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XTRA VANCOUVER’S GAY& LESBIAN NEWS

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Asian Film Fest features gay centrepiece John Apple Jack is a tasty romantic-comedy E15 Editorial Spying and lying

By Natasha Barsotti E4 Feedback E4 Xcetera E5

Upfront

Out in the City Orson Scott Card’s buggerlovers Ender’s Game author originally sneaked gay threads into oddly sexless world E13

‘It’s what we’ve wanted’: Malone New West End plan recognizes heart of gay community E7

Gay Holocaust remembered Exhibit chronicles life in Germany pre- and post-Nazis

Where’s the queer content?

Despite Corren agreement, BC curriculum review so far silent E8

Blitz & Shitz The 7 deadly sins of nightlife

By Raziel Reid E16

Priape closes Local manager shipping inventory to Montreal E9 Ask the Expert Read Dr Pega Ren’s column on what to expect post–prostate surgery on dailyxtra.com Cover story Everybody’s favourite auntie Linda Fillmore’s special brand of philanthropy E10 COVER PHOTO: BELLE ANCELL

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Comment

The outcome that we seek is this — gay and lesbian people daring together to set love free.

Xtra is published by Pink Triangle Press, at 2 Carlton St, Ste 1600, Toronto, M5B 1J3.

I am boycotting all members of the West End Business Improvement Association in response to executive director Stephen Regan’s offensive comments in Xtra [“Davie Street Party ‘Not Ideal’: Regan,” Xtra #525, Oct 10].

The West End BIA’s position — as explained by Regan — contradicts the basic tenets of equal rights we spent so many years working for, and which are the foundation of our existence as a visible, politically powerful LGBT population. I hope others will join me.

Shame on Stephen Regan. Shame on the West End Business Improvement Association.

GUY BABINEAU VANCOUVER, BC

I read the article with much interest.

One thing disturbed me and I would appreciate a clarification. When Regan said WEBIA doesn’t want people with some sort of physical or mental disability doing street cleaning or picking up litter and, later, “we need happy, healthy, proud residents of the West End,” did he really mean that the disabled ruin the appearance of Davie Street and only happy and healthy people should clean the streets?

I hope that is a typo and I missed something between the lines, but it reads really horribly! I showed it to some friends and they all agree that there must be some other message hidden behind this obvious affront against the disabled.

SVEN VANCOUVER, BC

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You’d think from the way political elites are behaving that we — the electorate — are the ones running the government, spending public money, smoking crack and skirting accountability.

Why else would our elected officials and their minions feel so free to invade our privacy, even as they steadfastly guard their own?

We are a public that is increasingly spied upon yet stonewalled and firewalled when we dare to ask questions.

A few cases in point.

Toronto’s favourite train wreck, Rob “I ain’t goin’ nowhere” Ford, initially thought it sufficient — and only after so much stink had accumulated at his door — to muster a cynical, proforma apology for his “mistakes,” even as he played the outlaw gunslinger, daring the city’s sheriff, Bill Blair, to release the evidence.

Thumbing a hubristic nose at calls for his resignation, including from the city’s daily papers, Ford invited “anyone who wants to go” to go. He’d be “running this ship” — by himself if need be. (No word yet whether he’ll maintain that stance post-Nov 5 admission of having possibly smoked a

little crack about a year ago.)

At the federal level, as a dazed and confused public tries to make sense of the degenerating “expenses scandal” and figure out who knew what when in the PMO food chain, reporters still encountered more closed doors than content at the Conservatives’ Calgary conference Nov 2.

“We’ve grown used to seeing prime ministers sealed inside an impenetrable bubble, but a whole party?” political observer Andrew Coyne said.

“Creepy.”

For those who are salivating at the prospect that all this points inevitably to Stephen Harper’s undoing come next election, think again.

Politically, 2015 is a universe away.

(For a template, see Christy Clark’s 2013 comeback from oblivion after more than a year of dire predictions of her electoral demise.)

Not to be outdone, the eavesdropping, peeping-Tom ways of the US have, curiously, aggrieved their European allies who indulge in the same antics, albeit in perhaps a less comprehensive, less technologically rich fashion.

The cross-Atlantic “you done us wrong” recriminations arising from the spook revelations are laughable for about five seconds. Many of us

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EDITORIAL NATASHA BARSOTTI

have suspected all along that 1984 had arrived; we just didn’t know the scope of it.

The technologically borderless landscape that we occupy — further laid bare by revelations from whistle blowers like Edward Snowden — has allowed us to glimpse the extent to which our elected officials feel entitled to watch, listen and hold us to account, while ducking our questions and telling us to “run along now” if we — quite legitimately — want to know what’s going on.

The question is, What can the average citizen do — or care to do — with what we now know, and want to know, in the face of the pervasiveness and perversion of the I-don’t-give-a-damn, who-the-hell-are-you-to-question-me attitudes of the people we elected?

“Speaking the truth is not a crime,” Snowden wrote in his rejected plea to American authorities for clemency.

I wish that were true, but in the current climate, the truth, far from setting him free, has consigned him to the indefinite status of global fugitive.

The information he has unleashed is a call to collective action beyond the international discussion that has been ignited.

We aren’t, nor can we all be, Edward Snowden.

By all means, continue to watch The Voice and leer at the ab-fab Charlie Hunnam astride his hog on Sons of Anarchy, but we have our own undemocratic reality show that goes on for more than 45-minute time slots of escapism.

How long, and how much of it, are you willing to put up with, ignore or shrug off ?

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I imagine that by now WEBIA is busily backtracking on the position stated publicly by Stephen Regan that the organization intends to exclude a group of people from consideration for employment, given the legal ramifications. But we should also take issue with the characterization of people with disabilities as outside the group of “happy, healthy, proud residents of the West End.” I’m disappointed that Xtra didn’t call Mr Regan to task. I’m glad to see that readers are doing just that. People with disabilities are part of all communities and are as liable to be happy, healthy and proud as anyone else.

Excluding them from employment is actionable. Denying them community is repulsive and, sadly, all too common.

TERESA MCCARTHY (DAILYXTRA.COM)

My definition of a proud, vibrant community includes people with disabilities of all kinds. As the parent of a young queer adult with a disability, I can barely begin to describe how appalled I am by Mr Regan’s statement.

ANNE DAVIS (DAILYXTRA.COM)

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Vancouver’s Civic Agencies, Boards and Committees: Volunteers Needed

NAKED ACTIVISM

Baring all against bullying KTLA.COM

They started in 2009, and it’s now become a much-anticipated tradition for the Warwick University Boat Club’s ripped and rugged rowers to strip down for their annual calendar, proceeds from which combat homophobia and bullying.

STIFFED

CHRISTIAN UNKINDNESS ‘Thank you for your service, it was excellent. That being said, we cannot in good conscience tip you, for your homosexual lifestyle is an affront to GOD.’

A VERY GAY HOMECOMING

Usually the homecoming king and queen are the most popular in their group of friends — whereas we are friends with all the little groups of people . . . And they’ve never had a voice.

They’ve never had someone to vote for. — Greta Melendez, on why she thinks she was voted homecoming queen along with her partner, Lily Cohen. Melendez is president of the gay-straight alliance at California’s Calabasas High School.

MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

Excerpt from a note left on a credit card receipt for a gay waiter by two patrons of Carrabba’s Italian Grill in Kansas City. The waiter has received an outpouring of support and a surprise visit from President Barack Obama, who reportedly left a hefty, but undisclosed, tip for the 20-year-old.

The City of Vancouver is seeking volunteers from the general public for positions on the following agencies, boards and committees: Â&#x2019; 1VW\Ob]e\ 6Wab]`WQ /`SO >ZO\\W\U 1][[WbbSS Â&#x2019; 2SdSZ]^[S\b >S`[Wb 0]O`R /RdWa]`g >O\SZ Â&#x2019; 4W`ab AVOcUV\Saag /RdWa]`g 2SaWU\ >O\SZ Â&#x2019; 5Oab]e\ 6Wab]`WQ /`SO >ZO\\W\U 1][[WbbSS Â&#x2019; >cPZWQ /`b 1][[WbbSS Â&#x2019; C`PO\ 2SaWU\ >O\SZ Â&#x2019; DO\Q]cdS` 1Wbg >ZO\\W\U 1][[WaaW]\ Â&#x2019; DO\Q]cdS` 1WdWQ BVSOb`Sa 0]O`R Â&#x2019; DO\Q]cdS` 6S`WbOUS 1][[WaaW]\ Â&#x2019; DO\Q]cdS` >cPZWQ :WP`O`g 0]O`R Â&#x2019; GD@ <]WaS ;O\OUS[S\b 1][[WbbSS Detailed descriptions of civic agencies including terms of reference, eligibility requirements, time commitments and membership categories, as well as application forms and instructions are available at: vancouver.ca/volunteer Optional information sessions will take place at City Hall. Details will be posted at vancouver.ca/volunteer when available.

G]c [cab Q][^ZSbS O\ ]\ZW\S O^^ZWQObW]\ T]`[ b] O^^Zg The deadline to submit an application is 5 pm on ;]\ROg <]dS[PS` !

FOR MORE INFORMATION: civicagenciesinfo@vancouver.ca or phone 3-1-1 XTRA! NOV 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;20, 2013 5

6 NOV 7–20, 2013 XTRA!

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Upfront

I can’t tell you one way or another what’s going to be in the final cut.

Ministry of Education, curriculum review E8

‘It’s what we’ve wanted’: Malone New West End plan recognizes heart of gay community The city planners’ new draft of the West End community plan recognizes the importance of the Davie Village and promises to “strengthen it as the heart of the LGBTQ community.”

“We heard that the Davie Village is very important to the broader LGBTQ community, even beyond the West End,” says city planner Kevin McNaney, whose department released the draft Oct 22.

“We also heard that businesses want to see improvements to the aging and tired streetscape as a way to help breathe new life into the area,” he notes.

“The West End plan identifies and strengthens the Davie Village as a culturally and historically important centre for the LGBTQ community,” McNaney says. “The plan will set in place a framework for improvements to the Village as a way to strengthen it as the heart of the LGBTQ community nightlife and social infrastructure.”

The 120-page draft outlines future plans for all the West End areas, including land usage, zoning, infrastructure, transportation, housing, street beautification and affordability.

The Robson area will be strengthened as the retail, restaurant and “regional shopping and entertainment district,” the draft plan says, while Denman Street will be enhanced as a “main street” of the West End. The Davie Village will be promoted as “an area for local business and nightlife.” The plan suggests improving and widening sidewalks in the Village; creating more opportunities for outdoor patios, rooftop patios and decorative lighting; improving the “Heart of Davie” plaza; encouraging public art; and findMORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

CITY OF VANCOUVER

GAY VILLAGE SHAUNA LEWIS

ing a new home for BC’s queer resource centre, Qmunity.

The plan, which lists Qmunity under its section on public benefit strategies, estimates $18 to $20 million over 30 years to be allocated to social facilities such as Qmunity and Gordon Neighbourhood House. Both facilities are considered priorities within a 10-year timeframe.

Of the estimated $20 million allocated, $1.5 million will come from the city, $11 million from developer contri-

A streetscape diagram (above) in the city’s new West End draft plan features a rainbow canopy hovering over the heart of the gay village at the Davie and Bute streets intersection, which already boasts rainbow crosswalks (top).

LEAH BROMLEY

butions and $5.5 to $7.5 million from partnership contributions.

“That $18 to $20 million sounds like a great start to me,” says Dara Parker, Qmunity’s executive director. Parker says she is “thrilled” and “delighted” that Qmunity has been publicly recognized under the plan’s public-benefits strategy.

“This is something that we’ve been advocating for, for a long time,” she says.

Asked if the city has told her how much of the money will go to Qmunity, Parker says they haven’t discussed it yet. “We’re talking to them to clarify what it is,” she says.

“We want to know what expectations and implications the private contributions entail,” she says. “We’re not clear on what that means, and we are talking to the city about that.”

“Qmunity is identified as a priority public benefit in the plan for a purposebuilt facility in the Davie Village,” McNaney confirms.

“The public benefits strategy identifies community amenity contributions from new development arising from the plan to support the costs of land and a

new facility,” he explains. “The city will need to work closely with Qmunity on the space required for the new facility and seek potential sites before exact costs can be determined.”

Several recommendations from the City of Vancouver’s LGBTQ advisory committee’s “Davie Street Revitalization Report” also made it into the new community plan, McNaney notes, such as support for celebrations and enhancements to the Davie plaza.

A streetscape diagram in the draft plan features rooftop patios, public seating space and a rainbow canopy hovering over the heart of the gay village at the Davie and Bute streets intersection.

“It’s what we’ve wanted,” says Dean Malone, who sits on the LGBTQ advisory committee and helped draft the “Davie Street Revitalization Report.”

The advisory committee was one of many community groups and individuals consulted during the 20-month planning process.

“Some people have said that the city is not listening; they’re listening to us,” Malone says.

Malone says he is happy with the level of LGBT inclusion in the plan and honoured to have been a part of the process.

“When you participate in the process and your participation is not only heard but delivered upon, it makes you realize that it’s really worth it to get involved,” he says. “I’m excited about the implementation planning.”

If city council approves the plan in November, implementation will begin in early 2014 and will continue through partnerships with local residents, businesses, non-profit groups and the city, McNaney says.

“We need to work on revitalization of the villages, which will entail working with the [business improvement associations] and local residents to determine potential street, patio and sidewalk improvements,” he says.

“We still have time to plan and tweak and make this [vision] more robust,” Malone says. “But this sets the directions. This says that the queer communities matter in the Davie Village.

This signals that we matter.”

The draft plan will be presented to council for approval on Nov 20.

XTRA! NOV 7–20, 2013 7

Where’s the queer content?

Despite Corren agreement, BC curriculum review so far silent EDUCATION NATHANIEL CHRISTOPHER

Gay educators in BC are concerned that the Ministry of Education’s curriculum overhaul contains few specifics on the inclusion of mandatory queer content.

The ministry has so far posted curriculum drafts for English, math, science and social studies. Drafts for more areas are expected to be posted in the coming weeks. The drafts, which were produced by educators, move the focus

from relaying facts to larger concepts or “big ideas.”

“The idea is for it to be a bit more conceptual and less specific so schools and students can pursue things of interest to their communities,” says BC Teachers’ Federation vice-president Glen Hansman. “We have been pushing for this, but at the same time we can’t lose the pieces around diversity that we fought so hard to include.

“The indication from ministry staff is that they’d preserve references that are there according to the Corren agree-

GENERAL DENTISTRY

ment, as well as the commitment to the First Nations authorities,” Hansman says.

In 1999 Peter and Murray Corren filed a human rights complaint against the Ministry of Education for omitting queer people from BC’s curriculum. They argued that the failure to include information about LGBT people amounted to systemic discrimination.

The case was settled in 2006 when the government acknowledged the absence, introduced an elective socialjustice course, and promised to flag

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areas where queer content could be introduced during its regular curriculum reviews.

Hansman points to Ontario’s new social studies curriculum, which stipulates that Grade 2 students should be able to “identify and describe different types of families.” Several examples, including same-sex families, are listed, as well as hypothetical conversation topics, including one on same-sex families that reads, “I have my dad and my stepdad. My stepdad has other kids too.”

BC’s curriculum draft for social studies mentions that students “will know and understand,” among other things, the “ways in which individuals and families differ” but fails to elaborate on diverse family models.

Myriam Dumont, a Vancouver elementary school teacher and a member of the Pride Education Network, is concerned about some aspects of the “generalized nature” of the drafts so far.

“The unfortunate thing with that is when things aren’t specifically outlined for teachers, there’s the opportunity for really important things to be left out, including anti-homophobia and anti-transphobia education,” she says, “as well as things at the primary levels like diverse families, which includes same-sex families.”

A ministry spokesperson notes that the curriculum is in draft form and still needs to go through a variety of lenses before the final product goes forward.

“At this point right now, with stuff

We have been pushing for this, but at the same time we can’t lose the pieces around diversity that we fought so hard to include.

Queer content should be embedded in the curriculum, Glen Hansman says, so kids can see themselves reflected in learning materials. FACEBOOK.COM

going through the draft form, I can’t tell you one way or another what’s going to be in the final cut, but the direction it’s going in suggests it will most likely include terms such as sexual orientation in the new curriculum, as they do right now.”

For more on this story, go to dailyxtra.com.

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Del Stamp surveys the now-closed Vancouver Priape store that he used to manage. ROB EASTON

Priape closes

A charming comic depiction of English village life.

Local manager shipping inventory to Montreal BUSINESS ROB EASTON

While a deal has been reached to save Priape’s flagship store in Montreal, the gay retailer’s Vancouver doors will remain permanently closed, its former local manager confirms.

Denis Leblanc, who was the general manager of the Montreal store, says he and an investor from New York bought the bankrupt company’s Montreal store with approval from a majority of creditors and the Quebec Superior Court on Oct 30.

However, Leblanc did not purchase the other three Priape stores, in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

“To purchase one store is probably enough,” says now-former Priape Vancouver store manager Del Stamp. He doesn’t know why the Vancouver store was not part of the deal but surmises the new owners did not have the budget to buy all four locations. “They’re basically starting from scratch.”

Stamp declined to comment on the source of the company’s debt, stating the Vancouver store had met or exceeded all its sales goals since he took management three years ago.

However, he did confirm that Health Canada’s prohibition on the sale and distribution of “poppers,” or alkyl nitrites, in June had a negative impact on the store’s revenues.

Bankruptcy documents filed in Quebec Superior Court on June 27 — the same week as the Health Canada MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

announcement — state Priape owed $687,650.30 to 106 creditors, including Xtra’s parent company, Pink Triangle Press, most of which would have accrued well before the Health Canada prohibition.

Heartbroken by the loss of not just a job, but also a community space, Stamp is now tasked with shipping the store’s Vancouver inventory back to Montreal, where he presumes it will stock the reopened store in that city.

Stamp is one of nine Vancouver staff members now without jobs. He says he still hasn’t processed what happened.

“Losing your job is never easy — especially a job that you love,” he says.

His biggest concern has been for his staff, some of whom have been jobless since Oct 21, when creditors showed up at the store demanding he turn over his keys.

He says he’ll miss the store’s “neighbourhood barbershop” feel.

Adam Genge, bartender at the PumpJack Pub across the street and an employee of Priape for a year and a half, says the store was an especially important hub for the fetish community.

“I always looked forward to those Thursday and Friday mornings when I worked,” he says. “You never knew what was going to walk through the door. Every day was a new adventure.”

For more on this story, go to dailyxtra.com.

XTRA! NOV 7–20, 2013 9

Everybody’s favourite

Auntie

Linda Fillmore’s special brand of philanthropy

COVER STORY SHAUNA LEWIS

Linda Fillmore reaches for her chardonnay, places a straw in the glass and slowly takes a sip. “Mmmm,” she mutters in appreciation before gently placing the chalice back down on the table.

“I’m not much of a drinker,” she confides, though “Golden Wedding was the love of my life,” she laughs.

I am enjoying a Sunday afternoon cocktail in the Hotel Vancouver lounge with a woman I have only just met but already sized up as distractingly charming, unapologetically brazen and witty as hell.

“Just who is Linda Fillmore?” I ask, getting down to business.

“Well,” she says, taken aback. “That is not an easy question.”

“I’m Auntie Linda. I think, for many people, they think of me as their aunt, their mother, their grandmother,” she begins.

The maternal figure and philanthropist was born into a Saskatchewan farming family during the Great Depression, the story goes. Fillmore and her sister, Doreen, left the farm at 18 to enrol in beauty school in Regina, then started dancing in a club.

“We were younger then,” Fillmore says. “There were poles.”

Debauchery aside, one of Fillmore’s greatest accomplishments has been establishing the Fillmore Family Foundation in her and her sister’s name.

Launched in 2003, the foundation is a registered non-profit society that raises money for other non-profit societies working in nutrition, housing, health and education. The Fillmore Foundation organizes various charity events throughout the year, but its signature event is the Prairie Fairies Fowl Supper, orchestrated by Fillmore, the board, a 16-person committee and dozens and dozens of volunteers.

The first Fowl Supper took place in 10 NOV 7–20, 2013 XTRA!

1997 in the basement of Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral, in keeping with the Prairie tradition of communal turkey dinners hosted in church and Legion halls throughout Saskatchewan to celebrate the harvest. The Fillmores just added a little spice — and a lot of sparkle.

The supper now attracts up to 800 guests, and all proceeds from its ticket sales, silent auction, liquor sales, raffle tickets and private donations go to local charities, such as A Loving Spoonful, which provides healthy meals to people living with HIV/AIDS; McLaren Hous-

It’s our responsibility to be generous with our opportunities and give others the opportunity to be generous as well. ing, which gives housing subsidies to people with HIV/AIDS; CampOut and Out in Schools, which support queer youth and gay-friendly schools.

For Fillmore, it’s a matter of creating family and encouraging that family to be generous with others.

“There have been a lot of us who have been very fortunate to have so many more opportunities than others,” she says, “and it’s our responsibility to be generous with our opportunities and give others the opportunity to be generous as well.”

In addition to the annual supper, the Fillmore Foundation has also started a fund for queer seniors, to help with rent and food.

“We realize that getting older is very isolating,” Fillmore says. “You get older and people look at you like you’re an old woman.”

This year’s 14th annual Fowl Supper took place Oct 19 and ostensibly celebrated Linda’s 80th birthday. It also attracted 676 guests and generated between $65,000 and $70,000, says foundation board member Mark Trowell. To date, the event has raised approximately $510,000 for its beneficiaries.

“It was another great success,” Trowell says. “Everyone seemed to be in great spirits and having fun.”

This year also marked Maria Jackman’s first time at the supper. “I am a Prairie Fowl Supper virgin,” she says, beaming beneath the brim of her cowboy hat.

Jackman’s friends invited her to the event. “It was a last-minute thing, but I had the boots to go with the outfit,” she says, pointing proudly to her ebony cowboy boots.

“I like to support anything that supports people with AIDS and education around that,” she adds.

“It’s such an awesome event,” says Jackman’s friend Robin Toma. “She [Fillmore] just kind of feels like our momma or our auntie — you know, family.”

This year marked Toma’s sixth Fowl Supper. She says the moment she set foot in her first supper, she knew she’d be back. “What I love about it is that there’s all types of community here,” she says. “There are not a lot of events in our community that have that.”

“It doesn’t matter where you’re coming from or however you identify,” Fillmore says. “You come in the door, you slap on a name tag, you grab your place mat, you run to the table and there you are.”

It’s an annual reunion, says Wayne

As the matriarch of the Fillmore Family Foundation, Linda Fillmore’s philosophy is simple: it’s about creating family and encouraging that family to be generous with others. Above, Linda poses with cowboys James Goranko and Shayne Forster.

BELLE ANCELL

Robert, from the Health Initiative for Men. “It’s sort of like going to Pride and you see people that sort of mark the year,” he says. “Every year you see them here and you catch up.”

Colin Craig did more than catch up with his long-time boyfriend; he offered to marry him. Onstage.

Assisted by Fillmore — who obligingly called Craig’s boyfriend to the stage and invited him to reach into her box, blindfolded, for a surprise — Craig sneaked onstage behind them and got down on one knee, to the crowd’s delight.

“I had absolutely no idea,” Derek VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Nordick told Xtra after the proposal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought I was going up for a raffle draw!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have about 25 friends here tonight, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been going to the supper for eight years,â&#x20AC;? Craig says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All of our friends are here, so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like a proposal and engagement party all in one!â&#x20AC;?

Asked what Linda Fillmore means to them, Craig doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s someone who brings community together,â&#x20AC;? he says.

Back onstage, everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favourite auntie is alternately shooing people â&#x20AC;&#x153;the hell off â&#x20AC;? her stage, encouraging MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

others to reach into her box, inviting guests to join her under the red light to do shots, welcoming her jellied-salad contest judges (the chamber pot won), and descending into the crowd to lead a Western dance â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all with an impish smile and a wink. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She looks as beautiful as ever,â&#x20AC;? says Lisa Martella, executive director of A Loving Spoonful. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She can make those 700-plus people in the room pay attention with the snap of her ďŹ nger.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;We raise enough money through the event annually to provide over 800 meals for men and women through

A Loving Spoonful,â&#x20AC;? Martella adds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re so honoured and thankful to be chosen as one of the beneďŹ ciaries of such an incredible event.â&#x20AC;?

More than a fundraiser, the annual supper has an incredible energy, Martella says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m proud that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve created a space where people feel comfortable to be together, where they can freely be themselves,â&#x20AC;? Fillmore says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifechanging. Once you go, you will never be the same. And I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do that,â&#x20AC;? she adds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People created that.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Linda Fillmore is fab! What can I say?â&#x20AC;? says Kim Stacey, executive director of McLaren Housing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She is one in a million. Without the Fillmore Foundation, we would be looking at 20 percent less in portable housing subsidy.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great charitable event,â&#x20AC;? agrees Fountainhead Pub owner Michel Duprat, who sponsored all the food for this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s supper. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to support the community that supports us,â&#x20AC;? Duprat says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I ďŹ rst went to the event, a lot of the people who come to our pub were participants and I wanted to support them.â&#x20AC;?

A few days after the Fowl Supper, Fillmore calls me from her home in Yuma, Arizona. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How ridiculous and crazy was that?

I had a blast!â&#x20AC;? she says, before admitting that the night â&#x20AC;&#x153;seemed like a big blurâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which she chalked up to her advancing age, before I reminded her of the Jell-O shooters she shared with so many cowboys.

For Fillmore, the highlight of the evening was recognizing the many volunteers, all of whom crowded together onstage for a group shot spilling at the margins. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It just shows that there are so many people that are involved. As they started coming up onstage I was like, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Who the hell are you?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? she says, laughing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It impressed upon me how many people are involved.â&#x20AC;?

Linda may be the Fillmore matriarch, but she refuses to take credit for the event she started. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not about me,â&#x20AC;? she says modestly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not really important that accolades come with the fundraising. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I like to come in and do it and go away,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those who know me well, know me very well,â&#x20AC;? she adds coyly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Maybe the good part about it is that, maybe, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be an example,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Maybe for someone else Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be an inspiration to do some [charity work] on their own. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just me,â&#x20AC;? she says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And I happen to be around.â&#x20AC;?

As for next year, Fillmore says she has big plans for the supperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 15th anniversary but gets tight-lipped when pressed for details. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If I told you Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d have to kill you,â&#x20AC;? she says sweetly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t kill you; you have a story to write.â&#x20AC;?

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VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Out in the City

I embrace, unapologetically, the fact that I am Asian.

Rick Tae, screenwriter E15

Orson Scott Card’s buggerlovers Ender’s Game author originally sneaked gay threads into oddly sexless world ONSCREEN ALLAN MACINNIS

Orson Scott Card is not just your run-of-the-mill Mormon homophobe.

Yes, he’s spoken out clearly against gay marriage, including in his 2004 essay “Homosexual ‘Marriage’ and Civilization,” where he asserts that “however emotionally bonded a pair of homosexual lovers may feel themselves to be, what they are doing is not marriage. Nor does society benefit in any way from treating it as if it were.”

And yes, such proclamations provide powerful fodder for the Skip Ender’s Game camp, which is calling for a boycott of the film adaptation of Card’s 1985 sci-fi novel, Ender’s Game, now playing in theatres.

However, those who have read Ender’s Game may detect some astonishingly queer threads by a possibly conflicted Card.

In the book, Ender — aged six when we meet him — is recruited and groomed by a futuristic government to lead Earth’s armies against an insectoid alien invader called the buggers. (Wisely, the term is not used once in the film, where the aliens are called Formics, or occasionally referred to as bugs).

The majority of the book takes place in a mostly male environment — a training school in space, where boys of all ages go through an elaborate, game-oriented boot camp. There is one girl present, but her gender is neither a plot point nor a cause for concern. One of only two significant female characters in the novel, she is never presented as an object of sexual attention.

Nor is anybody else, for that matter.

And that’s the first curious point: though many of Card’s boys are pubescent, it is very striking that there is no mention of sexuality whatsoever.

Other than a pervasive awareness of the “bugger” as the enemy, no one jokes about, talks about, fantasizes about or has any sex at all. Nor is there any acknowledgment of any meaning other than insectoid for bugger. We are repeatedly told that Card’s boys sleep, and sometimes even fight MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

Asa Butterfield (front) plays Ender Wiggin in the film adaptation of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game. ENDERSGAMEMOVIE.COM

with each other, naked. What of the unwanted teenage erection? The racy joke or homophobic taunt? What of covert wanking after lights out?

All trace of normal human sexuality, queer or straight, has been swept under the carpet in the novel — as if sex simply doesn’t exist in the Ender’s Game universe.

Still, there are various ways in which sexuality creeps into the book backward. There is a kiss between boys, for example: it is offered as a religious greeting with the word salaam, but it is one of the novel’s most emotionally charged scenes. Individual religious observances have been all but suppressed in the world of the book, so the kiss becomes a guilty secret, exchanged in private and never talked about.

Then there’s a climactic confrontation between Ender and a rival, Bonzo, in the showers. Bonzo has come with his cronies to beat or kill Ender.

The naked, vulnerable Ender taunts him, and Bonzo decides to fight him one-on-one. To ensure equity in the fight, he strips naked, too. At this point, one of Ender’s friends, named Dink, rushes in and issues a startling proclamation, warning Bonzo that he will be helping the enemy if he beats up Ender: “If you touch him you’re a buggerlover.” (This remarkable sentence occurs on page 210 of the author’s definitive edition, for those who don’t believe me.)

Not surprisingly, the filmmakers have toned down the novel’s unacknowledged gay content.

Besides the addition of many peripheral female characters, the boys sleep clothed, the male-onmale kiss is omitted, and the fight in the showers is altered so that Bonzo stays clothed. There is still a curious absence of sexuality, but it is explicitly explained by the insertion of a scene with a commanding officer warning the recruits, whose

number includes considerably more girls, not to engage in any sort of sexual behaviour.

And, of course, the film makes no mention of buggers or buggerlovers anywhere.

There is some irony to the filmmakers’ decision to de-queer a text by someone who has so provoked the wrath of the queer community.

But a greater irony is that both the book and the movie end — spoiler alert! — with Ender coming to terms with the enemy he defeats, as he realizes that the war with the buggers stemmed from fear, misunderstanding and confusion. He becomes the buggers’ sole ally, travelling space in search of a world where the hive-queen “could awaken and thrive in peace.”

Funny that Card could come to terms with his book’s buggers yet maintain such rigid opposition to a segment of the human population. Maybe he should reread his own book.

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VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Gay Holocaust remembered ing for its precipitousness. The story is disturbing in much the same way as recent developments in Russia: it proves that gay acceptance can disappear as easily as it is won.

The exhibition is now on display at the The curators of the VHEC took that Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre message seriously and paired the Ameri(VHEC) until Dec 4. can exhibit with its own on the Nazi-run The exhibit’s most striking narrative 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. While is not how gay people died during the VHEC education director Adara GoldHolocaust, but how they lived before it. berg warns against comparing any counBy the early 1930s, more than a quarter try directly to Nazi Germany, she says the of a million gay men and lesbians lived in juxtaposition was absolutely intentional.

Berlin — nearly one in 10 citizens. Gay The impetus to bring the exhibit here men had their own bars, clubs and news- began after directors at Egale Canada papers, and women dined in public with read research on classroom homophocoat tails and cigars. Male homosexuality bia. A few Canadian students, in one was still officially illeanecdote, cheered in gal under Section 175 support when a video NAZI PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS 1933–1945 of the German criminal mentioned that the Runs until Wed, Dec 4 code, but the prominent Holocaust affected gay Guided tour on Sun, Nov 17, 1pm Vancouver Holocaust sexologist Dr Magnus people.

Education Centre Hirschfeld was cam“We have an illusion 50–950 West 41st Ave paigning, with some in Canada that we’re on vhec.org success, for its repeal. a road to progress that Even Hitler’s personal friend and com- only goes one way,” says Egale Canada mander Ernst Röhm was openly gay and Human Rights Trust director Mark brought other gay men with him into the Riczu, who helped to bring the exhibit ranks of the party. to Canada. “Nazi Germany, coming out The persecution of gay people during of the Weimar Republic, shows us what the Holocaust was all the more terrify- can happen.”

Exhibit chronicles life in Germany pre- and post-Nazis HISTORY NIKO BELL

As a young merchant-in-training in Hamburg, Friedrich-Paul Von Groszheim could meet other gay men in bars, celebrate openly, read gay magazines and look forward to what seemed the inevitable repeal of anti-gay laws.

“The so-called Golden ’20s were for me a wonderful time,” he later remembered. “I failed to recognize the problems of the time — unemployment, the growing poverty, the political radicalization. But I was so wonderfully young.”

Then it all collapsed. In January 1937, Von Groszheim was rounded up by the SS, beaten and imprisoned for 10 months.

Less than a year later, he was imprisoned again, tortured and finally castrated by the Gestapo as a condition of his release.

Von Groszheim’s story reemerges in the travelling exhibit Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals, 1933–1945, on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.

German police file photo of a man arrested in October 1937 for suspicion of violating Paragraph 175, which criminalized male homosexuality. US HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM, COURTESY OF LANDESARCHIV, BERLIN

MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

Filmmaker Rick Tae is excited that the where gay characters are allowed to Vancouver Asian Film Festival selected crash into their dysfunctions, families his awkward tale of gay love-versus- and flaws. “That was my fantasy and lust as its centrepiece gala on Nov 9. still is,” he says. “That’s the coming-of“I embrace, unapologetically, the age for me, personally — to be able to fact that I am Asian,” says the Leo focus in on those crazy things.

Award–winning Vancouver actor and “I absolutely understand that the director. “I don’t shy away from it. conflicts still exist in the world; I don’t “But I don’t want to make this want to take away from that. But somefilm seem like a psychoanalysis of life!

It’s meant to be fun and make people toy with the ideas of the characters.”

Following the romantic misadventures of Jack Gaang (Kent Leung) and his unrequited childhood crush John Jardine (Chris McNally), John Apple Jack tracks the characters’ comingout journeys as John, a self-centred businessman spoiled by the extravagance and excess of his father’s gastronomic empire, John Jardine (Chris McNally) and Jack Gaang (Kent tries to disrupt his line Leung) confront their crushes in John Apple Jack.

VANCOUVER ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL cook Jack’s wedding to his estranged sister. times we so boil down everything to “It’s not just a guy-meets-guy fan- issues that we forget to simply love and tasy,” says Tae, who co-wrote and find a family. It’s a day-to-day choice.” produced the film. “It’s really about For Tae, the underlying theme is connecting and finding your ability that “we all yearn for something — to love other people in order to learn love, harmony, balance, family. about yourself.

“I didn’t want to “When I first wrote make a judgment call, JOHN APPLE JACK Vancouver Asian Film Festival this, I thought, ‘I’m out to tell people what is Sat, Nov 9, 7pm and proud, now what?’ love or what defines International Village I’d spent so much time a great relationship,” Cinemas, 88 W Pender St vaff.org trying to come to he says, when asked to terms with being gay. resolve his characters’ I’m looking forward into that future love-versus-lust debate. “The relationwhere everybody’s gay — so what!” ships can go in multiple directions.

Tae hopes his film can help open up I certainly wouldn’t mind writing a space for a classic romantic comedy, sequel.” — David P Ball

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XTRA! NOV 7–20, 2013 15

The 7 deadly sins of nightlife Is lust ever wrong, really?

BLITZ & SHITZ RAZIEL REID

I couldn’t afford a costume for Halloween, so I just went as Satan. And in honour of the holiday, I reflected on the seven ways nightlife can get you a one-way ticket to my hometown: anger [a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility] “It’s unwise to upstage a drag queen, unless you want to tempt her anger.”

It rains incessantly in Vancouver, and we hold on to our anger for nine months of the year because soggy fishnets are not all the rage — although they certainly invoke it. covetousness [the yearning to possess something] “After jerking off Batman in the Junction bathroom during the Hocus Pocus screening, Robin wished he too had foreskin and coveted his crime-fighting partner’s appendage.”

16 NOV 7–20, 2013 XTRA!

gluttony [ habitual greed or excess] “In a shameless display of gluttony, he ordered yet another drink, even as he struggled to hold up his head.”

It can be hard not to indulge when $4 highballs are involved, and it’s damn near impossible when some stranger/ your new best friend is buying you drinks at Bloody Betty’s Black Mass.

“Did you just pour GHB in my glass when I turned my back? I sure hope so!”

And then, of course, there’s the essential 4am pizza and/or donair stop.

Don’t beat yourself up too hard about the calorie intake; you’ll probably be puking all the next day anyway.

Personally, I don’t long for my own cut foreskin; I’m too busy enjoying everyone else’s.

What arouses my covetousness is all the straight bartenders on Davie Street, especially the one at Oasis’s Whoroween party who asked me if my girlfriend (the drunk angel, obviously) was single.

“No,” I shrugged. “Not that it matters.

But I give a way better blowjob, in case that does!” pride [the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one’s importance]

“‘I am legendary!’ boasts every ratchet queen and their mother, beaming with pride.”

In the gay world, Pride is always a good thing, even when it comes in the form of an exceedingly vainglorious #sofamous hashtag. It’s like when Janice Dickinson said, “Do you know why I call myself the world’s first supermodel? Because I can.” So preach it, bitch!

This Halloween, there was nothing

sinful about the pride I felt watching Baron Von Zumzing collect $1,500 from West End trick or treaters to benefit A Loving Spoonful during his annual Travelling Sideshow. Now that is what I call legendary.

Raziel and Peeka Boo pucker up outside 1181 for Halloween. VICTOR BEARPARK

lust [very strong sexual desire] “The muscle boy on TFD’s latest party poster ignites such lust that no tape is needed to stick it to a pole on Davie Street; it’s coated with a thick (and surprisingly salty) glaze.”

I know, I know, who am I to tell you to stop being a whore? But there is such a thing as coming on too strong. Go ahead and sexually harass the bouncers (that’s how I get in free!), but once you’re in the

club, learn how to read the signs. Just because you tell me I’m the next Dan Savage doesn’t mean I’ll suck your dick.

Well, not deep . . . envy [a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities or luck] “The shirtless 1181 bartenders at the Carrie-themed party were the envy of many a patron who wished their peers’ eyes would linger on their pecs instead.”

I’m guilty of hating on every couple costume I saw this year (although, I admit, Tweedledum and Tweedledee were adorable). I even went on a tirade, telling my committed friends if they ever get married I’m dropping them. It’s not that I’m against marriage; it’s just that I’m jealous that former 1181 bartender Todd Hoye changed his status to “married” on Facebook and got at least 5,000 likes before I’d even finished jerking off to one of his selfies! sloth [reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness] “He calls himself a club kid? That sloth was in bed before the sun was up!”

I definitely got Halloweened out before Oct 31 this year, and instead of going to the Pride Society’s The Haunting, I stayed in and watched it.

But in this town, sometimes a girl just has to hang up her fishnets to dry!

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

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Men on Men A weekly discussion group for men who are into men. Every Tuesday, 6:30pm. Gordon Neighbourhood House, 1019 Broughton St. checkhimout.ca

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Wed, Nov 13 Amanda Rheaume The queer Métis artist releases her new CD, Keep a Fire, a tribute to her family history and especially her great-great-grandfather, who was a founding father of Manitoba. 8pm. Café Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Dr. $10. amandarheaume.com Gay & Gray A weekly discussion group for seniors regarding retirement, housing, health, dating, self-image and more. 7pm. The Roundhouse, 181 Roundhouse Mews. ahbbl@ shaw.ca Amanda Rheaume — Café Deux Soleils, Wed, Nov 13 COURTESY OF HEATHER KITCHING PUBLICITY

Wed, Nov 6

Sat, Nov 9

Ruins: Chronicle of an HIV Witch-Hunt UBC’s social-justice institute presents this documentary on the criminalization of HIV in Greece. Noon. Jack Bell Building, Room 028, UBC, 2030 West Mall.

Free. Pre-register with wynn.archibald@ubc.ca.

Queens Care VI Some of Vancouver’s finest drag queens donate their time to produce this annual lavish fundraiser hosted by Joan-E and Carlotta Gurl. 7:30pm. Celebrities, 1022 Davie St. Tickets $20 at Little Sister’s, 1238 Davie St, or queenscare.eventbrite.com.

Thurs, Nov 7 Gay Men’s Health Summit The ninth annual summit is a two-day event that features talks on sexual health, Canadian Blood Services and more. 9am–5pm. $25–100.

Registration at cbrc.net.

Drag! Oasis hosts a party dedicated to drag queens and kings and the power of high heels, lipstick and mustaches.

10pm. Oasis Ultra Lounge, 1240 Thurlow St. No cover. oasisondavie.com

Fri, Nov 8 The Funk Hunters The local electronic act returns to Vancouver. 9pm–3am.

Celebrities, 1022 Davie St. Tickets $15 at blueprint. electrostub.com.

Tender Forever and Guests Party Martyr presents a night of radical queer music, with Tender Forever, Bushtit and Therapy. 9pm. Astoria Pub, 769 East Hastings St. $8. partymartyrproductions.com VML Social Vancouver Men in Leather’s monthly get-together is for everyone from the curious to the serious. 9pm. PumpJack Pub, 1167 Davie St. No cover. meninleather.homestead.com

Hustla: Homo Hip Hop Peach Cobblah and Bambibot host Vancouver’s sweatiest dancefloor, with performances

by Shanda Leer and Anna Propriette. Doors at 9pm.

The Cobalt, 917 Main St. $12. thecobalt.ca

Sun, Nov 10 Hershe Bar This popular lesbian party regularly draws hundreds of women and features singles bracelets and live body painting. 10pm–2am.

Red Room Ultra Bar, 398 Richards St. $12 advance (first 100), $15 after at Kokopelli Salon, 2052 Commercial Dr; Little Sister’s, 1238 Davie St; or flygirlproductions.com.

Truckerdisco DJs Taffi Louis and Tyler Fedchuk play nudisco, Italo-disco, cosmic disco, Balearic beat, anthems, oddities, and forgotten and future favourites. 9pm. Electric Owl Social Club, 926 Main St. $6 advance at truckerdisco. com, $10 door.

Pitbull: Camp Combat Seattle DJ Matt Stands joins local DJ Del Stamp for a party with some intense military décor. 10pm–4am. Club 560, 560 Seymour St. $15 advance at pitbullevents.com, $20 door.

MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

United After Hours DJ Tristan Jaxx makes his Big Roger Events debut. 11:55pm–7am. GorgO-Mish, 695 Smithe St. $30 advance at Little Sister’s, 1238 Davie St, or ticketzone.com.

Apocalypstick Does Mamma Mia What’s gayer than a bunch of queens? A bunch of queens doing all ABBA, all night. The Queen of East Van, Isolde N Barron, welcomes guests Carlotta Gurl and Bambibot, as well as some surprises (and not just the ones tucked in her dress). Doors 9pm. The Cobalt, 917 Main St. $7. thecobalt.ca

Mon, Nov 11 The Bobbers Vancouver’s popular queer improv troupe returns to Davie Street — celebrate Monday nights with your best Bobber friends.

7–9pm. Heaven’s Door (formerly J-Lounge), 1216 Bute St. Free.

Bingo for Life Joan-E’s weekly Friends For Life fundraiser features brilliant prizes, cheap drinks and snappy drag queens. 8–10pm. Celebrities, 1022 Davie St. $10 donation at door for bingo cards. celebritiesnightclub.com

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Gab Youth Drop-In This fun, inclusive group for LGBT youth and their allies meets Wednesdays at 4pm and Fridays at 7pm. Qmunity, 1170 Bute St. gabyyouth@qmunity.ca

Thurs, Nov 14 Drag-erace Charity Drag Show A benefit for the Dogwood Monarchist Society.

Doors 9pm, show 9:30pm.

Celebrities, 1022 Davie St. $5. celebritiesnightclub.com The Sundown The Cobalt hosts a laid-back clubhousetype night for queer women and their allies every Thursday, 9pm. The Cobalt, 917 Main St. $3–6. thecobalt.ca

Hominum This informal support group to help gay, bisexual and questioning men with the challenges of being married, separated or single meets every Monday, 7:30– 9:30pm. For meeting places in Vancouver, New Westminster, Coquitlam, and Surrey and to register, go to hominum.ca.

Supporting Transgender and Gender-Creative Youth UBC’s social-justice institute presents the findings and methods of a research project that engaged parents, caregivers, teachers and activists to identify ways of transforming social dynamics that have negative impacts on many children. Noon. Jack Bell Building, Room 028, UBC, 2030 West Mall. Free. Pre-register with wynn.archibald@ubc.ca.

Tues, Nov 12

Fri, Nov 15

GLBT Adoption Info Night Adoptive Families Association of BC and Qmunity invite people from the LGBT community to an adoption information session.

7:15–9:15pm. Roundhouse Community Centre, Room B, 181 Roundhouse Mews. Free.

Svend Robinson: A Life in Politics Meet the biographer, Graeme Truelove, and his subject, the inimitable former MP Svend Robinson, at the official Vancouver book launch. 7–9:30pm. Bill Reid Gallery, 639 Hornby St. Free. billreidgallery.ca

Submit your event listing to oitc.vancouver@dailyxtra.com.

Deadline for the Nov 21-Dec 4 issue is Wed, Nov 13.

Dr. Dean Wershler

General Dentistry

New patients welcome. Saturday and evening appointments available.

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XTRA! NOV 7–20, 2013 17

XPOSED

Prairie Fairies Fowl Supper

2

The illustrious Linda Fillmore celebrated her 80th birthday at the 14th annual Prairiestyle turkey dinner and community get-together, raising money for A Loving Spoonful, McLaren Housing Society, Out in Schools and CampOut, Oct 19 at the Hellenic Community Centre.

PHOTOS BY BELLE ANCELL

1

3 5

4

6

7

1E Colin Craig proposed to Derek Nordick onstage.

2E Peter Regier and Drew Dennis. 3E Joseph Chavez and David Landers appreciate papier-mâché Linda. 4E Sisters Jean Slick and Helen Lukowitch flew in specially to judge the jellied-salad contest (hats off to the chamber pot!). 5E Hostess Linda Fillmore: ruby red and in her element. 6E Maria Jackman and Robin Toma. 7E Tracey Bell makes a break for it. 8 E Raffle cowboy Muayed Istifo.

8

Halloween in the Village PHOTOS BY GREGORY WHITING

Revellers celebrated gay Christmas in style on Oct 31 and at parties the previous weekend, infusing the Davie Village with creativity and costumes for Halloween.

18 NOV 7–20, 2013 XTRA!

VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Susan Cameron

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A world of gay adventure

Travel

Edible Key West Exploring the Conch Republic one bite at a time STORY & PHOTOS

BY LESLEY FRASER

As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, Canadians start to daydream about sunny, southern getaways.

Gay and lesbian foodies should consider an old standby: Key West. Like Provincetown in the northeast, the continental United States’ southernmost city was geographically isolated until well into the 20th century and also became a haven for artists and homos. But even if it looks a bit like New England, its lush vegetation, riotous colour and Spanish feel make it more Caribbean than Floridian. And as the Conchs, as the locals are known, like to say, “the Puritans never made it this far south.”

Maybe that’s why the food’s better.

If you like your travel themed, consider one of the many festivals and events that fill the calendar, from the bacchanalian Fantasy Fest to the Hemingway Days Festival to the annual fishing tournament. Sadly, the shortlived ChickenFest (which celebrated the town’s ubiquitous free-roaming poultry) is no more, but food tourists have other options.

A highlight is the five-year-old Food and Wine Festival, which this year kicks off with a beach party on Jan 22 and runs through the 26th (if you’re really keen, you could start the weekend before, at the Key Largo and Islamorada Food & Wine Festival). Mustdos include the Let Them Eat Cake masquerade party at the Green Pineapple boutique; the mile-long Duval Uncorked, a drinking and eating tour of the famous strip’s restaurants, shops and galleries; the Key West Kitchen 20 NOV 7–20, 2013 XTRA!

Tour, which stops at a number of local restaurants; the Master Chef’s Classic culinary tasting and competition; and the wonderful shrimp boil (where you’ll gorge on the famous Key West pinks) at the Hogfish Bar & Grill, located one island over at the decidedly down-market Stock Island shrimp docks. Various seminars are still being scheduled, but if chef Martin Liz’s Conch cooking class is offered, go.

Key West has a number of high-end food spots — Latitudes, in the Westin Resort on Sunset Key, is a standout (their poached lobster on polenta was voted best main at last year’s Master Chef ’s competition) — but some of its best are very casual. Blue Heaven is famous for its breakfast but also its key-lime pie, so plan more than one visit if you’re not the sort who eats pie in the morning. The shaded patio at the beautiful Azur restaurant makes for a relaxing start to the day. Be sure to stop for Cuban coffee at the 5 Brothers sandwich shop. Their Cuban mix sandwich is also top-notch, as is El Siboney’s, which offers a range of authentic Cuban food in a sit-down environment.

Pepe’s Cafe, established in 1909, is the oldest restaurant in the Keys, and its low-key patio is the perfect spot for an afternoon refresher. The Half Shell Raw Bar, at the Historic Seaport, has 50-cent oysters at happy hour. East Coasters craving the accents of home should brave the cruise-ship crowds on lower Duval and stop for fritters at the Conch Shack, run by transplanted Newfoundlander Matt McKnight; it’s always open except during the Super Bowl and hurricanes.

For lunch or dinner, Paseo’s is

Western Union’s cruises, top, sail on one of the oldest working wooden schooners in the US. Above, participants at Chef Martin Liz’s Conch cooking seminar, offered at last year’s Food and Wine Festival, learned how to roast a whole pig. Hogfish Bar & Grill, right, is located on gritty Stock Island, next to the shrimp docks.

renowned for its Caribbean fare, particularly the fire-roasted corn.

Italian-influenced Salute, sister resto to Blue Heaven, is right on Higgs Beach and a great place to drop in after a swim. Abbondanza is an old-fashioned Italian-American joint (think eggplant parm, shrimp scampi, pasta puttanesca) with huge portions.

A visit to Garbo’s Grill is a must, provided they’re not closed because it’s

raining or they went to the beach or their fish suppliers didn’t deliver. Run

by Eli and Kenna Pancamo, it’s the only food truck in town; word is that the loophole they came in through has been closed and they’ll soon move into a bricks-and-mortar location, so get there while you can, just in case any of the magic is lost. The shrimp and mahimahi tacos are fantastic.

If your sweet tooth calls, stop in at VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

Getting around Key West is easily navigated by foot or on two wheels, so if you arrived by car, park it and leave it and consider renting a bike: there are no hills, traffic moves slowly, drivers are respectful, parking is free, and with all the booze and food you’ll be taking in, you’ll want to burn off some calories. There are lots of shops to rent from (most offer bikes and mopeds), and many will drop off at and pick up from hotels. Moped Hospital’s one-speed cruisers aren’t fancy, but the big baskets up front are handy and their rates are among the lowest in town.

A trolley tour is a great way to get an overview of Key West’s geography and history. The Conch Tour Train, which offers a 90-minute narrated tour, has been in operation since 1958. Old Town Trolley and City View tours let passengers get on and off at various points, and every Saturday at 4pm, the slightly cheesy gay and lesbian trolley tour, operated by the chamber of commerce, takes a 70-minute spin through the town’s queer points of interest.

Where to stay PEARL’S This charming guesthouse used to be women-only and is now “all-welcoming,” but it’s still very female-centric. Located near the quiet end of Duval Street, its buildings include a former cigar factory and the attached workers’ cottages. The patio bar is a popular spot for an afternoon drink.

ISLAND HOUSE I can speak only from hearsay, since this all-male, clothingoptional resort has a strict no-women policy. Word is that things get fun around the pool in the afternoon. And the rooms sound fine, too.

ALEXANDER’S This lovely 17-room gay-owned guesthouse has tasteful and simple décor, clothing-optional decks, delicious breakfasts and a congenial happy hour peopled by its many return guests.

THE GARDENS HOTEL If money’s no object, this is your spot. At one time the largest private estate in town, it was named “the prettiest hotel in Key West”

by The New York Times. Even if you can’t afford to check in, check out the Sundaynight jazz in the stunning garden.

Top, the Garbo’s Grill food truck is a must-visit. Above, the shrimp boil at Hogfish Bar & Grill is a highlight of the annual Food and Wine Festival.

Key West Cakes for delicious cupcakes and baked goods or for a slice of key lime pie at any number of places; you’ll find four of the big purveyors along Greene Street — look for the green-and-white-clad baker outside Kermit’s, at the corner of Elizabeth, and take it from there. If you’d like to try your hand at making your own, pick up a copy of David Sloan’s definitive Key Lime Pie Cookbook at the wonderful Restaurant Store, a cook’s paradise.

Of course, Key West isn’t all about eating and drinking. It’s surrounded by the ocean, after all, so you’ll want to spend some time in the water, on MORE AT DAILYXTRA.COM

it, or plopped on a beach chair beside it. And it’s chock full of fun spots to explore: whether historical, cultural, architectural, horticultural or just plain sexual. Whatever your tastes, you’ll find plenty to gorge on in this charming and fascinating town.

For more Key West adventures, visit dailyxtratravel.com.

On the web fla-keys.com gaykeywestfl.com keywestfoodandwinefestival.com

What to read KEY WEST ON THE EDGE: INVENTING THE CONCH REPUBLIC Robert Kerstein’s fascinating, scholarly yet accessible book examines how this unlikely city became a tourist mecca.

THE FLORIDA KEYS: A HISTORY & GUIDE Acclaimed novelist Joy Williams’s anti-guide is one of the most candid and unlikely travel books ever written — it never shies away from the dark side of Florida tourism while displaying the author’s passion for the region.

QUIT YOUR JOB AND MOVE TO KEY WEST: THE COMPLETE GUIDE Part guidebook, part self-help, part practical how-to, lots of silliness, from Christopher Shultz and David Sloan, who write from experience.

XTRA! NOV 7–20, 2013 21

A world of gay adventure

Travel

TOURISME MONTREAL, FRÉDÉRIQUE MÉNARD-AUBIN

TOURISME MONTREAL, MIGUEL LEGAULT

Montreal snow job The city famous for its hot summer nightlife also provides a brilliant winter escape MATTHEW HAYS

When people hear the word “Montreal,” they tend to think of gorgeous, hot nights and raunchy sex in back alleys.

Well, I know some of you do, anyway.

But given its European architecture, vibrant cultural institutions and beautiful parks, Montreal is a city that’s well worth checking out in winter.

Cold weather makes for a great excuse to spend time indoors, in particular at several of Montreal’s beautiful museums. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has a vast permanent collection but also features strong rotating exhibits year-round. The museum itself is an architectural wonder; the old building sits on the north side of Sherbrooke Street, and the new progressive bit of architecture sits on the south. The gift shop is one of the best in the city and the second-floor restaurant is divine. The Canadian Centre for Architecture has one of the largest collections of prints, drawings, photographs and models relating to architecture in the world. The building itself is worth a tour and the bookshop is unbeatable. The Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on the works of Quebec artists but also boasts an intriguing number of works by Canadian artists. The current exhibit, 22 NOV 7–20, 2013 XTRA!

Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture (which runs until Jan 5, 2014), is getting rave reviews.

Essential to any stay in Montreal is a visit to the Biodome, an eco-museum where visitors can sample various climates and the plants and animals that inhabit them. Since its opening in 1992, the Biodome has seen millions check out vast rooms that recreate faraway climes, including “tropical rainforest,” “Laurentian maple forest,” “Labrador coast” and “Gulf of St Lawrence.” The people behind the Biodome also run the Botanical Gardens — which features all sorts of rare, exotic plants — and the Insectarium, a museum of unusual bugs.

Another fun museum is the Montreal Science Centre, in Old Montreal, which features year-round exhibits on various topics and includes an IMAX theatre that screens educational films.

Wintry fun can be found at the Parc Jean-Drapeau, where every year a massive snow village is created. There is a 25-room hotel made entirely of ice and a restaurant that seats 100, but kitsch enthusiasts will really get a kick out of the snow-and-ice replica of New York City. For those who are travelling with children, there are train rides and snowsculpture workshops specifically for kids. There is ice skating at the Parc La-

fontaine, a delightfully picturesque park that lies just north of the Village. And on a mild, clear day, a walk up Mount Royal Park is just fantastic and offers a beautiful view of the city. The lookout features a panoramic view, and hot chocolate is served in the colder months.

The Highlights Festival (or Festival Montréal en Lumière, is a celebration of light in the winter, to be held this year Feb 20 to March 2. It’s based in scenic Old Montreal and the downtown arts district and features food, film screenings, music and dance performances, and art exhibits.

The newest event is Igloofest, which will run Jan 16 to Feb 8. When it started seven years ago, it proved an instant hit, with thousands of fans dancing in the snowy Old Port to the beat and hum of electronic music. What is basically a wintry outdoor rave continues to grow in popularity.

Montreal, home of the legendary Canadiens, is a hub for our national sport of hockey. Jock enthusiasts will want to check out the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame, where the history of the team, founded in 1909, and Montrealers’ longstanding love for it, is recounted in a number of exhibits. Another bit of hockey history can be found in the Montreal Forum, where hockey games and

TOURISME MONTREAL, STÉPHAN POULIN

Clockwise from top left: Montréal en Lumière is a dazzling showcase of performing arts and gastronomy; Igloofest guarantees one of the hottest nights of winter; Mount Royal Park has sleigh rides and one of the best views of the city.

concerts were held from 1924 to 1996, when the complex was transformed into an entertainment centre, featuring a 22-screen cinema complex, restaurants, pool tables and bowling alleys. There are statues of famous hockey players to commemorate the centre’s origins. You can grope them if you’re feeling really hard up.

Okay, I know who I’m writing for.

I realize many of you may be rolling your eyes at this point and thinking, “Enough with the culture! Who do you think you are, Peggy Guggenheim?” So I’ll end with a reminder that Montreal’s nightlife remains intact, even in winter.

Get off at Metro Berri-UQAM, then head east. There are a bunch of drinking holes and clubs to check out, all in close proximity.

As well, after walking around in a

bunch of layers, you will undoubtedly want to take off some clothes at the end of the day — and you might want to watch others take off their clothes, too. The top strip clubs in Montreal include the jock-centric Campus, the raunch-infused Stock Bar, and the borderline-NAMBLA headquarters Taboo. And then there are the one-ofa-kind Montreal queer institutions: Cabaret Mado, run by the city’s legendary drag queen Mado (and featuring nightly drag shows), and the Royal Phoenix, the city’s sole out-of-Village queer nightclub, located in the hipster Mile End neighbourhood.

On the web: museesmontreal.org montreal.com/tourism/festivals tourisme-montreal.org VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

MY

Up on the roof

Montreal

From favourite events to hidden gems off the beaten path, My Montreal gets the inside scoop from local residents about what not to miss when visiting the city. In this installment we asked actor/performer/ genderbender Antonio Bavaro to name a favourite haunt. Â

FILM FEST CRUISES

â&#x20AC;&#x153;My answer to what to look out for in Montreal may sound unconventional, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rooftops â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all and any of them!

They are the best places to see Mount Royal, some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best graffiti art, multitudes of bronzed church spires looming over quickly gentrifying neighbourhoods, and to watch your neighbours getting dirty in the condo next door while having some brewskies with your buds. A bit of privacy and uplifting perspective in an oft-busy yet beautiful city!â&#x20AC;?

Check out other recommendations in the My Montreal series on dailyxtratravel.com.

The Norwegian Breakaway will feature a screening of After Stonewall. NCL

Montrealâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rooftops offer spectacular views of the city.

STĂ&#x2030;PHAN POULIN, TOURISM MONTREAL

Two upcoming Pride of the Ocean cruises, billed as the only â&#x20AC;&#x153;ďŹ&#x201A;oating ďŹ lm festival,â&#x20AC;? will commemorate the 45th anniversary of Stonewall and National Coming Out Day. In June 2014, a Pride of the Ocean cruise will mark the June 1969 Stonewall rebellion â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ fth anniversary. The new Norwegian Breakaway will set sail June 1 from New York City for a seven-day cruise to Bermuda.

Featured ďŹ lms will reďŹ&#x201A;ect the many changes that have

taken place since Stonewall in politics, history, religion and Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;second religionâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; sports. ConďŹ rmed is a screening of After Stonewall, which ďŹ rst aired nationally on PBS for the 30th anniversary of Stonewall.  In October 2014, a Pride of the Ocean cruise will set sail from Honolulu on National Coming Out Day, Oct 11. The seven-day Hawaiian Islands cruise aboard Norwegianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pride of America will focus on Asian/PaciďŹ c LGBT ďŹ lms.

A sampler weekend cruise, A Taste of Pride of the Ocean, will sail in January 2014. It departs from Miami for Nassau on Jan 31, returning to Miami on Feb 3.

Organizers say that since the ship is heading for the Bahamas, the cruise will feature a screening of Bahamian ďŹ lm director Kareem Mortimerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ďŹ lm Children of God. For more information or to register for these cruises, visit prideoftheocean.com.

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XTRA! NOV 7â&#x20AC;&#x201C;20, 2013 23

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Health Care Services

Pacific Coast Massage Therapy – Christopher Robins RMT 604-687-4078

Mail Box Plus 604-683-1433

Vancouver Coastal Health 604-736-2033

Rick Girardeau, RMT rickgrmt.com

Psychologists

Media

STOP HIV/AIDS Team 604-838-1331

Vivo Media Arts vivomediaarts.com

Dr Joachim Sehrbrock, Registered Psychologist 604-366-3112

Hearing Aids

Men’s Services

Sound Hearing Clinic 604-687-1488

BC Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse (BCSMSSA) 604-682-6482

Sound Hearing Clinic 604-687-1488

Home & Garden Eden Accents 604-523-3433

THE BEST OF GAY & LESBIAN VANCOUVER Accounting Services

Boat Cruises & Charters

Felicity Webb 604-721-7537

Waterway Houseboats 1-877-WATERWAY

Airlines

Business & Professional Organizations

Orchard Recovery 604-947-0420

AIDS/HIV Resources AIDS Vancouver 604-893-2201 AIDS Vancouver Island 250-384-2366 1-800-665-2437 ANKORS 1-800-421-2437 Dr Peter AIDS Foundation 604-608-1874 Positive Living 604-893-2200 Vancouver Coastal Health 604-736-2033 STOP HIV/AIDS Team 604-838-1331

Alternative Health Ignite Smoke Shop 778-786-0977 Medicinal Cannabis Dispensary 604-255-1844 My CannaMeds mycm.ca

West End Business Improvement Association 604-696-0144

Chiropractors Downtown Chiropractic 604-685-9444

Cleaning & Maid Services The Maids 604-987-5651

Clinics Travel Clinic 604-736-9244

Community Groups & Services

Counselling BC counsellingbc.com

Apartments

Iosono Counselling Services – Ron Paviglianiti, RPC 604-290-1445

Capreit caprent.com

Archives Vivo Media Arts vivomediaarts.com

Art Galleries Vivo Media Arts vivomediaarts.com

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Bakeries Andy’s Bakery 604-251-5667

Willow Tree Counselling 604-521-3404

Beauty

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Enchante 604-669-9166

Mail Box Plus 604-683-1433

Bedding

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Mr. Mattress 604-255-2113

Aarm Dental Group 604-647-0006

Studio Space Scotiabank Dance Centre 604-604-6400

Xtra (Ottawa) 613-986-8292

Theatre

Laundry Services

Pet Care

Richmond Funeral Home 604-273-3748

Xtra (Toronto) 416-925-6665

Laundry Valet 604-568-2020

Kitty Kare 604-813-4239

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival bardonthebeach.org

Real Estate Agents

Transportation Harbour Air 604-274-1277

Dahl & Connors 604-687-8752

Pet Stores & Supplies

Darryl Persello 604-306-1340

iRepair.ca 778-987-2571

Valley View Memorial Gardens 604-596-7196

Lawyers

Education & Instruction

Ian Eggleton, RE/MAX 604-773-1443

Helijet International 800-665-4354

Martin Brothers Funeral 778-330-7799

Barbara Findlay 604-251-4356

Dog Country 604-558-1995

Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association 604-873-8378

North Shore Law LLP 604-980-8571

Lyn Hart, Macdonald Realty Ltd 604-724-4278

Travel British Columbia

Furniture

Pets First 604-590-7387

Vivo Media Arts vivomediaarts.com

Grocery

Dr Langston Raymond 604-687-1008 Redtree Dental 604-873-3337

Device Repair

Entertainment Ballet BC 604-732-5003

The Dance Centre 604-604-6400

Financial Services DeVie Business Solutions 604-298-4148

Instant Bedrooms 604-270-BEDS(2337) Safeway Davie: 604-669-8313 Robson: 604-683-6155 Urban Fare (Bute Location) 604-975-7556

Hair Stylists & Barbers Enchante 604-669-9166

Libraries Vivo Media Arts vivomediaarts.com

Liquor West End Liquor Store 604-689-3100

Marketing C&C Communications 604-664-8995

Farmer’s Markets

Health

Vancouver Farmers’ Markets 604-879-3276

Dr. Aaron VanGaver BSc ND 604-629-1120

Massage Certified/ Registered Linda Duncan 604-630-0101

The Maids 604-987-8181 Tisol 14th & Main St: 604-873-4117 12th & Arbutus: 604-730-1768 Grandview Hwy: 604-436-3001 Gilley Ave, Burnaby: 604-434-2812

Physiotherapy & Rehab Andrea Martens, BScPT, CAFCI Urban Active Sport Therapy Clinic 604-669-8233

Printing East Van Graphics 604-568-1206

Susan Cameron 604-266-1364

Black Rock Oceanfront Resort 877-762-5011

Renovations & Restorations

Tourism Harrison 604-796-5581

Maison D’Etre Build Inc. 604-484-4030

Websites

Mr Build 604-732-8453

Restaurants & Cafes

squirt.org squirt.org twospiritwolf.com 604-688-6648

Weddings

Gallery Cafe & Catering.

604-688-2233

2 Dears and a Queer 604-306-1340

Joe’s Grill 1031 Davie St, Vancouver: 604-682-3683 948 Denman St, Vancouver: 604-642-6588

Yoga YoGuy Men’s Yoga 778-995-1970

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Gastown treasures Gearing up for winter The Drive’s organic soul The heart of gay Vancouver

Lehmann Counselling Service 604-614-8121

Tricia Antoniuk, MSW, RSW 778-378-2633

Freeway Mini Storage/U-Haul 604-251-2017

Xtra (Vancouver) 604-684-9696

Joe Ramirez Integral Counselling 778-227-9423

Monique Silverman, MA, RCC, CCC 778-228-8456

Storage

Bruce Eyewear 604-662-8300

Counselling

YoGuy Men’s Yoga 778-995-1970

Pink Triangle Press 1-800-268-9872

twospiritwolf.com 604-688-6648

Rodrozen Designs 604-558-4443

Community Organizations

Maison D’Etre Build Inc. 604-484-4030

Publications

Shopping

Interior Design

PlayLand Amusement Park 604-253-2311

Construction

C&C Communications 604-664-8995

squirt.org squirt.org

Valley View Funeral Home 604-596-8866

Dr Dean Wershler 604-688-4080

Museum of Vancouver 604-736-4431

Vivo Media Arts vivomediaarts.com

Optical Services

Public Relations

Sex

Abasa Optical 604-687-3937

West End Seniors Network 604-669-5051

Community Based Research Centre 604-568-7478

Amherst Funeral and Cremation Services Inc 604-831-3023

Maison D’Etre Build Inc. 604-484-4030

Edward Sandberg, Counsellor/Therapist 604-728-6569

Poncho’s Restaurant 604-683-7236

2014

Addictions

Funeral Services

Motorcycle World 604-582-9253

Psychotherapy

NOV 2013–APR

Harbour Air 604-274-1277

Daher Orthostyle – Dr Sam Daher 604-662-3290

Home Improvement & Repairs

Motorcycles & Scooters

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VANCOUVER’S GAY & LESBIAN NEWS

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