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BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

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BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

Profiles for

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANDREA SHORTER

Black History Month

Andrea Shorter, President, Commission on the Status of Women

For the past 25 years, Andrea Shorter has been on the front lines of some of the great modern quests for social justice and equality. An African American lesbian, her story is a vigorous expression of the power of diversity at the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexual orientation. From criminal justice reform to voters’ rights, from women’s rights to HIV/AIDS education, from same sex marriage to LGBT workplace equality, Shorter presents a deeply versed, dynamic and unique fusion of scrappy grassroots organizing, innovative non-profit development, and dedicated public service. A longtime advocate for same-sex marriage equality, Shorter served as the director of the public education campaign “And Marriage For All,” performing outreach to African American communities. She further worked with Equality California postProp 8 to help rebuild and further solidify majority support for marriage equality. She has served on the Boards of the SF LGBT Community Center and the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club. She is a co-founder of the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition. For these and other efforts, Shorter was honored as a Grand Marshal of the SF Pride Parade. Her path towards her current post as Director of Community Relations at Out & Equal Workplace Advocates– celebrating its 20th year as one of the world’s premiere non-profit organizations dedicated to achieving LGBT workplace equality–began when she first set foot in San Francisco in 1991. Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Shorter grew up in the Inland Empire, and graduated from Whittier College with a B.A. in sociology in 1988. After college she worked for the California Assembly Legislature in Riverside County before eventually making her trek to San Francisco to live life openly and fully as an African American lesbian. Soon upon her arrival in San Francisco, she began work as an organizer at the former Income Rights Project to protect the rights of women and children on public assistance. Nicknamed by some of the activist-mothers as the “dreadlocked girl with the bullhorn,” Shorter managed a local grassroots effort in 1992 that helped to defeat Governor Pete Wilson’s controversial State Proposition 165 that would have drastically cut aid to families with dependent children. During this heady time for local, state 6

and national politics, she joined the Board of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Organization for Women, working to ‘Elect Women for a Change.’ A keen admirer of civil rights icon Bayard Rustin and his principles of coalition movement, Shorter as President of SF NOW became a leading force elevating critical response to the emerging crisis of the failed war on drugs’ impact on women and girls, affecting the disproportionate incarceration of African Americans. Working together with activists from the women’s, LGBT, African American, faith, youth advocacy, legal, income equality, and other communities, she led a series of bold initiatives to raise awareness. In the midst of measures to restrict voter registration for immigrants and others, she engineered and led an historic voter registration drive encompassing all San Francisco County jails to protect over 600 qualified inmates’ constitutional rights to vote. Notably, the voter turnout from the inmates helped to defeat a local measure to build a new jail. Now an institutionalized feature in the county jails, this landmark effort inspired similar grassroots actions throughout the state. Simultaneously, Shorter worked closely with then justice fellow, Van Jones of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, to revise confusing, prohibitive language on the state’s voter registration form that was deterring persons with various involvement with the criminal justice system from registering for fear of perjuring themselves, unknowingly forfeiting their right to vote. Inspired by the dedication of this coalition-driven effort to protect voter rights, she became a representative plaintiff for the Coalition for an African American Community Agenda against Governor Pete Wilson when he refused to implement the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, aka the Motor Voter Law to open registration opportunities at state agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles. The case progressed to the United States Supreme Court. One of her most enduring memories was receiving a call from Robert Rubin of the Lawyers’ Committee announcing, “Hey, kid. Congratulations! You won. The Supreme Court read and upheld the lower court’s ruling. Motor Voter is to be enacted now.” Shorter went on to work at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, helping to establish and eventually

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direct what would become a nationally replicated, award-winning detention diversion project for non-violent youth offenders. Taking a hiatus from criminal justice work after several years, she enthusiastically accepted an invitation to serve as the Deputy Executive Director of the NAMES Project Foundation to broaden the outreach and impact of the AIDS Memorial Quilt into middle schools, communities of color, and globally. Forging the Quilt’s initial collaboration with historically black colleges and universities, she memorably engaged the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King to inaugurate the program’s launch. On the global front, at the invitation of South African HIV/ AIDS outreach workers and the offices of Bishop Desmond Tutu, Shorter worked with the Quilt’s founder Cleve Jones to organize chapter volunteers from North America, the Netherlands, and Europe to mount a groundbreaking tour of the Quilt in South Africa in 1997. In 1996, she was appointed by former Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., to the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Community College District to succeed Leslie Katz upon her appointment to the Board of Supervisors. At this time, Shorter was one of three African American LGBT community college trustees in the nation. At City College, she worked to address issues of concern for LGBT students, to strengthen campus safety for women, and to tackle the welfareto-work mandates that particularly affect student-parents. Following her tenure as a trustee, she was appointed in 2001 to the Commission on the Status of Women. As the senior member and President of the Commission, Shorter continues to oversee the development of this historic agency’s range of national model policy and programs to address domestic violence, human trafficking, gender equity, pay equity, and other emerging challenges such as STEM initiatives outreach, and affordability. By extension, Shorter was appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom to co-chair San Francisco’s 2010 Census outreach committee during the bureau’s historic first attempt to count LGBT households.

In 2009, Shorter was awarded a prestigious Bohnett Fellowship for outstanding LGBT leaders to attend the Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. A collaboration of the Victory Institute and The David Bohnett Foundation since 2002, she is one of 118 alumni, along with San Francisco leaders City Treasurer Jose Cisneros; Chief of Staff for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Dan Bernal; and Tax Collector, David Augustine. She greatly appreciates the equally dedicated public service, support, and inspiration of her contemporary African American LGBT public officials and community leaders, including Paul Henderson, Deputy Chief of Staff & Director of Public Safety to Mayor Edwin Lee; Julius Turman, Vice President of the SF Police Commission; Susan Christian, Chair of the Human Rights Commission; Brett Andrews of the Ethics Commission; and Lisa Williams, Past President of SF Pride, and Cofounder of the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition. Forever thankful for the love of her tightknit family that includes her mother, two younger brothers, nephew, and partner Lubov Smith, she remains

inspired by her late father’s love of learning, debate, and pride in the African American diaspora up from slavery. She marvels at what he would have thought of Barack Obama as the first Black President of the United States, and Kamala Harris as the California State Attorney General. Through the rough and tumble of the hard, yet rewarding, struggles toward equality for all, Shorter remains steadfast in the belief that working to create the best conditions in which everyone can realize their full human potential is the heart, soul and hope of all civil and human rights movements. As the United States becomes more racially diverse, with people of color becoming the majority, Shorter is fascinated by the idea that the majority experience of LGBT people will likely be held by people of color, and how that dynamic is shaping the next chapter of the LGBT liberation movement both nationally and globally. In the meantime, she aspires to do her part in honor of the work done by those before her, and by those who will boldly continue the work in the years to come.

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In the News By Dennis McMillan

Supervisor Wiener Calls for Open Source Voting System in SF Supervisor Scott Wiener this week called for a hearing on San Francisco’s efforts to fund, design, and implement an open source voting system that he says will provide for a more transparent, secure, and publicly viewable elections system. Currently, San Francisco contracts out to private vendors to provide voting technology. These vendors require expensive long-term contracts, and run elections on proprietary software and hardware. Open source elections software could be run on off-the-shelf hardware like tablets and printers, which are less expensive than proprietary hardware. The source code, systems design, and other materials used to run the elections system would be publicly available. The proposed hearing is scheduled to take place next month. Out Lesbian to Head San Francisco General Hospital Following an extensive nationwide search, San Francisco Health Director Barbara Garcia announced the appointment of Susan P. Ehrlich, MD, openly lesbian, as the new chief executive officer of Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, leading a staff of 5,400 and managing a budget of $1.1 billion. Ehrlich comes to San Francisco General from the San Mateo Medical Center, where she most recently served as its Chief Executive Officer, from 2009 to present, overseeing a staff of close to 1,500 and budget of $270 million. Previously, over her 14 years of service at the center, she was chief medical officer, vice president and medical director. sfhealthnetwork.org Westboro a No-Show as Supporters Flock to Gay Children’s Book Author Jase Peeples could not have bought the kind of publicity he was given when the infamous anti-gay hate group Westboro Baptist Church announced its intention to picket his reading and signing at Books Inc. in the Castro, where Peeples promoted Square Zair Pair, an LGBT themed children’s book. While Westboro was a no-show, dozens of people from the LGBTQ and allied communities showed up in force to send a message of love and support countering Westboro and supporting Peeples. hoodline.com President Obama and Hillary Clinton to Attend Local Fundraisers Today, President Obama is in Atherton to raise funds for Democrats. On February 21, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be in the East Bay to discuss her campaign and also to raise funds. A prior visit by President Obama to Atherton left the town with $8,000 in bills to pay for security and other services, but a new special events ordinance requires those hosting special events to pay for their own police, public works or other town services. paloaltoonline.com Marriage Equality USA Celebrates 20 Years, Announces Transition Plans Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA) has announced a series of projects and celebrations to commemorate 20 years of grassroots organizing, culminating this spring in the closing of the organization and the transition of key resources to continue the work towards full LGBTQ equality. After almost a year and a half of conversations with members and partners, MEUSA will conclude independent operations this spring after accom8

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plishing their mission of marriage equality in all 50 states and at the federal level. However, the organization has taken deliberate steps to ensure 20 years of knowledge and programs are rededicated to the movement and used for full LGBTQ equality. For details, go to marriageequality.org Smart Gun Symposium to be Held in SF Two West Coast non-profits dedicated to reducing the toll of gun violence— Washington Ceasefire and The Smart Tech Challenges Foundation—will be holding a symposium on February 23 to address possible technological solutions to the problem. President Obama, Vice President Biden and the non-profits support so-called “smart guns.” These are firearms that include a safety feature that allow them to fire only when activated by an authorized user. They can prevent misuse, accidental shootings, gun thefts and more. A limited number of tickets to the event, which will be at the Palace Hotel, are available for $50 payable by check at the door and secured by RSVP’ing Ralphfascitelli@gmail.com U.N. Postal Administration Issues First Series of LGBTQ Equality Stamps The United Nations Postal Administration has released six new postage stamps promoting equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The colorfully designed stamps by artist and UNPA art director Sergio Baradat are also meant to celebrate the diversity of the gay community and mark the first time the global body’s post office has issued stamps with an LGBT theme. The stamps were unveiled in a ceremony at the U.N. General Assembly building that included a performance by the New York Gay Men’s Chorus. unstamps.org Magnet Clients Now Served by Strut, Name to Discontinue Strut, the impressive new center for health and wellness from the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, now serves the clients of Magnet, which was the former Castro 18th Street hub of health and social wellbeing for LGBT men. Strut, which opened its doors on January 4 and is located at 470 Castro Street, plans to discontinue the use of the Magnet name after Magnet’s first three months in the new facility. Some programs (Bridgemen, Positive Force, DREAMM and 50+) will continue to maintain their independent identities. strutsf.org Mixed Bag of Measures to Discriminate Against LGBT People Efforts to impose and enable discrimination against LGBT people continue to advance in state legislatures. The bills that ACLU is monitoring for movement next week form a mixed bag of tactics to undermine LGBT equality. In particular, ACLU is eyeing proposed legislation that would subject transgender people—singling out transgender students—to discriminatory treatment, and a bill that would protect an organization or individual’s ability to discriminate based specifically on religious beliefs about marriage, sexual relations, and gender identity. Additionally, the threat of broad, sweeping Religious Freedom Restoration Act bills still looms in certain states. For details, check out aclu.org/anti-lgbt-religious-exemption OutServe Names Executive Director OutServe-Servicemembers Legal (continued on page 30)

BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

All Gender Restroom Access icant problems that require a statewide fix.

Assemblymember Phil Ting Restrooms are a necessity of life. Everyone should be able to use public restrooms in peace in order to participate in public life on equal terms. This makes public restroom access a civil rights issue. In order to move towards greater equality, I introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1732. It would establish the nation’s most progressive restroom access law among the states. The bill requires all single occupancy restrooms in California businesses, government buildings, and public spaces to be identified as “all gender.” Supported by Equality California, the Transgender Law Center, California NOW and the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, this legislation would align state law with similar restroom access laws emerging in cities across the country. Around the Bay, Berkeley has such an ordinance and San Francisco now has one under consideration. Restricting single use restroom access by gender is a lingering tradition that def ies common sense today. When needed, many ignore restrictive single occupancy restroom signs. For some, however, the signs create more signif-

For t r a n s g ender and gender nonconforming people, there is a significant safety problem. A survey conducted by the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles found that 70 percent of this population has been verbally harassed, denied access or physically assaulted in association with the use of gender restricted public restrooms. Women continue to endure a lack of fair restroom access. Most of our buildings have inadequate restroom facilities to accommodate women. Consequently, women are forced to wait or postpone having their needs met in public. Parents or caretakers of dependents of the opposite gender face convenience issues. When out in public, they frequently have no choice but to break a social norm when a restroom is designated for a specific use. As a father of two girls, I know this all too well. We need universal access to single use restrooms. It’s what we experience in our homes, at many restaurants, and on airplanes. This simple idea comes in a compelling context. Last December, a discriminatory initiative failed to qualify for the state ballot. The so-called “Personal Privacy Protection Act” would have required persons to use restrooms based on their biological sex. It would have penalized transgender Californians no less than $4,000 each time they exercised their

right to use restrooms corresponding with their gender identity. As we look across the country, there is similar but less ambitious legislation pending in other states. In New York, a pending bill would require a “gender neutral” designation for all single-use bathrooms in state owned or operated buildings. In Vermont, pending legislation would require newly constructed or renovated state buildings to include “gender neutral” restrooms. These efforts, especially mine, stand in stark contrast to a pending bill in Indiana that would make it a misdemeanor to knowingly enter a single-use restroom of the opposite sex. Fighting over who gets to use the bathroom alone is silly. Let’s move on in California and do so in a way where everyone’s rights are respected and welcomed. That’s what my bill is all about. It is time for a change and that starts by changing restroom signs. As we have seen before in the civil rights movement, changing signs is a first step to ensure everyone is treated equally. That is why we need to change signs for the times. Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the Westside of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma, and Daly City.

Justice for Gavin Grimm

J O H N S T O N, K I N N E Y & Z U L A I C A LLP

6/26 and Beyond John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, Marriage Equality USA Gavin Grimm, a 16-year-old high school junior from Gloucester, Virginia, simply wants to be able to use his school’s restrooms as all his classmates can. But like LGBT couples who had to go to court just to be able to marry, Gavin has had to sue his school district for the right to use the boys’ room. A panel of the Fourth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals just held argument on key parts of his case and could issue a decision soon.

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The ACLU represents Gavin in court and through court filings we quote here, Gavin reveals his story. Although Gavin was born biologically female, he was aware from early on “that he did not feel like a girl.” By middle school age, Gavin had “acknowledged…to himself and to close friends” that he was male, and in the spring of freshman year he came out as transgender to his parents because the stress of hiding his gender identity was so overwhelming. Gavin’s distress was so severe he couldn’t attend school. With his parents’ assistance, Gavin started getting the professional treatment he needed from a psy-

chologist experienced with gender dysphoria. The psychologist advised that Gavin should be able to live as a male and “should be treated as a boy in all respects, including with respect to his use of the restroom.” Gavin began hormone therapy and legally changed his name. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles approved Gavin’s being identified as male on state identification cards and driver licenses. At the beginning of sophomore year, Gavin and his mom let the school know what was going on and met with the principal and guidance counselor to explain that Gavin was a transgender boy and that, “consistent with his medically supervised treatment, he would be attending school as a male student.” Although Gavin initially consented to using a separate restroom located in the nurse’s office because he didn’t know how his classmates would react, Gavin “was pleased to discover that his teachers and the vast majority of his peers respected the fact that he is a boy and treated him accordingly.” He asked the principal to let him use the boys’ room, and the principal agreed. For the next seven weeks or so, things went fine, and he was using the boys’ room “without incident.” Then, parents and other adults got involved and made life miserable again for Gavin. After two horrific public meetings, the county school board adopted a policy resulting in Gavin being banned from “using the same restrooms as other boys” and exiling “him to single-stall, unisex restrooms that no other student is required to use.” Gavin and his parents attended the meetings to speak against the policy, but doing so meant that Gavin at age 15 had to come out as trans-

gender to the entire community and the press, and to reveal publicly that he was the student at the center of the controversy. Among many accusations, speakers at the meetings “claimed that permitting transgender students to use the same restrooms as others would lead to teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections” and “cited the Bible and complained about ‘morality creep.’” One speaker called Gavin “a ‘freak’ and compared him to a person who thinks he is a dog and wants to urinate on fire hydrants.” Gavin was left feeling humiliated, as if he had “been turned into ‘a public spectacle’ in front of the entire community ‘like a walking freak show.’” At school, Gavin is now forced to use a bathroom separate from all the other students, branding him daily as separate and “other” from his fellow students. Gender dysphoria expert Dr. Randi Ettner described in court papers how each time Gavin is forced to use a bathroom separate from his peers—especially at age 15–16, where fitting in is immensely important to most teenagers—it deals him a “devastating blow…and places him at extreme risk for immediate and long-term psychological harm.” Indeed, Gavin reports that he “limits the amount of liquids he drinks and tries to ‘hold it’” when he needs to go to the bathroom at school. Consequently, he has “repeatedly developed painful urinary tract infections and has felt distracted and uncomfortable in class.” The Fourth Circuit Appeals court decision will likely have a profound impact on Gavin’s life, and it could greatly affect the lives of transgen(continued on page 30)

Planning to Run for Office? If You’re a Woman, Take Note

Ready for Her Leslie R. Katz Recent events in the Democratic Primaries bring to light, again, the issues faced by female candidates. There is not enough room in this column to go through the kind of loaded language that women face. Women have to walk a fine line when running for any office, and running for President magnifies the challenges many times over. I turned to Christine Pelosi, Chair of the California Democratic Party’s Women’s Caucus and a member of the Democratic National Committee, to offer her insights regarding women politicians. Pelosi, the daughter of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, is accomplished in her own right. She is an author of books on running for office, holds candidate trainings (boot camps), and has otherwise written and spoken extensively on the issues women face when running for office–certainly similar to what LGBT candidates face as well. As we follow the Democratic Primary, it seemed like the time to address what women should consider in deciding to run for office. Here is some of the advice she offers to prospective candidates:

Christine Pelosi

Consult your family. Your reputation is not individual; your partner, spouse, children, parents, and close friends will also lose their privacy, possibly against their wishes and regardless of your best-laid plans to protect them. Your family and friends must live with you whether you win or lose. All of this must factor into your decision. Explain your call to service, the nature of your mission, and their roles in any public efforts. Before you embark on this family commitment, reach a family decision. You can dedicate sixteen-hour days to your service mission only if your loved ones support you and are ready to face the cameras themselves. Your loved ones may not support your desire to devote your time, energy, and resources to public service because they will not see you very often during the campaign, which may last a year or two. They may or may not offer you support and campaign with you. Teenagers especially have their own lives and are more likely to act out than grow up on camera. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will not be the last vicepresidential nominee with an unwed pregnant teenage daughter, because life happens. Can you afford the childcare neces-

sary to nurture your child at home or to bring your child with you on the road and hire a sitter to entertain her while you campaign? These questions will be aimed at women, but with changing gender roles and family circles, will be asked of men as well. Male parents of small children are starting to be asked the same questions about balancing family life in a dual-income household with small children. Gay families are breaking new ground in this conversation: In 2011 Colorado representative Jared Polis, the first openly gay parent in Congress, took a brief paternity leave to be with his son, and San Francisco supervisor Bevan Dufty became the first openly gay politician to make a television ad with his child, a small girl videotaped riding the bus with dad. A Brown University study addressed the issue of women candidates with a report that asked, “Why Don’t Women Run for Office?” The researchers found that women are less likely than men to have received the suggestion to run for office from party and elected officials, political activists, or family and friends; yet when women receive external support from formal and informal political and nonpolitical sources, they are

Hillary Clinton campaigns in Charleston, South Carolina

twice as likely to run. Ellen Malcolm, founder of EMILY’s List, a national network of 100,000 members who recruit, train, and support Democratic pro-choice women candidates, says the Brown study shows that people who care about public service should encourage others to run. The theory behind EMILY’s List–EMILY stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast–is that early networking and institutional support helps the campaign ‘dough’ rise. Malcolm says establishing a pipeline for women to run is essential because “progress doesn’t happen in a moment, but in battle after battle for our values.” Malcolm’s message to potential candidates: “Consider yourself asked.” This sentiment is echoed by Florida congressional candidate Annette Tadeo, now with the Women’s Campaign Fund, who explained during our joint presentation to the Florida Young Democrats, “Women are not asked to run. A woman with a Ph.D. in education won’t run for

School Board because she will think she is not qualified, but a man without that degree or kids in the school system will run.” As we contemplate the Presidential Election of 2016, please don’t forget how historic, how groundbreaking, and how difficult it still is for a woman to run for office, never mind getting elected President. Having our first female President, who, in fact, has a history of progressive politics at the national level, is truly the “revolutionary” candidate. Let’s not fall into the trap of subtle attacks based on gender bias, or forgetting what it means to finally have a qualified female candidate for President. I am ready for her! Leslie R. Katz is a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, was the co-author of the City’s Equal Benefits Ordinance, has served on the SF Democratic County Central Committee (as Chair, and as a general member), and serves on the California Democratic Party’s Executive Board. She is an attorney with a government law, policy and strategy practice, with a focus on emerging technologies.

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Weddings Howard Steiermann Most people smile when I mention that I officiate weddings, but seem a tad surprised when I mention that I also lead funerals. Obituaries, death notices, life tributes: whatever you want to call them, I read them, but not the sensationalized hyper-colored stories of celebrities. I’ve always said that I’d make a great juror in any celebrity case, as I don’t follow stories such as OJ’s Jeep or Caitlyn’s SUV travails. I do, however, read the facts found in the obituaries of everyday people. It is fascinating to see which items are included in a person’s life story. Death notices are billed by the word, so what is included may say as much about how a person was viewed by their survivors as it does about the deceased. The life story told by an obituary is curated, like an interior designer selects limited items to display. I suppose I enjoy the voyeuristic element of being invited into a stranger’s life. I become privy to place and year of birth, family of origin and choice,

schools, work, travels–whichever biographic data is shared, I relish.

war-torn Europe, was put to rest here in my community.

In learning about other lives, perhaps I’m trying to find my story reflected in the lives of others. Perhaps I am comparing my life to the deceased. Did they live longer or shorter than my current age? Was their life seemingly easier or more difficult? Perhaps I am using obituaries akin to tarot cards, attempting to prophesize where my life could be headed.

And for people whose life stories, or age, come close to mine, I suppose there’s an element of “There but for the Grace of God go I.” Reading obituaries reminds me of the finality of death (like I really need a reminder). I rarely become depressed confronted with death. It spurs me to focus on my blessings. Reading about a life that has ended reminds me that mine continues and prods me to be productive. Even if I were to live to 120, I recognize that life is short. I need to do what I want to do while I still have the time and ability to do it. I’m not referring to a bucket list. For me, buckets are utilitarian containers. I don’t view my thoughts and plans about my future as contained, but limited only by my dreams and aspirations.

I am captivated with lives lived very differently than mine, such as people born in exotic cultures (compared to my Midwestern, suburban upbringing), or people who served military careers, or those who lived their lives with abandon. These stories allow me to be an armchair traveler to places I know I’ll never experience. Sometimes I need to read between the lines to suss out similarities. If there’s no mention of a spouse and children, I wonder whether the deceased might have been gay or lesbian. The obituaries that set my imagination at hyper-speed, however, are those that reflect parts of my life experiences. It is easier for me to fill in the dash between the deceased’s birth and death dates if they lived a life familiar to my own. I grew up imbued with my parents’ experiences as Jews in Nazi Germany. The obituaries of other Holocaust survivors make me sad that another witness to that horror has died. At the same time, reading those obituaries allows me to feel less isolated. My family’s upheaval is smoothed ever so slightly, knowing that another Bay Area resident’s story, which began in

Over the years I have taken to heart Franz Kafka’s line: “The meaning of life is that it stops.” Obituaries are daily reminders that life does indeed stop. It is my desire to live, and not simply to exist. After reading any obituary I say quietly to myself, “May their memory be for a blessing.” If an obituary gets me thinking about my dad, Doug Shorenstein, Chuck Williams or anyone else who was part of my life but has died, I am thankful for being blessed with memories. Recalling memories are the gift reading about others’ lives gives me. Howard M. Steiermann is an Ordained Ritual Facilitator based in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.SFHoward.com

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In late February 1918, the people of San Francisco learned, for the first time, that their city was home to a community of men who desired other men in all relationships, including sexual intimacy. During the next six months they would discover that these individuals came together from many of the different ethnic, religious, and cultural groups that formed the mosaic of the urban life they knew. They seemed like all men in the city in every way except one: they sought other men for sex. What became the Baker Street vice scandal initially had nothing to do with such “shocking revelations.” It began with a local resident posing as an officer of the United States Army, a violation of federal law. On February 16, 1918, the military police found him at one of the two residential flats at 2525 and 2527 Baker Street. Taken back to the Presidio for questioning, he admitted that civilians and soldiers were meeting at the flats, less than two blocks from the Presidio’s western wall, for sex. The military, without legal jurisdiction in the city, called the San Francisco police, and then returned with them

to Baker Street. For the next 10 days, they brought both soldiers and civilians to the residences for questioning, keeping them there while they completed their investigation. Eventually some two-dozen men “in various walks of life” and from all parts of the country were indicted by the Grand Jury for “immoral practices,” “unspeakable felonies,” and “violating the statutes that govern morality;” many more were named, but not charged. When the daily newspapers began reporting about what they termed the “Baker Street vice ring,” they could not tastefully include information regarding the sexual acts or even the statutes the men were accused of violating. The San Francisco Examiner stated simply that they “are alleged to be members of a ‘club,’ the character of which, the authorities state, justified the drastic action taken.” In the San Francisco Chronicle, the “club” was “a rendezvous for a large number of vicious men.”

There is no question that nearly all of these men were gay in almost every modern sense of the term except their use of the term itself. They knew they were sexually attracted to other men– not only physically, but also intimately and emotionally–and they were aware that their sexuality was inherent and instinctive. Although the concept of sexual orientation did not yet exist, the men believed their feelings were natural and normal, at least for them, whatever the reason. They dated, became roommates, entered into longterm relationships. Only two of the two dozen ever married. “We are all of a temperamental nature,” Clarence Thompson told investigators at Baker Street, using the term then in use. When they questioned Austin Tobin, “Have [your] (continued on page 30)

Before They Destroyed Flint’s Drinking Water, They Destroyed Flint’s Democracy tration that caused the problem in the first place has not yet committed the resources necessary to fix it. And so, as people of conscience, I believe we should support the call of Mayor Weaver of Flint for the immediate replacement of the lead pipes, and call on Michigan Governor Snyder to help provide adequate funding to fix the problem he caused.

Out of the Closet and into City Hall Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan In recent weeks there has been increased public attention on the horrific abuse that has been committed against the people of Flint, Michigan, who have had their water poisoned by actions of their State government. People in Flint, especially children, are suffering from lead poisoning, since a State-appointed emergency manager ended Flint’s contract to receive safe water, and instead started pulling corrosive water from the local river. Now, local water pipes have been corroded, releasing lead and other hazards, and the residents still do not have access to safe water. Other rare illnesses are on the rise, which might be connected to the bad water, and many pipes have been permanently damaged. The Michigan Adminis-

And, we must be willing to learn why this happened—if we don’t want the poisoning of communities—especially of low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, by their State government, to be allowed to happen again. This crisis wasn’t caused by an equipment malfunction. It was caused by intentional decisions at the highest levels of Michigan State government. And it started by taking away the core right of democracy from the people of Flint. Governor Snyder crafted and implemented an “emergency manager” law, to allow him to remove the right to vote from the people of any community in Michigan, ending the power of their elected Mayor and City Council. Snyder then gets to directly appoint a manager, who reports to the Governor and is not accountable to the local people, to be in charge of the local government. Governor Snyder has used this law almost entirely on African American communities, taking away the fundamental right of a free society—the right to elect our government—away from multiple cities. And it was in

this situation, a leadership with no accountability to the people, when emergency managers eliminated the contract that was providing safe drinking water from people that had no power to remove them. This is why it is so dangerous to allow democracy to be eliminated. When the deciders have no accountability to the public, there is no protection against the public being harmed in horrible ways. Since the emergency managers report to Governor Snyder, and can be fired by him, you can be sure that they wouldn’t poison the governor’s water to save money. If they did, they would be fired. They felt free not to care about the needs of the people in the cities they govern because those people do not have the power to fire them. Michigan must, immediately, work to fund and fix the problem that still exists in Flint today, and get residents safe water. Let us also not forget what caused this problem, so we do not allow it to be repeated. The emergency manager law must be repealed. Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide councilmember. She was re-elected in 2012 and serves currently as Vice Mayor. She is working for safe neighborhoods, for local jobs and for a fresh start for Oakland. Vice Mayor Kaplan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog y, obtained a Master’s degree from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School.

Competition Is Good

As a political scientist, elections have always been fascinating to me. I grew up with politics at the dinner table and my family took me to rallies to protest nuclear power in Germany as a baby. So, every four years, I watch the Iowa Caucus, the first in the nation to select their choice for president, with fascination. Ignoring the GOP candidates for a moment, although several of them have jumped off the clown car since my last column, the Democratic primary has been very exciting. Whether you “Feel the Bern” or are “Ready for Her,” we must agree that this campaign on the Democratic side has been good for our party and for the eventual nominee. I always felt that competitive elections made better candidates and elected officials. A challenge from within allows us as a party, and yes, country, to discuss important issues and that might otherwise not have been the case. From

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climate change, to student debt and cost of higher education, the next President will have to continue to address important issues to continue to move this country in the right direction.

Alex Randolph

FONTS

I know from personal experience running for Community College Board this past year that Wendy Aragon and Tom Temprano brought important perspectives and issues to the race. Hearing from them, voters, and students not only made me a more informed candidate and trustee, but it also provided all of us a forum to raise awareness about what is going on at City College and the importance this critical institution plays in our city for immigrants, the middle class, lifelong learners, and so many others. I am very proud of the positive race all of us ran, and am excited that both of them continue to be involved in fighting for City College. In January I had the chance to represent City College as a new trustee at the Community College League of California’s (CCLC) annual Legislative Conference in Sacramento. I was very excited to see what other Community Colleges are up to throughout the state, and how concerned everyone was about City College. Our accreditation crisis was a strong wake-up call to other Districts, and serves as a good catalyst for long overdue reform concerning how we accredit public higher education institutions in California. Other states

seem to be able to combine academic accountability and high educational standards with training, collaboration, and partnerships. After talking to chancellors and trustees from other parts of the state, I feel very optimistic about where we are heading. Finally, I am very excited about California College Promise, a new initiative that was launched at the conference that follows President Obama’s national efforts to make Community College free. Several people have questioned why college should be free. First, community college used to be free up until the 80s in California. Second, in the 21st century, a high school diploma is just not enough anymore to lead Americans to a good paying job and a successful life. A community college student can save an average of $3,800 in tuition and fees. Americans now owe nearly $1.2 trillion in student loans! That is up from $240 million in 2004. Something needs to be done to address this growing problem. More information here: http://calcollegepromise.org/

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Alex Randolph is a trustee for City College of San Francisco. He previously served in President Obama’s administration and as an LGBT advisor for Mayor Newsom. He lives in the Castro with his partner Trevor. Follow him on social media: www.twitter. com/adrandolph & www.facebook.com/ AlexDRandolph

I got my life back. Philanthropist and activist James Hormel and his husband Michael Nguyen joined author Greg Cope White (center) at Books Inc. - Castro where White discussed his book The Pink Marine.

When addiction and mental health conditions cloud your path, we can help find your way back to your authentic self. (855) 316.3975 FoundationsSanFrancisco.com BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

Single on Valentine’s Day

or girlfriend shows up is a recipe for passivity, resignation, and despair.

Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor 1978

The notion that romantic love is essential for happiness is false. There is a lot of good research on what the actual components of human happiness are, and if you are bummed out on Valentine’s Day, it might be useful to have a look at it. The truth can be very encouraging.

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Examined Life Tom Moon, MFT

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CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Kirsten Kruse, Kate Kendell, Alex Randolph, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Terry Baum, Gypsy Love, Rafael Mandelman, Kit Kennedy, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Rebecca Kaplan, Thom Watson, Courtney Lake, Michele Karlsberg Photographers Rink, Steven Underhill, Phyllis Costa, Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg

Valentine’s Day is almost here again, a day that is pretty tough for a lot of single people. So many of us have uncritically bought into the notion— almost universally assumed in popular movies, music, and books—that romantic love is the ‘one true road’ to happiness. This faulty assumption holds that life doesn’t really begin until you meet your “soul mate,” and if you haven’t met her or him yet, well, what’s wrong with you? These notions are so destructive. They encourage us to put our lives on hold until love arrives, instead of taking action, here and now, to create our own happiness. Waiting for your life to begin until the boyfriend

Some mental habits are also important. There’s a strong correlation between happiness and a strong capacity for forgiveness. Those who can’t forgive become angry and depressed over time, and suffer poorer health due to the physical reactions to these negative emotions. Nothing will poison your happiness more effectively than holding grudges. In addition, cultivating an attitude of gratitude is

San Francisco Pride Announces Community Grand Marshal & Pink Brick Nominees Voting is now open through February 29 for the San Francisco Pride 2016 Community Grand Marshals and Pink Brick Award. Annually, SF Pride celebrates local heroes with grand marshal and awardee recognition, as well as bringing attention to individuals or organizations that have hurt our community (the dreaded Pink Brick).

Race Bannon

Queen Cougar

Pamela H. David Deana Dawn

Bevan Dufty

Congratulations to all of the Grand Marshal nominees! They are as follows: Race Bannon Queen Cougar

Janetta Johnson

Pamela H. David

Organizational:

Pink Brick:

AGUILAS #BlackLivesMatter St. James Infirmary Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP) UNITE HERE Local 2

Liberty Counsel One Million Moms Donald Trump

Deana Dawn Bevan Dufty Janetta Johnson Joanie Juster Mia “Tu Mutch” Satya

Joanie Juster

Mercedez Munro

Mia “Tu Mutch” Satya

Larry Yang

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Register for GGBA Make Contact East Bay Thursday, February 18, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at GGBA.com Jack London Square Location: The Port Workspaces on Broadway 101 Broadway, Oakland

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Taking care of your health is also important, but that doesn’t mean becoming a gym rat. The research shows that regular aerobic exercise decreases anxiety and depression, and is correlated with a sense of wellbeing. Another finding is that happy people get adequate rest. Sleep deprivation is widespread in our culture, and is associated with fatigue, diminished alertness, and gloomy moods. Also important to happiness are days of rest and regular time away from work and responsibility. The more we can live with these goals in mind, the more likely we’ll feel happy and connected, whether we’re single or partnered. Of course they won’t guarantee that we’ll find a partner, but those who practice generosity, forgiveness, and gratitude, and who learn to think of love in terms of giving it more than receiving it, have always lived with the greatest abundance of all forms of love in their lives. Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. To learn more, please visit his website at tommoon.net

The 46th annual San Francisco Pride Celebration & Parade is scheduled for June 25 and 26. The theme for this year’s event is For Racial and Economic Justice. San Francisco Pride is among the largest annual parades and gatherings of LGBTQ people and allies in the world, and this year’s event follows an historic year of attendance and participation in 2015. The event averages 200+ parade contingents and exhibitors annually. How to Vote

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The second most important factor in creating happiness is meaningful activity. Many people imagine they would be happier if they didn’t have to work, but, in fact, having too much time on our hands is a great source of unhappiness. We are happiest when we’re in the ‘flow,’ that is, when we’re engaged in activities that make us forget ourselves and lose track of time.

Generosity is highly correlated with happiness. Many people report that what lifted them out of depression was helping others. Give back to the community through such things as tutoring children, volunteering at a homeless shelter, or advocating politically for those who don’t have a voice (and that doesn’t mean just ranting on Facebook). Make yourself available to the people in your life who are sick or in need. We are all happier when we act from empathy and compassion toward those around us.

also important in happiness. Deliberately focusing on appreciation for the many good things in our lives fosters contentment, while brooding over what’s lacking fosters bitterness.

To cast your ballot for Community Grand Marshal (you can vote for up to three in the individual category and one each for the organizational and Pink Brick categories), go to http:// sfpride.org/vote/ PHOTOS BY JUAN CARLOS BETANCOURT

The Bay Times was the first newspaper in California, and among the first in the world, to be jointly and equally produced by lesbians and gay men. We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.

What does that research show? First, there is a virtually unanimous consensus that, as social animals, the most important factor in human happiness is closeness with others, but no studies conclude that only romantic relationships can meet that need. It is within everyone’s power to work to deepen our connections with the family members or friends whom we love, and to work at building a close circle of intimate friends. Don’t make the mistake of undervaluing your platonic relationships!

Not everyone can experience f low in their jobs, but we can all find it somewhere—through such activities as making music, gardening, playing sports, learning, or, for some, even pouring over a spreadsheet. We experience a sense of fulfillment when using and developing our skills, talents and abilities, and we all need to find places in our lives to do this.

GLBT Fortnight in Review

By Ann Rostow

Where The Girls Are Clinton is suffering, not from a gender gap, but from a generational gap. So as a proud Hillary supporter I was taken aback by the tone deaf, outof-date feminist rallying cries on her behalf from Madeleine Albright and Gloria Steinem, as if gender alone should transcend the many interwoven factors that comprise a voter’s decision. No wonder younger women were annoyed by the condescending implication that they were simply ignorant of the debt they owed to the previous generations. (Editor’s Note: Albright’s full statement, made on February 7: “I have long believed that there is a seat of honor reserved for any woman who takes the time to help another woman, and a special place in hell for those who do not. When it comes to politics, you should support the candidate who best ref lects your views—regardless of their gender. But if fair pay, reproductive rights and other issues that directly affect women are your priority, then there is no better candidate than Hillary Clinton. She has spent her life fighting for women, and I’m proud to fight for her.”) We all struggle within the generational context that fate assigns us. Had they been born decades earlier, today’s 20-something women would have advanced the cause of feminism no less than we did (and our mothers and grandmothers before us). History is something to be acknowledged and taken into account, not a special accomplishment that demands bows and scrapes from successive cohorts. The greatest generation won World War II because they were there, not because they were great. They rose to the occasion, as one assumes future generations would have done as well. As for Steinem’s off-the-cuff suggestion that younger women are supporting Bernie because that’s where the boys are, could she have leveled a more patronizing charge? That said, I admit I’d understand perfectly if women chose to team up with the Sanders campaign in order to cruise the ladies. Octo-Justice Every four years, we are warned that the presidential election carries the threat of major change to the balance of the Supreme Court. But this time, the warning seems certain. Four justices are over 75: Ginsburg (82), Scalia (79), Kennedy (79) and Breyer (77). And while it’s true that these veterans could theoretically continue on the Court into their mid to late eighties, it’s also likely that an eight-year President could replace all four. You don’t have to be a Court watcher to notice that three out of four of these justices vote in our favor, ergo a conservative in the White House could set us up with an antigay Court for years to come. I support Clinton for many reasons (not including her gender, which I think of as a political lagniappe) and high on the list is her electability. The negative ad campaign against a Sanders candidacy in the general election would be horrific. And while Bernie has deliberately been left alone by the right so far, Clinton has already absorbed years of sustained attacks and millions of dollars of bad publicity while staying on her feet. I think she will win, but he would surely lose, pushing the Court rightward in the process. And we need the Court on our side. Yes, we won marriage, thank God. But just think of the constitutional issues that remain unsettled. Sould discrimination against gays and trans-people be evaluated under a higher legal standard, as is now the case with discrimination based on

race, gender, religion and other factors?

Proctor & Gamble icon has been the subject of speculation for many years.

Can a private business be obliged to follow gay and trans rights laws that conflict with the owners’ religious beliefs? Recall that Alito ruled in the Hobby Lobby case that religious views do not trump civil rights laws, but would he and a conservative majority make an exception for LGBT rights? It’s quite possible.

According to the company he represents, however, Mr. Clean is not gay. He has devoted his life to housework and has no sexual orientation. Sorry guys. I also learned that he was discovered as a baby by a farmer, P&G reports, and as he grew, “so did his love of cleaning.”

Do federal civil rights laws like Title VII and Title IX implicitly include the LGBT community under the protections against “sex” discrimination? Many courts say yes, as do the EEOC and the Obama Justice Department. Would a conservative Court agree? Indeed, regardless of Court action, what would happen to these gay friendly interpretations under a rightwing president? Would a Cruz or Rubio justice department agree that Title VII covers gay bias? Um, no. So far, aside from some reflexive antimarriage commentary from Republicans, GLBT rights have not emerged as a major issue in the 2016 race. But make no mistake; there is no greater harbinger for our near-term future as a movement than the outcome of the next election. Bottom Feeding Before we abandon politics, I am having trouble determining my least favorite GOP nominee. It’s like Whacka-Mole. I pick the one I hate most. I mentally bash him with a powerful wooden mallet of vicious thoughts. And before you know it, he’s down, but I realize that the one I really hate is the one whose little pointy head is now sticking up through the board. Currently it’s Marco Rubio, the panting moron. Smarmy, grasping—a Chatty Cathy of bellicose slogans that put fear in the hearts, not of ISIS, but of any reasonable American citizen. Before that, it was my own senator, the narcissistic, repellent vampire who managed to sell the Iowa voters on his snake-oiled personality. Prior to that, it was the grandiose lunatic, Mr. Trump. But in recent days I’ve found myself rooting for him as a buffer from the aforementioned Rubio and Cruz. As for Carson, he didn’t last long enough to earn a whack, although I did see enough of him to cringe at his topsy turvy view of the world, a world where Joseph built the pyramids, Earth was formed a few thousand years ago, the Chinese are fighting in Syria, evangelical Christians founded the United States, and health care reform is on par with slavery. And just the other day, reading about the possibility that Jeb Bush might be able to continue long down the primary road, I felt a frisson of dislike for the low energy also-ran, who recently announced blithely that he’d like to take federal money for transportation, health care and other government functions and “give it to the states.” There’s no small irony in running to head the federal government on a platform of shrugging federal responsibilities off on the states. But worse: Have you seen how some of our state governments are operating these days? Have you checked out the schools in Kansas? The roads in Oklahoma? The health care system in Mississippi? Jeb’s head hasn’t popped up yet, but I think I’m ready for it if it does. Dirty Up Your Act Do you think Mr. Clean is gay? Just asking. He sports an earring, obviously works out on a regular basis, is partial to tight white t-shirts, and likes to keep a sparkling home. I read an article about this somewhere in cyberspace, and subsequently learned that the

This reminds me, for some reason, of another article I recently encountered, one which asks whether or not gay men are being undermined by an overly positive image on TV and in movies. From the charm of Will, to those handsome best friends who take attractive women to weddings and help them raise illegitimate children, it seems our gay brothers are being stereotyped as witty, urbane sweethearts, inevitably on hand to protect and serve their lucky heterosexual gal pals.

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Where’s the grit? Leaving aside for now the question of whether or not gay men are truly being mistreated by the entertainment industry, I’ll say again that we won’t be equal until Hollywood and Netflix alike feel free to depict members of our community as sleazy scumbags, bad mothers and serial killers. Just from time to time, mind you! For the moment, it does seem as if any gay, trans or lesbian character must be heroic lest the wrath of our community descend on the wayward producer.

www.marcumllp.com Nanette Lee Miller 415.432.6200 I nanettelee.miller@marcumllp.com International Member of Leading Edge Alliance

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I still think Mr. Clean is gay, by the way. I mean, c’mon! Bestiality Bites So, last year the Human Rights Campaign says state lawmakers introduced 115 antigay proposals, of which many have been carried over to 2016. With rare exception, however, these measures were either killed or delayed. Indeed so many of these gay bashing bills are little more than platforms for conservative grandstanding and “accomplishments” to headline fundraising appeals. The worst ones cannot gain traction, and even the merely bad ones are usually sidelined in committee. It is simply no longer good politics to champion discrimination. And as Indiana learned last year in one of the signature moments for antigay legislation, the price of hanging a “bigot” sign on your state is the loss of corporate investment and public support. I’m not being complacent (maybe a little) and I will cover an actual threat if one arises, but we’d all go nuts if we wrote and read about every misbegotten piece of bull puck that gets filed in Oklahoma City or Montgomery. This preface is to explain why my attention was jarringly caught by none other than a headline about antigay legislation. This time in Michigan where news broke that the senate had voted to outlaw sodomy. Say what? You know, of course, that sodomy laws are unconstitutional thanks to the Supreme Court’s 2003 ruling in Lawrence v Texas. Yes, many states still keep these unenforceable laws on the books for symbolic reasons. Remember, for example, that Alabama kept its law against interracial marriage until 2000. But to actually vote and pass some new sodomy law seemed inexplicable. Here were some headlines that cut through my legislative ennui! It turns out that the Michigan senate was passing an animal rights measure, and for pragmatic reasons, the section of the sodomy law that bans bestiality could not be detached from its original context. Ergo, the entire sodomy law somehow became a part of this animal protection bill. As you can tell from the vague description (continued on page 30) BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

Page Hodel’s ‘Hearts for Madalene’ Radiates Love’s Timeless B Many of us know Page Hodel for her legendary career as a DJ. She is credited with creating San Francisco’s longest-running LGBT dance parties: Club Q for women and the Box for our entire community. She was also the first female mixer on major market radio, with Billboard magazine naming her one of the nation’s top DJ’s. She still rocks the turntables, but is now also gaining well-deserved accolades for her breathtakingly beautiful “Hearts for Madalene” project. It has turned every Monday into Valentine’s Day, reminding us that when intentions and love come from our deepest natures, magic and transcendence result. Please note that this is Part 1 of a two-part series. Look for the February 28 issue of the San Francisco Bay Times for more of Page Hodel’s art!

Page Hodel

Monday Hearts for Madalene By Irene Young When I first began curating exhibits at Britt-Marie’s Restaurant in Albany, my intention was to promote only group shows as a way of nurturing multiple people’s artistic spirit. The restaurant manager, Timo Remiel, and I saw the project as an ongoing way to create a connection between artists/photographers and viewers in the Bay Area. However, I also knew there was only one solo show I wanted to curate, and that was Page Hodel and her astonishing collection of Monday Hearts for Madelene. In a sense, Page Hodel is not a photographer. She is a brilliant, endlessly creative mixed media artist, who preserves her work by

photographing it. Yet, while the items she uses to create her hearts are composed of everything from nuts and bolts to vegetables and f lowers to jelly beans and rubber bands, the message is anything but mixed. Page Hodel is making a very clear and strong statement: Love is all around. All we have to do is be willing to see it. Join us this Saturday afternoon from 4-6 pm for the opening reception for the exhibit, which runs at Britt-Marie’s Restaurant through March. Renowned photographer Irene Young has photographed over 600 CD covers and thousands of promotional images. She is also a highly regarded poet and video producer. To learn more, please visit http://ireneyoung foto.com/

The Physical Embodiment of a Billion Unsaid ‘I Love You’s’ By Page Hodel Doing any one thing over and over on a regular basis for ten years is an extraordinar y experience. With repetition and dedication comes the gift of observation, and often, deep reflection. As with everything in life, there is evolution, growth and change. What started ten years ago, as a promise to my beloved Madalene Rodriguez, as she lay dying of a virulent and devastating ovarian cancer, is that I would continue a sweet little tradition we enjoyed as a f ledgling couple falling deeply in love. Making her a heart every Monday as a reminder of our beautiful love has grown from me leaving a heart on her doorstep to sending it out over the Internet to all of our friends and family. It has now expanded into a worldwide weekly community of 3241 people from all walks of life in every country deliberately, and with great intention, sharing a burst of Monday love with all of the people who mean the most to us. 16

This is a very simple act. There is nothing more to this. It is just expressing love. Each heart is made for Madalene. They belong to Madalene and me, and I intentionally share them as our gift to the world, to become everyone’s. This very intimate and private exchange between us took on a different expression as I grappled with the grief of her death. I think intuitively knowing that I would never survive this loss, I made a conscious decision that I could either fixate on the unbearable emptiness of what I had lost, or I could remain completely in the moment with the incredible feeling in my heart—of being so in love with Madalene. I chose the love. When somebody you love leaves here, they do not take their love with them. It’s still yours. It lives in your heart. These hearts are not hearts of sorrow. Yes, they carried me through the unbearable darkest of loss. But they are hearts of great love. They are the physical embodiment of

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Beauty and Power

Images courtesy of Page Hodel

the billion “I love you’s” that I didn’t get to say. When you lose someone you love, you are stunned into a deafening stupor of trying to make sense of it. Is it our innate unending nature to want to know why? Why do we seek that for which there is no answer? After sending out my hearts to friends and family and receiving the response I did, I knew I wanted my hearts to somehow be of service to others. I could see that there was perhaps an additional higher purpose to these hearts. It brings me now unfathomable joy to know that my heart creations are shared between lovers, among families, and from friend to friend all over the world. They are given to mothers and sisters and fathers and wives and lovers and grandmas and husbands. I have gotten emails from many faraway countries. Very late every Sunday night, when I release my Monday heart, I immediately get a response email from a teacher in South Africa. We have started a very dear correspondence that has now spanned 6 years. I have received emails from a courageous lesbian in Serbia, who is an openly out gay person risking her life to express her love. There is a straight farmer in the Midwest who sends a heart to his lifelong, loving wife, and there are elders who send hearts to their grandchildren. I also hold dear a photograph I received from an 8-year-old girl who had lost her hair to cancer treatment. In this photo, she is standing by her chemo IV towers holding one of my hearts in her hand. Apparently my hearts inspired her to make a macaroni heart for her father on a paper plate to thank him for bringing her to treatments each day.

This remains, and will always be, my gift to my beautiful Madalene. It is my promise and my commitment to my love, and now it belongs to everyone. Madalene changed my life in so many ways. In our short time together, I got to know a dear, kind, warm and wonderful, gentle, artistic, deep and rich soul. For 11 tiny months we soared in that weightless, heavenly, scream it from a mountaintop, swirling like a whirling dervish delirium of new love. I savor and cherish those memories. I make her Monday Hearts, and I send them out into the world now hoping and praying that they remind us all to live and love with all of our being, for the glorious sliver of time we have here together—taking not one split second for granted and remembering every morsel of life’s sweetness and sharing it with others. We further do this as a reminder that love does make a difference. Love does heal, and love will always win. If you would like to receive a heart on your digital doorstep every Monday, send me an email to page.hodel@gmail.com and write “subscribe” in the subject line. Your Monday hearts will begin. I am also thrilled and honored to have been invited by one of my mentors, the exceptional photographer and artist Irene Young, to present a photo exhibit of 30 large prints of my favorite hearts at a beautiful restaurant with delicious food in Albany called Britt–Marie’s. The restaurant is at 1369 Solano Avenue in Albany, CA. The Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, February 13, from 4–6 pm. Please come and share this celebration of love with me! To learn more about “Hearts for Madalene,”please also visit my website at www.mondayheartsformadalene.com

The work process

BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

No Place Like Home Initiative

Marcy Adelman A bipartisan group of California Senate legislators have proposed a 2 billion revenue bond, the No Place Like Home Initiative, to create permanent housing with supportive services for homeless people with mental disorders. LGBT people, veterans and other vulnerable populations with high rates of homelessness will directly benefit from the creation of thousands of units of permanent housing with wraparound services. According to FUSE Initiative, NYC,

During the recession, the state reduced affordable housing resources. For those who lose their jobs, or are unable to meet rent or mortgage payments, there isn’t much of a safety net to catch them from falling into homelessness. The No Place Like Home proposal, if it passes, will build permanent housing with services. It also includes a safety net of 200 million dollars in rent subsidies to help people stay in their homes; smartly directs resources to local governments to extend existing programs for work-

ing families; supports an increase in Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) program grants for seniors, the blind and disabled poor who cannot work; and includes a one-time investment to local government to leverage federal dollars by increasing outreach efforts to enroll more eligible poor people in the SSI/SSP program. I asked Brian Basinger, Executive Director of AIDS Housing Alliance, what he thought of the No Place Like Home Initiative. He said, “I think it is a good start. It is an important opportunity to ensure equitable and fair access to these resources. The initiative also reverses a trend of our government’s disinterest in meeting the housing needs of the residents of our state. It reverses a long-term trend of reducing the benefits of seniors and disabled persons. Since 2008, Social Security benefits have been cut four times and never restored.” According to the San Francisco Homeless Point-In-Time Count and Survey (2015), there are 7539 homeless people in San Francisco. LGBT people report

higher rates of homelessness than heterosexuals—an estimated 15% of the city’s homeless population is LGBTQ. More than two thirds of survey participants report living in San Francisco at the time they became homeless. Fortythree percent (43%) report one or more of the following factors as the primary cause of homelessness: job loss, eviction, rent increase or foreclosure. Fortyeight percent (48%) identify lack of work and inability to afford rent as major obstacles to obtaining permanent housing. High rates of chronic health conditions are also reported, such as drug abuse, emotional conditions and PTSD. Tommi Avicolli Mecca, housing rights advocate and former member of the LGBT Aging Policy Task Force, told me, “I think it will take more than legislation to turn around the homeless situation. The LGBT community and community organizations need to prioritize homelessness and respond to LGBT homelessness as the crisis it is. If San Francisco and the LGBT community are to receive significant dollars from the No Place Like Home Initi-

Senior Housing Advocate Pamela David Nominated for SF Pride Community Grand Marshal Pamela David, an LGBTQ activist for four decades, has been nominated as a Community Grand Marshal for San Francisco Pride 2016. David’s many achievements include helping to organize the Lesbian Rights Alliance, Lesbians Against Police Violence, and the 1987 March on Washington. She helped to launch the San Francisco LGBT Community Center and worked to direct HIV/AIDS resources to communities of color. Her visionary efforts to bring visibility and support to Bay Area LGBT seniors

merit particular attention. Dr. Marcy Adelman, who co-founded the non-profit Openhouse with her late partner Jeanette Gurevitch, told the San Francisco Bay Times that when she and Gurevitch first approached city officials with their idea of providing housing, community and services to LGBT older adults, they were largely rejected and were not taken seriously. David, on the other hand, saw the importance of fulfilling these growing needs and was a supporter from the outset. She further had the

insight to understand how important it is to mobilize our community around the shared cause of aging. “Pam has been quietly working for progressive causes, the LGBT community and for civil rights for decades,” Adelman said. “Her assistance to me and my life partner Jeanette was invaluable. She is a person of great integrity and humility.” On the other side of our community’s age spectrum, David aided LYRIC– San Francisco’s center for LGBTQQ

ative, we will need an organization or coalition of organizations to make that happen.” Marcy Adelman, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in private practice, is co-founder of the non-profit organization Openhouse and was a leading member of the San Francisco LGBT Aging Policy Task Force.

For More Information The No Place Like Home Initiative http://sd24.senate.ca.gov/ news/2016-01-04-senateannounces-%E2%80%9Cnoplace-home%E2%80%9Dinitiative-tackle-homelessnesscalifornia FUSE Initiative NYC http://www.csh.org/wp-content/ uploads/2014/01/FUSE-EvalReport-Final_Linked.pdf San Francisco Homeless Point-In-Time Count and Survey, 2015. http://sfgov.org/lhcb/sites/sfgov. org.lhcb/files/2015%20San%20 Francisco%20Homeless%20 Count%20%20Report_0.pdf Pamela David

youth–in finding the organization’s current home on Collingwood Street. It would require volumes to fully convey how David has helped our community, such is the extent of her lifelong, dedicated efforts. We at the San Francisco Bay Times and “Betty’s List” join Dr. Adelman in urging you to vote for Pamela David as a Community Grand Marshal. To do so, please visit http://sfpride. org/vote/ and place your votes by February 29. More information about this year’s SF Pride nominee slate can be found on page 14 of this issue.

PHOTO BY RINK

Aging in Community

stable housing with comprehensive medical and behavioral services has been shown to significantly improve the lives of all homeless people, and can drastically reduce the cost of crisis care services, e.g. hospital emergency care, substance abuse treatment facilities, and inpatient mental health programs. This new Senate proposal is a bold response to the homelessness crisis. It is a comprehensive program that provides local governments and communities with the resources to create permanent stable housing and the services to help people integrate themselves back into their communities.

State Senator Mark Leno presented a proclamation to honoree Pam David at Openhouse’s annual Spring Fling luncheon in 2014 held at the Four Season’s Hotel where David spoke about the need for LGBT senior housing.

PHOTO BY JO LYNN OTTO

(continued on page 26)

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A MONTHLY HIGHLIGHT FROM THE DE YOUNG AND LEGION OF HONOR

Pierre Bonnard

Through May 15 at the Legion of Honor

Pierre Bonnard: Painting Arcadia is the first major international presentation of Pierre Bonnard’s work to be mounted on the West Coast in half a century. The exhibition features more than 70 works that span the artist’s complete career, from his early Nabi masterpieces, through his experimental photography, to the late interior scenes for which he is best known. The exhibition celebrates Bonnard (French, 1867–1947) as one of the defining figures of modernism in the transitional period between Impressionism and abstraction. Several themes from Bonnard’s career emerge, including the artist’s great decorative commissions where the natural world merges with the bright colors and light of the South of France, where windows link interior and exterior spaces, and where intimate scenes disclose unexpected phantasmagorical effects. Among the many significant paintings on view will be Man and Woman (1900, Musée d’Orsay), in which the artist has depicted his lifelong companion and one of

his constant subjects, Marthe de Méligny. Also featured will be such masterpieces as The Boxer (Self-Portrait) (1931, Musée d’Orsay) and The Work Table (1926–1937, National Gallery of Art); and decorative panels and screens, including View from Le Cannet (1927, Musée Bonnard) and Pleasure (1906–1910, Musée d’Orsay). Pierre Bonnard: Painting Arcadia offers a fresh interpretation of Bonnard’s repertoire, and a reconsideration of the artist as one of the foremost practitioners of modernism. About Pierre Bonnard Born just outside of Paris in 1867, Pierre Bonnard was the son of a high-ranking bureaucrat in the French War Ministry. In 1887 he enrolled in classes at the Académie Julian in Paris, where he became a student and follower of Paul Gauguin. Gauguin’s teaching inspired a group of young painters known as Les Nabis (after the Hebrew words navi or nabi, meaning prophet), with whom Bonnard joined. By the early years of the twentieth century, the Nabis had disbanded, and for the remainder of his career, Bonnard resisted

affiliation with any particular school. Instead, he alternated between the themes and techniques of the Impressionists and the abstract visual modes of modernism. Bonnard worked in many genres and techniques, including painting, drawing and photography. From the domestic and urban scenes of his early Nabi period to the great elegies of the twentieth century, Bonnard’s output is grounded in a modernity that was transformed by his knowledge of works from other cultures, including Japanese woodblock prints and Mediterranean mosaics. For more information, including an interview with the curator of this exhibit and a calendar of upcoming related events, please see https://legionofhonor. famsf.org/pierre-bonnard?utm_so urce=Fine+Arts+Museums+of+S an+Francisco+E-Mail+List&utm_ campaign=b8a26555a2-2_4_16_ General_E_News&utm_ medium=email&utm_ term=0_9757c5111bb8a26555a2-85418097

Pierre Bonnard, “The Dressing Table,” 1908. Oil on canvas. 52 x 45.5 cm. Musée d’Orsay © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris left to right: Pierre Bonnard, “Women in the Garden: Woman in Dress with White Dots,” 1890-1891. Distemper on paper mounted on canvas. 160.5 x 48 cm. Musée d’Orsay © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Pierre Bonnard, “Women in the Garden: Seated Woman with Cat,” 1890-1891. Distemper on paper mounted on canvas. 160.5 x 48 cm. Musée d’Orsay © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Pierre Bonnard, “Women in the Garden: Woman in Checkered Dress,” 18901891. Distemper on paper mounted on canvas. 160.5 x 48 cm. Musée d’Orsay © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris Pierre Bonnard, “Women in the Garden: Woman in Cape,” 1890-1891. Distemper on paper mounted on canvas. 160.5 x 48 cm. Musée d’Orsay © 2015 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

PHOTO BY JO LYNN OTTO

School Diversity Problems, Hegemony Teacher Lyndsey Schlax of the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts recently taught the nation’s first on-site high school LGBT course, according to district officials. She will resume teaching that groundbreaking class next fall. This semester, she is teaching a new Ethnic Studies course. It is a popular elect ive among t he s cho ol’s S o c i a l Science offerings. In this column, students from her class will be anonymously sharing with the San Francisco Bay Times their thoughts about related matters, and what they are learning. Ruth Asawa School of the Arts’ Diversity Problem Student, 12th Grade Last year, Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (SOTA) came under scrutiny by the San Francisco Unified School District with regards to its admission and audition processes and the un-

intended consequence of limited diversity. SOTA’s student population is predominantly white and middle class. Many of the art teachers shared the similar mindset of “established talent over potential,” and therein lies the problem: How is one supposed to turn potential in middle school into talent by high school? If a young and lower class Latina girl from a neighborhood middle school shows potential in dance—meaning she enjoys it, is dedicated, coordinated and willing to learn—but she cannot afford the classes that are necessary to hone her skill and her school does not offer them, she is effectively shut out from SOTA. Often the people who happen to be able to pay for these classes are middle class, and most often white, thus contributing to the lack of diversity at SOTA. One solution to this would be if the district offered more classes at schools where students are less able to afford private lessons; personally I support this approach. The outreach approach means that the arts teachers

do not have to sacrifice their standards, but also that more people are able to reach the opportunities offered by SOTA. The other approach that has been floated is to create new departments, which can accept a more diverse range of students, students who in this case would most likely be from poorer socioeconomic or minority backgrounds. This sounds a whole lot like separate but equal, which is inherently unequal. These new departments might be viewed as easy and looked down upon by the student population who hold their completion of the audition process as a badge of honor, and they may feel that it cheapens their accomplishments. I believe that opportunities need to be made for these overlooked students, but they should most especially be made in the middle schools. Hegemony Student, 11th Grade When we are at school, work, home, or anywhere else in the world, our actions are dictated by a set of universal,

Student Voices

unwritten rules. We know, without ever being told, that it is inappropriate to go out without pants on. We know to say please and thank you. We know how close we’re allowed to stand to strangers on public transportation, whom we can and can’t ask for directions, and what behaviors will draw unwanted attentions. Where do these rules come from? Who or what teaches us these rules? How do they function in our society? In Ethnic Studies recently, we have been learning about the idea of hegemony, specifically how dominant groups often dictate these kinds of unwritten rules for the rest of society and portray them as common sense. For instance, it is widely accepted in this country that to get a well paying job,

a person should be college educated. However, because college education is expensive, it is out of reach for people from poor families, limiting their chances at employment. Since hiring is done mostly by people who could afford to go to college, and they set the rules for what is or is not required of a good worker, they are able to, consciously or unconsciously, prevent people who were unable to pay for a college education from getting hired. This is not to say that education is not important, or that people who have college educations are somehow scheming to push the poorer members of our society down. What it does mean is that our society is dictated by unwritten rules with very tangible consequences, and that we must work to be aware of where all these rules come from and what systems they support. For more information about the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, please visit http://www.sfsota.org/

BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

PHOTO BY JIM NORRENA

PHOTO BY TRAVIS WISE

PHOTO BY JIM NORRENA

Academy of Friends Gala Outshines the Oscars

PHOTO BY RINK

For more information and to purchase tickets, go to https://www. eventbrite.com/e/a-gathering-ofroyals-academy-of-friends-2016-galatickets-19162152514

PHOTO BY JIM NORRENA

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PHOTO BY JIM NORRENA

Drawing the raffle grand prize from Celebrity Cruises

PHOTO BY TORBAK HOPPER

When the Academy of Friends was founded in 1980 by Kile Ozier, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was just beginning to recognize horrific threats posed by the then growing epidemic of what would later be identified as HIV/ AIDS. In April of that year, San Francisco resident Ken Horne was one of the epidemic’s first U.S. victims. Decades of deaths due to the virus followed.

The millions of dollars raised by the Academy of Friends, as well as numerous other fundraising efforts, have since helped fund scientific breakthroughs that have largely taken us out of that death spiral. We need to do more, however, to eradicate HIV/ AIDS completely in our lifetimes. We therefore hope that you will support the work of the Academy of Friends, knowing that all proceeds from ticket sales go to the fight against HIV/ AIDS. Know that you’ll also see the Academy of Friends’ famous and impossibly sexy Golden Boys, as well as other local notables dressed to impress. After the show, the shoes (and sometimes more) come off for DJ dancing until the doors close.

PHOTO BY RINK

Criticizing the awards show is even part of the gala tradition, which also sees standing ovations too, such as after last year’s memorable performance by Lady Gaga. Commiserating and celebrating in the company of friends–with live entertainment, gourmet food and beverages–always makes for a great evening for an even greater cause.

PHOTO BY JIM NORRENA

Consider that for years, the Academy Awards has been under increasing intense scrutiny for failing to represent diversity in nominations. As host Neil Patrick Harris said when opening the show last year: “Welcome to the 87th Oscars. Tonight, we honor Hollywood’s best and whitest—sorry brightest.” Women, LGBT individuals and others have also rightfully protested the Academy’s choices. The Academy of Friends, however, continues to rise above such problems, with its gala having raised over $8.7 million

for local HIV/AIDS direct care and educational service agencies.

PHOTO BY JIM NORRENA

Local parties centered on national events tend to pale in comparison to the bigger occasion. A very rare exception is the Academy of Friends’ Academy Awards Night Charity Gala, which will take place on Sunday, February 28, at the San Francisco Design Center, starting at 5 pm. We think this incredible fundraiser is now even better than the Oscars itself.

Academy Awards Night Gala ‘A Gathering of Royals’ to Raise Money to Support Bay Area HIV/AIDS Organizations Academy of Friends (AOF) presents “A Gathering of Royals,” the 36th Annual Academy Awards Night Gala and fundraiser on Sunday, February 28, at the Design Center Galleria, San Francisco. The legacy of AOF continues as groups of friends celebrate the tradition of watching the annual Oscars broadcast while raising money for Bay Area HIV/AIDS services. Guests will sample delicious bites from local restaurants and caterers while sipping champagne, wine and mixed drinks. After the Oscars telecast, attendees can enjoy performances from the cast of Dirty Dancing. Additional entertainment includes DJ dancing.

with the expressed mission of raising revenue and awareness of the scourge of HIV and AIDS affecting the greater San Francisco community. During the ensuing 36 years, Academy of Friends has become acclaimed nationwide for producing one of the biggest and best formal attire Academy Awards parties outside of Los Angeles, all done with the express purpose of celebrating life and empowering hope.

When the Academy of Friends was founded in 1980, it was a small, private Academy Awards night party shared by 25 friends over a little food, champagne and Hollywood glamour. This annual gathering soon formalized itself into a gala party

“The work of Academy of Friends would not be possible without the efforts of my colleagues, an all volunteer board,” AOF Board Chair Gil Padia told the San Francisco Bay Times. He added, “It’s a diverse group of individuals, including long standing

At AOF’s centerpiece gala, individual and corporate sponsors are the framework of raising funds. This enables 100% of the money from individual tickets, raffle tickets and the silent auction to directly support the beneficiary agencies.

Beneficiaries of the 2016 Academy of Friends Gala

Design Center Galleria and White Rain Productions.

Gil Padia

HIV/AIDS supporters as well young 25–40-year-old individuals who are looking to give philanthropically by supporting a worthy cause.” This year, AOF is very excited to have an amazing list of businesses helping support the event. These include presenting sponsor Nordstrom, and major sponsors Western Health Advantage, Mercedes-Benz of San Francisco, Ketel One, Smirnoff, Eleven Inc, iHeartRadio, Fitness SF, California Wellness, SHN, Gucci, Perry’s, SF

One hundred percent of ticket sales will be distributed to the following six HIV/AIDS services following this year’s Academy of Friends gala:

As new HIV/AIDS pharmaceutical drugs continue to assist those living with the disease, new infections continue to occur. The fight to help those afflicted is not over, and support from the Bay Area to provide a variety of resources is still needed. Since 1980, AOF has raised over $8.65 million dollars and provides grants to support organizations delivering a broad range of community services including food, housing, counseling, financial assistance, legal services and communications.

AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP) The Mission of ALRP is to help people with HIV/AIDS maintain or improve their health by resolving their legal issues. ALRP accomplishes this mission by providing free and low-cost legal services to people with HIV/AIDS in the San Francisco Bay Area.

VIP and general admission tickets are available for purchase at: https://academyoffriends2016gala. eventbrite.com

HIV/AIDS Nightline HIV/AIDS Nightline responds to over 10,000 calls annually from all over the United States. What makes the Nightline unique is their hours. For people receiving their HIV test results after work at a clinic, to people just having a night of unsafe sexual exposure, the program is often the only resource open for immediate care.

To learn more about the 2016 Gala, to become an Individual Sponsor, Corporate Sponsor, or simply to volunteer, please call 415-995-9890 or visit www.AcademyOfFriends.org

Maitri Maitri provides compassionate residential care to people living with AIDS in need of hospice or 24-hour care and cultivates the deepest respect and love for life among its residents and caregivers.

PHOTO BY JIM NORRENA

Project Inform Project Inform fights the HIV and hepatitis C epidemics by assuring the development of effective treatments and a cure; supporting individuals to make informed choices about their health; advocating for quality, affordable health care; and promoting medical strategies that prevent new infections.

As Heard on the Street . . . What is your favorite movie?

Project Open Hand Founded in 1985, Project Open Hand provides nutritious ‘meals with love’ to seniors and critically ill neighbors in San Francisco and Alameda County. The organization’s nutritious food is like medicine, helping clients stay stronger, recover and lead healthier lives. Positive Resource Center The mission of the Positive Resource Center is to assist people affected by or at risk for HIV/AIDS through culturally appropriate counseling, education, training and advocacy. As a result, clients can make more informed choices that maximize available benefits and employment opportunities.

compiled by Rink

Taylor Stephen

Will Griffin

Kate DeAngelis

Troy Brunet

John Marino

“Heathers”

“Howl’s Moving Castle”

“Blue”

“Star Wars”

“Brokeback Mountain”

BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

2016 Oscar Predictions her third Oscar for her phenomenal turn in Carol, this would be a good thing. Saoirse Ronan is the possible (and justly deserving) spoiler in the category for Brooklyn, but Brie Larson seems to be a lock in this category for her work in Room.

Film Gary M. Kramer The Oscars are to be awarded on February 28. And while it might have been anyone’s race leading up to the nominations, there are some clear winners in the major categories now that the ceremony is only a few weeks away. Best Picture Nominees: The Big Short, Bridge of Spies, Brooklyn, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, The Revenant, Room, Spotlight It’s disappointing that Carol wasn’t among the nominees this year, as it is better than most of the films that were nominated. It seems that The Revenant is the clear favorite this year, given the intense production and its success on the awards circuit so far. But there seems to be a consensus building that Spotlight might steal the spotlight. Best Director Nominees: Lenny Abrahamson, Room; Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, The Revenant; Tom McCarthy, Spotlight; Adam McKay, The Big Short; George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road Again, it’s disappointing that out filmmaker Todd Haynes was snubbed for Carol. With his winning the Director›s Guild of American Award, it seems likely that Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu will win consecutive directing trophies after last year’s victory for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). However, prognosticators are pointing towards George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road to take home the gold. Best Actress Nominees: Cate Blanchett, Carol; Brie Larson, Room; Jennifer Lawrence, Joy; Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years; Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn If there was any justice to the Oscars, Charlotte Rampling would win for her astonishing performance in gay filmmaker Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years. Even if Cate Blanchett picked up 22

Best Actor Nominees: Bryan Cranston, Trumbo; Matt Damon, The Martian; Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant; Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs; Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl. Redmayne, who won last year (for The Theory of Everything) may have delivered a flawless performance as the transgender pioneer Lili Elbe, but this year, six-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio is the favorite to win for his incredible turn in The Revenant. Best Supporting Actress Nominees: Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight; Rooney Mara, Carol; Rachel McAdams, Spotlight; Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl; Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs Both Vikander and Mara were pushed into the supporting actress category by their studios that felt the performers would have a better chance at winning as a result. However, as a result of that campaigning, the actresses were neck and neck to win. It appears that Vikander, who also turned in a memorable role in Ex Machina this year, has the edge. Her performance in The Danish Girl was the highlight of the film and certainly is worthy of an award, as is Mara’s spectacular turn in Carol. Best Supporting Actor Nominees: Christian Bale, The Big Short; Tom Hardy, The Revenant; Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight; Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies; Sylvester Stallone, Creed. Given that Rocky won Best Picture 40 years ago, it seems inevitable that Stallone will win this prize for purely sentimental reasons. Mark Rylance could steal Rocky’s thunder for his magnificent work in Bridge of Spies, but Stallone looks like he’ll win a TKO. Best Animated Feature Nominees: Anomalisa; Boy & the World; Inside Out; Shaun the Sheep Movie; When Marnie Was There Anomalisa and Shaun the Sheep Movie are worthwhile films, but they don’t have a chance against Inside Out, which was embraced by all audiences upon release. Inside Out has the inside track in this category. Best Cinematography Nominees: Carol; The Hateful Eight; Mad

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Max: Fury Road; Sicario; The Revenant Carol had outstanding cinematography, and The Hateful Eight was shown in 70mm to show off its incredible look. Even Mad Max: Fury Road featured a distinctive visual palette. But the atmospheric lensing of The Revenant will get the award this year, and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki his third consecutive Oscar (after Birdman and Gravity). Best Documentary Nominees: Amy; The Look of Silence; Cartel Land; Winter on Fire; What Happened Miss Simone? It would be nice if out filmmaker Joshua Oppenheimer would emerge as the winner for his devastating film, The Look of Silence, but the frontrunner in this category is Amy, the remarkable documentary on the late Amy Winehouse. Alas, Best of Enemies, the great Gore Vidal/William F. Buckley, Jr. debate doc, didn’t even make the cut. Best Editing Nominees: The Big Short; Mad Max: Fury Road; The Revenant; Spotlight; Star Wars: The Force Awakens It’s looking like Mad Max: Fury Road will win this category, which makes sense because the film’s editing is simply breathtaking. Best Foreign Language Film Nominees: Embrace of the Serpent (Columbia); A War (Denmark); Mustang (France); Son of Saul (Hungary); Theeb (Jordan) Viva, the Irish film about a gay Cuban

drag queen, was snubbed in this category, which has long belonged to Son of Saul, a film that has received rapturous accolades since it premiered on the festival circuit, and is the expected victor. Best Adapted Screenplay Nominees: The Big Short; Brooklyn; Carol; Room; The Martian Brooklyn, adapted from the novel by gay author Colm Toibin, and Carol, adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s lesbian classic, are smart choices. But the smart money is on The Big Short, the darkly comic film about the finance bubble bursting. Best Original Screenplay Nominees: Bridge of Spies; Ex Machina; Inside Out; Spotlight; Straight Outta Compton The Original Screenplay award usually feels like a booby prize, but this year, Spotlight looks likely to win. It’s an engrossing drama about investigative journalism. It boasts a fantastic ensemble cast. Best Live Action Short Film Nominees: Ave Maria; Shok; Everything Will Be OK; Stutterer; Day One Ave Maria is the odds-on favorite. It is an amusing comedy about the cultural and religious clashes that arise at a Palestine convent when an Israeli crashes into a statue of the Virgin Mary. If the Academy voted with its heart, not its funny bone, Stutterer, a poignant, charming romance, or Everything Will Be Ok, an intense, emotional drama about a father and his daughter, would take home the gold.

Best Animated Short Film Nominees: Sanjay’s Super Team; World of Tomorrow; Bear Story; We Can’t Live Without Cosmos; Prologue Pixar is the studio behind Sanjay’s Super Team, which is largely why this “mostly true” story about the bond between young superhero-loving Hindu boy and his traditional, religious father will win this category, though We Can’t Live Without Cosmos is really superb. Best Documentary Short Subject Nominees: Body Team 12; Chau, Beyond the Lines; Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah; A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness; Last Day of Freedom The topics are all serious. They include Chau, a disabled Vietnamese teen who dreams of designing fashion; a story of honor killing in Pakistan; an animated doc about a man whose brother who suffers from PTSD has committed a crime; and a profile of the director of Shoah. But Body Team 12, about a woman in Liberia assisting with Ebola victims, is expected to win this category. This urgent, harrowing, and fascinating short documentary about a courageous woman deserves the recognition. © 2016 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer

Sarah Bush Dance Project’s This Land Brings Dance to Oakland Parks in Free Performance Series This Land, a new series by Sarah Bush Dance Project, is a winner in so many ways. First there is Bush herself, whose works emanate from soulful truths that resonate with audiences, and particularly women. As fellow dancer/choreographer Andrea Spearman said, “Sarah’s unique choreography and style has inspired me so much in the way I view womanhood in dance. The stories she creates are relevant and emotional. I appreciate all that she and her image-changing company do.” Then there is the fact that This Land performances will be outdoors in scenic Oakland settings. The East Bay office of the San Francisco Bay Times overlooks Lake Merritt, and we have even seen some of Bush’s talented and extremely fit dancers practicing at the water’s edge. Oakland is a huge city with not only this lake landmark but also numerous underappreciated parks, so we were thrilled that Bush is drawing attention to such welcoming locations. Finally, the performances are free! How often do you hear that about the works of accomplished dance companies? Bush explained to us that the idea for the series emerged from her desire to place herself and her dancers “into the canvas of an outdoor, natural environment” and then to tune in to all of the elements. Colleague Lisa Harding said that This Land is important now. “Time spent in outside wild places contributes to our physical, mental, and emotional well-being,” Harding explained. “Most people no longer have the outdoor experiences that previous generations took for granted. Sedentary pursuits, access limitations, and increased concerns over safety, have all affected the availability and appreciation for outdoor recreation and education. Field trips and time for wonder are replaced by less handson examinations that limit the opportunities for personal connections.”

Bush shared that the series is aligned with the mission of her company to highlight women’s strength: “When the dancers and I were rehearsing at Lake Merritt this week, we realized a young girl who had been watching us was starting to climb and jump and use her strength to support her body on the different rails and ledges at the park. ‘That is it!,’ I said. ‘That is why we do this! Girls and women need to see women being powerful in their bodies and bold in their spirit!’ We all cheered her on.” Jeanette Jing Male, a dancer in the company, said that the outdoor settings are just as integral to the works as the choreography. Regarding dancing at Lake Merritt, Jing Male said, “Aspects of the landscape around the lake serve as inspiration for the movement, as well as literal props for the dancers. The pathways, the concrete, the water and the birds, the sounds of footsteps and whispers of conversation, all steep into our performance. Instead of seeing the Lake Merritt Amphitheater as a lunch hangout spot, it will be transformed through our performance.”

Here are some of the upcoming This Land performances: 2/21 at Lake Merritt Amphitheater Recreate Witness dance inspired by the urban wild and deepen your relationship with this park at the heart of the city. Featuring live music by Gina Breedlove. 3/20 at Woodminster Cascade at Joaquin Miller Park Reach Venture into the hills for a different view, and movement that embodies the efforts of trailblazing women who came before us. Featuring live music by The Anita Lofton Project. 4/17 at Arrowhead Marsh at MLK Jr. Regional Shoreline Recall Refresh your spirit at the shoreline where you are invited to reconnect to a collective voice through dancing and the rhythm of pounding sticks. Featuring live music by Melanie DeMore. All shows will be performed on Sundays at 1 pm–rain or shine. Please visit sarahbushdance.org for more information.

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

PHOTO BY PAUL MARGOLIS

HISTORY MUSEUM when the REGC celebrated their 4th year of “Giving Back to the Community.” The Red Envelope Giving Circle is committed to creating positive social change in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area through philanthropic support to Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ-led projects to improve the lives of API LGBTQ people and communities. REGC is a member of the NATIONAL GIVING CIRCLE NETWORK By Sister Dana Van Iquity OF ASIAN AMERICANS/ Sister Dana sez, “February 14 is Valentine’s PACIFIC ISLANDERS IN PHILANTHROPY (AAPIP), a Day; but it’s also Anyone-You-Love philanthropic advocacy organizaDay.Valentine’s Day is typically about tion dedicated to advancing philanromance–but love is so much bigger. Let’s thropy and Asian American Pacific celebrate queer/straight family, the BFF who Islander (AAPI) communities. Roger is always there, or anyone else you’re grateful Doughty, E.D. of HORIZONS to have in your life. Happy V.D. FOUNDATION, has the honor of to everybuddy!” being the fiscal sponsor for REGC. Over the past four years, REGC has RED ENVELOPE GIVING CIRCLE GRANTEE CEREMONY granted out over $45,000 and was excited to kick off its 5th year with a 2016 gave a rousing Happy Chinese New Year to the Red Envelope Giving “Give, Get, Grow Challenge” and a $10,000 promise of matching funds. Circle Family at the SF GLBT All funds benefited Bay Area API-LGBT Queer Projects. It was an API-Queer Movement and Legacy of API LGBT folks giving back to the API-Queer Community. Grantees were API Queer Justice Leadership Exchange (accepted by Sammie Wills), Adrift in Sunset (Narissa Lee / Kar Sister Dana aka Dennis McMillan (right) with (left to right) emcee Yin Tham), He(ART) Trinity Ordona, Kimberly Alvarenga and Cynthia Fong at the Red Envelope Giving Circle event on January 31 at the GLBT Beat Movement (Lai Wa Wu / RayRay Ebora), Historical Museum.

The 1st API Transmasculine Retreat (Min Matson), Sarimanok: Creative Embodiment (Rani Lacsa Marcos), and Growing Our R.O.O.T.S. (Harrison Seuga). Giving Circle Founders are Crystal Jang, Koko Lin, Pam Louie, Trinity Ordona (who served as emcee that night), Desiree Thompson, Margot Yapp, and Sydney Yeong. Attendees received special packages known as “The Lucky Ducks,” including one of twenty different cute little rubber duckies, lucky gold coins, red candies, sesame treats, and green tea—representing how lucky REGC was to be able to give back to the community. red-envelope-giving-circle.org Sister Dana sez, “I hope everyone had a festive Chinese New Year in this which is now The Year of the Monkey. Gung Hay Fat Choy!” Director JOHN FISHER as Sir Hugo Latymer and SYLVIA KRATINS as Carlotta Gray were simply glorious in Noël Coward’s A SONG AT TWILIGHT in the THEATRE RHINOCEROS production at Z Below. Alas, this was the last of their run there. But fear not, because another Noel Coward play is coming there soon. But this was the story of a cosmopolitan author caught in his declining years between two women, one being his wife of convenience for twenty years (played to perfection as Hilde Latymer by TAMAR COHN), the other, one of his former lovers (Carlotta Grey by SYLVIA KRATINS). When this bygone lover threatens to reveal secrets of his past—secrets about his

sexuality—he is terrified into action. A battle of wills ensues in which a man fights for his reputation and his freedom, which might very well have been compromised if it came out that he might be gay. A witty, penetrating play by The Master on a par with Private Lives and Blithe Spirit, A Song at Twilight has the distinction of being his most autobiographical in its frank discussion of Coward’s own personal life. Never frank about his homosexuality, Coward decided to bare it all, through a pseudonym, in this his last play. Coward said, “Song was about Somerset Maugham” but many have read it as Coward’s public “coming out.” Whatever the back-story, its dialogue and confrontations made it a fast moving quip-filled detective story in the great Coward tradition. Kudos! The GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM celebrated its FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: I LOVE HISTORY with an after-hours fundraising party featuring drinks, bites, live DJs, loads of cute history buffs, and special guest hosts JUANITA MORE! & ALEX U. INN. There was a roof-raising rap and singing performance by drag king sensations MOMMA’S BOYZ; a ticket giveaway to Brava Theatre’s “MIGHTY REAL: A FABULOUS SYLVESTER MUSICAL” (which is a benefit for AIDS Emergency Fund on February 18th, 8pm, aef-sf.org); a chance to meet new GLBT Historical Society Executive Director TERRY BESWICK, and underground queer hits from seven decades from DJ MARKE B. Here queer history lovers mingled with local glitterati in the

galleries. Five special guests led a very short tour, with each picking a favorite object in the museum and telling a five-minute story about why it caught their eye: Ms. Bob Davis is a professor of music at City College of San Francisco who has presented and published widely on transgender history. A former member of the board of the GLBT Historical Society, Ms. Bob also is a noted collector of transgender archival materials; Cheryl Dunye is a filmmaker who has directed five features including “The Watermelon Woman,” which won the Teddy for best queer film at the 1996 Berlin International Film Festival; Alan Guttirez works at LYRIC—a center for LGBTQQ youth in the Castro—and is a former docent at the GLBT History Museum. Some of Alan’s interests in queer herstories include San Francisco AIDS activism throughout the late 1980s and 1990s and social movements led by queer and trans people of color; Joey Plaster is a longtime volunteer with the Historical Society and is the curator of “Reigning Queens: The Lost Photos of Roz Joseph,” currently on display in the Community Gallery at the GLBT History Museum. A Ph.D. candidate at Yale University, Joey is writing a dissertation about the survival of queer homeless youth in San Francisco’s Tenderloin; and Tina Takemoto is an artist and associate professor of visual studies at California College of the Arts. She is board president of the Queer Cultural Center and co-founder of Queer Conversation on Culture and the Arts. She curated the display (continued on page 30)

BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

Super Bowl City

Photos by Steven Underhill stevenunderhill.com San Francisco Gay & Lesbian Freedom Band and Cheer San Francisco represented the Bay Area’s LGBT community presenting official performances at Super Bowl City on Sunday, January 31. Drum Major Mike Wong caught the attention of the Oakland A’s mascot, Raider Rusher, while the 49ers mascot, Sourdough Sam, posed with attendees of all ages in front of iconic Super Bowl emblems. Denver Bronco and Carolina Panthers fans alike were on hand for interactive exhibits, concerts and firework shows.

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San Francisco’s Gay Softball League Welcomes Players of All Genders, Levels, Shapes and Sizes

John Chen “P-u-t-i-t-i-n, put it in, the hole, the hole.” If you are strolling through a neighborhood park in San Francisco on a beautiful Spring Sunday morning, you just might hear a collective voice chanting this cheer. You might wonder, “What are they putting in, and in what hole??” Your cat-like curiosity leads you to discover thousands of LGBT players sporting big sticks, jock straps and lots of grapefruit size balls. Upon closer inspection you see a large, closely knit and social community of athletes competing and having some good old fashioned fun! I am talking about softball, in case you haven’t figured it out. San Francisco Gay Softball League (SFGSL) is amongst the oldest, most deeply rooted and largest in the country, with 60 teams and over a thousand players. Current SFGSL Commissioner Vincent Fuqua shared that “our league began around 1971 and was the first gay softball league in the country. Our founders also helped form NAGAAA (North America Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance) softball in 1977.” Today, NAGAA has 44 member leagues across the U.S. and Canada. The draw to softball for LGBT players is twofold: first, barrier to entry is among the easiest of all sports; second, when you play on a team, you are family.

“Softball is definitely a less intimidating environment, plus you can play softball without being an all around jock,” said Blake Joerger, the Commissioner of Inferno, an LGBT softball organization with eight teams competing in five SFGSL Divisions. Sheryl Phipps, President of the Inferno non-profit, added that “our softball family welcomes players of all genders, levels, shapes and sizes.” The newest addition to Inferno is team T-Rex, founded by Tony Padia in 2013. T-Rex players are mostly transgender people coming together for the love of the game and so as not to face “being misgendered, judged and ridiculed based on selfidentity.” Although Tony had previously played softball in both the gay and non-LGBT leagues, he didn’t “necessarily feel mentally safe.” Tony further explained, “Before my transition, I played on teams that were coed (six men and six women), meaning you had to play a position that matched your gender identity. Once I changed my identity I was told that there wasn’t a ‘male’ spot open on the team.” Tony’s experience motivated him to start a team that is “queer inclusive,” and more importantly, a

team that is founded for transgender people where everyone can feel safe and a sense of belonging. When asked how the Inferno is able to support so many teams, Sheryl responded candidly: “We do a lot of fundraisers! Our guys and gals have done everything short of standing on the street corner!” Inferno’s success comes from the dedication and commitment of their leaders and volunteers, and their relentless pursuit of customers for Jell-O shots, beer, raffles, tips, etc. Just as importantly, the teams also receive financial support from various local LGBT businesses forming a symbiotic relationship.

Fitness SF Trainer Tip of the Month From Autym Warford - Fitness SF Marin Kettle Bell Swings are a great exercise to target your glutes and hamstrings. Make sure to keep your core tight, back flat and squeeze your glutes at the top.

The Lone Star Saloon has been a long-time sponsor of Inferno, despite a change of ownership five years ago. Current owner JJ Beck shared his admiration for Sheryl, Blake and the entire Inferno organization as the main reason why he sponsors their softball teams. “Sheryl is an amazing person!” exclaimed JJ. “She’s done so much for the LGBT community through softball. San Francisco needs more people like her and Barb (Sheryl’s wife).” JJ also cautioned that it is not a requirement for any LGBT business to sponsor teams and organizations, but rather something that The Lone Star chooses to do “to strengthen our community and to have another safe place where we can be ourselves.” JJ truly believes that sports groups such as the Inferno do so much for the LGBT community and “together we are a lot stronger!” I’d say San Francisco needs more people like JJ Beck!

Troy Macfarland of Fitness SF provides monthly tips he’s learned from his colleagues who are professional trainers at local gyms. He can be reached at tmacfarland@fitnesssf.com

Now you’ve heard all the cheers, seen all the hot men and women playing gaily and felt that strong sense of belonging, maybe you’ll want to “put it in the hole” or hit the ball where there is no defender? John Chen, a UCLA alumnus and an avid sports fan, has competed as well as coached tennis, volleyball, softball and football teams.

For those who did not attend Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium, private parties with close friends were a popular alternative. Here, Gary Virginia, Deana Dawn and Bradley

PHOTOS BY RINK

Sports

With an entry-level division (D Division) where players new to the game can join a team and learn to play with other new players, SFGSL is welcoming to players of all levels and experience. Fernando Ventura (of “The Fernando and Greg Morning Show” on 99.7 Now) had a brief little league baseball career at age 11. “I bowed out when my friend’s mother eloquently stated that I couldn’t hit my way out of a paper bag.” As an adult, Fernando made a triumphant return to a game similar to baseball, slow pitch softball. “I joined [SFGSL] because the team manager reminded me that everybody hits the bars in the Castro after the games.” Once in the league, Fernando saw that he “wasn’t alone and [he’d] be on a team with players at the same skill level.”

Diversity and empowerment for women are key themes at the Every Business Woman Golf Retreat with San Francisco Bay Times contributor Jamie Leno. The next retreat, featuring LPGA trailblazer Dr. Renee Powell, will be held March 4-6 at the Warner Springs Ranch Golf Club, San Diego. More info: everybusinesswomangolf.com

Michael Sam, the first openly gay athlete selected in an NFL draft, made a guest appearance at Hi Tops, the popular Castro sports bar on Market Street, on Friday evening, February 2. A standing room only crowd of fans and well-wishers enjoyed the chance to meet, greet and mingle as excitement continued to build with the arrival of Super Bowl 50 weekend. Sam’s appearance was billed as a benefit for the Sports Equity Foundation. BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

Confessions of a Cat Lady sentences to complain. Ask him a question and he always answered, keeping up the conversation.

Heidi Beeler My wife and I lost one of the great loves of our life last fall when Monk– our amazing, black, bunny-tufted teddy bear cat–died. Of course, we all feel like we have the best pet in the world. Anyone who lives with an animal knows the fluff-muffins who share our lives have their own likes and dislikes, wants and interests. They’re whiskery individuals who participate in the major events of our lives, and when they go, they leave an awful hole behind…except in our case, we’re talking about Mr. Monk, who actually was certifiably the Best Cat in the World. Monk and I moved into the Oakland house we call home twelve years ago. As I unpacked and set up homestead, he camped out with me on the couch, padding among cardboard boxes and commenting on my work. When Priya came over for the first time a few months later, she said Mr. Monk made her feel she was where she belonged, jumping into her lap and purring the minute she arrived, before I could offer her a cup of tea. Monk was an old soul from the day he came home from the SPCA. Many animals won’t meet your eyes, afraid to challenge your dominance, but Monk always knew he was one of us. His yellow eyes connected with ours and his feelings shone through. If he wanted attention, he’d walk up to your face and butt his head against your forehead. If a suitcase came out of the closet, they’d go moony with just the sparest sliver of gold at the bottom of big black pupils. Monk was a talker. He didn’t just meow to catch your attention; he used his voice tonally to let you know what he thought. When we returned from a trip, he’d trail us, grumbling growly

Monk slept with us. He ate when we ate, and from our plates if there was butter and syrup involved. When I came home from the hospital after a craniotomy, Monk climbed onto a pillow above my head and stayed put throughout my recovery. Priya wrote much of her dissertation with him planted in her lap. When Priya and I set a date to marry, everyone assumed Monk would be our ring bearer.

Priya and Monk

Monk was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in February 2014. An ultrasound revealed a congenital defect, a hole between two ventricles that would cause one side of his heart to enlarge until it failed. There’s no cure, so we were left with only combinations of medications to help his heart pump and slow the process. Grinding various fractions of pills into his chicken slurry became part of our routine, and we thanked our stars he ate the doctored food so we didn’t have to wrestle Señor Macho Don Gato into swallowing them.

New kittens Charlie and Morton

Then September’s heat waves hit, and Monk picked at his food. The delicate balance between three complementary heart meds and his kidneys began to wobble. We found ourselves locked onto that roller coaster pet owners ride as they ask each day: Should we stop? Are we helping him or torturing him? The next few weeks taught me a few lessons about health care and dying. Get informed and prepare to be an advocate. Many vets helped us keep Monk as healthy as possible, but the system had two biases that we believe failed him last September: It deferred to The Expert, the cardiologist, rather than taking a broader view of his health. And options were subtly dismissed because of his age. When tests showed Monk’s heart and kidneys were stable, we were sent home with reassurances and lost valuable time.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HEIDI BEELER

East Side Story

Monk was a ladies’ man. Call any vet’s office, and hearing his name, the receptionist gushed over how much she and all the vet techs loved him. We called him Señor Macho Don Gato, because he’d knock over boxes and books with a hip check to impress us with his strength. Then he’d ask to be held and stick his head under your chin, purring like a motorboat.

We had to learn from the Internet how dangerous it is for a cat to stop eating, and about all our options for stimulating his appetite. Be present. When Monk first started his meds, Mom asked me if we were doing this for us or for him. At the time, he was active, and the answer was easy, but it was a question I asked throughout his illness. Sometimes it meant we were putting him through too much; sometimes that it would be easier to stop before he was ready. One afternoon, I was sure it was time. Then a dandelion tuft drifted by. Monk leapt up and grabbed it with both paws, and then trotted over to a line of ants to watch. All you can do is pay attention and do your best to pick the right moment.

Monk

Morton and Charlie

On Wednesday, September 23, Monk’s kidneys finally shut down. The game was up. We called the vet to our back deck, his favorite place. As he watched me from Priya’s arms, I signed paperwork authorizing that his heart be stopped and giving us shopping options for urns and paw impressions. It’s one of my regrets that I had to do that then, rather than just holding him.

6-month-old gangly tuxedo with white knee socks we named Charlie Parker, and an 8-week-old black handful with a motorboat purr and Batman-tall ears, named Jelly Roll Morton. The hole that Monk left is un-fillable, but these two guys make us laugh, and every day, we love the new relationships we’re building.

A month later, we made trips to the East Bay SPCA in Oakland. We didn’t think we were ready to adopt anybody, but it was distracting to see roomfuls of whiskered folk. After three visits, we brought home two black kittens–a

Trumpet player Heidi Beeler has been a member of the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band since 1991. She is also a founding member of the Dixieland Dykes +3. For more information, please visit www.sflgfb. org or www.facebook.com/sflgfb

Take Me Home with You!

Make burial arrangements in advance.

Beyoncé

Meet Beyoncé! She may have short legs and a graying muzzle, but she believes she’s every bit as gorgeous as her namesake! This 5-yearold Welsh Corgi mix will be the life of the party once she settles into her new home. Come meet this lovely lady…you’ll want to “put a collar on it” and take her home! Beyoncé is presented to San Francisco Bay Times readers by Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, the SF SPCA’s Dr. Jennifer Scarlett and Pup Co-President. Our thanks also go to Krista Maloney for helping to get the word out about lovable pets like Beyoncé. To see Beyoncé and other pets seeking their forever homes, please visit: San Francisco SPCA Mission Campus Adoption Center 250 Florida Street 415-522-3500 Aside from major holidays, the adoption center is open Mon-Fri: 1-7 pm and Sat-Sun: 10 am-6 pm For more info about Beyoncé: https://www.sfspca.org/adoptions/petdetails/28548593 26

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Round About - Red Envelope Giving Circle

Photos by RINK

Red Envelope Giving Circle’s 4th Annual Award Party, held on Sunday, January 31, at the GLBT History Museum, supported organizations serving the queer Asian Pacific Islander community. Beneficiaries for 2016 included API Queer Justice Leadership Exchange, Adrift in Sunset, He(ART) Beat Movement, The 1st API Transmasculine Retreat, Sarimanok: Creative Embodiment, and Growing Our R.O.O.T.S. For more information, visit redenvelope-giving-circle.org

Professional Services Planning Ahead is an Act of Love › Wills and Living Trusts › Medi-Cal › Durable Powers of Attorney › Incapacity and Conservatorships 415-359-0223 www.caelderlaw.com wenzellaw@sbcglobal.net

Member National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

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BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

See many more Calendar items @ www.sfbaytimes.com

compiled by Jennifer Mullen (986 Market St.)This Saturday afternoon fundraiser for OurTownSF.org assists in promoting over 275 SF LGBT nonprofit service providers, arts and athletic groups efforts to recruit and connect with clients, donors and volunteers. facebook.com/ events/1507221719581215/

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Divorce Options Workshop Collaborative Council Practice Center. $35. 9 am. (829 Sonoma Ave., Santa Rosa) This educational workshop addresses the legal, financial and emotional issues people face when dealing with divorce. divorceoptions.eventbrite.com.

Works in Progress Open Mic Night for Women - Plymouth United Church of Christ. $7-$10 6:30–10:15 pm. 424 Monte Vista. facebook.com/ events/463418760522389/

• 12 : F RIDAY

Stop Kiss By Diana Son - Live Oak Theatre. $5-$30. 8 pm. (1301 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley) First produced in 1998 off Broadway at the Public Theater, Stop Kiss is a tender love story that goes tragically off the rails just as it begins to blossom. Runs Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm and Sundays at 5 pm. Through Sunday, March 12. theatrefirst.com A Shakespere Valentine and The Harlem Renaissance Gough Street Playhouse. $10-$40. 8 pm. (1620 Gough St.) A Shakespeare Valentine and The Harlem Renaissance features eight actors, four women and four men, with the words of 47 of The Bard’s Sonnets to tell stories of five couples. wehavemet.org A Cajun Midsummer Night’s Dream - Novato Theater Company. $27. 8 pm. (5420 Nave Dr.,C, Novato). An adaptation of William Shakespeare’s comedy that adds Cajun-French expressiveness, music, storytelling, voodoo, a love of good cooking and festivity, set amidst the wild semitropical bayou. Through February 21. novatotheatercompany.org/

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Revival Dance Event; A Community-Building Dance Party - The Episcopal Church of Saint John the Evangelist. Free. 6–10 pm. (1661 15th St.) Hosted

• 21 : S UNDAY Watch for the SF Lesbian & Gay Freedom Band in the Chinese New Year Parade, Saturday, February 20 at 5:15 pm. For info: chineseparade.com Indigo Girls Touring for One Modern Times Bookstore. Free. by the long-term survivor comLost Day - The Fillmore. $38.50. munity and Shanti. facebook.com/ 4–5:30 pm. (2919 24th St.) Avotcja 7 pm. The Indigo Girls perform events/939380192817641/ is a multi-award winning writer and songs from One Lost Day, an album instrumentalist. moderntimesbookJess Curtis/Gravity and that finds them dealing with loss, store.com/events/ CounterPulse present Dana change and parenthood. thefillMichel’s Yellow Towel - Dance more.com/event/indigo-girls/ Mission Theater. $20-$55. (3316 Mighty Real: A Fabulous 24th St.) As a child, Dana Michel Sylvester Musical - The Brava would drape a yellow towel on Karaoke Night - SF Eagle. Free. Theater. $35-$100. 7 pm. (2781 her head in an attempt to emulate 8 pm–12 am. (398 12th St.) This 24th St.) A musical based on the life the blonde girls at school; she now week’s special guest host is DJ Sav of the 1970s disco legend Sylvester. revisits the imaginary world of her Blanc. Every Monday. facebook. Through March 12. alter-ego.Through Feb. 14. com/events/981253571966284/ fabuloussylvester.com/tickets.html dancemisison.com Piano Bar 101 - Martuni’s. Free. The Fifth Annual Dance 9 pm. (4 Valencia St.) Sing along to Lovers - Joe Goode Annex. $15your fave songs with friends and $35. 7 pm. (401 Alabama St.) Dance patrons. 415-241-0205 Lovers pairs real-life couples, crushArtist Rene Capone openMonday Night Marsh - The es, and comrades together in duets ing: The Zebra Boy ChronMarsh. $8. 7:30 pm. (1062 Valencia that look at their relationships in icles - Gallery #611 Hyde. 6–10 their chosen style of dance and per- St.) An ongoing works-in-progress pm. (611 Hyde St.) New works series, featuring local emerging solo formance. dancelovers2016.brownby René Capone. facebook.com/ performers, musicians, playwrights papertickets.com events/488777354580580/ and entertainers. Happening every A discussion of The New Monday. themarsh.org Mutants: Superheros and the Radical Imagination of American Comics - GLBT History Gears Turning Poetry Series Museum. 7–9 pm. (4127 18th Hosted By Kim Shuck Women Leading HealthSt.) Author Ramzi Fawaz and queer Care Innovation and Family comics artist and scholar Justin Recovery - Commonwealth Club Hall come together to discuss Headquarters. 6 pm. $8-$20.(555 Fawaz’s recently published book. Post St.) Learn from the direct exglbthistory.org/events/ periences of three moms who have GGBA’s signature Make successfully healed their complexContact Event for the East needs children. Bay - Port WorkSpaces. Free for commonwealthclub.org/events members, $25 for non-members. Queer Youth Meal Night 6-8 pm. (101 Broadway Ave.) A LGBT Center, Rainbow Room. Free. networking event by the Golden 5–7 pm. (1300 Market St.) Youth Gate Business Association that will Meal Night is a safe space to meet feature cocktails and BBQ. ggba. with your LGBTQIA friends, have a chambermaster.com/events/details/ free dinner, watch a movie and get make-contact-east-bay-1426 connected to a community of Lesbians of Color Discussion resources. facebook.com/sfcenteryGroup at Pacific - Pacific Center outh?_rdr=p (Berkeley). Free. 7 pm. (2712 Telegraph Ave.) This diverse group discusses anything and everything.

• 15 : M ONDAY

• 18 : T HURSDAY

• 14 : S UNDAY

• 16 : T UESDAY

• 17 : W EDNESDAY

415 Steven Underhill 370 7152

PHOTOGRAPHY

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

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Brother-to-Brother - San Leandro Public Library (Lecture Hall). Free. 1–3 pm. (300 Estudillo) In this 2004 film, LGBTQ history from the 1920s “Harlem Renaissance” and the 21st century are melded together to show how much things have changed (and have remained the same) in the African-American LGBTQ movement. A part of the Lavendar Seniors Film Series; refreshments will be provided.

• 19 : F RIDAY

WTF Women/Trans/Queer Bike Night - SF Bike Kitchen. Free. 6–9 pm. (650 H Florida St.) Learn how to fix a bike in a supportive space. bikekitchen.org

• 20 : S ATURDAY

Fundraiser for OurTown Equator Coffee. $10. 4:30–7 pm.

Rainbow World Fund Celebration - RWF Headquarters. Free. 3–6 pm. (4111 18th St., #5; above Harvey’s Bar) A celebration of all the supporters who have helped make Rainbow World Fund possible. facebook.com/ events/955901524487095 Unicorn: A Monthly Queer Party - Powerhouse. Free. 6 pm. (1347 Folsom St.) Come celebrate 3 years of art at the Powerhouse. On the walls are Andres Vasquez, Ning Nong, Justin Sam, Grace Towers and Uel Renteria. Beats by DJ Sergio Fedasze. facebook.com/ events/1701923466711783/ The Walt Disney Family Museum Presents Mel Shaw: An Animator on Horseback The Walt Disney Museum. 10 am–6 pm. (104 Montgomery St.) This exhibition is the first-ever retrospective of the life and work of Disney Legend Mel Shaw, an artist and storyteller. Through September 12. waltdisney.org/mel-shaw

• 22 : M ONDAY

The SF LGTBQ Sangha LGBT Community Center. Free. 5:30 pm.(1800 Market St.) A weekly meditation sitting group. sflgbtsangha.org Bay Area Young Positives Drop-In Group. Free. 7 pm. (701 Market St.) Drop-in support for young HIV positive people. baypositives.org

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• 23 : T UESDAY

Hysteria Feminist and Queer-Friendly Comedy Martini’s. Free. 6 pm. (4 Valenica St.) Feminist and queer-friendly open mic. facebook.com/hysteriacomedy 13 Licks Tuesdays - Q Bar. Free. 9 pm. (456 Castro St.) Natalie Nuxx and guest DJ Lezzie; queer manic dance party. 13licks.com

• 24 : W EDNESDAY

Free Outdoor Workout: Stairs, Core & Endurance Alta Plaza Park. Free. 6:30 am. (Pierce and Clay Streets). Every Wednesday. Join these free halfhour workouts that vary each week. facebook.com/NovemberProjectSF

Absol utely Fabulous Tours B ook a W in e T our Now! LGBT Owned 100% customizable Group/Private Tours

707-320-8043 Serving the LGBT community and their allies sue@absolutelyfabuloustours.com www.absolutelyfabuloustours.com

Gung Hay Fat Choy from the San Francisco Bay Times BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016

NEWS (continued from page 8)

6/26 AND BEYOND (continued from page 10)

Defense Network (SLDN), representing the United States LGBT military community worldwide, has announced that Matt Thorn has been hired to serve as their Executive Director on a permanent basis. Thorn has held the position of Interim Executive Director since February 2015. Board members say over the past year he has demonstrated incredible commitment to the interests of their members and stakeholders. OutServe-SLDN has seen substantive forward progress for key initiatives and policies that matter most to the LGBT military community. outserve-sldn.org

dered people nationwide. Although Gavin’s case comes to the court at a relatively preliminary stage in the proceedings, the court’s decision could address the degree to which the U.S. Constitution and federal law protect against gender identity discrimination, and the case could eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mayor Lee Announces Armistead Maupin as Recipient of 2016 Mayor’s Art Award Mayor Edwin M. Lee has announced Armistead Maupin, local gay icon and acclaimed author of the Tales of the City series, as the recipient of the 2016 Mayor’s Art Award. Maupin will receive the 2016 Mayor’s Art Award on Tuesday, March 29, at a fundraising reception hosted by ArtCare: Friends of the San Francisco Arts Commission. Maupin is the author of eleven novels, including the nine-volume Tales of the City series, Maybe the Moon and The Night Listener. The Peabody Award-winning television miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. The Night Listener became a 2006 feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette. sfgov.org Commission Pushes Vote on Affordable Housing Bonus Plan to February 25 After a nine-hour hearing, the Planning Commission voted to postpone an official vote on the proposed Affordable Housing Bonus Program until February 25. If the AHBP is approved, developers would be able to build taller, denser structures, in exchange for setting aside 30% of units for very low, low, and moderateincome residents. According to City estimates, the program will create 3,000 units of low-income housing, and 2,000 units for people with moderate incomes. The proposed changes to zoning regulations have sparked a backlash among many of the city’s housing activists and neighborhood associations. Detractors say the AHBP will reduce rent-controlled housing stock, dramatically change neighborhood character, further congest a strained Muni system and displace small businesses on a wide scale. hoodline.com Transgender Law Center Is Hiring Transgender Law Center is now hiring. Positions available include Bilingual Legal Helpline Assistant and Staff Attorney/Senior Staff Attorney; Legal Fellowship Opportunities: Legal Fellow; Internship Opportunities: Law Clerk / Legal Internship Positions; and volunteer opportunities. For more information, contact transgenderlawcenter.org LGBT Rights Highlighted at American Bar Association Meeting President Obama’s executive action on curbing gun violence, the conflict between religious freedoms and LGBT rights, and the implications of the California drought were chief among the legal issues that were explored at the 2016 American Bar Association Midyear Meeting in San Diego. Among the topics were “Diversity Law: Same Sex Marriage and Employee Benefits Discrimination,” “The Impact of the School-to-Prison Pipeline on LGBT Youth; and “The Intersection of Religious Freedom and LGBT Rights.” americanbar.org

We offer our support, respect, and admiration to Gavin and his parents.

Gavin’s legal papers recount that at the school board meeting Gavin testified: “All I want to do is be a normal child and use the restroom in peace.” After the January 27 court hearing, Buzzfeed News reported that Gavin acknowledged that “[a]t first I was terrified, then I realized I have a platform, and I am going to use that platform to help people.” Like so many LGBT leaders before him, Gavin appears to be finding his voice through

his struggle and using his talents not just to make his own life better, but to improve the lives of others. Buzzfeed reports that after the hearing, his mother said that “we have learned through this process [Gavin]…is his best advocate, and we are proud to be his parents.” We are proud of Gavin, too. Gavin’s case is G. G. v. Gloucester County School Board (No. 15-2056). You can follow updates on his case through

Equality Case Files’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/EqualityCaseFiles/ John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the nationwide grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed to making same-sex marriage legal throughout the U.S.

LIPSKY (continued from page 12) affairs always been of that sort? You are temperamental in that particular way?” he replied simply, “Yes.” During his interrogation, Laurel Yeamans admitted he had been temperamental “ever since I can remember.” John Bosworth also knew about himself from childhood, stating, “This temperamental character is or was very largely something natural, a condition of mine of which I was in nowise responsible, something born.” The men’s sexual awareness shaped their lives: how they saw themselves and others; whom they knew; and what they did in friendship and intimacy. They formed overlapping circles of community, fraternized across class lines, gathered at each other’s homes, shared interests, and spent time ROSTOW (continued from page 15) above, I did not delve too deeply into the mechanics of the legislation once I realized the whole thing had nothing to do with actual sodomy, and everything to do with bestiality. Yes, there was an antigay element, given that the bill’s author felt that deleting the ban on human sodomy would be a distraction that might make it harder or impossible to protect the animals. But considering that the human part of the sex law is moot, it really didn’t matter now, did it? What really annoyed me was the decision by various writers to effectively make a false claim, composing sensa-

together that was not sexual. Like gay men before and since, the men of the Baker Street scandal knew where and how to find each other. Many met through mutual friends. Others met riding on a trolley, looking in a shop window, strolling along the street, sitting in a hotel bar, browsing in a store, attending the theater, or visiting downtown alleys, bath houses, and other places known for casual, often anonymous sexual encounters. As one explained, “It was a natural consequence that I come in contact with men who were congenial.” Such understanding escaped the authorities. The Army court-martialed and dishonorably discharged six soldiers for “unnatural copulation;” four, tional headlines about sodomy that were fundamentally untrue, if technically accurate. For shame. By the way, if any of you remember last year’s ill-conceived plan to place a constitutional gay rights amendment on the Mitten ballot, I can tell you that it has been abandoned. Family Affairs Before I forget, my stepdaughter Sarah Zipp, her husband Aaron Zipp and our two granddaughters, Addy and Gwen, will star in “House Hunters International” on February 11! I have appointed myself a publicist for this event, so we’ll see if the San Francisco

including Yeaman and Bosworth, received prison terms of five or ten years at hard labor. Two civilians, including Tobin, were convicted of sodomy and sentenced to “five years to life” in San Quentin. Those indicted for sexual “penetration of the mouth” were more fortunate. They had their cases dropped in 1919 when the state Supreme Court ruled that the statute making fellatio illegal four years earlier was unconstitutional; the legislature quickly corrected the “flaw in the law.” The Baker Street scandal affected “temperamentals” in San Francisco for decades to come. Since the Gold Rush, law enforcement generally had ignored them unless someone complained. During the 1920s, for the first Bay Times editors go along with this absolutely irrelevant tangent. Maybe they won’t notice. (Editor’s Note: For more info: http://m.cjonline.com/ news/2016-02-09/family-movedtopeka-amsterdam-featured-househunters-international#gsc.tab=0) Mel and I have been watching episodes of this show in preparation for the Zipp’s appearance, and we’ve been stunned by the people who travel to some island or some beautiful coastal town and tell the real estate agent they want to buy a house for $200,000 or $300,000, or even less.

time, the police deliberately began to seek them out, using decoys and undercover officers to provide their own complainants and their own witnesses—sometimes the same individuals—who were immediately credible in court. By the time persecution of gay men in California peaked in the 1960s, the Baker Street “vice club” scandal had been mostly forgotten, apart from the men once caught up in it. A few, by good fortune, were still living when the laws telling them whom they could love, and whom they could finally be, were repealed in 1975. Bill Lipsky, Ph.D., author of “Gay and Lesbian San Francisco” (2006), is a member of the Rainbow Honor Walk board of directors. How is that possible? Surely you can’t just plop down a few grand and have the right to live somewhere without official papers, can you? I understand that you can effectively buy your way into some countries with several million bucks. But $80,000? What would that buy you in San Francisco these days anyway? The Zipps rent, sadly. If they had the money to buy a house in Western Europe, we’d be on the next plane claiming grandmother immigration status. That’s a thing, right? arostow@aol.com

SISTER DANA (continued from page 23) on Jiro Onuma in “Queer Past Into Present” in the Main Gallery at the GLBT History Museum. glbthistory.org Each month STRUT, the Castro hub of health and wellbeing for gay, bi, and trans men, showcases the work of a Gay or Queer artist with a reception every first Friday. During the month of February they are exhibiting the amazing art of SCOTT WELSH. His premier solo show in San Francisco is entitled “YOU PINK TOO MUCH.” Welsh’s Artist Statement: “The dichotomy between masculine and feminine, comfortable and uncomfortable, innocence and erotic is the foundation for my work. I reference art history through a queer lens while commenting on contemporary notions of beauty as they pertain to gay male subjectivity. Through drawing using cosmetics as my medium, ranging from Cover Girl to MAC cosmetics, I cake my innocently sexy models on the surface. My work becomes a celebration, an adoration of sexuality, and a heroic portrayal of self-appreciation.” In 2013, he moved to San Francisco to attend the San Francisco Art Institute for his master’s degree in painting. Welsh recently graduated with his MFA in 2015 and is living and working in San Francisco. Come by 470 Castro and check out his excellent exhibit. Among my faves are “Cosmedicks,” “Altar Ego,” and the full length model in “Do You Lilac This?” - all are cosmetics on paper: foundation, eyes hadow, lipstick, etc. I love how light and airy the features are, the attention to detail, and the subtle use of shadowing. I asked whether this medium was rather new to the genre. He said his interpretation was. These would

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certainly make excellent Valentines gifts. strutsf.org We celebrated FAT TUESDAY in grand style with SF’s Mardi Grasthemed KREWE DE KINQUE. This annual bar crawl aboard the KdK Party Bus is always a night to remember with elaborate costumes, masks, beads, hurricanes on the bus, yummy snacks, Jell-O Shots, authentic music, and fun bar stops with photo taking and other shenanigans. It was a benefit for the LGBT Shelter, JAZZIE’S PLACE. sfkinque.com SPARK ARTS GALLERY at 4229 18th Street between Collingwood and Diamond presented a Carnival-style reception for the artist, KEVIN WOODSON, in A CARNIVAL OF WATER COLORS: MARDI GRAS IS FOREVER IN FLOWERS, a collection of original flower scenes worthy of beads, floats, masks, and beats of Mardi Gras. This veritable explosion of flora and fauna is on display through February. My faves: “Humming of the Fuchsias” from the Gardens of Lake Merritt, complete with almost hidden hummingbird; “Carnival of Finches, Mardi Gras of Dahlias” from the SF Dahlia Dell; and “Rose Honey” from the Morcom Rose Garden, co-starring a honeybee. He paints without advance sketching—capturing the moment at once. Absolutely gorge! kevinwoodson.com and sparksarts.com COMING UP! In honor of BLACK HISTORY MONTH, GENERATIONS: BLACK LGBTIQQ HISTORY EXPERIENCES celebrates the lives of Black Queer People. This is the Fifth Anniversary on Friday, February 26, 6–9 pm at SOMArts Cultural

Center, 934 Brannan Street. There will be raffle prizes, entertainment, art gallery, food, music, and free STD/ HIV testing. For more info, please contact Brandon Ivory at 415-3552033 or via Facebook at generationsblacklgbtiqqhistory BLACK LOVE is at Strut, 470 Castro on February 15, 8 pm, offering a night of poetry and music celebrating Black Queer Voices with MCs Na’amen Gobert Tilahun & Black Benatar. Curated around the event’s central themes of black queerness, love, and survival, “Black Love” brings together some of the Bay Area’s top Literary performers. Featuring the literary talents of Maisha Z. Johnson, Gregory Pond, Kwan Booth, and music by Jade Way. The show is free, on the second floor lobby of Strut. Some free light drinks and snacks provided. strutsf.org OURTOWNSF.ORG—a program of RICHMOND/ERMET AID FOUNDATION that promotes over 275 SF LGBTQ nonprofit service providers, arts and athletic groups efforts to recruit and connect with clients, donors, &/or volunteers—is having a fundraiser February 20, 4:30–7 pm at the lesbian-owned Equator Coffee 986 Market Street. $10 entrance by using discount code 50 on Eventbrite or $20 at the door entitles you to a FREE cocktail & hors d’oeuvres & happy hour prices on subsequent orders. Enjoy the entertainment and have a chance to win a fabulous auction item. This is for my friend Paul Margolis. facebook. com/events/1507221719581215 Nominated for 6 BATCC Awards, THRILLPEDDLERS presents the

return of CLUB INFERNO, A Glam Rock Musical - Based on Dante’s The Divine Comedy, at Hypnodrome in SF, 575 10th Street— now through March 5, 16 performances only! (Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays, 8 pm, plus a Special Valentine’s Day Performance Sunday February 14, 8 pm). Drag thriller! hypnodrome.org Fed up with chocolate, roses, and that fat effing flying Cupid? 13TH ANNUAL LOVE BITES: LOVE IS A 4 LETTER WORD is offered by LESBIAN/GAY CHORUS OF SAN FRANCISCO as an anti-Valentines cabaret at Martuni’s, 4 Valencia Street, on February 13 and 14, 4 pm and February 15 at 7 pm. Come as a solo, leave as a duet. Or vice versa. lgcsf.org You are cordially Invited to the SAN FRANCISCO VETERANS LIONS CLUB for #LOVEMATTERS, a Valentines Dance Party Fundraiser on Friday, February 19, 6–10 pm at the War Memorial Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue. What better way to celebrate Love than with tantalizing dancing, a Love poems contest, beautiful artwork (silent auction, paintings, photography, silk scarves, etc.) for sale from local artists, a raffle, delicious appetizers, and delectable chocolate and wine! lionsclubs.org Sister Dana sez, “Groundhog Day is traditionally a tense and solemn occasion, given that humanity’s fate rests inexplicably in the hands/paws of an amateur marmot meteorologist. Groundhog Day was February 2: Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow.” Dear readers, so sorry I didn’t have enough time to get out my Happy Groundhog Day greeting cards…”

Round About - All Over Town

Jethro Patalinghug, Donna Sachet and Neil Torrefiel at the GLBT Historical Society Museum’s 5th Anniversary celebration on January 29

Comic Marga Gomez and board member Valentin Aguirre at the GLBT Historical Society Museum’s 5th Anniversary

Photos by RINK

Preparations for Valentine’s Day were evident in the Castro, Noe Valley and beyond at Good Vibrations, Walgreens, Gallery of Jewels and Flowers of the Valley.

Alex U Inn and Mailman from Momma’s Boyz, with DJ Marke B at the GLBT Historical AIDS Health Foundation’s window in the Castro features a Black History Month display Society Museum’s 5th Anniversary

Men In Tights was a number on the program at REAF’s One Night Only benefit featuring the cast of Jersey Boys at Brava Theater on February 1.

Author TJ Woodward presented his new book, Conscious Being: Awakening to Your True Nature, at Book’s Inc.’s Castro location.

Children’s book author Jase Peeples (back row right) joined in the large counter protest group at Book’s Inc. Castro that was poised on February 6 to face the non-appearing Westboro Baptist Chruch’s threat of protesting Peeples’ book Square Zair Pair.

The stars of Jersey Boys performing at REAF’s One Night Only benefit

Tony Taylor and Chelsie Anderson served up friendly smiles and coffee at Philz Coffee on Castro on January 29.

Castro Patrol members Pam Card, Kyle Wong, Greggie Carey and others provided security at the protest scene in front of Books Inc. Castro on February 6.

Girl Scout cookies were available at 18th and Castro on February 3rd.

REAF board member Beth Schnitzer with singer Johnny Wexler at the VIP After Party following the REAF’s One Night Only benefit

Velocity Circus’ Joe Vienna performed at Jane Warner Plaza on February 6.

Author Lauren Wheeler was among those presenting their work on January 31 at the Justin Chin Memorial Poetry Reading held at the San Francisco Main Library.

Readers at the Justin Chin Memorial Poetry Reading included Kevin Killian, Danny Nguyen, Keith Hennessey, Beth Lisick, Kirk Read, Mason J, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, Lauren Wheeler, Lynne Breedlove, Bucky Sinster, David West, Daniel Levesque, Daphne Gottlieb, Phillip Huang and Horehound Stillpoint. BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 11, 2016