January 2017 by OutSmart Magazine

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JAN.2017 FEATURES

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VO L U M E 2 3 • N U M B E R 12

tR OutSmar ds 2013–2016 ar w A e ic o Ch

. . . in 2016

Next month’s event is a touchdown for Houston’s LGBT sports fans.

Great health looks good on everyone, regardless of age

How the man behind the Jonathan Blake brand turned tribulation into triumph

Montrose Remembrance Garden will find a permanent home here

Former LGBT adviser Moe Vela reflects on politics and his upbringing in South Texas

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Natalie Mink talks about struggles with multiple marginalized identities

Researcher Dr. MehlmanOrozco discusses the realities of human trafficking

Mildred’s Umbrella’s production sheds light on human trafficking

LGBT nominations galore at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards this month

FINDING SELF-LOVE

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Stephen Louis, pansexual Tommy Tune Award winner, reflects before this year’s awards ceremony

Chris Norwood and Rory Pearce’s marriage begins in coastal paradise. And Magarita Perez and Jessica Frinsco were married at The Lyceum in Galveston.

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RYAN M. LEACH (SEE PAGE 31.)

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MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER’s

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OutSmart is published monthly. Estimated readership in Houston readership Houston and surrounding areas and surroundinginareas is 60,000. OutSmart Media Company isisnot responsible claims and practices of advertisers. 6 0,0 0 0. Outfor Smar t Media Company is not The opinions and views expressed herein do not necessarily responsible for claims and practices of advertisers. reflect those of the staff or management of OutSmart. Inclusion expressed herein do not inThe Outopinions Smart doesand not views imply sexual orientation. ©2017 by OutSmart Media Company. reserved. Reproduction necessarily reflect thoseAll of rights the staff or management in whole or part without permission of the publisher is strictly of OutSmart. Inclusion in OutSmart not imply prohibited. Unsolicited material is accepted.does No manuscript sexual without orientation. returned SASE. ©2013 by OutSmart Media

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Lawmakers to Fight Anti-Trans Legislation By John Wright

ouston’s pro-LGBT state lawmakers are confident they can defeat antitransgender bathroom legislation in 2017, but they say they’ll need all the help they can get from the LGBT community. At a forum hosted by the Houston GLBT Political Caucus in December, representative Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston) noted that the business lobby is “up in arms” about the fact that Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has made an anti-trans bathroom bill one of his top priorities for the 85th Legislature, which convenes January 10. Last month, the Texas Association of Business (TAB), which is the state’s chamber of commerce, released a study showing that if anti-LGBT legislation passes next year, the state’s economy could lose up to $8.5 billion and 185,000 jobs. Thompson predicted that even if Patrick’s bathroom bill clears the Senate, the House will kill it because members are “more rational and recognize the games that are being played. “I don’t think it’s going anywhere,” Thompson said. “I think we’re going to be victorious.” But Thompson also warned that Patrick may try to use the bathroom bill “to manipu-

C ommunit y

late people” and “hold them hostage” in support of his other initiatives, such as school vouchers. Patrick declared in May that the Fort Worth school district’s decision to allow trans students to use restrooms based on their gender identity was “the biggest promotion for something I feel strongly about, and that’s school choice.” “We just can’t let them use that to get other things that would be equally detrimental,” Thompson said. “That is the key.” Another member of the panel, Senator Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston), called it “tragic” that Patrick is “focused on bathrooms instead of classrooms.” Garcia suggested that lawmakers should concentrate on issues like education funding and the state’s ongoing child-welfare crisis during the 140-day biennial session. “I stretch my mind to even intellectually understand why he’s decided this is such a big issue, but I can’t find it,” Garcia said. “It’s a huge distraction, but it is nothing but a good political hot-button issue for the Republican Party’s primary base. All I can say is we’re going to fight like hell.” A third legislator on the panel, Representative Sarah Davis (R-Houston), encouraged

people to contact their lawmakers about Patrick’s proposal and said it shouldn’t be viewed as a partisan issue. Davis, the first Republican in the Legislature to back same-sex marriage, noted that a bathroom bill isn’t among the priorities of GOP House Speaker Joe Straus. She also pointed to recent statements by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, in which he indicated he needs more information before deciding whether to support Patrick’s bill. “I want to caution you to not have this knee-jerk, ‘Every Republican is a bigot and is going to support this type of legislation,’ because that’s just not true,” Davis said. “I’m constantly reminding people that the [Houston Equal Rights Ordinance] failed not just because Republicans campaigned against it. The City of Houston is a blue city, so it wasn’t just Rs that defeated that ordinance. So before you start wanting to pass judgment on Republicans, remember that was a group effort.” Despite strong opposition from the business community, Patrick was doubling down on the need for anti-trans bathroom legislation, which he’s assigned the sixth-highest bill number in the Senate. continued on page 15

Photos by Dalton DeHart and Edgardo Aguilar The Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce held its holiday mixer on December 7 at Ginger & Fork Restaurant. Pictured are some of the Chamber members.

The Diana Foundation held its holiday party on December 17 at the Houston House. Pictured are Nathan Wright, Frank Staggs, David K. Johnson, Howard Huffstutler, and Tanner Williams.

On November 19, artist Wood Anthony held his gallery premiere at the Institute of Hispanic Culture. Pictured are Jorge Valdés Ortiz, Claudia Velasco Osorio, Irma Anthony, Wood Anthony, and Lia Braun.

On December 1, Legacy Community Health held a World AIDS Day vigil at its Montrose clinic. Pictured are Chau Nguyen, Council Member Mike Laster, Council Member Stephen Costello, and Debbie Costello.

On December 1, Steven Vargas was presented with the L. Joel Martinez Award during Legacy Community Health’s World AIDS Day vigil. Pictured are Lynne Tyer and Vargas.

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 11

WHAT IS ODEFSEY®? ODEFSEY is a 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years and older. It can either be used in people who are starting HIV-1 treatment, have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, and have an amount of HIV-1 in their blood (“viral load”) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL; or in people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements. These include having an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/mL) for 6 months or more on their current HIV-1 treatment. ODEFSEY combines 3 medicines into 1 pill taken once a day with a meal. ODEFSEY is a complete HIV-1 treatment and should not be used with other HIV-1 medicines. ODEFSEY does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. To control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses, you must keep taking ODEFSEY. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to reduce the risk of passing HIV-1 to others. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body ﬂuids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body ﬂuids on them.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

What is the most important information I should know about ODEFSEY?

ODEFSEY may cause serious side effects: • Buildup of an acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. • Serious liver problems. The liver may become large and fatty. Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turning yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; loss of appetite; light-colored bowel movements (stools); nausea; and/or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area. • You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking ODEFSEY or a similar medicine for a long time. In some cases, lactic acidosis and serious liver problems have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions.

• Worsening of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. ODEFSEY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV and stop taking ODEFSEY, your HBV may suddenly get worse. Do not stop taking ODEFSEY without ﬁrst talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to monitor your health.

Who should not take ODEFSEY?

Do not take ODEFSEY if you take: • Certain prescription medicines for other conditions. It is important to ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with ODEFSEY. Do not start a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. • The herbal supplement St. John’s wort. • Any other medicines to treat HIV-1 infection.

What are the other possible side effects of ODEFSEY?

Serious side effects of ODEFSEY may also include: • Severe skin rash and allergic reactions. Skin rash is a common side effect of ODEFSEY. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get a rash, as some rashes and allergic reactions may need to be treated in a hospital. Stop taking ODEFSEY and get medical help right away if you get a rash with any of the following symptoms: fever, skin blisters, mouth sores, redness or swelling of the eyes (conjunctivitis), swelling of the face, lips, mouth, or throat, trouble breathing or swallowing, pain on the right side of the stomach (abdominal) area, and/or dark “tea-colored” urine. • Depression or mood changes. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you: feel sad or hopeless, feel anxious or restless, have thoughts of hurting yourself (suicide) or have tried to hurt yourself. • Changes in liver enzymes. People who have had hepatitis B or C or who have certain liver enzyme changes may have a higher risk for new or worse liver problems while taking ODEFSEY. Liver problems can also happen in people who have not had liver disease. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your liver enzymes before and during treatment with ODEFSEY. • Changes in body fat, which can happen in people taking HIV-1 medicines. • Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to ﬁght infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking ODEFSEY. • Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking ODEFSEY if you develop new or worse kidney problems. • Bone problems, such as bone pain, softening, or thinning, which may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. The most common side effects of rilpivirine, one of the medicines in ODEFSEY, are depression, trouble sleeping (insomnia), and headache. The most common side effect of emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide, two of the medicines in ODEFSEY, is nausea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking ODEFSEY?

• All your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you have or have had any kidney, bone, mental health (depression or suicidal thoughts), or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection. • All the medicines you take, including prescription and overthe-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Other medicines may affect how ODEFSEY works. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. Ask your healthcare provider if it is safe to take ODEFSEY with all of your other medicines. • If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if ODEFSEY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking ODEFSEY. • If you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

Ask your healthcare provider if ODEFSEY is right for you, and visit ODEFSEY.com to learn more. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about ODEFSEY including important warnings on the following page.

01-Odefsey_A_LaunchAd_Outsmart_Trevor_8-125x10-75.indd 1-2

ODEFSEY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

SHOW YOUR

RADIANCE

ODEFSEY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day HIV-1 treatment for people 12 years and older who are either new to treatment and have less than 100,000 copies/mL of virus in their blood or people whose healthcare provider determines they can replace their current HIV-1 medicines with ODEFSEY.

12/7/16 2:50 PM

IMPORTANT FACTS This is only a brief summary of important information about ODEFSEY® and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(oh-DEF-see) MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT ODEFSEY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF ODEFSEY

ODEFSEY may cause serious side effects, including:

ODEFSEY can cause serious side effects, including:

•

Buildup of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: feeling very weak or tired, unusual muscle pain, trouble breathing, stomach pain with nausea or vomiting, feeling cold (especially in your arms and legs), feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or a fast or irregular heartbeat. Severe liver problems, which in some cases can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice); dark “tea-colored” urine; loss of appetite; light-colored bowel movements (stools); nausea; and/ or pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach area. Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. ODEFSEY is not approved to treat HBV. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking ODEFSEY. Do not stop taking ODEFSEY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking ODEFSEY or a similar medicine for a long time.

•

• • • • • • •

Those in the “Most Important Information About ODEFSEY” section. Severe skin rash and allergic reactions. Depression or mood changes. Changes in liver enzymes. Changes in body fat. Changes in your immune system. New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Bone problems.

The most common side effects of rilpivirine, one of the medicines in ODEFSEY, are depression, trouble sleeping (insomnia), and headache. The most common side effect of emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide, two of the medicines in ODEFSEY, is nausea. These are not all the possible side effects of ODEFSEY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking ODEFSEY. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with ODEFSEY.

BEFORE TAKING ODEFSEY

ABOUT ODEFSEY •

•

ODEFSEY is a prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before and who have an amount of HIV-1 in their blood (“viral load”) that is no more than 100,000 copies/mL. ODEFSEY can also be used to replace current HIV-1 medicines for some people who have an undetectable viral load (less than 50 copies/ mL), have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months, have never failed HIV-1 treatment, and whose healthcare provider determines that they meet certain other requirements. ODEFSEY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. Ask your healthcare provider about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to others.

Do NOT take ODEFSEY if you: • Take a medicine that contains: carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Tegretol-XR®, Teril®), dexamethasone (Ozurdex®, Maxidex®, Decadron®, Baycadron™), dexlansoprazole (Dexilant®), esomeprazole (Nexium®, Vimovo®), lansoprazole (Prevacid®), omeprazole (Prilosec®, Zegerid®), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®), pantoprazole sodium (Protonix®), phenobarbital (Luminal®), phenytoin (Dilantin®, Dilantin-125®, Phenytek®), rabeprazole (Aciphex®), rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®), or rifapentine (Priftin®). •

Take the herbal supplement St. John’s wort.

•

Take any other HIV-1 medicines at the same time.

Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, mental health (depression or suicidal thoughts), or liver problems, including hepatitis infection. • Have any other medical condition. • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. • Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with ODEFSEY.

HOW TO TAKE ODEFSEY • •

ODEFSEY is a complete 1-pill, once-a-day HIV-1 medicine. Take ODEFSEY with a meal.

GET MORE INFORMATION •

• •

This is only a brief summary of important information about ODEFSEY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more. Go to ODEFSEY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 If you need help paying for your medicine, visit ODEFSEY.com for program information.

ODEFSEY, the ODEFSEY Logo, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: March 2016 © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. ODEC0026 06/16

News continued from page 11

“This report by the Texas Association of Business is misinformation and fearmongering regarding a bill they haven’t even seen,” Patrick said in a statement responding to TAB’s study. “In fact, the Women’s Privacy and Business Protection Act that the lieutenant governor intends to support will ensure that sexual predators, like those who exploit the Internet, will not be able to freely enter women’s restrooms, locker rooms, or showers, and that businesses are not forced by local ordinances to allow men in women’s restrooms and locker rooms.” Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) also called the TAB study into question. “No matter which side you may or may not be on in this public-policy debate on SB 6, women’s privacy, and religious freedom, this study’s amazing claims of $8.5 billion in economic losses and 185,000 job losses in Texas attributed to legislation that hasn’t even been filed is just flat wrong,” Bettencourt said in a statement, adding that the study used “misleading data” and amounted to “fake news.” Although SB 6 hadn’t been filed as of press time, the bill is expected to closely mirror North Carolina’s House Bill 2, which requires trans people to use restrooms in government buildings according to the sex listed on their birth certificates. HB 2 also prohibits cities from enacting or enforcing LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances. After an unsuccessful effort in the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal HB2 in December, Patrick applauded that outcome. “I congratulate the conservative legislators in North Carolina and the leadership of my good friend, Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest, for standing firm on principle and public safety,” he said in a statement. “Legislation like this is essential to protect the safety and privacy of women and girls, and is simple common sense and common decency.”

One-Man Show to Benefit Tony’s Place and Bering House

n January 22, psychotherapist Steve Cadwell will bring his nationally acclaimed one-man show, Wild & Precious, to MATCH (3400 Main Street) as a benefit for Tony’s Place—a drop-in center for homeless gay kids—and Trinity Episcopal Church’s restoration of the historic Bering House. The performance, which includes original songs, photographs, costumes, stories, and poems, focuses on the arc of the last 60 years of Gay Liberation. As a psychotherapist, Cadwell’s been listening to people’s stories for

The Houston Women’s Group Honors Longtime LGBT Advocate Scottie Scott with Mayoral Proclamation ‹ Lifelong Advocate Emma Lou “Scottie” Scott (c) and her longtime partner, Janice Ives (l), hold the mayoral proclamation honoring Scott’s lifetime of community service. Mayor Pro-Tem Ellen Cohen (r) represented the mayor.

mma Lou “Scottie” Scott was honored by a proclamation from the City of Houston on Sunday, December 11, 2016. Representing Mayor Sylvester Turner, Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Cohen read the proclamation at an event sponsored by The Houston Women’s Group—the longest-running feminist group in the United States. The group was proud to recognize Scott’s contributions toward the development and implementation of numerous LGBT programs over the last 40 years. The proclamation detailed Scott’s lifetime community achievements and was signed by Mayor Turner, declaring December 11 as Emma Lou (Scottie) Scott Day. Scott, a lifelong resident of Houston, has devoted her career and retirement in service to others from a place of spiritual devotion. She’s promoted physical and emotional health and safety through teaching physical education in the Houston Independent School District for 33 years, and teaching drivers’ education to scores of young people to shelter them from driving adversity. Scott has maintained her own health through lifelong participation in sports, entering Senior Olympics at age 55 and the National Gay Games, collectively winning over 300 medals locally and nationally, including two gold, two silver, and one bronze. In 2007, she was inducted into the Texas Senior Games Hall of Fame. 40 years, to good healing effect. In Wild & Precious, the tables are turned as Cadwell shares his personal story with audiences: a Vermont sissy-boy in the ’50s; deep in the closet in the late ’60s (resulting in a breakdown from the emotional stress); a breakthrough as part of Houston’s gay movement in the ’70s; AIDS activist in the ’80s; and now, a psychotherapist “married to his man.” Steve celebrates the social and psychological resilience that

Scott has been a committed soldier in service to organizations in the LGBTQ community over many years as she, with her longtime partner Janice Ives, founded the Texas Ramblin’ Roses—an RVing women’s community and chapter of the National RVing Women’s Group. With Scott’s support, Ives founded a large neighborhood support/social group WAGLES (Westbury Gay and Lesbian Enlightenment Society) during the dark days of gay ostracizing. Scott has been a longtime participant in the following organizations, sometimes as an organizing member or board member: Lesbians in Business (LIB), Seniors Preparing for Rainbow Years (SPRY), Lesbian Health Initiative (LHI), Lesbians Over the Age of Fifty (LOAF), The Garden and Yard Society (GAYS), and AssistHers, which provides service teams to ill and disabled lesbians. Scott is also active with Ground Angels, where she is cherished and admired by this group that transports seriously ill individuals from airports to hospitals and then to temporary housing. When kind words alone aren’t enough to promote recovery, Scott renders practical and immediate assistance by transporting many to medical appointments, the grocery store, and on other errands, as well as delivering needed items, visiting sick friends at home, in rehab and nursing homes, and contacting resources for referrals. Scottie Scott is a welcome presence. helped him—and his generation—come out of the “straight”-jacket into the fullness of being men. The piece dramatically brings to life universal themes: gender, sexuality, shame, stigma, mental health, social change, resilience, parenting, aging, the therapeutic relationship, HIV, grief, empowerment, diverse family structure, family life-cycle, and the healing power of love. INFO: HomelessGayKidsHouston.org.

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 15

1/17

Calendar of Events

Movies at the Museum

Compiled by Marene Gustin

Two you’ll want to see this month.

T 2

Naomi Nero Inset : Maya Angelou

he Museum of Fine Arts, Houston has a fabulous film program, but there are two this month that we think you’ll definitely want to see. Don’t Call Me Son (Mãe Só Há Uma) is a must-see Brazilian film about coming of age with sexual ambiguity and a rather startling mother backstory, while Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise profiles one of the most renowned poets and civil-rights activists of our time. “On occasion, the museum’s film selections include reprises of important movies that premiered in a local festival. That’s the case with both Don’t Call Me Son and Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise,”

says Marian Luntz, curator of film and video at the museum. She explains that Don’t Call Me Son had one screening in July during the 20th edition of QFest. “It’s among the most celebrated Latin American films of the past year, and is directed by Anna Muylaert, whose previous film, The Second Mother, played at our Latin Wave Film Festival last spring. With her latest film, she continues her interest in the themes of coming-of-age stories and families, elevated here by outstanding performances by the two lead actors playing dual roles.” Maya Angelou: And Still I

Rise played at the Houston Cinema Arts Festival in November. “Maya Angelou had a rich, complicated and multi-faceted life, and this documentary powerfully details her challenges and accomplishments,” adds Luntz. “We’ve scheduled two screenings over the MLK Day holiday weekend, and encourage people who attend to embrace the spirit of Ms. Angelou’s legacy, which definitely overlaps with Dr. King’s.” January 7 Don’t Call Me Son (Mãe Só Há Uma) January 15 Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise mfah.org/calendar

Radio * Performing Arts A Art & Photography R Ongoing + Other Things V Save The Date

2 A thru 5 The Bally’s ceramic, glass, and multimedia works. archwaygallery.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

3 Dimensional Stretch

5 Box 13 ArtSpace A thru 7 Three new and exciting exhibits. box13artspace.com

3 The Grand Celebrates 122 Years

+ The Grand 1894 Opera House

celebrates this milestone with an open house. thegrand.com

6 Emperors’ Treasures: Chinese Art from the National Palace Museum, Taipei thru 29 A major exhibition

of more than 160 masterpieces that have rarely been displayed outside of Taipei. mfah.org

16 JANUARY 2017 OutSmartMagazine.com

4 Festival of Lights & Ice Land Sculptures at Moody Garden A thru 8 It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . . galveston.com/holidaymagic

7 * On tour with their latest album, The Getaway. houstontoyotacenter.com

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Musiqa Presents The White Album

8 A last day A collection of the artist’s line drawings. menil.org

Picasso: The Line

A new work referencing The Beatles’ iconic album. musiqahouston.org

For ongoing events, visit outsmartmagazine.com

9 * thru 21 An oldie but a goodie by Herb Gardner that tells the tale of an out-of-work comedy writer and his young nephew. theatresouthwest.org

A Thousand Clowns

10 Degas: A New Vision A thru 16 Don’t miss the most significant international survey in nearly 30 years of the work of Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas. mfah.org

11 Analia Saban A multi-media exhibit by the Argentinian artist, and Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused The first

midcareer survey of the New York-based artist. A both thru Mar. 18 blafferartmuseum.org

A thru Mar. 19 A Puerto Rican artist whose works will touch and inspire you. camh.org

MATCH Family Day + Bring the kids to the Midtown Arts and Theater Center for backstage tours, performances, and kiddie activites. matchouston.org

Degas: A New Vision A last day Don’t miss the most significant international survey in nearly 30 years of the work of Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas. mfah.org

Angel Otero

Chevron Houston Marathon

thru 15 Activities and marathon. chevronhoustonmarathon.com

17 Let Me Down Easy + A performance, panel discussion, and dinner with award-winning actress Anna Deavere Smith. bcm.edu (See page 18.)

18 A thru April 30 This exhibit opens the new Fifth Ward art space Mystic Lyon. fresharts.org

Jesse Lott Exhibit

21 * & 22 Classic hymns and gospel songs from this group that has ruled the genre for four decades. thegrand.com The Oak Ridge Boys

The Johns A thru Feb. 4 Sex trafficking seems like someone else’s problem, until an upper middle-class family in a Houston-area suburb finds itself ensnared. mildredsumbrella.com (See page 61.)

* A 10-time Grammy Award winner, Emmy Award recipient, trumpeter, and composer, Arturo Sandoval is a true living legend. dacamera.com

Arturo Sandoval

Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero thru May 14 Project 1942–1964

A last day A selection of the artist’s prints and recordings of the music culture of Veracruz. meca-houston.org

Alec Dempster

The exhibit showcases the bracero program, the largest guest-worker program in U.S. history. hmh.org

28 Kristen Chenoweth

Broadway babe and a former OutSmart cover girl, Chenoweth entertains at the new Sugar Land center. Go! smartfinancialcenter.net/home/ kristin-chenoweth (See page 00.)

29 Pippin * The musical story of a young man’s search for meaning. thegrand.com An Evening with Tom Chaplin

Featuring music from his latest album, The Wave. theheightstheater.com

30 I Love America and America Loves Me thru Mar. 4 Members of The

Front, an artist-run collective and nonprofit gallery. box13artspace.com (See page 18.)

31thSave the Date Elias String Quartet * Known for their intense and vibrant performances, the quartet is internationally acclaimed as one of the leading ensembles of their generation. dacamera.com

An Evening with Sophia Loren

Feb. 4 This grand legend will present film clips and home movies, and answer audience questions. thegrand.com More Calendar ➝

OutSmartMagazine.com JANUARY 2017 17

1/17 Calendar of Events continued from previous page

January 17

ALLEY

– Baylor College of Medicine presents an evening with Anna Deavere Smith (she was the hospital administrator on Nurse Jackie), featuring her performance of Let Me Down Easy, a docudrama examining the body as it relates to health and human existence. Let Me Down Easy is told through verbatim excerpts from real-life interviews, with unique voices coming Smith in together to tell a Nurse stunning story of Jackie the vulnerability of the body and the resilience of the human spirit. Smith is not only an actress, but also a playwright and professor. bcm.edu

Kristin Chenoweth

January 28

DAVID M. RUSSELL/SHOWTIME

Anna Deavere Smith

– Broadway babe and former OUTSMART cover girl, Chenoweth entertains at the new Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land. Most recently seen on NBC’s Hairspray Live!, Chenoweth is an amazing talent of TV, film, and stage. She’ll perform songs from throughout her career, including tunes from her most recent album, The Art of Elegance. You don’t want to miss your chance to see this incredible songbird and pint-sized personality. smartfinancialcentre.net/home/kristin-chenoweth

I Love America and America Loves Me

28-Mar. 4

January 28–March 4 – Members of The Front, an artist-run collective and nonprofit gallery that promotes the development of contemporary art in the city of New Orleans, take over part of Box 13 this month. The Front was founded in Hurricane Katrina’s uncertain aftermath by artists in a spirit of DIY volunteerism and commitment to supporting art and artists. The exhibit contains works by Alex Podesta, Brooke Pickett, Claire Rau, Cristina Molina, Cynthia Scott, Jamie Solock, Jessie Vogel, John Isiah Walton, Jonathan Traviesa, Kelly Mueller, Kevin Baer, Lee Deigaard, Madeleine Wieand, Patch Somerville, Patrick Coll, Robyn Leroy-Evans, Ryn Wilson, and Vanessa Centeno. box13artspace.com ■ 18 JANUARY | OutSmartMagazine.com 18 | JANUARY 20172017 OutSmartMagazine.com

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L eft O ut

By Susan Bankston

Make Comedy Great Again! Will Donald Trump change the Laws of Physics?

onald Trump hasn’t even taken office yet, and he’s already the worst president ever. Until the 20th of this month, he’s in incubation— you know, like Ebola or some other hideous disease. Say what you will about Donald Trump (you know, like he’s a fascist who will pave America with smoldering piles of the decaying bodies of the poor, the elderly, and minorities), but to his everlasting credit, he’s making comedy great again. So that kinda evens the score. To start with, Donald Trump is taking “daily intelligence briefings” only once a week, which kinda makes the “daily” part subject to whim. But “whimly intelligence briefings” might not be taken seriously by those countries with nukes that we do take seriously. He says that the reason he’s doing this seemingly zany thing is because “You know, I’m, like, a smart person.” Wait, y’all. He thinks the intelligence briefing is something that prepares him for an IQ test? You know, like explaining Newton’s Laws or the water symbolism in Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”? Just let me jump in here and say, “Donald, it’s pronounced ‘huge,’ not ‘eyooge.’ Also, it’s pronounced ‘I am definitely delusional,’ not ‘I am, like, smart.’” I know why he doesn’t take the briefings: he doesn’t understand a damn word they are saying. Trump instructed the officials who give him the briefing: “If something should change from this point, immediately call me. I’m available on a one-minute’s notice.” Unless he’s doing . . . well, you know, the wild thing. In that case, make it a minute and a half. Under Trump, the Situation Room will be renamed the Only-When-CategoricallyRequired Room. The Doomsday Clock will become the Doomsday Calendar. Trump’s subscription to Reader’s Digest will continue to be for one issue only, once a year.

POOL

And, since there’s obviously going to be changes in some laws during the Trump presidency, it has been leaked that the first laws that Donald Trump will change are the Laws of Physics. Those things are outdated bigly, and of course they have eyooge problems. So, here are the Top Ten Laws of Physics Donald Trump Will Change: 10. The Law of Gravity now means that Jesus wants you to sit down. Kellyanne Conway’s Corollary: . . . sit down and shuddup. 9. Distances in outer space are no longer measured in light years, but in newly discovered Trump Tweet Time, which is now the fastest damn thing in the universe. 8. All laws of thermochemistry are changed to just one: spray-tan is forbidden to streak in summer heat. 7. Einstein’s field equations will describe the curvature of space-time due to mass-energy equivalent to the gravitational field and funniness ratio of Alec Baldwin on Saturday Night Live. 6. The Theory of Relativity will now mean: if you’re a relative, you have a job—screw the “theory” part. 5. Archimedes’ Principle of Buoyancy can now be used to explain the plan to displace 11 million undocumented immigrants, since that plan will be incredibly dense. 4. The Doppler Effect to be repealed and replaced with The Dope-ler Effect, which is the

tendency of Trump’s appointees to seem even more scary and less qualified the closer we get to Inauguration Day. 3. Schrödinger’s cat: the cat is now most definitely dead. Kinda like your hopes and dreams for America over the next four years. 2. Hubble’s Law of Cosmic Expansion now applied to the wealth gap, since that gap between rich and poor will expand cosmically. 1. Newton’s Third Law will now read: “For every action, there is an opposite and equally goofy tweet/whine.” And everyone has their own favorite name for President-elect Trump. I have a few of my own: 10. Orange Foolius 9. Trumplethinskin 8. Putin Puppet 7. Der Kinderführer 6. Mango Mussolini 5. Don the Con 4. Herr Helltoupeé 3. Bratman 2. Kmart Caesar 1. Prima Donald I hope your New Year is filled with laughter, friends, warmth, and sparkly stuff.

Susan Bankston lives in Richmond, Texas, where she writes about her hairdresser at The World’s Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc., at juanitajean.com.

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 21

What is TRUVADA for PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis)?

uYou may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or serious liver problems

TRUVADA is a prescription medicine that can be used for PrEP to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection when used together with safer sex practices. This use is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV-1 through sex. This includes HIV-negative men who have sex with men and who are at high risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex, and malefemale sex partners when one partner has HIV-1 infection and the other does not. Ask your healthcare provider if you have questions about how to prevent getting HIV-1. Always practice safer sex and use condoms to lower the chance of sexual contact with body fluids. Never reuse or share needles or other items that have body fluids on them.

Who should not take TRUVADA for PrEP?

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION What is the most important information I should know about TRUVADA for PrEP?

Before taking TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: uYou must be HIV-negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1 infection. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are conﬁrmed to be HIV-negative. uMany HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. If you have flu-like symptoms, you could have recently become infected with HIV-1. Tell your healthcare provider if you had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP or at any time while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. While taking TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: uYou must continue using safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. uYou must stay HIV-negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. uTo further help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1: • Know your HIV-1 status and the HIV-1 status of your partners. • Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months or when your healthcare provider tells you. • Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV-1 to infect you. • Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior. • Have fewer sex partners. • Do not miss any doses of TRUVADA. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. • If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. uIf you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. TRUVADA can cause serious side effects: uToo much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency. Symptoms of lactic acidosis include weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach-area pain, cold or blue hands and feet, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or fast or abnormal heartbeats. uSerious liver problems. Your liver may become large and tender, and you may develop fat in your liver. Symptoms of liver problems include your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, lightcolored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach-area pain.

if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking TRUVADA for a long time. In some cases, these serious conditions have led to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any symptoms of these conditions. uWorsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you also have HBV and take TRUVADA, your hepatitis may become worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without ﬁrst talking to your healthcare provider. If your healthcare provider tells you to stop taking TRUVADA, they will need to watch you closely for several months to monitor your health. TRUVADA is not approved for the treatment of HBV. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. If you are HIV-1 positive, you need to take other medicines with TRUVADA to treat HIV-1. TRUVADA by itself is not a complete treatment for HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP if you also take lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) or adefovir (HEPSERA).

What are the other possible side effects of TRUVADA for PrEP?

Serious side effects of TRUVADA may also include: uKidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider may do blood tests to check your kidneys before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP. If you develop kidney problems, your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking TRUVADA for PrEP. uBone problems, including bone pain or bones getting soft or thin, may lead to fractures. Your healthcare provider may do tests to check your bones. uChanges in body fat, which can happen in people taking TRUVADA or medicines like TRUVADA. Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP are stomacharea (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effects that bother you or do not go away.

What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking TRUVADA for PrEP?

uAll your health problems. Be sure to tell your healthcare provider if you

have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis virus infection. uIf you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if TRUVADA can harm your unborn baby. If you become pregnant while taking TRUVADA for PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider to decide if you should keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Pregnancy Registry: A pregnancy registry collects information about your health and the health of your baby. There is a pregnancy registry for women who take medicines to prevent HIV-1 during pregnancy. For more information about the registry and how it works, talk to your healthcare provider. uIf you are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. The medicines in TRUVADA can pass to your baby in breast milk. If you become HIV-1 positive, HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk. uAll the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. TRUVADA may interact with other medicines. Keep a list of all your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. uIf you take certain other medicines with TRUVADA for PrEP, your healthcare provider may need to check you more often or change your dose. These medicines include ledipasvir with sofosbuvir (HARVONI). You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Facts about TRUVADA for PrEP including important warnings on the following page.

GD16HCP801B_MASTER_A_OutSmart_8-125x10-75.indd 1-2

Have you heard about

TRUVADA for PrEP ? TM

The once-daily prescription medicine that can help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 when used with safer sex practices. • TRUVADA for PrEP is only for adults who are at high risk of getting HIV through sex. • You must be HIV-negative before you start taking TRUVADA.

Ask your doctor about your risk of getting HIV-1 infection and if TRUVADA for PrEP may be right for you.

visit start.truvada.com

10/20/16 10:00 AM

IMPORTANT FACTS (tru-VAH-dah)

This is only a brief summary of important information about taking TRUVADA for PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. This does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your medicine.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF TRUVADA FOR PrEP

Before starting TRUVADA for PrEP to help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: • You must be HIV-1 negative. You must get tested to make sure that you do not already have HIV-1 infection. Do not take TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 unless you are conﬁrmed to be HIV-1 negative. • Many HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Symptoms of new HIV-1 infection include flu-like symptoms, tiredness, fever, joint or muscle aches, headache, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, night sweats, and/or enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin. Tell your healthcare provider if you have had a flu-like illness within the last month before starting TRUVADA for PrEP.

TRUVADA can cause serious side effects, including: • Those in the “Most Important Information About TRUVADA for PrEP" section. • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. • Bone problems. • Changes in body fat.

While taking TRUVADA for PrEP to help reduce your risk of getting HIV-1 infection: • You must continue using safer sex practices. Just taking TRUVADA for PrEP may not keep you from getting HIV-1. • You must stay HIV-1 negative to keep taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • Tell your healthcare provider if you have a flu-like illness while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. • If you think you were exposed to HIV-1, tell your healthcare provider right away. • If you do become HIV-1 positive, you need more medicine than TRUVADA alone to treat HIV-1. If you have HIV-1 and take only TRUVADA, your HIV-1 may become harder to treat over time. • See the “How to Further Reduce Your Risk” section for more information. TRUVADA may cause serious side effects, including: • Buildup of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach-area pain, cold or blue hands and feet, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, and/or fast or abnormal heartbeats. • Severe liver problems, which in some cases can lead to death. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms: your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, and/or stomach-area pain. • Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have HBV and take TRUVADA, your hepatitis may become worse if you stop taking TRUVADA. Do not stop taking TRUVADA without ﬁrst talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months. You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight, or have been taking TRUVADA for a long time.

ABOUT TRUVADA FOR PrEP (PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS) TRUVADA is a prescription medicine used with safer sex practices for PrEP to help reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection in adults at high risk: • HIV-1 negative men who have sex with men and who are at high risk of getting infected with HIV-1 through sex. • Male-female sex partners when one partner has HIV-1 infection and the other does not. To help determine your risk, talk openly with your doctor about your sexual health. Do NOT take TRUVADA for PrEP if you: • Already have HIV-1 infection or if you do not know your HIV-1 status. • Take lamivudine (Epivir-HBV) or adefovir (HEPSERA). TRUVADA, the TRUVADA Logo, TRUVADA FOR PREP, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, and HEPSERA are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Version date: April 2016 © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. TVDC0050 09/16

GD16HCP801B_MASTER_A_OutSmart_8-125x10-75.indd 3

Common side effects in people taking TRUVADA for PrEP include stomach-area (abdomen) pain, headache, and decreased weight. These are not all the possible side effects of TRUVADA. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking TRUVADA for PrEP. Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with TRUVADA for PrEP.

BEFORE TAKING TRUVADA FOR PrEP Tell your healthcare provider if you: • Have or have had any kidney, bone, or liver problems, including hepatitis infection. • Have any other medical conditions. • Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. • Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you become HIV-1 positive because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take: • Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist. • Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with TRUVADA for PrEP.

HOW TO TAKE TRUVADA FOR PrEP • Take 1 tablet once a day, every day, not just when you think you have been exposed to HIV-1. • Do not miss any doses. Missing doses may increase your risk of getting HIV-1 infection. • You must practice safer sex by using condoms and you must stay HIV-1 negative.

HOW TO FURTHER REDUCE YOUR RISK • Know your HIV-1 status and the HIV-1 status of your partners. • Get tested for HIV-1 at least every 3 months or when your healthcare provider tells you. • Get tested for other sexually transmitted infections. Other infections make it easier for HIV-1 to infect you. • Get information and support to help reduce risky sexual behavior. • Have fewer sex partners. • Do not share needles or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them.

GET MORE INFORMATION • This is only a brief summary of important information about TRUVADA for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more, including how to prevent HIV-1 infection. • Go to start.truvada.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5 • If you need help paying for your medicine, visit start.truvada.com for program information.

10/20/16 10:00 AM

M oney S mart

By Grace S. Yung, CFP

Asset Protection and Privacy . . . can help to avoid hidden dangers.

hile it can take a lifetime to build up a substantial amount of assets, a single lawsuit or run-in with a creditor might be all that is needed to lose them. This is why all assets should be properly and adequately protected. The good news is that, while it may sound complicated, the protection of assets is not all that difficult. There are many tried-and-true strategies that can be easily implemented to provide the structure that you’ll need in the event of a lawsuit or claim. The Concept of Asset Protection Asset protection involves developing strategies for shielding one’s wealth from creditors, reducing taxation, and ensuring that they do not become the target of a frivolous (or non-frivolous) lawsuit. Protecting assets can help you insulate property, investments, and other types of wealth-producing and/or enhancing assets legally, without the need to hide what you own. Ideally, assets should be protected long before any type of liability or claim might occur. Asset Protection Strategies While assets such as equities and bonds, as well as real property, help you build wealth over time, these assets are often vulnerable to lawsuits, creditors, and other situations that could put them in danger of being lost. If you own real estate, for instance, it can be beneficial to employ certain strategies for protection. As an example, owning real property in your own name (or jointly with a partner) can place these assets at risk if a lawsuit resulted in damages being awarded to a plaintiff. Therefore, many real-estate investors will instead hold these assets in either a corporation, a limited partnership, or a limited liability company. Transferring title to these types of entities can provide you with additional insulation from lawsuits. How and Where to Incorporate Incorporating, or setting up alternate forms of

ownership, is not nearly as difficult as you might think. One of the most popular and simple ways of holding property is in a limited liability company, or LLC. The owners in an LLC are referred to as members, and none of the members are personally liable for the LLC’s obligations. While certain other ownership structures may require a plethora of records and paperwork, LLCs do not have to maintain records such as bylaws, minutes, or shares. Because of this, it is not possible for creditors or other potential risks to “pierce the corporate veil.” By owning property through an LLC, only the assets of that limited liability company may be used for satisfying claims. This means that your other assets are protected—unlike the case of owning everything in your own personal name. Setting up an LLC can be as easy as going online to one of the reputable organizations that will assemble your documentation and even file them with the Secretary of State. Of course, it is best to find a qualified attorney to help. Incorporating can also provide you with various benefits. This is especially the case if you own property with other individuals or partners. There are two main types of corporations—the C Corporation (C Corp) and the S Corporation (S Corp). • C Corporation - Corporations are entities that are separate from their owners. They can protect shareholders from liabilities, as well as from the responsibility of debts and contracts. C Corporations are recognized by law as

an individual entity that is separate from its shareholders (owners), and can essentially be treated as its own being. The shareholders of a C Corporation do not report any of their business income or expenses on their individual tax returns. Rather, the corporation files its own income taxes—oftentimes at a lower tax rate than an individual’s—while the individual shareholders report and pay income tax only on money that is paid to them by the corporation. Corporations also have a certain “immortality” in that they can continue to exist regardless of the circumstances that surround its owners. Even death and/or a transfer of interest in the corporation will have no impact. So, unless the state law places a limitation on the existence of the corporation, it can go on indefinitely. • S Corporation - An S Corporation is similar to a C Corporation in that it provides its shareholders with protection from liability. However, unlike a C Corp, an S Corp is exempt from federal income tax. In this case, business taxes are paid solely by the individual shareholders. Many business owners or real-estate investors will incorporate in certain states like Nevada that provide even non-residents with substantial benefits such as no corporate income tax, no tax on corporate shares, and no annual franchise tax. Another asset-protection strategy that is used by many property owners is to title the asset in a land trust with an LLC or corporation, ➝

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 25

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and then name the LLC or the corporation as the beneficiary of the trust. Enacting this strategy, however, will typically need to involve a legal professional. A simple and free strategy to protect your privacy (and help with asset protection) is to have your name removed from real-estate property records. You can ask your local county appraisal district to simply list “Current Owner” in place of your name on your property records. Ensuring Additional Protection Properly protecting your assets might also require the added layer of security provided by insurance. Depending on the type and amount of assets that you own, you may need to consider the following insurance strategies: • Umbrella Insurance - While you may already own insurance on various holdings, an umbrella policy can provide an additional level of coverage. For example, this type of coverage can continue where your regular insurance leaves off. This can be an essential form of coverage—especially if you face a substantial amount of liability. • Life Insurance - Life insurance can also help to ensure asset protection. For instance, in several states—including Texas—life insurance is creditor-protected by statute, possibly including bankruptcy-exemption statutes to an unlimited dollar amount. Because of this, you may even be able to convert exposed assets such as cash (which are subject to creditor risk) into protected assets with a death benefit. • Annuities - Likewise, money that is in an annuity may also be safe from creditors. In Texas, for instance, there are specific statutes in place that can protect annuity assets from lawsuits and other types of creditors. The Bottom Line While most everyone knows how important it is to protect both tangible and intangible assets, going about it in the proper manner can oftentimes lead to confusion—and even a false sense of security. Working with a seasoned professional who is not only well-versed in asset protection, but who also has a focus on the LGBT community, can help ensure that your plan is tailored to your specific requirements and is up-to-date in today’s volatile and sometimes insecure financial world.

Personal finance-related questions may be emailed to grace.yung@lpl.com. Grace S. Yung, CFP, is a certified financial planner practitioner with experience in helping domestic partners plan their finances since 1994. She is a principal at Midtown Financial LLC in Houston and was recognized as a “FiveStar Wealth Manager” in the 2014 September issue of Texas Monthly.

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Top 10 Things to Leave in 2016 Kiss Antonin Scalia, Pat McCrory, and Ron Hickman goodbye.

LGBTQ-friendly policies. Hickman’s inability to recognize Houston’s diverse population (and the necessity for equally diverse policies) contributed to his loss. He is also credited as one of the first elected officials to use the phrase #AllLivesMatter, proving early on his inability to understand diversity issues beyond his own narrow point of view. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez will be a welcome return to sanity in that important office.

1. Elections – To be fair, the 2016 elections saw a wave of positive results locally, like the election of Kim Ogg as Harris County District Attorney over incumbent Devon Anderson. Ogg, an out lesbian, gives Houston and Harris County the opportunity to once again show the nation that in Houston, Texas, we choose leaders based on what they can do and not who they love. That’s pretty cool. Nevertheless, the 2016 election—one of the nastiest, most divisive campaigns in American history—ended with one of the most racist, sexist, misogynistic, and xenophobic president-elects in modern times. (Some would argue that Donald Trump himself is not entirely homophobic and/or transphobic. Even if that is true, the people he is delegating power to certainly are.)

3. Former Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson – I liked Anderson. I thought she tried hard to be fair and nonpartisan. I appreciated her frank and honest messages to the public regarding the many controversies that plagued the district attorney’s sloppy handling of delicate issues. It is tough being a district attorney. What landed Anderson on my list was her October campaign fumble when she made an issue out of Kim Ogg’s sexual orientation during a radio interview. I truly believe that Anderson mistakenly put her foot in her mouth, and it made many of her supporters think twice about re-electing her. The district attorney has to protect all of the citizens of Harris County, and if Anderson didn’t have an issue with Ogg’s sexual orientation, then why did she make an issue of it? Houstonians don’t like discrimination (unless it’s an equal-rights ordinance—but that’s another story).

2. Former Harris County Sherriff Ron Hickman – When Hickman was appointed to fill the role of sheriff after Adrian Garcia departed, he quickly dismantled Garcia’s progressive,

4. Former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory – North Carolina elected their former state attorney general Roy Cooper to replace Pat McCrory as governor. McCrory’s undoing is di-

rectly linked to his diehard support for House Bill 2, the law that eliminated local authority to create LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances. The bill also criminalized transgender people for using the appropriate restroom, among other things. The law was so blatantly discriminatory and offensive that the state lost hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs due to major sporting-event and concert cancellations, business relocations, and bad tourism PR. Texas leaders like Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, who would like to implement similar laws in Texas, have been warned that it could cost Texas upwards of $8.5 billion in annual revenue and 185,000 new jobs. Perhaps he should take note of McCrory’s miscalculation regarding North Carolinians’ tolerance for discrimination. 5. Antonin Scalia – To paraphrase legendary actress (and gay icon) Bette Davis, “You should never say anything bad about the dead. You should only say good.” Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is dead. Good. (Debbie Downer alert: Trump is likely to appoint someone even more homophobic than Scalia, and with a Republican-controlled senate there is probably no way to stop him. Elections matter, y’all!)

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t was difficult coming up with this list of things to leave behind in 2016 because, frankly, there are so many terrible things that are coming with us into 2017, whether we like it or not. I would love to leave Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick in 2016, as well as the entire presidential cabinet of Donald Trump and every other antigay person in power who means to cause serious harm to the LGBTQ community. However bleak the future may appear right now, there were some high points in 2016. Join me on my second annual list of Top Ten Things to Leave in 2016. #leaveeverything. Let’s get started.

By Ryan M. Leach Photo by Theresa DiMenno

6. Fake News – Guys, we have got to get better at recognizing the difference between news and propaganda. We gotta stop reposting blogs more focused on becoming click-bait than on informing the public. (I’ve done it, too!) Also, check the dates on articles you post—if it happened months ago, then it isn’t news. And while we are talking about “Fake News” . . . ➝

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 31

Top 10 Things To Leave in 2016 continued from previous page

7. Fake-News Channels Masquerading as Real-News Channels – Here is a quick rundown of the news channels that aren’t really news channels: Fox, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, Fox Business, Info Wars, etc. For good measure, we should probably add NBC, CBS, and ABC. The 24-hour news channels aren’t interested in giving you a balanced, unbiased take on current events. Their job is to get ratings and keep you glued to the tube. Lazy and sensationalist reporting contributed to the 2016 results just as much as your crazy Uncle Larry and his constant sharing of Breitbart links. Watch PBS NewsHour if you want decent news. It is boring as hell, but it is reliable.

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9. Swastikas - I mean, come on! What the f--k is with all these swastikas! We left these back in 1945! And they are just the tip of the iceberg. It’s now 2017, so let’s also leave the KKK and all of that other racist, xenophobic, homophobic, transphobic, antiSemitic, sexist, rape-culture, misogynistic, alt-right, white nationalism bullshit. I am not naïve. I realize this stuff has always been there in some form or another, but why, in 2016, did so many people decide to unpack their white hoods and wear them proudly? That is some sick stuff, and it has to go. Like, seriously—stop that crap. And if you are hanging a Confederate flag in front of your house, please know that when people see it, they don’t think you’re “celebrating history.” They think you’re a racist. Stop kidding yourself.

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10. Milo Yiannopoulos – I hope you are reading that name and are confused about who it is. If so, then great. Stop reading—this article is almost over anyway. If you do recognize this name, then I am certain you’ll agree that this gay Uncle Tom has gotta go. Milo himself is not

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8. Lack of Empathy – I understand that it seems odd that I would bring up our lack of empathy, considering the salty nature of this article. (I am getting paid to be salty, but the rest of you are doing it for free.) There are some things we should not accept—racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and misogyny being chief among them. However, we must resist the urge to post a nasty comment or call someone a name, even if they do it first. One bad turn doesn’t deserve another. Also, those same smartphones that allow you to instantly post a reaction to someone’s rant will also allow you to call that person and talk to them. And if you don’t know that person well enough to have their phone number, then who gives a crap what they have to say? That person is a stranger.

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unusual, but he personifies the members of the LGBTQ community who are willfully ignorant as it relates to their own best interests and civil rights. I know that these folks truly believe that they are putting the country before themselves, but what they miss is the fact that American ideals require us to recognize that all of us are created equal. That’s like the whole f--king point. Equality is the essence of America. So, if you need to cast yourself as some martyr who is putting other issues ahead of your own equal treatment in the country you claim to love, then go ahead. You enjoy sitting at the back of the bus while the rest of us do the heavy lifting up front. In conclusion, y’all, we have our work cut out for us in 2017. While we have a lot of lessons to learn from the November elections, the LGBTQ community has been through worse years than what appears to be in store for 2017. I mean, it’s not like this conservative-led government would do something totally awful, like allow a virus to spread and kill thousands of us (and ultimately millions more worldwide) because they think gay people deserve it. Right? Happy New Year!

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Ryan M. Leach is a community activist, lawyer, professor, writer, and humorist. You can email him at ryanleach@outsmartmagazine.com.

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Super Bowl LI Next month’s event is a touchdown for Houston’s LGBT sports fans. By Eddie Robinson

t’ll be an NFL sports fan’s dream on the first Sunday in February—especially if you’re a lover of both professional football and mixed martial arts like I am! So perhaps I’m not alone in wishing that Super Bowl 51 could feature our very own Houston Texans, right? Imagine that: the Texans playing right in their own back yard for the Super Bowl! Of course, we’d have to start praying for quarterback Brock Osweiler to somehow channel the skill sets of former teammate Peyton Manning, and figure out a way to calm our offense down when they’re in the red zone and just inches away from scoring a touchdown. And we’ll certainly need to channel the entire city’s spiritual consciousness to conduct a healing séance to resuscitate our defensive hero, #99 J.J. Watt, and so many other players from their injuries! Please, Jadeveon Clowney, be disruptive on the D-line, but stay healthy! Well, since none of that will happen and Texans fans will be hating on whichever team beats us in our quest for the Big Game, at least Houstonians who are mixed martial-arts fans will have a reason to celebrate on Super Bowl weekend as the Ultimate Fighting Championship—MMA’s biggest promotion—also heads to the Bayou City! Yup, just a few miles away from NRG Stadium, the Toyota Center will be lit up like crazy to host UFC Fight Night 104—an intense battle card that will feature MMA veteran Chan Sung Jung (better known as “The Korean Zombie”) with featherweight contender Dennis Bermudez in his very first bout since finishing up two years of military service. So as you can tell, I’m definitely a big

‹

Double Knockout In February, Houston will host two major sporting events—Super Bowl LI and UFC Fight Night 104.

sports fan here in Houston. Whether you’re gay, straight, bisexual, or trans, if you’re a fan, you can always find some sort of connection through an exciting dialogue, a wild debate, or some other social interaction with other energetic sports fans. I played rugby for the Gotham Knights Rugby Football Club, a gay/inclusive rugby club in New York City. And since I played football from pee-wee to varsity high school, coming together in dialogue with like-minded friends, active competitors, and even former teammates is always something I look forward to as a guy who is in to sports. I found it especially rewarding while being a part of the Gotham club because of the fact that it was a gay organization where straight, gay, and bisexual men competed. I somehow connected better within that environment of men where no one had to hide or feel shamed by anti-gay comments. In connecting with other gay sports fans, I also notice an intuitive, unspoken kinship that secretly connects us without even having to say a word about it—even though we may have been bullied or discriminated against, or personally struggled with questions about our sexuality.

34 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

I’m also proud to say that I initiated the first-ever national gay talk-radio sports show in the country. In April of 2014, The OutField was launched as a two-hour live weekly broadcast that aired for two years on SiriusXM’s OutQ. The show allowed gay sports fans the opportunity to vent and debate in their own space, without feeling criticized, intimidated, or ostracized by typical sports-talk callers— especially if a slip of the tongue mentioned the “tight end” of Dallas Cowboys’ tight-end Jason Witten, or if a fan wanted to give props to soccer trailblazer Robbie Rogers for writing a book about coming out as an athlete. All kinds of guests appeared on the show—coaches, players, and sports analysts, including Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, tennis legend Martina Navratilova, WWE’s Darren Young, and HBO Real Sports correspondent David Scott. We even spoke to J.J. Watt’s mom during a special Mother’s Day broadcast! I created the show to help challenge the stereotypes of what it meant to be a man who just happened to be gay by offering up discussions and conversations about masculinity, and why we treated sports as an escapade in the first place. It was a platform that didn’t criticize ➝

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or make fun of the effeminate qualities that society has defined a “gay” man to be. Rather, the show lifted up and analyzed unique LGBT qualities through interesting, intellectual, and authentic exchanges. As I hosted The OutField from Wire Road Studios in the Heights, as well as Soundworks Studio out in northwest Houston, I started noticing that the show served as a conduit of support. It provided a platform where likeminded sports fans across the country, regardless of their orientation, felt comfortable calling in and expressing their views on whatever sports topic we’d be covering at the time. For instance, The OutField not only celebrated a Philadelphia Flyers hockey game the previous night, but also acknowledged a 12-year-old Philly-area lacrosse player who had just come out to his friends and was driven to contemplate suicide before he found inspiration in the words of a professional lacrosse player. But then SiriusXM pulled the plug on the OutQ channel in February of 2016. Looking back at it all, I’ve always wondered how The OutField would have fared if it were presented within the mainstream sports-media environment where both gay and straight sports fans actually co-exist. The OutField did receive calls from all over the country—and both gay and bisexual sports fans were certainly represented through calls and tweets. But during the course of the show, the only “hetero” voices we’d seem to hear from were those of our own guests. You see, with the show airing on OutQ (and lacking a digital/social-media budget), it proved to be a real challenge for me to gauge the actual level of interest within the LGBT sporting community. Keep in mind (and with all due respect to OutQ’s other programming), OutQ was a narrowly programmed channel that primarily catered to a predominantly gay niche following—a channel that was more widely known for talk centered around celebrity/red-carpet fashions, quirky rumor-mill gossip, poppy entertainment news, and unique musical tastes. So imagine, if you will, a hardcore sports village that was nestled (and almost hidden) inside that kaleidoscopic world. The show was attempting to connect with LGBT sports fans outside of a mainstream sports environment. When I addressed these concerns to sports executives at SiriusXM prior to the launch of the show (in hopes of moving The OutField to a Sirius sports channel), I was told that nongay audiences simply aren’t ready to embrace an LGBT show in a mainstream sports environment. Their comments reminded me of how today’s professional sports landscape views gay male athletes—especially those within contact (team) sports. Perhaps today’s professional sports envi-

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ronment is just not ready to embrace an openly gay male in popular North American team sports like hockey, baseball, basketball, and football—and we still lack an active, openly gay male athlete. We were almost there with Michael Sam back in 2014, but he retired from football because of mental-health issues. And former NBA player Jason Collins quickly retired after he briefly stepped up to the rim, signing two 10-day contracts with the Brooklyn Nets after coming out as gay. Former Vikings kicker and LGBT ally Chris Kluwe, along with a host of other activists, helped usher in same-sex marriage for the state of Minnesota, only to be ousted from the Vikings team months later. And in the world of MMA, the UFC refused to even consider giving transgender mixed martial artist Fallon Fox a role in its women’s division of fighters—claiming “once a man, always a man.” The 41-year-old Fox hasn’t fought in over two years. So no wonder pro male athletes are fearful of taking that step out of the closet. They’re hearing the same words I heard from the SiriusXM executives: the world is just not quite there yet in embracing professional gay men in team contact sports. If gay-male athletes really do exist in professional football, baseball, hockey, and basketball, then why won’t they come out? It’s

funny that I asked this same question at an OutGames Conference Symposium in Montreal over a decade ago! Across the country, countless inclusion programs have been initiated and developed by a host of gay and straight-ally groups and organizations who are all working to build stronger connections between the world of sports and the community as a whole. In the absence of The OutField on SiriusXM, I do believe that it’s important to foster an awareness of sports issues that impact our community. While working as a news anchor for Houston Public Media, I’ve reported on stories that examined controversial rules that exclude transgender athletes in Texas public schools, and I’ve also investigated how samesex dating among teammates would impact athletic programs at colleges and universities nationwide. Slowly but surely, that welcoming environment is being created and nurtured, and we’ve certainly come a long way compared to where the country was just a decade or two ago. But as with any sports team that pushes for a victory, we need support not only from fearless media personalities, but more importantly from the larger LGBT community and its allies—even those who are not sports fans. I believe there still exists a level of fear among players in professional sports—fear of losing a paycheck, fear of how their lives will

be impacted, and fear of actually becoming unemployable. That dynamic can also explain why certain media executives and major sports organizations hesitate to genuinely support LGBT-equality measures. They still fear a potential backlash from stakeholders and a loss of profit margins. All of this reminds me of an old saying from well-known humanitarian and civil-rights activist Benjamin Mays: “Our greatest fears are often of things that do not happen.” It might only take that one gay player in professional sports to cause the dam to break—or perhaps a new, interesting spinoff of a podcast show to take on the mainstream sports-talk format. Whatever the case may be, sports fans of all orientations spend millions of dollars each year funding these events nationwide. There’s strength in numbers! So if you’re a gay sports fan, then speak up! Wear a Pride Tshirt. Post a supportive item about your team on Facebook. Tweet a supportive comment in your debate with an analyst in the media. Let others know that we love sports, too—and we just happen to be members of a large, multicultural community of diverse people who also love to cheer, dance, cry, argue, debate, and yell our hearts out in support of our favorite teams. Eddie Robinson is a news anchor for Houston Public Media, and an avid sports fan.

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Age and Ambition Great health looks good on everyone —regardless of age. By John Aaron

is name is James. He’s over two decades younger than me, built like a brick house, and if you had seen us together in a Montrose diner on that morning—me with my graying hair, slight build, and aging eyes—you might’ve thought I was a sugar-daddy on the make for something outta my league. But you’d be wrong. What I wanted from James was his mindset. We met up for breakfast that morning to talk about different aspects of fitness and nutrition, but our conversation kept coming back to personal ambition. The “it” factor—that intangible source of energy that makes us dig deeper to achieve the seemingly impossible. James reminded me of a younger version of myself, so before I knew it, I began to compare myself to him. Not in a “size him up and keep score” sort of way, but as a reference point to gauge my current levels of energy and focus compared to the levels I enjoyed when I was younger. Soon, as I began to mentally compare my experiences of working with younger clients versus working with older ones, what I realized was that there really wasn’t much difference at all; only shifts in perception, momentum, and scale. As our conversation progressed, we surmised one truth—everyone wants to look good and feel their best, regardless of age. The problem is that many of us over the age of 50 still try to look at our health and aging bodies through the eyes of our 20- and 30-year-old selves—and we judge our aging icons, friends, and family by those same standards. Prejudice like this cuts deep into the soul. It wounds us—and it needs to stop, especially if you’re directing this kind of hate toward yourself. Now, I won’t kid you about the stoic beauty of aging gracefully. No one wants to hear that. If you’re my age or older, you know that’s just bull. I mean, yes, there is an intangible “beauty” that might come with age, but “age” is not

required to find this grace—maturity is. What I’ve noticed most about getting older is that there seems to be a general sense of malaise among most of us when it comes to health and fitness—a dissatisfaction that seems to increase right along with increasing age. The older we get, the less likely we’ll be to show interest or participate in an exercise program. It’s crazy to me that when given the option to choose exercise and better nutrition over the status quo of stagnation, disease, and decay, many of us will use age as an excuse—our “get out of jail/get out of exercise free” card, if you will. This is another pattern of thinking that we must change. Unless you have a disabling medical condition, using your age as a badge of honor (or pity) to avoid physical exertion is in itself unhealthy. It encourages decay, and rapidly suppresses your capacity for physical achievement and personal growth. So how can we break the belief that increasing age must equal decreasing physical activity? How can we reignite our ambition and ignore what we’ve been conditioned to believe about getting older? How do I get you to understand that your ambition does not need to be any different from the 30-year-old who sat across from me at breakfast that morning? James wants to look and feel his best—as do I. Don’t you? If so, let me suggest a simple four-step plan that I use for my clients and myself: 1. Stop comparing yourself to others— particularly your younger self. 2. Eat like you give a damn about your health, appearance, and quality of life. 3. Move more, and then keep moving. 4. Repeat. Daily. I’m not saying you will become a buff little hottie by doing this. But to get more from your body, you must invest more effort. If you follow these steps, I guarantee that you will look better and feel better than you currently do. The benefits of proper nutrition and exercise have been scientifically proven to continue, regard-

less of age. Great health looks good on anyone. This is now where my ambition lives. It’s not in my 20- or 30-year-old past. I no longer look through those eyes. Instead, I want to become the best that I am capable of, given my current circumstance and all of the additional knowledge and experience I now possess. Who cares that I’ve gotten a bit grayer, or that my muscles aren’t exactly as big and hard as they used to be? These things are not what give our lives meaning. We must choose to feed our bodies well, challenge them, and make them move regularly—not as a torture, but for the benefit of enjoying every moment that the rest of our lives contain. With that, I close my commentary on age and ambition. I am no longer James’ age, build, or size, nor will I ever be. But I am still the steward of my own future—as are you, with your future. This responsibility will always remain squarely on our shoulders. That said, I want to leave you with a little challenge for 2017: forgive your body for aging. Treat it well and make it move, because it deserves more than just your ambition. It deserves your respect. John Aaron is a Texas state LMT, certified health coach, and personal trainer. He can be reached at johnaaronwellness.com.

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 39

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Fitness in Fashion How the man behind the Jonathan Blake brand turned tribulation into triumph. By Barrett White

ith a kind smile and a twinkle in his eye, local fashion designer Jonathan Tinkle, creator of the Jonathan Blake women’s clothing brand, appears about as easygoing as they come. Like anyone, though, he’s had his trials. Throughout middle school, Tinkle was the subject of harsh bullying, leading the budding teen to grow reclusive and reserved. As he entered high school, he found his way out of his shell and began to actively pursue his passion as a designer. After college, the man we see today hit the main stage with dazzling fashion shows and a Galleria-area boutique that opened in 2013. As his star rose and the young designer began to come into his own, bigger troubles beneath the surface began to bubble. Through no fault of his own, Tinkle was confronted with the missteps of one of his biggest investors. Although not culpable himself, he soon found himself feeling as if he was in middle school all over again as the negativity flooded in. Peers, associates, and even complete strangers expressed their contempt for Tinkle’s mere association with the guilty party. Still young and still a beginner, the words hit hard. But after much introspection, he made the decision not to let this hiccup take the reigns. “Rather than turn to drinking, or worse, I decided to begin a fitness regimen,” Tinkle states, in reference to what would become the lifestyle overhaul that he follows to this day. Workouts are invaluable in any fitness routine, of course, but the majority of your transition comes from your eating habits. Employing the help of world-renowned nutritionist Keith Kline, Tinkle took his first steps. Kline, known for his life-changing nutrition work throughout Houston and beyond, is known in the health and fitness world as the nutritionist behind Olympians, television personalities, models, NFL players—and the list goes on. Based right here in Houston, he was Tinkle’s first choice to help him revamp his lifestyle.

‹ Tailored Fitness Fashion designer Jonathan Tinkle emphasizes finding a personal trainer who will create a custom workout to fit your body’s specific needs.

Tinkle went through several personal trainers before finding the one best suited for his body—Jason Adams of Equinox River Oaks. “My workout is not going to be the same as your workout, and yours isn’t going to be the same as your friend’s, because our bodies react to different things. So you want a trainer who is going to tailor a custom workout routine to you. [Previous trainers] were giving me the same workout program they were giving the overweight 265-pound man and the 145-pound soccer mom. So we all had the same workout plan, and we were all getting results that were not quite what we wanted.” By pairing a nutritionist with a trainer, Tinkle saw noticeable results quickly, further encouraging him to press on with his training. There was no time to be lax, no time to let the haters get him down. “I usually get up between 6:30 and 8:00, depending on what kind of day I’m preparing for,” Tinkle says. For breakfast, it’s egg whites and toast—and no more than one yolk, if any. At his six meal times each day, turkey jerky makes for a highprotein snack, followed by chicken and vegetables for lunch. He’ll keep boiled egg whites around for an afternoon snack, with grilled chicken, steak, or fish for dinner. He’ll typically round out his day at the gym around dinnertime.

When Tinkle says he wanted to make a lifestyle change, he means it. “This isn’t a meal plan for someone looking to be a body builder. This is for someone looking to lose weight,” Tinkle explains about the different routines associated with different goals. Today, Tinkle is still busy with his fashion atelier in River Oaks, continuing to design for his own brand of high-end women’s clothing while keeping up with his health. “Drama-free” is his lifestyle mantra while he’s busy building his brand. In addition to the growth of business, his adherence to an ambitious routine helped him find personal growth as well. After several years of swapping trainers, learning food faux pas, and getting used to a routine that works, Jonathan is down to about 110 pounds. “It’s probably taken me five years. That’s way too long, but I did it at a slower pace than most people. You can do what I did in a year or two. For me, it was slower because what I thought I knew, I didn’t know. There was a learning curve there for me,” Tinkle admits, while encouraging others interested in body transformation to consult a professional for best results without sacrificing good health. Barrett White is a frequent contributor to OutSmart magazine.

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 41

Neighborhood Park Proposed RENDERING BY WHITE OAK STUDIO FOR THE HOUSTON PARKS & RECREATION DEPARTMENT

Montrose Remembrance Garden will find a permanent home here. By Brandon Wolf

uniquely designed park in the Montrose area has been proposed for a small commercial lot at 424 Westheimer, bearing the name Avondale Promenade Park. Houston City Council Member Ellen Cohen has been working since 2014 to make the park a reality. A community request has been approved to provide the Montrose Remembrance Garden with a permanent home in the park. Dedicated in 2011, the small garden is a memorial to Houston’s victims of LGBT violence. The Avondale Area’s Rich History While the 9,988-square-foot plot is quite small, designers will utilize every square foot of land. Since the plot borders the Avondale Historical District, Craftsman-style architectural features made popular by Frank Lloyd Wright (and seen in many of the district’s homes) have been blended into the park’s design. The Avondale area was developed from 1907 to 1928, to compete with the nearby Courtlandt and Westmoreland neighborhoods. Development took place in two stages—Avondale East and Avondale West. The homes were built by oil executives, bankers, and other businessmen. Avondale’s most famous resident was Ross Sterling, founder of the Humble Oil Company and governor of Texas from 1931 to 1932. His home still stands at 600 Avondale. The historic subdivision was platted with 129 lots along three main streets. Alleys were cut through the middle of each block to accommodate utility poles, deliveries, and trash collection. Homes in the area were built in the Craftsman, Prairie, American Four Square, and Tudor Revival styles. Avondale’s name is based on William Shakespeare’s home town in England, Stratford-upon-Avon. The three main streets reflect the Shakespearean theme—Avondale, Stratford, and Hathaway (recalling Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway). After World War II, when many of the orig-

‹ Green Space for “Old Montrose” The proposed Avondale Promenade Park at Whitney and Westheimer would feature a promenade of pavers with historical references. This sketch shows the entrance off Westheimer, running diagonally to Whitney.

inal residents moved away, some of the large homes were torn down to make way for apartment buildings. Businesses sprang up on Hathaway Street, which would later be renamed Westheimer Road. The LGBT Community’s Area History In the 1950s and 1960s, the Montrose area began to quietly attract members of the LGBT community. The distinctive architecture of the original homes was appealing, and the aging neighborhood offered home prices that middleclass singles could afford. In the 1970s and 1980s, the area became very bohemian, and LGBTs streamed in. The boundaries of “gay Montrose” were approximately Richmond on the south, Shepherd on the west, West Gray on the north, and San Jacinto on the east. The proposed park’s location is close to many memories from that era, with Don’s La Patois restaurant (and then Michael’s bar) being two businesses located right on the park site. Moving two blocks in either direction along Westheimer, several disco-era bars could be found: Silver Dollar, Roundtable, Bayou Landing, Second Sun, Midnite Sun, Chicken Coop, Twins, QT’s, Numbers, and Club L’Amour. Neighborhood businesses included Rough Cut jewelers, Tres Chic eyewear, Wilde-N-

Stein bookstore, Infinite Records, Jim’s Gym, Byman’s Furnishings, Roman Hair Design, Leather Loft, Q-1 Leather, Tropic Tan, Sports Locker, and Black Boot. Lower Westheimer restaurants included the Happy Buddha, Tila’s, Spud-U-Like, Hour Glass, Padrino, Michelangelo’s, Jade Dragon, Lee Garden, Spirit Café, and Angelo’s Pizza. An LGBT Church of Christ also had a meeting place there. Just north of Westheimer, still more bars have been located on Avondale over the years: Badlands, Truck Stop, Silver Bullet, Silver Phoenix, and Dirty Sally’s; as well as the Montrose Inn and the Fred Paez Community Center. Bars located one block south on Lovett Blvd. (just a short walk from the Lovett Inn and KPFT Radio) included Baja Sam’s, Bacchus, and Mother’s. Jack Valinski, former head of Pride Houston, recalls that for years the annual Pride parade ended at Westheimer and Whitney, on the western edge of the proposed park. Houston’s “Open Space” Initiative Council Member Cohen advocated for purchase of the park land in 2014, at a cost of $1 million. City Council discussions buzzed about the cost, but Cohen took seriously the 2007 Open Space ordinance that was enacted to add green space to Houston neighborhoods. ➝

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 43

Neighborhood Park ProPosed continued from previous page

The ordinance divides Houston into 21 park sectors and levies fees on residential developers who do not set aside enough green space. The fees generated within a sector must be spent in that sector within three years—and only for neighborhood parks. Studies developed by the national Trust for Public Land shows a “high need” in the Lower Westheimer area. The Trust assesses need based on numerous factors: population density, number of youth and low-income residents, acreage, number of facilities, and accessibility. The rapidly increasing density of nearby Midtown was also considered in the scoring. The city real-estate department proposed other locations for the park, but they were either harder to access and monitor, more expensive, or already slated for townhouse construction. The city finally agreed to purchase the Avondale corner lot in April 2015. Cohen utilized her District C service fund to provide $25,000 for the design costs. In late summer of 2016, she hosted two community meetings for neighbors to express their thoughts about what amenities they’d like to see in the park. Once the preliminary plans were crafted, Cohen asked the Council to authorize the Houston Parks & Recreation Department to apply for an Urban Outdoor Recreation Grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. That $1 million grant request (which will match the City’s $1 million land-purchase donation) is in the works, with a decision expected this spring. The parks department indicates that if the request is not successful, other funding sources will be sought. Overall, Houston is making great efforts to raise its attractiveness quotient. The Trust for Public Land park score for Houston is currently only 41 out of a possible 100. Houston’s initiatives with its major public parks are impressive, but raising the score will require much more investment in small neighborhood parks. Construction of the Avondale Promenade Park is a prime example of what is needed to increase Houston’s livability.

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Neighborhood Input Guides the Final Design On August 16 and September 13, 2016, Cohen held a neighborhood meeting to gather public comment at The Women’s Home, just a few blocks west of the proposed park site. Two design proposals were presented, and the final design is a blend of the two that incorporates a multitude of popular features. The distinctive promenade—which bisects the park diagonally—is 12 feet wide. The promenade’s red-brick pavers will be engraved with historical references to Avondale’s history. The pavers are a nod to Avondale East’s original sidewalks that were tinted red to complement green lawns and trees, and to help reduce glare.

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Two Craftsman-style stone columns with vintage light fixtures will stand at the entryway off Westheimer. The current Metro bus shelter will be redesigned to match the Craftsman theme. Running parallel on both sides of the promenade are avenues of shade trees and vintage light poles. A Craftsman-style shade shelter with benches will be in the west portion of the park, surrounded by two open play areas and an open plaza. Benches, porch swings, and picnic/game tables will be placed randomly throughout the park. In the east portion of the park will be a children’s playground with a solid-rubber fall zone, music play panels, talk tubes, a chalk-art board, and a low platform performance area. The playground equipment will be accessible by children of all abilities. The northern section of the park will have a fenced off-leash dog area. The southern section will house a pollination garden and nature path. Interpretive signage will be placed at key points. Of special interest is a chimney swift tower. Chimney swifts are small birds that use abandoned chimneys to make their nests after being forced out of their natural habitats by urbanization. The cheerful, chirping flocks are now fond of the chimney-like structures built to attract them. A metal fence at one edge of the park will provide a wall of vining plants. Existing cypress trees on the lot will be retained. Strategic placement of these features will maximize safety and year-round enjoyment, and the park will be fully accessible. The Montrose Remembrance Garden In December 2010, 28-year-old Houstonian Aaron Scheerhoorn was stabbed to death just a few yards from the entrance to Blur Bar on a busy Montrose weekend night. Scheerhoorn’s friends wanted to memorialize him by planting a tree nearby. They approached bar owner Charles Armstrong, who offered the landscaped corner of his parking lot at Grant and California. The garden soon evolved into a memorial to all Houston LGBT victims of violence. In 2011, an engraved memorial marker was placed in the garden during a formal dedication ceremony. In 2013, a second marker was added by Houston’s transgender community to emphasize the high degree of violence against transgender individuals. In 2014, Armstrong sold the parking lot and moved the garden to a small plot on the corner of Converse and Hyde Park. The garden has been used for anti-violence vigils three times since its creation—to honor a lesbian couple in Corpus Christi, a young Hispanic man in Houston, and the 49 victims of Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub shooting. Activist Tim Bacon was among those who first worked to establish the garden. At an initial Avondale Park meeting, he suggested that ➝

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An online slide show with additional information and renderings of the proposed park is available at OutSmartMagazine.com. Special appreciation to houstonlgbthistory .org for its collection of This Week in Texas, which aided in the research for this article.

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the proposed park should provide a permanent home for the Montrose Remembrance Garden. The recommendation passed unanimously. It is not yet known which historical references will be placed on the promenade’s redbrick pavers—or if a reference to the LGBT community’s “home” in the Montrose area will be included. However, the inclusion of the memorial garden will provide a way to permanently anchor our community into the “Old Montrose” area. Doug Anderson, a close friend of Scheerhoorn’s and a founder of the Remembrance Garden, commented: “I always feel humbled when I visit the Garden and see tributes to lost loved ones placed there. I am extremely grateful to the City and our community for providing it a permanent home.” Nancy McGinnis-Roberts, another close friend and Garden founder, remarked: “What a giant step forward for all who have lost a loved one violently, senselessly, and tragically. To have a place to mourn our loss, celebrate the lives of those who are gone, and remember their stories gives a voice to those we have lost.” Activist Lou Weaver, who worked to make the transgender memorial a reality, reflects: “I’m very excited to hear that the Remembrance Garden will be finding a permanent home. It’s very important for the community to be able to honor those that we have lost due to anti-trans hate—and to remember where we have come from.” In a statement for OutSmart, Cohen summed up the proposed park: “As the council member for District C, which includes the future park at 424 Westheimer, as Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Houston, and as chair of Houston’s Quality of Life Committee, I know how critical it is that we maintain and increase our green spaces in Houston, particularly in rapidly densifying neighborhoods like Montrose. “This is why I have been so pleased to advocate for the creation of a park on Lower Westheimer, which has been identified by the Parks Department as a ‘high-need’ area for quality green space. The plans crafted by the neighboring community are particularly fantastic because they are so unique to the neighborhood— they highlight the historic nature of Avondale and include the relocation of the LGBT Remembrance Garden to the park to ensure it has a permanent home. This will be a true community park, and I look forward to its implementation.”

9/23/16 2:19 PM

From the Valley to the White House Former LGBT adviser reflects on politics and his upbringing in South Texas. By Josh Inocéncio

s a gay South Texan with “a little secret,” Moe Vela hardly imagined he would leave the Lone Star State for DC to serve not one, but two vice presidents as a senior policy adviser on LGBT and Latino issues. But this spectacularly political (and deeply personal) journey is what Vela shares in his new memoir, Little Secret Big Dreams. From wrangling with his sexuality in college, leaving his Broadway dreams behind, starting law school in San Antonio, to proudly standing with Vice President Al Gore at the edge of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, Vela details his remarkable history that will inspire any American who has faced challenges on their way to success. Last month, I caught up with Vela in between hotel stops as he toured his book across Texas. Josh Inocéncio: So tell our readers about your memoir, Little Secret Big Dreams. Why did you decide to write it? Moe Vela: Well, I call it a “mini-memoir,” because a memoir sounds so final! But I grew up in South Texas, raised as a Latino Catholic son of a pioneer family. I realized at the age of four or five I had a little secret—that I was gay. And the Latino machismo mentality was certainly telling me I couldn’t be that. So the book is a story of growing up where everything was stacked against me, where I had to hide who I was, find the ability to survive, contemplate suicide, and only then go on to make history as the first gay American and the first Hispanic American to serve twice in the White House in a senior role. [My book is for] anyone who’s ever felt disenfranchised—and not just about being gay. I wrote the book because I hope we can save somebody’s life and inspire readers to follow their dreams. Speaking of your pioneer family, I know you come from a line of civil servants, including other attorneys like yourself. How did their work shape your understanding

‹ Journey to the White House Openly gay Latino Moe Vela details his time as the senior policy adviser to not one, but two vice presidents in his new memoir, Little Secret, Big Dreams. He is seen here with (from top) Al Gore (on Air Force One), Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Joe Biden.

of politics as you were growing up? There’s no doubt that the Vela family’s contributions as civil servants had a tremendous impact on shaping me into who I am. My dad never pushed my brother and I to be lawyers, and my mom never pushed my three sisters to be teachers. It just worked out that way, because we saw what was best in those professions. My uncle sat on the United States federal bench. My father became a county judge. You see it manifest to this day in me having served twice in the White House, my cousin serving in the United States Congress, and my brother as CEO of the largest hospital system in South Texas. All of us are continuing this pattern of giving back to our nation. I’ll give you a little anecdote: I watched my dad, as an attorney, do more pro-bono work than dozens of attorneys combined. He would come home with a bucket with an alligator in it, or a bushel of tomatoes, and he’d say, “This is the only way Mr. García or Mrs. Rodriguez could pay me.” He would take whatever they were willing to give him. That’s what we saw. So how do you not go into public service? How do you not give back to your community? Since it’s detailed in the book, I don’t want you to give away too much of your journey—from coming out in college to

auditioning for Broadway musicals in New York. So let’s jump to your accomplishments in Washington. What was it like working for Al Gore as an LGBT adviser in the mid-’90s, and what was your proudest moment with him? I love him! America in 2000 never got to see the real Al Gore. He’s funny and charming. The rigidity that America saw shows he’s only human. But behind that protective exterior was one of the most beautiful people I ever got to work with in my professional endeavors. In fact, when we see each other, he calls me compadre. And let me make this very clear: the Gores needed no encouragement, no prodding, and certainly no political motive, because in their hearts they were always allies to our community. Always. But the proudest accomplishment was the Gores being so present in the fight against AIDS. Listen, they were the first to go out to the Mall to see the memorial quilt. It was not political for them. We had several gays on our staff way before it was “politically correct.” They’ve been with us all their lives. Now during the Bush years, you left DC and worked successfully all over the country in places like Birmingham, San Diego, and Denver. What led you back to Washington to work for Joe Biden as ➝

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an LGBT adviser at the beginning of Obama’s presidency? I was having a very good life. I was making more money than I ever dreamed I’d make in my lifetime. Everything was perfect. And then Ron Klain, the chief of staff for Al Gore, called me. I said, “Hey, what’re you doing?!” And he says, “Moe, listen, I’m coming to Denver for a meeting. Do you have time for a drink?” Well, call me naïve—I didn’t put two and two together: Barack Obama and Joe Biden had just won the week before. And I had, as I joked, been “cured of the political disease” for two years. And so I go meet Ron in downtown Denver, we catch up on our personal lives, and out of the clear blue, he says, “I didn’t really have a meeting in Denver. I came here to bring you back. Joe Biden has asked me to be his chief of staff, and I told him that I can do it, but I had to come get you to be director of management and administration.” I said, “No, no, no, I can’t do that.” He said, “At least do me a favor and sleep on it.” I slept on it, and I said no again on Thursday. Then on Friday, he calls one more time and says, “Moe, your country needs you.” I dropped the phone, picked it back up, and asked, “When do I start?” Then the vice president and I met, he thanked me profusely (since I took a 72 percent cut in pay!), he kissed me on the forehead and said, “I cannot wait to work with you.”

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ASTROCAST

What does 2017 have in store for you? by Lilly Roddy | Illustrations by David Eduardo Flores Perez Photo of Lilly Roddy by John Conroy

s we begin the new year, our friend Mercury is already retrograde and will continue in that direction through January 13. We will have three other Mercury retrogrades during 2017: April 5–May 7, August 7–September 9, and November 29–December 27. The April–May Mercury retrograde is further complicated by a Venus retrograde February 24–April 29, which adds a touch of chaos. Mercury retrograde is always good for taking care of things from your past, reconnecting with old friends, finishing up lawsuits, and contacting your existing client base—or just getting your life more organized. It’s never a good time for signing contracts, buying cars or electronic equipment, or traveling to new places. Venus retrograde affects elements of your life that are about desire, love, money, relationships, investments, and living the good life. It’s a good time to look up old friends or relationships. Venus’ money aspect also makes it a good time to review your investments or to take care of old money problems. But like Mercury retrograde, it is not a good time to invest in new stocks or bonds or to begin a new relationship. As well, you may want to avoid haircuts, makeovers, or clothes buying. As the year begins, all of us are dealing with some harsh realities. We cannot escape the dark knowledge we have gained about people we have honored as heroes or heroines, as well as business tycoons or government officials with no integrity. We are seeing things as they have always been. What shall we do with this knowledge? Will you be able to face your own unconscious side of hypocrisy and avoidance? How have you contributed to where we are, and what will you do to make it better? Can you see past the limitations of your own beliefs? ➝

Lilly Roddy has been an astrologer for the last 33 years. She counsels individuals in personal, business, and financial matters, as well as teaches classes in astrology. Her original interest in astrology, like most people’s, was to come to a better understanding of who she was and how to make the most of her life.

She continues to study all areas of astrology and metaphysics to expand her base of knowledge. Roddy’s approach is to bring together a mental, physical, and spiritual combination that has real application in the world. Roddy can be contacted at 713.529.5842 or lillycath@aol.com. OutSmartMagazine.com

JANUARY 2017

Astrocast for 2017

continued from previous page

Aries

March 21–April 19

April 20–May 20

Taurus

Gemini

Your sign continues to be very active throughout 2017— full of change and opportunity—as you release aspects of your past that have outlived their usefulness. Your career is going through a big downsizing and reinvention cycle. Some of you are considering leaving the industry in which you work and possibly starting a whole new career. Two other options are being considered: some of you are thinking possible retirement, while others will act as the agent of change within the organization where you currently work. Either way, this is a time frame where you are stepping into a position of power. This energy builds through all of 2017 and is even stronger in 2018. This is a very positive time for relationships! The social energies in your sign provide potential for finding new friends, new business partners, or even new romantic partners. If you are involved, you and your

As the new year begins, you take a close look at your resources and financial base, especially with an eye to improving your current economic situation. You should continue to maintain a conservative financial path. With the eclipses in February and August, there should be career opportunities or, minimally, better job opportunities. This will be tied in with being more connected socially within your own community. In order to be more successful with your career this year, you need to find a cause or purpose that motivates you from your core. You are not a halfway kind of person, and need to be fully committed to follow through. This year Venus, your ruling planet, goes retrograde from March 24 through April 29. This will be a time when you are going to be more introspective about your life overall. This would be an excellent time to step back, review your life, and establish some priorities.

In 2017, you Geminis continue to be focused on longterm security, both financially and emotionally. You started working with this theme last year, and you expect to be making much more progress before the year is up. In your career, you are looking for positions that offer refuge and reliability. You are also looking for something that offers a future, rather than just a place for you to work. The eclipse in February 2017 could open some doors for you. You might want to update your résumé, just in case. This could also be a very good time to form a business relationship and possibly start your own business. This energy will be a lot stronger from February through April of this year. Relationships, overall, are going through a time of review and potential renewal. If you are in a good relationship, this could be a time when you and your

partner will want to have more activity and fun. Relationships that are too restrictive—or demand that you change to satisfy others—will be coming to an end. Venus in retrograde between the end of February and the end of April will certainly test the viability of your relationships. Retrograde Mercury, the trickster, will also be active during that time in your sign. Your financial picture is not bad, but you feel somewhat uncomfortable because of the potential for career change and shifting into something totally new. It would be best to maintain a conservative financial path through the end of 2018. This is a good year for you to get involved in community organizations, possibly taking a leadership role. You will want to be more active with your children through 2017, as well, and this may open a path to new friends and new interests.

Venus retrograde is the perfect time to question your commitments to the things you desire. Do these things really represent you? Your relationships with your coworkers may be most tested during that time. Spiritually, you are going through a time of revolution. You have been suffering this upheaval strongly for the past three years. You are just now beginning to feel yourself move away from this to a freer expression of yourself. You are releasing the religious shackles that kept you safe. You’re seeking a life of adventure, excitement, and purpose. This is an excellent time to open yourself up to a new way of seeing the environment around you. The psychological influence of family and its impact will also be strong throughout 2017. This is a good time to consider healing those old wounds via therapy or alternative healing methods. This will improve your relationship with your family, whether they are dead or alive. This energy also helps to improve your personal relationships, especially after September 2017; there may be new relationships developing for you at that time. Life improves generally for you, beginning in the fall of 2017 and continuing throughout most of 2018.

partner discuss where your relationship is going. It’s part of the process of establishing new goals for your relationship to invite the innocence of renewal and more intimate connections. As your relationships are going through this period of evaluation, you expect adult behavior from the people close to you. You are not as easygoing and as flexible as you normally are, and you don’t want other people wasting your time. Some relationships will come to an end if they don’t have a purpose in your life. But you may not make those decisions until the very end of 2017. Your financial situation is not bad, but you should be looking at ways to cut back. You are nervous about your finances, and you will feel better if you pay attention here. Your self-confidence is low, and that may keep you from doing what seems natural. For those of you born June 1–5, the time is ripe for a spiritual quest. You will find the more mundane pursuits of work and relationships less fulfilling. This can inspire a hermit phase, perhaps even avoiding people altogether. You are putting your outer life on hold as you work on your inner emotional foundation.

May 21–June 21

More Astrocast on page 85

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Finding Self-Love Growing up, Natalie Mink struggled with her multiple marginalized identities. Now, she’s sharing her story. By Natalie Mink

she was the beginning and end of every thought in my head. “I love you,” I said again. “I love you, too, Nat. You’re being weird.” This time, I came over to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “I’m in love with you, though.” While I stood there in front of her, raw and unfiltered, I saw her eyes go from the warm and inviting orbs I’d known since I was 10 to the ice of fear and anger. Finally, after what felt like a decade of silence, she spoke. “How long have you known this?” I could hear the sting of betrayal hitting her words with every syllable. “Since we were 10.” She put her hand up, as if silencing me would make it all a dream. “And you couldn’t tell me sooner?” I looked at her with a glimmer of hope in my eyes. “I was afraid of how you would take it. But if . . .” She silenced me with her eyes this time. “Nat, I don’t love you in that way, and I never will. I’m straight. I think you should leave.” She walked past me to yell for her dad. The ride back to my family’s hotel that night was silent, occasionally broken by her dad commenting ➝

‹

they do, I do—even if my way of doing things f you are an LGBTQ person struggling to has to be slightly adapted. “come out,” this article is a safe space for But nothing can prepare you for the sudden you. You don’t have to hide here—not from realization of your own homosexuality. There me. I was once in your shoes—a queer teenage isn’t a way to soften the blow of realizing, at the girl who hid in the closet by acting like I had ripe age of 10, that yeah, you might be in love feelings for boys, so that no one would suspect with your best friend from down the street— that I was in love with the girl down the street. and you have feelings for her in the way women Let me begin by bringing you into my past. are supposed to have feelings for men. By sharing this glimpse of a closeted young So I prepared myself for many years of being adult’s life, I hope you’ll see that there is nothing wrong with your feelings or your LGBTQ barricaded in my closet of self-loathing and conidentity. fusion, until finally, at age 16, I told her what was When I was growing up in the suburbs of on my mind. I remember it all like it hapHouston, everything seemed fairly normal. My pened just yesterday. My family had gone mother and father both worked, so I was left in on a ski trip to Colorado—where my crush the care of my protective but nurturing British had moved—just as we did every year. But grandmother. I am the youngest of three kids, that year was different—I was finally going and my siblings always knew what was best for to tell her so I could stop carrying around me—even when I didn’t. I love them for that. the burden of loving someone who had But there are two things that separate me no idea of my feelings. Of course, I wasn’t from the rest of my famprepared for what actuily: I have cerebral palsy, ally happened. “I have cerebral palsy, and I’m a lesbian. Before My 16-year-old mind and I’m a lesbian. That’s anyone tells me that that’s had come up with delupretty unremarkable . . . pretty unremarkable, trust sions of grandeur and trust me, I already know.” “what-if” scenarios. me, I already know. Lots of people have disabilities, “What if she loves me and lots of people are gay. So the question I ask back?” “What will happen then?” Not myself is, “What do I offer the world that no one once did I even consider that she might be else can?” This is a question I cannot yet anstraight. swer, but I can start filling in some of the gaps. We were sitting in her basement, and It just hit me that if people talked about she was on the computer. I was sitting in being disabled in the same way they talk about a chair across from her, my body shaking. being gay, it would sound ridiculous. “When “I have to tell you something,” I said. I did you first know you had cerebral palsy?” could feel the pricks of nervousness at my “Are you sure you have CP?” “It could just be fingertips. a phase.” “Something must have happened for “What is it, Natalie?” I suddenly you to have CP, right?” couldn’t speak. My mouth was as dry as Growing up with both identities was very the Sahara. “Well, spit it out, Nat.” hard. I hated being “abnormal,” and I hated I looked at her like a doe caught in the having to go to physical therapy when my headlights. “I love you,” I said. My voice “normal” siblings could physically do anything was soft, but it felt like a scream. they wanted. I always felt held back. Of course, “I love you, too,” she said—out of habit. now that I’m 26, I understand both sides of the “No, you don’t understand,” I said. I Siblings Know Best coin a little better. My family has always been took a breath as I prepared to tell her that Natalie Mink (l) at her sister’s wedding. Mink credits much of her self-acceptance to the support of her siblings. very supportive of everything I do. Everything this was more than friendship, and that

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 55

Finding SelF-love continued from previous page

that it was supposed to snow. I got out of the car and thanked her dad for the ride. My shoes crunched under the snow and ice. I prayed no one would be in our hotel room. No such luck. My sister was at the table. She looked up at me, my eyes shining with unshed tears. “You told her, didn’t you?” Just like that, I shattered like glass. Sobs came out of me from a deep, broken place in my soul. I nodded, and my sister opened her arms to rock me for what felt like ages. Occasionally she shushed me, telling me that I would find someone eventually. But I didn’t want anyone else—I wanted her. The reason I bring up my unrequited crush on a straight girl is not to make readers uncomfortable, but to prove a point that whether you’re straight or LGBT, a broken heart doesn’t depend on silly things like gender. I’ve had plenty of loves and plenty of heartache over the years, and it never gets any easier. Love is the only emotion with a dual function—it can either heal or destroy. For me, coming out was a process—as it is for most people on the queer spectrum. Coming out to myself was the easiest part. Then came the hard part—telling everyone else. About five years ago, a few days before Christmas, I was sitting on the couch watching my favorite show, Will and Grace. Will

suddenly blurted out to Grace that he was gay. Suddenly, just like Will, I couldn’t hold it in any more and started sobbing. It’s funny how much you can relate to a fictional character. My mom asked me what was wrong, and at first I thought of telling her a lie—like I’d done so many times before. Then I realized that lying again would mean more work for me in the long run. I took a deep breath and spoke the sentence that would kick down my closet door forever. “Mom, I’m a lesbian.” It was quiet for a long time. And then came the question I’d been expecting. “Are you sure?” I’m not sure how long the conversation lasted, but later on that night she told me that she wanted me to be sure, “because it’s hard enough being disabled . . . now you’re gay.” I didn’t know how to respond to a statement like that. It wasn’t “now” that I decided to be gay. I didn’t have a gay alarm that went off when I turned 21. But I tried to see things from her point of view. What I’m sure my mom meant when she said, “Now you’re gay,” was that it’s a process to learn how to be a parent to a child who has just come out—as much as it was a process for me to tell her. She somehow knew I would have to fight harder than anyone else, because my mother has been fighting for me her whole life. I had struggled with my sexuality as a teenager, but it was a private war within myself that I wasn’t winning. Before I ever seriously

dated any girls, I dated guys. It was all a front, to prove to my family and myself that I was, in fact, the straightest girl they’d ever seen. I was also internally and externally homophobic before I came out—a perfect case of self-loathing. For me, that was the front I had to put up before I realized it was doing more harm than good. Telling my sister the “big news” was a different story. Her boyfriend (and my future brother-in-law) told me he was preparing to propose to her, and he had sworn me to secrecy. I’m not that good at keeping secrets, especially one of that caliber. Out of fear of spilling the beans, I didn’t call my sister at all before his proposal. One day, she noticed my absence and called me out of the blue. “Why haven’t you been calling me? Are you avoiding me or something?” she questioned. I sat there for a while and steadied my breathing, determined not to ruin the proposal surprise. Instead, I came out to her. “Nicole, I’m gay,” I said, my voice cracking with emotion. Suddenly I was 16 again, waiting for yet another devastating response. I remained silent until she laughed. “I know,” she said. “I was just waiting for you to catch up.” Natalie Mink is a native Houstonian, an active member of the LGBT community, and an advocate for individuals with disabilities.

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Hidden in Plain Sight Researcher Dr. MehlmanOrozco discusses the realities of human trafficking. By Dr. Laura McGuire

t’s time to shed some light on a topic that is rarely discussed, but greatly in need of our attention—human trafficking. Especially in a prosperous international city like Houston, it is vital that we take the time to know where the products we are shopping for come from, and which anti-trafficking organizations we should be supporting. Many people think of human trafficking as only happening to foreign nationals, or only to women. But the truth is much more complex than what we see in movies and on TV. In honor of January being National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, I recently talked with expert Dr. Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco about the reality of human trafficking, and what we as a community and as individuals can do to combat it. Dr. Laura McGuire: Thank you for talking with us today about the issue of human trafficking. This is a hot topic in the media, and something that a lot of prominent political and social figures are talking about. Can you tell us a bit about your background and the work you do? Dr. Kimberly Mehlman-Orozco: Thank you so much for taking the time to cover this important issue. As far as my background is concerned, I am an accomplished survey methodologist, research scientist, and quantitative and qualitative consultant on issues related to human trafficking. I am one of the few researchers with the background to qualify as an expert witness and subject-matter expert on human trafficking in criminal and civil courts. My work is also published in books, peer-reviewed journals, magazines, and news outlets. My anti-trafficking efforts are focused on bridging the gap between research and practice, so that we can reduce the incidence of human trafficking in the United States and worldwide.

‹ Identifying the Problem Human trafficking comes in many forms—it can be hidden within the commercial sex industry or passed off as a legitimate business.

What is an expert witness? Basically, an expert witness is used to educate the judicial system on the human trafficking phenomenon. Given the clandestine nature of human trafficking crimes, as well as the trauma bond that often exists between victims and offenders, fewer than .01 percent of traffickers are ever convicted for their offenses. Expert-witness testimony can assist in explaining the complexity of human trafficking victimization to juries and judges alike. Prosecutorial use of expert-witness testimony in human trafficking cases can help close the credibility gap of victims, while the defense’s use of expert-witness testimony can be used to clarify the distinction between a prostitute and a sex-trafficking victim, human trafficker, and human-trafficking survivor. Tell us more about the book you are currently working on. My book Hidden in Plain Sight: America’s Slaves of the New Millennium is scheduled to be published by ABC-CLIO in the fall of 2017. The book will feature heart-wrenching stories about how women, men, and children are forced, defrauded, and coerced into exploitation across the United States. Although some forms of human trafficking may only be distantly recognizable, my book will shock and

terrify readers with the stark reality of just how close to home human trafficking hits. The horror is in the details. How is real-life human trafficking different than what is portrayed on film and in the general media? This isn’t the movie Taken. Liam Neeson isn’t going to show up in a black Audi and Versace suit to rescue his innocent-victim daughter from gun-wielding Albanian mobsters. Sex trafficking across America is a more clandestine activity, hidden within the commercial sex industry that has flourished in our country for decades, as well as in plain sight under the veneer of legitimate businesses. In real life, it is much more difficult to prosecute human traffickers, [as well as] to correctly identify and rescue the victims. Each of your readers has likely worn, touched, or consumed a product of slavery—as well as encountered a human trafficking victim—without their knowledge. How do victims fall into trafficking? Rather than using force to perpetually repress victims, sex traffickers more frequently gain compliance by building a trauma bond with their victims. Recruitment into a commercial sexually exploitive victimization often involves the perceived fulfillment of ➝

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physiological and emotional needs, as well as strategic infusion of countercultural virtues. Human traffickers will typically manipulate prospective victims by concealing their exploitive intentions through entrapment and enmeshment schemes, portraying themselves as boyfriends/lovers or faux family. Alternatively, traffickers have been known to use ruses involving debt bondage or coerced co-offending to gain compliance. Instead of using physical chains to control a victim, traffickers fabricate a virtual tether with victims through social, emotional, financial, or psychological bonding and oversight. This type of fraud, deception, and coercion makes it easier for the trafficker to control multiple victims, without interruption and with impunity. Which populations and demographics are likely to be targeted for human trafficking? All people, regardless of socioeconomic status, are at risk of being trafficked, but this risk is elevated for persons at the margins of society. For example, runaway and homeless youth, as well as people living in poverty or ostracized from their community, may be at higher risk because they can have their needs more easily targeted and temporarily fulfilled by traffickers. Human traffickers will often bait victims through the false promise to fulfill basic physiological needs and provide safety, or by offering a sense of love and belonging. Once the victim is successfully recruited, only then will the trafficker begin the exploitation. What stops a victim from leaving or seeking out organizations that can help? There are a number of barriers to [rescuing victims and] providing services. Since victims are often controlled through threats, deception, and coercion, they may not be fully aware of their victimization, or are disinclined to seek assistance. Even if a victim is able to break the trauma bond and ask for help, socialservice and law-enforcement systems may erroneously criminalize victims due to misidentification, which negatively impacts trust between victims and service providers. Finally, even if a victim is correctly identified and “rescued,” it is often difficult for them to find sustainable residential placement, employment, and trauma-informed therapy, which can increase the likelihood of revictimization. How are these victims treated by the judicial system? Sex-trafficking survivors continue to be erroneously criminalized and/or revictimized [even after they are identified] by the judicial system. These survivors are often viewed as less-than-credible witnesses, given their backgrounds [that may include illegal] immigration, coerced co-offending, drug use, [incar-

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ceration, and prostitution]. Nationally, there are limited resources for human trafficking survivors. Post-rescue, victims often struggle to find housing, employment, transportation, therapy, and medical/dental care. Throughout the course of their victimization and thereafter, victims often describe being treated as “throwaway” people, which is a disheartening testament to the [lack of] resources in place to help human-trafficking survivors. How does human trafficking uniquely impact the LGBT community? While LGBTQ youth make up only 3 to 5 percent of the population, they account for 40 percent of runaway and homeless youth. In turn, these kids are at an elevated risk of falling prey to human traffickers. In my work as a humantrafficking expert-witness and researcher, I have become acutely aware of internationally acclaimed [faith-based] organizations that [deny resources to LGBT victims]. Unfortunately, LGBT youth are at higher risk of becoming victims of sex trafficking, and are less likely to receive services. One human-trafficking survivor I interviewed told me, “Along our journey in seeking help, I realized that many of these organizations who could help my wife simply didn’t, because we’re a lesbian couple. Many of these faith-based organizations rescue women and men, Bible in hand. When they offer help, it’s based on their religious beliefs.” The LGBTQ community experiences discrimination in various aspects of life, which increases their likelihood of human trafficking victimization. Unfortunately, this discrimination even extends to [the services that are denied to LGBT] human-trafficking survivors; as such, LGBT survivors are at higher risk of revictimization. What are some ways that everyday citizens can get involved in improving this situation? Everyday citizens can become involved in the modern-day abolitionist movement by helping to fill the gap in resources for human-trafficking survivors. Surviving human trafficking is arduous, but finding ways to thrive post-rescue should not be so hard. Organizations like Soroptimist International provide scholarships for human-trafficking survivors to assist them with residential placement, vocational training, and therapy. I encourage your readers to contribute their time and resources to local anti-trafficking organizations that provide direct services for all human-trafficking survivors. Also, I have launched a scholarship campaign for LGBTQ human-trafficking survivors: gofundme.com/LGBTQTraffickingSurvivor. Dr. Laura McGuire is certified as a sexuality educator through the American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists. Read her monthly queer-inclusive sex column, Ask Dr. Laura, at OutSmartMagazine.com.

Exposing ‘The Johns’ Mildred’s Umbrella’s production sheds light on human trafficking. By Donalevan Maines Photos by Rod Todd

hat if they threw a professional sports event without hookers and johns? It wouldn’t be the Super Bowl, that’s for sure, say the producers of The Johns, a play that sets the ugly stench of human trafficking in an upscale Houston neighborhood, with performances beginning in January—Human Trafficking Prevention Month—and ending on the eve of Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium. The Johns will be presented 12 times from January 19 to February 4 by Mildred’s Umbrella Theatre Company, in cooperation with United Against Human Trafficking and the National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Houston Section. The latter two groups enlisted Mildred’s Umbrella to perform The Johns in connection with Super Bowl events, which human trafficking experts warn will exacerbate a problem that’s already prevalent here. A recent study shows that 20 percent of all U.S. human trafficking takes place in Texas, says the play’s director, Jennifer Decker. “Any city on a coast spurs a lot of prostitution traffic. The Super Bowl makes it worse.” “The Johns is a play about men who buy girls for sex, and what it costs,” says its author, Mary Bonnett of Chicago. By that, she counts the costs in human terms that might hit close to home. “Some people have the saddest lives,” says the character of Grace, an affluent wife and mother who’s oblivious to the fact that both her husband, Chase, and son, CJ, frequent young prostitutes. “Dad bought me a whore for my 16th birthday,” says CJ, who’s now in college. “Dad thought that was normal.” “The Johns is an unflinching drama that explores our values raising boys to men, instant sexual gratification and its impact on women,

‹ An American Problem Chase (Sean Patrick Judge, standing) and CJ (Bobby Haworth, far right) play a father-son duo who buy underage prostitute Baby Girl (Shelby Blocker) for sex in The Johns.

the family, and those purchased,” says Decker. Bonnett tells OutSmart that she based her script on hundreds of interviews with people involved in sex trafficking in the Chicago area. “By partnering with a couple of organizations, it really opened doors for me to interview undercover detectives, FBI, medical people, therapists, and pimps,” says Bonnett. “I also met some very young girls, including 12-yearolds who were too vulnerable to be interviewed, but just to be in their presence sent a powerful message to me. They looked like any other child.” Baby Girl, the underage prostitute in the Houston production of The Johns, is played by Shelby Blocker. Decker says, “She’s American,” at Bonnett’s request, whereas Decker’s instinct was to portray the character as foreign, to underline the worldwide expanse of human trafficking. Bonnett insisted on making Baby Girl a wholesome All-American runaway whose parents had searched for her with “missing child” reports, Amber alerts, milk cartons, ribboned trees and light-pole pictures. Now tainted, and barely 15, Baby Girl cries, “I’m dead to my family.” For the Mildred’s Umbrella production, the author changed the play’s setting to a Houston

suburb—say, The Woodlands—to drive home how sex trafficking isn’t always someone else’s problem. “We hope to shed light on an issue that many Houstonians are not even aware is a problem,” says Decker. “With these 12 public performances, we want to raise awareness that human trafficking is a violation of basic human rights and robs victims of their freedom,” adds Timeka Walker, executive director of United Against Human Trafficking, which works with 35 organizations on direct outreach, education, and advocacy through its Houston Rescue & Restore Coalition. In addition, says UAHT community relations advocate Jessica Kim, “We train the Montrose Grace Place staff on human trafficking for social service providers. We also have worked with the Montrose Center. They are great and specifically work with the LGBTQ community. They do fantastic work.” Another co-producer, the National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Houston Section, works to protect the rights and well-being of women, children, and families against harassment, violence, and abuse. “We felt that [The Johns] was extremely relevant for Houston audiences, and it works well with the city’s ➝

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push on human-trafficking awareness,” says Bobbi Cohen, NCJW Texas state policy advocacy co-chair. The Johns is the second play in a series of four that Bonnett has written as the producing artistic director for Chicago’s Her Story Theater, whose “mission through theater and the written word is to shine bright lights in dark places on women and children in need of social justice and community support.” The series began with Shadow Town, about the supply side of sex trafficking, told from the point of view of pimps. It was followed by The Johns, then Mongers, about men online who buy sex-trafficked girls, and Money Make’m Smile, which is targeted to high school and college audiences. Bonnett says she contemplates writing future plays about gay hustlers, abuse of the elderly, and addiction to pornography. What: The Johns When: January 19–February 4 Where: Studio 101 at Spring Street Studios, 1824 Spring Street More info: mildredsumbrella.com • 832.463.0409 • info@mildredsumbrella.com

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Red-Carpet Ready LGBT nominations galore at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards this month. By Donalevan Maines

SANDERS - DAVID BORNFRIEND/COURTESY A24; FONDA/TOMLIN - MELISSA MOSELEY/NETFLIX; BURGESS - ERIC LIEBOWITZ/NETFLIX; PAULSON/CLARK - RICK ROWELL/ABC

ily Tomlin will take a bow on January 29 as winner of the Life Achievement Award at the 23rd annual Screen Actors Guild honors. Even Russian hackers can’t alter the result, as Tomlin’s award was announced months ago, making her the first out recipient of the ultimate careerachievement prize for movie and television performers. Also pre-announced: on January 8, marvelous Meryl Streep will get the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes “for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” (You just know her greatesthits reel will include a scene with Cher as her lesbian roommate, Dolly Pelliker, in Silkwood.) The two buzziest films in this year’s Oscar race seem made-to-order for LGBT movie fans, as La La Land is an original movie musical with eye-catching stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, while Moonlight is the acclaimed adaptation of an out AfricanAmerican man’s play about growing up gay. At both the SAG Awards and the Golden Globes (hosted by Jimmy Fallon), marriage equality will bask in the spotlight of acting nods for Loving leads Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga. They play the interracial couple who took their pursuit of happiness all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark Loving v. Virginia marriage-equality case in 1967. That was two years before Tomlin became an overnight success on TV’s Laugh-In with her breakout character, Ernestine, the snorting switchboard operator who bullied author Gore Vidal and other phone-company customers. (One can only imagine how Ernestine, circa 2017, might deal with Russian hackers, utilizing today’s technology.) The SAG spotlight on Tomlin will likely be the LGBT highlight of a whole slew of TV

‹ And the Award Goes To . . . Clockwise from top left: Ashton Sanders as the teenage Chiron in Moonlight; Jane Fonda (l) and Lily Tomlin in Grace and Frankie; Titus Burgess in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; and Sarash Paulson (l) and Marcia Clark at the 2016’s Emmy Awards (Paulson played Clark in The People v. O.J. Simpson).

awards shows that lead up to Hollywood’s biggest night, the Academy Awards, which is set for February 26 with Jimmy Kimmel as host. Until the Oscars, we will see Kate McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, writer/director Tom Ford, and other gay faves on so many red carpets that we might decide to turn our attentions to NFL playoff games. And if you think all the different honors seem to run together, you’re not alone. Even The Shark’s Mark Cuban crowed, “Alec Baldwin deserves an Oscar!” when, actually, Baldwin’s lauded portrayal of Donald Trump on TV’s Saturday Night Live will qualify him for an Emmy Award, not an Academy Award. The frontrunner for Best Actor at the Oscars is Casey Affleck, who could easily score an Emmy nomination for his outstanding SNL hosting gig last month. In his opening monologue, the brother of two-time Academy Award-winner Ben Affleck described his movie Manchester by the Sea as “incredibly depressing” and “crushingly sad.” (In other words, just my type of date movie.) The actor added, “It’s a beautiful testament to what we’ll do for our family, to how everyone deserves a second chance, and also to how unbearably sad

movies can be.” In contrast, the tagline for La La Land reads, “Here’s to the fools who dream.” Oh, and if TV awards shows aren’t enough to make you a pigskin fan in time for Super Bowl LI, local movie fans can gather at the eighth annual presentation of the Houston Film Critics Society two evenings before the Globes. La La Land leads the nominations at the 7 p.m. ceremony January 6 at the MATCH, which will be preceded by a reception. “Each year, the Houston Film Critics Society follows a thorough screening process to identify the best of the year’s films,” says Joshua Starnes, president of the organization. “With our annual awards ceremony, we take a moment to honor the best, as well as reach out to the community to celebrate the magic of film.” The organization also will cheer an independent film that was made in Texas, as well as jeer the overall Worst Film of the Year. Joining La La Land, Moonlight, and Manchester by the Sea as a favorite of the Houston critics is Arrival, which stars Amy Adams. The slate of nominees is about the same at every awards show, with an occasional ➝

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(welcomed!) surprise such as the bell-ringing Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Golden Globes for The Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg as closeted Cosmé McMoon, the Cole Porter-ish pianist in Florence Foster Jenkins. His competition includes Oscar favorite Mahershala Ali in Moonlight, the much-praised Dev Patel (Lion), another outof-the-box nominee, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Noctural Animals), and Academy Awardwinner Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water, a modern-day Western set in Texas. As “Flo-Fo,” Streep claimed her 30th nomination for a Golden Globe, and she might double-dip that night by taking home both the DeMille honor plus Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion PictureMusical or Comedy. (But she will have to out-poll Stone as well as Annette Bening in 20th Century Women, Lily Collins [whom Bening’s husband, Warren Beatty, directed in Rules Don’t Apply], and Hailee Steinfeld in The Edge of Seventeen.) Likewise, on the same night that Tomlin will be feted with the SAG Life Achievement Award, Tomlin could win a competitive SAG for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series. Tomlin’s rivals are her Grace and Frankie co-star, Jane Fonda,

along with reigning queen Uzu Aduba (as lesbian Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Orange Is the New Black), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and Elle Kemper in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a show that also boasts nominations across the board for out actor Titus Burgess. At SAG, Burgess competes against Jeffrey Tambor as transgender Maura Pfefferman in Transparent, as well as Ty Burrell in Modern Family, Anthony Anderson in Black-ish, and William H. Macy in Shameless. Speaking of Transparent (and back to SNL), I have to make mention of the latter’s “fake news” report of CBS launching a dramedy called Broken so that the old-codgers’ network can compete for Best Comedy Series. To see the trailer for Broken, CBS’s Transparentish faux “comedy,” Google “thecomicscomic snl mocks sad shows.” Although billed as a comedy, it’s “crushingly sad.” In the category of “Hollywood redemption,” I should point out that Oscar-winning director Mel Gibson is back with Hacksaw Ridge, which is based on the true story of a heroic World War II conscientious objector who saved the lives of many of his fellow American soldiers. Nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy include Gosling and Colin Farrell (The Lobster), Hugh Grant (Florence Foster Jenkins), Jonah Hill (War Dogs), and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool). Natalie Portman, who is vying for her second

OutSmart Readers’ Choice Awards 2016

Oscar for Best Actress, is hailed for her portrayal of former first-lady Jackie Kennedy in Jackie, which focuses on several days surrounding the assassination of her husband in 1963. Viola Davis, in another of her patented runny-nose performances, is sitting pretty for Best Supporting Actress for reprising the part of Rose in August Wilson’s play Fences. (On Broadway, Davis won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play, but she hopes to compete in the supporting category at the Oscars). Among the also-rans in her competition are Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea), Naomie Harris (Moonlight), Nicole Kidman (Lion), and Octavia Spencer as a pioneering NASA math genius in Hidden Figures. Among other nominees (and often multiple nominees) of particular LGBT interest in TV categories are Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), This Is Us, Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld), Atlanta, The Dresser, House of Cards, and Downton Abbey. Among the films that the Houston critics might honor (which haven’t garnered much love on pre-Oscar awards circuits) include The Handmaiden, The Nice Guys, Christine, Doctor Strange, and The Jungle Book. Donalevan Maines is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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Broadway Baby Stephen Louis, pansexual Tommy Tune Award winner, reflects before this year’s awards ceremony. By Donalevan Maines

tephen Louis remembers making the “dreadful mistake” of not preparing an acceptance speech the first time he won a prestigious Tommy Tune Award. “It was a complete surprise,” explains Louis, now 20, who is the most-honored student in the history of the Tommy Tunes, a Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) program that honors excellence in musical theater at Houston-area high schools. The nationally renowned program will celebrate its 15th anniversary on April 18 with another Tony Awards-style ceremony at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Fortunately, when Louis was announced as the best featured performer of 2012–2013— for his role as the power-mad theater-critic Daryl Grady in the 2007 Broadway musical Curtains—his mind snapped to the number his school was performing that night, “Show People.” The audience loved it when Louis expressed his gratitude to “all the show people” in the packed house. “He was absolutely convincing,” said his mother, Diane Robinson. Actually, she is one of the actor’s two mothers, as Louis is the son of both Robinson and his birth-mother, Allison Louis. The married lesbian couple lives in League City. They and their son weren’t “show people” at all until Stephen Louis came home from Clear Springs High School one day in 2012 and said he had auditioned for a musical. “But you don’t sing!” said his parents. “It’s true,” admits Louis. “I grew up singing with relatively no relationship to pitch. But I got called back and I got cast—not in a leading role, but in the ensemble.” The show was The Drowsy Chaperone, and to the delight of its cast and crew, the musical was nominated for 14 Tommy Tune Awards. Louis recalls saying, “Cool,” then adding, “But I don’t know what that means.” What it meant

‹ Show People Stephen Louis’ first performance was in the ensemble of his high school musical in 2012. Inset: Louis walks his moms down the aisle during their 2013 wedding.

is that, as a finalist for Best Musical, the Clear Springs thespians would get to perform a number on the Hobby Center’s grand stage on the night of nights for Houston’s teenage actors. “It’s like prom, only it’s a lot better than actual prom,” says Louis. The 2016–2017 competition for Tommy Tune Awards kicked off last fall with the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Montrose performing Urinetown. However, there is still time to see some of the 33 remaining musical productions that are also in the running for 2016–2017 Tommy Tunes. This month alone, openings include Brooklyn at Nimitz High School, Into the Woods (productions at both George Ranch and Austin), Once on This Island (productions at both G.W. Carver Magnet and Aldine), Honk! (Clements), The Addams Family (Terry), Sister Act (Bush), Pippin (Pearland), The Little Mermaid (productions at both Dulles and Foster), Oliver! (Fulshear), In the Heights (Klein Forest), Mary Poppins (Memorial), Me and My Girl

(Stratford), Annie (Cypress Ridge), Once Upon a Mattress (Klein Collins), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Klein), Curtains (Klein Oak), How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Clear Lake), It Shoulda Been You (Emery/Weiner), Xanadu (Spring Woods), and Les Misérables (Friendswood). February bows include Big Fish (productions at both Seven Lakes and Clear Springs), Once Upon a Mattress (South Houston), Curtains (Houston Christian), The Boy Friend (Second Baptist School), On the Twentieth Century (St. Agnes Academy), and Into the Woods at The Kinkaid School. Three productions to be performed in March—You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Cypress Christian), Lucky Stiff (Episcopal), and Shrek the Musical (Incarnate Word Academy)—will be fresh on the minds of voters when nominations are decided later that month. Until four years ago, Louis didn’t know how busy March and April are for high-school thespians, with some drama students competing ➝

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in University Interscholastic League one-act play contests while also rehearsing for the Tommy Tunes with band and choir members. For example, if HSPVA’s Urinetown is nominated for Best Musical, its cast will revisit that score in order to perform a production number from the show at the Tommy Tune Awards ceremony. The same goes for students in fall musicals who score nominations for Best Leading Actor or Actress, as they get to perform solo turns in medleys of numbers that helped earn them a shot at a Tommy Tune award. Winners go on to represent TUTS at next summer’s Jimmy Awards, a national competition that’s held on a Broadway stage in New York City. The solo medleys are always a highlight of the Tommy Tunes. In 2015, it became another milestone for Louis when he was nominated for Best Leading Actor as the suave and charismatic Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man. Robinson admits that she and her wife used to be as “clueless” as their son about the Tommy Tunes. “In fact, we were a little bit more behind the curve,” she says. But after attending the 10th annual affair in 2012, and hosting a watch party when the ceremony was broadcast that summer on ABC Channel 13, the Louis-Robinson family became Tommy Tune regulars. “It was exciting and fun and thrilling,” says Robinson, who is a surgeon. “I had no idea these awards were so special.” “My knowledge of theatrical history was extremely limited,” admits Stephen Louis. “I couldn’t name more than five musicals.” He added Urinetown to that short list during his sophomore year, and he won the 2014 Tommy Tune Award for Best Supporting Actor as Officer Lockstock in that Tony Award-winning Broadway show from 2001. The Clear Springs High production of Urinetown set a record at the 12th annual Tommy Tune honors by winning nine trophies. Louis is among the first generation of young performers who aspire to be Broadway “gaybies” (children of gay parents). After winning a $3,000 scholarship at the 13th annual Tommy Tunes, when he sang “Trouble” from The Music Man in the medley of Best Leading Actor finalists, Louis spent his freshman year of college as a Dean’s List student at the University of Evansville in Indiana. This year, he’s back home with his moms, working in children’s theater, conducting private acting lessons, and teaching fight choreography to students in area high-school productions. He plans to enroll in an acting conservatory in the fall. “Stephen is one of those kids who is a dream for a teacher; he is the pinnacle of that dream,” says Mark Stonebarger, who directed the young actor to his acclaimed performances

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at Clear Springs High. “You give him something and he takes off with it and takes ownership. He is truly hungry. Theater is constantly churning in his brain.” Colette Currie, the theater director at nearby Clear Lake High, adds, “His moms are the most amazing women.” Allison Louis and Diane Robinson barely knew each other, growing up in Dickinson, Texas. “We would run into each other,” says Robinson, whose older sister, Debbie, was friends with Allison. However, it wasn’t until five or six years after each of them graduated from Dickinson High School that the two women got reacquainted in 1984 and fell in love. Louis was conceived by artificial insemination. “We knew his father very well, and his father’s wife,” says Allison. “We wanted to pick someone we knew, so that if and when Stephen was teased about having two moms, he could say, ‘I’ve got a dad and his name is (blank). I spoke with him yesterday.’” The young actor adds, “I am very lucky that I got to meet him, both as a child and as an adult.” His father lives in upstate New York, where Robinson completed her surgical training. In 2013, before marriage equality came to Texas, the young actor’s moms were married at his father’s home, with his stepmother’s father officiating and Louis wearing a kilt. “I used to work at the Texas Renaissance Festival, so I had the kilt, plus I’m quite a bit Scottish, and thought it’d be a fun thing to wear to a wedding,” says Louis. Robinson allows that she devoted “a fair amount of time” to worrying that Louis would be gay and have to face intolerance or even physical abuse, while Allison says, “I assumed he would be heterosexual. That’s what the numbers are.” Instead, says Louis, “I am pansexual. I probably started wondering in middle school. About my junior year of high school, doing research on the Internet, I found a label that best expresses me.” Veteran Broadway star Tommy Tune made his musical-theater debut as a junior at Houston’s Lamar High School, portraying Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun. In his 1997 memoir, Footnotes, Tune described himself in terms that we might think of as “pansexual” today: “As I see it, we’re all dealt a hand in this life, and I got some unusual cards. I’m not a good bluffer; I play the cards I’m dealt. The ‘traditional sex’ card is a great card. I didn’t get it. Deal me another. Oh, that, too. Let’s play. Some people consider such a hand of cards an unfair handicap. It’s not, really. There’s pain involved, but then [with] every play of the cards the game changes anyway. Moment to moment. I just want to live in my time.” Donalevan Maines is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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WEDDING GUIDE

From Croatia with Love Chris Norwood and Rory Pearceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s marriage begins in coastal paradise.

Love Has No Borders After a proposal on a Croation island, Chris Norwood (l) and Rory Pearce married at The Garden of River Oaks.

68 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

By Henry V. Thiel

Photos by Anne Marie D’Arcy Photography

he Ravens defeated the 49ers at the 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans, but Montrose residents Rory Pearce and Chris Norwood scored big-time during the watch party at Royal Oak Bar and Grill, where they met. Three years later, they were married. “The moment I knew I wanted to marry Rory was just before he left on a three-week business trip,” confesses Norwood. “Just the thought of him being gone for so long helped me put my feelings into perspective. He knows me better than anyone else, and I couldn’t—and still can’t—imagine my world without him.” “For me,” says Pearce, “it was an epiphany while driving to work.” “Dating Chris just seemed so easy and effortless,” he adds. “Now don’t get me wrong— we work at our relationship, and we have our moments. To me, there are three pillars in every relationship: emotional, intellectual, and sexual. And Chris blows away all three! I have never had that in my life before. Knowing how much he loves me and my daughter, I knew that I was never going to let that go from my life. I knew at that moment that our relationship, our

love, was meant to be.” “Rory proposed to me while we were on vacation in Croatia,” Norwood smiles. “We had just gotten back to our room from spending the day at the beach. I will always remember the moment—I was sitting on the balcony watching the sunset when Rory knelt down beside me with a box in his hand. He caught me completely off guard.” “I had wanted to propose for a while,”

“I knew at that moment that our relationship, our love, was meant to be.” confesses 40-year-old Pearce, a marketer who studied at University of Houston and St. Thomas University. “But a proposal needs to be special—and in a place that we would want to revisit and remember as our engagement trip. That place, for us, is Croatia.” “It was the best surprise ever,” says 27-year-old Norwood, also a marketer, who graduated from Louisiana State University. “In 2014, we fell in love with Croatia,” says

Pearce. “Chris and my best friend, Fady Armanious, joined me on a business trip to Budapest. On a lark, the three of us flew to Croatia. It was a dream trip, and we knew someday we would return. “The following year,” Pearce continues, “Chris and I decided we needed to go back to Croatia and explore the central and southern parts of the country. Once we discovered Hvar, which is just basically paradise here on Earth, we decided to stay for a few days. We booked a lovely hotel near the beach, and our room had a balcony overlooking the beautiful dark-blue waters, swaying palm trees, and the sun-baked hills of the islands just off the coast. That’s where I asked Chris to be my husband. Croatia will always be where our marriage began.” Pearce and Norwood were married on Saturday, March 26, 2016, at The Gardens of River Oaks, with Justice Jim Sharp as officiant. “We chose The Gardens of River Oaks as our wedding venue because we wanted an outdoor spring wedding,” states Norwood. “And their gardens, conservatory, and layout were exactly what we were looking for. ➝

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Wedding guide continued from previous page

“One thing we decided not to do was the ‘giving away’ moment at the beginning of the ceremony,” explains Norwood. “I think we both had the view that neither of us was being given by anyone. We were giving ourselves to each other. So we walked down the aisle together, hand-in-hand.” “And since we are not religious at all, we exchanged the standard vows minus the religion,” says Pearce. “We wanted the ceremony to be about us, our love for one another, and our love of our families. While holding each other’s hands, we recited the following: • These are the hands of your best friend, full of love for you, holding yours on your wedding day. • These are the hands that will scratch your back when you have an itch you can’t reach. • These are the hands that will help decorate your Christmas tree. • These are the hands that will dial your number just to say hello—when you’ve been missed throughout the day. • These are the hands that, at times, will want to strangle you. • These are the hands that will passionately love and cherish you through the years. • These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.

The Perfect Gift Instead of being “given” away, Chris (l) and Rory chose to give themselves to one another.

• These are the hands that, even wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch. “Our ceremony concluded with a dear friend, Chloe Cromarty, reading part of Justice Kennedy’s Supreme Court opinion legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide,” states Pearce.

“It reads like poetry, and perfectly captures what marriage is about.” To help the busy grooms pull their dreamwedding together, Pearce and Norwood hired Wedding Bliss Events as their “day of” coordinator. “Owner Dewayne Ross is a true professional,” praises Norwood. “Wedding planning is intense, with a lot of potential pitfalls, but Dewayne and his team coordinated with all the vendors and made sure everything went smoothly—not just on the day of, but throughout the planning process.” They also retained the services of photographer Ann Marie Darcey and designer Jonathan Adler. “She did an amazing job,” says Pearce. Regarding Adler, he gushes, “His flowers, design, and setup were stunning. Everyone remarked how beautiful everything was. We were so pleased.” Nothing Bundt Cakes provided their wedding cakes. “We had eight of them!” exclaims Pearce. “Each Nothing Bundt Cake was decorated with a huge rose in the middle, so they were as beautiful as the setting, and tasted great, too. Everyone loved the cakes. We had carrot, lemon, red velvet, and white chocolate raspberry.” For their honeymoon, the couple trekked around Southeast Asia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. “We had been to Thailand a few years before and always wanted to return and explore more of the region,” adds Pearce. “It’s an amazing part of the world, with rich culture, beautiful beaches, and great food. Plus, massages are about $40 for two hours. Hard to beat that!” Henry V. Thiel is a principal with The Epicurean Publicist, a boutique public relations company that works exclusively with chefs and restauranteurs. He loves Nothing Bundt Cakes.

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Double Tropical Proposals Two is always better than one. By Henry V. Thiel

Photos by Biyani Photography

“M

argarita and I met about four years before we began dating,” confesses Jessica Frinsco. “Our paths had crossed numerous times at social and community functions, where we mostly conversed in pleasantries. Then when we had to discuss volunteer logistics for an upcoming charity event, we decided to do it over dinner. “I arrived first for our dinner meeting at the Empire Café, where I took a seat at a table on the patio,” she continues. “When I heard someone call my name, I quickly and awkwardly stood up and just stared at Margarita as she walked toward me with the most dazzling smile I’ve ever seen. You know, the kind of smile that makes you weak in the knees. All I could hear was my heart pounding, and all I could feel were the butterflies hatching in my stomach. ‘What the heck was happening?’ I asked myself. I did my best

to gather my composure—and failed. “We both stood there for a minute, staring at each other with goofy grins, then extended arms for a ‘casual friend’ A Godly Love hug, which was elecMargarita Perez (pictured in dress) and her wife, Jessica Frinsco, tric!” adds Frinsco, were married in October 2016 at The Lyceum in Galveston. a 33-year-old administrator for a local as their food, and they ended up being one of school district. those tables that restaurant workers hate—a Frinsco and Margarita Perez, a 31-year-old couple so wrapped up in themselves they don’t director of advancement at UH’s Cullen Coleven get the hint when a mop is being pushed lege of Engineering, spent the next three hours around their table. One of the staff finally inin rapt attention, their conversation punctuterrupted them. ated with exchanges of smiles that served as “Sorry to interrupt your date, but we are catalysts for random acts of blushing. That upclosing.” ➝ coming charity event remained as untouched OutSmartMagazine.com OutSmartMagazine.com | | JANUARY JANUARY 2017 2017 | | 73 71

Wedding guide continued from previous page

“We aren’t on a date!” they both exclaimed. In unison. Then they decided to meet again for dinner to actually talk business. At least they had the best of intentions. “Three months before our first vacation, Jessica and I [secretly] bought engagement rings for each other. How we managed to keep it a secret for that long, I’m not sure,” shares Perez. “After an exciting day visiting Old San Juan, Jessica took me on a dinner date to Pamela’s Caribbean Cuisine, which she had planned before we left Houston,” she recalls. “We got all dolled up and headed out. I was wearing a Betsey Johnson cotton navy blue dress with hot-pink sandals, and Jessica was wearing a Brooks Brothers light-blue blouse and jeans. Yes, we looked pretty hot! “At Pamela’s, we were seated at a table on the beach, decorated with a beautiful rose-and-lily arrangement and a bottle of champagne, which was backlit by several tiki torches. And I just started gushing about how romantic the entire setting looked,” Perez says. “It was just so breathtaking. I remember Jessica laughed nervously when I snapped a photo of her. She then reached for my hand and asked, ‘Do you remember you asked me to be your girlfriend?’” She chuckled sweetly. “You asked me if I would allow you to love

and cherish my heart as long as I would let you, and now I would like to ask you if you will let me love and cherish your heart forever,” recalls Frinsco. Then she dug into her pocket and pulled out a small lined shell with a gorgeous rose-and-white-gold diamond ring nestled inside. She got down on one knee as Perez instinctively stood up. “Will you marry me?” asked Frinsco. “I burst into ugly-face crying,” Perez exclaims. Frinsco finally had to ask, “So is that a yes?” “I decided that this was the moment to ask Jessica to be my wife,” Perez almost whispers. “So I excused myself and quickly ran to the concierge to ask her to find Jessica’s engagement ring, which I had hidden in our room.” At the end of the meal, their waitressturned-treasure-hunter placed a long white plate adorned with a single white rose with the engagement ring nestled in the center petals in front of Jessica. When she looked down, she quickly did a double take, and began to cry. “You didn’t think you were the only one with a surprise?” asked Perez. Frinsco and Perez were married on October 2, 2016, at The Lyceum in Galveston, officiated by the Rev. Dr. Michael Diaz, formerly of Resurrection MCC where the couple attends church. “We were thrilled to make our vows to each other with the support of our family and friends,” states Frinsco, “and I will continue 2016_Ad_Eighth.pdf 9/26/2016 11:51:47 AM

to choose Margarita as my love each and every day.” “We selected The Lyceum because the setting reflected our commitment to each other in the eyes of God,” Perez explains softly. “It was special to hear that we were ‘legally married in the State of Texas’—a sort of triumphant and rebellious moment. Our love and marriage was equal.” “One moment I will always cherish,” says Frinsco, “was when Margarita’s mom surprised us with a mariachi band that really got the party started, and a zapateado dance that included my little brother Clayton playing his guitar with the mariachis. The music transformed the wedding into a celebration, with a traditional Mexican hat dance with me and Margarita on the dance floor,” laughs Frinsco. Acadian Bakers catered the cake. In March, the brides will honeymoon in Kauai, where they will spend a week exploring the beauty of the island. “We chose Kauai because of its inclusiveness and lush environment,” Perez says. Then, with a slight twinkle in her voice, she adds, “And the opportunities to hike the secluded beaches!” Henry V. Thiel is a principal with The Epicurean Publicist, a boutique public-relations company that works exclusively with chefs and restaurateurs. He loves Old San Juan and New San Juan equally. He’s that kind of guy.

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SERVING PEARLAND & SURROUNDING AREAS

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Queer Quotes

▼

Nico Tortorella

Compiled by Blase DiStefano

( New York Magazine's Vulture blog, 11/16, Alex Jung)

ow does Tortorella identify, then? “The more I’m having these conversations [about sexuality and love], the more comfortable I am identifying as bisexual,” he says. “I’ve been so hesitant about using the word for so long, because it does have a negative connotation in our generation. People fought for so long for that ‘B’ in LGBT, and I refuse to be the person that’s going to throw that away because I think I have a more colorful word.”...“I could never feel what it feels like to be anything [other than a cisgender white man],” he says. “I’ll never know what women’s issues are, at a core level. I’ll never know what it feels like to be a

black man. Asian. Anything, really. White men are genderless and raceless because they’ve never had to think about it.” Sexual transcendence, then, the ability to be undefined, appeals to him as an almost higher state of existence. “Way beyond definition: not this, not that. Define me, try, because sometimes I can’t,” Tortorella says in the spoken-word introduction at the top of his first podcast [The Love Bomb]. “I’m going to make it work no matter what you have between your thighs. I’m not trying to hide, people. I’m trying. This is me, this is us, this is we, we are you, just more evolved and free.” Or, as he tells me, “I am the Future Man.”

‹

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Nia Vardalos

( The New Yorker, 12/12/16, Michael Schulman) If a person is the president of the country that you live in, that person does not have to represent you. We’re still who we are. You can continue to be the kindhearted, open-minded, non-racist, homo-loving vegetarian that you might be. I say, Wave your freak flag loud and proud. ‹

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Cisgender White Man Nico Tortorella (seen here in TV Land’s Younger) is keeping the “B” in LGBT.

Freak? Nia Vardalos (seen here in ABC’s The Catch) wants you to be who you are.

▼

Mandy Moore

(byrdie.com, 11/29/16, Amanda Montell)

he night before meeting Mandy, I binged the first six episodes of This Is Us (if you have a Hulu account, I highly recommend this), in which she plays a devoted mother of triplets. Ice cream cups empty, I ask her if she’s ever felt pressure to lead a more traditional family life—marry a lawyer, have kids before 30, that sort of thing—and she answers without hesitation: “No.” Mandy says her family is “the least traditional.” “I’ve never really talked about this,” she offers, “but my parents are divorced. My mother left my father for a woman. And both of my two brothers are gay.” Growing up, Mandy’s nuclear family unit

was still intact. “My parents loved each other; they did an incredible job raising all of us,” she says. It wasn’t until she and her brothers got older that their “seemingly traditional” family began to fracture. Getting married so young (she was 24 when she wed Adams in 2009) might have been a way of creating her “own kind of normalcy,” Mandy says. “Then I learned that that wasn’t going to be the fruitful experience I wanted it to be.” Today, the actress says everyone in her family is “exactly where they should be. Everyone’s so much happier, richer, and more fulfilled, being their authentic selves.”

‹

Traditional Family? Mandy Moore says her family is “the least traditional.” OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 OutSmartMagazine.com JANUARY 2017| 77 77

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Esteros

Matías and Jerónimo have known each other since childhood. In the Argentine wetlands of Esteros, before they begin high school, they both experience their sexual awakening. Matías’ father forces them apart when he takes a job far away. Distance and family contempt for homosexuality leads Matías to deny his friend, and ultimately, himself. Many years later, Matías returns, and the feelings between the two men reappear. Breaking Glass Pictures (bgpics .com) —Troy Carrington The Dressmaker A worldly dressmaker returns to her small Australian hometown to seek the truth behind her notorious reputation. This dark and quirky comedy stars Kate Winslet as Tilly Dunnage, who cares for her mother (Judy Davis), schemes with the local sergeant (Hugo Weaving) who has secrets of his own, and falls for a local farmer (Liam Hemsworth). As she starts to unravel her past, she transforms the town’s women with her exquisite creations. Dunnage shows that revenge never goes out of style. Broad Green Pictures (broadgreen .com). —Suzie Lynde

‹ Soul Mates Federica (Margherita Buy, l) and Marina (Sabrina Ferilli) appear to be the perfect pair. But when Marina is offered a new acting gig, the couple’s relationship gets rocky.

taly’s first feature-length lesbian romantic comedy is coming this month to DVD and VOD. Starring Sabrina Ferilli (The Great Beauty) and seven-time Donatello Awardwinner Margherita Buy (His Secret Life), Maria Sole Tognazzi’s new film Me, Myself and Her follows two women and their seemingly perfect relationship as it is put to the test. Federica (Buy) and Marina (Ferilli) appear to have a perfect relationship on the surface: they share a beautiful apartment in Rome, they both work great jobs (architect and restaurateur, respectively) that afford them weekend getaways, and they spend their evenings cooking for each other and cozying up on the couch to their favorite television shows. However, when Marina—who is a retired actress—gets offered a role in a new film, problems begin to arise in their relationship.

78 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Although Federica tries to convince Marina it would be a bad idea because she has not acted in 15 years, Federica is actually worried that Marina’s film role will bring their relationship into the spotlight. Even though they have dated for five years, Federica is still questioning her sexuality as she has only previously been with men, and she is not out to her coworkers. This leads to instability and uncertainty within their relationship. Despite Federica’s protests, Marina decides that accepting the role is something she needs to do for herself. To make the situation even more tense, Federica runs into an old fling on the street. After some initial apprehension, Federica decides to start pursuing him romantically. With Marina’s rekindled passion for acting and Federica’s escalating love affair with Marco (Fausto Maria Sciarappa), the women end

up having to decide which is more important: reliving old dreams, or their love for each other. “I like to talk about independent women—women able to choose their path in the world without worrying about other people’s judgment,” writer and director Tognazzi stated in an interview. “Me, Myself and Her is about women who are truly being themselves, without any fear.” Blending light-hearted comedy with postcard-perfect Italian scenery, Me, Myself and Her is an irresistible story of two women who, despite their differences, manage to weather the difficulties of life and love together. Me, Myself and Her is available on DVD and VOD through Wolfe Video (wolfevideo.com). B. Root is a frequent contributor to OUTSMART magazine.

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G roove O ut

By Gregg Shapiro

Dancing in the Dark

STRFKR, Dragonette, Empire of the Sun, Of Montreal, and more.

Kate Bush Before the Dawn In March 2014, Kate Bush announced plans to perform 15 shows in London in August and September of that year—her first live shows since 1979. The shows sold out so quickly that seven more were added, with all shows selling out within 15 minutes. Bush’s own website crashed from the demand. This is the three-CD set of that live show, and nothing on the recordings was re-recorded or overdubbed. A 24-page booklet is included. Concord Records (concordmusic group.com). —Suzie Lynde Original Cast Recording The Apprentice of Duddy Kravitz Featuring music by Alan Menken (Oscar and Tony Awardwinning composer of Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, and many more), this musical adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s beloved tale is both uproarious and moving. The 36-page full-color booklet includes complete lyrics, production photography, notes about the production and its history, and a full synopsis by the show’s narrator and co-star character, Max Kravitz. Ghostlight Records (sh-k-boom.com/duddykravitz). —Troy Carrington

here are dark days ahead with the Trump/Pence team taking office. Let’s hope that dancing is not high on their list of inalienable rights that they intend to erode. We can all breathe a sigh of relief that neither Trump nor Pence is smart enough to decipher the name of electropop band STRFKR. Otherwise, Trump might add the band to the list of those owing him an apology for imagined insults. With its Norman Rockwellhomage cover art, the band’s fifth fulllength album, Being No One, Going Nowhere (Polyvinyl), should do an admirable job of keeping listeners thinking about their collective place in the universe while dancing at the same time. And dance they will—to alluring numbers such as “When I’m with You,” “Satellites,” “Never Ever,” “Something Ain’t Right,” “Open Your Eyes,” and the aptly named, albeit luminescent, “Dark Days.” Canadian singer/songwriter Martina Sorbara pulled off one of the most fascinating musical reinventions when she switched gears to become lead vocalist (and co-songwriter) for the electro-outfit known as Dragonette. It was a smart move, especially with the steady increase in attention being paid to electronic music. Royal Blues (Dragonette, Inc.), Dragonette’s fourth full-length in under 10 years, packs on persuasive beats and memorable tunes, including “Sweet Poison,” “Lost Teenagers,” “Secret Stash,” “Let the Night Fall,” and the Daft Punky “Darth Vader.” Dragonette even dabbles in retro-pop on “High Five.” On its third album, Two Vines (Astralwerks), Australian electronic dance duo Empire of the Sun continues to work its musical spell while not straying too far from its trademark style that recalls the Pet Shop Boys (minus the queer energy) in both the audio and visual capacities. “Before” and “High And Low” set the dancing mood, and songs such as the wonderful “Way to Go,” “Friends,”

80 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

“Ride,” and “First Crush” keep bodies in motion. “ZZZ” and “To Her Door” provide hints at the kinds of diversions also afoot in the pair’s empire. Of Montreal leader Kevin Barnes has long been coy about his sexuality. Married and divorced, Barnes’ 1999 breakthrough album with Of Montreal was titled The Gay Parade. “Let’s Relate,” the EDM song that opens the new Of Montreal disc Innocence Reaches (Polyvinyl), poses the musical question “How do you identify/how do you ID?” It’s an interesting query in an attentiongrabbing tune. “It’s Different for Girls,” not to be confused with the Joe Jackson song of the same name, is another hip-shaker, as is the funky “My Fair Lady,” the spare “Def Pacts,” and the glitchy “Trashed Exes.” Of Montreal also goes retro-glam as all get-out on “Gratuitous Abysses.” If you fondly remember Since I Left You, the excellent and sample-adelic 2000 debut album by The Avalanches, then you can’t help but be disappointed after waiting almost 16 (!) years for its follow-up, Wildflower (Astralwerks). Opportunities for dancing aren’t as plentiful as they were on these musical collagists’ first album, but you can still get in some rump-shaking on “Subways,” the tasty hip-hop of “The Noisy Eater” (featuring Biz Markie), or “Saturday Night Inside Out.” Ultimately, Wildflower works better as chill-out music or as a game in which listeners can try to identify the obscure samples. For as long as most people can remember, dance music has had an unbreakable link to the queer community. It was always a bonus when it was an actual LGBT person making the music, as in the case of, say, Sylvester or Bronski Beat. Alpha (darioonline.com), the EP by indie gay performer Dario, includes at least one dance-worthy tune, “Try It!” that could go over well with the suitable remix.

Gregg Shapiro is a regular contributor to OutSmart magazine.

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JANUARY 2017

R ead O ut

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

‘Game Changers’ The unsung heroines of sports history.

What Belongs to You Garth Greenwell This is a stunning debut novel about desire and its consequences. With lyric intensity and startling eroticism, Garth Greenwell has created an indelible story about the ways in which our pasts and cultures, our scars and shames, can shape who we are and determine how we love. Picador Paperback (picadorusa.com). —Troy Carrington The Year of Needy Girls Patricia A. Smith Deirdre Murphy and her partner, Sara Jane (SJ) Edmonds have just moved into their first house in the West End of Bradley, Massachusetts, where Deirdre teaches at Brandywine Academy. A dedicated teacher from a working-class background, she is wellloved by her students. But the murder of a 10-year-old boy from the East End changes everything—for Deirdre and SJ, for the girls at Brandywine, and for all of Bradley. And when Deirdre is falsely accused of sexually molesting one of her students, the entire town erupts. Akashic Books (akashicbooks.com). —Suzie Lynde

‹

Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History by Molly Schiot 2016 • Simon & Schuster (simonandschuster.com) 310 pages $25

ou can’t bear to look at the score. Whatever it is, it’s going to be close. Both sides are playing well today, and they’re all very talented. Your team might win. They might lose. Or, as in the new book Game Changers by Molly Schiot, they might alter the way the whole thing’s played. Growing up, Schiot says, “I thought only men could be champions.” Most popular sportsthemed movies indicated as much; so did TV before cable. Few tales of women in sports were widely known, so Schiot, a Hollywood director, searched until she found a “treasure trove of images” that “inspired me to pull these stories out of the dark.” Take the story of Alice Marble. Marble was a Grand Slam championship tennis winner many times over, but her “post-tennis life” was equally remarkable: shortly after losing both her husband and her baby, Marble became a spy for the Allies during World War II.

82 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Althea Gibson was the first tennis player to break the color barrier at the U.S. Open. But did you know that there were a lot of African-American women who fought on the courts before her? Ruth Harris, Lillian Hardy, Alfreda Jackson, Clementine Redmond . . . Of course, this book includes athletes like Billie Jean King, Babe Didrikson Zaharaias, Nadia Comaneci, Renée Richards, and Diana Nyad. You’ve heard about them, but you may not know that Olympian Abby Hoffman masqueraded as a boy when she was nine years old, in order to play hockey in Canada. You may not know about the abuse the first female pro-baseball umpire got during ump school, the jeers the first female Boston Marathon runner endured, or the record snatched from Kitty O’Neil. You might have seen an in-your-face move by skater Surya Bonaly, but you don’t know what bullfighter Conchita

Cintrón did, or that Negro League baseballer Toni Stone cheekily befriended prostitutes while on the road. Because of what an autopsy revealed, you might not know about Stella Walsh at all. And there’s a chance that many of these women couldn’t have reached their goals or made history without the efforts of Bernice Sandler and Edith Green. Wow, are there a lot of surprises inside Game Changers. Even rabid sports fans will find something new hiding here, in part because author Molly Schiot includes minichapters on women athletes in a huge variety of sports. Fans will find everything from archery to zooming race cars, balls to boats, journalism, hiking, climbing, skating, and coaching. Nearly half of this book consists of photos of women athletes in action or in peril; many of them embraced dangerous feats, and many were the target of men who thought they didn’t belong on the field. Schiot also treats readers to a few interviews with and by pro female athletes. In addition to sharing it with any young girl or teen in your life, this large coffeetable-sized book is one you’ll be proud to own and display. The minute you’ve got Game Changers in your hands, you’ll know you’ve scored. Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was three years old, and she lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books.

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Astrocast for 2017

continued from page 52

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

June 22–July 22

July 23–August 22

August 23–September 22

This year proves to be another busy year with lots of options and lots of the necessities open to improvement. A lot of activity will be focused on home and family projects. You could be looking at remodeling or relocating. If you are relocating, this is in direct connection to changes in your work and career sector. This can also be a time when your family is growing through marriages or children. With relationships, you are becoming more and more open about how you feel, and more willing to share your version of the truth. It’s very easy for Cancerians, who are emotional managers, to stuff their own emotions in service to their desire to make people happy. This can be a very trying time for your relationships, especially during March and August. What won’t work is doing things the same old way. With business, this could represent a mentor coming into your life to

Relationships are highlighted for you this year with eclipses in February and August in the relationship area of your sign. This could bring new relationships, either business or personal. If you’re having problems in a relationship, the eclipse brings it back into focus with the possibility of some sort of resolution. Your communication skills are enhanced this entire year. You can use this time to go back to school, teach your own classes, set up a social-media page for business, or add a lot more travel to your work. You will be speaking more of your own truth, and some people may be surprised by your behavior. The communication devices associated with your office and work, your work routines, and possibly your work location are going through a period of cleaning out and reconstruction. This energy will also show up at home, where you are cleaning out closets and

In 2017 you continue to work on both the foundation of your security and career and your family roots, and how those have defined you. You are being challenged by two different energies this year. One is hard work; follow your routines and plan ahead for the future. You are working on both your emotional and career foundations. This can express itself as something as mundane as doing home repair or remodeling, taking on a greater leadership role within the family, or reevaluating your own priorities. This is the practical side of you that wants to plan ahead and minimize risk. The other energy is more effusive and less definite: the energy that stimulates our desire to escape our routines and responsibilities. This is the part of you that questions the meaning of life and pokes holes in what you thought was the truth. You may see things so dif-

help you manage your career. This is a time of owning your own emotional power. In your career, you are looking for something new to pique your interest and stimulate you. You will have opportunities for speaking, writing, or teaching—or becoming the student yourself. It is definitely the time to step out of the crabby shell you’ve been living in. The March–April Venus retrograde, and the May– June Mercury retrograde will both be in your career sector. That is a very good time to take care of any problems at work or just to get your workplace in good shape. You also continue to make your workplace more organized, doing a massive amount of decluttering in the process. You should also be making improvements in your health this year. Problems you’re having are chronic and can be corrected by improved eating and exercise habits. The underlying theme for you in 2017: continue to work on improvements in your financial condition, your workplace, and your health. You are just working on your freedom.

storerooms. This is a very good year to rid yourself of unhealthy habits and create some very positive ones. It’s very likely that the changes you make will become permanent ones. You are paying a lot more attention to the progress of your children and your inner child, and investing in a personal creative endeavor. For those of you who are parents, your children will seem more mature and will want to test their boundaries. They will want to take on greater responsibilities. As this happens, you will have more time for yourself. This could be the perfect opportunity for you to take some classes in something that interests you. And finally, you are continuing to challenge your early-life myths, religious dogma, and cultural bias that invaded your subconscious when you were young. As consciousness expands you will see things differently, possibly even rejecting your own beliefs. You may not always like what you see, but the knowledge forces you to accept the truth as it is.

ferently that you are forced to entirely abandon some viewpoints, people, or religious dogma. This is the part of you that wants more time to yourself and to have fewer people around you. This energy wants you to do things that are internally satisfying, rather than being so security-based. Ultimately, you have to find a way for both these energies to work at the same time, or you will go back and forth between them and get nothing done. Your creative side needs expression. Your practical side wants a focus to commit to. As long as you let the creative side run the show and not feel too driven by the outcome, you can make this work. This energy works best at its own pace, rather than being forced forward by an itinerary. Your views of home and family, and both your business and personal relationships are being activated by both these energies. This will open some doors, and it will definitely close others. Onward through the fog!

More Astrocast on page 87 OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 85 55

Astrocast for 2017

continued from page 85

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

September 23–October 23

October 24–November 21

November 22–December 21

This is going to be an action-oriented and exciting year for you. There are opportunities for promotion, an expanded client base, potential new partners in either business or romance, and an opportunity to release and forgive past family dramas. Jupiter is visiting your sign from September 2016 through September 2017. Jupiter is considered a positive and optimistic energy. This is a great time to expand your horizons, especially through travel or going back to school to increase your knowledge base. You may want to teach or increase your participation in social media. From a business perspective, this is an excellent time for self-promotion or advertising. This is generally a more social time, and you may directly benefit by meeting new people and forming alliances. With your day-to-day activities, you try to be more organized and make better use of your time. You are

Home and family, along with career goals, are highlighted by the eclipses in February and August. Eclipses signal a time of both new beginnings and bringing some things to a close. With your career, you are looking to reinvent yourself this year. You need some stimulation in your work so that you feel passionate and committed to it. Even if you love what you’re doing, you are looking for a new spark. With your family, you are trying to let the past go so that you can feel free. You will achieve this through detachment and by accepting the fact that this is the way it is. You can let go of the struggle and just move on. Your long-term financial and emotional security is still a big issue for you throughout 2017. You tried to deal with this in 2016, but it was just harder to make decisions then. You will be more decisive in 2017 as you

This is a pivotal year for you as you evaluate your past actions and plans, all the while setting new long-term goals for your life in every area—but especially in relationships and career. In your career, you are considering what direction you want to take. For some of you, this is a time of starting your own business. You feel confident and ready to strike out on your own. For others, you are working your way up that corporate ladder. You know what you want, and you’re willing to work hard to get it. And yet for some, this could be a time of semi-retirement where you step away from what you have done and look for new ways to express that part of your life. Change is coming, and it’s best to be in charge of that process. If you’re in a relationship that is working, this is a perfect time to set new long-term goals to ensure the emotional intimacy that we all need. For the relation-

trying to be more clear and concise in all of your communications. You can also use this energy to improve your health and eating routines, but you need to make a conscious effort to add this to your agenda. It’s easier to talk about this than to act on it. You are looking for excitement and adventure in your relationships this year. If your relationship is going well, this can be a great time for a recommitment ceremony and celebration. If your relationship isn’t going very well, you will have to make some changes in order for it to survive. If you are single, you are looking for someone who is exciting, different, and out of your comfort zone. This very same energy can stimulate your desire to find new friends or organizations to associate with. In March and April, with both Venus and Mercury retrograde, you will have the opportunity to view these issues more closely. This is the year you will notice the depth of change within your family. All the old roles have changed. Since you’re not sure what the new picture looks like, you fumble with the awkwardness of the new roles while hanging on to what used to be comfortable. You can be the agent of change and help everyone to adjust. The more that this is ignored, the more of a problem it will become. Don’t be afraid to take charge!

seek a more practical approach. This ties in directly with your efforts to reinvent your career. This is the riskmanagement or cautious side of your nature. You weigh out all possible scenarios before you make a decision. But don’t overthink things! Establish a list of priorities so that you keep the larger perspective in mind. A big part of this process is getting a handle on your financial picture by establishing long-term financial goals to help you feel safer. This continues to be a time when you should be conservative with your finances and investments. You may also rediscover some of your old talents that you had put away. For social activity and relationships, it’s a very good time for you to be connected to any type of social group or community organization. If you are single, you’ll be more prepared to invite someone new into your life after September 2017. If you are in a relationship, this year is a pretty good time, and should even improve as you move into September. There is a little bump in the road for your relationships in March and April. Avoid the bump and do something fun with your partner during that time.

ships that aren’t working, you are willing to work to make that happen. But if the other person isn’t willing to participate in the repairs, you will cut your losses and move on. You’re learning to set better boundaries! On a personal level, this is a good time to get yourself in shape. You will have enough inner discipline to make some positive changes in your health regimen. One negative to watch out for is being too self-critical. Be sure to look at what you have accomplished, and not just at what you haven’t. If you judge yourself too severely, it can really damage your self-esteem. Look for a supportive mentor and not a critic! 2017 is a very good time for you to get more involved in business organizations or community groups. This will have a double benefit for you, because it will introduce you to new friends and at the same time expand your business contacts. Make sure you take some trips to break up your routine so you don’t lose your joie de vivre!

More Astrocast on next page OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 87 57

Astrocast for 2017

continued from previous page

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

December 22–January 19

January 20–February 18

February 19–March 20

In 2017, career opportunities are opening up for you. You began to feel dissatisfied in 2016, but there wasn’t a clear opportunity for you. For some of you, this is the time to start your own business. You’ve been wanting to do something different and innovative since last year. You need something to spark your interest in your career, even if you love what you do. You generally need extra mental stimulation this year. These issues will be especially strong in March, August, and December, when you will be making decisions. In your home environment, you are looking to lighten your load and free up some of your time and energy. You are certainly wanting more light and plenty of windows wherever you live. Some of you will want to live in wide-open spaces, while others will seek out high-rises. With the family, this can be a time of cutting

With the eclipses in February and August activating your relationship sector, this can be a year to set new goals and improve your existing business or personal relationships. For those of you who are single, you might be meeting someone through your circle of friends. If you are experiencing trouble in any of your relationships, you will want to resolve those problems, or you may be ending some of your relationships. On a personal level, this is about your ability to commit to yourself. This can also represent a time when you commit to a new endeavor, new project, or even a new career direction. Although your relationship area is stimulated throughout the year, at the core of it, this is about the process you use to create relationships and establish boundaries. At the heart of these eclipses is the ability to commit to yourself and follow through . . .

2017 is a busier and more decisive year for all you Pisceans, including those of you who are on your pilgrimage. You can make some progress this year, since there will be much less of the sluggishness that dominated 2016. You are certainly focused on getting back on track with your job. You may be looking for a position with higher status or greater power. If you are older, you may be considering some form of retirement, setting new goals for yourself, and possibly reinventing your own career. Time is money for you this year. Those of you born March 1–5 will not be having that decisive experience. What’s important for you this year is fulfilling your inner self and giving greater meaning to your life. This will make you rethink all of your choices that you have made throughout your entire life. Enjoy this time of self-reflection and personal spiritual retreat!

the cord with aspects of our past. This could be something simple, like your parents retiring or new babies in the family, or a time where we have to acknowledge the passing of elderly relatives. This energy stimulates your career sector, reminding you to live in the present and not wait for everything to be safe before you do what you like. As for relationships, it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. Capricorns have been going through a rapid growth process since 2008, and that has forced them to be more authentic instead of just safe. As a result of this, relationships have been very rocky for you. There should be less turmoil in your relationships in 2017. In order for relationships to work for you, you need clear boundaries so that you have time for yourself, as well as being that supportive partner in a relationship. And finally, with the eclipses stimulating the money and investment areas of your life in February and August, this is a good year to review where you have your funds invested. You will be stimulated both mentally and creatively. Don’t be surprised if a talent that you haven’t used in a long time resurfaces.

and stop abandoning yourself! Your communication skills continue to improve throughout the year. This is a wonderful time for selfpromotion, advertising your talents and skills, publishing your writing, and establishing a presence on social media. You will be very mentally stimulated the entire year, and you are certainly looking for something that stirs your passion and interest. This intellectual stimulation also involves challenging your early-life religious beliefs and myths, and re-examining the relationships that you had with siblings and cousins when you were very young. For some, the truth will generate stronger connections. For others, the deception will be too much and some relationships will come to an end. Aquarius is the sign that rules friends and friendship, and this has been a difficult period for you. You have been evaluating your friendships and determining if they are really worth your time. This is also true for any groups or organizations that you belong to. They must serve a purpose in your life, or you will not want to spend your time there. And finally, the Mercury retrogrades that occur in April–May and August–September will have a strong impact on you. Pay special attention to those times.

You’ll be back from the retreat in March 2018, and ready to make some decisions. All you mermaids and mermen are looking for alternative ways to utilize your talents and skills this year. You feel bored and trapped, and are looking for ways to reinvent yourself. You’re also gaining a sense of directness and authenticity. You place more value on your own sense of self, and you’re not as willing to sacrifice if the cause is not directly related to you. This same energy is having you examine who your real friends are. You will be much more selective about the people you allow to be close to you. This part of you is also looking for new like-minded people to connect with. Relationships are doing fairly well for you in 2017. You are looking at setting some new long-term goals for your existing relationships to help regenerate a sense of commonality. Mercury is retrograde in August and September, which will have an impact on your relationships. That will be a good time to have a heart-to-heart with your partner. If you are single, this just means you are being very selective in finding a suitable partner. And as always, if the relationship is doing poorly, the Mercury retrograde will give you the opportunity to either fix those problems or go your separate ways. n

88 | | JANUARY JANUARY 2017 2017 | | OutSmartMagazine.com OutSmartMagazine.com 58

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18111 Lexington Blvd........smartfinancialcentre.net South Beach

810 Pacific........................................713/529-7623 Stages Theatre

StagesTheatre.com......................... 713-527-0123 Theatre Under the Stars

TUTS.com........................................ 713/558-TUTS Tony’s Corner Pocket

817 W Dallas....................................832/722-7658

FERTILITY/GYNECOLOGY

Aspire Fertility

davidalcorta.net............................. 832/439-0224

www.fertilityspecialists.net..........713/512-7900

Jim Benton of Houston Catering

houstonivf.net.................................713/561-3439

Houston Fertility Specialists Houston IVF

Danilo Novoa, LCSW

Robert Snellgrove, LMSW-ACP

Christine Wysong

HEALTH CARE–Dentists

Samuel A. Carrell, DDS/Bruce W. Smith, DDS

1006 Missouri................................713/529-4364

5501 Main........................................713/528-0527

Cleaning Services

Perfection Plus

...........................................................713/664-9911

Club Houston

2205 Fannin ................................... 713/659-4998 D Cookson Fitness

Dwayne Cookson........................... 281/960 6301

90 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

Skin Renaissance Laser/Octavio Barrios, MD

The Skin Renewal Center/Patrick J. McNamara MD

HEALTH CARE-UROLOGISTS McClung Clinic/Tony S. McClung, MD

1213 Hermann, Ste 520................. 713/528-3444

HEALTH CARE-Weight Loss Clinics

Dr. B-Fit/ Octavio Barrios, MD

517 West Gray.................................713/942-7546 The Skin Renewal Center/Patrick J. McNamara MD

1512 W. Alabama St....................... 713/533-0800

Home Furnishings/accessories

Cantoni

9889 Westheimer............................cantoni.com

Bayou City Smiles/ Cynthia Corral, DDS

355 W 19th St. ................................713/864-4411

2313 Edwards St., Ste. 150............. 713/518-1411 2313 Edwards St., Ste 150............ 713/518-1411 Cory Logan, DDS

530 Waugh...................................... 713/942-8598 Polish Dentistry, Dianna Wilde, DDS

514 Elgin, Ste A................................ 713/942-0101 LifeSmiles by Randy Mitchmore, DDS

1722 W. Alabama........................... 713/592-9300 Bruce W. Smith, DDS/Bruce Smith, DDS

1006 Missouri................................. 713/529-4364 Sunlight Dental Group

SunlightDentalGroup.com............ 832-243-1740

HEALTH CARE–ophthalmologists

Houston Eye Associates/Stewart Zuckerbrod, MD

5420 Dashwood, Ste 101............... 713/668-9118

HEALTH CARE–OPTOMETRISTS

Boutique Eye Care

.............................................www.WellsFargo.com

FITNESS CLUBS/Personal TRAINers

HEALTH CARE–Skin care

Heights Dermatology/Alpesh Desai, MD

Bayou City Smiles/Marcus de Guzman, DDS

Resurrection MCC St Paul’s United Methodist Church

St. Hope Foundation

The Montrose Center

401 Branard.................................... 713/529-0037

2055 Westheimer.......................... 713/520-6600

2025 W 11th..................................... 713/861-9149

Ryan White Planning Council

1512 W. Alabama St....................... 713/533-0800

3355 Alabama, Ste 180..................713/355-9833 Wells Fargo Bank

Legacy Community Health Services

215 Westheimer............................. 713/830-3000

Ken McLeod, LCSW, ACSW

Living Mosaic Church

Grace Yung/Midtown Financial

Houston Area Community Services/HACS

2150 W 18th St................................713/426-0027

507 West Gray.................................713/942-7546

2502 Woodhead.............................713/528-2010

401 Branard St................................ 832/971-0364

CommunityHepCClinic.com…….832/831-7770

2120 Ashland.................................. 713/864-2650

FINANCIAL PlanNing/Banks

CHURCHes/Spiritual Centers

HEALTH CARE–Services

Community Hep C Clinic

Emergent Pathways

230 Westcott.Ste 210...................713/869-7400

Smart Financial Centre/Sugar Land

Camillecashmd.com...................... 713/571-0600

Dr. Barry F. Gritz, MD

RadioPride.FM

2010 Waugh..................................... 713/521-0521

HEALTH CARE–plastic Surgery

Camille G. Cash M.D.

Denise O’Doherty,LPC,LMFT,LCDC,RN

4617 Montrose, Ste C206.............. 713/522-7014

Rudyard’s

M. Sandra Scurria, MD

6565 West Loop South, Ste 300... 281/661-5901

OfferingHope.org...........................713/778-1300

La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa

2401 San Jacinto................. RichsNIghtClub.com

McClung Clinic/Tony S. McClung, MD

Dr. Daniel Garza, MD

IWantCounseling.com...................713/992-5010

Rich’s Houston

Gordon Crofoot, MD Maggie White, FNP-BC

RWPCHouston.org.........................713/572-3784

Lake Charles

Visitlakecharles.org/greattimes.... .800/456-7952

Carroll Clinic/James M. Carroll MD, AAHIVS Donnie Harvey, MPAS, PA-C

4101 Greenbriar, Set 208.............. 713/520-6360

D. “Woodja” Flanigan, MS, LPA

2600 SW Fwy, Ste 409.................. 713/589-9804

5909 W Loop S, Ste 480 ...............713/628-1776

611 Hyde Park........................HoustonEagle.com

507 West Gray.................................713/942-7546 7106 Spencer Highway................. 281/542-9400

Elite Care 24 Hour Emergency Center

2500 Rice Blv...............EliteCareEmergency.com

Houston Eagle

AspireFertility.com……………...713/425-3003

2811 Eastman................................. 713/802-2860

NU-Cuts Hair Salon

George Country Sports Bar

CATERING SERVICES

David Alcorta Catering

hair/nail/make-Up salons

emergepsych.com..........................346/701-1300

........................................................ .RadioPride.FM

15695 Gulf Freeway........................281/617-4923

specsonline.com............................ 888/526-8787

230 Westcott, Ste 210................... 713/869-7400

JR’s/Santa Fe

HEALTH CARE–Physicians

Octavio Barrios, MD

1213 Hermann, Ste 520................. 713/528-3444

F*Bar

617 Fairview ...................................713/528-8102

South Side Pharmacy

ssrx.com..........................................713/660-8888

Spec’s

3730 Kirby Dr., Ste. 910.................713/524-8525

202 Tuam.................................FBARHouston.com

Health Care/PHARMACIES

3701 Kirby, Ste 1230..................... 713/526-0005

Bradley David Entertainment

BradleyDavidEntertainment.com..........713/487-6076

Spring Eye Associates

6640 Cypresswood.........................281/355-9090 ....................................................................................

Dripping Springs Vodka & Gin

................................... drippingspringsvodka.com

Bayou City Bar & Grill

2409 Grant St.......................... BayouCityBar.com

AUTOMOTIVE SALES

Clear Lake Fiat

FOOD/SPECIALTY & Spirits

2323 Shepherd, Set 805................281/610-8190

600 La Torretta Blvd...........Latorrettalakeresort.com

12820 Gulf Fwy............................... 888/690-4291

WellsAndSonFloorCare.com....... 713/204-8698

HEALTH CARE–EMERGENCY Centers

37 Waugh........................................ 713/863-8244 Beck & Masten Buick/GMC

Wells and Son LLC Floorcare

Ryan White Planning Council

..................................................... ThePetPatrol.org

Lilly Roddy Astrology

1834 Southmore.............................713/808-1001

Floor Coverings International

HoustonHeights.FloorCoveringsInternational.com .......................................................... 832/305-5204

515 Westheimer..............................713/524-7858

1201-F Westheimer......................... 713/528-1201

Gonzalez Olivieri LLC

FLOORING / CARPETING

Pet Patrol

Astrologer

gonzalezolivierillc.com..................713/481-3040

The Gym

www.mezlan.com.......................... 281/940-3260

COMputers/Internet/IT Services

ATTORNEYS/LEGAL SERVICES

Houston Gym

1501 Durham...................................713/880-9191

MorningsideArchitects.com.........713/529-2630

...........................................................713/529-5842

Fitness by Leslie

Mcneely100@gmail.com.............281/546-0040

The Ivy League of Menswear

TheIvyLeagueMensShop.com..... 832/559-3535

L’Emerson Corporate Lodging

...........................................................Lemerson.net

FitHouston.com................................ 713/STAYFIT

Eye Contact Eye Gallery

1806B Westheimer.........................713/523-1279 2542 Amherst..................................832/831-7253 1700 Post Oak Blvd, Ste 110.......... 713/622-7470 River Oaks Vision

1426 W. Gray................................... 713/640-2020 Spectacles on Montrose

4317 Montrose, Ste. 2....................713/529-3937

Coda

Fountains and Statuary

11804 Hempstead Rd.....................713/957-3672 Iconic Systems Home Audio Store

1707 Waugh Dr............................... 713/933-0606 Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

4091 Westheimer...........................832/397-5130

Home REMODELING/Renovations

Texas Eco Pavers LLC

.......................................www.truegridpaver.com

Unique Builders

uniquebuilderstexas.com..............713/263-8138

INSURANCE Agencies/Agents

E. Bailey Moore

1635 Richmond Ave........................ 713/522-6511 Hatem Foteh Insurance Agency Farmers Insurance

12603 S.W. Fwy., Ste. 565.............281/565-4800 Silverlust

jewelers

1338-C Westheimer....................... 713/520-5440 Zadok

Zadok.com...................................... 713/960-8950

landscaping/Gardening

A.J.’s Landscaping & Design, Inc.

AJsLandscaping.com..................... 713/957-0449

MASSAGE THERAPISTS

VJ Tramonte/Joe Tramonte Realty

Ryan Fugate, RMT

1802 Broadway/Galveston .......... 409/765-9837

Joel Leal, RMT

520 Post Oak.................................. 713/724-4306

RyanMassageWorks.com .............713/269-7926 .......................................................... 713/397-8808 River Oaks Advanced Bodyworks

3330 Audley St ............................... 281/753-1875

PEST CONTROL SERVICES

Andy’s All Star Pest Control

........................................................... 713/732-7742

Andy Weber/John Daugherty Realtors

RESTAURANTS/COFFEE/WINE BARS

1308 Annex

322 Westheimer............................. 713/807-8101

1308 Cantina

1308 Montrose .............................. 281/807-8996 Acadian Bakers

PET SERVICES& SUPPLIES

604 W.Alabama .............................713/520-1484

13157 Northwest Fwy................... 713/329-9989

2607 Grant Street ......................... 713/522-0042 2521 University Blvd .................... 713/520-8888

Aquarium World Last Wishes

www.lastwishes.com ....................713/452-0474 Midtown Veterinary Hospital

MidtownVetHospital.com............ 713-528-4900 Molly’s Mutthouse

3407 Montrose ...............................832/581-2453 3410 N. Shepherd ........................ 713/426-6888 2755 Vossdale.................................281/501-9062 South By South Vets

Southbysouthvets.com.com ........713/987-3237 Spay-Neuter Assistance Program

Snapus.org. .....................................713/862-3863 West Alabama Animal Clinic

2030 W. Alabama...........................713/528-0818

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Dalton DeHart Photography

DaltonDehart.com.........................713/622-2202

Yvonne Feece Photography

yvonnefeece.com ..........................832/876-1053

PHOTOGRAPHY

Houston Camera Exchange

5900 Richmond Ave ......................713/789-6901

PLUMBING

U-Plumb-It Plumbing Supply 1424 Montrose .......................... 713-942-2277 Village Plumbing & Appliance

5403 Kirby ..........................713/224-DRIP(3747)

Baba Yega

Dessert Gallery

DessertGallery.com.......................713-522-9999

Giacomo’s

3215 Westheimer ........................... 713/522-1934 Gloria’s

2616 Louisiana .............GloriasRestaurants.com Laurenzo’s Restaurant

4412 Washington ........................... 713/880-5111 Rudyard’s

2010 Waugh .................................... 713/521-0521 Ruggles River Oaks

2305 West Alabama ..................... 713/533-0777

TELEPHONES/CELL/WIRELESS

Premier Wireless

12220 Murphy ............................... 281/575-8500

TRAVEL/TRAVEL AGENCIES

Aquafest

Aquafestcruises.com ....................800/592-9058 Concierge Travel, Inc

4920 Mimosa ...................................713/661-2117 Gayribbean Cruises

GayribbeanCruises.com .............. 877/560-8318 World Q Travel

WorldQTravel.com .......................936/828-4294

WEDDING SERVICES - BAKERS Acadian Bakers

POLITICIANS

604 W. Alabama.............................713/520-1484

P.O. Box 310805 ............................ .713/392-6011

davidalcorta.net ............................ 832/439-0224

POOL & POOL SERVICES

DessertGallery.com.......................713-522-9999

Mayor Sylvester Turner

Tranquility Pools

........................................................... 713/447-9201

PRINTING/COPY CENTERS

Copy.com

1201-F Westheimer ........................ 713/528-1201

PSYCHIC READERS

Readings by LA

David Alcorta Catering Dessert Gallery

WEDDING SERVICES - CATERERS David Alcorta Catering

davidalcorta.net ............................ 832/439-0224 Jim Benton of Houston Catering

2811 Eastman ................................ 713/802-2860

WEDDING SERVICES - CLOTHIERS

TheIvyLeagueMensShop.com…832/559-3535

REAL ESTATE–MORTGAGE/TITLE

WEDDING SERVICES-PHOTOGRAPHERS

Academy Mortgage/Cody Grizzoffi

Dalton DeHart Photography

Republic Mortgage/Robert M. Spiegel

Yvonne Feece Photography

2121 Sage Road, Ste 140 ...............713/961-5363 Stewart Title/Michael Caballero

603 W. 11th ................................... 713/401-1850

DaltonDehart.com.........................713/622-2202

yvonnefeece.com ..........................832/876-1053

WEDDING SERVICES - PLANNERS

A Day To Remember

REAL ESTATE–REALTORS

Bob Beszborn/Boulevard Realty

1545 Heights ...................................281/650-2726 David Bowers/The House Company/Galveston

David@DavidBowers.com .........409/763-2800 Martha Turner Properties

Marthaturner.com ......................... 713/520-1981 Karen Derr/Karen Derr Realty

karenderr.com ...............................713/875-7050

Jeremy Fain/Greenwood King Properties

...........................................................713/677-4337 Debbie Levine/Greenwood King Properties

...........................................................713/942-6857 Lynette Lew/Better Homes and Gardens

LynetteLew.com........................... 713/582-2202

Vinod Ramani/Urban Living Realtors

5023 Washington.......................... 713/868-7226

www.daytoremember.net.............713/862-1751

Gray & Associates Events

Number1EventPlanner.com ......... 713/931-9168 Rexberry Luxury Weddings & Events

9317 B Katy Fwy............................ 832/799-1449 ...........................................................832/788-1843

WEDDING SERVICES - SERVICES Bradley David Entertainment

BradleyDavidEntertainment.com…713/487-6076

WEDDING SERVICES - VENUES 1940 Air Terminal Museum

AirTerminalMusem.org ...............713/454-1940 La Torretta Lake Resort & Spa

600 La Torretta ....... LaTorrettaLakeResort.com Moody Mansion, Galveston

Tom Schwenk/The House Company

2618 Broadway ............................. 409/762-7668

Tim Surratt/Greenwood King

901 Nasa Parkway .........................281/291-9900

TheHouseCompany.com ..............713-857-2309 ...........................................................713/320-5881

Why would you buy a cake from someone who doesn’t want to sell you one?

The Ivy League of Menswear

readingbyLA.com ..........................832/856-2188

601 Sawyer Street, Ste 660 .......... 832/541-1103

Why give your money to a business that does not support diversity?

Water’s Edge Venue

Whether you’re looking for the butcher, the baker, or the candlestick maker, OUTSMART can help you find equality-minded businesses that appreciate you and provide vital community support. Read OUTSMART, so you can have your cake and equality, too. For advertising and subscription information, call 713/520-7237. www.OutSmartMagazine.com OutSmartMagazine.com

JANUARY 2017

OutSmart Marketplace CLEANING SERVICES

ACCOMMODATIONS Fully Furnished Corporate Apartments

HOUSTON PRIDE RIDERS A new LGBT motorcycle riding group is being put together for those in the Houston area who like to get out and ride! I’d love to have group rides/social gatherings every month, possible fund raiser rides for the community, etc.. All motorcycle types welcome - From Harley’s to Hayabusa’s, crotch rockets and cruisers - all are welcome. All rider experiences welcome! Please contact jasonmwilson@ sbcglobal.net or look for Houston Pride Riders on Facebook

p MORNING SUNDAY Connection Grou : 9:00 AM udy n Bible St lebratio orship Ce W : 10:00 AM NIGHT AY p SD ou WEDNE Connection Gr : 7:00 PM udy Bible St

L IV IN

G M

77006

COMPUTER SERVICES

Plain Talk

Real help.

HOME & OFFICE CLEANING DESIGNATED DRIVER SERVICE

HOUSE & PET

SITTING

BOB SAMORA

832.252.1961 FOR RENT

CHURCHES

uston ard : Ho 401 Bran 54 832.971.03

Your “ahhh” moment.

Colon Hydrotherapy HC3 Wellness is a state of the art center which promotes internal cleansing and detoxification through regimens of “Colon Hydrotherapy” and “Ionic Foot Detox.” Located in the heart of the Medical Center. 713.667.8600. www.hc3wellness.com.

Delivered!

Have You Been

Manscaped

Doing the chores you hate to do

ANNOUNCEMENTS

SERVICES

F I V E S TA R SERVI CE

www.LEmerson.net

CHUR O S A IC

DEXTER’S

MASSAGE & BODYWORK

MONTROSE OFFICE SPACE

Perfect for Psychotherapist, Personal Coach, etc. Utilities, Phone, Voicemail included. 24 hour, 7 day access. $650/mo. (713) 817- 4507 AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY

FOR SALE Gary Joseph Owner

PC Home ech

In-Home In-Home Computer Computer Services Services 832.496.9246 www.pchometech.com

CLEANING SERVICES

GALVESTON PROPERTIES 1819 Sealy • 3/2 Circa 1904 Victorian on a lovely street…$310,000 3810 Ave M • Nicholas Clayton designed in 1895… $109,500 1715 Market St. Circa 1885. 6/2.5…$284,500 NICE TOUCH, REAA1623 NICE TOUCH, REAve N • 2/2…$119,500 LAXATION OF OF BODY BODY LAXATION AND MIND MIND BY BY AND

David Bowers, Realtor

409-763-2800

CentrallyLocated; Located;77Days, Days, Centrally Evenings,Out OutCalls CallsWelcome Welcome Evenings,

LateLY?

713-240-9598 Ken Claude, LMT OR JUST ASK! Outcall Massage credit cards accepted

the Wax Master

Specializing in Men’s Body Waxing

713.600.1027

Voted Houston’s Best Male Massage Therapist 2016

Thanks for Your Support! Tom Zeppelin, LMT

713.542.0426

ZeppelinMassage.com HEALTH SERVICES 100% Natural & Organic Ingredients to Boost your Immune System, detox, anti-oxidize and rejuvenate cells in 3 Months or Your Money Back.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP PET OWNERS WITH HEALTH CHALLENGES

KEEP THEIR COMPANION PETS

HealthyRich • 713-826-7048 w w w.t h e p e t pat r o l .o r g

2 81 . 733 . 7696 p e t pat r o l pa r t n e r s @ s b c g l o b a l . n e t

pet patrol A PEOPLE PET PARTNERSHIP

MASSAGE & BODYWORK Call Judy @ 713.204.8698 Call Robert @ 713.201.0861 WellsAndSonFloorCare.com

RewardYourself Yourself Reward NICE TOUCH, TOUCH, RELAXATION RELAXATION AA NICE OF BODY BODY AND AND MIND MIND BY BY OF

LEE LEE

CentrallyLocated; Located;77Days, Days, Centrally Evenings,Out OutCalls CallsWelcome Welcome Evenings,

832.978.7017 832.978.7017 92 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

MARKETPLACE ADVERTISING RATES Deadline: Jan. 15 for the Feb. Issue. For rates/information call 713/520-7237 ext. 10.

Voted Houstons best massage therapist, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 & 2016! –outsmart magazine

Ryan_Fugate_Oct16.indd 1

Right now is the perfect opportunity TO BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE TO BE COMPASSIONATE TO YOURSELF AND OTHERS

9/20/16 1:27 PM

Thank you again to my OutSmart readers for voting me Best Astrologer for all of these years.”

TO SHOW GRATITUDE TO THOSE YOU LOVE AND TRULY APPRECIATE Voted BEST ASTROLOGER by OutSmart Readers

LILLY RODDY A S T R O LO G E R

2013-2016

Personal astrological sessions Relationship readings - personal/business Presentations & lectures to organizations CONSULTATIONS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY GIFT CERTIFICATES • CREDIT CARDS

713.529.5842

lillycath@aol.com • www.lillyroddy.com

OutSmartMagazine.com | JANUARY 2017 | 93 LillyRoddy_Nov14.indd 1

10/21/14 11:29 AM

– a houston tradition since 1978 –

BAR & CLUB GUIDE Houston

J OIN U S F OR O UR B IG G AME W ATCH P ARTY ! Delicious Burgers • Succulent Pulled Pork Tacos Fabulous Fish & Chips • An Array of Craft Beers 2010 Waugh | 713.521.0521 | 11:30am–2am Everyday | www.rudyardspub.com

13 ENTERTAINMENT This comfortable club located in the Heights is a convenient alternate to inner-Montrose haunts. Patrons journey past the comfy seating and romantic lighting to find a spacious patio where they sometimes fire up the barbecue grill. 1537 N. Shepherd • 713.426.1313. BAYOU CITY BAR & GRILL This always-fun party bar opens daily (7am-2am Mon.–Sat., 11am–2am Sun.), serving fantastic food (11am–9pm) daily. Fifty-cent wing specials on Tuesday and Thursday pack the house. “Let Us Entertain You” with our Sunday drag performances. Party promotions nightly. 2409 Grant St. • 713.522.2867 • bayoucitybar.com. BLUR This multi-level dance club features a patio upstairs lounge and balconies that overlook Pacific St. Ladies enjoy Wet and Wild Wed., 18-year-olds are welcome on Thurs., resident DJ Lorenzo spins Wed.–Sat. nights, DJ Pollo spins Karumba Latin night on Sun. Happy hour 8–10pm; free cover before 11pm. 710 Paciﬁc St. • blurbar.com. CLUB 2020 Located downtown, this urban club features Clubbers Friday with male and female dancers. Its 6,400 square feet also offers theater-sized viewing screens and VIP rooms. 2020 Leeland • 713.227. 9667 • club2020houston.com. CLUB CRYSTAL If you miss the now-closed Inergy, you’ll find many of its former staff, management, and décor at this two-room Latin/ hip-hop club. Sunday evening drag shows rule the roost. 6680 Southwest Frwy, next to Colorado • 713.278.2582 • crystaltheclub.com. CROCKER BAR Resident DJ Johnny spins on Fri. and Sat. nights at this comfortably remodeled Montrose nightspot that also offers

If you want to drink, that’s your business. If you want to stop, that’s ours.

SUPPORT

•

Hundreds of meetings a week in your area. Call (713) 686-6300 or visit www.aahouston.org For general information visit: www.aa.org

STRICTLY 21 | NO COVER

SUPPORT

SMIRNOFF WELL VODKA ALL NIGHT

GEORGE Regulars rule at this comfortable neighborhood sports bar, just like most other neighborhood sports bars in town. Sports Saturdays and Sundays start at 3pm with dart and pool tournaments. 617 Fairview • 713.528.8102. GUAVA LAMP This trendy and friendly video and cruise bar gets busy during happy hour and stays busy ‘til closing. Karaoke on Wed. and Sun., sometimes offering prizes, always packs the place. 570 Waugh Dr. • 713.524.3359 • guavalamphouston.com. HOUSTON EAGLE Part of the Eagle worldwide family, originating in 1970, this neighborhood watering spot is the place to cruise and dance and was recently voted Houston’s Favorite Gay Bar. Featuring DJs on the weekends and the birthplace of the hit remix team Dirty Disco. Multiple patios. Featuring a 29-degree pour and 12 beers on tap. The inside leather shop is open the same hours as the bar. M–F 4 pm-2am, Sat. & Sun. noon–2am. 611 Hyde Park Blvd. • houstoneagle.com. JR’S BAR & GRILL With house emcee Kofi, OUT SMART ’s Gayest and Greatest reigning drag champion, this Montrose standard offers drag and strip shows throughout the week, karaoke Thurs. and Sun., plus pool tables, male dancers, and award-winning cocktails. 808 Pacific St. • jrsbarandgrill.com • 713.521.2519.

EDUCATION

•

ADVOCACY

Helpline: 713-46P-FLAG www.pflaghouston.org

SUPPORT SPONSORED BY

F BAR Award-winning DJs spin nightly at this “boutique nightclub” that offers elegance without arrogance and features a stage, dance floor, VIP area, glass-encased quiet bar, and attractive patio. Tues. and Sun. drag shows feature frequent special guests. 202 Tuam St. • fbarhouston.com • 713.522.3227.

Where Everyone is Welcome!

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

FRIDAYS 10-2

karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays and extended happy-hour prices throughout the week. 2312 Crocker • 713.529.3355.

•

EDUCATION

•

ADVOCACY

EDUCATION • ADVOCACY SUPPORT • EDUCATION • ADVOCACY SUPPORT • EDUCATION

Where yone yone Where EverEver Where Every one Where E is W is Welcome! is We iselcome! Welcome!

Helpline: 713-46P-FLAG Helpline: 713-46P-FLAG Helpline: 71 Helpline: 713-46P-FLAG www.pfl aghouston.org www.pflaghouston.org www.pflag

www.pflaghouston.org

94 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

•

Behind the Bar

WHO: Sarah Tompkins-Gutierrez WHERE: RIPCORD 715 Fairview 713.521.2792 WHAT’S UP: RIPCORD is proudly celebrating 36 years in business, making it the longest lasting gay bar in Houston! Don’t miss RIPCORD FETISH FRIDAY for great music from the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s. “EFFIN Bingo” is every Thursday night starting in January. RIPCORD is now using TabbedOut, the mobile bar tab app.

MICHAEL’S OUTPOST Jerry Atwood, Clay Howell, Neil Massey, Steve Wheaton, and Roger Woest take turns at the keys at this comfortable neighborhood piano bar. 1419 Richmond Ave. • 713.520.8446.

RICH’S HOUSTON Houston’s most iconic and largest LGBT dance club, with multiple levels featuring a video/show bar and a private VIP lounge. Originally built to be the Studio 54 of the South, Rich’s boasts world-renowned DJs and entertainers. No cover before 10:30 p.m. 2401 San Jacinto • 281.846.6685 • richsnightclub.com. THE RIPCORD This well-kept, multi-roomed leather bar for men and their friends boasts a busy patio, especially on the weekends. The Black Hawk Leather shop is located inside the club, providing BDSM essentials. 715 Fairview Ave. • 713.521.2792. RUDYARD’S The eclectic British pub is known for its craft beers as well as for the burgers. Most weekends you’ll find up-and-coming local bands rocking the house. 2010 Waugh Dr. • rudyardspub.com • 713.521.0521. SOUTH BEACH This mega-dance club is a frequent winner of OUT SMART ‘s Gayest and Greatest awards, with DJ Eddie E spinning on Fri., and DJ Joe Ross playing pop & dance music videos on Sat. No cover before 11pm. 810 Pacific St. • sobehouston.com • 713.529.SOBE.

5/23/16 GAME TIME SPECIAL

ICED BUCKET

12:45 PM

Any 5 DoMESTIC BEErS*

HOURS:

VIVIANA’S This club, in a new location, appeals to fans of Latino music and drag alike. 4624 Dacoma • 713.681.4104. Beaumont

TONY’S

George_BG_Oct16.indd 1

ORLEANS STREET PUB AND PATIO The place to hang for food, fun, and booze in a newly renovated pub, in good weather or bad. Open every night from 7pm–2am. 650 Orleans • 409.835.4243.

*Only served tO a party Of 2 Or mOre

617 Fairview • Houston, Texas • 713.528.8102 C OR N P OC K E E

Bryan/College Station HALO VIDEO BAR The only LGBT dance club in Bryan/ College station, this sleek spot is open Thurs.–Sat. Smack in the middle of Aggieland, “our venue is always packed Tonys_Corner_BG_Mar16.indd with the hotties,” the owners promise. 121 North Main • 979.823.6174 • halobcs.com.

WHAT THE DUCK SHOW!

9/27/16 2:14 PM

Wednesdays, 8:30pm

There’s always something going on at:

PEARL BAR This LGBT-friendly lounge is open under “familiar” management in the Washington corridor. Daily highlights range from open mic night to steak night to appearances by DJ Kittie and DJ Ben Phoenix from KRBE. Drink specials and more. 4216 Washington • pearlhouston.com.

BayouCitySmile_Jun16.indd 1 TONY’S CORNER POCKET This comfortable club located close to downtown has one of the friendliest bar staffs in town, both inside & outside at its Your Country Sports Bar patio bar. The raised stage where local charities perform also features an Mon-Sat 7am–2am amateur dance contest each Thurs., Fri., Sunday 12pm–2am & Sat. at 11pm. Opens daily at noon. 817 W. Dallas • 713.571.7870 • tonyscorner pocketbar.com.

NEON BOOTS DANCEHALL & SALOON Houston’s only LGBT country dancehall is located in the historic Esquire Ballroom and opens Wednesday–Sunday. The new outside patio and stage are open. Wednesday features Steak Night and Bingo. Free dance classes on Thursdays and Karaoke. Saturday night the dance floor fills with the best C&W . . . check their website for all specials, events and times. 11410 Hempstead Hwy • neonbootsclub. com • 713.677.0828.

TC’S SHOWBAR With the longest daily happy hours in Montrose (8am–10pm), it’s no wonder this neighborhood watering hole is so popular. Owner Tim Pugh says TC’s has built quite a reputation as the perfect spot to celebrate special occasions. Other big draws are the drag shows Wednesday–Sunday and karaoke Monday & Wednesday. 817 Fairview • 713.526.2625 • tcsshowbar.com.

TONY’S CORNER POCKET 817 W. Dallas • 713/571-7870

Houston’s Hottest Male Amateur Strip Contest Headquarters! Nightly Specials – Call for Details Cold Beverages & Hot Guys!

2/24/16 12:32 PM

Galveston 23RD ST. STATION A new face on the Island bar scene is here. The bar features a neighborhood-bar feel with octane. Drink specials daily and the weekend is filled with pulsing music, hot dancers, drag shows, and a Sunday Tea Dance. 1706 23rd St. • 409.621.1808. ROBERT’S LAFITTE A neighborhood bar, the Island institution attracts a colorful crowd of regulars and travelers. The private patio includes a swimming pool. On Sat. and Sun. nights, the Ladies of Lafitte show takes the stage. 2501 Avenue Q (at 25th) • 409.765.9092. Spring RANCH HILL SALOON With its two pool tables, 52-inch plasma televisions, and large dance floor, this popular northside spot also offers DJs Thursday–Saturday. 247041 I-45N Suite 103 • 281.298.9035 • ranchhill.com. THE ROOM BAR AND LOUNGE One of only two LGBT hangouts in North Houston/Spring, this bar and video lounge has a laidback atmosphere where everyone is welcome and everyone is friendly to each other. The Room Bar and Lounge offers something for everyone, including daily drink specials, karaoke, free pool, drag shows, and live DJs several nights a week. 4915 FM 2920 • roombarspring.com • 281.907.6866. ■ OutSmartMagazine.com

JANUARY 2017

S ign O ut

Start resolutions after the 13th.

ercury is retrograde as the year begins, making the first half of the month a bit sluggish. Things flow along much smoother when Mercury goes direct on January 13, so it may be best to wait until then to start your New Year’s resolutions.

ARIES (March 21–April 19). You are usually ready to jump back into life after the holidays, but with Mercury retrograde in your career arena, you are still dealing with projects from last year. You will want to take a break from it all in the second and third weeks of January. You could feel overcommitted and overwhelmed, so you may need to take a few steps back. Relationships continue to be positive and supportive throughout January. Your strong energy levels return at the end of the month as Mars, your fiery ruler, enters your sign for the next 40 days. You’ll be ready to take action then. TAURUS (April 20–May 20). You have continued to remain in a happy and nostalgic frame of mind through the holiday period. Old friends and lifelong associations are especially important to you, both emotionally and in business. You are in a period of exploring your spirituality and challenging your own beliefs as you discover other ways to see the universe. This is also reflected in the way you’re looking at changing your entire health regimen. By midmonth you are ready to get back into your routines and focus on your future. GEMINI (May 21–June 21). Even through the holidays, your focus has been on your career and your plans for the future. You are looking for something that provides meaning, and not just security. Since Mercury is retrograde, you have been in a more contemplative mood, even though you are ready to act at this very moment. Mercury goes direct on January 13, and that is your time to take action and make decisions. Relationships still require a major part of your focus. You are expecting a clear confirmation that both of you are moving forward in the same direction. CANCER (June 22–July 22). Your relationship arena is especially active with Mercury retrograde visiting there. You may hear from friends, ex’s, and others who you haven’t seen in a while. It’s also a great time to renew your existing bonds with your partner. If there are problems in your relationship, they are likely to show up with Mercury retrograde so that they can be resolved. Your career energies are also very stimulated through January and February. Hold off till after January 13 before you make any definite plans. Future finances become more important by the end of the month. Get your house in order.

LEO (July 23–August 22). This is a month for getting organized and clear. At the beginning of the month, you are making sure that your workplace is clean and neat, and runs efficiently. You may also be cleaning out and reorganizing your closet at home. This is also a good time to restart any exercise or health regimens. In relationships, you are looking for some reassurance that you and your partner are doing well. This is a time to look at improving intimacy, both physical and emotional. By the end of the month, you are taking life a little easier and looking for some fun things to do! VIRGO (August 23–September 22). This is a busy month with a lot of things on the menu. And with Mercury (your ruling planet) retrograde, you have the opportunity to reexamine your long-term goals one last time before you put them into play after mid-January. This can also be a good time to just clean out those files at work. You are looking to have a more playful and creative first half of the month with some sort of adventure and physical activity. Your relationship needs some attention, and if that isn’t taken care of, it will get the attention it needs through fighting and arguing. By the end of the month, you are back into your routines. LIBRA (September 23–October 23). The holidays have been a very focused time for you, and have helped you to see where your early patterns come from. This should be a strong, nostalgic time for you—drawing on your traditions from the past. You may also be doing some remodeling, or even considering a relocation. At work, you are still trying to finish some projects from the end of the year. It may feel like you and your coworkers aren’t all pulling in the same direction. Your relationship energies continue to be positive and dynamic. This is an improved time for existing relationships—and to be marketing yourself for a relationship if you are single. If you are having problems, you will not be able to avoid them. Take some action! The focus on relationships gets even stronger in February. SCORPIO (October 24–November 21). You’re quiet as the month begins, but you are working behind the scenes to get organized for the upcoming year. Communications may seem harder and more delayed than usual, but you are a lot more direct and deliberate with the people you communicate with. This may not have been easy during the holidays, but after the 13th you’ll be ready to move forward with your ideas. You are in a very creative cycle during the entire month. Make sure that you take time to do some fun things—maybe around some children who can remind you that you’re not being playful enough. At the end of the month, you are working on the emotional foundations of your connection to your family. Coworkers may seem more edgy and harder to get along with after the 28th. Don’t be afraid to speak up. SAGITTARIUS (November 22–December 21). The serious time you had during the holidays continues for you this month. In the short term, you’re looking at your current financial situation

96 | JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

and working on ways to improve that. You may be doing some massive reorganizing or even downsizing in your home and at work. This is a time to look at resources or talents you may not have used in a long time, to determine if they still have value. Family life continues to be busy, hectic, and not very predictable. The more you go with the flow, the easier it will be. By the end of the month, your energies are flowing better and communication problems are clearing up. Your serious tone will be with you for the whole year. CAPRICORN (December 22–January 19). Happy birthday to the Capricorns. This is your yearly cycle where you get the chance to review the past year and establish new projects for next year. Mercury retrograde in your sign makes for an especially introspective birthday time. As with the rest of the signs, it’s best to wait until after January 13 to put any new plans into action. There continues to be plenty of activity at work. If you are unhappy there, a good time to look for a new position would be after the 13th. Relationship energies are fairly positive, but you need more time to yourself. There is a lot on your mind, and you may be feeling overworked. At the end of the month you are ready to take action, so you may appear to be impatient to others. AQUARIUS (January 20–February 18). You are in a more introspective mode as we approach your birthday time. You are more psychically sensitive, and may want others to keep their distance. Friendships continue to be somewhat problematic as your expectations clash with reality. Watch your spending throughout this month—you are in an impulse-buying phase. By mid-January, you are coming out of your selfimposed isolation. Your communication skills are called up, especially near the end of the month. This is a great time for you to be working on the Internet and with social media. After the 13th, it can be a great time to travel, take classes, or start your own marketing firm. PISCES (February 19–March 20). The beginning of January is a bit of a dilemma for you. You have Mars, the planet of action and energy, in your sign until the 27th. Normally, this would be the best time to initiate changes or to put your plans into action. But with Mercury retrograde, you will have to wait until the 13th to act in order to ensure success. Career still has a big hold on you for the entire year. You are making plans to move yourself up the ladder, or to change direction and do something totally different. You want a career that is more fulfilling and allows you to express your creativity. The last half of the month is a good time for you to act on all of this. By the end of the month you are ready for some rest and retreat. Read Lilly Roddy’s 2017 yearly forecast on page 51 of this issue of OutSmart magazine. For more astroinsight, log on to lillyroddy.com.

DAVID EDUARDO FLORES PEREZ

Happy 2017!

By Lilly Roddy

Crofoot_Full_Prep_Jul16.indd 1

6/23/16 10:34 AM

Photos by Dalton DeHart and Edguardo Aguilar

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was held on November 19 at the A.D. Bruce Religion Center. Pictured are event organizers and attendees.

On November 30, the Diana Foundation presented the Eagle bar with a certificate honoring the LGBT history display in the bar’s new Phoenix Room. Pictured are JD Arnold, Tanner Williams, Sharon Lord, Mark DeLange, and Brandon Wolf.

On November 30, Legacy Community Health officially launched their campaign to end new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in Houston. Pictured are members of the Positive Organizing Project.

AIDS Foundation Houston held its World AIDS Day fundraiser featuring international male model Gabe LaDuke on December 1 at Guava Lamp. Pictured are Al Farb, Ernie Manouse, Melody Patelis, LaDuke, Christopher Barry, and Kelly Young.

HRC Houston held its annual holiday party on December 2 at the home of Tommy O’Neil and Brent Whitely. Pictured are Randall Hance, Shandi Sellars, Clayton Katz, Jen Bajorek, Josh Beasley, Melissa Vivanco, and O’Neill.

On December 2, Sallie and Carol WyattWoodell hosted their annual holiday party benefitting Homeless Gay Kids–Houston. Pictured are the event’s volunteers.

EPAH held its annual holiday party on December 4 at the home of Steve Netemeyer. Pictured are Cindy Cuellar, Tammy Tadlock, Dawn Herrington, Denise O’Doherty, and Janette Jeffries.

On December 7, the Red Ribbon Toy Drive was held at Riva’s Italian Restaurant. Pictured are Bobby Balderas, Rocky Romero, Joe Sibouyeh, Sally Stapleton, Michael Sibouyeh, Dena Page, and the Tres Blondies.

The Houston Gaymers held their toy drive on December 10 at Guava Lamp. Pictured are Kevin Quam, Paul Huyun, Jacques Bourgeois, Ryan Pennington, and Eric Hulsey.

On December 11, the “Share Your Holiday Blessings” event benefitting Legacy Community Health and Meals on Wheels was held at Gloria’s Restaurant. Pictured are Jim Sikorski, Lily Young, Chree Boydston, and Al Farb.

PWA Holiday Charities held their “Cuddle Buddy Christmas” fundraiser on December 11 at Neon Boots. Pictured are Regina Dane, Clint Harwell, Don Gill, and An’Marie Gill.

AIDS Foundation Houston’s 2016 World AIDS Day Luncheon was held on December 1 at the Hilton Post Oak. Pictured are Bill Baldwin, Dr. Grittoni, Joni Baird, and Ernie Manouse.

98 JANUARY 2017 | OutSmartMagazine.com

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