11/10/17, Vol. 8 Issue 19

WHAT IS GENVOYA®?

GENVOYA is a 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years and older who weigh at least 77 pounds. It can either be used in people who are starting HIV-1 treatment and have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements. These include having an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) for 6 months or more on their current HIV-1 treatment. GENVOYA combines 4 medicines into 1 pill taken once a day with food. GENVOYA is a complete HIV-1 treatment and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines.

GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses, you must keep taking GENVOYA. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

What is the most important information I should know about GENVOYA?

GENVOYA may cause serious side effects: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. GENVOYA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking GENVOYA, your HBV may suddenly get worse.

Do not stop taking GENVOYA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys.

If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking GENVOYA. • Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

The most common side effect of GENVOYA is nausea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or don’t go away.

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What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking GENVOYA? •

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Who should not take GENVOYA?

Do not take GENVOYA if you take: • Certain prescription medicines for other conditions. It is important to ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with GENVOYA. Do not start a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider.

• The herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

• Any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection.

What are the other possible side effects of GENVOYA?

Serious side effects of GENVOYA may also include: Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking GENVOYA.

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•

•

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All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection.

All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

Other medicines may affect how GENVOYA works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to take GENVOYA with all of your other medicines.

If you take antacids. Take antacids at least 2 hours before or after you take GENVOYA. If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if GENVOYA can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking GENVOYA. If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about GENVOYA, including important warnings, on the following page.

Ask your healthcare provider if GENVOYA is right for you.

GENVOYA.com GENVOYA.com

GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

SHOW YOUR

POWER

Take care of what matters most—you. GENVOYA is a 1-pill, once-a-day complete HIV-1 treatment for people who are either new to treatment or people whose healthcare provider determines they can replace their current HIV-1 medicines with GENVOYA.

IMPORTANT FACTS This is only a brief summary of important information about GENVOYA® and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(jen-VOY-uh) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GENVOYA

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF GENVOYA

GENVOYA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. GENVOYA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking GENVOYA. Do not stop taking GENVOYA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

GENVOYA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About GENVOYA” section.

• Changes in your immune system.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

The most common side effect of GENVOYA is nausea.

These are not all the possible side effects of GENVOYA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking GENVOYA. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with GENVOYA.

ABOUT GENVOYA GENVOYA is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 77 pounds and have never taken HIV-1 medicines before. GENVOYA can also be used to replace current HIV-1 medicines for some people who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL of virus in their blood), and have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months and have never failed HIV-1 treatment, and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements.

• GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

Do NOT take GENVOYA if you: • Take a medicine that contains: alfuzosin (Uroxatral®), carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Tegretol-XR®, Teril®), cisapride (Propulsid®, Propulsid Quicksolv®), dihydroergotamine (D.H.E. 45®, Migranal®), ergotamine (Cafergot®, Migergot®, Ergostat®, Medihaler Ergotamine®, Wigraine®, Wigrettes®), lovastatin (Advicor®, Altoprev®, Mevacor®), lurasidone (Latuda®), methylergonovine (Ergotrate®, Methergine®), midazolam (when taken by mouth), phenobarbital (Luminal®), phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®), pimozide (Orap®), rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®), sildenafil when used for lung problems (Revatio®), simvastatin (Simcor®, Vytorin®, Zocor®), or triazolam (Halcion®).

• Take the herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

• Take any other HIV-1 medicines at the same time.

•

GET MORE INFORMATION • • •

This is only a brief summary of important information about GENVOYA. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

Go to GENVOYA.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 If you need help paying for your medicine, visit GENVOYA.com for program information.

BEFORE TAKING GENVOYA Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.

• Have any other medical condition.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with GENVOYA.

HOW TO TAKE GENVOYA • •

GENVOYA is a complete one pill, once a day HIV-1 medicine.

Take GENVOYA with food.

GENVOYA, the GENVOYA Logo, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, SHOW YOUR POWER, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: April 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. GENC0142 06/17

ELECTION NEWS

LGBT history made in Virginia as Georgia election results unclear Woolard in third as election night went into the following day

By PATRICK SAUNDERS and RONNI RADNER Editor’s Note: Georgia Voice went to press at midnight on election night and the following is a recap of results as of that time.

The city of Atlanta eagerly awaited to hear about who its next mayor — or more likely, mayoral runoff candidates — would be as the minutes dwindled toward midnight on Election Day, Nov. 7.

With 21 percent of precincts reporting, Keisha Lance Bottoms led the field at 28 percent, with Mary Norwood following her at 21 percent. Lesbian former City Council President Cathy Woolard was in the next tier of candidates at 14 percent, joined nearby by Peter Aman, Vincent Fort and Ceasar Mitchell at 10 percent.

Meanwhile, the fates of 12 other LGBT candidates and numerous allies in the metro Atlanta area hung in the balance. But candidates in other states had already made history.

With her win in Virginia Tuesday night, Danica Roem became the first openly transgender person elected to a state Legislature in U.S. history.

Roem defeated 25-year incumbent Bob Marshall, who the Victory Fund called “Bigot Bob” and who called himself the “chief homophobe” of the Virginia state Legislature, introducing numerous anti-LGBT bills in the process. Marshall also misgendered Roem in campaign literature and interviews.

Also making news nationally was Andrea Jenkins, who became the first openly trans person elected to the city council of a major U.S. city with her win in Minneapolis.

Raucous crowd at Woolard election night party Meanwhile, Woolard and her supporters awaited results at her election night watch party at Six Feet Under in Grant Park, where the crowd cheered loudly upon hearing of Roem’s victory in Virginia.

“It’s great to be here,” Woolard told Georwww.thegeorgiavoice.com

Cathy Woolard, Danica Roem and Andrea Jenkins (left to right) were LGBT candidates in the running on election night. (File and courtesy photos)

gia Voice. “It’s been two-and-a-half years since I started. I’m really excited. We’ve got such a great network of supporters. It’s really cool.”

When asked about her plans should she make it into the runoff, Woolard said, “We sleep in tomorrow and then turn up and do our drill all over again; consolidate votes from other people who aren’t in the race and just keep going.”

And Woolard was certain the city was ready for an openly gay mayor.

“I was an openly gay city councilmember and city council president,” she said. “I think everybody’s ready. It’s really more about how we’re going to grow the city and who’s the best person to do that job and I think that person is me.”

Woolard addressed the crowd shortly before midnight, giving thanks in particular to Georgia Equality and the Human Rights Campaign. The crowd then roared as she thanked her wife.

Additional races hanging in the balance There is plenty at stake in this election, including seven seats in the state Legislature.

The city of Atlanta government is facing an overhaul not seen in years — come January, the city will have a new mayor, a new City Council president and at least half of the Atlanta City Council will be comprised of new faces.

A good bit of LGBT history is at stake as well. The city of Atlanta could have its

first openly LGBT mayor, the Atlanta City Council could have the first openly LGBT Muslim elected in the U.S. and the Fulton County Commission and/or state House District 60 could have the first openly LGBT African-American man elected in Georgia (former state Rep. Rashad Taylor, a gay African-American man, was outed in office in 2011 and did not win reelection).

With eight viable candidates running for Atlanta mayor and ever-shifting poll numbers, there aren’t many certainties in this race, but if everyone involved agreed on one thing, it would be that it’s likely no one candidate will get the 50 percent plus one vote needed to win outright on Nov. 7 and that this race will go to a runoff to be decided Dec. 5.

Three City Council veterans face off in the race for president: C.T. Martin, Felicia Moore and Alex Wan, who was elected in 2009 and became the first Asian-American member and first openly gay man on the Council. Wan received the backing of Georgia Equality, Georgia Stonewall Democrats, the Human Rights Campaign and the Victory Fund, while Moore got the Georgia Log Cabin Republicans’ endorsement.

In other Atlanta City Council races, queer Muslim business owner Liliana Bakhtiari can make history with a win in District 5, which would make her the first openly LGBT Muslim elected in the U.S. Bakhtiari received the endorsements of Georgia Equality, Georgia Stonewall Democrats and

the Victory Fund, while opponent David Orland Brown got the Georgia Log Cabin Republicans’ endorsement.

Gay federal program reviewer Bill Powell is running in District 1, but his incumbent opponent Carla Smith has the backing of Georgia Equality and Georgia Stonewall Democrats. And gay realtor Kirk Rich has the backing of Georgia Equality, Georgia Log Cabin Republicans and the Victory Fund in District 6 while his opponent Jennifer Ide got a nod from Georgia Stonewall Democrats.

Gay Inman Middle School teacher Lock Whiteside was also in the District 6 contest but dropped out in May. Lesbian Georgia state Rep. Keisha Waites (D-Atlanta) left the state Legislature to run for Fulton County Commission Chair.

Waites, who got endorsements from Georgia Equality and Georgia Stonewall Democrats, is up against former Fulton County Commissioner and Atlanta City Councilman Rob Pitts and Sandy Springs City Councilman Gabriel Sterling.

And in the District 4 race for the late Joan Garner’s seat, two gay men are among the six candidates facing off against each other. Reese McCranie, former deputy director of communications for Mayor Kasim Reed and current director of policy and communications for Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, nabbed the Georgia Stonewall Democrats’ endorsement. And neighborhood activist Josh McNair received the endorsements of Georgia Equality and the Victory Fund.

November 10, 2017 News 5

GEORGIA NEWS

Trans woman in Georgia men’s detention center granted asylum Guatemalan immigrant endured torture in home country, gets second chance in America

then identified as a gay male, and LGBT workers do not have legal protections in employment. She began dressing as a woman and turned to sex work when she was unable to find other work to support herself.

“She was victimized on account of her gender identity in Guatemala and was engaged in sex work,” explained Dinielli, who described virulent transphobia in the Central American nation.

“A country expert [for the case] outlined some of the conditions for LGBTs in Guatemala,” he said. “It’s a place with few cultural protections and many biases, as well as housing insecurity. She was harassed and threatened by narcos preying on the transgender community in Guatemala City as well as by police officers, including multiple rapes.

They use this against transgender sex workers as a form of terror.”

By RONNI RADNER rradner@thegavoice.com Last month, a transgender woman identified only by the initials S.A.C. was granted asylum in the United States after enduring rape and torture in her native Guatemala and subsequently spending several months housed at Stewart Detention Center (SDC). SDC is a men’s facility in rural Lumpkin, Georgia, where S.A.C. resided for nine months while the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) gathered evidence for her case.

SPLC Deputy Legal Director David Dinielli said S.A.C. was transferred to the Lumpkin facility after crossing the Rio Grande into Texas and turning herself in to border patrol last December.

“The default in nearly every single incarceration is that people are housed according to their gender at birth,” Dinielli explained to Georgia Voice. “It’s extremely rare for people to be housed with their gender identity.

This is what we see in virtually every case.”

Chances of asylum next to nil at facility Dinielli added that while SPLC is thrilled to have won asylum for S.A.C., “An equally important part of the story is that she was being held essentially in a prison, run by Corrections Corporation of America. S.A.C. hadn’t even broken the law and turned herself in and was in a setting truly indistinguishable from a prison. And these places are very rural and far away from population centers. This contributes to the lack of asylum given. The percent of people granted asylum was only 2 percent from this facility, reflective that these places are simply not conducive to getting lawyers willing to work there.”

The nearest sizable city to Lumpkin is Columbus, Georgia, approximately 40 miles away.

Dan Werner, director of the Southeast Im-

Southern Poverty Law Center Deputy Legal Director David Dinielli fought for the transgender immigrant only known as S.A.C. — so named in an effort to protect her identity. (Photo courtesy Southern Poverty Law Center)

migrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI), an SPLC project that provides pro bono representation to detained immigrants in the southeastern United States, said in a statement, “We’re proud that the SPLC’s intervention and representation of S.A.C. resulted in a decision to grant asylum. But make no mistake: In remote facilities like Stewart, lack of representation and asylum denials are the norm. SIFI’s efforts on behalf of clients like S.A.C. are a stopgap measure in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform.”

Dinielli said S.A.C. was taunted at the facility but not abused. A transgender prisoner named Ashley Diamond at another rural Georgia facility was not as fortunate.

“We [SPLC] had a case in Georgia that concerned Ashley Diamond, who had been sexually assaulted eight times before she was released,” Dinielli noted.

“While our lawsuit has done an important part of the work of making conditions in Georgia safer for prisoners, the Department of Justice is going in behind us with a focus specifically on safety and housing issues with respect to that community, and sexual victimization risk,” Chinyere Ezie, Diamond’s

attorney at the SPLC, told Georgia Voice at the time of Diamond’s early release in August 2015.

Fear and violence in Guatemala City In court documents, S.A.C., who was born assigned male in 1974, details the bullying she encountered growing up in a strict Catholic household in rural Guatemala.

Born to a single mother with eight siblings and only minimal contact with her father, S.A.C. tried on women’s clothing in secret and felt more comfortable engaging in activities more traditionally associated with women. She was frequently bullied by neighborhood children because she only wanted to play with girls.

Around age 13, S.A.C. discovered that she was attracted to males and began having sexual relationships with men in which she imagined herself as a woman. When her mother found out, she hit S.A.C., so S.A.C. fled to Guatemala City to escape the abuse.

Once in Guatemala City, she found work packing medicine and making bath products, but she says she was fired because she

‘She is getting the help and direction she needs’ Dinielli said S.A.C. chose to come to America because she’d heard “equality was the law of the land.”

Since getting granted asylum, S.A.C. is “ecstatic,” according to Dinielli. She has relocated to Virginia and resides with at least one supportive family member.

“She is on Cloud 9,” Dinielli said. “She feels very vindicated and happy about the judge who granted her asylum. She’s very interested in continuing to develop her skills to start living what she believes is a regular life. She is getting the help and direction she needs.”

But Dinielli says he remains concerned about the Trump administration’s approach to immigration, especially where it concerns LGBTs and, specifically, transgender people.

“I can only hope we can live up to the promises for those seeking protection,” he said. “She has asylum, so she can stay here indefinitely, as asylum doesn’t come with a time limitation. She hadn’t been exposed to the Trump administration because she was in Stewart Detention Center for nine months.

We obviously hope this country lives up to its promises. But it’s a concern with [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions and his stance of not protecting transgender people. I truly believe we owe it to her.”

6 News November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

In adults with HIV on ART who have diarrhea not caused by an infection IMPORTANT PATIENT INFORMATION This is only a summary. See complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or by calling 1-844-722-8256. This does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

What Is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine used to improve symptoms of noninfectious diarrhea (diarrhea not caused by a bacterial, viral, or parasitic infection) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on ART. Do Not Take Mytesi if you have diarrhea caused by an infection. Before you start Mytesi, your doctor and you should make sure your diarrhea is not caused by an infection (such as bacteria, virus, or parasite).

Possible Side Effects of Mytesi Include:

Tired of planning your life around diarrhea?

Enough is Enough Get relief. Pure and simple. Ask your doctor about Mytesi.

Mytesi (crofelemer): • Is the only medicine FDA-approved to relieve diarrhea in people with HIV • Treats diarrhea differently by normalizing the flow of water in the GI tract • Has the same or fewer side effects as placebo in clinical studies • Comes from a tree sustainably harvested in the Amazon Rainforest What is Mytesi?

Mytesi is a prescription medicine that helps relieve symptoms of diarrhea not caused by an infection (noninfectious) in adults living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Important Safety Information Mytesi is not approved to treat infectious diarrhea (diarrhea caused by bacteria, a virus, or a parasite). Before starting you on Mytesi, your healthcare provider will first be sure that you do not have infectious diarrhea. Otherwise, there is a risk you would not receive the right medicine and your infection could get worse. In clinical studies, the most common side effects that occurred more often than with placebo were upper respiratory tract (sinus, nose, and throat) infection (5.7%), bronchitis (3.9%), cough (3.5%), flatulence (3.1%), and increased bilirubin (3.1%).

Should I Take Mytesi If I Am: Pregnant or Planning to Become Pregnant?

• Studies in animals show that Mytesi could harm an unborn baby or affect the ability to become pregnant • There are no studies in pregnant women taking Mytesi • This drug should only be used during pregnancy if clearly needed A Nursing Mother?

• It is not known whether Mytesi is passed through human breast milk • If you are nursing, you should tell your doctor before starting Mytesi • Your doctor will help you to decide whether to stop nursing or to stop taking Mytesi Under 18 or Over 65 Years of Age? • Mytesi has not been studied in children under 18 years of age • Mytesi studies did not include many people over the age of 65. So it is not clear if this age group will respond differently. Talk to your doctor to find out if Mytesi is right for you

What Should I Know About Taking Mytesi With Other Medicines?

If you are taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicine, herbal supplements, or vitamins, tell your doctor before starting Mytesi.

What If I Have More Questions About Mytesi?

For more information, please see the full Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com or speak to your doctor or pharmacist.

To report side effects or make a product complaint or for additional information, call 1-844-722-8256.

Rx Only Manufactured by Patheon, Inc. for Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. San Francisco, CA 94105 Copyright © Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

For Copay Savings Card and Patient Assistance, see Mytesi.com

Mytesi comes from the Croton lechleri tree harvested in South America.

Please see complete Prescribing Information at Mytesi.com.

NP-390-14

• Upper respiratory tract infection (sinus, nose, and throat infection) • Bronchitis (swelling in the tubes that carry air to and from your lungs) • Cough • Flatulence (gas) • Increased bilirubin (a waste product when red blood cells break down) For a full list of side effects, please talk to your doctor. Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

RELIEF, PURE AND SIMPLE

NEWS BRIEFS Transgender woman murdered in Macon A transgender woman missing for three days was found shot to death in Macon on Oct. 31. Candace Towns, 30, was last seen alive on Oct. 28 and was reported missing on Oct. 29. She becomes the 25th transgender person murdered in the U.S. this year according to the Human Rights Campaign.

The Telegraph reports that just before 4 p.m. Oct. 31, someone called 911 to report a body at the end of a driveway on Rosecrest Avenue. WMAZ says it was a public works crew that made the call. The incident is being investigated as a homicide.

Towns had a previous brush with violence in July 2009 when she was reportedly shot in the ankle a block or two from where her body was found.

Towns is the third transgender Georgia woman to be murdered this year, following the death of 17-year-old Atlanta woman Ava Le’Ray Barrin in Athens in June (another trans woman was arrested in that incident) and that of 32-year-old Tee Tee Dangerfield, who was found shot to death in College Park in July. Tyrone Anthony Kemp, 26, was arrested for Dangerfield’s murder the following month. Georgia Tech police shot and killed Pride Alliance President Scout Schultz on Sept. 16. Schultz identified as bisexual, non-binary and intersex.

Anyone with information on the shooting death of Candace Towns can call Macon Regional Crimestoppers at 1-877-68Crime.

Gay couple attacked in Athens A gay male couple was attacked in Athens last weekend after three men followed them when the two were seen holding hands near College Avenue, reports WUGA. Epifanio Rodriguez, spokesperson for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department, said the two gay men were called names, harassed and then attacked. Rodriguez also said it was apparent the couple were targeted for being gay.

The gay men were from Walton County and Fort Benning. The three attackers, who resided in Marietta and Fort Benning, were visiting Athens for the Georgia-South Carolina football game.

The victims were treated at the scene and did not press charges.

Deadline extended for NAESM Youth Scholars training National AIDS Education & Services for Minorities (NAESM) announced an extend-

The body of Candace Towns, 30, was found on Oct. 31 in Macon. Police are investigating it as a homicide. (Photo via Facebook)

ed deadline for applicants in the third annual Build-a-Brother Youth Scholars Institute (BABI). BABI starts with a four-day peer-led training institute for young black gay and bisexual men at the National African American MSM Leadership Conference on HIV/ AIDS and other Health Disparities held Jan. 18-21, 2018, at the Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Hotel.

Selected cohorts will also attend a second round of trainings to further develop their skills and knowledge. Between both conferences, each participant will work side-byside with a mentor to design and implement a community project. On the final day of the track, Youth Scholars will present their work and ideas to their peers.

The application deadline for the third Youth Scholars cohort is Nov. 17 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Applicants must be age 18 to 29, live in the southern United States (Delaware, Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.) and

have community-service experience.

“I am excited to again provide this great opportunity. BABI will allow us to sharpen the next generation of young black gay and bisexual men,” said Darwin Thompson, executive director of NAESM, Inc. “NAESM hopes to continue this fight within the HIV epidemic by building new leaders and creating a new opportunity for work that focuses specifically on young black men who have sex with men.”

Twenty scholarships are available that will cover accommodations and transportation for both training periods. The institute aims to develop participants’ professional growth, leadership skills, grant writing, biomedical interventions (PrEP, PEP and Treatment as Prevention), social marketing, current epidemiology and personal branding. In addition to these training sessions, scholars will attend special presentations from speakers from the conference to discuss how their work relates to the lives of young black men who have sex with men.

To apply for the program, visit naesm. wufoo.com/forms/z8s5hrm120k7aa.

8 News November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NATIONAL NEWS

GSA latest agency to omit LGBT people from nondiscrimination rules Late October memo removed sexual orientation, gender identity from nondiscrimination policy courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association

former President Bill Clinton’s executive order in 1998, which banned anti-gay discrimination in the federal workforce, and former President Barack Obama’s executive order in 2014 barring anti-trans discrimination in the federal workforce as well as anti-LGBT discrimination among federal contractors.

President Trump agreed to allow those executive orders to remain standing.

A U.S. agency has omitted from its employment policy an explicit prohibition on discrimination against LGBT workers, flouting executive orders prohibiting such discrimination in the federal workforce.

A look at the Equal Employment Opportunity statement for the U.S. General Services Administration, which manages functions of government agencies, reveals no mention of prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, even though other categories — race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability and genetic information — are spelled out.

That marks a change from when the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity were explicitly included in a 2015 edition of the policy as a subset of sex discrimination. The memo say that policy will only become outdated in 2022.

David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement the removal is another attempt of “the Trump-Pence Administration actively seeking to undermine rights for LGBTQ people” and called for restoration of the categories.

“The GSA’s move to exclude sexual orientation and gender identity from their Equal Employment Opportunity statement is mean-spirited, deceptive and irresponsible,” Stacy said. “The GSA’s EEO statement is meant to inform workers and applicants about their legal protections — protections that federal employees have had for decades.

Cutting specific mention of sexual orientation and gender identity protections is a slap in the face to LGBTQ federal employees who proudly serve, and sadly signals that this administration does not value them.

The GSA should immediately restore the previous, accurate EEO policy.”

Pattern of administration’s behavior In response to the Blade’s inquiry on why the current EEO policy omits LGBT categories, a GSA spokesperson said the 2015 memo that included an explicit prohibition on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender still “is in full effect.”

“GSA is proud of our diverse and talented workforce and is committed to ensuring all agency employees feel welcome,” the spokesperson said. “GSA prohibits discrimination in the workplace and will continue to make sure our employees’ legal rights are protected.”

The spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to the Blade’s follow-up email on why LGBT categories were omitted in subsequent material if the 2015 memo is still in effect.

In theory, the removal could open up workers at the General Services Administration to discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Those workers should be still be able seek recourse under the Clinton and Obama executive orders and cite the 2015 memo if necessary. Federal laws against sex discrimination, which courts are increasingly interpreting to apply to LGBT people, would also cover workers there. The General Services Administration employs an estimated 12,000 federal workers.

A similar situation emerged in June when the Commerce Department under Wilbur Ross removed LGBT categories from its nondiscrimination policy, but promptly reinstated them after media attention. A spokesperson at the time said the omission was an oversight and the department “never intended to change the policy or exclude any protected categories.”

By CHRIS JOHNSON, WASHINGTON BLADE

The U.S. General Services Administration has removed LGBT categories from its nondiscrimination policy. (WikiCommons)

“Cutting specific mention of sexual orientation and gender identity protections is a slap in the face to LGBTQ federal employees who proudly serve, and sadly signals that this administration does not value them. The GSA should immediately restore the previous, accurate EEO policy.”

—David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign New policy announced in Oct. 25 memo Acting Administrator Timothy Horne, whom Trump appointed upon his inauguration on Jan. 20., announced the new EEO policy in a memo to workers on Oct. 25, emphasizing the importance of nondiscrimination in the workforce — but left out potential discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“EEO is a critical component of GSA’s efforts to recruit, develop and retain the

most qualified, diverse workforce possible to support our agency’s multifaceted strategic mission,” Horne wrote. “Toward that end, it is GSA’s policy that all employees and applicants for employment be afforded equal opportunities in employment without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, genetic information, disability or retaliation for engaging in an EEO-protected activity.”

The removal of sexual orientation and gender identity from the policy contravenes

10 News November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

Retail therapy and showing our power

BY PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com PO Box 77401 • Atlanta, GA 30357 P: 404-815-6941; F: 404-963-6365

EDITORIAL

Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com Deputy Editor: Ronni Radner rradner@thegavoice.com Editorial Contributors: Ashleigh Atwell, Cliff Bostock, Dyana Bagby, Melissa Carter, Dallas A. Duncan, Jim Farmer, Elizabeth Friedly, Shannon Hames, Just Toby, Bill Kaelin, Ryan Lee, Robbie Medwed, Matt Schafer, Dionne N. Walker, Simon Williamson

PRODUCTION

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

BUSINESS

Managing Partner/Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com

SALES

Sales Executive: Dixon Taylor dtaylor@thegavoice.com Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com Publisher Emeritus: Chris Cash

FINE PRINT

All material in Georgia Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of Georgia Voice. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied.

The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons.

We also do not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by Georgia Voice, but we do not take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. Guidelines for freelance contributors are available upon request.

A single copy of Georgia Voice is available from authorized distribution points. Multiple copies are available from Georgia Voice office only. Call for rates. If you are unable to reach a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 26-issue mailed subscription for $60 per year. Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Tim Boyd, tboyd@thegavoice.com Postmaster: Send address changes to Georgia Voice, PO Box 77401, Atlanta, GA 30357. Georgia Voice is published every other Friday by The Georgia Voice, LLC. Individual subscriptions are $60 per year for 26 issues. Postage paid at Atlanta, GA, and additional mailing offices.

The editorial positions of Georgia Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Georgia Voice and its staff.

To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words and commentary, for web or print, should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verification. Email submissions to editor@thegavoice.com or mail to the address above.

Join us online: facebook.com/thegavoice twitter.com/thegavoice instagram.com/thegeorgiavoice youtube.com/user/GAVoice

12 Outspoken November 10, 2017

“The power of the LGBT dollar is strong, and this can be your guide to flex it by supporting the businesses that support us.”

When life is getting you down — or maybe you’re worn out from so many acts of resistance in a week — sometimes a little retail therapy can do you good.

And with that, we present our 2017 Holiday Gift Guide.

The staff has been scouring the city for weeks now to find you the best gifts in a number of different price ranges and areas of interest.

We’ve got two pages of fashion finds, a page of super queer stocking stuffers, two pages of enticing tech toys and pages for scents and sensations to help you chill. Oh, and we’ve got the kiddos — and furkiddos — covered, two full pages of home décor delights, a page of jewelry for those that like to sparkle, a page of random gifts for your fabulous friends and — just because — a page of gifts featuring unicorns and mermaids.

Now, I agree with those of you out there that think the holidays have gotten too commercialized. That’s been the case for quite some time now, and the annual scenes of Walmart stampedes prove that some of us have a discounted TV or washer-dryer just a little too high up on our priorities list.

But part of us doing this guide is to feature not only some great gifts, but to feature pro-LGBT businesses and, whenever possible, local ones as well. The power of the LGBT dollar is strong, and this can be your guide to flex it by supporting the businesses that support us.

A report from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) estimates that the LGBT community contrib-

utes over $1.7 trillion to the U.S. economy.

We’re also rock stars when it comes to owning our own businesses. In 2015, NGLCCcertified LGBT-owned businesses contributed over $1.15 billion to the U.S. economy.

And if all of the estimated 1.4 million LGBT businesses in America are considered, that figure jumps to nearly $2 trillion.

So pat yourselves on the back, and maybe get yourself something nice while you’re at it.

Elsewhere in the issue we’ve got election results from a potentially historic day. Keep in mind that we held off our printer as long as we could before we had to send this issue to press Tuesday evening, so we may not have all results you were looking for. We posted results in our online coverage all that evening and next day so make sure to check us out there.

We also bring you the story of a transgender woman from Guatemala who was housed at a men’s detention center here in Georgia. Needless to say, that was not a safe situation for her, but being sent back home would have been even worse. Read about how the Southern Poverty Law Center helped her get asylum in the U.S. In our A&E section, we’ve got a revealing interview with “A Bad Moms Christmas” stars Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell, plus a review of the critically-acclaimed new film “BPM,” a review of a tapas restaurant at Krog Street Market and your Best Bets for events to hit up over the next two weeks.

Enjoy that, and all of our columnists as well, and have a safe and happy holidays.

FEEDBACK Re: “Rebecca Hargett Ranson, 19432017,” Oct. 25 “Rebecca was a friend, a merry soul, a blithe spirit, a ferocious playwright, a nexus for the community. She touched so many lives and literally set the stage for the contemporary LGBTQ community in Atlanta.”

-Franklin Abbott via Facebook Re: “Patrick Saunders: To show the hate, or not to show the hate,” Oct. 26 “I think it’s important to show the taunts we have to deal with. You can’t really ignore the ugly side of human nature, because then it actually gets stronger. Hate is out there. It must be confronted and shamed.”

-Shannon Bradley-May via Facebook “As the lone woman in this picture, I want people to know it’s my choice to be in this space. Though I am very much not alone. There are many people nearby, and I have a lot of support. It has been my choice to be here for more than a decade. I choose to be in the gap between our family and its detractors. I do so to disrupt the visual wall of hate with a friendly face, I do so because the protesters know I’m watching them and not giving an inch that the First Amendment doesn’t require.

I think it’s important to show these pictures because people are continually questioning the relevance of Pride and because it’s a big piece of the experience. It’s part of the real story, and I think that part of your journalistic responsibility is to be real and honest. First-timers are always shocked that they’re there. So many people think we’re beyond this. I do think it’s important to center our community and not their message, but I think you do that well. I would not want the audio broadcasted because what they say is far more wretched than the signs.”

-Jamie Fergerson via Facebook Re: “Transgender woman found murdered in Macon,” Nov. 2 “I am from Georgia and this makes me so sad to think that this would happen in my home state. I am a transgender woman as well. God, please help our people.”

-Chrissy Renaee via www.thegeorgiavoice.com Want to be featured in Feedback? Leave a comment to a story via social media or on our website, or email editor@thegavoice.com with the subject line “Feedback.” www.thegeorgiavoice.com

IN THE MARGINS

By Ashleigh Atwell

We must do more than think and pray Ashleigh Atwell is a queer lesbian writer and organizer born and raised in Atlanta.

On Nov. 5, a group of people met up to do shooting. Mass shootings have become so what a lot of people in the South do on Sun- commonplace that I barely feel anything days: go to church. The congregants who were when I hear about them. I empathize with attending services at First Baptist Church in the families and victims, but I’ve come to Sutherland Springs, Texas, probably had mun- expect these acts like the weather or traffic dane plans for their day after service. Some reports on the 5 o’clock news. I’m used to it. might have gone out for a meal, others would Anyone reading this might think I’m head home to take a nap or watch a football cold-hearted, but it has taken a while for game. Sadly, any expectations they might have me to get here. There was a time when a had were shattered when Devin Patrick Kelley mass shooting would happen and I would stormed into their church and open fire. Twen- be consumed with rage and sorrow. I would ty-six souls left this Earth and numerous others share all the prayer memes, get into countless debates about mental illness and guns will bear physical and mental scars.

I was on the train, mindlessly scrolling and keep my eyes glued to the media for watch5:32:53 as government ofthrough my phone, when I saw the news. updates. I would AF_ATL_Ad_GeorgiaVoice_HalfPageHor_10x5_Male_FINALOUTLINES_Print.pdf 2 9/26/2017 PM My reaction? Another day, another mass ficials released statements and tweets ex-

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“The majority of these acts are perpetrated by white men and America enables them. If the gunman is black, they’re a thug. If a Muslim or Arab person does it, they’re a terrorist.

But when white men do it, they get empathy. They’re portrayed as loners who had some bad luck.” pressing care and concern and wait around to see if we would finally get adequate gun control. Then, Sandy Hook happened.

Twenty first-graders and six adults were killed, and I thought, “This is it. The government will finally do something about this.” I thought the deaths of 20 children could draw enough outrage for tangible change, but nothing happened. People expressed the usual thoughts and prayers and life went on. Then, it happened again. And again and again. Still, nothing has changed.

We’re still having the same debates and people are still only praying and thinking.

This is a gun problem, and there is another problem: white male entitlement. The major-

ity of these acts are perpetrated by white men and America enables them. If the gunman is black, they’re a thug. If a Muslim or Arab person does it, they’re a terrorist. But when white men do it, they get empathy. They’re portrayed as loners who had some bad luck.

A few months ago, I wrote that love isn’t the answer to fighting hate and bigotry. I want to express a similar sentiment for gun control. Thoughts and prayers are useless. I’m sure the congregation at First Baptist Church did a lot of praying. Another mass shooter, Dylann Roof, sat through a Bible study at Emanuel AME before taking out his gun. We have been praying and thinking for too long.

It is time to act.

November 10, 2017 Outspoken 13

What is TRUVADA for PrEP?

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?

TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a prescription medicine that is used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex.

This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1. To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: ® Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. ® Also take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP? Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-negative. ® Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin.

While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. ® You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP: ® Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. ® If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. ® To further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: ® Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners. ® Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you. ® Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners. ® Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. ® If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: ® Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV and stop taking TRUVADA, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP? Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: ® Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA. ® Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. ® Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. ® Bone problems, including bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP? ® All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis. ® If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA. ® If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can be passed to the baby in breast milk. ® All the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. ® If you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include certain medicines to treat hepatitis C (HCV) infection.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.

TVDC0139_PrEP_B_10x10-5_GeorgiaVoice_Vogue_p1.indd 1-2

I'm passionate, not impulsive.

I know who I am. And I make choices that fit my life.

TRUVADA for PrEP™ is a once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when taken every day and used together with safer sex practices. ® TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex. ® You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.

Learn more at truvada.com

7/26/17 9:56 AM

IMPORTANT FACTS

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEPTM (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

(tru-VAH-dah) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are confirmed to be HIV-1 negative.

• Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP: • You must continue to use safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1.

• You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you think you were exposed to HIV-1 or have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time.

• See the “How To Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information.

TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. TRUVADA is not approved to treat HBV. If you have HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA for PrEP is a prescription medicine used together with safer sex practices to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This use is only for HIV-negative adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1.

• To help determine your risk of getting HIV-1, talk openly with your healthcare provider about your sexual health.

Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status.

• Take certain medicines to treat hepatitis B infection.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1.

• Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection.

• Use TRUVADA for PrEP together with condoms and safer sex practices.

• Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months. You must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP.

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP” section.

• New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure.

• Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.

• Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.

• Bone problems.

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight.

These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis.

• Have any other medical conditions.

• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

• Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. If you become HIV-positive, HIV can pass to the baby in breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

• Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV status and the HIV status of your partners.

• Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV to infect you.

• Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior, such as having fewer sex partners.

• Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV infection.

• Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.

TRUVADA FOR PREP, the TRUVADA FOR PREP Logo, the TRUVADA Blue Pill Design, TRUVADA, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

Version date: April 2017 © 2017 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. TVDC0139 07/17

TVDC0139_PrEP_B_10x10-5_GeorgiaVoice_Vogue_p1.indd 3

7/26/17 9:56 AM

WORK IT!: BUSINESS PROFILE

Noni’s owner Matt Ruppert on the restaurant’s path to prominence Popular Old Fourth Ward spot “Almost every day – even evolves, adds late-night music, back in the dark days – there was always something doesn’t avoid politics

By ELIZABETH FRIEDLY It is only 11:30 a.m., and already a row of men in orange workshirts and one in an olive button-up are seated along the bar at Noni’s.

Restaurant owner Matt Ruppert has spent his mornings in a similar fashion since Noni’s opened in 2008. He named the restaurant on Edgewood Avenue after his Italian grandmother, whose Hollywood-coiffed, sepia photos can be found throughout the interior.

“It’s my home,” said Ruppert. “I live across the street with my boyfriend. I commute to work really easily.”

He leans to pet his dog, who wags her tail between the bar chairs.

“And Lucy comes with me,” he said.

Ruppert, 38, went to school to earn a degree in business from the College of William & Mary, before attending Georgia State for a Master’s in French Literature. While studying, he worked as a server for different restaurants around town. The money was easy and the pressure was low. But everything changed when The Food Studio let him go after four years of service.

“I was hoping to channel all the anger I had, from this guy who had just fired me, into a new idea for what my future self would look like,” he said.

He gathered together a group of friends and began spinning off business ideas the same day of his firing. After brainstorming and months of location searching, Noni’s opened to the public in July 2008.

Late-night dancing boosts business The early days at Noni’s vacillated between excitement and terror. Ruppert describes the pressure of being responsible for others’ livelihoods and of paying off loans – and the way this constantly occupied his mind. In Ruppert’s words: it sucked. But he www.thegeorgiavoice.com

reaffirming that I was doing the right thing. There was at least one customer who would freak out over how good that sandwich was, or a review we’d get in a paper that would help keep things mostly sufferable.”

—Noni’s owner Matt Ruppert wasn’t about to give up.

“Almost every day – even back in the dark days – there was always something reaffirming that I was doing the right thing. There was at least one customer who would freak out over how good that sandwich was, or a review we’d get in a paper that would help keep things mostly sufferable,” said Ruppert with a laugh.

Then Saturday night unexpectedly saved Noni’s. The office workers who stopped in for lunch or dinner during the week disappeared on the weekends. Saturdays meant little to no business. The turning point was the arrival of a group of young locals who relished having a restaurant to themselves.

The friends repurposed the dining tables for board games and hijacked the now-gone jukebox late into the night. Ruppert and the staff watched Noni’s gain a cult following as an under-the-radar place to party. Soon, Saturday night meant veteran DJ Vicki Powell spinning and a crowd of people dancing inside the packed Italian restaurant. Ruppert remembers watching Noni’s profits hover above zero and finally feeling like they could make it.

Fire in the Fourth festival, postcard parties By 2011, things had settled and Ruppert set his eyes on the neighborhood as a whole.

Matt Ruppert opened Noni’s in 2008, naming it after his Italian grandmother. (Photo by Elizabeth Friedly)

He dreamed of holding a festival for Old Fourth Ward, but he couldn’t do it alone.

He needed to join with other community members.

“I’ve always thought that a festival is the crowning jewel of a neighborhood’s success,” said Ruppert. “You’re able to show off your neighborhood, bring folks from other parts of the city or state to your neck of the woods and show ‘em what you’ve got.”

Ruppert helped found the Old Fourth Ward Business Association, which is now comprised of over 100 different business members. In addition to influence, the Association could provide a festival. Fire In the Fourth has been running for three years, for which Ruppert was the festival chair on the board of the association for the past five years. The Business Association now classifies as a 501(c)(6), a tax-exempt nonprofit league, with greater ability to work with legislation.

Ruppert himself is never too far from politics. When Noni’s first opened, the restaurant prominently displayed three HOPE images of Obama lining the front window.

Ruppert’s business partner at the time tried to talk him out of it. Even Ruppert’s parents voiced concern about using Noni’s moniker to post political content online.

“Prevailing wisdom is if you’ve got a business then you’ve just got to keep your mouth

shut about certain things, when it comes to politics,” Ruppert said. “That just didn’t work for me.”

Years later, Ruppert traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Women’s March and came back to Atlanta desiring to continue beyond protests. Local artist Alli Royce Soble helped to organize postcard writing “parties” wherein people could encourage one another to take the time and provide resources to write to their elected officials.

Ruppert chose Noni’s to host several of said gatherings. Roughly 75 guests attended each time. There were thousands of postcards, all of which Ruppert mailed personally.

Noni’s is an intensely personal business for owner Matt Ruppert. The restaurant reflects his values, his heritage, his home, his career. He describes one day being so closely associated with his business that he imbues it with his personality in a way that is clearly visible. The future looks rosy. Ruppert is hiring managers to streamline and he even sneaks in a chance to cook during events.

When asked about then versus now, Ruppert replied, “Big difference. I’d have to say, I think it goes back to the ratio of good times to bad times. Back in those days, it was pretty much always a challenging time. Nowadays, it’s not. We still have challenges and we still work through them, but those are fewer and farther between.”

November 10, 2017 Community 17

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

‘Stylish Santa’ to turn heads again in Druid Hills

By DIONNE WALKER One can be forgiven if they don’t immediately see a Santa when they look at Daniel Slack. At 6’4”, with soap-opera good looks and a svelte waistline, the Wisconsin transplant doesn’t exactly jibe with the traditional image of jolly St. Nick.

But fans say you need only encounter his won’t-quit holiday cheer and, of course, the perfectly coiffed white beard, to understand why he’s become a hit as Emory Point’s very own Stylish Santa. This month, he’ll begin his second season playing the character, a fashion-forward take on the traditional Christmas elf that the Clifton Road mixed-use complex’s team said is perfect for their diverse crowd.

Their audience of largely college students and hip, diverse 30-somethings has given Slack a hearty thumbs-up: An associated social media fundraiser raised $2,500 for the American

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Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge last season.

Once again this year, Emory Point will donate $1 for every selfie taken with Stylish Santa and posted on social media with the hashtag #epstylishsanta. And once again, they anticipate runaway participation from people intrigued by Slack’s unique brand of fashionisto Santa swagger.

“He’s really caring, he’s very kind, he’s very generous and he just made the people that came in contact with him feel happy,” said Stacy Schuch, property manager at Emory Point.

The idea grew from a similar campaign at a Canadian mall. When Schuch saw an article about that campaign, she was struck by how much their Sexy Santa resembled her longtime friend Slack. She eventually floated the idea that Slack give it a try for Emory Point’s younger, multicultural audience.

“I said, ‘Santa wouldn’t really work at Emory Point but Stylish Santa might be kind of a

fun twist on things,’” she said.

Since then, the campaign has included a series of appearances at Emory Point as well as a photo shoot that turns up the style on the typical Santa imagery. Red velvet waist coats and black shiny boots are replaced with a camel blazer, a smart seasonal sweater and snappy slacks. Meanwhile, Santa has gotten a much nicer haircut.

So how do people react to a thinner, sexier Santa? Slack said the adults love it. And even the occasional child visitor is intrigued — despite his paucity of Santa-like paunch, red velvet suit or sleigh.

“When they see this look, they just identify with a person,” the openly gay Slack, 55, said. “It doesn’t matter that I look different — to them it’s still Santa!”

Stylish Santa will appear on the property starting Nov 19. Visit www.emory-point. com/events-promotions for the full schedule.

This will be Daniel Slack’s second year as ‘Stylish Santa’ at Emory Point. (Photo by Matthew Wong)

November 10, 2017 Holiday Gift Guide 21

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For your

Fabulous Friends Beardos.

Name That Beard Game $7.99 Binders

Yesteryear TV Radio Box Set (3) $36 Binders

Enjoy this set of three boxes with a retro motif perfect for storing lots of your goodies.

So, you think you know famous beards? Players are given clues, one at a time, from the player wearing the beard card.

Welcome to Big Gay Ice Cream’s debut cookbook, a yearbook of ice cream accomplishments — all the recipes you need to create delicious frozen treats.

$14.99 Binders

A drawing game where your body is the canvas! 1) Take an INK card, 2) Take a BODY card, 3) Choose the player you want to ink!

Players race to guess what the tattoo is and earn points for correctly guessing and drawing.

In the party game where everyone gets to tattoo and be tattooed, how will you leave your mark?

Where to purchase BINDERS

Big Gay Ice Cream Book $25 The Merchant

INK’D: THE TATTOO GUESSING GAME

“We Do” Coffee Mugs $16 The Merchant

For him & her, her & her or him & him... there’s more than one way to say I do!

Buckhead 3330 Piedmont Road N.E. #18 Atlanta, GA 30305 404-237-6331 Ponce City Market 650 North Ave. N.E. • Atlanta, GA 30308 404-682-6999

THE MERCHANT

Krog Street Market 99 Krog St. N.E. A • Atlanta, GA 30307 404-331-1200 Howell Mill 993 Marietta St. N.W. • Atlanta, GA 30318 404-347-8200

Neapolitan Ice Cream Cone Set (3)

by Fishs Eddy

Amy Sedaris “I Like You” Sprinkles

by Fishs Eddy

$40 The Merchant

$27 The Merchant

Solid Brass Dessert Scoop

A sugary sweet sprinkle confection!

Ingredients: Sanding Sugar, Blended Decorettes, Pastel Sugar Wafers, Blended Nonpareils, Chocolate Drops

An urbane specimen of classic kitchenalia, this solid brass dessert scoop is well built to attack the most rock-solid container of ice cream.

$70 The Merchant

I scream, you scream, we all scream for … Ice Cream Cone Bowls! Make eating ice cream even more fun with this set of three cones. Including the flavors vanilla, chocolate and strawberry.

22 Holiday Gift Guide November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For the

Kitschy Queen Unicorn Coffee Mug

$14.00 West Elm at Ponce City Market

Cute Shit Unicorn Pouch

Artist-of-all-trades Molly Hatch designed this idiosyncratic ceramic that’s part of a line of coffee mugs that include dachshunds, llamas, corgis and more.

This sassy stoneware mug is dishwasher and microwave safe, so drink away in style this season!

$12.99 Richards Variety Store

The most aptly-named of all the products in this year’s gift guide — the Cute Shit Unicorn Pouch made by Seltzer Goods and sold locally at Richards. This cute-with-a-’tude unicorn is painted bright pink on natural canvas, making for a sturdy, well-constructed zippered pouch.

Peek-A-Boos Uni the Unicorn Smartphone Holder $5.93 Richards Variety Store

Uni the Unicorn is the best helper around! This plush from Ty holds everything from smartphones to business cards, and Uni’s bottom even functions as a screen cleaner! Use your smartphone hands-free with some pizazz this holiday season.

Where to purchase

Sea Siren Salt and Pepper Shaker $8.93 Richards Variety Store

Add a little seaside charm to your table with this beautiful two-piece salt and pepper shaker set! The dainty siren calls to you with rosy cheeks and a shell nestled in her hands. Her flowing hair is topped off by holes to allow you to shake out the salt, while her shapely blue fin serves as the pepper shaker. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

RICHARDS VARIETY STORE Kidoozie Hop & Squeak Unicorn Pogo Jumper $17.93 Richards Variety Store

Kidoozie’s Pogo Jumper is a fun and exciting toy for teaching children basic yet necessary physical skills like hand-toeye coordination and dexterity. Accommodates kids of all sizes and supports up to 250 pounds, so even adults can hop on and show their unicorn pride all over the city!

931 Monroe Drive, Suite 113 Atlanta, GA 30308 404-879-9877 www.RichardsVarietyStore.com

WEST ELM

Ponce City Market 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. N.E., Suite 127 Atlanta, GA 30308 404-872-9574 www.WestElm.com November 10, 2017 Holiday Gift Guide 23

404-873-2664

BOYNEXTDOORMENSWEAR.COM

1447 PIEDMONT AVE NE

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

BOY NEXT DOOR MENSWEAR

For the

Modern Man Nana Judy Forbidden Tee $50

Nana Judy - Reap What You Sow Tee $50

1447 Piedmont Ave. N.E. Atlanta, GA 30309 404-873-2664 www.BoyNextDoorMenswear.com *All clothing items are found at Boy Next Door Menswear unless indicated.

Maceoo Polo Stripe DIS $128

Maceoo Polo Red and White Stripe V-Neck $128

SEAPLANE Longsleeve Shirts

$90 www.SeaplaneShirts.com Clockwise from top left:

Pink Kahuna, Black Sworlie, Dreamy Dogwood, 80s Haze, Honourable East India Company, Black Phantasmagoric. More selections available.

Nasty Pig Union Suit (Available in black, gray or red) $119

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy Buy

1 $90.00 each 2 $78.30 each 3 $76.50 each 4 $73.80 each 5 $70.20 each 6 $67.50 each

November 10, 2017 Holiday Gift Guide 25

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Microcheck Flatcap $120 Goorin Bros.

The Italian-made Salvatore Di-Cicco red microcheck flatcap by Goorin Bros. warms sophisticated ladies’ pates with a luxurious blend of wool, silk and cashmere. The soft, low-profile cap features satin lining, a polyester sweatband and a packable bill for easy style to take home for the holidays.

For the

Female Fashionista Where to purchase GOORIN BROS.

Ponce City Market 675 Ponce De Leon Ave. N.E. Atlanta, GA 30308 www.Goorin.com

JUNKMAN’S DAUGHTER 464 Moreland Ave. Atlanta, GA 30307 404-577-3188 www.TheJunkmansDaughter.com

MODE MARCHÉ

1544 Piedmont Ave. N.E. Atlanta, GA 30324 404-892-7463

“Suede” Fringe Jacket $46 Junkman’s Daughter

Postal Rose Gold Metallic Lace-Up Boots $31 Junkman’s Daughter

Get ‘90s chic without the Doc Martens price tag with these festive, copper-hued combats from Qupid. These boots are definitely made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do, in comfort and style. Shine on, sisters!

The perfect jacket for aspiring Dykes on Bikes and the women who love them. Get the rugged look of suede with none of the guilt of cowhide. For the woman who lives on the fringes, by Flying Tomato.

Desigual Bouclé Trench $275.95 Mode Marché

Nolan Black Lace-Up Sneaker $30 Junkman’s Daughter

Qupid’s black leatherette athleisure kicks with rainbow soles will keep you walking gayly forward from Piedmont Park to My Sister’s Room. Sneakers sassy enough to put a spring in your step even in the dead of winter.

Understated enough for the office and festive enough for the company holiday party, this rich, emerald-green, poly-blend trench by Spanish designer Desigual will keep you comfy and cozy till New Year’s and beyond.

26 Holiday Gift Guide November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For the

Favorite Furkids Holiday Buddy Gingerbread Biscuits $6.96 The Pet Set

Purina Pull & Play Combo Pack $5.99 Pet Supermarket

Get these delicious treats while you can — they are a limited edition and only around during the holidays! Your dog will love these great tasting, healthy all-natural biscuits made with 100 percent human grade ingredients and containing only natural preservatives. Yum yum!

The Pull ‘n Play Pack takes cat treating to a whole new level! It combines tender edible strings with a wobbly cat toy that also dispenses Friskies treats. Try all three delicious string flavors — chicken and cheese; tuna and crab; and salmon and shrimp — and get ready to let the good times wobble!

Hot Dog Safety Collar $19.99 www.Amazon.com

Play it safe with pride! The Hot Dog rechargeable safety dog collar means your dog stays visible when you need it to be. Perfect for the beach, lake, jogging at dawn or dusk, outdoor dogs, service dogs and any outdoor, nighttime activity. Operates in three light-up modes and is water resistant to boot!

Where to purchase IKEA ATLANTA 441 16th St. N.W. Atlanta, GA 30363 888-888-4532 www.Ikea.com/US

PET SUPERMARKET

Lurvig Cat/Dog Sofa $49.99 IKEA

We know your cat or dog isn’t just a pet — it’s a member of the family. So make them feel like one with IKEA’s new line of furniture for your furry little friends! The line is called Lurvig, which means shaggy or hairy in Swedish.

First up is this adorably stylish cat/dog sofa that’s sure to get the neighborhood talking.

Lurvig Cat House $5.99-$34.99 IKEA

Next up is a cat house in IKEA’s distinct designs. The cozy, safe and comfortable sleeping spaces are $5.99 each, and you can slide them into the Kallax shelf unit to have a fun and functional home for kitty at around $50. Don’t forget to check out IKEA’s elevated pet houses, food bowls and more, but leave the furkids at home — service dogs only in store!

Midtown 1544 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Suite 403 Atlanta, GA 30324 404-879-0580 Buckhead 2900 Peachtree Road N.W. Atlanta, GA 30305 404-841-5559 Toco Hills 2959 North Druid Hills Road N.E. Atlanta, GA 30329 404-321-5436

THE PET SET

Midtown 976 Piedmont Ave. N.E. Atlanta, GA 30309 404-249-6668 Buckhead 2480 Briarcliff Road Atlanta, GA 30329 404-633-8755 www.ThePetSet.com

28 Holiday Gift Guide November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For the

Terrific Tyke Fantastical Designs Coloring Book $6.95 Binders

Make-Your-Own Mini Erasers

Get inspired with 18 fantastical designs that you can color or draw or paint all day. Add your own flair with pens, pencils, crayons, markers or paint. Decorate your room, your binder or your locker with finished pages, or give them to friends. Collect the whole series!

$21.99 Binders

Making mistakes has never been this much fun. Sculpt your very own creations with eraser clay and then bake them in the oven to make absolutely adorable, slightly squishy erasers that really work! Comes with eight bright colors of clay and 35 eraser designs to choose from.

Kinetic Sand Magic Molding Tower $17.99 Target

Create, build and defend your sand kingdom with the Kinetic Sand magic molding tower! Kinetic Sand is the squeezable sand you can’t put down. It’s the magical, moldable sand that flows through your fingers, leaving them completely dry.

Where to purchase BINDERS

Buckhead 3330 Piedmont Rd. N.E. #18 Atlanta, GA 30305 404-237-6331 Ponce City Market 650 North Ave. N.E. Atlanta, GA 30308 404-682-6999 www.BindersArt.com

CHARIS BOOKS AND MORE 1189 Euclid Ave. N.E. Atlanta, GA 30307 404-524-0304 www.CharisBooksAndMore.com

“From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea” $16.16 Charis Books and More

In this captivating, beautifully imagined picture book about gender, identity and the acceptance of the differences between us, a child named Miu Lan faces many questions about who they are and who they may be. But one thing’s for sure: no matter what this child becomes, their mother will love them just the same. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Waddles the Penguin Beanie Boo $8.95 Richards Variety Store

Beanie Boos are still going strong nearly 10 years after being introduced, with kids flocking to the big-eyed little buggers. They won’t be able to resist this sweet, cute, blue-eyed peach of a penguin from the plush toy titans at Ty.

RICHARDS VARIETY STORE 931 Monroe Drive, Suite 113 Atlanta, GA 30308 404-879-9877 www.RichardsVarietyStore.com

TARGET

375 18th St. N.W. Atlanta, GA 30363 678-954-4265 www.Target.com November 10, 2017 Holiday Gift Guide 29

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Queer Magnetic Poetry Kit $11.95 Richards Variety Store

For the budding Audre Lordes and Mark Dotys on your gift list, the Queer Magnetic Poetry Kit comes with 200 LGBT-ish words to arrange poetically on the fridge or any magnetic surface. The ideal gift for the lesbian lyricist, homo haikuist, bi bibliophile, transcendental trans person or perpetually passive-aggressive roommate in your life.

For the

Whole ‘Family’ Where to purchase BINDERS

Buckhead 3330 Piedmont Rd. N.E. #18 Atlanta, GA 30305 404-237-6331 Ponce City Market 650 North Ave. N.E. • Atlanta, GA 30308 404-682-6999

GCB

1510 Piedmont Ave. N.E. • Atlanta, GA 30324 404-876-6567

JUNKMAN’S DAUGHTER

464 Moreland Ave. • Atlanta, GA 30307 404-577-3188

Jews Glasses $22 GCB

Whether the glass is half-empty or half-full doesn’t really matter when you’re imbibing Chanukah-style with these Jews Glasses from the Unemployed Philosophers Guild. Each 12-ounce glass in the set of four features illustrations of Jewish luminaries, including queer heroes Allen Ginsberg, Gertrude Stein, Susan Sontag and Leonard Bernstein.

L’Chaim, y’all!

RICHARDS VARIETY STORE

931 Monroe Drive • Atlanta, GA 30308 404-879-9877

World’s Greatest Bitch Pocket Box $6.99 Binders

I don’t want to be a bitch, but you totally need this box. I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Feminism Dish Towel GCB

Blue Q Dish Towels’ “More Feminism, Less Bullshit” is the perfect household gift for all your resister sisters or even that awesome ally friend with a simple wish to dry a dish. The fierce archer on this aqua dish cloth aims to please.

Wonder Woman Crazy Foam

Jolly Rainbow Ornament

Looks like Wonder Woman’s foaming at the mouth, but we wouldn’t expect any less from the Themysciran goddess. Fight crime and grime with the 3-in-1 multitasking foam that shampoos and conditions hair as well as it cleans heroic sweat. With justice and suds for all...

How’s it hanging? Well, with this adorable plush felt rainbow on your tree, colorfully might be the best answer to that question. Even the clouds are smiling on this unique ornament, which brings the rainbow connection to your holiday pines and tinselstrewn artificial firs alike.

$5.93 Richards Variety Store

$16 Junkman’s Daughter

30 Holiday Gift Guide November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

November 10, 2017 Ads 31

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE ecobee4 Smart Thermostat with Built-In Alexa Voice Service

$249 (Get a $100 rebate from Georgia Power when you purchase an ecobee thermostat only from their Marketplace) GeorgiaPower.com With a built-in speaker and microphone, ecobee4 can be controlled through its sleek touch-screen, a smart device or voice. Alexa voice service allows customers to simply ask their ecobee4 to adjust the temperature of the home, in addition to the growing list of Alexa skills such as setting a timer, helping plan your commute or playing the news.

Through far-field voice recognition, ecobee4 will conveniently respond to voice commands from anywhere in the room. ecobee4 is also compatible with the company’s signature room sensor technology, which measures occupancy and temperature to deliver comfort when the customer is home and energy savings when they’re away.

Blueair Pure 411 Air Purifier

For the

Tech Genius Sonos PLAY:1 Wireless Speaker for Streaming Music $184.99 BestBuy.com

Enjoy big audio from a compact system with the Sonos PLAY:1. This speaker’s customtuned drivers and software deliver rich, powerful sound, while wireless streaming lets you enjoy your music in any room of your home.

Put your Sonos wireless speaker in any room where you want music and connect it to your home Wi-Fi network using the Sonos Controller app.

$99.99 BedBathAndBeyond.com Enjoy clean air in your home with the Blueair Pure 411 Air Purifier that removes virus, mold, dust, pet dander, pollen, smoke, exhaust and other airborne particles. Match the highly efficient purifier to your décor with its five interchangeable colors.

Star Wars R2-D2 App-Enabled Droid $179.99 Toysrus.com

This is the droid you’re looking for. R2-D2 is an astromech droid in the Rebel Alliance from a galaxy far, far away. Control your droid with your smart device or watch it patrol on its own. Artoo’s signature front and rear LED lights are fully functional, and an integrated speaker means the beeps and boops come right from R2-D2 itself.

32 Holiday Gift Guide November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Prynt - PW310001-DG Photo Printer $149.99 BestBuy.com

Print photographs on the go with this compact Prynt Pocket instant photo printer. It connects to your iPhone via lightning cable and clips easily onto the back of your device, switching on automatically when needed.

Load up to 10 sheets of glossy paper into the Prynt Pocket instant photo printer and print up to 20 pictures on a single charge.

Creates a 2” x 3” color photo-quality print in up to 30 seconds.

The Dash Pro True Wireless Intelligent Earphones $329.00 Bragi.com

The world´s first truly wireless intelligent earphones. Stream music from your Android, Apple or Windows device, or upload up to 1,000 songs.

Use A.I. activity tracking to measure your running, cycling and swimming activities.

Communicate and control hands free. Take a phone call or skip a song by head gestures.

Connect your phone with the Dash Pro and instantly speak nearly 40 languages with a simple tap with iTranslate Translator app.

All combined in a lightweight ergonomic design that provides a secure fit in the ear and 30 hours of battery life on the go or up to five hours of continuous playtime per charge.

NoviConnected 4 Wheel Hubless Travel Roller $299.95 Incase.com

Go powered with the next generation of travel, NoviConnected.

Constructed from class-A makrolon polycarbonate shell, polyester jacquard interior liner and removable, smooth glide wheels, it’s engineered for performance.

It features a spacious main compartment with an integrated TSA-approved lock and comes equipped with an app controlled, 10050mAh battery bank capable of simultaneously charging USB-C and USB devices, transforming every terminal, station or port into a personal power hub. Conveniently charge the NoviConnected battery pack with your MacBook’s USB-C charger and included 1.5 meter USB-C to USB-C cable.

Samsung - 65” Class LED 2160p - Smart 4K Ultra HD Frame TV with High Dynamic Range $2,799.99 BestBuy.com

HyperICE – Vyper Foam Roller $199.99 CryoClubAtl.com

The VYPER uses three different speed settings powered by rechargeable lithium ion batteries, which give over two hours of use for charge. Excellent for myofascial release, warm-up and reducing muscle soreness and stiffness for a better recovery.

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Discover true art with this Samsung 4K UHD TV. When it’s off, it looks like another piece of art, and when it’s on, it delivers sublime colors, extraordinary contrasts and impressive amounts of detail from its 65-inch screen.

Smart connectivity ensures this Samsung 4K UHD TV can keep you entertained through content streamed online.

November 10, 2017 Holiday Gift Guide 33

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For the

Distinctive Decorator Laminate Coasters

Thelma and Louise, Wonder Woman $4.95 each Kudzu Antiques

Marvelous Mini Tray

by Anne Taintor

$5.50 Kudzu Antiques

Original Street Sign Acrylic on Wood

by Brian Jones of NY $224.89 Kudzu Antiques

Metal Lamp with Architectural Shade $429 Kudzu Antiques

Himalayan Natural Crystal Salt Lamps

$45.95 Kudzu Antiques

Nature’s air purifier. Now you can purify the air in any room while enjoying this soothing glow.

Where to purchase

INTAGLIA HOME COLLECTION 1544 Piedmont Ave. N.E. Suite 105, Atlanta, GA 30324 404-607-9750 www.IntagliaHome.com

KUDZU ANTIQUES

2928 E. Ponce de Leon Ave. Decatur, GA 30030 404-373-6498 www.KudzuAntiques.com

PARIS ON PONCE

716 Ponce De Leon Place N.E. Atlanta, GA 30306 404-249-9965 www.ParisOnPonce.com

Large Antique Indonesian Pot $500 Paris on Ponce

WEST ELM (PONCE CITY MARKET) 675 Ponce De Leon Ave. N.E., Suite 127 Atlanta, GA 30308 404-872-9574 www.WestElm.com

Lichtenstein-Inspired Canvased Artwork $35-$175 Paris on Ponce

34 Holiday Gift Guide November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Atticus Wall Mirror $239 Intaglia Home Collection

Large Orange Bowl $39 Intaglia Home Collection

Bronze Leopard Scuptures

$34 each

$24 each West Elm at Ponce City Market

$325 Paris on Ponce

$2,200 Paris on Ponce

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

$495 Paris on Ponce

Bronze Flamingo Scuptures

Fab! Elegant Scuplture

Explosion Proof Cabinet Bar

Decoupage-Covered Screen

Faux Fur Throws

$89 each West Elm at Ponce City Market

Kantha Quilt Giraffe $106.95 Kudzu Antiques

November 10, 2017 Holiday Gift Guide 35

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Iconic Novena Candles $11.93 Richards Variety Store

Worship at the altar of late bi icons Frida Kahlo and Billie Holiday with these funky, unscented, long-lasting glass-jar candles. Set the perfect mood for your next candlelight dinner or just keep these nearby for those inevitable wintertime power outages.

Voluspa Pedestal Candle Gift Set $60 The Merchant

This four-candle gift set features Goji Tarocco Orange, Persimmon & Copal, Baltic Amber, Gilt Pomander & Hinoki. The rich fall tones will glimmer in the delicate embossed-glass candle holders.

For the

Overworked and Overdue Paddywax Library Collection Glass Candle $20 GCB

Bask in the glow of illuminating words from queer literary lord Oscar Wilde as the scent of cedarwood, thyme and basil wafts throughout your study. Also available with Poe quotes for the emo set.

Brubaker’s Bath Melts $3.49 each Richards Variety Store

These delicious-looking dessertscented bath melts give new meaning to the term “clean eating” while moisturizing your dry skin after a winter’s day. Not recommended for washing mouths out with soap.

elizabethW Cucumber Pure & Natural Bath Salts $17.50 The Merchant

Immerse yourself in a warm, soothing bath. As the natural salts and minerals soften the water, sit back, relax and enjoy the calming aroma.

Where to purchase GCB

1510 Piedmont Ave. N.E. • Atlanta, GA 30324 404-876-6567

THE MERCHANT

Krog Street Market 99 Krog St. N.E. A • Atlanta, GA 30307 404-331-1200 Howell Mill 993 Marietta St. N.W. • Atlanta, GA 30318 404-347-8200

RICHARDS VARIETY STORE

931 Monroe Drive • Atlanta, GA 30308 404-879-9877

Fix Almost Anything Bath Salts Wash Your Nuts Soap-on-a-Rope

$20 GCB

Keep your jingle balls squeaky clean and then hang this almondscented decorative soap from the shower caddy for easy access.

We’re just nuts about this luxurious soap from Hello Handsome. Just right for spiffing up before heading under the mistletoe.

Draw some hot water and soak your worries away with Walton Wood Farm’s Moral Support Formula Bath Salts, a simple solution to the holiday blues. A must for the achy loved one on your list.

$10 GCB

36 Holiday Gift Guide November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

For those

Born to Sparkle Musician Pendants $25 Junkman’s Daughter

Body Jewelry From $12-$250+ KOLO

Little 5 Points’ go-to piercing studio carries a wide assortment of stunning jewelry ranging from simple silicon plugs to high-end, one-of-akind pieces for all orifices and protrusions, made from exquisite materials like palm wood, labradorite and responsibly-sourced tiger ebony. For the perforated femmes and studded studs on your holiday gift list.

Belle Brooke Petite Mandala Pendant $1,049 Worthmore

The perfect pendant for silver belles and snowflakes alike, this shining sterling silver and diamond necklace is just the piece to earn you some attention under the mistletoe.

Alishan Ring $1,209 Worthmore

The exquisite Alishan ring is a must for steampunks of all genders with its industrial class, featuring squared-off, oxidized sterling silver with palladium and diamond accents for just a touch of holiday sparkle.

Diamonds aren’t always a girl’s best friend, especially when your girl is more a rocker than a high roller. For your favorite music lover, consider one of these colorful, artistic pendants depicting cult faves such as punk poet Exene Cervenka from X and late trans legend Jayne County. Also available: Loretta Lynn and Blondie’s Debbie Harry.

Where to purchase JONATHAN BUCKHEAD

110 East Andrews Drive • Atlanta, GA 30305 404-846-7988 www.JonathanBuckhead.com

JUNKMAN’S DAUGHTER

464 Moreland Ave. N.E. • Atlanta, GA 30307 404-577-3188 www.TheJunkmansDaughter.com

KOLO BODY ARTS INC.

Alishan Bracelet $2,159 Worthmore

Chain, chain, chain … chain of cool! Utilitarian styling and bold details join forces in this sexy wristwear crafted from oxidized sterling silver with 18-karat yellow-gold fusion links highlighted by a hammered finish. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Bracelets

$45,000 (left); $100 (right) Jonathan Buckhead Whether you’re seeking extravagance or understated elegance, Jonathan Buckhead’s the place to go for “family” jewels. The stunning 18-carat emerald/6-carat diamond bracelet (left) is fit for a queen; while the subtle, masculine, steel-andenamel bracelet (right), will appeal to those with subtler jewelry wardrobes.

1144 Euclid Ave. • Atlanta, GA 30307 404-523-1098 ww.KoloPiercing.com

WORTHMORE JEWELERS Midtown Amsterdam Walk 500-L3 Amsterdam Ave. Atlanta, GA 30306 Decatur Decatur Square 117 East Court Square Decatur, GA 30030 www.WorthmoreJewelers.com

November 10, 2017 Holiday Gift Guide 37

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Tree Lighting | Nov. 30 Holiday Movie Night on West Ponce | Dec. 8 Bonfire + Marshmallow Roast | Dec. 14 Grand Menorah Lighting | Dec. 18 Visitors Center | 113 Clairemont Ave. visitdecaturga.com |

11/6/17 7:43 PM

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A T N LA T A T LGB TA I N

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(Bad) moms know best Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell talk ‘A Bad Moms Christmas,’ ‘Frozen’ drag and waiting to marry until the LGBT community could too

By CHRIS AZZOPARDI Kristin Bell and Mila Kunis’ queeraligned acting catalogues – Bell’s roles in “Veronica Mars” and “Burlesque,” alongside Cher, as well as “Frozen,” as the voice of Anna; Kunis’ red-hot sex scene with Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” and her role in 2007’s indie film “After Sex,” featuring Kunis getting fingered by actress Zoe Saldana – have certainly reached LGBT audiences from Michigan to West Hollywood, and beyond. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

The night before our hilariously revealing sit-down, Bell, 37, and Kunis, 34, were reaching a less-gay demographic: 700-ish drunk moms. The occasion? An advance screening for “A Bad Moms Christmas,” the sequel to 2016’s “Bad Moms,” which also stars “Transparent” fave Kathryn Hahn. To make the yuletide even gayer, Cheryl Hines, Christine Baranski and Susan Sarandon join the moms-gone-wild gaggle, respectively playing the original trifecta’s mommies dearest.

To talk about their raunchy new romp, LGBT allies Kunis and Bell met with me on a recent afternoon, looking more like glam moms than bad moms. But when the conversation turned to a diverse range of other topics, the bad-mom duo demonstrated

what it means to be a good mom too.

If you’ve worked with Cher and you’ve voiced a Disney princess, does that make you a gay icon?

Bell: You tell me.

Kunis: Yes! Bell: I know better than to put myself in the position of claiming to know what the gay community respects and enjoys ... but they seem to enjoy it. [Laughs] Kunis: If you’re a costume at the gay parade, you’re an icon. You’re a costume at a gay parade, girl! You’re an icon.

What does it feel like knowing the LGBTQ community is dressing up as Anna at gay parades?

Bell: That someone is having a joyful experience and celebrating with an outfit that I somehow had a part in creating feels amazing. It feels like you’re spreading joy. To make anyone else happy feels wonderful. And if someone will wear that costume and smile and feel like they can relate to that character, then I’ve done a good job on Earth.

You both have made major statements about the gay community throughout your career, and Kristen, you even went as far as to not marry Dax until same-sex marriage was legalized.

Bell: Bet your ass.

Kunis: [Looks to Bell, surprised] Bell: Yeah, we didn’t get married until CONTINUES ON PAGE 40

November 10, 2017 A&E 39

Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn star in ‘A Bad Moms Christmas,’ in theaters now. (Photos courtesy STX Entertainment) CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39

same-sex marriage was legal.

Kunis: Neither did I! Bell: You didn’t?

Kunis: No, my dad talked about it on my wedding day. His whole speech was about when I was 14, I told my parents I’m never getting married and they were like, “OK, let’s talk about this.” I was like, “I’m not getting married because the gays can’t get married, and so I’m never getting married.” Never thinking that the gays were ever gonna get married! So, I was just like, “It is what it is.”

Bell: It just felt gross. What are we gonna do? Have a party and be like, “Look at us celebrating this thing you can’t do?” That’s fucking putrid. Like, 90 percent of our friends are gay!

Kunis: I didn’t have that much awareness at 14. I don’t know what it was.

Bell: But you knew instinctually. You knew it felt gross, and it did feel gross.

Kunis: It just didn’t feel equal, so why would I? It just didn’t feel like it made sense to me. The concept of marriage didn’t make sense to me because my friends couldn’t do it, and I found nothing wrong with what 40 A&E November 10, 2017

they wanted. So, I was like, “Well, then it’s not sacred, then it’s not what it’s supposed to be, so I don’t want it.”

Then when marriage became legal, the second that it happened I was doing a stunt in London. I was 35 feet in the air and I got a text from my roommate who was married to his husband now of 19 years in London.

So they lived a life where they couldn’t be together for six years because marriage wasn’t technically legal, federally speaking, so they were a cross-continental couple. It was the saddest fucking story ever. So, I got a text that said it was legal, and I’m in the middle of a stunt and there’s fire blowing everywhere, and I just start bawling – literally bawling.

Because something that I thought was never gonna happen – ever! – happened. The next text was my husband and he was like, “Now what?” And I went, “OK.” “OK,” as in we can get married now?

Kunis: Yes. I didn’t know that about you, Mila.

Kunis: I never said it, but then hearing that [about Bell], I was like, “Fuck it. If you’re saying it, then I’ll fucking say it.”

Bell: I remember [Dax and I] watched the DOMA reading. It was 7:30 in the morning and he was on the East Coast and I was on the West Coast, and at 7:31 I proposed to him on Twitter to make a fucking point of it. To be like, “Now it’s OK, but before, it was not cool.”

I love that your men were on the same page about waiting to marry till everyone could marry too.

Kunis: My husband’s assistant is a gay guy.

Bell: My husband is the most masculine pro-gay man that you would ever meet.

Kunis: I married a gay man! [Laughs] Bell: In high school [Shepard] would snuggle and spoon with his best friend and his mom would walk into the living room and be like, “Well, OK, anytime you want to talk...,” thinking, like, is this opening the door to something? And he was like, “No, I like snuggling! He’s my best friend!” And they would just be spooning.

Kunis: Awwww! [Laughs] Bell: He’s so open.

How have you been describing the

NSFW scene [From “A Bad Moms Christmas”] featuring Kathryn Hahn waxing “This Is Us” heartthrob Justin Hartley’s junk to your gay friends?

Bell: If you’re wondering, “Should I see ‘Bad Moms’?” and if you’ve ever seen “This Is Us” and thought, “I wonder what that guy looks like naked,” then this is the movie for you.

Is that the “Bad Moms Christmas” scene that you hope becomes gay famous?

Bell: The waxing scene is gonna become famous in the gay and straight and comedy communities, without question. The waxing scene, I think, is gonna go down in history next to the “When Harry Met Sally” scene. When I first saw it, my jaw was on the ground. It’s incredible.

It’s just what 2017 needs, if you ask me.

Bell: It’s gonna start – Kunis: A revolution.

Bell: And 2018 off right. Guys, is it gonna fix it? Is it gonna fix 2017? Maybe this waxing scene is gonna fix 2017.

Kunis: It won’t, you guys, but I like this wishful thinking. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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ACTING OUT

By JIM FARMER

AIDS drama ‘BPM’ feels real and urgent If it’s November, studios and distributors have gold in their eyes – Oscar gold. Two films, one with unapologetic gay content and the other slighter content, open next week with potential nominations on the line – the AIDS drama “BPM (Beats Per Minute)” and “Novitiate.”

The better of the two – by far – is “BPM.” The film, which won the Queer Palm at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and is France’s official submission for the 2017 Academy Awards, is often stunningly effective. It opens in the early ’90s as AIDS activists – later classifying themselves as members of ACT UP – gather to protest and demonstrate. The film spends time in their meetings, which are often contentious, and then follows the group as they go to labs of pharmaceutical companies and douse the walls with pouches of fake blood, protesting the refusals to make drugs more available. Later, they often visit a dance club to unwind. Two men begin a relationship – Nathan (Arnaud Valois) is attracted to radical militant Sean (Nahuel Perez Biscayart), who is defiantly in your face as he fights his own HIV status. It’s a complicated relationship that seems destined not to work.

This all feels real and urgent. Campillo has based the film on some of his own time as an activist and it has a raw power to it – and certainly a timeliness.

If “BPM” has a fault, it’s the film’s running time. There was talk at one time of trimming it down for its U.S. run but that has not happened. The film is well over two hours, and some of the ACT UP meeting moments – while engaging – could have easily been excised. Nonetheless, Campillo (“Eastern Boys”) has made a terrific, epic film that captures the fight against AIDS in all its tireless glory. The final third is more focused on the two men and Sean’s health and has some stirring moments. Making it all work is a tight ensemble, with Perez Biscavart a stand-out.

“Novitiate” is not as successful. In the new Vatican II era, changes in the Roman Catholic Church are threatening the course of nuns’ lives. Seventeen-year-old Cathleen (Margaret

Nahuel Perez Biscayart stars in ‘BPM,’ which has a special screening featuring local ACT UP members on Nov. 16 and opens in theaters officially on Nov. 17. (Photo by Celine Nieszawer)

Qualley) has decided that she wants to serve God, a decision that her mother (Julianne Nicholson) cannot understand. As the young woman moves toward the novitiate stage of her training, she starts to question her faith and her decision. As well, she is aware of her blossoming sexuality. Two other women have been asked to leave when they are caught spending too much time together. Hovering over everyone is a fierce Reverend Mother (Melissa Leo) who is not pleased with the changes that are happening, The film spans a decade and has a swell

sense of time and place, but it’s also dour and unpleasant, without the impact it needs. Maggie Betts, making her feature debut, fills the cast with convincing performances, especially the young women of the convent, who are easily molded and intimidated by those in charge around them.

Yet Leo – mentioned as a possible Best Supporting Actress nominee – goes over the top. Her performance shakes up the film but it feels a bit misplaced. “Novitiate” has some quiet, devastating moments but never altogether clicks.

Details

“BPM (Beats Per Minute)” Special screening Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. with post-screening discussion with local ACT UP members; opening Nov. 17 Midtown Art Cinema 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308 www.landmarktheatres.com “Novitiate” Opens Nov. 17 Midtown Art Cinema 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308 www.landmarktheatres.com

42 A&E November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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EATING MY WORDS

By CLIFF BOSTOCK

Krog Street Market’s Bar Mercado worth a repeat visit Remember how you crawled out of your mother’s womb and, 20 years later, sashayed into the Eagle or Blake’s? Suddenly, most of the confusion evaporated. You felt at home.

That happened to me too, but it happened again, in a stranger way, another 25 years later. I was sitting at a table overlooking the Alameda de Hercules plaza in Sevilla, Spain, and I literally realized that I felt like more of myself than I ever had in my life. On that day I fell in love with the country and wished to hell I could live there.

Somehow, Spain intensely binds the physical and the psychological. Flamenco is the best example, but so is the food. I love to graze, to stuff different flavors in my mouth.

I love small plates – both the nibbles of tapas and the larger, sharable portions called raciones. Every meal in Spain can be intense, even when grabbing a snack from a street vendor at 2 a.m. in Madrid.

So you can understand why I was so excited about the opening of Bar Mercado at the Krog Street Market (99 Krog St., 404-480-4866, reservations taken, barmercadoatl.com). It’s owned by the same people who operate the inventive Iberian Pig and the high-priced Cooks and Soldiers, as well as the Italian Double Zero and Sugo. Mercado has taken over the space vacated by the Cockentrice, which was directly accessible from the food hall. The vastly remodeled, brightly-colored new space was inspired by a restaurant in a Madrid food hall.

It is only accessible outside. Don’t get lost.

Chef John Castellucci, formerly executive chef at Cooks and Soldiers, has designed a menu of mainly irresistible tapas and raciones, divided into slices of cheeses and cured meats, as well as composed dishes of veggies, meats and seafood. Some are traditional, others are a bit Americanized, at least in my experience. Consider the Catalan spinach. Here, Castellucci lightly sautées the spinach, but it’s still quite leafy. He adds pine nuts, radishes and golden raisins. It’s more like a salad than the ubiquitous “espinacas” in Spain. There, the spinach is usually cooked to a virtual puree and often studded with bits of meat. Hon-

Above: The interior of Bar Mercado (Photo via Facebook) Left: The scallops at Bar Mercado are browned and hold their flavor in the face of garlic, celery and a grape concentrate called arrope. (Photo by Cliff Bostock)

estly, finding veggies in Barcelona was so difficult that I once OD’d on meat and sought out a vegetarian restaurant. It turned out to be operated by Boomer-age American hippies serving utterly passé concoctions.

Castellucci provides numerous other vegetarian tapas – or I probably should say meat-free, since some contain cheese. Try the crispy artichokes and (especially) the seared eggplant with saffron yogurt, black-olive caramel and fried chickpeas. There are classic

piquillos stuffed with goat cheese and a shot of a usually cod-based Vizcaina sauce. It’s not my favorite flavor. It especially disturbed my braised octopus with potatoes, pickled red onions and chives. It didn’t help that the octopus was significantly overcooked, making it my least favorite dish.

Among meat dishes, I loved the croquettes made with chicken, béchamel and mushrooms. The beef meatballs were shatteringly tender, served over a tomato sauce with purple kale. There is house-made sausage with fresh and cured chorizo, chipolini onions and apple cider. Scallops are quivering but browned, and hold their flavor in the face of garlic, celery and

a grape concentrate called arrope. Other dishes play with wagyu beef, hanger steak, Sapelo Island clams, pork ribs and much more. There’s even an already-beloved hamburguesa. I’m not telling what’s in it. Try it.

The menu also includes my favorite white anchovies and five cured meats and five cheeses. Unfortunately, I sampled none of these, wanting to try mainly composed dishes this first visit. I’ll go back and you better go too.

Cliff Bostock is a former psychotherapist now specializing in life coaching. Contact him at 404-518-4415 or cliffbostock@gmail.com.

44 Columnists November 10, 2017 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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Our Guide to the Best LGBT Events in Atlanta for Nov. 10-23

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EVEN FRIDAY, NOV. 10

As we dust off our coats and prepare for the cooler weather, join the Metro Atlanta Association of Professionals tonight for 2017’s final It’s Friday – Mix, Mingle and Network session. This is your chance to leave the work week behind and connect with other like-minded professionals over drinks, laughter and good professional conversation. 6 – 8 p.m.

TEN Atlanta, 990 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309 Singer-songwriter and pianist Tori Amos returns to Atlanta for an evening of tunes at Atlanta Symphony Hall, 7:30 p.m., 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.ticketmaster.com Discover “LUZIA,” where a waking dream transports you to an imaginary Mexico. Experience a wondrous world that inspires you to explore your senses, enveloped in light and nurtured by rain.

“LUZIA” is the newest Cirque du Soleil experience to come to Atlantic Station. Shows run through Nov. 19, 8 p.m., 1380 Atlantic Drive N.W., Atlanta, GA 30363, www.facebook.com/ events/285797858498680 Eddie Owen Presents: Suzanne Slair and The Caroline Aiken Trio live at Red Clay Music Foundry. Tickets are available at goo.gl/WWXLgB, 8 – 10:30 p.m., Red Clay Music Foundry, 3116 Main St., Duluth, GA 30096, www.facebook.com/ events/611783372544688

SATURDAY, NOV. 11

Join the Manly Miss America AllStars and More event tonight. This will

46 Best Bets November 10, 2017

FRIDAY, NOV. 10

The Atlanta Opera has opened its main-stage season at the Cobb Energy Centre with an all-new production of Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman,” running tonight at 8 p.m. and Nov.12 at 3 p.m.., 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway., Atlanta, GA 30339, www.atlantaopera.org (Publicity photo) be PALS Atlanta’s last event at Jungle Atlanta and the last night that Jungle Atlanta is open. The contestants will compete in four categories: fundraising prior to the show, state representation, swimsuit and evening gown with the ever-popular Q&A. During the swimsuit portion, audience members are encouraged to tip their favorites and these tips will count toward their overall totals. Voting in the form of donations can be done at: www.firstgiving. com/88474/manly-miss-america-2017.

Doors will open at 5:15 p.m., and the event will start at 6 p.m. 2115 Faulkner Road N.E., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook.com/events/700497443482493 Topher Payne’s new play “Morningside” has a 7:30 performance tonight, running through Nov.12, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell, GA 30075, www.get.org

Grammy-nominated DJ/producer ABEL returns to Jungle Atlanta for a very special night, 10:30 p.m. – 3 a.m., 2115 Faulkner Road N.E, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook.com/ events/794174667432173

SUNDAY, NOV. 12

Want some new looks for the winter?

Need some new furniture? Come out to Southern Fried Queer Pride’s Queer Threads: A Pop-Up Thrift Shop! All proceeds benefit Southern Fried Queer Pride. All items not sold at this event will be donated to the Lost-n-Found Youth Thrift Store. 2 – 6 p.m. Stay after the thrift shop to experience “Hussy’s No Fucksgiving,” an amazing performance variety show happening at 6 p.m. The Bakery Atlanta, 825 Warner St.,

CONTINUES ON PAGE 48

EVENT SPOTLIGHT FRIDAY, NOV. 10

Cindy Wilson of The B-52’s fame performs at The EARL tonight, with advance tickets available at www. freshtix.com/events/cindywilson-theearl, 8 p.m. – 12 a.m., 488 Flat Shoals Ave. S.E., Atlanta, GA 30316, www.facebook.com/ events/401540746910690 (Publicity photo)

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THURSDAY, NOV. 16

‘80s English rock band Modern English, who had hits “I Melt with You,” “Hands Across the Sea” and “Ink and Paper,” return to Atlanta to promote their new album, “Take Me to the Trees.” 8 p.m. at Variety Playhouse, 099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.variety-playhouse.com (Publicity photo)

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 46 Atlanta, GA 30310, www.facebook.com/ events/366669323762326 Join Sunday Service at Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium with Vicki Powell on the patio (if it’s warm enough) or in the ping-pong room. Enjoy fellowship and spirituals, rain or shine, never with a cover, 7 – 11:45 p.m., 466 Edgewood Ave. S.E., Atlanta, GA 30312, www.facebook.com/ events/1592250880832649

MONDAY, NOV. 13

Join the Procurement team of Georgia Power for the POWER Your Business in 2018 Procurement Spotlight, brought to you by the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC). The event will allow members to talk and learn from some of the AGLCC’s largest sponsors for best practices in the proposal process, gaining new contracts and retaining existing contracts. Learn from a host of C-Suite individuals and procurement teams for each company, 6 – 8 p.m.

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Blvd., Atlanta, GA 30308, www.atlantagaychamber.org Lesbian Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara hit The Tabernacle tonight on their The Con X tour, 8 p.m., 152 Luckie St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303, www.livenation.com

TUESDAY, NOV. 14

Ben hosts Trippy Tuesday, 9 p.m. at Tripps, 1931 Piedmont Circle, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.trippsatlanta.com

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 15

Thad Stevens hosts karaoke night at My Sister’s Room, with all sorts of food and drink specials, beginning at 9 p.m., 66 12th St. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309, www.mysistersroom.com

THURSDAY, NOV. 16

Come join a diverse group of people at the Rainbros Lunch Meet-up to learn more about each other and see how we can help each other in life. 12 – 1 p.m., Roxx Tavern, 1824 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook.com/ events/365295847221438

Join Atlanta Business Chronicle and the LGBT Institute to explore how businesses in metro Atlanta are navigating the terrain of inclusion in a time of increasing social change. Continue the conversation after the forum with a cocktail reception and the opportunity to network with our speakers and sponsors.

2- 5 p.m., The Carter Center, 453 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30307.

RSVP at www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/ event/161225/2017/lgbtq-diversityin-business-forum, www.facebook.com/ events/140983203188389 PAWS Atlanta is back at Wild Heaven Beer tonight for Pups and Pints.

25 percent of sales will be donated back. Fetch Park & Ice House, Pet’s PlayHouse on Ponce, Second Life Atlanta, Big Daddy Biscuits, PRIME PET BOX and Hound Playground will all be here raffling off some items to raise extra funds too.

4 – 11 p.m., 135B Maple St., Decatur, GA 30030, www.facebook.com/ events/135434183775768

CONTINUES ON PAGE 50

EVENT SPOTLIGHT MONDAY, NOV. 13

Join Hillary Rodham Clinton tonight as part of her speaking tour. She’ll connect with audiences in a conversation about a story that’s personal, raw, detailed and surprisingly funny. She’ll take you with her on her journey and talk about what happened, what’s next and what’s on your mind. 7:30 p.m., Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St., N.E,, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.foxtheatre.org (Photo via Facebook)

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 48 Join Atlanta locals in supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students through the Night on Point event tonight. Meet other professionals interested in empowering the next generation of LGBTQ leaders through scholarship, community service, leadership training and development. There will be light snacks, cocktails and good conversation.

6 – 8 p.m., The Offices of Dentons, LLP, 303 Peachtree St. N.E., Suite 5300, Atlanta, GA 30308. Register online to attend at: www.pointfoundation.org/ atlanta-17 Out On Film, Georgia Equality and AID Atlanta host a screening of the acclaimed “Beats Per Minute,” about a group of ACT UP activists in Paris in the early 1990s going to battle for those stricken with HIV/AIDS, taking on sluggish government agencies and major pharmaceutical companies – with a panel of former ACT UP members, including Jeff Graham, 7 p.m., to follow, before the film officially opens Nov. 17, Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive,

Atlanta, GA 30308. www.facebook.com/ events/1950156301976107 Mark your calendars for the annual Voices Carry reading featuring poets Cecilia Woloch, Erica Wright, Rupert Fike, Collin Kelley and Theresa Davis. 7:15 p.m., Georgia Center for the Book at DCPL, 215 Sycamore St, Decatur, GA 30030, www.facebook.com/ events/150167335716155

FRIDAY, NOV. 17

The fourth screening in Film Love’s American Music Show retrospective – How to Live in the City: The Story of The American Music Show #4: A Day in Forsyth County, A Night at Mardi Gras – documents the show’s visionary method of incorporating performance into a historic public event and its subversive transformation of this event through the medium of public access television. 7 – 9 p.m., Atlanta Contemporary, 535 Means St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30318, www.facebook.com/ events/1927550547563756

CONTINUES ON PAGE 52

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

FRIDAY, NOV. 17

JAB JAB is a solo art exhibit by Ajmal ‘Mas Man’ Millar. This show is about the masked identity and revelation of self. Furthermore, it is about being a warrior and acknowledging the ability and strength necessary to endure the hits and challenges from the internal and external battles we fight. The show is made of majority mixed-media paintings and sculpture that underscore Millar’s narrative as a queer black man of Caribbean descent, JavaVino, 7 – 11 p.m., 579 N. Highland Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.facebook.com/events/125864088100561 (File photo)

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 50 In fewer than 300 words, Muslim American Gold Star father Khizr Khan electrified viewers around the world when he took the stage at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Khan will be in conversation with Soumaya Khalifa, founder of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta, tonight and will be signing copies of his new book, “An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice,” 7 p.m., The Carter Center, 453 Freedom Parkway,

Atlanta, GA 30307 www.facebook.com/ events/695150214019530

events/1940010229619519

SATURDAY, NOV. 18

Billed as the largest multicultural event in the state of Georgia, the Festival Peachtree Latino 2017 is today at the Meadows in Piedmont Park.

Come with your friends or family and be ready to have an extraordinary, fun day.

10 a.m. - 8 p.m., www.facebook.com/ events/1463447457287892

Join Trashetta GaLore, birthday girl Kellie Divine, Autumn Skyy, Buffet GaLore, Nurse Holly, Plenty Moore and special guests Ursula Polari and Rick Westbrook as part of the Armorettes Show for a Lost-n-Found Youth fundraiser, 8 – 10 p.m., Heretic, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook.com/

SUNDAY, NOV. 19

The PFLAG support group for parents

and families of LGBT children meets tonight from 2:30 – 4 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, 1605 Interstate 85/ Frontage Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, www.uuca.org

MONDAY, NOV. 20

Trans and Friends is a youth-focused group for trans people, people questioning their own gender and aspiring allies, providing a facilitated space to discuss gender, relevant resources and activism around social issues. 7 – 8:30 p.m., Charis Books and More, 1189 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.charisbooksandmore.com

TUESDAY, NOV. 21

Topher Payne takes over the role of Crumpet in Horizon Theatre’s annual, snarky “The Santaland Diaries,” based on David Sedaris’ “Holidays on Ice,” 8 p.m., 1083 Austin Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.horizontheatre.com

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 22

Still in town? Join DJ Deanne for a Thanksgiving Eve benefit for Joining Hearts, 10 p.m. – 3 a.m., Heretic, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road N.E., Atlanta, GA 30324, www.facebook.com/ events/678085989049810

THURSDAY, NOV. 23

SAGE Atlanta’s bimonthly meetings occur from 10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, Phillip Rush Center Annex, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.rushcenteratl.org

UPCOMING FRIDAY, NOV. 24

The exceptional gay drama/romance “God’s Own Country” opens at the Midtown Art Cinema, various showtimes, 931 Monroe Drive, Atlanta, GA 30308, www.landmarktheatres.com

TELL US ABOUT YOUR LGBT EVENT Submit your LGBT event for inclusion in our online and print calendars by emailing event info to editor@thegavoice.com

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If you’re looking for the perfect gift that always fits, give them an exciting live show! The 26th season brings you great performances in music, dance and theater that cross genres and exemplify the innovative and inspiring work at the intersection of art, science, and technology.

Miguel Zenón Quartet

Saturday, January 27, 8:00 pm

Nufonia Must Fall

by Kid Koala Mon./Tues. February 12-13

Rebirth Brass Band

Saturday, February 24, 8:00 pm

Thaddeus Phillips and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental: 17 Border Crossings

Kaki King:

The Neck Is A Bridge To The Body

Saturday, March 10, 8:00 pm

Atlanta’s Dance Canvas:

10 Years of World Premieres

Saturday, March 23-24, 8:00 pm

An Evening of SEAD Artists Saturday, April 21, 8:00 pm

Saturday, March 3, 8:00 pm

to subscribe or for tickets, call

404-894-9600 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

details and more events at

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November 10, 2017 Ads 53

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This week marks the 15th anniversary of my kidney transplant; 15 years, if you can believe it. It’s not that I don’t think about the transplant on each anniversary — and every single day, for that matter — but this anniversary was more emotional than most.

I began a new podcast last month called “She Persisted” and dedicated an entire show to talking about the transplant and what I’ve learned this last decade-and-a-half. Very much a stream of consciousness, the hour brought back some memories about that time I had honestly forgotten as the current of my life sped up with a healthier body.

One such memory was of a woman I was in dialysis with. Having to undergo this procedure for a year leading up to the transplant, I went on the dialysis machine for three hours every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday during the middle of the day. I don’t know the name of the woman who had the same shift as I, and never really had a conversation with her, but would notice when she came in with bruises on her face.

One session, I overheard the nurses and technicians explain to her that if she didn’t get out of the situation she was in, she would die. She assured them she had simply walked into a door, or some other seemingly typical excuse to deny a domestic abuser, and I could see the defeat in the eyes of the staff. After I had my transplant and was home under quarantine, I got word that that woman had indeed died. I remember being grief-stricken and lit a candle in my home in her honor.

The sadness was mixed with survivor’s guilt — how could two women fighting the same disease come to such different ends?

Then there was a man who served as my first mentor in the confusion of learning I had a life-threatening disease. He was a manager at one of the restaurant chains in town and was a liver transplant recipient.

We had lunch in Buckhead and he opened my eyes to the reward that lay ahead with a transplant. No more food restriction. No

“After I had my transplant and was home under quarantine, I got word that that woman had indeed died. I remember being grief-stricken and lit a candle in my home in her honor. The sadness was mixed with survivor’s guilt — how could two women fighting the same disease come to such different ends?” more energy-depleting dialysis. No more feeling like you were constantly on the verge of taking the plunge into a dark space you feared you’d never return from. At the end of our lunch, he explained that he was about to have a second liver transplant, that his hepatitis had been the cause of his first liver failure and now was the cause of the second.

A few months later, I got the call that he died during the operation.

These reminders made me realize my determination to live my life as I had never lived it before with a new kidney. Doing so was not only for me but for those who didn’t make it as far as I, and I couldn’t and still can’t take this gift from my cousin Pam for granted. I am too aware of how things don’t work out to waste the borrowed time.

Melissa Carter is recognized as one of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta and has been heard over the years on B98.5 and Q100. In addition, she is a writer for the Huffington Post. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCarter. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

By RYAN LEE

The other half of #metoo I don’t fully understand trigger warnings and have therefore usually mocked them, but I feel the need to state upfront that this column addresses childhood rape, and is written from the perspective of the childhood rapist. It is a memory too shameful for me to have ever discussed with family or my dearest friends, and I worry that sharing the experience could turn my guilt into pain for someone who endured the type of trauma I inflicted.

The viral testimony of women admitting they too have been victims of sexual harassment and assault has inspired many men to respond that they’re listening. But as more and more voices joined the #metoo campaign, as it became undeniable that sexual assault covers every acre of our land, it almost started to feel as if these women had been violated by ghosts or boogeymen.

Where are the men who have made rape and harassment as much a female rite as menstruation and unequal pay? They are in your home, at your office, among your friends and in your LGBT newspaper.

I am sorry. Almost 30 years later, the disgust I feel about myself and my actions have never abated, and I rarely have the courage to wonder about that little girl’s life after I assaulted her, or that woman’s life today.

The girl lived across the street from us, and like me was 8 or 9 years old, but adored my older sister. I saw her when I was getting off the school bus one day, and told her my sister was looking for her.

I didn’t have to lie to her to get her to come to our apartment, which I knew was empty because my sister stayed after school.

We were friends, and she had no reason to expect that once we were inside, she would be prevented from leaving, stripped naked, violated physically and sexually, and have her flesh covered in hickeys and bruises.

When the girl and her irate mother arrived at our apartment that evening with a police officer, my mother and stepfather www.thegeorgiavoice.com

“Where are the men who have made rape and harassment as much a female rite as menstruation and unequal pay? They are in your home, at your office, among your friends and in your LGBT newspaper.” were indignant at the accusations against me, while I collapsed in tears. I lied, of course, and attributed the marks on the girl’s body to horseplay, or a consensual fight, or anything I could think of other than the truth.

“I don’t think he did it, otherwise he wouldn’t be so emotional,” I recall my mother saying, giving me the first and only sense of hope as the investigation continued. I cannot lose my mother, I understood; she is the only person keeping me out of jail.

Eventually, my tears and my mother’s faith were enough for the officer to simply issue some type of warning. A few weeks later, I subjected the girl to an almost identical torture, but that time no police were called, my parents took the second round of allegations as further proof that the first had been bogus, and the young girl was whupped and grounded for returning to our apartment.

She and her family moved to a different neighborhood shortly afterward, and I have not seen her since or discussed the episodes in any capacity. There was never a followup conversation from my parents to make sure I was not a rapist, or would not grow up to be one.

I do not mean to flaunt how I evaded punishment, or blame others for not ensuring justice. It hurts knowing such viciousness is within me, and that it was so easy for me to burden a young girl’s life and future.

Ryan Lee is an Atlanta writer.

November 10, 2017 Columnists 55

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