06.19.08 Outlook Weekly - The Gay Ohio History Initiative

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E PRID E R O S• M 2 5 B HE THE GAY O HIO HISTORY INITIATIVE • T

S! G N I LIST

2 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY OWNERS AND PUBLISHERS Michael Daniels & Chris Hayes EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / ART DIRECTOR Chris Hayes hayes@outlookmedia.com

SNAPSHOT

The Pink Party was packed with pink-garbed people, pink cocktails and Russ’s pink cheeks! The fundraiser for Stonewall featured Leslile Jordan who had contacted the center because he wanted to help while he was in town. Cute and funny. His show Monday at the Southern was the funniest thing we’ve seen in years. Go get em Leslie! Photos Courtesy : Jan Richards / Russ Goodwin / Chris Hayes

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR / PHOTOS Robert Trautman traut@outlookmedia.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mette Bach, Danielle Buckius, Wayne R Besen, Chris Crain, Jennifer Vanasco, Tom Moon, Regina Sewell, Leslie Robinson, Gregg Shapiro, Mick Weems, Julianne French, TF Barton, Romeo San Vicente, Jeff Fertig, Simon Sheppard, Tristan Taormino, Dennis Vanke, Mario Pinardi, Rick Kramer, Aaron Drake, Jennie Keplar, Scott Varner, Derrik Chinn, Dan Savage, Felice Newman, Tim Curran, Chris Hughes, Stephen J Fallon, Felice Newman, J. Eric Peters, Crystal Hawkins, Brent Wilder, Matthew Burlingame, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Matthew Veritas Tsien, Cheri Meyers

BUSINESS & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Michael Daniels mdaniels@outlookmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING Rivendell Media - 212.242.6863 ADVERTISING DEADLINE Each Wednesday 8 days prior to publication.

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JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008 VOLUME 12 NUMBER 51

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

SNAPSHOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........2 ABOUT TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....3,34 LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......4,7 SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........7 COMMUNITY CORNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....8,10 OUT BUSINESS NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......13 INSIGHT OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......15 FEATURE: GOHI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .16-22 DEEP INSIDE HOLLYWOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......24 ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......24 INTERVIEW : KEITH B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..27,28 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......29 FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......30 SEX TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......32 SAVAGE LOVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......33 THE LAST WORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......35 SCOPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......35 NEXT WEEK: PRIDE!!!

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 3

ABOUT TOWN PRIDE MONTH MADNESS! Are you ready? Get all the Pride month events info on page 10!

THURSDAY, JUNE 19 SHOP TILL YOU DROP SN3TH @ various shops in The Short North, www.shortnorth.org: More than 40 of your favorite shops will be open late every third Thursday of the month.

Make a date. Start with happy hour, then stroll the strip, shop the shops & finish with a great dinner. Special sales, music, fashion, prizes & surprises. Till 9p; free.

THE BIG SCREEN The CAPA Summer Movie Series Presents Planet of the Apes @ Ohio Theatre, 39 E State St, 614.469.0939, www.capa.com: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of this sci-fi classic! Astronaut Taylor wakes post-crash to discover a planet ruled by a society of apes. Hunted, restrained, and caged, Taylor refuses to be the beast and defiantly plans his escape. Tonight & Friday, 7:30p; $3.50.

GET LINKED AND LIQUORED Thirsty Third Thursdays @ Liquid Café Lounge, 1100 N High St, 614.298.3000, liquidhotspot.com: Join LinkOUT as we begin a new tradition of “Thirsty Third Thursdays”! where LinkOUT will be hosting a happy hour around the city of Columbus every 3rd Thursday. 6:30p; free.

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES Worthington Arts Council 3-Day Renovation Celebration @ various locations, 614.431.0329, www.worthingtonarts.org: The public is invited for a weekend of arts events as part of a celebration in conjunction with the renovation of the Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center of Worthington. See web for info.

TWISTED LITTLE TOWN Hedwig And The Angry Inch @ The Club Theatre, Club Diversity, 863 S High St, 614.406.5510, clubdiversity.com: Grab your best Farrah Fawcett wig and head to The Club Theatre Company production of Hedwig And The Angry Inch which is still running the next two weekends: Jun 19-22 & 26-29 (Pride weekend). 7p; $18 adv/$24 door.

FRIDAY, JUNE 20 WHAT’S HAPPENING? HAPPENING @ duoHOME, 6507 Detroit Ave, Cleveland 44102, www.duohome.com: duoHOME owners Tim Kempf and Scott Suskowicz are thrilled to present the work of Cleveland-based artist Laurel Herbold for their inaugural art opening. “Laurel’s work is a visual fantasy,” commented Suskowicz. “Her imagery is vibrant and exciting. Each piece shows Laurel’s incredible gift as an artist.” Kempf adds, “Laurel works in a variety of mediums – oil, acrylic, pen and ink, yet each composition delights. She is a master of her craft and we are very, very excited to be exhibiting her work.” 6p; free.

DANCING IN LAS CALLES Festival Latino @ Riverfront: Festival Latino and Concert Caliente will bring some Latin American flare to the Columbus riverfront tonight and to-

by Chris Hayes

morrow. While Festival Latino will be celebrating its 13th year, Concert Caliente—presented in partnership with CAPA—will be making its debut.

Each evening will offer dynamic Latin American dance, food and merchandise, but one of this year’s biggest draws will be the music. Another highlight of each night will be the huge dance plaza. The riverfront will heat up as the plaza is lit with the sights and sounds of the stage performances simulcast on a giant LED screen. Festival- and concert-goers are encouraged to arrive early due to venue capacity.

5p–11p; $1.

ings, Wearable Art, Photography, New Wall Sculpture Designs, Neon Outdoor Sculpture, and Functional Art to die for. 6p-9p; free.

BUILDING BLOCKS Ohio Masons Bicentennial @ downtown & @ The Ohio Historical Center , I-71 and 17th Ave, 614.297.2300, www.ohiohistory.org, 800.292.6092, www.freemason.com: The Grand Lodge of Free & Associated Masons will celebrate its Bicentennial with a day of special events. The theme of the celebration, “From Pioneers to Astronauts 200 years of Ohio Freemasonry” will be reflected in a grand parade down High Street, a cornerstone-laying reenactNO FREE LUNCH…WHATEVER! Summer Fridays Free Lunch Conment at the Statehouse and a family certs @ The Ohio Statehouse, High St picnic to take place at the Ohio Histori(btw State & Broad), www.ohiostatecal Society. 8:30a-3:30p; free. house.org: The Ohio Statehouse and the Greater Columbus Community Or- MONDAY, JUNE 23 chestra will present a free concert to- GAY HISTORY morrow as part of the performing arts Emile Norman @ PBS – check your local listings, www.pbs.org/emilenorseries, Summer Fridays at the Stateman: It’s a portrait of the self-taught house. The FREE lunch-time outdoor performing arts series takes place on Bur Sur artist Emile Norman, who, at the West Plaza (High Street) of the his- age 90, is still working with the same toric Statehouse each Friday through- passion for life, art, nature, and freedom that inspired him through seven out the summer. Summer Fridays decades of a changing art scene and provide an opportunity for the public and downtown community to gather on turbulent times for a gay man in America. This insightful and affectionate Capitol Square to experience Columportrait explores how Norman’s indebus’ diverse arts groups and to visit pendent spirit developed from his early the beautiful Capitol building. 12p; days on a walnut ranch in the San free.

Gabriel Valley, brought him success in New York City in the 1940’s and IS THAT A ROCKET IN YOUR POCKET? Rocket Man @ Verne Riffe Center’s 1950’s, and gave him the confidence Capitol Theatre, 77 S High St, to leave the New York art scene to find 614.469.1045, 614.228.CGMC or artistic and personal freedom in Big cgmc@cgmc.com: The Columbus Gay Sur. There, with Brooks Clement, his Men’s Chorus wraps up its 18th seapartner of 30 years, he built an amazson with a spectacular tribute to the ing house by hand and created a music of Sir Elton John. No keyboard, haven for a circle of friends that is still sunglasses, or costume change will be vibrant today. safe when we pull out all the stops in this musical extravaganza. After the TUESDAY, JUNE 24 show, CGMC will be recording selecI – 69…WHO DOESN’T tions from the concert for the produc- Drag BINGO @ Score Bar, 145 N 5th tion of its latest CD, which will be St, 614.849.0099, scorebarcolumavailable this summer. bus.com and @ Slammers 202 E Long Tonight and tomorrow, 8p; $27-$29.

St, 614.221.8880: Viva Velure and Anisa Love hosts this night of dropping SATURDAY, JUNE 21 balls and prizes. 7p; free.

FANCY WEAR AND INSPIRATION 25th HRC Columbus Gala Dinner @ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25 Hyatt Regency Ballroom, Nationwide YOUNG & HUNG and High, hrccolumbusdinner.com/dinLinkOUT Networking & General Meetner.htm: Joe Solmonese, Bruce Vilanch, ing @ Bristol Bar, 123 E 5th Ave, Sen Sherrod Brown, Eric Alva and www.bristolbar.com: The YP gay netMartha Wash headline this fundraiser working group gathers. 6:30p; free. for the Human Rights Campaign.

Come sit at the Outlook table for fun! ALWAYS USE LUBE! 6:30p; $175.

Opening Up Reading & Discussion sponsored by Outlook Weekly @ BorSIZZLELEAN ders, 6670 Sawmill Rd, 614.718.9099, North Market Grillmasters Festival @ puckerup.com: See page 34 for details.

North Market, 59 Spruce St, 7p; free.

614.463.9664, northmarket.org: Celebrate our favorite method of summer THURSDAY, JUNE 26 cooking - grilling - with the third anGAY NIGHT! nual Grillmasters Festival. The day will Cincinnati Opera’s GLBT Night include an amateur barbeque sauce @ Cincinnati Opera House, contest, grilling demonstrations and 513.241.2742, http://www.cincinnatisampling, a chef cook-off, live music opera.org/glbtnight: Cincinnati Opera and kids’ activities. 8a-5p. hosts its second annual GLBT night at the opera. The evening includes a reSTEEL MARTINIS ception at 5:30 p and performance of Gala Gallery Reception & Open Lucia di Lammermor at 7:30p in Music House @ Mac Worthington’s, 749 N Hall and concludes with an exclusive High St: Hors d’oeuvres, cocktails & invitation to the cast party following fine wines plus magnificent new stu- the performance. Call say “Mad dio work including new framed “Comic Scene” and we will take 20% off your Strip” series, Popart Original Paintticket price. $25-147.

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

4 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

LETTERS

MICKEY WEEMS IS WRONG ON HRC Dear Outlook: As a co-founder of HRC Columbus 25 years ago, and as someone who has supported financially and in some volunteer capacity virtually every GLBT (GLBT&Q) organization locally and nationally, I feel compelled to respond to Mickey Weems’ unfortunate and frankly uninformed commentary in the June 5th issue.

His diatribe against HRC is an insult to the thousands of central Ohioans who have participated in various HRC efforts and who believe in the mission and the accomplishments of the organization over the past 25 years. It minimizes their hard work, their contributions and their commitment to LGBT justice.

Had Mr. Weems done his homework, he would have learned that HRC is much more than black-tie dinners. HRC members spend thousands of hours supporting GLBT friendly candidates every year, knocking on doors, making phone calls, organizing, getting out the vote, raising money. They give and get money for our friends - Gov. Strickland, Sen. Brown, even local candidates like John Carney.

HRC members are arguably THE most active and effective organized GLBT political group in Columbus and in many major cities. And HRC works with and coordinates with local organizations like Stonewall Dems and Equality Ohio. Mr. Weems criticizes HRC for making its dinners too expensive and then criticizes HRC for making any contributor, even a dollar contributor, a member. I guess HRC is too elitist and too grassroots at the same time.

Had Mr. Weems done his homework, he might have learned that most of the major donors for every GLBT organization in central Ohio came into the movement through HRC. Because HRC is mainstream (by that, I mean that HRC plays politics by the book, just like

any other organization - the Chamber of Commerce, the National Rifle Association, NARAL, Planned Parenthood) because HRC is mainstream, because it plays politics in a traditional way, it invites many into the political process who wouldn’t be there otherwise. Mr. Weems may not agree with the HRC approach, but he cannot argue with its success and he should be thankful for its accomplishments.

Events like the Network Columbus event with local politicians on June 11th take place because HRC paved the way by establishing a relationship with the local political community.

Had Mr. Weems done his homework, he would know that HRC has made a real difference. The original Ryan White Care Act was crafted in the HRC offices and as a result millions of dollars have come back to local communities including Columbus to pay for the high cost of HIV drugs. He would know that HRC has supported local and state organizations from Cincinnati to Arizona fighting anti gay ballot issues. He would know that HRC has been on the front lines of the debates in Congress over hate crimes, AIDS funding, and employment discrimination. HRC lobbyists are the primary contact for most members of Congress with our community - you have no idea how many members of Congress still think Barney Frank is the only gay man they have ever talked to. Progress is tough, but real.

Had Mr. Weems done his homework, he would understand that HRC, and all of our organizations are at an economic disadvantage.

The GLBT community is only now beginning to learn to support its organizations financially.

Our enemies are much more generous. Skipping a concert or circuit party to support a community organization once in a while is not a bad choice. And that is why the charge of elitism and the criticism of the black-tie din-

ners is so self-defeating. The dinners work!

They raise money, they bring political and business leaders into contact with members of our community, they educate people about our issues. If Mr. Weems can duplicate that at a tee shirt and flip-flop ten dollar event, then he should organize it. In addition, I have never heard of anyone who attended their first HRC black-tie event, who didn’t leave more empowered than when they arrived.

Mr. Weems also criticizes what HRC pays its leaders, implying that the pay is too high.

Does he think that GLBT leaders are somehow worth less? I think we’re better than that. We should be outraged that many of our leaders are forced to accept pay that is not commensurate with equivalent jobs outside the movement.

Finally, if Mr. Weems had been high minded, he would have realized that, OK, maybe HRC isn’t for him and that’s fine. Its name isn’t queer enough for him; its logo isn’t colorful enough for him; and its events aren’t cheap enough for him. But because HRC isn’t for him, is no reason to trash the organization and by proxy its volunteers, its staff and its supporters. No organization should be immune from criticism, but that criticism should be well reasoned and constructive. Otherwise it is just bitchiness. We are a big, diverse community and we have many organizations that reflect that. Let us applaud, celebrate, and appreciate them all for their contributions to our community.

The Reader Poll Last week we asked:

Who do you think is the most historically relevant gay person and why?

• Alec Mapa - because he is the most diverse person out there. he's a flamboyantly stereotypical asian-american homosexual and does comedy about it lol.

• Ellen Degeneres - because she brought being gay to prime time. Since her talk showaired, I have heard more straight people say, "If I could be with Ellen, I think I'd be gay."

• Mark Bingham - because it was not about him being gay...he is a hero for being a person.

• Oscar Wilde - he's quotable, and relevant even today. One of the trail-blazers, or flamers, anyway!

• Alexander the Great - shows one can be a hero and be gay as well.

• Harvey Milk - Being out, proud and not a figure from much further back in time where being gay was far different from today. Plus, the whole martyr thing.

Sincerely, Steve Shellabarger Columbus

NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION:

Letters continued on pg 7

Got something to say? We want to hear from you!

Next year Pride is a week earlier than normal, taking it off ComFest weekend and moving it to Goodale Park. Do you think this should be a permanent change?

Log on to: www.outlookweekly.net to take this week’s poll.

Email us at editor@outlookmedia.com or logon to www.outlookweekly.net.

25

ALL TIME LOW

SO U RC

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

E : CBS NEWS

CATEGORY

NOV 2 ’04

JUN 16 ’08

DIFFERENCE

AMERICAN DEAD

1,122

4,096

2,974

AMERICAN WOUNDED

8,124

30,333

22,209

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEAD

16,342

92,067

75,725

NATIONAL DEBT

$7,429,629,954,236

$9,428,321,476,777

DAYS ‘TIL 2008 ELECTION

1,463

141

$1,998,691,522,541 (1,322)

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 5

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

6 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 7

LETTERS

SPORTS

STOMPERS are the champions, my friends

OPEN LETTER TO ANTI-GAY BLACK PREACHERS

Last week we announced that our own Columbus Stompers kicked ass at the International Gay/Lesbian Association of Dance Clubs International Competition. We wanted to find out more about the event so we got a hold of Jerry Phalan for the scoop.

Bayard Rustin, by life and words, left a message that too many black preachers have not learned from. I suggest they need to stop preaching hatred of homosexuals since their lives today are better because of a black homosexual-Bayard Rustin.

Do they not know that it was a homosexual who was the main force behind the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, and the main strategist for several early black civil rights groups? If not, they can read, among other books, Jervis Anderson’s biography of Rustin, titled: Bayard Rustin; Troubles I’ve Seen. It would also be a very worthwhile book for all Americans to read, especially activists today in the black and homosexual civil rights movements.

The most important point about Rustin’s life is that he, as the book shows, did not waste any time trying to explain his homosexuality to his co-workers, all of whom where heterosexual, male and female, black and white, young and old. You “hear” of his arrest on sex charges in Pasadena CA early in his career, and that is the end of discussion except for the bigots in the FBI and black organizations who tried to use the arrest to prevent him from doing his work, which they were jealous of.

There is a direct parallel between the black and homosexual civil rights movements, and only ignorant people try to deny it. Rustin was the perfect example. The tactics used by southern racists against him were due to his being a proud black man who happened to be homosexual. He combined the two movements even though he only worked for the black movement.

The issues he and the black organizations faced were the same that homosexual movement pioneers faced. They were both attacked by the FBI and politicians and churches.

There are many examples given, but one that stands out to show how the media was complicit in working against both civil rights movements is that the Alabama paper allowed itself, as did the New York Times, etc, to be used by his enemies to attack Rustin and the black leaders of the march in Alabama. And it is not widely known that Rustin

Chris Hayes: Tell us more about the competition.

What is it and what’s it’s history?

Jerry Phalan: The International Association of Gay/Lesbian Country Western Dance Club (IAGLCWDC) Convention occurs every year in a U.S. or Canadian city. This year marked the 15th annual convention. This was the 11th Annual IAGLCWDC Championship Dance Competition, and was held in Tampa, FL. The convention provides 3 days of dance workshops, forums and seminars, Sunday brunch, city tours, pool parties, great location, and the opportunity to reunite old friendships, make new friendships and life-long friends.

The 1st annual dance competition was in 1998, in Ft. Lauderdale, during the 5th annual convention.

The primary purpose of IAGLCWDC is “To promote country western dancing, activities and music to all persons without regard to age, sex, gender or gender identity, religion, national or cultural origin, sexual orientation, disability or HIV status.”

The Florida Mavericks (formerly The Tampa Wranglers) were the host team this year. They did a fabulous job in coordinating the event, arranging sightseeing tours (a.k.a Bar Crawl), and assisting the Convention Director, Jim Chakeres, with the competition.

Got something to say? We want to hear from you!

Email us at

editor@outlookmedia.com or logon to www.outlookweekly.net.

was a main organizer of this work, as well as the famous March on Washington. People in the black movement were jealous of his power and influence, including Adam Clayton Powell, who blackmailed leaders to keep him out of the movement. Some good leaders tried to stop Rustin because they felt he, as was and is true of both movements today, was trying to join/combine too many issues together, in his case pacifism and black civil rights, and poverty, etc. An issue relevant today in politics thanks to Senator Clinton’s famous remark that Dr. King’s work and words were important but it took president Johnson to change the laws, was used by Roy Wilkins against Dr. King-he said to King, your words have not changed any laws.

Rustin, in the black movement, like Don Slater in the homosexual movement, was not always in agreement with the views and tactics of the majority of his co-workers. Many plans and events that Rustin warned his friends against turned out to do harm to the movement when his warnings were ignored.

His views on affirmative action were not in the mainstream. Same with Don Slater. He came to think that the time of marches had passed. Same with Don Slater. He was the most important person in the background in several organizations and few knew of his great work. The same is true of Don Slater.

Southern racists used Rustin’s skin color against him. Jealous co-workers used his homosexuality against him. In the end Rustin remains the most important unknown person in the black civil rights movement. His words are as important today as when he was speaking them. And it would be a good idea for Senator Obama and his associates to take the time to read about Bayard Rustin-as he was the person behind the scenes who helped make Dr. King and later black civil rights leaders who they were. And he planned what they did.

Again, the book is: Bayard Rustin: Troubles I’ve Seen, a biography by Jervis Anderson, published by HarperCollins, in 1997.

B Glover

CH: What’s the competition like?

JP: The competition is made up of different categories. The dance categories are: • Team: Open Team, Couples, Line • Line Dance: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced • Couples (Open): Beginner, Intermediate, Adv • Couples (Pro-Am): Beginner, Intermediate, Adv CH: How many people/teams competed?

JP: This year there were a total of 8 teams competing in all categories. There were 3 teams competing in the Couples Team division, and 4 teams competing in the Open Team division.

CH: How tuff was the competition? Did you win every category? Is this the first time you’ve won?

JP: We didn’t win every category. The Florida Mavericks won 1st place in the Team Line Dance category.

But our couples team won 2nd place, and our open team won 1st place. The Columbus Stompers were the Overall Champions of this year’s dance competition. This is not the first time we have taken the

Overall Champion award.

And, once again one of our own Stompers brought home The Golden Hoe award. The recipient of the Golden Hoe award is a person that was nominated by his/her friends, families, tricks, strangers, etc. Our fellow Stomper that won this award, Alley Cat, received it for his outstanding efforts to ensure the boys of Tampa and visitors were taken care of and had a good time. MEOW! CH: How many stompers competed from cbus?

JP: Our Open Team consisted of 18 members. Their dance was 7 minutes long, and all to Elvis Presley music. The dance was choreographed by Fred Lewis, manager/instructor of Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Reynoldsburg, OH. Our Couples Team consisted of 12 members.

CH: What’s the journey to get to nationals like?

JP: Though we suffered some injuries and lost a few dancers, practicing for competition was long and grueling. We began with some workshops in November, and moved to practicing 1-3 times a week since January. As time went on and the competition approached us we increased our practices. Most of the practices lasted from 2-4 hours. We would like to thank Wall St. for providing a space for the Couples Team to practice, and to Fred Astaire Studio (Reynoldsburg, OH) for providing a space for the Open Team and our Pro-Am Couple to practice.

CH: The Stompers have some pretty snazzy outfits. How many outfits did ya’ll have? Do you change for different categories? Who funded your outfits?

JP: The costumes for this year’s competition were hand designed by Kirk Links and Matt, and took a lot of effort, time and commitment. So, a special thank you from all of us goes out to these two guys. The costumes and materials were paid for with the money we raised this year at our fundraisers. The couples team and open team had only one costume, but our couple that danced in the Pro-Am division wore a different costume and later changed into the costume worn by the open team.

CH: What’s next for The Columbus Stompers?

JP: We have the Coyote Ugly fundraisers continuing this year, exhibition shows and fundraisers; Friends and Family show and the 2008 Semi-Annual Convention of IAGLCWDC in San Francisco, CA. For more info on The Columbus Stompers: www.columbusstompers.org. For more info on convention and competition: www.iaglcwdc.org. For more info on The Florida Mavericks: www.thefloridamavericks.com

WEEKLY STANDINGS

WEDNESDAY NIGHT FEVER BOWLING LEAGUE Standings as of 6/11/08 Place/Team/Wins/Losses 1 Art & Co. 19 5 2 HairyMaryScaryFairy 17.5 6.5 3 The Flying Monkeys 16 8 4 Four Stooges 16 8 5 Left On Gay 13 11 6 Little Man Straight 12 12 7 The Butt Sisters 11 13 8 Summer Suckers 11 13 9 Checkerboard Chicks 10 14 10 The Four Queens 10 14 11 The Pin Droppers 6.5 17.5 12 Balls In Question 2 22

REALLY BENT MONDAY NIGHT BOWLING LEAGUE Standings as of 6/16/08 Place/Team/Wins/Losses 1 Vertical XXX 21 3 2 MoMen Tum 18 / 6 3 2 Tuckers and a Tina 15 9 4 The Lunchbox Democrat 16 8 5 Spare Tactics 13 11 6 Spring Fling 11 13 7 Team 11 13 11 8 Team 1 10 14 9 Here for the Beer 11 13 10 Everybody Hates Butts 12 12 11 Reverse Oreo 10 14 12 Five or Better 10 14 13 All Eye Tease 8 16

14 15 16 17 18

Giggle Loop 8 16 Table 5 10 14 Baby Seals 8 16 Shutup N Drink Ur Beer 9.5 14.5 Two Bats and a Mitt 9.5 14.5

No CGLSA softball scores this week.

Upcoming Mayhem games: June 22 – 7:30p vs. Net Jets @ Chiller North 2 June 29 – 5:10p vs. Perpetual Motion @ Chiller Dublin 2 JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

8 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

COMMUNITY CORNER

ANNUAL HATE CRIMES REPORT REFLECT ALARMING TRENDS

by Gloria McCulley The statistics for violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people in Columbus and Central Ohio for 2007 show some alarming trends. There are however, long standing patterns and consistencies in the numbers that reflect deeply imbedded societal norms of homophobia and heterosexism.

The total number of incidents for 2007 was 204, a statistically insignificant increase over the 2006 total of 199. Reports have hovered within 10% of 200 since 1995 for BRAVO’s Columbus and Central Ohio service area.

Turning first to victims, BRAVO finds that the total number of victims in 2007 was 253, up slightly from 244 in 2006. There was a significant jump (58%) in the number of youth under the age of 18, with 13, up from 7 in 2006. The single largest age category (19 -29) also increased from 55 to 60 in 2007, representing 31 percent of all victims, where age is known. Finally, BRAVO took 2 reports from seniors (over age 65) in 2007.

There are some important trends when examining the nature of the incidents and the specific offenses perpetrated. Despite the relatively steady number of incidents, the total number of separate offenses committed increased to 396 from the 2006 level of 368. The number of incidents that incorporated harassment went up to 154 in 2007 from 137.

Similarly the incidents that involve discrimination rose from 37 in 2006 to 49 in 2007.

Sexual assault jumped from 12 in 2006 to 16 in 2007, representing a 33% increase. Despite the fact that the overall number of assaults has dipped from 88 in 2006 to 82 in 2007, the incidents of weapon use have increased to 23 from the previous year when there were 19 incidents. Incidents involving firearm use in 2007 was 12, up from 9 the previous year. Likewise, the use of knives jumped to 6 over a 2006 level of 4. Vehicles topped the list of weapons used with 13 incidents up a startling 86% over 2006’s 7 such incidents. Overall, injuries are down, with 61 in 2007 compared to 75 in 2006.

However, there has been a significant increase in the severity of injuries; in 2007 49 of those 61 victims required medical attention while only 40 of the 75 victims in 2006 required it.

When examining the locations where anti-LGBT violence occurs, there are locations that are both predictable and surprising. Homes remain the sin-

gle highest location with 43 such incidents in 2007, a startling 21% of all incidents reported. Homes are followed closely by workplaces with 19% of such incidents taking place in places of employment. Another 20 percent of incidents take place in public areas or on the street. The number of incidents that take place in and around LGBT bars is down slightly, but the 30 incidents in 2007 represent 15% of the total incidents. Cruising area violence remains a serious problem with 37 incidents in 2007.

A full 13 % of the total numbers of incidents in 2007 were perpetrated against men in known cruising areas.

When examining the specific bias expressed in a particular incident, findings show that there was an

cases was the sex of the offender reported. Of that 199 offenders, 168 (85%) of them were male while only 31(15%) were female. The trend of younger attackers continues with 126 of the 169 attackers where age was available being under the age of 30.

While the race of an attacker was reporter in only 174 cases, 122 of them were white – a total of over 70%.

Debunking the myth of the stranger attacker – of the 279 attackers only 72 were strangers, (35%) wile the remaining offenders were know to have a relationship with the victim or victims. 19% were a coworker or employer (39). This represents an increase over 2006 where there were 33. Landlords, tenants and neighbors posed the next largest group

increase in transgender related incidents from 44 in 2006 to 47 in 2007. Additionally there was a jump in HIV-related bias incidents from 16 to 20 in 2007.

In 2007, for the first time, BRAVO and NCAVP began tracking disability and immigration status in the demographic data. 24 victims self identifies with a disability while 3 disclosed an immigration status other than citizen or permanent resident.

While there may or may not be secondary bias indicators around disability and immigration status, certainly there are barriers to service in these cases.

An analysis of the offender demographics reinforces trends well established in the past 12 years of data collection. Offenders (total 279) are overwhelmingly male in cases where sex is known. While the total number of offenders was 279, in only 199

with 33 for a 16% share of the total.

Because of years of collaboration, BRAVO has an excellent relationship with the Columbus Division of Police and police reporting statistics continue to reflect that fact. Of the 204 incidents reported to BRAVO in 2007, 68 were also reported to police (up from 53 last year.) While some of these cases were reported to other police departments, the majority were reported to Columbus. In 55 of the 68 cases the police were rated as courteous or indifferent and BRAVO recorded only 1 case where inappropriate conduct was attributed to the law enforcement officer.

In one half of these 68 cases (34) a bias classification was granted. In 9 cases no bias classification was available either due to lack of protection in

IFBP ROLLS OUT THE BLACKOUT 2008: YOUR VOTE, OUR VOICE: VOTER EDUCATION PROJECT FOR SUMMER BLACK PRIDE EVENTS

2008. Many Black Pride organizations will be hosting Voter Educational Political Forums with their local community partners through Election Day – to discuss issues that are important to the Black LGBT-SGL community. The third part of the project will be an ongoing Mock Presidential Election which will allow participants to complete a ballot for president at each of the Black Prides or online at www.ifbprides.org.

“The 2008 general election will have a long-term effort on the Black LGBT community for many years to come and this is why the IFBP is pulling all stops to use Black Pride events as a forum to our educate voters” said Michael Hinson, IFBP Board Chair. The IFBP has developed a flyer listing issues that Black LGBT voters should support. These issues include the Employment Non-Discrimination ACT (ENDA), Federal Hate Crimes Legislation, ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Universal health care, affordable housing

and as well as other social issues.

The IFBP will be working with the Log Cabin Republicans, the National Stonework Democrats, the Democratic National Committee and other national partners throughout the summer to educate voters on the issues and register people to vote. “We want our voices to be heard throughout the campaign and in November”, said Earl Fowlkes, IFBP President/CEO.

The International Federation of Black Prides, Inc (IFBP) announced the new voter education project, Blackout 2008 at the start of the Black Pride season. The purpose of the IFBP Blackout 2008: Your Vote, Our Voice - Voter Education Project is the encourage participation among Black/African American LGBT/SGL attendees of Black Pride events in the political discourse around the 2008 local and national elections.

This will be achieved in the following ways: Voter Registration, Voter Education and a Mock Presidential Election our community and the nation. All IFBP Black Pride members will have voter registration information and forms available at all events including club and parties throughout the summer of JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

LGBT ORGANIZATIONS URGE COUPLES MARRYING IN CALIFORNIA TO “MAKE CHANGE, NOT LAWSUITS” Four lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) legal organizations and five other leading national LGBT groups today issued a statement entitled “Make Change, Not Lawsuits.”

The statement explains that while couples who

the particular jurisdiction or when within the City of Columbus, because the bias was reported related to gender identity, which is not currently included in the list of protected classes. In 18 cases the victim did not report the bias nature of the incident to the police though they did report bias indicators to BRAVO. Only 22% of cases reported to police (15 of the 68 total) resulted in an arrest being made. This is an increase over 2006 levels when only 9 out of 53 reported cases resulted in arrests (17%).

Despite these improvements, the relationship between LGBT people and law enforcement continues to be complex. While crime victims who report to police, in general report positive experiences, a look at law enforcement officers as the perpetrator of incidents shows a different experience. Incidents defined as police entrapment increased from 13 in 2006 to 16 in 2007. While the legal definition of entrapment is very specific, NCAVP uses that term to include a broader category of behaviors that relate to police misconduct. Generally, in these cases the victim has been arrested and charged with public indecency, in a public sex environment and allege that the arresting officer engaged in behavior that was intended to entice the victim into illegal activity. In all cases, no formal complaint was made to the law enforcement agency concerning an officer’s conduct; therefore no investigation of the exact nature of the police behavior has taken place.

While we are seeing some positive trends working with law enforcement, there is still a significant problem with anti-LGBT violence in Columbus and Central Ohio. These incidents have been tracked in Columbus and Central Ohio since 1991. The data collected in those 17 years is mirrored by data from the recently completed GLBT Census of Central Ohio, involving over 3,400 people. The primary purpose of the survey completed by a group of community organizations under the umbrella of the Franklin County United Way was to gather detailed data from the LGBT community to improve service delivery to LGBT people. Of those surveyed, nearly a third (28.8%) of respondents report experiencing violence and harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Almost 60% of participants stated they had been called names, threatened, stalked, intimidated, or had personal property defaced or damaged because they were gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

go to California to marry should ask friends, neighbors and institutions to honor their marriages, they generally shouldn’t file lawsuits to have their marriages recognized. The statement says that ill-timed lawsuits risk creating additional barriers to marriage for gay couples.

“Make Change, Not Lawsuits” was signed by four LGBT legal groups – the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project, the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Lambda Legal, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) – and five other LGBT organizations: the Equality Federation, Freedom to Marry, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Human Rights Campaign, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Download “Make Change, Not Lawsuits” (Adobe Reader required): http://www.glaad.org/2008/Releases/MakeChangeStatement.pdf

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 9

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

10 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

COMMUNITY CORNER Tighten Those Laces and Run for Pride When I was asked to write something about “Run for Pride 5K” and its FIFTH year of celebration, I wasn’t exactly certain of what I wanted to say. Not that I ever lack having something to say, mind you, it’s just that I wasn’t sure where to begin.

Just a couple of days ago, a friend of mine asked to borrow a book. This request prompted me to peruse my book selection and take note of how ridiculously many of them I have and still have yet to read. I grabbed one book off the shelf and out fell a “Run for Pride 5K” registration form for the event dated June 12, 2004. I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic and let out a heartfelt, “Awww!” I even scared my friend for a minute, I think. But I couldn’t help it 2004 was the inaugural year for the Run for Pride 5K! Five years is a long time and so much can happen over a five-year span. I often reflect on the changes that I, personally, have faced over that time and while it wasn’t easy, I’m so thankful for those changes and for where I am today. Five years has also been a time of positive, forward growth and change for the Run for Pride 5K and Stonewall Columbus.

The race itself has grown from approxi-

mately 90 registered participants (only about 80 runners/walkers crossed the finish line) in 2004 to over 150 registered participants, with over 125 crossing the finish in 2007. It’s only going to keep getting better! One of the best decisions was to change the location of the Run from it’s former home of Nationwide Arena to Goodale Park. This change in venue radically affected the atmosphere of the event, giving it more of a warm community and grassroots feel - which is certainly

what Stonewall is all about. We’ve seen an increase in walkers, families, pets and allies who participate. Some things, however,

have remained the same, like the number of returning individuals who will be participating in their 5th Run for Pride event. They look forward to this event every year, as it’s their way to come out and support the community, support Stonewall, and support themselves in a very healthy way.

As with any of us, Stonewall Columbus, too, has faced its own unique challenges and overcome hurdles over the past five years. Today, it’s apparent that we’ve firmly planted our feet and established ourselves as a community center for the LGBT and Allied community. Not only does your continued support of the Run for Pride 5K make for a great addition to the Pride Holiday list of events, but more importantly, it supports The Stonewall Columbus Center on High.

On a monthly basis, The Center serves hundreds of people by providing programs, services and special interest initiatives (i.e. diversity, health, faith) for our community. We couldn’t do it without all of you…so…thanks, as always, for your unwavering support.

I look forward to seeing YOU this Saturday, 9:30a at Goodale Park for the FIFTH Annual Run for Pride 5K Run/Walk.

Pride Holiday Highlights FRIDAY, JUNE 20 What Did You Say? Stonewall Columbus/ N The Kno Diversity Pride present Fabulous & Flirty Night with Poetry, Open Mic and Refreshments. $10 (includes 2 drinks and admission to SOBE).

Starts at Center on High (1160 N High St) from 7:30-10:30p, then moves to Sobe Lounge (560 S High St), 11p-2:30a.

SATURDAY, JUNE 21 Smoothie Town Stonewall Columbus/ N The Kno Diversity Pride present Smooth & Sexy Night with Songstress, DJ and Hors D’Oeuvres at Sobe Lounge (560 S High St). &:30p-?; $5.

SUNDAY, JUNE 22 Blessings and Brunch Pre-Pride Sunday 9a Service at Advent United Church of Christ (2303 N Cassady Ave) with Brunch to follow at Brio Tuscan Grille (3993 Easton Station). *Attendees responsible for their own cost. Please RSVP to wandajellis@aol.com!

First Ever Pride Celebration Potluck In Knox County June is Pride Month, which brings visibility to and celebrates the gay, lesbian, bisexual, JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

and transgender community and their straight allies. The first ever Pride Celebration in Knox County will be held as a familyfriendly potluck dinner on Sunday, June 22, 2008 from 6p-8p at the First Congregational United Church of Christ located at 200 N Main St in Mt. Vernon. All are welcome to attend this community event, which is sponsored by the Knox GayStraight Alliance and the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Mount Vernon. All who attend are encouraged to bring family, friends, neighbors and a dish to share. Drinks and table service will be provided. For more info about the Knox GSA or to join our mailing list visit www.knoxgsa.org .

The First Congregational United Church of Christ is an open and affirming church in Mount Vernon.

THURSDAY, JUNE 26 20 Straws: Growing Up Gay Screening & Discussion with Youth Filmmakers @ OSU Urban Arts Space, 50 W Town St, arts.osu.edu: With recent screenings at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Vermont Cineslam, and the National Women’s Music Festival, this powerful film created by youth from Columbus returns

home for a free Pride kickoff screening. 20 Straws: Growing Up Gay follows the lives of 9 Columbus teenagers as they come into their identities as out, gay youth. Under the guidance of video artist, Liv Gjestvang, these talented young artists share their stories of coming out and staying out in high school. From Wayne, who mistakenly thought he had AIDS as a little boy, to Denise whose mother forgot her own daughter was a lesbian, to Aris, whose hero is David Bowie, this deeply touching and courageous film will grab you with its heartfelt honesty and spirited look at being young, gay and out in high school.

12p-1p; free.

Pride is go ing to be crazy!

PRIDE HOLIDAY EVENTS JUNE 19-21 Hedwig And The Angry Inch @ The Club Theatre, Club Diversity, 863 S High St, 614.406.5510, Jun 19-22 & 26-29 7p; $24 Friday, June 20 Stonewall/In The Kno Diversity Pride Meet and Greet 7:30 p.m. Stonewall Columbus Friday, June 20 CATF “Skate 4 Life” 9p - 2a Skate Zone 71 www.catf.net Fri/Sat, June 20 & 21 Rocket Man Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus 8p Capitol Theatre at the Riffe Center www.cgmc.com Saturday, June 21 Run for Pride 5K Run/Walk 9:30 a.m. Goodale Park www.columbuspride.org/runforpride Saturday, June 21 Stonewall/In The Kno Diversity Pride Celebration 7:30 p.m. Sobe Lounge 560 South High Street Sunday, June 22 Stonewall/In The Kno Diversity Pride Sunday 9a Advent United Church of Christ 2340 N. Cassady Avenue Brunch Immediately Following Details TBA

189-203 North Fifth Street www.qasispride.com Qasis Entertainment Schedule FRIDAY JUNE 27TH Door Opens at 6p Closes at 1a 6p-8p Dance Music by DJ John 7p-8p Lube Wrestling 8p-10:30p Q-Idol 10:30p-11p VIP Autograph signing w/ American Idol Kimberley Locke 11p-11:45p Kimberley Locke on stage for a full concert 11:45p-1a Dance Music by DJ John Qasis Entertainment Schedule SATURDAY JUNE 28TH Door Opens 5p Closes 1a 5p-9p Dance Music by DJ John 7p-8p Lube wrestling 9p-10p Ohio Native Singer Regina Sayles 10p-10:30p Autograph signing w/ International Dance Diva Pepper Mashay 10:30p-11p Pepper Mashay on stage 11p-11:30p Autograph signing w/American Idol Frenchie Davis 11:30p-12p Frenchie Davis on stage 12p-1a Dance Music by DJ John Also there will be food, photos, chair massages, dunk tank, raffle and much much more!

Saturday, June 28 DRAGSTOCK! 7p Axis Nightclub www.columbusnightlife.com

Thursday, June 26 After Stonewall DVD Showing 7p - 9p Whetstone Branch of Columbus Public Library www.columbuswcw.org

Sunday, June 29 Pride Brunch 11a - 1p Westin Great Southern Grand Ballroom www.columbuspride.org/brunch

Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 8th Annual Rockin’ in The Streets 6p Gate Open - East Village www.rockinginthestreets.com

Bat -N - Rouge 3p Afrocentric School www.clgsa.net ; www.cglsa.net/BNR/BNR.html

Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 QASIS Pride 2008

Monday, June 30 Pink Flu . . . Call in Sick!

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 11

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

12 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 13

OUT BUSINESS NEWS

June is National Safety Month - Workplace Safety Demands Vigilance

By Jeffrey Quinn The National Safety Council reports that “every four minutes, someone is killed as a result of a preventable injury. After years of decline, the rate of unintentional injuries and deaths in the US has risen to new and unacceptable levels.”

Accidents and emergency situations can happen in any environment, in any industry, at any time. While our workplaces are often protected by devoted police, security officers and efficient alarm systems, each individual must also take an active role in maintaining a safe work environment. Staying aware of your surroundings and recognizing any potential hazards at work will significantly reduce risks.

As Director of Risk Management for the country’s leading contract security services firm, I offer the following top 10 tips, in honor of National Safety Month, to ensure a safer and more productive workplace: CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS - This ancient proverb rings true today with its universal message. In a workplace, it’s important that cleaning agents are available to everyone to routinely clean and disinfect common areas.

Cleanliness is important for all employees, not just food service and medical workers. To reduce or eliminate the spread of colds and viruses, remind workers to wash their hands thoroughly and often – for at least 10-20 sec-

New Marketing & Events Manager Hired By Mental Health Non-Profit Mental Health America of Franklin County (MHAFC) is pleased to announce that Mary B. Relotto, of German Village, has joined its staff as the Marketing & Events Manager. She will be responsible for two annual mental health conferences and all agency marketing and public relations.

MHAFC, established in 1956, is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting mental health through advocacy, education and support services.

onds.

HATCH A PLAN -– Establish and communicate a company emergency/disaster plan to all employees and make sure everyone, including new employees, is educated on the plan – staff notification, evacuation and an assembly location should be included in the plan.

If a crisis happens, how will you communicate this with your employees? Establishing a communications system for employees is also key. This should include the notification of staff as well as emergency response personnel. All plans should be periodically tested through physical drills which include verifying emergency supplies such as batteries, First Aid kits and flashlights. Emergency contact lists for employees and clients and police, fire and paramedic departments should also be reviewed and updated regularly.

DRIVE SAFE - Driving is second nature and the dangers it presents are something we all take for granted. Whether you are driving your own vehicle to work, a company vehicle to a meeting, or heavy machinery around a construction site, safety should always be top of mind.

Accidents are costly and threaten lives and can often be avoided. Take your time and consider safety your first priority.

SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS MATTER – Use all equipment, including ladders and electrical cords properly as per the instruction manual.

Follow manufacturer’s safety guidelines on all

electrical equipment. Be sure to lock all doors and shut down all electrical devices when leaving your work space.

REPORT UNIDENTIFIED SPILLS – If you come across a chemical spill and cannot identify the substance, do not touch or move it. Barricade the area and report the spill. Never take a hazardous chemical out of its original container and store it in something else.

CLEAR THE WAY – Accidents are not always monumental in scope and the smallest things can often cause major damage. It is important to always keep all working and walking surfaces free of spills and debris. This is important in all environments. Safety may be the mantra in warehouses and at industrial sites but employees in corporate settings should be on alert as well. Spilled coffee in a stairwell or an electrical cord stretched across a walkway can lead to slips and falls resulting in serious injuries.

KEEP FRIENDS CLOSE BUT RECOGNIZE STRANGERS – Become familiar with the people in your immediate work area so to easily identify an individual who may not belong there. Report a stranger or coworker displaying suspicious or potentially threatening behavior. Don’t share access-control codes or keys with anyone. Associates and vendors, even those who visit often should be treated as guests and should follow guest access procedures.

PROTECT YOURSELF – Personal protection equipment should be taken seriously. But, unfor-

Lesbians Who Are “Out” Have Higher Self Esteem

profit organization established in 1956 whose mission is to promote mental health through advocacy, education and support services.

On a positive note, two large-scale studies of lesbians and bisexual women report good news about lesbians’ mental health, particularly if the women are “out.”

In a study that used sisters as a control group in research on lesbians, University of Vermont psychologists Esther D. Rothblum, PhD, and Rhonda Factor, PhD, find that lesbians are as likely to report being mentally healthy as their heterosexual sisters and to report higher self-esteem.

It may be that lesbians are more educated and mobile than their heterosexual sisters. As a consequence, the lesbians may be more likely to join supportive communities that allow them to bolster their self-worth.

Researchers found that the more “out” lesbians and bisexual women were - as measured by self-identification as a gay or lesbian, number of years out and level of involvement in the lesbian or bisexual community - the less psychological distress they reported.

And while there is good news for most lesbians, the GLBT community world-wide continues to battle issues that lead to poor mental health and anxiety disorders that sometimes leads to tragic endings.

For more information, contact Mental Health America of Franklin County at 614.221.1441.

Mental Health America is a private, not-for-

Congressman Tim Ryan Supports Amtrak Reauthorization Vows to work towards securing high speed rail corridor for Cleveland-Pittsburgh Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-17) voted yesterday for the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R. 6003) which attempts an ambitious reorganization of the troubled rail carrier. The measure will provide increased capital and operating grants to Amtrak, alleviate “choke points” in the passenger rail system, reduces Amtrak’s debt and finds new ways to capitalize on the carrier’s profitable routes. Two key measures of the bill, the development of state passenger corridors providing better intercity rail services and the authorization of 11 high-speed rail corridors were key to Congressman Ryan’s support.

“I believe that high-speed rail is the future of transportation in our state, and especially for Northeast Ohio,” said Congressman Ryan.

“The construction of a high speed rail line that runs from Cleveland to Pittsburgh would be a watershed moment for our community. This is a logical step towards greater economic integration and the creation of the Tech Belt.”

In an effort to encourage the development of new and improved intercity passenger rail

tunately, avoidable accidents occur daily. Use hard hats, safety glasses, gloves and other equipment when appropriate. If it is not available, ask for it!

FIRE AND WOOD SPELL TROUBLE – Keep combustibles such as wood, paper and trash away from all heat sources.

REPORT AND INVESTIGATE – If an accident does occur, it is important to report it immediately. Accurate records need to be kept and changes may need to be made to prevent future dangerous situations.

Taking personal accountability for your actions and proactively contributing to a secure working atmosphere before a problem occurs is the best way to stay safe. Keeping to the basics, taking the time to develop comprehensive plans; communicating those plans via policies, procedures and announcements; and actually conducting exercises will assure the health and safety of your employees and emergency responders.

Jeffrey M. Quinn is Director of Risk Management for AlliedBarton Security Services. Established in 1957, AlliedBarton Security Services is the largest American-owned security officer services company. For more information: National Safety Council – www.nsc.org, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – www.cdc.gov/workplace, Department of Health and Human Services – www.hhs.gov, U.S. Department of Energy – www.hss.energy.gov , The Occupational Safety & Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor – www.osha.gov

services, the bill creates a new State Capital Grant program for intercity passenger rail capital projects, and based on the New Starts transit capital program administered by the Federal Transit Administration. The bill provides $2.5 billion ($500 million per year) for grants to States to pay for the capital costs of facilities and equipment necessary to provide new or improved intercity passenger rail. The bill also authorizes $1.75 billion ($350 million per year) for grants to States and/or Amtrak to finance the construction and equipment for 11 authorized high-speed rail corridors. The Federal share of the grants is up to 80 percent.

The Secretary of Transportation would award these grants on a competitive basis for projects based on economic performance, expected ridership, and other factors.

“America has seriously lagged behind other industrialized nations in the creation of a high-speed efficient rail infrastructure,” said Congressman Ryan. “We are competing in a global marketplace where you can get from London to Paris, 211 miles away, in 2 ½ hours by rail. Shanghai in China boasts a train that can travel up to 267 miles per hour on magnets. I don’t see why we shouldn’t be able to get from Cleveland to Pittsburgh in about an hour.”

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

14 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 15

INSIGHTOUT

by Regina Sewell

Reach Out and Touch Me I will wash away your tears Through the pain and through the sorrow Better days are still to come If you would only turn around and Reach out and touch me Reach out and hold me Reach out and touch me - Erasure In the best of circumstances, intimate relationships are hard. Long distance relationships are even harder. Sure, if you have the right calling plan, you can call or text the object of your affections all you want with no added fees. Unfortunately, as exciting phone calls, text messages and the “You’ve Got Mail!” message on your computer screen are, they are poor substitutes for physical contact.

The problem isn’t just about physical connection.

You can almost recreate the sensation of being held, touching and kissing your partner using the power of a vivid imagination. If you really focus, you can almost feel the visceral sensations of being with your partner in your body. The catch is that these physical impressions fade over time and phone sex is a poor substitute for making love in person.

Other barriers posed by long distance relationships have to do with the way the brain works. The cerebral cortex, the part of the brain that loves formulas and loves to mess around with technology, has a hard time communicating with the limbic brain, the part of the brain that manages emotions.

Technological gadgets allow you and your partner to communicate cerebral cortex to cerebral cortex.

With e-mail and instant messaging (or snail mail for those who do it “old school” style), you can communicate thoughts with as much depth and thoroughness as you have time to write them. With phones, you can add volume and tone of voice to the information sent and received. And with web cams, you may even be able to add visual cues. The problem is that we are not robots. The limbic brain is rooted in the

body and reads kinesthetic information and responds emotionally to both the thoughts generated by the cerebral cortex and the impressions picked up kinesthetically. Most of the kinesthetic information gets lost between the sender and the receiver when done via technology. Love, it turns out, requires more than the transmission of thoughts, sounds and images. It takes energy, touch, and perhaps, given what we know about the impact of pheromones*, smell. It is, in short, visceral. This is why it doesn’t matter how drop dead gorgeous someone is, if the “chemistry” isn’t there, your connection with them will stall into friendship, fade into ether, or grow into a prison of unfulfilled dreams and possibilities.

The human tendency to “make shit up” is another barrier that long distance relationships get bogged down with. There’s a great example of this pattern in season six of Sex in the City. When Carrie’s boyfriend, Jack Berger, explains to Miranda that that if a guy turns down an invitation to come up to her apartment, he’s just not into her. A few scenes later, she’s on a date with a guy, leaving an Indian restaurant, and he turns down her offer to come up to her apartment. Armed with her newly discovered “truth,” she challenges him to be honest. He tries to convince her that he’s really interested and finally he blurts out, “I have diarrhea,” and runs down the street.

It’s important to know that you are probably “making shit up” any time you give meanings to your partner’s silence, tones of voice, or body language without checking it out. And as soon as the cerebral cortex writes a story, the limbic brain responds with an emotional reaction. If the story you made up is negative, you will probably get angry, sad, scared or some combination of those feelings. You’ve probably gone to this negative spin place when your partner was late. The story may have been, “It’s almost midnight and she’s not home. She must have met someone. She’s probably cheating on me.” Or “It’s 8:30. He was supposed to be here at 8:15. He doesn’t care about me.”

While all relationships get bogged down from time to time because one or more partners “makes shit up” without checking it out, long distance relationships are especially susceptible. Because the limbic brain isn’t picking up the kinesthetic information, the cerebral cortex works overtime to fill in the gaps of information with assumptions and fiction. In long distance relationships, there are simply more gaps to fill in with fiction. It’s also harder to correct the stories in long distance relationships because the kinesthetic information we use to sense the truth isn’t there. If a late partner, for example, comes home wearing the signs of remorse, and says, “Sorry, I lost track of time,” and is physically warm and available (and doesn’t smell like another woman or man), the emotional state usually dissipates. Over the phone, all there is tone of voice, and it’s easy to get stuck in the story line of, “She’s cheating on me,” or, “He doesn’t care about me.”

By this point in the article, you’re probably thinking, “Given all these obstacles, how can you make a long distance relationship work?” The truth is, I don’t know. But the following suggestions should help.

When you see yourself going into a spin, check in with yourself. Take an objective look at the data you are using to support your story. Do you have all the information or are you filling in a lot of gaps with fiction? If there are a lot of gaps in the “data” that you have, try to put the spin on hold until you can actually check in with your partner about what’s going on.

Work on breathing deeply and fully and being really present. Instead of focusing on the worst case scenario, list all the possibilities. Remind yourself that it’s probably not about you. Maybe, for example, they are just late because they had to work late or because they got an emergency call from their mother or a close friend, or any number of other possibilities.

And when you do get to talk to your partner, talk to him or her in a calm way without judging or analyzing them or making broad sweeping generalizations.

If you say something like, “You never call when you

say you will. You’re self-centered and don’t care about my feelings at all.” Your partner will probably get defensive and regret the fact that they actually did call. And who’s to blame them? You’ve attacked them with a broad sweeping generalization, judged them and analyzed them in one short exchange. Instead, simply point out the behavior and ask about it.

For example, “You said you’d call at 8:00 and you didn’t call. What was up?” You might add something like, “When you didn’t call, I thought that you didn’t care about me any more and I felt sad and scared.”

To really do this effectively, you have to come from a heart-centered space.

More generally, in long distance relationships, you have to work harder to note and catch the communication gaps and fill them in with the truth before they become mired in creative muck. It would also be helpful to look at the emotional baggage you’ve been carting around from your past that gets triggered when the communication glitches happen. If you notice that you get really pissed when your partner doesn’t call when they say they will, look at your own past – who else didn’t keep their word? An ex? A friend who turned out not to be such a friend? A parent? When you figure out who it was, see if you can separate your partner from the ghosts of your past.

Put differently; note how your partner is different from the person in the past that hurt you.

And finally, do your best to get together. The more you can see your partner, the more you can actually reach out and touch each other, the more kinesthetic information you will have and the more you can build the trust and commitment you need to sustain and strengthen your relationship.

Regina Sewell is a mental health counselor with a private practice in Worthington, OH. To ask a question, propose a column topic, read about her approach to counseling, or check out her books and other writing, go to: www.ReginaSewell.com .

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16 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

FEATURE STORY THE GAY OHIO HISTORY INITIATIVE WANTS IT!

got history?

PERSERVING OUR PAST TO PROTECT OUR FUTURE Rob Berger There is little historical record of the comings and goings of the GLBT community in Ohio prior to the 1970s. The majority of what does exist are court and prison records for people who were prosecuted for sodomy, government records about people who were institutionalized for homosexuality and sensationalized newspaper articles about arrests or raids. Our history is important and we cannot let this alone be our story.

We have an untapped resource for learning our history before 1970 - the GLBT senior citizens who lived during these times. During the early and mid 20th century it was not easy to be gay. Most people did not publicly reveal their sexuality and many went to great extremes to conceal it. Today, we must reach out to our elders and preserve their stories. We cannot afford to lose this resource of a full understanding of our history.

TELLING OUR STORY, HEARING OUR STORY Bigots have repressed and diminished our community by treating us as if we were invisible. The story of the GLBT community was largely untold until the recent explosion of books and movies on GLBT life. The increase in media and print exposure has given our community a presence in the larger heterosexual community, educated ourselves and others, and stimulated debate on our national identity and our place in the history of the United States. The time has arrived for Ohio to experience this same GLBT historical renaissance.

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In January 2006, Outlook Weekly and The Gay Ohio History Initiative [GOHI] formed a partnership with the Ohio Historical Society [OHS] to preserve, archive and curate Ohio’s LGBT history and culture. This is a ground-breaking partnership between Ohio’s preeminent history preservation organization and LGBT Ohioans.

Since then, a committee of volunteers and community leaders has been working to advance this project. A LGBT history collection plan has been developed and a plan to solicit and accept donations of historical items has been created. Further, OHS has named an LGBT person to their Development Board to assist in moving this project forward. Throughout this process, OHS has shown extraordinary support for this project from the Executive Director to the Development and Curatorial staff.

What the GOHI Committee has accomplished so far: • Formed a committee of volunteers and community leaders which meets monthly; • Setup an endowment fund within OHS and obtained start-up funding through a grant from the Legacy Fund of the Columbus Foundation; • Developed a website (http://www.gohi.org); • Developed a collection and curatorial plan to solicit and accept donations of historical items statewide; • Joined the OHS Development Board to advocate for GOHI and its endowment growth to support artifact collection and preservation work.

• Created a traveling exhibit of gay Ohioans touring the 2008 Ohio Pride Circuit • Raised over $37,000 to fund preserving our history!

Learn more about us! Share your stories! Donate your memorabilia! Join a Committee!

The following feature is meant to give you an overview of who we are and what we’ve accomplished together so far. We’ve got a long way to go (well preserving history never really ends now does it), but we are making progress. We can make more with your help. This is community collecting and we want you to be a part. So read, donate, and volunteer. Help us get history!

Every gay person has experienced discrimination or hate. Lately, here in Ohio it is inescapable in the political realm. Every time a GLBT person talks about their own personal journey, it is the beginning of a healing and therapeutic process. But this storytelling is not only beneficial to the person speaking. Each time we hear another person tell their story about being GLBT, it is an affirmation of our collective humanity.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST, MEASURING OUR PROGRESS The weapons of bigotry have not changed much. To our enemies, gay people are evil, sinful, mentally imbalanced and sexually depraved. This is an image that has been used to demonize our community for hundreds of years. But our history is also full of lessons. Our stories hold examples of tolerance and acceptance. Our stories also inform us on how to successfully battle for equality today, based upon our efforts in the past.

Our history offers us another benefit that is equally as important as learning from the past. Over time we can see that some societal attitudes towards the GLBT community have changed. By knowing the past we can better understand and realistically measure our progress.

Today, as our community is used as a political football by Ohio politicians, it is easy to become dismayed and lose sight of some of our long term accomplishments. Knowing our history will help us recognize, remember and celebrate our successes.

HONORING THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE, EDUCATING THOSE WHO ARE UP AND COMING There are many GLBT people who came before us who have endured, and sometimes overcame, incredible homophobic obstacles. In their stories you will find courage, humor, occasional victory and painful lasting scars. These people are true heroes who have never sought recognition. Nonetheless, a debt is owed by all of us. We must

honor these people and invite them to share their stories, experiences and wisdom.

Our community has found its greatest success in the heterosexual world by building bridges between ourselves and other groups who have different experiences. We must build this same bridge between the GLBT youth of today and our senior citizens. Today’s young leaders and tomorrow’s leaders both need to fully understand the past in order to lead the fight.

Get Involved For some time, I have been spending weekends and evenings recording senior members of the central Ohio GLBT community telling their life stories. These are stories about gay life from the 1920s through the 1970s and these stories offer a window into a time unknown to or forgotten by most of us today. I have heard about beautiful committed relationships that endured for 40 or 50 years and people who have openly celebrated their GLBT identity during much more repressive times, when to do so guaranteed harassment, arrest or lawful discrimination. I have also heard about police harassment, blackmail, job discrimination, housing discrimination, fear, shame and a near complete lack of positive role models, media coverage or literature.

So, why are these personal stories important today? It is clear that times have changed for the better for the GLBT community, but is also evident that some of the same bigoted weapons of hatred and misunderstanding are still in use. Knowing, recording and sharing our history will provide significant support to our efforts for equality. Our history is important and we need to act to preserve all of our stories.

Rob Berger is an attorney, community activist, part-time GLBT historian and member of the Ohio Historical Society Development Board. If you are interested in helping preserve the history of the local GLBT community or know someone who should have their story recorded (including yourself), you can contact him at thurber1961@aol.com.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 17

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FEATURE STORY

PRIDE IN OHIO

“JUDY GARLAND TIME!”

PRIDE OF OHIO PREMIERES AT PRIDES IN JUNE The new GOHI traveling display, Pride of Ohio, premieres at Pride Festivals in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dayton in June 2008.

Pride of Ohio, a set of three banners, showcases a total of 16 LGBT Ohioans with an image and biographical information. The eighteen notable LGBT people illustrate the contributions, achievements, and accomplishments made by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Ohioans.

The banner display is the first of a multi-part project to educate Ohioans and raise awareness about LGBT citizens and our place in the fabric of our state. The second phase involves the collection of oral histories from LGBT Ohioans, and “Photo Fairs” to digitize photographs, preserving them in an archive of LGBT Ohio history. Phase three of the project is the creation of a comprehensive touring exhibit that incorporates artifacts of LGBT Ohio history.

To create Pride of Ohio, members of the GOHI Exhibit Committee researched and identified more than thirty notable LGBT Ohioans, narrowing the list to eighteen. Some people profiled will be more familiar than others – Paul Lynde, for example, is a cultural icon from “Bewitched.” Bibliophiles, though, can learn about Barbara Grier, Mary Oliver, Hart Crane, Jacqueline Woodson, and Michael Cunningham. Jazz lovers may focus on Billy Strayhorn. Philosophers have Judith Butler.

Photographers can take note of Berenice Abbott. Architecture enthusiasts have Philip Johnson to admire. And everyone can savor the life of Natalie Clifford Barney, American expatriate and Paris literary salon hosts, who lived and loved as she damn well pleased.

GOHI, the Gay Ohio History Initiative, is working to preserve, archive, and curate the history and culture of the LGBT citizens of Ohio, to tell the truth about our lives, to create opportunities for understanding of both the past and what is hoped for in the future, to share LGBT culture and history with all Ohioans, and to encourage us to savor our existence.

Savoring our lives is something we can forget to do, and something that society has often discouraged us from doing.

With Pride of Ohio, GOHI celebrates LGBT Ohioans, and offers information and education to both LGBT and straight Ohioans.

You can make a donation to support the costs of Pride of Ohio in two ways – by visiting the Ohio Historical Society website at www.ohiohistorystore.com/donation.aspx you can make a donation online using a credit or debit card. You can also make a donation by sending a check or money order to Ohio Historical Society, c/o GOHI, 1982 Velma Avenue, Columbus, Ohio. Please note in the memo section of the check that your donation is for GOHI.

GLBT HISTORY SITES TO BE SUPPORT THE GAY IDENTIFIED WITH PERMANENT MARKERS OHIO HISTORY The Gay Ohio History Initiative [GOHI] is Suggestions for who should serve on a INITIATIVE seeking public input to identify the people, Statewide GLBT Historical Marker Committee. places, events and organizations important to the history of Ohio’s GLBT community so that our history across Ohio can be commemorated with permanent historical markers.

“Ohio’s GLBT history is filled with struggles and triumphs that are worthy of celebration, preservation and permanent commemoration,” Robert Berger, GOHI President said.

In order to advance this statewide project GOHI is asking for public assistance in two ways: JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

Nominations of people, places, events and organizations to be considered for commemoration with a historical marker.

Questions, input and suggestions can be sent to thurber1961@aol.com, submitted on the GOHI website at www.gohi.org or mailed to GOHI, c/o OHS, 1982 Velma Ave, Columbus, OH 43211.

More information about the OHS historical marker program is available at www.remarkableohio.org.

Join numerous visionary community leaders and GLBT history lovers and make a donation to GOHI. Donations can be made in two ways – by visiting the Ohio Historical Society website at www.ohiohistorystore.com/donation.aspx you can make a donation online using a credit or debit card. You can also make a donation by sending a check or money order to Ohio Historical Society, c/o GOHI, 1982 Velma Avenue, Columbus, Ohio. Please note in the memo section of the check that your donation is for GOHI. If you have questions or require assistance regarding your donation, please contact Carol Armstrong in the OHS Development Office at 614.297.2320 or carmstrong@ohiohistory.org.

PAUL LYNDE AND THE KENLEY PLAYERS

by Joe Florenski Read tattered copies of TV Guide, circa 1968, and you’ll realize that Paul Lynde, then the new owner of a Hollywood mansion that required some upgrades, rarely turned down work. Over those 12 months, he appeared on Bewitched, The Flying Nun, and I Dream of Jeannie, variety shows starring Bob Hope, Dean Martin, and Jonathan Winters, and talk shows with Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, and Mike Douglas. He popped up most frequently on daytime game shows, including such obscurities as How’s Your Mother-in-Law, before accepting an offer that fall to permanently fill the center seat on the Hollywood Squares, the show for which he is forever associated.

A staff of writers provided Lynde with “ad-libs” that introduced a daily dose of gay wit to daytime television: Peter Marshall: In “The Wizard of Oz,” the Lion wanted courage and the Tin Man wanted a heart. What did the Scarecrow want?

Paul Lynde:He wanted the Tin Man to notice him.

In Ohio, the Mount Vernon native is also remembered for his work in summer stock. Motivated, as usual, by money, Lynde agreed in 1969 to appear with the famous Kenley Players in Warren, Dayton, and Columbus. A nervous performer, he hated working on stage, but the response from his fans and local critics kept him coming back. “When I do a show in Ohio it’s Judy Garland time,” he once said. “It’s a very emotional experience.”

Lynde broke Kenley box-office records and patiently signed autographs for hundreds of fans each night.

By the time of his last appearance a decade later, Lynde had toured John Kenley’s circuit eight times, more than any other headliner in the company’s long history. He eventually earned a weekly salary that made him “the highest paid performer on stage today, including – God help us all – Laurence Olivier.”

Never that closeted, Lynde stayed true to himself while visiting Ohio. In Columbus, he partied at the Kismet, often accompanied by fetching “bodyguards.” He dressed in a caftan, a ‘70s fashion statement that, like the man-purse, some took as code for homosexuality. An oft-repeated story: in a nightly ritual, Lynde returned to the stage at Vets Memorial to take post-curtain questions from the audience. Someone asked him, as they always did, why he’d never married. Clad in his favorite caftan, smoking a thin brown cigarette, Lynde shot back, “Do you live in a cave?” A lesser Lynde witticism, for sure, but one forgiven by the fact that his writers were thousands of miles away.

Lynde died in 1982 and is buried in Amity, Ohio. The Kenley Players, which presented other gay actors, including Tab Hunter, Rock Hudson, and Alan Sues (the “poor man’s Paul Lynde”), left Columbus in 1981.

Joe Florenski, a GOHI board member, is the co-author of Center Square: The Paul Lynde Story. He is currently working on a history of the Kenley Players.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 19

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20 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

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OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 21

THE COST OF HISTORY

WHAT WE COLLECT

by Jack Miner

This is a partial list of possible items individuals or groups may like to give for inclusion in GOHI’s collection. The curatorial committee will review each item to make certain it meets established criteria for preservation. As more and more items are collected, the space and careful preservation required grows. Donations help offset GOHI’s costs for storage and cataloguing items in the collection:

One of the eye-openers for me as I began working with GOHI was the cost of preservation. In my mind, it was free to store a box of “archives” in my basement, why was there an added cost when we stored it for historical purposes? What I learned was less about the cost and more about the quality of care that the staff at the Ohio Historical Society takes in preserving not just the archives from the Gay and Lesbian community but the entire collection. It was important for me to realize the significance of acid free storage materials for archives versus a leftover box or the expense of digitally recording an oral history and then transcribing the information so it is available to researchers. What I also learned is that the GOHI collection is more than just a box of papers but a variety of artifacts in a huge variety of formats including paper, physical items, video tapes, audio tapes, and more recently digital recordings. The Historical Society has worked to find the right preservation method for each of these to ensure that they are available for years to come.

I was not only impressed with the professionalism GOHI has taken in preserving our history but also in the level of support already received from our community. To date, we have raised more than $37,000 to support GOHI. Those funds have gone towards the long term preservation of the archives of the Gay community. It has also gone towards some exciting initiatives including collecting oral histories of community members who were involved in thee early years of the Gay Rights movement. Further, it has gone towards a first of its kind traveling exhibit that highlights the contributions of famous Ohioans who were also members of the GLBT community. Together, financial support has gone towards preservation of our community’s past, collection of our history, and just as important, making that history available to people across the state.

Members of the community can help GOHI preserve our history by contributing to the organization. What has appealed to me and many of our donors is the ability to point at how my donation (no matter the size) is preserving some specific piece of Ohio’s Gay history. For example, a gift of $25 helps purchase acid free folders and document storage boxes to preserve archives from local organizations and photos, a gift of $100 helps collect and preserve artifacts such as posters and costumes or clothing, a gift of $250 allows us to collect and transcribe an oral history, a gift of $500 can support a traveling exhibition and a gift of $1,000 supports a part-time professional curator’s work on our collection for one month. You can see how your individual gift will help preserve our history.

To make a donation, please use contact me at miner.10@osu.edu or donate online at www.ohiohistorystore.com/donation.aspx.

• Letters • Pictures • Documents • One Dimensional Items • Two Dimensional Items • Three Dimensional Items • Oral Histories

PRIDE IN OHIO

• Local Entertainers • Celebrity Memorabilia\ • Rural History • Urban History • Estates • Videos

If you think “well they wouldn’t want my stuff” you are probably wrong. Go to www.gohi.org and fill out a donation form to let us know what you have. You might not even know the treasures you have!

HOW DO I DONATE AND WHO GETS THE FUNDS? An endowment fund has been created specifically for GOHI at the Ohio Historical Society [OHS]. Donations are tax-deductible. Donations earmarked for GOHI will be put into a special fund and used only for the purposes of GOHI.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER EFFORTS TO PRESERVE HISTORY ALREADY EXIST? Some groups in Ohio already have efforts to collect and preserve LGBT history underway. GOHI is intended to complement these efforts and will work together with all parties interested in preserving our history.

GOHI SEEKS COMMITTEE AND PROJECT VOLUNTEERS WHO IS GOHI? The Gay Ohio History Initiative is seeking community members to volunteer to serve on various committees and to help with several exciting projects that are underway. Depending on your skills and interests, GOHI needs volunteers for: Exhibit Committee will, over the next three years, create a display of notable LGBT Ohioans, develop a project to collect oral histories from LGBT Ohioans, and organize and design an extensive exhibition on LGBT Ohio history for use throughout the state.

If you are interested in this committee you can contact Committee Chair Cory Skurdal at coryskurdal@yahoo.com.

Annual Fundraiser Committee is planning a Halloweenthemed party to be held in October 2008 during GLBT history month. If you are interested in this committee you can contact Committee Chair Chris Hayes at chayes@outlookmedia.com.

Development Committee which coordinates GOHI finances and leads all efforts to raise funds for projects and the GOHI endowment. If you are interested in this committee you can contact Committee Chair Jack Miner at miner.10@osu.edu.

Communications Committee oversees and coordinates all design and communication efforts, including the GOHI web site and newsletter. If you are interested in this committee you can contact Committee Chair John Herman at jherman@succeedingsteps.com.

For more information about GOHI go to www.gohi.org.

GOHI Board of Trustees Rob Berger Sharon Croft Joe Florenski Chris Hayes John Herman Karen Graves Andrew Miller Jack Miner Cory Skurdal

Committees Curatorial Committee Andrew Miller, Chair Deb Connolly Sharon Croft Joe Florenski Karen Graves Chris Hayes Cory Skurdal Stacia Kuceyeski — Ex Officio

Ex Officio members Stacia Kuceyeski Rebecca Asmo

Development Committee Jack Miner, Chair Rob Berger Sharon Croft Cory Skurdal Rebecca Asmo, Ex Officio

Officers President — Rob Berger Vice President — Chris Hayes Secretary — Sharon Croft Treasurer — Open Generous Supporters: Legacy Fund of the Columbus Foundation

Marketing Committee John Herman, Chair Cory Skurdal Rebecca Asmo, Ex Officio

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22 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

FEATURE STORY

PRIDE IN OHIO

by Mickey Weems

MISS GOD AND THE WORLD’S FIRST DRAG QUEEN For thousands of years, Gay history has been blessed with plenty of gender-benders. But the persona of the drag queen as we know it today is a recent phenomenon. It is a new version of a long line of men who dressed and behaved as women.

And the very first true drag queen was Bert Savoy.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A QUEEN In the movie, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, a drag queen is not just any man who dresses and behaves like a woman. The lovely Noxeema Jackson (played by Wesley Snipes) breaks it down: “When a straight man puts on a dress and gets his sexual kicks, he is a transvestite.

When a man is a woman trapped in a man’s body and has the little operation, he [sic] is a transsexual. When a gay man has way too much fashion sense for one gender, he is (snap!) a drag queen.”

According to this definition, a full-fledged drag queen must first be a Gay man, or at least perceived to be one. The performance of the queen is not simply that of a man who looks and acts like a woman. Rather, it is in the complex interplay of absurdity and humor that we call camp, typically when a man who has already declared his erotic attraction to other men takes on dazzling and often exaggerated trappings of femininity as comic accessories.

EVERETT MOUNTS THE THRONE The American Wild West was much more Wilde than what we’re taught in most history books. It was a story of steers and Queers, a veritable tale of homo on the range.

In the late 19th century America, boys and young men regularly performed on stage as women, especially in rowdy western towns filled with male miners, trappers, ranchers, and railroad workers as well as big cities on either coast.

Bert Savoy was born Everett McKenzie, who was born in Boston in 1876. By the age of 14, he was already employed in hootchie-kootchie clubs as a female impersonator, working his way west to the Dakotas, Montana, and Alaska.

Known as “Maude” by his contemporaries, he decided to try his hand at fortune telling as “Madame Veen,” an unfortunate career change that led to his arrest in Baltimore.

MacKenzie was tried and sentenced to 60 days in jail. But even the rough conditions of prison didn’t keep him from carrying himself like a queen. MacKenzie insisted that he be allowed wearing women’s makeup while serving his time. “It’s an eccentricity,” he reportedly told the judge.

MacKenzie was taken in as an apprentice by the Russell Brothers in 1914. The Russell Brothers were a duo of female impersonators who acted like 2 rude Irish servant girls in a performance called “Maids to Order.” Their schtick brought down the ire of Irish antidefamation societies, who tried to have the act banned.

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It was with the Russell Brothers that not-soyoung Everett perfected the camp and cattiness of his most famous character, Bert Savoy, the female impersonator who wasn’t afraid to be a flaming queen, onstage and off.

TOO STRAIGHT FOR THE SCEPTER AND CROWN: JULIAN ELTINGE MacKenzie/Savoy had risked homophobic backlash by being every bit as outrageously faggish in his public persona as a man as he was effeminate when he dressed as a woman.

Most female impersonators with any notoriety, however, were much more cautious. An immensely popular female impersonator at about the same period, Julian Eltinge, was not so bold.

Julian Eltinge was the classic female illusionist, a man who would accurately portray a woman, and then take great pains to let the public know he was a real man (i.e. butch and Straight) in real life.

In the case of Julian, it was a double illusion. Not only was he not female, he was also not Straight.

One cannot fault Eltinge for trying to fit the expectations of his time. He learned painfully at an early age what could happen if he queered out too severely. Born and raised in

Bert Savoy

Butte, Montana (where Savoy had also performed in his younger years), young Julian was kicked out of his home by his father when word came back that the boy was acting like a girl at the local saloon.

When he was performing onstage, Eltinge was the antithesis of the vulgar drag queen: he was beautiful, elegantly feminine, and mysteriously alluring. Ironically, his success in being feminine drove him deeper into the closet. He performed publicity stunts designed to confirm his virility and proving his attraction to women.

MacKenzie/Savoy felt all the same pressures to flee into the closet after a performance, and at least once he tried in earnest. He entered into a marriage of convenience with his busi-

ness partner Anne Krehmker in 1905. The relationship did not last too long.

FAME The Bert Savoy who would become our first queen did not really hit her stride until she met Jay Brennan, a chorus dancer and fellow female impersonator.

It was a vaudevillian marriage made in Heaven. Bert Savoy would wear extravagant gowns, wide hats perched on his head at a sharp angle, and gab about his girlfriend “Margie” on stage to Jay Brennan, who played the role of the Straight straight man. Savoy and Brennan became renowned, primarily for the outrageous behavior of Savoy, his exaggerated hip-swaying saunter, repetitious chatter, sexual innuendo, and loud laugh.

Rumors have it that Bert Savoy taught Mae West how to be a vamp. Savoy’s signature phrases, “You musssst come over” (Mae West’s “Come up and see me sometime” was supposedly taken from Savoy) and “You don’t know the half of it, dearie!” eventually became the titles of 2 performances that were recorded on vinyl. Savoy and Brennan also headlined Ziegfield’s Follies in 1918 and appeared in a cameo in a film entitled Two Flaming Youths with W.C. Fields.

THE CURTAIN FALLS WITH NO CURTAIN CALLS On June 26, 1923, Savoy’s career was kicking into full swing. He and Brennan had been in major shows as well as cinema, and their performance sold on phonograph records. The future was bright.

Actually, for Bert Savoy, the future would become tragically too bright in a flash one fateful day. After a performance, he and some friends went walking on a Long Island beach. A thunderstorm quickly overtook them. A bolt of lightning struck nearby, and Savoy screamed, “Ain’t Miss God cuttin’ up somethin’ awful?”

As if on cue, he was himself struck by lightning and killed instantly. The Queen was dead.

Rumors said the lightning was attracted to Savoy by a metal bathhouse key on a chain around his neck. Another rumor said the body of the thunderstruck drag queen was unblemished by the bolt out of the blue, a miracle of sorts allowing Savoy to appear every bit as fabulous at his funeral as he did while he was alive, the divine postmortem triumph of fashion over function.

Jay Brennan found Stanley Rogers, another drag queen who could replicate Savoy’s lines and mannerisms, and the show enjoyed success for a while longer. Brennan would eventually switch jobs to work as a movie scriptwriter.

He died in 1961 at 78 years of age.

Savoy and (to a lesser extent, Brennan) set the pace for today’s royal bitches who put on face in Gay bars around the world. So, here’s to the legions of drag queens who carry on the legacy of Bert Savoy. Keep up the fabulous work, girls!

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 23

it’s who you know www.networkcolumbus.com

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

24 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

DEEP INSIDE HOLLYWOOD

by Romeo San Vicente

ROSE MCGOWAN! IN CHAINS! It seems like Hollywood’s suddenly into imprisoning women. Of course, they’ve been doing that for years now, figuratively speaking, but now the literal is taking center stage.

First came news of gay filmmaker Alan Ball’s adaptation of the earnest U.K. prison soap, Bad Girls; then Fox announced it would be launching a female version of Prison Break.

Now, Grindhouse co-director Robert Rodriguez will bring his ‘70s exploitation vibe to the pilot Women in Chains! That exclamation point speaks volumes about the level of wild lesbian mud wrestling planned for the series, set to revolve around Rose McGowan, Rodriguez’s fiancee and Planet Terror star. The director is shopping the show around to networks and looking to bring his deranged, Caged Heat-like vision to a TV near you. And that mud wrestling will be tastefully shot, of course.

CYNDI LAUPER SHOWS “TRUE COLORS” TO WORLD It took long enough, but a mainstream daytime drama, As the World Turns, has finally introduced a gay male storyline into its regular ongoing mix - the cute, young, college-boy romance of Luke and Noah (Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann). The addition has not only revitalized the show, but has also attracted an eager fan-base that wants to see the queer love story blossom (so far there’s been lots of kissing, but a lot more teasing about whether or not the two will wind up in bed).

Enter guest star Cyndi Lauper, who’ll appear on a July 3 episode to sing and promote her annual gay-rights-themed True Colors tour.

But will Noah’s Iraqi green-card wife make trouble with Cyndi? Will his murderous dad kidnap them? Will Luke stop pouting about it all? Tune in to find out.

TRINIDAD, COLORADO: TRANSGENDER CAPITAL The non-transgender population of Trinidad, Colorado, probably never expected their town to become the sex-reassignment surgery hub of the United States, but in 1969, when Dr. Stanley Biber began performing the procedure there, the demographics of the 9,000-person town began to shift. Now it’s home to a small but visible community of transgendered people, patients who settled in the rural area for privacy and support. The documentary Trinidad, by from directors PJ Raval and Jay Hodges, currently making the film-festival rounds, sets out to explore the tensions and the progress made as different groups of people learn how to co-exist in the kind of town where everyone knows your name and your business. Expect a cable and DVD home for this fascinating film after its current brief theatrical debut tour.

FAHRENHEIT 451 TRIES TO RE-IGNITE Fahrenheit 451, the classic novel about oppression and book-burning from sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury, was made into a hit film in 1966 by Francois Truffaut, starring Julie Christie. And now, more than 40 years later, a remake is in the works. Gay producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Hairspray) have been casting their nets to get a star attached to the dystopian drama about a firefighter whose job it is to burn books for a dissentcrushing government. Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt have, at various points, been connected to the film, but both have since reconsidered.

For the project to get out of development limbo, a solid A-lister will have to say yes to the warrant the high-concept’s sure-to-beequally-high budget. Until then, though, those books might have to figure out a way to set themselves on fire.

Romeo San Vicente has known men who were hot enough to burn up entire libraries. He can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.

ARTS

by Matthew Arnold

The Bitch is Back!

No, this does not refer to any members of the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus returning to sing with us for our upcoming Elton John spectacular, Rocket Man. It is merely one of the songs that will be sung on stage. We swear.

If you have left your house at any point over the last 30-plus years, you probably know who Elton John is, and know a wide variety of his music. Sir Elton John is one of the most recognizable musical gay icons of all time, and many of his songs have become classics for the gay and straight communities alike.

The members of the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus (CGMC) are thrilled to be delivering a concert full of his music at our next show, Rocket Man, as we close out our 18th season.

CGMC will be putting its stamp on high-energy favorites, such as I’m Still Standing, Philadelphia Freedom, and of course, Rocket Man! In addition, CGMC will showcase moving musical moments as it presents the softer side of Elton JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

John’s favorites in songs like The Last Song, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, and the beautiful tribute to Marilyn Monroe and Princess Di, Candle in the Wind.

These favorites are just a taste of what you’ll see and hear at each of our performances this weekend. No costume change, set design, or sunglasses will be safe when CGMC pulls out all the stops in this one-of-a-kind musical extravaganza. Sir Elton John’s amazing songs, combined with the phenomenal talent of CGMC, are sure to provide an unforgettable experience for all audience members.

If it’s been a while since you’ve seen CGMC perform, this is one show you definitely don’t want to miss. You know the songs. You know the artist. You know the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus. Come back and see the guys perform this weekend and give them a chance to say, “Hey look! The Bitch is Back!”

Rocket Man kicks off this Friday, June 20 and Saturday, June 21 at the Capitol Theatre at 8p.

Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.cgmc.com or by calling 614.228.CGMC. Tickets are also available at CAPA or 614.469.0939.

Matthew Arnold is Executive Director for CGMC, a member organization of the Columbus Arts Marketing Association. For more information, visit www.camaonline.org.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 25

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

26 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 27

INTERVIEW

by Gregg Shapiro

Putting The Fun Into Funplex: An Interview With Keith Strickland Of B-52’s You’d better be prepared to dance this mess around because the B-52’s are back. Everyone’s favorite party-out-of-bounds band has returned with Funplex” (Astralwerks) their first studio album in more than 15 years. Energetic tracks such as “Pump,” “Ultraviolet,” “Juliet of the Spirits,” “Eyes Wide Open,” “Love in the Year 3000,” “Dancing Now,” and the title track are destined to be played at parties and Pride events all season long. The B-52’s are also on board the True Colors Tour making stops in major metropolitan areas throughout June. I spoke with Keith Strickland of the B-52’s between the release of the album and the beginning of True Colors.

Gregg Shapiro: After 16 years passed between B-52s studio albums, what was the inspiration to get together to write and record Funplex?

Keith Strickland: Well, we’ve been performing together regularly for the last 10 years. It evolved out of that, out of performing. We felt that if we were going to continue performing live, it would be great to have new songs. Our fans were hinting that they would love new songs, and that was all very great. Our fans have been very supportive and patient (laughs) with us. It was a very simple thing, just wanting to have new songs.

GS: Did you work any of the songs that appear on Funplex into your live repertoire over the past few years?

KS: No. We started writing in 2003. It was a long writing process because we continued performing, but we weren’t performing the new songs. We did, however, begin performing them about a year ago. We finished the album last spring, actually, a year ago. We had a tour in Europe and we started playing about six of the new songs. We’ve been performing them for a while now. We didn’t perform them before recording, which would have been great. That was sort of my original idea, to perform the songs, work them in, figure out…you do get a different sense of the songs when you perform them, they evolve a little bit more. That’s a

great luxury. There was some delay once we finished the album. We were still looking for a label, so there was a little bit more time available than we had anticipated. Perhaps had we known (laughs) we would have performed them live before recording them. Anyway, it’s what it is now.

GS: How would you say the experience was different than when you recorded the first B52’s, which was released almost thirty years ago?

KS: We were a different band in the beginning. There was (the late) Ricky (Wilson), who of course was with us at the time and he was on guitar. We were a very self-contained group; it was just the five of us. We had a very different sound. I was the drummer in those days, Ricky was the guitarist and Kate (Pierson) played keyboards and some of the bass lines on keyboards, as well. Now, we’ve a very different group when we perform. We have a drummer and additional musicians that come out with us. In terms of recording, the big difference is that I was writing and recording the music here at my home – I have a small studio with a ProTools set, it’s small and self-contained. The music I was writing for these songs, we used these basic tracks. I had the luxury of sitting in my home (laughs) and taking my time writing. I wrote the music here and then I would fly to Atlanta and meet Fred (Schneider) and Kate and Cindy (Wilson) and they would write their music in the studio where we would meet. Their vocals, a lot of the original takes, are on the final recording, as well. We recorded in three or four different studios. That was different in the sense that technology today allows you to have more flexibility. As opposed to the old days when we would fly to the Bahamas to record at Compass Point Studios, which was really great, a great experience. But it’s really different now.

GS: During the time between recordings and the concert, did you all maintain regular contact?

KS: There are always business decisions to

be made. We have conference calls and whatnot. I would say that since we started writing (Funplex) in 2003, we would try to get a song written…one a month (laughs) or something like that. There were other delays, a period there where we couldn’t write because we had some legal delays, if you will. But yeah, we kept in contact. When we were performing, we were out two or three times a month. We saw each other quite frequently.

GS: Songs such as “Hot Corner,” “Love In the Year 3000” and the title track on “Funplex” sound like they strike a balance between the various periods of the band. Was it important to maintain a sense of the band’s history on this disc?

KS: It wasn’t so much a conscious effort to do that. We just had the sound. Particularly with Fred, Kate and Cindy, the way they write their lyrics. They do it through a jamming process where they improvise over the music that I have that I bring in fully arranged, with what I conceive as the verse (laughs) and the chorus and a middle eight and instrumental section and whatever, and they sing over that.

Their style of writing is very distinctive. As soon as you hear them, in my opinion, you know who this is. (Laughs) You know it’s the B52’s. That’s something that will always be

there. I’m involved in the writing process in the sense that I’m there to change the music or arrangement around as they begin to work their part into the music. And we also do the final arrangement together, so I’m part of that process. When we’re together doing that, it’s like instant recall. We’re tied to this timeless, eternal space, if you will, where everything flows, it just flows out. It’s a very similar thing, even though that was 30 years ago.

GS: There’s also a playful, but overt, suggestiveness in songs such as “Pump,” “Ultraviolet” and “Deviant Ingredient.”

KS: As I mentioned before, they write their lyrics and melodies through a jamming process and they improvise. So it’s what comes off the top of their heads or from deeper within, I guess you could say (laughs). They were as surprised as I was that every song was sexually suggestive. We’ve been trying to figure out what’s wrong here (laughs). I think that part of it is that it’s very tongue-in-cheek, but it’s also very rock and roll. Rock and roll has always been sexual, and we were just playing around with that. “Pump,” in particular, uses a lot of very old rock and roll innuendos and sexual terms. It’s sort of “down to the jelly bone.” We were just playing around with that and it was a lot of fun.

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

28 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

MUSIC

by Gregg Shapiro

QUEERS KEEP ROCKING

GS: Earlier you mentioned that the band had been looking for a record label, resulting in Funplex being released on Astralwerks. With strong electro dance club tracks such as “Juliet of the Spirits” and “Eyes Wide Open,” do you think the being on Astralwerks will mean that these kinds of songs will get the attention that they deserve?

KS: Yes, I think so, in the sense that Astralwerks totally got what we were doing. We went to several labels, and they just didn’t get it. And you know we are outsiders in the sense of the mainstream. We have had mainstream success, but we’ve always done our own thing. We’ve always had this outsider appeal. Really, the music industry, because things are so topsyturvy and everything’s being turned on its head, the labels are getting conservative and they only want what they feel is going to sell big numbers.

I don’t think what we’re doing is necessarily mainstream, but it could have a broad appeal if given a chance. Astralwerks heard it and they loved it! We did a show in Brooklyn and everybody from the (Astralwerks) office came to see us (laughs), which really impressed us. They’ve been so enthusiastic and really supportive and into it. I love being on Astralwerks. This album is a bit more electronic. I’ve been listening to a lot of electronic music over the years. And I JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

was still listening to rock and roll and I still love vintage rock and roll like Link Wray and across the board like Little Richard. And I also love electronic dance music. So I thought, what am I going to do that’s going to interest me enough? And I thought it would be fun to put these two elements together. That was the inspiration, the jumping off point for me.

GS: The band was on tour earlier this year and hits the road again as part of the True Colors Tour. What are you most looking forward to about True Colors?

KS: I’m really curious to see what kind of audience comes. It should be (laughs) very interesting. It’s kind of like an old school revue.

GS: Like a variety show.

KS: Yeah (laughs), like a variety show. There are a lot of different acts and it changes from town to town, so it should be quite interesting. It’ll be fun to hang out and meet other artists. That’s always exciting for us. I really don’t know what to expect. I’m sure it will be great fun and the audience will be a lot of fun and into it.

GS: The B-52’s were green more than 20 years ago as listeners can hear in the song “Juicy Jungle.” Are there things the band is doing on the tour to minimize its carbon footprint?

KS: Well, it’s very difficult. I wish that we could do more. We always ask

when we come to venues if they have recycling, and some do and some don’t. Because there is a lot of stuff (laughs) that we all go through. Certainly the tour bus isn’t all that green.

We don’t have it, but it would be great if we had (laughs) a biodiesel or electric tour bus. That would be great. On a personal level, I do everything I can.

I live in Key West now. The great thing about living here is that I ride my bike everywhere. I rarely use my car. And my partner, he has a Prius (laughs).

So we try to do what we can. It’s funny how that can all of sudden can become a status symbol in itself, “Oh, I own a Prius.”

GS: Like the B-52’s, R.E.M., another band with Athens GA roots and a queer presence, has returned after a hiatus. Should this be taken as some sort of sign?

KS: I don’t know. It’s interesting.

Because we recorded half of this album in Athens, at John Keane Studios, at which R.E.M. has recorded.

We found out when we were recording that R.E.M. was making an album, too. I don’t know what to make of it. It just is. But it was great recording in Athens, it was kind of like coming full circle. It was the first time we’ve recorded in Athens. And the studio was literally three blocks from where we performed for the very first time.

Funplex is out now on Astralwerks records.

It’s a big responsibility, being the openly queer front-person of a band on the level of R.E.M., but Michael Stipe has handled it with grace and humor. And it is with grace, humor, concern, and renewed rocking energy that the trio version of R.E.M. returns with Accelerate (Warner Brothers). A suitable name for an album if there ever was one, these songs literally blast off, beginning “Living Well Is The Best Revenge,” a blazing number whose title is properly credited to English clergyman and metaphysical poet George Herbert. Not content with setting a new land speed record, things slow up a tad, but they don’t settle down on “Man-Sized Wreath,” Is this a fierce anti-war rant or slap in the face of homophobia? If it’s the latter, then the equally liberating queer tone of “Supernatural Superserious” is the ideal follow-up. Of course, these are politically charged times and R.E.M. doesn’t shy away from the subject on tunes including the unplugged “Houston” and “Until The Day Is Done,” and the blistering “Horse To Water” and the slamming “I’m Gonna DJ.” It must be the year for returning to form. Gay brother duo The Aluminum Group certainly do so on Little Happyness (Minty Fresh). Not only has the pair returned to Minty Fresh, the label that released their acclaimed “Plano” and “Pedals” albums all those years ago, but the brothers Navin also revisit the `60s-inspired pop style of their early discs. That’s not to say that they have sacrificed the synth explorations of their later releases. Instead, they have found a way for the styles to coexist or commingle. It’s there, crisp and clear, on “Milligram of Happiness,” the delicious “Post It,” the cruel “Beautiful Eyes,” the flawless “Headphones,” the darkly sexy “Paper Crowns (Runaway Bride),” the artificially loping “Note To Self” (which echoes the self-awareness of “Milligram of Happiness,” which contains the line “I was thinking to myself/ I said ‘Self you’ve got to work it out’”), and the hypnotically queer Co-led by out vocalist Holly Miranda, The Jealous Girlfriends, pursue an accessible modern pop sound on their new self-titled disc on Good Fences. “How Now” is the kind of song that conjures images of a good-natured crowd bumping into each other at the foot of a stage during a live set. “The Pink Wig to My Salieri” is as musically bizarre as the song’s title suggests and “Something In The Water” has the potential to find a lot of listeners working up a thirst while dancing to the tune. The Jealous Girlfriends also have a way with delivering beautifully bent cuts such as “I Quit,” “Organs on the Kitchen Floor,” and “Carry Me.” That’s out musician Jenn Alva providing the bass-line spine and backing vocals for the songs on Both Before I’m Gone (Blackheart) by female trio Girl In A Coma. Lead vocalist Nina is, at times, reminiscent of Kristin Hersh in her Throwing Muses period, as on “Clumsy Sky,” “Their Cell,” and “The Photographer.” Other noteworthy tracks include “Road to Home,” “Sybil Vane Was Ill,” “In The Background,” and “Celibate Now.” On the other end of the spectrum, lesbian duo Renminbi takes their (nearly wordless) rock jams seriously on their album The Phoenix (renminbi.com). The droning quality of the first few tunes can be wearing on a listener, but if you stick out until “Lachine,” a shift for the better occurs, with the introduction of some variety. That spirit continues on “Caveat” and “Siren.”

Without entirely abandoning the jammy roots that have been so good to them over the years, The Locals also kick out the jams on their new album Big Picture (localsrock.com). The soaking rock of “Tidal Wave” crashes repeatedly on the shore and “Sign of Things to Come” rocks out in unpredictable ways, as does album closer “Psychic Night at the Big Boy.” Longtime followers will be pleased by the title tune, “Seems So,” “Say You’ll Go,” and especially “Bending In The Wind.”

Finally, self-described gay virgin Bradford Cox, of the Deerhunter, expands his (musical) horizons with his side project Atlas Sound and the album Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel (Kranky). A shimmering dream of an audio map, the disc is alternately a haunting experiment (see “Winter Vacation”) and an admirably accessible, if twisted, set of modern pop tunes, as in the case of “River Card” and “Ativan.”

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 29

CLASSIFIEDS ADULT CONNECTIONS MEN. CONNECT. EASY. Gay, str8, curious, bi. Instant, live action. Get on & off @ 1800GAYLIVE. Call now 614.410.1555. Free Trial.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FLORAL BUSINESS 70-year-old family-run floral business for sale. Established clients, great location. Please call Mary McCarthy at Sunbelt Business Brokers, 614.734.8338, for more information.

HELP WANTED BANK TELLER Looking for an experienced Branch Banker. Must have In Branch sales experience in the financial services industry.

Outbound calling required.

Please direct inquiries or send resume to: Jeff Bergandine 647 N High St Columbus, OH 43215, 614.241.5600, or email

resume to jbergandine@firstcommunitybank.com.

DENTIST We seek personable, qualityoriented associate for busy family practice. Daily salary.

Dr. Michael Mann, 7043 Pearl Rd, Ste 210, Cleveland, OH 44130.

HOUSING/FOR RENT OLDE TOWNE EAST 1096 & 1104 Bryden Rd, 1 BR apartments available, new kitchen, wd flrs, vaulted ceiling, $450/mo. More OTE rentals available. Call Beacon Property Mgmt. at 614.228.6700.

REAL ESTATE CONDO FOR SALE $87,900. Located within 2 miles of Broad & High. 3BR, 3BA, 1500+ sq. ft. Corner unit with balcony overlooking Franklin Park. Seller is retired agent. 614.252.6738.

WANT TO PLACE AN AD? CALL MICHAEL TODAY! 614.268.8525

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

30 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

FILM

by Adam Lippe

The Forbidden Kingdom

The Many Fa c e (s ) of L i v Ty l er : T he Inc r e di b l e H u l k & T he S tra nge r s

There is no reason, ever, to cast Liv Tyler as a scientist. Less convincing than even Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist in The World is Not Enough or Tara Reid as a genius anthropologist in Alone in the Dark, Liv Tyler is better suited to play a beleaguered girlfriend, trapped in a house while being besieged by masked murderers. Fortunately, with just a few weeks between them, this theory can be tested out perfectly, with her new films The Incredible Hulk and The Strangers.

While you would think it would be funnier and therefore more amusing to watch Tyler out of her depth in The Incredible Hulk, the movie, an attempt to erase the memory of the “box office failure” of Ang Lee’s comparatively brilliant Hulk from 2003, is the very definition of a flawless product, completely free from pesky human hands from minute one to its closing credits, where it attempts to set up a sequel to another Marvel Studios franchise. The notorious backstory of star and co-writer Ed Norton meddling in the editing room seems to have had no effect on the final film, as all we get is minimal characterization, middling effects, and endless shots of military henchman firing large weapons at poorly rendered and matted green globs of a Jolly Green Giant (in one scene filled with rain, the Hulk looks like some faintly molded clay). While Lee’s film may not have worked in the action department, it at least attempted emotions and had the great benefit of a fantastically loony performance by Nick Nolte.

This version, directed by Louis Leterrier (who made the fantastically stupid and ridiculously amusing Transporter 2, but was not allowed any of that freedom here), is so middling and forgettable, that it barely distinguishes itself from Marvel’s far superior Iron Man, which opened just a few months ago. The Incredible Hulk even takes the structure and some of the caricatures, from Iron Man, in Jeff Bridges’ place, this time William Hurt, burdened by a ridiculous hairpiece (which continuously shifts on him, the only evidence that people were actually involved in the making of this film is the clear evidence of reshoots, Norton seems to have big problems with his hair color changing from shot to shot as well), plays the insidious and violent father figure. And like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk ends with a CGI vs. CGI wrestling battle (instead of robots, we get JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

giant monsters), that goes on forever, causing only loud yawns. The movie deals with so little in the way of human behavior that when it finally gets to something palatable, how would someone who has to keep his heart rate down deal with getting sexually excited, it is a truly shocking surprise. My mind drifted so much while watching the movie that I started thinking about everything but the story. Did Norton just walk from Mexico to Virginia in a pair of sandals? If the Hulk bangs his hands together like applause, can that really put out fires?

Was Tim Roth cast as the villain because he has a British accent? Is Hollywood ever going to make a pro-science film? If the Hulk were real, could you buy Hulk insurance, which would cover property damage and liability?

Could the Hulk insure his own pants so he wouldn’t constantly have to replace them?

The pants issue is almost handled by Liv Tyler, who looks and sounds like she does in any movie, pouty-lipped, pig-nosed, baby doll voice, lost puppy dog look in her eyes, the cameraman struggling to find an appropriate angle for her since every shot seems to make her look ungainly and awkward, and realizing she only looks really good from a distance. Or screaming.

Lucky for The Strangers, a subtext-free slasher film, Tyler does a ton of screaming (and unconvincing smoking), and doesn’t have to worry about doing anything else, because no character has been written for her. Tyler and Scott Speedman are stuck at his parent’s house, alone, when they get a 4am visit from a creepy teenager. Much loud door knocking, wind chiming, and window rattling ensue. The faceless, omniscient villains always seem to know exactly where the camera is and there’s that typical horror movie problem where they spend most of their time posing creepily in hopes that the characters are looking out the window at that very moment. You’d think they get bored and realize all of the messing with their victims only gives them more of a chance to escape. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just catch them by surprise and kill them? Is life really one big jump scare? In The Strangers it is, and to be fair, if you fall for that sort of stuff, this is well handled and directed, just realize that that’s all you’re going to get and you’ll be happy.

Pigeonholing a white teenager into a Chinese period piece just to make the American audience feel they’re not watching a foreign film is a deeply cynical move. Pretending the kid can perform martial arts, even in his own dream, is just plain foolish.

What is strangest about The Forbidden Kingdom, is that it should be about the first ever pairing of Jackie Chan and Jet Li (who even have a fairly good fight with each other), in their quest to reclaim a magic staff. Turns out the magic is just a white boy.

I’m not sure what one should expect from the director of Stuart Little 1 and 2 (note that there is a disheartening lack of CGI mice on display here), but this odd mix of fanciful wire-fu and special effects and hilariously clichéd and over the top street thugs (complete with phony Brooklyn accents, despite the film taking place in Boston) chasing our “hero” to

Th e H ap peni ng

Those who complain about being tired of M. Night Shyamalan’s bag of tricks, twist endings, Spielbergian style and music, contrived plotting, and naïve characters who speak simplistic, dopey dialogue as they bask in the awe, amazement, and discovery of whatever horrible/amazing thing is happening to them, miss the point that most filmmakers don’t ever come close to achieving that much consistency in a body of work from film to film, let alone over a 10 year period.

When I see his films, I know those faults are there. I don’t go in trying to pick apart the obvious; especially when under the spell of such a master filmmaker. No matter what you think of his movies, they are always gorgeous to look at, have top notch editing, and build dread and ambience like no mainstream director currently working.

Sure, Lady in the Water was a total incoherent mess, but it was trying something, and more amusing because its experimental nature was on the studio’s dime. So it had top notch production values and decent actors, save Shyamalan, who insisted on casting himself as the Jesus martyr.

If you thought about it, Lady in the Water boiled down to a skinny redheaded girl being helped by a group of tenants to walk from the manager’s room, to the pool some 30 feet away. And The Happening has that same issue. Long suspense scenes are built around characters walking slowly from the shed to the house toward each other, without even any monsters to avoid.

But the key is not to think too much, and the best films don’t allow you to consider how ridiculous every event is. Shyamalan’s masterpiece, Unbreakable, still along with Darkman, the best comic book movie not actually based on a comic book, has scenes of complete nonsense. Bruce Willis’ character discovers his powers by standing in the middle of a train station while people brush

his near death, allowing him to imagine himself in his dream/fantasy of being in a kung fu film, was certainly a strange surprise. Fans may recognize some of the fights from such Jackie Chan classics as Drunken Master II, but they’ll be distracted by the teenager (a Shia Lebouf doppelganger) envisioning himself as a fighting master, complete with a Steven Seagal ponytail. The movie is fitfully silly and amusing, especially Li’s turn as some sort of monkey man, but the filmmakers, in their zeal to appeal to the largest possible audience, fail to realize that you should never have Jackie Chan attempt to dole out 7 minutes of exposition, in English. If there’s one thing they really got right, it’s a scene where Jet Li pees all over Jackie Chan. I guess the original title of the film was going to be Curse of the Golden Shower.

up against him. The Village, reviled by many, is subtly a brilliant satire about parents overprotecting their children and the fear of assimilation. It does not work as a film unless the main story falls apart first, and yet so many remain dead set against being patient and allowing the film to perform its magic.

I could easily trot out the obvious problems with The Happening, his not so pointed message film about the collapse of the environment. While the opening suicide scenes are pretty surprising and horrifying, eventually the consistently falling bodies at a construction site resemble a Monty Python sketch, and almost nail down the satirical excessiveness of Starship Troopers, if The Happening were not so deadly sincere.

The exposition is thudding, and poorly doled out by actors who are uniformly stiff, and the dialogue is generally perfunctory. The brutal deaths in the film all look like second unit stuff, as if Shyamalan didn’t have the heart to shoot them himself. Zooey Deschanel, normally luminous and funny, looks like an even wider-eyed Olive Oyl throughout. Mark Wahlberg, always the petulant teenager, no matter his age (and playing a science teacher!), appears to be attempting to make himself the squarest white person alive, as if he saw a lot of black comedians doing their “white voice” and considered it thorough research and duplicated it. It would also not be out of line to compare it to Stephen King’s hokey Maximum Overdrive, except instead of machines revolting, it deals with the planet itself.

None of this is incorrect, and yet the movie is suspenseful, unnerving, ballsy in its violence, breaking a few Hollywood no-nos, funny (it has a line about “a completely superfluous bottle of cough syrup”), and emotional. I’m not embarrassed to say I thought it was refreshing and quite entertaining. So you’ll probably hate it.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 31

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

32 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

SEX TALK

by Simon Sheppard

SPEAKING OF

DURATION

It’s not how long you make it; it’s how you make it long.

And we’re talking minutes, not inches here.

Many of us idealize marathon sex sessions that last till the wee hours. But those of us who have been around the booty block know that’s often not quite what we get. For whatever reason - impatience, over-enthusiasm, lack of control, having to get up early the next day funtime can be brief. Even the passing years may play a part. “Yes,” says one man in his 40s, “I love to get completely lost in sex and spend hours playing. But as I get older, my endurance isn’t what it once was.”

Surprisingly, perhaps, many folks actually prefer rather brief encounters. One gay guy who follows the news says, “A recent large study of hetero couples found that most of them typically had sex for between three and 13 minutes. What’s more, most of them preferred a session that lasted longer than seven minutes, but less than a quarter-hour.” He grins. “Of course, they’re straight.”

So are gay guys just greedier? Perhaps it’s a matter of so many queer men working hard on their sexual technique. Or it could be the blurring of “foreplay” and “real sex” when it comes to male/male messing around. Whatever the reason, it seems that for many gays, coming isn’t the be-all and end-all of sex. Rather, the journey and the goal are one, and many of us like that trip to last. As one bottom proclaims, “I like to be screwed forever...or at least for as long as my butt can stand it.”

On the other hand, a quick “wham, bam” can be wondrous, too. Recalls one lucky fellow, “I was parking my motorcycle when I spotted the cutest damn guy walking along, talking on his cell phone. Within three minutes, we were in my apartment, naked and hard. The sex just never slowed up. It was hurried, frantic, intense, and absolutely great.”

How long you do it can be influenced by the choice of whom you do. A partnered guy says, “I’ve been in an open relationship for nearly a decade. When my honey and I have sex, it usually doesn’t last longer than 15 minutes. But if I’m exploring with a stranger, I can go for many times that. Either way, what matters is how good whoever and I feel. Sex is not an Olympic event - though sometimes it feels like it.”

It’s all well and good to prefer quality to

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

quantity, but guys can have both in bed. If it’s important to you to hump for hours, you might practice solo by masturbatorily edging yourself to your limits, backing off, and then getting excited again...and again. “I’ve found through experimentation that there are muscles I can tense,” says one long-laster, “that pull me back from the brink of orgasm - usually.”

“Start slow and ramp up” is also good advice. And it may seem like a cliche, but communication can be the key to long-lasting lust.

Attention to body language can prevent you from pushing a partner to orgasm, and just a simple “I’m close, so back off” can keep cumming from coming too soon.

As with the rest of life, variety is the spice of screwing. If disinterest hits your - or his - dingus, try a carnal change-up. One of the nice things about a long sex session is that it provides an opportunity to explore. Sure, you could suck till the cows come home, but what if your pal would like to try a little fingering, or maybe a bit of bondage? Go for it - you can always fill your mouth again later.

And of course, there are pharmaceutical aids to keeping it up, though it’s wise to take them only under medical supervision.

Protracted penis play can have its downsides, though. Jaws get tired. Butts get sore.

Many of us simply can’t stay hard for hours, at least without penis rings or pills. And there’s always the possibility of a boyfriend getting bored. Things can get especially tricky if one of you wants to keep on sucking, while the other is ready to get up and make coffee. “Just because someone can play for hours, doesn’t mean that he should,” says one often-wellworn bottomboy.

Whether you tend to be a sprinter or a marathoner, take heart. As with other sex-related things, the desired duration of lovemaking is a highly personal matter. Whether it’s five-minute head in the backseat of a car, or a dusk-to-dawn fandango in a candlelit suite, what matters most is the pleasure you give and take. However long it lasts.

Simon Sheppard is the editor of Homosex: Sixty Years of Gay Erotica, and the author of Sex Parties 101, Kinkorama, and In Deep: Erotic Stories, and can be reached at SexTalk@qsyndicate.com. Visit Simon at www.simonsheppard.com.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 33

SAVAGE LOVE

by Dan Savage

I’m a bisexual woman, age 20, and I am threesome-ing it with my best friend and her boyfriend during a stay abroad. I knew the girl (who’s mostly straight) beforehand. The girl thinks it’s hot when I participate - i.e., when it’s all three of us in bed - but she gets jealous when her boyfriend and I do anything without her. This seems unnecessary, because I don’t get jealous when she is alone with her boyfriend, and he doesn’t get jealous when she and I do things alone.

She doesn’t want to be possessive, but she’s got alarms going off. Which is odd because in two months I’ll be gone and they’ll both be staying in Europe. It feels like she’s suddenly setting a lot of limits on us. We have a blast when we’re all together, but we have no real ground rules. I want this to work!

Bi Girl Interrupted Gee, BGI, I’m shocked things aren’t going well - I mean, you have “no real ground rules,” and as everyone knows, neglecting to establish ground rules is the secret to threesome-ing success.

Wait, did I say the secret to threesome-ing success? I’m sorry, BGI, I meant failure. To ensure the failure of a threesome - whether you’re threesome-ing your way through an evening or a summer abroad - it’s crucial that you refrain from establishing ground rules.

Don’t talk about your expectations, just make assumptions; don’t make sure everyone’s on the same page, just stomp around the minefield of love and lust until the whole fucking thing blows up in your faces.

I hope you’re detecting the sarcasm here, BGI. Here’s what I suspect the problem is: You’re operating under the assumption that you’re an equal partner in this threesome, BGI, and that this is a sort of quasi-poly arrangement you’re enjoying with your best friend and her boyfriend. Share and share alike, right? But your best friend, for her part, views you as a side attraction. She sees you as something pardon me, someone - that she and the boyfriend brought into their relationship to enhance it, not someone who they’ve brought into the relationship itself.

In other words: They’re the couple - they were a couple before you came along, and they’re planning to be a couple after you’re gone. If you’re unclear on that concept, BGI, it’s because the three of you failed to establish clear ground rules and expectations and now

you’re confused, she’s jealous, and he’s either taking advantage or feeling caught in the middle.

Luckily it’s not too late for the three of you to sit down and establish some ground rules. It may be that your friend, while comfortable with the idea of you and her messing around without the boyfriend, isn’t comfortable with the idea of you and the boyfriend messing around without her. You may regard that limitation as unfair and irrational; the boyfriend may regard it as unfair and irrational; I may regard it as unfair and irrational. But if you want this to work, BGI, then you’ll make allowances for your best friend’s comfort levels and security and honor her limitations.

And if you don’t wanna honor ’em, you’re free to go.

I’m a 29-year-old single gay man with some major kinks: I’m into bondage (preferably inescapable), I’m into diapers, and I have a very subby fantasy life. I’m wondering how someone with my kinks should approach dating. Should I look for a partner in the usual ways and hope that I find someone open-minded? Or should I look mainly in kinky contexts?

I know that you’ve described diapers as “A Fetish Too Far.” I’d be happy to find someone who’s willing to get involved in some fairly serious bondage games and who isn’t freaked out by my wearing diapers when he’s not around. I doubt that an open relationship is the solution. Even if I had permission to play with others, I can’t imagine being in a really serious relationship without being able to share at least some of my fantasy life with my boyfriend.

Kinkster Needs Open-minded Type You are so lucky that you’re gay, KNOT. There are websites where you can advertise - www.recon.com is a good place to start - and kinky spaces (leather bars, gay BDSM groups, pansexual kink community events, etc.) where you can hang out. But your odds of meeting a kinky or kink-tolerant partner even “in the usual ways” are much better than the average kinky straight guy’s odds. So put yourself out there in both arenas - the kink ones and the usual ones - and date and disclose, date and disclose, and then date and disclose some more. Diapers may be AFTF for some, but they won’t be deal-breakers for other diaper guys (they’re out there) or for a guy who loves you to bits and is willing to do anything for you (he’s out there, too).

I wonder if you have any familiarity with my particular twist. I’m female, early 40s, and I really like to watch. Seems pretty straightforward, but I’m not the classic voyeur. Everything I’ve read on voyeurism really emphasizes the eroticism of secretly watching others having sex, with the possibility of being discovered as part of the thrill.

I’m not turned on by any of that. It sounds stressful to me. I want to watch, but I want the person I’m watching (always male in my fantasies) to know I’m watching. I want him to be looking right at me. I want to look into his eyes while he’s getting banged into next week, or masturbating like a fiend, all undone and out of control, and have him know I’m sitting there witnessing him fall apart into orgasm. Mmmmm. (I suspect this may be some expression of a power issue. Just maybe.)

But looking for someone to play along with me has been fruitless thus far. The one boyfriend I did bring it up with sat there and stared at me for so long that I dried right up and never mentioned it again. I ran an ad in the local online personals (M, M-F, M-M), outlining what I was interested in, thinking that with all the exhibitionists out there, surely someone would bite. Nothing. I did get a response, but it was from another woman. She wanted to know if I’d had any replies, and to ask if she could sit in if anyone took me up on my offer. Any ideas, Dan? Opera Glasses You told one boyfriend, you placed one ad.

And then you gave up. Gee, here’s an idea: The human race would quickly die out if people into “normal” sex asked one person, took out one ad, and then, if they didn’t get a positive response, stopped asking and stopped advertising.

Look, OG, you told one person, he reacted badly, and… the conclusion you seem to have drawn from this experience is that you should never, ever risk telling anyone about your kink ever again. May I suggest an alternate conclusion? You told the wrong person. When you told him about your kink - your charming, harmless, intriguing kink - and he sat there like a stone, the correct response was not to wither under his gaze. The correct response was to flip him off and walk out.

Readers respond to my advice for Shitty Boyfriend In The Midwest at www.thestranger.com/savage/shitty.

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

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

34 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY REMEMBER YOUR LUBE! Opening Up Reading & Discussion sponsored by Outlook Weekly Bestselling author, Village Voice and Outlook Weekly columnist Tristan Taormino will read from her new book, Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships and share what she learned from all the people she interviewed in open relationships around the country. Plus, she’ll take questions and facilitate a discussion on the benefits and challenges of venturing beyond monogamy. Wednesday, June 25 at Borders, 6670 Sawmill Rd, (On the east side of Sawmill Road just south of I-270 at Snauffer Road). For more info: puckerup.com. 7p; free.

GREEN THUMBS HISTORIC UNIVERSITY DISTRICT NEIGHBORHOOD HOSTS ANNUAL OPEN GARDEN TOUR With its history rooted as a classic streetcar suburb, Northwood Park Historic District neighbors invite Central Ohio residents to visit several beautiful gardens on Sunday, June 29 from 1 to 5 pm. Select gardens will be featured in this summer’s annual Open Garden Tour. There is no charge to attend and stroll through almost one dozen gardens on this year’s tour. The tour is held in cooperation with the City of Columbus’ Recreation and Parks Department.

Guests will be able to park once and easily walk throughout the neighborhood to visit each selected site. Select gardens are located on East Northwood, East Oakland and East Maynard Avenues; the neighborhood is just north of The Ohio State University and east off High Street.

Brochures, with descriptions of each garden’s features, will be available at each destination. Gardens on previous tours boast plantings at this season’s blooming stage. Other gardens, not previously seen on prior tours, will feature unique water fountains, statuary, perennials and annuals.

This historic neighborhood is located in the University District and was originally platted in the early 1900s. Northwood and Oakland Avenues had historically competed for the most beautiful gardens

in Columbus. The area was hailed for its architectural and landscaping excellence, and won Columbus’ top awards for “The Most Beautiful Streets” between 1912 and 1916.

Today, the area is a mix of permanent, longtime residents and student tenants.

The neighborhood has an active Garden Club, which continue the tradition of beautifying their streets. Northwood Park Garden Club has been renovating and reinstalling brick and cast stone gateposts topped with planters that graced the corners of each street entry to the district in its heyday.

In spite of the many Columbus activities on Sunday, June 29, this is a “not to miss” opportunity to enjoy the district’s turn-of-the-century ambiance and spirit, and meet some of it’s homeowners who carry on the tradition of the neighborhood!

SUNDAY JUNE 29, 1p-5p.

The following urban gardens are on this year’s Open Garden Tour: 45 E Northwood Ave: Back yard full of sun and shade loving hostas, an eclectic array of black-eyed susan, lilies, and a small herb garden. And a backyard view of a unique historical artifact in Franklin County.

62 E Northwood Ave: Front and back yards of hostas, begonias and impatiens.

A unique glass bottle display. (see photo)

120 E Northwood: Back yard is rose-full and accented with an array of potted annuals.

97 E Oakland: Sun and shade loving hostas, lavender, lilies and more. The pea gravel walks guide guests to a splendid backyard, which features recent restoration of this Arts and Crafts home.

100 E Oakland: Front and side yards with a beautiful Japanese Maple and abundant perennials. Lovely handmade containers accent the front yard (see photo) 110 E Oakland: Secret hidden treasures await in this backyard garden. The handmade swing, beautiful deck and other accents garnish this special, fenced in yard.

128 E Oakland: Lovely back yard, with canopied patio, water fountain feature; annuals and perennials trim the perimeter of his compact, urban setting 150 E Oakland: Lilies, lavender, Russian blue sage and a host of other lovely plantings adorn the front hill of this lovely home; newly renovated porch done in compliance with the neighborhood’s historic standards.

157 E Oakland: Meticulously gardened, this front yard receives full sun—and the plantings are adapted to this benefit.

Russian blue sage, low bushes, hostas.

164 E Maynard: This Victorian home’s front yard is punctuated by begonias, holly and cotoneaster shrubs. The backyard patio was designed by the homeowner who is a professional landscaper.

COLUMBUS NEXT MEETING: JULY 9, 6P-8P; LOCATION: OHIO ART LEAGUE : ART & WINE EVENT - 954 NORTH HIGH ST

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008

WWW.NETWORKCOLUMBUS.COM

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 35

fin

THE LAST WORD

by Jennifer Vanasco

Hometown Acceptance “Do you think she’ll recognize me?” the voice behind me said.

I turned, and there was Mrs. R, a woman whose kids I had babysat all through high school. The speaker was Mrs. S. – I had babysat for her a few times, too.

It was the first time I had been to my hometown since my mom had moved from it, a year ago. Now my mom was back in town and so was I. I should have expected to see people I knew – after all, I had lived in our sleepy suburban village for 18 years – but somehow I had felt anonymous and safe.

“Hello!” I chirped. I asked about her kids – adults, now, and my contemporaries. I had always liked Mrs. R. and her family. They had been good to me, supporting my writing as I was growing up, making me feel like I was valued and appreciated (and, by the kids, maybe loved.)

That support was important in a place where I always felt like an outsider, where the teenage rituals of opposite-sex dating seemed like customs formulated on another planet. It was adults like Mrs. R. who made me see that my particular take on the world, expressed through writing, could be respected by others.

But then came the inevitable question: “Jennifer, what do you do for work?” Mrs. R. asked.

This is something all of us answer, all the time. But to me it can seem a time bomb, because it outs me. I dread the long silence when I say, “I’m features editor of 365Gay” or “I’m a columnist in the gay press.”

A social creature, I will go to great lengths to avoid that silence.

This should all be second nature. I’ve been happily out for 16 years. As a columnist, I share details of my life with strangers, every week. I’ve outed myself to strangers, in fact, on subways, while traveling in foreign countries, at job interviews, and once, memorably, at a deserted gas station in the middle of the night. I consider myself to be openly gay in all aspects of my life.

Yet “What do you do?” Mrs. R. asked, and I froze, aware of my mother standing at my shoulder, of the expectations that came with growing up in my WASP-y, white-bread town, of the pressure I had always felt here to be “normal,” which meant playing tennis and golf, commuting into the city for a job in finance, law or medicine, and marrying a husband.

“I’m a writer,” I said, and she lit up.

“Oh, how wonderful! You were always writing. Where do you publish? Are you published?”

I do publish. I’ve made my life from writing since 1994, and yet I felt shy, worried. But about what? After all, it wasn’t as if Mrs. R. was still a regular part of my life, or someone I needed to impress. And I shouldn’t have worried about embarrassing my mom – I was out to all of her friends.

I know that this is layered and complex for me. A couple childhood neighbors of mine stopped speaking to me – and were cruel – when they learned I was a lesbian. We are vulnerable to those we grew up around; they knew us when we were still un-formed, when our worlds were confined to our families and our neighborhood and the casual heartbreak of school. I know that in my conservative hometown, gayness is not yet accepted.

So instead of saying where I worked, I said something vague about how I wrote about politics, travel, theater, religion.

Then my mom broke in.

“She just wrote a story for the Village Voice!” she exclaimed, happy for me, proud of

me.

“And what’s it on?” Mrs. S. asked. Mrs. R. looked expectant.

“The new lesbian,” I said.

There was that long silence. It seemed to stretch all the way back to childhood.

I cleared my throat. “It’s a good story,” I said awkwardly.

“Well,” Mrs. S. said, “We’ve got to get going.

It was so good seeing you!”

“It is wonderful that you are doing what you love,” Mrs. R. said.

I felt defeated. I had not been brave, but had outed myself anyway. Worse, I was a coward in front of my mother, leaving her, I feared, with the impression that I was ashamed of being gay, when the opposite is true.

It could have been a teaching moment. Instead, it was a reminder that it is still difficult to be out, that it is still a struggle. That at times, we fail in doing that very thing we ask others to do – accept ourselves fully the way we want people to accept us.

Jennifer Vanasco is an award-winning syndicated columnist. She edits the gay political blog VisibleVote08.com. Email her at Jennifer.Vanasco@gmail.com.

HOROSCOPES

by Jack Fertig

GEMINI (May 21 - Jun 20): If you want to show off your keen grasp of facts and figures, stick to the facts and figures. They should fit into an overarching philosophy, but your longrange vision is a bit blurry right now.

Keep it simple!

VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sep 22): Worry and doubt can impact your physical wellbeing. Take time out to meditate or to indulge in a relaxing physical retreat, ideally at a spa or a beach, but any place restful and soothing is fine.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 - Dec 20): You’re a little too eager to show off your intellectual prowess. While you’re good on general ideas and principles, you can easily trip over faulty details and statistics. Just be careful and be certain of those pesky little facts!

PISCES (Feb 19 - Mar 19): You can only do so much at work. Trying to do more will make you crazy. Take time out for breaks and some real relaxation to stay in balance and work more effectively and less frantically.

CANCER (Jun 21 - Jul 22): Highminded, spiritual aspirations can lead you into expense and debt as easily as baser indulgences. You can’t buy fulfillment. What seems vital now is likely illusory. Make an inventory of what you know deep down to be important.

LIBRA (Sep 23 - Oct 22): Explore artistic styles and media you would never normally consider. Check out some surrealistic or allegorical films or art. Finding company for these aesthetic adventures may be more trouble than it’s worth. Invite, but don’t insist! Going alone is fine, too!

CAPRICORN (Dec 21 - Jan 19): Your sexual charisma is high, and you can certainly have terrific times. Don’t sell yourself short and settle for less than you really feel you deserve.

Being a libertine is one thing; being cheap is quite another!

ARIES (Mar 20 - Apr 19): Your creative vision is bold, assertive, and a bit mad. That’s wonderful in art; in contact sports, you could break something. Resist friendly inducements to drugs. This is so not the time to be experimenting with new highs.

LEO (Jul 23 - Aug 22): You’re amped up to a degree that might be fabulous on a Las Vegas stage, but can be hard to take in person. If you have the opportunity to perform, go for it. Offstage, be considerate and defer to your co-star.

SCORPIO (Oct 23 - Nov 21): Push ahead toward your goals and ambitions. You can make terrific progress, but if there’s any lack of clarity in your motivations or your process, it will trip you up. A little humility and respect will help a lot!

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18): Fights with someone close to you come from inner uncertainty, and the faults you see most sharply in others reflect your own. If you feel short and snappish, take time out for a fast attitude check before responding.

TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20): This is not the week to invite the boss home for dinner. Keeping work and private life separate is a good idea, at least in principle. Wanting to excel and shine for your family can distort job goals. Try to be realistic!

Jack Fertig, a professional astrologer since 1977, is a founding member of the Association for Astrological Networking. He can be reached for consultations at 415.864.8302, www.starjack.com, and by e-mail at QScopes@qsyndicate.com.

JUN 19 - JUN 25 2008