large seat in 2008 while De La Fuente has held the District 5 seat since being elected in 1992. He created buzz last month when he declared his candidacy for the at-large seat – and giving up his D5 seat – setting off speculation that he plans to take another run at the mayor’s office in two years. He denied that he was running against Kaplan because she is the council’s only LGBT member. Tolbert is the president of Tolbert and Associates, a school improvement consulting firm, and is a former school board member for Oakland’s District 1. Anderson-Downs is a local business owner and Green Party member. A fifth candidate, Mick Storm, was not present.▼

On the web Online content this week includes the Out in the World column. www.ebar.com.

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<< Open Forum

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

Volume 42, Number 36 September 6-12, 2012 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 • Matthew Kennedy David Lamble • Michael McDonagh David-Elijah Nahmod • Elliot Owen 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 Simma Baghbanbashi Colleen Small Scott Wazlowski NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

LEGAL COUNSEL Paul H. Melbostad

Leave Hetch Hetchy alone P

roposition F mandates the City and County of San Francisco develop a plan to accomplish two goals: the first is to create a more sustainable water system by adopting 21st century efficiency practices such as waste filtration, water recycling, water reclamation, conservation, better storm water capture, and other best practices. So far, so good. Everyone supports water conservation and renewable energy. And for over a decade, the city has worked intensely to upgrade San Francisco’s water system. (More on that later.) It’s the second goal of the plan that should make Prop F dead on arrival: eliminating the Hetch Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite National Park in 2008. Hetchy reservoir and returning the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park to the National Park Service to be restored. While San Francisco has legal rights to use TuThis is not a new fight. As Matthew S. Baolumne River water, we do not have the right jko points out in his August 23 article in the to control the distribution of the water once Bay Area Reporter, it dates back a century folit reaches other capture facilities. We would lowing the 1906 earthquake, when, in 1913, likely have to buy the water, if it were available, Congress enacted the Raker Act, permitting water that would not be as pure as the water San Francisco to construct a dam in Yosemite directly from the Hetch Hetchy. This would National Park’s Hetch Hetchy Valley creating a then require expensive filtering and likely rereservoir that would eventually supply water to quire pumping to its final destination, also ex2.6 million people in over 30 cities pensive propositions. Finally, years of drought across the Bay Area. It was the loshave shown us that we need the waing efforts by environmentalists ter storage provided by the Hetch at the time, led by noted conserHetchy reservoir. Often there is vationist John Muir, that would not sufficient rain or snowmelt to launch the modern environmenmeet our needs and Hetch Hetchy tal movement. It was the catalyst provides a reliable source of water for the creation of the Sierra Club. that would be folly to give up. No one doubts that such a projIn addition to providing a needect would never be permitted ed and reliable source of water, today. We have evolved trementhe Hetch Hetchy project generdously in our environmental ates 1.7 billion kilowatt hours of sensibilities and our respect for hydroelectricity each year. This is nature. But the Hetch Hetchy 100 percent greenhouse gas-free reservoir is almost 110 years old now. It has energy and sufficient to meet all of created an entirely new ecosystem, the destrucSan Francisco’s municipal power requirements tion of which would itself create enormous for such facilities as San Francisco Internationenvironmental damage. And it wouldn’t bring al Airport, San Francisco General Hospital as back the Hetch Hetchy Valley of a century ago. well as Laguna Honda Hospital, the San FranHetch Hetchy Reservoir collects and stores cisco Unified School District and City College, pristine snowmelt in a granite basin within the the Municipal Transportation Agency, police protected Yosemite National Park. The water and fire facilities, and more than 40,000 streetis fed principally from the Tuolumne River. lights and traffic signals. Loss of hydropower It is distributed to San Francisco and other sales and increased energy expenditures would areas essentially by gravity, which is itself encost city taxpayers at least an additional $41 vironmentally sound and cost efficient. Prop million annually. F supporters suggest that the water could be Prop F supporters claim this is just a plan collected in other existing reservoirs along the to study the restoration of the Hetch Hetchy river path or in new ones to be constructed. Valley, although it mandates the city attorney

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to draft a charter amendment to be submitted to the voters no later than 2015 to implement the plan. As this is not a new idea, numerous completed studies have been done over the years, and they all found that removing Hetch Hetchy reservoir would have significant negative impacts on the operation of San Francisco’s water and power system. First consider the costs. An independent study by the State of California Department of Water Resources in collaboration with the State Department of Parks and Recreation was completed in 2006. They concluded that a restoration project, while “technically feasible” was Rick Gerharter not “financially feasible.” They estimated that a thorough analysis of all of the aspects of such a project would, itself, cost around $65 million. Eight million dollars is the amount proposed in Prop F, not nearly sufficient to study the totality of the ramifications of such a project. The 2006 study also concluded that the range of costs associated with a restoration project would be a minimum of $3 billion to a high of $10 billion. The lower figure would likely only be relevant if the O’Shaughnessy dam, which creates the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, were not torn down. And it is clear from talking to proponents of Prop F that tearing down O’Shaughnessy dam is a priority. The implementation of such a restoration project would also have significant impact on city residents in the form of higher water rates. The 2006 study estimates that, depending on the scope of the project, the average customer would pay $709 to $2,777 more each year. Prop F supporters are trying to focus the debate on the requirement that the city increase its conservation efforts in capturing, filtering, and reusing ground water collected locally. Everyone supports energy and water efficiency, including San Francisco’s political leadership. In 2002, under the leadership of Susan Leal, gay head of San Francisco’s Public Utility Commission, the city and the voters adopted a $4.5 billion plan to upgrade and modernize San Francisco’s ageing water system. The plan is to be implemented in phases and extends out to 2035. San Francisco has been in the forefront of developing clean and efficient alternative energy, whether it be waste diversion or water efficiency. The pure water provided from Hetch Hetchy and delivered to San Francisco and the region in an energy efficient and greenhouse gas-free way is a critical component of that long range plan. Leave Hetch Hetchy alone. Vote No on F. ▼

Let all Californians participate in democracy by Kate Kendell and Bruce Mirken

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BAY AREA REPORTER

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esbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Californians know better than anyone just how important our ballot initiative system is – after all, we’ve seen it used to take away our rights. It’s an imperfect process, but it’s in all of our interest to make it as fair and inclusive as possible. Only a system that respects the rights of all citizens can be expected to protect those rights. Right now, millions of Californians are left out of a crucial part of that system. Happily, this major flaw can be fixed with a stroke of Governor Jerry Brown’s pen. Californians speak over 200 languages, but today our initiative petitions speak only one: English. That leaves millions of voters out of the process of qualifying propositions for the ballot. Over six million voting-age Californians are “limited English proficient” (LEP). That includes nearly half of our nationalized citizens – at least 2.1 million eligible voters whose ability to speak and read English is limited. These voters have the same right to participate in our democracy as every other American, a simple truth enshrined in federal law by the Voting Rights Act. In counties with large numbers of LEP voters, officials are required to provide materials such as ballots and voter guides in the major languages spoken. In San Francisco, for example, officials must provide these materials in Chinese and Spanish. In Los Angeles, it’s Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer,

Korean, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese. But the law says nothing about initiative petitions, leaving millions of registered voters with no say at all in what gets on our ballot. That is plainly wrong. All voters should have an equal voice in our democracy. And for better or worse, ballot propositions have become California’s way of dealing with hugely important issues, from taxes to same-sex marriage. This November’s ballot will include propositions affecting everything from school funding to the death penalty. Not only does the current system of English-only petitions exclude millions of voters, it makes the whole system more vulnerable to abuse and manipulation. This should matter to LGBT Californians, even those of us who speak perfect English. Signature-gatherers are often paid by the signature. This gives them both an incentive to get as many as possible and a huge temptation to cut corners. There have been credible reports from California, Massachusetts, and other states of petitioners using misleading or downright false pitches to get people to sign anti-gay ballot initiatives – most recently in last year’s attempt to qualify a measure to repeal California’s FAIR Education Act, which requires school curricula to include teaching about LGBT people and history. Sadly, voters whose English is limited are frequently the target of dishonest pitches on a variety of issues. Last year, when the Green-

lining Institute conducted a listening tour to hear Californians’ views on our initiative process, we heard disturbing stories from Spanish-speaking voters in Riverside: During the campaign to recall then-Governor Gray Davis, some of them had been convinced to sign petitions by signature-gatherers who said they were for a measure to improve education. Only later did they learn – from the evening news on TV – that they’d been tricked into signing recall petitions. Nonsense like this is much easier to pull off when the voter has no easy way to check the wording on a petition and see if it matches what the signature-gatherer is saying. Senate Bill 1233, by state Senator Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), would solve this problem by making our initiative petitions available in multiple languages, just like ballots and voter guides are now. The bill has now passed the state legislature and is awaiting action by Brown. This simple, common-sense reform will cost less than one penny per voter. Even the highest cost estimate equals less than the amount California spends on prisons every eight minutes. SB 1233 is truly a win for every Californian. You can help to convince Brown to do the right thing by signing our online petition at www. couragecampaign.org/CASpeaks and calling the governor’s office at (916) 445-2841. Let’s give all our communities an equal voice.▼ Kate Kendell, Esq., is executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, (www.nclrights.org). Bruce Mirken is media relations coordinator at the Greenlining Institute (www.greenlining.org).

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Letters >>

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

More Catholic arrogance

Bizarre conception of history

I take exception to Mr. Biehl’s letter “The gay age of ingratitude” [Mailstrom, August 30]. Who knows how Europe and the USA would have evolved if Christianity was not forced on their inhabitants? I grew up Catholic and later in life became Russian Orthodox. This letter is another example of Catholic arrogance, which this current pope has been accused of being when he visited South America a few years ago. Personally, I would have been much happier growing up in an earthy religion like Native American and other such religions. What most ancient religions were about was care and nurturing Mother Earth as opposed to Christianity and its Father Sky (in the heavens). I would have been happier in the ancient Egyptian religion, Platonic idealism, Buddhist thought and practice than the arrogant Christian (whatever its form, Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant) teaching. Most ancient cultures would rather had been left alone than having Christianity forced upon them. We will never know If Europe and the United States would have achieved a high state of culture without Christianity. There is still human sacrifice in Christianity more commonly known as war; even the Just War of Augustine is human sacrifice. I am deeply grateful for Christianity showing me the door as a gay man. For a number of reasons, I no longer consider myself Christian. I prefer the worship of handsome young muscular men as gods, than the arrogant one God. Because of the scholarship for the past few centuries we have a great deal of literature from non-Christian cultures, including the so-called heretical Christian sects, such as the Gnostics. Remember “pagan” is a Christian term that indicates not us, the believers, and them, the non-believers. No culture that was non-Christian ever referred to itself as pagan. Imagine a United States presidential race without religion, i.e. Christianity. Yes, the gospels may be a high form of spiritual literature, but very few people put the Gospels into practice since it became scripture. If I am ungrateful for how Christianity has “fucked” me up, then so be it. The civilized world would be a better place without Christianity. We should all form our own religions or return to other thought cultures than continue to support a religion which would rather exterminate us than give us equal civil rights. Thank you.

I was richly amused by Michael Biehl’s bizarre conception of western history. Now I know what Roman Catholic propaganda for third graders looks like since Biehl gives the Roman Catholic Church far too much credit for the good that has come out of western civilization and conveniently ignores nearly 2,000 years of hideous atrocities, and not just large ones like the Crusades.

Douglas A. Matley San Francisco

Louis Bryan San Francisco

Sad irony at GOP convention How sadly ironic that the Republican’s revival meeting in Florida last week closed with a rendition of “America the Beautiful.” Even though it’s Mitt Romney’s favorite patriotic hymn, their national platform – which he fully supports, of course – would ban its author, Katherine Lee Bates, an ardent feminist, from marrying Katharine Coman, whom she described as her “joy of life,” in all 50 states. The two women’s intensely loving relationship lasted more than 25 years. It’s especially disappointing to see such hypocrisy in the party that just nominated the candidate with more business experience than any presidential contender since Herbert Hoover. Bill Lipsky San Francisco

Who wanted those benches? A couple years ago somebody decided it would be okay to reinstall the benches connecting Castro Street to Collingwood Street at Harvey Milk Plaza. We were “assured” that the problems that caused the benches to be removed in the first place wouldn’t recur [“Milk plaza benches may be modified or removed,” August 30]. Would it be possible to look up the names of the community members and/or city employees behind this decision? As your story pointed out, all the problems of years ago have returned with the return of the benches. Add in to the mix throwing stuff onto people entering or leaving the Muni Metro station below. Eric Llaneza San Francisco

[Editor’s note: According to a March 11, 2010 Bay Area Reporter article on the topic (ebar.com/news/article. php?sec=news&article=4617), the Community Benefit District pushed for the benches. The city’s Arts Commission rejected the CBD’s plan for divided seating, saying it didn’t like the design, and voted to approve the divider-less benches.]

‘British Invasion’ to hit Macy’s Passport event compiled by Cynthia Laird

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t’s time for the fall fashion shows and San Francisco will be the place to be for Macy’s Passport Glamorama 2012, which takes place Friday, September 14 at the Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market Street and benefits local HIV/AIDS organizations. Themed “The British Invasion: The Music Then. The Fashion Now,” the event will bring together musical performances, fall fashion, dance, and the most glam party in town, organizers said. This year’s headliner is singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, who will perform an acoustic three-song set. Charttopping pop duo Karmin, who headlined San Francisco Pride’s main stage in June, will also perform. “On the 30th anniversary of Macy’s Passport Presents Glamorama, we would like to thank all of the partners and supporters who have joined us over the years in the fight to end HIV/AIDS – especially our beneficiaries AIDS Emergency Fund, Glide Foundation, and Project Open Hand,” said Martine Reardon, Macy’s chief marketing officer. In terms of fall fashion, the collections featured on this year’s runway include Bar III, Calvin Klein, Diesel, Sean Jon, Tommy Hilfiger, and the exclusive, limited edition Nicole Richie for Impulse, which will be available in select Macy’s stores on September 12. Following the show, an after-party takes place at the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street, with a nod to British culture, food, and design. Tickets to the Passport show range

from $75-$1,000 and are available at www.macys.com/glamtickets. Admission to the after-party is included with the purchase of a $250 or more ticket. For more information, visit www.macys.com/glamorama.

Empty your Drawers for pennies (and more) The AIDS Emergency Fund’s long-running Every Penny Counts campaign was updated this year with Empty Your Drawers, in which people are urged to look in drawers and pockets, and under the sofa cushions for loose change or a misplaced bill to donate. The campaign will have its second run in the Castro this weekend, September 8-9. Lance Brittain, the Every Penny Counts coordinator, said that the “penny posse” will be at Castro and Market streets, at the top of the Castro Muni station’s main entrance, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Since 1987, Every Penny Counts has raised over $3 million, with 100 percent of the funds raised through the program going directly to help pay the basic living expenses of AEF clients. The program is allvolunteer, and is looking for more penny posse members. If you are interested, contact Brittain at (415) 558-6999, ext. 232 or lance.brittain@aef-sf.org.

E. Bay Stonewall Dems mark 30 years The Eastbay Stonewall Democratic Club will mark its 30th anniversary with its Out and Outstanding: We Are Everywhere reception

Sunday, September 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline Street in Berkeley (across from Ashby BART station). The event will recognize 30 trailblazers, mostly in the East Bay, who have advocated LGBT equality over the years Honorees include John Betterton, board secretary for the Port of Oakland, who has been a member of the Mayor’s LGBT Roundtable and is responsible for the gay-straight alliance at the port; Koko Lin, who helped with the Mandarin speaking Asian and Pacific Islander Lesbian Bisexual Network, which developed the “Beloved Daughter” booklet, a collection of letters from parents about their gay children; and the Reverends Roland Stringfellow and Mark Wilson, two East Bay spiritual leaders. Tickets start at $50 ($25 for low income) and can be purchased online at www.eastbaystonewalldemocrats.com. Funds raised through the event will go to support the Campaign for Equality.

Openhouse Second Sunday event for LBT women Noted sexologist and Good Vibrations chief cultural officer Carol Queen will be the special guest for Openhouse’s Second Sunday event September 9 for lesbian, bisexual, and trans women 60 and older. What promises to be a provocative talk from the writer, educator, and activist takes place at 3 p.m. at 145 Guerrero (near Duboce). The event is free and all women-identified community members are welcome to attend. For more information, call (415) 296-8995, ext. 16. See page 12 >>

<< Politics

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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D7 supe candidates back legalizing sex work by Matthew S. Bajko

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eave it to the progressive Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club to upend the long held view that the District 7 supervisor will hold the most conservative stances in San Francisco. During a candidate forum Tuesday night with five of the nine people running for the west of Twin Peaks seat (plus a proxy for one candidate), the club elicited responses that put most of the candidates squarely left of center. Most surprising, all but one said they believe sex workers should not be prosecuted. It is a stark contrast to the stance taken by the current occupant of the seat, Sean Elsbernd, who is termed out of office this year. In 2008 he was among the opponents of Proposition K, which would have decriminalized prostitution in San Francisco. On the issue of whether condoms should be used in the prosecution of sex workers, all but one of the candidates said they believe the police should not be confiscating the prophylactics as evidence in such cases. The practice gained prominence this summer after the Bay Area Reporter began reporting on the issue. In response to the B.A.R.’s coverage San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr instructed officers to no longer confiscate condoms as proof of prostitution. But the police can photograph condoms to be used as evidence against sex workers, which some health care advocates continue to raise objections about. Port Commissioner Francis “FX” Crowley was the sole person running to succeed Elsbernd to say that the laws against prostitution should remain the same and condoms should be used as evidence. Crowley, though, admitted he has vacillated on the issue over the years. “I do believe condoms should be used as probable cause because of DNA,” he said. “I do not believe it should be decriminalized because it is the law.” Crowley’s was the contrarian view on the subject. Andrew Bley, a geographer and small business owner, said that he doesn’t agree with “many sex laws on the books.” In addition to banning the use of condoms as evidence, Bley said he “would like to see great decriminalization on most sex work. I don’t think the current laws and penalties are just or realistic.” Journalist Joel Engardio, the only gay candidate in the D7 race, agreed with Bley’s stance. “Consenting adults should be free to do what they want,” he said. Affordable housing advocate Lynn Gavin, an ordained pastor originally from Missouri, suggested a change in how San Francisco polices sex work could bolster the city’s coffers. “We should decriminalize prostitution. It impacts women more than anything else,” said Gavin, who is writing a book about erotic poetry for couples due out next year. “If they have to pay taxes on that, then let’s get the taxes paid.” School Board President Norman Yee also expressed support for turning prostitution into a regulated business in the city. “I always felt for people who

Rick Gerharter

The Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club hosted the candidates for the District 7 supervisor’s seat Tuesday, September 4. Most of the candidates attended, including, from left, Andrew Bley, Francis “FX” Crowley, Joel Engardio, Lynn Gavin, Robert Rogers substituting for his father, Glenn Rogers, and Norman Yee.

work in the sex industry it should be regulated, taxed, and protected,” said Yee. “I don’t see it as a crime at all. If there is no violence there, why are we meddling into someone’s business?” San Francisco State University student Robert Rogers, standing in on behalf of his father, landscape architect Glenn Rogers, due to a scheduling conflict, also advocated for changes in the laws governing sex work. “It is one of the oldest professions humans have ever had,” said the younger Rogers. “Condoms used in prosecutions is Orwellian.” Yet he added that, “Streetwalking is inappropriate on city streets,” and instead “should happen on craigslist.” Board of Appeals President Mike Garcia; Robert “Bob” Squeri, the owner of a building maintenance company; and Julian Lagos, who ran against Elsbernd in 2008, did not participate in the Milk club forum. The questions regarding the criminalization of sex work were the few asked of all six participants. Under the format used by the club, the candidates were divided into two groups and each group was asked a different question. Topics broached ranged the gamut from the redevelopment of the Parkmerced housing complex adjacent to San Francisco State to what assistance the candidates would provide to students at the public university should they be elected. The city’s decision to allow the new owners of Parkmerced to replace 1,500 rent-controlled town homes with 7,200 new units over the next three decades continues to be a flashpoint. Gavin, a former resident of the complex, has filed a federal lawsuit to block the project and accused several supervisors of violating the city’s sunshine laws when reviewing the matter. “This is a very important court case that will decide if we have rent control or not,” she said. Yee said he would follow the project closely and make the developers’ lives “miserable” if they fail to deliver on what is promised in the agreement they made with the city. Asked about LGBT nightlife options in District 7, Engardio said there aren’t any LGBT-designated spaces. But he suggested that Ocean Avenue, a business corridor bookended by SF State and City College, could be an ideal location for such a business. He also said the thoroughfare

could be where housing for LGBT youth and people living with AIDS is built. “I would say Ocean Avenue has an opportunity to be revitalized with a more vibrant nightlife between City College and SF State,” he said. “Ocean Avenue is a great place to have more LGBT fun.” Several candidates were asked if they supported seeing a U.S. naval ship be named after the late gay Supervisor Harvey Milk. Many Milk club members oppose the idea, which earlier this year won the backing of the Board of Supervisors on a 9-2 vote. Gavin said she doesn’t believe a combat ship should be named after Milk, who served in the Navy as a diving instructor but later opposed the Vietnam War. Rogers agreed, saying the idea is a “pretty flippant way” to honor Milk. Yee said if a ship is to be christened the U.S.S. Harvey Milk it would “be better if it was a noncombative ship.” The forum drew few Milk club members, with rows of vacant seats greeting the candidates. The club will vote later this month on its endorsement in all of the odd-numbered supervisor races on the ballot this fall.

Castro store hosts Giuliano book reading Books Inc. in the Castro will host a book reading next week for San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Neil Giuliano. This summer Giuliano, the former mayor of Tempe, Arizona, saw the publication of his intensely personal memoir The Campaign Within (Magnus Books, $24.95). The book recounts his coming out as a Republican politician and his growing up Catholic in a large Italian American family in Bloomfield, New Jersey. In an interview in June with the B.A.R., Giuliano said he was working with the Market Street bookseller on an event to promote the book. It is set to take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, September 13 at the store, located at 2275 Market Street.▼ Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check www. ebar.com Monday mornings at noon for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ twitter.com/politicalnotes. Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 861-5019 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

Read more on www.ebar.com

Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

<< Community News

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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Gay VP helps chart new course at SF Zoo by Matthew S. Bajko

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he flash of a long, fluffy tail is the first sign of life high above in the tree canopy. Slowly a lemur emerges from the branches and makes it way down to ground level using a rope ladder. Taking in the sight is David Bocian, vice president of animal care at the San Francisco Zoo. He points out how the exhibit for the endangered primates, whose wild populations on the island of Madagascar are threatened due to deforestation, is designed so that the animals are out in the open.

A former animal keeper with a special focus on primates, Bocian had a hand in creating the outdoor lemur exhibit more than a decade ago. Officially known as the Lipman Family Lemur Forest, it debuted in 2002. “This is the best lemur exhibit in the world, certainly in the United States,” boasts Bocian, 54, a gay man who has spent most of his career working at the San Francisco Zoo. “This exhibit gives you an idea of where we want to go with the zoo. It is designed around their ability.” Nearby is the zoo’s African Savannah where a mixture of different

species, such as giraffes and zebra, share grassland and intermingle. It is the kind of exhibit the zoo has replicated with various species from Australia and South America. “These exhibits give the animals a lot of autonomy and freedom in their lives,” said Bocian. “Having a mixed species setting that gives them a chance to interact is a positive thing.” Bocian is part of a new management team that is tasked with overhauling the 83-year-old facility and bringing its animal enclosures up to 21st century standards. Many of the current buildings were constructed in 1930s and 1940s under the auspices of the federal depression-era Works Progress Administration. “I think the San Francisco Zoo has a great opportunity here. A lot of change has happened here in a few years. The place is poised to take off,” said Bocian, who graduated from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland in 1980 and earned an MA in ecology and systematics from San Francisco State University in 1999. After a short stint working for the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the Bronx Zoo and other facilities around New York City, in January 2011 Bocian returned to the San Francisco zoological park, where he has been employed for more than two decades. “I particularly enjoy his long tenure and experience as a zookeeper,” said SF Zoo Executive Director Tanya Peterson. Bocian’s duties include overseeing the wellness of the zoo’s animal collection, which numbers 800 individuals representing more than 200 species. He also is tasked with the training and safety of the staff and assists in managing the experience of visitors to the zoo.

Major renovation The zoo is embarking on a major renovation of its South American section in 2013 and plans to add a

Rick Gerharter

David Bocian, vice president of animal care at the San Francisco Zoo, holds a San Francisco garter snake.

North American region in the coming years. Bocian and his team of animal keepers and curators are already determining the new species of animals they want to feature in the planned expansion. Wolves, moose and caribou are among the likely possibilities, he said, as they are species whose natural habitats and survival are being threatened by climate changes and development pressures. “Moose, you don’t get to see them a lot. They have a dramatic story and a bit of a conservation issue there,” said Bocian. “People come to zoos and want to see African species. But we have a lot of conservation and species from North America with stories to tell.” First up will be the construction of a new squirrel monkey exhibit adjacent to the South American Tropical Forest building, which now houses an anaconda and several bird species. The interior of the building is also set for an overall, with plans calling for new exhibits featuring piranha and a sloth, with additional South American flying birds such as parrots and macaws. Also set to begin in 2013 is a revamp of the children’s playground at the zoo. The project calls for separate areas for various ages that are modeled after distinct habitats, such as a polar ice zone and river stream. The upgrades are slated to cost $10 million and the zoo has raised 75 percent of the funds from private sources. The first phase should open next summer. “My goal is to make this one of the best zoos in the U.S. in both animal care as well as support and connection with the visitors,” said Peterson. “Having said that, it is difficult when we are working with limited resources. We are taking baby steps.” She added that her goal is to “improve this zoo acre by acre.” The zoo has been slowly emerging out of the dark shadows cast by a fatal tiger mauling that occurred on Christmas Day in 2007. The incident generated international headlines and brought to light that the zoo’s lion and tiger habitats did not meet industry standards. Since then attendance has slowly built back up, with the zoo surpassing its goal of 800,000 visitors during the 2011-2012 fiscal year. Its budget is $17 million; $4 million comes from the city with the bulk coming from visitor spending and sales of zoo memberships. Detractors of the zoo continue to denounce its management focus and the proposed plans. They contend the priority should be on renovating the current exhibits rather

than tackling new habitats or amenities for the human guests. “So, new animals and humans, get bright, shiny, new and modern areas, while current animals continue to live status quo. I personally can not imagine being someone of authority in the Zoological Society and being able to sleep at night knowing I was forging ahead with plans that did not include helping the animals that already live there, before anything else,” wrote a female blogger who goes by the name leo811 at the site sanfranciscozoofails.blogspot.com/. Bocian defended the proposed projects, noting that the zoo relies on paying customers for a large bulk of its budget. “We have a lot of families who come here. They are our bread and butter,” he said. “A lot of parents are looking for a great playground to bring their kids to. We will have one that is very unique and animal themed.” The zoo has also been reaching out to the city’s LGBT community and young adults without kids this summer in an effort to attract a new demographic of visitors. This year marked the first time that the SF zoo marched in the Pride Parade. “It was fun. We wanted to show we are a part of the vibrant diversity of San Francisco,” said Danny Latham Jr., a gay man who is the zoo’s marketing manager. “It positions ourselves as part of the fabric of the city.” The zoo has a ways to go to attract more LGBT visitors. The group Gays for Good held one of its volunteer workdays at the zoo in August and the majority of the 40 people in attendance had never been there. Steve Carp, a director for the group’s San Francisco chapter, said he wasn’t that surprised by the large number of first-time zoo visitors. It doesn’t have the same cachet as the San Diego Zoo, said Carp, and has to compete for people’s attention with many other attractions in the Bay Area. LGBT people “don’t think of the zoo,” said Carp. “I think now it has made me think of the zoo more. With or without the group, I will go back and go back fairly soon to be able to walk around and enjoy the place.” Last month the zoo held an after dark event targeted at young adults that featured a silent disco. One of the DJs who performed was Tom Temprano, a gay party promoter who had only been to the zoo once before in the eight years he has lived in San Francisco. “I enjoyed it. It seemed like some of the facilities are a little bit antiquated, which adds to the charm but didn’t seem like the most modern of zooing experiences,” said Temprano. He suspected that many of the people who came out for the dance party likely were new zoo visitors. “People were really exited about the opportunity to go to the zoo. I feel like a lot of San Francisco residents never have been there,” he said. “The feedback I heard was it was the first thing that made them want to go to the zoo the entire time they lived here.” The nighttime event came out of a strategy session looking at ways the zoo could connect with new audiences, said Latham. It drew more than 650 people and likely will be held again. “The biggest misperceptions is that it is just for kids and it is not,” said Latham of the Zoo. Overall Bocian believes the zoo is making positive changes for both its animals and its guests. “This really is a good place to come visit,” he said. “We have some real gems.”▼

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Community News >>

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

LGBT youth launch new Bay Area nonprofit by Matthew S. Bajko

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ay Area high school and college students are launching a new nonprofit this month that will be solely led by LGBT and allied youth. The all-volunteer-run agency will be called BAYS, short for the Bay Area Youth Summit, and expects to have its 501(c) 3 status finalized prior to a September 14 fundraiser it is hosting. BAYS plans to focus on middle school students who are struggling with coming out as LGBT. It plans to host biannual summits aimed at addressing bullying that LGBT youth face in Bay Area schools, with a spring 2013 confab already in the works. The agency also intends to connect gay-straight alliances in the schools with local nonprofits in order to pair youth with older adults in the LGBT community. It is calling the project the GSA Day of Action. “Right now the youth of the LGBT community and adults don’t interact enough,” said Jason Galisatus, 19, a sophomore at Stanford University who was president of the GSA at Aragon High School in San Mateo. Galisatus helped organize the first daylong summit on LGBT bullying in 2011. The success of the event led him to team up with other youth to launch BAYS. They decided to focus their energy on middle schools since most established LGBT youth organizations are more involved in the high school arena. Also, as students come out of the closet at younger ages, they are in need of services and support, said Galisatus. “BAYS will take care that we don’t replicate services but fill holes that are there,” said Galisatus. “Right now we are focused mainly on the Peninsula where there are not much programs for LGBT youth. We hope to expand BAYS programs nationally at some point.” One of BAYS’ main projects it is working on is a Middle School Safety Initiative. The idea is to create a toolkit that health educators at middle schools can use to address LGBT topics. “The average coming out age is getting younger and younger. With a new wave of these middle schoolers there is a lack of programs to assist them with the coming out process,” said Galisatus. “We want to aggressively target middle schools.” A first of its kind for California, BAYS follows in the footsteps of the

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Cold cases

From page 1

examiner’s office offer some clues.

Tenderloin stabbings The file on Vasquez’s death indicates police initially thought he had been shot when he was found at 344 Ellis Street, Apartment 10, on March 16, 1975. Gilbert Ayala, who was Vasquez’s roommate, came to the apartment at about 10:30 p.m. with Pat Mathews and Sandy Baylon. (An April 10, 1975 San Francisco Sentinel story indicates Ayala was also known as “Gilda.”) Vasquez was seated on the sofa, unresponsive and with “blood over the body and on the divan,” the medical examiner’s report says. According to the file, he died after being stabbed in the heart. No weapon was found. Ayala, who had been away over the weekend, reported that he’d last seen Vasquez at the nearby Roadrunner bar at about 2 a.m. the day before with Steve Burger, the report says. The Sentinel piece indicates Vasquez, who was “well known in the Tenderloin,” was still alive when

Courtesy Nicholas Spears

Jason Galisatus, left, and Nicholas Spears have started the Bay Area Youth Summit group that is aimed at working with middle school students.

profit that offered services to families and children. He is scheduled to be the guest speaker at BAYS’ launch party Friday, September 14 at a private home in Hillsborough. Gordon said he was impressed by the summit that BAYS hosted in 2011. He believes the agency has found a niche in the LGBT community that needs to be filled. “I think a targeted, focused nonprofit working toward a singular mission does have a functional role to play in our community,” said Gordon when asked why a new LGBT nonprofit is needed. “Sometimes a new idea, and particularly one that is youth driven, needs to start and needs to be nurtured.” Then if it begins to take off, Gordon said BAYS might need to reexamine its governance structure. “There does come a point if this is a truly sustainable concept where I would encourage and support a merger or connection with a larger organization,” said Gordon. For now BAYS’ leaders are focused on just getting the nonprofit established and recruiting “ambassadors,” or high school students, who can serve as liaisons to middle schools. The launch party, emceed by Sister Roma of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, is free to attend but donations are encouraged. It will take place from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at 1090 Parrott Drive in Hillsborough. ▼

Georgia group JustUsATL. The Atlanta-based nonprofit was created in April by LGBT youth in response to leadership and fiscal problems that befell the city’s YouthPride agency. But unlike the southern group, which plans to hire staff and raise a sizable budget to cover salaries and lease a community space, BAYS intends to be a bare-bones operation with no staff and only a volunteer board made up of youth no older than 24. It is billing itself as the first youthled LGBT nonprofit. “The GSA Network is adult led, so youth voices are not necessarily heard. Our board is all youth,” said BAYS board member Nicholas Spears, 19, who is gay and also a sophomore at Stanford. The BAYS board is currently comprised of 14 youth, both LGBT and straight, ranging in age from 16 to 21. Once a board member graduates from college, they will be required to step down. The board’s goal is to raise $20,000 to help pay for speakers for the summit next spring and to possibly hire a few staffers to work next summer on the middle school initiatives. BAYS already has received $5,000 in donations and has lined up the PFLAG Peninsula chapter to be its fiscal sponsor until it can function on its own. One of BAYS’ biggest backers to date is gay state Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park), who spent years working at a Peninsula non-

For more information visit BAYS’ Facebook page at www.facebook. com/bayareayouthsummit.

Burger left “in the small hours” of the morning. The medical examiner’s office listed about $105 and jewelry as among Vasquez’s property. It appears Vasquez may have been what would now be considered transgender. The medical examiner’s report mentions “enlarged female-appearing breasts” and says that Vasquez’s body revealed signs of a “sex transformation procedure.” He was wearing women’s underwear and eye makeup when he was found. On April 1, 1975, just over two weeks after Vasquez was killed, Rodriguez’s body was found in his home at 370 Ellis Street, Apartment 5, just down the street from Vasquez’s apartment. At about 8:15 p.m., Rodriguez’s friend Martin Wright came to check on him. It had been a few days since he’d seen Rodriguez. Wright opened the door with his key, and found the door chain locked from the inside. He used a second key to the chain lock, entered the apartment, and found Rodriguez dead on the hallway floor. He was “unclothed” and lying face down, at least partially covered by a yellow and orange sheet,

the medical examiner’s file says. There were pillows about his head and shoulders, and broken glass was in his hair and on the floor around his head. Rodriguez had three stab wounds in his back, and one in his abdomen. He had “clutched in each hand small amounts of long dark hair,” according to the medical examiner’s office. The cause of death is listed as a “stab wound of the abdominal aorta.” The apartment “was in a complete state of disorder,” according to the file. Furniture had been overturned, papers and records were strewn on the floor, and clothes and boxes had been pulled from shelves and thrown around. No weapon was immediately found. The Sentinel story says two sets of fingerprints were found in the apartment that hadn’t been accounted for. A turntable, a gold watch, a camera, a checkbook, $150 in cash, and other belongings were missing from the home, according to the article. Film was found “discarded and exposed on the floor,” the Sentinel says. “Police surmise that Yancey had taken See page 13 >>

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<< Sports

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

Let’s go to the tape by Roger Brigham

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ome of the most spontaneous, homophobic sports moments in recent years have been caught on video or blasted over the airwaves. How appropriate, then, that video is now capturing some of the most poignant coming out stories and messages of encouragement and support. Truly, the Information Age is at last supplanting the Ignoramus Age. Cases in point: last month the San Francisco 49ers became the first National Football League team to record an antibullying It Gets Better video, and incoming rookies to the National Basketball Association were shown a video instructing them on the importance of being straight allies and accepting of teammates regardless of sexual orientation. It was the first time sexual orientation has ever specifically been addressed in NBA training.

“I’m pleased but not surprised that the NBA included that in the curriculum,” Rick Welts, the gay president of the Golden State Warriors, told the Bay Area Reporter. “I had an opportunity to watch it and I think it’s very well produced. At a most basic level, players have to be very cognizant of their words and the impact their words have. I think the overall theme was trying to make a basic statement that we want to make sports a safe place for everybody.” The NBA video was produced by Athlete Ally and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and featured Athlete Ally founder Hudson Taylor and GLAAD media specialist Aaron McQuade. It was developed as one of the initiatives from the inaugural LGBT Sports Summit in Oregon in July in which advocacy groups pledged to work more cooperatively to combat homophobia in sports. McQuade and Taylor discussed the

challenges young athletes face, the harm created by even careless homophobic slurs, and talked about the programs that exist for straight athletes to become allies of their gay teammates. When Welts was hired by the Warriors a year ago, he spoke at a press conference about the lack of opportunities to talk about issues such as sexual orientation in the macho world of pro sports as being one of the biggest barriers to having openly gay athletes. He said he saw the orientation session as an important first step and one critically needed with emerging social media scrutiny. “They used examples of players who have misspoken,” Welts said. “Because our players are under such scrutiny, they have an opportunity and an obligation to choose their words carefully and be sure they are really saying what they mean.” Welts said there is no parallel program for veteran players, but teams do meet with their full squads and cover a lot of ground. “We’ll address our players before the season starts,” Welts said. “But that’s a private conversation and

Courtesy Golden State Warriors

Golden State Warriors President Rick Welts

we don’t really talk about what we cover. Certainly I have a personal interest in the subject. Whether other teams do or not is up to them.” The Niners took the It Gets Better plunge with their video, available at http://www.itgetsbetter.org/ video/entry/9461, in which defensive tackles Ricky Jean Francois and Isaac Sopoaga, linebacker Ahmad Brooks, and safety Donte Whitner offer a message of hope for bullied youths. There has been some criticism of the It Gets Better project as

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being predominantly Caucasian, so it was a refreshing change that all of the spokesmen in the first NFL video are men of color. “Something you should never experience is being bullied, being pressured, or being intimidated into being someone or something that you are not,” Brooks says in the video. The Niners are the first NFL team to make an It Gets Better video and the second Bay Area pro team to do so, following the San Francisco Giants last year. The Oakland A’s, San Jose Sharks, and Warriors have not announced any plans to make a video. The San Francisco Giants played their It Gets Better video prominently between innings during their games to big cheers from the crowd. Bob Lange, 49ers director of public relations, said the team hopes to provide similar exposure showing the public service spot during timeouts this season. The first home game for the 49ers is Sunday, September 16, against the Detroit Lions. The Niners have a history of showing other teams how to do things right on the field. One of the first steps in becoming an athlete ally is to speak up and speak out. Showing the video at games is a good first step for the Niners once again to lead the way.▼

Financial site gives tools to users by David Duran

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martAsset, an online platform that aims to radically transform the way people make financial decisions by bringing full transparency to the process, is gearing up to present to top investors from around the country via Y-Combinator, a start-up incubator. For anyone in the startup world, Y-Combinator is a household name and has spawned such companies as AirBnB, Dropbox, and Reddit. The main objectives behind YC are to focus on the product, the customer, and just build out the product that best suits the company’s target audience. A user of SmartAsset – now in beta – can enter their basic financial information and then interact with different calculators and charts that help them understand how their

home buying (or other big purchase) will affect their finances. The site recommends a home price that the user can afford and provides graphs to back up its suggestion. Philip Camilleri, 33, is the cofounder and chief technology officer of SmartAsset. “We are transparent by combining our financial modeling technology with specific marketbased information, live data, and tax intelligence to provide simple, personalized, actionable answers to complex questions,” Camilleri said. SmartAsset uses real data to provide personalized, quantified answers to specific financial questions, as opposed to anecdotal generalized content. The idea came from “brainchild,” co-founder Michael Carvin. In 2010 Carvin decided he wanted to buy his first home, but wanted to ensure his decision was a sound one, especially in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. After finding lots of information online, he realized that online mortgage calculators were unhelpful and often inaccurate. In the end, Carvin built a financial model in Excel. Camilleri and Carvin met around this time and developed the self-service platform that is now SmartAsset. Camilleri, who was previously working for a software development company, was constantly traveling. After seven years with that company, he had become accustomed to the comfort and security of the job. “For me, it was mostly about making a conscious decision on what I wanted in the future, and then planning accordingly,” said Ca-

David Duran

SmartAsset co-founder Philip Camilleri

milleri about why he waited so long to make a change. “I saw several hundred people, in suits, getting on and off the subway, looking grim and monotonous on their way to work,” he said, “and I never wanted to be like that.” He knew the first few years of a startup were “going to be rough.” Fortunately for SmartAsset, with YC, the future is looking bright. The company was founded in New York City, but moved to the Bay Area for YC. Now, they are headed back to the Big Apple, Camilleri said, and looking to hire. Camilleri admits that being gay most likely didn’t have much to do with him wanting to be an entrepreneur, but feels that his sexuality did

make him want to prove himself, especially having been brought up in the conservative country of Malta. “I also have this innate obsession with wanting to create things,” he said. “At age 15, I started a theater production company with my two best friends that ran for four years.” Camilleri also founded his university newspaper at the University of Malta as well as a mobile software company. “I seem to get a kick out of getting things done, on the other hand, some might also consider it a crazy obsession,” he said. Camilleri first heard about Start Out in 2009. “I clearly remember attending their launch event at Vlada bar in New York City,” he said. “I thought I was going to be at a small event with a handful of people – instead the place was packed and I met a couple of really interesting individuals, including some who have been great friends and inspirations ever since.” He stated that beyond inspiration, on a more practical level, he met people at StartOut who have played a very direct role in getting SmartAsset going; one person later joined their advisory board. “StartOut is a great resource, and I hope one day to be able to contribute as much (and more) back to the group,” Camilleri said. He stated that being LGBT has nothing to do with one’s ability to start and build a company and went on to say he doesn’t think anyone really cares. “A successful entrepreneur is sim-

ply a successful entrepreneur: male, female, gay, straight, whatever,” he said. Camilleri then quickly added that being LGBT can be turned to one’s advantage. “There are several LGBT individuals out there – successful entrepreneurs, investors, potential employees,” he said, “and a lot of them are very willing to help out, introduce you to their own friends, colleagues, network.” He added that it’s important to build a strong network while also being forthcoming and willing to help out. SmartAsset is currently comprised of a team of five. It launched last month and claims to have had more than 14,000 people using the site. The company is generating revenue from advertising and lead generation. Currently, they have raised $900,000 in seed funding from YC and Quotidian Ventures, as well as New York- and Silicon Valley-based angel investors. More information can be found at www.smartasset. com.▼

not able to leave the country. He leaves an extended family still in Cuba. Raised in the hills of Tennessee by a foster family, Arturo found his way to California. He became a teacher in a Catholic high school, where he taught liberation theology and took students to visit the homeless. He moved to San Francisco at the height of the 1960s revolution and became a medical laboratory technologist with specialty in cytopathology. This led to a move to Hawaii, where he ran cancer screening services in the 1970s. He moved between Hawaii and San Francisco, building his career in health administration. He took a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco in 2008, the same year he finally became a U.S. citizen. Arturo never lost his love of learning,

or his desire for spiritual awareness. He enrolled in the Austin (Texas) Presbyterian Seminary in 2005, but dropped out when it became apparent the church was not accepting of his inclusion of the LGBT community in worship. In 2010 he successfully completed the Master’s in Divinity program at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, and moved to Miami to complete his ordination requirements in the United Church of Christ. His last days were spent ministering to hospice patients, particularly the Cuban American community. Arturo made friends wherever he went and he will be sorely missed. Again, in his own words he “acknowledges our human inherent nature toward the ‘good,’” and his role as a guide for spiritual action in the world.

Venture Out is a monthly column highlighting a successful entrepreneur within the LGBT community that has had some involvement with the StartOut organization (www.startout. org). StartOut fosters LGBT leadership in the business community through various methods including social programming opportunities, providing role models, connecting mentors, and promoting equality.

Obituaries >> Arturo DeRobles November 26, 1945 – May 8, 2012

A celebration of the life of Arturo DeRobles will be held Saturday, September 15 at 1 p.m. at Plymouth United Church of Christ, 424 Monte Vista Avenue (at Oakland Avenue) in Oakland (limited parking is available in the rear via a driveway off of Monte Vista). Mr. DeRobles, born November 26, 1945 in Las Tunas, Cuba, died in Miami, Florida on May 8, 2012. He led a life of adventure, with, as he himself put it, “sensibilities toward the good.” He left Cuba at the age of 15 during the Cuban Communist Revolution as part of the Peter Pan program devised by the Catholic Church and the Central Intelligence Agency to bring to the U.S., children from Cuba whose parents were

Election 2012>>

▼ Delegates pass sweeping, inclusive Dem platform by Chuck Colbert

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f gay Americans had a rendezvous with destiny in American politics, that moment occurred this week as the Democrats approved, on a voice vote, the most LGBT-friendly, major party platform in history. Released on Labor Day in Charlotte, North Carolina, even before the 2012 Democratic National Convention got under way, the 39-page document – sweeping in its full embrace of gay equality, including same-sex marriage – garnered praise locally and nationwide from LGBT delegates, partisans, civil rights activists, and elected officials. In addition to marriage equality, the Democrats endorsed LGBT family recognition, workplace nondiscrimination protections, AIDS prevention, and a woman’s right to choose. The party platform also reaffirmed openly gay military service and global LGBT rights. Overall, “the 2012 Democratic platform builds on the party’s strong commitment to equality for LGBT Americans in all aspects of their lives – in forming and protecting our families through marriage, in accessing employment and educational opportunities free from discrimination, and in simply being safe in our communities,” said Michael Cole-Schwartz, who directs media relations for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization. “It also reflects that equality should not just be part of the values we live at home, but also those we promote as a world leader,” he added. HRC last year endorsed the Obama-Biden ticket for re-election. For his part, Jerame Davis, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats, offered a conventionfloor perspective, Tuesday evening, September 4, right after delegates officially adopted the platform. “When Newark, New Jersey Mayor Corey Booker presented the platform committee report, I had goose bumps listening to him talk about the promise of America and how our party is putting forth a platform to deliver that promise to all Americans,” said Davis in an email. “I will never forget this moment,” he added. “Today our party and our

president said what we have been saying for years – everyone deserves the freedom to marry, and we will not deny that right to loving and committed same-sex couples. It’s now our job to get out there and make that ideal a reality.” San Jose resident Clark Williams, a convention delegate who co-chairs the LGBT Caucus of the California Democratic Party, called the platform “a momentous document, that for the first time commits the Democratic Party to marriage equality.” The platform is “nothing less than historic,” he added in an email. “The LGBT community is going to play a leading role in the outcome of the election,” said Williams, who served as a member of the platform committee. “We must re-elect President Obama to ensure that the march toward full LGBT equality continues.” Another California delegate, San Jose City Councilmember Ash Kalra, a straight ally, voiced his fullthrottled support for the platform’s history-making affirmation of gays. “There can be no such thing as equal rights if there is not an open, unequivocal statement of support for the rights of the LGBT community,” he said through an email via his chief of staff. “I am proud to be a member of a party that values inclusion over exclusion, and equality over disparate treatment. I believe that the Democratic Party platform ... is a historic step toward true equality,” said Kalra, who represents Council District 2. Meanwhile, back in San Francisco, Arthur Murrillo, unable to attend the convention, offered a global perspective. “The marriage equality statement in the 2012 Democratic national platform is an important development in human rights,” he said. “Marriage equality support is another important reason to support the re-election of the president.”

Stark differences Party polarization – the startling difference between the Democrats’ vision of the future for gays and the view of the Republicans on a range of LGBT concerns – is now absolute. “There is literally no issue in the United States today in which the

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

gulf between the two parties is wider than on the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people to legal equality,” wrote Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) in the most recent issue of the Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide. In fact, the two parties platforms’ specifics provide a window into the differing worldviews of the Democrats and Republicans with respect to LGBT people. For instance, in sharp contrast to the GOP’s “We Believe in America” platform, the Democrats’ “Moving America Forward” document affirms LGBT civil rights through federal law banning workplace discrimination. “We support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act because people should not be fired based on their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the platform reads. For the first time ever, not only do the Democrats affirm equal marriage rights, but also LGBT family recognition. “We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law,” the platform states. “We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal protections under the law for same-sex couples.” The platform calls for full repeal of the “so-called Defense of Marriage Act” and for passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would require not only the federal government, but also individual states to recognize same-sex marriages. The Democratic Party also op-

poses “discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed samesex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples,” according to the document. And in a nod to concerns about deeply held religious views on marriage as a sacred rite, the platform affirms “support for the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.” Charles Martel, president of Catholics for Marriage Equality, an advocacy group, applauded the Democrats in voicing respect for the views of people of faith. “Stating clearly that each religious denomination is entirely free to determine whether they wish to have a sacramental recognition of these marriages is full evidence that the government has no intention toward any coercion of religious liberty,” he said. By way of contrast, the GOP platform is outright hostile to marriage equality. The document decries “an activist judiciary” and blames it for “court-ordered redefinition of marriage in several states,” which the Republican document calls “an assault on the foundation of our society, challenging the institution, which, for thousands of years in virtually every civilization, has been entrusted with the rearing of children of cultural values.” The Republicans also assert, “It has been proven by both experience and endless social science studies that traditional marriage is best for children. Children raised in intact married families are more likely to attend college, and are physically and emotionally healthier, are less likely to use drugs or alcohol, engage in crime, or get pregnant outside of marriage.” Various studies have shown, however, that children raised in same-sex households differ little from those raised by heterosexual parents. Just last week, in an apparent put down of gay wedlock, Ann Romney told the Republican faithful, “What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage.” Altogether, as an overarching core principle, the Democrats’ platform affirms, “No one should face

discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.” Accordingly, the document points to President Barack Obama’s efforts in ending “’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in full cooperation with our military leadership.” For nearly two decades, the highly discriminatory DADT policy banned openly gay military service and extracted significant personal cost and psychological toll on thousands of gay and lesbian soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guard and national guardsmen discharged under the law. Even military personnel who served in silence paid a price. The platform includes a physician’s poignant testimonial to suffering in silence and pride and joy of repeal. “Because of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ each time I went off to war, no one was at the armory to say goodbye,” wrote Dr. Vito Imbasciani, Colonel, California National Guard, Medical Service Corps. He continued, “My partner, George Di Salvo, and I started a family five years ago by adopting two wonderful boys. But I kept their existence secret, because that’s what the law required. Not anymore, however. Thanks to the unyielding efforts of President Obama, I can serve my country openly and proudly with my family by my side.” By contrast, one section of the GOP platform states, “We reject the use of the military as a platform for social experimentation and will not accept attempts to undermine military priorities and mission readiness.”

number of movies – Tootsie, Some Like It Hot – television shows – Work It – and books. With so many examples, it is almost impossible for transgender people to truly be free of the assumption that we are all simply out to deceive non-transgender people for some nefarious purpose. This is also where the so-called transgender panic defense comes from. Again, it is all about being deceived by a transgender person, and reacting to it. It serves to cast the trans person in a negative light, and their attacker in a positive one. After all, they’re simply standing their ground against the wiles of a transgender deceiver, no? This is what, I’m sure, Jones’s killer will say, if he or she is ever caught. They just did not know she was a guy (sic) and could not help but react. I mentioned that Jones has a record. In May she was picked up for prostitution and carrying a concealed weapon. While, yes, a lot of us do end up in various forms of sex work – often just to survive in a world that can still be pretty reluctant to give us better avenues into the workplace – the assumption is that we’re all perverted, freaky, and sexually deviant. This is what often shuts us out of

public accommodations, and one reason why the right has been so successful at blocking transgender rights bills by tying us to pedophiles and rapists creeping around public toilets. It is as if being transgender is only the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to our deviance. This is also one of those reasons people so quickly turn away from any form of public funding for genital reconstruction surgery: Viagra is fine, but when you want to alter your genitalia, well, that’s over the line. Hand-in-hand with this is the assumption that our deviance is sick, wrong, and the cause of our own downfall. In a lot of ways this is about blaming the victim. “Well of course she was killed,” some would say, “she was turning tricks in a dangerous neighborhood.” There is much more, of course. No matter what we do, we are likely to be reduced to our birth names or genders. The media may claim they’re trying to somehow be “factual,” when really they are buying into the above stereotypes. We’re trying to fool someone, so the media is going to inform the public – or we’re deviant and they just want to show people how low we’ve sunk. I need not add that transgender people do not live in a bubble. Often-

times, stereotypes of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people are applied to transgender people, whether or not they are truly applicable. A poor transgender person is going to face the same stereotypes applied to anyone else with a low – or no – income. Racial stereotypes will apply to transgender people just as strongly as they will to anyone else. Transgender people will face the stereotypes of women and men, sometimes within moments of each other. Age, disability, religion, and every other stereotype are on the table, in addition to those specific to transgender people. So when the media wrote about the murder of Jones, and talked about “his” transvestite “lifestyle” while painting the death as a trick gone wrong on 77th Street, they weren’t telling the real story of Jones’s life. They weren’t telling us about her family and friends, and how they know her. They weren’t telling us anything about the person, just of the cardboard cutout they’ve created.▼

Jerame Davis, executive director of National Stonewall Democrats, praised the party’s platform.

HIV/AIDS prevention The Democratic platform also speaks to AIDS/HIV prevention. “We Democrats have increased overall funding to combat HIV/ AIDS to record levels and will continue our nation’s fight against” the epidemic, the document reads, adding, “President Obama established the first-ever comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy for responding to the domestic epidemic, which calls for reducing HIV incidence, increasing access to care, optimizing health outcomes, and See page 13 >>

False stereotypes by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

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was recently pointed to an article out of Miami about the death of Deja Jones, a 33-year-old transgender woman of color. I wish I could say I was surprised to see the article label her a transvestite, use incorrect pronouns, and focus on her arrest record. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, some two decades after the Associated Press Stylebook was updated to tell journalists to “use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth,” one still often sees coverage that mis-genders, strips away preferred names, and does its best to present transgender people in a freakish light. Why do media outlets do this? I think it’s a combination of factors. I can’t forget that providing a salacious story has got to also be a factor for some in the media. A salacious tale is going to sell more advertisements, after all.

Some of it, too, is pure ignorance, while some is prejudice against those who are not presenting in the gender that reporters – or their sources – may feel most comfortable with. There are a slew of stereotypes that come with being transgender, most of them negative. We’re confused, we’re sexually perverted, and we’re deceptive. For transgender women, we’re gay men, or drag queens, or transvestites. For transgender men, we’re lesbians – or more colloquially – dykes. Of course, these are all in spite of our preferred identity. Many of these stereotypes, especially for transgender women, are long-standing and often come out of popular culture. Perhaps the biggest and most ingrained stereotype is that we are out to deceive people. Indeed, the notion of cross-dressing for the sake of trickery goes back at least to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, assuming one ignores much older myths and legends of gods and heroes taking on a crossgendered persona. Deception is the subtext of any

Gwen Smith stereo types when she puts both hands on the keyboard. You can find her online at www.gwensmith.com.

<< Community News

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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Gonorrhea

From page 2

in the throat and rectum every three to six months. Screening in the throat and rectum “is essential as these sites are where the majority of infections are found and most are asymptomatic and therefore would not be detected without screening,” advised Philip and City Clinic medical director Dr. Stephanie Cohen in the latest STD report. “Providers and [patients] should also be alert for possible treatment failures. Patients treated for gonorrhea should be advised to return if their symptoms do not resolve.” At Magnet, the gay men’s health center in the Castro that is part of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the standard protocol is to use pharyngeal and rectal swabs to screen for the STD. Urine tests for

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News Briefs

From page 5

Toklas, Milk clubs to hold joint meeting Speaking of LGBT elders, the Alice B. Toklas and Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic clubs will join forces at a joint forum Monday, September 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street. As the baby boomer contingent begins to turn 65, the number of LGBT seniors is also growing and faces a variety of issues, including isolation, affordable housing, and access to health services. Panelists at the forum will include attorney Bill Ambrunn, a member of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission’s LGBT Advisory Committee; John Caldera, president of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Commission; Jazzie Collins, a transgender activist; and Seth Kilbourn, executive director of Openhouse. “Elders are the link to our cultural history and this is important because new generations need that tie to history to be able to connect and feel a part of something after they come out,” stated Milk club Presi-

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Oakland Pride

From page 1

community. Aman Tobar, 44, has been a volunteer at Oakland Pride every year and this one was no different. He said he has noticed there had been more attendees milling about this year over last, which is sure to motivate Pride organizers who have already announced next year’s event, set for September 1. “It’s about time that we started developing ways to communicate to everyone out there that we’re united and that we love peace – all inclusive, never exclusive,” Tobar said. “I don’t want to leave Oakland because I like the diversity, and having events like this one shows that we embrace the diversity.” Like Tobar, Cheyenne Purrington, 29, noted the way in which Oakland Pride highlights the diversity of the East Bay’s LGBT community. “Pride brings a disparate community together and really galvanizes a sense of belonging in the larger community,” Purrington said, adding that she, too, noticed that there were more people this year. Mike Gifford, 63, who described himself as a “third-generation homeboy,” enjoyed the crowd and said it gets better each year. But there is just one thing missing: artisans. “There are a lot of gay artists,” he said, “but where are they?” His friend Doug Marques, 58, who is a member of the OaklandEast Bay Gay Men’s Chorus and LGBT chair for ALCOSTA (Alameda Contra Costa Unions) agreed with Gifford’s artist observation, but understands the importance of

gonorrhea are no longer conducted unless a patient has visible signs of an infection or knows a sex partner has exposed him to it. Otherwise, “if he has an infection in his butt or throat he doesn’t know about it so he can’t get it treated,” explained Steve Gibson, the clinic’s director. “He might pass it on to his partners and vice versa and it can keep going back and forth.”

Awareness vs. alarm Renewed media attention on the issue, such as a recent headline on the LGBT blog Queerty that asked if gonorrhea is the new AIDS, has raised concern that men who have sex with men may tune out the warnings from health officials. “There is a fine balance between raising awareness without creating a lot of alarm,” acknowledged Bauer. “It is alarmist to say this is a new

dent Glendon Hyde (also known as drag queen Anna Conda). For more information, contact Alice club Co-Chair Martha Knutzen at kipnisknut@gmail.com.

Seminar on preventing elder abuse Region 3 (Alameda and Contra Costa counties) of the Congress of California Seniors will hold a free seminar entitled, “Preventing Elder Abuse,” on Tuesday, September 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Alma Via Assisted Living, 33883 Alvarado Niles Road in Union City. Organizers said that it is critical that seniors become aware of elder abuse and learn about and create solutions to prevent it. Speakers will include Colette Lee, a supervisor in the Alameda County Public Guardians’ office; Kristen Boney, an attorney with Legal Assistance for Seniors; and Robert Fettgather, Ph.D., clinical director at Robert Fettgather and Associates. The panel will look at the difference between powers of attorney and conservatorships and other issues. To RSVP, contact (510) 5310257 or ccsregion3@gmail.com. The seminar is sponsored by Kaiser Permanente.

the event to the East Bay. “Everybody focuses on San Francisco, and they don’t realize the large gay community that exists in the East Bay,” Marques said. “Not everybody can make it to San Francisco, but they can make it here.” Darin Jensen has lived in Oakland for 25 years, and this was his first Pride. Initially surprised by the $10 entrance fee, he said he and his partner decided that they ultimately wanted to support the community. “If it costs money to keep this happening in Oakland, the town we live in, then we will pay the money,” Jensen said.

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AIDS-like syndrome.” Writing on the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s blog, Poz magazine deputy editor Oriol R. Gutierrez countered that gonorrhea “is not the new AIDS.” The new treatment guidelines, however, make it clear that “the CDC is worried,” wrote Gutierrez. “Which then prompts the question: How worried should we be? I can’t put an exact measure on it, but I feel safe in saying that this should provide motivation for those who have become weary of safer sex, particularly condom use,” he added. “If untreated, gonorrhea can spread to the blood or joints, which can be life threatening. And gonorrhea can make it easier to both give and get HIV.” Local health advocate and blogger Race Bannon, a gay man who lives in the Castro, cautioned that

over-hyping the advent of a gonorrhea “superbug” could lessen health officials’ warnings about the need to get properly screened and treated for the STD. “They have heard before public health officials, the CDC etc., sometimes raise an alarm bell prematurely or incorrectly,” said Bannon. “So what happens is when that does happen the natural instinct is to say, ‘Well this just may be another instance of them overblowing the case.’ With that said, I do think the messaging is getting out that sexually active gay and bi men should get tested, at a minimum, every six months.” The community should embrace efforts to normalize the need to ask your primary care physician for pharyngeal and rectal STD tests, added Bannon. “The community as a whole must

normalize this. When guys are lined up outside City Clinic or Magnet, they should be applauded, not be demonized,” he said. “A lot of tests are falling through the cracks, so to speak. I think it is incredibly vital to have oral and anal swabs in every single instance of STD testing. Unless you absolutely never engage in receptive anal or have never sucked a dick or rimmed.” While health officials hope to stem the rising rates of gonorrhea, they do not expect to see the number fall to zero. “I would say the goal is not total eradication. I don’t see how that is possible in a sexually active city like San Francisco with so many new people coming in,” said Gibson. “The rates are really high and should be reduced, but total eradication doesn’t seem like a realistic goal.”▼

SFAF serosorting forum generates interest

Trans community forum in Oakland

Judging by comments on Facebook, next week’s community forum on serosorting promises to be lively. The San Francisco AIDS Foundation is sponsoring the forum, entitled, “F**k without condoms? Let’s Talk About It,” which takes place Wednesday, September 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street. Sister Roma (real name: Michael Williams) from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will moderate. The forum aims to look at why people have sex without using condoms – whether they are gay or straight, single or married, HIV-positive or HIV-negative – and what informs their decisions. One method, serosorting, is the term used to describe the behavior of a person who chooses a sexual partner assumed to be of the same serostatus for the purpose of engaging in unprotected sex with the intent to reduce the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV. People can share their stories and strategies, hear from other members of the community, and learn harm reduction approaches to help keep you and your partners safer. The forum is free and open to the public.

TransVision, a program of TriCity Health Center, will hold a transgender community forum Thursday, September 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Samuel Merritt University, 400 Hawthorne Avenue in Oakland. The meeting will be in the auditorium, and is a few blocks from the MacArthur BART station (there is an Alta Bates/Sutter shuttle from BART to the university). Organizers have scheduled several speakers, including Dr. Marci Bowers, a private practice sex reassignment surgeon; Dr. Nick Gorton, a clinician at Lyon-Martin Health Services; and Kristina Wertz, director of policy and programs at the Transgender Law Center. That will be followed by a panel discussion and a time for questions and answers. The forum, which is free, is intended for the trans community, SMU students and faculty, and other interested people. To reserve a seat, call Cecily Cosby at (510) 869-6634.

announced a new Friday night drop-in space in Oakland for LGBTQ youth that will start next month and has invited LGBTQ youth 24 and under to an informal planning session that will be held Thursday, September 13 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the new space, which is located downtown. To get directions, people should RSVP to Pike at long@hify.org or (415) 274-1970, ext. 0036.

Planning session for queer youth space in Oakland Health Initiatives for Youth has

Jane Philomen Cleland

Booth bonanza

Hugs and sunny times were evident at Oakland Pride as Yaneivi Quinn and Tiana Gibson and Brandy Watson and Casey Castro demonstrated at the festival.

Tucked away in their respective booths lining Franklin Street were community groups and businesses that gathered to support the event and to disseminate information about their unique roles in the community. The East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club had a booth to celebrate with the community its 30th anniversary. In addition to handing out LGBT for Obama paraphernalia, the group was promoting its upcoming Trailblazer Awards, which will honor 30 LGBT allies who have given back to the East Bay LGBT community. “Oakland Pride is a celebration,” said Brendalynn Goodall, president of the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club. “Oakland has a large LGBT community that needs to be recognized – and to see the political power that we have.” Wendy Howell of the Service Employees International Union’s Lavender Caucus said the group, a

union of health care workers, had a Pride presence so that they could conduct health care screenings and promote good health in the LGBT community. She noted that the gay community in the East Bay doesn’t get as much attention as the one on the other side of the bridge. “I live in Oakland. A lot of our members live in Oakland,” Howell said. “We have a lot of community here in the East Bay, and I think it’s really important for Oakland to have its own pride.” Local and out politicians also took advantage of the festivities to meet their constituents. Abel Guillen, who is running for the open 18th Assembly District seat in Oakland, told the Bay Area Reporter that diversity was what he most appreciated about the gathering. “We’re very fortunate here in the East Bay to have a rich LGBT community that celebrates our rich di-

Five cities bid for Gay Games 2018 While the 2014 Gay Games are still two years off, planning has started for the 2018 event and the Federation of Gay Games has announced that five bidding organizations have submitted letters of intent. They include groups from the following cities: Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Limerick (Ireland), London (U.K.), Orlando (Florida, U.S.), and Paris (France). Once the bid books are completed, FGG will shortlist three bidders for the final phase of the process, which will include site visits, and conclude with an in-person site selection meeting that will take place in October 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio, site of the 2014 games.▼ “Family and Children’s Garden at Oakland Pride is essential to any Pride event, because our families, LGBT parents, feel isolation – one as being queer parents and then, two as being parents in the queer community,” said Julia Po, San Francisco program manager of Our Family Coalition. “Creating a space where they can bring both identities as being parents and queer is a great space: Our families need to see other families who are just like them, because we still live in a heterosexist, heteronormative world, and kids want to see other kids and see themselves reflected in their own communities,” Po added.

Occupy offshoot hits Pride versity,” Guillen, who identifies as two spirit, said. “What I really like about our pride is that it’s very inclusive; it’s very family-oriented, and it’s really diverse.” Mayor Jean Quan was there early in the afternoon, before flying off to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention. Also spotted were gay Berkeley mayoral candidate Kriss Worthington, out Oakland City Council candidate Sean Sullivan, and the city’s only out elected councilmember, Rebecca Kaplan. The Family and Children’s Garden offered anything parents and kids could have possibly needed to enjoy themselves in the sun. Our Family Coalition, which promotes the equality and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer families with children, sponsored the garden, greeting those who wanted to celebrate family-style.

Pride problems were relatively few, but the Oakland Tribune reported Tuesday that an offshoot of Occupy Oakland went on a vandalism spree after becoming upset that the Pride event was charging admission. Video of the incident posted online showed one person breaking windows at a Bank of America branch. Other businesses were tagged. Pride board Chair Amber Todd told the B.A.R. last week that the event charges an admission because it is barely breaking even, despite good attendance numbers and corporate sponsors. Official attendance and revenue figures for Sunday’s festival were not available by press time. “Our goal is to fundraise so that all the bills are paid before we open the gates, so that the money collected at the gates can go toward the following year and creating sustainability,” Todd said last week.▼

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Community News>>

Cold cases

From page 9

pictures of his murderer during the day.� The paper offers some description of what Rodriguez was like and what he did in his last hours. Wright described him as “easygoing with a generous heart and open wallet,� the Sentinel says. “Friends tell of times he would leave on the spur of the moment taking a friend to Tijuana for breakfast.� On March 30, Rodriguez went to Easter services at Glide Memorial Church, just down the street from his apartment. Later, he and a friend went to *P.S., where Rodriguez “kept a standing reservation� for brunch, the paper says. (According to an April 1975 Bay Area Reporter story, both Vasquez and Rodriguez frequented the Score II on Mason Street, as well as the Nickelodeon, next door.) When Rodriguez and his friend parted, “that was the last time Yancey was seen alive,� according to the Sentinel. The medical examiner’s report says that that night, neighbor Margoth Schultz heard a loud argument in Rodriguez’s apartment. At about 6:20 p.m., Schultz’s son Henry was returning home and saw “an unidentified white male� leaving Rodriguez’s apartment, the report says.

Community relations An April 17, 1975 B.A.R. story says the paper’s founder Bob Ross pushed the Tavern Guild, an association for gay bar owners, to come up with a $500 reward for information leading to the arrests and convictions of the killers. The article says SFPD Inspec-

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Arrest made

From page 1

whether it’s important or not,� he said. Asked if police suspect Rickleffs in other incidents, Suhr said, “We won’t know until somebody tells us.� A police source said Rickleffs made “some incriminating statements,� and DNA was found at the scene “that links the suspect to the crime.� The source declined to elaborate on what type of DNA evidence had been found. In a phone interview Tuesday, Esmeralda Escalon, Escalon’s mother, said, “I’m happy he’s caught,� so that he’s “off the streets, and so he won’t hurt another family,� but “I’m sad, because it’s not going to bring me back my son.� She said she’d told her son, who was “a sweet guy� with “no ugly in him,� that she’d make sure there’s justice in the case. “Going to court is going to be a hard thing,� Escalon said, but “we’ve got to go, and we’ve got to do it� and

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Delegates

From page 11

reducing HIV-related health disparities.� “This is an evidence-based plan that is guided by science and seeks to direct resources to the communities at greatest risk,� the platform states, “including gay men, black and Latino Americans, substance users, and others at risk of infection.� For their part as “science-based,� the Republicans hold out that “abstinence from sexual activity is the only protection that is 100 percent effective against out-of-wedlock pregnancies and sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS when sexually transmitted.� In other provisions of the Democratic platform, the party and the president “believe that women have a right to control their reproductive choices.� The document also vows support for “family planning services,� such as

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

o Berlin, Vasquez, and Rodridescribed in the B.A.R., couldn’t recall tor Hobart Nelson attended a of g the gathering or any of the cases. community meeting to discuss guez’s deaths. Correa said she’s o Sarria, who now lives in New Vasquez and Rodriguez’s killings ordered oral and rectal smears f Mexico, said he was “not a Tenderloin and said despite having little to from the medical examiner’s o ce for all three cases, but person.â€? work with, the cases would “nevoffi s couldn’t share if she has the “I didn’t associate with those peoer be closed until we find the killshe e ple, not that I’m a bigot or anything ers.â€? He also said, “Despite what evidence in any of them. but that wasn’t my ... that’s not who you have heard, I myself conCorrea said she hasn’t f sat at my table,â€? said Sarria, who addsider gay people, transsexuals, all found anything indicating that V ed that he associated with people that people, first-class citizens, and I Vasquez and Rodriguez’s killi were “educatedâ€? and “affluent.â€? For work just as hard on a killing of ings are linked. She said Berlin, w was found fully clothed, years, the Tenderloin has been one of one of your people as I do on the who h the city’s poorest neighborhoods. murder of a wealthy person.â€? had a boyfriend, but she c Tom Ammiano, 70, who moved to There were charges that the couldn’t share his name. She c San Francisco in the early 1960s and SFPD wasn’t “giving its allâ€? in couldn’t determine whether h still alive, she said. is now a state assemblyman, said he conducting an investigation, the he’s “just vaguelyâ€? recalled the three vicstory says. The Sentinel article (The Sentinel and B.A.R. arti tims’ names. However, other memofrom the previous week also inditicles refer to the 1975 victims a Barbarella and Yancey. Acries were clearer. cates a mistrust of police. as c “It was just kind of a fact of life that In response to frustration cording to Correa, it appeared th two hadn’t changed their things like this were going to happen, over the pace of the investigathe n and what the community wanted, of tion, an Inspector Manley told names legally, and she refers course, was police response,â€? Ammiathe paper, “Just because people to them using their last names V no said. At the time, he said, relations don’t see a lot of red lights flashingg Vasquez and Rodriguez. She l in the h old ld S San F Francisco between police and the gay commudoesn’t mean we aren’t working. A 1975 article doesn’t know which pronouns nity were tentative, but “of course, all Sometimes everything falls to- Sentinel newspaper detailed the murders they used. The medical examof two Tenderloin residents. that’s changed.â€? gether quickly. At other times we iner’s office identified both vicWayne Friday, a former B.A.R. pomay work on a case for three, four, tims as male. The agency’s report litical columnist, said of the victims, five years.â€? on Rodriguez doesn’t include the to the SFPD to investigate cold cases. “I don’t know any of them. I probably In an interview late last month, alname Lisa Yancey.) The grant pays for Correa, who works did at the time.â€? most 40 years after the killings, Corpart-time, and another inspector. Memories “I’m getting old,â€? Friday, 70, said. rea said she’s re-evaluating all the Federal funding also helped in anPeople who remember Berlin, “I don’t remember these damn cases evidence she can, but “sometimes it’s other recent case. Earlier this year, Vasquez, and Rodriguez’s deaths have anymore.â€? just nicer to talk to peopleâ€? who knew police arrested William Payne, 48, been difficult for the B.A.R. to find. Anyone with information on these the victims. She’s also spoken with ofafter his DNA was matched to seIn a recent interview, Jose Sarria, cases may call the SFPD homicide ficers who were in the department at men that had been found on the 89, one of the people who presided unit at (415) 553-1145 and ask for Inthe time of the killings. body of Nikolaus Crumbley, 41, in over the 1975 community meeting spector Pat Correa.â–ź “It’s like working a big jigsaw puz1983. zle for me,â€? Correa said, one that will Payne, who had already been hopefully result in getting “some closuspected in the killing, has been sure for people.â€? charged with committing firstCorrea, who identifies as lesbian, degree murder during the course City and County of San Francisco joined the SFPD in January 1980 and of sodomy in Crumbley’s death. September 2012 Monthly retired more than 30 years later. She Opening statements in the trial are came out of retirement and joined the DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH expected within days. AITC IMMUNIZATION AND TRAVEL CLINIC cold case unit in April 2011. Work is It’s not clear how helpful DNA Open to the Public funded by a federal grant provided Travel medicine experts since 1999. All vaccinations, including yellow fever. evidence will be in the investigations

Legal Notices>> Legal Notices>>

see that “this man will serve life in prison.� Escalon urged others who may have had encounters with Rickleffs to “come forward.� “The more charges on him, the better,� she said. Susan Fahey, a spokeswoman for the sheriff ’s department, said records show that Rickleffs was initially arrested at about 7:30 p.m. Friday, August 31, at 855 Harrison Street on a felony charge of seconddegree commercial burglary and a misdemeanor charge of possession of burglary tools. A T.J. Maxx clothing store is at the address where Rickleffs was arrested Friday. In response to emailed questions Wednesday, September 5, Sergeant Michael Andraychak, an SFPD spokesman, cited the homicide unit and said Rickleffs “is in custody for the Friday burglary and the probation violation arrest. He was interviewed Sunday and then arrested for the Escalon homicide.� Andraychak said “it is possible� that the district attorney’s office

“will add charges related to the Escalon investigation,â€? but that was to be determined. A date for the district attorney’s office to formally charge Rickleffs hadn’t been set as of Wednesday afternoon. The public defender’s office didn’t have an attorney listed for Rickleffs Wednesday morning. Police praised Greg Carey and his group Castro Community on Patrol for their assistance in the case. The volunteer patrol group distributed fliers after Escalon’s death asking people to provide information. Anyone who recognizes Rickleffs or has information regarding the case is asked to contact Sergeant Scott Warnke, or Inspectors Daniel Dedet, Kevin Jones, or Robert Valverde in the homicide unit at (415) 553-1145 or after hours at (415) 553-1071. People that wish to leave an anonymous tip may call the SFPD tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to 847411 and type SFPD, then the message. The police incident number for Escalon’s death is 120 463 273.â–ź

“contraception in ... health insurance plans,� which “the Affordable Care Act,� or Obamacare, “ensures.� And the platform pledges, “to stand up to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers.� Finally, the Democratic Party platform frames “gay rights as human rights,� stating, “The president and his administration have vowed to actively combat efforts by other nations that criminalize homosexual conduct or ignore abuse.� The platform also points to a State Department-funded program “that finances gay rights organizations to combat discrimination, violence, and other abuses.� And yet for all the Democratic Party’s affirmation of LGBT Americans, at least one gay Republican sees it differently. “Nothing the Democrats can put in their platform will hide President Obama’s record on jobs and the economy,� said Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of GOProud, a partisan ad-

vocacy group, which has endorsed the Romney-Ryan ticket. “They can fill it with every other thing they can think of as a distraction,â€? LaSalvia said in a phone interview, referring to the Democrats. “But the issues that most Americans, including gay Americans, care about are jobs and the economy. That’s where the president has a failed record,â€? said LaSalvia. “Just like everyone else, the daily lives of gay Americans would improve in a better economic climate,â€? he said.â–ź The San Francisco Democratic Party will have a viewing party tonight (Thursday, September 6) to watch President Barack Obama’s convention speech. The event, at Laborers Local 261, 3271 18th Street (at Shotwell and South Van Ness) runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. It is a fundraiser and tickets are $25 general admission. RSVP to info@sfdemocrats.org or call (415) 626-1161.

Prescription meds for malaria, altitude illness, travelers’ diarrhea. Get ready for your international travel. Education, vaccines, and meds, all customized for your trip. We offer face-to-face, personal service by experienced, friendly Public Health medical staff, at reasonable, fee-for-service prices. Short wait times, same-day appointments available. Open weekdays; Mon., Wed., Thurs., and Fri. 9am – 4pm, Tues. 9am – 3pm. Civic Center location. Cash, Visa, or MC only. Call (415) 554-2625 or visit TravelClinicSF.org for more info. DEPARTMENT of Child SUPPORT SERVICES Presents: Transitions SF New Programs - Real Opportunities - Get Training - Get a Job - Support Your Kids TO BE ELIGIBLE, YOU MUST: Need a job, live in San Francisco, have an open child support case, be unable to make child support payments, be willing to do what it takes. GET MORE INFO! Call us at (415) 356-2942 Email us at sfdcss-transitionssf@sfgov.org Go online at www.sfgov.org/ dcss or www.facebook.com/sfdcss Transitions SF is collaboration between the San Francisco Department of Child 6XSSRUW 6HUYLFHV WKH 6DQ )UDQFLVFR 0D\RU¡V 2IĂ€FH RI (FRQRPLF DQG :RUNIRUFH Development and Goodwill Industries. This project received $5,724,203 (100% of its total cost) from a grant awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Healthcare Sector and Other High Growth and Emerging Industries Grant, as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. This program is an equal opportunity program, and auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Don’t miss 2 BLOCKS OF ART A FREE artwalk showcasing over 100 local artists in 25 locations in the Central Market neighborhood rich with culture and well known for its cutting edge arts community. Friday, September 28, 2012, 4–8 p.m. Market Street (between 5th and 7th streets) and 6th Street (between Market and Howard streets). Presented by Urban Solutions with support from the San Francisco Arts Commission and Grants for the Arts/Hotel Tax Fund. 2012 BOARD of SUPERVISORS Regularly Scheduled Board Meetings OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – Come see your San Francisco government in action. Tuesdays, 2:00pm, City Hall Chamber, Room 250. 6HSWHPEHU ‡ 2FWREHU ‡ 1RYHPEHU ‡ 'HFHPEHU INFORMATION ABOUT BOARD of SUPERVISORS COMMITTEES All meetings are held at City Hall in the Chamber (Room 250) or Room 263. Please check the website for further details, including agendas and minutes: http://www.sfbos.org/index.aspx?page=193

The City and County of San Francisco encourage public outreach. Articles are translated into several languages to provide better public access. The newspaper makes every effort to translate the articles of general interest correctly. No liability is assumed by the City and County of San Francisco or the newspapers for errors and omissions.

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Dated 08/17/12 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: ONIGILLY LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2208, Oakland, CA 94612 to sell alcoholic beverages at 343 KEARNY ST., SF, CA 941083204. Type of license applied for

Dated 08/16/12 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: COOPERSNETWORK INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2208, Oakland, CA 94612 to sell alcoholic beverages at 1477 VAN NESS AVE., SF, CA 94109-4637. Type of license applied for

41 - ON-SALE BEER AND WINEEATING PLACE AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2012 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

41 - ON-SALE BEER AND WINEEATING PLACE AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-034524200

Dated 08/13/12 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: ANDIAMO DINER INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2208, Oakland, CA 94612 to sell alcoholic beverages at 3047 MISSION ST., SF, CA 94110-4501. Type of license applied for

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WESTERN PLYWOOD, 2600 HARRISON ST., SF, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed The Woodbank Inc. CA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 08/01/2012. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/12.

41 - ON-SALE BEER AND WINEEATING PLACE AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2012

AUG 16, 23, 30, SEPT 06, 2012

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Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

14 • Bay Area Reporter • September 6-12, 2012

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Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034522000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: R and A GROCERY, 5172 3RD St., SF, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a husband and wife, and is signed Raja Z. Ahmed and Ayesha Zaheer. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPt 06, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034518800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CREATE CHANGE, 257 OAK ST., SF, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Linda Joy Wells. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034519900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ACUPUNCTURE & INTEGRATIVE HEALTH PROGRAMS INC., 2833 WASHINGTON, SF, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Acupuncture & Integrative Health Programs Inc. CA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034514900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RENTOBO, 1293 Green St., SF, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Sibylus Inc (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034507500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE BURR-EATERY, 1335 Guerrero St., SF, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a husband and wife, and is signed Aaron Levi Bullington and Isla Patricia Ruffua. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034512400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALEGRIA LIMO SERVICE, 318 25th Ave. #4, SF, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Ludmylla Bastos Curado. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/08/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SePT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034517200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MADDERLAKE STUDIOS, 2233 Divisadero St. #404, SF, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Mary A. Hayne. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/10/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034520100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SCORES ON BROADWAY, 1516 Broadway, SF, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed Red Stick Enterprises, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034514400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS, 124 Jersey St., SF, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed William Korthof. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034494500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: STANZA COFFEE, 1673 Haight St., SF, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed Michael Musleh and Issam Abu Ali. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/31/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/31/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034516200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TERRY’S TAVERN, 1368 Irving St., SF, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 4 of a Kind Inc. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034511400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CELESTIAL NEW AGE STORE, 2205 Pine St., SF, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Virginia Johnson. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/06/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034505600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WILDLINE!, 300 Brannan St. #601, SF, CA 94107 This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Click Group Inc.(Delaware). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/06/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034514000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ESSENCE CO., 15 Delta St. SF, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a husband and wife, and is signed Biu Wing and Mindy Au. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/21/2011. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/08/12.

Aug 16, 23, 30, SEPT 6, 2012 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF california, county of san francisco file CNC12-548880 In the matter of the application of: LAURENTPAUL PERROUD for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner LAURENT-PAUL PERROUD is requesting that the name LAURENTPAUL PERROUD be changed to LAURENT-PAUL DURELL. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Rm. 514 on the 23rd of October 2012 at 9:00 am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

Aug 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034516400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JIAN’S CONSTRUCTION, 806 Schwerin St., DALY CITY, CA 94014. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Jian Wu Yu. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 8/09/2012. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034523600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHUN SUM INTERNATIONAL SERVICES, 855 Stockton St. #202, SF, CA 94108. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Jin Ping Liu. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/14/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034527000

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034535100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BRAMBLE FLOWERS, 164 Lundys Ln., SF, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Jacqueline Huck. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/20/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034534000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 1000 YEARS CLINIC; 1000YEARSCLINIC.COM, 1021 Mission St., SF, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Arif A. Khan. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/25/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034537000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AUTO PANEL, 1620 Davidson Ave., SF, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Chan, Edmund. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034525800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAD ASS ORGANIZING, 275 5th St. #310, SF, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Jane Dolan. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/14/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/14/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034519200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FRIENDS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY, 710 Van Ness Ave., SF, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Friends + Foundation of the SF Public Library, (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/27/00. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/10/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034521400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ACCELERATE FORWARD; XLR8 FORWARD; XLR8FORWARD; XLR8FWD; 14 Woodward St., SF, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed International Technologists, Inc. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/13/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034527100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SODA POPINSKI’S, 1548 California St., SF, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Bitter Badger, Inc. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/15/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034528000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DAIGO SUSHI, 2450 Clement St., SF, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a limited liability corporation, and is signed Minamoto, LLC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/16/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034515900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DUKANAC ARCHITECTURE, 451 Kansas St. Unit 509, SF, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Vuk Dukanac. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/15/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/15/12.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 18 MONKEY, 25867 Cascade St., HAYWARD, CA 94544. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed Henry Chan and Michael Lau. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/09/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034531800

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034546500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LELAND MARKET, 65 Leland Ave., SF, CA 94134. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is Maninder Singh and Patwinder Singh. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/17/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/17/12.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SIDELINE TOWING, 1175 Selby St., SF, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Mayra L. Sevillano. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/23/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034522300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ATTORNEY SERVICE OF SAN FRANCISCO; PROCESS SERVER INSTITUTE; TRAVELING NOTARY, 667 Folsom St. 2nd Fl., SF, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Tony Klein. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/13/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/13/12.

AUG 23, 30, SEPT 06, 13, 2012 SUMMONS SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO NOTICE TO RESPONDENT: STANLEY LEE, DOES 1 TO 10 YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF: STEPHEN J. USOZ, TRUSTEE OF THE STEPHEN J. USOZ EXEMPT TRUST CASE NO. CGC-12-519589 Notice: You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp). your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. The name and address of the court is : SUPERIOR COURT, STATE OF CALIFORNIAUNLTD, 400 MCALLISTER ST., SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94102 The name, address, and telephone number of the plantiff’s attorney, or plantiff without an attorney, is:

NILS ROSENQUEST, ROSENQUEST & ASSOCIATES, 2720 TAYLOR ST. #420, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 94133; 415-292-0980. Date: Mar 29, 2012; Clerk of the Court: Rossaly Lavega Navarro.

AUG 23, 30, SEP 6, 13, 2012 notice of application TO SELL alcoholic beverageS

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034546400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NET STOP BUSINESS CENTER, 4460 Mission St., SF, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Thomas Lacey. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/23/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/23/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034544600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ASIAN PACIFIC TRAVEL, 703 Market St. #1506, SF, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Alfred Natividad. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/23/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/23/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034537700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RIENSPA, 582 Market St. #1510, SF, CA 94104. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Carrie Kang. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034535200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: S MCCANN CONSTRUCTION, 83 Garden Grove Dr., Daly City, CA 94015. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by John McCann. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/20/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034551000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MANAGING HUMAN DIFFERENCES, 735 Geary #404, SF, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Mark L. Perlmutter. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/16/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/24/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034538300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO RUG GALLERY, 101 Henry Adams #217, SF, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Mohsen Tavakol Nejad. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/21/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034489500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EXCEL MOBILE, 4790A Mission St., SF, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Kyongson Pak. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/30/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 07/30/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034538700

Dated 08/21/12 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: LORIS DINER INTERNATIONAL INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2208, Oakland, CA 94612 to sell alcoholic beverages at 449 Powell St. 3rd Fl., SF, CA 94102-1503. Type of license applied for

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MING KEE ENTERPRISE, 285 Taylor St., SF, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Kevin Hong. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/21/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/21/12.

47 - ON-sale GENERAL EATING PLACE AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 2012 notice of application TO SELL alcoholic beverageS

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034535900

Dated 08/21/12 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: LORIS DINER INTERNATIONAL INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 1515 Clay Street, Suite 2208, Oakland, CA 94612 to sell alcoholic beverages at 439 Powell St., SF, CA 94102-1503. Type of license applied for

41 - ON-sale BEER & WINE - EATING PLACE AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 2012

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BELLA FIORA, A FLORAL DESIGN STUDIO, 1475 Polk St. #7, SF, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed by Dino A. Bocala & Mark A. Leahy. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/20/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/20/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034545000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SYCAMORE STREET RESIDENCY, 30 Sycamore St., SF, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed by Dipak Bhogilal Gandhi & Hansaben Dipak Gandhi. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/23/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012

t

Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 6-12, 2012 • Bay Area Reporter • 15

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034541500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TWO SONS SANDWICHES, 2249 17th St., SF, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed by George T. Salameh, George T. Salameh II & Joseph G. Salameh. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/22/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034540100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LAHORE KARAHI, 612 O’Farrell St., SF, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed by Sajjad Enterprises Inc. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/22/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034555500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DF PAINTING & REMODELING CO., 1010 Hyde St. #203, SF, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed by Di Qiao Zheng. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/28/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034554900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMERICAN TRUTH COMMISSION LLC, 2141 Filbert St., SF, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed by American Truth Commission LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/27/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/28/12.

AUG 30, SEPT 6, 13, 20, 2012 Statement of abandonment of use of fictitious business name FILE A-034125800 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SIDELINE TOWING, 1175 Selby St., SF, CA 94124. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed by Mayra L. Sevillano & Yudith Ramirez. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 02/13/12.

Aug 30, sep 6, 13, 20, 2012 Statement of abandonment of use of fictitious business name FILE A-031151300 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: ARS UNA, 459 Frederick St., SF, CA 94117. This business was conducted by a husband & wife and signed by Lyall Forsyth Harris & Francesco Ronchetti. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/08/08.

Aug 30, sep 6, 13, 20, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034552600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LAURA HAZLETT DESIGNS, 2805 22nd St., SF, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Laura Hazlett. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/20/87. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/27/12.

SEPT 06, 13, 20, 27, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034541000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHAMBERLAIN LANDSCAPING, 44 Escondido Ave., SF, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Christopher J. Chamberlain. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/22/12.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ICLEAN SERVICES, 2303 Mission St., SF, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed Honorio Galicia. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/31/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/31/12.

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REVEILLE COFFEE CO, 200 Columbus Ave., SF, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed New England Dough Boys Inc. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/27/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/27/12.

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SEPT 06, 13, 20, 27, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034560700

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VECTO, INC., 336 Bon Air Center #396, Greenbrae, CA 94904. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Vecto, Inc. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/30/12.

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SEPT 06, 13, 20, 27, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034557000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KITCHEN STORY CAFE, 3499 16th St., SF, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Cafe Veranda Enterprises Inc. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/29/12.

SEPT 06, 13, 20, 27, 2012 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME statement file A-034561400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALPHONSO LABS; PULSE. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Alphonso Labs (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/01/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/30/12.

SEPT 06, 13, 20, 27, 2012 Statement of abandonment of use of fictitious business name FILE A-033969800

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SEPT 06, 13, 20, 27, 2012 Statement of abandonment of use of fictitious business name FILE A-031447000 The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: VICTORIAN HEALTHCARE CENTER, 2121 Pine St., SF, CA 94115. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by Kindred Nursing Centers West, LLC (DE). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 09/17/08.

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Culture clash

30

Eagle's nest

Hello, Olivia!

26

Out &About

23

O&A

20

The

Vol. 42 • No. 36 • September 6-12, 2012

www.ebar.com/arts

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

I

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

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

Starting here John Fisher, Theatre Rhino’s executive director, can usually be counted on to provide his theater with a new play each season, and so it is as Rhino gets ready to celebrate its 35th anniversary. Fisher, whose previous works include Medea: The Musical and SexRev: The Jose Sarria Experience, of-

fers backstage comedy in his new play Slugs and Kicks being staged at Thick House. Its population includes a young gay actor, a beautiful actress, a vicious queen, and a hopeless romantic. (Nov. 24Dec 9; www.therhino.org) It’s lucky Number 13 for Thrillpeddlers’ annual Shocktoberfest celebration that this year includes two world-premiere plays. Michael Phillis (D*Face) has contributed The Bride of Death to the program, and is one of the actors in the story of a reclusive actress whose mansion houses horrible secrets. Rob Keefe, a frequent Thrillpeddlers

collaborator, has written The Twisted Pair, about a desperate scientist who tries to hitch his wagon to the 1953 discovery of DNA. The Shocktoberfest bill also includes the 1922 Grand Guignol play Coals of Fire, a musical collaboration between Leigh Crow and Scrumbly Koldewyn, and the traditional lights-out spook-show finale. (Sept. 27-Nov. 17; www.thrillpeddlers.com) Playwright Sheila Callaghan has a major “downtown” reputation in New York, which is where Port Out, Starboard Home is headed afSee page 32 >>

Fall’s bounty in museum shows

New art season highlights in Bay Area institutions by Sura Wood

L

abor Day signals that fall is here, and yes, it’s time to get serious. In years past, most area museums opened their prestige shows in autumn, and though those high-profile exhibitions are now spread across the calendar year, there’s still plenty to choose from this season, as you’ll conclude from the offerings described below. Although it has sometimes been slow to hit the “refresh” button on its thoughtful exhibitions, the GLBT History Museum kicks off this month with two new shows:

Moth (2011), still from video by Mu Xi, from Women at the Chinese Cultural Center.

For Love and Community: Queer Asian Pacific Islanders Take Action, 1960-1990s, an historical portrait of the region’s queer and transgender community, many of whose members have roots in San Francisco, and Play Fair! The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Make Sex Safer, focusing on the longrunning campaign that began as one of the first gay safe-sex initiatives. (Opening Sept. 18 and 28, respectively) www.glbthistory.org Chinese Cultural Center Women ThirSee page 33 >>

Courtesy the artist

{ SECOND OF TWO SECTIONS }

at The Venetian Room, Fairmont San Francisco

‘12-’13 series 10/28/2012 - Mary Wilson of the Supremes

2/17/2013 -

Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime)

11/11/2012 - 9-time Tony winner Tommy Tune 12/9/2012 - Golden Globe winner/Tony nominee (Guys & Dolls), American Beauty Peter Gallagher

Marin Mazzie & Jason Danieley (Ne (Next to Normal,

3/1/2013 -

British Musical Theatre Star (Follies, Evita) Elaine Paige

3/23/2013 - Singer/songwriter, Theatre World Award winner

Nellie McKay w/Chanticleer Buy tix at www.bayareacabaret.org or subscribe to get discounts, reserved seats at (415) 927-4636.

<< Out There

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

▼

Color commentary by Roberto Friedman

W

elcome to the second week of our fall preview looking at the Bay Area arts scene. This week, find surveys of some upcoming highlights in theatre, books, popular music and museum shows. Next week, stay tuned for a look at offerings in new art-gallery exhibitions. Hold onto your hat, because here comes the 2012-13 arts season! But not before we introduce a bit of late-summer editorial to illustrate the column, from photog-

rapher Cornelius Washington, a picture that he calls “very gnarly – beyond headshot, darling! I’ve done it in my hand-painted technique because, like all editors, you want color on the page!” Oh, but we do, we do! Thanks, CW! In these last days of summer hiatus, we’ve been holed up in our Hayes Valley flat reading Telegraph Avenue, the new novel by Michael Chabon that’s due for release from Harper this coming Tues., Sept. 11. It’s a doorstop of a hardcover, in five sections that run to 465 pages,

and it offers a depiction of a whole world, centered around a funky little record shop on the storied Berkeley boulevard of the title, an enterprise threatened by the huge, corporate conglomerate megastore moving in down the block. Because of the nature of its milieu, the novel is stuffed full of classic references to soul, blues, jazz and R&B vinyl, presented in a very Chabonesque (Chabonic?) way – that is, he piles it on. Fictionloving Out There, with our famously thirsty ears, is eating it all up. The cast of characters – headed by Brokeland Records partners Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe; their wives, the midwife proprietresses of Berkeley Birth Partners, Gwen Shanks and Aviva Roth-Jaffe; and ex-NFL quarterback Gibson Goode, the fifth-richest black man in America, who intends to build his Dogpile megastore in Berkeley, vintage-vinyl mavens be damned – is lively and varied, and there’s even a risk-taking gangle (gay angle) in the form of a budding multiracial underage romance between teenagers Julius Jaffe and Titus Joyner, but it’s less sexually shocking than it is just the type of boy-crush endemic to 15-year-old buddies. Best of all, it’s a novel firmly set in the peculiar universe of the Bay Area – the cover blurb calls it “a NorCal Middlemarch,” but we’d say that’s reaching a bit too far – and it’s so much fun to see the references to East Bay landmarks and cultural types parade past. Here’s a line, for example, about Goode’s personal airship: “The zeppelin appeared to be as long as a block of Telegraph Avenue, as tall as Kaiser Hospital.” Goode’s bodyguard is described as

Cornelius Washington

Carlos Bandera in Hugo Boss sunglasses, in a hand-painted titanium print by photographer Cornelius Washington.

“a basalt monolith, the very thing to set half-apes dreaming of the stars. Black knit polo shirt, skull polished like the knob on an Oscar. Gold-rimmed sunglasses, gold finger rings, black Levi’s. Timberland loafers. Pausing at the top of a fold-down stair for a display of freestyle looming, brother looked like a celebrity golfer or as if perhaps he had recently eaten a celebrity golfer.” As you can see, there’s a lot of satiric humor packed into Chabon’s opus. The Dogpile zeppelin itself is described as a “big black visual pun on centuries of white male anatomical anxiety.” We’ve followed Chabon’s fabulous career ever since his debut, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, through Wonder Boys, and we absolutely devoured The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. As wise to the ways of Yiddish culture as was the latter, it’s good to see the novelist similarly take on contemporary African American culture, Bay Area New Ageism, used vinyl fanboy culture, and the cultural landscape of the borderlands between Oakland and Berkeley, with his signature completest panache. If Chabon succumbs a bit too much, for our taste, to wannabe-Joycean tricks and techniques – the entire third chapter is a run-on sentence describing a fugitive parrot’s path; one passage describes the boys’ exile from home as if it were a quasi-fantasy/Dungeons & Dragons game – that’s a small price to pay for so much good humor and expertise. We recommend it for a long restorative wallow in a fictional NorCal world. Gwen is contrary: “She had never liked the Bay Area, with its irresolute and timid weather, the tendency of its skies in any season to bleed gray, the way it had arranged its hills and

vistas like a diva setting up chairs around her to ensure the admiration of visitors. The people around here were fetishists and cultists, prone to schism and mania, liable to invest all their hope of heaven in the taste of an egg laid in the backyard by a heritage-breed chicken.” But Julius sees the poetry in the place, even in “the string of loading cranes massed along the westernmost edge of town, the 1st Oakland Cavalry readying a charge on San Francisco, shipping containers stacked around their feet, like bales of hay by giant quartermasters, to fuel the final assault.” The book has been heralded with plenty of pre-publicity regarding its digital incarnation, a so-called EEB (“enhanced e-book”). Arts writer Andre Tartar reports for Vulture: “Chabon’s first new novel in five years will come with such bells and whistles as an interactive map of Oakland, where the book’s Black Panthers and ‘used vinyl’ coexist, an animated cover, author-selected playlist complete with customcomposed theme song, audiobook clips narrated by Treme’s Clarke Peters, and original illustrations by the artist Stainboy Reinel of (oddly enough) ‘air fresheners,’ a DVD boxed set, and a fake iron-on T-shirt of the buxomy tiger-striped CandyGirl. It’s basically the literary equivalent of a 4-D theater desperately deploying smoke machines and water spray-guns to keep increasingly hard-to-impress patrons interested.” We’re sure all the bells and whistles are fun, but we’ll take our fiction in lines of type set on off-white vellum, please. We can imagine becoming distracted from the text, in the same way that our online attention span is so easily led away from the concentration of close reading. Oh, the web-surfing humanity! So partly in homage to the vinyl See page 22 >>

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September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

<< Theatre

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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Lost in translation by Richard Dodds

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nflammable self teaches departure leaders rare exodus close by. Or, the State of California asks that you take a moment to identify your nearest exit in the unlikely event of fire. I made up that first sentence, but you’d probably get something similarly incoherent if you attempted a word-by-word translation of the familiar pre-show advisory using a Mandarin-English dictionary. You could also expect a grammatical muddle if trying the same sort of transliteration of French or Spanish into English, but it’s likely to be a bit more comprehensible and a bit less adorably mis-rendered. But it’s a cultural quaintness heard only by the receiver and not intended by the speaker. And that can be dangerous when it involves life, liberty, and the pursuit of dead presidents (translate last part carefully, please). This is the notion behind Chinglish, David Henry Hwang’s generally humorous exploration of what happens when worlds, and their words, collide. Following a modest Broadway run last year, it’s now at Berkeley Rep in a co-production with South Coast Rep. Hwang established his playwriting career back in 1988 with M. Butterfly, another East-West culture clash with a protagonist incited by the scents of a mysterious Orient. But the mysteries have romantically devolved as China hosts its suitors in high-rise office buildings and generically designed hotel rooms. Even so, what is lost in translation can bring either ruin or riches to the characters in Chinglish. Much of the dialogue is rendered in Mandarin Chinese, but the audience has a step up on an American businessman on a last-ditch push to save his failing sign business. Projected supertitles show what

kevinberne.com

Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge play characters who mix business and romance in a scene from David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish now playing at Berkeley Rep.

Chinese officials are actually saying, while a translator provides an oftenerrant interpretation to the cornfed businessman from Ohio. And whatever he says in response gets even more mangled, as we see in the supertitles what the translator has sometimes mischievously reworked into Mandarin. Hwang mines considerable humor from what could be a one-joke device. And the playwright adds in subplots of romance and backstabbing, which provide more heft to the multi-scene play. But it is still a fairly thin reworking of a theme that Hwang explored with far more layers and nuance in M. Butterfly, which had the benefit of its basedon-a-true-story inspiration from a tale mirroring the sweep of grand opera. Leigh Silverman, who directed Chinglish on Broadway, has repeated that assignment for the Berkeley Rep production. The staging does

what it has to do, and smoothly moves from locale to locale on David Korin’s substantial revolving set based on his Broadway designs. Alex Moggridge paints the fishout-of-water American in simple shades, and there is purposeful interchangeability to most of the other characters. One exception is Michelle Krusiec, who plays a seductive bureaucrat with an allure that hides a steely core. Chinglish is at its best when exploring language itself, explaining to us how there really is a logical reason why a store in China would post a sign for Anglophones that reads, “Fuck the Certain Price of Dry Goods.” The ultimate message of Hwang’s play seems to be, “Chuckle at your own risk.”▼ Chinglish will run through Oct. 7 at Berkeley Rep. Tickets are $14.50-$99. Call (510) 647-2949 or go to www.berkeleyrep.org.

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September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 21

<< Out There

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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Record company art for The Man I Love by Thelonious Monk.

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Out There

From page 18

discs that clutter Brokeland record shop, and partly in defiance of the dematerialized digital world, we listened to some of our favorite vintage discs – yes, we own a turntable to go with our CD deck and amplified receiver, antiquated technologies all – while we read and savored Telegraph Avenue. Our playlist included Together Again by the Bill Evans-Lee Konitz Quartet (Moon Records), Mingus Moves by Charles Mingus (Atlantic), Vibrations by Albert Ayler, Don Cherry, Gary Peacock and Sonny Murray (Arista), Mr. Gone by Weather Report (Columbia), and The Man I Love

by Thelonious Monk (Black Lion) – pressed plastic all, and rarer than a platinum iPod.

Endnote Bay Area author and filmmaker Nikos Diaman writes, “I edited the 17 short videos at www.youtube. com/user/PersonaPro from interviews conducted 20 years ago. Those interviews were the preliminary steps taken to produce a feature-length documentary about the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), New York 1969-71. Viewing the material reignited my interest in the project, but I can continue only if I’m able to raise additional funds. If you can help, please contact me, Nikos Diaman, at personaproductions@att.net.”▼

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Theatre>>

Welcome Olivia Newton-John to San Francisco! by Donna Sachet

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hile the word iconic may be thrown about a bit too loosely these days, it certainly describes Olivia Newton-John. During her 40-year career, she has sold over 100 million albums and received four Grammy Awards, an Emmy and numerous People’s Choice, Billboard, Country Music and American Music Awards, while firmly establishing herself in the LGBT community with her roles in the movies Grease, Xanadu, and Sordid Lives, not to mention her sexy Physical music video. Newton-John returns to San Francisco after nearly a decade’s absence, to the Golden Gate Theatre on Thurs., Sept. 13. She offered this reporter a candid, personal e-mail interview from her home in Australia. Donna Sachet: Welcome back to San Francisco! A breathless crowd of fans, including many from the LGBT community, awaits you! What are they going to see and hear? Olivia Newton-John: Oh, thank you! I am really excited about coming to San Francisco again, it’s one of my favorite cities! The show is going to feature my music and all of my hits over the last 40 years, from my early country songs to Grease, Xanadu and Physical, and some of my latest healing music as well. My personal favorite, the movie Xanadu, has become something of a gay cult film. Tell us about filming that magical movie. Xanadu was a great experience, as I got to work with some amazing people. Kenny Ortega, our choreographer, was so far ahead of his time, featuring so many styles of dance from breakdancing to tap to jazz! We had some problems with the script for that film, but the music was (and is) amazing, and the soundtrack was a big success. From the title song to “Magic” and “Suddenly,” it gave me the chance

to sing some great songs written by my longtime friend and producer, John Farrar, who also wrote “You’re the One That I Want” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You” from Grease. How was it acting, singing, and even dancing with the legendary Gene Kelly? It was an incredible experience. Dancing with Gene Kelly was a dream come true. He was so warm and loving, but as you can imagine, I was so nervous to dance with him. But he was great, as a colleague and a friend. I will never forget working with him.

Any juicy stories about working with the hilarious Leslie Jordan? I love Leslie, he is one of the funniest people I know. I wish I had juicy stories to share, but some things just need to be kept private! He really is so funny and talented. We loved hearing you sing in the Sordid Lives movie and series! How about singing one of those songs here in San Francisco? I’ve done it before, so who knows? Maybe. You just have to come to the show to find out. I’m delighted you are returning to

NBC-TV

TV >>

What’s normal? O

n Tues., Sept. 11, NBC unveils a show that might just change the TV landscape. Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee, Nip/Tuck and American Horror Story, offers a show not only with gay characters, but a series that’s about its gay characters. Murphy, who’s openly gay, co-created The New Normal with Glee writer Ali Adler, who’s a lesbian. A series that’s as gay as this is bound to stir up a little controversy. Last week, word surfaced that KSL-TV, the NBC affiliate for Salt Lake City, would not air The New Normal. KSL management said that the show was “inappropriate.” KSL, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has refused to air other NBC programs over the years, including Saturday

Have you ever seen a drag queen lipsynch one of your recordings? Not yet, but I am sure they are fantastic! When I performed at Mardi Gras in Sydney a few years ago, there were a few drag queens who were dressed as me at various stages of my career (from the country days to Sandy and Physical). It was fun and an honor to have them pay homage to those characters!

Both Del Shores and Leslie Jordan have told me how enthusiastic you were to work on Sordid Lives, and how much you brought to both the movie and the Logo TV series. What drew you to such an unusual project? That was so much fun. I remember seeing the play Sordid Lives with my sister, who was good friends with Del (and still is). I told him, “If you ever make this into a movie, I want to play Bitsey.” A few years later he called and said, “Well, we are making the movie, and I’m calling you!” It was such a blast, and the cast was totally amazing to work with, both on the film and the series!

The New Normal is a comedy about a gay couple, Bryan (Andrew Rannells) and David (Justin Bartha), and a surrogate mother, Goldie (Georgia King).

by David-Elijah Nahmod

singer, inspired to write from personal experiences. How does it feel to hear another singer perform one of your own songs? I love hearing someone else sing my songs. It gives me a great feeling to hear someone else’s artistic interpretation.

Night Live. Fortunately, KUCW, Salt Lake’s CW station, will be airing The New Normal on weekends. Andrew Rannells and Justin Bartha head the cast as Bryan and David, a gay couple starting a family with the help of surrogate mom Goldie (Georgia King). A short preview clip at NBC’s website promises a show that will be topical, deal with real issues, and make us laugh. Rannells is an openly gay actor who’s made his mark on Broadway. Appearances on the Great White Way include Hairspray, Jersey Boys, and The Book of Mormon, for which he received a Tony nomination. “I immediately jumped on board,” said Rannells, “because, as a gay man, it’s hard to find projects where you can play a gay man as a fully developed character, not just See page 28 >>

Michelle Day

Olivia Newton-John: ‘I love hearing someone else sing my songs.’

the screen in A Few Best Men. With the writer and producers of Death at a Funeral, the director of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and you as the Mother of the Bride, this looks like a hit! Was it fun to be back on the movie set? That film was the most fun I have ever had on the set of a film. First, we got to film it in the Blue Mountains in Australia, one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Stephan Elliott, the director, was so much fun

and really helped me “go to places” I have never gone on film before. It was really fun to play a character that is so unlike me, very much like Bitsy in Sordid Lives. The cast of the film was hysterical on and off screen. From Kris Marshall to Rebel Wilson, they were a riot. Rebel played my daughter, and has done some great films, like Bridesmaids, and a few new ones that are about to be released in the US. She is going to be a huge star! You are a songwriter as well as

San Francisco set the standard in compassionate response to the AIDS epidemic, based largely on the devastating impact AIDS has had on our gay community. I understand that you responded to your own personal experiences with cancer by opening the Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre in June this year. I am thrilled that after nearly 10 years of raising almost $200 million, the doors opened on June 22. It was really special, as it happened almost 20 years to the day of when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992. The Centre is going to provide amazing treatments and therapies. There will be complementary therapies from massage to meditation to music and art therapies to help the patients through the journeys. In addition to chemotherapy and radiation, these things are important to help heal the whole person: body, mind and spirit.▼ Tickets: www.RBPconcerts.com, www.SHNsf.com, and by phone at 1 (888) 746-1799.

<< Film

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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Twin titans of the cinema at the Castro Paul Thomas Anderson & Quentin Tarantino series of double features by David Lamble

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hat the Castro Theatre is truly back is illustrated in the best possible way by this month’s 10-film series from arguably America’s best working screenwriter/directors, Paul Thomas Anderson and Quentin Tarantino. Reservoir Dogs (1992) The video clerk exacts his revenge on stuffy critics with a nihilistic spin on an insanely bungled jewelry-store heist. Tarantino doesn’t miss a beat, squeezing the pulpy juice out of every “B-movie” while improvising his own brand of campy catnip. For queer fans, the would-be “gunsel” who refuses to adopt the handle “Mr. Pink” is too delicious for words. With the 1990s’ best “Top Hits” soundtrack, Tarantino demonstrates just how the right song, “Stuck in the Middle with You,” can have even the squeamish lapping up moments, like “the severed ear,” that are just too fucking much. Dogs makes such a feral appeal to our inner moron that we’re both ashamed and redeemed by its audacity. Sydney aka Hard Eight (1997) Anderson’s seldom viewed suckerpunch of a debut begins with an edgy encounter between a young drifter, John (John C. Reilly), and a hard-nosed professional gambler, Sydney (Philip Baker Hall). After bluntly assessing that neither is after the other’s dick, the once-wary John allows Sydney to mentor him in casino survival hustles. Flash-forward two years, and John is cocky and seemingly successful. Late one night, Sydney arrives at a shabby motel to discover his protégé on the verge of a life-ruining meltdown: he and a desperate rent girl (Gwyneth Paltrow) are holding a trick hostage in lieu of a ransom from the wife. Sydney’s efforts at damage control are complicated by a blackmailing buddy of John’s (Samuel L. Jackson). Anderson’s ability to keep the storyline moving more than compensates

Julianne Moore as Amber Waves in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights.

for a trick ending that undercuts the film’s emotional wallop. (both 9/7) Pulp Fiction (1994) Proving that Dogs was no fluke and that he was no one-hit-wonder, Tarantino delivers an astonishing, time-bending meditation on the various twisted meanings of honor and respect among thieves. With an all-star cast, each actor a virtuoso scene-stealer, Tarantino reserves for himself the indelicate task of riffing on the “n-word” in a sequence that no fan of America’s culture wars will ever forget. Not surprisingly, Pulp was followed by a creative fallow period, eventually resolved by Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds. That Pulp remains his greatest hit to date is the ultimate compliment to a filmmaker whose work, along with Anderson’s, mocks the need for film schools. Boogie Nights (1997) Who else but the “San Fernando Valley Kid” would attempt and pull off an homage to porn star John Holmes that would succeed on its own weird terms, revive the career of an aging superstar (Burt Reynolds, on the heels of another excellent comeback vehicle, 1996’s Alexander Payne abortion satire Citi-

Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.

zen Ruth) and launch several newbies into orbit: Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman. I found it particularly hard to watch Hoffman’s astutely essayed closet case go through his meltdown moment, but that’s why we watch great films over and over again, until we process their bitter truths, right? (both 9/8) Jackie Brown (1997) It’s no disrespect to label this competent adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch Tarantino lite. Pam Grier is terrific as an airline hostess who’s caught in the middle of a moneylaundering scheme that puts her in the path of a very dangerous sleazeball (another riveting Samuel L. Jackson tour de force). Veteran Robert Forster excels as a dogged cop. Magnolia (1999) Aside from the rain of frogs, Anderson manages to write career roles for a gaggle of talented performers, including Tom Cruise’s remarkably vulnerable turn as a man’s empowerment trainer who melts down at the death-bed of his bastard of a dad (a screen finale for Jason Robards). Cruise’s punchline to dad’s caregiver (Philip Seymour Hoffman) about his homicidal feelings towards dad’s canine com-

panions represents the best rebuttal to the pet-addicted I’ve ever heard on or off-screen. I’m not sure if I agree with Anderson that Magnolia is his best film, but it’s up there. (both 9/9) Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003) This is a terrific movie that I had resisted watching until now because I suspected that I would find something at the core of its creation thoroughly repellent, and I was right. For me, there is “A-list” Tarantino (Dogs, Pulp, Basterds), and there’s the pulpy, hard-core “B-movies” from the heart of a video-clerk nerd. Kill Bill, with its glorious female warriors (particularly Uma Thurman), sort of straddles the categories, sharing both the “A film”’s brilliant, characterdriven repartee and dramatic jumpcuts, while overindulging martial arts fans. Among the truths to be gleamed from the Bills is why there is virtually no memorable sex in the Tarantino oeuvre. (Plays with Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (2004), 9/15) Death Proof (Grindhouse) (2009) Tarantino’s collaboration with “gore meister” Robert Rodriguez to duplicate the curious pleasures of bloody exploitation double features leaves me cold.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002) Anderson serves up the Adam Sandler movie for people who hate Adam Sandler movies, and in the process elevates both men’s games. (both 9/16) There Will Be Blood (2007) Sometimes a director makes that unexpected leap to the top of his craft. There Will Be Blood is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Raging Bull. Setting the film amidst belching oil rigs that once dotted a vast colonial stretch from Texas to Southern California, he pits a ruthless prospector (Daniel Day Lewis, reaching heights of megalomania that exceed his homicidal, racist Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York) against a mostly illiterate community of hardscrabble farmers whose natural leader is an earnest if slyly duplicitous young preacher (Paul Dano, the unforgettable Howie from that decade’s top queer film, LIE). In a 2008 chat with NPR’s Terry Gross, Dano explained his complicated role exchanging on-screen beatdowns with Day-Lewis. “There’s a scene where Daniel DayLewis slaps me around and puts mud in my mouth, and then the very next day we filmed a scene where I get my revenge in church. I baptize him, and I slap the devil out of him. I was not actually supposed to slap him in the face, because his face would get red, and we have to do multiple takes. Once we got into it, I forgot and I just slapped the hell out of his face, which was a lot of fun and very thrilling, but as soon as they yelled, ‘Cut,’ I was mortified and thrilled at the same time.” Inglourious Basterds (2009) Tarantino’s unconscionably entertaining Nazi kitschfest thrusts him back into the cultural conversation, gives lie to an ingrained American revulsion to subtitles, and allows Austrian-born Christoph Waltz to compete for Oscar gold as a diabolically charming, Jewhunting Nazi monster. (both 9/23)▼ Info: www.castrotheatre.com

Hell on two wheels by David Lamble

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n early image in the hyperkinetic bike-messenger flick Premium Rush is the sight of its gorgeous young star Joseph Gordon-Levitt hurtling through the air after his character Wile (as in Wile E. Coyote from the Roadrunner cartoons) rams into the back of a New York City cab. It’s a delicious moment in a pop movie that’s entirely about the beauty of a particular body at rest and in exhilaratingly violent motion. Premium Rush is terrific when it stays on the red T-shirt-attired Wile as he weaves and bobs around beer trucks, crosstown buses and painin-the-neck innocent bystanders. One good reason to see Premium Rush, especially if you’re not a highspeed two-wheel maniac, is its vision of the very near future – the future sponsored by Critical Mass – where pedestrians will be an agitated if not entirely endangered species. Director David Koepp is adept at fueling our joy at the sheer dumb physics of his story by including techno gimmicks like big-screen, GPS-style graphics that whoosh us from the Columbia Uptown campus to off-the-grid Chinatown. As Joe’s Wile streaks along on his stripped-down racer – no gears, no brakes – we jump inside his fevered brain and watch as he calculates the consequences of the slightest bend in his course, the mayhem neatly avoided. While Joe is a truly spectacu-

lar show, the rest of the movie is dumbed down to stereotypes and story tropes that supposedly retired with Charlie Chan. As vividly depicted in the taboo-smashing doc Hollywood Chinese, American film culture has seldom embraced “the sinister Orient” without a clutch of evil-incarnate characters. Joe’s lifedefying challenge is to deliver a slim envelope to a Chinatown address that we realize represents an elaborate money laundering scheme. The rationale is that successful delivery will allow a young single mother to rescue her small Mainland Chinese son from the clutches of You Know Who. Joe’s chief nemesis is an overthe-top “bad cop” chiseled from veteran character actor Michael Shannon’s closet of goons. Where’s Nick Nolte’s character-based racist cop from the much-neglected Sydney Lumet thriller Q&A when we really need him? But who cares when Joe dominates, placing his body in jeopardy in service of these silly MacGuffins? Filmgoers who sit through the final credits will be rewarded with the sight of a bloodied Joe fresh from an actual run-in with an unyielding cab. What is it about this slightly built (5’ 10”, 150 lbs.) actor who insists on being his own stuntman, and takes his licks accordingly? In our first conversation, I asked Joe about a moment on the set of the 2005 noir Brick, where his schoolboy detective got a beatdown from a drug dealer, and one of the punches actually connected.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a bike messenger in Premium Rush.

“I’d never been hit before – I was raised by pacifists, or at least exhippies. When you watch movies, it seems like they make this sound effect that is kind of almost soft, but that’s not at all what getting hit sounds like. It feels like you should hear two pieces of wood connecting, because there’s no give to your face.” At least when our “get hit, stay pretty” hero is onscreen, Premium Rush is a feel-good summer ride. A hint of the truly mad and brainy ride that it could have been is contained in Travis Hugh Culley’s memoir The Immortal Class, hailed as Zen and the Art of Bicycle Messengering (Random House). Compliance I’ve cooled off since the dreadful Sunday when I endured this truly awful exploitation movie that is being hailed for all the wrong

reasons, by critics who should know better. Patrons were supposedly yelling back at the screen at the Bridge Theatre after a young woman had been ordered “strip searched” by a cop on the phone to the manager of a fast food restaurant. There are times when a truly bad film – a crime against celluloid – gives off an almost physical warning. The first hint was the deadly clichés of casting, where the actors impersonating fast food workers seemed recruited from the ranks of the long-term unemployed, the folks who’ve exhausted their 99 weeks, their savings, and the patience of every last relative. Briefly, a young woman working the register is summoned by her night manager (an actor who has the world-weary air of a lobotomized Edith Bunker) and accused of

stealing from a customer. The accusation is based on a call from a man claiming to be a police detective working a “big case” who, in effect, “deputizes” the supervisor to interrogate the employee, searching her property and her person. The heart of Compliance’s genuinely creepy hold is the psychological warfare between the fake cop and his victim/ accomplice, the gossip-loving, selfimportant, matronly manager. The conceit works initially – haven’t all of us been intimidated by a threatening phone voice? But for this to work dramatically for an agonizing 90 minutes, you need smarter beats and vastly more persuasive character motivations. As it is, we’re merely slumming with the proles, a class of workers we’ve been set up to pity if not completely despise for their passivity and addiction to soul-killing routine and authority figures. As scene after dreary scene played out, I found it hard to look up at the screen, as if I were complicit, not in a rape or bodily assault, but in a more insidious piece of classinspired propaganda. Reportedly based on the files of malicious calls made by cop impersonators to real fast food chains, this misguided entertainment bears the name of a talented executive producer who shall go nameless here. For a slice of real on-the-job torture, rent David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross or Oren Moverman’s acute portrait of soldiers assigned to report combat deaths to the bereaved, The Messenger.▼

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September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

<< Out&About

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

Moon Trent @ Brainwash Café

& Sun 7pm. Also Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru Oct. 7. Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St. at Shattuck, Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Local gay singer-songwriter performs on a bill with Carl With Records and Magic Mirror. Free. 8pm. 1122 Folsom St. www.brainwash.com

The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley

My Fair Lady @ SF Playhouse

Aurora Theatre Company’s production of Kristoffer Diaz’ smart, action-packed play about racial stereotypes in the world of professional wrestling. $32-$50. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm & 7pm., Also Tue 7pm. Thru Sept 30. 2081 Addison St. (510) 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org

Legacy of the Tiger Mother @ Exit Theater

Darling Gunsel

Bands on the run by Jim Provenzano

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rom classic rock to electro pop, iconic music acts and freshly formed locals perform live for your aural enjoyment.

Fri 7: Ho Down @ Thee Parkside Fantastic queer-lectic electronic/pop/ punk music variety concert, with Violent Vickie, Darling Gunsel, Samuelroy, Erleen Nada and DJ Chicken. $10. 1600 17th St. www.theeparkside.com

tour. Hi Deaf opens. All ages. $15. $40 with dinner. 8pm. 859 O’Farrell. St. 885-0750. www.gamh.com

Angela Chan and Michael Manley’s intimate musical drama about Asian motherhood, over-achievement and family strife; features Satomi Hofmann ( Phantom of the Opera on Broadway ) and Lynn Craig (national tour of Cats ); part of the SF fringe Festival. $10. 7pm. Sept 8, 4pm. Sept 9, 9pm. Sept 10, 9pm. Sept 11, 10:30pm. Sept 15, 7:30pm. 156 Eddy St. www.tigermotherthemusical.com

Opening Night Gala @ San Francisco Opera 21st annual opening night gala for the acclaimed local opera company. $250-$425. Cocktail reception, 6pm; performance of Rigoletto, 8pm; Dessert and dancing, 11pm-2am. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave. 551-6285. www.sfopera.com/bravogala

Port Out, Starboard Home @ Z Space Fools Fury Company performs Sheila Callaghan’s black comedy about a group of cruise ship tourists who stumble upon a mysterious island ritual. $12-$35. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Sept 23. 450 Florida St. www.zspace.org

The Real Americans @ The Marsh Dan Hoyle returns with his acclaimed solo show with multiple characters based on his travels to the most liberal and conservative regions of America. $25-$50. Fri 8pm. Sat 8:30pm. Thru Sept 29. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055.www.themarsh.org

Rights of Passage @ New Conservatory Theatre Mon 10: Blondie, Devo @ The Warfield Classic 70s-80s pop bands reunite for a duo tour. Whip It Good with a Heart of Glass. $39-$92. 8pm. 982 Market St. 345-0900. www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Tue 11: Blaqk Audio @ Great American Music Hall Electronic music duo perform in SF as part of their mostly sold-out West Coast

Thu 6 >> Comedy Bodega @ Esta Nocha

The weekly LGBT and indie comic stand-up night. 8pm-9:30pm. 3079 16th St. at Mission. www.comedybodega.com

L.A. Rebellion @ BAM/PFA Creating a New Black Cinema, screenings of historic African American narrative and documentary films. $5.50-$13.50. Various dates and times. Thru Oct. 30. Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way. (510) 642-5249. www.bampfa.berkeley.edu

Lypsinka @ The Rrazz Room New York’s drag icon returns to perform The Passion of the Crawford, the fascinating audio collage tribute to the film diva. $35. Tue-Thu 8pm. Fri & Sat 9:30pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Sept 16. Also, John Epperson (out of drag) performs An Evening With Lipsynka’s Maid, Sept 17, 8pm. $25. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.lypsinka.com

Molly Ringwald @ The Verdi Club Actress discusses her new book, When It Happens To You, with Litquake co-founder Jane Ganahl. Reception with drinks, 6:30pm $50. Discussion $12-$15, 8pm. 2424 Mariposa St. www.litquake.org

Placas: The Most Dangerous Tattoo @ Lorraine Hansberry Theater Paul S. Flores’ drama about a San Francisco Mission family troubled by a historic connection to El Salvador criminals; part of the SF International Arts Fesitval. $13-$30. 8pm. Thru Sept 16. 450 Post St. 399-9554. www.sfiaf.org

Thu 13: Olivia Newton-John @ Golden Gate Theatre The pop icon returns to San Francisco for a rare one-night concert. $50-$150. 1 Taylor St. at Market/6th. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com

VGL 5’ 4” Top @ Exit Theatre Lucas Brooks’ comic solo show about the difficulties he’s faced finding a sex partner who wants a shorter top man. Part of the San Francisco Fringe Festival. $10. 8:30pm and various dates/times thru Sept. 16. 277 Taylor St. www.sffringe.org

War Horse @ Curran Theatre Touring production of the acclaimed Broadway drama about an English soldier’s horse and the harrowing tale of survival during World War I; performed with innovative lifesize puppets. $35-$300. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat Sun 2pm. Sun 7:30pm. Thru Sept. 9. 445 Geary St. (888) 746-1799. www.shnsf.com/online/warhorse

Fri 7>> Amanda MC Broom @ The Rrazz Roomn Cabaret performer blends cinematic music classics into her act. $37.50. 7:30pm. Also Sept 8, 7:30, and Sept 9, 4pm. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Cats @ Woodminster Ampitheater, Oakland Now and forever; the longrunning Broadway hit musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics and story based on T.S. Eliot’s poems about cats, is performed in an outdoor production. $12-$56. Fri & Sat 8pm Sun 7pm. Thru Sept 16. Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. (510) 531-9597. www.woodminster.com

Chinglish @ Berkeley Rep David Henry Hwang’s ( M. Butterfly) hilarious play, direct from its New York run; set in China, explores the cultural and linguistic confusion a businessman faces while attempting to secure a lucrative company contract. $15-$99. Tue, & Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed

World premiere of Ed Decker and Robert Leone’s play about a gay Hindu in Bali, and the struggle for human rights; told with monologues, puppetry, digital media and dance. $22-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Sept. 16. 25 Van Ness Ave. at Market, lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

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Modern stripped-down adaptation of the Lerner & Lowe classic musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. $20$50. Tue-Thu 7pm.Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 3pm. Thru Sept. 29. 533 Sutter St. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Occupy Bay Area @ YBCA

Sat 8 Ransom & Mitchell @ Varnish Fine Art Opening reception for Smoke & Mirrors, the duo’s exhibit of unusual photo-paintings, portraits and short films. 6pm-9pm. Reg hours Tue-Sat 11am-6pm. Thru Oct. 27. 16 Jessie St. #C120. 433-4400. www.varnishfineart.com

The Liar @ Forest Meadows Ampitheatre, San Rafael Marin Shakespeare Festival’s production of David Ives’ adaptation of Pierre Cornielle’s 17th-century fast-paced romp about charming pathological liar. $20-$35. Fri-Sun 8pm. Some 1pm & 4pm matinees. Thru Sept. 23. Dominican University of California, 890 Belle Ave. 499-4488. www.marinshakespeare.org

Little Black Dress Run @ Golden Gate Park San Francisco Front Runners’ historic drag race, where 100+ LGBT runners and their friends don tasteful black dresses, with awards and refreshments afterward. 9am, Stow Lake Boat House. www.sffrontrunners.com

Man Ray/Lee Miller: Partners in Surrealism @ Legion of Honor Photographs, paintings, drawings and manuscripts that explore the creative interaction between gay artists Man Ray and Lee Miller, two giants of European Surrealism. Also, Marcel Duchamp: The Book and the Box. And, Gifts From the Gods: Art and the Olympic Ideal, a new exhibit of Greek and Roman artifacts and art related to the lives of athletes of ancient times. Free-$10. Thru Oct. 14. Tue-Sat 9:30am-5:15pm. Lincoln Park at 100 34th Avenue (at Clement Street). www.famsf.org

World Musical Journey @ Freight and Salvage

New exhibit of activist art related to the Occupy protests. Exhibit $8-$10. Thru Oct. 14. Also, David Shrigley: Brain Activity, an exhibit of caustically witty sculptures and visual art. Free-$15. Exhibit thru Sept. 23. $8-$10. 701 Mission St. 978-2787. www.ybca.org

The Pearl Fishers @ California Theatre, San Jose Georges Bizet’s exotic romance of forbidden love, two fisherman’s friendship torn by mutual love for a woman, is set in Ceylon, and performed by the San Jose Opera, with Richard Harrell conducting. $51-$111. 8pm. Also 8pm Sept 13, 15, 18, 21. 3pm Sept 9, 16, 23. Thru Sept. 23. 345 South First St., San Jose. (408) 437-4450. www.operasj.org

Phantoms of Asia @ Asian Art Museum Exhibit of bold contemporary art with perspectives on life, death, nature and other themes. $12-$15. 200 Larkin St. 581-3500. www.asianart.org

SF Hiking Club @ Deer Park Join LGBT hikers for a 9-mile hike from Fairfax up to a series of ridges with spectacular views of Mt Tam, then to the aptly-named Madrone Trail, and down to Phoenix Lake, one of the prettiest lakes in the Bay Area. Dogs are allowed on leash. Bring water, lunch, sturdy shoes, hat, sunscreen. Carpool meets 9:30 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. (510) 985-0804. www.sfhiking.com

Shamanism Class @ LGBT Center Find your spirit animal in a class that includes ritual, drumming and spiritual exploration. Second Saturdays. RSVP: Lizsanpablo@ aol.com $25. 10am-12pm. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

SoMa Country @ Beatbox Sundance Saloon’s country-western twostepping night expands to the new nightclub, with lessons and dancing fun. $8. 6pm10pm. 314 11th st. at Folsom. www.beatboxsf.com

Benefit concert for the Tibetan Aid Project, with harp music by Diana Stork, Diana Rowan, and Portia Diwa, ambient African Kora by Daniel Berkman and traditional Hindustani ragas by Teed Rockwell, accompanied by Omkar Bhave on tabla. $22.50-$24.50. 8pm. 2020 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 644-2020. www.thefreight.org

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

Magic Mike

Cindy Sherman @ SF MOMA Retrospective touring exhibit of 150 photos by the artist who poses as different fascinating and obscure characters. Free$18. Daily 11am-5:30pm, except Wed. late Thu until 8:45pm. Thru Oct. 8. 151 Third St. www.sfmoma.org

Skin flicks

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long with innovative double features, the Castro Theatre shows off the summer stripper hit. Hard Eight (9:30). Sept 8: Pulp Fiction (1pm, 7pm) and Boogie Nights (3:55, 9:55). Sept 9: Jackie Brown (6pm) and Magnolia (2:30, 8:50). Sept 15: Kill Bill Vol. 1 (7pm) and Vol. 2 (9:10). Sept 16: Death Proof ( Grindhouse ) 7pm and Punch-Drunk Love (5pm, 8:45). Sept 23: Inglourious Basterds (5:30) and There Will Be Blood (2:30, 8:15). $8.50-$11. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Choose Paint! Choose Abstraction! @ MOAD Exhibit of abstract art by African American artists. Special lecture sept 8: Scholarly Voices From the Diaspora, with Diane Fujino discussing Japanese Americans’ relationship to the Black Panther Party and activism. Sept 12, Criolla y Sabrosa: La Musica Puertorriquena with John Santos. Museum of the African Diaspora, 685 Mission St. 358-7200. www.moadsf.org

Chuck Close and Crown Point Press @ de Young Museum Exhibit of the painter’s printmaking works; also, permanent exhibits of Modern art. $6$20. Tue-Sun 9:30am-5:15pm.. Friday night special events 5:30pm-8:45pm. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park. 7503600. www.famsf.org

Boogie Nights

Quentin Tarantino/Paul Thomas Anderson Films @ Castro Theatre Excellently-paired double features of films by the two distintly talented directors. Sept 7: Reservoir Dogs (7:30) and

Tue 11: Magic Mike @ Castro Theatre The summer hit about male strippers stars Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, other hunks and a lot of gstrings. $8.50-$11. 4:30, 7pm, 9:30pm. Sept 12: The Breakfast Club and Animal House. Sept 13: Bad Day at Black Rock and The Wild Bunch. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Out&About >>

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September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Elect to Laugh @ The Marsh

Stride With Pride @ Golden Gate Fields

Will Durst welcomes comic commentator pals to a weekly political humor night. $15$50. 8pm. Thru Nov 6. 1062 Valencia St. at 21st. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

First annual LGBT day at the horse race track. Golden Gate State Gay Rodeo opens the day; Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus sings the national anthem, and Celebration Pavilion offers drinks and DJed music by Kidd Sysko. $12-$40. First post 1:45pm. Free shuttles from North Berkeley BART. 1100 Eastshore Frontage Rd, Berkeley. (510) 559-7300. www. goldengatefields.com/events/2012-09-08/ stride-pride-lgbt-celebration

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

Life & Death in Black & White @ GLBT History Museum

Sun 9>> The 1968 Exhibit @ Oakland Museum of Art Touring exhibit of the historic year, with ephemera, protest posters, interactive media; extended thru Nov 2012. Also, Bay Area figurative art; Dorothea Lange archive, early landscape paintings, Gold Rush Era works, California ceramics. Gallery of California Natural Sciences. $6-$12. 1000 Oak St. Oakland. (510) 318-8400. www.museumca.org

AIDS Quilt Interactive @ San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles

Fri 7 Still Life & Tromp LOeil @ John Pence Gallery Opening reception for a group exhibit of subtle, colorful “fool the eye” and still life paintings by local and regional artists. 6pm-8pm. Exhibit thru Oct. 6. Mon-Fri 10am-6pm. Sat til 6pm. 750 Post St. 441-1138. www.johnpence.com

New exhibit marking the 25th anniversary of the AIDS Quilt; a 42-inch interactive touchscreen tabletop that allows users to search through and examine detailed individual images from the 1.3 million square feet of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Tue-Sun, 10am5pm. (Also 7pm-11pm first Fridays). Thru Oct. 14. 520 South First St., San Jose. (408) 971-0323. www.sjquiltmuseum.org

Mon 10>>

Donald Arquilla @ Martuni’s

Royal Families of the Americas @ SF Public Library/ Harvey Milk

Popular local pianist and cabaret vocalist performs classic songs by Ellington, Mercer, and other American Songbook standards. $7. 7pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market.

A Funny Night for Comedy @ Actor’s Theatre of SF Natasha Muse hosts the monthly lighthearted talk-show format humor night, with guests Caitlin Gill, Kaseem Bentley, and Jesse Fernandez. $10. 7pm. 855 Bush St. www.natashamuse.com

Hella Gay Comedy @ Deco Lounge Cerebral Comedy Night’s this month’s theme for the laugh-fest, hosted by Tammy Powers, with Aundre the Wonder Woman, Zorba Hughes, Duat Mai, Matt Gubser, William Head, Rebecca Arthur, Leslie Small, Samson Koletkar. $10. 8pm. 510 Larkin St. www.decosf.com

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

Exhibit of photographs by Karen Massing of four years of pageantry and royalty in the LGBT International Court System. Thru Sept. 15. 1 Jose Sarria Court at 16th St. www.karenmassingpix.com www.sfpl.org

Ten Percent @ Comcast 104 David Perry’s talk show about LGBT people and issues. Mon-Fri 11:30am & 10:30pm. Sat & Sun 10:30pm. www.comcasthometown.com

Tommy Igoe Band @ The Rrazz Room Accomplished drummer welcomes guest stars at his monthly concert. $25. 7:30pm. Also Sept 24. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Tue 11>>

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet and Harry Denton host the weekly fabulous 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

The Drag Show @ Various Channels Stu Smith’s weekly LGBT variety show features local talents, and not just drag artistes. Channels 29 & 76 on Comcast; 99 on AT&T and 30 on Astound. www.thedragshow.org

AIDS Direct Action in San Francisco, 1985–1990, focuses on the AIDS activist photojournalism of Jane Philomen Cleland, Patrick Clifton, Marc Geller, Rick Gerharter and Daniel Nicoletta. Selection of other LGBT historic items also on display. $5. New expanded hours: Mon-Sat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

Luminous Nudes @ Robert Tat Gallery Exhibit of female nude black and white photos by Steven Gelberg. Tue-Sat 11am5:30pm. 1st Thursdays til 7:30pm. Thru Nov. 24. 49 Geary St. #410. 781-1122. www.roberttat.com

Smarty Pants Trivia @ Stray Bar Kitty Tapata hosts the game show fun with popcorn and prizes at the dog-friendly gay/ straight bar in Bernal Heights. Tuesdays, 8pm. 309 Cortland. www.straybarsf.com

Wed 12>> Candlelight Flow Yoga @ LGBT Center David Clark leads various yoga poses and practices, plus meditation and breathing exercises. Bring your own mat and water bottle, etc. $10. 7pm-8:30pm. 1800 Market St. www.4dbliss.com

Red Hots Burlesque @ El Rio Women’s burlesque show performs each Wed & Fri. $5-$10. 7pm. 3158 Mission St. 282-3325. www.elriosf.com

Thu 13>> Askew Film Festival @ YBCA Three-night film and experiemental performance festival with a women’s feminist/ queer perspective, also with reading and dance, presented by YBCA and Femina Potens Art Gallery. $10. 7pm nightly. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts screening room, 301 Mission St. www.ybca.org

Darling Nikki @ Som Bar Monthly 80s/indie queer dance party (2nd Thursdays) and fundraiser for CounterPulse’s arts programs. $5. 9pm-2am. 2925 16th St. at South Van Nerss. www.counterpulse.org

Go Deep @ El Rio Man on man lube wrestling in the pit (an inflatable mini-pool), porn guys, drag queens, clowns, Boylesque performances, DJ Drama Bin Laden and Cajun food! 2nd Thursdays. 8pm-12am. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Henry V

The Normal Heart @ American Conservatory Theatre West Coast premiere of George C. Wolfe’s Tony Award-winning revival of Larry Kramer’s historic drama about the early years of the AIDS crisis in New York City, with a stellar cast of Broadway and TV actors. $25-$80. Tue-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Some speical curtain times. Special events and precurtain discussions thru run. Thru Oct. 7. 415 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Shakes & plains

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utdoor Bardian theatre spans east, west and lands north of our fair peninsula.

Henry V @ Presidio Parade Lawn SF Shakepeare Festival’s production of The Bard’s political royal drama; Bring a blanket, a picnic and enjoy fascinating outdoor theatre. Free. Sept 8, 2pm. Also Sept 9, 15, 16, 22, 23. Main Post Parade Ground Lawn, Graham St. at Lincoln Blvd. www.sfshakes.org

Twelfth Night @ Hyde Street Pier We Players’ latest outdoor theatre adventure brings Shakespeare’s mistaken iden-

tity, gender-bending, romantic comedy, set at Illyria’s seaport, to the historic local pier. Evening show includes a live jazz band, drinks and snacks. $40-$60. Fri 5:30. Sat & Sun 12pm & 5:30pm. Thru Oct. 7. Jefferson St. at Hyde. 547-0189. www.weplayers.org

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie’s Lounge Retro disco tunes and retro cruisy crowd, each Thursday; DJ Bus Station John plays records. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ Forest Meadows Ampitheatre Shakespeare’s summery romantic comedy, where fairies make asses of humans, gets an appropriate outdoor production by Marin Shakes. $20-$35. Thru Sept 30. Dominican University of California, 890 Belle Ave., San Rafael. 499-4488. www.marinshakespeare.org

www.bartabsf.com

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28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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Combustible Carmen by Tim Pfaff

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www.ebar.com

n intimate, “chamber opera” Carmen, but with the Berlin Philharmonic, sounds like a contradiction in terms, but that’s what music director Sir Simon Rattle promised and largely delivers in EMI Classics’ new recording of Bizet’s perennial, much-recorded masterpiece. Long on ambition, high in impact, and anything but quiet, this Carmen succeeds in doing the seemingly impossible: making Bizet’s music sound new. Even better, this Carmen gets under your skin. To leach the “grand opera” out of the far more interesting show Bizet composed for Paris’ Opera-Comique, where it had its premiere, Rattle and company delve more deeply than any of their recording predecessors into Fritz Oeser’s 1964 edition of the score. In addition to restoring music that was cut during the Paris rehearsals (some of which Rattle then cuts), Oeser dispatches with the recitatives by Bizet’s friend Guiraud, reverting to the librettists’ spoken dialogue. Then, more importantly, the Berliners play the hell out of it. It’s not an easier show with the spoken dialogue – it’s an additional challenge for the singers – just a nimbler, more convincing, and ultimately more involving one. None of the singers on this recording – taped in four concert performances at the Berlin Philharmonie just days before the troupe dispatched to the Salzburg Easter Festival for a staged production that was revived at the summer festival last month – is a native French speaker, but they all “speak” creditably. There’s nothing reflexively French, let alone Spanish, about any of the musical forces here, which adds a palpable sense of risk to the enterprise. Only tenor Jonas Kaufmann’s incendiary Don Jose was a known quantity going in, and an orchestra as stellar as the Berliners could as easily have turned this churning drama into “tone poems from Carmen.” What happened instead was spontaneous combustion. Savvy observers will also have noted that Magdalena Kozena, Rattle’s Czech wife, was not on a career

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The New Normal

From page 23

the best friend or the bitchy boss. This is a fully developed person that I get to play. Certainly the gay is a big part of it, but the gay is also just a fraction of what I get to do in the show.” Bartha is best-known for his roles in “straight guy” films such as The Hangover and National Treasure. The actor, who’s been romantically linked with several women, jumped at the chance to play Rannell’s onscreen partner. “I just look to do quality,” he said. “I was sent some television stuff that I didn’t think was quality or relevant. I had read about Ryan doing a show with Andrew. I’d also seen The Book of Mormon, and thought he was brilliant. So I called, I kind of initiated it. It just seemed like the best-quality project out there. It talks about love,

course headed directly for Carmen. Her enormous artistic versatility notwithstanding, bombshell she’s not. But if hers is not a torrid Carmen, it’s a powerfully alluring one, in the line that goes back to Teresa Berganza and beyond, and it’s gloriously sung. It’s also intelligent rather than merely cunning, a relief in a day when Carmen can no more be portrayed as a tart tits-a-flying than can Lulu as a vapid vamp.

What Kozena’s Carmen lacks, perhaps fatally, is the explosive volatility (fronting jaded worldweariness) that gives born-to-singCarmen mezzos that dangerous edge. There’s little personal doom in the card scene in which she sees nothing but death, hers and then Jose’s. And the final duet, in which that fate plays out, on Kozena’s side sounds more like a lovers’ spat than defiance to the death. Kaufmann’s Don Jose is less extreme than the one he sprung on Covent Garden in 2006 (Decca DVD), which is all to the good. His Jose is now a far more nuanced character – less fool for love turned madman (possibly director Franc-

esca Zambello’s London concept), more regular-guy, eros-besotted potent impotence – and his transfixing performance gives no hint of his imminent, infection-based brief career hiatus. His uncanny ability to swell, or pull back, suddenly on a note lends his Jose a deeply disconcerting lability. Genia Kuehmeier’s show-stealing Micaela successfully negotiates that line between earth-bound and dreamy at the heart of h her character. Photos ffrom the Salzburg staging reveal Kosttas Smoriginas as a sexier-than-usual E Escamillo, but he tturns out to be ano other case of sexiness b being in the ear of tthe beholder too, and vvocally he’s a consisttently deflating preseence. The chorus and cchildren’s chorus of tthe Deutsche Staatssoper Berlin, on the o other hand, set their m music alight, every n note keenly in characte ter. It’s the finely deta tailed performances R Rattle coaxes from them aand his brilliant orchestr tra, equally splendid for ttheir brio and for their ssubtlety, that linger longgest in the memory. Toggether they reveal the ccomposer – who died aat 36 thinking Carmen a failure – about whom m many other composers h have said, if you want tto hear it done perfectly, llisten to Bizet. In January, only m months before her first C Carmen, Kozena gave cconcerts with the Philh harmonic recently released under the title Love and Longing (DG), one of her finest solo recordings to date. It flanks Ravel’s Sheherazade with the Biblical Songs, Op. 99, of her countryman Anton Dvorak, and Mahler’s Rueckert Lieder, highly varied fare dispatched with an uncommon feel for disparate musical idioms. More important, she penetrates the emotional core of this music with a startling lack of self-regard. We used to call it disappearing into the music, an expression seldom heard these days because we hear less of what it describes. Without leaving a single verbal detail in any of this material unilluminated, she captures – or rather, frees – its evanescent beauty. The sexually ambiguous “L’Indifferent” in Sheherazade floats on evaporating tears.▼

and it talks about real issues in a nontrite way that is also entertaining. So it’s a show that I’d want to watch, and I wanted to be a part of it.” The cast also includes big-screen character actress Ellen Barkin as a conservative character who’s not all that comfortable with the sea change taking place in society. She’s not unlike the infamous Million Moms who protest everything that’s even remotely gay. “I think every person in a group has a right to protest and not like something,” said Ryan Murphy. “I always find it to be interesting when people take that position before they’ve seen it. I think if they [the Million Moms] watched the show, they would love it, because for the first time they’re represented.” But Barkin is no Million Mom. “As an actor, when I read the script, I just thought, ‘Oh, Ryan Murphy,

with his big beautiful brain,’” she said. “Along with Ali Adler, he came up with a way to reach out to a very divisive country about some important issues. I guess the big overriding issue is, what makes a family? They’ve done it with love and sensitivity, and it’s more fun than a barrel of monkeys!” Barkin describes her character as an “uninformed lunatic.” “It’s a very open show in terms of how it approaches very different characters on opposite ends of the spectrum,” she observed, “and my guess is that they will all learn from each other.” For Andrew Rannells, the series is also a chance to lighten his workload. “I love musical theater, and I love Broadway, but I don’t miss that schedule. I’ll be honest, it’s nice to have weekends again.” The New Normal premieres on Tues., Sept. 11, 9:30 p.m. on NBC.▼

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Books>>

Fall 2012 bookshelf by Gregg Shapiro

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ere is a brief look at some fall book releases of interest to our community. Many queer voices: The essay anthology Love, Christopher Street (Vantage Point), edited by Thomas Keith, with an introduction by Christopher Bram, is the latest installment in the Lammy Award-winning series and features contributions from Thomas Glave, Jewelle Gomez, Aaron Hamburger, Michael Musto, Charlie Vazquez, Bob Smith, Felice Picano, Fay Jacobs and Kathleen Warnock, among others. Edited by Keith Boykin, For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Still Not Enough (Magnus,) is a response to Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem For Colored Girls and includes pieces by G. Winston James, Tim’m T. West, Emanuel Xavier, James Earl Hardy and many more. Criminal activity: Acclaimed gay novelist Joseph Olshan returns with the Vermont-set thriller Cloudland (Minotaur), a modern-day crime novel about a serial killer and the 19th-century English novelist Wilkie Collins. Cobra Killer (Magnus), by Andrew E. Stoner and Peter A. Conway, tells the true story of the brutal slaying of gay porn kingpin Bryan Kocis at the hands of rising gay porn-stars Harlan Cuadra and his partner Joe Kerkes in January 2007. Novel thoughts: A pink vacuum cleaner, pink gum, pink glass animals and more can be found between the pink covers of Office Girl (Akashic) by Joe Meno, set in Chicago in 1999. Arriving on bookshelves around the same time that the similarly-themed NBC sitcom The New Normal makes its debut, Michael Lowenthal’s The Paternity Test (University of Wisconsin Press) explores gay fatherhood and surrogate motherhood. Award-winning novelist Michael Chabon, whose previous novels Wonder Boys and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh prominently featured gay characters, returns with Telegraph Avenue (Harper), described as “a big-hearted Victorian novel for the 21st century.” In his debut novel The Miles (Kensington), former Front Runners New York president Robert Lennon keeps pace with “local running communities” and the relationships that form within them. Picking up where Captain Harding’s Six-Day War left off, the period gay romance Captain Harding and His Men (Lethe Press) by Elliott Mackle follows more of Harding’s “adventures and misad-

ventures” in a military setting. Going Hollywood: Daring to go where few others have ventured, Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox (Bloomsbury), by Lois Banner,

delves into the subject of Marilyn Monroe’s lesbianism and her romantic dalliances with women, i including acting coaches Natasha L Lytess and Constance Collier. Full of funny photos, illustrat tions and all sorts of advice, Full F Frontal Tenudity (judytenuta. c com) by outrageous comedian J Judy Tenuta comes with the warni “Read at your own risk!” ing, Revised and updated, An Askew V View 2: The Films of Kevin Smith ( (Applause Books) by John Kenn neth Muir covers Smith’s oeuvre, in including the queer-themed Chasi Amy. ing Known for her three-decade p portrayal of Katherine Chancello on the CBS daytime soap The lor Y Young and the Restless, actress Je Jeanne Cooper tells her own story, w the assistance of Lindsay Harwith ri rison, in Not Young, Still Restless (It B Books). True stories: A different kind of co coming-out tale, My Husband and M Wives: A Gay Man’s Odyssey, by My Charles Rowan Beye (Farrar, St Straus and Giroux), is the au author’s personal yet unive versal story of his journey o love and life through his of m marriages (to two different w women, and ultimately, one m man). Lesbian writer and activis Sarah Schulman details ist th “dawning of her conthe s sciousness of the Palestinia liberation struggle” in ian w what is sure to be her most t topical book, Israel/Palest tine and the Queer Intern national (Duke University P Press). Lisa Cohen looks at the l lives of three 20th-century w women: “failed” writer E Esther Murphy, “quintess sential fan” Mercedes De A Acosta, and British Vogue fashion editor Madge Garl land, in her near-epic book A We Know (FS&G). All Poet and writer Janet M Mason’s Tea Leaves (Bella Books), subtitled “a memo of mothers and daughters,” oir d details her working-class upb bringing in Philadelphia and t strong relationship she had the w her mother, which made with h coming out process a posiher t one. tive In Buy It Now: Lessons from e eBay (Duke University Press), M Michele White examines the e eBay phenomenon, including a extensive look at the weban s site’s gay and lesbian interest s sections. You’ve listened to her over a over again, now get ready to and re really go rolling in the deep and re all about her in Adele: The read B Biography (St. Martin’s Press) by M Shapiro. Marc What’s cooking: Subtitled “B “Bold new techniques for explosi flavor on and off the grill,” sive A Adam Perry Lang’s cookbook C Charred & Scruffed (Artisan) d describes the food being prep pared as much as it does the au author. Livwise: Easy Recipes for a Healthy, Happy Life (Lyons Pres) by Olivia Newton-John demonstrates the multi-hyphenate diva has more up her plaid sleeve than singing, acting and surviving cancer.▼

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30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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Rich Stadtmiller

Farewell note written on the wall of the Eagle Tavern when it closed on April 30, 2011.

SF Eagle will re-open by Scott Brogan

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ast week the social networks were buzzing with the news that the Eagle Tavern (398 12th St.) is being re-opened as the SF Eagle, as a gay bar (whew!) that’s gayowned. Talk about a happy ending. The bar was closed in 2011 and has sat there ever since. Walking by it was like walking past a tomb, or one of those boarded-up theaters that still contain the ghosts of great performances past. The closed Eagle seemed to have an aura of its own ghosts of, well, great “performances” past. Immediately upon its closing, volunteers tirelessly worked to get the bar reopened and/or declared a

historical building by the city. Many rumors flew around, including one that resulted in an “ass-less chaps” takeover of the Skylark. “Ass-less” re a l l y isn’t the correct term. All chaps are ass-less. The correct term should be “bare-assed,” which means the person wearing the chaps has their ass exposed (and usually a jock in the front). I know I sound petty, but the overuse of the term “ass-less chaps” just bugs me. Anyway, this takeover was the result of the story that the owners of Skylark were going to reopen the Eagle as a non-gay venue. Back in July, protesters picketed outside the Foreign Cinema after news broke that the popular restaurant was planning to turn the Eagle

into an upscale restaurant and bar. The protest was titled “A Funeral for Queer Space” and themed as a New Orleans Jazz-infused funeral. Lucky for us, that protest helped delay the investor at the Foreign Cinema carrying out his plans. Former owners John Gardner and Joseph Banks, who also own the Hole in the Wall, closed the Eagle to supposedly focus on that bar. It’s been alleged that the Eagle was closed due to over seven months’ non-payment of rent. At the time, the Hole in the Wall had recently relocated a few doors down from the Powerhouse on Folsom. The costs of the move, plus the fact that the bulk of the Eagle’s business was on Sunday afternoons, probably contributed to the Eagle’s closing. Whatever the case, when the EaSee page 31 >>

Coming up in leather and kink Thu., Sep. 6: Daddy Thursdays at Kok Bar. Shot & drink specials. 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com. Thu., Sep. 6: Underwear Night at The Powerhouse. Strip down for drink specials. 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com. Thu., Sep. 6: Newcomer’s Series Class at the SF Citadel (181 Eddy). 7 p.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org. Fri., Sep. 7: Leather Beer Bust at Kok Bar. Beer & well cocktails $3, Rolling Rock beer bust $5. 5-9 p.m. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com. Fri., Sep. 7: Michael Brandon presents Locker Room at The Edge (4149 Collingwood). Go-go boys, gear. 9 p.m.-Midnight. Go to: www.edgesf.com.

Sun., Sep. 9: Jockstrap Beer Bust at Kok Bar. Wear your jock! 3-7 p.m. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com. Sun., Sep. 9: San Francisco MAsT (Masters and slaves Together) at the SF Citadel. 7:30 p.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org. Sun., Sep. 9: Castro Bear presents Sunday Furry Sunday at 440 (440 Castro). 4-10 p.m. Go to: www.the440.com. Sun., Sep. 9: PoHo Sundays at The Powerhouse. Dollar drafts all day! Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com. Mon., Sep. 10: Trivia Night with host Casey Ley at Truck. 8 p.m. Go to: www.trucksf.com. Mon., Sep. 10: Dirty Dicks at The Powerhouse. $3 well drinks. 4-10 p.m. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com.

Fri., Sep. 7: Open Event at the SF Citadel. $25. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org.

Tue., Sep. 11: Busted at Truck. $5 beer bust. 9-11 p.m. Go to: www.trucksf.com.

Fri., Sep. 7: Truck Wash at Truck (1900 Folsom). 10 p.m.-close. Live shower boys, drink specials. Go to: www.trucksf.com.

Tue., Sep. 11: Strap-on 101, taught by Rain DeGrey at the SF Citadel. 8 p.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org.

Sat., Sep. 8: Shirts Off Saturday at Kok Bar. Take it off for drink specials. 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com.

Tue., Sep. 11: Kok Block at Kok Bar. Happy hour prices all night. Pool tournament, 7-10 p.m. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com.

Sat., Sep. 8: All Beef Saturday Nights at The Lone Star (1354 Harrison). 9 p.m.-close. Go to: www.facebook.com/lonestarsf.

Tue., Sep. 11: Jorge Vieto presents Making the Connection: Whips, men only, at the Mr. S Leather Playspace (385A 8th St.). Bring yours, or come down and learn. 7-10 p.m. Go to Facebook.

Sat., Sep. 8: SF Spikes present: Dirty Jock! at the Powerhouse. Support our gay soccer club! Jell-O shots, drink specials, go-go studs, athletic supporters. 9 p.m.-Midnight. Go to: www.sfspikes.com.

Wed., Sep. 12: Creative Kinksters at the SF Citadel, for crafty folk of the kinky persuasion. 7 p.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org.

Sat., Sep. 8: Stallion Saturdays at Rebel Bar (1760 Market). Revolving DJs, afterhours fun! 9 p.m.-4 a.m. Go to: www.stallionsaturdays.com. Sun., Sep. 9: SF Men’s Spanking Party at the Power Exchange (220 Jones St.), a male-only event. Go to: www.voy.com/201188/. Sun., Sep. 9: Truck Bust Sundays at Truck. $1 beer bust. 4-8 p.m. Go to: www.trucksf.com.

Wed., Sep. 12: Pit Stop at Kok Bar. Happy Hour prices all night. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com. Wed., Sep. 12: Golden Shower 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., Sep. 12: Underwear Night at The Powerhouse. Free clothes check. 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com.

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Karrnal>>

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31

The new abnormal by John F. Karr

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ou know I like eye candy. But I also have a taste for rad. So I was intrigued with a website that calls itself Alternadudes. Honey, this site is so alterna that one or two of the guys are girls with dicks. Which makes the other Alternas small change. They’re skaters, punks, goths and emos, some in make-up, some with mohawks (and on the Planet Karr, mohawk = boner). Many more have long hair, some of it streaked with neon color. And then there are tats, pierces, and gages galore, as well as a pair or two of those vampyric contact lenses. The company website promises their 165 performers are “real guys off the streets and out of the clubs.” Some are actually cute in a conventional way. Still, the Webmaster’s preference is “anything out of the norm.” You can check how far out on six Alternadudes DVDs, which you’ll find at the distributor of an impressive variety of alterna-porn, www.Pornteam.com. I wasn’t wildly pleased with some of the six guys I met on the latest Alternadudes DVD, Sinners and Saint. They’re alterna, yes, but not too arousa. They’re certainly not energized by the absentee direction credited to Koloff. He seems friendly, but these neophyte performers need a boss more than a bro. Each guy has a solo introduction before he makes out with the fairly hot and always affable Saint Dillon. I like the guy. He’s got gages in each ear, and arm and torso tats. He’s as smooth-faced and composed as Keanu Reeves, to whom he bears a pleasing resemblance. The last time I saw Keanu, I neglected to check if his cock was pierced as unfortunately as Dillon’s, with an inch long barbell running lengthwise on each side of his cock. Although these piercings surely classify as alternative, it’s a weird place to put an obstruction, and they make me uncomfortable. Nonetheless, Dillon’s got a handsome and sizable hunk of meat. Sk8erboi Thrasher eagerly sucks it.

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Robbie and his veil of hair in a screen grab from Alternadudes’ Sinners and Saint.

Thrasher’s a turn-on for me: an oliveskinned, funky barrio boy. A tightlytied red bandana holds down his long hair. His numerous, randomly placed tats aren’t at all gay. No tribal stuff for this non-conformist alternaguy. His dick isn’t large, but has a well-defined head. Though he’s experienced, he seems nervous. He’s restless, looking around, saying things that don’t quite relate. After 10 minutes of horny, happy kissing and sucking, Dillon stands over Thrasher and beats off in his face – which Thrasher turns aside. Robbie Keif’s a pale, thin kid who plays classical cello (a curious detail) and, we’re told, “prefers the ladies over the dick.” He also prefers not to get a haircut, and sports a ’do that makes his head look like the resting place of a jellyfish. His bangs are so long they cover his nose, so dense one wonders how he can see, and so continuous they circle clear round his head. In his favor, his dick is sizable, cut, smooth as silk and creamily complected. He’s not by any means a jack-off artist, but he’s diligent about it for a full 10 minutes. When Dillon arrives, Robbie shows he’s also not an accomplished

cocksucker. At scene’s conclusion, he patiently endures the facial Dillon bestows, for which someone has thankfully combed back his veil of hair. Ah, and then there’s lovely Alaric, a willowy Nordic blonde lad of 18 who’s très alluring but whose narcoleptic sex is appalling. He’s described as a goth musician, and goths, we’re told, don’t show emotion. Nor, judging by Alaric, do they show any signs of life. To me, both his salon-styled haircut, his mascara and his passiveness signal that he’s more emo boy than goth. His pretty cock is smooth and ice-white; his hairless abyss of asshole is a lovely sight. I wish I could show you a picture of this pristine, near-perfect aperture. When Alaric spreads his cheeks, we comprehend the extent of this blushing pink wonder. Beauty may be only skin deep, but it seems a rose-hued anus is fathomless. Dillon dildos him for a bit, then fucks him for a while; Alaric beats off in an effortful bid to cum. I went out to the 7-11 for a Slurpee, and got back just as Alaric was finally presenting some slurpee of his own. It wouldn’t fill a hummingbird’s beak. All told, you’ll be watching Sinners and Saint for the guys’ looks, not their lechery.▼

ebar.com

Leather +

From page 30

gle closed it left behind a rich legacy and quite a few upset folks. The anger and grief were justified. The bar wasn’t just a great space with a great Sunday afternoon happy hour. It was (and is) hallowed ground. During the early height of the AIDS crisis, the ashes of many people were scattered there. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence blessed it as a “hallowed queer space.” On Tues., Aug. 28 at the Lone Star Saloon, the Eagle’s new owners Mike Leon and Alex Montiel celebrated the welcome news with supporters and the folks who campaigned to get the Eagle reopened. Chief among them has been the formidable Anna Conda, who has led the way in getting the bar reopened and keeping it gay. This might not seem important to some, but this is a huge victory over the gentrification of the SoMa area, where our community’s roots are so entrenched. Mike and Alex have posted on the Eagle’s site (www.sf-eagle.com): “The bar and patio located at 398 12th St. has long been a special place, not only to the LGBT community, but to the entire community for decades, not to mention the live music community as well. We just couldn’t let such a historic place like this disappear! “We will continue to host fundraisers for all the organizations from the past, as well as welcoming new

Scott Brogan

Kink.com’s new Armory Club (14th & Mission) will be open in time for the Folsom Street Fair.

ones, to make the SF Eagle the pride of our community once again. We look forward to seeing all of you very soon!” Now it’s up to us to support Mike and Alex and ensure the Eagle never closes again. Their goal is to reopen in time for Halloween. I hope so. I can’t think of a better opening-night celebration than one on Halloween. Kink.com’s new club to open in time for Folsom. Kink.com’s new bar, The Armory Club, located at the corner of 14th St. and Mission (across from the company’s headquarters at the SF Armory), may be open in time for the Folsom Street

Fair in a few weeks. The club won’t be exclusively gay, but the opening of any new club that caters to our community – especially one that’s walking distance from the SoMa clubs – is great news. It’s reported that the club’s decor will be in the style of Kink.com’s “Upper Room,” which features that deep-red velvety Victorian look. Nice! There is also a basement, which I’m told may or may not be available for “special use.” We’ll find out soon enough. Expect to read about upcoming “Bound in Public” and other gay fetish video shoots in the new club in the next few months.▼

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32 • BAY AREA REPORTER • September 6-12, 2012

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Courtesy NCTC

The cast of Fierce Love performs a “re-mixed” edition of the Pomo Afro Homos’ 1991 show subtitled Stories from Black Gay Life at New Conservatory Theatre Center.

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Fall 2012 theatre

From page 17

ter its Z Space debut. It’s set aboard a cruise ship on which the travelers, including a closeted older man traveling with his son, find themselves unhinged from the rules of time and space, as the play offers a surreal view of a pampered society. Callaghan developed the play with the foolsFury company, including director Ben Yalom and choreographer Erika Chong Shuch. (Sept. 7-23; www.zspace.org)

Out of the past Two landmark plays that touched the soul of the gay community at critical times are returning to local stages. First up is Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart at ACT, which features cast members of the recent Broadway revival, continuing under George C. Wolfe’s direction. Kramer’s play, first staged in 1985, is a largely autobiographical recounting of the first responders to the AIDS crisis, and an excoriation of the news media and politicians who were slow to respond. (Sept. 13-Oct 7; www. act-sf.org) Fierce Love: Stories from Black Gay Life began its life in San Francisco in 1991 before touring the country with an assortment of stories from a world that had had scant recognition on stage. Written by the Pomo Afro Homos troupe, a “re-mixed” edition brings the show back home under founding member Brian Freeman’s direction at New Conservatory Theatre Center in a coproduction with AfroSolo. (Oct. 1728; www.nctcsf.org)

Singing the body politic

For bar and nightlife events, go to www.bartabsf.com

If you want a musical escape from electioneering, these musicals do not fit the bill. The parallels to contemporary politics ring only too clearly in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, the 2010 Broadway Emo-style rock musical that looks at the life and controversial career of our first “populist” president. It also marks the steppingup move of San Francisco Playhouse from its Sutter Street venue to the former Post Street Theatre. (Oct. 9-Nov. 24; www.sfplayhouse.org) In the 1931 musical Of Thee I Sing, a presidential candidate runs on a “love” platform that requires him to marry a pageant winner in a kind of precursor to the multiplying television talent/dating competitions. 42nd Street Moon is opening its season at the Eureka Theatre with the 1931 musical with songs by George and Ira Gershwin and a libretto by Morrie Ryskind, the first musical to receive a Pulitzer Prize. (Oct. 3-21;

Jenny Graham

Director and master storyteller Mary Zimmerman turns to a Chinese folktale for The White Snake, her new play coming to Berkeley Rep.

www.42ndstmoon.org) Even among Stephen Sondheim fans, Assassins has been something of the black sheep of his oeuvre. Written with John Weidman, the 1990 musical offers a kind of vaudeville performed by the various men and women who have, successfully or not, tried to kill presidents of the United States. Shotgun Players is presenting the queasy-making musical as part of its season at the Ashby Stage. (Sept. 26-Oct. 28; www.shotgunplayers.org)

Tales retold Mary Zimmerman is Berkeley Rep’s favorite storyteller, and the theater has hosted such acclaimed reinventions as Metamorphoses, The Arabian Nights, and Argonautika. In The White Snake, she builds her theatrical magic around a Chinese folktale about a serpent spirit who takes a human form as she falls in love with a guileless young man. This co-production with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival drew raves when it opened in

Ashland earlier this year. (Nov. 9-Dec. 23; www.berkeleyrep.org) SF playwright Lauren Gunderson’s works have been seen across the country, and Impact Theatre has first dibs on her new comedy Toil and Trouble. To be staged at LaVal’s Subterranean in Berkeley, the Macbeth story gets a contemporary twist as three young friends become combatants after they occupy a South American island populated only by miniature vicuna. Founding artistic director Josh Costello returns to direct. (Nov. 1-Dec. 8; www.impacttheatre.com)

Latter-day Broadway It’s hard to remember how unlikely a show titled The Book of Mormon could become both a critical and box office smash. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone ridicule the religion of possibly our next president with a sweetness, albeit R-rated, that charmed flocks from many pastures. As of press time, the only way to score tickets to the Curran Theatre is to subscribe to the SHN season, though that restriction will be lifted as the run approaches. To the alert shall the single tickets pass. (Nov. 27-Dec. 30; www.shnsf.com) ▼

Joan Marcus

In Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, the life and career of our seventh president got the rock-musical treatment on Broadway in 2010, and will be staged this fall at San Francisco Playhouse.

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

September 6-12, 2012 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

Music>>

2012: gayest year ever? by Gregg Shapiro

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ith strong comeback albums by Rufus Wainwright, Nona Hendryx and Scissor Sisters, 2012 is shaping up to be one of the gayest years in LGBT music history. The sheer variety of musical styles also speaks to the marvels and talents our community has to offer listeners. Hot House (Concord Jazz) by gay vibes genius Gary Burton and pianist Chick Corea features the pair performing renditions of songs by everyone from the Beatles (“Eleanor Rigby”) and Jobim and de Moraes (“Chega de Saudade”) to Gershwin, Weill (“My Ship”) and Monk (“Light Blue”). Smoking! Longtime Boston music-scene fixture, gay singer/songwriter Rick Berlin, known more widely via bands Orchestra Luna and Berlin Airlift, is backed up by a young, energetic group of musicians, the Nickel & Dime Band, on Always on Insane (rickberlin.com). The youthful band allows him to rock out, beginning with “(I’m a) Slut,” making this one of the sexiest sets Berlin has ever recorded. As always, Garrison Starr brings a touch of twang to the scene. The ironically titled Amateur (Radtown) finds the lesbian singer/songwriter rocking harder than ever on the amazing “To Garrison, on her 29th Birthday.” But longtime fans who have come to rely on her down-home style of front-porch musical wisdom will also be pleased with “Slow Crawl,” “Keep Your Head Down” and “When You’re Really Trying.” Out singer/songwriter Maia Sharp, who shares some tour dates this fall with Starr, is back with Change the Ending (Blix Street/Crooked Crown). Sharp, the daughter of famed songwriter Randy Sharp (she can be heard

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Fall 2012 art

From page 17

teen contemporary artists from China and the U.S. explore gender and sexual identity, issues that until recently have remained invisible in China. Designs by a consortium of underground NGOs inside China, whose work focuses on the hidden worlds of women, the LGBTQ community and sex workers, are a component of a diverse, multi-media exhibition. (Sept. 15-Nov. 30) www.c-c-c.org de Young Museum When he wasn’t running CBS or clashing with Edward R. Murrow, the esteemed network’s founder and philanthropist William S. Paley collected art, and he had the financial means to do it. A sampling of Paley’s collection, focusing on the late 19th and early 20th century artists of the French School and School Paris, is featured in A Taste for Modernism, a show that includes paintings by Degas, Derain, Matisse, Cezanne, Gauguin, Picasso and others. (Sept. 15-Dec. 30); This World is Not My Home: Photographs by Danny Lyon: 60 photographs and photo montages, from 1962 to the present, by street shooter Lyon, a self-described “romantic realist,” who once vowed to “destroy Life magazine” by giving visibility to people on society’s margins, subjects neglected by the mainstream glossies. (Sept. 29-Jan. 27); Marking the 20th anniversary of his death from AIDS, Rudolf Nureyev: A Life in Dance celebrates the flamboyantly theatrical Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and tempestuous drama queen who defected to the West, where he became famous for his sublime partnership with Dame Margot Fonteyn. There will be 70 costumes, about which he was demanding and particular, and more than enough memorabilia on

performing with her father on the new album Dreams of the San Joaquin), has even collaborated with Art Garfunkel on a disc with Buddy Mondlock. Sharp is a marvelous performer in her own right, with standout solo discs to her credit. In addition to the infectious lead single “Me After You,” Sharp does a brilliant job of capturing the challenges of being different on “Standing Out in a Crowd.” Getting closer to living up to his promise, openly gay American Idol alum Adam Lambert narrowly avoids the major-label sophomore slump with the delirious disco of Trespassing (19/RCA). Still suffering from the overproduction that plagued For Your Entertainment, Trespassing speaks volumes about Lambert’s talent, in that he doesn’t get buried under the rubble. Standouts such as Lambert co-compositions “Cuckoo” and the Scissor Sisters-like “Kickin’ In,” as well as the ballads “Underneath” and “Outlaws of Love,” bode well for the future. Hunx (aka Seth Bogart) is one of those queer musicians whose abilities can’t be contained in one place. After putting in time as a member of the Kill Rock Stars act Gravy Train!!!!, Hunx released the Gay Singles comp and followed it up with the excellent Too Young to Be in Love as Hunx & His Punx. Hairdresser Blues (Hardly Art), a more intimate and mature effort, is simply credited to Hunx. You

hand to satisfy the most ardent balletomane. (Oct. 6-Feb. 17) www. deyoungmuseum.famsf.org Cantor Arts Center A War on Modern Art: The 75th Anniversary of Degenerate Art The Nazis’ gift for mass murder was exceeded only by their penchant for Orwellian double-speak. Exactly who was calling whom degenerate? That’s only one question that arises in response to the infamous 1937 Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition in Munich, which art-school reject Adolph Hitler hoped would turn public sentiment against modernism – sounds like a nasty case of sour grapes to me. Hitler and his regime proclaimed these artists insane and a threat to the Reich’s ideals, though his henchmen stole trainloads and stashed the booty in caves. Nine works by German artists Max Beckmann and Max Pechstein comprise this small exhibit. (Oct. 3-Feb. 24) www.museum.stanford.edu Cartoon Art Museum The Art of ParaNorman He has a square head and spiky hair, he’s creepy and depressive, he communes with the dead, including his dearly departed grandmother, and some of his best friends are zombies. Now Norman has his own stop-motion animated 3-D movie, as well as this show of original concept art, puppets and costumes from the film. Not too shabby for an outcast. (Opens Oct. 6) www.cartoonart.org YBCA Nayland Blake: FREE!LOVE!TOOL!BOX! The Brooklyn-based agitator, performance artist and writer deploys his own life experience, elements of his “Equipment for a shameful epic,” a 1993 toolkit piece with Nixon masks, horror paraphernalia and rubber weapons, and “The Bride Groom Stripped Bare,” a videotape by the late, radical fashion designer Alexander McQueen, as

can hear the difference on “Let Me In,” “Always Forever” and “Say Goodbye Before You Leave.” The Gossip were once a part of the Kill Rock Stars roster. On A Joyful Noise (Columbia), Beth Ditto and the Gossip are more dance-oriented. It’s a good fit: Ditto is a born disco diva. Check out the New Order-esque “Move in the Right Direction,” the irresistibly sexy “Get a Job” (a contender, along with the Scissor Sisters’ “Let’s Have a Kiki,” as dance track of the year) and the funky vintage disco of “Get Lost.” As twosomes go, UK breakthrough duo 2:54, out lesbian guitarist Hannah Thurlow and her sister Colette, make quite a ruckus on their eponymous Fat Possum debut. Opener “Revolver” is a good example. There’s also an appealing rhythmic quality to “Easy Undercover,” “Creeping” and “Sugar” that breaks up some of the disc’s monotony. Another sibling act, K’s Choice (out lesbian Sarah Bettens and her brother Gert) has returned after a hiatus of more than eight years, during which

Sarah embarked on a solo career. As if to make up for lost time, the group is releasing two discs, the studio effort Echo Mountain (LDM/Cocoon) and the live recording Little Echoes (Wallaby/Rough Trade). Little Echoes is notable for the covers of songs by Split Enz (“Message to My Girl”), Radiohead (“No Surprises”) and the Pointer Sisters (“I’m So Excited”). On their new album Always (Polyvinyl), Xiu Xiu, featuring queer lead vocalist Jamie Stewart, are as daring and challenging as always. Just listen as they shift from the frenetically organized chaos of “I Luv Abortion” to the lush drama of “The Oldness.” Framing it all are some of the darkest dance tracks you could ever imagine – the bouncing roll of “Hi” and “Beauty Towne” at the top, and “Smear the Queen” at the end. Kind of a re-introduction to a talented performer, the double-disc Into the Wild (WB) by queer ukuleleslinging singer/songwriter LP (aka Laura Pergolizzi) leaves the listener wanting more. The 5-song EP and accompanying DVD capture the rivet-

William S. Paley Collection, courtesy of MoMA/NY

“The Seed of the Areoi” (1892) by Paul Gauguin, oil on burlap, from A Taste for Modernism at the de Young Museum.

catalysts for the uncanny sculptures he has forged for his solo exhibition here. (Oct. 12-Jan. 27) www.ybca. org Legion of Honor It might be as good a time as any to savor the opulent, exquisitely crafted objets that once belonged to the let-themeat-cake crowd before they lost their heads. Produced with no expense spared, many of the dazzling pieces on view in Royal Treasures from the Louvre: Louis the XIV to Marie-Antoinette have never been ogled outside of France. (Nov. 17-March 17)

www.legionofhonor.famsf.org MoAD North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermes Collection features 94 pieces of spectacular jewelry and 28 photographs from Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia, drawn from the extensive collection of the Parisian fashion impresario for whom scarves and pricey handbags are not enough. (Oct. 5-Jan. 23) www.moadsf.org November comes in like a lion at SFMOMA, when the museum opens concurrent shows by a pair

ing artist in a live setting at Eastwest Studios, where she unleashes her powerhouse vocals (think Brandi Carlile) as she works her way tthrough a brief set, including tthe title cut, perhaps her bestkknown tune. There must be something iin the atmosphere causing llesbians to use only their inittials and release EPs. AG (aka A Adrianne Gonzalez, formerly kknown as Adrianne, a memb ber of the Rescues) has put o out six-song EP The Beatles ((Red Parade), on which she eextends her gratitude to John, P Paul, George and Ringo by rreinterpreting half-a-dozen o of their songs. Focusing on th the early Beatles catalog (three ssongs are from the Beatles’ first aalbum), AG brings a distincti tively queer perspective to “I Wanna Be Your Man” and “I Saw Her Standing There,” and raises the curtain on the drama in “She Loves You” and “There’s a Place.” As concept records go, 19: Songs for and Inspired by Valencia: Chapter 19 by Jen Schande is among the more interesting. A stand-alone soundtrack to the movie, comprised of 21 short films, based on queer writer/activist Michelle Tea’s book Valencia, 19 is at turns raw (“Ghost Power”), clever (“I Really Like Sonic Youth and I Really Want To Have Sex with You”), tender (“A Different Kind of Stripped Down, a Different Kind of Tease”) and never boring. A different musical direction for the NYC trio Viva (led by Viva DeConcini), Rhinestones and Rust (electricviva.com) kicks off with the bluesy/punk title track, then features a twangy Western Swing cover of T.J. “Red” Arnall’s “Cocaine Blues,” and a blues-drenched reading of the vintage Dolly Parton tune “Gonna Hurry.”▼ Xiu Xiu performs at the Regency Center Grand Ballroom, SF, on Sept. 10.

of American heavyweights: Jasper Johns: Seeing with the Mind’s Eye surveys the entire 60-year career of the transformative, ever curious, always inventive Johns, who paved the way for Pop Art and Minimalism in the 1950s, and is still going strong at the age of 82, while Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective encompasses four decades and 130 paintings, drawings, photos, jewelry, collages and sculptures by the Bay Area artist best known for her 2,000-lb. masterpiece, “The Rose.” (Nov. 3-Feb.3) www.sfmoma.org Contemporary Jewish Museum The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League, 1936-1951 This comprehensive exhibition of work produced by a group of idealistic young photographers, mostly Jewish firstgeneration Americans, includes details about its history, importance and political milieu. (Coming out of the worker’s movement, it emerged during with the Depression, continued through WWII, and ended with the Red Scare.) On display are 150 vintage images by an all-star cast of mid-20th century photography: Consuelo Kanaga, Weegee, Lisette Model and Berenice Abbott, among others. (Oct. 11-Jan. 21); The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats honors the pioneering, award-winning Brooklyn author and illustrator of Whistle for Willie, Peter’s Chair, and The Snowy Day. The latter volume, published at the apex of the civil rights movement, was the first full-color picture book with an African-American protagonist and gritty urban landscapes. The exhibition presents over 80 original works, from preliminary sketches and dummy books, to final paintings and collages, some of which were inspired by Asian art, haiku and the anti-Semitism and poverty Keats endured in his youth. (Nov. 15-Feb 24) www.thecjm.org ▼

Music >>

Chicago sound check by Gregg Shapiro

I

n 1991, while the rest of the civilized world was embracing grunge purveyed by the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam (led by Chicago native Eddie Vedder), the Chicago music scene sounded like it was still suffering from a 1980s hangover. One of the biggest releases by a Chicago band, Material Issue’s International Pop Overthrow, even had a distinctly 80s Boston-band ring to it. Gish (Virgin/EMI), the reissued, remastered and expanded debut disc by Smashing Pumpkins, didn’t sound like the 80s, and only vaguely echoed grunge. The music was metallic, but it was saved by Billy Corgan’s distinctive and emotive vocals. Two years later, after grunge had predictably run its course and alternative was the predominant force, Smashing Pumpkins’ remarkable Siamese Dream (Virgin), also reissued, remastered and expanded, set the standard. Shimmering with the shards of grunge, Siamese Dream also dared to go where few others had ventured, exemplified in the rapturous “Today” and the disarming “Dis-

arm,” complete with chimes and a string section. Gish and Siamese Dream are nothing less than essential. In 1995, the year that Smashing Pumpkins released their doubledisc Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness set, Wilco, one of the bands in Chicago’s burgeoning alt-country scene, released their major-label debut A.M. Sixteen years (and nine albums, including a live disc and two Billy Bragg collaborations) later, Wilco has mostly shed its No-Depression direction in favor of a more experimental power-pop sound. It’s a good fit, beginning with 1999’s Summerteeth and continuing with the new The Whole Love (Anti/dBpm). Literate and lively, “The Whole Love” benefits from a whole lot of variety, from the dangerous pop of “I Might” to the vintage shuffle of “Capitol City” and the exquisite “One Sunday Morning.” Wilco remains one of the most consistently rewarding bands, from Chicago or anywhere else. Young Chicago soul diva Syleena Johnson continues telling her story in song on Chapter V: Underrated (Shanachie). Johnson displays a righteous reverence for old-school R&B on songs “Like Thorns,” “My Shoes” and “The Champ.” But that doesn’t prevent her from sounding utterly up-to-date on “Fade Away” and “Go Head.” Anyone put off by former Chica-

goan Rachael Yamagata’s challenging but ambitious 2008 Elephants – Teeth Seeking into Hearts album will be thrilled by her more accessible new disc Chesapeake (Frankenfish). The fan-funded effort opens with the bright and airy, pianodriven “Even If I Don’t,” the musical equivalent of being welcomed with open arms. “Starlight” is as dark and twinkly as a clear, night sky, and the slinky “Saturday Morning” lets the sunshine in through blinds.

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