Blade California 22-1 by Russell Poncik

VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 1 | ANNIVERSARY 2013

[ ANNIVERSARY EDITION ] RUSSELL PONCIK [ EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ] blade.russell@gmail.com Natalie Martin [ copy editor ] Richard Vaughn [ design consultant ] · David Coombs [ graphic designer ]

[ photography ] “BIG MIKE” PHILLIPS | JRE | MEDIA | P. KRISTEN ENOS | STEVEN UNDERHILL

[ founding publisher ] BILL LaPOINTE Blade California is published by Blade California Media, DBA Blade California.

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Blade California is published monthly for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered community throughout California. Contributions of news tips and stories are welcome. Publication of the name or photographs of any person or organization in articles or advertising in Blade California is not to be construed as any indication of sexual orientation or HIV/AIDS status of such person or organization. Official views and opinions of Blade California staff and contributors are expressed solely in editorials and commentaries. Opinions and views expressed in columns, letters, articles, guest editorials, and cartoons or illustrations are those of the writers, contributors or artists and do not necessarily represent the opinions or views of Blade California. Letters to the Editor may be edited for length and clarity. Blade California is distributed free at many establishments and organizational or professional offices throughout California. Subscriptions are available at $45 for 12 issues by sending check or money order to the business mailing address above. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, either in whole or part, without express written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. © 2013 by Blade California Media.

BLADE CALIFORNIA

[ ANNIVERSARY 2013 ]

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Inside This Issue VOLUME 22 ISSUE 1 ANNIVERSARY 2013

[ upfront ]

[ scene ]

10-11 | Upfront 12 | News

24 | News and Notes [San Diego] 25 | Snapped in San Diego 26-27 | Snapped in Palm Springs 28 | News and Notes [Palm Springs]

[ insights ] 15 | HIV/AIDS Awareness Days 2013 16 | To the Hilt 17 | Active Voice

[ arts & culture ] 18-19 | Interview: Brent Hartinger 20 | Music Notes 21 | Book Notes 22-23 | 2013 Pride Highlights

[ emporium ] 29 | Resource Connections 30 | Classifieds 31 | Adult Classifieds 32 | Community Resources

[ ON THE COVER ] ANNIVERSARY 2013 Ever since declaring “Out in Orange County!” with the very first issue on March 21, 1992, Blade has been serving the LGBT community of Southern California. Just over two decades later, the publication is proud to mark a 21st anniversary as a lifestyle and news magazine representing the state of California. We offer heartfelt thanks to our family of devoted readers and advertisers and all of those who support our efforts as we celebrate another milestone. This page photo by David A. Lee. See page 26 for more from White Party Palm Springs 2013.

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upfront

Out Former Padres Player to Join San Diego Pride for Event SAN DIEGO LGBT Pride presents its annual Out at the Park event and Tailgate Party on April 27. The event will include a special guest appearance and remarks by former San Diego Padres player Billy Bean who publicly came out as gay after his retirement from Major League Baseball. “It’s important that we at Pride continue to create safe spaces for the LGBT community to come together. Sporting events have a history of not being very LGBT inclusive, and we’ve set out to help change that,” said Stephen Whitburn, San Diego LGBT Pride’s Interim General Manager. “We’re honored to be able to bring in a gay role model and former professional athlete like Billy Bean with the hopes it will encourage other athletes to come out.” Pride’s Tailgate Party will return this year beginning at 2:30 p.m. with food, drinks, and remarks by Billy Bean. Out at the Park with San Diego Padres vs San Francisco Giants begins at 5:40 p.m. and will have a section of the stadium reserved for the group. Advance tickets are available at www.sdpride.org. Founded in 1974, San Diego LGBT is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is: Fostering pride in and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, locally, nationally, and globally. BC

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Billy Bean

upfront

Aids Walk Orange County

Continues on a Path Toward a Future Without HIV and AIDS AIDS SERVICES FOUNDATION Orange County (ASF) has announced that the 27th annual AIDS Walk Orange County, to be held at the Disneyland® Resort in Anaheim, CA, will continue to build on the education and outreach initiatives launched last year seeking to end AIDS in Orange County. The 2013 AIDS Walk Orange County is scheduled for Saturday, May 4. “There is no vaccine or cure for HIV/AIDS,” said Philip Yaeger, ASF executive director. “But, through increased testing, focused education and outreach efforts, a dedication to keeping clients in care, and by simply talking about it, we expect to end the stigma of HIV/AIDS, gain the compassion of the community, continue to save lives, and help eradicate the virus and disease from Orange County.” AIDS Walk hopes to see as many as 3,000 walkers register and raise funds for the event with at least 2,500 of them participating in the walk the

morning of the event. With the increase in walkers over last year, a projected $575,000 is expected to be raised. As part of their commitment to the cause, walkers are expected to pay or raise a minimum of $50 to participate in the walk. Walkers and the general public will be able to take their own steps toward ending AIDS in Orange County at the post-Walk festival in the Downtown Disney District. ASF health educators and testing coordinators will be available on-site to perform rapid HIV tests free of charge. The test consists of a simple swab of the mouth and results are available within 20 minutes. Counselors will also be on hand to address any positive results. First held in 1987 at Mason Park in Irvine, the walk has taken place in various locations and raised over $14.5 million in donations to help provide services for people affected by HIV/AIDS in Orange Coun-

ty. ASF organizes the event with proceeds shared among several nonprofit agencies that provide services to people living in Orange County that are impacted by the disease. The agencies benefiting from the 2013 event are: The Center Orange County; Mercy House; Orange County Cornerstone Outreach; Public Law Center; Shanti Orange County; Straight Talk Clinic, Inc.; and AIDS Services Foundation Orange County. ASF is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985. Annually, the agency assists more than 1,600 men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Among the services ASF provides are food, transportation, housing, emergency financial assistance, mental health counseling, HIV testing, and HIV prevention and education programs. To learn more about ASF go to www.ocasf.org. For more information about AIDS Walk visit www.aidswalkorangecounty.org. BC

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news and notes

Mid-Career Novelist and Emerging Writer Winners Announced THE LAMBDA LITERARY Foundation (LLF), the nation’s leading national nonprofit organization promoting LGBT literature and writers, announced the recipients of the 2013 James Duggins Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize and the Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award. This year the Mid-Career Prize recognizes Nicola Griffith and Trebor Healey; the Emerging Writer Award recognizes Sassafras Lowrey and Carter Sickels. The judges for the Mid-Career Prize were author and collections manager Jim Van Buskirk and co-owner of the St. Louis based Left Bank Books Kris Kleindienst. Commenting on the 2013 prize recipients, they stated, “Trebor Healey and Nicola Griffith are both writers who are unafraid to take risks in their writing, stretching the strictures of genre to ask bigger questions. They use the lens of their LGBT experience as a prism through which universal themes of love, society, and the meaning of life are refracted, disassembled and reassembled in ways that are at once challenging and rewarding to the reader. Their work deepens and enriches the tapestry of LGBT literature: worthy of a place in the modern canon of English literature while expanding the notions of what LGBT literature can be.” The judges for the Emerging Writer Award were author Noel Alumit and co-owner of the Atlanta based Charis Books Sara Luce Look. In choosing Sassafras Lowrey and Carter Sickels for this year’s awards, they commented, “Both of these novelists are well on their way to promising careers and truly represent the future of LGBTQ literature. While very different, their

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(Top) Nicola Griffith (Above) Carter Sickels

works both explore the fluidity of gender and sexuality, as well as issues of community, intimacy, and queer identity. Lowrey challenged us to revisit pronouns, the status quo and LGBT life. Sickels is exploring masculinity from a trans man’s point of view. This kind of exploration is what makes queer letters exciting and interesting. Beyond being emerging writers they are also committed to sharing their experiences, as writers and transgender people, with the next generation of queer writers, young and old.” The Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize, made possible by James Duggins, PhD, consists of two cash prizes of $5000. To qualify, recipients must have published at least three novels or two novels and substantial additional literary work such as poetry, short stories, or essays. The Emerging Writer Award, made possible by former LLF Board Member, Teresa DeCrescenzo, and named after her late partner, the renowned author and psychotherapist, Dr. Betty Berzon, consists of two cash prizes of $1000. To qualify, recipients must have published up to 2 books or 1 book and additional literary work such as short stories, essays or journalistic articles. The awards will be handed out on June 3, 2013 at the 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards ceremony in New York City. The Lambda Literary Foundation nurtures, celebrates, and preserves LGBT literature through programs that honor excellence, promote visibility and encourage development of emerging writers. BC

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insights

2013 HIV/AIDS AWARENESS DAYS • National HIV Testing Day June 27 • National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day - September 18

• National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day - May 19 • Hepatitis Testing Day - May 19

• National Latino AIDS Awareness Day October 15

To learn more about Awareness Days, visit www.aids.gov/awareness-days/. BC

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insights

NEXT WEEK I am going to the memorial service

for my good friend Ann. She died the day after her 87th birthday. We had been friends for over 20 years; I had been friends with her husband who she lost almost 20 years ago. I learned many lessons from Ann, but two stand out. For the decades I knew her, she was writing a book. I will be curious when her sons go through her papers if they find more than a chapter or two. She always thought there’d be time to finish it. Her book plans reminded me of a friend of my father’s. I had known Henry my entire life and very near the end of his, he told me he was jealous of me for having actually written a few published books— having finished them was more important to him than having them published. He started his novel in college. Then World War II interrupted his schooling and his writing. He met a girl while he was stationed in England: marriage, children and a career took precedence over writing. After he retired, he was sure there would be time to write. That was until his wife got sick. So that is lesson one: whatever you feel driven to do in your life—don’t put it off—do it. Lesson two is one Ann learned from an owl and shared with many in her circle. It was a lesson in understanding that she never forgot and why she was one of the first people with whom I shared my secret about being gay—I knew this older Jewish woman from Detroit would be fine with it. For years, Ann and her husband traveled the country in their RV and somewhere in their travels, they visited a wildlife sanctuary where she felt strangely drawn to an owl. She and the bird

having felt anything like this joining with any animal before. The owl reached under it and came up with a bloody, decapitated mouse in its mouth and held it out to Ann. She shrieked—terrifying the poor bird—and ran screaming from the room. The park ranger calmed the bird down then went outside to comfort Ann. He said he had never in all of his years tending animals seen a moment like the connection she had formed with the owl. He was amazed by the mind meld that seemed to be taking place. But that link was missing a key piece: understanding. The owl, feeling this special relationship, tried to grow closer to this woman by offering her his most prized possession. He tried to strengthen the bond by offering to share his food—the way owls show devotion to their mates or children. The ranger said he had never seen an owl offer food to any other creature. And Ann responded to this benevolence by screaming in his face and running away. She had no warning that she might be offered a mutilated rodent, so she completely misunderstood the gesture and responded not with gratitude, but by frightening the generous giftgiver. She took from this a lesson that we can apply to getting the straight world fully accepting gay people. Knowledge and good intentions can lead to acceptance. BC

A WISE OLD FRIEND

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DREAMSTIME .COM

[ BY WALTER G. MEYER ]

made eye contact and formed an instant connection. Although she was a bit skittish around wild animals, she approached closer and closer and they seemed be sharing a moment so special that everyone at the nature center stopped to watch the bond form between the human and the owl. She said that she could really feel this link deepening and she leaned closer, never

Walter G. Meyer is the author of three books, including the critically acclaimed gay novel, Rounding Third, which deals powerfully with the bullying crisis. He has spoken about bullying issues on radio programs and at colleges, libraries, and LGBT Centers across the country. His freelance writing has appeared in many newspapers and magazines.

insights

WHEN I SAW an advertisement for the third an-

nual Las Vegas LGBT Wedding Expo, my curiosity was naturally piqued, and not for romantically-inclined reasons. I first became involved in the LGBT community back in the late eighties and the hot issues of AIDS and job protection in that something as emotionally and socially positive as wedding celebrations wasn’t that high on everyone’s mind at the time. And since I saw this ad at the time the first 100 tickets were “free,” I naturally wanted to check this out. But I made it very clear in comments that I was going there as press and not as a consumer. I marked my calendar and promptly put the event to the back of my mind. When the event was a couple of weeks away, I received a mass reminder email from the event coordinator with an additional blurb about needing volunteers to be models at the event fashion show. Now, I’m not so much of an activist diva that I immediately jump at such opportunities, even if it meant that I could probably get a column and some amusing private stories about of such an experience. And I frankly admit my reluctance was compounded with my acceptance that I was no longer in my ‘hot young thing’ days. But then I noticed the words that “all shapes and sizes” were welcomed and that bridal gowns and tuxes were available to women. And well, I am an activist diva, who has this column to write. Plus, I admit I’ve always wanted to wear a tux, especially if I could do it for free. So I volunteered, letting

SOMETHING BORROWED [ BY P. KRISTEN ENOS ]

them know I was someone butch in appearance, extremely short hair and Asian-American. As I walked into the bridal shop for my fitting, I definitely felt like I had walked into a foreign dimension on all levels. Even when growing up in my clueless heterosexual days of my teenage years, I never had any wedding fantasies that were expected to be typical of young girls. (Yes, no additional comments needed there.) And I have to admit that meeting Dianne, the shop owner, didn’t ease my wariness since she wanted to put me in a dress even though I was wearing my Vegas Pride volunteer t-shirt and men’s cargo shorts. Now, while I appear more butch than femme thanks to my preferences to t-shirts and jeans, I’m not at all against wearing dresses. In fact, it’s my personal preference when I attend fancy events. Yet, it had been at least 10 years since I wore one, which included all of the accessories with them such as pantyhose, slips and heels. When she presented a dress that was a short, lacey thing, I immediately commented that it looked like a party dress, (which I guess could be appropriate for a Vegas wedding.) But then she mentioned how she wanted me to

wear a cowboy hat and boots, I looked at her and bit my tongue from saying “You do realize I’m Asian, don’t you?” Perhaps registering my skeptic expression, she said she wanted something “different.” However, since it was clear that I was not going to get to wear a tux, I went into passive mode and complied with her wishes to make this outfit work as best we could. So when the moment came for me to do my runway walk in front of an estimated crowd of 300 people with a local news camera crew, I remembered Dianne’s instructions during the morning rehearsal to be “flirty and fun.” Pulling from my activist diva experience of knowing how to work a crowd, I strutted out on the runway in full runway tease mode with my boots, hat and desert highway bouquet of plastic weeds. I was told afterwards by the other models how loud the roar of the crowd was when I was out there. Afterwards, I sent a thank you email to the event coordinator who was in the audience. She mentioned I was “adorable” on the stage and invited me back for the next year’s expo. Having done it this first time as a bucket list item, I wasn’t interested to do it again… Unless they let me wear a tux. BC P. Kristen Enos has worked with the Blade magazine since year one. She was very active in the Orange County LGBT community during the ‘90’s. Her column Active Voice debuted in the magazine in 1994 and appeared for four years. Like all hard-core activists, she burned out, took a decade to recharge and is now back.

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interview

BRENT HARTINGER [ BY WALTER G. MEYER ]

ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR gay novels of all time, Geography Club, is finally being turned into a movie and Brent Hartinger couldn’t be happier. “Every person involved is just the nicest person imaginable and they have been so generous in sharing, giving me credit…I just sort of inspired the movie.” Having worked in Hollywood, Hartinger knows that the screenwriter often has little to no say of what happens to his script, let alone the producers wanting any input whatsoever from writer of the source book, but they asked for his feedback on the script. “It was their project and that is usually the way it works. They had their own writer and director. They had their own vision. Not everything is the way I would have done it, but ultimately it works. It’s 50-60% of the book, it’s a little updated. Russel and Min are not friends at the beginning of the story.” But the author understands why the producers made the choices they did. By having Min and Russel meet, they can share their back stories, something that was much easier to do on paper than on film. Because the book was first-person, much of it takes place in the main character’s head, so 18

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there would have to be changes to tell the story visually. “And there aren’t any adults in the book, but most name actors are adults, so when you bring in adult actors, it makes it easier to get funding and publicity.” Three of the names they enlisted were Scott Bakula, Marin Hinkle and Ana Gasteyer. In all of Hartinger’s books, the adults are absent and the focus is on the teens, because in his own experience working with youth, he noticed how irrelevant teens tend to find the older people in their lives. He was thrilled with the casting of all of the key parts. Although he didn’t have a hand in it, he says he could not have done a better job picking the actors to fill the images of his characters that up to this point had lived only in his mind. He said the movie is less controversial than the book was, not only because times have changed and the idea of gay teens being out and in love is no longer startling, but “They made a choice to make the movie sweet and a little bit innocent. It’s like Beautiful Thing in that sense.” Books also allow hundreds of pages on which to develop numerous characters, so some were condensed, as was the case

The Elephant of Surprise

with one now played by Alex Newell from Glee. Hartinger recently attended the first screening of the finished movie and said, “It really played well on the big screen and I hope people get to see it on the big screen.” The distribution deals are now in the work to make sure that happens. When the book was published ten years ago, it was an immediate hit and was quickly optioned to be a movie. A script was commissioned and then…things slowly fizzled out over four years of the first option, as so often happens in Hollywood. About a year ago, Michael Huffington (Arianna’s former husband) became the financing producer and then things moved quickly: they went into production four months later and seven months after that, they had the first screening. That kind of speed is almost unheard of in the movie biz. The road on the map of Geography Club was a lot longer than that. Hartinger spent about six years writing and revising the book and four more trying to get an agent and publisher to want to push a gay love story. It took so long things had shifted in terms of coming out, and “Gay people are more accepted,” Hartinger said. “You have changes in technology and cultural changes.” The draft that was finally published was written in 1999, four years before it saw print. But the story had evolved so much that, “The end of the old draft became the beginning of the new draft.” Because of the numerous races depicted

among his main characters Hartinger says that, “When the book first came out 10 years ago, I was criticized for being politically correct. I didn’t do it to be politically correct; I did it to show the reality around me.” And now television shows like Glee and others have casts that reflect how diverse things have become in most communities. He says shows like Glee and others have so normalized gay characters that now, “As artists we are called to look for the new and the different.” So story lines that he may have considered years ago are no longer relevant or have already been done too many times. Hartinger reflects how much the climate for gay people has changed since the book’s publication, “Forming a GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) is no longer as controversial as it once was.” The right to have such groups without hiding behind fictitious names has been won in the courts and in most places, trying to start one is no longer the brave act it once was, although there are still pockets of resistance even in the U.S. But now Hartinger gets emails from readers in other countries who are trying to form GSAs--from people in Philippines, Latin American and Arabic countries—whose fight is just now picking up steam, and he is proud that his book can serve as an inspiration for them. Of the four books in the “Russel Middleton” series, the first, Geography Club was the biggest seller, but he says the second, “Poison Oak is the fan favorite. That is the one that people like the most.” Order of the Poison Oak, is he says, ironically, “a straight love story.” Not that the guys turn straight, but there is less exterior conflict and the book is more about Russel and Otto falling for each other. Even if the movie of Geography Club is a success, he has no plans to go Hollywood, saying “I lived there for a year and a half. I’d prefer to live where I live and come into town when I need to for a week.” Where he lives is in the Seattle suburbs, with his husband, novelist Michael Jensen. Hartinger is working on a few screenplays and has more books in mind. Brent Hartinger is an author, teacher, playwright, and screenwriter. Geography Club, the first book in his Lambda Awardwinning Russel Middlebrook Series, is now a feature film costarring Scott Bakula, Nikki Blonsky and Cameron Deane Stewart. In 1990, Brent helped found one of the country’s first LGBT teen support groups, in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. BC

B O O K

P R E V I E W

[ BY WALTER G. MEYER ]

THE ELEPHANT OF SURPRISE is Brent Hartinger’s

eighth book and the fourth in the Russel Middleton series. Like the popular novel Geography Club that started the series, and its first sequel, The Order of the Poison Oak, Elephant deals with outsiders. In Geography Club, just being gay made Russel and his friends enough of outcasts to qualify, but in the decade since its publication, although Russel hasn’t aged (he is sort of stuck in time like Bart Simpson) Russel is fully comfortable with being gay, and society has evolved to the point that it’s no longer remarkable—at least in Russel’s hometown. So the focus in Elephant is on Russel’s budding friendship with a group of “freegans,” one of whom may or may not be gay. As in Hartinger’s other books, in this one the author wants Russel to learn a lesson about making assumptions and judging people. In Poison Oak, the lesson was to see beyond a burn survivor’s scars and see the beauty beneath them. In Elephant, Russel must decide if the “lifestyle choice” his new friend Wade is making to live out of dumpsters is something to condemn or embrace. The freegans are the ultimate recyclers; they live outside of most societal rules and try to operate for “free,” getting their food, clothes, lodgings, and all of their possessions from the discards of others. After seeing that they exist, Russel can’t un-see them and has to alter his view of the world and decide what is really important. This very different way of living make the book almost an inverse Atlas Shrugged; maybe the philosophy will catch on and inspire “Who is Wade?” bumper stickers. The other big issue for Russel is deciding whether to forgive his erstwhile boyfriend and crush Kevin Land—that is if there is actually anything for which to forgive him. This book is a bit edgier than the others in the series, with a few more swear words and a little more “adult,” although still fine for any Young Adult. Geography Club was controversial just for being gay. He said with this book, he made a conscious effort not to care about that. Geography Club was kicked out of more than a few libraries or put in restricted areas in others in spite of its very G-rated content. The only thing objectionable about or that was deemed inappropriate was that Russel wanted to date guys, so Hartinger went ahead and wrote Elephant the way he wanted without any concern for what his critics wouldn’t like. Hartinger is sure he hasn’t seen the last of Russel and his friends Gunnar and Min. The author is planning a fifth book in the series, but on no particular timetable. He says it is likely that although the first books are all (at least in his mind) set in about 2007-09 (with no reference to any dates or current events anywhere in the series), the next one will skip ahead and be set in 2014 to bring it up to date and jump Russel into his college years. The Elephant of Surprise; 226 pages Available Now; Retail $12.99; Published by Buddha Kitty Books

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MUSIC

NOTES ANNIVERSARY

DELTA MACHINE By Depeche Mode Release Date: Available Now Label: Columbia

BANG BANG BOOM BOOM By Beth Hart Release Date: Available Now Label: Mascot Records

THE 20/20 EXPERIENCE By Justin Timberlake Release Date: Available Now Label: RCA

LEAD WITH YOUR HEART By The Canadian Tenors Release Date: Now Available Label: Verve

JAKE BUGG BY JAKE BUGG

Release Date: Available Now. Label: Mercury

OLD YELLOW MOON By Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell Release Date: Available Now Label: Nonesuch

GIRL WHO GOT AWAY By Dido Release Date: Available Now Label: RCA

SIDE EFFECTS OF YOU By Fantasia Release Date: Available Now Label: J Records

GO BACK HOME By: Audra McDonald Release Date: May 21 Label: Nonesuch EXCEPT SOMETIMES BY MOLLY RINGWALD Release Date: Available Now. Label: Concord Jazz

ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MAGIC: THE SONGS OF SAMMY CAHN By Steve Tyrell Release Date: May 14 Label: Concord Records

TO BE LOVED By Michael Buble Release Date: Available Now Label: Reprise

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME By Olly Murs Release Date: Available Now Label: Columbia

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KINKY BOOTS By Original Broadway Cast Recording Release Date: May 28 Label: Masterworks Broadway GOLDEN BY LADY ANTEBELLUM

Release Date: May 7. Label: Capitol Nashville

Note: Release dates are subject to change.

2013

BOOK

NOTES ANNIVERSARY

Train Your Dog Positively

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls

By: Victoria Stilwell Release Date: Available Now List Price: $14.99 Publisher: Ten Speed Press

By: David Sedaris Release Date: Available Now List Price: $27.00 Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Playing Well With Others: Your Field Guide to Discovering, Exploring and Navigating the Kink, Leather and BDSM Communities

This is How: Surviving What You Think You Can’t By: Augusten Burroughs Release Date: Available Now List Price: $15.00 Publisher: Picador

By: Lee Harrington and Mollena Williams Release Date: Available Now List Price: $19.95 Publisher: Greenery Press

The Soundtrack of My Life By: Clive Davis with Anthony DeCurtis Release Date: Available Now List Price: $30.00 Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Elizabeth Taylor: A Shining Legacy on Film By: Cindy De La Hoz Release Date: Available Now; List Price: $30.00 Publisher: Running Press

Full Frontal: To Make a Long Story Short

The Marrying Kind? Debating Same-Sex Marriage within the Lesbian and Gay Movement By: Mary Bernstein and Verta Taylor Release Date: May 16 List Price: $25.00 Publisher: University of Minnesota

The Midnight Sun By: Nene Adams Release Date: April 30 List Price: $15.95 Publisher: Bella Books

By: Tom Baker Release Date: Available Now List Price: $10.95 Publisher: iUniverse

American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics

Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father By: Alysia Abbott Release Date: June 3 List Price: $25.95 Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

2013

Unsinkable: A Memoir By: Debbie Reynolds and Dorian Hannaway Release Date: Available Now; List Price: $28.99 Publisher: William Morrow

By: Dan Savage Release Date: May 28 List Price: $26.95 Publisher: Dutton Adult Note: Release dates are subject to change.

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2013Pride

(HIGHLIGHT OF EVENTS) LONG BEACH LESBIAN & GAY PRIDE MAY 18-19, 2013 www.longbeachpride.com

FRESNO RAINBOW PRIDE JUNE 1, 2013 www.fresnorainbowpride.com

LOS ANGELES PRIDE

presented by Christopher Street West

JUNE 7-9, 2013 www.lapride.org

PRIDE IN THE PINES Flagstaff, Arizona

JUNE 14-16, 2013

www.flagstaffpride.org

SACRAMENTO PRIDE JUNE 15, 2013 www.sacramentopride.org

SANTA FE PRIDE JUNE 22, 2013 www.santafehra.org

SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE JUNE 29-30, 2013 www.sfpride.org

SAN DIEGO LGBT PRIDE JULY 12-14, 2013 www.sdpride.org

ORANGE COUNTY PRIDE AUGUST 10, 2013 www.prideoc.com

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SAN JOSE PRIDE AUGUST 17-18, 2013 www.sanjosepride.com

LAS VEGAS PRIDE SEPTEMBER 6-7, 2013 www.lasvegaspride.org

SOUTH BAY PRIDE (Chula Vista CA)

SEPTEMBER 14, 2013 www.southbaypride.org

PRIDE @ THE BEACH (Oceanside CA)

OCTOBER 12, 2013

www.northcountypride.org

BAKERSFIELD PRIDE OCTOBER 19, 2013 www.bakersfieldpride.org

GREATER PALM SPRINGS PRIDE NOVEMBER 2-3, 2013 www.pspride.org

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bladecalifornia.com

san diego news and notes

Pride Theme Announced SAN DIEGO LESBIAN Gay, Bisexual, and Trans-

gender Pride has announced Freedom to Love and Marry as the theme for its 39th Annual Pride Celebration weekend, July 12 – 14, 2013. “We are standing at a critical moment in our movement when the very question of our ability to love is before this nation’s highest court,” said Fernando Lopez, San Diego Pride Public Affairs Director and longtime marriage equality activist. “It is our goal to demonstrate that freedom, love, and commitment are shared values for all Americans no matter your gender or sexual orientation. Pride joins the call of our mayor, our governor, our president, and the majority of Americans that the time for equal rights for

equal love is now.” In 2012, San Diego LGBT Pride made history and worldwide news by having the first-ever active duty uniformed military contingent in a Pride parade with approval from the Department of Defense. With the theme of Freedom to Love and Marry, San Diego Pride is looking to continue to break exciting new ground and push forward on issues of equality. San Diego Pride Weekend will include a large community rally, Friday evening block party, mile-long parade through the heart of Hillcrest, and two-day weekend festival in Balboa Park. For more information, visit www.sdpride.org. BC

North County Gala THE NORTH COUNTY LGBTQ Resource Center

will hold its Annual Gala & Fundraiser on May 18. The theme for 2013 is “Hearts in Community & Eyes on Equality.” The gala returns to the Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, for an evening of fun festivities. San Diego Supervisor Dave Roberts is the scheduled Keynote Speaker. Roberts completed two terms on the Solana Beach City Council and served as the city’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor. During his tenure, Dave represented Solana Beach on numerous regional boards. He lives in Solana Beach with his husband and family and has five adopted children, ages 4 through 17. For more information about the event, visit www. ncresourcecenter.org. BC

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: LAURA PREBLE [ BY WALTER G. MEYER ]

IN HER SHOE-IS-ON-THE-OTHER-FOOT novel, Out, Laura Preble turns the world dominated by straight people into one in which gays are the dominate culture and rule a society in which the government and church have combined to make sure “perpendiculars” (those freaks who chose to love someone of the opposite rather than “parallel” sex) are persecuted and forced to live in hiding. Having spent more than a decade as advisor to the GSA at the high school where she teaches in San Diego and having a son who has been openly gay since eighth grade inspired Preble to create a novel that she hopes gets people thinking about what it feels like to be part of persecuted minority. She considers it a gay novel even though, “It’s sort of technically not. It is the gay world flipped upside down.” In Out, the main character, a teen named Chris, is not attracted to the sex partners he “should” be. He is afraid that if his very reli-

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gious father finds out he likes girls instead of guys, he’ll be disowned or sent for dehuman-

izing deprogramming—things that many gay people can relate to. She was expecting some flak from the religious right who are made to look like intolerant idiots in the book, but she has received none. What has surprised her is a bit of criticism from the LGBT world. “Honestly, I didn’t expect criticism to come from that quarter,” she said. “I was shocked and kind of sad. I think most of the people who said they didn’t like it, hadn’t read it. I think they put too much weight on the idea that the gay characters are the bad guys. There are same-sex couples fighting what is going on.” And she would not have written anything that really said she thought all gays made horrible parents, rather she was using the book to show what horrible parents too many couples are to their gay children. Although the book is listed as Young Adult, she hopes that adults will read it and see in her mirror the intolerant world in which gay teens must try to come out. BC

snapped in san diego

[ SAN DIEGO, CA ]

MARRIAGE Equality Rally MARCH 25, 2013 Federal Courthouse Building [PHOTOS BY WALTER G. MEYER ]

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snapped in palm springs WHITE PARTY PALM SPRINGS 2013, the largest gay dance music festival in the world, set a record attendance and is already planning for a 25th anniversary on its all new date, April 24 though 28 in 2014, the last weekend of the month and no longer timed to Easter. “An amazing weekend with 30,000 of my best friends from around the globe,” exclaimed White Party Producer Jeffrey Sanker following the Sunday fireworks display. Entertainment highlights at the massive festival included DJ Tony Moran, Ana Matronic (of Scissor Sisters), and Carly Rae Jepsen. Chippendales star Jaymes Vaughan served as the first-ever White Party ambassador. BC

WHITE PARTY PALM SPRINGS 2013 MARCH 29 – APRIL 1 [ PHOTOS BY DAVID A. LEE ]

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snapped in palm springs

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palm springs news and notes Fabulous Palm Springs Follies AFTER NEARLY 200 performances, the 22nd edi-

Modernism Week THE MODERNISM WEEK Committee has award-

ed seven $1,500 scholarships, for a total of $10,500 in scholarship funds to area high school students. Five of those scholarships went to Palm Springs High School students continuing in a design field in higher education, and two scholarships were awarded to College of the Desert students continuing their studies in a design field at an accredited college. A total of $27,000 has been awarded since the program was initiated in 2011 to help further the education of students who have chosen career paths in architecture and design. “It’s really wonderful to be able to give these awards to students who are committed to continuing their education in a design related field,” says William Kopelk, Associate Director of Modernism Week. “They represent the future

of quality design and architecture, and being able to make their dreams a reality is so rewarding for us.” Palm Springs Modernism Week, a non-profit organization that produces the annual festival, is a celebration of mid-century modern design, architecture and culture, and features more than 100 events including home tours, films, lectures, fashion, and sophisticated receptions at locations rarely-seen by the public. Palm Springs Modernism Week also supports local and state preservation organizations in their efforts to preserve modernist architecture throughout the state of California. The 9th Annual Palm Springs Modernism Week will take place from February 13-23, 2014. For more information and updates, visit www. modernismweek.com. BC

tion of The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies— Dance To The Music!—comes to a close on May 19. All season long, the Follies has celebrated the dance crazes of the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. This is the last opportunity to hear legendary vocalist Lesley Gore perform her Gold Record hits “You Don’t Own Me,” “Judy’s Turn To Cry,” and her #1 smash and the anthem of a generation, “It’s My Party.” And concluding his encore Follies engagement is the world’s greatest hula-hoop artiste Mat Plendl. In preparation for the Follies’ all-new show opening November 1, 2013, online ticket sales begin July 15, and the Follies Box Office reopens September 30. To learn more, visit www.psfollies.com. BC

The LGBT Community Center of the Desert THE LGBT COMMUNITY Center of the Desert (The Center) has announced Gary Costa as their new Executive Director. Costa has served as The Center’s Interim Executive Director since November, 2012. The Center’s Board Chair, Randy Lowe stated, “Gary has worked at the Center as an executive assistant and has done an outstanding job on the operations of the organization. I look forward to working with him as our new Executive Director. Gary fully understands our long term vision at The Center and is totally dedicated to the organization’s success.” Costa has a wealth of experience in working with not-for-profit and LGBT organiza-

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tions, including Program Director at The Center OC and as Executive Director of Being Alive, Los Angeles. “I am honored to have

been selected to be the next Executive Director of the LGBT Community Center of the Desert. This is an exciting time for our community, on both the local and national level; with same-sex marriage, and the overturning of DOMA both within reach,” shared Costa. The LGBT Community Center of the Desert is a 501[c]3 nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of the entire LGBT community in the Coachella Valley through health, wellness, and social and educational programming to benefit members of all ages and backgrounds. To learn more about The LGBT Community Center of the Desert, visit www. TheCenterPS.org. BC

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COMMUNITY RESOURCES GLAAD—The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media. www.glaad.org

GLSEN —The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. www.glsen.org

HRC—The Human Rights Campaign advocates on behalf of LGBT Americans, mobilizes grassroots actions in diverse communities, invests strategically to elect fair-minded individuals to office and educates the public about LGBT issues. www.hrc.org

LAMBDA LEGALDEFENSE & EDUCATIONFUND —Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. www.lambdalegal.org

NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE—The NGLCC is committed to forming a broad-based coalition, representative of the various interests of LGBT owned and friendly businesses, professionals, and students of business for the purpose of promoting economic growth and prosperity of its members. www.nglcc.org

PGLAG—PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. www.pflag.org

THE AIDS INSTITUTE—The AIDS Institute promotes action for social change through public policy research, advocacy, and education. www.theaidsinstitute.org

THE TREVOR PROJECT—The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock suicide prevention helpline for gay and questioning youth. www.trevorproject.org

TRANSGENDER LAW CENTER—The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. www.transgenderlawcenter.org

VICTORYFUND—TheGay&LesbianVictoryFundendorses qualified, committed openly LGBT candidates who can win at the ballot box. www.victoryfund.org

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