Agenda 042215 issue 283 by Multi-Media Platforms

SAME-SEX PARENTS TO CREATE BABIES FROM SKIN CELLS WITHIN TWO YEARS

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NATION

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April 22, 2015

IBM Comes Out Swinging Against N. Carolina Religious Rights Bill RALEIGH (AP) - Technology giant IBM’s top North Carolina executive has told state lawmakers and Gov. Pat McCrory that the corporation strongly opposes proposed legislation supporters say protects religious convictions and opponents worry allows discrimination against gays and lesbians. IBM, which employs thousands at its Research Triangle Park campus and more statewide, opposes the state Religious Freedom Restoration Act because it would enable discrimination based on sexual identity, executive Robert Greenberg said in a letter to McCrory posted on the company’s website. “IBM is opposed to discrimination against anyone on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation or religion. We urge you to work with the Legislature to ensure that any legislation in this area is not discriminatory,” Greenberg wrote. McCrory spokesman Josh Ellis did not respond to requests for comment. The governor last month expressed skepticism of the Legislature’s “religious freedom” bill. “What is the problem they’re trying to solve?” he asked during a radio interview, adding “I haven’t seen it at this point in time.” Supporters of the legislation say it would protect business owners or individuals against laws requiring

them to act in ways counter to their religious beliefs. Opponents say the measure would amount to legalizing discrimination against gays and lesbians. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed similar legislation into law last month, prompting businesses and other organizations to cancel plans to travel to the state or expand operations there. Wal-Mart executives spoke out against a religious freedom law in the retailer’s home state of Arkansas. IBM executives this week sent Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal a similar letter signaling their “strong” opposition to a religious objections bill, saying the company will find it much harder to attract talent to Louisiana. IBM’s Research Triangle Park complex is one of the company’s largest sites worldwide, but the company will not discuss employment figures. IBM’s decision to move there 50 years ago cemented the RTP as a national research hub. NC Values Coalition executive director Tami Fitzgerald said the information technology giant is spreading misinformation about the proposed law’s effect. “The truth is that the religious freedom law will protect the freedoms of all North Carolinians to live and work according to their beliefs,” said Fitzgerald, a chief proponent of a May 2012 constitutional referendum barring recognition of gay marriage. “At least IBM is now on the record opposing a law that simply gives freedom a fair hearing in court, so anyone who chooses to do business

with them will know that they are supporting an anti-freedom company.” The company declined to respond to Fitzgerald’s statement, IBM spokesman Adam Pratt said in an email. Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Raleighbased software company Red Hat, issued a statement earlier this month backing diversity and inclusion. “We cannot see any economic benefit from divisive legislation,” he wrote. Equality NC, an advocacy group for gay and lesbian rights, said IBM’s decision to speak against the religious freedom legislation was in line with comments by Apple, American Airlines and others against similar legislation elsewhere. “We hope that Gov. McCrory will continue to oppose RFRA measures and veto anything that comes across his desk along these lines,” executive director Chris Sgro said in an email.

Intersex Surgeries Spark Move Away From Drastic Treatment

CHICAGO (AP) - She was born to a young Chicago couple, named Jennifer, and grew into a beautiful longlashed child with wavy dark hair, big brown eyes and a yearning, youthful desire to be just like all the other girls. Only she wasn’t. Doctors first noticed her slightly enlarged genitals, and then discovered she had testes inside her abdomen and male chromosomes. And so began a series of

surgeries to make things “right.” Jennifer Pagonis was born intersex, an umbrella term for several conditions in which an infant’s reproductive anatomy doesn’t conform to standard definitions of male or female. The physical effects can be subtle, or very obvious. A century ago, intersex adults were top draws at circus sideshows. Then, as surgical techniques for ambiguous genitals evolved, doctors began performing surgeries on affected infants and encouraged parents to raise children as the sex they visibly resembled. Many families kept the conditions hidden, fearing stigma and shame. Pagonis’ parents knew nothing about the conditions - or about the surgeries’ troubling risks, including damage to sexual function, satisfaction and psyche later on. Now, efforts are underway to change the way intersex children are treated. “The way that we took care of things in the past ... where there was a fair amount of secrecy, where there was surgery done in the infant state, and potentially irreversible surgery, is probably not the best way to go about things,” said Dr. Earl Cheng, who runs the 2-year-old sex development disorders program at Chicago’s Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital. The program is one of several nationwide that employ a team of specialists including surgeons, hormone experts, genetic counselors, psychologists and ethicists. The team helps families weigh their options, including whether surgery should be considered at all. Intersex activists advise against it and urge tolerance for affected kids. There’s even an intersex character on television, introduced this season on MTV’s “Faking It” series.

HRC, Newspaper Urge Governor Of Guam To Allow Same-Sex Marriage HAGATNA (AP) - The nation’s largest gay rights organization and Guam’s biggest newspaper are blasting the territory’s governor for not allowing marriage licenses to be issued to same-sex couples.

the ability to pray a couple of hours a week,” said Jindal, who has presidential ambitions built on an appeal to evangelical Christians and social conservatives. “Religious liberty is about being able to live your life seven days a week according to your beliefs.” The letter from IBM - which has plans for an 800-worker facility in Baton Rouge - cuts into the businessfriendly reputation Jindal has sought to cultivate and frequently touts. “A bill that legally protects discrimination based on same-sex marriage status will create a hostile environment for our current and prospective employees, and is antithetical to our company’s values,” wrote James M. Driesse, a senior state executive for the company. “IBM will find it much harder to attract talent to Louisiana if this bill is passed and enacted into law.” As written, the “Marriage and Conscience Act” - a cornerstone of Jindal’s legislative agenda - would prohibit the state from denying any resident or business a license, benefits or tax deductions because of actions taken “in accordance with a religious belief or

moral conviction” about marriage. Jindal and the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City, say the measure would in no way condone discrimination against LGBT couples. But what exactly the bill would accomplish is the subject of heated debated, with critics and some legal experts arguing the bill would allow discrimination should gay marriage become legal in Louisiana. When asked how the proposed religious objection law is any different from laws that used to condone discrimination against black people on religious and moral grounds, Jindal said such comparisons were “offensive.” “I personally think it is offensive to compare Catholics, evangelical Christians and others that are trying to obey their teachings, their churches’ teachings, their conscience, to racists, to bigots,” Jindal said. “I know a lot of people are changing their views on (same-sex marriage), but I think it would be wrong to compare ... them to racists, to bigots.”

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would have made Guam the first U.S. territory to recognize same-sex marriage. Loretta M. Pangelinan and Kathleen M. Aguero, both 28, said they are challenging “the discriminatory denial of their freedom to marry in the Territory of Guam.” The Department of Public Health and Social Services should treat “all same gender marriage applicants with dignity and equality under the Constitution,” the attorney general said. Leo Casil, the acting director of Guam’s Department of Public Health and Social Services, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday that Territorial Registrar Carolyn Garrido, who issues marriage licenses and is named in the couple’s lawsuit, “knows when and when not to issue.” He added that Garrido, who has been at the office for about 20 years, took out the local statute and showed the couple the law prior to denying their application for a marriage license. In a radio interview Thursday with Newstalk K57 in Guam, Barrett-Anderson said that she cannot represent Calvo in the case because her position on the matter is completely different than his, though she said she respects his right to express his position.

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Louisiana’s Governor Vehemently Defends Religious Objections Bill

BATON ROUGE (AP) - Gov. Bobby Jindal on Thursday gave a fullthroated defense of a divisive religious objections bill that critics say could sanction discrimination against samesex couples in Louisiana The Republican governor’s comments doubling down in support of the legislation came one day after computer giant IBM sent Jindal’s office a letter signaling “strong” opposition to the bill. Jindal, speaking to reporters in a wide-ranging interview, attempted to flip the script on opponents by describing the bill as an anti-discrimination measure designed to protect Christians who are morally opposed to same-sex marriage in an increasingly permissive society. “Religious liberty is not just about

April 22, 2015

Guam’s attorney general on Wednesday said government officials should begin issuing licenses after a lesbian couple filed a federal lawsuit because they were denied a marriage application. But state officials, backed by the governor, refused the attorney general’s directive because it wasn’t a binding legal opinion. Gov. Eddie Baza Calvo said lawmakers or the public could change the law to allow same-sex marriage, if that was their will. James Perez Servino, an associate director of the Human Rights Campaign, issued a statement on the group’s website saying Calvo is “standing in the way of marriage equality.” He encouraged people to send messages to the governor’s office expressing their support for same-sex marriage. “Gov. Eddie Calvo needs to retake civics after he passed the buck on the attorney general’s legal memorandum on gay marriage to lawmakers and voters,” an editorial in Friday’s Pacific Daily News says. “Calvo could have made the courageous decision to end discrimination against homosexuals in Guam.” “The governor’s duty is to enforce our laws, not interpret them,” the editorial says. Calvo on Friday released a statement asking for more time to make a decision on a “question of this complexity and magnitude.” The U.S. District Court of Guam falls under the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which has ruled in favor of gay marriage. Calvo noted that the court has stayed decisions on pending lawsuits for states grappling with the fundamental right to same-sex marriage. “If the decision were so obvious on its face, the Supreme Court would have made the decision for the entire nation already. And the 9th Circuit would not have stayed its decision in the Alaska or Montana cases,” the governor said. The 9th Circuit Court has delayed hearing the separate appeals from both states until after the Supreme Court decides the larger issue, and gay marriage continues to be legal in both Alaska and Montana. Attorney General Elizabeth BarrettAnderson on Tuesday directed officials to immediately begin processing same-sex marriage applications, which

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April 22, 2015

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Chile’s Bachelet Signs Same-Sex Civil Union Law

BEIJING (AP) - The most prominent of five recently released Chinese women’s rights activists feels her dedication to the cause has grown stronger after spending 37 days in detention with interrogators who blew smoke onto her face and insulted her sexual orientation, her girlfriend and her lawyer said. Li Tingting, 25, an openly lesbian campaigner for women’s issues, has been at the center of an international outcry over China’s detention of activists. Her girlfriend, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition she be identified only by her English name of Teresa, relayed comments from Li for the first time since the activist’s conditional release from a Beijing jail last Monday. Teresa spoke in the presence of Li’s lawyer Wang Yu, who also confirmed Li’s comments. “’Feminism is my soul,’” Teresa quoted Li as saying. “’I thought a lot and came to believe what I do cannot be wrong. My belief is firmer. Feminism will surely be inseparable from me.’” Li and four other women, ranging in age from 25 to 32, were detained in a criminal investigation for their plans to hand out stickers and flyers denouncing sexual harassment, in a case reflecting the Chinese leadership’s deep distrust of any efforts to organize civil action in a group outside the ruling Communist Party’s control. Known for colorful, high-profile protests - from “potty parity” sit-ins to street theater denouncing spousal abuse - the five women drew what has been, for recent years, an unusual amount of attention overseas. Foreign govern-

April 22, 2015

SANTIAGO (AP) - Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Monday signed a law that recognizes civil unions between same-sex couples, a sign of change in a country long regarded as one of South America’s most socially conservative nations. The measure had been in the works for more than four years, and its signing into law was hailed by gay advocates as the first step toward full marriage rights. “This ends the monopoly of having to recognize unions, families, as just within marriage,” said Rolando Jimenez, president of the Gay Liberation and Integration Movement. “This is very good news for Chile.” The new law, to take effect in six months, gives same-sex and unmarried couples many of the rights granted to married couples. Partners can inherit each other’s property, join one another’s health plans and receive pension benefits. Chile has long been one of the most socially conservative countries in the region. It was one of the last countries in the world to legalize divorce when it took that step in 2004. Chile decriminalized gay sex in 1999 and the killing of a gay man in 2012 set off a national debate that prompted Congress to pass a hate crimes law. “Today we’re advancing as a society,” Bachelet said at the presidential palace. “We’re taking a fundamental step on this road of rights, justice and respect

PARIS (AP) - A French court has authorized four lesbian women to adopt children born to their wives abroad through artificial insemination. While France has legalized gay marriage and adoption, only heterosexual couples are allowed to have medically assisted fertilization. Supporters of gay rights praised the April 16 ruling, which allows these children to have two legal parents. The Versailles appeals court overturned a ruling delivered by a lower court a year ago, according to the lawyer for one of the four couples. In April 2014, a lower court in Versailles had said the birth mother in that case had committed fraud by having artificial insemination in Belgium. It was then the first court ruling against adoption by a lesbian couple since the gay marriage law had been enacted in May 2013. Several other ones had followed since then. France’s highest court later ruled that seeking fertilization abroad is “not an obstacle” to allowing lesbian women to adopt the children of their partners, even if this way of having babies is forbidden to lesbian couples in France. Lawyer Caroline Mecary said her clients had been living together for more than a dozen years when they decided to have a baby. As they were not allowed to have assisted reproduction in France, they went to Belgium where one of them had an artificial insemination from an unknown donor. The baby girl was born in 2005, and when the gay marriage law was voted in 2013, they quickly got married and then asked a lower court in Versailles,

Lesbian Activist In China More Determined Than Ever After Lockup

ments, rights groups and luminaries including U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton criticized the arrests as an overreaction by a repressive Chinese government, and urged Chinese authorities to drop the investigations against the women. China’s Foreign Ministry has responded by saying the detentions are an internal affair being handled according to law, and urging foreign countries not to interfere. The five were released, but remain under investigation and have been told not to travel outside their home cities or meet journalists. AP reporters traveled to Li’s home village of Hongtongying, a community of wheat fields and willow trees on Beijing’s outskirts, but were trailed by unidentified vehicles. In a nearby town center, the journalists were able to see Li with Teresa as they walked armin-arm from a tea house to a hospital, but could not interview Li. Her friend and the lawyer said Li would abide by state security officials’ demands that she grant no interviews. They also released a written statement by Li, in which she pleaded innocence. “What I have done does not provoke trouble, but is mild advocacy that does not amount to any crime,” Li wrote. “I demand police dismiss the case immediately, remove coercive restrictions on me and return innocence to me.” The lawyer said the demand that Li hold no interviews has no basis under Chinese law. “The activism by Li Tingting not only complies with Chinese law, but should be lauded because she is promoting the law,” Wang said, referring to China’s law, policy and declarations championing equal rights for women. “She should not have been treated so illegally by authorities. For a young woman who is able to do what she’s done, I think she should be considered a hope for China,” Wang said. Li will need some time to readjust but has been in good spirits despite her ordeal, her friend and the lawyer said. In the statement, Li said she was deprived of sleep and had cigarette smoke blown onto her face while she was restrained in an iron interrogation chair.

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French Court OKs Adoption By Lesbian Partners

near where they live, to grant adoption to the wife of the biological mother. Under the new law, adoptions by gay couples are only allowed when the same-sex partners are married. On April 14, the appeals court in the southern city of Aix-en-Provence issued a similar ruling in favor of a lesbian couple who went abroad to have a baby.

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for individual liberties.” Civil unions have been recognized in several countries across South America, though Argentina and Uruguay are the only ones that allow gay marriage. The civil union will be validated by simply registering it in the civil registry. Gay unions abroad can also be registered in Chile.

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April 22, 2015

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new Iowa chapter at its weekend gathering. “With Bush likely to enter and Rubio having already entered the U.S. presidential race, respectively, all eyes are on Florida.”

Gay Conversion Therapy Still Has Its Adherents In Tampa

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April 22, 2015

Senate Committee Postpones Religious Rights-Adoption Bill TALLAHASSEE--A Senate committee postponed a vote on a bill passed by the House that would enable faith-based organizations to deny same-sex people the opportunity to adopt children. The House passed HB 7111 on April 9 to let private adoption agencies turn away gay individuals or couples based on religious and moral grounds. Conservatives in the House sponsored the measure in response to a separate comprehensive adoptions bill already passed by both chambers and currently pending before Gov. Rick Scott that would drop a ban on gay adoption from state law. After a 90-minute discussion, the Senate Rules Committee decided to hold off taking a vote which most likely removes the item from the agenda of this legislative session. HB 7111 has been compared to the religious objections law Indiana enacted last month. Supporters say faith-based organizations handling adoptions will stop offering services if the bill is not passed. It’s not clear if the full Senate will pass the measure. The upper chamber rejected similar language as an amendment on April 8 in the bill now waiting for the governor’s signature. The

bill passed by the Senate on April 14 strips Florida’s decades-old ban on gay adoption from state law to comply with a five-year-old court decision saying it was unconstitutional.

Log Cabin Republicans Launch New Orlando Chapter ORLANDO--The Log Cabin Republicans certified a new Orlando chapter over the weekend at a meeting of its board of directors in New Orleans. With the addition of central Florida, the Washington, D.C.-based group now has five chapters in the state, namely -Miami, Broward, Northeast / Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Orlando. “I’m excited to grow Log Cabin Republicans in the Sunshine State,” said Gerard Gershonowitz, who will lead the new chapter. “We’re looking forward to building relationships and moving ahead so that every Floridian is treated equally.” Nationally, Log Cabin Republicans maintain 47 chapters in 25 states and the District of Columbia. “Florida has been a must-win state for awhile now,” said Gregory T. Angelo, the group’s national executive director, who added that the board also added a

TAMPA — When President Barack Obama this month called for the end of psychiatric treatment aimed at changing the sexual orientation of homosexuals, he was referring to Mark Culligan. Culligan is the founder of New Hearts Outreach in Tampa that caters to those who are “sexually and relationally challenged.” Culligan lived as a homosexual for two decades before going through counseling, which helped him convert. While gay conversion therapy has been discredited by the American Psychiatric Association and is illegal in some states, the treatment is still practiced in a number of places throughout the country, including Florida. The Christian organization Restored Hope Network serves as a national directory for those looking for conversion therapists and lists two psychiatrists and two religious organizations in Florida that offer the practice. One is New Hearts Outreach, the only group in Tampa on the list. As a child, Culligan had a strained relationship with his father, which he says led to his “addiction” to homosexuality in college. But words like “conversion” and “reparative therapy” aren’t in New Hearts Outreach’s vernacular, he said. The group is a Christian discipleship ministry for those “looking for relief from the homosexual lifestyle,” Culligan said. “It’s been said that folks in the lifestyle are looking for love in all the wrong places,” Culligan said. “Scriptural teaching is that homosexuality is not a part of God’s best for people. That doesn’t mean Christians are not to embrace them … but people come to us because they’ve had enough of addiction and hedonism with no lasting intimacy and meaning.”

New Hearts Outreach was formerly under the large umbrella of Exodus International, a group with more than 250 U.S. ministries and over 150 ministries in other countries. Exodus folded in 2013 after its leader issued a public apology to those it counseled for “years of undue suffering and judgment.” New Hearts Outreach offers confidential support groups, one-on-one mentoring, prayer meetings and classes on topics like “gender identity confusion” and “sexual brokenness.” Though the move to ban gay conversion therapy generally targets those offering such counseling to minors, Culligan said there are no age restrictions on who attends. He also said the classes at New Hearts Outreach are popular. With about two dozen participants, he said, the current classes are almost at capacity. Reparative and gay conversion therapies have been around since the early 1900s. Therapists aim to change the homosexual attractions, and sometimes the gender identity, of those who are gay, bisexual or transgender. On April 8, Obama issued a statement condemning gay conversion therapy and supporting states hoping to ban the psychiatric practice on minors. The president’s comments came after a petition on the White House website generated nearly 121,000 signatures. The petition was in response to the December suicide of Leelah Alcorn, a transgender 17-year-old from Ohio whose parents’ forced her into conversion therapy. Alcorn’s suicide illustrates the dangers of gay conversion therapy, said Wayne Besen, a Delray Beach native and former spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign who founded the “Truth Wins Out” organization to lobby against conversion treatment. Besen said there has been a shift in public opinion over the past five years in support of homosexual rights, and many practitioners of conversion therapy are disappearing or coming out themselves as homosexual. “These groups thrive on shame,’’ Besen said. “If people feel good about themselves, they don’t try to change who they are. For every hour you spend in

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LGBT Radio Show Moves To New Station In West Palm Beach

closet, and then get out meaning go out,” said Hantzarides about the origins of the show’s name. Rumsey added, “just get out there, and be yourself, and be proud of who you are.” Hantzarides said he is unsure whether the show will be profitable, but it does already have a couple of corporate sponsors and some local sponsors. “It really is a labor of love because neither one of us gets paid to do this,” he said, noting that they pay the radio station to run the show. The co-hosts call themselves “the odd couple of radio.” Rumsey pointed out that while he is “a southerner all the way through,” his co-host has “that New Yorker mentality.” He added, “Tom is also much more high-strung than I am.” Hantzarides has plans to broadcast at several cultural venues in September and at a gay wedding in November. They are also planning to begin filming the show to be watched online. The show can also be heard on iHeartRadio and through podcast at WBZT.com and GETOUTSouthFlorida.comThe iHeartRadio app is available online and via smartphones, tablets and select automobiles. Emily Moorhouse of the Sun-Sentinel contributed to this report..

WEST PALM BEACH-- A weekly radio show that co-host and producer Tom Hantzarides calls “a gay ‘Today Show’” debuted April 7 on 1230 WBZT, an iHeartMedia AM talk station in West Palm Beach. The show, called “GET OUT! South Florida,” airs between 7:00-8:00 pm on Tuesday evenings, with listeners tuning in from Port St. Lucie to Hallandale. On the show, Hantzarides and co-host Kendall Rumsey deliver news, entertainment and opinion. The move to WBZT gave the show a better time slot and broadened its listenership to more areas of South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors. It also became available to iHeartRadio’s more than 60 million online users. Billing itself as the only LGBT radio show by, for and about the gay community in South Florida — “GET OUT!” covers a wide range of topics including same-sex marriage, growing up gay and gay pop culture. Yet, it also manages to

draw straight listeners, with things to do locally and political discussions. “We’re kind of representatives on the air of the gay community, and we take that responsibility very seriously, and we want to present a very positive view of our community,” said Hantzarides. A 57-year-old Delray Beach resident, Hantzarides moved to South Florida from New York City almost 15 years ago. He has worked on the sales and marketing side of the radio industry since age 17 and was the sales manager for a group of radio stations before deciding to work on the show full time. Rumsey, a West Palm Beach resident who turns 51 this month, is from Clayton, Georgia. He relocated to South Florida more than 18 years ago. He has worked in marketing and special events throughout his career. He was twice elected as a Lake Park commissioner and served as vice mayor for two years, making town history as the first openly gay elected official. For several years, Rumsey has been working as the director of marketing for Downtown at the Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens. The duo met doing business together around 2011 and became friends. Rumsey presented the idea for the show to Hantzarides as a dare. “It’s like get out, like get out of the

April 22, 2015

reparative therapy, there are many other hours you have to spend with real therapists to undo the damage. It crushes self-esteem and takes what should be the most beautiful part of life — the ability to love — and turns it into something disgusting and dirty.” California, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., have banned gay conversion therapy for minors, and 18 states have introduced similar legislation within the past two years. A bill that would ban conversion therapy circulated in the Florida Legislature last year but failed. The American Psychiatric Association has formally condemned reparative therapy since 1974 for its position that homosexuality is a “mental disorder.’’ The American Medical Association, the World Health Organization and the American Counseling Organization also condemn the practice. Frank Roder, cochair of the Tampa Bay Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, said it’s hard to tell how common gay conversion therapy is in the Tampa area but said he has heard “scary” stories from teens who went through the process as young as eighth and ninth grade. The stories have dissipated as more schools have adopted gaystraight alliance clubs and Hillsborough County teachers have undergone special training for communicating with LGBT students, he said. Last year, Pinellas County schools established a gay-straight alliance club in every high school, and Hillsborough County has clubs in 17 of its 22 high schools, Roder said. Pasco County has the clubs in 10 of its 12 high schools. But the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s annual school climate survey found 93 percent of LGBT students in Tampa high schools still regularly hear derogatory terms based on their sexual identification, though that number is down from previous years. The Youth Suicide Prevention Program reports that more than 50 percent of transgender youth will have attempted suicide by the time they reach 20, and gay youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide as their peers. Anastasia Dawson of the Tampa Tribune contributed to this report.

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COVER

BY RICHARD HACK

Grindr Flaunts Law in 76 Countries

ith almost two million active subscribers, Grindr is a force with which to be reckoned. The geosocial networking app that attracts more users than all its competitors combined knows what it takes to keep its gay, bisexual and bicurious base happy. Even if it means breaking the law in some 75 countries around the world. Homosexuality is illegal in most Muslim countries, and several nonMuslim states as well. Think Bangladesh, India, Brunei, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Botswana, Cameroon and Gambia among them. In all of those countries, being gay is punishable by imprisonment or death, with active anti-homosexuality laws on the books and enforced. In each of them, just clicking onto Grindr is enough to land one behind bars, even if you’re not arranging actual hookups. This is not news, of course, to Grindr. In fact, in a interview this week with Bloomberg News, Grindr CEO Joel Simkhai was quoted as being “very proud” about flaunting his app in countries where the very mention of “gay” is outlawed. In every one of those countries, the Grindr app is available and used as brave and/or reckless gays attempt to connect with like brethren on cell phones. In many of the countries, they subscribe to Grindr’s premium service over which explicit pics can be viewed. In this respect, they are like 75% of Grindr’s base who pay about $12 a month for the service. It’s not that Grindr actively tried to break the law. “It all happened organically,” according to Simkhai. “Grinder is one of the unique places places for gay men to meet each other,” he says, about countries with no cruising spots, gay bars, or bathhouses. “We’re very proud of that.”

“It’s illegal to be homosexual in over 70 countries in the world,” he adds, as if that’s reason enough to be proud of his apps infiltration What makes the use of Grindr so risky in these countries is its GPS triangulation feature, which lets users know how far away another user is from his location. Yet, the very feature that is most attractive to subscribers in most other countries is the exact reason why users in the 76 countries where homosexuality is illegal should be extremely cautious. Arrests have already been made in Egypt, Gambia, Jamaica, Saudi Arabia, and India attracting outcries from the world population but with little overall effect. In an effort to calm criticism, Grindr has turned off the feature in some countries (even though it can be manually disabled by all users). Still, the application continues to be widely used, exposing subscribers in these countries to homosexual vigilantes and potential arrest. “It’s a very big problem in a gay man’s life. We don’t always know who else is gay,” Simkhai told Bloomberg News. “The smartphone was a perfect piece of technology; location-based services was a perfect match. It just kind of worked out together.” Simkhai is not particular worried that an app he helped create could bring about incarceration. “We provide a great service, and that’s what it’s all about. We’re all about our customers, all about giving them an experience that’s helpful for them, and we solve a problem.” As for the future, Simkhai does not rule about taking on business partners to expand the privately held app’s global reach and use. “We want to grow into a lifestyle brand. If we find the right partner in that strategy, we will certainly consider it.”

BY RICHARD HACK

April 22, 2015 • ISSUE 283

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Two Presidents, Two Orders, Two Views of the Power of Gays

“Many of you have worked for a long time to see this day coming,” the President said. Today, our government will become just a little bit fairer. “It doesn’t make much sense, but today in America, millions of our citizens go to work with the awareness they could lose their job because of who they are – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender – and that’s wrong. “We’re here to do what we can to make it right. To bend the arc of justice, just a little bit, in the right direction. “Once I sign this order… we’re going to prohibit all companies that receive contracts from the federal government from discriminating against their LGBT employees. “This is not a matter of political correctness. People lose their jobs. Their lives are threatened, their families are threatened. It’s time to address this injustice for every American. “Congress haven’t gotten it done… but I’m going to do what I can, with the authority that I have.” It’s been a long time coming, but today we stand with some discrimination protection on a Federal level— but hardly enough. At a time when 56% of the gays and lesbians in the United States live in areas with no protection against discrimination, it is hardly enough. The Republican led House, still stalling to pass the national Employment Non-Discrimination Act, needs to get the message. We deserve better. . . . Until next week.

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of the Federal government. Frank sued the Federal government all the way to the Supreme Court, where in March 1961, he lost. Undeterred, Frank decided to organize, forming the Mattachine Society of Washington, DC. With his friend Jack Nichols, with both men joining together to picket the White House in 1965, 50 years ago this week. According to Back2Stonewall, Nichols had recalled: “As we marched, I looked about at our well-dressed little band. Kameny had insisted that we seven men must wear suits and ties, and the women, dresses and heels. “We paraded in a small circle. Behind lampposts stood unknown persons photographing us. Were they government agents? “[Protesters] Perrin and Otto wore sunglasses so absolute identification would be difficult should they fall prey to security investigations. “We walked for an hour that passed, as I’d predicted, without incident. A few tourists gawked and there were one or two snickers, more from confusion than from prejudice.” Four years later, the Stonewall Riots who light a spontaneous fire under gays across the country. Fast forward to July 21st of last year, when President Barack Obama signed another Executive Order, this one numbered 13672. It extended protection against discrimination in hiring and employment to both sexual orientation and gender identity.

Kevin Broady

April 22, 2015

e weren’t around when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450 63 years ago this week. Chances are that you weren’t either. But for the unfamiliar, Executive Order 10450, which became law on April 27, 1953, determined which people the Federal government judged was a security threat and unemployable. Among those included were all criminals (no surprise there), plus anyone who was “infamous, dishonest, or immoral.” Hmmm, we know quite a few of those. So too were those who had “notoriously disgraceful conduct, habitual use of intoxicants to excess, drug addiction, or (a) sexual perversion.” What? Yes, sexual perversion. Included under that broad category at the time was homosexuality. In the decade following World War II, it was commonly thought that gays and lesbians, while not inherently having traitorous thoughts, could be easy targets for blackmail. As a result of that order, thousands of gays and lesbians who were employed in the State Department and in the military lost their jobs. Among them was an astronomer named Frank Kameny, who worked in the United States Army Map Service in Washington, DC. Forget that Frank held a doctorate from Harvard University; he was judged perverted and dumped from the payroll

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

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April 22, 2015

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BY LINDA PENTZ

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Wasserman Schultz Urges Vigilance Despite Great Gains for Gay Rights

April 22, 2015

hen you listen to Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) speak, you kind of wish she would run for President of the United States herself. The pint-sized dynamo, representing Florida’s 23rd Congressional District, minces no words when selling the Democratic agenda while thrashing the Republicans.A long-time ally of the LGBT community, Wasserman Schultz spoke recently at a meeting of the Dolphin Democrats, a chapter of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus, shortly after the uproar over controversial RFRA laws in Indiana and Arkansas. Despite the incredible gains made by the LGBT community and which she said were “reason for celebration,” Wasserman Schultz also urged caution. “We cannot say our work is done,” she told an enthusiastic crowd. “As soon as you step back for a minute, the bigots find a way of creeping slowly back and they claw back our rights.” Letting down our guard, she said, means “a slow walk back to the Jim Crow South. It’s that type of discrimination --

you will be turned away for who you are.” She is rightly alarmed at what she calls the explosion of anti-gay legislation around the country and urged “constant vigilance” despite the remarkable gains in LGBT equality made nationwide. “We must keep our friends and allies engaged,” she said. “They could think it’s over. Look at Indiana and Arkansas. It’s not over.” The legislation, she points out, “has come from the Republicans. We have to call them out on that.” Wasserman Schultz gently castigated the crowd at a packed Wilton Manors Pride Center about the low Democratic turnout in 2014 that let Rick Scott narrowly retain the Florida governorship. “The 2014 election results were unacceptable,” she said, urging a strong voter turnout in 2016. “They are playing for keeps on the other side of the aisle.” Speaking later with the Agenda, Wasserman Schultz said the Indiana controversy served to “expose the dark underbelly” of the Republican party and the slew of presidential candidates “all of whom are opposed to equality for LGBT people.”

The Republicans, Wasserman Schultz said, “are trying to out-right wing each other with every announcement. There is no more mainstream. They have pulled the center far to the right.” Some in the LGBT community were disappointed when Wasserman Schultz declined to run for the U.S. Senate seat that was expected to open up -- and now has -- when Republican incumbent Marco Rubio entered the presidential race. A U.S. House member since 2005, the Senate might have given Wasserman Schultz an even more influential voice. But the Congresswoman is also chair of the Democratic National Committee, a role from which she would have had to resign in order to run for Senate. “I love the job I have now,” she told the Agenda. “I love serving my constituents.” “The job I am doing is so huge,” Wasserman Schultz continued. “And I have two jobs with my platform as DNC chair.” She reasoned that if she continued both as a Congresswoman and DNC chair, “at the end of the day, I decided I could be more effective.” Wasserman Schultz was appointed as

chair of the DNC in 2011 by President Obama and was “part of the team that helped re-elect him,” she said. It’s a role she looks forward to repeating with the next Democratic presidential nominee. For now -- and probably forever -that looks most likely to be Hillary Clinton. After a quick disclaimer -- “as chair of the DNC, under the by-laws, I have to be neutral and manage the primary contest” -- Wasserman Schultz smilingly reminded the audience that “in 2008, I was national co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.” And then she told us what she really thinks. “I have some special feelings about Secretary Clinton and I think she’s wonderful,” she said. “Hillary Clinton is one of the most qualified candidates for president that the presidency has ever seen.” As the meet-and-greet line and photo ops came to an end and we wrapped up our interview, she reminded us that she has a third job as well. “Can we be quick?” she asked. “I have to get home and give my children dinner.”

BY DANIEL HICKS

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Photo by broward sheriff office

Sheriff Israel’s efforts to promote LGBT diversity within his ranks are informed by a deeply held belief in the constitutional right of each human being to be treated with fairness and respect. In fact, the sheriff is reportedly the highest-ranking law enforcement official to sign an amicus brief in favor of marriage equality as part of a historic legal case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court. Oral arguments are scheduled to begin on April 28. Some of the significant changes that Sheriff Israel has brought to his department include promoting and recruiting senior LGBT staff, expanding domestic partner benefits with health coverage, beefing up the department’s non-discrimination policy to include protections for transgender employees as well as modernizing the department’s procurement process on contracts worth more than $100,000. New rules demand that vendors institute the same kind of workplace diversity policies as the county law enforcement agency they supply.

I’d be remiss, however, if I did not quickly bring up the sensitive topic of body cameras, something the sheriff supports. “The camera doesn’t lie,” he said. But for Sheriff Israel, the bigger issue is cost. Who is going to pay for storing and accessing the new data, hiring new and of course maintaining and upgrading the equipment? All important questions that have yet to be answered when technology leads practice. Regular police officers have yet to embrace any change. Reactions are mixed, but the police union opposes body cameras on privacy grounds. Any new policy on body cameras would also have to survive in court. For one thing, “it’s going to make the conviction rate that much higher,” said the sheriff. “It’ll clear many more officers than it will convict.” Despite the sheriff’s views on LGBT diversity and his compassion in general, it is way too early to endorse him for reelection. But what the heck. I’m going to go ahead and do it anyway.

LGBT population in Broward County more than it does today. “Surround yourself with lions who share the same mission,” said the sheriff, who prides himself on bringing different points of view to the table. In the photo, Sheriff Israel poses with some of his LGBT “lions.” Pictured left to right are: • General Counsel Ron Gunzburger • Detective David Currie • Deputy Tammy Encina • Deputy Shannon Bennett • Deputy Vanessa Direzze-Encina • Firefighter Paramedic Cindy Taffel • CSA Tony Vincent • Sheriff Scott Israel • Deputy Laura Benedict • Civil Deputy Kelly Creamer • Firefighter Paramedic Brett Dunckell • Deputy General Counsel Patricia Windowmaker • Sgt. Paul Auerbach • Captain Jan Jordan • Asst. General Counsel Stephen Muffler

April 22, 2015

obody’s perfect. But Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is pretty close, at least in terms of his record on LGBT inclusion and community policing while breathing new life into county law enforcement. Current statistics show that violent crime in Broward County is down a whopping 20.5 percent, compared to 2.8 percent for the state as a whole. So I sat down with Florida’s first Jewish sheriff this week to talk about the tremendous strides his department has made in just the two plus years since he took office. Truth be told, as a journalist, I wanted to find at least one skeleton hanging in his closet. Just one! But the only closet I found was the one with the door ripped off its hinges. This former Fort Lauderdale Police Department commander and North Bay Village police chief convinced me face-to-face that he understands the juxtaposition of LGBT rights and community representation, both inside his vast fiefdom and throughout one of South Florida’s key polities. In fact, as head of the largest, fully accredited sheriff’s office in the United States, overseeing some 6,000 members from police and fire to child protective services, Israel has managed to set the tone and bar at a level where his counterparts in surrounding counties would have to be administratively blind not to notice the progress he has achieved in a very short amount of time. A household name among county Democrats, the sheriff has made it a point to meet with local clergy and even walk the streets of Wilton Manors in order to keep his finger on the pulse of what city officials, business owners and their LGBT patrons expect from the man entrusted with ensuring public safety. This hands-on approach to engagement has been mirrored internally as well. The command staff that surrounds him has never better reflected the

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Why Broward Sheriff, LGBT Ally Scott Israel Is On His Way To A Second Term

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LEFT COAST

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DINING

The Red Cow: Barbeque Heaven BY TIM HART

THE WEEK

WILTON MANORS BY PATRICK ROBERT

4/25 Kathy Griffin LGBT activist Kathy Griffin is known for her abrasive, no-holdsbarred attacks on both celebrity culture and conservative politics. Whether fighting with the entire Palin family or trading barbs with Anderson Cooper on New Year’s Eve, Griffin finds ways to not only make headlines, but also make people laugh uncontrollably. Her popularity stemmed from story-filled stand-up specials on Bravo combined with her reality program My Life on the D-List in the first decade of the century. From there she became an empire, respected by the entire entertainment industry. Expect insider gossip from her highly publicized, short-lived stint on Fashion Police as Griffin takes the stage at the Broward Center. 8:00 p.m. Broward Center for the Performing Arts. 201 SW Fifth Ave. Fort Lauderdale. 33312.

April 22, 2015

4/29

Be Nice!!! EAT MEAT!!! These are just a few of the Red Cow’s nifty sayings. I learned about this restaurant from another restaurant owner. He asked me if I liked barbeque. I happen to love barbeque, but it needs to be good. He suggested I check out the Red Cow. My first trip, just like my latest, was excellent. The restaurant is located right on the curve where Federal Highway turns into Sunrise. There is plenty of parking. It is a little tricky coming from the west. I usually go up and Uturn after going north on Federal for a bit. The dress is extremely casual. No need to dress up. Come as you are. Upon arriving we were greeted by a hostess and seated. I chose a high top to sit at. There is plenty of seating available - high tops, traditional tables and a very nice bar. Our server, Ricky, was very attentive during our entire dinner. The restaurant has 3 large screen TV’s in the main dining area with a number of other TV’s scattered throughout. I had been working all day and was interested in watching a certain sporting event. After asking if they would accommodate my request, the event was on the main screen before I knew it! Friday’s and Saturday’s are Prime Rib night – and, as luck would have it, I was there on a Saturday. After taking our drink order (plenty of beer on tap and wine to choose from), Ricky methodically went through the specials for the evening. Even though I knew I was getting the prime rib, I enjoyed listening to him. I ordered

the Creole BBQ Rock Shrimp ($12) appetizer and an order of the Iron Skillet Corn Bread ($9). There are plenty of other items on the “settle in” portion of the menu such as Chili Dusted Pork Rinds ($8), Daily Smoked Fish Dip ($13), and Fritto Chili Pie ($9). The items I ordered were very tasty and the shrimp comes with two pieces of bread and the order is large enough for two. Next up was the main course. I ordered the Prime Rib ($24). It was great. It comes with a side (I got the beans). The order was so large I took ½ of my order home and had it again Sunday, and it was really good the second time around. I think that is the sign of a good meal. The “big decisions” section of the menu has all of the traditional barbeque fair (various ribs, chicken and shepherd’s pie – all between $20 and $23).To finish up, there are a variety of tasty desserts to choose from. While I did not have one on this trip, I have had them on earlier visits and they were great. Ice cream was involved!!!The Red Cow is right across the street from the Gateway Theater and would make for a great start to a movie night. I recommend you give the Red Cow a try! THE RED COW 1025 N FEDERAL HWY FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33304 954-652-1524

The Mix

Asian tapas lounge Dapur hosts this month’s premiere LGBTQ networking event, The Mix. Each month, Guy Magazine and the Wilton Manors Development Alliance present two hours of cocktails and hors d‘oeuvres for Wilton Manors’ business professionals. Rub shoulders with lawyers, advertising agents, writers from this magazine, and many other successful professionals from our glittering community. The Mix allows for new business opportunities and chances to grow start-ups. This week’s Mix also offers a chance to win a $500 advertising certificate with Guy magazine and Agenda newspaper. Come enjoy a few drinks and strong connections. 6:30 p.m. Dapur. 1620 N. Federal Highway. Fort Lauderdale. 33305.

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BAR MAP

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6) DAPUR 1620 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale

11) LE PATIO 2401 NE 11th Ave Wilton Manors

2) B BAR AND GRILLE 2209 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

7) HUNTERS NIGHTCLUIB 2232 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

12) LIPS 1421 E Oakland Park Blvd Oakland Park

8) INFINITY LOUNGE 2184 WIlton Drive Wilton Manors

13) THE MANOR 2345 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

4) CORNER PUB 1915 N Andrews Ave Wilton Manors

9) JMARK’S 1245 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale

14) MONA’S 502 E Sunrise Blvd Fort Lauderdale

5) CUBBY HOLE 823 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale

10) LE BOY 1243 NE 11th Ave Fort Lauderdale

3) BOARDWALK/ BEEFCAKE’S 1721 N Andrews Ave Fort Lauderdale

15) MONKEY BUSINESS 2740 N Andrews Ave Fort Lauderdale 16) NAKED GRAPE 2163 Wilton Drive Wilton manors 17) NEW YORK GRILLED CHEESE 2207 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors 18) PJ’S CORNER POCKET 2340 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

19) PROGRESS 2440 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors 20) RAMROD 1508 NE 4th Ave Fort Lauderdale 21) ROSIE’S BAR & GRILL 2449 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors 22) RUMORS BAR & GRILL 2426 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

23) SCANDALS SALOON 3073 NE 6th Ave Wilton Manors 24) SCARFONE’S 2150 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors 25) SIDELINES 2031 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors 26) SMARTY PANTS 2400 E Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale

27) THE STABLE 205 E Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale 28) 13 I EVEN 2037 Wilton Dr Wilton Manors 29) TROPICS 2000 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors 30) VILLAGE PUB 2283 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

April 22, 2015

1) ALIBI 2266 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors

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THE WEEK

TAMPA/ST.PETE

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BY PATRICK ROBERT

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4/24 98RockFest 98Rock, Tampa’s hard rock radio station, will be celebrating its twentyfive years on the air with tonight’s concert. Headliners this year include Five Finger Death Punch, Rise Against, Breaking Benjamin, the Pretty Reckless, and Nothing More. Before the show, Sleepwave, Beartooth, Young Guns, and DJ Skratch n Sniff will be performing a free concert outside the arena. 6:00 p.m. Amalie Arena. 401 Channelside Dr. Tampa. 33602.

4/25 John Leguizamo: Latin History for Dummies (A Work in Progress) John Leguizamo has been a hero of the Latino community since he first became famous with parts in Carlito’s Way and Romeo and Juliet. Despite many dramatic roles, Leguizamo is known first as a comedian, having written and performed several one-man shows, including Freak and Ghetto Klown. Latin History for Dummies (A Work in Progress) showcases the contributions that Latinos have made to the country. 7:30 p.m. Improv Comedy Theater. 1600 E. Eighth Ave. 33605.

4/26 Of Mice and Men The Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation

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April 22, 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

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Of Mice and Men is an American metalcore band founded by Jaxin Hall and Austin Carlile in 2009. Their selftitled album in 2010 introduced a style similar to bands Attack Attack! and We Came as Romans. By last year’s album Restoring Force the band had ventured further into nu-metal territory, with a sound similar to Deftones and Slipknot. Opening bands are Crown the Empire and Volumes. 6:30 p.m. Ritz Ybor. 1503 E. Seventh Ave. Tampa. 33607.

A FITNESS AND NUTRITION TRANSFORMATION BLUEPRINT

FITNESS

This is the 9th weekly installment of a 10-part series to help Agenda readers improve their health and fitness.

1. MAKE THE COMMITMENT: Get a notebook and write down on the first page all the reasons you have to lose weight, get fit and live a healthier life. Imagine how you will look and feel when you achieve your goals. Write down a big reward you will give yourself at the finish line. Now make a contract with yourself that at least for the next 12 weeks, the improvement of your health and quality of life will be your number one priority. 2. CREATE A GAMEPLAN: Be specific. Where, when and at what times are you making the commitment to exercise? (Choose a commercial gym over a home gym to give you access to more equipment and motivation by being around others with similar goals). At a minimum, you should plan 45 minutes of exercise three times a week. On two other days, allocate the same amount of time or more for cardio activity such as speed walking, running, biking, etc. Each gym workout will comprise 15 to 20 minutes of high intensity cardio to elevate the heart rate followed by 25-30 minutes of strength training. Include a day or two to rest and recover.

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If you are a Do-It-Yourselfer and choose to work out by yourself, this article is written for you. It’s a checklist of essential steps to set and achieve your fitness goals in the next 12 weeks.

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LET’S EXAMINE YOUR WORKOUT

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Text By Peter Jackson, CPT

time amounts to very little. You must give this 110%. Squeeze out one or two more reps each time, push a little harder, lift a little heavier, and your determination will power success. Failure is a good thing – in this case, being unable to complete safely one more repetition of the exercise. Efficient workouts lasting 30-45 minutes are better than 90 minutes spent haphazardly wandering from one machine to the next.

5. WHAT ARE YOU EATING?

Volume, Low Load” (example, 10 sets, 4-8 reps each) as well as “Low Volume, High Load” (5-6 sets, 12-15 reps). There are advantages to both training techniques, but start your program with Low Volume, High Load.

7. GET YOUR GROOVE BACK: As your body is conditioned and strengthened, it’s time to work on what’s going on inside your mind. Attitude is everything when it comes to accomplishing meaningful goals in life. Make an attitude check. It’s said, “The way things look won’t change until we change the way we look at things.” Get 7-8 hours of sleep per night, relax, meditate or try yoga, rid yourself of the negative people and influences around you and strive to be happy. Revel in accomplishing your fitness goal in 12 weeks – then choose another one. Fitness is a lifestyle.

Peter Jackson is the owner of Push Fitness and other fitness businesses in Oakland Park. He can be reached via e-mail at Info@PushFitnessFTL.com

April 22, 2015

You know this one. A healthy body starts in the kitchen. Ditch the junk food, say no to fast food and put on your grocery list the essentials to a healthy diet: lean red meat, turkey, chicken and fish, 3. PLAN YOUR WORK, WORK fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains and legumes. YOUR PLAN: Do a little homework. Cut most or all carbs from your evening Research new strength training routines online meal. Make the time to eat breakfast, don’t or in reputable fitness magazines and watch skip meals, and enjoy healthy snacks between YouTube videos. It’s easy and fun to improve meals. Drink more water, cut way back on your knowledge and important to vary work- alcohol or, better still, abandon hard liquor outs. Know in advance of each session exactly and all sodas and sugary fruit drinks for the which exercises must be done. It’s essential to duration of your 12-week plan. Supplement have a plan – and follow it. In your notebook with a quality multivitamin and whey protein or phone app, plan and date each workout powder. It’s a personal choice, but consider a and note the number of reps and weight you pre-workout supplement as well. executed. 6. IT’S ALL ABOUT VOLUME: Volume 4. DO THE WORK: It’s no exaggeration can be measured by the total number of reps to say that upwards of 50% of people at your and setscompleted during each workout – and typical commercial gym are fooling themselves is a measurement of how hard you’re working if they believe they will see meaningful results and forecasts how rapidly results will come. For from what they call a workout. Subtract the example, a set of 5-6 different exercises would time they spend chatting with others, hanging be considered low volume and 8 or more sets at the water cooler, resting between sets, and/or would be considered high volume. Repetitions eyeing some hot body, and their actual exercise are referred to as “Load”, so you have “High

April 22, 2015

30 /floridaagenda

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k o o L T U O DANCING WITH THE SOUTH FLORIDA STARS

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PHOTOS BY COCO ALARCON

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“TEAM RUMORS” WINS MIA PATRICYK & LUIS MENDEZ

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April 22, 2015 31

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THE WEEK

One of today’s top stand-up comedians, Kevin Hart consistently sells out venues and has smashed comedy BY PATRICK ROBERT tour records. Hart’s career began as so many do these days, by starring in a Judd Apatow series (Undeclared). Roles in films Soul Plane, The 40-YearOld Virgin, and the Scary Movie franchise helped solidify a reputation that has grown each year. Recently, he hosted the much-publicized Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber. 10:30 p.m. Veterans Memorial Arena. 300 Beethoven’s timeless Pastoral A. Philip Randolph Blvd. Jacksonville. symphony celebrates nature, life, 32202. and love with the most romantic of instruments, the cello, taking center stage. It will be featured as part of the Mayo Clinic Coffee Series—an exciting series providing musical outings Dinner guests are asked to become for those who enjoy daytime activi- the ultimate sleuths, solving real cold ties. A pre-concert coffee hour at 10 cases while enjoying a four-course a.m. features the special “Courtney meal. The performers are dressed like Coffee” blend provided by Martin everyone else, making all the guests Coffee Company. 11:00 a.m. Times- suspects, possible victims, and a Union Center for the Performing Arts. part of the show. The night ends with 300 Water St. Jacksonville. 32202. prizes awarded to the top sleuth and a mystery, yet again, solved by intrepid dinner guests. 6:00 p.m. Omni Hotel. 245 W. Water St. Jacksonville. 32202.

JACKSONVILLE

4/24 Coffee Concert Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony

April 22, 2015

Murder Mystery Dinner Show

4/25 Kevin Hart

SCREEN SAVOR

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Artifice and Artistry

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Ex Machina (Courtesy of weird.com)

artistic process and techniques (including unfortunate shopping sprees at the hateful Hobby Lobby), countered with Leininger’s pursuit. Events take an unexpected turn when Aaron Cowan, program director at University of Cincinnati’s DAAP Galleries gets the idea to create an exhibition around Landis and his forgeries. DVD special features include audio commentary by the directors, deleted scenes and much more. Mitra Farahani’s doc Fifi Howls From Happiness (Music Box Films) is a respectful portrait of “historic figure” Bahman Mohassess, a homosexual painter and sculptor known as the “Persian Picasso.” Divided into four chapters, the film features narration by Farahani in which she talks about how “the history in which Mohassess believed he played a major part swallowed him whole and no one was able to find him afterwards.” The last time Mohassess was seen in Tehran, he destroyed his entire body of work and left. No one knew his whereabouts; he disappeared without a trace. Farahani won’t say how she found Mohassess at the Hotel Sacconi in Rome, just how she penetrated his room in July 2010, shortly before he “became unreachable.” Farahani succeeds in getting Mohassess, a control freak (he constantly makes suggestions about how he would like things to appear in the doc) and heavy

smoker (he’s rarely seen without a cigarette and his cough reverberates), to tell his own story, including details of his birth (1931 in Rasht near the Caspian sea), his education (Tehran’s Academy of Fine Arts), his influences (revolutionary poet Nima Yushij), his political views (including the American coup) and the way politics found a place in his work (he “witnessed oil spills and horrible people” and “democracy and dictatorships are the same” to him). Mohassess also speaks openly about his homosexuality; how he preferred “the forbidden character of homosexuality” to the openness of today. According to Mohassess, “the beauty was in the prohibition.” Appalled by the concept of gay marriage, he tells Farahani that all of his male lovers were engaged to women. Even in declining health, Mohassess remains feisty, especially when dealing with potential commissions of his work. When he finally meets a pair of artist brothers (whom Mohassess describes as “cool, not stiff and stuffy”) willing to pay for a commission, as well as purchase the remaining works of art that Mohassess himself hasn’t destroyed, the film takes a lighthearted turn. But, as you might expect, the joy is short-lived. In Farsi with English subtitles. Ahmad Farough’s 1967 doc about Mohassess, The Eye That Hears, is the DVD’s only bonus feature.

area theaters on April 24.] It’s not surprising that Mark Landis, “one of the most prolific art forgers in U.S. history,” and the subject of the riveting doc Art and Craft (Oscilloscope) would also be a font of recycled and timeworn clichés (such as “nothing’s original under the sun”). After all, if he can’t paint or draw something original, why should he be capable of coming up with anything original to say? An autistic savant of the highest order, Landis is celebrated and derided in equal measure in Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman’s film. Art and Craft is as much a detective story as it is a portrait of an artist. Landis, who considered himself a philanthropist, was “not in it for the money,” and donated his forged artworks to unsuspecting museum curators, churches and the like. But Landis probably never anticipated crossing paths with Matthew Leininger, a registrar at an art museum in Oklahoma, who once he uncovered his scam, followed (read: became obsessed with) Landis for a number of years. When all was said and done, Leininger could link more than 100 Landis pieces to 46 museums in 20 states. In and out of psychiatric hospitals from the time he was a teenager and on a regimen of various maintenance pharmaceuticals, Landis remained unstoppable. Art and Craft provides an intimate look at his

April 22, 2015

hen you watch Ex Machina (A24/Universal), the directorial debut by novelist/ screenwriter Alex Garland (The Beach), you might find yourself wondering if it was his intention that this movie be as imperfect as the tech it’s trumpeting. But don’t wonder about that for too long. Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a semi-socially awkward computer/tech nerd (No kidding! See also: Silicon Valley) is employed by Bluebook, founded by enigmatic and equally socially awkward computer/ tech gazillionaire Nathan (a thoroughly miscast Oscar Isaac). Led to believe he has won an employee lottery that earns him a week at Nathan’s estate to meet with his reclusive boss, Caleb is brought by helicopter to his employer’s island, but has to walk a few miles on his own before he reaches the property. As it turns out, Nathan’s high-tech mountainside fortress isn’t just his home; it’s also a research facility. Before they get down to the nitty-gritty of the visit, Caleb hesitantly signs a non-disclosure agreement (shades of 50 Shades), entitling him to take part (read: be the human component) in a Turing test, alongside Nathan’s AI (artificial intelligence) creation Ava (Alicia Vikander). Over the course of seven sessions, Caleb and Ava are observed by Nathan. Following each session, Caleb meets with Nathan, usually over a meal, where Nathan gets blind drunk and then loses consciousness. Nathan’s a real Pearl Mesta (or should that be Pearl Messed-up?). Naturally (or is it artificially?), Caleb develops feelings for the attractive Ava, and believes that his attraction is reciprocated. During power cuts, when Caleb thinks he and Ava aren’t being observed by Nathan’s CCTV cameras, he naively hatches an escape plan for himself and Ava. But, predictably, puppet-master Nathan is pulling strings and pushing buttons all along. Don’t worry, he’s going to get his comeuppance (see Westworld). Ex Machina feels like a lot of wasted potential. Some of the special effects are special, while others are all too familiar. Fanboys and fangirls alike may lap this up like artificial sweetener, but those looking for something real will have to look elsewhere. [Ex Machina opens in

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BY GREGG SHAPIRO

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The Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation

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April 22, 2015

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April 22, 2015

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THE WEEK

MIAMI/ MIAMI BEACH BY PATRICK ROBERT

4/24 Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival The 17th annual Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival features more than sixty-five films offering “historical and contemporary perspectives on the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender experience.” The festival begins with the bittersweet Southeast premiere of one of Robin Williams’ last films, Boulevard. An awards brunch at the Biltmore Hotel will end the festivities next Sunday. Various Times. Colony Theatre. 1040 Lincoln Road. Miami Beach. 33139.

Barry Manilow and Adrienne Arsht Center Gala Newly married (and out) Barry Manilow will be celebrating the Adrienne Arsht Center’s ninth anniversary with a Frank Sinatra tribute. The Grammy, Tony, and Emmy winner will be performing Ol’ Blue Eyes’ hits with the help of the Henry Mancini Big Band Orchestra. This fancy gala will include cocktails, dinner, dancing, and desserts. 6:30 p.m. Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. 1300 Biscayne Blvd. Miami. 33132.

April 22, 2015

4/26 AIDS Walk Miami The 27th Annual AIDS Walk Miami 5k walk-a-thon fundraiser will kick off proceedings at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The event is Miami’s largest HIV/AIDS awareness fundraiser and helps support Care Resource and Food for Life Network, helping to prevent new infections, maximize the health outcomes of those infected, and to end the epidemic once and for all. This year’s post-walk celebration takes place at the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens and will include a live musical performance by Henry Santos. 8:00 a.m. Miami Beach Convention Center. 1901 Convention Center Dr. Miami Beach. 33139.

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TRAVEL BY ANDREW COLLINS

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sashimi with shiitakes and a yuzu-soy glaze, roasted Kona lobster with glazed chestnuts and pepper butter – it’s the ideal specialoccasion dining destination. Another exceptional choice for a superb, exquisitely prepared locavore-driven cuisine is RumFire Poipu Beach (sheraton-kauai. com/dining/rumfire; 808) 742-1661), which enjoys a dazzling setting on a promontory overlooking the sea at the Sheraton Kauai – try the fried Brussels sprouts with Portuguese sausage and spiced macadamia nuts, or local butterfish with a plank-grilled salmon with purple potatoes and cherry-tomato jam. This romantic restaurant is also well-regarded for its extensive cocktail menu and well-chosen wine list. Other Poipu culinary highlights include the Kauai outposts of two restaurant brands that have become legendary in Hawaii: Merriman’s Fish House (merrimanshawaii.com; 808-742-8385), which serves farm-fresh, healthful regional cuisine, and Eating House 1849 (eatinghouse1849. com; 808-742-5000), the terrific plantationinspired restaurant operated by renowned Hawaiian chef Roy Yamaguchi. Up north, charmingly laid-back Hanalei is home to the Hanalei Taro & Juice Co. (hanaleitaro.com; 808-826-1059), a humble food truck (with a covered seating area) in the center of town that serves delicious and authentic Hawaiian specialties, such as Kalua pork tacos and laulau chicken, plus luscious and healthy taro-based fruit smoothies. Hanalei Coffee Roasters (hanaleicoffeeandteacompany.com; 808-826-6717) serves some of the best java on the island. And hip and sophisticated Bar Acuda (restaurantbaracuda.com; 808-826-7081) turns out delicious Mediterranean fare – it’s owned by talented chef Jim Moffat, who ran some

of San Francisco’s hottest eateries in the ‘90s before moving to Hawaii. House-cured chorizo, roasted squid with chili oil and fresh lemon, and seared local ono fish with shaved fennel and a blood-orange reduction are among the delicacies here. Kauai has no shortage spots specializing in tasty short-order fare and tempting snacks, including Papalani Gelato (papalanigelato. comTimes in Poipu, and Jo Jo’s Anuenue Shave Ice & Treats (808-431-4840) in Waimea. Just north of Poipu, the Koloa Fish Market (808-742-6199) prepares super-fresh plate lunches and bento boxes to go (try the ahi poke bento) – they’re perfect for a picnic. In Lihue, dive-y Hamura’s Saimin (808245-3271) is worth stopping by to sample hearty renditions of ramen-like saimin, a beloved traditional Hawaiian dish. Don’t pass up the lilikoi (passion fruit) chiffon pie for dessert. If you’re driving through Kapaa, stop for a meal at Art Café Hemingway (artcafehemingway.com; 808-822-2250), which is run by a charming Eastern European couple, features beautiful artwork, and serves highquality coffees and deftly prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner fare. Cozy and bustling Verde (verdehawaii.com; 808-821-1400) is a fun little Mexican restaurant in Kapaa, serving tasty blackened-mahimahi tacos and garlic-shrimp tacos. Kauai has few nightspots, but just about anywhere on the island you’ll be greeted warmly – and there’s pretty good chance of bumping into “family” at most places. One spot that many LGBT folks frequent, especially during the “gay nights” held the first Saturday of each month, is Nawiliwili Tavern (808-245-1781), near the Kauai Marriott. Also in Lihue, in a shopping center with the continued on page 41

“Grand Canyon of the Pacific” without good reason. The 10-mile-long canyon is 3,000 feet deep and is one of Hawaii’s best photo ops. If you have a few hours, drive all the way to visitor center at Waimea Canyon’s Kokee State Park to pick up a trail map, and then embark on the stunning hike along the Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls, which affords visitors an incredible perspective on the canyon. You’ll find beautiful beaches all around the island, some of them drawing heavily among Kauai’s many LGBT residents and visitors. The easiest to reach is Lydgate State Park, just south of Kapaa off the Kuhio Highway – walk south from the parking area for the gay-popular section. Donkey Beach, off Kuhio Highway a bit north of Kapaa, is enjoyable both for sunbathing or swimming, and it draws a mix of gays and straights. Just keep in mind that the surf can be intense, so exercise caution. You’ll see the parked cars on the side of the road as you head north out of Kapaa, between mileposts 11 and 12 – from here just follow the trail down to the water. Nudity is permitted at this beach as well as at 3,000-foot Secret Beach (aka Kauapea Beach), another favorite of LGBT folks that’s up north near Kilauea Lighthouse (it’s a bit hard to find, however, so ask locals for directions). In recent years, quite a few sophisticated, urbane restaurants have opened on the island, making it a genuine favorite among foodies. One of the best is Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Kauai Grill (kauaigrill.com; 808.826.2250), the refined restaurant inside the stunning St. Regis Princeville resort. If you dine here, consider visiting the terrace bar just off the lobby before your meal; this open-air perch is the place to watch the sun fall over Hanalei Bay. With friendly, solicitous service and superb food – hamachi

April 22, 2015

Nobody on Kauai will give you a hard time for simply lazing on one of the island’s gorgeous beaches every waking hour of your vacation. Still, you may find it impossible to resist the countless opportunities for outdoor adventure on this lush, mountainous and least populated of Hawaii’s four major islands. Whether you venture out sea-kayaking, helicopter-touring, ziplining, hiking, or canyoneering, you won’t likely regret packing an activity or two into each of your days on what’s typically nicknamed the “Garden Island.” For the ultimate hiking and beachcombing, many visitors to Kauai (gohawaii.com/ en/Kauai) head for the Nā Pali Coast, which is on the northwestern tip of the island, just beyond the picturesque village of Hanalei (the setting for such films as South Pacific and Indiana Jones). The eastern side of Kauai is dominated by the waterfalls of the Wailua River Valley, the southern end by Poipu’s breathtaking beaches and upscale resorts, and the western side by gargantuan Waimea Canyon – there’s unparalleled beauty wherever you look. Touring Kauai by helicopter affords visitors one of the most memorable opportunities to see the entire island, and especially the remote and formidable Nā Pali Coast. Several companies offer these tours. Island Helicopters (islandhelicopters.com; 800-829-5999) is especially fun because they offer an 85-minute island excursion that includes stopping and walking around the base of 400-foot Manawaiopuna Falls, which appeared prominently in the opening scenes of Jurassic Park. This extremely informative, mesmerizing tour then circles the entire island, its capable pilots zipping in and out of tight valleys and even, weather permitting, the crater of extinct Kawaikini Peak, the island’s highest point. Another exhilarating way to view part of the island is by striking out for an afternoon of high-wire action with Koloa Zipline (koloazipline.com; 877-707-7088), which operates an eight-line course in the verdant mountains near Poipu resort. You can opt for a classic or “Flying Kauaian” style harness (the latter is plenty more fun and well worth the $20 surcharge). As you sail above the treetops on some of the longest zip lines in Kauai (one stretches for a full half-mile), you’ll be treated to plenty of thrills. If you’re in good shape and game for an independent adventure, you can always hike into the Nā Pali highlands via the famed 11-mile Kalalau Trail. To hike the entire trail, which is steep and rugged in places, you must obtain a permit and camp overnight, as it’s not possible to cover the entire trail in a day. However, day hikers can easily venture in the first couple of miles to Hanakapiai Beach. And without a permit, you can also climb up to Hanakapiai Falls, or continue for another few miles to Hanakoa campground. Less demanding options for sightseeing include driving to the viewpoints at Waimea Canyon State Park – they don’t call this the

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Where To Go, What To See On Hawaii’s Garden Island Of Kauai

April 22, 2015

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April 22, 2015

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TRAVEL CONTINUED

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com; 808-245-5050) has the largest pool in the state and spreads across 800 handsomely landscaped acres and a fabulous beachfront. It’s a favorite option of LGBT families, given all the kid-friendly resort activities and amenities. Up the coast toward the north shore, lushly and secluded Mahina Kai B&B (mahinakai.com; 808-822-9451) is a lovely getaway and the island’s only gayexclusive lodging. The five rooms are beautifully – and distinctly – furnished, and the surrounding Japanese-inspired gardens and lagoon pool are the perfect places to relax and de-stress. There’s a fine, uncrowded beach within walking distance. And finally, on the north shore and with unparalleled views of Hanalei and the Nā Pali coast, the ultra-swanky St. Regis Princeville (stregisprinceville.com; 808-826-9644) enjoys one of the most majestic locations in Hawaii. You enter this gorgeous property through a topfloor lobby – it’s situated high on a bluff over the ocean – where you’ll also find the inviting Halelea Spa and access to celebrated Kauai Grill and St. Regis Bar. Cushy rooms with panoramic views seemingly tumble down a hillside to the beachfront, where you can tan your hide around a large pool and open-air restaurant, or saunter out onto the beach. The surrounding Princeville resort is also home to the world-class Makai Golf Club, a number of condominium rentals, and another terrific lodging option, the Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas (westinprinceville.com; 808-827-8700). Andrew Collins produces the site GayTravel.About.com and contributes to many other travel magazines and websites. He can be reached care of this publication or at OutofTown@qsyndicate.com.

April 22, 2015 41

island’s only bowling alley, Rob’s Good Times Grill (kauaisportsbarandgrill. com; 808-246-0311) is Kauai’s favorite sports bar – it’s not exactly a gay hotspot, but it is friendly and fun. Kauai has a nice range of accommodations in all prices ranges, from posh resorts to gay-friendly B&Bs. Poipu, on the south shore, has the greatest concentration of distinguished lodgings, including the aforementioned Sheraton Kauai Resort (sheraton-kauai.com; 808-7421661), which hugs a spectacular point on the ocean, and has a great pool where you can also rent private bungalows for the day, a stunning beach that’s famed for snorkeling, and the outstanding restaurant RumFire. The Sheraton’s prime setting has also made it a favorite resort for gay weddings. The Grand Hyatt Kauai (kauai.hyatt. com; (808-742-1234) ranks among Kauai’s most sumptuous full-service resorts - rooms have smart, contemporary furnishings and such cushy amenities as iHome stereos and beverage chillers. The Hyatt is also home to the superb Anara Spa – set amid lush gardens and waterfalls – as well as a top-notch golf course and several excellent restaurants. If you wish to be close to Waimea Canyon, consider the charming and historic Waimea Plantation Cottages (coasthotels.com; 808-338-1625), whose 61 private bungalows were built in the early 1900s for workers of a local sugarcane mill. They’re situated around relaxing, tree-shaded grounds that fringe the ocean. It’s a great option if you’re seeking a laid-back, old-school Hawaii experience, but with comfy accommodations that include well-equipped kitchens, private lanais, and vintage plantationstyle furnishings. Also impressive and with a central location near the airport, the Kauai Marriott Resort (marriott.

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PU Z Z L E Sign of theTimes

April 22, 2015

Across

1 Race site in Auden’s land 6 Express pleasure orally 10 Rat Bohemia author Schulman 15 Dutch resort isle 16 Painter Bonheur 17 Board material 18 What they call discrimination in Indiana 21 Test the weight of 22 ‘’There ___ be a law!’’ (anti-gay motto of Indiana?) 23 Coldcock 24 Gasteyer of SNL 25 While you’re doing it 27 Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson 28 Layer of some balls 30 Journalist Ted 32 River of Auden’s land 33 Pioneer automaker 37 Twenty Questions turn 38 With 56-Across, sign in the window of any place that discriminates, per SNL 41 Start to pea? 44 Stonewall Jackson, and others 45 Montagues and Capulets, e.g. 49 Assholes 50 Begins to take notice 51 __ Enchanted 52 Roundup rope 54 Moo juice source 55 Says, “Let’s do it!” 56 See 38-Across

63 McCullers’ Ballad of the ___ Cafe 64 Cup material 65 Signs of using a rubber? 66 Singer Di Franco 67 Islands instrument 68 Way to get a bone up? 69 Creepy Chaney 70 Former Russian orbiter 71 Felt in one’s bones 72 Three of Napoli

Down

1 Swank, in a 2009 flick 2 Peacock, e.g. 3 Ingredient in dye or fertilizer 4 Memorial column 5 The Advocate, briefly 6 Tile surrounder 7 Type of trade 8 Question about a crossdresser, perhaps 9 1993 treaty acronym 10 Get a load of 11 City north of Des Moines 12 Bureaucratic tangle 13 Makes moist or hard 14 Pew books at Metropolitan Community Church 19 Burial site of Macbeth 20 Place for pool players’ balls 25 ___ The Woods 26 Deli request 29 Take into the body 31 Did not wait to exhale? 33 R.E.M.’s “The ___ Love”

34 Target of discrimination in Indiana 35 Buck’s mates 36 George Takei’s role on Star Trek 39 Apr. 15 letters 40 Cooking meas. 41 Package pouch 42 Beach of Bette’s home state 43 AIDS: Profile of an Epidemic narrator 46 Aging first mate, perhaps 47 She loved Franklin and Lorena 48 Tin fish 53 In the sack 54 Cold War rival of the USA 57 Creator of Sal Mineo’s Exodus character 58 Letter enc. 59 “The doctor ___” 60 Whoopi and others in Sister Act 61 Follies costume designer 62 Rank Mauresmo, e.g. For the solution to this puzzle, go to www.floridaagend.com/puzzle

ORLANDO

Alternative rock heroes Wilco is known for being one of the most critically-acclaimed rock groups of the past decade. Their 2002 album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was their most successful, selling over 670,000 copies and gaining worldwide recognition after a controversial falling out with their label. 2004’s A Ghost is Born earned Wilco two Grammy Awards, including Best Alternative Music Album. Their latest album is titled The Whole Love. 8:00 p.m. Hard Rock Live. 6050 Universal Blvd. Orlando. 32819.

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Wilco

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4/28

BY PATRICK ROBERT

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THE WEEK

Tyler the Creator Tyler, the Creator’s 2013 album Wolf solidified his status as a major up-andcoming performer. The alternative hip-hop crew Odd Future’s main rapper, producer, and source of inspiration got his name from a Los Angeles Times article about him when he was a 16-year-old skateboarding enthusiast. His bizarre and filthy material earned him a legion of followers back in 2010 when his video “French” took off, earning over a million views. 8:00 p.m. The Plaza Live. 425 North Bumby Ave. Orlando. 32803.

4/29 Alanis Morissette

April 22, 2015

Dave Coulier’s ex-girlfriend is the queen of alt-rock angst, having found success with wildly popular 1995 album Jagged Little Pill. Ubiquitous radio airplay was given to songs “You Oughta Know,” “All I Really Want,” and “Hand in My Pocket.” Her biggest hit, “Ironic,” also taught most American high school English students the meaning of the word with various questionable examples of “irony” sprinkled throughout the lyrics. 7:00 p.m. Hard Rock Live. 6050 Universal Blvd. Orlando. 32819.

April 22, 2015

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April 22, 2015