January 6–19 Volume 2 ■ Issue 1
Hinckley: “Gays Have a Problem” LDS leader appears on CNN’s ‘Larry King Show’
Copper Hills High Principal Reverses Note Policy Lambda Legal targets Utah in ads for safe schools
Thai Gay Resort in Ruins After Tsunami Thousands dead and missing Salt Lake Men’s Choir Welcoming New Singers Also conducts auditions for all-male Joseph production Mecham’s Password: F#$@ING_SH#$$Y_SECU%#TY Park: Sutherland Institute Think Tank Brainless The Gay Agenda
ARTS & CULTURE
PLACES
PEOPLE
(Choose the best…)
(Choose the best place to…)
(Please choose the best…)
Amateur Theater _______________________________________ Professional Theater _______________________________________ Local Band
for
_______________________________________ Art Gallery/Museum _______________________________________ Symphony, Orchestra or Choir _______________________________________ Movie Theater
NOMINATION FORM FOOD (Choose the best place for…)
Sunday Brunch _______________________________________ A Quick Bite
_______________________________________ Local or State Politician
_______________________________________ Make Out
_______________________________________ Bartender/Barback/Server
_______________________________________ Cruise
_______________________________________ Local Actor or Actress
_______________________________________ Violate Public Decency Laws _______________________________________ Relax on a Day Off _______________________________________ Get Married (or “committed” or whatever you have to call it)
_______________________________________
_______________________________________ Take Children of Gay Parents
(Please choose the best…)
Annual Festival
_______________________________________ Take Parents of Gay Children _______________________________________ Ski
_______________________________________ Straight Advocate for Gay Rights _______________________________________
THE BAD & THE UGLY (Please choose the…)
Most Anti-Gay Politician _______________________________________ Most Anti-Gay Activist _______________________________________ Worst Place to be Queer
_______________________________________ Hole in the Wall
_______________________________________ Music Festival
_______________________________________ Blowing Your Diet
_______________________________________ Charity Walk/Run/Bike Ride
_______________________________________ Asian Food
_______________________________________ Weekly or Monthly Event
_______________________________________ Greek/Mediterranean Food
_______________________________________ Live Show of the Past Year
_______________________________________ Mexican Food
_______________________________________ Party of the Past Year
_______________________________________ Get Counselling
_______________________________________ Metro Columnist
_______________________________________ Italian Food
_______________________________________ Time of Year to Party
_______________________________________ Get a Tattoo or Piercing
_______________________________________ Metro article, feature or news story
_______________________________________ Steak and Seafood
_______________________________________
_______________________________________ Take Fido and Phydeaux for Their “do”
_______________________________________
_______________________________________ Get Drilled (by a dentist, that is)
(Please choose the best…)
SHOPPING (Choose the best…)
Mall or Shopping Plaza
_______________________________________ Cheap But Good Food
_______________________________________ Place to Browse All Day
_______________________________________ Sushi
_______________________________________ Place to Hit on the Employees
_______________________________________ After Hours
_______________________________________ Place to Be Seen
NITELIFE (Choose the best place to…)
Dance _______________________________________ Meet Gay Men _______________________________________ Meet Lesbians _______________________________________ Meet Transgender Folks
SALT LAKE METRO ■ JANUARY 6, 2005
_______________________________________ Take a Second Date
_______________________________________ Queer Event
_______________________________________
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_______________________________________ Volunteer for a Queer Organization
_______________________________________ Play/Production of the Past Year
EVENTS
Leader of a Queer Organization
_______________________________________ Take a Date
_______________________________________ Formal Dining
_______________________________________ Vegetarian Fare
2
Work Out
_______________________________________ Meet Friendly Straight Folks
_______________________________________ (Choose the best place to shop for…)
Clothing
_______________________________________ Enjoy the View _______________________________________ Enjoy the View of the Guys/Girls _______________________________________ Escape Utah for the Weekend _______________________________________ Put the Mother-in-Law Up While She’s in Town _______________________________________ Get Your Hair Done
_______________________________________ Get a Massage _______________________________________
ORGANIZATIONS (Please choose the best…)
Social Organization _______________________________________ Political/Service Charity _______________________________________ Gay-Friendly Religious Organization
_______________________________________ Worst Night of the Week to Go Out _______________________________________ Person Who Mosts Needs to Get Out of Utah _______________________________________ Biggest Scandal of the Year _______________________________________
IT’S ALL ABOUT US (Please choose the best…)
Metro News Writer
OTHER Radio Station _______________________________________ Television News Program _______________________________________ Lube _______________________________________ Pick-up Line _______________________________________ _______________________________________ Way to Come Out to Mom and Dad
_______________________________________ Videos and DVDs
_______________________________________ Gay Sports Organization
_______________________________________ Books
_______________________________________
_______________________________________ Music
WIN A 2-NIGHT STAY AND $500 CASINO FUN BOOK IN FABULOUS LAS VEGAS!
_______________________________________ Antiques/Furniture
_______________________________________ _______________________________________
_______________________________________ See a Show or Live Music
_______________________________________ Cars
_______________________________________ Watch a Game
_______________________________________ Gifts and Assorted Knick-knacks
_______________________________________ Sing Karaoke
_______________________________________ Plants
_______________________________________ Avoid Karaoke
_______________________________________ Flowers
_______________________________________ Best Gay/Lesbian Bar
_______________________________________ Food
_______________________________________ Best Straight Bar
_______________________________________ Adult Toys
Phone ______________________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Email ______________________________________________
Submit your name with this nomination form and be entered to win 3 days and 2 nights deluxe accommodations in Las Vegas, Nevada for two and a fun book containing tickets for chips, tokens, 2-for-1 meals and discount show tickets worth $500. You must be 21 or older to win. No purchase necessary. One entry per person. Winner responsible for all taxes, including room tax. Employees, staff and family members of Metro Publishing, Inc. not eligible. Name ______________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________ City/State/ZIP ________________________________________
NOMINATION FORMS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JANUARY 31, 2005
DROP BY OR MAIL TO: Best of Utah 2005 Salt Lake Metro 352 S. Denver St. #350 Salt Lake City, UT 84111
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JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 3
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News BRIEFS
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SALT LAKE METRO ■ JANUARY 6, 2005
Popular Gay Beach In Ruins After Tsunami Strike Phuket, Bangkok— The most popular gay beach destination in Southeast Asia lies in ruins in the wake of the most powerful and deadly tsunami in recorded history. Over 5,000 people were killed in Phuket alone, most of whom were tourists staying in beach-side resorts. Nearly 4,000 were also missing at press time. The beaches at Phuket, popular with gay tourists from Australia, North America and Europe, were filled with people as it was the height of the tourist season. Many people were in the water when the giant waves struck without warning. “People were running from the beach as fast as they could. The beach is devastated… There were a lot of people on the beach, [and they were] swept away by the wave,” Phuket Gazette reporter Woody Leonard said. Buildings along the beach were toppled and swept into the sea and the damage extended well inland. On the morning following the tragedy, dozens of bodies clad only in swimming trunks lined the beaches. Phuket is under martial law as authorities attempt to recover bodies and restore services to the island. Officials rushed to evacuate people from the island as aftershocks from the earthquake were felt throughout the region. Tourism to Phuket has been cancelled. Fernando Bengoechea is Those people holding among the missing after reservations are being the Dec. 26 tsunami. advised to contact their travel agency. Among the first personal reports of the tragedy heard in this country was out celebrity interior designer Nate Berkus from Chicago. Berkus, a regular on The Oprah Winfrey Show, was on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast handing out backpacks to needy children. “There was absolutely no warning,” he told CNN. Berkus said he and traveling companion Fernando Bengoechea were sleeping in a beachfront cottage at Arugam Bay Sunday when he heard a loud noise and the roof was ripped off. The two were swept into the sea along with debris, animals and other people. They managed to grab onto a telephone pole, but lost their grips when a second large wave hit. Berkus said that he climbed onto the roof of a home but his friend was swept away and is among the missing. Berkus released a statement on his website saying, “I am safe and well. Your prayers have been a blessing through all of this. The search for my friend Fernando Bengoechea continues, and your support
in this search has provided comfort and solace to me and those close to Fernando. I ask that we all continue to pray and come together, as a people, in providing aid to those in need. And, I thank you for allowing me and those close to me to have the time we need to heal through this devastation.”
Arkansas Court Strikes Down Gay Foster Care Ban Little Rock, Ark.—On Dec. 29, a state circuit court struck down an Arkansas regulation barring gays and lesbians and anyone living in a household containing a gay adult from being a foster parent. The decision ended a 1999 suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union against the state on behalf of three prospective foster parents. In his findings, Circuit Court Judge Timothy Fox wrote that the state had been wrong to make claims against gays’ suitability as parents, saying that his ruling was based on knowledge and information “as opposed to assumption.” Additionally, Fox ruled that no evidence existed to suggest that being raised by gay or lesbian parents behavioral or psychological problems or that children’s well-being might be compromised in such households. Perhaps most importantly, Fox also said that the ban, instigated in 1999, hurt children in need of foster care by limiting the number of foster parents. Rita Sklar, Executive Director of Arkansas ACLU chapter, said she was “very pleased” with the decision. “Throughout this case, the state has relied on ugly stereotypes to deny children in the Arkansas foster care system the chance of having the widest possible pool of foster families available to them,” she said. “We’re very pleased that the court saw through these arguments and has recognized that gay and lesbian people can provide homes just as loving and stable as anyone else’s.”—JV
Majority of Montanans Oppose Civil Unions Helena, Mont.—A recent poll indicates that over three-fifths of Montana voters reject the idea of granting civil unions to gay and lesbian couples, according to a Dec. 28 Billings-Gazette article. In the poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research for the Gazette State Bureau, 62 percent of 625 registered Montana voters said they opposed civil unions which would grant gay and lesbian couples some of the same legal benefits afforded to married straight couples. Thirty-four percent supported the idea. Male voters were more likely to reject the idea with 66 percent of men opposed to civil unions compared to 58 percent of women. The poll comes a month and a half after two-thirds of Montanans voted to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage, but due to the amendment’s wording, civil unions could still be legalized.
Gay Spirituality Restoration Church of Jesus Christ by JoSelle Vanderhooft joselle@slmetro.com
(Second in a six-part series on gay spirituality)
Continued on page 7
JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 5
Like many gay and lesbian Latter-Day Saints, Bob McIntire left his church after coming out of the closet. But unlike several gay and lesbian former Mormons, he not only joined a new church, he became its president. The new church was the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ (RCJC), a gayfriendly offshoot of Mormonism founded in 1985 by members of a Los Angeles Affirmation chapter, a support group for gay and lesbian Mormons. In the same year, McIntire met three of the fledgling church’s members at a meeting of the Royal Court of the Golden Spike Empire, which McIntire was attending as the local Metropolitan Community Church’s representative. “Three men in business suits walked in and asked to be recognized,” McIntire remembers. “When they were allowed to speak one of them got up and said, “We’re here to tell you that the Gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by Joseph Smith has been restored to the gay community.” He laughs at the memory. “I just about fell out of my chair! At first I was a little bit angry, I think. Because I felt like, here’s MCC trying to reach out and help people and this is just another group of Mormon wannabes who are going to… draw away from the MCC that was already struggling for existence.” Still, McIntire decided to attend the RCJC’s first public meeting in Salt Lake City the following week. Here he says he “experienced some feelings I hadn’t had since I left the LDS church.” Shortly after, he decided to join. Within months he became the leader of Utah’s RCJC congregation; and when then-RCJC President Antonio Feliz stepped down, the church asked McIntire to take his place. He’s held the position ever since, despite the church’s often troubled twenty-year history. “It’s had a lot of ups and downs,” he says, referring to the Los Angeles chapter’s decision to split from the RCJC in the mid1990s and the disbanding of chapters in California, New Mexico and Texas. “I would say two years ago we were at our all time low. And from that point we started growing again. We are growing at the moment and I think we’re going to continue to grow. I believe that it’s something that is of value to many people. For those who grew up with an LDS background it fills a need.” According to Elder Larry Tidwell, presiding patriarch to the church and second counselor to the President, the RCJC initially filled a very real need for its founding members – most of who had been excommunicated from the LDS church because of their sexual orientations. These participants in an Affirmation chapter in Los Angeles bonded through a scripture study group, in which they made a startling discovery. “In the course of studying the scriptures they came to the conclusion that the priesthood that many of them had been excommunicated from, that the church had told them they no longer had,… [ultimately] comes from God,” he said. “It doesn’t come from the church. And once they realized that, they also realized that
the church can’t take away their priesthood. Only God can.” Eventually, this realization lead some of the group’s members, many of whom had had been excommunicated from the LDS church, to wonder if they should start their own church. At this time, says Tidwell, “they prayed very earnestly to receive direction about whether or not they should form a church. And the conclusion was that the Lord wanted them to form another church, so they did,” originally naming themselves the Church of Jesus Christ of All Latter-Day Saints. When the LDS church in Los Angeles objected that the name was too similar to theirs, the group officially changed their name to the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ, though they still use “the name the Lord gave us” in “all our ordinances and ceremonies” which are similar to those performed by the LDS church and include temple marriages for straight, gay and lesbian couples. Although the RCJC holds sacrament meetings, Sunday school and home teaching and upholds the “basic Mormon tenants” as found in the Book of Mormon, the Bible, and the work Doctrine and Covenants, the church has a number of differences from the LDS faith. Along with familiar Mormon scriptures, the RCJC also uses their own book of scripture entitled Hidden Treasures and Promises. According to Tidwell, this book is similar to Doctrine and Covenants in that it contains “revelations given to the leadership of the Restored Church that they have written down and presented to members of the church.” Further, women “are total equals with the males of the church,” according to Tidwell. They are able to “hold the priesthood” and have occupied every position in the church save for president. And while the RCJC has a prophet who serves as “prophet, seer and revelator,” RCJC members do not see him as infallible. “As a result of that, it is the members’ duty to live their lives in such a way that they can have the Spirit be with them to determine whether or not the prophet is following the Lord,” Tidwell explains. Members of the church are also encouraged to use their own consciences in matters of faith, particularly in the case of the Word of Wisdom, the Mormon law of health which encourages members to abstain from such things as tobacco, alcohol, caffeine and immoderate consumption of meat. “We also don’t believe that the responsibility of the church to tell people what they should do in their private personal lives,” Tidwell continues. “What tithing they should pay what the law of chastity means to them. We still believe in the word of wisdom. But how they should apply the Word of Wisdom is between them and the Lord. It’s not the duty of the church to tell them. Basically [we] give them guidelines and principles and then let them decide how the principle applies to their lives.” Although the Restoration Church of Jesus Christ has never opened a formal dialogue with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, according to Tidwell they don’t believe the other church is a
News LOCAL
Appearing December 26 on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told the talk-show host that gays “have a problem.” When asked about the Mormon church’s opposition to gay marriage, Hinckley responded: “Well, we’re not anti-gay. We are pro-family. Let me put it that way. And we love these people and try to work with them and help them. We know they have a problem. We want to help them solve that problem.” “A problem they caused, or they were born with?” King asked. “I don’t know. I’m not an expert on these things,” replied Hinckley. “I don’t pretend to be an expert on these things. The fact is, they have a problem.” When King pressed the Mormon leader on the topic of civil unions, Hinckley made it clear that the church would oppose anything that led to gay marriage. “Many people don’t get married. Goodness sakes alive. You know that,” said the 94-year-old Hinkley. “Many people have to discipline themselves. If they transgress, they become subject to the discipline of the Church. But we try in every way that we know how to help them, to assist them, to
bless their lives.” Hinckley’s comments reinforce the LDS position that gay and lesbian people, if they cannot maintain a heterosexual relationship, should simply live lives of celibacy. Hinckley’s comments on the talk show are reminiscent of the statement issued by the LDS church just two weeks before the election: “We of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reach out with understanding and respect for individuals who are attracted to those of the same gender. We realize there may be great loneliness in their lives but there must also be recognition of what is right before the Lord … we affirm that marriage between a man and a woman is essential to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children … Any other sexual relations, including those between persons of the same gender, undermine the divinely created institution of the family. The Church accordingly favors measures that define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and that do not confer legal status on any other sexual relationship.” The appearance marked Hinckley’s fourth on “Larry King Live.” King is Jewish, but is married to a Mormon woman.—JK
SL Men’s Choir Opens to New Singers Announces auditions for their all-male “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” by Michael Aaron
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SALT LAKE METRO ■ JANUARY 6, 2005
michael@slmetro.com
The Salt Lake Men’s Choir accepts new members just twice a year—at the beginning of the season in August and mid-season the first two rehearsals of January. On January 6 and 13, the choir is welcoming prospective singers to join them at their Thursday rehearsals at All-Saints Episcopal Church at 1700 S. Foothill Blvd. Rehearsals begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. The choir is diverting from its standard offerings this year with the next two concerts. The spring concert is a musical rendition of the children’s book Oliver Button is a Sissy by Tomie dePaola. The 20-minute piece was jointly commissioned from composer Alan Shorter by the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus, Vancouver Men’s Chorus, the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego, and the Heartland Men’s Chorus in 2001. The concert will also include other familyfriendly music by the choir. The choir will also present an all-male version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in June. Auditions for Joseph will be held separately on Sunday, Jan. 9 and 16 at First United Methodist Church at 201 S. 200 East. Those audition-
ing are asked to bring sheet music for one minute of music that is not from the musical. An accompanist will be available. Those performing in Joseph must become members of the choir, sing in the spring concert and attend weekly rehearsals on Thursday nights. Soloists will also rehearse on Sunday nights. Joseph is being directed by Jonathan Stowers, who has brought it to Utah audiences on nearly a dozen occasions. “This production will be the one I’ve always wanted to produce but never could,” Stowers said. “Joseph is a campy piece. It needs to be played that way.” The choir is in its 22nd season, the tenth under the direction of artistic director Lane Cheney. They have accepted an invitation to sing at the Washington National Cathedral in February to represent the state in the quadrennial “Utah Day” celebration in Washington, D.C. The choir has also traveled to many of the western states and Sydney, Australia. The choir also performs at charity events through the year. For more information on the Joseph audition or becoming a member of the choir, go to their website at saltlakemenschoir.org.
KRIS KRAMER
Hinckley: Gays ‘Have a Problem’
Copper Hills High School student Jason Atwood
Principal Reverses Policy Lambda Legal Educates Students About Their Rights by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com
Copper Hills High School has reversed a policy that would require gay and lesbian students to have permission slips signed by their parents to attend school dances. The policy, which began when 17-year-old Jason Atwood went to school administrators with concerns about his safety if he brought his boyfriend to a dance, generated national criticism after Atwood and friends staged a four-day protest of the policy. But according to Jordan School District spokesperson Melinda Colton, the policy has been dropped. Any student, gay or straight, may attend the dances without parental permission. However, if any student approaches the administration with safety concerns, their parents may still be called to keep them in the loop. Although Atwood has already missed one function because of the policy—his parent refused to sign the permission slip out of concern it would take away the school’s responsibility to keep him safe—he’s pleased that the policy has been dropped. “That is very exciting,” Atwood told the Salt Lake Tribune. “Maybe I was wrong when I said Copper Hills wasn’t tolerant. They’re a lot more willing to work with students than I thought they were.” The policy has drawn attention to an ongoing problem, however, of harassment, bullying and discrimination in Utah schools. Lambda Legal, a national organization which fights for gay rights, is concerned that the Copper Hills case, along with a few other incidents, highlights a trend of queer students being denied their legal rights following November’s election. In Missouri, Utah, Alabama, Iowa and Texas, Lambda Legal is asking local television and radio stations to air public
service announcements about the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth in school. “We’re alarmed by a noticeable increase in gay youth facing discrimination or hostility in just the last month since the election. While we’ve just been through a very contentious national election that focused a great deal on the rights of gay couples, that can’t be allowed to threaten the well established rights of gay youth to be out, safe and respected in schools,” said Michael Adams, Director of Education and Public Affairs at Lambda Legal. “The rights of gay youth are very clear, and they’re not up for public debate. We see an urgent need to get this message out in communities where gay youth have experienced problems since the election, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.” The ads are funded in part by a $400,000 settlement in a civil rights suit between a Reno, Nevada student and the Washoe County School District, which failed to protect him from harassment and discrimination. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, four Utah television stations—KTVX, KSL, KSTU and KUTV—have received the PSAs. But only KTVX has committed to running it. “It’s a nice piece,” Shar Lewis, community affairs director of the ABC affiliate said. “It’s a little controversial, but that’s not going to prevent me from running it.” Steve Poulsen, vice president of marketing at KSL-TV, said his station won’t be airing the ads. “We will not be running these because they don’t target a large percentage of our viewership.” The ads feature a variety of gay youth and focus on letting queer students know that they have rights in school, deserve support from adults, and have the right to be out, open and respected.
Restoration Church of Jesus Christ Continued from page 5
false religion. “We believe the Lord can and does form other churches as there’s a need,” he says. “We still believe that since in the Book of Mormon it says there were many prophets in the land that there can be more than one prophet for the world. The leaders of the LDS church are prophets and we have prophets too. We encourage our members to follow our prophet and the teachings the Lord has given to us because they’re unique to our people. But what the Lord tells President Hinckley is what the Lord is giving them [the LDS church] and guiding them in relation to their own ministry. We’re not against them at all. We respect them and we appreciate their ministry.” Currently, the RCJC’s ministry serves not only the Salt Lake chapter, but members from all over the world including Belgium, England and South Africa. The church uses the internet and “telephone conversations… as circumstances permit” to reach these long distance members. Additionally, the RCJC’s website also includes information on a forthcoming Internet Sunday School, which the church is currently considering implementing. Along with their worldwide membership, McIntire also says his church hopes
to reach out to young people. “We would really like to get some of the youth involved, the gay youth groups,” he says. “Because I think the people that tend to be attracted to us are those who are a little bit older and perhaps went on missions for the LDS church. They already had a solid background in Mormonism before they discovered they were gay. Now we’ve got a whole crop of young people I see out there that haven’t really gotten into their religion, so it’s a lot easier for them to throw the whole thing out. I would like to find a way to appeal to those people and give them a place where they could come and express themselves religiously without thinking they had to give up their beliefs or their orientation.” “I’ve seen a lot of people in our community and in various gay communities who when they discover they’re gay they throw out all their beliefs, especially if they have a strong religious belief,” he continues. “Looking back on it now I think that’s what I was trying to do [when I came out], but I could never shake it off. And then I found something where I don’t have to throw out everything. I just have to throw out the parts that don’t work for me. That’s where the restoration church comes in.” Located at 2900 S. State Street, Restoration Church of Jesus Christ holds services every Sunday at 1:00 pm. The church can be reached on the internet at home.netcom.com/~utahdude/ rcjc/rcjc/html and by telephone at 359-1151.
Analysis: Salt Lake City Voted No on 3 If you live between 1100 East and 1300 East and between 800 South and 900 South, your voter precinct led the way in Salt Lake City for having the highest percentage of votes against Amendment 3 on November’s general election ballot. In fact, according to precinct analysis compiled by Scott McCoy of the Don’t Amend Alliance, almost two-thirds of Salt Lake City voters said ‘no’ to the amendment, which denied marriage and
similar rights to couples other than those of the opposite sex. Statewide, Amendment 3 passed with 65.9 percent of the vote. Grand and Summit counties had majority votes against the amendment. Salt Lake County had a majority vote in favor with over 190,000 yes votes. But in Salt Lake City, 43,578 of the 69,697 voters rejected the amendment, and in 49 of the 158 precincts at least 70% of the voters voted no. —JS
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JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 7
CITY/STATE
Opinion
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SALT LAKE METRO ■ JANUARY 6, 2005
Farewell to Olene Walker Editorials from newspapers, radio and television stations across the state are all extolling the virtues of Olene Walker in her 14-month stint as governor, bidding her a fond farewell. Perhaps our expectations were a bit higher than the others, or perhaps the others weren’t part of a community that suffered huge slaps in the face from the socalled social moderate, but we disagree. Olene Walker is the one Republican that the publisher of this newspaper ever voted for, including the first ballot he cast in 1982 when she ran for her second term in the House. She personally went to his door and asked for his vote. When he asked her position on the rights of gay people, she told him she believed that all citizens should have the same rights as all others. Perhaps it was a pat answer, but he took it to heart. This year when Walker danced around the question of how she will vote on Amendment 3 on KUER’s Radio West show, saying that she will likely “make that decision when [she gets] to the voting booth,” we hoped that she would have what it takes to leave it at that. Those hopes were dashed when she came out in favor of the amendment without much explanation in October. In her tenure, Walker expressed concerns over Amendment 3 and its lack of due process by the legislature in its passage, yet failed to take advan-
tage of her veto power to enforce such process. She signed Buttars’ Marriage Recognition Policy bill. She has been mum on hate crime legislation. She has been silent on the possibility of ‘separate but equal’ domestic partner benefits in the face of Amendment 3. She refused to step in to save the “Queers Kick Ash” grant. While many leaders in the state and nation are making noises of the need to mend the rift between the left and the right, to embrace diversity of thought and to accept the differences between us, Walker has shown no leadership in this direction. Walker also proposed a regressive flat tax plan in which she kept deductions for church donations and large families, shifting much of the tax burden onto areligious people without children. We know it may not be popular to dis the “groundbreaking reign” of an affable grandmother-turned-governor, but frankly, we’re more than disappointed in her failure to live up to her promise and her potential while in office. We now turn our eyes to Governor Huntsman who has brought up the issues of embracing our differences and the possibility of certain rights between “mutual dependents” (whatever that means). Dare we hold out hope for his “compassionate conservatism” or will it ring hollow as well?
From the Editor The Movies Which Move Us by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com
My first paid job in journalism was writing movie and theatrical reviews for my college paper. At the time, my friends all mocked me and pointed out that what the world really didn’t need was yet another movie critic. Still, I took pride in my role, offering honest evaluations of the films and stage plays. I looked up to people such as Frank Rich of the New York Times and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times. There’s some truth to the idea that the world hardly needs another film critic—even more so now than when I took that assignment with the Arts & Entertainment section of the student paper. With the explosion of internet blogs, alternative media and specialized cable and satellite television, there are more people prepared to tell us whether or not to see a movie than ever before. At the same time, film is playing an ever-increasing role in our lives. As one college professor of mine pointed out, film has replaced the novel as the popular cultural form of storytelling. Even such wildly popular novels as the Harry Potter series have more people lining up at box offices than the bookstore counter. In the last decade, we’ve begun examining how films shape and define our cultural attitudes as much as culture shapes film. For example, The Celluloid Closet made us rethink a generation of queer subtext and drew our attention to the negative stereotypes that pervaded the world of film for years. At the same time, it’s through film—particularly independent film—that we’ve been able to expose people to new ideas and challenge the long-held notions of what being queer is all about. That’s why I consider myself to be lucky to be in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. With over 20 films that either include queer themes or are made by queer filmmakers, I am anxious to see how these daring motion picture projects will challenge our attitudes and assumptions once again. Of course, queer topics are not new at Sundance. The legacy of provocative gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender stories coming out of the annual event goes back to its beginnings. That’s one of the great things about the film festival culture—that it recognizes and promotes fresh ideas. I remember when I was first coming out of the closet, how important and valuable queer-themed movies were in figuring out my own identity. At the time, most queer-themed films were about empowerment and coming out stories. I know that there is a relationship between my search for role models in those movies and the activist I am today. Of course, there are many other types of stories out there today, and not every queer-themed film inspires us to activism. Some simply reflect the realities of a diverse community. Anyway, I hope you’re able to take advantage of the Sundance Film Festival, along with the other Park City offerings this month (such as Queer Lounge, Slamdance, etc.)—you may not realize it, but we’re very lucky to have this kind of opportunity. On a different note, I mentioned some writers I admired at the beginning of this article, but I would be horribly remiss if I didn’t pay tribute to the late Susan Sontag. Political rabble-roused, author, filmmaker, feminist and lesbian, Sontag passed away on December 28 from cancer. She was an amazing intellectual, an inspiration and will be long remembered. It was her writing, in a large part, which taught this gay man a new way to see the world. Ah, but Sontag would hardly thank me for this passage. In her own words: “The best emotions to write out of are anger and fear or dread. The least energizing emotion to write out of is admiration. It is very difficult to write out of because the basic feeling that goes with admiration is a passive contemplative mood.” Well. Energizing or not, my admiration remains for Sontag—a lost treasure.
Letters Metro Article Was Slanted I am a lesbian woman that testified for Keri twice during this case and attended every one of their trials. I knew Cheryl and Keri as a couple and have remained friends with Keri but not Cheryl due to her horrendous behavior in regards to their daughter, Gracie. I am appalled that you did not even bother to attempt to contact Keri or one of her witnesses, I find that to be very poor journalism. Your article was slanted towards the side of a woman deeply affiliated with several anti gay groups. Examples of the people on her side are: The American Alliance Defense Fund, Sutherland Institute and she is quite friendly with the Utah Eagle Forum (headed by Gayle Ruzicka) who showed up on her behalf at the last court case. Cheryl has been on the board of HRC, Gay and Lesbian Parents of Utah as well as several other pro-gay groups. Cheryl has been gay her entire life, she openly admitted to never even being with a man. Now suddenly, as soon as she found out her wife is cheating on her, she “turned straight” and thinks Keri is a horrible mother (even though she didn’t think that when they were together, or at least it was never an issue). Cheryl even stated in court that she would still be with Keri if Keri didn’t have an affair, which the judge quickly pointed out would be placing Gracie in harm’s way since Cheryl claims Keri is such a bad mother, she had a hard time responding to that one. Cheryl also instantly transformed herself from a woman that had butchy spiky hair, wearing black leather and playing in a band at the Paper Moon every month to wearing pink fluffy dresses
Not-So-Brilliant Minds at The Think Tank by William Todd Park liam@slmetro.com
know, that is just common sense.” It’s understandable why Utah educators are up in arms at the think tank. While they would be elated at having more manageable class sizes, the fundamental issue of academically equipping students is being conveniently sidestepped. According to Susan Neuman, former Assistant Secretary of Education for the Bush administration, limiting opportunities for kindergarten aged children would be “the absolute worst time for that to happen to a child’s learning.” The Utah education system isn’t broken, but it needs work. Schools are short-staffed and underfunded, teachers are chronically underpaid, and class size is growing. Yet we shut down schools and bemoan increases in property taxes to make up for the shortfall. Fiscally, the problem is pretty simple. Utah families are typically larger than average, putting obvious stress on the seams of existing schools; and the larger family pays less federal and state income tax. Of Utah’s $2 billion education budget, 7.1% is federally funded, so the remainder has to be made up by state taxes, 15.8% of which comes from property tax. No politician wants to be remembered for tax increases. It’s far sexier to show a bigger bottom line by cutting fat. It makes better sound bites during election season. At some point, those cuts start slicing away flesh and the organization suffers. No one wants to pay more taxes, but the expense of a poorly educated population in human costs far outweighs any modest increase in taxation. It is hard enough to battle social ignorance, but to add academic incompetence to the mix is a sure way to get us on the fast track to a technologically dependent, culturally backward society. Mero’s assertion that offering a credit to parents who home school their kindergarten-aged children will save the state money is shortsighted
Tamara Schwarting Salt Lake City Keri Jones and her attorneys refused several requests by Salt Lake Metro to be included in the article mentioned. We understand the emotions that this issue has raised and feel that we provided balanced reporting on the issue, including a guest editorial that raised many of the issues in your letter. —Editor and only addresses a symptom. Even if it did save money, it only postpones the problem to first grade classrooms and it completely ignores families who don’t fit the so-called traditional model. Home schooling is certainly an option, but only for those families where the breadwinner is earning enough money to allow the other parent to stay home full-time. In today’s economy, that is becoming increasingly rare. Mero all but admits this credit only benefits the wealthy. Having home schooled my own children for the majority of their education, I’m obviously not opposed to home schooling, but there are some definite drawbacks. For public education, the better solution is to focus on functional academics and arts that shape our world; reward proven educators and offer substantial incentives to attract the finest minds; and remove the threat of frivolous litigation from the schoolhouse. Most importantly, however, parents must actively participate in the education of their children. They must be involved in promoting the process, not abrogating their parental responsibilities to teachers. Schools are built for the express purpose of educating, for opening students’ minds to the world around them. Because the social aspect of our schools cannot be overlooked, critical thinking that equips students to think for themselves and evaluate opposing ideas is absolutely essential. Since moral and spiritual education belongs in the home, a philosophy of any kind can be rebuffed as false or upheld as true when the student is imbued with a family’s ideals instead of indoctrinated by a hamstrung education system that is forced to pussyfoot around issues. “One size fits all” works fairly well for bathrobes, but it rarely succeeds for public policy and education.
Publisher Michael Aaron Editor Jere Keys Arts Editor Eric J. Tierney Sports Editor David Nelson Proofreaders Nicholas Rupp Kenni Littlefield Contributing Brandie Balken Writers Jordan Beckstead Paul Berge Vanessa Chang Janice Eberhardt Beau Jarvis Jane A. Marquardt Laurie Mecham Rob Orton William T. Park Jim Provenzano Nicholas Rupp Mandy Q. Racer Ruby Ridge Joel Shoemaker Eric J. Tierney Darren Tucker JoSelle Vanderhooft Ben Williams Contributing Lucy Juarez Photographers William H. Munk Shauna Sanchez Joel Shoemaker Art Director Michael Aaron Designer Kris Kramer Sales Sebastian Cruz Executives Janis Gardner Distribution Steven Peterson Courtney Moser Copyright © 2005 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner, including electronic retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher. One copy of this publication is free of charge to any individual. Additional copies may be purchased for $1. Anyone taking or destroying multiple copies may be prosecuted for theft at the sole discretion of the publisher. Reward offered for information that leads to the arrest of any individual willfully stealing, destroying or trashing multiple copies. Salt Lake Metro and Utah’s Best for 2005 are trademarks of Metro Publishing, Inc. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or staff.
Salt Lake Metro is published bi-weekly on alternating Thursdays by Metro Publishing, Inc.
352 S. Denver Street, Suite 350 Salt Lake City, UT 84111 (801) 323-9500 Fax: (801) 323-9986 President: Vice President: Secretary: Treasurer:
Michael Aaron Steven Peterson Steve Whittaker Larry Tanner
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The brilliant minds at the Sutherland Institute are at it again. The ultra-conservative Utah think tank concluded that if some of w us don’t send our kids to kindergarten, the state will save money. Amazing logic, isn’t it? More amazing is that these minds are gaining influence in the Utah Legislature. Sutherland bills itself as a pro-family public policy group, but I’m positive that those in the gay community who have children would take exception to the Institute’s very narrow definition of family. Despite attempts to exploit the socially progressive legacy of its namesake, the Institute’s thinly veiled religious influence on public policy is analogous to money laundering. Sutherland’s president, Paul Mero, insists a tax credit for parents who home-school their kindergartners will work. His condescending dialogue defending his proposed credit in the Salt Lake Tribune is an insult to rational thinking parents who work hard to keep food on the table and preserve the integrity of their families. The Institute touts poverty relief as a hallmark, but Mero snubbed low income and minority families by invoking “evidence” that points to early education only being effective for “very poor minority children; it is educationally insignificant for every other child.” Ironically, after rephrasing his assertion to add that the public school environment was better than low income homes, he reinforced his arrogance by adding, “But you
and feathering her hair and attending church. Cheryl is obviously and rightfully hurt that her wife cheated on her, but she is taking that anger way too far. As most of us can agree, the child should not be punished and should be allowed to see both mothers—regardless of who gave birth to her. Her statements about “protecting the child” from “this woman” are insinuating that Keri is in some way a threat to this child. That is not only preposterous but also has been proven by a court of law to be false! After many days of testifying, Keri was PROVEN to be a fit and beneficial mother to Gracie and that Gracie would only benefit from being in Keri’s life. “All the lesbians” that your article stated Cheryl had testifying for her are actually only 4. But the ironic thing is that one of the four lesbians (wife of the other woman Keri had the “email affair” with) took back her testimony and wrote a notarized letter stating that she lied in her testimony because she was hurt, and on top of it she was coached by Cheryl’s lawyer, Frank Mylar. She stated in her letter that Keri was a wonderful mother and that Gracie should have Keri in her life. Another one of the lesbians is the woman quoted in your article, she didn’t even know Keri before the breakup, they saw each other at a few lesbian functions, but didn’t even speak and it wasn’t with Gracie either. The other two lesbians are a couple and one of them only saw Keri on four different occasions, so her opinion is pretty useless too. These women did not even stay for the entire hearings, they only came for the time they needed to testify and left, even though they were allowed to stay after they testified, they didn’t. After Cheryl’s witnesses testified, a lesbian
couple with two children, Cheryl stated that heterosexuals make better parents, and that she doesn’t want her daughter around that lifestyle. This is all on record for public access if anyone doubts this, they can find out for themselves. Cheryl may have said to you that it is not a “gay” issue, but as soon as she turns around and is interviewed by Salt Lake Tribune, she says it is a “gay” issue, and that she doesn’t want her daughter exposed to that type of lifestyle. Her story has changed multiple times from the beginning and continues to change depending on who she is talking to. In fact her very first argument was that Keri was just a roommate, but then the wedding pictures came out so she changed her story... Whatever happened to prosecuting someone for perjury? She has been caught lying so many times it is ridiculous—I challenge everyone to find a lie in Keri or her witnesses testimony. Keri is a great mom and has seen Gracie several times now since she won. Gracie is doing great during visitations, she is happy and plays with Keri, and just loves Keri to death. Keri has sent me a ton of pictures and in all of them Gracie is smiling, playing, and hugging Keri. There is no doubt in my mind that Gracie is where she should be now. After all the disappointment our community has had over the last few months it is so beautiful to see that on a micro level, we won.
Lambda Lore The Gay Hepatitis-B Vaccine Experiment by Ben Williams ben@slmetro.com
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A hepatitis-B vaccine experiment involving thousands of healthy young gay men occurred in major metropolitan areas in the United States from 1978 to 1980. The gay hepatitis-B vaccine experiment was the project of Dr. Wolf Szmuness, who became an authority on hepatitis after he defected to America from Poland. Within a few years he was appointed Professor of Public Health at Columbia University and, in 1978, Dr. Szmuness was awarded millions of dollars to undertake the “most important mission of his life: the hepatitis-B vaccine experiment.” When these hepatitis B experiments began, gay men were arguably the most hated minority in America, more despised than blacks and Jews. Numerous straight conservative Americans, under the leadership of Anita Bryant, were attempting to roll back gains made by the gay civil rights movement. The religious right, infuriated with gay demands for social reform, even claimed that the Bible condemned homosexuals to death. For most of the 20th century, homosexuality had been diagnosed as a mental illness. Under pressure from gay activists, the American Psychiatric Association removed this stigma in 1974. Soon afterwards, however, the physical health of homosexual men came to the attention of the medical authorities. According to public health statistics provided by epidemiologists
across the nation, the gay community was infested with venereal diseases. The most shocking rates of infection according to the government were for hepatitis B. Nazi doctors were the first to prove that hepatitis was infectious. In their medical experiments, physicians forced concentration camp prisoners to eat material scraped out of the stomachs of people who had turned yellow from liver disease. When the prisoners subsequently sickened with yellow jaundice, the Nazi doctors determined that hepatitis was most likely caused by an infectious agent, and was probably a virus. Later, when hepatitis B was also proven to be a sexually transmitted disease, it was considered a serious health threat. The groundwork for the gay hepatitis experiment began in 1973 when the Gay Men's Health Project in Manhattan provided blood samples for hepatitis B testing at the New York City Blood Center. The results were that one out of every two gay blood samples was positive for hepatitis B. By contrast, only 5% of the blood samples from straights were positive. Half the gay population was infected with the hepatitis B virus, according to New York health clinics. Epidemiologists then determined that homosexual men were a potential public health menace not only to themselves, but to the larger public as well. In the 1970s, the burgeoning gay communities wanted to show that they were good citizens, deserving all the right and privileges of American citizenship. Gays volunteered for blood drives, and were willing to help test this new experimental vaccine, which offered the hope of eradicating hepatitis B. Even in Salt Lake City, gay blood drives were regularly promoted as a civic duty. After much debate, Dr. Szmuness decided that young promiscuous gay men
would be the best group to test the vaccine. He gained the confidence of gay professionals by adding homosexual physicians and activists to his staff. In November 1978, a bloodmobile began canvassing Greenwich Village, in NYC, looking for homosexual volunteers. They flocked to him. Dr. Szmuness’ experiment continued until October 1979. Over ten thousand men signed up and donated blood samples for his upcoming experiment with one thousand men from Manhattan being injected with the vaccine, some with a suspected contaminated batch. The Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, were all involved in the study, as well as big pharmaceutical companies such as Merck, Sharp & Dohme Inc., and Abbott Laboratories. Merck Laboratories was given the governmental contract to primarily manufacture the experimental Hepatitis-B vaccine. During the course of experiment, Dr. Szmuness voiced his concern about possible vaccine contamination. He even suspected that one vaccine batch made by the National Institutes of Health was contaminated. In January 1979, only two months after Dr. Wolf Szmuness began his hepatitis experiment, purple skin lesions began to appear on the bodies of healthy young white gay men in NYC. Doctors were not sure exactly what was wrong with these men. During the next thirty months, Manhattan physicians encountered dozens of cases of
a new disease characterized by immunodeficiency, Kaposi's sarcoma, and a rapidly fatal lung disease, known as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. All the men were young and gay and promiscuous. Almost all were white. All died horribly. Dr. Szmuness, unconcerned or unaware of the purple lesions on a small percentage of his volunteers, was thrilled with the tremendous success of his hepatitis B experiment. By the beginning of the 1980s, Dr. Szmuness was awarded millions of dollars for his research, and his hugely successful hepatitis B vaccine was hailed as having tremendous implications. The medical community now had a vaccine for hepatitis B. In March 1980, the Center of Disease Control supervised additional gay hepatitis B experiments in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, St. Louis and Chicago. By the fall of 1980 the first West Coast case of purple lesions appeared in San Francisco. Six months later, in June 1981, the gay epidemic (HIV) became "official." One year after this disease was officially recognized as Gay Related Immunodeficiency Disease, Dr. Wolf Szmuness suddenly died of lung cancer in June of 1982. At the time of his death, 30% of the men in the Dr. Szmuness experiment were HIV positive. This rate of 30% far exceeded the rate for any African population, where later Dr. Robert Gallo and others claimed the HIV disease has been around "for decades." Ben Williams is the founder and president of the Utah Stonewall Historical Society.
Ruby Ridge Living Run Ruby, Run! by Ruby Ridge ruby@slmetro.com
Happy New Year Darlings! After the crap storm that was election year 2004, it’s finally a brand new year full of possibilities and unexplored potential. Can’t you just smell the optimism in the air? Or is that just my thighs chaffing? I can never tell! Anyway, pumpkins, life is good and in the spirit of New Year I have prioritized a few simple but life altering resolutions that I feel compelled to share with you all. First and foremost, 2005 is the year I will stop stalking Randy Harmon. Alright I admit that’s not really a New Year’s resolution as much as complying with a court order, but starting Jan. 1, my chubby-cheeked little love muffin is off limits. That means no more trolling the supermarket poking the pork roasts, or suggestively fondling the zucchinis, cucumbers, and bananas in the produce section, on the off chance that my Randy might just walk by. No more late night sessions rolling around naked on stacks of coupons screaming “Paper or plastic? … Paper or plastic?” No more sniffing polyethylene shopping bags ripe with the heady musky smell of discounted canned goods and Stove Top stuffing that in my mind may have been expertly and efficiently bagged by Randy’s chubby, yet surprisingly agile fingers. Those firm fingers that brush so slowly across my quivering
skin, caressing and enveloping my body like shrink wrap over imitation Krab flakes … oops, sorry, I totally lost my bearings for a moment. Now where was I? Oh, I remember, darlings. I simply cannot hold out for Mr. Harmon forever. I am a girl with needs, who needs to get on with her life. With Randy emotionally and physically unavailable to me, I am left all alone holding my basket at self check out, as it were. And trust me … that’s an express line with no waiting! Somebody call Clean Up on Aisle 5! To rechannel my displaced sexual and emotional energy, petals, I have decided to embark on a journey of self improvement. I am going to train for the Salt Lake City Marathon being held this spring. Not the whole 26-mile parade of anorexia, OCD, and body dysmorphia, I don’t feel the need to overcompensate that much, but maybe the 5K. If not the 5K, then at least the bus tour that familiarizes the runners with the course. That sounds doable in four months and I wouldn’t have to do a lot of extra training or go shopping for layered outfits to hide my fat ass. So here is my New Year’s challenge to you dearest Metro readers. I will do it, if you do it. The 5 kilometer race that is. If anyone else is going to be running in the 5K contact me at ruby@slmetro.com so we can train or at least coordinate outfits. At my age, I need peer pressure and peer support to get me through this type of strenuous training and physical exertion, and I hear Harmon’s has Gatorade on special! Ruby Ridge is one of the more opinionated members of the Utah Cyber Sluts, a group of camp drag performers who raise funds and support local charities. Her opinions are her own and fluctuate wildly due to sugar withdrawals and New Years dieting. She would seriously kill for a cannoli.
AberRant The Whole Famn Damily by Laurie Mecham laurie@slmetro.com
Dear Mom, Please quit freaking me out. You sent me this email, and later on that day I was robbed for my wallet. Please don’t send me anything concerning what to do under the following circumstances: -If your house gets burned down. -If you get fired for being angry about something non-work-related. -If your pizza arrives COLD. -If you lose your penis. I’ve really taken up enough column space, although I’ve only covered three siblings and one parent. I will talk about my children more in the future, and at great length, because I can. For now, you can email me if you have any particular thing to which you would like me to respond. But please, don’t send me any inspirational stories, urban legends, or suggestions on what to do if you lose your penis. At least, not unless they’re really funny. Laurie Mecham has never lost her penis.
JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 11
The Utah legislature will be in session soon. Our school teachers are still paid less than parking-lot attendants, low-income Utahns have lost dental and vision benefits and there’s a new owner for Envirocare who may be eyeballing a loophole in Utah’s acceptable level of nuclear waste that our boys on the hill have left open. Big issues, which means that our legislators will spend most of their time posturing and pondering important questions such as, “Should we lower our educational performance even more by eliminating kindergarten?” and “Who can think of a way to make divorce suck even more for children?” There will, as always, be a theme about families. Well, they don’t know my family. I was walking to lunch with some coworkers, taking the indoor route to the cafeteria. I was doing my usual behaviors—using foul language, resisting the impulse to mess with objects along the way (an automatic dooropener, a filing cabinet parked in a hallway). I was also not resisting the impulse to mess with things (changing a word on a photocopied announcement, shooting rubber bands, imitating people we passed). My friend shook his head and said, “Damn, how weird would it be to have you for a Mom?” Hey, don’t be looking at me for weirdness. I come from a complete family of freakazoids. My father was a dentist in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Everyone in town knew him as “Doc,” and he was famous for being funny, especially at very awkward times, like when he had a fist and a drill in your mouth. In retrospect, I wonder if he would have found any humor in the irony that I turned out to be lesbian, but he’s the one who went through hundreds of thousands of dental dams? In my large family of eight siblings, we children competed in different ways for attention and feeling important. Areas of competition included Righteousness (none of us did very well on that one), Intelligence (the youngest child was the first kid to complete an undergraduate degree, so that’s how well that went), and Rebellion (sluffing, drinking, drug use, bra-lessness, dating “hoods,” out of wedlock pregnancies…and me!). The enduring, primary and most innate trait, however, was Humor. You thought I was going to say “depression,” but that only came in second. Every one of my sibs is funny in some way. We cover a broad range of styles. The youngest and most religiously active sister has distinguished herself in several wards through her use of profanity in Relief Society and in the neighborhood in general. In his typical, non-P.C. way, her husband once joked to the congregation that she had Tourette’s Syndrome, and they believed him. I have one brother, the seventh child, the long-awaited Son, Missionary and Hunting Companion. Oops. Turns out he has distinguished himself admirably in his own
way with his razor sharp wit. I forwarded an email we got at work titled “Please Use Difficult Passwords,” because I thought the subject line was so, duh, funny. The instructions went on to suggest using letters, numbers, and special characters. He replied, “I think you should go with: F#$@ING_SH#$$Y_SECU%#TY. Should meet all the criteria.” One of my sisters lost her sense of humor in her divorce and has been spamming us ever since with gag-me “inspirational” and “humorous” emails. She forwarded the Washington Post Style Invitational winners in the contest where you alter a word by a single letter and provide a new definition, i.e. “Ignoranus: A person who’s both stupid and an asshole.” My sister Pat replied, “While these are clever...MY game has a twist, you put an entire word in, not just a letter: “AFUCKINGNOYING” - Someone who buries you in cute / sweet email shit. “OBFUCKINGNOXIOUS” - Same person. So having me for a mother may not be as unique as my friend thought. Still, my children are particularly interesting, clever and endlessly entertaining. Jack burned some great CDs for me for Christmas. He titled one of them, “Somber Merry Tunes: A Compilation, for Christ’s Sake!” Emily gave me a Jesus car air-freshener in “Purification” scent. Here is a family snapshot: Jack runs out the door to grab a ride to high school. I notice he’s left something by the door, so I try to catch him. He’s standing next to the car with his Mohawk haircut and the “Mighty Cobras” satin Army jacket his dad gave him, and I yell out, “Sweetie! Do you need the bongos and the lighter fluid today?” Emily has this incredible combination of sophistication and crass frankness, all poetry and stylishness and bathroom humor. She emailed me from Hawaii, “…in paradise, very belle. big island has all save 2 of the 14 biomes, varied and black-soiled and gorgeous with funny squatting god-statues with faces that say they need to take a shit and boy are they FURIOUS!” When Jack lived in Boston, I forwarded a message about what to do if your wallet is stolen. Here was his reply:
20 QUEER FILMS AT SUNDANCE
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ith literally hundreds of films to see in Park City, we thought you might be interested to know where and when the films with queer themes or by queer filmmakers would be playing. We’ve certainly missed films that include gay characters, queer subtext and artistic ideas that will appeal to all, so don’t be afraid to explore the many other films at Sundance this year, but in case you want to have the gayest possible time, here are the screenings you don’t want to miss. Utah residents can buy tickets two days prior to others on January 8 and 9 at Trolley Square or Park City’s Gateway Center. Check sundance.org for information.
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CON QUE LA LAVARE
SHORTS
A poetic snapshot of the lives of three teenagers—the past, the present and the future played out under the sunniest of skies. Director: Laurence Coriat Cast: Jean Pierre Sanchez, Sarah Labahrt, Frank Fasano Screening Times: Included with feature 5th World Tuesday, Jan 25, 5:30pm, Library Center Theatre Wednesday, Jan 26, 11:30pm, Prospector Square Theatre Thursday, Jan 27, 5:30pm, Prospector Square Theatre Friday, Jan 28, 6:00pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas IV, SLC
y
A tribute to the cult homosexual artists of the 20th century through a character who lives and works in the red-light district of a Spanish city. Director: María Trénor Screening Times: Included with feature Unconscious. Friday, Jan 21, 6:00pm, Egyptian Theatre, Park City Saturday, Jan 22, 10:00pm, Holiday Village Cinema IV Sunday, Jan 23, 9:00am, Egyptian Theatre, Park City Monday, Jan 24, 9:30pm, Tower Theatre, SLC Wednesday, Jan 26, 9:30pm, Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden
THE DYING GAUL BEING BAD
SHORTS
DRAMATIC COMPETITION
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A
The story is set inside the rarefied world of the Hollywood elite. A fledgling screenwriter is offered a million dollars for a script—the personal story of his lover who died of AIDS. There is only one catch to securing the deal and taking that first step to success: he must change the film’s male character into a woman. Director & Writer: Craig Lucas Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Patricia Clarkson, Ebon MossBachrach, Ryan Miller, Campbell Scott, Robin Bartlett Screening Times: Saturday, Jan 22 , 5:30pm , Racquet Club Monday, Jan 24 , 9:15am , Eccles Theatre Tuesday, Jan 25 , 11:30am , Racquet Club Thursday, Jan 27 , 2:30pm , Racquet Club Friday, Jan 28 , 6:00pm , Trolley Square Cinemas A, SLC
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BILLY’S DAD IS A FUDGE-PACKER
SHORTS
A spoof of the 1950s high school educational film of the same name. Billy’s dad, played by Robert Gant from Queer as Folk, helps guide young Billy toward the “right path.” Director: Jamie Donahue Cast: Robert Gant, Cady Huffman, Alex Borstein Screening Times: Included in Shorts Program VI Friday, Jan 21, 11:30am, Library Center Theatre Saturday, Jan 22, 3:00pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas IV, SLC Sunday, Jan 23, 12:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III Thursday, Jan 27, 9:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III Friday, Jan 28, 8:30pm, Prospector Square Theatre Saturday, Jan 29, 12:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III Saturday, Jan 29, 11:00pm, Holiday Village Cinema II
THE EDUCATION OF SHELBY KNOX DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
The Lubbock, Texas, high school Shelby Knox attends maintains a strict Absti-
nence Until Married sex education policy, even though the county’s teen pregnancy and STD rates top the chart. We meet the precocious Shelby in her sophomore year. She is instantly recognizable as a good girl with a supportive family, someone who has a natural propensity for doing the right thing and asking hard questions. She sees it as the duty of her city-sponsored youth organization to reform the school’s sex-ed policies. As the town polarizes, Shelby is labeled “the Sex Ed Girl” by local media, but she is unflappable, and for the next three years, we follow her along a path of personal awareness and self-taught activism. Her way’s not easy because two of her role models are her father, a self-proclaimed conservative Republican, and a youth minister of True Love Waits, a national movement to “save” young people for their wedding night. Directors: Marion Lipschutz, Rose Rosenblatt (USA) Screening Times: Friday, Jan 21, 6:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III Saturday, Jan 22, 11:00pm, Holiday Village Cinema II Monday, Jan 24, 6:00pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas IV, SLC Wednesday, Jan 26, 2:30pm, Prospector Square Theatre Friday, Jan 28, 11:30pm, Holiday Village Cinema II
FORTY SHADES OF BLUE
Director & Writer: Don Roos Cast: Tom Arnold, Jessie Bradford, Bobby Cannavale, Sarah Clarke, Steve Coogan, Laura Dern, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Ritter, David Sutcliffe Screening Times: Thursday, Jan 20, 6:30pm, Eccles Theatre Thursday, Jan 20, 9:45pm, Eccles Theatre Friday, Jan 21, 9:15am, Eccles Theatre Friday, Jan 21, 7:00pm, Screening Room, Sundance Village Friday, Jan 21, 10:00pm, Screening Room, Sundance Village Saturday, Jan 22, 3:00pm, Trolley Square Cinemas A, SLC Saturday, Jan 22, 6:00pm, Trolley Square Cinemas A, SLC Saturday, Jan 22, 9:00pm, Trolley Square Cinemas A, SLC Sunday, Jan 23, 6:30pm, Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden Saturday, Jan 29, 6:00pm, Eccles Theatre
DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Forty Shades of Blue is the story of Laura, a Russian woman living in Memphis with Alan, a legendary music producer twice her age. Though she looks the part, Laura is no typical trophy wife. Vigilantly guarded, she sublimates her own desires out of a stoic sense of duty and a reluctance to impose on Alan’s generosity. When Alan’s estranged adult son Michael comes for a visit, an intuitive bond develops between them that destabilizes her tightly ordered world. Michael becomes a mirror that allows her to see herself and new possibilities.
PREMIERS
Happy Endings is a wildly original and supremely self-conscious comedy by a
INSIDE DEEP THROAT
PREMIERS
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato are consummate documentary filmmakers who continually exhibit the bravery and courage to take on taboo subjects. This time their sights are set on the cultural impact of the 1972 adult film Deep Throat. Made for less than $25,000, it is considered the most profitable film of all time. When it was released in midtown Manhattan’s adult theatres, it became a flash point for an unprecedented social and political firestorm. Bailey and Barbato take us through a fascinating history spanning nearly 30 years, traversing the sexual revolution and the war on pornography and charting the chasm between the modest intentions of the filmmakers who made Deep Throat and the unforeseen impact and legacy their film left on society. Directors: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato Screening Times: Friday, Jan 21, 9:30pm, Eccles Theatre Saturday, Jan 22, 11:30am, Library Center Theatre Saturday, Jan 22, 9:30pm, Tower Theatre, SLC
JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 13
Director: Ira Sachs Writers: Michael Rohatyn, Ira Sachs Cast: Rip Torn, Dina Korzuh, Darren Burrows, Paprika Steen, Red West, Jenny O’Hara Screening Times: Friday, Jan 21, 8:30pm, Racquet Club Sunday, Jan 23, 12:00pm, Eccles Theatre Sunday, Jan 23, 10:30pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas VI, SLC Monday, Jan 24, 4:00pm, Screening Room, Sundance Village Tuesday, Jan 25, 9:30pm, Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden Thursday, Jan 27, 8:30am, Library Center Theatre Friday, Jan 28, 11:30am, Racquet Club
HAPPY ENDING
filmmaker, Don Roos, who clearly embraces the complexity and ambivalence of modern life. If you thought you knew all about love, relationships, and contemporary American families, guess again. With its exorbitant wit and nonstop surprises, Happy Endings combines original storytelling with original stories that fundamentally question our presumptions about the way real America lives. The multiple narrative lines include a filmmaker blackmailing a woman about a son she long ago gave up for adoption; a gay man whose partner was, or perhaps wasn’t, the sperm donor for two of their best friends, a lesbian couple; and a 30something girl who shacks up with a young man trying to convince his father he’s straight and then moves on to the dad.
20 QUEER FILMS AT SUNDANCE suicide landmark in the world. Director & Cast: Jenni Olson Cast: Harriel “Harry” Dodge, Lawrence Ferlinghetti (voices) Screening Times: Friday, Jan 21, 11:30am, Holiday Village Cinema II Friday, Jan 21, 6:45pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas V, SLC Saturday, Jan 22, 2:30pm, Holiday Village Cinema II Sunday, Jan 23, 3:45pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas V, SLC Thursday, Jan 27, 6:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III Saturday, Jan 29, 6:45pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas V, SLC
THE JACKET
PREMIERS
Jack Starks (Adrien Brody) seems to have a date with destiny as he miraculously escapes death on the Gulf War battlefield and returns to his native Vermont. Unfortunately, Starks’s war scar is amnesia, a condition that prevents him from defending himself when he’s accused of murder. He lands in an asylum, where Dr. Becker (Kris Kristofferson) is developing an experimental treatment to alter criminal behavior involving a drug cocktail and straightjacketed visits to a body drawer in the basement morgue. The treatment transports Starks through time, where he finds love with Jackie (Keira Knightley). He also foresees his death and, as he traverses back and forth through time, he wonders what can be done to unlock his and others’ doomed destinies. Director: John Maybury Cast: Massy Tadjedin Cast: Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kelly Lynch, Daniel Craig, Brad Renfro Screening Times: Sunday, Jan 23, 9:30pm, Eccles Theatre Monday, Jan 24, 2:30pm, Library Center Theatre Saturday, Jan 29, 7:30pm, Trolley Square Cinemas C, SLC Saturday, Jan 29, 10:30pm, Trolley Square Cinemas C, SLC
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SALT LAKE METRO ■ JANUARY 6, 2005
THE JOY OF LIFE
FRONTIER
Jenni Olson’s sensual and contemplative first feature is a sublime visual poem of San Francisco that is as emotionally engaging as it is scandalously informative. Through an experimental mix of documentary and narrative storytelling, Olson seductively invites the viewer to roam spaciously through a stunning series of urban landscapes while imparting a multilayered meditation and history of the fog-shrouded city. The story begins quietly with a tale of urban development and is taken over by the verbal diary of a butch dyke murmuring intimately about her secret lustings, insecurities, macho bravado, and loneliness. Renowned poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti sets the city as an illustrious and anchorless place on the Pacific before the diary narrative attempts to salve the pain of a dear friend’s death by obsessively mapping out the complicit role the city has played in establishing the Golden Gate Bridge as the number-one
LACKAWANNA BLUES
CENTERPIECE
In segregation-era Lackawanna, New York, Rachel “Nanny” Crosby is a larger-than-life human miracle whose big and generous boarding home is a place where drifters and dreamers, eccentrics and excessives can always find a hot meal and a new start. Into this world comes Junior, a little boy Nanny takes in and raises as her own. Nanny’s love and the stories from her boarders’ damaged and haunted pasts irrevocably change the young boy’s life. Wolfe has crafted a simply magical film filled with so much music, dance, and sexual energy that it explodes like a musical. Lackawanna Blues is at once a coming-of-age story, a portrait of a golden age gone by, and an illumination of the fruits born from love and charity. Director: George C. Wolfe Writer: Ruben Santiago-Hudson w Cast: Sepatha Merkerson, Marcus Franklin, Carmen Edjogo, Mos Def, Terrence Howard, Macy Gray, Jimmy Smits, Louis Gossett, Jr., Jeffrey Wright, Delroy Lindo, Liev Schrieber, Rosie Perez, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Ernie Hudson, Charlayne Woodard Screening Times: Wednesday, Jan 26, 6:00pm, Eccles Theatre Thursday, Jan 27, 11:30am, Library Center Theatre Thursday, Jan 27, 7:00pm, Screening Room, Sundance Village Thursday, Jan 27, 10:00pm, Screening Room, Sundance Village Friday, Jan 28, 7:30pm, Trolley Square Cinemas C, SLC Friday, Jan 28, 10:30pm, Trolley Square Cinemas C, SLC Saturday, Jan 29, 9:30pm, Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden
LOGGERHEADS
DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Inspired by a true story, Loggerheads skillfully interweaves three stories—each in a different year on Mother’s Day weekend in North Carolina. Grace has returned to her hometown to stay with her mother and search for the child she secretly gave up for
adoption when she was a teenager. Mark makes a pilgrimage to a small coastal town to save the endangered loggerhead turtles that nest there. When he meets George, a local motel owner, he must decide whether to move on or risk settling down. When Elizabeth’s safe, sheltered neighborhood starts to change around her, she must decide whether to stand by her minister husband’s beliefs or take a stand on her own. Director & Cast: Tim Kirkman Cast: Bonnie Hunt, Kip Pardue, Tess Harper, Chris Sarandon, Michael Learned, Michael Kelly, Robin Weigert Screening Times: Friday, Jan 21, 11:30am, Racquet Club Saturday, Jan 22, 12:00pm, Eccles Theatre Saturday, Jan 22, 7:30pm, Trolley Square Cinemas C, SLC Saturday, Jan 22, 10:30pm, Trolley Square Cinemas C, SLC Sunday, Jan 23, 9:30pm, Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden Tuesday, Jan 25, 9:30pm, Tower Theatre, SLC Wednesday, Jan 26, 8:30pm, Racquet Club Friday, Jan 28, 11:30pm, Library Center Theatre
MYSTERIOUS SKIN
PREMIERS
The wrenching childhood mystery of two individually desperate teens—one who believes he was abducted by aliens, the other a working hustler—who become reconnected by sexual abuses they shared as boys, Mysterious Skin draws us in even as it disturbs us. In the end, the film’s greatest accomplishment may be the creation of a fragile echo of resonance, expanding our souls and connecting us all in the search for sensual peace and worldly love with who we truly are. Director & Cast: Gregg Araki Cast: Brady Corbet, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jeff Licon, Bill Sage, Mary Lynn Rajskup, Elisabeth Shue, Lisa Long, Chris Mulkey Screening Times: Friday, Jan 28 , 9:30pm , Eccles Theatre Saturday, Jan 29 , 11:30am , Library Center Theatre Saturday, Jan 29 , 9:30pm , Tower Theatre, SLC
Screening Times: Included in Shorts Program V Friday, Jan 21, 8:30am, Prospector Square Theatre Friday, Jan 21, 7:00pm, Holiday Village Cinema IV Saturday, Jan 22, 3:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III Sunday, Jan 23, 9:45pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas V, SLC Tuesday, Jan 25, 11:30pm, Holiday Village Cinema III Thursday, Jan 27, 12:00pm, Egyptian Theatre, Park City Saturday, Jan 29, 9:15am, Eccles Theatre Saturday, Jan 29, 10:30pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas VI, SLC
REEFER MADNESS
Director: Andy Fickman Writers: Kevin Murphy, Dan Studney Cast: Alan Cumming, Steven Weber, Neve Campbell, Robert Torti, John Kassir, Anna Gasteyer, Christian Campbell, Kristen Bell, Amy Spanger Screening Times: Thursday, Jan 27, 6:00pm, Eccles Theatre Friday, Jan 28, 5:30pm, Library Center Theatre Saturday, Jan 29, 11:59pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas IV, SLC
SHORTS
Reina is a young urban Xicana searching for ways to heal following the cold deceptions of the heart and stolen dreams. Director: Aurora Guerrero Cast: Karla Legaspy, Rocio De Carlos, Lori Gonzalez, Ana Chaidez
AMERICAN SPECTRUM
Rize is an insider look by out photographer-turned-director David LaChapelle at a new form of artistic expression emanating from the streets of South Central Los Angeles. Referred to as “krumping,” the movements include lightning-quick syncopated body gyrations (fast enough to warrant a disclaimer that the film was not sped up). This captivating film centers around a young man who goes by the moniker Tommy the Clown. Beginning as an entertainer
Randy Barbato, co-directror of Inside Deep Throat & Ellen Huang, founder and executive director of Queer Lounge at a kickoff party in Los Angeles, Calif.
by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com
Although the Park City film festivals have always attracted a high number of queer people, last year saw the birth of the first official festival home for both visitors and locals alike at Sundance or the other festivals taking place in January. The brainchild of Ellen Huang, a former film producer who has worked with such Hollywood names as Han Zimmer and Helen Hunt, the Queer Lounge quickly became one of the most popular and talkedabout destinations of the 2004 festivals. “I used to be a feature film executive, which took me to a lot of festivals and I always saw a lot of gay and lesbian people at them,” said Huang. Huang says that the inspiration for Queer Lounge came from Cannes. Cannes has an area known as the International Pavilion where people can gather in tents dedicated to their home countries. Huang wondered what it would be like if there was an area dedicated to queer people. “And from my experience, I knew there was a huge number of gay people in the industry, especially coming to Sundance,” noted Huang. Huang’s vision wasn’t an easy one to accomplish, however. She borrowed money from her family and dug into her saving to the first Queer Lounge last year. Along with a team of volunteers and a vision, the 501(c)3 project took off—although Huang admits that it’s still a struggle to find the sponsorship and funding to keep it going. This year she has received a grant from the Bastian Foundation and has many sponsors helping to promote and support the lounge. Huang describes the Queer Lounge as “a hub for all things gay. We have hospitality services, a place for people to check email and get on the internet, a place where they can do business or meet friends.” Additionally, the Queer Lounge hosts panel discussions, draws attention to queer-themed films and presents exciting events of its own. “This year, we’re starting a music
series,” comments Huang. “We’re sponsoring a performance by Cake, who is a national mainstream band. They’re not gay, but they’re very politically inclined and responded well to our request. We’re also co-sponsoring an appearance by Scissor Sisters, which has three gay band members.” Huang also points to the Opening Party and the Homo Away From Home party as two highlights of the Queer Lounge calendar. The latter is actually a revival of the first gay event held at Sundance ten years ago. Huang says that there are an estimated 40 films with queer content showing at the festivals in 2005. Additionally, there are many films that don’t necessarily deal with queer themes, but are directed or written by gay and lesbian people. When asked if there were any particular films she thinks might be noteworthy this year, she suggested that gay attendees keep an eye out for The Education of Shelby Knox (documentary competition) and Happy Endings (premiers). As the Queer Lounge gears up for its sophomore year, Huang is encouraged by last year’s success and has high hopes for the future. “Queer people were overjoyed [in 2004] to find a home away from home which really reflected the spirit of the festival,” said Huang. “I’d like to take the Queer Lounge to Toronto and Cannes someday, then we’d be at all the major festivals.” But turning the start-up non-profit into a year-round project will take time and hard work. In the mean time, Huang and her team of Los Angeles- and Utah-based volunteers (the Utah team is headed up by Metro columnist Laurie Mecham and her daughter Emily) are determined to throw a great big gay party in the state of Utah. “I think it’s really important politically after the state went so red, to show that there are gay people here and we’re not going away,” comments Huang. For the most up-to-date information on Queer Lounge—including upcoming activities and parties—visit their website at queerlounge.org
JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 15
PURA LENGUA
PREMIERS
Good heavens! The reefer is driving the good citizens of one small town totally out of their minds. Thank goodness a federal agent shows up at the local high school to show naïve parents the horrific, horrendous fate that awaits youngsters who fall victim to the unspeakable scourge of (gasp) marijuana. The result is a shocking cautionary tale about two swell kids who fall crazy in love in a town just like your own. Jimmy just wants to learn to dance to impress sweet Mary Lane, the apple of his eye. Little does he know that the slick dancer at the soda shop hasn’t invited him over to learn to fox-trot. Will Jimmy lose his mind and his girl? Will a show-stopping musical number starring Jesus change the poor boy’s miserable fate? Only those who watch this film will find out for sure.
RIZE
QUEER LOUNGE: WHERE IT’S AT!
“The crowd cheered, giggled and roared approval for the all-male ballet parodists...
Long live the Trocks.”
—Seattle Times
20 QUEER FILMS AT SUNDANCE at children’s birthday parties, he went on to open an academy devoted to clowning and krumping. Seen as a role model in the community, Tommy has numerous protégés who have stayed out of trouble as a result of their involvement in dance. Director: David LaChapelle Screening Times: Friday, Jan 21, 5:30pm, Library Center Theatre Saturday, Jan 22, 11:59pm, Egyptian Theatre, Park City Sunday, Jan 23, 5:30pm, Prospector Square Theatre Monday, Jan 24, 9:00pm, Broadway Centre Cinemas IV, SLC
STRANGERS WITH CANDY: THE MOVIE MIDNIGHT
SAVING FACE
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo February 1 Kingsbury Hall
AMERICAN SPECTRUM
Wil and her Ma come from a traditional Chinese family in Flushing, Queens. At first glance, Wil is the picture of the perfect traditional Chinese daughter—a successful surgeon who is dutiful to her widowed mother. The only thing is that Wil dresses a little, well, not right. In fact, at the weekly Chinese singles dance, Wil seems not to be interested in men at all. It turns out that she is secretly struggling to land her first lesbian date with Vivian, a gorgeous ballet dancer. But just when things are looking up, the 48-year old Ma lands on her doorstep announcing that she is pregnant and moving in. Ma has a secret of her own, refusing to name the father for fear of disgracing herself in the eyes of her traditional community.
When the cult television hit Strangers with Candy was taken off the air, a cry of sadness was heard throughout the land; it brought grown men to their knees and made newborn babies explode. Well, let the healing begin! The cast and writers from the original series are reunited for this prequel, which takes us back to when our hero Jerri Blank (Amy Sedaris) emerges from her long prison stay. A 46-year-old ex-junkie, she returns to high school in a bid to start her life over, and hopefully snap her father out of his 32-year coma. Jerri realizes that high school isn’t so different from prison, and her hyperactive libido sends her chasing after anything with a pulse. Director: Paul Dinello Writers: Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert Cast: Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Sara Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ian Holm, Allison Janney, Dan Hedeya, Kristen Johnston, Chris Pratt, Justin Theroux, Deborah Rush, Sarah Thyre Screening Times: Monday, Jan 24, 11:30pm, Library Center Theatre Thursday, Jan 27, 2:30pm, Holiday Village Cinema II Saturday, Jan 29, 12:00pm, Trolley Square Cinemas A, SLC Saturday, Jan 29, 11:30pm, Library Center Theatre Sunday, Jan 30, 1:30pm, Holiday Village Cinema II
Director & Cast: Alice Wu Cast: Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen, Lynn Chen, Jin Wang, Shen Gung Lan, Jessica Hecht Screening Times: Friday, Jan 21, 4:00pm, Screening Room, Sundance Village Saturday, Jan 22, 5:30pm, Library Center Theatre Sunday, Jan 23, 8:30am, Prospector Square Theatre Sunday, Jan 23, 9:30pm, Tower Theatre, SLC Monday, Jan 24, 5:30pm, Prospector Square Theatre
CON DIVA (WITH DIVA)
SHORTS
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SALT LAKE METRO ■ JANUARY 6, 2005
A gay Muslim man reaches Barcelona where he will struggle to be himself in the poetry of the night and the reality of daylight. The film has already won Barcelona’s independent film festival, L’ Alternative and the Kodak prize for best cinematography.
SMALL TOWN SECRETS
Tickets by calling
581-7100 or 355-ARTS. Online at www.Kingsburyhall.org Groups of 20+ call 355-2200
SHORTS
This short film travels back in time to when I was growing up with closeted gay parents in a small, Midwestern town. By weaving together a collection of home movies together with conversations with my parents recorded via webcam, Small Town Secrets remembers why keeping it a secret felt like the only option. Director: Katherine Leggett Cast: Katherine Leggett, Ellen Leggett, Mark Leggett Screening Times: Included with feature The Joy of Life (see above).
Director: Sebastian Mantilla Cast: Oriol Ribeira, Mohammed Shafiq Screening Times: Included with feature Lila Says Friday, Jan 21, 3:00pm, Egyptian Theatre, Park City Saturday, Jan 22, 9:00am, Egyptian Theatre, Park City Sunday, Jan 23, 12:00pm, Trolley Square Cinemas A, SLC Sunday, Jan 23, 9:15pm, Holiday Village Cinema III
More film information is available at festival.sundance.org.
THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK
OUT-OF-TOWNER GUIDE TO PARK CITY of fun and healthful treatments, including soothing mud pedicures and muscle-relaxing hot-stone therapy. The Canyons is also home to the excellent CABIN RESTAURANT, known for its cioppino (tomato-based fish stew), mesquite-grilled steaks, and the rich chocolate fondue dessert. If you'd prefer a more intimate property that's in the heart of downtown, try the 1904 IMPERIAL HOTEL BED & BREAKFAST INN, which was begun as a boardinghouse back in Park City's mining days. Its rooms offer an intriguing variety of views and configurations—some look up toward the mountains, and others face the bustle of Main Street. Another commendable downtown option is the SILVER QUEEN, a handsome boutique hotel with 12 spacious one- and two-bedroom suites with kitchens, fireplaces, large-screen TVs with DVD players, and high-speed Internet. A larger downtown property, the gayfriendly TREASURE MOUNTAIN INN offers a wide range of accommodations, from studios to two-bedroom suites. It's also the host during Sundance of most of the Slamdance film screenings, and it's home to a hip little breakfast restaurant called MORNING RAY, which is a hit with locals. If you're looking for a condo rental, consider ALL SEASONS RESORTS, which represents eight different condo compounds; during Sundance, if you mention Queer Lounge when booking your room, you'll receive a discount. Park City abounds with great restaurants and bars. For stellar French fare, try EAST STREET BRASSERIE, known for its braised lamb shanks with mushroom fricassee and Valrhona chocolate souffle. Sip wine and people-watch next door in the restaurant's swank lounge, LE BAR BOHEME. 350 MAIN serves some of the more creative fare in town, including black-pepper-crusted venison medallions with blackberry-shiitake jus and cranberry-orange marmalade. Head next door to the SPUR BAR AND GRILL if you want to mingle with locals and nosh on simpler food, such as grilled buffalo bratwurst and smoked turkey quesadillas. Another great social option is PLAN B NIGHTCLUB, which hosts a wide variety of music acts and has three bars, dancing, and pool tables. BLIND DOG GRILL is a cool little spot with a trendy ambience and such tasty food as cashew-crusted grouper with charred-tomato vinaigrette. Although the main dining room at BUTCHER'S CHOP HOUSE is a bit stuffy, the side bar has a warm and cozy feel. You can order off the main menu (filet mignon, King crab legs) or from a light cafe menu, which still offers sizable portions and delicious food: chicken-and-papaya quesadillas, chop salad, ahi-tuna spring rolls. Stylish SHABU serves delicious, so-called freestyle Asian cuisine, such as crab cakes and wontons over greens with pickled ginger and ponzu aioli, and sea bass with ginger, chive, and a garlic-black bean paste; there's live acoustic music on Friday evenings. CHIMAYO serves creative Southwestern food, including pumpkin-seed-encrusted gulf shrimp stuffed with spinach, and grilled buffalo flank steak with wild mushrooms, corn, and poblano-potato gratin. Health-minded diners flock to RENEE'S BAR AND CAFE, which specializes in
nouvelle vegetarian chow, such as roastedbeet risotto with asparagus, and black bean and sweet potato tacos with chipotle vinaigrette. It's open late and serves up live jazz and other entertainment most nights. Plenty of locals favor BURGIES for inexpensive and tasty breakfasts, lunches, and dinners—try the French toast in the morning or the chili-cheeseburger later in the day. There's a sports bar upstairs. WASATCH BREWERY PUB is fun and also hosts one of the parties during gay ski week. Fill up on baby back ribs or coconut-and-beer-batter shrimp. Park City's favorite coffeehouse is WASATCH BAGEL CAFE, which serves wraps, panini sandwiches, bagels, and all sorts of espresso drinks. Although it's set in a shopping center near the interstate, LOCO CANTINA is a slick space with above-average Mexican fare, such as chicken-mole enchiladas, poblano-corn chowder, and fish tacos. It's a good bet if you're hungry after scouring the nearby TANGIER OUTLET SHOPS, which are right off I-40, for bargains. Also on this side of town, in the brand-new Redstone development, is a WILD OATS SUPERMARKET, which sells gourmet and healthful prepared foods, sandwiches, soups, salads, and the like—it's great for take-out and indispensable for groceries if you're staying someplace with kitchen facilities. Redstone also has a number of shops and restaurants, plus a movie theater.
for Vote in the “Best of Utah 2005” contest on page 24 and be entered to win a Vegas vacation! No purchase necessary to win. Must be 21 to win vacation. One entry per person. Rules at slmetro.com.
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FOOD/RESTAURANTS Blind Dog Grill 1781 Sidewinder Dr., 435-6550800 Burgies 570 Main St., 435-649-0011 Butcher’s Chop House 751 Main St., 435-647-0040 Chimayo 368 Main St., 435-649-6222 East Street Brasserie 201 Heber Ave., 435-658-2500 Loco Cantina Kimball Plaza, 435-645-7000
NIGHTCLUBS Plan B Nightclub 268 Main St., 435-615-7588 Club Suede 1612 Ute Blvd. Ste 200, 435-658COOL, suedepc.com MORE INFORMATION Park City Visitor Information Center 435-658-4541, 800-4531360, parkcityinfo.com Utah Gay & Lesbian Ski Week 877-429-6368, www.gayskiing.org Sundance Film Festival festival.sundance.org Queer Lounge queerlounge.org
Andrew Collins is the author of Fodor’s Gay Guide to the USA and eight additional travel guides. He can be reached at OutofTown@qsyndicate.com.
WIN A 2-NIGHT STAY AND $500 IN CASH, CHIPS, MEALS & DRINKS IN FABULOUS LAS VEGAS!
JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 17
by Andrew Collins A hip, gay-friendly, and heavily developed ski community just 30 miles east of Salt Lake, the handsome town of Park City attracts the same Range Rover counterculturalists as Aspen, but it's considerably more laid-back and friendly. In 1993, after many lesbians and gays boycotted Colorado because of its anti-gay-rights initiatives, Park City lured some of the queer market by holding a gay ski week (Jan. 5-9). The charming, historic mining town remains a popular getaway for ski and outdoors aficionados as well as movie buffs who visit each January for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Anytime of year, however, Park City offers plenty to keep you busy. You can stroll along historic Main Street, which contains dozens of upscale restaurants, galleries, and boutiques. At the foot of Main Street a gondola takes skiers (or sightseers) up the hill above town. As a primary winter-sports venue during the 2002 Winter Olympics, Park City saw unprecedented exposure—and growth—during the months leading up to the games. Park City locals maintain a love-hate relationship with the legions of celeb-watchers, film fanatics, and black-clad scenesters who invade the town during Sundance, which will run Jan. 20–30. The crowds can be extremely intense. On the other hand, there's virtually no time of year with a greater gay and lesbian presence. Another advantage to visiting during Sundance is that lift lines at the community's breathtaking ski resorts are relatively short, as many visitors spend their days watching movies. If you're in town during the festival, definitely stop by QUEER LOUNGE, which functions as the town's gay and lesbian hospitality and information center—it's an excellent place to network, meet other queer moviegoers, and learn about the festival's queer content. The lounge also sponsors press conferences and discussions featuring actors and directors of some of the festival's lesbian and gay flicks. You can attend movies at Sundance either by paying for tickets a la carte or by purchasing a pass, which admits you to numerous films. Go to www.sundance.org for more information. You can also attend screenings at SLAMDANCE, a smaller festival that promotes burgeoning filmmakers not yet ready for Sundance. Earlier in the month, Park City hosts a relatively modest but still fun UTAH GAY & LESBIAN SKI WEEK. To register or learn more call 877-429-6368 or log on to www.gayskiing.org. This modest but festive event consists of several days of great skiing at the town's three resorts, plus a handful of lunches, dinners, and nightclub outings. Whether or not there are festivals in town, winter easily qualifies as Park City's high season, a time when it's often necessary to book hotels rooms several weeks ahead, and when prices tend to be high. If you're here primarily to ski and snowboard, book a room at the posh CANYONS RESORT, one of the best—and largest—full-service ski properties in the nation, with two outstanding hotels (the luxury GRAND SUMMIT and the upscale but less pricey SUNDIAL LODGE). The spa at the Grand Summit offers a full slate
HOTELS/LODGING All Seasons Resorts allseasonsresorts.us Canyons Resort 4000 Canyons Dr., 435-6495400, thecanyons.com. 1904 Imperial Hotel Bed & Breakfast Inn 221 Main St., 435-6491904 or 800-669-8824, 1904imperial.com. Silver Queen Hotel 632 Main St., 435-6495986 or 800-447-6423, silverqueenhotel.com. Treasure Mountain Inn 255 Main St., 435-6554501 or 800-344-2460, treasuremountaininn.com
Renee’s Bar and Cafe 136 Heber Ave. at Swede Alley, 435-615-8357. Shabu 333 Main St., 435-645-7253. Spur Bar and Grill 350½ Main St., 435-615-1618 350 Main 350 Main St., 435-649-3140 Wasatch Bagel Cafe 1300 Snow Creek Dr., 435-645-7778 Wasatch Brewery Pub 250 Main St., 435-649-0900 Wild Oats off U.S. 40 at Kimball Junction, 435-575-0200
Sane Advice Making “Chainsaw” Resolutions by Lee Beckstead & Jim Struve If you’ve been a long-term reader of Salt Lake Metro, then you may have wondered what happened to the Sane Advice column. Basically, the four of us who write for Sane Advice have needed to reevaluate how we were using our time and energies. We still want to be part of helping the Utah gay community be more healthy and well. However, we’ll now be writing only occasionally and usually to address “high profile” mental-health milestones such as Pride Day and holidays. As a reader, though, continue to feel free to send any comments or questions you may have to saneadvice@slmetro. com and we’ll address them. The New Year provides all of us a natural opportunity to reevaluate how we’ve been using our time and energies. Thus, to honor this yearly tradition, we would like to propose some “sane advice” on how to create effective and meaningful New Year’s resolutions. Typically, goal setting begins with a time of self-reflection on how your life is going and what you really want. This process is important so that you can “readjust” if you have drifted away from your true self and have ended up somewhere other than where you want to be. Being a person without goals may be like being a jellyfish that drifts through life, passively riding
whatever wave comes along. We all have some vague, idealized notion of what we want out of life, such as being happy, wealthy, in love, and/or a good person. Yet, goals left in these generalized forms are not specific enough to provide direction. The idea is to make goals like a chainsaw, something with a clear aim and function. There is nothing tentative or indecisive about a chainsaw. The following suggestions may help you create “chainsaw” resolutions. First, set aside ample time to reflect and daydream how you want your life to be. Deciding on a resolution can involve making a choice to end a bad habit, improve a situation or some aspect of yourself, solve a specific problem, start life anew, or just maintain an already good situation. Most importantly, goals can be a way to act on your values, passions and needs, and therefore attend to important areas of life. Second, step back and take in the big picture. That is, make sure that the activities or changes you’re planning actually contribute to your long-range goals. For example, how do you want life to be 20 years from now? To get to that point, what is needed in 10 years? Five years? One year? Next month? Answering these questions may uncover the steps you need to take today. Third, describe your New Year’s resolutions in specific terms, such as “I will attend a weekly community group sponsored by the GLBT Center,” versus “I don’t want
to be lonely anymore.” Similarly, create alternatives to activities you want to change. For example, if you want to quit smoking but realize you smoke to relax, then commit to finding other forms of relaxation. Fourth, write out your resolution plan. Identify the sequence of events that will lead to the accomplishment of your goal. Make sure these small-range goals are specific, manageable, and measurable. How or where can you begin? What comes next? Then what? What obstacles will you need to deal with? How will you know when you’ve accomplished your goal? What actions have you already taken toward your goal? Fifth, mark your beginning and ending dates on a calendar, then fill in all the inbetween steps. Develop a system that tracks your success and reminds you of your goals. Sixth, list your resources. Do you have enough time, energy, and skills to accomplish your resolution? If your goal seems unrealistic, then modify it or develop the resources to achieve what you want. Seventh, involve others. You’ll need to depend on a variety of people for ideas, feedback, reminders, direct help, and emotional support to achieve your ends. For example, describing your plan to others may uncover holes or hidden assumptions, which would lead to further refining of your plan. Your New Year’s resolutions may look different when they are disassembled in such a detailed, “chainsaw” manner. However, taking the extra time to intentionally engage in this process may increase your chances for success and happiness in 2005. Happy New Year!
Queeriscaping Post Christmas by Brandie Balken
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brandie@slmetro.com
Ahh, the magic of the post-Christmas season. I truly love this time of year when all is quiet. After the grand crescendo of family, friends and magnum after magnum of cabernet, we can now pack away all the clutter of Christmas. I am one of those people who is actually excited to put the ornamentation away. I love the clean look of card-free mantles. It does seem, though, that I always end up with some extra “Christmas plants” that I can’t just throw away. If you are also a plant sympathizer, I offer you these simple tips to care for those common holiday plants. POINSETTIAS: My advice on these is simple: fuh-gedaboudit. These are not really meant to be in the high desert climate of Utah for a long period of time. When they start looking bad, they should just be thrown away. AMARYLLIS: These plants are such a wow when they’re in bloom, they’re worth the minimal amount of care they take to perform year after year. After the blooming stalk is spent, cut it off as close to the bulb as possible. Long, strappy foliage will soon follow. Allow the top one inch of soil to completely dry between each watering, and then water thoroughly. Place the plant in a moderately bright and warm loca-
tion and maintain the leaves for as long as they remain green—generally 4-6 months. Eventually the leaves will start to brown at the tips. At that point you should cut back the foliage. Lift the bulb from the soil to dry, place it in a paper sack and put it in a cool, dry location until November. Good choices would be the basement or the garage. It can then be replanted, and forced to bloom next holiday. PAPERWHITES: These are also bulbs, therefore the care of these plants is very similar to that of the Amaryllis. The main difference between these two varieties is that a good Amaryllis bulb costs between $12.00 and $20.00 and a Paperwhite bulb runs about $1.00. With that in mind, the investment of time and effort is simply not worth it. Go ahead and toss it and get some more next year. CHRISTMAS CACTUS: These are actually succulents and not true cacti. They do, however, have similar requirements. Place these in a brightly-lit spot, and allow them to dry thoroughly between waterings. If they are placed in a room that gets predominantly natural light, they will bloom several times a year. These plants have great longevity, and will produce some incredible floral displays in maturity. Well worth the minimal amount of labor. As you clean up after the Christmas, make it easy—keep the plants that keep on giving. Brandie Balken is a horticulturist in Salt Lake City and can be seen at Cactus & Tropicals, 2735 S. 2000 East. cactusandtropicals.com
Please Help Save Our Center
Your donations are desperately needed to help the Center and Pride survive the year. Please make your taxdeductible donation today. There are several ways to donate: 1) Send a check to GLBTCCU @ 355 N. 300 W., Salt Lake City, UT 84103
3) Sponsor a fundraising event at your home! 4) Volunteer 5) Monthly donations can also be withdrawn from your checking account. Please call 539-8800 for more details.
JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 19
2) Go to www.glbtccu.org/donate.html to donate online.
Utah Cyber Sluts, See Wednesday, January 12
THE GAY AGENDA 7FRIDAY As fast as activists can raise issues, filmmakers can document them. There is a plethora of Marriage Equality films in the making and already released throughout the country. Today, The Center will screen one of the most acclaimed so far: I CAN’T MARRY YOU which follows twenty gay and lesbian couples who’ve been together for anywhere from ten to fiftyfive years and documents their struggle for marriage rights. The film also features commentary from such luminaries as Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry and is narrated by Betty DeGeneres. This is our moment in history. This is us, telling our own story. 7pm, Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah, 361 N. 300 West. $5 suggested donation. 539-8800.
8SATURDAY My fifth grade teacher once told me that if one were to spend one second at each artifact on display from the collections of the various Smithsonian museums, it would take 43 years to see them all. That’s a lot of time, plus flying into Dulles is a nightmare. Luckily for us, the Smithsonian has sent some of its finest pieces right here to our own backyard. Beginning today through February 28th,
the UMFA will host WORKS BY AFRICAN AMERICAN MASTERS, a diverse collection that cannot be defined by any single style. Experience a refreshing point of view from outside the Zion Curtain. A schedule of extensive public programming is available at umfa.utah.edu. Utah Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah campus. Tuesday through Friday 10-5. Wednesday 10-8. Saturday and Sunday 115. Adults $4. Through February 28.
9SUNDAY The crisis between the Western and Middle Eastern worlds is a hopeless tangle that seems interminable. Few of us really precisely understand the perceived conflict between our two cultures. The Forum for Questioning Minds can help, though, when it presents MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS, FRIENDS OR FOES? — a discussion of the basic areas of agreement and disagreement between these two major global and local faith communities. The talk is presented by Frederick Quinn, an Episcopal priest and thirtyyear veteran of the American Foreign Service. Clearly he must have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. Sunday, January 9th at the Salt Lake Main Library, 4th floor conference room from 2 to 4pm. Admission free.
SINGERS
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AUDITION ANNOUNCEMENT Utah’s first all-male Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat
Sunday, January 9 & 16, 5:00-7:30pm First United Methodist Church, 200 S. 200 East. Performances: June 24, 25, 26, 2005 in the Rose Wagner Studio Theater Rehearsals: 7pm Thursdays (all) and 5pm Sundays (solos) nights from January–June, plus some additional scheduled rehearsals. Produced by Salt Lake Men’s Choir. Directed by Jonathan Stowers Auditions Requirements: Prepare one minute of music (NOT from Joseph) that shows off your voice. Find music that you like, that shows off your voice to its best advantage. Accompanist provided. Wear clothing that you can move in; auditions will include both singing and movement. No experience necessary.
www.saltlakemenschoir.org for more info.
10MONDAY
13THURSDAY
SPEED DATING returns to Panini. Experience as many mini-dates as you can fit in and—if things click—trade info for a longer version. A very fun evening.
If you are in need of a larger audience than the shower can provide, perhaps it’s time to think of joining the SALT LAKE MEN’S CHOIR. The choir opens up to new singers only twice a year and this is the last chance for this season. They are an open choir, meaning there is no need to prepare anything to audition with. Just come on by and sing with them and see what it’s all about.
7:30pm, Club Panini, a private club for members, 299 S. Main Street, second level. Call 535-4300 in advance to register.
11TUESDAY Many an eyebrow was raised a few years ago when the Utah Symphony and Utah Opera announced their merger. Fears have been allayed since, mostly because of the ever more innovative and creative programming that’s come about as a result. This time the symphony has created a theatrical and musical celebration of the life of Beethoven, arguably the world’s most beloved composer. In BEETHOVEN ALIVE! actors portray the maestro at various stages of his life as his own words and music thread throughout the evening. The man had twenty children and composed his best known works while deaf. Think of that the next time you’re cheering the next American Idol. 7pm, Abravanel Hall. Tickets $11-17 at 355-2787.
12WEDNESDAY Now, muffins, I know you all enjoy reading our columnist Ruby Ridge. Right, pumpkins? Well, don’t miss your opportunity to see all of the Cyber Sluts perform as they begin a ten week season of CYBER SLUT BINGO AND AGITPROP CABARET. A fundraiser for the Camp Pinecliff Weekend (an annual camp for people with HIV/AIDS held for the last 14 years on the Wyoming border above Coalville) and other community charities. Each evening will include live entertainment and bingo, with loads of political subversion, social commentary, scandalous gossip and questionable glamour. Todd’s will also be doing a food and beverage special each week. Wednesdays beginning January 12, Todd’s Bar and Grill, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Membership may be required.
7pm, All-Saints Episcopal Church, 1700 S. Foothill Drive. saltlakemenschoir.org
What’s better than a show about cheeky, upwardly mobile, avidly sexual lesbians? Watching it in a fabulous setting with a mojito in your hand surrounded by your Urban Family. Each Thursday, Club Panini hosts a screening of THE L WORD, sponsored by NOW and the GLBT Resource Center. Come for the show, stay for the free appetizers and $2.00 drafts.
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7:30pm Thursdays, Club Panini, a private club for members, 299 South Main.
If you were interested in our recent look at homeless youth, and you want to do more to bring attention to this pressing and poignant issue, a live music performance by MARY TEBBS, LISA MARIE AND LERAIN HORTSMANSHOFF at MoDiggity’s is benefiting an Open Door Documentaries project about GLBTQ, homeless and “throwaway” youth in Salt Lake City.
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8pm, MoDiggity’s Sports and Music Club for Women, a private club for members.
14FRIDAY There’s no arguing that French Canadians can be irksome. If you enjoy the whimsy and wonder of Cirque de Soleil but find the Quebecois insufferable, Kingsbury Hall has just the ticket for you: CIRQUE ELOIZE’S RAIN. The show features the circus elements of a de Soleil show, but puts its own spin on the genre. Not to mention the show is doused in water. What’s better than an acrobat in a bodysuit? A wet acrobat in a bodysuit. January 14 and 15, 7:30PM. Kingsbury Hall, University of Utah campus. Tickets $25-$35 at 581-7100.
15SATURDAY You were probably as mind-blown as I was at first, but sadly, that’s not MINNIE DRIVER’s actual voice trilling the high notes in the Phantom film. That’s not to say she’s doesn’t have a great set of pipes, though. In addition to her considerable acting prowess, the girl can sing. Come here her in Park City tonight as Park City Performing Arts present her in concert— that way, you can say you saw her first. 7:30pm, Eccles Center for the Performing Arts. 1750 Kearns Boulevard, Park City. Tickets $15-$50 at 355-2787. ■ The Royal Court’s pageant of all pageants, which includes theme wear, formal wear, question and answers, and talent categories, is the MR., MISS AND MS. GAY UTAH PAGEANT. Those who earn the title are required to produce the next year’s event along with at least one charity function to raise money for one of the Court’s many funds.
7:30pm, The Paper Moon, a private club for members, 3737 S. State Street. Tickets $6 at the door. rcgse.org
16SUNDAY Nothing impresses a date more than an interest in avant-garde art. Today is your last chance to spend an afternoon looking impressively in the know at video artist Gary Hill’s exhibit LANGUAGE WILLING. The work features elements of audio, video, sculpture, spoken text, and written text. The exhibit is comprised of four large installations in separate spaces. Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, 10-5. Friday 10-9. Sunday 1-5. Salt Lake Art Center, 20 S. West Temple, SLC, Information at 328-4201.
17MONDAY LEDISI. You may never have heard of her, but you should definitely check her out today when she performs at Kingsbury Hall as a part of 2005 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebrations. Her music is audacious, raucous, haunting, and incredibly pow-
erful. Great music to honor a great man. The Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Leadership Awards will also be presented. 7:30pm, Kingsbury Hall, University of Utah. Tickets free but required. 581-7100.
Get out your “Homosexual Agenda” and pick up your suit from the dry cleaners— the 2005 LEGISLATIVE SESSION begins today. Among the bills that are sure to impact the queer community are the “Mutual Dependence Benefits Contract” bill (SB 89), a bill concerning homeless youth (“Provisions for Emancipation of a Minor”) and a return of Utah’s perennial hot topic—hate crimes legislation. Be sure you know how to contact your state senators and representatives to express your support or opposition to the bills which affect your life—a good place to start is www.utah.gov
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19WEDNESDAY LDS church pronouncements to the contrary, most gays do not lead lonely lives. We are a healthy, vibrant community of extremely talented people who have a certain way with words. If you’re among those who believe the pen is mightier than the sword, and a lot more fun as well, we suggest attending the COMMUNITY WRITING CENTER. Record your story. Again, this is our moment in history. Do not let your chapter go unwritten. 7-9pm, Community Writing Center. 511 West 200 South. Free. The writing groups are open to the public and writers can join and attend at any time.
upCOMING JANUARY 20-30—Sundance Film Festival. sundance.org JANUARY 21-29—Queer Lounge, Park City. queerlounge.org JANUARY 21-28—Slamdance Film Festival, Park City. slamdance.com JANUARY 24—Cake in concert in Park City. suedepc.com JANUARY 25—Scissor Sisters in concert in Park City. suedepc.com FEBRUARY 1—Les Ballets Trockaderos de Monte Carlo. kingsburyhall.org
CLUB PANINI • 299 SOUTH MAIN STREET • SECOND FLOOR • 535-4300
Top Ten Movies of the Year by Eric J. Tierney eric@slmetro.com
ing at fast-food joints. 5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. After blowing our minds with Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, Charlie Kaufman shows us his heart. The storytelling is complex and out-on-a-limb enough to keep us guessing, but is grounded in very real, almost mundane relationships and situations. Bizarre and sad. Touching and out of touch. God bless you, Charlie. 4. Sideways. Far be it from me to add to the enormous tower of babble surrounding what makes this movie great. Let me just say that the scene between Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen on the back porch is the best piece of writing in a film all year. 3. Closer. Mike Nichols directs the film as if it were still a play—he pretty much sets the camera in one place and lets the scenes happen. He allows his actors and his audience time to breathe, time to get into the blood and guts of each individual sequence. Patrick Marber’s words are searing and painfully real—witness the scene where Julia Roberts (my God, she really
Indulge me. Before I started writing for this fine publication, my friends were forced to endure monthly emailed reviews of the movies I’d been seeing, written in my typical sophomoric, smartass style. They appreciated it, but I suffer from some pretty intense delusions of grandeur, so I moved on to blogging. The frustrating thing about a blog, however, is that you can’t force anyone to read it. So the opportunity to write about film for the Metro seemed a perfect fit—I knew I could count on some poor schmuk being crushed under the weight of my soapbox every two weeks. The other major draw was that I knew at the end of the year, I could finally release my very own list of the Top Ten Movies of the Year. You’ll find that list below. Some caveats: all of these movies were screened in Salt Lake during 2004, although some were actually released, and may have won awards, in 2003. There may be some rather glaring omissions as well—I didn’t see everything, but I did make it to almost 100 movies, so I feel I have a decent base to draw from. More precisely then, here are the Top Ten Movies I Saw in Calendar Year 2004, in Nicole Kidman, Dogville. random order: 10. The Saddest Music in can act) is goaded into telling her husband the World. The sight of Isabella Rosselall the sordid details of her affair, or Jude lini atop a pair of prosthetic legs made of Law’s anguish and anger when he breaks glass and filled with beer. A hilarious script up with Natalie Portman. The writing is and some fine music. But what makes the not shocking because it’s so explicit—its piece one of the year’s best are its stunning shocking because it holds that ol’ mirror aesthetics. An art film in the truest sense. up to nature, reminding us all that love is 9. The Cooler. A snazzy, schmaltzy as horrifying as it is beautiful. jazz score, a former N-Syncer, a naked 2. Farenheit 911. My reasons, I am sure, William H. Macy. Again, sounds good go without saying. already, but when the passionate and 1. Dogville. Many hated this film for its mesmerizing performances of Alec Baldunderlying anti-American sentiment. But win and Maria Bello are added, everyone its politics should not preclude one from comes up a winner. appreciating it, anymore than one must 8. Garden State. Some have criticized think of deafness to enjoy Beethoven’s 7th what they see as a pedestrian plotline and or the civil war to read Whitman. Lars Von self-absorbed direction. But what makes Trier made a film set entirely on a black this a great film is its simplicity—dialogue soundstage with painted lines demarthat for once actually sounds like the way cating the walls and streets of a town, people speak—and the finely crafted detail but his words and the actors who speak of its world (Natalie Portman’s emphatic them evoke an entire, complete universe. ear-tug after being almost shot with a Stripped of all the conventions of film, all flaming arrow). Funny, poignant, and—for we are left with is human beings talking all its quirks—genuine. to one another, and the resulting story is 7. Mean Creek. A film has achieved as rich and compelling as anything I’ve something great when it stays with you seen all year. Not to mention the director’s for hours after you’ve left the theatre. The vision and the production’s design, which power and depth of what at first appeared make for a singular, totally unique film to be a run-of-the-mill bully-revenge experience. movie are the result of phenomenal writMany of these films are still on the big ing and tremendous performances by screen, and the others are available on child actors who can actually act. DVD. See them all before we have to start all 6. Supersize Me. I still have trouble eatover again in 2005. See you at the theater!
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Monday, January 10, 7:30pm at Club Panini, a private club for members. Register in advance at 535-4300 to reserve your spot.
EarPiece
Nick-N-Willy’s World Famous Pizza by Vanessa Chang vanessa@slmetro.com
Address: 4536 S. Highland Drive Phone: 273-8282 Hours: Mon-Fri 10:30am-9:00pm Sat 11:0am-9:00pm Sun 12:00pm-9:00pm All major credit cards accepted
I’ll be the first to admit that I have a general disdain for grandiose and painfully contrived chain restaurants. But from time to time, a chain can do quite well for itself without going overboard. So what a refreshing surprise it was to try Nick-NWilly’s World Famous Pizza in Holladay. The location in the Albertson’s Plaza is the first in Utah, with two more rumored to open up along the Wasatch Front. The company’s premise is a range of higherend toppings atop small-batch-produced crust. The franchise started out of Boulder, Colorado, so this isn’t going to be a New York or Chicago style of pie. It seems every place has its signature style. As far as I’m concerned, Salt Lake has yet to lay out its pizza manifesto (and I won’t even consider Jell-O anywhere in this equation). Consider it a carte blanche to enjoy any damn style you prefer, or better yet, crave. I had heard good things from people who are champions of take-out. They all have a spotless kitchen save the odd bowl of eaten cereal in the sink because they never cook for themselves. At Nick-N-Willy’s, you can call an order ahead or simply walk in and tell them what you want. They set up the pie for you on an ovenproof disk and you simply pay and take it home to bake in your own oven. Size wise you can choose from personal, medium, large, and family. And what I love about Nick-N-Willy’s is that you can do half-orders of anything, meaning that you can avoid a domestic World War III.
Of course, you can have the pie baked for you for when you arrive to eat in their swanky and colorful digs or at home. But really, why not make that extra effort to pop it into the oven while you catch up on your Sex and the City DVDs and treat yourself to a cocktail? For the take-out veterans, this is as close to home cooking as they’ll get. And it’s not a bad one, either. The crust baked into a golden ring glistening with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil. Its flavor wasn’t anything significant, but it boasted a texture that was crunchy, chewy, and void of the excessive oil that would’ve pushed into focaccia territory. You can create your own flavor combinations, but should really try what’s listed on the menu. The Aegean ($4.94–$14.95) is a great concoction of fresh spinach, garlic, oregano, and sun-dried tomatoes with enough mozzrella, feta, and olive oil to gently bind it together—the undisputed winner. They’re not at all stingy when it comes to the toppings so pork enthusiasts will squeal with delight to see how much pepperoni, sausage, Canadian bacon, and salami a Nick’s Meat Eater ($5.45–$16.95) can possibly manage. I have a particular fetish for Italian pizza Bianca, a pie with no sauce, but a good proportion of cheese on a crust as strong and as delicate as a shard of brittle. The Five Cheese studded with oregano ($4.95–$14.95) is a decent version. Next time, I’ll have to ask for it on the Liv-N-Lite crusts (a special section for the remnants of Atkins devotees), not for any weight-watching reason, but simply because I prefer them thinner. Nick-N-Willy’s is certainly better than a lot of pizza joints around—especially the ones with expensive logos and huge marketing campaigns. And what’ll keep me coming back is that the friendly folks who work there seem to care about the pizza and what you think—very un-chainlike and a much better alternative to the morose high-school kid handing you your next pie.
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Red,White Bubbly Be Resolute in 2005 by Beau Jarvis beau@slmetro.com
Well, you’ve officially blown it. ‘Tis the end of 2004 and just how many New Year’s resolutions did you keep? If you’re anything like me, the answer is: zero/zilch/ nada. I loathe the concept of New Year’s resolutions. Since my mid-twenties, I have made the same three resolutions every year: 1) Lose ten pounds. 2) Read more books. 3) Drink less wine (tasting is OK, but an entire bottle is right out). I’ve not done so well with these resolutions. One year I lost ten pounds, but then the holidays arrived and I gained every pound back, along with one “bonus” pound. During another year, I managed to buy more books, but sadly, didn’t get around to actually reading them. And to be honest, I’ve never seriously attempted to drink less wine. What then would one live for? For 2005, I have a foolproof plan. In lieu of three lousy New Year’s resolutions, I’m going to make twelve fabulous resolutions; one for each month. They may not help me look any better in a swimming suit, but at least by December 31st, 2005, I’ll be able to feel a real sense of accomplishment. And this will be much better than the usual overwhelming sense of self-loathing. So, without further adieu, I present my monthly resolutions for 2005. Feel free to adopt these as your own personal New Year’s resolutions and join me in becoming “gustatorily” resolute this year. JANUARY—I’ll ring in the New Year with Champagne and honey-cured ham, poached salmon, or Camembert cheese. Splurge Champagne: Roederer Brut Permier ($45). Safe bet: Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut ($30). FEBRUARY—Nothing says “love” to my tummy like good, old-fashioned lasagna. I will be enhancing this carb loading exercise with a bold Zinfandel. The Zin splurge: Ravenswood Old Hill Zinfandel, ’01 ($50). Safe bet: Cline Dry Creek Zinfandel, ’02 ($14).
APRIL—Spring is coming, and so is swimming suit and shorts weather. I should start eating a little lighter. I’ve got Caesar on the brain. I’ll go with a Caesar Salad and Sauvignon Blanc. I can already sense the pounds melting away. Sauvignon
MAY—I’m tired of eating salad. I want something succulent. Lobster drenched in butter paired with White Burgundy (Chardonnay) fit the bill. Where’s my bib? Splurge Burgundy: Jadot Chassagne Morgeot, ’02 ($30). Safe bet: Rodet Bourgogne Blanc, ’01 ($11). JUNE—June always makes me feel sassy. Perhaps a little Spanish tapas party is in order. I’ll go old Spanish-school with Fino Sherry along with grilled shrimp, Spanish olives, and Serrano ham. Fino choices: Lustau Light Fino ‘Jarana’ (375ml) ($17); Tio Pepe Fino (750ml) ($15). JULY—It’s picnic time. This calls for blush/rosé/pink wine and some of granny’s chicken salad sandwiches. A little smoked cheddar will also find its way into my picnic basket. Rosé splurgé: Chateau d’Aqueria Tavel, ’03 ($18). Safe bet: Fairview Goats do Roam Rosé, ’03 ($8). AUGUST—I know I’ll be hot. A fresh fruit salad coupled with a chilled German Riesling will cool me off. German splurge: Kunstler Hockeimer Kirchenstück Spätlese, ’02 ($39). Safe bet: Dr. Loosen Riesling, ’02 ($13). SEPTEMBER—I love Riesling. It deserves two months. This month I’ll go with something a little more full-bodied; Alsatian Riesling. Spicy Pad Thai is the perfect foil to this wine. Splurge on Alsace: Trimbach Cuvée Frederic-Emile, ’98 ($39). Safe bet: Trimbach Riesling, ’02 ($10). OCTOBER—Once per year I get a serious jonesing for bacon double-cheeseburgers. I’ve also discovered that a nice Merlot works splendidly with this heart-attackin-a-bun. Extra bacon splurge: Chateau St. Michelle Indian Wells Merlot, ’01 ($18). Safe bet: Clos du Val Merlot, ’02 ($12). NOVEMBER—Instead of Thanksgiving, I’ll have a Mexican fiesta feast. I plan on serving up a bright, peppery Shiraz/Syrah along with enchiladas, tacos, and some pepper-jack cheese. Grandé splurge: Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz, ’00 ($40). Safe bet: Smoking Loon Syrah, ’03 ($9). DECEMBER—To celebrate the first ever successful completion of my New Year’s resolutions, I will be eating the best Filet Mignon I can find. My juicy, mediumrare mignon will be complimented by a luxurious Pinot Noir. Hedonistic splurge: Argyle Pinot Noir Reserve, ’02 ($28). Safe bet: BV Coastal Pinot Noir, ’02 ($10). I hope these New Year’s wine resolutions see you through a peaceful and prosperous 2005. Happy New Year and Cheers! Beau Jarvis is a sommelier and wine educator. He operates basicjuice.com, an independent wine review and information website. He also manages basicjuice.blogs.com, a weblog of entertainment and culture.
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MARCH—I’m not a huge fan of March. Other than kite-flying, and Saint Paddy’s, there really isn’t much to this month. There is always the “Ides of March.” I’ll plan a giant feast in memory of J.Caesar. Chianti and Osso Bucco sound perfect. The splurge: Antinori Chianti Classico, ’01 ($24). Safe bet: Gabbiano Chianti Classico, ’02 ($12).
Blanc splurge: Grgich Hills Fumé Blanc, ’03 ($26). Safe bet: Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc, ’03 ($13).
Are You Buffenuff? How One Local Bodybuilder/Air Force Serviceman Maintains and Markets His Muscular Physique for Gay Fans by Joel Shoemaker
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joel@slmetro.com
One by one, men climbed onto Biff Boswell’s lap at Club Sound the Friday before Christmas, eager to get their picture taken with Biff dressed as a hunky Santa Claus. “If they were naughty, I gave them something to suck on,” Biff explains. He pauses, then adds, “A candy cane, of course. Jeez!” At 25 years old and a Senior Airman in the U.S. Air Force, Biff is no stranger to attention being paid to his body by gay men and others. With the muscles of a two-time competitive bodybuilder, he was able to turn more than a few heads as a bouncer at the former club Axis. He currently flexes and poses during live cam shows for the website hotmuscleguys.com. But it’s been the modeling work posted on his personal website, buffenuff.com, that Biff says has received the most attention. Started about 5 years ago as a way to develop his interest in web-based programs, Biff says he wasn’t prepared for the emails that poured in from around the world when he posted professional modeling photographs. In fact, he says his online website even got him noticed by his commanding officers before he was transferred to Utah. “When I got to Hill Air Force Base, my supervisor had heard about my website. Before I got there he had printed out all of the pictures and put them all around the office. When I walked in, I was like, ‘Oh no!’ He then said, ‘Boswell, I want you to know that these are all my pictures, and you are not to touch them. And I’ve been looking at them, and I think you should be called Biff.’ And that’s where my nickname came from.” (Biff was originally born Matt Boswell.) But for Biff, it’s not all about being muscular just to get attention. His love of the sport of bodybuilding is something that grew from his days of being skinny as a kid, weighing just 135 lbs. “In high school, I would watch the guys in the gym, but I was too embarrassed to go workout with them. So when they would leave and the gym was empty, I would immediately go and imitate them
and do curls, presses and such.” Biff says that for a long time, he actually would keep his effort to put on muscle secret. “I would get bodybuilding magazines and hide them in my car. I didn’t want anyone I knew to be saying, ‘Awww, trying to get big huh?’” After high school, Biff says his modeling career began while working as an assistant to professional bodybuilding photographer Joe Lobell. He’d travel the nation with Lobell shooting top bodybuilding competitions. When Biff began putting on weight, that’s when he said Lobell turned the camera on him. It wasn’t until moving to Utah that Biff turned to bodybuilding competitions. He got involved with the Utah chapter of the National Physique Committee, a national amateur-only organization recognized by the International Federation of Bodybuilders. Biff’s first competition was NPC’s Mountain West Natural Classic in May 2002. He competed at 176 lbs. “It was exhilarating. The lights shining on you, the audience cheering, getting up and flexing … it was awesome!” He took fourth in the open, and fifth in the novice division. Just months later he competed again in the Utah/Zion Cup, this time at 201 lbs, taking third in his weight division and third in novice. “You learn so much about your body getting ready for a competition,” he says. “Just as with your diet, you have to maintain a certain equilibrium. You just get so lean that you notice the effects—good and bad—of every little thing that you eat.” Biff says bodybuilding helped with his self-confidence, much like other sports do. “I don’t have any other physical talents. I can’t run, can’t catch; I can barely keep my balance. But in the gym, I can grow.” After competing, Biff went on to chair the local NPC, organizing competitions and helping people learn more about the sport. “I truly believe that if Utahns knew more about bodybuilding as a sport, they would participate. But as it is, it’s just a closet sport that only a select few participate.” Biff says he and NPC parted ways when his attempt at a 100% drug-tested competition failed. “If people want to go to a competition, they want to see freaks—incredibly huge guys. That was a lesson I learned the hard way.” Biff says that although he’s never used steroids, he knows first hand that many bodybuilders do. “The thing that surprises me is that a lot of steroid users have no idea what they’re injecting into their body. They don’t know what to look for, and don’t know how to inject it … and people need to realize that, yes, you’ll get big and strong, but there are side effects.” For now, Biff continues his webcam shows (no frontal nudity, sorry guys), and waits to get his braces off to start modeling again. “2005 is going to be my year!”
PHOTOS BY JOE LOBELL, COURTESY OF BUFFENUFF PRODUCTIONS AND MOSTMUSCULAR.COM.
Di ing Guide Dining de SALT LAKE CITY, UT
Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza
Café Med
nicknwillyspizza.com
420 E. 3300 S. / 493-0100 HOURS: SU-TH 11AM-9PM F-SA 11AM-10PM CUISINE: MEDITERRANEAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V
4538 S, HIGHLAND DR./ 273-8282 SU-TH 11AM-10PM F-SA 11AM-12PM CUISINE: PIZZA PRICE: $ CARDS: AE D MC V HOURS:
Panini 299 S. MAIN ST. / 535-4300
panini.us HOURS:
CUISINE: RESERV.: PRICE: CARDS:
M-F 11:30AM-3PM M-TH 5-9PM F-SA 5-10PM ITALIAN, SEAFOOD SUGGESTED $$$ TC AE D MC V
Dine in or take-out. Call Persian, Greek, Italian, Turkish ahead and we’ll have it ready. and Vegetarian in a warm, Robust Italian fare in an Albertsons Shopping Ctr. relaxing atmosphere. elegant atmosphere with a Orbit Cafe tasteful, contemporary vibe. Fiddler’s Elbow 540 W. 200 S. / 322-3808
1063 E. 2100 S. / 463-9393
fiddlerselbowslc.com
M-TH 11AM-11PM F-SA 11AM-12AM SU 9AM-10PM CUISINE: AMERICAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V HOURS:
32 beers to choose from, including Utah’s best selection of microbrews.
orbitslc.com
SU-TH 11AM-10PM F-SA 11AM-3AM CUISINE: AMERICAN ECLECTIC PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V HOURS:
Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta 1063 E. 2100 S. / 484-1804
saltlakepizzaandpasta.com M-SA 11AM-11PM SU 11AM-10PM CUISINE: ITALIAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V HOURS:
Open late nights on Fridays and Saturdays with DJs and a Voted as Utah’s Best Pizza special menu. two years in a row! Great beer selection. Sugarhouse.
Xiao Li 307 W. 200 SOUTH / 328-8688 HOURS: LUNCH: 1130AM-2:30PM DINNER: 4:30-10PM F-SA 4:30-11PM CUISINE: CHINESE PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V
The restaurant that serves the most authentic Szechwan and Mandarin cuisine.
WEST VALLEY CITY Gringo’s West Valley 2785 W 3500 S / 969-8811 HOURS: M-SA 10:30AM-9PM SU 10:30AM-8PM CUISINE: MEXICAN PRICE: ¢ CARDS: MC V
Good Mexican food...fast. Fresh salsa bar, food made to order. See our coupon! LEGEND: TC–TRAVELERS CHECKS, AE–AMERICAN EXPRESS, D–DISCOVER, DC–DINER’S CLUB, MC–MASTERCARD, V–VISA ¢=0-$10, $=$11-$20, $$=$21-30, $$$=31-40.
Bar Guide Club Panini*
Heads Up*
Paper Moon*
Trapp Door*
299 S. Main Street 535-4300 / panini.us HOURS: M–TH 11am-10pm F–SA 11am-12am GAY: Mondays AGE: 21+ / COVER: No Metro Mondays. Speed dating first Mondays of the month. $2 drafts.
163 W. Pierpont Ave. (250 S) 359-2161 / headsupslc.com HOURS: 4pm-2am daily GAY: Every day AGE: 21+ COVER: $2 / Members free Salt Lake’s newest club. MO & TH Karaoke. TU 50¢ drafts. FR, SA High NRG.
3737 S. State / 713-0678 HOURS: M–F 3pm-1am SA 7pm-1am SU Noon-1am GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: varies SL’s premier women’s club. TU Karaoke, WE 80¢ drafts, shots. FR & SA hip hop/dance
102 S. 600 West 533-0173 / thetrapp.com HOURS: TH-SU 9pm-2am GAY: Every day AGE: 21+ COVER: $3/Members free Dance and show club. Hot men and hot music. SU Latin night. Plenty of free parking.
MoDiggity’s*
Trapp*
* A PRIVATE CLUB FOR MEMBERS.
Club Try-Angles*
3424 S. State St. 832-9000 / modiggitys.com HOURS: M–TH 4pm-12am F–SA 4pm-2am SU 11am-2am GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: $4/members free A sports and music club for women. Football and mimosa brunch Sundays. Live shows.
102 S. 600 West 531-8727 / thetrapp.com HOURS: 10am-2am daily GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: $3/Members free Really gay every day. SU Buffet and NFL, MO & WE Karaoke.
Bar Owners:
251 W. 900 South 364-3203 clubtry-angles.com HOURS: 2pm-2am daily GAY: Every day AGE: 21+ / COVER: No FR-SA DJ Boy Toy. MO “MorMondays.” TU, FR, SA–$1 drafts. SU afternoons–Buffet.
To get your bar listed in the Salt Lake Metro Bar Guide, please call 323-9500.
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Service Guide
Comics
ATTORNEYS
ADAM AND ANDY by James Asal
MARLIN G. CRIDDLE, P.C. Serving Utah’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. Estate Planning, Probate, Criminal Law, Bankruptcy, Corporations/Business. 474-2299. marlincriddle.com
EMPLOYMENT SERVICES APPLE ONE Employment Services is seeking qualified people in many skills. Apply and begin your qualification today. Employers, let us fill your staffing needs. Call Steven Whittaker at 801-463-4828 for an appointment.
ESTATE PLANNING
MASSAGE
BEST THERAPISTS, best price, best place, best hours, call for appointment 486-5500 FADEL Attorneys at Law, pro- Pride Massage 1800 South West Temple Suite A224 viding comprehensive estate WWW.DENNISMASSAGE.COM planning services, custom A Man’s Man. 598-8344. designed to your unique family “For Men” Model/Massage. situation, including trusts, wills, LMT#98212332470 STIMULATE YOUR SENSES, partnership agreements, esor feel deep peace with a retate administration. 294-7777 laxing full body massage. Call Therron for an appointment 801-879-3583 for $5 off menCUSTOM DESIGN JEWELRY. tion this ad. LMT #5608006 JANE MARQUARDT & DOUG
JEWELERS
Relaxed atmosphere. All types of stone settings. Commitment rings, wedding rings, earrings, pendants. Repairs welcome. Charley Hafen Jewelers. Trolley Square. 521-7711
WEBSITES
JOIN THE ALL NEW GayUtahSingles.com— Exclusively for Utah’s Gay and Lesbian community. Online chat, email, messenger and photos! Join for FREE! http:// www.GayUtahSingles.com
Classifieds HELP WANTED MAKE 2005 the year you made a Successful Financial Resolution. Register online for free info at: http://ambition. successfulpeople.com APPLE ONE Employment Services is seeking qualified people in many skills. Apply and begin your qualification today. Employers, let us fill your staffing needs. Call Steven Whittaker at 463-4828 for an appointment.
MURRAY CONDO. Washer/ dryer. Pet neg. $325/mo plus 1/3 util. 455-2497. 994 S. DENVER St 3 bdrm, 2 full bath, large closets, fireplace. Garage, fenced yard. Wa/Dryer included.no smoke/pets $900/mo minus $25 ontime discount $500 deposit call Duff 674-8091
CLASSIFIEDS A COUPLE OF GUYS by Dave Brousseau ARE just $5 for five lines at slmetro.com. Personals are just a buck!
CLASSIFIED/SUBSCRIPTION SALES. The Salt Lake Metro is seeking a full time classified ad and subscription sales person. Previous telephone sales is helpful but not required. Must be available to work full time. Call or email Steven for details at (801) 323-9500 or steven@slmetro.com CLASSIFIEDS ARE just $5 for 5 lines if purchased at slmetro.com.
ROOMMATES WANTED
TROLLEY SQUARE. Male roommate to share 2 bed, 1 bath condo. Furnished. $300 monthly + 250 deposit. Call 519-0147 with questions. MIDVALE PRIVATE bedroom w/ private bath, $350/month includes utils. $150 deposit. No drugs! Moderate drinker OK. Prefer gay male. Call Darrin 801-352-2800.
BITTER GIRL by Joan Hilty
JANUARY 6, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 27
GAY FRIENDLY roommate wanted to share beautiful 3-bedroom arts & crafts style home near SugarHouse Commons/24 Hour Fitness. $350 + 1/3 util. More info at http:// home.comcast.net/~e846/
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