02/09/11 V2I6 by South Florida Gay News

Agenda Editors Quit Over Censored News Story Page 5

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February 9, 2011 • VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 6

Was Mona a Man? And Who’s Your Valentine? page 29 INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Jane Velez-Mitchell: Addict Nation

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Robert Spector: Legal Advice

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Donna McKechnie

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Fred Fejes’ Classroom

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Staff Report

New Year Brings New Changes to SFGN

By Matt Clark

eginning this week, SFGN will expand the advertising opportunities and the news contents of its daily headlines and email blasts, which now reach over 1,000 readers daily, Publisher Norm Kent announced today. “The important thing as we move to

a new age of journalism is that while every Wednesday our readers want a hard copy of their newspaper in their office and living room they also want their news content daily off their iPad or iPhone or computer,” Kent stated. Accordingly, each day’s headlines will be presented by an advertiser, have five news stories, and at least one editorial

February 9, 2011 • Volume 2 • Issue 6

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

column, along with a daily update of a topical event playing out during the same week. “Our goal,” said new managing editor Jason Parsley, “is to make SFGN a certain stopping point for readers wanting LGBT news, content, and information. We feel it can best be achieved by expanding our online offerings as well as letting our readership see which advertisers are supporting substance and content for our community.” “SFGN receives dozens of articles daily that we can’t fit in the paper, which we already add to our website,” said Dennis Jozefowicz, the Online Director for SFGN, “but now we will have even more to read.”

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

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

Editorial Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . Jason Parsley jason.parsley@sfgn.com Lifestyle & Features Editor. . . A. Sebastian Fortino sebastian.fortino@sfgn.com. .

Political Affairs Editor . . . . . . Jarrett Terrill jarrett.t@sfgn.com Arts/Entertainment Editor . . . Mary Damiano marysfgn@gmail.com SFGNites Editor. . . . . . . . . . . JW Arnold Business Editor . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Gary Senior Features Correspondents . . . . . . . . . . J esse Monteagudo Tony Adams Correspondents. . . . . . . . . . . P enn Bullock Amy Paonessa Steve Fritz Jason Shutts Contributing Columnists. . . . W ayne Besen Susan Estrich Brian McNaught Leslie Robinson Dana Rudolph Editorial Cartoonists. . . . . . . S teve Sack Darryl Smith Calendar Editor. . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Clark

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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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February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Local News

Florida Officials ‘Catch Hagen’ Over Billboards and Other Issues Steve Hagan Is Blowing Whistles for Florida’s Parks, People and Neighborhoods By Jarrett Terrill

wants to protect either. “I like boogey-boardteve Hagen is a man that the Miami ing, swimming and riding my bike,” Hagen New Times called “persistent and says, “but I also do a lot of the cultural stuff annoying” in 2006. He considers it too and so for that reason, I like Miami just a a compliment as they were hailing his po- little bit better than Fort Lauderdale.” At 62 years of age, Hagen has lived in litical advocacy in their “best of” issue that the Miami area since year. Hagen is known 1979. “For 25 years I for advocating and ralwas self-employed as lying people around an importer-wholeissues that span from saler of Indonesian construction and zonhandicrafts,” he tells ing to urban sprawl me. He became inand keeping corporate volved with neighadvertising out of the borhood politics in parks and recreation ara time that he deeas. He’s no stranger to scribes as more poG.O.T.V. (“Getting Out litically vibrant: The Vote”) and Gay “You know when Rights Advocacy (was you’re 30 or 40 and a prominent member you move to South of SAVE Dade) either. Florida, you might Again in 2011, Hagen find that all that ‘gay is proving his “street ghetto’ stuff is just credentials” both literSteve Hagan fine but eventually it ally and figuratively. It’s just Hagen’s style to create an advocacy gets old and you want to see some change,” group out of an issue that might not other- Hagen says reminiscently. “A friend and I wise get a lot of press. The names of these started our own Democratic organization groups in the past have ranged from the de- down here awhile back and we really got scriptive “Save Bicentennial Park from Mas- things going. We had real speakers too sive Museums” to comical “Citizens Against people like Janet Reno.” But after a few years, Hagen found that Everything Bad”. His most recent advocacy effort is all Democratic politics in Florida are sufferabout the new LED Billboards which will ing from a lack of direction and active parundoubtedly start springing up everywhere ticipation. “When my friend moved up to and blocking out the sun. “These things Broward for business, we handed the reigns are monstrous,” Hagen claims, “and they of our organization over to some other change their messages all the time so they people,” says Hagen. “But I don’t know if are a distraction to drivers as well. I’m pret- they’ve even had one meeting since then.” “I understand that many people move ty sure that the Federal Highway Beautification Act has rules that regulate [some of here for their retirement and they just want to be left alone. They don’t want to get inthese conditions].” Hagen is a member of the Democratic Ex- volved… but laws don’t change if you don’t ecutive Committee; he is a precinct captain get involved.” When Hagen starts to lament a lack of and constant advocate for parks and neighborhoods. He is no stranger to the areas he continued on page 30

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February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Atlanta Magazine to Debut in South Florida By Matt Clark

ublisher Matt Neumann of David Magazine Atlanta announced last week that his popular and Peach State Guide is coming our way. Beginning this week he has placed some advertising for salesman to work a South Florida gig for the sleek looking publication, which is the magazine of choice for LGBT readers in Atlanta. While promoting nightlife and nightclubs, the magazine writes about entertainment, music, personalities, and features a few advice columns as well. “We feel there is a void for another quality publication,” Neumann stated, “and we hope to fill it.” Neumann expects to distribute his first issues to South Florida

venues by March 1, prior to Pridefest at Jaco Pastorious Park in Oakland Park. Matt Neumann is also the publisher of SoVo, the Southern Voice, based out of Atlanta, as well. He is not at all connected to the David Magazine previously published in South Florida, which folded ten years ago when its owner, Gil Quijas, was arrested and charged with grand theft. Neumann, on the other hand, started up SoVo after the Blade newspaper chain, run by Unite and Window Media, folded in 2009.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Agenda Editors Quit Over Censored News Story Exposé on Cell Phone Thefts at Nightclub Killed By Norm Kent

“Still, I felt I had to do the story,” Jones told he news editor SFGN. “Patrons are being and former editaken advantage of and no tor in chief of one was doing anything the Florida Agenda both about it.” But when the quit last week when their Living Room’s Mark Lowe, newspaper management got word of it, he purporttold them they would reedly pressured the Agenda fuse to print an exposé to drop the story or he they were writing about would pull his advertising ongoing thefts occurring J eremy J ones in their magazines. at a nightclub that is one Jones confirmed he had reached out to of the company’s prominent advertisers. The drama unfolded when Dmitry Rash- Lowe to interview him, but instead heard nitsov, the former editor who is now a part back from the Agenda’s publisher that the stotime writer for the Agenda, lost his cell ry would not be run. Jones, who came to the phone at the Living Room Nightclub on a Agenda with a professional journalism background that included a stint as a news writer Friday night. The Fort Lauderdale based club in Riv- for the Express Gay News and Sun-Sentinel, erwalk has a huge young gay following on told his bosses he and his partner would quit Fridays. Its ads conspicuously appear on if their story was not going to be published. Jones stated the ‘censorship’ did not comthe inside cover of Mark Magazine, which is part of the Multi Media Platforms group, port with his vision of what a newspaper should be. He added, “Your principles are that also owns the Florida Agenda. Investigating the theft, Rashnitsov discov- part of your character. And if you give up ered his loss was not an isolated incident. your principles, you give up your characHe learned through various postings on ter.” Both Jones and Rashnitsov resigned Facebook that a rather large number of in- from the newspaper last week. Said an SFGN source who spoke directly dividuals were losing their phones to thefts at the Living Room on Fridays. Fort Lauder- to Lowe, he had complained that the article dale Police told the victims, in filing police would be unfair because it was going to reports, that the club might be targeted by single out his nightclub. But the article may a professional group of pickpocket thieves. have not only been fair, it was apparently Stated one Gene Inger, who filed a re- going to be spot on. SFGN has confirmed port after losing his I-Phone just last Friday from at least eight different persons that night, “I contacted AT&T and was told calls their phones have been lost at the Living were already being made to Cuba. The police Room in the past few months, including a told me that 6-10 people were losing their young man, Tyler Duke. “The problem is still there, and the thefts phones on Friday nights. And I was pick pocketed for two hundred dollars as well. ” are still happening,” stated Jones. “Patrons Meanwhile, Jeremy Jones, the new editor and the community had a right to know of the Florida Agenda decided to do a story about it.” Meanwhile, at least one of the younger vicin the paper revealing the thefts, hoping to alert the LGBT community of the danger. tims of the thefts, Tyler Duke, is grateful to Though its editor-in-chief, Jones, like his the Living Room’s Mark Lowe. “He bought partner Rashnitsov, only worked part time me a new phone,” Duke said. But Inger, who at the Agenda, the story was on his radar. lost his phone last weekend was not so lucky. Neither Jones or Rashnitsov are beholden to “The I Phone can’t get insurance,” he lamentthe Agenda. Each are employed full time in ed, “the new one cost me $400.” another field, holding marketing jobs in the Publisher’s note: Lowe did not respond to SFGN not for profit sector. for comments.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

National News

New Study Confirms Discrimination Against Transgendered By Staff Reporter

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he National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) last week released a comprehensive new report, “Injustice at Every Turn,” revealing the depth of discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming people in a wide range of areas, including education, health care, employment, and housing. The study, based on the results from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), was based on responses from over 6,450 participants. The NTDS is the first large-scale national study of discrimination against transgender and gender non-conforming Americans, and paints a more complete picture than any prior research to date. Among the key findings from “Injustice at Every Turn”: Respondents were nearly four times more likely to live in extreme poverty, with household income of less than $10,000. Respondents were twice as likely to be unemployed compared to the population as a whole. Half of those surveyed reported experiencing harassment or other mistreatment in the workplace, and one in four were fired because of their gender identity or expression. While discrimination was pervasive for the entire sample, it was particularly pronounced for people of color.African-American transgender respondents fared far worse than all others in many areas studied. Housing discrimination was also common. 19% reported being refused a home or apartment and 11% reported being evicted because of their gender identity or expression. One in five respondents experienced homelessness because of their gender identity or expression. An astonishing 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide, compared to only 1.6% of the general population. Discrimination in health care and poor health outcomes were frequently experienced by respondents. 19% reported being refused care due to bias against transgender

Rea Carey

or gender-nonconforming people, with this figure even higher for respondents of color. Respondents also had over four times the national average of HIV infection. Harassment by law enforcement was reported by 22% of respondents and nearly half were uncomfortable seeking police assistance. Despite the hardships they often face, transgender and gender non-conforming persons persevere. Over 78% reported feeling more comfortable at work and their performance improving after transitioning, despite the same levels of harassment in the workplace. Said Rea Carey, Executive Director of the Task Force: “By shedding light on the discrimination that transgender Americans face, this study poses a challenge to us all. No one should be out of a job, living in poverty, or faced with sub-par health care simply because of their gender identity or expression. The scope of the problem is clear, and now we must come together to solve it.” Said Mara Keisling, Executive Director of NCTE: “Reading these results is heartbreaking on a personal level-each of these facts and figures represents pain and hardship endured by real people, every single day. This survey is a call to the conscience of every American who believes that everyone has the right to a fair chance to work hard, to have a roof overhead, and to support a family. Equality, not discrimination, is the ideal that Americans believe in, have fought for, and need to apply here.”

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

HUD Announces Proposed New LGBT Anti-Discrimination Rule By Dana Rudolph Keen News Service

he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on January 20 announced proposed new regulations intended to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in its core housing programs—programs that impact 4.4 million units of housing in the country. The proposed new rule would: • Clarify that families who are otherwise eligible for HUD programs may not be excluded because one or more members of the family may be an LGBT individual, have an LGBT relationship, or be perceived to be such an individual or in such relationship. • Prohibit owners and operators of HUDassisted or HUD-financed housing from inquiring about applicants’ sexual orientation or gender identity. • Prevent lenders from using sexual orientation or gender identity of an applicant as a basis to determine eligibility for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages. FHA mortgages represent one-third of all new mortgages in the country. The first two policies above would apply to HUD’s rental assistance and home ownership programs, including FHA mortgage insurance programs, community development programs, and public and assisted housing programs. In total, there are currently 4.4 million HUD-funded units of housing in the U.S., said a department spokesperson, including public housing, housing subsidized by the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8 housing), and multi-family housing assisted by HUD funding. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan called the move “a fundamental issue of fairness” and said, in a press briefing, that he wants HUD to be a “leader” in the fight for LGBT equality, as it has been in other civil rights battles. Last October, HUD announced its intent to institute the new rule as part of a series of measures to address housing discrimination against LGBT people. HUD also announced last July a clarification of existing policy, stating that, although the Fair Housing Act—a pivotal civil rights

act that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status—does not specifically cover sexual orientation- or gender identity-based discrimination, it may still cover them in other ways. For example, gender-identity discrimination may be seen as sex discrimination. HUD has also instructed staff to inform individuals about state and local LGBT protections that may apply to them. And HUD has told its grant applicants—who seek a total of $3.25 billion in federal funding— they must comply with such state and local laws, where they exist. There are currently no explicit federal protections that ban housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Twenty states plus the District of Columbia have housing protections specific to sexual orientation, and 13 states plus the District have protections specific to gender identity. Approximately 150 cities, towns, and counties have LGBT protections as well, according to HUD. No national study has quantified how many LGBT people have faced housing discrimination, although several smaller studies and examples have indicated pervasive discrimination, especially against transgender people and LGBT seniors. HUD is now preparing a national study to fill this gap. The agency collected input

for the study last year via a national listening tour and online submissions. A HUD spokesperson said the target date for reporting findings is late 2012. HUD may additionally include LGBT discrimination in its decennial study of housing discrimination, which has, in the past, looked at racial- and ethnic-based discrimination. There is also a move in Congress to prohibit discrimination against LGBT people in all housing, not just HUD programs. At the end of the last session of Congress, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), and Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) introduced the Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) Act, which would amend the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, source of income, or marital status in the sale, rental, financing, or brokerage of housing. The bill would also expand the Fair Housing Act’s definition of “familial status” to include “anyone standing in loco parentis” to a minor—thus providing protection to same-sex couples and other families where one parent may not be legally recognized. Individuals seeking redress under the Fair Housing Act may bring a lawsuit in federal district court or file an administrative complaint with HUD. Ilan Kayatsky, a spokesperson for Nadler, said Nadler hopes to reintroduce the bill in this session of Congress “within the next couple of months.” Nadler praised HUD’s proposed new rule in a statement, saying that he “[welcomes] the Administration’s more inclusive and expansive view of what defines an American ‘family.’” With Republican control of the House this session, however, Nadler lost his chairmanship of the Judiciary Subcommittee on

the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. The new chair for the renamed Subcommittee on the Constitution is Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.). Trent received a 0 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign for each of the past two Congresses, indicating he never voted in favor of legislation to further LGBT equality. The proposed HUD rule must go through a 60-day period of public comment, January 24 to March 25. The date of publication for the final rule will depend upon the volume of comments received, but is expected by the end of 2011, said a department spokesperson. Comments may be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations. gov, or by mail to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW, Room 10276, Washington, DC 20410-0500.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN BRIEFS Kato’s Murderer, Claims Sodomy

to put off a discussion about the next election until a later date, I have been asked on a Uganda police claim Nsubuga Enock, who number of occasions about my confessed to murdering gay rights activist Daplans. In addition, I have become vid Kato, was forced into sodomy by his victim. convinced that making my Kato, an advocacy officer for Sexual Minoridecision to run for reelection ties Uganda (SMUG), was beaten to death known is important for maxiwith a hammer at his home last week. Accordmizing the impact I can have on ing to an anonymous police source, Enock the range of issues to which I confessed to murdering Kato because he was am committed.” “tired of engaging in homosexual practices.” Party leaders considered “Kato is alleged to have bailed [Enock] out supporting Frank in a campaign of Kawuga Prison on January 24, where he against Brown in 2010, but may had been remanded on charges of theft of a have determined his running mobile phone,” the Monitor reported. “The for reelection in 2012 is a suspect told police that he stayed with Kato safer bet. According to TheHill. for two days. He accused the deceased of com, “his eventual challenger having sex with him and promising to pay him won’t have the benefit of the during the period.” Congressman Barney Frank (D., Mass.) GOP headwinds that helped Given the virulently homophobic environmany Republican candidates in 2010.” ment in Uganda, gay rights activists urge the Frank Announces international community to exercise suspicion Reelection Bid regarding official claims about the Kato murder. Barney Frank will not challenge Republican Elton John Bio-Musical “Assume that, until proven otherwise, senator Scott Brown in the 2012 election. Elton John is working on a musical film David’s death was motivated by homophobia “I will be running for reelection to the about his colorful life, reports U.K. paper and not routine or arbitrary violence,” wrote House of Representatives in 2012,” Frank said The Guardian. SMUG in a news release last week. in a statement. “While I would have preferred “I’d just like to make a really great film

about my life story,” John is quoted as saying to BBC Radio 2. “…It will be more of a fantasy — Moulin Rouge-type of stuff. Obviously, it’s not going to be your normal, run-of-the-mill film. My life’s been so surreal, from buying a football club to God knows what.” The paper names a few actors who might be suitable for playing John onscreen, including Ewan McGregor, Michael C. Hall, Ricky Gervais, and Billy Elliot’s Jamie Bell.

More…Prop 8? The California Supreme Court will soon decide whether sponsors behind Proposition 8 have standing to defend the ballot measure. The ninth U.S. circuit court of appeals asked the California Supreme Court for its opinion last month, since the newly inaugurated state officials who normally would defend the case have declined to do so. The three-judge panel said they would not move forward on the case until they understood whether the state supreme court, which ruled on Proposition 8 in 2010, would consider the organizers be-

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN BRIEFS

P e r s o n a l I n j u ry • f r e e c o n s u ltat I o n Sean Avery, Sporting Gay Mentor

Sean Avery hind Yes on 8 to defend the case. California supreme court chief justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said the the court will decide on the fate of the case “as early as next week,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

New York Rangers forward Sean Avery has a message for gay hockey players who are scared to come out, pick up the phone and call him! Avery, who is known to be one of the sporting world’s more liberal athletes, says he’d be more than happy to serve as a support system for a gay player. “If there’s a kid in Canada or wherever, who is playing and really loves the game and wants to keep playing but he’s worried about coming out, I’d tell him to pick up the phone and call…I’ll stand beside him in the dressing room while he tells his teammates he is gay. Maybe if Sean Avery is there, they would have less of a problem with it.” Avery, who lived in West Hollywood when he played for the Los Angeles Kings and now lives in Chelsea, says he doesn’t see the big deal about having an openly gay athlete in professional sports. In addition to being a gay athlete he made headlines last month for stripping for Marc Jacobs as part of skin cancer awareness, and becoming an intern at Vogue magazine in 2008.

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February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Cali Court Won’t Suspend ‘DADT’ Case Appeals Court Denies Government Request to Put Case on Hold By Kevin Dolak and Luis Martinez, Abc News

California federal appeals court has denied the government’s request to suspend a lawsuit that is challenging the military’s ban on openly gay service members. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco issued an order requiring the Department of Justice to file papers by Feb. 25 that outline why the court should overturn the decision of a California judge who ruled the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy unconstitutional. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips made the ruling to enjoin the military from enforcing the policy in September, three months before the Dec. 18 vote that overturned “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Phillips was persuaded by a lawsuit brought on by the gay political group The Log Cabin Republicans. Earlier this month, government lawyers asked the 9th Circuit to set aside the case, arguing that the Pentagon was moving quickly to satisfy the steps Congress outlined when it voted to allow the ban’s repeal. In the State of the Union address Tuesday, President Obama said he expected to finalize the repeal and allow openly gay Americans to join the armed forces before the end of the year. Meanwhile, openly gay servicemen and women are still being discharged, according to R. Clarke Cooper, president of The Log Cabin Republicans. Cooper said today that while he thinks the Pentagon’s efforts are sincere, the case should proceed as long as gay service members still can be discharged. “We said all along to the government we would drop our case if they would cease all discharges and remove all barriers to open service,” said Cooper, an Army reserve officer, who added that he knew of at least one service member facing a discharge hearing next month. Pentagon Says Full Repeal Will Begin in February

Judge Virginia Phillips

On Friday, Gen. James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that the training of officers and troops the Pentagon has said is a predicate to full repeal would begin in February. Each of the military services will create its own training schedules based on guidelines issued by the Defense Department under a plan Cartwright announced Friday. The Pentagon is moving “expeditiously” in laying out the plan for changing existing policies so they conform with the law that repeals “don’t ask, don’t tell,” Stanley said. The next step will be a three-tiered training plan to inform all military members about the changes. The training plan will begin by training “our experts, that’s the first tier,” Stanley said. “The second tier deals with our commanders or our leaders. And the third tier is, of course, the force.” Both officials said it remains unclear how long it will take to train the entire military, though Cartwright said the training of the three tiers doesn’t have to be sequential –“they can go on together.” The main remaining uncertainty is how long it will take to train the 2.2 million service members who make up the armed forces – 1.4 million active duty members and 800,000 national guardsmen and reservists. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Hofstra Law Celebrates 8th Anniversary of LGBT Fellowships Honors Students Committed to Advocacy of Equal Rights By Richard Gary

NGN Correspondent

t was eight years ago that Hofstra University School of Law, based in Hempstead, New York on Long Island, launched an unprecedented fellowship program for students engaged in advocacy on behalf of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. “This program to demonstrates Hofstra’s commitment to equality and support for LGBT individuals,” stated Nora V. Demleitner, Dean of the Hofstra School of Law, which was founded in 1970. As part of the program, each year, the law school selects up to three fellows from among students admitted to the entering J.D. class. Fellowships are awarded to students who have demonstrated a commitment to and intend to pursue careers advocating on behalf of the LGBT community. The fellowship is open to persons of all sexual orientations in recognition of the diversity of individuals who may ally themselves with sexual equality, and to underscore the importance of alliances between the LGBT commu-

nity and the community at large. Scholarship awards include a substantial tuition fellowship each year over three years of law school and up to two $5,000 summer stipends to support a summer externship related to LGBT advocacy.

The Selection Process

Program Overview The Law School’s externship program places students with nonprofit organizations devoted to legal advocacy for the LGBT community. Stated Dean Demleitner, “Our goal is to facilitate and enhance the commitment of our students to their long term goals. Our program has been very rewarding. It enables a student to integrate formal training and practical experience to the classroom.” Added SFGN.com Publisher Norm Kent, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who is a 1975 graduate of the Hofstra School of Law, “I am incredibly proud of my alma mater for underwriting and sponsoring this cause. There is a practical and substantial need for law-trained

pate in a mentoring program with practicing attorneys in the legal community. Upon graduation, fellows are expected to commit to helping further the civil rights advancement efforts of the LGBT community through LGBT related advocacy and organizations. Since its founding, Hofstra School of Law has had an exceptional program in trial advocacy skills. It is the home of numerous programs run by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the leading provider of advanced advocacy training for practicing lawyers. An affirmative attempt is made to ensure the diversity of each entering class of fellows.

Hofstra University

advocates in the LGBT community. Sometimes we forget that 40 states do not have hate crime legislation or that discrimination in employment and housing on the basis of sexuality is still legal in 33 other states.” During the academic year, fellows enroll in a comprehensive course of study devoted to equality, including courses in Sexuality and the Law, Sex Discrimination, Jurisprudence, and an independent study and tutorial designed to address issues of particular concern to the LGBT community. Fellows have the opportunity to partici-

Fellows are selected on the basis of demonstrated academic ability, leadership potential, and experience with advocacy on behalf of the LGBT community prior to law school, which may include political activity, aid to LGBT social support networks, participation in events that promote the visibility of LGBT people, and other forms of charitable or philanthropic activity. Potential candidates are invited to submit their requests throughout the enrollment process. Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian university founded in 1935, has grown from a small commuter college to become one of the most dynamic, fastest growing universities in the United States, its campus now covering 238 acres in suburban Long Island, New York.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Book Review

Addict Nation Jane Velez-Mitchell & Sandra Mohr: Addict Nation, an Intervention for America Health Communications, Inc. HCIBooks.com 326 pages, $24.95

“A culture addicted to consumerism produces too much for us to consume and offers too many ways for us to consume it.” – from Addict Nation.

By A. Sebastian Fortino

o matter how we get our “fix,” the United States needs an intervention. We are, according to Jane Velez-Mitchell, host of HLN’s hit TV show Issues, a nation of addicts. “I wrote this book because we are in a downward spiral of addiction,” said VelezMitchell from New York. “Any addiction starts out as fun then becomes a major problem. We’ve been told we need all this stuff. The fact is that it’s all weighing us down. It’s not making us any happier. My book is hopeful, it offers ways to get out of this madness.” The openly gay Velez-Mitchell, a vegan who battled issues with alcohol, understands the nature of addiction. This book, co-written with filmmaker Sandra Mohr, points out that our “life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness” are in the hands of corporate entities. We are no longer living under the banner of a free market, but rather under the fists of “corporate socialism.” Addict Nation is a very smart book, both in content and method. The 12 chapters are

broken down into smaller units – talking points almost – with thoughtful titles that make each idea very easy to understand. “A lot of what I talk about has been in the media before, especially our being addicted to consumption. However, most books on these issues are written by scholars for other scholars,” said Velez-Mitchell. “You won’t see a youtube.com video about these topics. I wanted to take all of these ideas and put them into simple terms, for the people.” For the people, is right on target. We are a country long identified by the Gross Domestic Product, while Velez-Mitchell and many others believe we should focus on our Gross National Happiness. Consumerism, and literally the need to create more shoppers, to further the economy is not sustainable. On a slightly radical, but not “preachy” note, the writer and TV personality also contends we should give “natural rights” to animals, bodies of water and other such entities. The recent BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico would not have happened had the gulf been protected. She also believes this would crush – or at least reorganize – big agriculture, and the factory farms churning out cheap, hormone-laden cuts of meat. If the cost of meat became more expensive people would have to turn to healthier food alternatives. Obesity in this country would therefore reduce, and not become accepted. “Addicts are not happy people,” she said emphatically. Since the body is known to increase endorphins when consuming fats, sugars, and high levels of salt people

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become food addicts quite easily. “Addicts have to take more and more to get the same high. We have to acknowledge our addiction to food and pharmaceutical drugs.” Prescription drugs, like food is not on the radar for addiction as much as alcohol and illegal drugs. We need to eat, of course and if the doctor prescribes it, it’s OK, isn’t it? Not really. “Big Pharma,” for instance, has more lobbyists in D.C. than both houses of congress…combined. “More people today are overdosing on prescription drugs than illegal drugs. In some states there are more fatal overdoses recorded than car wrecks,” she said. This is changing the face of America. No longer is the stereotypical drug user and pusher an inner-city minority. Facts reveal that most drugs are prescribed by doctors and abused by middle-class-suburban Caucasians looking for some type of fix. “These people are not present for spouses, kids, or loved ones,” she said. On the flipside of this, Velez-Mitchell does not believe our “war on drugs is working” either. “I’m not for outlawing anything,” she said, with the exception of anything that exploits chil-

dren. “Making a drug illegal doesn’t make it go away.” Instead, she feels our prisons are crowded with non-violent offenders, who once released from prison come out ready for a cycle of arrest, incarceration and release. In terms of youth – specifically procreation, and overpopulation – Velez-Mitchell has some interesting ideas as well. The “Octomom” is a severe example, but she’s not the only one filling an emotional void with children. “These outrageously large families you see on TV are the height of irresponsibility,” she said with a sigh. “Personally, I feel, don’t have a child for the wrong reasons. Make sure you can take care of that child through college, or their formative years. Every five seconds somewhere in the world a child dies of hunger.” These and other poignant thoughts abound in Addict Nation. In terms of the actual, physical book, you can feel good about your purchase as Velez-Mitchel and Mohr elected to use sustainable paper. For more information, please visit HCIBooks.com and Amazon.com

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Media Matters

‘Closets’ M

eanwhile, in Israel, ACW Greyt, an advertising company, came up with a series of striking black and white ads to help families adjust to their children’s homosexuality. It is now being marketed by The Aguda, the National Association of GLBT in Israel. The text reads “If you are not with your son, you are against him. If you love your son, love him the way he is. Just listen to him and you might get to know who he really is. The process of getting out of the closet should begin at home.”

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February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Guest Editorial

February 9, 2011

Murdered Ugandan Activist Should Be Honored with Bill in Congress By Wayne Besen

he defilement of slain gay activist David Kato’s funeral by a “preacher” and local villagers who refused to bury his body shows the capacity of Ugandan society to commit extreme violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Thanks to the hateful messages spewed by American evangelical missionaries and the sermons preached by local religious zealots, the public has been whipped into a fanatical anti-gay frenzy. Sexual minorities have been so demonized that their lives are now seen as worthless. When people are dehumanized to this extent, it is not difficult to imagine the possibility of large-scale atrocities. If anyone doubts this, they should read Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s book, “Worse Than War: Genocide, Eliminationism, and the Ongoing Assault Against Humanity. The author makes a persuasive case that when a group is singled out, labeled inferior and deemed a threat to society, the public is primed to carry out violent acts that are otherwise unthinkable. Given the level of vitriol in Uganda, no one was surprised when Kato was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in his home last week – least of all this brave gay activ-

ist himself who warned that “people were following him” and that “he feared for his life.” As the saying goes, one is not paranoid if the threat is real. The treatment of this hero at his own funeral shows the moral depravity of what many people try to pass off as religion. According to various news reports, a graveside preacher exploited the somber affair to use it as an opportunity for condemnation. “The world has gone crazy,” the pastor railed through a microphone. “People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man.” Gay activists (about 100 had arrived on a bus) seized the microphone and an unidentified woman defiantly shouted, “Who are you to judge others? We have not come to fight. You are not the judge of us.” News reports say that villagers defended the preacher and a “scuffle” ensued. The local mob then refused to bury the body and it was left to gay activists to dispose of their friend’s remains. The lack of empathy, human compassion, and respect for Kato’s body is astonishing.

Only a spiritual cesspool with “religious” teachings ranging from vacuous-to-vaudeville-to-violent could produce such monsters. Is this really what religion has been reduced to in Uganda? Ironically, the one figure that emerges as Christ-like is Kato. “David lived his life for his friends, even defending those he hardly knew,” writes a Ugandan lesbian activist Val Kalende. “David was always concerned for the safety of others. Many times, he put himself out of the way for the sake of others. He fed, dressed, comforted, and housed many members of the community who were homeless.” Kalende rightfully places the blame squarely at the feet of militants – both American and Ugandan – who are currently promoting The Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Indeed, most of the trouble in Uganda began when American evangelicals like Rick Warren, Lou Engle, and the secretive organization The Family began coming to Uganda to export their culture war. The situation intensified in 2009 when two “ex-gay” activists joined holocaust revisionist Scott Lively at a conference in Kampala to discuss the evils of homosexuality. Two weeks after the conference, Lively bragged that he had delivered a “nuclear bomb against the gay agenda in Uganda.” This was followed by the introduction of the harsh Anti-Homosexuality Bill and Uganda’s Rolling Stone tabloid (no relation to the American magazine) publishing Kato’s picture alongside other gay activists with the call to hang them. Interestingly, we have no compunction about expressing our outrage when Mus-

lims mask nefarious intentions behind the front of Islamic charities. Yet, we rarely reserve the same righteous indignation when Americans hide murderous designs behind the veil of evangelical charities. When Christian extremists plan trips to developing countries, the State Department ought to begin asking what their “mission” is and what they are trying to “revive” during their revivals. If the answer is religious agitation and stigmatizing minorities, their passports ought to be revoked for the sake of national security. President Barack Obama made a powerful gesture by recognizing Kato’s contributions to humanity. “In Uganda, David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate,” Obama said. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom.” The next step should be that key members of Congress threaten to cut off funds to Uganda if the Anti-Homosexuality Bill passes. The perfect name for this action would be, “The David Kato Human Rights Bill.”

Write to the Editor Please send your letters to: Letters to the Editor, SFGN 2520 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 OR EMAIL: editor@sfgn.com

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Off the Wall

Laws regarding same-sex sexuality

Valentino Comes to America By Pier Angelo Guidugli Saint Valentine’s Day, commonly shortened to Valentine’s Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 500 AD. It was deleted from the Roman calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. Its observance has been taken over by Hallmark Cards and Godiva Chocolatier.

alentine’s Day holds a very special place in my heart for a couple of reasons. The two milestones that changed my life happened on this very day. First and foremost, on February 14, I met my life partner of eighteen years. Furthermore, 36 Valentines ago I decided to leave my native country because I thought I could never be myself there. There was a siren calling me. History says it was discovered by an Italian from Genoa. Only fitting since I was born a few miles away from that same city. America seemed to me the shiny example, and the beacon, of a true democracy; maybe the last hope for an Italian gay man, stifled in a country run by Church and Mafia. Or so I thought! I was very naive back then, but I was excited, hopeful and young. I went across the big pond and landed in New York City. Very quickly I realized that America’s democracy did not contemplate gay rights. In fact, it wanted very little, or nothing, to do with it. I embraced my adopted country only to

witness the rise of Anita Bryant, the killing of Harvey Milk, the emergence of hate preachers like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and their pseudo Moral Majority, a bunch of white, right wing, heterosexual, homophobic, bigoted, intolerant Christians. I discovered that even though the Pledge of Allegiance says “...with Liberty and Justice for ALL,” I was not fully included in the “ALL.” I watched as President Ronald Reagan spent eight years hanging out with Hollywood celebrities, but hiding out from AIDS. I saw rampant homophobia, gay bashing, gays being murdered, and the absence of any laws protecting people because of their sexual orientation. I read articles about gay men getting set up, busted, and arrested for hanging out in public parks, more often than not entrapped by police officers acting as bait and decoys. What was that all about? How could the greatest country in the world be so oppressive? What had happened to the spirit of the founding fathers or, for that matter, of the 60’s generation? Apparently winter came to

Homosexuality Legal Same-sex marriage Other type of partnership (or unregistered cohabitation)

Foreign same-sex marriages recognized No recognition of same-sex couples

the country that had a summer of love. Every Valentine’s Day, without fail, I stop and think what it might have been if I had remained in Europe. In “The Home of the Free” I came to we are not only still fighting for equal rights, laws and legislators and voters are still voting against us. Yet, on the continent I left, gay marriage is acceptable, permissible, and even commonplace. It is legal in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Portugal. Many other countries like the UK, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, Finland, Greenland, France, Luxembourg, and Switzerland fully recognize same sex unions. So does Slovenia, The Czech Republic, even Germany. While the European Union’s Constitution prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, legislators who sought to ban gay marriage are still serving and getting re-elected in our prestigious U.S. Senate. Some prestige. Sorry Dorothy, we are still in Kansas.

Homosexuality Illegal Minimal penalty Large penalty Life in prison Death penalty

Alas, I have no choice, I cannot go back now. This is my home, and, because I love it and cherish it, I will continue the fight here until we find a Gay Moses who leads us out of Topeka. We may not be the ‘the love that dare not speak its name’ anymore but we are not the love getting stamped with the Good Housekeeping seal of approval either. I’m hopeful; convinced in fact, that eventually we will catch up with those “liberal” and “socialist” Europeans. By all means enjoy your Valentine’s Day, but think about what YOU can do to bring about change. Speed up the process. Come out. Speak up. Be counted. Get involved. Don’t ever forget what this country is supposed to stand for: People being who they are and most importantly: letting other people be, on equal terms and with equal rights. Felice San Valentino. Happy Valentine’s Day and pass the chocolate.

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February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SFGN Feedback Manning Should be Freed for His Act of Heroism

Readers respond to Matthew Tsien’s column “Private Bradley Manning is No Gay Role-Model” (Feb. 2, 2011).

Tsien Has Insight and Guts

courtesy of wikimedia

ahahaha. I finally like the South Florida Gay News. This new radley Manning is a modern gay columnist has balls and powerful hero who has accomplished one insight. Bradley Manning is a disgrace, even to of the most significant acts of G.I. our predomanatly left-wing GLBT standards. war resistance in history.This information is Tsien has it RIGHT. Not all gays are exactly what our country needs to MOVE self-centered, victim-mongering, Islamic-assBEYOND these Middle East quagmires that kissing liberals. Some of us live in the real only seem to embolden and bolster terrorist world and know that all the exxagerated ranks around the world while bankrupting our government, economy, and moral standing. homophobia and impulse to betray America is not the truth. Shame on Obama for continuing to send I agree with my partner. Leave Matt Tsien our family members into harm’s way without alone and stand up for America. I’m so a clear mission! Most Afghanis who are resisting the US military occupation are peasant farmers, poor beyond our notion of poor, who haven’t even heard of 9/11 for Christ’s sake! “Just war”, indeed! And SHAME on the DoD for Manning’s current, PRE-judicial conditions, which are certainly beyond punitive and border on torture. His JAG lawyer, Lieutenant Colonel David Coombs, has been doing a warrior’s job of deColumnist Matthew Tsien Private Bradley Manning fending his client against all odds: PFC Bradley Manning Is Not Being Treated Like Every Other Detainee - http:// proud of his editorials as a gay father that I www.armycourtmartialdefense.info/2011/01/ let my two children read them. pfc-bradley-manning-is-not-being.html Bradley Manning is a role model like I hope more of our LGBTQ community Charlie Manson was a Boy Scout. starts talking about him, because we have Get over it and open your pink-tainted political power today that we’ve never eyes, Sisters !!! known before. We have the power to make Significant Other things right when we unite and work with Wilton Manors others for social justice! It’s clear the DoD is flailing about because Tsien is a Freedom we ARE paying attention. We’re paying atHating Conservative tention too soon for them to even come up with a clear cover story, so they react like t is surprising how wrong this columthis when we ask questions: nist is with his facts. First, the most Army Leaks Hit Piece on Bradley recent reports I saw said there is still Manning - http://fdlaction.firedoglake. NO evidence that Manning had anything to com/2011/01/27/army-leaks-hit-piece-ondo with Wikileaks. Perhaps he did, perhaps bradley-manning/ he didn’t. But unless Mr. Tsien has evidence, And we’re not going to stop! Not for ‘busiwhich the US government says it can’t find, ness as usual’ & ‘report discrepancies to your then he’s making it up as he goes along. commanders who lie and arbitrarily punish I will quote the NBC report on it: “U.S. you’ apologists like Matthew Tsien and not military officials tell NBC News that investiuntil they ALL COME HOME TO OUR COM- gators have been unable to make any direct MUNITIES AGAIN TO BEGIN TO HEAL! connection between a jailed army private Ramsey Sprague suspected with leaking secret documents

and Julian Assange, founder of the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.” I know many people who are not on the Left who like Wikileaks, including myself. And the documents they released make other governments look really bad, while the US actually came out looking relatively decent. But like so many on Right smearing is replacing arguments so Tsien merely calls them a “left-wing, anti-American activist group.” I am glad that the gay media seeks alternative views. But freedom-hating conservatives are not much of an alternative. How about some decent libertarian writers, who understand exactly why conservatives are such a threat to liberty. James Peron

Private Bradley Manning Is No Gay Role-Model

his is a pretty good article and stimulates a good debate. We don’t have to condone every wrong-headed scheme by a gay person and call it heroic. I have followed this story with great interest and have to mostly disagree with James. Manning was exposed by a source he confided to.The source was in fact an accomplished computer hacker who was not at all a Republican or a conservative. But he is the one who turned Bradley Manning over to the authorites. I read the New York Times article that revealed his gay activism and the content of many of his e-mails. The article was sympathetic to his gayness, but did conclude by virtue of Mannings own writings that he felt uncomfortable being in the military closet. His e-mails also said he wanted to “create disaster and chaos” I’m a life-long Democrat but not a gay-robot. I do believe that many liberals and Gays are privately embarrassed by Manning’s illconcieved plot against his own coun try. And I do appreciate people like Matthew Tsien being man enough to speak for those many Gays you do not at all like Bradley Manning either as a gay or a professional soldier. We don’t all have to be a bunch of clones and all think alike :lol: Great Article

‘Rebuttal to Matt Tsien’

clearly disagree with Matthew Tsien’s column on Bradley Manning, but I’ll just throw out a few specific complaints to file under “You can have your own opinion, but not your own facts.” “The story concerns the Wikileaks’ scandal that published hundreds of thousands of potentially damaging, “SECRET” US documents on the Internet.” No, only over 2K were published, not “hundreds of thousands.” That is a false statement. “there are many Gays who find Bradley Manning’s alleged treason an embarrassment” No, there is no “alleged treason.” He isn’t being charged with that because the US knows it could never prove that charge. “had computer access to all these files that have since been published by the Wikileaks organization” They were, in fact, published by other news organizations Wikileaks worked with, like The Guardian. “We are also told that “poor Private Manning” was so emotionally frustrated by his homosexuality and his inability to express it “openly”, that he ...” Not according to Manning. He explained that he was bothered by the corruption he saw in Iraq as well as violence against citizens. His reasons centered around democracy and peace, not sexuality. Even if you disagree, at least acknowledge what he’s saying instead of just making shit up. “would never - ever - resort to betraying their country or put at risk other American lives” No American lives were put at risk with this release, according to the State Department, the Pentagon, and Joe Biden. Many lives were put at risk with secrecy, but will you write a column about that? Anyway, there are lots of other parts that are messed up in this column, from the callousness of how we treat prisoners to the cluelessness about foreign policy. But, frankly, I’m just getting more and more bothered about the fact that I’m getting lied to daily in the media. Alex Blaze

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

Legal Advice

Help When You are Hurt By Robert Spector

o you often ask yourself when is the right time to contact your lawyer about a personal injury you have suffered? There are actually two correct answers, one legal and the ether based on practical considerations. I have had numerous clients seek my advice years after an accident has occurred because they wanted to wait to see how they healed or were so involved with medical care, loss of their job, and just surviving the rigors of their injuries that they could not deal with the legal aspects of their claim. Many times this proves to be a catastrophic mistake in relation to their chances for recovery. Each state has different statutes of limitations. or time period in which a clarion must be filed in court, for accidents, auto accidents, nursing hone claims, medical malpractice claims and claims for negligence against government entities. When considering when to make a claim, be sure to check with a lawyer as soon as possible after an accident to see when the statute of

limitations may run. Do not assume, for example, that the periods are the same in New York or New Jersey as they are in Florida, because they are not. In Florida, a claim as a result of an automobile accident, has a four year statute of limitations. This, however, is not true if the accident involves a slate, county or municipal employee where the stature of limitations is only three years. In order to sue a slate government entity, one must file s written notice pursuant to slate statute and then wait six months or receive a written denial of the claim from the agency prior to being able to file a law suit. If you were in an accident with a federal employee, such as the Post Office, you would then have to file a notice under the Federal Tort Claims Act and again wait six months before filing suit. The filing of the notice against Slate and Federal entities stops the statute of limitations from running until there is a denial of the claim or until six months from the date of notice. The statute of limitations for suing the Federal government is, however, only two years for torts claims. The statute of limitations concerning medical malpractice can be very complex and varies based on the fact pattern of the case. The normal statute of limitations runs from the time you knew or should have know that you suffered an injury due to someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s medical negligence. This is often difficult to ascertain and should be calculated based on the facts by your attorney. There are some instances where there are elements of fraud and misrepresentation where the statute of limitations can run as long as seven years. In claims involving children, the claim times are also different. Under Florida Law one can extend the statute of limitations for 90 days providing the petition for extension is filed before the end of the original statute of limitations

runs. The statutes of limitations on product failures can also be varied and complex and best left to an attorney to calculate. In addition to the legal considerations, one must consider the potential problems that could arise by not pursuing a claim for injuries as soon as possible. Delay makes it impossible to conduct an investigation of the scene of the accident without fear of it having changed, witnesses memories fade with time, opportunity to take photographs of vehicles or the place where a fall occurred becomes impossible and sometimes records are lost either accidentally, or intentionally. All

of these examples make it less likely that the attorney will have all the elements necessary tomaximize the recovery on your behalf. The answer then to the original question is to contact an attorney as soon as possible after your injury, not to automatically sue, but to methodically assess what your rights are and how best to act upon them. Robert Spector is a Fort Lauderdale attorney, practicing for over a quarter century in South Florida, whose East Las Olas Boulevard office is adjacent to the location which once housed the popular Cathode Ray Bar.

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

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

SexorSymbol Humiliated Woman? Susan estrich on the death of actress maria schneider

had never seen anything like it. I sat in the movie theater holding my breath as Marlon Brando wielded the stick of butter. For the sake of families who might be reading, I’ll say no more, except that Last Tango in Paris was, depending on your perspective, either a very sexy movie or a very scary one. The woman in that scene, Maria Schneider, died on Thursday in Paris at the age of 58. Newspaper accounts of her death make clear that the $4,000 she was paid for that role did not begin to compensate her for the pain it caused. The scene wasn’t in the script. Brando – that genius – insisted on it. “I felt humiliated, and to be honest, I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci (the director),” she told reporters later. “After the scene, Marlon didn’t console me or apologize. Thankfully, there was just one take.” It turned her into a “sex symbol.” Think about what that means: A “sex symbol” is a woman who is painfully humiliated, against her will and without her consent, with the cameras running, a woman forced to film a scene she did not agree to do or want to do. Bertolucci was the famous director, Brando the mega-famous actor, and Schneider? She was a 19-year-old unknown, the abandoned daughter of a famous actor who refused to acknowledge her. She had no clout. She could not say no to these powerful men. She was their object. They used her and abused her, and this made her an international “sex symbol.” Three years later, she played an architecture student known simply as “the girl” in “The Passenger,” directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. In that one, she was Jack Nicholson’s girl. “I wanted to be recognized as an actress, and the whole scandal and aftermath of the film turned me a little crazy, and I had a breakdown.” Her career fell apart. Linda Lovelace, who shocked audiences during the same period in “Deep Throat,” later revealed even more troubling stories of abuse. Is it just a coincidence that, for women, “sex symbol” so often seems to equate with victim and the path

to “sex symbol” is so often lined with abuse? Girls grow up longing to be as pretty and desired as the Maria Schneiders and Linda Lovelaces. I see them sometimes outside Hollywood hotspots, stunningly beautiful girls (and they are girls) tottering in high heels they can barely walk in, plainly nervous and out of place, with unattractive men three times their age. This is not love. This is not friendship. The only question is who is using whom, and from my perspective, it’s not even a close one. Stick around long enough and you know what happens.The girls get used up and tossed away like toilet paper, a dime a dozen. “Sex symbols to be,” as any vice squad officer will tell you, are more likely to end up in the hell of Hollywood than on its movie screens, more likely to be dancing and stripping and having sex for money – and not with the younger versions of Brando or Nicholson – than lighting up movie screens.They never even get as far as Maria Schneider did. The passing of a woman like Schneider should be an occasion to celebrate how far we have come. But if we have come so far, why do so many girls – and not just the ones in high heels with the supposed high-rollers – end up feeling like tissue paper, like Schneider with the lights off? Why do so many continue to come to my office telling me how they were also “a little raped”? As if there is such a thing. I’m not talking about legal definitions, but real life. Humiliation is humiliation. Abuse is abuse. Whether the law recognizes it as such is irrelevant to that reality and what it does to the human being inside. Both Last Tango and Deep Throat were made and released at the height of the sexual revolution. I remember wondering, as I watched these movies with my dates, trying to be cool and hip and sexy myself, how it was that this revolution was supposed to be liberating women. Schneider and Lovelace were not liberated; they were used. Last Tango was not a celebration of sexual freedom, but sexual abuse. It was scary, and it still is.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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Nightlife by J.W. Arnold

f you were out and about just about anywhere in Fort Lauderdale or Wilton Manors—or South Florida, as a matter of fact—you know that more than 5,000 gay men and Lesbians were in town, anxious to depart on the world’s largest gay cruise. Yes, Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, one of the two largest cruise ships in the world, sold out within weeks for a seven night cruise that departed Sunday evening to celebrate Atlantis’ 20th anniversary. And, if you thought last weekend was crazy, get ready for this. All 5,000 boys and girls— mostly boys—will be returning this weekend, but the region will also be welcoming nearly 3,000 fresh cruisers departing on RSVP Vacations’ 25th anniversary cruise on Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam. For those of you who missed the opportunity to party at sea, just head out to the bars and clubs. Here’s your chance to serve as a “Good Will Ambassador” to all those cruisers who are looking to kick off or wind down the vacation of a lifetime.We think it might be just as good as the “real” thing. In the meantime, there’s plenty to do across South Florida this week. Here’s a look at some of the highlights: Wednesday, Feb. 9

hey don’t call Wednesdays “Hump Day” for no reason! If you’re feeling a little nasty tonight, head over to Cubby Hole, one of Fort Lauderdale’s popular bear bars for Eddie’s Encore Underwear Night.“Bare” your undies and enjoy 2-4-1 cocktails beginning at 9 p.m. Cubby Hole is located at 823 N. Federal Hwy, but don’t blink, you might miss it. Pardon the pun, but park in the rear.

iss Kitty hosts the Sexy Bear contest at Bill’s Filling Station, 2209 Wilton Dr.Whether you’re a muscle bear, cub, otter or grizzly, turn on your mojo—and take off your shirt—and you could take home the $100 prize. Saturday, Feb. 12

he Manor Complex on Wilton Drive is getting a jump on Valentine’s Day with a special party,“I Feel Love,” featuring special guest DJ Terrance Lally. Unlike dinner on Monday night, there’s no cover to this extravaganza, making it the cheapest date night in town. Sunday, Feb. 13

dison Farrow and Omar Gonzalez present Jump! Sundays tonight at Lux (formerly Liquid) nightclub, 1439 Washington Ave. in South Beach.There’s no cover, DJ Jarell is in the booth, and you get to enjoy the Jump! Dancers, too, at this fun weekly party.This is definitely the place in Miami Beach to be tonight. Monday, Feb. 14

ou’re on your own with this one. Don’t forget to pick up the flowers and chocolates, and for gosh sakes, make a reservation for dinner at the restaurant of your choice! For those of you who don’t have boyfriends, girlfriends or whatever, well, pick a bar and drink away your sorrows. Better yet, find a new friend online!

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

One Singular Sensation A Chorus Line Star Donna McKechnie Brings My Musical Comedy Life to Miami Shores

lieve it, my character was the most fictionalized,” McKechnie says. “I contributed a lot to her, but a lot of people worked on that.” While the centerpiece of My Musical Comedy Life is McKechnie performing her big number from A Chorus Line, “The Music in the Mirror,” she will also surprise the audience by performing a song that was cut. “I believed in musical theatre as an art form, that seamlessness, that heightened reality, that gorgeous way of expressing yourself and communicating with an audience with dance and drama and comedy, and all of that was realized in putting that show together,” says McKechnie of A Chorus Line, which, along with its many theatre accolades, won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A Chorus Line made both Bennett and together, conveying her experiences to the McKechnie stars, but its phenomenal sucBy Mary Damiano audience through music. When the teenaged cess also proved to be a hindrance, making Arts Editor everything that came after anti-climactic. onna McKechnie’s life is the stuff McKechnie landed in New York in 1959, “It’s working for me now, but I was Broadway musicals are made of. Barbra Streisand was singing in clubs in the caught up in a little resentment or resisVillage, Nina Simone was at Birdland, and As a little girl in Michigan, she took dance classes and went to the movies Tito Puente was playing the Palladium. Bye, tance, because even after I left the show, it was like the albatross around my neck,” Bye Birdie was on stage during her early with her mother, dreaming of a life in the footlights. At 16, she defied her parents, left days in New York City, and she uses a song says McKechnie. “I would get these wonderhome for New York, and began landing roles from that musical, “A Lot of Livin’ To Do,” to ful roles, and if I wasn’t singing or dancing, people would feel cheated.” in big musicals that would go on to be clas- underscore her mindset at the time.. McKechnie started to resent her dancing, In the show, she recreates her first audisics. She had a tumultuous yet creatively sucand in an effort to change to perception of tion, at which she met Broadway legends cessful relationship with a groundbreaking Bob Fosse, Abe Burrows and Frank Loesser. her image and talent, stopped dancing. In choreographer. She won a Tony Award, and She made her Broadway debut as a dancer 1980, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid later overcame a devastating diagnosis that arthritis, and told she might never walk again. in their original production of How To Sucalmost robbed her of her ability to dance. “That’s when I said, ‘Oh my God, have I And through it all, she survived, and made a ceed in Business Without Really Trying, and later landed a role in the iconic vampire life for herself doing what she loves most. “It was not in my nature, but I felt at the soap, “Dark Shadows.” In 1965, she met soon-to-be-legendary time that it was the only thing I could do,” McKechnie says of fleeing Michigan for the Michael Bennett, the dancer/choreographer who became yin to McKechnie’s yang. New Yor. “I was a little ballet student and He cast her in shows he choreographed, a very good girl, but there was seething including Promises, Promises and Company. under that.” Then he created A Chorus Line. McKechnie McKechnie will share her storied life was crucial to the show’s development, and with audiences this weekend in her show, she won a Tony Award for her portrayal of My Musical Comedy Life, in a special threeperformance engagement at the Playground Cassie, who gives up her pursuit of stardom and returns to the chorus in order to do Theatre in Miami Shores. what she loves most: dance. In My Musical Comedy Life, McKechnie “Even though people don’t want to beweaves her personal and professional lives

been taking my dancing for granted? Have I been taking my life for granted?’” Physical therapy and nutrition helped McKechnie recover, and she began dancing again in 1986. Her experience inspired her to write her autobiography, Time Steps: My Musical Comedy Life, published in 2009. Now, McKechnie finds fulfillment in teaching, and instilling in her students an understanding and passion for the work and the process, rather than focusing on any potential stardom. She performs regularly, and recently choreographed a production of Guys & Dolls at the Hollywood Bowl for Richard Jay-Alexander, who also directs My Musical Comedy Life. “As an artist I keep growing, not just growing older, but growing, and it’s thrilling,” McKechnie says. “I never knew when I started that it could be this wonderful. It’s not about I’ve arrived, it’s about I’m still here.” My Musical Comedy Life runs February 12 and 13 at the Playground Theatre, 9806 NE 2 Ave., Miami Shores. For tickets and more information, call 305-751-9550 or visit ThePlaygroundTheatre.com.

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February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Dining OUT

Tara Thai & Japanese Cuisine: A Family Affair 3026 E. Commercial Blvd Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 954-776-2802

colleague Brian Swinford to eat sushi with his hands, as they do in Japan. Next came a fresh roll – these refreshing, salad, rice noodle wraps are an old favorite. This one had a minty sort of flavor, thanks By A. Sebastian Fortino om and Pop” establish- to the Thai basil mixed into the greens. The chili sauce was light, sweet, without overments are perhaps the powering the herbal balance. essence of dining out, Tara Thai curry puffs were reminiscent of offering intimate dining rooms, and a sense of teamwork, evident in the dishes. Tara Thai samosa, stuffed with minced, chicken, and potato.The curry is used more as flavoring & Japanese Cuisine has much more than – very subtle and tangy as opposed to spicy. mom and pop! The small sushi bar is manned by Chef K For a fried pocket of flavor these were very light. Siam dumplings were also chicken-based. who trained in Washington, D.C. Sitting at Their satisfying density is surprising, and the the counter was rewarding – we soon met flavor simple – as these are best enjoyed his wife, mother, and father. dipped into the sweet soy sauce. “After high school,” says the young, hip We knew Tara Thai would make many Chef K, “I didn’t want to go to college or wonderful selections we told them to give cooking school.” His mother assured us us half portions, to taste all their favorites. though, that he was accepted at several When our next dish arrived we were prestigious institutions. shocked it was a half portion. Although Chef K prepared a bow roll, filled with buttery, spicy tuna, topped with crab, a light Chef K’s wife Bo said with a laugh, “Yes, in Thailand the regular portion is smaller than mayo dressing, and trimmed with fish egg. Beautiful colors on this dish – especially the our half.” This pad Thai has a thick sauce, clinging pink crab flesh, draped over the outer layer of white rice. A little spice hits, at the end of to the noodles. The peanut sauce is almost each bite. Chef K encouraged my friend and inside the noodles, nothing runny at all! The

By Karl Hampe

THE REGULARS

“M

peanuts are there – not chunky – but not pure liquid and express a firm, delicate reminder of texture. Ours came with shrimp. Many versions use cold shrimp and hope warming lights above and heat from noodles below will freshen them up – not Chef K’s mother Rattana, her shrimp are very fresh. “I always won awards for my pad Thai at our restaurant in Washington,” said Rattana. The family is very gay friendly, perhaps because their D.C. enterprise was located off of DuPont Circle – the LGBT hub of our capitol. Rattana’s other dish Thai traditional panang curry, came to us with tender pieces of chicken, slivers of bell pepper, floating in a coconut milk sauce which was not too sweet, and let the lemongrass subtly stand out. Some versions come out looking like condensed milk, and just as sweet. Instead, dots of red curry floated elegantly against the golden-cream sauce in which the

chicken was presented. Chef K astounded us with his dynamite roll – playfully presented on forks, and a wonderful selection of tuna and salmon sashimi. However, he offered something I’ve never had. Sweet Japanese shrimp, called simply shrimp on the sushi and sashimi menu. These – unlike standard, I presume farmed shrimp – can be served raw. They have a texture like custard, yet still give a sweet, pleasurable bite. Rattana said since opening eight months ago, her traditional Thai dishes are praised for their authentic simplicity.Yet, smiling at her son, said some diners come in only for sushi and have not left until all of Chef K’s creations are sampled. We only were able to stay for lunch… or else, maybe we would have done the same. For more information please visit,TaraFlorida.com

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Winter Arts Preview By J.W. Arnold

13-14. Experience the music of the masters in a new way that will thrill audiences of all ages. SymphonyoftheAmericas.org Hip violinist David Garrett is crossing generational lines and introducing the classics to young listeners, with a unique blend of pop and rock and even rhythm and blues. He performs on Feb. 25 at the Olympia Theater at downtown Miami’s Gusman Center. GusmanCenter.org Museums Relive the musical memories of a generation “Splendors of the Vatican” is a monumenat the Doo Wop Reunion XII, March 6 at the tal exhibit of religious icons, treasurers and artifacts on display at the Museum of Art Fort Broward Center.The biggest names from the Lauderdale through April. Enjoy masterworks 1950’s and early ‘60s will be in South Florida, including Kenny Vance and The Planotones, Jay by Bernini, Giotto and Michelangelo as you Siegel and the Tokens and Tommy Mara of The stroll through this once-in-a-lifetime exhibiCrests. BrowardCenter.org tion. VaticanSplendors.com Mozart’s operatic masterwork “Don The World Erotic Art Museum in Miami Giovanni” will again thrill audiences when Beach celebrates African-American History month in February with a tribute to legendary Florida Grand Opera brings the composer’s adaptation of the legend of Don Juan to local entertainer Josephine Baker.The exhibit includes paintings, photographs and memorabilia stages:Arsht Center (Apr. 16, 22, 27; May 3, 8) and Broward Center (May 12, 14). FGO.org from the singer, who left Harlem to thrill the audiences of Paris in the 1920’s. WEAM.com

outh Florida boasts a vibrant arts scene, and with the annual influx of tourists and snowbirds, the offerings only get better. Here are some “must see” exhibits and productions to mark on your calendars!

Dance Miami City Ballet continues its 2010-11 season with Program III at Miami’s Arsht Center (Feb. 11-13),West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center (March 4-6) and Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Center (March 11-13).The program includes the company premiere of Paul Taylor’s “Promethean Fire,” as well as “Nine Sinatra Songs” and George Balanchine’s “Scotch Symphony.” MiamiCityBallet.org The fiery passion of the tango takes center stage at the Broward Center on Feb. 14, with “Tango Inferno,” presented by the Tango Fire Company of Buenos Aires. Heat up your Valentine’s Day with the traditional dance of Argentina. BrowardCenter.org The legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater comes to Miami’s Arsht Center, Feb. 17-20, featuring Miami natives Amos J. Machanic, Jr., and Jamar Roberts.The program will include works by the company’s artistic director-designate, Robert Battle, who is also a native Miamian, and “Revelations,” part of the White House Dance Series. ArshtCenter.org

Theater

The best of Broadway hits South Florida stages with several touring productions courtesy of Broadway Across America:“West Side Story” (Feb. 14-27) and “Wicked” (Mar. 30 – April 24) at the Broward Center and “Jersey Boys” (Mar. 2-20) and “In the Heights” (Mar. 29-April 3) at the Arsht Center in Miami. BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com Funny lady Lucille Ball lives on in a new onewoman show directed by her daughter, Lucie Arnaz, and performed by Suzanne LaRusch, Feb. 17-20 at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. Experience the special magic of Ball in this touching, funny and even uplifting show, “An Evening with Lucille Ball – Thank You for Asking.” BrowardCenter.org

Comedy

Nothing in Washington, D.C. is sacred, at least not to The Capitol Steps, the musical comedy troupe made up of former Congressional staffers. Forget pork,The Capitol Steps take aim at the sacred cows! They bring their political wit back to South Florida for a run at West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center, Feb. 8-13. Sex advice columnist, author, journalist, punMusic dit and political humorist Dan Savage takes the Familiar classical tunes are enhanced by stage of the Amaturo Theater at the Broward daring and beautiful aerialists when the Center on Feb. 26 to wrap up the ArtExploSymphony of the Americas presents “Cirque de la Symphonie” at the Broward Center, Feb. sion international LGBT arts festival.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

appy Valentine’s Day! If you’re like me, you probably still don’t have a clue on what to do, what to buy or where to take your special someone. No worries, I’ve got you covered. Valentine’s Day isn’t just a marketing scheme thought up by business men in attempts to make loads of money, no, this is a day where you need to show your partner how much you really care. Start out the day by making a simple breakfast for you both in bed, topped with a red rose. Cliché but effective, and hopefully you are being sincere. In this day and age, a twink cannot live on Boxed Chocolates alone, and it’d probably sit unopened on the counter for a while collecting dust. Write a love letter, or even a cute song! Remember, sincerity is key, so even if you second guess yourself and feel like a total cheese ball, Momma always said, “It’s the thought that counts.” Hopefully you’re not too full from wining and dining away to run over to the Bank Atlantic Center and experience Andrea Bocelli Live! If you aren’t aware of who this man is, he’s an Academy Award Nominee and a Golden Globe winner for his career in Classical music, and he’s blind! Bocelli has worked with Celine Dion and a number of other Stars in his career. Listening to this angel from heaven croon Italian arias and his other hits would be my idea of a perfect ending to Valentine’s Day. For the rest of us who do not have a partner at the moment, myself included, just treat yourself to a splendid evening! Being single shouldn’t prevent you from being your own Valentine. Love yourself and look to the future! Also, don’t forget to remember what I mentioned earlier: when it comes down to it,Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with love and relationships; it’s all about selling the cards, flowers and jewelry. That’s money, honey. The attention and affection we give our loved one’s shouldn’t be bottled up until a certain date, it should be any and every day! For those who feel blue, chin up and keep on trucking. Till next week, ;) Matt

Broward Center 201 Southwest 5th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312 (954) 462-0222 February 9. . . . . . February 11. . . . . February 11-13. . February 13-14. .

Jackie Ryan in this Heart of Mine Great Big Sea The Tales of Hoffmann Cirque de la SymphonieSymphony of the Americas

Maltz Theatre 1001 East Indiantown Road,, Jupiter, FL • (561) 575-2223 February 9-10. . . Defending the Caveman February 11. . . . . Barrage February 13. . . . . A Tribute to Louis Armstrong

WIKIMEDIA

To list your event in Matt’s Datebook, send all the information to Matt.Clark@SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Tribute to Louis Armstrong at the Maltz Theatre

Parker Playhouse 707 Northeast 8th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 (954) 763-2444 February 10. . . . . The Pink Floyd Experience February 12. . . . . Barrage “Animado” February 14. . . . . Tango Inferno

Aventura Arts & Cultural Center 3385 NE 188th Street, Aventura, FL 33180 • (305) 466-8002 February 9-13. . . T ime After Time: The Song of Jule Styne

Bank Atlantic Center 1 Panther Pkwy, Sunrise, FL 33323 • (954) 835-8000 February 14. . . . . Andrea Bocelli February 20. . . . . Ozzy Ozbourne

Rising Action Theatre 1480 SW 9th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 • (954) 561-2225 February 9-14. . . Killing of Sister George

Miniaci Performing Arts Center 3100 Ray Ferraro Jr Blvd, Davie, FL 33314 • (954) 262-5480 February 9. . . . . . T he Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman February 12. . . . . . South Florida JAZZ: Brazilian Trio February 13. . . . . Beauty and the Beast

Miramar Cultural Center 2300 Civic Center Pl, Miramar, Florida 33025 • (954) 602-4500 February 11. . . . . D ance Theater of Harlem Ensemble February 12. . . . . The Music Man, Broadway Revival

Adrienne Arsht Center 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida 33132 • (305) 949-6722 February 9. . . . . . Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie February 10. . . . . Clay Aiken February 10-13. . RHAW/Rennie Harris Awe-inspiring Works February 11-13. . Miami City Ballet: Program III

Hard Rock Live! 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood, FL 33314 • (954) 797-5531 February 10. . . . . Enrique Iglesias – Euphoria Tour February 16. . . . . Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons

Dueling Divas at Forest Trace Fight Breast Cancer

ary-Jane Cunningham and Sandy Warren will perform in a musical duel on February 19, at 8:00 p.m. at the Jennie Grossinger Theatre at Forest Trace located in Lauderhill. This is the eleventh benefit Cunningham has headlined benefiting the Broward Health Breast Cancer Center. Sandy Warren is an accomplished singer as well – with a Royal Command Performance in London on her resume. “Sandy has challenged me to a musical duel in the fight against breast cancer,” explained Cunningham. “Since this cause is so close to my heart, how could I turn her down?” Tickets are $20 in advance, and $25 at the door. For more information, please visit ForestTrace.com or call (954) 964-9098.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Lucy, Lucy, Lucy!!!!

lane as she recreates Lucille Ball’s personal memories which inspired her timeless sketches on I Love Lucy, her 30-year television career and never-before heard recollections about her complicated marriage to Desi Arnaz. augh once again Performances are Thursday, Febwith the first lady ruary 17 through Saturday, February of television at An 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, Evening with Lucille Ball: “Thank You for AskFebruary 19 and 20, at 3 p.m. ing” from February 17 through 20 in the Tickets are $25 and $35 and are availAmaturo Theater at the Broward Center able through the Broward Center’s box for the Performing Arts. office at 954/462-0222 or online at www. This touching, funny and uplifting oneBrowardCenter.org. The Broward Center woman play is created and performed by Suzanne LaRusch, written by LaRusch and for the Performing Arts is located in the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District at Lucie Arnaz, and directed by Arnaz. Crafted in the spirit of the amusing lectures the 201 SW Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa, comedienne enjoyed giving throughout her TAM Airlines, Sun-Sentinel and Comcareer, the evening recreates the comic cast are proud sponsors of the Broward genius and the magic behind the “Queen Center. All dates, programs and artists are of Comedy.” LaRusch takes audiences down memory subject to change.

Grey Gardens Headed to Rising Action Theater By Elliot Joseph

ising Action Theatre is bringing to the stage the South Florida Premiere of the Tony Award-winning Grey Gardens, the Musical. Based on the highly acclaimed 1975 Maysles Brothers film documentary, it is the story of Jackie Kennedy’s relatives “Big Edie” Bouvier Beale and her adult daughter “Little Edie” and the overgrown, crumbling East Hampton mansion they shared for decades. Set at the Grey Gardens mansion, the musical follows the progression of the lives of the two Edies from their original social status as wealthy and polished aristocrats in the 1940’s to their eventual existence as penniless eccentrics in a crumbling home. The story is joyous, but a heartwarming sad and funny psychological struggle.

Under the direction of Kevin Coughlin (“Reefer Madness”, “Flora the Red Menace”) with choreography by Dave Campbell (“Andrews Brothers”, “Reefer Madness”. Canadian Idol), Grey Gardens, the Musical features an outstanding cast of South Florida actors. Dee Deringer-Piquette and Erin Pittleman make their Rising Action debuts as Big Edie and Little Edie. They are supported by Rising Action veterans Larry Buzzeo, Joseph Long and Christopher Michaels, and newcomers Lisa Kerstin Braun, Katie Harmon, Skylar Voelker and Jerry Weinberg. Grey Gardens, the Musical played over 300 performances on Broadway, was nominated for ten Tony Awards (including Best Musical) and won three. The NY Times referred to the show as a tour de force. The show will premiere on February 25 and run through April 3.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Heard it on...

be a co-producer. And who’ll star opposite Knowles? That one is still up in the air, and it’ll probably wind up going to a guy like Usher or Jamie Foxx, but wouldn’t it be cooler if it went to a guy whose career really is past its sell-by date? It’s not like Jermaine Jackson is all that busy, right?

When Seth met Streisand By Romen San Vicente A Star is Beyoncé It looks like the always-seemingly-beingdiscussed update of A Star Is Born, the one Beyoncé has been attached to for some time now (and before her it was Whitney and before her, etc.), might finally be ready to take flight. And who’ll be the man to make it happen? Clint Eastwood. Yes, you read that one correctly. The pair is in talks to add the Dreamgirls star to the Janet Gaynor/Judy Garland/Barbra Streisand legacy with Eastwood in the director chair. If it works out then Jon Peters, who produced the 1976 Streisand version, will

Old-school gay icon meets Gen Y stonerbear bro? It’s happening, like it or not. Barbra Streisand will team up with Seth Rogen for a generation gap road trip comedy called My Mother’s Curse, to be executive produced by both of them (as well as Rogen’s writing partner Evan Goldberg and others). Rogen will play an inventor on a cross-country trip to sell his new product, with Streisand riding shotgun, making his life difficult and reuniting with a long-lost love. Dan Fogelman (Cars) penned the screenplay after dealing with real-life travels alongside his own mother and it all goes in front of the cameras sometime this spring. Skeptical after seeing Little Fockers? Understandable. But think about this: once upon a time,

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February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Streisand turned in one of the great comedic performances of the 1970s in the never-not-funny-no-matter-howmany-times-you-watch-it What’s Up Doc? Who’s to say lightning can’t strike twice?

Moulin John Elton John recently told BBC Radio that his life story is going to be turned into a movie by his Billy Elliot collaborator Lee Hall. One potentially awesome feature of that plan? Elton John will be hands-on helping every step of the way. Now, to sane people, this should bring to mind images of Michael Jackson directing giant statues made in his likeness to be erected in Romania. And you know how excellently entertaining that was. So if John is determined to see a Moulin Rouge-style film of his life take place, then rest assured it’s going to be narcissistic, extravagant, shiny and flatout bonkers. Think EJ-themed episode of Glee meets drug addiction meets shopaholism meets sparkly boots and Donald Duck costumes. Now, will someone please bring Tommy (in which John co-starred) director Ken Russell out of semi-retirement to take over?

Oprah’s caged heat In Oprah’s world, the press releases come fast and furious, especially where her new OWN channel is concerned. It’s a good thing Romeo was paying close attention to Winfrey’s every move or he would have missed the coming-up-soon debut of Breaking Down The Bars, a new reality series about women in prison. Cameras will follow a group of female inmates at Indiana’s Rockville Correctional Facility as they attempt to sidestep the usual prison pitfalls of violence, toothbrush knives and scantily clad riots (OK, yes, those are maybe more the selling points of women’s prison exploitation movies) and focus on getting their lives together. And because it’s an Oprah product it’ll probably also be more heartwarming than scandalous. But you know there are going to be some tough lesbians involved somewhere. And that’s plenty reason to tune in when it debuts Feb. 15. Romeo San Vicente is superbad. He can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.

Paul Angelo: Practical Matchmaking By A. Sebastian Fortino

f the term “matchmaker” recalls scenes from Fiddler on the Roof, our local incarnation fulfilling your need to “find me a find, catch me a catch,” might surprise you. Born in Poland, Angelo came to Chicago with his family in 1995. Angelo said there is no history of his ancestors being matchmakers Central Europe, where the occupation may still exist in small, rural villages. Instead, he feels his dual masters, in Healthcare and Business Administration allow him the ability to bring people together. “In business there’s something called a theory of constraints. This concept looks at any situation and focuses on the key weak area, eliminates it, then moves onto the next weak area. As a result fixing one or two areas can exponentially improve your business,” said Angelo over coffee. “I apply this to matchmaking.” Angelo starts with an interview, and develops a dating or relationship score for that client. He identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the client, to determine why they are single. “Most of the time there are just one or two major reasons preventing the person from finding someone else. Often, they are blind to their own weaknesses,” he added. Angelo specializes in matching men over 40. As Angelo knows his clients, and the people he selects to match them with on a personal level, he is better able to promote them, as opposed to a website. Ironically, the Internet made him realize he should use his talents towards bringing people together. After watching an online video from a relationship coach. “I realized I was very interested in relationships and health, and always had successful relationships in my own life,” said Angelo. “The more I thought about it I realized helping people find relationships would allow me to contribute positively to the gay community.” He soon left his position with a healthcare firm, and hosted his first relationship workshops beginning in June of last year. He has since matched 13 clients successfully.

base 100% of the relationship on only 5% of the factors? You can create sexual compatibility after getting to know the person.” Yes…you heard it at SFGN first – thanks to Paul Angelo – you can actually meet someone, like them, then build a sexual relationship that is stimulating and fulfilling for both of you. Who knew? Not all of the men over 40 seek out men in the same age bracket. Attraction to younger men is not a negative, only a preference. Angelo might meet a younger man interested in a relationship, but factors such as his circle of friends, or financial issues might prevent him from introducing himself to stable men. This is where Angelo’s “intuition” comes into play. He says coming here from Poland Matchmaker Paul Angelo he often had to use factors other than language to determine what people needed. His website has many testimonials from Most information on dating and relationsatisfied, matched clients. A recent video ships is aimed at the straight community. from a Frank, originally from Wisconsin, Therefore, gay men who consult such resources do not benefit from their advice. His reveals he was not satisfied meeting men in bars and other gay venues after losing a website lists 10 dos and don’ts of dating for long-time partner. gay men. “The dating scene was frustrating,” said He feels his most important rules are to Frank. “Then I met Paul and he helped stay enthusiastic, about the person you are me through a lot of the frustrations, the dating. Never criticize age, lifestyle, or opininsecurities, the self esteem issues and I’ve ions. Focus on the positive met somebody now, and it’s been pretty aspects of your life when wonderful for the last couple dating new men. He of months. I think this is also encourages men to going to be the one.” He not judge by appearance. closed saying Angelo is a “In my personal opinion caring professional that saves one of the biggest reasons you time and frustration in meeting an relationships end is because you hurt his ideal match. ego. The other guy will never tell you how, Angelo believes while there are several or what you have done to hurt his ego,” sources of energy in life – food, friends, and said Angelo. “Because that would admit he sunshine – the greatest source is finding love. is less than you.” “Our lives, how much money we make, In addition to these issues, one must take health, and body image, all depend on the into account geography. South Florida is a quality of relationships in our lives. If you’re very gay-friendly area, and a prime location for men to relocate, yet the sun, and the sand not happy with your life it’s most likely because you’ve had mediocre relationships,” also draws a transient population as well. Angelo stated. “A good partner can turn “A lot of men therefore choose to base their relationship status only on sexual com- your life around instantly.” patibility,” said Angelo. “Sexual activity counts for only about 5% of a relationship. Why For more information, please visit PaulAngelo.com

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

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

It’s A Man!?! Male Model Behind Leonardo DaVinci’s Famous Mona Lisa Portrait, Expert Claims By Alessandra Rizzo Associated Press

OME – A male apprentice, longtime companion and possible lover of Leonardo da Vinci was the main influence and a model for the “Mona Lisa” painting, an Italian researcher said. But the researcher, Silvano Vinceti, said Wednesday the portrait also represents a synthesis of Leonardo’s scientific, artistic and philosophical beliefs. Because the artist worked on it at various intervals for many years, he was subjected to different influences and sources of inspiration, and the canvas is full of hidden symbolic meanings. “The ‘Mona Lisa’ must be read at various levels, not just as a portrait,” Vinceti said. This is one of many theories that have circulated over the decades about the identity of “Mona Lisa” and the meaning for her famously enigmatic smile. Others have said the painting was a self-portrait in disguise, or the depiction of a Florentine merchant’s wife – the latter drawing a consensus among scholars. The world-famous portrait is on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The apprentice Gian Giacomo Caprotti, known as Salai, worked with Leonardo for more than two

decades starting in 1490.Vinceti described their relationship as “ambiguous,” and most art historians agree Salai was a Leonardo lover. Several Leonardo works, including “St. John the Baptist” and a lesser-known drawing called “Angel Incarnate,” were based on Salai,Vinceti told a news conference at the Foreign Press Association. These paintings show a slender, effeminate young man with long auburn curls. Vinceti said similarities with the “Mona Lisa’s” nose and mouth are striking. “Salai was a favorite model for Leonardo,” he said. “Leonardo certainly inserted characteristics of Salai in the last version of the Mona Lisa.” It was not the first time that Salai’s name had been associated with the “Mona Lisa,” though some scholars expressed skepticism. Pietro Marani, art historian and Leonardo expert, called the theory “groundless.” Vinceti said other influences may have affected Leonardo. He does not rule out that Lisa Gherardini, wife of Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo, may have provided an early inspiration. Equally,Vinceti said further inspiration may have come from noblewoman Beatrice D’Este, who was married continued on page 32

Commentary by R.E. Frederique

Stardust

ecently, I was reminded of an illustration I did many years ago for a French publication called “Vingt Ans” (“Twenty”). The article I illustrated was called “Love Letters through History.” Among those letters were the correspondence of writer George Sand and her lover Alfred de Musset. Sand, a woman who thought nothing of dressing like a man, dared not express her feelings so openly in her letters. Instead, the correspondence was flirtatious. Or so it seemed. Hidden within the etiquette of the prose was the true expression of how they felt, which was often very sexually explicit. What looked like a note thanking the lady for a wonderful

evening of dance, would be read as “When do you want to make love?” if you knew how to decipher the code. I don’t know what would have happened to such artists if they were ever caught exchanging this type of correspondence, which can be described as pornographic, even by today’s standards. Oscar Wilde, across the English Channel later in the same century, went to prison for expressing what he termed as “the love that dare not speak its name” to his “boy toy.” Throughout most of the history of the West, there has been a need for secrecy and the inability to openly express love, sexual desire, and most specifically, homosexual love and desire. How appropriate it is that, in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, 2011, that an old controversy regarding the true nature of Leonardo DaVinci’s

painting, called the “Mona Lisa” in America, should be reignited—this time, the theory being that the subject of the painting is in fact DaVinci’s “boyfriend,” (or boy friend). Whether or not this is true matters little to me. It suffices that, knowing what we know about history, the tradition for hidden expressions of love in Western art, and DaVinci’s almost paranoiac penchant for secrecy and games, it is quite plausible that it might be true. And if it is true, it has to be one of the great love stories of history—that this great artist would paint a portrait of a person whose identity only he would know. And only he would ever know why he carried that painting with him through most of his life, a work of art unique in that sense. This “secret love” takes a bit of effort for us to understand, considering that we,

in post mid-20th Century western world, we have available to us so many means of expressing our passions that we often cannot tell if that expression has to do with romantic love, sexual appetite, titillation, shock value or just entertainment. For that confusing freedom, we are thankful. What is great about the DaVinci story is that, some 500 years after the painting was created, we are talking about, not the technique, nor the time it took, nor the cost of the materials, nor the political history (of which there is plenty), but we are talking about the love it expressed between two men. The lesson here, as in all the great works of art and literature, whether it be Dr. Zhivago, the Taj Mahal or the paintings of Van Gogh, all can and will be lost. Corny as life often turns out to be, what endures is love and passion.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Brian McNaught

It’s So Pretty, It Could Be Plastic

n the classic holiday film It’s a Wonderful Life, George and Mary walk home from the school dance in borrowed football attire and bathrobe. When George accidently disrobes Mary by stepping on her garment, she hides in one of the two large, fully-flowered, hydrangea bushes that border a pathway. As an avid gardener, I assure you that the bushes were plastic, as are the flowering plants in most idyllic films. If everything is in bloom at the same time, and there are no yellowing leaves, or browning blossoms, you know for certain that nothing there is real. It’s all plastic make-believe. Because plastic flowers, or those made of silk, are so perfect, people sometimes see real flowers and comment, “That’s so pretty, it could be plastic.” If someone is always smiling the same way, regardless of the situation, they are said to have a “plastic smile.” This raises questions. Are our lives, our homes, our religion, our jobs, and our friends real, or are they so perfect that they’re plastic? When we step back and honestly assess ourselves, can we say with integrity, “It’s a wonderful life”? In response to something I wrote recently about gender expression and our fear of stepping over the lines of what is considered acceptable behavior, a friend working in Tokyo responded: “I find that lack of comfort or acceptance…is not limited to those who are gender queer. In Japan, the man who wears a suit in any color but black is viewed as non-

conforming, and if done in an interview, questions would be raised on whether he was the right person for the job. The person who went to a university other than one of our target schools, the accountant who now wants to work in trading, the banker who took three years off to do something philanthropic - perhaps they are all ‘queer’ in that they don’t conform to our normal expectations of who we think can do a particular job. And yet as a diversity manager, I can see that the research, and even our own experiences, show us that it’s because people don’t conform to our normal expectations that they can contribute something different, essential to giving us an edge over our competition. Instinct and logic collide.” One of the reasons that Ray and I love watching historically accurate and realistic portrayals in films is that they give us a sense of what hardships were faced in lives far distant from our own. When there is deep, wet mud in the streets of the western town, and people get their shoes covered in muck as they navigate the planks of wood, we appreciate our sidewalks, even those that have cracks. We think creatively about how we would cope with these and other challenges. But when we see idyllic representations of other people’s lives, we sometimes initially feel inadequate. “My garden has never looked like that.” And then we remind ourselves that it’s just plastic. The flowers are make-believe, as are their lives. There was a recent piece in The New York

Times about the challenges being faced by the curators of the African-American museum being planned for the Mall in Washington, D.C. The task at hand is to capture reality, and not, as the article suggested, an unrealistic portrayal of black life such as is thought to be found about Native American life in that community’s national museum. It apparently has a reputation for presenting a romanticized picture. We gay and transgender people often romanticize our history, our culture, and our lives. We tend to make Harvey Milk into a plastic figure who had no faults or gay enemies. We shudder with frustration and embarrassment when there are news reports of famous married gay couples getting divorced. We feel additional pressure to have our yards win the blue ribbon from the Garden Club, particularly when we’re the only gay people on the block. Corporations feel the pressure to be perfect too. They want to get a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign on the Corporate Equality Index because they want to attract and retain talented gay and transgender people, and they want to get their share of the gay community’s expendable income. Sometimes that means putting plastic hydrangea plants on the front walk. When companies incorporate into their policies everything that is asked of them by the gay and transgender community, the policies are so pretty that they can be plastic. The man who directed the film It’s a Wonderful Life was Frank Capra, and the reviews of the movie called it “Capra corn.”

The plastic flowers and the romanticism of the motion picture haven’t deterred fans though. We all love beautiful gardens and happy endings. But our gardens and our lives don’t look like those presented by Capra, and that sets us up for feeling as if we’re failures because we couldn’t live up to the unrealistic standards set in plastic. I understand the need to be perfect like plastic. As a public speaker on gay issues for thirty seven years, I spent most of my life worrying about what I wore, how I spoke, how happy I appeared, how I crossed my legs, how I reacted to hostility, how I spoke about my spirituality, how I described my family, how I managed my drinking and smoking, how I refrained from doing anything afterhours that would be considered “inappropriate by my hosts, how I responded to the needs of straight and gay audience members alike, etc. It exhausted me to be the perfect plastic gay person. It has only been through age, experience, and proper spiritual direction that I have been enabled to be honest, flawed, and real. I like people who acknowledge their flaws, companies that say, “We need help,” couples that don’t hide their problems, flowers that have a scent, Japanese men who wear suits that aren’t black, movies that capture the way things really were and are, and museums that are honest. Life is wonderful when it’s real, when time and energy are put into personal honesty, and when relationships with others are free of make-believe, no matter how pretty and perfect things seemed.

Florida Officials Catch Hagen continued from page 3

civic involvement and gets worried about Florida’s future, there seems to be only one name that snaps him back into actionmode: Rick Scott. Hagen had been an advocate for Amendments 5 & 6 in the 2010 election. These two Amendments, sponsored by Fair Districts Florida, passed with an undeniable majority. However, almost immediately after his inauguration, Governor Scott chose to stop any action on the two re-districting amendments indefinitely. “The People have spoken loud and clear,” says Hagen. “I think it was 63 or 65 percent of voters that said they wanted fair, even, contiguous voting districts and they don’t want any gerrymandering go-

ing on.” Past Governors have wasted no time in signing majority-approved ballot measures. “So, Rick Scott really needs to get to it,” continues a newly fired-up Hagen, “but instead he’s saying that he wants to study it or something… Sure, why don’t we study it for a few years until there’s another election? C’mon, Scott… It’s a no-brainer - let’s just get on with it!” Some might suppose that Governor Scott’s refusal to enact the new anti-gerrymandering laws should probably become Steve Hagen’s next bête noire for the Sunshine State but that doesn’t let the rest of us off the hook. Hagen’s message seems to be that it takes a village and effecting change in your community is not a spectator sport.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

In Fred’s Classroom, The Wallpaper Is Vintage Gay By Tony Adams

red Fejes, trained as a sociologist, has been teaching for 30 years. At Florida Atlantic University, his courses have alluring names: Media Theory, Lesbian and Gays in the Media, Visual Communication. In a recent class, he asked his students to think about the difference between seeing a dead body on the street and one in a funeral parlor. Fun stuff, but there is something more important going on in his teaching and in his writing. He is correcting our knowledge of gay Florida history. His new book Gay Rights and Moral Panic – The Origins of America’s Debate on Homosexuality is loaded with clarifications about what really happened in Florida in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. (Look for Sebastian Fortino’s review in SFGN.) Fred’s classes attract 40-50 students, some of whom are pursuing women’s studies and others who seek a communications elective. Two thirds of his students identify as gay or lesbian, and there are always a few who are questioning their sexuality. “I’m going to be part of the soon-to-beformed university counseling center where we will help students who are coming out. I’m careful as a professor about how far I go to make myself available to students with personal issues. I’ve been teaching since the 80s and I’ve never had a religious conservative student who was outraged about my discussing LGBT issues in my classroom. I’m almost disappointed that it never happened. It would have provided a useful dynamic. I use a lot of religion as examples and some of my students wrongfully got the impression that I was a born again proselytizer! The feedback I get is that I’m a good teacher and very fair. They see me as someone supportive. I think it’s important to take anything a student says and use it as a teaching tool. My students know I am gay. I’ve showed them my book and we’ve discussed it in class. No need for me to proclaim my sexuality to them. It is just part of the wallpaper.” Fred, who lives in the Victoria Park neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale and will be 60 years old in March, has derived much wisdom from what could be described as a textbook gay life: raised Catholic in a con-

servative Hungarian family, entered the seminary, became agnostic, married a woman, divorced, had a can’t-be-duplicated relationship with a man now deceased, is single and has learned acceptance and letting go via Zen Buddhism. “Older is a different season. You can’t describe it till you’re there. It’s like a snake throwing off the old skin. Screw your 40s and your 50s. Being 60 is better than being 20. You have a lot more inside. You don’t trust the future so much. You savor everything. At 60, you know your purpose and direction. This is a big paradigm shift. I spend my days with 21 and 22 year olds. I sometimes feel like a mother hen, but I find everything they do and say enjoyable. I can sit back and be amused.” Fred’s opinions about contemporary gay culture are well informed by his deep knowledge of the last 50 years of gay history. “Pre- and early post-war Miami was marked by “discreet tolerance” of homosexuality. If you look at the history of Miami – up to 1954 – you won’t find “moral rule”. Many rich gay people moved down here. The community flourished. In 1954, things changed drastically. Important wires got crossed. General post-war moral panic got fused with cold war dread and with hysteria over unsolved local child molestation cases. This caused the scapegoating of the growing and visible gay community. Some of those dynamics exist today, but a politician or a police chief or a newspaper editor could never get away with the same kind of bullshit attack on the gay community.

“The panic of 1954 was like a brief explosion. When it was over, the bars opened up again and the community grew. Anita Bryant came along in the70s. Conditions were ripe for a witch hunt, but circumstances in the 70s were different from the 50s. Anita went national. Locally, there was much tension between blacks and Cubans. Gays became the focal point. The lightning rod for tension. A similar thing happened in the late 50s and early 60s when the Johns Committee – Florida’s version of McCarthyism – got slammed by the NAACP when it attacked blacks, and turned its attention to the gay community of the University of Florida Gainesville, conducting a six-year witch hunt that destroyed lives. ‘The 1954 Miami ordinance prohibiting bars from serving homosexuals was repealed in the early 70s. Bar owners were

responsible for that win. Especially a man named Jack Campbell whose role in local gay history is huge and largely unknown. There are so many people here who come from elsewhere and don’t know our history and don’t know who did the heavy lifting. I’ve been here since 1986 and seen 3 generations of gay. The current activism ethos consists of getting older men to give money. This is not what it was 15 years ago when there was real activism. On the other hand, I accept the complexity of our community and the loss of gay innocence. The gay community today has become so amorphous. There is no center. In the 50s and 60s, the big thing we had in common was that we were in the closet. Being special and being proud are two different things. I personally have a problem with the idea of conservative gays. Sadly, I’m predicting an increase in the number of gay conservative Republicans, given that party’s wooing of them.” These history nuggets and views are but a fraction of what Fred presents in his new book. He will be speaking at Books and Books in Coral Gables, February 28 at 8PM. Do not miss this great opportunity to learn about your roots, and for the full measure of his five years of research, get the book.

February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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continued from page 29

to Ludovico Sforza, the duke of Milan at whose court Leonardo worked in the late 15th century.Vinceti said that Leonardo often would see the woman while he was painting “The Last Supper” for the Monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, where she went to pray. Traditionally, art historians say Leonardo started panting the “Mona Lisa” in 1503, when he was back from that Milan stay. But Vinceti has said he may have started in the late 1490s in Milan. Vinceti, a media-savvy writer and art investigator, made his name when he said he had located Caravaggio’s long-lost bones last year. He combines state-of-the-art, CSI-like techniques with old-fashioned library research. Analyzing high-definition scanned images of the “Mona Lisa,” Vinceti claimed in recent weeks to have found the letters “S” and “L” in the model’s eyes, and the number “72” under the arched bridge in the backdrop of the painting. He attaches several symbolic meanings to these letters: the “S” pointed him to Salai

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and the Sforza dynasty that ruled Milan, while the “L” is a reference to the artist himself and Lisa Gherardini. Marani, the Leonardo expert, said at least three historical documents prove that Gherardini was the original model. He said there are no known paintings of Salai, though he conceded it was entirely possible that the young apprentice might serve as a model for other Leonardo works such as “St. John the Baptist.” But he warned against reading too much into possible similarities between subjects. “All Leonardo subjects look like each other because he represents an abstract ideal of beauty. Therefore they all have this dual characteristic of masculine and feminine,” said Marani, an art professor at Milan’s Politecnico university. “The work began as the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, but over the years in Leonardo’s hands it slowly turned into something else: an idealized portrait, not a specific one,” Marani said. “That’s also why you have this fascinating face that transcends time and transcends a specific person, and why all these theories keep piling up.”

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February 9, 2011 • SouthFloridaGayNews.com

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-------------------------------------------------sngl fm home/pempines/culdesac 2story/gated comm/fullsize lot/4bdm/3bth inground heated spa/great for entertain/ full bdrm/bth downstairs/slverlakes comm buyers must pre-qualify $330/wont last Contact: Jennifer Knight Phone: 954-614-7289 ------------------------------------------------Wilton Manors House for Rent 4/1 House for Rent- $1,250.00. Fenced yard, washer dryer, tiled floors, parking. Ready to move in. Call Rose 305-868-8109. -------------------------------------------------Andy Weiser in a tough market You want a tough Realtor. In this market You need Andy Weiser 954-560-9667 -------------------------------------------------FT LAUDERDALE/LAUDER LAKES PRIMARILY GAY PARK. Hurricane Ready 1,600sf 2BR/2BA 1 Yr Old, 32’ Party Deck overlooks huge Lake. Manufactured Home. Wood Cabinets & Granite Tops, Slate & Marble floors. Immaculate. Real Show Place! Pics @ www.twitpic.com/photos/FLParadise4Sale. Cost $205K+, Sell $149,900, Call 954-817-6233 -------------------------------------------------THE SHAPIRO GROUP INC Residential Property Management LICENSED REAL ESTATE BROKER www.shapiroproperty.com 954-434-0175 -------------------------------------------------KELLER WILLIAMS REALTYTed Adcock, Realtor Cell:954-609-4393 tedftl@aol.com

REAL ESTATE

Rent/Lease

Wilton Manors 3/2 Duplex. Pool,central A/C ,W/D,Tile Floors. Updated Kitchen&Baths. 1500/mo. 954-563-8990

FOR RENT: Downtown Fort Lauderdale location Church Sanctuary & Meeting Room. Call 954-731-8173.

Senior to Senior A.C.E. Certified & Insured. I know how you feel. Call David at 954-281-6098 or Email me at TrainerD1@ yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------Changing Lives Since 1991 Certified fitness trainer with private gym. Strength and Flexibility Training. All fitness Levels. Frank Ward 954-630-0908 ------------------------------------------------If you are ready to make a healthier you a lifestyle call Christy Fritch,BS CPR certified 954-445-2540

Professional Services

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

SELF-DEFENSE Women on Guard. Non-lethal, selfdefense and home protection products call Susan Eaton or Martha Martines at 954-532-0600 or email us at info@ womenonguard.com

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

Solution to Crossword Puzzle on page 34

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