05.01.08 Outlook Weekly - Art for Life by Outlook Weekly

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FACTS V I H OP • COLUMBUS STOMPERS • GALLERY H

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

SNAPSHOT

The Couchfire Collective's fourth Agora event drew over 2,000 visitors to Junctionview Studios in Grandview Heights. Featuring 250 visiting artists, 50 open studios, and over 30 musical acts and performers, the two-day event showcased the best of Columbus' creative community. Over $1000 in awards were given to six artists and performers.

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. Call us at 614.268.8525. HOW TO REACH US Outlook Media, Inc. 815 N High St, Suite ii Columbus, OH 43215 614.268.8525 phone 614.261.8200 fax www.outlookweekly.net web www.outlookmedia.com business www.myspace.com/outlookweekly friends www.flickr.com/outlookweekly photos SUBSCRIPTIONS Call 614.268.8525

READERSHIP: 210,000 PEOPLE / MONTH Outlook Weekly is published and distributed by Outlook Media, Inc. every Thursday throughout Ohio. Outlook Weekly is a free publication provided solely for the use of our readers. Any person who willfully or knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over copies of Outlook Weekly with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading it shall be considered guilty of the crime of theft. Violators will be prosecuted. The views expressed in Outlook Weekly are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or personal, business, or professional practices of Outlook Media, Inc. or its staff, ownership, or management. Outlook Weekly does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any interpretation, advice, opinion, or view presented. Outlook Media, Inc. does not investigate or accept responsibility for claims made in any advertisement. Outlook Media, Inc. assumes no responsibility for claims arising in connection with products and services advertised herein, nor for the content of, or reply to, any advertisement. All material is copyrighted ©2008 by Outlook Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

MAY 01 - MAY 07 VOLUME 12 NUMBER 44

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

BEARvillities 2008 “the FUNK” was a huge success! With the help of many performers like Alexis Stevensyour newly crowned Miss Ohio USofA @ Large, BoBo DeMontreal, DJ William Brown, Shirley Notaman, Alyssa Matthews, the Goldie Locks Trio, the Dallas Pike Lot Lizards, Brooke, Joya, the funky fly boys and many more we were able to raise over $5,000.00 for Camp Sunrise. Check out www.bearvillities.org for pictures of the show. SNAPSHOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........2 ABOUT TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....3,30 COMMENTARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........4 OUT BUSINESS NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........6 COMMUNITY CORNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .........8 EXAMINED LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......11 TRANSNATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......11 STRAIGHT UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......13 FEATURE: ART FOR LIFE . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .15-18 HEALTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......20 DEEP INSIDE HOLLYWOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......24 ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......24 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......25 ARTS GALLERY HOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......27 SAVAGE LOVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......28 PUCKER UP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......29 THE LAST WORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......31 SCOPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......31 NEXT WEEK: GLBT CENSUS!

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 3

ABOUT TOWN by Chris Hayes FRIDAY, APRIL 25 BORN TO BE WILD Rock ‘n’ Roll Tuesdays @ Exile, 893 N 4th St, 614.299.0069, exilebar.com: Come rock out with your cock out at the newly renovated Exile and everyone’s favorite good time guy, Jay Bird at this night of rock and hotties. 9p; free. THURSDAY, MAY 1 HAMBURGER HELPER Project OpenHand – Columbus, Every Good Party Ends in the Kitchen @ 1699 W Mount St, 614.437.2957, www.projectopenhand-columbus.org: This event will include cooking demonstrations, food, wine, music and a silent auction with proceeds benefiting Project OpenHand – Columbus. 5:30p; $65 adv/$75 door. PASS ME A SUNKIST Good Vibrations @ Shadowbox Cabaret, Easton Towne Center, 614.416.7625, shadowboxcabaret.com: Can’t find a date to the Prom? Nowhere to go on Spring Break? Sick of wedding after wedding that’s not yours? Come celebrate Spring Shadowbox style with the brand new show Good Vibrations featuring all new sketches penned by the Shadowbox comedy writing team. Fresh, fastpaced and fun. Through June 7. Thu 7:30p, Fri&Sat 7:30p&10:30p; $20-$30. IS THAT FRENCH ROAST? Pull Up a Step and Have a Cup of Joe @ The Ohio Historical Center Echoes in Time Theater, I-71 and 17th Ave, 614.297.2300, www.ohiohistory.org: One woman show. See pg 30. 7p & 8p; $7. FRIDAY, MAY 2 HEY, TASTE THIS Exclusive Wine & Dessert Tasting Gala @ the Huntington Office Building Atrium @ Crosswoods, 7575 Huntington Park Dr. Networking would take place from 6:30 – 7 p.m.; the program would be from 7 – 8 p.m. We are still in the planning stages, but we are looking to bring in a few wine vendors and dessert makers. Guests would be charged an admission fee with proceeds benefiting the American Red Cross of Greater Columbus. REMEMBER MATTHEW Laramie Project @ Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts, 614.413.8354: The New Albany Drama Department takes on this deeply engaging story about the brutal, senseless killing of 21 year old college student, Matthew Shepard, and the impact that event has had on a community and the nation. Audience/cast discussion after each show. Judy Sheppard appears May 2 at 5:30p. SATURDAY, MAY 3 TAKE YOUR BABY’S MAMA Columbus Parent Magazine Expo @ The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium: With more than 100 exhibitors, the Expo will offer guests everything imaginable for parenting children of all ages, from infants and toddlers to teens. In addition to exhibits and workshops on family life, education, childcare, community events and activities, live entertainment will include performances by the talented members of the Con Brio! Children’s Choir, appearances by favorite costumed characters, the Diaper Derby Baby Race and more. Through May 4. 11a-5p; free, ($5 to park). THESE SHOES ARE MADE FOR WALKING Arthritis Walk 2008 @ Big Meadows Picnic Area at Highbanks Metro Park, 614.876.8200, www.columbusarthritiswalk.kintera.org. There are over 5,000

children in Central Ohio with arthritis and they need your help! Registration begins at 9a, registration is $25 (minimum pledge). OHIO VERDE The North Market Cinco D’Ohio Festival @ North Market, 59 Spruce St, 614.463.9664, northmarket.org: The traditional Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican militia’s victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Cinco D’Ohio exalts the exceptional array of culinary commodities available from in-state producers. During the event Ohio Proud vendors and their products will be flaunted in an atmosphere with fiesta flair. 9a-5p; free. IS THAT A BUNDT CAKE IN YOUR POCKET? Nina’s Bake Sale & Bazaar: The Best of Axis @ Axis, 775 N High St, 614.291.4008, columbusnightlife.com: Yes, you read it right. Bake Sale. You are probably asking yourself, won’t she eat all the goodies before I even get there? Well, probably yes, ut there will be some crumbs from the homemade baked goods to purchase to help a girl raise some extra cash and get to her pageant! In case you didn’t hear, Nina is on her way to the Nationals for Entertainer of the Year, so she’s rallied the troops so a benefit to help pay for her gowns, travel, Tums, etc. Columbus Stompers, Infusion Dance, Spin Columbus, The Candy Drops, and PRESHOW music with DJ Moxy! Doors 7p, show8p; Tables $40. SUNDAY, MAY 4 EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE The Police with special guest Elvis Costello and The Imposters @ Nationwide Arena, corner of Nationwide and Neil, 614.246.2000, www.NationwideArena.com: Every breath you take…need we say more. 7:30p; $52-$227. WHEN THE ICECUBE MELTS Al Gore @ the Jerome Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Drive, 614.292.2624, www.schottensteincenter.com: Get $5 Off Tickets For Al Gore! Former Vice President Al Gore will bring his message of environmental sustainability to Value City Arena on Sunday (5/4). In his presentation, Gore will address the role of the local community and universities in leading the way to a greener future. YOU can save $5 off regularly priced $37.50 reserved seats (plus service charges) while supplies last. Use the password OSU in the box labeled “OSU Today” via this link: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0500408BED 9B6BEA?artistid=1041935&majorcatid=10005&minorcatid=104

EH BATTER BATTER BATTER Bat-N-Rouge Kick-Off Fundraiser @ Axis, 775 N High St, 614.291.4008, columbusnightlife.com: the All-Star line-up cast, like Nina West, Paige Passion, Virginia West, Vivie Vellure, Maria Garrison, Georgia Jackson, Sonya Ross, Coco Cane, and many more join National Entertainer of the Year Dee Ranged for this benefit. Some of the other All-Stars include The Stompers, Spin Ohio, live vocals and much more. Doors at 7p, show 8p; Tables $40-$60, General admission $6. MONDAY, MAY 5 NO WINE BEFORE ITS TIME Stonewall Dems Annual Wine Tasting @ The East Village, 630 N High St, 614.228.3546, columbusnightlife.com: Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner headlines tonight’s fundraiser. Plus live jazz, Cinco de Mayo themed hor d’oeuvres, and of course, wine. Go Democrats! 5:30p; $25. MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

4 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

LETTERS THE AMERICAN FAMILY OUTING Dear Rev. Osteen and the congregation of Lakewood Church, My name is Jay Bakker. I am pastor of Revolution Church in Brooklyn, New York. You may know me as the son of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. As you might have heard, I lost my mother this year after a long battle with cancer. This has led me to reflect on the importance of family, as well as the lessons my mother taught me regarding the unconditional love of God. It is in her memory that I write you this letter today. As a child growing up, I saw a side of the church that to me did not always reflect God’s grace. This experience has led me to be concerned for our brothers and sisters in Christ who sometimes may feel rejected and left out of the church. It is for these reasons that I have decided to be a part of a plan to bring dozens of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families from around the country, as well as heterosexual families that support them, to visit your congregation on Mother’s Day Weekend (Saturday May 10 and Sunday May 11th, 2008) to create meaningful dialogue about homosexuality and Christianity. This visit is part of the American Family Outing, a collaborative project between Soulforce, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, the National Black Justice Coalition, and COLAGE. It is my understanding that the Executive Director of Soulforce, Jeff Lutes, sent you an initial letter, dated December 3, 2007. I wanted to follow-up to let you know of my involvement in this important effort to bring true hope and prosperity to all God’s children. So many look to you for leadership, and therefore you and your congregation have an exceptional opportunity to advance respectful and Christ-centered conversation on a topic that too often divides our families and our nation. As Jeff expressed in his letter, we hope that you will collaborate with us in structuring our time together at your church. I invite you to match the families I bring, with a roughly equal number of families from your congregation, and ask that we arrange to share a meal together on Saturday, May 10th or Sunday, May 11th, followed by structured and educational conversation. We are also planning to attend your worship service on Sunday, May 11th. Together, we can make this an experience that will bless the lives of so many. Please contact me or Jeff Lutes so that we can work together on planning the details. In John 13:35, Jesus said that your love for one

another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. I invite you to reflect Christ’s unconditional love and participate with us in this event. In Grace and Hope, Jay Bakker Pastor Revolution NYC

One Gay Voice: Why I Cannot Support Obama

vantages, simply because I was born to be attracted to the same sex. While I am not flamboyant, I guess it was sometimes obvious to fellow classmates and neighborhood kids that I was different. I was teased, picked on, beaten and even bashed at times. Events like these are traumatic for all kids. When I got older I graduated from college and went on to graduate school. I paid for my education by myself with loans, work-study and some parental help. I received no special handout because I am gay. Since graduating, I have lived in Manhattan and Los Angeles – two great and competitive American cities. I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the brightest companies and interface with some of the most prominent businessmen and businesswomen today. Throughout my career, I must admit that at times I have been a victim of discrimination, social profiling and harassment at work because I do not fit a “certain” corporate mold. Determined to succeed, I have not let anything stop me from moving forward. I am lucky to be in America where I can pursue my dreams. When Michelle Obama exclaimed that she is “finally proud to be an American,” I cringed immensely. She just now woke up? Michelle Obama and her husband have gone to the best schools in the country, earn phenomenal incomes and have a chance to take over the White House and she is just now “PROUD?” I realize that minorities such as AfricanAmericans sometimes do have a tough time winning acceptance and fighting prejudice, but they are not alone in the fight. I have a serious problem with her sloppy comment and I cannot get past it. Yes, it is true that I may sometimes get angry with my government, become disgusted by certain oppressive segments of our society and feel depressed about the discrimination of gays in America. Even with the discrimination and abuse I have experienced, I have always been proud to be a citizen of the United States of America, a free country where change can happen and dreams do come true. I have always felt an incredibly deep gratitude to God for being born on U.S. soil into the American culture. I know that I am lucky. We are all so blessed to be living in this great country, which is rich and abundant with opportunity and freedom. I do not have time to wait for Obama’s “CHANGE” to occur – if it ever will. There is too much to get done now. I am voting for Hillary Clinton because I know that she has always been a proud American citizen and she will fight hard for everyone with her experience, hope and good old-fashioned American pride and spirit. American pride and spirit - feelings we desperately need more of these days.

As many democrats are buzzing about the current nominee campaign, I feel like no one is paying enough attention to the gay vote. The candidates and the press seem to be staying away from the topic of “Gay Marriage,” even though it is still a hot topic for debate and an area where “CHANGE” is needed. (Mr. Obama, I am talking to you.) I am okay with the exclusion of this topic this time around, but I am not okay with a possible First Lady saying she is “finally proud to be an American,” just because her husband is a contender for the Democratic nomination. In the United States, gay men and women grow up with so many challenges. Our society is generally taught that “being gay” is wrong, weird, illegal, shameful and even demonic in some parts. Sadly, many gay teens turn to suicide or are shunned by their families and thrown out onto the streets. I believe that someone is born gay and that we do not choose the lifestyle. At least, I didn’t have a choice. I am who I am. Yes, being born gay can be more painful and challenging than being born left handed, but I know some left handed gay men and women – they must have it really hard. It would seem that a gay, left-handed black woman, who’s also a little person, must have it super hard in this world – perhaps the worst. The level to which a person can take this is tremendous. Bottom line is, we all have our crosses to carry. It is my experience that in this country, it is still acceptable to discriminate against, make fun of and even shun members of the gay community. The gay community is one of the last segments of our society where it is still legal and “okay” to regard them as second-class citizens. I have hope that one-day everyone will truly become equal and gay men and women will be given all of the same rights as everyone else. Mr. Obama, will you change the laws against gay marriage? Can I count on you for that? Now, in my life, I have worked hard to get where I am. I grew up in Buffalo, NY in a typical middle class family. My father, now retired, is a Vietnam vet and worked hard as an employee of General Motors. He held a good paying job with benefits that would be James Strzalkowski incredibly hard to come by in this era. It started off North Hollywood, CA well, but my life became colored with many disad-

The Reader Poll Last week we asked:

When’s the last time you were tested for an STD? Within the last 3 months : 34.5% Within the last 6 months : 10.3% Within the last last year : 17.2% Within the last 1-4 years : 27.6% Within the last Over 4 years : 10.3%

Do you know your HIV status ? YES : 96.6% NO : 3.4%

Do you always disclose your sexual health status to your partner ? YES : 65.5% NO : 10.3% Only if they ask : 20.7%

NEXT WEEKS QUESTIONS: The GLBT comes out next week. Did you take it? Log on to: www.outlookweekly.net to take this week’s poll.

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MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

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MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

10 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 11

THE EXAMINED LIFE

Self Care Isn’t Selfish by Tom Moon, MFT

I have an ethical dilemma. My partner was offered a job in another city and expects me to move there with him. I love it here, and have a great job that I’d hate to give up. I’m on a career path which I might never get back on if I quit. He’s furious with me for being so selfish. He’s done a lot for me financially and otherwise, and stood by me through hard times. I love him deeply, and I probably owe it to him to make this sacrifice, but I’m not really sure I want to do it. I might lose him completely if I refuse to go, but is it really my duty to give up everything else I have in order to stay together?

No. I wouldn’t describe this as an ethical dilemma, because morally you have the right to decide either way. This is one of those times in life when you have to make a hard choice between two paths that are both valuable to you. But your partner’s assertion that you’re “selfish” if you don’t move with him is unfair and manipulative. Let’s have a skeptical look at this word “selfish.” In my work over the years I’ve learned that many people seem to harbor the same deep, dark secret about themselves, which is “If people knew the real me, they’d know how completely selfish I actually am.” That’s why one of the easiest ways to make someone feel guilty about what they’re doing is to get them to think that, by pursuing their own aims,

they’re being selfish. This is an age-old trick of exploiters and oppressors – to convince their victims that refusal to cooperate with exploitation is selfishness. People who grew up in so-called “dysfunctional” families are almost always convinced that they’re too selfish, because dysfunctional families are by definition systems in which members are expected to sacrifice their legitimate needs and developmental goals for the “good” of others. A while back I talked with a young man I’ll call John, who got a scholarship to a university on the other side of the country. He was also accepted at a local college. He wanted to go the university, but his father told him “If you leave it’ll just kill your mother.” He went anyway, but when he returned to visit for Christmas his mother had gone into a deep depression. He felt remorse and guilt and considered dropping out. Hadn’t he harmed his mother? My answer was “No. What’s hurt your mother is her own immaturity, her need to cling inappropriately to her son when it’s time for him to get on with his life. That’s her problem, not yours. It’s admirable to feel compassion for her suffering and for her difficulty in letting go, but it’s also legitimate to feel anger at her passive-aggressive attempts to hold you back. You won’t help her or yourself by relinquishing your own dreams in order to comply with her unreasonable demands.” John wasn’t selfish. If anything, he was overly

preoccupied with his mother’s emotional needs, to his own detriment. You don’t have to read any boring Ayn Rand novels to understand that there’s a legitimate domain of “self care” which is distinct from “selfishness.” Broadly speaking, I’d say that it’s selfish to exploit, use, and manipulate others for one’s own ends, but that pursuing your happiness while respecting the same pursuit in others is legitimate self care. Most of us understand this in principle, but in practice may be confused about the distinction. Many of us learned in our families that growing up and becoming independent is an act of betrayal; that separating means abandoning; that taking care of ourselves entails neglecting others; that paying attention to our own feelings equals indifference to the feelings of others, and that pursuing personal goals involves hurting others. Your partner is hitting below the belt when he accuses you of being selfish because you aren’t instantly prepared to abandon your dreams to help him realize his. Actually, you’re on equal ground in that you’re both trying to advance your own goals. Nobody is wrong in a situation like this. You’re up against one of the hard facts of life, which is that we can’t always have everything we want. If he’s done a lot for you and been loyal to you, then you owe him gratitude and respect, but that doesn’t mean he’s acquired the right to demand that you live your life in a way that suits him.

In thinking about your decision, take “owe” and “ought to” out of the equation. If you decide to give up your job here and go with him, do it because the fulfillment of being with him outweighs the pain of the other loss. If you decide that your happiness requires that you separate, you’ll feel sadness and loss, but you don’t have to feel guilt. In your discussions with him, actively resist any efforts on his part to make you feel ashamed because your personal goals matter to you. Your commitment to legitimate self-care should mean that you’re unwilling to surrender your personal goals lightly. Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. His website is tommoon.net.

TRANSNATION by Jacob Anderson-Minshall

Helping Trans Kids Out of the Shadows “How does a 14 year old shoot a 15 year old in the back of the head because he’s wearing high heels?” Trans activist Jenn Burleton muses about the recent murder of southern California teen. “More than any other source of childhood abuse, teasing, and bullying; femininity in male children kills.” Dedicated to preventing another causalty, the founder and executive director of TransActive Education & Advocacy (transactiveonline.org), a Portland, Oregon based organization, works with parents and schools to support transgender and gender variant children. “This work is not just for trans kids,” she insists. “Because all children are victims of gender expression oppression.” A lesbian-identified trans woman, who recently celebrated her 25th anniversary with her partner, Burleton previously co-founded Trans Youth Family Allies (TYFA - formerly Trans Youth Family Advocates) a national organization providing support for trans kids and their families, where she served as the inaugural executive director and board president. Once a trans teen herself, in the mid-1960’s, then 12-year-old Burleton became one of the first - albeit unsanctioned - trans youth to begin hormone treatments - after she discovered Dr. Harry Benjamin’s The Transsexual Phenomenon and began stealing her mother’s Premarin.

“I had the benefit that my mom was an alcoholic,” she jokes. “She was out of it so much she couldn’t keep track of what was going on.” Burleton’s access to female hormones staved off a testosterone-fueled puberty, and led to her transitioning at eighteen through Vanderbilt University’s gender identity clinic. Over the next several decades Burleton became a successful guitar playing, keyboardist singer-songwriter. Playing everything from rock to jazz and pop, she toured with some well-known musicians and recorded television audio and music soundtracks. Still she acknowledges, “I never lost the pain of not having had anyone support that child that I was. No matter how great the rest of my life was, I still felt the pain of the kid and what could have been.” Eventually, that ache drove Burleton to advocate for today’s trans kids, and she produced the short film Out Of The Shadows about trans and gender non-conforming children and youth. Since posted on YouTube in early 2007, it’s been viewed over 300,000 times, translated into Portuguese and utilized as an educational tool. “It’s now my life’s work to advocate on behalf of these children,” Burleton says, “There’s something that happens when you sit in a room with a seven year old trans kid who’s getting to be themselves with the support of their parents. It happens to the little kid in you. It’s what made me passionate

about the work, but I also had some things I had to work through, because it was extremely emotional.” In retrospect, Burleton believes that emotional bagage, may have served as an unpleasant reminder of the psychological scars a transgender life can enflict. “I’ve come to this conclusion: A lot of trans parents…are hoping…to cure their kids of being trans. By letting them be themselves when they’re young, [parents] hope to raise a child that’s so gender mainstreamed that the trans thing becomes a non issue.” It’s not that easy, Burleton contends. “I cannot imagine any person having gone through this experience not, on some level - a completely functional level, not a debilitating level - [being impacted by it]. Cancer survivor don’t forget they had cancer.” Those parents who believe otherwise, Burleton maintains, are most likely to distance themselves from transgender adults; who they fear may not be well adjusted and who remind them that things might not turn out perfectly when the child grows up. After her involvement with TYFA ended, Burleton launched TransActive Education & Advocacy, using everything she’d learned at TYFA but focusing on Portland and the Pacific Northwest. There TransActive goes to the schools proactively

“instead of waiting for the families to come to us.” It’s critical, Burleton argues, to have trans people in positions of power in these kinds of organizations. “Trans people have a significant role to play in this - not only as role models for the kids but role models for the parents. Nobody can explain what these kids are going through like an adult survivor of being a trans child.” Trans author Jacob Anderson-Minshall co-writes the Blind Eye mystery series with his wife. © 2008 Jacob AndersonMinshall

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

12 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 13

STRAIGHT UP by Adam Lippe

GAY CELEBRITIES Here are the reasons [Corey] Haim will reveal he’s gay: 1. Haim rejects each women he comes in contact with. 2. He has second thoughts about his relationship with Jo. 3. Haim and Feldman regularly jump in the hot tub together. 4. Haim regualrly ‘accidentally’ walks in on Feldman changing clothes and using the restroom. 5. Haim has a couple occasions pinched Feldman’s butt. 6. Haim can be seen ‘rubber-necking’ when attractive men walk by him. 7. He colors his hair. 8. Haims has admitted in past interviews that he had traded his body for cocaine. 9. Haim can be seen winking at various men on the show. Please don’t slam me. I think my points are VERY valid. Give it some serious thought and I think you’ll come to the same conclusion.

Corey Haim takes it in the ass. Tom Cruise blows every man he sees. John Travolta loves a facial. Keanu Reeves tosses a mean salad. Kevin Spacey’s a well known felcher. All “VERY valid” points. All in the realm of who gives a shit. Aside from the foolishness in believing that what is seen on a reality show is real, and not almost entirely staged and edited to the point where entire events are fabricated, the above IMDB.com quote about The Two Coreys, is unintentionally destructive. The problem with celebrity worship isn’t just the schadenfreude, but the way it brings out the worst high school behavior in all of us. For many people, this isn’t a problem, because they either didn’t graduate or have never matured past the age of 17 anyway. But for those who desire self-respect and a sense of shame, celebrity navel gazing is the bane of human behavior. While it is an easy point to make, that the fawning over Hollywood culture causes American society to avoid dealing with real issues and has caused the unfortunate intermingling of entertainment and news, causing serious reporting to take a backseat (I know an award-winning journalist, who, in a meeting at a major NYC tabloid, was told by her editor to write stories about Ellen Barkin’s impending divorce, and she were to

be put on “Barkin-Watch”), it outlines an important point. The problem isn’t the distraction from reality. It is the way we place our own prejudices upon those which we idolize. Celebrities can handle the trash talking. Sometimes, like in the case of Sarah Jessica Parker being referred to as the unsexiest woman in the world in Maxim magazine, they can fight back. Obviously, Parker, no matter what you think of her is hardly the unsexiest woman in the world. Clearly, the editors of Maxim have never walked through downtown Columbus. Or in your building. Or office. Or anywhere that wasn’t in the mind of a bored magazine editor trying to fill space. Besides, it is all just internet fodder anyway, where site after site is filled with unsexed teenagers talking about how they wouldn’t sleep with whatever celebrity, despite the obvious fact that they would never meet them in reality, and in the off-chance they do, they’d piss their pants in fear. But that outlines what’s really going on, they say they wouldn’t have sex with whatever above average looking woman, because they’re afraid of them. They say that Tom Cruise likes the pole as a way to denigrate Tom Cruise’s standing as an actor. Cruise realizes this which is why he sued an individual and a publication for suggesting he might enjoy the

backdoor, because it would reduce his action fanbase. And while it is reprehensible, he’s not wrong - the “what-if” gay suggestions do get in the way of his status as a believable action hero, at least to the moviegoing public. The “is-he-gay” routine, so standard at the watercooler and the internet, is a way of downgrading the celebrity elite status, because the man somehow loses his macho. It isn’t about bringing them down to earth so much as disparaging them, as if being gay was a bad thing. The issue is that it shouldn’t be a “thing” at all, just a sexual interest. There shouldn’t be all these ways to outline why a person is gay, if they show an interest in fashion, or musicals, or even if, in the apparent case of Corey Haim, he’s, shudder, not interested in a long-term relationship with a woman at the moment. So what Utopia could injustices such as these, where people are treated as people not a series of stereotype filled characteristics, and stars are famous for what they do, not who they do, exist in? I’d imagine it isn’t possible, but it would be a nice start if the next time someone asks you, “do you think Elijah Wood is gay? Would you fuck him?” Your answer should be, “Who gives a shit? I want to know if you’d fuck me.”

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

14 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 15

FEATURE STORY by Chris Hayes

Art for Life 2008 CATF’s mission is to fight the spread of HIV, reduce its transmission, stigma and the resulting discrimination through education and awareness, and provide quality services to individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS. Established in 1984, Columbus AIDS Task Force (CATF) is a full-service, community-based, non-profit AIDS Service Organization providing comprehensive care services, educational programs and an HIV testing program. CATF has a full-time staff of 38, approximately 500 volunteers, and a total budget of $3.5 million. CATF primarily serves the seven counties making up the Central Ohio region; however, some of its programs serve Southeastern Ohio and other parts of the state. CATF is a United Way member agency and is nationally recognized as one of the top AIDS Service Organizations in the country. They do good work. That being said, that work can’t continue without revenue. Like any non-profit, CATF is in a constant state of flux, vying for a shrinking pool of grant dollars and federal funding with an ever increasing slate of like-minded organizations. To supplement the dwindling funding, many of these organizations throw an annual/bi-annual fundraiser - a signature affair that provides a crucial part of their operating income. Enter Art for Life. Like any good fundraiser should be, Art for Life is a one-of-a-kind interactive art immersion. Patrons will participate in a unique collaborative experience between CATF and the local artist community aimed to help battle against HIV/AIDS. We caught up with one of the original creators of the event, Jim Arter, and CATF’s new Director of Advancement Terri LeMaile-Williams, to find out more about the event and its history.

may 10th

Chris Hayes: Terri, let’s start with you. You’re new to CATF; why don’t you start by telling us about your roll at the organization, as well as, your journey to get there. Terri LeMaile-Williams: I am the Director of Advancement. I am responsible for development, communications and marketing for CATF. My background is in project management in areas of advertising and marketing. Additionally, I spent 2 years working for a company that consults nonprofit organizations. CH: Why did you want to work for CATF? TLW: The CATF staff is highly professional, compassionate, and goal orientated. I found that impressive. After several meetings with Chad McCoury, the CATF President & CEO, I was convinced we had a similar vision and would well together. I also think it’s important to show that HIV/AIDS is not just a concern of gay, white men. As you can see, I am neither. Health care is extremely important to me. My sister, Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, MD, is the Medical Director for the City of Columbus. And, our parents are both health professionals. This position is truly a good fit for me. Additionally, this position gives me the opportunity to weave in all of the talents from my previous positions.

We loved being at CCAD and the Museum, and we will miss some attributes of that venue. However, Columbus City Center was a blank canvas with few space limitations. CH: How many artists are involved in this year’s event? TLW: We have over 238 pieces of art from 230 artists. CH: What’s the crowd like at the event? Is there a dress code? TLW: Young, hip, elegant…Just think red and/or creative black tie. CH: The main event May 10 is actually made up of two main events – a live auction and a silent auction party – what’s the difference? Does your ticket get you into both? How does that work? TLW: The Live Auction tickets gives you full run of the evening. The evening begins with a Patron Reception at 6p for our Live Auction attendees. The actual Live Auction begins at 7:30p. Upon conclusion of the Live Auction, those attendees mix and mingle with the Silent Auction attendees. The Silent Auction and Party begins at 8p.

CH: Your first year here and you get handed Art for Life. Were you familiar with the event before? How’s it been taking on such a large event? TLW: I’m excited. Large events always have inherent challenges. However, when you know the cause is worthy and you experience such an incredible outpouring of support, it’s worth every minute! We have more pieces of art than ever before. The generosity of the community of artists has been staggering.

CH: What do people actually get for $125/$75? (food, drinks? etc) TLW: For $125, guests are invited to the Patron Reception. They will receive passed hors d’oeuvres, open bar, and special musical guests – as well as an early peak at the Silent Auction items! Following the Live Auction, they are invited to join the Silent Auction attendees. For $75, guests are treated to entertainment and delicious food (prepared by Barcelona). Rumor has it that there will be a paella bar! All attendees get the opportunity to purchase art for a worthy cause!

CH: AFL is always such a fun time. What can we expect this year? What’s going to be new and exciting? TLW: Hip atmosphere, the best of established and emerging artists, fabulous food (by Barcelona). The venue has been transformed! Think red!

CH: I know the money raised goes to help CATF, but what programming and operations will directly benefit from this event? TLW: 100% of the proceeds from Art for Life are used by CATF to provide critical testing, prevention, care and advocacy services.

CH: How did you come up with City Center as the venue? How exactly is that going to work? TLW: We are transforming the Columbus City Center into a vibrant, hip venue. For one night – May 10 – it will be the center for art and culture.

CH: Is it too late for people to volunteer to help with the event? How can people get involved? TLW: No. Anyone wishing to volunteer should call Emily Van Buren at 614.340.6770. She is CATF’s Coordinator of Volunteer Services. continued MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

16 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY Chris Hayes: Now Jim, I know you are one of the original designers of AFL? How did this event come to be? How and why did you first get involved with CATF? Jim Arter: Scott Nusbaum phoned me to discuss his idea for an art auction to raise money for CATF. We met for lunch, Scott shared his rough draft concept for the art auction, we kicked around ideas and I agreed to be part of the committee for the project and a contributing artist. We wanted a name for the event and I suggested it should be something positive like “Art for Life” and the name stuck. The rest is history. I stayed on the committee for the first 2 years and have been a contributing artist for every auction. I become involved because I had already lost many friends to AIDS, had other friends diagnosed HIV positive and wanted to help CATF. Zack Kerr and Shaun Whybark (MSM Outreach)

DIARY OF A MAD GAYSIAN by Zack Kerr Too many times we’ve all read the spiels about HIV infections being on the rise in gay men, so I’m just gonna be blunt. What is wrong with us?! After 25 years of dealing with HIV/AIDS, we need to wake up and realize that there are reasons why the rates continue to climb. It’s time we stop being secretive about the state of the pandemic. We are too damn scared to challenge what many perceive to be true. “HIV will never happen to me because I’m too smart for it.” “Only slutty boys need to get tested for HIV.” “Being an HIV advocate takes too much time.” Well the reality is simple - the less we talk openly about the benefits of getting tested for HIV, and the more reasons we have for why that trick doesn’t strap on a condom before he jumps on top, the more times we will have to experience a friend telling us they tested positive. Three years ago, I was a stupid kid, who thought I was invincible to HIV and too good to use condoms. And then after a couple of scares, I knew I had to get my shit together. But I quickly learned that it does not take much time to get educated. Being an HIV advocate does not require us to sacrifice our entire lives. One conversation with friends about HIV and HIV testing can make them stop and go, “Hmmm…,” just enough to where they can make a change for the better. The Columbus AIDS Task Force MSM/GLBT Outreach team has worked very hard to get the communities in Columbus better educated about HIV and HIV Testing, so that they can have such conversations. As a result, we launched the T.E.S.T. Project (Teaching Effective Strategies for Testing), where we get friends together to discuss why stigma surrounding HIV and HIV testing still exists, and how communication with our friends can reduce such stigma. Many of the 50+ people that have taken part in the program this year have mentioned the great success they’ve had in talking with their friends. They noted that they were able to break down some of the myths about HIV, and even convinced some friends to get tested for HIV. But they have also admitted that they have found that even their friends sometimes try to block out the conversations. For many of their friends, they believe the issue isn’t important or that it is still taboo to discuss it. Yet, I tell them all that the purpose of these conversations is to challenge these taboos and challenge our MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

friends to challenge them as well. The more conversations we have with friends, the more accepting they will be to discuss the topics. It’s almost like how I have discussed and still discuss with my parents my endeavors as a gay man. Like a dog, I have had to train them, slowly introducing the conversation when we talk on the phone, until they finally started asking me questions. I encourage everyone to do the same – if you keep talking about HIV/AIDS, your friends and family will come around as well. At CATF, we offer fun events and fundraisers that allow safe spaces for such conversations to occur. People want events that are laid back and easy-going. With that, I invite you all to join us on June 20th for “Skate For Life” at Skate Zone 71 (Morse Road exit off I-71) from 9p – 2a. With roller skating, fun music, prizes, and my ass stumbling around on rollerskates (check out the photos from our first Skate for Life at www.myspace.com/catfmen4men), “Skate For Life” will be a great way to kick off the beginning of Pride Week. So at this point, some of you all may think that I’m just another bitter gay on his soapbox. Others may think that I am just pimping the programming and events that my team and I have worked so hard to develop and grow. Well, yes, both of them are true. It’s because I give a damn about how HIV/AIDS is affecting us as gay men and as a community. I want people to have honest conversations that use their past poor decisions and unsafe sexual encounters as teachable moments. Through conversation we can help each other make lasting changes in our lives so we can worry less about one another being infected with HIV. I’m disturbed by the growing number of phone calls that I am getting from friends telling me that they tested positive. I’m bothered by how many more friends have scares, say they “know better,” call wanting to get tested, and then do it again and again once they test negative. It’s time we all wake up, get involved, be accountable and motivate ourselves and our loved ones to make changes, step by step, little by little. Zack Kerr serves as coordinator of MSM HIV Prevention Programming, with his trusty right hand man, Shaun Whybark. Despite coming off as a total Debbie Downer, Zack would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and comments via zackkerr@catf.net.

CH: How much different is the event now compared to when it started 19 years ago? JA: The dedication and commitment is the same but the “know how” and professionalism has improved. The first year we only had one restroom at the event (unisex) and we needed a doorman to let the people know when the restroom was available! The first auction was held in the Battleship Building on Front St thanks to the generosity of Sandy Woods. The first few years all the artwork was by local Columbus artists, and the artwork was in an annual live auction. Soon the local arts community was feeling the strain of contributing annually and AFL became a biannual event. The event evolved into a live and silent auction and many arts patrons wanted to contribute artwork from their private collections, so the artwork available at the AFL auction expanded from work by local artists to include nationally and internationally known artists as well. At first a few local artists were miffed when their work was not selected for the live auction but we had to remember the real mission of AFL is not so much to promote the artists but to raise money that benefit the clients served by CATF. The growth over the past 19 years has been tremendous! CH: What is your favorite thing about the event? JA: The opportunity to contribute to the noble work of CATF through my art. And the joy of seeing a small idea that started with two gay men tripping over their optimism to help others evolve into something big and beautiful. CH: You usually have works in the auction; will we see Jim Arter originals again this year? JA: Oh yes, I have been a contributing artist every year that AFL has taken place. Over the past 19 years I have contributed numerous paintings, sketches and sculptures. Most popular has been my series of “Gum Wrapper Sculptures” that I built in collaboration with my good friend Jack Freeman who

engineered the pieces. Jack died last year due to complications of a heart attack and stroke. This year’s AFL “Standing Gum Wrapper” is the last of the sculptures created by the team of Arter & Freeman. CH: You are a well-known local artist and teacher, but for those that aren’t familiar with your work, can you tell us a little bit about what mediums you work in and what inspires you? JA: My real claim to fame has been working with children and fellow artists in arts based after school programs through the Greater Columbus Arts Council, such as “Artists in Schools,” “Children of the Future” and most recently our “Art in the House” program. Sharing my passion for the arts with children is my life’s work. I am also an avid gardener, like Monet, in my later years I can no longer confine my work with color, texture and form to canvas or an indoor setting. My sculpture garden is my studio, retreat and sanctuary. CH: Art for Life is of course benefiting the AIDS Task Force, how do you see the crisis these days and how has it changed since the eighties? JA: As the saying goes, “we have come a long way baby” and yet we have “miles to go before we sleep.” The advancement in medicine, technology & knowledge surrounding HIV has been tremendous. In the 80s I had 5 or 6 friends a month dying from the disease. Now I have friends living with HIV that are relatively healthy and leading productive lives. My AIDS buddy, Doug MacConnell, has been living with HIV since 1985. The need for AIDS awareness, HIV education and prevention through safe sex practices remains the same. CH: What do you think is the biggest hurdle or set back in the fight against HIV/AIDS? JA: IGNORANCE! As in most situations in life, ignorance and denial are always the biggest hurdle. And the ridiculous idea that abstinence should be the only option presented to our young people in sex education. Or suggesting abstinence instead of providing condoms for the millions of people struggling with AIDS in Africa or other countries dealing with this pandemic is unconscionable. CH: Do you find the artist community is still embracing/reacting to the pandemic? How has art itself changed as the face of the disease has changed? JA: Yes, the artists still produce and give their work, donating to many causes to improve the human condition. Artists see the world through a different lens than most other people. Great art, whether visual, music, dance or theater provides a mirror in which to view life, hope to nurture life and imagination to lead us in a new direction. Art for Life is May 10 at the City Center. See www.afl2008.org for more info.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 17

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18 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

Art For Life Live Auction Participants HIV TESTING TEAM

STANDING UP TO STIGMA: TALKING WITH THE CATF TESTING TEAM ABOUT MYTHS REGARDING HIV TESTING Are you aware of your HIV status? Thanks to our friends at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), research shows that an estimated ONE IN FOUR individuals who are HIV+ are unaware of their HIV status. Why don’t more people get tested for HIV? One reason is the number of myths and beliefs that surround HIV testing. We, the HIV testing team, at the Columbus AIDS Task Force, have heard many reasons people do not get tested for HIV:

less but not knowing could be deadly.

“Only gay guys and sex workers need to get tested” aka “Only slutty people need to get tested” Over the last two years, CATF has done aggressive outreach and marketing in the Columbus community to break down the myth that only promiscuous gay men get HIV. As a result, approximately 40% of the nearly 1400 HIV tests administered by the Columbus AIDS Task Force in “I don’t want anyone else to know that I got 2007 were administered to first time HIV testers. tested for HIV” What we’re seeing is that people do know what Ohio is one of the few states left that allows HIV is and how it’s transmitted, but do not feel ANONYMOUS testing. That means you can come like they are personally at risk. However, the CDC into our office for an HIV test, not disclose your has found that people who test for HIV are more name or any other personal identification inforlikely to use their knowledge of their HIV status to mation, and still leave with your result. At the continually reduce their behaviors that have posame time, what we talk about here stays here! tentially put them at risk. People get tested for We do not share such information. Even if we saw HIV because they want to ensure that they are you out in public, we would not approach you or protecting themselves, and protect their signifimake any conversation with others to insinuate cant others, fuck buddies, and even one-night that we tested you for HIV. stands. As a result, the CDC recommends that anyone “Whoever tests me is gonna judge me” between the ages of 13 and 64 that is sexually We are completely client-centered when it active should get an HIV test annually. Regardcomes to HIV testing. Our goal is to tailor our con- less of sexuality, how much sex one is having, or versations so that anyone who gets tested will personal HIV knowledge, everyone is still at risk leave feeling more knowledgeable about for HIV. HIV/AIDS, HIV Testing, and risk reduction strateWe passionately believe that HIV test counselgies that fit into their lifestyles. On a side note, a ing is a powerful HIV prevention intervention. We lot of us have been in the shoes of many of the want to work one-by-one with every sexually acpeople who get tested as well. So who are we to tive individual and give each of them the personjudge? alized tools and strategies needed to help reduce their future risk. In essence, we have them create “I’m afraid of testing positive” a harm reduction plan that is realistic and releFor those individuals who are HIV+, it is esvant to their life and personality. Over 90% of the sential to develop a plan for their future health people who test for HIV at CATF do not have the and wellness. Those who test positive early in the virus, but by providing testing services in the stages can begin to access medical attention form of a counseling invention, we can involve and the necessary medication needed to keep the community in our efforts to stop the spread of their immune system healthy. While HIV cannot HIV/AIDS in Columbus. be cured, the great strides in healthcare kept many HIV+ individuals healthier and alive longer. CATF HIV TESTING HOURS Tuesday walk-ins: 3:30p-7:30p “It takes too long,” “I don’t like needles” Wednesday walk-ins: 10a-2p Pre-2004, one would have to have to get blood Thursday by app’t 10a-6p (call 614.340.6751) drawn, and then a wait a week, in order to receive To make an app’t any other weekday between HIV test results. How times have changed. With 10a-5p, Monday through Friday, please call the OraQuick test that is used by most testing 614.340.6737) sites in Columbus, results can return in only 20 minutes. Better yet, the OraQuick can be done via UPCOMING HIV TESTING OUTREACH DATES an oral swab. Just one swab around your gums Thurs, May t: Stonewall Center on High, 4p-7p and teeth and 20 minutes are all it takes to know Wed, May 7: Club Columbus, 5p-8p (no your HIV results. If you’ve had unprotected sex membership required) with a partner whose HIV status you do not know, Sat, May 10: Stonewall Center on High, 10a-2p come in and take a test. It’s free. It’s confidential Sun, May 18: Club Columbus, 2p-6p (no and you get results that day. The process is pain- membership required)

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

Rick Akers Congratulations to the following artists selected to be Ron Arps Jim Arter featured in the Live Auction portion of Art for Life Malcolm Baroway 2008: Leon Benn Laura Bidwa Rick Borg Smoky Brown Craig Carlisle Karen Carson Cobert Collins Daniel Ferlan Dennison W. Griffith Michael Guinane Paul Hamilton Edward Jekot James Michael Kahle Djibrirou Kane Matt Klos Corbett Reynolds

Karen LaValley Eric Lubkeman Tony Mendoza Jon Moos James Morton Jan Poast Corbett Reynolds Aminah Robinson Boryana Rusenova Edwin C. Shuttleworth Julie Taggart Bertil Vallien William Wegman Mark Yale Harris For further information or to provide your contact information for Art for Life 2010, please email Whitney Crane at whitneycrane@catf.net

Art For Life Silent Auction Participants We would like to thank the following artists and congratulate them on being featured in the Silent Auction portion of Art for Life 2008: Frederick Fochtman Kaizaad Kotwal DP Ackerman Rebecca Kulka Gretchen Forde Jen Adrion Joe Lamothe & Abe Frajndlich Karim Ali Devon Palmer Jason Amatangelo Elaine Freeman Victoria Lane Dan Gerdeman Ron Amicon Linda Langhorst Gilbert Gonzalez Marian Anderson Diana Lantz Kathy Grace Ron Arps Annette Lasker Paul Graham Betsy Arvidson George Leach Helma Groot Corey Aumiller Stacy Leeman Larry Hamill Brian Ballenger Sharon Lessard Ann Hamilton Eric Barth Dave Liggett Gary Harper John H. Behling Marc Lincewicz Charlotte Belland Norman Harris Sarah Loch-Test Chuck Harris Kevin Bickle Ray Hassard Jason Blair Jack Haunty Mary Jo S. Bole Shiomi Haziza Kirsten Bowen Nicholas Hill Todd Brausch Nick Hodge Marcus J. Brewer Michael Hoza Adam Brouillette Monica Vera Brown Tom Hubbard Andy Hudson Renate BurgyanRobert Hughes Fackler Richard Hughes Molly Burke Indonesian Patricia Burke Virginia Burroughs Morris Jackson Chris James Craig Carlisle David Jewell Juan Carrera Chris Ann Johnson Tom Ward Liz Celeste Tracey Jollay Sid Chafetz Rebecca LowberRandy Jones Garner Chapman Collins Djibrirou Kane David Charlowe Dwaine MacDonald Elizabeth Chrisman Kevin Keiser Jack Mann Matt Klos Andy B. Clarkson Jennifer Marlatt Sophie Knee F. Coleher Kevin Collander David Cooke Douglas Jon Crawford Clara Crockett Alan Crockett Anne Cushman Motzart Dane Perry A. Davis Randy De Puy Brian Deep Betsy DeFusco Denegris Susanne Dodson Paul Richmond John Donnelly Brian Duran Charles Massey Jr. Doug and Cheryl Susan Edward Michael Matteson Kneisley Tony Elder James Meara Bernice Koff Erté Diane Medve Bryan Kossmann Michael Flohr

Adam Brouillette

Robert Metzger Linda Miller Carol Milligan Marjorie (Marge)

Mitcham Neice Molchen David M. Morgan Anthony Muncy Ryan Orewiler Arthur Orlonov Richard Osborne Craig Penn (AKA “Peg”) Stephen Pentak Kathleen Pepicello Frank Peto Jen Pierce-Eyen Michael Ponchot Alexander Pope Brandon Presz Dan Reese Jordanne Renner Paul Richmond Thad Ricker Jahn Ritzau Bruce Robinson Aminah Robinson Stephanie Rond Sandy Rosen

Marc Ross Jack Russell Mamoru Sakagawa Fred Salmon Jr. Justin Schaffer Terry Schmitter Jo Shepherd Ripley Geno Shifrin Steve Shipp James Shirey Chad Sines Shaina Skeen Gayla Smith Rona Stelzer Chris Stenger Rachel Stern Jim Swingle Joan Tallan Robert Tavani Sara Tharp-Textoris Yvette van der Velde Barbara Vogel Jon B. Wahling Arthur Chun Wang Tom Ward Bruce Weinberg Mary-Anna Welch Nova Weller Christie Whisman Rob White Beverly Whiteside Nancy Wolen Jan Wolfe Mac Worthington Helen Wyeth Jean Yoder For further information or to provide your contact information for Art for Life 2010, please email e-mail Whitney Crane at whitneycrane@catf.net

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 19

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20 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

HEALTH

Part 4 of our month-long coverage for STD Awareness Month

Human immunodeficiency VIRuS & acquired immune deficiency syndrome What is HIV and What is AIDS? HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It is the virus that causes AIDS. AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. HIV can be transmitted through the blood, sexual fluids, or breast milk of an HIV-infected person. People can get HIV if one of these fluids enters the body and into the bloodstream. The disease can be passed during unprotected sex with a HIV-infected person. An HIV-infected mother can transmit HIV to her infant during pregnancy, delivery or while breastfeeding. People can also become infected with HIV when using injection drugs through sharing needles and other equipment. Over time, infection with HIV can weaken the immune system to the point that the system has difficulty fighting off certain infections. These types of infections are known as opportunistic infections. These infections are usually controlled by a healthy immune system, but they can cause problems or even be life-threatening in someone with AIDS. The immune system of a person with AIDS has weakened to the point that medical intervention may be necessary to prevent or treat serious illness. A blood test can determine if a person is infected with HIV, but if a person tests positive for HIV, it does not necessarily mean that the person has AIDS. A diagnosis of AIDS is made by a physician according to the CDC AIDS Case Definition. A person infected with HIV may receive an AIDS diagnosis after developing one of the CDC-defined AIDS indicator illnesses. A person with HIV can also receive an AIDS diagnosis on the basis of certain blood tests (CD4 counts) and may not have experienced any serious illnesses. Where did HIV come from? There are many theories about the origin of HIV-1 and HIV-2. The first known case was found in a blood sample collected from man from Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo in 1959. Genetic analysis of this blood suggests that the origin of HIV came from a single MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

strain of HIV-1 in the 1940s or 50s. In the U.S. the virus is known to have existed since the mid 70s. Symptoms of rare types of what are now known as opportunistic infections began manifesting themselves between 1979-1981. HIV was first isolated by scientists in 1983. The virus was at first called HTLVIII/LAV (human T-cell lymphotropic virustype III/lymphadenopathy- associated virus) by an international scientific committee, since it was the 3rd retrovirus found after HTLV-1 and -2. This name was later changed to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). What is AIDS? A diagnosis of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is made by a physician. An HIV-infected person may be diagnosed with AIDS if he or she meets certain clinical criteria. Criteria include becoming sick with an illness defined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as an AIDS-indicator illness (illnesses that take advantage of the body’s weakened immune system) and/or by taking a blood test that shows that the person’s immune system is severely damaged. How long does it take for HIV to cause AIDS? According to the CDC, prior to 1996, scientists estimated that about half the people with HIV would develop AIDS within 10 years after becoming infected. This time varied greatly from person to person and depended on many factors, including a person’s health status and their health-related behaviors. Since 1996, the introduction of powerful anti-retroviral therapies has dramatically changed the progression time between HIV infection and the development of AIDS. There are also other medical treatments that can prevent or cure some of the illnesses associated with AIDS, though the treatments do not cure AIDS itself. Because of these advances in drug therapies and other medical treatments, estimates of how many people will develop AIDS and how soon are being recalculated, revised, or are cur-

rently under study. As with other diseases, early detection of infection allows for more options for treatment and preventative health care. How common are HIV and AIDS? According to the CDC, in 2000, an estimated 850,000-950,000 people in the United States were living with HIV and approximately one fourth of these people did not know they were infected. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that there are 42 million people in the world living with HIV and 3.2 million of those are children under the age of 15. Over half of all adults living with HIV/AIDS are women. In 2002, approximately 5 million people were newly infected with HIV. Since the beginning of the global epidemic, UNAIDS estimates that 24.8 million people have died from complications of AIDS. How is HIV transmitted? HIV can be transmitted through the blood, sexual fluids (semen, preseminal fluid, or vaginal fluid) or breast milk of an HIV-infected person. People can get HIV when one of these fluids enters the body by way of the mucous membranes (the soft, moist skin found in any opening of the body) or the blood stream. The disease can be passed during unprotected vaginal, anal or oral sex with a HIV-infected person. An HIV-infected mother can transmit HIV to her infant during pregnancy, delivery or while breastfeeding. People can also become infected with HIV when using injection drugs through sharing needles and other equipment (or works) including cookers and cottons with someone who is infected. How effective are latex condoms in preventing HIV? Studies have been done to test how well latex condoms work for preventing HIV transmission. This research has shown that latex condoms are highly effective at protecting a person from transmitting or becoming infected with the virus. The studies were done on HIV-

negative individuals at high-risk for the disease because their partners were HIVpositive. Latex condoms used consistently and correctly were effective 98-100% of the time. While not having sex or to having sex with a long-term mutually monogamous partner who is not infected with HIV or other STDs is the only way to protect yourself completely, latex condoms used consistently and correctly are highly effective in preventing HIV and many other STDs. Click on the following link to find out more information about latex condoms in the ASHA Position Statement: Male Latex Condoms as a Public Health Intervention. How can I tell if I’m infected with HIV? The only way to tell you have HIV is be tested for the virus. You cannot rely on symptoms to tell if you or someone you know is infected. The symptoms of HIV are similar to many other illnesses and many people have no symptoms at all. The symptoms of AIDS are also similar to other diseases. If a person is infected with HIV, the only way to tell if they have progressed to AIDS is to be diagnosed by a doctor using the CDC defined criteria. Where can I get tested for HIV? There a many places to get HIV testing, including local health departments, private doctors, hospitals and sites set up specifically to test for HIV. It is important find a testing site that offers HIV counseling as well as the test. HIV counselors can provide you with important information about the test, discuss your risks for HIV, answer your questions about your risk for HIV and how to protect yourself and others in the future. They also can provide information about other resources available in the area. Some locations may have rapid tests that can tell if you are infected within 30 minutes, while in other locations it may take up to 2 weeks to get results. Check with the test site to find out what type of HIV tests they have. There are also home collection kits that allow you to take your own blood

sample and send it in to be anonymously tested. The only test approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for home collection is Home Access. You can purchase this test in most drug stores, but it is also available for purchase online at http://www.homeaccess.com, or by calling 1-800-CONFIDE (800.266.3433). Many other tests are advertised on the internet, but Home Access is the only approved device for this use in the United States. For a test site near you, visit the National HIV Testing Resource at www.hivtest.org or call. For service in English or en español you can call either: 800.CDC.INFO or 800.342.2437. The lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For the Deaf and Hard-ofHearing TTY Service call 888.232.6348. How long after a possible exposure should I wait to get tested for HIV? The most common HIV tests look for antibodies to the virus. CDC states that most people infected with HIV will have detectable antibodies within 3 months of exposure to HIV, the average being 25 days. Rarely, it can take up to six months. Testing early has many benefits. People who know whether they are infected or not can take precautions to protect themselves and others in future. HIV-infected individuals can benefit from early treatment. If I test HIV negative does that mean my partner is HIV negative also? No. The test for HIV can only tell you if you have been infected or not. Transmission of the virus does not necessarily occur every time exposure occurs. The only way for an individual to tell if he/she has been infected with HIV is to be tested. If you are unsure of your partner’s status, you may want to consider talking to him/her about it and using protection (latex condoms or dental dams) to reduce your risk. What if I test HIV positive? There are many things you can do to help protect your health if you test positive for HIV. Seeking health care early

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HEALTH continued and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help a person stay healthy. Some specific things you can do if you’re positive for HIV are: • See a doctor, even if you feel well. If possible, see a doctor who is familiar with treating people with HIV. Health care providers can inform you on what tests and drug treatment are right for you. There are many new drugs available that can help to slow down the damage that HIV does to the immune system. They can also advise you on other issues, like vaccines, as well as things to avoid in order to keep you healthy. • Get tested for tuberculosis (TB). Because a person can have an inactive type of bacteria, you may be infected with TB and not know it. TB can be a serious disease for someone who is infected with HIV, but it is curable if detected early. • Smoking cigarettes, drinking too much alcohol or using illegal drugs can weaken a person’s immune system. People can help maintain their immune system health by stopping or reducing their use of these substances. There are many programs that can help you quit if you need to. The CDC (800.CDC.INFO) can provide you with more information what to do if you test positive for HIV. They can also provide you with referrals to doctors, treatment programs and other services for HIV-infected individuals. I’m HIV positive. Where can I go for information about treatments? Locally we recommend Columbus AIDS Task Force, www.catf.net, (1751 E Long St, Columbus, OH 43203, 614.299.2437). For more information, call the CDC at 800.CDC.INFO. This service is available in English or en español. For TYY service, please call 1.888.232.6348. These services are open 24 hours, 7 days a week and can offer general information to help you discuss HIV treatments as well as other treatments with your doctor. If you do not have a doctor or would like information on how to find an HIVknowledgeable doctor, the Hotline specialists can provide you with referrals in your area. For more specific information about treatments and clinical trials, contact AIDSinfo in English & Spanish at 800.448.0440. For TTY users: 888.480.3739. Open Monday through Friday, 12p-5p Eastern Time. How safe is the U.S. blood supply? The U.S. blood supply is one of the safest in the world. Infection through blood transfusion and other blood products is rare. Since 1985, the blood supply has been ELISA tested for HIV. According to the CDC, an estimated 1 in 450,000 to 1 in 660,000 donations per year are infectious for HIV but are not detected by current antibody MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

screening tests. In 1995, blood banks also began testing with P24 tests along with ELISA, to detect infection with HIV during this window period. As technology advances, the blood supply will become even safer. Why does the CDC recommend that all pregnant women be tested for HIV? Currently there are medications and medical interventions that can reduce the risk of transmission of HIV from mother to child. A large percentage of infected infants become infected late in pregnancy or during delivery, so getting tested and starting treatment early in pregnancy can reduce the risk of a HIV-infected mother transmitting the disease to her unborn child and slow down the progression of HIV disease in the mother. How can I reduce the risk of transmission of HIV from injecting drug use? Sharing needles puts injecting drug users (IDUs) at risk for many blood-borne diseases, including hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV. The most effective way to reduce your risk is to stop using drugs. There are many programs available to help a person quit. If an individual cannot or will not stop using injecting drugs, then it is recommended that a person never reuse or share works (cookers, cottons, syringes, needles, water.) New needles, from a reliable source, should be used every time. Swabbing the sight with alcohol can help prevent other types of infections. Safely dispose of needles after using. If new equipment is not available, syringes should be boiled in water or disinfected with bleach to reduce the risk of transmission. Call the CDC at 800.CDC.INFO for more information on preventing transmission of HIV and other diseases through injecting drug use. Recommendations for cleaning needles and syringes According to the CDC, those who continue to reuse or share works or injection equipment should be aware that this practice carries a high risk for acquiring and transmitting HIV. Injection equipment is not made to be reused. Boiling needles and syringes for 15 minutes is one way to sterilize equipment between uses. However, boiling may alter the shape and utility of plastic needles and syringes. Cleaning injection equipment with disinfectants, such as bleach, does not guarantee that viruses such as Hepatitis B, C, and HIV will be destroyed. Disinfectants do not sterilize equipment. However, consistent and thorough cleaning of injection equipment with disinfectants such as bleach can reduce transmission of HIV if equipment is shared.

Getting Tested. It Ain’t That Bad. by Chris Hayes This week’s issue wraps up our month long coverage for STD Testing Month, which conveniently coincides with Art for Life. What a coincidence, no? With that then, it was only fitting the last sexually transmitted disease we covered was HIV/AIDS. Though we have encouraged you to get tested all April, we have never really talked about the actual testing procedure itself. Embarrassing, awkward, inconvenient and just not fun, getting tested for STDs is about annoying as getting your car towed (don’t park on High St between 7a-9a – just saying), but it is vitally important. I went to get tested at one of our community’s best options for finding out your HIV status and diagnosing what’s that weird rash is down there?: Columbus Public Health. Columbus Public Health (formerly known as Columbus Health Department), is a great resource to help you live sexually responsible and healthy. The Sexual Health Clinic currently offers STD exams, tests, and treatment for STDs such as HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, trichomoniasis, and genital warts. It has an on-site lab that provides clients with some of their test results while they wait, allowing for same-day treatment. The clinic staff provides information about STDs and ways to prevent infections and can link clients to other community resources such as medical follow-up, social services, and crisis intervention. Confidential and anonymous testing for HIV infection are offered at the clinic. Confidential means that you must provide your name prior to testing and results will be part of your medical chart. If you need a copy of your results the test has to be done this way and you must have an ID. Anonymous testing means that the person testing is identified only by a number, not by name, and there will be no record of test results. For anyone testing positive for HIV, the clinic also offers licensed HIV Early Intervention Case Managers who provide support, counseling, and HIV education. Referrals can be made for services such as medical care, support groups, counselors, and legal and financial aid. They also assist in Partner Notification, which involves the notification of sex partners

who have been exposed to syphilis or HIV and will, by law, keep the client’s identity anonymous. CHD was traditionally not known for its, shall we say, grace in the handling of their STD patients. If you ever had to wait all day for a screening and then were badgered about your sexual health choices, you know what I’m talking about. Well, I found out first hand that with a new name has come a new attitude at the Sexual Health clinic. It was a refreshing change. In the old days, the rigmarole was exhaustingly long. You would have to arrive between 6:30a – 7a to get a number to try and get in for the day. Because wait times were unpredictable and long, most people had to take the full day off of work. With an average daily caseload of 50-70 people, getting there late often meant you couldn’t be seen. If you were in the lucky 50 and eventually got to be seen, many times the staff were unfriendly and condescending when engaging you about why you were there. Now however, they have a new system and a new attitude, both are much more patient friendly. CPH created a new walkin appointment system where patients still come in early, grab a number, fill out your paperwork, but now are assigned an appointment time so they don’t have to sit and wait. Now you can go to work, stay home with the kids, do what you have to do and not waste your day sitting there. Though they still work on walk-in only basis (no appointments can be made ahead of time) this is a huge improvement. I arrived around 7:30a and received an appointment time of 8a, pretty quick. Sitting there waiting then for your appointment is an interesting experience in itself. Maybe because we stigmatize sex in this country so much or hold too high an expectation against the reality of people’s sexual responsibility, but sitting in that room, it’s hard not to feel a little guilty and embarrassed. Stuff like I’m a bad person; I got an STD. I should have known better. Maybe it’s nothing. Why didn’t I act more responsibly? I can’t believe he didn’t tell me. I’m never having sex again runs through your head. Well, that is, until you realize everyone else (people from all

walks of life mind you) are there for the same reason. Then it’s kind of like detention and it doesn’t feel so bad. [Enter the theme from the Breakfast Club here.] The clinic typically fills its appoint roster by 10a for the day. Wednesday is a short, 3-hour day for the clinic and reaches its limit much quicker. It really depends on the man/women ratio on how many people they can see. Men get a 20minute appointment time and women get 40-minute time, as they have more “stuff” to check out. A little past 8, I was taken back with a clinician to a private room where we went over why I was there and reviewed the questions I had answered in the lobby. She was both pleasant and respectful. We then started the tests. I wanted the whole panel, so I had to give blood to test for HIV and syphilis, I had to give a urine sample (men, don’t pee two hours before you go in), and - the worst part- endure a the urethral swab which feels like a pin being stuck in there. It’s quick but unpleasant. While I was waiting for some of my test results, I got to talk to the new Medical Director for the clinic, Jennifer Gwilym. Spunky, and smart, her demeanor and passion for her work is definitely a factor in the pleasant turnaround of the clinic. Ten minutes later, I had half my results with assurances that the rest would be ready in a week. I was out of there by 8:45a and off to work. If you haven’t been tested lately, I highly recommend the CPH for your check up.

Now go get tested! It’s easy. Either of these agency can help you out. Columbus Public Health 240 Parsons Ave Columbus, OH 43215 (614) 645-7417 www.publichealth.columbus.gov Sexual Health Clinic hours: Monday 7:15am-3:30pm Tuesday 10:45am-7:00pm Wednesday 7:15am-10:30am Thursday 7:15am-3:30pm Friday 7:15am-3:30pm

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DEEP INSIDE HOLLYWOOD by Romeo San Vicente

NATALIE PORTMAN HITS NEW HEIGHTS

ALAN CUMMING TRIES ON HITLER’S JACKBOOTS

GAY MUSLIMS COME TO SUNDANCE CHANNEL

KARL LAGERFELD CRASHES GRAND THEFT AUTO

When you’re young, talented, acclaimed, and part of the Hollywood A-list (aka “being Natalie Portman”), you can walk straight from a critically panned, box-office-underperforming period drama like The Other Boleyn Girl right into the waiting arms of another period drama - in this case, a new version of Wuthering Heights - without anyone batting an eye. And that’s just what Portman has done. Although the 1939 version is seen by cinephiles as the most definitive adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy by Emily Bronte, gay director John Maybury (Love Is the Devil) will helm this modern remake. No word yet on who’ll play doomed Heathcliff to her dead Cathy, nor is a start-date set. Whether or not it starts a Jane Austen-sized spike in popularity for the Bronte sisters remains to be seen.

Inspiration can come from unlikely sources. Take Team America: World Police. The all-marionette, all-profane action comedy from the creators of South Park - which was itself inspired by 1960s marionette-centric TV shows like Thunderbirds was not only a box-office hit, but it spawned something of an imitator: an all-action-figure comedy called Jackboots on Whitehall, from brothers Edward and Rory McHenry. The feature, which imagines Hitler invading the United Kingdom and being beaten by Scotland, is coming to a multiplex near you with an all-star voice cast, including Alan Cumming as the Fuhrer (thus reopening the whole “was Hitler gay” controversy, but for laughs). Joining the very busy bi Scot will be Ewan McGregor, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Timothy Spall, Tom Wilkinson, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show‘s Richard O’Brien. No release date is set, but count on a UK opening before it crosses the big pond to America.

Besides kick-starting Pride celebrations that last throughout the remainder of the year, June is also a month of special queer programming on cable’s Sundance Channel. This year sees U.S. TV premieres for several outstanding, provocative documentaries. Airing during the month:Gay Muslims, a self-explanatory title that explores the struggles of being gay in what many see as the most queer-unfriendly religion of all; Ten More Good Years, which details the experiences of a group of gay senior citizens; Stefan Braun, a fascinating look at a gay Israeli furrier in the 1950s; and Jam!, the crowd-pleasing oddball story of an HIV+ man who sank his life savings into resurrecting a roller-derby league for retired stars of the game. Now you have four good reasons to stay home and enjoy the air conditioning.

Karl Lagerfeld, everyone’s favorite outlandishly pony-tailed, high-collared, Posh Spice-adjacent, French fashion designer, has found time to step away from his Chanel kingdom for a new project: becoming a character on the next installment of the notoriously violent video game Grand Theft Auto. The white-maned man of many rings on many fingers will not only be a character in the game, but he’s curated a playlist of some of his favorite new music (players can pick from multiple radio stations in the game as their personal soundrack), as well as recorded a decidedly politically incorrect voice track featuring his own commentary. The game should be the same huge hit its predecessors have been. As for release dates, so far maybe only Karl himself knows.

Romeo San Vicente wonders how Karl Lagerfeld deals with airport security metal detectors. Romeo can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.

ARTS By Molly Harris

Balletmet Presents Shakespeare’s Classic Romeo & Juliet The classic story of Romeo and Juliet has been adapted and modified countless times. A simple Google search will display thousands of website hits and more than enough adaptations to entertain a person for hours. With critical commentary regarding the span of literary influences, the hype surrounding Shakespeare’s famous play is infinite. Tonight, BalletMet Columbus joins the ranks once again as it closes its 30th anniversary season with David Nixon’s exquisite full-length ballet story of the two young lovers. Sergei Prokfiev composed Romeo and Juliet in Russia in the early 1930s. This version is perhaps the most well known story ballet still performed to this day. Former artistic director Nixon returned to Columbus to restage his production, set to Prokofiev’s famous score, which the Company last performed in 2002. This season, Company dancers have worked with mime artist Gregg Goldston and fight choreographer Phil Wilson to enhance the choreography of the dramatic tale. Audiences may enjoy a variety of free extras at the theatre, including a Shakespeare discussion, poetry reading, and a photo gallery celebrating BalletMet’s 30-year history. For more information, visit www.balletmet.org. While BalletMet’s production is true to the original play, there have been multitudes of unMAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

usual operas, films, and even cartoons that have taken artistic liberties with the story. Widely admired and the winner of ten Oscars, the musical adaptation West Side Story (1961) was instrumental in making Shakespeare a presence in modern popular and youth culture. Among the unique and strange variations of Shakespeare’s play is a Canadian film called Romie-O and Julie-8 (1979). It was a made-fortelevision movie in which the two leads are depicted as robots that fall in love. In addition, Disney’s High School Musical (2006) has been called a loose interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, placing the two young lovers in rival high school cliques rather than feuding families. The Sea Prince and the Fire Child is an anime version made in Japan in 1981, and Tromeo and Juliet (1996) is called a trash adaptation. Romeo Must Die is a martial arts film that uses the plot to introduce Jet Li to an American audience. Baz Luhrman’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet successfully targeted the MTV generation and currently holds the record for the highestgrossing Shakespeare film of all time. BalletMet is sure to offer an exclusive, action-packed adaptation true to Shakespeare’s brilliant story with the very best of drama and dance in this weekend’s production of Romeo and Juliet. We hope to see you at the theatre.

Purchase tickets through the BalletMet Box Office 614.229.4848, www.balletmet.org, CAPA 614.469.0939 or Ticketmaster 614.431.3600. Molly Harris is Marketing and Communications Intern for BalletMet a member organization of the Columbus Arts Marketing Association. For more information, visit www.camaonline.org.

BalletMet’s Romeo and Juliet runs May 1-4 at the Ohio Theatre, 39 East State Street. Showtimes are as follows: Thurs., May 1, 7:30pm Fri., May 2, 8pm Sat., May 3, 8pm Sun., May 4, 2pm Tickets: $18.50-$64.50 MetPass Member Tickets: $15.75-$26.50

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ARTS

Hop Celebrates the Spirit of Women

Gallery Hop: Saturday, May 3

KATHRYN GALLERY

TERRA GALLERY Art Exchange, LTD, The 17 E Brickel St / 614.464.4611 Exhibit Title: Female: Celebrating Women Artists Artist(s): Featuring work of Philip Josephs, Dan Miller, Gary Bowling, Ric Snead, Peter Beckmann and more. Art Media: Painting, Sculpture and Works on Paper About the Exhibit: This May AE celebrate the work of several regional and national female artists. Enjoy vivid landscapes and bold abstracts, while learning more about the women behind them. Part of the proceeds during May will go to Breast Cancer Awareness.

ART EXCHANGE, LTD

Philip Miele Law Offices

WEXNER CENTER

With Mother’s Day, the Race for the Cure and numerous other highlights occurring in May, what better time to salute the creative, pioneering influence of women in the Short North and Columbus.? The May Gallery Hop kicks off “Hot Mamas”… a monthlong celebration of women. The Gallery Hop will host not-for-profit women’s organizations throughout the district to share information with the thousands of

LINDSAY GALLERY Lindsay Gallery 986 N High St / 614.291.1973 Exhibit Title: Drawings By Morris Jackson Artist(s): Morris Jackson Art Media: ink and colored pencil on paper Artist Reception: Sunday, May 04 About the Exhibit: A tiny world so detailed it has to be seen by this self-taught artist from Columbus.

Mahan Gallery 717 N High St / 614.294.3278 www.mahangallery.com Exhibit Title: the world with us. The world without us. Artist(s): Eileen Behnke, Leon Benn Echoes Art & Antiques Art Media: Paintings 24 East Lincoln St / 614.291.9101 Artist Reception: Saturday, May 3 Exhibit Title: Smoky Brown About the Exhibit: The show highArtist(s): Grandpa Smoky Brown lights the work of RISD Alumni: Art Media: Acrylic on Board Eileen Behnke and Leon Benn, About the Exhibit: Collection of 11 whose works deal with landscape original paintings from private col- and the relationship between hulections - all for sale. His pieces mankind and nature. have been favorites at the last three Art For Life events affiliated Marcia Evans Gallery with the Columbus Museum of Art. 8 East Lincoln St. / 614.298.8847 Exhibit Title: Spring Show Global Gallery Artist(s): Shawn Morin & Scott 682 N High St / 614.621.1744 Smith Exhibit Title: From Around The Art Media: Stone & Bronze SculpWorld ture and Assemblies & Prints Artist(s): Various About the Exhibit: Shawn’s cast Art Media: Various bronze & steel, granite, marble, About the Exhibit: Hand-crafted wood & glass sculpture. Scott’s Asgoods from around the world semblies with wood & metal & silkscreen etched prints. Kathryn Gallery 642 N. High Street / 614.222.6801 Ohio Art League kathryngallery.com 954 N High St / 614.299.8225 Artist(s): Starlie Sokol-Hohne Exhibit Title: Saints, Sinners, Kings Art Media: Mixed Media and Criminals About the Exhibit: Combining im- Artist(s): Ron Arps, Brad Bailey, ages of Antiquity with contempoand Dan Gerdeman rary mixed media printmaking Art Media: Graphite techniques, Starlie creates visually Artist Reception: Friday, May 2 interesting images. Starlie’s work About the Exhibit: This exhibition is is both on paper and on canvas. a personal reflection and statement concerning the ego-centric

Hop visitors. Throughout the month, the district will spotlight women owned businesses, the “First Ladies of the Short North” (the pioneers who were instrumental to the Short North’s resurgence), and the art, fashion, foods and products of the district’s bounty of female artisans. Following is a preview of what’s on tap for May.

ROY G BIV GALLERY modern American and the world in which they live. The walls will be festooned with universal references to celebrity, royalty, politics and our consumer society. Arps, Bailey and Gerdeman will fuse irony and absurdity with thoughtfulness and hope. Despair and complacency will be dealt with laughter and a call to action. In this show, “Truth” will become a weapon.

About the Exhibit: Sid’s works explore politics, portraiture, the university community and personal biography. They are shaped by political events that define our culture and determine our survival.

pm gallery 726 N High St / 614.299.0860 pmgallery.com Exhibit Title: Hear Us Roar Artist(s): Gallery Artists Art Media: pottery, glass, etchings About the Exhibit: Featuring work from women artists that we represent including Susan Sturgill, Rina Fehrensen, Ruth Apter, Manya Goldstein, Joyce Furney, Sarena Mann, Dana Majors,

Terra Gallery 8 E Poplar Ave / 614.228.4188 www.terra.gallery.com Exhibit Title: Nature in Balance: New Works by Chris James Artist(s): Chris James Art Media: Various About the Exhibit: In this exhibit, Chris studies birds through oil and acrylic painting as well as mixed media.

Take 2 Apparel 668 N. High Street / 614.299.9820 Exhibit Title: Hollywood Legends Artist(s): Various Art Media: Black & White and Color Photographs Philip Miele Law Offices About the Exhibit: Take a trip back 815 N High St, basement suite FF / in time with Take 2 Apparel! Pre614.299.2940 sented in both Black & White and Exhibit Title: I’m Not the Architect color photographs, your favorite Artist(s): Robert Trautman icons from the past century are Art Media: Paintings displayed throughout the store as About the Exhibit: Architectural adap- part of Take 2 Apparel’s homage to tations from photos to paintings. the entertainment industry.

Roy G Biv Gallery 997 N High St / 614.297.7694 Artist(s): Jodi Boatman and Melissa Vertosick Art Media: Photography and sculpture Artist Reception: Saturday, May 3 About the Exhibit: Photography by Jodi Boatman and Sculpture by Melissa Vertosick Sherrie Gallerie 694 N High St / 614.221.8580 www.sherriegallerie.com Artist(s): Sid Chafetz Art Media: Prints and lithographs Artist Reception: Sunday, May 4

Waldo’s On High Hair Salon 755 N. High St. / 614.294.2887 www.waldosonhigh.com Exhibit Title: Not So Simple Artist(s): Brian Hawkins Art Media: Abstract Acrylic Paintings About the Exhibit: A collection of abstract acrylic paintings that have been created simply by the visions that surround the artists world. There is no direct inspiration for this collection and in the words of the artist, “it just is.”

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28 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

SAVAGE LOVE by Dan Savage

I am a young, straight male - but I have this obsession with male-on-male dino-dragon porn. I don’t get it. I’M SUPPOSED TO BE STRAIGHT! Am I psychotic or what? Dino Really Are Gonna Overtake Now You’re not psychotic, DRAGON, just pathetic. I don’t mean pathetic in the “laughable or contemptible” sense of the word, DRAGON, I mean it in the pitiable sense. You’re one those poor unfortunate souls saddled with an unrealizable sexual fantasy. Beat off to dino-dragon porn as much as you care to - and you clearly care to - but, like a man with a giantess fetish or some dude into boytaurs, you will never meet the object of your peculiar affections in the flesh, scales, and tails. Well, not for at least 50 years or so. In his newish book Love and Sex with Robots, author David Levy predicts that in five decades or so, people are going to be fucking and falling in love with humanoid sex robots. Levy believes that some people are going to have a problem with the humanoid fuckbots in our future. I disagree. People aren’t going to have a problem with dudes fucking and/or marrying humanoid robots. It’s dudes like DRAGON, here - men and women fucking and/or married to dino-dragon robots, robot centaurs, 50-foot-tall female robots, and, it pains me to say, kid robots - who are going to freak people the fuck out. Let me just say this: There’s going to be a lot more to fuckbots than Levy imagines in his philosophy. While Levy foresees fuckbots that can be programmed with voices, eye colors, or “particular personality traits” that their owners/mates find sexy, I foresee a future in which every last unrealizable fetish or fantasy is suddenly within the grasp of all - well, not all. The first few generations of fuckbots will most likely be available only to the superwealthy and/or those willing to spend a small fortune on a visit to a robot brothel. But the coming of fuckbots is going to make fantasies that are currently unrealizable for reasons of biology, logistics, or morality suddenly very, very realizable. Including yours, DRAGON, if you should be lucky enough to live so long. As for your supposed-to-be-straightness… I’ve got a file full of letters from supposedto-be-straight guys - guys with wives and girlfriends and a passion for pussy - angsting at me about their urge to suck a little cock now and then. Many of these guys prefer to suck cock that isn’t attached to anything recognizably male - e.g., shemales, transvestites, MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

American Idol contestants, et al. - because it somehow makes their gay desires less troubling, less destabilizing, less, you know, gay. Your passion for male-on-male dino-dragon porn, DRAGON, may be motivated by the same subconscious impulse. You don’t want to let go of your supposed straightness but you’re actually turned on by “the cock,” as the kids like to say. And by seeking out porn that features nonhuman males, you don’t have to confront your hunger, however mild, for cock. I’m a straight woman and I’ve been with my boyfriend for four years. The sex is great, but we recently began to experiment with anal. He enjoys it, he takes his time and warms/lubes me up, but it is still painful. I don’t let on because I know how much he gets off. Any tips for a beginner? Silently Whimpering Smoke pot, SW. Don’t break any laws, of course, but if you’re using lots of lube, if he’s going very, very, very slowly at the start, and if you’ve read Tristan Taormino’s The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women (twice), you might want to smoke a little bit of pot - just a little bit - before you give it another go. And pot or no pot, SW, you MUST tell your boyfriend that, whatever he’s doing back there, it’s not working for you. THAT’S AN ORDER. Read or reread Taormino’s book, and then try some other positions, more or different lube, longer warm-up sessions, anal-play sessions without any expectations of penetration, and, of course, a consciousness-raising session that involves you doing the boyfriend’s ass with a dildo that’s roughly the same size as his dick. I’ve been reading your column for a few months, Dan, and I’m wondering a few things. What are your academic credentials (if any) that qualify you as some kind of sexpert? I suspect you have none. Are you a guy or a girl? Judging by the bias of your answers, my guess is that you’re a woman. Are you straight, gay, or bi? Single, married, or divorced? I’m sure your readers would love to know the answers to all of these questions. However, I suspect you haven’t got the balls to print this letter.

Look up “advice” in the dictionary, CTS, and it says, “opinion about what could or should be done.” The only qualification you need to offer someone your opinion, of course, is having been asked for it. As my mail comes addressed to me, I am uniquely qualified to offer advice in this space. Look my ass up on Google, CTS, and it says that I’m a fag. I’ve been with the same guy for 13-plus years, we’re husbands in Canada, boyfriends in the United States, and our young son’s loving parents wherever the fuck we go. I have never claimed to be a “sexpert,” whatever that is, and while I do not doubt that the Playboy Advisor is a better man than I in every respect, the volume of mail I get prevents me from answering everyone personally. I am a 23-year-old female whose boyfriend has a piss fetish. By this I mean that he enjoys it when I urinate into his mouth. While this is not something I find erotic, I have no issue with indulging him. My only problem with it is that I don’t like to kiss him afterward because of the taste. I can’t stand it. Is there a tactful way to ask him to brush his teeth afterward without COMPLETELY ruining the mood? Thank you very much for your help. Embarrassed Non-Urine Fan Seeing as there’s no tactful way to ask someone to piss in your mouth, ENUF, you’re under no obligation to be tactful about asking your boyfriend to brush his damn teeth. Saying, “Go brush your damn teeth, piss-boy, and you better be back here before I decide to eat asparagus at every meal for the rest of my fucking life,” in a low and sexy voice should not only do the trick, it will ensure that his dick is still hard when he gets back.

Chaz The Spaz

Hey, everybody: Thank you so much for all the thoughtful condolence e-mails after the death of my mother. Your good wishes, to say nothing of the many pictures of your boyfriends’ butts, lifted my spirits. My tickets to the Friday night performance of The Drowsy Chaperone in Chicago - they were supposed to be mother’s birthday present - wound up going to a lovely and very deserving mom. And I got to see the show, too - thanks to Ted at Broadway in Chicago - at Sunday’s matinee.

P.S.: The Playboy Advisor replies to ALL questions submitted (even those he doesn’t print). Do you?

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

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 29

PUCKER UP by Tristan Taormino

The Princess and the Submissive A new documentary short delves into the world of two bondage models “I grew up in a Silence of the Lambs culture, a culture where rape and killing women are very common themes for movies and TV shows. Society isn’t afraid of sex and violence; they are afraid of women owning their own bodies and controlling their own sexuality—which is what happens in BDSM.” So says Princess Donna, head twat-torturer/Web mistress of WiredPussy.com and a popular fixture in the Kink.com network of BDSM websites. She offers her observation in a new short film called Tale of Two Bondage Models, directed by Brian Lilla (LillaFilms.com) and currently screening at the Tribeca Film Festival (held from April 23 to May 4, tribecafilmfestival.org). The short features Donna, most often a domme in her scenes, and Lorelei Lee, who more frequently takes the bottom or submissive role; the women are close friends and have worked together for several years. Although Kink.com isn’t explicitly named in the film, the most successful BDSM porn company on the Web acts as a silent backdrop to the narrative. Donna is a full-time employee; Lilla is the former editor of its behind-the-scenes site, BehindKink.com; and Lorelei is a frequent performer on several of its sites. On one level, like his work for BehindKink, Lilla’s film serves as a peek behind the curtain of the multimillion-dollar juggernaut of Kink.com. “Because there’s so much taboo and stigma surrounding the culture of bondage and BDSM pornography, I dove headfirst when I was given the opportunity to document it,” he says. “Immediately, I was blown away by how caring, professional, and creative the people both in front of and behind the cameras were. On one hand, I was navigating this completely foreign place with the world’s leading dominatrices, bondage riggers, and models pushing the boundaries of sexual exploration. On the other hand, I was questioned by family and friends about why I would support such a destructive industry and unsafe sexual behavior. It was hard to explain to my mom how I spent the day documenting an abduction scenario.” But Lilla does more than explain or demystify: His film is incredibly personal, exploring the lives of two women whose sexual identities and desires are intertwined with what they do for a living. Although Kink.com is clearly a commercial enterprise, Donna and Lorelei’s revelations illustrate that they are getting a lot more from their experiences than just a paycheck—the website seems to have given them an opportunity for self-exploration beyond anything the average Google employee experiences. Of the two, Lorelei reveals herself the most in the film. She describes her entry into the world of BDSM as a performer (“I knew nothing”), her unexpected desire to explore bondage and pain after her first scene, and the therapeutic value that BDSM has had for her. Her self-assured responses are juxtaposed with images of her enduring difficult suspension bondage and intense beatings. The look on her face as she processes the sensations, from discomfort to torture, is nothing short of luminous. (Perhaps the fact that Lilla shot her on a broadcast-quality high-definition camera using 35mm lenses also

helps—the cinematography throughout is gorgeous.) Donna also has some incredibly smart, articulate things to say (she was, after all, a women’s-studies major at NYU), and she’s thought a lot about what she does. Yet she still left me wanting to know more about what she gets out of her role as a dominant and sadist, besides helping people explore their limits. She remains more mysterious than Lorelei to the end—it might be a conscious choice on her part, a reflection of Lilla’s editing, or some combination of both. But it acts as an interesting parallel to the power dynamics and personae that the two women embody: the slightly distant dominatrix alongside the submissive who bares it all. Both women make it clear that they’re in control of what happens to them and can use their safewords at any time. I get the concept: During a scene, when you want it to stop, you use your safe-word. But their mention of this basic tenet of BDSM raises a thorny issue about when kink and sex work collide: When you’re being paid to do a scene, is it harder to set personal limits because the expectation is that certain things will happen? Lorelei told me it’s not: “Actually, it’s the opposite—I’m much more likely to push my limits when I’m personally and emotionally invested in a scene, because I have a relationship with the person who’s topping me. The intensity of doing BDSM within the context of a romantic relationship is much more likely to make me feel emotionally vulnerable in such a way that I might come to a place of totally letting go of control. At work, the intensity isn’t the same.” But what about Donna, whom she describes as one of her best friends, but with whom she doesn’t play off-camera? “Sometimes, of course, there is overlap. I do often work with people who I also have a personal relationship with. Then, I think the dynamic of our relationship becomes part of scenes that we do for work, in which case I’m likely to push myself to endure more. There have also been times when I’ve looked to test my limits and push myself for my own reasons, and I happened to be in a situation where the best place for me to do that was in a scene that I was getting paid for—but the money was not the motivating factor.” Lilla was blown away when the film got into the Tribeca Film Festival: “It’s been rejected by a lot of festivals who feel the content is too graphic.” In mainstream terms, some of the BDSM images in Tale of Two Bondage Models are pretty hardcore (caning on the bottom of the feet, anyone?)—but if you can see beyond the smacks, you’ll find a smart, thoughtful window into two kinky women’s worlds. “When my mother attempted to watch it, she told me to turn it off after the first two minutes,” says Lilla. “The conversation afterward lasted three hours. Success for me is when the film instigates dialogue. I want people to walk away with their head full of questions.” For more of Tristan Taormino’s work, please visit Puckerup.com.

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

30 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

ABOUT TOWN MADLAB ANNOUNCES THE 9TH ANNUAL

THEATRE ROULETTE 2008 MadLab presents the ninth annual Theatre Roulette 2008 A Festival of New Plays. Theatre Roulette is the annual festival of new works MadLab produces and promotes each spring. Based upon a model developed in 2000, Roulette consists of three nights of distinct programming that feature original work by playwrights, directors, technical crew, and actors. Script submission for this year’s festival was completed in December 2007 and the final choices were juried and announced later that month. From an amazing 999 submissions in this, Roulette’s 9th year, MadLab ultimately selected 9 works from 9 different writers in 6 different states including 2 from Ohio. After auditions, 18 actors will take on 28 roles. Two actors will be appearing on MadLab’s stage for the first time, while 16 returning actors have accepted roles. For 6 actors, this will be their first Roulette. 11 of MadLab’s 26 Ensemble members accepted roles; many of them appear in multiple productions. Theatre Roulette offers three distinct nights of programming. Each night of programming

plays every weekend on a different night (see schedule below). Thursday Friday Saturday Thursday Friday Saturday Thursday Friday Saturday Thursday Friday Saturday Saturday Saturday

May 1 May 2 May 3 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 15 May 16 May 17 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 24 May 24

8p 8p 8p 8p 8p 8p 8p 8p 8p 8p 8p 2p 4p 8p

Schisms Shylocks Shenanigans Shenanigans Schisms Shylocks Shylocks Shenanigans Schisms Schisms Shylocks Schisms Shylocks Shenanigans

SCHISMS – Dead dogs, prostitutes, and sharks. Kinda like my old neighborhood. “Schisms” featuring Postcards From A Dead Dog by F. J. Hartland, directed by Michelle Batt This Bird by Paul North, directed by Chris Lane The Raft by Kristyn Leigh Robinson, directed by Peter Graybeal

SHYLOCKS – A TV psychic, a creepy family and a wisecracking detective. This could get a little weird. Make that a lot weird. ”Shylocks” featuring Dark North by David Skeele, directed by Andy Batt. Noir Lite by Richard Martin Hirsch, directed by Linda O’Donnell Shenanigans – What we got here is….failure to communicate. ”Shenanigans” featuring Duet for Virtual Particles by William Borden, directed by Jim Azelvandre; The Rental by Mark Harvey Levine, directed by Sarah Brunet; The Memo by Greg Vovos, directed by Ric Shoemaker; Dr. Wu Has Been Eliminated by John Busser, directed by Josh Kessler, Ric Shoemaker, David Thonnings and Stephen Woosley All performances are at MadLab (105 N Grant Ave), www.madlab.net. Ticket prices are $10-15 (sliding scale), $8 for students, and seniors, $6 for MadLab members. For reservations or questions call 614.221.5418 or email publicity@madlab.net.

HISTORY COMES ALIVE WITH ECHOES IN TIME THEATRE OHIO HISTORICAL CENTER PRESENTS PULL UP A STEP AND HAVE A CUP OF JOE

Echoes in Time Theatre at the Ohio Historical Center will be presenting “Pull Up a Step and Have a Cup of Joe” of May 1, 8, 22 and 29. The year is 1933: the stock market is down; prices are up; the housing market has gone south; and Mildred Wagoner’s husband is out

of job. Pull up a step in front of the row house apartment where Mildred lives with her husband and newly moved-in, brother-inlaw and his wife. Listen to Mildred as she drinks her coffee and catches you up on the latest news and gossip of the neighborhood. Robin Schurict of Buckeye Lake, Ohio, portrays Mildred. The 30-minute, solo performance takes place twice each evening at 7p and 8p. The performance is free with admission to

the Ohio Historical Center, which is $7/adults, $3/students and free for OHS members and children 5 years old and under. Parking is $4 for nonmembers. For more information, visit www.ohiohistory.org or call 614.297.2300 or 800.686.6124. The Ohio Historical Center is located on I-71 and 17th Avenue. It is one of 59 historic museums and sites operated by the Ohio Historical Society, a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology and natural history.

COLUMBUS NEXT MEETING: MAY 14, 6P-8P; LOCATION: BOMA - 583 E BROAD ST; SPEAKER: KELLY AUSTIN, SANDLER SALES INST. WWW.NETWORKCOLUMBUS.COM

MAY 01 - MAY 07 2008

fin

THE LAST WORD by Jennifer Vanasco

Lesbians are funny. Lesbians are funny. Just a few years ago, this wasn't obvious. Lesbians were stereotyped as angry and whining. In fact, lesbians were thought to take things way too seriously, to become offended by any slip of the tongue. It was dangerous to talk to lesbians, because if you said something wrong, they might choke you with their flannel shirt, or run you over with their motorcycle. Remember this joke? Q: How many lesbians does it take to change a lightbulb? A: That isn't funny. Gay men had camp. Lesbians had anger. We were the gay community's wet blanket. But now lesbians are starting to be seen in a new light. We've got Rosie (who, OK, sometimes falls into the anger category, but still - she produces the Big Gay Sketch Show.) We've got Lily Tomlin. We've got Kate Clinton, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Marga Gomex, Julie Goldman. We've even sort of got Margaret Cho, who identifies as queer and bisexual, though usually seems more like she's a gay man in drag. Best of all, we've got Ellen, who almost single handedly has helped America find lesbians to be endearingly funny.

Here's a joke from her, back when she did standup: "My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninetyseven now, and we don't know where the hell she is." See? Lesbians are funny. And not just to other lesbians. Lesbians are funny to THE ENTIRE WORLD (or at least the English-speaking, nonfundamentalist part of it. Westenhoeffer has made the point that people in the Bible Belt often will just not find lesbians funny, no matter how funny the lesbian actually is. Their morals keep them from laughing.) Why the change? Why are lesbians seen as funny now when they were seen as angry before? Well, it partly must be because of Ellen's wide audience and general folksiness. But it may also be due in part to the changing role of women. Vanity Fair's April cover story examined the reasons why women comedians are now appreciated more than ever. It used to be, they say, that women were not considered funny at all (maybe because men valued male cut-ups, but women with wit were frightening and liberated). Women as a group were thought to have no a sense of humor. But expectations for women and women's roles

are changing. As women are more accepted in every level of society, they become more accepted as comedians, too. And women are more likely to let themselves be funny, and to hone their humor. Or maybe there's an easier answer. Cable. "There are so many hours to fill, and they ran out of men, so then there were women," Nora Ephron joked to VF. But straight women have an added burden. No longer is it enough that they are funny – now they have to be sexy and glamorous as well, in order to make it big. As Vanity Fair points out, "It used to be that women were not funny. Then they couldn't be funny if they were pretty. Now a female comedian has to be pretty—even sexy—to get a laugh." Female straight comedians have to be sexy. But lesbian comedians? Lesbian comedians have a pass. They can be attractive – Ellen certainly is – but they don't have to take the stage in stilettos and a cocktail dress. Audiences understand that lesbians aren't out to attract men, so they're not held to the same high beauty standards as straight women comedians. Lesbians are outsiders, so they are expected to poke sharp fun at political figures and "regular" people. They are expected to have a quirky, non-

mainstream, even shocking perspective. And they are more free to have the range of physical attractiveness that men have. When's the last time that a male comedian was expected to be handsome? Lesbian comedians are lucky that way. They don't have to be sexually seductive in order to seduce the audience into laughing. Instead, they can be more like Lucille Ball, emphasizing the comical over their cup size. The fact that lesbians are becoming more accepted as funny is lucky for the gay community, too. Laughter is a great way to win people over. It's how outsiders have insinuated themselves into the mainstream from time immemorial. Someday, our funny women might help us laugh all the way to our full civil rights. Want to see how funny? Well Kate Clinton will be in town to benefit the Equality Ohio Education Fund May 13 at the beautiful historic Southern Theatre. See www,equalityohio.org for more info. Jennifer Vanasco is an award-winning, syndicated columnist. Email her at jennifer.vanasco@gmail.com. She edits the gay political blog VisibleVote08.com.

HOROSCOPES by Jack Fertig

ARIES (Mar 20 - Apr19): Worrying about money really doesn’t help. You need to explore new possibilities and make some changes. Keep a calm, cool head, remaining open to new ideas and still critical enough to avoid flaky risks.

CANCER (Jun 21 - Jul 22): Social obligations and efforts may take more out of you than you expected, in terms of both money and personal commitment. Gauge your energy and finances carefully. Party smarter, not harder!

LIBRA (Sep 23 - Oct 22): Sexual experimentation can be spiritually liberating, or just plain exciting. Some of your friends may disapprove of your new avenues of exploration. Could they be right? Think ahead, and be careful!

CAPRICORN (Dec 21 - Janu 19): A little wicked play is good for the soul. Go ahead and indulge. Exploring secret desires is good, but how many of your secrets do you want to have revealed? Be careful of whom you can trust!

TAURUS (Apr 20 - May 20): A sudden burst of energy could go into erotic adventurism that by itself offers dubious satisfaction. What you need is some domestic or community connection, either affirming one strong sexual partnership, or a sense of home in your own queer community.

LEO (Jul 23 - Aug 22): You may feel threatened by rumors, but any direct response only makes them worse. Make light of them, and try to see what you might be doing inadvertently to feed them. Even without that spur, some humble self-scrutiny can prove helpful!

SCORPIO (Oct 23 - Nov 21): You’re at a major career peak. Your partner or a close colleague has ideas about how to maximize it. If you find those ideas unpalatable or too challenging, at least use them as a starting point to develop your own strategies.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 - Feb 18): Arguments at home seem to just go around in tight, painful circles. Think ahead, take the long view, and reconsider your hopes. Asking a friend to mediate can be very helpful.

GEMINI (May 21 - Jun 20): Some adjustments are necessary to your partnership - or your search for one, if indeed you’re searching. Time out with a trusted friend can help clarify your issues. A friend could even help out in negotiating tough problems with your partner or another opponent.

VIRGO (Aug 23 - Sep 22): Arguments may be a distraction from what’s really bothering you, or a path to find that out. Remember that _good_ arguments are about getting to the truth, not about who’s right. Traditional “wisdom” may need some tweaking, but can prove an important key.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 - Dec 20): Get past all those excuses, and make the necessary adjustments to your schedule so you can get the exercise you need! Burning off some energy will be good for mind and body, helping to keep you out of arguments at work.

PISCES (Feb 19 - Mar 19): Your mouth can get too far ahead of your brain. Be careful with that. The line between wit and sass is hard to remember. Focus your busy brain on your work. Don’t say anything to bosses until you are certainit will help!

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.