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28 O 3N 1 OL •V
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02 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY OWNERS AND PUBLISHERS Michael Daniels & Chris Hayes EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / ART DIRECTOR Chris Hayes hayes@outlookmedia.com
SNAPSHOT
Mary Ann Brandt's annual holiday show was a smash hit as usual, with devoted Mabsy fans braving the chilly weather to enjoy some Xmas sass. Mary Ann is a community treasure, and her treasure chest is as firm and perky as ever! Photos by Chris Hayes
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR / PHOTOS Robert Trautman traut@outlookmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Adam Leddy aleddy@outlookmedia.com COVER IMAGE: DANIEL NICOLETTA CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jennifer Vanasco, Regina Sewell, Leslie Robinson, Gregg Shapiro, Mick Weems, Romeo San Vicente, Jack Fertig, Simon Sheppard, Dan Savage, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Marcus Morris
SEXY JAWLINES
11 SHORT OF A RUGBY TEAM
SO HAPPY TOGETHER
1 SHORT OF AN ORGY
LOOKS LIKE A HEADLOCK
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PUT THE CUE-BALL BACK ON THE TABLE
PINCH HIS CHEEKS
JAYBIRD, U TURNING STR8 ON US?
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009 VOLUME 13 NUMBER 28
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
KISS, KISS, KISS!
SNAPSHOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 ABOUT TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 LETTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 COMMUNITY CORNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 POLI SCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 TRANSNATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 INSIGHT OUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 OUT BUSINESS NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 EARTH TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 FEATURE: BLACK AND PROUD . . . . . . . .16-18 DEEP INSIDE HOLLYWOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 DVDIVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 INTERVIEW: MICHAEL WALKER . . . . . . . . . .24 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 SEX TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 SAVAGE LOVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 THE LAST WORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 SCOPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 NEXT WEEK: WINTER GETAWAYS!
OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 03
ABOUT TOWN THURSDAY, JANUARY 15 GET YOUR WHISTLE NICE AND WET LinkOUT Thirsty Third Thursdays @ The Wexner Center for the Arts, 1871 N High St, http://linkoutcolumbus.com: Young professional? GLBT or ally? Thirsty? Enjoy a cash bar and free admission to Andy Warhol: Other Voices, Other Rooms. 6p; free. SEXY NEVER LEFT ME, BABY Bringin’ Sexy Back @ Shadowbox Cabaret, Easton Towne Center, 614.416.7625, shadowboxcabaret.com: Shadowbox redefines sex appeal with outrageous original comedy sketches and raucous rock ‘n’ roll dedicated to America’s favorite pastime. Thru March 21. Thur 7:30p, Fri-Sat 7:30p & 10:30p; $20-$30. GIVE THE LOCALS SOME LOVE Shenanigal Debauchery and Civic Pride @ MadLab Theatre, 105 N Grant Ave, 614.221.5418, publicity@madlab.net: Shenanigans Playhouse Productions presents three one-act plays from local playwrights. Thru Jan 17. Thu-Sat 8p, Sun 2p; $12.
by Adam Leddy SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 L-AST CHANCE TO SEE PAM GRIER KISS GIRLS The L Word Final Season Premiere @ Liquid, 1100 N High St, 614.298.3000, http://www.hrc.org/lword: HRC, Showtime, and Liquid present another season of the venerable series. Arrive early because this is a big deal every year. 4:30p-8p; $5-$25. WILL JASON TAYLOR BE THERE? SHIRTLESS/PANTSLESS? Dancing with the Stars Tour @ Nationwide Arena, Nationwide Arena, 200 W Nationwide Blvd, 614.246.2000, www.ticketmaster.com: ABC’s #1-rated reality competition program comes to Columbus. 7:30p; $51.50-$195. PERFECT FOR GRAY DAYS Colorful Artwork @ Studios on High Gallery, 686 N High St, 614.461.6487, www.studiosonhigh.com: Marty Husted and Jeanie Auseon engage viewers through the use of color in their diverse, playful, and bold creations. Mon-Sat 12p-6p, Sun 1p-5p; free.
MONDAY, JANUARY 19 HERE’S TO MLK FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 Dr. King March & Celebration @ City Hall, AN ESCAPE YOU CAN AFFORD Broad & Front, 614.645.1993: This year we AAA Great Vacation Expo @ Veterans Memo- show how the words of Dr. King are an ongoing rial, 300 W Broad St, 614.221.4341, www.AAA- inspiration to everyone. 4:45p; free. greatvacations.com: Favorite travel destinations will come alive with interactive BLAZIN’ BUFFET events and experiences that will be as enterHot Food Happy Hour @ Blazers Pub, 1205 N taining as they are helpful and educational. High St, 614.299.1800, rascalnut.com/blazers: Attractions include Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Free hot food buffet, $2 domestic beers. 5p-8p; Foods, SpongeBob for the kids, and an exhibi- no cover. tion on green travel. Fri 2p-8p, Sat 10a-8p, Sun 11a-4p; $4-$8 (children under 12 free). TUESDAY, JANUARY 20 FINGER MY KEYS HAHA, HOHO, AND SO FORTH Tuesday Night Jams with James @ James Laughing Wild @ Club Diversity, 863 S High Club 88, 55 W Long St, 614.223.1213, St, 614.244.4050, www.clubdiversity.com: The www.jamesclub88.com: James tickles the keys Little Big Theatre Company’s inaugural protil they moan. Come out to hear your favorites. duction is Christopher Durang’s comedy about 8:30p; no cover. shared experience and the absurdity of life. Fri-Sat thru Jan 24. 7p; $10. HOPS & GREASE FOR CHEAP Cheap Date Night @ Slammers, 202 E Long WELCOME BACK, JESUS St, 614.221.8880, http://slammersbar.net: $4 Messiah on the Frigidaire @ Emerald City domestic beers and 11” - pardon me, want to Theatre, 6799 Dublin Center Rd, think about those 11 inches for a moment 614.470.1525, www.emeraldcityplayers.com: one-topping pizza for $12. Open 11a-12:30a. The town of Elroy, SC is in a tizzy after the image of Jesus appears on a trailer park reWEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21 frigerator. Thru Jan 31. Fri-Sat 8p, Sun 2p; THAT’S SO METRO $10-$12. Columbus Metropolitan Club Lunch Forum @ The Athletic Club of Columbus, 136 E Broad St, SATURDAY, JANUARY 17 614.464.3220, www.columbusmetroclub.org: THE KEY TO MY HEART “Tech Columbus, the Best and Brightest.” Key West Happy Hour @ Wall Street Night12p-1:15p; $17-$35. club, 144 N Wall St, 614.464.2800, www.wallstreetnightclub.com: Silent auction, prizes, Key VIRGINAL VIRGINIA PRESENTS Lime cosmos, and a chance to win a weekend Wednesdays Are A Drag @ East Village, 630 getaway to Key West. Door proceeds benefit N High St, 614.228.3546, www.columbusStonewall Columbus. 9p-10:30p; $5. Stay for nightlife.com: Virginia West and friends bring the monthly Traffic Jam party! you a weekly drag revue - no one does Hump Day like Virginia, after all. $8 Bud Light pitchPHILANTHROPY-TINIS FOR CATF ers, $5 appletinis, $7 burger & fries. 10p; no Martini Madness @ Havana, 862 N High St, cover. 614.421.9697, www.columbusnightlife.com: Havana’s tasty martinis are using their powers OPEN YOUR CHORDS AT EXILE for good. Proceeds benefit CATF. 8p-11p; no Futuristic Karaoke @ Exile, 893 N 4th St, cover. 614.299.0069, www.exilebar.com: Absolut vodka drinks for $3.50 and tunes with Karaoke Mark. Open 4p-2:30a. JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
04 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
LETTERS Leviticus Has Been Used Before to Justify Bigotry To the Editor: President-elect Obama repeatedly defends his choice of a self-righteous bigot, Rick Warren, to start off his term of office. Rick Warren and his fellow bigots love to quote the Bible to prove their bigotry is divinely inspired. How ironic that these same bigots used to quote the same book of Leviticus to “prove” that God approves of slavery (Leviticus 25:46) as they now use to “prove” that God doesn’t approve of homosexuals (Leviticus 20:13). Bob McNamara Hilliard
An Open Letter to President Barack Obama Dear President Barack Obama, Congratulations on the occasion of your inauguration. On this special day, the hopes of billions of people across our precious planet are vested in your presidency. They look to you to show practical and moral leadership in resolving the great challenges that face humanity. You have a historic opportunity to give new expression to the United State’s founding ideals of liberty, justice and equality, by defending human rights - including the human rights of LGBTI people, in the US and worldwide. There are many new policies you can initiate, at relatively little cost, which will greatly extend the realm of justice and freedom and rebuild the moral stature of the US across the globe: Propose a new UN International Human Rights Convention, enforceable worldwide and including protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, transgender identity and HIV status. Instruct the State Department to compile a Global Index of LGBTI Rights and raise abuses of
these rights in the UN and with offending states, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Uganda, Iran, Nigeria, Yemen, Jamaica, Cameroon, Lithuania, Afghanistan, Belarus and Iraq. Make US aid to homophobic countries conditional on serious progress towards their repeal of anti-gay and anti-transgender laws. Show the way by eliminating such discriminatory laws in the US, including repealing the ban on same-sex marriage and “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and enacting laws to protect LGBTI people against discrimination in employment, housing, education, advertising and the provision of goods and services. Use the network and resources of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to train LGBTI human rights defenders and support LGBTI organizations, especially in poorer developing countries. Press for the worldwide decriminalization of same-sex acts. Seek the universal abolition of capital punishment, including the execution of LGBTI people. Give a lead by ending the death penalty in the US. Withdraw diplomatic, economic and military support from tyrannical regimes like Saudi Arabia that persistently deny freedom to their own people and oppress their own citizens, on grounds such as gender, sexual orientation, transgender identity, race, nationality, religion or belief, language and so on. Recognize and support the International Criminal Court, to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including homophobic tyrants. End the US use of detention without trial, torture and extraordinary rendition, and close down Guantanamo Bay. Withdraw from Iraq and renounce the US policy of selective and unilateral military intervention to overthrow foreign dictatorships, like the Saddam Hussein regime, in favor of a policy supporting democratic and humanitarian civil society organizations within those countries, in order to empower the victims of oppression to liberate themselves. Cease propping up corrupt, pro-western, and
often homophobic, human rights abusers, such as the Ugandan and Nigerian regimes. Devise a new, more just international economic framework, where the common good, environmental protection and global equity take priority over private privilege, corporate greed and national self-interest. A fairer, sustainable, regulated and accountable international economic system is our best hope to safeguard jobs, homes, savings, public services, welfare provision, the environment and to bridge the chasm of inequality between the global north and south. Take action to save the lives of the 1.5 billion people on our planet who are malnourished and without safe, clean drinking water (of which about 150 million are LGBTI). What is the point of securing LGBTI equality if LGBTI people are left to die of starvation and disease? Lobby for a UN Convention Against War and Poverty, whereby the nations of the world, including the US, agree to cut their annual military expenditure by 10% and to divert the $100,000 million saved into a ‘Marshall Plan 2’ for the total eradication of hunger, malnutrition, dirty drinking water, poor sanitation and preventable illnesses by the year 2025. Act now to halt the single greatest threat to the future of humanity: climate chaos. It is more of a danger than terrorism and war, and threatens the survival of all species and all races, nationalities, faiths and sexualities. LGBTI freedom means nothing if we don’t have a planet where we can enjoy it. Preserving our fragile biosphere is the precondition for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - for every human being, regardless of sexual orientation. Destiny awaits you, Mr. President. The hopes of humanity are in your hands. May you rise to greatness as a progressive and unifying leader who shapes a freer and fairer future - not just for the American people but for the people of the whole world.
The Reader Poll
Last week we asked:
Can the Gay Rights movement be compared to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s?
Yes No Other
Peter Tatchell LGBTI human rights campaigner and spokesperson for OutRage! London, UK
44% 36% 20%
NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION: Where would you like to travel to this winter? Log on to: www.outlookweekly.net to take this week’s poll.
Got something to say? We want to hear from you! Email us at editor@outlookmedia.com or logon to www.outlookweekly.net.
S
OU
: G ALLUP
CATEGORY
NOV 2 ’04
JAN 12 ’09
DIFFERENCE
AMERICAN DEAD
1,122
4,224
3,102
AMERICAN WOUNDED
8,124
30,934
22,810
IRAQI CIVILIAN DEAD
16,342
98,564
82,222
NATIONAL DEBT
$7,429,629,954,236
$10,608,325,323,172 $3,178,695,368,936
DAYS ‘TIL OBAMA INAUGURATION 1,540
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
30% RCE
8
(1,532)
OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 05
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
06 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
COMMUNITY CORNER
SpeakOUT Wraps Up Successful 2008 by Cheri Meyers, SpeakOUT founder 2008 is a wrap! It was an interesting year filled with both positive gains and negative losses for LGBT advocates. SpeakOUT is proud to have been a part of it all. What We Did: In 2008, we continued our mission to bring to light the various issues the LGBT community face to members of the straight community. We spoke to hundreds of potential allies throughout the year on a variety of topics such as marriage equality, transgender rights, the military ban and discrimination based on sexual identity and orientation. We took our message of activism and education to the people via speaking engagements at locations across central Ohio and beyond. In 2008, SpeakOUT spoke at the following campuses: Ohio State University, Ohio Dominican, Capital Law, Columbus State Community College and Urbana University. We traveled to a church in Mansfield, OH to help a group of fellow gay/straight advocates begin its development into what is now known as (the very active) Knox County GayStraight Alliance. SpeakOUT also held several discussions at local high schools with regards to their student led gay-straight alliances. In 2008, we continued to support the LGBT community by sponsoring annual events such as Candidate Night at Stonewall and the Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil. We made sure that an ally voice was presented at the 2012 Citizen Summit and Equality Ohio’s Lobby Day for Equality. We marched for the 4th consecutive year in the Pride parade, and SpeakOUT was there on that wet and rainy day in front of City Hall to denounce the passing of Proposition 8. SpeakOUT continued our collaboration with other LGBTA organizations to help make their outreach projects a success. We hit the streets to collect “FIRED” cards with Equality Ohio. These cards were then delivered to Ohio’s legislature to demand that sexual orientation and identity be added to the state’s anti-discrimination policy. We also joined forces with the Service Members Legal Defense Network to gather signatures on a petition sent to Washington legislatures asking that “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” be repealed. We gladly promoted the events and fundraisers of our fellow LGBTA organizations in our weekly updates. Where We Are Going: SpeakOUT turns 5 in 2009! The new year brings with it more unique challenges and opportunities to speak out for what is right. You can be assured that SpeakOUT will continue to be a voice for the LGBT community! There will be one significant change in JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
2009. Effective January 2009, SpeakOUT will no longer conduct monthly meetings at the Center on High. We will proceed into the new year without our normal monthly meeting schedule. Instead, we plan on conducting several special events throughout the year (hopefully one a quarter). Please keep your eyes open for these events as they are announced in the SpeakOUT Update and in the media. We Need YOU: Please continue to pass along our Update to your friends! We want to continue to see our e-list membership grow. (It has nearly doubled in size since 2007!) Talk about us! Word of mouth is the best way to let other people know about the work we do. We are currently seeking new members to join our board. If you are interested in continuing our mission, please send an email to me at SpeakOUT_cols@ yahoo.com (positions are open to any GLBTA advocates). Lastly, like everyone else we could use your financial help as well. In honor of our 5th anniversary in 2009, we are asking our Friends to “STUFF OUR PO BOX” with $5 donations. For the price of a fast-food combo meal, you can ensure that SpeakOUT has the necessary funds it needs to continue our work throughout the year. You can mail your donation to PO BOX 316, Hilliard OH 43206. Checks should be made payable to SpeakOUT. Thanks for all the wonderful support you’ve given to us this year. We will work hard to deserve your praise again in 2009!
Become an Equality Ohio Local Action Team Leader Pro-equality legislation is being taken seriously in the Ohio Statehouse. Now, more than ever, our efforts to educate local and state elected officials about the need for the Equal Housing and Employment Act and other equality issues is very important. Our pro-equality voices need to be heard. Everything we know about this work says that education is the key, and that is why we are asking you to become a Local Action Team Leader or team member. Contact Kim at kim@equalityohio.org for more information. Local Action Team Leader job description: • Serve as Lobby Day team leader (Lobby Day is Wednesday, May 13) • Help Equality Ohio create interest from the local community in attending Lobby Day (Build a bigger team) • Oversee the in-district lobbying of 1 senator and 3 representatives quarterly (The leader does not have to attend them all) • Lobby 1 senator and 3 representatives on Lobby Day • Work with Equality Ohio to facilitate team response to local issues through the media
Local Action Team (LAT) Leaders have already been found for a number of the state senate districts, but we still need more. Also, these Local Action Team leaders will need team members to help them. Being a part of the team does not require you to attend Lobby Day, although this would be helpful. Equality Ohio will provide resources, information and training for the Local Action Teams. Take action now and volunteer to become a part of the Local Action Team in your area. Contact Kim at kim@equalityohio.org for more information or to become a part of this important project.
Bizarre Foods’ Andrew Zimmern to Appear at AAA Great Vacations EXPO Andrew Zimmern, the incredibly popular star of the Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods and the new Bizarre Worlds, will appear at the AAA Great Vacations EXPO. Zimmern will be on the EXPO Travel Stage for two appearances on Sunday, January 18, at 12p & 3p. Zimmern will discuss his travels around the world and the bizarre foods he has encountered. He’ll sign autographs for EXPO guests following his appearance. The AAA Great Vacations EXPO opens Friday, January 16 and runs through Sunday, January 18, at the Franklin County Veterans Memorial in downtown Columbus. Show hours are Friday 28p, Saturday 10a-8p, and Sunday 11a-4p. Tickets are available at the door or at any AAA Ohio Auto Club office for $8 or $4 for any AAA member. Children ages 12 and under are admitted at no charge. Additional details and consumer information on the EXPO are available at aaagreatvacations.com.
MACC Welcomes Liz Adamshick and CARE Columbus The Multiethnic Advocates for Cultural Competence (MACC) and United Way of Central Ohio are pleased to announce the transfer of the CARE Columbus training program to MACC. The transfer will expand the reach of CARE Columbus to a statewide level and increase the program’s capacity to serve a broader variety of health care and human services-related disciplines. The predecessor of CARE Columbus, the Cultural Competency Training Academy (CcompT) was founded in 1999 through the leadership and grant support of the United Way of Central Ohio and Access Health Columbus. Spearheaded by Ohio Health, the initiative’s early advisors included Capital University and the Columbus Foundation. In the past 7 years, the program has evolved into a credible learning and education resource for health care and human services providers in Central Ohio. Professionals from health, education and human services fields collaborated with cultural community-based organizations to identify the most effective strategies to integrate cross-culturally competent attitudes, behaviors and policies into their professional practices and organizations. The result is a training program
that focuses on meeting the professional development needs of physicians, nurses, social workers, allied health professionals and others who have direct patient/client contact and responsibilities. The curriculum allows participants from a variety of healthcare and human services disciplines to find relevant and effective strategies to implement in the workplace. Currently, CARE Columbus offers continuing education credits for nurses and social workers, and will expand these credits to include behavioral health professionals as part of the transfer to MACC. MACC welcomes the opportunity to partner with United Way of Central Ohio and support CARE Columbus’ continued growth and program objectives. “The transfer of the CARE Columbus program complements our cultural competence training efforts and expands our ability to meet the needs of direct care and service providers and professionals,” said Charleta B. Tavares, MACC’s executive director. Upcoming CARE Columbus training sessions: Friday, January 16 and Friday, February 20, 9a12p at United Way of Central Ohio, 360 S 3rd St. To register, contact Liz Adamshick at 614.221.7841 or ladamshick@maccinc.net. Space is limited, so register today! Visit www.maccinc.net or www.liveunitedcentralohio.org for more info. IN MEMORIAM
Samuel Page, 67 Samuel Robert Page, 67, of Chicago, formerly of Columbus, passed away peacefully after a brief illness December 28, 2008. He retired after 40+ years from Nationwide Insurance. Adored and adoring father of Andrea (Peter) Sullivan of Rye, NY, and grandfather of Nicholas, Luke and Quinn Sullivan, who were the joy of his life. Beloved brother of Joan Page of Columbus, Marlene Calabro of Rochester, NY, and the late LaRue Meehan of Omaha; eccentric uncle of Michael, Mark, Kristen, Michael, John, Brenda, Tom, Danny, Chris, Deanna, Dave, Dennis, Lisa, Cindy and others. Former spouse and friend of Lynn Page of Columbus. Cherished friend of many across the country. Preceded in death by mother Margaret Anthony and father Samuel Isaac. Sam never met a stranger, though he always relied on their kindness. He will be desperately missed and joyfully celebrated. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Howard Brown Health Center, 4025 N. Sheridan Rd, Chicago, IL 60613, attn: Bryant Dunbar.
OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 07
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
08 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
POLI-SCI
by Mickey Weems
Turning Our Backs on the Purpose-Driven Bigot Rick Warren, Christian self-help guru and CEO of a California mega-church, loves Gay people. But not as adults. He loves us the way he loves naughty children. And he really wants us to go back in the closet where we belong. It’s the only way we can mature. Mr. Warren knows Gay people better than they know themselves. He is absolutely certain Gays would be better off Straight. He doesn’t want Gay people to fall in love, marry and form their own families because God said it was wrong. God told him that Gay marriage is the same thing as grown men marrying grade school girls, the same as brothers marrying sisters, same as polygamy. Gay people are also proof, he says, that evolution is wrong. Warren feels he must defend marriage from us because he wants to fuck every beautiful woman he sees, and we are a threat to his self-control. If society legitimized Gay families and recognized Gay marriages, Straight people (such as himself) would go cock-pussy-crazy and the world would fall apart. Real wrath-of-God-type stuff! Fire and brimstone coming from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes! Volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Lions lying down with lambs! That is why, for five thousand years, there has never been any kind of marriage anywhere that was not between a man and a woman. That’s not homophobia. That’s historical fact. In order to gently encourage Gays to Straighten their lives out for the sake of their immortal souls and Straight people’s sanity, Warren called for Christians to support Prop 8 in California. Those who insist on living a homosexual lifestyle have no business in his church. It’s not homophobia. It’s tough love, you stupid faggots. Let Them Eat Donuts Problem is, it is homophobia, which is, simply put, fear of Gays when they dare act as if they are as good as Straights. And rampant homophobia around the world has forced us to hide our love and disguise our marriages for a very long time. When asked if his blatant homophobia concerning Gay marriage meant he was homophobic, Rick Warren laughed and laughed. The idea was absurd! Here was his proof. He has Gay friends. He can name a Gay man who doesn’t like marriage. He gave Gay people donuts when they protested in front of his church. He loves Melissa Etheridge. She agreed to sign one of her albums for him. He raised money for people with AIDS. So, if somebody claims to have Gay friends, can find a Gay man who doesn’t support marriage, listens to Melissa Etheridge (and has a signed album!), thinks that a donut is fair trade for the right to marry, and lumps Gays with PWAs (all Gay men are assumed to be HIV+; I found that out when my husband went to the doctor for shortness of breath), such a person cannot by definition be homophobic. If we wonder why Warren talks down to us, this is why. The adult doesn’t need to treat a child as an equal. When Idiots Write History I hardly know where to start when addressing War-
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
ren’s breathtaking ignorance. He makes Sarah Palin look like a Rhodes scholar. Warren believes that, for five thousand years and in every culture, marriage has been between a man and a woman. Obviously, Warren has never read the Bible. Jacob, Moses, David and Solomon had multiple wives. But that’s just for starters. One very large Christian denomination (other than the Mormons) regularly sanctifies polygamy. In the Catholic Church, all nuns are married to Jesus, making Him the ultimate polygamist. At times, incest in the Bible appears normal and even desirable. The Song of Songs is full of sibling sensuality, and encourages brothers and sisters to have sex in Mom’s bedroom. In addition, check out the story of David’s son Amnon and daughter Tamar in Second Samuel. And that’s not all. According to Trinitarians, the Gospels teach us that God got His own daughter pregnant so she could give birth to Him, which means He also got His mom pregnant. Not to be outdone by the nuns, all Catholic priests are married to Holy Mother Church, thus uniting polygamy with incest. But Warren doesn’t condone incest or polygamy. To my knowledge, neither do same-sex marriage activists. So far as same-sex love, the Bible has a classic Brokeback story that Saddleback Rick needs to review. David entered into a soul-binding relationship with his lover, Jonathan, who stripped naked before David to prove his love. When it comes to cross-cultural studies of marriage, Warren needs to take a class in cultural anthropology after concluding his remedial Bible study. In many cultures around the world, women have married women and men have married men. Native American tribes have examples of same-sex marriages. The Cherokee Supreme Court ruled that a marriage between two women a few years ago was legal because it was within traditional Cherokee values. People had same-sex marriages in ancient Rome for love and fidelity, just as they did in Christian rituals for same-sex couples in Eastern Europe hundreds of years later. For many societies, however, marriage is not primarily about love or sex, but rather about economics. Among the Kikuyu people in Kenya, there is a tradition of older women marrying younger women so that there is a stable family for the younger woman to raise her children. Same-sex marriage for women was also found in southern China. To muddy the water even more, it is legal today in Islamic Iran for a post-op transsexual to engage in heterosexual marriage. Notice how Christian bigots consistently leave transpeople out of the equation. Such human beings are tough to fit into the Us Against Them blueprint for the universe, And, like humanity, marriage for humans is even bigger than Straight and Gay. People don’t always marry other people, at least not living ones. They marry ghosts (East Africa, China), gods (Haiti), and animals (India). Ecce Homo So why would somebody like Mr. Warren be willfully ignorant and, to paraphrase Obama, be so proud of his ignorance? Look at the man. What a mess. continued on page 26
OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 09
TRANSNATION by Jacob Anderson-Minshall
Wrecked Truth “Truth Serum has been digging me a huge hole of debt,” reveals Aliza Shapiro about the Boston-based production company behind the reoccurring, all-gender, allgenre performance cabaret, TraniWreck. In the six year she’s been running the business, Shapiro’s Truth Serum has successfully produced some of Boston’s most entertaining queer and trans events. But it has come at a price. She jokes, “It sucks the life out of me, but I don’t feel alive without something in the pipeline. I came to this from my love of producing cultural events, not any business smarts.” Shapiro identifies as genderqueer, and says, “When people ask what pronoun I prefer, I say whatever. I don’t have a preference. My intimates switch between she and he, because they understand the complex nature of my gender-and I like that. I appreciate when people recognize my personal expression of masculinity, but I’m not hung up on the language. [Since] I’m not intimate with the public, ‘she’s cool.” After studying architecture at Rhode Island School of Design, Shapiro briefly worked in construction and carpentry before stumbling into record label management. After the label folded, Shapiro realized “I was hanging out in straight clubs with lots of straight folks,” she recalls now. “And I was missing the queers.” Shapiro formed Truth Serum to provide that affirming cultural experience and help connect entertainers with audiences. “There’s something about connecting people through artistic expression.” With no club of her own-and no full time dyke or trans bars in the Boston areaShapiro has to be creative in locating venues for Truth Serum’s shows, including this month’s TraniWreck, which she describes as “an evening of trashy glamour and challenging content.” Audiences at the December 14 event can expect gender-defying performances, dance, music, comedy, lap dances and Shapiro’s own alter ego-Heywood Wakefield, who emcees the event. As Wakefield Shapiro is, “the straightest thing in the room, sexually and conceptually. I’m everyone’s straight man, the butt of every joke, and the guy who can’t ever get a
date. The queens love to bicker with me, the gender-other performers like to befuddle me.” Wakefield sprang to life in the late 1990s, a time when Shapiro recalls reading about gender, attending drag shows and thinking about “the difficulty of presenting a masculinity that didn’t depend on the stereotypical super macho construction guy.” The December 14 event also features Wreckage: The Contest Show, the annual drag competition Shapiro has hosted for three years. Shapiro maintains that “Queens tend to not judge the king performances very high…because it’s so hard to camp masculinity and that’s what they value, camp, over the top expressions,” but says her own preferences lean toward “off-the-charts gender confusion. I love when a body is completely transformed…[and you think], I don’t know who or what that is, but they’re amazing or Oh my god-they’re so hot! and it’s someone dressed as toast.” Shapiro teaches drag king workshops, Strap it down, Pack it in, that attract trans guys and “women of all expressions who want to perform as kings or genderfuckers; people who are questioning their personal gender.” Truth Serum also sponsors, CineMental, a monthly screening of radical, queer, fringe and experimental films. But, in these economic hard times, Shaprio divulges, “Truth Serum events aren’t necessarily money makers.” She’s intent on changing that, by finding someone who can help her write grant proposals and consider other business possibilities. In the mean time Shapiro has some odd jobs and has created UtiliTies (truthserum.org), her own DIY hand stenciled ties, hankies and t-shirts she sells at craft fairs, art shows and online. “They make great holiday gifts!” Shapiro hints. Trans writer Jacob Anderson-Minshall cohosts kboo.fm’s Gender Blender radio show and co-authors the Blind Eye mystery series; the latest edition, Blind Faith comes out this month. For more information visit BlindEyeMysteries.com. © 2008 Jacob Anderson-Minshall
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
10 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
INSIGHTOUT by Regina Sewell
A New Deal for a New Year Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all. Emily Dickenson This January is the beginning of a new era marked by a transition of political power. GW’s moving out; Obama’s moving in. Even though the global economy is in the toilet, there’s a sense of hope in the air for the first time in years. The country is expecting real and profound political change. And change is bound to happen. For one thing, having a puppy in the White House is bound to shake things up a bit. Second, given the desperate state that the economy is in, it’s hard to say “no” to Obama’s version of the New Deal. Unfortunately, all this hope and promise of change makes it easy to think that things are going to get better overnight. The reality is that political and social change is a very slow process. Our founding fathers designed our system with stability in mind, with checks and balances. And as the country and the government grew, so did the bureaucratic red tape. Between the checks and balances and the bureaucratic red tape, it’s a miracle that our government gets anything done at all. Even the financial crisis we are in now was years in the making - and some of it was done with the best of intentions. Second, real change happens from within. I’m not saying that our leaders and the paths they choose don’t make a significant impact on our daily lives. Were it not for F. D. R. stacking the courts with liberal judges, it’s unlikely that the Supreme Court would have mandated desegregation in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka. This decision paved the way for integration in public places, empowered the Civil Rights movement and ultimately, 54 years later, made Obama’s presidency possible. Nonetheless, real change is an inside job that requires a shift in perspective. In some ways this is like engineering your own personal “New Deal.” I came face to face with the power of my perspective to keep me stuck a number of years ago. At the time, I was lost in a dank, dark hole. My partner at the time and I were struggling to get along. I hated my job. I was broke. And the light at the end of the tunnel seemed like it was attached to the front of a high-speed locomotive that was racing its way toward me. My revelation JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
came in front of the TV set. I was watching the news with a friend and someone had just won the lottery. My friend was dreaming about what life would be like if she’d won that money. She looked like a woman on vacation. In contrast, I probably looked like I’d swallowed a tablespoon of mint-flavored cod liver oil because I realized that even if I won the lottery, I would probably still be miserable. It was in that moment that I really understood, in the depths of my gut, that I was making myself miserable by not taking responsibility for my life. I’d been waiting for my partner to suddenly change or for someone to offer me a fabulous job out of the blue. I hadn’t looked at the tapes I was playing in my head that kept me stuck and hopeless. I hadn’t taken responsibility for choosing to stay in a painful relationship. I hadn’t taken responsibility for believing the “loser” label my brother had branded me with as a child. The odd thing was that once I started taking responsibility for my decisions and beliefs, I felt empowered and hopeful. And here’s the good news! You can make the changes you need. The first step is to take responsibility for the perspectives, thoughts and rules that keep you stuck. Next, let yourself become compassionately aware of your negative self-talk. Watch your thoughts and notice your self-pity (“Woe is me”), your pattern of blaming circumstances (“Life is unfair”) and other people (“If only she would , my life would be fine”), and your hopelessness (“Nothing is ever going to get any better anyway, so I might as well give up”). As you notice your negative patterns, be gentle with yourself. If it’s any help, you are not alone in spinning into negativity. This is a cultural response to anxiety and fear. As always, breathe! The calmer you are, the easier it is to think creatively. And while you are breathing, imagine what it would feel like to trust that no matter what happens, you are going to be fine. Once you get yourself grounded a little, see if you can reframe your thoughts. When you catch yourself saying, “I can’t…” maybe add in the disclaimer, “I used to think that I can’t…” or “Up until now I haven’t been able to….” Another way to change thoughts is to focus on your improvement. Instead of saying, “I suck at…” try saying, “I’m getting better at…” When you find yourself encumbered by family beliefs and
rules, note the rule and decide for yourself whether or not you want to follow it. You might decide to ditch some rules. My family, for example, mandates that women always subordinate their wants and needs for others. I decided to toss this rule out because it left me feeling crabby and resentful. Other rules, you might decide to keep. For example, my mother was very strict about sending “thank you” notes. I rebelled against this rule in college as part of my more general rebellion against my family. At some point, however, I looked at the rule from a different angle and realized that it was important to me to acknowledge the kind things people did for me or the gifts they gave me. The bonus was that the more I focused on gratitude, the better I felt. It’s really hard to feel sorry for yourself and feel grateful for all the nice things people have done for you at the same time. The point is that you evaluate the rules for yourself and decide which you wish to keep and which you want to let go of. Once you’ve sorted out your rules and gotten some practice at reframing your thoughts, let yourself brainstorm. List all the possible things that you might be able to do to change your situation - even the ridiculous ones (perhaps especially the ridiculous ones). Here’s where it’s important to let yourself imagine what things could be like - to connect with your hope. Once you have a few things written down, pick the item on your list that makes the most sense to work on first and break it down into baby steps. If you decide to meditate, start with 5 minutes a day. If you haven’t worked out in a while and want to get in shape, don’t try to bench press 150 pounds. Start small - see how 10 pounds feels and add on from there if it feels right. Changing patterns is not always easy, so be gentle with yourself when you catch yourself sliding back into the old patterns, playing the old tapes or following old rules. Pat yourself on the back for every time you challenge a negative thought, positively reframe a situation, or take a baby step. And let yourself feel the flutter of the feathers of hope that Obama’s inauguration represents. Regina Sewell is a mental health counselor with a private practice in Worthington. To ask a question, propose a column topic, read about her approach to counseling, or check out her books and other writing, go to: www.ReginaSewell.com . Her most recent publication, “Sliding Away” can be found in Knowing Pains: Women on Love, Sex and Work in Our 40s, edited by Molly Rosen.
OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 11
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
12 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 13
OUT BUSINESS NEWS
Spotlight:
by Adam Leddy
Shawn Dingus, Attorney
Whether you are a political junkie or you avoid politics at all costs, chances are that you remember the “Bring Us Dingus” yard signs that proliferated across the city in the latter half of 2008. Shawn Dingus rose to local prominence with his spirited campaign for a seat on the Court of Common Pleas, losing narrowly to incumbent Richard Sheward. Dingus would have been the first openly GLBT person elected to the bench in Central Ohio, and would have joined Mary Wiseman of Dayton as the only successful openly gay judicial candidates in the state. Since then, Dingus has thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate for one of two open seats on Columbus City Council; at press time, he was among the final sixteen candidates being considered for a seat. Dingus is an attorney and continues to operate a successful practice. His expertise in civil litigation and family law makes him a sought-after resource for GLBT residents of Columbus. I was excited to ask Shawn a few questions, particularly since I am more or less always a hairsbreadth away from needing an attorney. Adam Leddy: Who should call your office for help? Shawn Dingus: I limit my practice to three primary areas: civil litigation, criminal defense and family law. The civil litigation area of my practice primarily involves personal injury actions and breach of contract matters; criminal defense primarily involves misdemeanor and low-level felony offenses (mainly traffic, drug and property offenses); and family law primarily involves divorce, custody and child support matters. Anyone facing any of those issues is welcome to call our office for legal assistance.
AL: What does our community need to know in terms of domestic relations law, or in your other areas of practice? SD: Although Ohio law does not permit gay and lesbian couples to marry, it does permit those couples to contract with each other. Marriage is essentially a legal contract sanctioned by the state that establishes legal duties and obligations between both parties. Many of those same duties and obligations can be created by contract. For instance, contingent on approval by the Juvenile Court, gay and lesbian couples can enter into an agreement to share custodial obligations and responsibilities relating to raising children, regardless of whether only one of the parties is considered the legal parent. They can also title property in such a manner that it passes to the surviving party upon the death of the other, and/or prepare a will disposing of such property as he/she sees fit. This is not an all-inclusive list; many other contracting opportunities exist, and gay and lesbian couples should investigate all of their options when making a long-term commitment with a partner. AL: You’re on your own now in your practice and calling your own shots, but has being gay ever hindered your career? SD: No. That’s not to say that some potential clients may have decided to forego contacting my office knowing that I am an attorney who happens to be gay, but that has not prohibited me from developing a successful law practice and rewarding legal career. AL: Are there cases that you just won’t take on? SD: I will not accept cases where the client re-
fuses to listen and/or cooperate. The primary role of an attorney is to be an advisor. I always tell my clients that they are responsible for making the big decisions in cases (e.g. whether to accept a settlement offer or to proceed to trial), and that my main role is to provide my opinion on how they should proceed. They can choose to ignore me or follow my advice. I only ask that they listen and that they participate in the process. AL: Can you explain the billing process what does “hours billed” actually mean? SD: In my office, “hours billed” simply means the number of hours spent working on an individual case, which would include any telephone conversations with clients or opposing counsel, time spent writing motions or briefs, and time spent in court (at a jury trial, pretrial conferences, motion hearings, etc.). We charge in .10 hour increments and make it a practice to fully itemize all time spent on a case by designating the total time invested and describing the specific work performed. AL: You came this close to unseating a conservative incumbent judge in your race for the Common Pleas Court. After such a strong showing as an openly gay candidate, do you plan to run again? SD: I have always had a strong interest in and commitment to public and community service, and I will continue to remain involved in the community, regardless of whether I decide to run for elective office in the future.
AL: Mary Wiseman of Dayton became Ohio’s first openly gay appointed judge last year and our first out elected judge this year (with 54% of the vote). It seems like there are many gay attorneys but few gay candidates for judicial office. Why do you suppose that is? SD: Running for public office as a gay candidate definitely has its hurdles, especially in rural communities, but I found it to be both a rewarding and positive experience. A heterosexual candidate is never questioned about having a heterosexual agenda, but that is often the perception with gay and lesbian candidates. I have found that the same issues that affect heterosexual voters (like taxes, public safety, education, etc.), are the same issues that affect members of the GLBT community. I have faith that the majority of our society understands this and that those same voters will support a candidate regardless of sexual orientation.
HSAs Fuel Better Healthcare, Safer Investing by Richard J. Monello As consumers watch Wall Street crash, with large insurers like AIG sinking like a boulder in quicksand, many people find themselves worried about things they never used to worry about before. Will my healthcare company be around next year? Will I lose the money I have in the system? What if they go under while I’m in the hospital? Will I be protected? The security of a Health Savings Account (HSA) is more attractive than ever, but there’s a unique bonus inherent in the structure of HSAs - the ability to invest your HSA funds in a safe haven, and build a bigger healthcare nest egg for the future. That’s why Rick Monello, CEO of Custom Health Plans (www.customhealthplans.com), believes that agents will be far more successful offering their clients HSAs than they were last year, as long as they understand the appeal of the investment side of the
equation. Health Savings Accounts came about as part of the Medicare Reform Act of 2003, and they offer consumers a tax-free option for healthcare. With HSAs, consumers typically employ a high-deductible health insurance policy to protect against major medical expenses, while establishing a savings account to use for small, day-to-day medical expenses. What makes it affordable is that the high deductible policy is significantly less expensive than traditional HMOs, and the money they deposit into their HSA is pretaxed dollars. The law allows people to take money out of their paychecks and deposit it directly into their HSAs before they pay taxes on it. So, not only do they save on insurance premiums, but they are also able to save on their taxes. HSA money can be used to pay for any medical expense, from over-the-counter headache medications to knee braces or orthopedic shoes. Anything remotely medical
can be paid for out of that account, all funded with pre-tax dollars. Finally, at the end of the year, any money left over in the HSA account can be rolled over - tax-deferred - to use the next year. Flex spending accounts don’t allow that - if you don’t use it during the calendar year, you lose it. These plans were created in response to the rising cost of healthcare with the intent to give the consumer control over their health care costs and, in many cases, reduce premiums by up to 50%. These unique plans provide consumers greater control, more choices, tax advantages and are generally more affordable than their HMO and PPO second cousins, according to Monello. Plus, the interest in investing their HSA funds is growing. According to a survey done by Cigna last year, more than 65% of HSA customers said they would be interested in putting their excess HSA funds into mutual funds and other types of investment vehicles that are tradi-
tionally safe havens for their money. When you consider that HSA funds come from pretax contributions, it’s like double dipping. Not only do they save on their taxes, but they are also able to grow that amount through the investment options now available for them. “Based on the current economic conditions on Wall Street, nothing in the marketplace can match the benefits of HSAs,” Monello said. “People are afraid to put their money in stocks anymore and they are looking for vehicles with tax shelters with attractive tax benefits. With HSAs, customers can solve both problems: where to safely put your money and how to provide incredible health coverage for your family. HSAs are a good alternative to kill two birds with one stone and provide affordable health care and tax benefits in an uncertain and shaky economy.” Richard J. Monello is the principal and founder of Custom Health Plans Inc., a full service general health insurance agency based in Dallas, TX.
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
14 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 15
EARTH TALK From the Editors of E
Dear EarthTalk: This winter is shaping up to be one of the coldest in recent memory where I live. What can I do to reduce my home heating bill now and in the future? Eric Lenz Whether global warming is somehow to blame or not, much of the United States is getting walloped this winter. The Seattle area has suffered its most significant and lingering snowfall-and lower than average winter temperatures-in decades. Even Los Angeles is getting a nasty taste of winter, with several days topping out at the freezing mark on the thermometer. And other parts of the country more used to challenging winter weather have been getting an extra dose of wind, snow and ice this year as well. Besides the cold, another challenge this wintry weather presents, especially during such trying economic times, is higher heating bills. Heating typically accounts for about 28 percent of the average American home’s energy use, but this year staying warm might occupy a larger slice of the household expenditure pie. Homeowners who take a few simple steps to make their homes more weather-tight, though, just might be amazed to see their heating bills go down while they languish inside their toasty and warm homes. If you’re a handy person and your draft issues are minor, you might want to go around and assess just where cold air seems to be coming inand then caulk, putty or insulate to your heart’s content. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s (NRDC’s) green-living oriented SimpleSteps.org website, small gaps around windows, light fixtures and plumbing are easy to cover with caulk. Large drafty areas that are protected from moisture and sunlight can be covered with expanding foam sealant, while a little weather-stripping around doorjambs goes a long way toward keeping the cold out.
Beyond these easier fixes, adding or updating insulation can pay dividends on your utility bills. NRDC says that if you do it yourself, be careful not to cover or close up attic vents, as proper airflow is key to keeping indoor air quality good. Replacing single pane windows with sealed double or triple pane windows will also improve your home’s energy efficiency significantly. Other tips include insulating heating ducts and your hot water tank, and upgrading to a programmable thermostat which allows you to heat your home when you’re there and lower the temperature when you’re sleeping or at work. Switching ceiling fans to rotate in a clockwise direction will help circulate warm air throughout your home. Older, inefficient furnaces can also lead to large heating bills. New models which qualify for the federal government’s Energy Star program will use far less gas or oil and reduce your utility bill handily. The non-profit American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) rates different furnaces and boiler options and reports on their findings for free via the consumer guide section of its website. For those of us less qualified or less interested in doing our own home repair, bringing in a professional energy auditor might be just the ticket. Many local and regional utilities offer free basic energy audits. Meanwhile, the trade group Residential Energy Services Network, as well as the federal government’s Home Performance with Energy Star program, offer free searchable online databases of trustworthy local contractors with experience keeping homes in your area nice and warm.
New Studies Finds Corn-Ethanol Production Has Minimal Impact On Land Use, Global Warming A new comprehensive environmental study has revealed that the production of corn-based ethanol leaves a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline. “This study points out that the production of corn-based ethanol is extremely environmentally responsible and leaves a smaller carbon footprint than what critics would have the public believe,” said Dwayne Siekman, executive director of the Ohio Corn Growers Association. “As shown in theses studies, modern ethanol plants have a superior carbon footprint and net energy benefit when compared to gasoline refineries.” The OCGA stated that the state’s total ethanol output has surpassed 300 million gallons annually and usage of over 550 million gallons which is about 10 percent of total gasoline use in Ohio, thereby playing a significant role in helping the country wean itself from imported/non-renewable carbon-based fuels. In addition, another study has also revealed that there is substantial room for growth in the ethanol industry without affecting corn supply to the food and feed sectors. “These two studies indicate the promise of modern ethanol technology. They should put to rest the myth that ethanol is less environmentally friendly than the manufacture of gasoline,” Siekman said. “They also provide a compelling argument that corn growers will be able to produce sufficient supply to meet food, feed and renewable fuel requirements over the next two decades.” Dr. Steffan Mueller, principal research economist at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Energy Resources Center, wrote the study centered on the global warming and land-use impact of a single ethanol plant, the Illinois River Energy facility near Rochelle, Ill., which produces 55 million gallons of ethanol annually. “We found conclusively that the global warm-
ing impact of the modern ethanol plant is 40 percent lower than gasoline. This is a sizable reduction from numbers currently being used by public agencies and in the public debate,” Mueller said. “The study also documents the significant net energy benefits of ethanol when compared to gasoline. And, additional opportunities exist to expand that margin even more through technological improvements and on farm changes in corn production that reduce green house gas emissions. Furthermore, corn supply for the ethanol plant was primarily met through yield increases in the surrounding area and, as documented with satellite imagery, without conversion of non agricultural land to corn.” Ross Korves, economic policy analyst at ProExporter Network, wrote a broader study that analyzed the results of a technology-driven revolution that is occurring throughout America agriculture, which would see average corn production increase from 155 bushels an acre today to 289 bushels over the next two decades. The study suggests that sufficient amounts of corn will be available to increase ethanol production from the current level of 9.4 billion gallons last year to 33 billion gallons by 2030 with current technology. The study also factors in increased future demand for corn from both export and livestock (feed) sectors. Korves also looked at the environmental impact of ethanol production, predicting that the global warming impact (GWI) of the average ethanol plant would decline dramatically through increased efficiencies in coming years. “The GWI of the average ethanol plant is expected to decline 27 percent by 2030,” said Korves. “By that year, the GWI of corn ethanol processed in a plant using a biomass combined heat and power system will be less than one-third of the GWI of gasoline
Contacts: NRDC, www.nrdc.org; ACEEE, www.aceee.org; Residential Energy Services Network, www.natresnet.org; Energy Star, www.energystar.gov. ]Got an environmental question? E-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
16 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
FEATURE STORY by Adam Leddy
AMERICAN HISTORY AS WE LEARN IT IN SCHOOL IS GENERALLY SILENT ON THE SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY OF FAMOUS GLBT HISTORICAL FIGURES. THIS HUSHED VERSION OF HISTORY IS ESPECIALLY TACITURN WHEN IT COMES TO GAY AND TRANS PEOPLE OF COLOR. GLBT AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE CONTRIBUTED MORE TO AMERICAN LIFE THAN WE CAN MEASURE. ONLY RECENTLY HAVE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS BEEN RECOGNIZED AT ALL. IN AMERICA, CELEBRITY IS AN OBSESSION, AND IT IS ONLY NATURAL THAT WE SHOULD HIGHLIGHT THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SEVERAL NOTEWORTHY GLBT AFRICAN AMERICANS. WHAT FOLLOWS ARE BRIEF PROFILES OF A FEW OF THE MORE FAMOUS GLBT AMERICANS WHO HAVE MADE OUR RECENT HISTORY WHAT IT IS; EACH OF THEM, HOWEVER, REPRESENTS MILLIONS OF OTHERS WHOSE STORIES ARE LOST, OR WERE NEVER KNOWN TO US AT ALL. THE PROFILES OF GLBT AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM OHIO ARE COURTESY OF THE GAY OHIO HISTORY INITIATIVE, WWW.GOHI.ORG.
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
OHIOANS
NATIONAL FIGURES
Billy Strayhorn Musician 1915 - 1967 Dayton native Bill Strayhorn was a respected pianist, composer, and arranger. Strayhorn worked alongside Duke Ellington for over 20 years. Among his better known compositions are “Chelsea Bridge,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” and “Lush Life.” Openly gay in an era of intense homophobia and racism, Strayhorn is considered one of the most under-recognized American composers.
Bessie Smith Singer 1894 - 1937 The Empress of the Blues remains a towering figure more than 70 years after her death. Bessie Smith pursued her passions with sometimes self-destructive gusto. Romantically, her passion was directed toward both men and women. Smith’s legendary live performances and string of ’20s and ’30s hits earned her a large following, and her mainstream success hinted at what was to come for black musicians. Like Ma Rainey before her and Janis Joplin after, Bessie Smith was a woman drenched in the blues whose fluid sexuality has only added to her legend.
Jermaine Stewart Singer 1957 - 1997 Jermaine Stewarts was a pop singer, background vocalist, dancer, and choreographer. Born in Columbus, Stewart sang backup for the Chi-Lites, Shalamar, the Temptations, and Culture Club. He released four solo albums and appeared on American Bandstand and Soul Train. Stewart is best remembered for his 1986 hit “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off,” a response to the AIDS epidemic. Jacqueline Woodson Author 1963 Born in Columbus, Jacqueline Woodson is an award-winning author of books for children and young adults. Critics praise her sparing, lyrical style in novels that address serious themes. Her American Library Awards include the Margaret A. Edwards award for Lifetime Achievement (2006), the Caldecott Medal, the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Newbery Honor Medal. Woodson has been a participant in Goddard College’s prestigious Visiting Writers Series.
Bayard Rustin Activist 1912 - 1987 An activist for two civil rights movements, Bayard Rustin’s celebrity seems to grow as those two movements try to figure out their relationship to each other. A target of racists outside the Civil Rights Movement and homophobes within it, Rustin managed to live with conviction and dignity, and his contribution to the communities of which he was a member was inestimable. Once in danger of becoming a historical footnote, Rustin has earned his place as a figure worthy of study, remembrance, and respect from historians and activists. James Baldwin Author 1924 - 1987 Gay author James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room was among those rare works whose beauty and importance transcend the hostility of the times in which they are produced. For a gay-themed novel to gain public and critical acceptance in 1956, its literary achievement had to be staggering. Giovanni’s Room has outlasted the restrictive moral code of its day, and the work endures as an American classic (in spite of
its European setting). Baldwin’s contributions to our understanding of sexuality, race relations, and the turbulent sixties are important pieces of his legacy; equally important is his considerable influence on the AfricanAmerican and GLBT writers who followed him. Audre Lorde Poet 1934 - 1992 Audre Lorde was a genre-bending poet, a committed feminist, and a fiery activist. She was an early prototype of the outspoken and fearless gay artist/activist, completely unapologetic about her sexuality and willing to use her art as a platform for political expression. Lorde defied labels and was completely, and forcefully, her own person. While remembered by the GLBT community for her marriage of artistry and activism, she also left behind a body of work chronicling her own long struggle with cancer, possibly the only fight she ever lost. Johnny Mathis Singer 1935 Wildly popular for decades, Johnny Mathis can sing just about any style of music. He’s been quietly out - silently out, in fact - since the early 1980s. Reticent about his private life, Mathis is not a gay rights activist. His enduring popularity, however, would seem to suggest that entertainers can retain their “mainstream” appeal even after coming out. Beloved by black and white audiences alike, Johnny Mathis is a reluctant icon for GLBT people, and his most famous hits resonate deeply with many of them. Barbara Jordan Politician 1936 - 1996 Were she not battling multiple sclerosis in the 1990s, Barbara Jordan might have been our first black female Supreme Court justice. As it is, she remains one of the most important late-20th century American political figures,
respected as a legislator, educator, and especially orator - Jordan’s 1976 Democratic Convention keynote address set a bar for eloquence and conviction that only Barack Obama’s 2004 address has matched. Jordan’s legacy is quieter than that of other AfricanAmerican politicians like Shirley Chisholm or John Lewis, perhaps in part because of her sexuality. Barbara Jordan’s lesbianism was revealed to the public only upon her death. Alice Walker Author 1944 Alice Walker was an established author and educator before her masterpiece, The Color Purple, made her the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Following its adaption into a Steven Spielberg film and a Broadway musical, and its adoption into high school and college curricula, Purple is a universally recognized as a classic American story. A selfdescribed “womanist,” Walker’s work champions the voiceless, the unconventional, and the forgotten in American society. Alan Rogers Soldier 1967 - 2008 By many accounts, Alan Rogers is the first known gay casualty of Operation Iraqi freedom. His death not only reignited debate on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, but also opened a fierce, and largely unresolved, debate on the media’s coverage of sexuality in the military. In reporting his death, The Washington Post opted not to disclose Rogers’ sexuality, though he was out to friends. Prior to his death Rogers was involved with American Veterans for Equal Rights. He received two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart.
OUTLOOK WEEKLY •
17
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
18 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY criminated against, but one person can stand up to say enough is enough.
FEATURE STORY ISE R S P U O R G S COLUMBU F O S D E E N E H TO MEET T OLOR C F O E L P O GLBT PE
New Leaf Columbus is a social network for Columbus’s GLBT people of color and their allies. New Leaf is dedicated to building a sense of community by providing a dialogue about careers, culture, politics, religion and other issues. We asked James Blackmon, owner of James Club 88 and New Leaf Columbus member, to answer a few questions about the new group. Outlook Weekly: What needs of GLBT people of color are not addressed by some of the major GLBT networking groups, venues, etc in town? James Blackmon: When you are the member of a majority, you “see yourself,” or people who are like you, or look like you, everywhere you go. When you are in a minority, you seek out those that are like you and/or look like you because you “see yourself” represented in culture so rarely (especially positive representation). I would say our need is to be acknowledged specifically, not generally. To be addressed as the majority every once in a while, not just the minority, or the afterthought. To speak freely about issues that impact the GLBT of color community - rising HIV/AIDS numbers and promoting gay tolerance and acceptance within the African-American religious community, for example - without a fear of judgment, criticism or ridicule from the outside. Or to put it another way, to socialize and/or seek support from those who are even more the same as I, and can more fully identify with and relate to my experience as a GLBT person of color. The idea for New Leaf started when Aaron Riley and I were sitting at the bar discussing how nice it would be for GLBT people of color in Columbus to have a site on the net that featured things to do (movies, plays, TV shows, restaurants, bars, events, etc.) that would be of particular interest to Columbus’s black gay community. It was to be an information site for people new to town, or for Columbus GLBT residents of color who feel isolated and are missing a social scene that reflects who they are more completely. New Leaf is the evolution of that idea. JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
OLW: What are some of the challenges facing GLBT people of color that other GLBT people may not be aware of? JB: To rise above the label GLBT person of color. Minorities are often marginalized. Assumed to think the same, act the same, etc. People automatically assume that if you are “of color” you automatically think one way, just as if you are GLBT people automatically assume you think and behave a certain way. The majority does not have this challenge as for the most part the majority is allowed to have many opinions. It is tough to be heard and seen for who and what you really are when you must first waste time working through preconceived ideas about who and what you really are. New Leaf also seeks to promote diversity within the GLBT of color community, in order to help improve our visibility outside the GLBT of color community. OLW: How are you reaching out to build the membership? JB: We have informational postcards in several locations including James Club 88 and Black Creek Bistro. Our most effective tool for building our membership, however, has been word of mouth. To launch New Leaf, the original members invited many friends and acquaintances to join. And then they recommended New Leaf to their friends and acquaintances and now, three months in, we have almost 70 members. OLW: Have their been in-person meetups? JB: Yes, in fact we had our first social/membership drive a couple of weeks ago. OLW: What’s your vision for what New Leaf will ultimately be? How will you measure the success of the group? JB: That is both a difficult and an easy question. Actually there is no set vision. It continues to evolve and grow. Our ultimate vision would be to continue to follow our mission statement and let that guide us. We are already successful. In many ways this has already exceeded our original expectations by leaps and bounds. Actually, one direction in which we would like to go is to promote New Leaf nationally and internationally. We’ll see. The sky is the limit. OLW: Are there any fees associated with membership? JB: Currently, membership is free. OLW: What upcoming events/programs should GLBT people of color be aware of? JB: Some events that might be of interest to GLBT people of color would be the inauguration, the Pride Leadership Recruitment Reception, Jan 15 @ BOMA from 5:30-7:30p, and lots more info available at newleafcolumbus.ning.com.
The Stonewall Columbus Diversity Team was formed to do outreach in the community to ensure all people feel free to be a part of the community center. It works to present unique opportunities to raise awareness of all groups and support sensitivity of all differences. Wanda Ellis and Letha Pugh were happy to tell us more about what the group has done and what it hopes to achieve. Outlook Weekly: What sort of outreach to people of color has the group done (or does the group plan to do)? Wanda & Letha: Thus far we have made attempts to increase our outreach and to provide an avenue for people of color to participate, to volunteer, and to attend the events of Stonewall and other organizations throughout the GLBT community. We are increasing our outreach through our web presence/connection, personal contacts, and networking with various organizations and groups. We feel it has been successful, but we still have more work to do. We had to start somewhere and we did not want to “bite off more than we could chew.” That simply means that we had to target a certain group within the diversity realm, so our next step is to attempt to achieve this with other groups of people as well. The committee is in need of additional people willing to assist in this effort. We need our committee to grow. We appreciate everyone who has continued to serve, but we need more people to help achieve this goal. In an ideal world, diversity would occur naturally. Stonewall Columbus sees the value in diversity and is committed to making a difference. OLW: What are some of the challenges facing GLBT people of color that other GLBT people may not be aware of? W & L: Well, we feel the most important challenge is probably somewhat familiar to everyone, but still not understood as much: What we hear from many people of color, especially African Americans, is that we don’t have to be labeled or identified as GLBT. Many are still challenged or working to overcome challenges with just being African American, so joining the effort to become equal as GLBT is just adding to some of the current struggles. If we want to be leaders - and if we want to be a leading community center - diversity has to be a part of our focus and goals. We believe everyone and every group of people has something to contribute. The more representative we are, the more inclusive and the better rounded and balanced we are. It’s just a better product, a better center. It’s the subtle racism that is the crux of our problems. From a national perspective, there are deep-seated issues that this country as a whole still needs to address. That’s very overwhelming. There are issues unique to the African American community that we are still dealing with: poverty, racism, classism, etc. The added issues we face in the GLBT community compound the complexity. Being GLBT is part of human diversity as well, and discrimination comes in all forms. No one person can speak for all the reasons why people are dis-
OLW: Does the team have some concrete, measurable goals that it hopes to meet? W & L: We want our participation to be representative of what Central Ohio looks like. We want everyone to be aware of the programs and services offered by Stonewall Columbus. We want the center be representative of all the groups of people within Central Ohio. We feel we are making progress, but there is more work to do. A lot more work to do. When we look at an event and see all groups represented, we will feel our goal is being achieved. We believe all groups are being served now, but not to full capacity. OLW: Who have you partnered with? W & L: The committee has partnered with the following groups over the past year-and-a-half: - Parents and Children Together (PACT) - The Tobias Group - NTheKno - a community group organized by two local African American lesbians - Some spiritual and religious partnerships. We hope for this initiative to be more active in 2009. There has been interest from other community groups that we have not yet included on the schedule. OLW: Who can participate in the biweekly meetings? Can people just show up? W & L: Everyone is invited to join. We need additional individuals to assist in reaching out and connecting with all groups of individuals within our community. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to wandajellis@aol.com or Letha Pugh@yahoo.com, or you can contact the center. Take a look at our web site as well, stonewallcolumbus.org. We attempt to have meetings every two weeks, but everyone is busy, so we have to be flexible. We attempt to work around schedules to the extent that we can. And if we are coming off a really busy schedule, like around Pride, we may reschedule. OLW: What upcoming events/programs should GLBT people of color be aware of? W & L: Well, we want to start responding by saying that this is not just for people of color. This initiative is an attempt to have all groups of people come together and participate and enjoy together. All are welcome. This initiative is meant to bring all people together with an emphasis on making a place and a space for diversity. It’s about awareness of our differences, our similarities, and what we together can do to make it all just a little better. Please sign up for Stonewall Columbus listserv. It will keep you updated on upcoming events. Come out to the events and sign in, you will then be added to the diversity listserv. We are going to begin the year working hard on developing and expanding our mission and vision. We are going to support and partner with Stonewall Columbus’s Senior Initiative. We will be looking for volunteers for the Friendly Visiting program. If you have an interest, you may contact Letha thru the Stonewall website or at letha_pugh@yahoo.com. We will have some future events where everyone can come out and relax and have fun, but we want to give back as well. So stay tuned. Come work on the committee and help us craft our path to the future.
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JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
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FEATURE STORY by Kay Wiebell
CELEBRATE DR. KING AT THE KING ARTS COMPLEX The late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. remains one of the most revered figures in modern history - his struggle for civil rights is widely regarded as helping to advance not only black America, but also the entire nation, showing that Black history is more than just Black history. Rather, Black history is a central component of American and world history, which cannot be understood or redeemed without acknowledgment of the gifts of Blacks to America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. belonged to all of us. He exists in all of us. He showed us that we can be more everyday - larger, kinder, truer, more honest, more courageous and more loving towards each other - because he existed and belonged to all of us. In a 1965 Ebony article he reflected that he was “many things to many people: Civil Rights leader, agitator, troublemaker and orator, but in the quiet recesses of my heart, I am fundamentally a clergy man, an advocate of the social gospel.” He committed himself not only “to change the soul of the individuals so that their societies may be changed,” but also “to change the societies so that the individual soul will have a chance.” He stood apart beyond color, because the most valued virtues have no color. Dr. King had unyielding courage. Courage is the most important of virtues, because without courage you cannot practice any other virtues consistently. You can’t be consistently kind or fair or humane or generous without courage, because sooner or later you will stop and say, “Eh, the threat is too much. The difficulty is too high. The challenge is too great.” JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
Dr. King built a bridge that many still cross because he was a man who showed great humility. But humility comes from inside out. Humility says there was someone before me, someone found the path, someone paved the road before me, and I have the responsibility of constructing the road for someone yet to come. And how beautiful a bridge to cross over and then follow the inauguration of our 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, the very next day. This holiday will always be a great moment in history, monumental because Dr. King is the first Black American so honored. Martin Luther King, Jr. joins the most exclusive of American clubs. Ironically, and significantly, the only other American honored with a national holiday is George Washington. There is irony - and truth - in this. King and his nonviolent army gave America a new birth of freedom. They banished the Jim Crow signs, colored American politics, and transformed the student movement, the women’s movement, and the church. All Americans are indebted to King and the nonviolent liberators who broke into American history wanting change, bringing with them the gifts of vision, passion, and truth. This holiday is for everyone to take part in, not just African Americans. Dr. King freed people, and arguably more White people than Black people. This then, is a national holiday with national implications. And we are called, in and through the holiday, to the national task of continuing the struggle for the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream. You can start right now, just where you are, being a
better person yourself - being kinder, more courteous, trying to be a better student or employee - so that you will make an impact on your nation, your race, your gender, and the world. That is where we see the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. We each own a part of the dream- simply staying home to observe the holiday is not enough, just as voting on November 4 was not enough. As we celebrate this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and our historic entrance into 2009, let us reaffirm our commitment to work to make sure “We the People” are heard and reflected in the White House, on Capitol Hill, within our local and state governmental institutions, and through our action within our own communities and neighborhoods. This holiday is not only a day on the calendar. Dr. King’s dream was not just an image he had during a night’s sleep; it’s a vision to be acted on everyday by all of us. Dare to dream. The King Arts Complex welcomes Central Ohio to the annual MLK Community Open House on Monday, January 19. This free community event offers arts programs for youth and phenomenal entertainment to celebrate the holiday. Featured guest speaker Sonia Sanchez, recognized as one of the most important figures in African American literature, will speak on this year’s theme, “Truth and Triumph,” at 1p and 3p in the Pythian Theater. Recently honored at the 2007 Legends and Legacies program with five other extraordinary women, Sanchez is a poet, playwright and cultural icon who has a long history of actively participating as a warrior for human
rights, social justice and cultural democracy. As she said at Legends and Legacies, “People should know that when you fight on the battlefield for human rights there is no time limit. You stay on the battlefield until your last breath. Dr. King knew of that task, and we all knew there is a price to pay. But you stay on the battlefield.” “The King Arts Complex, the Soul of the City, is deeply rooted in the artistic, cultural and historical contributions and experiences of African Americans, and is open for ALL people to come and enjoy” said Dr. Barbara Nicholson, executive director of the King Arts Complex. “Sonia Sanchez has for close to forty years been pushing to be sure that everyone who seeks higher education in this country can hear and share in the African American experience and the contributions that African Americans have made to build this country. We are honored to have Ms. Sanchez once again; she is truly a legend.” Sponsored by AEP and 5/3 Bank, the King Arts Complex’s MLK Open House will welcome nearly two thousand in attendance and will feature exciting dance, spoken word and musical performances by local talent in the historical Pythian Theater from noon until 4p. Kay Wiebell is marketing and membership director for the King Arts Complex, a member organization of the Columbus Arts Marketing Association. For more information, visit www.camaonline.org. The mission of the King Arts Complex is to preserve and celebrate the cultural and artistic heritage of African Americans and the African American experience, while developing greater understanding and harmony among all people.
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JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
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DEEP INSIDE HOLLYWOOD by Romeo San Vicente
SHANKMAN SAILS WITH SINBAD From big screen confections like Hairspray to the subversive online delight Prop. 8: The Musical, gay director Adam Shankman thrives on spectacle. So it’s a no-brainer that the box-office-friendly filmmaker would want to resurrect a vintage crowd-pleasing hero like high-seas adventurer Sinbad. Shankman’s been hired to direct The 8th Voyage of Sinbad, and he’s eager for the project to leave port and start sailing soon. Getting a leading man confirmed would help - though both Keanu Reeves and Vin Diesel have been attached to the project, neither are currently signed, and there’s no guarantee they will. Of course, if this long-in-development project creeps along at the pace it’s been moving, the kid from Two and a Half Men will soon be old enough to play Sinbad. So like everything in Hollywood, it’ll happen when the stars align.
CHENOWETH LEAPS FROM DAISIES TO LEGALLY MAD Actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth is currently dominating the competition in the running to be America’s next top gay-adored celebrity. She’s endeared herself to queer fans with her lead role in Broadway’s Wicked, her hilarious (and often tuneful) role on the brilliantly inventive and now tragically cancelled Pushing Daisies, and the shockingly funny online musical Intervention, a parody involving a gay meth-head who needs show tunes to guide him to rehab. And for Daisies fans who need a regular TV fix of the tiny, sassy lady, Chenoweth has already lined up a new TV gig. She’ll co-star on Legally Mad, a new lawyer show from David E. Kelley, as sprightly attorney Skippy Pylon, the daughter of the head of a big Chicago law firm. Skippy is described as an occasionally psychotic woman who enjoys being mistaken for a teenager. Sounds perfect! Look for the show on NBC.
OXYGEN IS ADDICTED TO BEAUTY
MEET THE PEOPLE I’VE SLEPT WITH
What hath Sunset Tan wrought? That compellingly trashy reality series about the everyday dramas and intrigues of life in a Hollywood tanning salon was just the gateway drug for fans of dazzlingly ridiculous reality TV. In other words, get ready for the human apocalypse of Addicted to Beauty, Oxygen’s latest reality entry. It’s about the inner workings and, no doubt, odd-yet-sexy employees of a medi-spa where women (and those gay guys you see who are really into cosmetic surgery) can come in for a quick little lift, tuck, or Botox injection. Juggling what room is left on the TiVo schedule after this, Sunset, Celebrity Rehab, and occasional appearances by Janice Dickinson on QVC will be a difficult maintenance task all its own, but devoted watchers of junk television will surely find a way. Watch for ads featuring overplumped lips to begin popping up in cities across the country sometime this year.
Romeo admits that his attention is easily captured by a provocative title, but that’s not the only reason to get excited about the upcoming feature The People I’ve Slept With. For one thing, it’s directed by queer filmmaker Quentin Lee, whose provocative and compelling filmography includes festival faves like the hilarious Shopping for Fangs, Drift, and the lovers-on-the-run epic Ethan Mao. This time around, Lee has assembled a cast that includes gay hottie Wilson Cruz, veteran actor James Shigeta (Flower Drum Song, Die Hard), and up-and-coming indie performers Karin Anna Cheung (Better Luck Tomorrow) and Danny Vasquez (Quinceanera) for the sexy ensemble comedy. Be on the lookout for this one when film-festival season rolls around in the spring - and maybe bring someone you’ve slept with to see it.
Romeo San Vicente thought about making a movie called The People Who Want To Sleep With Me, but a five-hour epic documentary would be way too expensive to produce. He can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.
ARTS by Eva Ball
OSU Urban Arts Space Opens Its Second Year in Style February marks the one-year anniversary of the OSU Urban Arts Space. With a vibrant and productive inaugural year behind us, we are delighted to share some of our excitement. We are in the middle of installing the Ohio Art League 98th Annual Spring Juried Exhibition. We realize the title is a mouthful, but fittingly so, considering this show, and all the activities surrounding it, will offer plenty for you to sink your teeth into. This partnership with Ohio Art League (OAL) continues our mission to bridge the university and the community. Appropriately, this marks both the first exhibition in the venue coordinated by an external interest and the first event in OAL’s 100th year. The exhibition opens to the public on January 29 at 7p with a special preview event: juror David Pagel will preview the 6 works he selected for artist awards, including the winner of the prestigious Best of Show. The event includes a discussion of Pagel’s selection process and an open criticism of the award-winning works. Pagel is Associate Professor of Art Theory and History, and Chair of the Art Department at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. He is also a regular contributor to the Los Angeles Times as an art critic. The official opening reception will be the next evening, Friday, 5-7p. JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
Throughout the duration of the show we will team up with the folks at OAL to present various free community events. Getting in on the celebration of 100 years of this fruitful community resource lets us celebrate and support OAL’s historic year. Once the OAL exhibition is in our lower space, we will partner with the Department of Theatre to open Design for Performance: Treasures from the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute in our upper space. Drawn from the extensive collections at The Ohio State University, Design for Performance will bring the magic of design and technical theatre to OSU Urban Arts Space. Spanning the late 1800s into the twentyfirst century, the artwork in the exhibition includes professional theatre design for drama and comedy, musical theatre, opera, dance, and outdoor spectacle - all for live performance and entertainment. If any part of you likes the theatre, this is the exhibition for you. In conjunction with Design for Performance and in pursuit of our mission and our initiatives to integrate curriculum into the programming at OSU Urban Arts Space, Associate Professor Maureen Ryan of the Department of Theatre will bring her MFA acting students downtown. The students, who are in the final two quarters of their three-
year graduate program, will spend time constructing and performing personal artistic manifestos. They have been assigned the task of considering themselves avant-garde artists who will become the innovative and vital theatrical artists of the future. The manifesto performances will be recorded and shown at the OSU Urban Arts Space in conjunction with a performance/installation that the MFA actors will give in the space. The MFAs will rehearse site-specific work at the space for five weeks and then give a public performance on Friday, March 13, 6-8p. The performance pieces will be based on the aesthetics they have put forth in their manifestos and in response to our upper space. The students can make performance pieces in response to Design for Performance or they can create found-object installations in the space and respond to those. After the performances are complete, the foundobject installations along with the videotaped manifestos will remain in the space as an exhibit
until Friday, April 3. The actors will create and rehearse the pieces during the OSU Urban Arts Space normal hours of operation from February 11 through April 3. The general public is invited to view the rehearsal process. If that’s not enough to warm you up, this winter we also boast our first international call for entries for our summer exhibition, Breakthrough Ideas in Global Glass (BIGG), sponsored by Steuben Glass. Visit our website to find out more. And dear reader, that is just the first three months of the year! See you at the OSU Urban Arts Space: 50 W Town Street, 614.292.8861, uas.osu.edu. Eva Ball is communications coordinator for the OSU Urban Arts Space, a member organization of the Columbus Arts Marketing Association. CAMA’s mission is to promote awareness of and participation in the arts and cultural opportunities in Greater Columbus through collaborative marketing and public relations projects, and to provide professional development opportunities for members. For information visit www.camaonline.org.
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MUSIC by Jimmy Newsum
Hot Hits for Those Cold Nights Baby, it’s cold outside. But thankfully, some of the worlds best DJs and dance artists are introducing new beats to heat things up. Here’s a selection of the best new dance albums coming to stores this winter.
Move - Atlantis Dance 2009 DJ Wayne G (Silver Label/Tommy Boy) Who can afford a cruise vacation these days? Now you don’t have to! The good folks at Atlantis have compiled a selection of some of the favorite hits of the seas for those of us who are financially land-bound. The double-disc album is a follow-up to last year’s phenomenal series debut Move: Atlantis Dance 2008, mixed by Manny Lehman. This year’s album is compiled and mixed by DJ Wayne G, a resident DJ for Atlantis Cruises and Resorts. Move: Atlantis Dance 2009 is divided into two discs: Sunset, for the cocktail sipping, T-Dance vibe, and Peak Hour for the energy guzzling, hard tribal experience. The albums features the best tracks from the greatest names in today’s club culture, including Ultra Naté, Kristine W, Murk, Rosabel, Bimbo Jones, Bob Sinclar, and an exclusive, never-before-released Amber remix. It’s two-and-a-halfhours of bumping and thumping party music that may make you decide to forgo your month’s rent, pack your Speedos and hop on board the next Atlantis cruise.
Beautiful Dancer Raphael Solomon (RaphSolo) Self-describing his sound as “pop with a Latin twist,” the Londoner’s music is based on his own complex emotions and experiences. His first single, “Sex With My Ex,” for instance, was penned by the artist after preparing a supper for, then seducing, a former flame. Solomon wrote the title track in New York City when he mistakenly thought he had found “the one.” Most of his songs, in fact, are steeped in similar soil: heart-
break, loneliness and failure to pay the rent. Therein lies the magic of the album: It’s deeply personal, almost like a diary. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Many of his acts - like his failed attempt to rekindle his former flame with sex - are comical and relatable. We’ve all done crazy things in the name of love. Solomon has made his foolishness into beautiful music. Genesis
DJ Tracy Young (Ferosh Records) For the last decade, Tracy Young has helped elevate the sounds of dance music to heavenly heights, spinning the hottest tracks, concocting the fiercest beats, and headlining the globe’s largest, most exciting events. But with her latest compilation Genesis, named after her own series of earth-shattering Miami parties, Tracy Young is giving fans one more reason to include her among the pantheon of DJ deities. Young acknowledges that she had tough personal experiences while making the CD. She says the last song, “Alright,” holds special significance for her because it is about taking something bad and turning it into a positive. The track to look out for on the album is William Umana’s “Viva El Circuito.” Umana is an exceptional artist with a fresh new sound, and his pairing with Young yields powerful results.
Never Kristine W (Fly Again Music) Kristine holds the world’s record for most consecutive #1 Billboard Club Hits, breaking records previously held by Madonna and Janet Jackson. In “Never,” the first single from her forthcoming full-length studio album, The Power of Music, Kristine proves why. “Never” is a classic Kristine W ‘girl-been-wronged’ bitch track where she promises her ungrateful lover, “You’ll never get the best of me,” and “You can’t steal my joy.” Once again, Kristine’s beautiful voice commands front and center, with her trademark rhythmic beats providing brilliant back-up. The track is another hand-raiser and future dance floor staple, proving that when it comes to gay dance, Kristine still has the power. JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
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DVDIVA
FILM
by Gregg Shapiro
by Adam Lippe
The Award Show Movies You’ll Miss and the Lowbrow Fun You Should Have Instead It appears that vagina dentata is all the rage. With 2007’s Teeth, and the recent Parasite Killer Pussy (not porn, but an incredible simulation), as well as Penetration Angst, male paranoia mixed with misogyny is making a very welcome comeback. Tokyo Gore Police, from the same team that brought us last year’s whirlwind of wonderfully ridiculous gore and Japanese schoolgirls, Machine Girl, imagines a world of unstoppable mutations fighting against the corporate owned police. But really, that’s all incidental, because there’s a scene where a woman’s entire lower half turns into a crocodile’s mouth, snapping at everything in range. This effect has no pretense of being anything other than silly (David Cronenberg would have used it to make a social comment on our fear of our own bodies, but the makers of Tokyo Gore Police are not nearly that ambitious) and that’s an advantage, because for the nearly two hours the film runs, there is not one bit of nonsense that feels comparatively out of place. Granted, the running time does get in the way - no movie this over the top and stupid should ever run longer than 84 minutes (a lesson that should have been learned from the excess and exhaustion of the cult hit Versus). This most likely comes from the producer, an American who also runs the company releasing the DVD (Media Blasters), trying to make sense of it all and somehow missing the point of his entire product. His hand is most evident in the phony commercials interspersed throughout, which individually are funny (an “uplifting” ad where cops gun down an accused serial killer), but slow the pace down, and make his rip-offs of Robocop a little too obvious. Still, this is easily the most entertaining movie of the year (the first few weeks anyway). While you’re enjoying yourself, you will have to remember to retain your inner melancholy by catching up on all the Oscar-y movies that weren’t released in your area, but word of mouth (otherwise known as peer pressure) has escaped the bubbles of NY and LA, and you’re keen on some uplifting depression. The Wrestler is getting a lot of attention, and I would assume that’s because it is the most unsurprising movie of 2008. It constantly reassures the audience that we understand the has-been wrestler (Mickey Rourke) trying to get his life back on track before his health gives out. The movie could have been about cancer, alien spaceships, or mimed, and there would hardly be any difference. Anyone who has seen the great documentary Behind the Mat will recognize every single plot point and character trait, as Rourke’s character is simply a combination of two of the main subjects, Jake “The Snake” Roberts (estranged daughter, drug addiction, living out of a car) and Terry Funk (polite but single-minded 50year-old ignoring doctor’s orders to compete in dangerous matches involving wire fences, bottles and other sharp objects simply because he lives to please the fans). I kept waiting for the movie to go in a new direction, but it follows the Rocky sequel template and just panders. There are no such concessions in the British thriller Eden Lake, a superb stalk-and-slash thriller being released straight to DVD this month. Eden Lake avoids the normal trappings of the genre that last year’s The Strangers fell into, that the villains seem to be aware of the camera and playing for it, knowing just when to jump behind a tree or make a spooky noise, even when it seems like the least efficient way to get to their goal of killing the annoying, whitebread protagonists. Eden Lake obeys the simple formula couple goes on vacation, accidentally antagonizes punk teenagers looking for trouble and spends the rest of the movie regretting it but it humanizes the kids by establishing levels of peer pressure and social classes, and yet doesn’t try to make us like them. Eden Lake is brutal, savage, uncompromising, tense, and has a truly unsettling (and yet realistic) conclusion. A movie that barely has a beginning or a middle, let alone a conclusion, is the Thai action mess Chocolate, which is from the same people who made the Tony Jaa films, Ong Bak and The ProJAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
tector. Like those two movies, Chocolate has superb action sequences and fights featuring stunning athletes (in this case, the lead is a young autistic girl) and some of the worst dialogue and least organized plotting imaginable. Though it is likely to suffer the same fate as the Jaa films by being cut down considerably and rescored with rap music for American audiences, don’t feel that you’re missing too much. The movie was incoherent to begin with. The same choppy feel haunts Choke, the adaptation of the hilarious and misanthropic Chuck Palahniuk novel. Unlike what David Fincher was able to achieve with his version of Palahniuk’s Fight Club, director Clark Gregg didn’t have the time or money to wow us with visual effects and camera trickery. So instead, we get a sort of Cliff’s Notes version of the book, crammed into 88 minutes. It hits all the highlights: sex addict (played by Sam Rockwell, a great bit of casting) who works as a historical re-creationist in order to support his mentally ill mother, while bilking rich people out of money by intentionally choking on pieces of meat in upscale restaurants so they can save him. The scenes are quick and funny without being substantial. There’s no time for anything to breathe, and all the mysteries about Rockwell’s father are wrapped up five minutes after they begin. It is an enjoyable and dark film, but the source material is a masterpiece, and actually would have benefited from a larger scale production. Scale is not what Religulous would have required; a different and less smug person at its center than Bill Maher would have been the right move. It’s a shame because there are some useful (if obvious) points to be made about religious hypocrisy, but Maher responds to every man-on-the-street or cornered subject with his usual hacky material and “turn to the camera and mug” face. There are bits and pieces of funny stuff in Religulous, but 90% of it is when Maher’s mouth is closed. A closed mouth is not what you will experience watching My Best Friend’s Girl, a financial failure from September that didn’t get enough attention for its fabulous wrongheadedness. Dane Cook is hired by guys who want to get their girlfriends back, and so he goes on dates acting in the most offensive and obnoxious way possible so they will run screaming back to their exes. There is nothing inherently wrong with the premise (well, there is, since it suggests that these women are the most gullible and predictable people in the world), but it is the casting choices that are unfathomable. Jason Biggs plays Cook’s wimpy best friend and roommate, longing to be taken back by his coworker, played by Kate Hudson. Since the plot turns are obvious - Biggs’ plan backfires when Hudson likes Cook because of all the horrible things he says and does to her, and Cook then falls in love with her, creating further complications - what is worth paying attention to is why anyone would think of the charmless and scabby-faced Cook (seriously, this movie has some of the worst makeup in the history of vanity projects; it makes the actors look far worse than they do in real life) as a stud. And there is never any reason we should care about Biggs; he doesn’t deserve Hudson even when he’s being honest with her. While the movie was running, my mind constantly returned to the tagline for Aliens vs. Predator: Whoever wins, we lose. My Best Friend’s Girl goes on for nearly two interminable and desperate hours, and it plays like someone’s grand, witty joke about how generic romantic comedies are conceived, with elements and casts thrown in a blender without regard to the lack of chemistry between them. I’d believe it were satire, too, if it hadn’t been directed by the guy who made The Odd Couple II. And The Whole Ten Yards. And Getting Even With Dad. And Grumpier Old Men. And… If you can’t tell, I’m totally recommending it.
Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona, Chris & Don Vicky Cristina Barcelona (The Weinstein Company Home Entertainment) - There is so much to recommend about Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona - one of the best films of 2008 and featuring an Oscar-caliber performance by Penelope Cruz - that it’s difficult to know where to begin. Although much of the story takes place in Spain, it vibrates with the same kind of energy that made Allen’s comic paeans to NYC, such as Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Broadway Danny Rose, and Manhattan Murder Mystery, so enduring and endearing. Allen is clearly in awe of his Barcelona surroundings, and that reverence gives the movie a sort of valentine feel. Friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall, the new and perfect amalgamation of the angst-ridden female characters previously embodied by Diane Keaton, Mia Farrow and Judy Davis) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) pay a summer visit to Judy (Patricia Clarkson), a relative of Vicky’s living in Barcelona. Vicky is engaged to Doug (Chris Messina), who has stayed behind in New York, but makes his presence felt via cell phone. Cristina, on the other hand, is “at liberty,” and doesn’t waste any time taking advantage of her freedom. The pair meets Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem, who has never looked sexier), a divorced artist eager to drown his sorrows in new flesh. But it soon becomes obvious that, in spite of her objections to the contrary, the spark of attraction doesn’t only exist between Cristina and Juan Antonio, but also between Vicky and Juan Antonio. Complicating matters are the return of Juan Antonio’s fiery ex-wife Maria Elena (a dynamic Penelope Cruz) and the arrival of Doug, who is eager to proceed with the wedding plans. Allen, who is not known for his sensitivity to LGBT subject matter, handles the relationship that develops between Cristina and Maria Elena with more taste and restraint than one might have imagined. Instead of turning the attraction into a punchline, as he did with Meryl Streep’s lesbian character in Manhattan, he is actually sensitive and thoughtful. Funny and fresh, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is like a delightful trip abroad, without the outrageous exchange rates. There are no extras on the DVD. Chris & Don: A Love Story (Zeitgeist) Directors Guido Santi and Tina Mascara have crafted a loving cinematic portrait of legendary artistic gay couple Christopher Isherwood (the acclaimed writer on whose story the musical Cabaret is based) and visual artist Don Bachardy. Despite a 30year difference in their ages, the couple had a 34-year relationship which began in 1952 and ended with Isherwood’s passing in 1986. Bachardy, spry and still painting in his mid70s, regales the viewer with stories of their meeting and subsequent association. Incorporating material from Isherwood’s diaries, never-before-seen 1950s footage shot by Isherwood and Bachardy, dramatic re-enactments, current interviews with Bachardy, Liza Minnelli, Leslie Caron, John Boorman and others, and much more, this documentary has as much to say about same-sex relationships as it does about the lives led by creative people. Not only did the pair lead productive and inspired lives, they also never apologized for being a couple in Hollywood at a time when that was all but unthinkable. They also had remarkable friendships with W.H. Auden (with whom Isherwood emigrated to the US from England), Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Igor Stravinsky, Somerset Maugham, E. M. Forster, Evelyn Hooker, and others. DVD special features include more home movies, footage from the sets of The Rose Tattoo and War and Peace, an “At Home With Don Bachardy” segment featuring his views on gay marriage, and deleted interviews.
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JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
26 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY Poli-Sci continued from page 8
INTERVIEW by Nathan Chea
MANHUNTING MORMON
Thousands of gay men pray daily to the Manhunt Gods for a heavenly gift, but Michael Walker has taken his worshipping to a whole new level. The former Mormon is Manhunt‘s newest cover model. Is this another case of good boy gone wild? Perhaps. But this isn’t the first time Walker has made waves in the Mormon community. Last year, he came under fire when he and eleven other young Mormon men appeared shirtless in the Men on a Mission calendar. We chatted with the rebel Mormon to learn why he did it and the repercussions he expects to encounter as the new face of Manhunt. Nathan Chea: First, tell us about the Men on a Mission calendar. Michael Walker: It started out as sort of a joke, but Chad (the creator of the calendar) and his team were very professional and it is truly something that I’m proud I was a part of. NC: Why Mr. December? MW: I wondered the same thing. Chad told me that my picture seemed like the perfect bookend to the other pictures. I can’t complain. Mr. December’s a good spot. NC: Did you run into any trouble with the Mormon Church as a result of your involvement with the calendar? MW: I was called by my Stake President (a local leader of the congregation in L.A.) but I never returned his call. I’ve heard that some of the other models in the calendar have had interviews regarding their involvement, but none have been ex-communicated, as far as I know. NC: The creator of the calendar, Chad Hardy, was excommunicated from the church. MW: My heart goes out to Chad. Not only was Chad excommuniJAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
cated, but they decided to strip him of his degree from Brigham Young University. They claim that they excommunicated him because of reasons outside of the calendar - something that Chad has told me is a bold-faced lie. It’s sad to me that all of this would happen to him over something so ridiculously innocent as a shirtless calendar. NC: Is it true you donated your calendar earnings to the Ronald McDonald house? MW: I served a two-year mission for the church at the Ronald McDonald house in Buffalo. It was an incredible experience and I’m thrilled I was able to support them through this project. NC: To say the gay community and the Mormon Church haven’t been getting along lately is an understatement. What are your feelings on the recent rift and on Proposition 8? MW: This one’s tough for me. Growing up Mormon and gay has to be one of the most difficult social and spiritual conundrums anyone can be subjected to. I was deeply disturbed and saddened by the church’s support of Proposition 8. Their usual non-involvement in politics rule was abandoned for a sickly impressive campaign that ended in the taking of basic fundamental rights for me and my friends. NC: How has their position affected your relationship with the Church? MW: It forced me to call into question everything about the institution I was raised a member of. While I respect the Mormon Church for instilling the values I carry with me today, the passage of Proposition 8 has caused me to lose my affinity for the Church and left me feeling almost like I’ve lost a good friend or family member. It was the final straw that caused me to fi-
nally say, “You’re not Mormon any more.” NC: You’ve left the Mormon Church? MW: I had to. But that being said, I hope that people understand that there are many, many good and decent members of the Mormon Church who understand our struggle and support us in every way. NC: How did you become the face of Manhunt? MW: I have been an on-and-off member of Manhunt since I came out, about a year after my mission. They asked and I said yes. NC: Had you done any modeling prior to the Manhunt shoot? MW: I was signed with Wilhelmina Models for about ten years, so I’d done random projects here and there. NC: How was the photo-shoot? MW: The shoot was very professional and relaxed. When I first arrived, I was adamant about not doing any shots in my underwear, but somehow they soon convinced me otherwise (laughs). Everyone was really nice and did what they could to make me feel comfortable. NC: All of our readers are dying to know … are you single? MW: Yes. Single. My profile on Manhunt is a little different than a lot of the others you’ll find on the site, since I am primarily relationship-oriented. I’m a serial dater, but haven’t found him yet. NC: Being the new face of Manhunt definitely raises your exposure. MW: That’s a good. I think. To read more with Michael Walker, go to www.ManhuntDaily.com. Photo: Peter Palladino Palladinoimages.com. Hair & makeup: Travis Pates. Nathan Chea is with www.ManhuntDaily.com
Rick told Ann Curry, a rather attractive woman who recently interviewed him, that nature made him want to have sex with every beautiful woman he sees. It is maturity on his part that keeps him from doing so. Therefore, Gay people shouldn’t have multiple sex partners, which means they should never marry. Besides the bizarre logic of how his sex drive cancels out the legitimacy of same-sex marriage, Warren’s level of maturity is nowhere near the point where he thinks it is, otherwise he would never make such an inappropriate comment to his female interviewer. Neither did he reflect on the fact that there are damned few beautiful women who would want his fat ass sweating, grunting and pumping into them. Don’t blame me if the above mental image of Warren having sexy time with supermodels makes you hurl. It came from the horse’s ... mouth. Perhaps it was Warren’s way of asserting his butch credentials as a real man. Instead, he succeeded in looking like a true slime-ball. Think of how Ann Curry felt when he said it sitting right in front of her! I am positive she was not turned on. Anyone attending the inauguration who is upset with Warren’s insufferable homophobia, misogyny and lack of spiritual tolerance can do the following. When Mr. Warren gets up to deliver the invocation, turn your back to him. Warren buys into not only homophobia but also the oppression of women. According to him, wives should be subservient to their husbands. Women who face the hard choice of terminating a pregnancy are on par with genocidal Nazis if they go through with an abortion. Here’s how Warren sees the people around him: Gays need to grow up. Women are perpetually children in comparison to their husbands, even if they marry some dumb-fuck preacher with a weight problem. Anybody who doesn’t accept Jesus is going straight (so to speak) to Hell. How lucky he is to be heterosexual, male and Christian! And how blessed he is that God made him rich. The Eye of a Needle Supposedly, Warren gives away 90% of his wealth to charity. Sales of one of his books, The Purpose Driven Life, have reached 30 million. Let’s say Warren makes $2 off every book sold, which would be $60 million dollars. This means that Warren keeps $6 million for himself, not counting royalties from other books, his salary at Saddleback, videos, speaking engagement fees etc. But he won’t pay much at all in taxes on the 10% he keeps. Publicity of his magnanimity brings in more money to his church and fuels his own self-promotion media machine. This in turn gets him invited to dinner with presidents. That 90% is a fantastic investment, a gift that keeps on giving. So much for your left hand not knowing what your right hand is doing. And the only people Warren wants praying in a closet are homosexuals. I wonder how many of those charities for people with AIDS, the poor, etc. also discourage safer sex practices and contribute to the further oppression of women. In addition, how much of that money funds the horrors of ex-gay therapy? How many suicides has Warren stupidly encouraged, as ex-gays under his care realize in the depths of their souls they can’t grow out of their homosexuality? That money is tainted, folks. It has the stink of Warren’s ego all over it. A Modest Proposal I cannot find it in my heart to blame Barack Obama for inviting such a poor choice to give the invocation at the inauguration. Obama is a highranking politician and is therefore a liar and a whore. Comes with the territory. No doubt he made a Satan’s bargain with War-
ren in exchange for Warren’s support during the presidential campaign. As such, Obama should live up to his word and give Warren his earthly reward. Anyone attending the inauguration who is upset with Warren’s insufferable homophobia, misogyny and lack of spiritual tolerance can do the following. When Mr. Warren gets up to deliver the invocation, turn your back to him. You could give him the Baghdad boot, but that would mean throwing away a perfectly good shoe, and nobody wants to wear shabby shoes to the inauguration. Besides, Secret Service would be on you quicker than you could say, “We’re Here! We’re Queer!” You could boo him or blow a whistle, but others would have to put up with your rudeness on top of his self-righteous platitudes. Take my advice, good people. Say nothing and turn your back to him. Even if nobody in the media catches your act, everyone else around you will. Some may accuse me of calling for division at a time when the country needs to pull together. I respectfully disagree. It would merely be recognition of the division that is already there among us that Warren represents. By excluding women who demand equality, the entire LGBTQ community (and let’s not leave out our allies!), and anyone who doesn’t accept Christ as Lord, Warren personifies a gaping chasm that will not go away, the same way Gay marriage will not go away. What Warren fails to see is, whether he likes it or not, Gays are already married to each other. He can treat us like naughty children, deny us our rights, tell us to get out of his church when we live our homosexual lifestyles, demand we pull a Ted Haggard and condemn ourselves to loveless heterosexual marriages, and blithely fool himself into believing that he can solve everything by throwing donuts and dollar bills at us. But he cannot rend asunder what, for so many of us, God has joined. Our marriages are stronger than his faith in a false god who hates us for being true to what we are. A small note to Melissa Etheridge: seeing how Warren is your biggest fan and you two have bonded, I imagine you wrote something gentle and perhaps insightful when you signed his album. But I really wish you signed it as an angry adult, not as a child of God, and that you had used appropriate adult language to bring the point home. “Get the fuck out of our way, ass-hole! Love and kisses, Melissa” would have neatly summed it up. Come to Jesus, Rick Warren! Note to Warren: Melissa Etheridge has written on your behalf. She says you showed remorse for some of the things you said against us. She forgives you. But I do not. You still need to make amends with the rest of us. Scrubbing your church’s ban on people who follow a “homosexual lifestyle” from your website is a start, but it is not enough. Photo-ops in WeHo aren’t going to get it, neither is some half-baked apology. Metanoia. We need a full-blown media altar call for the public confession of your sins against us, son. Here is your penance, in front of God, MSNBC and Fox News: Announce that you will quit comparing our unions with polygamy, incest and child-rape, and pledge that you will quit calling homosexuality a sin. You know for a fact it isn’t. Denounce the ex-gay movement. Promise never again to use Gays in any more asinine statements about evolution. Promise to do your homework in world history before opening your big mouth. Solemnly affirm that you will support our right to secular marriage. And… Apologize to Ann Curry for being such a tool.
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JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
28 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
SEX TALK by Simon Sheppard
SPEAKING OF
Beginning With Bondage
NEXT MEETING FEB 11th Out With Our Communities of Faith at the Arena Grand Theatre (175 W Nationwide Blvd)
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
Many a man, upon seeing a photo of a tiedup guy, his naked body straining against ropes and restraints, has thought, “Hey, I’d like some of that!” Bondage is mostly about power - about taking control or surrendering it. That’s a big temptation for tops who crave a human sex toy. So how does a newbie bondage dom go from jacking off over porn to really playing with ropes and chains? In part, it depends on a kinky guy’s goals. Some restraint stuff is fairly simple, even for absolute beginners. Anybody can perform bondage lite - moves like using handkerchiefs to tie a partner’s wrists to the headboard. And handcuffs are widely available, though it’s important not to damage the nerves in the wrists, or - vitally - not to misplace the key. Moving up in sophistication, there are trunk loads of specialized bondage gear to be bought, everything from non-intimidating Velcro wrist restraints to heavy-duty (and pricey) cast-iron shackles. Using them on a bottom’s body is pretty much a breeze, though the usual warnings about safety apply. But, cautions one bondage master, “If you’re just starting out, don’t overbuy. There’s a tendency to want all the coolest gimmicks, but toys don’t make the man. Start slowly, learning what you want to do and what you need to do it, and you won’t end up with a huge credit card bill for gizmos you’ll rarely use.” The cheapest, most available bondage toy is also one that’s quite tricky to use well: rope. While simple rope techniques usually use shorter lengths of line, Japanese-style bondage, which uses longer ropes to enwrap a body in intricate webs of restraint, is an art form in itself. But even the most basic rope bondage, such as firmly tying up wrists and ankles, requires knowledge to do securely and safely. Says our bondage master, “Rope work that seems quick and dirty can really be fairly involved. You don’t want to cut off someone’s circulation, but neither do you want the ropes to be so loose that they just fall off.” He continues, “There are a growing number of how-to-be-kinky books out there, some of them very good. But bondage takes place in three dimensions and real time, and there’s nothing as good as learning from an expert.” In urban areas, leather clubs and sex classes can provide some erection-producing
education. And - given the truism that the best tops start out by bottoming for good dominants - it’s often possible to find men who know their ropes by cruising online. But one fellow cautions, “You want to make sure that you’re bottoming for someone sane. I once got into a really scary situation, and believe me, you don’t want to be incapacitated by a psycho.” Most crazy people don’t warn you up front, of course. But the story does point up the importance of pre-play negotiations. When you’re the top, establish trust. Be honest about your level of expertise. And get to know what your bottomto-be wants, what his limits are, whether he has physical injuries, and if he’s experienced. As our bondage master says, “Newbie submissives may have a fantasy of what bondage feels like that bears no relation to an actual scene. A man may find being tied up relaxing, even overly slow and involved. Or he might want to struggle, when you’d rather he didn’t. It helps to talk these things out beforehand.” Once you’ve established rapport with your sub, relax and have fun. If the ropes sag or a knot comes undone, don’t get flustered. If a stressful position that seemed like a hot idea turns out to be too tough for a bottom’s body to bear, rearrange things before injury occurs. And if a bottomboy seems bored, either ramp things up or simply ask him if he wants to end the scene. Be forewarned that in consensual play, the fantasy may not always match what’s really going on. Recalls one middle-aged top, “I was fuckbuddies with this married man who kept asking to be tied up and teased. It was as if being restrained would give him permission to enjoy himself. I obligingly tied his hands behind his back and jacked him off, but when he referred to himself as my ‘slave,’ I knew that was bullshit.” Remember, too, that getting a guy out of bondage can be somewhat involved; if you’re playing with ropes, always keep a pair of scissors handy, just in case. And with luck, training, and sensitivity, you will, likely as knot, turn out to be fit to tie a guy up. Simon Sheppard is the editor of Leathermen and Homosex: Sixty Years of Gay Erotica, and the author of Sex Parties 101, Kinkorama, and In Deep: Erotic Stories, and can be reached at SexTalk@QSyndicate.com. Visit Simon at www.simonsheppard.com.
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SAVAGE LOVE by Dan Savage
I’m an 18-year-old straight female. Two nights ago, I went to a party. My ex-boyfriend was present, but my current boyfriend was not. I had several beers, and while I wasn’t drunk, I was tipsy. I had to go to my car to get my cell phone, and my ex offered to accompany me. When we got to the car, he pushed me against the car and started making out with me. I tried to push him away and said, “No, I can’t” several times. He kept trying to pull my pants down, and every time he did, I pulled them back up. He took his dick out and tried again to pull down my pants. I know it sounds stupid, but all I could get out were meek “nos” and “I can’ts.” I was afraid of a confrontation because he and I have been friendly since we broke up. I eventually discontinued my attempts to pull my pants back up because I figured the easiest way to get out of this situation was to let him finish. He had sex with me. I wanted to cry the whole time, but as much as I wanted to scream, “Stop! Get the fuck off of me!” I couldn’t get the words out. I called my boyfriend when I got home and told him what happened. He is angry because he thinks I had a part in it. I don’t know how to make him understand how many times I said no and how at first I physically stopped my ex from taking my clothes off. My boyfriend and I have been through a lot together, and we talked about getting married one day. I never wanted to cheat on him, and while I feel guilty about what happened, I think he’s being harsh on me considering I succumbed to force. I’ve apologized again and again, but I don’t know how to make things right. I still don’t want a confrontation with the ex. I just want to forget about him and never see him or speak to him again. I just want things to be okay again with my boyfriend. Is there anything I can do or say to make him understand? Date Rape Engenders Awful Depression Understand that you were raped, DREAD date-ish raped, acquaintance-ish raped, grayarea-ish raped, blurry-booze-soaked-lines raped, and raped under circumstances that would make bringing charges a futile exercise. But raped. Your ex kept coming at you, and you were paralyzed by a set of inhibitions - a desire to avoid confrontation at all costs (even the cost of your own violation), a desire to avoid making your victimizer feel bad - that are
pounded into the heads of girls and young women. Your ex exploited this vulnerability. Your ex may not think he raped you since you finally “let him,” and perhaps he interprets that as consent and so, distressingly, does your boyfriend. But raped you were. So what do you do now? I’d suggest a bit more contact with your ex. You need to confront him - for your own sake, DREAD, but also for the sake of all other women he’s going to encounter over the course of his life. If you can’t face him, call him. If you can’t speak to him, write him (a letter, not an e-mail). Wherever he is right now, he’s rationalizing away his responsibility for what happened. He may be telling himself that he was drunk, that you were drunk, and that, sure, he may have been aggressive at first, but that you came around and enjoyed it as much as he did. He needs to hear from you that you regard - and, for what it’s worth, I regard - what happened as rape. Tell him that he didn’t get away with it - that he raped you, you know it, and now he knows it. Then tell him that if the circumstances were just a little less ambiguous, DREAD, that you would be going to the police. Hell, tell him you still might. Put the fear of God into him. Then you need to confront the boyfriend: If your boyfriend can’t take your side, DREAD, if he can’t see what really happened here, if he insists on victimizing you, too, then you don’t need him in your life any more than you need your ex in your life. I’m a 23-year-old gay dude from Vancouver. My boyfriend and I have been together for four years. Thing is, he’s seriously letting himself go - gaining weight, enjoying roomier pants. I drop hints about working out or eating better - but he gets offended and becomes self-conscious. I want to be supportive and not care, but I do care and it’s killing me. Had I known at 19 that he would be throwing away his hot body, I might have reconsidered his LTR potential. Now, four years later, I’m stuck with a lovable fatty who I’m having a hard time being intimate with. Is this awful? Am I selfish? I love him, but I want to enjoy sex again. I have NOTHING against fatties, Dan, I just don’t want to bed one. Really Eating At Me Drop the subtlety, REAM. No more faux-loving hints about the importance of diet and exer-
cise - he reacts negatively to that shit because he’s picking up on your dishonesty. You’re not concerned for his health, REAM, you’re concerned for your sex life and what the death of your attraction to him means for this relationship. So give it to him straight: You’re not attracted to fatties, which is why you pursued him four years ago, and his weight gain is killing your sex life and threatening the survival of your relationship. If he values this relationship, he’ll get his ass off the couch. And now a note to the infuriated fatsophere: I’m not saying that REAM’s boyfriend is unattractive because he’s heavier, or that heavy people aren’t or can’t be attractive, or that all must forever maintain our “first-date weight” over the multi-decade course of relationship/marriage/whatever. But to destroy a large part of what attracted someone to you early in a relationship - whether actively or through neglect - is to take your partner for granted in a way that’s not okay. And that goes for a tightbodied fag who parks his ass on the couch because he’s got a boyfriend now - so, hey, why bother with the gym? - and the BBW who wastes away to skin and bones after she lands an admirer. A close gay friend recently seroconverted after months of barebacking and meth use. He’s a successful professional with years of AIDS peer-education experience. My immediate reaction was shock and anger. He claims that I am not a true friend because I should hide my feelings and shower him with empathy and understanding. Is there something wrong with me for feeling mad at my friend for his irresponsibility? Old Fashioned Safe Sex Adherent Let’s say you’ve got two friends. One gets hit by lightning, and the other plops his soppingwet ass down on a third rail. Do both friends presuming both survive - deserve your empathy and understanding, OFSSA? Of course. But one friend was electrocuted while the other electrocuted his damn self. Friendship does not obligate you to pretend that your friend who sat his ass down on the third rail wasn’t being idiotic and self-destructive. Friendship, in fact, requires the opposite reaction. Download the Savage Lovecast (my weekly podcast) every Tuesday at www.thestranger.com/savage. mail@savagelove.net
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
30 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY
ABOUT TOWN Theatre-Goers Have Options in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati Evolution Theatre Company Taps Columbus Talent for Frozen
Chagrin Valley Little Theatre Runs With Doubt: A Parable
Doubt: A Parable, John Patrick Shanley’s gripping study in morality and uncertainty, tuned into the public’s shock at the Catholic
Know Theatre of Cincinnati Says I Love You Because
Know Theatre of Cincinnati is excited to present I Love You Because, a modern day telling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Set in New York City, the six-person cast, com-
Evolution Theatre Company presents Bryony Lavery’s Frozen, the award-winning British drama that examines the aftermath of a child’s murder through the intertwining stories of the accused, the despairing mother of a victim, and an academic researching the nature of serial killers. The play is a journey for both the characters and the audience, asking the questions, “Can you forgive the unforgivable?” and “Can you bear the unbearable?” The playwright’s emphasis on narrative and the sobering nature of the story demand compelling performances from the cast of Frozen. ETC’s production features three veteran actors familiar to Columbus audiences.
As serial killer Ralph, Jon Osbeck takes on the role that won Irish actor Brian F. O’Byrne a 2004 Tony Award. Columbus favorite Mandy Fox will portray Nancy, the grieving and enraged mother. Columbus actress Victoria Matsos plays Agnetha, who is balancing troubled events in her own life with her research on the criminal mind. ETC presents Frozen in the Van Fleet Theatre in the Columbus Performing Arts Center (549 Franklin Avenue), starting with a preview performance on Jan 14 (with all seats $5 on that date). Opening night will be Jan 15 with performances continuing Jan 16-17 and January 21-24. All shows will begin at 8p, with one 2p matinee on January 18. Regular ticket prices are $12; $10 for seniors and students with an ID. Advanced tickets can be purchased at www.evolutiontheatre.org with remaining tickets available at the door for cash only.
Church’s priest abuse scandals and became an instant hit. Doubt won numerous awards, including the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In late 2008, the play made the jump to film, receiving dozens of awards and nominations for its stars, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis. Doubt is set in 1964, in a working class Catholic school in the Bronx. Sister Aloysius, the stern, hard-line principal, has come to suspect the young Father Flynn of having improper relations with the school’s first black student. Disturbing news from an enthusiastic young nun, Sister James, and a meeting with the student’s mother, Mrs. Muller, bring conflict to the school and to the conscience of Sister Aloysious. Doubt is a mystery that raises important questions about the consequences of action
and inaction; it does not answer those questions but rather leaves them to the audience. Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, now mid-way into its 79th season, is set to launch its own production of Shanley’s work on January 16 under the direction of CVLT veteran Don Edelman. After-show discussions led by the director and the cast will begin on Saturday, January 17. The production stars Harriet DeVeto as the disapproving Sister Aloysius, Eric Oswald as the brusque Father Flynn, and Cheryl Winslow as the innocent Sister James, with Sharron M. Foxx taking on the role of the strong mother, Mrs. Muller.
prised entirely of the Know Theatre’s Resident Acting Company, takes the audience on an adventure through two completely different relationships between four lovably awkward characters. While the individuals in the relationships contrast vastly, their love develops in interesting and comedic ways. The musical tells the story of two unlikely relationships that somehow make sense, and how each of the characters learns how to fall in love again. Director Jason Bruffy calls I Love You Because “a wickedly funny musical with enough heart to make the cynic in all of us melt” and “a perfect musical for a romantic date or a date with friends.”
I Love You Because will feature resident actors Fang Du, Courtney Brown, Daniel Hines, Jenny Guy, Ayla Ocasia, and Babs Ipaye. I Love You Because is sponsored by the Court Family Foundation. The opening night party on Saturday, Janury 17 will be sponsored by Rick Robertson and Tim Conway. Food will be provided by Mixx Ultra Lounge and wine will be provided by City Cellars.
Doubt: A Parable runs Friday and Saturday evenings at 8p from January 16 - February 7. Tickets are $14 regular or $10 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online 24 hours a day at www.CVLT.org, or by calling the box office at 440.247.8955 between 1-6p, Monday through Saturday.
The opening night party for I Love You Because starts at 7p, with the performance at 8p and a reception to follow. Tickets for the entire season are $12 thanks to a generous partnership with the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr/US Bank Foundation, and can be obtained online at knowtheatre.com or by calling the Know Theatre box office at 513.300.KNOW (5669).
COLUMBUS NEXT MEETING: FEB 11, 6P-8P; LOCATION: ARENA GRAND THEATRE (175 NATIONWIDE BLVD); OUT WITH OUR COMMUNITIES OF FAITH • WWW.NETWORKCOLUMBUS.COM
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009
OUTLOOK WEEKLY •
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THE LAST WORD by Wayne Besen
The Mess in the Middle East As long as we refer to the Middle East as the “Holy Land” there will be war. For peace to prosper, extremists on both sides will have to he marginalized. This will require courage from Israeli and Palestinian leaders, who have failed to take aim at the religious roots of this festering fiasco. The first step to a brighter future is crushing Hamas. This cowardly terrorist organization indiscriminately fires rockets into cities and then hides behind human shields when Israel’s military rightfully responds. Hamas’s charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the forming of a radical Islamic Republic that would fly “the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine.” Unfortunately, many “liberals” are infuriated that Israel is targeting these illiberal and violent theocrats. They mysteriously don’t seem to be concerned that the rights of women and other minorities, including gay people, would be greatly eroded if Hamas lorded over a Palestinian state. By protesting Israel, these well-intentioned individuals in the West are actually prolonging the pain of the Palestinian people. Israel, obviously, cannot make peace with an entity determined to destroy it. The longer Hamas remains viable, the longer these problems will be protracted. As the weaker party, the Palestinians will almost always be on the losing end. A cease-fire with Hamas does little but provide a band-aid solution that ensures future bloodshed.
The fact is, eliminating Hamas would pave the way for reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Having seen the radical alternative, the Israeli government would be favorably inclined to seek common ground with Abbas - expediting the possibility of a Palestinian state. If this scenario plays out, Israel should move swiftly to empower Abbas by tearing down all illegal Jewish settlements. Nothing has done more to harm Israel in terms of world opinion and done less to improve its security than these outrageous outposts on Palestinian property. Someone has to tell these deluded settlers that the Messianic dream of a greater Israel is over. Speaking of fantasies, the Palestinian people are going to have to give up their jihad - which hasn’t exactly been a success. In 2006, they voted for holy war by electing Hamas - a group which pays the families of suicide bombers $5,000. If you are going to choose terrorism over tourism as your main industry, don’t cry to the world when bombs are dropped on your doorstep. If the Palestinians face occupation, as they claim, they don’t need “martyrs” - they need leaders who will tell them the truth. In 2004, more than 200,000 Palestinians marched at the funeral of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin, after he was assassinated by Israel.
That’s fine, but where are the massive non-violent demonstrations that don’t call for the demise of Israel? Such protests would do wonders to further their cause and help undo the image of the suicide bomber. The Palestinian people have to understand that there will be no state - nor should there be - until the average Israeli citizen feels peace will not come at the expense of safety. If the Palestinians fail to offer such reassurances, they will remain stateless and mired in deprivation and poverty. Checking the powerful and entrenched interests that undermine Middle East peace will not be easy. In America we certainly know how a wellorganized minority of ideologues can infect the political process. GLBT equality, for example, has been stymied for eight years under the oppressive Bush Administration. We have seen a concerted effort by social conservatives to hurt our families and legislate our marriages - particularly in election years. And, we saw John McCain place America’s future in jeopardy by selecting the unqualified Sarah Palin as his running mate to appease his extreme base. It is still unthinkable that she was nearly a breath away from the Oval
Office. Still, the battle in Gaza is an opportunity to move forward. The Hamas gunmen that Israel is targeting are self-righteous thugs who intimidate moderates who favor peace. Those in Israel who think God commands Jews to have every inch of land - even if it belongs to Palestinian families are the same types who believe God wants gay pride marchers in Jerusalem to be stoned. If Israel’s true goal is security and the Palestinians genuinely want to secure a state, then I believe peace can occur and both groups can prosper. But, if negotiating is a way for Israel to stall so they can change facts on the ground through new settlements, or for Palestinians to replenish stocks of lethal rockets, God’s people will continue to turn this disputed land into a hellhole. While you can never fully separate religion from the region, the “Holy” must be detached from the actual “Land” if peace is ever to be realized. It is time to return the fanatics to their rightful place on the fringe, so good people on both sides of this divide have a chance to live normal and peaceful lives.
HOROSCOPES by Jack Fertig
CAPRICORN (December 21 - January 19): Everyone is having money troubles these days. Lashing out about your own problems will only aggravate your friends. But if you are willing to subject your weird, cranky inspirations to critical scrutiny, they may lead to something really helpful!
ARIES (March 20 - April 19): Nervousness and tripping can make you even more accident prone than you generally are now, and can otherwise aggravate health problems. Focus your energy on some kind of charitable service, and even then, stay calm and take it easy!
CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Your sexual adventures, exciting as they may be, could be broadcast too widely for comfort. Loose lips have their place. Do your best to be discreet and to pick your playmates carefully.
LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): Your enthusiasm for fun and games can get you into some nasty accidents. Be especially careful of injuries to your ankles and legs. Playful inspirations could upset things at work. Think ahead and talk over new ideas before trying to implement them.
AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): Sounding off about sexual frustration could help you solve the problem in the short run. But what’s really bugging you? You need more than just a scratch for that itch. A little self-criticism, leading to self-improvement, can lead to a real answer.
TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): You’re a little too brilliant now for your own good. There’s a time to upset the apple cart, but this isn’t it. Rather than provoking authority, accept its leadership as a prod to your creative juices. Let the experts guide your genius.
LEO (July 23 - August 22): Every relationship has its problems. Little irritations are suddenly ballooning into major frustrations, and all those shortcomings you could live with now seem intolerable. Resolving those problems will take work and extreme honesty and humility on your part.
SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Efforts to improve your community will probably cause more trouble than they will solve. Your vision has some merit, but your view of the problem is a bit skewed by family experience. Careful thought and discussion should precede any initiative.
PISCES (February 19 - March 19): Necessary limits and obligations are so annoying! Your craving for adventure and freedom can really screw things up, or may trigger insights about ways to improve your partnership. Careful, cooperative change is essential if you’re committed to making things work.
GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Lots of new ideas are provoking your old notions about where you’re going in life. Acting on them precipitously can be disastrous; instead, write them down and check out what’s behind them and where they might lead.
VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): Stay in the here and now, and don’t let others distract you from the task at hand. Trying to do too much, succumbing to any temptation to leap ahead, is likely to blow up in your face.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 20): Your “brilliant” ideas have something to them, but need more work than you think. Talk them over with a friend before you bring them to the attention of those who need to hear them.
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.
JAN 15 - JAN 21 2009