2013-12-01 outlook columbus magazine

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outlook

the year in review & perfect holiday party issue

volume 18 issue 7 • outlookcolumbus.com

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december 2013

Get a shirt while you get your scripts. It’s like a holiday one-stop shop!

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The new gay rainbow.

december 2013

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vol 18 • #7 the year in review & outlook’s perfect holiday party issue:

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you are here

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snapshot

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qmunity

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the other side

12 15

the mario & debbie show outlook’s perfect holiday party

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OPHP: guest list mary ann brandt

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OPHP: decor brian coovert OPHP: fashion tommy mcclure OPHP: music debé OPHP: drinks brady konya OPHP: food

20 22 24 26

Future generations will read about the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that struck down a longstanding ban on federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

They’ll read about the tide of additional states - nine when the year started, 16 now - where the right to marry no longer is determined by the gender of the people saying, “I do.”

They’ll read President Obama’s second inaugural address, the first in our history that touched on the rights of gay people as an American ideal.

jen lindsey & anne boninsegna

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year in review

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bookmark: soldier of change

36

creative class

38

about town: holiday happenings

40

nightlife

42 44

savage love / the divine life local celebrity bloggers / puzzling

46

gift guide

HEADQUARTERS Outlook Media, Inc. 815 N High St, Bsmt Ste G, Columbus, OH 43215 614.268.8525phone / 614.261.8200 fax

2013: What a Year It’s the big events of 2013 that’ll be in the history books.

OPHP: desserts

outlook’s staff and intern army

OWNER & PUBLISHER Christopher Hayes

you are here

kelly & mollie fankhauser

But I’ll remember the straight couple from Toledo who drove down to Columbus with two toddlers to participate in a March rally for marriage equality. I’ll remember the excitement the week the Supreme Court took up the marriage-equality cases and the day it ruled in our favor.

I’ll remember how even our setbacks and tragedies brought out the best in our community.

After the body of 20-year-old murder victim Cece Dove was found in Cuyahoga County, transgender Ohioans criticized and then taught the biggest newspaper in our state

how to treat people with dignity and respect. And a community meeting next month in Columbus will begin dialogue on how to address violence against transgender people.

When Bishop Watterson High School teacher Carla Hale was fired by a bigoted Catholic bishop, her former students - gay and straight - worked to make sure the church’s negative message to LGBT youth was countered by one of love and support.

And after three gay men were attacked in early June, Nina West rallied the community to wear pink as a statement against violence and donate thousands of dollars to BRAVO, the Buckeye Region AntiViolence Organization.

In this issue of outlook, we look back on what certainly has to be the most momentous year in the struggle for LGBT civil rights since the Stonewall riots. We covered it all in the magazine and at outlookcolumbus.com, and we’ll continue to do so in 2014.

But while this is a time of year to reminisce, it’s also a time to celebrate with friends and family.

When we started talking about this issue, we thought about what goes into the perfect holiday party: food, music, drinks, décor, the works.

What should we serve? What should we wear? Whom should we invite?

We didn’t have the answers, but we knew whom to ask, and they’re all within the LGBT community.

(Hey, we’re known for our hostess skills, are we not?)

So check out outlook’s Perfect Holiday Party, on Pages 15 through 28.

Floral designer Brian Coovert, fashion maven Tommy McClure, entertainer Debé, distiller Brady Konya, restaurateurs Anne Boninsegna and Jen Lindsey, and cupcake queens Mollie and Kelly Fankhauser share great advice for entertaining that will impress your guests and ease your stress.

And on Page 16, Mary Ann Brandt takes a moment from her upcoming Christmas show to share her hilarious advice on who should be left off your guest list.

Elsewhere in the magazine, on Pages 38 and 40, we’ve got the rundown on December’s holiday shows, concerts and other events, as well as the latest in New Year’s Eve offerings from the bars.

However and wherever you celebrate this month, raise a glass to our community’s progress in 2013 and what’s yet to come.

Bob Vitale

SALES Chad Frye / cfrye@outlookmedia.com Alexis Perrone / aperrone@outlookmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING Rivendell Media - 212.242.6863 ADVERTISING DEADLINES Reservations by the 15th of each month.

Art in by the 20th.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bob Vitale / bvitale@outlookmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Erin McCalla / emccalla@outlookmedia.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Abel Araya, Mary Ann Brandt, Debé, Jennifer DeLuke, Erin McCalla, Kailen Nourse, Mario

Pinardi, Dan Savage, D.A. Steward, Debbie Van Bommel, Bob Vitale ART DIRECTOR Christopher Hayes / hayes@outlookmedia.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS / DESIGNERS Chris Hayes, Emma Parker, Emma Reichert, Robert Trautman, Andrew Williams 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 of 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 ©2013 by Outlook Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

puzzling solution - puzzle on pg 44

Chris

Bob

Erin

Chad

Alexis

Dallas

Abel

Kailen

Courtney

Ian

Maryam

Mollie

Jen

Taylor

DAIlY COnTEnT: outlookcolumbus.com • nEXT MOnTH: drag 4

december 2013

Brandon , Amy and Miraj are our interns too, but we ran out of room and they were in last month.

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Does that hot guy come with the loveseat?

december 2013

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Melt­Opening­ 11/12/13 @­Melt­Bar­&­Grilled

Network­Columbus 11/13/13 @­The­Wex

Trans­Day­of­ Remembrance 11/20/13

6 december­2013

Got­pictures­you­want­to­include­on­the­snapshot­page?­Email­editor@outlookmedia.com

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What a feeling!

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qmunity Senate - and Portman - Support Anti-Bias Bill Although its prospects in the House are dim, the U.S. Senate for the first time endorsed a bill that would expand federal anti-discrimination laws to include LGBT Americans.

Sweet 16! Illinois, Hawaii Adopt Marriage Equality In 1993, a ruling by the Hawaii Supreme Court started a worldwide movement for marriage equality. In November, Hawaii joined the movement it began.

The 64-32 victory for supporters of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act marked a big turnaround from the last time the measure was considered by the Senate. In 1996, ENDA failed with 49 votes.

Among supporters this time was Sen. State lawmakers approved legislation on Nov Rob Portman, the 6 and 8 extending marriage rights to same- Ohio Republican who was the target sex couples in Hawaii, and Gov. Neil Aberof a two-month crombie signed the bill on Nov 13. telephone and letter-writing camThe same week, legislators in Illinois also voted in favor of marriage equality. Gov. Pat paign orchestrated by the Human Rights Campaign, the NaQuinn signed the bill into law there on Nov tional Gay and Lesbian Task Force, labor 20. unions and other groups.

Weddings for lesbian and gay couples will begin Dec 2 in Hawaii and June 1 in Illinois. “I don’t believe that anyone should be subBecause of the June 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the unions of Ohio couples who get married in either state will be recognized by the federal government.

A group of LGBT advocacy organizations has Twenty years ago, justices on the Hawaii jointly released a Supreme Court ruled that the state was dis- groundbreaking publicriminating against three same-sex couples cation to provide who sought marriage licenses. Although guidance to U.S. hosHawaii lawmakers and voters quickly shut pitals seeking to imthe door on marriage equality, the push prove health care for began around the world. transgender patients.

Sixteen US states now allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, as well as 15 countries “Creating Equal and parts of Mexico and the United Kingdom. Access to Quality

ject to unjust discrimination, and I don’t believe any Ohioan should be fired simply because he or she is gay,” Portman said after the vote. “In the workplace, people should be judged by their experience, qualifications and job performance, not by their sexual orientation.

The basic purpose of ENDA is to help create a level playing field and ensure that employment opportunities are available to all.”

This version of ENDA also would add gender identity to the nation’s anti-discrimination laws. House Speaker John Boehner opposes the bill, but supporters said they might try to include its provisions in other legislation before the House.

Guide Aids Hospitals on Transgender Care

“At the end of the day, what this bill is about is love, it’s about family, it’s about commitment,” Illinois state Rep. Greg Harris, who is gay, told The Chicago Tribune.

In Hawaii, the vote came with a first: An openly gay lawmaker who opposed marriage equality. State Rep. Jo Jordan said she was concerned that people felt they hadn’t been able to participate in the debate.

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Health Care for Transgender Patients” shows hospitals how to reduce bias and insensitivity, and it addresses issues such as confidentiality, room assignments, bathroom access and admitting/registration procedures.

The guidance includes model policies and was prepared by Lambda Legal, the Human Rights Campaign and others.

“Lambda Legal’s Help Desk gets scores of calls from transgender people who are facing discrimination or being denied care when they need it. Transgender people face significant barriers to equal, consistent and high-quality health care,” said Dru Levasseur, director of the Transgender Rights Project at Lambda Legal.

Ohio Guard Expands Benefits to Spouses The spouses of gay and lesbian members of the Ohio National Guard are now eligible for family benefits, a state official told outlook in November.

Unlike several other states with constitutional bans on same-sex marriage, Ohio has complied with a Pentagon directive to issue spousal identification cards and benefits to the husbands and wives of gay and lesbian Guard members, provided they married in a state or country where marriage equality is recognized.

“What we’re saying is if a service member brings a marriage certificate from a state that recognizes [same-sex marriage], then we will recognize the benefits,” said Capt. Aaron Keighley, a spokesman for the Ohio National Guard.

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Keighley said he didn’t know how many requests the Guard has received.

Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas have refused to allow state employees and state facilities to handle benefits applications from gay and lesbian Guard members. Members have been forced to take applications to federal military offices and installations instead.

U.S. R a Nov state

ment old ca

Just Say It! Hallmark Dons Its ‘Fun’ Apparel Hallmark said it wasn’t exactly afraid to use the word gay on an ugly-sweater Christmas orna-

You know everyone is going to have that sweater on at Gregg Dodd’s party.

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Blake

Gay Candidates Win in Newark, Cincinnati From Central Ohio to Seattle, it was a good Election Day for openly gay candidates.

Close to home, Democrat Jeremy Blake, who was featured in September’s issue of outlook, won a City Council seat in Newark. He won 65 percent of the vote in an open-seat race in the city’s Second Ward to become Newark’s first openly gay elected official.

In Cincinnati, openly gay City Councilman Chris Seelbach won a second term.

The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which works to elect LGBT candidates to public office, said 51 of 85 candidates endorsed in the 2013 elections won their races.

The Democrat who’s running for governor in 2014 said he did so because of continued whisper campaigns and insinuations by political opponents trying to make his sexual orientation a negative issue.

“Allow me to save them the trouble with a simple, honest answer: ‘Yes I am. But why should it matter?’” Michaud wrote.

aed to o es-

Michaud is the seventh LGBT member of the current Congress. Fellow Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado, who’s also gay, tweeted: “My gaydar missed it.”

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Elsewhere, Houston Mayor Annise Parker won a third two-year term. Houston is the biggest U.S. city to elect an openly gay mayor. In Seattle, Ed Murray, a gay state legislator who championed Washington’s effort for marriage equality, defeated incumbent Mike McGinn.

Maine Congressman, Candidate Comes Out

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U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud of Maine came out in a Nov 4 op-ed piece published in his home state’s newspapers. ment that changed the words of a 151-yearold carol.

It’s just that “gay apparel” is only one translation of the original Gaelic, the greeting-card maker said. Hallmark also said that the word fun captured the spirit of the ornament better.

Finally, the company that began selling sameoutlookcolumbus.com

Only one gay American has served as governor of a state. Democrat Jim McGreevey came out in 2004, shortly before he resigned as governor of New Jersey in the middle of a scandal involving a homeland security adviser with whom he had had an affair. sex wedding cards in 2008 and received a 90 rating on the last Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index just apologized.

“We never intend to offend or make political statements with our products, and in hindsight we recognize we shouldn’t have changed the lyrics on the ornament,” a company statement said.

Ohio’s Inequality Gives Gay Couples a Tax Break

by Bob Vitale Ohio is giving an inadvertent tax break to the gay and lesbian couples whose marriages it refuses to recognize.

Couples who file joint federal tax returns in 2014 under post-DOMA rules instituted by the Internal Revenue Service will be forced to file as single individuals with the state, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation.

And because joint returns often push married couples into a higher tax bracket, Ohio’s refusal to treat gay and lesbian couples as married means they’ll pay less in state taxes next year than straight married couples with the exact same income and deductions.

How much less?

A quick calculation at the website tax-rates.org for two state-average $53,218-a-year earners finds that a gay Ohio couple would save $778 in state income taxes because of the 2004 constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

“I think that’s a fair characterization,” Ohio Department of Taxation spokesman Gary Gudmundson told outlook when asked about the lower tax bill for same-sex couples.

The state agency has a new form - Schedule IT S - for same-sex Ohio couples who’ve married in a marriage-equality state or country and file a joint federal tax return.

The irony of a tax break for LGBT Ohioans wasn’t lost on activists whose Statehouse opponents like to refer to equal rights as “special rights” for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

“Ohio has rolled out its Separate and Unequal Taxation form (i.e. Schedule IT S),” Freedom Ohio, the group pushing a 2014 marriageequality ballot measure, wrote on its Facebook page.

A gay tax break is better than a piece of that Kit Kat bar.

“Here’s the problem: It treats legally married same-gender couples unequally AND it gives these same couples tax breaks straight married couples cannot receive. Just enough for nearly everyone to be displeased.”

Freedom Ohio cofounder Ian James said it’s not a break anyone should relish.

“You cannot have equal treatment on one hand and then say it’s OK to tax us at a lower rate than our straight counterparts who are also married,” he said. “Equality comes with responsibility.”

But Ohio’s tax rules haven’t changed, Gudmundson said. It’s federal rules that have changed since June, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. The federal government now must recognize the legal marriages of lesbian and gay couples, and that includes Ohioans whose state government still considers them single.

Ohio requires people to file the same type of return for both federal and state taxes - individual, married filing separately or married filing jointly - but that’s trumped by the Ohio Constitution’s ban on any legal acknowledgement by the state of same-sex relationships.

The new Schedule IT S form will help same-sex couples separate their incomes and deductions for state tax purposes, Gudmundson said.

The so-called “marriage penalty,” which can bump two-income couples into higher tax brackets, keeps some married Americans from filing joint returns. Experts have advised gay and lesbian couples to consult their tax preparers and financial advisers about the implications of the Supreme Court ruling.

“When you talk about the advantages of having a legally recognized marriage, generally, lower taxes isn’t one of them,” said Jerry Rhodes, president of BBI Accounting in Victorian Village. december 2013

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the other side

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Made:

A Farewell

by D.A. Steward It is with bittersweet remorse that I must leave you this month with my last column. As my life continues to move in a different direction professionally, I’ve made the difficult decision to lay down my mantle here at outlook, with the hope that another will pick it up and take it to the next level.

Filling this page for the past two years with stories from communities often left out of the mainstream LGBT conversation, and receiving so many responses of encouragement from outlook readers in return, has been the most fulfilling experience of my life.

So as I end this chapter and start a new one, I’d like to leave you with one last encouraging word if only to repay the favor.

During the dark times I faced as a kid - dealing with bullying, rejection, internal homophobia, depression and all the other unsightly side effects that too often come with one’s experience as a black and queer person in a predominantly white and straight world - I’d often think of Judy and her rainbow.

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An aunt of mine is a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz and would play the movie on a regular basis when I would visit her as a child. This not only stereotypically helped me along my own yellowbrick road toward becoming a Friend of Dorothy, but it also became a small source of hope to get me through those tough times.

I remember watching the movie as early as 7 and dreaming that there was a beautiful, sequined place somewhere over the rainbow where I wasn’t different and where they’d celebrate my arrival. Whenever I’d come in contact with anti-gay rhetoric and aggression, I’d flip this song on in my head and for a moment the depression would subside.

For so long that place was simply a dream. I lived in a world where my very existence was unacceptable. When I looked into the future I saw myself married to a woman and having children, but only because that was expected of everyone in my surrounding community. I pictured living my life in fear and denial.

If I can leave one legacy with these 24 columns over the past two years, I hope it is the importance of celebrating diversity within our community. We must, as a community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, inter-

sex, asexual, pansexual and allied people, continue to not only take up the mantle of educating others, but we must continue to educate ourselves.

We must continue to fight for the rights of the most marginalized in our community. A civilrights movement is not defined by how many are given their rights to freedom at its end, but by the number of lives that are legitimized and by the number of people empowered to make it better for the coming generations.

I’ve watched as Columbus’s LGBTQ people of color have become more mobilized as a community than ever before over the last few years. It’s now time for the mainstream gay-rights movement to get on board and begin supporting and celebrating the diversity within our community.

I truly believe that the rights of our transgender, gender-queer and gender non-conforming brothers and sisters - specifically when it comes to the unacceptable rates of hate crimes and access to health care - will soon become the defining civilrights movement of our time. And much like marriage and other mainstream gay-rights strides, there will come a moment when we will look back and wonder, “What took so long?”

There is an old Psalm that my mother often quoted to me as a child when she found me deal-

ing with any self-doubt. She’d say that I was “fearfully and wonderfully” made.

My mother was, and still is, a devout Pentecostal believer, so she most definitely didn’t intend for this phrase to strengthen my identity as a gay man. But in a way, it’s become my mantra.

I never liked to include my religious or spiritual beliefs in this column, mostly out of fear it would make me seem less objective, but I am a gay man of faith, and I do believe that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and pansexual people are just as fearfully and wonderfully made as the heterosexual community.

And at the end of my life when I do finally meet my maker, I hope I can say I did my part to make it OK for as many LGBTQQIAP people as possible to believe the same.

I guess “thanks for the memories” is all there’s left to say, but I’ll end with a phrase I created that I’ve come to live by when doing the work that I referenced above.

Remember to always live courageously, for in a queer life, it’s the only way to thrive.

D.A. Steward hosts Queer Minded, an online radio show that airs live every Thursday at 8p at talktainmentradio.com.

outlook wishes Dwayne well, and hopes he’ll appear in these pages again soon.

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Why are Mormons so hot?

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the mario and debbie show

Cher. She is a survivor and a truly passionate human being, and I bet she is a great kisser. I would love to give her a smooch and tell her how much she makes me smile, especially when she is reading people on Twitter.

Other than your spouse, who would you like to meet under the mistletoe?

Plus, I secretly wish she would give me a couple headdresses.

Wicked. As much as I always wanted to be popular, I could only be that weird, almost sinister kid who knew he would wear awkward well. Now I’m the queer who cautiously observes the crowd when I’m at a party; I work hard not to say anything awkward. I relate to the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda because I’m the Elphaba in many of my friendships.

Plus, who doesn’t like to mount a broom?

If your life were a musical, which would it be?

Usually a mix of both. Hubby and I have a quiet dinner together, and because Hubby usually has to work, I go out and shake my noisemaker alone because most of my friends have plans. Sometimes I think it’s better that way because I don’t want to have the urge to drink too much and be hung over. New Year’s Day hangovers are the worst, because you waste the day off by staying in bed, feeling like you drank the entire bar.

It was, “I am going to projectile vomit... now.” Whoopsie. He was a short, boozy ginger man. I never saw him again.

No, and I’m sure my Facebook page will now be full of rainbow venom. But the GLBTQI community is still very fragmented on this issue in Ohio, and there is no visible cohesiveness to push for marriage equality.

All of our GLBTQI groups need to reach outside our gayborhoods and comfort zones to find allies in other parts of Ohio. We need to realize there are gays outside the cities; their votes count, too, and they deserve to be included. When we seek a stronger collective, the issue of marriage equality will become real and we will have real and diverse faces attached to marriage equality.

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Wow! I’m going to get in trouble for this! To be totally fair and impartial, I’m going to plug this data into a scientific algorithm.

Criteria: 1. Pouty, kissable lips. 2. Soft and dreamy eyes. 3. Finger-entwining blonde hair. Computer says: Macaulay Culkin. Damn.

Coelacanth: The Musical, the story of a prehistoric fish/mermaid who was presumed to be extinct but was really captured by an underground corporate school of sharks and kept captive in a dark cavern for 21 years. Finally, she breaks out and discovers the wonders of the ocean, singing about the beauty of light and love and happiness.

Note: No fish or sea mammals will be harmed in this musical. Kelp will be harmed, but that is all.

New Year’s Eve: quiet or crazy?

Ugh. Hate this night, as any previous (me) or current bartender will tell you. But having had it both ways, I prefer the quiet ones. As festive as this city is, I’m starting to feel too old to party with the kids. An OMVI is not the way to start my next year, so I’m going to be mellow at home with my girl, enjoying a bottle of amazing Proseco, crab legs and steak, and a movie.

What’s the weirdest thing someone has said to you in bed?

Will 2014 bring marriage equality to Ohio?

Right now, the visible faces of marriage equality are white, affluent and are never seen outside their pack of other affluent folk. I think most Ohioans are not against marriage equality, but most Ohioans aren’t aware of the benefits gained with equality and the cost of not allowing it.

White socks, cheap mean aunt.

Cousins got fun gifts as kids.

Mom made it better.

Debbie

vs

Mario

You are asking this of an Aquarian, and there is nothing normal going on in bed. So, the only thing I can think of is, “You’re going back to sleep?”

That would be a big NO. When Ohioans voted for a constitutional ban in 2004, I was heartbroken. I remembered being at the rally on the Statehouse lawn with Dan Stewart leading the charge to stop that discriminatory amendment from passing. Although opinions of people may have swayed since, I think challenging the amendment might take years. Maybe and hopefully we’ll see progress by 2020.

Haiku!

Your worst Christmas gift

Unwrap pretty box Bears, balloons sewn on sweater What the @#% is this?

7th-grade Christmas / Silky bikini undies / Locker room torture

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Look for expanded Network programming in 2014!

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I don’t know if you know this, but Debbie Gravitte won a Tony Award.

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Outlook’s Perfect Holiday Party We complain about the stress and the travel and the cost and the commercialization and the relatives and the people who spend too much and too little, but here’s the bottom line:

this month on every aspect of holiday entertaining, we didn’t have to go far.

We tapped the talent and creativity within Columbus’s LGBT community to offer outlook’s perfect holiday.

And who better than This is a pretty nice time of year, isn’t it?

Mary Ann Brandt, a living, breathing ColumWhatever holidays we celebrate, whether On the following pages, floral designer bus holiday tradition unto herour traditions are based in faith or family Brian Coovert, fashion guru Tommy Mcself, to get things started with her and friends, it’s a time of togetherness. We Clure, Club Diversity headliner Debé, Middle wise advice on putting together a Crockshare not just gifts. We share our time, our West Spirits co-founder Brady Konya, The Potand party-pooper-free guest list? homes and our love. That’s probably why we Kitchen owners Jen Lindsey and Anne put such pressure on ourselves during the Boninsegna, and Kittie’s Cakes owners MolHappy Holidays! holidays to make everything perfect. lie and Kelly Fankhauser share their tips and tricks on holiday decor, dress, music, When we decided to gather experts’ advice cocktails, food and desserts, respectively.

illustration: Emma Reichert

outlookcolumbus.com

Come to Outlook/Network’s annual holiday happening at The Kitchen on Dec 11. Details on Page 13.

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outlook’s perfect holiday party

The Guest List: Mary Ann Brandt The Six Nays of Christmas

by Mary Ann Brandt Coming up with the perfect holiday party guest list seems daunting. You’re flustered, deliberating over who to invite and who will complement whom. More importantly, you want a mix of guests who will be the most fun (and least annoying) for you, the hostess.

But all is calm, all is bright if you follow this simple Mary Ann Brandt protocol and shift your focus from who should make the cut to whom not to invite. Eliminate these irritating, toxic archetypes, and I guarantee you and your guests a more pleasant holiday celebration.

The Crock Potter There she comes, walking up the sidewalk with a Rival 4-Quart. The contents are no mystery: Ro-Tel, Beanee Weenees, Velveeta, grape jelly, a store-bought frozen meatball or any combination of the above. She’ll proudly waltz in and ask where the nearest outlet is, then demand an extension cord “just so we can keep it warm.”

Then, with no reservation, she’ll move the roe and chive phyllo purses to “make room,” and suddenly your elegantly appointed tablescape, tiered and draped levels with silver plates of delectable hors d’oeuvres, has become a 4H club meeting spread.

The Parents Congrats! Many of you are becoming them! But you seem to forget your “fun days,” your little whoring-around, drinking, smoking, Eagle-sidewalk-sale, popper-snorting days. Now it’s all about your little bundle of joy.

While Mary Ann Brandt does not have contempt for adorable children, she does for the parents who let children inhibit their party plans.

“Champagne?” “Oh, gee, we’d better not... [squinting, nodding whisper]... we only have the sitter ’til 9...”

The Eater We all know it’s the hostess’s intention to display the most beautiful tablescape of tasty yuletide morsels but not have you sample or touch a single thing. Conscientious guests know to have a light supper beforehand so they aren’t tempted to chow down and destroy her culinary artwork.

But one lone wolf will camp by the buffet table, devour every canapé, smear through every dip and really fuck up the croquembouche. The Eater will wait for the perfect lull in the conversation to boldly announce to the group, “These are the best Beanee Weenees I ever et,” as if the deviled quail eggs were pig slop.

Eaters suffer from comorbidity, as they are often Party Poopers (see below) and are inclined to hook up with The Crock Potter.

The Suitor You don’t want a love interest lurking around you at your holiday gathering, drooling over you, waiting for the guests to leave so he can “tap it.”

Don’t limit yourself. Something better might come along. One of your guests might bring a very hot friend, or you might want to put the moves on somebody’s husband. It’s your Christmas pie. Serve it however you wish.

The Party Pooper Not what you think. These bathroom bandits have all day to do their business at home but will inevitably show up to your party, charge into your ensuite or, much worse, your downstairs powder room, and cast their lingering curse.

Guests who are next in line will be horrified, not only by The Party Pooper’s “gift,” but by the fact that subsequent tinklers might think it was “them.”

The Judgmental, Self-Centered, Pretentious Snob You know, the uptight one who shows dismay and makes character judgments on insignificant matters, like guests bringing the gift of food in an inappropriate vessel or eating from the delicious buffet that’s been provided for them.

If they interfere with her good time, she’ll eliminate them from her life, including those who show care and responsibly for their children, or those who simply want to make love to her. Her shit doesn’t stink, and she despises those whose shit does.

Umm, my holiday party schedule is pretty open...

Anyone have anything going on?

photo: Robert Trautman

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Want more Mary Ann? Check out her show Dec 14-15 at Wall Street Nightclub.

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outlookcolumbus.com There are more holiday events in this town than you can shake a candy cane at. More listings on Page 30. december 2013

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Hey Nut, didn’t your mom ever tell you not to jete with a sword?

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outlook’s perfect holiday party

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Decorating: Brian Coovert Traditional, with a Twist

by Bob Vitale Let’s get the controversial stuff out of the way first.

Short North floral designer Brian Coovert is not going to bah-humbug the idea of ever using artificial greenery during the holidays.

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There, he said it.

“I have a client who decorates eight weeks before the holidays. You can’t do fresh eight weeks out,” said the concierge florist whose work has appeared in Architectural Digest, Martha Stewart Weddings, Southern Living and Modern Bride.

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But here come the buts.

It has to be high-quality if you’re going to use anything artificial, Coovert says, so don’t be eyeing that clearance bin at the dollar store. And you still should add some fresh flowers and greenery to the décor as the holidays draw near.

It’s obvious fresh is Coovert’s preference. The guy got excited over a recent shipment of birch logs.

photo: Emma Parker

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He says you don’t have to stick with the traditional poinsettias and evergreens, though, at this time of year. Try peonies or paperwhites, tulips or amaryllis, roses or hydrangeas, too. Other el-

ements - oranges, pomegranates and cloves, for instance - add natural fragrance to a room.

“Hit every sense,” Coovert said. “I love the scents of Christmas.”

A quick tip: Buy your tree from a lot that displays them in water, and ask the salesperson to give it a fresh cut before you take it home. If you cut the tree yourself at a farm, give it a fresh cut once you get home.

When decorating, let your spirit show, he adds.

“The most important thing, at the holidays or anytime, is you need to reflect your personality.

Over the top? This is when people expect it from you. If you’re a minimalist and you like a simple fir branch in a glass or crystal vase, go for it.”

Coovert is a firm believer that one can go overboard even at the holidays, but it’s an axiom he doesn’t apply to lights. He once put 2,500 lights (stick with white, he advises) on an 8-foot tree.

So stick to your style but shake things up a little, too, Coovert says. The tree doesn’t always need to go there, and the wreaths don’t always need go there, there and there. Move things around from year to year. Find a new way to display keepsake ornaments.

“Décor is just like fashion,” he said. “It’s everchanging.”

Those shoes were made for flowering and that’s just what they’ll do.

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Did you know that Liz Lessner and company are opeing a new eatery at the Gateway?

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outlook’s perfect holiday party

Fashion: Tommy McClure Don We Now Our Gay Apparel

by Erin McCalla There’s more to trim than your tree at your holiday party.

That’s why we asked CMH Fashion Week founder Tommy McClure what to wear this season to ensure a camera-ready style. (Come on, you know at least one of your friends will be snapping pics and posting them on Facebook before you finish your first cocktail.)

You don’t have to dress in a holiday theme, but McClure thinks you should stick to the season. Some winter trends he likes: the color burgundy for anything from gloves and hats to coats and slacks, leather accents on jackets and sweaters, and tweed jackets and coats.

While “almost anything goes” in the footwear department this season, McClure has some advice for what not to wear: “No flip flops in the snow, please. Nobody wants to see your blue toes in the middle of winter!”

He also suggests upgrading your UGGS by purchasing the latest styles. Both the men’s and women’s lines have greatly improved.

His favorite trend this winter is big and bold statement scarves that can punch up an ensemble. Check YouTube for tutorials on how to tie or wrap them around your neck and shoulders.

While McClure doesn’t think holiday parties are the best venue to test out a completely new look, he says that whatever you wear should make you feel confident. And that’s especially the case if you’re the host.

But there’s one trend you should stay away from.

“Unless it’s an ugly sweater theme party, keep your ugly sweater in your closet. Don’t be that guy,” McClure warns.

photo: Andrew Williams

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Are ugly sweaters actually in this season? I hope so, that’s all I have.

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Where will you be at midnight? Who will you be kissing?

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outlook’s perfect holiday party

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Music: Debé Setting the Mood, From Subtle to Sassy

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by Erin McCalla

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The invitations have been sent, and most of your friends have RSVP’d.

The menu is set, and your house looks like one of the famed Macy’s window displays.

Now you need to decide how to set the mood - and it takes more than the dimmer switch on your lamps.

n’t on d.

Enter Debé, singer extraordinaire.

“The first thing I do is find out the number of people attending and determine the environment they want to create,” said the Club Diversity headliner who will perform there on New Year’s Eve.

er a, or d, ey re a e.

Want the mood to be subtle? She suggests some jazzy background music provided by a piano player.

Want the music to be more lively and involved? Perhaps you want a big, gay holiday sing-along? Then think about renting a karaoke machine.

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Or, even better, hire a singer to ensure that at least one person is hitting all the right notes.

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“Usually, people want their party to be memorable and fun - that’s why

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they’re calling me,” Debé said.

Debé will tailor her performance to the host’s tastes, and she said she always makes sure to ask how secular the host wants his or her shindig to be.

Just don’t ask her to sing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”

She prefers sassy classics like “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” “Merry Christmas, Baby” and her go-to, “Santa Baby,” during which she takes her cordless microphone out into the crowd to flirt and carry on. “‘Santa Baby’ wasn’t meant to be sung on stage,” she said.

Whether you hire a singer for your holiday hoopla, rent a karaoke machine or just plug in your iPod, Debé says music is a key ingredient to making sure your guests leave with a smile.

“People want to interact; they want to be happy. Music can do that - to bring people together.”

Debe has released her first and only CD - a holiday compilation titled Naughty or Nice - that can be purchased on CDbaby.com. She’s on the web at jazzhappens.com.

Debé is also an astrologer and palmist! Check out your horoscope on Page 43.

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outlook’s perfect holiday party

Cocktails: Brady Konya Cheers! A Toast to Simplicity

by Bob Vitale

bartender all night.

Whether it’s brunch or dinner or hors d’oeuvres, you’ll probably put a lot of thought into your holiday menu.

Don’t pass the pitcher of cocktails around, though, Konya says. It’s nice to pour cocktails - or wine or bubbly - instead of making things self-serve. If you’re entertaining a bigger group, ask a friend to help.

So don’t plunk a bunch of bottles and glasses on a table and declare it open bar.

Middle West Spirits co-founder Brady Konya, one of the men behind Columbus-distilled OYO vodkas and whiskeys, likes to offer guests a little of everything. But the key word is a little.

He suggests one wine (a pinot or rosé), one seasonal craft beer (go local), something bubbly (champagne, prosecco or cava) and one type of cocktail.

“It’s better than saying, ‘Go get it in the fridge.’”

But what about that one guest who doesn’t want beer, doesn’t want wine, doesn’t want champagne and doesn’t want a nice cocktail? He suggests keeping just a few mixers - soda water, ginger beer and cola are his standbys just in case.

Black Bird “It’s thinking through not just how you serve food, but how you serve alcohol,” he said. “My bar cart isn’t public domain.”

For cocktails, Konya likes to focus on flavor as opposed to potency. He likes drinks that include aperitifs such as Aperol, an Italian product that tastes like Campari but has less alcohol, or Lillet, which is a French mixture of red or white wine and citrus liqueurs.

If you want to serve something warm, try hot toddies or hot dark chocolate with bourbon.

If you’re entertaining more than six to eight guests, he advises, mix your cocktails ahead of time in a pitcher or larger container. Pre-batching, as it’s called, is a way of controlling how much alcohol you serve, and it will allow you to enjoy the party instead of playing

(Whiskey Mojito) 2 oz. OYO Whiskey 1 oz. simple syrup 1 oz. fresh lime Dry Rhubarb Soda (Dry Soda Co.) Fresh blackberries Sprig of mint In a mixing glass muddle four or five blackberries and four or five mint leaves with simple syrup. Add lime and whiskey (you could substitute vodka, if you prefer), and shake well with ice. Double strain into a tall glass over ice, top with rhubarb soda (or club soda). Garnish with a mint sprig and one blackberry cut in half.

(Look for more cocktail recipes from Brady Konya at www.outlookcolumbus.com.)

photo: Andrew Williams

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If your local gay bar doesn’t carry Columbus’s gay-owned OYO vodka or whiskey, ask them why.

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Car2Go a Go-Go.

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This page is too hot; I need to cool down. Where’s the Zamboni when you need it?

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outlook’s perfect holiday party

Food: Anne Boninsegna & Jen Lindsey Serve Up a Memorable Holiday Experience by

by Jennifer Jennifer DeLuke DeLuke While While not not officially officially a law of nature, everyone one knows knows that that guests guests always always gravitate gravitate totoward ward the the kitchen. kitchen.

For For some, some, that that might might be be aa source source of of frusfrustration. tration. For For Anne Anne Boninsegna Boninsegna and Jen Lindsey, sey, itit became became the the inspiration inspiration for for aa completely completely unique, unique, participatory participatory dining dining exexperience. perience.

“All “All the the best best parties parties happen happen in in the the kitchen,” kitchen,” Boninsegna Boninsegna said. said. “That’s “That’s why why this this isis called called The The Kitchen.”

Kitchen.”

After After 20-plus 20-plus years years of of cooking cooking together together for for countless countless dining dining events, events, Lindsey Lindsey aptly aptly dedescribes scribes their their expertise expertise as as “facilitators “facilitators of of an an experience.” experience.”

IfIf you’re you’re looking looking to to facilitate facilitate your your own own exexceptional ceptional experience experience this this holiday holiday season, season, keep keep calm calm and and read read on. on. You You are are now now in in the the care care of of professionals. professionals.

The The first first rule rule of of throwing throwing a fabulous dinner event: event: “You “You have have to to really really have have aa kind-of kind-of ‘go-with-the-flow’ ‘go-with-the-flow’ attitude attitude and and be be able able to to shake shake itit off off when when things things don’t don’t go go right.” right.”

Along Along with with adopting adopting aa stress-free stress-free attitude attitude isis losing losing the the fear fear of of going going unconventional. unconventional.

“One “One of of the the things things II would would suggest suggest ifif you’re you’re going going to to have have aa holiday holiday party party isis stepping stepping outside outside of of traditional traditional elements elements to to create create aa new new tradition,” tradition,” Boninsegna Boninsegna said. said. “It’s “It’s all all about about translating translating the the traditional traditional elements elements with with aa different different genre genre of of food.” food.”

You You can can shake shake up up aa holiday holiday party party by by adoptadopting ing The The Kitchen’s Kitchen’s signature signature of of taking taking three-, three-, fourfour- or or even even five-course five-course meals meals and and makmaking ing them them into into hors hors d’oeuvres. d’oeuvres. For For aa holiday holiday

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party, party, Boninsegna Boninsegna suggests suggests doing doing turkey, turkey, cranberry cranberry and and stuffing, stuffing, but but as as aa meal meal in in miniature. miniature.

“Or “Or instead instead of stuffing, you season a crostini tini ...... using using the the same same flavors, flavors, topping topping itit with with turkey turkey and and cranberry cranberry sauce.” sauce.”

Not Not only only isis this this approach approach unique, unique, it’s it’s more more achievable achievable and and cost-effective cost-effective than than serving serving aa full full meal. meal.

Focusing Focusing on on guests’ guests’ participation participation isis ananother other way way of of creating creating aa successful successful dinner dinner party, party, but but don’t don’t limit limit participation participation to to asking asking guests guests to to bring bring random random dishes dishes for for aa potluck potluck meal. meal. Potlucks Potlucks are are hard hard to to coordinate, coordinate, Lindsey Lindsey says, says, and and assigning assigning people people to to Team Team Salad Salad or or Team Team Dessert Dessert ultimately ultimately makes makes itit difficult difficult to to host host aa well-rounded well-rounded meal. meal.

But But veering veering away from potlucks doesn’t mean mean forfeiting forfeiting benefits benefits like like divvying divvying up up reresponsibility. sponsibility.

Boninsegna Boninsegna suggests suggests aa cheese cheese and and wine wine party, party, where where each guest brings a bottle of wine wine and and aa cheese cheese that that pairs pairs with with itit -- or or have have guests guests send tasting notes and you create create the the recipe. recipe. Lindsey Lindsey likes likes an an “ingre“ingredient dient party,” party,” where where guests guests bring bring specific specific ingredients ingredients for for aa recipe recipe and and make make the the dish dish with with you. you.

Ultimately, Ultimately, the the best best way way to to create create aa memomemorable rable holiday holiday dinner dinner event event isis through through getgetting ting people people involved, involved, the the partners partners say. say.

“It’s “It’s about about socialization, socialization, about about giving giving peopeople ple the the chance chance to to take take aa breath breath and and say say ‘I’m ‘I’m going going to to eat, eat, talk talk to to the the person person next next to to me, me, and and not not spend spend the the entire entire night night updating updating Facebook Facebook with with what what I’m I’m doing,” doing,” BoninBoninsegna segna says. says. “I’m actually actually going going to to talk talk to to the the person person next next to to me!” me!”

Join outlook Dec 11 at The Kitchen for our holiday party. 6p-8p; free.

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outlook’s perfect holiday party

Sweets: Kelly and Mollie Fankhauser It’s Beginning to Taste a Lot Like Christmas

by Jennifer DeLuke

seasonal specialties.

cake flavor.

Ahh, the holiday baking season arrives once again - kitchens smelling sweeter, sweaters fitting tighter.

“A lot of people also like to have something new or something different. An old recipe with a twist is a fun way to go.”

Just what makes December sweeter than the rest of the year?

In December, there’s a gingerbread cake with eggnog pudding in the center, eggnog buttercream frosting and a little nutmeg, as well as a rumkissed cranberry cake. Look for seasonal whoopie pies and brittles also.

Mollie and Kelly Fankhauser, owners of Kittie’s Cakes in German Village, say it’s all about the unique flavors of the season.

If you’re looking to brighten a holiday party by bringing some homemade sweets of your own, take some notes from Mollie’s approach.

“The nutmegs, the ginger, the molasses that start to come out this time of year,” Mollie said. “It’s nice to bring those flavors back out for a few months.”

“I always like to mix the old and the new. That way it gives it that nostalgic taste. When they first taste it, they recognize it,” she said.

Those signature flavors work their way into Kittie’s Cakes’ menu via

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Try pairing elements from a family recipe - grandma’s frosting, for instance - with a more contemporary

Visit Kittie’s Cakes in German Village at 495 S 3rd St.

Creating a delightful dessert is only half the equation, however. Presentation helps create that wow factor you’re also looking to bring.

Mollie likes to serve holiday sweets on family pieces. She said they bring a nice quality and story to the dessert.

And is there anything better than keeping a sweet tradition during the holidays? photo: Emma Parker

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My favorite Mary Ann crafting tip is the tampon angels ornaments.

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2013 LGBT Year in Review

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2 - The story of Mikey’s Late Night Slice patrons chiding a man who told hand-holding men to cut out their “gay shit” goes viral.

1 - At an LGBT Pride Night game vs. Notre Dame, OSU’s men’s hockey team debuts a video for the You Can Play movement, which encourages young gay athletes.

7 - Former President Bill Clinton, who signed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act into law, urges its recission in a Washington Post op-ed piece.

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11 - Savanna DeLong wins in the first test of a 2008 city law that bans discrimination based on gender identity. DeLong claimed a private Downtown club stopped hiring her as a massage therapist after she came out as transgender.

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3 - Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is sworn in as the first openly gay U.S. senator. The U.S. House has six LGBT members, including the first gay person of color (Mark Takano of California), the first bisexual lawmaker (Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona) and the first gay representative to succeed another (Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, who won Baldwin’s old House seat).

3 - Democrat Terry Brown is sworn in as Franklin County recorder. He’s the first openly gay candidate elected to county office.

9 - Cincinnati gets an honorable mention, but Columbus is snubbed in The Advocate’s 2013 list of America’s gayest cities.

13 - Jodie Foster criticizes publicly orchestrated coming-outs as she accepts a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Globes: “I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago, back in the stone age, in those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and coworkers and then gradually, proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met.”

21 - Fifteen members of Columbus’s Capital Pride Band join LGBT musicians from around the country to march and perform in President Obama’s inaugural parade.

21 - President Obama is the first chief executive to talk about gay people in his inaugural address: “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law - for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

26 - After a well-received tournament in 2010, Columbus is chosen to host the 2015 Gay Softball Word Series.

28 - Cincinnati’s Penny Tration is the first queen to sashay away in the new season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

4 - Mike Moroski, an assistant principal at Cincinnati’s Purcell Marian High School, is given an ultimatum by local Catholic Church leaders: Take down a statement in favor of marriage equality from his personal blog, or lose his job. Students rally around the fired educator.

8 - The Arts & College Prep Academy, a Columbus charter school with a large LGBT student body, hosts its first-ever drag pageant.

16 - St. Patrick’s Day parade organizers in Cincinnati refuse to allow participants from the local chapter of GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. Supportive politicians drop out of the parade in protest.

9 - Mary McAngus resigns as mayor of Pomeroy, Ohio, after trying to get a gay police officer fired because “I don’t like a queer working for the village.” The police chief and fellow officers stood up for Officer Kyle Calendine.

18 - Hillary Clinton announces her support of marriage equality.

15 - Former Columbus Crew player Robbie Rogers comes out and announces his retirement from professional soccer.

15 - PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford is awarded a Presidential Citizenship Medal posthumously at the White House.

27 - Former U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce, who represented Columbus until 2009, is among 75 Republicans who urge the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act.

The Bottom Line “The federal statute is invalid.”

- U.S. Supreme Court decision, United States v. Windsor.

Dove’s Murderer Sentenced to Life Three months after she went missing, the body of Cemia “CeCe” Dove was found in April. The 20-year-old transgender woman had been stabbed repeatedly, tied to a cement block and thrown into a Cuyahoga County pond.

Coming Out • Wentworth Miller, actor • Darren Young, pro wrestler • Raven-Symoné, actor • Charice, singer • Jason Collins, NBA player • Jenna Wolfe and Stephanie Gosk, NBC reporters • Clive Davis, record producer (as bisexual) • Jim Nabors, actor • Jodie Foster, actor and director • Mike Michaud, member of Congress

15 - Rob Portman of Ohio becomes the first Republican in the U.S. Senate to support marriage equality. Will Portman, who is gay, tweets: “Especially proud of my dad today.”

Andrey Bridges was found guilty of murder on Nov 8 and sentenced to life in prison.

Coverage of the case in The Plain Dealer was a mess. The paper initially referred to Dove only by her male name and to her body as “it.” The first headline identified her as an “oddly dressed body.”

Coverage of the trial, however, was different.

Reporters used the name and gender Dove preferred. A post-trial letter to the editor from LGBT activists in Cleveland lauded the change as “truly a breath of fresh air.”

Erin’s favorite thing from 2013: local IPAs.

19 - Owners paint rainbow colors on a house across the street from Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. It’s dubbed “Equality House.”

20 - Gov. John Kasich tells a TV interviewer that he supports civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. An aide quickly retracts the Republican’s comments, saying Kasich didn’t know what civil unions were. Kasich remains opposed to marriage equality.

21 - A GLSEN report finds that more than 6 in 10 LGBT kids in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton say they’ve been punched, kicked, pushed or shoved in school. Just 3 percent attend schools with anti-bullying policies.

26 - The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in cases challenging the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and California’s state ban on same-sex marriage.

28 - Catholic Church leaders in Columbus fire Bishop Watterson High School physical education teacher Carla Hale after 19 years on the job when they discover that she’s a lesbian. How did they find out?

They saw Hale’s partner, Julie, listed among grieving family members in Hale’s mother’s obituary.

Evolved Sen. Rob Portman, announcing his support for marriage equality on March 15: “Knowing that my son is gay prompted me to consider the issue from another perspective: that of a dad who wants all three of his kids to lead happy, meaningful lives with the people they love.”

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Will Portman, March 15: “Especially proud of my dad today.”

Unevolved Gov. John Kasich, March 21: “I just think marriage is between a man and a woman, but if you want to have a civil union that’s fine with me.”

Gov. John Kasich’s spokesman, March 22: “The governor’s position is unchanged. He opposes gay marriage and opposes changing Ohio’s Constitution to allow for civil unions.”

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2 - More than half the U.S. Senate is on record in support of marriage equality after announcements from Democrat Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois.

2- Rhode Island becomes the 10th state to adopt marriage equality.

1 - At the annual HRC Columbus Gala, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin calls for Carla Hale’s reinstatement and says to Archibishop Frederick Campbell: “You are causing pain, and it’s time to fix it.”

8 - Former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro becomes the highest-profile Republican to back a proposed 2014 marriage-equality amendment.

10 - Organizers of the Gay Games 9, scheduled to take place in Cleveland on Aug 9-16, 2014, announce major financial backing from the Cleveland Foundation and Ernst & Young.

2 - The first-ever international queer burlesque festival - Fierce! - makes its debut in Columbus. It’s the brainchild of local entertainer Viva Valezz!.

11 - Uruguay becomes the third nation of the Americas (after Canada and Argentina) to enact marriage equality.

7 - Delaware becomes the 11th state to adopt marriage equality.

11 - The National Hockey League announces a ground-breaking partnership with You Can Play, the group dedicated to erasing homophobia in sports.

9 - With $25,000 in donations, AIDS Resource Center Ohio is the top recipient in the first Give Out Day, a national effort aimed at boosting LGBT giving nationwide.

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15 - When Boston Marathon runners and spectators are injured by a bomb blast, Boston Police Department LGBT liaison Javier Pagan is among the first on the scene. An image of him and two other officers makes the cover of Sports Illustrated.

17 - New Zealand becomes the 13th nation to recognize everyone’s right to marry.

17 - The body of Cemia “CeCe” Dove, a 20-year-old transgender woman, is found partially clothed and tethered to a concrete block in a suburban Cleveland detention pond.

19 - The Boy Scouts of America propose a new policy - “no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone” - but still plan to bar gay adults as scout leaders.

13 - Minnesota is the 12th state - and the third in less than two weeks - to adopt marriage equality.

27 - Robbie Rogers returns to Major League Soccer with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He’s the first out athlete on a U.S. professional team.

28 - In an interview with outlook, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the Democratic candidate for governor in 2014, says he favors marriage equality and anti-discrimination legislation in Ohio.

24 - In an interview with outlook, Carla Hale speaks to LGBT students in Catholic schools: “I’m hoping that, possibly for the first time in many of their lives, they actually see the love and support that’s being generated. It’s one of those subjects that can’t ever be discussed [in Catholic schools], but I’m hoping now they can actually see what this whole situation has created, that there is a lot more support out there than they could have even imagined.”

Dumb Things Homophobes Say...

29 - Jason Collins, a 12-year NBA veteran, comes out in a Sports Illustrated cover story. He’s the first active player in a major U.S. professional sports league to do so, although he’s currently a free agent.

“Quasi-spousal relationship.” - Columbus Catholic Bishop Frederick Campbell’s term for Carla Hale’s relationship of more than a decade with her partner, Julie.

What Russia Said: “We are doing everything, both the organizers and our athletes and fans, so that participants and guests feel comfortable in Sochi, regardless of nationality, race or sexual orientation.” - Vladimir Putin

What Russia Did:

outlookcolumbus.com

“I don’t like a queer working for the village. ... I might be old-fashioned but I don’t like it.” - Mayor - make that former Mayor - Mary McAngus of Pomeroy, Ohio, who resigned in March after trying to get a gay police officer fired.

1 - Catholic Church officials in Columbus remove Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady as the commencement speaker at his alma mater, Bishop Ready High School, because he supports marriage equality.

4 - A national report finds that more than half of LGBT hate-crime victims in 2012 were transgender women.

Three-quarters of LGBT hate-crime victims were people of color.

5 - Freedom Ohio, the group pushing for a statewide ballot measure on marriage equality, says it will wait until 2014 to push the issue.

7 - Columbus Police premiere a video produced for the It Gets Better project. The video features Chief Kim Jacobs and 15 LGBT officers and division employees.

10 - Outlook reports on attacks against three gay men in three different Columbus neighborhoods over the last four days. “There are creeps out there, and they don’t like us,” says Gloria McCauley, executive director of BRAVO, the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization.

14 - Columbus residents wear pink to make a statement against hate crimes, and businesses donate more than $12,000 to BRAVO. 19 - Exodus International, the nation’s oldest purveyor of gay-to-straight “reparative therapy,” apologizes for the pain it has caused and announces plans to shut down.

21 - The Garage, a gay favorite that closed in 2000, reopens.

22 - Columbus Pride sets another record with 300,000 people.

23 - A photo of Juanita McDade’s turn-the-other-cheek gesture to a Columbus Pride protester goes viral. It was taken by Columbus resident Todd Popp and shared first with outlook.

13 - Nearly three dozen LGBT groups join those expressing outrage at a Florida jury’s acquittal of George Zimmerman, the block-watch volunteer accused of killing Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen in 2012.

15 - The House of Lords OKs marriage equality for England and Wales.

19 - Cincinnati residents James Obergefell and John Arthur, who recently married in Maryland, file a lawsuit ordering Ohio to recognize their marriage. Arthur is terminally ill and wants to be listed as married on his eventual death certificate.

26 - Although some criticize the effort as misdirected at a company that’s not totally Russian, Columbus bars Union and Axis join a boycott of Stoli vodka over Russia’s government-fueled wave of violence against its LGBT citizens.

29 - Speaking with reporters on a flight back to Rome, Pope Francis softens the Catholic Church’s rhetoric about LGBT people: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

26 - The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and California’s 2008 marriage ban. The first ruling means the federal government must recognize all marriages that take place in states that have made them legal.

28 - Lesbian and gay couples can get married again in California, the 13th marriage-equality state.

Photo of the Year

“You know what they do in San Francisco, some in the gay community there, they want to get people so if they got the stuff [HIV], they’ll have a ring, you shake hands, and the ring’s got a little thing where you cut your finger.” - Televangelist Pat Robertson. His 700 Club cohost’s response: “Really?”

Juanita McDade got dinner invitations from out of state and emails from other countries after her photo from Columbus Pride went viral in late June. Her reaction to a protester captured perfectly what many of us feel when tired old hate tries to rain on our Pride parade.

“Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD.” - Message scrawled to a waiter at an Overland Park, Kan., Carrabba’s.

But her favorite memory from her turn in the spotlight?

“Two different times I was told I was a hero for our people. I really thought that was amazing.”

Bob’s favorite thing from 2013: ketchup at Level.

Things are back to normal now for the Galloway resident, her wife, Kochiya, and their daughter. Amateur photographer Todd Popp and his husband, Doug Motz, say they still crack up, though, over Logo’s use of the photo to comment on everything from North Korea to Amanda Bynes.

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AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

9 - President Obama says the United States will not boycott the Winter Olympics despite Russia’s abysmal treatment of LGBT people.

1 - A gay man crossing the street toward Cleveland’s Cocktails bar is attacked by a group of 20 young men. A 13-year-old is charged in the hate crime.

7 - State Sen. Charleta Tavares introduces legislation to stop “conversion therapy” for Ohio children.

5 - Gay candidates win election as mayor of Houston and Seattle, and as city council members in Cincinnati, Atlanta, Charlotte, Fort Worth, New York, Salt Lake City, Tucson and other cities. Among them: Newark, Ohio, where Jeremy Blake becomes the first openly gay city official.

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12 - California Gov. Jerry Brown signs a landmark law ensuring the rights of transgender students.

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14 - The Legacy Fund announces a nearly $100,000 gift from the late Sue Greer, the mother of Lynn and Michael Greer and one of Central Ohio’s early advocates for people with HIV and AIDS. 15 - Carla Hale and the Catholic Diocese of Columbus announce they have come to an agreement.

Her 19 years as a Bishop Watterson High School teacher and coach are recognized; she drops a complaint with the Community Relations Commission and abandons a potential lawsuit. Other terms are not revealed.

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19 - Cedar Point cancels a Halloween wedding contest rather than allow gay and lesbian couples to enter. The Sandusky park says it’s following Ohio law, although one would-be groom questions the legal talk: “For God’s sakes, you’re getting married by a zombie.”

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21 - Activists deliver nearly 200,000 signatures to Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati urging the corporation to drop its sponsorship of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia over that country’s wave of violence against LGBT people.

27 - Wal-Mart announces it will begin offering family health benefits to its workers’ same-sex partners starting Jan 1.

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29 - The IRS announces that all legally married couples - which means Ohioans who have married in other states or countries that recognize equality - will be considered married for federal tax purposes.

2 - Ohioans who back the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act begin a letterwriting, call-making campaign aimed at winning the support of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, who remains undecided.

4 - A poll of Ohioans by the Washingtonbased Public Religion Research Institute finds that 68 percent of Ohioans support a law banning discrimination against gay and lesbian people in the state. It also finds that 84 percent believe such a law already exists.

9 - Equality Ohio, the Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry and the ACLU launch Why Marriage Matters Ohio, a campaign to build support for marriage equality in Ohio.

14 - On the way between shows in Indianapolis and Cleveland, Ru Paul’s Drag Race stars Willam Belli, Pandora Boxx, Detox, Manila Luzon, Sharon Needles, Alaska Thunderfuck and judge Michelle Visage get stuck on the side of I-70 when their bus overheats near Dayton. How do they cope? They throw a dance party and make a YouTube video.

25 - Guido Barilla says he would never feature a gay couple in an ad for his family’s worldwide pasta brand, and “if the gays don’t like it they can go and eat another brand.”

27 - A state court in New Jersey rules in favor of marriage rights for lesbian and gay couples.

14 - Camp Sunrise, the Central Ohio camp for children affected by HIV/AIDS, announces that it will join the AIDS Resource Center Ohio network.

16 - State Rep. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, introduces a bill to add gender identity and sexual orientation to Ohio’s hate-crimes law.

17 - Stonewall Columbus says it will begin offering grants to Central Ohio teachers for gaystraight alliances and other efforts to help LGBT kids.

19 - Another clinic opens in the Short North focused on HIV/AIDS testing and treatment. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation operation is fueled by its Out of the Closet thrift store, which also is located at N High Street and 5th Avenue.

21 - John Arthur, the terminally ill Cincinnati man who filed a federal lawsuit asking Ohio to recognize him as married on his death certificate, passes away. His suit is still pending.

21 - New Jersey couples start getting marriage licenses. Gov. Chris Christie opposes marriage equality but drops his appeal, making New Jersey is the 14th marriage-equality state.

29 - The Ohio Department of Taxation acknowledges, in a story first reported by outlook, that the state’s marriage ban means an unintended tax break for lesbian and gay couples. Why? They pay less in Ohio income taxes as single individuals than they would as a married couple filing a joint return.

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20 - Illinois becomes the 15th marriage-equality state.

Marriage Equality States, as of Dec 31, 2012 Massachusetts Connecticut Iowa Vermont New Hampshire District of Columbia New York Washington Maine = 14 % of US population

Meanwhile, a federal judge’s decision is expected soon in a federal lawsuit filed in July by a terminally ill Cincinnati man and his husband.

*Weddings will begin in June 2014

Activists organized under the banner of Freedom Ohio continue to prepare for a November 2014 ballot measure to expand marriage rights in the state. Activists organized under Equality Ohio have started an educational effort called Why Marriage Matters.

december 2013

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Hate, 13 - Hawaii becomes the 15th marriage-equality state.

The groups are still at odds, though, over when and how to move forward.

Ohio’s in a kind-of limbo as legislatures and lawsuits push the issue of marriage equality in other states.

3

12 - The Ohio National Guard tells outlook that its gay and lesbian members are eligible to receive family benefits for their spouses.

Marriage Equality States, as of Dec 1, 2013 Massachusetts Connecticut Iowa Vermont New Hampshire District of Columbia New York Washington Maine Maryland California Rhode Island Delaware Minnesota New Jersey Hawaii *Illinois = 38% of US population

So Goes Ohio?

,

7 - The U.S. Senate passes the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. House approval is unlikely as Speaker John Boehner opposes the measure.

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Hey, if you need a gay-made swimsuit for the run check out wildmant.com.

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bookmark

War Stories

Stephen Snyder-Hill, Columbus’s Gay Soldier, Plans 2014 Book

by Bob Vitale

book to be published next year.

When Stephen Snyder-Hill and his U.S. Army unit were taking fire during the 1991 war in Iraq, the then-18-year-old private glanced down at a picture he carried of his brother and his brother’s girlfriend.

Soldier of Change: From the Closet to the Forefront of the Gay Rights Movement is about his experiences coming out, serving in the military under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, fighting to change Pentagon policies and becoming a gay activist.

“I decided if I died that day, I would never have loved somebody,” he said.

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The realization began a journey of self-acceptance, coming out, reconciling religious beliefs, standing up for himself and fellow LGBT service members, and fighting for marriage equality.

He was thrust into the national spotlight in September 2011 when he asked Republican presidential candidates via YouTube whether they wanted to reinstate the military’s justended ban on openly gay service members.

Snyder-Hill, who was serving in Iraq at the time, was booed loudly.

And it led to boos from Republican presidential-debate-goers in 2011 that gave him a platform for his advocacy.

Not one GOP candidate stood up for a gay man who was serving his country in a war zone.

Snyder-Hill, now a married, 43-year-old U.S. Army Reserve major who lives with his husband in Columbus, will tell his story in a

Sadly, it wasn’t the first time Snyder-Hill felt that disrespect. Back when he was a student at OSU in 2000, a letter in the campus paper

december 2013

joked that gay people headed to a protest march in Washington made it less likely anyone in Columbus would get AIDS that weekend. Snyder-Hill wrote his own letter telling the homophobe how he fought for his right to share that thought.

During his flight to Iraq, he recalled, one of his fellow soldiers made an anti-gay wisecrack.

“When I started ... one of my friends had said, ‘You should be writing this down,’” Snyder-Hill said. “I thought of all the things that pushed me to the point of asking that question.”

Before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act and the Department of Defense extended family benefits to LGBT service members, Snyder-Hill and his husband, Joshua, sued the Pentagon over its unequal treatment. They also are co-chairs of Freedom Ohio’s effort to overturn Ohio’s 2004

marriage ban.

The couple were grand marshals of Columbus’s Pride parade this past June and hosted a bus trip to Washington, D.C., for couples to get married on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Snyder-Hill said he began writing Soldier of Change while serving in Iraq and finished it after returning home to Columbus. It will be published by Potomac Books, which specializes in military-related subjects.

The forward to the book will be written by actor, activist and social-media maven George Takei. You can pre-order Soldier of Change at www.potomacbooksinc.com.

Did you hear? The Cbus of Love and Herby the Love Bug are engaged. They met on the road. outlookcolumbus.com

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Erin will vouch for the deliciousness of Fried Chicken Tuesdays at Hubbard Grille.

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creative class

Happily Ever After:

Five Ways ‘The Nutcracker’ Could Have Ended

Photo by Capture Zmuda Photography

by Erin McCalla Lively music. Colorful costumes. Dancing fairies.

No, I’m not talking about Columbus Pride festival.

The Nutcracker, BalletMet’s holiday mainstay, is gearing up for another year of pirouettes, rond de jambs and grand jetes at the Ohio Theatre from Dec 12 to Dec 24.

Most are familiar with the story of Clara and the magical Nutcracker bestowed upon her by her godfather, Drosselmeyer. The Nutcracker comes to life, turns Clara into a princess and whisks her away to the Land of Sweets, where she meets an array of characters like the Spanish chocolate, the Arabian coffee and the Chinese tea dancers; the Russian candycanes; Mother Ginger and her children; and of course, the Sugar Plum Fairies.

But after 121 years, who couldn’t use a little makeover? Although BalletMet is sticking with the original, we’ve come up with a few alternate endings for Clara and her Nutcracker Prince:

Triumph of the Faeries The Spanish chocolate, the Arabian coffee and the Chinese tea dancers are really just a traveling band of radical faeries. (Funny, you would have thought that the Sugar Plum Fairies would fit that bill.) The Nutcracker and Clara are enchanted by their forward thinking and their rejection of hetero-imitation and decide to travel the country to redefine queer consciousness.

Law and Order and Sweets The Nutcracker and Clara travel to the Land of Sweets on an undercover mission for the vice squad disguised as a prince and princess. They bust Mother Ginger and her children - the polichinelles - for dealing cocaine.

Clara wakes up to discover the battle between a pack of rodents and her beloved Nutcracker, who apparently ate part of a mushroom from a magical caterpillar to grow into a life-size man. (Wait, that’s not right… wrong story.)

Upon further investigation, the detectives discover that the polichinelles aren’t even children at all; they’re adult little people dressed as cute tykes to stay under the radar. The mother, despite her hulking size, is a pushover and gives up the Spanish “coffee” couple as the kingpins of the operation.

Anyway, the Mouse King and his minions van-

While in the Land of Sweets, Clara and the Nu-

Clara Kicks Some Ass

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quish the Nutcracker after he declares he’s a pacifist and sits on the floor to be slaughtered.

Clara, never needing a man to defend her anyway, brandishes her sword and takes care of the mice herself, revolutionizing princess stories from then on in the process.

sept 2013

tracker also arrest the Madam Sugar Plum Fairy for running a brothel using the other fairies as her “employees.” The Russian candycanes and Charlie Sheen are her biggest clients and shared their experiences freely, tipping the detective duo off.

Upon returning home, the Nutcracker and Clara receive accolades and promotions from Drosselmeyer, the police chief.

One for the Girls The Nutcracker reveals himself as a prince and takes Clara (who has turned into a grown woman with the help of an FDA-banned growth hormone) to the Land of Sweets, where she is introduced to the Sugar Plum Fairy. It is love at first sight and they immediately run away together, leaving the Nutracker to drown his sorrows in vodka with the Russian candy canes.

...And One for the Boys Many years ago, a prince and Drosselmeyer lived happily together in a tastefully decorated castle.

But after a devastating hurricane, Pat Robertson yet again blamed the GLBT community and sent an evil sorcerer to make an example of the famous, flamboyant prince by turning him to stone.

Drossselmeyer, having a flair for magic himself, was able to spare his lover’s life and transform the prince into a Nutcracker doll, because if he never returned to human form, as least he would spend his life with nuts in his mouth. (The prince

Didn’t the Sugar Plum Fairies march in Pride?

had a delightfully dry sense of humor and would appreciate the joke.)

For years, Drosselmeyer toted the doll around, but the sorcerer’s spell required the love of a straight woman to change the Nutcracker back into a prince. Enter Clara, Drosselmeyer’s favorite goddaughter and budding fruit fly.

Clara falls for the bait and instantly bonds with the Nutcracker, who is transformed. To reward her for her unconditional love, the prince takes her to the Land of Sweets during Pride festival. When they return home, Drosselmeyer and the prince head to Key West to live happily ever after and invest in a bar called the Garden of Eden.

BalletMet’s ‘The Nutcracker’ @ Ohio Theatre Dec 12-13: 7:30p Dec 14-15: 1p, 5:30p Dec 18-20: 7:30p Dec 21: 2p, 7:30p Dec 22: 1p, 5:30p Dec 23: 2p, 7:30p Dec 24: Noon Tickets are $25-$80 and can be purchased online through ticketmaster.com, at the CAPA box office at 39 E State St, or over the phone at 800.982.2787 or 614.469.0939.

For more on the production, visit www.balletmet.org. outlookcolumbus.com

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Have you signed up to be a part of Team Columbus for GG9? All skill levels are welcome!

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out & about for the holidays

by Kailen Nourse

There are a lot more than 12 days of Christmas shows, concerts, parties, plays and other activities this month.

Heck, there are 26 days of A Christmas Carol alone.

Everything from classical concerts to a breakdancing Nutcracker can be found right in our backyard. And your relatives are not the only talented performers coming to town: Musical artists and theater companies to suit all tastes will perform.

Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus

Holiday Races

The annual holiday concert by the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus is a different kind of “family” tradition.

Jingle Bell Run: A 5K race to benefit arthritis research in Central Ohio.

Dec 7 at 10a @ COSI, 333 W Broad St; 614.228.2674; www.jinglebellrun.com: $15-$40.

This year’s show is called Joy!, and the program includes both classical standards to childhood favorites that we all know and love.

There are five performances scheduled this year: • Dec 6 at 8p @ King Avenue United Methodist Church, 299 King Ave in Victorian Village.

• Dec 7 at 2p and 8p @ King Avenue United Methodist.

• Dec 8 at 6p @ Lord of Life Lutheran Church, 2480 W Dublin Granville Rd on the Northwest Side.

• Dec 11 at 8p @ Glenwood United Methodist Church, 2833 Valleyview Dr in the Hilltop.

Tickets are $20 in advance (buy them online at www.cgmc.com) or $25 at the door.

Santa Speedo Dash: Don the infamous Speedo or holiday-themed garb and choose between the one-mile or 5K course. Dec 14 at noon @ The End Zone, 165 Vine St, www.diabetesohio.donordrive.com: $40

Lights Bruce Munro: Light: The installations are on the grounds of the Franklin Park Conservatory. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings through Feb 8 from 5p-11p, plus Dec 1, 7-8, 25 and 29-31 @ Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St; 614-715-8000; www.fpconservatory.org: $15.

Columbus Zoo Wildlights: Sundays-Thursdays from 5p-9p, Fridays and Saturdays from 5p-10p through Jan 5 @ Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, 4850 W Powell Rd, Powell; 800.MONKEYS; www.columbuszoo.org: $8.99-$13.99

The Nutcracker Columbus Youth Ballet: Dancers ages 6-18 add a twist: The Nutcracker breakdances. Dec 7 at 7p and Dec 8 at 3p @ OSU’s Thurber Theatre, 1894 Canon Drive; 614-433-0146; www.columbusyouthballet.com: $18-$20.

BalletMet: Dec 12-13, 18-21 and 23 at 7:30p; Dec 14-15 and 22 at 1p and 5:30p; Dec 21 and 23 at 2p and Dec 24 at noon @ Ohio Theatre, 39 E State St; 614.469.0939; www.balletmet.org: $43.75-$88.25.

Village Lights: German Village will dim its electric lights and set out thousands of candle-lit luminaria along its brick streets and through Schiller Park and horse-drawn carriages will available to help you get from one end of the village to the other. Dec 1 from 6p-10p @ German Village, 240 E Kossuth St, 614.444.6808, gvbusinesscommunity.gov: free.

Statehouse Tree-Lighting: It’s part of the Statehouse Holiday Festival and Open House. Dec 3 from 5:30p-7:30p @ Ohio Statehouse, 1 Capitol Square; 614.752.9777; www.ohiostatehouse.org: free.

Columbus Commons Lights: They’re switched on Dec 6 @ Columbus Commons, 160 S High St; 614.545.4700; www.columbuscommons.org: free.

A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: The Nebraska Theatre Caravan performs the classic tale, complete with British carols. Dec 1 at 2p and 7:30p @ Ohio Theatre, 39 E State St; 614.469.0939; www.capa.com: $22-$32.

Scrooge: A musical retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic. Saturdays at 2p, Sundays at 2p and 7p from Dec 1-29 @ Shadowbox Theatre, 503 S Front St; 614.426.7625; shadowboxlive.org: $20-$30. There’s also a Dec 26 show at 7:30p.

A Christmas Carol: Patrick Barlow, creator of the Tony Award-winning The 39 Steps, puts a new spin on the tale. Five actors play all the big parts, incorporating puppets, masks and music. Dec 4, 11 and 18 at 11a; Dec 5 at 7:30p; Dec 6-7, 12-14 and 19-21 at 8p; and Dec 8, 15 and 22 at 2p @ Studio One Theatre, Riffe Center, 77 S. High St; 614.469.0939; catco.org: $11.50-$45.

Dickens of a Christmas: The Ohio Historical Society recreates a Victorian-era Christmas with crafts, decorations, cooking demos and more. Dec 13-14 and 20-21 from 6p-9p and Dec 22 from noon-5p @ Ohio Village, 800 E 17th Ave; 614.297.2300; www.ohiohistory.org: $9-$12.

This is Your Life ... Ebenezer Scrooge! While partaking in a festive meal, join host Jacob Marley as he introduces people from the good, the bad and the ugly of Ebenezer Scrooge’s life. Dec 19 at 7p @ Ohio History Center/Ohio Village, 800 E 17th Ave, 800.686.1541, www.ohiohistory.org: $60.

Film 4th Annual Holiday Classics Film Series @ Gateway Film Center, 1550 N High St, 614.247.4433; gatewayfilmcenter.com: $5 or toy donation for the Open Shelter.

Miracle on 34th Street: Dec 1, 4 at 2p and 7:30p.

Meet Me in St. Louis: Dec 6 at 2p; Dec 7-8, 11 at 2p and 7:30p.

It's a Wonderful Life: Dec 13 at 2p; Dec 14-15, 18 at 2p and 7:30p.

White Christmas: Dec 20, 25 at 2p; Dec 21-22 at 2p and 7:30p.

Purple Snowflakes: @ Gateway Film Center, 1550 N High St, 614.247.4433; gatewayfilmcenter.com: free with Columbus Metropolitan Library card or $5.

Home Alone: Dec 1 at 11a and 4:30p; Dec 3 at 2p and 7:30p The Muppet Christmas Carol: Dec 6 at 11a, Dec 7-8 at 11a and 4:30p; Dec 10 at 2p and 7:30p.

Elf: Dec 13 at 11a; Dec 14-15 at 11a and 4:30p; Dec 17 at 2p and 7:30p.

Gremlins: Dec 20 at 11a; Dec 21-22 at 11a and 4:30p; Dec 24 at 2p and 7:30p.

Night Owl Theater: Gremlins @ Studio 35, 3055 Indianola Ave, 614.261.1581; studio35.com: Dec 14 at 11:30p; $5.

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december 2013

You can’t complain of boredom this holiday season.

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Concerts

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Holiday Lunchbox: Lunchtime shows include sketch comedy and music with a holiday flavor. Dec 327, Tuesdays-Fridays at noon @ ShadowboxLive, 503 S Front St; 614.426.7625; shadowboxlive.org: $5-$10

querot. Dec 7 at 8p and Dec 8 at 4p and 8p @ Wall Street Nightclub, 144 N Wall St; 614.464.2800; www.wallstreetnightclub.com: $10.

Nina and Virginia’s Holiday Special: Nina and Virginia West are joined by Alexis Stevens, Anisa Holiday Hoopla: Sketch comedy Love, Freesia Balls, Cool Ethan, that pokes fun at our desire to Plenty O’Smiles and Ritzy Rocket. make the holidays perfect. Through Dec 7 and 14 at 5p and 9p, Dec 13 Dec 28, Tuesdays-Thursdays at and 15 at 8p @ Axis, 775 N High 7:30p and Fridays and Saturdays St, 614.291.4008, axisonhigh.com: 7:30p and 10:30p @ Shadow$10. boxLive, 503 S Front St; 614.426.7625; shadowboxlive.org: The Mary Ann Brandt Christmas $20-$30.

Show: Mary Ann’s annual show also features Andrea Benahoe, Elijah’s Angel: Gallery Players’ an- Blanche, Betty Cracker, DeMonica nual children’s production about Hunter, Flaggots Ohio, Ashley two faiths finding common ground. O’Shea, Joe and special guest Dec 7, 12, 14 at 7:30p and Dec 8, Brandy LaMonte. Dec 14 at 6p and 15 at 2:30p @ Jewish Community 9p, and Dec 15 at 8p @ Wall Street Center, 1125 College Ave, www.jcc- Nightclub, 144 N Wall St; galleryplayers.com: $10-$20.

614.464.2800; www.wallstreetnightclub.com: general admission Echoes in Time Theatre’s Tales of at the door. a Department Store Santa: @ Dec 7, 14, 21 at 1p and 3p @ Ohio His- Songs of the Season: The annual tory Center/Ohio Village, 800 E 17th Short North Stage music and Ave, 614.297.2300; www.ohiohis- dance revue. Dec 12-14 and 19-21 tory.org: $5-$10. at 8p and Dec 15 and 22 at 3p @ Short North Stage, 1187 N High St; Sounds of the Season All Stage 614.725.4042; www.shortnorthDance Show: Choreographed by stage.org: $15-18.

Shane Carpenter and Aliane Ba-

Vaud-Villites: Under the Mistletoe: Songs and dances from holiday movies. Dec 13-14 at 8p and Dec 15 at 2:30p @ Northland Performing Arts Center, 4411 Tamarack Blvd; 614-262-SHOW; www.vvproductions.com: $20.

Donny and Marie Christmas Tour: Dec 19 at 8p @ Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Dr; 800.745.3000; www.schottensteincenter.com: $46.50-$122.

Ho, Ho, Ho for BRAVO: Debe and Bobby Hamlin, Jazz Mary, Donna Mogavero, Steve Salyer, Deva Station, and Wednesday Wine will all perform to benefit BRAVO on Dec 20 from 7p-9:30p @ Wall Street Nightclub, 614.464.2800; www.wallstreetnightclub.com: $6.

Christmas Showtunes with Nina West: Dec 22 at 8p @ Union Café, 782 N High St, 614.421.2233, columbusnightlife.com: free.

Mayhem & Mystery Dinner Theatre: The Christmas Caper: Tuesdays and Thursdays through Dec 26 at 7p @ Spaghetti Warehouse, 397 W Broad St, 614.464.0143, www.mayhemmystery.com: $29.95.

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Theatre, 34 W Broad St; 614.469.0939; www.capa.com: $28-$65.50.

The Irish Tenors: Finbar Wright, Home for the Holidays: Colum- Anthony Kearns and Ronan Tynan bus Jazz Orchestra featuring perform. Dec 9 at 8p @ Palace Debbie Gravitte: Dec 4-5 at Theatre, 34 W Broad St; 7:30p, Dec 6-7 at 8p and Dec 8 at 614.469.0939; www.capa.com: 3p @ Southern Theatre, 21 E $23-$53.

High St; 614.469.0939; www.jazzartsgroup.com: $10-$52.

ProMusica Chamber Orchestra’s Messiah Singalong: Dec 13 Capital University Christmas at 7:30p and Dec 15 at 7p @ Festival 2013: Performances by Southern Theatre, 21 E Main St; more than 200 singers in five 614.464.0066; www.promusicagroups. Dec 5-7 at 7:30p and Dec columbus.org: $17.

8 at 3:30p @ Capital's Mees Hall, E Mound St, Bexley; ProMusica Chamber Orchestra: 614.469.0939; www.capital.edu/ Music from Dvorak, Mozart and christmas-festival: $15-$25.

Schickele. Dec 14 at 5:30p @ Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus Symphony Orchestra 7625 N High St; 614-464-0066; Holiday Pops: Dec 6-7 at 8p and www.promusicacolumbus.org: Dec 8 at 3p @ Ohio Theatre, 39 E $35. There’s also a concert on Dec State St; 614.228.8600; 15 at 7p at the Southern Theatre, www.columbussymphony.com: 21 E Main St. $25-$68.

Central Ohio Symphony: Joined Dave Koz and Friends Christmas by jazz musician Bradley Sowash Tour: Grammy-nominated saxo- and singer Dwight Lenox. Dec 15 phonist Koz, joined by Keiko Mat- at 2p and 4:30p @ Ohio Wessui, Oleta Adams and Jonathan leyan University’s Gray Chapel, 61 Butler. Dec 8 at 7p @ Palace S Sandusky St, Delaware;

740.362.1799; www.centralohiosymphony.com: $4-$25.

CityMusic’s Irish Christmas in America: Add $20 to ticket prices for dinner with the show. Dec 15 at 2p @ Grand Valley Dale Ballroom, 1590 Sunbury Rd; 614.223.3093; www.citymusiccolumbus.org: $13.75-$33.75.

Lig Ho Ru Th Ev C Sh Th A C

Jim Brickman: The Magic of Christmas: Dec 21 from 8p-10p @ Southern Theatre, 21 E High St; 614.469.0939; www.capa.com: $33-$68.

New Albany Symphony Orchestra: Dec 22 at 3p @ Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, 100 E Dublin Granville Rd; 614-469-0939; www,newalbanysymphony.net: $11-$20.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: It’s the final performance of the group’s rock opera, The Lost Christmas Eve. Dec 26 at 3p and 8p @ Nationwide Arena, 200 W Nationwide Blvd; 800.745.3000; www.nationwidearena.com: $40.05-$82.40.

Holiday Cheer

p.

p

Sweet Honey in the Rock: Dec 5 at 8p @ Capitol Theatre, 77 S High St; 1.800.745.3000; www.capa.com: $20-$50.

Events Candlelight Dinner: The buffet events take place in the Franklin Park Conservatory’s Palm House. Dec 4, 11 and 18 at 6p @ Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St; 614.715.8000; www.fpconservatory.org: $55 ($50 for members).

Columbus Commons Holiday Fair: Carnival rides, visits with Santa, a petting zoo, local music - oh, and 120,000 holiday lights. Dec 6-7 from 4p-9p @ Columbus Commons, 160 S High St; 614.545.4700; www.columbuscommons.org: free.

Clay Gingerbread House Workshop: Clayspace, a Brewery District ceramics studio, has a two-session workshop whose participants will make gingerbread houses out of clay.

Reservations are required. Dec 7 and 14, 1:30p-3:30p @ Clayspace/Gallery 831, 831 S Front St; 614.449.8144; www.clayspace831.com: $75.

Holiday Food from Around the World: Explore and taste traditions from around the globe. It’s $1 per sample or hot beverage. Dec 11 from 6p-8p @ Franklin Park Conservatory, Short North Holiday Hop: Dec 7 from 1777 E Broad St; 614-715-8000; www.fpconservatory.org: free with 4p-10p @ N High Street from Nationwide Blvd to 7th Ave; www.short- admission. north.org: free.

Polar Express Movie and PJs Party: Shown on COSI’s Extreme Screen.

Breakfast with Santa: Includes photo opportunities and cookie-dec- Games and activities before the show. Dec 13 at 7p and Dec 14 at orating. Dec 7 and 14 from 8:30a10a and 4p @ COSI, 333 W Broad 10a @ Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St; 614-715-8101; St; 614.228.2674; www.cosi.org: $10 www.fpconservatory.org: $15-30. ($8 for members).

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COSI’s Holiday Celebration: Prizes for scavenger hunt winners. Dec 14 from 10a-3p @ COSI, 333 W Broad St; cosi.org; free with general admission.

Jolly Ginger Holiday: Enjoy ginger in dishes both savory and sweet, paired with wines, while learning about its uses and why it’s associated with the holidays. Dec 14 from 1p-3p @ Signature Wines, 3816 April Lane; 614.395.2355; www.signaturewinesofohio.com: $45. ’Tis the Season Cocktail Party: With food stations and live entertainment.

Dec 19 from 5:30p-10p @ Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St; 614-715-8000; www.fpconservatory.org: $15.

First Night Columbus: Includes kidfriendly activities. Dec 31 at 5p @ locations throughout Downtown; www.firstnightcolumbus.com:free.

Willie Phoenix: The singer and guitarist with Blues Hippy and The Soul Underground plays holiday music at North Market.

Dec 1 from noon-2p @ North Market, 59 Spruce St; www.williephoenix.com: free.

Columbus Youth Jazz Ensemble: Dec 1 at 2p @ Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St; 614.715.8000; www.fpconservatory.org: free with admission.

Holiday Choir Lunchtime Performances: Lunch-hour concerts are every weekday in the crypt of the Statehouse. Dec 320 from noon-1p @ Ohio Statehouse, 1 Capitol Square; 614.752.9777; www.ohiostatehouse.org: free.

Worthington Chorus Holiday Concert: Selections from the group’s holiday program, Follow the Star to Bethlehem and the North Pole. Dec 4 at 7p @ Franklin Park Conservatory,

1777 E Broad St; 614-7158000; www.fpconservatory.org: free with admission.

Broad Street Bells Philomel: Dec 15 at 2p @ Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St; Hilliard Davidson HS Madrigals: 614-715-8000; www.fpconserDec 8 at 2p @ Franklin Park vatory.org: free with admission.

Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St; 614.715.8000; free with admis- Dan Heidt: Acoustic guitar. Dec sion.

15 from 2p-4p @ North Market, 59 Spruce St; www.reverbnaThe Magpie Consort Holiday tion.com/danheidt: free.

Concert: Selections from the ensemble’s program, Christmas Suzuki Music Cello Choir: Dec in the New World. Dec 11 at 7p 21 at 2p @ Franklin Park Con@ Franklin Park Conservatory, servatory, 1777 E Broad St; 1777 E Broad St; 614-715614-715-8000; www.fpconser8000; www.fpconservatory.org: vatory.org: free with admission. free with admission.

Grove City Chamber Singers Capital University Philomel: Holiday Concert: Dec 22 at 2p @ Franklin Park Conservatory, Dec 14 at 2p @ Franklin Park Conservatory, 1777 E Broad St; 1777 E Broad St; 614-715614-715-8000; www.fpconser- 8000; www.fpconservatory.org: vatory.org: free with admission. free with admission.

The Piano Peddler: This artist’s keyboard is built on a mountain bike. Dec 14 from 10a-2p @ North Market, 59 Spruce St; www.pianopeddler.com: free.

First person to finish all these events wins the best holiday experience ever and a nap!

Columbus Jazz Orchestra’s Swingin’ the New Year: Dec 28 at 8p @ the Lincoln Theatre, 769 E Long St; 614.294.5200; www.jazzartsgroup.org: $31.

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the nightlife

The Resolutions Can Wait

New Year’s Eve Options Include Dinner, Drag, Drinks

by Abel Araya

Southbend Tavern: Southbend will play host to two

Drag shows, elegant dinners, endless hours of dancing, all topped of with a nice complementary champagne toast at midnight.

shows, at 10p and midnight, featuring all 10 regular hosts. The lineup includes Mari Jane, Darah Landon, Georgia Jackson, former Ms. Gay Ohio America Hellin Bedd and more. There’s complementary champagne at midnight and no cover charge.

Yep, must be New Year’s Eve. When I celebrate the New Year, I’ve learned to do it in style - suit and tie preferably. Seriously, who wants to celebrate the New Year in a pair of ripped skinny jeans and that ugly Christmas sweater you wore to that party last weekend? If you’re going to go out, you’ve got to dial it up - and that includes drinking at least twice the amount of champagne you’d normally drink.

Columbus may not be New York when it comes to New Year’s Eve, but the LGBT community always has something going on that can turn even a boring Tuesday evening into a flashy, over-the-top Saturday night. So you can imagine that New Year’s Eve will include a wide array of options.

If your ideal New Year’s Eve consists of lying on your couch, burning your eyes through everything on your Netflix instant queue with a bottle of Pinot Noir by your side, you might want to move on to the next story. Whether you’re looking for a chill and relaxing New Year’s or one you don’t want to forget (or remember, depending on your tolerance), here are some happenings already in the works.

Some bars and venues didn’t have their plans set by the time we printed this month’s outlook. Check outlookcolumbus.com during the month for additional New Year’s Eve events.

AWOL/The Barracks: The Barracks will open at 9p with DJ EricX playing dance hits all the way to midnight, when there will be a champagne toast to ring in the New Year. Balloons will drop at midnight, and get this: Some of them will have cash inside.

Axis Nightclub: The party starts at 9p and goes until 4a.

RuPaul’s Drag Race favorite Manila Luzon will make her first Columbus appearance, and Nina West and Virginia West will host an all-star lineup that includes a Pistol Pete Underwear fashion show. It’s an 18-plus night, and everyone will get a free New Year’s Eve CD with the year’s best dance music. General-admission tickets are $8 through Christmas and $10 afterward.

Tremont Lounge: Complementary champagne toast at midnight.

Union Café: Executive Chef Ben’s annual New Year’s Eve dinner is seated at 6p and 8:30p and runs from $30 to $40. Dinner

includes a celebrity-impersonations show with Delta Work, Nina West, Virginia West and more, as well as a free pass to the New Year’s Eve show at Axis. If you’re not going to Union for the dinner, you can still get into the bar and watch the show.

Wall Street Nightclub: Doors open at 9p. DJ Michelle Chaney will be the musical feature for Wall Street’s New Year’s Eve party, and the first 100 people through the door will get a limitededition Winter VIP Card. Times Square’s countdown will be broadcast on the club’s video screens, and there will be a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. The party is an 18-and-over event with an $8 admission.

BARS + CLUBS

GAYLUMBUS NIGHTLIFE 1. AWOL/The Barracks 49 Parsons Ave, 614.621.8779, awolbar.com 1b. Manhole-Columbus 684 Oak St, 773.555.5555 FB: Manhole-Columbus 2. Axis 775 N High St, 614.291.4008, columbusnightlife.com 3. Cavan Irish Pub 1409 S High St, 614.725.5502, cavanirishpub.com 4. Club 20 20 E Duncan St, 614.261.9111, FB: Club 20 5. Club Diversity 863 S High St, 614.224.4050, clubdiversity.com 6. Exile 893 N Fourth St, 614.294.0069, exilebar.com 7. Fuel 1312 S High St, 614.725.0130, FB: Fuel Bar

8. Level 700 N High St, 614.754.1342, www.levelcolumbus.com 9. The Garage 40 E Long St, 614.205.4317 garagecolumbus.com 10. Slammers 202 E Long St, 614.221.8880, FB: Slammers 11. Southbend 126 E Moler St, 614.444.3386, FB: Southbend Tavern 12. Toolbox Saloon 744 Frebis Ave, 614.670.8113, FB: The Toolbox Saloon 13. Tremont 708 S High St, 614.444.2041, tremontlounge.com 14. Union 782 N High St, 614.421.2233, columbusnightlife.com 15. Wall Street 144 N High St, 614.464.2800, wallstreetnightclub.com

Cavan Irish Pub: Cavan also plans a cash balloon drop, and there’s complementary champagne at midnight. There’s no cover charge for the festivities.

Level Dining Lounge: For New Year’s Eve, Level’s event will include multiple DJs playing music all night. There will be a full dinner menu and special New Year’s chef creations, and the restaurant will consider reservations for private parties. The champagne is complementary at midnight.

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This New Year’s, play it safe. Take Car2Go there and Yellow Cab home!

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All the sophisticated urbanites ask for COTA for Christmas.

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savageby Danlove Savage

a 24-year-old lesbian, and I have been with q I’m my girlfriend for almost three years. We have both been GGG about things to do with each other in the bedroom, and I’m generally happy with our sex life. Since I am e-mailing you, though, there is a “but.”

She is bi and has always wanted to have a threesome with a guy and another girl. I am all for that in theory, but I have a hard time emotionally. I have anxiety. I’m in therapy and on medication, and even still it’s really difficult for me to wrap my head around sex with new people. I would spend the entire time silently freaking out.

I am not sure how I feel about her getting fucked by someone else, even if she’s fucking me at the same time. I really want to do this for her, but I don’t want it to go poorly because of my issues.

Do you have any advice for navigating something like this that your partner really wants but you don’t? For how to get game not just in letter, but in spirit?

- Having Anxiety Raises Difficulties

a

Talk about it, fantasize about it, be open to it, but take it glacially. Guys who are interested in sexing two women aren’t that difficult to find, HARD, so trust that the right guy - one who makes you comfortable, one who is unthreatening - will come into your lives at some point.

If you’re worried about how you might react to watching your girlfriend have sex with that special someone else, she shouldn’t have intercourse with that special someone else the first time you get together. Make out, roll around, engage in a little mutual masturbation.

If that feels good - if it doesn’t make you anxious or freak you out - make a plan to get together again.

and I are in our mid/early 20s. We q Myhaveboyfriend been dating for a little over 10 months. We have a strong emotional bond and are always communicative and honest with anything and everything.

We have an amazing and adventurous sex life, and we have been fantasizing about cuckolding for about two months. We are both extremely turned on by the idea, but I have reservations about doing this in such a young relationship.

Unlike married couples who have years to lay an emotional foundation, my boyfriend and I have less to fall back on. I am excited by the idea of this, but I am scared I will end up feeling used. I am also afraid he will not be able to handle the reality of the humiliation. It turns him on to talk about it, but he has never done this.

What happens if we are emotionally wrecked afterward? I’m afraid we’re playing with fire. I love him and do not want to lose him, but this is something that excites both of us. What should we do?

- Young And Restless Duo realities are a lot more challenging than a Cuckolding cuckolding fantasies - emotionally and logistically.

So you’re right to be nervous, YARD. But relationship longevity doesn’t guarantee cuckolding success. Good communication, mutual desire (so important with this fantasy!), and a commitment to take things slowly-bordering-on-glacially are far better predictors of success.

And if you take it slow - if you limit your cuckolding play to dirty talk for 10 months at least - you’ll have more of that experience/trust/security stuff to fall back on if and when you find the right bull/stud/lover.

Savage Love appears every month in outlook and every week at outlookcolumbus.com. You can email Dan Savage at mail@savagelove.net, follow him on Twitter at @fakedansavage or listen to his weekly podcast, “Savage Lovecast,” every Tuesday at thestranger.com/savage.

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Look, it’s the Island of Misfit Toys!

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the divine life by Debé Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)

Not that you need an excuse to party, but it’s your time to deck the halls and kick up your heels.

Just be careful not to put that heel in your mouth by being insensitive or you’re asking for coal in your stocking. The end of the year finds you confident but not cocky. Get ready for a wild 2014.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)

Leo (July 23 - August 22)

Your charm offensive is working, and people are saying very nice things about you. If you have a special someone, they’re taking notice. If not, get out there while you are pop-u-lar. Play your Christmas cards right and Santa could be very, very, good to you.

You’re feeling generous this month, maybe overly so. Be careful with your money or your bank account will drop like the thermostat. Your mate is being assertive, so it’s a great time to wrestle in front of a roaring fire - just don’t burn your chestnuts.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)

You might not know which end is up for the first half of the month. This can be tricky, especially in bed. Make sure you know what you’re doing before making any big decisions. By year’s end, things are comfy and cozy again.

You’re decking the halls with love this month. If you’re single, get out there and jingle those bells. If you already have a sweetie, time to snuggle up under the mistletoe. Fa-la-la-la-la!

Pisces (February 19 - March 20)

Libra (September 23 - October 22)

They say it’s better to give than to receive, and this holiday you may be asked to make a few sacrifices to keep relationships strong. Don’t make any snap decisions or big changes this month. Good things come to those who wait.

Aries (March 21 - April 19)

Just call you Ebenezer the first half of the month, as pesky ghosts seem to get in the way and you’re feeling a little cynical. Problems fade away mid-month, leaving you restless and ready to ring in the new year.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)

You may have the urge to keep the holiday cheer close to home this month. It’s cold outside and you don’t have the energy for the chaos. Better to rest up with a hot toddy - or just a hottie - and stay toasty and warm.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)

You are the hostess with the mostest this month, and you know it! Just be careful not to spend more than you have or you’ll start next year on the wrong foot. You can trim a tree on a budget and it will still be fabulous!

You are so ready to make the yuletide gay! Your grounded nature is nowhere to be found, and you may bull your way through money and romance recklessly. Exciting, but a little scary, too. Be careful where you stuff your stocking.

Funny Sagittarians:

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)

The Angle of Opposition: How

You are due for an epiphany. Along with some early-month chaos, a long-simmering situation comes to a head, creating a blizzard of opportunity for growth and closure. Your gift is insight (cue the confetti). Happy holidays!

Bette Midler, Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Flip Wilson

Handy Tip far you hold your thumb out and down shows how gregarious, generous and extroverted you are.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)

You are in for a snowstorm of activity, and you are as busy as Santa’s elves. You may be tempted to dive into some family drama, but better to wait until the ice is safe to skate on.

Your patience will keep the Yule cool. outlookcolumbus.com

Debé is a highly respected palmist, teacher and coowner of Enchanted Elements. She is available for personal readings, parties, events and workshops.

Contact her at www.enchantedelements.com or 614.437.2642.

1. Cut a hole in a box.

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Every (You If you want to share month in print and don’t really your rants, raves or observaevery week online, we ask have to be a celeb. tions with the rest of Columbus, outlook readers to do our work This will launch call Erin McCalla at 614.268.8525, for us as Local Celebrity your career.) x2 or email her at emccalla@outGuest Bloggers. lookmedia.com. Or call. Email would be better.

Andrea Bils Top 5 Reasons to Participate in Santa Speedo Dash for Diabetes 5. Free beer at the finish line.

4. Get in the holiday spirit.

3. Wear your ugly Christmas sweater/tacky seasonal stuff.

2. Rockin’ after-party at EndZone.

1. Support diabetes services for Central Ohioans.

Dec 2 topic: The 2nd Annual Santa Speedo Dash

Oleander Barber, Crisis Worker Top 5 Instant Calming Techniques

5. Read aloud. Reading lets us dip into other worlds, and reading aloud helps focus anxious energy.

4. Make art. Get out your crayons, play your guitar, start a collage.

3. Listen to music. Find the music that calms you. I like West Coast Jazz.

2. Move it, move it. Take a walk, do some stretches, practice your dance moves.

1. Breathe deep. Deep breaths release endorphins and relax the body.

Dec 9 topic: Local Crisis Resources for the GLBT Community

Keith Miles, Volunteering Director for Columbus SOUP! Top 5 Reasons Why I Volunteer

5. Because I’m too old for Axis, but too young for a nursing home.

4. I have free time since I’m not searching for leaks of Britney’s new album.

3. Because there’s only so much Star Trek you can watch on Netflix.

2. Dear Lord, I can’t take care of any more cats.

1. Because working full-time and being a full-time student wasn’t quite enough.

Dec 16 Topic: From the Sofa to SOUP: My Journey Into Volunteering

Andrew Johnson, Writer, JP Morgan Chase Top 5 TV Shows You Need to Watch 5. My So-Called Life/Firefly 4. Friday Night Lights 3. The Wire 2. 30 Rock 1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Dec 23 Topic: Gay-Themed TV and Movies

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Dude Looks Like a Lady

and straights go down 11 One of the “Maneater” singers 12 Rag˙ alternative 13 Wore 19 Adam and Steve’s loAcross cale?

1 With 56-Across, Today 21 Go the other way Halloween character of 23 Colorless watery fluid 2004 24 Vital carrier 6 The African Queen 26 Contemporary Chrisauthor tian 10 Last year’s frosh 29 Cattleman’s tool 14 Socrates’ market 32 Willa Cather classic 15 Cold feet 34 Feel sorry for 16 Scarlett’s plantation 35 ___ Saves the World 17 Guitarist Eddie Van ___ 37 Spa? 18 Turned tail 38 Brando’s last one was 20 Where to slap a footin Paris ball player on the butt?

39 Dramatist Henrik 22 Frida’s husband 41 Willingly 23 With 25-Across, Today 45 Of little consequence Halloween character of 47 Air force 2013 49 First letter of the FDown 25 See 23-Across word, for Socrates?

1 “Poppycock!”

27 Gielgud’s john 51 Billy Elliot portrayer 2 Palindromic title 28 Faberge objet Bell 3 Virginia Woolf, to 30 Business mag 52 Tickle pink many writers 31 Hot blood 53 Actor Williamson 4 Cara of Fame 33 About 54 Cause of “bed 5 Adam of I Now Pro36 Bubbly home death” nounce You Chuck and 40 Brady Bunch prefix 55 Police actions at 41 Matt, who portrayed the Larry Stonewall 6 Do style 3 women of this puzzle’s 57 Slow, to Saint-Saens 7 Susan’s partner in theme 60 Bit of business Thelma and Louise 42 Q-Tip, for one 62 Ann Bannon’s ___ 43 Neighbor of Senegal 8 Gone from the platter Girl Out 44 What comes to mind 9 Pull a boner 64 Suffix with Paul 10 Where both gays 45 Dawson’s Creek 65 Remarks, slangily characters 46 Give a chit 48 PBS relative 50 Personal-ad info 51 With 71-Across, Today Halloween character of 2000 56 See 1-Across 58 Uranian, for example 59 Mead studied them on Samoa 61 Kingdom of Alexander the Great 63 Vonda Shepard’s “It’s ___ Kiss” 66 Believe-not connection 67 Milk candy 68 Compensate 69 Some have electric organs 70 Poker chip, e.g.

71 See 51-Across

Aerosmith’s hit “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” was released in 1987.

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Outlook’s

Holiday

Gift Guide

Outlook Home Delivery and Membership to Equality Ohio www.outlookcolumbus.com/consume Get an Equality Ohio membership and a year of home delivery of outlook and Live Local! Columbus magazines for $50.

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Everyone wants home delivery for the holidays!

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Nurtur the Salon $25 gift card with $100 purchase 1581 W Lane Ave & 1325 Grandview Ave 614.487.3033, nurtursalon.com Nurtur the Salon is reinventing the salon experience by providing Aveda signature services using high-tech, targeted plant technology to bring you back into balance. Enjoy the rich moisture of Aveda Hand Relief to pamper your dry tired skin with the Soft Hands Gift Set. Take advantage of the holiday gift card promotion: Buy $100 worth of product or gift cards and receive a complimentary $25 service gift card in return.

Wine on High Love the Wine You’re With 10% off All Cases of Wine*

Robert Mason Co.

Up to 90% Off Detoxes, Personal Training & Fitness Bootcamps at Central Ohio’s Trainers to the Celebrities in Worthington Visit deals.bodybytoddstudio.com

Wool & Leather Survivor Satchel $199.99 11 E Gay St (at Gay and High) 614.228.7626, robertmasoncompany.com

• 6 wk Non-Impact Bootcamp (12 sessions) Plus belly fat diet • 2 day Speedloss® - Lose up to 12lbs in 2 days – The Only Eat & Drink Detox •Amazing tasting Protein 26 & Speed Shakes for shedding body fat - As delicious as how you put it on that buddha belly.....OMG!

Leave the ordinary and mundane at home and go about your day with a carefully crafted shoulder bag or tote bag from Robert Mason. Handmade in the U.S. by skilled craftsmen with only the finest materials. Coordinating Journals, iPad Cases and more available. Count down with us to Black Friday with the launch of robertmasoncompany.com, our online store.

You’re sure to be amazed — and inspired.

Log on today! $5 Off First Purchase Use Promo Code: OUTBBT13. Sales end every 5 days.

Acupuncture & Wellness of Merion Village Give the Gift of Wellness 1330 S Fourth Street, 614.233.1826, acupunctureofmerionvillage.com

789 N High St, Columbus 614.294.8466, wineonhigh.com Perfect for holiday parties, gifts and more! *Certain restrictions apply. Not valid with any other promotion or discount. Please call 614.294.8466 for details.

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Body by Todd

At Acupuncture & Wellness of Merion Village we are committed getting your body back in balance. Acupuncture can help soothe your chronic pain, relieve sleeplessness, and sooth general stress to get your body back in ballance. This is the perfect gift for that person in your life that needs to relax and do something good for their body and spirit. We also offer an array of essential oils that can ease everything from headaches and chronic pain to the common cold. Gift certificates are avaliable.

Four String Brewing Co. Growlers for your Holiday parties 985 West 6th Ave Columbus, 43212 www.fourstringbrewing.com Show off your Columbus brewing pride and drink local at all your holiday parties this year. Four String Brewing Co. is the perfect beer for any crowd. Our passion for beer is poured into every pint for you to enjoy. Pick up a growler of our limited edition solo session beers from the taproom, or grab some Brass Knuckle Pale Ale from your local growler provider. Need a unique party space? Give us call to book the taproom.

This Christmas show your love for Columbus by buying local.

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Stinky Bomb Soaps Available at Tacocat Cooperative, Wholly Craft, and the Candle Lab. http://www.stinkybombsoap.com What do you get the smelly human that has everything? Stinkybomb Soap! We create all the molds used in our soap line ourselves from their real-life counterparts like grenades and cassette tapes. Our soaps come in great smelling scents from lavender and sweet orange to black cherry and more. New additions to the stinky family include, lip balm, shower gel, lotion, and state shaped soaps. Our pride soaps gives a portion of sales to Project Zero Ohio. So not only can you smell good but feel good about your soap.

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The Bean 219 Arcadia Ave, Clintonville 614.403.6122 Now open, The Bean coffee shop! Come in and enjoy top quality freshly brewed coffees and teas, as well as sandwiches and freshly baked homemade pastries.

Gift Cards available in any amount.

Flora Home and Garden Christmas Fragrances from $12.95 930 N. High St, 614-294-1400 florahomeandgarden.com The Holidays are in full swing at Flora Home & Garden. Bring the scent of the season to your home with Thymes decorative scented and votive candles. These luxurious candles fill your surroundings with long-lasting perfume-quality fragrance. A gift to share or to savor.

Frasier Fir Scented Candles Starting at $12.95

Piercology 190 W. 2nd Ave. (in the Short North) 614 297-4743, www.piercology.com Piercology has been Columbus’ leader in Body Piercing for the last 19 years. Piercology is a gay-owned business offering a doctor-like setting, with the most experienced piercers in the country.

We pierce with the highest quality jewelry the industry has to offer. Just drop in, you’ll see why if you care about your body, Piercology should be your first choice in Columbus. For the entire month of December we are offering 2 for 1 piercings.

“Don’t Trust Your Body To Anyone Else”

Torso Get a Rounder Bum

Piercology Piercing Gift Cards

772 N. High Street, Short North 614.421.7663, www.torsoonline.com

Not sure what you give your best friend as a present this Christmas? Give the gift they will see everyday: a piercing from Piercology. Piercology offers $50, $75 and $100 gift cards.

Where style and function meet, Torso is your one-stop shop in the Short North for the hottest fashions, novelty items, holiday gifts and high-end fashion underwear.

Carrying brands like rOunderbum, Diesel, Andrew Christian, and countless others, Torso has sizes and styles for everyone.

Diesel Briefs starting at $25

Piercology is Columbus’ undisputed leader in body piercing and has been for 19 years. All our jewelry comes with a LIFETIME guarantee, and is made in America. Just walk through our doors and you will see why we are so different. Don’t your friends and your body deserve the best?

“Don’t Trust Your Body To Anyone Else”

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december 2013

What a talented barista!

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