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November 10, 2010 • VOLUME 1 • Issue 42

30 Dates. 30 Days. 30 Cities.

The Personal Odyssey of Kevin Richberg INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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LGBT Post Election Roundup

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SFGN Salutes Veterans

Page 33

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12 Angry Men

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Elton John & Leon Russell

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Midterm Elections

It Gets Worse

By Lisa Keen

Keen News Service

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THINGS TO COME

Pam Bondi, Florida’s Attorney General-Elect, has promised to defend the state’s ban on gay adoption in the courts, while refusing to state a personal bias on the subject.

Above, she poses with a dog that was rescued in Louisiana in the aftermath of the Katrina disaster. Ms. Bondi saw the dog on the news and decided to adopt the St. Bernard. When the original owners asked for the dog to be returned, Ms. Bondi refused. She is unlikely to have compassion for those struggling for civil rights.

For further analysis of the Midterm Elections, turn to pages 6-7.

mong the more dismal losses in Tuesday’s result came in New Hampshire, where Republicans won a veto-proof majority in both the state House and Senate.

That means that while Democratic Governor John Lynch retained his seat –and the position to veto any of the legislature’s pending bills to repeal the state’s marriage equality law—there are enough votes now in both chambers to overturn that veto.

It gets worse.

Republicans took over the majorities in both chambers of the state legislatures in Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Alabama –states which had both houses dominated by Democrats going into Tuesday’s votes.

In Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, where only one chamber had a Republican majority, now both are dominated

by Republicans.

And the National Conference of State Legislatures reports that the

November 10, 2010 • Volume 1 • Issue 42

Editorial Offices 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 FAX: 954-530-7943

Minnesota Senate will now, for the first time in history, be controlled by Republicans. The Maine Senate, too, has switched from a Democratic to Republican majority.

In all 23 state legislatures are now completely dominated by Republicans, 15 by Democrats, seven are divided between the parties. The majorities in five states are still undetermined.

“It was worse than I thought,” said openly gay State Rep. Jim Splaine in New Hampshire. According to the NCSL, the state’s 400-seat House will next year be comprised of 296 Republicans and 104 Democrats. It’s 24-seat senate will include 19 Republicans and five Democrats. Both easily exceed the two-thirds needed to overturn a veto.

The domination of Republicans in the legislatures is likely to mean a much more Republican Congress for the next ten years, as state legislatures in most states approve the lines for Congressional districts. Redistricting for those districts begins next year.

Norm Kent Publisher and Editor in Chief publishernorm@southfloridagaynews.com Pier Angelo Guidugli

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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.

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

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Local News

Equality Florida Is Hosting Its Annual Gala this Week

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quality Florida, the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s LGBT community is proud to announce their Broward Gala. Hundreds of supporters will gather at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art on Sunday, November 14 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. to support the organization.

This year’s event will honor Martin Gill, the recipient of the 2010 Voice for Equality Award Winner. Gill’s fight to adopt his foster sons has led the courts to strike down Florida’s notorious adoption ban. Because of his efforts, it is now legal for gay and lesbian parents to adopt.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit Eqfl.org or call 813-8703735. The Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art is located at 1 East Las Olas Blvd.

ACLU Hosts Victory Party

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elebrate the ACLU’s legal victory that ended Florida’s 33-year-old ban on adoptions by lesbians and gay men at the private home of Richard S. Sargeant and Dr. Peter Genovese on Friday, November 12 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

During the reception, meet plaintiff and father Martin Gill and learn about why we must prepare for the next stage of this battle.

On the very day that our legal victory became final, our opponents announced that they will seek a Florida constitutional amendment or legislative action to un-do our legal victory.

To purchase tickets or to become a Campaign Sponsor, please contact Monique Lebron, ACLU of Florida, at mlebron@ aclufl.org and 786-363-2719.

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Economy

Flirting With Deflation

Fed Pumps Billions More into Economy…But Why?

By Joey Amato

A

s the stock market creeps higher, people may start to get a false sense of reality when it comes to the U.S. economy. It is well known that a bull market does precede a recovery, but the latest move by the Federal Reserve has me questioning just how strong this recovery will be, if one takes place at all.

Last week, the Fed pumped billions into

the economy through the purchase of $600 billion in long-term Treasuries over the next eight months. The Fed also announced it will reinvest an additional $250 billion to $300 billion in Treasuries with the proceeds of its earlier investments.

The bond purchases aimed at stimulating the economy – a policy known as quantitative easing – will total up to $900 billion and be completed by the end of

$125,000

$169.900

the third quarter of 2011.

In August, the Fed hinted at a second stimulus package, known as QE2, but it wasn’t until recent that they acted. The Fed also reiterated its bearish view on the stalling economy, saying “the pace of recovery in output and employment continues to be slow.”

The stock market seems to be more optimistic than the Fed. In a prepared speech, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke stated: “Amid sluggish consumer spending, businesses have been reluctant to hire and the economy has grown at a snail’s pace. At the same time, inflation is dangerously low, causing some economists to warn that the United States may even be flirting with deflation – a debilitating drop-off in prices and demand.”

The Fed has already kept the federal funds rate, a benchmark for interest rates on a variety of consumer and business loans, at historic lows near zero since December 2008.

Bernanke said the rate would continue to hold at “exceptionally low levels” for an “extended period.”

The federal funds rate is the central bank’s key tool to spur the economy and a low rate is thought to encourage spending by making it cheaper to borrow money.

Although the stimulus may be beneficial in the near term, some critics, including some Fed members, believe that another

round of stimulus might lead to runaway inflation that could derail the economy, or future asset bubbles that could endanger economic stability over the long term.

The most opinionated voting member of the Fed, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig, was once again the lone dissent among policymakers, saying he believed the risks of additional securities purchases outweighed the benefits.

While stock market veterans including CNBC’s own Jim Cramer endorsed the stimulus, others showed a more pessimistic view.

“I don’t think this is going to make any difference at all,” said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist with Capitol Economics, who feels the plan is too small. “This is a slippery slope. Once you’re on it, it’s very hard to get off.”

Cramer called the decision part of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s “by any means necessary” approach to tackling our economic problems. “While Bernanke can’t boost housing prices or create jobs, he can create the conditions under which businesses, and in turn the markets, can start to rebound.”

After hearing about the stimulus, one must think, does the Fed know something we don’t know, or are they just taking precautionary measures to prevent disaster?

Sources: CNBC

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

LGBT Post Election Round-Up Minter & Wolff: California Is a Shining Beacon of Equality & Dadt Still Headed for Repeal

By Jarrett Terrill

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fter the midterm elections on Tuesday, the National LGBT Bar Association held a press conference with guest speakers Shannon Minter and Tobias Bearing Wolfe. Shannon Minter, a transgender man, is a graduate of Cornell law school, a civil rights lawyer and legal director for the National Center for Lesbian rights. Wolff is a professor of law at the University of Pennsylvania and has contributed on CNN as a political/legal expert.

“There were some surprises,” says Minter about the victories in the midterms. “Usually in midterms there is a turn of both houses but the Democrats held the Senate. We will be able to stop the far right and anti-gay congresspersons from enacting measures that are affirmatively harmful or punitive and the Senate should be able to prevent any turn back from the progressive gains that we have made.”

“I was also really impressed that among the many LGBT candidates who won their election,” Minter said, “we saw the first openly transgender judge elected to the bench anywhere in the country.” He is speaking of Victoria Kolakowski, the San Francisco Chronicle’s pick for Superior Court Judge in Alameda County. “And despite being targeted, our openly gay congresspersons like Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin are back in their seats along with a new gay congressman from Rhode Island.”

“This was also the first year in over a decade that no state enacted an anti-gay marriage ballot initiative,” said Minter, “but organizations like the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) poured an unbelievable amount of money into the state of Iowa.” A campaign to unseat three judges in Iowa was effective based on signs being held by campaigners which read ‘No more activist judges’. It was startling to say the least.”

Shannon Minter

“California has become a shining beacon of equality with this election,” says Tobias Wolff, “and they have reaffirmed with their selection of Governor, Attorney General, legislature and judges that the divisive tactics which have worked in some elections will not work in the biggest media market in the nation.”

Wolff went on to describe a way that DADT could be repealed in the Senate even before the newly elected Senators take their seats. He said that the Republicans who voted against bringing the bill to the floor had cited

Election Briefs 3 Iowa Justices Removed Associated Press

an effectiveness report from the military generals which is expected in September. After that report comes in, “it is off the table” and Senators like Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor from Arkansas who said they support repealing DADT can no longer use that excuse.

“The President and his administration,” says Wolff, “has been working very hard to line up support and get this done before or during the lame duck session. Harry Reid is also on board to see DADT repealed.”

In response to questions, Wolff clarified that the Obama administration is not hindering the process of repealing DADT as some have charged. “It’s always been the case that an order to get rid of it requires an act of congress,” says Wolff, “There are limits to the way an executive order can be used and the President’s office just doesn’t have that power.”

“If the president had used his authority to issue a Stop-Loss Executive Order (SLEO)” Wolff explained, “it would have had a negative effect on the amount of support we’ve been able to garner in the Senate for repeal of the actual policy. It would have been perceived as a sort of contravention to the preferred way of proceeding with the defense department and military [on board].”

KY voters elect FIRST gay mayor Associated Press

Next on the Lexington, Ky. -- Voters in Tea Party Agenda:

Des Moines, Iowa – Iowa voters have voted Lexington, Kentucky’s secondTargeting to remove three state largest city, have elected the Gay Rights Supreme Court justices, city’s first openly gay mayor.

Judges siding with conservatives Businessman Jim Gray angered by a ruling that defeated incumbent Jim Newallowed gay marriage. berry in Tuesday’s nonpartisan The vote Tuesday was election. Gray had 53 percent the first time Iowa voters of the vote to Newberry’s 46 have removed a Supreme Court justice since percent with 79 % of precincts reporting. the current system began in 1962.

The 57-year-old Gray is an executive The three who weren’t retained were with his family’s construction company. He Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and justices Da- has been the city’s vice mayor. Gray and vid Baker and Michael Streit. They were the Newberry, a 54-year-old lawyer, both grew only justices up for retention this year. up in Barren County.

They were on the court of seven justices Gray told supporters he wanted to who unanimously decided last year that an represent every citizen of Lexington-Fayette Iowa law restricting marriage to one man and County, which merged governments in 1974 one woman violated the state’s constitution. and is the heart of Kentucky’s horse counGay marriage opponents spent hundreds try and home to the University of Kentucky. of thousands of dollars on the campaign.

He says: “I am here for my mother’s A group of former governors, lawyers and generation, I am here for my generation and judges said the justices’ removal would for your generation, and we are here for threaten Iowa’s independent judiciary. the next generation.”

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Wins and Losses for Lgbt Community in 2010 Midterms WINS

LOSSES

By Lisa Keene, Keen News Service

By The Sun Sentinel

.S. Rep. Barney Frank won re-election to a 16th term as Massachusetts Congressman from the 4th District. Frank won against an aggressive Republican challenger, Sean Bielat, who had a surge of out-of-state funding in the final days of the campaign to fuel a flood of campaign literature and robo-calls. While Frank’s re-election was considered predictable, the margin of victory represents a significant drop in support for Frank. Frank garnered only 54 percent of the vote Tuesday, dropping well below his previous lowest re-election take of 68 percent in 2008. The returns almost guarantee an even tougher re-match against Barney Frank Bielat in 2012.

roward County Commission got its only Republican Tuesday night, when voters ousted Democrat Ken Keechl in favor of Chip LaMarca.

LaMarca, former head of Broward’s Republican Party, will be the only one of the nine on the County Commission who is not a Democrat.

Keechl, a 48-year-old northeast Fort Lauderdale resident and lawyer, had won the seat four years ago from a Republican, Jim Scott.

The District 4 seat covers coastal Broward.

Trying to retain his seat, Keechl amassed an enormous campaign fund, taking in about $590,000 from residents, lobbyists and people who do business with Ken Keechl the county.

By Lisa Keene, Keen News Service rovidence, Rhode Island’s openly gay mayor, David Cicilline, won his bid to represent the 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House. The win will make him the fourth openly gay member of the Congress.

With all precincts counted, Cicilline had secured 50.6 percent of the vote, compared to Republican John Loughlin’s 44.5 percent, and 4.9 percent for two other candidates.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

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B

Patrick Murphy

By Lisa Keene, Keen News Service

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here were numerous other losses for the LGBT community to mourn in Tuesday’s results. U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Penn.), who led the charge to gain passage of a measure to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), lost his seat to Republican challenger Michael Fitzpatrick, who was endorsed by Log Cabin Republicans.

Anthony Niedwiecki

David Cicilline

flickr

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Sponsoring LGBT Legislation No Harm to Electability

By Dana Rudolph Keen News Service

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number of LGBT allies lost their races in last week’s elections—but one bit of positive news is that sponsoring LGBT-rights legislation did not negatively impact a candidate’s ability to win.

Three current senators who were lead sponsors of LGBT-rights legislation in the 111th Congress and were up for re-election all won their races: Barbara Boxer (DCalif.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) Thirteen of the fifteen representatives who were lead sponsors of LGBT-rights legislation and were up for reelection won their races: Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Donna Christiansen (D-V.I.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Steve Israel (DN.Y.), Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Jim McDermott (D-Wisc.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Laura Richardson (DCalif.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), and Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.).

Two sponsors did lose: Pennsylvania

Democrats Patrick Murphy and Joe Sestak.

(Sestak was running for a Senate seat.)

Murphy, a former Army captain, was lead sponsor of a bill to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy banning openly gay service members. It was incorporated as language in the Defense Authorization bill that passed the House in May but has yet to pass the Senate. Murphy also co-sponsored several other LGBTrights bills, including two bills that would help protect students from bullying and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Sestak, a former three-star admiral in the Navy, had been an outspoken supporter of DADT repeal. His campaign Web site stated that Sestak’s support of LGBT rights “is born out of his experience in the military,” where he served with lesbian and gay service members.

He also sponsored a bill to ban housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and was a co-sponsor on several other LGBT-related bills, including the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes

Prevention Act that passed last year.

Sestak and Murphy’s support of LGBT rights seem to have played no part in their defeats, however. Debates with their opponents focused on jobs and economic issues. Both Pat Toomey, Sestak’s opponent, and Mike Fitzpatrick, Murphy’s, tried to rally voters who were dissatisfied with the Obama administration’s—and by extension, the Democrats’—handling of the economy.

Toomey even agreed with Sestak in supporting a repeal of DADT, although Toomey said he first wanted to make sure military leaders agreed repeal would not interfere with their mission.

Looking back to earlier support for LGBT rights, four of the 14 senators who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996

were up for reelection this year. Three of the four won: Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The only one to lose, Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.), was another victim of the wave of anti-Democrat sentiment across the country. Wisconsin voters also chose Republican Scott Walker to replace Democratic governor Jim Doyle, who did not seek another term.

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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in the birth and growth and its natural end,” said the Pope, on his second visit to Spain since he was elected, .

He criticized policies allowing for abortions, saying “the life of children (must) be defended as sacred and inviolable from the moment of their conception.”

The Pope has drawn criticism for remarks he made on his flight to Spain on Saturday, when he said the country was going through a period of “aggressive” secularism reminiscent of the 1930s, when the church suffered violent persecution as Spain lurched from an unstable democracy to civil war.

During his homily Sunday, Benedict praised the man who designed the church of the Sagrada Familia.

The soaring Art Nouveau marvel was designed by Barcelona architect Antoni Gaudi, a staunch Catholic who dedicated his life to the project but died in 1926, only a few years after it had begun.

Vancouver Couple Hits Jackpot Apparently dreams can come true. Claude and Kurt Blanchette-Ebert, a gay couple from

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN BRIEFS

FLICKR / morganya

Vancouver, won a $50 million jackpot last Friday — the largest lottery jackpot won in the history of British Columbia.

The Vancouver Sun reports that the win could not have come at a better time for the cash-strapped couple, who are in the midst of planning and celebrating their 30th anniversary.

“We still don’t believe it,” Claude, 52, told the Sun. “It’s surreal.”

But once it further sunk in, the couple quit their jobs with the intention of living off of their winnings.

Glamour Woman of the Year Eighteen-year-old Constance McMillen, who was barred from taking her girlfriend to her Mississippi high school’s prom, has been named one of the women of the year by Glamour magazine.

McMillen, who sued the school and has since been awarded $116,000 in damages and legal fees, tells Glamour: ‘I was raised to always be proud of who you are.”

Others are proud of McMillen, too. Ted Olson, one of the lead attorneys in the federal suit against California’s Proposition 8, tells the magazine, “Constance stood up to foolishness and inequity and irrational unfair-

ness, sending a signal that this battle should be fought on every front.”

And Melissa Etheridge tells Glamour that

Pride parade in Argentina

McMillen is a woman of the year because, “She stood up and said, ‘This is who I am.’

When someone does that, it changes the world. It gives hope.”

Producers Neil Meron and Craig Zaden

are currently working on a TV movie about McMillen’s ordeal.

LGBT Clinic in Cash Crisis

ried since President Cristina Fernandez signed the law on July 21, said Esteban Paulo, President of the Argentine Lesbians, Gay, Bi, and Transgender Federation.”

Officials said the new law also has increased tourism, helping to draw 100,000 more gay and lesbian tourists to Argentina.

However, participants in last week’s festivities marched under the theme of “let’s go for more,” a reference to the continuing fight for a transgender rights bill that would allow individuals to change their gender on birth certificates and identity cards. Some say the senate is more likely to pass the bill, stuck since 2007, following the marriage equality law.

Chicago’s Howard Brown Health Center, an LGBT-focused clinic that serves many people with HIV or AIDS, is making an emergency appeal for funds.

The center needs to raise $500,000 in the next 50 days to continue providing services, officials said at a press conference Thursday, Windy City Times reports.

The funding shortfall at Howard Brown, which has operated for 36 years, is linked to mishandling of a federal grant by the previous management team. The center brought Memphis Club in new management this past summer, and it Shut Down has asked the U.S. Department of Health and Backstreet, a 15-year-old gay club in MemHuman Services’s Office of Inspector Genphis, was ordered closed by police Saturday eral to investigate the situation surrounding night, with a chain going up on the door after the grant. the venue was declared a public nuisance by the state.

By Sunday there was a citation notice Argentina from the district attorney’s office saying Celebrates Pride the club is under suspicion of unspecified Thousands of participants celebrated gay pride Saturday in Argentina, the first country criminal activity — which wouldn’t be new to owner Michael Shane Trice, which saw in Latin America to recognize marriage the club shut down last September for equality with a new law this year.

According to the Associated Press, “More promoting gambling, possession of gambling machines, and illegal liquor sales. than 500 same-sex couples have been mar-

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN’s Editor Penn Bullock Makes OUT100

By A. Sebastian Fortino

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ontributing Editor of SFGN, Penn Bullock, has been named by OUT Magazine as one of its OUT 100 for the year 2011. The complete list, currently being previewed on OUT’s website, will be released tomorrow. Penn and his partner, Miami New Times feature writer Brandon Thorp, were named in part for their work on their exclusive news breaking story exposing Dr. George Reker’s trip to Europe with a Miami based call-boy, whose identity the reporters unsuccessfully sought to protect.

Reker, of course, gained notoriety for his campaign against gay adoption, as a state paid witness for Florida, along with his reputation as a director of the National Asssociation for Research into Therapy for Homosexuality. Reker said he needed an escort to carry his luggage, and picked his charge from Rentboy.com, known for its ability to help heterosexual evangelists find homo-

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sexual partners to facilitate travel plans.

Meanwhile, Bullock, still only 21, continues to do pieces for SFGN, but some of his work has appeared in Reason Magazine, the LA Times, and Miami New Times. He has also appeared in a PBS documentary and participated in a panel discussion in San Francisco with the National Gay and Lesbian Journalist’s Association.

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Jesse’s Journal

James Spada: Sex Still Sells

J

ames Spada is a prolific author, photographer and publisher whose career has taken some amazing turns over the past thirty-five years. In 1979, after writing about Barbra Streisand (1974) and Robert Redford (1977), Spada published “The Spada Report, the Newest Survey of Gay Male Sexuality” (1979).

“My interests are quite varied,” says Spada, “so I was looking for a different kind of subject as my next book. I met an agent at a party in Manhattan and she said she was looking for a gay version of ‘The Hite Report.’ I submitted a proposal to her and she was able to get a publishing deal for it.”

For “The Spada Report,” over 1000 gay men between the ages of 16 and 77 responded to a questionnaire Spada created that examined all aspects of the “gay lifestyle,” including relationships, early sexual

experiences, the baths, police, public restrooms, sex toys, and much more.

Looking back more than 30 years later, Spada sees many changes taking place in gay men’s sex lives, AIDS being just one: “If ‘The Spada Report’ was written today, there would be far more expressions of loss (due to AIDS), and fewer instances of casual and anonymous sex.

“The biggest difference, I think, would be more men proud of their gayness and fewer stories about parents and friends deserting them when they came out. Despite the spate of gay bashings recently, gay people have made enormous strides toward acceptance since 1979.”

During the two decades since “The Spada Report,” James Spada has made a name for himself as an acclaimed and prolific celebrity biographer.

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By Jesse Monteagudo

Spada followed his Streisand and Redford books with biographies of Bette Davis, Jane Fonda, Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli, Katherine Hepburn, Grace Kelly, John and Caroline Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Peter Lawford, Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty, Bette Midler, Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Reagan, Julia Roberts, the Bush Family and, once again, Barbra Streisand.

Some of those books are straight-on biographies while others are coffee table photo books. “After ‘The Spada Report’ I tried my hand at fiction and began a novel about a presidential candidate being blackmailed over a gay encounter in college. Several editors brought the proposal to their publication boards but I was never able to sell it.

At that point a friend suggested I do a ‘real’ book on Streisand, not just a ‘Films of Barbra Streisand’ career study.

“That resulted in ‘Streisand: The Woman and the Legend’ and began the second phase of my career. I was now with a major house (Doubleday), appearing on The Today Show, all the things authors dream about! I produced

seven heavily illustrated coffee table books on most of the gay show business icons.”

Of all the people Spada has written about, his favorites are Streisand and Marilyn Monroe, “She was my first dream girl, and I was thrilled to do a book about her.”

It should be noted that Spada is only one of many gay men who have made successful careers as celebrity biographers.

He explains that “gay men are attracted to glamorous, larger-than-life people and if you are a writer it is very satisfying to write about those you admire.”

Needless to say, Spada does not agree with critics who do not take “celebrity biographers” seriously, or who, like ForeWord Magazine, separate ‘the literary biographer and the celebrity biographer.’ “I will grant that a biography of Bette Davis is not as serious a book as one on Franklin Roosevelt, but I think you can be a serious biographer and write about popular culture.

“Critics have called my books well-written and meticulously researched. I have gotten a number of thoughtful, positive reviews from the New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly, and other prestigious publications. So I think it’s how well you research a subject, how well you write, and whether you yourself treat the subject seriously that should determine whether you are a ‘serious’ biographer, not the subject alone.”

Since the turn of the millennium, James Spada has emerged as a distinguished photographer of male nudes. His collected photos appeared in “Black & White Men” (2000) and “Edwardian Men” (2004). Spada’s third photo collection, “Eye Candy: New Images,” was just published by Spada’s own Pond Street Press.

For the complete article on the GOP "Pledge" go to: SouthFloridaGayNews.com/jesse

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Editorial

November 10, 2010

Election Results Test Our Mettle Norm Kent, Publisher

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he past elections reveal one glaring reality that should impact all LGBT thought, whether you voted Republican or Democrat. The simple truth emerging from the election is that we are still in a war for our rights, and many people are fighting against us.

It is very significant that one of the most ardent supporters of ending DADT, Patrick Murphy, was defeated. Himself a veteran, he stuck his neck out for human rights but it was chopped off on the electoral block.

Similarly, when three justices of the Iowa Supreme Court voted to ratify the constitutionality of gay marriage, they could not have expected that an organization entitled the National Organization for Marriage would emerge and launch a successful campaign to unseat them from judicial office.

Any chance that ENDA would be passed has ended with the Republican takeover of the House.

Progressive legislation, especially in Florida, will suffer enormous setbacks Keep On with neanderthals populating offices in Congress and state legislatures. We will be tested by those seeking to push progress back. We must forge forward with an iron will. We have come too far to go back into closets for anyone.

Courts and corporations are protecting our rights, and we are standing up for ourselves without anyone’s help. In legislatures, we have passed hate crime laws. In neighborhoods, we have formed civic associations. In schools, we have created task forces against gay bullying. We have elected gay mayors and seen lesbian judges sworn into office. And if a right wing mayor takes a swing at us, we swing back. At SFGN, each week we profile gay businessmen and women; entrepreneurs making a difference.

Our travel issue this week shows how many places we have been and where we can still go. Today you wear your pride rings on your fingers and post your rainbows on your license plates. Today you vacation in

Mykonos, and make summer plans with gay travel agents on Fire Island or in urban venues like Toronto.

We were once the love that dared not speak its name. Now in South Florida we are the home of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. Our community is an epicenter for international gay tourism and the host of the White Party in two weeks, as well as the Hurricane Softball Tourney run in greater Fort Lauderdale, for hundreds of gay players. We own restaurants and clubs, and we applaud our partnerships and our progress. That can never be taken away from us ever again.

We have won a place at the table by our professionalism and patience, our fortitude and forthrightness. We just have to keep on truckin’. Our day will come. Ask Martin Gill as Equality Florida applauds him in a gala this weekend, his tenacity awarded as he adopts a child our Truckin’ government sought to take away. Ask Nadine Smith, who can tell you how far Equality Florida has come in its decade of growth since finding roots.

Finally, let’s not forget there is still a war against AIDS patients, many of whom are facing escalating cutbacks, creating unconscionable waiting lists for those who need meds.

Let’s not forget the teen suicides which have come to light recently are a reminder to us that bullying in schools is still very real.

Let’s not forget homophobia is still rampant in certain professions and many sports.

Let’s not forget there are many causes still worth fighting for, and that you can never let up, let go, or look away.

Whatever you do, don’t remain neutral.

In the middle of the road you will only find yellow lines and dead skunks.

Sometimes life calls upon you to make a difference. Somewhere, find the time and energy to make your community a better place.

Letters, We Got Letters Comment on: ‘Spirit Day Vigils on Lincoln Road and Wilton Drive’ (10/27) DEAR EDITOR: I am sending this e-mail in your recommendation regarding the Candlelight Vigil held in front of Alibi, on Wednesday 20th. I have two of my employees and many friends who attend the vigil and came back to report there attendance and the presentation of this vigil. I was livid to find out how it was poorly planned and unrespectable to the cause.

First of all, it did not start on time, after asking all attendees to be there at 7:00 PM with wearing color purple and to be in a parking lot in front of a bar for the candlelight vigil then to march to another restaurant/bar.

It was poor taste of judgement. The march for this vigil should have been at the City Hall and take the direction of the Fort Lauderdale High School or to another school, on the sidewalk (no permit is need it) or they could have started at our Pride Center GLCC who plenty parking was available and represent our community and also our young gay and lesbian family.

Our young kids who are in desperation for help and killing themselves cause of bullying should get our support of “Be Brave...

Be Strong... Be Yourself... message in front of there school and our community center NOT in front of an adult place who they can not go to get help or hang out.

Instead they choose to have the march, to my opinion, so they can profit from the attendees with sale in there establishment

during the long wait before or after the vigil.

Shame on these businesses and organizer(s) who did not respect this vigil. I do hope they will donate part of there sales to the cause regarding bullying victims to the Human Right Campaign or another group who is working for this cause.

Hoping they will get to read this e-mail who many agreed with me and they get a lesson to be more sensitive to a sad and terrible cause afflicting our minority plus who bullying has been going on and hiding for so long in our schools and other places. Sadly,

Guy F Le Houx

Comment on: ‘Wilting Manors Government Disgraces its Citizens’ (11/3) DEAR EDITOR: I enjoyed your commentary about ‘wilting’ wilton manors and I agree with your comments completely. I would love to see you or one of your staff address the commissioners and every meeting and let your voice be heard.

We need more local commentary from SFGN helping direct the City of Wilton Manors towards being a better city and not keeping it as a sleepy little town.

I’d like to see you and your staff write a commentary after each commission meeting letting the City residents know of what is NOT HAPPENING here.

Joe Pallant CPCU CIC Pallant Insurance Agency, Inc

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Wes Niarhos

Not Gaga for Gay Rights Guest Columnist

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s much as I want to appreciate the sentiment, I can’t help but feel that Lady Gaga’s self appointment as ambassador for the Gay Rights movement sends an unusual message and mixed signals about our community’s dedication to our own cause.

Women’s Suffrage and the Civil Rights movement were both supported by those from all races and genders, and certain public figures complemented these causes by delivering the message to their own communities.

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt worked with the poor during the Depression, and Marlon Brando was a Hollywood celebrity and vocal supporter of the Civil Rights movement. Yet, the voices credited with the success of these agendas were those who personally knew

the discrimination they were fighting.

Support has boundaries. When a cause is hijacked by someone without firsthand familiarity, it makes those who are discriminated against look as though they aren’t vested enough in the cause to speak for themselves, or even lazy or ungrateful.

Lady Gaga needs to step aside and support gay rights and not champion the cause.

This is our fight to fight, and our rally cries should not be led by a 24-year-old straight girl who parades an ambiguous sexuality in an effort to market her image.

Celebrities will always be attracted to various causes for one reason or another, particularly hot button issues. Some of them have a genuine interest in the cause du jour and some will use their association for the spot-

light in the hopes of advancing their careers.

It’s questionable whether videos posted

by Sarah Silverman and Kathy Griffin had the most wholesome of agendas, but while the motivation may not always be pure of heart, playing a supportive role usually sends a relatively positive message.

The target audience becomes perplexed when a passive, supportive position turns into active leadership. When we start hearing comments like, “I didn’t know Lady Gaga was gay,” her message gets lost. Her presence in this fight is so strong that it confuses more than it informs. She can preach to the choir all she wants, but it’s not the choir whose opinions we need to change.

Lady Gaga is a harbinger of consumerism and pop culture bandwagons. She knows this and wears it proudly. Her lifestyle and fame make many question how genuine her message is. Gay Rights are trendy right now and she is the human embodiment of a cultural fad.

I don’t doubt she’s honestly dedicated to our rights, but it’s very easy for someone outside the community to write her off.

Many celebrities like Cher or Madonna re-

spectably know their place, they support our causes and let us lead. Lady Gaga can be a polarizing caricature of an activist and we need to address our audience responsibly.

She has inadvertently taken away our voice, becoming more synonymous with Gay Rights than Elton John. While many gays in the media struggle in an industry that is deceivingly homophobic, Hollywood has ascribed the self-professed “Fame Monster” our most vocal advocate.

I don’t think she realizes that what she is doing can do more harm than good. Many straight allies support Gay Rights from the sidelines, and people like Margaret Cho and Bette Midler will even occasionally speak out in support but they do so as a guest of our community.

Lady Gaga however stands at the podium as the President of Gay Rights. We have become a guest in her quest for our equality.

Perhaps our own voices have grown tired or complacent, and maybe this is our fault.

It’s time for someone to step up, and say, “Thanks, we’ll take it from here.” I hope that she means well, but it’s time for a gay to take the wheel.

Passages

Sunshine Foundation Loses Two Stars

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he Sunshine Community Foundation suffered two losses this past month, including the passing of Founding President Bob Graham.

A partner with Paul Fasana for 47 years, his survivor has been the chief archivist at the Stonewall Library.

Bob Graham was a surgeon at the Columbia University Medical Center and was once appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the President’s Committee for the Employment of the Handicapped. Other achievements manifested in his lifetime were serving on the President’s Advisory Board of Mars Hill College, as a chair of an HHS Task Force on Drugs for the US, and as a Presidential representative on a commission to end world hunger.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Graham eventually attended Ohio State University, Mars Hill College, Wake Forest University and Temple School of Medicine, with further studies at Johns Hopkins, Harvard and Columbia Universities.

Much of Dr. Graham’s professional life was also spent as the Executive Vice President for Corporate Operations for the Equitable Life Insurance Corporation. But his contributions to the Sunshine Community Foundation stand out brightly.

The stained glass doors at the entry to the Worship Center are named in his honor as the Robert S. Graham & Paul Fasana Chapel, now the home of Rising Action Theater.

A mentor to many, and a guiding light for others, the foundation has passed a resolution in his memory, stating “Doctor Graham exhibited extraordinary strength, tireless devotion and enduring compassion to help further the interests of the Sunshine Cathedral,” and that “he was their champion, the patriarch and founding Chair…”

Services will be held 5:00 pm Sunday, November 28, 2010 in the Walt Lawrence & Stephen Lewis Center for Worship & the Arts. A reception for all will be after the service in the Graham/Fasana Chapel.

S

FGN reports the passing of Gregory H. Kurdian, who died on October 27, at 68 after an extended illness.

He was one of the long-time stalwart leaders of the Sunshine Community Foundation and the Sunshine Cathedral.

He was President of the Foundation and instrumental in the founding of Bravissimo in 2007, the Foundation’s Major annual fundraiser.

His company, Sunbound, was a major sponsor of Bravissimo, during each of the event’s 4 years. He was very proud of his leadership and participation in the Foundation and in his role as a Deacon for the Sunshine Cathedral.

“He will long be remembered for his generosity and his willingness to help oth-

ers at all times,” stated Jeff Tuckey, the current President and the CEO of the Sunshine Community Foundation. During his lifetime, Kurdian had also served as the Director of the Wichita Art Museum and the Kansas State Historical Society.

Kurdian, who had also once been on the Board of Directors for the MCC Fellowship in Los Angeles, is survived by his brother Haig, his sister-in-law Rima of Witchita, Kansas and their son. daughter and her partner.

There will be two services for Gregory Kurdian, a private service for his family on Monday November 15, and a public celebration of Gregory’s life at 1:00 pm on Saturday, November 20 in the Lawrence/Lewis Center for Worship & the Arts. A reception will following in the Social Hall.

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Salutes Gay Veterans

By A. Sebastian Fortino

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n the wake of disappointment regarding the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell the LGBT community must remember that there indeed are gay heroes that served our country proudly, and bravely. They soldiered on despite the crude, professed belief that gay soldiers would be more interested in sex with their comrades than taking up arms.

One such gay hero is Ross O. McClure who served from 1942 to 1945, in what was then known as the Army Air Division, renamed the Air Force after WWII. McClure, who is now nearly 90 years-of-age is still a sociable fellow who refuses to think of himself as an older person when SFGN sat down with him over cocktails recently. His story of service against the Axis Powers will not conjure up images of soldiers at ease, being entertained by the likes of Bob Hope.

The plane, of which he was navigator, a B17 was shot down on May 12, 1944 and he was a POW until April of 1945.

“I landed in the mountains of Czechoslovakia. The winds picked me up and I was

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Sunday, November 21 to Dignity/Fort Lauderdaleʼs new home.

Guest speaker John McNeill at 5 PM.

Holy Angels Church

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“Celebrating our wholeness and holiness”

‘knocked out.’ I came to and heard the Germans screaming and shooting their guns off. I just laid there, the parachute was hung up in the trees so the enemy wouldn’t miss me,” said McClure. His neck and back were in tremendous pain, which still bothers him to this day.

Soon enough, Nazi soldiers did indeed find McClure. They ran him barefoot through the snow, to what he assumes to have been an inn. There, they interrogated him, threatened to shoot him, but he knew – as per the Geneva Convention – he only had to give his name, rank, and serial number.

“The next day a German guard took me on a train to Frankfurt,” said McClure. “There I was put into a room and again I have no idea how many nights and days I was there. There were no windows and only one light bulb. Food

Purple Heart recipient Ross O. McClure, second from left.

was slid under the door and there was a “pot” in the corner. Finally, they came and got me and took me to an interrogator.”

The interrogator once again tried to get McClure “to talk,” but he only replied with name, rank, and serial number. The interrogator however already knew the names of his family, where his brother was stationed in the South Pacific, what schools he attended and that he was enrolled at the University of Ohio as an art student prior to enlisting in the military.

The next year, after grueling marches, he was kept in a POW camp. His suffering was intense – but surely similar to what many veterans endured. The food was so bad he traded his solid gold class ring for a can of condensed milk. By the time Patton’s army came to liberate the camp the six-foot-tall McClure was reduced to 128 lbs, down nearly 60 lbs.

“When the Americans came to liberate us they put us on a first-class train to a hospital in France,” said McClure. “At the hospital they told us we had to be on a low-fat diet, because they had lost a couple of our boys, their bodies could not digest food.”

It goes without saying that McClure feels the tumultuous situation surrounding Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is, in one word, “Ridiculous.”

Six weeks later, he was put back on a ship to New York, where only in the past decade has he been able to talk about his

harrowing experiences.

“I do not know why I am struggling with this after so many years,” said McClure. “It has been on my mind lately, daytime and nighttime. My parents went to their graves not knowing what my experience as a POW was. They tell me I will feel better once I get this out.”

When McClure’s returned to Ohio he earned a degree from the University of Ohio, and soon after coupled his initial training as an art student with a business degree and became a buyer for a large department store. He spent a great deal of time abroad while Western European countries were still rebuilding and restoring their bombed out facades.

His time in POW camps did not deter McClure’s sense of adventure and love for travel. With a smile the total opposite of the somber expression he wore he recalled those times in Paris, soon after the fall of the Third Reich. He said a room at the famed Ritz Hotel was a mere $5.00 per night.

It should come as no surprise that McClure’s friends consider him to be a hero.

However, a friend of his present during the interview said that, “He never thinks of himself as a hero.”

The United States however does think of him as a hero, and awarded him four flying medals and the nation’s highest honor, a Purple Heart.

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Michigan AG Fired for Anti-Gay Crusade Against U-M Student President

By Norm Kent

blog last spring to launch a crusade against the 21-year-old stun assistant Michigan attordent assembly president he called, ney general, Andrew Shivrell, “a radical homosexual activist, who created national outrage by racist, elitist and liar.” waging a campaign against the UniArmstrong has said Shirvell versity of Michigan’s openly gay stuShivrell contacted his friends, stalked him dent president was fired Monday.

“The cumulative effects of his use of state at public appearances, invaded the provresources, harassing conduct that is not pro- inces of his job, and insulted his family and tected by the First Amendment, and his lies friends on the blog.

Shirvell’s campaign against Armstrong gained during the disciplinary conference all demonstrate adequate evidence of conduct un- notoriety- and infamy- when he appeared last becoming a state employee,” Attorney Gen- month on CNN with Anderson Cooper.

In a statement released by his office, Cox eral Mike Cox said in a prepared statement.

Cox had initially defended Shirvell’s first said Shirvell was fired for conduct unbeamendment right to post blogs expressing coming a state employee, especially that of his personal opinions outside of his job an assistant attorney general.

“To be clear, I refuse to fire anyone for related duties. Shivrell has now engaged exercising their First Amendment rights, recounsel to challenge his firing.

Said his lawyer, Philip Thomas, “I just feel gardless of how popular or unpopular their my client’s constitutional First Amendment positions might be,” Cox said. “However, rights were in play here. Attorney General Mr. Shirvell repeatedly violated office poliMike Cox at first said the same thing and cies, engaged in borderline stalking behavior, and inappropriately used state resourcnow, all of a sudden this happens.”

Shirvell, 30 and a U-M alum, created a es, our investigation showed.”

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

The Verdict Is in 12 Angry Men Is One Terrific Production

By Mary Damiano

12 Angry Men is like a master class for playwriting. The play begins right when the Arts Editor story starts, a moment before the jury files he lights come up on a grimy, into the jury room. It ends a moment or New York City jury room in two after the climax. The characters do not the 1950s. A judge’s voiceover have names---each man is identified only by explains the ground rules: A man is dead. his juror number---yet each character is so Another man’s life is in the jury’s hands. well written that each is distinct in his own A guilty verdict means the death penalty.

Any reasonable doubt means the jury must right. And even with an unwieldy 12 chardeliver a verdict of not guilty. And the deci- acters on stage, each one has a spotlight moment with a killer bit of dialogue. sion must be unanimous.

And while the story is about the delibSo begins the classic drama 12 Angry eration, Rose used that plot to reveal the Men, currently a powerful production at hate, bigotry and prejudice lurking in every the Maltz Theatre in Jupiter. corner of society.

Reginald Rose wrote the script originally 12 Angry Men has landed in Broward and as a teleplay for the CBS TV anthology series “Studio One.” It was performed live in 1954, Miami a few times in the past few years, as stops on a national tour starring Richard and in 1957 was made into a film starring Thomas. The Maltz production is on par Henry Fonda. Rose adapted it into a play, and often surpasses the national tour, in which made its Broadway debut in 2004.

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design elements and acting caliber.

Russell Metheny’s scenic design is a perfect period recreation of a government room in the 1950s. The walls are grimy and yellowed, the heavy transom door and high windows are perfectly designed. The lighting design by James Sale and sound design by Brandy Demil---the change from day to night and a rain storm are beautifully realized---as well as costumes by Mara Blumenfield, add to the realistic set.

Tony Award-winning director Frank Galati directs a top-notch cast in this superb production. As the level-headed Juror #8, Patrick Clear is sometimes a little bland but also has some good moments as the lone voice trying to convince the others that reasonable doubt exists. He’s contrasted nicely by James Clarke, who turns in an intense performance as the most

stubborn juror, the one who is most set on a guilty verdict and execution. Doug Jones is marvelous delivering an ugly speech in which he reveals himself as a racist.

12 Angry Men is one of the best productions to grace a South Florida stage this year.

Theatre Review Play: 12 Angry Men 12 Angry Men runs through November 14 at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre, 1001 East Indiantown Rd., Jupiter.

For tickets and more information, visit JupiterTheatre.org.

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Nightlife by J.W. Arnold

The Clock is Ticking…

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he countdown has begun to one of the biggest events on the South Florida party calendar, the White Party.

Tickets are on sale for the weeklong celebration that runs Nov. 24-29 and benefits South Florida AIDS service provider, CareResource.

The highlight of the festival, themed Cirque du Monde, is the legendary party at Vizcaya mansion on Biscayne Bay. If you’ve never experienced this signature event, be sure to pick up your tickets today, because it will be the last as the organization reinvents itself next year for its 27th year.

You can order your tickets and passes at WhiteParty.org. Some tickets may also still be available at the official host hotel and welcome center, the Shelborne South Beach.

In the meantime, there are plenty of fun ways to pass the time until White Party weekend.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights: Wednesday, Nov. 10

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CornerPubbar.Com

he Valerie Tyson Band takes the stage tonight at The Manor, 2345 Wilton Dr. in Wilton Manors.The show starts at 8:30 p.m., but arrive plenty early and enjoy $5 tapas or the $14.95 pre fixe twilight dinner.

Thursday, Nov. 11

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Ch o l New inks r u o r pD

FridAY doMestiC Beer 5 For $12 iMport Beer 5 For $15 sAturdAY $1.75 Miller drAFt $5 CAll & $6 preMiuM MArtiNis SUNDAY 10AM – 3pM BloodY MArY BAr $2.50 sKY vodKA

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Your Neighborhood Bar!

1915 N. ANdrews AveNue • wiltoN MANors, FloridA 33311 • 954-564-7335

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ow that the temperatures are cooler, put on those Levis and your boots and head down to Scandals Saloon. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. dance instructor extraordinaire Lee Fox offers beginner and intermediate classes in twostep, waltz and shadow. Cowboys are sexy, but there’s nothing sexier than a cowboy who can twirl you around the floor. Scandals is located at 3073 NE 6th Ave. in Wilton Manors.

Friday, Nov. 12

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emember Moulin Rouge? Well, Burlesque is the next star-studded silver screen extravaganza, featuring Cher and

Christina Aguilera, and tonight Club Sugar in Miami is having a movie release party.Win free screening passes and prizes.

DJ Jarell will be in the main room and don’t miss shows by T.P. Lords and Sasha Sky. Sugar is located at 2301 SW 32nd Ave. Saturday, Nov. 13

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hether you’re a grizzlie or a cub or even an otter, there are plenty of options for fuzzy ones in South Florida. Hombre, the new bar in Oakland Park, caters to the bear crowd on Saturdays with Bear Codes, an Ironmunkie production.Take advantage of the 2-4-1 drink specials from 5 to 9 p.m. (even on a Saturday) and stop by the complimentary buffet.You’ll find the action at 2500 W. Oakland Park Blvd.

Sunday, Nov. 14

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xtend your weekend celebrations at VooDoo Lounge, 111 SW 2nd Ave. All the hot boys can be found there, as well the infamous “Life’s a Drag” Show featuring Daisy D., T.P. Lords, Poizon Ivy, Erika Norell and all your favorites.The show starts at 12 midnight and, if you’re in the biz, there’s no cover and everything can be had for just $5 each.

Monday, Nov. 15

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oys love their toys.We love the train set in Mona’s Cocktail Lounge, 502 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Ft. Lauderdale. Stop by and play the Train Game, 15 to 20 times each day. Pick your lucky number and you could win a free cocktail.While you can play any day, on Mondays, pool is free and you can enjoy happy hour prices all night long.

Tuesday, Nov. 16

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nwind after a long day at work to live jazz and 2-4-1 cocktails at The Bay, the new gay-friendly lounge at 1601 79th St. Causeway in North Bay Village.This new destination made a splash on the scene just a few weeks ago and provides a nice alternative to the bustling scenes of South Beach and Wilton Manors.

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

B Ocean Recruits Chef Holli Ugalde Hell’s Kitchen Winner to Open Restaurant on Fort Lauderdale Beach

By Joey Amato

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s B Ocean Fort Lauderdale prepares to open its doors in January, the company announced an exciting addition to the team. Best-known for winning Season 7 of Hell’s Kitchen, Chef Holli Ugalde will serve as Celebrity Signature Chef for the new upper-upscale lifestyle hotel.

In her new role, Chef Holli will heat things up with the creation of a variety of unique, exclusive signature dishes for B Ocean Fort Lauderdale. She will also host a quarterly Celebrity Chef Event Series, during which travelers and locals alike can engage and garner tips, tools and recipes to take home and utilize in their own kitchens, as well as have interactive social and dining time with her.

Fresh on the heels of her victory during the seventh season of FOX’s hit television series, Hell’s Kitchen, Chef Holli has already started in the development of her plans for B Ocean Fort Lauderdale. This will include the creation of “Chef Holli Signature Items” that will be seen throughout various aspects of the hotel’s food and beverage operations.

Where Business Comes to Succeed.

For advertising opportunities, call Cliff Dunn: 954-530-4970

Ugalde’s signature items will be found in B’Stro, the hotel’s unique, innovative full-service restaurant offering breakfast, lunch, dinner and grab-n-go. The B’stro will also offer an Italian Enomatic self-service wine bar that is all the rage in food and beverage circles, allowing guests to sip wine while enjoying fresh breads and cheeses in the afternoons and evenings.

“Chef Holli’s energy, passion, approachability and creative entrepreneurial spirit make her a great fit for the B Hotels & Resorts brand, which speaks to self-expression and emotional connection,” said Chris Tompkins, corporate vice president and brand marketing executive for B Hotels & Resorts.

“To have the opportunity to partner with and show-

case her talents at B Ocean Fort Lauderdale really aligns well with our business model. We are thrilled to be working with Chef Holli and feel that this is an incredible opportunity for our guests, locals and the hotel’s ownership to have a one-ofa-kind experience with an inspirational, talented individual,” he states.

In addition to serving as Signature Chef and overseeing the implementation of her signature items into the hotel’s menus, Ugalde will also offer hotel guests the chance to participate in interactive weekend experiences.

South Florida locals looking to meet, interact with and learn can participate in the Celebrity Chef Series, as well. The hotel is offering a package that does not include hotel accommodations but includes all other components.

Graduating from the prestigious Le Cordon Blue at an early age, Chef Holli went on to become a pastry chef for three years before starting her own company.

“I’m very excited about my new partnership with B Hotels & Resorts,” said Chef Holli.

“The brand represents a new opportunity for travelers who enjoy quality, but with a focus on personal service and friendliness. I look forward to bringing new meaning to dynamic experiential travel for foodies in Fort Lauderdale, as well as from around the world.”

For more information, please visit BOceanFortLauderdale.com.

22

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

DIRECT FROM BROADWAY

“UTTERLY THEATRICAL!”

selling his paintings. He also becomes friends with a wide variety of Greenwich Village gays, drag queens, leather daddies Book: Palm Trees on the Hudson: A True and other eccentrics. What he seems to Story of the Mob, Judy Garland & Intebe missing is someone to love, someone rior Decorating to share life with and Tiber says he cried

By Elliot Tiber himself to sleep many nights.

SquareOnePublishers.com His career soon shifts, and Tiber finds 183 pages himself in perhaps the only career in which $24.95 – even during the middle of the last century – a gay man is desired. He becomes a successful interior decorator.

By A. Sebastian Fortino Tiber’s fleeting – but scary – run-in with alm Trees on the Hudson flows so the mafia comes after he is asked to create lyrically it should come as no surand organize a fabulous birthday party for a prise to learn that Elliot Tiber has also written and produced musical comedies. Manhattan nightclub owner. There he fulfills As a writer, and avid reader, I find few books a dream and meets Judy Garland at the party, a grand affair on a boat.Yet, things that should be read in one sitting, thereby allowing the reader to watch the plot unfold almost immediately capsize for him financially. He goes to seamlessly – like a conhis parent’s hotel versation.This prequel in upstate New to Taking Woodstock is York – a dreaded an exception. location due to its The memoir opens lack of revenue, in a darkened cinema and stifling mother where young Elliot – to recoup from watches The Wizard of his tribulations in Oz, instantly entranced the city. Soon after,

by Judy Garland, thus feeling isolated and foreshadowing his depressed, while lifelong love for her and sipping an egg her influence on him as cream, he realizes muse and a gay icon. that he must return Young Elliot’s mother to New York. is also in the theater However, it’s with him, although she not his mother or is not there so much father, who seems for the yellow brick to live under the road. During WWII, thumb of his wife, plates were given with that convince him to go back to the city. It’s the price of admission to keep customers, although “Momma” was not there to build Judy’s rendition of “Get Happy” that sends her collection of tableware. Instead she put him back to Manhattan, where like so many gay people have done, he reunites with the pieces into her store window to sell. friends of his that have truly become his This eloquently parallels the relationship Tiber has with both women – one inspires family. Eventually he does find love, a career, and a permanent place in the world as an him, one tells him not to drop the plate. artist. Something his mother said he never Tiber’s boyhood is spent developing could achieve. himself artistically and entrepreneurially.

This is a story that talks about the alienEventually – much to his mother’s chagrin – he takes himself to Manhattan, where he ation gay people experience in youth, and gets his degree in art from Hunter College. the issues many of us go through with our families in terms of acceptance.Yet, even in His mother wanted a rabbi, or “at least Tiber’s frustrating moments his clarity and a dentist.” She is mollified when her son wit reveal that somewhere over the rainbecomes a professor of art. bow is not a place. It is our courage, hearts, Initially, after college, Tiber finds work and brains that lead us home. dressing storefront windows, while also

Book Review

- Bloomberg.com

Photos by Joan Marcus & Heidi Ann Uhl.

P

& RYAN HLEIGH S A d n a HA Can Dance u o YA & PAS Y N k A in h g n T ri u tu o oY Fea

From TV’s S

ON SALE NOW! NOVEMBER 16 - 28

BROWARD CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

For Tickets online: BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com or BrowardCenter.org By phone: 954.462.0222 or 800.982.ARTS(2787) Groups 15+ 954.626.7814 OR 954-462-0222

Shows, dates, times, prices and actors subject to change without notice.

P1808.4.875x10.75.indd 1

11/4/10 10:47 AM

23

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

VIEWS OF THE NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY BY GRAPHIC PALETTE and edwin sand

J.Mark’s opens with Ariel & Steve; Mayor Jack Seiler cuts ribbon

Mark Pelto, Richard Morrelli, Terry Crowley, John Vigil at CAP

Laurie Whitaker, Jennifer Morales of Sidelines; WM Mayor Gary Resnick

Comprehensive AIDS Project Barbara Neill and Jonathan Haggerty

Carlos Arencivia, Lou Antico at the CAP Benefit in West Palm

Political Affairs Editor of SFGN, Jarrett Terrill, protests against the GOP

24

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Gay Christian Artists Perform at Crossroads Concert Staff Reports

A

special night of worship and praise featuring the music and message of four different ministries from across the nation will take place on Friday, November 12. Susie Brenner and Linda Beckstead, Jeremiah Cummings, Jason DeShazo, and Shawn Thomas will deliver their message of inclusion beginning at 7 p.m. at the MCC of the Palm Beaches.

Brenner-Beckstead Ministries (Omaha, NE): Susie Brenner will bring music and testimony based on her own life experiences in recovery and faith. Linda Beckstead will share in spoken message/story and also lead an open communion celebration.

Jeremiah Cummings (Palm Beach Gardens, FL): Music Minister and Worship Leader at MCC of the Palm Beaches,

“kOOza is just plain brilliant”

Jeremiah will be debuting an original song and his first recorded single, “Help Me Through the Rain,” along with other songs of worship.

There’s Victory Ministries (Long Beach, CA & Asheville, NC): Jason DeShazo will be performing his heartfelt music as featured on two of his instrumental Christian CDs, as well as his upcoming first vocal project to be released in 2012.

The Ministry of Aaron’s Rainbow Project (Boynton Beach, FL): Shawn Thomas is honored to participate with these talented and Spirit-led musicians and worship leaders in this special event. His performance will include songs from his newest releases, “Worship & Desperation” and “Revisited Vol. 2.”

For more information about the Crossroads Concert visit CrossroadsConcert.com. MCC of the Palm Beaches is located at 4857 Northlake Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, and can be contacted at (561) 775-5900 or at MCCpalmbeach.org.

PRESENTED BY

– The Globe and Mail

OpenS nOvember 12 at bicentennial park

Register at SouthFloridaGayNews.com for your free SFGN daily email update and be automatically entered to win a ‘Dinner and a Show’ prize package*! visit cirquedusoleil.com for tickets and info *Package includes tickets and dinner for two at Rosa Mexicano OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Written and Directed by David Shiner

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25

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Legends Elton John and Leon Russell, Liza Minnelli

By Chris Azzopardi Elton John and Leon Russell, The Union In his illustrious four-decade career, Elton John’s done it all: cut classics, inspired generations of performers and been one of the greatest gay icons ever. For so long, though, the legend’s admiration for Leon Russell, a roots-country crooner, went untouched – until now, as the two marry their musical geniuses into a masterfully written, produced (cut live by tunesmith T Bone Burnett, no less) and performed duets LP.Trademark Elton sneaks in on the boisterous kiss-off “Monkey Suit,” heartfelt ballad “The Best Part of the Day” and snarling, piano-licked “Hey Ahab,” perhaps due in part to longtime co-writer Bernie Taupin’s contributions. But the Rocket Man is still far removed from his signature classic-rock days, falling closer in line with Russell’s ’70s Americana records. On The Union, craft ranks over mainstream consumption, and it pays off remarkably with the sarcastic lead single “If It Wasn’t for Bad,” a jaunty, nuanced number; “Gone to Shiloh,” a moving Civil War narrative, with Neil Young bringing an added ache; and quiet gospel closer “In the Hands of Angels,” a song that Elton lets his idol have at alone. It’s a testimony to the brotherhood felt throughout, where both artists extract each other’s individual best and together, as Elton smoothes out the ruggedness of Russell’s drawl, sound like each other’s yin and yang.Their Union isn’t simply a great story of enduring friendship, but one of the best albums of the year. (Out Oct. 19) Grade: A-

Liza Minnelli, Confessions Even Liza Minnelli knew her decision to embarrass herself, and her legendary career, with a “Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)” remake earlier this year was a bad move – she sounded grossly awful, like she was hobbling to the finish line. Instead of pushing the idea of older-diva-does-youngerdiva through to this studio album, her first since 1996’s Gently, she embraces every day of her 64 years of age with a classy covers collection that plays to her strengths and avoids emphasizing her weaknesses. Her voice, more jeans than spandex these days, doesn’t go for flash, but is understated and expertly suited for the quiet intimacy that producer and longtime collaborator Bruce Roberts is fetching. The 14 standards are scaled back, never giving Liza’s now-husky alto more than it can handle – no orchestras, no showstoppers – with its jazzy, dinner party arrangements. “Confession,” originally from The Band Wagon and opening the set, perfectly complements her personality, but even with betterknown favorites like Frank Sinatra’s “All the Way” and Etta James’ “At Last,” she holds her own, reaching more for the song’s soul and less for its vocal cartwheels. The soft-sounding ease of it all could use more oomph, even with the zing of “You Fascinate Me So,” and is sometimes tediously muddied, but Confessions is still a mature and dignified way to keep Liza’s 60-year career rolling. Hell, we’d put a ring on it.

Grade: B

Also Out Lizz Wright, Fellowship Lizz Wright’s got some voice – a supple, rich contralto that, on her new “secu-

sults – impressing with the glorious “God Specializes,” Eric Clapton’s “Presence of the Lord” and “Amazing Grace,” made into a minimalistic mover. With help from Sweet Honey in the Rock’s Bernice Reagon, and daughter Toshi, Wright’s fourth album is a transcendent journey of life, spirituality and deeply felt feeling.

Shontelle, No Gravity

lar gospel” offering, could trigger chills through non-believers. After submerging it into jazz and blues, Wright honors her Georgia roots with emotionally stirring re-

Whoever Shontelle is seems irrelevant on much of her sophomore set, where she’s a pop singer left to imitate rather than initiate. Rihanna comparisons – especially on the dancefloor punch of “Take Ova” – are inevitable, but the Barbadian 23-year-old’s also doing her best Estelle impression on “DJ Made Me Do It.” Even then, and even with a talented production team, she can’t find a way to make her own. Shontelle sounds mostly outdated, cheap and lyrically shallow, but the lead single, “Impossible,” shows she may still have a shot at defying Gravity.

Reach Chris Azzopardi at chris@pridesource.com.

Partner Planning Financial protection begins with a plan.

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Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC recommends that investors independently evaluate particular investments and strategies, and encourages investors to seek the advice of a Financial Advisor. The appropriateness of a particular insvestment or startegy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstanes and objectives. © 2010 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

26

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Heard it on...

“It felt natural for me to dance with a woman. That’s my way of life,” Shem-Tov told reporters.

Her partner is Dorit Milman, a professional dancer based in Israel.

“We will still show the emotions of love and hate, seducing and rejecting.

We still use the movements and language of movement in the same way,” Milman stated. They plan to share leading when they perform.

Israel has a surprisingly liberal relationship with LGBT citizens.The Israeli military allows Same Sex Couple on Israeli “Dancing With gays to serve openly. Such tolerance in a region where homophobia is the norm in other the Stars” countries is both shocking The Israeli verand encouraging. sion of the popular “Israeli versions of reBritish-based, ality TV shows frequently international dance feature a gay character,” show phenomenon said Yonathon Gher, will feature a same executive director of the sex dance team.

Jerusalem Open House, Gili Shem-Tov is an openly gay Dorit Milman and Gili Shem-Tov a gay community center based in Israel. “Auditelevision presenter ences are unlikely to be shocked by the who raises her one-year-old son with her sight of a same-sex couple. life partner.

Trevor Wayne Releases MiniMagazine

By A. Sebastian Fortino

A

afraid to use his body unclothed and aroused, which is powerful,” said Clive Barker, of the tattooed Trevor Wayne. This is not pornography but true art, beautifully shot and presented. However, for the sake of decency we will not show you the full monty!

rtist, model, actor, and tattoo For more information, please visit Trevorenthusiast Trevor Wayne has Wayne.com released a small, steamy magazine with roughly 28 images of himself as photographed – and in one case done up as a cartoon center fold – by artists such as Eric Shwabel, Austin Young, Clive Barker and others. The magazine, entitled “PinUp Show” will surely become a collector’s piece for fans of nude and erotic photography.

“Some of us work with film, or with paint on a canvas. Trevor uses Virgin cover of Trevor Wayne’s Pin-Up Show his body. And he’s not

27

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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the past three decades includes not only a directorship of Pride South Florida, but being one of the founders of the county’s first AIDS agency, Center One. he Rising Action Theater will be hosting a A member of SAGE since 1993, Ms. Vicky has also served as the Regional an 85th birthday benefit Director of the International on Tuesday, November 16, to Association of Lesbian and honor and aid one of South Gay Prides, founded WomFlorida’s LGBT community’s ynsong, and was the Musical greatest allies, the ailing Vicky Director of the MCC Church Keller. of Our Savior in Boca Raton.

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Solution to Crossword Puzzle on page 28

28

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Crossword Puzzle

S P O R T S

GW Women’s Basketball Team Has Transgender Player (AP) — A female-to-male transgender member of the George Washington women’s basketball team wants to be identified as a man this season.

Junior Kye Allums – who used to be known as Kay-Kay – is referred to on the school’s website as a “male member of George Washington’s women’s basketball team.”

“GW has been supportive during this transition. This means a lot. I didn’t choose to be born in this body and feel the way I do.

I decided to transition — that is, change my name and pronouns – because it bothered me to hide who I am, and I am trying to help myself and others to be who they are,” Allums said in a statement posted Tuesday on the website.

“I told my teammates first, and they, including my coaches, have supported me. My teammates have embraced me as the big brother of the team,” continued Allums, who turned 21 last month. “They have been my family, and I love them all.”

A story posted Monday on outsports.com reported that “Allums will be the first publicly transgender person” to play NCAA Division I college basketball.

NCAA spokesman Rick Nixon did not immediately reply to a request for comment Tuesday from the AP.

GW senior vice provost Robert Chernak, who is the school’s senior vice president for student academic and support services, said Allums “has informed the university that he will not begin any medical or drug protocols while a student-athlete. The university consulted the NCAA regarding his competitive status. Kye will continue to be a member of the women’s basketball team.”

Chernak also said the university “supports Kye and his right to make this decision.”

Allums started 20 games for George Washington last season, averaging 7.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 24.9 minutes. Allums scored a career-high 21 points in a 58-50 victory over La Salle on Jan. 24.

According to GW’s website, Allums was honored as the 2008 Minnesota Miss Basketball.

“The George Washington University women’s basketball program, including myself, support Kye’s right to make this decision,” head coach Mike Bozeman said in a statement on the school’s website.

George Washington opens its 2010-11 season on Nov. 13 against Green Bay in a tournament at Minneapolis.

In Memoriam

Across 1 Gene Robinson, and others 8 Like a virgin 14 Kahlo’s tongue 15 Den din 16 Suspecting nothing 17 Mishima and Ang Lee 18 Wife of 52-Across 20 Vintage vehicle 21 Rudy Galindo’s milieu 22 Cather’s One of ___ 23 NY winter hrs.

25 Safe follower 26 Like Julia Morgan’s models 30 Forced to go 33 Third degree, often 34 Phantom scar source 35 Exiled Roman poet 36 With 32-Down, movie of 52-Across 37 Made a “Clang, clang, clang” sound 38 What Stipe holds close to his mouth 39 Will Smith title role 40 Sample some buns, e.g.

41 On the whole 43 Neighbor of 44-Across 44 Land of Lev. 45 Site of Alfred Douglas’ pre-Oscar parties 47 FICA funds it 50 Six in., e.g.

52 Screen actor born Bernard Schwartz 55 Angora fabric 57 Gay rodeo items 58 Novelist Marcel 59 Winner of a race 60 ___ music (does Shaiman’s job) 61 Tries to improve, as a lawn

Down 1 Film canine of the ’70s 2 Hayes of South Park 3 Bone in the back 4 “I Could ___ Danced All Night” 5 Like horses, anatomically 6 Castor’s male partner 7 More like the Family Stone?

8 Lookout point 9 Sudden silences 10 Friend of Rimbaud 11 Movie of 52-Across 12 Dancer Tommy 13 Canadian oil company 19 Atlas strips 24 One of Cleopatra’s charms 25 Celebrations at Beth Simchat Torah 27 Poem of Sappho 28 Navel fetish accessory?

29 Beat barely 30 ___ erectus 31 Word on a map of Israel 32 See 36-Across 33 What bees collect 36 Mineo of movies 40 Teaching terms 42 Nancy Azara, for example 43 Where it’s at 46 Madea cross-dresser Perry 47 Tennessee, but not Williams 48 Located 49 They may be kissed or kicked 50 REM gear 51 Oliver! request 53 “Here ___ go?”

54 Evita lyricist Tim 56 “The Sound of Music” setting (abbr.)

See solution on page 27

29

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

S P E C I A L

Getting to Know Toronto

By Andrew Collins

N

orth America’s fifthlargest city, Toronto ranks among the world’s favorite gay urban destinations, with exceptional art and history museums, superb shopping, two stellar theater districts and a tourist board keen on courting the lesbian/ gay market. The name Toronto means “meeting place” in the language of the native Huron Indians, an apt moniker given how easy it is to make new friends in the city’s affable Church Street Gay Village.

Toronto’s popularity in recent decades among immigrants of numerous and far-reaching ethnic backgrounds has helped infuse it with a diverse personality, exceptional culinary offerings, and an eclectic visual and performing arts scene.

Adding to the colorful mix is that Toronto has Canada’s largest gay and lesbian population, including openly gay city councilors, school trustees, and other public officials, and in general a highly progressive political climate. The city’s

T R A V E L I S S U E

Pride Parade is one of the world’s largest, held each year in late June and early July.

Toronto may be enormous, but it’s still pedestrian-friendly. In the early ’70s, planners debated whether to tear down much of the city’s historic infrastructure and replace it with high-rise housing and concrete office parks. By enlarge, the government decided to keep things as they were, promoting the restoration of many older neighborhoods.

This policy has worked out favorably, and downtown now contains a bounty of invigorating neighborhoods filled with well-kept, mostly Victorian and Edwardian homes.

Some favorite areas for exploring include Chinatown (really more of a “Pan-Asian town), this also near to the esteemed Art Gallery of Ontario, which received a stunning new addition when famed architect Frank Gehry redesigned the museum in 2008. You’ll find not just top-notch Chinese but also Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, Korean, and other Southeast Asian eateries throughout this neighborhood, especially along Spadina Avenue and its neighboring blocks.

North of the city’s central Financial District, the domain of many sleek hotels and office towers, is the University of To-

ronto, where more than 65,000 students are enrolled. The heart of the campus is at King’s College Circle, a small ellipse dotted with impressive 19thand 20th-century school buildings. Due east lies Ontario’s governmental center, Queen’s Park, where you’ll see the Ontario Legislative and Parliament buildings. Just above the park is the vast Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), which is the second-largest museum in North America (after New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art).

South of the Financial District along the lakefront is the 100-acre Harbourfront Centre, a former industrial wasteland that now that’s been reinvented into an entertainment-andretail district with a massive antiques center, performance spaces, restaurants, and The Pier: Toronto’s Waterfront Museum, which has exhibits tracing the city’s considerable maritime history. Gaze across the Inner Harbour, and you can make out the Toronto Islands, which you reach by a 10-minute ferry ride from the terminal, just behind the Westin Harbour Castle. Choose the ferry headed for Hanlan’s Point (boast leave regularly throughout the day, the cost is $6.50 round-trip) to reach the clothing-optional beach, which has a

huge GLBT following, and keep in mind that Lake Ontario can be windy, and the islands are always several degrees cooler than the mainland (which, on hot summer days, is a blessing).

Astride the Financial District are the city’s two major performing arts areas, the King Street theater district (to the west) and the Front Street theater district (to the east – keep going and you’ll reach the bustling St. Lawrence Market, with its incredible food stalls, and the smartly redeveloped Distillery District, with its chic shops and eateries). Toronto has the English-speaking world’s third largest performing arts scene, with outstanding theater, music, opera, and dance. Also near the King Street district is the 1,815foot CN (Canadian National) Tower, whose 1,465-foot-high Space Deck is the tallest observation deck in the world.

It’s an easy walk from downtown to the Gay Village (aka Church Street Village), whose commercial spine is Church Street, from about Bloor south to Gerrard streets. In addition to finding most of Toronto’s gay bars and restaurants in this area, you’ll also discover several great fashion, book and gift shops.

For the complete article on Toronto, go to: SouthFloridaGayNews.com/toronto

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Mittleman Eye Center “What’s said in the O.R…stays in the O.R.”

By Joey Amato

O

ne may not expect much from their eye doctor, but within minutes of being at the Mittleman Eye Center in West Palm Beach, I realized this practice goes above and beyond expectations.

As guests exit the elevators and enter the office, which occupies the entire fourth floor of the building, they are greeted with a friendly smile and quickly notice the large space where clients are fitted for glasses.

Mittleman Eye Center is a state-of-theart eye care facility that employs the latest technology and provides five-star conciergestyle service. “We really pride ourselves Dr. Mittleman in Armenia, Mt. Ararat in the background. in providing the most superior service around,” states Dr. David Mittleman.

Born and raised in White Plains, Dr. Mitfrom Yale University and his medical degree Eye Group, and renamed the Mittleman Eye Center in 1992 after Dr. Mittleman purtleman received his undergraduate degree from The Johns Hopkins University School chased the group, the practice now employs of Medicine. He is Board Certified through close to 30 individuals. the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

To get a feel for the practice, I engaged in a Known as one the finest cataract surbrief eye exam, in which I found Dr. Mittleman’s geons in the Palm Beaches, Dr. Mittleman team to be extremely knowledgeable and thorhas repeatedly been chosen as a surgical investigator for national lens implant proto- ough, explaining all aspects of the exam cols, including the newest accommodative and giving recomcataract implants. mendations when “I am always in the pursuit of excellent, both in patient care and patient interactions,” needed.

In addition states Dr. Mittleman. “It’s not enough to provide just outstanding medical treatment. I try to running his to make my patients feel welcome, comfort- practice, Dr. Mittleman is also able and answer all of their questions. I also very active in the have quite a playful side.” Dr. Mittleman is surrounding commuknown for telling outrageous stories as well as trying to include patients in fun operating nity. He and his team volunteer their time room experiences. His motto is “what’s said to feed the homeless at St. Ann Catholic Church. In addition, he supports a county in the O.R., stays in the O.R.” His professional memberships include the program which provides complimentary eye exams for children who do not have health American Society of Cataract and Refracinsurance. tive Surgery, and the Palm Beach County Moreover, Dr. Mittleman is an active supOphthalmology Society. porter of arts and religious organizations, givServing the greater West Palm Beach ing sizeable contributions to both the Kravis region, the Mittleman Eye Center practices and Broward Center for the Performing Arts general ophthalmology, emphasizing state as well as B’nai B’rith International, the global of the art evaluation and treatment of all voice of the Jewish community, which since ocular conditions including cataracts and glaucoma. Established in 1970 as the Flagler 1843, has worked for Jewish unity, security,

continuity, and tolerance.

An avid traveler, Dr. Mittleman has visited to all seven continents and all countries in the western hemisphere with the exception of Cuba and French Guyana. In total, he has travelled to over 120 countries around the world including Botswana, United Arab Emirates and Tahiti.

“Although a difficult trip, seeing the ethnic, nomadic tribes of southern Ethiopia was a treat that soon will no longer be there,” he tells us.

“However, my favorite country is Greece. There is something about the people, the Mediterranean light, the imposing ruins, and the quiet solitude of the surrounding islands,” he states. “It has something for everyone and you can have so many different experiences in a single day.”

When not jet-setting across the globe, Dr. Mittleman enjoys going to the movies and dining out. “I enjoy murder mysteries and dark chocolate.” He also has a love for photography, many of his photos are on display in his office.

For more information on Dr. Mittleman or his practice, please visit Mittlemaneyecenter.com.

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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The Bonnet House and Gardens: Bohemian Grandeur

By A. Sebastian Fortino

T

he Bonnet House and Gardens is not an imposing palace. Instead, it is warm, with a Bohemian sense of fun, and lush, casual gardens, which invite you to repasse. My guest and I both felt we could move right in.

Even the house’s name was born in delight.When alligators would pop their heads up in the canal a water lily often sat on their head.The family joked that they looked like bonnets and Bonnet House was named. No Bonnet ever resided there, despite relatives of late “Auntie Bonnet” that request free tickets.

Evelyn Bartlett gifted it to the state in the 1980s with the condition that she still “winter” there until her death.

“She lived to be 109-years-old, and came here every winter until 1995. Evelyn passed away in 1997 two months before she would have turned 110,” said Stephen Draft, Curator of the Bonnet House. “She kept everything,” boasted Draft, in the kitchen now stripped back to the 1930s and 40s.

“The house was virtually unchanged when she passed away.” In fact, 95% of the objects held by the Bonnet House were once personal effects held at the estate.The other 5% were largely shipped down here from their northern homes, for the archives and to assist in research.

However, Evelyn was not the first mistress of Bonnet House. It was a wedding gift to her husband’s previous, late wife from her father. After she died, Frederic did not return to the house until Evelyn urged him.

Frederic Bartlett was something of a rebel. Rather than take over the family business he studied art at the Royal Academy of Munich, and many of his works can still be seen in Chicago. At one time he owned the famed Seurat painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.”

The first structure built on the then-50 acre parcel of land – now 35 acres – was Bartlett’s great hall-like art studio with a massive window to flood the interior with Florida light. Much of the decoration at Bonnet House was completed by Charles himself, including paintings and portraits adorning walls, and masterful ceiling murals.

A loggia off the living room has a nautical ceiling – fish, shells and nautical items, are painted on a blue sea surrounding a

large turtle. When Evelyn said it lacked something, Charles told her to complete it. So Evelyn painted a net. As an artist her husband often said she was his “best find.”

The sparsely elegant, cedar paneled-dining room, with cabinets filled with antique porcelain, exudes Bohemian qualities as well.

“Charles made this chandelier out of the A temple-like shell museum, bamboo bar, metal bands on nail barrels and crystals he and small movie theater supports the idea brought back from Austria,” Draft explained about the relatively simple, clever, light fixture. of this being a very personal hideaway. A small, carefree, brightly painted pavilion next to a round lake hosted cocktail soirees. Comfortable, tufted, leather,Victorian armchairs sit casually in the living room, confirming high style was secondary at Bonnet House.

Playfully, animals are a central motif in the overall design. Carousel animals and Southeast Asian carved animals are playfully positioned everywhere in the courtyard.

The gardens here are well-kept in a natural manner, with a few simple additions such as a bank of royal palms along a canal, an allee – a tree lined drive in the French manner, and an old sea grape tree pruned to look like a giant Bonsai. The descendants of Evelyn’s 1200 orchids hang from trees. The garden also has specialists who tag and remove non-native species, and is thus a center for ecology.

The Bartlett’s were also very forward thinking.When the police came to remove their largely African-American staff from the beachfront Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett came down from the house and reminded the police they owned it, and it was not public property.They would not enforce segregation on their beach, the staff were their guests.

The house is vastly different from seaside villas such as Vizcaya, or the Breakers in Newport. These homes astound you with sheer decadence. At The Bonnet House and Gardens what astounds is the intimate scale and friendly atmosphere.

Photos Courtesy of Claude A. Robinson, III

For more information, please visit Bonnethouse.org

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‘My First 20 Dates’ I

20 dates into his 30 date travelling sojourn, Kevin gave advocate.com an update, which they posted online October 21.You can subscribe to advocate.com and also receive their daily blasts- one of the best gay news sites on the web. Kevin sent me an email today saying he concluded his dating ‘experience’ my finding one very special soul, who he is returning to the states to meet this weekend in Nashville. Damn, it wasn’t me!

– Norm Kent

s dating difficult? It had been over a year since I’d gone out on a date, and wasn’t completely certain I remembered how it all worked. Leaving fear aside and with a healthy lust for adventure, I decided to go on 30 dates in 30 days.

That would be a surefire way to reeducate myself in the designs and strategy of “how we date.” I’m two thirds of the way through and have definitely learned a few significant lessons.

Don’t take yourself too seriously! No one else is. Unless you’re Justin Bieber or the secretary-general of the U.N. (wouldn’t it be interesting to see them go out on a date), then chances are you’re just a cool guy looking for another cool guy, and all of us have something special hidden up our sleeve.

Sometimes it’s the simple mundane facts of your life that interest potential partners more than knowing how to speak Klingon

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Kevin Richberg in his own words

pulling the ejector seat handle. and five other sci-fi languages.

Listen. I always feel that rush of exciteWear comfortable clothing.The last thing ment when my date makes a funny joke you want is to be attempting to impress in the tightest outfit known to mankind only to remembering something topical I had mentioned hours before. find out that your date has planned a picnic Don’t forget to eat. I’m a complete at the top of a nearby mountain.That shirt bitch if I don’t get food on a that looked so nice in the club the regular basis, and there’s nothing other day may not be so jazzy wrong with suggesting an amusecovered in burrs, sweat, and tears. bouche even if it alters the plans Silence is within your control. of your date. Better to be lively Despite what people assume, and on target than hypoglycesilence does not just happen. mic and annoying.

It’s the carefully orchestrated Don’t have a glass of wine outcome of disinterested every 30 minutes. Eventuor bored parties. There ally your date will deis always something to volve into a comedy of talk about, and even if errors, and the person your date is going to ulyou want to be on your timately crash and burn, date quickly becomes give the airplane controls Kevin Richberg Patsy Stone. a few extra tries before

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

T R A V E L

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Front Page Story

30 Dates. 30 Days. 30 Cities.

- The Personal Odyssey of Kevin Richberg -

By Norm Kent “I did find something special... I found 33 amazing individuals who were willing to take a chance on love and life. A shout out to all of them.”

– Kevin Richberg

I

said one of the purposes in founding SFGN was to illuminate gay lives.Today we shine the light on an intriguing young man who has engaged in unique odysseys on his journey on this Earth. His latest adventure perhaps was even bolder than his hiking of Mount Kilimanjaro, bull shark diving in the Fiji Islands, or bathing in a mud volcano in Columbia.

This young, self-motivated, gay adventurer, who embraces life enthusiastically, entered on the most feared journey of all: he embarked on an amazing journey into the heart and soul of gay dating.

Online, Kevin Richberg, who graduated with a degree in Marine Biology from MIT, after finishing school in Southern California, announced that he was going to criss-cross America in search of thirty dates with thirty different men in thirty different cities. Call it speed dating raised to a higher power.

Using his skills as a self-sustaining journalist, he was going to write and blog about his dates and his experiences- and he did, from Pensacola to Spokane. With updates on Advocate.com,Twitter, his website, and a Facebook page, Kevin recorded his transcontinental dating escapades, which culminated with his last date, on October 31, in Beijing, China, where he confides online, that “it did not go well.” Still this is a journey worth sharing.

Not anyone could have dated Kevin in this blind-date and blinding excursion. First, you had to write him and apply. Second, he had to fit you into his crazed schedule.

Third, who the hell knows? It was a fascinating idea, and if I had known about it, I would have asked to be included.

Kevin’s meticulous scheduling started him on the East Coast in NYC and he went as far northwest as Spokane. Each date was a full day affair, from around noon, when he arrived at his new destination, till around midnight, when he would have to sleep before his next

the date that, “it had been the most unique of experiences, and I was sad to see it end.”

As a writer, I try to put order to things, not necessarily to do your thinking for you, but to do mine for myself.With this type of dating endeavor, Kevin Richberg, along the way, was learning not so much about others, but more about himself. Awestruck over the beauty of Utah, “a wet dream,” he declares, he bemoans the fact he must leave so soon, but finds time to write of the Mormon he left behind.

At different times in our own lives, we go on journeys of self-discovery, and no matter where you go, eventually there you are.

Some of us took a VW bus and just wound up anywhere. Kevin had a more purposeful path, so he got to go by the lounge where Matthew Shepherd was abducted, but he Kevin and friend visiting did so in the arms of a 20 year old student Minnehaha Falls from Wyoming he described as “tall, blond, 30 days from 30 different cities? His own blog and very good looking.” day’s morning drive to a new venue. So it I think what I enjoyed most about reading was as much work as pleasure, as planned in may answer that question, because he writes some ways as spontaneous in others. Maybe “I haven’t yet experienced love at first sight.” Kevin’s blog is how it jogged my own mind, and my own journeys, from the day I met Still, too much of his blog is about pizzas it was not as taxing as white water rafting in a young man named Spiros in Mykonos, to in Minnesota and jiffy lubes in Missoula.

Columbia or as majestic as circumnavigatthe afternoon I met Morgan in a theater in So I am a critic- shoot me. I am thinking ing Iceland, other adventures already on his London, to a rendevous with a hitchhiker Kevin writes best though when he details resume, but this was still a demanding task. on the Pacific Coast Highway in 1972, that He spent four months planning to ensure the humanity of the human experience he wound up as a romp on a sandy beach in that he and his dates had a good time, while engaged, as when he blogs extensively of the blind date with a blind man and his see- Big Sur.You trespass on one person’s path in giving him the opportunity to write about gay culture and, in his own words, “to prove ing eye dog, Faith, in Billings, Montana. There life, and it intersects your own.

At the age of 32, Kevin has already gone he pens that “My date has faith that one day that traditional first dates are alive and well.” His recorded blog shares his surpris- in the future, maybe 5, maybe 10 years from skinny dipping in Sea of Galilee, snorkled with Dolphins in Hawaii, and walked now there will be a therapy to restore the ing successes in Spokane to his cancellathrough Roman ruins in Tunisia. retinal cells he’s lost over time. But until tions in Chicago. He got wasted in Boise, His journey has made me reflect on my that day he will always have his amazing hung over in Oregon, went ice skating in own horizons, large and small, some too commitment to a full life, and a different Wichita, got to see the zoo and aquarium long ago to even recall. Most of all Kevin’s kind of Faith, his Seeing Eye companion.” in Denver, the banjo museum in Oklahoma journeys should remind all of us how The romantic that is Kevin came out City, and had great pizza in Laramie. At precious life is, how special everyone we with his date in Spokane, from being rothe Texas State Fair, he witnessed a threemeet can be, and how every day is a new manced by a rose on his hotel bed, making legged Frisbee catching dog. But hey, what opportunity to make a difference and be a piece of pottery, indulging in a chocolate about the men he dated? something special. apothecary, to sharing time in a hot tub Here is a guy, with a Master’s, who has Kevin Richberg, who I still have not got later in the evening with his companion, “a been at various stages of his life, a DNA to interview, but feel I know a little bit, is complete gentleman.” You could tell from chemist, director of residential assistants, reading about Kevin’s writing on the couple well on his way to a life, which as Rudyard drug testing specimen collection agent, barKipling wrote in ‘If,’ is going to give “the he dated in Boise that he appreciated the tender, and medical researcher. Handsome, sustenance and charm of their romance, ad- unforgiving minute 60 seconds worth of healthy, apparently bright, and considerably mitting he was uncertain dating couples was distance run.” Let those words be a tombattractive, why would he even need to do stone for all of us. this? Just what is the reason to find 30 guys in the goal of his journey. But he notes after

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T R A V E L

November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Cruise for a Cause, Under the Rainbow Umbrella Partners with Norwegian Cruise Line

By A. Sebastian Fortino

A

classic American song asks, “What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?” If you are looking for plans the Norwegian Cruise Line ship the Sky, and Under the Rainbow Umbrella are hosting a cruise to benefit the Poverello Center. Travel Pride, the premiere agent handling tours for the LGBT community is managing the event.

The Sky disembarks on New Year’s Eve at 6 p.m., from Port of Miami for a four day, threenight cruise to benefit the Poverello Center.

“Norwegian Cruise Line is looking very forward to hosting the gay community on board the ship,” said Dale Madison of the Poverello Center and Under the Rainbow Umbrella. On board guests will enjoy special amenities such as a daily happy hour, with hors d’oeuvres, and swimwear fashion shows!

On the morning of January 1 you’ll find yourself

in a new year, and on a new island! The first portof-call will be Nassau, the Bahamas.

Enjoy the day shopping, sightseeing, and exploring before the 5:00 p.m. departure.The next port of call will be Stirrup Cay, the cruise line’s private island. On the north end of the island a private party area for LGBT guests has been arranged – truly a special way to celebrate 2011 with you and your friends! At only $479.00 per person, based on double occupancy, you can start the New Year out economically, while still having a good time and donating to a good cause.

“Anyone who books with us will not be disappointed. We have so many surprises that we don’t want to leak them out. The entertainment promises to be fabulous as well,” said an ecstatic Madison. “But I can’t name names yet.”

For more information, please visit UndertheRainbowUmbrella.org

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

35

T R A V E L

Lords South Beach: Nation’s First Gay Boutique Hotel Comes to Collins Ave.

By A. Sebastian Fortino

T

he Nash Hotel is now home to Lords South Beach, situated near Miami’s best attractions, eateries, clubs, bars and – of course – the famed 12th Street beach. The hotel boasts 54 rooms, 3 pools, as well as the Cha Cha Rooster Restaurant and Bar, which has partnered with Absolut Vodka.

Lords has also partnered with Out Magazine and the Lords Social Network to create a digital concierge, “Check(It)Out.” This unique system allows guests to connect with other Lords South Beach guests for local tips and social connections.

“We are thrilled to bring this exciting hos-

pitality concept to South Beach,” said Founder Brian Gorman. “Our goal is to provide a liberal, proud, playful experience for guests. We hope that Lords South Beach will raise the bar for what the discerning gay traveler can expect form a hotel.”

Playful seems to be key. Instead of room service the hotel will feature “Stay-Naked Dining” because isn’t eating a late night snack, or morning meal, way better in bed, without any dress code? A nine-foot-tall polar bear made of fiberglass will greet visitors in the lobby, while the Cha Cha Cabana promises to keep sun worshipers hydrated with a sleek throwback

to mid-century modern design. Rooms will feature custom-designed graphic art work, a top-shelf mini bar, flat screen TV and deluxe linens by Frette – all which should add up for a comfortable stay whether you’re staying in

or hitting up nightlife.

The hotel is taking reservations now, and will have a soft-opening on November 21.

For more information, please visit LordsSouthBeach.com

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November 10, 2010 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

S P E C I A L

By Joey Amato

O

n a beautiful, yet chilly Sunday afternoon, I decided to jump in my car and drive to Key Biscayne. Many people have told me about its splendor, but since I relocated to South Florida, I had yet to experience it. The journey took about 45 minutes, but as you cross over the Rickenbacker Causeway, you to feel like you are entering a tropical paradise, far removed from the hustle and bustle of South Beach.

As the skyscrapers of Downtown Miami fade into the background, you begin to realize how beautiful and lush Key Biscayne is. Hurricane Andrew virtually destroyed the island, but years of hard work and dedication have restored it.

The seven mile long barrier island, just across Biscayne Bay from Coral Gables, is home to Crandon Park and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Key Biscayne offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities including bicycling, tennis, golf, fishing, kite boarding, windsurfing, boating, sailing and water bikes.Visitors can play golf on one of the top municipal courses in the United States - the Links at Key Biscayne.

The Miami Seaquarium offers guests the opportunity to view a variety of shows from the crowd favorite Flipper Dolphin Show to the Shark Channel Presentation, where animal care specialists feed 200-pound sharks while explaining the various species of shark that exist worldwide.

A favorite among park visitors, the Main Reef Aquarium features a 750,000-gallon saltwater aquarium teeming with reef fishes of every size, color and description.

At the Manatee Exhibit, guests come faceto-face with Florida’s state marine mammal

T R A V E L I S S U E

Sunday Brunch featuring a selection of seafood, gourmet cheeses, carved entrees and even a caviar bar.

I began my brunch with a hefty serving of sushi, raw oysters, jumbo shrimp and ceviche. All of the items were fresh and delicious, as were the unique salad selections, including my favorite, the tomato and avocado salad.

After a few sips of my Bellini, I opted to taste a selection of the fine cheeses from around the globe. A circular table in the center of the buffet area holds over a dozen varieties of cheese, one better than most tip of Key Biscayne overlooking the through poolside and underwater viewing the next. I also added some smoked salmon areas. The Manatee Presentation provides an rest of the more than 500-acre park. and caviar to this grand plate.

If relaxation or fine dining is your choice opportunity to learn about this fascinating For round three, head for the hot of fun, head to the Ritz-Carlton Key Bisand endangered animal and, more imporentrees, containing an international assortcayne, which boasts a 20,000 square-foot tantly, explains ways that guests can help Mobil Four-Star luxury spa and salon, a well- ment of dishes from pork tenderloin to save these gentle creatures of the sea.

Throughout the day, guests may enjoy the ness and fitness center, two outdoor heated lobster risotto to shrimp dim sum. And not to be outdone, the dessert room offers a oceanfront swimming pools and whirlpool, Seal and Sea Lion Exhibit, where they can observe Sea Lions and Seals as they frolic in and four dining venues incorporating global collection of 35 delectable sweets including a “floating island”, panna cotta and a key the South Florida sun. Daily feeding sessions flavors as well as an 11-court tennis center lime and mango cake. designed by tennis legend Cliff Drysdale. provide the opportunity for guests to feed Following my delicious brunch, I experiAn addition to the Ritz-Carlton will be some of these playful mammals. their new Coastal-Mexican inspired restau- enced one of the Ritz-Carlton’s signature A new interactive 10,000 gallon Stingray rant, Cantina Beach, which opens November spa treatments called the Baborganic Body Exhibit is home to southern and cownose 15. Chef Andres Parlange presents a unique Treatment. The experience begins as the stingrays.Visitors have the opportunity to therapist uses a Biological Enzyme Cleanser feed and feel the gentle glide of these amaz- and delicious menu including favorites such to lightly exfoliate the body. ing creatures at their fingertips. In addition, as Queso Fundido, Pork Rib Carnitas, and After a rinse in a warm shower, a combiHuachinango, grilled Yellow Tail Snapper, the Seaquarium offers two other exhibits, accompanied by salsa Veracruz Ana, Cilantro, nation of cold crystals and hot candle wax Caribbean Fish Aquariums and Crocodile are used to massage the body and relieve all Lime & Garlic and Chile Moulato.

Flats, home to 25 Nile Crocodiles. stress and tension.

Tequilier - tequila specialist trained in Crocodile Flats is made up of 32 tons of The 80-minute treatment is a perfect Mexico’s Agave growing regions - Heriberto rock, 72 tons of beach sand, coconut and way to end a wonderful afternoon on the sable palm trees. The crocodiles are 6 ½ to Oliviedo will present a selection of more island of Key Biscayne and the magnificent than 85 premium tequilas, the largest col8 feet long and when fully grown can reach Ritz-Carlton. As you depart from the island, lection in Miami. Heriberto is available for a size of 16 feet and nearly 1,000 pounds. recommendations, tequila pairings and daily you will catch a glimpse of the sunset over Next, journey to the Cape Florida lightdowntown Miami, definitely an experience complimentary tastings. house, situated in Bill Baggs State Park. The not to be missed.

At Cioppino, guests can enjoy a grandiose 95-foot lighthouse rises on the southern-

Key Bisc ayne

A Mile Away…

A World Apart