02/08/10 V1I3

Louganis Turns 50 Page 44

G

W S , N E

AY

S T R A I G H T

F A C

T

S

Fired for Being Ô Too EllenÕ Page 9

February 8, 2010 • VOLuMe 1 • ISSue 3

LOw bLOwS & SOFt kISSeS

The Collapse of Unite Media

Page 3

Valentine’s Day Special Issue

14 page

VALENTINEÕ S DAY ISSUE

page

Jim Carrey Goes Gay

22 page

32 page

SFGNÕ s Hottest Bachelors

Richard Cortez Profile

2

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Passages

Young Gay Hockey Student Killed in Car Crash Son of LeafsÕ GM was Nationally Featured in ESPN.com Column day, and SFGN had not already been laid out, I would be reprinting it today. But go online and read it anyway. Here is the link: http://sports.espn. go.com/nhl/columns/ story?columnist=buccigross_ john&id=4685761 It is a story about a young man growing up and having to deal with the jock mentality; that often narrow and homophobic mindset. In truth, his coming out to his family is no more difficult than most experiences similarly dealt with by gay men and women everywhere. But I made a point of contacting him, congratulating him, and penciling him in for a story down the road. I grew

By Norm Kent up in a world of sports where gay men are ad late breaking news to report not often welcome; not in Super Bowl ads, or on the field. here on page 2 today.

Of Brendan’s death, his older brother About two months ago, before I started this paper, on my blog, I published Patrick told the Toronto newspapers: “He was a blueprint for how to be happy and a piece on a courageous, young gay man successful. He was genuine, he was loving, named Brendan Burke. http://nationalgaynews.blogspot.com All I was really doing was recapturing a compelling story which John Buccigross of ESPN.com had done about the 21 year old, who was the son of Brian Burke, a National Hockey League GM with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Brendan’s riveting story, superbly written by Buccigross, stirred national discussion about homosexuality in the closeted and often homophobic world of professional sports.The feature related the process whereby Brendan, who had been working in the locker rooms as a team captain for the Maple Leafs, came Brendan Burke out to his dad and family.

Yesterday, in our daily, online newspaper, he was kind, he was fearless.”

His dad, Brian, who is slated to be the www.southfloridagaynews.com, which I GM for the men’s US Hockey Team this hope you are reading everyday for new month in Vancouver, had told ESPN about stories, we had to report that this admirable bright light, Brendan Burke, was tragi- his son’s homosexuality: “I simply could not be more proud of Brendan than I am, and cally killed in a car accident on a snowy I love him as much as I admire him,” Brian Indiana road last Friday night.

Burke said in the interview. Now he has The Buccigross story was done so well lost him. So have we all. He stood up in a I had written on my blog that “I command you to go to it at once.” If it was not a Sun- forum where so many others are silent still.

S

February 8, 2010 • Volume 1 • Issue 3

Editorial officEs

“Of course we still love you,” his dad said at the time.“This won’t change a thing.”

How many gay lives may have been saved if parents all responded that way? It was a great ‘coming out’ column for a life cut too short on a snowy Indiana road.

“Imagine if I was in the opposite situation, with a family that wouldn’t accept me, working for a sports team where I knew I couldn’t come out because I’d be fired or ostracized,” Brendan Burke had told ESPN.com.”

People in that situation deserve to know that they can feel safe, that sports aren’t all homophobic and that there are plenty of people in sports who accept people for who they are.”

Brendan Burke was one of six children.

He was studying at the University of Miami in Ohio, where he worked for the men’s hockey team analyzing video and compiling statistics.

Patrick Burke said he hoped his brother would be remembered not for his sexuality, but for his bravery and character.

“If he had been born straight, he would have come up with another cause to fight for, and he would have been front and

2520 N. Dixie HigHway • wiltoN MaNors, Fl 33305 PHoNe: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943

Norm KENt PublisHer aND eDitor iN CHieF PublisHerNorM@soutHFloriDagayNews.CoM Features Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joey Amato joey .amato@southfloridagaynews .com Health/HIV Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Gallotta Correspondents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Cherin, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Fritz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jesse Monteagudo Contributing Columnists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wayne Besen, Pier Guidugli Deb Price, Jennifer Vanasco

Creative Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Dauphin Online Website Director (Master of Our Domain) . . . . . . . . Tom Forcella tommy .forcella@southfloridagaynews .com NationalGayNews .com Webmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Meyers Arts/Entertainment Editors . . . . . . Mary Damiano, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JW Arnold Office Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Clark Display Marketing Associates . . . . . Robert Brown, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brian Swinford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Fugate Display & Internet Marketing Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . Cliff Dunn cliff .dunn@southfloridagaynews .com Classified Advertising . . . . . . . . . . Mike Trottier classifieds@hotspotsmagazine .com 954-928-1862 National Sales Representative . . . . . Rivendell Media todd@rivendellmedia .com Distributor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Braun Enterprises Printing and Publication . . . . . . . . Miami Offset

Mark reedy

center in that one, too,” Burke said.

Also killed in the crash was another Miami University student, sophomore Mark Reedy, who was travelling with Burke at the time. A second life lost.

Reedy was a popular athlete whose death has left many friends equally saddened by his loss, Reedy ‘loved sports,’ and had vacationed last year in South Florida, playing volleyball every morning on the beach.

South Florida Gay News .com is published weekly on Mondays .

Our paper is a member of the Associated Press .

The views and opinions expressed within this publication, in bylined columns, stories, and letters to the editor are those of the writers expressing them . They do not represent the opinions of South Florida Gay News .com, Inc ., or the Publisher . They are included to promote free speech and diversity of thought .

You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations in SFGN, and it would be careless to do so . For the sake of readable newswriting, the word “gay” in SFGN should, when relevant, be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered community .

All of the material that appears in SFGN, both online at www. southfloridagaynews.com, and in our print edition, including articles used in conjunction with our contract with the Associated Press and our columnists, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper . Thus, nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher of SFGN, at his law office, Kent & Cormican, P .A ., 110 Southeast 6th Street, Suite 1970, Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33301 .

SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs .

Copyright©2010 South Florida Gay News .com, Inc .

Associated Press

3

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Exclusive

Sucker Punched the Inside Story

Unite Bankruptcy Low Blow to Local Businesses

By Norm Kent

T

he news came surprisingly to staffers on the morning of November 16, 2009.

As they showed up for work, a note was pinned on the doors in different cities, reading simply that “It is with GREAT regret that we must inform you that the operations of Window and Unite Media, effec­ tive immediately, have closed down.”

As we all now know, the collapse of Window and Unite Media last November led to the sudden demise of the South Florida Blade and 411 Magazine. While it may have seemed surprising and shocking to the av­ erage person reading the paper, it was no surprise to insiders. The events were a year in unfolding.

Unfortunately, the cessation of their business left in its wake scores of local businessmen holding the bag.

PCA Printers, which published 411 weekly, was left with a debt close to $100,000. But Buddy Tuchman, the owner, is philosophical: “Over the years, the gay community has been very good to me. And while the magazine was on a COD basis with me for close to a year, I was hoping they could pull it out. I did not want to be the one to pull the plug.”

Still, local freelancers were really stung bad by the sudden closures. The lists of people owed money in­ clude the popular and omnipresent photographer, Pompano Bill who was stuck for $1,062. All these are monies these persons and businesses will never collect.

Anyone who dealt with Unite Media is stuck like Chuck. Especially Chuck. The people who traded with continued on page 4

PoMPano Bill, owed $ But just haPPy to still Be working

Guaranteed return ‘Cd-type’ annuity LoCk in

4.00%

for

5 years

Company rated A+ Superior by A.M. Best.

Al Cicotte & Kevin Palombo ameriCan tax & insuranCe serviCes 2881 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33306 “The safe return of your money is our top priority”

• CD-Type annuities offer guaranteed returns, tax-favored benefits, and avoid market risk • Principal & Interest Guaranteed • No up-front fees or charges • Interest grows tax deferred • Interest available monthly • Representing 60 top rated companies

954.302.3228 www.americantaxandinsurance.com Rates effective 02/10/10 subject to change. Minimum deposit $5,000.

4

Sucker Punched continued from page 3

411 and The Blade were blue collar busi­ nessmen like Charley Braun, who delivered and distributed the papers every week.

Braun is owed almost $6,500 for ten back weeks of distribution. “In this economy, it hurts,” he said. “I still have to pay my driv­ ers. Basically, I worked for their company for free for over two and a half months.”

Who Got Stung?

Sadly, the wounds they cut carved a scythe across the local gay business com­ munity. When the doors were padlocked, Wilton Executive Suites were owed back rents of over $9,000, and since the doors were closed by the court due to the bank­ ruptcy, the owners could not lease the place for at least another two months.

Columnists as well felt the pinch of the sucker punch. Take J.W. Arnold, now an entertainment editor at SFGN: “They owed me more than $1,200, and at one point more than that. I know I will never see it. When I finally got some money, their check bounced.

I ended up being charged more than $200 in overdraft fees by my bank because I didn’t realize the check was returned. I knew then that the company was in serious trouble if they couldn’t pass a $400 check. Meanwhile, they were disingenuously advertising for new writers while not pay­ ing their old ones.”

Arnold is not alone.

The unsecured credi­ tors holding non priority claims, which is another way of saying they will never see a buck, include columnists Wayne Besen for $300, Pop Life web designer Eric Herb for $300, and pho­ tog JR Davis for $150.

Even local activist and CLAD Tile owner Earl Ry­ nerson was hit for fifty bucks, for a column which he authored and was never paid.

Freelancer Nigel Revenge, who wrote the din­ ing column, Knife and Fork, is owed $1750.

Another local businesses feeling the hit was the printer of The Blade. Southeast Off­ set is owed $18,000 and a tech company, Accelerated Solutions, which leased Unite Media their copy machines, has outstanding

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com publications, Agenda and Mark’s List Magazine.

Meanwhile, the gov­ ernment still had a paper to sell. During the sum­ mer of 2009, the SBA used representatives from Washington, D.C., to so­ licit the highest price for the failing properties. The Small Business Admin­ istration went back and forth with bidders, setting Charley Braun, out a Cool $6500 kevin hoPPer, new PuBlisher of j.w. arnold, ColuMnist stung for deadlines in July, August, By virtue of unite BankruPtCy agenda and MarkÕ s list a grand when PaPers failed and September, attempt­ lease payments due of $1,800 for a $30,000 South Florida Blade and 411, Unite Media, ing to squeeze the market for every penny machine they now have to repossess. because they had defaulted on the terms of possible. While negotiators were delaying, the papers were failing, their revenues were Pitney Bowes had leased stamp machines a business loan with the government. which were owed close to $4,700. Greg Under the terms of the loan agreement plummeting and the community’s econom­ Walker’s Fort Lauderdale Company, Dyna­ with the SBA, Window and Unite Media ic conditions deteriorating.

Already in receivership, supervision and mix, which supplies telephones, had out­ promised the government a certain level of standing invoices of close to $1,000. ADT liquidity in order to stay current. But lavish spending were in turmoil, management Security lists a $500 debt. spending and a diminishing economy, with was abandoning the venues, and revenues Even before the bankruptcy filing, the reduced credit availability, combined with were falling precipitously. The company company showed signs of its inability to the downturn of newspapers, and the me­ began routinely bouncing checks to their maintain operations. When its records were dia entities just could not cut it any longer. employees, stiffing their vendors, and fail­ filed with the US District Court in Decem­ Rather than contest the suit, the owners ing to compensate the freelance writers and ber, the listings revealed that payroll, print­ admitted their liability, acknowledged their photographers.

It was just a matter of time to see whether ing and distribution checks were routinely failings, and stipulated to an agreement plac­ being returned by banks as far back as the ear­ ing the newspapers under the supervision of the firemen could save the house before it ly summer. As late as a federal trustee and receivership, essentially fell down. It was not to be. The government dawdled while Rome burned.

September 4, a dozen relinquishing their governing powers.

Mike Kitchens would remain at the helm payroll checks were The duty of that trustee was to generate returned to staffers as much return as possible on the govern­ for the sinking ships, and the duty fell upon including Anthony ment’s defaulted loan, an amount we would him to eventually co­sign the bankruptcy papers for Unite Media in US District Court Verrico, Sherri Elf­ learn was in excess of $45 million. man, Lee Janko, Because the owners of Window/Unite as the Publisher and CEO of the South Florand Dennis Dean. were in default on this subsidized business ida Blade and 411. It could not have been “It was ongo­ loan, they were not long for this world any­ easy. The parent company was even bounc­ way. Under instructions from the govern­ ing its payroll checks to him. ment, which they agreed to, they were or­ dered to sell off all their properties Why it Happened? to satisfy as much of the Paul Schindler, editor­in­chief of the Gay debt as they could, from The City News in New York blamed it on “the Washington Blade to 411. The bad business decisions of the company, that papers were essentially up for leverage­to­the­hilt mentality…taking high auction to the highest bidder. performing properties and imperiling them Knowing that the govern­ with unthinking financing schemes.” ment had taken over a collapsed In late October, nearly two months after operation over a year before, the the date they said they were going to de­ thatÕ s all she wrote! handwriting was on the wall for the cide who could buy what, the SBA privately principals of Window Media. Fully announced the successful bidders for the ing,” admitted one former employee, now aware that the company was being liq­ various gay media in different cities, from working with Mark’s List, “maybe it is all uidated, conscious that they were going to The Washington Blade, to the South Florida for the best.” be replaced, they left the company in the Blade, to other newspapers and magazines first few months of 2009. in Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale.

Exit William Kapfer. Exit David Ungar.

Amongst the bidders in South Florida What Happened ?

In August of 2008, the Small Business Ad­ Exit Kevin Hopper, who would return only was Multi Media Platforms, a small busi­ ministration had sued the publishers of the last week to assume the helm of the new continued on page 43

5

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Ô HomoÕ Taunts Lead to Teen Suit Justice Intervenes for Settlement

By Michael Hill Associated Press

T

he bullying by classmates and taunts of “homo’’ only got worse af­ ter Jacob began dyeing his hair and wearing eyeliner in eighth grade. One student scrawled “I hope you die’’ on his shoe, he said; another drew a pocket knife on him.

Jacob’s grades dropped, and he missed school from fear. His father tried repeatedly to get school officials in their working­class village in upstate New York to help protect his son from harassment. The response by the Mohawk Central School District, ac­ cording to a federal lawsuit, was to do ``vir­ tually nothing.’’

“Everything was bad,’’ Jacob, who is identified as ``J.L.’’ in the lawsuit and didn’t want to draw attention to his new school by having his last name used in this story, said this week. “I hyperventilated when I left the school ... and I didn’t want to come back the next day, or ever.’’

606 Orton Avenue • Fort Lauderdale Beach • (954) 566 5068 • Roger@Ortonterrace.com

The Orton

Terrace

CONGRATULATES NORM KENT &

SouthFloridaGayNews.com on the rebirth of the Express and the inauguration of a great paper for our community.

Wishing you the best of success.

Roger handevidt

Orton terrace Proprietor January 25, 1980- present (And some young lawyer named Norm Kent did the closing!

receive federal funding, The 15­year­old might covers sex discrimination soon get a measure of sat­ based on gender stereo­ isfaction. The lawsuit filed types, such as when a boy

by Jacob and his father does not act or look stereo­ against the school district typically male. Stoughton with the New York Civil said that while harassment Liberties Union could be based on gender noncon­ close to settlement, ac­ formity is widespread, cording to both sides. jaCoB there have been only a The negotiations come as the U.S. Department of Justice seeks to handful of legal cases like this nationwide.

Mohawk School Superintendent Joyce intervene in the case, citing the “important issues’’ it raises in enforcing federal civil Caputo said the district denies allegations in the lawsuit, but she stressed they are rights laws.

“There is a growing recognition across working with the NYCLU and the Justice the country that schools need to take ha­ Department to settle the suit in a way that rassment based on gender expression and benefits everyone.

“We are committed to doing everything homosexuality seriously,’’ said NYCLU at­ torney Corey Stoughton. “If there is a set­ in our power to prevent bullying and to tlement in this case, that’s an affirmation of promote tolerance,’’ she said.

Mohawk is a village of modest clap­ that principle.’’

Justice officials say it’s the first time since board homes set near the river of the same 2000 that they have argued that Title IX, the name and just east of Utica. Jacob said he antidiscrimination law affecting schools that continued on page 29

6

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Local News

Pornogate on the Beach!

ConnieÕ s Boys Were Porn Stars, Mayor Had Ô No ClueÕ

By A. Sebastian Fortino

at those muscles!”

All the models, supplied by Fab Scout, did appear in “boxer short” style bathing suits. There was no lewdness.

While the singer would not have personally selected pornographic actors, she seems to have handled the situation most sensibly.

“It was only a photo op,” she said. “They weren’t running for vice­president! What are we supposed to do? Check out every member of the orchestra, too?”

Despite the stir, the controversy, and the near scandal, Ms. Francis is still one of our fans. “As far as the gay community is con­ cerned, I am in your corner 110%!”

Stated one guest, himself a Rentboy.com model, named only ‘Jeremy’: “I say bring the boys of Bel Ami to the Memorial Day festivities. Then the Beach will really be where the boys are.”

If so, we expect the Mayor, who has a demonstrated political history of being gay friendly and gay supportive, to be out… out sailing.

W

PHOTO BY CAL DEAL

hat started off as a day at the beach for Connie Francis has turned into a scandal of sorts.

Four ‘models’ were hired to escort the legendary singer to Fort Lauderdale Beach for a press conference.

Mayor Jack Seiler was also in attendance to announce the anniversary fetes planned for her 1960 film “Where the Boys Are.” The most well­known of the four actors was top­billed—occasionally bottom­filled —Falcon star Matthew Rush. Of course the SFGN photographer and I knew who he was. The question was, did Connie?

“I knew that two minutes after I met them at The Bahia Mar,” she later said Like something out of Old Hollywood the Ô BoysÕ do a little sMooChing with Connie franCis, who doesnÕ t Mind one Bit. her hairdresser informed her of the actors blue stardom! Of course!

But the Mayor was clueless, and upon hotel, the Marlin Beach, where many of the Matthew Rush and company that she had learning he was in a sea of porn stars, dis­ movie’s scenes were filmed, was one of the to admonish him.

“Pull yourself together,” she warned, tanced himself from the scene, promising most internationally known gay hotels on that taxpayer money was not used to pay the planet; a place where men could lounge reminding her they could be ‘the actor’s grandparents.’ for their appearance. Seiler also assured ev­ in the sun, nude by the pool.

“Who cares,” the friend responded. “Look “It was the epicenter of the gay commu­ eryone that the boys were there for Connie nity,” Joe A. Von Eron, and not for him. Lucky president of the Dania Dean Trantalis wasn’t Beach Tourism Associa­ elected. Might have tion said. “I was there as got a different quote. a visitor in its heyday.

The Mayor was put There was nothing like on the spot the follow­ the Marlin Beach Hotel.” ing day when an article He added, “The whole about the event ap­ hings are still not looking great for St. Vincent’s Hospital in lower Manhattan. The affair is just too funny.” peared in the Sun­Sen­ facility, which has served major gay populations in Greenwich Village, NY for de­ Connie Francis her­ tinel, Fort Lauderdale’s gay-friendly Mayor jaCk seiler cades, is facing bankruptcy. self seems to be non­ mainstream daily.

Carrying over $700 million in debt, Gov. David Paterson says he has only been able to secure The irony can only be understated. After plussed about the situation.

“Oh my God! I don’t know what to do. enough through state loans to keep the hospital afloat for the next month, and that is with find­ all, Ms. Francis was especially keen on the event, to promote “a more positive, whole­ I can’t hurt their feelings,” when it was ing some help from creditors. some, fun­loving, atmosphere in Fort Lau­ suggested she dismiss the models. Ms. The long­term prospects are still unclear for the major AIDS and trauma center that has derdale and…trying to dispel the negative Francis is so nice. She even thinks porn served Greenwich Village for more than 160 years. It’s looking for a partner to prevent closure. stars have feelings! reputation which the town had earned.”

Continuum Health Partners had expressed interest, but rescinded its offer last week after its “Everybody’s gotta make a living,” she As stated in last week’s SFGN piece, the plan to shut St. Vincent’s emergency room and inpatient units triggered opposition. city has long tried to put a distance between added.

A Continuum spokesman said the company stepped back to allow a state task force and hos­ A personal friend of hers visiting from its present, modern appeal and its past row­

Greenwich Village AIDS Center May Close

T

dy Spring Break reputation. But the very

New Jersey was apparently so gaga over

pital officials to find the best solution.

7

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

National News

jereMy williaMs aka jay arMstrong

Nailed for Porn!

reer has brought him often to South Florida as a Fab Scout model, the matter became public when he emailed friends for ad­ vice, and they reported it on the Gay Porn Blog and some national gay websites.

“From there,” Williams stated, “things have just spiraled out of control.”

“At the moment I am frightened as hell, as I have him for not one but two classes this semester,” Williams told Qweerty.com last week, “I can assure you that the matter was entirely nothing vulgar or even of my fault. [I am] Con­ fused. Petrified. I’ve worked so hard for a degree and damn!”

It’s unclear whether the school has a policy for punishing stu­ dents who star in porn. Many uni­ versities now have a moral char­ acter clause in the student code.

Separate from that, it is unknown how the Louisiana Bar Association will react to an applicant whose employment credentials include nude scenes at the end of the rope.

In the very first issue of SFGN, the newspaper began covering the story of Hollywood, Florida police officer, Mikey Verdugo, whose firing was justified by an arbitrator last December. The veteran police officer was allegedly terminated for having failed to disclose his appearance in a porn film on his employment application.

Other porn stars have faced academic consequences. John Gechter, who appeared as Vincent DeSalvo in Randy Blue films, got booted from a Christian university after a night in bondage.

Then there’s also the other power bottom, Kurt Wild. Subway fired him for filling men’s buns with meat and cheese off the clock.

Says Williams, whose last porn shoot was in 2007, “I needed to make it public so people could see what I am going through.

To be sure, I appreciate all the support I have gotten. It’s been overwhelming and shocking, to say the least. I only wish that it could have been a little more organized and thought out, as people’s lives and careers hang in the balance, including mine.”

Williams has indicated that he has con­ sulted with lawyers in town, and is pre­ pared to stand up and fight any actions taken against him. “I have done nothing wrong,” he says.

Stud Student Penal-ized?

By Norm Kent

J

eremy Williams is a University of Louisiana­Lafayette political science major and pre law student. Working as a paralegal, he is very close to graduating school with a” near­perfect” GPA. He has also studied Secondary Education.

But in the early days of his college tenure, Jeremy Williams was burning the midnight oil with a second job. He was a Mustang power bottom. His screen name was Jay Armstrong, and you may have seen him in such hardcore porn films as Alabama Takedown, Big Muscle, and Forced Entry, a film in which he famously took a double­pene­ tration. Ok, then.

The dual career has led a jaded law pro­ fessor to censor Williams verbally, claiming that Williams “needed psychiatric help for working in the adult industry.” The conver­ sation evolved out of a simple request by Williams to acquire a syllabus for a course, after he missed the first class of the aca­ demic year.

Dr. Bryan­Paul Frost, a professor of po­ litical science, wound up threatening the student with “consequences” for his “vul­ gar” career. He reported Williams to an aca­ demic standards committee.

According to Williams, whose porn ca­

Virginia Schools Censor Ô Anne Frank DiaryÕ Complain of Gay and Ô Sexually ExplicitÕ Themes

By Steve Weinstein

S

o much for smart­alecky Easterners turning up their noses at “Okies”: The Union Public Schools district Board of Education in Oklahoma recently voted to allow the book “Buster’s Sugartime” to remain on shelves. The book de­ tails the rabbit Buster following around the children of a same­sex couple as they play, make cookies and make maple syrup.

Only a few days later, on Jan. 29, the Washington Post reported that the school system in Culpeper County, in rural North­ ern Virginia, decided to stop assigning a version of “The Diary of Anne Frank” to students “after a parent complained that the book includes sexually explicit material and homosexual themes.”

The diary was written while the Ger­ man­Dutch girl, then 13, was in hiding in an Amsterdam attic with family members and others from the Nazis because she was Jewish. The book, which was saved by the people who sheltered the Franks, was pub­ lished by her father after the war.

Anne died in the Bergen­Belsen concen­ tration camp along with her sister. All of the people in the attic died except her fa­ ther. A 1955 play based on the diary is the most popular staple of high­school theater groups, along with “Our Town.”

In the years since its publication, it has become the most famous first­person chronicle of the Holocaust. Historians and literary scholars praise the book’s honest tone and literary qualities. It has long been considered one of—if not the—greatest diaries ever written by a girl in her early teens, and is extremely popular with teen­ age readers.

The book is consistently ranked among the major works of the 20th century.

The school system, however, doesn’t agree.

The controversy is over the unexpurgated “Diary,” which contains passages that her father edited out of the original edition. An English translation of the “The Diary of Anne

Frank, The Revised Critical Edition” was pub­ lished in 1995 to near­universal acclaim.

Scholars, educators and historians uni­ versally praised the new edition as a more complete version of Anne’s work and pre­ senting a more complex and nuanced por­ trait of the young writer and her cramped milieu. Since its original publication, it has continually been in print, and was a best­ seller on its release.

While the new version will be available in the school library, teachers are only to assign the earlier version. The board was respond­ ing to one parent’s complaint. The board has a stated policy of reviewing such complaints.

In this case, “The person came in, and the decision was made that day,” according to a spokesperson.

“Something that one individual finds controversial or offensive or objectionable may be really valuable to other learners in that community,” Angela Maycock of the office for intellectual freedom of the Ameri­ can Library Association, told the Post.

Commenters on Free Republic would disagree. “It seems likely that someone de­ cided saw an opportunity to sneak homo­ sexuality into school reading material and did so,” wrote one.” “Good for the parent,” wrote another.

In 1983, an Alabama textbook committee called for the book’s rejection from schools.

The reason? It was a “real downer.”

Steve Weinstein has been a regular correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, the Advocate, and is an editor for Edge Media Networks, who have allowed SFGN reprint rights to this article.

8

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

National News

Haggard Fights Ô HomoÕ Impulses:

Tells Oprah He is Still Fighting Gay Ô TemptationsÕ

By Cliff Dunn

A

n evangelical pastor who skyrocketed to Jesus Christ Superstardom as leader of one of America’s first mega­churches, then crashed and burned amid allegations of sex­for­ money male hustlers and methamphetamines, told TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey he continues to struggle with sexuality “issues.”

In a prerecorded interview that included his wife and two of their three children, Ted Haggard told Winfrey he still has “sexual thoughts about men, but they’re not com­ pulsive anymore,” and “I do have have temptations but”—you guessed it—“they’re not compulsive.”

The former mega­church pastor told the mega­host that a psychologist said that he’s a “heterosexual with homosexual attachments.”

Haggard also admitted that he’s felt gay urg­ es his entire life.

Haggard’s rise began in a Colorado base­ ment in 1984, where he founded New Life Church, overseeing its expansion into a congregation of 15,000 members. He also rose to preside over the National Associa­ tion of Evangelicals (NAE), a conservative Christian organization part­ecumenical council, part­political action committee which claims millions of members nation­

wide in 45,000 evangelical churches.

In 2006, Haggard was fired as senior pastor of New Life after allegations arose from a male escort named Mike Jones who claimed that Haggard had paid him for gay sex, and had also made purchases of methamphetamine.

He also resigned as president of the NAE. Haggard told Winfrey that the scandal forced him to deal with his gay “issues.”

“I do believe I don’t fit into the normal boxes,” he told the host. “I do think there are complexities associated with some peo­ ple’s sexuality, but it just wasn’t as simple as I wanted it to be.”

Haggard admits that he “had this other thing going on inside of me, too.”

The segment aired just as allegations of a second sex scandal involving a young man emerged. These involve a 20 year old New Life Church member, identified only as “Grant,” who accuses Haggard of initiating an inappropriate relationship with him.

New Life’s current senior pastor, Brady Boyd, confirmed that “Grant” has been paid in ex­ change for keeping quiet about his accusations.

“Grant” has said that he was motivated by the release of HBO’s documentary “The Trials of Ted Haggard,” which the 20 year old claims wrongly portrays Haggard as a victim. The documentary first aired January 28.

9

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

No Heart at Heartland?

Fired for Being Too Much Like Ô Ellen,Õ Court Rules Employee Can Sue

T

recent policy changes. hat “Ellen” Lewis has “an Ellen DeGe­ t h i n g . That neres kind of look,” accord­ is essentially ing to her former manager, why Heartland Inns of Lori Stifel. “Lewis prefers America fired Brenna Lew­ to wear loose fitting cloth­ is, according to Ms. Lew­ ing, including men’s button­ is. But, as reported last down shirts and slacks,” the week by the Courthouse ruling states. “She avoids News Service, Ms. Lewis makeup and wore her hair may have the last word. short at the time. Lewis has An Iowa hotel clerk ellen degeneres been mistaken for a male who describes herself as “slightly more masculine” can sue her for­ and referred to as ‘tomboyish.’” That was too mer employer for allegedly firing her because much “man” for Ms. Barbara Cullinan, di­ she wasn’t pretty enough and she lacked “the rector of operations.

Cullinan allegedly said Lewis lacked “the Midwestern girl look,” a panel of judges on Midwestern girl look,” and stressed the im­ the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. portance of having a “pretty” desk staff.

Here’s the background: When Cullinan told Stifel to move Lew­ Lewis said she was fired in 2007 for not con­ forming to sex stereotypes and for questioning is to the night shift, Stifel allegedly stuck

up for Lewis, saying she had been doing a “phenomenal job at the front desk.”

Well done, madam.

The next week, Cullinan asked Stifel to resign and implemented stricter hiring rules, explaining that “hotels have to have a certain per­ sonification and appearance,” Lew­ is claimed.

No good deed goes unpunished.

But Judge Diana Murphy had the last word, at least for now.

“Cullinan’s criticism of Lewis for lack of ‘prettiness’ and the ‘Mid­ western girl look’ before terminat­ ing her may... be found by a rea­ sonable fact finder to be evidence of wrongful sex stereotyping,” she wrote.

I’m gay, but if that offends you, then I’m straight.

KS THAN P! IE JACK 243

10

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

National News

NGLTF Hosts Dallas Conference

By Staff Writers

T

he 22nd National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change was held this past weekend at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel in, Texas.

Produced by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the annual forum has come to be known as the Creating Change Conference. LGBT leaders consider it the nation’s pre­eminent political, leadership and skills­build­ ing conference for the social justice movement.

Since 1988, Creating Change has been the op­ portunity for thousands of com­ mitted people to develop and hone their skills, celebrate victories, build community, and to be inspired by visionaries of our LGBT movement and allied movements for justice and equality. The plenary sessions gather groups of activists in meet­ ings designed to increase organiza­ tional and community building skill sets.

“The primary goal of the Creating Change Conference is to build the GLBT’s movement political power from the ground up,” said the NGLTF Executive Director, Rea Carey.

Day long seminars addressed a cross sec­ tion of important issues, from aging to im­ migration, concerns for persons of color,

the transgendered or the legal rights of same sex partnerships. Something for everyone.

Upwards of 2000 people attended the Creating Change Conference from all over the United States, with a few attendees from other countries. This year’s more prominent personalities includ­ ed keynote talkers such as Kai Wright, a prolific AIDS writer from Brooklyn, NY, who is featured on Root.com. Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican Ameri­ can Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), also spoke on behalf of civil rights litigation.

Kate Clinton, the LGBT movement’s funniest and smartest political commen­ tator, coming to South Flori­ da next weekend, hosted the sessions. The keynote ad­ dress was delivered by Rea Carey , the Executive Direc­ tor of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

There was a little bit of entertainment, too. Vogue Evolution rocked the house at the closing session. Fresh and fierce from America’s Best Dance Crew, Vogue Evolution has become very popular in GLBT circles.

Excerpts will appear in next week’s SFGN, and the entire talk will appear on www. southfloridagaynews.com, online.

Where Business Comes to suCCeed.

For advertising opportunities, call John Fugate.

954-530-4970

SFGN Office Manager Matthew Clark shows off his new 50 cc scooter from USA Wholesale Scooters, conveniently located at 4201 North Dixie Highway in Oakland Park, just across the street from Jaco Pastorius Park where this year’s Pride Festival will be held. Matt was there making sure the SFGN news box at their new location was stocked with our paper. USA Scooters is your place for so many types of new modular venues, it is hard to include them all here. Check out their website at www.usawholesalescooters.com, where you will find a plethora of moderately priced scooters, motorcycles, dune buggies, hybrid transports, electric vehicles, and a friendly staff willing to massage your every need.

11

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Analysis: Ô Right Thing to DoÕ

Ô DADTÕ Faces Congress as Top Officials say ‘End It!’

By Cliff Dunn Twenty years ago, it would not have happened, but last week the nation’s top military officer declared to Congress that permitting gay servicemen and women to

earl rynerson

openly serve is “the right thing to do.”

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and chief military adviser to President Barack Obama, acknowledged that while there are many opposing view­ points about ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT), its day has come. It’s time to play Taps.

Mullen, echoing the President, in his State of the Union address, told the Sen­ ate Armed Services Committee that he was “speaking for myself and myself only,” but it is a voice with clout.

Last June, at a White House gay pride event, President Obama repeated the prom­ ise he made during the 2008 presidential campaign to fight to repeal the law.

He reinforced that promise during the annual HRC dinner last October.

It all culminated during Obama’s first State of the Union last month, when he said without ambiguity: “This year, I will work

with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love be­ cause of who they are. It’s the right thing to do.”

Local reaction among South Florida GLBT leaders was cautious. “I will be disappointed if it doesn’t change,” said Earl Rynerson, own­ er of CLAD Tile and Stone in Fort Lauderdale and a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force with 20 years’ service active and Reserve duty.

“I believe that Obama intends to try to end it,” Rynerson offers.

“My concern is that some of the more politically connected senior military brass won’t actively sup­ port the change.”

Log Cabin Republican Andy Eddy, an honorably discharged gay Air Force vet, was more skeptical.

“If the president were truly com­ mitted to the repeal of DADT he would have, early on, formulated a transition team to work with Pen­ tagon officials between November 2008 and January 20, 2009 on the lifting of the ban,” he said.

Without praising Obama, Eddy is firmly opposed to the law. “I, as do others, hope that our rational and fair minded elected officials and appointed justices understand the tragedy of DADT and realize that the ban is an affront to the essence of the U.S. Constitution which offers ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ to all the citizens of this great country.”

Eddy and other gay and lesbian leaders point out that Obama could sign an execu­ tive or stop­loss order prohibiting the De­ fense Department from discharging troops under DADT. But military experts point out that an executive order would be just a temporary fix, since the 16­year­old law was passed by Congress, and so Congress must be the architect of its repair.

Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer, a retired Army nursing officer who was discharged

under the previous Pentagon policy for admitting that she is a lesbian and later reinstated to the service by federal court order, agrees. “Until the law is overturned everyone who discloses or is identified is at risk for discharge. That is what happened to many during the moratorium of 1993.”

Echoing Obama’s and Mullen’s “right thing to do” thoughts, she added: “It is be­ yond time that the 66,000 serving in the military today be allowed to do so with truth and integrity.”

In many ways, it was Obama’s personal distaste for the law that drove his resolve.

Those familiar with Oval Office strategy sessions report that the chief executive studied court cases challenging the ban and concluded that if he didn’t fight for the pol­ icy’s change, his administration would find itself defending in federal court a law that

he strenuously opposes.

Said Rynerson, a former military flight in­ structor and once a candidate for Fort Lau­ derdale Mayor: “It’ll be the first noteworthy accomplishment of this administration.”

Thirty­one nations – including Austra­ lia, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, and the United Kingdom – allow gays to serve openly in their armed forces.

According to Gallup polling, 69% of Americans (including 58% of Republicans and 58% of conservatives) favor a repeal of DADT. That majority did not exist in 1993, when DADT was passed.

A 2006 Zogby International poll of 545 Afghanistan and Iraq veterans found three­ quarters saying they were comfortable around gay service members.

According to numbers released in Febru­ ary of 2009, the Defense Department dis­ charged the fewest number of service mem­ bers for violating DADT than it had for over a decade. There were 428 dismissed, com­ pared with 619 in 2008.

In Congress, Representative Patrick Mur­ phy (D­PA), an Iraq war vet, has secured 187 co­sponsors for his Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would end DADT. He needs 218 to make it happen.

12

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Travel

Out In: Avignon, Provence, Southern France

PlaCe des CarMes

By A. Sebastian Fortino

W

hen Julius Caesar arrived here he declared “my prov­ ince.” The conqueror was so taken with the region that the name stuck.

The popes liked la Provence too. They came in the early 1300s, built the world’s largest forti­ fied palace and stayed for a century.

Avignon, the unofficial capital of Provence, is a ro­ mantic destination for Val­ entine’s Day. Its population is roughly 250,000 and more relaxed than Paris.

The city is an ideal spot to make a home base to visit the famed countryside.

in a region known for everything rustique.

There are stunning views of the city from most of the rooms. The top floor boasts a terrace where you can watch the sunset as it reflects on the crenellated walls of Avi­ gnon proper. With a pride flag flapping in the mistral winds, two in love can really enjoy the moment.

DINING IN AVIGNON The cuisine of Provence is much lighter than tra­ ditional French food. On rue de Lices—Avignon’s bohemian quarter—you’ll find my favorite restau­ rant in the city. L’épice & Love is owned by Madame Chantal, a woman with a smile as wide as the Rhone eglise st Pierre in avignon River. Her family has long THE CUBE HOTEL Perched across from the main city of Avi­ lived in the region, yet her cooking diverts gnon in Villeneuve­les­Avignon is the mid­ from traditional local cuisine. The menu is century Cube Hotel. While Avignon housed reinvented daily, written in chalk. A three­ the Pope the city across the river was built course meal costs less than twenty euros.

If the restaurant is full, simply go to Le for the Cardinals. The three friends who own the place add a touch of clean elegance Repere a few doors down and make sure

tyPiCal street sCene in nearBy City of arles

to meet owner Marc Gonzalez. Marc’s voice and laugh fill the small bar like an acorrdian. We became friends without a common language.

LE PITCHET For more traditional cuisine provencale Le Pitchet is superb. Owner Marcel Biasin comes from a strong familial culinary tra­ dition. Le Pitchet is less bohemian with slightly higher prices than Chantal’s. How­ ever, a plate of toast and tapenade is pre­ sented to diners while reading the menu and sipping local rosé.

The foie gras is local and divine.

NIGHTLIFE While you may think a town steeped in me­ dieval history would have little in the way of nightlife, think again. Per capita, Avignon has more drag queens than Paris. Be prepared to dance the night away.

For cocktails, make your way to le Scene on Place Crillion. The bar, restaurant, and nightclub is reminiscent of art deco design.

Everything glistens and shines decadently.

After champagne or cocktails, head across the plaza to l’Esclave; don’t be alarmed by

the sign saying club privé. That means the establishment has the right to deny patrons.

The club is quite a melting pot of Avignon society. You will encounter a nineteen year old student making out with his girlfriend and a group of gay men of assorted ages discussing fashion. Le Cage, a larger club, offering bottle service is outside of the old walls of the city, and also makes for a fun night out.

IMAGINE TOURS There are so many delights in Provence that a tour guide is necessary. David Price, an American expatriate, is your go­to­guy.

He has lived in the region for about a decade.

David will escort you in a private sedan to charming villages, historic chateaux, and fra­ grant vineyards. As his website links to other businesses he is the best contact a tourist can have in the region.

Helpful Links: www.cubehotel.fr www.imagine-tours.net For the complete five-part series on Provence, search Fortino at: www.edgephiladelphia.com

13

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Valentine’s Day Special Issue

Celebrate Valentine’s Day Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Are you still wondering what gift to buy your partner?

Well, you’re probably not alone. Some of my friends are having a hard time deciding what to buy as well.

The perfect Valentine’s gift should be unique and help convey your feelings about the other person.

By Joey Amato

V

alentine’s Day is the most roman­ tic day of the year for many lovers, although some people think it’s a bit too commercial.

My boyfriend Daniel and I celebrate Val­ entine’s Day every day we are together. Re­ gardless, I would like to offer a few sugges­ tions on what to buy your loved one.

I don’t encourage splurging on your sweetheart, it’s better to spend within your means. Personalized gifts are ide­ al. You don’t need to go to the extent of taking an expensive vacation or going to some fancy restaurant.

Take a moment to brainstorm things your significant other usually uses,

which you can personalize. For example, you can engrave their name on a picture frame or martini shaker. It’s quick, sim­ ple, inexpensive, but very thoughtful.

Another idea is to create a special scrapbook with pictures and special meaningful items. You can add any­ thing from subway tokens from your trip to New York to a pair of theater tickets. Be creative. The scrapbook is a symbol of your love and memories that you both share together.

Finally, consider the old saying—the way to your lover’s heart is through the stomach. Food is an expression of affec­ tion. You and your partner can eat your way to ecstasy with chocolate and oys­ ters, which claim to be aphrodisiacs.

I cook for my boyfriend quite often

and the response I get is always worth it. Try creating a dish that will inevi­ tably melt your partner’s heart. Home­ made spaghetti and meatballs work re­ ally well. Add a glass of wine, romantic music, red roses and you are guaranteed to have a wonderful evening.

The above ideas and suggestions are a guide to creating a romantic and sweet loving Valentine’s Day celebration for you and your partner. It need not be expensive or luxurious. It’s really the thought that counts.

Other suggestions: 1. Something related to their hobby— If your partner has a specific hobby, try giving something that relates to it.

2. Box of Kisses—You can get a gift box and fill it with 365 chocolate kisses.

Then add a little note explaining that your lover can have a kiss every day of the year.

3. Pictures—Another great gift idea is to take a picture of you and/or your partner and have it framed nicely.

4. Dinner and a movie—This one is simple and relatively inexpensive. Pick out a romantic movie and cook up your lover’s favorite meal. Through some popcorn in the microwave and presto, you have the perfect evening.

5. Flowers—Red roses aren’t the only option for this special day. Visit your lo­ cal florist and see what arrangements they offer.

I hope this helps. Remember, be cre­ ative. It will mean a lot more than some generic gift.

sCene froM I Love You, PhILLIP MorrIs

14

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

JIM CARREY GOES GAY! MOVIE: Ô

I Love You, Phillip MorrisÕ

even gay love. The film opens in March.

Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) leads a seem­ ingly average life—an organ player in the

By Elliot Review local church, happily married to Debbie hat’s a better way to (Leslie Mann), and a member of the local spend Valentine’s Day police force. That is until he has a severe car then in Gay Paree? As accident that leads him a fugitive? With your to the ultimate epiph­ boyfriend? any: he’s gay and he’s The Louvre will never going to live life to the be the same. fullest—even if he has to ‘I Love You, Phillip Morbreak the law to do it. ris,’ is a new movie coming Taking on an extrav­ to the Big Screen about a agant lifestyle, Steven con man who winds up in turns to cons and fraud the Big House. It is the im­ to make ends meet and probable but true story of a is eventually sent to spectacularly charismatic the State Penitentiary conman’s journey from ewan MCgregor where he meets the small­town businessman to flamboyant white­collar criminal, who love of his life, a sensitive, soft­spoken repeatedly finds himself in trouble with man named Phillip Morris (Ewan Mc­ the law and on the lam, brilliantly escaping Gregor). His devotion to freeing Phillip from the Texas prison system on four sep­ from jail and building the perfect life to­ arate occasions – all in the name of love, gether prompts him to attempt—and of­

Valentine’s Day Special Issue

W

ten succeed at—one impossible con after another. Told with an uncanny sense of humor and a lot of humor, the film is an oddball tale of what can happen when the legal system, a daredevil and undy­ ing love collide.

The film wowed audiences at last year’s Sundance Fim Fes­ tival, but had a hard time at first finding a major distributor.

Actually based on a true story, the film is on one hand a clas­ sic Jim Carrey farce, but it is painted with the realities of love, life, and loss.

Carrey in Ô i love you PhilliP Morris is so very gay

Congratulations toÊ normÊ KentÊ andÊ sFgn WelComeÊ toÊ theÊ neighborhoodÊ !

FromÊ theÊ CompanyÊ thatÊ listsÊ andÊ sellsÊ theÊ neighborhoodÊ ! Ê

castelliÊ realÊ estateÊ services 2227 Wilton Drive • Wilton Manors, Florida 33305 954-563-9889 With Offices in Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, Ê Lauderdale Beach, Port St. Lucie, and Palm Beach

15

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Must Have Aphrodisiac Foods for ValentineÕ s Day n aphrodisiac food is one that is believed to stimulate the sex drive and increase sexual performance.

These foods have been used as far back as the Romans and the Greeks to increase sexual powers. Dur­ ing those periods, people were concerned about sexual performance more so than passion itself, so a great amount of time was spent on determining what aphrodisiac foods would help this concern.

An aphrodisiac food can be suggestive, rather than cause a physical sexual reaction. In fact, many believe that some aphrodisiac foods increase and stimulate sexual desire and performance by the suggestive nature of the food and the ritual surrounding the food presentation.

LIST OF APHRODISIAC FOODS ANISEED:

The Greeks and Ro­ mans believed that aniseed had special sexual powers.

There are many uses for this aphrodisiac food and some people believe that suck­ ing on the seeds will increase your libido.

AVOCADO:

The vitamin B6 contained in the avocado is said to increase male hormone production. A note about the avocado: the Aztecs called the avocado tree a “testicle tree” because they thought the fruit hang­ ing in pairs on the tree looked like male testicles.

Arugula is also called “rocket seed” and has been documented as an aph­ rodisiac food as far back as the first century A.D. Arugula was combined with grated orchid bulbs and parsnips.

Many salads and pastas contain arugu­ la. Sometimes arugula is combined with pine nuts and pistachios.

RASPBERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES:

These are perfect aphrodisiac foods to hand feed your lover. They are red, which is the color associated with love and pas­ sion, and are high in vitamin C. RAW OYSTERS:

BANANAS:

ARUGULA:

Bananas have a wonderful, suggestive phallic shape, and are considered one of the most popular aphrodisi­ ac foods used to stimulate sexual desire and increase sexual powers. Bananas also contain potassium and B vitamins which are essential for sex hormone production.

Oysters have been a favorite aphro­ disiac food since the time of Aphro­ dite during the Greek age. Oysters are a rich source of zinc, a mineral required for testosterone produc­ tion. This male hormone is believed to increase the female libido as well. Oys­ ters are high in protein and very nutritious.

WINE: CHILI PEPPERS:

Capsaicin, a chemical that stimulates our nerve endings and raises our pulse, is re­ sponsible for the heat in chili peppers. This aphrodisiac food is also thought to re­ lease endorphins, which give our bodies a natural high. Some researchers believe that is the case with all spicy foods.

ASPARAGUS:

The phallic shape of some foods is a consideration in the selection of aphrodisiac foods. How­ ever, asparagus has more to offer than suggestive form. It contains vitamin E, believed to stimulate sex hormones which contribute to a healthy sex life and increased sexual powers.

CHOCOLATE:

Who doesn’t know about chocolate as an aphrodisiac food? On Valen­ tine’s Day, the day to express your love, more chocolate is sold than at any other time during the year. Chocolate contains a stimulant called phenylethylamine, which gives you a sense of well being and excitement similar to the natural high that endorphins give us. Researchers believe that chocolate contains chemicals that affect neurotransmitters in the brain, and a substance related to caffeine called theobromine. There are more antioxidants in chocolate than in red wine.

Combining the two can be the secret to passion.

Valentine’s Day Special Issue

A

Wine relaxes our inhibitions and stimulates our senses. The actual drinking of wine can be an erotic experience.

Moderate amounts of wine are believed to “arouse,” but excessive alcohol will make you drowsy.

16

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Valentine’s Day Special Issue

SunServe Promises ValentineÕ s Enchantment

Film Review MOVIE: A Single Man IN THEATERS: Now

Second Annual Festival Promises an Evening of Elegance

A Gay Celluloid Gem Not to Be Missed

By Joey Amato

By Deb Price

S

unServe’s First Annual Val­ entine’s Enchanted Evening was held in 2009 to a sold­ out room of 100 guests, and this year’s event is likely to be even more memorable.

SunServe, an organiza­ tion focused on provid­ ing resources for economically disadvantaged, marginalized youth, senior adults, people of differing abili­ ties and those with life­ challenging health condi­ tions in the LGBT community in greater South Florida, came up with the theme evening in order to provide same­sex couples and their friends with a safe, comfortable and high­end Valentine’s evening.

When asked about why this event was created, Executive Director Mark Adler, stated “We wanted to host an event that would be a special thank you to our community and to our supporters.” Board Co­Chair, Dino Georgiou, suggested the organization make their annual signature event an elegant, but fun, Valentine’s Enchant­

Mark adler

ed Evening: “This event was designed to provide LGBT couples, individu­ als, and their friends with a memora­ ble Valentine’s experience where they can hold hands, dance and let their hair down without having to worry about that family from the mid­west sneering at them from the corner.”

The evening starts off with cocktails and fine hors d’oeuvres on the patio of L’Hermitage on the beach and opens into a lavish din­ ner by Thierry’s Cater­ ing with open bar and live entertainment followed by an evening of dancing in the L’Hermitage ballroom. Adler states, “The intimate setting for 120 guests allows an opportunity to connect with friends and to make new ones.”

This year, Valentine’s Enchanted Evening will be held on Saturday, February 13 at L’Hermitage Ball­ room at A1A and Oakland Park Blvd. Tickets to the event are lim­ ited and can be purchased online at www.SunServe.org, or by call­ ing 954­764­5150. Individual tick­ ets are $150 and couples are $300.

All pro­ ceeds raised at this event go to support the programs and services of Sun­ Serve including the Noble A. McArtor Adult Day Care Cen­ ter.

C

ollege English professor George Falconer, the lead character in the poignant new film “A Single Man,” suffers from an all-too-common, devastating illness: a broken heart.

George had achieved something quite enviable at any time, let alone in the conformist years after World War II, when a snickering aside that someone was “light in his loafers” could torpedo a career.

He’d settled down with the love of his life, blissfully becoming “George and Jim.” As we see in a bittersweet flashback, the couple built an idyllic life in Southern California, so comfy that neither wants to get up from where they’re cuddled up reading—their sweet pups nearby—to change the music. The dogs are the smart ones, Jim observes, because they savor the now.

“What could be better than being tucked up here with you? If I died right now, it’d be OK,” Jim says.

“Well,” George responds, “it wouldn’t be OK with me.”

But, as anyone who’s lived long enough to fully appreciate this celluloid gem knows, life’s twists and turns include heartbreakers that, thank you very much, really aren’t OK with us.

George’s comes when Jim dies in a car crash on an icy road while visiting his parents. Drowning in grief, George, like a character out of the depressing novels he teaches, no longer believes there’s a point to living. We watch him for a day, the one he plans to be his last.

This film lover saw “A Single Man” twice over the holidays, reveling in the chance to see, yes, a “gay” film.

Both times, the theaters were packed with a gay and straight mix. I couldn’t help wondering why the film industry still resists telling good gay stories.

This one is based on Christopher Isherwood’s novel of the same title, a book I inhaled in my tumultuous early 20s, when I was struggling to mend my own heart and

find my way as a suddenly single gay woman.

Mostly closeted but just brave enough to search for guideposts, I frequently found myself in a gay bookstore, looking for answers in the works of Isherwood, Truman Capote, E.M. Forster and Tennessee Williams. Just the act of reading something by someone known to be gay felt empowering. Somehow if Truman Capote could be gay in a very straight world, maybe I could, too.

In the 20-plus years since then, much has changed: George and Jim could have married in California during the brief window of possibility that voters shut in November 2008.

But plenty hasn’t changed, including the film industry’s maddening reluctance to touch gay stories. “Brokeback Mountain” and “Milk”

PriCe says filMÕ s a Ô geMÕ

were precious—and all too rare.

Like those winners, “A Single Man” looks destined to nab an Oscar or two, with powerful performances by Colin Firth as the shattered George and Julianne Moore as Charlotte, his gin-soaked best friend, who yearns to be as close to someone as George was to Jim. There are moments in the film where the singular hurts and indignities of being gay and “invisible” burst through: George isn’t allowed at Jim’s funeral because it’s “family” only.

And Charlotte can’t help throwing herself at George as she tries convince herself that gay relationships are inferior to “a real relationship with kids”—in other words, a heterosexual one. But George, his grief finally erupting, shouts back: “There is no substitute for Jim, anywhere. ... Jim and I were together for 16 years. And if he hadn’t died we’d still be together.”

Who could not feel his pain?

Grief. Loss. Heartbreak. Fury at life’s injustices.The aching search for meaning when hurt seems all that’s still real.The sudden appearance of human “angels” to shepherd us through dangerous hours.These are universal themes, as “A Single Man” exquisitely shows.

Deb Price of The Detroit News writes the first nationally syndicated column on gay issues.

17

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

deli • drinks • delightful food

Religion

MCC of Palm Beaches Hosts Holy Union Sunday, February 14 at 4pm

O

n Sunday, February 14, 2010, the Metropolitan Community Church of the Palm Beaches is holding a “COMMUNITY” Holy Union or Re-Commitment ceremony.

A Holy Union is a formal religious ceremony of commitment for couples of the same gender. A Re-Commitment is a celebration of your Holy Union or previous commitment. Commitment vows will be taken and rings will be exchanged.

“The sacred ceremony and commitment will be made to God and each other in the presence of family and the community!” stated Rev. Patrick Rogers, the ordained minister of MCC, who will officiate at the ceremony.

“The church sanctuary will be decorated for a fabulous wedding, “he added, noting the traditional wedding march will be played.

The traditional wedding cake reception will follow the ceremony.

Metropolitan Community Churches have been officiating Gay Marriages for over 30 years and works towards the day when “they will have equal recognition in the state and federal governments,” said Rev. Rogers.

The deadline to register for the ceremony for is Friday, February 12. Contact the Northlake Boulevard church offices at 561.775.5900 or email RevPatrickRogers@ aol.com. Their website is www.MCCPalmBeach.org

Wine Catering &Beer

2163 Wilton Dr. Wilton Manors, FL 33305

954-396-4244 • www.thepaintedpickle.com

1/2 OFF!

Buy one get one 1/2 OFF Monday-Wednesday (max. value $5.00)

Coupons may not be combined with any other offer. Expires 3/31/10

FREE Cup of Soup With Any Sandwich Monday-Friday

Coupons may not be combined with any other offer. Expires 3/31/10

18

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

America Can No Longer Afford Pot Prohibition

By Paul Armentano oney can grow on trees.

So proclaims the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in a new Times Square billboard that urges lawmakers to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol.

Legalizing marijuana will raise billions of dollars in new tax revenue, the ad declares.

How many billions?

According to a 2005 Harvard University analysis endorsed by over 500 distin­ guished economists, replacing marijua­ na prohibition with a system of taxa­ tion and regulation would produce savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year.

A separate economic review, conducted by George Mason University professor Jon Gettman in 2007, estimates that the total amount of tax revenue that could be derived from the present marijuana market would be far higher.

He calculates that the diversion of this mar­ ket from the taxable economy deprives state and national budgets of $31.1 billion annually.

For state and local governments, taxing and regulating pot could reduce growing def­ icits. For instance, last summer Oakland, California voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to raise the business tax paid by city­licensed medical marijuana dispensary operators. It is estimated this ef­ fort will raise up to a couple of million dol­ lars annually.

In January, members of the California As­ sembly, Committee on Public Safety, similarly gave a green light to legislation to regulate the commercial production and retail sale of marijuana statewide. Such a plan, if enacted, would raise some $1.4 billion per year for California’s cash­strapped coffers.

But such savings and revenues aren’t only limited to marijuana hotbeds like California. Most recently, Rhode Island state officials reported that decriminalizing minor marijuana possession offenses—a policy whereby police issue offenders tickets rather than making a criminal arrest—could save taxpayers over $230,000 per year.

Legalizing and regulating the adult use of the drug outright would conceivably raise mil­ lions more.

Presumably, critics of marijuana law reform will allege that legalization will yield few, if any, substan­ tial cost savings to taxpay­ ers. They argue that both alcohol and ciga­ rettes are taxed; yet they maintain that there overall costs to society ultimately outweigh their revenue.

Ultimately, however, even if legalization¹s cost savings were minimal, regulating Ame­ rica¹s top cash crop would still be the right thing to do because it would take the pot pro­ duction out of the hands of criminal enterpris­ es and, increasingly, violent drug gangs.

Any way you do the math, America can no longer afford marijuana prohibition.

It is time to replace this bankrupt policy with legalization, regulation, and education.

citing reading.

When Benjamin Franklin came out of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, he was asked, what kind of government our repre­ sentatives had created. “A republic,” he said, “if you can keep it.”

Our goal is to deliver to you a commu­ nity newspaper you can keep; one you can respect in the morning and share with your friends in the evening. Ours is a pa­ per which will show gays and lesbians at work and at play, in your offices and in your homes, with your clothes on.

The bottom line is that we are a FREE community newspaper, and we need the

community to support us so we can sup­ port you.

Every dollar we earn goes back into a newspaper you can be proud to call your own. Help us help you make it happen.

As you extend the limited advertising dollars you have available in these challeng­ ing times, please consider our newspaper an option and alternative to promote your business.

If you are reading this, imagine too how many of your friends and colleagues are also.

If you are willing to make an investment in us, we will make one in you.

M

www.norml.com

SFGN Editorial

2/8/2010

Your Community Newspaper Norm Kent, Publisher

S

ome people might consider this the third issue of SFGN. Your publisher considers it the 208th issue of The Express. I apologize for the six year hiatus.

My goal in selling The Express in 2003 was to pass the baton of a credible gay and lesbian newspaper to an established institu­ tion that would carry it forward for genera­ tions. Who better than the operators of The Washington Blade to entrust your baby to?

As it turns out, Window Media and Unite Media were not able to weather the tide, meet their loans, or manage their ex­ pansion successfully.

Their run has ended and the baton has been passed again. I am not here to blame them for failing. So too have many other established media entities in America failed in the past few years. The gay media is not alone. In the face of all that, bucking the tide, we bring to you SFGN, circa 2010.

It comes about not just by my efforts, but because others have taken a leap of faith.

My business partner believes in America and the dream that gays and lesbians need a passionate voice. Piero Guidugli express­ es himself thusly in an op­ed today.

The article, ‘Sucker Punched,’ this week’s feature, is not meant to lambast anyone. It is rather to tell a story to everyone. When

businesses fail, real people really get hurt, even if no one intended for it to happen. We have heard it said before, but the best laid plans of mouse and men often go astray.

South Florida has a checkered history with gay media. For decades, we survived with one credible newspaper, The Weekly News.

Though eclipsed by The Express in 2002, Publisher Bill Watson stoically produced for many years a newspa­ per the gay community could be proud of.

Before the Agenda came to town, Paul Harris plodded for years with The Inde­ pendent. Brad Casey fathered Scoop, and The Buzz buzzed in and out, as had before them David, the Black Book, Muchacho and Outlook. There was Miamigo and FYI and others who have come and gone. Maybe the Stonewall Library has a master list. Many have tried.

All had dreams of success; of building a better mousetrap. So it was with the publish­ ers of the South Florida Blade and 411. So it is with SFGN. We have visions of what could be. We can criticize those who have failed, or applaud those who tried. Choose the latter.

There are never any promises in the roads ahead. We can only say that with each issue of SFGN we will offer you credible writers, entertaining journalism, and plenty of ex­

19

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

A CALL TO ARMS

By Piero Guidugli 35 Valentines ago, I decided

Dorothy, We Are Still in Kansas

P

ortugal’s parliament passed a bill last month that would make the predominantly Catholic country the sixth in Europe to permit gay marriage.

The conservative president, Anibal Cava­ co Silva, is thought unlikely to veto the so­ cialist government bill which won the sup­ port of all left­ of ­center parties.

Silva’s ratification would allow the first gay marriage ceremonies to take place in April, a month before Pope Benedict XV! is due to make an official visit to Portugal.

Right­of­center parties opposed the change and sought a national referendum on the is­ sue, but their proposal was rejected and the government’s bill was passed by 125 votes to 99. Gay rights campaigners applauded from the galleries, hugging and kissing outside the building, celebrating with wedding cake.

The news, as great as it is, has sent me into a major depression.

to leave my native country, because I thought I could never be myself there.

There was a beacon calling me, a country called America. It seemed to me, a young man, the shiny example of a true democ­ racy; maybe the only hope for an Italian gay man, suffocating in a country run by Church and Mafia. Or so I thought!

I was very naive back then, but I was ex­ cited, hopeful and young. I went across the big pond and landed in New York City. Very quickly I realized that America’s democracy did not contemplate gay rights. In fact, it wanted to have nothing to do with it.

So I came to my adopted country, and I witnessed the rise of Anita Bryant, the killing of Harvey Milk, and the emergence of hate preachers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.

I watched as President Ronald Reagan spent 8 years hanging out with Hollywood celebrities, but hiding out from AIDS.

Deb Price

A Cheat Sheet for Straight Allies

Ò S

o what’s the big deal?”

That was the question from a young colleague when the issue of gays in the military came back up.

Those of us who’re gay hear that re­ sponse more and more often from hetero­ sexual coworkers, relatives and friends.

What’s the big deal about gays in the military? Marriage? Gay people being out at work? Telling kids not to call other kids anti­gay names at school?

“So what’s the big deal?” The question sounds like a low­key declaration of gay­ friendliness. Many of today’s young adults have grown up so comfortable with openly gay people that they take our equality for granted. That’s great.

What’s not great is our heterosexual sup­ porters’ passivity about the fact that our country’s laws don’t yet reflect their pro­

gressive attitudes. Ten years into the 21st century, the federal government refuses to recognize same­sex marriages; gay men and lesbians are dying on the battlefield but forbidden to tell the truth about their lives; and in most states it’s perfectly legal to fire workers simply because they are gay, bisexual or transgender.

In 50 years, gay Americans will be fully protected from discrimination. What hap­ pens in the meantime depends largely on what kind of country our young hetero­ sexual supporters decide they want to live in. Our allies tend to be quiet. So plenty of lawmakers and judges still write off gay people as a whiny special interest group whose basic constitutional rights aren’t worth worrying about.

Progress will keep traveling at a turtle’s pace unless gay­friendly heterosexuals

I saw the rampant homophobia, gay bashing, land, Greenland, France, Luxembourg, and and the incredible absence of any laws protect­ Switzerland fully recognize same sex unions.

So does Slovenia, The Czech Republic, and ing people because of their sexual orientation.

I read all the articles about gay men getting even Germany. While, the European Union’s set up, busted, and arrested for hanging out Constitution prohibits discrimination based in public parks, when all many of them were on sexual orientation, legislators who sought trying to do was meet another man privately. to ban gay marriage are still serving and get­ What was all this? How could the greatest ting re­elected in our prestigious U.S. Senate.

Some prestige. country in the world be so oppressive?

Alas, I have no choice, I cannot go back now.

What happened to the spirit of the This is my country, and, be­ founding fathers or, for that cause I love it, I will con­ matter, to the 60’s genera­ tinue the fight here until we tion? Autumn came to the find a Gay Moses who leads country that had a summer us out of Kansas. of love.

I’m pretty convinced that Every Valentine’s Day, for eventually we will catch up one reason or another, I stop with those “liberal” Euro­ and think what it might peans. So enjoy today’s Val­ have been, if I had remained a niBal CavaCo silva entine’s Day issue of SFGN, in Europe. I left for a free America where we are not only still fighting but think about what YOU can do to bring for gay marriage, laws and legislators and about change.

We may not be the ‘love that no longer voters are still voting against it.

Yet, on the continent I left, gay marriage is speaks its name.’ But we are still not the acceptable, permissible, and even common­ love getting stamped with the Good House­ place. Gay marriage is now permitted in Bel­ keeping seal of approval.

Speed up the process. Speak up, stand gium, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Nor­ way and soon Portugal. Many other countries up, be counted. Get involved­ Happy Val­ like the UK, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, Fin­ entine’s Day and pass the chocolate. turn up their volume and voice a pas­ sion for full equality powerful enough to counter the energy long displayed by the other side.

So how about speaking out when talk turns to gay rights, whether at the water cooler or in line at the grocery store? While the help of straight allies is needed every­ where, here’s a cheat sheet on where your efforts can really pay off: Don’t write off grandma: A recent Pew Research Center poll is a roadmap for where sharing about your support for gay rights is most needed. Overall, by 57 per­ cent to 37 percent, Americans embrace the idea of civil unions for gay couples.

Women are more supportive than men, 60 percent compared to 54 percent. So consider starting a conversation with a brother or a male buddy.

A majority of Americans of all ages, except the 65­plus crowd, supports civil unions. But support among older Ameri­ cans has already risen to 49 percent. Don’t assume your grandmother is too old­fash­ ioned to hear that the piano teacher you like so much is gay.

Grab those loudspeakers: Although we live in a democracy, some people’s opin­

ions carry a lot more weight. On gay issues, that list includes veterans, Republicans of all flavors, parents with children in pub­ lic schools, churchgoers and members of Congress. Any encounter with them offers an opportunity to mention, for example, that it’s wrong for gay soldiers to be forced to lie.

Pick your location: Pull out a map show­ ing where gay and transgender Americans have secured job protections and other ba­ sic rights. You’ll see that gains have largely been in the Northeast and on the West Coast. If you live anywhere else, you have endless opportunities.

None of this means that you can’t make a difference by talking with, say, college­edu­ cated women in New England. But straight allies can make a huge difference by coax­ ing along an uncle in the Texas legislature or a granddad who served in Korea.

Ever hear yourself asking, “What’s the big deal?” because you already know that gay people deserve to be treated like every­ one else? Then help speed the day when full equality really will be no big deal.

Deb Price of The Detroit News writes the first nationally syndicated column on gay issues.

20

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

JesseÕ s Journal

Gay Pulp Fiction Captures Our Hidden Histories

By Jesse Monteagudo

O

ne of the most important gay books of the 20th cen­ tury was Richard Amory’s Song of the Loon: A Gay Pastoral in Five Books and an Interlude (Greenleaf Classics). While of doubtful literary value, Song of the Loon made gay literary history with its explicit depictions of gay male sex, its positive portrayal of male love and its poetic, al­ most mystical vision of a gay brotherhood that transcends ra­ cial and cultural barriers.

For his “gay pastoral,” Amory took “certain very European characters from the novels of Jorge de Montemayor and Gaspar Gil Polo, painted them a gay aesthetic red, and transplanted them

to the American wilderness.”

Angelo d’Arcangelo compared Song of the Loon to The Last of the Mohicans and “Hiawatha,” while I myself described protagonist Ephraim MacIver as “Natty Bumppo after Stonewall.” Song of the Loon was so popular that it inspired a movie of the same title, two sequels—Song of Aaron and Lis­ ten, The Loon Sings—and even a parody: Fruit of the Loon by “Ricardo Armory.”

Fortunately, Song of the Loon is back in print, in a handsome edition published by Vancouver’s Arsenal Pulp Press as part of its Little Sister’s line of lesbian and gay classics. It certainly deserves the honor. The publication of Song of the Loon in 1966 launched a wave of gay erotic pulp fiction, as paper­ back publishers discovered the genre’s financial benefits.

The rise and fall of gay pulp fiction is the main topic of The Golden Age of Gay Fiction, an anthology edited by Drewey Wayne Gunn (MLR Press). In this book, the “golden age of gay fiction” runs from 1948 to 1978, though Gunn and his contributors recognize the landmark importance of Amory’s first novel.

In his introduction, Gunn writes about the historical importance of fiction that was “for, by, about and out” gay men.

Contrary to popular belief, the gay men who populated pre­Stonewall novels were not always doomed “to suicide, institutionalization or (assumed) celibacy in the priesthood.” Rather, gay pulp heroes “never practiced celibacy (quite the contrary!), did not kill themselves, and were institutionalized, if at all, only in pris­ ons (in order to have lots of sex with guards and fellow convicts). Even more extraordinary, they often fell continued on page 21

21

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Do Heterosexuals Make Better Parents?

By Paul Gallotta SFGN HIV Editor

I

f you had to distill the concept of con­ temporary politics down to a single sentence, it would be this: As long as there’s a ‘Them’, it justifies the ‘Us.’ This philosophy has been around for as long as mankind, but since the advent of the information super highway and mass media, it defies logic. But the bottom line is, it works.

It was easy for the people who colo­ nized this nation to hate the Indians.

Most Europeans didn’t live next door to the Native American. It was easy for them (“us”) to define this country’s indigenous population as simple­minded Godless savages (“them”).

It was easy for our Founding Fathers to condone slavery. The black man (“them”) didn’t look like the white man (“us”) and initially didn’t even speak the same lan­ guage. And more importantly, they were in the minority. In both cases, the issue was de­ fined by the people who controlled the com­ munication of the era. After all history isn’t written by the vanquished or the damned.

Right now, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals is deciding whether or not to overturn this state’s ban on gay adoptions.

And whatever they decide, it’s only a pit stop on the way to the state’s Supreme Court.

The ban is a vestige of the bad old days

Gay Pulp continued from page 20

in love, and though monogamy was seldom part of their vows, they fully intended to live lives committed to others unto death.”

Critic David Seubert, writing elsewhere, described the state of affairs in gay pulps as “homotopia... where everything is imbued with sexual content, no one is straight and characters stumble into one sexual encoun­ ter after another without danger, fear, or for that matter, without even really trying.”

Gay pulp fiction did more than make gay sex writing possible. According to Gunn, “it is among the pulps that such distinc­ tive genres as gay horror, the gay gothic,

which runs against common sense still stands. It’s done under the rubric of family values—a real misnomer if ever there was one. Most gays and lesbians I know come from heterosexual parents. We are their families. Do these people think there’s a lab somewhere that clones us?

In this state, a convicted child molester is when Anita Bryant slapped the “them” label on gays and lesbians, defining the aforemen­ not automatically disqualified from adopt­ tioned as predators that targeted children. ing. In this state a child was removed from his her lesbian birth After all, the gay me­ mother and custody dia was in its infancy granted to her con­ so it was stunningly victed murderer fa­ easy to use such grav­ ther. It makes you ity defying logic as wonder when this ‘gays can’t reproduce state will become tired so by necessity they of being a punch line. have to recruit.’

The law doesn’t ad­ Back in the mid­ dress the issue of gays seventies, the argu­ and lesbians in the ment was framed by foster care system. Ap­ the mainstream me­ parently we are good dia. After all, there enough for that. were virtually no out Both sides acknowl­ gay people on televi­ edge the odds of the sion. The only time sex and the CItY star Cynthia nixon joins the aMeriCan Civil liBerties union of ban being repealed most heterosexuals floridaÕ s CaMPaign to end floridaÕ s Ban on via legislation are vir­ came across gays and adoPtion By gays and lesBians. tually non­existent. lesbians was when the story was about drag queens, public sex, After all, the gay and lesbian population is at best only ten percent and more likely pederasts or the occasional riot.

AIDS changed all that by forcing a genera­ significantly less. We’re the perfect ‘them.’ tion out of the closet and into the spotlight. Why risk political suicide on an unpopular Suddenly we were everywhere—even though issue? This law gives its supporters the op­ we always were. The difference was that we portunity to say they are upholding Biblical were now visible, whether or not we wanted principles and being righteous without in­ to be. After all, we lived in a state where peo­ conveniencing themselves. Not like that an­ ple can—and did—lose their jobs over their noying ‘Love thy neighbor’ thing.

I will concede one point. In a perfect private lives.

Despite numerous challenges, the ban world children should be raised by a lov­

to a large extent the gay mystery and the gay spy story, the gay cop story, and the gay western developed.” (Song of the Loon, of course, was a major contributor to this last genre.)

The Golden Age of Gay Fiction includes detailed studies of gay science fiction, gay mystery, gay horror, gay western (includ­ ing Loon) and gay military fiction, and in all counts the genres were well­established by the time gay militants faced the cops at the Stonewall Inn. One of the characteristics of gay pulp fic­ tion was the use of pen names by authors shy about being exposed as creators of smut. In fact, some authors used many pen names: In the Golden Age, Victor J. Banis wrote pulps

as “Don Holliday,” “Victor Jay” and “J. X. Williams,” among others.

Since then, Banis has come out of the literary closet, and has written many books under his real name. Banis also contribut­ ed an essay to The Golden Age of Gay Fiction, as did Jan Ewing AKA “Jack Evans.”

Other contributors provide critical analy­ ses of the works of Banis, Joseph Hansen (“James Colton”), Gordon Merrick and Lonnie Coleman.

All in all, The Golden Age of Gay Fiction is a valuable resource for lov­ ers of gay literature, history and sex. If nothing else, it would lead to renewed interest in the works of our literary an­ cestors.

ing mother and father. Of course in a per­ fect world politicians should be concerned with doing the right thing and not getting re­elected at all costs. In this world, if it was perfect, they’d also have to wear clown out­ fits while they’re on duty.

It isn’t that I think a traditional heterosexual couple is better than a same gender couple.

But we live in a world where people are still delineated into us and them. Despite what we know people are still judged by the color of their skin, the length of their hair, their ethnic heritage, etc. and not as a wise man once said by the content of their character.

That in mind, why would a loving par­ ent want to provide an excuse for other people to treat their children as if they were an aberration?

So let’s make it easy on the majority by making the issue go away. If everyone who feels gays and lesbians shouldn’t adopt and clean up the mess that heterosexuals make went out and adopted all of the eligible chil­ dren, the issue would be moot.

And if they refuse, then at least they’ll have to establish that they actually hate us more than they love children.

The local author of ‘Living and Dying in 4/4 Time,’ Paul is a journalist and social worker who has been working as an AIDS activist since his days with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis Center in NYC in the 1980’s.

Jesse Monteagudo (jessemonteagudo@aol. com) is a South Floridabased freelance writer and journalist. He began his career in 1977 as a book reviewer for The Weekly News (TWN) in Miami, and since then has contributed to a variety of print and online gay publications.

In addition to his feature stories and “Jesse’s Journal” column, Monteagudo writes movie reviews and news stories for the international gay magazine The Guide.

Monteagudo’s gayrotic short stories have appeared in over two dozen anthologies.

22

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN’s

Hottest Bachelors

By Joey Amato

V

Valentine’s Day Special Issue

alentine’s Day is one of those holidays that either you love or hate. The pomp and circumstance that surrounds the day can be unbearable as a single person. The aisles of chocolate and hearts in the supermarket, endless 1­800 Flowers advertisements and romantic movies on Lifetime are enough to drive someone crazy.

SFGN thought of a unique way to link some of South Florida’s hottest and most eligible bachelors with potential dates for Valentine’s Day. All of these bachelors are on Facebook. Readers who are interested can easily send them a friendly greeting and hopefully score a Valentine’s Day date with one of these hotties.

Adam Stroh

Michael Dardano

Dominic Grasso

John Alvarez

Chris Mattes

Age: 26 HeigHt: 5’9”/135lbs OccupAtiOn: CBS Interactive AbOut Me: I’m very easygoing, educated and goal oriented. I take pleasure and cherish the time I spend with family, friends and others that are close to me. As I am from the Midwest, living in South Florida has produced a rapid lifestyle.Yet I value and appreciate my down time and the laidback ambiance that living here offers.

FAvOrites: HObbies: Family, friends, sports and music FOOd: Italian (Pasta and Pizza) and American (Steak and Potatoes) MOvie: Dazed and Confused MusiciAn: Bob Dylan LOve sOng: Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses - U2 dAte spOt: A Dolphins/Hurricanes/Heat/Marlins or Panthers game.

WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: Someone who is tall, ambitious, educated, confident, social, muscular, athletic and follows or plays sports.

Age: 34 HeigHt/WeigHt: 5’9”/155lbs OccupAtiOn: Holistic Physician AbOut Me: I have always been passionate about the performing arts and have a great love of music, dance, theatre, photography and art. My philosophy is that I work to live, not live to work. I am a spiritual person and my faith is very important to me.

FAvOrites: HObbies: Tennis, piano, traveling, meditation, theatre, movies, hanging out at the beach, reading, working out and wine tasting.

FOOd: Italian MOvie: The Godfather Part 1 MusiciAn: Frederic Chopin LOve sOng: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face dAte spOt: Going to the beach during sundown WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: The ideal man for me would be someone who knows who he is and who is looking for someone to stand next to him and be a companion. A man who prides himself in taking care of his body, mind and spirit and holds great respect for himself as well as others.

Age: 21 HeigHt/WeigHt: 5’4/130 lbs OccupAtiOn: 2nd grade teacher AbOut Me: I am a very passionate and caring person, yet also very easygoing and carefree. I can have fun wherever I am, and love to have a good laugh. I try to be a genuine sweetheart to all of my friends, who say I am one of the nicest people you will ever meet. I’ll try anything once…and twice if I like it!

FAvOrites: HObbies: Cooking (especially breakfast) and reading FOOd: Pot Roast, Waffles MOvie: Cruel Intentions and Jawbreaker MusiciAn: Lady Gaga and Jimmy Buffet LOve sOng: Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You dAte spOt: Anything fun and exotic, maybe kayaking and a picnic lunch on the beach.

WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: Looking for a confident, tall, muscular guy with blue eyes, tattoos and piercings. Also like guys with mohawks and guys that have a “bad boy” attitude.

Age: 24 HeigHt/WeigHt: 5’9”/135lbs OccupAtiOn: Academic Adviser AbOut Me: I’m independent, responsible, and pretty down to earth.

I have a great life, awesome friends, and a fantastic, crazy family.When I’m not at work or school, I’m up for anything fun, whether it’s a day at the beach, going out to eat, tearing it up on the dance floor, or just making it a Blockbuster night. Community service is also very important to me.

FAvOrites: HObbies: Traveling, shows and concerts, community service, playing the occasional video game, and the lost art of sleeping.

FOOd: Creamy Chicken Penne a la Vodka MOvie: The Devil Wears Prada MusiciAn: Madonna, Lady GaGa, and Beyonce LOve sOng: By Your Side - Sade dAte spOt: At the beach on a cool, breezy evening on a cloudless night so we can cuddle until dawn.

WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: A good-hearted person around my age that is intelligent and kind. Someone who is goal oriented and emotionally mature, but doesn’t take life too seriously. Oh yeah, and cute too!

Age: 21 HeigHt/WeigHt: 6’1” OccupAtiOn: Marketing AbOut Me: I’m the kind of guy that’s down for anything. I like to go out and party or just stay in and chill. I like improving my personal and physical image. I’m caring and a people pleaser. I’ll do anything for a friend in need.

FAvOrites: HObbies: Swimming, cooking, building things with my bare hands, jogging, dancing and playing video games.

FOOd: Sushi MOvie: Nightmare on Elm Street MusiciAn: Justin Timberlake LOve sOng: Stickwitu Pussycat Dolls dAte spOt: I like low key restaurants where you can be loud and rowdy. I also love going to the movies when there’s a film that catches my interest.

WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: My kind of guy would be attractive with a sense of humor. A guy that likes to go out and party every once in a while, but can also stay home and be romantic. A dog lover is a must because I have a small yorkie named Scooby.

23

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com Benjamin-Michael Antipuna (Benny)

Brendan Broderick

bow Circus.

AbOut Me: I’m a Philadelphia native, with a degree in Musical Theatre from DeSales University in PA. I toured the world with several Cirque Productions and have worked as a singer, dancer, and acrobat in major theme parks. I finally settled down in Wilton Manors and am loving it!

FAvOrites: HObbies: Swinging in the air with the greatest of ease.

FOOd: Italian MOvie: Truth or Dare MusiciAn: Broadway, TOP 40 LOve sOng: N/A dAte spOt: I enjoy “adventurous” dates…hiking, boating, snorkeling, roller coasters…things that get your blood pumping.

WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: Someone (30-40) who is educated, masculine, fun, and who has an appreciation for the arts.

Age: 28 HeigHt/ WeigHt: 5’11”/ 175lbs OccupAtiOn: Educator AbOut Me: I don’t take myself too seriously. This is because each of us, including myself, has something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against ourselves. No matter where you go, there you are.

FAvOrites: HObbies: I try to break the chain of routine by reading, traveling to new places, making new friends, and adopting new viewpoints.

FOOd: Cheese Please MOvie: American Beauty MusiciAn: Lady Gaga LOve sOng: “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” dAte spOt: I am currently in love with Le Patio – “The tiniest, cutest restaurant in Wilton Manors.”

WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: I am looking for what is in a man and not what I think should be in a man.

I like someone who can show his love and respect for himself and for everyone else. Most importantly, I like someone who will make me laugh and I can have a good time with.

Mike Woo (Mikey)

Daniel Prettyleaf

Age: 26 HeigHt/ WeigHt: 5’8” /150lbs OccupAtiOn: Operations and Logistics Management AbOut Me: I’m known by my friends to be compassionate, genuine, opinionated, a great cook, and a wonderful baker. I am friendly, generally easy to talk to, wild when around tequila, and notorious for being late.

FAvOrites: HObbies: I love dancing and taking weekly dance classes. My other hobbies include social events, video games, and harassing local bartenders.

FOOd: Home cooking MOvie: Latter Days MusiciAn: Mary Chapin Carpenter LOve sOng: “From this Moment On” - Shania Twain and Brian White dAte spOt: The top of the Ferris wheel WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: The qualities I look for in a man start with his eyes, hair, smile and always end with his sense of humor. And if he’s anything like the man described in the song “I Ain’t No Quitter,” we’re likely on our way to locking that up.

Age: 22 HeigHt/ WeigHt: 5’9”/120 lbs OccupAtiOn: Service Manager for a large bank AbOut Me: I am fun, energetic, ambitious and love to laugh. I love going to the beach with friends, reading a good book or enjoying a quiet dinner and movie at home.

FAvOrites: HObbies: People watching, skydiving.

FOOd: Home cooking (Spanish) MOvie: The Sweetest thing MusiciAn: Toni Braxton LOve sOng: I’ll Stand By You - The Pretenders dAte spOt: The beach WHAt iÕ M LOOking FOr in A MAn: Personality is key.You have to be able to keep my attention. Someone spontaneous, sincere, stable, open, confident, outgoing and good looking.

Age: 31 HeigHt/ WeigHt: 5’10/140lbs OccupAtiOn: Partner in South Florida’s only LGBT circus, Rain-

My Dream ‘Valentine’

James Bond, Anderson Cooper & Chace Crawford

Bond, James Bond

By Matthew Clark

Anderson Cooper

By A. Sebastian Fortino

Chace Crawford

By Joey Amato

When I think who my ideal Valentine’s date, I can only go back to my “younger” days, when I would watch James Bond—the original—with my family, and secretly drool over Sean Connery. That’s right: Sean Connery. We all remember his signature accent and delectable figure in those skimpy speedos, I wipe perspiration from my brow as I type—the thought is too sweet.

I can see our dream date play out in my mind like a lost chapter from an old 007 movie. I’m sipping a cosmo and Bond, brooding with pure sex, keeps undressing me with his eyes from across the table. The conversation is kept formal but seductive and very sexy.

All of a sudden, gunfire erupts around us, shattering the crystal glass in my hand. Bond throws me to the floor and pulls out his golden gun. (Squeal!)

Regardless of how my storyline might turn out in a 007 movie, or in my dreams, Sean Connery was one hot piece of ass back in the day. BUT did you know that he actually placed 3rd in the Mr. Universe contest in 1950? Then, some forty odd years later he was voted Sexiest Man Alive

by People, and, at 69—ooh—Sexiest Man of the Decade.

This is one dreamy Scot, and it’s in my dreams where the fun really happens, and I truly find out what’s under this Scotsman’s kilt.

The song that launched Judy Garland to fame wasn’t the one about the rainbow. Instead, she sang “You Made Me Love You” to a picture of Clark Gable.

I don’t sing to my bachelor’s picture. Yet, Judy inspired me. Even though my bachelor might not even be single, or gay.

Anderson Cooper was born in 1967 to Gloria Vanderbilt. True, his blue blood makes me swoon.

Despite Gloria’s fortune he wouldn’t sit idly by reaping its benefits.

Granted, it enabled him to model for the Ford Modeling Agency before high school.

He is so dashing with blue eyes, and so honest with his prematurely silver hair. Yet his affable eloquence is the biggest turn-on. He’s like someone you could meet out one night.

Then there’s his sense of adventure.

When he couldn’t work in journalism he went after it himself. He created a fake press pass then entered war-torn Burma. I think that’s way sexier than a six pack!

He might be criticized for not being out. Yet that’s his private life. Besides he hosts New Year’s Eve with Kathy Griffin.

So I happily read between the lines.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to go sing “You Made Me Love You” to Anderson in lieu of sending roses.

If I wasn’t dating the most wonderful man in the world, I would love to date Chace Crawford, star of Gossip Girl. Chace is so dreamy!

I started watching Gossip Girl during its first Season on the CW and have been hooked ever since.

Chace’s character, Nate Archibald, is a member of the esteemed Vanderbilt family, which makes him an heir to a multi-billion dollar fortune. Good looks and a ton of money…that’s hot.

I even got my boyfriend Daniel addicted to the series, although, he has developed a crush on the womanizing Chuck Bass, Nate’s on again, off again best friend.

Growing up in New York, I was exposed to the Upper East Side culture and attitude which is conveyed in Gossip Girl and I can attest that the characters are definitely true to life and the storylines could be real.

Chace grew up in Plano, Texas, which means he’s probably a pretty good line dancer…maybe our first date could be at Scandals. Drinks are on me.

Okay, so Chace has been seen on the arm of female celebrities and swimsuit models, but can’t a boy dream?

mAKe SFGN Your VALentine For advertising opportunities, call Brian swinford.

954-530-4970

24

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Sweets,Treats, and More

Keep It Local This ValentineÕ s Day

Valentine’s Day Special Issue

By A. Sebastian Fortino

V

alentine’s Day is extra special when you treat your sweetie to something out of the heart­ shaped box. As we live in a com­ munity where creativity is in sur­ plus, patronize something locally owned. Whether you go for a spe­ cial cake, unusual confection, or scoop of something refreshing, stay nearby.

Stork’s Café is more than a place to grab coffee. Peter Dekaj started as a pastry chef in 1987 before he opened Stork’s in the late 1990s.

A favorite treat at Stork’s is Mom’s Fudge Chocolate cake. Three lay­ ers of chocolate cake are covered with a rich fudge icing.

The Chambord Mousse is an­ other unique treat. Indulge in two layers of chocolate cake, filled with devil’s chocolate mousse topped with French chocolate butter cream. The raspberry marmalade imparts a delicious berry accent. If you de­ cide to order a cake for home, be sure to give at least forty­eight hours notice. After all, you want Stork’s to deliver.

Opened since 1947, and with two lo­ cations in South Florida, Jimmie’s Choc­

olate and Café is a local institution. The chocolatiers say this year they’re offer­ ing more pre­packed Valentine’s Day boxes than ever. However, you can cus­ tomize a gift box with an assortment of

sweet treats at the Moon

bonbons and truffles.

Even their heart­shaped boxes are un­ usual. They have everything from tra­ ditional brocade to black satin and faux leopard, for the wild at heart. The café will be offering brunch this year on Sunday, in

deCadent desserts

addition to dinner paired with wine.

While all that glitters is not gold, all that’s sweet is not mere candy! At the very end of Wilton Drive you’ll find The Gelato Station. This creamy Italian vari­ ant ice cream has a lower fat content than its American cugino. When I stud­ ied in Italy, in 1999, gelato was uncom­ mon stateside.

While gelaterias are more common now, purveyors maintain Italian artisanal traditions. The Gelato Station products are made on­site, with flavors more dar­ ing than Baskin Robbins. Guy LeHous moved his business here from Miami in 2005. He offers a rotating menu of more than 175 flavors of gelato and sorbetto.

For Valentine’s Day he promises flavors that will delight even those not pierced

by Cupid’s arrow. As in Florence custom­ ers are allowed to sample before choos­ ing. Coconut, rice pudding, pistachio, amaretto, caramel, and chocolate are divine. In terms of the sorbetti the pine­ apple basil was savory and sweet. After you have your valentine dinner treat yourself to something more decadent yet

healthier than typical ice cream.

Or, take some home.

Owner Antonio Dumas of “To the Moon” Marketplace explained why he chose Ralph Kramden’s idle threat to his wife as his shop’s title. “My parents are named Ralph and Alice, we lived in Brooklyn,” he said with a smile. Fit­ tingly, the tiny shop takes you to another planet of delights.

One rack holds American confections produced since the early 19th century.

Another holds Nutella, Ritter Sport, and other European treats ordered directly from Europe. They are not tailored for American tastes.

In terms of unusual “pieces” in his col­ lection, there are handmade truffles from the Kohler company. Yes, as in faucet.

The company owns a Wisconsin resort and takes advantage of the state’s dairy by making jewel­like candies. Given the broad variety of products at To the Moon Marketplace the owner will gladly customize a basket for you. He also of­ fers some aphrodisiacs not found at “straight” candy stores. Just stop in and see what he can facilitate.

We here at South Florida Gay New wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day. Please keep it local! However, if you don’t have plans and want to squire out a newly arrived—and single—chap to dinner just contact the office and ask for Sebastian.

Helpful Links: www.tothemoonmarketplace.com www.storkscafe.com www.jimmieschocolates.com www.icecreamgelato.com

25

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Men in Tights Florida Renaissance Fest Promises Gaye Olde Tyme

the Queen of the festival!

By J.W. Arnold

P

aul Stickney and Richard Weber are determined to rewrite histo­ ry. As the entertainment direc­ tors of the Florida Renaissance Festival, running weekends through March 14 in Deerfield Beach, the two are presenting history from the gay perspective.

“Every year, we create a storyline and again this year, we decided to go totally gay, campier than we ever have before,” explains Stickney, who like Weber is a professional actor who ap­ pears in a number of Renaissance festivals across the country each year.

Stickney adds, “My background is in mu­ sical theater, and once again, we’re bringing some musical theater to the Renaissance.

We’ve brought back a crowd favorite for a second year, a musi­ cal version of Mac­ beth that is completely anachronistic—with a happy ending and the three witches as the Andrews Sisters, paro­ dies of Broadway songs—all squeezed into 25 minutes and performed twice a day. Of course, Shakespeare hadn’t even been born yet in 1502.

We bent logic, history and good taste.”

He says this year’s production is the “Director’s Cut,” with a larger cast, more songs and fabu­ lous costumes.

In addition to the daily productions of Mac­ beth, each weekend has a theme. Opening week­ end, Feb. 13­14, is Romance Weekend, with spe­ cial interactive shows, including a Renaissance flavored, “Not Just for Newlyweds Game.” The festival also offers a pets­themed weekend, with registered and tagged pets welcome and encour­ aged to enter a daily costume contest.

Stickney and Weber are particularly excited about Pirates Weekend, Feb. 27­28, featuring per­ formances by a new act, The Dandy Pirates, two extremely elegantly dressed pirates: “They’re very

easy on the eyes, guys,” Weber promises.

Wenches Weekend and Celtic Weekend round out the 2010 festival during the March weekends.

A popular highlight of the former is the cleavage contest, which Stickney says is “scary, but very popular,” and just to be fair, Celtic Weekend, in­ cludes a kilt contest. Of course, Weber is happy to judge and will be having mirrors installed on the tops of his shoes.

According to Weber, such an avant garde take on history might not fly at some festivals, but in South Florida, the audiences look at entertain­ ment value first.

“This show is a lot looser than a lot of other renaissance fairs,” he says. “Originally, years ago, this show wanted to be historically accu­ rate, but the audience wasn’t into it. We decided to push the envelope in the direction of comedy and numbers have gone up.”

In addition to planning the entertainment, each of the actors enjoy the opportunity to “per­ form,” with Stickney, portraying a flamboyant Cardinal Claudio decked out in authentic cas­ socks and Weber prancing around the village as the lord mayor, Lord Percival Degage, an effete character loosely based on the Scar­ let Pimpernel.

Of course, there is plenty of tradi­ tional renaissance entertainment, too. Guests will see armor­clad knights competing in jousting tourna­ ments and nearly 100 other perform­ ers wandering the grounds, ranging from jugglers and singers to magicians, each in their own character.

“The Florida audiences really get into the unique aspects of this type of entertainment. So much entertainment these days is passive, and (the audience is) not an integral part of it. In Re­ naissance fairs, the audience is an active partici­ pant,” Weber says. “We [performers] welcome people to come up—sometimes people really shock us, too. A major part of our training pro­ gram is instilling in our cast members that even though they are playing a role, their real job is in customer service, answering questions in an entertaining way.”

The Florida Renaissance Festival is open on weekends from 10 a.m. to sunset, Saturday, Feb. 13 through Sunday, March 14, at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach. Adult tickets are $20.

For more information or to purchase advance tickets, go to www.ren­fest.com.

26

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Humor A COMICAL LOOK AT RECOVERY

The Twelve Steps in Reverse harmed me and waited patiently for a chance to get even with them all. drugs if other people would just quit trying to run my life.

9. I got even with these people whenever possible 2. I firmly believed that except when to do so there was no power greater might get me into trouble. than myself, and anyone who said so was insane.

10. I continued to take everyone’s inventory and when they were 3. I made a decision to remove my will wrong, which was most of the time, made and my life from the care of God, who them admit it. didn’t understand me anyway.

4. I made a searching and thorough 11. I sought, through concentration of inventory of everyone I knew so they my willpower, to get God, who didn’t uncouldn’t fool me and take advantage of derstand me anyway, to see that my ideas my good nature. were best and that He ought to give me the power to carry them out.

5. I sought out these people and tried to get them to admit the exact nature 12. Having maintained my addicof their wrongs. tion with these steps, I can thoroughly 6. I became willing to help these people recommend them to other addicts who don’t want to lose their hard-won status, get rid of defects of character.

7. I was even humble enough to ask these but wish to be left alone to practice intemperance in everything they do for people to remove their shortcomings.

8. I kept a list of all the people who had the rest of their lives.

1. I decided I could handle

B

arry University – The University presents their 50+ Program, an outreach of its School of Adult and Continuing Education. Barry University will host six film and lecture events catered to LGBT issues and its community beginning Feb. 12.

Part of the program’s 50+ Film Festival and Just Jack Series, these six events will explore such issues as the gay rights movement, gay life in Cuba, challenges facing the aging LGBT community, and marriage and partner recognition. Films being shown include Ò Milk,Ó Ò the two cubas,Ó and Ò the american Gay rights Movement: a timeline.Ó The first lecture, held on February 12, will focus on Marriage and Partner Recognition.Tickets are $25.

Call (305) 899-4046 for more information.

M

att Alber - Two-time Grammy winner Matt Alber will open the ArtsUnited Performing Arts Series presented

by RBC Wealth Management on Wednesday, February 10, 2010, at the Sunshine Cathedral. Alber blends extraordinary, emotional nuance with impeccable vocal range and style. Following a tenure with the San Franciscobased classical ensemble, Chanticleer, Matt turned his attention to contemporary projects. Alber’s Matt alBer concert is the first of a series of five concerts by OUT Gay & Lesbian Performing artists. February 10, 7:30pm at the MCC Sunshine Cathedral.Tickets are $15. For more information visit www. artsunitedonline.org/PerformingArtSeries

F

lorida Renaissance Festival – The festival features knights jousting, 12 stages of continuous entertainment, educational demonstrations of period trades and crafts, delicacies of the middle ages to tempt the palate, over 100 artisans exhibiting and selling their wares and hundreds of

costumed performers lending atmosphere and authenticity. Begins February 13 and runs through March 14 at Quiet Waters Park, Deerfield Beach. Adult tickets are $20 available at www.ren-fest.com.

T

he 39 Steps - Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have the 39 StePS, Broadway’s most intriguing, most thrilling, most riotous, most unmissable comedy smash.The mind-blowing cast of 4 plays over 150 characters in this fast-paced tale of an ordinary man on an extraordinarily entertaining adventure. Opening February 10 at the Parker Playhouse.Tickets start at $15. www.parkerplayhouse.com

C

ommit 2 Love - Gay and lesbian couples are invited to Commit 2 Love on ValentineÕ s Day, February 14 on Jungle Island, beginning at 6:00pm.

The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is offering gay and lesbian couples the opportunity to honor and celebrate their relationships with a special ceremony and reception. Couples will formalize their unions in a romantic group ceremony complete with classic wedding traditions.

The evening will begin with a welcome reception and passed hors d’oeuvres followed by the group commitment ceremony. After the ceremony, the celebration continues in the elegant Treetop Ballroom with a commemorative toast, dining and dancing. For additional information on how to be a part of this special day, please visit www.commit2love.com.

27

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Love Is in the Air as Clubs Gear Up for V-Day

By J.W. Arnold

W

e all know that Valentine’s Day means big bucks for greeting card companies, florists and chocolatiers, but with the holiday falling on a weekend, South Flor­ ida’s bars, nightclubs and restaurants are also gearing up. Whether you’ll be cel­ ebrating with that special loved one—or looking to meet one—this will be a big weekend. Here are a few highlights:

frenChie davis

Epic Nightclub in The Manor Com­ plex, 2345 Wilton Drive in Wilton Man­ ors, kicks off the Valentine’s Day weekend on Friday with a performance by former “American Idol” finalist Frenchie Davis and on Sunday, legendary DJ Manny Lehman spins for a special holiday event following the club’s Studio 54 tea dance.

If you are looking for cupid, you may not find him, but Johnny’s, 1116 West Broward Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, will be hosting the next best thing, Falcon Stu­ dios star T.J. Hawke in the flesh, making his first South Florida appearance on Fri­ day, Saturday and Sunday nights.

And, while cupid might be considered

a “twink,” Raging Stallion Studios star Colin Steele is anything but twinkish.

This hunk will be making a return ap­ pearance on Saturday at The Stable, 205 E. Oakland Park Blvd. in Oakland Park.

Meet your mate on Saturday at Miami Beach’s score. DJ Brett Henrichsen will be in the booth and everyone will play “Doctor Love” with color­coded neck­ laces to help break the ice. Green means you’re ready to go, yellow just looking for a meet­and­greet, and red, just up for mingling. Michael Stanley is your host.

Latin lovers are steamy and there will be plenty on hand as Sugar, 2301 SW 32 Ave. in Mi­ ami, introduces Noche de Cab­ aret, a new weekly drag show on Sundays. Marytrini and her “Divas of the Jacuzzi” take the stage for an outrageous night of gender­bending entertain­ ment. Doors open at 10 p.m.

Can’t wait until the week­ end? Intoxiskate, the Tuesday gay night at Gold Coast Roller Rink, never disappoints and on Tuesday, Feb. 9, will host the Elite Underwear Party from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. with DJ Mi­ sha and an underwear fashion show at 11 p.m. $5 admission and $2 skate rental. The rink is located at 2604 S. Federal Hwy. in Fort Lauderdale.

Hollywood now has a gay beach bar, Stonewall, on the boardwalk, and on Wednesdays you can enjoy all the tacos you can eat for $5 with a drink purchase, $2.50 margaritas and $3 sangria. Make sure to check out their bistro menu for a relaxing lunch or dinner on the beach.

If country is your thing, then Thurs­ day nights are big at Scandals Saloon, 3073 NE 6th Ave. in Wilton Manors. The evening kicks off at 7 p.m. with a cash pool tournament and dance lessons from Lee Fox. Hang around until 11 p.m. for The Coffee Klutch Boys with bartender Terry and make a night of it.

The Golden Gays “Outrageous, uproarious and over the top!”

– L.A. Weekly.

“A fast-paced bitchy good time!”

– L.A. Splash

East Coast Premiere!

Co-sponsored by MiamiBeachGayPride.com

This new musical spoof on “The Golden Girls” explores the world of four older gay men who are obsessed with the Famous Foursome. Thanks to their equally dysfunctional therapist, they are able to indulge their obsession through a novel new therapy, which involves them all moving in together to live as the Golden Girls. A sell-out in Los Angeles.

Friday Feb. 26 (at 8pm), Saturday Feb. 27 (at 8pm) & Sunday Feb 28 (at 6pm).

The Colony TheATre on LinCoLn RoaD At the Colony Box Office or at our website: www.thegoldengaysflorida.com (No service fee) Also: www.ticketmaster.com (Service fee applies)

28

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

FACE THE S IN NEW S SFGN Inaugurates this week a feature entitled ‘Reflections’ with pictures of our past from Pompano Bill. Recording the gay and lesbian history photographically for decades, each week we will reach back in time and celebrate the life of a local hero through PompanoÕ s photographs.

Dan Pye of Morgan Stanley will lead a seminar on the topic of Wealth Planning for Domestic Partners, February 23 & 24 at Coral Ridge Country Club.

Ten years ago this week, we lost a performer who brought laughter and music to all of us, as the ‘First Lady of Florida.’

Dana Manchester, who passed from AIDS related pneumonia, on February 3, 2000 was a female impersonator who immersed herself in charitable GLBT causes.

An entertainer to the core, he would often say that when he opened the refrigerator door at night, and the light came on, he would do 20 minutes of standup.

But as an activist, John Goodwin, 41, who hailed from Kansas City, Missouri, had been honored by GUARD (Gays United Against Repression and Discrimination) for his yeoman’s work fighting for the rights of the GLBT community.

At his funeral, Father Bill Collins would say:“how rich we were to have lived amongst such an angel of mercy.”

John’s memory is celebrated in the lounge at Georgie’s Alibi, known as ‘The Dana Manchester Room.’

Now you know how the room got its name.

Caleb Ben-Avram, Antonio Sanguineti, & Tim Slivinski during Taste of Italy at The Naked Grape Wine Bar.

THE GREATER FORT LAUDERDALE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESENTED CENTENNIAL LOUNGE AT AMETHYST ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 AT THEIR HEADQUARTERS. Benny Antipuna and Tim Rocklewitz Chamber of Commerce: A group of partiers at Amethyst

Vickie Keller, right, invites everyone to enjoy the incredibly popular comedy, Sordid Lives, now playing at the Rising Action Theater in Fort Lauderdale. She claims to SFGN that ‘it is not a biography.’ But who is the mysterious women in the picture with her, then? Could it be Annie at her 21st birthday party?

29

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Homo Taunts Leads to Suit continued from page 5

did not face serious problems until he went to Gregory B. Jarvis Junior/Senior High School as a seventh­grader in fall 2007.

That was about the time it became clearer that Jacob was different. By eighth grade, he wore eyeliner to school some­ times and would dye his hair bright blue or pink. He was out of the closet that school year.

“People would ask and I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’m gay, whatever. Peace out,’’’ he said.

In an interview this week with his fa­ ther at their home, Jacob said he was just being himself. That is, a teenager who loves to write songs, short stories and poems and who dreams about a ca­ reer in the movies, maybe as a director or a writer.

Dressed in a blue fleece and jeans, Jacob talked effusively about pop cul­ ture. Pink is his favorite singer, “Or­ phan’’ a favorite movie. But his voice got softer when he talked about his

experiences at Jarvis.

The lawsuit claims the principal and other district officials did not follow their own anti­harassment policies. Teachers blocked him from going to a “safe room’’ set up for him. One teacher told him he should be ashamed of himself for being

gay, according to court papers.

Jacob’s father, Robert Sullivan, himself fighting lymphoma, said: “You listen to your child cry at night and wish he was dead, and wish he wasn’t here. It’s a hard thing to go through,’’ Sul­ livan said. “And you know you’ve got to

send him back there the next day.’’

Sullivan’s cancer is in remission. He said it’s nice to see his son smile again, and he has hopes for their future.

“As long as I can get to see him gradu­ ate high school,’’ Sullivan said. “I think I can die happy.’’

30

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

A.J. Cross

Catching My Breath ‘Catching My Breath’ is a personal reflections column about gay life. This week’s column was written by A.J. Cross. A promoter and GM at Johnny’s, his future columns will appear under the label ‘Sex in Our City.’ If you want to ‘catch our breath,’ submit your stories to editor@southfloridagaynews.com’

The Hunt I

t’s nine­thirty in the evening and you’ve just finished watching the fifth episode of Golden Girls, as a familiar mood starts to set in. Your heart starts to beat a little faster and the blood starts flowing south. You turn on your lap­ top and login to your favorite gay site in the hopes that there is someone else online with the same craving as you. After search­ ing through twenty pages of profiles, look­ ing at appetizing photos and enticing de­ scriptions you realize that there is no one worth engaging in chat with.

Perhaps you have sent a few emails that have yet to be answered, and you come to the realization that your pursuit has to be taken from the virtual world to the outside world.

You pick out casual clothing, jump into the shower and make sure that you are prepared for whatever, or whomever might happen.

You get dressed, grab some cash and head out. You start off at the local coffee shop for your favorite latte, and cruise the room for any hottie, which might help to expedite your agenda. There are a few guys on laptops, probably doing exactly what you were before you gave up on it, and there are four guys playing scrabble.

A Pink concert is playing on the television and you quickly decide that your hunt is just beginning and it may be a long night, so the caffeine will definitely be needed You step outside to finish your coffee in the hopes of spotting your potential prey, and as you finish the last sip of your sweet drink, mentally prepare yourself for a more savage environment.

It’s time to jump in your car and head to a well known and busy club. Upon arrival you quickly evaluate your surroundings

and find a nice safe corner of the bar. The adequately cute bartender quickly greets you and you shout over the music for a vod­ ka and cranberry while catching a glimpse of his firm and defined chest. After serving you the drink you smile give him ten bucks and tell him to keep the change in the hopes that a good tip will gain you some favor.

You begin to walk around slowly on high alert for the first sign of anyone that fits your preference and after completing a full tour move towards the dance floor.

Of course, you have no interest in dancing, but hopefully someone is out there shirt­ less working up a good sweat.

The dance floor is packed and it’s diffi­ cult to distinguish one body from the oth­ er and you are forced to go in for a closer look. You slide in and brush against several guys simply smiling as you make your way to the first available spot on the floor and then for a moment, close your eyes and al­ low the music to sink in. Soon feet, legs and ass start to move and you let go. Gyrat­ ing, sliding and moving around as if hav­ ing sex with the air, guys around you start to notice and soon one after another they timidly try to dance near and with you.

After a half an hour a sweat starts to build and you take off your shirt and tuck it in your back pocket beginning to dance even harder, and once again close your eyes. This time when you open your eyes, right in front of you he stands smiling with his emerald green eyes, sun kissed skin and sweat misted body. He steps in towards you and for a moment you miss a beat. His hand slowly creeps around your waist and he pulls you in. No greeting or name given. Simply a beautiful face and

sexy body giving off intense heat as finally the flesh of his washboard abs makes con­ tact with yours. You begin to grind against one another erotically and sensually and as you lean into him and gently kiss his neck. The saltiness of his sweat drives you crazy and you want more.

His forehead touches yours and your become entranced by his deep green eyes.

You think to yourself that he has to know that I’m aroused because my pants seem as if they could explode at any moment. Your imagination is at full speed and if any of your thoughts come to fruition you are go­ ing to be in for a long and fulfilling night. It takes everything you have to not go in for a kiss and just as you think you can’t stop

yourself any longer he leans and presses his perfectly formed mouth against yours and your feet stop moving replaced by the movement of your tongue against his.

He tastes so good and your legs almost give out. When the kiss comes to an end, he smiles at you mischievously, grabs your hand and leads you off the dance floor, and you have no clue or care where you’re headed. Soon enough you realize you are headed toward the exit of the club and the brisk cool air hits your wet skin sharply as he pushes the door open.

He simply looks back at you smiling and it sinks in that the hunt is over and what remains now is simply history in the making.

31

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Love Is in the Hair Fundraiser Focuses on Fancy Follicles

Art EXHIBITION: The Magical

World of M.C. Escher WHERE: Boca Museum of Art

By J.W. Arnold

H

old on to your hats, ladies, because Miss Finesse is in the house and she plans to work her magic on you to help the less fortunate in South Florida.

Miss Finesse, the alter­ego of Hollywood hairstylist Ma­ rio Betto, will be headlining Love is in the Hair, fundraiser on Friday, Feb. 12, at the Hol­ lywood Arts and Cultural Art Gallery, 1650 Harrison, under the auspices of Hairstylists for Humanity, the non­profit group Betto helped found in 2003.

“We originally were founded to provide free makeovers for people in our community who were in need,” Betto explains.

Mario Betto “But over the years, our mis­ She adds, “I’ve put together a fabulous sion has expanded and we now provide scholarships to deserving people to be­ evening of fashion and songs from my cab­ come nail specialists, facial specialists and aret revue ranging from Broadway to pop.

Oh, and did I men­ cosmetologists at tion, there’s no lip Sheridan Techni­ cal School.” Ò WHAT DRAG qUEEN syncing from this diva, she’ll be sing­ The fundraiser, which runs from DOESNÕ T LIKE FASHION?Ó ing live. So hon­ eys, pull out your 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., will include a fashion show from de­ Pradas, your glam couture and some seri­ signer Maggie Steen of Diva Gone Dharma. ously fierce hair and join us for Love Is In The show will include the unveiling of a The Hair.” new collection, The Unveiling. According to Betto, the show will include 11 models FUNDRAISER: LOVE IS IN THE HAIR and will be completely choreographed.

The evening will also include wine tast­ DATE: Friday, Feb. 12 ings from Hollywood Vine, performances LOCATION: Hollywood Arts and

by New World fusion band PHIsonica, and Cultural Art Gallery a silent auction.

1650 Harrison, “What drag queen doesn’t like fashion?”

Hollywood Betto asks, channeling Miss Finesse, who TIME: 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm will sing live throughout the evening.

Tickets are $35 each and may As for Miss Finesse, she says, “Sweeties, be purchased at www.hairstylists­ what better way to kick off Valentine’s Day forhumanity.org. weekend than being surrounded by art, fashion, wine, live music and a stunning larger than life female illusionist?”

By A. Sebastian Fortino

I

was raised with a print of “High and Low,” by M. C. Escher. To see the actual work fulfilled one of my own personal art history treasure hunts. My childhood copy hung on a narrow wall above a stairwell in my parent’s house. It depicts a boy seated on a staircase, talking to his mother as she looks down from a window.

The perspective is undulating, impossible, and is repeated twice. Just Escher’s ability to replicate—with such cunning detail – the image renders him a master of the twentieth century.

I often followed the image, casting myself as the boy. I wondered how and where such a place could exist. Only in the mind of M. C. Escher, or I would later discover, in the magical realism of writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is readily apparent Escher is still vital today: coffee mugs, posters at Target, and even reconstructions of “Impossible Stairways” in Lego blocks appear when Escher is searched on Google.

Escher is known for manipulating space and time while working in more of a realist than an abstract vein. This makes him a near-universal favorite among museum and art enthusiasts. Dreamlike is a word that comes to mind as easily as playful and architectural. Reptiles leave their drawings and march over books, only to return to the drawing once more. Hands draw themselves, burst forth from the image and ask whether the artist gives his work life, or the other way around.

“We are very excited because this is the first time all these pieces have been exhibited together,” said Kelly Bodle, co-curator of the museum.

From January 20th-April 11th roughly

three-hundred-fifty examples of the artist’s work will be displayed at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Maurits Cornelius Escher (18981972) was a prolific artist and draftsmen. His work calls to mind the detailed delicacy of Northern European painters like Van Eyck.

He is perhaps lesser known for his detailed landscapes of Southern Italy, presented in this venue with maps and photographs.

Rock J. Walker, the Guest Curator of the show, owns the world’s second largest collection of Escher works. He hosted a similar show at the Seattle Art Museum, where it broke records for attendance. Walker expects the same will happen in Boca Raton. Marc Bell is an Escher enthusiast who generously lent some of his work for the exhibit after he learned of its conception. He is also a two time Tony Award winner for the musical Jersey Boys.

Iconic works such as Hand with Reflecting Sphere, 1935, and Day and Night, 1938, both lithographs and Reptiles, 1943 a woodcut will be on display. Other highlights of the show include preliminary studies for drawing hands. The museum presents the artist’s work with a 2007 documentary, “Achieving the Unbelievable.”

Other unique items complement the show such as a watercolor study for a ceramic plate, letters and other documents, as well as furnishings from the artist’s studio are on loan from the M.C. Escher Museum in The Hague. The works are catalogued The Boca Museum is also having a bit of fun. On display will be a grouping of vintage black light posters. Doubtlessly the artist would have found these to be fun.While you might consider them to be “far out.”

32

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Richard Cortez

Inside His Mind and Behind His Music

By Joey Amato

O

n a beautiful Saturday after­ noon, I sat in the living room of local singer­songwriter, Richard Corte. I listened track by track to his new album, Sleeping with Strangers. Composed over the past two years, the album is a compilation of Richard’s trials and tribula­ tions as a gay man. Written and arranged entirely by Richard, the album features heart­felt music about love, sex, relation­ ships and sorrow.

While he attended the American Mu­ sical & Dramatic Academy in New York City, Richard frequently played local ven­ ues. Over time, he attracted a strong gay following. “I used to borrow $50 from my mom to purchase blank CDs.” He adds, “I’d hand out my music to fans who at­ tended my shows in the East Village.” Rich­ ard attributes these free giveaways to his success.

Richard’s grass roots efforts paid off. He caught the attention of a production com­ pany who wanted to work on his album.

The only negative is the company want­ ed to change Rich­ ard’s identity. “They wanted to send me to do speech thera­ py to teach me how to speak ‘less gay’ and they wanted me to get a girlfriend for public appearances and photos.” He ultimately decided to reject the offer.

Drawing from his musical influences, Joni Mitchell, Carol King and Ani DeFran­ co, Richard created a unique sound. The resulting style incorporates his love for theatre and folk music.

As we listened to “Be Alright”, the open­ ing track of Sleeping with Strangers, Rich­ ard told me extreme fame and popularity is not his goal. “I just want to be able to make

a living off of my music.” He says, “It’s not all about the glamorous life.” At the time he wrote “Be Alright”, Richard was going through a challenging time.

“My mom was selling her house and my brother was going into the military. I felt like a bird getting pushed out of the nest.”

In his first full album since 2005, Richard conveys the daily rituals of Fort Lauderdale, a place he calls, “A big gay playground.”

No stranger to temptation, Richard writes about his one­night stands, forays in dark allies and escapades in porn shops.

“Body of Water” began to play. “I wrote this song about a boat captain I was dating.”

He explains, “It was completely sexual and developed into a passionate late­night ro­ mance.” Today, Richard barely speaks to the captain, but their time together makes for a memorable song.

The title track, “Sleep­ ing with Strangers” is Richard’s most intro­ spective song. “The lyr­ ics say, ‘sleeping with strangers but dream­ ing of you.’ Everyone is always looking for something more…they think someone better is going to pass them by, but in the end, they have nothing.”

“Missing” is about Richard’s passionate six­ month affair with a man who was in a 4 year re­ lationship. “One night we shared a bottle of wine and were having crazy sex when his boyfriend knocked on the door.” Richard smiles, “The plan was for me to run out without him seeing me.”

He continues, “I loved this guy, but he was lost, confused and overwhelmed. He was not strong enough to walk away.”

There was a time when Richard was more concerned about sexual experimen­ tation and exploration than his well being.

“My hormones were raging. I had just gotten dumped in a bar and needed to let loose,” he recalls. Not always portraying

himself as a victim, Richard wrote “The Mourning After”. “There was a side of me that just slept with people knowing full well that I would never call them again.”

Richard now craves more. “I’m 24 and want to share love with somebody, but people need to realize that they can’t just hop into bed with someone and call it mar­ riage.” Missing the physical release and selfish pleasure of his past life, Richard promises that he has changed his lifestyle.

“I’m still the same person but I’ve just changed my behavior and want different things out of life.”

“Crazy Fool” is a response to “The Mourning After”. Written through the voice of the victim in the previous track, Richard tells me how he was always trying to better himself visually. “I would work out five days per week, wear designer clothes, starve myself and stand at the bar waiting to meet someone.”

As we listened to the remainder of the album I began to hear Richard’s passion for storytelling. “Everybody scrutinizes me for

writing about love, but this record is about more than love, it’s about truth.”

“We go out, party, meet someone, sleep with them and then someone’s heart breaks. It hits you like a wave.” The final track, “Trainwreck” is the realization that Richard was grasping for help. “The song is about hope and letting people know it’s going to be okay.”

Richard is okay now. He is happy with himself and his album. He even goes as far as to say that his next album should be lighter than Sleeping with Strangers.

The album will be released on Valentine’s Day and made available through the iTunes, Amazon.com, CDbaby.com and other on­ line retailers. For more information, visit www.wollenbergrecords.com.

Richard Cortez Live February 13th Dennis Dean Gallery 7­10pm

33

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Singing for Change

Out Performer Matt Alber Raises His Voice Protests Ô DonÕ t Ask, DonÕ t TellÕ in Song

By Mary Damiano Arts Editor

W

hen I call singer songwriter Matt Alber for our sched­ uled interview, he asks if he can postpone it for about an hour. He’s got a very good reason. He’s recording a protest song about “Don’t Ask,Don’t Tell” (DADT).

A few phone calls and a few hours later, Alber and I finally connect and settle in for our chat.

“I am recusing myself from the mixing room,” he says. “But it’s hard not to go back in there.”

Alber tells me about his day. Though he lives in California, Alber is in Washington D.C. the night we talk. He’s on tour, with shows in Baltimore the next night. The day started horribly, he says. The venue in Washington canceled his show, so he had to find a new spot, which he did. The rest of the day improved and centered around “This is Who We Are,” the ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ song being mixed just steps away from him during our interview.

“We took our new song to the Mall and performed it in front of the Capitol Build­ ing with two members of the military who had been discharged under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” says Alber. “It’s exciting that this one little idea that we had a couple of days ago has turned into a reality.”

Alber wrote and performed “This is Who We Are” with Tom Goss. The song was in­ spired by the two sentences calling for the repeal of DADT in President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address. They plan to release the song and give half the proceeds from it to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by DADT. Alber speaks movingly of one of the discharged service member who stood with him on the Mall that day, a man who served the Air Force for 13 years and was in Iraq when the military went through his

private e­mails. After his discharge under the anti­ gay policy, he was sub­ jected to a military police escort from the base “like a common criminal,” Al­ ber says.

“Sometimes a song can be quite powerful, so we’re hoping this one turns into something that can unify everybody. It’s time to end it. We don’t need to wait another year. It’s just time to end it.”

Alber says that poli­ cies like DADT have fear­ reaching effects beyond the military.

“When you’re 11 years old, and hear that gay people can’t be in the military, what do you think that does to your brain?”

That kind of homophobic dogma, cou­ pled with his strict fundamentalist reli­ gious upbringing, effected Alber deeply.

“I almost didn’t make it,” he says. “I was brainwashed into thinking I was im­ moral and sinful. I almost didn’t make it.

I’m lucky.”

Alber credits his own soul­searching and Mel White’s book Stranger at the Gate for helping him to reconcile what he’d been taught with who he knew himself to be.

White, who Alber calls one of his heroes, played a key role in the right­wing Christian movement alongside Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. He was also a married man with children when he decided he could no longer live a lie and came out of the closet.

“That was the first time I’d ever heard of someone who called themselves a Chris­ tian and also accepted their sexuality,” Al­ ber says. “That was a huge turning point.”

Alber is looking forward to leaving the frigid northeast behind and make his South

Matt alBer

Florida debut at Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, February 12, part of Art Explosion. He plans on per­ forming his latest CD from start to finish, with a few twists and turns along the way.

His first musical memory took place in church.

“I sang ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ at church when I was eight,” Alber recalls.

“I forgot the words. I remember putting my hands over my eyes thinking that if I couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see me.”

The next night, he remembered the words.

His parents encouraged his musical tal­ ent. His dad studied to be a concert pianist and introduced him to classical music. “I would stay up late and watch him because he used to play piano in the middle of the night,” Alber says.

Alber is one of the lucky performers who has always been able to make a living from his art. Fresh out of college, he audi­ tioned for and landed the one opening in Chanticleer, a 12­man professional classi­ cal ensemble. He spent five years with the group, touring the world and recording

More information, go to: thenewgay.net/2010/02/tom-goss-and-matt-alber-sing-out-against-dadt.html

seven albums, two of which won Grammy Awards. He eventually left to go solo.

“I hit that point where I didn’t want to sing other people’s music my whole life,” Alber says. “I have something to say.”

He began writing his own songs while he was still with Chanticleer. He got a comput­ er and other recording equipment and put together his first CD at home with his friend Jeff Crerie. Alber counts Debussey and El­ ton John among his musical influences—he recalls getting Elton John’s Greatest Hits from one of those old record clubs where you’d get a bunch of CDs for a penny.

In addition to his current CD, Hide Nothing, which contains a collection of lush, romantic and haunting songs, Alber just released a collection of dance remixes, which he’s looking forward to performing at some large gay parties. He is also the director of the Forever Young Chorale, a “very strange little glee club” in L.A. made up of gay and lesbian senior citizens.

Being an out performer was never a question for Alber.

“I was tired of growing up and seeing everything so hetero,” he says. “It makes you feel isolated.” When he made his first video, he was determined to show a beau­ tiful love story between two men.

He’s currently involved in a love story of his own, a new relationship with a man in Iowa. “It’s new but it doesn’t feel new,” says Alber. “He’s the man of my dreams.”

It’s time for Alber to see what’s been go­ ing on in the mixing room with “This is Who We Are.” “I hear them finishing the mix right now,” he says.

Matt Alber will perform Wednesday, February 12, 7:30 p.m., at Sunshine Cathedral, 1480 SW 9 St., Fort Lau­ derdale. For tickets, visit www.ftlgmc. thundertix.com. For more information on Matt Alber and to hear his music, visit www.mattalber.com.

34

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Ethereal Beauty

in Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Harper’s Bazaar, Men’s Health, Interview and Rolling Stone. He’s done commercial work for Revlon, Rolex, Sony, Miramax, Lions Gate, St. Martin’s Press and Coco­Cola, among others. And then there are the por­ traits, which reads like a who’s who of the

and athletes Chris Evert, Billy Bean, Don Mattingly, Greg Louganis, Mitch Gaylord and Dan Marino.

Vance, who was raised in Miami, opened his studio here after graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology. Influ­ enced by fashion photographers Horst P. Horst and Richard Avedon, and great Hollywood portrait photographers like George Hurrell, he began photographing the actors and actresses appearing at Co­ conut Grove Playhouse. He concentrated on commercial photography at first, in an era where advertising dollars flowed freely.

But a few years ago when the com­ mercial work fell off, Vance decided to

of art and his Catholic upbringing.

“I wanted to do some kind of surrealis­ tic images, and I have this imagery in my head of all this religious art, so I tapped into that,” Vance says.

And then there’s the story of the dead bird. He’d been looking for wings to use for photographs, but couldn’t find any­ thing he liked in his price range—the standard White Party wings were not go­ ing to cut it.

“I was on my roof and I there was a dead dove or pigeon or something—I don’t know what happened to it but it was dead—so I took its wings and I dried them and I saved them and they live on in my

entertainment industry: Gloria Estefan, Andy Garcia, Bea Arthur, Johnny Mathis, Sophia Loren, Ricky Martin, L’il Wayne, Lu­ ciano Pavarotti, Eli Wallach, Hal Holbrook,

concentrate on artistic photog­ raphy. His latest book, Heavenly Bodies, is divided into two parts, Gods and Mortals. The Gods section features other­ worldly photographs of mod­ els as angels and saints, while the Mortals section feature humans with beautiful bodies.

Vance says the ideas for the ethereal im­ ages in the book are influenced by his love

photos,” Vance says. “Some people think it’s bazaar, but I would cut the legs off chicken to cook it, so it didn’t feel much different from that.”

Vance credits computer technology with helping him translate the images he sees in his head into the photographs.

“I refer to my work as impressionistic, because I don’t think any one image is a representation of anything, because we look at things as they’re moving,” Vance

David Vance Ventures into the Realm of Gods and Mortals

By Mary Damiano

A

few years ago, David Vance of­ fered to take my picture. He e­ mailed me to congratulate me on a new publication, and didn’t like the pic­ ture that was appearing with my column— a candid shot taken from some opening night party. Obviously I was flattered— who wouldn’t be when a world famous photographer offers to take your picture?

A few weeks later, I went to his North Miami studio and got the full David Vance treatment. His studio includes a fully equipped hair and make­up room—turns out that in addition to his expertise with a camera, the man is a whiz with conceal­ er and wields a mean mascara wand and curling iron. When it came time for the camera, he posed me naturally, and made slight adjustments to the tilt of my chin or the drop of my shoulder. It was easy to smile, because he made me feel beautiful.

And when he sent me the photos, I under­ stood the genius of David Vance. He made me look as beautiful as he’d made me feel.

Now it’s a few years later, and on the mornings that follow late, sleep­deprived nights, I look in the mirror and wish I had a mask of that gorgeous portrait from David Vance that I could wear over my real face.

“I tell people, when you get up and don’t feel right, wear your 8x10,” Vance says.

Vance had a memorable introduction to his chosen field.

“I liked to draw and paint, and my par­ ents freaked out,” Vance says. “When I was 14, they decided they would veer me toward photography because it was more commercial, so they bought me a dark room kit from Sears.”

Using whatever camera was around the house, Vance began taking pictures as a hobby and became addicted to photography.

That inauspicious beginning lead Vance to a successful career as an in­demand pho­ tographer. His editorial work has appeared

35

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

says. “When I photograph people, I’m looking at it like it’s a film. I’m looking at everything, and then I get a feeling, and impression of what it is. I’m going to cor­ rect the photograph to suit the impression I have of it. If you want reality go look in a mirror. You don’t need me for that.”

Vance’s work can be seen at Dennis Dean Galleries in Wilton Manors through the end of February. The exhibition in­ cludes photographs from The Woods, a book Vance published in 1996, as well as Heavenly Bodies, and some photographs

that he did for a musical that correlated Mathew Shepard with the Passion of the Christ. The exhibition also includes new photos from an upcoming book called Erotic Dreams, which Vance will soon present to his publisher.

Vance believes Erotic Dreams pushes the envelope of his previous work in nudes.

“I’ve been very conservative up to now, in the kind of things I would present and the way I present them,” Vance says. “And while I’m keeping the whole thing within the same sort of vision that I have, I’m making it more explicit. It’s a statement. I started thinking about the idea of sexual lib­ eration and sexual freedom and people being comfort­ able with their sexuality. It’s time to break free of that pu­ ritanical harness that we’ve grown up with.”

Vance laughs when he speaks of the explicitness of Erotic Dreams. “I’m giving the people what they want.”

David Vance’s exhibition, Heavenly Bodies, runs through February at Dennis Dean Galleries, located at 2440­b Wilton Dr., second floor, entrance behind New Moon Bar. For more information on David Vance’s work, visit www.davidvance.com.

36

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Heard it on...

TEACHING NEWS

By the Nite Owl GAY BUS TOURS IN WEST HOLLYWOOD NY Times Blogger Hugh Ryan has a surefire suggestion for a Valentine’s idea.

Get a quick seminar on gay history and take a bus tour at the same time.

Sure, everyone knows that West Hollywood is a gay-friendly neighborhood, with rainbow flags flying from restaurants and bars. But did you also know that the phrase “lipstick lesbian” originated at Peanuts, a “femme” bar on Santa Monica Boulevard?

Or that there was a riot against police brutality in Silverlake on New Year’s Eve 1966, years before Stonewall?

Those are among the tidbits offered in a three-hour gay-themed tour of Los Angeles run by Out and About, a bus tour company started in response to Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage.

The tours, led by the company’s founder, Jim Anzide, and his guides, are playful explorations of the past. Participants share a cocktail with drag performers at the Other Side, one of the last gay piano bars in the city. Later, at the corner of Hollywood and Vine, they listen to a monologue written by Harry Hay, a pioneering gay rights activist, about the pleasures and dangers of cruising in the 1950s.

The tour, held on a vintage British double decker, costs $60 and leaves from the One National Gay Archives at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. A brunch tour starts later this month.

I suppose if they started one of these in South Florida they could take you by the remnants of the Copa and the Marlin Beach Hotel.

Everyone’s favorite anchorman for WSVN, Channel 7, is none other than Craig Stevens, who we hear is teaching an Introductory News Writing course as an Adjunct Professor for Barry University… Speaking of news writing, the anChor Craig Senior Communicastevens tions Coordinator for Barry University is one time reporter for The Express, and a former editor of The Weekly News, two gay weeklies no longer with us, the one and CoMMuniCations only Jeremy Jones.

Coordinator jereMy jones

LA DOC SAYS HE CANÕ T POLICE PORN Last week, the AIDS Health Care Foundation stirred a wave of publicity with its call to adult film producers to end bare backing for Miami porn stars shooting films. The issue had already been brought to a, excuse us, head, in LA though, where the debate had been brewing for years.

Last week, however, in remarks to the county Board of Supervisors, Los Angeles County health officials say they can’t require porn actors to wear condoms during shoots because it would be too difficult to police.

Dr. Jonathan Fielding, LA’s Public Health Director, says adult film production companies require little more than a camera and a bed for a shoot, making porn sets nearly impossible to regulate.

A court order filed by AHF to compel county health to require condoms was dismissed in December. They’ve unsuccessfully written two pieces of legislation and are working on a third that would require condoms. Their goal is to help stem the tide of sexually transmitted diseases purportedly created in an unprotected adult film industry, and many of the actors in fact support their efforts.

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

37

ANTI-GAY REGGAE ARTIST LOSES AT GRAMMYS

against gay men, an occurrence that’s alltoo-real for GLBT persons living in Jamaica.

The lyrics say that a “rude” (cool) “bwoy” (boy) doesn’t promote (tolerate) nasty (gay) GLBT leaders are saying Buju Banton’s men, or batty (butt) boys, and suggests that loss at the Grammy’s was a victory for tolerance. The Jamaican-born artist, whose a gay man who touches him would fi(nd) an (auto)matic weapon (“Uzi”) instead. career had glorified violence against gays Outraged members of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center took out a full-page ad in the January 29th issue of “Variety” magazine to denounce the very idea of honoring an artist whose lyrics are both tasteless and promote violence against gay men.

But not to worry, Bujo Banton lost in a bigger way himself. He is locked up in a Tampa jail for delivering drugs to an Buju Banton undercover officer, and maybe Boom Boom Bye may have a new meaning for and lesbians, had been nominated for ‘Best a jail baby butt boy.

On a positive note, a number of influenReggae Album’ for “Rasta Got Soul.” tial reggae artists have signed The Reggae But it’s the lyrics of his 1988 song “Boom Bye Bye” that had GLBT leaders outraged in Compassionate Act, a pledge not to sing the run-up to the Recording Academy’s pres- lyrics or make public statements in Jamaica tigious awards show on Sunday, January 31st. or elsewhere that incite violence, hatred, In that song, Banton, 36, advocates violence or prejudice against gays and lesbians.

South Florida’s HOTTEST new Contemporary, Professionally Trained, Gorgeous Dance Group

38

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

American Anti-Gay Group Promotes Ugandan Hate Laws

By Cliff Dunn

L

ast week, the nation’s largest GLBT civil rights group joined a Washing­ ton, D.C.­based government watch­ dog group in calling for a boycott of the Na­ tional Prayer Breakfast on February 4.

The breakfast went on as scheduled, with President Obama appearing, albeit criticiz­ ing homophobic Ugandan initiatives.

The Human Rights Campaign(HRC) and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) had sought to bring attention to an organization called the Fel­ lowship Foundation – known more famil­ iarly as ‘The Family’ . HRC leaders claim the shadowy group has had more than passing influence on anti­gay legislation recently proposed in the African nation of Uganda.

That legislation, sponsored by Members

of the Ugandan Parliament, would make homosexuality a ‘crime punishable by death’, in certain cases, and life imprison­ ment in most others. The proposals have stirred international outcries of protest.

Now SFGN has learned that many gay leaders say that ‘The Family’ has direct ties to Ugandan leaders advocating the anti­ gay laws.

Wayne Besen, executive director of New York City­based Truth Wins Out (TWO) and an SFGN contributing columnist, said that “many people at the National Prayer Break­ fast have no idea about the radical and un­ orthodox, cult­like beliefs that The Family is passing off as Christianity.”

“With little transparency and regard for de­ mocracy,” Besen continued, “this organization, which believes God favors powerful elites, spreads its influence throughout the world.”

Do you always need an attorney to represent you when you are injured in an automobile or other accident?

Even though I have over 30 years experience in representing people who have been injured dure to the negligence of others, the answer is NO. However, in order to make the decision on whether or not you need the services of an attorney, you need to be properly informed of your legal rights. For information which will allow you to make that informed decision, please contact me for a free consultation.

Besen, author of “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex­Gay Myth,” lists among the promi­ nent members of The Family Republican U.S. Senators Sam Brownback (Kansas), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), and Mark Pryor (Alaska),as well as Florida’s Democratic Se­ nior Senator, Bill Nelson.

wayne Besen sPoke out for truth wins out

In letters sent out last week, HRC and CREW pleaded with President Obama and congressional leaders to skip the annual Prayer Breakfast, held since 1953 on the first Thursday of February every year. The organizations also called for a blackout of the Breakfast on C­Span.

In a statement, Harry Knox, director of HRC’s Religion and Faith Program, said: “More than prayers are offered up at the National Prayer Breakfast. We now know, due to the investigative journalism of Jeff Sharlet, author of ‘The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power,’ that when the breakfast is over, the wheeling and dealing begins.”

“Many participants remain in the city for training events on how to manifest theocratic control of business and gov­

ernment,” Knox said.

“Financial support for international proj­ ects flows from the National Prayer Break­ fast, now known to be the annual meeting of the shadowy, secretive Family,” he added.

“Tax documents from The Family show mil­ lions of dollars have gone into programs run

by David Bahati, the Ugandan Parliament Member who wrote the anti­gay legislation.”

Author Sharlet, who secretly infiltrated the clandestine society in order to research his book, told The New York Times: “Here’s an organization that, in the past, has not ac­ knowledged its own existence.”

“Their leader, Doug Coe, says that the more invisible you can make your organization, the more influence it will have,” said Sharlet.

Besen, Knox, and other GLBT leaders, including Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopalian Bishop of New Hampshire, organized several alternative gatherings nationwide, labeling them as the American Prayer Hour. Locally, the MCC Church of Our Savior, based in Boynton Beach, joined in the protest.

Said Bishop Robinson: “Although many faith leaders have stood by silently, today we speak out on behalf of the marginalized.” “[We] should speak out for the most vul­ nerable in Uganda before it’s too late,” Rob­ inson emphasized.

Despite the pleas from HRC, CREW and gay rights advocates, President Obama and top officials, including Vice President Biden appeared, along with former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

The President did censure the Uganda parliamentary initiatives in his talk: “We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are ­ whether it’s here in the United States or … more extremely in odious laws that are be­ ing proposed most recently in Uganda.”

Brandy Bail Bonds, inc.

Robert L. Spector Personal Injury Trial Attorney

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisement. Before you decide, ask the attorney to send you free written information about his or her qualifications and experience.

WaYnE SPaTH 916 South Andrews Ave. • Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 Broward (954) 463-4333 Dade (305) 945-9944 Keys (305) 296-2245 Fax (954) 462-3954 • www.brandybailbonds.com

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

39

BRAD KANE REALTOR® STEVE SHUMAN REALTOR®

O ver 25 Years Of service

1600 So. Federal HigHway #801 PomPano BeacH, Fl 33062 TelePHone: 954.946.0916 Fax: 954.782.3909 e-mail: Sjerome_eSq@BellSouTH.neT

40

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Dade News

Barry U. Hosts LGBT Film/Lecture Series Three Months of Programs Start Friday Thursday, march 25: Ò The American Gay Rights Movement: A TimelineÓ (film/lecture) 5 – 9 P.M.

Couples in a domestic partnership require smart wealth planning. Learn how we can help.

Couples living as domestic partners face challenges that require a unique understanding of these relationships, backed by the right experience and resources. A Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Financial Advisor can provide helpful guidance, a proven approach to wealth planning, and a rage of techniques and solutions designed to help you and your partner grow and protect your wealth—over your lifetimes and beyond.

Please join us at our informative seminar, “Wealth Planning for Domestic Partners,” which will examine these and other important topics: • Challenges facing domestic partners • The importance of wealth planning • Basic and advanced planning techniques • Gifting techniques Dates: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 Time: 9:30 A.M. Breakfast will be served

OR

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 6:00 P.M. Cocktails will be served

Place: Coral Ridge Country Club, 3801 Bayview Dr., Fort Lauderdale Guest Speakers: Jerry Chasen, Esq., LGBT Estate Planning Specialist Daniel M. Pye, Vice President, Financial Advisor Admission is free, but seating is limited. Please call Sharon today at 954-267-5612 or email Sharon.grabill@morganstanley.com to make your reservation.

Daniel M. Pye

Vice President Morgan Stanley Smith Barney 2400 East Commercial Blvd., Suite 1200 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308 Direct: 954-267-5683 Fax: 954-267-5698

B

arry University’s 50+ Program, an out­ reach of its School of Adult and Continu­ ing Education, will host six film and lecture events catered to LGBT issues beginning Feb. 12.

Part of the program’s 50+ Film Festival and Just Jack Series, these six events will explore such issues as the gay rights movement; gay life in Cuba; challenges facing the aging LGBT community; and marriage and part­ ner recognition. Films being shown include “Milk,” “The Two Cubas,” and “The American Gay Rights Movement: A Timeline.”

Here is a schedule of the events being sponsored by the university, based in Miami Shores:

Friday, feb. 12: Marriage and Partner Recognition (lecture) 6 Ð 8 P.M.

An in­depth lecture on the history of mar­ riage and how its various components apply to the gay community; Religion vs. Liturgi­ cal and the differences between marriage ceremony and commitment ceremonies.

Location: Valentino Sul Mare, 7330 Ocean Terrace, Miami Beach Price: $25 (includes wine and beverages, hors d’oeuvres and free parking) Saturday, March 20: Challenges Facing the Aging LGBT Community (lecture) 4 Ð 7 P.M.

Presented by northwestern financial, this is discussion on healthcare, life insurance, social security, medicare and the long­term care concerns specific to LGBT individuals and families.

Location: The Royal Embassy, 5750 Col­ lins Ave., Miami Beach Price: $25 (includes wine and beverages, hors d’oeuvres and free parking)

A film and lecture examining the gay move­ ment in america from 1924 to the present.

Location: Barry University’s Landon Stu­ dent Union, 11300 NE Second Ave., Miami Shores (Student Union is on North Miami Avenue between 111th and 115th Streets) Price: $10 (includes wine and beverages, hors d’oeuvres and free parking) Thursday, april 8: Ò The Two CubasÓ (film/lecture) 5 – 9 P.M.

A film and lecture examining gay life and the gay movement in cuba under the re­ gime of Fidel Castro.

Location: Barry University’s Landon Stu­ dent Union, 11300 Ne Second Ave., Miami Shores (Student Union is on North Miami Avenue between 111th and 115th streets) Price: $10 (includes wine and beverages, hors d’oeuvres and free parking) Saturday, april 17: Nobody Over 50 Is Gay: Television Tropes And Idioms (lecture) 6 Ð 9 P.M.

A lecture examining the popularity of LGBT characters in television; a fun review of television sitcoms, films, talk shows and commercials.

Location: The Royal Embassy, 5750 Col­ lins Ave., Miami Beach Price: $25 (includes wine and beverages, hors d’oeuvres and free parking) Thursday, april 22: “Milk” (film/lecture) 5 Ð 9 P.M.

An in­depth discussion of gay rights activ­ ism, the gay rights movement and the amer­ ican political system.

Location: Barry University’s Landon Stu­ dent Union, 11300 NE Second Ave., Miami Shores (student union is on North Miami Avenue between 111th and 115th streets) Price: $10 (includes wine and beverages, hors d’oeuvres and free parking) For more information call tiffany pagana at (305) 899-4046 or e-mail tpagana@mail.barry.edu

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

european Car Repair Experts

PersonalAUTOMOTIVE Automotive Service PERSONAL SERVICES

4031 NE 6TH AVE

OAKLAND PARK, FL 33334

954-565-2000 authorized

service

master certified

automotive service excellence

Providing the Personal Service & Quality Repairs You Deserve - Since 1997

41

42

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Softballers Homer in Lauderdale The South Florida Amateur Athletic Association Celebrates History

By Steve Fritz

F

ebruary is a magic month for base­ ball fans. Major League pitchers and catchers cast the opening spell, as they are the first to report. Then the rest of their teammates show up and it isn’t long be­ fore Florida is knee deep in spring training.

Fort Lauderdale used to be in the thick of this as its stadium once hosted the New York Yankees, then the Baltimore Orioles’ spring games. When the Orioles announced they were moving to Sarasota, a lot of South Floridian’s hearts were broken.

Little did they realize there is another game in town, one based at Mills Pond Park.

Called the South Florida Amateur Athletic Association (SFAAA), this amateur softball league has existed for 15 years and now even sports a reigning World Series champion.

SFAAA Secretary David Campbell says, “It was formed in 1994. It has grown pret­ ty quickly since. In other words, as South Florida has grown, so have we.”

Yet there is one very important element about the SFAAA “It’s for gay players only,” says Campbell.

“We started out as SFSL, the South Flori­ da Softball League,” explains Dave Litty, one of the league’s founders. “There was George Kessinger of George’s Alibi and Jim Stork,

our former mayor and myself. We just played with all of our straight friends. We were all on a team called the Club Ca­ ribbean Pirates.”

“Jim used to keep tell­ ing us about all these gay folks who used to play ball. There was a gay league in Birming­ ham, Alabama that actu­ ally used to have tour­ naments. So we went to Birmingham, and almost shit our pants.

We could not believe there were that many faggots and sissies that knew how to play ball, could play competitively and were or­ ganized in leagues and divisions.”

It was enough to make Litty and com­ pany go check it out.

“It was the most fun we ever had!” Litty exclaims. “There were people playing in heels and dresses. It was on Easter Sunday and we were told it was Bonnet Sunday at the softball field. So you had teams in regu­ lar uniforms and teams out in their Easter Sunday best, including the most bodacious bonnets I had ever seen in my life.

“We came back to Ft. Lauderdale not only impressed, but determined that our

one team was going to split up into six teams, with no more than two of the origi­ nal players on each team. Sure enough, we did it. Those six new teams became the South Florida Softball League. We eventual­ ly started our first season with eight teams.”

Over time, the SFSL would split into two leagues, one the primarily male Open Divi­ sion while the other became the Women’s Division.

“We’re still part of the SFAAA, but we are separated financially,” explains Carol Mo­ ran, Commissioner of the Women’s Divi­ sion. “We have a separate World Series, so it made sense. When we first got involved in softball, we had five women’s teams. Now we have 22.”

Moran is quick to point out that no one

2D ays Lat er.. .

Jan uar y V

olu me 25, 2 1, I ssu 010 e1

breakInG newS FrOM day 1

www.southfloridagaynews.com

should discount the Women’s Division.

Competitively, they can stand toe­to­toe with the Open Division.

“Yes!” Moran says emphatically. “[Like the Open Division] we have four divisions. They have four divisions. We also have A, B, C and D leagues. Our teams are not all out for the beer and to hang out. I think people get in­ timidated when they see some of our teams play. They come to me and say ‘I’m not that good.’ What they have to understand is that it’s good exercise, good way to meet women, and a great outdoor activity. The league is a great way to also expand social contacts.”

The SFAAA is part of a national organiza­ tion of similar teams.

“SFAAA is part of two national organiza­ tions,” explains Campbell. “One is called NAGAAA. That is the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance. It was started back in 1977 by a New York bar owner who retired to Ft. Lauderdale. He formed NA­ GAAA while he was still in New York and brought it down here with him. The second group is called ASANA, the women’s half, which stands for the Amateur Sports Alli­ ance of North America. They are very new.

“Basically, the goal at the end of every sea­ son is to get to the World Series.” Last year’s C Division World Series Champion was the Sideline Cyclones, based out of Wilton Manors. “That was the team I played for and that was a big deal,” Campbell righ­ teously boasts.

Yet now it’s time for another season. Try­ outs for the Women’s Division will be held at Mills Pond Park on February 14. The Open Division will have their own tryouts the following week, on February 21.

This leaves one other opening season ritual, getting sponsors.

“We do need to get some more sponsors involved,” says Moran. “I mean it’s only $350 for a whole season! What kind of advertis­ ing can you buy for that? I mean you get 12 women who are going to wear the sponsor’s uniform and play hard for them. It’s great rec­ ognition. You can also have a banner out on the field. That’s another way to promote your business. It would be great to have more.”

So while hot stove leagues disband and old timers may lament the loss of MLB spring training, the SFAAA prepares itself for another season and more World Series grandeur.

Publisher’s Note: The South Florida Gay News.com will sponsor a team in this year’s league, provided we are guaranteed first place.

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SuckerPunched continued from page 4

ness group organized by Bobby Blair, who had previously published a now defunct bar guide by the name of The Buzz. His bid was the highest, and the SBA inked him in as the winner and future operator of the South Florida Blade and 411.

By all rhyme and reason, he should have paid the government its money and moved into the paper’s offices. It could have hap­ pened as early as Labor Day. The winning bid, said Brian Stern, a Washington, D.C. based negotiator for the government, was $175,000.

Under the terms of the purchase, Multi Me­ dia Platforms tendered a trust account check to local attorney Dean Trantalis. The transac­ tion was to close in mid December, and upon the deal’s completion, the team led by Blair and his investors would have begun publish­ ing 411 and The Blade before Christmas.

HOW IT HAPPENED Unbeknownst to the government how­ ever was that attorneys for Window Media and Unite Media were preparing bankrupt­ cy papers for their papers. Unable to pay staff, meet obligations or even print any

of

On November 16, while the monies to buy them were sitting in an attorney’s escrow account, the papers closed their doors, ceased operations, and went into bankruptcy court. This event preempted even the foreclosure action which had put Unite and Window Media into receivership and up for sale. Everything came to a dead halt, and the offices of all the Window and Unite properties were boarded up by court order. They remain so today.

The same Unite Media which paid close to one million dollars for The Express in Decem­ ber, 2003, shut its doors down just before De­ cember of 2009 owing debts totalling nearly 8 million dollars to 126 creditors. Separately, Window listed claims of nearly $7.85 million to 277 secured and unsecured creditors.

Combined, the companies owe $1.04 mil­ lion in payroll and other taxes to federal, state and local agencies; $418,189 to print­ ers in several states; $168,109 in rent in Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale and Washington, D.C.; $71,798 to distributors of the former publications; and $4,500 to two companies providing health insurance.

Under the rules of a bankruptcy, you as a debtor have to list your creditors to the court, so those debts may be excused. But you also must list your potential assets, such as debts people owe you. The bankruptcy judge appoints a trustee to marshal and

wilton exeCutive suites, the forMer hoMe 411 and the BLade was stung for $9,000 in BaCk due rents.

more issues, they in effect could not wait for the sale to take place. They were flat ass broke and had to shut down at once.

Numerous employees were also owed back due checks. They had suffered all summer by depositing ones which were be­ ing returned by the bank. The handwriting was on the wall. Fortunately, the prospec­ tive buyers of The Blade offered many of those staffers new work at a start up maga­ zine, which would be called Mark’s List, and a new newspaper, named The Agenda.

gather your assets, which he then disburses to creditors in terms of priority interest.

In this case, the IRS and other creditors are owed almost $5 million, and there is virtually nothing left to pay anyone back.

‘The average Joe’ on the street who is owed money is out of luck.

WHAT ABOUT WHO OWES THEM? A number of businesses who had out­ standing debts to 411 and The Blade may

43 have thought they were home free after the reclaim the URL’s and donate them to the bankruptcy. They are finding out this week Stonewall Library so the gay and lesbian they are not. Since the requirements of a history of South Florida is preserved. Our bankruptcy demanded that the collapsed mutual concern in acquiring these items enterprise list not only its creditors but its was to secure the domain names of the old debtors, the government has a list of every­ newspapers for posterity. ” Ironically, Agenda Publisher Kevin Hop­ one who owed the paper money, including per wrote a letter to the SFGN this week ex­ any delinquent advertisers.

As the trustee has a duty to collect those debts for the government to miti­ gate its losses, court offi­ cials have now started the collections process.

The bankruptcy says Unite Media owes the government $5 million, but the trustee, doing his duty, has written a letter to a number of bars and Ô knife and forkÕ ColuMnist nigel revenge is not Bitter and does nightclubs demanding not have a Poor taste in his Mouth, But he was listed as a Blade sums as little as $200 for Creditor with a taB of nearly 2k owed hiM: Ò like anyone who outstanding ads run in Puts their fingers to a keyBoard, i just wanted to get Paid.Ó 411 last October. That is because the trustee has to fulfill his judicial ob­ pressing concern that this publication was improperly using the news racks of Multi­ ligation and collect monies anywhere he can.

One nightclub owner, asking not to be sin­ media Platforms to distribute the paper.

While claiming they were the former gled out, scoffed: “This is amazing. They owe the government 5 million dollars and they property of the Buzz, he could not produce want a $150 from me for a quarter page ad?” receipts to establish ownership, and he was A second method to collect funds to pay quite apparently unaware that the US Bank­ back the taxpayers who essentially are the ruptcy Trustee has awarded those distribu­ losers when a government loan fails is to tion racks to Hot Spots, along with the do­ sell off any assets the bankrupt company main names of 411 and The Blade.

Because Multi Media Platforms has no may have remaining. ties to the collapsed entities of Unite or Window, they do NOT have any right to WHAT ABOUT THE ASSETS? In this case, the domain names of Express- use their newspaper racks, names, offices gaynews.com, SouthFloridaBlade.com and or any of the property of the bankrupt com­ Genre have some value. Not much, but some. panies. Nor are they allowed to collect the Within weeks after the November, 2009 debts of Unite Media. Anything owed to, or bankruptcy, the Atlanta based trustee, Stu­ owned by, Unite Media is under the custody of its bankruptcy trustee. art Clayton, put those assets up for sale.

Last Thursday, SFGN representatives watched News and distribution racks, and the old monitors are examples of assets oth­ and took photographs as distributors of the ers might seek to acquire. The South Flor- Agenda threw SFGN on the floor in numer­ ida Gay News.com and Hot Spots Magazine ous locations, while putting new labels for discussed purchasing them, along with the Mark’s List and the Agenda on news racks already bearing the Blade logo. websites and URL’s.

“It’s hilarious,” said John Fugate, who On January 29, 2010, the Bankruptcy Trustee, Jeffrey Kerr, approved the purchase photographed the episodes for SFGN. “Hot of all the archives and websites, to Peter Spots is buying these racks from a bank­ Clark, the Publisher of Hot Spots Magazine, ruptcy court, above board, and legitimately, and the Agenda is trying to call them their for the sum of $3200.

Also included in the purchase, await­ own.”

Not to worry. Beginning next week, ing approval from the Bankruptcy Court judge, were the news racks, and miscella­ SFGN will be circulated on red news racks with its own name and label, just ordered neous properties.

Stated Clark, “We and SFGN want to from a major news rack company.

44

HistoryÕ s Greatest Diver Turns 50

The Trials and Tribulations of Greg Louganis

By CHERYL WITTENAUER Associated P ress Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Greg Louganis has al­ ways had chutzpah.

When he was a toddler, the boy who would become history’s greatest diver sneaked into his sister’s dance class and outshined the older kids. By 3, he was sing­ ing and dancing on stage, and at 8, was do­ ing gymnastic stunts off the diving board at home. By 9, he was diving competitively. ``I’ve been performing all my life,’’ Louga­ nis said. ``I always need a creative outlet, no matter what.’’

Louganis is in the midst of some tough times, 22 years af­ ter becoming the only man to sweep

freedoM in the Pool, and inset, PeoPLe MagazineÑ torMent in his heart.

springboard and platform diving gold med­ als in consecutive Olympics. Now 50, the speaking engagements on diversity, HIV ed­ ucation, depression and domestic violence have dried up in the recession. ``Everybody’s hurting across the board,’’ he said.

He took a financial hit when the apparel company Speedo stopped sponsoring him in 2007. He is at risk of losing his home in Malibu, Calif., which he shares with his partner of almost three years, Daniel Mc­ Swiney, a one­time computer programmer who now manages Louganis’ schedule.

He’s getting more serious about acting, but regional theater, like the Indian Wells in Palm Desert, Calif., where he’ll perform in ``The Little Dog Laughed’’ in April ``is not a living,’’ he said. ``It doesn’t pay the mortgage. You do it

(AP PHOTO/JEFF ROBERSON)

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

for the love of it, to get up there and play.’’

It’s been 15 years since Lou­ ganis revealed his homosexuality and HIV status in his 1995 best­ selling autobiog­ raphy, ``Breaking the Surface.’’ He had held the secret since learning himself in the months leading up to the 1988 Seoul Games.

Louganis, who said he never expected to see 30, turned 50 on Jan. 29, and is proud of the achievement.

Today, he is fit and tan, and physically challenges himself with daily hikes, moun­ tain biking, spinning classes, gym workouts or yoga. He has dipped in and out of danger­ ously low levels of white blood cell counts that are a barometer of the immune system, but refuses to play the AIDS numbers game.

He said he mentally files away his peri­ odic blood test results to a place that won’t paralyze him. ``I take my medicines in the morning and evening, and go about the business of liv­ ing,’’ he said during a recent stop in subur­ ban St. Louis, where the avid dog lover par­ ticipated in the national finals of the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge.

Louganis speaks warmly of his late adop­ tive parents, and was especially close to his mother, his confidante, who dismissed his nervous, youthful disclosure of his homo­ sexuality as no big deal. He said his father could be abusive when he drank, but Lou­ ganis made peace with him, and cared for his father in his last months of life.

Louganis said a Samoan man who claims to have been his biological father intro­ duced himself after a speaking engagement a few years ago in Hawaii. Louganis’ birth parents were only 15 years old when they placed him for adoption, leading to feelings of rejection and trouble with alcohol, drugs

olyMPiC diver greg louganis Poses for a Portrait with his dog, doBBy, friday, oCt. 2, 2009, in gray suMMit, Mo. louganis, historyÕ s greatest diver, faCes 50 with Pride and gratitude and keePs reinventing hiMself.

and the law at an early age.

Juvenile authori­ ties released Lou­ ganis to his adop­ tive parents on the condition that he would go straight home from school and help his mother with chores. ``I’d tell her dirty jokes and she’d come back and shock me,’’ he said. ``I knew I could tell her anything.

We were so tight. There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t miss her.’’

A drama major in college, Louganis has had film, theater, and television acting roles over the last 20 years, including Off­Broad­ way’s ``Jeffrey,’’ and ``The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me,’’ and a perfor­ mance as a coach in the independent film, ``Watercolors.’’

Louganis’ love of animals, and his own struggles with HIV, led him last year to co­ found a fund that helps those infected with HIV meet their pets’ basic needs. He’s done dog training and agility meets the last 12 years, most recently in the Purina Incred­ ible Dog Finals in Gray Summit, Mo., with Dobby, his Jack Russell Terrier.

Frank Mariglia of New York, who met Louganis in 1993, described his friend as a private man who is ``creative, enlightened, playful, contemplative, and focused. ``Greg lives in the present and values ev­ ery opportunity presented to him to better his experiences in life,’’ he said.

Louganis has been trying to get on ``Dancing with the Stars’’ since the popu­ lar show’s second season, but was told he had too much dance experience and not enough star power. Asked if it hurts that his star may have faded, he said, ``I don’t think about it. I don’t focus on those things. ``That’s somebody’s opinion. I focus on the dogs, the day to day, the people who are current,’’ he said. ``I don’t read my press, nor is it relevant. It’s not who I am.’’

45

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Classifieds: Call Mike 954-928-1862 ACCOMMODATIONS LIBERTY SUITES PERFECT WINTER VACATION RENTALS Winter Sunshine Specials (Valid Through April 30) From $79/Night & $495/Week Studio, 1BD & 2BD Apts w/ Full Kitchens Clothing optional heated pool, laundry, Parking. Close to Gay Dania & Nude.

Haulover Beaches. Premium cable, VOIP Telephone & WiFi Internet. Pets always Welcome! 954-927-0090 www.LibertySuites.com

COMPUTERS THE COMPUTER GUY In-home service by nice, reliable guy with over 30 years experience. Find computers confusing? Want your own website? Computer sluggish? Got a virus? I can repair or upgrade your computer and provide training. A+ Certified. Call 954-295-2220 or E-Mail: ComputerGuyFTL@aol.com -------------------------------NETECH SYSTEMS SOLUTIONS Computer/Network Technical Support for Home and Business/Installations/Upgrades/ Maintenance/Repairs/Training/ Consultations. 10+ years of Enterprise Level Experience and Very Dependable.

Call Peter at (954) 816-4126 or email peter@netechsystems.com -------------------------------GEEK PATROL COMPUTER SERVICES Florida Tech Support Located in Wilton Manors - Windows & Mac (OS X) security, virus & spyware removal, repairs upgrades, wired & wireless networking - gay owned Floridatechsupport@mac.com 954-453-9574 -------------------------------*OPTIMA* COMPUTER REPAIR COMPLETE IN HOME SERVICE. *Get the BEST performance, protection & value from your computer investment. *A+ Hardware & OS CERTIFIED. *Friendly, professional, RELIABLE service. Reasonable rates. Call: Mike 954-817-3883

LICENSED MASSAGE DISCLAIMER The following advertisers listed under the category Ò Licensed MassageÓ are state licensed in Florida and provide therapeutic massage services.

-------------------------------DAVIDSPA.COM MASSAGE THERAPY David Dantas, LMT 954-918-2015 Lic. MA48221 -------------------------------MASSAGEBYJIM.COM Jim Libonati, NCTMB, LMT 954-600-5843 Lic. MA50898, MM22293 -------------------------------MASSEURFINDER.COM Find the perfect masseur In South Florida -------------------------------METAPHYSICAL MASSAGE Alfonzo Castano, NCTMB, LMT 954-297-7137 Lic. MA57817 -------------------------------78¡ SPA OPTIMAL COMFORT FOR EVERY BODY John Pimenta 954-630-1444 Lic. MM18817 -------------------------------L. BUZZ MASSAGE NOOK Larry Buzzeo 954-513-5713 Lic. MA32254 -------------------------------MASSAGE BY A NICE JEWISH GUY Let me work my massage magic.

Aventura a specialty. David 305-936-2551 MA15197 -------------------------------MASSAGE BY MARK $40 SPECIAL Soothe your gay nerves, 75 Minutes of therapeutic massage done in the privacy of your home. Call 954-463-6791 or Cell 954-895-2265 MA0016739 (Non-Sexual)

----------------------------------TABLE FOR ONE Theraputic Massage by Aig Erumsele, LMT, NCTMB. Lic# MA57818.

IN/OUT Calls. Chair Massage, Home, Office, Parties or Events. Call 561-504-1097

COUNSELING DR . SEAN LEONARD CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST Specializing in issues related to intimacy, relationships, and sexuality in the gay community. Support and treatment are guided by 15 years of training and experience in research of sexuality and intimacy, and psychotherapy for individuals and partners. Specialty areas include relationship enhancement, treatment of compulsive sexuality, overcoming challenges to intimacy and commitment, and sexual self-esteem. Offices located in both Ft. Lauderdale and Davie. Visit website FloridaPsychology.us or call 954-566-2166, ext. 203 for more information.

Licensed Clinical Psychologist (FL PY6552) -------------------------------JOHN W. DORAN , LCSW Serving the community for 19+ years, specializing in gay/lesbian/bisexual issues, addictions, relationship issues, HIV/AIDS, anger management, co-dependency, loss/ bereavement. Providing individual/couple/ family/group. Most insurance accepted, Wilton Manors location, 954-253-4060 -------------------------------LIFE COACHING BECAUSE YOU DESERVE TO BE HAPPY WITH WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU ARE HEADED • Low Self Image/Esteem • Anger/Resentment Issues • Relationship/Commitment Issues • Weight Control • Self-Sabatoging Behavior • Stop Smoking • Drug & Alcohol Dependence, etc...LIFESTYLES, LLC 954-683-8546 -------------------------------GROW FROM LIFEÕ S CHALLENGES Addictions, relationships, depression, co-dependency & support. Sensitive & Caring Gay Therapist-WM Office.

Kurt Robbins, LMFT 954-604-7893 www.SouthFloridaTherapy.com

FOR SALE 150 GAY DVD COLLECTION Reviewer’s, Once-Played Boxed Bareback 18-25. Whole Collection Only $1,000!

For Titles email: n.esbi@yahoo.com

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED - CAGED HUNKS - RAMROD HOT, MUSCULAR, CAGED HUNKS WANTED FOR SATURDAY NIGHTS AT THE RAMROD. CASH PAY + TIPS. CALL 954-802-5190 AFTER 11 AM OR SEE KEVIN M-TH HAPPY HOURS AT THE BAR -------------------------------JOHNNYÕ S FORT LAUDERDALE IS NOW SEEKING: in shape, attractive BARTENDERS with min. 2 years exp. in high energy club environment. We are also Looking for Shot Boys,Cocktail boys, Cashiers, Security (must have G License) for interview contact AJ Cross 754-367-6366 or email montrealboyinfl@aol.com or JohnnysBarFL@aol.com -------------------------------DUDES ON THE BEACH Dudes on the Beach is now hiring Bar Staff and Dancers. Looking for people with a touch of class. 3270 NE 33rd Street, 954 568-7777. Apply in person.

-------------------------------SLAMMER IS LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN! bartenders, locker....must be flexible and dependable....apply in person Monday nights 8 pm, no phone calls!

----------------------------------COURTYARD CAFE IS LOOKING FOR SHORT ORDER COOKS All shifts. Must be able to cook breakfast.

2211 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors. Please apply in person. NO PHONE CALLS --------------------------------DESTINATION MANAGEMENT COMPANY ON MIAMI BEACH Seeks a part-time secretary/assistant.

English, writing skills and computer a must. About 20 hours per week. Please send resume to: jonathan@mosaictours.com ----------------------------------MASCULINE DANCERS WANTED The Stable is hiring masculine male dancers. Please contact Howard at 954-296-9512 ----------------------------------A.J. CROSS, FORMER GENERAL MANAGER OF Ô Õ CUPIDS CABARETÕ Õ , PROUDLY PRESENTS: An all new “Private Gentleman’s Club” featuring an elite troop of the most beautiful men ever seen in South Florida. We are currently looking for masculine, well endowed, sexy men between the ages of 18-30 years old with great personalities and the confidence to perform nude/ semi nude on stage. The new club will be opening in the South Florida area with the location to be announced very soon.

If you feel you have what it takes to be one of the selected elite entertainers, please contact A.J. Cross @ 754-3676366 and email your best photo to Montrealboyinfl@aol.com

----------------------------------ENTRY LEVEL POSITION IN BUSY REAL ESTATE LAW FIRM Excellent opportunity!!! Position includes various duties such as scanning, phones, filing, etc. Must be organized, reliable, honest, and friendly. Must have a positive attitude and be able to work well with others. Some real estate experience preferred, but not required. Please email resume to moore@gtpalaw.com.

----------------------------------HOUSE KEEPING POSITION DAYS Worthington/Alcazar resorts now taking applications For daytime housekeeper.

Must have recent experience. Must be friendly, outgoing and pay attention to detail. Approx. 25 to 30 per week. Apply at 543 North Birch road 954-563-6819 ----------------------------------WANTED: MALE DANCERS Must be over 21. NO house fees. Friday nights at The Depot. Please complete application and submit a picture to Marc at The Depot, 1243 NE 11th Avenue. Mon Friday 1 PM to midnight.

----------------------------------LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCED BARTENDERS AND DANCERS FOR BUSY NIGHTCLUB IN WILTON MANORS Apply in person, at GAYMART, must bring photo. 2240 Wilton Drive 954-630-0360 ----------------------------------LOOKING FOR A NICE, SHIRTLESS CLEANING GUY for my house from February 1st. Please only serious and american guys! 2 times a week. massimo.contis@hotmail.com

----------------------------------SALES REPS 1,000 WEEKLY GUARANTEE IN WRITING! Needed For S. FL Gay Community Yellow Pages! Sales Commission! Monthly Phone allowance! Weekly Gas! Bonuses!

Random perks provided by the company!

All leads provided / No COLD CALLS! Carma Productions is a 20 yr old gay, fast paced organization based in Atlanta w/ offices in Florida! We sell advertising, produce, & publish Program Guides and the Gay Community Yellow Pages (GCYP!) Interviews the week of February 8th! Send your resume and qualifications to hr@ carmaproductions.com please put “FLA SALES” in the subject line. Tell us why you are the next FLORIDA GCYP SALES REP! ----------------------------------VIDEO MODELS WANTED Gay Adult bareback company casting Sexy Guys 18-35 Be In-Shape, Attractive, Endowed/Great Ass! Contact www. cre8tivejuices.com or call Sean at 1-888-523-5623.

----------------------------------PERSONAL ASSISTANT Help wanted Part Time Adminstrative assistant with Waiter Experience A plus Call Chuck at 954.205.5960

POSITION WANTED

A HOMELESS VOICE CALLS FOR HELP

PERSONAL ASSISTANT Experienced multilingual (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish) for CEO, Business Man. I’m GWM, 35yr., well educated, healthy, honest, mature. Looking for personal assistant position, house manger (butler, run errands, dry cleaning, chauffeur). References upon request. Worked in same position for a lawyer and TV producer in FTL, NYC and LA. Please contact me by E-mail: xa.is@usa.net

ORPHANS OF SOuth FLOrIda Gay newS

HEALTH/FITnESS

by A. Sebastian Fortino

If you read “Catching My Breath,” in our first edition I arrived in Miami in late October. Wonderful opportunities supposedly paved my future. However, one thing led to another and they turned out to be anything but wonderful in the end.

Eventually I was invited by our publisher to try my luck in Wilton Manors. By try my luck…I mean save my life.

Oddly, I am not the only staff member of our South Florida Gay News family to be in—shall we say—unfortunate straits. Matthew Clark, from Athens, Georgia, oh my god! is also new to the area. As we are both…um, gay orphans we are going to share an apartment together. Thanks to the Orton Terrace for giving us a bed for a week, and thanks to Susan Martino and Robert De Benedictis for helping us find an annual rental in the Manors.

However, unfurnished apartments don’t come cheap. Neither do beds, kitchen wares, linens, sofas, TVs and well…everything.

Therefore, we are humbly requesting any donations you might feel the need to get out of your garage or storage unit.

While I typically only decorate with 18th Century French gilt furniture, and Matthew prefers original mid-century modern, we have modestly adjusted our standards. Just this time.

Of course—as homosexuals—we have standards. Slight standards. Namely: anything that is in reasonably good condition that you would be willing to drop off at our River Bend Ranchero.

Principally we need two full-size mattresses, a sofa, dishes, linens, a kitchen or dining room table, and a small desk appropriate for a laptop and printer. I suppose the maid can wait.

So before you throw anything out, perhaps you can shoot us an email at Sebastian.fortino@southfloridagaynews.com or matthew. clark@southfloridagaynews.com.

Or feel free to call the office and let us know! Thanks in advance! We, the Orphans of the South Florida Gay News, will appreciate any assistance you can provide us.

ANDREÕ S SPA SERVICES Licensed Skin Care Specialist & Cosmetologist Waxing, Microdermabrasion, European Facials, Manicures, Pedicures. 954-482-3112 www.Spa2urHome.com ----------------------------------PRIVATE PERSONAL TRAINING GYM Rene Endara, World Champion Bodybuilder And Personal Trainer. Call for Free Consultation 954-394-6979 www.ReneEndara.com ----------------------------------DUANE LEVANDOWSKI, PERSONAL TRAINER “Back in it for your results” Certified Personal Trainer & Nutrition Counselor 954-655-6799 ----------------------------------REMOVE THE HAIR FROM ANYWHERE European Speed Wax, European Hard Wax, Body Grooming. Don DiCarlo 954734-5531 www.TheBeachSpa.com Lic. CL1183450 ----------------------------------MOBILE TEETH WHITENING $49 Hotspots Special $69 Couples Special Call for Info & Appointment 954-583-0511 ----------------------------------ROBINS CHIROPRACTIC Dr. Bruce Robins Quality Chiropractic Care From a Doctor you can Trust.

Free Constultation & Exam 954-523-5336 701-D East Broward Blvd.

Fort Lauderdale, FL ----------------------------------CARE RESOURCE - HIV RAPID TESTING BROWARD COUNTY 830 E. Oakland Park Blvd Oakland Park, FL 33334 For Info Call 954-567-7141 FREE and CONFIDENTIAL TESTING FROM 9:30AM TO 5:00PM www.CareResource.org/ testinginfo.html ----------------------------------HIV AND STD TESTING AT THE GLCC 2040 N. Dixie Highway Wilton Manors, FL 33305 For more details and info call: 954-463-9005 or visit www.GLCCSF.org

--------------------------------RESEARCH STUDY - EARN CASH Are you a sexually active gay/bi man?

You may be eligible to participate in a paid research study! Call ROOM Project 954-566-8206

REAL ESTATE THE GAYLE BORDEN REAL ESTATE GROUP www.GayleBorden.com Direct Office: 954-525-3355 Direct Mobile: 954-815-6233 Coldwell Banker --------------------------------RE/MAX PARTnERS LAS OLAS Joe Ando, PA Realtor ¨ Cell: 954-616-9655 Jim Cunningham, PA Realtor ®, ABR®, e-PRO® Cell: 954-854-3777 www.WereSellingParadise.com --------------------------------PRO-TEAM FLORIDA Mike Walters 954-608-3807 Barry Murac 954-296-7700 www.SunshineHomes4Sale.com --------------------------------BERGER REALTY GROUP, INC. Gary Katz 954-803-0885 heronbayagent@aol.com --------------------------------ATLANTIC PROPERTIES INTERNATIONAL Scott Rouda, Realtor®, GRI, TRC, ICREA 954-643-7077 www.ScottRouda.com --------------------------------MARVILLA CONDOMINIUM Only 2 Units Left $119,000 Developer’s Final Close-Out 2124 NE 5th Avenue, Wilton Manors For Sales Info, Contact 954-971-6775 Preferred Realty --------------------------------CASTELLI REAL ESTATE SERVICES Steven Pizzuto 954-873-2830 www.CastelliHomes.com --------------------------------FT LAUDERDALE/LAUDER LAKES PRIMARILY GAY PARK Hurricane Ready 1,600sf 2BR/2BA 1 Yr Old, 32’ Party Deck overlooks huge Lake.

Manufactured Home. Wood Cabinets & Granite Tops, Slate & Marble floors.

Immaculate. Real Show Place! Pics @ www.twitpic.com/photos/FLParadise4Sale Cost $205K+, Sell $159,900, Call 954.817.6233 --------------------------------WAREHOUSE/STORE ROOM FOR SALE, OAKLAND PARK Oakland Park Condo Warehouse/Store Room. 600 sq. ft. Upscale and Gated.

Centrally located. Tel: 954-647-1211

ROOMMATES ROOMMATE TO SHARE Large 2 BR/2BA condo with river and city views. Walk to Wilton Drive. Newly renovated. Nonsmoker, no pets - job and references required. $595/month and half utilities. F/L/S. Call Rob 954-806-2034 ---------------------------------ROOMATE WANTED FOR CLOTHING OPTIONAL POOL HOME IN WILTON MANORS 3BD/2BA. Must be dog friendly. Access to laundry facilities. Furnished Bedroom $600/ Mo. per month includes maid service twice a month. Please call Robert at 954-401-1726.

---------------------------------FURNISHED ROOM FOR RENT Share a 2BD/2BA, near I-95 and Oakland Park Blvd, no smoking, no drugs. $550/ Mo. + Dep. Includes utilities and cable.

Call 954-684-7427 --------------------------------ANDREWS GARDENS Share large 3/2 w/pool, W/D, WiFi, utilities included $490/mo. + Security. Employed.

Available immediately. Call 954-881-2848 --------------------------------FORT LAUDERDALE - NW 16TH AVE Fully Furnished Room in nudist house. All utilities Inc. Central AC, Cable TV, Pool, Fenced Yard, Pets OK. Couples OK. Must like dogs! $150/WK + $300 Sec. Call 954938-5980 Email: TDstallion7cut@yahoo. comLabrador Puppies FOR SALE, Stud service and cheap Dog Sitting available.

More on next page

46

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

CLASSIFIEDS@HOTSPOTSMAGAZINE.COM

ROOMMATES contÕ d

REnT/LEASE

GAY ROOMMATE WANTED 2 Bed/2Bath Apt in South Halieah. $500/Mo. covers all expenses. Apt. furnished with DirectTV. 305-805-7081 kenospry@aol.com --------------------------------FORT LAUDERDALE, CLOSE TO WILTON MANORS Walking distance to stores, professional female looking for GM or Female. Must be neat, clean, employed outside of the home, and responsible. Your private bedroom has its own entrance, share bath and kitchen, pool, WD on premisis. $550/ Mo. + Security. Includes cable, internet and all utilities. Available March 1st. Call 954-825-1228 --------------------------------BEAUTIFUL SOUTH BOCA HOME - OFF OF HILLSBORO BLVD. On golf course to share. Outside kitchen, hot tub. $695/Mo. Includes all utilities, cable & internet. Avail. March 1st. Call Ray 954-907-6365

GAIA RESIDENCES RIVERSIDE PARK Move In Today! Clothing Optional Resort Complex Contact Stacy 954-647-9947 Or email: ttuchow@aol.com --------------------------------OAKLAND PARK A WINNER! Newly Refurbished Apt. - Large 1 Bedroom/1 Bath, new tiled floors, updated bathroom, new kitchen appliances & A/C. Only $725/month Call Lucien 954816-1322 --------------------------------NEED HELP LOOKING? At no cost to you, we review hundreds of properties in Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manor areas to meet your specifications and price range. We will even review and prepare the final lease to insure your protection. Call Dick at 954-616-7662 or our office 954-764-6061 East Side Realty Group.

--------------------------------NE FT LAUDERDALE 2BD/1BA Condo in Georgian Court, Main Floor Corner Unit, Pool, Club House, Laundry. Unit Updated. Close to I-95. $835/Mo. Free Month with Yr Lease. Call 954-229-9479 --------------------------------2/2 COnDO - MAnOR GROVE IV - BLDG. J 1st Fl. Unit, Large MBR with Walk-in Closet/ Private Full Bath, Lrg. 2nd BR, Screen Porch.

Includes All Appliances, D/W, Storage Unit.

W/D on Premises. Reserved Parking. Walk to Wilton Dr. $1095/Mo. Avail Feb. 15th. Call 757-749-3484 ----------------------------------VICTORIA PARK CONDO 2BR/1BA fully furnished condo for rent.

Central air & heat, pool, tile floors, D/W, balcony, parking space, secured building.

No Pets. $950 per month plus electric, F/S. Call 954-565-2714.

--------------------------------MAnOR GROVE 2/2 Updated, tile, screened porch, walk to Wilton Drive, $1,200/Mo. Steve Pizzuto 954-873-2830 Castelli RE Services --------------------------------COLOnIAL MAnOR 1/1.5 Completely remodeled, walk to Galleria Mall, bike to beach. Steve Pizzuto 954-8732830 Castelli RE Services --------------------------------ISLAnD CITY LOFTS 2/2.5 CORNER UNIT Stunning, Pool, Fitness Center, on “The Drive”, $1,900/Mo. Steve Pizzuto 954-873-2830 Castelli RE Services --------------------------------PALM ISLAND VILLAS Brand New Tri-Level 3/3.5 Townhouse, walk to “The Drive”, $1,850/Mo. Steve Pizzuto 954-873-2830 Castelli RE Services --------------------------------NEAR THE BEACH 2BD/2BA $1,195/Mo. and 2BD/1BA $1,095/ Mo., window treatments, tile, carpet, large private fenced back yard, laundry on premisis, F/S 954-914-9144 --------------------------------$750 BEHIND GALLERIA ($50 OFF FIRST MONTH) 1BD/1BA, 800 sqft w/ pool, no pets please. Call 954-8025059 or trmman@comcast.net --------------------------------1BD/1BA CLOSE TO WILTOn DRIVE 550sq ft. apt., newly renovated with granite countertops, European style cabinets, built in W/D, private back yard/covered patio. $850/Mo. Call 954-533-1240

--------------------------------GEORGOUS TOWNHOUSE FOR RENT IN WILTON MANORS 2BD/2.5BA, 2 story townhouse, $1,450/ Mo. Tile floors, central air, W/D, DW, screened in portch, community pool, sits on fingertip canal. In heart and soul of Wilton Manors. Walk to restaurants, shops, nightlife. Can be furnished for $1,550/Mo. Approx 1,200 sqft. One small pet allowed. Call Anthony 215-715-0494 --------------------------------POINSETTIA HEIGHTS Large 3/2 Duplex Apartment for Rent.

Tile floors throughout. Eat in Kitchen, W/D, Guest Bedroom with Private Entrance. $1,100/Mo. + utilities. F/S. Call 954-565-2714.

--------------------------------2BD/1BA In WILTOn MAnORS W/D in unit, Central AC, DW, tile floors, excellent condition, pool on premisis, small pet ok, $1,000/Mo. + Sec. Includes all utilities (+cable) except electricity. 1yr. lease. Call 305-304-1349 --------------------------------VICTORIA PARK SPACIOUS STUDIO Studio, pool, updated, Walk to Gateway and Galleria. N/S. $825/Mo. Call 954-270-0304 --------------------------------VICTORIA PARK VERY LARGE 1 BEDROOM Large 1 bedroom, pool, updated, Walk to Gateway and Galleria.

N/S. $1,000/Mo. Call 954-270-0304 --------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE TOWNHOUSES Large 2/1½ unit townhouse style. Tile, Central A/C, D/W, microwave, great location in quiet complex. $900/Mo. F/L/S 954-270-0304 --------------------------------EAST OAKLAND PARK WALK TO SCANDALS 2/2 corner unit, clean condo, w/pool, laudry room, cent. A/C, all tile, great location, ample paking, small pet ok. 2nd floor. $950/mo.

954-486-2621 --------------------------------WILTON MANORS WATERFRONT ON THE PARK Waterfront 2BD/2BA Corner Unit, Large Open living areas, W/D in unit, $1,200/ Mo. Waterfront 1BD/1BA, new kitchen, spacious apt. $875/Mo. Spacious STUDIO apartment, private entrance, tile floors, galley kitchen, full size refrigerator, updated bathroom, wall of closets $575/ Mo. Call 954-224-8768

--------------------------------WESTSIDE WILTON MANORS 1BR/1BA located off 21st Court. Quite location walking distance to Wilton Drive. Updated unit, Laundry on property. $795/Mo. 1st, Sec. Avail NOW Call Ron 954-415-8273 --------------------------------LAKERIDGE RENTAL 3BD/2BA house close to Wilton Manors, beach and shopping, tile floors throughout, fenced front and back yards, small pets considered, PRICE REDUCED $1,300/MO. + L/S. Call Randy for appt.

954-347-1016 --------------------------------LAKERIDGE - PERFECT 1/1 Newer everything, granite kitchen, ice-maker, steps to Holiday Park & The Depot. $725/Mo. F/S. Large 1/1 w/ big patio area for $825/Mo. F/S Call 954-4489811, Pets OK. --------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER 2BD/1BA Nice kitchen, central air, new floors, 1 year lease. $850/Mo. F/S. Call 954-4489811, Pets OK. --------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER - CONDO qUALITY Gigantic 1BD/1BA, Central AC, Open Granite Kitchen with Island, DW, icemaker, designer bath, 15x20 master w/ walk-in closet. Must See! $895/Mo. F/S. Call 954-448-9811, Pets OK. --------------------------------1/1 APARTMEnT MInUTES TO WILTOn DRIVE $725/MO. Private 1/1, cent a/c, all tile, french door to large patio/fenced yard & laundry, cats & most dogs okay 954-849-4944 --------------------------------NE FT. LAUDERDALE WILTON MANOR AREA AVAILABLE NOW Lovely, IMMACULATE, 1/1’s, private patios, newer kitchens, lg. BR, walk-n closet, tile floors, a/c, washer/dyer, cable ready, Quiet, all gay complex. Cat considered. $680-$700. By appt. 954-592-3772 --------------------------------727 NW 1ST AVE-OFF OF ANDREWS AVE. Completely Remodeled 2BR/1BA on beautiful street lined with new townhouses. Large fenced yard, very quet, private laudry on premises, parking.

Central AC $850/mo + 1/mo security. Gino 954-551-3621

--------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE DUPLEX Large 1 Bedroom Apt. AC, Tile, Fenced Yard, Washer/Dryer, Private Parking, Pet OK. $750/Mo. Call 954-463-6791 --------------------------------VILLAGE PARK AT OAKLAND On SALE! Only $750/mo for 2/1 second floor apt. Pool, tennis, exercise room, laundry. New carpet, paint, xtra clean.

Commercial Blvd East of 95 at NE 6 Ave. Adjacent Publix/Bally’s, 1 mile to beach.

954-552-5023. Blueboy1st@hotmail.com Southcore Realty.

--------------------------------2 MIN TO WILTON DRIVE Small quiet lushly landscaped bldg, 1/1, 1st floor, all tile, big bedroom, w/i closet, updtd kitchen, freshly painted, laundry on premises, some pets considered, $750 954-849-4944 or 954-242-7566.

--------------------------------EFFICIENCY & YARD $550 MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE Bright corner unit, tile, big walk-in closet, small kitchen sink & cabinet, refrigerator, microwave, NO STOVE, electric & water included; BBQ in yard. Cat OK. 954-2427566 or 954-849-4944 --------------------------------MIDDLE RIVER TERRACE Large 1BD/1BA in gay fourplex. Tile floors throughout, laundry facilities, parking, less than 1 mile to Wilton Drive. $750/Mo. Call 954-815-2550 --------------------------------1BD/1BA LOCATED In HEART OF UPCOMING AREA NEXT TO WILTON MANORS Fully tiled, eat-in kitchen, use of washer/ dryer, ample parking, pets allowed, $650/ Mo. Call 954-557-8088 --------------------------------FT LAUD - POINSETTIA HEIGHTS & LAKE RIDGE Totally Renovated, Beautiful apts with central air, W/D included. 2/1 Duplex $1,100/Mo. and 1/1 apt $775/Mo. Call Dave at 954-463-3388 --------------------------------WALK TO ALIBI Large 2/1 for rent with central A/C, dishwasher, pool, 2 pvt car spaces. Corner unit w/ lots of windows $995/ month Call Ron 917-734-9118 --------------------------------WILTON MANORS HOUSE WILTON MANORS HOUSE. 3BR/1BA. Walk to Wilton Drive. Unique! W/D, Lots of Storage, Backyard. Pets OK. Lots of Parking. $1299/Mo. Call 954-465-0499 --------------------------------LAKERIDGE COZY STUDIO/ ROOM Private entrance w/ patio. Full bath & kitchen. Hardwood floors; Tropical, secluded pool & patio area. Elec, WiFi, cable, & water included. On-site laundry available. ONE person only, no smoking/ pets. 1 mile to Wilton drive & the beach. $600 a month. 954-636-9298 --------------------------------VICTORIA PARK TOWNHOUSE 2BD/2.5BA, Large Bedrooms. large Closets. newer fully equipped kitchen , newer appliances, WD, Courtyard, Pets OK, Hurricane Shutters, Fast Flexible Move In for Feb 1st. Owner/Agent $1,375/Mo. 954-661-4481 --------------------------------FT LAUDERDALE - MIDDLE RIVER AREA LOW MOVE In /EASY TERMS* 1BD/1BA in 4 unit bldg. $700/Mo. or $175/ Wk*. W/D on premisis. 6 or 12 Mo. Lease.

954-527-9225 --------------------------------A1A - LIVE ACROSS THE FROM THE OCEAN - POMPANO BEACH 1B/1B & Studios from $650-$800, NE 12st & A1A, Walk A1A to Beach, Shopping, Dinning, Dancing. Complex has Community Pool & Laundry Room. Pets OK - Call 561-309-2214 --------------------------------WALK TO WILTON DRIVE RESTAURANTS AND CLUBS 2BR/1BA - Central AC, freshly painted, renovated kitchen, built in micro, D/W, tile floor. Only $875/Mo. 30 lb pet limit. Call David at 917-710-8852, 407-491-1353

47

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com --------------------------------VICTORIA PARK - FORT LAUDERDALE 2 bedroom 2 bath cottage w/ private fenced yard, central ac, utilities included $1,200/Mo. Call Neal 305-797-4735 or office-305-296-7744 --------------------------------LAKERIDGE- NICE qUIET EFFICIENCY - COTTAGE Newly remodeled. Close to Wilton Manors, downtown and beach. Includes All. Call Jeff 954-593-6833 --------------------------------1BD/1BA nEAR BOARDWALK THE WOODS Remodeled Full Kitchen & Bath, New Tile, W/D on premisis, pool, quiet building. $800/Mo. Call 954-857-5579 --------------------------------$1,475 JUST REMODELED 2BD/2BA - STEPS TO THE BEACH Location, Location, Location! Completely renovated, beautiful 2/2, California cedar closet in master, two renovated bathrooms, new granite kitchen/stainless and wood cabinets, diag. tile throughout, wet-bar in dining area, full W/D in unit. Intimate 5 story building with pool, courtyard, ocean-view balcony, garage parking and storage. Walk across N. Ocean Blvd. to the beach. Avail March 1st. Sorry No Pets/No Smokers. Call Ann 845-234-1732

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LYONS SNYDER LAW GROUP Criminal Defense Attorneys 954-462-8035 www.LyonsSnyder.com --------------------------------LAW OFFICES OF GEORGE CASTRATARO Bankruptcy, Civil Litigation, Estate Planning/Wills, Foreclosure Defense & Negotiation, GLBT Issues, Small Business.

954-573-1444 www.LAWGC.com --------------------------------MAYERSOHN LAW GROUP P.A. State/Federal Criminal Defense & White Collar Crime 954-765-1900, 866-765-1900 www.MayersohnLaw.com --------------------------------DRUCKER LAW OFFICES Personal Injury, Auto Accidents, Wrongful Death, Slip/Trip & Falls, Defective Product Injuries, Workplace Injuries. 954-755-2120 www.FloridaLawTeam.com --------------------------------LAW OFFICES OF CHRIS MANCINI, PA Criminal Defense, Civil Litigation Office: 954-522-2744 Cell: 305-219-6919 www.ChrisManciniEsq.com --------------------------------STEPHEN D. JEROME ATTORNEY AT LAW Bankruptcy, Mortgage Foreclosure Defense,Wills, Estate Planning & Probate, Real Estate, Closings, Domestic Partnership Agreements 954-946-0916, SJerome_Esq@bellsouth.net --------------------------------ATTORNEY ROBIN L. BODIFORD, JD, MSW Wills & Trusts, Bankruptcy, Trust Admin, Probate, GLBT Issues, Incorporations 954-630-2707, www.

RobinBodifordLaw.com --------------------------------GREGORY W. KABEL ATTORNEY AT LAW Wills & Trusts, Estate Planning, Probate, Domestic Agreements, Business Formation & Transactions, Real Estate. 2312 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-7617770, gwkesq@bellsouth.net --------------------------------EMERGENCY SERVICES 24, INC. Complete Plumbing Services 24 Hour Water Removal 305-557-8998, 561-818-1171 www.WaterDamage24.com --------------------------------EXPERT CARPET, TILE & UPHOLSTERY CLEANING BY DESI $59.99 2 Rooms, Deep Steam Cleaning Carpet or Sofa, Free Deodorizer $99.00 Winter Special Tile & Grout Or 35 cents per sq.ft. 954-383-5054 --------------------------------A&A ROOFING AND GENERAL CONTRACTORS 954-274-9378 Licensed & Insured #93BS00177

--------------------------------Ò I SHOW UPÓ HANDYMAN 954-684-9277 Sean SeanHarrenFTL@mac.com --------------------------------BROWARD BOYS PAINTERS Residential & Commercial Interior & Exterior 954-720-9605 www.BrowardBoys.com --------------------------------THE PAINTING COMPANY Residential & Commercial Solids, Faux Finishes, Murals, Color Coordination, Venetian Plaster, Interior/Exterior.

954-292-8219 PAINTandFAUX@aol.com --------------------------------CGR PROFESSIONAL PAINTING Broward, West Palm, Dade Residential/Commercial 786-419-1360 --------------------------------BROWARD PET CARE PROFESSIONALS Pet Sitting, Dog Walking, Day Care, Pet Taxi 954-612-2278, www.BrowardPetCarePros.com Certified, Bonded and Insured --------------------------------TOTAL MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, INC. Condo & HOA Management Bookkeeping, Tenant Screening Contractor/Employee Oversight 954-727-3833, www.TotalMSolutions.com --------------------------------HOME SOLUTIONS PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 954-545-3027 Office www.RentSoon.com --------------------------------PANE IN THE GLASS Window Tint Removal, Window Cleaning Power Washing, Screen Repairs Handyman, Painting. Call Scotty 954-566-4415, Lic. & Insured --------------------------------LICENSED CONTRACTOR Carports to Garages Kitchen & Bath Remodeling Home Additions, Complete Roofs Rotted Facia and More…

Call 561-577-3017, Lic#CGC151692 --------------------------------DINKLE DOG GROOMING WILTON MANORS Small to Medium Dogs 954-562-2278, DinkleDogs@aol.com --------------------------------MY BREAKFAST IN BED AS SEEN ON TV…instead of sending flowers, Send a breakfast in bed! For menus and to order Online: www.mybreakfastinbed.com Karl’s Catering 305-829-5607 --------------------------------PLANNING A MOVE? At Cousins USA Moving & Storage, we want you to smile when you think of moving day, and we want you to tell a friend how pleasant your moving experience has been. For more info on about how we can make moving day a good day. Call toll-free at 1-888-300-MOVE, ask for Carlos.

--------------------------------IRRIGATION SYSTEM REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE 19 yrs. experience, excellent work, referrals by request. Call Roberto at 954-383-8980 --------------------------------ONE STOP SHOPPING AND ASSOCIATES HAnDYMAn/ REMODELING AND MORE WITH OVER 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN ALL PHASES OF...

Home improvements, a/c, extensions, electrical, plumbing, painting, kitchen, baths, flooring/ trim, steel erector and fabricator. PGT Impact Windows at Factory Direct Prices. Former owner of a NY remodeling co. as well as a hands on worker, because I demand perfection in all I do. Please call Mitch for prompt honest and dependable service. Lic. CGC1514441, EC13001388 and insured.

(954) 253-4650 --------------------------------GREAT MASSAGE! GREAT RATES! PRIVATE STUDIO NOW OPEN! Great Massage, Great Rates. See my Display ad, or visit my website at www. massagebyjim.com Call Jim Libonati at 954-600-5843. Licensed, insured and nationally certified MA50898

--------------------------------HH THE ELECTRICIAN HH Ceiling fans, outlets, water heaters, service increases, pools, Jacuzzi, pumps, timers, photocells, 220 fuse box, yard lights. 954-522-3357, 561-274-7446 or 305534-1551. Licensed/Insured.

----------------------------------EXPERT AIR ADVICE AIR CONDITIONING REPAIRS Cooling is what we do best.

FPL rebates, insured, CACO 36862 FREE estimates on replacements $75 tune up, Call 954-764-1990 ----------------------------------CLEAN IT RITE THE BEST CLEANING FOR YOUR BUCK! 1BD $45, 2BD $55, 3BD $65.

Excellent rates and references. 10 years in the business. Call Manny at 954-560-4443 ----------------------------------HOME REMODELInG/REPAIR From Small Repairs to High End Remodeling. Specializing in Kitchens and Baths.

Exceptional work ethic. Carpentry, plumbing ,electrical, etc. 20 Years Experience.

Atelier Development. Call 954-612-7795 for free estimate.

----------------------------------WWW. EMERALDIRISHCLEANING.COM SPECIALS • SPECIALS English Speaking, Hand Scrubbed Floors, Staff Fingerprinted, Detailed, 3 hours $55, 4 hours $65. Call 954-524-3161. Serving the community for 20 years.

----------------------------------ONE CALL DOES IT ALL BY HOUSE! Carpet Cleaning, House Cleaning, Tile & Grout, Upholstery Air Ducts, Pressure Cleaning- Patios, sidewalks, & drive ways. Construction and Foreclosure Clean Up. Cell 954-515-7615 ----------------------------------D.A.D.S. ELECTRIC, LLC All Electrical work done to NEC Codes.

Neat and clean work. Community Loyalty.

Give us a try. Our prices wont shock you.

Gay owned and operated. #COC-02-CME2027X. Call David & Dennis 954-549-0102.

----------------------------------NEED A LAWYER ?

Criminal Defense * DUI Traffic * Accidents * Injuries * Personal Injury * AAA Attorney Referral Service 24 Hours * 1-800-733-5342 ----------------------------------RTS ELECTRIC 24 HOUR SERVICE Quality work at a reasonable price.

Licensed & Insured #98-CME-1807-X. Contact 954-257-9509. Also, all size generator service and installation.

----------------------------------DEREKÕ S 24 HR HANDYMAN SERVICE Introducing our new cabinet shop.

For all your Custom Made Cabintetry, Countertops and Laminates. MUST SEE OUR WORK! JUST ASK OUR CLIENTS! All Electrical to code, any/all plumbing work, drywall finish work/repair, crown/ baseboard pro-install, int/ext painting, demo work, pressure washing, DECOR TILE Install, complete home up-dates.

For large jobs, 4-man crew abailable.

WE HANDLE IT ALL. Instant call back direct service response. No job is ever too small. Excellent references. Derek 954-825-5598 or email: DerekGallaway@ att.net ----------------------------------BRUCE ELECTRIC CORP. Fair rates/quality work. All electrical services. Repairs/upgrades. Generator sales/ installations. Prompt/reliable/ dependable. State licensed & ins.

EC13001903 954-748-6234 ----------------------------------* EARLY BIRD CONSTRUCTION ROOFING, CARPENTRY, TILE, PAINT. Honest and ON TIME! 954-274-9378

SERVICES KFIR MOYAL PROFESSIONAL BODYWORK www.KfirMoyal.com, 404-966-1036 ----------------------------------ITALIAN BODYWORK Call me for your next great body rub!

954-494-5936

----------------------------------DEEP MUSCULAR MASSAGE If my massage isn’t one of the best you’veever had, you don’t have to pay me.

Jamie G. 954-547-4872 ----------------------------------BESTOFFLORIDAMASSAGE.COM 8AM – 8PM, 7 Days a week 954-356-9348 ----------------------------------RELAX IN A MANÕ S HANDS Hot Rubs $70+ North Dade IN/OUT Pro Table Paul 305-903-3331 ----------------------------------I WILL RUB YOU RIGHT! Joe 954-270-0357 ----------------------------------STEVE-JORDAN.COM Experience the ultimate in bodywork!

954-560-2542 ----------------------------------USA BODYWORK Kenn Steed, Fort Lauderdale 954-683-3360 www.USABodywork.us ----------------------------------EXTRAORDINARY MASSAGE Through Healing Spiritual Touch Shark 954-478-6728 ----------------------------------ASIAN INDIAN BOY 30 years old Handsome Boy for erotic rub down. Tantric work too Call 954-394-4150 for apt. anytime. In & Out. ----------------------------------MILITARY LOOKING AND HUNG 51,Tall, Muscular & Masculine. 8.5 x 6 cut.

Deep muscle. COME and RELEASE your TENSION. IN/OUT calls 8 AM to 7PM EVERYDAY. Clean, STD Free, and discreet.

954-257-0782 or Mineis8.5X6@gmail.com ----------------------------------***TOTAL BLISS**** If you overweight and over 60 you get my $60 special. Totally release every ounce of stress from your body by 43 yr old, 5’6”, 150lbs, moderately hairy, 8.5”, thick rugged hung nude dude. You will find it hard to get off the table when I’m through with you. Showers available. Ask about four hands! Call Steve 954-770-6117 or 954-661-4920 ----------------------------------MAN OH MAN 34 yr old, Good looking, Muscular, Hot Body Guy. Available For Full Body Erotic Rubs. Sure To Please Every Aching Muscle. Mike 954-328-2321. www. rentboy.com ----------------------------------DADDYÕ S HOME! It’s been a long day and I am looking to unwind by spending some “quality” with my boy. Your dad is handsome, late 40’s, masculine, fit, salt & pepper hair, hairy chest and 9 X 6 uncut. I will arrive at your door dressed in my work suit and tie or jeans and work boots. Either way, I am ready for some “daddy and me” time with you. West Palm Beach to North Broward in or out calls. Why wait another minute?

Call me now…10:00 AM - 9:00 PM Dino 561-333-0115 ----------------------------------BODY & ENERGY WORK Offering 1 HR Full Body Massage To Release Stress and Tension. Licensed Massage Therapist from Provincetown.

Wilton Manors $55 w/ Table. Call Keith 954-764-8478 10 AM to 8 PM Daily ----------------------------------*BOD EROTIC RUB* The mood, the touch, the experience! Full body rub by gdlkg all-American guy. 35, 6’, 172 and lean mscl. In. 954-257-3241.

----------------------------------LET ME SHAVE YOU NAKED! Sensual body shaving and intimate hair removal in the comfort of your own home.

Friendly, no attitude, Broward only. $50.00 per session, call Michael at 954-581-4850 ----------------------------------ITALIAN MAN MASSAGE Beefy Italian man 6’ 180# muscular hairy chest will give you a great deep tissue/ erotic massage on my table in my Wilton Manors studio from 9am to 9pm at a price you can afford Call Joe 954-270-0357 ----------------------------------BLACK GUY 4 EROTIC RUBS Experience the touch of a Caribbean black male. Masculine and discreet. In/ Out. 24/7. Damian 786-270-7745

----------------------------------A GREAT MASSAGE AWAITS! I offer excellent massage sessions consisting of Deep Tissue, Swedish and Sensual Touch. I can customize the session to your needs. Try adding a Shave-Trim / Saltscrub / Bodywash / Face Treatment & More! Me: 41, Hot Bear Cub with nice legs and butt. Clothing Optional. Hours 8am -Midnight. To book an appointment, Call David 954-802-8128 http://davidrubnmassage.webs.com DavidRubnMassage@ aol.com ----------------------------------HUNG BISEXUAL LATIN GUY 28 YO, 5’10”, 170lbs, Smooth, Great Shape & Very Sexy, Honey Eyes, Masculine, 8 Inches, No Attitude - Very Funny, Let me relax you all the way! Call Luis 786-290-4796 ----------------------------------INDULGE YOURSELF IN RELAXATION, revitalization; and, stimulation with a totally relaxing full body Sensual Massage. Provided in the nude by a handsome mature man in an intimate spa like environment. Gay-Bi-Straight men welcomed. Convenient NE Ft. Lauderdale location. Privacy and absolute discretion assured. Call Ryan @ 954-593-6637 ----------------------------------MEET RONNIE, A HOT JAMACIAN TOP 6’ 165lbs, 9 Inches, 100% Agressive TOP! Call The Ass Professor! Ronnie 954-663-5743 ----------------------------------BODY CARE SERVICES 4 Hand or Solo Massage Master Haircuts, Body Trims Private Shaves, Waxing. Facials, Manicures, Pedicures. Personal Trainer, Pet Sitter Daniel 954-260-5588 www.Masseurfinder.com/bodyspa Lic.# MA15163 ----------------------------------AWESOME BODYWORK BY PAUL www.PaulBunting.com/Yoga Escape Now! Experience Hands On Thai Yin Yoga Bodywork and Feel The ultimate enjoyment! 60 or 90 Minute sessions! 954-756-2615 ----------------------------------HAIRY MASCULINE BODY RUB Friendly, Discreet, Professional Sensual Rub $75+ Call Bo 954-880-7543 www.massagem4m.com/musclechest4xrub ----------------------------------REAL MASSAGE WITH A SENSUAL EDGE Experienced, Intuitive & Sensual Call Tommy, CMT 646-416-0800 www.masseurfinder.com/BodyworkByTommy

MODELS CARLOS 305-812-5085 27YO, Cuban, 5’7”, 140lbs.

Green Eyes, Vers. Top Passionate, Clean Location Miami Beach ----------------------------------DANIEL 754-214-3164 Available for Body Rubs & Companionship 6’2”, 215lbs FTL, WPB, Miami ----------------------------------HAVE ME ON YOUR DOORSTEP IN 30 MINUTES! TREAT YOURSELF! Alex, 27YO, Cuban American, 5’8”, 160lbs, Masculine No Attitude, Very Well Hung & Versatile. 786-319-7665

----------------------------------YOUR DESIRES IN TOTAL RAPTURE Gay black male, 6’2”, 190 lbs., athletic build, 9” thick cut, TOP GUY. Achieve your climax experience. Wendell 954-646-6222, 24 hrs., discreet. Specializing in body rubs, hair trimming, shaving and waxing.

ONLY SERIOUS INQUIRIES PLEASE. ----------------------------------COLLEGE STUDENT 27 YO Cuban American, 5’7” 158lbs, Beautiful Face, Tan Skin, Light Eyes, HARD Muscular Body, BIG DICK, No Attitude, Versatile.

30 Min to MIA, SoBe, FTL. $150 IN/OUT 24/7. Couples Welcome & Hotels. Call Alex 786-319-7665 ----------------------------------10 IN VERSATILE TATTOOED JOCK 24yo, 5’10, 160lbs, blonde hair, green eyes, smooth/shaved everywhere, 13 tattoos, 10 in cut, big balls, pink hole, versatile, lean/muscular. Friendly/affectionate. Into anything from vanilla to kink.

3-somes available with my 18 y/o blonde brother. 954-462-3394. www.mattsapartment.com ----------------------------------BLACK AMERICAN TOP Handsome, very hard muscular body. 9” cut. ANYTHING GOES, LOVE TO PLEASE. 6’1”, 189lbs, 32”W. Call 24/7. In/Out. Dosn’t matter how you look. Buddy Available. Call Travis. 954-461-8161 ----------------------------------HHH CHIPPEnDALE DAnCER / BODYBUILDER / ESCORT HHH Hi, I’m Rock. I’ve been featured in Chippendale Calendars. 6’, 210lbs of rock hard lean throbbing muscle. Very Masculine, black hair, blue eyes. Role Play, Fantasies, Body Rubs, etc. Call Rock 24/7 954-865-7412 ----------------------------------ENJOY THE COMPANY OF A HOT, SEXY, DISCREET, LATIN STUD! MUY CALIENTE! Hi! Thank you for checking my ad. I’m 5’10, 32 waist, 175 lbs, muscular and smooth. Great skin and body. In/out. 24/7.

ALL TYPES welcome. Call Tony 954- 6043980. Very friendly and easy to talk to.

----------------------------------HAKEEM IS IN TOWN! Black Male Power Top, 180lbs., 6’, smooth body, great shape, always horny, 10” cut.

In/Out calls. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Call 24/7 305-761-6818, Vers. buddy available.

ADULT CALL HARDLINE AND TRY IT FOR FREE NOW! 18+ Hot, Horny, Hung, Bi Studs Ripped Muscle Jocks. Big Daddy Musclebears Bi College Fratboy’s 305-455-6969 954-334-5555 Other cities: 1-877-510-3344 ----------------------------------UNCUT LOCAL LATIN DUDES Call: 786-364-7729 or 800-777-8000 FREE with Code: 9954 InteractiveMale.com ----------------------------------STRICTLY SEX! 18+ Use Ad # 3211 305-651-0051 954-587-6050 561-689-5700 772-293-9125 407-895-0003

PJ’s Private Club

For membership, call: 954-533-0257

48

February 8, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

AHF Mobile Testing Unit Arrives in South Florida

By A. Sebastian Fortino

the aPfl MoBile testing unit in 2003 and ahfÕ s new hiv Mtu in 201 0

W

hen the valets park guests’ cars at the W Hotel on the Fort Lauderdale Beach, it is not unusual to see a Bentley or Rolls being driven to a secure spot.

But on February 2, courtesy of the AIDS Health Care Foundation, a different kind of vehicle was being rolled out.

Halfway through a reception for Florida AIDS Walk team captains, AHF unveiled its new Mobile Testing Unit (MTU) to the surprised and awe-struck crowd. The vehicle had been delivered only hours before.

“The arrival of the new MTU to South

Florida this past Tuesday was a gift from walkers in the 2009 Florida AIDS Walk,” James Vellequette, regional manager for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation said.

“Walkers overwhelmed us and raised $336,000 for our programs here in South Florida. Through their great efforts, they paid for a part of this new MTU.” This is one of 10 such testing vehicles the AIDS Healthcare Foundation operates in

the United States, the second in Florida.

The vehicle brought memories back to Norm Kent, the one-time executive director of AIDS Project Florida and now SFGN’s publisher. He recalled the mobile testing unit he introduced in 2003. “It’s a far cry from our funky1969 VW Bus, but that was a pretty popular draw too, ” he said.

The outreach schedule will strive to meet the needs of all local communities, FAW10_PrintAd.pdf

SECURE YOUR SEATS FOR

GUARANTEE YOUR SEATS FOR THE

TODAY<< AND >>FUTURE

With your 2010 Marlins Season Tickets you get seating priority for the New Marlins Ballpark, opening in 2012! Don’t risk missing out on all the excitement of the 2010 season! Get your season tickets today and guarantee your place at the New Marlins Ballpark!

1-877-MARLINS • WWW.MARLINS.COM SFGNAd_2010.indd 1

1/21/10 3:59:41 PM

1

1/13/10

5:25 PM

not just gay venues. “Those most heavily impacted by HIV will be served,” said Vellequette.

The mission of the daytime hours of the MTU will be to establish a consistent presence on certain days. “This way people will become familiar with it, and know when and where to go and get tested,” he said.

AHF is also undertaking several measures to ensure that the 25 million people who are HIV positive and unaware of their status are tested. This new MTU hopes to reach that goal in conjunction with other programs.

A national HIV Testing Tour is also underway that will travel to all of the 48 continental states in 2010, promoting crosscultural outreach.

There is also free, walk-in testing at the foundation’s Out of the Closet thrift stores.