12.25.08 Outlook Weekly - Review Preview

‘08 5 C2 E D

‘09 7 N0 A J -

6 O2 N 3 L1 O •V

OVE L • SERS O L • COMMUNIT IRCUIT C • S T R A • S C I Y • POLIT

02 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY OWNERS AND PUBLISHERS Michael Daniels & Chris Hayes EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / ART DIRECTOR Chris Hayes hayes@outlookmedia.com

SNAPSHOT

THE YOUNG GO-GETTERS OF LINKOUT HOSTED COCKTAILS FOR A CAUSE, A BENEFIT FOR PROJECT OPEN HAND. THE FOOD WAS EXQUISITE AND THE COMPANY DELIGHTFUL. SAME TIME NEXT YEAR! PHOTOS BY ADAM LEDDY

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR / PHOTOS Robert Trautman traut@outlookmedia.com MANAGING EDITOR Adam Leddy aleddy@outlookmedia.com COVER IMAGE: DANIEL NICOLETTA CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jennifer Vanasco, Regina Sewell, Leslie Robinson, Gregg Shapiro, Mick Weems, Romeo San Vicente, Jack Fertig, Simon Sheppard, Dan Savage, Jacob Anderson-Minshall, Marcus Morris

PROFESSIONALS, BUT SO PRETTY

A LITTLE CAMERA SHY

PLAY NICE, KIDS

PRETTY BOY BUFFET

HE SMILES ENOUGH FOR BOTH OF THEM

LIVIN’ LARGE BABY

BUSINESS & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Michael Daniels mdaniels@outlookmedia.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING Rivendell Media - 212.242.6863 ADVERTISING DEADLINE Each Wednesday 8 days prior to publication.

Call us at 614.268.8525.

HOW TO REACH US Outlook Media, Inc. 815 N High St, Suite ii Columbus, OH 43215 614.268.8525 phone 614.261.8200 fax www.outlookweekly.net web www.outlookmedia.com business www.myspace.com/outlookweekly friends www.flickr.com/outlookweekly photos

NETWORK COLUMBUS DREW A THIRSTY CROWD TO SAGE AMERICAN BISTRO FOR OUTLOOK MEDIA’S HOLIDAY SOCIAL. THE PRIZES WERE FABULOUS, THE GLASSES OVERFLOWING, AND THE NETWORKING FAST AND FURIOUS. WE’LL SEE YOU ON JANUARY 14 AT BUCA DI BEPPO (343 N FRONT ST).

PHOTOS BY DON FACKLER

WE PACKED THE JOINT!

SUBSCRIPTIONS Call 614.268.8525

PARTNERS IN CRIME

READERSHIP: 210,000 PEOPLE / MONTH

Outlook Weekly is published and distributed by Outlook Media, Inc. every Thursday throughout Ohio.

Outlook Weekly is a free publication provided solely for the use of our readers. Any person who willfully or knowingly obtains or exerts unauthorized control over copies of Outlook Weekly with the intent to prevent other individuals from reading it shall be considered guilty of the crime of theft. Violators will be prosecuted.

The views expressed in Outlook Weekly are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or personal, business, or professional practices of Outlook Media, Inc. or its staff, ownership, or management.

Outlook Weekly does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any interpretation, advice, opinion, or view presented.

Outlook Media, Inc. does not investigate or accept responsibility for claims made in any advertisement. Outlook Media, Inc. assumes no responsibility for claims arising in connection with products and services advertised herein, nor for the content of, or reply to, any advertisement.

All material is copyrighted ©2008 by Outlook Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

WE’LL NEED ANOTHER ROUND

MICHIEVOUS SMILES

NEXT ISSUE (IN 2 WEEKS):OUR BEST GAY AGENDA! CHECK OUT THAT MUSTACHE

DEC 25 ‘08 JAN 07 ‘09 VOLUME 13 NUMBER 26

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

SNAPSHOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 ABOUT TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3, 34 COMMENTARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4, 21 OUT BUSINESS NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-9 COMMUNITY CORNER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-15 POLI-SCI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16-20 BITCHSLAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 DEEP INSIDE HOLLYWOOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 GIRL TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 CLASSIFIEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 OUT OF TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 SEX TALK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 SAVAGE LOVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 THE LAST WORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 SCOPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

HOT TO TROT

HAPPY NEW YEAR! THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 03

ABOUT TOWN by Adam Leddy Liquid, 1100 N High St, 614.298.3000, www.liquidhotspot.com: Free champagne toast, hors d’oNEW YEAR’S EVE evres 6p-8p. Free bottle of champagne to every AWOL, 49 Parsons Ave, 614.621.8779, awolbar.com: 10th anniversary party. No cover.

Axis, 775 N High St, 614.291.4008, columbusnightlife.com: New Year’s Eve Cabaret in Pumps, Nina West Hotspot, and DJ Alan Saunders spins you into the new year with your favorite diva and pop anthems. 10p-4a. Cover.

Barcelona, 263 E Whittier St, 614.443.3699, www.barcelonacolumbus.com: Make your reservations now to celebrate New Year’s Eve at one of German Village’s finest.

table reservation. Doors 4p. No cover.

Martini Park, 4040 Easton Station, 614.471.4300, www.martinipark.com: New Year’s Eve at the Park with live music by Rendition and dancing all night with DJ Phoenix. $60 admission includes complimentary bar and hors d’oevres.

Pyramid II, 211 N 6th St, 614.228.6151: New Year’s Eve party with drag & strippers. No cover.

Q Bar, 205 N 5th St, 614.222.2401, www.q-nation.com: Cash & prizes, balloon drop, and champagne toast for first 100 people in the bar. DJ T Blazers Pub, 1205 N High St, 614.299.1800: Bring Cruz spins in the back bar. Mistress of ceremonies in the New Year with DJ & KJ extraordinaire Dee Ranged presides. Call for exclusive VIP tix.

Karaoke Kim. Hats & horns, food, and a chamCover. pagne toast at midnight. $7. 6p.

Sage American Bistro, 2653 N High St, BoMA, 583 E Broad St, 614.233.3000, www.barof- 614.267.7243, www.sageamericanbistro.com: modernart.com: Champagne Wishes & Grey Goose Enjoy a special New Year’s Eve menu, available on Dreams with award-winning VJ 2nd Nature and a the website. Call now for reservations. special guest DJ in the Underground. Gold and platinum packages available; call to purchase.

Shadowbox Cabaret, 164 Easton Town Ctr, $30 general admission.

614.416.7625, www.shadowboxcabaret.com: The Shindig, with a dinner banquet and cash bar folClub Columbus, 795 W 5th Ave, 614.291.0049, lowed by two hours of live rock by BillWho? Compliwww.the-clubs.com: New Year’s Eve Masquerade mentary champagne toast and party favors. $60 Madness. The club provides the mask, food, and admission includes banquet and admission. party favors. Cover.

Skullys Bar & Grille, 1151 N High St, Club Diversity, 863 S High St, 614.244.4050, 614.291.8856, skullys.org: New Year’s Eve & www.clubdiversity.com: New Year’s Eve with Tracy Weightless 10-year anniversary show. PerformTemple. Free food (apps & finger foods). 8p. No ances by the Weightless All-Stars, Blueprint, Envecover. lope, Illogic, and Zero Star. Music by DJ Detox & DJ Rare Groove. $8 cover.

East Village, 630 N High St, 614.228.3546, www.columbusnightlife.com: Special New Year’s Slammers, 202 E Long St, 614.221.8880, Eve edition of Wednesdays Are a Drag with Virginia http://slammersbar.net: Tunes with DJ Harmony, West and friends. 10p. and plenty of drink & shot specials. Open all day.

No cover.

Exile, 893 N 4th St, 614.299.0069, www.exilebar.com: Karaoke, strippers, champagne, Somewhere Else, 1312 S High Street, balloon drop, and prizes. No cover.

614.443.4300, http://somewhereelse.org: Countdown to 2009 with dancing, food, entertainment, First Night Columbus, downtown, http://firstnight- giveaways, and drink specials. 5p. columbus.com: More than 150 visual and performing artists in venues including Veterans’ Memorial, Tradewinds II, 117 E Chestnut St, 614.461.4110, Rhodes Tower, and LeVeque Tower. Community-ori- http://tradewindsii.com: Tradewinds’ annual New ented, substance-free, something for everyone.

Year’s Eve celebration.

5p-12a.

Tremont Lounge, 708 S High St, 614.445.9365: Flex, 1567 E Livingston Ave, 614.252.0730, Special New Year’s Eve drag show & karaoke. 10p. www.flexbaths.com: $1 lockers and half-price No cover. rooms. 6p Wed to 6p Thurs.

U, 782 N High St, 614.421.2233, www.columbusHappy Greek, 660 N High St, 614.463.1111, nightlife.com: ReUnion 2 with dinner & top 30 http://happygreek.com: Special New Year’s Eve videos. Dinner seating 7p & 9p. Call for reservamenu features many of our popular favorites plus tions. No cover for bar service. great specials. Maximum two-hour seating. Free reservations.

Wall Street Nightclub, 144 N Wall St, 614.464.2800, www.wallstreetnightclub.com: Wall Havana, 862 N High St, 614.421.9697, Street’s annual celebration. Watch the ball drop on www.columbusnightlife.com: New Year’s Eve male the large video screen, with complimentary chamrevue with Samantha Rollins. No cover. pagne toast at midnight. Free parking @ N Wall & Elm; $99 hotel rate @ Hyatt on Cap Square if you James Club 88, 55 W Long St, 614.223.1213, mention the club. 9p; $10. www.jamesclub88.com: Sing in the New Year, everything from early jazz to John Legend. ShowWoofs, 2063 E Livingston, 614.237.3595, tunes, TV themes, Broadway, pop, gay icons, etc. www.woofscolumbus.com: Food, prizes, top 20 Buffet at midnight. 8:30p. $5 cover includes a video countdown. glass of champagne.

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

04 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

The Reader Poll

by James Campion

THE BOGUS BATTLE FOR CHRISTMAS This just in: Christmas has nothing to do with religion. Around here, and by around here I mean America, it is the granddaddy of consumer holidays; so much so that in this nation’s penultimate financial meltdown, story after story, report after report since the final hours of All Hollow’s Eve has been on the Bottom Line: “Black Friday Figures Down From ‘07” or “Cyber Monday Drags On Consumer Fears!”, etc. Therefore, this uproarious canard being perpetuated on the mainstream from the purportedly outraged anti-Christmas protest is as absurd as its target. In fact, in the grand scheme of religious and cultural crimes against humanity, this whole Battle For Christmas furor is as silly as complaining about the mosquitoes during the Jonestown mass suicide.

The very idea that in this current culture, this current society we live in today - not the Make Believe hoo-hah that passes for recent or even ancient history - Christmas is considered anything but a holiday based on tradition is nonsense. December 25 is one of those goofy myths we choose to honor, like our Constitution’s preamble phrase “a more perfect union,“ as a prophetic tribute to the ultimate possibilities of man and not merely a typo.

Problem is, there is no such thing as “a more perfect” anything. It’s either perfect or not, akin to the impossibility of being kinda pregnant or sorta dead. But we accept it, repeat it, and celebrate it every July 4, which is also a ridiculous demarcation of our eventual liberation from Britain, since that was simply a “declaration” and not a victory. The date for that celebration would be October 19, 1781, when the Articles of Capitulation were signed. Also, the “a more perfect union” thing didn’t even show up until seven years later in the US Contitution.

But where were we? Oh, right, Christmas.

We no more celebrate December 25 as the birth of the actual Jesus of Nazareth, who was likely born in the spring according to most astronomers and historians, than we

celebrate Super Bowl Sunday as the NFL championship game. December 25 is a natural extension of a pagan celebration established by the Romans to mark the Winter Soltice, which, of course, is not even on the 25th, but four days earlier. The date, officially called Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, or “The birthday of the unconquered sun,“ was to honor the Sun God. Back then, a few hundred years after the murder of the aforementioned Jesus, the honorary Christian observance of his birth was January 6.

Christmas, the actual date it’s observed the historical veracity and religious significance of which is completely built on one fabrication after the other - should not threaten anyone. It is a ritual observance for some, a warm and fuzzy tradition for others, and let’s face it, a spectacular consumer orgy for the rest.

This is the intelligent, reasonable way to look at Christmas. And isn’t that what all these people who get up in arms every December argue when they rail against its overtly Christian overtones? Of course. This renders a “protest” to lessen its impact or to somehow “even the field” feeble at best and stupid at worst.

Granted, Christianity in almost any form or denomination is annoying and in some cases dangerous and mostly oppressive, but name anything you’re not on board with that isn’t.

You can’t. Hell, I’m the first to back any dismissal of purely religious iconography, no matter how historically or even spiritually inaccurate, in public forums, federal buildings or public schools. But then there is the recent case in North Carolina where some self-righteous idiot tried to force a grammar school to strike “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” from its holiday recital purely for the “Then one foggy Christmas Eve...” line. The tender term “eve” was the issue, which the idiot denoted as religious-based. Again, arguing semantically, the word “eve” refers only to “the night before” an event, as mentioned earlier with

All Hollow’s Eve, which was later bastardized into the modern Halloween. All of which is hardly religious and is as innocuous as it gets.

It only gets weird when you forget all the anti-religious rhetoric and realize the protest itself is a subtle form of fascism.

To wit: “Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer” is a song, therefore a work of art. It is a fairly effective fairytale scenario based almost entirely on an early-nineteenth-century poem entitled “A Visit from St. Nicholas” or “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” (which could have easily but less dramatically been called “Christmas Eve”), from which all of our modern concepts on the Santa Claus myth derive.

To deny the inclusion of these creative works is to ignore First Amendment freedoms of expression, and who is for that? Besides radically charged Christian zealots, of course, who are for expunging every other work of art.

But that is a separate insanity for another time.

This week’s insanity surrounds the alwaysthorny term “sensibilities,” which is often used - along with other debate crutches like children, society, obscenity and (gulp) God to keep people from doing perfectly harmless activities that hurt no one. In a supposed free society there are going to be loads of activities, images, and overall goofiness that impinge on one or more sensibilities, but you know what? Too bad. That’s how it goes. The same jackass who fights to ban gay marriage or censor rap music or protest art exhibitions and march for all manner of meaningless falderal turns right around and makes noise about another equally vapid activity as “impinging on rights” or “attacking the framework of decent morality” or you name the predicable banality.

So have a Merry Whatever and a Happy Whoozits, but know this: I shall not, now or in the near future, take down my motorized masturbating Santa. He’s goddamned jolly and the neighborhood kids love him.

Last week we asked:

Do you make a New Year’s Resolution?

57% No 43% Yes NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION:

What should be the next item we fight for on our “gay agenda”?

Log on to: www.outlookweekly.net to take this week’s poll.

S

OU

RCE

: L OS ANGELES

TIM

CATEGORY

NOV 2 ’04

DEC 15 ’08

DIFFERENCE

AMERICAN DEAD

1,122

4,209

3,087

AMERICAN WOUNDED

8,124

30,852

22,728

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEAD

16,342

98,133

81,791

NATIONAL DEBT

$7,429,629,954,236

$10,597,885,059,458 $3,168,255,105,222

DAYS ‘TIL OBAMA INAUGURATION 1,540

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

28% ES

REALITY CHECK

26

(1,518)

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 05

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

06 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

OUT BUSINESS NEWS

Spotlight:

Mike Maly Limited Brands, Inc

by Brooke Stull Mike Maly is passionate about helping the community.

Maly has had some great accomplishments in his career as manager of executive technology and office services at Limited Brands, Inc., but nothing seems to outweigh the impact he has had within the community - in particular the GLBT community. “I look at how my career and many leaders within Limited Brands have opened doors for me to really make a difference within the community,” said the enthusiastic Maly.

One of Mike’s greatest accomplishments has been his work with the United Way campaign. “When United Way of Central Ohio wanted to explore new ways to partner with the GLBT community, Mike Maly was one of

the first people we turned to,” said Janet Jackson, president and chief executive officer of United Way of Central Ohio. “He is a dedicated volunteer who has provided invaluable insights to help us build stronger relationships within our diverse community.”

Mike’s community involvement goes beyond United Way. In 2000, Maly joined the Human Rights Campaign as a Federal Club member. He became a supporter of Equality Ohio in 2007, and Maly and his partner Greg Espinoza, a senior field leadership recruiter for Big Lots Corporation, plan to join Make a Wish Foundation in the fall of 2009.

Maly has been active in the Kaleidoscope Youth Center since 2005, serving on the executive board. Many of the youth at the center are abused, either physically or emotionally. Mike is passionate about the

center and the youth who are served by it: “I want a place where today’s youth can come and be accepted for who they are,” he said. In addition to its direct work with GLBT young people, the Kaleidoscope Youth Center reaches out to local businesses, community leaders and teachers to educate about the GLBT community.

“People don’t stop and think about the positive impact that donating the gift of time can make, to work in a center somewhere, helping senior citizens, painting a community center or school,” said Maly. “It’s all about giving that one new chance, opening that one door and enabling individuals to better themselves and thus, better the community.”

Not only is Mike a leader in the commu-

nity, he is also a leader in his profession. He strives to create an open and energetic work environment for his team. Maly is also a member of the inclusion council team at Limited Brands.

Mike and Greg reside in downtown Columbus, and they have no plans on leaving anytime soon. “Greg and I both want to stay here in the community and in our home, continuing to support in any way possible,” Mike said. “This is a great community.”

TOPTENTI PSFOREARLYTAXPLANNI NG With less than a month before the end of the tax year, you may want to set aside a moment during the busy holiday season to consider some quick IRS tips that may give you the gift of time and money saved next year.

1. Gather your records.

With the current tax year winding down, taxpayers should begin to gather and organize their tax records now to reduce stress at tax time. Start organizing records such as those relating to a home purchase or sale, stock transactions, IRAs and business or rental property. Also, go back and gather records confirming any donations made to charitable organizations. To deduct a charitable donation, a taxpayer must have a bank record or a written communication from the qualifying charity showing the name of the charity and the date and amount of the contribution. A bank record includes canceled checks, bank or credit union statements and credit card statements.

2. Estimate your 2008 tax bill.

Go to IRS.gov for the IRS Withholding Calculator. This online application will help taxpayers ensure that they don’t have too much or too little income tax withheld from their paychecks.

3. Find out if you’re eligible for the Firsttime Homebuyer Credit.

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

This new tax credit applies to home purchases after April 8, 2008, and before July 1, 2009. It reduces a taxpayer’s tax bill or increases their refund. It is also fully refundable, which means the credit will be paid out to eligible taxpayers even if they owe no tax or the credit is more than the taxes owed. Operating much like a credit-free loan, the credit must be repaid over a 15-year period.

4. If you didn’t receive a stimulus payment, plan on claiming the Rebate Recovery Credit.

Individuals who were eligible, but did not receive a stimulus payment in 2008, may claim their stimulus payment when they file their 2008 federal income tax return. Taxpayers who missed the 2008 deadline for filing an income tax return for an economic stimulus payment can receive their payment in 2009 by filing an income tax return beginning in January and claiming the Rebate Recovery Credit.

5. Receive your missing refund.

If you’re missing a tax refund, take a few minutes to go to “Where’s my Refund?” on IRS.gov or call the toll-free refund Hotline at 1.800.829.1954. All a taxpayer has to do is update their address and the IRS will send out all checks due.

6. Find out if you’re eligible for the Earned

Income Tax Credit.

The Earned Income Tax Credit is available to low- and moderate-income workers. The EITC Assistant on IRS.gov helps determine eligibility for the credit. Taxpayers who earn less than $42,000 in 2008 may be eligible for a refundable tax credit of up to approximately $4,800.

About one-quarter of all taxpayers eligible for this credit fail to properly claim it. Make sure you don’t miss out on this valuable credit.

7. Plan to file your return electronically.

If you’ve never filed your tax return electronically, you should definitely consider trying it in 2009. E-file is a safe and accurate while offering more payments options. Choose direct deposit for your refund and you can have it right in your bank account in as little as 10 days.

8. Find out more information about unemployment compensation.

If you are receiving unemployment compensation, see Topic 418 on IRS.gov. Unemployment compensation is taxable and you have the option to have federal income tax withheld using Form W-4V. 9. Gather important tax information about home foreclosures.

Normally you would have to pay taxes on

the amount of debt that was forgiven in a foreclosure. However, under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, taxpayers can generally exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence.

Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for this relief. With certain exceptions, this provision applies to debt forgiven in 2007, 2008 or 2009.

10. Get the most out of your retirement accounts Are you maximizing your contributions to your retirement accounts? This year, you can contribute up to $5,000 in an IRA, as well as another $15,500 to a 401(k) employer plan. If you’re 50 or older, those numbers go up to $6,000 and $20,500, respectively. The Saver’s Credit for low- and moderate-income workers helps offset part of the first $2,000 that workers voluntarily contribute to IRAs and to 401(k) plans and similar workplace retirement programs.

And one last tip: Visit IRS.gov and come back often.

IRS.gov is the one and only official source for IRS information. You can download forms, publications, tax tips and FAQs about dozens of tax issues. It’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and best of all - you can visit at home.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 07

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

08 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

Spotlight:

OUT BUSINESS NEWS

Joe Spinelli Spinelli’s Deli

by Adam Leddy Breakfast all day, tasty lunches, and now, a full dinner menu: That’s the M. O. for Spinelli’s deli, a Short North and Victorian Village favorite since its opening in 1997. Add to the mix a robust catering service, and owner Joe Spinelli is well positioned to weather tough economic times.

Spinelli is committed to his community, serving on the board of the Short North Business Association for eight years and on the Columbus Chamber’s Small Business Council for the past five.

The deli regularly donates to Stonewall Columbus and Equality Ohio, and Joe’s team has fed breakfast to the volunteers who clean Goodale Park since the restaurant opened. As we close the year, it felt like the right time to turn the Out Business News spotlight on an entrepreneur who has given so much to his city and his GLBT friends.

Adam Leddy: What did you do before opening the deli?

Joe Spinelli: I received my degree in Social Work and did a variety of case management and prevention jobs. A few included HIV/AIDS gay outreach specialist in the ’90s (ugh I am old!), job coach for people with mental illness, and activities coordinator in a nursing home facility.

I grew up in food. My grandfather owned several Italian restaurants in Cleveland. As a little kid I would be bussing tables and helping grandpa keep the restaurant clean. When I was

15 I got my first job at McDonald’s. I worked there for 4 years and was promoted several times and eventually ended as the training manager in charge of hiring and training new employees. I decided to go to college and left the food business. I just love the food business and have always had a passion for feeding people!

My main job at the deli is marketing, community involvement and public relations. We have a general manager, Kelsey, who handles operations. Bill Ward focuses on the financial management of the company; he was in banking for over 20 years.

AL: What inspired the move to a dinner menu?

Why now?

JS: We had been looking at expanding our business for the past few years. However, a second location did not seem desirable to Bill and me. We like the community feel of our businesses and knowing our customers. We feel part of a big family in the Short North. Our retail breakfast, lunch and catering business has been strong and growing for many years. Many of our customers had asked if we would ever consider staying open for dinner. We decided to do a survey and handed out 200 of them to our closest customers. We received 180 back and it was a resounding YES to open for dinner. Many also wanted some kind of pasta and pizza. We decided to go with a flatbread pizza. We had a customer contest to submit their favorite pizza recipe. A loyal customer,

Nathan, won a free pizza every week for a year (a $415 value!) with his sunflower chicken caesar recipe. A complete description of the pasta and pizza is available at our website, www.SpinellisDeli.com. Both are available with the rest of our menu from 11a to 9p.

AL: People in the neighborhood have a lot of dining options. What will make dinner at the deli special?

JS: Well, several things. We have parking. It is easily accessible and there is lots of it. You can call in your order and have it ready if you want to do carry out. You can order breakfast in the evening. We have a large menu. Each day we serve 9 different salads, 6 soups, 22 specialty sandwiches, 9 breakfast platters, 10 breakfast sandwiches, 5 flatbread pizzas, 5 pasta dishes, pastries, and smoothies. I also believe that I have some of the best employees. They give great customer service and really know many of our regular loyal customers.

AL: What sets your catering business apart and allows it to succeed in a tough economy?

JS: We are reasonably priced compared to our competitors. We also handle last-minute orders.

Our food is made fresh within hours of delivery.

Our service is personal and customers can access us by email or by calling our deli. We have a

small group of catering gurus in our store who develop relationships with our regular catering customers. We are reliable… and on time!

AL: Tell us about your commitment to the GLBT community. You do so much to support it.

JS: Both Bill and I are gay. I believe that Columbus has one of the best gay communities in Ohio.

We moved here from Cleveland after attending several Pride celebrations. We fell in love with the Short North and the general acceptance of the gay community in Columbus. I consider Columbus a diamond in the ruff! We believe every business has a responsibility to give back to the community in which they live. Spinelli’s Deli has a strong commitment to doing its part in promoting equality and fairness for all GLBT people.

A complete menu is available at www.SpinellisDeli.com.

Hours are M-F 6a-9p and Sat-Sun 7a-9p. Bill Ward is single and taking applications for boyfriends.

OUTLOOK MEDIA: GROWING STRONG

by Michael Daniels and Chris Hayes In the review/preview spirit, here’s a brief look at Outlook Media’s major accomplishments in 2008, and our growth strategies and plans for 2009.

We took some big steps in 2008, expanding our staff and doubling our office footprint in the Short North. We launched central Ohio’s only GLBT talk radio program, Radio Outlook, on WVKO 1580AM, and then expanded that show from an hour to 90 minutes. We resumed distribution of Outlook Weekly in the Cleveland area.

And those activities didn’t go unnoticed. Kevin Kemper profiled us in Business First, and columnist Ann Fisher featured us in the Columbus Dispatch.

We were honored with a Business Arts Partnership Award nomination at the Greater Columbus Arts Council, and we continued the Outlook tradition of giving back to the community, donating DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

approximately 25% of our advertising space to charities, events, and community organizations.

Added up, those donations amounted to approximately 200 pages of space with a retail value of more than $240,000.

Network Columbus grew to #2 on Google for Columbus networking events, and we penned a partnership with Big Fish Networking, creating a web of 20,000 progressive, networked professionals.

On a personal note, Chris was a proud graduate of the United Way’s inaugural Pride Leadership program, and Michael became a quasi-regular talking head on WOSU’s Columbus On The Record television program.

And our plans for 2009 are even more ambitious! While we can’t disclose everything we’re working on, we can tout some very exciting news.

Beginning in February, Radio Outlook will be videotaped live and replayed on the new WDEMTV as a 90-minute television program, and we’ll

be authorized sales representatives for advertising on that new station.

We’ve also sealed a partnership with the Columbus Metropolitan Club and will be active promoters of their weekly forums, and we are making a major investment of time into Diversity Matters, working to promote diversity of all kinds in the central Ohio business community.

We’ll continue building on our partnership with Big Fish, and are founding members of what we’re tongue-in-cheek calling the Network Mafia to bring all open and progressive networking groups together to share resources and cross-promote events.

We’re partnering with Out In America to be an authorized sales channel for their entire product line, and we will more aggressively cover and distribute Outlook Weekly in the Cleveland area market.

All this, coupled with the things we can’t yet disclose, will require resources, so look for us to

continue to grow our staff and expand our offices yet again.

We couldn’t do any of this without you. Our sincere thanks to all of our readers, listeners, and networkers - GLBT and allied - for your confidence and support. Here’s to 2009 - Outlook’s best year yet!

WHO’S IN YOUR NETWORK? WWW.NETWORKCOLUMBUS.COM

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 09

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COMMUNITY CORNER ’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW YEAR IN REVIEW: COMMUNITY Our GLBT organizations celebrated many achievements in 2008. The next few pages hold a glimpse at some of the more noteworthy highlights:

BRAVO TRANS OHIO TransOhio has had a busy 2008. Our activities included presenting at several university and high schools in the central Ohio area; hosting the 2nd Annual Unity Picnic in June for Pride; participating in the Trans history panel held in June; hosting our 2nd Community Thanksgiving Dinner; publishing another year of monthly newsletters; hosting our first Transgender and Ally Symposium in August with keynote speaker Kate Bornstein; partnering with Kaleidoscope Youth Center to facilitate youth gender discussion group; and facilitating the 10th Annual TDOR Vigil. Karen Patrick of TransOhio completed the United Way’s Pride Leadership program.

TransOhio attended the Equality Federation Summer meeting, had a booth at Pride, and co-sponsored both the Stonewall candidate night and Equality Ohio’s Lobby Day. We received a grant from The Legacy Fund and participated in Outlook Media’s Radio Outlook program.

In 2009, TransOhio is focused on writing the informational booklet “Transitioning in Ohio,” planning our second Transgender and Ally conference (August 20-23, 2009), continuing to facilitate monthly support group meetings at Stonewall and Kaleidoscope Youth Center, launching a Speaker’s Bureau, and lobbying in April with NCTE in Washington, DC, and in May with Equality Ohio.

If you’re interested in volunteering or getting involved in the work TransOhio is doing, please contact us at TransOhio@gmail.com. An up-to-date event calendar can be viewed at www.transohio.org.

THE KALEIDOSCOPE ANNUAL GARDEN PARTY FUNDRAISER

KALEIDOSCOPE YOUTH CENTER 2008 was a big year for KYC. Among many accomplishments, we: • Doubled the number of unique youth served from 2007. We are serving about 300 youth in the center, and an additional 100 in the community; • Facilitated LGBT 101 trainings for numerous youth service providers, including the Buckeye Ranch, Huck House, and Columbus City Schools; • Sent our Youth Advisory Board to the NGLTF Creating Change conference, allowing them to take that information back to other youth at the center, and utilize new self ad vocacy skills within their schools; • Identified, through CONGA (the Central Ohio Network of Gay Straight Alliances), at

Pride 2008 marked the beginning of BRAVO’s 13th year serving the Central Ohio LGBT communities - it also marked another beginning: the launch of a new statewide initiative.

BRAVO has always had a vision of providing services statewide, and in 2008 that became reality.

In October of 2008 BRAVO received a capacity building grant from the Ohio Department of Health to fund our statewide work. In 2009 BRAVO will focus on Cleveland and Cincinnati with a goal of broadening our efforts into other areas of the state in 2010. While initially focusing on prevention, this expansion will also bring much needed resources and assistance to crime victims in both cities.

Because the new initiative is in addition to our ongoing Central Ohio work, BRAVO has added a part-time program assistant, Amy Lamerson, to lend an extra pair of hands to our efforts.

Volunteers and staff conducted needs-assessment surveys in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati at Pride Celebrations. This data will guide us in better focusing our outreach efforts. Not surprisingly there is aclear need in all 3 cities for BRAVO services. Immediately following Pride and our initial outreach, BRAVO began taking reports and serving clients in both Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Following a series of high profile attacks outside gay bars in Cleveland, BRAVO began a collaboration with the Cleveland LGBT Center, hosting town meetings and street safety seminars. Additional town safety meetings and self defense programming are planned for spring.

In Cincinnati BRAVO began working with a group of interested community members, who reached out to us after the hate murder of a well known local drag performer. BRAVO staff has been working with a variety of community organizations and will begin town safety meetings and self defense classes there in the spring.

2009 will not only see BRAVO strengthening our work in Ohio, but will highlight our leadership on a national level. BRAVO is hosting the 2009 Annual Roundtable and Regional Training Academy for the Nation Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) in Columbus. BRAVO last hosted this conference in 1999 and it was a huge success. The May event will afford an opportunity for BRAVO to highlight our work to state and national antiviolence experts. It will also give the Columbus LGBT Community an opportunity to showcase our community to national leaders. Additionally we hope to use the event to raise awareness locally about all issues of violence as it affect our community and the critical work that NCAVP does around the country.

least one positive support person in each of the local high schools, so that youth have immediate access to an ally should something happen within their school day; • Received significant grants from the Ohio Children’s Foundation and the Columbus Foundation to support the hiring of a second full time employee to coordinate center programming; • Partnered with the Wexner Center and TransOhio to expand programming; • Retained minority LGBT youth (about 60% of youth who access the drop-in center are youth of color); • Held our most successful Garden Party ever, with the help of host Tom Havens; • Sent youth leaders from the Center to the National GSA Network conference in Chicago.

Expect more exciting news and accomplishments from KYC in 2009!

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COMMUNITY CORNER ’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

STONEWALL COLUMBUS Our success at Stonewall Columbus is measured by the lives we have changed. This year Stonewall helped so many people who needed a safe place to be: the young high school student who was bullied every day of his life, the eighty-six year old who just lost her partner of fifty years and the new dads with the baby who wanted to have a family picture taken with Santa without a snide look on the photographer’s face. The upcoming year will bring some challenges. The economic crisis has affected us all; charitable giving has been reduced across the board. Like many other organizations, we’ve had to make cuts to the budget across all areas. However, we are left with our greatest asset: the excellent staff, volunteers and board and their commitment to the LGBT citizens of central Ohio. The following is a list of our accomplishments for 2008.

New Classes and Programs Over 5,000 people visited the Center on High this year and volunteers helped over 15,000 who called the intake and referral desk at the center. Stonewall Columbus continues to renovate and improve a 7,200 square-foot community center with the help of our friends and family in the community who contribute thousands of dollars in order to maintain and enhance the buildings. The center has over 30 organizations or groups using the center on a regular basis. Stonewall Health Check continues to thrive and a new Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) program has been added to reach out to our seniors. Classes and forums were added to the roster of programs and now members can enjoy Ballroom Dancing, T’ai Chi, Yoga, Qigong, Spanish, Polarity and Energy Work. Stonewall has many clubs on the roster and is always ready to add new ones.

Pride 2008 Breaks All Records Stonewall Columbus produced the largest Pride festival and march in the Midwest with 120,000 participants.

New Pride events were added in June: “An Evening with Leslie Jordan,” and the Golf Outing called FORE!Pride.

The Pride Art Show was juried and presented twenty artists and displayed over thirty pieces of art. The new Slam Jam Teen Stage was created to give young LGBTQI participants a safe environment for self-expression and the Pride Brunch sold out. Organizations who attended the event reported that Pride turned into their biggest faceto-face marketing day of the year.

SWC TV: The Perfect Outreach Tool Stonewall Columbus branded its own television channel on the web, SWC TV. Producers created two videos that helped subscribers cope with the holiday blues. On the channel, Stonewall partnered with the Columbus AIDS Task Force (CATF) to get the word out about the prevention of STDs. Membership Drive a Huge Success Stonewall Columbus, Inc. launched a membership drive and received an overwhelming response. The organization has over 250 members of the center and hopes to double that by June of 2009. Members receive free admission to Pride and regular updates from our electronic newsletter.

Stonewall Columbus Is OUT Everywhere Stonewall Columbus was mentioned in the Advocate, the Dispatch and Business First. Outlook Weekly and Out in America sponsored many events at the center and featured the agency many times in 2008. Karla Rothan, executive director of Stonewall, was interviewed by channels 4 (WCMH), 6 (WSYX), and 10 (WBNS) and by radio channels WTVN and WOSU. Lavender Listings Expands to Include New Travel Guide Stonewall Columbus produced an excellent resource directory, Lavender Listings and added a travel section to the book for the 2009-2010 publication. The organization secured the domain LGBTcolumbus.com in order to have a gay travel site added to its web presence.

Fiscally Healthy and Going Strong Stonewall Columbus puts approximately 76% of its overall budget back into the center’s programs and services. The organization has been very conservative about increasing its number of staff and continues to have two full-time and one part-time employee. Only 13.4% of Stonewall’s budget goes to salaries. In 2005, some viewed the purchase of the two buildings and three parking parcels in one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city as a huge risk for such a small organization. It was a risk but a necessary one for our community. The central location of the center gives our community optimum visibility and accessibility. It also gives smaller organizations a permanent home and space to use for meetings and events. In the past two years, Stonewall has spent approximately $76,000 on capital improvements of the center. Now, three years after purchasing the center, the organization has established equity in the property and set a course for growth in the future. This year Stonewall received support from individual donors, special events, corporate sponsors, United Way, the City of Columbus, COSMOS, the Legacy Fund and the Columbus Foundation.

As 2008 comes to an end the board and staff of SWC want to thank all of you for helping to make all of this possible. Happy New Year!

EQUALITY OHIO Equality Ohio was a force for change and progress in 2008, particularly in the following areas: CHANGING HEARTS AND MINDS EO sponsored and coordinated over a dozen showings of the Academy Award winning documentary, Freeheld, and delivered pro-equality presentations to churches, businesses, schools/universities and civic groups. EO increased its faith outreach efforts and delivered the 2008 Our Stories project.

This year’s project, Our Stories: In Pictures, was delivered to our state legislators in recognition of the 4th Banniversary of the passage of Issue 1. The CAUSE project was launched to increase volunteerism in college and university communities across the state for works of public good. Additionally, EO responded to multiple anti-gay activities across Ohio, notably the “I kissed a girl and I liked it…” controversy in central Ohio and the vicious attacks against incoming state Rep. Ray Prior during the campaign.

IMPACTING THE LEGISLATIVE ENVIRONMENT: EO supported local efforts to pass pro-LGBT legislation and policies in Oxford, Cleveland, Lucas County, Franklin County, and elsewhere; achieved bipartisan introduction in both the House and the Senate of the Equal Housing and Employment Act and doubled the number of previous bill sponsors; and secured sponsor, proponent and opponent testimony for the bill in the Senate committee, with sponsor testimony in the House committee. EO secured resolutions or letters of support for the EHEA from 9 cities, 2 counties, 21 businesses, 3 universities, 5 civic/community organizations, and 33 faith leaders/organizations. The organization launched a new website, www.dowhatsrightohio.org, in support of the EHEA. BUILDING POLITICAL POWER EO had a presence at 7 pride parades/celebrations/festivals across Ohio. In May, EO held the third annual Lobby Day for Equality with approximately 350 attendees and 100% of Senate districts and 85% of House districts visited.

They delivered nearly 11,000 FIRED postcards to the legislature upon introduction of the EHEA and collected an additional 3,000 for delivery in 2009. EO grew its database to 28,000 records and coordinated 1,435.5 volunteer hours for the work of Equality Ohio, plus an additional 1,225 hours of volunteer time for political work. EO worked to bring the Not So Straight Talk Express to Ohio to knock on over 7,000 doors in one weekend prior to election day.

In 2008, we undertook the following activities to Sustain a Strong, Viable Organization: INCREASING LEADERSHIP CAPACITY EO supported current and future LGBT leaders by hosting the Equality Federation’s annual summer meeting and the third annual Statewide Leadership Summit. They also co-hosted a youth conference, Gen08, and a series of Community Conversations to address building leadership in the movement among LGBT people of color. The organization worked with 8 interns and work-study students and added three youth ex-officio positions to the c4 board of directors.

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OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 15

COMMUNITY CORNER

’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

THE CLEVELAND AIDS TASKFORCE January In January the AIDS Taskforce released “The Financial Health of AIDS Service Organizations in the United States, 2001-2007: Raising Questions about a Model in Transition.” The report carefully documented declining government funding and decreased private donations, and the effects of such changes on local services for people with HIV/AIDS. February In February the AIDS Taskforce released “Vulnerable People, Vulnerable Systems: HIV/AIDS Care and Prevention in Lorain County,” the results of a nine-month needs assessment examining care and services for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. March Believing it essential that people with HIV/AIDS embrace the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and find their voices in the political process, the AIDS Taskforce began efforts to register people living with HIV/AIDS to vote.

April In April the AIDS Taskforce partnered with Cleveland Public Theatre to present In the Continuum, a powerful two-woman play about a woman living with HIV/AIDS in SubSaharan Africa, and a woman living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles.

The play sparked transformative discussions about illness, race, gender, and the politics of hope.

May In early May, we mourned the loss of David Oakland, a longstanding member of the board of directors who had done so much for the AIDS Taskforce, and for many cultural organizations in northeast Ohio. A few weeks later, we formally named our agency Board Room the “David M. Oakland Board Room” in his memory. Later in the month, we hosted a Community Forum with

human rights activist Yinka Jegede-Ekpe, founder of the Nigerian Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS.

September By the end of September, Southpointe - the newest Housing First project providing permanent supportive housing to homeless perJune sons, including homeless persons In June the AIDS Taskforce rewith HIV/AIDS - was fully occupied. ceived notification of funding to Southpointe, with 86 units, will be launch a new community education followed by another project schedprogram for people living with uled to open in the late summer of HIV/AIDS, designed to increase 2009. In late September a team of medical knowledge and medication hardy research scientists from Diadherence, and support long-term agnostic Hybrids braved a two-day, independence. In June the AIDS 200-mile bicycle ride to raise nearly Taskforce also hosted Zambian HIV $20,000 for the AIDS Taskforce. and TB activist Winstone Zulu in a community forum with northeast October Ohioans living with HIV/AIDS. October brought the 2008 John T. Carey Memorial AIDS Walk, as well July as the launch of the first semester In July the AIDS Taskforce of the David Feldt Institute. And for launched a new advocacy effortto much of October, the Taskforce’s reduce administrative and political Get Out The Vote efforts literally hit barriers to the implementation of the streets of Cleveland, and syringe exchange programs across reached out across the state.

Ohio. (Cleveland remains the only Ohio city with a formal syringe ex- November change program.) Later in the After hard review, Turkey Tuesday month, the Taskforce hosted a del- was cancelled. But then, someegation of HIV/AIDS physicians, thing astonishing happened: ATGC public health professionals, and clients who did not need the turkey activists from Namibia. But we dinners because of an income level also mourned the loss of David above the poverty line mobilized, Feldt, RN, former AIDS Taskforce and on their own, made phone Board President and community calls, wrote letters, and sent eeducator and health care profesmails-raising nearly $10,000. sional. In his memory, the AIDS Turkey Tuesday was restored, with Taskforce decided to name the some additional money left over for newly-funded community educathe client Holiday Party held in Detion program (see above) the David cember.

Feldt Institute.

December August Later in December, the AIDS In August the Taskforce, having Taskforce will host its annual holiexhausted funding for the fiscal day party for over 400 individuals year, was forced to close its food and families living with HIV/AIDS. A pantry for a short period - until the tradition since the early days of the Community West Foundation came ATGC, the Holiday Party is, for many through with emergency funds to low-income ATGC clients, the “real” reopen the pantry until the start of holiday celebration in their lives, the new fiscal year in September. and for some of the children particOver 100 children and teenagers ipating, the 2-3 small gifts they reparticipated in the weeklong Camp ceive at that time will be the only Sunrise experience for Ohio children gifts they receive during the holiday living with and affected by season.

HIV/AIDS.

SPORTS

’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

Volleyball The Capital City Volleyball (CCV) league, Ohio’s oldest gay volleyball organization, just finished its 22nd year and is looking forward to continuing its tradition of friendly, enjoyable, and competitive volleyball. They look forward to beginning 2009 with registration and an open gym on Sunday, January 4th, 2009. The league will start play on Sunday, January 11, 2009. Individuals, regardless of level of experience, are encouraged to participate in CCV for the fun and social aspects of the volleyball league. The league draws over 250 people from the all walks of life and groups within and outside the gay community.

CCV offers five levels of play including ADivision (Advanced/Power), B-Division (Intermediate), C-Division (Recreational), Women’s Competitive and Women’s Recreational. All levels, will play each Sunday during the season at the Berliner Sports Complex (1300 Deckenbach Road) near downtown Columbus.

There will also be a fall league hosted on Wednesday evenings in the fall of 2009.

More information about the league can be found on their web site: http://www.columbusvolleyball.org/ccv Softball The Columbus Lesbian Gay Softball Association (CLGSA) enjoyed its largest membership in several years with 28 teams and over 450 players participating in 4 divisions. BatN-Rouge, their annual drag softball game, held each year on the Sunday of Pride Weekend, was a record success despite the pouring down rain. The event ended up raising over $10k for community charities and organizations.

The CLGSA is proud to announce that they have rejoined the North American Gay Armature Athletic Alliance for the first time in over 20 years. NAGAAA consists of 37 GLBT leagues around the country.

CLGSA also sent two teams to the NAGAAA World Series for the first time in over 20 years. Tradewinds Grizzlies finished 12 out of 47 teams in the C division. Somewhere Else Oz was very competitive and finished right in the middle of the pack out of 30 plus teams. The league hopes to send even more teams to the World Series in Milwaukee in 2009.

The CLGSA and Columbus 2010 Bid Committee are also very excited about winning the vote to host the 2010 NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series. The event will bring 150 teams and thousands of players, fans, and officials to Columbus August 16-21, 2010.

More information about the league can be found on their web site: http://www.clgsa.net/

feel included in the league no mater their level of play. A monthly social was held on the 3rd Saturday of the month at the Players Club in Hilliard during the winter months.

We also had tennis clinics offered free of charge to members at OSU during the spring and summer. The main change to our regular tennis format this year was hosting all doubles matches at the OSU Tennis courts. All three of these additions help to make the league a little more social and members were able to meet players from different levels of play. Look for more information on CMTO1.ORG. We will be starting the socials again January 10th, 2009.

More information about the league can be found on their web site: http://www.cmto1.org/ Golf The goal of the Rainbow Golf League is to encourage our members to enjoy the game of golf and to foster growth and improvement in all members’ abilities in a competitive environment. This goal extends to all members regardless of sexual orientation, age, race, or ability. Membership is open to all Central Ohioans who are members or supporters of the GLBT Community.

League participation will start in the early spring and course, day and time will be determined by interest and requests of its members.

More information about the league can be found on their web site: http://www.rainbowgolf.org/

Swimming Ohio Splash is a United States Masters Swim team open to all and committed to fostering national and international competition for amateur athletes. Since 1997, the team has grown from 6 swimmers to a roster of over 100 members.

Fitness & Competition: A team coach coordinates three structured practices each week. Pool length varies by season. During the fall and winter we swim in an indoor 25yard pool. Spring and summer practices are usually held at a 50-meter pool. Locker rooms with showers are available.

Fun & Travel: In addition to the practices that we hold in Columbus, Splash travels to meets all around the Midwest, sometimes even further. In the past, Splash swimmers have competed in various cities including New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington DC. We competed at the International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) championships in San Diego, Atlanta, Paris, Toronto and Palo Alto. The 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam proved to be a success for 5 Splash swimmers bringing home 16 medals. In 2002, we brought 17 swimmers to the United States Masters Championships Tennis (USMS) in Cleveland, Ohio and 20 swimmers The Columbus Metropolitan Tennis Orearned 28 swimming medals at the Gay ganization (CMTO) finished its nineteenth Games in Sydney, Australia as part of Team year and is looking forward to celebrating its Columbus. twentieth year anniversary with membership More information about the league can be growth. The 2008 season had some new found on their web site: http://www.ohiosprograms that were added to help members plash.org DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

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POLI-SCI ’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

by Adam Leddy

MOVING ON AFTER PROP 8

by Jonathan Powell In the wake of Prop 8 many people are left wondering, “What on earth happened?” One big question is why the black vote went overwhelmingly in favor of defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Why would a group that is marginalized in society vote in favor of taking rights away from another marginalized group?

There are many explanations for this phenomenon, but one big part has to do with political group formation. What are all of the marginalized minorities fighting for in the United States? Equal rights. Organization within the LGBT community such as the Human Rights Campaign align themselves on the platform of general human rights, but when the campaign is focused on LGBT rights, automatically there is a disconnect with other rights campaigns such as that of African Americans.

The fight for equal rights is most effective when it is all-inclusive. This is not to say that all of the gays, blacks, Latinos, etc should get along. It is also not to say that organizations such as HRC should not exist. Instead, the focus should change to a “do no harm” ideology.

“Do no harm” is the idea that all people should be given all rights that do not negatively affect anyone else. Being black does not negatively affect anyone around you, just as being gay does not negatively affect anyone. If the Christian Rights tries to argue that being gay is harmful in any other way other than going against their own religious moral code, then that is an issue of separation of church and state and can be argued in that way. Following the ideology of “do no harm,” the lines are blurred between all marginalized groups of society.

Baynard Rustin, a black civil rights leader in the ’50s and ’60s, was an open homosexual and therefore was pushed to the background of the movement. In this way the Civil Rights Movement worked for civil rights of blacks, but at the same time, in the case of Rustin, perpetuated prejudice against gays. If the movement had based its platform on human rights for all humans, who knows where the LGBT community would be today? If the platform of gay rights were to focus more heavily on human rights across the board then their political constituency would grow large enough to have substantial political power.

According to 2007 census figures, 33% of DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

the US population is comprised of minorities.

Those minorities include African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Hawaiian Natives, and Pacific Islanders. In 2005, minorities accounted for 82% of the population growth, so the total percentage will only increase. Though the number of homosexuals in the US is largely unknown, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force estimates it at around 3-8%. If it is assumed that homosexuality is equal among different races, then approximately 1-3% of the white population is gay.

With those figures in mind it is in the best interest of the gay community to do all that it can for the other minorities in the US, even if only to increase their political constituency.

Also, let us not forget that every population has homosexuality, and within the gay community all other minorities are also present.

Across the board it is in the best interest of the LGBT community to embrace work toward every person’s rights regardless of their sexual orientation.

Though homophobia is still prevalent, if the African Americans in California would have been convinced that the gay community was looking after their best interests the vote may have gone differently. Many racists voted for Barack Obama because they felt that he was working in their interest. In the same way many homophobic minorities backed Harvey Milk when he ran for office, because he fought for their rights as well as those of LGBT people.

The goal of any human rights movement is to open the minds of the people who are working toward prolonging oppressive behavior. If those who are oppressed work together toward equality, minds will be opened within every community. Let’s give African Americans a reason to support the fight for equal rights for gays by working with them toward equal rights for themselves. Within the gay community racism should not be tolerated, just as homophobia should not be tolerated in any community. If acceptance of homosexuality is increased in all communities, another benefit is that more people will come out and again the political power of the LGBT movement will increase.

This is a call to action. Though it is frustrating that African American voters helped pass Prop 8, a backlash will only be detrimental to the LGBT community. Working together is the only way toward change and will produce more lasting results if not only the laws, but also the minds, of the people are changed.

THE YEAR IN On the political front, 2008 was a mixed bag for gay and trans folks. Our fortunes have risen pretty steadily since the disastrous 2004 election, and perhaps a few setbacks were inevitable, particularly since we have yet to prove our ability to win at the ballot box when it comes to relationship recognition. Prop 8 is a turning point in the history of the movement, but until we figure out a coherent response, we won’t know if it is a turning point for the better or the worse.

Nationally, many GLBT people are pleased with the election of Barack Obama, but not even the most devoted Kool Aid guzzlers can claim to know the extent to which he will champion our causes.

In Ohio, the map is a bit bluer than it was at the beginning of the year, but uncertainty remains over whether that will result in real progress on the issues that matter most to this community.

All in all, we still have a hard slog ahead of us. As we look ahead to a new year, here are the national and local headlines from the year that was: AMERICANS ELECT THEIR FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT, AND GAY FOLKS HELPED For America, enough was finally enough.

Barack Obama rode the winds of change, not to mention widespread anger at an incompetent outgoing administration, to a historic election victory. Gay and trans people hailed the campaign as the most GLBT-friendly in history, and Joe Biden came close to advocating marriage equality in a debate with Sarah Palin. While most exit polls showed gays voting for Obama at about the rate they voted for 2004 placeholder John Kerry, GLBT people by and large rejoiced in the election of the pro-gay Obama-Biden ticket.

Observers who remember the heady days that followed Bill Clinton’s first victory recommend cautious celebration, and alongside some pro-gay Obama appointments we will be treated to Pastor Rick Warren at the president-elect’s inauguration in January. Warren is, of course, the new face of American evangelicalism. The new face retains some vestiges of the old; Warren is emphatically anti-gay and supported Prop 8 in California.

Coupled with Obama’s primary campaign coziness with Donnie McClurkin, a tempered optimism seems wise until our new president actually signs a few pro-gay laws.

THE SECOND-WORST MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY TAKES CONTROL OF WASHINGTON Democrats seized commanding control of the US House and Senate. Nancy Pelosi should have no trouble passing legislation while her party occupies 250-plus seats in the people’s chamber, but liberal activists fear that only a 60-seat majority could keep Senate Democrats from capitulating to the still formidable Republican Noise Machine.

In any event, President Obama should be able to count on an initial burst of legislation from his colleagues on Capitol Hill.

A failure on the part of Democrats to enact trans-inclusive federal hate crimes and employment non-discrimination legislation in the next two years should be cause for outrage from gay voters. Since our national organizations will take credit for the enactment of those laws, they must be held accountable if our legislature does not deliver for us. No more excuses.

YET AGAIN, GAY MARRIAGE IS BALLOT BOX POISON Three more states amended their constitutions to exclude gay people from the institution of marriage. California rescinded marriage rights granted by judicial fiat in May. Florida’s high threshold for amendment did not stop voters from discriminating there. Arizona approved a ban after rejecting broader language in 2006. Arkansas, which banned same-sex marriage in 2004, voted to prevent unmarried couples from adopting children or serving as foster parents.

In only two states have gay marriage votes been close by even a loose definition of the term: California this year and South Dakota in 2006. (South Dakota approved a broader ban similar to that rejected by Arizona two years ago.) With the Arkansas adoption vote, we enter new territory in the history of the equality movement. Which states will follow suit?

MINORITY VOTERS FORCE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR By now, you may have heard that African American voters in CA supported Prop 8 by a wide margin. To my knowledge, it is still permissible to mention that in print, despite the best efforts of many of our national GLBT leaders and organizations. Any number of absurd theories have surfaced to either deny or dismiss the exit poll data:

OUTLOOK WEEKLY • 17

GAY POLITICS African Americans make up a small portion of the electorate, so we can’t blame them for Prop 8. Only a racist or an idiot blames African American voters exclusively. Bigotry, like equality, depends on coalitions. No part of the coalition gets a pass, regardless of its size relative to the general electorate.

White, conservative Republicans were the driving force behind Prop 8, so blame them.

We do. But generally speaking, white, conservative Republicans (and Mormons, etc) voted against Obama and gay people. They did not, like many minority voters, vote for progress on one hand and against equality on the other.

Hypocrisy in the polling booth demands strict scrutiny.

Misleading robo-calls featuring Barack Obama tricked black voters into voting against equality. Offensive, patronizing, paternalistic crap. People who supported Obama and Prop 8 followed their hearts, not their candidate. Barack Obama’s supporters are not lemmings.

The No on 8 campaign didn’t do enough to reach out to black communities, particularly communities of faith. So much bile and vitriol has been directed at the No on 8 campaign that it is hard to fairly assess its shortcomings. Perhaps the campaign failed in reaching out to minority voters. We know that if people know us, they have a hard time voting against us. Yes, we need to reach out. But every person who stepped into a California voting booth knew that Prop 8 would strip a minority group of a right that it had been granted earlier in the year. If voters, particularly minority voters, did not feel at least a tinge of discomfort over that, then I don’t know how much good more outreach would have done.

The bottom line is that we lost, and there is plenty of blame to go around. We have now had marriage rights on the ballot in 30 states, and we have lost every single state. We have had an existing right to marry revoked by voters in one state. It is important that we continue to come out, share our stories, and reach out to communities who will support us if given compelling reason. But what is most important is that we win.

Whether we like it or not, our rights are going to be subject to the whims of the voting public. We cannot count on the courts to bail us out when public opinion is not on our side.

We need to build a coalition bigger and stronger than those built by our opponents. I would like for that coalition to be as broad as

possible, but as long as it can win the support of at least 50.01% of the voters, I can live with anything an exit poll might tell me.

PROP 8 DIVIDES ACTIVISTS, ELITES Pro-equality protestors took to the streets across the country following the passage of Prop 8. Soon dubbed Stonewall 2.0, the protests were remarkable in that they were not organized by our leaders or organizations, but rather by everyday people who, presumably, had had enough. A fierce debate has ensued regarding the future role of organizations like HRC and NGLTF. Commentators and activists have hailed a new generation of gays ready to take the mantle of equality and carry it forward not in increments, but in leaps and bounds.

What remains to be seen is where the Prop 8 protestors go from here. What hasn’t been answered is, where were they before? More importantly, do they have a better plan for going forward than those being acted on in the offices of HRC and our statewide organizations?

Now that we have protested and read the requisite editorials, blog posts, and fluff pieces claiming that a new day has dawned, what do we do? We cannot move forward until we answer that question.

CONNECTICUT, COLORADO COME THROUGH Connecticut’s state Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to the benefits and responsibilities of marriage, and according to recent polls, residents there pretty much agree. In Colorado, voters sent openly gay Democrat Jared Polis to the House and, across the state, booted bigot Marilyn Musgrave to what we can only hope will be a lonely and permanent political oblivion. Both states flew under the radar in light of the California hullabaloo, even as they notched the sort of quiet victories upon which the movement depends.

KILROY WAS HERE, AND THIS TIME SHE GETS TO STAY Mary Jo Kilroy finished the job she started in 2006, winning a harrowingly close election to represent Ohio’s 15th district in the US House.

Kilroy’s victory remained in doubt until the end of the year, but when all the ballots were counted, this loyal friend to the GLBT community was on her way to Washington to fill the seat and the shoes of her 2006 nemesis, Deborah Pryce. continued on pg 20

A CALIFORNIA WEDDING

by Paula Perreira & Karen Traugh We married on October 25, 2008, in St. Helena, a quaint city in the Napa Valley, and spent our honeymoon in a private estate in the mountains, overlooking vineyards. The temperature was expected to be in the 60s, but on our wedding day and through the honeymoon, temperatures were in excess of 89 degrees.

Everything was perfect: the weather, the ceremony, our friends and family.

We both have had our share of relationships, but this was different. You know when you’ve found your soulmate. We have intense intimacy, both physical and emotional, we communicate very well, we respect each other, and above all else, we love each other. We wanted to take the ultimate step of commitment by legally marrying, so we decided on Napa, partly to help set a precedent in California, but also because we both love Napa and wanted to share the experience together.

Our wedding concierge, Chris Andrews of Napa Wedding Source, was supportive, genuine, warm, and had all the right connections, enabling her to put together a perfect wedding in a short period of time. The ceremony, dinner, and accommodations were flawless. Karen was a classic beauty, in a deep cream longfitted gown with soft tailored elegant layers.

Paula wore a soft cream lace semi-flowing gown, which gave her sultry and alluring look a touch of class.

We meant every word of our vows. They meant more than love and commitment; they meant history in the making. It was a very emotional day for everyone involved.

For our honeymoon we toured some of the most beautiful vineyards in the valley: Sterling, Coppola, Rutherford Hills, Vi Sattui, Casa Del Amorosa, Greystone, and Beringer. We plan to continue the honeymoon in London, Amsterdam and Paris in the fall of 2009. When we came back to Columbus we had a quaint wedding reception at Sage American Bistro in Clintonville. Forty-two of our family and friends attended.

We were very surprised, and saddened, when Prop 8 passed. We thought our marriage was void immediately, but after speaking with GLAD and our attorney, Sheila Clark of Clark & Lowe, LLC, we found that our marriage will re-

main legal until we hear otherwise. (We actually received our license & certificate of marriage from the city and county of San Francisco on December 13th!)

GLAD wrote and their attorney agreed, “The simple truth is that it is not yet clear what will happen to CA marriages that were entered into prior to Proposition 8 being passed. Right now we believe that those marriages will be valid.

Unfortunately, the wording of this proposition is somewhat unclear, and until someone (probably a court) clarifies it, we won’t know what will happen. There are also possible ways that Proposition 8 can be challenged in court and defeated before it even becomes law. So if what we expect to be the case is, and existing marriages remain valid, then there is nothing you would need to do. Your marriage will be recognized wherever MA or CT marriages are recognized. It is possible to marry in CT or MA if you are previously married in CA, assuming that you marry the same person. There are potential problems, however, associated with having two legal marriages, even to the same person, especially if someone challenges the marriage at a later date. Courts may be unclear as to when the marriage actually started.”

Marriage should be a civil matter, not a religious matter, and if people do not agree with gay marriage, then they shouldn’t marry someone of the same sex! If certain churches do not agree with marriage, then they shouldn’t agree to marry gay couples; civil servants can perform the ceremonies. How can our marriage negatively impact those who oppose gay marriage? Why do they care? We don’t judge who they love and marry, even as the divorce rate is 50% for a first marriage, 67% for a second marriage, and 74% for a third marriage, according to the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology. We are two consenting, law-abiding adults who love each other and wish to legally commit to one another. Why is that wrong?

Gays and lesbians are a melting pot of liberals, conservatives, and feminists, with varying races, colors, creeds, and religions. Not only that, but we are made up of feminine, masculine, and androgynous traits and appearances. Regardless of our background, our religious preference, our nationality, continued on pg 20

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

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DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

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THANK YOU FOR A GREAT YEAR! DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

20 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

ARKANSAS ADOPTION BAN: HOW WILL IT AFFECT THE KIDS?

by Thomas Taneff On November 4, voters across the country went to the polls in record numbers.

Understandably their primary focus was the historic election of Barack Obama. But in the state of Arkansas the electorate wasn’t only casting votes for its elected officials. Voters there also passed a measure banning unmarried cohabitating couples from serving as adoptive or foster parents. The measure, which was aimed primarily at keeping gays from becoming foster or adoptive parents, surprisingly received nearly 57% support.

The measure’s sponsor, the Arkansas Family Council, positioned the measure as a battle against a “gay agenda,” and the strategy appears to have worked. Exit polls taken on Election Day showed that the measure was supported by residents identifying themselves as evangelical or born-again Christians. Rural voters by and large also supported the measure.

The ban takes effect January 1.

Opponents like Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe pointed to a lack of foster homes as reason enough to vote against the measure. With its passage, opponents fear that children in need of homes will be the ones who suffer the fallout. According to state officials, 1,000 children in Arkansas are currently waiting to be adopted. The ban

will, in effect, reduce the number of homes available. Children in need of parents and guardians will now likely have to wait even longer. Private adoptions that have already been completed will not be affected by the new law.

Arkansas becomes the second state to ban unmarried couples from fostering or adopting children. Utah already has a similar law, while Mississippi bans gay couples from adopting children but allows single gay individuals to do so. Florida is still the only state that completely bans gay adoption. Two years ago a bill introduced in the Ohio legislature would have followed Florida’s lead. Its intent was to bar all adoptions and foster care by gays and lesbians. The bill never made it to the hearing stage.

The Arkansas measure ironically comes two years after the state’s Supreme Court struck down a state policy that banned gay foster parents. The Arkansas state legislature has steered clear from the measure as well, declining to deal with it in their last session. And while the voters have spoken, it may not be the final word.

Opponents haven’t decided whether they will challenge the ban in court, saying only that all options are on the table.

Adoption advocates across the country will be watching.

A California Wedding continued from pg 17 our heritage, our political standing, or physical characteristics, we are the same in at least one respect: We are human beings.

Our experience has been that because we are typically viewed as feminine attractive lesbians, we are accepted, in wide part, by straight or mainstream society. Those with characteristics that deviate from the “norm” are judged. Who cares what others look like or who they love, gay or straight?

If Prop 8 is upheld and California deems our marriage null and void, we’ll do a quick civil ceremony in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has allowed gay marriage since May 17th, 2004, and is not likely to stop any time soon.

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

We are thrilled to have been married, regardless of whether Prop 8 stands. We highly recommend gays and lesbians marry if they feel they have met their perfect match and want to commit a lifetime to each other. Marriage is an honor and privilege, and we need to take it very seriously. Otherwise, we won’t be able to show other states how serious and committed we are, making it more unlikely they will pass same sex marriage laws.

Even though Ohio does not recognize our marriage, we and the state of California recognize it, and hopefully they will continue to honor our commitment to each other.

Karen and Paula live in Clintonville. To view photos of their wedding, visit http://karen-paula.com.

continued from pg 17 DEMS TAKE OHIO HOUSE Democrats wandered out of the political wilderness to take control of the Ohio House.

The state Senate remains in the control of Republicans. Before the elections, the Equal Housing and Employment Act - which will, one last time, ban discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression - had already made history simply by receiving legislative hearings with proponent testimony. The bill will be reintroduced in both chambers next year, sans the support of term-limited Rep. Jon Peterson, the EHEA’s sole Republican sponsor in the House. Obviously, a legislative ban on gay adoption would go nowhere in a House controlled by Democrats, just as previous bills of that ilk died with a whimper under the eye of outgoing Speaker Husted.

Virulently anti-gay campaign tactics failed spectacularly for Republican candidates. In the 85th district, Ray Pryor defeated incumbent John Schlichter after Schlichter’s party employed every vicious, gay-baiting smear it could throw at the challenger. John Patrick Carney won election in the 22nd after facing down similarly slimy attacks.

BROWN WINS IN A LANDSLIDE; DINGUS COMES THIS CLOSE Openly gay attorney Shawn Dingus gave sitting Common Pleas Judge Richard Sheward a serious scare, coming within just a few points of being the first openly gay judicial candidate to take the bench in central Ohio.

(While Dingus came up just short, out Judge Mary Wiseman of Montgomery County won election to the seat she had previously been appointed to in western Ohio.) Dingus’s strong performance will hopefully encourage him to seek office in the future, either by election or through an appointment to an open seat.

Speaking of open seats, Judge Eric Brown leaves huge shoes to fill at Common Pleas following his crushing victory over incumbent Probate Judge Lawrence Belskis. Brown is one of the strongest straight allies ever to be elected to public office in central Ohio, and his presence on the probate court is a huge victory for GLBT people, particularly those who hope to adopt a child, contest a will, or handle

a deceased partner’s estate.

Like Judge Brown’s vacated seat, that of Common Pleas Judge John Connor will be filled by an appointee of the governor’s choosing following Connor’s victory over EHEA cosponsor (and Republican) state Sen. David Goodman for a seat on the 10th District Court of Appeals. Shawn Dingus would seem to be an appealing candidate for either appointment.

AND IN OUR FAIR CITY… Columbus City Council closed 2008 by voting to extend non-discrimination and anti-intimidation protection to GLBT and straight people regardless of their real or perceived gender identity or expression. (As Columbus moved ahead in this policy area, Cleveland enacted a domestic partnership registry that has proven [regrettably, inexplicably] controversial and will likely go before the voters in 2009. The contest there will tell us much about how a blue, “progressive,” majority-minority city feels about its gay residents.)

With the election of Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessy as Columbus Clerk of Courts, Columbus City Council will find itself with an empty seat in 2009. Whoever is appointed to that seat will face an election campaign in the fall. As Michael Daniels suggested in our November 6 issue, the possible appointment of Kevin Boyce as our next state Treasurer would leave another empty seat to be filled. For November, that would mean that two of three city council seats would be defended by recent appointees. The third seat is that of the council’s current most-junior member, Priscilla Tyson, who along with Andy Ginther championed the non-discrimination ordinance.

If ever there were a time for a member of the GLBT community to pick up Mary Jo Hudson’s torch, this would be it.

Columbus City School Board will elect three seats in November, one of which will be held by the appointee who replaces Carlton Weddington, elected to fill Joyce Beatty’s seat in the Ohio House. And the GLBT community will be watching in 2009 as we’ll have eight Municipal Court races on our hands.

The forecast, nationally and locally, would be another mixed bag for 2009.

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COMMENTARY ’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

by Mickey Weems

The Biggest Losers of 2008 2008 is the Year of Karmic Retribution.

Here is my list of the Top Ten Losers. Included is a description of their fall, the FUBAR that got them there, and a personal message from Yours Truly.

10. Hummer owners In a fit of short-sightedness, General Motors created the Hummer, the American idol of our national arrogance. It is the ultimate graven image of the perverse desire to be wasteful, flashy and oversized.

Nowadays, anyone driving a Hummer looks clownish. But that’s what they get for choosing a macho, hawkish vehicle named after a blowjob, a moniker that reflects just how much it sucks.

Now, if it had been marketed as a macho Gay car, suckiness could have been a plus.

To those who didn’t get rid of their Hummers before now: Not such big shots any more, are you? Have fun trying to sell it!

9. Madonna 2008 was the year that obsession with the body went insane, especially for Straight women and Gay men. Paranoia about physical appearance spread to our buttholes and vaginas, generating a whole new industry of anal bleaching and vaginal rejuvenation dedicated to making sure our corn-holes are unblemished and our pussylips are trimmed and plump.

Powerful American women have taken the natural progression of facial skin from smooth to wrinkled as a personal insult. The same drive to bleach, nip, tuck and gorge the territory around the taint has gone totally freakish when it comes to the headshot. Just take a look at Esther.

She is a grotesquerie, an alien replica of herself as a younger woman. But I bet her asshole is white as snow, and no doubt she has the prettiest va-jay-jay money can buy.

Madonna and hundreds of rich women like her desperately believe that money guarantees glamour. Forever. The problem is, it doesn’t. Like Jacko, she has become her own worst nightmare.

Too many Gay people, especially Gay men, look up to you, Madge. Set a good example and grow old gracefully. We’ll still love you, and maybe even more.

8. Pat Boone This man represents everything mediocre about our country. He is a so-so European American singer who took hot R&B songs by African American singers and watered them down. His signature trademark was his white shoes, tragically fitting for a man who had no idea just how bad he sounded as a squeaky-clean smarmy minstrel show singer, the Happy Days equivalent of Eminem.

Pat can’t let go of the glory days. In order to stay in the spotlight, he claims that The Gays who protest Prop 8 are terrorists, every bit as danger-

ous as the murderers who recently attacked Mumbai.

Pat’s last big effort before going ballistic on homosexuals was a heavy metal album in 1997, In a Metal Mood: No More Mister Nice Guy, universally acclaimed as aesthetically hideous. The cover of the album says it all: shirtless in a black leather vest, Boone stares at the camera with a “come hither” yet “don’t fuck with me” look. Ironically, Pat’s only entertainment value is in the genre of camp.

What makes this whole sorry scenario worse is his refusal to tap into the one sales niche that would welcome his black-vested AARP self as sexy: Leather daddies.

Come out to IML, Pat! I bet you’re a shoe-in for Mister Boot Black 2009.

7. Leaders of the Mormon Church and Catholic Church The Catholic Church has a real public relations problem: Too many priests have molested young boys. The Church’s first solution was to blame the kids and sweep all scandals under the altar. The boys (and some girls), however, took the Church to court. They have sent more than a few dioceses into bankruptcy.

The Mormon Church also has problems: In the eyes of the average American Christian, Mormons are on the same level as Scientologists. Despite their official name, few outsiders accept the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints as a Christian denomination. It cost Mitt Romney his chance to become president.

Catholic and Mormon all-male leadership came up with the same solution: smear the Queers. Define marriage as an eternal covenant ordained by God between one man and one woman.

Catholic-Mormon collective hypocrisy is incredible. Catholic hierarchy consists of unmarried men mystically married to the Church. Polygamous men founded the LDS. My message to the leaders is simple. Dolts, the lot of you.

6. Margie Christoffersen Poor Margie! She loves homosexuals, but they have turned against her.

Christofferson worked as the manager of her mother’s restaurant, El Coyote in Los Angeles, a fun place for margaritas, and features Gay night on Thursdays.

Word got out over the internet that Christofferson, a devout Mormon, donated $100 for Prop 8.

Those evil terrorist homosexual protesters that scare Pat Boone called her out on it. Her restaurant has been the site of a boycott and protests.

Thursday nights just aren’t what they used to be.

“It’s been the worst thing that’s ever happened to me,” she said as she wept, clutching her husband’s hand, during an interview.

Well, sweetie, you can still legally claim the

(and the Clusterfucks that Created Them)

man whose hand you are clutching as your husband. Your pain is nothing like that of those Gay folks who want to marry but are denied basic civil liberties because of callous homophobes such as yourself.

As my friend Steve Lam says, “Maybe her church will help her out in her time of need.”

Good luck with that.

Betcha they won’t even give you back your cnote. Best get in the unemployment line with all the Gays and Straights you had to fire from El Coyote when your clientele voted against you with their wallets.

5. “Day Without a Gay” Drama Queens As we careen into the next Great Depression, the last thing Gay people should do is skip work.

Many of us have jobs with companies that are Gay-supportive, so such a stunt would be inappropriate. Those of us working for anti-Gay organizations such as the Catholic and Mormon churches cannot afford to call in Gay because we’d get fired, which may not be a bad thing in the long run, but could be hell to pay in the immediate future when the rent is due.

Don’t get me wrong. We have every right to be upset. I just don’t want to see idealistic young Queers lose their jobs because they thought they were doing the right thing. I’m glad the “Day Without A Gay” thing fizzled.

The strike: nice sentiment. Horrible timing. Bad idea. Go picket a homophobe or march in the streets, but do it after work.

4. Mike Huckabee Here’s a politician who made a fool of himself by appearing on the campaign trail with Chuck Norris, a cult icon has-been who proved he is every bit as much as dumbass in public speaking as he is a badass in action movies. What made it worse, more people were coming to see Chuck than Mike.

After being soundly trounced by John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination this year, Mike Huckabee is determined to be an even bigger loser. He just published a book called Do the Right Thing, his plea for Americans to live their lives more ethically, even as he Gay-bashes.

Like pity-party Margie, Mike claims he loves homosexuals, but wants to deny us the right to marry.

Sorry, hoss, that’s not the way it works. And please, for God’s sake, quit pimping out Chuck Norris.

3. Rod Blagojevich This is the one loser besides Madonna that I really regret putting on this list. For all his corruption, expletives, and, worst of all, criminally bad hair (I think it’s a toupé, honestly), Rod supports the Gay community almost as much as Madge does.

He signed into Illinois law a Gay rights bill that

went into effect on January 1, 2006. He stood up for women’s rights to have prescriptions for contraceptives filled at drugstores without harassment or refusal.

But his fall is too spectacular not to make the Top 3.

Sorry, Rod. 2. John McCain John McCain did not simply lose. He chose people who have turned around and stabbed him in the back.

Then again, what did he expect? McCain brought in a Wasilla snowbilly and her trailer park family to be his running mate and “family values” prop. But as the dust settled and the Niemann Marcus clothing bills came in, John watched with horror at the spectacle of a truly incompetent news anchor trying her best to sound both mavericky and intelligent.

When things couldn’t possibly be worse, he summoned Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, a shaved-head opportunistic infection of a man who was even more blatantly self-serving than Sarah Palin. Both puppets have since turned against their bumbling puppet master.

But I got to give it to Sarah. Not only did she look stunning in the clothes she stole from RNC coffers, she also wasn’t so obvious when she threw John under the Straight Talk bus.

Not so Joe. The way Wurzelbacher publicly fucked John McCain up the ass, it should be included as a complementary porno to go along with a Nailin’ Palin box set.

My advice to John McCain: Get some lube, son.

Joe the Traitor and Sarah Barracuda aren’t done having their way with you yet.

1. George W. Bush It wasn’t easy to choose the Top Ten Losers of 2008. With idiots like Plaxico Burress (a real player would have carried his gun with the safety on, and in a holster), former celebrity neo-con Ann Coulter, closet queen Larry Craig, and Obamanut-cutting Jesse Jackson, we certainly have plenty of candidates.

But there can only be one Number One. After being publicly insulted by every major world leader during the last international economic summit, Dubya then gets shoed and booed out of Iraq. I cannot think of a more fitting end for his disastrous tenure as president.

It’s not over, Georgie-boy. Wait and see: your closest friends will pull a Joe the Plumber on you and lay some pipe in your back 40. Push, push, in the Bush.

But Bush didn’t screw things up by himself. I look forward to future public debasement of his cronies. Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzalez, Scalia and Rove still have theirs coming.

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

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BITCH SLAP ’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

by Marcus Morris

Ah, 2008. Whether it’s putting a black man in a White House, or getting Britney back on her meds, 2008 will go down as the year that things changed for the better. Or did they? Proposition 8 set us back, and the economy turned our 401ks into chump change. Here is a list of the good and the bad. I am hoping that 2009 will deliver more good news for the GLBT community and the world as a whole.

1. Distressed Jeans. Let it die! Let it die!

The economy is in the toilet, and people are still buying $200 jeans with the knees ripped out? Make your clothes an investment, and buy things that are seasonless and classic. My choice? Levi’s. The brand makes a million different washes, with a million different cuts, and there is sure to be a style that will flatter your ass. Most styles are less than $50, and only get better with age. I am a serious fan of the Levi 511. Get a dark wash, and make sure they fit. You’ll understand after the compliments start coming in.

2. Texting. Do you remember a world before texting? I don’t, and I don’t think we will be going back. I think text messages are a good thing, although there is etiquette to be followed. You should never text on a date, unless it is a bad date. If the date has gone sour before the first course, you should text someone to get you out of the date. This is what a best friend is for. Let them know that the date is awful, tell them to call and get you out of it, and make the plans to ditch the date immediately. Then, you can text your friends and make fun of the whole evening.

3. Robert Pattinson. This very hot actor from Twilight is being called the new James Dean, and has become a gay icon in the process. No man that pretty can escape the fantasies of gay men everywhere, and he is supposedly playing it queer in his next film.

The combination of the cheekbones, flashing DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

eyes, and mop of hair has plenty of teenage girls shrieking with excitement, and plenty of boys have joined the chorus.

4. The Posh Bob. Everywhere you went this year, women had chopped off their hair into the Victoria Beckham “Posh Bob.” I love a great bob haircut. A blunt cut is very flattering to many women, and looks eternally chic, but this cut is different. When Victoria Beckham took a simple style, and went wild with it, women decided to copy it to death.

She went from Simple and Sweet, to BlondeAs-Hell, to Punk/Emo Glam within a matter of months, and women worldwide decided to jump on one of the three variations. Posh grew tired of the look and adopted a short Jean Seberg-style crop, which looks great. If you are going to copy her, continue with this look, because the Posh Bob is over. O-V-E-R. 5. Mindless Spending. Remember the hundreds of dollars you spent on…? The thousand dollars you dropped on…? You cringe, don’t you? In 2009, spend wisely.

There will be no more spending without thought, and we should all think about where our dollars are going. It’s ok to drop money on something you love, and it’s ok to indulge in retail therapy. When you are conscious of where your dollars are headed, it could make you re-think a purchase. Get the Lavender Listings, and try to support LGBT businesses. Buy local veggies, and meat, and shop in smaller stores. Columbus has an amazing restaurant scene, and residents of our neighborhoods, who are also champions of our causes, own many of the businesses. The best way to have an impact in the community is via your dollar, so make sure you think before you spend.

6. Driving. How often do you walk? Walking from the valet stand into the restaurant doesn’t count. Take a little time to see our city. It’s actually a beautiful place to live, and it’s full of great things to do. Park your car, and get out to see it. Or, better yet, take

COTA. Sure, you might encounter a mental patient, and you might be scared that you’ll get lost, but it will be an adventure that costs $1.50. Take the COTA to Clintonville for lunch at Whole World Café, and back downtown for dessert at Piece of Cake. You can live in this city without spending a large portion of your income on gasoline. It’s so easy, it’s green, and the walking will ensure that you are healthier next year.

7. Hipster Scarves. You know the type.

The grungy little twink with a middle-eastern print scarf, who is trying to look cooler than thou. I want this trend to end. I love scarves, and wear them constantly, but a clone is a clone, and the last thing the gay community needs is another clone. We are finally starting to get over the pink-shirt epidemic, and I for one cannot wait for the demise of the hipster scarf. I am guilty, so I’ll be the first to hand in mine.

8. PerezHilton.com. The embarrassment that you can feel when you have a secret addiction can be major. Some are addicted to meth, some are addicted to sex, but the addiction to celebrity websites is the one that you cannot get help for. Celebrities are creeping up in our everyday conversations more and more, and Perez Hilton is to blame. His up-to-the-minute updates, snarky comments, and the ultra-hysterical cum drips from the mouths of the famous, are the reason he gets millions of hits on his site per day. When Prince William was photographed with his cock out, Perez was the first to show it. Amy Winehouse cannot take a poo without a shout-out on Perez, and his site continues to make these people famous for being absolutely bizarre. In 2009, I think that it will only get worse, but at least it will entertain us to see beaver shots of Lindsay Lohan.

9. Abercrombie Zombies. Abercrombie is a great clothing store, and the advertisement photos shot by Bruce Weber are ge-

nius. I have found great sweaters, shirts, and accessories in their many locations.

But, whenever you go overboard it always looks wrong. The boys and girls who wear nothing but Abercrombie just look silly. The spiky, frosted hair, popped collar, overdone jeans, and tanned-to-hell look is done. Also, why in the hell are you wearing flip-flops in January? It is freezing!

The worst is the guys who are way too old to be dressed like frat boys. You will look much hotter with a haircut, less blonde highlights, and age appropriate clothes. I don’t believe anyone should follow a trend, and I wonder why anyone would want to look like a 19-year-old, but this one has to go. Go to Abercrombie and buy some of their great clothes that look great on you, but pair them with things that make you seem less ridiculous. A company that employs many people from our community, makes well-designed separates, and does a lot for our city should not see its wares paraded around Axis on College Night by 50-year-olds.

10. Love. Love has many colors, shapes, sizes, and appearances, and we should all work like crazy to find love in whatever form it takes. The biggest trend that we should embrace is the ability to love one another, our world, and ourselves. There is so much insanity on this planet, and so much hate, that the last thing we as gay people should do is run from the love that is out there.

Take a little time to respect one another, and find the beauty in your differences. Try to be less of a “bitchy queen,” and more of a “great friend.” Tell people that you love them, and celebrate the fact that while we are being marginalized, and oppressed in many forms, we have a lot of freedoms, and can only go further with love. All you need is love.

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DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

24 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

DEEP INSIDE HOLLYWOOD

by Romeo San Vicente

TWILIGHT STAR ROCKS AS JOAN JETT

LILY TOMLIN AND TINA FEY LEND VOICES TO MIYAZAKI

MAYBE NOT QUITE THE TALIBAN, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH

At this moment in her career, young Kristen Stewart - now known permanently as vampireloving Bella in Twilight - probably has the sudden clout to do whatever she wanted. Her choice? Play Joan Jett, of course. Wouldn’t you?

The talented Stewart will co-star as one-quarter of the original ‘70s bad-girl group, The Runaways (the band that also produced hairmetal star Lita Ford), in a biopic about the group’s rise and fall. The band turned the tables on music industry expectations by not conforming to manufactured girl-group norms, instead becoming role models for future women in rock with hits like “Cherry Bomb.”

Other casting news isn’t available at the moment, but Jett herself will act as executive producer rather than get in front of the camera and unnecessarily remind anyone of her late ‘80s Michael J. Fox vehicle, Light of Day.

It’s understandable if you still don’t recognize the name Hayao Miyazaki, but that doesn’t make it okay. The genius of animated film is known as the “Japanese Walt Disney” for a reason, with classics like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away on his resume. Yet, in the United States, his movies are still relatively unknown. Hoping to change that, his latest film, Ponyo on the Cliff, has assembled an English voice cast for American release. Lily Tomlin joins Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Betty White, and Cloris Leachman to bring the movie - about a 5-year-old boy and his friendship with a goldfish princess who wants to become human - to a wider audience. Look for this one to wash ashore sometime in 2009.

It’s good to have some perspective. Yes, the latest setbacks to the cause of the gay rights in the United States have been tough and galvanizing for many, resulting in a new wave of American activism. But for many lesbians and gay men throughout the rest of the developing world, just being out of the closet can mean imprisonment, death, or - if you’re Fadi Hindash, director of the documentary film Not Quite the Taliban - always having to look over your shoulder once your movie gets worldwide distribution. A look at the hidden nature of homosexuality in the Arab world, Hindash’s film, he says, will “[explode] some of our own myths from the inside.” It’ll make the film-festival rounds soon, as a European distribution deal has already been made. Watch for it.

BONJOUR, SAGAN Fans of old movies who haven’t seen 1958’s deliciously melodramatic Bonjour Tristesse with Jean Seberg, David Niven, and Deborah Kerr owe themselves that one. Based on the internationally successful, sensational novel by then-teenage French author Franoise Sagan, it tells the story of a jaded young girl’s romantic manipulations, which end tragically. Now Sagan’s own difficult life comes to the screen in Sagan, starring La Vie en Rose co-star Sylvie Testud. One of modern France’s best-known authors, the bisexual Sagan was friends with Truman Capote and battled various addictions before dying at age 69 in 2004. Already screening overseas, Sagan should see a stateside release soon, though no date has been set.

Romeo San Vicente’s own travels in France have been tragic only for the heartbroken men left in his amorous wake. He can be reached care of this publication or at DeepInsideHollywood@qsyndicate.com.

SOUTH PARK CREATORS MAKE MORMONS SING

SEDARIS BOOGIES INTO DANCE FLICK

SUNDANCE OPENS WITH MARY AND MAX

OY, VEY WITH YOUNG, KAZAN, AND ELECTRA, ALREADY

OK, remember that South Park episode where the Mormon family moved to town and there was a musical retelling of the story of Joseph Smith?

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wasn’t amused - maybe it was the song’s “dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb” refrain.)

Well, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are ready to offend the LDS again with a Broadway show that’s currently called Mormon Musical. Gay song-anddance man Cheyenne Jackson, who recently hung up his skates after the closing of Broadway’s Xanadu, will play the lead role of a Mormon missionary. Avenue Q songsmith Robert Lopez will collaborate with Stone and Parker on the score, but the plot is being kept very hushhush. Rehearsals begin this month; Romeo (and, presumably, all gay Mormons and straight female ones who can take a joke) can’t wait to see Jackson in a form-fitting set of magic underwear.

The Wayans family knows how to gay up a film parody - Scary Movie, after all, gave us a flamingly closeted football player who met an untimely penis-related demise in a men’s room stall. (And that’s as descriptive as Romeo can be without getting into trouble.) Now they’re back with Dance Flick, a parody of Step It Up, Save the Last Dance, Hairspray, High School Musical, You Got Served, and all the other toetapping musicals of recent years. And if the song-and-dance content weren’t already enough, the insurance of a gay fan base is a lock thanks to the presence of Strangers with Candy star and co-creator Amy Sedaris playing a character named - no lie - Ms. Cameltoe.

Which probably tells you everything you need to know about both the character and the humor level of Dance Flick, which will shimmy its way onto U.S. movie screens in February.

Even if opponents of California’s recently passed Proposition 8 have a beef with the Utah-based Mormon church, Park City’s Sundance Film Festival will no doubt continue to be the beacon of GLBT movies that it’s always been. (The legendary “New Queer Cinema“ movement was essentially born there in the early ‘90s.) Sundance 2009 will launch with a screening of Mary and Max, the feature debut from gay Australian animator Adam Elliot, who won an Oscar five years ago for his short Harvie Krumpet. Mary and Max is a stop-motion story about Mary (voiced by Toni Collette), a lonely young girl in the Melbourne suburbs, and her decades-long pen-pal relationship with Max (Dustin Hoffman), an obese, middle-aged New Yorker. Look for Mary and Max to pick up a U.S. distributor before or during the festival.

Calling a movie Oy, Vey, My Son is Gay pretty much guarantees its target demographic will cough up the ticket money to see it, but there’s more to this queer indie than the title. The comedy, about a family dealing with their beloved son coming out of the closet, features the very handsome John Lloyd Young (he won a Tony for playing Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys) making his feature debut as the titular son, with legendary scene-stealers Lainie Kazan and Saul Rubinek as his parents. Throw in Vincent Pastore (who will be forever known as “Big Pussy” from The Sopranos) and Carmen Electra, and you’ve got a cast that’s eclectic, to say the very least. Oy, Vey should be completed in time to make the gay film-fest circuit next summer.

Romeo San Vicente has been known to manhunt on JDate.com looking for a nice Jewish guy of his own. He can be reached care of this publication or at deepinsidehollywood@qsyndicate.com.

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

OUTLOOK WEEKLY •

25

ARTS ’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

We asked arts organizations across the city to look back on the past year and tell us what wowed audiences in 2008, and to give a preview of what we can expect in 2009.

COLUMBUS CHILDREN’S THEATRE Best in 2008: Columbus Children’s Theatre’s Summer Pre-Professional Company’s performance of Sweeney Todd featuring young actors ages 16-21 and starring David Baghat, who is currently in a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Looking forward to in 2009: Our revival of Peter Pan at the historic Southern Theatre. In the early 1900s, the Southern hosted an early production of Peter Pan starring American stage actress Maude Adams, one of the most successful and highest paid performers of her day. Best known for her role as Peter Pan, Ms. Adams “flew” from the Southern’s stage to the balcony on a cable system designed by the famous Foy circus family. A rectangular slot to accommodate this mechanism was cut high in the gold arches at the front of the theatre and is still visible today!

KING ARTS COMPLEX Best in 2008: Our new, annual Legends and Legacies Program recognizes the ancestral continuum of the rich and diverse artistry of Americans by paying tribute to regionally & nationally recognized individuals & artists who have shown their commitment to social justice, human rights and cultural democracy. Their actions have influenced American/World society through philanthropy, community development, policies and the arts. This year we honored Mr. Harry Belafonte, Mr. Danny Glover, and Mr. James Early. Danny was unable to attend due to a contractual commitment in Turkey, but Harry B more than made up for it!

Looking forward to in 2009: Our live telecast of the historical inauguration on January 20th from 10a-1:30p, and the Ron K. Brown Dance Company’s March 21 performance. Ron K. Brown is one of the most important choreographic voices in the US. One Shot is an evening-length work that blends traditional African and modern dance and spoken word to tell the story of African American photographer and Pittsburgh native Charles Harris, who documented black life in Pittsburgh from 1936 to 1975. Harris was known for capturing sensational photos in one shot and his work continues to inspire many.

COLUMBUS MUSEUM OF ART Best in 2008: Objects of Wonder from The Ohio State University and you still have time to see it! Objects is on view through January 11.

Have you ever wondered what kinds of treasures are hidden in your neighbor’s attic? Now imagine that neighbor has more than 300 libraries and collections housing everything from Thomas Moran paintings to unpublished Marilyn Monroe photos, Richard Petty’s sunglasses and John Glenn’s space flight manual. From the scientific to the artistic, from pigeons to paintings, and cartoons to costumes, each artifact has a story to tell. Bring your curiosity and discover the treasures of OSU at CMA. Looking forward to in 2009: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum, at the Columbus Museum of Art February 13 - June 7, explores ancient Egyptian beliefs about death and the afterlife. More than one hundred objects, including statuary, coffins, jewelry, and vessels tell the story of mummification, funeral processions and rituals, the contents of the tomb, the final judgment, and the afterlife.

Take your picture in an ancient Egyptian costume, play the board game of the Pharoahs, and hunt for hieroglyphics. Also, mark your calendar for Chihuly Illuminated, a survey exhibition comprises

sculpture, installations, and two-dimensional work from the early 1970s to the present. This Columbus Museum of Art fall exhibition coincides with the reinstallation of Chihuly’s work at the Franklin Park Conservatory.

BALLETMET COLUMBUS Best in 2008: 2008 has been a fantastic year for BalletMet Columbus. After wrapping our 30th anniversary season in May, BalletMet came back in August with Hot Nights, Cool Dance, a collection of world premiere works and familiar favorites in the intimate BalletMet Performance Space. BalletMet invited audiences to free lunchtime open rehearsals and inexpensive evening artist discussions before unveiling the polished works. Then BalletMet made its second appearance at the prestigious Joyce Theater in New York City.

The tour was well received by New York audiences. Upon its return to Columbus, the company presented the final run of Dracula at the Capitol Theatre, just in time for Halloween. Soon after, the company returned to its performance space for Cool Nights, Hot Dance, a collection of works from Hot Nights, Cool Dance and the Joyce program.

BalletMet ended 2008 with the perennial favorite The Nutcracker and a comedic take on the holiday classic, Cracked Nutz.

Looking forward to in 2009: Audiences can look forward to three very different and exciting productions from BalletMet in 2009, offering something for everyone, whether you like fascinating rhythms, Mad Hatters, or American literary classics. First up: Jazz Moves Take 2, a mesmerizing fusion of dance and music and a collaboration with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Feb. 5-14 at the Capitol Theatre.

The original Jazz Moves, presented in 2006, won the GCAC Artistic Excellence Award. Jazz Moves Take 2 features many familiar favorites as well as new works by notable choreographers including Maurice Hines, Randy Duncan and Ron de Jesus. The CJO will take the stage live with the dancers for an unforgettable experience.

March 6-15 at the Capitol Theatre, don’t be late for Alice in Wonderland, the delightful adventure down the rabbit hole. With choreography by BalletMet Artistic Director Gerard Charles and a script by Phoenix Theatre Artistic Director Steven Anderson, this whimsically nonsensical production is a feast for the eyes and the imagination.

BalletMet closes its season with the world premiere of The Great Gatsby, April 23-May 3 at the Capitol Theatre. F.Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel of extravagance and deception at the height of Prohibition is exquisitely brought to life in this new show, choreographed

by BalletMet Company dancer Jimmy Orrante.

EMERALD CITY PLAYERS Best in 2008: Among many great shows, The Full Monty stands out as a major hit with audiences. This American musical, based on the 1997 British movie, is the story of six unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, NY. In addition to losing his job, Jerry is about to lose his son if he doesn’t pay his back child support. When a Chippendale’stype show is a hit with the steelworkers’ wives and their friends, Jerry comes up with the scheme of earning a quick buck by putting on a similar show with himself and his buddies. So why would anyone come see a bunch of out-of-shape local guys strip? Jerry has the answer: They’ll go all the way; “the full monty.”

Looking forward to in 2009: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

George and Martha’s inhuman bitterness toward one another is provoked by the enormous personal sadness that they have pledged to keep to themselves: a secret that has seemingly been the foundation for their relationship. In the end, the mystery in which the distressed George and Martha have taken refuge is exposed, once and for all revealing the degrading mess they have made of their lives.

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

26 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

MUSIC

GIRL TALK

by Gregg Shapiro

by Chad Frye

Tucked and Taped in 2008

It’s been quite a year for the bevy of Transvesticles (Drag Queens) who call Columbus home.

They’ve laughed, they’ve cried, they’ve had things tucked, snipped, pulled, and injected, and yet they’ve still managed to entertain the hell out of all of us. How DO they do it? The how and why are matters for another time, but for now, let’s look at the year in review.

First things first, we have to mention Nina West’s Entertainer of the Year (EOY) win in Louisville, KY. She came, she made her funny face, they laughed until they wet themselves, she walked away with cash, and we got out first native national title holder! In addition to the amazing upset at EOY, Nina continued her tradition of putting on her thoughtful and entertaining Axis main-stage shows with Nina POP, an exciting and funny Andy Warhol-inspired romp, and Nina ’08, a whimsical and poignant take on American politics.

Virginia West, the mother of Nina and ten million other “girls,” celebrated her 28th show with the outlandish, ridiculous, and extremely fun Virginia’s Greatest Hits. She proved once again that no one does a dance number like Virginia.

Her The Virginian: A West-ern was one of her best shows in years. Rumor has it that her upcoming February show is pulling out all the stops, and is not to be missed.

Maria Garrison was extremely busy this year, representing Ms. Ohio Gay Pride in addition to her other numerous bookings and weekly stripper revue at Tradewinds. She remains the queen of cabaret drag, and nobody does it better. Seriously, she has the looks, she can dance, and she’s funnier than hell. Case in point: she was found yelling at deaf people at the Axis cabaret earlier this year because they weren’t listening. I love this girl.

Newcomer Diamond Hunter reigned supreme as Columbus’s leading amateur drag queen, winning the Score Bar amateur drag contest, and Virginia and Nina’s Miss Peppermint Stick Nationals faux-pageant. This Nina West back-up dancer turned tranny is someone to watch in the coming year.

Columbus’s leading bovine mammal and DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

hoof and mouth disease victim, Hellin Bedd, won Ms. Ohio America. She ate any other potential winners, proving you really are what you eat.

Rumor has it she’s going to eat the mayor and rule this town. I believe her.

One can’t do a year in review without mentioning Mabsy. Mary Ann Brandt hosted her annual Christmas Show and a very funny four-seasons (not the musical group) themed show at the end of summer. I saw her dance around a man in a wheel chair holding a bowl of potato chips. What more can a man ask for? A book, of course! Mabsy wrote a lifestyle and cook book that was available at her Christmas show, proving you really can do and have it all!

Alexis Stevens was another girl who was pageant-bound this year, traveling to Texas for the annual US of A At-Large Pageant. Alexis placed extremely well during a very competitive year, and really showed the people at nationals what Columbus is made of.

In addition to our local talent, Columbus was also visited by numerous reputable out-of-town entertainers including Maya Douglas, Layla Larue, Lawanda Jackson and Penny Tration.

Each of them wowed Columbus audiences with their performances, and left wanting to return to Columbus soon, which is fine by me!

When discussing Columbus drag, I feel that I must mention Lita Mannon’s Somewhere Else.

This bar in German Village hosted fantastic drag shows all year long, proving that no matter what anyone says, good drag still happens on the south end. Weekly shows hosted by Paige Passion and Vivi Valure were augmented by special appearances by former EOY winner and allaround funny girl Dee Ranged, Nina and Virginia, Hellin, Beverly Ford, and many, many others. For those of you who haven’t been to Somewhere Else in a while, I suggest you drop what you are doing and go now. This intimate cabaret is the best in town. All of these wonderful performances and incredible queens prove that Columbus is so lucky to have such a strong, innovative, entertaining drag community. I for one can’t wait to see what 2009 has in store!

P l e a s e D o n ’t H a t e T h e 8 0 s !

Almost ten years into the 21st century, some continue to look back upon the 1980s with a twinge of nostalgia. That nostalgia is colored by the way that the Reagan presidency laid the groundwork for our current financial situation, as well as for the losses suffered by the GLBT community during the birth of the AIDS crisis. The decade is also remembered with fondness for its whacky fashions and fads, as well as the contributions made by the music industry.

After releasing two of the most seminal albums of the late ’70s New York punk scene with the band Television, front-man Tom Verlaine took the solo path. Like fellow NYC punks Patti Smith and the Talking Heads’ David Byrne, Verlaine had a jittery wail that could soothe as much as it startled. Two of Verlaine’s early ’80s solo discs, the solid Dreamtime and the slightly overindulgent Words From The Front (both on Collectors’ Choice Music) have been reissued and are worth exploring.

Of all the ’70s bands to undergo a significant transformation and reinvent themselves for the ’80s, it’s a safe bet that ZZ Top wasn’t high on most people’s lists. But the Texas blues-boogie trio defied the odds and blew everyone away when they released the newly reissued and expanded Eliminator (Warner Brothers) in 1983. Hitching their hot rod to the new wave wagon, ZZ Top added synthesizers and drum machines, and the rest is freakin’ history.

“Gimme All Your Lovin,” “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” not only earned the trio the biggest hits of their career, but also an MTV-generation following. In addition to the bonus tracks on the first disc, the second disc includes music videos and live performances.

Not too long after the tragic death of Joy Division front-man Ian Curtis, the surviving members regrouped to form New Order. The band’s deeply influential, critically acclaimed and relatively commercially successful ’80s canon - including Power, Corruption & Lies, Low-life, Brotherhood, Technique, and their debut Movement - has been reissued in The Factory Years series, which encompasses all of the original releases, handsomely packaged, with bonus discs of nonLP singles, remixes, extended versions and more. These are must-have recordings.

The ’80s weren’t exclusively about synthesizers. Reggae and ska also filled the air.

UB40 ruled the mainstream reggae roost, combining political messages with their ability to reinvent pop songs with reggae rhythms. Their cover of “Red Red Wine” remains a staple of retro lunch hours the world over. The 21-track single disc Greatest Hits (Virgin) compilation lives up to its name and is bound to please.

Minneapolis turned out to be fertile, if frozen, ground for a number of bands in the 1980s, in-

cluding Hüsker Dü (featuring out members Bob Mould and Grant Hart) and Soul Asylum, as well as The Replacements. After releasing the critically acclaimed Let It Be on the Minneapolis-based indie label Twin/Tone, The Replacements went major label, and continued to release celebrated albums such as Tim and Pleased To Meet Me (Sire/Rhino), both of which have been reissued in expanded editions that include a healthy dose of bonus material.

As influential acts of the ’80s go, few can hold a candle to The Smiths. Led by the sexually ambiguous Morrissey, whose songs were dripping with punk pathos and a subversive sense of humor, The Smiths may have only released four proper studio (noncompilation) albums, but what exceptional fetes they were. The deluxe edition of The Sound of The Smiths (Sire/Rhino), is a double disc set comprised of 45 songs ranging from the expected to hits to numerous B-sides and remixes.

Sounds like The Smiths and that’s a good thing.

A few acts from the ’80s have returned 20 or more years after they first hit our radar. Tracy Chapman, whose first album was released in 1988, is a multiple Grammy Award winner, including Best New Artist for her debut work. Unfortunately for Chapman, the curse of the Best New Artist Grammy made her one of its victims and it was almost 10 years before she had a considerable hit again. Her low-key new album Our Bright Future (Elektra) isn’t likely to change those odds, although she does take minor risks on “I Did It All,” “Thinking of You” and “Conditional.”

The Cure’s second album and their domestic breakthrough was 1980’s “Boys Don’t Cry.” A few years later, they became one of the dominant forces of that decade. One listen to “Underneath the Stars,” the opening track on 4:13 Dream (Suretone/Geffen), and there’s no doubt that you are listening to a Cure album. But after that, things go awry, and the band’s trademark sound is crushed under the weight of a heavier style. “Freak Show” and “Switch” are exceptions, but by the time you reach “It’s Over,” you’ll be glad that it is.

Thankfully, Barry Manilow avoided any New Order, Replacements or Smiths covers on his album The Greatest Songs of the Eighties (Arista). But how you can have an album with that title and not have “The Perfect Kiss,” “How Soon Is Now?,” or “Kiss Me On The Bus” on it is anyone’s guess. Nevertheless, Manilow wades his way through movie tunes (“Against All Odds,” “I Just Called To Say I Love You,” “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life,” “Arthur’s Theme”), dance (Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”), arena power ballads (Journey’s “Open Arms” and Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting”) and queer faves Cyndi Lauper and George Michael (“Time After Time” and “Careless Whisper,” respectively), and barely manages to register an impact on any of it.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY •

27

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

28 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

FILM ’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

by Adam Lippe

ANOTHER YEAR AT THE CINEMA A great premise can be tantalizing to a studio.

A corporation only thinks about a way to sell its product; it is uninterested in its level of mediocrity, so a solitary, exciting idea sounds great in a 30-second ad. A writer knows better, realizing that the initial premise is only the starting point, you have to make the audience care about the characters reacting to the situation and consequences created by that idea 2008 was filled with a barrage of great sounding films, but they didn’t deliver, meaning all the work that went into them is summed up in what has been reduced to a gimmick, and if the audience doesn’t buy into the gimmick, they’ve just wasted their time and money. Normally, this limited scope refers to the summer blockbuster, where the thought process is, throw a great deal of money at something very small, until it bloats and can’t move around and is forced to conform.

But more and more, even the movies made to win awards have their one flashy idea dragged out to an obnoxious length, thinking that the audience will be no match for a manipulation war of attrition.

That two-pronged attack of awards or money really gets at the problem, and why audiences should look elsewhere for their entertainment and edification. If a film’s sole goal is to either be successful financially or win awards (which, in turn, gets people interested to want to see the film, and therefore makes money), the viewers are no longer part of the equation, just a hindrance, waiting to be forced to make a decision on what kind of product they are told they should prefer. In Hollywood, movies are now things, like laundry detergent or drain cleaner, and those things are beholden to shareholders, who are interested only in the public’s financial investment, not whether or not viewers were satisfied with the product.

This explains why I could go back and look at a list of all the movies I saw that were released in 2008, and 95% of them made no impact on my brain, to the point where I can’t remember an individual scene, only their basic premise. Now I’m aware that most people who don’t live in New York or Los Angeles don’t catch up to what is considered the best of the year until months later, when the films receive a DVD release. Only those DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

movies that have received enough award recognition open all over the country, and that is after weeks and weeks of hype. The rest of the country gets to mop up with sloppy thirds and fourths.

The studios allow them the opportunity to witness what has already been pre-approved by the socalled smarter people. In other words, you only get to enjoy the product after the important people have already decided they like it. This kind of condescending attitude is how we get movies that are so forgettable and mediocre, adhering so slavishly to formula that the tendency is to forget what you’re watching while it is actually going on, as opposed to after it finishes. You’ll start thinking about your grocery list, so it’s a good thing there’s all that product placement on screen to remind you what you’re supposed to buy.

I don’t have a problem with escapism at all, and if that is what you’re looking for, I’d suggest Wanted, last summer’s wonderfully illogical and absurd action movie in which all logic and physics are thrown out in favor of completely over-the-top chases and gun fights. It is rare to see such energy sustained for a movie’s entire running time, without falling into the pits of repetition.

If you don’t want to watch something so actively dumb, I’d go with David Mamet’s Redbelt, a twisty thriller that expects you to follow along without spelling out every little detail in the usual pandering fashion. Mamet is one of the few current filmmakers who expects the viewer to be smart (his brilliant 2004 film, Spartan does as well) and if you’re not, that’s your problem, not his.

It is not a surprise that both Redbelt and Wanted get penalized for going beyond expectations, and are totally snubbed by the various corporations that give out awards. It is not in a studio’s best interest to excel, because it means that the audience will start expecting it all the time. It explains why such a hollow and exhausting movie as The Dark Knight would get so much praise be so successful. Is The Dark Knight better than Batman and Robin, Batman Forever, or any of the other previous sequels? Yes. It’s even better than Batman Begins, but arriving at that conclusion comes with the realization that it could

hardly help being better than the former two, and only had to scale past competence and mediocrity to exceed the latter. The Dark Knight is so pumped up and distracted that it never gives its scenes a chance to breathe or to build any momentum. At the end of its bombastic and noisy two and a half hours, I was just tired.

However, The Dark Knight is a masterpiece compared to a recently released trifecta of Oscar bait: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Gran Torino, and Seven Pounds. Benjamin Button features a fantastic premise, a man who ages backwards, starting out as an old man and ending up a small child, and over its 159 minutes, does nothing with it. This was an especially grave disappointment considering it was directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Game, Seven, Zodiac), a filmmaker who uses all of the technical possibilities he can to infuse challenging stories with as much conflict and stress as possible. His hand is not even evident throughout the film, but that of the screenwriter certainly is. Eric Roth, who not coincidentally wrote the strikingly similar Forrest Gump, throws in as many clichéd and empty scenes as he can. Character development is whisked away in favor of endless montages of people bonding and laughing, as opposed to actually hearing what they have to say. Benajamin Button follows virtually every note of Forrest Gump beyond the point of distraction, and to where it might as well be a compare and contrast essay.

Gran Torino and Seven Pounds have far less going on than Benjamin Button, but are just as underwhelming. Gran Torino should have been played as comedy, with Clint Eastwood scowling at his neighbors for being on his lawn, and for being foreign. The fact that the whole movie is played straight, with his conversion from racist curmudgeon to hero/martyr of the neighborhood and all oppressed minorities, is quite odd. Any glib description of the story (not to mention its stiff acting and cartoonish gang members) would be completely fair to the actual content of the movie. I’ll go with Dirty Harry’s Racial Enlightenment After School Special.

Seven Pounds doesn’t even manage unintentional humor, just a single concept: Pay it Forward, but with organ donation. The film tries to

hide behind a cloud of mystery. The ending is obvious from the first fifteen minutes, but the filmmakers seem to think that Will Smith acting noble will be enough to hang the whole movie on, and never bother developing anything, and so while the characters are in the dark about what’s going on, we keep looking at our watches. It is a prime example of corporate thinking as art.

So what does that leave you to watch? There are some 2008 films that are amusing for one viewing, (Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Iron Man Hancock, Cloverfield, Machine Girl, The Bank Job), and there are those films that are intelligent as long as you don’t think too hard about them (The Visitor, Lakeview Terrace, Vantage Point). There are films that are so bad they are funny (Bangkok Dangerous, In the Name of the King, 88 Minutes, Street Kings, Seed, Untraceable) and films that are totally unbearable (Sex and the City, Indiana Jones and the too old for this shit crew, Towelhead, What Happens in Vegas…,The Love Guru, Smart People). There are the well-made films on important subjects that are good for you, like vegetables, but they are more to be respected than enjoyed (Frost/Nixon, Milk), and films that are totally forgettable despite having a spark of an idea (Eagle Eye, Save Me), or are indifferently made (Get Smart, Stepbrothers, Charlie Bartlett, The Incredible Hulk). There are middling movies with one outstanding element and the rest on auto-pilot (Anna Faris in The House Bunny, Francis McDormand in Burn After Reading, the visuals of The Fall, the wordless first half of Wall-E, Van Damme’s to the camera monologue in JCVD), but all that says is that there were a lot of incomplete, half-assed movies released this year.

My suggestions? The best two movies of the year were In Bruges (an uninteresting premise, criminals hiding out in a foreign country) for its great dialogue, pathos, humor, acting, menace, and surprises, and Be Kind, Rewind (a great premise, video store employees accidentally erase tapes and have to recreate the films on their own), a sweet, funny, uplifting, and charming movie that goes in many directions you were not expecting. Sure, these movies might challenge you and force you to think for a bit, but you can always do your grocery shopping later.

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OUTLOOK WEEKLY •

29

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DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

30 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

OUTLOOK WEEKLY •

31

OUT OF TOWN ’08 / ’09 (P)REVIEW

by Mickey Weems

HOLIDAYS ARE ALL ABOUT TRADITION IN PHILADELPHIA Philly’s Annual Happenings Make The Season Special

THE CIRCUIT 2008-2009:

THROWING A SHOE AT THE RECESSION BY THROWING PARTIES When we all watched in horror as the economy was going to Hell in a trillion-dollar handbag this October, I wasn’t sure if the Circuit could continue. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if anything besides basic survival could continue.

But adversity has been with us in the Circuit community for a while, and we have proven that we are made of tougher stuff. Since the economic downturn after 2001, Circuit parties have already streamlined away from the excesses of the 1990s. The scene has been growing steadily stronger, and saw a modest rebirth in 2006 that has continued through 2007.

But it’s tough to go dancing all weekend if one is standing in a breadline after losing one’s home and car.

For most of us, thank God, things have not sunk as low as we had initially feared. Circuit children are still ready to cut the rug even as they cut back on other frills.

We are hearing reports of lively crowds, less messiness and a return to the original spirit of the Circuit: sensuality in the spirit of community unity, and celebration in service to the less fortunate.

2008: Holding Our Own This doesn’t mean that everything is sweetness and light.

Not all of the problems in the scene come from stock market crashes, Ponzi schemes and increasing unemployment. Some of the biggest obstacles facing Circuit promoters are due to unethical behavior from within the community.

DC Cherry main event was sabotaged this year when a club featured its own so-called Circuit event only a couple hundred yards away that very same night. It is still not certain whether Cherry will be able to continue in 2009 after having its profits siphoned from its signature party.

Unscrupulous DJs have emboldened this kind of drama in more than one city. Miami and LA seem to be especially vulnerable. Most promoters, DJs and clubs reject such thug tactics, but there is always the occasional renegade club, promoter and DJ (whether American or imported, male or female) who would just as soon bring down the whole Circuit scene just to make a few extra bucks.

Let’s hope parties such as Houston Jungle don’t fall prey to such foolishness.

Nevertheless, 2008 had some bright spots. Dallas Purple was bigger than ever. White Party-Miami was well attended, as was Disney One Mighty Weekend and Miami Winter Party.

Toronto Prism was fantastic. Among his fabulous Alegria parties, Ric Sena pimped out his Halloween event as a bling-ex-

travagangsta. Even the little bitty Qualia fundraisers in Columbus, Ohio hit record numbers last May. Hey, push us in a corner, and we never fail to give you fierceness.

Halloween’s In New Orleans had a stunning array of costumes for their 25th anniversary, even more extravagant than in previous years. Whatever qualities the music at the main event lacked were more than made up by great DJs featured at parties and after-parties every night of the weekend. The annual Winter Music Conference featured a whole slew of Circuit-related events, overshadowed by the massive Straight-oriented parties, but Gay DJs still held their own.

2009: We Just Wanna Fuckin’ Dance The Circuit community is pulling its own version of Jennifer Holiday/Hudson: And we’re telling you, we’re not going! Away, that is, because we will still go cross-country to get cunty on the dance floor.

Three new parties have just popped up, all with the same name. There will be Temptation parties launched by Tempt Magazine in Las Vegas (January 8), San Francisco (March 25), and a completely unrelated party in Eilat in Israel (March 19).

Speaking of international, look for Mighty Asia in Bangkok, Sydney Mardi Gras, Cape Town Gay Pride, Montreal Bal des Boys/Bal en Blanc, Barcelona Circuit Festival and all kinds of parties throughout Europe. Looks like Toronto Prism will be back as well.

Regular parties will return. White Party-Palm Springs, Houston Jungle, Dallas Purple, NYC Black Party, One Mighty Weekend, P-Town Independence, Southern Decadence, Halloween’s New Orleans, and White Party-Miami have all confirmed they will be back. We are still awaiting word from DC Cherry and Montreal Black and Blue.

Bigger Is Better But the real show-stopper for 2009 will be the Friday night of Miami Winter Party (March 27).

It’s called the Five-Ring Circuit, featuring 11 DJs in 5 rooms from 9 PM-6 PM. Sponsored by Johnny Chisholm and JustCircuit, this event flings a show in the face of the recession with utterly Gay extravagance and an over-the-big-top circus theme.

So, for those of us who sigh about the good old days, looks like the best of times is now.

Let’s throw a shoe at the face of the recession. There are so many reasons to be optimistic since November 4. Together, we can make 2009 the year the Circuit, America and the world get their acts together.

People come to Philadelphia year after year to create new holiday memories with the help of the region’s time-tested traditions. Parents who remember standing in awe of the Enchanted Colonial Village at Lit Brother’s department store can take another peek inside the busy bakery, the bustling village store and the seven other restored scenes with their own children at the brand-new Please Touch Museum®.

The Holiday Light Show at Macy’s and A Longwood Garden’s Christmas continue to make the season bright. And each year the fanciful Mummers strut their stuff up Broad Street during the day-long New Year’s Day parade.

Ring in the New Year: Please Touch Museum® museum will celebrate 2009 early with Countdown to Noon on Dec 31. The museum opens at 9a and holds “Noon Year” activities throughout the day, including a visit by some of Philadelphia’s famous Mummers leading up to the big countdown.

Memorial Hall, 4231 Avenue of the Republic, 215.581.3181, www.pleasetouchmuseum.org Winter sports enthusiasts and observers can celebrate at the Blue Cross RiverRink’s New Year’s Eve Party on Ice, a family-friendly affair that lets revelers breathe in the fresh, chilly air of the New Year and gives them the best view of the city’s spectacular midnight fireworks display over the Delaware River. Columbus Boulevard & Market Street, 215.925.RINK, www.riverrink.com For a Philadelphia experience that’s as traditional as cheesesteaks, a pilgrimage to the world-famous Mummer’s Parade on New Year’s Day is a must. Mummers are a tradition that began with ancient Roman laborers who spent one gift-giving day a year marching festively through the streets wearing masks. The Philadelphia manifestation, dating back to 1901, is a lively and colorful parade of costumed men who practice all year to strut, dance and play music up Broad Street. The parade begins at 9a at the intersection of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue and proceeds to City Hall, followed by a ticketed competition at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Spectators should purchase tickets ahead of time to sit in the judging stand or get there early to find a spot along the parade route. Convention Center, 12th & Arch Streets, www.mummers.com; ticket locations posted at www.phila.gov/recreation/mummers/mummers_parade.html The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside® a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit gophila.com or uwishunu.com, where you can build itineraries; search event calendars; see photos and videos; view interactive maps; sign up for newsletters; listen to HearPhilly, an online radio station about what to see and do in the region; book hotel reservations and more.

Or, call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Historic Philadelphia, at 800.537.7676.

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

32 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

SEX TALK

by Simon Sheppard

SPEAKING OF

Positives & Negatives

“If anyone had told me when I was first diagnosed with HIV 25 years ago that I’d not only survive, but mostly thrive, I’d have thought they were joking,” says one 50-year-old-man.

“But here I am.”

The onset of the AIDS epidemic changed the ways that many gay guys live…and have sex.

Condoms - once limited to fetish status among queer men - became an indispensable accessory for anal sex. Kink came to serve as an increasingly popular substitute for “fluid exchange.” And plenty of people became cautious, even fearful. Some guys chose celibacy, while others started “sero-sorting” the men they met. One young fellow who’s on the dating circuit says, “Maybe I’m being overly cautious, but I’m hesitant to get involved with HIV-positive men. I know all about safe sex, but I don’t need the anxiety. And I don’t want to fall for someone who might get sick down the road.”

While such caution may be understandable, it can irritate the infected - some have complained of “sexual apartheid.” And a sense of proportion is important. As viruses go, HIV is a tough one to catch. Sure, unprotected anal sex is very risky, especially to the bottom. But that’s about it; even having an infected guy come in your mouth, while not totally safe, is, from everything we know, very low risk. Says one man who’s been positive for almost a decade, “HIV isn’t easy to transmit, and I’m extremely careful not to pass it on. Even so, there are guys out there who treat me like a pariah.”

Not everyone is so conscientious. As new treatments make HIV more treatable, and socalled prevention fatigue has set in, there’s been an upsurge in unprotected anal sex, also known as “barebacking.” Poz guys who bareback often assume that they can’t be reinfected with another, perhaps drug-resistant, strain of the virus - a hope that’s yet to be scientifically proven. If anything, there are indications to the contrary. And in any case, barebackers leave themselves open to other sexually transmitted diseases which might accelerate the progression of HIV. But one positive barebacker says, “I only have unprotected sex with other infected men, and I wouldn’t do anything risky with someone who might be negative. Drugs have kept my viral load undetectable, and my partners and I are adults making informed choices. I wish the moralists would butt out of what I do with my life.”

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

That kind of attitude, reckless or not, is certainly much more foolhardy when negative guys are involved. Our barebacker continues, “What gets me is that there are men out there who are advertising for unprotected anal sex and specifying ‘negative partners only.’ That’s stupid. Lots of men don’t know for sure whether they’re infected, and others are just plain liars.”

Of course, a poz fellow can successfully maintain a relationship with a negative guy.

Says one middle-aged man, “My partner and I have been together for almost 20 years, and he’s still uninfected. We always use rubbers for fucking and I don’t come in his mouth, though we understand the risk from that would be near zero. Do we always have to be a little careful? Well, yeah, but being with him is worth it.”

Not every case is so cheery. Our 50-year-old says, “When I began showing signs of Kaposi’s sarcoma, some folks started avoiding me like the…well, the plague. In my hometown, there used to be more social events especially for positive men. I miss those. Fortunately, websites are taking up some of the slack. It’s not that I wouldn’t get together with uninfected men. It’s just easier to hang out with other positive guys.”

We’ve come a long way from the days when having HIV was widely regarded as a virtual death sentence. Still, remaining healthy when you’re poz is no picnic - it requires monitoring, and potentially taking meds with strict dosing requirements and possibly awful side effects. If you know you’re negative, there’s no excuse for letting your guard down. If you don’t know your antibody status, you should. And if you’re positive, you might as well plan on living a long, full life, chockablock with hot sex.

Sure, young guys tend to think they’re immortal. And men with hard dicks tend to not think very much at all. But in the age of the epidemic, it’s vitally important to take responsibility for both yourself and others. Because with a bit of care, and maybe a condom, men, whether positive or not, can remain healthy, happy, and humpable.

Especially humpable.

Simon Sheppard is the editor of Leathermen and Homosex: Sixty Years of Gay Erotica, and the author of Sex Parties 101, Kinkorama, and In Deep: Erotic Stories, and can be reached at SexTalk@QSyndicate.com. Visit Simon at www.simonsheppard.com.

OUTLOOK WEEKLY •

33

SAVAGE LOVE

by Dan Savage

Okay, I need a kick in the face or something.

My boyfriend of two years and I broke up a little more than a week ago. He cheated. But there’s a bit more to the story: He was a raging alcoholic, and I’ve broken up with him a few times. One of those times - when he was at our place and supposed to be packing his things and be gone by morning - I kind of rebounded off of some guy, had sex with him, then came home later the next day and found out that my boyfriend was still at my place.

We talked and got back together. Later on, he found out about the rebound sex I had, and I think that’s why he cheated. We weren’t a healthy couple, all in all.

We both want to remain friends, so a week after the breakup, we went out for coffee. We both realized that the feelings we have for each other haven’t gone away.

There’s no chance in hell I’m getting back with him after he cheated, but I can’t resist this urge to have sex with him. And I know the feeling is mutual. So now I’m torn on whether to start a sex-based “relationship” with him or just block him from my life.

Cheated On One If you’ve ruled out getting back together with this guy because he’s a raging alcoholic, COO, that’s fine. If you’re not getting back together with him because this relationship generates way too much conflict and drama, COO, that’s also fine. But if you’re not getting back together with this guy - a guy who you have strong feelings for - because he cheated on you, well, that’s just retarded.

Yeah, yeah: You didn’t cheat. Not technically. You were officially “off again” when you had rapid rebound sex with someone else, and you were “on again” when he had sex with someone else. But… come on. You fucked someone else during a particularly

rough patch and kept that info from him when you decided to get back together. He found out you fucked someone else and went and fucked someone else himself. Now, you can choose to view his cheating as a violation of trust and an unforgivable betrayal and wocka wocka wocka, COO, or you can choose to view it as part of your most recent rough patch and round his cheating down to rebound sex, even if he was rebounding after you were officially back together, and get back together with him.

If that’s what you want. And you know what? It sounds like that’s what you want.

My girlfriend of seven years has disgusting manners. She eats loudly with her mouth open, farts and belches incessantly, snorts instead of blows her nose, and so on.

I used to find it refreshing to be with a girl who was so uninhibited. But now it is getting on my nerves, and it’s embarrassing when she farts in front of our friends. I am starting to be turned off by this, and I don’t see her as desirable anymore. She thinks I am being sexist and have a double standard.

Tell me PLEASE: Am I intolerant? And is there something wrong with me that I’m losing my libido?

Grossed Out Yes, there’s something wrong with you there’s something wrong with anyone who could spend seven years with this woman.

Seven minutes sounds intolerable.

I wouldn’t tolerate a dude who behaved the way your girlfriend does - or advise a woman to tolerate one - so there’s no sexist double standard on my end. And so long as you’re not ripping farts in front of her friends or chewing with your mouth open, there’s no double standard on your end either, GO. Fact is, your girlfriend is a pig and a slob, and she’d be a pig and a slob even if she had a

cock and balls.

There’s a guy out there for her somewhere - a guy with similar habits, or a guy with a higher tolerance for loudly chewed food, or a guy with a fetish for girl farts - and the sooner you DTMFA, the sooner she can start delighting him with her uninhibited ways.

My partner and I have a great thing going - madly in love, together a year, a great sex life, similar hobbies/interests/etc. Basically, we’re both on the same page in thinking, “This is it!” We’ve both been very open and honest about everything, including our relationship histories, but yesterday something caught me completely off guard. In the course of a dinner conversation that led to talk about old partners, I asked how many she’d had, thinking her number was a few more than mine (10, unless I’m forgetting someone). She sheepishly answered, “100.” One-zero-zero!

She lived in NYC for a couple years, and maybe that’s how people do it there. But I’m a good-hearted, Southern, serialmonogamist boy and this makes me feel, well, odd. I’m really not sure how I feel about this, but I am definitely feeling something. I have zero fear of her cheating on me, and she’s way into our sex life, but I’m not sure what to make of this.

Thoughts?

Way Tons Fewer Your girlfriend had a lot of guys, so your girlfriend knows good guys from bad, and good sex from bad, and she could get another guy, a different one, whenever she wanted. And yet she’s with you, WTF, and she’s faithful to you. Which can only mean one thing: You must be pretty awesome.

Your girlfriend could have any dude she wants - she’s had almost every dude she’s wanted - and yet she chooses to be with you.

You know what you should make of this?

It’s a compliment, WTF, and you should take it as one.

Long story short: I’m a 28-year-old Aussie gay guy, very recently dumped. His choice, not mine. But the reason he gave for breaking up was the way we met. He believes that for a relationship to truly work, it’s important to be friends first. As a single gay guy, I’ve tended meet guys at parties and clubs, and I always figured that you start with sexual chemistry and develop a friendship from there. Am I being shallow?

Suddenly In The Scene Okay, SITS, your ex said it didn’t work out because you weren’t friends first. But what your ex meant, SITS, was that it didn’t work out because once he got to know you… he didn’t like you.

Sorry if that’s harsh, but there it is. No one dumps a man who he truly loves - or even likes well enough that love is still a possibility - on a bullshit technicality like that. (“I’m just crazy about you, but we met on a Tuesday and I’ve always felt that it’s important to meet someone on a Thursday, so….”) You had good sexual chemistry at the start, it seems, and you developed stronger feelings for him as things progressed. But the more he got to know you, the less attracted to you he was.

It’s possible that your ex has concluded that the next person he dates has to be “friends first” because you weren’t friends first and it didn’t work out. God only knows what he’ll decide to do if his next relationship - one with a guy who was “friends first” - doesn’t work out. Enemies first, perhaps?

Download the Savage Lovecast (my weekly podcast) every Tuesday at www.thestranger.com/savage. mail@savagelove.net

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

34 • OUTLOOK WEEKLY

ABOUT TOWN EMERALD CITY PLAYERS ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE, AUDITIONS Messiah on the Frigidaire, by John Culbertson, directed by Brian Cheslik Jan 16 - Jan 31 Auditions: Nov 23 & 24, 7p The small town of Elroy, South Carolina, is thrust into the evangelical spotlight when what seems to be the image of Jesus appears on a refrigerator in a trailer park. The discovery

by Lou Ann Hightower, her husband Dwayne, and her best friend Betsy sets into motion a frenzy of conflict, communion and good oldfashioned commerce. In a region where religion is as much a part of life as grits and cotton fields, God surely moves in mysterious ways.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, by Edward Albee Mar 6 - Mar 21 Auditions: January 11 & 12, 7p George, a professor at a small college, and his wife, Martha, have just returned home, drunk from a Saturday night party. Martha announces, amidst general profanity, that she has invited a young couple - an opportunistic new professor at the college and his shatteringly naïve new bride - to stop by for a nightcap. When they arrive the charade begins. The drinks flow and suddenly inhibitions melt. In the end, the mystery in which the distressed George and Martha have taken refuge is exposed, once and for all revealing the degrading mess they have made of their lives.

Cliffhanger, by James Yaffe Apr 24 - May 9 Auditions: March 1 & 2, 7p After a long tenure as professor of philosophy at a small western college, Henry Lowenthal is looking forward to being appointed to an endowed chair so he and his wife can enjoy their golden years with honor and dignity. But their plans are given a rude jolt when Henry’s successor, a vindictive and ruthlessly ambitious young woman, informs him that she is not recommending him for the chair - an act of such calculated cruelty that the usually gentle professor seizes a bust of Socrates and strikes his tormentor a fatal blow. All the ingredients are here for a series of suspenseful, unexpected and frequently funny developments, leading to a denouement that will catch everyone by surprise.

See How They Run, by Philip King, directed by Joe Cherubino June 12 - June 27 Auditions: April 19 & 20, 7p So swift is the action, so involved the situations, so rib tickling the plot in this London hit that at its finish audiences are left as exhausted from laughter as if they had run a foot race. Galloping in and out of the four doors of an English vicarage are an American actor and actress (he is now stationed with the air force in England), a cockney maid who has seen too many American movies, an old maid who “touches alcohol for the first time in her life,” four men in clergyman suits presenting the problem of “which is which,” for one is actually an escaped prisoner, and a sedate bishop aghast at all these goings on.

Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley July 24 - Aug 8 Auditions: June 7 & 8, 7p In this brilliant and powerful drama, Sister Aloysius, a Bronx school principal, takes matters into her own hands when she suspects the young Father Flynn of improper relations with one of the male students.

On Golden Pond, by Ernest Thompson Oct 9 - Oct 24 Auditions: August 23 & 24, 7p This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-eighth year.

He is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory - but still as tart-tongued, observant and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. They are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fiancé, who then go off to Europe, leaving the dentist’s teenage son behind for the summer. In the end, as the summer wanes, so does their brief idyll, and in the final, deeply moving moments of the play, Norman and Ethel are brought even closer together by the incidence of a mild heart attack.

For more information and details on not-yet-announced shows, visit www.emeraldcityplayers.com.

FINEFROCK HOSTS FINANCIAL WORKSHOP FOR GLBT YOUTH Susan Finefrock of Money Concepts will present a workshop at the Kaleidoscope Youth Center.

Topics will include: • Filling out a W4 when you start a new job • Debit cards vs. credit cards and how they work • Earning money and saving to purchase items • Savings accounts vs. checking accounts • Credit scores… why you should care, what affects you • Co-signing a lease or other financial obligation… why it is a bad idea The presentation runs from 6p-7:30p on January 8.

For more information on the workshop and on Money Concepts, email Susan at sfinefrock@moneyconcepts.com.

COLUMBUS NEXT MEETING: JAN 14, 6P-8P; LOCATION: BUCA DI BEPPO ; SPEAKER: ANGEL LYONS & JOHN WHYDE • WWW.NETWORKCOLUMBUS.COM DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009

OUTLOOK WEEKLY •

fin

35

THE LAST WORD

by Wayne Besen

Please, Stop The Sky From Falling This holiday season, when you throw a direct mail appeal from a gay organization in the trash, you might just be trashing that group’s future.

The sky really is falling and many groups may not survive the economic chaos. To those who say these dire warnings make me Chicken Little, you are really playing a dangerous game of chicken that may leave our movement vulnerable to attack by anti-gay culture warriors.

By design, the recipe for fundraising is a pound of hype and hyperbole, mixed with a pinch of hyperactivity and a tablespoon of hyperventilation. This is what is necessary to grab the attention of super-busy, multi-tasking donors.

Unfortunately, in a time of genuine crisis, donors are seeing GLBT organizations yelling S.O.S and all they are hearing is - Same Old Stuff.

This time, however, the warnings are very real.

Cassandra is in crisis and the crying wolf is weeping, with good reason.

In the Washington Blade was a chilling article on the financial meltdown headlined, “Gay orgs cut staff to cope with recession.” GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano told the Blade that he had laid off staff and the reduction “touched all departments.”

Kevin Cathcart, Lambda Legal’s executive director, was forced to cut 10 percent of the organization’s staff. The National Lesbian & Gay

Journalists Association’s staff has been reduced from seven to two. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is leaving open unfilled positions.

Last week, my organization, Truth Wins Out (TWO), took out a hard-hitting ad in the Salt Lake Tribune, with the provocative headline, “Lies in the Name of the Lord.” The ad was in response to a dishonest ad placed in the New York Times by an antigay organization that tried to reduce peaceful Proposition 8 protests to “mob violence.” As a result of our powerful rebuttal, donors were responsive - but the size of the contributions was down significantly.

I have spoken to many other leaders in the gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender movement and not one has been immune from the effects of the recession. Donors are scaling back, grants are drying up and holiday cheer is turning into holiday fear. Instead of reaping the benefits of holiday giving, executive directors are looking over their shoulders for the Grim Reaper.

This is a particularly dangerous time to allow gay organizations to go under or downsize to the point of ineffectiveness. These groups are not ex-

pendable unless you consider your basic rights and protection for your family luxury items.

In the very near future, Congress will likely be debating legislation that would protect gay people from job discrimination. The Democrats may also introduce bills to protect our families, end Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell or crack down on hate crimes. When these bills are dropped in the hopper, antigay organizations will try to drop kick our community. Afraid of losing the culture war, they will become more extreme and vicious than ever. It will be a street brawl of epic proportions.

The question is, will our fighters be out on the street working on your behalf, or pounding the pavement looking for work?

With Democrats in control and Obama in the White House, only a tidal wave of manufactured backlash can derail our progress. If you are foolish enough to believe that social conservatives are not capable of fomenting such fear and loathing with their backs against the wall, you have a very short memory. That is exactly what happened with Proposition 8, where anti-gay activists lied and finagled their way to victory. If

they could pull it off in a liberal state like California, don’t be naïve and think they could not intimidate a governmental body, such as Congress, with members from states like Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Instead of bailing on GLBT organizations in their time of need, donors should dig deep and offer the equivalent of an economic bailout. There are those who can no longer give - and it is understandable that they cut back or refrain from contributing. But, if you are able, there are several organizations that need your help.

If we give our organizations a lump of coal for Christmas, we will surely take painful lumps from our pugilistic opponents. In the aftermath, we will quickly realize how important these organizations actually were, and reinvent them from scratch at a much greater cost. This is hardly a sound business model, no less a wise strategy for winning equality.

If you are getting walloped - please don’t open your wallet. But, if you are able, think about your role in keeping our trusted and valued organizations stable. A generous gift to your favorite group, might just give you the gift of liberty in return - which would make this a perfect holiday season. www.TruthWinsOut.org © 2008 Wayne Besen. All rights reserved. Anything But Straight, www.waynebesen.com

HOROSCOPES

by Jack Fertig

CAPRICORN (December 21 - January 19): You are wittier than usual, although your “bons mots” may be more barbed than you intend. Think for at least half a second before speaking up.

Some odd new bauble you’d normally never wear really does look fabulous on you!

ARIES (March 20 - April 19): Chat up connections in high places. They can easily become good friends who will help you along. If you can be clear and open about your ambitions without promoting yourself too aggressively, you’ll have it made!

CANCER (June 21 - July 22): A serious talk with your partner can open up new ways to have fun! Everyone has unmet desires. Part of a mature relationship is being honest and clear about your desires, and open to exploring those of your partner.

LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): Your talents as a host or hostess are now prominent. Entertain people you consider important. That doesn’t mean being conservative and stodgy. Be daring and innovative. Your creative vision will impress your guests.

AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): Try to change your inner doubts into affirmations, or at least use them to take stock of yourself. Examining negative messages can help you to eliminate them. For a boost of confidence, try out a daring new look.

TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): A fresh, new look at traditional methods and ideas will give you the boost you need. Your ability to apply old ideas in novel ways will earn you influential friends who will be eager to promote you.

LEO (July 23 - August 22): Your clever ideas about working more effectively with colleagues will get them thinking up even better ideas. It’s enough for you to know you started that ball rolling. Let them have full credit for their inspirations.

SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Catching up with siblings, especially older ones, can help you unlock family secrets. Solve problems with neighbors by focusing on basics. You could earn a reputation for solving community issues.

PISCES (February 19 - March 19): Friends will disappoint you - they’re only human. Your ability to forgive, hug, and make up will be a blessing for you and them. As bleak as the future may look, you’ll know how to make the most of it. Trust your inspirations.

GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): Sex is about so much more than just “doing it,” so don’t be too surprised when new erotic techniques open your mind to different aesthetic and philosophical possibilities - or vice versa. One feeds the other, so have fun exploring intellectually, spiritually, and carnally!

VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): Just kicking back isn’t your style. Your favorite relaxation involves doing something constructive and doing it well.

New skills or sports, or a new angle on an old pastime, will help you to increase your abilities and your fun.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 20): Get your finances in order, make a tight budget, and see what you can do without. It’s not really so bad as all that, but seeing where you could trim down will inspire sensible ideas about economy.

Jack Fertig, a professional astrologer since 1977, is a founding member of the Association for Astrological Networking. He can be reached for consultations at 415.864.8302, www.starjack.com, and by e-mail at QScopes@qsyndicate.com.

DEC 25 2008 - JAN 07 2009