11/09/11 V2I44 by South Florida Gay News

November 9, 2011 • Volume 2 • Issue 44

e g a i r r a M ‘ Equality’

Why Language Matters page 10

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

page

An Evening in ‘Paradise’

page

Voices of Equality Gala

page

Interview: LeAnn Rimes

page

TRAVEL:

Tales of the Canyon

Winner of the 2011 Stars of the Rainbow Media Star Award November 9, 2011 • Volume 2 • Issue 44

SoundBiteQ

Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis

THE REGULARS

By Karl Hampe

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Notes from Publisher Norm… New newsworthy news

Broward Commission Passes Rights Benefits, NGLCC honors Secretary of Labor

Norm Kent Publisher norm.kent@sfgn.com Pier Angelo Guidugli

ust as we go to press, the Broward County Commission is passing an ordinance, which will become Florida’s first countywide Equal Benefits Ordinance (EBO). The impact of the measure is that it will require the county’s vendors to provide employees’ domestic partners with benefits equal to those offered to spouses of married employees. The ordinance places Broward County’s domestic partnership policies among the strongest in the country. In recent years EBOs have been adopted as a state law in California. The ordinance was introduced by Mayor Sue Gunzburger and was cosponsored by all members of the commission.   Speaking of laws, the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers’ Network has added to its Executive Board Monica Salis, a well-respected Family Law attorney practicing in Wilton Manors. An intriguing talk last Thursday to the group on ‘Mindfulness Meditation’ by Michael Kasten, on ways to deal with stress, other than by yelling and screaming, which is so much more satisfying, right? We want to welcome a local neighbor as an advertiser. Lipton Toyota is not only the first place I ever bought a car in South Florida 30 years ago, they are a great community oriented business as well. I have seen firsthand their participation in the American Cancer Society and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Their dealership, located just west of I-95, on Oakland Park Boulevard, also sells the popular Scion brand.

Michael Kasten

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

National Notes The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) will honor the work of U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis with the NGLCC/American Airlines ExtrAA Mile Award for her tireless commitment to promoting equal employment laws for LGBT people at their annual conference on Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C. In addition to Secretary Solis, NGLCC will honor Wells Fargo and Company with its Pinnacle Award and Ernst & Young as the ‘corporation of the Year.’ The event brings together more than 900 LGBT entrepreneurs, business owners; affiliate leaders, and corporate allies from around the globe, including representatives from Fortune 500 companies.

Chief Executive Officer Creative Director. . . . . . . . . George Dauphin george.dauphin@sfgn.com Online Website Director. . . . . Dennis Jozefowicz Office Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . Brian Swinford

Editorial Editor in Chief. . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Parsley jason.parsley@sfgn.com Arts/Entertainment Editor . . . JW Arnold jw@prdconline.com Arts Correspondent. . . . . . . . Mary Damiano Business Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Gary Senior Features Correspondents . . . . . . . . . . T ony Adams Jesse Monteagudo Correspondents. . . . . . . . . . . P aul Domenick Ed Donato Donald Cavanaugh Lisa Lucas Denise Royal Michael Anguille Contributing Columnists. . . . W ayne Besen Susan Estrich Brian McNaught Victoria Michaels Leslie Robinson Dana Rudolph Health Columnist. . . . . . . . . . Peter Jackson Editorial Cartoonists. . . . . . . S teve Sack Darryl Smith

Sales

Marketing Director. . . . . . . . . Sales Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . Palm Beach Marketing . . . . . . Miami/Dade . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

J ohn Fugate Mike Trottier Mark Possien Terri Esterby

National Sales Representative.Rivendell Media todd@rivendellmedia.com Distribution Managers. . . . . . JR Davis, Kenneth Justeen 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.

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November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Community Announcement

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Pantry of Broward Needs Your Help spaghetti sauce, macaroni and cheese, pasta, ramen noodles, oatmeal, tuna and other canned meats, Spaghetti O’s, beef stew and ravioli. “This food drive is essential for the Pantry of Broward to fulfill our mission and serve the individuals and families that are in need of food in our communities,” said Terrence Smalley, Volunteers sorting out donations made through the postal service Director of Marketing and Online Services. The food products we supply to families in eginning Monday, November 1, need provide much needed nourishment 2011, 75 Bank of America locations for their body. Perhaps just as importantly, throughout Broward County will this food provides hope for the future. This join forces with the Pantry of Broward to project will enable the Pantry of Broward help feed senior citizens and grandparents raising their grandchildren this holiday season. to more efficiently distribute food products, and better serve our community during this It isn’t news that many families are strugholiday season.” gling during the economic downturn that has occurred over the past few years. Increasingly, the face of hunger in Broward County For more information, visit www.thepanis someone we know. The Pantry of Broward tryofbroward.org/ or email Lydya@ThePanserves seniors in need on low fixed incomes tryofBroward.org for participating bank and grandparents raising their grandchildren. locations. Seniors get one delivery per month of 55 About The Pantry of Broward: pounds of food. During the Bank of America The Pantry of Broward is a non-profit orgafood drive, we hope to collect 12,000 pounds nization serving seniors on low fixed incomes of food, but we need your help to do it. and grandparents raising their grandchildren To meet the ever-increasing growing in Broward County. The Pantry is committed demand, the Pantry of Broward will have to providing resources designed to enrich, enlighten and ease the strain of the everyday boxes at 75 Bank of America locations this living their clients. The Pantry of Broward not month to collect nonperishable food. Every only supplies much needed food, but also a donation is appreciated, large or small. If you continuum of care including health care and can participate in this season’s food drive, insurance resources, food stamp registration, suggested food items include jelly, Hamburgaffordable housing solutions and more. er Helper, Jell-O, peanut butter, cereal, chili,

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Local News

MCC Struggles to Feed the Needy

Church turns to TV to help with food pantry

By Donald Cavanaugh

hannel 12 news reporter, Emily Pantelides, did a feature story on “the little church that could,” highlighting the food pantry of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of the Palm Beaches in Palm Beach Gardens on Monday evening Oct 24. Featuring the pastor, Rev. Dr. Lea Brown, and Denny Merrifield, lay manager of the food bank, the video highlighted the church’s mission to feed the hungry. “My congregation has a unique experience of often being turned away [for being LGBT] so we never want to turn away anyone,” said Brown on the video. “The food bank is a passion for our members,” said Merrifield on the video. “The amazing thing is some weeks the number of people coming to the food pantry outnumbers the members who come to church.” “When I first got here the food pantry was feeding about 1,000 people a month,” Brown said. “Now we’re at 2,000 a month and availability of food and financial support are down.” She also noted that government-funded Feeding South Florida, a major source for

no-cost/low-cost foodstuffs, has fallen short as well. “So we’ve had to buy from grocery stores and that gets awfully expensive,” she said, adding that she has been meeting with local stores and national chains to enlist their assistance. “We’ve doubled in a year,” Merrifield said. “So has just about everyone else. I worry about next year and the year after that. How can we have so many hungry people in this country? Just this Thursday close to 400 new people, 116 families, came for food. People drop off as they get on their feet but more are coming than are leaving.” “We hope the feature on Channel 12 will help us find people who want to feed the hungry,” Brown said. “Money is the best gift we can get right now but we welcome fresh produce which is terribly expensive and we’ll always accept non-perishables.” You can see the video at http://bit.ly/vpM14A and can help keep the pantry doors open at MCC with a donation. Visit MccPalmBeach. org, Email the pastor at lea@mccpalmbeach.org or call the church office at 561-7750980 to find out how to help.

Where Business Comes to Succeed. For advertising opportunities, call 954-530-4970

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Business News

Bona Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar Serving up delicious eats since 1979

By Brian Swinford

ow many times have you been out and about town and were craving some authentic Italian food? Bona Café Italian Restaurant has been in Wilton Manors since 1979. Bona’s is set up as an old 70’s pizzeria style restaurant with great seating facing Wilton Drive. Try some of Bona Café’s signature dishes, like Tortellini a la Bona ($17.95), and their Sea Bass and seafood are outstanding. All of their entrees come with soup or salad, and mouthwatering garlic rolls. Another great dish to try is the Lobster Ravioli in Pink Vodka Sauce, which is made with real lobster and fresh pasta. But don’t forget Bona still has the crowd favorites, like Eggplant Parmesan ($7.95), Chicken Parmesan ($7.95), and Zuppa Di Pesce ($23.95), which is made with clams, mussels, calamari, and shrimp, red or white wine over linguine. And even if you can’t make it in to the restaurant you can still enjoy their delicious eats with their delivery service. Chef Serol has been with Bona for 20

years, which says a lot about the quality of the restaurant. He cooks delicious dishes from spaghetti to Calamari Marinara. His dishes will have your mouth watering and your stomach wanting more. New to Bona is one of Wilton Manors’ best kept secrets: an incredible wine bar located on the right side of the restaurant.The bar is decorated with great classy art, and also has very comfortable seating. Some of their wines not to miss are the Velvet Double that goes for $7 per glass or $18 for the bottle. They also offer a monthly wine special. This month it’s Malbec, a great wine for dinner with a smooth taste. The wine bar is only open on the weekends during season. For great discounts become a friend on Facebook or print the coupons on their webpage Bonaitalianrestaurant.com. They can also be reached at 954-565-7222. They are located at 2468 Wilton Drive. Their hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Pride Center’s “Evening in Paradise” Raises 50K By Paul Domenick

photos by paul domenick

he Pride Center in Fort Lauderdale held the fundraiser “An Evening in Paradise” at the home of Jim Walker and Lee Rubin Thursday night. Walker and Rubin were also co-chairs of the event, including Irwin Drucker and Joe Guerrero. Their goal was to raise $50,000 for the center. Michael Holtz, Mr. Gay USA 2011 (who also holds the title of 2nd. Mr. World), greeted party-goers, taking his photo alongside fans, who had the option of purchasing their photos from photographer, Steven Shires. Board member, Irwin Drucker, organized the food, putting catering from TJ Sushi, Mojo’s, Courtyard Cafe, Rodeo, Dapur, Kilwans, and Melting Pot on the menu. Michael Tank, a DJ for The Manor, created the musical atmosphere. Ticket sales, sponsorship, and a donor’s silent auction alone raised $43,000. But an anonymous donor decided to match everything made at the party; money made on the raffle and photos, therefore, would be equaled, and eventually exceeded the $50,000 goal. Steve Wetzler and Brad Stang are avid supporters of The Pride Center. Both men regularly attend meetings and events held at the center. Stang said, “There is never enough resources for the gay community, but the Pride Center provides so much more than ever expected.”

DJ for The Manor, Michael Tank

Michael Holtz, Mr. Gay USA 2011, takes photos next to party-goers to help raise funds.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

‘Oneness’ Event Planned for 11-11-11 Local photographers aim to bring together the straight, LGBT communities through art

By Michael Anguille

valyn calhoun

“I

’ve seen more breasts in my four years than most straight guys could hope to see in a lifetime,” says Susan Buzzi, a 52-year-old freelance photographer from Davie. Having the opportunity to see breasts, however, is less a matter of play and more a necessity. It’s her job. To date, she’s photographed more than 200 women through numerous stages of their battles with cancer. For three of her past four years, Buzzi was contracted by the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Foundation and her fourth year was spent working directly with Broward General Hospital. One of her subjects, Bernadette Zizzo, was recently featured in a South Florida Gay News article chronicling her battle with breast cancer. “Susan was so supportive through the process,” Zizzo says. “Having her there just reinforced the fact that there are not only supporters of the gay community, but artists who can help spread the word about this disease, the communities it affects and helps us all [breast cancer victims] receive some sort of recognition in far reaching outlets.” Buzzi says that though most of her subjects are assigned to her, Zizzo was a

susan buzzi

most pleasant surprise. “Her attitude was so positive and she had a radiance about her that I seldom see,” Buzzi says. “She knew she was going to make it, and without even taking a picture, I knew that she had the fighting spirit that it takes to beat breast cancer.” And beat it she did. After a double mastectomy, breast implantation and their subsequent removal due to infection, Zizzo is still in the recovery process. In the meantime, Buzzi is staying focused on her work. The next project in which she is intimately involved is slated for 11-11-11 and is being dubbed the “Oneness Event.” “The way the event came together was really organic. 11-11-11 doesn’t come around very much, and the organizers thought it appropriate that some sort of event be put together that would play deeper in to the significance of the date,” she says. “On the surface, it’s just another date. But when you look further, Oneness is about solidarity. It’s about every “one” coming together.” The event, which will be held at The Bubble, 810 NE Fourth Ave., will run from 6 p.m. to midnight and feature a bevy of art from local artists across all genres. It will also include interpretive dance exhibitions, improvised music from local bands and give A photo depicting a woman in yoga-like position. This is individuals the opportunity to only one of numerous photographic styles and themes Buzzi will be showcasing at the Oneness Event. participate in the construc-

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

tion of an artistic mural, which they will all have a hand in. Valyn Calhoun, a 28-year-old gay artist and designer from Wilton Manors, will also have an exhibit on hand at the event and stresses that the importance of “Oneness” far transcends its billing as an art-centric event. “There is a lot of unrest and uneasiness that I’d attribute to a collective change in consciousness and this is about bringing all these collective ideas in to one,” he says. “The event is not only gay friendly, but idea friendly. We want to help bring these voices of unrest together and show them they are not alone and show that we’ve taken the

first step in acknowledging the disconnect and attempting to repair it – at least on the local level.” He and Buzzi are also conducting local outreach in attempts to bridge the gaps, which they see as hindrances in getting people to unify. One of the communities Calhoun is focused on is downtown Fort Lauderdale – and for good reason as far as he sees it. “I go to Fort Lauderdale and hand out fliers because there is not a lot of support between our neighboring communities as there should be,” he says. “To get as many straight people involved as possible and let them know that we feel their pain, gay or not, is what this is all about.” He adds, “Without mutual understanding of the issues we face, and how we can best start a dialogue on them, we will stay a disorganized group of people on the macro level who all have issues, but have not come together sufficiently to help move forward in addressing them.” For both Buzzi and Calhoun, the goal is simple: use art to help draw people from different communities to an event where they are all welcome — where their opinions matter. And where being gay or straight takes a back seat to being together as people.

Molly Earnest, Esq. and Paula Tighe, Esq. representing YOUR life for over 20 years in South Florida. n

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SFGN BRIEFS

Dr. Frank Kameny

Civil Service Commission to eventually abandon its policy of denying homosexuals federal employment. Kameny led efforts to remove homosexuality as a basis for denying government security clearances. He was also involved in the first legal challenge to the U.S. military’s policy of discharging gay and lesbian service members, including the much-publicized case of gay Air Force Sergeant Leonard Matlovich. Kameny played a leading role in attacking the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) definition of homosexuality as a mental illness. In 1973, the APA voted to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders. In 1998, President Clinton signed an Executive Order banning discrimination in federal employment based upon sexual orientation. For years, Dr. Kameny’s residence at 5020 Cathedral Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC, served as a meeting place, archives, informal counseling center, headquarters of the Mattachine Society, and a safe haven for visiting gay and lesbian activists. It was here that Dr. Franklin E. Kameny developed the civil rights strategies and tactics that have come to define the modern gay rights movement. Visit NPS.gov for more information.

cutting-edge tools to address the challenges posed by this epidemic. Featured speakers include White House Office of National AIDS Policy Director Jeff Crowley and Dr. Mary Wakefield from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Dr. Julio Montaner, from the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/ AIDS, will discuss treatment as prevention, and the exciting results of HIV Prevention Trials Network study 052. Other highlights include Elton John AIDS Foundation Chairman David Furnish, CNN anchor Don Lemon and a screening of the new documentary We Were Here. The theme of this year’s USCA is “Make Change Real: Unite. Speak. Act.” and the target population is gay men and other men

Nation’s Largest AIDS Conf. Nov. 10-13 in Chicago

or the first time in its 14-year history, the U.S. Conference on AIDS, the largest annual AIDS-related gathering in the country, will take place in Chicago. Aimed at increasing the strength and diversity of the community response to HIV/AIDS, USCA brings together thousands of caseworkers, care givers, advocates and people living with AIDS to network, exchange the latest information and learn

he Nadadores of South Florida, one of Miami-Dade County’s longest-running sports teams, will host its 11th annual Noche Nadadores fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Design Within Reach furniture studio in South Beach. This year’s event will benefit the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and will feature a swimsuit fashion show, a silent auction, gourmet treats and open bars sponsored by Rökk Vodka. This year’s event will benefit the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and will feature a swimsuit fashion show with a variety of swimsuit designs. Proceeds from the event will support the Nadadores’ all-inclusive year-round swim program in Miami. “The Nadadores of South Florida is comprised of a diverse group of swimmers committed to giving back to the community that has given us so much during the last 16 years,” said Kirk Arthur, team captain of the Nadadores. “We’re excited to partner this year with GLAAD, which has really given the LGBT community a voice.” Contact Diego Suarez at 305-8034192; Chris Gates at 305-527-3588 or email nadadores@nadadores.org for more information.Visit Nadadores.org for more information.

Ft. Lauderdale Swim to Benefit GLAAD on Nov. 12

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he National Park Service has recognized the historic significance of gay rights activist Dr. Franklin E. Kameny, by listing his home in the National Register of Historic Places. “Dr. Kameny led a newly militant activism in the fledgling gay civil rights of the 1960s,” said NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “He was a landmark figure in articulating and achieving gay civil rights in federal employment and security clearance cases, and in reversing the medical community’s view on homosexuality as a mental disorder.” Kameny’s efforts in the civil rights movement, modeled in part on African American civil rights strategies and tactics, significantly altered the rights, perceptions, and role of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered people in American society. Franklin Kameny (1925-2011) was a Harvard trained astronomer and World War II veteran. In 1957, Dr. Kameny was fired from his job with the Army Map Service for refusing to answer questions about his sexual orientation. Based upon an Executive Order issued by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, thousands of men and women lost their federal civil service jobs solely due to their sexual orientation, based upon a belief that homosexuality posed a security risk. Dr. Kameny waged a four-year legal fight against the idea that sexual orientation could make one unfit for federal service. Although the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case, it was the first time that an equalrights claim had been made on the basis of sexual orientation. In 1961 Kameny co-founded the Mattachine Society of Washington, an organization committed, through activism to achieving equal social and legal rights for homosexuals. Through lobbying of government officials, testifying before congressional committees, bringing court challenges, and picketing the White House, Kameny and his allies pressured the U.S.

Eleventh Annual Noche Nadadores Fundraiser Nov. 12 DC Virago

Nat’l Park Service Lists Gay Activist’s House as ‘Historic Place’

who have sex with men (MSM). Recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates of new HIV infections highlight the continued and persistent impact this epidemic has had on gay men, especially gay men of color. Visit Nmac.org for more information.

Don Lemon

he Nadadores will sponsor the first ever GET AMPED! South Florida, a 1.5-mile swim helping GLAAD to amplify the voice of the LGBT community. The GET AMPED! swim will bring together residents, visitors and local businesses in support of equality. Contact Diego Suarez at 305-8034192; Chris Gates at 305-527-3588 or email nadadores@nadadores.org for more information.Visit Nadadores.org for more information.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

ollowing the on-campus assault of a gay 15-year-old student caught on cell phone video, more than 4,000 people have joined a campaign on Change. org calling upon the Union-Scioto School District in Chillicothe, Ohio, to pass an antibullying policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. Bret Thompson launched the campaign on Change.org after the assault, which no one stepped in to stop. The 15-year-old’s attacker received only a three-day suspension for the assault. “I started this petition on Change. org because I know Ohio and this attack does not reflect our values,” said Thompson. “Every child has the right to learn in a safe environment, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” The Union-Scioto Ohio School District has adopted anti-harassment policies that include sex, race, color, national origin, religion, and disability, but have not specifically moved to protect against harassment or bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Thompson’s campaign also calls for the expulsion of the attacker. Rebecca Collins, the victim’s mother, told reporters she wants criminal charges pressed against the attacker – including federal hate crime charges. “It’s clear from the huge support for Bret Thompson’s campaign on Change.org that Ohio citizens want school districts to ensure that schools are safe for all students, including LGBT students” said Joe Mirabella, orga-

nizing manager for Change.org, the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change. “Change.org is all about empowering anyone, anywhere, to take action on the issues they care about, and it is remarkable how much support Thompson has been able to recruit for his campaign in just a few days.” Visit Change.org for more information.

Homophobe Threatens Suit Against Columnist Wayne Besen

ruth Wins Out responded today to a frivolous lawsuit threat by Linda Harvey, an anti-gay talk radio host and the president of Mission America. Harvey warned Truth Wins Out of possible legal action in a Twitter post last week. Harvey was upset about a column that TWO’s Executive Director Wayne Besen wrote about her titled, “The Most Homophobic Woman in America.” She was also angry that the column linked her to supporting Uganda’s draconian “Anti-Homosexuality Bill,” which includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” “Need to woman-up for Besen’s truthfree abuse. Never advocated killing anyone. He needs prayer and maybe a lawsuit?” Harvey tweeted. “Bring it on,” Besen said. “We hope that such a case would be aired on television so we can expose Harvey’s vile words in a court of law and in the court of public opinion. It’s bizarre that Harvey is upset because we quoted her verbatim, which tells me that on some level she is ashamed of her own hateful rhetoric.” TWO has obtained the services of notable Fort Lauderdale attorney Norm Kent, who is also the publisher of SFGN. Kent says it is likely that Harvey’s threat is empty because her claim has no merit. “Linda Harvey’s legal threats are frivolous and if they rested on any shakier legal ground they would be measured by the Richter Scale. I can only surmise her tweets

are a pathetic and desperate ploy for attention,” Kent said. “We look forward to her next move and will take appropriate action.” The centerpiece of Harvey’s tweet was that she “never advocated for killing anyone” in Uganda. While it is true that Harvey never explicitly said, “I want to kill gay people in Uganda,” she admits during a March 2010 speech at Grosse Pointe, Michigan that she and anti-gay activist Scott Lively actually worked on the anti-homosexuality bill, which would imprison and murder LGBT people in that country. According to Harvey’s speech: “The fact they are re-criminalizing homosexuality is (a) their business, (b) it is patronizing for white Westerners to be telling these folks - they are seeing George Soros funded gay groups going into Uganda. They are all through the schools, lots of promotion to kids. Poor kids, poor kids are being offered money and favors and gifts to have sex. That’s exploitation. That’s sex trafficking. And it’s being done mostly homosexually. By Western homosexuals coming in and trying to get involved in Uganda.” Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism and the “ex-gay” myth.TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.

Gaga Launches Foundation to Combat Bullying By Associated Press ady Gaga is launching a foundation with the help of the MacArthur Foundation and Harvard University. The Grammy-winning singer announced Wednesday that she is launching the Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on youth empowerment and “issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development.” Gaga’s partners include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,The California Endowment and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

Nick Knight

Thousands Demand Ohio School Dist. Protect LGBT Students

Gaga

The foundation will be directed by the 25-year-old singer and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta. “Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment,” Gaga said in a statement. The multiplatinum singer is known for speaking out for others. She recently said she wanted to meet with President Barack Obama to discuss her concerns over bullying, and she visited Maine last year to support the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays. She has won Grammys, released three platinum efforts - including her latest album, “Born This Way” - and has a massive online presence: The singer has over 15 million Twitter followers and 44 million Facebook fans. “Lady Gaga will help empower and give voice to young people who find themselves overwhelmed, undersupported, disconnected, isolated, bullied, or struggling,” said Dr. Bob Ross, the CEO and president of The California Endowment. “This brand of leadership is sorely needed in today’s world.” The official launch for the Born This Way Foundation will be next year, and an advisory board will be announced soon. Visit BornThisWayFoundation.org.

IMMIGRATION LAW ATTORNEY Attorney At Law 12000 Biscayne Blvd Suite 704, Miami, FL 33181 P.305-899-0333 F.305-899-9005 November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Questions About Residency? Asylum? Deportation?

Language Matters in Fight for Marriage Equality Polls show different results depending on wording of question

By Dana Rudolph Keen News Service

ew polls on marriage equality in seven states show mostly positive results for marriage equality advocates but polls in two of the states indicate that the way the questions are asked can significantly affect the results. In five states Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Washington, and Hawaii a majority of people surveyed support marriage for same-sex couples. In another state, Maryland, supporters and opponents are almost evenly divided. And in another state, North Carolina, opponents have the edge, but “the semantics [of the question] make a huge difference,” according to the polling firm. In New Jersey, which currently allows same-sex couples to enter civil unions, 52 percent of adults surveyed said they support legalizing “gay marriage,” versus 36 percent oppose, three percent who support civil unions instead, and nine percent who say they don’t know, according to a Rutgers-

Come and meet author, Brian McNaught present

OUR STARS EXHIBIT On Saturday, November 19th at 2 PM at The Stonewall National Museum & Archives 1300 E Sunrise Blvd in Fort Lauderdale If you havenʼt visited the Stonewall in a while or have never been there, come join Dignity Ft Lauderdale for some Saturday afternoon fun.

For more information on this or other Dignity Fort Lauderdale sponsored activities, please visit DignityFTL.org or email Dignityftl@bellsouth.net

Eagleton Poll released October 28. But when people were asked if they support “marriage equality,” 61 percent of adults said yes, versus 25 percent opposed, two percent supporting civil unions instead, three percent unfamiliar with the term, and nine percent who did not know. The wording change was particularly strong in certain groups. When the term “marriage equality” was used instead of “gay marriage,” support among those who never attended college climbed 25 points to 66 percent, among men it rose 16 points to 63 percent, and among Catholics it rose 14 points to 63 percent. Among people 65 and over, the change caused results to flip, from 53 percent opposed and 32 percent in favor to 33 percent opposed and 49 percent in favor. In North Carolina, language also matters. An existing state law already bans marriage of same-sex couples, but a measure will appear on the May 2012 primary ballot asking people to vote “for” or “against” a “Constitutional amendment to provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.” Supporters of the measure say the amendment is needed so courts cannot declare the statute unconstitutional. Among likely primary voters who were asked a question that mimicked the language of the bill, 61 percent said they would vote for it, versus 34 percent against, according to a poll by Public Policy Polling released October 7. Five percent were not sure. But in a poll by the same firm last month, 55 percent of voters were against the amendment, with only 30 percent in favor. The difference? The phrasing of the question. Last month, the survey question asked, “State legislators have proposed an amendment to the North Carolina Constitution that would prohibit the recognition of marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples. If the election was held today, would you vote for or against this amendment?” Public Policy Polling explained on its Web site, “Voters are against ‘prohibiting’ recognition for gay couples. But if you word it in such a way that all you’re doing is defining marriage as between one man and one woman, voters are ok with that.” “The semantics make a huge difference and Republicans clearly know what they’re doing w ith the language that’s on the ballot.”

Do you support legalizing “gay marriage?”

9%don’t know 3%

support “civil unions” instead

Do you support “marriage equality?”

9%don’t know

unfamiliar with term

52% 36% Support

Oppose

support “civil unions” instead

25%

Oppose

61%

Support

RUTGERS-EAGLETON NEW JERSEY POLL Two additional states, Maryland and Washington, might also see ballot measures next year. In Maryland, a bill to enact marriage equality failed narrowly last March, but Governor Martin O’Malley (D) has announced that he will sponsor a new bill in the 2012 legislative session. Even if the new bill does pass, however, opponents have said they will petition for a voter referendum in November 2012. Voters in the state are almost evenly divided on the issue, according to a poll by Gonzales Research & Marketing Strategies released October 4: 48 percent would favor a state law allowing same-sex couples to marry, “giving them the same legal rights as heterosexual married couples in areas such as tax exemptions, inheritance and pension coverage.” But 49 percent would oppose it. Three percent had no opinion. And in Washington State, which currently allows same-sex couples to enter domestic partnerships that have all the state rights and responsibilities of marriage, two openly gay legislators are considering whether to introduce legislation for full marriage equality next year. If they do and the bill passes, opponents could then try to petition for a referendum. The Washington Poll, a non-partisan survey from the University of Washington, asked voters in October how they would vote in a hypothetical referendum. A total of 55 percent said they would vote “yes” to keep a marriage equality law, and 38 percent said they would vote against the law. Seven percent were undecided. In New Hampshire, marriage equality has

been a reality for two years but is under attack. State Rep. David Bates (R-Rockingham) told the Associated Press November 1 that he is dropping his effort to pass a state constitutional amendment to ban marriage for samesex couples. He said he was doing so to make it easier for Republicans in the legislature to focus on passing a simple repeal of that law. But he made his announcement just two weeks after a WMUR Granite State Poll released October 13 indicated voters do not approve of repeal: 62 percent of adults surveyed opposed repeal, 27 percent support repeal, and 11 percent were neutral or did not know. A constitutional amendment requires approval by three-fifths of each chamber and approval by two-thirds of the voters. The issue in New Hampshire could have broader political implications, too. New Hampshire hosts the first-in-the-nation Republican presidential primary in January. And the survey showed 44 percent are more likely to vote against a candidate who favors repeal of the existing law, while only 14 percent say they will be less likely to support a candidate who opposes it. And in Maine, where voters overturned a marriage equality law in 2009, 51 percent of voters said it should be legal for same-sex couples to marry and 42 said it should remain illegal (17 percent were not sure). That represents a 15-point reversal from 2009, according to Public Policy Polling results released November 2. For the complete article, go to: sfgn.com/language

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

International News

Authorities Nab Man in Gay Flight Attendant’s Death By Associated Press

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hotel employees to check Aaronson’s room Saturday and his naked olice arrested a young body was found lying on the floor, man Monday for allegwith his hands tied behind his back. edly killing a US AirMancera said Ramirez had a ways flight attendant in his Mexcriminal record and had been reico City hotel room and stealing leased from a Mexico City prison his belongings and the safe dein June. He said the suspect was posit box. Nick Aaronson identified after studying the hoAuthorities said 20-year-old Jose Manuel Ramirez beat flight attendant tel’s surveillance videos. When officers paraded Ramirez before Nick Aaronson and then strangled him with a belt. Police said the victim was 27, journalists Monday, he told reporters that he had turned himself at the bar where authoribut other reports said he was 33. Chief prosecutor Miguel Mancera said ties said he and Aaronson met. Ramirez said with profane language that Ramirez and Aaronson arrived at the downtown Hilton early Friday and went he only punched Aaronson twice but into the room together. Mancera said the at- sisted he did not kill the victim. He claimed tack and theft happened shortly after that, a 15-year-old friend was responsible for but added that he did not know how much the slaying of Aaronson, who was based in money was reportedly stolen and what was Phoenix, Arizona. Mancera said Ramirez will remain in cusin the safe box. Other US Airways flight attendants asked tody of prosecutors before seeing a judge.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

The Transvestigator

Assistance Needed for Trans-Community

By Victoria Michaels

ance companies to provide these medical procedures for those who qualify. Victoria Michaels is the reigning Miss Florida 2011 F.I. and serves as an advocate for the LGBT community. She is transgender (male to female), and before her transition in 1999 she was a student at the College Of Philadelphia and worked as a show producer at WDEL AM News radio in Delaware. She is currently a premiere emcee at Boardwalk Bar in Fort Lauderdale. Visit Missfla.com or Myspace.com/missvictoriamichaels for more information. Email her at VictoriaMichales@aol.com.

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said. “In 1997, I came out as a butch lesbian and lived most of my life as such. However, as time went on, living [that way] had me feeling like I was living incomplete and untrue to myself.’ Throughout life transsexuals face many hurdles such as society, the medical establishment, the common loss of all family and friends, the cost of treatment, and the inner turmoil of selfdoubt and conditioned self loathing of their condition. It’s been estimated that about 50 percent do not survive the malady, ending up dead by the age of 30, usually by their own hand. There is tremendous social bigotry -- and often outright violence-- expressed toward transsexuals, and this makes life difficult. Some transsexuals who have successfully transitioned choose varying degrees of secrecy about their state and history. Other transsexuals never succeed in transforming physically and tend to suffer extreme depression that sometimes leads to an early death. Beck and I would like to create an awareness within our local LGBT community of a growing need for transsexuals to assist with transitioning. We are hoping to encourage local entertainers and organizations to host some benefit shows and fundraiser projects. Transsexuality occurs equally in both males and females, and is caused by factors such as a critically timed hormonal release caused by stress in the mother, or by the presence of hormone mimicking chemicals present during critical development, which interfere with fetal development. It also occurs independently of sexual orientation, and occurs in humans and in other animals, such as apes, monkeys, dogs, and cats. The standard treatment is to reassign the transsexual to the opposite sex, a process involving hormones and surgery. Speaking from personal experience, it’s a relief in today’s world to learn how advanced the medical field has become if one wants to change their gender. But once we learn how costly the procedures are we

often find ourselves disappointed and depressed because it’s just another hurdle that seems impossible to cross. Beck and I are hoping to gain support from the LGBT community to assist us in our cause. We are open for suggestions as well to seek other avenues to raise money. Our ultimate dream is to have the LGBT community come together and start bringing this issue to our politicians, the medical community, and insurance companies so that they recognize the seriousness nature of this situation and offer the Transgender community much needed assistance from health insur-

Beck Lewis

his week I interviewed a transmale who inspired me to look at ways we can educate the LGBT community and provide financial assistance to transsexuals who are in need for financial assistance for their transition. First let me define what a transsexual is: basically they are people are literally and physically, trapped in a body of the opposite sex. The inspiration for this column came from local transgender male model, Beck Lewis, who is featured in a 2012 Transsexual Calendar, which is on sale at www.thetcal.org. Right now he’s in the middle of transition and unfortunately doesn’t have the money to pay for the rest. So far he’s had testosterone treatments and has had his name legally changed. Beck is a remarkable individual and wants to obtain his masters degree in mental health counseling or social work so that he will be able to help the trans-community. He is very handsome and says that the testosterone treatments have helped, yet he still feels incomplete because he still has breasts and can’t afford the mastectomy surgery, which is needed to finalize his masculine appearance and boast self-esteem. “As far back as I can remember I always felt like a boy and I want to clarify that I never felt like a tomboy, as that is not a gender. I always saw myself as one of the guys and would often feel ignored and saddened if others treated me as though I wasn’t,” Beck

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Editorial

November 9, 2011

Obama Wrong on Pot Crackdown Norm Kent, Publisher

ay men and women smoke pot, and we are not alone. Straight men and women do too. In fact, let’s be real. Most of the country does. That is why in state after state, and ballot after ballot, voters are decriminalizing marijuana use and possession. Marijuana is now legal under state law for medical purposes in 16 states and the District of Columbia, encompassing nearly one-third of the American population. More than 1,000 dispensaries provide medical marijuana; many are well regulated by state and local law authorities and pay substantial taxes. But though more than 70 percent of Americans support legalizing medical marijuana, any use of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Last week, the Drug Policy Alliance held its annual convention in California. In forum after forum, professionals from all walks of life, from law enforcement to science, called for the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana. In fact, when he ran for President, Barack Obama stated publicly, on more than one occasion, that he would use his office to help create a more reasoned federal policy. Specifically, the future president, as a candidate, promised he would not waste or expend federal dollars to impede state policies. Call it a campaign promise broken. The candidate who once defended the medical use of marijuana is now using Justice Department resources to override state laws on the issue. In the past month alone, federal authorities have done everything in their power to undermine state and local regulation of medical marijuana, particularly in California, where I have dual residency and a medical marijuana card. Obama’s silence speaks volumes. This is happening on his watch. United States attorneys have recently authored letters warning dispensaries that regardless of state law, they have 45 days to shut down. Prosecutors have threatened to seize the property of landlords and put them behind bars for renting to marijuana dispensaries. One US attorney has even promised to start targeting media outlets

that run dispensaries’ ads, and many LGBT publications do. This administration is now engaging a shock and awe campaign on dispensaries that is greater than one ever launched by the previous Bush administration. It is an inexcusable disgrace. Calling the federal government “bullies,” Drug Policy Alliance Director, Ethan Nadelmann, stated in a New York Times Op Ed “None of this makes any sense in terms of public safety, health or fiscal policy… Federal crackdowns will not stop the trade in marijuana; they will only push it back underground and hurt those patients least able to navigate illicit markets.” Columnists and not politicians are protesting, to little avail. The situation with the Obama Administration and marijuana is not unlike AIDS. Under the Bush Administration, we never heard of ADAP waiting lists. People got their meds. A Democratic administration and a Democratic president took over the federal government and no AIDS patient got any more treatment, care, or funding. In fact, your situation has been compromised. As World AIDS Day approaches, think of how many HIV patients use marijuana medicinally. Think of how many use dispensaries to get their medicines. Think of how much safer it is to acquire marijuana from a clinic than a street corner. Despite this, few candidates or politicians protest. Locally, even Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, supportive of the LGBT community in so many ways, refuses to be a voice for medical marijuana and its consumers. If you live in Florida, you can defend your use of marijuana medically, but only if you get arrested and go to jail first. It is time for gay men and women to come out of the closet about our use of marijuana, medically and recreationally. It is time we did for cannabis what we did for gay rights, breaking down the doors of dishonesty and opening up the room for truth. It’s time for the people to start ‘Occupy Reefer,’ to blow smoke in the faces of the Obama Administration. I’d like to tell you to smoke a joint in public today, but in our Neanderthal state you could go to jail for that.

Letter to the Editor

Our own Darryl Smith enjoying Halloween

How to Ruin Halloween in Wilton Manors 1. Don’t request money from the bars and restaurants to close off the Drive since those businesses make more money off of Halloween than any other business along the Drive. 2. Don’t have a Saturday night celebration so less people will come, stay out late, spend money and have fun. 3. Don’t put a tent up to cover your event so that costumes will be ruined or people won’t show up because of rain. 4. Don’t give cash prizes or all the prizes in cash at costume contests so tourists won’t enter who can’t cash in their prize from a local business.

5. Don’t move your portable stage or the costume contest inside because of rain so people have to stand in or next to a large puddle of water to watch near live electrical equipment and cords. 6. Keep hiring mean Drag Queens who denigrate and insult the contestants so no one would ever want to be up on a stage in a costume ever again. 7. Let the loud-mouths in the crowd choose who wins costume contests instead of an impartial panel of judges who might reward originality and creativity instead of contestants who slap on a on a wig, t-shirt, jeans, shorts, or a bathing suit and some make-up and imitate celebrities with substance abuse issues since the Gay community is already so well balanced with the proof being the higher than average per capita substance abuse statistics that couldn’t possibly have anything to do with peer pressure and who Gays with the same issues emulate. 8. Be sure to always put in your top finalist contestant group those who spent lots of money to look more like they should be at Carnival in Rio or Mardi Gras in New Orleans than at Halloween because Gays should send the same message like the rest of America does that only people with money are creative and original and that Gays want to be the same as everyone else. 9. Give out liquor as prizes for best costumes to drive away any contestants who don’t drink and send the message that booze is a valuable gift to be given. Richard Claycomb, Fort Lauderdale

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

McNaught’s Notes

Flabby Muscles and Fleeting Fame

By Brian McNaught

protested as I used a squeegee to scrape the water from the shower door. “I didn’t have to do this in Dallas,” I said to Ray in mock disbelief. “You perhaps have forgotten that I just received the Selisse Berry Leadership/Lifetime Achievement Award.” “No, honey,” he replied, as he continued doing whatever it was that distracted his attention from me. “I’m very proud of you.” “Yes, but in the hotel room, there were flowers from friends and a big bowl of snacks,” I said. “I was special.” “Have an M&M,” he replied. We both laughed. I walked on air last week at the Out and Equal Workplace conference in Dallas. Besides getting a much-appreciated standing ovation from 2,600 people in response to my acceptance speech, my new video (http:// ally-video.com/brian) was shown. I was also on four well-received panels, had successful private meals with corporate executives, and received many compliments for the exhibition on transgender issues that I did for the Stonewall National Museum (www. stonewallnationalmuseum.org). Now I’m walking in deep puddles, as southeast Florida is getting torrential rain. I’m repeatedly cleaning out drains. My hands are dirty. Fame is fleeting. I have known this since I led the first grade orchestra at St. Matthew’s School in Flint, MI. Life keeps telling us the same thing. If we listen, we spare ourselves from suffering. Don’t dwell on the past. Don’t try to control the future. Be in the moment. Enjoy it, but trust that it will pass. If we cling to past glories or past failures, we set ourselves up for unhappiness. On Tuesday night of the Out and Equal conference, a group of us went out to dinner to laugh as good friends about what was happening in our lives. At the table was Bob Witeck and Wes Combs, the founders of the nation’s most influential gay public relations firm, Vic Basile, the first executive director of the Human Rights Campaign and one of the founders of the Victory Fund, Todd Sears, the corporate whiz kid of diversity and inclusion work, and Joel Burns, the Fort Worth, TX, city councilor who created an international sensation with his speech on bullying. We were joined by two strangers to me, one of whom was the very muscled and masculine poster boy for a recent

gay civil rights battle. The other young man sat next to me quietly, but he immediately stole my heart with his gracious nature, and killer smile. At the beginning of the meal, I tried to make conversation with the muscled man across the table. Without knowing of him, I nevertheless thanked him for his sacrifices and contributions, and asked him where he might want to go from here as a person. “Fame is fleeting,” I cautioned him. “Three years from now, people may not remember your name. You may not care about that, which is good. But, how can I help you move forward?” Regrettably, he didn’t seem very interested in what I had to say, who I was, or who anyone else around the table was. He spent most of the meal downloading pictures of buffed gay male bodies on his iPhone, from a sex service he was enrolled in. None of the pictures showed heads, just muscled bodies.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

I eventually gave up trying to engage the man with the muscles, and turned my attention to Anthony Cotton, the young man sitting next to me. After learning about him, his work, and his aspirations, I came to believe he will be one of the bright, smiling faces of our future. He now works as an investment officer for USAID, a Federal organization that creates economic opportunities for poor people in other countries. He also works tirelessly to ensure that LGBT issues are addressed in the Federal government and among economicallydisadvantaged people outside the U.S. I also told him that I wanted to support him, and he was most grateful for the attention. Mentoring is something that experienced LGBT people, and our treasured allies need to do for our youth. It is how we will ensure the success of our civil rights movement. Bob, Wes, Vic, and Todd were sitting at the dinner table the night I received my most-welcomed award from Out and Equal. We talked about our meal earlier in the week, and we all came to the same conclusion about the two new people who had joined us. Muscles grow flabby and fame is fleeting. The person we all ad-

mired most was young Anthony. It might well have been shyness that prevented the buff poster boy from engaging with the rest of us at our earlier outing. I assume that it was insecurity rather than arrogance that created his demeanor. But the life lesson he must learn, as we all need to do, is not to take yourself or public acclimation too seriously. Fame can be fun but it doesn’t represent who you are. Fame and fortune may spare you from daily using the squeegee to wipe down the shower door, but they don’t prevent other people from forgetting who or what you once were. Nor will they give your life true meaning. Hopefully, all of us who risk getting heady with positive public attention will have a Ray in our lives who say, “I’m proud of you honey. Now, have an M&M.” Brian McNaught was named “the godfather of gay diversity training” by The New York Times. He works with corporate executives globally, is the author of six books, and is featured in seven educational DVDs. He and his spouse Ray Struble divide their year between Ft. Lauderdale and Provincetown. Visit BrianMcNaught.com for more information.

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Books

Scott Pasfield’s Groundbreaking Book

By Paul Domenick

t all started with an avalanche in 1994. This is when photographer, Scott Pasfield, had his great insight and decided to start a project that changed his life forever. The result is the book, Gay in America, a book of portraits and essays. Out-andproud gay men from every state in American submitted essays about their life and are captured by Pasfield in their natural elements. The watershed moment for Pasfield, the impetus behind the book, was indeed an avalanche--the largest recorded avalanche in northern New Mexico. It occurred just as Pasfield was crossing the tracks of a snow bowl. Taking his turn alongside eight other friends, the bowl cracked and pulled him under. “It was then I made peace with what was up above,” he said. But he didn’t die, and the near-death moment was instead “revelatory.” He re-enrolled in school, this time

applying to New Mexico university, choosing the major he had denied himself in the past: photography. With a degree already in architecture, the corollary of knowledge proved more than sufficient, and he excelled. “I didn’t want to make the same mistakes of my father,” he said of his sudden change in direction. “Photography became my healing process, and the book is the result.” Gay in America, hence, originated with the seed of disapproval, first from Pasfield’s father, then from society as a whole. The book, in fact, is not free from controversy. But this is something everyone involved with the book wants. One of the biggest criticisms of it is the lack of lesbian, transgendered, or queer profiles and depictions. “Although the term ‘gay’ encompasses all of these things, the other terms do not,” he said. “Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer all mean very different things, and it was not

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Paul domenick

Gay in America

Top, Left to Right: Scott Pasfield and William. Bottom From Left to Right: James, Nick (Pasfield’s partner of 13 years), William, and Trace.

my intent to cover them all in one book.” Pasfield’s next project will be a book about lesbians in America. His publishers though do not like the idea. “But if someone tells me I can’t do something it just gives me the challenge I need,” he said. Another controversy stirring around the book is Pasfield’s choice to put Dan Choi’s photograph on the cover. Because Choi is somewhat of a celebrity now, Pasfield was afraid he’d be exploiting that fact. In the end, however, it was Choi’s dedication to his country, as well as his ability to defy to all stereotypes--not only in the gay community but in the Korean culture as well--that convinced Pasfield to put him on the cover. Four of the men profiled in Pasfield’s book were at the book signing in Fort Lauderdale. Trace (whose last name, like all others, is not mentioned in the book) is on page 58. Pasfield found Trace, like he did all of his subjects, on the Internet. Trace, from Orlando, Florida, says he thought Pasfield was joking at first. “But I am exceptionally pleased with how he pulled all together. His resulting photo in the book tells society that he is a ‘sincere gay man who speaks from the heart,’” he said. “In my small way, I wanted to make a contribution, especially for young Southern men and all who preceded them. I wish I had read and seen something like this growing up.” William is another gay man featured in the book. He is from Self Shores, Alabama, and featured on page 10. Pasfield was actually on his way to photograph someone else, when he decided to make an unscheduled visit to photograph William. The picture was taken during Hurricane Gustave. So, for William, his photo conveys “the unexpected.” “Not every gay man has a dramatic story. I was surprised at how well my parents

accepted me. I wasn’t playing the in-and-out game because all I knew is all I knew,” William said. Although he grew up in the deep South, his childhood was mostly without incident. The drama of the weather seen in his photo, then, is more likely to represent his current life. One filled with busy philanthropy. One of his current involvements supports the largest sanctuary for chimpanzees, which can be found in Fort Pierce, Florida. Michael, who can be found on page 60, represented Atlanta, Georgia, although he now resides in Fort Lauderdale. Michael was homeless at the time his photograph was taken by Pasfield. Since then, his pastor helped get him down to Fort Lauderdale where he has found steady work in the hotel industry. He is also a photographer, specializing mostly in fashion and portraiture. Michael’s profile is considered one of the most fascinating in the book, because his story is so antithetical to what’s expected of the gay stereotype. James, on page 152, is an officer on a private yacht in Sag Harbor, New York. Although his photo is strikingly serious, his quote shows levity. James feels his close-up in the book illustrates that “any guy can get your attention, freckles and all, when captured in the right light.” James wasn’t as personally pleased with how he looks in his image but realized a while ago that the book wasn’t about him. “The importance of the book tempered what was personal in me,” he says. Pasfield began his book signing with a quote that he felt summed up his entire project: “I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” – Abraham Lincoln.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

We’re Here, We’re Queer and We Like to Read Lesbian and Gay Authors at the Miami Book Fair

Erin McHugh

Justin Torres

of the women featured in Erin McHugh’s book The L Life: Extraordinary Lesbians Making a Difference.” McHugh (with photographer Jennifer May) presents interviews and photographs of twenty-six lesbians who have defined success on their own terms. Included are some of the celesbians we all know: Kate Clinton, Alison Bechdel, Jane Lynch. But also present are women such as Marjorie Hill, an African-American lesbian activist and the CEO of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis; Lupe Vega, sheriff of Dallas county in Texas; and Lisa Vogel, organizer of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. “I wanted to show that heroines are ordinary people who do extraordinary things,” McHugh said. Although lesbians may seem to be the main audience, McHugh intends to reach a larger community: “One of my favorite reactions was at an event where a straight woman wandered into the bookstore…When I finished speaking, she raised her hand to say she wanted to congratulate every woman in the room for being brave.” Ann Bannon and Erin McHugh appear on Saturday, November 19 at 5 p.m. In 2010, the Lambda Literary Foundation named Justin Torres as one of the New Queer Voices to Watch Out For. In 2011, he lives up to the accolade with a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University, a short story published in The New Yorker, and a highly praised debut novel, We The Animals. Three young brothers are the center of Torres’ story, growing up in a working class family with parents who have dropped out of high school to raise them. The surreal intersects with the matter-of-fact as their mother works the graveyard shift and loses track of time “…when we came into the kitchen in the morning, half asleep, she’d be pulling a meat loaf out of the oven, saying

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

this title may make you curious Sinead O’Connor and her Coat of a Thousand Bluebirds. Poets Maureen Seaton and Neil de la Flor have co-authored “a non-linear narrative spawned in the eye of Hurricane Francis.” Seaton and de la Flor read with Emma Trelles at The Poet’s Voice: Readings of New Work on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 3:30 p.m.

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iami is the girl in the bikini, the boy in the Mercedes, suntans and flip-flops. Not a city known for its bookish nature. Yet each November, the Miami Book Fair International welcomes writers and readers to an event that has become an intellectual paradise. This year is the 28th edition of the Fair, which takes places from Sunday, Nov. 13 to Friday, Nov. 18 with author readings and cultural gatherings at the Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade College in Downtown Miami. A Street Fair commences at the same location on Friday, Nov. 18, and continues on Saturday and Sunday, November 19-20, with a daily schedule of author readings as well as exhibitor’s booths representing publishers and booksellers. Throughout the weekend, there is music, food vendors and a section for kids’ authors/ activities at Children’s Alley. The wealth of riches may leave a bibliophile with one problem: how to decide on events. While an LGBT audience will have many literary interests there will be readings by LGBT authors. Two of the events may prove to be exceptional for the LGBT community: a presentation with Ann Bannon and Erin McHugh, and a reading by latest literary sensation Justin Torres. In the late 1950s, lesbian pulp fiction author Ann Bannon wrote Odd Girl Out, a bestselling novel about two college sorority girls who fall for each other. Her subsequent books were also successful in some ways due to the pulp fiction marketing of lesbian lovers. But they were also a solace to many women who connected to the story, to lesbians who had few representations of themselves. The work continues to find new audiences. “When the…books were new, they were read as life-saving confirmation of samesex identity…guidebooks to the gay and lesbian world…by the 80s and 90s…the books had become social and cultural history,” she said. “Finally, in the new century, they have come into their own again as seductive, funny, and heartfelt stories about coming of age in the pre-Stonewall era.” It makes perfect sense that Bannon is one

Gregory Cowley

By Andrea Dulanto

Ann Bannon

‘What’s wrong with you boys? I been calling and calling for dinner.’” In another scene, their Puerto Rican father takes them to his overnight job as a security guard, where they sleep on the floor. But the book celebrates an undaunted childhood the brothers lean on each other so much, they often become one character. However, when one of them questions his sexuality, the inevitable separation and re-birth occurs. Justin Torres appears with Tayari Jones, Ana Menendez and Lynne Barrett on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 12:30 p.m. See below for other Miami Book Fair authors who may appeal to a LGBT audience. (The full schedule of readings can be found at http://www.miamibookfair.com.) Way before Occupy Wall Street forced CNN and MSNBC to even mention the issue of class, working class feminist and lesbian writer Dorothy Allison spoke her truth in novels such as Bastard Out of Carolina. “An Evening with Dorothy Allison” takes place on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets for “Evenings with…” presentations are $10. Mystery fans should check out Neil Plakcy, who sets his mysteries in Hawaii (Mahu, Mahu Vice). He has also edited gay erotica anthologies from Cleis Press and written several M/M romance novels. Plakcy appears with Jeffrey Siger, Sharon Potts and Ian Vasquez at a How Mysterious! Reading on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. You may want to ask Chuck Palahniuk about the first rule of Fight Club but you know the first rule of Fight Club. Instead, why not ask him about his latest book, Damned, which according to the Wall Street Journal Speakeasy “combines elements of Judy Bloom’s coming of age classic, ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’ with Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy,’ with a heavy infusion of the 1980s classic ‘The Breakfast Club.’ ” See Palahniuk on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Even if you know nothing about poetry,

Miami Book Fair International November 13-20 Street Fair, November 18-20, 2011. Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade College in Downtown Miami. “Evenings with…” tickets: $10 (plus $2 handling fee) Street Fair tickets: Free on Friday, November 18. $8 for adults. $5 for 13-18 and over 62. Free for 12 and under. Weekend author sessions in Chapman Conference Center require online free ticket reservations. For more information, visit http://www. miamibookfair.com

Equality Florida Institute Holds Ninth Annual Broward County ‘Voices for Equality’ Gala

By Donald Cavanaugh

fight anti-gay legislation in Tampa (see maps). The “Voice for Equality” awards will quality Florida Institute, the non-profit arm of state-wide be presented to this year’s winners for the outstanding work they have done Equality Florida, will hold to improve the quality of life for LGBT its ninth annual Broward people in Broward County. Williams and County “Voice for Equality” Rajner will be joining the ranks of such awards gala honoring two local heroes on Sunday, Nov. 13 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at past honorees as Debbie Wasserman the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art at 1 Las Schultz, Alex Sink, Florida’s former Chief Financial Officer, and Martin Gill whose Olas Blvd in Fort Lauderdale. lawsuit ended the Florida ban on adopTeri Williams, an educator who has become the point person on LGBT issues with- tions by LGBT people. “The local steering committee identifies in the Broward County School District, and candidates for the award and determines who Michael Rajner a tireless activist for LGBT and HIV/AIDS issues who also has served on will be honored,” Pollitzer said. “The people in the community know best who in the comthe School District’s Diversity Council (see munity are outstanding on our issues.” side bars) are this year’s honorees. “We hold eleven galas every year,” he Tickets are $125 and sponsorships are continued. “Broward is by far our largest available starting at $500. Tickets and sponevent generating more than $200,000 a year sorships may be tax deductible. in support of our work.” “This is our ninth gala in Broward County and the fourth year we’ve been at the art museum,” said Stratton Pollitzer, Associate Director of Equality Florida. “Turnout is always great and we’re expecting more than 400 supporters to join us.” “We’re also thrilled to have more than 40 congressional, state and local elected leaders on the host committee including 4 U.S. Representatives, 7 State Senators and 15 State Representatives and most recently Florida’s senior U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has become an honorary host of the event.” Democratic National Committee chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, a past winner of the award, supports the work of Equality Florida and was quoted as saying “I’ve known and worked with Equality Florida for years and am proud to stand with them in support of full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.” “The Broward County School Board and the new Superintendent are also supporting this year’s event which is honoring a School District staff member,” Pollitzer said. The gala will feature hors d’oeuvres from L’Hermitage Catering and cocktails provided by Brown Foreman. Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith will give A State Of The State Of Equality address covering the vast difference between today and 1997 when Equality Florida first came together to

A special sponsors’ reception will be held Saturday evening at the home of John Evans and Steve Wozencraft situated on the Intracoastal Waterway. Bar and catering will be provided by Alibi. Sponsorships start at $500 and are still available online at http://eqfl.org/browardgala/ or call Pollitzer at 954-682-6094. Museum galleries, including the current museum-curated exhibition, Primordial: Paintings and Sculpture by Isabel De Obaldía, 1985 – 2011 will be open to attendees during the reception. Equality Florida Institute is the largest civil rights educational organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Gay Rights in1997

Visit eqfl.org for more information.

...Now

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

VOICES FOR EQUALITY Teri Williams Keeping Broward County Schools Safe By Donald Cavanaugh

eri Williams is the point person on LGBT issues within Broward County School District, the sixth largest in the nation with over 250,000 students. Williams was a school teacher when she first encountered the issues faced by real or perceived LGBT students in school. One of her students committed suicide and left a note saying “please tell them I’m not gay.” “That really motiTeri Williams vated me to do this work,” Williams said. “Children shouldn’t be committing suicide for being called gay. Williams left the classroom and after several different positions became the go-to person for LGBT issues in the district. Williams co-founded the Safe to be Me Coalition – a collaboration of non-profits and the school district working together to support LGBT youth and their allies coming together to create safe spaces in the school environment. She was responsible for coordinating an all-inclusive prom for gay and straight youth and has worked tirelessly to support GSAs (gay-straight alliances) in Broward County Schools where the number of GSAs has gone from 12 to 32 since she has started focusing on them. Williams was also largely responsible for helping to make Equality Florida’s GSA Leadership Institute an officially recognized school event, leading to a more than 100 percent increase in participation among Broward Gay-Straight Alliances. “I am so humbled to be getting this award,” Williams said. “It’s such an honor to do what I can to help LGBT students be safe in school and elsewhere in the community.” “Teri has transformed Broward County schools and is helping make the district a model across the state for confronting the epidemic of bullying,” said Stratton Pollitzer, deputy executive director for Equality Florida.

Michael Rajner Determined Activist

By Donald Cavanaugh

ichael Emanuel Rajner, a Fort Lauderdale activist transplanted from Brooklyn, NY, is a fearless and passionate advocate for LGBT and HIV/ AIDS communities.

Michael Rajner

He once requested a meeting with U.S. Representative Allen West by convincing a flight attendant to slip a note to the representative when he found himself on the same plane. Rajner serves as legislative director of the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus. He previously served on Broward County School Board’s Diversity Committee and played a central role in securing LGBT protections including adding gender identity to the district’s non-discrimination policy. Rajner is a representative on the Florida Department of Health’s Florida AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) Formulary Advisory Workgroup. He also served on the Broward Sheriff’s Council for Diversity and Equal Opportunity and advocates to eliminate laws that criminalize HIV-related offenses. “I was totally blown away when Equality Florida called me about the award,” Rajner said. “There are so many people doing great things in the community and I’m known for sometimes taking more difficult stands on issues. I’m really honored.” “Whether it’s passing a note, through a flight attendant, to outspoken anti-equality Congressman Allen West asking him for a meeting to discuss legislation aimed to reduce bullying of LGBT youth., or reaching out to the mother of a hate crime victim, Michael doesn’t stop until the mission is accomplished,” said Nadine Smith, executive director for Equality Florida.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

November 9, 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ SouthFloridaGayNews.com

LeAnn Rimes Country Star Who Cares Singer talks equality, gay ‘dads’ and ex-hubby rumors

By Chris Azzopardi

eAnn Rimes was a free-spirited 13-year-old when, on one of her biggest songs, she threw caution to the wind and bought a one-way ticket on a westbound train.You know, “to see how far I can go.” Pretty far, it turned out. That ticket took her everywhere: to the Grammys, to No. 1 and to the gay clubs. Drama threw her career off track, however, and lately she’s made tabloid headlines for everything but music: she’s too fat, she’s too skinny; she’s a home-wrecker; she’s an unfit stepmother. But now Rimes, 29, is heading in a new direction, pumping estrogen into songs by the kings of country on her 13th album, Lady & Gentlemen. Rimes spoke candidly about one of her “second dads” co-producing her latest work, how a gay uncle inspired her to speak out on LGBT issues, the lack of a successful out country star and what to make of those rumors of her ex-hubby being homosexual. You do some gender bending on this album, LeAnn. Gender bending – I like the way you put that.

Is this the closest you’ve come to doing drag? I would guess so! I’ve always watched others do my songs, but I’ve never taken it in the opposite direction. I didn’t dress up in the studio! (Laughs) But it was fun doing this record because there’s a certain softness and a different vibe that a woman brings to these songs in a lot of ways, especially songs like “Good Hearted Woman.” When you’re singing it from the first person, from someone who’s actually experienced it as a woman, they take on a whole different connotation. November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

For the complete article, go to: sfgn.com/rimes

November 9, 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ SouthFloridaGayNews.com

By Brian Swinford

Have an event you want to list? If so send me an email at Calendar@sfgn.com.

*denotes new listing

Palm Beach

Miami

On Nov 10, come to the Watson B Duncan lll Theatre in Lake Worth and feel a little of what our soldiers are feeling with this play that puts It all into prospective. The play brings to life actual letters written by soldiers serving in the Middle East. Visit Palmbeachstate.edu/x1794.xml

Come to the Zoetic Stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for Performing Arts on Nov. 3-20 to see Captiva. Over the course of a weekend reunion, three siblings come together in the hopes of celebration and re-connection. When their parents join them, rivalry, sex and a hurricane turn the family upside down. Stranded together, they are forced to face each other with honesty and bottles of wine. Visit Zoeticstage.com

Theatre Broward County

*Letters Home

The Enchantment Theatre Company uses life-size puppets, masked actors and magical illusions to teach the importance of family and friends and that prove there is no place like home. Takes place Nov. 6, at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Visit Browardcenter.org

*The 39 Steps

*Sylvester and the Magic Pebble

*Charlotte’s Web

The Parker Playhouse will be showing Charlotte’s Web on Nov 9. E.B. White’s classic fairy tale in the Performance Project’s production brings to life the madcap and endearing characters of Charlotte the spider, and Wilbur the pig. Visit ParkerPlayhouse.com

*Lombardi

This is the story of legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi and his wife Marie. The play takes place mostly in November of 1965, when a young journalist from New York City, Michael McCormick, comes to live with the Lombardi family in order to write a story. Takes place at Mosaic Theatre at the American Heritage Center for the Arts from Nov. 10 to Dec. 4. Visit Mosaictheatre.com

The Glass Menagerie

Actors Community Theatre of Davie is presenting Tennessee WIlliams’ classic play “The Glass Menagerie.” Performances run from Nov. 12 through Nov. 20, with Saturday performances at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday performances at 2 p.m., and a performance Friday evening, Nov. 18, at 8 p.m. All performances are at the Pine Island Multi-Purpose Center. Call 305-823-5330 or 954-767-5637, or e-mail billfra@ usa.net

Beauty and the Beast

The most beautiful love story ever told comes to life at the Broward Center on Nov. 15-27. Based on the Academy Award winning animation feature film, this eye popping spectacle has won the hearts of over 25 million people worldwide. Visit BrowardCenter.org

*The Secret Garden

Farcical retelling of the Alfred Hitchcock’s movie thriller which, in turn, retold John Buchan’s straight espionage novel. Mounted as an English music hall vaudeville piece, it features four actors with two human chameleons taking on scores and scores of different parts. Takes place Nov. 1-13 at the Maltz Theater in Jupiter. Visit Jupitertheatre.org

*The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife

Marjorie Taub: shopaholic, avid reader, loved by her devoted husband… but her beloved psychiatrist has just died, her mother obsesses about her gastric track and her husband is now retired and devoted to sinus infections for the homeless. Takes place Nov. 5-20 at the Boca Raton theatre Guild at the Willow Theatre at Sugar Park. Visit Brtg.org

*The Addams Family

A mainstream musical about a group of decidedly nonmainstream relatives based very loosely on the cartoons in The New Yorker, the ‘60s television sit-com and the films, it follows the family’s efforts to clean up their act to impress the parents of Wednesday’s upper crust fiancé. Runs Nov. 8-13. Visit Kravis.org

*After The Revolution

Come to the Caldwell Theatre Between Oct 16-Nov 20 and see After the Revolution, the story of the brilliant, promising Emma Joseph who proudly carries the torch of her family’s Marxist tradition, devoting her life to the memory of her grandfather, much revered for refusing to “name names” during the McCarthy hearings. Visit Caldwelltheatre.com

All My Sons by Arthur Miller

This morality play about the cost of lying and the price of truth telling, examines a troubled family and a father who placed duty to his family above the lives of others, and now must face the consequences. This play is showing at The Palm Beach DramaWorks Clematis Theater Nov. 12 through Dec. 11. Visit PalmBeachDramaWorks.org

The Pembroke Pines Theatre of the Performing Arts will be showing The Secret Garden from Oct. 28-Nov. 27. This is a moving musical with a soaring based on the classic children’s book. Visit Pptopa.com

*Comedian Margaret Cho

On Dec. 1 the fiercely blunt and provocative Margaret Cho will showcase her non-conformist brand of humor at the Broward Center’s Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale. Broward House is presenting the comedy diva as part of their World AIDS Day commemoration. Tickets start at only $30 and are available at BrowardCenter.org/margaretcho

*Judy Gold

The Coral Springs Center for the Arts is proud to welcome back comedienne Judy Gold, for one night only, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. Judy Gold gets around. It’s pretty hard to miss Judy these days. She’s the saucy, gregarious host of HBO’s “At the Multiplex with Judy Gold” and is a regular fixture on Comedy Central’s “Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn” and “Hollywood Squares.” Visit CoralSpringsCenterForTheArts.com

*Guys and Dolls

In a dead heat with Gypsy for the title of best musical ever written, this classic is based on Damon Runyon’s short stories about Broadway gamblers, nightclub singers and Salvation Army babes funneled through a brilliant score by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows. Takes place Oct. 28-Dec. 4 at Broward Stage Door Theatre. Visit Stagedoortheatre.com

*Red

This is a stunning two-man play, which won the 2010 Best Play Tony, and examines the nature of art and creativity, illustrated by the ramblings of abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko as he works with a young apprentice. Takes place at the Gable Stage at the Biltmore Hotel from Nov. 5-Dec. 4. Visit Gablestage.org

KORN with Datsik & Downlink

Korn comes to the intimate Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theatre on Wednesday, November 9, at 8 p.m. Dubstep DJ Datsik and Downlink provide support. This is part of the Cruzan Concert Series. Korn’s cathartic alternative metal sound positioned the group among the most popular and provocative to emerge during the post-grunge era. Visit Fillmoremb.com

*Forever 54

This musical is described as “Once upon a time in New York City, there was a magical disco that everyone clamored to get into. Passing through Studio 54’s velvet ropes were the world’s most famous stars, politicians, and athletes. Takes place Nov. 9-19 at the University Of Miami Dept. Of Theatre Arts Jerry Herman Ring Theatre. This is a world premiere. Visit Miami.edu/ring

*Lobby Hero

From Nov 10-27 come to the Alliance Theatre Lab at Main Street Playhouse and watch this critically acclaimed play that tells the story of Jeff, a luckless young security guard trying to get his life together after being thrown out of the navy. Visit Thealliancetheatrelab.com

continued on page 26 STAGE DOOR: HIGHLIGHTING THE ARTS

By J.W. Arnold

Thrill Me: The Leopold and Loeb Story Based on the true story of Leopold and Loeb, the so-called thrill killers who murdered a young boy in 1924 in order to commit the perfect crime. While this crime was previously depicted in the film dramas Hitchcock’s Rope and Compulsion, this is the first musical version, and the reveals the couple’s mutual sexual attraction. Takes places Oct. 21-Nov. 20, Visit Risingactiontheatre.com

*Captiva

Laissez Les Bons Temps Roulez

et the good times roll this weekend when the Seminole Paradise in Hollywood hosts the annual Florida CajunZydeco Festival, Nov. 11-13. All things Cajun, Creole and Zydeco will be celebrated with live music on two stages, dancing and, of course, plenty of spicy food, including andouille sausage, red beans and rice, gumbo and crawfish. Festival hours are Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight, Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for one day admission and $35 for a weekend pass.Visit Cajun-Fest.com.

Opera with a Spanish Twist

The Florida Grand Opera opens its 71st season with Federico Moreno Torroba’s zarzuela, Luisa Fernanda, at Miami’s Arsht Center on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. Zarzuela is a popular Spanish form of musi-

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

cal theater that incorporates both spoken dialogue and singing. While the form is new to many opera fans, the plot is not: Luisa Fernanda is set during the republicanmonarchist conflicts of 1868, during which the heroine finds herself caught—believe it or not—in a love triangle with a dashing army officer and a wealthy landowner. The opera will be presented Nov. 12, 18, 20, 22, 23 and 26 in Miami before moving to Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Center for performances on Dec. 1 and 3. Tickets are $21 to $200 at FGO.org. Here’s a Laughing Matter

Laffing Matterz, the comedy dinner show created by Rita and Mark Wells that has played at the Broward Center’s Abdo New River Room for the past two seasons, is back with shows on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. and selected Sundays at 4:30 p.m. Nothing is

sacred—especially not cows—as the cast yucks it up, poking fun at everything from the absurdities of marriage, politics, local scandals and current events. Enjoy the delicious dinner from award-winning chef Christopher Gillis, and show for as low as $65.Visit BrowardCenter.org. The Curtain Rises in WPB

Excitement is mounting in West Palm Beach as Palm Beach Dramaworks prepares to inaugurate its new facility on trendy Clematis Street. The former Cuillo Center has been transformed into a showpiece for the award-winning theatre company, which finally left behind its crowded digs. To open the season, Dramaworks presents Arthur Miller’s seminal play, All My Sons, Nov. 12-Dec. 11. J. Barry Lewis directs a cast that includes Jim Ballard, Cliff Burgess and Elizabeth Dimon.Visit PalmBeachDramaworks.org.

Theatre Review

Guys and Dolls

Photo courtesy Broward Stage Door Theatre

Full House at Broward Stage Door

By J.W. Arnold

nly a handful of South Florida theaters have the resources—or the resolve—to tackle the classics of musical theater. With a dedicated fan base and a phenomenal group ticket sales operation, Broward Stage Door continues to pack its Coral Springs theater for these gems of the repertoire. This time, the company offers Guys and Dolls, the story of an unlikely romance between Sky Masterson, a high-rolling gambler willing to bet on anything, and the pious, teetotalling Sgt. Sarah Brown from the Save A Soul Mission in New York City. When Masterson accepts a bet from local gambling ring boss Nathan Detroit that he can get any “doll” to fly with him for a night of dinner and dancing in Havana, Detroit knows he can’t lose by challenging Masterson to woo Brown. It’s classic Broadway: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, they are torn apart and later reunite to live happily ever after, all in a couple of hours with lots of memorable song and dance numbers from Frank Loesser that audiences were still humming as they exited the theater. With matinee-idol good looks and a silky baritone voice, Adam Bashian is a real star in his role as Sky Masterson. He is backed up by strong performances by Phil Gosselin and Justin Lore as wily gamblers NicelyNicely Johnson and Nathan Detroit, and Kevin Reilly as tireless copper Lt. Brannigan, decked out in a Dick Tracy-yellow overcoat. Jill Taylor Anthony nails Detroit’s girlfriend, naïve nightclub singer Miss Adelaide. Colleen Amaya, as a Sarah, delivers beautiful, crystal

clear vocals throughout the show, but there just isn’t much romantic chemistry with Bashian’s Sky. Despite the reliance on canned accompaniment tracks, this production, under the musical direction of Donald Chan, consistently delivers with even musical performances all around. Set designer Sean McClelland contributes a flexible set design that quickly transforms Broward Stage Door’s stage from the busy streets of New York City to a hopping nightclub, the spare Mission meeting room and even steamy Havana. Despite the clever use of the turntable, the set, painted by Chastity Collins and Linda Sage, has an amateurish, two-dimensional look that just doesn’t stand up to the vibrant Technicolor costumes from Costume World. And, as often happens at Stage Door, the cast finds itself awkwardly maneuvering in very tight quarters thanks to the expansive set. Chrissi Ardito’s daring choreography notably suffers as a result. When Broward Stage Door takes a risk and rolls the dice—as it has done in the past with A Little Night Music,The Light in the Piazza and to a lesser degree with The Drowsy Chaperone and Mack and Mabel—the result is a big, big winner. Guys and Dolls was a safer bet, but the company still beats the odds with an entertaining show that will continue to pack the house.

Guys and Dolls Through Dec. 4 Broward Stage Door Theatre 8036 W. Sample Rd., Coral Springs Tickets at StageDoorTheatre.com

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Everyone's favorite dragapella beautyshop quartet, The Kinsey Sicks, regales audiences with their twisted version of a holiday musical comedy. Contains adult content and language. For tickets & group discounts callBroward Centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s AutoNation Box Offce 954.462.0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org

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Become a VIP and enjoy access to priority seats and privileges while supporting the Broward Center.

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November 9, 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ SouthFloridaGayNews.com

To Submit Listings Email: Brian at Calendar@sfgn.com Fax: 954-530-7943. Please include a brief description, address, phone number, date, time and cost. *The Screwtape Letters

Come to the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts on Nov 12. C.S. Lewis’ brilliant novel of letters written by the Devil, The Screwtape Letters reveals spiritual warfare from a demon’s point of view. This funny, provocative and wickedly-witty theatrical adaptation will change the way you think about how demons influence your everyday life. Visit Screwtapeonstage.com/miami

Sting: Back To Bass Tour

Rock chameleon Sting will bring his “Back to Bass” tour to the Fillmore on Miami Beach on Nov. 12. The tour, which promoters describe as a concert of Sting’s “greatest hits, stripped down and raw... as they haven’t been played in years.” The charismatic Sting will be backed by a five-piece band performing exclusively in intimate theater settings on the tour, which also supports the release on Sept. 27 of the box-set collection “Sting: 25 Years.” Visit Fillmoremb.com

Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol

Get ready for a holiday treat Dec. 7 through Jan. 1 at the Actors Playhouse. Move over Scrooge, it’s time for Jacob Marley to tell his story! Join Marley and his heroic behindthe-scenes effort to save old Scrooge’s soul - and in the process save his own, in this delightful gem of a show. Visit Actorsplayhouse.org

Key West

*Waterfront Playhouse presents: It Takes Two – An Evening of Duets

See 25 of Key West’s best performers sing duets, trios and quartets from the world of pop, Broadway and the classics. Party following the performance on Nov. 18. Showtime 8 p.m. Call 305-294-5015 or Email Box_Office@waterfrontplayhouse.org

August: Osage County

In Key West at the Waterfront Playhouse on Dec 20, it’s August in Oklahoma. A father is missing, a mother is in the grip of addiction, a marriage is unraveling and lies are being exposed. This raucous dark comedy transforms one family gathering into an evening filled with sex, secrets, and really inappropriate behavior. One of the most lauded plays of the decade, August: Osage County is a can’t-miss hilarious and stinging look at the American family. Visit WaterfrontPlayhouse.org

Dead Man’s Cell Phone

In a quiet cafe a cell phone rings. And rings. The stranger at the next table has had enough. She confronts the owner of the cell phone, but, well...he’s dead. She begins to answer his calls and suddenly finds herself enmeshed in his life and family. Unfortunately, the dead guy has quite a number of shady loose ends. This plays opening night is Feb 2 at The Waterfront Playhouse at 8pm. Visit Waterfrontplayhouse.org

Community Calendar Broward

*Celebration of Life Service Seminar

Preplanning your Burial or Cremation Celebration of Life Service Seminar will be at the Church of the Holy Spirit Song, (2040 N. Dixie Hwy (Equality Park) Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. A light dinner will be provided. In this brief seminar you will learn about your many options and the benefits of prearranging your service your way. This is sponsored by American Burial & Cremation Center @ Jennings Funeral Home. RSVP is a must. Call 954-731-4321.

*Grief Support Group

Grief Support Group led by Heartland Hospice meets every 3rd Tuesday at American Burial & Cremation Center @ Jennings Funeral Home 1801 E. Oakland Park Blvd. from 2-4 pm. Call 954-731-4321. If you need support in your time of loss they invite you to attend.

*Eating Disorder Support group

An Eating Disorder Support group is starting Nov. 4. This group will meet Friday evenings from 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. At Sun Serve’s Wilton Manors location at 2123 Wilton Drive, second floor. This is a “drop-in” psycho-educational support group. No registration required, free- however donations are welcome. Call 954-764-5150 for more information

*Equality Park Garden Club

On Nov 16, at 730pm come and enjoy a meeting to discuss great holiday designing technics by Mark Turner a former concierge florist In Washington DC and event consultant for the white house. They are encouraging members to bring their creative ideas to share with fellow members. For more Information email Chip Jones at ChipJones14@Hotmail.com

*Shut Up! Workshop - “Coming Home” Robin Korth will be presenting an ALL NEW workshop in the Insights On Aging - Shut Up! series called “Coming Home” on Sat., November 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Coming Home” is a workshop that helps us discover what is really driving our behaviors and thoughts. It is about discovering the who of who we are--both the good and the bad. Register at Insightsonaging.com/shut-up-coming-home.php

*Safe “T”

Safe “T” is a new support group for gender variant adults 18 plus that meets Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at Sunserve’s Wilton Manors location at 2123 Wilton Drive, second floor. This is a “drop-in” psycho-educational support group. No registration required, free- however donations are welcome. Call 954-764-5150.

Via Luna Italian Sunday Brunch

Sundays, Noon to 3 p.m. Savor the most spectacular oceanfront Sunday Brunch in Fort Lauderdale. A mouthwatering selection of breakfast favorites, gourmet delicacies, grilled-to-order dishes, fresh seafood, pasta and meatball buffet, imported cheeses, charcuteries, carved meats, lavish desserts free flowing Mimosas and Bloody Marys- all with an Italian twist- await at a spectacular Sunday Brunch with personalized Ritz-Carlton service. Visit Ritzcarlton.com

Food Truck Invasion

Through Dec. 26. Come hungry to the Food Truck Invasion at ArtsPark in Young Circle every Monday night from 5:30 p.m. to 10 pm. With 20 different food trucks offering various fares, there is something to satisfy everyone’s taste buds. Reserve nearby accommodations at B Ocean Fort Lauderdale and relax after a fun and food filled night. Visit Bhotelsandresorts.com

Light-Up Lauderdale

Light Up Lauderdale is a holiday centric promenade of lights in Riverwalk Park. This event connects the cultural, historical and business districts along New River. November to January 2012. Visit www.goriverwalk.com

New River Raft Race

Form a crew with friends, family or co-workers and compete for prizes. Course is 1.5 miles. Event takes place Nov. 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit NewRiverRaftRace.com

The All New Broward County Fair

The All New Broward County Fair is scheduled for Nov. 17-27 in Pembroke Pines. Celebrating 36 years. See the Winterfest Fantasy Boat Student Art. Visit BrowardFair.org

Rock ‘N Brews & Food Truck Fest

On Dec 3 a whole caravan of renowned gourmet food trucks will roll into Downtown Hollywood for a weekend of fabulous food, national entertainment acts, beers from around the country and an amazing craft village. Visit Rocknbrewfood.com

Hollywood Beach Candy Cane Parade

Get ready to catch your share of peppermints and candy canes at South Florida’s premier holiday celebration, the 56th Annual Hollywood Beach Candy Cane Parade. An estimated 40,000 people will line the Broadwalk. Takes place Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. Call 954-921-3404

Bereavement Support Group

Bereavement Support Group is a support group led by a Hospice of SE FL social worker to assist those who have lost a loved one in the grieving process. Light refreshments will be served. This group will meet beginning October 18 from 2-4 and every 3rd Tuesday of the month at American Burial and Cremation Ctr. @ Jennings Funeral Home 1801 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Call for reservation 954-731-4321.

Gay Men’s HIV+ Long Time Survivors’ Group

This is a support group that gives men who have been HIV+ for a long time (5 yrs +) the opportunity to give and receive support around topics of interest and issues for concern that are raised by the members. This group meets on 1st and 3rd Thursday at Sunserve 2312 Wilton Drive from 6:30 – 8 p.m. There is no cost, but donations are welcome.

Gay Male Empowerment Group

Topic discussions include issues and concerns about being a gay man in South Florida. Meets on Thursdays at the Pride Center from 7 - 8:30 p.m. Call 954-353-9155 or e-mail info@ sunserve.org.

PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays)

Meets on the 2nd and 4th Tues. of the month at the Sunshine Cathedral at 1480 SW 9th Avenue to support the parents of LGBTQ youth in Broward. No charge. Visit Community.pflag. org/pflagfortlauderdale for more information.

SunServe Therapy Groups

Provided for the LGBT community at SunServe on a regular basis. Groups require an intake interview. Call the Intake Coordinator at 954-764-5150 to learn which therapy groups have openings. Visit SunServe.org

Fusion Wilton Manors - Connections

Gay men’s group discussion. Different subject every week. Dr. David Fawcett, a gay therapist, who has been in private practice in Fort Lauderdale for the last ten years, leads the event. No charge with no commitment to attend every week. Starts at 7 p.m. Call Fusion Monday-Friday at 954-630-1655.

Women4Women Personal Growth Support Group

This is a safe and loving place to explore all the concerns and topics raised by group members. This open drop-in meeting is held Wednesdays at 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the New Sun Serve Building at 2312 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Call 954-764-5150

Beach Boot Camp with The Health Colonel

Thinking of dropping a few pounds…The Health Colonel is here to help you keep in shape. Monday and Wednesday at 7 p.m., and Saturdays at 8 a.m. Individual classes $15. Every session incorporates three elements – cardio, strength, and flexibility. The colonel says “The real issue has nothing to do with food -- or exercise for that matter. It has everything to do with how you think.” Visit NoMoreCryBabies.com

Palm Beach *Beach Bon Fire

The city of Lake Worth invites everyone to come out and enjoy the beach bon-fires with a different dress up theme each night. Bonfire Dates: Nov. 11th (Hawaiian) & 25th ( Thanksgiving ), December 9th (Winter) & 23th (Crazy Holliday shirt ), January 13th (New Year) & 27th (Favorite Movie), February 10th (Pirate) & 24th ( 70’s Night ). Visit Lakeworth.org

*The Festival of Chocolate

*Salsa-Fest

On Sat. Nov19, between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. come to Greenacres Community Park and experience this spicy family festival in Palm Beach County featuring the rhythms of Salsa music, the best of Salsa dancing, and the tastiest of ethnic foods. They will feature carnival rides, Chihuahua races, bounce houses, salsa cook-offs, domino & dance competitions, business expo, arts & crafts, and many other activities. Visitors are guaranteed to enjoy a great day with their family and friends. Visit Palmswest.com

YOGA Among the Orchids

It’s time for Yoga Among the Orchids at the American Orchid Society, 16700 AOS Lane, Delray Beach. Relax and replenish the flower inside with an hour of breathing exercises, toning, and yoga poses under a canopy of lush orchids. Classes are Wed. at 9 a.m. Cost is $20 and RSVP is suggested. Call 561404-2011. Visit OrchidWeb.org

Jazz on the Palm

Jazz on the Palm - Downtown West Palm Beach Waterfront - Gather with friends and family to enjoy the diverse vibrant sounds of jazz under the stars every 3rd Friday of month at the new Downtown West Palm Beach waterfront concert series. Free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs. From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Visit Wpbgo. com/2010/06/jazz-on-the-palm

Sunday on the Waterfront

Sunday on the Waterfront is a free concert series, which takes place the third Sunday of most months in the beautiful downtown West Palm Beach Waterfront area. Bring blankets, chairs, and coolers or purchase treats at the concert. Free parking in all city lots and at city meters. 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. May through October. Visit OnTheWaterFront.com

BrothasSpeak

This group is a black gay men’s discussion group that is held at the Compass in West Palm Beach. Every Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. this group will be directed toward issues for and about black men. Visit Compassglcc.com

Paths

Paths is a social/discussion group held at Compass in Lake Worth. This men’s group takes place every Monday from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Paths men’s group will be discussing relationships, coming –out, safer sex issues and more. Visit Compassglcc.com

Nov 19-20 come and get your sweet tooth on at the Palm Beach Convention Center. The Festival of Chocolate, named one of the Top Ten Chocolate Festival’s in the USA, is the Largest All-Chocolate Event in the Southeastern United States featuring an incredible Vendor Showcase with tastes and treats from the region’s best Chocolatiers and Confection Companies. Festivalofchocolate.com

Yoga

*Buzz Bake Sale 16

On the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. Compass in Lake Worth will be holding a discussion group for overcoming obstacles and obtaining happiness. This group is great for getting internal enlightenment. Release your inner stress, and become free. Visit Compassglcc.com

The Buzz Bake Sale is back and better than ever on Dec 3. Sixteen years and still going strong with more bands, more music and much more for your money. The Buzz Bake Sale is a South Florida Tradition, taking over West Palm’s Cruzan Amphitheatre and kicking the holiday season into high gear with a whole day full of live Rock. Visit Buzz103.com

*3rd Annual Town of Palm Beach United Way 5k Turkey Trot

The “Islanders” of the Town of Palm Beach United Way invite you to join them on Thursday, November 24, 2011 for the 3rd Annual Town of Palm Beach United Way 5K Turkey Trot. Kickoff the holiday by touring the beautiful island of Palm Beach with your family, friends and neighbors. Visit Palmbeachunitedway.org/turkeytrot

*Mack Mixer

On Nov 16 at 6:30 p.m. come to The Cottage for Palm Beaches new Gay/ Straight Friendly Professional Cocktail Social. Admission is $10 and includes one complimentary Grey Goose VODKA cocktail. Visit Mackplanet.com

*9th Annual Cocktails For Compass

On Dec 18 come to the Cocktails for Compass which is largest fundraiser which recognizes Compass’ top donors and supporters while highlighting the successes of the year’s achievements and programs. Contact Cocktails For Compass at events@compassglcc.com or visit compassglcc.com.

Yoga On The Waterfront

Lake Pavilion at 101 S. Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL / Yoga On The Waterfront in downtown West Palm Beach on Wednesday Evenings at 5:45 p.m. Residents $40 per 8 week session, Non-Residents $50 per 8 week session, Drop-ins $10 per class. To register, please call 561-804-4902.

Yoga with Deborah will change your life. Bring a mat and get ready to stretch the stress away every Tuesday at The GLCC in Palm Beach from 6 to 7 p.m. This yoga experience will uplift and transform your life. $6 Entry Fee. You must bring your own mat. Visit Compassglcc.com

Living Buddhism

Good Orderly AA

These meetings take place at Compass, and geared toward recovering alcoholics. Every Tues. and Thurs. at 7 p.m. and on Sat. at 6 p.m. These meetings will help recovering alcoholics cope with the stress of everyday life without the use of alcohol.

Miami

*Swan Song

On Nov. 28 at 11p.m. to 5 a.m. will be the last chance to see all the people you met at The White Party. Swan Song sets the stage as the longest-running favorite party of locals and tourists alike at Twist Nightclub. No cover. Visit Whiteparty.org

*MDGLCC/GALLA Luncheon

MDGLCC/GALLA (Gay & Lesbian Lawyer’s Assn.) Luncheon. Monthly networking program tailored for attorneys, judges and legal professionals held on the middle Wednesday of each month. Guest speaker: Dana R. Quick, Bast Amron, L.L.P. Truluck’s Restaurant at 777 Brickell Avenue. For more information visit Mdglcc@bellsouth.net

*MDGLCC Networker Spotlight Mixer

The MDGLCC presents its Chamber SpotlightMixer on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the “Lucky Strike Bowling Lanes Miami Beach” located at 1691 Michigan Avenue, Miami Beach 33139. Mingle and network with fellow members and guests. Come ready to enjoy a fun night of free bowling, pool table, games, and music to the tunes of DJ Vertigo. $10 general admission. Limited to 250 people. RSVP Requested 305-673-4440

continued on page 28

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

November 9, 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ SouthFloridaGayNews.com

To Submit Listings Email: Brian at Calendar@sfgn.com Fax: 954-530-7943. Please include a brief description, address, phone number, date, time and cost.

CLUBS SPOTLIGHT

t only happens once in a century, when the numbers line up like this and it must be ordained in the cosmos, too, because it’s also a federal holiday—Veterans Day—making this another special weekend. South Florida’s bars and clubs never pass up an opportunity for a blowout holiday weekend and this is no exception:

Saturday, Nov. 12 he Manor is bringing in DJ Kidd Madonny for a big underwear party, featuring the stylings of M.I.A. Men in Ac-

*Aqua Affair

*52nd Annual Key West House & Garden Tours

Come and join the Aqua Foundation on Nov. 13, between 6 p.m. -10 p.m. at the private and beautiful villa 221 estate for conversation, drinks, and light fare as The Aqua Foundation recognize our grant and scholarship recipients. Don’t miss out on this once a year celebration. Entrance includes sumptuous hors d’oeuvres, a complimentary glass of prosecco and their signature aquatini. Call 305-576-2782

Shecky’s Girls Night Out

Girls Night Out is coming to Miami at The Moore Building in the Design District Ne 41st St Miami on Nov 18, and you’re invited! Discover unique designers, sip our delectable drinks, and cap your night with some pretty pampering and glorious Goodie Bags (trust us, you don’t want to miss the goodies). Visit Sheckys.com

Friday, Nov. 11 outh Beach hangout Twist hosts its first annual Bear party featuring DJ Barry Huffine and offering $15 beer bucket specials, a little “honey for the bear,” so to speak.You’ll find the action at 1057 Washington Ave. Meanwhile on the mainland, Eros Lounge debuts tonight at 8201 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami.Videos and music will be provided by Reddy and Charlie Rojas. There’s no cover and plenty of free parking at Eros, too. Boardwalk owner Victor Zepka always brings in big names for the holiday weekends and this time is the queen of porn Chi-Chi LaRue, who is also just as talented in the DJ booth. She’ll be spinning from the stage tonight and Saturday beginning at 10 p.m. Boardwalk is located at 1721 N. Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. If you’d rather sing the night away, The Stable, 205 E. Oakland Park Blvd. in Oakland Park, kicks off Friday karaoke nights this week from 8 p.m. to midnight. If the clubs aren’t your thing, you’ll make plenty of friends over some Celine (Dion) and Cindy (Lauper), so start practicing.

*Schooner Wharf Bar 21st Annual Lighted Boat Parade

On Nov. 22, starting at 7 p.m. HBO presents “GLOW”, a monthly screening series produced by the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The next installment of GLOW is a double-feature of “The Grove” and “Mom and Dad, I Have Something To Tell You.” Also a meet and greet with filmmaker and Israeli TV star Assi Azar. Visit MGLFF.com

By J.W. Arnold

Dine Out Lauderdale

Chi-Chi LaRue returns to the Boardwalk

submitted photo

Thursday, Nov. 10 new Thursday party premiers at Dapur, 1620 N. Federal Hwy., with Toxic Thursdays, hosted by Yazi and Thomas Armaly. The theme is “Tron,” and whether you’re in your 40s and remember the original or the latest incarnation of the Disney video game-inspired films, it promises to be a great way to kick off the weekend.

*MGLFF Movie Series “GLOW” Presents a Double Feeature

tion. Erika Norell will be performing and for a little Latin rhythm, you can also pop over to the Noche Latina room for salsa and drag shows. The Manor is located at 2345 Wilton Dr. in Wilton Manors. Sunday, Nov. 13 iscotekka has always been a Saturday night destination, but they’re launching a new Sunday event, “Drag’s a Bitch.” The club will be holding an open casting call, but look for special performances by Erica Andrews and Alexis Gabrielle Sherrington, both Miss Continental titleholders. Discotekka is located in hopping downtown Miami, 950 NE 2nd Ave. Luck be a lady tonight and South Florida’s luckiest lady, Cashetta, is back from Las Vegas! Catch her shows in the Manchester Room at Georgie’s Alibi in the Shoppes of Wilton Manors at 8, 9 and 10 p.m. She sings, she dances, she does magic….she’s all that!

Monday, Nov. 14 hile we don’t need an excuse to party, it’s always a good excuse to go out when it’s “for a good cause.” Tonight, 100 percent of all tips and 20 percent of sales at Rosie’s Bar & Grill will benefit the Smart Ride for AIDS research. Local celebrities will be serving and it’s a “Lash Chance” dinner spectacular, with everyone wearing their wildest eyelashes. Rosie’s is at 2449 Wilton Dr. in Wilton Manors.

Dine Out Lauderdale, a six-week celebration of the area’s top restaurants, chefs and cuisine. From October 1 through November 10. Greater Fort Lauderdale restaurants are offering specially-created, three-course menus at a $35 fixed price. Enjoy the very best restaurants set amid a tropical backdrop of turquoise waters, golden sands, emerald palms and sun kissed skies. Visit Sunny.org

Miami to Key West Ride

This coming Nov. 18 and 19 will be the Miami-Key West Ride for Charity. Every year, the SMART Ride donates 100 percent of donations to benefiting agencies. Not only that, you decide which agencies receive the funds you’ve raised. Visit TheSmartRide.org

80’s Baby

Come to Badrutts Place every Tuesday and re-visit the days of bad fashion-sense and egos bigger than baggy pants. Happy hour is on Tuesday nights. European tradition and cuisine, with an 80’s twist, meet for a night that’s a bit more tasteful than acid-washed jeans. DJ Lenym plays 80’s favorites and there’s half off drinks from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Ladies drink complimentary cosmos until 10 p.m. Visit Badrutts-place.com

Key West

*Key West World Championship Race

On Nov 6-13 come see theses awesome high-speed offshore powerboats race in Key West Harbor and surrounding waters to continue Key West’s longstanding tradition in this 31st annual challenge, known internationally as the Indianapolis 500 of powerboat racing. Call John Carbonell at 305-296-6166

*Key West ‘Bight’ Before Christmas Holiday Celebration

On Nov. 24-Dec. 31 come get you’re jiggy on with great Live holiday music, games for the kids, free cookies and eggnog, holiday cheer and a chance for photos with Santa highlight this event. Created as a gift to the community, the gala is produced by the Key West Bight Preservation Association and tenants of the Key West Bight. Call Tom Stroh at 305-304-2633

*Pirates in Paradise 2011

The Pirates in Paradise Festival celebrates the glorious days of sail & seafaring adventure and offers tall ship pirate sails, pirate encampments, music, storytelling, re-enactments, literary activities and live theater from Nov. 24 – Dec. 4. Featuring 11 days of swashbuckling fun, over 30+ special events are scheduled at the Truman Waterfront alone! Visit Piratesinparadise.com

*Key West Triathlon (TRIKW)

The second annual Olympic Distance and Sprint Triathlon event returns to Key West. A full-day Expo from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. is planned for Dec. 2 at the Casa Marina Resort; race is scheduled Saturday morning, Dec. 3. Call 305-294-0693 or visit trikw.com

*Keys Chorale 2011 Holiday Concert

On Dec 9, come see The Keys Chorale at Florida Keys Community College, under the direction of Dean Walters, presents its annual holiday concert featuring seasonal favorites from around the world. Highlights include a featured selection of “Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi. Tickets for Friday night are $30 for reserved seating and $20 for general admission. Staged at the Tennessee Williams Theatre. Call 305-296-1520

On Dec 10th enjoy lighted and decorated vessels from rowboats to tall ships proceed around Key West’s Historic Seaport and harbor areas. Holiday revelers can watch and applaud from bars, restaurants and resorts in and around the Historic Seaport. Starts at 6 p.m. Call 305-292-3302

Come tour a series of elegant and a unique part of Key West on Dec 27-28 decorticated for the holidays. Proceeds help benefit the old Island Restoration Foundation. Presented by the Old Island Restoration Foundation, this house and garden tour offers a rare opportunity to see inside some of key West’s magnificent, charming and tropical residences. Call 305-294-9501 or email tickets@oirf.org

*Florida Keys New Year’s Eve Celebrations

The Southernmost City celebrates with a conch shell drop at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, 201 Duval St.; a descending 6-foot red high heel shoe carrying drag queen Sushi at the Bourbon Street Pub/New Orleans House complex, 724 Duval St.; and a pirate wench descending from a tall ship mast in the island city’s Historic Seaport. Call 305-296-2388

nightlife Broward 321-Slammer

Bathhouse. 321 W Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33311. Slammer sex club the best place to cruise for the hottest gay men. Thursday’s is leather night, fri-sat night live dj’s. Monday & tuesday -- $9 entry fee

Atomic Boom

2232 Wilton Drive ,Wilton Manors, FL 33305, (954) 630-3556 Best Sound & Light Show in Broward County. Mondays Porn Bingo with Desiree Dubois. $3 Margaritas, $1 Draft

Bill’s Filling Station

2209 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305, (954) 567-5978. Large Bar/ Nightclub, Amazing. Drink Specials in Wilton Manors. Wednesday’s After 9pm $10 Miller Lite Beer Bust

Boardwalk

1721 North Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311. (954) 463-6969. A Cute Little Hangout in Fort Lauderdale PoolRoom/Game Room on One Side and a Bar-Strip Club on the other. Mondays $3 Well & Dom, after 9pm $3 U-Call-It Shots

The Club Fort Lauderdale

Bathhouse. 110 Northwest 5th Avenue,Fort Lauderdale, FL ,(954) 525-3344 Good. Clean. Fun. 1/2 price rooms...Tuesday Nights and 1/2 price Lockers. Thursdays Nights. Always busy.

Clubhouse II

Bathhouse. 2650 E. Oakland Park Blvd , Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 566-6750. A Private Club for Bi/Gay men. Bear and Cub Thursday $4 Off For Bear & Cub. Tuesday Leather Night - $4. off wear any type of leather.

Corner Pub Bar

1915 North Andrews Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33311, (954) 564-7335. Redefining What a Bar Should Be. Thursday’s Margarita. Madness $4, Monday’s Underwear Night. 2 for 1 until 9:30 p.m.

Cubby Hole

823 North Federal Highway ,Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, (954) 7289001. The Cubby Hole is one of Fort Lauderdale’s Most Unique and Popular Neighborhood Bar for Men. Underwear Wednesday’s. Boxers n’ Briefs get 2 for 1 on Drinks 9 p.m. till Close

The Depot Cabana Bar and Grill

2935 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, (954) 5377076. Voted the “Friendliest” Gay Bar in Fort Lauderdale. Monday’s $1.99 Drinks and $.50 Wings Open to Close

Georgie’s Alibi

2266 Wilton Drive ,Wilton Manors, FL 33305 ,(954) 565-2526. Fort Lauderdale’s Best & Longest Happy Hour. Wednesdays $2 Domestics & $1 Schnapps after 9 p.m. Wednesdays

Johnny’s

1116 West Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312, (954) 5225931. Monday Dragon with TP Lords, Daisy D. and DJ Rob Sky No cover, drags/trans drink free 10 p.m. to midnight . Everyone else gets $3 drinks all night!. Finally something fun to do on Monday 18+

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

To Submit Listings Email: Brian at Calendar@sfgn.com Fax: 954-530-7943. Please include a brief description, address, phone number, date, time and cost. The Manor

2345 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 (954) 626 0082 Come Dine, Dance, Drink, Mingle and of course Relax. 2-4-1 Happy Hour Tues-Friday 3-9pm. Indoor/Outdoor Dining. Dance the night away Thursday - Sunday. Live Music Weds, Fri, Sat, Sun - Visit themanorcomplex.com FOR MORE DETAILS.

Matty’s on the Drive

2426 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 (954) 564-1799. Matty’s is one of the few bars in Wilton Manors that’s just that –a bar. Wild Wednesday’s $.75 Drinks, 13 Drinks for less than $10. 5 p.m.

Mona’s

502 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, (954) 525-6662. The eclectic décor and a friendly staff makes. Mona’s a great place to have fun in Fort Lauderdale. Thursday’s College Boy’s Night 8pm Enjoy College Boy’s Choice 2 for 1

Monkey Business

2740 North Andrews Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33311, (954) 514-7819. The Monkey Business Bar is a Small Outdoor Bar Among The Shops Just off Marina Blvd. No Frills But Comfortable and a Great Place to Stop and Meet Good People. Happy Hour 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Naked Grape Wine Bar

H.G. Rooster

823 BELVEDERE ROAD, WEST PALM BEACH FLORIDA 33405, (561)-832-9119. H.G. Roosters is West Palms oldest gay club. Sunday’s Complimentary BBQ 5pm, Hot Male Dancers 6 p.m., Karaoke 11 p.m.

The Mad Hatter

1532 North Dixie Hwy ,Lake Worth, FL 33460. (561) 547-8860. Cheap drinks, friendly bartenders, and free pool SundayThursday. Stop by and relax at this no-attitude haunt.

Tag Bar

25 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33483 954-8013247. Delray Beach’s only Gay Bar. Mon - Sun: 4 p.m. - 2 a.m. Awesome Drink Specials

Miami

Club Space

34 NE 11th St ,Miami ,Florida, 33132,(305)350-1956 Space Miami Voted Best U.S Club IDMA 2011. The go-to venue for any nightlife enthusiast in the nation,The club is proudly marching on into its second decade of operation.

2039 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305, (954) 563-5631 A Casual, Hip, Fun Experience and if You Have a Taste for Deliciously Unique Wines, You Need to Make This Your Next Stop! Happy Hour All Night on Thursday

Club Sugar

New Moon

950 NE 2nd Ave, Downtown Miami, Florida 33132,(305)3509084 One of the Best Night Clubs In Miami. Every Saturday The Hottest DJ’s from the Top Performers. Drink Special Every Saturday

2440 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305, (954) 563-7660 Your neighborhood lesbian bar in the heart of Fort Lauderdale and just minutes from Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Wednesday All the fun, half the price 2-4-1 All Day, All Night

PJ’s Corner Pocket

924 North Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, (954) 533-0257. One of The Most Diverse Bars in Fort Lauderdale. $2 Drinks Every Wednesday, Spades Every Thursday

Ramrod

1508 NE 4th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304, (954) 763-8219 South Florida’s Leading Levi, Leather and Uniform Bar/Club. Every night is Bear Night. Bear Happy. Hour Every Thursday. Caged Hunks Sat Night

Rosie’s Bar and Grill

2449 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305, (954) 567-1320 Wilton Manor’s Best Burger in Town. Try the Fat Elvis. Happy Hour 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Scandals Country Western Bar

Oakland Park, FL 3334, (954) 567-2432. Scandals Gay and Lesbian Country Western. Dance Bar in Wilton Manors. Tuesdays Pool League, and Free Dance Lessons

Sidelines Sports Bar

2031 Wilton Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33305, (954) 563-8001 Sidelines Sports Bar and Billiards is a unique, friendly, And accepting place to relax with a cold beer, great drinks and Martinis. Happy Hour M-F 4pm to 2am

2301 SW 32nd Ave, Miami, Florida, 33145,(305)443-7657. All the Sweetness you’ll need in one Club. Every Thursday Drag Wars with TP Lords. $5 House Drinks & $4 Domestic Beers all night

Discotekka

Johnny’s

Miami 62 NE 14 Street Downtown Miami Florida (305)640-8749 No Cover 7 nights a week. The hottest men in the universe strip shows nightly from 6 p.m. Sexy from Wall to Wall. Saturday SEPT 3 in Miami FIRE & ICE at the SPOT…The Hottest POP, Hip Hop and Latin alongside the COLDEST Electro and House Beats. all on Miami’s Best Sound System.

Score

727 Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, Florida, 33139,(305)561-5521. Score is located in the heart of South Beach, In the thriving and infamous promenade, Lincoln Road. Bigger Saturday’s Sexy Male Dolls

*Swinging Richards

17450 Biscayne Blvd, N Maimi Beach, Fl 33160 954-357-2532 Tuesdays-Saturdays from 6pm til 6am come and enjoy Fully nude guys dancing to the best music in South Floirda.

Twist

1057 Washington Ave, Miami Beach , Florida , 33139, (305)538-9478 Never a Cover…Always a Groove. Resident star DJ Mika spins tribal. Every Saturday TWIST is full of the hottest men in Miami. Muscle boy dancers taking it off in the Bungalow Bar.

Smarty Pants

Key West

The Stable

801 Duval St. , Key West, Florida,(305)294-4737 Cabaret shows upstairs with nightly performances by famed performers Sushi, Kylie, RV Beaumont, Margo, and others. Happy Hour specials daily from 11a.m. – 8 p.m.

3038 North Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306, (954) 561-1724. Great Local Hangout in Fort Lauderdale with Great Drink Specials. Saturday’s Free Breakfast to Order – 8 a.m. 205 East Oakland Park Blvd., Oakland Park, FL 33334, (954) 565-4506 A neighborhood bar with a different theme every night, from drag shows and bingos, to bears and underwears.

Torpedo

2829 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312, (954) 587-2500. Your Dance Destination Till Dawn. Open Late for You To Devour The Night. Open 7 nights a week till 4 a.m.

Palm Beach The Cottage

522 Lucerne Ave, Lake Worth, Fl, 33414. (561) 586-0080 Great Service, Great Food, Full Stocked Bar, Great Professional Tea-Dance every Sunday

Fort Dix

6205 Georgia Ave, West Palm Beach, Florida 33405 Directions, (561)533-5355. Mostly local crowd looking to mingle and relax. Place rocks with a Fabulous DJ on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday T-Dance.

801 Bourbon Bar

Club Aqua

711 Duval St.,Key West, Florida,(305)294-0555 Monday’s Dueling Bartenders. Your Bartender’s sing, shake, and stir their way through happy hour 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Kwest

705 Duval St. , Key West, Florida,(305)292-8500 Key West All-Male Strip Club. Daily Happy Hour from 3-8 p.m., And a piano sing-a-long every Wednesday night.

Pearl’s Patio Bar

525 United Street, Key West, FL(305)293-9805 ext. 156 Pearl’s Patio is a great place to enjoy a drink and relax. Happy Hour – every weekday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday’s are Extended Happy Hour 5pm-9pm

Virgilio’s

524 Duval St, Key West ,Florida, (305)296-8118 Classic Cocktails, Italian Cuisine ,Live Music. $5 Martini Mondays, Late night dancing in Their Garden Bar Setting.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

InterFaithOUT Film Series Underway

Hear Me Out By Chris Azzopardi

Series focuses on the struggles of LGBT people of faith By Denise Royal

t can be an interesting intersection – bringing together gay communities with religious ones. Let’s face it – when you have groups like the Westboro Baptist Church telling the world that God hates gays, it’s difficult to figure out how homosexuality and religion can co-exist. But bridging that divide is the goal of a film series currently underway at The Wolfsonian-FIU auditorium. The InterFaithOUT series continues through the middle of December. Each film is followed by a moderated discussion and reception. Admission and reception is free, but reservations are required. The films focus on the journey for visibility and acceptance of LGBT individuals within religious communities throughout the world. There’s still time to catch two of the movies. “People can expect to learn that people of faith are gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. The films show LGBT people living out their faith. Often when someone comes out of the closet as LGBT, they go into the faith closet in the LGBT community. In this film series, we see people embracing all of themselves: their sexuality and their spirituality,” says InterFaithOUT member Allison Grisham. On Nov. 13th, the film Fish Out of Water is screened. It uses animation and academic interviews to dissect the seven Bible verses used to condemn homosexuality and justify marriage discrimination. The movie takes the subject, but not itself too seriously by examining the conventional arguments of hate and exposes how the Bible is often misinterpreted and misquoted regarding same-sex relationships. Dr. Elsie Miranda, of the Department of Theology and Philosophy at Barry University, will moderate this film’s discussion after the screening. “When we have shown a film with more anecdotal and personal stories of families struggling with their faith...the post discussion has tended to also be one of more personal stories of struggle and taken on a sort of group therapy setting. When a film

has contained more research and expert testimony, such as the case with how A Fish Out of Water interviews several Biblical scholars to address head on the seven Bible passages that are most used to condemn homosexuality, the post discussion has had a bit more of a revelatory ‘... Ah...I didn’t know that’ type of response, often followed by deeper questions, says InterFaithOUT member Joseph Mooradian. The series concludes Dec. 11th with the documentary Trembling Before G-d. The 2001 film was directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski. It focuses on the personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian. It outlines their struggle of reconciling their passionate love of Judaism and the Divine with the drastic Biblical prohibitions that forbids homosexuality. Rabbi Amy Morrison of Temple Beth Sholom in Miami Beach will lead the post-film discussion. InterFaithOUT members who have attended previous screenings say the tone of the discussions has been varied because each person brings their own experience and viewpoint to the film. “Following all the films there has been a common thread of this being deeply personal. These are very complex and sensitive issues and the ideas and views expressed in these films can be so different than one has ever been exposed to, that more than anything I think the post discussion serves as a time for one to process this new information,” says Mooradian. RSVP online at http://tinyurl.com/ReclaimingOurFaith or contact SAVE Dade at 305-751-7283. Send emails to interfaithout@savedade.org. Contact Wolfsonian–Florida International University Box Office at 305-531-1001. The Wolfsonian-FIU Auditorium is located at 1001 Washington Avenue in Miami Beach. Denise Royal is an award-winning journalist. She’s a self-described “news junkie” she loves to write about current events and emerging trends. She’s also President of the multimedia content management firm Royal Treatment Media. Contact her at royalt2@aol.com.

Kelly Clarkson, Stronger

Miranda Lambert, Four the Record

If Kelly Clarkson wasn’t making music, you have to wonder: Where would she take out her wronged-woman rage? It’s a scary thought, considering how much the reigning “American Idol” – it’s been nearly 10 years since she was crowned as the inaugural winner – uses power-pop beats as a punching bag for her vehement venting. Miss Independent meets “Mr. Know It All” on the first single, a scorching kiss-off that has her spewing lines like “you don’t know a thing ‘bout me” in glorious fury. It’s the kind of no-BS cut we’ve come to know from Clarkson, an expert at turning doneme-wrongs into club anthems. Look no further than the second song, and single, “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger),” just about the danciest, balls-to-the-wall song she’s recorded; “I Forgive You,” a could-be sequel to “Since U Been Gone,” follows similarly with wonky synths. Vocally, she rocks “The War is Over” and “Honestly,” her breathy tones building to a full belt; it’s a voice that can make even lowest-common-denominator lyrics, like on “Einstein,” rise about the material. But Clarkson’s music on her fifth album, though much less hooky than her last, All I Ever Wanted, has an advantage: It’s easy to feel her pain. She hurts, she gets angry, and she can’t please everyone. “You Can’t Win,” for all the outcasts, is how she addresses that problem, with a line that we can all relate to: “If you’re straight, why aren’t you married yet? If you’re gay, why aren’t you waving a flag?” It’s a win-win for everyone. Grade: B

Usually the one to set things ablaze, Miranda Lambert’s on fire this time ’round. Her best album, and easily atop the year’s finest, is everything the country outlaw’s done so extraordinarily well on the three albums before it – just better. Having already told the gender-rigid conservativeness of the country genre to shove it with her girl-power, whiskey-guzzling ways, she doesn’t waste time to do so again with a pro-everyone anthem that’s wonderfully endearing: “All Kinds of Kinds,” unfolding like a storybook, with a character that’s a cross-dressing congressman and a moral often unheard in country. “Some point the finger, let ignorance linger,” she sings, reminding people to look at themselves before passing judgment. If only for standing out among her play-it-safe contemporaries, being different is obviously something Lambert understands. Her vocals are smeared into fuzzed-out obscurity on country-blues “Fine Tune,” by far her most radical, and possibly sexiest, move. What might seem traditional, “Mama’s Broken Heart” turns out to be anything but – it’s an aggressive you-don’t-know-my-pain song, playing to her bad-girl persona. Lambert, though, has vengeance and vulnerability: she understands the narrator’s frustration of being unsure of herself on Gillian Welch’s “Look at Miss Ohio,” another great cover of hers; the simplistic pain in “Over You” means more coming out of Lambert’s mouth; and the ethereal “Oklahoma Sky” mesmerizes.Vocal nuances, broken boundaries and supreme songwriting: there might be all kinds of kinds, but Miranda Lambert’s still one of the best. Grade: A

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

November 9, 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ SouthFloridaGayNews.com

TRAVEL P h o t o g raph y b y T o n y A dams

Tales of the Canyon I Part One

First of a three part series detailing Alyson Adventures’ Grand Canyon tour By Tony Adams

hen Alyson Adventures’ Zach Mosely suggested I join their “all gay male 8 day whitewater rafting/hiking tour of the Grand Canyon” I gamely agreed, thinking that an invitation made by a naked guy poolside at the Island House in Key West would be soon forgotten. Three days later, he called to confirm my place in the last tour of the season. When I shared the news with my husband (whose work schedule would keep him from joining me) he said, “You? You’re going camping? In a place with snakes and scorpions, and no bathroom?” I replied archly that Zach must have sensed my essential ruggedness, but my husband’s humming the theme song to Green Acres stayed with me throughout the trip. Happy to report my return alive, I saw no snakes or scorpions. I did see what might be the most uniquely beautiful place on/in earth. The Grand Canyon—I had always assumed it to be just a distended ditch—is the only place that literally deserves the words “gorgeous” and “awesome.” For eight days, we drifted past soaring stratified rock exposing the geology of hundreds of millions of years. At night I slept naked beneath only the brilliant and forgotten blanket of stars and streaking comets. I met and bonded with a group of remarkable men who kept me alive in the high places while gently coaxing me out of my comfort zone and into adventure. This is the first installment of my account of a life-changing trip that I hope you will experience for yourself. They also offer lesbian and mixed trips. Packing for the Canyon is refreshingly

minimal but very specific, with Alyson Adventures listing everything you will need, including: sun block, sun glasses, water bottle, hat, fast drying gear, water sandals, sarong (more on that to come) and a square kerchief/bandanna that would replace kleenex (soggy and useless in your pocket after the first slap of the rapids) and would sometimes be dipped in the water and wrapped over heads baked by the relentless sun. Oddly, none of us could recall the hanky color codes indicating sexual specifics! When my light blue kerchief went down the river, a fellow traveler gave me his dark blue spare and I wondered if my sexual identity needed to follow suit, but how? With no phone or Internet, the onset of Google-withdrawal symptoms was immediate and more fright-

ening than any indigenous critters. Alyson’s Darin Hollingsworth, who would be with us throughout the excursion, met us in Las Vegas on the evening before our pre-dawn bus ride to Lees Ferry where we would meet the two young (and straight) guys who were our “River Guide” and “Swamper” (junior guide), and board the motorized pontoon that would carry us through 278 miles of alternating majestic silence and thunderous rapids. At Darin’s orientation, I was relieved and delighted to find that my traveling companions were cordial, lively, intelligent, humorous and of various sizes and ages from early 30s to 60s.This trip, while not for the delicate, is not restricted to the triathletes and gym bunnies among us.When I asked the group how

they would describe their bodies on hook-up sites, their response was immediate and unanimous: “height/ weight proportionate.” As a group, we could be described as alert scramblers, intensely curious about people and places, sturdy, daring but sensible, and appreciative of the earth’s beauty. At dusk one evening, as I sat beside him at the campsite, Darin, who has hosted several groups of gay men through the Grand Canyon, added another essential descriptive. He told me that he always loves watching the men on this trip rapidly sink into their natural playfulness. If you have lost track of your ability to play, the Grand Canyon is where you will rediscover it. On “Day One” as we got into our life vests while standing beside the raft, small objects and their fastenings got all our attention. A wide brimmed hat is indispensible, but did you remember to tie it securely under your chin? Are your sunglasses strapped around your neck? Is your water bottle clipped to a rope? Is your spf 50 lip balm clipped to a belt loop? Is your waterproof camera clipped and strapped around your neck? Is your kerchief knotted? We were less than a mile along when our River Guide shouted, “Have a hand hold!” and the first set of rapids showed me what all the fussing was about. Alyson doesn’t call this trip “Splash!” for nothing. To book a tour, go to Alyson Adventures at http://www.alysonadventures.com/gay/arizona/rafting.htm Parts 2 and 3 of this series will appear in SFGN over the next two weeks.

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Art

Passionate About Penises Art is Activism for Jupiter Sculptor

By J.W. Arnold

but there are no jokes that would make me laugh about circumcision. It’s crude and rude to joke about a victim of an atrocity. We don’t laugh at women who lose a breast to cancer,” he insists. Dulin admits that may have been an isolated incident, but knows the job is not done educating the public. In the meantime, he will continue with his art and he has taken on a personal act—restoring his own foreskin. Several Internet sites provide instructions on stretching the remaining foreskin, a process that can take two to 10 years, depending on the subject. After four years, Dulin says he is seeing results, but he will only have a “facsimile” of his foreskin and can never replace the 60,000 nerve endings that were cut from would be 15 square inches on the average adult male.

submitted photo

work, he presents an artists statement outlining his motivation and perspective. “My goal is to raise awareness. People need to be made aware there is nothing wrong with foreskin,” he says. “It’s a natural part of the body and most people think it’s natural to be mutilated or circumcised. It’s not normal.”

submitted photo

ichael Dulin is passionate about penises—uncut ones. The 59-year-old Jupiter artist has long been an activist against infant circumcision and in recent years has focused his art on educating the public about the practice, which is common in the United States. “It’s a human rights issue,” Dulin argues. “A healthy part of a healthy baby’s body is removed without his consent. He didn’t sign a consent form and his parents shouldn’t make that decision for him. It will happen a million times this year and it’s wrong.” According to Dulin, there is a growing movement in the United States and supporters speak out in a “myriad of ways.” For him, terra cotta sculpture is the primary medium to raise awareness. A largely self-trained artist who began at a young age, Dulin has been sculpting “intact” penises, as he calls them, and quickly gaining attention within the arts community. His works have been selected for both regional and national exhibitions. In addition to the

Dulin, who was circumcised as an infant, first began aware of his own condition at the age of eight. He was bathing and noticed the brown ring around his penis and asked his mother about it. She told him “Jesus was circumcised,” and that was the end of the conversation, he recalls. “It was just done in the 1950s….often without even consulting the parents.” Years later, when Dulin married and started having children with his wife, he took note: “I’m glad my first child was a girl. In the next bed at the hospital there was a woman who had just had a baby boy. The husband had just videotaped the circumcision and was bragging about how the kid screamed and blood spurted everywhere. He said he couldn’t wait to show the video to his son when he was old enough. The fool was so proud of it.” Dulin fathered three sons before coming out and is proud that each is intact. “When we had boys, they never left my sight while they were in the hospital,” he says. “Now they are happy, healthy, well adjusted young men and have never had any problems with their foreskins.” While uncut penises are considered a fetish in the gay community, Dulin has not found everyone to be supportive of his cause. Several years ago, Dulin marched in a New York City gay pride parade under the

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

banner of Intact America, an anti-circumcision group, and found the group heckled by announcers from the reviewing stand. “He may have been trying to be catty,

Visit IntactAmerica.org for more information about the anti-circumcision movement. Or email FineStrata@hotmail.com to contact Dulin.

To place an ad, call Brian Swinford

954.530.4970

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REAL ESTATE VERY PEACEFUL RESIDENCE Lakeridge house: very private, immaculate XLg 1BR, private gated entry, CAC, WD, tile flooring, walk-in closet, ample storage off street parking, fenced patio ZEN meditation/orchid gardens front/ rear VERY quiet. Minutes to Publix, $985/ mon. Call Joe: 954-610-6712. ------------------------------------------------KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY- Ted Adcock, Realtor Cell: 954-609-4393 tedftl@aol.com ------------------------------------------------1/1 CLOSE TO WILTON MANORS &downtown, half duplex, quiet community, private parking, water/garbage included 600/mo + one month security call 954-736-7583 ------------------------------------------------ANDREWS GARDENS: Oct. 1st Occupancy. 5111 NW 1st Ave., cozy, clean, happy 2/1 private home. Patio, fenced, paver drive, close to everything. 985/mo. (1st + sec.). 954-629-0393. ------------------------------------------------620 NE 7TH AVE, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33304 For Sale: 250,000. 3 Bedrooms 2.5 Bath. Call John Castelli at (954) 563-9889 ------------------------------------------------TWO BEDROOM MIDDLE RIVER HOMES CONDO. Two bedroom, two bath condo in pet friendly building with wash/ dryer in unit. Close to Wilton Manors. First and second floor units available March 1. $975 f/l/s. Jimmy Cunningham licensed Real Estate Agent Castelli RE Services 954-303-7380. ------------------------------------------------THE SHAPIRO GROUP INC. Residential Property Management LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKER. www.shapiroproperty. com 954-434-0175

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ROOMMATES GAY/GAY FRIENDLY ROOMMATE WANTED IN BOCA. Located in Boca Raton, right off Military Trail (north of Palmetto Park). Available now. 1 Unfurnished bedroom/ 1 Full Bathroom for rent in townhouse. Neighborhood is family friendly, safe and gated. Community has its own pool and tennis court. Very close to shopping, restaurants, I-95 and schools. Looking for a mature, easy going, gay/gay friendly individual. Non / outdoor smoker preferred. $650.00/ month with a 6 to 12 month lease. Water + Trash included. Call Jeff 561-315-0746 ------------------------------------------------ROOM 4 RENT IN 2 BED/1 BATH. Clean! $500 mo. includes utilities. North of Sunrise/East of Andrews. Walk to Wilton Manors. Must be gay friendly male/female. Call 954-297-9270 ------------------------------------------------ROOMMATE WANTED TO SHARE TOWNHOUSE IN S. POMPANO. $450 a month. Everything included. Male or female. Call Margie at 954-829-3933. ------------------------------------------------VICTORIA PARK LARGE TOWNHOUSE Lge. Pvt. Bedroom w/full use of home Key West Style Street with view. References with happy stable life. $625 plus 1/2 utilities. cbado@Live.com or 954.709.0505 ------------------------------------------------FTL-CORAL RIDGE POOL HOME Male to share remodeled 4BD/4BA home w/2 males. Unfurn, W/D, chef’s kitchen, wi-fi, lg pvt backyard w/dive-in pool,1.5 mi to beach. $800/mo. 954-609-9405. ------------------------------------------------ROOM FOR RENT in immaculate 2 bedroom 1 bath single family home. Fully fenced backyard, new granite/cherry kitchen. Close to public transport and Wilton Manors. Pets welcome. $500 includes utilities. 201-696-8752

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

VIEWS OF THE NEWS

PRIDE CENTER’S “EVENING IN PARADISE”

Pride Center supporters, Steve Wetzler and Brad Stang

Photos by Paul Domenick

Irwin Drucker, co-chair and host, with his mother, Lynn Berman

TUESDAY’S ANGELS DINNER

Chuck Nichols and Joe Pallant

Models greet guests with leis as they enter

marketplace

November 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

November 9, 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ SouthFloridaGayNews.com