2013 10 17

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PHOTO BY GABRIEL GOLDBERG

“Speak Out” Campaign Brings HIV Out of the Closet

A new campaign entitled Speak Out launched this month with a series of outdoor ads and targeted messages, including a “media take over” of the Castro MUNI station, with the Bay Times in attendance. Posters and panels installed in the station present a diverse group of gay men who are speaking out about HIV in the gay community.

Designed to combat the silence and stigma that often surrounds HIV, the campaign’s goal is shared in the title of a new online video: “Let’s Bring HIV Out of the Closet.” (www.youtube. com/watch?v=0r6kqvLP9Lc&feature=youtu.be) “Speak Out is about bringing the energy and momentum of the gay movement to bear once again on HIV/AIDS,” said Tina Hoff, Senior Vice President and Director of Health Communications and Media Partnership, Kaiser Family Foundation, a founding partner of Greater Than AIDS.

“More than 30 years since the epidemic began, gay and bisexual men continue to be among those most affected by HIV. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Through targeted media messages and complementary community outreach, Speak Out encourages more open communication about HIV in all aspects of life, including: SPEAK OUT for Our Relationships Talking with friends and lovers about HIV, including using protection, getting tested together, and discussing HIV status.

If you like the analogy of playing chicken, John Boehner was behind the wheel of the clown car and the Democrats were driving a Mack Truck. The inexplicable aspect of the showdown, however, was the fact

Nationally, gay and bisexual men account for the majority (56%) of the more than 1.1 million people living with HIV today in the U.S., and two thirds (66%) of new HIV infections. In San Francisco, gay and bisexual men account for an even greater share of the local epidemic, representing 88% of all persons living with HIV in the city and 82% of new infections.

SPEAK OUT for Our Health Asking to be tested, talking about treatment options and seeking support when needed.

The campaign stresses the role of the community as a whole in addressing HIV/AIDS, including promoting increased routine testing for gay men as recommended by the San Francisco Department of Health and linkage to care and treatment.

SPEAK OUT for Our Community Confronting stigma and addressing misconceptions through

See pages 12 and 13 for stories of individuals who are speaking out about HIV/AIDS.

Send Out the Clowns Congress is finally ending its surreal performance. Boehner signaled long ago that he would not allow the United States to default on its bills.

The Speaker is an enigma, but he is not crazy. And if there had ever been a real chance of default, the Dow would not have been f lirting with 15,000. It would have been stealing kisses from 9,000.

open communication with the people in our lives.

These are the people who really believe Obama’s mother f lew from Hawaii to Kenya in order to give birth, filing fake newspaper articles in the island press just in case her son might run for president one day.

Fortnight in Review Ann Rostow that the clowns were insisting — not that the truck would swerve at the last minute — but that the impact itself would crush the truck and send it off the road, leaving the car unscathed.

They believe the earth was created a few thousand years ago. That climate science is an elaborate hoax.

That Obama is a Muslim. That a new Black Panther party is planning a race war. That the government is setting up concentration camps to round up enemies of the state.

I’m not talking about crazy tea party people in the sticks. I’m talking about lawmakers. And even the saner ones bloviate mindlessly about

leaving our grandchildren to pay off our government debt as if we’re not continually paying off our grandparents’ government debt. Hello? Our grandchildren can issue thirty-year T-bonds just like we do, provided that is, that we maintain the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

And what could undercut that state of affairs? Oh yeah! A debt default.

I understand that some of these districts are so gerrymandered that only a certif ied moron can win a Congressional seat. But surely there is a way for other Republicans to fence them off into their own little pasture where they can bleat and fuss without spreading chaos through the

entire f lock. I don’t know how, but something must be done.

Does this have anything to do with GLBT news? Not really. That said, given that our vibrant community is an integral patch in the colorful American quilt, we join our fellow countrymen and women in eager anticipation of the denouement. Plus, since a majority of gay voters are Democrats, there’s a certain satisfaction in watching the GOP selfdestruct. If their ineptitude lets us win the Virginia governorship, cut into (or win back) the House majority, and hold onto the Senate in 2014, (continued on page 15)

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our Marriages, Anniversaries & Occasions section. Inquire how your social announcement can appear free of charge, or how your wedding services ad can be included at a special rate: Publisher@sfbaytimes.com or 415-601-2113.

PHOTO BY BOB HERMANN

Destined to be remembered as one of the occasions of the year, the wedding of Jerry Goldstein, MD, and Tom Taylor was held at their home on 21st Street in San Francisco, a location long famous for the elaborate holiday display installed there annually for more than two decades.

Photos above and below by Steven Underhill.

The Moment of Marriage: Vows The heart of the wedding ceremony is the recitation of the vows. In some faith traditions, the couple is married the moment the vows are said.

In others, they are married when the rings are exchanged. In still others, it’s when the person officiating pronounces that the couple is married. The truth is, you get to decide for yourself at what particular moment in your ceremony you are married! .

It probably won’t even matter too much to you on the big day. Most couples I have married go through their whole ceremony in a daze, which is a kind of altered state where they ‘wake up’ after it’s over.

Everybody is hugging and slapping them on the back, and they discover they are married!

The saying of the vows is the central event, though. The next time you’re at a wedding, notice how the couple expresses their vows. This is the moment when they truly bind themselves to each other for all of their days. This is when they make that subtle, but enormous, shift from intending to marry to actually doing it. They say, out loud, the very significant words of a lifetime commitment to one another. This is the moment of marriage.

So, I am sharing a tiny sampling of vows that people have made in weddings I’ve done. These are just some of the ways that people have

“I will become the best that is in me, and I will seek and find the best that is in you.”

“As we grow and experience life together in all of its ups and downs, I will hold your hand, I will be your rock, I will listen to you, and I will support your every endeavor.”

Weddings Elizabeth River said to one another: “I marry you… for life!”

“Here is what I promise to you on this day: I will listen to you with an open mind and open heart.

I will strive to learn and grow from being with you. I will experience your joys and your sorrows as my own.

I will take care of you, and ask you to take care of me. When I struggle with frustration or doubt in our relationship, I will return to my faith in your love for me.”

“I will allow myself to see you and to be seen by you. I will comfort and encourage you. I will be faithful to you. I will forgive you.”

“In this family we have created, I give to you my strengths and my vulnerabilities, my hopes, my fears, and my faith.”

“I promise to love you gently, to listen and speak kindly. I promise to sing and dance and laugh and cry with you. I will be your partner in life, in love, in family and in old age.”

“I promise to be open, honest and compassionate with you. When we disagree, I will respect you, listen to you and work with you towards a resolution as an equal partner.”

“We are stronger together than we are on our own.”

“I promise to trust you and give you the benefit of the doubt, and when I’m wrong to promptly admit it. I promise to keep our mental, emotional and physical intimacy monogamous.”

“I promise to live with a generous heart, to share myself completely, to give to you the gifts of trust, patience, forgiveness, loyalty and unwavering support.”

“I promise to encourage your individuality, because that is what makes you unique and wonderful.

I promise to nurture your dreams, because through them your soul shines.

I promise to help shoulder our challenges, because through them we’ll emerge stronger.

I promise to be your partner in all things, not possessing you, but working with you as a part of the whole, because with you they will be that much sweeter. This is my sacred vow to you, my equal in all things.”

Rev. Elizabeth River is an ordained Interfaith Minister based in the North Bay. For more information, please visit www. marincoastweddings.com.

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Just-ly Married In my previous column, I noted that I was about to get married. I hope you’ll forgive my ongoing selfindulgence as I write about my nuptials once more. One’s own wedding, after all, doesn’t happen every day. Admittedly, given California’s roller coaster history regarding marriage equality, some of us have been married multiple times to the same person. Jeff and I even had a post-Prop 8 commitment ceremony that we called a wedding, in def iance of the amendment’s unconstitutional claim that we weren’t legally entitled to the term.

But Jeff and I legally wed just once.

At 2:00 p.m., Thursday, September 26 –four years to the day from that non-legal commitment ceremony – we made our vows to one another at San Francisco City Hall. Originally, our congresswoman Jackie Speier was slated to officiate. However, due to the ongoing budget crisis in the federal government, the House of Representatives was called back from their recess scheduled for the week we were to marry, and Rep. Speier regretfully had to cancel.

With one week to go before the wedding, our very dear friends and my fellow Bay Times columnists John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney generously agreed to step in as co-officiants. We knew that John had officiated other weddings, and that he and Stuart were going to be there at our wedding – just as they’d been with us at City Hall after Judge Walker’s decision in August, 2010, when we hoped the stay would be lifted and we would be able to marry. We’d asked John if he would be willing to officiate in the event the congresswoman was called back to D.C. We had planned to ask Stuart to be our witness.

When John and Stuart arrived at City Hall on the 26th, however, they surprised us by asking if we’d mind if they performed the wedding together. We were touched by the suggestion, thrilled by the possibility, and particularly moved by the symbolism of having these two

Marriage Equality Thom Watson men stand together to pronounce the words that would make Jeff and me husbands. Four years ago, we knew John and Stuart largely only as fellow marriage equality activists, heroes of the California marriage equality movement, and plaintiffs in the court case that first established the freedom to marry in California, and set the stage for our own wedding this year. In the intervening time, though, they’d become our mentors, our comrades-inarms, and our brothers. John and Stuart brought a deeply personal touch to the ceremony, and Jeff and I consider ourselves to be so very fortunate that, in the end, our two friends were the ones facing us on the balcony at City Hall.

Two days later, we hosted a reception at the Cliff House, the location of our 2009 commitment ceremony. Four years ago, about 65 friends and family members had joined us.

Last month, over 110 of our friends and family were present; there were several dozen additional people, including at least a half-dozen more kids, who might have been there but for other commitments, distance, or last-minute illness. Four years ago, there was one teenager present and no younger children.

Last month, nearly a dozen infants, toddlers, and pre-teens, along with a couple of teenagers, attended our reception. Several of these children call us “Uncle Thom” and “Uncle Jeff,” even though we have no biological connection, just a loving one

Heather Currie Martinez and Tara Currie Martinez have announced that they are expecting a baby. Baby CurrieMartinez is due in May, 2014, and Tara reports: “We are both over the moon excited!”

that recognizes family ties beyond those of blood.

We live in a world where love and legal marriage between two men or two women increasingly is not something to hide or to “protect” kids from, but rather something to celebrate— truly a family affair.

We live in a world where these kids will grow up to be able to marry whomever they love, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Honestly, not too many years ago, I would have said I wouldn’t expect to see that world in my lifetime. But, at the Cliff House last month, I saw that it’s already arrived.

The increase in the number of people celebrating with us was due almost entirely to the new friends and allies we’ve made in the past four years through our marriage equality advocacy; we considered our reception, in fact, to be as much a day of celebration for the hard work of so many to return the freedom to marry to California as it was specifically for the two of us. To that end, we asked that, in lieu of gifts, attendees consider making a donation to Marriage Equality USA. I’m overwhelmed by our friends’ generosity and very proud to note that our equality registry to date has raised nearly $2,700 to help MEUSA in its efforts to win the freedom to marry for the 37 remaining states where couples like Jeff and me still are denied this important civil right. That includes states like Virginia, my birthplace and my home for over 35 years. Jeff and I left Virginia for California, his home, in no small part due to the extreme homophobia of Virginia’s government and the absolute lack of any protections there for LGBT people in public accommodations, housing, employment, or relationship status.

It remains legal in Virginia to fire an employee, even a state government employee, to refuse service at your place of business, and to (continued on page 18)

On their “Pastry Tour of Central Europe” celebrating their 25th Anniversary, husbands Bob Hermann and Dan Joraanstad enjoyed visiting Mad King Ludwig’s Castle outside of Munich.

Winners enjoying their VIP event tickets received recently in Bay Times / “Betty’s List” drawings include NIcole Ostrowski and Dawn Grzena, who attended the de Young’s Diebenkorn exhibit, and Milo Manopoulos Beitman and Ashley Pellouchoud, who attended the Transgender Law Center’s “Spark!” 11th Anniversary Celebration at the Sir Frances Drake Hotel.

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Health News

We Do Have Friends in Washington

Friends of Naomi Dr. Naomi Jay, MS, RN This might seem a strange article to write, considering the current goingson, but there are some positives in the Nation’s Capital and today I will highlight a few of these as they pertain to our community.

Soon after Barak Obama became President, he instructed the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, to identify steps for improving the health of the LGBT community. In response, an LGBT Issues Coordinating Committee was established. Since then, the committee has released yearly reports with its accomplishments and objectives.

The most recent report, released July 31, 2013, shows that HHS is working towards eliminating health care disparities in our community. Noted were the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling invalidating DOMA as it pertains to healthcare; outreach to the LGBT community to ensure access to the Affordable Health Care market; support for inclusion of LGBT persons in research studies; and plans for the NIH to host the first annual LGBTI research symposium to explore topics for health-related research (however, I was unable to discern when this meeting might be happening).

Prevention (CDC) also provides information on a variety of health-related topics of importance to LGBT persons including smoking cessation, transgender health needs, sexually transmitted infections and more. There are links to resource materials, hotlines and specialized LGBT clinic referrals throughout the country, with HIV testing sites listed by zip codes. You can check out the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/ lgbthealth. The government has also addressed bullying with attention to LGBT youth at www.stopbullying.gov/ at-risk/groups/lgbt.

Tools and resources for practitioners working with LGBT youth are in development. The National Health Interview Survey now includes sexual orientation questions, and other gender-identity survey questions are being tested. While developing and testing survey questions may seem trivial, these outreach efforts can have profound effects once they are implemented in government-supported institutions, in research studies or in everyday practice. You can read the entire HHS report at www.hhs.gov/news/ press/2013pres/07/20130731a.html.

Here, in the Bay Area, we may have easy access to many of these services, but this information may be harder to find elsewhere. We should be pleased to know our government is there supporting these efforts on our behalf. Because of the shutdown and “due to the lapse in government funding,” these websites were not being updated. Let’s just say that while we do have some friends in Washington, not everyone is a “friend of Dorothy” or the American people.

I am hoping for better, healthier times for us all soon!

In addition to the HHS and the NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and

Dr. Naomi Jay is a nurse practitioner in the department of Infectious Disease at UCSF.

The Inner Fitness Frontier

The KiAi Way Sensei Jamie Leno Zimron Peak Performance Speaker and Trainer I usually start out my golf seminars asking people a pretty basic question: “What makes your golf ball go?” Even if you’re not a golfer, which I’m guessing most of you reading this aren’t (!), think for a moment what you would answer. Usually it’s something like, “Well, I hit it!” Then come increasingly sophisticated ideas, about momentum, impact, force, physics, transferring mental energy and intention. Those are all well and good, but even the idea of ‘energy transfer’ begs the question, “Where does the energy come from?”

So, here’s my answer: YOU make your golf ball go! That may seem obvious now, but it’s incredibly important and much overlooked. A golf club has no idea what to do, or any ability to swing or hit, until you come along and put it in your hands. The same is true for even the genius of your computer or smartphone. You swing the club; you touch the screen and press the buttons. It’s like asking: What makes you tick? Your inner energy is what activates everything you touch, and inf luences everyone you interact with.

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The East has special words – Ki/Chi/ prana/kundalini – for what we in the West at best call ‘life-energy’ or ‘lifeforce.’ Our minds are used to considering material things as ‘real,’ while Ki is invisible and sounds ‘woo woo,’ something esoteric perhaps suitable for yogis, but not athletes or scientists or CEOs. In fact, life-energy is quite palpable and real. It’s presence, or absence, is what makes the difference between a sleeping body and a corpse. We will

probably never know just where Ki comes from, or where it ultimately goes. But while we’re alive, it is a definite animating force within our bodies and all around us. It’s what makes everything possible, moving through breath and enabling us to think, feel, move, act and experience the world.

A golfer, starting at 0 miles per hour, in barely 2 seconds of swing motion, delivers her Ki through the club generating 70-100 mph of club head speed into the ball, to launch and guide it down the fairway to the green. All of her energy systems – moving (body), thinking (mind), feeling (emotion) and purpose (spirit) – come into intense play, requiring finely tuned coordination and synchronization.

What all of this means is that being the master and manager of your lifeenergy is essential. The good, and

bad, news is that it is all about you!

You are in charge of you, for better or for worse. What foods and drugs you put in your body, what thoughts you think, what you say when you talk to yourself and others, what emotions you dwell on, where you put your attention and focus, the quality of your rest and recreation … these are all energetic matters, that matter to your health, relationships and ability to prosper and succeed.

Energy actually has measurable vibrational frequency, at a cellular level.

A salad from McDonald’s has a lower vibration than ‘live greens’ fresh from the farm. We’re high and buzzing, or down and dragging. Positive thinking carries higher vibrational power, so it works better than negative thinking.

The same is true for higher consciousness and feeling states such as love, compassion, confidence and serenity when compared to ‘baser’ emotions such as apathy, jealousy, anger and revenge. My approach to golf psy-

chology is called “Rising to Lower Scores” and teaches skills to be in, or return to, higher vibrational states, as opposed to falling into bummed-out curse mode that leads to poor performance and higher scores.

Deepak Chopra, the Indian-American physician who is a global voice for integrative medicine, talks about becoming ‘astronauts of inner space.’

We are so conditioned to seek externally, that we miss the frontiers of our own internal fitness, which could propel us forward in incredible new ways in our lives. We’re like golfers buying the latest new driver or putter or app, watching The Golf Channel more, fiddling with the next change in grip or stance … only to still feel perpetually frustrated. Good golf, and good living, is not rocket science!

It’s discovering inner space; developing your talents and mind-body skills; keeping your Ki tuned-up in higher, rather than lower, frequencies; and doing simple daily practices to center, breathe, ground, relax, clear and balance your life-energy.

Here’s a quick and powerful “centering” practice: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on your lower belly, a little below your navel. Martial arts and meditation masters call this hara in Japanese/t’an-tien in Chinese. It’s your physical center of gravity, and one point where all mental and emotional energy comes to settle when you focus there. Now imagine a bowling ball dropping down through your torso and landing in your lower abdomen, like in the bottom of a bowl. Knees bend slightly as the weight of the ball fills the center of your body. Feel your legs and feet connecting to the earth.

Enjoy exhaling, letting go. Allow your mind to settle in your belly, forgetting any thoughts or worries.

Relax any shoulder or body tension into hara, your center.

It’s no accident that the Buddha had a big belly, and found enlightenment just settling there sitting under a tree.

There’s something very key about being aware of, and focusing, your Ki. Until next time, try exploring energetic ‘inner space’ and unlocking new inner frontiers for well-being and success!

For more information about Jamie Leno Zimron and her work, please visit www. thekiaiway.com.

Round About – SF AIDS Foundation 2013 Tribute Celebration Photos by Steven Underhill

San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s 2013 Tribute Celebration was among the most unique of galas during the current Fall Season. Held at the California Academy of Sciences, the evening included a VIP reception, tour, dinner, program and After-Dark Party. Honoring the work of Anthony S. Fauci, MD, the event also featured the presentation of the first Dream Award spotlighting the work of young people of color who are making a difference in the promotion of health and wellness.

Bay Times photographer Steven Underhill’s amazing images bring us closer to the fish and aquatic animals than we might ever imagine!

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS: SOCIAL SECURITY AND THE LGBT COMMUNITY Learn How You Might Be Eligible for Additional Monthly Income in Light of the June Supreme Court Windsor Decision TUESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 29 Novato, The Key Room RSVP – (415) 472-1945, Ext. 209 www.SpectrumLGBTCenter.org/ssforum

PANELISTS

Grace Kim, Regional Commissioner Social Security Administration, San Francisco Deb Kinney, Esq, Partner Johnston, Kinney and Zulaica, LLP Web Phillips, Senior Legislative Representative National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Max Richtman, President and CEO National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare

MODERATOR

Paula Pilecki, Executive Director Spectrum LGBT Center The Town Hall Meeting has been underwritten by the Marin Community Foundation

WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 30

THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 31

PANELISTS

PANELISTS

San Francisco, LGBT Center RSVP – (415) 296-8995, Ext. 301 www.openhouse-sf.org/ssforum

Grace Kim, Regional Commissioner Social Security Administration, San Francisco Web Phillips, Senior Legislative Representative National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Max Richtman, President and CEO National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Deb Kinney, Esq, Partner Johnston, Kinney & Zulaica, LLP Andy Chu, Managing Legal Director of Benefits Counseling Positive Resource Center Seth Kilbourn, Executive Director Openhouse

MODERATOR

Kate Kendell, Executive Director National Center for Lesbian Rights

Santa Rosa, Finley Community Center RSVP – (415) 472-1945, Ext. 209 www.SpectrumLGBTCenter.org/ssforum

Tate Birnie Attorney Specializing in Elder Law, Sebastopol Web Phillips, Senior Legislative Representative National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Max Richtman, President and CEO National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Social Security Administration official to be determined

MODERATOR

Paula Pilecki, Executive Director Spectrum LGBT Center The Town Hall meeting has been underwritten by Sonoma County Human Services Department/Adult and Aging Services Division

Seating is limited. To RSVP and get more information about panelists and other participants, as well as community co-sponsors, please visit the web site listed in your area.

Refreshments will be served. Co-sponsor and in-kind support provided by Bay Times, LGBTQ News and Calendar for the Bay Area.

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Round About - Horizons’ Annual Gala & Casino Party

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P HOTO B Y RIN K PHOTO BY RIN K PHOTO BY RI N K PHOTO BY RIN K P H OTO B Y ST E VEN UN DER H I LL

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PHOTO BY STEV EN UNDE RHIL L

PHOTO COURTES Y OF HORIZON S F OUN DATION

P HOTO BY ST EVEN UN DERHIL L

P HOTO B Y RIN K

The Bay Times is a proud supporter of the 2013 Horizons Foundation Gala Dinner & Casino Party, held at the historic Fairmont Hotel and Tonga Room. Honored this year was Hon. James C. Hormel, philanthropist and former US Ambassador to Luxenbourg, who was introduced by author Jewelle Gomez. Entertainment featured recording artist Terry Bradford. Keynote remarks were presented by Horizons executive director Roger Doughty.

National News Briefs compiled by Dennis McMillan

Oxford, MS - Time to Make It Right, Ole Miss! - 10.8

Boston, MA - Boston Mayoral Candidate a Hero to Queers - 10.12

Two weeks ago, some brave local activists from GetEQUAL Mississippi and partner groups stood outside an “ex-gay therapy” conference in Mississippi with signs of love and support for young attendees. And just last week, at a performance of The Laramie Project - the play examining the life, brutal beating and tragic death of Matthew Shepard - students at the University of Mississippi (known as “Ole Miss”) began taunting and jeering the actors, shouting out anti-LGBTQ slurs during a performance designed to celebrate LGBTQ history month at the university.

Mayoral candidate Martin J. Walsh released what he called a comprehensive platform to protect gays and lesbians, including designated “safe spaces” for gay youths in schools, transitional housing for homeless youth, and better training for police officers that handle domestic violence.

Walsh unveiled the policies at his Jamaica Plain field office, as he stood with several gay and lesbian supporters who said he was a crucial behind-the-scenes player in the fight to defend same-sex marriage in the Legislature.

Wearing a rainbow-colored campaign sticker, Walsh, a state representative, said he is somewhat frustrated by the perception that, because he is a former trade union official from Dorchester, he may be more socially conservative than his opponent, Councilor at Large John R. Connolly. He and his gay and lesbian supporters said he always has been a staunch advocate of same-sex marriage, as well as transgender rights legislation, HIV and AIDS programs and gay and lesbian youth services.

Mississippi is, by no means, the only state in which anti-LGBTQ words and actions are being hurled around with ease - and school officials are struggling with how to respond.

Ole Miss administrators have issued an apology, but the apology comes even as the football coach is taking to Twitter to thank God for strength in the midst of trials (!).

Arline Isaacson, co-chairwoman of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, said that when many lawmakers were fighting to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts after it was legalized by the Supreme Judicial Court in 2004, Walsh lobbied his more conservative colleagues not to support the ban. She said Walsh took 25 votes over seven years to defend gay marriage, even though his church and many of his constituents opposed such unions.

On a campus and in a state with a long history of oppression - of LGBTQ folks, people of color, women, poor folks, non-Christians, and the list goes on - students are calling for more than just an apology, said GetEQUAL Co-director Heather Cronk. “We’re working with members of the cast of The Laramie Project to demand more of the administration - action that will make the lives of Ole Miss students, staff and faculty better.

Walsh’s platform includes the creation of “comprehensive, age-appropriate” sex education programs in middle and high schools, the hiring of a liaison to the gay community in the Boston public schools and the development of a city policy to protect transgender students.

In partnership with the cast of The Laramie Project and other LGBTQ students and allies on campus, they will be delivering petition signatures to the Chancellor and the Dean of Students at Ole Miss on the anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death. “We have a powerful opportunity to change both culture and policy at the university,” Cronk concluded.

“We’ve come a long way in this city,” Walsh said, “but we still have a long way to go.”

Just another hero to claim: Boston strong!

Source: bostonglobe.com

It’s important for young people in Mississippi - including college students - to know that they’re not alone.

Source: getequal.org

New York, NY - Freedom to Marry Announces Partnership with Novel/Film “Fifth Beatle” - 10.9 Tallahassee, FL - Representative Baxley Makes Outrageous Comments Disparaging LGBTQ Families - 10.11

Las Vegas, NV - Openly Gay Boxer Comes Out a Hero, Despite His Loss - 10.14 Orlando Salido downplayed the fact that Orlando Cruz is boxing’s first openly gay fighter during the buildup to their featherweight title fight. Salido said he didn’t care. He just wanted to get his hands on a third 126-pound world title.

And that’s just what he did, as he dominated Cruz en route to a seventh-round knockout to win a vacant world title on the Timothy Bradley Jr.-Juan Manuel Marquez undercard at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Cruz, despite the loss, was hailed as a hero by many for coming out as a gay fighter in such a macho sport. Members of Cruz’s team waved a rainbow-colored flag, signifying the colors of the LGBTQ community, in his corner during the introductions. He wore trunks in the colorful pattern, and his story was covered by media outlets around the world.

But although Cruz’s story was told, it was Salido who won the title, hammering his opponent to the body throughout the fight. Salido, who looked much stronger, pushed Cruz around, landing hard lefts to the body and rights to the head, and he even mixed in solid uppercuts. Cruz ate a lot of punches, and his left eye began to show damage by the fourth round.

In the seventh round, Salido, 32, of Mexico, cornered Cruz, 32, of Puerto Rico, and landed a heavy right hand to the head and left to the body. Salido went down face-first, and referee Kenny Bayless stopped the bout a moment later at 1 minute, 5 seconds.

“I went into the corner and he hit me with a good shot,” Cruz said. “I thought the fight was close up until then. It was going back and forth.”

So good news/bad news: The good news is Cruz has come out as the first openly gay boxer.

“We hope Representative Baxley has the decency to apologize for his comments disparaging gay parents and our children. More than that, we invite Representative Baxley to educate himself, talk with us and actually meet our families,” said Nadine Smith, CEO of Equality Florida. Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s LGBTQ community.

“We are a diverse state, and no elected official can fulfill their oath of office if they only respect and care about the people and families that look just like their own.” She pointed out that the entire child welfare community, every credible agency and all research, is unanimous in recognizing that gay parents are equally capable of raising children and that queers’ kids do just as well as their hetero-raised classmates.

Equality Florida has requested a meeting with Representative Dennis Baxley after his comments in the House, K-12 Subcommittee disparaging LGBTQ parents, comparing them to abusive parents and equating having same-sex parents with alcoholism. Below is the text of his statement: “It’s easy to say parents need to get involved, but half these kids are raising themselves; they don’t have any parents that are functional. How can we address that? I mean, I sat an hour and a half with a teacher telling me, well this child has got serial men coming through the house, this one has two mommies, this one has an abusive father who’s home, this one has alcoholism, this one has drug abuse. It was a casualty warfare event to hear - just her classroom - how many dysfunctional, atypical - to me - uh, structures are in the way of a kid having a chance to learn.”

It is no big surprise that Baxley is a 61-year-old white Southern Baptist Republican.

Freedom to Marry is partnering with The Fifth Beatle, a graphic novel examining the life of legendary Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Epstein was a brilliant visionary who discovered the Beatles and led them on the path to international stardom even as he struggled with his own sense of belonging: he was gay when it was a felony, and he was Jewish during a time of anti-Semitism.

“Freedom to Marry has long urged that the most effective way to continue winning over hearts and minds is talking about who gay people are, why marriage matters, and the harms inflicted by the denial of the freedom to marry,” said Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson. “In a year when we celebrate our winning the freedom to marry in Epstein’s home country of Britain, and a year of real momentum here in the U.S., we continue to imagine, as John Lennon urged, a better world -- and are working to bring it home.”

Vivek Tiwary’s The Fifth Beatle tells the compelling story of a tremendously successful entertainment executive who lived at a time that gay people were excluded from the public dialogue - not that long ago - and the costs of that exclusion. Epstein’s story portrays the unnecessary, unfair and unacceptable pain and price of telling some of our friends that they cannot dream of a life of love and commitment equally respected under the law.

The book is scheduled for release on November 19. Academy Award-winning producer Bruce Cohen will produce the film along with Tiwary. It is a project of Broadway veteran Tiwary, who was lead producer for the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun and co-producer for the Broadway productions of The Addams Family and Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot.

Brian, we love you, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Source: freedomtomarry.org

Source: eqfl.org

Source: espn.go.com

Local News Briefs Governor Signs Bill Aiding Transgender Californians with Name Changes, Identity Documents Assembly Bill 1121, authored by Assemblymember Toni Atkins and co-sponsored by Equality California and the Transgender Law Center, was signed by Governor Jerry Brown. The bill will help ensure people who are transgender have better access to legal name changes and identity documents that accurately reflect their gender identity.

“Transgender Law Center receives hundreds of calls each year from people who have experienced difficulty in legally changing their name and gender and have experienced dangerous discrimination due to having identity documents that do not match who they truly are,” said TLC Executive Director Masen Davis. “We are incredibly grateful to the Governor, Assemblymember Atkins and all of the brave transgender people who spoke up for this important legislation.”

“One step in enabling transgender people to live authentic lives consistent with their gender identity is to ensure that their names and their official documents are consistent with who they are,” said Assemblymember Atkins. “I am very pleased that the Governor signed my bill to move us forward toward equality and dignity for transgender Californians.”

In 2011, the National Transgender Discrimination Survey showed that 44 percent of transgender people reported having been denied service, harassed or assaulted when presenting identity documents that did not match their gender presentation.

While some states have administrative procedures that permit transgender people to amend the gender marker, name or both on their birth certificates, California still requires a court hearing as a prerequisite before the state’s Office of Vital Records will change the gender marker on a birth certificate. AB 1121 will allow individuals to bypass the court and apply directly to the Office of Vital Records to amend a birth certificate. That will both streamline individuals’ access to corrected birth certificates and reduce the caseloads of overwhelmed courts.

Story by Dennis McMillan

LGBT Community Center Hosts Project Homeless Connect Event According to SF’s June 2013 Homeless Count, 29% of San Francisco’s homeless are LGBTQ. With over 1,000 people attending LGBTQ Connect, the first Project Homeless Connect event ever focused on the city’s LGBTQ homeless, the LGBT Community Center was even more vibrant than usual.

Low-income and homeless people seeking help with housing, employment, food and other services, such as dental care and eyeglasses, felt safe and secure at this critical Center event. As wonderful as San Francisco is, it’s hard to make it on your own. It takes a community of caring individuals to ensure all of us have what we need to feel prosperous.

Special thanks should be extended to the 300 volunteers, the 100 service providers and Bevan Dufty, Director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement for the Mayor’s Office, who all worked so tirelessly to make the LGBTQ Connect event successful.

The Center is proud to host events like this, helping to lift community members out of poverty.

Every day, the Center connects people with critical resources. Their youth program provides warm meals to 700 homeless youth each year and connects them to housing, employment and health services.

Their employment services help 1,000 job seekers find jobs with coaching, networking and job referral services annually. Their I&R desk links 3,000 people to health service every year. In addition, the Center is now a connection site for Covered CA, California’s new Affordable Care Act insurance exchange where individuals, families and small businesses can find affordable health insurance.

The Center reminds prospective donors (sfcenter.org) that $10 provides a nourishing meal for one of their 40 youth program participants per week, and $25 provides three unemployed job seekers the ability to meet employers face to face at one of their career fairs.

Story by Dennis McMillan BAY T IM ES O C TO BER 17, 2013

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Proudly Presents Speak Out Speak Out, a new campaign that hopes to bring HIV out of the closet for bisexual and gay men, recently held a reception at Blush Wine Bar in the Castro.

Supervisor Scott Wiener, Vincent Fuqua from the San Francisco Department of Public Health AIDS Office and many others came to meet the campaign’s featured men, who shared their personal stories with the Bay Times.

Bay Times photographer Abby Zimberg was among the attendees who later went to the Castro Muni Station for a viewing of posters and informational panels featuring the Speak Out logo that declares, “What You Say Matters.”

Andre is an African American gay man who is outspoken about the challenges facing the gay community. He is acutely aware that being so vocal makes him, and his partner who is also African-American, a rarity.

When Chad moved to the Bay Area about a year ago, it profoundly changed his life. As an HIV-positive man, he saw the move as “an opportunity to be honest about telling people about my status.”

“Most gays in African-American community aren’t out to the point where want to be on a billboard,” he says. In fact, the pressure to stay silent means sometimes they end up “not valuing their lives; they even end their lives.”

An emotional sense of freedom was matched with community action when he became part of the Speak Out campaign. “It’s an opportunity to come together with other gay and bisexual men and talk honestly and talk real about HIV,” he says. He believes communication is a key part of both reducing stigma and preventing infections, especially because not discussing HIV status with a partner contributed to his own infection.

A San Francisco gardener who grew up in San Diego, Andre says often inflexible attitudes about homosexuality in many black families and in black churches put barely tolerable pressures on African American gay men.

Those realities, Andre says, give the Speak Out campaign special resonance.

The “Oh my God!” tone that accompanies any conversation about a person’s positive HIV status tends to squelch honest conversation, he says. Speaking out, he hopes, will “get people to realize to that HIV is a part of everybody’s life.

Not talking about it is not going to make it go away.”

A grantmaker at the Corporation for National and Community Service, Chad says he’s glad to commit off-work hours to Speak Out. “This is a chance to lend my name and voice to a cause larger than myself,” he says. “We need to get a handle on HIV.”

Derrick is a longtime video producer and a former TV journalist who has traveled to 35 countries on six continents. He has a passion for turning dry statistics into flesh-and-blood real-life stories that tell the truth and pack an emotional punch. He’s used to people talking enthusiastically about their lives - even the not-pretty parts. So he was especially disturbed to realize that most of the gay community in the U.S. tends to talk in whispers about HIV, when it’s talked about at all.

Jonathan says that “my whole life’s journey since becoming positive has focused on speaking out, to combat that stigma, to change the perceptions.” He grew up in Sonoma County, and has lived in the Bay Area most of his life. A nurse practitioner with a Master’s degree and specialty in HIV from UCSF, Jonathan currently is on a year-long fellowship at the Veterans Administration hospital, caring for HIV patients, including people who’ve just been tested and learned they are HIV positive.

Derrick was raised in Salt Lake City in the Mormon church. He’s not shy. “I put my Speak Out images on my Facebook page, and all the Mormons I went to high school with see that,” he says.

In part because of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” culture around HIV in the gay community, these new HIV patients often report suffering from deep shame, says Jonathan. He also sees older gay patients who, instead of being looked upon as wise elders, are shunned because of their positive status. “It’s omnipresent, but people don’t want to talk about it,” he says. But, “when we start speaking out about our status, positive or negative, you take some of the power from the skeleton in the closet. You’re taking it into the light.”

He’s watched HIV fall off both the gay community’s and the media’s radar steadily over the decades. “We must have dropped the ball someplace, because our young people don’t understand,” he laments. More people not talking about HIV means more people get infected with HIV, he notes. “The implications are huge. It’s like compound interest in a bank account.”

12

BAY TIMES OCTO B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 3

The Greater Than AIDS campaign is a project of the Kaiser Family Foundation, Black AIDS Institute, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Ford Foundation, MAC AIDS and others.

For more information about Greater Than AIDS and the Speak Out campaign, visit: www. greaterthan.org/speakout.

Sean was gossiping with fellow employees about a “dirty old man” in his 50s who worked with them in a Forever 21 store, a gay man who was open about being positive for HIV. After reflecting on what he called this “mean girl” conversation, he embarked on a journey of personal transformation.

“Mine has been one of the most stigmatizing voices,” he says. He thinks it’s partly due to his upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness in Orange County, “not a great place for someone in the gay community.” After moving to San Francisco four years ago, he found himself in a focus group concerning attitudes around HIV and it opened his mind. “After that discussion, I found it liberating and inspiring. It changed my perspective.”

“Men in the gay community, both positive and negative, are affected by this virus,” he continues. “It is my responsibility as a negative man to stay negative, but also to understand that this whole epidemic is not about excluding positive people.”

Johnnie is on a mission to speak out about HIV not just for himself, but also for his friend, Julian. In May 2013, just after celebrating his 36th birthday, Julian died of AIDS. “I never thought I would lose someone around my own age to AIDS,” Johnnie said in an email. “To experience this loss in 2013, in San Francisco, is both heartbreaking and concerning.”

For Julian’s birthday earlier this year, Johnnie was one in a group of friends who took him to New York. Julian had never been, “and the trip was filled with wonderful moments showing him the sights, going to shows and dining at amazing restaurants,” Johnnie said. Julian was in good spirits, despite his low energy and significant weight loss caused by going off of his HIV medication.

With a lot of encouragement from friends and his doctor, Johnnie said Julian agreed to start his regimen of medications again once he got back from the trip. But the decision came too late to save his life.

“It is important for me to share my perspective because my friend Julian is no longer here to speak for himself,” Johnnie said. “Too many have lost friends and loved ones from this disease.”

Tracy Hoff of the Kaiser Family Foundation welcomed models, guests and all attending to Blush Wine Bar on Friday, October 12. In addition to explaining the new Speak Out campaign’s goals, she invited everyone to join in viewing the installation at the ticketing area of the Castro MUNI station, Harvey Milk Plaza, intersection of Market and Castro Streets.

BAY T IM ES O C TO BER 17, 2013

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HRC Is Committed to Uniting America Under Single Banner of Fairness the discriminatory Prop. 8, removing the cloud of discrimination that had lurked over our state since 2008. The same day, the Justices said Section 3 of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, had to go. It was a day of great victories and celebrations ensued across the country, but nowhere did those victories hit home like they did here in California as our marriages became recognized at the state and federal levels.

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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.

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Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Kirsten Kruse, Kate Kendell, Pollo del Mar, Heidi Beeler, K. Cole, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Paul E. Pratt, Terry Baum, Gypsy Love, Rafael Mandelman, Shelley MacKay, Kit Kennedy, Leslie Katz, Karen Williams, Gary Virginia, Stu Smith, Zoe Dunning, Jim Tibbs, Mark Penn, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller & Joanne Jordan, Tippy Marks, Naomi Jay, Jamie Leno Zimron

Guest Editorial Frank H. Woo Earlier this month at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington, HRC President Chad Griffin received thunderous applause when he said, “Here at this largest-ever HRC National Dinner, we have so much to celebrate. Just since we were here last year: Senator Tammy Baldwin elected, President Obama reelected. There are more Democrats standing with us, and more Republicans standing up to join us.

The destruction of DOMA and its two decades of discrimination and marriage equality in Maine, Maryland, Washington, Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota and, yes, California too.”

He was right. We have a lot to celebrate, both across the country and here in California. So let’s celebrate. This weekend marks the 29th Annual San Francisco Bay Area HRC Gala Dinner. As we prepare for the evening of celebration, it’s fitting to take a step back and reflect on the successes we’ve had over the past year.

Since the last Bay Area HRC Gala, marriage equality has been rightfully restored in California after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down

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The Supreme Court decisions were monumental, but they have also highlighted the emergence of “two Americas” -- one where full equality is almost a reality and another where LGBT citizens are denied even the most basic rights. HRC is committed to uniting these two Americas under a single banner of fairness.

And our victories aren’t limited to marriage. Here in California the legislature passed, and Gov. Brown signed, AB 1266, a law designed to protect transgender students in public schools from discrimination and bullying. Thousands of you responded to our call to action to contact your state legislators. We know our work isn’t over, as just this week at the state Republican Convention, fringe members of the party were successful in getting the party to back efforts to reverse the law.

however, that there are benefits to practicing forgiveness. But there are also some important misconceptions as to what forgiveness is, which can stand in the way of doing it. Here are four of the most important of these misconceptions:

Examined Life Tom Moon, MFT

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This weekend at our San Francisco Gala, we will honor our long-time ally and bridge builder, Dorothy Polash, with the Charles M. Holmes Community Service Award. We are delighted that Mary Lambert will join us and perform. Mary was most recently on MTV’s Video Music Awards (she was fully dressed and not twerking) singing “Same Love,” with Macklemore and surprise guest, Jennifer Hudson. “Same Love” went on to win “Video with the Best Social Message,” which advocates for marriage equality.

HRC is in the fight for the long haul. They are here for us. They are here for our families, our young people, ourselves. I am proud of what we -- HRC and the LGBT community -- have accomplished here in the Bay Area, up and down the California coast, and across the country. Full equality is within reach. We will get there with HRC and you, as a team.

Frank H. Woo is a member of the National Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Exploring Forgiveness, Part 2: Misconceptions

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The Human Rights Campaign, under the current leadership of Chad Griffin, and past leaderships under Joe Solmonese and Elizabeth Birch, have played a pivotal role in the successes of the LGBT rights movement over the past years. HRC was here in 2008 fighting Prop. 8, and after we lost at the ballot box, they didn’t give up. They doubled down on their efforts in the Golden State and everywhere else where the dream of marriage equality eluded us.

The legal battle of SB 1172, the law that outlaws dangerous psychological practices that attempt to change the sexual orientation of minors – practices that have been not only debunked as junk science, but have been proven dangerous by every mainstream medical, mental health, and child welfare organization – lingers on. HRC will be here every step of the way to protect our kids.

(Editor’s Note: This is the second of a fourpart series concerning exploring forgiveness.)

In the first part of this four-part series, I argued that victims have no moral obligation to forgive their perpetrators, and that feeling coerced by the idea of forgiveness as a duty can actually be harmful when victims aren’t ready to do it authentically. It’s true,

1. Holding on to resentments punishes others. Many people won’t forgive a wrong that was done to them years ago because “it would be letting her/him off the hook,” as if someone they haven’t seen in years is somehow living “on a hook” if they continue to hold a grudge against the individual, but would feel undeservedly better if they stopped.

2. Forgiveness means condoning bad behavior. Forgiveness doesn’t mean not forgetting, nor does it mean denying that real offenses were committed. It is a deliberate decision to let go of the past, and to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward those who have harmed you, regard-

less of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness. None of this involves excusing or minimizing bad behavior.

3. If I forgive you, I have to let you back into my life. Forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing. It usually is a lot easier to forgive a wrong if the perpetrator apologizes, but letting go of resentment and vengefulness is still something we can do completely on our own, without the other person even knowing we’ve done it, because the essence of forgiveness is simply letting go of the past. Reconciliation, however, is about committing to a future.

It means returning to some degree of friendliness, and for that to happen, trust has to be reestablished. We may choose to forgive someone who has abused us, but still recognize that the person might continue to be abusive toward us if we re-opened the relationship. Forgiving doesn’t mean being naïve about the character or intentions of others.

4. Holding on to anger keeps me in control. Anger is an intense energy, and feeling it can make us feel safe and in control. But the bottomless, self-righteous rage of those who feel mired in victimization feels anything but powerful. Those who are caught in that mind-state invariably feel impotent and imprisoned in their own inner hells.

Finally, forgiving requires the maturity to accept some uncomfortable truths: that the past can’t be changed; that another person’s hurtful actions can never be undone; and that the people who wronged us may never see the error of their ways. But the practice of forgiveness can also reveal another important and surprising truth: that in the end, no one else has to change in order for us to be at peace.

We’ll explore that more the next time.

Next: Benefits of Forgiveness Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. His website is tommoon.net.

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Profiles of Compassion and Courage: Joe Seiler Henderson, who shares the work producing “Help Is on the Way” and “One Night Only” events. Together, they have contributed countless memorable evenings and fundraising dollars to our community.

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SS: How did you become involved in your work?

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Joe Seiler is best known as board chair of The Richmond Ermet Aids Foundation, which has raised many millions for local AIDS charities by producing Broadway caliber cabaret shows. You likely have seen Seiler with his partner of 31 years, Ken 14

BAY TIMES OCTO B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 3

JS: I became involved in fundraising as a teenager when I raised funds back in New York for Muscular Dystrophy.

As youth chair for the organization on Staten Island, I helped organize a group of friends who collected funds by begging for coins in front of shopping centers and then multiplied the money by putting on plays and donating the expanded funds to the charity. Many years later, while living in San Francisco, our good friends Barbara Richmond and Peggy Ermet approached my partner Ken Henderson and myself to help put on a show to honor their sons’ John and Doug’s memories and to raise funds

for Coming Home Hospice. It was ironic, because little did we know it at the time that this was the start of the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation— with me doing a similar thing that I did as a teenager. We are proud that REAF will be celebrating its 20th year anniversary next year. Its volunteers have now raised millions for local AIDS service organizations.

SS: Who have been your key mentors?

JS: My key mentor was Doug Ermet. Doug and I worked together at Macy’s San Francisco in the training department. Doug was in charge of employee communications and I managed the training for the San Francisco store. Doug was an amazing guy. He was the kind of guy who had excellent skills, and helped me by building my confidence as a trainer and as a person. He was always there helping me, and countless others, reach their potential. He inspired me

Joe Seiler

to use my creativity and to trust myself. He never asked for anything in return, and was very humble about his gifts. Doug also introduced me to the San Francisco cabaret scene, and to the amazing late singer Nancy LaMott, who performed in the very first “Help Is on the Way” benefit honoring Doug’s memory.

SS: If you could solve or fix a community problem, what would it be? (continued on page 18)

Fortnight in Review (continued from page 1) the whole sordid affair will be well worth a frustrating few weeks Don’t Stay The big news this week emerges from New Jersey, where Judge Mary Jacobson has refused to suspend her October 21 deadline for marriage equality. Judge Jacobson ruled in favor of same-sex couples back on September 27 in an opinion that was appealed directly to the state’s high court by Governor Chris Christie. Christie also asked Jacobson to hold off on granting marriages until the justices could review the matter, a request that has been routinely granted in other marriage cases.

But not this time!

Normally, a stay is appropriate in a situation when one of the parties would be severely damaged by allowing a court order to proceed. And normally, judges have decided that allowing same-sex couples to marry in the middle of litigation could lead to a problematic situation if a higher court were to reverse the marriages down the road.

This time, Judge Jacobson ruled that the same-sex couples themselves will be harmed by further delay, while the state of New Jersey will be just fine, thank you very much. It’s still possible that the New Jersey Supreme Court will step in to halt marriages between now and next week, but it’s also possible that the justices will let them start.

If the October 21 deadline is kept in place, it’s a sure indication that New Jersey’s high court will fall in line behind Judge Jacobson’s reasoning.

We’re sure the justices will legalize marriage in the near future in any event. There is simply zero legal rationale to ban marriage equality in New Jersey under state law precedent.

With that in mind, it’s possible that Garden State lawmakers will find it within themselves to pass marriage equality with a veto-proof majority before the court can act. The current equality bill has several religious loopholes that presumably would not appear in a court opinion. In effect, therefore, passing marriage in the legislature has become the conservative option. One way or another, add New Jersey to the list of free states by January, maybe by next week.

Recognize This!

And after New Jersey? Well, not exactly the deluge but, as you know, there are quite a few other states lining up to tie the equality knot. In Oregon, for example, activists are collecting names for a 2014 referendum that would reverse the state’s antigay marriage amendment. But a recently filed federal lawsuit might eviscerate the ban before the voters get their chance. The suit argues, not just that Oregon must allow marriage, but that Oregon must recognize samesex marriages contracted elsewhere.

I emphasize this last point, because although it seems obvious, we have not put much effort into seeking marriage recognition in the past. Why bother? We’re seeking marriage, and recognition comes along automatically, right? Of course, but the Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling has changed the game and it’s also delivered an interesting, albeit oblique, new legal precedent.

Think about it. In Windsor, the High Court ruled--- not that marriage equality was mandated by the Constitution—but that recognition of existing marriage was mandated by the Constitution. If that’s the case for the federal government, why would this High Court precedent not demand

the same result from a state government?

The High Court has not said that Texas must legalize same-sex marriage. But has it not implicitly said that Texas must recognize a samesex marriage when a married couple moves from Boston to Austin? And, obviously, if a state is ordered to recognize same-sex marriages from outside its borders, the fact that it does not license marriages itself becomes a moot point.

Why have we not pursued marriage recognition suits in the past? Well, for one thing, we’ve only had a few years of marriage equality, and it’s only now that we’re starting to see increasing numbers of married couples moving into the mean states or traveling to marry.

Second, as mentioned, we now have a directly applicable Supreme Court precedent in our arsenal.

Third, we’re trying to win full equality, not whittle around the edges.

That said, I think we might see some lawsuits, narrowly tailored to coin a phrase, geared to win marriage recognition in some of these states where a direct assault is less likely to succeed.

Interesting, ne’est-ce pas?

What? Did you say no? Damn you.

Oreos All Around Hey. Did you read that Oreo cookies are just as addictive as cocaine? It’s all over the news this morning along with the information that Oreos light up the same pleasure centers as our erstwhile bad habit. I even read that Noel Coward got a kick out licking the middle part.

But before we abandon the topic of marriage, I have to tell you that a federal judge in Michigan is hearing arguments today on the status of the Mitten State’s antigay amendment.

Oddly, various headlines suggest that the judge might rule immediately from the bench, potentially legalizing marriage at once. But there is no evidence for this far-fetched scenario, so I am compelled to dismiss the idea.

I will happily eat crow if I’m wrong.

Well, at least I’ll eat an Oreo. I don’t like them, so it will be just as if I were to eat a crow. That said, I might start to like Oreos if all the stories are true.

I suppose I’ll also need a hundred dollar bill and a Bloomingdale’s card if memory serves.

Meanwhile, oral arguments before the New Mexico Supreme Court are scheduled for October 23 in a state marriage case that could be resolved fairly quickly. And we also have a renegade clerk in North Carolina who is accepting same-sex marriage license applications and asking the Attorney General what to do about them. The AG, Roy Cooper, is in favor of marriage equality, but has also pledged to defend the state’s antigay amendment in federal court. North Carolina is one of the several venues for our legal eagles’ federal marriage lawsuits.

I’m guessing Mr. Cooper will tell the clerk to sit on his hands until the matter is settled in court. After all, the amendment is still on the books, right? Still, it’s nice to see. I love these renegade clerks.

Finally, although several other cases are proceeding apace, I have to draw your attention to Sevcik v Sandoval, the federal challenge to Nevada’s antigay marriage amendment that has long been pending in the Ninth Circuit. The case was put on hold while

Professional Services the High Court considered the Prop 8 case, which clearly involved similar issues. But it roared back to life, and the first briefs are due this week.

Sevcik has lost its sister case, the Hawaii suit of Jackson v Abercrombie, which had been moving on a parallel track. Now, however, Jackson has been shelved while the Hawaii state legislature considers marriage this fall. But we don’t need both cases in order to make waves. If Sevcik runs a normal course, we will have another Ninth Circuit ruling on marriage equality by next summer.

Gay couples lost both the Nevada and the Hawaii cases in lower court, but both rulings were characterized by the typical twisted conservative jurisprudence that we hope and trust cannot survive Ninth Circuit review.

Where’re Ya Goin’? Barcelona.

Oh. Did you read about the baggage handlers at Jetstar airways who used tracking tapes to write “I am gay” on some guy’s luggage? The airline apologized, and interestingly, the victim wrote that he better understands how gay people and minorities feel. As a straight white man, he experienced an unfamiliar sensation of chagrin when walking out of the airport with his out and proud bag, and gained a new respect for the nuanced social disfavor that can ride in the wake of a visible gay man.

I think that was good of him to recognize. The story reminded me of a recent incident that I forgot to mention to you, the case of two (straight) men at a bar who got their check and noticed that they had been nicknamed “gay guys” by the wait staff, presumably as a means to identify their orders. The men were outraged, not at being thought gay, but at the notion that someone would use perceived sexual orientation as a tag in this context. Again, apologies abounded.

And here’s something interesting! Stephen Sondheim is rewriting “Company,” making commitment-phobe Bobby a gay man and also switching genders for Joanne, the aging booze hound who sings “Here’s to the Ladies Who Lunch.”

What? You’ve never seen “Company?” Surely you jest. I will just continue as if I hadn’t heard you. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the new version of the hit musical is being workshopped, with Alan Cumming replacing Elaine Stritch as Joanne.

Not sure of the new character’s name, but I’d love to see Alan Cumming in that role.

Another long exhausting day, another thousand dollars. A matinee, a Pinter play, perhaps a piece of Mahler’s. I’ll drink to that.

And One for Mahler!

The previous topic inspired me to look up the song, which inspired me to play it on YouTube, which inspired me to concoct a vodka stinger. Unfortunately, I do not stock white crème de menthe. Indeed, who would? But I do have a ginger liqueur that could make a provocative substitute.

I’m back. This drink is not for the faint of heart. Topped off with diet ginger ale, it’s not bad. And now I want an Oreo. arostow@aol.com

Read more @www.sfbaytimes.com and check us out on Twitter and Facebook.

BAY T IM ES O C TO BER 17, 2013

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Castro Street Fair 201

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BAY TIMES OCTO B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 3

PHOTO BY CATHY BL ACKSTON E

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The Bay Times is a proud supporter of the annual Castro Street Fair, founded in 1974 by Castro leaders, including Harvey Milk. Celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, the 2013 event included booths and exhibits where participants enjoyed shopping, sampling food and beverages, gathering information and applauding entertainers.

People watching, dancing and connecting with neighbors and friends brightened the day. We thank everyone who came by the Bay Times booth to volunteer or say hello, request newspapers, sign-up for our e-mail lists and give all sorts of feedback we thoroughly enjoyed hearing. Photos by Rink unless otherwise noted.

BAY   T IM ES O C TO BER 17, 2013

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Real Estate and Design

Vampires and Zombies

Real Estate Mark Penn Last month, I promised to get back to looking at some numbers and trends, and I will do that shortly. But hey, it’s almost Halloween! So when I read about Vampires and Zombies in a recent real estate article, I couldn’t help but share these thoughts first. What’s the connection? These are terms that are actually being used to describe foreclosure (bank-owned) inventory.

Let’s start with the “Vampire” foreclosures. The reference here is to properties that have already been foreclosed on and are now lenderowned, but that are still being occupied by the former owners. According to CBS Moneywatch, the former homeowner may still reside there because the bank is giving them extra time to move out, or it might be because the bank prefers not to leave the home vacant.

And then there is the “Zombie” factor. This term refers to homeowners who have abandoned their properties,

expecting foreclosure, but the bank has not done so. In the meantime, the former home’s property taxes and other costs continue to accrue, all on the homeowner’s tab. So if you add up the Zombies and the Vampires, you get roughly 400,000 properties nationally, all being held off the market, and creating part of what is often referred to as “shadow inventory.”

But just like the day after Halloween, when reality sets back in, I need to bring all of this back home. The fact is, we have nothing like those numbers here in California, and even fewer in the Bay Area. Distressed properties here have dwindled considerably.

Statewide, according to RealtyTrac, the number of foreclosed properties in September of 2013 has decreased by nearly 62% over the same period a year ago. And the number of homes in “pre-foreclosure” has dropped by 50%. RealtyTrac quotes the statewide foreclosure rate as one in every 863 properties. But, in San Francisco, it’s one in 5281!

Foreclosures aren’t unheard of in the Bay Area, though. Of the nine Bay counties, three (Napa, Solano, and Contra Costa) each have rates that are higher than the statewide number. And not that much farther north, Lake County has the highest rate in the state, at one in 311.

But the news is not all bad for these mentioned counties because, in fact, they are the ones poised to make the strongest comebacks. In August (2013), according to the California Association of REALTORs® (CAR), Napa County experienced the biggest (median sold) price jump at 46.7% over the same period in 2012, followed by Solano (46.3%), and Contra Costa (28.7%). Bay-wide, we saw a 24% median price increase; pretty solid, one might say, except that it was a 2% decrease over the previous month, so it appears that our steady improvement in 2013 may be slowing.

CAR just released its statewide Housing Market Forecast for 2014. It shows the median price increase is expected to be 6% next year. Not a bad investment, then? Well, compare it to this very year, which when wrapped up is expected to enjoy a 28% increase across the state. Scary news for future sellers? Well, hopefully not the stuff of vampires and goblins, but, just in case: Quick - call your REALTOR! We still have two and half months left in 2013!

A Bay Area native, Mark Penn has been a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker since 2004. He is also active in animal welfare, and is a former educator, facilitator, and air traffic controller. Mark can be reached at mark@MyHomeInSonoma.com.

(PROFILES IN COMPASSION AND COURAGE: JOE SEILER continued from page 14) JS: One major problem in our com- have him as life partner for the last 31 portunities to help others meet their munity today that I see recently is the years. I am also proud that we have potential. poor message that many of the adult been able to give back to the commuporn sites are giving our youth by lit- nity through the work of The Rich- Stu Smith is board chair emeritus of Shanti erally promoting unprotected sex.

Project, board chair of The Paratransit Comond Ermet Aids Foundation. ordinating Council, a member of the CasSS: What achievement are you most SS: W hat are your goa ls for t he proud of? tro Country Club Advisory Board and the future?

LGBT Senior Task Force, and producer and JS: One achievement I am most proud of is my relationship with my partner JS: My goal for the future is to contin- host of the public access TV program “The Ken Henderson. While no relation- ue to work on myself, gain heightened Drag Show.” KQED has honored Stu as a ship is perfect, I am very grateful to understanding, and to look for op- 2013 LGBT Hero.

(JUSTLY MARRIED continued from page 3) refuse to rent or sell a home, for no defeated Prop 8 is now challengreason other than that you disap- ing Virginia’s refusal to treat loving prove of someone’s sexual orientation gay couples as anything more than or gender identity. The current at- strangers under the law is particutorney general, once (though thank- larly welcome and heartening. Somefully no longer) the front-runner to be day, Jeff and I may be able to visit my the next governor, has called LGBT birth family – his in-laws – with pride people “destructive” and “soulless,” and optimism rather than the worry while the GOP candidate for lieuten- and dread based on the state considant governor has made homophobic ering our marriage invalid that so ofcomments that make “destructive” ten accompanies our visits back there and “soulless” sound almost like com- now. Thousands of couples like us, we hope, will before long have their own pliments in comparison. relationships treated with the legal Still, things are getting better, even back there in the Commonwealth, if recognition that is their human and more slowly than we might wish. Re- civil right. cent news that the legal team headed

by David Boies and Ted Olson that

More

News, Stories and Arts &

Entertainment online @sfbaytimes.com 18

BAY TIMES OCTO B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 3

It would be fitting, certainly, if the state that in Loving v. Virginia fought

anti-miscegenation laws all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, and lost, thereby resulting in bans on interracial marriage being overturned nationwide, were to provide samesex couples our own version of Loving and the same end to all laws banning same-sex marriages. It’s long past time for the Commonwealth fully to live up to its motto, “Virginia is for lovers,” without the invisible disclaimer, “Void where gay.”

Thom Watson, a leader in the nationwide grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA, lives in Daly City with his newly wed husband, Jeff Tabaco.

•••••••••••••••• More News, Stories, and Arts & Entertainment online

@sfbaytimes.com ••••••••••••••••

Real Estate and Design

And the Winner Is…

Project Remodel Jim Tibbs On Wednesday, October 16, I had the honor of being one of the hosts and presenters at the design and remodeling awards event known as the REMMIES. The REMMIES are awarded each year by the three local chapters of NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry, w w w.na r i.org) to recog n i ze excellence and leadership in the i ndu st r y a s exempl i f ied by t he pr ojec t s subm it t ed by t he pa rt ic ipat i n g de s i g n pr ofe s s ion a l s

i ng, for a new home t h at combines lodge-st yle aest het ics w it h h igh ly adv a nced tech nolog y to achieve zero net energ y consumption and zero carbon fuel usage.

T h i s h i g h - t e c h hou s e i nc lud e s a photovolt a ic s y stem w it h battery back-up, hydronic forced air system that heats the house with warm water, and an LED interior and exterior lighting system. A ll lighting and mechanical systems are monitored and controlled re-

T he newly remodeled ba sement includes a guest suite and a modern media room with access to the garden outside. The excavation of the enlarged space extended beyond the original footprint of the home, wh ich opened t he dow nstairs’ spaces to natural light and created a pr ivate outdoor l iv ing space. The space was completed with a combination of simple f inishes and Asian antiques that create an environment that is casual with an air of sophistication.

Learn more about NA RI and the REMMIES at San Francisco Bay Area NA RI, (sf banari.org).

J im T ibbs is the creative director of HDR Remodeling. If you would like to learn more, please read his blog at hdrremodeling.wordpress.com or follow him on Twitter @HDRremodeling1.

and contractors. The local NA RI chapters are comprised of companies located in San Francisco, the East Bay, Cont ra Cost a Count y and the North Bay from Marin to Santa Rosa—a total of 238 companies in all.

The REMMIES are presented to w i n ner s i n a va r iet y of catego ries and budget ranges including K itchen, Bathroom, Home Theat re, Resident ia l I nter ior, Resident ia l E xter ior, Ent i re House, Green Bu i ld i ng a nd H i stor ic a l Preser vat ion. Judg ing was completed in Aug ust by a t hreep er s on p a ne l r e pr e s e nt i n g t he interior design, architecture and const r uct ion f ields. T he awards were given at a festive event held at t he Pav i l ion at Jack L ondon Square, overlooking the Oakland estuary.

motely via the owner’s iPad. This house delivers the perfect combination of rustic charm and modern ef f iciency to meet the homeowner’s needs.

The grand prize was awarded to McCutcheon Construction (www. mcbui ld.com) in Berkeley for an incredible basement remodel that e x p a n d e d t h e s p a c e f r o m 175 squ a re feet to 955 squa re feet .

A l l of t he w i n n i ng project s a re worthy of mention but there are three that illustrate the high standards of this prestigious award.

In the category of kitchen design a nd const r uct ion, Bu i ld i ng L ab I nc . (w w w.bu i ld i n g l a b.c om) i n Oakland transformed the kitchen of a Piedmont home into a lightf i l le d s pa c e t h at i s f u l l y i nt e g rated w it h t he adjacent fa m i ly room. T he l a r ge i s l a nd centerpiece st radd les a nd accent uates the transit ion from the int imate eight-foot k itchen cei l ing to t he air y vaulted height of the family room. T he use of nat ura l wood cabi net s w it h a wh ite qua r t z counter top and white tile backsplash lends the space a modern look that is warm and inviting.

L ef f Constr uct ion Desig n/Build (w w w. l e f fc o n s t r u c t i o n . c o m) i n Sonoma Count y won f irst pr i ze in t he categor y of Green Bu i ldBAY T IM ES O C TO BER 17, 2013

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Be a Warrior of Love ARIES (March 21 – April 19) Harmonize your home with your head, Aries.

Make the necessary adjustments to ensure your surroundings stimulate both body and soul. A dash of domestic improvements will help heal what ails you.

LEO (July 23 – August 22) Bypass the beaten path, Leo. Formal philosophies that may have furthered your progress in the past are now fizzling fast. Ever wonder what else is out there? Explore for yourself.

better.

Astrology Gypsy Love The International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers is a global alliance of native female elders who, despite their different languages and cultures, share a common mission. By educating communities across the planet about ancient Earthbased healing practices, this peaceful circle of wise women uses time-proven traditions to dissolve destructive habits that threaten our environment, international relations, and human rights. Consider this council as our cosmic cue. Be a warrior of love.

TAURUS (April 20 – May 20) The rules are changing, Taurus. Mind-expanding messengers could enhance your higher learning and help you hop over hurdles now. Open yourself to new interpretations of the “status quo.”

VIRGO (August 23 – September 22) Use your voice, Virgo. It’s time to muse, mingle, and make an impression. Networking comes naturally, and community contacts will back your big ideas.

Strengthen strategies that substantiate your goals.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 20) Don’t jump just yet, Gemini. Before propelling into your next big project, the Universe insists that you iron out wrinkles in your wellness regimen. Boost productivity by scaling back a bit.

LIBRA (September 23 – October 22) Live large, Libra! Growth and good fortune cast a colorful glow in your career sector now. Pursue passions and be willing to work hard for what you believe in.

CANCER (June 21 – July 22) The cosmos cares not about who is “right” or “wrong” now, Cancer. Challenges you’re currently encountering are possibly blessings in disguise.

Contrast can be a canvas for creative expression.

SCORPIO (October 23 – November 21) Sure, tending to tedious details serves a solid purpose sometimes. But it behooves you to behold the big picture now, Scorpio. Zoom out, and take it all in.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 – December 21) For one of the zodiac’s most prestigious party animals, you’ve been dabbling in some deep dealings lately. Shed excesses and summon your center, Sagittarius. Lighten up by letting go.

CAPRICORN (December 22 – January 19) Shift happens, Capricorn. Liberating “losses” will prove to help generate future gains if you remain authentically aligned with your soulful intentions.

Trust your instincts. Special partners will reveal themselves.

AQUARIUS (January 20 – February 18) They say good leaders must first be good servants.

This concept describes your astrological outlook, Aquarius. Tune in humbly to your tribe now.

Uphold your reputation by keeping it real.

PISCES (February 19 – March 20) Confusion can be cleansing, Pisces. Allow celestial currents to wash over you. Investigate alternative solutions and entertain artistic impulses. Believing in the unseen isn’t a whimsy – it’s your birthright.

www.AstrologyByGypsyLove.com

Gypsy Love’s astrology readings have helped 1000’s of people attract what they authentically desire.

As Heard on the Street . . .

compiled by Rink

AL L PHOTOS BY RIN K

If you were President of the United States, what’s the first thing you would do?

Royce Lin

Russell Kassman

Emma Peel

Ben Leong

Nina Grossman

“I would put the Republicans in their place.”

“Make Congress go into session until they settle their conflicts.”

“I would do exactly what the President is doing.”

“I would have ended the stalemate in Congress by a special election to replace those who do not perform.”

“Bring in Chris Christie to eat all of the Republicans.”

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BAY TIMES OCTO B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 3

Arts&Entertainment The Cowardly Lion Really Is a Friend of Dorothy adds new songs by Lloyd Webber and longtime songwriting collaborator Tim Rice.

Lee MacDougall, who plays the Cowardly Lion in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new stage production of “The Wizard of Oz,” isn’t looking for the Yellow Brick Road in San Francisco. He’d rather hang out in the Castro. “San Francisco is like a paradise to me,” he recently told the Bay Times. “I’ve traveled to a lot of places while on tour, but San Francisco is a favorite.”

“I love the role,” MacDougall says.

“It’s a lot of fun. The adaptation we are doing is very faithful to the film, but there’s more humor for kids and adults too.”

MacDougall, born in Northern Ontario, Canada, even did live here for three months, while he played “Harr y” in the or ig inal cast of “Mamma Mia!” But now he’s journeying through the magical land of Oz on stage at the Orpheum Theatre during a short two-week run engagement. The show is an enchanting adaptation of the treasured classic, adapted and reconceived for the stage

by Lloyd Webber and Jeremy Sams.

It contains all of the beloved songs from the Oscar-winning score, but

The most memorable stage moment probably was when MacDougall met Tim French- now his husband- during another, earlier production of “The Wizard of Oz” in Toronto. “I was playing the Scarecrow in that production,” MacDougall recalls.

French, a talented director and choreographer, was one of three Crows. “A very sexy Crow,” MacDougall adds.

The two now share a home in Stratford, Ontario.

MacDougall has many credits as an actor, notably spending six seasons with the Stratford Festival, but he also works as a director and writer.

The film of High Life, for which he

Lee MacDougall as the Cowardly Lion wrote the screenplay, concerns four morphine addicts who try to rob a bank machine. The film earned him a nomination for a Writer’s Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award in 2010 and a nomination for a Genie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay the following year.

The drug of choice in Oz, however, is poppies. You won’t even need those once you mentally escape into

this colorful, entertaining production. MacDougall’s Cowardly Lion is joined by the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, Wizard, and Dorothy, who is played by Danielle Wade. The Canadian public, through CBC TV’s reality show “Over the Rainbow,” chose her. “We won a bit of a lottery ourselves, since she is quite wonderful,” MacDougall praises. We think the same about MacDougall, who has

volunteered and earned substantial funds for several charities. We look forward to seeing him on stage, as well as enjoying our Castro hospitality these next few weeks.

“The Wizard of Oz” is at the Orpheum Theater, 1192 Market Street at 8th, until October 27. For tickets and more information, please call 888-746 -1799 or visit www.shnsf. com/online/wizardofoz #OzSHN.

P HOTOS BY CY LLA VON TIEDEM A NN

Lee MacDougall

PHOTO BY CYLLA VON T IEDEM ANN

There’s been some unintentional humor on stage as well, thanks to real dog Toto. MacDougall explains that some of the dogs playing the role are ultra professional, such as a very trained one that has performed in the musical “Annie.” Others…not so much. “We’d call out, “Toto!” and the dog would come, or sometimes just run around the stage.”

Meet Norm Lewis at Bay Area Cabaret

Bay Area for this special one-nightonly engagement 5:00pm, Sunday, October 20, at the historic Venetian Room of the Fairmont San Francisco, 950 Mason Street. Tickets ($43-$48) are available at www.bayareacabaret. org or by phone at City Box Office (415) 392-4400.

PH OTO B Y PE T ER H UR LE Y

Mr. Lewis took Broadway by storm last season, starring opposite Audra McDonald in 2012’s highly-acclaimed The Gershwins’ Porg y and Bess.

His performance brought the singer/ actor critical praise, as well as Best Leading Actor nominations for the Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Awards.

The dynamic actor has also had roles on television and currently stars as Senator Edison Davison on ABC’s hit political-drama Scandal.

Continuing its 10th Anniversary Season, Bay Area Cabaret presents Tony Award-nominated Broadway star Norm Lewis. Mr. Lewis comes to the

After making his Broadway debut in The Who’s Tommy, the powerful baritone earned notable roles in Miss Saigon, Side Show, Dreamgirls, Chicago,

Dessa Rose (Drama Desk nomination), and The Wild Party. While co-starring with Barbara Cook and Vanessa Williams in Sondheim On Sondheim, critics singled out his performance of “Being Alive” as one of the highlights of the production. He also appeared on Broadway as “King Triton” in Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

Mr. Lewis’ portrayal of “Javert” in Les Misérables received such critical praise that he was asked to reprise the role in the 2006 West End production, the all-star 25th anniversary concert version filmed at London’s O2 Arena in 2010, and again at the St. Louis MUNY Opera this summer.

Most recently he starred opposite Laura Benanti in New York Public Theatre’s new musical adaptation of The Tempest (in which The New York Times called his performance “regal.”)

This fall, he will begin a tour of Scandinavia with Sweden’s biggest musical theatre star, Peter Jöback (Phantom of

the Opera). Lewis can be heard on his solo album, This Is The Life, as well as many cast recordings.

Bay Area Cabaret was founded nine years ago by f ifth generation San Francisco native Marilyn Levinson as a not-for profit organization.

Through its concert series and wideranging outreach activities, BAC aims to expand the definition of cabaret and broaden the audience for intimate entertainment, offering Great American Songbook entries from Harold Arlen and Stephen Sondheim to Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joni Mitchell. Past seasons have featured Sutton Foster, Barbara Cook, Marvin Hamlisch, Christine Ebersole, songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Peter Gallagher, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Stacey Kent and Jane Monheit, Rent stars Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, and the high school vocal competition Bay Area Teen Idol.

Bay Area Cabaret will continue its 10th Anniversary season with America’s Romantic Piano Sensation Jim Brickman with Broadway’s David Burnham (November 10, 2013). In the new year, Bay Area Cabaret welcomes John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey in “This Must be the Place” ( January 19, 2014), Chita Rivera in “Chita Rivera: A Legendary Celebration” (February 23, 2014), Stacey Kent in “The Changing Lights,” (March 15, 2014), rising pop star Morgan James (April 6, 2014), and Karen Mason in “Secrets of the Ancient Divas” (May 18, 2014).

For Bay Area Cabaret patrons, The Fairmont San Francisco offers a delicious buffet dinner in the Laurel Court Restaurant & Bar for $40 (plus tax and tip), plus four hours of free parking for all who dine in the Laurel Court. For more information, visit www.bayareacabaret.org.

BAY T IM ES O C TO BER 17, 2013

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“French Cinema Now” Features Plenty of Ooh La La for Queer Francophiles

Film

Gary M. Kramer The sixth annual French Cinema Now, November 7-10 at Landmark’s Clay Theatre, is a chance for moviegoers to see the latest work by significant Francophone filmmakers.

Possibly the hottest ticket at the Festival will be Stranger by the Lake, written and directed by Alain Guiraudie. This sensational f ilm depicts a love triangle that develops at a cruising area as Franck (Pierre

ter Michel (Christophe Paou). Even though Franck spies Michel drowning his boyfriend, Ramière (FrançoisRenaud Labarthe), he can’t resist coupling up with the murdering hunk.

However, he is frustrated that their relationship is limited to their lakeside assignations. Curiously, both men lie to Inspector Damroder ( Jérômre

thriller—which is shot in a series of hypnotic, repetitive sequences—plays with issues of attraction and voyeurism, trust and truth as the characters strip down on the beach, swim naked in the lake and stroke and sometimes suck each other off on the woods.

Director Alain Guiraudie’s f ilm is incredibly atmospheric and uninhibited, and viewers will be breathing heavy during the erotic trysts and as the tension increases in the final reel as a series of violent murders occur.

In an interview after a recent screening of the f ilm, Guiraudie cited a familiarity with the location (which is near his home in France), and discussed how he approached filming naked men on the beach.

Deadonchamps) befriends Henri (Patrick d’Assumçao), but lusts af-

Chappatte), who is investigating Ramière’s death. This seductive erotic

“Looking directly at them, if they have their legs spread out, their sexual organs appear large. I thought I could move the camera off to the side, but in (continued on page 26)

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb From a Fun Nun

Sister Dana sez, “What’s all this about raising the debt ceiling? Won’t it be more difficult to reach it - to dust or change light bulbs? But seriously, every time the debt ceiling needs to be raised, opponents of Social Security and Medicare-Medicaid hold our economy hostage with a ‘grand bargain’ to try to push through deeply unpopular cuts to our earned benefits. We cannot let the Repugnicans touch our entitlements!”

But on to better news. It was A PERFECTLY SUITED EVENING at HORIZONS’ annual gala dinner & casino party at The Fairmont, honoring Ambassador James C. Hormel - philanthropist, activist, and U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg (19992000). The evening also featured entertainment by Terry Bradford, whose past singing performances include duets with some of popular music’s biggest divas such as Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Sir Elton John.

Jewelle Gomez presented the Leadership Award to Hormel as a force in our struggle for equality as both a donor and strategist. In the Bay Area, his name often leads lists of generous contributors to nonprofit organizations serving LGBTQs. He has played a key role in galvanizing the philanthropic and political response to HIV/AIDS. In 2005, Horizons launched something not seen before - a single, permanent fund dedicated forever to the freedom and wellbeing of our community, built primarily through gifts. Executive Director Roger Doughty spoke of how Horizons exists to mobilize and increase resources for the LGBTQ movement and organizations that secure the rights, meet the needs, and celebrate the lives of queers. Horizons empowers individual donors and promotes giving as an integral part of a healthy, compassionate community. Horizons stewards a permanently endowed fund through which donors can make legacy gifts to ensure the community’s capacity to meet the future needs of LGBTQs. Femcee Tita Aida brought out RuPaul’s Drag Race star Monica Beverly Hillz and Josh Klipp and the Klipptones to entertain at Sir Francis Drake for TRANSGENDER LAW CENTER’s annual gala, SPARK! celebrating 11 years igniting change.

Awardees were honored: Shawna Virago with Vanguard award- “Shaw-

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BAY TIMES OCTO B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 3

na was a vital voice in TLC’s early days,”said Chris Daley. “She always pushed the organization to involve the community and be accountable to community needs, spending countless hours to help frame the organization and launch many of the programs that are still in effect today;” Kortney Ryan Ziegler, PhD with Authentic Life: “In his filmmaking, writing and community engagement, Kortney is forward thinking – he’s creating opportunities and visible space for transgender people broadly, and transgender people of color especially,” said Shawn Demmons; Lisa Mottet with Ally: “As she has improved the lives of those affected by her policy advocacy, she has also improved the lives of those she mentored and advocated for personally and professionally. This, in turn, has created a wider, more powerful movement,” wrote over 60 nominators nationwide; and Drs. Judith Lively, Jennifer Slovis, and Susanne Watson, Physicians of Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, with Community Partner awards: “These incredible women have changed the Kaiser experience for transgender community members in Northern California,” said Alix Sabin. “If you meet them, you’ll get goose bumps – they’re totally dedicated caregivers, authentic people, and world-class champions of transgender health care.”

SHANTI PROJECT celebrated its 39th anniversary with its annual signature dinner, COMPASSION IS UNIVERSAL, presented by The Honorable James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen held at the Hilton Union Square. Emcee Janet Reilly introduced Shanti Executive Director Kaushik Roy, who said, “As the implementation of the Affordable Care Act continues, it is imperative for each local community to ensure their most (continued on next page)

Stefanie Goldstein’s Angelic Coloratura Graces Opera as Well as Rock sance Voices, the La Jolla Symphony Chorus, and the Stockton Chorale, among others. She also performs a wide variety of repertoire, including early music, opera, musical theater, and even gothic rock.

Gems of The Bay Kippy Marks Stefanie Goldstein’s voice and style are like that of no other. Her angelic coloratura and impressive range have been dazzling audiences for years. It’s as though nature itself comes alive when she performs, awakening all of the listener’s senses. She is truly a Diva, in every positive sense of that grand term.

Her voice, described as “pure, silvery and ethereal,” has shined during performances with the San Francisco Lyric Opera, the Golden Gate Opera, Urban Opera, San Francisco Renais-

Stefanie was born on a Friday the 13th, but that was lucky for us! Raised in Lodi, California, by parents Terry and Cora Sue Wetter, Stefanie is the youngest of two and has a brother named Spencer. She started her musical journey at the age of five with piano lessons, and stayed with them until the age of twelve. She then started going to youth groups at St. Anne’s Catholic school, and found that she kept getting compliments and praise on her singing abilities. This sparked her interest to join the choir at Lodi High, where she won several honors.

She continued to sing through her time at Joaquin Delta College.

Stefanie has continued taking voice lessons for fifteen years but shares, “Even though I am a classical singer, I’ve had somewhat of a non-traditional music career. I love the merging of classical with rock music and enjoy having a foot in each of those worlds.”

Stefanie’s inf luences include Annie

SISTER DANA SEZ (continued from previous page) vulnerable citizens continue to access ues to facilitate monthly support group appropriate care and support.” He meetings for other Shanti volunteers. added, “I believe Shanti has a significant role in how San Francisco em- Senator Mark Leno presented the braces this challenge.” Shanti’s found- James C. Hormel Client Community er, Charlie Garfield, announced the Spirit Award to Matt Dorsey, comlargest gift ever pledged - a $600,000 munications director for the SF City donation from supporter Michael Attorney’s Office for the last 11 years.

Murphy, whose wife Margo passed Dorsey has led media strategy and away from breast cancer in 2011. Gar- outreach efforts to support the city’s field then presented the Margot Mur- nationally-significant legal actions to phy Breast Cancer Inspiration Award win marriage equality in California, to Jill Isenstadt, a Shanti volunteer protect consumers, and expand access for seven years. She began by run- to quality, affordable healthcare. He ning beading workshops for the Shanti was elected to SF’s Democratic County Breast Cancer Program and, after a Central Committee in 2012, where he year, completed the Peer Support now serves on the local party’s execuTraining in 2007. She was with her cli- tive board as corresponding secretary. ent, Magna, for five years, and contin- After being diagnosed with HIV in

Haslam and her band Renaissance, Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, Kristy Thirsk, and progressive rock/folk bands of the 70’s.

Stefanie moved to San Francisco eleven years ago and was drawn to the Bay Area by the ocean, the culture and magic that she always felt about this area. Stefanie currently sings in a gothic ethereal band called Accolade. It is technically a rock band, but Stefanie sings in a classical style.

Accolade uses a lot of fun and colorful instrumentation, such as that provided by mandolin, harpsichord and recorder. Stefanie’s husband Aaron plays guitars, keyboards, and various other instruments in the band. There is also a drummer who just joined the band last year.

Stefanie Goldstein I asked Stefanie what her dream is, in regards to sharing her gift of music to people. Stefanie said, “I hope to reach people who need to hear me, who need hope and healing in their lives. My dream is to offer the same inspiration to others that I’ve received from the singers and bands that I have admired.”

Accolade is getting ready to release its second album on vinyl, and just returned from a tour in the Pacific Northwest to promote this new album. For three years now, Stefanie has also served as the head singer and the music director for the Chapel of the Divine Mother. Stefanie additionally performs in a medieval and renaissance musical duo with her husband.

You can view and experience Stefanie Goldstein at w w w.stefa n ie goldstei n.com a nd w w w.reverb -

2003, Dorsey became a Shanti client in the Shanti L.I.F.E. Program on the advice of a good friend. He has since become a strong Shanti supporter and a vocal advocate for the Shanti L.I.F.E. Program’s approach to HIV education and health-enhancement.

inspired in each of us. Our honored brothers and sisters across North America were asked to join the 7pm toast, join us in spirit, and raise their glasses wherever they were in toasting the incredible life of our beloved Emperor Steven.

The Monarchs of San Francisco gathered in Twin Peaks bar on October 10th for an informal, but honored, toast in loving memory of SF’s beloved Steven Rascher, Emperor XVI of San Francisco, After Norton. Emperor Steven was one of San Francisco’s most iconic, noble, and finest emperors. Friends and family celebrated his always honest and noble contributions, along with the wisdom and love he

Visit www.glaad.org/spiritday and go purple on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and all of your other social media sites. Let’s turn the entire world purple and send a clear message that bullying isn’t a good look on anyone.

We need your help to make sure that when an LGBT young person logs online this week, they’re greeted by a tidal wave of support. Turn your profile pics purple and then, on Oc-

n at ion.com/d iv a st a n ie a nd her band Accolade at w w w.youtube. com/accoladesf, www.accoladesf. com , w w w.fa c eb ook .com/a c co ladesf, w w w.reverbnat ion.com/ accoladesf, and www.soundcloud. com/accoladesf.

Violinist Kippy Marks entertains audiences worldwide with his inspirational compositions and lively performances that draw from classical , jazz, blues and dance. www.kippy marks.us

tober 17, don’t forget to show your spirit by wearing purple.

LADY BUNNY starred in her first EssEff full-length one wo-man show in almost half a decade, THAT AIN’T NO LADY! at the gayborhood nightclub Rebel. Her patter was fast-paced and action-packed with many glitzy costume changes, lotsa props such as squeeze bottles and dildoes, funny videos, and Bunny’s trademark gravity-defying bouffant wig. No lengthy monologues or sappy show tunes here.

Since there were a lot of clever pop music parodies, it helped if you knew the tunes. But the show was sooooooo naughty that I really can’t say much more. Except she did do some hi(continued on page 26)

THE WOMEN’S BUILDING 35th ANNUAL

CELEBRATION OF

CRAFTSWOMEN SAVE THE DATE November 9th 10th & 11th 10am-5pm FESTIVAL PAVILION FORT MASON FOOD - ENTERTAINMENT CONNECT WITH YOUR COMMUNITY w w w.ce le brat ionof c raf t swome n.org w w w.wome nsbuilding.org

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compiled by Robert Fuggiti

See many more Calendar items @ www.sfbaytimes.com

The Poetics of James Broughton Exhibit will be at James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center through January 16.

Jack the Ripper – The Hypnodrome. $30-$35. 8 pm. (575 10th St.) www.thrillpedlers.com.

An evening of horror, madness, and song to commemorate the 125th anniversary of “Jack the Ripper.”

Through November 23.

Forbidden Fruit – The Garage. $20-$25. 8 pm. (715 Bryant St.)

www.715bryant.org. A tale of two married gay men and their lives before they met.

Spencer Day – Yoshi’s. Oakland. $24/$16. 8 pm & 10 pm. (510 Embarcadero West, Oakland) www. yoshis.com. Contemporary Jazz singer Spencer Day weaves a seductive web that includes smokey noir, surf guitar, with a touch of youthful Sinatra and other

influences. Enjoy 25% off with promo code: “List.”

¡OJALÁ! – The Foundation of the Sacred Stream. $20. 9 pm. (2149 Byron St., Berkeley) www.brownpapertickets.com/event/472272. Join Linda Tillery, Amikaeyla Gaston, Barbara Higbie, Regina Wells, Michaelle Goerlitz, Elizabeth Sayre and Carolyn Brandy in this fun and heartfelt concert.

Shop for a Cause – suiGeneris.

Free. 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. (2231 Market St.) www.aofsf.eventbrite. com. Party and shop for a cause during this designer consignment event: 20% of all sales will be donated to Academy of Friends.

Hardbox – Powerhouse. $10. 9 pm to 2 am. (1347 Folsom St.) www.powerhouse-sf.com. A monthly party with hot go-go studs, strong drinks and boxing contest.

OutWest Dance – Wischemann Hall. $10-$15. 6:30 pm to 10 pm.

(465 Morris St., Sebastopol) www. outwestdance.com. Enjoy a night of LGBT country dancing, with lessons starting at 6:30 pm and dancing starting at 8 pm.

It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman – Eureka Theatre. $25$75. 8 pm. (215 Jackson St.) www.42stmoon.org. Kick off the 2013-2014 season with Man of Steel’s 75th Birthday with the daffy 1966 musical It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman. Through October 20.

Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival – Half Moon 24

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Bay. Free. 9 am to 5 pm. (500 Main St., Half Moon Bay) www.miramarevents.com. The 43rd annual festival is sure to impress with pumpkins as large as small cars.

Beautiful: The Carol King Musical – Curran Theatre. $55$210. 8 pm. (445 Geary St.) www. shn.sfcom. Long before she was Carole King, chart-topping music legend, she was Carol Klein, Brooklyn girl with passion and chutzpah.

Treasure Island Music Festival – Treasure Island. $85$275. 11 am. (Treasure Island) www.treasureislandfestival.com.

Enjoy an impressive lineup of indie bands on beautiful treasure island.

Also October 19.

Glamazone – The Café. Free. 9 pm to 2 am. (2369 Market St.) www.cafesf.com. Enjoy drink specials during the day and drag performances through the evening.

The Poetics of James Broughton – James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center. Free. 10 am to 6 pm. (100 Larkin St.) www. sfpl.org. This exhibit explores the poetic world of gay Bay Area poet and avant-garde film maker James Broughton. Through January 16, 2014.

Wanted – Q Bar. Free. 10 pm to 2 am. (456 Castro St.) www.sfwanted.com. Enjoy a night of dance and electronic music along with $2 drink specials.

Gay Bowling – Mission Bowling Club. $15. 5 pm to 8 pm. (3176 17th St.) www.missionbowlingclub.

com. Mix, mingle and meet new friends at this weekly bowling social.

Linda Tillery Singing Workshop – Montclair Women’s Cultural Arts Club. $35. 7 pm to 8:30 pm. (1650 Mountain Blvd, Oakland) www.montclairartsclub. com. Linda Tillery is teaching an amazing class focused on improving skills in singing while clapping complex rhythms. Also October 29 and November 5.

Video Tuesdays – Lookout.

Free. 8 pm. (2600 16th St.) www. lookoutsf.com. VJ 6PAC plays the best in music videos every Tuesday.

Switch – Q Bar. $5. 10 pm to 2 am. (456 Castro St.) www.qbarsf. com. A weekly lesbian dance party.

Women’s Happy Hour – Jason’s Restaurant. Free. 5:30 pm.

(300 Drake’s View Circle, Greenbrae) www.jasonsrestaurant. com. Every Wednesday queer women over 40 gather for a drink and a bite to eat.

Warrior Class – Theatre Works. $25-$52. 8 pm. (1100 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto) Winner of the Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, Warrior Class offers insight into the cutthroat world of hardball politics with a taut, topical saga of backroom engineering. Through November 3.

Smack Dab Open Mic Night – Magnet. Free. 8 pm. (4122 18th St.) www.magnetsf.org. An open mic night for all with host Larrybob Roberts.

Randy Roberts Live – Alcove Theatre. $40. 9 pm. (414 Mason St.) www.randyroberts.net. Gender illusionists Randy Roberts performs several entertaining shows.

Through November 2.

GLBT Historical Society Benefit – The Regency Center. $60+. 7 pm to 10 pm. (1290 Sutter St.) www.unmaskedgala.org. A fabulous gala to benefit the GLBT Historical Society, with delicious food, hosted bar, performances and DJs. Meditation Group – San Francisco Public Library. Free. 12 pm to 12:45 pm. (100 Larkin St.) www.sfpl.org. A weekly meditation group to find inner calmness and peace.

The Voice – Exit Theatre. $15$25. 8 pm. (156 Eddy St.) www.theexit.org. A ground-breaking solo theater piece on sex addiction and recovery.

Uncharted: The Berkeley Festival of Ideas – Freight & Savage Coffeehouse. Free. 3 pm to 4 pm. (2020 Addison St., Berkeley) www.nclr.org. A festival to bring together some of the world’s greatest thinkers—including NCLR’s Executive Director, Kate Kendell among many others.

Friday Nights at the De Young – De Young Museum. $11.

6 pm to 8:45 pm. (50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr.) www.deyoung.famsf. org. Enjoy the museum in a fun, festive and dynamic atmosphere with live music and cocktails.

com. The premier transgender club in San Francisco, with live DJs and performances.

Shangri-La – Endup. $20. 10 pm to 6 am. (401 6th St.) www.theendup.com. Keep the party going late in to the night at this monthly dance party.

Beer Bust – 440. $8. 3 pm to 8 pm. (440 Castro St.) www.the440. com. Drink or bust!

Salsa Sundays – El Rio. $10. 3 pm to 8 pm. (3158 Mission St.) www.elriosf.com. Enjoy live music and dancing every second and fourth Sunday.

Motown Monday – Madrone Art Bar. Free. 6 pm. (500 Divisadero St.) www.madroneartbar.com. Dance the night away to favorite Motown songs and remixes.

Mahogany Mondays – Midnight Sun. Free. 8 pm. (4067 18th St.) www.midnightsunsf.com.

A live drag variety show with $5 drink specials all evening.

Writing for Wellness Workshop – Woman’s Cancer Resource Center. Free. 1 pm to 3 pm. (5741 Telegraph Ave., Oakland) www.wcrc.org. A workshop to focus on using all of the senses for healing, community-building and creativity.

La Bota Loca – Club 21. $5. 9 pm to 4 am. (2111 Franklin St.) www.club21oakland.com. A weekly Latino dance party with hot go-go dancers and strong drinks.

Midnight Show – Divas. $10. 10 pm. (1081 Post St.) www.divassf.

Cock and Bull Mondays – Hole in the Wall Saloon. Free. 8 pm to 2 am. (1369 Folsom St.) www. holeinthewallsaloon.com. Enjoy an easy-going crowd and drink specials all night.

Beach Blanket Babylon – Club Fugazi. $25-$130. 8 pm. (678 Green St.) www.beachblanketbabylon.com.

Enjoy Steve Silver’s famous musical revue packed with hilarious pop culture and political antics.

Easy – The Edge SF. Free. 7 pm to 2 am. (4149 18th St.) www.edgesf. com. Enjoy $2 well drink specials and a fun-loving crowd.

Meow Mix – The Stud. Free. 9 pm. (399 9th St.) www.studsf.com.

A weekly cabaret variety show with drink specials.

Meet the Bride of Lesbostein – The Garage. $15. 8 pm. (715 Bryant St.) www.crackpotcrones. com. The Crackpot Crones proudly announce their first Halloween show, Meet the Bride of Lesbostein, a lesbian version of the Frankenstein story. Also October 31.

Sex and the City Live – Rebel. $20. 7 pm. (1760 Market St.) www. velvetrageproductions.com. Enjoy hilarious renditions of you favorite episodes, in drag.

Candlelight Flow Community Yoga – LGBT Center. Free. 7 pm to 8 pm. (1800 Market St.) www.sfcenter.org.

Replenish your energy level with this weekly “Candlelight Flow” class.

“The Ungodly Listening Party” – Dolores Park Café. Free.

8:30 pm. (501 Dolores St.) www. katharinecole.com. Enjoy Katharine Cole’s “There is No God” CD Release party with performance by Katharine, listening and libations.

“Jack the Ripper” will be at the Hypnodrome Theatre through November 23.

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(FRENCH CINEMA continued from page 22) the end, we decided it was better to do it in this very frontal way. That’s how it is! I’ve gone to these kinds of nude beaches. You look directly at them, and that’s what you see. Nothing is hidden. Some things need to be hidden [for the story] but nothing about the body needs to be hidden.”

His full-frontal strategy is not just to titillate viewers, but also to focus the audience’s point of view. “It was predominantly about how to look, and how things look. How do I ‘show’ what you are looking at?” He continued to explain his point of view as: “How do we look at things? And how are the ways we look at things received by the object that we are looking at? You can have the same look and one point of view can be benevolent and loving, but the next day, you can be looking at the same image or view, and suddenly, it can seem very disturbing, threatening and oppressive.”

Stranger by the Lake plays well with these conf licting points of view— merging Franck’s vision of the murder with the narrative in one dazzling long sequence, but the entire film is mesmerizing.

Another f ilm at the festival that should interest queer viewers is Vic + Flow Saw a Bear, a deliciously nasty Canadian film by Denis Côté. Vic (Pierrette Robitaille) makes it clear she does not suffer fools gladly when she bluntly dismisses a child playing a trumpet badly in the opening sequence. Moving to her incapacitated

uncle’s sugar shack in the country, it is revealed that Vic has been released from prison. She reunites with her girlfriend, Flo (Romane Bohringer), whom she met in jail, and the women are visited by Guillaume (MarcAndre Grondin of the queer classic “C.R.A.Z.Y.”), a gay parole officer, as well as other folks, including Marina (Marie Brasard), a woman who gives Vic some friendly gardening tips.

Of course, there is something sinister afoot, and Vic + Flo Saw a Bear slowly reveals what that is. Côté artfully employs both static camerawork and some nice tracking shots to create tension as his peculiar film unfolds.

There are also some darkly funny moments, as when Flo asks Guillaume to play a game by hiding in a trash bin, or when Vic asks the well-meaning Guillaume “how to be a part of society” when he urges them to go out and see people. Alas, Flo seems a bit too eager to connect with others as she beds a man she meets at a local bar, causing tensions in the lovers’ relationship. However, a far more troublesome matter arises when someone from one of the women’s past catches up to them.

Côté provides a rather fiendish finale, but he ends his provocative film with a curious but not inappropriate denouement.

Another title of interest is Bastards, the latest f ilm by writer/director Claire Denis. This stylish film noir opens with pounding rain, and then

bodies pounding the pavement. A man jumps out a window and his daughter, Justine (Lola Créton), who has been sexually abused, walks down the streets in a daze. Justine is the niece of Marco (Vincent Lindon), who seeks revenge and targets Edouard (Michael Subor) by initiating an affair with Raphaëlle (Chiara Mastroianni), Edouard’s lover. Needless to say, bad things happen because the male characters all live up to the title.

Denis’ film employs outstanding cinematography—this is the first film the director has shot digitally—but her narrative may confuse viewers.

One “dream” sequence is just a red herring, and an episode of violence against Marco, while significant, goes largely, deliberately unexplained.

Bastards may be obtuse at times, but it also has the opposite problem of underlining its horrors. When a prop illustrates the extent of Justine’s abuse, viewers may cringe imagining the scenario. However, Denis later shows video footage of the same prop being used to make its disturbing point.

Still, this intriguing film will certainly get under viewers’ skin. © 2013 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.” You can follow him on Twitter @garymkramer.

(SISTER DANA SEZ continued from page 23) lariously evil treatment of the divas: Cher, Madonna, and Gaga. Not to mention bashing that Bieber brat.

And she did dish the dirt on her gig at RUPAUL’S DRAG U on LOGO-TV as the Dean Of Drag giving straight female contestants “Lady Lessons” in couture, makeup, and manners. Lady Bunny was nothing short of filthy fabulousity! Catch her when in town again, because she promised me she would return.

The screening of GREY GARDENS with the world premiere of a special pre-show production, RETURN TO GREYGARDENS, starred Jinkx Monsoon as Li’l Jinkxy and Peaches Christ as Big Peachy, live at the Castro Theatre.

Peaches outdid herself with witty parody, flawless direction, and superb acting by the entire cast, which included the inimitable Mink Stole as herself and Lady Bear as cousin Jackie Molasses. There were multiple dancing cats and raccoons; “Tea for Two” recitals; live (not lip-synched) singing; Jerry the handyman eating corn on the cob; and the Maysles Brothers “filming” the documentary. The show even had the super-patriotic American flag waving marching finale. As a special treat, Mink Stole sang “Bang Bang! He Shot Me Down” in French. In the immortal words of Jinkxy, “I love Drag Mother. I hope she doesn’t die.”

CUMMING UP! AIDS LEGAL REFERRAL PANEL (ALRP) commemorates 30 years of serving the legal needs of people living with HIV/AIDS at JUSTICE FROM THE HEART, their 30th annual reception & auction, Wednesday, October 16th. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, ALRP Panel Attorney Selby Lighthill, and Hanson Bridgett LLP to be honored with California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano hosting and special guest Ambassador James C. Hormel. The wine and food reception is in the Julia Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange in San Francisco, 6 - 9pm. (415) 701-1200, alrp.org.

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN presents its 29th annual SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA HRC GALA DINNER & AUCTION on Saturday, October 19, 5pm, The Westin 26

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St. Francis, 335 Powell Street, (415) 397-7000. Come together with many of the Bay Area’s most influential individuals who will gather at this event to celebrate the strides HRC has made toward achieving equality for our community this past year, while preparing for the work ahead. sfhrcgala.org.

Get ready for a fun filled evening in support of a San Francisco philanthropic organization, SAN FR ANCISCO BEAUTIFUL (SF Beautiful). Honorary Chairs David and Sharon Seto invite you to SF Beautiful’s annual TOGETHER FOR SAN FRANCISCO Masquerade Gala. This remarkable night begins with a VIP reception at 6pm, followed by the Young and Beautiful After Party at 9:30pm, Saturday, October 19th at the City View at Metreon, 135 Fourth Street, 4th Floor.

(415) 421-2608, sfbeautiful.org.

Come let your freak flag fly on October 25th and join original Cockette RUMI MISSABU for a fun-filled romp of live performances including Carl Linkhart and Donna Personna with selected music videos, trailers & teasers of Rumi’s recent filmwork; Interiors, I Scare Myself, Tip-Toe Past The Witch with filmmaker James Kimba Anderson. Event will include an auction of Cockette memorabilia, the live world premiere of The Vampire, a rare screening of the COCKETTES 1971 cult classic Elevator Girls In Bondage. Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street at 17th. $10 limited seating, RSVP to: programming@oddballfilm.com or (415) 558-8117, info: oddballfilms. blogspot.com.

EVENING OF HOPE - A NIGHT OF LIFESAVING FASHION is this year’s must-see couture event by PROJECT INFORM, featuring femcee Heklina, complete with cocktails, culinary delights, VIP designer and model after-party, and music by DJ Kid Sysko and djDCM. Gorgeous models wearing fashion with a message - Condom Couture designed by local and national designers. These stunning signature pieces, partially made of condoms, are guaranteed to impress your inner fashionista! October 26, 6 11pm, City View at Metreon, 135 4th Street. projectinform.org.

Direct from Las Vegas, R ANDY ROBERTS LIVE! is at the Alcove Theatre, 414 Mason at Geary Street, 5th floor, now through November 2nd, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays, 9pm.

Randy does f lawless, spot-on impersonations of Cher with her hits, Bette Midler singing her classic “Otto Titslinger,” a feisty Cuban Miss America contestant, and himself in drag. It’s all live singing, and the voices and mannerisms are perfection. There is entertaining video between costume changes, and she even chats with the audience. brownpapertickets.com/ event/438000. In addition, gender illusionist Randy will be performing a different style of show at Martuni’s, 4 Valencia Street at Market, October 21 & 28, 7pm, reuniting with famed jazz pianist and stylist Tammy L. Hall. brownpapertickets.com/ event/454422. Seeing is believing!

GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY presents its annual UNMASK ED gala October 24th, bringing together enthusiasts of LGBTQ history for a festive evening at the Regency Center, 1290 Sutter. The gala will support the public history initiatives of the society and its world-renowned GLBT History Museum. “Unmasked pays homage to the pioneers of our community, who have made it possible for GLBT people to take off our masks and live our lives openly,”says Paul Boneberg, executive director. “This year, we’re highlighting the historic contributions of Bay Area GLBT media and journalists - and we’ll be honoring two of our own longtime volunteers for their exceptional engagement with the work of the Historical Society.”Unmasked will feature entertainment, food, and a hosted bar.

(415) 777-5455, unmaskedgala.org.

Pornocopia: latest f lick pick is Timberwolves from ragingstallion.com.

Woof!

Sister Dana sez, “50 House Republicans, led by Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin, sent a letter to Speaker Boehner urging him to make cuts to Social Security benefits before the debt ceiling is raised and our government re-opened.

And Paul Ryan published an op-ed asking for the same thing: cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in exchange for an increase to the debt ceiling. Will this spiteful, ignoble, narcissistic RepubliCAN’T Congress EVER grow a heart?!”

Round About – All Over Town – Photos by Rink

Gay Men’s Chorus members in costume attire at the Chorus’ Crescendo benefit at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Gay suicide victim Tyler Clementi’s brother James was the keynote speaker at the Gay Men’s Chorus’ Crescendo benefit and he received the Chorus’ Human Rights Champion Award on behalf of the Tyler Clementi Foundation.

Norman Tanner and December Wright of Black Brothers Esteem at Project Homeless Connect.

Dave Earl and Shanti’s Stu Smith surround Supervisor David Campos at the 39th Annual Shanti event.

Mayor Ed Lee and HOPE Director Bevan Dufty at the Project Homeless Connect event held at the SF LGBT Community Center where 85 service providers and more than 800 clients attended.

Positive Resource Center’s Lee Illion and Kent Rogers at the organization’s Opportunity Reception held at Spur Urban Center.

Members of the Chorus’ new musical group Swag performed at the Crescendo benefit.

Honoree Shawna Virago with her partner Sean Dorsey at the Transgender Law Center’s Anniversary Celebration at the Sir Frances Drake Hotel.

Jefferson Fellows and Teri TencerCutler of Larkin Street Services at Project Homeless Connect.

Performers Josh Klipp and Emily Day of Josh Klipp Host Juanita More, board member Jimmy Loyce, commissioner Cecilia Chung and the Klipptones at the Transgender Law Center Anniversary. and emcee Tita Aida at the Transgender Law Center Anniversary.

Executive Director Masen Davis, Becky Benton and honREAF’s Ken Henderson and Joe Sieler with Patrik Gallineaux and Mario Diaz oree Judith Lively, MD, at the Transgender Law Center at the Windows of Opportunity Reception.

Anniversary.

Honoree Matt Dorsey and Therese Stewart at the 39th Shanti Projeoct Compassion is Universal benefit.

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