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INSIDE VOL. 32, ISSUE 16 | NOV. 27 - DEC. 10, 2013
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PHOTO: MISS MISSY PHOTOGRAPHY
Margaret Cho
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INSIDE
VOL. 32, ISSUE 16 | NOV. 27 - DEC. 10, 2013
LEADING BY EXAMPLE Michael Eisman..............................................22 NEWS News Briefs ....................................................24 New LGBT Anti-Smoking Drive: Get Your Butt Out of My Life......................32 L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Announces $25 Million Capital Campaign ........................................34
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SOCAL EVENTS GUIDE Calendar ..........................................................55 SnapShots........................................................56 ENTERTAINMENT Film Reviews ..................................................62 Music Reviews................................................63 Theater Reviews ............................................64 HEALTH Off the Couch ................................................66 COLUMNS Little Miss Know-It-All ................................67 Billy Masters ..................................................68 Out & About ..................................................69 Gossip Gay ......................................................70 CITY GUIDES West Hollywood ............................................71 Palm Springs ..................................................72 FRONTIERS MARKETPLACE Listings..............................................................76 Business Profile ..............................................77 FRONTIERS4MEN Adult Classifieds............................................78 Sex Ed ..............................................................85
36 COVER PHOTO OF MARGARET CHO BY
missmissyphotography.net
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Frontiers magazine is published by Frontiers Media, LLC., 5657 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 470, Los Angeles, CA. 90036, and distributed throughout Southern California. Up to the first three copies of any single issue are free; additional copies are $10 each. Violators caught stealing or destroying issues will be prosecuted under California Penal Code 484. For magazine subscriptions, please call (323) 930-3220. The contents of Frontiers may not be reproduced in any manner, either in whole or in part, without permission from the publisher. All rights reserved. Letters to the editor, artwork, photography, manuscripts and other correspondence may be submitted to Frontiers at the above address. We cannot acknowledge or return material unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Allow at least three months for processing. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Frontiers is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation or the HIV/AIDS status of such person or organization. Copyright Š 2013, Frontiers Media, LLC.
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James Adomian
ONLINE Find these articles exclusively at
THE BIG GAY REVEAL By Steve Young
youtube.com/ frontiersweb
CONNIE & TED’S AND DAVID By Michael Menzies Connie and Ted are all about fish. They have opened an upscale fish restaurant on the spot where the iconic Silver Spoon restaurant stood on Santa Monica Boulevard. It is always jam-packed on weekends, the only days they are open for lunch. It could be the crab cakes, it could be the sole, it could be the lobster roll that brings the customers in. But I believe it is David. FrontiersLA.com/Service
WORLD OF WARLOCK By Michelle McCarthy Leslie Jordan held his own against Karen Walker and appeared in 2011’s The Help opposite the likes of Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Jessica Chastain. Now he’s found himself surrounded by another pack of tough women on American Horror Story: Coven. In between jaunts to the Big Easy to shoot AHS, the Tennessee native is prepping his one-man show, Show Pony, which he’ll bring to the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center for the holidays. FrontiersLA.com/ExclusiveInterviews
LATIN FRONTIER:
CUCHICUCHI by Victor Barreiro
The one and only Charo will soon be seen in an episode of El Show, the first series of MiTú Networks' newest venture on its YouTube Channel Macho. The Spanish-American legend gives us the rundown of what to expect. FrontiersLA.com/LatinFrontier
BOOK
REVIEWS by The Bookworm
In need of a good read? Check out our reviews of Bargain Fever: How to Shop in a Discounted World by Mark Ellwood and Lawfully Wedded Husband: How My Gay Marriage Will Save the American Family by Joel Derfner. FrontiersLA.com/ BookReviews
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AFTER ‘I DO’:
A MATTER OF CREDIT By Rolf Danner Rolf and Jeff tied the knot in 2008. For both, that gloriously bright California day came at the end of a long journey, culminating in the congratulations of friends and families. Little did they know that their journey had only just begun. MarriageEqualityFrontiers.com
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Erin Foley and James Adomian are both hilarious stand-up comics on the cusp of bigger, mainstream success. Foley has performed all across the country and had her own half-hour Comedy Central Presents and recently performed on The Conan O'Brien Show. Adomian has been performing stand-up to audiences across the country and has made television appearances on IFC’s Comedy Bang Bang and Adult Swim’s Children’s Hospital). They’re also both openly gay, frequently to the surprise their audiences. FrontiersLA.com/Features
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FrontiersLA.com Volume 32, Issue 16 5657 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 470, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Phone: (323) 930-3220 Sales Fax: (323) 857-0560 Administration Fax: (323) 848-2058 Accounting Fax: (323) 857-0503
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firstname.lastname@FrontiersLA.com Contributing Writers Aaron Batts, Jackie Beat, Dr. Greg Cason, Peter DelVecchio, Glen Hanson, Gossip Gay, Stephan Horbelt, David Kalmansohn, Gary M. Kramer, Jim Larkins, Dan Loughry, Billy Masters, Michelle McCarthy, Dana Miller, James F. Mills, Paulo Murillo, Karen Ocamb, Brian Padgett, Eric Rosen, Dominik Rothbard, Brenden Shucart, Aaron Stella, Kevin P. Taft, Paul V., Paul Waters, Duane Wells Contributing Photographers and Illustrators Jenny Anderson, Gabe Ayala, Claire Barrett, Lindsey Byrnes, Waymon Hudson, Ed Krieger, Michael Lamont, Miss Missy Photography, Karen Ocamb, Rolling-Blackouts, Jonathan Sirand, Kelly Smith, Robyn von Swank
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©2013 Thanks to the dawn of the information age, we believe distribution/circulation not only encompasses hard copies printed and the pass-on rate of those hard copies, but web browsing and electronic copies being downloaded by our growing online readership. This has become a substantial boost to the number of readers of our magazine. Currently, an average of 30,000 hard copies are printed biweekly. Studies have shown each hard copy has a probable “pass-on rate” of two to three, meaning each hard copy taken will be seen by two to three additional readers. With the pass-on rate alone, estimated readership can conservatively average 55,000 to 90,000, not encompassing visitors who visit us online at FrontiersLA.com.
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BUILDING COMMUNITY
Leading by Example
Impulse Group’s Michael Eisman: Changing the Conversation Around HIV Prevention By Brenden Shucart
Before being asked to join Impulse Group, Michael Eisman’s initial perception of the organization was pretty negative. “They were essentially a party planning committee in my view.” It was a criticism that had been echoed by other advocates for men’s health and HIV services. But Impulse Group has grown and changed since its early days. The organization now produces short educational films, hosts community forums on issues important to the health and lives of gay and bisexual men and is working hard to change the way our community talks about HIV. What is the mission of Impulse Group? Impulse is an HIV prevention and advocacy group that targets groups and demographics less likely to be receptive to traditional messaging. Of course, this is not a direct quote from our mission statement but rather what our mission is to me. Why did you decide to get involved with Impulse, and what is your role? In April I was approached by the vice president of Impulse, Kevin Pakdivichit, about coming on board to help develop educational material and advise on ways to strengthen Impulse's advocacy material. In the last year, Impulse has been focused on changing the perception that it was a party planning group. I had previously worked with another advocacy group, and Kevin knew that I had an interest in the science side of advocacy. Since then my role has evolved multiple times to include event planning and campaign development, and I still dabble in developing educational material. My current title is Director of Community Outreach.
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Impulse Group recently hosted a community forum on PrEP [Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, a pill taken by high-risk HIV-negative men to prevent the spread of HIV]. Why did you decide to take on this important issue? Actually, I was initially the person in the group who pushed for an event on PrEP because the group itself was so incredibly divided about personal feelings on it. Part of my role is to lead discussions at our board meetings on trending topics in the world of advocacy. At one of our meetings in early July, I created a thought exercise where the group had to argue the pros and cons of PrEP from the perspective of a serodiscordant relationship and a highly promiscuous young gay male. We found very quickly that there were some opposing and passionate views in our own ranks. In the following days—through group discussions on email threads and Facebook—we decided that we needed to have a town hall meeting and get the community involved in the conversation. What was the reaction from the community? We had overwhelmingly positive reactions to the event. The most common themes in people's comments were that this conversation desperately needed to occur, and that they were shocked that we would have such a neutral position, considering our affiliation with AHF [Ed. Note: The public position of AHF with regard to PrEP has been vociferous skepticism.] During the PrEP talk you also premiered a video titled Knowing, about a sero-discordant relationship (wherein one partner in living with HIV and the other is not). What can you tell us about it?
Knowing evolved from a concept that I had been developing at Impulse since day one. I wanted to make people aware of various issues surrounding HIV, but make it relatable and entertaining to watch. I knew I wanted to target the young gay community, and I knew that I wanted it to be edgy and sexy. I believe in one of the very first planning sessions for the video I said, “I want this to be a PSA, but a PSA that guys will jerk off to.” I feel that for years the messaging around HIV has been that of fear tactics, and our goal was to move the conversation past that and talk about real life. Our plan is to develop an entire series, but we chose serodiscordancy as the first topic because the question was coming up so much about how safe a serodiscordant relationship is. We based the outcome of our plot on the medical statistics regarding such relationships where one partner is positive but his viral load is undetectable. Our hope is that maybe we inspired those in the dating scene to understand the steps that need to be taken to take a chance on love, or even just lust, regardless of status. I want to note that John Saint-Denis, Chris Rallo and their team at the Advisorie Group took the concept well beyond what I had envisioned. They really brought the characters to life and created a story that touched our audience in a way we didn't know we could. We could not have done this without them. Learn more about the Impulse Group at impulsegrp.org. Learn more about PrEP at PrEPfacts.org. Watch Knowing at tinyurl.com/myyljqa.
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NEWS By Peter DelVecchio and Karen Ocamb
Beatty, Bening’s Trans Son Makes PSA Writer Stephen Ira Beatty, transgender son of actors Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, has made a public service video in conjunction with GLAAD and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project challenging allegedly discriminatory health care treatment of transgender patients in New York, The Huffington Post reported Nov. 18. (See video at tinyurl.com/ n66kmrs) “Most health insurance policies and programs, including New York State Medicaid, specifically exclude transgender people from accessing care,” according to GLAAD’s website, glaad.org/healthcare. Nineteen percent of transgender people have no form of health insurance. The National LGBT Health Education Center will be presenting a free webinar on Dec. 10 entitled “Transgender Medical Care: Advanced Case Discussion,” which is open to parents and others. “This webinar offers critical information so providers can better understand the unique needs of patients needing transition-related care to help ensure that their patients get the highest quality of treatment,” said Dr. Tim Cavanaugh. (For more, go to tinyurl.com/myxed8a.)
Scott Leaving Christopher Street West Rodney Scott—volunteer president of Christopher Street West, the nonprofit that puts on the annual Los Angeles Pride parade and festival in West Hollywood—announced in a Nov. 13 statement that he is stepping down after serving for 12 years. Board of Directors Co-Presidents Patti Luigi and Steve Ganzell will jointly take over Scott's duties. Scott told Frontiers that his departure had nothing to do with widespread, persistent criticism of what many see as lackluster Pride events Rodney Scott unbefitting the entertainment capital of the world. Scott has been in the front ranks of essentially every LGBT battle since the late 1980s, when—as a member of ACT UP—he and other AIDS activists challenged L.A. County Supervisor Pete Schabarum over the funding of safer-sex programs. “I will continue to do my part for my beloved community,” Scott said in his email to Frontiers.
FIRED LESBIAN TEACHER SUES SAN BERNARDINO SCHOOL DISTRICT
WRONGLY JAILED LESBIANS FREED AFTER ALMOST 15 YEARS
Lambda Legal filed suit Nov. 19 against the Hesperia Unified School District and Sultana High School administrators in San Bernardino County on behalf of a lesbian teacher allegedly fired in retaliation for having assisted students in complaining to the ACLU about harassment and discrimination, a Lambda release states. Last fall, out teacher Julia Frost helped Sultana’s Gay Straight Alliance involve the ACLU in alleged anti-LGBT discrimination at the school, TheSun.com reported in August. While school authorities and the ACLU ultimately agreed to certain training and policy changes, Frost’s contract for the 2013-14 school year was not renewed. “Julia was a beloved teacher who received five very positive performance reviews before the ACLU publicly criticized” the school, said Bert Voorhees, one of Frost’s attorneys. “My job is to defend and teach my kids, and that's what I did,” Frost told TheSun.com in August.
Three lesbians wrongly convicted of child molestation in 1998 were released Nov. 19 after spending nearly 15 years in a Texas prison, The Huffington Post reports. A fourth convicted with the other three was already out on parole. Elizabeth Ramirez, 20 at the time, was arrested along with Cassandra Rivera, Christi Mayhugh and Anna Vasquez for purportedly repeatedly molesting Ramirez’s 7 and 9-year-old nieces for what the article describes as a “nightmarish week-long orgy in 1994” with supposedly Satanic overtones. The women were released under bond after a judge agreed that testimony used to convict them had been improper. The women's lawyer, Mike Ware, believes their sexual orientation affected the case. “If these kinds of preposterous accusations had been made against four Junior League women, the investigation would never have been taken seriously,” he said.
SPEAK OUT “Lee Daniels is an exceptional filmmaker whose work has had—and will continue to have—a tremendous impact on both the LGBT community and culture at large.” —Outfest Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer regarding the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and Outfest’s Visionary Award recipient at the ninth annual Legacy Awards.
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“Whole Foods West Hollywood is providing muchneeded meals to help seniors who turn to the Center for support.” —L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Senior Services Director Kathleen Sullivan on the Center’s partnership with the market in the Feed 4 More campaign, running through year’s end.
“Liz, this isn’t just an issue on which we disagree. You’re just wrong, and on the wrong side of history.” —Mary Cheney, married lesbian and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, about sister Liz Cheney’s opposition to marriage equality, expressed in an interview on Fox News. Liz is running against Wyoming Sen. Michael Enzi in next year’s Republican primary in the heavily anti-gay marriage state.
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NEWS By Peter DelVecchio and Karen Ocamb
Hawaii, Illinois Governors Sign Marriage Bills
Quick Pic
Hawaii and Illinois joined the ranks of U.S. jurisdictions permitting same-sex marriage as their governors signed marriage equality bills. Hawaii’s Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie made the Aloha State number 15 at a signing ceremony on Nov. 13. Marriages begin there on Dec. 2. The governor likened the marriage equality law to Title 9, which he said had “changed the universe for women for all time,” adding, “another universe is about to change for all time.” Abercrombie’s wife, Nancy Abercrombie, read from the work of playwright Tony Kushner, saying, “The world only spins forward. We will all be citizens. ... The time has come. ... The great work begins.” State Rep. Chris Lee, D, a sponsor of the bill, noted marriage equality’s special resonance in Hawaii, where, he said, “We are all minorities,” adding, “It is never the wrong time to do the right thing.” Back in the Heartland, Democratic Illinois
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Gov. Pat Quinn signed his state’s marriage equality bill on Nov. 20, bringing the Land of Lincoln in at number 16, the Chicago Tribune reported. The law will not become effective until June 1, 2014. Thomas J. Paprocki, a Springfield, Ill., Catholic Bishop, had said he planned to conduct an exorcism ritual simultaneously with Gov. Quinn’s signing ceremony. The Catholic Church and certain AfricanAmerican Protestant churches had vigorously fought the bill, causing some black Democratic legislators to oppose it, which complicated but ultimately did not scuttle its passage. Before he signed marriage equality into law on the desk President Abraham Lincoln used to write his 1861 inauguration address (photo above), Quinn quoted Lincoln, saying, “Sometimes we walk slowly, but we never walk back.” Quinn also said that he hopes Illinois will be used as a springboard for a spread of marriage equality. “We want to have a new birth of freedom across our nation,” he said.
Rep. Janice Hahn with Francisco Orozco and Yolanda Lopez, candidates for Compton This poor professional hater is Peter LaBarbera, founder of Americans for Truth About HomosexUnified School District Board of uality. While all the other kids were jumping for joy as Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed the marriage Trustees, at the L.A. County bill on Nov. 20, he stood alone outside. Democratic Party awards dinner,HUDSON Oct. 20. PHOTO BY WAYMON
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SIGNATURES FOR ANTI-TRANS INITIATIVE EFFORT AT SECRETARY OF STATE OFFICE The anti-trans Privacy for All Students claims to have submitted 620,000 signatures, more than the 505,000 valid signatures needed to qualify an initiative to overturn the California transgender student equal access law, California's School Success and Opportunity Act (AB 1266). Those signatures now need to be validated. As of Nov. 20, the majority of the 58 counties reporting to the Secretary of State’s office recorded 354,272 signatures. But there are still nine outstanding counties, including major population centers such as Los Angeles. Equality California, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Transgender Law Center, GSA Network and Gender Spectrum were lead co-sponsors of AB 1266, and two of their leaders are concerned but still cautiously optimistic. “This is a personal attack on our community,” said EQCA Executive Director John O’Connor. “It’s important for our statewide coalition to keep people informed and to talk about what preparations we should make if their referendum qualifies. We’re reaching out to different organizations to have a dialogue about what to do in the community in response. We’re looking to California organizations for grassroots ways to respond, and we’re looking to government entities such as city councils to issue resolutions supporting AB 1266. We’re also collecting data for volunteers who might want to work in the field through canvassing.” O’Connor asks people to check the coalition’s Support All Students website, supportallstudents.org. Geoff Kors, senior policy advisor at NCLR, notes that federal and state protections already exist through Title 9 and California Education Code Section 220. AB 1266 is intended to strengthen the law. “Given the fact that the law already requires these protections, and will do so no matter the outcome of the referendum, the effort by NOM and CRI amounts to nothing more than a campaign to scare people and spread lies, hurting young people,” Kors said. “They would need to have a validity rate of over 80 percent, which is extremely high, but until the count is completed we do not know if the measure will qualify.”
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New Anti-Smoking Campaign: Get Your Butt Out of My Life BY KAREN OCAMB The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health launched a new anti-smoking campaign on Nov. 21 aimed at reducing smoking in the LGBT community. Cute boys from the “Break Up with Tobacco” campaign will hit social media and the bars and gyms in West Hollywood, Long Beach and other gay hot spots wearing T-shirts with such messages as “Get Your Butt Out of My Life” and “Don’t Let the Door Hit Your Ash on the Way Out.” The idea is to spark peer-to-peer conversations about the dire dangers of smoking. The statistics are scary. More LGBT people die from smoking-related illnesses than from suicide, alcohol, car accidents, illegal drugs and HIV combined, according to TobaccoFreeCA. The American Cancer Society says tobacco use kills 30,000 LGBT individuals each year. The most recent data from the California Department of Public Health’s Tobacco Control Program (tinyurl.com/kkw5raz) indicates that LGB adults smoke at more than twice the rate (27.4 percent) of straight adults (12.9 percent); gay men’s smoking prevalence (25.8 percent) is more than 50 percent higher than straight men (16 percent); lesbians’ smoking prevalence (24.4 percent) is two and a half times higher than straight women (9.8 percent), and almost one-third (30.8 percent) of bisexual men and women smoke. In L.A., according to a 2011 county health survey, LGB adults smoke at a rate 55 percent
higher (20.6 percent) than straights (13.3 percent), while bisexuals smoke at nearly twice the rate (25.1 percent) of heterosexuals (13.3 percent). L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Jonathan Fielding introduced this new campaign, along with Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land at Eleven Nightclub in West Hollywood. Land and gay Councilmember John Heilman have been pushing anti-smoking regulations for several years; the recent West Hollywood Community Survey indicates that WeHo’s smoking rate is 5.3 percent higher than the county. Asked about statistics on trans smokers, Fielding said, “We have limited information, but the rate is even higher than among the LGB community. It’s roughly double the rate of the heterosexual community in general.” The state public health department reports on its website, “The California Adult Tobacco Survey does not collect information on individuals’ transgender status.” Fielding and Yaroslavsky also emphasized secondhand smoke, which can cause lung cancer and coronary heart disease in non-smokers. Almost 40 percent of LGBs reported exposure to secondhand smoke outside their homes and work, compared to 31.6 percent of straight people. “Despite L.A. County’s relatively low overall smoking rate, the smoking rate among the LGBT population continues to be unacceptably high, due in part to specific targeting by the tobacco industry,” Fielding said. “The ‘Break Up with Tobacco’ campaign will counteract tobacco marketing and
PHOTO: KAREN OCAMB
Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, WeHo Mayor Abbe Land and L.A. County Public Health Director Jonathan Fielding with members of the “Breaking Up with Tobacco” campaign street team at Eleven Nightclub in WeHo, Nov. 21.
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certain societal norms to spread a positive health message in a way that resonates with the community.” “The sad fact is there are still about 900,000 smokers in L.A. County ... and smoking-related diseases cost the county about $4.3 billion annually,” said Yaroslavsky, a former two-pack-a-day smoker. “These statistics should not be acceptable to us and should not be the continued norm within the LGBT communities that live in our cities.” “Furthermore, this is a health justice matter,” Yaroslavsky said. “Tobacco companies are targeting your communities and you as individuals. They’re seeking to take advantage of you. Why are we OK with tobacco companies targeting their next victims, portraying their products as sexy, cool, liberating? This is not acceptable—and also not true. Tobacco use is not sexy, cool or liberating. It’s stupid, unhealthy and extremely dirty. When used as directed, tobacco products kill.” Since there was no official LGBT spokesperson for the campaign, Fielding and Yaroslavsky were asked to speculate as to why the rates were so high for the LGBT community. They talked about how, with a history of marginalization, LGBT people want to fit in with what society deemed as cool. But that prompted some unexpected candor from Yaroslavsky. “[I]t is ironic, especially in the gay community—which has been afflicted so horribly by HIV and AIDS—that in all the efforts that have been made to combat HIV and AIDS, both through education and medication, that you would just light up a cigarette that could kill you just as fast as anything else,” he said. “You would think that this particular community would value their health even more than the rest of us because they have seen so many of their friends and lovers and family members contract AIDS and die from it. You would think there would be a higher premium placed on life and thus on the lower use of tobacco. But that’s not the way it’s worked.” See LastDragLA.com for information and resources about quitting. There’s also free and confidential counseling at the California Smokers’ Helpline, 1-800-NO-BUTTS. Also check out the L.A. Quits Facebook page and @LAQuits on Twitter and post Instagram photos using #DoneWithYou. (Please see my Special Report about the county’s cultural competence regarding the new campaign at FrontiersLA.com.)
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L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Announces $25 Million Capital Campaign BY KAREN OCAMB L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri L. Jean’s speech at the Center’s annual Vanguard Awards benefit Nov. 9 was different this year. Usually, after sharing the Center’s achievements, she segues into a rising fever-pitch fury to motivate a sometimes too content and lethargic LGBT community to fight the latest political battle. All eyes beamed at Jean as she betrayed a Cheshire Cat smile, owning the entire stage overlooking the ballroom at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. And then she got to it. “I am enormously proud to announce tonight that we are about to embark upon another pioneering accomplishment that will enable us to do so much more for our community. On Oct. 25, with our board’s considered leadership, I
signed an agreement with the State of California to purchase the property directly across the street from The Village [at Ed Gould Plaza on McCadden Place in Hollywood] so that we can create an LGBT community campus the likes of which has never been seen before, Jean said, exploding with infectious enthusiasm. “This new site will enable us to dramatically expand our services for homeless youth and seniors and so much more. Instead of the 50 beds we have today for homeless kids, we’ll have three times that! And, for the first time, we’ll have a place for LGBT seniors to live and thrive.” It is unclear if this bold new move—the capital campaign is expected to be launched in May— will place The Center in competition with Gay and Lesbian Elder Housing for funding for LGBT seniors in Los Angeles, but GLEH appears to be without an executive director since the abrupt departure
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center CEO Lorri Jean with Rep. Adam Schiff at the Center's Vanguard Awards gala, Nov. 9 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel
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of Eric Harrison after the successful Garden Party last October with Houston Mayor Annise Parker. While mindful of the needs of LGBT seniors, Jean became passionate about the issue’s urgency after meeting Alice Herman, a senior lesbian who not only lost her legally married wife Sylvia but the other half of her dual income, forcing Alice to leave her home and live in her car. In April 2010, Jean—with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the AIDS Community Action Foundation—launched the Rock for Equality campaign to highlight that LGBT workers paid into the Social Security system but were denied benefits when a partner died, including retirement benefits, disability insurance, survivor benefits and burial expenses. That changed on June 26, 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Edith Windsor’s federal lawsuit challenging the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. With all the progress on marriage equality and other issues of significance, Jean said she’s asked all the time, “Is there still a need for LGBT organizations?” She smiled that cryptic Lorri Jean smile and replied, “You must not know the story of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. Equality under the law has always been the floor of our expectations, never the ceiling. We want it all for our community. We want our seniors to have a decent place to live, in accepting communities where they needn’t go back into the closet. We want our youth to have supportive families and an education void of bullying or thoughts of suicide. We want an end to HIV and for all of us to have access to culturally competent and affordable health care. We want never to be the victims of violence just because of our gender identity or sexual orientation. We want our people to be safe, free, cared for and embraced. The Center has never been a place where complacency thrives. We are a place where the next challenges are identified and overcome! It is in our very DNA to be at the vanguard! “The next step is the $25 million capital campaign to develop—in collaboration with the city and in partnership with Thomas Safran & Associates—to develop a first-of-its-kind multi-generational apartment complex for LGBT youth and seniors, with a wide array of supportive programs and services,” she continued. “We also will move our headquarters to the new site, thereby providing the room in our McDonald/Wright Building that our clinics need to expand and become a comprehensive medical center, with medicine,
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mental health and research for everyone in our community.” Jean showed two artists’ renderings suggested five years ago, which she emphasized are not the final selections. “Turning this remarkable vision into a reality won’t be quick or cheap,” she said. “We’ll have to launch a new capital campaign and raise at least $25 million, plus tapping affordable housing funding streams. All of this is likely to be four years in the making, opening late in 2017 or ‘18. None of it will be easy. But the Center has never been daunted by difficult tasks in pursuit of serving our community. That’s what you expect from us. It’s what you help us do. And when we’ve accomplished this newest challenge, we will have created an innovative, trail-blazing campus unlike anything that exists for our community anywhere on the planet. We will continue to be the world’s leading example of how to care for our community, and [we will] do it with vision, compassion and competence.” The Center raised $650,000 at its Vanguard gala, honoring out NBA Player Jason Collins, Netflix and Xiaogang Wei, founder of China’s first AIDS Walk. Joe Lorenzo received the 2013 State Farm Good Neighbor Award for his leadership with the Center’s Young Professionals Council and for years of service as a Center volunteer. Four days after the gala, the Center announced it had received recognition as a Federally Qualified Health Center, described as “the most respected designation awarded to community health centers by the federal government” and awarded after rigorous scrutiny “only to those clinics that meet the highest standards of care and serve underserved populations.” The recognition comes with an annual grant of approximately $650,000 to support expansion of the Center’s primary care services for all LGBT people. “The FQHC designation and award from U.S Health and Human Services, funded by the Affordable Care Act, will enable the Center to eventually provide medical care for more than 4,000 additional patients, particularly low-income people on Medicaid. The Center is one of the few LGBT clinics in the nation to receive the FQHC designation and the only such clinic in California,” according to a Center press release. “This is a huge turning point for the Center and for the LGBT community of Los Angeles,
Fabian, recipient of Center services, with his fiancé Marc
because we have always believed that health care is a right for every single human being. For far too long, LGBT people have suffered discrimination in health care,” said Center Health and Mental Health Services Director Christopher Brown. “This FQHC designation and award is not only a validation of the Center’s outstanding medical services but also an important recognition by the Obama administration of the unique and important health needs of LGBT people.” One shining example of the services the Center provides was offered by a young man named Fabian who told his heart-wrenching, humorous and transformational story spanning his early hard life in Mexico to his happy life as a successful hairstylist in Beverly Hills. “I grew up in Mexico, and it wasn’t an easy life for me and my family. I knew I was gay at a very early age. When I was 14, a guy I knew showed me how I could prostitute myself for money. That way I was able to get clothes and sneakers. Yes, we were that poor,” a very nervous Fabian said. “My mother was very religious and was worried that I would end up gay. She was determined to change me. She wanted to know where I was all the time, who I was with, and she kept telling me that I dressed too gay and that I had to change.” Fabian was forced to go to a seminary, where he met an unscrupulous gay priest. He was subsequently kicked out, met an older man and eventually ran away to America at 17. “About a year and a half later, my boyfriend and I broke up. I was now homeless and HIVpositive. I got on a bus and headed to Los Angeles. I had already been drinking for a few years, but then I got introduced to crystal meth. I had a new boyfriend who was in the Army. We lived
in an apartment in Hollywood,” Fabian said. “I tried to stop drinking and using, but I couldn’t. My boyfriend became emotionally and physically abusive. After putting up with the abuse for nine months, I finally realized I had to get sober and change my life. I started going to AA meetings. A couple of friends from AA suggested I go to the Center. They knew someone who had been to the Center and had a really good experience. Three days later I became a client at the Center when I moved into their transitional living program.” There he received a bed, food, clothing, free health care including mental health counseling, treatment for his HIV, regular dental checkups and employment training that led to a job, for which he was given bus tokens and lunch every day. “The friends I made became my family,” he said, choking up. “Walking through the doors of the Center literally saved my life. The Center taught me how to become an adult, showed me how to take responsibility for my life. I left the transitional living program after about a year and a half. I returned about six months later, after another relationship ended. It was such a relief to know I had a safe place to go that felt like home.” “That was six years ago,” Fabian continued. “Today, I am a successful hairstylist in Beverly Hills. I have a good relationship with my mother and the rest of my family. I also met the love of my life almost three years ago, and guess what? We’re engaged to be married. I am thrilled to introduce you to my fiancé, Marc. Without the Center, none of this would have been possible. Thank you for allowing me to share my story and say thank you to everyone at the Center. Thank you for saving my life.”
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Fighting ‘The Battle of amFAR’ BY AARON STELLA Anyone who reached puberty after 1995 didn’t know AIDS as the epidemic that took hundreds of thousands of lives in the prior decade. Living with HIV today often means popping a pill, getting blood tests every six months and, voilà, you have a new lease on life.
But that’s only half the story. While the new meds are working, national urgency and awareness of the disease has abated drastically, as approximately 50,000 new cases of HIV infection occur every year. We have a long way to go, but it’s important to remember that we’ve come a long way as well. Director David France’s How to Survive a Plague showed us how a cabal of infected men, activist/playwright Larry Kramer and a plague seemingly from the End of Days could inspire unity, tapping into that universal want to help the sick and dying. Director David Weissman’s We Were Here chronicled the impact of AIDS in the Castro District of San Fransisco, where it took the lives of 15,000 gay men, transforming that urban playground from a place of ebullience to funereal exhibition. Now directors Rob Epstein’s and Jeffery Freidman’s latest documentary, The Battle of amFAR, puts HIV and America’s response to the virus under the microscope. Last year, fashion designer and social activist Kenneth Cole approached Epstein and Friedman with a proposal to make a film that followed the lives of actress Elizabeth Taylor and scientist/researcher Mathilde Krim in their journey to create amFAR, The American Foundation for AIDS Research. The film opens up with HIV/AIDS
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History 101. News spots from the early ‘80s set the tone for the virus’ ruthless takeover of the body. Homosexuals at first seem to be the only demographic at risk, but later broadcasts confirm that non-homosexuals are also being infected. Krim recounts the early days of the epidemic. During her research on virology, Joseph Sonnabend, M.D.— who had a prominent practice among gays in New York City—approached Krim with news that several of his patients—all gay—had been coming into his office with sores and swollen lymph nodes, which he believed at the time was Kaposi sarcoma, a kind of rare skin cancer. One such patient was Richard Berkowitz, former sex worker, patient of Sonnabend and current safe-sex advocate. Berkowitz recalls Sonnabend’s life-saving admonishment to “stop fucking around,” whereupon he teamed up with writer Michael Callen to coauthor the book How to Have Sex in an Epidemic, teaching gay men how to protect themselves from HIV. Given that sexual abandon was part of the zeitgeist, Berkowitz also adds, “It was just absolutely unthinkable that sex could kill.” But the reality was, according to Ned Landau, Ph.D., that “the virus has the ability to become part of the DNA. It becomes a part of us, and we cannot get rid of it.” With the help of Krim’s husband,
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HBO
Arthur—who was the head of United Artist Films—Krim met Elizabeth Taylor, and together with Sonnabend and a few others they founded amFAR. The first national organization to mobilize the scientific community in the fight against AIDS. amFAR’s main purpose was to help fund AIDS research efforts by expediting the period of time between grant application and grant money distribution—in most cases, from one year to a few months. Taylor used her fame to move the nation’s heart to a more compassionate place for all who were dying from HIV, including many on the staff at amFAR. In the film, Taylor says repeatedly, “I will not remain silent.” According to the film, in 1995 AIDS became the leading cause of death among Americans aged 25-44. But then scientists made a monumental breakthrough with the use of protease inhibitors, a class of antiretroviral drugs preventing the virus from replicating. With that discovery, people started coming back to life. Krim, Taylor and the rest of the folks at amFAR considered this discovery a huge success. Years later, they received word of Timothy Brown (aka “The Berlin Patient”), the first person ever to be cured of HIV. A
hopeful Krim said, “If it can be done once, it can be done again.” Attendants at a dinner party at Krim’s home, including director Woody Allen and former editor-in-chief of POZ Magazine Regan Hofmann, discuss how HIV exists in the minds of the public today. Allen’s qualm is that people aren’t concerned anymore, while Hofmann recognizes herself as “one of the lucky ones”—a person who has a job, access to health care and so forth. Even then, she proffers to the group, “Try telling someone’s family that you’re HIV-positive. Try going on a date.” The Battle of amFAR shows us how even a few people can make big difference in the fight against AIDS. It’s an inspiration piece that pays tribute to two fabulous women—Krim and Taylor—who knew that if you need something done, as per Taylor’s timeless words, “Bitch, do something yourself.” For activists, doctors, scientists and anyone who has been affected by HIV, this film will instill those individuals who fought before you, and why we keep fighting today. The HBO documentary The Battle of amfAR premieres Dec. 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, with a sneak preview to air on World AIDS Day—Dec. 1, 2013—on HBO 2.
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OUR GUIDE TO OBAMACARE — PART 1 OF 3
Smoke, Mirrors & ObamaCare If you can get past the circus of the ACA rollout, your life is about to change. By Paul Waters and David Kalmansohn
‘Pre-existing condition’ is a peculiarly American phrase. It’s a concept that doesn’t exist in other English-speaking nations like Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand or Australia. The United States is the only first-world country that has found such an efficient way to exclude people from medical care simply because they need medical care. And it’s another reason why 45 million Americans went without health insurance for most or all of 2012, according to the CDC. The first attempt to establish a system of universal health care took place during the Roosevelt Administration (Teddy, not Franklin). Now, after nearly a century of good intentions and bad politics, a transformation has happened. Whether that’s a good thing in your opinion may depend on which cable news show you watch, but love or loathe the Affordable Care Act— better known by the emotionally weighted term ObamaCare—you most likely don’t know what you need to know about it. Contrary to professional and amateur hysterics, the ACA does not represent a government takeover of health care. Insurance carriers like Blue Shield and Health Net sold individual and group policies before the bill was passed, and they continue to do so. But the nature of those policies has significantly changed. Just as the government holds car manufacturers to certain standards, it has finally raised the bar for the insurance industry. The new policies are ranked bronze, silver, gold or platinum, with corresponding increases in prices and coverage. As always, you can pay a higher premium to get a lower deductible and copayments and a broader medical network. So what’s different? Most important for anyone who has ever
faced a health challenge, chronic or acute, you cannot be denied health insurance due to preexisting conditions. You are guaranteed coverage. And those Yugo-equivalent substandard policies have been eliminated. Even the cheapest bronze policy will offer these 10 essential benefits: 1. Ambulatory patient services, i.e., visits to the doctor or outpatient clinics 2. Emergency services 3. Hospitalization 4. Mental health services, including treatments for substance abuse 5. Rehabilitative services and devices, such as physical therapy and other treatments to get you functioning after an illness or accident 6. Laboratory services, such as blood testing 7. Preventive and wellness services to keep you healthy, such as annual physicals and immunizations, as well as chronic disease management 8. Prescription drugs 9. Pediatric services, including dental and vision care 10. Maternity and newborn care If you think your current policy covers all this, check again. You’re probably wrong. In addition, the ACA eliminates lifetime limits, which allowed insurance companies to deny coverage once you hit an arbitrary cap, such as $1 million, that could easily be reached in one catastrophic hospitalization. Gender inequality has also been purged— women no longer get penalized with an automatic surcharge (the oddest pre-existing condition of all). And children can remain on a parent’s policy until age 26. Finally, if your income falls below a certain
level, government subsidies mean you no longer have to choose between paying your rent and paying your health care premium. Of course, no good turn goes unchallenged in partisan politics. The Republican-led House of Representatives has tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act 47 times, and awareness of the ACA’s benefits has been subsumed by misinformation, misdirection and the circus surrounding the federal government’s glitch-plagued website rollout. But insurance is regulated at the state level, and Covered California, the state exchange, has had a smoother launch. During October, nearly one-third of those enrolling in ACA plans were from California. Still, it’s a highly complex undertaking, personally as well as politically. Tweet-length analysis is meaningless when you have to answer numerous vital questions: How long do you have to enroll? What happens if you don’t enroll? Can you keep your old policy? How do you choose a new plan? What subsidies are available, and how do they affect your taxes? Should you enroll through the state exchange or an insurance agency? Should you use an agent or a navigator? Should you stay with your employer’s plan or find individual coverage? What if you lose your job? In the next two issues of Frontiers, we will delve into the intricacies of individual and group insurance under ACA. Until now, the majority of Americans have been relatively passive consumers when it comes to health insurance. The times have changed. Paul Waters is a Covered California certified agent with 1st Community Insurance. David Kalmansohn is the former editor of several national health magazines.
Find the Frontiers story “ObamaCare 101: 10 Things You Need to Know” at tinyurl.com/kelx5go. 38
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OTHING is SACRED
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MARGARET CHO TAKES ON STAND-UP, THE WEB & ‘COMIC ROCK’
Just in time for the holidays, famed comedienne, actress and burgeoning rock goddess Margaret Cho confers a bounteous gift upon us all—a Los Angeles date for her latest stand-up comedy tour, Mother. With the new set’s practically menacing tagline—“Nothing is sacred. Least of all this.”—rest assured that the pull-no-punches version of Cho we know and love has returned to the stage, prepared to deliver her trademark blend of acerbic wit and progressive activism. When I recently spoke to Margaret Cho via telephone, she was taking a breather in Los Angeles between tour dates that since last year have stretched her from the Australian Outback to America’s Southern states. It’s a large-scale tour, no doubt. After her upcoming Dec. 6 date at The Wiltern, Cho has her sights set on Europe, with stops planned in Germany, Switzerland and the Scandinavian nations before returning to North America for a five-month furlough (not to be confused with time off, as she’ll be filming the show Drop Dead Diva) and then another round of gigs. Oh, and there’s likely to be a filmed special thrown in there as well. Resting on her laurels Margaret Cho is not. This tour shines its spotlight on a comic standing at the height of her own enlightenment, hence the name Mother, which Cho considers reflective of “the wisdom that you’ve earned through hardship.” Many would surely consider the badge ‘mother’ a daunting one, but Cho takes on the role gladly. “I think the word ‘mother’—it’s what I am now. I’m like the mother fag hag because I’ve been through everything, and people can come to me with their problems. I love being that image.” “I think ‘mother’ is a really important archetype,” Cho continues. “We always look for these really flawed mother figures—in their grandeur, like Joan Crawford, Judy Garland or even Madonna. I love that and I wanna be that.” Mother is a show that lives up to that “nothing is sacred” tagline—and then some. “The show has a lot about being a fag hag, about drug problems, about guns, about abortion. It’s about a lot of pretty hardcore topics, and I’m thrilled that I have the mastery to talk about these things now because I’ve been doing it for so long. If you have the compassion that you can talk about topics like these, I think it’s really important. I don’t think anything is really off-limits.” The name of this current tour also recalls another individual we know secondhand through Margaret Cho—Young-Hie, the comedienne’s own mother, who often finds herself part of Cho’s routine. Margaret reports that her mother has indeed seen this latest tour’s material. “Yeah, she loves it. She’s in this show a lot, too. I think she’s a great example for me.”
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NOTHING is SACRED In addition to stand-up shows scattered the world over, Margaret Cho has used the Mother tour as a launchpad into the ears of her podcast-listening fans. Monsters of Talk is what you’d call ‘making the most of a world tour’—an experiment in uncensored conversation alongside her comic compatriot Jim Short, with whom she’s been touring. “Jim and I sit down and talk to all these amazing people, from Joan Rivers to a world-renowned expert on Ouija boards to the band Wilco to Josh Ritter. We’ve done Tegan and Sara, we’ve done Billy Bragg a few times. It’s a combination of comics and rock ‘n’ rollers and people that we’re meeting all over the world.” With more than 50 episodes of Monsters of Talk under her belt, it’s clear Cho has found a new passion fit for the new millenium. Navigating previously unexplored media has become rather routine for Cho it seems, as just earlier this year she launched In Transition, a YouTube web series featuring the likes of compact Los Angeles personality Selene Luna, Private Practice’s Yvette Saunders and Frontiers’ own Jackie Beat, among other L.A. comedic mainstays. The project was a labor of love for Cho, who was delighted to work with some of her close friends—“We really just wanted an excuse to hang out together,” she says—in an environment not hampered by the rules and restrictions of big-budget productions. Thirteen episodes of the series made their way onto the web, with a second season expected further down the line. Perhaps the most surprising turn Margaret Cho’s career has taken as of late is her swift transformation into ‘comic rock’ musician. Well, surprising for her fans, perhaps, but a natural progression for the longtime music fan. “I’ve been around rock ‘n’ roll for as long as I’ve been around comedy. I love to play, I love to sing and I’m in the company of great musicians all the time. So [music] just seemed it was the right thing to do.” Cho’s first album, Cho Dependent (2010), received a Grammy nomination, no doubt an incentive to continue riding the music-making train. This second outing into the music sphere (the music all having been written at the time of the interview) will have a sidekick—a book—as she explains. “It’s really a project 42
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where the book accompanies the music and the music accompanies the book. It’s kind of a larger-scale autobiographical work, but I haven’t written a book in a while. This is another way to present what I do as a musician and as an author.” “I’m excited to go back with a little bit more understanding of how to produce and how to create music and write songs,” says Cho. “It’s a really nice side project. Its pretty much still comedy, but it’s a little different presentation.” The Mother tour incorporates some of Margaret’s music as well, which Angelenos will witness when the tour comes to town. “I have one great song that I do at the end of the show that’s so phenomenal, and I’ve gotten to do it now with a lot of different, interesting people. In every city there’s usually [a friend] there. I just did the song with Wilco a couple weeks ago and I’ve done it with drag queens and different kinds of performers. It’s really fun.” Fun is always the name of the game when Margaret Cho is involved, and our recent phone conversation was no different. Among talk of her various projects—those on her current schedule and those in the pipeline—conversation veered to the hilarious (and Emmy-nominated) Kim Jong-il impersonation she premiered on NBC’s 30 Rock back in 2011. Asked whether she’d ever consider keeping the character alive via a new project, her response was an exuberant yes. “I would love to. Tina Fey and I talked a long time ago about doing some big action movie with that character. [Laughs] I think it would be genius! It would be fun. I love playing a man, and I love playing that man, because it’s so weird and such a departure from anything else I’ve done.” Reminiscing over television’s loss of 30 Rock earlier this year (“It was such a great show, and it was so great to be able to do a couple episodes. I love Tina, and I love what they go to do. It was great to be a part
of that world.”) led to discussion of Alec Baldwin’s latest round of homophobic slurs caught on camera (“He’s said a lot of really mean things. I think it’s really weird when people automatically use homophobic slurs. Why do you always go there? Why is that the insult that first comes out? It’s really strange.”), which then led to the topic of Twitter wars, something you won’t find Cho embroiled in. “I have not gotten into battles. Sometimes I’ll see nasty things on Twitter and I’ll retweet that, and then people will get mad at that person. I just think it’s gross that people can say really terrible things to you. At the same time, it’s wonderful to see people defending you. I try not to engage in it if I can, because I get really upset.” Some people are just worth a Twitter war, though, don’t you think? That was the question that sparked Cho’s recollection of working with Ann Coulter, perhaps the world’s most polarizing pop culture persona. “I did Bill O’Reilly’s show with her before they were conservative. I mean, I wouldn’t say they were liberal, but they weren’t what they are now.” Speaking of Coulter as someone who had met her, I had to know whether Cho thought the fork-tongued conservative pundit was legitimately evil or just a fabricated persona. “I really think it’s a persona. I really don’t think it’s authentic. It’s a kind of character that she uses to—well, I don’t know what she does exactly. [Laughs] But she uses it to further herself along, and I don’t think it’s real. I just dont think it could be.” It would seem the curent tour’s tagline is correct—no topic is sacred to Margaret Cho, whether onstage or off. It’s Cho’s unapologetic sense of self and opinionated stance on hilarious hot-button issues that continue to endear her to the hearts of many a gay man and the wider population. Margaret Cho is herself a gift to the gay community. This holiday season, let her shower you with the gift of laughter.
Margaret Cho’s Mother tour comes to The Wiltern on Friday, Dec. 6. Listen to Monsters of Talk at soundcloud.com/margaretcho and watch In Transition at tinyurl.com/qzywzlg.
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GIFT GUIDE 2013 By Stephan Horbelt
The holiday shopping season has officially begun. Here’s our annual roundup of great gifts for all your dear ones—from the traveler to the trendsetter to the generous party host—and once your gift-giving is done, perhaps even yourself!
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1. MiTutto Hand Immersion Blender This spacesaving kitchen gadget helps you blend smoothies, whisk up delicious whipped cream, purée tomatoes for that famous marinara or aerate egg whites for your lemon meringue pie. $69.99, miallegrostore.com 2. Nespresso U Machine This device embodies a new generation of espresso machines. With its elegant lines and flexible, compact design, it’s perfect for even the smallest kitchen. Fully automatic, it’s equipped with a water tank and no-drip nozzle. $149, nespresso-us.com 3. Eero Aarnio Style Ball Chair Add a fun pop of color to your living space with this chair, featuring a polyester seat and fully padded inner walls for maximum comfort. Available in all colors of the rainbow. $549, instylemodern.com 4. iPad Musical Shower Curtain There’s only one shower curtain with built-in speakers and a waterproof pocket for your iPad, turning a simple shower into a media-rich bathing event. $169.95, hammacher.com 5. Star Trek Captain’s Chair That special Trekkie
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in your life can own one of the most iconic pieces of furniture in TV history, thanks to this authentic recreation of Captain Kirk’s Command Chair. Comes with LED light effects and is handmade to order. $6,499.95. roddenberry.com 6. Krups Silver Art Collection No line of kitchen products—coffee machines, electric kettles, espresso machines, panini makers, toasters—is more sexy than this one. Streamline your kitchen in style. $79.99-299.99, krupsusa.com 7. RedBubble RedBubble is a marketplace of unique products created by independent artists (more than 250,000) that have personality, wit and meaning. Order an original design printed onto tees, iPhone cases or canvas. redbubble.com 8. Hanwell Colours by Marshall These limited edition amps are intended to be standout pieces in your musical collection, with only a handful produced in each color. Each features a gold script logo and gold piping on the front of the cabinet. $800, available in John Varvatos stores.
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tech 1. Blanket ID Protect your furry loved ones with this high-tech tag. Using GPS mapping and instant online updates, a lost pet can be brought back safe and sound—and fast! Nearly 100 percent of lost pets with an activated Blanket ID are found the same day. $24.99 with one-year free membership, blanketid.com 2. TheQ Camera With the push of a button on this stylish camera, you can upload to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Blogger, Google+ and more. Share photos with your loved ones instantly in this new digital age. $200, theqcamera.com 3. WiFi/USB Cufflinks Perfect for the tech-loving guy who has every gadget under the sun, these cufflinks come equipped with WiFi capabilities (don’t ask us how) and each hold 2GB worth of data. $250, dalys1895.com 4. PlayStation 4 This new video game console was destined to become the must-have holiday item of the year. It was designed from the ground up to give the gamer new experiences. The controller’s ‘share’ button lets you scan through your last few minutes of gameplay and post your epic triumphs online. $399, us.playstation.com/ps4 5. Glove.ly Stay warm while using your smartphone and other devices with these touchscreen gloves. Instead of bulky silver pads on your fingers, these are delicately woven with real silver threading, which allows you to use your touch-screen phone with your whole hand rather than just the tips. $25, glove.ly 6. Berlin Boombox A modern twist on the old-school boombox, this music blaster connects to nearly any device. Made of durable cardboard, it comes with a built-in amplifier and is screen-printed with bold black-and-white graphic art for a retro look. $79.99, bitemyapple.co 7. CableKeeps Give your dull, white iPad and iPhone chargers some personality and utility. The intuitive design will keep your cables tangle-free when shoved into a bag or pocket, and CableKeeps can shorten your cable when plugged in. $16 (or 5 for $60), nicebydesign.com
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1. Electra Townie Go! This easy-to-use, pedalassist bike has surprising power. The system automatically engages once you begin pedaling for an added boost to help conquer hills and ride long distances (30 miles per charge) without breaking a sweat. It’s virtually silent, weatherproof and stylish. $2,299, electrabike.com 2. Viper Courier Its lightweight design, multiple carrying options and water-repelling natural fiber make this bag by Booq the perfect laptop-toting solution. The ultra-slim bag is the right fit for any 13-15” Mac or PC. $99.95-109.95, booqbags.com 3. Barrage Cargo Rolltop Backpack This backpack by Chrome is a waterproof bag built to withstand the abuse of the city. Dual compartments can separate your wet and dry cargo, and an interior sleeve pocket fits your 15” laptop. $160, chrome industries.com 4. HEX Westmore Line HEX is meant to protect your gadgets in style, and the Westmore line is practically meant for hipsters. Choose between carry-alls, laptop bags and duffels, all reasonably priced. shophex.com 5. 2014 Aqua Daily Planner The man who loves to travel has a busy year ahead of him. Keep track of your daily schedule with a planner made of beautiful, soft leather, sewn binding and a ribbon marker. Includes a monthly view and space for notes and addresses. $29.95, papyrusonline.com 6. Vespa 946 After more than six years, Vespa introduces an entirely new model—the 946—the most well-equipped, stylized and technologically advanced model yet. Available in two colors— montebianco (white) and nero lucido (black). $9,946, vespausa.com
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7. Red Bull Signature Duffel This perfect grab-and-go weekend duffel was designed to offer convenient storage wherever your travels may take you. One of 10 bags in the Red Bull Signature Series Collection, this duffel is meant for those who crave snow, sea or pavement. $79.99, redbull signatureseries.com 8. Duxiana Travel Pillow While traveling, don’t settle for anything less than a real pillow. This wonderfully scrunchable white goose-down cushion is encased in a 325-thread-count cotton pillowcase. Stuff it, tuck it and board your flight or train. $150, duxiana.com (store located at 8817 Beverly Blvd. in WeHo) 9. Scrubba Wash Bag For the busy traveler with dirty clothes, the Scrubba is a laundry system engineered inside of a knapsack. It’s a wash board of sorts—with just a bit of soap and water and a few squeezes, your clothes are clean in less than five minutes! $64.95, thescrubba.com
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style 1. Roll-Up Grooming Kit This custom-designed tool kit with a simple, masculine design will have you looking sharp whether at the gym or on a weekend out of town. Kit includes moisturizer, shave cream and gel face wash. $110, ernestsupplies.com 2. Level Naturals Not your ordinary bath and shower line, Level Naturals has become a lifestyle brand featuring all-natural bath and shower products, candles and mists. Despite being sold in high-end retailers, these products have edge and style, and after using them, so will you. $5.99 for 6 oz. soap, levelnaturals.com 3. Croota Underwear Stand on top of the world everyday with this mountain-inspired underwear from Australia. This “Snowy Mountain” line of low-rise trunks comes square-cut and made of durable fabric to serve as your second skin. $19.90 per pair, croota.com 4. Charles van der Pear Boxer Shorts Traditional boxers are loose-fitting and easily bunch up under pants, and briefs are too tight and don’t allow proper air flow, so Charles van der Pear has focused on designing a soft cotton inner liner that allows for support without being too restrictive. $49 per pair, charlesvanderpear.com 5. Foot Cardigan With a subscription to Foot Cardigan, each month a pair of pleasantly bizarre socks will be delivered to your loved one’s doorstep. There’s no way to predict what’s in store until you rip open that special delivery. Subscription is $9 per month, footcardigan.com 6. Beard Oils Sampler Kit Brooklyn Grooming products consist of all-organic ingredients and are handcrafted and poured in Williamsburg. This kit contains the company’s four scents in amber glass vials. Replenish and balance the moisture quotient in your facial fuzz. $29, brooklyngrooming.com 7. EmmiDent Ultrasound Toothbrush This clinically tested motionless 100-percent ultrasound toothbrush doesn’t require brushing. The patented chip inside the brushhead destroys bacteria, leaving you with a clean mouth. $189, emmi-dent.com
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1. The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: Collector’s Edition Grab a drink and a cigarette and witness the birth of the celebrity roast with this must-see collection featuring legends of comedy and the greatest performers, athletes and personalities of the 20th century. $59.95 2. Where the Bears Are, Season 2 The comedy series that was called “Best Gay Web Series of 2012” by AfterElton.com is back with its second season in uninterrupted, feature film format. Proceeds go to finance the series’ future seasons. $25, wherethebearsare.tv 3. James Dean Ultimate Collector’s Edition Despite only making three films, James Dean is one of Hollywood’s most spectacular stars. This limited and numbered six-disc set boasts the films and three feature-length documentaries. $99.98 4. Tales of the City: 20th Anniversary Edition The celebrated series, based on books by Armistead Maupin, chronicles a naïve young Ohioan woman who moves to anything-goes San Francisco in the 1970s. Bonus features include audio commentaries and rehearsal fotage. $49.99 5. Doctor Who Limited Edition Bluray Gift Set The complete series, with Seasons 1-4 on Blu-ray for the first time, featuring Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and a collectible remote control Sonic Screwdriver. $259
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1. Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Metal Fridge This limited-edition set is perfect as a gift for your party host. Inspired by a classic 1950s refrigerator, it contains a 750 ml bottle of the good stuff. $50, veuve-clicquot.com 2. Ole Smoky Moonshine Cherries These moonshine-soaked cherries—which come in a mason jar like respectable moonshine should—are perfect for dropping into a cocktail or on top of an ice cream sundae. Add the juice to a glass of Coke for a special treat. olesmokymoonshine.com 3. Gift Baskets for Gays Founded by two gay men in WeHo, this company has a gift basket for every taste, occasion and type of ‘mo, from The Big Bear Basket to the Miss Divine Diva Basket. $59.99-149.99, giftbasketsforgays.com 4. Himalayan Salt Shot Glasses This set of six shot glasses is carved from the finest quality, food-grade Himalayan pink salt and naturally adds a perfectly nuanced, salty note to your favorite tequila. It’s also one of Oprah’s Favorite Things! $45, thespicelab.com 5. Sriracha Candy Canes Warm up your taste buds with this fiery candy cane, great for tricking unsuspecting friends or enjoying after a tasty meal. Rumor has it these are also great crushed and put atop ice cream. $7.99 for 12, srirachacandycanes.com 6. BACtrack Mobile Since you’d never let a friend drive drunk, buy him this portable breathalyzer. It’s the size of a Tic-Tac box, connects to your smartphone to tell you your BAC and how long til you’re sober and even lets you post your BAC via social media so everyone knows you’re good to go. $149.99, bactrack.com 7. Crystal Head Vodka Since you sure as hell aren’t going to buy your party host Russian vodka, go with this gorgeous alternative. Inspired by the legend of the 13 crystal skulls, the bottle was actually partly designed by none other than Dan Aykroyd. crystalheadvodka.com 8. ZING Red Velvet Vodka From the Maloof family, this vodka will leave people wondering whether there’s an actual cake in the bottle. Drink up as the popular dish goes from the dessert plate to the martini glass. Also, a unique LED lights up the bottle, adding a festive décor to the party! $24.99, zingvodka.com
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1. 10 Things You Might Not Know About Nearly Everything A treasure trove of intriguing and surprising facts on a variety of subjects. Created from the popular weekly feature column in the Chicago Tribune, this book is packaged in an easily accessible gift format and filled with trivia relevant to a broad audience. $15 list price 2. Circus: Paintings and Works on Paper The circus is a universal tradition that brings people together, and artist Fernando Botero celebrates its history with his distinctive, shapely forms that perfectly complement the event’s exaggerated atmosphere. $125 list price 3. Hollywood in Kodachrome Kodachrome film saturated the 1940s with an unprecedented explosion of color, and in this, renowned preservationist David Wills gathers museum-quality photos of Hollywood’s Golden Age stars. $40 list price 4. The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie A gorgeous, easy-to-use guide to making delicious pies from Chicago's nationally celebrated pie shop. Recipes emphasize a downhome artisanal style. $29.95 list price 5. Room Recipes Subtitled “A Creative and Stylish Guide to Interior Design,” it’s a full-color guide to home décor, styled like a cookbook—the ultimate resource for homeowners looking to spice things up or decorate a space from scratch. $26.99 list price 6. Mario Casilli Featuring the imagery of ‘80s celeb photographer Mario Casilli, this is the first book dedicated to his decadedefining entertainment portraits. Casilii's work is a shrine to the decade of decadence. $49.95 list price 7. The New Pâtissiers Introduces 38 of the finest and most innovative pastry chefs in the world, with over 90 recipes to recreate their tempting confections at home. $60 list price 8. Remington Camp Cooking A new cookbook collaboration from celebrated chef Charlie Palmer and Remington Arms. It’s full of outdoor game and fireside cooking recipes as well as camp cooking pointers from Chef Palmer. $39.95 list price 9. Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful? Andy Cohen called this memoir—by Kenneth M. Walsh of the blog Kenneth in the (212)—“heartwarming and hilarious!” Young Kenny dreams about moving to NYC, but will he ever get there? $19.99 list price 10. Things Come Apart This fascinating book showcases unique photos of 50 design classics in a dismantled, meticulously rearranged form—including an iPad, grand piano and an espresso machine. $29.95 list price.
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Frontiers Wedding Guide The first-ever Los Angeles Lesbian & Gay Wedding Expo on Nov. 10, 2013, was a huge success. Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples ventured downtown to the Los Angeles Athletic Club to have their wedding concerns addressed by LGBT and LGBT-friendly vendors and professionals. It was a day of idea-gathering, planning and panel discussions, and the expo had every element of the perfect wedding day on display, from cakes and table settings to fun and flirty wardrobe options. For more info on the inaugural Los Angeles Lesbian & Gay Wedding Expo, go to LAGayWeddingGuide.com.
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EVENTS
NIGHTLIFE
THEATER
EXHIBITS
go to FrontiersLA.com/Entertainment for more listings
Fri. | Nov. 29
PARFUMERIE
GEAR NIGHT / HOLIDAY FUNDRAISER
Wallis Annenberg Center A romantic comedy adapted by E.P. Dowdall, Parumerie is set during Christmastime in 1937 Budapest, Hungary. The story is centered around two bickering employees at an upscale boutique who have been building a romantic relationship through letters to one another. Through Dec. 22. thewallis.org
Eagle L.A. This night doubles as both gear night for the Silver Lake leather bar and as a fundraiser for Hollywood’s Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing, which aims to improve the lives of LGBT seniors by offering affordable housing. There will be door prizes, a silent art auction and a boots-to-balls raffle. eaglela.com Through Dec. 29
Through Jan. 5
CHILL AT THE QUEEN MARY Long Beach CHILL is SoCal’s only frozen holiday adventure, featuring an indoor six-lane ice tubing run. Grab an oversized tube and feel the chill as you barrel down at bone-chilling speeds. The Queen Mary’s giant dome—once home to the Spruce Goose—has been frozen over and transformed into a giant igloo, home to The Ice Kingdom, an exhibit featuring larger-than-life ice creations towering over two stories tall. queenmary.com Wed. | Nov. 27
PIE Akbar For its fifth annual incarnation (always the evening before Thanksgiving), Pie presents one of its favorite local heroes— Joshua James of L.A.’s Music for Dancers—for a four-hour set. With no school or work the next day, this party is always one for the memory banks. And it’s hosted by Tammie Brown and Ambrosia Salad, who will be serving up pie—no, for real—by the slice. akbarsilverlake.com
TOTEM Orange County Great Park Festival Site Cirque du Soleil is pleased to be back in the L.A. area with an all-new, awe-inspiring big-top touring production. Totem traces the fascinating journey of the human species from its original amphibian state to its ultimate desire to fly. Inspired by many founding myths, Totem illustrates, through a visual and acrobatic language, the evolutionary progress of species. cirquedusoleil.com Fri. | Nov. 29
BEARRACUDA L.A. Echoplex The San Francisco party that now travels the globe is back at L.A.’s Echoplex for one last time in 2013. Celebrate the Bearracuda L.A. debut of DJ Wayne G from the UK with hundreds of furry guys from all over the country. Chunky visuals, giveaways, tasty snacks, go-go bears and friendly guys await you. $6 before 10 p.m., $10 after. bearracuda.com
WORLD OF WARLOCK BY MICHELLE MCCARTHY
Leslie Jordan held his own against Will & Grace’s razor-tongued Karen Walker and won an Emmy in the process. He appeared in 2011’s The Help opposite the likes of Viola Davis, Emma Stone and Jessica Chastain. Now he’s found himself surrounded by another pack of tough women on American Horror Story: Coven playing Quentin, the Council of Witchcraft’s resident warlock. In between jaunts to the Big Easy to shoot AHS, the Tennessee native is prepping his one-man show, Show Pony, which he’ll bring to the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center for the holidays. You’re so great on AHS. Oh, I have so little to say. I’ve done the best with what I’ve been given. When I did The Help, I turned a cartwheel and the director said to me, “What was that all about? That wasn’t scripted.” I said, “Well, I’m trying to buy some screen time with these seven talented bitches.” I always seem to end up with all these women. I get to work with Jessica Lange and my new favorite, Frances Conroy. And then there’s Robin Bartlett, who’s also so very good. Emmys just fly by my head. I’ve worked so sporadically in television. I won an Emmy for Will & Grace, and I thought to myself, I’m set! Then all of a sudden, a year later, I called my manager and said, “I can’t eat this Emmy.” So when I do get these amazing things, I love them so much. I just wish I could be a regular. Tell us about your upcoming show at the Center. We put together a cabaret show called Show Pony, which is about everything I had to do since I won that Emmy that I thought was a little bit below an Emmy winner. I’m going to tailor it more for the holidays. It’s just filthy and so politically incorrect. For instance, I was offered—and these were their words—to judge a midget wrestling contest at a gay bar in Salt Lake City. My first thought was, How politically incorrect can that be? My second thought
PHOTO: KELLY SMITH
Tue. | Nov. 26
was, Well, are the little people Mormons? I can’t tell you all the things I’ve been offered, but a good time will be had by all. What do you think about the progress the gay community has made recently? I’m so tickled. I was on a flight from Boston to P-Town and there was a young man of Indian descent sitting next to me, probably 16 years old. I said, “Are you from P-Town?” He said, “No, I’m going to Gay Camp!” I said, “That’s so great. When I was your age, they were hitting me with a dodge ball and hollering ‘Smear the queer!’” He said, “But why?” I said, “Because I was a queer!” He didn't get it. He was like, “They were mean to you?” My first response was to throttle him and say, “Have you ever heard of Stonewall? Do you know what we went through so you can go to Gay Camp?!” Then it hit me. He doesn’t know, and maybe he doesn’t need to know. That was just amazing. Leslie Jordan will be performing Show Pony at The Center’s Renberg Theatre, Dec. 12-15. For tickets, go to laglcculturalarts.eventbrite.com.
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Sat. | Nov. 30
Tue. | Dec. 3
SUPPER & SKATE AT L.A. LIVE L.A. Market Restaurant Warm up this winter with the “Supper & Skate” promotion at Kerry Simon’s stellar restaurant, including a three-course prix fixe menu and tickets to the neighboring L.A. Kings Holiday Ice at Nokia Plaza. The promotion includes dinner, skate rental and ice rink access, $30 for adults and $20 per child. Through Jan. 2. lalivemarriott.com Sat. | Nov. 30
RASPUTIN Robertson This is the Saturday night party everyone’s been talking about. There’s no cover (although you can pay $5 to bypass the line) and no rules here. A team of Russian Dolls make up the host committee. facebook.com/RasputinLA Sat. | Nov. 30
IT’S MAGIC Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Center The 56th annual It’s Magic! event, hosted by Tony Winner Jay Johnson, continues its long-standing tradition of showcasing mind-bending tricks and vanishing acts. Past celeb appearances include Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy and David Copperfield. itsmagicshow.com Sun. | Dec. 1
HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS PARADE Hollywood The 82nd Hollywood Christmas Parade benefiting Marine Toys for Tots features celebrity appearances, awardwinning bands and live performers, ornate floats, balloons and more. The parade will also be broadcast as a two-hour television special on national outlets. thehollywood christmasparade.org Sun. | Dec. 1
AIDSWATCH 2013 WeHo TV The city of West Hollywood co-sponsors AIDSWatch 2013 on World AIDS Day, a 24-hour electronic art piece and memorial broadcast on WeHo TV each year. AIDSWatch presents one name, one memory, one life at a time, appearing on a black screen in stark white letters. The roster consists of 24,680 names individually shown for about 3.5 seconds, the length it takes to take one breath. The public is invited to contribute names of people to whom they would like to pay tribute. Names may be added at aidswatch.org.
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I’LL EAT YOU LAST Geffen Playhouse Bette Midler reprises her recent Broadway starring role in this ‘Chat with Sue Mengers,’ a late Hollywood talent agent. Midler is said to incarnate the colorful agent as she holds court in her Beverly Hills home. Through Dec. 22. geffenplayhouse.com
» REVOLVER 2-YEAR ANNIVERSARY REVOLVER
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Photos by Rolling-Blackouts
Wed. | Dec. 4
STRIPPER CIRCUS Here Lounge You’ve never been to a party quite like this, with carnival games, WeHo’s cutest boys and chances to win cash and prizes all night long, now with more strippers than ever. $5. herelounge.com Wed. | Dec. 4
BOB’S HOLIDAY OFFICE PARTY Pico Playhouse Returning for its 18th year, Bob’s Holiday Office Party is set in the office of insurance salesman Bob Finhead in a small Iowa town. The comedy includes a slew of characters that come together at a wild, flirtatious holiday exchange. Through Dec. 22. facebook.com/bobs officeparty Thu. | Dec. 5
SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS Cinemas nationwide RiffTrax Live: Santa Clause Conquers the Martians will play in 570 selected cinemas throughout the country for one night only. It’s a hilarious, never-beforeseen take on the family holiday classic by the guys behind Mystery Science Theater 3000. fathomevents.com Fri. | Dec. 6
CUB SCOUT Eagle L.A. One of the East Side’s most popular parties is back with the December installment of its signature blend of rhythm and soul. DJ duo Critter Control—along with San Fran Den Mother Lady Bear— will have you dancing, cruising and drinking cheap draft beer. eaglela.com Fri. | Dec. 6
HOME ALONE: THE 30-MINUTE MUSICAL The Hudson Backstage Theatre Christmas comes to town with 30 Minute Musicals’ version of Home Alone starring Tom Lenk and featuring Chaz Bono. The fast and furious romp features original songs and choreography and clocks in at a breathtaking 30 minutes. The Holiday Mashup also premieres, taking on selections from Gremlins, Die Hard, Batman Returns and more. Through Dec. 15. 30mm.com
Find more photo albums — and additional photos from these events — at FrontiersLA.com/Entertainment.
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WORKS BY SID AVERY Design Matters Gallery MPTV Images hosts a one-day public exhibition and sale of some of founder Sid Avery’s most iconic vintage Hollywood images. The exhibition is in honor of the 75th anniversary of the first celebrity photo Avery ever took. mptvimages.com
PHOTO: MIKE RUIZ / BRAVO
Sat. | Dec. 7
LIVE IN L.A.
Sat. | Dec. 7
LOVE ACTUALLY Electric Dusk Drive-In DTLA’s only drive-in theatre features Love Actually as its offering for the month of December. The surface lot where films are shown is dogfriendly, features a BBQ, a full (and very reasonably priced) snack bar and pre-show trivia. electricduskdrivein.com Sat. | Dec. 7
JOYFUL, JOYFUL Wilshire United Methodist Church Angel City Chorale kicks off its holiday season with this 20th annual holiday concert and singalong. The 160-member chorale will perform a mix of Christmas and Chanukah favorites along with original pieces ranging in style from classical to pop. Dec. 7 & 8. angelcitychorale.org
s Angeles TrevorLIVE Lo c. 8 De , Sunday lladium Hollywood Pa ELA t.org /TrevorLIV TheTrevorProjec
TrevorLIVE Los Angeles, the Trevor Project’s signature annual event, brings together top entertainers, advocates and corporate leaders to support the organization’s 15th anniversary of providing life-saving, life-affirming services to prevent suicide among LGBTQ youth. This year’s celebration will be hosted by none other than gay-favorite funny lady Kathy Griffin, with Adam Shankman on-board as the event’s producer and director. The night’s highest honor will be bestowed upon actress Jane Lynch, who will receive the year’s Trevor Hero Award. Adam White—a senior at Brigham Young University—will receive the Trevor Youth Innovator Award, and Mike Groff— president and CEO of Toyota Financial Services—will accept the Trevor 20/20 Visionary Award on behalf of Toyota. TrevorLIVE is always a night of star-studded revelry, especially on the red carpet, and this year will be no different. Confirmed guests include several stars of Glee (Chris Colfer, Dot-Marie Jones, Harry Shum Jr., Amber Riley and Naya Rivera), Sarah Michelle Gellar, Allison Janney, Ricki Lake and Andrew Rannells. For those planning to attend, the red carpet unfurls at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the TrevorLIVE show beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Find more photo albums — and additional photos from these events — at FrontiersLA.com/Entertainment.
» GO-GO DANCER APPRECIATION DAY FESTIVAL & COMPETITION WEST HOLLYWOOD |
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A GROWNUP’S PREQUEL TO ‘PETER PAN’ BY MICHELLE MCCARTHY PHOTO: JENNY ANDERSON
You probably know Roger Rees best from his characters Robin Colcord on Cheers and Lord John Marbury on The West Wing, but the Welsh actor has a rich history of acting and directing onstage. His theater credits include the lead in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (which garnered him a Tony Award), The End of the Day and Indiscretions. His latest project is Peter and the Starcatcher, which was adapted for the stage by his husband, Rick Elice. Rees is co-directing the fivetime Tony Award–winning play with Alex Timbers.
How would you describe Peter and the Starcatcher for those who aren’t familiar with it? The play is an adaptation of a book for teenagers by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry. Both fathers, they were prompted to write their book Peter and the Starcatchers after a trip to the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland. One of their daughters asked, “Dad, where did Peter Pan come from?” These clever authors gave our clever playwright Rick Elice (Jersey Boys) permission to turn their book into a moving and riotously funny new play with music, now called Peter and the Starcatcher. Rick’s play on Broadway was
You’re co-directing the play, which your husband Rick adapted. What’s it like working with him? Just like learning to play a sport, in the theater you’ll only get better by playing with people who are cleverer than you. Rick knows a lot. Thanks to him, I’m catching up.
of Disney Theatrical, approached me about turning the book into a play. I’d been in a similar project called Nicholas Nickleby for the Royal Shakespeare Company some years before. I asked Alex Timbers (Rocky: The Musical), a brilliant young director, to join me in the adventure. Together, we’ve had fun ever since. You’ll have a great time at the Ahmanson Theatre with the brilliant, cute and crazy company of Peter and the Starcatcher. See you there!
What drew you to the project? I was running the Williamstown Theater Festival when Tom Schumacher, the head
Peter and the Starcatcher plays the Ahmanson Theatre Dec. 3 - Jan 12. centertheatregroup.org
nominated for nine Tony Awards— more than any other new American play in the history of the Tony Awards.
Find more photo albums — and additional photos from these events — at FrontiersLA.com/Entertainment.
» JOHN | AKBAR |
Photos by Rolling-Blackouts
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Sat. | Dec. 7
Sun. | Dec. 8
LOS ANGELES CHILDREN’S CHORUS
THREADS OF CHANGE
Pasadena Presbyterian Church
» CONFESSION SATURDAYS | THE ABBEY |
Photos by Rolling-Blackouts
The L.A. Children’s Chorus— acclaimed for its pure, agile, bel canto sound that has made it one of the most in-demand children’s choirs in the country—spotlights the music of Benjamin Britten and the English choral tradition and also performs a compelling array of music from around the globe at its popular annual winter concert. lachildrenschorus.org Tue. | Dec. 10
Eleven Nightclub The Center’s Young Professionals Council will host its seventh annual Threads of Change clothing drive/party. Guests who donate a bag of gently used clothes will receive a complimentary mimosa. Those who donate new socks or underwear will be entered into a raffle. The clothes will help stock the closet at the Center’s Youth Center. lagaycenter.org/threads
EVITA Blok Luke Nero and Andres Rigal of Mr. Black L.A. have brought this new party to the masses, taking place in a different Hollywood venue but showcasing the same hedonism and joie de vivre you’ve come to expect. Past parties have featured guest appearances by the likes of Amanda Lepore and more. Free. facebook.com/evita losangeles
Sun. | Dec. 8
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: TWIST YOUR DICKENS Kirk Douglas Theatre
Sat. | Dec. 7
The genius of The Second City once again takes over the Kirk Douglas Theatre. This production includes a reworked story featuring Scrooge, the Cratchits and the ghosts of Christmas, with celebrity guests and interactive audience improv. Through Dec. 29. centertheatregroup.org
FESTIVAL OF CAROLS
Sun. | Dec. 8
Walt Disney Concert Hall The Los Angeles Master Chorale heralds Christmas with two matinee performances of its delightful seasonal concert. “Silent Night,” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “White Christmas” and “Deck the Halls” are among the cherished holiday carols sung to glorious perfection by 115 members of the chorale. Dec. 7 & 14. lamc.org
SIZE Here Lounge This Tom Whitman weekly party celebrates nine years of great Sunday afternoons. Expect to find a gorgeous group of guys imbibing and dancing before starting up the work week. And because bigger is better, Billy Francesca hosts Size Queen from 4-7 p.m. tomwhitmanpresents.com Through Jan. 12
Sat. | Dec. 7
A CHRISTMAS CAROL A Noise Within Continuing its holiday family tradition, A Noise Within presents a classic production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol—a tale of forgiveness. This year will also couple with a special fundraiser on Dec. 8, Fezziwig’s Festive Holiday Tea, which supports the theater group’s educational programming. Through Dec. 22. anoisewithin.org
FAULT METAPHORS Museum of Latin American Art Curated by Felipe Zúñiga González and Abril Castro-Prieto, this exhibit articulates two views of the city of Tijuana developed by artists Mónica Arreola and Omar Pimienta. Arreola uses landscape photography to bring metaphor to life while Pimienta pays homage to Colonia Libertad. molaa.org
Sun. | Dec. 8
ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS Hollywood United Methodist Church
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This fundraising event features celebrity storytellers who recall funny tales of holidays past. Guests include Pauley Perrette, Geri Jewell, Rondi Reed, Beth Grant, Bill Brochtrup and David Dean Bottrell, along with musical guests. 7 p.m. hollywoodumc.org
Bill Brochtrup
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COLUMNS ENTERTAINMENT
FILM
REVIEWS THE GREAT BEAUTY (LA GRANDE BELLEZZA) Starring Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli Now Playing
*****
Three-quarters of the way through Paolo Sorrentino’s thrilling new movie, the main protagonist, 65-year-old writer Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo), visits an art installation on the grounds of a spacious palazzo. The middle-aged artist, whose father has taken of photo of him every day of his life since he was 14, arranges the photos in a mosaic-like tableau. Gambardella wanders the space, a witness to the physical and emotional transformation of the subject. It’s perfect visual poetry that encapsulates the beauty and mystery of Sorrentino’s film—a reflective, expressive and exhaustingly alive portrait of aging intellectual bohemians in Fellini’s eternal city of la dolce vita. Whereas the Italian master’s classic film took the pulse of Rome (and Europe) in the pre-swinging 1960s, Sorrentino, who co-wrote the film with Umberto Contarello, takes a long, profound look at those aimless hedonists 50 years later, and he’s both bemused and disappointed by what he sees, though never disparaging. The film, though overlong and occasionally clunky in its transitions, nevertheless has the contours of a contemporary foreign classic. It’s Fellini-esque by design, with its own funky humor, and it lovingly showcases Roma in a way that would make the maestro proud. —Dan Loughry
BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL
HERE COMES THE DEVIL
PHILOMENA
Starring Bettie Page, Hugh Hefner, Bunny Yeager Opens Nov. 29
Starring Francisco Barreiro, Laura Caro, Alan Martinez Opens Dec. 13
Starring Judi Dench, Steve Coogan Opens Nov. 27
****
Mark Mori’s lovingly made documentary about Bettie Page is sure to stimulate fans of the pin-up superstar. And truth in titillating titling, Bettie Page Reveals All also features plenty—perhaps too much—private information from and about its subject. The late Page discloses—in poignant voice-overs culled from interviews—the pleasure she had posing in the nude and in bondage gear, how she got her trademark bangs and that she often designed her own costumes. But she also recounts painful episodes from her life, discussing sexual abuse by her father and being raised in an orphanage. Page also had miserable marriages, trouble with the law, a nervous breakdown and several violent episodes. However, most of the film showcases affection for the icon, whose unique look and attitude inspired a multitude of fans. When Greg Theakston observes that Page was truly ‘acting’ in her bondage photos—and that is why they are so erotic—the film nicely illustrates his point. Throughout Bettie Page Reveals All, Mori shrewdly uses illustrations of Page to represent her; the hundreds of photographs on display are remarkable, almost tiresome. Still, they assist in providing an understanding and appreciating of this fascinating, complex sex symbol. —Gary M. Kramer
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*
Is it possible for a movie to be not bad enough? That’s the question I kept asking while watching Here Comes the Devil, a mad throwback to the kitchensink slasher flicks of the ‘70s. Directed—ploddingly— by Adrián García Bogliano (who also wrote the loopy screenplay), the film has something to do with the devil inhabiting the spirits of two children who go missing while camping near Tijuana caves, only to miraculously show up the next morning to their worried parents, Felix (Barreiro) and Sol (Caro). Yet before that happens, there’s a gratuitous Sapphic sex scene, a stranger at the door (a serial killer who must be the devil yet is frightened away by a candlestick-wielding lesbian) and the death of that maniac near those very same caves where the children later go missing. He plunges his bloody machete into the ground, which must be why these caves are flooded with the spirit of evil ... or something. I gave up on logic and tried to focus on the wooden acting, the old-school dismemberments and the incestuous relationship between the creepy, expressionless kids. With slight adjustments, Here Comes the Devil could have been a classic—a camp classic. —Dan Loughry
****
Martin Sixsmith, whose investigative book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee forms the basis of Stephan Frears’ emotionally wrenching Philomena, would witheringly describe his journalistic effort as a “human interest” piece. Sixsmith, as played by Coogan, is an intellectual snob, a former BBC foreign correspondent and disgraced director of communications under Tony Blair. Flailing professionally, he meets the working class, Irish Philomena Lee (Dench), and the two of them set about to find the young child she was forced to give up for adoption by the Roscrea convent in the early 1950s. Frears, whose work includes My Beautiful Laundrette, Dangerous Liaisons and The Queen, is a consummate director who adapts to his material. Here he’s filmed what used to be known as a “weepie,” dials down the rank sentiment and explores the dialectic between classes, religious beliefs and intellectual standing. He’s helped inestimably by Coogan’s and Jeff Pope’s prickly script, as well as the salt-and-pepper pairing of his leads. It will surprise no one to hear that Dench is superlative (when isn’t she?), yet she hits new notes of vulnerability previously unseen in her canon. And there is a surprise, gay element to the proceedings handled with much grace and humor. —Dan Loughry
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MUSIC
Boy George This Is What I Do (Kobalt)
***
REVIEWS
The last few Boy George efforts have been throwaway dance records, but this one (his first of all-new material in 18 years) is a nice return to form for the iconic queer singer. Written by George and longtime partners John Themis and Richie Stevens, it also features collaborations with legendary producer Youth. The first thing you’ll notice is George’s highly personal lyrical storytelling and peaceful, positive vibe. As he explains, “I was writing from a happy place. This time, no ex-lovers to get revenge on. For me, ‘Bigger Than War’ sums up the tone.” Indeed, the message is that love is bigger than everything, and it includes this cheeky line: “Love is bigger than Elvis but not Yoko” (and he nods to Ono directly with a cover of her doleful “Death of Samantha”). Elsewhere, “Live Your Life” is a splendid blast of languid reggae with an anti-homophobia message; “My God” is a muscular, mid-tempo rock ballad; “It Ain’t Easy” is an old-timey country heartbreaker in the style of Roy Orbison; “Nice & Slow” is another blast of feel-good reggae. All told, this is a mature, solid comeback, and the newly slimmed-down George offers a duskier, more weathered vocal timbre. Perhaps exactly how a bearded drag queen should sound? —Paul V.
Jenny Wilson
Blood Orange
Shearwater
Throwing Muses
The Wanted
Demand the Impossible (Sony Sweden)
Cupid Deluxe (Domino)
Fellow Travelers (Sub Pop)
Purgatory / Paradise (The Friday Project Limited)
Word of Mouth (Island)
*****
Demand the Impossible, the third studio album from Swedish chanteuse Jenny Wilson, has all the markings of a protest album. Her angry lyrics, spoken-word segments and track titles— “Opposition,” “The Future,” “Battle with God”—certainly reflect a restless, tortured artist. Upon closer inspection, with the knowledge that Wilson recently fought and won a battle with breast cancer, it’s clear she’s calling for an internal revolt—a separation of body and spirit. With the charm and energy of Lykke Li and the electronic expertise and darkness of The Knife, Jenny Wilson might be Sweden’s most brilliant export. The album abstractly unfolds the story of Jenny Wilson’s battle with the sort of loose narrative that Kate Bush perfected years ago. Weird and weirdly accessible, pre-albumrelease single “The Future” is a standout. “My History” recalls the synth minimalism of early Human League. “Mean Bone” is as catchy as anything Miley Cyrus is putting on the radio these days. “Pyramids (Rose Out of Our Pain)” deftly builds upon a simple, moody refrain, exploding in a cacophony of recorders and bongos. The five-minute epic closer “Ghost Station” may be Wilson’s best track yet. This is easily one of the best albums of the year. —Dominik Rothbard
***
A new Blood Orange album comes with mixed emotions for me. Dev Hynes is one of the most brilliant songwriters working today. His collaborations with Solange, Florence + The Machine, Emmy the Great and so many others always manage to elevate the artist with whom he’s working. Perhaps riding high on the success of those collaborations, Hynes chose to record another Blood Orange album with as many collaborators as he could fit. Sometimes it works—like on “Chamakay,” which features Chairlift's Caroline Polachek— and other times it doesn't (see rapper Skepta’s performance on “Clipped On”). Unfortunately Blood Orange sounds very 1987. It’s dated, synth-heavy, overglossy—that seems to be the point, but it really obscures the brilliance of his songwriting. Hynes’ other (far superior) moniker Lightspeed Champion has gone too long without an album. The pristine production of these tracks is draining the spontaneity of the songwriting. “Chosen” sounds like it could’ve been produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. This is a case of wasted potential, not lack of talent. For some reason Dev Hynes has decided to make 1987 cool again, and he very nearly succeeds. Dev, if you’re reading this, please put your Lightspeed Champion hat back on. You look great in it.
****
The 10 songs on Shearwater’s Fellow Travelers flow with such a seamless lyricism—much like the band’s best work—that I didn’t realize I was listening to a covers record until halfway through. Even then I had to do some research. That’s a feat when you’re covering songs, since most remind you of the original unless it’s a complete reinterpretation of the source. A few factors help in Shearwater’s favor. The band covered songs by bands they’ve toured with (Xiu Xiu, The Folk Implosion, etc.). The band chose mostly deep album tracks, then invited the covered bands to play on the record but only on songs that were not their own. The track that tipped me off was The Folk Implosion’s “Natural One,” a minor alt-rock hit in 1995. For the rest, I’m still not sure who wrote what, and it’s not that I can’t find out but that I don’t much care. Singer Jonathan Meiburg’s fruity baritone—as in dramatic, overripe—wrings new meanings even from a tune as emotionally naked as Coldplay’s “Hurts Like Heaven.” And though I may ultimately seek out each of these originals for comparison, I know I’ll still turn to these versions for enjoyment. —Dan Loughry
****
Fan-funded and released as a 64page book with an accompanying 32-track CD, Throwing Muses’ ninth release doesn’t lack in ambition. It also doesn’t lack in achievement. The book itself consists of leader Kristen Hersh’s, um, musings—essays, stories and whatnot, as well as photos and artwork by Hersh and drummer David Narcizo. The music may be the best thing the band’s done since its sophomore record, 1998’s House Tornado. As usual, the influential trio traffics in an angular and often lyric form of alt-rock it had a hand in creating—violently strummed acoustic guitars, scattershot drumming and whip-fast time changes, melodic bass (courtesy of Georges Bernard) holding the entire stew together. As always, Hersh’s pleading, insistent vocals create a whirlwind of mania. The 32 tracks are mostly short, nearly fragmentary yet cumulatively powerful. It’s the type of record you listen to in total for its overall effect, which is that of a troubling dream, often more purgatory than paradise. That’s partially a result of Hersh’s voice, huskier and more immediate with age, and the schizophrenic pace of the music. Yet there’s beauty as well—the magnificence of seasoned band members connecting at the height of their abilities. And that is more paradise than purgatory.
**
Is this Irish boy band now considered an older, wiser boy band? Whatever these guys are now, there’s an identity crisis going on. On the plus side, “We Own the Night” (the album’s opening track) is a potent, let-loose jam, while “Chasing the Sun” (which was released over 18 months ago) and “Show Me Love (America)” shine the brightest out of these 14 tracks. (With its killer powerful chorus, plucky violins and crashing drums, the latter is the kind of power ballad that teen girls swoon over.) The pulsating electro vibe of “Glow in the Dark” is a decent highlight that updates the group’s sound rather than aping its previous hits. But now the bad news: First, Dr. Luke has more than worn out his welcome, because so much of his writing and producing is sounding exactly the same. Yes, we know this is what radio and record labels want now, and “Walks Like Rihanna” comes off like an embarrassing Katy Perry D-side. The guys do try to be more like rockstars on “Demons” and “Could This Be Love,” but neither song adds up to much more than a rehashed Maroon 5—not a good sign. In fact, the latter half of this collection is beyond generic and unmemorable. Time for some reinvention, boys. —Paul V.
—Dan Loughry
—Dominik Rothbard
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THEATER REVIEWS THE NORMAL HEART THE FOUNTAIN THEATRE | 5060 Fountain Ave., East Hlywd. Through Dec. 15 | FountainTheatre.com Larry Kramer’s angry, hopeful and gut-wrenching play The Normal Heart opened at the New York Public Theatre in 1985 to scorching acclaim. Holding a mirror up to New York’s silent political leaders and heartbreakingly breathing life into men faced with something unknown and unfathomable, the play has now become a historical snapshot. (Most interestingly because the play is about the lack of communication in getting the word out about the disease, whereas today it would take one Facebook post to make the information go viral.) This adds another layer of frustration and anguish to the play, which was revived in 2011 in New York and returns to L.A. for the first time in 16 years. Directed by Simon Levy, this groundbreaking play is presented in no-frills black-box style with projections that grace the gray-mottled walls
and use minimal props. This pushes the actors front and center, which is both a plus and a minus. With the small theatre space, you’re allowed to be intimately connected to the actors. For those who succeed, that’s a plus. For those who don’t, it puts a bit of a spotlight on them. For the uninitiated, the basic story follows the very early days of the disease, when the mayor and city officials of New York were ignoring the outbreak. We focus on Ned Weeks (Tim Cummings) who is goaded by a no-nonsense physician, Dr. Emma Brookner (Lisa Pelikan), to become a voice and warning sign for the gay community. Reluctant at first, Ned watches as men he knows are stricken down. So while he’s uncertain as to what his role should be, he becomes more and more vocal, frustrated and irate as the people who should be helping do nothing.
PHOTO: ED KRIEGER
Tim Cummings is the standout performer of this mostly successful ensemble cast. He has a natural presence onstage and takes what can at times be an earnest piece and makes it accessible. Occasionally his frustration comes out in body language that appears cartoonish, but for the most part he is an effective surrogate for playwright Kramer. Bill Botchtrup as his lover Felix is also quite good, having to go from confident professional to a doomed statistic. The other notable performer is Fred Koehler, who has one of the show’s more powerful monologues. And while it could have been an ingratiating scream-fest, his pentup turmoil becomes understandable
in his hands, and our souls break for him. Pelikan is an interesting performer, but there is a strange theatricality to her performance that needed to be tempered in order for a connection to be made. There are aspects of the show that don’t always work and feel a bit too melodramatic, but for a smaller production, they handle the limitations gamely. This is an important piece of work, and for the generations who didn’t come of age during the time when the crisis reared its head, it’s a nice lesson in understanding how far we’ve come —and what those who came before had faced. —Kevin P. Taft
PLAY DEAD THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE | 10886 Le Conte Ave, Westwood Through Dec. 22 | GeffenPlayhouse.com This will probably be the strangest and most vague review you’ll ever read about a theater experience that you should run out and see. Why? Because to give almost anything away would ruin the discovery of what it’s all about. The show in question is Play Dead, directed by Teller (of the illusionist duo Penn & Teller) and starring performer Todd Robbins, who co-wrote it along with Teller. Essentially a one-man piece, the production is performed in the more intimate Audrey Skirball Kenis Theatre inside the Geffen Playhouse. The show itself is a night of spine-chilling shenanigans revolving around the dead, most of whom were notoriously evil in some way or another. Robbins injects the tales he tells with themes of death and the after-life with a dose of humor, eroticism (there is full nudity—don’t ask), and stunning illusions that will have you gasping and
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scratching your head in equal measure. The beautifully creepy set design by Tom Buderwitz is reminiscent of a warehouse where spooky funhouse props go to die. The affable Todd Robbins dons the stage in a crisp white suit and speaks directly to the audience throughout. Clearly this isn’t a standard play. This is full-on audience participation; similar to if you were taking part in a sinister magic act at a traveling carnival. Once Robbins ‘locks’ the doors to the theatre, you’re in for a wild and ghostly ride. Tricks and special effects abound, and there are plenty of opportunities for audience members to join Robbins onstage to assist him in telling his devilish stories. Robbins is truly a fantastic entertainer. He is funny without being cocky, and even though you trust that you’ll be safe inside the theatre, there’s a twinge
PHOTO: MICHEAL LAMONT
to his commanding voice that will amusingly make you pause. “What if he really does lock us all in?” This is what makes the night so engagingly chilling. Robbins knows exactly how to keep you off-balance just enough for it to be unnerving. If you are afraid of the dark or don’t like creepy surprises (some of which might appear behind or above you and may, in fact, reach out and stroke your neck), this might not be the show for you. Expert director Teller uses all sorts
of stage magic and intense aural effects to fully immerse you in Robbins’ tales of murder and despair. He keeps the show moving at a swift pace, and at only an hour and 20 minutes long, you are truly begging for more when it’s over. This is probably the most fun you’ll have at the theatre this year, and since it’s just been extended through Dec. 22, you have plenty of time to enjoy its hair-raising magic. —Kevin P. Taft
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HEALTH
OFF THE ESY COURT PHOTO
VO TV OF BRA
COUCH
By Dr. Greg Cason
WHAT YOUR CAR SAYS ABOUT YOU “It had to look cute, the color had to be cute and I had to look cute driving it.” —Car test by Janet on the ‘70s sitcom Three's Company
Dr. Greg Cason is a licensed psychologist based in West Hollywood, specializing in cognitive therapy with individuals and couples. He can be contacted by going to DrGreg.com.
I have a confession to make, I like cars. Maybe this isn't such a revelation coming from a native of Southern California, where cars operate somewhere between ‘life necessity’ and ‘penile extension device.’ But being a gay man, I suppose I gravitate toward the latter. Gay women are far more practical. Here in L.A., where so many gay boys drive leased Range Rovers and live in single apartments, the car seems to be a way for people to pretend they are something they aren’t while convincing others they are. Follow me? People’s cars may be as phony as their backstories (and noses). But with the L.A. Auto Show currently running, I wondered exactly what a car says about the person who buys it—well, mostly myself and all my friends. Everyone has his theory, but lo and behold, the oversized brains at UC Davis actually did a study (funded by Daimler Chrysler, mind you) and published in the 2004 journal Transportation Research. Who knew? Now, remember, this research was done on the general population, and like all things that apply to the general population, gay people are often notable exceptions, so take these findings with a grain of paprika. SMALL CARS: Popular cars are the Prius, Honda Civic and BMW Mini. It’s no surprise that small car drivers tend to live in big cities (like L.A.) and may actually be concerned about the environment. Frankly, they also may be concerned about parking, but that didn’t come up in the survey, though it’s a huge advantage. They like to stay closer to home and don’t go away at the drop of a hat. They also tend to be loners and live in single-adult households. They generally are neither workaholics nor statusseekers as they are generally content and have nothing to prove. It is nice to see the small car is the choice for many big boys in the Bear community, where confidence and support tend to reign supreme. There is one exemption, though—the Prius. The
Prius became the go-to of the environmentally aware status-seeker in order to demonstrate they really are better than others. As South Park astutely pointed out, they have replaced the output of smog with ‘smug.’ Am I making this up? Nope. A 2012 study out of UC Berkley found that Prius drivers were as rude as BMW drivers. So you better get out of their way or else they will cut you off (at slower speeds). MID-SIZED CARS: Popular cars are—well, I don’t know. Do you? I mean,o you know anyone who has a mid-sized car that wasn’t handed down to them by their parents? You probably do, but you forgot because the UC Davis research shows that mid-sized car owners have no distinct personality, lifestyle or travel preferences. Ouch! We can reframe the finding to say that mid-sized car owners are like secret agents who live among us unnoticed but have dynamic and diverse lives that cannot be pigeonholed. Besides, anyone ‘in the know’ knows this is the car choice of the ‘old-money’ and über-famous set— so they can avoid detection. This deal was sealed for me when, years ago, I saw Jackie O getting in the back of a beat-up steel blue Ford Fairmont in NYC. LUXURY CARS: Popular cars are big BMWs, loweralphabet Mercedes and a whole lotta Lexus. It’s no surprise that luxury car owners tend to be statusseekers—maybe that is why there are so many in L.A. amongst the newly monied and the wannabe famous. Oh, and the gay community. These drivers want others to see them as better than they see themselves. Luxury lead foots also tend to be older, richer and more educated, and there are more dudes in their fold. Brett Berk, writer of the gay car blog at VanityFair.com, has called the BMW 7-series the unofficial gay car of Los Angeles. BMWs generally are the leader in this category, but the Berkeley study also associated BMWs with narcissists and people who don’t stop for pedestrians, so maybe we should rethink that one. SPORTS CARS: Popular cars are Porsches, smaller BMWs and the little Lexus. Sports car drivers tend
to be adventurous and are probably great to have sex with but a bitch to be in a relationship with as they tend to be ‘risk-taking’ and ‘variety-seeking.’ So if you see your date roll up in a sporty two-seater, invite him in for some fun but tell him you have to be somewhere more important in 15 minutes. Don’t fret—they like to go fast. PICKUPS: Ford and Toyota are the popular names in this category. Truck owners tend to be middleaged guys, but middle-aged women are catching up quickly. A 2004 R.K. Polk Survey found that American women bought more than 250,000 pickups. Lady truckers say it’s because pickups are higher, bigger and command more respect from other drivers. According to the UC Davis study, pickup drivers tend to live in the outskirts of the city and are less satisfied with their lives. Probably because they also tend to be workaholics. SUVS: These are station wagons on stilts. Every car company has one, but we gays tend to love the Audi Q5, the Lexus RX and the perennial Jeep. SUV road warriors tend to have a stronger travel freedom attitude—meaning they want to bust loose and go somewhere. But they’re not running away from anything, as they tend to feel satisfied with their lives. They tend to be under 40, highly educated and maybe even have higher incomes. With the gayby boom in full-force, this has also become the minivan of the gayer persuasion. SUV owners just do it with more style. But all is not happy in SUV-land, as many are making the switch to smaller cars to help the environment and to avoid the shaming stares of Prius drivers. Now, studies aren’t foolproof, and these findings are generalities. I mean, these researchers aren’t talking about you personally. (Or are they?) Like horoscopes, psychic readings and full-body scans, it’s fun to wonder if the findings truly describe you. If you ask me, forget the car studies. Janet on Three’s Company had it right all along. Just find a car that has a cute style, a cute color and that you look really cute driving.
If you have any questions and/or comments, please direct them to: Frontiers, 5657 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 470, Los Angeles, CA 90036, or email them to feedback@frontiersla.com. 66
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ILLUSTRATION BY
GLENHANSON .COM
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR It all started way back in the day with my very first full-length holiday show, Jesus Christ, It’s Your Birthday! The ads and fliers for the show featured me as a bitter, smoking, dragged-up Mary holding a blinged-out baby Jesus. As a heretic on a budget, my ‘halo’ was a paper plate that had been spray-painted gold. I also wore a big, tacky rhinestone cross dangling above my man-cleavage— which, if you think about it, doesn’t make sense, seeing how Jesus wouldn’t be crucified for another 33 years and men shouldn’t have cleavage. Even without seeing it, the envelope-pushing show was listed as one of the top 10 things on the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights’ 1998 Report on Anti-Catholicism. You know when they say, “There is no such thing as bad publicity”? Well, they’re right! The show—and the subsequent press—put me on the map. Since then, my holiday show has become a bit of a tradition for a lot of people. Notice I said “holiday” and not “Christmas.” Why? Because I feel it is my duty to be socially sensitive to those who celebrate other seasonal holidays such as Chanukah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, etc. Oh, and I also feel it’s my duty to get those folks’ hard-earned money, too—not just the idiots who think some crazy virgin got knockedup and had a blonde, blue-eyed baby in a stable in the Middle East. I honestly hope Jesus comes back, arrives at my house and dramatically flings the front door open and stands there, glowing, just so I can say, “Hey, Jesus, shut the fuckin’ door! I mean, were you born in a barn?” In the 15 years since that first show, I’ve gone on tour all over the country with ones entitled Merry Fuckin’ Christmas, Jackie Beat Blew Christmas, Holiday Ho, How the Bitch Stole Christmas, Come They Told Me and more. You know, real classy stuff. This year, my tour is only a handful Saturday, Dec. 7, 8 & 10 p.m. of cities because I am so busy writing Sunday, Dec. 8, 7 & 9 p.m. on the TV show Hello Ross! So if you The Cavern Club Celebrity Theater, want to usher in the holidays with located below Casita del Campo some sick and twisted song parodies 1920 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake sung by a big scary man-lady, visit $25 pre-sale, $30 at the door MissJackieBeat.com/schedule and get brownpapertickets.com your tickets now!
JACKIE BEAT in O HOLY HELL!
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MASTERS I, Billy Masters, being of relatively sound mind and having body fat in the mid-teens, declare this my last will and testament. Yes, this could very well be the last column you read from me. Not because I want to stop writing to you, Lord knows, but because I could die on the operating table. For the first time ever, I am going under the knife. One would think my maiden surgery would be something completely elective to enhance my slightly fading beauty. But like Joan Collins, I am much more afraid of surgery than I am of growing older. No, this surgery is one that is far from elective but also far from fatal. On the other hand, my surgeon did just point out to me that there are “no guarantees,” so I'd better make this column a good one ... just in case.
Jack Andraka
Let's start with what I think is an important topic. I've seen Jack Andraka featured on both 60 Minutes and The View. He's the 16-year-old scientist who has come up with a way to detect pancreatic, lung and ovarian cancer that costs three cents and takes five minutes to run. (This means it is 168 times faster and 26,000 times less expensive than the current test.) Why am I bringing this up? Because he's also gay! I'm not outing him—he's openly gay. In fact, it’s the first thing he brings up in an online interview. “Being an LGBT teen in science right now is kinda lonely. Looking around at scientists it’s like, wow, there are no other gay people. And I’m like, ‘Come on, guys—science. We can go outside of, like, fashion design and stuff. It doesn’t matter who you like, what gender you are, where you come from— none of that matters. It’s just your ideas that should count.’” An insider at 60 Minutes told me, “We didn’t mention he was gay because it wasn’t relevant to the story, and it might have turned 68
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Alec Baldwin
some people off.” Shame on you, 60 Minutes. LGBT teens like Jack Andraka make me feel like the world is in pretty good hands. I’m thankful to not be Alec Baldwin, because yet again the actor finds himself embroiled in a scandal. Last week he was filmed calling a photographer a “cocksucking fag” (although Baldwin claims what he actually called the guy was a “cocksucking fathead”). As typically follows a Baldwin outburst, he issued an apology: “I did not intend to hurt or offend anyone with my choice of words, but clearly I have—and for that I am deeply sorry.” I once made an apology like that. I said to a dear friend, “I didn’t do anything wrong, but obviously it hurt your feelings, so I’m sorry for that.” It’s a way of apologizing without taking any responsibility. You’re actually telling the offended person to just get over it. In short order, MSNBC pulled Baldwin’s Up Late chat show from the schedule for two weeks. Around the same time, someone from GLAAD pointed out the term “cocksucker” is an anti-gay slur (which I’m sure is news to Chloë Sevigny). And, because he hates to be left out, Anderson Cooper weighed in via Twitter: “Wow, Alec Baldwin shows his true colors yet again. How is he going to lie and excuse his anti-gay slurs this time? Just read Alec Baldwin’s latest excuses. They are actually so ridiculous they are funny.” But Alec had a trump card up his sleeve. The next day he arranged a photo-op in front of the salon of his openly gay hairdresser, presumably to prove that he has gay friends (who, one assumes, are cocksuckers). Nick Berrios told TMZ, “I don’t think he’s homophobic. I don’t at all. Whenever he is in
“Don't you know lots of people like that? I do. I've seen those little girlie boys from Thailand—they're quite fabulous.”
here, we are always talking and cutting hair. He booked an appointment for today, he always does and he is a good tipper. He has a very big gay following. We love him more now. We always love a drama-filled story.” To say nothing of a good tipper. Then there’s the Murder, She Wrote reboot being prepped for Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer. When this project was announced, the powers-that-be hoped to somehow involve Angela Lansbury— likely an idea cultivated to get the blessing of the original Jessica Fletcher. Alas, not only did Angie decline the invitation, she condemned the entire venture. “I’m sorry that they have to use the title Murder, She Wrote, even though they have access to it and it’s their right. I think it’s a mistake.” When asked about Spencer, she said, “I saw her in The Help and thought she was absolutely wonderful, a lovely actress. So I wish her well, but I wish it wasn’t in Murder, She Wrote.” Intriguingly enough, Lansbury’s words carried quite a bit of weight. I’m told the producers are considering changing the title and the name of the character if Lansbury would reconsider her involvement—something I’m told she’s actually toying with. Did you hear that Ellen DeGeneres and Anne Heche are back together? Well, not really ... but kinda. Both are developing sitcoms for NBC. As I previously reported, Ellen’s show is about a lesbian who is impregnated by her best friend. Heche’s is about a sales manager at a department store beauty counter who tries to find love with the help of her co-workers and her opinionated sister. I say let’s put them both together—Heche could play the single, pregnant, lesbian sales manager at a beauty counter who is trying to find love with the help of her opinionated sister, her co-workers and her married male best friend who impregnated her. I smell an Emmy. In the never-ending quest to find a television project for Cheyenne Jackson, there are two pilots he’s attached to (three if you count the one from Delta). Jackson has been added to the cast of an Alicia Silverstone pilot for Lifetime called HR, where she plays the director of a human resources department. This is a guest role that could become recur-
—Sharon Osbourne tells Arsenio Hall about her experiences with people having both male and female genitalia.
ring. It would be a reunion for Jackson and Silverstone, who co-starred in the short-lived Broadway play The Performers, where Jackson played a porn star. Jackson has also been cast in Ryan Murphy’s pilot for HBO called Open, which is about a group of five friends played by Michelle Monaghan, Scott Speedman, Wes Bentley, Anna Torv and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Jackson’s role is described as a “handsome meth addict.” Hmmm ... that could explain the video of him masturbating on BillyMasters.com. He was doing research. This week our “Ask Billy” question comes in the form of a Could it be? item from a longtime reader. Karl in Maine writes, “Could it be that the subject of your most notorious blind items revealed himself on a sitcom this week? It sure looked like him—and for a guy of a certain age, his body definition shows he’s still trimming the fat.” You’ve certainly said a mouthful, Karl. While I was surprised to see him in this role, I believe the art was imitating life when the script says he seems to want us to watch. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, we’ll deliver a couple grand to you courtesy of BillyMasters.com. When I’ve survived a question, a blind item and a surgery, it’s definitely On a recent Two and a Half Men
time to end yet another column. While I’m enjoying the buzz provided by my narcotics, the best medicine is always to check out BillyMasters.com, the site that will never put you out. Even heavily medicated, I’m always here for your queries. So send them along to Billy@ BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before Alec Baldwin shows us what’s in his wallet. Until next time, remember, one man’s filth is another man’s bible.
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THE FEAR TO WIN A WAR In his solid 37-year-old book The War Lords, Field Marshal Sir Michael Carver wrote, “The 20th century has brought new dimensions to the fear of war. In war, change is so rapid that it is difficult for anybody to adapt himself to it; but adapt themselves the participants must and do.” Of course, Carver was pining about the ethical and political contention of force—wars in the name of militarism, nationalism and imperialism. Yet the same is true in our community’s war—the war on AIDS. Or as the New York Times has called it, the wavering war on AIDS. Both have represented at times an anthem for doomed youth lined up side-by-side with the rank stench of bodies. In our case, we didn’t prod or tease our enemy into war. We were attacked without provocation. In our war, over time we have adapted and changed. Sometimes rapidly. Some might even say our communities, governments and medical infrastructure have become almost nimble. The mass society in growing numbers recognizes it is a virus we are at war with and not a lifestyle. We have improved survival. Many speak more openly of safe sex and treatments. We have seen amazing inroads with lowered mortality and longer AIDS-free survival. Most of the gay community has mobilized, the key word sadly being most. But progress is not perfection. We frontline soldiers are not a wholly united army, as many have gone AWOL. Slipping away under the cover of safe sex is a coterie of brothers who don’t know their status, or worse yet, don’t honestly reveal it to partners. Twenty percent of your friends who have contracted HIV don’t even know it. We have created—and, dammit, even popularized—terms like bug-chasing and allowed gay sites to adopt abhorrent monikers such as ‘clean’ to denote ‘HIV-negative,’ thus making a solid supposition that we are to presume HIVpositive is ‘dirty.’ The facts are startling: 60 million people have contracted HIV, and over 25 million men, women and children
have died of AIDS-related causes. Today over 35 million folks are living with HIV, most without access to prevention, care and treatment. Today, over 45,000 people in L.A. County are living with HIV, and over half of those live with AIDS. With all wars come war memorials. Most honor a specific war or battle that began, took causalities and ended. Our ‘War on AIDS’ memorial is a living one. There is no end in sight. Dec. 1 is the 25th anniversary of World AIDS Day. I believe it to be a day to remember, to honor, to love and to scare the shit out of folks. The very best memorial I know to accomplish all this is AIDSwatch. It is the worldwide art project specific to World AIDS Day created and shepherded for almost two decades by my sweet pal David Reid. AIDSwatch is a simple and dignified 24-hour listing of those we’ve lost. Names run for 24 hours, each name lingering on screen for the time it takes to take a breath. David’s AIDSwatch will make you remember, likely make you cry and perhaps scare some back to reality. I look at it as a canonizing weapon of action. Add a name or check it out at AIDSwatch.org. It is the perfect time to remember that the things that make us human often make us ill. Aside from idiots and the insane, people don’t want AIDS. So let’s use Dec. 1 to remember and honor those we’ve lost and recommit an individual and collective determination to do all we can do to stop AIDS. Let’s use the frightening fact that millions have died to keep us healthy and alive. That is a very real and relevant dimension of our over-three-decade war today. Like all war memorials, ours are meant in tribute and to honor—and with any luck, to instill fear. Let’s use the sad and sheer power of the fright of death to continue to fight for new treatments and better ways to cause behavior change. Because in our ongoing war, that old, grizzled field marshal is correct—we must constantly adapt and change to stay alive.
The opinions of this column do not reflect the opinions of Frontiers magazine. DECEMBER 10, 2013
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Queersay CULT LIFE I am not a prude, but sitting in the clothing-optional orgy cuddle room, never before I have felt more naked. Of course I am speaking in metaphor, as I was the farthest thing from naked. In fact, terrified down to the very threads of my True Religion jeans, I was in a turtleneck .... and puffy vest ... and ascot. An ascot?! you ask. Why, Gossip Gay, how huge of a douche have you become that you find yourself wearing a puffy vest and ascot to an invite-only orgy?! Well, let me tell you, folks—this twisted story begins long ago and makes me more uncomfortable than ever. You see, I have this friend—and we’re not talking ‘friend of a friend’ or ‘friendadjacent’ but a tried-and-true BFF, 15 years in the making. The kind of friend you meet in high school. The kind of kid who is just as fat as you, with acne worse than yours and who wears a matching fannypack. Me and this friend grew up through thick and thin together (mostly thick in the midsection) as Midwest rejects, a bond so strong that nothing on Earth could break it. Until, that is, he moved to Los Angeles ... and got a reality show ... and impregnated a (self-proclaimed) supermodel ... and got not one but two DUIs ... and changed his name to a one-word moniker (not exactly Cher, but close enough). You get the eyeroll-inducing point. Yes, while I’ve grown into a gay cliché over the years, my bestie—let’s call him “Mr. E”—has become a TMZblasted Hollywood C-list icon. Do you know him? Yes. Will I hint at who he is? Of course. But will I rat him out? Hell no! You’ll simply have to guess which tanorexic, thinks-he-candance, warbling hot mess of a man I am referring to. Regardless, despite our differences and his 2 a.m. “Get me out of jail!” calls,
Drop me your at dirty little secrets m. .co queersay@hotmail r give I neve And don't worry, oat! up my deep thr y, go to For more Queersa Queersay. m/ .co LA ers nti Fro
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we are still close, and I’ve always stuck by him. (Oh, how a shout-out to Barry’s Bail Bonds is warranted here!) But I’ll admit it—my loyalties were recently tested when he joined a cult. I’m not talking about a “Drink the Kool-Aid!” brainwashing hodge-podge but more like an Eyes Wide Shut gaggle—the kind where everyone sports Elizabethan masks, wears monk robes, sips martinis and then worships horned minotaur statues covered in “symbolic ketchup.” (Folks, I wish I was kidding, but this is all true!) To celebrate Mr. E’s one-year anniversary into the cult last week, he rented a multi-million-dollar mansion in the Hollywood Hills for an “eve of hedonistic ritual.” Invite-only and cult membership being a requirement, I was shocked to get an invitation, and I was horrified when Mr. E told me “how deeply moved” he would be if I showed up for the “re-consummation ceremony.” I agreed, although I was terrified. I took a cab and sat in the alley behind the mansion, pounding a bottle of Bacardi in order to work up the liquid courage to sashay inside. I finally entered. Despite how underground, satanicsexy and cult-creepy Mr. E built up this collective to be, I am relieved to tell you how silly the whole thing was. What I found were a bunch of unshowered, white Silver Lake hipsters, stumbling around after too many “happy brownies” and telling me about the “suppressive” energy my chakras were radiating. I spent most of the night with a former Disney reality star bingedrinking in the second floor’s Plushie Party room, watching grown men in Barney costumes rub their purple people-eaters. I couldn’t leave without bravely and boldly stumbling into what was called the “clothing-optional orgy cuddle room,” because when else would I ever smell the scent of 17 unshowered heterosexual Silver Lake residents smash-and-thrash? I watched, I shuddered, I shook. I also cried all the way home in my cab. The moral of the story here, folks? Scientology is officially no longer the creepiest cult in Hollywood.
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CITY GUIDES
CITY SPONSORS FOOD DRIVE
WEST HOLLYWOOD OFFERS AFFORDABLE CARE ACT RESOURCES BY PAULO MURILLO Having health insurance is important to stay healthy and necessary to pay for health care services in case of sickness or injury. The City of West Hollywood is making efforts to engage, educate and help those community members who are eligible to enroll for insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The city is offering a number of resources to eligible Californians seeking information and enrollment for health insurance coverage that will become effective Jan. 1, 2014. The city will host dates for enrollment sessions in the coming weeks. Information will be made available via the city’s website, Facebook page and on Twitter (follow @wehocity). Resources include Covered California (coveredca.com), an easy-to-use marketplace where individuals can obtain financial assistance to make coverage more affordable. Covered California’s mission is to increase the number of Californians with health insurance, improve the quality of health care and reduce health care coverage costs.
Affordable and high-quality health care includes medical, mental health, substance abuse treatment services and long-term care. For more information, visit coveredca.com or call (800) 300-1505. The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center is also answering questions about the Affordable Care Act and will soon be assisting in the enrollment process. For more information, visit lagaycenter.org or call (323) 993-7500 and choose option 4. Those in the visual/performing arts and entertainment industries can take advantage of the Actor’s Fund Workshop on Heath Care Reform—free weekly workshops open to everyone in the industry. The workshops take place every Monday at 11 a.m. and the first Wednesday of every month at 1:30 p.m. To RSVP, email AHIRCHealth Reform@gmail.com or call (323) 933-9244. For more information on the Affordable Care Act, please contact Social Services Program Administrator Corri Planck at (323) 848-6430.
DO YOU FEEL THERE IS ENOUGH INFORMATION OUT THERE SURROUNDING THE AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ENROLLMENT? “I think there is too much. Right now there's a lot of confusion and too much misinformation about the affordable care program. There needs to be a definitive guide to help people not waste their time in applying for this care. It’s not clear where people should turn to.” —Richard Wilkinson
“I feel that the media could have played a vital role in helping the public understand ObamaCare if it wasn’t so concerned with looking partisan. Instead, information dissemination has been left to community and government organizations with limited reach. The failure of Health Care.gov up to this point has not helped the situation.” —Erik Zamora
The City of West Hollywood is making efforts to gather food throughout the months of November and December. The city is sponsoring a food drive for JFS SOVA Community Food & Resources Program. Everyone is encouraged to bring nonperishable food items, toiletries (no glass containers) and new or slightly used children’s books to City Hall, located at 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard. All donations will help the SOVA Community Food & Resource Program, a program of Jewish Family Service. The JFS SOVA Community Food & Resource Program responds to hunger in our community by providing individuals and families with the resources they need to regain self-sufficiency and independence, including free groceries, case management, counseling and other supportive services such as legal counseling and job search assistance. SOVA has three service centers in the Los Angeles area offering a food pantry stocked with highquality, nutritious canned and packaged foods, baked products and fresh produce. There is a resource center offering referrals to shelter, free medical services, vision care, homeless services, employment, senior services and child care. Community connections also include free legal counseling, job counseling, food stamp enrollment, MediCal enrollment and assistance with utility bills. For more information, visit jfsla.org/sova or call (323) 848-6510.
SPEAK OUT “I don’t feel there’s much public awareness regarding the new health care. I don’t know what plans are out there aside from what I’ve seen via social media. I wouldn’t know where to find a flyer or pamphlet, or anything you can pick up and read. The information I’ve acquired has been mostly from a friend of a friend.” —Jesse Granados
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DESERT
HOT TOPIC HELEN REDDY ROARS INTO ANNENBERG THEATRE BY JAMES F. MILLS
She’s been roaring for the past 40 years, and come Saturday, Dec. 14, she’ll be roaring into Palm Springs’ Annenberg Theatre to sing her hits as well as some holiday songs. She is Helen Reddy, the woman who co-wrote and sang the tune that became an anthem of the feminist movement, “I Am Woman,” which helped so many other women find their voice. Ironically, “I Am Woman” was not initially a hit. Although released in May 1972, the song didn’t make much headway on the record charts. But by fall of that year, many women were calling into radio stations asking them to play “I Am Woman.” The song then re-entered the charts and was number one by December. “I didn’t expect that it was going to have the popularity that it did,” Reddy confessed during a recent telephone interview. “I wrote it because there was no song like it out there. I was looking for something that reflected the positive ideas I got from the woman’s movement, but I couldn’t find it. So I wrote it. I was quite surprised by its popularity, but very pleasantly surprised.” The first Australian ever to win a Grammy, Reddy is back living in Santa Monica after a decade living ‘down under.’ In 2002 she gave what she said was to be her final performance, but in 2012 she returned to the stage. “I didn’t tour for 10 years,” said the 72-year-old Reddy. “Then I decided that I was really, really getting bored. So I put the band together again. And we’re out on the road again. We go out for a couple of days at a time. I never go out for extended tours—it’s just too much.” She performed a sold-out show in Palm Springs in March, something that delighted but didn’t surprise her given her large gay following. “I have a tremendous gay male following,” she said. “In fact, most of my best friends are gay gentlemen. We have 72
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a lot of fun.” Between the pixie hairstyle she’s worn most of her career and penning “I Am Woman,” many have assumed she is a lesbian, though she’s not. “There was a show I did one time back in the days when AIDS was first starting,” said Reddy who has been married three times. “It was in someone’s back yard. They just put up a sheet and used that as a screen, and I performed in front of it. Someone in the audience called out, “When are you coming out Helen?” I said, “If there is a woman somewhere out there with a hairy chest and a big dick, I’m hers.” Audiences at her Palm Springs show can expect a mix of hits like “Angie Baby,” “Delta Dawn,” “You and Me Against the World,” “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady” and, of course, her signature anthem— as well as holiday songs—in a show titled Home for the Holidays. “Angie Baby” is one of Reddy’s most requested songs. Written by the late Alan O’Day, best known for his 1977 hit “Undercover Angel,” it’s the tale of an isolated, young girl who lives vicariously through the radio. Fans frequently want to discuss “Angie” with Reddy, asking about the meaning of the song. “It’s a beautifully written song, such a well-crafted song,” said Reddy, adding if she ever taught a master class in songwriting, she would use “Angie Baby” as the tech song. “So many people ask what really happened at the end [of the song]. I say, ‘What do you think happened?’ because I don’t know. I get some funny answers. The song is a piece of art. It’s like looking at a painting. You’re going to get what you want out of it.” Helen Reddy performs Dec. 1 at the Cerritos Performing Art Center in Cerritos, Dec. 14 at the Annenberg Theater in Palm Springs and Dec. 21 at the Lancaster Performing Art Center in Lancaster.
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SPRINGS
DESERERT AIDS ORGANIZATIONS HONOR WORLD AIDS DAY WITH A WEEK OF EVENTS BY JAMES F. MILLS This year’s World AIDS Day in Palm Springs will be more like World AIDS Week as a number of events are planned for the first week of December to bring awareness to HIV and AIDS. “World AIDS Day is the one time every year to bring focus that the pandemic is still here and a lot of work is still to be done,” says Brett Klein, Desert AIDS Project’s events and retail marketing manager. “We’ve made a lot of strides medically, but it’s still important to get tested and know your HIV status. The disease may be manageable now, but if you’re living a healthy lifestyle, that’s going to make a difference in your overall health.” On Sunday, Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, Desert AIDS Project plans to hold a ceremony at 1 p.m. at Oscar’s Café and Bar at 125 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way in Downtown Palm Springs, followed by a tea dance. From 4 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 1, DAP will also sponsor a 20th anniversary screening of the 1993 movie And the Band Played On, based on the book by journalist Randy Shilts that explores how homophobia and politics during the early days of the AIDS crisis impeded research and treatment. Several producers of the Emmy-winning film will be on-hand for a Q&A after the free screening, which takes place in the auditorium at the UC Riverside campus in Palm Desert. DAP will provide bus transportation to the auditorium. During the week of Dec. 2-6, DAP along with the LGBT Community Center of the Desert and the AIDS Assistance 74
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Program will hold several HIV/AIDSrelated workshops and discussions. Exact details of those programs were not complete at press time but will be included on DAP’s website. The week caps off on Saturday, Dec. 7, with the 22nd annual Festival of Lights holiday parade. Beginning at 5:45 p.m., the parade goes down Palm Canyon Drive, stepping off from Ramon Road and ending at Tamarisk Road. DAP will have a float in the parade (its new HIV testing bus decorated with thousands of lights) as well as a walking contingent to celebrate its 30th anniversary of providing HIV/AIDS care throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties. According to statistics provided by Klein, there are currently 3,374 people reported living with AIDS and 1,712 people living with HIV in Riverside County. Some 61 percent of all people with HIV/AIDS in Riverside County live in the Coachella Valley—2,104 living with AIDS and 1,014 living with HIV. Sixty-three percent of people living with AIDS and 44 percent of people living with HIV in Riverside County are 50 years old or older. In the past two years (2011-2012), 23 percent of all new HIV cases in Riverside County were in people 50 years old or older. “It’s important to keep HIV awareness and prevention high,” says Klein. “We may not be able to eradicate the disease, but we can essentially eradicate transmission of it.” desertaidsproject.org
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MARKETPLACE HOUSECLEANING PLUS DAVE 323/460-4071. [75SC0917]
DOCTORS DAVEÍS EXAM Physicals 323-460-4071 [75SC0816]
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Read your ad carefully when it initially appears. We are not responsible for errors or minor copy changes after first issue of publication. If an error is found, please contact the classifieds department immediately for corrections. Frontiers assumes no responsibility for error or omission of copy. The right to reject, edit, cancel and determine proper placement of a classified ad is the right of this publication.
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MARKETPLACE
BUSINESS
PROFILE
TAKING L.A. STYLE GLOBAL BY FRONTIERS STAFF It’s hard to imagine West Hollywood without LASC, not only because the fashion emporium is such an integral part of the city’s fabric but also because, not surprisingly, LASC first opened its doors just as West Hollywood itself was incorporating back in 1983. Armed with years of experience in customer service, buying and merchandising via the travel and retail industries, LASC owner Don Zuidema and his two business partners had the forethought to recognize early on that they could fill a niche in the burgeoning new gay mecca that would become the West Hollywood we know today. “We saw a great opportunity to service not only our community but [also] the growing interest in fitness,” says Zuidema. “Our intent was to offer great merchandise in a fun environment with knowledgeable sales associates.” Given LASC’s success and steady growth over the last three decades, it is abundantly clear that Zuidema and his partners have accomplished their original goal and then some. It is also equally clear that LASC’s achievements have not been realized by resting on the store’s laurels or the benefits of its prime Santa Monica Boulevard location. LASC has instead thrived as a result of the same forethought that prompted its creation. “Over the years we have grown and evolved to where we now offer nearly everything a guy could want, from underwear and swimwear to jeans, jackets and great accessories,” Zuidema explains. “We’ve also expanded our brand this year, celebrating our 30-year anniversary with the launch of shoplasc.com, an online extension of our store [that] features a curated
selection of our favorite brands and their collections each season.” In conjunction with growing the brand over the years, LASC has also developed a reputation for championing brands and spreading the good news about the clothing and the designers they feel best represent the spirit of Southern California life, thereby giving customers a unique insight into “the lifestyle which is at the core of the LASC DNA.” It is perhaps this spirit more than anything else that has endeared the boutique to its international fan base. LASC has essentially exported the look, vibe and attitude of its physically fit and wellheeled patrons to a global audience, which is only likely to grow as a result of the store’s new online presence. “The international shopper is enticed by the L.A. and Southern California lifestyles, and we do our best to incorporate that sense in our clothing,” Zuidema answers when asked to explain LASC’s global appeal. “Our team is thrilled to now have an online outlet for those international customers to experience the LASC lifestyle.” Speaking of experiencing the LASC Lifestyle, with the holiday season just around the corner—and the flurry of gift giving that accompanies it—we couldn’t resist asking which items were all the rage at LASC this season. “This fall, denim is making a comeback, and we have some great brands in the store,” says Zuidema. “[There’s] technical workout wear for the fitness buff and comfy sweats and pants for everyday use. There is lots to see and shop!”
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SEX ED
WEENIE WRAP BY JIM LARKINS Long before you would ever derive gratification from your penis, you may have lost the ability to reap all of its decadent pleasures. If you’re among the circumcised crowd, a potentially intense erogenous zone may have fallen to the baby doctor’s cutting room floor. Meissner’s corpuscles—the same tissue that makes nipples and the bottoms of feet extremely sensitive to light touch—are located just inside the penile foreskin. Only the uncircumcised man can truly attest to the intense pleasure that can be derived from having retained this hot zone. However, the rolling and gliding action of the fleshy sheath can become a means of extra pleasure on the receiving partner’s end as well. Unfortunately, during circumcision most (if not all) of this area is removed. Medical practitioners have long debated foreskin sensitivity. But in 1991, Canadian pathologist John R. Taylor conducted research on the foreskin of cadavers to prove the theory once and for all. Unfortunately, because Taylor’s research was done primarily on cadavers, critics claimed it had nothing to do with the sexual sensations of the living and was therefore inconclusive. Research among the living has been somewhat debatable as well. Some men report a negative impact on sexual pleasure from the circumcision procedure, others report no difference and still others claim a beneficial effect. There are, however, a growing number of men who believe in uncircumcised sexual bliss, and they have
formed a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a platform for those with circumcision concerns. Through a website, the National Organization of Restoring Men cites a number of personal testimonials from men who claim sex is better since restoring their foreskins. But heightened sexual sensitivity isn’t the only reason men are having their foreskin restored. A number of men have expressed the desire to appear natural below the belt. Others opt for a member makeover because they feel they’re able to regain a sense of control over their genitalia. There are two different procedures for achieving foreskin restoration—committing to a carefully planned regiment of stretching exercises, or surgery. Neither of these options, according to doctor recommendations, should be attempted before the age of 18. Whether one decides to go under the knife or test the boundaries of penile elasticity, there is no guarantee that things won’t go awry. “Penile skin expansion or plastic surgery to gain extra skin length,” claims Dr. Jim Bigelow, author of The Joy of Uncircumcising, “are certainly feasible procedures, but they are not without considerable risks, not least of which is loss of sensation of the penile shaft.” One has to wonder whether the prospect of ending up with a numb cummer is worth the gamble of addressing such minor cosmetic concerns.
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#32.17 #32.18 #32.19 #32.20
11/26/13* 12/11/13 12/24/13* 01/07/14
12/11/13 12/24/13* 01/07/14 01/21/14
*denotes date change due to holiday
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