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January 19, 2011 • Volume 2 • Issue 3

Kylie Coming to South Florida

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

18

page

Page 23

When a Boy Wants SFGN Profiles a Man

4ONE Sotheby’s 34Realty Dab Garner

38 40

Jeffrey Sterling George Castrataro

35

page

Gay Bar Vandalized

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Where the Boys Are

Advocate Ranks Top Gay Cities Minneapolis Takes the Crown

January 19, 2011 • Volume 2 • Issue 3

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

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

By Joey Amato

L

ast week, LGBT website Advocate. com released its annual list of the “Gayest Cities in America”. While some mainstays made the list including San Francisco, Las Vegas and Washington D.C., others like Santa Fe, NM (#2),Vancouver, WA (#6) and their top choice, Minneapolis, Minnesota were quite surprising.

According to the site, “Minneapolis has become the gay magnet city of the Midwest.

People here are no-nonsense, practical, and don’t deal well with hypocrites.” They point out Minneapolis is where the Evangelical Lutheran Church took a historic leap forward and voted to accept gay and lesbian pastors.

In addition, Minnesota senator Al Franken introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act to protect LGBT youth from bullying.

Absent from the list are major cities like

Pier Angelo Guidugli

Chief Executive Officer Creative Director. . . . . . . . . George Dauphin george.dauphin@southfloridagaynews.com Online Website Director. . . . . Dennis Jozefowicz

Editorial Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . Joey Amato joey.amato@southfloridagaynews.com Lifestyle & Features Editor. . . A. Sebastian Fortino sebastian.fortino@southfloridagaynews.com

Political Affairs Editor . . . . . . Jarrett Terrill jarrett.t@southfloridagaynews.com Arts/Entertainment Editor . . . Mary Damiano marysfgn@gmail.com SFGNites Editor. . . . . . . . . . . JW Arnold Business Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Gary Senior Features Correspondents . . . . . . . . . . J esse Monteagudo Tony Adams Correspondents. . . . . . . . . . . P enn Bullock Alex Escobar Steve Fritz Jason Shutts

Fort Lauderdale, New York and Chicago, even though they have been known to be epicenters of gay life in America. Miami barely squeezed on, placing in the last spot, despite organizing an impressive Gay Pride celebration two years in a row.

Orlando was Florida’s highest ranking city at #4. The “City Beautiful” has a growing cultural center, new entertainment venues and a swanky new Amway Arena, which is already drawing attention away from Tampa.

And don’t forget, the city is the theme park capital of the world, possibly employing more LGBT individuals in hospitality than any other travel destination.

Receiving an honorable mention, were Salt Lake City, UT, Sand Diego, Ca and Dallas, TX, a rather new hotspot in the country. The Advocate reports, “Logo’s A List is now extending its series to Dallas and a recent poll commissioned by Equality Texas found that 88 percent of registered voters in Texas support the expansion of gay rights including anti-bullying legislation, 69 percent support anti-discrimination measures for transgender citizens, and 42 percent support the legalization of same-sex marriage.

To view the complete list, please visit Advocate.com

Contributing Columnists. . . . W ayne Besen AJ Cross Susan Estrich Brian McNaught Leslie Robinson Editorial Cartoonists. . . . . . . S teve Sack Darryl Smith Calendar Editor. . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Clark

Sales Sales Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . John Fugate Display Marketing Associates . Brian Swinford Michael Vitureira Finance Manager. . . . . . . . . . . Chris Grobels

National Sales Representative.Rivendell Media todd@rivendellmedia.com Distribution Managers. . . . . . JR Davis, Walter Franco Printing and Publication . . . . Miami Offset South Florida Gay News.com is published weekly on Wednesdays. Our paper is a member of the Associated Press.

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

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

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

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

Copyright©2011 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.

Associated Press

Florida Press Association National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Local News

Court to Thief: Pay for Stolen Dog

Channing Bud Reynolds (the one on the right)

By Norm Kent

T

he case of the missing Chihuahua, stolen in 2009 outside Georgie’s Alibi, came to an unhappy end for the dog’s owner last week.

Last Thursday, Broward Circuit Court Judge Matthew Destry entered an order requiring probationer Channing Bud Reynolds, 35, of Hereford, Pa., to pay the value of the pet.

Owner Brian Dortort, 50, of Oakland Park, was awarded $1,200 in restitution, but he was disappointed because his pet, affectionately named Hudson Hayward Hemingway, was never found.

“I’m very dissatisfied,” Dortort told the Sun-Sentinel in an interview after the hearing.

Reynolds had pled no contest to grand theft last December, and was supposed to provide information helping to locate the missing dog. It was in July of 2009 that Reynolds asked Dotort to hold his cute dog outside the popular bar in the Shoppes of Wilton Manors. Dotort was throwing a birthday party at the time. Seconds later Reynolds disappeared with the animal, a female dog with an ostensibly pink belly and pink earrings.

While Reynolds was immediately identified as a suspect, he escaped arrest until he was found last year in Pennsylvania on a DUI-related charge. He was extradited to Broward on the grand theft in August and then released from jail on probation.

Last week’s hearing was to determine the amount of restitution, but Reynolds did not

show. Judge Destry considered ordering an arrest warrant for him, but held the hearing in his absence instead and imposed the restitution order, which is a condition of his probation.

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Touching Down with Dab Garner

By Jarrett Terrill

“T

here was a time when I went to 12 funerals in one week,” says Dab Garner, “but that wasn’t even the worst of it.” He is telling me about the way he watched his friends evaporate before his very eyes in the early 80’s when little to nothing was known about HIV/AIDS. It’s obvious when you sit with Garner that his activism is not easy for him but you can also sense that it would be harder for him to stop or walk away from it. Garner runs the AIDS Bear Project, a self-made advocacy effort to increase awareness and support around the issues that face people with HIV and AIDS. The namesake “Dab” is a sort of homage to his little adoptive God-daughter who died of AIDS related illness in 1989 at the age of five. She evidently had trouble saying “Dad” and pronounced it with a ‘b’ at the end. Garner had promised her that he would do everything within his power to care for children like her and that’s not the kind of promise that’s easily broken.

As a result of past experiences, Garner is a very busy man. From the time he witnessed the horror of his first friend dying in 1981 to today, some version of a stuffed Teddy Bear has accompanied him on his quest to heal the broken hearts left in the wake of HIV/AIDS. From New York to San Francisco and beyond, “Dab the AIDS Bear” can be seen visiting hospitals and children’s care facilities. He makes appearances at nightclubs and pride parades and can even be spotted palling around with members of congress. Of course, this bear and his human guardian make full use of the internet – a lengthy, informative website and a facebook account allow them to extend their reach beyond the finite number of places they can be at one time.

When people think of the term “survivor” and all that it entails, I would suggest they conjure up an image of Dab Garner in their minds. This is a man who has almost literally not had a day without fighting for his cause in 30 years. As a result, he wanders this journey alone – almost. There is of

course, his fuzzy friend.

As Garner took me down his emotional trail of tears, recounting the tragedies, heartbreaks and triumphs, I had to fix my gaze on the brown stuffed toy sitting on the table next to us. He has to be there. He makes it ok. You can listen to the stories and you can process your feelings as long as you’ve got a friend. There is something extraordinarily human about the bear – it contains the souls of hundreds of people including perhaps, even Garner’s. For those “I’m originally from Florida, the Pensacola area,” Garner tells me, “but at 18 years old, I had moved out to San Francisco to be with my boyfriend and that’s where I started giving out the teddy bears.” This was unfortunately going to be more of a journey than the young Garner had planned for and far more than anyone I know – young or old - could reasonably deal with. The year was 1981 and Garner found himself in the epicenter of the biggest crisis that gay men in America have ever had to face and hopefully will ever have to face again.

When his first few friends and ultimately his lover were succumbing to the disease, doctors wore what Garner calls “NASA suits” and made him stand opposite his loved ones separated by a thick glass partition. A visit to someone with AIDS in the early 80’s could be a terrifyingly lonely experience. Some sort of physical connection had to be made… some sort of touch. This small but necessary gesture was something that fear of the unknown and certain prejudices prevented Garner from being able to accomplish by himself.

Garner bought a stuffed Teddy Bear, presumably at a nearby gift shop, when a friend developed a sudden and mysterious illness that almost immediately covered his body in lesions and caused his once handsome figure to waste away to a mere 130 lbs. “These people at the hospital had no sort of human touch,” Garner noticed, “so I found one nurse that seemed really nice and I wrote a note and tucked it in with the bear and asked her if she would give it to him since I couldn’t

Dab Garner and The AIDS Bear at the Shoppes of Wilton Manors

go in there with him. She agreed and I waited and watched through the glass as she gave it to him. He touched it and I watched as he read my note and started to cry.”

Garner can’t exactly re-tell these stories without crying, himself. Even after 30 years of being a warrior for the cause, the wounds in his heart are still fresh and he allows himself to be human. He shares his emotions at every opportunity. He has been spared, possibly, because of this gift.

This was just the first of what was to become countless “Teddy Bear Touchdowns” and Garner had no idea, at that time, that ultimately he and the AIDS Bear would soon need to visit his boyfriend in the same manner, and then more friends, and then a daughter he hadn’t even met yet. When the little 5 year old girl passed away, there would be no turning back for Dab and his everlasting friend. There would be hundreds – even thousands of people, gay and straight, male and female, HIV positive and not, who need a Teddy Bear Touchdown.

“Today we are a non-profit organization and we are in 11 different countries,” Garner tells me. “We go regularly to DC to

advocate for additional funding for ADAP. We are made up entirely of volunteers and nobody – from our board of directors to our ambassadors of hope - collects a paycheck.”

He and the bear are not short on new challenges either. “Since 2003, there has been an ADAP waiting list somewhere in the country at all times. 10 people have died waiting for HIV drugs and now Florida has 50% of America’s waiting list right here,” he says. “Florida has a perfect storm brewing here we need lots of additional ADAP funding and there’s still way too many people having careless or unsafe sex.”

Whatever the crisis is, whatever barrier needs to be breached – whether it’s a new STD, an uninformed congress member, a cynical teenager who won’t protect himself or a thick glass wall between you and your loved ones – you can trust in this bear if you see him. And the man who carries him around isn’t such a bad guy either.

If you would like to get connected and help Dab and the AIDS Bear or just get some of the latest information from them, please visit: DabTheAidsBear.com

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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DO NOTJanuary RE-SIZE19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com Ad unit Project # must match this project # 039-418110

KALETRA® (kuh-LEE-tra) (lopinavir/ritonavir) Tablets KALETRA® (kuh-LEE-tra) (lopinavir/ritonavir) Oral Solution Patient Information

Read the Medication Guide that comes with KALETRA before you start taking it and each time you get a refill. There may be new information. This information does not take the place of talking with your doctor about your medical condition or treatment. You and your doctor should talk about your treatment with KALETRA before you start taking it and at regular check-ups. You should stay under your doctor’s care when taking KALETRA.

What is the most important information I • Do not take KALETRA if you have an allergy to KALETRA or any of its ingredients, including ritonavir should know about KALETRA? KALETRA may cause serious side effects, including: • Interactions with other medicines. It is important to know the medicines that should not be taken with KALETRA. Read the section “What should I tell my doctor before taking KALETRA?” • Changes in your heart rhythm and the electrical activity of your heart. These changes may be seen on an EKG (electrocardiogram) and can lead to serious heart problems. Your risk for these problems may be higher if you: ° already have a history of abnormal heart rhythm or other types of heart disease. take other medicines that can affect your heart ° rhythm while you take KALETRA. Tell your doctor right away if you have any of these symptoms while taking KALETRA: • dizziness • lightheadedness • fainting • sensation of abnormal heartbeats See the section below “What are the possible side effects of KALETRA?” for more information about serious side effects.

What is KALETRA? KALETRA is a prescription anti-HIV medicine that contains two medicines: lopinavir and ritonavir.

KALETRA is called a protease inhibitor that is used with other anti-HIV-1 medicines to treat people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection.

HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

It is not known if KALETRA is safe and effective in children under 14 days old.

Who should not take KALETRA? • Do not take KALETRA if you are taking certain medicines. For more information about medicines you should not take with KALETRA, please see “Can I take other medicines with KALETRA?” and consult with your doctor about all other medicines you take.

03-A387-Kaletra-CB-9x10.5(2.5).indd 1

CONSUMER BRIEF SUMMARY CONSULT PACKAGE INSERT FOR FULL PRESCRIBING INFORMATION

Medicines you should not take with KALETRA.

Serious problems or death can happen if you take these medicines with KALETRA: • ergot containing medicines, including: What should I tell my doctor before ® taking KALETRA? ° ergotamine tartrate (Cafergot , Migergot, Ergomar, Ergostat, Medihaler Ergotamine, Wigraine, KALETRA may not be right for you. Tell your doctor Wigrettes) about all your medical conditions, including if you: dihydroergotamine mesylate (D.H.E. 45®, Embolex, ° • have any heart problems, including if you have a Migranal®) condition called Congenital Long QT Syndrome. ° ergonovine, ergonovine and methylergonovine • have liver problems, including Hepatitis B or (Ergotrate, Methergine), ergotamine and Hepatitis C. methylergonovine • have diabetes. ° Ergotrate Maleate, methylergonovine maleate • have hemophilia. People who take KALETRA may (Methergine) have increased bleeding.

• triazolam (Halcion®), midazolam hydrochloride oral • have low potassium in your blood. syrup • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not • pimozide (Orap®) known if KALETRA will harm your unborn baby. Birth • the cholesterol lowering medicines lovastatin control pills or patches may not work as well while (Mevacor®) or simvastatin (Zocor®) you take KALETRA. To prevent pregnancy while taking • sildenafil (Revatio®) only when used for the KALETRA, women who take birth control pills or use treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. (See estrogen patch for birth control should either use a “Medicines that may need changes” and “What are different type of birth control or an extra form of birth the possible side effects of Kaletra?” for information control. Talk to your doctor about how to prevent about the use of sildenafil for erectile problems.) pregnancy while taking KALETRA. • alfuzosin (Uroxatral®) • take KALETRA during pregnancy, talk with your doctor Medicines that you should not take with KALETRA about how you can take part in an antiretroviral since they may make KALETRA not work as well: pregnancy registry. The purpose of the pregnancy • the herbal supplement St. John’s Wort (hypericum registry is to follow the health of you and your baby. perforatum) • are breast-feeding. Do not breast-feed if you are • rifampin (Rimactane®, Rifadin®, Rifater®, or taking KALETRA. You should not breast-feed if you Rifamate®) have HIV-1. If you are a woman who has or will have Medicines that may need changes: a baby while taking KALETRA, talk with your doctor • birth control pills that contain estrogen (“the pill”) or about the best way to feed your baby. If your baby the birth control (contraceptive) patches does not already have HIV-1, there is a chance that • certain anticancer medicines, such as nilotinib HIV-1 can be passed to your baby through your breast (Tasigna®) and dasatinib (Sprycel®) milk.

• certain cholesterol lowering medicines, such as Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, atorvastatin (Lipitor®) or rosuvastatin (Crestor®) including prescription and non-prescription medicines, • certain other antiretroviral medicines, such as vitamins, and herbal supplements. Many medicines efavirenz (Atripla® and Sustiva®), nevirapine interact with KALETRA. Do not start taking a new (Viramune®), amprenavir (Agenerase®) and nelfinavir medicine without telling your doctor or pharmacist. Your (Viracept®) doctor can tell you if it is safe to take KALETRA with • anti-seizure medicines, such as phenytoin (Dilantin®) other medicines. Your doctor may need to change the carbamazepine, (Tegretol®), phenobarbital dose of other medicines while you take KALETRA. • medicines for erectile problems, such as sildenafil (Viagra®), tadalafil (Cialis®), or vardenafil (Levitra®) and lopinavir.

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• Changes in body fat. Changes in body fat in some people who take antiretroviral therapy. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the trunk. Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known at this time.

• Increased bleeding for hemophiliacs. Some people with hemophilia have increased bleeding with protease inhibitors including KALETRA. • Increased risk of certain problems when you take medicines used for the treatment of erectile problems such as sildenafil (Viagra®), tadalafil (Cialis®), or vardenafil (Levitra®) with KALETRA: ° low blood pressure. If you get dizzy or faint, you How should I take KALETRA? need to lie down. Tell your doctor if you feel dizzy, or have fainting spells.

• Take KALETRA every day exactly as prescribed by your doctor. ° vision changes. Tell your doctor right away if you have vision changes.

• It is very important to set up a dosing schedule and follow it every day. ° penis erection lasting more than 4 hours. If you are a male and have an erection that lasts longer • Do not change your treatment or stop treatment What are the possible side effects of than 4 hours, get medical help right away to avoid without first talking with your doctor.

KALETRA? permanent damage to your penis. Your doctor can • Swallow KALETRA tablets whole. Do not chew, explain these symptoms to you. break, or crush KALETRA tablets.

KALETRA can cause serious side effects.

• Allergic reactions. Skin rashes, some of them • KALETRA tablets can be taken with or without food. • See “What is the most important information I severe, can occur in people who take KALETRA. Tell • If you are taking both Videx® (didanosine) and should know about KALETRA?” your healthcare provider if you had a rash when you KALETRA: • Liver problems. Liver problems, including death, took another medicine for your HIV infection or if you didanosine can be taken at the same time as can happen in people who take KALETRA. Blood tests ° notice any skin rash when you take KALETRA. KALETRA tablets, without food. in people who take KALETRA may show possible take didanosine either one hour before or two Common side effects of KALETRA include: liver problems. People with liver disease such as ° hours after taking KALETRA oral solution.

• diarrhea Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C who take KALETRA may • Do not miss a dose of KALETRA. This could make the have worsening liver disease. Tell your healthcare • nausea virus harder to treat. If you forget to take KALETRA, provider right away if you have any of these signs and • stomach area (abdominal) pain take the missed dose right away. If it is almost time • feeling weak symptoms of liver problems: for your next dose, do not take the missed dose.

• vomiting ° loss of appetite Instead, follow your regular dosing schedule by • headache yellow skin and whites of eyes (jaundice) ° taking your next dose at its regular time. Do not take • upset stomach dark-colored urine ° more than one dose of KALETRA at one time. pale colored stools, itchy skin These are not all of the possible side effects of ° • If you take more than the prescribed dose of KALETRA. For more information, ask your doctor or ° stomach area (abdominal) pain.

KALETRA, call your local poison control center or • Inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis). pharmacist. Tell your doctor about any side effect that emergency room right away.

Some people who take KALETRA get inflammation of bothers you or that does not go away.

• Take KALETRA oral solution with food to help it work the pancreas which may be serious and cause death. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. better.

You have a higher chance of getting pancreatitis if You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA• If KALETRA is being used for your child, tell your you have had it before. Tell your doctor if you have 1088. doctor if your child’s weight changes. nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pain while taking • KALETRA should not be given one time each day in How should I store KALETRA? KALETRA. These may be signs of pancreatitis. children. When giving KALETRA to your child, give • Increases in certain fat (triglycerides and KALETRA tablets: KALETRA exactly as prescribed. cholesterol) levels in your blood. Large increases • Store KALETRA tablets at room temperature, • KALETRA oral solution contains a large amount of of triglycerides and cholesterol can be seen in blood between 59°F to 86°F (15°C to 30°C). alcohol. test results of some people who take KALETRA. • Do not keep KALETRA tablets out of the container The long-term chance of getting complications ° If a young child drinks more than the it comes in for longer than 2 weeks, especially in recommended dose, it could make them sick from such as heart attacks or stroke due to increases in areas where there is a lot of humidity. Keep the too much alcohol. Contact your local poison control triglycerides and cholesterol caused by protease container closed tightly. center or emergency room right away. inhibitors is not known at this time.

KALETRA oral solution: • Diabetes and high blood sugar (hyperglycemia). ° Talk with your doctor if you take or plan to take • Store KALETRA oral solution in a refrigerator, metronidazole or disulfiram. You can have severe Some people who take protease inhibitors including between 36°F to 46°F (2°C to 8°C). KALETRA oral nausea and vomiting if you take these medicines KALETRA get new or more serious diabetes, or high solution that is kept refrigerated may be used until with KALETRA. blood sugar. Tell your doctor if you notice an increase the expiration date printed on the label. in thirst or urinate often while taking KALETRA. • medicines for tuberculosis (TB), such as rifabutin (Mycobutin®) • inhaled steroid medicines, such as fluticasone propionate (Flonase®) • inhaled medicines such as salmeterol (Serevent®) or salmeterol in combination with fluticasone propionate (Advair®). Your doctor may need to change to a different medicine • medicines for gout, such as colchicine (Colcrys®) • medicines to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), such as bosentan (Tracleer®) or tadalafil (Adcirca®) • pain medicines, such as fentanyl (Duragesic®, IonsysTM, Fentora®) and methadone If you are not sure if you are taking a medicine above, ask your doctor.

03-A387-Kaletra-CB-9x10.5(2.5).indd 2

• When your KALETRA supply starts to run low, get more from your doctor or pharmacy. It is important not to run out of KALETRA. The amount of HIV-1 virus in your blood may increase if the medicine is stopped for even a short time. The virus may become resistant to KALETRA and become harder to treat.

• KALETRA can be taken with acid reducing agents used for heartburn or reflux such as omeprazole (Prilosec®) and ranitidine (Zantac®) with no dose adjustment.

• KALETRA should not be administered once daily in combination with carbamazepine (Tegretol® and Epitol®), phenobarbital (Luminal®), or phenytoin (Dilantin®).

Avoid doing things that can spread HIV infection.

KALETRA does not stop you from passing HIV infection to others. Do not share needles, other injection equipment or personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them, like toothbrushes and razor blades. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood.

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DO NOTJanuary RE-SIZE 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com Ad unit Project # must match this project # 039-418110

• KALETRA oral solution that is stored at room temperature (less than 77°F or 25°C) should be used within 2 months.

• Keep KALETRA away from high heat.

Throw away any medicine that is out of date or that you no longer need.

Keep KALETRA and all medicines out of the reach of children.

General information about KALETRA KALETRA does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. The long-term effects of KALETRA are not known at this time. People taking KALETRA may still get opportunistic infections or other conditions that happen with HIV-1 infection.

Some of these conditions are pneumonia, herpes virus infections, and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infections.

Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Medication Guide. Do not use KALETRA for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give KALETRA to other people, even if they have the same condition you have. It may harm them.

This Medication Guide summarizes the most important information about KALETRA. If you would like more information, talk with your doctor. You can ask your pharmacist or doctor for information about KALETRA that is written for health professionals. For more information about KALETRA call 1-800-633-9110 or go to www.KALETRA.com.

03-A387-Kaletra-CB-9x10.5(2.5).indd 3

What are the ingredients in KALETRA? Active ingredient: lopinavir and ritonavir Inactive ingredients: KALETRA 200 mg lopinavir and 50 mg ritonavir tablets: copovidone, sorbitan monolaurate, colloidal silicon dioxide, and sodium stearyl fumarate. The film coating contains: hypromellose, titanium dioxide, polyethylene glycol 400, hydroxypropyl cellulose, talc, colloidal silicon dioxide, polyethylene glycol 3350, yellow ferric oxide 172, and polysorbate 80.

KALETRA 100 mg lopinavir and 25 mg ritonavir tablets: copovidone, sorbitan monolaurate, colloidal silicon dioxide, and sodium stearyl fumarate. The film coating contains: polyvinyl alcohol, titanium dioxide, talc, polytheylene glycol 3350, and yellow ferric oxide E172.

KALETRA oral solution: acesulfame potassium, alcohol, artificial cotton candy flavor, citric acid, glycerin, high fructose corn syrup, Magnasweet-110 flavor, menthol, natural and artificial vanilla flavor, peppermint oil, polyoxyl 40 hydrogenated castor oil, povidone, propylene glycol, saccharin sodium, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, and water.

KALETRA oral solution contains 42.4% alcohol (v/v). “See How should I take KALETRA?”.

KALETRA Tablets, 200 mg lopinavir/50 mg ritonavir Manufactured by Abbott Pharmaceuticals PR Ltd., Barceloneta, PR 00617 for Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, IL 60064, U.S.A. KALETRA Tablets, 100 mg lopinavir/25 mg ritonavir and KALETRA Oral Solution Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, IL 60064, U.S.A. 2010, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED * The brands listed are trademarks of their respective owners and are not trademarks of Abbott Laboratories.

The makers of these brands are not affiliated with and do not endorse Abbott Laboratories or its products.

This Medication Guide has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Ref: 03-A387-R8 Revised: June, 2010 036-395113 MASTER 039-418110

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

General Gayety

Gay Stamp of Approval

By Leslie Robinson

I

’ve kept a secret for years. Now it’s time for me to come out—as a stamp collector.

I’m throwing off my shame. I’m a nerd and I’m proud!

My orientation, philatelically speaking, is toward general collecting. I amass all kinds of postage stamps. Other collectors prefer to go the topical route, acquiring stamps on specific subjects, like birds, soccer or Norwegian breakdancing.

Just yesterday I had an epiphany. I should develop a topical collection: gay stamps! I’ve never heard of anyone specializing in that before. It’s time, and I’m just the nerd to do it.

I suspect my late grandfather, who started me on stamp collecting when I was small, would suggest a different theme. Emphatically.

In German.

But I’ve made up my mind.

I’m going gay—again.

For one thing, I already own some of the American stamps that count as gay, lesbian or bisexual. Like the 1991 Cole Porter stamp, which I’m pleased to report I have three of.

In 1993 the U.S. Postal Service released an AIDS awareness stamp with a red ribbon, and since people still wrote letters back then, I have six of them.

I possess one Margaret Mead and one Tennessee Williams. Both look a touch annoyed. I also have a single Willa Cather from 1973, when I didn’t know she was gay, or I was gay or anybody was gay.

I hope historians come to agreement about Abraham Lincoln’s gayness, because I’ve got a ton of him.

It’s now clear that I have major holes to fill. I can’t claim to own a decent queer collection without the stamps of George Washington Carver, James Baldwin, Andy Warhol, Josephine Baker, Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben or Walt Whitman. Appalling gaps.

Time to start swapping my straights for gays.

In fact, I thought I had the 1940 Whitman

stamp. Someone’s been pilfering my poofters.

While I do own the American Raymond Burr stamp—it’s actually an homage to the TV show in which he starred, “Perry Mason”—I don’t possess his Canadian stamp.

I need Della to get on that.

A person doesn’t have to be gay to belong in my thematic collection. It would be a poor queer collection indeed without Judy Garland and Dinah Shore. Thankfully, I already possess both the all-time gay icon and the accidental originator of a yearly lesbian bacchanal. Needless to say, the 2009 Dinah Shore stamp doesn’t celebrate the lesbian debauch. The post office might’ve solved its money woes if it had.

All these folks honored with stamps stood out in science, the arts, politics and so forth. They weren’t honored for being bisexual, lesbian or gay—more likely in spite of it.

But the word is that’s going to change, and once again Harvey Milk leads the way. According to a recent Bay Area Reporter filing, the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC), which evaluates possible subjects for U.S. stamps, contacted Milk’s family and the Harvey Milk National Stamp Campaign. It appears a Harvey Milk stamp will be issued in the next few years.

Milk meets one requirement: He’s dead.

Mr. Twinkies-For-Brains saw to that.

Last year then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the CSAC to back Milk, writing, “The United States Postal Service has yet to honor an LGBT American hero with a stamp.”

And what a boon it would be to a certain lesbian’s topical stamp collection, she could’ve added.

If the CSAC is at last thinking more broadly, I also have a suggestion for the panel: Put me on it. Who better than a lesbian philatelist to help choose future LGBT commemorative stamps?

Even my grandfather would agree with that. Emphatically. In German.

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

BODY WRAP FACIALS BODY SCRUB WAXING BODY RUBS SPA PEDICURE PERMANENT MAKEUP SFGN BRIEFS Gays More Likely to Go Green

Chely Wright: Sales Tanked

A new poll has found that while Americans as a whole are showing less interest in “going green,” gay people are increasing their commitment to the environment.

A Harris Poll conducted in November shows that fewer Americans are working to conserve water, purchase local produce, or buy a fuel-efficient car than they did in 2009.

While only one third of heterosexual Americans say they are personally invested in the future of the environment, 55% of gay respondents say it is a big concern for them.

Country music star Chely Wright, who came out last May, talks about the reaction among her old fan base, some of whom sent hate mail and stopped buying her records.

In an interview with Autostraddle, Wright deflates the perception among the gay community that coming out helped her career in every way.

“They’re wrong,” she said. “There’s the gay community that now knows my name and it’s a long leap from the new demographic of people who will come to my Facebook page and hit the ‘Like’ button to them buying my record and coming to

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live shows. It’s a big stretch from those new fans to make up for the fans I lost. It didn’t help my career. My record sales went directly in half. If it appears from the outside in that it’s helped my career, it could be because I haven’t talked about the negative,” she states.

Wright added: “You won’t hear me bitching and moaning on my Facebook about the hate mail I’ve gotten. My life has been threatened. I get nasty letters every day, ‘I’m through with you Chely Wright, you’re going to hell.’ There’s a big difference between press and advocacy and…. sometimes people forget that people who sing or make movies, this isn’t just a hobby for us. This is how I pay my bills. In coming out I had a feeling that it

11

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN BRIEFS would diminish my wage earning, and that feeling was correct. And, I am fine with that.”

Justice Department opposes abrupt end to ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO– Lawyers for the U.S. government are accusing a gay rights group of trying to circumvent a federal court ruling that put on hold a trial judge’s ruling striking down the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for gays in the military.

The Department of Justice said in legal papers filed Friday that arguments by the Log Cabin Republicans this week are an attempt

to keep the lawsuit alive.

The group is asking the 9th U.S. Court of Appeals, which imposed a stay preventing the lower court’s ruling from taking effect, to bar enforcement of “don’t ask, don’t tell” until its repeal is completed.

Government lawyers want the court to set aside the case because the Pentagon is moving quickly to satisfy the steps Congress outlined last month when it voted to allow the ban’s repeal.

lics, died December 27 at age 92.

Harvey founded the group Courage in 1980 for the purposes of “strengthening chastity, religious devotion, healthy friendships, and a spirit of fellowship and support among Catholics who experience same-sex attractions,” the Catholic News Agency reports. He used a modified version of the “Twelve steps” program in his work helping Catholics who struggle with homosexuality to lead chaste lives.

In a 2006 interview published by the Denver Catholic Register, Harvey called homoCatholic “Ex-Gay” sexuality “an objective disorder because if Group Founder Dies you give consent to this disorder you end up Father John Harvey, the founder of a church-approved “ex-gay” ministry for Catho- performing an intrinsically evil act.”

Lesbian Coach Sues University In a lawsuit filed last Wednesday, a former associate women’s golf coach at the University of Minnesota alleges that athletic department officials assigned her to another position because she is gay.

Attorneys for former coach Kathryn “Katie” Brenny allege in a 16-page complaint that the university’s board of regents and golf director John Harris violated Brenny’s rights under Minnesota’s Human Rights Act when she was stripped of her responsibilities in the athletic department and reassigned to a sales position, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Uganda Court Rules Media Cannot ‘Out’ Gay Ugandans

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KAMPALA, Uganda – Uganda’s High Court has ruled that the media should not publish the names and photos of gay Ugandans following a vitriolic campaign which urged citizens to hang those featured.

Justice Kibuuka Musoke ordered Uganda’s Rolling Stone magazine to pay $650 in damages and court costs for each of the three men who sued the magazine. The men were only three of 100 Ugandans listed in the magazine in October. They said they were attacked after they were identified as gay underneath a banner headline reading “Hang them.”

Monday’s ruling follows years of persecution of gay Ugandans. Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda but recently gay rights groups have begun protesting their treatment. Many Ugandans accuse gay men and

women of recruiting children to a gay lifestyle, a charge activists reject as preposterous.

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Awareness Campaign Stirs Up Controversy

S

everal billboards put up in Schenectady, NY that target the gay African-American community have roused some residents in that city. The ads were funded by the LGBT group In Our Voices.

The Times Union reports: Tandra R. LaGrone, executive director of Albany-based In our Own Voices, said the group is sponsoring the awareness campaign because it is consistent with the mission of promoting the health and welfare of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people of color. “I thought it would be useful and pertinent to have the campaign in the Capital Region because of the numbers for HIV and AIDS among gay black males have has risen significantly,” she said. “You have to start

from a place of respect in order to address the stigma and homophobia of being a black gay man.”

The most vocal critics have been leaders of local churches, who have obviously not yet overcome their own homophobia.

Pastor Richard Parsons of Consecration Temple Church of God Christ complained to the Times Union: “It’s directly against God’s word and what God hates, I hate.”

Rev. Alfred Thompkins of Calvary Tabernacle told the Daily Gazette: “A thirteenyear-old looks at these billboards and says, ‘That must be it, I must be gay.’ That goes directly against God’s purpose. As a resident of Schenectady, a pastor who works with young people, with families, frankly I’m really bothered by the message these send.”

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

T

wenty-seven year-old Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes – who’s been dubbed “the kid who made Obama president” for organizing Obama’s social networking site, My.BarackObama. com, during the 2008 campaign – is planning to marry his long-term boyfriend, Sean Eldridge. Hughes, an entrepreneur who recently launched Jumo, was Mark Zuckerberg’s roommate in college, and he served as Facebook’s spokesman. His fiance, Eldridge, is the political director for Freedom To Marry. The two announced the engagement last week to guests including Christine Quinn, Cory Booker, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner, at a reception in support of Freedom To Marry inside their Soho loft.

Adorable engagement story, too: The two decided to make their five year relationship legal on New Year’s Eve. “We were in Thailand in a hotel room in the north. We were delayed after two days in

the snowstorm and Chris got down on one knee and proposed. It was very traditional and very sweet,” Eldridge said.

President Obama once called Hughes “my Internet man,” prompting Hughes’ mother to cry, and the tech genius attended a state dinner at the White House with his fiance last year. They have yet to set a date, and Eldridge said they’ll try to wait until gay marriage is legal in New York. So if the president showed up to a gay wedding in New York at which Mark Zuckerberg served as the best man... Wow. That would be an awesome wedding.

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Facebook Co-Founder Chris Hughes Engaged to Gay Rights Advocate Sean Eldridge

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Brian McNaught

Relationships that Are Meaningful

T

here was an editorial cartoon in a recent edition of The New York Times that depicted a decrepit Hugh Hefner with his new, young, bride-tobe, Little Orphan Annie. It will be the third marriage for 84-year-old Hefner. His fiancée, Crystal Harris, is 24. The media played up the story that she received a $90,000 engagement ring. Most people speculate with confidence what Hefner is getting out of the relationship.

The day before seeing the cartoon, I spent most of my time at a party with a very cool married couple who have three children in their twenties. We talked excitedly about politics, gay people serving in the military, John McCain’s sad state of mind, gay marriage, and our shared experiences of growing up in the volatile 1960s. We then focused on the 60-year-old husband’s disability.

He was playing hockey with friends four years ago, and an accident on the ice left him paralyzed from the chest down. He now counts on his wife to do most everything for him, including cut his food. He has feeling and mobility in his two thumbs, which allows him some dexterity in his electric wheelchair. He drives, shops, goes to movies, and continues enjoying his work as a developer.

But his wife is always nearby. How might an editorial cartoonist portray this couple?

My spouse, Ray, doesn’t face anything as debilitating as being paraplegic, but he has been seriously handicapped by chronic back pain. He recently asked me, “What do you think about us?”

“I think we’re doing great,” I replied. “Say more about what you’re thinking.”

When he clarified his concern, I assured him that I would always be there for him.

“You are not a burden to me.”

When I look at Ray, I see both the man who is often bent over with suffering, looking less physically able than he did when we excitedly came together in our twenties, but I also see the man who loves me more than any other person in the world, and whom I love more than any other person. And I see the guy with whom I feel the freedom to grow daily, even after 35 years together.

An article on what constitutes a happy marriage appeared in The New York Times the same day as the cartoon about Hugh Hefner’s engagement. The gist of the piece was that relationships that last a long time are not necessarily meaningful and satisfying. In the past, marriages served economic and social purposes that are less important today. People enter and stay in relationships now for “selfexpansion.” We use relationships to accumulate knowledge and experiences. Research

15 shows that the more our relationships enable others. We can guess what young Crystal us to grow, the happier we will be, and the Harris might feel if Hugh Hefner suddenly lost his status and money. Some of us would longer we will stay in them.

This dynamic is generally true in most bet that she would divorce him. But how are we to know? Only Crystal forms of relationship. Peocould say whether there ple often come together were still ways in which her with the hope of gaining marriage to Hefner enabled access to new life experiher to grow. ences, or affirmation of their According to Dr. Gary Leown. When needs are no wandowski, a researcher at longer met, interest wanes.

Monmouth University in For many people, when New Jersey, “People have a the money runs out, when fundamental motivation to influence drops, when sex improve the self, and add to becomes boring or nonwho they are as a person. If existent, when that which your partner is helping you was once experienced as Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris become a better person, you special becomes expected or mundane, or when growth is hindered, become happier, and more satisfied in the remany of us withdraw emotionally, if not leave, lationship.”

Sometimes, it’s sex, money, prestige, or or we see others do the same to us.

If a couple, regardless of sexual orienta- other coveted goods that initially brings us tion, begins to stagnate with routines that together with another person, and when are clung to for safety’s sake, they may end those attractions lose their draw, it can up celebrating their 50th anniversary, but change the way we feel about him or her.

But, then again, some of us come up with they may also feel stymied and stuck.

Friendships can be the same, but are easier different reasons for staying together. Mayto end. When people no longer feel that their be our friend or beloved doesn’t have what relationships are serving their needs, they of- first made them attractive to us at first, but ten pull back, or are less enthusiastic about we’ve grown to find other things in the respending time together. The enthusiasm that lationship that help us be happier than we was mutually expressed in the beginning – would be without our mate.

Most of us won’t have our relationships the $90,000 ring – wanes slowly, but surely, when the new becomes old, and there are no made fun of in an editorial cartoon for the amusement of the world. We’ll be spared apparent reasons for hanging out.

Many of us sometimes speculate what such public judgment. But if we drew a other people see in each other, and why picture of ourselves with our spouse or a they stay in their marriages or friendships. friend, what would the cartoon look like?

But no one can know the mind or heart of Would both of us be smiling?

16

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Off the Wall

Dancing with Bubba

By Pier Angelo Guidugli

God is using me, all the time, everywhere, to stand up for a biblical worldview in everything that I do and everywhere I am. – Tom DeLay

H

omophobic former US Representative, Tom DeLay (R-Texas), also known as “The Hammer,” is heading for the slammer.

After 19 hours of deliberation, a jury of six men and six women found Mr. DeLay guilty of conspiring with two associates to circumvent a state law against corporate contributions to political campaigns.

He was convicted of one charge of money laundering, and one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

He had quit politics in 2006 amid a massive lobbying corruption scandal and charges that he broke campaign finance laws. He represented Texas’s 22nd Congressional District from 1984 until 2006. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005.

DeLay can now spend 36 months in prison, which is plenty of time to read the Bible, so dear to him all these years.

Such reading would prepare him to team up with former Watergate felon Chuck Colson to become a preacher. He could have shared a cell with convicted lobbyist and cohort Jack Abramoff. But, alas, the latter was released on December 10, 2010.

His sentencing is also good news to many gays and lesbians. It is cosmic justice.

DeLay voted in favor of banning adoptions by gay people in the District of Columbia. He voted for a Constitutional Amendment prohibiting marriage equality.

He even signed a petition in 2010 against the legalization of same-sex marriage in Mexico City. Delay was way ahead of most right wingers, attacking Obama as early as August of 2008, by calling him a “Marxist” and a “socialist.” DeLay also said that legalized abortion is responsible for the immigration problem in this country.

In his hypocrisy laden tenure he intervened in the Terri Schiavo feeding tube case by leading congress in passing an emergency law that switched jurisdiction of the case to the federal courts. DeLay accused Michael Schiavo, and the judges who decided the case, of committing “an act of barbarism.” Shortly after, the Los Angeles Times reported, that DeLay did not object when his family pulled the plug on his comatose father. According to the medical report, “extraordinary measures to prolong life were not initiated,” and his bedside chart said, “Do not resuscitate.”

During his time in the Texas Legislature, DeLay struggled with alcoholism and gained a reputation as a playboy, earning the nickname “Hot Tub Tom.” In criticizing Newt Gingrich for having an adulterous affair while simultane-

ously impeaching President Clinton, DeLay said, “I don’t think that Newt could set a high moral standard, a high moral tone....

You can’t do that if you’re keeping secrets about your own adulterous affairs.” Differentiating between Gingrich’s adultery and his own admitted adultery, DeLay said, “I was no longer committing adultery by the time of the impeachment trial. There’s a big difference.... I had returned to Christ and repented my sins by then.” He called on Clinton to resign and personally compelled enough House members to approve two articles of impeachment.

He was renowned for his enforcement of party discipline and retribution against those who did not support the legislative agenda of Pres. George W. Bush. Hence, his nickname, “The Hammer.” On policy

issues, DeLay was known as one of Capitol Hill’s fiercest, staunchest conservatives, earning very high marks from conservative interest groups (e.g., big business, NRA, Pro-Life) and very low marks from liberal ones (e.g., HRC, labor unions, Environmental Protection).

The ACLU measured that his voting history aligned with their civil liberties platform 0% of the time.

DeLay also made a name for himself by criticizing the National Endowment for the Arts and the EPA. He strongly opposed the teaching of evolution. After the Columbine massacre in 1999, he entered into the Congressional Record a statement saying that the shooting happened in part “because our school systems teach our children that they are nothing but glorified apes that have evolutionized [sic] out of some primordial soup of mud.”

Employing a method known as “catch and release,” DeLay allowed centrist or moderately conservative Republicans to take turns voting against controversial bills.

If a representative said that a bill was unpopular in his district, then DeLay would ask him to vote for it only if his vote were necessary for passage; if his vote were not needed, then the representative would be able to vote against the party without reprisal. No wonder the system is so dysfunctional and nothing gets done.

Since leaving Congress, DeLay has co-au-

thored a political memoir, “No Retreat, No Surrender, One American’s Fight,” founded a strategic conservative political consulting firm, First Principles, and competed on the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars.

DeLay became perhaps the most famous Republican yet to promote the “birther” conspiracy theory about President Obama.

During season three of Dancing with the Stars, in the fall of 2006, DeLay, a big fan of the show, made his foray back into the public spotlight when he launched a public campaign urging viewers to vote for one of the show’s contestants – his “good friend, country music singer and GOP supporter” Sara Evans. He said this was in order to promote “good American values in the media” and combat “smut on television.” A month after that, Evans and her husband, Republican politico Craig Schelske, had a very ugly public break-up, complete with dueling graphic accusations of adultery and pornography, all of which caused her to withdraw from the competition.

Tom DeLay is just the last case of the bogus conservative and pseudo moral agenda fueled by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glen Beck, Ann Coulter, and the GOP. It’s all a facade, a big fraud perpetrated against the American people. A far too real and tragic reality show. The right-wing modus operandi is to talk about God, family and guns with southern accents while robbing us blind and destroying what little is left of our democracy. The rise and fall of Tom DeLay is the perfect example of why placing hopes and dreams in the hands of politicians who say they are on God’s side is never a good idea. It’s A Highway to Hell.

17

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Wayne Besen

Trend Lines and Battle Lines

T

he trend lines point toward full LGBT equality.

This was surprisingly evident last week on the FOX News Channel show Red Eye, which lampooned leading anti-gay organizations for vowing to skip this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) because a gay conservative group was invited.

The show’s host ruthlessly mocked The Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and jokingly claimed that Peter LaBarbera’s Americans for Truth About Homosexuality held shirtless meetings.

If you need further evidence the world is rapidly changing, consider what is happening in Utah. The New York Times reports the number of high schools that had active Gay-Straight Alliances increased in the past year from 9 to 32, including one in St. George, a conservative town in southern Utah.

Advances can also be witnessed at the federal level with the signing of a hate crime law in 2009 and the repeal of Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell in 2010.

On the international front, there is rapid progress including Ireland’s new same-sex civil-partnership law that was enacted Jan. 1. Barcelona, another Catholic bastion, is erecting a monument with an inscription that will read, “In memory of the gays, lesbians and transsexual people who have suffered persecution and repression throughout history.”

LGBT equality in Europe has been greatly accelerated by the erosion of traditional religious beliefs. The latest British Social Attitudes survey from the National Centre for Social Research has found that 51 percent of respondents have no religion and 42 percent say they are Christian. Just 25 years ago, 63 percent were Christian and only 34 percent had no religion.

Even the Catholic stronghold of Poland is becoming more secular. While the New York

Times reports that 95 percent of Poles identify themselves as Catholic, only 41 percent attend Sunday Mass regularly. In the cases of Spain, Ireland and Poland, the Catholic Church’s pedophile scandal and its meddling in politics has alienated much of these populations.

Such changes in religious orthodoxy are mirrored in the United States. A 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life showed that more than 16 percent of American adults say they are not part of any organized faith, which makes the unaffiliated the country’s fourth largest “religious group.”

While progressive faiths play a key role in supporting LGBT rights, it cannot be denied that the more secular a nation becomes, the more likely it will support equality.

U n f o r t u n a t e l y, such obvious trend lines will not stop the battle lines from being drawn by those who are ferociously resisting change. On the national stage, all four candidates campaigning to replace current Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele stated their staunch opposition to marriage equality. To keep his job, Steele has veered right and told the National Organization for Marriage that he would support the Federal Marriage Amendment if the courts decide that prohibiting same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

The fight for the RNC chairmanship is indicative of what to expect from the newly empowered Republican Party. Now that the GOP has taken over the House of Representatives, the capital is essentially a dead zone for at least two years.

The LGBT movement should allocate resources to assist state organizations until the dire situation in Washington improves. State groups will certainly need assistance as antigay activists work to rollback recent gains.

For example, in New Hampshire the GOP

takeover of the House and Senate have put the state’s 2009 marriage equality law in jeopardy.

Anti-gay bills have already been put forward and all that stands in their way is Democratic Gov. John Lynch – provided the Republicans do not scrounge up veto-proof majorities.

LGBT advocates should highlight that virtually nothing changed in New Hampshire after the marriage law was updated to be more inclusive. The gloom-and-doom scenarios painted by anti-gay advocates never came to pass, proving that same-sex marriage is no threat. So, for the legislature to take up this issue during a recession is nothing more than grandstanding at the expense of fixing the economy.

As LGBT people become more accepted by mainstream society, the rhetoric of hate groups becomes more incendiary. For in-

stance, on his radio show this week, The American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer said that homosexuality is “an abomination in the nostrils of God.” On the international front, gains in Europe are tempered by a near continent-wide psychosis in Africa. The most vivid example of anti-gay hysteria is in Uganda , where the notorious “Kill the Gays” bill is under consideration in parliament.

To be gay in 2011 is to confront a complex and confusing world, while traversing an incoherent patchwork of attitudes and laws. The positive trend lines will continue to improve, even as the ugly battle lines harden. There is little choice but to soldier on and assist in the scrappy process of consigning anti-gay activists to their ignominious place in history.

18

When a Boy Wants a Man

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

A Striking View Challenges Popular Opinions

By Marina Fontanascura

Ours is not a time and place in which a man can easily wax rhapsodic about his childhood sex with married men and priests; but Sergio – an accomplished, handsome and quiet middle-aged resident of Wilton Manors, in a fifteen year relationship – wanted his story told, albeit anonymously. What happened to Sergio is not unique, but his conclusions constitute a confession usually never given voice. Over dinner, I recorded that story and deliver it to you in his own words. Without judgment. Without commentary.

“I

grew up in a city on the Italian Riviera that had been devastated by World War II. It was rebuilt but it had lost its soul and its prosperity. My father struggled to find work to support his family of seven. In the 1960s, he took a second job running the movie theater owned by our parish church. My mother was the cashier and I sold candy in the lobby. My father was a deeply religious man. When the canisters of film arrived on Fridays, he would pre-screen them and if he saw a kiss or even a bedroom, he would cut and splice them. He didn’t know that I was downstairs in the theater watching the uncut versions.

My job was to clean up the projection room for him. I would save the scraps he had cut and hold them up to the light in my bedroom. Very Cinema Paradiso.

“Parents dropped their kids off at the theater on Saturdays because it was safe. Before the movie started, the priest would get up on stage and make us say ten Hail Marys.

The church was the center of our life and I was leader of the altar boys. We each had a card that the priests would sign every time we served Mass. After twenty times, we got a prize, like candy or a soccer ball. If you didn’t go to Mass on Sunday, you couldn’t play soccer on the church team or use the church recreation field.

“Even as a small child, I learned that sex was a sin. I confessed it all the time. There were seven priests in that parish. Each one had his own confessional with his name on it and a bell. When you rang the bell, that priest would come to the church and hear your confession. I went all the time because

of sex and because they taught me that in confession I could wipe the slate clean. I had to lie in each confession because I didn’t want to admit I had just gone the day before.

Each day I rang a different bell and confessed to a different priest so they wouldn’t know it was me again so soon, and I never said that I masturbated, only that I had ‘done bad things behind my mother’s back.’

“One of the altar boys who was my age took me alone into a room at the church youth center. He put my hand on his dick and taught me how to rub it. I loved it and wanted to do it every chance we got. Soon there were other altar boys in our group. This kind of fun is how we ended all our Catholic activities until one time, one of the boys ejaculated and that scared the shit out of us.

“When I was about ten years old, I was in the movie theater in the back row on the aisle. One of the priests was sitting next to me. He was the youngest of the seven, maybe 25 or 30, and he was in charge of the youth groups. The other altar boys were spread throughout the theater. I felt his knee against my leg. I didn’t move away. It felt very nice, all through the movie. Next week, the same thing, only I put on a lot more pressure. I started leaning against him. He took my hand and drew it into his robes and into his pants and I grabbed his dick, and I have to say it was the best thing I ever felt in my life. I didn’t want to let it go for the rest of my life. I didn’t move it. I just held it. I felt that either I had died and gone to heaven or that I was home. Next day, I went to the church and rang his bell.

Instead of the confessional, he took me into the storage basement of the church where

we were surrounded by statues and all the stuff used on feast days. The only thing I wanted was to take out his dick. I was really the aggressor. We did it frequently. I only knew that it felt good. He never asked me not to tell. He never forced me to do anything I didn’t want to do. Sometimes it was with the priest and three altar boys. Never kissing or hugging. Just the sex organ. No incentives offered, just my own pleasure. If I did not have that experience with the priest, I would have found it somewhere else.

“One time, my father kicked a man out of the theater because a boy said he had been touched by him, and my father chased him down the street yelling insults at him. The only thing I wanted to do was to run after that man, grab him by the hand and say, ‘Take me with you.’ I had fantasies about our family doctor, that he would take me away and we would live on an island where everyone was just like us. No wonder I live in Wilton Manors which is exactly that kind of island.

“After the priest, I started seeking other opportunities. There were always several married men at the church who I was having sex with. With one I had a code. If his wife was not home, there was a white towel on the door. With another one, I would go to the cemetery with him when he bought flowers to place on his wife’s tomb in the little chapel over the family vault, and that is where we had sex. In my little head it began to click that I should get married like them but still

do this forever.

The other altar boys I had sex The photograph used in with all got conjunction with this article is from a professional image married. I did company and used with pernot want to mission for aesthetic layout purposes. It is not meant to be a priest. link the model in any way I hated the to this column or to South Florida Gay News.com. priests who came into our church to recruit for the seminary.

They would take me for a walk and put their arms around me and say that Jesus was calling me.

“Also in my head it began to click that sex was forbidden by the church but that everyone did it anyway. We were strictly forbidden even to watch when the bull was brought to a neighbor’s house to stud the cows; but every time we saw the truck go by with the bull in it, all of us boys would say, ‘Okay, we know where we’re going later.’

“When I was 18, the pressure was on me to get married. For two years, I had a girlfriend who broke off our engagement because I would not have sex with her. I left the country and went to London where I joined a huge gay community. I met mostly older gay men and one friend brought me to an Anglican church that hosted gay nights with dances and raffles and events. My friend said, ‘Honey, you’re home.’ I went home with someone on my first night there. It’s funny that some church is always involved in the milestones of my sex life. The experience of religion is the experience of the erotic, and that is something people won’t talk about.

“They say we repeat our early sexual experience, but I would never have sex with a

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com boy. I shy away from young people. I’m not comfortable. I don’t know why. I owe a lot to what some older guys did for me. Maybe I should be helping younger guys.

“I was absolutely not abused. After the first contact with his knee, I was going after that priest more than he was going after me.

That is the truth. There is no doubt in my mind, that I wanted it more than he did. I have a very difficult time with these people who are suing priests because for me, there was no coercion. He didn’t even offer candy or gifts. There was no incentive but my own pleasure. All these years when all of these abuse stories came out, I never felt sympathy for those who brought charges against priests. I know that I was very young when it happened to me but I could have stayed with it or walked away. Some of my friends walked away. I didn’t. I went back. I rang that bell. I liked it.

“Today kids don’t have the same opportunity. Those married men would today be classed as predators. It never occurred to me, never crossed my mind that I would turn in any of them. I believe that now kids 12-16 are a lot more aware of things than I was.

I think they have some malice that I didn’t have. I believe that what I was doing was not

wrong. It was consensual. Some would say that you can’t have consensual sex when one of the parties is a kid. That’s bullshit. I was the aggressor. I had to ring that bell. I had to go up the stairs. I had to seek it out. Either I am a freak or there is something else that I either can’t explain or don’t understand.

“Sex comes with the baggage of guilt. The fact is that when I was a kid, I couldn’t talk about sex with anybody, and this sense of sin screws you up with your whole life. I think I am a better person because of what happened to me. That’s how I was able to understand who I was. That so many people in the church did what I did, there is not anything wrong with it. We are sexual beings. We can control our urges as we get older only because they diminish. The church gave me not just my sexual identity but my whole identity. It showed me that what they preach is not the truth, and I think the priests wanted me to know that. My experience freed me from big baggage.”

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This true account is written by Marina Fontanascura, who is a humanist philosopher and writer specializing in the history of 20th century Catholicism. In Italy, she taught English and art for several years.

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Manor Offers Up Diverse Dinner Fare Chilean Sea Bass a Signature Dish

By Elliot Joseph

L

photo courtesy of Jason Elliot Tamanini

ast year, when the Manor opened on Wilton Drive, its restaurant was slammed by customers excited by the popular new venue, which has now, as they enter their second year, become a staple of Wilton Drive.

Says Brett Tannenbaum, co-owner with Paul Hugo: “As we settle in, we continue to try to improve and respond to our clientele’s needs and desires. I think you will see our new menu has struck a positive chord with the community.”

The Manor’s bar and dance club, with its huge central auditorium, has already hosted film festivals, comedy events, political forums, house shows, and guest entertainers. It has also featured an upscale dinner menu, which was recently refined and ‘re-invented.’ After enjoying a cocktail or glass of wine at the full service bar, find a table and enjoy any of a wealth of dinner appetizers spanning a variety of cuisines, from the Cuban Flatbread, layered with tender slices of ham, roast pork, mustard, and Swiss cheese, to the rosemary pan-seared scallops, served on a sea of mixed greens, with juicy chopped tomatoes. And all kinds of sliders, from chicken to angus to a bbq melt-in-your-mouth meatloaf creation. The recently added pigs in a blanket is one of those to-die-for specialties, large juicy hot dogs melted into a soft wrap.

The cross-section of appetizers also includes spicy chili-rubbed salmon strips served with a creamy BBQ dressing, or marinated Korean style short ribs, with distinct and unique cusabi coleslaw. Maybe a little too

chewy, but that can be remedied.The scallops, tamed with a touch of teriyaki, on the other hand, were both sweet and succulent.

There is something for everyone on the predinner menu, including sugarcane skewered beef tenderloins served with grilled pineapple, to my own favourite, the baked golden brown blue crab Mac-n-cheese.

If you are looking for a main course that features salads, there are a potpourri of

tasteful choices, from the healthy Spinach Boca salad, with almonds, goat cheese, strawberries and mandarin oranges to the hefty BBQ Chicken Chop salad, served in a blissful delight of cilantro, black beans, jicama, tomatoes and tortilla strips.

At a table of five, we sampled a plethora of delightful main courses, and each of us found a favorite, with one clear winner.

The Chilean Sea Bass on top of couscous

was as fine and tempered as the best seafood restaurant in town. Pounded thin and coated with Italian bread crumbs, the generous portion of chicken Milanese was served under a light fruity salad. If you are a pasta lover, the choice is clearly the Cajun Chicken pasta, served with roasted garlic in a light, creamy sauce tossed with fettuccini, so you don’t walk away feeling guilty. A homemade cooking kind of guest?

Then Mama’s meat loaf is for you, served, of course, with mashed potatoes and brown gravy. So your new dining experience features a rainbow of choices.

The fun part of dining at the Manor is the bar is readily available to you, so the meal can be enhanced with one of the establishment’s signature martinis, such as the Raspberry Lemon Drop, made with Grey Goose le Citroen, lemons and raspberries. I preferred the Grape Crush, splashed with 42 Vodka and Grape Pucker. For real hedonists, do we need to tell you what an Oreo Martini is other than to say even the glass is chocolate lined? Combine that with their fried Oreos at dessert and you will be in a self indulgent heaven.

Speaking of desserts, The Manor offers a dozen different pies and cakes coming in and out every day. Few are as hedonistic as the Manor Smore, a crushed graham cracker topped with a soft and mouth watering chocolate brownie, roasted marshmallows. Demand some vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top of it.

This is epicurean ecstasy, and a commanding way to end your dining experience at the re-invented Manor, 2345 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors.

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Nightlife by J.W. Arnold

Who’s Your Pick?

I

Come See Who Goes To the Big Game!

2031 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors, FL 954.563.8001 Sunday, January 23, 2011 SideLinesSports.com NFC Game @ 3 PM • AFC Game @ 6:30 PM

Slavador Dalí: The Argillet Collection at Michael Murphy Gallery A Rare & Impassioned Collaboration

By A. Sebastian Fortino

“D

alí was a man who saw the world as one in which everything was linked.

That view of the world is evident in each and every piece of his art, for him it was never a progression of the idea that all things have a shared link…it was the common denominator…Dalí’s philosophy, if you will,” Christine Argillet, the Argillet Collection.

Salvador Dalí was the preeminent artist of the Surrealist School. As with many great artists, he left behind both an incredible body of work and a reputation for being mysterious.

However, one woman, Christine Argillet was fortunate enough to know Dalí through the collaboration he had with her father, publisher Pierre Argillet, who began his career as a journalist in Paris in the 1930s.

“He began to meet many artists of the Dada and Surrealist movements,” said Argil-

let. “During WWII many European artists relocated to New York, and my father was able to reconnect with them in the 1950s, one of them was Dalí.”

Art Historians the world over consider the five-decade association between Dalí and Pierre Argillet to have created “the finest bodies of the Master’s Art.” Christine Argillet is one of the last living links to the surrealist.

“Salvador Dalí was, in private a very shy man,” says Argillet, and that he was very simple in his daily life. She states that he was a true workaholic – as the sheer volume of work attests. “He was always experimenting with new techniques, considering another angle of perception.”

Despite his internationally acclaimed career, Argillet states that Dalí was a humble man who took the advice of both local peasants and the Queen of Spain. Of the relationship between her father and Dalí,

t’s that time of the year again…..

For gay sports fans, the biggest Sunday of the year is approaching as the NFL playoff season winds down. Even at Sidelines Sports Bar on Saturday, the diehard sports fans were showing their gay sensibilities as the conversation quickly turned from play patterns to fashionista celebrity quarterbacks Mark Sanchez of the Jets and Tom Brady of the Patriots. It was Sanchez who found himself closer to the big game and undoubtedly won a few hearts, as well.

On Sunday, all eyes at bars across town were on the celebrities walking the red carpet modeling the latest creations from Ricci to Versace. The jury is still out on Nicole Kidman’s dress, but one thing is certain, excitement is building as the crown jewel of the awards season, the Academy Awards, approaches. Look for the bars

Tom Brady at Sidelines

with the biggest screens to be busiest that night.

Whether your passion is football or fashion, South Florida has a nightspot for you, so get off that couch and get out this weekend.

were linked to literature, perhaps more than any other artistic movement of the 20th century. They were both big readers and would often talk about books, which often led to projects.”

Argillet spoke of Venus in Furs,

by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch and a series of plates that illustrated the novella in which Dalí depicted himself. Sometimes in a disguise, even going so far as to appear as a woman in some images.

Now, in an unprecedented opportunity for both collectors and enthusiasts, the Michael Murphy Gallery of Tampa and St. Petersburg is hosting an exhibition where pieces are also available for acquisition, January 15 to 23. Salvador Dalí: The Argillet Collection will display works from Dalí’s suites. This includes Mythologie, and the art, which that friendship gave the world, she says it was one of “friendship and Les Hippies, Goethe’s Faust and Poemes Secrets d’Apollinaire. complicity.”

“The Surrealist movement was very For the complete article, literary,” said Argillet from her home in Los go to: sfgn.com/dali Angeles. “All the actors of this movement

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Kylie Coming to South Florida

By Joey Amato

I

nternational pop sensation Kylie Minogue has announced North American dates for her Aphrodite – Live 2011 World Tour beginning April 28 in Montreal. Kylie will perform at the Bank Atlantic Center on May 7, in what promises to be a groundbreaking performance. Tickets go on sale this weekend and are sure to go fast!

“The reaction to ‘Aphrodite’ has been absolutely incredible and has inspired me and my creative team to develop a new show that will take all of us on a euphoric journey of joy, excitement and glamour. I can’t wait to get on the road and see all my fans in 2011,” said Kylie.

In the fall of 2009 Kylie stormed America to sell out her first ever North American tour. The 6-city tour kicked off in Oakland and made stops in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto and New York, wowing fans and critics alike at each stop. Entertainment Weekly called the show a “two-hour post-disco fantasia of strobe, bass, and glitter—an all-out spectacle.”

Kylie’s eleventh album Aphrodite was released in July and debuted at #19 in the U.S., marking her highest U.S. chart position since 2002’s Fever. Aphrodite became Kylie’s fifth #1 album in the UK, hitting the top spot a full 22 years to the week since her debut album Kylie entered the chart. The album also made Kylie the first solo artist in the history of the UK charts to have a #1 album in four different decades.

The new single “Get Outta My Way” recently hit the top of the U.S. Billboard Club Chart, marking her second consecutive #1 Billboard Club single from Aphrodite following “All The Lovers” and her fifth career #1 club single to date.

By Karl Hampe

THE REGULARS

For more information, visit Kylie.com.

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

VIEWS OF THE NEWS

Gallery Opening at Pride Center

PHOTOS BY Jarrett Terrill

Bishop S.F. Mahee and Jane Kreinberg

Kim Harrell (Inspirational and Affirmation Beadwork)

On Thursday, Jan 13 the Pride Center held a wildly successful gallery opening featuring the art of several local LBT women. The champagne flowed, and as drums were played the event went off with a bang! The art work will remain on display through the end of January and signifies that building programs and events for the lesbian community will be a primary focus of 2011. A.S.F.

Souvenir of Successful Campaign Against DADT

PHOTO BY Sergio Bueno

Paul Hyman and Donna Woessner

Joyce Gilbert (Venetian Watercolor )

Ileana meets with Walker Burttschell to thank him for his efforts to repeal DADT (l-r) Shanna Ratliff, Kristofer Fegenbush , Allison Jaeger

Harmony Jones (Inspired by Frida Kahlo)

Hildana Ciser

Mauricio Ferrer of the GLCC (Artwork by his Aunt Sarah Martinez)

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen met in Washington, DC with USMC veteran Walker Burttschell after the repeal of DADT. Ileana has been an avid supporter of repealing DADT and is very pleased with the results of years of hard work on behalf of equality for all Americans. Ileana thanked Walker for his hard work on behalf of repeal and she issued the following statement: “The repeal of the failed policy of ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ is both common sense and historical. It made no sense to kick skilled patriots out of military service for their sexual orientation. The new law is a huge civil liberties win because it correctly closes out a discriminatory practice. I congratulate the many grass roots activists and especially the courageous vets for making this dream a reality.”

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Greg Mangum Gallery Neo-Ironical Visual Dialogue, the Work of Anbrin Zafar

By A. Sebastian Fortino

“T

o me art is a personal problem that demands depersonalization and deconstruction of elements of personalization through expression; not just expression but meaningful expression, an expression that leads towards life and not away from it,” Anbrin Zafar, Artist’s Statement.

As part of the Thursday, January 21 Island City Art Walk the Greg Mangum Gallery will showcase the work of Anbrin Zafar. Zafar describes herself as a “full-time painter, scholar, artist and mother.” She also describes herself as an “ironist” and prefers to work on a smaller scale so that she can maintain an astute attention to detail.

“I love to paint smaller pieces,” said Zafar, who is currently pursuing a PhD. “Because

that allows me to put greater focus on the painting or piece.”

Influences come from her native Pakistan – such as the refined, detailed artwork produced during the Moghul Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries.Yet, her work takes on a modern, fresh perspective by working with mixed media. Many of her pieces are painted on acrylic sheets, as opposed to more traditional materials, incorporating both abstract and figurative images. Her work is delicate – yet not without weight, structure, and depth.

Irony, as the name of the show implies, is central to her work. Animals are a recurring motif. One very small piece depicts a princess relaxing in a garden.Yet, at her feet there is an almost cartoon-like puppy. Zafar explains that is something you would never

see in traditional Moghul art.

She explores the use of irony in postmodern art. Zafar feels that objects have their own humor and that by juxtaposing contradictory elements together she is able to create her own unique, visual dialogue. A reversal of the princess with the puppy, for instance, is a mostly abstract piece into which a crow has – ironically – landed.

Greg Mangum Gallery 2301 Wilton Drive, C-4 Wilton Manors, FL 33305

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Theatre Reviews

duction takes place in George and Childie’s flat, and the set is lovely and well made, with lots of little touches that add to believability.

Saturday’s show was played beautifully, unher as George, frets to Alice, that her charac- less you count the oblivious woman in the The Killing front row who answered her cell phone not ter is going to be written off the show. of Sister George At first her fears seem unfounded. She is once but twice during the play. This producthe most popular character on the program, tion, directed by Jane Kelly, is based on the

By Amy Paonessa original stage version. after all. However, after a visit from the hat happens to a beloved Like the 1991 film Soapproducer, Mrs. Mercy Croft, both June and character who has come Alice begin to worry that it’s the end of the dish set in sixties London, to the end of her run? This line for old Sister George. Janet Weakley, as The Killing of Sister George is the question at the heart of the play The Killing of Sister George, which began a month- the title character, nails both the accent and is a darkly comic examination swaggering boisterousness of Sister George. of the transitory nature of long stay at the Rising Action Theatre at Weakley also pulls off the formidable task popular culture, set against Sunshine Cathedral this past weekend. of revealing the vulnerability underneath the the background of a popular The main character, June Buckridge, is soap opera. Though her offbluster so as to make us care for a charbeloved by fans all over England for her air exploits certainly play a acter who is a drunken, abusive lout. Celia portrayal of Sister George, a small-town nurse who is known as much for her folksy Myers provided the night’s biggest laughs as part in the decision to write the character out, the deciSister George’s neighbor and confidant, a pearls of wisdom as her ability to bandage sion to give Sister George gypsy fortuneteller named Madame Xenia. and stitch, on the popular BBC radio prothe axe is really more about Rounding out the small, all female cast gram, Applehurst. the producers’ desire to The real June Buckridge, however, is a loud, is South Florida native Merry Jo Cortada, update the show to roll with the cultural course, hard-drinking lesbian who bullies ev- who plays Mrs. Mercy Croft with a stern, matronly air, and Andi Maria Morrow as the changes happening in 1965 London. eryone around her, especially her long-time The younger generation isn’t as interested alarmingly submissive and immature Alice, “companion,” Alice. As the play opens, June, in the goings on of wholesome country folk who is condescendingly called “Childie” by so absorbed in the character she has played as their parents – time to throw in some her lesbian lover. The entirety of the profor six years that friends and family refer to affairs and other modern subjects. While on a more personal level, the play tells the story of an actress who relies on the popular character she plays to be all the best qualities about herself, and how little is left of the woman when the character dies.

The Killing of Sister George runs every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday until February 13th.

W

Sex and Violence

By J.W. Arnold

E

mpire Stage is not a gay theater company, but gay-themed plays have proved successful for the Fort Lauderdale theater. Last weekend, the plucky company—many of whom lived and worked in New York City—opened “Sex and Violence,” the latest play from “Making Porn” writer Ronnie Larson.

A night at Empire Stage is like a night at some Off-Off-Off-Broadway theater.The space is an intimate black box in a former warehouse, everything is held together with bubble gum and duct tape, and the company resourcefully stretches every tight budget dollar.

In fact, on opening night, an electrical connec-

tion blew delaying the curtain (if they had one), but cast and crew alike held their composures and the show went on, despite the glitch.

Larson’s play essentially follows the twists and turns in the life of a straight, best-selling author (handsome David R. Gordon) after he becomes obsessed with the true story of a troubled Harlem transsexual (Keith Dougherty) who murders her lover (muscle-bearish Angel Perez) and stores his body in her closet.The writer, Jack, must fend off conniving homophobic publishers (Tom Falborn and Kitt Marsh) while researching the story with trannie Sezette (Mario Betto), a relationship that soon becomes romantic.

Gordon, Perez and especially Marsh all deliver the solid performances local audiences have come to expect and the weakest link in the cast is Betto’s boring Sezette, who delivers every line in a droll monotone that is completely out of character for a larger-than-life female impersonator.

The biggest challenge for Empire Stage is Larson’s script. The first act is choppy and bounces between present day and 1979.

Scene changes are way too long (perhaps in deference to the sound designer), at times halting the story, and the flashbacks are not clearly delineated. While the first act sets up a plausible, engaging premise, Larson loses focus and wanders all over the place in the second, with the publishers hatching a ludacris murder plot to stop Jack’s work on the book, a comical murder scene and a token— and distracting nod—to the AIDS epidemic.

Despite the structural downfalls, “Sex and Violence” at Empire Stage will provide a fun evening out if you remember Fort Lauderdale is Off-Off-Off-OFF-Broadway.

“The Killing of Sister George” Rising Action Theatre • Sunshine Cathedral 1480 SW 9th Ave., Fort Lauderdale Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 7 p.m. thru Feb. 13 Tickets $29.95 at RisingActionTheatre.com “Sex and Violence” Empire Stage 1140 N. Flager Dr., Fort Lauderdale Thurs. – Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. thru Feb. 13 Tickets $30 at EmpireStage.com

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Gay Museum Opens in Castro dream,” Gerard Koskovich, a spokesman and historian for the museum said.

Koskovich said he considers the GLBT History Museum the country’s first museum of its kind because other galleries and archives that discuss the gay community are not standalone operations.

Debut exhibits include one titled, “Our Vast Queer Past: Celebrating GLBT History,” which brings together 450 objects that illustrate 20 key themes in GLBT history. It will be in the museum’s main gallery.

By Staff Reports The front gallery will have an exhibit he country’s first museum for called “Great Collections of the GLBT gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transHistorical Society Archives.” gender people opened in the The museum’s regular hours will be heart of San Francisco’s Castro District, on Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 18 Street, last Thursday p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

The GLBT History Museum. is a Regular admission is $5 and free to 1600-square-foot space with installations that showcase items depicting gay history, members of the GLBT Historical Society, a group established in 1985 dedicated to rewhich organizers say they have spent 25 searching and archiving GLBT history. years gathering. “It’s been a long-time

THE NEW 25TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION

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For Tickets online : BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com or BrowardCenter.org By phone: 954.462.0222 • Groups 15+ 954.626.7814 OR 954-462-0222 Shows, dates, times, prices and actors subject to change without notice.

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Heard it on...

sical sitcom and expressed his desire for more athletic community, can take proactive steps Lady Gaga, the electropop band Scissor to end homophobia in sports,” Taylor says in a Sisters “would be fun to do” and that he’s statement on the site. “When we inspire encampaigning to have Sound of Music star tire teams and athletic departments to commit Andrews play the grandmother of his to a new standard of athletic integrity, we will character, Kurt. Colfer change the environment in previously told The Adlocker rooms and on playing vocate that he appeared fields. Adding your name to in a high school production of the growing list of supportthe Rodgers and Hamers is the first step to make a merstein classic. difference.”

The actor admits he has Last year Taylor emerged Colfer Wins Golden been successful in the past, as a champion for gay rights, Globe first with a much-read Chris Colfer won the Golden Globe for pushing for a “Time Warp” blog on homophobia in Best Performance by an Actor in a Support- musical number that eventually became a full Rocky Horsports that he wrote for ing Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion ror Picture Show episode.

Outsports.com and later Picture Made for Television Sunday night by posting for the No H8 and in his speech he thanked Glee creator Hudson Taylor campaign. In October, Taylor Ryan Murphy for being his fairy godfather Wrestler made headlines when he appeared at a and took the opportunity to thank “all the Launches Website conservative Catholic college to talk about amazing kids that watch our show and who According to the Advocate, Hudson are constantly told no by...bullies at school Taylor, a straight All-American wrestler and acceptance in sports and marriage equality. and told they can’t have what they want coach at Columbia University, has launched because of who they are. Well screw that.” the website AthleteAlly.com in an effort to Canada Bans Dire During a pre-show interview on the Gold- combat homophobia in sports and ensure Straits Song en Globes red carpet, Colfer was asked which the locker room is a safe space for all.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards artists he’d like to see covered on the hit mu“I created the Pledge so that we, as an Council has ruled that “Money For Noth-

ing,” the 1985 Dire Straits song with the famous animation video, is too offensive for broadcast in the country. Because it uses the word “fa**ot.” The Vancouver Sun reports that, “The ruling, released last Wednesday, responded to a complaint submitted to St. John’s radio station CHOZFM over a Feb. 1 airing of an unedited version of the song, which mentions the word three times.”

The 1985 song, told from the perspective of a working-class man who marvels at the apparent charmed life of rockers on that new invention, MTV, is perhaps even better know for its animation music video that heralded the dawn of the music video era.

The music video for the song was the first played on MTV Europe.

In its ruling, the Canadian council said that social attitudes had changed about the word “fa**ot” from 1985 to 2010, the time of the complaint last year. “The council concluded that ‘fa**t,’ when used to describe a homosexual man, is a word ‘that, even if entirely or marginally acceptable in earlier days, is no longer so,’” reported the Sun.

‘Prelude by Barton G.’ Launches Supper Club in Miami

By A. Sebastian Fortino

O

n Dec 31, 2010 Barton G. launched the first cabaretstyled performance at ‘Prelude

by Barton G.’, located in the Adrienne Arsht Center.

“I’m bringing Manhattan to Miami in a totally new way,” said Barton G. Weiss, Miami’s well known events producer. Weiss is also the owner of Barton G. The Restaurant, and a separate establishment, The Villa by Barton G., located in the former Versace Mansion.

Weiss said, “The series presents topname television and Broadway entertainment, many of whom are performing in Miami for the very first time, in an intimate venue where every seat is within a few feet of the stage.”

The initial performer was Cheyenne Jackson, whose voice moved all those lucky enough to sip champagne and dine on Prelude’s excellent cuisine as he sang. The el-

egant experience successfully reinvents the supper clubs of the early 20th century and Mr. Weiss’ taste assures South Florida that they will be treated to entertainment that would make many Manhattan residents jealous.

On January 21 and 22 openly-gay Broadway actor Gavin Creel will also take to the stage at Prelude. Gavin was a Tony Award-nominee for the 2002 revival of Thoroughly Modern Millie.

He also appeared in 2004’s revival of La Cage aux Folles, and appeared in the 2009 production of Hair – which he took to London.

On January 28 and 29, a very special performer has

Gavin Creel

been announced. Sandra Bernhard – the singer, comedienne, actress and all around personality – will grace the stage. Given the intimate scale of the venue you won’t feel as if you’ve only seen Sandra, you’ll feel as if you’ve met her, which was my experience during the Cheyenne Jackson performance!

Sandra Bernhard

For more information, please visit PreludebyBartonG.com

31

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Gavin Creel, Star of Broadway and London’s West End

Using Theatre as Activism

By A. Sebastian Fortino

G

avin Creel will perform at Prelude

by Barton G. at the Adrienne Arsht Center this coming weekend. He eloquently described the mood, which he intends to bring to the stage.

“I’m going to just sit down with the audience and chill out,” said Creel. “I consider it to be a full-bodied, red wine type of y’s musical experience and evening.”

Saturdato Creel, who has appeared on orida ,& kets uthfl both Broadway – Tony-nominated tic so page k oo “Want . free the and London stages is a writer of in PM win aceb o F y3 To ow, j original music whose voice also om under c . sh Frida lends itself well to pop. He has newsomment is y c ga a been doing concerts for about ke ?” Drawing ma ... ten years now. kets ic “Sometimes I perform with T a full band, although this time I and a hitch kick?” will be doing half the performance with Last spring, Ramin Setoodeh an enterguitar and vocals, then the other half with tainment writer formerly of Newsweek, piano and vocals. I’ll be performing some claimed that gay actors should not play Broadway, but primarily pop and my own songs,” Creel offered about his repertoire. straight roles. As Creel is very open SFGN “It’s different in a smaller venue – I can see asked him how that statement affected him as an actor. Apparently, it did not sour everyone’s faces and really connect with the sunny disposition of an actor who the audience.” played Burt in the West End Production of When asked about his favorite roles the Mary Poppins.

New York based, University of Michigan “Thinking like that gets as much power graduate actor said that his Tony Awardnominated performance of Claude, from the as we give it. What it reveals is that there are a lot of gay performers, yet there’s 2009 production of Hair, is his favorite.The character’s activism inspired and motivated a lot of hypocrisy in the theatre community.” Setoodeh, himself is openly gay. the openly gay actor to become a voice “If someone is going to be homophobic, for the gay community. Marriage equality is yet want me in a show I wouldn’t take the where he puts most of his energy. role. There are so many possibilities in this “Claude woke me up as to the type of person I can be,” said the optimistic Creel, world and I wouldn’t limit my possibilities by being someone who I am not, and being who has worked with the pro-equality gay is who I am.” organization Broadway Impact. “The cast When asked about what is a dream role of Hair even marched in Washington, D.C. to promote marriage equality. I feel that if to perform on Broadway, he says that he is writing material and looking for something we have theatres in every community we should use them to educate people about new and dynamic to perform.

LGBT equality. If we can raise money for the Human Rights campaign and other or- For more information and ticketing informaganizations – why not do it with jazz hands tion, please visit PreludeByBartonG.com

Wealth Planning can be difficult for anyone. For domestic partners, it can be even more complicated. With a little foresight and the right information, domestic partners can properly plan so that they and their children are prepared for major life events.

Please join us at our informative seminar, “Wealth Planning for Domestic Partners,” which will examine these and other important topics: • Challenges facing domestic partners • The importance of wealth planning • Basic and advanced planning techniques • Gifting techniques Date: Time:

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32

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Portraits of Ellen Degeneres Hopes to Send Local Poet to Los Angeles

By A. Sebastian Fortino

R

enda Writer, poet, performing artist and both founder and editor of We Merge Magazine is so dedicated to his craft that he has tattooed his chosen profession on his arm. On January 22 Writer will present a group art show at GAB Studio in Miami’s Wynwood District – with almost 30 artists – a collection of portraits of Ellen Degeneres. Writer, has a greater goal, namely to present Ellen with one of the portraits in Los Angeles, and to eventually appear on her show.

“I’m looking to meet her and give her a portrait so I can perform my poem, HalfHearted which uses the metaphor of two swans falling in love in Central Park, live on the show,” said the native New Yorker, and current resident of Boynton Beach. “I’ve

always been a really big fan, I respect her as a comedian and an entertainer.”

The dashing Writer, who uses that name professionally and artistically, has worked ardently to get Ellen to pay attention to him. He has gone so far as to send copies of his magazine to a café near to Ellen’s studio, and give a copy to a friend who knew the TV personality’s limo driver. A few years ago he even received a phone call from her representatives in response to a DVD he sent to her. They only called to say they were considering his work, but Writer has not let this dissuade him.

“I think any reply is a good reply,” Writer told SFGN. For more information please visit, RendaWriter.com or GABStudio.com

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

33

34

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Real Estate

ONE Sotheby’s International Realty A Perfect Fit for Selling Homes

Joe Ando

Jim Cunningham

By A. Sebastian Fortino

R

eal estate brokers and business partners Joe Ando and Jim Cunningham of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty know there is a tremendous difference between selling a home and selling high-end properties. Cunningham a native Floridian, has been in real estate for over a decade, initially licensed to sell real estate in 1992, then again in 1999.

“I’ve been in sales and marketing since I got out of college,” said Cunningham. “I got into real estate a second time because I was tired of traveling throughout the Southeast for a software company as a corporate trainer. It was too much travel.”

Ando has worked selling homes for eight

years, and relocated from New England six years ago with his partner. He studied engineering at Northeastern University, which lends itself to having an eye for structural detail. In fact, it was real estate that initially brought the pair together.

“Jim was our agent. However, we went with another house,” he added laughingly.

“Later, when I started in real estate Jim was working at a boutique firm.”

Many people have asked Cunningham to be his business partner, but he always declined. He claims Ando has been the perfect fit for the past five years, and that even his background working for a voice recognition software company– in which he too did a lot of travel – runs parallel to his background.

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Working under the Sotheby’s name might conjure up images of perfect homes and estates that are in move-in condition. Yet, this is not always the case – money does not always guarantee a universally appreciated property.

Sometimes when people have a great deal of wealth they can over-personalize a home, whether through decoration or particular themes.

“We had a penthouse that was 6,000 square feet of pastel colors, with all sorts of customized leathers, and marbles,” Cunningham said.

“Lots of sea-foam green and pink,” added Ando with a smile.

Of course when you are asking someone to write a check for a few million dollars the clients always expect more. In this market, everyone – in all financial brackets – wants a steal.

“Yet, when you’re talking about fabulous homes in great condition it’s hard to justify a lot of reductions,” Cunningham said. Ando confirmed that even now if you present the property in the right manner and do your job well, “people see the value of the home.”

Ando and Cunningham also admitted that with money might bring some level eccentricity and caprice into their office on Las Olas Boulevard. One client requested a property with a helipad, but they do not really exist in Fort Lauderdale. Another client, whose biggest selling point was a majestic ocean view, decided to repaint the interior unexpectedly. Upon arrival with a

potential buyer the windows were covered with paper – thereby obstructing the view.

Also, even though the Sotheby’s name implies massive manses with servants quarters, Viking stoves, and perhaps a wine tasting room, Ando and Cunningham cannot discriminate against listing – or finding – property for their clients that might only have a market value of $80,000, especially since those that can are buying up properties as investments. Currently, they have 20 properties listed ranging in asking price from the mid$300,000s to the $5 million mark and Sotheby’s also deals with commercial property.

Ando and Cunningham took me to visit a luxurious home located in Harbor Beach.

Along the way they pointed out other homes with price tags ranging from nine to $20 million. The home we saw, built by a developer for himself, and located on East Lake Drive is Mediterranean in style. It has a soaring foyer, formal living room, pool, and a covered outdoor dining area. There are five bedrooms, with a master suite measuring in at 1,500 square feet.

“You can just close the door and be cut off from everything,” said Cunningham of the suite. The home – which is on the market for $2.5 million – also includes dockage for a 60-foot yacht and private beach club.

After touring the house, admiring the amenities, it was easy to understand why selling these homes can be a challenge. In fact, this home has been on the market for a few years, despite being a good price for the exclusive neighborhood.

Ando however changed the mood. “At the end of the day, after five years, it’s still a fun job. Something I love doing.”

For more information on Ando and Cunnngham, please visit OneSothebysRealty.com For more information on the Harbor Beach property, please visit 1212elakedrive.com

35

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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Hombre Bar Vandalized bre Bar enjoys a good relationship with its neighbors. “Even the church next door is so sweet to us, always asking about how our staff is doing. This was done by someone with more than just a little anger. The police told me that if this had been a physical attack on my body, it wouldn’t have been a single stab wound; it would have been total mutilation. That’s how they explained the level of anger involved.”

Kackin said that the attackers did not write any homophobic slurs on the premises. His main concern is his staff and the

By Tony Adams

A

lan Kackin, the owner of Hombre Bar at 2500 West Oakland Park Blvd, in Oakland Park, says he has been losing some serious money operating at a location west of Rt 95 and far from the gay bar mecca of Wilton Drive, but he does not intend to let a vicious attack on his premises put him out of business.

Between Friday night’s closing and the noon arrival of Kackin and his staff at the bar on Saturday to prepare for their busiest night of the week, the bar was broken into and almost all of its equipment demolished, including pool tables, pinball machines, video games, TVs, music system, cash register, jukebox and credit card reader.

“My staff went in first and then came back to the car and said ‘You don’t want to go in there’. That’s how bad it was. We had the police in, and they found some good fingerprints. Whoever did this tried to put

us out of business, but we got to work and were able to open up for our weekly Bear Party that same night.”

Kackin, who is 69 years old and disabled, says that he does not have any guess about who might have been responsible for the attack.

“This is not about robbery. They didn’t break into our office. They didn’t steal money from the jukebox. The amount of liquor they took was small compared to the extensive damage they did to everything in the bar. They obviously were trying to keep us from opening up and operating. I don’t know if it’s a disgruntled customer, an ex-employee or locals who maybe don’t like having a gay bar here. I doubt this was done by a competitor. We are so small that we don’t take business from any other bar.”

Kackin, who had previously owned The Eagle on Powerline Road, said that Hom-

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vendor of the destroyed fixtures.

“Look, I have no insurance that will cover this. With the huge amount of money I have lost on this business in the last year, I could shut the door tomorrow and finally wake up relieved of the horror of this struggle, but I have a dedicated team and they need their jobs here. They have more to lose at this point. Whoever did this will find out that karma is a bitch.”

Anyone with information about this should contact the Broward County Sherriff’s Office. 954 831-8900

36

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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Latinos Salud Celebrates Their Grand Opening

By A. Sebastian Fortino

A

s we reported in our December 21 issue, members of Latinos Salud were busily painting the exterior of their new location at 2330 Wilton Drive. Now that the facility is ready to show off to the public, Latinos Salud invites the community to celebrate with them and their commitment to bring “culturally competent, non-judgmental HIV and STD prevention education” to the Latino community. The Grand Opening will take place on Saturday, January 22 from 7 to 10 p.m.

“At our Grand Opening, gay Latino community members and other supporters will meet the staff who are making a difference.

We’ll also have live music, food and wine, a VIP photo area, and we’ll also be raffling off a few prizes donated by our generous community partners,” said Stephen Fallon, Executive Director of Latinos Salud. “Our

own ‘Somos’ group members are decorating the space, even including some original artworks. This will be a great way to meet our organization, while still enjoying an evening on Wilton Drive.”

So please join Latinos Slaud as they celebrate with a special night of live music, food, wine, great prizes, and tributes to local leaders who are working to empower our community.

For more information, please visit LatinosSalud.org

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

One World, Many Stories Saturday Storytelling Series at Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale

By A. Sebastian Fortino

Broward County Libraries. “Each program begins with a locally famous storyteller, or many of us the memory of followed by a nationally prominent our parents or grandparstoryteller and a musical interlude.” ents putting us to bed It is interesting that storytelland reading a story or sharing a ing, open mic nights and spoken family story at a gathering is a word performances are increasing keystone of our formative years.

Saturday Storytelling in popularity. Perhaps, in this DigiStories in the oral tradition not Series tal Age, this indicates we are trying to only enchant and intrigue us, but also bind us to our family – whether that is hold on to our fragile past. The series opens All shows take place Saturday at 2 p.m.

Melinda Munger, who has been telling our direct or our extended, human family.

Museumwith of Art Fort Lauderdale 1 East Las Olas Boulevard 954-525-5500 for over 30 years.

While the Saturday Storytelling Series at stories a Cuban-born storyteller Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, beginning on 22 Lucia Gonzalez, January Motoko January 22, with monthly performances run- and puppeteer will be featured in FebruFebruary 26 Carol Birch Kian, an internationally rening through April 2011, will indeed appeal to ary. Fereydoun 19 nowned author and storyteller of Iranian younger attendees the library remindsMarch us that Suzi Whaples descent will appear in March. Bilingual stostories aren’t just for kids – or for bedtime.

April 23 Michael Reno Harrell Carrie Sue Ayvar – who blends the “Storytelling and spoken word are quickly ryteller Free Admission For information, contact fantastic with the personal – will appear in becoming very popular forms of entertaincneile@fau.edu or 561-297-0042 ment. We are in the youth division but any- April. one can come to the storytelling events, and frequently adults come on their own,” said For more information please visit, Katy Mullon, Special Events Coordinator of Broward.org/library

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Profile

Jeffrey Sterling Local Accountant Offers Tax Advice for 2011

By Joey Amato

A

s 2010 becomes only a memory, we must prepare for what is the most feared time of the year, tax season. Filing personal income taxes can be an arduous task for many individuals, but Jeffrey Sterling of Sterling Tax and Accounting Services promises to make life a bit easier.

“Filing early can be a mixed blessing,” Sterling tells SFGN. “If you have a simple return and receive your W-2 and 1099’s from your investments or self employment in January, then filing in January can work for you.” Filing early allows you to file while the IRS is less busy, and support services have less customers and wait times he adds.

While you may get the headache out of the way, filing early has its disadvantages.

“The drawback to rushing to file, is that you may forget or overlook necessary tax paperwork or miss important deductions that could save you money. W-2’s and 1099’s need to be mailed by the end of January, which means you may not see them until the first week of February.” Amending your return at a later date if you forgot some information can be a hassle and cost additional money.

Sterling notes that any place that offers to get your money faster than January 28 is offering you a loan. “These are high priced predatory products the IRS is trying hard to discourage. Do not be fooled by the tricks that some in the tax industry like to push onto unsuspecting taxpayers.” Another early filing scam is being told you can file your

return with your pay stub. “You cannot file set in helping to prepare the return,” Sterling your tax return without a W-2. There are states. “The important thing to remember is that there is not a program out there places out there that will create a fake W-2 that takes the place of education based on your pay stub. These preparand experience. The tax code ers are setting you up to get into trouis very complex and has many ble with the IRS,” Sterling tells us. gray areas of law that require huThere are two basic ways an individuman assistance to determine if al can file: you can take the stanthey apply to you.” dard deduction or you can Tax Professionals use itemize. “The IRS reports many methods to deterthat two-thirds of individmine the price of tax ual filers typically take return. For example, the standard deduction. they can charge a set If you have allowable fee for each tax form, deductions that exworksheet, and schedceed the standard ule, or an hourly rate deduction, then it based on time can be beneficial to prepare the to itemize on a return. Sterling Schedule A.” mentions that Itemized dethe National Sociductions include ety of Accountants demedical expenses, termined the average price real estate taxes, charged by their members was charitable contri$229 for a 1040 with a Schedule butions and unreA. “The key to remember is that lower imbursed employee price is not always the best. You get what expenses, in addition to tax preparation fees.”Keep in mind, that if you pay for,” he warns. “Saving $20 now your itemized deductions are not much may not seem so great when this summer you more than the standard, you may be bet- get an IRS notice.”

Those who would like to file their own ter off to take the standard.” There is less chance of the IRS questioning you and tax return should keep a few things in mind. professionals charge for the extra work “First, research the changes in the law that affects you. The IRS and forms associated website has a wealth with a Schedule A. of knowledge, so Reputable tax prodon’t depend on fessionals do not “The important thing to the computer procompete based on remember is that there is not gram to be your the amount of rea program out there that tax professional.” fund of a tax return, takes the place of The programs caninstead they say that not adequately ask they will help you education and experience. get the maximum The tax code is very complex you all the questions or present all the deallowed by law. It is and has many gray areas of ductions and credits important that taxpayers understand law that require human as- you may be eligible that they are respon- sistance to determine if they for. The more complicated the return, sible for what is on apply to you.” the more likely it their tax return and – Jeffrey Sterling will miss something tax preparer fraud is or apply something everywhere. incorrectly, he menWhen selecting a tions. tax professional it is important to find one that has the experience necessary to perform your return and Jeffrey Sterling is the owner of Sterling Tax give you advice. “The tax programs on the and Accounting Services in Wilton Manors, market for professionals and individual filers Florida. For more information, place call are quite comprehensive and are a great as- 954-667-9TAX (9829).

39

January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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-------------------------------------------------Wilton Manors. 2 Stories, fire place, pool 3 BR/2Bath, great room upstairs w/ deck, pets ok, all appliances. Central heat & air, 2 car garage 1700 a month 954-918-4005 -------------------------------------------------Wilton Manors 1BR/1BA one block from shopsRestaurants/nightlife. A/C, ceiling fans Terrazzo floors,laundry room with washer and dryer. large screened in pool & patio. $900/mo. includes:electric call 954-563-4442 -------------------------------------------------1/1 renovated apt. close to shopping, beach & I95. Lush landscaping w/fountain, paver patio, Small Pets OK. $650/Mo. Call 954-462-7817 -------------------------------------------------Wilton manors Large 2BR/1BA in 4 plex. newly renovated, CAC, polised terrazzo floor, new bathroom, fenced yard. $1150/mo F/S 954-566-8049

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yacht repair Yacht repair and captain/engineer service Yachts serviced: 10’-190’ yacht charters-36’-300plus Free quotes on Yacht Construction/ Commissioning, Freelance Captain/ Engineer, Electronics repair and installation, Gas/Diesel Repair/Re-power, Hydraulic fabrication, repair and installation, Water maker repair/ installation, Full service Welding & machine shop, Fiber glass/gel coat repair/ Woodwork/ Varnishing, Monthly wash and Systems check service, Deliveries, Sea Trials & Surveys Cell Phone: 954.326.1858 Joe MacDonald

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January 19, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

By Tony Adams

A

TONY ADAMS

ttorney George Castrataro is not the impresario you would expect to find behind the face in his ubiquitous ads.Yes, he is quick to give voice to his strong opinions about advocacy and community service, but the man himself is uncalculated and private by nature. I entered his Wilton Manors offices – soon to be relocated to new space at 707 NE 3rd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale – expecting to be razzledazzled ala Billy Flynn in Chicago.

Instead, I found him uncomfortable at the prospect of talking about himself.

36 year old George Castrataro grew up in Amityville, New York. He was an out high schooler with an atypically understanding and supportive Italian Catholic family. “I was the popular nerd. The homecoming king who would leave the party early and sneak into a gay bar with a fake ID.” A family move to Florida meant an undergraduate degree followed by an MA in Public Health from University of South Florida. George had considered becoming a doctor, and became involved in the public health field first with the Tampa Bay Red Cross, followed by a move to DC to become National Manager for the Red Cross Disease Prevention Program. This was followed by a stint with the Miami Behavioral Health Center, and a year as Assistant Director of the Broward County Health Department. Concurrently, he founded his own consultancy, Non-Profit Capacity Builders, Inc. “I began to think that becoming a lawyer would make me a better epidemiologist.”

With this in mind, George became a lawyer in 2005, and was Supervising Attorney of Legal Aid Service of Broward County for two years before starting his own practice in 2008 specializing in litigation and bankruptcy. The growth of his business with ten employees has necessitated the move to larger offices. He has become a nationally recognized expert in the fields of consumer law and foreclosure defense. His firm often fights for victims of predatory scammers who claim to offer debt relief through the illegal practice of “equity stripping”.

In his private practice, George continues to devote a sizable amount of time to pro bono work and community service. “There

“I’m single. I have some great friends but I don’t really go out much. I’m not much of a dancer. Super-clumsy. I guess you’d say I’m introverted. A big techno geek. I have to have every new laptop and cell phone that comes out. I don’t choose between the iphone and the Droid. I have to have both. I’d rather be home taking apart an ipod, but I do like to fly. I’m an FAA licensed pilot.

That’s about it.

“At work, I deal with so much stuff that is not cheerful, so when I come home, I want to laugh. I’ll watch South Park or Family Guy. I come home to my Cavalier spaniel, two cats and a saltwater fish tank, but I want you to know that my house does not smell like animal. My life is orderly, but that’s by necessity. When you have clients who entrust you with major life decisions at times of crisis, you don’t get to be the messy one.”

When asked where he sees himself 10 years from now, George said he hopes he will be in a 13 year old successful practice, and with a husband.

When asked if he sees himself and that future husband with children, he confessed to feeling a little too selfish for the raising of children, but thought that, with the right partner, he would be thrilled to become a parent. Significant is the fact that, although he strongly supports some LGBT candidates for public office, George does not envision himself running for elective office as might other community servants 50% of his clients are LGBT. The economic with similar credentials. He is not about is a big part of me that never left Legal Aid. to compromise his positions to suit public distress that brings people to his offices My staff gets frustrated with me because opinion. He is passionate, for instance, about is felt by all groups. He notes that his gay of how many cases I take at cost. I react the reform of laws governing marijuana usage. clients have been extremely loyal and that to victimizations. Predatory lending, lack of George is quick to list his parents among this is a strong incentive for giving time back protections for LGBT couples, workplace to the community in like measure by helping his heroes. They are the primary reason for injustice such as the Officer Mikey Verdugo his focus on personal integrity. I left his office those who are in serious need but have case in Hollywood that I’ve been helping with the feeling that a longer visit with a few little resources. with. Most of my clients come to me when dozen additional questions would not have “Sometimes, the oddest cases are the they are going through something bad. I have probably filed 300 to 400 bankruptcies ones I find most interesting. I like a challenge gotten me into some secret and sensational involving individual rights threatened by bu- part of his personality. That is the price of in the past 18 months. Folks with second integrity. It is simple, clean, neat and focused. reaucracy. Say, for example, an HIV-positive and third homes have been hit hard by the You won’t see much of his personality in guy is going through a bankruptcy and in fallen real estate market. We handle a large the ads for Attorney George Castrataro. He number of gay separations in which there is the course of this he receives a retroactive seems much more genuinely absorbed in the property held jointly. Many of our clients are Social Security payment that a bank might lives of his clients than in his own, and that want to grab. I like diving into that kind of negatively equitized, meaning they are not may be the best reason for hiring him. technical stuff. I don’t want my clients to fighting over how much each will get, but ever lose what they should not lose.” over how much each will owe.”

George works a very long day and is selfGeorge’s practice has grown rapidly in For more information about The Law Offices of both the straight and gay communities. Only effacing when questioned about his private life. George Castrataro, PA: http://www.lawgc.com/

The Unpremeditated George Castrataro