Metro, March 17, 2005

March 17–30 Volume 2

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Issue 6

Calif. Judge Rules Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional Likely to head to the state supreme court Utah AIDS Foundation Offers Pain-Free Tests No needles or blood drawn, tests cells from the mouth

Victory Fund Trains Local Gay Politicians Offers resources for campaigns

Home and Garden Spring guide to making your yard memorable

Trapp Door Changes Ownership Grand Opening Conference Weekend Readers Rant on Ruby Jere: Shirtless Hunks are Better than Groundhogs Gay Agenda Classifieds

News JUDY ROLFE

WORLD AND NATIONAL

Newly-appointed President of Human Rights Campaign Joe Solmonese

Human Rights Campaign Names New President

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 17, 2005

Nation’s Largest Queer Lobbyist Group Taps Experienced Leader Washington, D.C.—On March 9, the board of directors and foundation board of the Human Rights Campaign named Joe Solmonese, chief executive officer of EMILY’s List, as HRC’s new president.

Solmonese announced that upon taking the helm on April 11, he will tour the country and meet with the American people, community leaders, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community members at town hall meetings and other events in the workplace, within communities of color and in communities of faith.

As a key political strategist, Solmonese oversaw one of the nation’s most successful efforts to elect progressive candidates by appealing to heartland and mainstream voters. His work included broad outreach across the nation, speaking with large and small groups about the important issues facing the American people.

He has been at EMILY’s List for the last 12 years, serving in several key capacities from deputy political director to chief of staff and the CEO position he’s occupied for the past two-and-a-half years.

“A great leader surfaced early and we are thrilled with the result,” said Vic Basile, co-chair of the HRC foundation board and co-chair of the search committee. “Joe has an unrivaled track record at the nation’s foremost progressive electoral powerhouse.

We are confidant that he will appeal to Americans across the political and ideological spectrum.”

“We need to make sure every GLBT American has a safe place to come out and join us in the fight for equality. Our equality under the law is evolving as the defining social and political issue of our time,” said Solmonese.

“As a gay American, I am very honored to serve HRC and the GLBT community and to join the leadership of a movement that is working toward an America that keeps its promise to all its citizens.”

Solmonese continued on to encourage queer people to find allies in our families and communities and in all political parties.

“That’s why I intend to hit the road in my first week. We are broadening the American conversation about equality,” explained Solmonese. “I’ll be meeting with GLBT families, religious leaders, corporate leaders, communities of color and employee groups and GLBT community leaders across the country, and talking about the path to our equality.”

A native of Massachusetts, Solmonese is 40 and lives in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Boston University in 1987 with a bachelor of science in communications and has been an HRC Federal Club member for more than 12 years.

“I am very happy that Joe will be the next president of HRC. By his talent, commitment and experience, he is ideally suited to help lead the fight for the central American value of equal rights under the law,” said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.—JK

Gay Lebanese Man Eligible for US Asylum San Francisco—A gay AIDS patient who fled Lebanon nearly twenty years ago may remain in the United States because he could face arrest, intimidation or even death at the hands of an Islamic militia group, according to a federal appeals court.

In a unanimous March 7 ruling, a threemember panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Nasser Mustapha Karouni would likely be targeted by Hezbollah if he returned to his country of origin. A paramilitary organization active in the area of south Lebanon where Karouni lived, Hezbollah endorses an interpretation of Islamic law condemning homosexual sex. According to his asylum application, Karouni said armed men in militia uniforms had attempted to arrest him in his apartment in 1984. He also said several of his gay friends were beaten and imprisoned, and a gay cousin was shot to death in 1986, apparently by members of the organization.

The Board of Immigration Appeals initially ruled against him, saying he could not document his claims and that his two return visits to Lebanon—in 1992 and 1996 to see his dying parents—contradicted his claims of persecution. Immigration lawyers also said Karouni would only be persecuted if he engaged in gay sex—something he could choose to avoid.

“The Attorney General appears content with saddling Karouni with the Hobson’s choice of returning to Lebanon and either facing persecution for engaging in future homosexual acts or living a life of celibacy,” wrote Judge Harry Pregerson, in an opinion representing all three judges. “In our view, neither option is acceptable.”

The appeals court then remanded Karouni’s petition to the Board of Immigration Appeals.—JV

Gay Dutch Couples Promised Access to Int’l Adoption

Gay Couple Sues Conservative Group Over Wedding Photo Washington, D.C.—A gay Oregon couple filed a $25 million dollar lawsuit against USA Next, a conservative group that supports privatizing Social Security, for using their wedding photograph in an Internet advertisement without permission.

The advertisement in question, widely disseminated in television, print and online media sources last month, criticized retirement group AARP for its opposition to proposed Social Security reform. It consisted of a picture of a U.S. soldier with a red “X” across it and the couple’s image superimposed with a green check mark above the phrase “The REAL AARP Agenda.”

The couple, Steve Hansen and Rick Raymen of Portland, Oregon, brought the fourcount federal suit after the advertisement’s creator and publisher admitted to photo theft. The suit alleges that the unauthorized use of the wedding photograph was libelous, constituted intentional infliction of emotional distress and violated the couple’s privacy and their right of publicity.

“Our lawsuit is intended to make USA Next and [their consultant] Mark Montini pay for the harm they have caused and to send a message to them that they cannot recklessly play with peoples’ reputations and make them targets of hate, as they have done with us,” Raymen said.

Monti said he had taken the photograph from the Portland Tribune’s website and that his firm had “made a mistake” in not asking the paper’s permission to use the photo.

“At the end of the day the worst case scenario was something fell through the cracks in our office,” he said in an interview. But, “[t]hey were posing for pictures in the newspaper. Nobody would know about this if they haven’t made a big deal about it.”—JV

twisting our arm.”

Though some lawmakers have expressed confidence in the bill passing both legislative houses in a matter of weeks, the legislation has faced opposition from the Family Institute of Connecticut and gay lobby group Love Makes a Family. While neoconservatives have criticized the legislation for being no different from legalizing gay marriage, Love Makes a Family said the bill doesn’t go far enough. However, the gay-rights group said it would make no attempt to block the legislation.

The bill was approved on a 25-13 vote by the state legislature’s Joint Judiciary Committee.—JV

New Mexico Senate Approves Gay Marriage Ban Santa Fe, N.M.—In a 25-12 vote, New Mexico’s senate approved a bill that seeks to define marriage as a contract “between a man and a woman.”

Supporters of the bill, labeled SB 597, have called it a necessary step in clarifying

state law and defending the interests of the state’s children.

“Nature has shown us the way ... and we know that the best situation for children is with a mother and father that love them,” an Associated Press story quoted bill sponsor William Sharer, R-Farmington, as saying.

Though co-sponsored by 28 senators from both sides of the aisle, several Democrats called the bill discriminatory.

Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, also proposed legislation to legalize civil unions for same-gender couples. The bill died in committee earlier in the day.

At press time, the bill was headed to the House. The session ends March 19. Given Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson’s public support of marriage definition and samegender civil unions, it is unclear what will happen if the legislation ends up on his desk.

“I want a civil unions component,” Richardson told the Albuquerque Tribune. “It makes sense to combine them.”—JV

Connecticut to Vote on Civil Unions Hartford, Conn.—In a move that may put the state on the map as the first to legally recognize same-gender unions through legislation rather than court action, Connecticut lawmakers will soon vote on a civil union bill.

If enacted, the bill would extend almost all the rights and responsibilities of marriage to same-gender couples, save the ability to get a marriage license.

While courts were responsible for Massachusetts’ legalization of same-gender marriage and Vermont’s approval of civil unions five years ago, supporters of the Connecticut legislation have called it a unique process.

“In Connecticut, it is a ground-up, grassroots, legislative-based process,” state Democratic Sen. Andrew McDonald, one of Connecticut’s three openly gay legislators, told the Los Angeles Times. “Nobody is

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Amsterdam—On March 9, a parliamentary majority of Dutch legislators promised gay and lesbian couples legislative changes permitting them to adopt children from other countries, at least in theory.

Since the nation’s legalization of gay marriage in 2000, gay and lesbian couples have been able to adopt Dutch children.

Even though some same-gender couples have adopted children from nations allowing single parent adoptions, Dutch law currently prohibits the practice. A bill proposed by the Democrats 66 party would legalize the practice, thus resolving questions related to such issues as inheritance and questions of legal parenthood.

Although Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner agreed that the current law was discriminatory, he also said the law was currently a “dead issue,” as no countries are willing to allow gay Dutch couples to adopt. Presently, couples get around these laws by putting only one parent’s name on adoption forms and waiting until children have arrived in the Netherlands to complete the adoption process.

The bill’s supporters have accused the conservative-led government of stalling, and thereby causing legal problems for many adopted children.

“Gay adoption has been legal in the Netherlands for years, but most adopted children

come from abroad,” Philip Tijsma of the Democrats 66 party told the Associated Press.

He added that gay Dutch couples are currently raising nearly 20,000 children, and that fifteen such couples have adopted children from the United States without objection.

He also said that South Africa and certain Brazilian provinces may soon allow Dutch gay and lesbian couples to adopt their children.—JV

News LOCAL

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UAF Offers Rapid-Result Oral Testing for HIV The Utah AIDS Foundation has begun using the OraQuick ADVANCE HIV testing system at all its testing sites. The new test is a needle-free and pain-free test for the virus that causes AIDS and can produce results within about 20 minutes.

“The whole process, including the test, counseling and results can take between a half an hour and an hour,” said UAF HIV Prevention Specialist Tyler Fisher.

Fisher notes that the test is 99.3% accurate if a person has been infected for at least 6 months. He also points out that any positive result will be followed up with a confirmation test in the labs.

Previously, UAF relied on the OraQuick test, which uses finger-stick blood samples.

The new test, OraQuick ADVANCE tests an oral fluid sample (Oral Mucosal Transudate) from inside the mouth.

Fisher believes that having a painless test that produces rapid results will encourage more people to get tested and be aware of their HIV status.

“What we saw when we introduced the finger-stick test was that we went from six clients a night to 30,” he said. “I think having the results in an hour instead of waiting for two weeks is a big draw.”

Fisher says that people are still hesitant to get tested, though, because they don’t like needles, even small ones like the finger-prick. The new test will alleviate that fear. “A lot of people think we’re testing their saliva,” Fisher explains. “That’s not really true; we’re testing for antibodies found

in the mucus membranes of the mouth.”

Currently, the OraQuick ADVANCE is available at all UAF testing sites, which include the Utah AIDS Foundation offices, 1408 S 1100 E (Walk-in clinic Mondays 5:30-7pm, by appointment Fridays 9:30am1:30pm), and The Center, 355 N 300 W (Walk-in, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, 6-8pm).

UAF will also offer free and confidential testing at major community events throughout the year.

For more information on OraQuick ADVANCE, or UAF HIV testing opportunities, visit www. utahaids.org or call 487-2323.—JK

Center Seeks Director of Youth Programs Thanks to a generous donation from one Center supporter, the GLBT Community Center of Utah now has the funds available to hire a Director of Youth Programs.

Primary responsibilities of the position would be managing the development and ongoing programming The Center provides for youth aged 24 and under.

The Center is seeking qualified individuals with experience running programs, computer skills, experience managing grants, and a commitment to social justice with an understanding of grassroots organizing. The position is full-time.

Resume and cover letter should be sent to The Center’s Executive Director, Valerie Larabee, at valerie@glbtccu.org. For more information, contact The Center at 593-8800.—JK

California Judge Rules Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional San Francisco—A Superior Court judge ruled on Monday, March 14 that California’s law limiting marriage to a union between a man and a woman is unconstitutional.

San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer ruled Monday that California can no longer justify limiting marriage to a man and a woman, a legal milestone that, if upheld on appeal, would pave the way for the nation’s most populous state to follow Massachusetts in allowing same-sex couples to wed.

The lawsuits were brought by the city of San Francisco and a dozen same-gender couples last March, after the California Supreme Court halted the four-week marriage spree Mayor Gavin Newsom had initiated when he directed city officials, in defiance of state law, to issue marriage licenses to gays and lesbians.

“It appears that no rational purpose exists for limiting marriage in this state to opposite-sex partners,” Kramer wrote in a 27-page tentative ruling released in San Francisco.

“The state’s protracted denial of equal

protection cannot be justified simply because such constitutional violation has become traditional,” continued Kramer.

Two legal groups representing religious conservatives joined with California Attorney General Bill Lockyer in defending the existing laws and vowed to appeal.

Lockyer’s office said it expects the matter eventually will have to be settled by the California Supreme Court.

“Today’s ruling is an important step toward a more fair and just California, that rejects discrimination and affirms family values for all California families,” San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said.

The case before Kramer has been closely watched because of California’s historical role on the forefront of gay rights.

Since Jan. 1, same-gender couples registering as domestic partners in California have been granted virtually all the rights and responsibilities of marriage, so the arguments for striking down the state’s gay marriage ban have centered as much on the social meaning of marriage as its legal benefits.—JK

Winners of Utah Bear alliance’s first contest Jake Morris and Scotty B. Both will compete in the 2006 International Bear Rendezvous.

Blake Howell for winning 3 days and 2 nights in fabulous Las Vegas, complete with a $500 casino benefits package!

Be sure to vote in next year’s Salt Lake Metro Utah’s Best for 2006!

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Congratulations to

News LOCAL

How a national organization is training Utah’s gay and lesbian candidates to win elected office.

Wolfe says.

Victory Fund’s only Utah-based board member, Frank Matheson, sees the Fund as a crucial way to give a stronger, more direct voice to gays and lesbians in Utah.

“Our allies have been timid and ineffective.

Amendment 3 was put on the ballot by one vote in the state senate. If McCoy had been there already, things may have been different,” says Matheson. “We need to be at the table, we cannot be represented by proxy.

We can help elect our allies, but we need to represent ourselves first.”

Victory Fund Vice President Robin Brand explains the group is non-partisan and doesn’t lobby or support any ideology. “The

by Joel Shoemaker

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Nineteen months, two Novembers and one more legislative session away, Sen. Scott McCoy (D-SLC) has begun work on his reelection campaign.

“I basically started running for re-election the Sunday after I was elected by the delegates,” McCoy tells Salt Lake Metro.

Having become Utah’s first openly gay state senator, and only the second openly gay legislator in the state’s history, McCoy is looking at a variety of potential obstacles to his first popular-election victory. Having taken former Sen. Paula Julander’s seat in a mid-term surprise election by District 2 Democrat delegates, McCoy knows he’ll have to work hard to mend ties with his own party and reach out to his broad constituent base. But most importantly, McCoy knows he’ll have to overcome being “the gay senator.”

That’s why McCoy and about 17 other openly gay and lesbian declared and potential Utah candidates embedded themselves in an intense training session March 10-13 held at the Salt Lake Airport Hilton.

Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to helping queer candidates win elected office across the nation, coordinated the training in conjunction with the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute.

It’s a first-of-its-kind event in Utah, and the largest training session Victory Fund has held to date, with a total of 40 participants attending from across the country. Many participants are there not only to get basic training on how to run a campaign, but also to tap into Victory Fund’s national network designed to help gays like themselves get into office.

Victory Fund’s track record of success started in 1991 and has grown each year in endorsed candidates and money raised for those candidates, which has totaled more than $15 million in those years. According to their website (www.victoryfund.org), Victory Fund raised more than $3 million in just the last election, helping 41 of their 65 endorsed candidates win office on all levels in 20 states and the District of Columbia. This past election the group even endorsed their first transgender candidates. Victory Fund President Chuck Wolfe says Victory Fund’s mission is clear: to have queer people represent themselves on all levels of government, ensuring the queer voice is heard directly, and not by proxy. “Equality isn’t going to happen because other people gave it to us. We have to accept the responsibility of attaining it,”

Victory Fund training session

Amendment 3. “I’ve come in having already run a statewide campaign, but that was an issues campaign which is much different from a candidate campaign. What I’m hoping is that they can help give tools specific to my campaign.”

And not just active candidates attend the training. Twenty-one year old Utah County resident Fernando Noriega, who was active in the “No on 3” fight doesn’t know if one day he’ll run for office, but says he’s attending the training because it’s such a rare opportunity in Utah. “This training—the skills, the know-how—is something I don’t

JOEL SHOEMAKER

joel@slmetro.com

JOEL SHOEMAKER

Strategy to Win

Victory Fund Vice President Robin Brand, President Chuck Wolfe and Arizona state Senator Kenneth Cheuvront at the Salt Lake City training session.

issues are what candidates are running on,” Brand says. “We exist in order to level the playing field.”

The training, which covers everything from budgeting, to campaign literature, to media skills, works to accomplish that mission.

Equality Utah Chair Jane Marquardt, whose campaign for Salt Lake City Council became official in February, says she’s looking for the training to update her campaign skills. “I’ve run for office and run other people’s campaigns, I’m just looking to update my campaign skills, to see what’s greatest and latest.” Marquardt says she’s actually put many campaign decisions on hold until attending this training.

McCoy says he’s using the training to help modify the skills he learned running the Don’t Amend Alliance fight against

know where I could find anything like it.”

Beyond the training, active candidates like Marquardt and McCoy will consider whether to seek a Victory Fund endorsement, tapping into a national network of donors eager to send money to local campaigns, and enlisting the strategic advice of the Victory Fund team.

For a candidate, whether or not they seek Victory Fund’s endorsement can be a difficult decision, especially in local races where support from a national organization can be looked at as intrusion. As a national network working to pour money into local campaigns solely for the purpose of electing someone because of their sexuality, Wolfe says in some areas that has been raised by opposition candidates, but it eventually only works to help a candidate succeed. “There have been candidates that have been attacked because of their Victory

Fund endorsement—but those attacks only turn on more resources,” he says.

Wolfe points to the recent North Carolina state senate race of Julia Boseman. He says during her campaign she was relentlessly attacked by her conservative Republican opposition on her sexuality and her Victory Fund endorsement. But as a result, Wolfe says, Victory Fund was able to send emails and alerts across the country to potential donors regarding the attacks on Bosemen. Money poured into her campaign, and Boseman was able to eventually win the election. “More often negative attacks turn into more support around the country to help you pour money into your message,” he says.

Endorsement comes after a candidate has completed an extensive application detailing their campaign strategy, their fundraising plans, and their support staff. Victory Fund’s board votes on the applications without a particular timetable. Brand says that although Victory Fund looks to have candidates that have a strong likelihood of winning, some candidates are endorsed because the area they’re running in hasn’t had a gay candidate before. She says candidates who have applied for endorsement but were rejected just didn’t have a viable campaign strategy and/or were running a race that would be impossible to win.

“I’ll absolutely seek their endorsement,” says McCoy. “It’s good to be hooked into the staff, to be able to call and say ‘Here’s what’s happening’ and get advice on how to tackle it.” McCoy doesn’t see how a Victory Fund endorsement could hurt, at least in his district. “That’s like the NAACP wanting to elect black people to office. It shouldn’t be a problem ... I could see in some swing districts it might be worth more thought.”

Marquardt, on the other hand, has yet to decide. “I haven’t figured out if I want their endorsement. I‘m not looking for fundraising; I expect to be able to raise enough money,” she says.

Wolfe says it’s too early to tell if Marquardt or McCoy would get a Victory Fund endorsement, but says that Marquardt “seems to be doing all the right things ...

I’m sure the Board would look favorably at her application.” He reflects the same enthusiasm about McCoy, whose race is much further out.

Victory Fund will hold training sessions again in Colorado in June, Boston in September, and Seattle in November.

Queer Health Takes Focus in National Awareness Week The third annual National LGBT Health Awareness Week is taking place March 13– 19. Across the country, major cities will organize events and activities to raise public awareness of the unique health concerns of the queer community. In Washington, D.C., the week coincides with a lobbying effort to provide a framework for the continued inclusion of queer issues as part of the national health policy dialogue.

In Salt Lake City, The Center will host a Health Expo in conjunction with the national efforts. Among the planned activities, guests at the Health Expo will watch on the big screen a taped performance of a bald and beautiful Melissa Etheridge— who was diagnosed last year with breast cancer—performing at the 2005 Grammy awards. Free massages and free screenings of blood pressure and antioxidant levels will also be provided, along with a wealth of information on community resources and health issues that affect the queer community.

The Center’s Health Expo takes place March 17 from 6–8:30pm in the multi-purpose room of the facility (355 N. 300 West).

“LGBT Americans, in addition to having the same basic health needs as the general

population, have increased health disparities because of continuing discrimination and ignorance related to sexual orientation or gender identity, a fact confirmed by a growing body of scientific and social research,” said Henia Handler, co-chair of the National Coalition for LGBT Health.

“Years of stigma and prejudice impact both the health of the LGBT community and the ability of health care providers to improve the wellness of their patients.”

“This research and other sciencebased reports clearly indicate the need to incorporate sexual orientation as a health indicator in the work of the Department of Health and Human Services,” said David Haltiwanger, co-chair of the Coalition.

“Such integration would include, for example, the incorporation of questions on sexual orientation in various national health surveys. The collection of this information is critical if we are to understand the scope of health issues across the LGBT population and then create and improve services that will reverse the significant health disparities in our community.”

More information on National LGBT Health Awareness Week can be found at www.lgbthealth.net.—JK

Trapp Door Changes Hands

by Rob Orton rob@slmetro.com

More information will be posted soon on the Trapp Door’s new website: www.trappdoor.com.

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Changes are happening at one of Salt Lake’s most popular dancehalls. On Feb. 28, Joe Redburn, owner of the Trapp and Trapp Door, sold the Door to Todd McKinley, Michael Marriott, Rob Goulding, and “Mamma Nadene” for an undisclosed amount. Some of the new owners share interest in Todd’s and Club Vortex. The Trapp Door will retain its name and remain gay all the time.

The only personnel affected by the change is Trapp/Trapp Door common manager Frank Chugg, who will remain manager at Trapp. Jake Pilkington, who has worked with the new owners for several years at other clubs, will be the Trapp Door’s main contact and coordinator for events; McKinley will manage other club operations.

Current memberships at Trapp Door will be honored, including joint memberships sold for the Trapp and Trapp Door. New $30 joint memberships will no longer be issued, however. Single-club memberships are still $15 and will not change.

The new owners have installed a temporary sound system, and a new system is due to be installed by the end of the month. “We’re not interested in being the loudest club, just sounding the best,” Marriott says. “We’re going to do more video.

In the coming months you’ll see it all come together. You’ll be able to see and dance to what you hear.”

“We have a great staff—we’ll be keeping all of them,” McKinley said. “Some of them have worked for us for a long time. We will be adding DJ’s and other staff as necessary.”

Employees of the club say they have been treated very well through the owner-

ship change. Many who are employed at other clubs, including the Trapp, say the new ownership will have no affect on their other positions.

Johnny “Disco” Harris, who has been employed by McKinley and Marriott for 10 years, said, “I’m happy to see these guys move forward. I also love Joe Redburn and hope to always work with him. All of these guys are very positive for our community and always have its best interests at heart.”

Harris, with the endorsement of the new owners, will host the Trapp Door’s new monthly benefit series on the last Thursday of each month. Each month will benefit a different social interest group with March’s event, called “Disco Fever,” aiding the tsunami relief fund. According to Harris, that first event and had a great reception.

Upcoming benefits will be for The Center, HIV/AIDS organizations, and other organizations in the gay community.

The Trapp Door will also begin “SunDays on Tuesday,” which, Marriott says, will bring back the traditions of the former Sun Tavern.

Other format changes have not yet been resolved. Marriott also expressed a great passion for Sunday’s “Salsa Night,” and improvements to this night are among the few that have been slated for the near future.

“We don’t want to put anybody out of business. We will be collaborating with all the bars. We want to be the premier gay dance / DJ club,” said Marriott. “We want to provide something different and also add to what everybody else is doing.”

City Weekly Threatens Legal Action Against Salt Lake Metro

by Darren Tucker

of Citysearch Utah, and more. This is simply the Weekly taking us on thinking Attendees at the Salt Lake Metro’s first we’ll just back down because we can’t awards ceremony honoring Utah’s afford to stand up to them.” favorite gay-friendly places, people and The trouble didn’t start just a couple businesses may have noticed an obviweeks ago. On Jan. 3, the editor and ous lack of the word “best.” the publisher of the Metro received The missing word was no coincian e-mail from Chad Keller (formerly dence. The Metro’s publishers, editor involved with promotion at the paper) and lawyer worked hard before the pointing out that the Metro had inadprogram to remove or cover up the vertently used the phrase “Best of Utah” word “best” on its promotional materiin its Dec. 23 issue. als, newspapers and even certificates “City Weekly gunning for Metro now,” given to the winners—all at the demand reads the e-mail in part. “Seems you of another Salt Lake newspaper. used their Best of Utah trademarked Publishers of the City Weekly have readers choice without permission... taken offense at the Metro’s use of the they won against BOSS (Best of State). name “Salt Lake Metro Utah’s Best for Hope you fair as well...It [sic] not like 2005” for its recent reader survey. Citing they have been doing it over 2 decades!”

Utah trademark law, the paper dePeterson said he immediately called manded that Metro stop using the title, Jim Rizzi, publisher of the Weekly, and alleging the phrase is too close to the apologized. He said he also told Rizzi name of the Weekly’s own survey, “Best Metro would change the name of its conof Utah.” test to “Salt Lake Metro Utah’s Best for “The conflict is that City Weekly has 2005.” He says he told Rizzi that if there spent many years and many thouwere any problems, he should call. sands of dollars developing a signature According to Peterson, Rizzi told him trademark,” said Weekly lawyer Bradley in that call that he was unaware of the Booke in a recent interview. “It is of survey and indicated he was “okay” considerable value to them, and they with the new name. own the right to protect it.”

“I wanted to work with them,” PeMetro co-owners Michael Aaron and terson said. “That’s why I called them.

Steven Peterson see the conflict as some- But they are obviously trying to push us thing totally different. They view it as around.” more of a David and Goliath struggle— Rizzi, publisher of the Weekly, dewith the brand-new Metro up against a bigger, older, more established paper.

“The City Weekly has changed,” said Aaron. “They used to be the underdog, taking on ‘The Man.’ They went up against the state DABC, the city, the Tribune. They were the mouthpiece for the minority. But lately they have gotten much more conservative and now, they’ve turned into ‘The Man,’ trying to squash a little, upstart newspaper by siccing a high-priced attorney on us.”

Peterson, who has published the Little Lavender Book for eight years, said he has always tried to “work hard with other publications. The last thing we need is for people in our community to be fighting.”

But Booke says the dispute is over trademark law, no more and no less. He Salt Lake Metro columnist Ben Williams presents the certificate for Utah’s Best Queer Sports Organization to members of QUAC. note the big black box over the word “Best” in the background graphic. said the Weekly has registered “Best of clined comment. He deferred any ques- Best for 2005’ would mistakenly believe Utah” as a trademark. He said it does tions to Booke, the paper’s attorney. not matter that the two phrases are not that they were reading the City Weekly,” It seemed to Peterson the trouble was reads his letter. “The term itself makes exactly the same, only that “the issue is whether the marks are sufficiently simi- over, and Metro went ahead with its the distinction clear.” survey and special edition. But on Feb. lar to cause confusion as to the source York goes on to say the Metro’s use 18 (a day after the issue hit the stands), of the goods or services in question.” of the phrase did no damage to the Booke delivered a letter to the Metro Aaron said that is not true. “They Weekly, whose survey is not due out demanding the paper stop using the do not own the word ‘best’ and they until the beginning of April. His letter phrase immediately and that all copies cannot own the word ‘Utah.’ A search says Rizzi knew about the title weeks of the paper be pulled from the stands of Utah trademarks showed over a in advance and did not take any action and turned over to the City Weekly. thousand businesses with the word until the issue came out. He acknowlHis letter said at best the Metro’s con- edges the phrase “Best of Utah” may be ‘Best’ in their name. Over thirty had the test name was a “colorable imitation” phrase ‘Best of.’ As far as contests go, trademarked, but that no damage was there are KUTV’s Best of State, Salt Lake of the Weekly’s name. He went on to say done or could be done to the Weekly.

Metro’s use of the phrase was probably Magazine’s Best of the Beehive, Best

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KIM RUSSO

darren@slmetro.com

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a “willful and intentional infringement on Copperfield’s trademark.”

“Ordering us to pull all issues of the paper and deliver them to their office, how demeaning is that?” asked Aaron.

“How over the top is that demand? They expected us to bring the paper to their office with our tails between our legs... heads hung low and begging forgiveness.”

Booke claims it was Rizzi who contacted Peterson at the Metro and demanded the paper not use the phrase “Utah’s Best for 2005.” His letter says the Metro went ahead with the survey despite knowing about the Weekly’s concerns.

Peterson noted that phone records will show the truth.

Booke also stated he is unaware of any attempts by the Metro to resolve the situation by changing the name of its survey. “If they have done so, they have not communicated it to me,” Booke said.

Metro attorney Scott York responded to the Weekly’s claims with a letter of his own. In it, he states that compiling a survey of the state’s best business, places and people is not something that can be trademarked—and that free speech laws cover such lists.

Booke said he does not disagree.

“Anyone is free to make any sort of list they like.”

York’s letter then explains that if the problem is the survey title itself, he believes the phrase is not close enough to the Weekly’s allegedly trademarked phrase to be illegal.

“There is no colorable argument that a person seeing ‘Salt Lake Metro Utah’s

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Booke’s second letter claims Metro publishers intentionally went ahead with their survey and the banquet knowing full well they were violating trademark laws.

And so, Aaron, Peterson and the Metro’s editor and lawyers spent hours before the ceremony covering any reference to the word “best” on fliers, newspapers, wall signs and even the certificates presented at the event. Presenters were even asked to avoid use of the word “best” as they distributed the awards.

Aaron and Peterson say covering “best” was not an admission of guilt, but rather an attempt to defuse the situation without resorting to legal action. Weekly attorney Booke said no one told him about what happened at the ceremony.

He said the Weekly still intends to “do whatever is legally necessary and legally proper to protect the value of our trademark. Exactly what form that takes depends on what the Salt Lake Metro does.

In fact, when the woman who answered the phone just now told me it was someone from the Metro, I was hoping they were moving to resolve the dispute.”

Aaron said the Metro is perfectly happy to settle the fight, but the paper will not back down to the Weekly’s demands.

He said the latest communication between the two involved Metro looking for words to replace “best,” but, as of press time, no decisions had been made.

“If they had approached us more respectfully from the beginning, this whole thing would be different,” he said. “This is very clearly a case of deep pockets against those of us who are scraping by, trying to find every quarter we can laying on the streets.”

“I have always tried to work with everyone,” added Peterson. “If this is the way they want to do business, then fine.

It’s obvious they don’t support our community and we will do our very best to avoid them from now on. We’ve lost a lot of respect for them.”

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MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 9

And, the letter reads, “To distinguish its list from all others, Metro was conscientious enough to actually put its signature on its term.”

“Copperfield chose to register a vague string of generic words and now seeks to prevent anyone else from publishing a ‘best’ list in the geographic region of ‘Utah,’” the letter says. “Most disturbingly, it appears that Copperfield desires to use its ambiguous registration to stifle freedom of expression and inflict economic injury on Metro; which it apparently views as a competitor.”

Booke said the trademark violation does not have to cause actual damage.

“The reason we have injunctions in trademark law in Utah is to stop damages from happening,” he explained. “It is to prevent the dilution of a valuable trademark before it can happen. It is not necessary to prove any sort of actual damages.”

York’s letter was to no avail. At 4:00 p.m. on March 4, the day before the Metro’s award ceremony, Booke delivered another letter to Metro demanding the paper “immediately discontinue any further use of the ‘Best for 2005,’ specifically including whatever awards banquet it has planned.”

“The eleventh-hour timing of these letters is obvious, and key to our reaction,” Peterson said. “We opened lines of communication very early, but they waited until contracts were signed and money had changed hands.”

By the time the letter was sent to the Metro offices, food, wine, drinks and decorations had already been purchased for the event. Certificates had been printed and framed and the Multipurpose Room at The Center had been booked. Dozens of invitees were planning to attend the event who would need to be contacted if it were to be cancelled.

“Once again, they waited until it was simply too late to do anything about it,” said Aaron.

Before there was The DaVinci Code and The Passion of The Christ there was Jesus Christ Superstar.

Raw, energetic, flamboyant and passionate,

Publisher Michael Aaron Editor Jere Keys Arts Editor Eric J. Tierney

Opinion

Sports Editor David Nelson Proofreader Nicholas Rupp Contributing Brandie Balken Writers Vanessa Chang Jason Clark John Cooney Beau Jarvis Laurie Mecham Rob Orton William T. Park 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 Kim Russo Joel Shoemaker Art Director Michael Aaron Designer Kris Kramer Sales Director Steven Peterson Display Ad Sebastian Cruz Sales Chris Lemon Classified Roger Cox Sales Chris Wold Distribution Tony Hobday Managers 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.

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 17, 2005

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

All For One, One For All Every civil rights movement, sooner or later, has a period of reckoning. A phase in which new ideas rise up to challenge the old notions, a paradigm shift that can often alter the very goals we are working toward.

The queer civil rights struggle is coming to one of these periods. It’s not the first time this has happened. In the late 1960s and the 1970s, the queer civil rights movement was largely focused on organizing and fighting for institutional shifts in thinking. We fought to remove homosexuality from the list of mental diseases, began to make our presence known in politics, and fought to remove the taboo of simply discussing sexual orientation.

In the 1980s, the AIDS crisis changed the shape of the gay rights movement. In became necessary for our community’s survival to fight for visibility, to force elected officials to acknowledge our existence and do something to help us. Organizations were formed which last to this day in some form or another.

In the 1990s, visibility and legal equality were the most pressing subjects. We began to appear more and more in popular media, nationally we made strides forward in legal circles with non-discrimination laws, hate crime legislation and working to strike down sodomy laws state by state. On the horizon, especially at the end of the decade and the beginning of this one, we focused increasing attention to family and marriage rights.

But the goals of social and legal equality are getting closer each passing year. Regardless of far away it actually is, it has begun to feel like marriage equality, family protections and social equality are nearly in our grasp.

Throughout the American queer civil rights struggle, we have been developing a sense of community, of common culture and history. But the focus of our efforts has been on, basically, assimilation. We have celebrated the “normal” queers. “See this doctor who looks and acts

just like you—he’s gay!” “Here are two lesbian moms, one is a lawyer and the other sells real estate… they’re just like your family!”

There’s nothing wrong with celebrating the “normal” queers—it has helped us to achieve a level of comfort from the mainstream population that has been invaluable to our common goals. But times, they are a-changing.

The new notion of the queer civil rights movement, as promoted by a new generation of national leadership, is not assimilation. Instead, it is argued, we need to fight for the acceptance of the not-“normal” queers, both within and without the community. We’re talking about the very obviously queer folks—the one’s who aren’t “straight-acting,” the people who challenge gender roles and assumptions, the flamboyant and fabulous among us.

Such a radical shift in thinking, of course, is frightening to institutional leaders who have been trained and raised in the old assimilation-model of the queer civil rights movement. How, they wonder, can we achieve equal rights by parading forth our drag queens and überbutch lesbians?

Sometimes it isn’t even a conscious decision, but they keep the radically queer members of the community out of leadership positions.

As we demand from others that ‘sexual orientation’ be maintained in any hate crime legislation, we must also demand from ourselves that we must fight for the rights of all of us.

Salt Lake Metro would like to encourage understanding and patience from both the traditionalist leaders of our community and the upcoming leaders of tomorrow. While we support the fundamental paradigm shift for our civil rights movement—that only by gaining acceptance for all members of our community can we achieve our dream of equality—we know that such changes are difficult and frightening.

But as the wisdom of the ages would point out, that which does not change, dies.

From the Editor Sprung for Spring

by Jere Keys jere@slmetro.com

From our third story offices here at the Metro we spotted our first shirtless construction worker of the year last week. As we all huddled around the window like people in a Diet Coke commercial, it dawned on me: this was a sign more reliable than some silly groundhog—spring is here!

With the coming of spring, some people think of chores like spring cleaning, gardening, and redoubling our efforts at the gym before someone announces the inevitable pool party. For others, spring signals the beginning of outdoor sports events, barbeques and wedding season. Or maybe it just signals the beginning of re-runs on television.

For me, influenced by my liberal neo-pagan philosophies and devotion to fantasy genres, I think of the old associations of birth, rebirth and renewal.

I remember that it is a time when we marvel at the return of life to the land. I acknowledge how, in ancient times, people knew spring was a time for planting seeds that would grow and sustain us in the coming year. I think of foods that had spoiled or been used up over the winter becoming available again as the days get longer and warmer.

That and, of course, more shirtless men.

As long as I’m off and running with the neo-pagan philosophical thinking, let’s talk about some seeds that could be planted for the queer community this spring (metaphorically speaking). What are those things we could be doing now to ensure that we will be sustained and healthy later?

First off, let me make an appeal to the community to support our local non-profit organizations.

As a board member of The Center, I have a special interest in pointing out how great the organization is, but my journalistic ethic forces me to also mention the Utah AIDS Foundation, People With AIDS Coalition of Utah, Equality Utah, the Human Rights Campaign, the Royal Court, the Utah Gay Rodeo Association, and more. All these groups provide needed and vital support to the community. Even if you don’t think you need any of their services now, think of making a donation like planting a seed—it will be there for you later if you should need it.

The second seed we should plant is a financial and time commitment to supporting our allies. It’s way past time for us to be supporting other civil rights groups, from the NAACP to the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ), ACLU, ethnic/minority groups and progressive causes. Not just the political organizations, but think of the queer-friendly spiritual groups as well, the environmental causes, and the various disease awareness and support programs.

The next seed we need to plant is one of selfawareness and self-love. This community has been blighted by internalized homophobia and low selfesteem for far too long. It’s time to shake of those gloomy thoughts and tell ourselves that it’s good to be queer. If no one has said this to you before, let me say it now: you are perfect, you are wonderful, and you are exactly who and what you should be.

The last seed I’d like us to plant might be a stretch for some Metro readers: let’s begin growing a sense of civic pride. Since moving to Utah, too many people have told me how horrible it is to live here. I disagree. I like living in Utah. A negative attitude about our home is defeatist and, frankly, an excuse to not do the first three things I’ve mentioned. It’s lazy and cliché (and really, what worse insult exists for queer people than being called lazy and cliché?). So if no one has said this to you before, let me: it’s good to be queer in Utah, we need you and welcome you in our community, and you are exactly where you should be.

Happy planting, happy spring, and happy shirtless-hunk gazing!

Letters

other, I believe it is vital for families to stay intact and nurture each other. My wife Roxanne and I plan to attend their meetings.

PFLAG Welcome in N. Utah

Huntsville, UT

Tom Taylor

Don’t Call Me Gay

Three Funerals and a Botched Wedding

whom property passes. Those who have lost same-sex partners to death are no less devastated, no less widowed, and no less alone.

Yet the law has the finality of a judge’s gavel.

In the face of vocal support of Republican Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. for the Mutual Dependence Benefits Contract Bill (MDBC), it was killed February 1 on the Senate floor. Had this bill been enacted into law, there would be provisions for two adults who are not legally related to enjoy limited rights including decisions concerning health care, visitation, disposition of remains, and joint tenancy.

Outspoken enemies of the gay community have their fingerprints all over the murder weapon that killed this bill, asserting that it was some sort of consolation prize or an apology for the legal discrimination enacted

by Utah voters in Amendment 3. They assert that this was yet another pitfall on the banks of that slippery slope toward gay marriage.

While there may be some validity to that so-called argument, the overriding and fundamental right of self-determination must be extended to all, not just those who happen to have a marriage license.

This bill should not be viewed as an apology, but as a minimum of human dignity and decency. Governor Huntsman is to be applauded for seeing MDBC as humane and quite simply the right thing to do for people.

This is especially so as most conservatives will never see how shooting this bill down affects so many heterosexual couples who were also legally victimized by the passage of Amendment 3.

Estate planning isn’t a gimmick to get you to visit a lawyer. It’s a must. Making the decisions surrounding end of life care is hard enough, but trying to assume a loved one’s wishes and balancing family feelings can be downright impossible. That’s especially true of the opinionated distant relatives who appear out of the woodwork and insist they know the decedent’s wishes intimately.

Estate planning is truly the kindest thing we can do for those we leave behind, all the more for those in same-sex relationships where probate courts do not favor the survivor, but rather the biological family.

The legislative follies are over for this year, so the gay community at large should get to the business of gathering together to intelligently and passionately fight the continuing battle for equality. Until that battle is won, same-sex couples need to make time to have the talk that no one likes: What happens when one partner dies? Far from being morbid, working through the what-ifs and making some basic decisions can be the single most loving act for the survivor.

by William Todd Park liam@slmetro.com

Last week, my dad’s wife died. Losing a spouse is nothing short of traumatic, but just a few weeks before, he lost his mother as well. Both died after struggling for years against the ravages of degenerative diseases, so we could be thankful that the suffering was over. My dad’s humor has helped him survive the tiring months of constant nursing, but in the end, he was surrounded by a crowd of well-wishers that metastasized into a predictable, haunting silence. The beautiful house he built for his wife nearly thirty years ago no longer feels like his home, and he is feeling pretty numb.

My dad has had a rough month.

Certainly death is part of life, but saying that final goodbye is anything but painless.

If you haven’t experienced the loss of someone who has held a deeply intimate part of your life, there’s no way to empathize with this kind of intense grief. Well wishing may come across as trite, motives might come into question, and true colors of vindictiveness and greed often emerge in otherwise kind and benevolent family members.

Self-appointed social directors push their opinions on how things should be, the final resting place, flowers, eulogies, obituaries, and what to wear. Let’s not even bring up the topic of wills.

For families where same-sex relationships exist, great strides toward understanding and acceptance have been made, yet there are still some who hold out hope against hope that his or her loved one will somehow change and that dalliances into this ‘alternative lifestyle’ will be nothing more than a bad memory. When death makes an untimely visit to someone in a same-sex relationship, these families who are unwilling to see anything other than what they want may not only disregard the wishes of the deceased, but also exclude the surviving partner in participating in that final farewell.

Regardless of how committed, how loving, or how beautiful the relationship, the family of the deceased can override the surviving partner’s wishes unless a binding legal document has been executed that specifically outlines how the deceased wishes his or her earthly remains disposed and to

Editor: I’ve had it with rainbow-flag-waving, pinktriangle-wearing ubergays. Hey, I’m a guy who enjoys having sex with guys, but come on! Do we really need to have parades with tacky drag queens and tacky guys in leather all over the news? Do we all need to act like limp-wristed sissies?

I believe that it’s no one’s business who I have sex with. I believe the government should treat us equally. I believe that I should be able to marry my boyfriend. But

Ted Fisler Layton, UT

Reader Agrees: Utah is Great Editor: I’ve lived in Utah most of my life. Every time I move away, expecting that this place or that would be “more welcoming” of my lifestyle, I eventually move back home.

Imagine my surprise when I read Mr.

Keys’ article about Utah being a good place to live (“Utah, A Great Place to be Gay,” Feb. 17, 2005). Finally someone who believes, as I do, that Utah isn’t the worst place in the world to be. I adore my view of the Wasatch Mountains. I love the friendly attitudes of people in stores and public places—they may judge you behind your back, but you won’t find this much helpfulness or friendliness back east. Heck, I even love the Mormons—it wouldn’t be Utah without them.

Thanks for reminding us that Utah has its good side, too.

Richard Cody Salt Lake City, UT Please submit letters to letters@slmetro.com.

Preference given to letters under 300 words. We reserve the right to edit for length or libel.

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 11

Editor: I was excited to read in the February 26 Standard Examiner that PFLAG has come to Northern Utah. This group of “Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays” (pflagnu@yahoo.com) can offer needed support to families and friends when they learn someone they love is lesbian or gay.

Even if you don’t support the so-called “gay lifestyle,” this is an excellent place to share ideas and get information about how to value family members who may be different from you. Since so many elements of society today are adversarial towards each

I’m not going to act like a circus clown in order to get those things. Why don’t gay people have more respect for themselves and how people see them?

Why, for that matter, do we even need a gay newspaper? Isn’t the whole goal to be treated like everyone else? If so, why do we separate ourselves in our actions and behaviors?

Ruby Ridge Living leatherettes who objected to my dissing of Club 161. Muffins, outrage with a small “o” simply doesn’t capture the

by Rudy Ridge ruby@slmetro.com sheer scale and voracity of their indignation, because they were just all out, So cherubs, with both hands on hips, swishing back and about 25 editions forth like a washing machine OUTof Salt Lake Metro under our belts, and RAGED!!! Ironically, a year later the bar still hasn’t found its niche and the A-list an equal number leatherettes are nowhere to be seen. Who of musings from didn’t see that coming? I mean, seriously yours truly, I think it’s about time to ad- pumpkins, how many leather queens can’t reach the sling in their basement dress some of your for boxes marked “Thanksgiving Decorae-mails and feedback. tions” anyway?

First of all, can I say how grateful I am Hands down, the most voluminous for all your concerns for my mental health response I have received over the last year and well being? I feel so blessed when I came from my column about Gold’s Gym get e-mails like, “Ruby, are you insane?” (available online in the Metro archives). I Or, “Ruby, have you lost your mind?” or had no idea when “Ms. Ridge, our I wrote it that it lawyers and clinical would touch so specialists will be in How many leather many nerves out contact with you to there in the hindetermine mental queens can’t reach terland. I was delcompetency prior uged with e-mails the sling in their to trial.” Kittens, from Gold’s Gym it’s simple loving basement for boxes members venting validations like about the rudethose that make it marked “Thanksgiving ness/inexperiall worthwhile, and Decorations” anyway? ence/arrogance of I feel truly humbled the gym’s staff and that you care! In corporate office, the words of my and horror stories personal muse Sally about the lack of ongoing maintenance Field, “You like me, you really, really like and cleanliness in their facilities. Several me!” Or was it, “You lick me ... you really, people contacted me about contract really lick me?” Hmmm ... now that I problems, and a number of folks made think about it I’m not quite sure. the comment that inexperienced lifters Anyway, as I read your e-mails and were getting no supervision and someone feedback, I am constantly intrigued by is likely to get hurt. If my little column in the number of fan letters I receive from an obscure alternative magazine is going folks in really obscure places. My perto prompt that type of response, then it’s sonal favorite is Glenn from New Jersey clear Gold’s needs to do some managewho, like a surprising number of people, ment assessments and pronto! reads Metro online (www.slmetro.com).

Anyway, my little tater tots, thanks As someone who has walked through for all your feedback and support. I love Bayonne, New Jersey (carrying luggage hearing from you and being able to keep mind you!), I have to observe that New my finger on Middle America’s throbbing Jersey being called the Garden State is like Provo being called Tolerance Capitol, vein. I mean pulse. Well, I’m sure you know what I mean. Ciao!

USA. It’s a little weird. Keep your head down, Glenn, and consider high-capacRuby Ridge is one of the more opinionated ity magazines for your handgun. They’re members of the Utah Cyber Sluts, a Camp Drag group of performers who raise funds and supsmall, handy and come in designer port local charities. Her opinions are her own colors to match your shoes—bonus! and fluctuate wildly due to spring allergies Perhaps the funniest feedback I and winter weight gain. received was from several outraged

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 17, 2005

Feed Bag

AberRant Homo Ner

by Laurie Mecham laurie@slmetro.com

I fixed the damn washing machine. It stopped spinning, stopped dead, on about the fifth wash load of the weekend. This was bad news. I had a clean wardrobe for the week, but my wife didn’t.

The puppies had also gotten up on the bed and caroused and wrestled and ordered in pizza and watched some movies, and in the process had pulled the covers off and deposited a lot of dirt and grit on the sheets.

The flannel sheets, with their soft, uneven surface, so perfectly designed to catch individual grains of sand and hold them fast, had dirty paw prints and a liberal dusting of the contents of the back yard. We have other sheets somewhere that we got for our wedding, but in order for us to use them, they would first have to be located.

Thank God for the Internet, which I used to diagnose the problem with the washing machine, ascertain the correct part, and most importantly, print out a detailed illustrated guide to replacing the drive coupler.

The Internet ROCKS. Having successfully fixed the machine, I felt so butch, so proud and capable. (Notice how casually I tossed out the words “drive coupler?”) I had hyooves, as we say in my family, which is actually spelled “hueves,” which comes from “huevos,” which translates to “eggs” but really means “testicles.”

Of course we never literally mean testicles, because who would want those? First of all, testicles are enclosed in—of all things—a scrotum, a word that has all the appeal of “mucus.”

So, washing machine: CHECK. Now for the rest of the house. I’m going to have to sell my sweet bungalow at some point, and every time I think about it I panic.

There are exactly 1.5 million little things that need to be fixed-up or touched-up so the house will look its best. Not only will this be the ultimate test of my hueves, but it will involve serious issues like time and money. And, of course, we have the dogs.

They live indoors in severe weather, which to Lola, the Vulnerable Boxer, means anything outside the range of 68 to 76 degrees.

However, they like to look outside—this is very important to a dog—but if the owners have failed to open the blinds, the dogs really have no choice but to claw at the blinds until they look like a set piece from Halloween 6. Whatever blend of breeds Maxie is, the mix includes one or more from the canine blue-collar, or working dog, class. That means if you don’t give her a job, she’ll find one. A favorite job of hers is grooming the carpet, which consists of patiently plucking at individual tufts until she’s cleared a whole patch. She is very thorough. She also derives great pleasure

from getting to the root of plants, both inside the house and out.

That brings us to the Sacrificial Back Yard. Over the years, we have spent countless hours tilling the soil, landscaping, planting perennials and maintaining the lawn. It is a very big, deep lot, and there was a time when it looked better with every passing year. Now with the dogs running it constantly and doing the other things that dogs do, we’re left with about two square yards of living grass on a fourth-acre of dirt, holes, tennis balls and dog shit. Brandie Balken said all I need to do before selling is spread some bags of bark around and place a bunch of annuals in pots. The problem is, I’ll have to take out a second mortgage just to afford the quarter acre of bark.

When I talked to my therapist about the anxiety that the upcoming Extreme Home Makeover creates in me, he asked, “Are you very attached to your dogs?” What the hell kind of question is that? We’re LESBIANS. Of course, there is a possibility that one of the neighbors would buy the house as is, because (A) it gets at least one pair of lezzies out of the neighborhood, and (2) they can quickly replace the blinds and start bringing the property values back up.

Here’s what my daughter Emily had to say about the sitch on her blog:

Classic Contemporary

Lindsey Kraatz

Gorgeous contemporary home with open floor plan and spectacular views. Great for entertaining ! 10 min. to downtown.

(801)-201-3571 lindseyrealestate@comcast.net

Visit CindyWood.com or call (801)-277-5445

First of all, testicles are enclosed in—of all things— a scrotum, a word that has all the appeal of “mucus.”

Thank God for my mother who a) is incredibly handy and b) maintains a sense of humor against all odds. She repaired the window (complete with a new set of BARS), and called out to our next-door neighbors, who were on the sidewalk inspecting our temporary cardboard fix: “What’s cookin’ in your neighborhood?

METH?” Laurie Mecham is waiting for the Youth to select her for a Service Project, for which she will gladly buy beer and pizza.

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 13

Today Lola jumped through the front window. Usually she runs up and SLAMS against the window with maximum force and then performs a series of strange dance-leaps that make her look like a demented marionette. Lately the slams have changed tone since she broke the acrylic shield we had protecting the window. This time I heard the running, looked up to see the slam, and instead watched the CRASH as Lola flew (to her considerable shock) through the glass, leaving a scary jagged hole. I ran out to find her standing dazed on the porch and we immediately went into crisis mode, vacuuming and collecting glass shards from the dog, the floor, the furniture, the ceiling, the porch ... Apart from a small scratch, Lola was unhurt—miraculous considering how famous she is for unusual and wildly expensive maladies. The real blow was to our household ego. Why can’t we keep our dogs from trashing our place? Why must it consistently have the look of a crack house?

Lambda Lore The Anita Bryant Fairgrounds Affair

by Ben Williams

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ben@slmetro.com

On Sept. 18, 1977 the first organized gay protest in Utah was held against Anita Bryant, singer and spokeswoman for the antihomosexual backlash of the late seventies.

After the heady days of the early seventies, when gay civil rights seemed unstoppable, a movement of radical right-wing Christians sprang up in opposition. This backlash was spearheaded by Anita Bryant, a former beauty queen and semi-talented singer. However, Bryant was known chiefly as a pitchwoman for the Florida citrus industry: “A day without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.”

Dade County, Florida had recently passed an anti-discrimination ordinance protecting the rights of its gay citizens. A group known as the “Save Our Children Committee” quickly mobilized to overturn the ordinance and organized nationally to roll back similar measures. While Utah had no pro-gay ordinances, the state “powers” whole-heartedly embraced Anita Bryant’s message.

On May 24, 1977 Utah Senator Orrin Hatch addressed the listeners of radio station KSXX stating, “Well I can tell you this, I think if you take what she [Anita Bryant] says as truth, that she is not prejudiced against the homosexual, but she realizes what they have done, that she does not want them teaching her children. I tell you this — I don’t want them teaching my children, and I don’t want them teaching your children either, and I think they are becoming too blatant in our society, and I don’t want to take other rights away from them, but I sure as heck don’t want them teaching, and I don’t want them in sensitive areas around children.”

While Utah is often loathe to become political, Utah State Fair director Hugh C. Bringhurst announced on June 28 that Anita Bryant, “songstress and antigay rights publicist” would be performing along with country singers Lynn Anderson, Bill Anderson, Barbi Benton, Anne Murray and Crystal Gayle. The burgeoning gay community was outraged over the choice of Bryant and began to organize.

The Mormon response was given on July 9, when Mormon apostle Mark E. Peterson, in an article entitled “Unnatural Without Excuse,” argued that “every right-thinking person will sustain Miss Bryant, a prayerful, upright citizen, for her stand,” which Peterson had hoped would, “keep this evil [homosexuality] from spreading, by legal acceptance, through our society.”

Within a week of Peterson’s attack on the gay community, the Salt Lake Coalition for Human Rights held it first public meeting at the Salt Lake Metropolitan Community Church. Their purpose was to inform others in the gay community what each member group was doing in response to Anita Bryant’s invitation to appear at the State Fair.

Eight organizations sent representatives to the meeting. They included the Metropolitan Community Church of Salt Lake, the Gay Services Coalition, the Gay Student Union (LGSU), Affirmation, Women Aware, and the Socialist Worker’s Party.

Integrity/Dignity, a group of Gay Catholics and Episcopalians, turned down an invitation to join the effort stating that they had reservations over joining forces with any group which included Marxists. This response was in reference to Tony Adams, a member of the Socialist Workers Party.

Representatives from Women Aware—a lesbian-feminist organization—stated that they tried to solicit straight feminists to join the march in protest against Anita Bryant’s appearance at the Utah State Fair with only a moderate response. Women Aware told the State Fair committee members not to expect much straight support. Nevertheless, Women Aware was “jazzed” about staging a protest, stating that “the purpose of any demonstration around Anita Bryant’s appearance would be to bring solidarity to the gay community and to get media coverage.”

Camille Tartagila, a member of Women Aware, was elected Chairwoman of the State Fair committee of the coalition. Under her leadership, the group raised money for the protest movement by selling anti-Anita Bryant posters, buttons, T-shirts, and bumper stickers. Much of the money raised went to bring gay activist Bob Kuntz from Florida as keynote speaker for a candlelight vigil.

During the two weeks in September in which the State Fair was held, the Metropolitan Community Church, led by Rev. Bob Waldrop, managed to secure a booth in the fairgrounds and donated that facility to be the coalition’s command post. Tartagila’s committee came up with the slogan “This is Not the Place for Human Rights” and organized a picket line of over 100 people to march at the fair grounds.

On Sept. 18th Anita Bryant sang “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in the old round stadium at the fair. One gay observer wrote: “Thousands of foot-stomping, Bible-toting zealots, ignorance overriding good taste, filled the stadium while a handful of brave men and women picketed in the cause of human dignity against man’s inhumanity to man.

Being spat upon and facing an openly hostile mob, the supporters of gay liberation silently spoke out in favor of love and the right to coexist on this planet with their brothers and sisters.” Although some people were escorted out of the stadium by security, on the whole, the protest was without incident and violence.

Some members of the gay community even walked around Temple Square chanting pro-gay slogans.

In the evening, the candlelight vigil, organized by Tartagila, was held at Memory Grove where over 500 people attended to hear Bob Kuntz speak. The Memory Grove vigil was held in memory of those who would be killed as a direct result of the Dade County, Florida controversy.

Babs DeLay published several photos of the protest in her newspaper The Rocky Mountain Woman. If anyone has photos or that newspaper, a scanned copy would be greatly appreciated by the Utah Stonewall Historical Society. Camille Tartagila went on to serve as Prince Royal III in the Imperial Court of Utah (now RCGSE); Bob Waldrop ran for state offices as a Libertarian candidate during the 1980’s and is now a Catholic layman serving in the Cesar Chavez Humanity House in Oklahoma City.

Pagan Groups Provide Welcome, Healing for Gays and Lesbians

by JoSelle Vanderhooft joselle@slmetro.com

(Last in a six part series on gay and lesbian spirituality)

continued on page 20

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 15

“I’ve always had the feeling that I needed to not be able to understand God,” remembers Maureen Duffy-Boose. “In simple terms, for me, that means if I’m capable of fully comprehending an idea then God must be bigger than that, because I know I’m not God. [And] if I’m capable of knowing something is wrong then it is unconscionable to me that God would agree to that.”

This search for a religion that matched her internal convictions led Duffy-Boose on a journey through several religions.

Born and raised Catholic, she was a member of the Bahai’i Faith, a Missouri Synod Lutheran, a Mormon, a member of a “Native American clan” and “very active [in] feminist Goddess spirituality” before embracing the Irish traditional shamanic witchcraft she currently practices as the board chairperson for the Chalice of the Rainbow Flame chapter of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS).

According to its website, the Utah CUUPS chapter, which meets at the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, is an organization open to anyone who identifies as Pagan and wishes to have the support of, and interaction with, a church community.

Thus, members include pagans from many spiritual paths, “including but not limited to Wicca, Witchcraft, Druidry, Shamanism, Goddess Worship, First Nation, and other earth-centered traditions.” CUUPS also sponsors everything from classes in Earthcentered spirituality and drum circles, to informal monthly “Pagan Philosophies” discussion series, usually held at members’ homes.

After being a member of so many different religions what does Duffy-Boose believe now?

“To a pagan the world is the manifestation of Deity,” she explains. “We have what we call immanent rather than transcendent Deity. If you think about most religions, they teach that ... God created the world and the people and it is our job then to get back to where God is. But the pagan belief [is that] God is the natural world, everything from brand new babies to typhoons.

Therefore we are here, we are now. God is here and now, and our job is to perfect who we are and what we have right here, not to aspire to something outside ourselves but to aspire to become the selves we were intended to be.”

To Duffy-Boose, who came out as lesbian in 1995, human sexuality is one facet of this aspiration.

“For me being gay is a glory to God,” she says. “For me homosexuality is holy because we were made to be this way so we could connect to the people, places and events that are supposed to help us achieve or be or do that thing we were made for. We can’t all get there the same way.”

“I can’t even imagine how someone could be comfortable in a religion that didn’t honor who they were as a total individual, including their sexuality and how it’s expressed,” says Gretchen Faulk,

a Dianic Wiccan priestess and head of the Goddess Circle, Utah’s only registered pagan church and one with several gay, lesbian and bisexual members.

Like Duffy-Boose, Faulk tried several religious paths before becoming a Dianic Wiccan. Raised in a “very conservative fundamentalist Protestant family,” Faulk, who identifies as bisexual, converted to Catholicism at 21. At 33, she became involved with Native American shamanism. Although she eventually realized that this particular path “wasn’t quite home,” Faulk said shamanism taught her an important lesson about individual spirituality.

“You don’t need a book, you don’t need a priest, you don’t need a tribe or a guru, you don’t need a vast mystical life changing experience,” she says. “Your own opinions are valid, your own path is valid, your own struggle is valid ... I can’t convey to you how much that single thought opened me up. I then started looking for myself, not trying to find somebody else’s answers.”

Faulk’s particular search for answers led her to Dianic Wicca, a branch of modern Wicca whose members typically focus on Goddess-only worship and who often advocate women-only worship space. While Faulk says she feels “there is a place for woman-only space and men-only space,” men have been part of the Goddess Circle since its founding. “[T]his particular work is for everyone, but we are still completely Goddess-focused in our rituals,” she says. “We do not invoke masculine deities. I can’t teach what I don’t know. My work is not for the gods.

My orientation is to Goddess alone, singular and plural.”

The Circle’s work includes a worship service honoring a different goddess each month, such as Freya, the Norse goddess of love and sexuality, or Celene, “the original Greek goddess of the full moon.” According to Faulk, rituals are typically carried out on “a Wiccan pattern,” meaning “you do certain things in a certain order for a certain effect.” But when people feel comfortable enough, Faulk says she prefers to honor each goddess in a “culturally correct manner.”

“So if we do a Greek goddess we do Hellenistic ritual format, and if we do an Egyptian goddess we do an Egyptian ritual,” she explains. “These things can be very different from Wicca or a modern neopagan ritual.”

Both women think their religions have a lot to offer gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

“I do believe that modern neo-paganism, of which Dianic Wicca is one tradition, is much further along the road to honoring women and those who are easily marginalized, like bi people or trans people [than are many monotheistic religions like Christianity],” says Faulk. “I just think there’s a lot more emotional and mental space to allow perfection to be seen without trying to put it into a mold ... I don’t think it’s difficult to find healing from those hurts we’ve inherited from the culture around us, from patriarchy.”

Garden Prep 101 Salt Lake Metro’s Queeriscaping Columnist Gives Advice on Planning for the Gardening Season

by Brandie Balken brandie@slmetro.com

y, but it’s been beautiful, hasn’t it? The bulbs are up, the buds are swelling, and the garden is calling me out to play. Although it’s difficult, you must resist the temptation.

It is not time to plant, regardless of the early thaw and the May-like weather. Planting now would be an exercise in futility, with the effort and plants destined to be lost. Please remember, unless it’s after May 15th, we must satiate ourselves with the things that can be done, and there are many.

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under plant lights, or in a Southwest-facing window.

One thing to note, you must be pretty committed to these seedlings to keep them healthy. They’ll need to be checked every day to ensure they have ample moisture. If you are not able to commit, don’t bother, as it will only frustrate you and kill the plantlet.

Plant your sweet and edible peas now; these can be sown outside, directly in the ground. I know, I know ... I said no planting until May 15th, but peas are the exception. You know there’s always an exception, right?

CONTAINERS: At this point, darling reader, you may CLEAN AND PREP: This may sound simple; a quick be thinking, “None of this sounds satisfying to me! task to be done one Sunday afternoon. In actuality, I want to plant something real, an honest-to-god this is a task that can take several full days, and will live plant that is green and lush and lovely.” Believe put you in the perfect place to me when I tell you I feel your pain, begin planting when the time is and I do have a suggestion. You can right. safely and happily plant up some “On the first day • Finalize all catalogue orders containers for your exterior. You will for perennials and vegetables. find primrose, pansies, Icelandic of Spring I dig my If I may interrupt myself here, poppies and bellis (or button daifingers into the I'd like to make a few recomsies) available at any local nursery. mendations for those of you You can also use liriope (mondo soft earth. I can who have not already finished grass), festuca (blue fescue), hedera your order. Best tomatoes: Black feel its energy, and ivy, vinca (or myrtle) and Irish moss. from Tula and Green Grape. The Use fresh potting soil, and place the my spirits soar.”

Tula is ugly but can't be beat on containers in a semi-protected area. flavor, and the Green Grape is These plants will tolerate the cold practically perfect in every way. nights and can survive a frost, but —Helen Hayes We'll go into other "Bests" in latwill not take kindly to sitting under er articles, but I simply couldn't 2-3 inches of snow, so keep your eye deprive you of the tomato niron them and cover if necessary. vana these varieties provide.

INDOORS: If you’re completely compulsive and don’t • Check your stock of fertilizers, raffia, cutting and have a day job, the above-mentioned tasks may digging tools, and labels to make sure you have already be finished. If this is the case then read on enough for the upcoming season. as this is also the time of year to accomplish a few • Turn in compost or manure in your annual beds, interior plant tasks. vegetable garden or any other bed that is still • Re-pot plants that have been in the same containunplanted. er for 2+ years. Remember that you don't neces• Perennial beds can be fertilized with a commersarily need to pot them up into a larger container. cial fertilizer like 4-8-6 or 4-8-8.

Many plants can be "root pruned" – this is where • Gently remove any winter mulch that is coveryou cut the bottom 1-4" of roots off the bottom ing the bulbs beds. Rake up all drifted leaves of the root ball – and then repotted with fresh soil from your foundation, lawn and outbuildings, in the same grow pot. Water the newly repotted but please use caution when raking and stepping plant with "root starter" or "rooting hormone" to among perennial beds and bulb beds as the new give it a little boost in its new home. If you have shoots are easily broken. repotted a plant, always cut it back afterward. It • Prune your cherries, plums and peaches, and use is crucial that you reduce the amount of foliage a the cut branches for forcing. Shade trees can also plant needs to sustain if you disturb the roots in be pruned now, but leave dieback on your perenany fashion. nials for a little longer to protect the tender new • Prune overgrown vines and shape bushy or woody growth. Wait to prune roses until the buds begin plants. to swell.

• If plants don't need to be repotted, now is the • Pre-emergent weed killer should be applied to time to begin fertilizing with a balanced fertilizer, lawns now. [Publisher’s Note: Unless you have such as 10-10-10. crocuses planted in your lawn ... oops.]

START SEEDS: If you’re an overachiever, and have already done the above-mentioned tasks, now would be a great time to start your seeds indoors. Many perennials, annuals and vegetables are available in seed form (and are very cost-effective), and all can be sown now. Use a good quality planting mix, and sow the seeds according to the directions on the package. For the best success place the seeds

You see, dearies, there truly are many tasks to be undertaken in this queer pre-spring season. Enjoy the warmth and sun, enjoy the preparation, and enjoy the potential of your beautiful yards and gardens. Its rewards will come to you soon enough.

Brandie Balken is a horticulturist in Salt Lake City and can be seen at Cactus & Tropicals, 2735 S. 2000 East. cactusandtropicals.com

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Curb Appeal Tips for Making a Good First Impression with your Home

by Mandy Q. Racer mandy@slmetro.com

“Curb appeal” is just that: the appeal (or lack thereof ) presented to a prospective buyer as he or she views a house from the street. Brad Dundas, a realtor for Stonebrook Real Estate, stresses the importance of heightening a house’s curb appeal. A lot of people don’t want to go in because of what they see from the car during the drive-by. “We have to pull them past that barrier as a buyer’s agent,” Dundas said. Most of the time, however, the agent is not with the househunter at that initial moment, so the house must stand on its own.

Don Heath, also of Stonebrook, agrees that the first impression will either make or break a sale. “If [the home] looks lame from the street, you’re screwed,” Heath said, especially in this age of Internet-based real estate. “Eighty to ninety percent of people look at homes online before ever going to see them in person. That’s a front shot of your home, and that’s probably the most important thing.” A home with poor or no curb appeal will simply be clicked past, never to be visited in person, no matter how

spectacular the interior may be.

The solution, Dundas asserts, is simple. “Stand, literally, at the front of your home; try to look at it through the eyes of the buyer.” While the situation with each property is unique, simple, inexpensive steps may still be taken in order to create an inviting first impression. Dundas suggests buying a color bowl with seasonal flowers or winter plants. (“Remember to water them!” Dundas cautions.) One of his clients simply put a basket of gourds on the porch. Even the smallest additions make a difference.

The most important objects are the windows and the door. The windows must be clean, any cheap curtains removed and replaced, if possible, with nice window treatments that can be viewed from the street. If the door is scratched, paint it. Replace the knocker and the knob. And if the home has a screen door that is not steel or tempered glass, “Remove it,” Dundas said. “It’s almost another physical obstacle to enter the home. It interrupts the flow.”

Security bars on the windows are “a big bugaboo,” Dundas warns. Their presence suggests that the neighborhood is

dangerous. Dundas asserts that these, too, must be removed. “Security bars are typically a fear reaction of somebody who owned the home at that time,” and are largely unnecessary in the Salt Lake Valley. If they are to be included in the transfer of the home, “Keep them out of sight until after closing,” Dundas said.

Important to maintain is what Dundas calls “the fantasy about home,” which is what the seller and the agent work together to create. Everyone, he said, has an idea similar to a cottage at the end of a quiet lane. Security bars, battered screen doors, and cars up on blocks in the front yard all work to destroy this fantasy, and the buyer will simply move on without ever going inside.

The steps taken don’t need to be extravagant or expensive. “Always leave the porch light on all night, every night ... You want your home to look open and inviting, warm and cozy,” Dundas said, reminding buyers that the pennies spent to keep the light burning don’t even begin to add up to the loss of a sale.

Listen to your real estate agent, Dundas advises. Agents, too, have been known to roll up their sleeves to increase a home’s curb appeal. An agent, Dundas said, is “a part-time handy man, a parttime psychologist, a part-time therapist.”

A good agent will do whatever it takes to make a sale, and a seller would be well advised to work in conjunction with his or her listing agent.

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 17

THE GAY AGENDA

by Eric Tierney

17THURSDAY

you must be twenty-one to enter either establishment.

As a fiercely proud American of Irish descent, let me be the first to wish you a happy ST. PATRICK’S DAY and to remind you that while the rest of Europe was dying of the plague and beheading one another, we were writing books and generally saving Western culture. Also, despite 800 miserable years of Anglo occupation, we really know how to party.

Would you like us to prove it? There are very few events actually taking place tonight, and the Parade was last week, but the carousers among you would do well to visit private clubs like PIPER DOWN and MURPHY’S BAR AND GRILL. Of course,

Piper Down: 1492 S. State, 468-1492. Murphy’s Bar and Grill: 160 S. Main, 359-7271.

Private clubs for members.

18FRIDAY May the Universe bless THE CENTER for its consistently high-quality programming!

If you’ve never heard KATHRYN WARNER, don’t miss this amazing chance to hear one of our best local musicians, live and free to the public, when she performs tonight in the “Center Space.” As I’ve said before, there’s a reason they call it the community center. You’re one of the com-

munity. For the love o’ Mike, breathe deep and find your center.

OLIVER BUTTON IS A SISSY! I had no such reassurance. Observe the results.

7–9pm, GLBT Center of Utah, 355 N. 300 West. Admission is free. 539-8800.

4pm, Leona Wagner Black Box Theatre, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $4–10 at 355-ARTS or arttix.org.

Are you familiar with the concept of the ouroboros, the serpent turned in on itself and eating its own tail? Sounds a lot like the media, which these days are the news as much as they report it. PLAN-B THEATRE explores this concept in Will Eno’s deceptively titled tragicomic play TRAGEDY: A TRAGEDY, starting tonight.

Does my fringe-member-of-the-media status preclude me from griping about the subject? I say, in true media fashion, not if I say it doesn’t!

8pm Thurs.–Sat, 2pm and 7pm Sundays at through April 3, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. Broadway. Tickets $18 at 355-ARTS or arttix.og

19SATURDAY Nothing soothes the tired soul like chamber music. I mean, there’s a reason they call it chamber music—it’s designed for intimate occasions and intimate spaces.

The crème de la crème of Utah’s chamber music groups, the NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES, hold its annual fundraiser tonight. Come give your heart and mind the sonic equivalent of a nice, warm bath.

The program includes string quartets by Haydn and Bartok with Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E flat. Note that the musicians will not actually tuck you in, and bringing bedding is discouraged.

7:30pm, Utah Museum of Fine Arts on the U of U campus, 410 Campus Center Drive.

Tickets $10–20 at 359-0397.

Friends, are you like me? Does your system react as if poisoned when you eat fast food? Are your senses of taste and justice offended by the ubiquitous “casual dining” concept eateries that mask themselves as real restaurants by giving you actual silverware? Then SLOW FOOD UTAH and WASATCH COMMUNITY GARDENS have a wonderful evening planned for you. Tonight they present “THE FEAST OF FIVE SENSES” as a benefit for the Gardens.

Chefs from some of Salt Lake’s finest restaurants—including Lugano and Metrpolitan—will donate their talents for a multi-course meal featuring local and sustainable foods. Finally, some justice and a decent meal for those of us who like to eat, you know, actual food.

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6pm, Squatters Pub and Brewery, 147 W. 300 South. Tickets $75 at 359-2658.

20SUNDAY As a child in elementary school, I was often referred to by my schoolmates as Twinkle Toes Tierney, which was not, as you may imagine, a term of endearment.

If you know a youngster who is a little different and is none too happy about it, I urge you intercede now and rescue his self-esteem before he falls into a life of self-abuse or, worse, entertainment reporting. Need a place to start? I suggest heading out to hear the SALT LAKE MEN’S CHOIR, who tonight will present a musical setting of the beloved children’s book

Sometimes an event features a performer who is simply so cool or legendary or just plain good that I can think of nothing smart to say about them. So all I have to say here is that ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS are in town tonight, and they’re fantastic and you should go.

7pm, Kingsbury Hall, Presidents’ Circle at the University of Utah. Tickets $35 at 5817100 or arttix.org

There is a burgeoning subculture of documentary filmmaking flowering in Salt Lake at the moment, and at the forefront is POWERLINE FILMS. The fledgling organization has set out to make the definitive(!) documentary on the subject of marriage equality, both in Utah and around the country. Show some love tonight at their fundraiser and they’ll in turn hook you up with live music from the likes of the fabled LISA MARIE, MARY TEBBS, and BRONWEN BEECHER, as well as light refreshments.

7pm, Four Winds Healing Arts Center in Trolley Square. $10 suggested donation at the door. 808-1958.

21MONDAY As goyish as Utah seems to the untrained eye, our state has a rich and vibrant Jewish culture. The Museum of Utah Art & History is thrilled to tell that story with “A HOMELAND IN THE WEST: UTAH JEWS REMEMBER” on view now. The seldom-heard perspective of Utah’s Jewish legacy is shown in 120 black-and-white rarely seen photographs.

The exhibition derives from family memoirs, stories, and significant oral history interviews. So, ye descendents of Utah pioneers—now who’s the gentile?

11am–3pm through May 16. Admission is free. 355-5554.

23WEDNESDAY With all that we have to contend with— you know, fighting for basic civil rights and all—it’s easy for us gays and lesbians to neglect our spiritual life. Well, the LAVENDER TRIBE is here to help. Tonight the group presents KATHRYN DIXON, certified facilitator of the Work of Byron Katie, a spiritual technique described as “a deeply transformative process of inquiry that is helping people around the world approach their problems from a perspective of clarity and inner peace.” So, you know, you could either do that or watch The West Wing.

7:30pm, Multipurpose Room of The Center, 355 N. 300 West. Information at 809-8374

24THURSDAY An event accomplishes something truly remarkable when it combines two of the great loves of the American homosexual male: helping others and furniture design. As part of DESIGN AWARENESS WEEK, the Salt Lake Design Awareness Foundation is hosting an ANNIVERSARY CELEBRA-

TION AND “CHAIR-ITY” EVENT. The event includes a social hour and silent auction of chairs and chair related items, industry keynote speaker, dinner and awards to both professional designers and students of design. No one asked me, but if they had, I’d have suggested calling the evening “Hey! Sit on it!”

5:30–9:30pm, beginning with a social hour, The Grand America Hotel, 555 S Main Street. Tickets $75 or $850 for a table of ten.

973.7446.

26SATURDAY Speaking of St Patty’s Day, remember that KATHY MATTEA song called “Isle of Inishmore?” Maybe she’ll play it tonight at her concert in Park City! Yes, two-time Grammy winner Mattea will bring her unique blend of country, folk and gospel to the mountain city tonight in what is sure to be a crowd-pleasing show. I mean, come on, “18 WHEELS AND A DOZEN ROSES?” Does it get any better?

7:30pm, Eccles Center for the Performing Arts, 1750 Kearns Boulevard, Park City. Tickets $15–50 at 435-655-3114 or arrtix.com

Yes, we love furniture design and yes, we love helping others and yes, we’re spiritual. But what do we really, really love? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: showtunes! You can hear a glut of them tonight when CHAD GNEITING, along with Associated Actors and Technicians at Weber State University, presents PRIDE OF BROADWAY, a musical revue of gay songs and characters from shows like Avenue Q and Rent. The piece is a benefit for the OutReach program of Ogden and Equity Fights AIDS. Gay theatre tunes sound great and all, but hopefully there’ll be no Judy impersonators warbling through “The Man That Got Away.” Unless, of course, they ask me.

7:30pm, Eccles Black Box Theatre at the Val A. Browning Performing Arts Center, Weber State University, Ogden. Tickets $5 at the door. 626-6431.

30WEDNESDAY

11am through March 31, The Grand Theater 1575 S. State. Admission is Free. 957-4908.

Space is limited and deadlines early, but if you’d like to see your social, cultural, entertainment or arts event listed in the Gay Agenda, write to Eric Tierney at eric@slmetro.com

Leading Lady Lesbians

by Eric J. Tierney eric@slmetro.com

I remind you that I am contractually obligated to pen the occasional blurb about Hollywood gossip.

To that end, read on, muckrakers: Portia de Rossi is a very sexy lady, and there’s no denying that she’s a hell of a dresser. In case you haven’t been getting your newsletters from Homo Headquarters (rumor has it that the latest undisclosed location is either a dressing room at Emporio Armani in San Francisco or, more likely, the basement of Jennifer Lopez’s house in South Beach), Portia is currently involved with Everyone’s Favorite Lesbian, Ellen DeGeneres. Now Ellen, while having a truly marvelous personality, is not a very sexy lady and certainly not a hell of a dresser.

According to my sources, which are easily accessible internet gossip sites, this has recently become a cause of contention between the two: Portia apparently showed up at the set of Ellen’s uber-successful talk show with some designer suits that she thought would be more flattering to Ellen’s bean-pole frame than her customary blazer, t-shirt and white shoes combination. A reportedly infuriated Ellen threw the clothes back at Portia and ordered her off the set, only to soften up later on, when a contrite Portia called back to apologize for not appreciating just how deep Ellen’s slouchy-fit, poorly-tailored instincts really run. I don’t blame Portia for thinking Ellen looks a little ... well, frumpy, but as an openly-gay woman, she ought to have learned the lesson by now that the rest of us learned after our first catatonia-gradedepression-causing crush on a straight friend: People Cannot and Will Not Change for You. Also, Portia has bigger problems. After helping drive the once brilliant Ally McBeal straight into the unforgiving ground, she was fortunate enough to become a regular on the Second Coming of Seinfeld, the best television comedy produced since Jerry and the gang signed off in 1998: Fox’s Arrested Development. Despite an Emmy win for Best Comedy Series, a Golden Globe for foxy star Jason Bateman (did you catch that pun? I didn’t until after I’d written it) and any number of television critics all over the country with sticky shorts writing about its brilliance, nobody is watching the goddamned thing. Fox recently decreased its order for the show’s current season from twenty-two episodes to a paltry eighteen.

This, of course, spells disaster for the program, but does not come as a shock to anyone. After all, the show is good, and good TV shows created after The Simpsons just don’t stay on the air at Fox. That said, the cancellation notice has not yet been posted, so even if you don’t quite get the humor of the show, even if you don’t have a Nielson box, even if your contempt for de Rossi and her Ellen-interfering ways overrides your love of sophisticated, intel-

ligent Sunday night comedy fare, will you please just do the rest of us a small favor and watch the show for a couple of weeks?

Maybe you could even buy a couple of the products featured in the commercials?

We’ll make it worth your while—we promise to talk about Desperate Housewives with you on Monday, or even to watch any of the one hundred and thirty four different incarnations of the boring Law & Order format currently choking up the airwaves.

How’s that sound?

Somehow, I didn’t think so.

Well, on to music then: JLo is dead.

That’s in a metaphorical sense, not a technical one. The persona created by quiet, publicity-shy Jennifer Lopez, which has served her so well (witness Jersey Girl, Gigli, Ben Affleck, etc.) is no more, and Jenny from the Block is returning to being just Ms. Lopez, thank you very much. Her focus is on the music once again, kids, and she’d like us all to give a listen to her latest effort, Rebirth. An album that I found remark-

Brought to you through the Salt Lake Community College Multicultural & Diversity Programming Committee with support from: Fine Arts and Lectures, the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President of Academic Services, the Office of the Vice President of Student Services, the Office of the Vice President of Business Services, Student Life and Leadership and Coloring Outside the Lines.

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 19

In last issue’s Spring Arts Preview, we told you all about the upcoming season at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. If the fact that the festival is in Cedar City deters you from going, or if you’re simply too lazy to make the drive, you’re in luck. The best of the Bard is coming right to you when the Utah Shakespeare Touring Company presents THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. If you’re a fan of witty banter and the objectification of both sexes, this is the play for you.

EarPiece

able satisfying, despite being a person who listens almost exclusively to melancholic, emotionally-apocalyptic, candle-in-adark-room music written and performed by reedy boys with floppy hair and hip names like Connor and Damien. Groovy?

You betcha. Sexy? Oh hell yeah. Funky? I couldn’t sit still. Worth the nineteen bucks you Metro readers will evidently pay for it, given the results of our recent Utah’s Best Award for best places to buy music?

Yes. Run out and get it now, before Lopez reinvents herself again. Staying current is a full time job, people.

It occurs to me that I have just managed a kind of Earpiece milestone, in that I wrote an entire column about women with only the passing mention of a cute boy. This is ponderous—writing this thing takes me a couple of hours, and I don’t think I’ve gone a couple of hours without some serious cute-boy thinking since I was about eleven years old. Freaky. Maybe Jennifer’s not the only one going through a personal renaissance. Nah, I just flashed on Adam Brody emerging from a swimming pool in white boxer briefs. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Pagan Groups Provide Welcome Healing for Gays and Lesbians continued from page 15

“What I find with the religious system I’m using now is that I understand there’s something so much bigger than I am, something so far beyond my own ideas,” says Duffy-Boose. “But the ideas I do have and the ideas that are shared by people who are pagan or Wiccan or witches are that what is natural is different from what is normal. You follow what is natural but normal doesn’t cut it because normal is somebody’s interpretation. So I draw my inspiration from the way the natural world works and it makes it a whole lot easier for me to understand and deal with the

T

bigotry I meet in my everyday life because I’m not ascribing it to God.” Beginning this March, CUUPS meets the third Monday of each month at the Southern Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, 6876 S. Highland Drive (2000 East). For more information on class times and services, visit their website at http://www.technoharp.com/CUUPS.htm.

The Goddess Circle, also known as the Order of Our Lady of Salt meets the second Monday of each month at the Central City Community Center, 615 S 300 E Room 35/36 from 7:309:30 pm. All are welcome to attend. For more information, call (801) 466-7083 or contact gfaulk@mindspring.com.

he Bungalow

at

N in t h

an d

N in t h

An immaculately kept, fully furnished Arts and Crafts house in the 9th and 9th District of Salt Lake City.

Ideally suited for those who require a serene, home-like environment for a day, a weekend, or longer.

Available for rent $110. per day Visa or MasterCard only Adults only - No pets or smoking

For reservations or color brochure please call or e-mail: 801-582-2515

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SALT LAKE METRO ■ MARCH 17, 2005

bungalowslc@comcast.net

WANTED: Director of Youth Programs The Center is seeking qualified individuals with experience running programs, computer skills, experience managing grants, and a commitment to social justice with an understanding of grassroots organizing. The position is full-time.

Resume and cover letter should be sent to Valerie Larabee, at valerie@glbtccu.org.

For more information, contact The Center at 593-8800.

Aristo’s Greek Restaurant & Café

by Vanessa Chang Vanessa@slmetro.com

224 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City (801) 581-0888 Hours: Monday-Saturday 11am-10pm All major credit cards accepted Not handicap accessible

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 21

In this town, “Hey, let’s go get Greek food,” usually means you’ll be gracing one of the many good greasy spoons and mom-andpop fast food joints that not only offer a killer pastrami burger but some fine gyros as well. Let’s be honest, gyros are good, ambrosial even. But Greek cuisine is much more multi-faceted than combo #6 (with lemon rice instead of fries, thank you) at your favorite joint. Aristo’s Greek Restaurant and Café holds no vestiges of fast food stereotypes. Its menu is ambitious with not-so-well-known specialties and enough variety to accommodate everyone in their Greek culinary proficiency—perhaps, in fact, even a little too accommodating.

There’s an impressive selection of meze on the menu. These small plates akin to tapas, or what we know as appetizers, are actually half-price everyday from 4 to 6pm and 9pm to close. Ordering a handful of these would more than constitute a great meal, and cheaper than what you’d pay at a drive thru. The pureed potatoes of the skordalia create an incredible texture that is irresistible with the warm pita. But mind you, it is garlic saturated. I gather that some folks can’t get enough of it, but even for a garlic aficionado like me, this batch’s after-effects were so acerbic it aggravated the migraine I felt coming on before dinner. Merides are deboned smelt fish batter-fried whole. The result is crunchy and, when spritzed with some lemon, a great treat. Eat them hot and search out the smaller ones; they boast the best crunch and meatto-crispy-exterior ratio. The avegolemonio (lemon rice soup) was average, acting mainly

as a palate cleanser after the merides. And the house salad featured a tomato as pallid as a Midwestern tourist in Santorini; that’s what you get with winter tomatoes. Wait until summer, folks—seriously.

The grilled items, though flavorful, came overcooked, as with the pork. It was a stark difference to the fork-tender chicken that you could coax away from the bone with barely any effort. Stewed in an aromatic red wine and tomato sauce, this stifado became the favorite at the table. When it’s on special, try the braised lamb shank. As generous in portion as the stewed chicken, it’s meltingly tender flesh still induces salivation at the mere thought of it. Horta (usually wild dandelion, amaranth, chicory greens) are a nice companion to these heavy dishes. Usually frozen, if you’re lucky enough to come across a batch from Aristo’s own garden, it’s unparalleled. Drizzled liberally with olive oil, you supply the drenching of lemon juice and salt. Spectacular. Same goes for the ground lamb, pasta, and sauce baked into a harmonious thing called pastitsio, and the moussaka is some of the best in the valley.

So with beautiful items like these, I’m confounded when the menu also features gyro meat or souvlaki that is nothing too far off what you would get at a mom and pop joint.

It’s jarring to hear sexy syllabic desserts like baklava and galatoboureko (made by Aristo’s mother) in the same list of options as white chocolate raspberry cheesecake (not made

by Aristo’s mother). The latter, filled with custard lightly perfumed with orange blossom water and lemon, deserves a billing of its own, uncluttered from this over-extension of consumer palate-pleasing.

Aristo’s has good food. The menu, though, is still a bit precarious in trying to balance the familiar with the obscure-yet-delicious specialties that are truly unique to Salt Lake.

Restaurants like this should have the cajones to stay focused to its intention, as opposed to predicting what its audience may be afraid of, and an encyclopedic listing of items doesn’t guarantee this. If anything, it prevents it from becoming truly stellar. In Aristo’s case, with a braised lamb shank and generous corner slice of galatoboureko, it can be forgiven.

Red,White Bubbly The Ten Wine Commandments

by Beau Jarvis beau@slmetro.com

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The social and political trends in our country seem to be headed in a decidedly non-secular direction. I figure in the not-too-distant future, we’ll all be required to say grace at our favorite restaurants before we are allowed to order dinner. So to help wine lovers prepare for the impending religionization of dining rooms across the nation, I present the Ten Commandments (from a wine Universalist perspective).

and sounds around the table at which you sipped your very first glass of fine wine? Years ago, my friend Penny ordered a bottle of Chilean Merlot. It wasn’t love at first sip, but the wine-curiosity bug bit me right on the toosh. I’ll always have fond memories of her and that first glass.

VI. THOU SHALT NOT KILL. Two possible exceptions: If the server at your favorite restaurant puts on a wine snob persona and makes you feel like an ignorant, plonk-swilling dolt. Or, if you spend a day’s salary on a bottle of wine, open it up, and discover it is “corked.”

At this point, blood should be shed. Or perhaps a Wet Willey will suffice. Yeah, I’d go with the Willey.

VII. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY. Don’t even think about pouring orange juice into your glass of Champagne.

I. THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER BEVERAGES This is very nearly an unpardonable BEFORE WINE. offense. If you must have sweetened Actually, it’s always bubbly at brunch, try a good idea to drink Asti, Moscato d’Asti, or water. Additionally, Brachetto d’Aqui. But Kirin beer is one of the for god’s sake, do not tastiest companions to Learn the adulterate Champagne. sushi & sashimi—ever.

Now Cold Duck is anTen Wine Oh, and a sweating gin other story… & tonic on summer Commandments.

VIII. THOU SHALT NOT evenings is pretty tasty, STEAL. Practice them in too.

Perhaps swiping that your daily life.

II. THOU SHALT NOT MAKE nifty corkscrew or UNTO WINE ANY GRAVEN shiny ice bucket from Ain’t piety grand?

IMAGE. the swank hotel you You know what’s fun? stayed in last weekend Try making a little chair isn’t technically stealusing a sparkling wine ing. I fully intend to cork and the wire cage return those items the next time I stay used to secure the cork in the bottle. This there. Really, honest—I promise. Don’t is good for hours of entertainment. And a tell anyone, please. vintage Ramos Pinto Porto poster makes for a great accent piece in the living room. IX. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOUR. Idolatry isn’t all that bad.

The next time you drink the last drops III. THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF KRUG of your lover’s David Bruce Pinot Noir, THY CHAMPAGNE GOD IN VAIN. don’t blame anyone else. Especially if There is absolutely no wiggle-room by anyone else, you mean, “the cats.” here. Krug really is sanctified, sparkling Opposable thumbs are pretty much a nectar of the gods and should never be requirement for holding a crystal stem. blasphemed. Of course, if you do have a The buck stops with you. real cursing problem, I suggest creating X. THOU SHALT NOT COVET ANY WINE THAT IS a “curse cup.” Pitch in one dollar every THY NEIGHBOUR’S. time vile language tumbles from your Possible exceptions to number 10 lips. In no time, you’ll be able to afford include: Campo Ardosa, ’00 ($30), Aldo that $150 bottle of Krug.

Conterno Barolo Cicala, ’00 ($140), IV. REMEMBER THE “OPEN THAT SPECIAL Kracher Grand Cuvée TBA, ‘00 ($80), BOTTLE DAY,” TO KEEP IT HOLY. Guigal Hermitage Blanc, ’01 ($50), and Well, not so much keeping it holy as Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs, ’00 ($31). marking it on the calendar. Set aside one Actually, coveting isn’t all that egregious. day per month and open a special bottle Go ahead, covet yourself silly. with a special someone(s). This month Learn the Ten Wine Commandments.

I plan on cracking a bottle of Baumard Practice them in your daily life. Ain’t Quartes de Chaume, 2002 ($62). My piety grand? Amen and cheers. mouth is already watering in anticipation.

Beau Jarvis is a sommelier and wine eduV. HONOUR THY WINE FATHER AND THY WINE MOTHER. Do you remember who introduced you to wine? What were the sights, scents,

cator. He operates basicjuice.com, a wine review and info website. He also runs basicjuice.blogs.com

Di ing Guide Dining de SALT LAKE CITY, UT Café Med

Michelangelo Ristorante 2156 S, HIGHLAND DR./ 466-0961

420 E. 3300 S. / 493-0100 HOURS: SU-TH 11AM-9PM F-SA 11AM-10PM CUISINE: MEDITERRANEAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

michelangeloristorante.com

Persian, Greek, Italian, Turkish and Vegetarian in a warm, relaxing atmosphere.

Begun by childr\hood friends Paulo Celeste and Marco Gabrielli of Tuscany.

Coffee Garden

Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza

898 S 900 E / 355-3425 HOURS: SU-TH 6AM-11PM F-SA 6AM-12AM CUISINE: COFFEEHOUSE PRICE: ¢ CARDS: AE D MC V

SLC’s buzzing java shop with a diverse crowd. Sandwiches, desserts, sidewalk dining.

Fiddler’s Elbow 1063 E. 2100 S. / 463-9393

HOURS: CUISINE: PRICE: CARDS:

TU-SA 11:30AM-1:30PM 5:45-9PM ITALIAN $$ AE D MC V

4538 S, HIGHLAND DR./ 273-8282

nicknwillyspizza.com HOURS: CUISINE: PRICE: CARDS:

SU-TH 11AM-10PM F-SA 11AM-12PM PIZZA $ AE D MC V

Dine in or take-out. Call ahead and we’ll have it ready. Albertsons Shopping Ctr.

Orbit Cafe

fiddlerselbowslc.com

540 W. 200 S. / 322-3808

M-TH 11AM-11PM F-SA 11AM-12AM SU 9AM-10PM CUISINE: AMERICAN PRICE: $ CARDS: TC AE D MC V

orbitslc.com CUISINE: PRICE: CARDS:

32 beers to choose from, including Utah’s best selection of microbrews.

Open late nights on Fridays and Saturdays with DJs and a special menu.

HOURS:

HOURS:

SU-TH 11AM-10PM F-SA 11AM-3AM AMERICAN ECLECTIC $ TC AE D MC V

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

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

Robust Italian fare in an elegant atmosphere with a tasteful, contemporary vibe.

Good Mexican food...fast.

Fresh salsa bar, food made to order. See our coupon!

Salt Lake Pizza & Pasta

Restaurant Owners: Gay men and lesbians eat at restaurants three times as often as anyone else.

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:

Voted as Utah’s Best Pizza 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

Advertise in the Salt Lake Metro Dining Guide. Call 323-9500 today!

The restaurant that serves the most authentic Szechwan and Mandarin cuisine.

Restaurant Owners: Get your restaurant listed in our Dining Guide!

Call 323-9500 Today!

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 23

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Bar Guide Club 161* 161 S. Pueblo St (1440 W.) 363-8161 / club161.com HOURS: M&W 7pm-2am TH–SU 2pm-2am CLOSED TUES GAY: Every Day AGE: 21+ / COVER: No Levi, Leather, Fetish. M Fetish Night, TH Underwear Night, F Leather/Bear

Comics ADAM AND ANDY by James Asal

Club Naked* 326 West Temple 521-9292 / nakedslc.com HOURS: TU–SA 9:30pm-2am GAY: Saturdays AGE: 21+ / COVER: Varies Dance, DJs, Special Events

Club Panini* 299 S. Main Street 535-4300 / panini.us HOURS: M–TH 11am-10pm F–SA 11am-12am GAY: Mondays AGE: 21+ / COVER: No Speed dating first Mondays of the month.

Club Try-Angles* 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.

Heads Up* 163 W. Pierpont Ave. (240 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.

A COUPLE OF GUYS by Dave Brousseau

MoDiggity’s* 3424 S. State St. 832-9000 modiggitys.com HOURS: M–TH 4pm-12am F–SA 4pm-2am SU 11-2am GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: $4/members free Sports & music club for women. Football & mimosa brunch Sundays.

Paper Moon* 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.

FR & SA hip hop/dance

Todd’s Bar & Grill* 1051 S 300 W / 328-8650 toddsbarandgrill.com HOURS: W 10am-2am GAY: Wednesday / AGE: 21+ COVER: No Gay Weds w/ DJ Ebenflow and Brent B. Free parking

Trapp*

Trapp Door* 102 S. 600 W. 533-0173 / trappdoor.com HOURS: 10am-2am daily GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: $3/Members free New Ownership. Dance, show club. Hot men & hot music. SU Latin night.

W Lounge* 358 S W Temple 359-0637 HOURS: 9pm-2am daily GAY: n/a / AGE: 21+ COVER: varies Voted “Best Place to Meet Friendly Straight Folks” by readers of the Metro.

BITTER GIRL by Joan Hilty

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 25

102 S 600 W 531-8727 / thetrapp.com HOURS: 10am-2am daily GAY: Every day / AGE: 21+ COVER: $3/members free Really gay every day.

SU Buffet, NFL, M & W Karaoke.

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Classifieds Service Guide RENAISSANCE FINANCIAL

EMPLOYMENT HOME REPAIR SERVICES HOMO IMPROVEMENT?

APPLE ONE Employment Services is seeking qualified call center experienced in sales. Can earn $12+/hr plus commission. Apply today. Employers, let us fill your staffing needs. Call Steven Whittaker at 4634828 for an appointment.

Group CPAs serving Utah’s

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Whittaker at 801-463-4828.

MISC. STUFF

ATTORNEYS

ARE YOU HIV+?

MARLIN G. CRIDDLE, P.C.

ESTATE PLANNING

Pride Counseling is restarting a Therapy/Support Group for men who are HIV infected and seeking support from others in similar situations.

Men who have participated in this group report a sense of connection and the permission to safely explore their uniqueness in a safe and affirming environment.

We are able to bill most insurance companies, Ryan White and sliding fee scale available. For information please call Jerry Buie LCSW at 801-595-0666

Serving Utah’s gay, lesbian,

JANE MARQUARDT & DOUG

bisexual and transgender

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AVENUES 4 bed, 2 bath, 2-story. New kitchen, walk to stores and restaurants. $268,500 Brad at Stonebrook Realty 550-0330.

FOR RENT 15TH AND 15TH Beautiful house 4bdrm 2 bth 2 car garage, W/D. updated kitchen,hrd wds,new carpet, patio. no smk/pets.

1407 E Emerson Contact 801-674-5568 WALK TO Starbucks & boutiques in upscale neighborhood. Spacious 3 bd, fml dining, hrdwd flrs, w/d hookups, private yard & garage. $1195 Call 581-0234 DONT RENT - BUY! All credit accepted, Connie 801-347-2956

ROOMMATES WANTED AIRPORT/DOWNTOWN. Male to share large furnished home. No smoking, no pets. $350/month Call 631-8110 SWF LOOKING for funny Share recently remodeled 3 bdrm 2 bath house near downtown w/ two meticulous guys. $260 per month. Utilities included. $260 deposit.

No pets/smoking. 641-3362 HOUSE ON quiet cul-de-sac near 400 E 3500 S. Frplc, den, laundry, garage, cable, large backyard, 2 small dogs. $400/mo includes utilities.

Clean non-smoking male wanted. Dan 487-2593.

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viding comprehensive estate planning services, custom designed to your unique

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Home repair and remodeling.

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JEWELERS CUSTOM DESIGN JEWELRY. Relaxed atmosphere. All types of stone settings. Commitment rings, wedding rings, earrings, pendants. Repairs welcome.

Charley Hafen Jewelers. Trolley Square. 521-7711

MASSAGE MASSAGE WORKS: 801-450-4144 LORRAINE, Convenient Location RELAX #109063

BEST THERAPISTS, best price, best place, best hours, call 486-5500 Pride Massage 1800 S. West Temple Ste A224

BI MEN of Utah groups. yahoo.com/group/Bi-GayMen-Utah. Social and support group for bi/gay men of Utah.

WWW.DENNISMASSAGE.COM A Man’s Man. 598-8344.

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STIMULATE YOUR SENSES or feel deep peace with a relaxing full body massage. Call Therron at 879-3583 for $5 off mention this ad. LMT #5608006

PET CARE HAPPY PAWS Pet Sitting Plus 205-4491 Libbie Neale. Pet sitting in your home for your pets’ comfort and peace of mind. Providing vital home care services while you are away.

RESOURCES

UTAH GAY Rodeo Association ugra.net PO Box 511255 SLC, UT 84151-1255 A social & Rodeo Sport Organization GAY RM’S–SOCIAL group for return missionaries of the LDS Church. Regular parties and group activities more info. at www.gayRMs.com ROYAL COURT of the Golden Spike Empire. rcgse.org Membership meetings held twice monthly. Help support your community!

AFFIRMATION: GAY and Lesbian Mormons. members.aol.com/wasatchweb/: Sunday meetings 534-8693

AMERICAN CIVIL Liberties Union. Fighting for individual freedoms since 1958. www. acluutah.org

ENGENDERED SPECIES 801.320.0551. A social/support group resources for transgender people. www. engenderedspecies.com

GAY MENS HEALTH SUMMIT. Gay men’s health is more than just HIV. visit us at utahgaymenshealth.com

CODE PINK. A women-initiated peace and social justice movement by positive social change via creative protest and non-violent direct action. www.codepinkalert.com SAME-SEX MARRIAGE is a Feminist Issue: NOW’s mission is to promote equality for ALL women. NOW has fought for gay and lesbian rights, and we won’t stop until we achieve equality for all. Join us utahnow.org FIRST NATIONAL Conference on Methamphetamine, HIV and Hepatitis: Science $ Reponses 2005 August 19th % 20th in Salt Lake City ~ Visit us www.harmredux.org

TAX SERVICES RENAISSANCE FINANCIAL Group CPAs serving Utah’s alternative lifestyle clients and businesses with tax prep. Free electronic filing.

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TIRED OF THE BAR LIFE?

Pride Counseling is offering a Gay Men’s Therapy/Support Group. Gay men often find that their options to socialize limited to clubs and bars. This group seeks to bridge the gap of isolation and help gay men safely explore personal issues unique to their circumstances. Gay men regardless of “coming out” status, or life circumstance are welcome to this group.

Most insurance companies billed, sliding fee scale.

For information please call Jerry Buie LCSW at 801595-0666.

MARCH 17, 2005 ■ SALT LAKE METRO ■ 27

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