Agenda Florida Issue 269 by Multi-Media Platforms

FLORIDAAGENDA.COM

•

JANUARY

FT LAUDERDALE • JACKSONVILLE • KEY WEST

14,

2015

•

ISSUE

269

MIAMI • ORLANDO • TAMPA / ST PETERSBURG

Page 13

MARRIAGE EQUALITY BOOSTS LOCAL BUSINESS Page 11

January 14, 2015

2 /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

4 /floridaagenda /fl oridaagenda

/floridaagenda /fl oridaagenda

floridaagenda.com floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

6 /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

INTERNATIONAL INDIA Goa

PLANEMAD/WIKIMEDIA

January 14, 2015

India’s Goa Has Centers for Gay “Cures” PANAJI, IN — As his minister’s talk on centers to “cure” homosexuals generated shockwaves, an embarrassed Goa Chief Minister Lakshmikant Parsekar today said the comments were made in ignorance. “Homosexuality is a natural gift,” Parsekar said, in an attempt at damage control. “LGBTs (Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) are not suffering from any disease. There is no government policy on ‘normalizing’ them,” the Chief Minister told reporters on Tuesday, a day after his Sports and Youth Minister Ramesh Tawadkar said the government was planning centers for homosexuals on the lines of Alcoholics Anonymous. “We will make LGBT youth normal. We will have a center for them...like Alcoholics Anonymous centers. We will train them and give them medicines too,” Tawadkar had said on Monday, while launching the state youth policy. The document listed the LGBT community among stigmatized groups that need focused attention. Today, Tawadkar blamed the media and claimed that he was “talking about alcoholics” and not the gay community. “I was misquoted and misunderstood. The media is creating a controversy,” he told NDTV. His remarks were likened to Yoga

teacher Ramdev’s controversial statement in the past that homosexuality is a “disease” that can be cured by yoga. In largely conservative India, the homosexual community is still battling lack of awareness and prejudice, which has been compounded by a colonial era law that makes gay sex a crime. In a severe blow to the cause, the Supreme Court upheld the ban in 2013. Activists say the Goa minister has taken ignorance to a new level as he talks about government-run centers which will have “training, treatment and medicines” to cure LGBT persons. “There has to be someone from the BJP who speaks up on this...when you are silent about someone making such an irresponsible statement, you are actually admitting...,” said Harish Iyer, gay rights activist.

Egypt ‘Gay Bathhouse’ Defendants Acquitted by Court CAIRO, EG — A Cairo court last Monday acquitted 26 men who were accused of “debauchery” after a highprofile December raid on a Cairo public bathhouse. The ruling was greeted with cheers and jubilation in the courtroom, with some defendants crying in relief, according to the AP and a report filed by International Business Times. The defendants faced multiple

charges The prosecutor said the investigation revealed the owner and the staff ran the bathhouse as a place for “parties of debauchery, orgies among male homosexuals in exchange for money.” The rest of the defendants were charged with practising debauchery and “indecent public acts.” The December 7 arrest was televised on the pro-government al Qahira wal Nas news channel and sparked an uproar among activists and human rights groups. Anti-vice police dragged the men half naked from the bath house in Cairo’s downtown Ramses area, Daily News Egypt reported. Four of the defendants, including the owner of the business, were charged with “running a place that organizes paid sexual orgies.” The defendants are now waiting for the television channel to issue a formal apology, said defense lawyer Tarek El-Awady to the Egyptian state-sponsored Ahram Online. Police reportedly raided the bath house on a tip from al Qahira wal Nas journalist Mona El Iraqi who claimed on her show in December that men paid for private

KEVIN MILLER

gay sex parties at the bath house. El Awady has also suggested that the channel investigate the show’s crew. Al Qahira wal Nas is known as Egypt’s “boldest network.” Homosexuality is not specifically outlawed in Egypt, however gay men are frequently targeted by police and accused of debauchery, immorality or blasphemy, according to Reuters. A decades’ old law banning prostitution is also used to target the gay community, said the AP. The bath house arrests were the latest in Egypt’s escalating crackdown on the country’s LGBT community. The most recent high-profile case saw eight men sentenced to three years in jail in November after a video appeared online allegedly showing them participating in the country’s first gay marriage ceremony, said Reuters. That case is currently under appeal. Rights activists said that 2014 was the worst year in a decade for Egypt’s LGBT community, with at least 150 people arrested or put on trial, according to the AP.

U.S. Supreme Court Fails to Move on Same-Sex Marriage Cases

Sen. Nelson Backs Bill Protecting U.S. Marriage Benefits WASHINGTON -- Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) has joined 42 original cosponsors in the Senate and 78 in the House of Representatives in support of a bill designed to apply federal workplace benefits for married couples equally across all states. The Respect for Marriage Act, reintroduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), would fully repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in its entirety. It would guarantee every married couple federal workplace benefits and protection for valid marriages performed anywhere in the United States. The bill does not require U.S. states without legal protections for same-sex couples to recognize a marriage or force any person, state, locality or religious organization to celebrate or recognize a legal union between two persons of the same sex.

January 14, 2015

Sen. Bill Nelson

WASHINGTON, DC--The Supreme Court has issued orders following its Conference earlier Friday, but it did not grant review in any new cases. The release of orders on Friday had been eagerly awaited across the country, because the Court, at its private Conference, was scheduled to take its first look at the new round of cases on state power to ban same-sex marriage. The Court’s next chance to issue any order on those cases will be at 9:30 a.m. Monday, with the release of a lengthy list of actions on new cases. If no action on the five marriage cases comes then, the cases are likely to be rescheduled for a Conference next Friday, accoding to the SCOTUS blog. The Court last considered a group of appeals filed by same-sex couples at

floridaagenda.com

AUSTIN, TX--A new Republican proposal in the Texas state legislature would strip state employees of their salaries if they recognize same-sex marriages. Although Judge Orlando Garcia ruled against the state’s marriage ban last February, he subsequently stayed his ruling allowing for the appeals process to be completed. Ccurrently, the case is being heard at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal – and a ruling in favor of equality could see same-sex couples begin to marry across the state. However, a bill submitted by Republican Cecil Bell would enshrine in law that government employees “may not recognize, grant, or enforce a same-sex marriage license” – even if the lawsuit is successful. A new Republican proposal in the Texas state legislature would strip state employees of their salaries if they recognise same-sex marriages. Judge Orlando Garcia struck down the state’s marriage ban in February 2014, but stayed the ruling, meaning it will not come into effect until the appeals process is concluded. The case is currently being heard at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal – and a ruling in favour of equality could see same-sex couples begin to marry across the state. However, a bill submitted by Republican Cecil Bell would enshrine in law

that government employees “may not recognize, grant, or enforce a same-sex marriage license” – even if the lawsuit is successful. The bill also states that government employees who break the rules “may not continue to receive a salary, pension, or other employee benefit at the expense of the taxpayers of this State”. The move could see clerks, registrars, and thousands of administrators across the state given a choice between being forced to illegally discriminate against same-sex families, and losing their entire income.

cases on Monday, they are expected to reschedule them, later in the day on Monday, for a new look at the private Conference scheduled for next Friday morning. If at that time it chooses to review one or more of those cases, the Court could announce that before the end of the day next Friday — in time for hearings in April and a final decision by the end of the current Term, likely in late June.

/floridaagenda

DANIEL MAYER

Texas Proposal: Recognize Same-Sex Marriage; Lose Your Salary

the start of the current Term, and chose on October 6 to bypass all five cases. At that time, there was no current split among federal appeals courts on the constitutionality of state bans on samesex marriage or on official recognition of already existing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Since then, however, a split has developed with the November decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, upholding bans in the four states in its geographic region. Appeals from the Sixth Circuit ruling are now pending at the Court, along with an appeal from a federal trial judge’s ruling upholding a ban in Louisiana. Those are the five cases the Justices were scheduled to examine at the first Conference after returning from a winter recess. Hours after that Conference had ended, the Court issued a few new orders, but it did not accept the same-sex marriage cases for review, or any other cases on other questions. Attention will now shift, on the marriage cases, to next Monday morning, when the Court is scheduled to make public (at 9:30 a.m.) a lengthy list of orders dealing with a wide range of cases considered on Friday. There is no way to know, at this point, whether the Court will grant any new cases as part of that set of new orders. Almost no one expects the Justices to deny review in the new round of same-sex marriage cases, because of the clear split in authority on that question among the federal appeals courts. (Five federal appeals courts have already ruled on the question, and a sixth appeals court — in the Fifth Circuit — held three hours of hearings on Friday in cases from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Some observers who sat in on those hearings sensed that the threejudge panel was leaning toward striking down those state bans. There is no timetable for that court to rule. If the Supreme Court were to grant review soon of the cases pending there, federal appeals courts that have not yet ruled on a new case may stand down until the Justices have ruled.) If the Justices do not act on the present round of same-sex marriage

/floridaagenda

NATION

Texas State Capitol

floridaagenda.com /floridaagenda /floridaagenda

SUNSHINE STATE Actor Sinise Pulls Out of Anti-Gay Catholic Summit in Naples

Sen. Rubio Blasts Court Rulings to Legalize Gay Marriage

NAPLES — Forrest Gump actor Gary Sinise has decided to withdraw from a summit this month hosted by a Catholic group that believes homosexuality can be “cured.” At press time, however, the website for Legatus still listed Sinise alongside Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, New York Archbishop Timonty Dolan, Peter Coors, chairman of the Molson Coors Brewing Co., and Fox anchor Bret Baier as speakers at Jan. 29 event being held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Naples. “For me, faith has been a catalyst for my mission to honor the men and women who serve in our nation’s military,” said Sinise in a statement. “When I accepted the invitation to speak at the Legatus conference on Veterans issues and share my story, I was unaware of the controversy surrounding some of the participants, and their views on personal matters. “I don’t want my mission—which is designed to be unifying—to be disrupted by these, or any controversies, and therefore have decided to withdraw.” Sinise is best known for his role in the film adaptation of Of Mice and Men and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as Lt. Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump. Blogger Jeremy Hooper pointed out

MIAMI — In an interview with POLITICO, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) criticized recent court rulings legalizing same-sex marriage in Florida on Jan. 5. The potential presidential hopeful said a federal district court’s move undermines the will of most Florida voters who approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage six years ago. He argued that same-sex marriage proponents should have taken the issue to the ballot box or through the legislature instead. “If they wanted to change that law, they should have gone to the legislature or back to the Constitution and try to change it,” Rubio said. “I don’t agree we should be trying to make those changes through the courts.” The junior senator’s comments come as Florida became the 36th state to allow same-sex marriage. His comments are a departure from former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who issued a more conciliatory statement earlier this week. “We live in a democracy, and regardless of our disagreements, we have to respect the rule of law,” Bush said. “I hope that we can also show respect for the good people on all sides of the gay and lesbian marriage issue — including couples making lifetime commitments

Gary Sinise

that the group’s website encourages people suffering from a “SSA (same-sex attraction) disorder” to seek a cure. It reads: “Whether the disorder has some deep, unknown roots over which one has virtually no control, or whether it’s a developed disorder resulting from bad choices, it leaves an individual disposed toward activities and a lifestyle that are dangerous — physically, emotionally and spiritually. “The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality reports that significant numbers of homosexual persons have undergone treatment and had their sexual drives properly ordered. These findings are a beacon of hope to those suffering from SSA, as well as for their family and friends who desire their happiness and good health.”

CRAB & SEAFOOD FESTIVAL RETURNS SATURDAY

January 14, 2015

ORT LAUDERDALE — Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale announces the return of Stone Crab & Seafood Festival for the 4th year. Presented by Grille 401, the event will be held on Saturday, January 17, 2015 from 11am-5pm at Esplanade Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The free festival celebrates the local South Florida Seafood Industry and highlights some of Fort Lauderdale’s favorite seafood restaurants, which will be serving up fresh stone crab claws and a variety of seafood dishes starting at $5.00. Seafood lovers of all ages are welcome to come out rain or shine and enjoy a day of great food, drinks, music, games (including the crowd-favorite hermit crab races), prizes and more! Stephens Distributing will be sponsoring a beer garden and participating restaurants will be announced at a later date.

to each other who are seeking greater legal protections and those of us who believe marriage is a sacrament and want to safeguard religious liberty.” The differing assessments showcase the challenges within the GOP to reconcile the views of its staunch social conservative base with the growing public support for same-sex marriage.

Only One Pride Weekend In 2015, Group Says, on June 13-14 The organization behind gay pride has announced that it will host only one weekend of events in Broward County this year on June 13-14. Pride South Florida will hold an outdoor festival in Fort Lauderdale’s Holiday Park on Saturday followed by the Stonewall Parade down Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors on Sunday afternoon. Both events will be free to the public. The program of events will be announced in the coming days. Online registration for sponsors and vendors at www.pridesouthflorida.org is expected to open on Tuesday, January 20. Most notably, the cost for nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organizations to participate will be reduced, said Rocky Bowell, the group’s treasurer. AIDS Health Care Foundation and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Visitors Bureau have already signed as 2015 sponsors.

By Sebastian Fortino

Photo from Tiffany & Co. ad

spouses-to-be. “We offer engagement packages where our staff will coordinate a location, usually the beach to “pop the question” which can be followed with an intimate dinner for two and an evening in an oceanfront suite. We can offer many other details to make it a unique and romantic experience.” South Florida has many venues perfect for planning and staging your ideal wedding. As of Jan. 6, 2015, that reality is now available for all, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. What’s more, or what’s even better, is they are ready for business.

January 14, 2015

To get an idea of how marriage equality will impact not only the lives of the happy couples, we spoke to Bobby Kyser of Panache Style, located in Wilton Manors and Joseph Maijala, director of sales & marketing at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort on North Ocean Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. “We’re wedding and event specialists. We do everything from decor to lighting, draping, linens, anything to do with the wedding planning. I help them do their timeline, they pick out their own vendors, then I make the schedule. I do day-of planning, it’s a concierge service,” said Kyser of his business, which he has run for nearly a decade, long before many residents thought they’d be legally allowed to marry here. He says commitment ceremonies, surprisingly, have not been much a part of his business. “I think it really just started happening when it was legal in the other states, the idea was, let’s get married somewhere else then come back here to celebrate. The whole raising of consciousness of marriage equality in other states led them to get married and come back.” It’s really going to “open the gates” for many weddings here. While other counties may have propped up personal, or so-called religious reasons against allowing gay marriage within their jurisdiction, Broward County has already realized the economic impact LGBT weddings and the associated revenue will have. The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has invested nearly one million dollars in reaching out to media vendors across the globe promoting the region as a wedding destination. Kyser says he’s had to acquire another storage facility to keep up with more wedding décor and accessories, and expanding the business is bound to follow. He says of the weddings, there are no

ably noticed substantial construction. “The Pelican Grand is undergoing an expansion of our banquet faciliPhoto by Fort ties with the addition of Lauderdale two new oceanfront ballphotographer rooms. The Atlantic BallDennis Dean room is located right on the dunes of Fort Lauderparticular trends among the gay couples dale Beach with French doors that open he has worked with so far. to the beach. It also features a roof“There are no trends, that’s the top terrace and garden area outside of number one trend. These weddings are the ballroom,” Maijala said of the new all about personal taste. It’s usually more additions. “We are also constructing the mature men, searching for something Oceanview Ballroom on the 11th floor classic,” he also notes that it’s usually of the hotel with sweeping views of the not 25-year-old men getting married Atlantic Ocean and beach. This ballwho might want something more avant room will also feature a step-out French garde, or over-the-top. People think balcony and a rooftop terrace on the ‘gay wedding’ and they expect feath12th floor with a gazebo, which is ideal ers or a pride parade, but it’s not really for wedding ceremonies. In addition, that way. These are often long-commit- we are adding a new spa on the 11th ted couples just happy to celebrate their floor and a new penthouse suite on the love for each other. It’s been a process 12th floor. When all the construction is for them, and it’s my job to be a part of completed this March, we expect to be that process.” the premier wedding location on Fort (Oh, don’t worry: if you want feathLauderdale Beach for weddings of up to ers and drag queens, Bobby Kyser and 100 guests.” Panache Style will deliver.) The allure of the hotel lies in its beachOf course, if you’re getting married front location. Whether you wish to here – whether you’re a local, or from marry on the beach, on the sand, or you Oregon – you’ll need a venue and rooms wish to have a reception or ceremony for your guests. That’s where Joseph with an ocean view, the hotel can deliver Maijala from the Grand Pelican Beach a stunning event. He also sees a unique Resort comes in. He says the hotel has trend among destination weddings. seen a substantial increase in requests “A big trend for many of weddings is from same-sex couples. to hold all the events for the weekend “We believe this is due primarin one location so family and friends ily to the legalization of same-sex do not have to travel. Many groups will marriages. Couples want to marry have a block of guest rooms at the resort where their marriage is recognized so no one has to leave for the weekand legal,” he said, which many readend. They will host a rehearsal dinner, ers will doubtlessly agree with; the ceremony and wedding and as well as thought of having to marry in another a going-away brunch on the final day,” state and come home to Florida where he said. marriage equality did not exist until If you want a wedding at their intilast night was disheartening to many. mate, luxurious resort don’t worry about The hotel however knew—-or hoped-– having enough guests, as they offer the day would come. And, if you have packages for two to 50 guests. driven past the elegant, Queen Anne, “And don’t forget the engagement,” Victorian-style hotel, you have probhe advises loving couples or hopeful

NEW YORK, NY — For the first time, iconic jeweler Tiffany & Co. is featuring a same-sex couple in an advertising campaign for engagement rings. Linda Buckley, Tiffany’s vice president for North American marketing, said that the two men featured in the ad are not professional models, but in fact are a reallife Manhattan couple sitting on the front steps of their actual apartment in the city. “Nowadays, the road to marriage is no longer linear, and true love can happen more than once with love stories coming in a variety of forms,” said Buckley. The ad reads: “Will you promise to never stop completing my sentences or singing off-key, which I’m afraid you do often? And will you let today be the first sentence of one long story that never, ever ends?” Tiffany & Co. didn’t release the names the couple. The campaign comes on the heels of a discrimination suit brought against another iconic retailer — Saks Fifth Avenue — by a transgender employee, in which Saks argued that transgender individuals are not protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

floridaagenda.com

More than Cake: Marriage Equality Boosts Local Business

/floridaagenda

By Richard Hack

/floridaagenda

Tiffany & Co. Runs Its First Same-Sex Marriage Ad

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

AS I SEE IT January 14, 2015 • ISSUE 269

BY RICHARD HACK

FOUNDER MULTIMEDIA PLATFORMS

MY HUSBAND’S NOT GAY —OR IS HE?

January 14, 2015

ast Sunday, The Learning Channel (TLC) aired a special titled My Husband’s Not Gay which offended on so many levels that it managed to generate a pre-broadcast petition from Change.org that attempted to get the show cancelled before its broadcast. The petition was the brainchild of Josh Sanders of Virginia Beach, VA, who feels that the program “promotes the false and dangerous idea that gay people can and should choose to be straight in order to be part of their faith communities.” Sanders, who is both gay and Christian, so certainly fits the profile, was an early victim of what is known as “reparative therapy,” a harmful practice that aims to “turn” gay people straight, and which most psychologists have discredited as both ineffective and downright dangerous. “I was promised I could change, and told that I should ‘pray the gay away,’” he says. “In the end, the only thing that this so-called ‘therapy’ did was stoke a growing despair that maybe my life wasn’t worth living.” The American Psychiatric Association says that the “potential risks of ‘reparative therapy’ are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient. Many patients who have undergone ‘reparative therapy’ relate that they were inaccurately told that homosexuals are lonely, unhappy individuals who never achieve acceptance or satisfaction. The possibility that the person might achieve happiness and satisfying interpersonal relationships as a gay man or lesbian is not presented, nor are alternative approaches to dealing with the effects of societal stigmatization discussed.” Yet the four men that are featured on My Husband Isn’t Gay want none of that.

BOBBY BLAIR – CEO / MANAGING PARTNER

PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF RICHARD HACK - 954-380-8563 X3101

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER KEVIN HOPPER

MANAGING EDITOR DANIEL HICKS

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS Peter Jackson, Tom Bonanti, Patrick Robert, Rick Karlin, Gregg Shapiro, Frank Corrado, Cliff Dunn Photography • Dennis Dean, Big Dewitte, Tony Fowler

CREATIVE DIRECTOR George Dauphin

GENERAL MANAGER & PUBLIC RELATIONS Shawn Palacious

SALES & MARKETING Account Executive Joyce Bluestein joycebluestein@mmplgbt.com - 954-380-8563 x2113 Account Executive Ken Brown 954-380-8563 x2112 Account Executive Russ Johannsen 954-380-8563 x2114

NATIONAL AD REPRESENTATIVE RIVENDELL MEDIA: 212-242-6863

Screen shot from My Husband’s Not Gay

DISPLAY AD DEADLINES:

Camera Ready Artwork by Mondays, Noon Placement by Mondays, 5 p.m.

Their take on their dilemma—that of have a same-sex attraction to other men— is to ignore it for the sake of their religion. Three of them are married to women, and not actively pursuing the gay lifestyle. The fourth is trying to find a woman who will marry him without judging his sexual orientation. Some would call it burying your head in the sand. GLADD ‘s president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis labels it “downright irresponsible.” What’s missing in this reality show is any sense of the real world; any sense that what these men are claiming can possibly be a healthy way to approach what they cannot change. They are insisting on shoving a round stick in a square hole and pretending it fits. And all in the name of a religion that refuses to accept them for who they are. Making this special more pathetic is its appeal to religious fanatics on the right who can see nothing wrong with attempting to alter the minds of their followers. Two of the men in My Husband Isn’t Gay, Pret Dahlgren and Jeff Bennion are far more than just misdirected SSA. They are spokesmen for the North Star International, an organization that “provides a

place of community for Latter-day Saints who experience homosexual attraction or gender identity incongruence, as well as their family, friends, and ecclesiastical leaders.” The group also supports ex-gay therapy as legitimate and beneficial. Dahlgren has previously said that homosexuality and same-sex attractions are “almost invariably rooted in deeper issues” that need to be “healed.” In a video in which he discusses aligning his sexuality with his Mormon faith, he suggests that it is not only possible but essential for gays to control their feelings and align their attractions with God’s will for their lives. Dahlgren’s wife Megan has marketed ex-gay therapy for various organizations. What all of the reality stars seem to miss is that for all their efforts to sell their disjointed lifestyle, it takes just one elder in the church to get them excommunicated. They are one swivel-step away from having their ministries turn their back on their selection of a way to live. Just a reminder that TLC is the same channel whose right-wing programmers brought us 19 Wives and Counting and Sister Wives. Enuf said?...Until next week…

ALL MATERIAL in the Agenda is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Agenda. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred or implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. Although this paper is supported by many fine advertisers, the Agenda cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. EDITORIAL POSITIONS of the Agenda are expressed in editorials and in editors’ notes as determined by the paper’s editors. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Agenda or its staff. TO SUBMIT A LETTER OR COMMENTARY: Letters should be fewer than 400 words; commentaries should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verification. Send submissions by e-mail to Editor@floridaagenda. com by fax to 954-566-7900 or by regular mail to the Agenda office, attn: Letters/Commentary. MAIN OFFICE / SALES: 2929 E Commercial Blvd, PhD, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 Phone 954-380-8563 FAX 954-380-8567 A bureau of LGBTQNation.com www.floridaagenda.com Printed by Forum Publishing Group (954) 574-5321 MEDIA ADVISORY BOARD Alan Beck, Keith Blackburn, Robert Boo, Reece Darham, Richard Hack, Kevin Hopper, Paul Hugo, Peter Jackson, Krishan Manners, Terry DeCarlo, Mark Negrete, Jackson Padgett, Gary Santis, Jason Tamanini, Brett Tannenbaum, Dean Trantalis, Victor Zepka © 2015, Mutimedia Platforms LLC. All rights reserved.

COVER STORY

/floridaagenda floridaagenda.com

HOMOSEXUALS: “AN EVIL EMPIRE THAT WILL DOOM THE WORLD”

/floridaagenda

BY RICHARD HACK

– YAHYA JAMMEH

suggested that his own special mix of herbs and bananas could cure HIV/AIDS and other diseases. “I can treat asthma and HIV/AIDS. Within three days, the person should be tested again and I can tell you that he/she will be negative,” the BBC quoted him as saying. He went on: “I am not a witch doctor and, in fact, you cannot have a witch doctor. You are either a witch or a doctor.” A bizarre 2010 article in a pro-government newspaper claimed he had won four awards, including receiving two prizes from President Barack Obama, including a the non-existant “Platinum Award.” Another prize in the trophy haul: The Admiralship of the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska. This does exist, despite land-locked Nebraska’s geographic unsuitability. It’s an honour usually conferred upon Nebraskans “who have shown outstanding citizenship”. Jammeh, of course, is not a Nebraskan.

by military defectors, and was so poorly planned that Jammeh was not even at home at the time. Yet much in this African country is often found to be preposterous by standards set by the rest of the world. Jammeh has ruled Gambia since coming to power in a coup in 1994 and is considered to be one of Africa’s most eccentric dictators--a modern-day “Papa Doc” Duvalier. Aspects of his reign over this tiny, West African state – which is surrounded entirely by Senegal, save for a thin coastal strip popular with British tourists – would be funny, were it not for the harsh reality of his tyranny. Critics have long accused Jammeh of intimidating, and sometimes killing, dissidents, particularly students and journalists. Elections, such as they are, are considered shams. Being gay is newly punishable by life imprisonment in Gambia, this after the president signed a bill last December that used near-identical language to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, according to Associated Press. The legislation suggests that “aggravated homosexuality” applies to “serial offenders” as well as people living with HIV or AIDS. Amnesty International says the bill will add to “the climate of fear” facing gay people in Gambia. Jammeh has previously labeled homosexuals as “vermin” and the gays are one of the biggest threats to humanity in the world. In 2007, at a gathering of diplomats, Jammeh

January 14, 2015

ANJUL, GM — His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh Naasiru Deen Babili Mansa is at it again. The president of Gambia gave a speech last Saturday in which he stated that homosexuals are part of an “evil empire” and will doom the world. During his speech, delivered in Banjul to his military, the president said, “Let me make it very clear that if they think that they can be homosexuals and want to impose homosexuality on the globe, they are doomed.” The story was reported on the website Gambia Affairs. “All the religious books condemn homosexuality and there is a so-called power of democracy that says that homosexuality is a right,” he added. “All empires before collapsed not at the time they were weakest, but at the peak of their might and when they equated themselves with the Almighty Allah. So this evil empire of homosexuals will also go down the dirty drain and garbage of hell. “They say I am intolerant, and that homosexuals are a minority that is being oppressed in this country. Let me warn those countries that think they are powers. They may be evil powers, but the Gambia is a righteous power protected by God. We will prevail by the grace of the Almighty Allah. “All forces of evil that have bad intention towards the Gambia will perish. We will not change our way of life.” Last December 30, two American citizens attempted to oust Jammeh from power with an assault on the president’s house. It was unsupported

January 14, 2015

14 /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

16 /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

INTERIOR STAGING & DESIGN

floridaagenda.com

Boater's paradise! Totally reconstructed Stellar Home! On the water with NO FIXED BRIDGES!! No details spared. Majestic maple wood kitchen with granite counters and top of the line appliances. Huge master bedroom with sitting area and large walk-in closet! Very open and flexible floor plan. 2 bedrooms downstairs and 3 upstairs. Gorgeous marble floors in living areas and wood in bedrooms. Terrific outdoor living featuring a sparkling pool, a lovely deck and superb dock. House undergoing final stages of renovation. Professionally staged by Florida Stage Hands and Design. Contact Jerry Lechter at Stellar Homes, 954-671-1400. Offered at $1,375,000

/floridaagenda

ELEGANT WATERFRONT ESTATE at 2830 NE 48th St, Lighthouse Point

/floridaagenda

FLORIDA STAGE HANDS

AMAZING INTRACOASTAL RESIDENCE at 2800 East Sunrise Blvd #14E, Ft Lauderdale Designer's 2 bed/2 bath turn-key residence. Panoramic views of intracoastal, ocean, downtown skyline, CR yacht club. 2 units per floor with semi-private elevator. Quality renovation includes marble, granite, slate, quartz & coral finishes. Floor to ceiling walls of impact glass. Porcelain floors in living areas, driftwood plank in bedrooms. Custom lighting, cabinetry, built-ins, & plantation shutters. 24hr security, rooftop pool, gym, club room, garage. Walk to beach & galleria. Incomparable!! Interior Design by Florida Stage Hands and Design. Contact Robert MacKilligan at Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s One, 954.234.8759. Offered at $555,000.

FLORIDA STAGE HANDS INTERIOR STAGING & DESIGN

January 14, 2015

Rich Palmiere, Director of Staging 1438 NE 26th Street Wilton Manors, FL 33305 phone 954.530.6155 www.floridastagehands.com showroom hours Mon-Sunday 12-6pm

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

NOW OPEN

Blooms

Indoor & Outdoor Gardening Supplies Hydroponics

Horticulture

/floridaagenda

We carry a wide variety of products such as: Premium Organic Soils Non- GMO Heirloom Seeds Wide Variety of Nutrients and Fertilizers Indoor Lighting Equipment Seed Starting Irrigation, Pumps, and Sprayers Potting Containers Air and Water Filters

Organic

Check us out on:

Or stop by our store: Monday -Friday 10:30am -6:30pm Saturday 10am - 4:00pm Sunday Closed

Sunlight Supply, Inc Preferred Retailer

GROW SOMETHING WITH ELECTRIC BLOOMS!

January 14, 2015

1021 NE 45th Street Oakland Park, FL 33334 954-541-2210 www.electricbloomshydro.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

20 /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

22 /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

1) ALIBI 2266 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

18) NEW YORK GRILLED CHEESE 2207 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

17) NAKED GRAPE 2163 Wilton Drive Wilton manors

BAR MAP

2) BILL’S FILLING STATION 2209 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

19) PJ’S CORNER POCKET 2340 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

22) ROSIE’S BAR & GRILL 2449 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

21) RAMROD 1508 NE 4th Ave Fort Lauderdale

20) PROGRESS 2440 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

3) BOARDWALK 1721 N Andrews Ave Fort Lauderdale 4) CORNER PUB 1915 N Andrews Ave Wilton Manors 5) CUBBY HOLE 823 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale 6) DAPUR 1620 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale 7) GREGARIOUS 2033 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

9) INFINITY LOUNGE 2184 WIlton Drive Wilton Manors

25) SCARFONE’S 2150 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

24) SCANDALS SALOON 3073 NE 6th Ave Wilton Manors

23) RUMORS BAR & GRILL 2426 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

10) JMARK’S 1245 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale

26) SIDELINES 2031 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

8) HUNTERS NIGHTCLUIB 2232 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

11) LE BOY 1243 NE 11th Ave Fort Lauderdale

27) SMARTY PANTS 2400 E Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale

January 14, 2015

31) VILLAGE PUB 2283 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

30) TROPICS 2000 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

29) 13 I Even 2037 Wilton Dr Wilton Manors

28) THE STABLE 205 E Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale

12) LE PATIO 2401 NE 11th Ave Wilton Manors 13) LIPS 1421 E Oakland Park Blvd Oakland Park 14) THE MANOR 2345 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors 15) MONA’S 502 E Sunrise Blvd Fort Lauderdale 16) MONKEY BUSINESS 2740 N Andrews Ave Fort Lauderdale /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

floridaagenda.com

Health Insurance Exchange Now Active With Subsidies Available

/floridaagenda

I will BEAT your current rate with same or better coverage 9 out of 10 times!



As low as 3-4 dollars a day for full health coverage, with prescription, vision and 0 dollar co-pay dental.



Health insurance will be mandatory in 2014, subject to tax penalty to go without.

 

Zero co-pay for physical, lab, EKG, colon/prostate screening

/floridaagenda



If you are turning 65, on disability, special needs or want to switch plans you may be eligible for a ZERO premium medicare advantage plan, AEP starts Oct 15th. Licensed Since 2006 Pre-existing conditions covered under healthcare reform with NO MORE RATE UPS!



Hormone and testosterone therapy covered on some health plans with a $15 co-pay for prescriptions



Life insurance Plans and Dog/Cat insurance plans also available

Call, Email or Text me for a free quote, no obligation what so ever!

Alexander H. Vorgias www.southflhealthexchange.com Direct 954-529-5564 wilton.health.exchange@gmail.com

PAUL SLUTSKY

WOOF! NEW ALPHA PUP MASKS

REALTOR®

BUY•SELL•RENT

PUT ME TO WORK FOR YOU 1226 NE 4th AVE FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33304 954.761.1236

CALL OR TEXT ME NOW

LEATHERWERKS.COM

(954) 560-8330

paul@castellihomes.com www.paulslutsky.com

The Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation

IN K

ERE

NCE ONE

LIF

January 14, 2015

provides complimentary Health and Wellness services to financially challenged people living with HIV/AIDS and offers a global LGBT athletic mentoring program for amateur and professional athletes ranging from grade school to the professional ranks.

A 501(c)3 organization providing services to financially challenged people living with HIV/AIDS in Fort Lauderdale

2435 North Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

BRIANNEALFITNESS.ORG

Copyright © 2014 The Werks Company, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Werks, LeatherWerks, PaddleWerks, Lifestyle Club, BootWerks and “Where Leather is a Lifestyle” are Registered Trademarks of The Werks Company, LLC

TAMPA/ST. PETE

BY PATRICK ROBERT

Of Mice and Men

floridaagenda.com

3 9

Even if still not quite as popular as the classic John Steinbeck novel of the same name, Of Mice and Men continues to rise in success. The metalcore back from California is, after all, performing in Orlando with Linkin Park. A day after that performance, they take the stage in St. Petersburg, Their music style is somewhat reminiscent of bands like Deftones and Slipknot. Their best charting single is “You’re Not Alone.” 7:00 p.m. State Theatre. 687 Central Ave. St. Petersburg. 33701.

/floridaagenda

1/16

/floridaagenda

THE WEEK

1/17 8

Monster Jam

BAR MAP 1) BAXTER’S LOUNGE South Tampa 1519 S Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, Fl 813-258-8330

3) BRADLEY’S ON 7TH 1510 E. 7th Ave, Ybor City, Tampa,FL 813-241-2723

5) CITY SIDE LOUNGE South Tampa 3703 Henderson Blvd, Tampa, FL 813-350-0600

7) G-BAR Ybor City 1401 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605 813-247-1016

2) BODY SHOP North Tampa 14905 North Nebraska Ave., Tampa, FL 813-971-3576

4) THE CASTLE Ybor City 2004 N 16th St, Tampa, FL 813-247-7547

6) ENIGMA 1110 Central Ave, Saint Petersburg, FL 727-235-0867

8) GEORGIE’S ALIBI 3100 3rd Ave N, Saint Petersburg, FL 727-321-2112

9) THE HONEY POT Ybor City 1507 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605 813-247-4663

Watching demolition is somehow a primal and viscerally exhilarating experience, as can be seen by the longevity of Monster Jam spectacles. Here, giant customdesigned trucks crush over lesser cars and school buses in a bizarre yet strangely fascinating competition. Come watch all the brightly painted, monster trucks destroy tiny, blandly painted cars and vicariously release your inner road rage. 7:00 p.m. Raymond James Stadium. 4201 N. Dale Mabry Highway. Tampa. 33607.

1/18

Russell Peters

www.FloridaAgenda.com

January 14, 2015 27

Canadian comedian and actor Russell Peters won a Gemini Award in 2008. He sold out the Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, selling more than 16,000 tickets in two days. His debut comedy album Outsourced aired on Comedy Central and became a popular DVD, especially in his home country. His most famous role yet may be in the notoriously bad 2014 Christmas movie Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever. He played Santa. 7:30 p.m. Carol Morsani Hall at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts. 1010 N. Macinnes Place. Tampa. 33602.

floridaagenda.com /floridaagenda

Appropriate Behavior

A Brooklyn hipster in training, Shirin finds another living situation with roommates and is hired by druggy Ken (Scott Adsit) to run an after-school filmmaking class for kids. Adding insult to injury, the kids are much younger than the inexperienced Shirin expected. At the (broken) heart of all of it is that Shirin is far from being over Maxine. Through flashbacks, we see their relationship from its clever and comedic commencement to its ugly and cruel end. Beginning with discovering that they have a “hatred of things in common,” as well as being the “same kind of stoned person,” the pair deals with the “dating-an-immigrant experience,” “playing the Persian card,” and the (unexpected) fluidity of both women’s sexuality. The writing is consistently hilarious and darkly sexy. The therapy session in the lingerie store and the post-break-up scene where the women run into each other (and their new lovers) owe a debt to Woody Allen. Coming off (and out) like an Iranian Sarah Silverman, Akhavan’s feature length film debut

Selma is a triumph, despite an open-ended finale that feels like a bit of a copout. But that’s really the only complaint, and it’s a minor one.

irected by Ava DuVernay, Selma (Paramount) is one of several biopics (see also The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Wild, Get On Up and even Big Eyes, to name a few), playing in theaters as the year changed from 2014 into early 2015. Beginning in the turbulent early-to-mid 1960s, around the time of the Baptist church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, as well as Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) receiving his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, Selma focuses on the historic 1965 Alabama march for civil rights, from Selma to Montgomery. Challenges to King’s man of peace status threaten to disrupt his role as an activist, as well as his home life. Constantly butting heads with President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), who was more concerned with the Vietnam war, and under the watchful (and ruthless) eye of the FBI, led by notorious closet case J. Edgar

COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT

ne of the best comedies on the 2014 LGBT film festival circuit, Appropriate Behavior (Parkville Pictures), opening Jan. 16 in South Florida, begs the question, “Why can’t all lesbian comedies be this witty, smart and sexy?” Writer/director/actress Desiree Akhavan has made a queer film that, like Ira Sachs’ Love Is Strange, will appeal to audiences from every demographic. Appropriate Behavior begins with a break-up. Shirin (Akhavan) and Maxine (Rebecca Henderson), victims of lesbian bed-death, among other things, have called it quits and Shirin is moving out. High on the list of other things is Shirin’s hesitance to come out to her Persian immigrant mother and father (Anh Duong and Hooman Majd, respectively). Making matters worse is that Shirin, who has a Masters Degree in journalism, isn’t making much of her professional life while competitive and overachieving older brother Ali (Adrian Moayed) and his fiancée Layli (Justine Cotsonas) are taking the medical world by storm.

COURTESY OF APPRORIATEBEHAVIORMOVIE.COM

January 14, 2015

SCREEN SAVOR

JANUARY JEWELS

/floridaagenda

BY GREGG SHAPIRO

Hoover (Dylan Baker), King’s priority is to secure unobstructed voting rights, particularly in the South. But racist Alabama governor George Wallace (Tim Roth) makes it his business to see King fail. King surrounded himself with people from all walks of life dedicated to the cause. Among them was Ralph Abernathy (openly gay actor Colman Domingo), Andrew Young (André Holland), John Lewis (Stephan James), James Bevel (Common), Hosea Williams (Wendell Pierce), openly gay activist and strategist Bayard Rustin (Ruben Santiago-Hudson), as well as his devoted wife Coretta (Carmen Ejogo), and countless others. King not only had to overcome the ingrained and undisguised racism of the deep south of the early 1960s, but also the brutal and relentless violence. To its credit, Selma doesn’t shy away from presenting the bloodshed and death onscreen. At a time when issues of race and violence (see Ferguson, Missouri) and civil rights (see same sex marriage in Florida) continue to make headline news, Selma is sure to resonate with audiences.

/floridaagenda /floridaagenda floridaagenda.com

2 4

1/16

The Cocktail Hour: Music of the Mad Men Era

and offers a global LGBT athletic N C E O N E mentoring program for LIF ERE FF E DI amateur and professional athletes Aranging from grade T A G school to the professional ranks.

Diane Schuur

ERE

NCE ONE

LIF

T TI

A 501(c)3 organization providing services to financially challenged people living with HIV/AIDS in Fort Lauderdale

2435 North Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 A 501(c)3 organization providing services to financially challenged people living with HIV/AIDS in Fort Lauderdale

January 14, 2015

Two-time Grammy Award winner Diane Schuur is an American jazz singer and pianist who has headlined at two of the world’s most prestigious venues, Carnegie Hall and The White House. Born blind and nicknamed “Deedles,” Schuur has been in the business since the early 1980s—the time period that she won her two Grammys. Some of her albums include Timeless, Friends for Schuur, and Schuur Fire. Tonight, she brings her gifts to the Ritz. 8:00 p.m. Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum. 829 N. Davis St. Jacksonville. 32202.

2435 North Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 BRIANNEALFITNESS.ORG

BRIANNEALFITNESS.ORG

A young Beyonce Knowles once played the love interest to R&B singer and songwriter Case back in the late 1990s. Since

The Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation

Case

provides complimentary Health and Wellness services to financially challenged people living with HIV/AIDS and offers a global LGBT athletic mentoring program for amateur andcomplimentary professionalHealth athletes grade provides andranging Wellnessfrom services to financially challenged people livingranks. with HIV/AIDS school to the professional

1/16

1/17

The Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation

As the final season of one of the most acclaimed shows of all time, Mad Men, arrives, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra will be paying homage to both the show’s legacy and the music from its era. Steven Reineke will be conducting this musical cocktail that includes songs from Paul Anka, Brenda Lee, and Ben E. King. Special appearances from guest vocalists Ryan Silverman and Nikki Renee will complete the evening. 8:00 p.m. Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. 300 Water St. Jacksonville. 32202.

5) PARK PLACE Downtown 931 King St , Jacksonville, FL

BY PATRICK ROBERT

that time, her career has skyrocketed while Case continues to write sultry R&B songs. The Grammy-nominated singer began his career singing background vocals for artists such as Usher, Christopher Williams, and Al B. Sure. Soon Russell Simmons launched Case’s solo career by signing him to Def Jam Records. His sophomore album Personal Conversation was his most popular; it included the song “Happily Ever After.” 8:00 p.m. Ritz Theatre and LaVilla Museum. 829 N. Davis St. Jacksvonille. 32202.

4) THE NEW BOOT RACK SALOON Downtown 4751 Lenox Ave , Jacksonville, FL

JACKSONVILLE

3) THE METRO Downtown 849 Willow Branch Ave , Jacksonville, FL

THE WEEK

2) IN CAHOOTS Downtown 711 Edison Ave , Jacksonville, FL

1) BO’S CORAL REEF Arlington 201 N. 5th Ave. , Jacksonville Beach, FL

BAR MAP

floridaagenda.com /floridaagenda /floridaagenda

BY RICK KARLIN

TRAVEL

WHAT’S HOT IN 2015?

t the beginning of each year, industries look to see what’s going to be hot in the near future. When it comes to travel, you want to be on the front end of the trend, before places become over-run with tourists and prices get jacked up. These three locales are on the cusp of transforming into GLBT vacation meccas.

January 14, 2015

President Obama’s announcement that the U.S. will begin to normalize relations with Cuba could lead to a rush of travelers hoping to experience the island before it becomes yet another destination overrun with chain stores and big corporate hotels. At this time, the only way you can legally visit Cuba as an American citizen is to take a “people to people” cultural exchange tour licensed by the U.S. government. Those tours tend to be expensive with limited itineraries. You can get around that by flying to Cuba from another country in the Caribbean or Mexico. There are a number of tour companies specializing in trips to Cuba. Out Adventures (www.out-adventures.com) offers weeklong packages and Cuba Select Travel (www.cubaselecttravel.com) is a British tour company, based in Havana, providing travel and tour arrangements in Cuba. Purple Roofs (www. purpleroofs.com), the organization of gay-owned and gay friendly accommodations, has a number of listings in small B&Bs and inns. Accommodations and services in Cuba are basic to say the least, so don’t go expecting luxury. Life for GLBT people has improved, thanks in part to Mariela Castro, daughter of current president Raul Castro and niece of Fidel. However, public displays of affection are frowned upon in this region among all travelers, so discretion is the key. While there is still a significant underground gay scene, Havana in particular has become more open with hundreds of gay men hanging out by the seawall at Malecon and 23rd. Bars and clubs are mixed,

The Great Theatre of Havana

but many are predominantly gay at least one night a week. The exact nights and places change, so talk to locals for the best information.

(Via Sammartini 25, 39 2 3651 9232), a dance club that has been a fixture for more than 40 years, and L’elephant (Via Melzo 22, 39 2 2951 8768), one of the city’s most popular clubs with Milan drag shows, dining and “Bing-Gay.” The Milan Expo (www.expo2015. Depot Milano (Via dei Valtorta 19, org) opens in May and during its six 39 2 2897 0999) is a leather bar, while month run it is expected to draw 20 Company Club (Via Privata Benadir million visitors. In addition, Milan’s 14, 39 2 287 0295), is popular with famous opera house, La Scala, normally bears, chubs and their admirers. closed in the summer, will host performances daily during the Expo. So, The Catskills, NY while it’s not a new destination, it will In the ‘50s and early ’60,s the Catskills draw more visitors to the finance center was the summer vacation spot for and fashion capitol of Italy. Jewish New Yorkers, and in the ‘70s The gay scene in Milan is vibrant, hippies took over (Woodstock isn’t that and there are gorgeous men everyfar away). However, if your only referwhere--many of them not models! ences for the Catskills are the movie Signs of affection such as holding “Dirty Dancing” and “Woodstock” you hands, hugging in the street and kissare way behind the times. After a failed ing cheek to cheek are perfectly accept- attempt to make it a Vegas style casino able. Via Sammartini has a few gay area, it has become the spot for hip travbars, a gay sauna and a sex shop, but elers looking for a quick escape. Since otherwise the community is scattered the legalization of gay marriage in New throughout the city. To enter many York, it has also become a popular spot adult GLBT venues, you’ll need an for same sex couples to tie the knot. Arcigay UNO Club Card. The card is One of the most popular towns for available from any participating venue the GLBT community is Roxbury. for ¤8 with a photo ID. Among some In 2004, a gay couple, Greg Henderof the more popular clubs are; Afterline son and Joseph Massa, renovated the

PHOTO BY MULLOUGH MACMONICAN

Cuba

Roxbury Motel (2258 County Rd. 41, 607-326-7200, www.theroxburymotel. com) and have recently added nine new suites, each paying tribute to popular 60s and 70s TV shows and movie. The motel led to more development, such as Public (2318 County Rd. 41, 607-326-4026, www.publicrestaurant-roxbury.com) a lesbian-owned farm-to-table restaurant. Don’t plan late nights, as most of Roxbury rolls up the sidewalks by 10 p.m. However, there’s plenty to do during the day. Hike at Kaaterskill Falls, sun at the man-made beach or ride the highest zip-line in North America. Visit nearby trés gay Sullivan County (70% of the businesses in Narrowsburg Village are gay owned), home to the site of the legendary Woodstock Music Festival. Gay life is vibrant in the area, just not bar and club oriented. To find out what’s happening when you plan to visit, go to www.outinthecatskills.com, www. biggayhudsonvalley.com or the web site for the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center (www.lgbtqcenter.org). In the next two columns, we’ll be taking a look at some other up-andcoming vacation spots that might not be on your radar.

MIAMI/ MIAMI BEACH

1/16 Grammy Award winner Art Garfunkel is best known for being one half of folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. His hit songs have included such classics as “Mrs. Robinson,” “Sound of Silence,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” His solo albums have included Some Enchanted Evening, Scissors Cut, and Watermark. 8:00 p.m. Aventura Arts Cultural Center. 3385 Northeast 188th St. Aventura. 33180.

floridaagenda.com

Art Garfunkel

/floridaagenda

BY PATRICK ROBERT

/floridaagenda

THE WEEK

1/17

Well Strung MIAMI 1) CLUB AZUCAR 2301 SW 32nd Ave

6) EROS LOUNGE 8201 Biscayne Blvd

2) CLUB BOI 1060 NE 79th St

7) FLOPPY ROOSTER 7018 NW 72nd Ave

3) CLUB SPACE 34 N.E. 11th Street

8) HOUSE 1915 NW Miami CT

4) DISCOTEKKA | MEKKA MIAMI 950 NE 2nd Ave

9) JAMBOREE 7005 Biscayne Blvd

5) DUGOUT SPORTS BAR 3215 NE 2nd Ave

10) MAGNUM LOUNGE 709 NE 79th St 11) CLUB AZUCAR 2301 SW 32nd Ave

MIAMI BEACH 12) CAMEO 1445 Washington Ave

15) PALACE BAR 1200 Ocean Dr

13) KILL YOUR IDOL 222 Espanola way

16) SCORE 1437 Washington Ave.

14) MANSION NIGHTCLUB 1235 Washington Ave

17) THE CABARET 233 12th St 18) TWIST 1057 Washington Ave

This very attractive all-male string quartet has played across gayborhoods in America, including a few stints in Provincetown. The beefy classical musicians sing and also do their own renditions of popular Mozart, Vivaldi, Rihanna, Adele, and Lady Gaga songs. Tonight, they will be performing and making audiences drool in South Miami. 7:30 p.m. South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center. 10950 SW 211th St. Cutler Bay. 33189.

1/19

Ben Howard

January 14, 2015

English singer-songwriter Ben Howard’s career has been steadily climbing since he released his first major studio album in 2011, Every Kingdom. That album was nominated for the highly prestigious 2012 Mercury Prize. 2014 brought Ben Howard’s next studio album, I Forget Where We Were. He is very popular in his native England for both his swoon-inducing lyrics and his pretty-boy looks. A five-piece band will back up his vocal chops. 8:00 p.m. The Fillmore Miami Beach. 1700 Washington Ave. Miami Beach. 33139.

floridaagenda.com /floridaagenda /floridaagenda

14-DAY QUICKSTART

Start 2015 with a proven, 14-day diet and exercise plan to cleanse your body and burn fat quickly! Follow this step-by-step detox program, built around a daily detoxifying tea you make at home, and watch the pounds melt away! Join the Push Fitness Body Transformation Challenge, lose weight, get ﬁt, feel amazing and qualify to win $1000 in cash, prizes and 6 months of ﬁtness coaching! SIGN UP ONLINE NOW OR CALL 954-530-4304!

DETAILS, RULES and REGISTRATION ONLINE AT

www.PushFitnessFTL.com

LIMITED TIME SPECIALS!

PERSONAL TRAINING try 5 sessions for $199 UNLIMITED GROUP PERSONAL TRAINING as low as $99 14-DAY DETOX & RAPID FAT LOSS as low as $49

OUR UPSCALE, 4000 SQ. FT. PRIVATE TRAINING FACILITY IS LOCATED AT:

January 14, 2015

Public Displays About Private Parts

DETOX & RAPID FAT LOSS GET FIT & WIN $1000!

for $199

PUZZLE

1098 NE 45th St (Floranada Rd.) Oakland Park, FL 33334

You can do this! Call 954-530-4304

ACROSS 1 Figure out in your head 5 Big Peter Benchley book 9 Hung loosely 15 Otello villain 16 Body of soldiers 17 Composer Debussy 18 With 22-Across, public display about a private part 20 Astronaut Buzz 21 Shakespearean forest 22 See 18-Across 24 Strides easily 26 Circumcision, for one 27 15-Across was passed over for him 30 Coin of the land of Omar Shariff, Jr. 33 Toothpaste box letters 34 Cry before 37-Across? 37 Finish oral pleasuring 39 Yewell, who wrote 40-, 56-Across 40 With 56-Across, public display about a private part 43 Dick Button’s milieu 44 Isle of exile in Brando’s Desiree 46 Highest point 47 Evita narrator 48 Hoopla 51 Keeps a breast of infant care?

3 Spelling of TV 5 54 It can cut leaves of grass 56 See 40-Across 60 Board that inspired James Merrill 64 Peace offering 65 Writer of 18-, 22-Across 67 Art that’s usually hung well? 68 Bannon’s Odd ___ Out 69 Morales of` Jericho 70 Some Stein pieces 71 Kind of dunk, to Sue Wicks 72 Dune material DOWN 1 Greek meat container, perhaps 2 Cowardly Lion portrayer 3 Like sharp cheese 4 Giovanni’s Room and others 5 Moonshine holder, for Gomer 6 Gay porn type 7 Tipplers 8 Gay-dog owner of South Park 9 Reagan Court appointee 10 Puts out 11 Inspector’s gizmos in a Rupert Everett flick 12 Wise guy 13 Nurse Jackie star Falco

4 Pride places 1 19 Rub some oil on 23 Set straight 25 Honeypot lover 27 Blanchett of Blue Jasmine 28 Brewmaster Coors 29 Rio step 30 Ready for surgery 31 Iliad and Odyssey 32 Wealthy, to Mauresmo 35 System that can make it seem like more inches 36 A Beautiful Mind director’s TV role 38 Ball-bearing items 41 Actress Skye 42 Encourage 45 Willa Cather character 49 How to fondle? 50 Becomes erect 52 Gets more mileage out of 54 Horny guy? 55 Former NFL player Tuaolo 56 Shot a load 57 Med. care grps. 58 Stonewall Jackson et al. 59 Staying power, in Variety 61 Rick’s old flame 62 Tennis champ Billie ___ King 63 Dry as a bone 66 One limbs spread wide For the solution to this puzzle, go to www.floridaagend.com/puzzle

ORLANDO BY PATRICK ROBERT

Linkin Park

3 10 8 7 11 4

BAR MAP 1) BARCODES 4453 Edgewater Dr, Orlando, FL 407-412-6917 2) BAR LOUIE 7335 West Sand Lake Road, Orlando, FL 407-608-5190

3) CLUB 369 ORLANDO 369 North Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 407-977-2997 4) COLD KEG NIGHTCLUB 4060 W. New Haven, Melbourne, FL 321-724-1510

5) HANKS 5026 Edgewater Dr, Orlando, FL 407-291-2399

7) PULSE 1912 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 407-649-3888

6) PARLIAMENT HOUSE 410 N Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 407-425-7571

8) SOUTHERN NIGHTS 375 S Bumby Ave, Orlando, FL 407-412-5039 9) SAVOY 1913 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL 407-898-6766

10) STONEWALL 741 W Church St , Orlando, FL 407-373-0888 11) THE ULTRA LOUNGE 407 Brevard Ave, Cocoa, FL 321-690-0096

Linkin Park’s debut album Hybrid Theory catapulted the Californians to international fame and success. The hard rocking band is considered one of the most popular bands of the new millennium. Their newest album Hunting Party continues melding nu metal with rap metal yet with a heavy rock sound. They will be performing with Of Mice and Men and Rise Against. 7:00 p.m. Amway Center. 400 W Church St. Orlando. 32801.

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

1/15

/floridaagenda

THE WEEK

1/16

Of Montreal American rock band Of Montreal has evolved in their musical style from psychedelic pop to a mixture of electronica, funk, glam, and afrobeat. They have maintained an interesting sound heralded by critics for years. Some of their more famous albums include False Priest, Satanic Panic in the Attic, Lousy With Sylvianbriar, and Skeletal Lamping. Their newest album Aureate Gloom is expected in March. 8:00 p.m. The Social. 54 N Orange Ave. Orlando. 32801.

1/17

Jerry Seinfeld

January 14, 2015

The king of observational humor takes a break from enjoying his millions earned from Seinfeld’s syndication in order to tell jokes at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Seinfeld’s 1990s eponymous sitcom catapulted his humorous take on life’s little peculiarities to the masses— something that allowed him to become one of the most famous comedians in the world. 7:00 p.m. Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts 445 South Magnolia Ave. Orlando. 32801.

floridaagenda.com /floridaagenda /floridaagenda

BY PETER JACKSON, CPT

ASK THE FITNESS MAN

Why We Must Change the Way We Eat This is the FIFTH in a series of interviews with Fort Lauderdale health, fitness and medical experts on topics pertinent to the LGBTQ community. We welcome your feedback!

Fort Lauderdale’s Melissa Binkley is a nutrition expert, certified Holistic Health and Transformation Coach, and an inspirational speaker. Melissa is a graduate of The Ohio State University as well as The Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a curMelissa Binkley rent student at HolisticMBA. Her web site, www.MelissaBinkley.com, was ranked one of the top 50 Health Coach Sites for 2013 by the Institute for Psychology of Eating. She has been featured nationwide on several radio shows and is a WEGO Health Activist Nominee and Runner-up. Known for her ability to transcend limiting beliefs, she uses several techniques that fuse science, whole brain learning, personal development, and the quantum field.

January 14, 2015

HEALTH

JACKSON: The population of the United States of America now holds the record for being the most overweight on earth. How do you explain this? BINKLEY: Where do I begin? The first culprit is the food system in the United States. The FDA and the USDA are broken systems. We have numerous food additives and ingredients that are approved for consumption in the USA that are banned in countries all over the world, all proven to cause diseases and obesity. People buy food in boxes and bags full of these toxic ingredients instead of buying whole, real food. Dairy and meats are chock full of antibiotics and hormones that are wrecking our own hormone systems and causing children to mature younger and quicker. Sugar! People in the U.S. consume 150 to 175 pounds of sugar per year. In other words, people are consuming half a cup of sugar a day and most aren’t even aware of it. Fast Food & Slow Movement. Many Americans sit all day in cars,

at work or in front of the TV and they have slowed their movement. Not only do they NOT exercise, they are sedentary and the only thing fast in their lives is fast food! Fast food is not real food! We have forgotten how to use our stoves! The microwave and restaurants are the allies to our increasing waistlines. Last, but not least, are GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms or foods), fat-free products, and artificial sugars. JACKSON: There is a widespread misconception about fat content in our diet. Do fatty foods actually make us fat? BINKLEY: No! Actually quite the opposite, fats will curb your cravings and keep you lean and healthy. The fat-free fad that gripped nutrition fanatics has given all fats a bad rap, especially saturated fats. Clients that I work with that have sugar and carb cravings are always deficient and lacking enough fat in their diet. Fats play many important roles in the body: they provide integrity to

the cell wall, promote the body’s use of essential fatty acids, enhance the immune system, protect the liver and contribute to strong bones. They are essential to brain function and for your hormones. JACKSON: What is the daily balance between Carbohydrates, Proteins and Fats that you generally recommend for a healthy adult? BINKLEY: This is a tricky question! I don’t recommend a specific balance of protein, fats, and carbs to my clients. In my course, The 28 Day Secret: Health & Hormone Intensive, I teach intuitive eating and how to tap into your body’s specific needs. This is a much better way to gauge what each person needs in their specific diet. I used to have people ask for a diet plan they could follow and always discovered that eventually the “plan” would fail or they would fail. This “failure” resulted from trying to do what works for someone else and not for themselves. Each person has a unique genetic makeup. Factors such as environment and lifestyle play a major role in determining a person’s dietary needs. For example, I eat a very high fat diet of nearly 40%, and lower carbs of 20 to 30% – that works efficiently for me. I feel great, stay lean and healthy. I know clients that would feel bogged down and sluggish with that much fat, but their bodies can handle 50% to 60% carbs. That many carbs would send me into a tail spin! I recommend each person take the time to get to know their bodies and what works for them. This process is easier than it sounds and it will allow you to stay at your perfect level without every dieting or needing a plan. Once you can understand daily what your body is telling you it needs, you can create your own

plan and menus and never have to worry about the daily balance. JACKSON: Many people try to shed weight by embarking on low-calorie diets, basically not eating. Why does this strategy not work? BINKLEY: I don’t believe in diets. The first three letters of the word diet are DIE. As a former fitness and figure competitor, I quickly learned that a calorie-restricted diet was the fastest way to put my whole system out of whack and destroy my body. Of course a low-calorie diet works in the beginning – anything new will work in the beginning – but eventually the body no longer responds and goes into starvation mode. Once your body hits this stage only two things can happen: You will “fall off the wagon” and immediately go back to where you were and gain back more weight than you originally had in the first place. You feel like a “failure” and begin the cycle again; OR You will continue on the restrictive diet for years and eventually you notice that “nothing works.” No matter how little you eat or how much exercise you do, you will slowly gain weight and feel like there must be something wrong with you. I personally hate the “health” and “fitness” magazines that all discuss these low-calorie diets 1,200 for women and 1,500 for men that are truly dangerous. I don’t count calories but if I had to guess I eat over 2,500 a day and more when I exercise!

Agenda health and fitness contributing editor PETER JACKSON is the owner of Push Fitness and Club One CrossFit and Inner G Yoga, all located in Oakland Park. He welcomes your questions and comments at Info@ PushFitnessFTL.com.

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

36 /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015

38 /floridaagenda

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

/floridaagenda

floridaagenda.com

January 14, 2015