2011-10-01 outlook columbus

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outlook oct 2011 • vol 16 issue 5

inside: reader comments ian james on SB5 repeal the garden’s tom outlook endorsements coming out role models our gay blood drive gay ohio history initiative who’s who in glbt columbus aids walk + catf merger & Local celebrity john

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Did you know that Cbus has a very large gay tennis league? For info on how to participate in Columbus Metropolitan Tennis Organization visit www.cmto1.org.

outlookcolumbus.com

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you are here

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OWNERS AND PUBLISHERS Michael Daniels & Christopher Hayes HEADQUARTERS Outlook Media, Inc. 815 N High St, Bsmt Ste Q Columbus, OH 43215 614.268.8525phone 614.261.8200 fax www.outlookmedia.com

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qmunity: local

SUBSCRIPTIONS & DISTRIBUTION Call 614.268.8525

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qmunity: national

BUSINESS DIRECTOR Michael Daniels: mdaniels@outlookmedia.com

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equality now

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polisigh: endorsements & SB5 small pond

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22 open kimono

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT REPS Mary Malone mmalone@outlookmedia.com Dena Glassco dglassco@outlookmedia.com John Harding jharding@outlookmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING Rivendell Media - 212.242.6863 ADVERTISING DEADLINES Reservations by the 15th of each month.

Art in by the 20th.

history is political...

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And in this issue, you’ll find lots of history, in a variety of different forms and perspectives.

ter of the American Red Cross, are doing to raise awareness and repeal this silliness.

vember that will rock your world and bring gay stand up comedy to a new place in Columbus.

27 complete the circuiut

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & ART DIRECTOR Christopher Hayes hayes@outlookmedia.com

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EDITORIAL Erin McCalla / emccalla@outlookmedia.com

We talk about gay role models, who they are, how they’ve evolved and why some of us almost didn’t have any.

We devote quite a bit of space to our readers’ comments sent in by email and online reacting to our article last month about the current state of what was to be Ibiza. And to those who questioned, yes, we have the balls and the integrity to print the letters that disagree with us, quite colorfully in some instances. After all, what’s the worst that can happen - we lose some ad revenue, people talk about us behind our backs and a competitor is enticed to come in to try to knock us off? Oh, wait …

And a special thank you goes out to our readers, and the readers of The Other Paper, who voted us Top LGBT Publication. As hometown kids, committed to communitybuilding and non-absentee ownership, we’re honored.

We talk about Columbus politics, endorse our candidates for mayor, city council and the courts, as well as, speak out on the statewide ballot initiatives. Ian James joins us with his colorful and incisive perspective on “why gays should give a rat’s ass” about killing - decapitating, shooting with silver and driving a stake through the dark black heart of - Issue 2 (SB5). And Ed Mullen questions us if we shouldn’t just go for marriage We’re also making history in equality right now!

October. We’re kicking off the nation’s first ever Who’s Who We give you a hell of a lot of in GLBT book right here in Halloween crap - images, Columbus with a free receppuns, happenings… boo! tion and Network event on Oct 12 at the Ohio Historical SociWe probe your deepest deety. We’re holding Brothers In sires, or at least expose them, Blood, (the blood drive menby showcasing Tom and his tioned above) on October 13 staff at the Garden, the and we’re gearing up for even Chamber and the Joint. (Con- more in November and Defession: between the two of cember. us, we probably do own all the items mentioned in that arti- We also want to take a quick cle. You get to guess who second to thank some folks. owns what. Winner gets a free To Mackenzie Worrall, who demonstration session.) worked his ass off writing for this issue and organizing We open up a vein and talk Brothers In Blood. He’s the about the politics behind why hardest working and cutest gay men can’t donate blood, gingerboy we know. To John the historical hysteria and hy- Harding, straight intern and perbole behind the ban, and ally extraordinaire who is putwhat we, and the local chap- ting together an event for No-

outlookcolumbus.com

We’d also like to offer a special shout-out to our partners at Small Business Beanstalk, who are reaching out with us in a big way to make sure that their SBB PRIDE CARD is widely circulated. You can grab yours from the center of this magazine, next month.

Thanks to Wolf and the gang at SBB for allowing us to be part of their efforts to keep it local, and for allowing us the honor of recognizing our friend and partner, Scot Hafler of Wall Street Nightclub, as the recipient of the first-ever SBB PRIDE COMMUNITY AWARD at their shindig on Sep 21. Scot, no one deserves it more.

Until next month, read, get pissed, write us back, give blood, get involved, buy from an SBB business and vote early. We’ll see you out and about, building and burning bridges with equal abandon and aplomb.

Chris & Michael, your Wondertwin Publishers

insightout

super mario world

35 not that kind of girl

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Regina Sewell, Ed Mullen, Romeo San Vicente, Jack Fertig, Dan Savage, Mickey Weems, Michael Daniels, Chris Hayes, Jon Dunn, Michael Straughter, Erin McCalla, Alisa Caton, Marcus Morris, Mario Pinardi, Mackenzie Worrall, Ryan Harris, Julie Roth, Chris Stults, Ian James, Mette Bach, Shelby Kretz, Chuck Carnahan

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feature: GOHI

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Chris Hayes, Andew Williams, Erin McCalla

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feature: who’s who in GLBT columbus feature: brothers in blood

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feature: CATF

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feature: gender studies

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feature: gay role models

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deep inside hollywood creative class

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23 frames per second

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bookmark

30 marcus’s morsels 32

calendar & about town

interview: 56 phil jimenez

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fashion forward

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savage love

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local celeb

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astro forecast

CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Robert Trautman INTERNS Johnathan Harding, Shelby Kretz, Tay Glover, Andew Williams, Michael Straughter CYBERSPACE http://www.outlookcolumbus.com http://www.outlookmedia.com http://www.networkcolumbus.com http://twitter.com/outlookcolumbus http://facebook.com/outlookcolumbus outlook columbus is published and distributed

by Outlook Media, Inc. the first day of each month throughout Ohio. outlook columbus is a free publication provided solely for the use of our readers. Any person who willfully or knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over more than 5 copies of any issue outlook columbus with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading it shall be considered guilty of the crime of theft. Violators will be prosecuted.

The views expressed in outlook columbus are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or personal, business, or professional practices of Outlook Media, Inc. or its staff, ownership, or management. outlook columbus does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any interpretation, advice, opinion, or view presented.

Outlook Media, Inc. does not investigate or accept responsibility for claims made in any advertisement. Outlook Media, Inc. assumes no responsibility for claims arising in connection with products and services advertised herein, nor for the content of, or reply to, any advertisement. All material is copyrighted ©2011 by Outlook Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

NEXT MONTH: the feel good issue

One of Chris’s favorite movies is Vertigo by Alfred Hitchock. He also enjoys The Birds. He wishes they were at Red Box.

oct 2011

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#) WALL ST - WEDDING SINGER

SHERROD FUNDRAISER 08.30.11

SHERROD FUNDRAISER 08.30.11

WON’T YOU BE MY VALENTINE?

GOVERNOR SANDWICH

VOTE FOR SHERROD!

AIDS WALK SIGNUP 09.08.11

AIDS WALK SIGNUP 09.08.11

OSU ALUMNI GAME 09.10.11

THESE GUYS ARE A TAD HANDSOME!

MISSED CONNECTION?

WE TRUST DODD WILL BE WALKING

MANSER AND HIS MAN TOY

OSU ALUMNI GAME 09.10.11

KATY PERRY 09.13.11

KATY PERRY 09.13.11

GOODALE PARK PATRIOT DAY 09.13.11

OUT WITH OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

I KISSED A GIRL, AND I LIKED IT, AS DID MY HUSBAND

WHAT HAPPENED LAST FRIDAY NIGHT?

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO USE LEAVES?

GOODALE PARK PATRIOT DAY 09.13.11

SBB GALA @ BLUESTONE 09.21.11

SBB GALA @ BLUESTONE 09.21.11

SBB GALA @ BLUESTONE 09.21.11

COUNCIL’S NEW OUTREACH TO SHORT PEOPLE

CONGRATS PEE WEE!

08.20.11

IS THIS THING ON?

SHERROD FUNDRAISER 08.30.11

TASI RULES!

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oct 2011

SOMEONE CLEANS UP WELL

Want your event photos in the paper or on our website? Contact editor@outlookmedia.com to submit!

outlookcolumbus.com

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outlookcolumbus.com

Grab a stright friend, a lesbian, or any vampire that hasn’t slept with a man who has slept with a man and give some blood.

oct 2011

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g to doc-

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COMMENTS FROM MAIL: To the Editor:

out

It was with great sadness and disappointment that I read Abbey Marie Miller’s feature article titled “Find Fraud” in the September issue of Outlook Magazine.

uy

y, up you

As a former banker and commercial loan officer, I have had the pleasure and honor of working with Michael Council for 25 years. In our numerous business dealings during those two and a half decades, I have always known him to act with professionalism and honesty. My business interactions with Raymond Brown and Rajesh Lahoti have been more peripheral; however, I have always found them to upright and straightforward businessmen as well.

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Over the course of twenty years, these three individuals have contributed greatly to the fabric of our community. They have changed the built environment with projects that were both financially successful and historically appropriate to the neighborhood. They have been champions of economic development for the community at large, active and enthusiastic contributors to the Short North business district and advocates for equality for the gay community. They have been engaged politically and have continuously backed candidates who support our community’s business and personal interests. While they have benefitted financially from their endeavors, so too have they been generous in supporting the community through numerous philanthropic efforts and monetary contributions, both locally and nationally.

ourt v-

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at de-

The great recession that started in 2008 and continues to this day has been devastating. Our country has not experienced a fiscal disaster of this magnitude in over 80 years. I cannot think of a single person I know who has not been negatively impacted. Personal and business assets, net worths and incomes have been decimated as a result. Investment and retirement portfolios have vanished into thin air. People have seen their livelihoods destroyed and have become unemployed or underemployed for extended periods of time. Everyone I know, myself included, has had to make very difficult choices as a result of the financial devastation. And it does not appear to be over.

acolsed

disgest

re, he

Is the situation with Apex Realty, LLC’s Ibiza project tragic? Yes. Has it left a gaping hole in the Short North both literally and figuratively? Yes. Do the depositors and investors have a right to be made whole? Absolutely. But for you to suggest that Mssrs. Brown, Council and Lahoti perpetrated that disaster with malicious intent is not only ludicrous, it is reprehensible. They are just as much victims of the economic situation as are those who made deposits for Ibiza condominiums. Who can blame these gentlemen for fighting back with whatever legal and professional tools they have to protect what is left of their financial assets and their personal and business

pay e hese

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reputations? Who among us would not do the same if we found ourselves in a similar situation?

After all they have done for this community, it is contemptible for Outlook to malign them and kick them when they are down.

did with his clients’ money? And isn’t Bernie Madhoff in prison for this behavior? Why aren’t these local crooks in prison? Doesn’t Ohio have laws against larceny? Shouldn’t our Attorney General investigate a scam of such massive proportion?”

Shame on you Outlook Media for publishing this Keith Gochnour slanderous article. It is unbecoming of you and undermines the integrity of what I once viewed as “This article is awful. Outlook should be ashamed a principled publication. of writing such a one sided personal attack.

There was a real estate depression of 29% in Sincerely, Columbus. I know I am a realtor. Didn’t Outlook Lisa Craig Morton owner Michael Daniels himself lose his house in a Victorian Village resident foreclosure? Who’s fault was that? Didn’t Michael Owner, Victorian Village Guest House commit fraud my not paying his mortgage he Member, Short North Business Association signed on for? No. If that was the case, every bank we bailed out should be in jail and so should To the Editor: our government for not balancing their budget.

He should know it was a national depression. I I just finished reading “Find Fraud” by Abbey don’t think it is their fault they couldn’t build it. It Marie Miller, an article about two dummies that sucks people lost deposits but the entire country got swindled in their quest for a condo. I can only saw this happen. Or maybe Outlook only reads say they want condos that badly move to New their own headlines and not the 2 years of headYork!! What is this sudden craze for condos lines about bailouts, banks failing and millions about?? I think it is incredibly stupid. I understand losing their jobs and homes. What is awful is that if you happen to live in an area like New York Michael, Ray and the “Gay Mafia” support the where finding premium living space is troublecommunity so much and for some reason Outsome, but Columbus???? I actually had one lady look decided to run a smear campaign. Why were tell me the reason why she owns a condo is she there no counter points? Gay Mafia? Really? I hates yard work. (Considering she is confined to suppose they beat people up for not wearing a wheel chair I can understand.) But for a price of Prada (actually I might support that). I was talka condo she could buy a house and hire a lawn ing to someone today who said this article is danservice for the rest of her life. We live in a wide gerous because some crazy stalker who open city full of houses, apartments and widethreatened to kill Michael was used as a referopen fields. I love that we are called “Cowtown”. ence by Outlook. Piss poor journalism is the reaWhere else can you live in a major metropolitan son nobody really reads this paper anyway. Way area and with a simple ten-minute drive find better when it was weekly and people of good rehorses and wildlife? Plus, why own a condo? Sta- pute ran it. I for one believe we have one of the tus?? That is even stupider. You are buying (or best gay communities in the world because of leasing) an incredibly EXPENSIVE PORTION OF A Ray, Raj, Micheal and that cute staff. They have BUILDING!!! Not the whole building, not the land given a lot to Stonewall where my best friend is it’s built on, but one overpriced piece of brick. If on the board. They are generous and always very you’re purchasing it for status, you have way too nice to me. I think they got caught in a real estate much money and too little self-esteem. Get a re- fiasco. I do hope they find a way to refund people ality check, some brains, and a some respect for as I also know 2 people who lost deposits. Alyourself. I’ve been told that condos will appreci- though 1 said he is much better off losing his ate in value over time. So will the same amount of $3000 deposit versus losing $30,000 in home money in a savings account. I find it ridiculous value. Outlook really crossed a line here. Everythe number of condos being built at the urging of one I have talked to agrees. Honestly, we have to our “republican in democratic clothing” mayor. If stand up for our heroes instead of letting dohe wants to really do something how about help- nothings like Outlook bash them. Or am I putting ing out the homeless instead of having them in- too much faith in humanity. Did Outlook run any carcerated for being forced to live in a tent? I feel stories about any of the countless buildings they bad for the idiots that got swindled but next time created like Dakota which are amazing? My please print an article that speaks about some- friend Ed lives in Dakota and it is fabulous. Maybe thing a little more real then one gay guy swindled some armchair losers just love to see people on another gay guy. You might as well have printed top have a failure? Hang in there guys, one hit an article about “male hooker runs away with and you are back. Just ask Britney. I for one (and I gay horny man’s money”. It would have made the represent many) am excited to see what you do same amount of sense. next. I wonder if Mr. “forgot I got foreclosed on” short-term memory Michael Daniels will let this Sincerely, get posted. Let’s see if he has even that modicum Joseph M. Myers of integrity.”

COMMENTS FROM OUTLOOKCOLUMBUS.COM

Mark

Isn’t what Council, Lahoti, and Brown did (bilk “I am pleased that someone actually stood up customers out of lots of money, and spend the against Outlook for what appears to be an inacmoney elsewhere) similar to what Bernie Madhoff curate, poorly researched and potentially libelous

article. Thank you Mark, you gave me courage to write as I have been bothered by this article. I am an attorney who specializes in bankruptcies. I read this story Friday and today did some research of my own. Here is what I found. Court records show that the other companies that Ray, Michael, Raj and Wilbur own are actually creditors in the Apex (Ibiza) Case. This means that they the other companies mentioned in this article are owed money by Ibiza. Why the owners loaned money from their other companies to Ibiza is not my business, but they have a right to do it. So the allegations they funneled money to other entities is false. Transcripts show they use one company, ROY G BIV, to handle all payroll. they did move money there to pay their sales team and it was disclosed properly. Shame on you Mr. Daniels and Mr. Laliberte for presenting this in a negative attacking fashion without presenting the entire truth. I also read in the court transcripts that the developers were entitled to a million dollar development fee they didn’t take. They worked on the project for “free” in essence. Ask Donald Trump if he has ever done that for anyone! That is highly unusual in real estate development projects.

Frankly, that shows their good faith in attempting to make the project work. Outlook clearly did not do any research in printing Mr. Laliberte’s allegations. Mr. Laliberte, I must also add that good attorneys do not try cases in the press, they do it in the courts. Secondly, Outlook appears to have used a trademarked logo in an attempt to damage reputation, which is unethical and frankly possibly illegal. If I were the businessmen mentioned in this article I would sue Outlook. I am however an attorney and cannot drum up business in this fashion for myself (a colleague perhaps). Thirdly, a quick check proved that Outlook used as a source, a man who sent a photo of himself with a gun to a member in the story with a threat of harm. Outlook basically used the words of a man who has made visible threats to someone as a credible witness. They may have endangered one of the members of the story by writing it. I am shocked at the poor journalism here. It certainly may be libelous as it could be harming the members of the story. Why did I do all of this research? I deal in bankruptcies and happened to be in the courts one day when Mr. Laliberte was there for Ibiza. He was very unprofessional and I suspect he may have homophobic tendencies. He was screaming in the courtroom and it piqued my interest. He had a personal interest in this case, yet knew nobody associated from what I could tell. Being a gay attorney, I can tell when there is something wrong. It was quite unusual considering the Ibiza case was very clear cut.

They couldn’t build it because of the economy.

There is no expert witness required to attest to that. Yet Mr. Laliberte was crazed. I also know Mr. Laliberte was let go from his previous law firm. He has a history of “borderline unethical” aggressive behavior. Some research also shows that he has “deep religious” ties – possibly fanatical.

Now that is a story I would like to read about.

Does that make him a homophobe? No. It does however open up a lot of questions that need answering. Why Outlook would run a story that has so many false facts, stretched truths, un-re-

Ozzy is known for biting the head off a bat. Erin is known to have bats in her belfry. Noka is just bat shit crazy.

outlookcolumbus.com

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Trick or treat! You can keep the candy. We’ll take booze.

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The number of men buying high heels with their costume goes up each year. We’re sure Intern Michael has something to do with those sales.

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searched points and is “National Enquireresque” is beyond me. However to the general people reading it, I suggest you look up the court records yourself. I have seen hundreds of people with their bankruptcies and Mr. Brown and Mr. Council were consummate gentlemen and showed empathy for the Ibiza buyers. I believe firmly they tried to build it but were stymied by an economic collapse that started a decade ago. I have clients filing Chapter 7 s, making less than $30,000 a year with $250,000 mortgages! The banking industry deregulation and fancy WaMu commercials are the culprit here. Ibiza not getting built is a shame. Losing money on it is a shame. The depositors dreaming of a home and not getting it is really a shame. However, blaming four (4) outstanding businessmen and citizens for a worldwide depression and housing collapse not seen since the Great Depression is somewhat of a stretch don’t you think.”

J Cornice “I would refrain from commenting on legal matters that are in litigation because you will be dragged into court for you slander on here.

Michael Posted a craigslist posting that im about to send shortly to the media in which he attempted to out me. I did not know Michael was the one who posted it because i didnt think he would do that. When i responded i responded with a picture of me holding a gun and asked is this who you are looking for. You do not have the whole story. Of course if you wanted the truth all you have to do is show up to court when i make this go to trial. P.S. My attorney has a copy of this.”

The Exposer “Did we read the same article? Also, do we live in the same community? No one can deny the bad economic conditions, and the good and charitable work done by Rajesh, Ray, and Michael, but come on. The depositors lost all of their money.

Not because APEX began building the building and ran out of money, but rather because the developer didn’t put the deposit money in escrow, and instead used the cash to fund other projects.

I am sure that money has come from ROY G BIV properties into APEX to keep things going, and I have no doubt that ROY G BIV is listed as a creditor, and it’s lovely that they didn’t take a developers fee, but none of these things matter. The issue lies in the fact that the money is gone, and they’ve lied the whole time about it. I wish they would just say “we spent the money, we can’t build Ibiza”, but instead it’s a million different excuses. Joachim’s razor applies here; if the money is gone, it’s been spent. If it wasn’t spent building Ibiza, it’s been spent on other things. If it’s been spent on things other than Ibiza, and APEX promised it would be spent on Ibiza, then Ray, Rajesh, and Michael have lied, and therefore defrauded investors. I have no doubt this upsets them, and upsets the depositors, but the truth is that the depositors will hopefully get some manner of compensation (probably through this lawsuit), Ray, Raj, and Michael will most likely weather this storm and be fine business-wise. The real shame here is that three prominent gay business leaders, have lost the faith of the community. How different things would have been if they’d just been outlookcolumbus.com

honest.”

I don’t know how you make a comeback from that.”

Alex R. Jesse “Alex R has it right. No one is disputing what these men have done for the community in the past. The problem is when as a “community leader,” you decide you’re above the law, create your own rules, and try and lie yourself out of it.

Would the Ibiza project have gone through despite all the sleight of hand with the depositors’ money? Probably. But the tanking real estate market in addition to the shell game with money created a perfect storm that revealed the illegalities that were going on. No one is blaming these men for a bad economy. What they are guilty of is not putting the deposits in an escrow account as was promised, lying to the people who gave them money up front, spending the money elsewhere, and trying to cover their behinds, blaming everything and everybody except themselves. Despite your admiration of the work these men have done in the past, unless you are directly affected by this specific Ibiza situation (MARK and J. Cornice), you could not possibly know what was going on. The depositors who have lost more than one million dollars have a right to speak their minds, in the press or in the courts. It’s the absolute least they deserve.”

Tim “I’m just curious if the two people who smeared outlook, also read the articles that were in the Dispatch and a couple other publications about this same thing and curious if they also attacked people personally at those publications too. Apparently, these people who think that criminals are “heroes” failed to take note of what outlook has done, not just for the gay community, but our whole community as a whole. What with working with the Red Cross, the King Arts Complex, Child Protective Services, Crime Stoppers. These one not heroes don’t sound like much to me. We have all been hit with the economy, and it sucks, but knowingly misleading people and using money that wasn’t theirs is just as deplorable as Madoff.

Just because the people involved didn’t lose as much as his people doesn’t make what was done any less criminal.

And to attack some one personally at the publication simply discredits anything you said by doing what you’re accusing outlook of doing. Childish really.”

“Mark, ‘I for one believe we have one of the best gay communities in the world because of Ray, Raj, Micheal and that cute staff’. Are you kidding me?

What the hell are you talking about? Cute staff = community?

I also wonder how Ed Feighan feels about his name being tossed around?

It’s pretty clear that Mark and J. Cornice are either employees of Union, are Rajesh, Michael or Ray, or totally diluted. Outlook doesn’t always hit the mark with everything, but this is a topic the community has been talking about for years, and it’s nice to finally know whats going on. This makes me really rethink my support of Union and their bars. Shame on them for lying to their friends, and for not owning their mistakes. A little more humility and honesty would have gone a long way, I think.

wrong thing to do. Lying is also the wrong thing to do. Trying to bully depositors into a signing a document designed to waive their rights to their money is also the wrong thing to do. I guess the whole point is, you don’t get to say you’re a community leader while stealing money out of the pockets of your community. You don’t get to tout your honesty while lying. You don’t get to pat yourself on the back for being such a great guy after kicking your friends in the balls. outlook should have written this article a year ago, and that’s my only complaint about it. Ray, Wilbur, Michael, and Ray, when will you stand up and apologize to your community? When will you recognize that, legalities aside, you’ve done something wrong?

No one wants to dislike you, but you really aren’t giving your community much of a choice.

Then again, Union is packed every night. Do you even care? If you don’t, keep doing what you’re doing. If you do, just say you’re sorry. That’s a start.”

Sarah

Herb A. “The people that are defending the developers cite the bad economy as the reason the project failed. They are probably correct, at least in part.

There can be little doubt that the economy had an impact on the project.

However, that does not excuse the use of deposits in a manner contrary to deposit agreements. In addition, the developers apparently made many claims at public forums and to individual potential purchasers that appear to be false or at a minimum not completely factual.

The wrongful use of the deposits and making false or misleading claims in an attempt to persuade others to purchase units in the project is most likely a crime. The District Attorney should be looking into this matter and conduct a full investigation. Criminal charges should be filed if warranted.”

“Taking J Cornice’s advice, I did look up the court documents pertaining to this case, and discovered all sorts of interesting things; court sanctions against Apex employees for lying during depositions, many examples of Apex being unable to produce documentation they should be able to produce, and an email between Michael Council and Ray Brown in which Michael Council says “now we’re going to have to start lying”.

J Cornice, I guess I have to ask if YOU looked at the court documents before jumping to their defense?”

Alex R “Just found this thread, and this article. Some people have some interesting things to say.

Strangely both of the ardent defenders of the accused seem to have given up. Judging by the follow-through here, I’d guess they are the accused themselves!

Dennis B

“Why is it that everyone always credits Union as being what started the gay community here?

There are so many things that happened before J.R. Hussley they came along -berwick, red party, the garage are just a few well-known examples of a long and “Wow, I think that Mark and J. Cornice are some rich tradition of LGBT life in this city. There’s no good examples of bullying, you went for the editor doubt that Union is a part of that community, but and the attorney like you were desperate for why is it pointed to as the penultimate rallying blood. Foreclosures, homophobes, religious fapoint for our community? It serves a segment of natics. Your posted “articles” make it clear you our community, but there is much more to our are on the attack and it loses all credibility. community than short north night life.

Thanks though, entertaining.”

But, back to the point. What does Union have to Alan do with Ibiza, really? Why are we letting their affiliation with Union, building community, and their “This is hilarious. Heroes? Just like Britney, one “cute” bartenders be used as an excuse to steal? hit and you’re back?

They took the deposits and didn’t build the building, and then refused to give the money back, At worst these people defrauded investors, and at maybe even spent it on other things. Even if by best lied to their friends and their community. some contractual magic and business witchery not refunding the deposits is legal, it’s still the What were the character names of the brothers in The Lost Boys played by the Coreys?

I won’t go to u cafe because of the smell and disgusting food. It just makes sense that the biggest eyesore in the short north is also yours.

I don’t know anything about the legal stuff here, but common sense would be that if you took the money, didn’t build the building, and spent the money, you lied.

Let the courts work it out.”

Jim A “1.3 million is a lot of money. I hope they can pay it! I don’t want union or axis to close, axis is the only dance club we have! Still, it’s wrong for these guys to be taking peoples money.”

Grrrlpwr

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20th Anniversary AIDSWalk Commemorates 30 Years Since the First AIDS Diagnosis The Dr. Robert J. Fass Memorial AIDSWalk is organized by AIDS Resource Center Ohio. This is the walk’s 20th anniversary, with the intent to celebrate progress in prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS while providing the necessary funding to continue the work toward a future free of HIV/AIDS. On Saturday, October 8, 2011, hundreds of caring individuals will descend on Bicentennial Park in downtown Columbus to raise funds and awareness in this, the thirtieth year since the discovery of HIV/AIDS. HIV infections are on the rise in Central Ohio, especially in those under the age of 30. Franklin County continues to lead the State in HIV infection rates.

Reminding the public that HIV still exists and that there are resources to assist those both infected and affected is by far AIDSWalk’s most important goal. Support for this year’s AIDSWalk is critically important as the funds raised directly benefit Central Ohio HIV/AIDS service organizations in a time of continuous need.

Rainbow Rally for the Ranch Pride Leadership, a program of the United Way of Central Ohio, cordially invites the Central Ohio community to celebrate LGBTQ programming at The Buckeye Ranch. Please join for an afternoon reception at Barcelona Restaurant on Sunday, October 23rd.

All proceeds from the event will be utilized to support the LGBTQ programs offered at The Buckeye Ranch including youth counseling, LGBTQ mentors and LGBTQ foster parents and adoptions. Additionally, your attendance and support will allow for further staff development and training regarding behavioral, mental and emotional health issues experienced by LGBTQ clients.

The casual-attire reception will begin at noon, with a short program at 1p. Guests with enjoy hors d’oeuvres, wine tastings, cash bar, and a silent auction. Tickets at: https://uwco.wufoo.com/forms/rainbow-rallyfor-the-ranch. Cost is $50.

John Angelo and Frank Neumann Honored A reception in honor of John Angelo and Frank Neumann, who donated the funds to restore and relight the historic Garden Theater sign in the Short North, will begin at 8p on October 1. John and Frank will flip the switch at 9p and set the northern gateway to SONO aglow.

Longtime HIV/AIDS Activist Kevin Sullivan Dies Kevin Sullivan, longtime HIV/AIDS activist, advocate and Executive Director of the Ohio AIDS Coalition, died September 5. He was five days short of his 61st birthday. “This is sad news, and a deep loss to our community and our work,” said Bill Hardy, CEO of AIDS Resource Center Ohio. “For the past decade Kevin has been front-and-center in our public policy and advocacy efforts in Ohio and nationwide,” Hardy continued.

Sullivan served as executive director of the Ohio AIDS Coalition, a statewide membership organization providing education, leadership training, advocacy, and support for Ohio’s HIV/AIDS community, for ten years.

Sullivan was among the Ohio AIDS service organization leaders who work with members of the U.S. Congress, state representatives, and others to advocate for funding for services - including the federal Ryan White Program that helps provide access to treatment - for HIV-positive individuals. He also participated in ongoing efforts to direct state and county HIV testing and prevention funding to populations most impacted by HIV/AIDS. At the national level, he served on the board of the National Association for People with AIDS, and was frequently invited as an expert participant in a range of other national planning and strategy forums.

“Kevin lived with HIV for some 25 years, and often said that, as a long-term survivor, he beat the odds in many ways,” recalls Hardy.

“Nonetheless, his declining health over the past year and his death are poignant and painful reminders that, in spite of all our advances and even with the best possible treatment, there is still no cure for AIDS and the disease continues to take from us dear loved ones.”

Friends Remember Andrew Hideg Andrew Hideg loved Columbus. When we first met him he was living in Newark. He made the forty-five minute drive a couple times a week just to go out for drinks, trivia or spend a night in the Short North with his friends. We were all very excited, although none of us more than Andrew, when he made the decision to move to Columbus. He loved computers and technology, especially anything that started with a lower case “i” (iPod, iPhone, etc.). Twitter was practically his middle name. Andrew also took pride in teaching his friends and family how to make the transition to Mac. Along with moving to the city, he also enrolled in school to fulfill his aspirations to become a computer programmer, leaving behind his career as a hair stylist.

Whether one knew Andrew in person or via the

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Internet, he definitely made an impression on everyone. Proof of that came about earlier this summer when local businesses like Dirty Frank’s and Junior’s Taco Truck volunteered to have benefits in his honor to raise money for his family.

Dirty Frank’s went as far as paying for a tree to be planted in his honor at Goodale Park and naming a hot dog after him. Be sure to order yourself an Andrew Hi-Dog the next time you hit up the hot dog joint.

He and his best friends, Cabernet and Merlot, had a great relationship and hung out regularly.

His life was filled with optimism and he loved being with his friends, because to him they were family. Paws up little monster, we’ll miss you dearly!

Andrew Hideg was a beloved soul in the Short North. He passed away in April of this year.

Columbus Premiere of Jersey Boys Has $14 Million Impact on Local Economy The Columbus premiere of the Tony, Grammy, and Olivier Award-winning hit musical Jersey Boys entertained more than 50,000 patrons over its recent three-week engagement at the Ohio Theatre, generating an estimated $14 million in economic impact for the city of Columbus.

“Our restaurants were thrilled with the tremendous economic impact of Jersey Boys. Our slowest nights were busy and our busiest nights were off the hook, feeding happy, hungry theatre patrons both before and after the show,” stated restaurateur Liz Lessner. “On behalf of the Betty’s Family of Restaurants, thanks to CAPA and Broadway Across America for bringing so much fun to downtown Columbus.”

Additionally, the production brought a cast and crew of 52 that were housed in local hotels, attended community attractions, and patronized area businesses such as dry cleaners, restaurants, grocery stores, and retail establishments.

Jersey Boys also employed more than 100 local stagehands, hairdressers, and wardrobe assistants over the three-week run.

community. Our judging panel includes, Lady Kim Justice of Akron Ohio, board member of CLAW and member of Trident Columbus, Marcus Carmichael, Mr Exile Columbus 2010, Mr Thomas Smith, founder of the Leather Leadership Forum, Brian Mincey, Illinois Leather Boy 2011 and the founder of Scorpius of Cincinnati, Beth Roberts, Ms Indiana Leather 2005. The judges” boy for the weekend will be boy Jeffrey Sites from the Ohio Leather Alliance. Our guest Judge for this year’s contest is, Mr Justin-Terry Smith, Mr. Maryland Leather 2010 and author of the book, I Have a Secret, the story of a young boy living with HIV. Sponsors include, Daddy Hunt, outlook: columbus, Below Zero Lounge, The Cabaret, The Serpent, Cincinnati Prime Timers, 701 Bar, and 501 Tavern of Indianapolis. For more information about the weekend activities, contestant applications, weekend schedule, vendors and sponsors, and prices, visit: www.mrtristateleather.com

Local Hungry Howie’s Goes Pink Hungry Howie’s Pizza & Subs, Inc. will join the fight against breast cancer this October with their Love, Hope & Pizza campaign. For every pizza purchased, Hungry Howie’s will make a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc®. Hungry Howie’s raised more than $250,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation in 2009 and 2010. For their third year in the campaign, Hungry Howie’s hopes to raise more than $200,000.

Throughout the month at all participating locations, all pizzas will be served in bright pink boxes emblazoned with breast cancer awareness ribbons. Customers can also add a $1 donation to their Hungry Howie’s order, which will go directly to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Donators will receive a pink Love, Hope & Pizza magnet as a token of appreciation.

The Mr. Tri-State Leather contest will be held the weekend of November 11-13, 2011 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Millennium Hotel will be the host hotel and the contest will be held on Saturday, November 12, beginning at 9p at The Cabaret, the upstairs of Below Zero Lounge.

Hungry Howie’s is also continuing the social media campaign that accompanies Love, Hope & Pizza. Throughout October, Hungry Howie’s will make a donation to the foundation for every new Facebook fan, for every breast cancer story fans share on the Hungry Howie’s Facebook page, and for every tweet using the hashtag #lovehopepizza. Hungry Howie’s will share tips on breast cancer prevention, support and information about the National Breast Cancer Foundation on Facebook. The Facebook page will also feature an online video series with personal stories of how breast cancer has affected Hungry Howie’s.

We are happy to have an illustrious panel of judges who bring a wide variety of experience and expertise to decide who will be the next representative of the Tri-State Regional Leather

For more information, visit www.hungryhowies.com, www.facebook.com/hungryhowies or www.twitter.com/hungry4howies.

Mr. Tri-State Leather Contest Weekend

Werewolves are rumored to come out in the full moon. Hairy guys howling sounds like a typical night at Exile to us.

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Did anyone else here that TRAUMA is two nights this year, eight days apart? Fun!

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OutServe Releases Survey and Magazine

Online Gamers Crack AIDS Enzyme Puzzle

OutServe, the association of actively-serving gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) military members, released the latest edition of OutServe Magazine, featuring 101 actively-serving military members identified by name, rank and duty station. Their photos are the highlight of the magazine, which is edited by two openly gay active duty members. Also last month, OutServe released the results of its latest survey of LGBT military personnel. With final repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, more than twice as many responded to this survey than responded in the spring.

Online gamers have achieved a feat beyond the realm of Second Life or Dungeons and Dragons: they have deciphered the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus that had thwarted scientists for a decade.

Many respondents expressed their expectation that there would be few problems with repeal, with 67% saying they expected their colleagues would treat them “universally” or “generally” without discrimination. The online survey was completed anonymously by over five hundred LGBT Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel one week prior to the end of DADT. Since survey respondents are self-selected, the survey is not authoritative, but is a likely indication of the current status of LGBT troops.

Detailed survey results can be read at http://outserve.org.

GLSEN to Honor Diversity Advocates at Year at Respect Awards The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, will honor Chaz Bono, Michele and Rob Reiner, Wells Fargo, Phoenix Suns President and CEO Rick Welts and the 2011 Student Advocate of the Year at its seventh annual Respect Awards on Friday, October 21 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

The Respect Awards, held annually in Los Angeles and New York, showcase the work of corporations, individuals, students and educators who have made a significant difference in the areas of diversity, inclusion and the Safe Schools Movement, and who serve as exemplary role models.

“GLSEN is thrilled to honor these amazing supporters, advocates and partners who have helped propel our vision to make schools safe and affirming for all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression,” GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said.

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The exploit is published on Sunday in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, where exceptionally in scientific publishing - both gamers and researchers are honored as co-authors. Their target was a monomeric protease enzyme, a cutting agent in the complex molecular tailoring of retroviruses, a family that includes HIV. Figuring out the structure of proteins is vital for understanding the causes of many diseases and developing drugs to block them. But a microscope gives only a flat image of what to the outsider looks like a plate of one-dimensional scrunched-up spaghetti. Pharmacologists, though, need a 3-D picture that “unfolds” the molecule and rotates it in order to reveal potential targets for drugs.

This is where Foldit comes in.

Developed in 2008 by the University of Washington, Foldit is a fun-for-purpose video game in which gamers, divided into competing groups, compete to unfold chains of amino acids - the building blocks of proteins - using a set of online tools. To the astonishment of the scientists, the gamers produced an accurate model of the enzyme in just three weeks.

Cracking the enzyme “provides new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs,” says the study, referring to the lifeline medication against HIV. It is believed to be the first time that gamers have resolved a long-standing scientific problem.

“We wanted to see if human intuition could succeed where automated methods had failed,” Firas Khatib of the university’s biochemistry lab said in a press release. “The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force that, if properly directed, can be used to solve a wide range of scientific problems.”

One of Foldit’s creators, Seth Cooper, explained why gamers had succeeded where computers had failed.

“People have spatial reasoning skills, something computers are not yet good at,” he said.

“Games provide a framework for bringing together the strengths of computers and humans.

The results in this week’s paper show that gaming, science and computation can be combined to make advances that were not possible before.”

Campus Pride Announces Call for Voice & Action National Leadership Award Campus Pride released its official call for the Voice & Action National Leadership Award, an honorary recognition highlighting the extraordinary contributions of young adult leaders at colleges and universities across the United States.

For the fourth year, the national award is the only one nationally focused on the work of undergraduate college students who are creating positive change for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally issues. The application process officially opened today until November 16, 2011. More info www.campuspride.org.

Kerry Legislation Would Outlaw LGBT Discrimination in Housing, Credit Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to outlaw discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered Americans in the housing and credit markets. The Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) Act would amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or source of income. It would also amend the Equal Opportunity Credit Act to prohibit LGBT discrimination in credit decisions. Rep. Jerrold Nadler is introducing the companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

“It’s hard to believe that in 2011, any law-abiding, tax-paying American who can pay the rent can’t live somewhere just because of who they are,” said Sen. Kerry. “Housing discrimination against LGBT Americans is wrong, but today in most states there isn’t a thing you can do about it. This legislation would end discrimination that continues to hurt people.”

“Despite a great deal of progress, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people continue to experience discrimination in all aspects of their lives, including one of the most basic – finding a home for themselves and their families,” said

Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We thank Senator Kerry for continuing his leadership toward full legal equality for LGBT Americans by introducing legislation, the first of its kind in the Senate, that would outlaw housing and credit discrimination.”

“We applaud Senator Kerry and Representative Nadler for their efforts to bring the Fair Housing Act into the 21st Century. These much-needed changes to the Act reflect our nation’s commitment to creating stronger, more diverse and inclusive neighborhoods,” said Shanna L. Smith, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “Housing discrimination is wrong and runs counter to the American spirit of opportunity. It’s time we leave intolerance and bigotry in America’s dark history of senseless exclusion and instead continue to march on the path to equality.”

Last January, the Department of Housing and Urban Development released a report recognizing that “there is evidence...that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals and families are being arbitrarily excluded from some housing opportunities in the private sector.” Still today, prejudiced landlords are discriminating against LGBT and other innocent tenants - and these tenants often have no recourse in states without LGBT protections.

Co-sponsoring Senator Kerry’s bill are Senators Harkin, Murray, Gillibrand, Inouye, Whitehouse, Merkley, and Coons. In addition, the legislation has received endorsements from the following groups: Human Rights Campaign, National Fair Housing Alliance, NAACP, ACLU, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Family Equality Council, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

The HOME Act would a) Amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination and intimidation on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or source of income; b) Amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in access to credit; c) Outlaw housing discrimination both before and after a housing unit is acquired; d) Strengthen anti-discrimination protections for handicapped individuals and LGBT parents with custody of a child; and e) Provide the Attorney General with appropriate pre-litigation investigative power to enforce the law.

We don’t think queer folks should be kicked out of any accommodations whether that’s a haunted house, a bath house or an apartment.

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Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duck, Duuuuuuck, GOOOSE!

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Nothing like getting tapped at the grocery.

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Outlook asked me to write an article about marriage this month.

How do we get marriage already?

by Ed Mullen outlookcolumbus.com

are car-pooling from Cleveland and Toledo. The press is calling him for stories (and he hasn’t issued any press releases). Has he hit a nerve?

No surprise there. Everywhere I go, I get questions about marriage. From our community. From our al- When Equality Ohio posts an article about marriage lies. From everyone. on our Facebook page, we get dozens of “likes” and intense comments and discussion. When we When will we get marriage? How will we get marpost an article about non-discrimination or safe riage? What are you doing to get marriage in Ohio? schools, we get sporadic “likes” and comments.

Intellectually, the answer is simple: we are doing the long, arduous, oftentimes tedious work to lay the foundation for same-sex marriage to be legally recognized in Ohio. We have a strategy that involves educating people around the state about our community, advocating for our civil rights in the legislature and engaging politically to support our allies and oppose our foes. At the same time, we are monitoring federal lawsuits that may impact marriage equality in Ohio and that we might support as “friends of the court.” We are also advocating for the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the federal prohibition on same-sex marriage (“DOMA”).

Are we ignoring our constituency? Are we pursuing the wrong strategy for full equality and inclusion?

Should we be actively seeking marriage now? Is Ohio ready for that? Does it matter if Ohio is ready?

Can we win? Does it matter if we lose the first time around?

I don’t know. I don’t think anyone really does. But lots of people have strong - and opposing - opinions.

I read an article in The New Yorker a while back about a high school girl’s basketball team that had been extraordinarily successful. The girls on the team were smaller, less athletic and less experiWe have for many years been advocating for the enced than girls on the teams they beat. Their Equal Housing and Employment Act, which would coach had never coached basketball, or really even prohibit discrimination in employment, housing and understood the game, before coaching this team. public accommodations. That bill passed the Ohio They won because they defied convention. They House the last time around, but died in the Senate. pressed when “better” teams wouldn’t have. They EHEA was reintroduced in the House on September ran the length of the court full speed all game long.

27th this year, and it was the subject of my article They followed the written rules, but they broke the last month. No state has achieved marriage equal- unspoken ones. And they won. Over and over, they ity without first passing a non-discrimination law, won. and it is hard to conceive of a legislature passing a marriage equality bill if it does not believe that Are we sticking too close to convention? Do we lisLGBT people should be protected from discrimina- ten more than we should when people say, “that’s tion in employment, housing, and public accommo- not how things are done?” Are we playing a condations. ventional game to lose when we could be playing an unconventional game to win?

We have also been advocating for a Safe Schools bill that would enumerate categories of people pro- Marriage is an uphill battle. Recent polling puts tected from bullying in schools and include “sexual support for full marriage equality in Ohio at 32%, orientation” and “gender identity” among the cate- but it shows strong support among Ohio Republigories. The Safe Schools bill was introduced earlier cans for civil unions. Other polls have been more this year, and we expect it to receive testimony this favorable. Nate Silver (my geek crush) of fivethirFall. tyeight fame predicted in 2009 that Ohio would be ripe for marriage equality in 2013. A national poll of Once we have achieved these objectives and legis- evangelicals recently found support for marriage lators see that the parade of horribles our oppoamong those aged 19-28 over 50%. Time is on our nents warned of never occur, then we can move side. further along on the road to equality and eventually achieve marriage equality. Or so the intellectual ar- But how long will it take for the Ohio legislature to gument goes. support a Constitutional amendment? If we can’t get the legislature to pass EHEA, a law that more Unfortunately, this intellectual argument has trou- than 70% of Ohioans support, can we really expect ble resonating with a broader constituency, particu- the legislature to support a Constitutional amendlarly among younger generations. And the oxygen ment granting marriage equality to same-sex courequired to promote EHEA and Safe Schools is ples? sucked up by marriage.

It is not easy to pass a Constitutional amendment in Equality Ohio has an email list numbering well over Ohio. To go around the legislature to get on the bal10,000; we have more than 12,000 people who lot, we would need to complete a process that in“like” our Facebook page. We invited all of these cludes collecting approximately 387,000 people to attend a rally to support EHEA. Granted it signatures, and the requirement includes a signifiis on a weekday in the middle of the day in Colum- cant number of signatures in each of 44 of Ohio’s bus because we wanted maximum exposure to leg- 88 counties. We couldn’t rely on Franklin, Cuyaislators, the press and people who work downtown hoga, Lucas, Hamilton and other progressive counor in the Capitol, but so far we have received 86 ties in the state. We would need to go to Ashland, positive responses (including me).

Morrow, Union, Putnam, and more to collect signatures. The potential cost is enormous: an estimated A 17-year old kid in Harrison, Ohio, posted an event $2.25 million just to get on the ballot (which we on a whim on Facebook to support “gay marriage could decrease as much as a quarter with signifiin Ohio” in Cincinnati in November. He has 1,794 cant volunteer support). positive responses to date (including me). People continued on page 18

I think we should all pitch in to try and win the lottery for the sole purpose of raising the capital needed to overturn the ban on gay marriage in Ohio. Who’s with me?

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Join the Mayor at the next Network Columbus celebrating the launch of Who’s Who in GLBT inaugural book, 6p, Wednesday, October 12 @ Ohio Historical Society

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Outlook’s 2011 Fall Endorsements

by Michael Daniels & Chris Hayes Politics is political. So are endorsements. Here are ours.

In the race for Mayor, there’s no doubt where we stand. Michael B. Coleman has led this City through some of its best and worst times in his three terms at City Hall, and he has never waivered in his support of and advocacy for all communities, including the GLBT community.

We strongly and unequivocally support him for re-election.

On the City Council, President Andrew Ginther and Councilmember Zach Klein are among our strongest advocates, each pushing legislation to extend benefits and protections to GLBT residents. Councilmembers Hearcel Craig and Michelle Mills also understand and support our community. All four incumbents have our endorsement for (re-)election. It is worth noting that challenger Daryl Hennessy is a strong GLBT advocate and personally someone we like a great deal. His backing of SB5, however, is enough of a stopper for us to keep from endorsing him over a very competent and progressive field of incumbents.

For Clerk of Municipal Court, we strongly support incumbent Lori Tyack. Long an advocate for all communities, and a GLBT ally, she has served as Clerk with integrity and efficiency, and deserves re-election.

For the Municipal Court, we endorse incumbent judges Andrea Peeples and Eric Brown, and challenger David Young. Peeples is a fair and competent jurist with an understanding of how the law affects the common person. Brown, as we have said when we have endorsed him for Common Pleas Court, the Probate bench, and the Ohio Supreme Court, is one of our communities strongest allies on any bench anywhere in the State. Young brings civil and criminal experience and a highly recommended rating from the bar association; his opponent, incumbent Dwayne Maynard, shows signs of tiring on the bench, arriving late, and showing up in our community only in election years.

Now for the fun one – who’d have thought once again that the Columbus City School District Board of Education would be of such debate?

Let’s start with the easy ones – we wholeheartedly endorse incumbents W Shawna Gibbs and Carol Perkins for re-election. Both have shown leadership, even when confronting one another on issues, and both have an unwavering commitment to all the students, parents, and communities in the district.

We also support former Board member Bryan Steward. In his short tenure on the Board two years ago, he showed great promise as a fair and moderate voice for students – though he is encumbered by the fact that he sends his own children to charter school. Regardless, his name is printed on the ballot and he is all but guaranteed a seat on the Board.

The wide-open seat is the write-in seat, created because of a paperwork/signature SNAFU by incumbent Gary L Baker. Let us rant for a moment – we simply cannot understand how collecting a small number of signatures can be so difficult. Sigh. But here’s what we’re left with.

A write-in candidate will win a seat. Competing in that category are Baker and six others, the two of whom are viable being businesswoman Charity Martin Via and former aide to Charleta Tavares, James Ragland. Any of the three would serve admirably on the Board.

Martin Via is a strong woman with a passion for neighborhood revitalization and business.

Ragland is a former charter school principal and savvy politico, but his ability to be the official rather than to advise officials is untested.

This leaves us to our decision – we endorse Baker for re-election. We do not find him to be all that likeable, but he has been an engaging member of the Board and understands the current CCS issues and problems, and his voting record is one that we can support.

There are three statewide ballot initiatives.

Issue 1 would amend the Ohio Constitution to increase the age for candidates for judicial office from 70 to 76. We urge a yes vote. There is no reason to arbitrarily restrict Ohio court judges to an age restriction when federal judges are appointed for life, and, as with term limits, imposing such a restriction removes as many competent jurists as it does incompetent ones. Further, candidates for executive and legislative office have no such age restrictions.

We would prefer a full removal of any age limit for judicial candidates, but this initiative is a step in the right direction.

Issue 2 is a no brainer. JUST VOTE NO. A no vote on Issue 2 would repeal the draconian, mean-spirited, unnecessary and punitive restrictions on collective bargaining by public employees as jammed through the State Legislature under the moniker of SB5. Allowing public employees to bargain collectively not only for salary and benefits, but for staffing levels, equipment, and other necessities ensures the public safety and welfare. While good people can debate aspects of public employee benefits, such as pension contributions, those can be dealt with on a more refined and individual basis – stripping collective bargaining of public workers endangers our citizens and penalizes those who put their lives on the line for us every day. Our strongest endorsement of this election is a NO vote on Issue 2.

Issue 3 is also a no brainer, and a tea-party red herring. If passed, it purports to exempt Ohioans from the recently passed Federal Healthcare Reform initiatives of President Barack Obama and the 2009-10 Democratic Congress. Whether you like the healthcare reform or not, this initiative should be voted down because it is meaningless. It won’t stand up in court – States cannot, by popular vote, exempt themselves from federal law. Having Issue 3 on the ballot is nothing more than an attempt by the tea party to discredit the federal government, and for that reason it should be voted down. We also happen to think that universal healthcare is a good thing and that the current healthcare reforms do not go far enough to protect all Americans, but that they’re a good step in the right direction.

So, to sum up, tear this out and take it to the polls: FOR MAYOR – MICHAEL B COLEMAN FOR COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL – ANDREW GINTHER, ZACH KLEIN, HEARCEL CRAIG, MICHELLE MILLS FOR CLERK OF THE MUNICIPAL COURT – LORI TYACK FOR MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE – ANDREA PEEPLES, ERIC BROWN, DAVID YOUNG FOR COLUMBUS CITY SCHOOLS BOARD OF EDUCATION – W SHAWNA GIBBS, CAROL PERKINS, BRYAN STEWARD, GARY L BAKER II ISSUE 1 – YES ISSUE 2 – NO ISSUE 3 – NO Now, even if you disagree with us, GO VOTE!!

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Really, what’s wrong with communism anyways? Anyone else miss a good arms race?

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No on SB5 or is it No on Issue 2?

by Ian James Oh come on, how bad could it really get for Ohio’s LGBT community? We’ve made really great strides in Ohio. We have excellent world and national headquartered companies and they provide decent benefits. We stopped the legislature from banning gays from adopting.

Nationally, we have a President who helped us get rid of DADT. Come on, what else could we want already? Fair housing? Employment Non-Discrimination? Can’t we just get a welloiled lobbyist to get those bills passed down at the statehouse? Lord knows there are more than a couple gay lobbyists who are republicans, hell a couple are even friends of mine.

If you’re asking how hard this could possibly be, you haven’t been paying attention.

Earlier this year I wrote how Ohio’s GOP wracked-up incredible victories in Ohio last year. I noted, at the time, how the GOP’s advances had left me “cautiously optimistic.”

Since then, my tingling Spidey senses told me this new brand of GOP wasn’t my granny James’ Republican. This crew was more into decadal political domination than consensus building. They proved that recently with their attack on workers’ and then rights. So egregious their overreach and arrogance that I’m glad my Republican granny James isn’t here to see it. She would rightly be sickened.

Equality Now continued from page 15 Once on the ballot, we would need to win at the ballot box. The campaign would include a statewide field operation to canvass and phonebank throughout the state. It would include a media campaign to persuade voters around the state (with 8 major media markets). It would include all of the elements of a political campaign. And it would include serious fundraising!

Millions of dollars. Many millions.

Putting a Constitutional amendment on the ballot to amend the Ohio Constitution to allow same sex marriage would attract national attention. It would attract the attention of national LGBT groups, many of which would be upset because we broke convention and didn’t wait until Ohio was ready or it was our turn. It would attract the attention of national funders, many of whom would not be supportive because they don’t believe we can succeed so soon. It would attract the attention of others on the ballot in Ohio, worried about how a marriage equality Constitutional amendment would effect their election.

It would attract the attention of marriage equality opponents, including the misnamed National Organization for Marriage, from all around the

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Never would my Nixon loving grandmother have supported an OH GOP that so willingly would run rickshaw over public employees.

No, my kindly granny would have blushed and shaken her head if she had heard John Kasich proclaim that these teachers, police, fire fighters, paramedics and nurses were “draining our state budget and causing Ohio to fail.” And she would have been even more disturbed to learn that Kasich and company engaged in an all-out war on the workers when they fought to take away the right to collectively bargain for safety equipment, work place safety and wages.

rights, protections, benefits and pay. Without it, an employer can single-out workers when it comes to those rights, protections, benefits and pay. If you don’t think that will lead to some to treat LGBT staffers differently than others, think again. History is replete with true stories of gay and lesbian teachers who were singled out and fired because of their real or perceived sexual orientation. Sure, that might not happen in Columbus, but in rural counties, you can be certain that a school board member with a different read of some texts might not be favorable to allowing a member of the LGBT community to teach children.

Granny James would have asked why the GOP is attacking workers, and then she would have said, “Ian honey, why in the hell should the LGBT community give a rat’s ass?” (She was from Kentucky after all, and that is the way she talked.) I would tell her that the rationale is simple: The GOP’s quest to topple Organized Labor will virtually allow the Right almost free reign to do as it pleases. What we’ve seen recently with the GOP national front-runners is a continued desire to beat upon the LGBT community in their defining of what is wrong with America, and that means we have to take a stand by Voting No on Issue 2 (No on SB5) for the following reasons:

2) Stand with Those Who Have Stood With Us: If you like accruing sick or vacation time, holidays and weekends off from work, enjoy your medical benefits, generally appreciative that you have a safe work environment, thank Organized Labor. We didn’t get those rights because some good willed employers got all misty eyed and thought it was the right thing to bestow these rights upon workers. No, we got those standards because of decades of strife, hard work and even the deaths of others in Organized Labor.

1) Protect Workers’ Rights: Collective bargaining allows groups of workers to negotiate

country, who would come into Ohio and demean, degrade and defame us. It would be ugly at times.

But it would start conversations that are not being had today. Those in the LGBT community would talk to their neighbors about the inequity of benefits, rights and responsibilities for samesex couples. Even more importantly, people throughout Ohio will hear amazing and heartwarming stories about love and commitment between same-sex couples. Children would talk to their parents and grandparents. Neighbors would talk to their friends. Co-workers would talk to each other.

Openly gay, lesbian and bisexual service-members will ask how it is they can serve their country and be willing to die for our freedom, yet their country denies them the freedom to marry who they love.

And the pace of change would accelerate as people around the state had these conversations amid the backdrop of a changing national conversation moving rapidly in favor of marriage equality.

A Constitutional amendment granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry would energize our

If the benefits don’t wow you, then maybe you’ll be interested to know that it was the Ohio AFL-CIO who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the LGBT community in 2004 in their op-

community, I believe. Marriage does not appeal to everyone. Marriage is not the number one issue for everyone. Most troublesome to me, in conversations with transgender activists, I hear concern with a focus on marriage to the exclusion of trans-specific issues like changing birth certificate gender markers and inclusion in nondiscrimination laws (transgender people are four times more likely to be unemployed than the general population).

But if my experience in Ohio and around the country teaches anything, it is that when marriage is on the table, it gets attention. People care… deeply.

I followed the New York marriage equality battle very closely. I knew victory was at hand before the vote because I was on the phone with people in the Capitol in Albany and because the needed votes had made public commitments to support marriage equality. But when the votes were actually counted, I started (unexpectedly) bawling.

Pure, unadulterated emotion. From the gut.

From the soul.

I remembered another time I felt so deeply about a vote. It was the California vote on Proposition 8. I had been working in Wisconsin on the Presidential campaign, and Barack Obama had just

You scream, eye scream, we all scream for the repeal of SB5!

position to the hateful Gay Marriage Ban. Some time has gone by since that vote, but Organized Labor continues to be the friend of the LGBT community in a number of ways that space and time in this column won’t allow. If we forget our friends, how can we expect them to be there when we need them?

3) This is just the beginning of the attacks: If NO on Issue 2 (No on SB5) fails, you should expect the OH’s GOP to green light many hard right issues and measures. And if you like gridlock in government, you’ll love OH’s new gerrymandered Legislative and Congressional Districts. Those babies will give middle of the road people no place to stand in the Legislature. Rather than a purple OH where Gov Kasich won with 49% of the vote, we’ll get a fire engine red state with all the flames to prove OH will burn itself to the ground over political folly and ideology. There will be no consensus, because the hard right and left will demand none of it, and that will lead one party cramming legislation through and the rest of us the decision to eat the crap or dish it back.

If only there were firemen to extinguish the flames. Sadly, if the GOP wins on Issue 2, the Firemen may not even have an axe to get through the door to help us. Say NO to gridlock and NO to Issue 2. The ass you save in the end may be your own.

become our President. The emotional high was incredible. But just an hour later, I was kicked in the gut by California voters overturning the California Supreme Court’s decision granting marriage equality in California. Tears ran that night too, but they were of sorrow.

Marriage is emotional in a way that is hard to intellectualize.

So the question is: should we put a marriage equality Constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2012 or 2013? Something simple like “Any two consenting adults in Ohio should be free to enter into a civil marriage with each other, and religious institutions shall not be required to perform any marriage.”

Is that the right strategy? Do we have the resources? Do we have the guts?

Or are we crazy to even think it? Is the slow and steady strategy more rational, if not sexy? The ground is shifting so quickly; I don’t think the answer is clear anymore. What do you think?

Ed Mullen is Executive Director of Equality Ohio. Reach Ed at: ed@equalityohio.org, 614.224.0400 or equalityohio.org.

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The Democratic Party was the first major political party in the United States to endorse gay rights.

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by Jon Dunn “It’s an adult hardware store,” explains Tom Smith as we enter The Garden, one of a trio of stores Tom owns in the Short North. When he opened the business here in 1997, he says that it was “more or less a porno shop and I was filling requests for stuff from the people that lived around here. Because I responded quickly to them, we started to grow.”

With the growth stretching across three related businesses now, he stresses that recognizing the neighborhood and meeting its demands are the key to a successful business. “This (the Short North) is a very gay, liberal-minded area, with just about every imaginable lifestyle living here,” he says. “Supporting these communities is responsible business.”

His community support ranges from being steadfast in the Short North neighborhood, offering local products and providing a comfortable, well-stocked environment for anyone to shop in.

At The Garden, the tour begins with a trip downstairs. Tom explains, “We have over 10 thousand DVDs, any kind of toy imaginable, the largest selection of stockings, sexy shoes, lingerie and makeup.” And he’s not exaggerating, either. Even a casual stroll through the thoughtfully arranged and stocked aisles provides a mind-blowing glance into the range of adult desires that drive the business.

Need an ass rod training kit with five different rod sizes? No problem, how many asses do you want to train? Short on reading material? Dozens of magazines from a very pedestrian Playboy to more esoteric titles such as Knocked Up and Milky, along with countless imports, occupy a whole wall to one side. Feel like dressing up? Costumes and outfits line walls and complement mannequins on displays throughout the store. There are more sexy shoes in all sizes than any closet could hold. Rainbows blind from all directions in the Gay Pride section, while drag queens can find the best makeup and wigs available. Tom is constantly updating and changing displays to match the seasons or themes the store promotes, always with an eye to what’s new and exciting. He shows off stock rooms brimming with inventory; ask him where anything is and he knows exactly where to find it.

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like something you’d find in New York or Chicago.”

cializes in adult recreational supplies.

Under the guise of “for tobacco use only,” the various pipes, hookahs, bowls, He takes pride in a staff that can offer a water pipes, papers, stems, vaporizers, huge selection and has the knowledge incense, screens, lighters and dugouts and sensitivity to make the customers reside out in the open. Back in the day, feel comfortable shopping there. Work- you went to the back corner of the Jade ing there definitely takes a very open Imports store at the mall, through the mind and preferably, some related expe- beaded curtains into a clandestine room rience. “If they aren’t into the lifestyle, illuminated by black lights and glowing how can they know how to sell it to posters to buy your papers, pinch hitters someone who is?” Tom asks. The inter- and bongs. view process is comprehensive, with the candidate being asked about their Today, The Joint is an open, well-lit store lifestyle and experience. “I’ll put them on with far more hardware than Jade Imthe floor of each store for two hours,” he ports ever had. But, oddly enough, due to explains, “so we can see how they react Ohio law, you cannot call certain things and how comfortable they are.” The by popular name or even raise the hint process pays off with a knowledgeable, that you might use it for other than towell-trained and sensitive staff in each of bacco, or risk being asked to leave. But the stores. fear not, the staff is very adept at recognizing what you’re looking for and then David Williams, manager at The Chamenabling your purchase. Just be cool, ber, is just such a staff member. When man. With that caveat in place, the sedisplaying the some of the incredibly di- lection here is as wide and deep as The verse BDSM and beyond inventory at the Joint’s sister stores, again catering to a fetish store, he can sense and immedi- community that seeks variety. In addition ately assuage a first-timer’s apprehen- to the hardware, they also have a variety sion. “Just point,” he says reassuringly, of apparel and BMX supplies that aligns “you don’t have to ask.” Trying to fathom well with a segment of their market. some of the unbelievable inventory instantly makes one realize what sheltered The Joint’s specialist/manager Matt Hall, life they’ve led to this point. But David takes time to point out a selection of makes it easy to ask. And again, at the glassware that’s locally crafted. “We heart of the store is the diversity of its have local glass artists come in with wares. “Instead of just one cock ring, we cases of stuff, and we try to get a selechave dozens of them in all sizes and tion of pieces that appeal to our cusstyles, from the USA and imported ones,” tomers,” Matt explains. Inherently, the David offers. hardware is just a tool for getting a job done, (and there’s plenty of no frills dutyWhat’s a big seller these days? “The work tools available here), but these male chastity devices are selling really local pieces take that function into an art fast,” he says, “people use them to limit form, radical and challenging, sleek and masturbation, for example. You can lock sophisticated, some so beautiful it up your stuff and hide the key, or maybe seems a shame to use them and get give it to somebody else. But they’re re- them dirty. But fear not, because The ally popular.”

Joint has really good cleaning supplies in stock, too.

David now sees generations of customers within the community and more Tom’s even busier than normal as the first-timers coming through the door. “I calendar heads into the cooler months, think the whole community is changing, because “Halloween is our Christmas,” there’s a new understanding,” he offers. he advises. “From two weeks before it “I see people bringing their kids, or vice- and two weeks after, it’s a big rush.” versa, into the store now. People who Each of the stores takes on the Halwouldn’t have let themselves ever come loween theme and stocks up accordinto a place like this five years ago are ingly. Costumes are of course a huge now able to come in and look around.” seller, but the general holiday mood of shoppers can raise sales across the The Chamber also provides another board. The stores will be crowded with unique support to the local community customers and extra staff, but Tom takes by offering a good-sized room that’s the long days and responsibility in stride. available for anyone to rent at extremely reasonable rates. “It (the idea) took off “I’m learning things everyday, it keeps from people naturally meeting here at me feeling young,” he says, referring to the store,” David explains, “It’s a safe the trio of stores. “Besides, it’s the best haven or harbor, so to speak. We can threesome in town!” host everything from BDSM parties to recovery meetings. Anybody is welcome.” Tom’s Threesome resides in the top of the Short with The Garden located at 1174 N. High St. He says the response has been very pos- North, and you can give them a ring at 614.294.2869. itive and that the schedule is filling up.

Conveniently, The Joint resides at 1186 N. High St.

The very definition of a hands-on owner, Tom pays attention to every detail. He is motion at all times - on the sales floor, talking on the phone or intercom, checking with his staff. The inventory of each store is constantly updated with everything from local products to items from as far away as he can reach. “If you took these three stores and stacked them on top of each other, you’d probably have the biggest adult-oriented store in the Midwest. The other stores have a little of Stepping next door to The Joint takes us this, a little of that,” he says, “but this is from the fetish world to a store that spe-

Leather makes every costume better.

(614.298.1394) and The Chamber right next door at 1182 N. High St. (614.297.0924) See much more about each of the stores on the Internet @ www.thegardencolumbus.net/

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LOW (od

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Turnips were originally used as Jack-O-Lanterns. Better than cantaloupes, right?-

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Knowing What’s What at Who’s Who

by Michael Daniels This month, at the Oct 12 Network Columbus regular event, Outlook Media and our partners at Who’s Who Publishing are kicking off the nation’s first-ever Who’s Who in GLBT book, titled Who’s Who in GLBT Columbus. (Be there, it’s a free event at the Ohio Historical Society!)

A big part of our partnership, is working directly with Brian Auler, an out and proud member of our community.

After graduating from The University of Toledo, Brian joined the Toledo Office of Ernst & Young where he worked on the audit staff for three plus years. He subsequently worked at a local car dealership and in the corporate tax department at Owens Illinois before leaving for the big city - Columbus. He spent nine years at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Tax Manager before heading east to work as a Chief Financial Officer for a privately-owned business in the rolling hills of southeast Ohio. He currently works as Business Manager for Who’s Who Publishing Company.

Soon after he moved to Columbus he served on the board of the trailblazing Acme Art Company, an organization on the cutting edge of AIDS art activism and avant-garde art movements in the early 90s in the Short North. While serving on the board, he met his partner (Scott) of 17 years who also served on the board.

We checked in with Brian to get the inside scoop on the culture and company that’s partnering with us on this inaugural book.

Michael Daniels: What is the importance of having niche-market Who’s Who products? What is their cultural significance?

Brian Auler: After 20 years of producing African-American focused books, we want to share our proven process of recording the history and success stories of key members of minority groups in as many arenas as possible. Our publications and unveiling receptions provide a unique and lasting way of celebrating the achievements of our honorees. In addition, our strategy is to engage our current sponsors to highlight not only their African American talent, but their Latino and GLBT talent as well. With the multiple books in a city, we benefit by expanding our presence and reach into those markets for a longer period of time instead of just one book for one demographic all year. Finally, we are targeting new sponsors with these niche books and we are able to reach partners who did not previously have opportunities to show support for all of their diverse talent.

been a book and comic book collector, so I was very interested in the publishing industry. I primarily saw Who’s Who as a chance to finally work in a world I have loved since I first learned to read. I did some research and was impressed with the quality of the Who’s Who publications and the commitment they had to celebrating diversity. I just knew it would be a good fit for me.

MD: Has working at a company that is historically predominantly African American made it easier or harder for you as an out gay man?

BA: As I met the management team and found out more about the company culture that absolutely embraces diversity every day, it was very comfortable to gradually let my Who’s Who family know about my personal life including my partner. It just has been so positive and such a non-issue for me at Who’s Who and I feel lucky. Of course it is even more exciting now that we are working on the first Who’s Who in GLBT Columbus! Working on a cross-cultural project like this publication is how you break down barriers. You are able to talk frankly about common issues the GLBT, Latino and African American communities share and hopefully make a positive impact.

MD: What is it about Columbus that allows for the inaugural issues of Who’s Who in Black, Latino, and GLBT books to be launched here?

BA: Michael, I think you and Chris through Outlook Media have done an excellent job of documenting the very unique and dedicated Civic, Business and Educational leadership of Columbus - it is truly a city that is not duplicated anywhere else in Ohio and is very rare to find anywhere else in the country. Columbus has great institutions in the public and private sector that embrace and enhance diversity at many levels.

MD: What’s the one thing that’s totally under-appreciated about the niche-market recognition books like the one we have coming up?

BA: I can’t spotlight just one. For instance, I do not think Columbus knows that these are one-of-a-kind publications that will showcase our city for years to come throughout the country. We are taking the Who’s Who in Latino Columbus book to as many boardrooms as we can and most of the time they cannot believe the book was started in Columbus. Our senior staff was making presentations in Chicago a week or so ago and the client was incredulous that the GLBT book was being done here first. The GLBT publication will showcase the strength of Columbus as a 21st century modern city.

Culturally, not only do we get to tell the stories of honorees in their chosen professions or life work, but the reader of our books also get to see the way these successful entrepreneurs, lawyers, medical professionals, religious leaders, entertainers and civic leaders influence and enhance the culture and fabric of the cities they work and live in. We spotlight historic events and timelines that would not otherwise be available to the general public. These success stories inspire others to make similar commitments to give back and lift up the community as a whole.

Another under-appreciated thing, the honorees may not realize they will be role models for future generations. We will be distributing the GLBT publication throughout multiple school districts and libraries with community partners just like we do with the Who’s Who in Black Columbus book. I also want to stress that the book will include all races and nationalities of our community. We want to highlight anyone in Columbus who is proud to be GLBT and makes an impact throughout the city.

MD: What enticed you, an openly gay man, to choose the job you’re now in?

BA: I am actually a fairly recent openly gay man as far as my professional life. I had worked for 10 years in a nearby very non-gay friendly town. My employer was not at all interested in diversity, and actually the culture of the company was very anti-gay. When the financial crisis hit, they cut me loose in April of 2009. I found out about Who’s Who in an odd way - a Craigslist posting. I have always

MD: When you’re not running around to book releases or chasing publishers (like me) for content and ads, what do you like to do for fun?

BA: I have alluded previously to my lifelong love of books and comic books so I spend a lot of time dragging my partner to comic book conventions and book shows. We are pretty dedicated to flea markets, library book sales and used/discount bookstores. We also spend time at Lake Erie with our families boating and playing cards and board games.

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We expect to see Brian dressed in a superhero costume at the upcoming Mid-Ohio Comic Con.

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Thanks to midnight showings, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has the longest theater run of any movie.

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insightout

The Political is Personal

by Regina Sewell We’ve come a long way from the days when men could be, and on a number of occasions were, executed for having sex with men. The Supreme Court invalidated the last of the sodomy laws in 2003. Gay and lesbian couples can legally marry in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington, D.C., and President Obama is pushing to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act. Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is finally gone. Recent Gallop poll data indicate: 1) the majority of Americans support gay marriage; and 2) the majority of Americans find gay and lesbian relations “morally acceptable.” And even though gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning students still face bullying, many schools have gay alliance type groups and many school districts have enacted “anti-bullying” policies that cover sexual orientation and gender identity.

These changes didn’t just happen. We are standing on the shoulders of many GLBT people who came before us who fought very hard and risked a great deal to secure these rights. People like: • Henry Gerber who founded The Society for Human Rights in 1924 at the risk of imprisonment • Lisa Ben (an anagram of lesbian) who published Vice Versa in 1947 • Harry Hay who founded the Mattachine

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Society in 1951 • Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who formed the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955.

• And the legions of people who have marched, rioted, protested, filed law suits, called their representatives, stood up to gay bashers, bullies and nasty comments, reported crimes to the police and come out over the years.

With all of this positive change, it’s easy to feel like there’s nothing left to do really but kick back and relax or head down to Level for a drink or out to Wall Street to get your groove on. And there’s nothing wrong with a little R&R (as long as you don’t drink and drive). Just don’t let all these positive changes lull you into complacency.

For decades, activists with a radical bent spouted the expression, “The Personal is Political,” based on Carol Hanisch’s 1969 essay of the same name. The expression may be “sooo yesterday” but the theory behind the expression is still relevant: many of the personal problems we face are the result of systematic oppression.

Even though we can now have consensual sex without breaking the law, serve openly in the military and, in some places, get a marriage license, as a group, we still face big problems. First, gay, lesbian, bisexual and lesbian youth have had to contend with harassment, violence and parental rejection because of their sexual orientation.

Surveys suggest that GLBT youth struggle with severe problems of cognitive, social, and/or emotional isolation and indicate that depression strikes gay and lesbian youth four to five times more severely than their non-gay peers. Further, gay and lesbian youth are also more likely to attempt suicide. Those of us who made it out of adolescence alive are more likely to struggle with alcohol and substance abuse than our non-queer peers. Some studies estimate that 45 percent of us struggle with alcohol abuse and that we are three times more likely to abuse substances than nonqueer folks.

The “personal is political” suggests that so many of us struggle with anxiety, depression and substance abuse (and a whole myriad of other addictive behaviors we use to keep from feeling the pain of being rejected, humiliated and condemned) because of the pervasive and systematic oppression we faced and continue to face.

This is important because, “Understanding that our oppressive situations were not our own fault - were not, in the parlance of the time, ‘all in our head’ - gave us a lot more courage, as well as, a more solid, real foundation on which to fight for liberation” (Hanisch, 1969).

We may have made significant gains, but we still face oppression on many fronts.

That being said, political action is not enough. These relatively newly won rights

do not repair the damage we faced when society was less embracing. They will not erase the tapes in our heads that tell us we are “less than” or curb the urge to selfmedicate. They will not give us a sense of trust in the world that some people take for granted. They will not stop us from “waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

The “personal is political” but the political is also personal! In order to truly benefit from all the positive changes the LGBT community has seen in the last decade, to feel like we are welcome and wanted members of society, we have to heal the wounds from the past that keep us stuck. We have to sit with the pain we have been avoiding with food, alcohol, sex, shopping, etc. We have to bear witness to the emotions that lie beneath or chronic anxiety and depression. And we have to rewrite the stories we tell ourselves about who we are that continue to keep us from living up to our full potential. I think we owe this to all of those people who fought so hard and risked so much so that we could be free.

To ask Regina a question, propose a column topic, read about her approach to counseling, or check out her books and other writing, go to: www.ReginaSewell.com . You can read her blogs at www.ReginaSewell.Wordpress.com, http://visionscounseling.wordpress.com, and http://possumcrossing.wordpress.com. Her most recent publication, “Sliding Away” can be found in Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in Our 40s, edited by Molly Rosen.

If you see a spider on Halloween, it’s supposedly a spirit of a loved one watching over you. Think about that before you hit it with a newspaper.

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Top three wizards and warlocks of all-time: Gandalf, Dumbledore and Mr. Wizard, the scientist. Sorry, Charlie Sheen.

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The only time I care about werewolves are when they are shirtless in Twilight and True Blood. Rawr, indeed.

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LGBT Bookstores and the Survival of Our People

by Mickey Weems

more importantly, the pocketbooks of Atlanta’s own pink lemonade.

LGBT community? Lots of former LGBT establishFor decades, Gay bookstores were central to our ments combined books with coffee, yet this did not The heart of Outwrite, its mission, if you will, is our culture. They were one business that didn’t depend keep them from closing. community. “It is important to us that we reach out on pimping out sex or liquor to bring us in. Throw in to just about every LGBT and progressive organizacoffee, and we had all we needed to start a revolu- Maybe they did not take into account the importion in Atlanta. We work with them on reaching our tion. tance of being a community center as well as a community and educating them on the importance place to buy books. And it is this role as an intiof shopping local in their own communities.” Philip By using bookstores as refuges and coffee to fuel mate place to congregate that Outwrite continues has no illusions concerning the status of Atlanta radical change, the young Gay community was fol- to play in a significant way, not just for people in as a big blue progressive blot in a sea of Georgia lowing an old tradition started by coffee houses a Atlanta or even Georgia, but the nation and beBorn-Again Rebel red, thus the importance of Outthousand years ago in Turkey. A tradition that then yond. It is truly a national Gay icon. You can pretty write’s out-and-proud presence: “Atlanta is a very spread throughout Persia and Arabia, and made much meet people from everywhere in the store. progressive city in a very conservative state. People its way from Eastern to Western Europe in the here have really embraced the idea of a very visible 1600s. Bookstores arose a few centuries later after Outwrite’s secret? Perhaps it’s the neighborhood in openly LGBT business with a giant rainbow flag on the invention of the printing press. The combina- Atlanta’s Midtown, a pleasant part of the city near one of the busiest corners in the city.” tion of book and brew in one place was an urban sprawling Piedmont Park that mixes residential success story. Coffeehouse-bookstores played a homes with chic restaurants. Perhaps it’s the Kub- Let’s not leave out the importance of food in Outpivotal role as community centers and hotbeds for cake baked goods (yes, they are made by real write’s ongoing mission. Two major reasons for new ideas rather than simply caffeine buzz disBears). Maybe it’s the bookstore’s dedication to people to congregate are to eat together and talk to persers and nerd clubhouses. good causes such as AID Atlanta, or the intellectu- each other with caffeine-fueled energy, just as it als and celebrities who make appearances on a has been since coffeehouses started. Philip is esBut LGBT bookstores and coffeehouses are becom- regular basis. pecially proud of this aspect of his establishment: ing rare. As with bookstores in general, some are “All of the products in our coffeehouse are going under due to the explosion of social media Maybe it’s just the superb after-karma granted to a fresh and our coffees are roasted to our specificaavailable to consumers, a phenomenon replacing bookstore in a space that was formerly a disco. tions. We have great sandwiches, smoothies and actual buildings with virtual sites. our sweets include fantastic cookies and brownies Making It Work from local bakers, including Bear Maker Bakery, as LGBT establishments face additional challenges well as great Kubcakes.” as we merge with the general public. For years, I go to Outwrite whenever I visit the city. For me, its Lambda Rising Bookstore in Washington, DC was success is due to the people who work there, espe- Honestly, if anyone would know how to make awepivotal in the Gay Liberation movement as a place cially its owner, Philip Rafshoon. Through thick and some baked goods, Bears would be pretty high on of community solidarity. After 30 years, Lambda thin, Philip has managed to, in the words of the the list.

Rising closed in 2010, as did its sister store in Re- immortal Tim Gunn, “Make it work” since 1993. hoboth, Delaware. Owner Deacon Maccubbin bePlus La Change lieves it was due to assimilation, that Lambda Philip does not think bookstores are dying out.

Rising was no longer needed. “Mission accomRather, they are changing. “The collapse of Borders The first time I was in Atlanta as an openly Gay plished,” he said. bookstore chain was due to bad business deciman was during Hotlanta 1998. I remember Outsions over anything else,” he says. write then for all the same reasons it is important But what mission, exactly, was accomplished? Hotoday. A prominent rainbow flag flew then as now, mophobia still plays a part in the problems LGBT So why are so many LGBT bookstores folding? “All and I was shocked and grateful at seeing the most bookstores face. In London’s recent riots, Gay’s The bookstores are facing challenges adopting to important symbol of our people right out in the Word Lesbian and Gay Bookshop suffered signifi- changes in the way people are getting their books open, in front of God and everybody, and in a state cant damage to its stock when the show window with more books being purchased in electronic known more for Confederate flags and chaw than was smashed and the interior pelted with eggs, form and an uncertain economy. LGBT bookstores anything else. bottles and rocks. Unlike other businesses that have had a particular challenge with the sucwere attacked during the troubles, there was no cesses of our movement. The community has had Initially, I had come in to buy CDs of Circuit anlooting, only destruction of property in Britain’s old- a lot of assimilation and people have not felt as thems and get a protein drink. A couple of years est and only LGBT-exclusive bookstore. much of a need for a specific LGBT store.” ago, I was invited to do a book signing of my first publication, The Fierce Tribe. As I mentioned earlier, It is important not to generalize too much on this Much of Rafshoon’s success has been in his ability I make it a point to stop in whenever I’m in Atlanta. issue with a one-size-fits-all analysis. Local condi- to get customers what they want as soon as possitions impose distinct challenges, such as the fol- ble. “Besides integrating mainstream product with However, even Outwrite is feeling the pinch, as is lowing: In what kind of neighborhood is the shop LGBT items, we have had more of a focus in mak- every LGBT bookstore in the USA. If you see one in located? Is there a local Gay presence that is large ing sure we can get product in quickly to fulfill or- whatever city you may be, go in for a coffee, some enough to sustain the shop? How comfortable are ders for items that we don’t stock.” As with any food, music, reading material or calendar. Do it for the owners with current social media? Let’s take a business in the 21st century, Philip has embraced the pleasure of it, and enjoy the comfort we feel look at one establishment that, despite all the change with vigor. “We make sure we have ewhen we are in, to paraphrase Lesbian icon Virproblems that bookstores and LGBT businesses in books available through our website, outwriteginia Woolf, a room of our own. general face, manages to keep going. books.com.”

And when you are in Atlanta, stop by Outwrite and Midtown’s Icon Then there are the perennial favorites, some resay hi to Philip. flecting the Deep South that one can so easily forTo see more about Outwrite’s master bakers, log on to One bookstore in Atlanta, Georgia is staying afloat get when surrounded by urbanized Atlanta. “Our and http://bearmakerwhile so many others are sinking. most steady items are humor books, celebrity biog- http://www.kubcakes.com/home.html bakery.com/. raphies, and books that deal with LGBT issues with What about Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse religion because we are in the Bible Belt.” When gives it such a special place in the hearts and, you have fundamentalist lemons, make the Lord’s

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The mask used by Michael Meyers in the film Halloween was actually a William Shatner mask painted white.

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Ohio University is ranked the 7th best college for Halloween parties. This is the reason summer interns Jess, Alisa and Gracie attend classes there.

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Know Your History, Queens!

by Mario Pinardi How many of you would define your community history as when you saw <fill in the name of a visible homo with money> pay for some cock stock last night? How many of you know who Harry Hay is? Or, what the Mattachine Society was? Or, even Pedro Zamora? I know history from a book can be dull, as can some history professors and some rambling queens, and history lessons can be dated and numbing. I know when I was in school, I’d rather get horned up from reading a GQ than listen to my teacher lecture about World War II. Later in life is when I started to appreciate my history and my community’s history. History (or herstory) allows us to reflect on what has happened and how to improve or do it correctly again.

Part of understanding your community’s history is to know who did what and when. Sounds pretty easy, like a typical weekend in a low rent bar, but the challenge in this exercise is to realize and understand the significance of what an individual accomplished. I was fortunate to have several gay mentors in my life that enlightened me (and slapped some sense into me) about how important our GLBT community’s history is for further growth for my community and me. And, even though mainstream media has embraced some GLBT historic figures, such as Harvey Milk, there are still a lot of GLBT accomplishments that have been masked because of lack of media coverage or due to the fear of losing advertising dollars by posting it as a news outlookcolumbus.com

story. It is up to us to take the initiative to read and learn about what came before us, and how to build upon that. Here is a spattering of GLBT factoids that are not too well known: • In 1967, Craig Rodwell opens the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookstore in New York City, the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors.

This paved the way for many other independent GLBT bookstores to open up in the United States and abroad.

• In 1980, David McReynolds was the first openly gay man to run for president of the United States. After 1980, the diversity in the candidate pool for President has been more increasingly evident.

• In 1999, Tammy Baldwin was the first US congressperson of either gender to be openly gay or lesbian when first elected to office. And, now she is going for a US Senate seat, which would be another first.

• In 2003, David Cicilline was the first openly gay mayor of a US state capital (Providence, Rhode Island). After David, there have been other openly GLBT individuals running for mayoral seats in the United States.

• In 2007, Theresa Sparks became the first transgender police commissioner (San Francisco). Before Theresa, Georgina Beyer was the world’s first openly transgender elected official (a mayoral seat in New Zealand), as well as, the

world’s first openly transgender Member of Parliament in New Zealand.

In 2008, Stu Rasmussen was elected mayor of Silverton, Oregon, and is the United States’ first transgender mayor.

Now, before you send me a note telling me how many people I forgot, and/or to question my enthusiasm, please understand that most folks in our community have no idea who these folks are and the importance of their work. You can read more about these folks and many others by seeking out GLBT history books in your local bookstore (yes, the GLBT book section in a bookstore has more than just masturbatory novellas).

Understanding your community’s history can also serve as a catalyst in creating your own history (or herstory). Knowing that there were some trailblazers before you can be inspiring and very beneficial to your growth as a GLBT individual. Those who do not know their community’s history or even their own history tend to have a one-sided view of what being an out GLBT person means, plus they do not see the possible impact to others who have not fully accepted themselves as a GLBT person. This shallow, vapid crowd can be found at any bar or event that caters to the world of gay clones (think Ke$ha, American Apparel, & A&F). Plain dumb and potentially harmful to others, and I have grown impatient with this shitastic clique.

In 1975, Valentino wrote a disco song called I Was Born This Way. That sounds vaguely familiar...

As for understanding and creating your own history, this is a constant evolution. Last year was a terrible year for me due to losing both of my parents to critical illness. Part of my process in dealing with these events has been going through artifacts and learning more about their history and how it relates to me. When I thought I knew it all, I did not. I am prouder of the person I became through all of this learning, and by understanding my parents’ struggles with both my sister and me. Do you see a theme here?

Realization and understanding is key when reading and reflecting about your community’s history and even your own history (or herstory).

There were many people before me and my Hubby who made it easier for us to own property together, to get married in Massachusetts, to act crazy in “hetero” bars, to hold hands in the United Kingdom, and to love each other honestly and openly. I will never be able to thank everyone, but I will try to make an impact and I promise to not be an übergay douche. And Mom and Dad, thank you for being proud of me, when it was hard to, and thank you for always supporting me, no matter how crazy I acted. You did not raise a venomous shit. And, readers remember to never allow yourself to be a victim, and to always be a survivor. OK, I have to get back to my October issue of GQ - hot asses and tight crotch shots in wool trousers is always a nice break during the work day.

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So Much History

by Marcus Morris

So much fucking pink. I always wished that in her next career she might choose a profession that didn’t allow My history is a weird one. But, aren’t they all? As it is her to wear such a garish wardrobe. Maybe she could GLBT History month, I figure I should explore my own be Corporate Lawyer Barbie, or Funeral Barbie. She history. Hopefully it won’t be as boring as a high school could keep the Pepto-Pink dream house and Corvette, I History class. If it is, just do what I did, and sketch and just wanted her to wear some black clothes. The Cure doodle on your homework.

Barbie, anyone?

I was born a poor black child. Haha. Honestly, I was born a lower-class child to two parents of mixed-race in Zanesville, OH. My parents didn’t even want to be together. They were already split up when they decided to have a reunion fuck outside a bar in a Trans Am.

My Dad wanted me to play football, so finding my Barbie stash was not a thrilling moment for him. He would always say, “These are girl toys! You have a football!”

Then, I’d have to go outside and throw the football. I will never be able to throw a football like a man. I think I must have watched a girl throw it and copied her. Dad My mother, Marie, was newly svelte from a combination wanted me to join the Pee Wee League, but I wanted to of diet pills - which are now illegal because they are take tap dancing lessons. I’d watch MGM musicals and considered methamphetamine - and a liquid diet. My try to copy the moves. When I watched Cinderella, I father, Jesse, had just started working in a factory, said, “I wish I had a Prince Charming.” My father where he would work a majority of my childhood, and grabbed me by the arm, nearly jerking it out of the still lived at home with his parents following multiple socket, and said, “Don’t ever say ANYTHING like that tours of duty in the Marines at the end of Vietnam. again.” Strangely, I knew. I just knew that I was not meant to feel that way about boys. I knew that I was Dad says he was most interested in fucking around different and that how I felt was not okay to my father. and lifting weights, and at 26, considered himself lucky to have not gotten anyone knocked up. My mom I still ‘Queened’ my way through childhood. I learned was enjoying the single life too. She was probably in the entire Bette Midler “Delores Delargo” routine, and love with a local DJ, who was married and still sleeping would wrap the belt of my mothers bathrobe around my with her, and from pictures I have seen, working a fab- legs so I could perform as a mermaid in our living ulous one-shouldered purple jumpsuit. room. I got into a lot of trouble for trying to use my grandmother’s wheelchair one time, but I was mostly Becoming pregnant with me was not on the agenda, annoyed that she didn’t have a motorized one like but something that they managed to accept and maybe Bette. even get excited about. My grandparents on both sides were really excited. Especially my grandfather. He knew The best times of my childhood were when I was able to I was going to be a boy. He would call my maternal play alone in my room. I’d create plays and act them grandmother and say, “This child will be a boy, and he out in the imaginary stage on my bed. I’d always have will be the greatest child.” My maternal Grandma Betty some genius imaginary costume on, and I’d always be would laugh and say, “Make sure Jesse can buy diaill at some point, and make a miraculous recovery in pers.” time for “opening night.” One imagines that I was in the company of millions of little gay boys acting out I was born in late May, and my arrival was a happy one. something that was natural, which they were afraid of, My mom said she didn’t want my dad to be there. Only so they hid in their rooms to escape the prejudice of the her mother. She craved Big Macs and dill pickle chips world. I wish I had a lesbian friend to act these things during her pregnancy, and I wasn’t a difficult labor. My out with. She could have been my prince or something. grandpa was so happy because he had a grandson; he wanted to go to the hospital immediately. His enthusi- When I think about my childhood, I don’t get nostalgic. asm for me, which began that day, would always be I think of the “It Gets Better Project.” It got a lot better. present. I was the son of his favorite son, so he spoiled I hated being a gay kid in a small town in the Midwest. me rotten.

I hated feeling like I was bad, or wrong. Going to a church was the worst, because the churches seemed to My earliest memory is falling. I was running through a sniff out fags, and make them a pet project. I didn’t heavily wooded area in a state park, and I tripped over want to go there because I believed in God, I went bethe roots of a giant tree. I tasted the blood when I split cause I thought that going to church meant you my lip. My mother picked me up, although I don’t recouldn’t be gay and I was terrified of the my truth. member crying. I just remember the taste of blood. I wasn’t a crybaby as a child, and I remember that my Lucky for me, I came out of this unscathed. I am not mom was worried because I didn’t cry. I would cry if I unusual. We have all dealt with these sorts of situawas spanked, or when I had to eat liver and onions. I tions, and I think the strength of the gay community is was more upset by liver. our resilience, borne from our childhood closets. Today is so great because yesterday was a shit show. I wouldMy little sister had a Barbie, and I would steal them n’t go back and change it. Although, I might have and hide them. When I knew that I could have a few avoided MC Hammer pants and spending my allowance moments by myself, I’d sneak into my room and dress on a Debbie Gibson album. the Barbie. I always thought Barbie had the worst style.

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Someone doesn’t look good without their makeup on.

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Oh look, Barbara Bush is hiding in the shadows, Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trying to scare you!

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10:00 AM Franlinkton Halloween 5K Race @ Phillip’s Coney Island 11:00 AM Broadway Brunch @ Level … Por Vida IV @ Junctionview Studios … Zombies In Exile @ Exile 2:00 PM The Rocky Horror Show @ Shadowbox Live 7:00 PM Karaoke @ Club Diversity 8:00 PM Sunday Night Players @ Wall 10:00 PM Strippers @ Exile

11:00 AM Broadway Brunch @ Level 12:00 PM Suicide Prevention & Aware! ness Community Walk @ Fred Beek! man Park 7:00 PM Karaoke @ Club Diversity 7:00 PM David Sedaris @ The Palace Theatre 10:00 PM Strippers @ Exile

… Karaoke @ Club Diversity 1:00 PM Happy Hour @ Tremont 4:00 PM Bitchy Mondays @ Club D 5:00 PM Happy Hour @ Blazers 8:30 PM The Haunted Hoochie @ 9:00 PM Service Industry Night @ Level 10:00 PM Karaoke @ AWOL

Halloween

Samhain

10:00 AM Laura Ingalls Wilder @ The Southern Theatre … Karaoke @ Club Diversity 1:00 PM Happy Hour @ Tremont 4:00 PM Bitchy Mondays @ Club D 5:00 PM Happy Hour @ Blazers 9:00 PM Service Industry Night @ Level 10:00 PM Karaoke @ AWOL

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7:00 AM Columbus Marathon @ Down! town Columbus 11:00 AM Broadway Brunch @ Level … Halloweekends @ Cedar Point 6:00 PM The Miss Gay America 2012 Pageant @ Verne Ri"e Center’s Capitol Theatre 7:00 PM Karaoke @ Club Diversity 8:00 PM Latin Dance Night @ Wall St 10:00 PM Strippers @ Exile

… Karaoke @ Club Diversity 1:00 PM Happy Hour @ Tremont 4:00 PM Bitchy Mondays @ Club D 5:00 PM Happy Hour @ Blazers 7:00 PM Arctic Monkeys @ The Lifestyle Communities Pavilion 9:00 PM Service Industry Night @ Level 10:00 PM Karaoke @ AWOL

… Karaoke @ Club Diversity 1:00 PM Happy Hour @ Tremont 4:00 PM Bitchy Mondays @ Club D 5:00 PM Happy Hour @ Blazers 9:00 PM Service Industry Night @ Level 10:00 PM Karaoke @ AWOL

Columbus Day

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… Karaoke @ Club Diversity 1:00 PM Happy Hour @ Tremont 4:00 PM Bitchy Mondays @ Club D 5:00 PM Happy Hour @ Blazers 5:30 PM A Taste of Italy @ St. John the Baptist Parish 9:00 PM Service Industry Night @ Level 10:00 PM Karaoke @ AWOL

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11:00 AM Broadway Brunch @ Level 2:00 PM Evil Dead: The Musical @ Verne Ri"e Center’s Studio Two The! atre 7:00 PM Karaoke @ Club Diversity 8:00 PM Latin Dance Night @ Wall St 10:00 PM Strippers @ Exile

11:00 AM Broadway Brunch @ Level 12:00 PM Super Sunday: Think Green @ Wexner Center for the Arts 7:00 PM Karaoke @ Club Diversity 8:00 PM Latin Dance Night @ Wall St 10:00 PM Strippers @ Exile

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… Karaoke @ Club Diversity 1:00 PM Happy Hour @ Tremont 4:00 PM Bitchy Mondays @ Club D 5:00 PM Happy Hour @ Blazers 7:00 PM Opeth @ Newport Music Hall 9:00 PM Service Industry Night @ Level 10:00 PM Karaoke @ AWOL

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11:00 AM Broadway Brunch @ Level 12:00 PM Columbus Oktoberfest @ Ohio Expo Center 7:00 PM Karaoke @ Club Diversity 8:00 PM Sunday Night Players @ Wall St 10:00 PM Strippers @ Exile

Sunday

Special Events

Networking

Ohio Festivals

Bars-Clubs

Festività pagane

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9:00 AM SRJNG Tuesday Tune Up @ Espresso Yourself Cafe … The Haunted Hoochie @ 13861 E Broad St Sw 4:00 PM Karaoke @ Trafik 4:00 PM Technicolor Movie Night @ Club D 8:00 PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Level 8:00 PM Cheap Date Night @ Slam!

10:00 PM Strippers @ Exile

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9:00 AM SRJNG Tuesday Tune Up @ Espresso Yourself Cafe 2:00 PM Brothers In Blood @ The King Arts Complex 4:00 PM Karaoke @ Trafik 4:00 PM Technicolor Movie Night @ Club D 8:00 PM Cheap Date Night @ Slam!

8:00 PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Level 10:00 PM Strippers @ Exile

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9:00 AM SRJNG Tuesday Tune Up @ Espresso Yourself Cafe 4:00 PM Karaoke @ Trafik 4:00 PM Technicolor Movie Night @ Club D 6:00 PM Matt Nathanson with Vanessa Carlton @ Newport Music Hall 8:00 PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Level 8:00 PM Cheap Date Night @ Slam!

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9:00 AM SRJNG Tuesday Tune Up @ Espresso Yourself Cafe 4:00 PM Karaoke @ Trafik 4:00 PM Technicolor Movie Night @ Club D 6:00 PM Local Foods Week Tour @ Schiller Community Center 8:00 PM Team Trivia Tuesdays @ Level 8:00 PM Cheap Date Night @ Slam!

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9:00 AM SRJNG Tuesday Tune Up @ Espresso Yourself Cafe 4:00 PM Technicolor Movie Night @ Club D 4:00 PM Karaoke @ Trafik 7:00 PM Chromeo @ Newport Music Hall 8:00 PM Cheap Date Night @ Slam!

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… Free Darts @ Exile 12:00 PM CMC Lunch Forums @ Ath! letic Club of Columbus 4:00 PM LevelTini Night @ Level 4:00 PM Wednesday at The Meadery @ The Meadery 5:00 PM Prime Timers "Boys Night Out" @ Club D 9:30 PM Karaoke Bingo @ Exile 10:00 PM Boy Night @ Wall St

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11:00 AM Circleville Pumpkin Show @ Circleville, OH 12:00 PM CMC Lunch Forums @ Ath! letic Club of Columbus 4:00 PM LevelTini Night @ Level 5:00 PM Prime Timers "Boys Night Out" @ Club D 9:30 PM Karaoke Bingo @ Exile 10:00 PM Boy Night @ Wall St

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12:00 PM CMC Lunch Forums @ Ath! letic Club of Columbus 4:00 PM LevelTini Night @ Level 5:00 PM Prime Timers "Boys Night Out" @ Club D 6:00 PM Network Columbus @ The Ohio Historical Center 9:30 PM Karaoke Bingo @ Exile 10:00 PM Boy Night @ Wall St

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12:00 PM CMC Lunch Forums @ Ath! letic Club of Columbus 4:00 PM LevelTini Night @ Level 5:00 PM Prime Timers "Boys Night Out" @ Club D 8:00 PM Richard Thompson @ The Southern Theatre 9:30 PM Karaoke Bingo @ Exile 10:00 PM Boy Night @ Wall St

12:00 PM CMC Lunch Forums @ Ath! letic Club of Columbus 4:00 PM LevelTini Night @ Level 5:00 PM Prime Timers "Boys Night Out" @ Club D 7:00 PM CBUS GDI Hack Night @ Wild Goose Creative 9:30 PM Karaoke Bingo @ Exile 10:00 PM Boy Night @ Wall St

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4:00 PM $3 3 Olives Night @ Level 4:00 PM 3 Wise Men @ Exile 8:00 PM CW & HipHop @ Wall St 8:00 PM L'A./Rachid Ouramdane: World Fair @ Wexner Center for the Arts 9:00 PM Tom Crumley at the Piano @ Club D 10:00 PM Trafik Jam @ Trafik

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4:00 PM $3 3 Olives Night @ Level 4:00 PM 3 Wise Men @ Exile 7:00 PM Not Just a Chair: Culture, Jus! tice, and Change Over Time @ The 8:00 PM CW & HipHop @ Wall St 8:00 PM Carmina Burana @ The Ohio Theater 9:00 PM Tom Crumley at the Piano @ 10:00 PM Trafik Jam @ Trafik 10:00 PM Drag Special @ Level

12:00 PM The Black Dahlia Murder Tour @ The Bluestone 4:00 PM $3 3 Olives Night @ Level 4:00 PM 3 Wise Men @ Exile 8:00 PM CW & HipHop @ Wall St 9:00 PM Tom Crumley at the Piano @ Club D 10:00 PM Trafik Jam @ Trafik

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… Trauma @ The Bluestone 4:00 PM Get Your Mojo @ Level 5:00 PM High Ball Halloween IV @ Short North Arts District 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM College Nite @ Wall St 10:00 PM Traxx: Columbus @ Out! lands

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14 4:00 PM Get Your Mojo @ Level 7:00 PM Halloween Haunt @ King’s Is! land 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM College Nite @ Wall St 10:00 PM Traxx: Columbus @ Out! lands

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4:00 PM Get Your Mojo @ Level 5:00 PM The Columbus Italian Festival @ St. John the Baptist Parish 7:00 PM First Friday @ Wall St 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM College Nite @ Wall St 10:00 PM Traxx: Columbus @ Out! lands

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8:30 PM Best Ass Contest @ Exile 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM Lesbian Dance Night @ Wall St 10:00 PM DJ Jeremy James @ Level

29 … High Ball Halloween IV @ Short North Arts District 9:00 PM Por Vida IV @ Junctionview Studios 9:00 PM Zombies In Exile @ Exile 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM Lesbian Dance Night @ Wall St 10:00 PM DJ Jeremy James @ Level

22 10:00 AM Wizard World Mid-Ohio Comic Con @ Greater Columbus Con! vention Center 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM Lesbian Dance Night @ Wall St 10:00 PM DJ Jeremy James @ Level

15 … Halloween Haunt @ King’s Island 12:00 PM Halloweekends @ Cedar Point 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM Lesbian Dance Night @ Wall St 10:00 PM DJ Jeremy James @ Level

8 8:00 AM 20th Anniversary Dr. Robert J. Fass Memorial AIDSWalk @ Bicentenni! al Park 9:00 AM BNI Group One-to-Ones @ Panera Bread (Bethel) 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM Lesbian Dance Night @ Wall St 10:00 PM DJ Jeremy James @ Level

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4:00 PM Get Your Mojo @ Level 4:00 PM U NITE @ Geneo Park 9:30 PM Live Music @ Club D 10:00 PM College Nite @ Wall St 10:00 PM Traxx: Columbus @ Out! lands

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4:00 PM 3 Wise Men @ Exile 4:00 PM $3 3 Olives Night @ Level 7:00 PM The Joy Formidable @ New! port Music Hall 8:00 PM CW & HipHop @ Wall St 9:00 PM Tom Crumley at the Piano @ Club D 10:00 PM Trafik Jam @ Trafik

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13 I RECRUIT UNTIL I HAVE THE RIGHT TO GIVE Brothers In Blood @ The King Arts Complex, 867 Mount Vernon Ave, www.redcrossblood.org: Current FDA policy forbids men from donating blood if they have engaged in sexual activity with another man since 1977. If you are a MSM, come and volunteer. Everyone else, donate blood. Save lives; show your support. 2p-8p; free.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12 NETWORK WITH WHO’S WHO IN GLBT COLUMBUS Network Columbus @ The Ohio Historical Center, 1982 Velma Ave, 614.297.2300, www.ohiohistory.org: Come celebrate the nation’s first Who’s Who in GLBT book! As always, free booze and appetizers. 6-8p; free.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11 I’D WALK A THOUSAND MILES Matt Nathanson with Vanessa Carlton @ Newport Music Hall, 1722 N. High St, 614.461.5483, www.promowestlive.com: Swing your hips as you listen to the foxy Matt Nathanson loosen his lips, or pick up stalking tips from Vanessa Carlton. 6p; $18.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 10 IN FOURTEEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO, COLUMBUS SAILED THE OCEAN BLUE Columbus Day! Celebrate your city’s namesake by visiting the Santa Maria, a replica of the famous ship that landed Christopher in the “New World.” Afterward, honor the explorer by “discovering” someone’s backyard. Keep the raping and pillaging to a minimum.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9 EXPANDED SPLATTER ZONE! Evil Dead: The Musical @ Verne Riffe Center’s Studio Two Theatre, 77 S High St, 614.469.1045, www.capa.com: Dexter Morgan would enjoy the spatter report after Ash uses his trusty chainsaw to defend himself from demons. Don’t forget your human sized pantyshield as the splatter zone is extended to accommodate twice the amount of blood. 2p; $39.50.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 www.columbusitalianfestival.com: WHAT ARE YOU WEARING UNDER THAT Pretend you’re an extra in The GodKILT? father and drink wine, sing Frank Highland Weekend @ the Ohio Sinatra tunes and request that an Renaissance Festival, 10542 E. Italian grandmother pinch your State Rt 73, Waynesville, OH, cheeks. When you exit: Leave the 514.897.7000, gun. Take the cannoli. 5-11p; $5 www.renfestival.com: Speak Olde adults/kids under 12; free.

English, feast on a turkey leg, rest your head on the hefty bosom of a SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8 fair maiden and then see if the STRIDES TOWARD A GOOD CAUSE cute Celtic swordsman is wearing 20th Anniversary Dr. Robert J. his kilt “regimental.” 10:30a-6p; Fass Memorial AIDSWalk @ Bi$20 for adults, $10 for kids, Under centennial Park, 233 Civic Center 5, free.

Dr, www.aidswalkcentralohio.com: AIDSWalk is the largest annual HIV/AIDS awareness event in Franklin Country. Come walk, run or simply take a stand against the worldwide epidemic. Then after the 5k, run and get tested. Registration begins at 8a; free + pledges.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 ENVIRO-NUT Super Sunday: Think Green @ Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 North High St, 614.292.3535, www.wexarts.org: While checking out their open house celebrating their fall exhibits, you can learn about the importance of making earth-friendly choices from local organizations. Somewhere Al Gore has a half-chub. 12p-5p; free.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 3 WHEN THE MOON HITS YOUR EYE LIKE A BIG PIZZA PIE A Taste of Italy @ St. John the Baptist Parish, 720 Hamlet St, 614.294.8259, www.columbusitalianfestival.com: How big are your meatballs? Sample authentic delicacies from nine different Columbus area Italian restaurants, and wash them down with Italian wines, beer and maybe some limoncello. 5:30-9p; $30 in advance, $40 at the door.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 I’M TOTALLY DOWN TO EAT FIVE DINNERS IN ONE NIGHT Local Foods Week Tour @ Schiller Community Center, 1069 Jaeger St, 614.440.3177, www.columbusfoodadventures.com: Dine on delectable culinary delights as you stop at Skillet, Harvest Pizza, Market 65, Latitude 41, and Knead.

Save room for a take-home treat from Sassafras Bakery. 6p; $60.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5 GUITAR VIRTUOSO Richard Thompson @ The Southern Theatre, 21 E Main St, 614.340.1896, www.capa.com: London-born Richard Thompson is a musician’s musician. Equally at home with electric or acoustic instruments, his distinctive style incorporates a wide range of influences. 8p; $23-36.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6 BLESS THE BLUES The Black Dahlia Murder Tour @ The Bluestone, 583 E Broad St, 614.884.4646, www.liveatthebluestone.com: See The Black Dahlia Murder with All Shall Perish and Cannabis Corpse/Bless The Child.

6p; $15.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7 THAT’S AMORE! The Columbus Italian Festival @ St. John the Baptist Parish, 720 Hamlet St, 614.294.8259,

something to do each day this month

about town MY LAST MEAL WOULD INVOLVE MACAAve, 614.461.5483, www.promowRONI & CHEESE, CUCUMBERS & ICE estlive.com: Come out and see CREAM these British boys as they promote Not Just a Chair: Culture, Justice, their latest album, Suck It and and Change Over Time @ The See. Wait, I’ve played that game Ohio Historical Center, 1982 Velma before. 7p; $32.25 Ave, 614.297.2300, www.ohiohistory.org: Different times and culTUESDAY, OCTOBER 18 tures have dealt with corporal I WANNA TAKE YOU TO AN ART SHOW punishment in different ways.

OSU Department of Art Faculty Panelists discuss how cultures Show @ OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 dictate suitable punishment for W. Town St, www.uas.osu.edu: The crime or disobedience. 7p; free.

2011 show will feature twenty-four current full time, tenured and HIT THOSE HIGH NOTES! tenure track faculty at The Ohio The Columbus Symphony presState University, including those in ents Carmina Burana @ The Ohio OSU regional campuses. 2p-8p; Theater, 39 E State St, through December 9; free.

614.469.0939, www.capa.com: The Columbus Symphony opens its WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 2011-12 season with a special IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE One-night-only performance of BROWN Chris Hayes’s favorite opera feaCircleville Pumpkin Show @ 159 tures that famous “O Fortuna.” 8p; E Franklin St, Circleville, OH $24.75-68.

43113, Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N High St, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14 www.pumpkinshow.com: Step 1: SCREAM-O Sample all pumpkin infused foods: Halloween Haunt @ King’s Island, pie, donuts, ice cream, chili, pizza, and burgers. Step 2: Ride the FerKings Island Drive, Kings Island, ris wheel; get sick. Repeat steps OH 45034, 513.754.5700, until festival close. 10a-10p; www.visitkingsisland.com: Piss through October 23; free. your pants through all 12 indoor and outdoor mazes at the amuseTHURSDAY, OCTOBER 20 ment park’s annual Halloween BODY MOVEMENT scare-fest. Be sure to visit Carnevil, which I imagine will reL’A./Rachid Ouramdane: World minds me of Stephen King’s It. 7p- Fair @ Wexner Center for the Arts, 1a; $36.99.

1871 N. High St, 614.292.3535, www.wexarts.org: French choreogSATURDAY, OCTOBER 15 rapher Ouramdane’s unique multiMY KNEES ARE KNOCKING SO HARD, I AL- media dance theater is driven be MOST ANSWERED THEM! mesmerizing movement ideas, reHalloweekends @ Cedar Point, inforced by video imagery and live One Cedar Point Drive, Sandusky, music. 8p; $18 general public; $10 OH 44870, 419.627-2350, students. www.cedarpoint.com: Spend your day getting scared on the MillenFRIDAY, OCTOBER 21 nium Force and the Raptor and THEATER HEIST then when it gets dark visit Blood The Downtown Job @ MadLab, on the Bayou, which I imagine is 227 N 3rd St, 614.221.5418, like Swamp People meets Texas www.madlab.net: A one woman Chainsaw Massacre. 12p-12a; show- and the crime that in$49.99 evitably begets. A band of thieves (not to be confused with Band of SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16 Horses) uses an off-off-off BroadLOVE YOUR HAIR, HOPE YOU WIN way play as a cover for a heist. But The Miss Gay America 2012 Pag- are they in over their heads? 8p; eant @ Verne Riffe Center’s Capi- $12. tol Theatre, 77 S High St, 614.469.1045, www.capa.com: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22 “Where the boys are boys… and NERDS ARE SEXY female impersonation is an art.”

Wizard World Mid-Ohio Comic Watch these ladies sashay across Con @ Greater Columbus Conventhe stage in their evening gown tion Center, 400 N High St, finest. Although, I’d like to see 614.827.2500, some Toddlers in Tiaras-like www.wizardworld.com/comictantrums. 6p; $35, $40. con/mid-ohio-2011: Comics (duh), movies, video games, celebrities JUST A SHORT, SCENIC 26.2 MILE RUN, (including the original Batman, NO BIGGIE Adam West!) and lots of nerds.

Columbus Marathon @ Downtown Thousands of them. Through OctoColumbus, www.columbusber, 23. 10a-7p; $25-150. marathon.com: Running, running and…more running. For those not SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 quite up to the challenge of 26 ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY miles, come down and cheer on the David Sedaris @ The Palace Therunners. (No moving required.) 7a; atre, 34 W Broad St, 614.469.9850, www.capa.com: $80-95.

With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humor writers. Hear him talk about his hilarious Greek family and his MONDAY, OCTOBER 17 FLUORESCENT ADOLESCENT Arctic Monkeys @ The Lifestyle Communities Pavilion, 405 Neil

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27 O PARANOID ANDROID, WHEREFORE ART THOU PARANOID ANDROID? Ballet Maribor’s Radio & Juliet @ Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St, 614.469.9850, www.capa.com: A unique combination of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet and the music of Radiohead. We’re just hoping Thom York isn’t playing Juliet. 8p; $25-35.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26 I DON’T WANT TO, I MEADE TO Wednesday at The Meadery @ The Meadery, 26 E 5th Ave, 614.388.8765, www.BrothersDrake.com: Join the brothers for glasses of refreshing meads.

They’re pouring Scarlet Solstice, Hopped Traditional, Wild Ohio, Honey Oak, and more! Bands typically join at 6p to share their toe tapping goodness. Meade you there! 4p-10p; free.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25 PUSH PIN Free Darts @ Exile, 893 N 4th St, 614.299.0069, www.exilebar.com: Who’s says there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Well, maybe there’s not, but there are free darts! Head to Exile and stick it all you want from 7p-9p tonight while enjoying drink specials. 7p; free.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 31 YOU CAN’T SCARE THIS HOOCHIE The Haunted Hoochie @ 13861 E Broad St Sw, www.deadacres.com: This haunted house was top ranked by Hauntworld, will leave you freaking-the-shit-out frightened. The perfect Halloween night activity to end this scary season.

8:30p; $20.

THE HIP BONE IS CONNECTED TO THE LEG BONE Franlinkton Halloween 5K Race @ Phillip’s Coney Island, 450 W Broad St, 614.221.8288, www.bgccolumbus.org: Come early for a performance by The Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus, run this familyfriendly 5K and stick around after the race for a carnival. Because every race should end with a hotdog. 10a-2p; $25.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30 I’M JUST A SWEET TRANSVESTITE The Rocky Horror Show @ Shadowbox Live, 503 S. Front St. Suite#260, 614.416.7625, www.shadowboxlive.org: Sing along with Dr. Frankenfurter, Magenta, Brad and Janet as the gang from Shadowbox bring the show alive. Let’s do the Time Warp again! 2p, 7p; $30.

THE DAY OF THE DEAD Por Vida IV @ Junctionview Studios, 889 Williams Ave, www.porvida614.com: Inspired by Día de los Muertos (Day of The Dead), this show integrates a themed and curated art exhibit, food and drink, music and installation spaces. Be sure to dress up; you don’t want to be mistaken for the undead. 9p-2a; $10, 18+ event.

relationship with longtime partner BEND ME, SHAPE ME, ANYWAY YOU WANT Hugh. 7p; $44.50-54.50.

ME Trauma @ The Bluestone, 583 E OUT OF THE DARKNESS Broad St, 614.884.4646, Suicide Prevention & Awareness www.liveatthebluestone.com: Get Community Walk @ Fred Beekman spanked or shackled at this anPark , 2200 Carmack Rd, nual kink and fetish Halloween 740.607.8685, www.outofthedark- bash presented by Evolved and ness.org: Raise awareness and Kobo. You aren’t expected to parfight stigmas of mental health by ticipate; voyeurs are welcome. participating in the 5k walk. Join Dress in your best gothic garb and editor Erin McCalla’s team as she play safe. 9p; $20, $25 at the door. walks to honor her cousin Michael.

Registration starts at 11a. 12-2p; FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28 free + pledges.

THE FREAKS COME OUT AT NIGHT High Ball Halloween IV @ Short FOR THE KIDS North Arts District, High St & 5th Rainbow Rally for the Ranch @ Ave, www.highballhalloween.com: Barcelona, 263 East Whittier St, Show up in the best costume, strut https://uwco.wufoo.com/forms/rain down High Street and you may bow-rally-for-the-ranch/: Help to even win $1,000. Just don’t show support the LGBTQ programs ofup as Lady Gaga...that’s so 2010. fered at The Buckeye Ranch in5p-1a; $5 at gate, $65 for VIP. cluding youth counseling, LGBTQ mentors and LGBTQ foster parents SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29 and adoptions put on by the 5th I WANT YOUR BRAAAAAAIIIINS! class of UW’s Pride Leadership.

Zombies In Exile @ Exile, 893 N Casual Attire; Hors d’oeuvres, Wine 4th St, 614.299.0069, www.exiletasting, Cash Bar and Silent Auc- bar.com: Don’t miss part two of tion. 12p-3p; $50.

Zombies in Exile. Costume contest & special guest performers. We’ll see you there… in pieces! 9p; free.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24 LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE Laura Ingalls Wilder @ The Southern Theatre, 21 E Main St, 614.340.1896, www.capa.com: Were you more of a Laura-type or that bitch Nellie Oleson? This uplifting story of one of America’s most beloved authors comes to life in as Laura and her family travel across the country in search of a prairie home (companion). 10a, 1p; $5.

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That’s What Friends Are For

by Mette Bach We had all been there. I had my biggest breakdown on a friend’s couch. I came over one night, plunked myself down and covered myself with a sleeping bag and didn’t leave for three weeks.

Tony generally skips the details of his epic journey to rock bottom and back, with statements like, “Trust me, it was ugly.”

Kaylum once spent four days locked in his apartment, unable to even conceive of leaving or talking to anyone. Ken realized he couldn’t take his life as a substitute teacher when he noticed that all he could do after school was pace. He paced back and forth in his apartment until he fell asleep and woke up and did it all over again until the day he couldn’t do it anymore and quit.

So the whole idea of hitting a snag was nothing new to any of us. You could almost say we were prepared. Almost.

I got a text one night at 10:30 from one of my dearest. “You around? It’s an emergency.” I invited him over. Normally, his emergencies involve things like sequins and glue guns but that was not the case this time. When I opened my door and saw his face, I wondered if someone had died. Turned out, it was something within him.

He sat on my couch and poured it all out. Everything. All the stuff we don’t like to talk about. All the bullying he experienced as a child. All the hurt emotions he felt in his relationships. He told me about his inability to trust and his sadness that his life was nowhere near what he had imagined. He talked about his pot habits, his need to turn off at night and how over the years, it had turned into a need to turn off during the day and how he slowly turned into a morning user just to get through. He talked about disappointing his dad. He talked about his most recent bully and how he hadn’t been able talk about it because the bully is gay and no one likes to acknowledge that gays can bully just as much, if not more than anyone else. He told me how we all turn blind eyes when we see it because no one likes to ruffle feathers in queer communities. You take a bunch of people who grew up with messages that they are not okay and then you throw in years of pent up frustration and drinking and pretending that everything is fabulous over the rainbow and eventually some of those bullied children turn into bullying adults.

A couple of slices of toast later, he told me he hit a wall. He needed help. He could not keep going.

If his path had been precarious before, he was under an avalanche now. The truth is I’d sensed for years that he was headed here. I’d anticipated that eventually all of his outward kindness would add up to something like what was happening in front of me. After all, he is the kind of person who doesn’t speak ill of anyone, who keeps going no matter what. He is, in short, an example of an excellent human being who is loath to create problems for anyone else so of course he could not admit that he had lost his

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Chris & Erin tend to find dead end boyfriends. Don’t judge.

faith in people. Of course he could not talk about his bully, a community hero and activist. Of course he just went home and smoked up and suffered silently. He even apologized for telling me about it.

The next day, our chosen family arose with a plan. Our dearest was still suffering.

“He has to eat something,” Kaylum said. So we met up at the grocery store around the corner.

“Let’s get him a roast chicken,” I suggested.

“Maybe some milk and cookies, too,” Kaylum said.

“Oooh, good idea,” I concurred. “And these carrots.”

“Carrots? He doesn’t eat vegetables.”

“He eats sugar carrots.”

“Sugar carrots?” Kaylum exclaimed. Other shoppers turned to look.

“As in caramelized.”

We brought the goods over to our dear friend’s place and while I set to work melting butter and sugar for the carrots, Kaylum scurried around to get the laundry on. When things fall apart, do laundry. It really works.

We took our dearest to the hospital where he poured out the details all over again, this time to a team of psychiatrists. We swiped our credit cards and sat in the waiting room watching daytime soaps and Fox News.

The doctors did what doctors do. They prescribed pills. They put our dearest on a combination of sedatives and anti-anxiety meds. Then they sent us packing. On our way home, we stopped for burgers and fries.

“Make it count,” we told him, knowing he would not want to leave his apartment for a while.

When we suffer, we do it at home, behind closed doors. This time, thankfully, our dearest had supervision. He had us. We divided our efforts amongst ourselves, dropping in regularly to make sure he was eating and sleeping and taking the prescriptions. He took a bit of time off work. He crashed. He literally slept for days with a few hours of foggy haze here and there.

Sometimes, you just come to the end of a road.

Patterned behavior can only take you so far. Behaving according to the social norms required of you, you can veer from a healthy path and walk down an unsafe lane for a while. Things can go from bad to worse without the need for a direction change. But if there is one thing I have noticed, it’s that sooner or later, if you are on the wrong path, you will hit a fallen tree or dead end or you will simply drop off the side of a cliff that you were never meant to walk along.

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GOHI: PASS IT ON

by Shelby Kretz

growing collection.

When we look back on our past, it is nice to have the chance to learn about events, people and culture throughout the years. But the only way we can study history is if it has been preserved, or at the very least, remembered and then documented. Which, of course, goes for LGBT history, too. Unfortunately, this country as a whole has done a relatively poor job in preserving LGBT history in the past. Since we want to be able to study LGBT history in the future, the need for an LGBT history collection was obvious to many people, including our very own Chris Hayes, who is now president of GOHI, the Gay Ohio History Initiative.

The idea of GOHI is to preserve, archive and curate Ohio’s LGBT history and culture. A committee of leaders and volunteers has been working towards this goal since Outlook Weekly and GOHI formed a partnership with the Ohio Historical Society, or OHS, in January 2006. This committee has developed an LGBT history collection plan designed to facilitate the collection and solicitation of historical items.

So what types of items are they looking for? Letters, pictures, documents, oral histories, local entertainers, celebrity memorabilia, estates videos. It doesn’t matter what it is - one, two or three dimensional, urban or rural - if it pertains to history, they want it. Each donated item is reviewed carefully to ensure it meets criteria for preservation before it is added to GOHI’s ever-

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The GOHI committee has been very successful so far, with it’s accomplishments ranging from creating a website, setting up an endowment fund within OHS, joining the OHS Development Board and more. They have also managed to gain support from the OHS. So much support, in fact, that the OHS has even named an LGBT person to their Development Board in order to help assist with their plan. Oh yeah, and did I mention the fact that they developed the committee of volunteers and leaders that is the driving force behind GOHI in the first place?

It’s clear that GOHI has been extremely successful so far, but the obvious ultimate goal is to preserve as much gay Ohio history as possible.

So why preserve this history? Well, for one, it gets the truth about LGBT people out in the open. It lets us understand the past, and from that, we can look forward to what we want the future to look like. And of course we want to be able to share LGBT culture and history across Ohio.

But there is another important goal behind GOHI that may often be overlooked. Preserving LGBT history is savoring LGBT existence. The website (www.gohi.org) points out the issue: “Savoring our lives is something we can forget to do, and something that society has often discouraged us from doing.” The solution is what GOHI is striving for - a world where LGBT history and culture is studied, understood and appreciated.

To reach for that goal, GOHI is currently working on a project that is going to educate Ohioans and raise awareness about the history of LGBT citizens, particularly in Ohio. This project includes many small parts that will all add up to a huge collection of gay Ohio history.

Some of the small projects that this large-scale plan involves are: Oral and Digital Histories: GOHI is locating and collecting oral histories from a number of sources and people. Along with that, they plan to digitize and preserve photos through “Photo Fairs” that they are hosting.

Historical Markers: They are looking to identify the people, places, events and organizations that helped to shape Ohio LGBT history, and they plan to commemorate them with permanent historical markers. The first city to implement one of these historical markers was Dayton, honoring lesbian writer Natalie Clifford Barney on October 25, 2009.

LGBT Ohio Exhibits: They are working on creating a traveling exhibit to display important historical LGBT moments. GOHI also has worked on two exhibits exploring central Ohio’s drag scene, Remembering the Berwick Ball and The International Drag King Community Extravaganza Exhibit.

Informative Banners: They put out banners

with information about important LGBT figures and events in history to inform and educate Ohioans. These include two different sets of banners, Pride of Ohio showcasing LGBT Ohioans and A Brief History, showcasing timelines of pride parades.

OSU’s Lesbian Cultures Course: GOHI partnered with a Women’s Studies course at OSU to collect interviews of several Columbus women and transgendered individuals who have played a role in LGBT Ohio history.

Obviously, the project all together is going to be a lot of work, but the end result will mirror the passion and pride that this committee has for the GLBT Ohio history. Not to mention the fact that, for years to come, Ohioans will be able to enjoy the privilege of learning about and understanding GLBT history in Ohio.

If you want to be a part of making all this happen, you can donate items or funds to GOHI. Donations are tax-deductable, and an endowment fund has been created specifically for GOHI at the Ohio Historical Society (be sure to designate your donation to the Gay Ohio History Initiative).

To learn more about GOHI and see how you can get involved, check out the GOHI website for lots of fun information about LGBT Ohio history at www.gohi.org. You’ll be able to read about notable LGBT Ohioans, Pride parade history, events in LGBT history that have happened on this day and more!

Harry Houdini made his final disappearing act on Halloween, passing away in 1926. Talk about dedication!

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BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO EVERYONE.

FREE TUNGSTEN WEDDING BAND with purchase of any precious metal Dora Wedding Band. * Free ring is in sizes 7 1/2 and above. *

0( s WWW YSADIQDIAMOND COM % -AIN 3T #OLUMBUS /(

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25% of all candy sold throughout the year is sold during Halloween time. The other 75% is eaten during outlook production for an instant sugar high.

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We Must Proudly Show Who We Are Why it’s important to add your bio to the first Who’s Who in GLBT Book

by Chris Hayes

What kind of impact?

Growing up Catholic in Findlay, OH during the 70s and 80s did not offer a lot, or rather any, role models that were queer. There was no Ellen, no out Elton John, no Barney Franks or Tammy Baldwins, no out older classmen or family members to look up to, no GSAs or PFLAG, and definitely no one in town who identified and lived as an out and proud gay person. I had no role models and nowhere to go to find them. I felt, as many us did, and as many kids still do, isolated and alone. As this was the age before the Internet, it was much harder to find any info on the subject. I remember sneaking around various libraries trying to find any materials that had to do with the subject of homosexuality. Time and time again, I only would find psychiatric books detailing how what I felt was actually a disease.

Weirdly, in some ways, that prognosis gave me solace, at least in regards to the internal battle that raged over the moral and religious issue of what being gay meant: If I were gay, I would go to Hell. A disease happened to you and could possibly be cured - it wasn’t who you were - and Jesus always advocated for the sick and the poor, so odds were I’d still get into heaven… for sure if I could be cured.

Instead of wrestling with how to fix me, I could have focused on getting better grades. Instead of worrying I was going to Hell, I could have basked in knowing there was a God that loved me. Instead of feeling so isolated in the world, I would have known I was not alone, that there were others like me, not only existing, but also excelling. I would have realized I could be myself, while at the same time, be successful, accepted and loved.

But admitting I had a “disease” also meant that I’d have to talk about it to my family, to doctors and to my priest. Ultimately, I knew that exposure would trickle down to the kids at school, and that was attention I definitely didn’t want. So instead of speaking out, I hoped that maybe it would just go away…

Role Models for Our Youth Like my preamble tale of woes, queer kids do not have a lot of role models. This book is a reference tool for their lives. It’s a catalogue of examples of what they can become. It is our plan through the 1000 Books For 1000 Kids Project to distribute this work to schools and students across the state.

My family didn’t talk much about gays, except the occasional joke about them or, if we were in Laguna, a field trip to go “look at the gays.”

Growing up, my father had told me, off the cuff, that being gay would get me disowned. Unfathomable to him that he might have a gay son, his remark was more of a humorous aside than an ultimatum. But in my head, he saw what was in me, and before things went too far he was firing a warning shot over my bow. Since he and my mom divorced when I was seven, the fear of completely losing him compounded the problem, and my take away was “if you’re gay, I won’t want you and you will be completely, utterly on your own…alone.” Not the best way for a gay boy to grow up. But the times were what the times were, and gay wasn’t really anything. It wasn’t in my Northwest Ohio community’s purview or a discussion at my family dinner table or a headline in the paper. It was an unknown.

But what if it didn’t have to be like that?

What if, at one of those libraries, I had come across a book celebrating the lives, loves and accomplishments of gay people in my town?

What kind of impression would have that made?

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I would have saved so much energy and so many mistakes.

Until I get this time travel thing down, I can’t go back and correct it for little Chris. But I can help make it better for the little Chris and Chrissys of today, and that’s why we’ve commissioned Who’s Who Publishing to produce the country’s first Who’s Who in GLBT book: Who’s Who in GLBT Columbus. I’m urging everyone to submit your bio and headshot to be considered for inclusion in this project.

This historic book is important for many reasons:

Showcases the Successes of Our GLBT Community Our mission is to create and distribute a first-inclass publication that documents the significant accomplishments and outstanding achievements of GLBT citizens in the various communities we serve. This book will be inspiration for all of us. We often don’t take time to celebrate our community’s success. This book is an excellent way of doing just that.

Catalogues Our Contributions to Our City Many people know there are tons of queers in Columbus, but do they know how influential we really are? This book is a collective testament of the impact we make on the fabric of our city across all mediums: art, business, faith, finance, entertainment, entrepreneurship, and public service. Having documentation of our contributions also is important with our fight for equality. Our opponents will be hard-pressed to downplay the importance our lives play in the success of our state when it is spelled out for them. When our opponents better understand who we are and what we do, it’s harder for them to deny us equal rights.

Networking Tool There are so many queer people in this town; it’s impossible for any us to know everyone. This book is not only a great way to get to know the people in Cbus better, but it is also a great reference tool to make connections and get stuff done. WWIGLBTC will help you take your networking to a whole other level, while also opening options for keeping money, resources and business within our community.

Historical Documentation of Our Lives Like most minority communities, the GLBT community isn’t great at documenting our history.

Because of that, the Who’s Who books are important historical documents and are often the only modern documentation from local communities. This book will not only capture and preserve a segment of Columbus’s GLBT Community story, but is the first of it’s kind in the country, doubling the historical significance.

The Who’s Who books started and remained headquartered here in Columbus, and it is another feather in this City’s cap that the country’s first GLBT book is being launched here.

There is No Cost to be Profiled in the Book Unlike the pay-for-play books that have cabbaged onto the Who’s Who moniker, participation in this book costs nothing for the people that are featured. Corporate sponsorships make this book possible. To date sponsors signed on to this book include Abercrombie & Fitch, Nationwide, Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter, CMR Incorporated, Donato’s, Members First Credit Union, United Way of Central Ohio, E-0ne Companies, Battelle, US Bank, Huntington, Time Warner Cable, Shadowbox Live and others.

mer Who’s Who honorees as we gear up for the unveiling happening in December. As it is gay history month, we will be at The Ohio Historical Society on 17th St right off I-71. The event takes place on Wednesday, October 12 from 6p-8p with catering by Hoggy’s. There, you can see copies of past Who’s Who books, submit your bio, have your photo taken and ask all the questions your heart desires.

We hope you to see you there and please take the time to distribute this info to everyone in the GLBT community you know. Everyone’s story is important, especially yours.

If your have your 180-word bio ready (or 350 if you’re a couple) you can send it and your headshot directly to editorial@whoswhopublishing.com.

For more info or for guidelines and examples, please go to http://outlookcolumbus.com/2011/05/submityour-bios-for-inclusion-in-whos-who-in-glbtcolumbus/ or call us here at Outlook at 614.268.8525 and we’ll email you a PDF file with all the requirements and guidelines.

Do it for yourself, do it for your community and do it for all the future young queer kids.

Still not convinced you want to be part of this book? Well then come to our launch party this month during Network Columbus.

Join Mayor Michael Coleman and other for-

Chris Hayes is the president of GOHI! Be on the lookout for him as he tours the city shaking hands and kissing babies.

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Trauma, Highball and Nokaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show makes for a busy Halloween weekend. Be sure to stay lubed and hydrated.

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Do We Not Bleed

by Mackenzie Worrall “I have an almost complete disregard of precedent, and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past.”

-Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross Since 1985, men who have sex with men (MSM) have been banned from giving blood.

Unlike DADT and DOMA, this doesn’t have a cool acronym, and most people don’t even know that there is a ban. In organizing Brothers In Blood (more on that later), I’ve been astounded by both how many people give me a vacant look as I talk at them about the ban, and how many people immediately ask how they can help.

Any male donor who has had sex with another man since 1977 is permanently deferred. More and more often, cities and states and politicians (noticeably Senator Kerry) call on the FDA to re-evaluate the ban and redefine its criteria for accepting blood from MSM. Some plans still include a one-year deferment since last sexual contact with a male, but I believe we can do better than that.

The ban was a swift, knee-jerk reaction to HIV/AIDS and misconceptions of it. However, other high-risk groups are not banned. If the FDA wrote into law a ban on black women giving blood, who are the second highest risk group, there would be a national uproar about the racist, mal-informed policy. So why haven’t we been up in arms about this?

Estimates vary as to how many new HIV infections would result from blood donations if the ban were lifted. I’ve heard everything from ‘1 new infection every 33 years’ to ‘no number is

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too low to justify the risk.’ The fact of the matter is that each donation can save up to 3 lives. They can talk about tiny risks, but the big picture is clear. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of new donations each year. Each of those saving up to three lives. Will it end the blood shortage? Of course not. Will our healthcare system be a lot better off for it? Emphatically, yes.

What’s kept the ban in place for so long is scare tactics and big numbers. The FDA has published huge, scary numbers that manipulate the facts. From their website, explaining why there is a ban: “Men who have had sex with men since 1977 have an HIV prevalence […] 60 times higher than the general population, 800 times higher than first time blood donors, and 8000 times higher than repeat blood donors” (http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/bloodbloodproducts/questionsaboutblood/ucm108186.htm). They present only the numbers from studies that are mostly likely to persuade public in favor of a ban. Because comparing an entire sample of MSM against a sample of repeat donors known to be HIV/AIDS negative beforehand is completely fair. What about repeat MSM donors against repeat donors overall? That would be a fair comparison to present.

Lucky for us, we’ve got friends in high places.

The Red Cross has asked on numerous occasions that the ban be re-evaluated, and our Ohio-grown Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, announced earlier this summer that concrete steps were being taken to evaluate the FDA’s policy and possibly change the permanent deferral.

This is the same Kathleen Sebelius who, as governor of Kansas, refused to support an amendment that would make same-sex marriage unconstitutional. She walked a good political walk and the voters passed it into law anyway, it takes a lotta chutzpah to stand for

what’s right as governor in spite of your state.

Columbus has another hometown hero in Gloria McCauley, now the Executive Director of BRAVO. In the early 1980s, she and her partner Chris responded immediately to the initial blood bans. “Chris and I, oh gosh, 30 years ago - when we had more energy,” she says with vigor, “we called our women friends, lesbian friends and organized these events. Blood drives.” For several years they put together parties at the YWCA where the price of admission was a pint of blood.

Remember, this was back when HIV/AIDS had first been identified, but no one really knew what it was. They only knew that it killed. When the first groups announced bans on gay men giving blood, Gloria and Chris saw three immediate needs in the community. The bans caused an instantaneous decrease in the blood supply, a very shallow research pool for identifying what HIV/AIDS was and there was a lack of dialogue in the community about the issue. Their events helped to address all three.

Along with an added benefit that Columbus is still secretly known for today.

“One of the best things to come out of those was gays and lesbians working together in Columbus,” Gloria says. “That’s when we made the change toward a more unified community. We are reaping the benefits of that continued joint effort.”

This month, Outlook Media and the Red Cross present the spiritual descendant of Gloria and Chris’s efforts. Brothers in Blood is happening from 2p to 8p on Thursday October 13th at The King Arts Complex, 867 Mt. Vernon Ave. You can schedule a donation by going to www.redcrossblood.org, and enter the sponsor code ‘bib’ when searching for a blood drive near you. We’ll get you in and out on your schedule.

Walk-ins are welcome, too.

This is music. This is some of Columbus’s best food. This is sharing something you care about with your friends on Facebook. It’s not just a cookie and juice box and you’re on your way. I will be there sharing a dialogue about the ban.

And if you are a MSM, or otherwise can’t donate blood, please sign-up to volunteer and continue the dialogue yourself. Contact BrothersInBlood.Columbus@gmail.com for more information.

And then, after everyone-who-can-donate-forus-until-we-can donates, we are going to stand up in the media and say, “This is how many donations we had, but what if we had doubled that?”

Needless to say, we are very excited. It’s been a fantastic ride to see how much support we have within and outside of the gay community.

With companies like Sugardaddy’s on board for donations (and more surprises to come), it’s hard to imagine that the FDA’s ban can last much longer. We have so much support.

In the past few months, I’ve had a line from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice stuck in my head: “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” It was written as a sympathetic portrayal of Jews in a time when it was not very popular to like people different from yourself. My, how much we’ve grown.

Shylock’s speech is particularly pertinent here, because it is apt on a metaphorical and a physical level. At the very core of this ban is the idea that we are different down to our very blood. And we have been pricked quite a bit lately. Let’s put that blood to good use.

Mackenzie Worrall is a Columbus small business enabler, Brothers in Blood coordinator, and sometime outlook ginger coffee boy. One day, these bios will list awards and honors, but right now he’ll settle for awesomeness. Contact BrothersInBlood.Columbus@gmail.com for more info.

Snickers are the biggest selling chocolate bars during the Halloween season. Treat yourself to one after giving blood!

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Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what I call a stacked deck.

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Coming December 14th, 2011

Join us Wednesday, October 12 at the Ohio Historical Society for the

LAUNCH PARTY

of Who’s Who in GLBT Columbus as we gear up for the Dec 14 release!

6p-8p • free Catering by Spinelli’s Deli w/ Mayor Coleman & other past Who’s Who honorees!

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MAKE SURE YOU’RE IN THE BOOK & BE A PART OF OUR HISTORY! The Who’s Who in GLBT Columbus book is: • a book that showcases the success that is the GLBT community; • a book of role models for GLBT kids and young adults; • a historical documentation of the lives of our diverse community members; • a testiment to the GLBT’s contributions to the Columbus Metropolitan area; • a great tool for networking; • a great addition to your library; • and the first of its kind in the country!

Submit your 180 word bio and headshot (350 for couples) today to editorial@whoswhopublishing.com. For questions or to sponsor call Michae/ or Chris at 614.268.8525.

Last year’s most popular costumes were Snooki, Lady Gaga and Kate Gosselin. This year's projection? Royal Wedding attendees.

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The More the Merrier: The Merge of CATF, ARC Ohio and OAC The More the Merrier: The Merge of CATF, ARC Ohio and OAC

by Erin McCalla We’ve been commemorating a lot of anniversaries lately. This June, we celebrated our 30th year of Pride in Columbus. (And celebrate we did!) Last month, we memorialized those who died during the terrorist attacks on 9.11.01. And this month, on Saturday, October 8th, many of us will participate in the 20th anniversary Dr. Robert J. Fass Memorial AIDSWalk, which is presented by AIDS Resource Center Ohio. With the July merger of the Columbus AIDS Taskforce (CATF) and AIDS Resource Center Ohio (ARC Ohio), and the 30th year since the first AIDS diagnosis, I spoke with President & Chief Executive Officer, Bill Hardy and Chief Operating Officer Peggy Anderson about the merger and what this means for the future of AIDS programming and outreach in Central Ohio.

Erin McCalla: Can you tell me a little background of the merger? Why merge? When was it decided that the two should become one?

Bill Hardy: Across the U.S. and Ohio, AIDS service organizations (ASOs) - like many in the nonprofit sector - are struggling to retain services and keep their doors open due to the economic climate and competition for private support. In light of such challenges, nearly two years ago, CATF and ARC Ohio began a discussion about a structural alliance. We were motivated by considering the best of what we could achieve together, rather than the worst of what we fear, apart. The outcome was a proactive, strategic and sound business decision that created an organization greater than the sum of its parts, positioned to achieve a larger mission than either agency could carry out alone. We’ve been driven by the belief that our merger would enhance our capacities and services, promote equitable care, make the most effective use of precious resources and strengthen our long-term viability.

BH: I have been an outspoken advocate of mission-driven strategic alliances for a long time. More than a decade ago, I began conversations with ASO colleagues around the state, raising the topic of the coming challenges and how we might come together to weather them. During this time, many, many nonprofits have been exploring strategic alliances as a survival technique. We are open to dialogue with other ASOs with similar missions, but no discussions are currently under way.

EM: With this transition, what will it mean for services in Columbus/Central, Ohio? How many people will be reached?

BH: Services in Central Ohio, like those around the state, will be strengthened. We are already seeing that our combined program and administrative expertise are improving and expanding services. We currently have nine offices throughout Ohio with a statewide footprint.

EM: With the merger, CATF’s Peggy Anderson is no longer the Executive Director. What will her new role be?

BH: As Chief Operating Officer, Anderson will oversee all programmatic operations for the new organization, which will provide HIV care, testing, prevention and advocacy throughout more than 60 Ohio counties.

What kind of programs does ARC Ohio now offer?

BH: ARC Ohio offers medical case management, which connects those living with HIV to care, assists in decreasing barriers to treatment, and encourages adherence to treatment regimens; evidence-based prevention interventions and HIV testing; the Ohio AIDS/HIV/STD hotline; housing assistance for low-income individuals living with HIV; mental health treatment for those living with HIV; and nutrition assistance. In addition, our advocacy and public policy work will continue to expand.

The decision was reached this spring, and the merger became effective July 1, 2011.

The merger allows us to explore sharing resources and expertise in parts of our catchment area that currently don’t have those services. Sharing that expertise allows us to be more In August, ARC Ohio also announced that it was merging with competitive for federal grant awards.

Ohio AIDS Coalition. OAC is a statewide membership organization providing education, leadership training, advocacy, EM: I heard CATF received a large, 5-year grant for outand support for Ohio’s HIV/AIDS community. The merger is reach to MSM in the African American community, specifinow being completed, with OAC’s programs continuing under cally. Could you elaborate on that grant, and what exactly the nonprofit umbrella of ARC Ohio. is being done? Will the grant present new employment opportunities? Will the merger affect the grant?

EM: CATF hit a bit of a slump a few years ago; why the BH: We cannot comment on this until we receive official notislump? How did they get out of it? fication. We’d be glad to do a follow-up story.

Peggy Anderson: CATF, like many nonprofits, had several years of ending the year in the red. The economy tanked, contribu- EM: What do you see for the future of ARC Ohio? tions were down, and the organization didn’t respond as BH: Our merger decision was all about long-term viability and quickly as it should have. Thankfully, CATF had (and now ARC enhancing services. We are less than three months into our Ohio has) wonderful staff that was willing to tighten the merged organization, and already we are seeing many benereins, be patient and support the cause because they befits to our services, administration, advocacy and fundraising lieved in it. We cut as many expenses as we could, and we capacities. We are very optimistic about the future and the asked for advice from fellow non-profit agencies, consultants, enhanced awareness, prevention, advocacy and care services and the community. We had an extremely lean few years, and that we will be providing across Ohio. because of the staff dedication, no programs to clients were cut, and we survived those years. Thankfully, we were able to Dr. Robert J. Fass Memorial AIDSWalk is takes place at Bicentennial Park Saturday, October 8th from 8a - 10a. The event includes a build back some revenue, and we ended the last two fiscal years in the black. Becoming more stable allowed us to hire a 5K run, a 5K walk or a 1M stroll through the beautifully renovated Bicentennial Park in downtown Columbus. It’s Central development staff person for the first time in 2 years. That chance to run, walk or just take a stand in the fight against stability allowed us to go into the merger as a financially vi- Ohio’s HIV/AIDS! Not only a fundraiser that provides unrestricted monies to able organization. The leadership of CATF knew how difficult help address a shortage, but also a community-building awareness the last few years were, and we believed in preparing for event. In Ohio, more than 1,000 people a year are being diagnosed long-term sustainability for our programs and services to with HIV and the highest rates of new infections are occurring in our clients. youth, ages 13-24. With all of the work that ARC Ohio is doing, EM: Will ARC Ohio try to merge with Cleveland and Cincinnati? If so, is there a timeframe on that? outlookcolumbus.com

Don’t forget to sign up for the AIDSWalk! You can run, walk or stroll for a good cause.

maybe someday in the near future, we’ll all get to celebrate the anniversary of the AIDS vaccine. For more info: www.arcohio.org.

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Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy. The Tootsie Roll is also Trautâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite dance move.

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Gender, Sexuality and Queer Studies in Academics

by Alisa Caton At universities around the state, gender/sexuality/queer studies programs are only growing. These programs provide classes on the history, politics and modern issues in gender and sexuality. To get a better look at some of these programs I talked to the directors of some standout gender departments: Robin Bartlett at Denison University, Debra Moddelmog at The Ohio State University and Judith Grant at Ohio University. An important aspect about these programs is that not all of those enrolled are GLBT students, but many straight students.

“The program is just as important for straight students as it is to gay students,” said Moddelmog at OSU. “Students come out with a much more open mind.”

These programs unwrap many current and past issues and really allow students to analyze them. With gay history month upon us, and the continuing effort to raise understanding and acceptance of the GLBT community, education is a core foundation of that.

Alisa Caton: When did the program or department start?

Robin Bartlett: A Queer Studies Major was first proposed in 1999. The Academic Affairs Council, however, thought we should start with a concentration, so a Queer Studies Concentration was proposed. The Concentration consisted of an introductory course that covered some history and current issues and a theory course where students read the theorists in the field like Judith Butler.

Debra Moddelmog: It is an interdisciplinary program that connects with different departments and borrow faculty from other departments. In 2002 it started as a minor, and in 2006 as a graduate interdisciplinary. Just past year it started as a major. The most exciting thing about this is now we have three degrees. I think it will be a draw to OSU for people.

Judith Grant: 1979.

AC: Why do you as an educator think that a program like this is important to have in place?

RB: It is important to have a Queer Studies Concentration in place to make queer normal. Queer Studies is not about sexual minorities but 1) about how some human activities become the norm and others don’t; 2) what are the implications of that arrangement for those both in and outside the norm; and finally, using a prism rather than a binary lens seems a more appropriate tool for examining the complexities of human beings and their social arrangements.”

DB: First reason why we started it because we thought there was a lot of interesting courses on the topic. It benefits students personally and professionally.

JG: Nationally, the field of Women’s Studies began as a compensatory program to fill in gaps in education. In most fields, the texts were written by men, the subject matter concentrated on the experiences and histories of

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Alisa is currently making a blue wig out of cotton candy for her Katy Perry costume.

men, even in the sciences, most clinical trials were done with exclusively men. Later, as Women’s and Gender studies programs progressed, we developed our own theories and methodologies to study issues of gender and sexuality. The programs are important because this is now a field in its own right. Many of the ideas begun in WGS programs are now part of the mainstream in traditional disciplines such as English, History, Political Science and Art. Issues of gender and women are now considered to be at the heart of what we study in universities.

AC: Do you think there are any improvements that need to be made to the academics of Queer Studies, or the overall education of the history of GLBT persons and the understanding of them?

RB: I think it is important to keep putting the facts out there, for students to keep learning about GLBT folks, and to keep teaching the truth about our lives and how rewarding it is to live them.

AC: Do you think a version of gender studies in high school would be effective?

DB: When students come to college, whatever their sexuality, they come with a poor understanding of sexuality and sex education. I just fear we are doing a disservice to those with sexuality issues (in high school).

JD: Yes, and many students report that they already have taken women’s studies in high school.

I am currently a senior enrolled in the Ohio University Women and Gender Studies certificate program, and I am straight. During my sophomore year I signed up to take a 100 level Intro to Women and Gender Studies class, thinking I would just talk about some feminist issues and come out of the class with some real girl power. I clearly had ignored the gender part of the class title. I remember specifically the first time my professor showed us the movie Boys Don’t Cry. In the bubble I had been living in, I had never even heard about this movie.

As a straight person, I was completely opened up to a whole different type of life. I had no idea the struggle that any GLBT person experienced in simply just trying to be who they felt they were whole-heartedly. I walked away having talked about so many issues, that I remember feeling excited and glad that so many straight students had been enrolled in that class, thinking it would be a simple elective. We all saw a bigger picture, and could finally be on the road to understanding gender and sexuality issues. I loved the course so much that I enrolled in the certificate program almost immediately afterwards. Every course I have taken since then has allowed me to become much more confident with my own sexuality, and that confidence allows me to want others to feel the same way. The program has cleared up any misconceptions I had about GLBT or women issues, and I fully believe that these departments are important to the educational venue they each belong to.

Alisa Caton is a summer of 2011 outlook intern and a Senior at OU. She can be reached care of this magazine: editor@outlookmedia.com.

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On The Right Track, Baby

by Michael Straughter I remember having lunch with my uncle a little while ago and our conversation was as entertaining and sassy as you would expect from a couple of out spoken gay men (oh of course, he’s gay. Doesn’t everyone have a gay uncle?) However, in the midst of all our quips, jabs and laughs, he said something that instantaneously shifted the tone of the entire conversation.

“You know I gotta say, you really are extremely brave for being so out and open at such a young age. I couldn’t have done that in my time. It really blows my mind to see you and so many others of your peers that walk around with no shame or worries. Things are a lot easier now.”

My first thought was, what the hell? Easier?

Yeah right. I couldn’t help but think back to the physical, mental and emotional strain I’ve endured for as long as I can remember. How I still put up with insults and pretend to not notice the glares from some of the random judgmental people on the street. I’ve gone through enough unpleasantness since coming out in the 10th grade (and the many years in the closet prior) that it makes me want to roll my eyes and fold my arms like a bratty little child when I’m told what I’ve gone through is any kind of “easy.”

But then I became hyper aware of the near 30year generational gap between my uncle and myself. At 19 years old, it’s easy for me to not realize just how far we’ve progressed. Coming out in high school in 2008 is one of the more painfully awkward moments of my life. I’m quite sure everyone already knew (I mean, duh) but I felt lost, confused and downright terrified. I had no one to talk to and no one to turn to for guidance or encouragement. At the time, I couldn’t

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even fathom the idea of a “gay role model.” Little did I know that I could have found inspiration for my future by delving a bit into the past.

Fresh off the heels of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the 1970s was a decade of learning experiences as LGBT men and women had become increasingly visible to the general public’s eye.

Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to a public office, was arguably the most dynamic and well-known champion in the crusade for gay rights and equality. In 1976, Vietnam War veteran Leonard Matlovich was the first gay service member to fight the ban on gays in the military, after being dishonorably discharged after coming out publicly. After his death from HIV/AIDS complications in 1988, his tombstone famously displayed, “A gay Vietnam Veteran. When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.” Also in 1976, Renée Richards, a transsexual man and former professional tennis player, was denied entry into the US Open by the United States Tennis Association. After several months of legal struggles and media frenzies, The Supreme Court ruled that transsexuals, after full transition and sex reassignment surgery, were legally the new sex. It was a landmark decision in favor of the T in LGBT. And then there’s the 80s. Oh, boy. In the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, people, mostly gay men, were literally dying left and right. Over 50,000 people died in the United States from the disease between 1987-89 alone (fda.gov). The disease was, ignorantly and unfairly, labeled the “gay virus” by many, spreading rampant homophobia across the world almost as quickly as the virus itself. To come out and openly identify yourself as part of the LGBT community was one

of the strongest political statements one could make at the time (and arguably, still is). Our Rebel Commander, Michael Daniels, reflects on living through the turmoil.

and-coming queer youth (and our older gays) an extensive variety of people, fictional or otherwise, to look up to and identify with. Something that does make all the difference.

“There was an entire generation of gay men and women that were just being wiped out, dropping like flies, one after the other. The absence of anyone to look up to was, in a sense, a kind of role model to me. Yes, there were organizations such as The Human Rights Campaign, Queer Nation and AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) fighting for us but very few individuals to really admire. Coming out evolved into something more than a step in my life that I wanted to take. It became a necessity. I needed to help fill the void that was growing in size everyday.”

Some people and actions we can be proud of: • Lady Gaga releasing the worldwide #1 hit single Born This Way that has the lyrics,“No matter gay, straight, or bi; Lesbian, transgendered life; I’m on the right track, baby, I was born to survive.”

Much of the adversities that plagued the 80s carried its way over into the 90s as well.

HIV/AIDS was still spreading seemingly out of control and the nation was undergoing a shift, a mixture of progress and angst (lots and lost of angst). Who will ever forget when Ellen Degeneres famously came out on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in front of the whole country? And weeks later she did the same in character on her sitcom Ellen, changing television and media forever. The highly publicized murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998 was a jarring reminder of the intolerance and cruelty we still have to come across, the importance of having a close knit community and how far we still have yet to go on the road to acceptance.

But now in 2011, the LGBT community is more omnipresent in mainstream media and everyday life than ever, shining a light of normalcy on what has been a long-standing taboo in our culture for far too long. We’ve had icons in the past but never before in this multitude, giving up-

Judy Garland is often considered the “quintessential gay icon.” Who wouldn’t want to wear those ruby slippers?

• Chaz Bono as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars, the first transgendered man to be featured on a top 10 rated prime-time television show.

• The “It Gets Better Project” started in 2010 by author and writer Dan Savage and his partner, gaining support from a plethora of celebrities and high profile names including Janet Jackson, The Human Rights Campaign and President Barack Obama.

• The repeal of the fundamentally flawed and progressively lagging “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on September 20, 2011.

• All things that we and future generations will able to look to for inspiration and say, “I don’t have to be afraid or ashamed anymore.”

Who or what is the biggest LGBT role model?

There is no greater motivation than the want, need and right to be true to yourself and ourselves.

“Burst down those closet doors once and for all, and stand up and start to fight.”

Well said, Harvey Milk, well said. outlookcolumbus.com

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outlookcolumbus.com 13.

October 11 is National Coming Out Day. So come on out! The waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fine.

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shied away from taking on gay roles, most recently in the acclaimed Broadway revival of Angels in America. (Or from making an “It Gets Better” video, for that matter.) Now Quinto’s about to take on another gay role, this time on Ryan Murphy’s much-anticipated scary show for FX, American Horror Story, where he’ll portray the man who sells the haunted Victorian manor to the show’s lead characters, played by Dylan McDermott and Connie Britten. Quinto and Britten are slated to become pals on the show over the four episodes in which Quinto is slated to appear - he’ll first turn up on a two-part episode airing Halloween week. So if you like getting spooked by Spock (and really, who doesn’t?), tune in.

by Romeo San Vicente

And another Brit import, Toast, already aired on BBC1 but getting an October theatrical release COMING SOON: A WEEKEND OF TOAST stateside, is a nostalgic dramedy about the boyhood of best-selling gay food writer Nigel Slater.

Pity the gay-themed indie film. Usually relegated Starring Freddie Highmore (Neverland) and Heto a limited release for an equally limited audilena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech) and ence in the urban art house movie market, it can penned by Billy Elliot screenwriter Lee Hall, Toast be tough to find a box-office foothold when Holly- has Elliot-style crowd-pleaser written all over it wood stuffs multiplexes with 3,000 prints of the and the credentials to score with Oscar voters, new Adam Sandler movie. But two autumn retoo. Now all it has to do is leave a good taste in leases might have more life up their sleeve than audiences’ mouths. the usual suspects. September sees the release of the critically acclaimed U.K. film Weekend, ZACHARY QUINTO’S GAY FOR HORROR from director Andrew Haigh. It’s been winning film festival awards all year and gathering praise While Zachary Quinto (Heroes, Star Trek) has from both audiences and critics, a rarity for low- maintained what we might call a “respectful sibudget romantic dramas with gay subject matter. lence” about his private life, he’s certainly never

“viral” was a process that took months and years, the products of cassette tape or copy paper. Given how today’s YouTube sensation becomes tomorrow’s has-been, it’s a strangely retro reminder of the extremely recent past.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE YOUNG CARRIE BRADSHAW CHRONICLES?

From this summer’s X-Men: First Class to the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man, youthful reboots are all the rage - but prequels aren’t just for superheroes anymore. And while first there were just rumblings, there are now more definite plans for HBO’s developing series (that would probably air elsewhere, most likely the CW) focusSUNDANCE HIT SHUT UP LITTLE MAN! HEADS ing on younger versions of the Sex and the City FOR THEATERS quartet. Imagine something along the lines of Smallville, only with Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte Two Midwestern punk rock dudes moved to San and Samantha instead of Clark Kent. With two Francisco in the late ’80s, only to be kept awake recent “Teen Carrie” books by Candace Bushnell, at night by the loud and boisterous arguments of The Carrie Diaries and Summer in the City, their drunken neighbors, one gay, one straight freshly ready for adaptation, this could all get and both very familiar with alcohol. The fascimoving quickly. Early casting news buzzing about nated new tenants tape-recorded the fights, Blake Lively has now grown to include talk of which later led to zines and duplicated cassettes Emma Roberts. Who knows, maybe Selena Gomez and staged readings that became an underis looking to change her image; if so, then there’s ground cultural phenomenon. That’s the story of your Charlotte. And if the show wanted to incorShut Up Little Man!, the darkly hilarious (and porate a genuine element of the surreal into the also remarkably sad) documentary that preproceedings, they could just let Kim Cattrall keep miered at Sundance this year, and now it’s head- playing Samantha. OK, maybe Samantha’s slutty ing to theaters in New York and Los Angeles on grandmother.

Sept. 16. (The film is currently available on-demand as well.) It’s a fascinating portrait, not just Romeo San Vicente is ready for sweater weather. He can be care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollyof the battling boozehounds next door but also of reached wood@qsyndicate.com. pre-Internet culture, when something going

by Julie Roth If I could summarize my childhood into I am not a professional piano player. In one short phrase, it would be “do everyfact, I’m not very good at reading thing.” Singing, swimming, basketball, music. I took piano lessons for 13 years. volleyball, trumpet, piano, crafts, theAre you surprised? atre, tennis. Try it all! My Germanrooted parents were committed to take My mediocre piano skills might be atadvantage of all that was offered. As a tributed to the fact that after school, I result, they taught me to think broadly would attend the Math Club meeting, and ambitiously across multiple disciand then I would go to basketball prac- plines. And now I can say that I am tice. After two hours of homework and good at a lot of things but not outstudying, I may have devoted a spare standingly great at any.

age, is mastering his instrument and impressing audiences. Stefan started playing the violin at age four and debuted in London 10 years later. How does one become so good, so quickly?

Both of Stefan’s parents are physicists, so imagining his intellectual and disciplined upbringing is not difficult. Similarly, his mother was German and his father was Korean. Both cultures are known for being organized, focused, driven and committed to tasks. These environmental factors most likely cre-

longer I encountered Caroline’s parents, the more I saw an unmatched determination. Caroline’s parents were committed and focused on giving their daughter every opportunity throughout her lifetime, from lessons to plane tickets and everything in between. This family’s determined spirit was inspiring.

We cannot change who we are and where we come from, but we can decide what to do with it. Cultural patterns

What Makes Musicians Great? thirty minutes to drowsily practicing the piano.

My story is common, but many people have become outstanding at what they Although we fight to admit reality and do. Working in the world of classical hate to stereotype, our identity sucmusic, I come across sensational musicinctly follows the patterns of our upcians often, allowing me to see many bringing and cultural norms. patterns in the culture and opportunities of world-renowned artists. (Malcom Two of my grandparents are European Gladwell has popularized this type of immigrants who came to the United causation approach in his book, OutStates in search of opportunity. Instead, liers.) they entered the Great Depression and then stumbled upon World War II, stunt- Who are these people? Who are their ing their view of the American dream. parents? What is their nationality?

My baby-boomer parents were part of Today, we run from stereotypes and like small, agricultural communities, where to believe that the apple falls far from life was abundant but opportunities the tree. But sometimes patterns canwere scarce. But then my family made not be denied. its way into the middle class, also known as the land of opportunity. And ProMusica’s October Opening Night perthat is why I never really found the time formance features 26-year-old violinist, or desire to become a piano superstar. Stefan Jackiw. Who, despite his young

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ated opportunities and the desire for practice. And, as well know, practice makes perfect.

can be both frustrating and invigorating as we study chances taken and opportunities lost. While I do wish I had taken piano lessons a bit more seriBut then there’s Caroline Goulding. Dur- ously, I am grateful for the well-rounding this 19-year-old’s appearance with edness my environment produced. I am our orchestra this past March, I had the also grateful that others have been privilege of sharing a short car ride and given diverse opportunities and have an interesting conversation with this adopted a more focused approach to rising star. Caroline’s background is life. Especially in the arts, the “greats” somewhat unexpected. Her Cleveland- provide us with new opportunities and based parents are special education experiences to build on and enrich our teachers. Her older brothers had short- own culture. lived interests in the trumpet and saxoExperience the great performance of Stefan phone. Caroline asked her parents to Jackiw himself on Sunday, October 9, 7pm buy her a violin at age three, and exat the Southern Theatre. Tickets are availpressed to me that her parents were able at www.promusicacolumbus.org or by never pushy, but always supportive. calling the ProMusica Office at That evening, I actually met her parents 614.464.0066. Julie Roth is the Communiand was astonished at their support - cations & Special Events Manager at Proand their near-amazement that their Musica Chamber Orchestra daughter had made it so far. But the jroth@promusicacolumbus.org

What would you do if you met the love of your life but they were a vampire? Would you take the bite?

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How do you think that plastic hat is going to hold up in those flames?

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Eye Contact: The Videos of Out Artist Dani Leventhal

by Chris Stults

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After my first encounter with the overwhelmingly powerful videos by Columbus native (and current Brooklyn resident) Dani Leventhal, I wondered if she was the fulfillment of a longstanding wish of a certain strain of filmmaking: the dream of the obsessive cinematographer, filming every aspect of their life in hope of obtaining… what, exactly? Enlightenment? Immortality? I thought I had discovered someone who just might have filmed every part of her life, but the sheer volume of footage is superseded by her uncannily keen sense of composition and selection, capturing the truth of each moment - whether heightened or quotidian - to a degree that few others have captured before.

But after spending more time with the work, I realized that I had it all wrong. Leventhal’s videos are not the triumph of an all-seeing subjectivity, but rather an effort to reduce the barrier between her and the rest of the world, whether human, animal or inanimate. The surface subjectivity is often employed to reveal a more ambitious and nuanced project, as in a revealing scene in Skim Milk & Soft Wax (2008) in which, sitting at a café in Israel with her father, she focuses not on the fraught Israeli environment but on an equally unknowable landscape: her father’s eye. Leventhal’s offcamera voice is filled with amazement as she exclaims that his pupil is not round, and once the camera moves in close enough we see that her father does indeed have a somewhat feline, slit-like pupil; meanwhile, he laughs and states, “I brought you here to have the Israeli experience, but you just want to film my eyeball.

Danielle, this has no meaning. No meaning whatsoever!”

Within the context of the video this moment emphasizes a recurring theme that, when it comes to Israel - and perhaps the world at large - Leventhal’s father sees things differently than she does. But after viewing a number of Leventhal’s other videos, this scene begins to take on a more resonant meaning, and indeed offers a key to her work. Belying the videos’ autobiographical address, the insistence with which Leventhal focuses on the eyes of others (both human and animal, living and dead) indicates that one of the aims of her project is a desire to explore and understand how others see - including the camera itself, which functions as both a channel for Leventhal’s subjectivity and an alienated, autonomous eye in its own right.

Leventhal’s peculiar, unexpected entrance to video making began in 2002, when, in the process of earning her MFA in sculpture from the University of Illinois at Chicago, she broke her hand in three places while working on a large sculptural piece that involved a harness and a boat winch. Trapped in a cast from this injury, she began editing footage that she had been shooting for various purposes over several years. Finding video to be a medium conducive to her interests, she went on to receive a second MFA in film/video from Bard College in 2009. This background in sculpture, and the ability to create form out of an accumulation of

material, greatly informs her video making. Her works often feel as if they are chiseled and molded out of time; at especially unruly moments, the joins between shots can be so raw that splices are almost visible, even though the work is all shot and edited digitally.

The jarring juxtapositions that are so frequent in Leventhal’s videos bring to mind the guiding principles behind Artaud’s Theatre of Cruelty, with “cruelty” understood not as violence, but as an exposure of the truths that most of us overlook in the course of daily existence. Approaching situations that could potentially cause harm - whether it’s encroaching on the territory of a horned cow, handling dead animals, or baring one’s personal life - Leventhal evinces not fear but unblinking curiosity. She even interrogates this impulse in 3 Parts for Today (2007), which opens with a simultaneously astonishing and hard-to-watch shot of a fledgling lying on pavement gasping for breath. Later in the video, Leventhal recounts, “It didn’t even occur to me to try to save that bird.

It was just this beautiful footage.” Curious even about her own curiosity, Leventhal is able to create moments of overwhelming intimacy, whether lovingly caressing roadkill, candidly revealing her childlike playfulness while making a bed with a loved one, or getting head-butted by the aforementioned cow.

The shot of the fallen bird exemplifies a predominant tension in Leventhal’s work between the cold, dispassionate eye of the camera and the loving, empathetic hand wielding it. It also points out a motif that has been in evidence as early as Draft 9 (2003), a tender study of animals (cats, birds, bears and more), as often dead as alive. Even when dead, however, Leventhal endows these creatures with a vivified aura: treating them with reverent respect and gentle concern, she grants them a presence and a return to (some kind of) life. What becomes clear about Leventhal’s continual fascination with these animals is that, even in death, they confirm the simplest fact of life: existence.

With this in mind, the final sequences of Skim Milk & Soft Wax are some of the most pivotal in her work to date. While in Israel, she and her father encounter an extremist who pronounces that Arabs are “not humans… they are nothing but animals,” making clear by his tone of voice that he is not only denying the Arabs’ humanity, but their right to exist as well. For an artist dedicated to acknowledging the existence of the other, this is too much to bear. Two final shots follow this confrontational moment, and Dani’s presence recedes increasingly in each. In the penultimate shot, she is seen at a keyboard taking dictation for her father (in a tightly framed medium shot that has most of her head out of the frame), while the video closes with her arrival back in the US, her off-camera voice heard over footage of an airport landing field at night. “The strangest thing happened,” she whispers, “I lost my voice… this has never happened to me.” Within the context of this particular video, Leventhal is here elegantly showing her exasperation in trying to convey - and situate her identity within - what her father called “the Israeli experience.” When this passage is looked at alongside her larger body of work, however, it speaks to the overriding essence of Leventhal’s project: not a diarist’s intimate disclosures, but an almost Buddhist dissolution of ego.

Throughout her videos, even at the most personal of moments, Leventhal’s voice merges with the world. And, in the end, everything merges with the night.

Dani Leventhal, one of this year’s Wexner Center Film/Video Residency Award recipients, is returning to her hometown on October 25 to present a couple of her extraordinary videos at the Wexner at 7 pm and giving a free lecture and screening of her work at the Gateway Film Center at 12:30 pm.

(The award-winning filmmaker Jacqueline Goss will also be showing her award-winning feature film The Observers, starring Dani Leventhal, at the Wexner Center program.)

6 degrees: Dani is daughter to the illustrious Aaron Leventhal, the man outlook purchased High Street Neighborhoods Magazine from.

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An evening with

David Sedaris

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The People Are Not Afraid

by Mackenzie Worrall When I first saw sites like Kickstarter, I thought they were brilliant. And then I read the fine print. If you don’t reach your fundraising goal on Kickstarter, you don’t get to keep any of it. So, I was surprised when I heard some serious indie filmmakers doing a good portion of their fundraising on a site called IndieGoGo. With IndieGoGo, you still pay a service charge if you reach your goal, but it’s lower than whitey-tighty waistlines at Pride. If you fall short, you still get 91% of what you did raise. That’s a helluva lot better than 0% with Kickstarter.

OK crowdfunding, you’ve won me over.

Those indie gay movies that are still ‘too gay’ for Hollywood? They’ll look good. Gone are the days of cheap direct-to-DVD LGBT that look like bad porn (but are disappointingly not porn). The quality of your films is now in your hands - often with incentives! In the case of Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf? you can be listed as a producer and spend an hour on the town with one of the stars. I would like to meet Virginia Woolf, but we all know that ain’t gonna happen. So I’ll settle for an amazing production manager.

“We haven’t hit any setbacks that other Cuban-American lesbian feminist feature films haven’t,” production man-

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of Vagina

ager Christine Treibel tells me. “What has been the most exciting part of our fundraising process has been the overwhelming financial and emotional support we’ve received from the audience with our crowdfunding campaign. With over a thousand friends via social media and donations coming in from all over the world, it’s good to know that the viewers really want this content made and that they are willing to pay a little extra for a unique story to be told.”

Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf? is a semi-autobiographical film about a Cuban-American lesbian filmmaker, directing an all-female remake of the 1966 Mike Nichols film adaptation of Edward Albee’s play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It works on many levels. The film stars Guinevere Turner (The L Word), Tammy Lynn Michaels (Popular), Whitney Mixter (The Real L Word), and the director herself!

On her website, director Anna Margarita Albelo talks about watching Nichols’ film for the first time and rushing “to the kitchen to make jugs of ice tea so I could follow George and Martha, gulp by gulp.” For Anna, the original film is about failure. But in the end, there will always be someone there to love you.

How fitting that the character Anna in Vagina finds herself a failure without a love life or a film career. In a two-birdsone-stone maneuver, she decides to launch a huge film project in order to jumpstart the career, and get closer to

The people might not be, but Michael is terrified of V-jay-jays.

her leading actress. When she faces one rejection, the whole movie begins to unravel.

Christine is modest, saying that they owe a lot to My Reincarnation’s crowdfunding campaign, which they learned a lot from. But I think Vagina’s campaign shows their resourcefulness, and a great knowledge of niche marketing.

“Crowdfunding is great!” Christine says. “Especially if you have a niche audience to play to. Or you make your mom donate 10 times.” While arts programs are used to squeezing every penny these days, that shouldn’t be the case. Instead of artists digging deep into their own pockets, they can make a living off of their craft with a little public support. And though that takes a whole other level of commitment, the team behind Vagina has proven it’s possible.

“The key to crowdfunding is engage engage engage. You have to be constantly reminding your community that you need their help.” “[A]ll we need is a few more passionate investors and we are ready to make the best film we can possibly make.”

Anna Margarita Albelo and Christine Treibel can be reached through www.vaginawolf.com. The film begins shooting this November in LA, and you can have a walk-on role for donating so much. Donate early. Donate often.

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Erectile dysfunction drugs have annual sales of more than $3 billion.

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Like No Other Lives

by Mackenzie Worrall “The stories are horrifying and mundane, hilarious and grim, wistful and insistent. They are anybody’s life because they are like no lives anyone else has ever had.” (Gay American Autobiography: Writings from Whitman to Sedaris ed. David Bergman, University of Wisconsin Press, 426 pages, $29.95 paperback) History was my least favorite class in high school. Though oddly, my favorite teacher was my freshman year third period Global History teacher. And so that you really understand, he had his work cut out for him. I went to Thomas Worthington. For the unfamiliar out there, picture a giant capital ‘T’ a quarter-mile tall. That was the hallway I had to trudge every day, with only 5 minutes between classes. First period was science at the upper left of the ‘T’, second period was P.E. all the way at the bottom, and (my poor history teacher) third period was directly above my science classroom on the second floor.

I would be hard to entertain.

Now (and this dates me - hush don’t tell), after September 11th, my history teacher walked into class, erased everything on the board, and spent the next week teaching us about modern politics of the Middle East. And I cared. It was the first time someone had made history relevant to me.

This is what David Bergman does in Gay American Autobiography. The selections he presents in this amazing, absolutelyrequired reading are glimpses into lives that you never knew existed: from the drag queens of the 1920s, to out-if-notproud men through the ages. Of course his title promises excerpts of Whitman and Sedaris, two authors you all know.

But the most amazing lives are those of men you’ve never heard of - probably because of the lives they lead. Frankly, for living so outlandishly, we owe it to them to read and cherish their accounts of gay life.

Bergman has woven a story of America’s gay culture. Often coinciding with each other, the passages progress from oldest to most recent. We want to find ways in which we’ve grown, as if we were speaking proudly of grandparents who fought in The Great War. But it’s also a sigh of relief to see the same carnal desires in

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men of the past. Was it so wrong to want a blowjob in a New York alley in the early 20th Century?

A wealth of information on the subject, Mr. Bergman was happy to offer even more insight into gay American autobiographies.

MACKENZIE WORRALL: The criteria for inclusion seem simple: gay, American, autobiography. But it’s obviously more complex than that. In longer terms, what were your criteria for inclusion?

DAVID BERGMAN: One major concern was covering the period. I wanted to have early, as well as, recent examples of autobiography. I wanted to cover as many different historical events as I could, so there are passages that deal with World War II and gay liberation, college and kindergarten. I wanted to represent the range of gay experience, ethnically, geographically and socially.

But I was mostly concerned with literary quality. I wanted passages that were a pleasure to read.

MW: How many selections did you consider for this anthology? Did you leave any out that you really wanted to include?

DB: It took years of reading to make the selection, and there were lots of passages I wanted to include that I couldn’t because the book was growing too long, or I couldn’t pay reprint charges, or I couldn’t find who owned the rights.

Many of the examples came from authors who are dead and publishers that are no longer in business. I was very lucky that people were extremely helpful in directing me to executors. Being an editor is sometimes like being a private detective.

MW: Which is your favorite passage?

DB: I really can’t say. I’m fond of all of them. I’m pleased that I could reprint material that is very hard, if not impossible to find, such as Minette’s recollections of drag shows in the forties, Michael Rumaker’s account of going to the baths in the seventies or Gil Cuadros’s story of being a Latino boy.

MW: One of my favorite recurring ideas is the ‘line of transmission’ that Lincoln Kirstein and Sam Steward express a desire for. It’s an interesting way of establishing lineage in a community mostly lacking direct biological parentage. Do you see more of this ‘line of transmission’ throughout the

gay literature and culture?

DB: I’ve come across a number of examples of it. What is more important is the nonsexual way that people make contact with the past. I’ve been corresponding with Claude Fredericks, who is now in his eighties, and was a lover of James Merrill’s. Claude is publishing an extraordinary journal of his life, and I mentioned I had been reading May Sarton’s diaries. Claude sent me a section of his journal dealing with his friendship with Sarton and Muriel Rukeyser, and it gave me a chill, because I had just published an essay on Rukeyser that covered the period in which Claude knew. It seemed like an enormous circle had been drawn and gathered me into it.

MW: The oldest writings paint a picture of a community not too different from our own now. Has the LGBTQ world matured yet?

DB: I think we’re pretty mature; it’s the straight world that has to grow up. But I know what you mean. One of the earliest autobiographies in America is Earl Lind’s account of cruising the New York streets in drag. Some things don’t change.

MW: In 50 years, who would you include in a supplemental volume of authors?

DB: Actually I’ve been working with the English scholar Richard Canning on a global anthology of gay autobiography. I hope to include some of Tennessee William’s Memoir. I just read a work from 1971 called The Joint, which is the letters from prison of James Blake, an extraordinary writer who has dropped off the map. I adore Holly Woodlawn’s memoir. There are a number of younger memoirists: Justin Vivian Bond, Wade Rouse and Scott Kilmer-Purcell. This summer I read over forty autobiographies so I’m having a tough time focusing - so much was interesting.

MW: Plugs, book recommendations, and fashion advice?

DB: Read every day something you shouldn’t be reading.

David Bergman is poetry editor for The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide, and serves on the editorial boards of The Kenyon Review, American Literary History, and The Harrington Quarterly of Gay Men’s Fiction. A teacher at Towson University for over 30 years, Dr. Bergman helped found their program in Cultural Studies, one of the first such undergraduate programs in the country. He also served as the first director of the Program in Lesbian and Gay Studies.

Speaking of David Sedaris, he’ll be here in Columbus on October 23 at the Palace Theater. And FYI, that pic is Walt Whitman.

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Famous blood sucking vampires: Dracula, Edward Cullen and Michelle Bachman.

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Drawing inspiration: an

interview with

phil Jimenez

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by Chuck Carnahan Spandex, capes and perfectly ripped abs; every culture has its heroes but not all of them were bitten by radioactive spiders or have been exposed gamma radiation. Heroes inspire people to think bigger than themselves, to think that they can do extraordinary things. They help us dream of bigger and better things for our life, for others and the world at large. Some heroes don’t have super strength or x-ray vision, but a pencil and the ability to set our imagination free.

With Wizard World’s Mid-Ohio Comic Con on the horizon, (October 22-23 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center) out comic book artist and writer Phil Jimenez is one of this year’s headlining guests.

Not only has he worked on such epic titles as Wonder Woman, The Amazing SpiderMan, X-Men and many others, he also played Toby Maguire’s hands in the 2002 film Spider-Man and was listed as one of Entertainment Weekly’s “101 Gay Movers and Shakers.”

comic book industry. It was an extraordinarily safe place for me to do so, and the folks at DC and Marvel Comics have always been incredibly good to me. It’s my experience that both companies have made it extraordinarily easy to be openly gay, and the industry itself seems to have gone out of its way to be accepting and non-judgmental. The only barriers I had to overcome in comics, re: my sexuality, were the ones I created for myself.

CC: Is it ever difficult being openly gay while illustrating a universe (or “multiverse” for fans of Infinite Crisis) of overtly macho characters?

PJ: I’ve had a few instances where the battles over decisions made about characters are rooted in what I believe to be very strict gender ideas/roles, and I certainly think that now (more than when I was younger), there’s a more conservative bent to mainstream superheroes and their “maleness.”

That said, I don’t own these characters - Warner Bros. and Disney do and ultimately, it’s my job to draw them to the best of my ability, in whatever ways the editorial staff (and their parent companies) expects of me.

CC: With more and more comic book characters coming out (for instance, Lord Fanny of The Invisibles), do you feel that LGBT characters have found a permanent place in mainstream comics?

How many of us can remem- PJ: I totally believe there’s a place for ber sitting at the kitchen such characters and we’re seeing table after school trying to more and more of them. I’m not sure recreate our favorite comic we’ll ever see an “all gay” Justice book pages line for line? In League, but I suspect that, as acceptfact, I can recall doing exactly ance in the mainstream culture for that with many of the books gay people continues to grow, that acillustrated by Jimenez. At the ceptance will find its way into maintime, I didn’t know that he stream comic books (it’s already a was gay but then, as a kid, I huge topic/aspect of the more “slice of don’t think I was even conlife” kind of stories that permeate inscious of such issues. All I dependent comics). And let’s face it, if knew was that as the steroid Archie Comics can focus positively on pumping ‘Image’ styles of the an out gay character, shouldn’t DC 90s were seemingly everyand Marvel feel comfortable to do the where, his was a more classic same? visual style, near-infinitely more anatomically correct CC: When writing the love story inand a breath of fresh air, volving two Amazons in Wonder which inspired me like few Woman, did you receive any negaother artists could. Only tive feedback or words of caution through time did I realize that from your editors or supervisors at he is not only a great artist DC Comics? but also an inspiration on PJ: Not that I remember! It was such a many other levels. I realized background element, and mired in the that heroes don’t need super politics of the two tribes the Amazons powers or the ability to fly to belonged to (they were a Romeo and capture our imaginations.

Juliet kind of couple, from two warring tribes of Amazons, for those who never Chuck Carnahan: Firstly, read the book back in the day). Plus, what is it like to be openly theirs was not at overtly sexualized regay in the comic industry? lationship, and they were lesbians Any barriers that you’ve had both things that were far more easy to to overcome? get approved editorially a decade ago.

Phil Jimenez: It’s on record (and off) that I’m not sure I CC: DC seems to be much more acwould have wanted to come cepting of LGBT characters than out anywhere else but the other large publishers. Why do you

Get ready to geek out. Mid Ohio Comic Con is in town Oct 22-23 at the covention center! We will be there as the Avengers.

think this is?

PJ: I think the leadership of Jenette Khan cannot be understated here.

Jenette was an incredibly progressive, thoughtful publisher, and I attribute much of the wonderful creative and real-world diversity we see in DC Comics today to her time helming the company. But I’ve gotta say, Marvel, in my experience, has been a great haven for gay creators, too.

CC: In 1994, your first public partner and DC Comics colleague, Neal Pozner passed away due to complications with AIDS. Can you tell us about what went through your mind and of some of the support you received after dedicating your series Tempest to Pozner?

PJ: As anyone who’s lost someone close to them knows, there’s an enormous variety of feelings one goes through after the death of a loved one.

Again, I was really lucky to be working at DC Comics, where so many people supported him, because they created an incredible network of friendship and solace for me. Having the good fortune to be able to dedicate my first miniseries to him - in such a public way - was a really wonderful gift, and I’m glad that it still touches people to this day. Tempest remains my favorite work, mostly because I see it as a “pure” work - unfettered by crazy editorial decisions/interference, and I think you can “feel” the love and effort on every page. To have even one such storytelling piece out there in the world like that - something you feel truly represents you, your feelings, your vision, your art, without interference, is probably pretty rare, and thanks to the folks at DC, and Neal himself, I have that. And for that, I’m the luckiest boy in the world.

CC: Do you have any parting words for the hoards of queer fan-boys and girls out there?

PJ: Gosh - as ever, just take care of yourself, and each other. The thing I love about being gay is that, as a broad “community” of people, we’re represented across the board - men, women, old and young, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, from all corners of the globe. The potential of our community to change the world we live in always brings me to tears when I consider it; we have incredible power, when we use it properly. We lost a generation of world changers a generation ago to AIDS; I certainly hope that this generation of young gay people realizes just what it’s capable of, and makes strides to make their world - our world - the best possible place it can be.

Read more! The complete version of this interview is available at outlookcolumbus.com.

Chuck Carnahan is a motion graphics expert, videographer, photographer, extreme dominos champion and according to his mom, has a great face for radio.

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You’ll find all the Outlook interns in the pumpkin patch with Linus waiting for the “Great Pumpkin”.

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Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a turnabout: On Halloween, Lady Gaga only wears blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt and tennis shoes. Scary!

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Molto di Moda + Fashion Week Columbus 2011

by Ryan Harris Well boys, fall is here and it’s time to show the girls that we have style too. I have been noticing a trend lately that doesn’t have to do with fashion; it’s the placement of men’s clothing and shoes in some of my favorite stores.

We are being pushed to the back of stores, or being taken over by the expanding women’s fashions. Not fair, right? Well I was once told that “fair” has nothing to do with life; it is a place you go to ride rides and eat cotton candy, so suck it up and prove your point without complaining. So, let’s prove our point this fall and show the girls what we’ve got!

You are going to see many different styles this upcoming season. The 60s socialite, 70s chill, 80s prep, even 90s grunge has circled back around. Bright colors to earth tones, skinny leg to wide leg, checks to strips, leather to wool: it’s wide spread and making it easy for every man to find his modern look from the past.

With every season there are good and bad fashions that make their way into the market. Let me cut to the chase and list what I’m not loving this season for men. The fuller cut suiting is making a come back, but remember to dress for your shape. If you look best in a fitted suit, then stick with that. Pleats are back as well, but you won’t find those in my wardrobe. And for some reason, men’s work wear and camouflages are making a way into the mainstream... I’ll pass on that as well. However, there are certain looks this season that stand out to me as my faves. Here are my top picks for Men’s Fall Fashion 2011.

When it comes to causal wear, forget about the tees and don’t rely on plaids every day. It’s not wrong; it is just easily over done. Let’s add some class back to casual wear and stock up on the Oxford shirt this season. This stylish, but comfy, button-down will work in every setting and season. You can find it in a slew of colors and patterns to set any tone, and can be as dressy or as casual as you want. Keep it solid or make a statement in strips or checks. Grab some in classic cotton, or go for the softer, washed cotton. You decide the look, but one thing you must do is manage the fit. In my opinion, oversized shirts should be outlawed. Look for Oxfords that have a tailored fit, or have the shirt custom tailored for your body shape. Either way, it will make a world of difference in your entire look.

Want to take that Oxford and create totally different looks? For a preppy look, pair with a lower cut denim, or chino, and add a bright colored belt and a suede boot.

Take it to the next level by adding layers. Leather jackets are the perfect choice to accent your classy look.

Whether you go for the rugged bomber jacket, or a motorcycle jacket, black or brown, it will make a killer statement that will only be defined by you.

Bold stripe sweaters will find their way into your wardrobe this season (or should anyway) and tweed, her-

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ringbone and hounds tooth sport coats and overcoats will be a season staple. Wool ties, three piece suits, leather strap watches and wedge soles will be seen more this season than ever before. But my absolute favorite trend this season is the classic Italian look. This look is without a doubt Molto di Moda.

Italian design is dominating this season’s workable wearables, and it has taken on a meaning of its own to the every day Fashionisto. Quality, elegance, and comfort are what matters here. Italian style is more about longevity than being trendy. If you have followed my column, you are well aware that quality staple pieces that can carry you from season to season are always at the top of my list.

While sticking with the classic Oxford shirt, try swapping out your denim with colorful, tailored cotton trousers.

Shoes should be thought of as the foundation of the outfit, so whether you go with polished wing tips, or weathered driving moccasins, your footwear will make or break the look. Fun socks in bright colors or crazy patterns only add to the overall feel. Blazers are a staple piece and should fit slim through the body with more relaxed shoulders. And, feel free to pop the collar to add some attitude and insert a pocket square to show off your own personality. To take your look to the office, add a contrasting tie and layer with a bright colored v-neck or crew neck sweater to add a touch of sophistication to your Italian inspired look. Mix and match all these ideas and your fall wardrobe will be Molto di Moda.

Want a better way to sum up fall fashion for both men and women this season? Only one thing comes to my mind: Fashion Week Columbus. It’s back again this year and promises to be bigger and better than ever! We kick off with the 2nd Annual PEEP SHOW in the Short North Arts District from 6p-10p on October 1st, followed by the official launch on October 9th with High Fashion High Tea with Mayor Michael B. Coleman from 1p-3p at Two Fish Bistro & Red Bar and Sushi. The entire week will be dedicated to the best fashion Columbus has to offer, and will come to an end with the Fashion Week Columbus 2011 Big, Bold, Fashion Finale on Friday, October 14th. This final day will consist of a pre-show cocktail hour from 6:30p-7:30p at 2 Miranova Place, 9th Floor, leading to the finale runway show from 8p-9p. Tickets are on sale now and will sell out fast, so visit www.fashionweekcolumbus.com for the full schedule of designers, events, locations and ticket sales. And if the fashion isn’t enough of a reason to come out, portions of the sales will benefit the Central Ohio Men Against Prostate Cancer and the Dress for Success Columbus Chapter. I hope to see you all there.

Make Everyday a Runway!

Ryan Harris is the owner of RH Model Mentor, Senior Stylist/Fashion Consultant for Wardrobe Therapy LLC, and the Fashion Chair for Fashion Week Columbus. Contact him at www.rhmodelmentor.com, or for more style info visit www.wardrobetherapyllc.com.

Chris after the SBB awards show. Talk about a party!

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Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about GLOW this year. How glowy will you be?

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by Dan Savage I am a 22-year-old college grad who has been living at home for the last year. My parents are divorced, so I’ve gone back and forth from one place to the other. The other day, I was using my father’s computer, and the history came up on the search engine. It turns out that while I am in the house, my father views pornography that involves incest fantasies. I felt quite disturbed by what I saw - it made me physically sick - and I’m wondering if I should continue to have a relationship with my father.

I’m not just urging you to give your father the benefit of the doubt, however revolting his taste in porn might be, but also to take what you found out about him and stuff it down the memory hole.

Don’t say anything to your father, DAD, or to anyone else. You no longer have to live with your father - or use his computer - and I see no need to terminate your relationship with him, or to go nuclear on his reputation, over a deeply creepy kink that your father neither asked for nor has ever attempted to act on.

In a week, I start a new job in another country - so I can get away from him for a while and think about my options. What should I do? Should I tell him that I know about it and I’m not interested in having a relationship with him anymore? Do I tell my friends or family? Should I trust what my gut is telling me and pack up, jump in a cab, and never talk to him again?

1. Thirty-year-old gay man here. I was briefly dating someone until he was a huge asshole to me. I have since not had any contact with him.

However, I have been Facebook stalking him and obsessing over pictures of the guys I assume he’s dating now. Why am I having such a hard time getting over him? Our relationship was so brief! He’s a major asshole!

Disturbed And Distressed

2. It may help you to know that I lost my virginity by being raped when I was 19. I started dating only last year, because I thought sex was scary and never wanted to feel like that again and/or make anyone else feel like that. (The guy who raped me went on to become a born-again Christian!) This guy is only the second person I’ve ever dated. Do you think that’s relevant?

There are people who are turned on by incest scenarios - hypothetical dads seducing hypothetical daughters, fictional moms seducing fictional sons who are nevertheless revolted by the idea of actual incest, i.e., nonhypothetical fuck sessions with their own nonfictional family members. Many of these incest fetishists have sent me letters over the years, DAD, wondering what’s wrong with them. Or wondering what’s right with what’s wrong with them, I should say, as they’re turned on by incest fantasies but not, as they’re invariably relieved to add, by incest realities. So what gives?

stretched-out set of earlobes gets me insanely wet. And tongue-fucking a stretched piercing is enough to bring me most of the way to orgasm.

If there are chicks with a kink for something, then surely there must be dudes who have a kink for it, too.

I stretched my own earlobes 20 years ago for mostly sexual reasons.

I like the way it looks, but I did it primarily because I get off on having my ears fondled and licked. I figured that if someone licking the outside of my earlobe felt so good, imagine if someone could lick the inside of my earlobe! Now they can - and it’s bliss!

I’m not saying you have to change your mind, Dan, because YKIOBINMK - your kink is okay but it’s not my kink - but I was disappointed that you would come out so strongly against stretched-out earlobes.

You’re always defending lesser kinks. Could it be that you were unaware of mine?

Yes, Ears Are Hot I know enough about sex - and enough about kink - to know that if something exists, someone out there somewhere is perving on it. And if a particular something is made of human flesh and has a hole in the middle of it, someone out there somewhere is sticking fingers, tongues, dicks, or gerbils in it, making sex tapes while they do it, and then posting the video on the World Wide Interwebs for all to enjoy.

3. I used to have stretched-out earlobes. When I took my plugs out, I did get “earlabia,” but only for a few Somehow it didn’t occur to me that days, and then they closed up and no there were earlabia fetishists out one really noticed. there, so I appreciate - kindasorta you taking the time to clue me in.

Normal Earlobes Now While I may disapprove of silky, It’s the thrill of violating a taboo, not a stretched-out sets of earlabia, YEAH, I child; it’s the power dynamics that 1. I can’t know for sure! But it sounds will defend to the death your right to have been eroticized, not the parental like you might still have feelings for tongue them. dynamics - but that’s for another col- this guy! Just a hunch! umn. You wrote, DAD, because you You’re going to catch hell for your don’t know what to do about your dad. 2. I’m sorry that your very first sexual earlobe observation, but I have to experience was so traumatic, NEN, add this: I worked with a young man Unless your father has given you rea- and indeed it strikes me as relevant. who decided that gauging his earson to suspect that he actually wants You were violated and powerless dur- lobes to the max was a sexy thing to to fuck you - unless finding your dad’s ing your very first sexual experience do. When the look got old, he took porn helped you to identify a pattern of and now, 10 years later, your relation- the plugs out. Because of the size of inappropriate behaviors on your faship ended in a way that left you feel- the plugs, the holes in his ears would ther’s part with but one possible inter- ing violated and powerless. Stalking not close. He had to have them surgipretation (he actually wants to fuck your ex on Facebook gives you a feeling cally cut and stitched, which made you) - let’s give your father the benefit of power over him, NEN, but that power his ears look somewhat deformed. of the doubt, shall we? Let’s assume is bogus, stalking him is making you The cost was $800, and it wasn’t covthat one of the many letters I’ve remiserable, and it’s pushing back the ered by insurance. ceived from incest fetishists was writ- date that you’re finally over this guy. ten by your dad.

Knock it off.

Just Saying I’m operating under an assumption: again, that your father has never done anything that made you feel unsafe. If your discovery had led you to connect a bunch of deeply creepy dots, DAD, that’s surely something you would’ve mentioned in your letter. Which is why

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3. You’ve given me hope for all the oth- You’ve filled me with despair for all the erwise cute boys I see wandering otherwise cute boys I see wandering around with stretched-out earlabia. around with stretched-out earlabia.

Hipster boys! Keep stretching your earlobes! I’m a hipster girl and stroking the silky texture of a nice

Gross, I don’t think she washed her hands first.

Find the Savage Lovecast (my weekly podcast) every Tuesday at thestranger.com/savage. mail@savagelove.net

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by Jack Fertig

n h o J

by Chris Hayes This month’s local celebrity wasn’t a cheerleader in college, but he sure is a big ra-ra now!

John Angelo was born and raised in Rockledge, FL in the shadow of the space shuttle. Post graduating University of Florida, young Angelo was recruited by Proctor & Gamble and lured to Cincinnati to start his career. After 5 years at P&G and a master’s in marketing from UC (Go Bearcats!), our celeb broke out into special event production and got to work on his passions of community development and creating experiences for people.

After 15 years of creating large events for the Queen City (there’s a joke in there that’s even too easy for me to make), John was ready to try something new. He was about to move to Barcelona with his partner Frank, when he stumbled into the Short North and fell in love. After securing the Short North Business Association’s executive director position, the deal was sealed and the couple stayed in Ohio and Angelo began positioning Columbus locally, nationally and internationally as a premier destination. That could be where you know him from if you’ve been hanging in ShoNo that last 6 years.

If that’s not it, it could be in the media. Ardent promoter and advocate for the Short North, and Columbus in general, you may have caught him on the news or quoted the in a variety of publications challenging the City to be the world-class destination it can be.

But more than just an advocate, he also is a creative force.

You might not have put two and two together though to realize that during is 5-year tenure with the SNBA, he was the creator and mastermind of such events as Art Al Fresco, High Ball Halloween, Short North Gala and the Short North’s Got Talent.

Today, our 48-year-old celeb owns his own consulting company called DestMar (Destination Marketing), where he helps communities become stronger destinations, just like he did with the Short North. Right now he’s working with the City and the Bicentennial Commission on next year’s extravaganza. His baby in that year-long set of festivities is called IDEA (Innovation, Design, Engineering and Art), which will spotlight the vast talent that is in Columbus from tech to medicine to arts. He is also busy working with the SNBA on this year’s High Ball 4 that takes place Friday, October 28 and as John says ‘will be off the hook.’

“Think of the first three years as getting our feet wet; this year it goes to a whole other level.” We at outlook can’t

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wait! Much more organized than the average specter, Angelo already has his couture vampire costume underway, while our crew here is still fighting over who’s going to be which segment in our human centipede getup.

When not creating amazing destinations, John works hard at creating amazing memories with his husband Frank.

Whether that’s biking on the Olentangy trail, working on their house and garden, playing with their Australian Sheppard/Golden Retriever mixed dog Puck, experiencing the City’s offerings, or traveling the world, this couple of 14 years keeps the magic alive.

Being that Frank is from Germany, he and John are also adamant supporters of equal marriage rights and immigration fairness. The couple was married in Germany, and John has dual citizen ship, but if it weren’t for Frank’s green card coming through, their marriage wouldn’t have kept him in the States. They are also big supporters of Pelotonia, as well as, The Short North Stage equity theater group who’s home is the Garden Theater on High St across from Stonewall. The couple donated the funds to have the theater’s historic sign relit. Come check out the relighting during Gallery Hop this month. There’s a reception at 8p and they flip the switch at 9p. Yeah glow!

John says his favorite thing about Cbus is the people and vibe they create. “It’s an amazingly supportive and nurturing city.” Well, show him some support! If you see our long-haired hero out and about, buy him a Tanqueray 10 and Tonic with a lime and then volunteer for High Ball. He’ll love you big time.

Get creative, Pisces!

Venus in Virgo and Mars in Cancer are in a sextile that suggests homey seductions.

The best way to your intended’s heart, or other parts, is through dainty treats, preferably at home. These planets are also in hard aspect to Eris bringing a creative edge to competition, but perhaps too much competitiveness to your efforts.

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18): Deep insights can make work more productive but can prove divisive. Include colleagues in on the process; make them feel part of it to help your team be more competitive and less fractious.

PISCES (February 19 – March 19): You and your baby need some fun. How much to spend can be a bone of contention.

Get creative about economizing, but don’t go overboard VIRGO (August 23 – September about it. The best way to keep 22): Venus in your sign brings domestic peace is to keep charm that you can use to so- your mind on long-term goals. cial advantages. That can boost your sex life, but with ARIES (March 20 – April 19): messy complications. VolunBeing neat, sweet and domesteering time and effort for tic is the best way to sustain your community will challenge love or meet a new one. Resist you. All the more reason! being critical for the sake of being right or superior. If you LIBRA (September 23 – Octo- can offer improvements, first ber 22): All work and no make sure they’re welcome. play… you can accomplish a great deal sequestered at your TAURUS (April 20 – May 20): job. That will arouse competi- You’re so cute when you’re tive suspicion, but who better being shy. It works especially than you to find a cooperative well for you now, but being shy solution? Granted, that will be doesn’t mean being a wimp. If a job in itself! you have to choose between being adorable and standing SCORPIO (October 23 – Noup for yourself, you know what vember 21): Treat yourself to a to do! grand adventure. Ask your friends for the most far out en- GEMINI (May 21- June 20): Ortertainment they can think of. ganize household finances or Go one better if you can! Bet- just rearrange things in a way ter yet, read something that that makes more sense. Just will challenge your political or check in with your partner or spiritual values. roommates first. You could get away with exercising more iniSAGITTARIUS (November 22 – tiative, but consultation will December 20): Slow careful make it better. moves will promote your career much better than bold ac- CANCER (June 21- July 22): It’s tions. Take initiative to be especially tempting to gripe helpful and supportive; look about your boss, but he or she for problems to solve. Creative will hear about it! Tame your answers may seem brilliant, critical mind and turn it to but can prove divisive. The your own work. Among other tried and true will serve you benefits, focusing on producbetter. tivity will pull you out of needless worries.

CAPRICORN (December 21 – January 19): You are very likely LEO (July 23 – August 22): Most to lose arguments with your arguments are a waste of partner. Just pay close attentime. Is convincing some clod tion to better understand his that you’re right really that imor her point of view. Especially portant? The most important in this situation, your silent ac- arguments are within yourself, ceptance will be spiritually en- and can lead to new realms of riching and save your self-expression. relationship.

Jack Fertig, a professional astrologer since 1977 teaches at the International Academy of Astrology www.astrocollege.com. He can be reached for personal or business consultations at www.starjack.com,

High Ball Halloween is bigger and better than ever this year. The stage will be up at the empty lot at the corner of 5th and High.

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Talk about a blow out. You have to come to The Big Gay Night Out at Shadowbox Dec 14! Discount tickets to Holiday Hoopla and much more!

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