Bay Area Reporter, the newspaper of record for San Francisco's LGBT community

Seeking compromise

‘Nutcracker’ touches down

Activists pin hopes on getting HRC to sublease shop to Trevor Project.

San Francisco Ballet version of the classic continues the tradition.

HO G L 9 U IDA ID Y E pa ge s1 213

see Arts

page 4

9

BAYAREAREPORTER

Vol. 40

. No. 50 . 16 December 2010

Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971

▼

Supes punt Fair proceeds distributed Turmoil interim roils SF mayor pick Pride by Matthew S. Bajko

by Matthew S. Bajko and Seth Hemmelgarn

W

Rick Gerharter

▼

epresentatives of nonprofits were all smiles Thursday, December 9 when the Castro Street Fair board distributed checks totaling $75,390 at a party in the Castro. Some of the beneficiaries include: Haight Ashbury Community Nursery School, Bears of San Francisco, SF Fog Rugby, Project Open Hand, AIDS and Breast Cancer Emergency Funds, Family Link, Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Metropolitan Community Church-San Francisco, Castro Community on Patrol, and Everett Middle School. Fair officials said that all of the money was distributed at the event.

R

page 10

Dufty lauded as a hands-on supervisor by Matthew S. Bajko unning for office in 2002 Bevan Dufty was tarred by his opponents as being a puppet for then-Mayor Willie Brown, whom he had worked for as his director of neighborhood services. Detractors joked he would be a “pothole supervisor,” concerned more about his district’s needs rather than citywide policy. Yet that was what residents of the Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park and other District 8 neighborhoods clamored for, someone in City Hall who would respond to their everyday concerns. And Dufty delivered. Over the last eight years Dufty has helped transform the commercial corridors along Castro Street, 24th Street, and the blocks near the Glen Park BART station. He worked with city officials to overhaul neighborhood libraries, recreation centers, and pocket parks. He pushed the LGBT Community Center to evolve from an under-used meeting room facility to a service provider offering help to job seekers, business owners, and first-time homebuyers. He promoted building an LGBT museum in the Castro and worked with the GLBT Historical Society to see the idea come to fruition. He secured funding to create design guidelines along the upper Market Street corridor as a number of prominent parcels were eyed for development projects. He backed allowing new restaurants to open in both the Castro and Noe Valley.

R

• • • FIRST

OF

Rick Gerharter

Rick Gerharter

Jane Philomen Cleland

W

▼

page 10

ith just over six months left before San Francisco’s 41st LGBT Pride Parade, the organization that runs the mammoth event appears to be in turmoil. As reported last week, one of the board’s co-chairs has resigned, and the board has fur- Nikki Calma loughed administrative staff, including the sponsorship director, in order to save money. In addition, the remaining board chair, Nikki Calma, doesn’t know how much money is in the bank. However, she said an anonymous donor

Supervisor Bevan Dufty, center, helps to unveil a new plaque honoring Harvey Milk in front of his former camera store on Castro Street on May 22, the first observance of Harvey Milk Day.

He harassed gay and mainstream media outlets, as well as city officials, to tackle a crystal methamphetamine epidemic ravaging the city’s gay male community. Nor was he shy about discussing his own personal life, from being a single, HIV-negative gay man to having a daughter with a woman he befriended. “Everything I have done was with a broad vi-

TWO

sion in my mind. What I think would make the neighborhood more sustainable,” Dufty, 55, told the Bay Area Reporter during a recent interview in his City Hall office. “I do have responsibility that 20 years from now, if I am fortunate enough to still be around chasing after my daughter, to

SECTIONS• • •

page 5

▼

ho will lead San Francisco once Mayor Gavin Newsom departs for Sacramento next month will remain the most talked about question in town until early 2011. For the second week in a row, a majority of the Board of Supervisors punted picking an interim mayor at its meeting Tuesday, December 14. Rather than begin discussions on whom to name to the position should Newsom resign January 3, when he is scheduled to be sworn in as the state’s lieutenant governor, eight supervisors voted to delay Chris Daly the matter until their January 4 meeting. Only Supervisors Chris Daly, Ross Mirkarimi and David Campos, whom a number of progressives and queer activists want to see be given the job, voted to start taking nominations this week. Instead, outgoing Supervisor Sophie Maxwell moved to postpone the matter, and outgoing Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who is gay and a candidate for mayor, seconded the motion. Supervisors Michela AliotoPier, John Avalos, Carmen Chu, Sean Elsbernd, Eric Mar and board President David Chiu also voted to postpone the discussion. “I think we have three weeks to think about it and to have somebody just floating out there that amount of time is not in our best interest,” said Maxwell, who says she is not interested in being named mayor. “This gives us time to think about what to do over the next three weeks.” The failure to begin debate on the subject infuriated Daly, who criticized his colleagues for their reticence. “It is like déjà vu all over again,” said Daly, whose name was put forward Tuesday by several members of the public as an interim mayor candidate. “We have been sitting here now, what is this, the fourth public hearing we have had on the topic of transition. Colleagues, I think we are doing an incredible disservice for the citizens of San Francisco.” Daly had pushed to see openly gay state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), who twice ran for mayor, be given the job once Newsom departs. But

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

COMMUNITY

NEWS

▼

Rick Gerharter

Hoedown delivers the bucks

The Sundance Saloon’s annual holiday party Sunday, December 12 included presenting more than $18,000 in proceeds from October’s Sundance Stompede weekend of two-stepping to the AIDS and Breast Cancer Emergency Fund and the Shanti Project. Representing Shanti was Kaushik Roy and Chip Supanich, left; co-chair of the Stompede David Hayes, center; and representing the AIDS Emergency Fund was Mike Smith and Tyrone Smith, right. This was the 12th straight year for the Stompede fundraiser and dance weekend.

New director joins SF LGBT center’s economic program by Seth Hemmelgarn

said it was comparable to Stram’s salary, which was $85,000.

he San Francisco LGBT Community Center has a new leader for its program to assist job seekers and attract businesses. Eugenie FitzGerald, 37, replaces Ken Stram, who left in June, as director of the center’s economic development program. The program includes services designed to assist people looking to buy homes, hoping to find jobs, or working to create and grow small businesses. The economic program’s workshops and job fairs have become central to the center’s mission. It also includes the Transgender Economic Empowerment Program, which is a collaboration between the center, the Transgender Law Center, and Jewish Vocational Services. That program has helped more than 125 people find jobs. FitzGerald’s hiring comes at a time when some businesses are struggling to find locations in the city’s largely LGBT Castro neighborhood. FitzGerald, who officially started full-time December 2, declined to say much specifically about her priorities, noting she’s only been at the center a short time. However, she said, “Ken and the team here had really built a strong beginning and some excellent programs in economic development. I’m excited to work with the team to look at what exists, building off what is successful, and looking at what the community needs further and how we can broaden our reach of economic development and continue to provide excellent services and a wider breadth of programs.” Asked about her assessment of the business climate in the Castro, FitzGerald said, “Like many of us, I walk through the Castro and I see both signs that the market has had a downturn and signs that there have been folks working to improve the vitality.” She said she has seen new businesses, “and I hope that we all as a community continue to find ways to keep the Castro vital as we move through what is a challenging market on all fronts.” FitzGerald said she was looking forward to working with representatives of Merchants of Upper Market and Castro and others. The center has been considering

Planning Commission meeting

T

Courtesy Eugenie FitzGerald

2

Eugenie FitzGerald is the LGBT center’s new economic development director.

bringing a commercial tenant into the facility in an effort to increase its revenue. “There is a strong team here” looking at options, FitzGerald said. “I suspect I’ll be part of those conversations, but I’m not the lead on those conversations.” Rebecca Rolfe, the center’s executive director, said FitzGerald “has a breadth of experience across the economic development field.” She said the center works in many economic development areas, “and so I think [FitzGerald’s] ability to understand and work in a variety of fields,” including workforce development, small businesses, and financial literacy, is “very compelling.” FitzGerald’s background includes working as a consultant. She said she helped lead an initiative with the San Francisco treasurer’s office to build the financial stability of low-income families through direct deposit and other means. She said her job there included building the implementation plan. “Their next step, I think, is to hire somebody to lead the project forward and actually implement it,” she said. Treasurer Jose Cisneros didn’t respond to a request for comment. She’s also worked to help social enterprises, businesses that work to manage both a financial return and social or environmental outcomes. FitzGerald, who identifies as queer, lived in San Francisco for a total of 10 years but recently moved to Oakland. She declined to state her salary, but

Two businesses that have struggled to find a place in the Castro recently are part of the San Francisco Planning Commission’s agenda today (Thursday, December 16). Whole Foods is part of a proposed mixed-use project on Market Street that has brought concerns about parking. Ike’s Place, the sandwich shop that drew the ire of some neighbors around its previous 16th Street location due to crowds, is looking to relocate to another part of that street. Most recently, Ike’s has been sharing space with Lime on Market Street. Asked about the Castro’s ability to attract businesses, given the difficulties that businesses such as Whole Foods and Ike’s have faced, FitzGerald again noted she’s only been on the job a short time. She said she’s looking forward to working with groups like MUMC “in order to continue to keep the Castro strong and vital.” Outgoing District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who was intimately involved in recruiting businesses to the Castro during his eight years in office, said he believes the area remains attractive to storeowners. Despite the latest battles that have ensnared businesses in the Castro, from the local shop Ike’s to national grocer Trader Joe’s, Dufty said he doesn’t see the individual issues adding up to a message that the neighborhood is closed for business. “Those are dynamics that have existed in San Francisco for some time. There are definitely tensions around growth, development, and retail that exists,” said Dufty. FitzGerald noted that the economic program’s work includes helping small businesses get loans and build business plans. She expressed a desire to see businesses be more aware of the kinds of resources the center has to offer. For more information, visit www.sfcenter.org. The Planning Commission meeting is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. in Room 400 at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. ▼ Matthew S. Bajko contributed to this report.

▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

COMMUNITY

NEWS

Horizons celebrates grantees by Seth Hemmelgarn he Horizons Foundation last week recognized its 2010 grantees, with officials pointing to the pressing need for dollars in today’s economic climate. Horizons, based in San Francisco, gathers funding from various sources and funnels it primarily – but not exclusively – to LGBT organizations around the Bay Area. It held its annual grantee reception Thursday, December 9, at the Parc 55 Hotel. “The grants make the difference between being able to conduct a program or not, to meet people’s needs or not, to advocate for our community or not. Horizons grants are only part of what makes those things possible, but for the last 30 years, they’ve played an important role in doing so,” Roger Doughty, executive director, said in a phone interview. Horizons had more than 60 grantees in 2010. A total of $1,014,000 had been granted as of last week. In addition, Horizons expects there to be a total of about $700,000 in grants from donor-advised funds by the end of the year. As of last week, there were 180 grantees in that program for 2010, although even more of those grants usually occur by the end of the year, according to Doughty. Doughty said he didn’t yet know what 2011 grant totals would be. “We’re hoping they will be about the same, but it’s very hard to predict,” he said. Horizons has granted $9,900 to OutLoud Radio via its community issues grants program this year.

Rick Gerharter

T

Horizons Foundation staffers Jewelle Gomez and Roger Doughty join board Chair Jeff Lewy in a congratulatory toast to their grantees and donors during the foundation’s annual reception to honor the disbursement of $1.6 million to the 2010 grantees.

Noah Miller, OutLoud’s executive director, said they would use the money to work with LGBT and allied high school students around the Bay Area. Through OutLoud, youth learn how to record their life stories, conduct interviews, and create radio narratives. Miller said OutLoud’s budget is less than $100,000, but he wasn’t sure what the specific amount is. “In a time where funding is very hard to come by, especially from foundations, this money from Horizons really is making a difference between whether we can serve the youth we work with or not,” said Miller. He also said the grant “helps to inspire our community of individual donors and get new people contributing from the community, because they trust Horizons in their

Tree trimming at AIDS grove compiled by Cynthia Laird olunteers at the National AIDS Memorial Grove invited those who are interested to join them in decorating a tree for the holidays on Saturday, December 18 from 2 to 4 p.m. Ronald Podoske, who is heading up the efforts, said that all those who seek healing, hope, and remembrance during this holiday season are welcome. People are asked to bring an ornament to place on the tree. The grove is located in Golden Gate Park (Bowling Green Drive and Middle Drive).

V

HRC protest Sat.

7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Those opposed to the measure argue that it will be selectively enforced and they point out that Milk opposed a similar law in the 1970s that was later struck down. The site is located at 575 Castro Street. The queer-in runs from noon to 2 p.m.

Legion post hosts holiday party The Bob Basker Post 315 of the American Legion will be holding a holiday party Sunday, December 19 in room 202 of the Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. The festivities begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a program at 7 and live music and entertainment at 8. The event is free of charge. Post Commander John Caldera said that B RIEFS several community leaders will be honored. Additionally, post members will point out the high cost of the military’s failed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the armed services.

c

Activists will take N EWS to the sidewalk outside the site of Harvey Milk’s former camera store on Saturday, December 18 to protest the recently passed sit/lie ordinance and plans by the Human Rights Campaign to rent the storefront as the site of its new action center and store. Milk, the slain San Francisco supervisor, organized his political campaigns from the camera store back in the 1970s; some of his friends are upset that HRC, the national LGBT lobbying organization, plans to move into the location next month. The organization is often criticized as being more interested in having access to Democratic political leaders than pushing LGBT rights. In 2007, it decided against including gender identity in a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, setting off a firestorm of protest in the LGBT community. Gender identity is included in the current version of ENDA, but it is not likely that Congress will vote on it during the lame duck session. The civil sidewalks ordinance, or sit/lie, was approved by city voters last month. It prohibits people from sitting or lying on public sidewalks from

Reception for Katz Monday Friends, colleagues, and members of the public are invited to a farewell reception for Health Director Dr. Mitch Katz, on Monday, December 20 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the North Light Court of City Hall. Katz has accepted a new position in Los Angeles as director of the county’s Health Services Department beginning January 1. The openly gay Katz came to San Francisco as an intern in the Emergency Department of San Francisco General in 1986 and advanced to become director of health in 1997. Under his leadership, San Francisco became known as “one of the best public health departments in the country.” The San Francisco Public Health Foundation and private donations are funding the reception. ▼

judgment.” Another 2010 grantee is Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County. Ben-David Barr, the center’s executive director, said the center received a grant of $25,000 for LGBT senior services through Horizons’ LGBT Working to Improve Services to Elders program. The center’s senior services program offers community meals, wellness check-ins, and other services. Barr said that in addition, the center also received technical assistance through WISE. “It’s very significant,” Barr said of the grant. “It’s helped us maintain our programs and services at a time when donations are down and funding from other sources are down.” The budget for the center is about $560,000 a year.▼

3

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

COMMUNITY

NEWS

▼

EQCA’s 2011: Anti-bullying campaign, leadership search by Matt Baume quality California kicked off fundraising for its annual San Francisco Equality Awards last week, but the announcement was overshadowed by oral arguments in the legal challenge to Proposition 8 as well as the announcement earlier this month that EQCA’s longtime executive director, Geoff Kors, is leaving the organization. At EQCA’s public meet and greet Wednesday, December 8 at the law offices of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, managing director Jim Carroll looked ahead to upcoming initiatives. “There’s a big change ahead. Geoff had such an important effect on what EQCA does and how it was [created],” Carroll said. “We’ve got a big two years ahead of us,” In addition to Kors’s departure, EQCA has a full legislative agenda. The organization is in talks with Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) about an anti-bullying bill, modeled on recent successful legislation in New Jersey. That legislation requires schools to form anti-bullying teams, imposes strict penalties for bullies, and evaluates each school’s efficacy at curbing harassment. EQCA is also working on a bill that would address transgender individuals’ access to health care and a bill to eliminate disparities in adoptions by same-sex parents. Along with GSA Network, EQCA is also sponsoring the Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education Act, which was introduced this week by state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and seeks to combat harassment by enhancing the

E

www.bartabsf.com

Matt Baume

4

Equality California managing director Jim Carroll delivers remarks at the organization’s meet and greet in San Francisco last week.

visibility of LGBT individuals in curricula. In addition, the organization is gearing up for California’s redistricting in 2012. The organization is likely to find politicians receptive to its concerns, with a majority of Democrats in both houses of the Legislature and Democrat Jerry Brown, who will be sworn in as governor January 3. While EQCA has enjoyed legislative successes in recent years, outgoing Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed several of its sponsored bills. In addition to these efforts, EQCA’s board of directors met earlier this month to begin searching for Kors’s successor. The board’s next steps will be to draft a job description and to hire a search firm to identify candidates, Carroll said, adding, “given the number of resumes sent in so far, I expect there’ll be a lot of interest in this position.” Kors will step down at the end of March. One campaign that’s not on the group’s agenda right now is challenging Prop 8 at the ballot box in 2012. An electoral campaign against the marriage ban might not be necessary depending on the course of Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal lawsuit,

Carroll said at last week’s reception. Two days earlier, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had heard oral arguments in the case. A variety of outcomes are possible, including upholding the trial court judge’s decision that Prop 8 is unconstitutional. “I think it would be unlikely that we’d be able to rally the community and get resources if people thought there was a chance we could get this for free,” said Carroll, referring to the millions of dollars that would be necessary for a statewide initiative campaign. Fundraising by the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is spearheading the Perry case, has been ongoing. EQCA filed an amicus brief in the Perry case. Christopher Stoll, senior staff attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, estimated that the court might rule in mid-spring. “I think there’s every reason for the plaintiffs to be optimistic, and for us to be optimistic,” he said. “And a big part of that is due to EQCA’s work in this case.” The San Francisco Equality Awards gala will be held February 12 at City Hall.▼

Community pushes Trevor Project for Milk camera store by Matthew S. Bajko grassroots effort has launched to press the Human Rights Campaign to sublease a portion of its new home in the Castro to the Trevor Project, a national LGBT youth organization. HRC’s plan to relocate its store and action center into the retail space where the late gay Supervisor Harvey Milk had his camera store and campaign operations has sparked fierce controversy. Friends of Milk, the city’s first out elected official, have criticized the proposal, as has Dustin Lance Black, who wrote an Oscar-winning screenplay about the gay leader’s rise to power in San Francisco. This week a Facebook page was launched to urge HRC officials to rethink their use of the storefront at 575 Castro Street. As of Wednesday, more than 300 people had said they “like” the idea of allowing the Trevor Project operate a call-in center at the store. Openly gay state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) told the Bay Area Reporter he thinks it would be an ideal compromise that Milk would also like. “Harvey would be pissed and amused and then try to leverage it. This might be the common ground

A

solution,” said Ammiano. “He would want for us to not be fighting in public as much and come to some solution that would be really beneficial.” Cleve Jones, who was close with Milk, has broached the idea with HRC officials. “Try as I might, I can’t think of anything that would be more appropriate, more perfect for Harvey Milk’s store,” said Jones, who has repeatedly spoken out against HRC’s moving into the space. Officials with the Trevor Project did not respond to the B.A.R.’s calls for comment. Black, who sits on the group’s board, would only say that he personally likes the idea. “Talk about an idea that Harvey would have loved, to have those phone calls from Altoona being answered in that shop and have a drop in space for those who come to San Francisco,” said Black, referring to Milk’s anecdote about receiving a phone call from a young gay man in Altoona, Pennsylvania. As for HRC, spokesman Fred Sainz said it has no plans to sublease the store to another group. “That location will be an HRC action center and store,” said Sainz. A protest against HRC’s moving into the store is planned for this Saturday, December 18 from noon to 2 p.m.▼

▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

COMMUNITY

NEWS

Halloween haunts Dufty’s legacy as supervisor by Matthew S. Bajko airly or not, openly gay District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty will be remembered as helping to kill Halloween in the Castro. Dufty, who is termed out of office and will turn his focus to his mayoral bid when he leaves City Hall in January, worked with the police and Mayor Gavin Newsom’s administration in 2007 to shut down the annual street party that took place the night of October 31 in the city’s LGBT neighborhood. The decision was years in the making, for what to do about the outdoor event had vexed Dufty from the day he took office in December 2002. For years area merchants and residents had sounded alarms that the unregulated party was growing dangerous. Their worst fears came true that fall when five people were stabbed and one reveler brought a working chainsaw with him into the crowd, estimated to be more than 300,000 people. Dufty worked with city and entertainment officials as well as community leaders to try to rein in the 2003 event. Alcohol was banned, costumes were encouraged, and entertainment was provided in an attempt to give partygoers something to do. Nonetheless, problems persisted and the final nail in Halloween’s coffin came in 2006 when nine people were wounded by gunfire. Fed up with the violence and mayhem, city leaders ordered the Castro shut down by 10 p.m. the night of October 31, 2007. A public relations campaign urging people to stay home was launched throughout the Bay Area, and most Castro bars and businesses closed early that evening. In 2008 the LGBT neighborhood was once again open for business, but police ensured Halloween revelers remained on the sidewalks and out-oftowners were discouraged from heading to the Castro. The policy has remained the same ever since. While the city’s Halloween stance is not one person’s doing, Dufty became the public face for it and the goto person for the media to interview. During a recent interview with the

▼

page 1

see the seeds I planted now come to fruition.” He sees the upgraded city facilities in his district as being community centers where people and families can connect. “Many of these projects I had to get directly involved in to break a logjam. I look around the district and say, ‘Wow, it looks very good,’” said Dufty. To his supporters and frequent critics, Dufty excelled at seeing that his constituents’ needs were met. “He did a great service to this district in providing really valuable neighborhood services. The needs of individuals and constituents were met ... it was pretty clear that is what the community wanted,” said Alix Rosenthal, a straight woman who ran against Dufty in 2006 for his seat. Terrance Alan, a gay club owner and former Entertainment Commissioner, didn’t always agree with Dufty, particularly on the shutdown of the annual Halloween street party. But he said Dufty was always approachable and gave him credit for pushing through legislation that allowed Castro nightclubs to apply for permits while avoiding costly fees. “That kind of forward thinking is what we need in our supervisors,”

Castro Street was deserted on Halloween in 2007, when city officials ordered the gay neighborhood shut down by 10 p.m.

Bay Area Reporter, he said he had no regrets about how he handled the controversial celebration. “I am okay,” said Dufty after interrupting a reporter’s question before the word Halloween was used. “I figure the people of San Francisco probably look at that and see someone who is willing to take an unpopular stand and personal responsibility for a bad situation and not care about looking like coming out a winner but doing what he or she thinks is the right thing to do.” At the same time, Dufty said he wishes the Halloween party did not have to be lost. “It is difficult. I am sorry we are not able to have the Halloween that existed 20 or 30 years ago,” he said. To Dufty’s supporters and detractors alike, his being pegged as the supervisor who killed Halloween is an unfortunate epitaph to his time in office. “It is one of the things he will be remembered for and it is really a shame because I think he cares about nightlife,” said Alix Rosenthal, a straight attorney who ran against Dufty in 2006 largely due to his handling of Halloween. “His failure was seeing it from a single, neighborhood perspective and not from the citywide stance of how can we can make it fun again and get rid of the violence. All he could see was shutting it down. It was a very narrow approach.”

said Alan. Recently Dufty assisted a Castro couple, Michael Medema and Timmy Ryan, who were dealing with a problematic neighbor who was dealing drugs from his apartment. Up until that point, Medema said they felt city officials ignored their pleas for help. “I think it says he is accessible and responsive down to the little guy,” said Medema. “I think it shows that Bevan makes and takes the time to look at his constituents’ issues and make time for them when they need him.”

Independent streak Dufty also proved the skeptics wrong and turned out to be an independent member of the board. While considered part of the moderate bloc at City Hall, he often parted ways with Mayor Gavin Newsom to became the eighth vote to pass controversial legislation, from the city’s health care program pushed forward by former Supervisor Tom Ammiano to his recent vote for a local hiring law introduced by Supervisor John Avalos. “I always admired that he kept his doors open, literally,” said Ammiano, now a state assemblyman. “We had a lot of laughs.” Dufty said he is proud of how he charted his own course over the years

▼

Dufty

Rick Gerharter

F

page 10

Out Entertainment Commissioner Audrey Joseph, who worked with Dufty on trying to steer Halloween in a different direction, said no one person should be held accountable for shutting down the event. “I think that’s unfair. He didn’t kill it on his own,” said Joseph, noting that Newsom’s administration, the police and neighborhood residents were also involved. As for Dufty’s successor, openly gay Supervisor-elect Scott Wiener, he has not called for any major changes in the city’s approach to Halloween. He recently told a gathering of entertainment leaders that he feels Halloween is slowly making a comeback in the Castro on its own. “It is coming back slowly in an organic way,” said Wiener.▼

5

6

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

OPEN

BAYAREAREPORTER Volume 40, Number 50 16 December 2010 eBAR.com PUBLISHER Thomas E. Horn Bob Ross (Founder, 1971 – 2003) N E W S E D I TO R Cynthia Laird A R T S E D I TO R Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador • Matt Baume • Erin Blackwell Roger Brigham • Scott Brogan • Victoria A. Brownworth Philip Campbell • Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds Raymond Flournoy • Brian Gougherty David Guarino • Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell Robert Julian • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • David Lamble • Michael McDonagh Paul Parish • Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro • Gwendolyn Smith Robert Sokol • Ed Walsh • Sura Wood

A R T D I R E C TO R Kurt Thomas DESIGNER Scott King P H OTO G R A P H E R S Jane Philomen Cleland Marc Geller Rick Gerharter Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja Steven Underhill Bill Wilson I L L U S T R ATO R S & C A R TO O N I S T S Paul Berge Christine Smith G E N E R A L M A N AG E R Michael M. Yamashita D I S P L AY A DV E R T I S I N G Colleen Small Scott Wazlowski C L A S S I F I E D A DV E R T I S I N G David McBrayer N AT I O N A L A DV E R T I S I N G R E P R E S E N TAT I V E Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863 LEGAL COUNSEL Paul H. Melbostad

Best Bay Area Community Newspaper 2006 San Francisco Bay Area Publicity Club

Bay Area Reporter 395 Ninth Street San Francisco, CA 94103 415.861.5019 www.ebar.com News Editor • news@ebar.com Arts Editor • arts@ebar.com Advertising • advertising@ebar.com Letters • letters@ebar.com

A division of Benro Enterprises, Inc. © 2010 Published weekly. Bay Area Reporter reserves the right to edit or reject any advertisement which the publisher believes is in poor taste or which advertises illegal items which might result in legal action against Bay Area Reporter. Ads will not be rejected solely on the basis of politics, philosophy, religion, race, age, or sexual orientation. Advertising rates available upon request. Our list of subscribers and advertisers is confidential and is not sold. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, and writers published herein is neither inferred nor implied. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

FORUM

▼

GetEqual’s amateur hour ftentimes, believers are so focused on their cause that they risk overreacting and sabotaging their own efforts. There is a moment that supporters start to peel away, turned off by over-the-top statements, unverifiable facts, or other antics that ultimately work against achieving the goal. Call it the tipping point. That point was reached last Thursday after the Senate once again failed to break a Republican-led filibuster to bring the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal amendment to a vote. With one press release, GetEqual, a grassroots direct action group that has relentlessly fought for repeal and has staged numerous demonstrations over the last several months, showed why it struggles to attract donors and remain relevant. The release, issued by managing director Heather Cronk, stared out with the sentence: “I have to be honest – I just vomited a little inside my mouth.” At that point, we stopped reading – and we’re likely not the only ones who did. Thankfully, we had not just eaten. Aside from the unlikely honesty of Cronk’s statement (and even if it was true, announcing it to the world is too much information), what is the point? Does her opener draw in supporters of repealing DADT? No. Does it show that GetEqual is a major player in the LGBT civil rights movement? No. What it does show is that Get Equal, which has been in existence for almost a year, is not ready for prime time. Further proof was later demonstrated by GetEqual itself. About two hours after Cronk’s initial statement, GetEqual sent out another news release that conveniently omitted the reference to vomiting. Obviously, more seasoned public relations folks prevailed. Grassroots activists and others may like the in-your-face tactics from groups like GetEqual. And we all know that the big, national LGBT organizations are far from perfect. But we urge the

O

immature organization, not when so many decommunity to arrive at a consensus that juvenile serving groups are hurting for funds. statements are counterproductive and do nothGetEqual, which has received lots of publiciing to advance our cause. And lest you think this ty for its direct actions, including zapping Presiis much ado about nothing, consider this: GetEdent Barack Obama and having former military qual’s e-mails go out to thousands of members chain themselves to a White House people. GetEqual leaders have met fence, needs to get organized. We’re not askwith political figures, including ading that it become button-down like other ministration officials. In other groups, that isn’t what it purports to be. words, it’s important that they are And as we have noted before, we believe that seen as professional and committed both activists agitating from the outside and activists; but the statement from Cronk lobbyists working on the inside to influfell short. GetEqual has also started asking ence political leaders have important for financial donations from the jobs to do in the fight for equality. community. If it expects to raise We just ask that Cronk and others sufficient funds to continue operatE DITORIAL at GetEqual think before they hit the ing in 2011, it must adopt a more send button on their e-mail blasts in mature press operation. No one the future. ▼ wants to throw money away on an inarticulate,

Will LGBT electoral success diminish with district elections? by Bill Ambrunn s Scott Wiener and his new Board of Supervisors colleagues get ready to assume office in a few weeks, it is time that the LGBT community takes a critical look at our electoral success since district elections. The Board of Supervisors used to be the LGBT community’s farm system for developing candidates for higher office. In the 10 years leading up to the switch to district elections in 2000, the city’s voters elected a superstar class of LGBT supervisors who helped change the face of politics in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Washington. But future leadership is just as important, and we should be asking the question: are we getting the most out of district elections? Beginning in 1990, San Francisco voters citywide elected six of our candidates to the Board in an at-large election system: Roberta Achtenberg (later appointed one of the Clinton administration’s highest ranking LGBT officials); Carole Migden (two-term supervisor, assemblywoman, state Board of Equalization member, state senator); Susan Leal (five years on the board, elected city treasurer, appointed San Francisco Public Utilities general manager); Tom Ammiano (13 years on the board, current assemblyman); Leslie Katz (five years on the board); and, Mark Leno (two-term supervisor, assemblyman, current state senator). And on three separate occasions, the city’s voters elected boards with three different LGBT members at the same time. Successful at-large supervisor candidates needed between 80,000 and 120,000 votes. Queer candidates could not count on just the gay vote to get elected. Candidates had to attract support from every corner of the city’s diverse neighborhoods. That meant candidates had to relate to a lot of different types of constituents and to their problems, understand and be conversant about many issues that might or might not directly impact the LGBT community or our neighborhoods, and build coalitions with numerous groups from all over the city. This dynamic attracted candidates with a complimentary skill set who either won office outright (Achtenberg, Migden, Ammiano) or were appointed first and then elected on their own (Leal, Katz, Leno). Once elected, at-large supervisors were supposed to answer to constituents from every neighborhood, and the smartest ones actually did, using their role on the board as a way to continue building coali-

A

tions and most importantly increase their reputation and name recognition outside of our community and neighborhoods. Since 2000 however, only two supervisors have emerged completely from the district system, David Campos and now Scott Wiener. Supervisor Bevan Dufty is a hybrid of sorts, since he spent many years developing support in the previous at-large system (as aide to Supervisor Leal, then director of Mayor Willie Brown’s Office of Neighborhood Services). Still, counting Supervisor Dufty as a product of district elections, there has been a 50 percent drop off in the number of new LGBT candidates elected to the board since 2000. For whatever reason, female LGBT candidates have not fared well in district elections – none have been elected since 2000. And so far, district elections have not produced a board with more than two LGBT members at the same time. In district elections, candidates can get elected to the board with as few as 2,000 votes (and sometimes up to 14,000 votes) so that even successful candidates do not have to reach a large number of voters to win office. But as a consequence, most San Francisco voters don’t become familiar with LGBT candidates and don’t gain experience voting for them. That tends to keep our candidates in obscurity and doesn’t help when it comes time to run in a larger Assembly or Senate district or citywide. And then there’s the influence of money. The switch to G UEST district elections was supposed to empower neighborhood candidates and remove the influence of big money. But in the most recent District 8 election, the top two candidates and their friends spent over $1,000,000 and together they received around 27,000 first-place votes. That means they spent an average of about $37 per vote, an astonishing figure by any standard. Successful LGBT candidates and their friends in at-large elections typically spent $5 to $8 per vote – or less. In addition, queer candidates in district elections now have to run against each other directly for the same seats, unlike at-large elections when queer candidates could (and did) run cooperatively for multiple open seats. With the combined effect of direct competition and the injection of big money – both funds raised by candidates and “independent expenditures” – big-time bucks are now being spent to go

negative on our candidates – over $115,000 in independent expenditures was spent in opposition to the top two LGBT candidates in District 8 alone. For example, one candidate’s labor friends spent thousands of dollars on an independent expenditure hit piece comparing Wiener to Meg Whitman. Wiener won anyway, but since negative campaigning drives down voters’ positive impressions, people who barely know Wiener now have the impression that he is like a Republican (he’s not). The fact that this and similar hit pieces against our candidates were funded by groups not controlled by the LGBT community (labor, real estate, big corporations) raises additional obstacles for LGBT candidates trying to run positive, grassroots campaigns while building solid, citywide reputations. Why does any of this matter? Because the game has changed, but it seems we haven’t fully adapted. In addition to the 50 percent drop in successful new board candidates since 2000, the school board now has no LGBT representation for the first time in many years, and Lawrence Wong is the sole LGBT member of the community college board. At the same time, our community’s political organizations seem to spend much of their resources campaigning in a few districts for competing candidates when they should also be working together to identify, develop and support viable LGBT candidates in all 11 supervisor districts (and for the school and college boards O PINION too). As a community, we should refocus efforts on candidate recruitment and training, voter education and coalition building. Future candidates and their moneyed friends should commit to clean campaigning with a limited and positive role for independent expenditures. It remains to be seen if a new crop of leaders can rival the accomplishments of the first group – Dufty, for example, has certainly emerged from the district system with a legitimate shot at becoming the next mayor. But, more work needs to be done to ensure our community’s ongoing electoral success at the Board and beyond.▼

a

Bill Ambrunn is a San Francisco attorney. He worked as chief of staff for former Supervisor Susan Leal from 1994 to 1997, serving as liaison to the LGBT community and to the Castro and surrounding neighborhoods.

▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

7

POLITIC S

Dufty banks on novice by Matthew S. Bajko s Bevan Dufty transitions from being the District 8 supervisor to a full-time mayoral candidate, he is banking on a political novice to steer his campaign. The openly gay Dufty has hired Bob Michitarian, 44, a gay Noe Valley resident and former corporate lawyer, to be his campaign manager. It is the first time that Michitarian has run a political campaign. He is the second person to have never worked on a local campaign for public office that Dufty has brought on to guide him as he seeks Room 200 in City Hall next fall. In 2009 when Dufty announced his mayoral run, he also hired former Obama deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand, a gay man who lives in South Dakota, to advise him. Dufty told the Bay Area Reporter that he had to look for outside help because the major political consultants in town had already pledged to work for other candidates in the race. “A lot of the firms here had prior commitments,” said Dufty, 55, who will officially step down January 8. “I knew I had to shake it up and do something different and I am okay with that.” He had planned to hire his former supervisorial aide, Boe Hayward, as his campaign manager. But after Hayward married his girlfriend and announced they were expecting their first child P OLITICAL this fall, Dufty said he determined he needed to hire someone else for the job. Having worked with Michitarian, a GLBT Historical Society board member, on securing a lease for the new LGBT museum in the Castro, Dufty said he was impressed with his handling of the negotiations and asked him to manage his mayoral bid. “Bob is a brass knuckles kind of guy. He is the kind of guy who is a tough negotiator and a counterpoint to me,” said Dufty. “I think he will do just fine.” Michitarian graduated with a political science degree from Stanford University, where he is currently chair of the board that oversees the campus newspaper. He earned a law degree from the University of Virginia and worked on Wall Street. Having grown up in Lake Tahoe, he decamped from New York for the Bay Area in the 1990s to practice law

Jane Philomen Cleland

A

Mayoral candidate Bevan Dufty talks with his campaign manager Bob Michitarian at a recent house party.

for a local firm, then biotech company Genentech, and several Silicon Valley start-ups. He launched a solo private practice in 2007. His only previous campaign experience was volunteering to do research for the unsuccessful effort in 2008 to defeat Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban against same-sex marriage in California. While he and his partner of 17 years were one of the 18,000 couples who legally wed two years ago, Michitarian is currently in the process of divorcing his husband. His first assignment for Dufty N OTEBOOK was to negotiate the lease for his campaign office at 1035 Market Street near Sixth Street. In the coming months he said his main task would be helping Dufty meet voters throughout the city and raise money. Fundraising will be a challenge, acknowledged Michitarian, because Dufty has limited himself to only accepting $200 from people who live, work, or own property in San Francisco. But he believes those restrictions are not insurmountable. “Bevan is a strong candidate with a strong candidacy and a lot of support everywhere in this city,” said Michitarian, who recently went through a political campaign training course offered by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. “He knows city government better than anybody.” The limit on donors sets him apart from his opponents, said Michitarian. So far state Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), City Attorney Dennis

Herrera, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting, and venture capitalist Joanna Rees have all pulled papers to begin raising money toward mayoral bids. “What it means is we need to raise more money from more people throughout the city than our challengers,” said Michitarian. “Our challengers are taking money from all over the country. For Bevan this campaign is about San Francisco and he is going to keep it about San Francisco.” After meeting his goal of raising $100,000 in 2009, Dufty collected nearly $30,000 in donations during the first part of 2010, according to the latest campaign finance reports. He is trying to raise $100,000 by the end of the year. Having Hildebrand, who earned $48,370 for the first half of 2010, as an adviser is a leg up in building the “grassroots, low-dollar campaign” that Dufty intends to wage, said Michitarian. “Steve Hildebrand is the best at doing that in the country,” he said. Another advantage that Dufty has over his competitors, said Michitarian, is he can devote himself fulltime to the campaign come January 9. “It is full speed ahead,” said Michitarian.▼ Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check www.ebar.com Monday mornings around 10 a.m. for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reports on the new Castro LGBT museum’s sex displays and efforts to show Harvey Milk’s bullhorn.

Put political differences aside

country and communities with dignity and compassion. Taking a page from Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. How ironic that gadfly Cleve Jones and screenwriter this may be a time for us to simply go on with our lives Dustin Lance Black, both of whom were paid for their inand let the Republicans make fools of themselves. Given volvement in the film Milk, would now be wringing their their behavior so far that’s pretty certain. If this hands in dismay over the prospect of the Congress doesn’t heed the Pentagon and elimHuman Rights Campaign opening a shop in inate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” we can’t expect Harvey Milk’s former camera shop on Castro the next Congress to get any nicer. Even if anStreet and in turn making money off his likeother Republican legislator gets caught in a ness [“Milk’s friends aghast at HRC store men’s room, their attitude won’t change. plans,” December 9]. We can never change who we are and Hey, fellas, please put your petty political shouldn’t change wanting to be treated differences with the HRC aside because, How we go about it the next two frankly, tourists coming to the world M AILSTROM equally. years will say a lot about us. Our lives are our renowned Castro want to see filled rather greatest strength politically. Being ourselves than empty storefronts no matter who the at family outings, churches, and the local market changes prior tenant might have been. minds. I’ve been involved since 1973 through all of it, and I don’t want to waste energy pointing fingers when I can Patrick Batt use it to strengthen our community with groups like the San Francisco National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Human Rights Sit back for two years Campaign, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Lambda Literary and well as countless AIDS organiGays in the military and gay marriage are dear to us, zations. Keeping our community healthy in big cities that and we have waited a long time. It looks like we may have always lead social change as well as small towns will have to wait longer. For the next two years the House of Repreimpacts nationwide. If that means taking care of each sentatives is going to be run by people who don’t like us other for one more potluck or christening or midnight and use us to scare voters. orgy let’s enjoy it and not waste time with members of In the end both will happen through the courts and Congress who ignore us. Let’s sit back and watch them fall with more states legalizing marriage. For the next two on their faces. We’ll get our way in the end. years a lot a yahoos in the House and crusty old farts in the Senate are going to thwart us every chance they get. If Chuck Forester we yell and scream it will only fuel their fires. We are, at San Francisco base, very intelligent decent men and women serving our

✷✷✷✷

www.ebar.com ✷✷✷✷

▼

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

COMMENTARY

Trans-portation security parts. Many are outraged about a system they view as counter to is the season, as they say. The time the civil liberties they of year when ornaments are hold dear. placed on pine trees – not to The TSA, meanmention bell ringers, packed shopping while, has determined malls, and the same 15 songs you’ve that such procedures heard every December since you were a are necessary to protect child. In amongst all of these is the popassengers, crew, and tential for holiday travel – and no time others who might be in recent history has travel been wrought impacted by a terrorist with so much controversy. attack aboard a plane. This year, the Transportation SeThey point to attempts curity Administration has added such as that of Umar what it characterizes in its own press Farouk Abdulmutallab, releases as “an unpredictable mix of dubbed the “Undersecurity layers,” including an increase wear Bomber” for atin “advanced imaging technology” tempting to detonate explosive mateand a new, more intrusive pat-down rial in his underwear while on procedure for those traveling by board a Detroit-bound flight airplane. last Christmas. A large number of stories Regardless of the reasons, have circulated in the media having a TSA employee feel about these systems – under and around one’s which were unveiled last breasts and genitals – let alone month – and the “rock full-body scans – can leave one and a hard place” feeling vulnerable, exoption between posed, and humiliated. an X-ray maT RANSMISSIONS For many transgender chine that can expeople, this can mean pose the whole of being outed while traveling. your body and a pat-down that inThe TSA is using both millimeter cludes groping one’s most private wave and backscatter X-ray systems.

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Get on the Stick . . .

DECEMBER 19, 2010

THE PLACE to Shop for Vintage, Retro & Antique Home Decor • Furniture • Clothing Jewelry • Paintings • Books • Anything Collectible

6 am – 3 pm • Up to 500 Booths • Free Parking Rain or Shine • All Items 20 Years or Older • No Pets Admission: 6 – 8 am $10, 8 am – 3 pm $5 nd to fi lace San Future 2011 A Candlestick Francisco great pPark, TS! Shows: G Y A D May 15,IFJun Jan 16, Feb 20,IQ Mar 20, Apr 19, Jul 17 OLI17, UN UE H

For more info: (510) 217-8696 info@candlestickantiques.com www.candlestickantiques.com

www.bartabsf.com

x

Christine Smith

SUNDAY

T

Both systems produce an image that displays the whole body of a subject, including visible buttocks, genitals, and breasts. The scans also would reveal any binders, gaffes, or prosthetics present on a subject. A suspicious item could be further “zoomed in on” by a TSA agent using these machines. The new pat-down procedures include handling around the breasts and genitals of passengers, and there has been a report of a mastectomy patient having to remove and expose their silicone breast prosthesis. It would be safe to assume that any materials used to conceal or enhance genitals and chests could indeed be viewed as suspicious and require additional study by the TSA. According to the TSA, the machines blur passenger faces, and those viewing the images are not in view of any passengers. Likewise, the systems do not allow for the transmission and storing of images while in use. The new procedures are assumed to include the ability to have such a pat-down outside of public view. All this said, there are reports of people not having the option to be patted down in private, or faces not fully obscured, and of images stored and even transmitted. So what does this mean for a transgender person? For many, especially when one might be new at presenting in their preferred gender identity in public, being in a large, crowded, space can make one nervous. We may worry about being outed, or getting harassed solely for how we’re presenting. This nervousness may work against us, causing a TSA agent to be more concerned about us. When this happens, it becomes all that more likely that one will indeed be outed. In a worstcase scenario, this could mean public humiliation and degradation. Heck, even in the best case this will be a lessthan-pleasant situation. An important note: The TSA does not have any policies in place for the treatment of transgender individuals. This means that you can face TSA agents who don’t have a complete grasp on why a person might be binding their breasts or wearing a “packer” to fill out their pants. They may not understand why someone would wear breast forms or tuck male genitals back. More than this, you stand a chance of coming across a TSA agent who is less-than-friendly toward transgender presentation. I really do not like the idea of a TSA officer being able to view the body beneath my clothing, or reach between my thighs, buttocks, and genitals. I can indeed understand the “why” of it all – but this is quite simply not something with which I am in any way comfortable. I don’t have any air travel in my near future, which makes this issue that much less pressing for me. Yet many do need to take flights this holiday season, and I cannot help but feel that many transgender people will find their personal safety compromised in the name of making for safe air travel. Their personal privacy will indeed be at risk, and I dare say I expect to hear of TSA agents harassing transgender travelers this season and in the future. I don’t want to think that – but yet, I do. It’s elementary. The National Center for Trans-

▼

8

page 10

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

9

10

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

COMMUNITY

Dufty ▼

page 5

and kept City Hall watchers guessing on where he would come down on any given issue. “There is a certain intangible that I have tried to infuse in my decision making around here, to look at the big picture. I have been willing to defy expectations, to make people mad at times, and I love it,” he said. “I love people always have something to criticize me for. I hope I am resilient and willing to take it to heart and make something good out of it.” Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, like Dufty termed out of office next month, praised her board colleague for always being willing to listen to her viewpoint. “I had an ally that was not always with me on every issue but an ally in that he would tell me why, what he thought and what his concerns were,” she said. “Sometimes we could

Interim mayor after Ammiano announced last week he didn’t want to leave Sacramento, Daly said he felt Avalos, Campos, former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, or city Controller Ed Harrington were all qualified candidates. Prior to the supervisors’ meeting, progressives held a rally to urge support for Campos, who is gay, to be chosen interim mayor. They have been circulating a letter in which they write that Campos “exhibits all the

SF Pride ▼

page 1

has stepped in to help. Despite the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee’s internal problems – its executive director resigned last month amid budget deficits – several people expressed confidence the event will occur in June 2011. When asked about the state of planning for next year’s Pride by the Bay Area Reporter last week, outgoing District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty said that the LGBT celebration will go on but that he is concerned with its current leadership. “Yes there will be a Pride in 2001, that is an agenda item I am carrying forward with me,” said Dufty, who will leave office in January. Shortly after Pride revealed its financial troubles, Dufty offered to assist with fundraising and asked the city controller’s office to audit the organization. But his relationship with Pride board members has been fraught; he heard about the worker furloughs from an employee and learned that Shawn Parker had resigned as co-chair by reading last week’s story in the B.A.R. Parker, who didn’t respond to an interview request for this week’s story, had said that he resigned because of his workload outside Pride. “I have had a difficult time with the Pride board,” Dufty said. “They delayed me meeting with their sponsorship person for more than six weeks. For reasons ... I think some people on the board I think aren’t happy with our involvement.” He later added that, “Honestly, I didn’t step into this thing because I thought I was going to get a bouquet of roses.” When he did arrange his first meeting with Eddie Valtierra, Pride’s director of sponsorship, two Pride board members and two other staffers also attended the meeting, which surprised Dufty. “It was kind of strange,” said Dufty. “I will continue to be involved in raising money but it is frustrating to me why do I have to wait six weeks to start working? I told them why don’t you just have Eddie here

gles to enter the housing market. “To me, it is very important this housing contribute to the long-term sustainability for the neighborhood,” he said. “It has the potential of doing what was done in Vancouver, where more density was created and homeownership really was in reach for many more individuals.” To this day Dufty said he wishes one project had not collapsed, having the Jewish Community Center open a facility near Collingwood Park that would cater to LGBT families. Concerns about parking by Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, which owned the building, derailed the plans. Other institutions have filled the vacuum, Dufty said, from the Castro Dads group he helped form to LGBT families becoming more involved in the local public schools. “Seeing kids in restaurants now with their gay households is kind of commonplace. It is much more the norm than it ever was,” said Dufty.

qualities San Francisco needs in its mayor at this critical moment: he has been a unifying voice on the board and in the wider city community, consistently displaying clear-minded, thoughtful, respectful and disciplined leadership.” Signatories include Tommi Avicolli Mecca, an LGBT and housing rights activist; and out Democratic County Central Committee members Rafael Mandelman, Debra Walker and Michael Goldstein; and AIDS housing activist Brian Basinger. But it doesn’t appear that Campos has the six votes needed among his

colleagues to be elected interim mayor. And there is no guarantee that the current board will take up the matter on January 4, which will be the last meeting before the newly, more moderate supervisors elected in November are sworn into office January 8. Newsom has hinted he may try to postpone his swearing-in so the new board will decide his successor. Doing so would also allow him to name a replacement for District Attorney Kamala Harris, who will be sworn in January 3 as the state’s new attorney general.▼

with me 10 hours a week?” Valtierra declined an interview request from the B.A.R., citing Pride’s policy of prohibiting staff from speaking to the media. Immediately following the initial meeting, Dufty met with Mayor Gavin Newsom’s liaison with Silicon Valley companies and contacted Google and other high-tech firms about sponsoring Pride. He also has been talking with other companies that have reduced their sponsorship of the event in recent years. “I have actually been doing forensics and going to some of the companies who have dramatically reduced financial contributions to Pride. I think I have a better handle on what some of their concerns are and what we need to do to win them back,” said Dufty. “Definitely, among the sponsors that have reduced their support was a feeling they were not seeing the return or value from their investment.” At this point, with six months left before next year’s Pride weekend, Dufty said that he remains “concerned but hopeful” that the Pride board can pull off the event, mostly because he continues to have faith in the independent contractors, such as Joe Wagenhofer and Marsha Levine, who manage the parade and other aspects of the festival. “There are some very seasoned people ...who can make this event happen,” said Dufty. For now he is waiting to see the controller’s report on Pride, which Dufty said he has been told should be released soon and will not reveal any “serious problems” with the organization. The city’s Grants for the Arts office awarded $58,400 to Pride this year. “In the scope of nonprofits they have reviewed, the difficulties at Pride are less serious than at others they have reviewed,” said Dufty. District 8 Supervisor-elect Scott Wiener told the B.A.R. last week, “I am very concerned about where Pride is right now” but said, “Bevan has been updating me. Certainly, it will be a priority.”

thinks Pride officials have been responsive to Dufty. “We try our best,” she said. She also said she’s been meeting with sponsors to assure them that the 2011 celebration “is going to happen,” and to talk about bringing money in earlier so that when Valtierra returns in January, “all he has to do is basically implement the paperwork.” No sponsors have made firm commitments, Calma said Monday. Calma said Pride’s projecting that it will have at least $500,000 from sponsorships for 2011, which she said is similar to what the organization brought in for 2010. Valtierra will be the only staffer returning in January. Parker had said that furloughed staff would return to work in January, but Calma said Monday that except for Valtierra, they wouldn’t come back until February. One thing Parker hadn’t mentioned to the B.A.R. was that the director of external relations position, which had been held by Troy Coalman, was cut this month. Calma said this week that cut would save a “significant amount” of money but she declined to say how much. In response to an e-mail asking about his departure, Coalman declined to state his salary.

Calma’s viewpoint Calma said in a phone interview Monday, December 13, that she

Help comes after a rough year Overall, it’s been a rough year for Pride Former Executive Director Amy Andre and ex-Board President Mikayla Connell both announced their resignations in October. Andre, whose resignation was effective November 19, has refused to tell the B.A.R. exactly why she resigned. Connell had previously expressed a desire to quit, and her term as president expired in October. She had decided not to run again, and her resignation was effective immediately. The two left the agency, which organizes one of the world’s largest Pride events, with a deficit estimated at up to $90,000, plus almost $50,000 more owed to beverage partners, who were out thousands of dollars from what they were expecting due to what has been described as a “misunderstanding.” Parker said

Retirement and mayoral aspirations Dufty will officially leave office the morning of January 8, when supervisor-elect Scott Wiener is sworn in around noon that day. Having already launched his bid to be mayor, Dufty plans to focus full-time on his campaign. He is retiring from the city with a pension that combines his 18 years of public service in San Francisco with time earned while working for Los Angeles County and as a congressional staffer. Under the city’s retirement system, Dufty was given the option of buying back the years he earned elsewhere. “I made a personal decision to retire with 28 years in the city’s retirement system. I will have the ability to pay my mortgage and for my daughter’s preschool,” said Dufty. “I felt strongly that it would look strange to people if I took a job somewhere when everybody expects me to be running for mayor. This is a clean approach; I can retire

Transmissions ▼

▼

page 1

work on those concerns, sometimes we couldn’t. But Bevan was always available to talk about issues.” Gabriel Haaland, a progressive activist and labor leader, credited Dufty with always being open to hear out arguments on any given issue. “I have so much respect for him. He always thought through the question. Whenever we brought an issue to him, he gave it fair consideration and then made up his mind,” said Haaland. “I have been really impressed with him.” Along the way Dufty said he does have his disappointments, chief among them seeing projects approved along upper Market Street not be built because the economic downturn made it impossible for developers to secure financing. “It has been very frustrating,” he said, adding that, “Definitely, I feel that eventually the projects along Market Street are going to be built.” He said he sees the projects as being an avenue for younger couples and sin-

page 8

gender Equality has produced a guide for the transgender traveler, suggesting that one check their binders and other items, or be prepared to educate the TSA officers when they ask. They also note the procedures for complaining about how one might be treated. You can read its release at www.transequality.org. Meanwhile, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Transgender Law Center are collecting in-

earlier this month that the board has put its search for a new executive director on hold. Pride’s budget for the year was $1.5 million. Calma didn’t know this week what the size of the deficit is. She said additional payments haven’t been made to beverage partners, but “that’s the top priority right now.” She said there are “necessary” operating expenses such as rent and an anonymous donor “came to rescue us” with “a substantial amount of money.” “We’re still in talks with them,” said Calma of the donor. She said the plan is for the person to give Pride a grant and offer a “long range, low interest loan.” She said she didn’t know the details of the grant or loan.

Others weigh in Andy Copperhall, who angrily resigned as Pride’s beverage manager in September, said Tuesday that nobody has approached him about returning. He also said he’d want to wait to see how the changes at Pride shake out before committing. Copperhall said the current five board members should resign. He noted Pride is just six months away. “The whole organization’s completely in disarray,” he said. Calma noted vendor sales have begun and referred to the anonymous assistance, which she said is supposed to get the organization through March. Copperhall said he’s “really surprised” that nobody’s contacted him about returning, explaining that the entire contracting team should be assembled if Pride officials are “serious about pulling off an event next year.” He also said an interim board should be brought in consisting of “stalwarts” such as former board President Joey Cain and former Executive Director Teddy Witherington, so they can “restart the whole process and get this thing back on its feet.” Calma said she wouldn’t resign. She said she’d like to “start conversing” with Copperhall, though, and that offering him a contract is “on my list to do.” Witherington said no one’s asked him officially to join the Pride

NEWS

▼

and campaign for mayor full time.” He intends to vacate his current office, one of the most coveted among supervisors, Thursday, December 23 so that Supervisor Sean Elsbernd can move into it. He will use a cubicle next door in the legislative analysts’ office when he is in City Hall over the next few weeks. “I am not putting myself in the situation where I am going to be here at 11:58 a.m. January 8 as the janitor is taking a razor blade to my name on the door,” said Dufty. He insists he is nonplussed by the prospect of no longer reporting to City Hall everyday after nearly two decades of working in the building. “I feel good,” he said. “This is the job of a lifetime. I feel so fortunate to have had it. I am ready for the next chapter.”▼ For more on Dufty, including his involvement with shutting down Halloween, see story, page 5, and the Political Notebook on page 7.

formation from transgender people who have faced issues while in airport security lines. The form for that is at www.nclrights.org. Either way, I hope that in between the fruitcake and other holiday traditions you may enjoy, I hope that safe, friendly skies will be yours – and that you will not face public humiliation at the hands of the TSA.▼ Gwen Smith might have to take the train next time. You can find her online at www.gwensmith.com.

board. He also said he has “a lot of admiration for [Pride’s] remaining board members.” Cain offered his help to the board in October. He said Tuesday that he hadn’t heard from them since then, but he’d been invited to that night’s general membership meeting. He said he’d be willing to return to the board “even if only for a year,” but in an email Wednesday, December 15, he said there was “still no word” on what’s happening with his participation. Asked about Cain possibly returning, at least on a proposed community advisory board, Calma said this week, “I am talking to him, but we haven’t touched base on it.” Audrey Joseph, Pride’s longtime main stage producer, resigned after the 2009 event, then returned this year after the Pride Committee apparently couldn’t find anyone to replace her. Joseph said this week that there haven’t been any contract discussions or negotiations, but given Pride’s “tenuous” financial status, she said that “kind of makes sense.” She said Pride would still happen “with or without you or me or anybody, because it’s Pride.” Joseph said that she would not produce the main stage without a contract. She told the B.A.R. on Tuesday that after the paper had talked to her and Calma, Calma sent her an email saying she’d like to meet with her next week.

Expressing confidence Levine, who’s worked on Pride since 1985 and is now the parade coordinator, said in an interview last week, “I don’t have a signed contract yet, but I’m just doing whatever I’m normally doing at this time of year.” She also said, “Pride isn’t just going to fold up and disappear because of issues with finances or issues with leadership. It’s not that weak of an organization that a temporary issue is going to crumble it.” Wagenhofer, Pride’s event director, said this week that he does have a contract. “I’m looking forward to a successful 2011 event,” he said. “... I think the board is doing a good job now in guiding us through our difficult time.”▼

▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

INTERNATIONAL

11

NEWS

Straight couple denied civil partnership in London by Rex Wockner heterosexual couple was refused a civil partnership at London’s Camden Register Office on December 8. The registrar cited the legal ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships as the reason for the refusal. Stephanie Munro and Andrew O’Neill plan to sue the government, along with three other straight couples who want to enter into civil partnerships and four gay couples who want to get married. It’s part of a new activist campaign dubbed Equal Love, coordinated by veteran gay activist Peter Tatchell. “We feel a sense of injustice,” said Munro. “It doesn’t seem fair that in a democracy we can be denied a civil partnership just because we happen to be heterosexual. Andrew and I love each other very much. We don’t like marriage because of its patriarchal history. I don’t want to be called a wife and Andrew doesn’t husband me. We are equal partners and the language of civil partnerships better reflects the character of our relationship.” O’Neill said the couple was disappointed. “Being turned away was sad. It

Brett Lock

A

Stephanie Munro and Andrew O’Neill are suing the government of the United Kingdom because they want to enter into a civil partnership, a marriage-like union that is limited to same-sex couples.

makes us understand what gay couples go through when they are denied the right to marry,” he said. “It’s really quite insulting and offensive. We don’t feel comfortable with the institution of marriage. But even if we were happy with it, we would not want to get married while gay couples are denied the right to marry.” Tatchell said everyone should be equal.

“Just as the ban on gay civil marriages is wrong, so too is the ban on heterosexual civil partnerships. ... Everyone should be equal before the law,” Tatchell said. “Denying heterosexual couples the right to have a civil partnership is obnoxious and discriminatory.” An attorney for the activists, Robert Wintemute, said the marriage and civil partnership laws vio-

Former gay publisher dead in apparent suicide colleague of mine. Michael’s death is a terrible loss for his family and for the community.” Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (DSan Francisco) stated, “Michael Portantino was a strong voice for LGBT rights not only in San Diego, but throughout California. He was a passionate and fearless advocate for the cause of LGBT equality. He will be sorely missed, but I know his memory will live on with his family and friends.” The Los Angeles Times reported that Mr. Portantino is survived by a daughter.▼

by Cynthia Laird ichael Portantino, the former publisher of the nowdefunct Gay and Lesbian Times in San Diego, jumped from a building December 8 in an apparent suicide. He was 52. According to a press release from the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office, Mr. Portantino jumped from a building located at 525 Spruce Street, the gay-friendly Park Manor Suites, at 8:12 p.m., landing on the concrete walkway. Passersby discovered his body. A call to 911 was made and medics confirmed his death without intervention “due to the obvious signs of trauma,” according to the release. Mr. Portantino was a former resident of San Francisco. The Gay and Lesbian Times had experienced financial problems earlier this year before abruptly ceasing publication in October. There is no indication yet if those troubles might have played a role in Mr. Portantino’s death. Mr. Portantino’s brother is Assemblyman Anthony Portantino (DPasadena). Last week his family released a statement, calling Mr. Portantino a “fighter.” “He provided tireless and unmatched support for the LGBT community and advocated for respect and dignity for all Californians,” the statement read. “As a father, brother, and son he valued his family and friends. He made us laugh, he made us think and sometimes he even made us angry

M

Michael Portantino

as he challenged us all to live our lives to their fullest potential and with complete obligation to touch one another for the betterment of our neighborhoods, communities and country. “We have suffered a great loss and pray for Michael as he will no longer be with us in body. We have all been touched by his spirit and passion and we hope that he is remembered for the positive role he played in all our lives,” the statement concluded. Members of the LGBT Legislative Caucus also recalled Mr. Portantino. “I knew Michael Portantino for many years,” state Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) said in a statement. “He was an institution in the LGBT community, and his brother, Anthony Portantino, is a legislative

Obituaries >> Malcolm Squyres July 1, 1953 - December 8, 2010

On December 8, Malcolm finally lost his approximately 25-year battle against AIDS. Born in Houston, Texas, he moved to San Francisco to work for Crocker Bank but soon brought his ebullient personality to the Castro, where he became a longtime bartender and manager at the Badlands and the

Phoenix from the late 80s to the mid-90s. Following the death of his partner James Eves, Malcolm embarked on a new career in ticket services, first at the San Francisco Ballet, and then, since 2002, with the San Francisco Opera box office. Here he was surrounded by a loving family of coworkers who became the invaluable support system that helped him through his numerous hospitalizations, surgeries, and periods of recuperation over the past several years. To quote his great friend and coworker Ruth: “Malcolm was the bravest and most generous person I’ve ever known.”

Same-sex couples marry on late three sections of the United SAS flight Kingdom’s Human Rights Act concerned with protection against disA German gay couple and a lesbian crimination, the right to respect for Polish couple were married on an SAS family life, and the right to marry. flight over Sweden on December 6. “The rights attached to civil marGermans Aleksander Mijatovic riage and civil partnership are and Shantu Bhattacharjee, and identical, especially with rePoles Ewa Tomaszewicz gard to adoption of chiland Gosia Rawinska were dren, donor inseminamarried by European tion, and surrogacy,” Parliament Member Wintemute said. “There Christofer Fjellner on is no longer any justifithe flight to Newark, cation for excluding New Jersey. same-sex couples from The couples had won civil marriage and difan SAS social-media conW OCKNER ’ S ferent-sex couples from test called “Love is in the W ORLD civil partnership. It’s air” by out-promoting like having separate other entrants in the ondrinking fountains or beaches for line competition. They also received different racial groups, even though flights to and within the U.S., rings, the water is the same. The only funcand honeymoons in New York and tion of the twin bans is to mark lesLos Angeles.▼ bian and gay people as inferior to heterosexual people.” Bill Kelley contributed to this report.

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

•

Delano’s closes amidst rumors of new tenant by Raymond Flournoy ver the Thanksgiving weekend, Castro residents were dismayed to learn that neighborhood grocery store. Delano’s IGA would be shutting down. Hand-lettered signs at the 4201 18th Street location announced that the store had lost its lease and that all stock was discounted. The store went to limited hours and closed its doors for good on December 4. The employees were notified of the closing on the day before Thanksgiving, November 24, according to former store director Harvey Woodmansee. “The announcement came as a shock. Everyone was expecting to hear that the store had been sold, so no one was prepared for this,” he said. The neighborhood is crossing its fingers that the large space does not sit empty long, as Mollie Stone’s is rumored to be interested in the site. Unnamed City Hall sources describe Mollie Stone’s as “pretty much a done deal,” although the grocer itself is more circumspect. “At this time there isn’t anything I can say except we are excited about the possibility of Mollie Stone’s coming to the Castro,” owner David Bennett wrote in an e-mail to the Bay Area Reporter. Woodmansee noted that the Castro store was one of the best performing stores in the Delano’s chain, so he believes that the location has great potential for a new store. “The Delanos are honorable people, and they did what they could for the employees. I would hope that if Mollie Stone’s goes in, they would rehire the same staff,” he added.

O

Oprah’s favorite San Franciscans Oprah Winfrey’s recent “Oprah’s Favorite Things” episode featured at least three members of San Francisco’s LGBT community in the audience, and each left with bags of Winfrey-approved goodies. One additional item would not fit in a bag and will be delivered next year – the newly redesigned 2012 Volkswagen Beetle. The Favorite Things episode is a regular feature of the show, in which Winfrey extols the virtues of various consumer items before gifting the studio audience with samples of the item. For this episode, the “favorite things” included Dana Rebecca Designs diamond earrings, Josh Grobin CDs, Winfrey’s favorite face cream, Hope in a Jar, and the VW Beetle. For this, the announced final Favorite Things episode ever, Winfrey’s staff hand-picked audience members to receive the torrent of gifts. Among those in the audience was Castro resident Jason Villalobos, who had written to the show to describe how Winfrey herself had helped him through his AIDS diagnosis at the age of 25. “Oprah’s shows about self-empowerment, the power in forgiving ourselves and others, … helped motivate me to reclaim my own health and become an HIV and AIDS advocate here in San Francisco,” said Villalobos. He is currently raising funds for AIDS/LifeCycle via the site www.tofighthiv.org/goto/jason. Also in the audience were Sherri Franklin, owner and executive director of Muttville Senior Dog Rescue

Web content Online content this week includes the Jock Talk column, and an article on the latest federal lawsuit against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” www.ebar.com

Steven Kasapi

12

Hand-written signs mark the end of Delano’s IGA in the Castro.

(www.muttville.org) along with volunteer Patty Stanton. Stanton had written in to the show’s website in response to the question “Who has changed your life?” In her e-mail, she described her experience adopting her dog Frankie from Muttville, a rescue specializing in senior and special needs dogs. Muttville has auctioned off many of the gifts from Winfrey on its website, raising $5,800 for the rescue organization. Muttville holds adoption events on the second Sunday of each month at the corner of 18th and Castro streets. For more inforB USINESS mation on “Oprah’s Favorite Things” and to see clips from the show, visit www.oprah.com/packages/oprahsultimate-favorite-things.html.

the street, or else the stores will need to begin charging for parking. Queer-positive art collective Femina Potens has closed its Market Street location in anticipation of a 2011 move to a larger space. In an email to supporters, Executive Director Madison Young described the new location as “a larger space on Market Street that will provide more room, more programs, more artist’s resources, and further collaboration with community organizations.” Under One Roof has opened a temporary holiday store in the space formerly occupied by Kard Zone, 2286 B RIEFS Market Street. The store will be open weekends and Wednesday nights until Christmas.

q

Where everyday is a drag A new boutique specializing in products for the drag scene has opened on Castro Street, in the spot that most recently housed District 8 Supervisor-elect Scott Wiener’s campaign headquarters. Cocomo’s (538 Castro Street) is the brainchild of Wesley Lind, who performs under the name Patty McGroin. The store stocks makeup, clothing, and shoes up to size 16. Eventually the store will expand to include Lind’s own clothing line, according to Natalie Morales, Lind’s assistant. The store opened on December 11, but a grand opening celebration is in the works for January.

Castro updates Ike’s Place has filed for permits to move to 3489 16th Street, which currently houses Saratoga Chocolates. Owner Ike Shehadeh goes before the Planning Department today (Thursday, December 16). In a Facebook posting, Shehadeh noted that the space is seven times the size of the original Ike’s Place, and that he lives in the building. Saratoga Chocolates is scheduled to close on December 24, and is looking for a smaller retail location elsewhere in the neighborhood. Deals have apparently been struck with the Planning Department to allow the Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods projects to move forward, according to an unnamed source at City Hall. In both cases, the city will require the grocery chains to ensure that traffic entering the parking lots does not back up onto

Treats for the holiday Gourmet ice cream shop Humphry Slocombe (2790 Harrison Street) has announced a partnership with Project Open Hand to offer a new flavor, “Open Hand Fluffer Nutter.” The new flavor features marshmallow fluff mixed with 100 percent pure peanut butter ground by Project Open Hand volunteers. Project Open Hand is a nonprofit agency offering meals and groceries for homebound individuals living with HIV/AIDS or other illnesses. In order to cut costs, it began to grind its own peanut butter, which is now the basis for the new flavor. A portion of the sales from the ice cream will go to fund agency programs. For more information on Project Open Hand, visit www.openhand.org. And if you are in the mood for something warmer than ice cream, Harvey’s (500 Castro Street) is featuring the classic hot toddy as its holiday cocktail. General manager Steve Porter recommends the mixture of brandy, honey, and lemon, saying “These are really tasty during the cold days.”

A bear ships in your ‘hood Paul Moffett and his bearded crew at P.O. Plus (584 Castro Street) warn you to “Ship early, save money!” The deadline for ground shipping to the East Coast is December 17. After that the options get progressively more expensive until December 23, when your only choice is overnight air. P.O. Plus is open every day until Christmas to help you with your last minute package needs.▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

•

Fillmore, Haight districts bustling with gift ideas by Matt Baume o visit the Fillmore in December is to be dazzled by holiday cheer amidst twinkling lights, festive music, and frosted window displays. Comfort and tradition define this year’s holiday mood, according to local merchants. “People have a big desire to be ‘very holiday’ this year,” said Lucy Shelton at Ruby, a furniture store where cozy candles and earthy ornaments have been hot sellers lately. Also popular is Earth-friendly aluminum tableware, hand-recycled by Beatriz Ball in Mexico. Recycled sari throws ($75 with discount) are the hot item at BoConcept (1928 Fillmore Street). Many of the items in the store are currently 25 percent off, including artwork. BoConcept’s aesthetic is guided by “New Traditions,” a focus on calm colors, simplicity, and natural materials. Paper Source (1925 Fillmore) emphasizes do-it-yourself holiday projects, with papercraft wreaths ($19.50), mistletoe, and snowmen, as well as a near-infinite selection of wrapping papers and crafting supplies. Store supervisor Erin Fong loves their cute gift items, from nesting-doll measuring cups ($13.95) to mustache disguises ($7.95). The hot item at Zinc Details (1905 Fillmore) is the Fatboy bean bag ($229-$399), a giant plush blob that’s just begging to be curled up with. “They can go anywhere,” said sales rep George Schminky, pointing out a variety of available skins from floral Marimekko prints to waterproof metallics. At Design Within Reach (1913 Fillmore), glass candelabras and gold-dipped glasses are among the popular gift items, along with geometric candleholders. And if you’re feeling extravagant, you can pick up some furnishings like a Finn Juhl chair, available for the first time in the United States, for $5,100. At Nest (2300 Fillmore), where home decor veers from bohemian to rustic, popular items include a scented vetiver tassel and a do-it-yourself cork trivet, along with a fragrance called “Gilding the Lily,” whipped up by local perfumer Ineke. The extensive candle selection at Jonathan Adler (2133 Fillmore) evokes happy vacation destinations, including a holiday-themed scent called simply “Home” ($38). Assistant store manager Nicholas Sturtevant is a fan of the Utopia collection of mugs, featuring whimsical sculpted animal faces, as well as Victorian pillows bearing the word “Lust” in elaborate needlepoint. If you’re looking for a pit stop during your shopping run, swing by Long Bar (2298 Fillmore), where owner Reza Esmaili has recently overhauled everything from menu to decor. “I’ve reinvented this restaurant,” he said proudly, and recommended classic fall dishes like butter-

Matt Baume

T

Jonathan Adler sales reps Julia Berick and Nicholas Sturtevant show off the “Lust” pillow.

Matt Baume

nut squash risotto and pumpkin and bourbon cheesecake. The apple cobbler features locally-made ice cream, and the draft beers hail from the Bay Area as well. For charitable giving, look no further than Pets Unlimited (2343 Fillmore), a vet hospital and shelter that’s always in need of donations and volunteer work. The Lower Haight’s diverse shops will help you to knock quite a few names off of your shopping list. Swankety-Swank (289 Divisadero Street) specializes in one-of-a-kind vintage-style handmade fashion, and Xapno (678 Haight Street) is the city’s best source for weird plants, timeless jewelry, and elaborate decorative paper. And for that stressedout relative who just needs some way to relax, consider a gift certificate to the Yoga Loft (321 Divisadero). For the nerds in your life, drop in on Comix Experience (305 Divisadero) to pick up Spell Checkers ($12), a brand new series about high school witches, or the dark and apocalyptic Red Mass for Mars ($15). There’s no shortage of great gifts at Life (604 A Haight), which specializes in scents: candles, oils, resins, and perfumes. Housewares like their gorgeous glass sake sets are a sure hit for the holidays or for housewarmings. There’s deals to be had in the Upper Haight, where Goorin Brothers Hat Shop (1446 Haight) is offering discounts with the purchase of knitted caps ($23-$45). Scarves and handmade fedoras ($35-$125) have been big sellers since it got chilly, and free shipping on gifts makes shopping easy. The Bettie Page store (1529 Haight) has everything you need to look like a 1950s sexpot. “Our dresses are a hit,” said Hayley Griffin, a sales rep. “They look good on everybody – ladies and fancy men.” Across the street at Booksmith (1644 Haight), the Sedaris siblings are flying off the shelves. David’s new book is Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary, and Amy’s is Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People. Readers are also clamoring for Armistead

Chelsea Sullivan has a wide selection of items available for the kids on your list at Kids Only in the Haight.

Maupin’s new book, Mary Ann in Autumn, as well as Keith Richards’s new memoir, Life. Kids Only (1608 Haight) is ground zero for Fraggle Rock toys – you can’t miss the giant red Fraggle in the window. Eco-friendly toys are also popular this year, especially San Francisco’s own Green Toys line of recycled trucks and tableware for kids. And of course, Thomas the Tank Engine is a sure-fire hit for kids as well as for parents remembering their own childhood toys. Throughout the city, a recurring theme this year is a re-appreciation of those comfortable, familiar holiday traditions. “It’s not about the quick flash,” said BoConcept sales manager Shannon O’Connell. “It’s about the people in your life.”▼

www.bartabsf.com

13

14

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

▼

CLASSIFIEDS

BAYAREAREPORTER

CLASSIFIEDS LEGAL NOTICES City and County of San FranciscoFor Papers December 16, 2010 SAN FRANCISCO NEWSPAPER OUTREACH ADVERTISING SURVEY The Board of Supervisors is evaluating the effectiveness of Outreach advertising. Please provide your comments at 415-554-7710 or email board.of.supervisors@sfgov.org. Please provide the publication name and date. NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) The Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) is pleased to announce the availability of the RFP for 2011-2012 programs under two funding sources: Community Development Block Grant and San Francisco Redevelopment Agency tax increment funding for homeownership counseling. Proposals must be submitted electronically by 5:00 pm on Monday, December 20, 2010. Please visit www.sfgov.org/moh for more information. San Francisco Arts Commission Seeks Artists for: PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING PUBLIC ART PROGRAM The San Francisco Arts Commission invites professional practicing artists or artist teams residing in the United States to submit qualifications for public art projects associated with the new Public Safety Building (PSB). The PSB will be the first civic building located in the Mission Bay neighborhood. The PSB campus incorporates several different functions into a single facility, the most prominent of which will be the new headquarters for the San Francisco Police Department. The facility also includes both a new neighborhood Police Station as well as a new Fire Station for SFFD. Two to three public art projects will be associated with the building’s outdoor public spaces with two or more projects in the buildings interiors. For more information about this project please visit: http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/calls-for-artists/2010/11/23/request-forqualifications-public-safety-building/ Applications are available through our online application system: https://sfgov.slideroom.com/. There is no charge to apply. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline. Application deadline: Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 5:00 PM (PST) For more information, contact Zoe Taleporos at (415) 252-3215 or by email at zoe.taleporos@sfgov.org. San Francisco Arts Commission Seeks Artists for: 2011/2012 PREQUALIFIED ARTIST POOL The San Francisco Arts Commission invites artists and artist teams residing in the Western States to submit qualifications for potential inclusion in a prequalified artist pool for upcoming public art opportunities. The 2011/2012 PREQUALIFIED ARTIST POOL will be used to select artists for a range of new public art projects associated with the construction of new civic buildings, parks and playgrounds, as well as transportation and streetscape improvement projects throughout San Francisco. The San Francisco Arts Commission will conduct a selection process for inclusion in the 2011/2012 PREQUALIFIED ARTIST POOL. For more information about this project please visit: http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/calls-for-artists/2010/11/23/request-forqualifications-20112012-prequalified-artist-pool/ Applications are available through our online application system: https://sfgov.slideroom.com/. There is no charge to apply. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline. Application deadline: Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 5:00 PM (PST) For more information, contact Zoe Taleporos at (415) 252-3215 or by email at zoe.taleporos@sfgov.org. NOVEMBER 9, 2010 ELECTION RESULTS – CERTIFIED & DECLARED There are four newly elected Board members and one re-elected Board member to the Board of Supervisors from the November 9, 2010 election: Mark Farrell – District 2 • Carmen Chu – District 4 –Re-elected • Jane Kim – District 6 Scott Wiener – District 8 • Malia Cohen – District 10 They will be sworn in at their inauguration on Saturday, January 8, 2011, at noon in the Chamber of City Hall. The City and County of San Francisco encourage public outreach. Articles are translated into several languages to provide better public access. The newspaper makes every effort to translate the articles of general interest correctly. No liability is assumed by the City and County of San Francisco or the newspapers for errors and omissions.

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: F D S LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street,Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 55 Cambon Drive, San Francisco, CA 94132-2549. Type of license applied for:

41 ON-SALE BEER AND WINE EATING PLACE DEC.16, 2010 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: F & B ASSOCIATES INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street,Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 99 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. Type of license applied for:

STATEMENT FILE A-033158200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as 624 BRODERICK TIC, 620 1/2 Broderick Street,San Francisco, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an unicorporated association other than a partnership, signed Marina Coleridge. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/05/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/19/10.

NOV. 24,DEC. 2,9,16, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033157200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as 1.FABRIX, 2.FABRIC FACTORY OUTLET, 101 Clement Street,San Francisco, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Bruce C. Taylor. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/03/02.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/18/10.

47 ON-SALE GENERAL EATING PLACE DEC.16, 2010

NOV. 24,DEC. 2,9,16, 2010

NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE

The following person(s) is/are doing business as BERENDT PROPERTIES 2443 Fillmore Street,#272,San Francisco, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Craig Berendt. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/17/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/17/10.

To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are:FUNKY FUN LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street,Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 601 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA 94109. Type of license applied for:

47 ON-SALE GENERAL EATING PLACE DEC.16, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033129600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as 1.LITTLE BAT PHOTOGRAPHY 2.PRETTY FUN THINGS, 1509 25th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Jillian S. West. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/08/10.

NOV. 24,DEC. 2,9,16, 2010

www.ebar.com

STATEMENT FILE A-033152700

NOV. 24,DEC. 2,9,16, 2010

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are : YBL HOSPITALITY PARTNERS, LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street,Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 20 Yerba Buena Ln., San Francisco, CA 94103-3183. Type of license applied for:

41 ON-SALE BEER AND WINE EATING PLACE DEC.9,16.23, 2010

NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are : DAUNELL AND HIGGINS,LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street,Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 2323 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94114-1617. Type of license applied for:

42 ON-SALE BEER AND WINE PUBLIC PREMISES DEC.9,16.23, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033162700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as UCSH MEDICAL, 2010 Judah Street,San Francisco, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Sean Hsieh. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/22/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/22/10.

DEC. 2,9,16,23, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033160600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as MILO LOUNGE SF, 1706 Post Street,San Francisco, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Ken Chen. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/22/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/22/10.

DEC. 2,9,16,23, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033119600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as JGA GARDEN DESIGNS, 49 Lexington Street,San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, signed John Alexander. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/02/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/02/10.

DEC. 2,9,16,23, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033145300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SPECIMEN CLOUD, One Sutter Street,Suite 600,San Francisco, CA 94104. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Jeremy Alberga. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/15/10.

DEC. 2,9,16,23, 2010

BAYAREAREPORTER STATEMENT FILE A-033156100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ALLPOINTE INSURANCE SERVICES,690 Pennsylvania Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Bradley Vaccaro. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/15/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/18/10.

DEC. 2,9,16,23, 2010 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTICIOUS BUSINESS NAME: #A-0319637-00 The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as BEAN ISLAND,101 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. This business was conducted by a general partnership, signed Tracee Raptis. The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/30/09.

DEC. 2,9,16,23, 2010 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: LIVE AWAKE LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street,Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at: 203 Octavia Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94102. Type of license applied for:

41 ON-SALE BEER AND WINE EATING PLACE DEC.16,23,30, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033175900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as BARK SF, 1405 Franklin Street, #307, San Francisco, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Julia Carcich. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 12/01/10.

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010

LEGAL NOTICES STATEMENT FILE A-033148000

STATEMENT FILE A-033194400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as FRONTLINES NEWSPAPER, 3311 Mission Street, Suite 25, San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Chris Finn. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/11/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco ,CA on 11/01/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as NEW ALTERNATIVES,1600 Guerrero Street,San Francisco, CA 94110. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Luz A. Bourne-Ruiz. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/08/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/08/10.

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010

DEC. 16,23,30,JAN.06, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-033168400

STATEMENT FILE A-033195400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as HAYES VALLEY PET CARE, 55 Page Street, #625, San Francisco, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Mark A. Morris. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 11/24/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MYSMTSHOP.COM, 1255 Polk Street,#26,San Francisco, CA 94109. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Aleksey Severyukhin. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on NA.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/08/10.

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010

DEC. 16,23,30,JAN.06, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-033175200

STATEMENT FILE A-033196100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as REAL LIFE AUTHOR/ PUBLISHING, 371 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Donald D. Conely. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/01/10.

DEC. 16,23,30,JAN.06, 2010

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033179200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as TARAVAL PIZZA, 1115 Taraval Street, San Francisco, CA 94116.This business is conducted by an individual, signed Sameer Beru. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/02/10.

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033151800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as BRANDON HAIR STUDIO, 660 Market Street,#202, San Francisco, CA 94104. This businees is conducted by a corporation, signed Mario Ibarra. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/11/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 11/16/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as GREEN CONSTRUCTION AND LANDSCAPING, 176 Capistrano Avenue ,San Francisco, CA 94112. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Lawrence Situ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/08/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/08/10.

STATEMENT FILE A-033198700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PETER JONES COMPUTER CONSULTING, 558 29th Avenue,San Francisco, CA 94121. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Peter Jones. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/09/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/09/10.

DEC. 16,23,30,JAN.06, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033187000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PASSPORT FOLDER,1680 Post Street, Ste. C,San Francisco, CA 94115. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Lao Xin. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/06/10.

DEC. 16,23,30,JAN.06, 2010

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-033198000

STATEMENT FILE A-033188900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as ML TRADING COMPANY, 717 Cayuga Avenue ,San Francisco, CA 94112. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Mike Hoy Lau. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/09/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/09/10.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as TRAVELING CAMEL PUBLICATIONS, 335 Berry Street, Suite 301, San Francisco, CA 94158. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Victoria Northridge. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/18/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/06/10.

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033147600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as URBAN OM, 1661 Tennessee Street, #3E, San Francisco, CA 94107. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed H.R. Baker. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/30/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 11/15/10.

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010

DEC. 16,23,30,JAN.06, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033176700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as STUDIO RONSKY, 324 Collingwood Street, San Francisco, CA 94114. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Ronald S. Hermenau. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/01/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/01/10.

DEC. 16,23,30,JAN.06, 2010

STATEMENT FILE A-033188800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SUTRO HOMETECH, 141 Topaz Way, San Francisco, CA 94131. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed Satoshi Okano. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/06/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/06/10.

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033178300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CAFE CAPRICCIO, 2200 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94133. This businees is conducted by a corporation, signed Vinal Patel. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/16/10. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 12/02/10.

TECH SUPPORT MACINTOSH HELP * home or office * 19 years exp * sfmacman.com

Rick 415.821.1792

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010 STATEMENT FILE A-033173600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as D.S. SERVICES, 354 22nd Avenue, #2,San Francisco, CA 94121. This businees is conducted by an individual, signed David Schneider. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/29/10.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco,CA on 11/3010.

DEC. 9,16,23,30, 2010

BAYAREAREPORTER

Troubleshooting. Installation. Tutoring. We’ll fix your computer - PC or Mac at your home or office throughout the Bay Area

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER 15

▼

CLASSIFIEDS

LEGAL SERVICES

UPKEEP

HAULING Y o e l ’s H a u l i n g

RENTALS

E VA N T E R Z U L L I ʼ S

Yard & Garage Cleaning • Fully Insured Hauling & Dump Runs • Very Responsible Last-minute Calls/Available Weekends

Call Paul 282-2023 Hauling 24/7 441-1054 Lg. Truck

PESCADERO PRIVATE! 2+BR 2+BA +80 ACRES

E05W

Discount Muse Hauling 244-0440

E50W

Reliable Hauling $30/Hr Call Mike 415-577-7180

Handyman Services

VALLEJO

A Full2 0 Service. Handyman

Patrick McMahon Attorney At Law

YRS LOCAL REFERENCES

(415) 350-4801

Hablamos Espanol We Specialize in: Chap 7 • Wage Garnishment • Chap 13 • Foreclosure & Repossession • Creditor Harassment • Taxes & Student Loans

SFO_CARPENTER @SBCGLOBAL.NET

Big Victorian tri-plex home, comes with applicances large yard each unit have separate garage 2 studios each for $800.00 Two bedrooms for $1200.00 Lea Pannell Property Management @ 707-642-3587 E50W

JIM LINK Landscaping Design and Construction

FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION (415) 543-9338

Decks, Fences, Patio, Irrigation, Electrical; All aspects of Garden Installation

Law Offices

www.jimlinklandscapes.com

415-282-0288

COLORFAST PAINTING CO.

BAYAREAREPORTER

REAL ESTATE

• Commercial/Residential • Interior/Exterior

WWW.GAYREALESTATE.COM

cal. lic. # 731605 (C-27)

SHELLEY S. FEINBERG, ESQ. Serving the gay community since 1999 • Probate • Wills and Living Trusts • LLC/contracts • TIC Agreements • Domestic Partnership

Flood Building 870 Market St.

$2800/mo - 1 hr from SF

WWW.100RIDGEWOOD.COM E50W E08W

SERVICES

BANKRUPTCY

LUZ HOTEL • Daily $65/Nite • • Gay & Pet Friendly • 415-928-1917

FLAT FEE shelleyfeinberg.com 415.421.1893

CLEANING SERVICES HARD WORKING BRASILIAN GUY

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Houses • Offices • Move in • Moving out 16 Years Experience • Great References

W.E.L. Tax Services You work hard for your money, let us work smart to help you keep it!

Bill Lentini

u

415-252-7552

www.weltax.com

]

(415) 933-5311 flpuglisi@yahoo.com CALL FERNANDO SONOMA COUNTY House Cleaning/Painting Rates by the hour. Impeccable references 707-546-7293

Instant Free Database of San Francisco's Top Gay Realtors

• Quality Craftsmanship • Over 20 Yrs. Experience

2BR/2BA Beauty. Gay Paradise walk to Village. $69,950. Owner will finance - Easy qualify w/low down. 55+ community w/pool/club. Come visit & see. Call 760-3271968

(415) 861-7167.... Call for Free Estimate Gensteve@pacbell.net CA Lic. # 786219

E50W

REAL ESTATE AGENTS CHECK OUT OUR NEW IMPROVED CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE

E49W

UPLOAD 5 PHOTOS, AND A STREAMING VIDEO TO SHOW OFF YOUR PROPERTY!

Cleaning Professional 25 Years Exp (415) 664-0513 * Roger Miller

E01W

COUNSELING

Housecleaning since 1979. Many original clients. All supplies. HEPA Vac. Richard 415-255-0389

Check it out @

PAUL K HOUSECLEANING

Individuals & Couples Work Gay Men’s Therapy Groups

Thorough housecleaning services. Licensed and insured. Please call 415516-3433 or email pauljk4@aol.com

LIC # MFT 12549

(415) 431-3220 www.TruthAndCompassion.com

WWW.EBAR.COM

Call one of these studs!

E50W

PSYCHOTHERAPY DAVE COOPERBERG

50W

PALM SPRINGS HILLSIDE

Call David @ 415-861-5019 for more details

BAY AREA REPORTER CLASSIFIEDS -GET RESULTS! EI B

E50W

• Improve Self-Esteem • Develop Meaningful Relationships • Master Self-Defeating Patterns • Overcome Anxiety & Depression • Move beyond Fear & Grief • Become More Fully Alive

Great Clean $40 wkly., Eq. Furn. Once $55. Kitchen, Bath, Dust, Mop & More. Satisfaction guaranteed. Spring Clean $95 up. John 420-2926

ROOMMATES East Bay Clayton. Bedroom, Private Bath Garage $700.00 Includes all utilities. Mike 925-672-0996

E51W

Serving the Bay Area Since 1973

Hot Guy with Brush Needs Paint Job Trade For Pleasure 756-3105

E50W

E50W

Feeling like a monster?

Dog walking, pet sitting, play groups. Insured, CPR Certified, Dog Tech Certified. Excellent References. Sky 415-531-5905 sky@cloud9canine.com

Call one of our Counselors... They can help!

Quality Housecleaner. Call Jose 415-235-9747

MOVERS

LICENSED MALE NURSE 41

EIB

Seeks A Home Health Care Position. Interested in a long term commitment to a chronic or acutely ill patient. Providing assitance in daily living. Please Contact Michael @ 415-595-8540

E50W

BAYAREAREPORTER

WWW.QUEERHYPNO.COM More Than Just Talk - Get Results.

NURSING SERVICES

CLOUD 9 CANINE

E50W

01W

UPKEEP

TWIN PINNACLES CONSTRUCTION FROM THE FOUNDATION TO THE FINISH Bonded and Insured. License #939026

Remodeling • Foundations Additions • Kitchens Bathrooms • Decks • Painting

FREE ESTIMATES (415) 238-9349 NEED

AN

ELECTRICIAN?

IN HOME OR OFFICE Call 415-577-1665 Peter REMODELING, TROUBLESHOOTING, SERVICE CHANGES NO JOB TOO SMALL • LOW RATES LIC# 897793

Brookline Electric 415-239-5393 Small Jobs Now

E52

OLD HOUSE REPAIRS Wall*Doors*Windows*Floors Plaster*Fixtures*More Old School Prices - Old School Results! Olivier 415-786-4534

E50W

JOBS OFFERED Taco Bell’s hiring for multiple East Bay Locations. All levels of Management Need Apply. Contact Amy @ 916-317-5923

51W

Now playing & worth seeing

All about Eve

Songs w/a dirty mind

Julie Taymor’s take on ‘The Tempest,’ ‘The Legend of Pale Male’ are now in cinemas.

Marga Gomez & others light up New Year’s Eve 2010-11.

Tom Orr’s ‘Dirty Little Showtunes’ returns to NCTC.

page 23

page 19

page 21

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT

BAYAREAREPORTER

Vol. 40 . No. 50 . 16 December 2010

g

f

▼

Two cheers for

Nutcracker!

b San Francisco Ballet continues the season’s tradition ~ by Paul Parish ~

hS

e

page 28

Champagne toast to Judy Garland Connie does the immortal Judy at the Rrazz Room ~ by Adam Sandel ~ onnie Champagne has been a beloved fixture on the San Francisco theatre, concert and cabaret scenes for longer than she might care to admit. The singing actress has performed rock, punk, folk songs and show tunes, but nothing grabs an audience more than when she channels Judy Garland. On Monday and Tuesday nights, Connie will once again become Judy at the Rrazz Room. The concert will be recorded live for her holiday album Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. How does Champagne explain her nearly flawless ability to channel Garland? “Every pony has a trick, and my trick is really good,” she says. “I don’t look anything like her, except for being the same height and shoe size, but my body is made to make those sounds. For me and Judy Garland, there’s no escape, and people are very attached to the idea of Judy at Christmastime. So they dust me off like an old Christmas tree to do the show.” Champagne is no stranger to delivering a Yuletide

C

Garland, having performed as the star in New York, LA and SF productions of the holiday shows Christmas with the Crawfords and Judy’s Scary Little Christmas. But unlike those camp fests, this holiday concert takes a more affectionate turn. “Christmas is a weird time because people have such high expectations,” she says. “I like doing a show that brings people together from different walks of life. This show makes people a little less cynical, so it also makes me less cynical about Christmas.“ One thing that sets her apart from other performers like Jim Bailey who do Judy is that, in addition to performing the classic Garland repertoire, Champagne performs songs that Judy didn’t sing, but might perform if she were alive today. Would Judy have sung a Lady Gaga song like “Poker Face?” Champagne thinks she would have. And so she does. “I’m always taking requests. I’ve done David

• • • SECOND

page 28

OF

TWO

Performer Connie Champagne

SECTIONS• • •

▼

San Francisco Ballet in Helgi Tomasson’s Nutcracker.

▼

Eric Tomasson

an Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker, which opened with brilliant dancing, gorgeous music and spectacular staging last week and runs through Dec. 27, should be a source of civic pride to us all. It is the longest-running complete version in this country of a ballet that is now produced in every town across the land with a ballet school and at least six girls on pointe. There will be major versions in Oakland and San Jose, and school recitals and alternative versions galore during the coming weeks. Like all ballet companies in the English-speaking world, SF Ballet is the result of the Diaspora of Russian dancers who had to flee the Revolution,

18

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

OUT

THERE

▼

ine comes in at the mouth/ and love comes in at the eye;/ That’s all we shall know for truth/ Before we grow old and die./ I lift the glass to my mouth,/ I look at you, and I sigh.” That’s timeless poet W.B. Yeats on the eternal verities for you. The exhibition How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now, gracing SFMOMA through April 17, examines the visual culture of wine, in architecture, design and a wide range of media. Out There loves the fruit of the grape. You O UT might say we’re a wine aficionado, or rather a wine enthusiast – O Bacchus, let’s just say it: a wino – so we just knew we’d enjoy this show. There’s a lot of viniculture to enjoy, such as a line of Petri dishes filled with soil from vineyards around the world, alongside digital read-outs of the current temperature

W

there, to explain the concept of terroir. There’s a “smell wall” of sniffable flasks to illustrate such wine-world descriptives as “diesel” and “cat pee.” There are videos like Dennis Adams’ “Spill,” in which the artist wanders the streets of Bordeaux while spilling wine and some ignoble tales of the city’s history. Designed objets d’art include Etienne Meneau’s “Carafe No. 5,” an elegant glass decanter that takes its inspiration from the body’s aortal network. But a wall of wine bottles with designer labels could as well be found in our favorite wine shop, and a section devoted to winery architecture comes perilously close to the kind of PR you see in comT HERE fluffery mercial tasting rooms. At the press preview, it became clear to us that this exhibit was as much about its own design, a collaboration between curator Henry Urbach and NYC architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, as about its ostensible subject. It’s spacious for a design exhibition (7,500 sq. ft.), with

“Smell Wall” in How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now at SFMOMA.

unusual features like a wall-size photomural recreating a seminal wine competition, the so-called “Judgment of Paris.” OT is not sure how much of what’s on offer is worthy of the attentions of an art museum, but it sure got us thirsty for the post-preview wine party. Upon seeing us with a glass of good Bordeaux in our paw, an SFMOMA press person teased us, “Not the usual coffee and muffins, eh?” A Civic Center blogger roaming somewhat far afield from his turf remarked, “You always look so bemused at these things.” But it was just the ruddy glow that follows successful vin-appreciation. As the euphemism has it, “Le vin annoblit!” (“Wine ennobles!”)

Arts beat/heartbeat It was another whirlwind week for OT, every evening bringing another cultural treat. Thursday we attended opening night for the season’s seminal Nutcracker, courtesy San Francisco Ballet and our friends in the press room there. As always, the SFB Shchelkunchik (the original Russian title) was sumptuous, the Tchaikovsky score glorious, the Helgi Tomasson choreography lively. We couldn’t wish for a starrier openingnight cast: as Queen and King of the Snow, Yuan Yuan Tan and Artem Yachmennikov in his role premiere. Impeccable Lorena Feijoo was the Sugar Plum Fairy, Vanessa Zahorian and Taras Domitro had star power in

the Grand Pas de Deux, and Damian Smith made a fetching Drosselmeyer. Incredibly, it was the first Nutter for our plus-one Pepi, who found the whole spectacle delicious. “That Mouse King was hot!” Performances run through Dec. 27 at the War Memorial Opera House; get thee hence, by going to www.sfballet.org. Next night, we were guests at the SF debut of the Dinner Detective Murder Mystery Dinner Show, a hoot and a half at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf. Sleuthing was the game as clues tumbled forth for dinner guests and clueless detectives. Audience members were the suspects for three highly histrionic murders enacted in front of us. OT loved being considered “highly suspicious” in our role as the nefarious “Dr. Thayer.” Guests of the gregarious Molly Blaisdell, we enjoyed our table company, including tireless TV reporter Jan Wahl. Future Dinner Detective episodes are slated for Sat., Dec. 18, and Fri., Dec. 31; info at www.thedinnerdetective.com. We were guests at the John Waters Live Christmas Show: A Sleigh Full of Smut last Saturday night, a fundraiser at the new nonprofit Roxie Theater. Waters was fierce, full of biting wit with seasonal focus. We learned of his hots for the front-rodent in Alvin and the Chipmunks, and of his demented desire to make a porno Chipmunk Spunk. Rodent-ophilia: the new black? “I don’t have pets because,” wait for it, “I’m not lonely. Your cat hates you! And you know it.”

Marga sexual Comedy legend Marga Gomez headlines Theatre Rhino’s New Year’s

Eve shows at the Victoria, so she and OT had a few snortles and a giggle together over the Internets. MG: Roberto My Darling, This will be my last NYE Spectacular for the nice folks at Theater Rhino. Thought I would make my seventh show my last, and leave while I’m at my SEXUAL peak. OT: Marga, you know I don’t believe itʻs a new year until I come to see you! Even if itʼs like 9 oʼclock when we get out! So, how are you going to amp it up this year for the Grand Finale? MG: Would tea bagging the front row be too much? I might sing a Ricky Martin song to celebrate his 2010 coming out. OT: Marga, you just give and give and give. Info at www.thrhino.org.

Bravo, Maestro! San Francisco Opera music director Nicola Luisotti was awarded the 39th Premio Puccini Award in conjunction with the historic 100th anniversary of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC on Dec. 10. At a reception following the performance, Met general manager Peter Gelb saluted the historic occasion and recognized Maestro Luisotti and the cast. President of the Fondazione Festival Pucciniano Paolo Spadaccini presented the statuette to Maestro Luisotti, and said, “Nicola Luisotti, who began his career just meters away from Puccini’s home theater, is an ambassador to the world for the music of Puccini.” Luisotti will make his La Scala debut in Milan in a new production of Attila in June, 2011. We call that a burgeoning career.▼

Courtesy SFMOMA

by Roberto Friedman

Courtesy Diller Scofidio + Renfro

In vino veritas

Carafe No. 5 (2008, fabricated 2009) by Etienne Meneau.

▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

19

THEATRE

by Richard Dodds

Ley is a gay stand-up whose comedy often centers on the confusion caused by the straight vibe he seems to emit. It’s a different confusion that Muse mines for laughs as her transsexual status messes with people’s minds. Fisher will play emcee, and music will be outsourced to DJ O’DJ. Both the 7 & 9 p.m. shows will include a balloon drop and a pre-Midnight kissing countdown regardless of what the clock actually reads. Tickets are available at (800) 838-3006 or www.the-rhino.org.

heatergoing is not a traditional New Year’s Eve activity, lacking, as it does, the requisite opportunities for ritual unshackling. You are obligated to sit in a specific seat for two or so hours, and even the rustling of a candy wrapper is considered too much of a noisemaker. Almost all Broadway shows are forgoing evening performances on Dec. 31, but I can remember ditching the Times Square mob and Comedy continued sneaking into the LuntComedy can also be Fontanne Theatre just as had at the Herbst Theatre, 1966 turned into 1967. where Not Your Normal Norman Wisdom, the New Year’s Eve is back for star of Walking Happy, a second year. The Dec. 31 was leading the cast and event is the creation of SF audience in a singcomedian Jill Bourque, along to “Auld Lang who will host the festivSyne.” Back then, B ACKSTAGE ities. The standup linemany Broadway up includes the youthful shows started late on talents of Brent Weinbach, Moshe Dec. 31 so the final curtain and MidKasher, and Drennon Davis. The bill night would more or less coincide, also includes Lynn Ruth Miller, who and tickets prices were pumped up started her standup career six years tenfold. ago at age 71. Tickets at www.nynnye Broadway may be turning its .com. back on New Year’s Eve, but the Bay A more intimate joke fest is availArea still offers celebratory opportuable at Actors Theatre of San Frannities with a show-going mien. Not cisco, where Michael Meehan is the surprisingly, comedy is the ticket. A headline act on the New Year’s Eve balloon drop after a performance of comedy bill. The Bay Area comediLong Day’s Journey into Night is just an, a Craig Ferguson and Last Comic so wrong. Standing veteran, will be joined by Tony Sparks, Kaseem Bentley, Big Al Marga mania Gonzales, Eric Cash, and Joe King. It may be billed as a farewell perTickets at www.comedyonthesquare formance, but Marga Gomez isn’t .com. really saying goodbye. What is coming to end on Dec. 31 is her annual More about Eve New Year’s Eve appearance at the While Christmas, whether of the Victoria Theatre under the aegis of Jesus or Santa suit, has produced Theatre Rhino. countless theatricals in its name, Actually, after 2009’s successful New Year’s Eve-specific titles are a Rhino-Victoria show, Gomez and rare breed. Striking 12 is one of those Rhino Artistic Director John Fisher rarities, and it is returning to our had decided they should call it quits. area via TheatreWorks. Created by “Last year she brought in three the indie-pop trio GrooveLily, the young stand-ups, and they were show had its first TheatreWorks great, and she was great,” Fisher said. staging in 2004 before heading to “It almost seemed like bad luck to do New York. it again. But we said, OK, we’ll do it GrooveLily members Valerie one more time. We both want to go Vigoda, Brendan Milburn, and Gene out with a bang.” Lewin perform the theatrical concert For this final-final engagement, about a lonely man on New Year’s Gomez will be joined by two Eve, a story loosely based on Hans younger Bay Area performers: firstChristian Anderson’s The Little timer Casey Ley and Natasha Muse, Match Girl. A five-performance run who was also part of the 2009 bill.

Kent Taylor

T

Marga Gomez headlines her final New Year’s Eve comedy outing for Theatre Rhinoceros at the Victoria Theatre.

begins Dec. 28 at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto, and ends with a 10 p.m. performance on Dec. 31 culminating with champagne all around. Tickets at (650) 463-1960 or www.theatreworks.org. Finally, in our effort to ward off NYE ennui, here are two more productions that clamor to be part of the celebration. Beach Blanket Babylon augments its holiday show with a one-night only recap of the year. Performances are at 7 & 10:15 p.m., with dancing into the wee hours after the late show. Go to www.beachblanket-babylon.com. There is also dancing into the a.m. following Teatro ZinZanni’s License to Kiss II, which starts its novel blend of a multi-course dinner with an acrobatic vaudeville cabaret at 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. Tickets at www.love.zinzanni.org. ▼ Richard Dodds can be reached at BARstage@comcast.net.

David Allen

What are you doing New Year’s Eve?

Transsexual standup comic Natasha Muse is part of the Theatre Rhino comedy bill at the Victoria Theatre on Dec. 31.

Brendan Millburn and Valerie Vigoda star in their theatrical concert Striking 12 that will usher in the new year for TheatreWorks.

▼

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

MUSIC

by Philip Campbell ne of the benefits of growing older (and honestly, there are more than a few) is the luxury of perspective. Being present at the start of an important career and then following it through to maturity allows our admiration and gratitude to grow as well. American composer John Adams is the sort of talent – well all right then, genius – who is worthy of such an appreciation. His 30-odd years on the classical musical scene have earned him recognition, both here and abroad, that borders on a kind of unlikely stardom. It has been a remarkable ascendance for a serious writer clearly more intent on artistic creation than on the achievement of celebrity. Adams also has the current distinction of being the single most per-

O

formed living writer in the country. The San Francisco Symphony and Project San Francisco have featured Adams as Composer-in-Residence for the past month, and a lot of old friends and familiar faces have been flocking back to Davies Symphony Hall to bring important early and late works back to vibrant and exciting life. The results have been surprisingly emotional at times: both wonderfully stimulating and warmly nostalgic. We could claim it was the SFS that catapulted Adams to stardom in the first place. His name exploded locally during the inaugural season at DSH with the electrifying premiere of his magnificent choral and orchestral work Harmonium in 1981. Those were the days of the New and Unusual Music concerts and Adams’ first stint as composer-in-residence with the Symphony. It was a heady time for all, including younger audiences who

were up for innovation during a time of energetic change. It wasn’t long before Adams emerged as the (arguably) most approachable leader of the Minimalist movement. It took him even less time to pass beyond the brand name. Critics and academics kept grabbing at labels like neo-romantic, post-Minimalist and even Maximalist to describe the composer’s increasingly singular sound. Now, 25 years later, Adams’ socalled breakthrough work Harmonielehre has returned to the Bay Area for the full anniversary treatment, including a live recording with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting, to be released on the orchestra’s own label. Composed after a dry spell and an ominous creative malaise, Harmonielehre erupted at a turning point in Adams’ career. All the wrestling with the past and the future seemed to be resolved in one massive swoop. It sounds like his head was opened, the history of Western music was downloaded, and the expression that emerged has defined his voice ever since. The trademark appeal of the composer’s lovely melodies, return to tonality, dramatic rhythms and gift for gorgeous orchestration has also been a result of his self-admitted quest to return the “pleasure principle” to modern music. Nowhere was this more apparent than last week when, with MTT on the podium and the composer offstage, Harmonielehre tore the roof off good old DSH one more time. It was an exhilarating revival, but

Deborah O’Grady

Exhilarating ‘Harmonielehre’

American composer John Adams.

less than a reappraisal. Former SFS Music Director and great Adams champion Edo de Waart recorded the work 25 years ago, and his interpretation remains definitive. The major importance of the recent performances showed the work has not only stood the test of time, but deserves additional and different hearings. Many SFS orchestra members have been there since the beginning, and watching them play Adams’ beautiful and gutwrenchingly powerful score again proved deeply moving. The audience response was almost as ecstatic as twoand-a-half decades ago.

Nativity story The week before, Adams’ lovely oratorio El Nino (only 10 years old) also returned to Davies for a wonderful revival. This time it was shorn of the excesses of director Peter Sellars (an im-

portant Adams collaborator over the years). The new staging was altogether simpler and more appealing than the edgier Sellars version that included an interesting but extremely distracting film. Thank you, new director Kevin Newbury and set designer Daniel Hubp. The performers included another artist we have grown alongside over the years, the well-loved Dawn Upshaw. She returned to sing the soprano role (the Virgin Mary), and 10 years have only tightened her interpretation. Upshaw’s clear, warble-free voice has thickened slightly, but she maintains a purity of tone as distinctive as ever. The composer was conducting, and his rather strict approach to his own score had both an up- and a downside. The positive effect was to strip any sense of mawkishness from the Nativity story and the admitted model for El Nino, Handel’s Messiah. The drawback was his refusal to stress the inherent drama, though the “Slaughter of the Innocents” segment was strong and effective. Mezzo Michelle De Young, bassbaritone Jonathan Lemalu and countertenors Daniel Bubeck, Brian Cummings and Steven Rickards also made impressive contributions. Ragnar Bohlin’s SFS Chorus added real sonic splendor, but the San Francisco Girls Chorus under artistic director Susan McMane almost stole the show. The concluding movements that describe the charming fable of “A Palm Tree,” when the tree gave water to the Virgin, were exquisitely rendered. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It was a terrific holiday gift, and a conclusive display of the importance of the composer-in-residence program.▼

Listen up for the holidays by Jason Victor Serinus t’s “the holidays,” mind you, not Christmas. We are not giving in to Focus on the Family and the Catholic League, whose boycott of businesses that use the term “Happy holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” has even intimidated into submission that paragon of freedom and democracy, Wal-Mart. Nor, it seems, have the record labels capitulated to economic pressures of a different sort. At least 30 multi-genre holiday recordings came my way this year. Closing my eyes and arbitrarily diving into the pile, here are the best of those I sampled. One God: Psalms and Hymns from the Orient & Occident (Ludi Musici) A fascinating anthology seemingly made for Bay Area sensibilities, this covers Christian, Jewish and Muslim bases. Beautifully produced and recorded, with expensive

I

color photos, fine performances, and a two CDhigh package that won’t fit in your rack. The international smorgasbord of performers includes Pera Ensemble Istanbul, Vocalconsort Berlin, Ahmeet Özhan, US male soprano Robert Crowe, and L’arte del Mondo historic music ensemble. Hear My Words: Choral Classics from St. John’s (Chandos) The English tradition of choral singing is alive and well. The men and boys of Choir of St. John’s College, Cambridge, directed by Andrew Nethsingha, sing beautifully on this program of music written between the first half of the 16th century and 2007. Allegri’s famed Miserere, here sounding far different than when sung by Chanticleer, rubs shoulders with music by Grieg, Pärt, Rachmaninoff, MacMillan, Franck, Vaughan Williams, Rutter, Fauré, Parry, and several Renaissance composers. Parsons’ Ave Maria is gorgeous. The boy trebles are especially radiant, the tone pious and reverential, and the sound, captured in high-resolution SACD surround, exceptional. J.S. Bach: Magnificat - The Netherlands Bach Society (Channel Classics) Another wonderfully recorded SACD, this time from the Netherlands. Jos van Veldhoven leads a fine chorus and soloists, including sopranos Dorothee Mields and Johannette Zomer and handsome alto William Towers. It’s not clear from the liner notes why Veldhoven eschews Bach’s first and “unsurpassed” version of Bach’s Magnificat in E-flat Major in favor of the later version in D Major, but he does follow the first version’s example by interpolating Christmas works by several Netherlands composers of the 17th century. The unusual presentation begins with Cantata BWV 110, Unser Mund sei voll Lachens, written for morning service on Christmas day.

Matt Wilson’s Christmas Tree-O (Palmetto Records) You got it, a jazz trio, with lots of good feeling. A high-spirited “Winter Wonderland,” with enough tongue-in-cheek saxophone riffs to fill all your stockings, begins this 14-selection disc of secular and hardly sanctimonious sacred fare. It gets wilder as it goes along. Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus has been rocked, souled, and poked nearly to death; here it squeals back, drums rolling and cymbals clashing. I don’t know if this was meant to be a commentary on anything, but it works for me. Auntie Nellie may run, but we shall rollick. The Canadian Tenors: The Perfect Gift (Decca) Don’t you just love NAFTA? It gives us the Canadian Tenors, singing to hyped-up, Hollywood-style accompaniment on a CD made in Mexico. The boys sure look good – I’d rather remove their stockings than see them stuffed into someone else’s – but the opening “O Holy Night” flashes a warning of what is to come: music as multinational commodity, with wardrobe by Giorgio Armani. You even get the Moscow Studio Symphony Orchestra sounding like the Burbank Philharmonic. As they sing, “Where there is hatred, let me bring love,” I fear I’ve scored a zero on the compassion-for-schlock index. Pink Martini: Joy to the World (Heinz Records) I know. You saw the title, thought “delicious,” and bought

▼

20

page 29

▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

21

THEATRE

by Richard Dodds opular music stopped drawing its main sustenance from Broadway as the 1950s faded into the 60s. But those songs that made it through the gate can resonate much more enduringly than many of the titles that push their way up the Billboard charts. They have context, and when you set sexy gay parody lyrics to a melody from, say, West Side Story or South Pacific, you’re not just playfully changing the words. You’re also messing with the social order from which these musicals emerged. Tom Orr first flexed his bulging parody muscles to great success in the original 1997 production of Dirty Little Showtunes, and the staying power of his wordplay and of the songs onto which they are attached is on dervish display in the new version at New Conservatory Theatre Center. New issues and new musicals have come along since the original production, and Orr and F. Allen Sawyer, the director who conceived the show, have made room for fresh material that largely reaches standards set in the first edition.

P

Any number of ingredients go into crafting successful lyrics, including the use of rhymes, elements of surprise, and upping rather than repeating the key sentiment. With parody lyrics, all of the above have to be matched while adding an angle that both feeds and bites the template. Orr is uncommonly adept at this niche talent. He proves his mettle right after intermission as he performs a newly written lyric from audience suggestions solicited at the end of the first act. “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” was the song suggested for parodying, and sexting and doggie-style as elements to include. The older boyfriend in the Sound of Music song becomes a dirty old man, and when “doggie-style” proves too hard to incorporate, he sets up a comically desperate rhyme to the Tom Hanks-slobbering dog movie Turner and Hooch. A classic medley from the 1997 production is back with no diminution in hilarity. The leather men and drag queens are still squaring off via songs from South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, and West Side Story before, borrowing from Oklahoma!, they decide that “the leather man and the drag queen should be friends.” The sport that Orr and company

Deep inside Schumann ood riddance to the year of Years. Anniversaries of Chopin, Schumann, and Mahler (and not, sadly, Hugo Wolf, who got only an EMI box-set reissue for his birthday) drove the recording industry this year even more than usual, spreading as much confusion as treasure amid the profusion. One can only hope that the Mahler death anniversary next year produces more and better than his birth anniversary did this. With Schumann, a composer who for me requires concentration at its most intense, I put my head in

G

the sand, acting as if it weren’t happening. But several issues late in the year – two of which could have happened only as recordings – warrant attention. With presenters everywhere having to cut back, a Schumann song collection as rich as Harmonia Mundi’s Spanische Libeslieder simply couldn’t have happened, at least not in an appropriately intimate recital setting. Four world-class singers and two pianists join forces to perform three Schumann “cycles” from 1849, and the results are magical. Two of the groups of songs, the Minnespiel, Op. 101, and the Spanisches Liederspiel, are in a “form” Schumann de-

veloped, proudly, almost singlehandedly: the “song play.” Poems from the collection of Spanish verses collected and translated by Emanuel Geibel, and, for the Minnespiel, by no less than Mahler’s beloved Friedrich Ruckert, are grouped for home or other private performance by a soprano, alto, tenor and bass with piano(s), in solo, duet, or quartet. This splendid recording reveals these still little-known Schumann song collections as “entertainments” of a deeply satisfying sort, some of them serious and even dark, but all of them utterly absorbing. It’s unimaginable that they could have

fallen into better hands that those of these four exemplary songsters – the continually amazing Marlis Petersen, Anke Vondung, Werner Gura, and Konrad Jarnot – and pianists Christoph Werner and Camillo Radicke. Together these musicians capture the enormous color and emotional range of this singularly intimate music, responding keenly to its every passing detail, but with the most unfussy vitality. Another Schumann song CD – the Liederkreis, Op. 24, and Dichterliebe, Op. 48, both settings of Heinrich Heine poems with tenor Mark Padmore and fortepianist Kristian Bezuidenhout (Harmonia Mundi) –

▼

by Tim Pfaff

page 29

Lois Tema

Parody floats

The leather men (Joe Wicht, Tom Orr, and Cameron Cummings) square off against the drag queens (Alpha Mulugeta, Eric Brizee, and David Bicha) during a song in Dirty Little Showtunes.

have with upending lyrics created for raging heterosexuals does not poke its finger in straight eyes. Instead it’s gay foibles, idiosyncrasies, and stereotypes that are the target. Bear culture is taunted in a song cycle ranging from Orr’s variations on “On the Good Ship Lollipop” to the title song from Hair that burly cast member

Cameron Cummings performs with a panda’s charm. All six cast members get one or more showcase moments. In addition to Orr and Cummings, there is a memorable duet from David Bicha and Joe Wicht, both part of the 1997 production, who turn “Bosom Buddies” from Mame into “Bossy Bot-

toms.” Eric Brizee, another original, takes on elder queen roles, and Alpha Mulugeta is gorgeous as the featured tranny. In a few cases, the new material doesn’t quite make the grade. “The Revolutionary Costume for Today” from Grey Gardens needs to overcome its basic obscurity and the fact that it is already a kind of parody being performed by the Edie Beale character. Even Orr can’t find enticing new worlds to explore in that. Dirty Little Showtunes briefly gets serious, as AIDS and gay bullying are addressed, but mostly spirits remain giddily high thanks to the effervescent cast, Sawyer’s nimble direction, and expert musical direction from Scrumbly Koldewyn. And it’s all wrapped up like a big Christmas present on Kuo-Hao Lo’s sparkling set.▼ Dirty Little Showtunes will run through Jan. 16 at New Conservatory Theatre Center. Tickets are $24-$40. Call 861-8972 or go to www.nctcsf.org.

22

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

DVD

lover, a “kept boy” who’s past the age where that term can be considered polite, and a street hustler whom Anthony bonds with.

It’s the hard-knock life by David Lamble painfully sincere, aspiring poet finds violence where he least expects it – in the upscale bosom of a middle-class relationship – and tender nurturing where he could hardly expect it, from a remarkably together rent boy, in Scott Boswell’s poetic debut feature The Stranger in Us, out this week on DVD. When Anthony (Raphael Barker) hits town, he soon discovers that life as a 20something “kept boy” of a moodswing-prone lifestyle consultant has its distinct drawbacks. Thinking he has permission to

A

work minimum-wage jobs to support his muse while Stephen makes the big bucks reassuring his Botox-challenged clients, Anthony soon discovers that almost anything he does is the wrong thing to have done. Forgetting his house keys, Anthony is greeted with a sarcastic, verbal undressing in front of one of Stephen’s “clients.” “He’s been living with me since January.” “Nice!” “He’s my kept boy.” “No.” “Teasing.” “I say work it, sister!” Boswell’s script and talented en-

semble dance nimbly across the unspoken borders where the new boy in town becomes the newly battered boy. With a psychologically astute turn from Scott Cox as Stephen, the volatile boyfriend from hell, Anthony and Stephen’s domestic life becomes a roller coaster of abuse and contrition. Just when things at home slide from irritating to borderline psychotic, Anthony hits Polk Gulch and finds an odd ally in the form of rail-thin, suburban CA-raised hustler Gavin (Adam Perze). Anthony finds a peculiar soulmate as the young men amuse themselves doing drugs, avoiding paying for pizzas, and ripping off first-time clients. In the best peek at SF’s queer combat zone since Cyrus Amini’s 25 Cent Preview, Boswell finds original ways to assess the price of life on the streets for each nano-generation that seeks out a psychotic Disneyland.

On the record Born and raised just outside the cornfields in Normal, Illinois, educated at the U. of Wisconsin in liberal Madison, Scott Boswell arrived in San Francisco in 1997, and discovered the extremes of queer life, from rent boys to lifestyle consultants. Working out of the Film Department at SF State, Boswell admits to nurturing a desire to capture life in the city’s still-dangerous queer combat zone. He sat down with me last June,

▼ Scott Boswell: It’s no secret that the story itself is somewhat autobiographical. The leads, other than the protagonist, Anthony, are based on the men I met and knew. I wouldn’t claim its my own story, but it reflects how I came to SF, the people I became involved with and ultimately lost. The film reflects the paradox that sex, that great binding force that often brings people together, can’t be relied on to keep them together.

with the applause from an encore Castro Theatre showing of The Stranger in Us still ringing in his ears. Scott Boswell: Part of what fascinates me about the Tenderloin in SF is all the different kinds of people it brings into this one location. When I first arrived in this city, I was fascinated by what I saw on Polk St.: drag queens on crack, tranny hookers and rent boys all in the same block, and also yuppies. I’m fascinated by this grittier slice of gay life than is found in the Castro, and what brings people to a neighborhood like this. David Lamble: You really capture the inner worlds of three San Francisco gay men: an uptight, controlling

The relationship between Anthony and Stephen is initially based on some strong sexual attraction and some kind of psychological attraction that cause them to feel that they should be together. The flipside for Anthony is Gavin. Gavin and Anthony work out something that is beyond a sexual relationship. I debated whether those characters should have sex – it never felt right. They just kind of keep running into each other, they’re both in the same neighborhood, and they’re both frankly lost. They’re both sincere, and there’s a chemistry between them that supersedes sex; that’s what we had to find with the actors.▼ DVD features include interviews with cast and filmmakers, alternate ending, deleted and extended scenes. www.breakingglasspictures.com

Macho Latinos, gay Spaniards & others by Tavo Amador inding the right gifts for special people is a challenge, one made worse by the terrible economy. But a batch of recently issued DVDs makes shopping easier. At 76, director Roman Polanski proves he’s lost none of his skills with The Ghost Writer (2010), a mystery/thriller Alfred Hitchcock would have envied. Ewan McGregor plays the title character whose actual name the audience never learns, a freelance writer assigned to work on the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan). He uncovers dangerous secrets, and soon becomes the target of assassins. As the plausible plot-twists increase, the suspense mounts, and neither he nor the audience knows whom to trust. McGregor is superb: resourceful, intelligent, courageous, and finally, desperate. Brosnan, playing a Tony Blair-like politician, uses his easy charm to hide his character’s narcissism. With Olivia Williams, Kim Cattrall, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, and Eli Wallach. In the deeply felt La Mission (2008), Benjamin Bratt gives an unforgettable performance as Che Rivera, a recovering alcoholic excon who has turned his life around. A widower, he drives a Muni bus in San Francisco and lives with his teenage son, Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez). When he discovers that Jesse is gay, his world collapses. In lesser hands, Che would be unsympathetic, but Bratt balances angry dismay with his struggle to love his son for who he is. The process is painful for all concerned. Valdez is terrific as the brave youth. Shot on location in San Francisco. Director/writer Peter Bratt captures the sense of community among the city’s immigrant and first-generation Latinos, and shows the influence of their blend of indigenous religion and Roman Catholicism. Colin Firth should have won last year’s Best Actor Oscar for his heart-

F

breaking performance as A Single Man (2009), Tom Ford’s superb version of Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel. As a college professor whose life unravels when his younger, longterm lover (Matthew Goode) is killed in a car accident, Firth is unforgettable, whether struggling with his loss, coping with a numbing academic world, dealing with the romantic feelings of his close friend Julianne Moore, being

approached by a likely hustler (Jon Kortajarena) or tempted by an aggressive, sexually curious student (Nicholas Hoult). Director Tom Ford makes a brilliant film debut, and his screenplay, co-authored with David Scearse, expertly captures the early 60s and the causally brutal homophobia that was commonplace. This is the rare instance when the movie is better than the book. Pedro Almodovar’s Law of Desire (1987) shows how rapidly social attitudes about gay life were changing in post-Franco Spain. Pablo Quintera (Eusebio Poncela) is an openly gay theatre and movie director, having an affair with the much younger, handsome Juan (Miguel Molina). When Juan leaves to spend time with his family, Pablo meets the luscious Antonio (An-

tonio Banderas), who’s never slept with a man, but becomes obsessed with him. Suddenly, the narcissistic, cynical, controlling Pablo’s life is filled with more intense love and passion than he wants. Carmen Maura is Pablo’s sexy, candid transsexual sister Tina. Filled with Almodovar’s signature blend of melodrama, suspense, humor, surprise, and tragedy. All the performers are magnificent, and Banderas, who is completely convincing in portraying Antonio’s physical desire for Pablo, became an international star after the film’s release. Although nothing sexually graphic is shown, the movie is highly erotic. Almodovar directed his own screenplay with a swift, sure hand. In Spanish with English subtitles. Yoo Hoo Mrs. Goldberg (2009) is a riveting documentary about actress/writer/director Gertrude Berg (1898-1966), once the most famous woman in America, but now sadly forgotten. On radio and early TV, she played Molly Goldberg, the warm, wise, funny matriarch of a Jewish American family dealing with assimilation while keeping their traditions. Berg wrote hundreds of scripts, and directed many of the shows. Director Aviva Kemperer has compiled amazing archival footage, including scenes from the popular TV series and Berg’s splendid appearance on Edward R. Murrow’s Person to Person. When asked what her favorite Molly moment was, the elegant Berg pauses, then refers to the episode when her husband tells her one day he will buy plates of gold for her delicious dinners. “But would the food taste any better?” asks Molly. Later, Berg won a Tony as a Jewish widow who falls in love with a Japanese widower in A Majority of One, and was bitterly disappointed to lose the film role to a miscast Rosalind Russell. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg talks about the influence Berg and the Goldbergs had on her. Happy shopping!▼

▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

FILM

‘The Tempest’ & ‘Pale Male’ soar by David Lamble here’s probably not a soul left on the planet who wouldn’t get a massive image boost by having themselves played on screen by Helen Mirren. The lady is truly running the board, and director Julie Taymor’s Christmas present to us is Mirren in The Tempest. It’s a sublime illustration of how a bold theatre voice can inject something truly magical into a much-loved but frequently misunderstood classic. Taymor’s boldest conceit is that Shakespeare’s exiled magician Prospero should, in Mirren’s hands, become the ex-duchess of Milan, with scores to settle and late-life wisdom to dispense. It’s a brilliant stroke that reinvents virtually every relationship in the play without necessarily invoking the anti-revisionist, “keep your feminist, postmodern hands off my Shakespeare” wrath of irascible scholar Harold Bloom. Turning Prospero into a wily wizard mom casts new light, especially on the young lovers Miranda (Felicity Jones) and Ferdinand (Reeve Carney), as well as on the eternally disgruntled slave Caliban (Djimon Hounsou), and of course, Prospero’s right-hand angel-boy, Ariel

T

Helen Mirren, Felicity Jones and Djimon Hounsou in Julie Taymor’s new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

(Ben Whishaw provides the Puckish spirit the proper mix of mischief and sensuality without morphing into Tinkerbell.) Taymor, still struggling to get her Spider-Man aloft on Broadway, here fills an enormous cinema gap. There’s really no good Tempest on celluloid (the highly eccentric Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books comes the closest.) In addition to Harry Potter-

worthy digital effects, Taymor’s great achievement is a stellar ensemble: Russell Brand, Tom Conti, Chris Cooper, and Alan Cumming support Mirren’s commanding lead to give us Shakespeare’s peerless speeches in a Middle Atlantic style that soars and is always comprehensible to these dialect-challenged American ears. The stuff that dreams are made of, indeed! The Legend of Pale Male A hawk.

A city. A love story. A Belgium boy, fleeing his clueless dad’s insistence he become a lawyer, escapes to the Big Apple, moonlights running a Manhattan hair salon in order to support his movie muse: detailing the unbelievable story of a large predator who gets his talons on some pricey Central Park digs with views to die for. In 1993, Frederick Lilien was desperately trying to make something of his Gotham exile when he first spied the creature: a wild redtail hawk hunting for a nest. The bird, dubbed “Pale Male” by a female naturalist for his distinct plumage, eventually built his nest near the rooftop of an expensive Fifth Avenue co-op building. In the course of the next 16 years, Lilien would stake out the nest, along with a close-knit clan of New York birdlovers, producing a real-life love story with every possible peril and heartstealing beat, climaxing in a showdown when the co-op board decides to evict the nest. Lilien spent a half-hour with me, describing the origins of the best bird story since The Parrots of Telegraph Hill. “I was a typically immature 23year-old who didn’t want to go to law school, but didn’t have the guts to tell my father,” he said. “Finally I screwed

Troubled, talented Charles Laughton by Tavo Amador lassic Hollywood during the studio system era (roughly 1925-55) is associated with glamorous images of beautiful women and handsome men like Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper, and Errol Flynn, among many. It was, however, also a great period for performers not considered attractive. Character actors Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Edward G. Robinson, and Charles Laughton were major stars, popular with critics and audiences. In his long career, the English-born Laughton (1899-1962), a deeply troubled gay man, directed one film, the brilliant The Night of the Hunter (1955), which has just been re-

C

leased in DVD. James Agee adapted David Grubb’s novel for the screen, which is set in West Virginia in the 1930s. Robert Mitchum plays the deranged, misogynist, Bible-quoting car thief Harry Powell. While in jail, Powell befriends Ben Harper (Peter Graves), sentenced to hang for a robbery that left two men dead. Harper refuses to tell Powell where he hid the $10,000 that he stole, but points to a phrase in the Bible, “A little child shall lead them.” After Harper hangs, Powell is released. Convinced that Harper’s children know where the money is, he courts his widow Willa (Shelley Winters), who, impressed by his Scripture-quoting, marries him despite his having the words “love” and “hate” tattooed on his fists. On their wedding night, he tells Willa that they cannot have sex be-

23

cause it’s sinful. Hurt, confused, she becomes frightened when he tries to force her son John (Billy Chapin) and daughter Pearl (Sally Jane Bruce) to reveal where the money is. Powell murders Willa, but the children escape, fleeing downriver, the fearsome religious fanatic in grim pursuit. The little boy and girl arrive at the home of the kind, strong Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish), who defends them against Powell. The suspense rises to a terrifying climax as Rachel, determined to save the children, battles Powell. Laughton’s direction is breathtaking: fluid, scary, riveting. Mitchum, in the performance of his career, is among the most menacing psychopaths ever put on film. Winters is heartbreaking. Gish, considered by many the greatest of Silent Screen actress, was just as adept handling dialogue. Chapin is a resourceful child, and wonderfully protective of his sister. Neither he nor Bruce has a touch of cuteness in their work. Photographed in lushly expressionistic black-and-white by Stanley Cortez, the movie is visually spectacular. Without Mitchum’s participation, it would never have been made, but he was unable to carry it to box-office success. Critics were at best indifferent, and its failure haunted Laughton. Laughton had become a star playing Nero in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Sign of the Cross (1932), won the Best Actor Oscar the next year for The Private Life of Henry VIII, and would win the New York Film Critics award for his memorable Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bounty (35). In 1937 he began filming the title role in I, Claudius, directed by Joseph von Sternberg from Robert Graves’ novel, but it was canceled after Merle Oberon (Messalina) was injured in a car accident. The completed footage, shown in the riveting documentary The Epic that Never Was (1965), is extraordinary. He remained a major star through the 1940s. By the early 50s, however, he was playing a supporting role in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (52), and was billed below the title as Herod in Rita Hayworth’s Salome (53). Nonetheless, he worked extensively on television. On stage he had a great success directing and starring in the Don Juan in Hell portion of

George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman. He was back on the big screen in 1957, receiving another Best Actor nomination for his mesmerizing performance as the brilliant barrister in Billy Wilder’s terrific Witness for the Prosecution. He portrayed the wily, cynical Gracchus in Spartacus (1960)

and the shrewd, corrupt southern Senator Seabright Cooley in Advise and Consent (62), easily stealing both films. His 1929 marriage to character actress Elsa Lanchester, his widow and frequent co-star, was platonic. Guiltridden about his sexual orientation and knowing that few men found him

up the courage to write him a letter from London explaining that I was going to New York to find myself.“ David Lamble: Why the hawk?

Frederick Lilien: I was already a nature-lover, my father used to take me on Sunday camping trips. I so hated my job at an Upper East Side Manhattan hair salon that when I saw the hawk in the tree, I just decided to realize a childhood dream to become a naturalist filmmaker. Why do think this story captured so many hearts in Gotham?

It was, in some ways, the perfect Hollywood story. The nest on the coop building created a natural theatre from which we could spy on the hawk every day as he went about his business catching pigeons, fighting off crows and trying to start a family. You get a lovely star turn when Mary Tyler Moore, a resident of building, decides to mobilize the tabloid press in favor of the hawk.

She had not been present when the board first acted to remove the nest, but then she mobilized and went down in the street to talk to the press on behalf of the bird, climaxing with an appearance on David Letterman. What did you learn about your adopted hometown?

New Yorkers never give up. Despite the incredible cold weather, they mobilized every day, wearing bird costumes, picketing the building, and rallying the media.▼

physically desirable, he was reportedly drawn to rough trade and hustlers. His acting remains vivid, and his sole directorial effort confirms his great gifts. Mitchum, not especially friendly to gay men, called him the finest director he ever worked with. Laughton once told Bette Davis to “Never be afraid of hanging yourself,” advice he himself followed. He would be gratified that The Night of the Hunter is now regarded as a masterpiece.▼

24

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

OUT&ABOUT Tra-dishy Noel

Fri 17 >>

:

Babes in Arms @ Eureka Theatre

Caminos Flamencos

42nd Street Moon’s production of the Rodgers and Hart vintage musical which includes the songs, “My Funny Valentine” and “The Lady is a Tramp.” $24-$44. Wed 7pm, Thu-Fri 8pm. Sat 6pm, Sun 3pm. Thru Dec. 19. 215 Jackson St. 2558207. www.42ndstmoon.org

Cavalia @ AT&T Park

by Jim Provenzano

Sweeping and acclaimed multimedia show in a gargantuan tent, with 100 human performers, 50 horses, music and pageantry, aerialists, acrobats, and family entertainment. $64.50-$229.50. 24 Willie Mays Plaza at Embarcadero. Thru Jan. 2. (866) 999-8111. www.cavalia.net

A Christmas Carol @ ACT ou know where to go for traditional holiday celebrations: choral concerts, skating rinks, Best Buy. But for those who prefer more arcane or decidedly modern distractions, here’s an array of fun options guaranteed to get you in a differently flavored mood; not that eggnog isn’t tasty. This’ll get your goat. Strange Sinema at Oddball Film screens Dec. 17. The wacky found footage cinema shows its faves; short films about Mod motorcyclists, alcoholic cats, retro World’s Fairs, and (my fave Christmas present at age 6; a Colorform box of…) Lancelot Link Secret Chimp! $10. 8:30pm. Dec 18’s show includes Swedish Yule goat statues (sort of a Norse holiday Burning Man; every year someone tries to torch it), Polanski’s Two Men and a Wardrobe, Blacksploitation women drag racer cars drivers, and kooky holiday home movies. $10. 8pm. 275 Capp St. Limited seating; RSVP Jack Fertig info@oddballfilm.com www.oddballfilm.com Happy New Year? Find out Saturday, December 18, when Jack Fertig, the longtime astrological columnist with a gay perspective, shares his forecast for 2011. $25$35. 12pm-4pm at Fort Mason, Bldg C, room C-370. Buchanan at Bay sts. www.starjack.com My first Christmas away from my family back in my Manhattan days involved –you guessed itfunny Jewish gays and Chinese food. I loved it, and you can, too. Kung Pao Kosher Comedy at New Asia Restaurant, the annual Jewish holiday comedy and dinner show, returns with Wendy Liebman, Joe Nguyen, Nathan Habib and host Lisa Geduldig. Partial proceeds benefit local charities. $42-$62. Dec. 23 dinner show at 5pm; cocktail show (with veggie eggrolls) at 8:30pm. Dec. 24 and 25, dinner show at 6pm and cocktail show at 9:30pm. 772 Pacific Ave. (925) 275-9005. www.koshercomedy.com My enthusiasm for Luis Bravo’s Forever Tango at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre was so effusive, I mistakenly listed it as opening last month! It’s now finally here, with Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke, 12 dancers, a live band, and hot tango dancing. $55-$100. Tue-Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm. Also Wed, Sat, Sun at 2pm. Dec. 21thru Jan. 9. (Special New Year’s Eve dinner and dancing packages $100-$250.) 609 Sutter St. 2nd floor. 771-6900. www.marinesmemorialtheatre.com For more dancing fire, Caminos Flamencos brings Lo Clasico, a concert of traditional flamenco dance and Iberian music, to the Cowell Theatre. $15-$35. Nathan Habib Dec 17-19. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 3pm. Fort Mason at Kung Pao Center, Buchanan St. at Bay. 345-7575. www. Kosher Comedy caminosflamencos.com You want traditional? How about shopping? At Sports Basement’s Shopping Party, buy stuff at the sporting goods and clothing store Dec. 18 between 5pm and 7pm and 10% goes to SF Pride. 1590 Bryant St. at 15th. www. sfpride.org The Tree-Trimming Party at the National AIDS Memorial Grove combines new and old traditions. Join a festive and healing remembrance holiday event. Bring an ornament for the tree. Sat., Dec. 18, 2pm4pm. Golden Gate Park, Bowling Green Drive at Middle Drive. www. aidsmemorial.org ▼ A Swedish Yule goat

Y

film at Strange Cinema

American Conservatory Theatre’s annual production of the popular stage version of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic returns. $15-$102. 7pm. some matiness 2pm & 1pm. Thru Dec. 24. 415 Geary St. 7492228. www.act-sf.org

Coraline @ SF Playhouse Musical stage version of the story and animated film about a girl whose family changes in an alternate reality; extended thru Jan. 15. $30$40. Tue-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 3pm. Some 7pm weeknights. 533 Sutter St. 677-9597. www.sfplayhouse.org

Dirty Little Showtunes @ New Conservatory Theatre Tom Orr’s wicked and wacky musical revue of campy parody songs includes six special guest performers. $24-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 8618972. www.nctcsf.org

The Golden Girls @ CounterPulse Holiday edition of the popular drag stage version of two episodes of the classic TV show, with nightlife queens Heklina, Cookie Dough, Matthew Martin and Pollo Del Mar. Guest stars include former Gogos band member Jane Wiedlin. $25. Thu-Sat 7pm & 9pm (no shows Dec. 24/25). 1310 Mission St. at 9th. www.trannyshack.com

Forever Tango

Naked Girls Reading @ Center for Sex & Culture Annie Sprinkle and other women sex workers read from their own and other works. $15-$20. 18+. 9pm. 1519 Mission St. at 11th. www.sexandculture.org

The Nutcracker @ War Memorial Opera House San Francisco Ballet’s production of the sugary-sweet Tchaikovsky story-score about Clara’s hallucinogenic Christmas Eve. $39$200. Tue-Sun 2pm and/or 7pm; some altertate times. Thru Dec. 27. 865-2000. www.sfballet.org

A Perfect Ganesh @ New Conservatory Theatre Terrence McNally’s drama about two women who go on a trip to India in search of enlightenment. $22-$40. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Dec. 19. 25 Van Ness Ave, lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

The Play About the Naked Guy @ La Val’s Subterranean, Berkeley Evren Odcikin directs David Bell’s hilarious Off-Broadway hit about schlocky empresarios who produce a Naked Boys show and strike a deal with a porn star to save their theatre. Yes, there will be male nudity. $10-$20. ThuSat 8pm. Thru Dec. 18. 1834 Euclid Ave. www.impacttheatre.com

Pratfalls and Rising Stars @ SF Circus Center Acrobats, aerialists, clowns and jugglers, all students in the professional training program, perform a kid-friendly holiday show. $10$20. 7:30pm. Also 2pm & 7:30pm. Dec 18 & 2pm on 19. Thru Dec. 19. 755 Frederick St. at Arguello. www.circuscenter.org

Shrek, the Musical @ Orpheum Theatre The hit musical based on the Disney animated film plays through the holidays. $30-$99. Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat, Sun 2pm. Sun 7:30pm. Thru Jan. 2. Market St. at 8th. www.shnsf.com/shows/shrek

Siddhartha, The Bright Path @ The Marsh Revival of the uplifting popular 2007 Youth Theatre adaptation of the story of the Indian prince and his journey to become the Buddha, with Indian Bollywood dances, music and scenery. $10-$50. Mon-Sun 3pm. Thu-Sat 7:30pm. Thru Jan. 9. 1074 Valencia St. at 21st. (800) 838-3006. www.themarsh.org

Smuin Ballet @ Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Local company performs the late Smuin’s

Meg Mackay & Billy Philadelphia @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Cabaret husband and wife duo perform Naughty & Nice: A Meg and Billy Christmas. $23-$25. 7:30pm. Also Dec 18, 21-23, 28-30. 2081 Addison St. (510) 8434822. www.auroratheatre.org

Arabian Nights @ Berkeley Rep Revival of Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman’s popular staging of Powys Mathers’ translation and adaptation of the classic fables; a co-production with Arena Stage. Thru Dec. 30. 2025 Addison St. Berkeley. $18-$73. Tue-Sat 2pm & 8pm. Sun 2pm & 7pm. Some alternate times. www.berkeleyrep.org

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi Musical comedy revue, now in its 35th year, with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. Special holiday shows, schedules, including under-21 matinees, thru Nov & Dec. $25-$80. Wed, Thu 8pm. Fri, Sat 6:30, 9:30pm. Sun 2pm, 5pm. (Beer/wine served; cash only). 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd. 421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Cinderella @ African American Art/Culture African American Shakespeare Company’s local production of the classic fairy tale story. $10-$30. Fri-Sat 8pm. Sat-Sun 3pm. Thru Dec. 19. 762 Fulton St. (800) 838-3006. www.African-AmericanShakes.org

Cyndi Lauper @ The Independent Pop singer extraordinaire, and one of the gay-friendliest, performs her new blues music. The Ferocious Few open. $65. 9pm. 628 Divisadero St. www.theindependentsf.com

Go the Hell for the Holidays @ YBCA Gut-wrenching dramas and buckets of blood in a series of arty horror films. Dec 17, 7pm: Night Train to Terror and at 9pm, A Night to Dismember. Dec 18, 7:30pm: Life and Death of a Porno Gang. $6-$8. 701 Mission St. www.ybca.org

Holiday Art Sale @ Creativity Explored Exhibit and sale of art works by developmentally challenged artists. 6pm-9pm. Exhibit thru Dec. 22. Mon & Tue 10am-3pm. WedFri 10am-7pm. Sat 12pm-6pm. 3245 16th St. 863-2108. www.creativityexplored.org

Holiday Brass Concert @ St. Paul’s Episcopal, Oakland Concert of traditional brass music and holiday music with two popular Bay Area Brass Ensembles, the Farallon Brass, the Golden Gate Brass Quintet, and members of the Chapel College Choir. $15. 7:30pm. 114 Montecito Ave. www.stpaulsoakland.org

Japanesque @ Legion of Honor Exhibit of Japanese prints from 1700-1900, and its relationship to Impressionism. Thru Jan. 9. $6-$10. Tue-Sun 9:30am-5:15pm. 100 34th Av. at Clement, Lincoln Park. www.legionofhonor.org

Exhibit of gay street art stencils by the local artist. Thru Jan. 18. 1800 Market St. www.sfcenter.org

Laybelline’s Holiday Blackout @ Castro Country Club Drag show and fundraiser for the LGBT sober space. 10:30pm. 4058 18th St. www.castrocountryclub.org

Little Gems @ Underglass Framing

Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco @ Exit Theatre

Local production of James Goldman’s intriguing play about 1183-era English royalty. $26-$38. Wed-Sat 8pm. Thru Dec. 18. 855 Bush St. at Taylor. 345-1287. www.actorstheatresf.org

Sat 18>>

Jeremy Novy @ LGBT Center

Strangely amusing musical comedy based on the author’s orchestral narrative work; starring Geoff Hoyle and 100 puppets; developed by Phantom Limb Company; music by Nathaniel Stookey; directed by Tony Taccone. $14.50-$73. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Thu, Sat, Sun 2pm. Thru Jan. 15. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

The Lion in Winter @ Actors Theatre

Drop-in weekly support group for LGBT military vetrans. Free. 2pm. Bldg 8, 4150 Clement St. 281-5140.

Sweet Can Circus, Friday

Lemony Snicket’s The Composer is Dead @ Berkeley Rep

Annual whimsical concert, Christmas CrapArray, with sardonic parodies galore, including gay composer Jack Curtis Dubowsky’s commissioned “My Agnostic Solstice.” $20-$40. 8pm. Also Dec. 17 & 18. 156 Eddy St. (800) 838-3006. www.lgcsf.org

Veterans Support Group @ Fort Miley

The Christmas Ballet, a mix of tap, jazz, ballet and more. Also, two world premieres by choreographer Amy Seiwert and Amy London. $20-$62. Tue-Thu 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm & 8pm. Thru Dec. 24. 701 Mission St. 9782787. www.smuinballet.org

Sweet Can Circus @ Dance Mission Theatre Local circus troup of acrobats, aerialists and more perform two kid-friendly shows, Candid (Dec. 17-Jan. 9) and Mittens and Mistletoe (Dec 24 & 25). $15-$25. 8pm. Fri-Sun. Various times. 3316 24th St. at Mission 8264441. www.dancemission.org

Tron: Legacy @ Castro Theatre Disney’s sequel to the video game adventure flick is shown in digital 3D (3D glasses included), with Jeff Bridges. $10-$12. 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, 9:45pm thru Jan. 6 (excluding Dec. 24). 429 Castro St. 621-6120. www.castrotheatre.com

Exhibit of 17 small works by different artists. Sales proceeds benefit Visual Aid. Thru Jan. 7. Mon-Fri 11am-7pm. Sat 11am-5pm. 268 Church St. www.underglassframing.com

Nutcracker @ Zeum Mark Foehringer Dance Project’s hip shortened one-hour update on the classic Tchaikovsky ballet, with live music. $25. 11am, 2pm, 4pm. Sat & Sun at 11am, 2pm, 4pm (Sat only) thru Dec. 19. 221 Fourth St. www.mfdpsf.org www.zeum.org

Of the Earth @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Shotgun Players’ production of Jon Tracy’s update on The Odyssey, with a focus on the insanity of war. $17-$30. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru Jan. 30. 1901 Ashby Ave. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Paula Poundstone @ Palace of Fine Arts Veteran comic performs her stand-up act. CD and book sales partial proceeds benefit Friends of the San Francisco Library. $35-

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

$38. 7pm. 3301 Lyon St. www.paulapoundstone.com

Design & Wine 1976 to Now @ SF MOMA

JAPpy Holiday.” $5. 7pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

Pastor Tom Show @ KUSF

Exhibit of the rich culture of wine, with historical artifacts, art, installations designed by Diller Scofidio and Renfro. Special contests with prizes, including hotel stays in Napa, SF and Sonoma. 151 3rd St. www.sfmoma.org

Battleship Potemkin @ New Valencia Hall

Dr. Tom Polcari’s LGBT music and talk show. 4pm. Weekly on 90.3 FM.

Peaches @ Herbst Theatre Pop electro songstress performs live. Chilly Gonzales opens. $30. 8pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. www.peachesrocks.com www.apeconcerts.com

Pearls Over Shanghai @ The Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers’ revival of the comic mock operetta by Link Martin and Scrumbly Koldewyn, performed by the gender-bending Cockettes decades ago, and loosely based on the 1926 play The Shanghai Gesture; with an all-star cast. $30-$35. 18 and over only! Extended, Sat 8pm, Sun 7pm. Extended again thru April 9. 575 10th St. at Division. (800) 838-3006. www.thrillpeddlers.com

Gay Vets Holiday Party @ Veterans Bldg Bob Basker Post #315 of the American Legion hosts a reception, cocktails and buffet with awards ceremony and presentation showing how Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is a failed policy. 6pm-9pm. 401 Van Ness Ave. Room 2020.

Happy Hour @ Energy Talk Radio Interview show with gay writer Adam Sandel as host. 8pm. www.EnergyTalkRadio.com

Santa Project @ Billy DeFrank Center, San Jose

Katya’s Holiday Spectacular @ New Conservatory Theatre

Comedian Dana Goldberg headlines a benefit for Sunburst Project for kids with HIV; drag show, DJed dancing and a silent auction. $20-$25. 18+. 7pm-12am. 938 The Alameda. www.thesantaproject2010.org

Singer and local drag performer Katya Smirnoff-Skyy brings a glamorous holiday song revue. $30. 7pm. 25 Van Ness, lower level. www.nctcsf.org

SF Hiking Club @ Crystal Springs Join GLBT hikers for an 8-mile hike on a paved trail at Crystal Springs Reservoir. Bring water, lunch, hat, layers, athletic shoes. Carpool meets 9:00 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. (650) 615-0151. www.sfhiking.com

Photo Show @ Good Vibrations Exhibit of works by photographers Rink Foto and Kija Lucas and painter Sholeh Asgary. Thru Jan. 20. 1620 Polk St. at Sacramento. 345-0400. www.events.goodvibes.com

Freedom Socialist Party hosts a screening of the classic Eisenstat silent film about the rebellion against the Tsarist regime. $2-$5. Light supper $6. 6:30pm. Film 7pm. 625 Larkin St. #202. 864-1278. www.socialism.com

Gay Men’s Sketch @ Mark I. Chester Studio Amateur and pro artists draw nude male models. 6:30-9:30pm. RSVP Dec 21: 6216294. 1229 Folsom St. www.markichester/draw

Santaland Diaries @ Eureka Theatre David Sinaiko performs the stage adaptation of David Sedaris’ witty story about working as a Macy’s elf. $20-$30. 8pm. Also 3pm and Sun at 7pm. Thru Dec. 30. 215 Jackson St. (800) 838-3006. www.combinedartform.com/santaland

Will Franken @ Eureka Theatre Comic solo performer brings his Texas Chainsaw Yuletide to the stage. $15. 8pm. Thru Dec. 23. 215 Jackson St. (800) 838-3006. www.willfranken.com www.combinedartform.com

Peaches (left), Cyndi Lauper (right), and Paula Poundstone, all Saturday

The Tempest @ Exit on Taylor Cutting Ball Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s classic, about an exiled king, his family, and a big storm. $15$50. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Thru Dec. 19. 277 Taylor St. (800) 8383006. www.cuttingball.com

Wed 22 >>

Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond @ de Young Museum

Angels in America at 20 @ Museum of Performance & Design

Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay, the second of two exhibitions from the Paris museum’s permanent collection, thru Jan. 18. Also, Developed and Undeveloped: Photographic Landscapes, thru March 6. $10-$25. Tue-Sun 9:30am5:15pm. Thru Jan. 18, 2011. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, www.famsf.org

Sing-Along Messiah @ Dance Palace, Point Reyes

Sun 19 >>

Donna Sachet and Harry Denton host the fabulous weekly brunch and drag show. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.harrydenton.com

Favorite photographs on display at the fine art gallery of historic prints. Thru Feb. 26. Tue-Sat 11am-5:30pm. 49 Geary St. #211. 781-1122. www.roberttat.com

Affordable Art for the Holidays @ City Art

Wild Food Walk @ SF Parks

Russ Lorenson & Friends @ The Rrazz Room

Group collective exhibit of varied artists. 7pm-10pm. Exhibit thru Dec. 31. 12pm9pm daily. 828 Valencia St. www.cutyartgallery.org

Antiques and Collectibles Faire @ Candlestick Park View and shop from more than 500 exhibitors of furniture, collectibles, and interesting stuff of all kinds. $5-$10. 6am-3pm. (510) 217-8696. www.candlestick antiques.com

Carols Concert @ St. Francis Lutheran Combined choirs of St. Francis Lutheran Church in the Castro and Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Lafayette perform a concert of Christmas carols. Free/donations. 3pm. 152 Church St. at Duboce.

Curious George Saves the Day @ Contemporary Jewish Museum Fascinating exhibit of 80 drawings by Margret and H.A. Rey, cocreators of the impish monkey books. Also, Reclaimed: Paintings from the Collection of Jacques Goudstikker and Black Sabbath: The Secret Musical History of Black-Jewish Relations (both thru March). Thu-Tue 11am-5pm. Thu 1pm8pm. 736 Mission St. at 3rd. 655-7800. Thru March 13. www.thecjm.org

Conductor Magen Solomon and pianist Susan Soehner lead the audience through Handel’s classic; scores provided. $8-$23. 5th St. at B, Point Reyes Station. www.dancepalace.org

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room

Learn about edible wild flora in the Bay Area. $30. 2pm-4pm. Also, SF fishing tour, wild mushroom walks as well. www.foragesf.com

Exhibit documenting the award-winning Tony Kushner drama, with an array of original costumes, props, manuscripts, video clips, photos, designs and audio interviews. Wed-Sat 12pm-5pm. Thru Mar. 26. 401 Van Ness Ave. 255-4800. www.mpdsf.org

Reprise @ Robert Tat Gallery

Carly Ozard, Veronica Klaus, and Katya Smirnoff-Skyy join the local crooner for a festive holiday songfest. $30. 8pm. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 3803095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Mon 20 >> Thu 23 >> Connie Champagne @ The Rrazz Room

Local singer, actress and band member (Whoa Nellies) brings back her endearing Judy Garland vocal chops in a two-night concert celebrating her CD release of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. $30. 8pm. Also Dec. 21. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Ten Percent @ Comcast 104

Ice Skating @ Union Square Rink Celebrate the holidays (or exhaust visiting relatives) at the retail center of town, with a round of ice skating. $4.50-$9. 10am-10pm. Powel St. at Geary. Thru Jan. 17. www.unionsquareicerink.com

It’s all a Blur @ SOMArts Cultural Center

David Perry’s new talk show about LGBT local issues. Mon-Fri 11:30am & 10:30pm, Sat & Sun 10:30pm. www.davidperry.com

Exhibit of works by Guillermo Gomez-Peña, Dale Hoyt and Tony Labat. Exhibit Tue-Fri 12pm-7pm. Sat 12pm-5pm. Thru Jan. 28. 934 Brannan St. at 8th. www.somarts.org

Tue 21 >>

Kim Nalley, Tammy Hall @ The Rrazz Room

Alyssa Stone @ Martuni’s Self-described “sweet little Jewish American Princess” performs her music revue, “A Very

Gospel Christmas with the two acclaimed singers. $35. 8pm. 2-drink min. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

www.bartabsf.com

25

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

LEATHER+

▼

Courtesy Mr. S Leather

The new “Spyder Gag” as featured at Mr. S Leather.

Have yourself a very leather Christmas ty and shop at these or any of your local leather businesses this season. One item that recently caught my ep, as if you didn’t know, Christeye is the new “Spyder Gag,” exclusive mas is right around the corner. to Mr. S Leather. That’s right, it’s a gag As a result, things have quieted with a spider look to it that keeps your down a bit in the community as peoboy/sub’s mouth pried open to receive ple are concentrating on parties, dinwhat you have to give him or her. Cool! ners and travel. But it’s still not too late Originally featured in Kink.com’s to get that last gift for the kinky or Bound Gods, this device was so popnot-so-kinky loved one/friend/ ular with audiences that Mr. S fuck-buddy in your life. So this is Leather began making them, and my final plug (so to speak) of the now they’re flying out of the year for my favorite store. If it’s a bit too severe leather/kink shops: Mr. S for you on Christmas Leather (385 8th St., SF); morning while you slurp Off-Ramp Leathers (342 9th your eggnog, perhaps a new St., Ste. 205, SF); Leatherpost leather vest, boots, or arm(www.leatherpost.com); band would work? One and Stompers Boots (323 can never have enough of 10th St., SF). You can’t go You don’t see armL EATHER these. wrong with any of these bands much anymore, businesses. There’s nothing and I don’t know why. I’ve like physically going into a always liked them because they flatter store for the hands-on experience of the biceps while also flagging if you’re trying things on, but online is fine, too. a top, bottom or both. Or what you Just be sure to support our communithink you are until someone proves

by Scott Brogan

Y

you wrong. I know, it’s usually obvious (at least in my case), but they’re fun to wear. Armbands, cock rings and buttplugs are perfect stocking-stuffers. As we all know, they come in plenty of varieties. Nothing says, “I love you, honey” quite like that shiny new buttplug peeking out of a stocking. On the charitable side of things, Mama’s Toy Drive is going strong. If you can’t attend one of the toy drive events, please drop a toy off at: Body (450 Castro); Chaps (4057 18th); The Edge (4149 18th); The Mix (4086 18th); and Phantom (516 Castro), or go to www.mamasfamily.org for details. Krewe de Kinque held their 14th annual Leather Brunch benefiting the Positive Resource Center last Saturday. No word yet on how much was raised, but I’m sure it was substantial, judging from the popularity of the event. Another popular event was the annual “Trailer Trash Girlz” toy drive and show at Marlena’s (488 Hayes) hosted

page 27

▼

26

Coming up in leather & kink >> Thu., Dec. 16: Underwear Night at The Powerhouse (1347 Folsom), 10 p.m. Wet undie contest and drink specials. Go to www.powerhouse-sf.com.

Sat., Dec. 18: Back Bar Action at the Eagle Tavern (398 12th St.). Back patio and bar open to all gear/fetish/leather. 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.sfeagle.com.

Thu., Dec. 16: Edges Wet Munch at Renegades Bar (501 W. Taylor St., San Jose). 7 p.m. Happy hour for the sex-positive and alternative communities: 4-7 p.m. Go to: www.edges.biz or www.renegadesbar.com.

Sat, Dec. 18: Uniforms at Chaps Bar. Hosted by B&B Corps. Wear your uniforms! Featured DJ: Jim. 9 p.m.close. Go to: www.chapsbarsanfrancisco.com.

Thu., Dec. 16: The Doctor is In! Medical Play from Fantasy to Heavy Edge with Eve Minax at the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). 8-10 p.m. $20 admission. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org.

Sat., Dec. 18: Beat Pig at the Powerhouse. With Juanita More!, Walter Gomez, Sidekick, plus all 12 2011 Bare Chest Calendar Men. $5 cover benefits the AIDS Emergency Fund & Positive Resource Center. 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com.

Thu., Dec. 16: Locker Room at Chaps Bar (1225 Folsom). Featuring DJ Hotwire. 9 p.m.-close. Go to: www.chapsbarsanfrancisco.com.

Sat., Dec. 18: Lady Thorn’s Community Exchange aka SM Flea at the SF Citadel. 1-5 p.m. $5. Go to: www.smflea.com.

Fri., Dec. 17: Exiles Monthly Program: Carnal Carnival at the Women’s Building (3543 18th St.). 8-10 p.m. $4 members, $10 guests. Go to: www.theexiles.org.

Sat., Dec. 18: Dirty Santa at the Bolt (2560 Boxwood St., Sacramento) hosted by Mr. Bolt Jeremy Willis. Benefits Mama’s Toy Drive. Go to: www.mamasfamily.org.

Fri., Dec. 17: Exiles Post-Program Coffee Social at Wicked Grounds (289 8th St.) 10 p.m.-close. Go to: www.theexiles.org.

Sat., Dec. 18: Crazy Christmas Party hosted by Jessica Avalon at the Turf Club (22519 Main St., Hayward). Benefits Mama’s Toy Drive. 7-11 p.m. Go to: www.mamasfamily.org.

Fri., Dec. 17: Rope at Chaps Bar. Hosted by Jorge Vieto of the Leather-Kink Network from Stop AIDS . Go-go studs at 10:30, free coat check. Lots of drink specials. Go to: www.chapsbarsanfrancisco.com. Fri., Dec. 17: Edge-ing with Michael Brandon at The Edge (4149 18th St.). Biggest bicep contest & go-go dancers. Benefit raffle & Jell-O shots for Tom of Finland Foundation. Go to: www.edgesf.com. Fri., Dec. 17: Flash Back at the SF Citadel. All themed parties of the past year in one night! 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $25. Membership required, available at door for $10, or volunteer for one hour and get in free. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org. Fri., Dec. 17: Packin’ It In at the Powerhouse. Show off your best body part, and win $100. Hosted by Mark Paladini. Starts at 10 p.m. Go to www.powerhouse-sf.com.

Sun., Dec. 19: Castrobear presents Sunday Furry Sunday at 440 Castro. 4-10 p.m. Go to: www.castrobear.com. Mon., Dec. 20: Cheap Ass Happy Hour at Chaps Bar. Mon.-Thu., 6-9 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 4-9 p.m. Lots of drink specials. Go to: www.chapsbarsanfrancisco.com. Tue., Dec. 21: Ink & Metal followed by Nasty at the Powerhouse. 9 p.m. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com. Wed., Dec. 22: Leather Buddies at Blow Buddies (933 Harrison). Doors open 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Play til late. Go to: www.blowbuddies.com Wed., Dec. 22: SoMa’s Men’s Club. Every Wed., the SoMa Clubs (Chaps, Powerhouse, Truck, Lone Star, Hole in the Wall, the Eagle) have specials for those who wear the Men’s Club dogtags. See your favorite SoMa bar for details.

▼

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

KARRNAL

Shaping erotic dreams by John F. Karr hat is it with gay photographers and dogs? There must be a So You Wanna Be a Photographer handbook in which Rule #1 is Get Some Dogs. Gianni Versace had them all over his mansions and his men, and Bruce Weber brought so many of them to Bear Pond that his dog-to-model count seemed one-on-one. The creatures cavort in most every other book of photos, if not with the models then with the photographers. In Rick Day’s new book, the dust-jacket bio says he lives “in the East Village with his dogs Mila and Luna,” while Howard Roffman’s last book didn’t tell but showed, with a pic of him canoodling a cute little canine. In the last two photo collections of the season that I’ll report on, these two photographers kind of have their particular market cornered: Day with the best commercial photography there is, and Roffman with his ongoing delight in the pleasures of gently horny youth. Rick Day was born in 1962. It wasn’t until 1990, though, when he was Supermodel Joseph Sayers on the cover of Pioneers. 28, that a Bruce Weber collection inspired him to pick up a camera and teach himself how to use it. Soon after, macho stance, and, to considerable pair of collections that total an inhe hit New York, where he became effect, in direct contact with the viewcredible 504 pages, with nearly that known for shaping the portfolios of er. number of prints. Has any other phomale models. He also takes unabashed Perhaps I glanced too briefly at tographer ever done this? I’m not exdelight in shaping our erotic dreams, Day’s first book, Players. I thought the aggerating here: 260 pages in last Sepwith photos of ideally beautiful men tember’s The Blush of Youth, with an pictures a pretty collection of calenin insinuatingly sexual scenes. As the dar shots, and easily forgot them. It additional 244 arriving shortly in the chief photographer for Rufskin adverwas only later, when I fell in love with contemplative cock reveries of Private tisements, as you’ll see in his secsupermodel Joseph Sayers Moments (Bruno Gmunder, hardond collection Pioneers and realized that many bound, $52.99). Put that in your (Bruno Gmunder, hardof his best photos were Guinness Book of guy pic Records. bound, $89.99), he deploys by Day, that I became Still, quantity doesn’t count for all, those men to make us buy eager to see Day’s new and it’s the quality that’s so impresunderwear. book. Sayers is promisive. Roffman has enthused over the The 128 oversized nently featured in Piowonderland Bel Ami presents him. pages (13”x19”) of Pio“Straight boys and gay, school pals neers, on the cover and neers consist largely of and total strangers, streetwise kids inside in some of the Day’s Rufskin work. As and innocent country lads – all young very photos that made Jason Salzenstein wrote and horny and gorgeous and oh so me fall in love/lust with K ARRNAL in his underwear surgiving.” In Roffman’s usually affecthim. Also seen are darkK NOWLEDGE ly handsome Daniel less work, Private Moments eavesvey Brief Encounters, “Rufskin ads feature Villa and pacific blond drops on the dawn of sexuality. Genmen with incredibly sculpted bodies Justin Clynes, who appears fully tle, smiling and wonder-filled explo– however, it’s clear that the brand fanaked, somewhat bravely breaking ration is followed by kissing play, vors one specific body part, and with both supermodel modesty and cock play, and cum play, with warm, makes no excuses for creating styles industry standard. “The visions of Pileisurely embraces before and after. that focus attention on it.” He writes Is Private Moments the capstone oneers represent my Shangri-La,” Day that the brand’s “overtly sexual styles” has said. “Gorgeous scenery, and to a portion of Roffman’s career? It are worn by men who are “confident, beautiful men.” Amen. has all his key elements in their best assertive, sexual.” Here’s the short story of Howard expression to date: youths, both tenThe photographer Rufskin chose Roffman: building a reputation with der and hot; sex, both tender and to embody their brand was Rick Day. American boys in black-and-white; hot; quietly erotic depictions that The high-glamour shoots took place taking up with Bel Ami; foregoing mingle playfulness and rapt wonder. in the American Southwest, from the black-and-white; shuttling between Other than his tantalizing study of desert to the High Sierras. In beautilocations in Bratislava and Budapest Texas Twins Morgan and Nash, I ful terrain, Day presents his beautiful to publish, within four months of think Private Moments is my favorite models as the very essence of the each other, a bonanza of boy pics in a Roffman.▼ Bruno Gmunder

W

Leather + by Miss Muffy Tuff (aka Mark Paladini), benefiting Mama’s Toy Drive. It raised over $1,200, and collected tons of toys. With performers like One Leg Peg and Flusha Latrine, this has become a popular annual event, bringing together the best (or at least most outgoing) leather and drag “personalities” for a great cause. It’s a trashy good time! While most current events are focused on raising money and collecting toys for charities, there is one welcome new development that is the brainchild of SF leather icon Race Bannon: a new “flash mob bar for sexually adventurous SF gay men.” No, it’s not a new bar, but a “flash mob” that takes over a designated bar for the night. Per Race, he started these flash mobs because “the kinky among us, and the curious, need more places to hang out and socialize.” I agree. I couldn’t make the first one at the Powerhouse last Thursday, but from all accounts it was a big success. Check out Race’s Facebook profile to get on the group and find out when and where the next one will be. Thank you, Race,

Gary Virginia

▼

page 26

Porn superstar Michael Brandon and Leather Empress Donna Sachet at last year’s Krewe de Kinque annual Holiday Leather Brunch at The Edge Bar.

for spearheading this, we all support you and look forward to the flash mobs in the coming year! Regardless of where you go or what charity you support, just be sure to support at least one. The time it takes to pick up a fun toy and drop it off is minimal compared to the joy and hap-

piness it will bring to a child. The time it takes to volunteer is also minimal compared to the joy and happiness it will give to those in need. In spite of this crazy economy, let’s try and make this Christmas season as joyful as possible for as many people as we can. Merry Christmas, everyone!▼

27

28

▼

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

ARTS

Soundtracks of the season by Gregg Shapiro arious-artists movie soundtracks come in all shapes and sizes. Some are more effective than others, while there are those whose sole purpose is to promote artists on the label’s roster. Right off the bat, Music from the Motion Picture It’s Kind of a Funny Story (Rhino/Focus) is a hipster’s delight compilation, beginning and ending with a pair of Broken Social Scene songs (“Not at My Best,” “Major Label Debut”). It grows more interesting with tracks such as “Smash It Up (Parts 1 & 2)” by The Damned and an exquisite piano rendition of the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind” performed by Maxence Cyrin – especially considering the setting of the movie, a NYC psych hospital. Love or hate the Twilight movie series, the soundtracks to the flicks have been a source of entertainment and pleasure for some. Muse, cited by series author Stephenie Meyers as an inspiration, appear once again on The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Summit/Chop Shop/Atlantic) with the song “Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever).”

V

Champagne ▼

page 17

Bowie and Joni Mitchell songs as Judy Garland because people have asked to hear them.” In the holiday spirit of expanding Garland’s repertoire, she’ll include Tom Lehrer’s “Hanukkah in Santa Monica” – “and I’m still looking for a good Kwanzaa song.” Although her Garland impression is spot-on, she doesn’t see what she does as impersonation. “If people want to call me an impersonator I’m not insulted, but someone like Rich Little is about satirizing the person and their tics. I see it as portraying a character; I look at the

Fitting tracks by Florence & the Machine (“Heavy in Your Arms”), Sia (the Kate Bush-like “My Love”), Cee Lo Green (“What Part of Forever”), a duet by Beck and Bat for Lashes (“Let’s Get Lost”), and suitably enough, Vampire Weekend (“Jonathan Low”) also make this a soundtrack you can really sink your teeth into. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Universal/ABKCO) sounds pretty much like what you’d expect from a movie based on a comic book in which the title character is a musician in his 20s. Songs performed by Pilgrim’s band Sex Bob-Omb were composed by none other than Beck (Hansen). The soundtrack also includes contributions by Frank Black, Metric, Broken Social Scene and Beck, as well as T. Rex and the Rolling Stones. Also consider KickAss: Music from the Motion Picture (DGC/Interscope), and Iron Man 2 (Columbia) with music by AC/DC. Music from the Motion Picture The Switch (Mandate Pictures/Rhino), Hot Tub Time Machine (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Rhino) and Middle Men (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (ABKCO) are unfortu-

nate. While it’s sweet to think of straight people grooving to the late Dan Hartman’s disco classic “Instant Replay,” that simply isn’t reason enough to recommend The Switch soundtrack. Not even for the pair of Eels tracks. The overplayed 80s-retro lunchbox cuts on the Hot Tub Time Machine disc don’t fare any better, and neither did the movie at the box office. The Middle Men album is the most varied, but as disappointing as the movie itself. TV soundtracks are gaining in popularity. Glee: The Music, Volume 3: Showstoppers (Columbia) lives up to its name. This is especially true on group numbers such as “Hello, Goodbye” and “Bad Romance,” and star turns “One Less Bell To Answer/A House Is Not a Home” performed by Kristin Chenowith and Matthew Morrison; “Physical” sung by Olivia Newton-John and out Emmy winner Jane Lynch; “Dream On,” by out actor Neil Patrick Harris and Matthew Morrison; and “I Dreamed a Dream” sung by Idina Menzel and Lea Michelle. The Jason Schwartzman HBO series Bored To Death wears its hipness pedigree on its fashionable sleeve, as

whole person, not just what stands out on first look. With Judy Garland, I start with her vulnerability. Her physical characteristics say a lot about everything she’d been through. At the end of the day, I’m an actor playing a part.“ The strategy paid off when Champagne did Judy for Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft at a Meet Me in St. Louis tribute, and at a previous Rrazz Room concert. “I was so nervous about it. If someone played my mother, I’d be very territorial. But she liked it. She said, ‘Nice job.’” F. Allen Sawyer not only directs the Merry Little Christmas concert, he’s been collaborating with Champagne since 1995, when he first inspired her to play Garland in Christ-

mas with the Crawfords. “I wasn’t obsessed with Judy Garland as a kid. I wanted to be David Bowie or Meryl Streep,” she says. “It was really Allen’s vision.” Is she worried about being typecast as Judy Garland? “Hell, no! I want a job! I’m five feet tall, so I don’t fit the typical leading-lady mold.” Champagne also approves of Anne Hathaway, who’s set to play Garland in the upcoming film Get Happy. “I could totally see that, even though she’s six feet tall. As an actor you can create it, and she has a tremendous capacity for vulnerability and honesty on screen.”

What’s in a name? Connie Champagne’s alliterative

does its soundtrack (WaterTower Music). Artists on the disc include M. Ward with Zooey Deschanel, Freelance Whales, Andrew Bird, Lykke Li, Dan Auerbach, Dawn Landes and TV on the Radio. Soundtracks to movies based on TV shows are a bit more hit-or-miss. Most

would agree that the movie Sex and the City 2 sucked, to put it mildly. But its soundtrack (WaterTower Music) is worth owning for the songs performed by the Sex and the City Men’s Choir (“Sunrise Sunset”) and Liza Minnelli’s rendition of “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”▼

moniker has caused some to assume she’s a drag queen (she’s not). Born Kelly Brock in Roseville, CA, she had the bad timing to be an aspiring young actress when model Kelly LeBrock was hitting it big with The Woman in Red and Weird Science. Her real name had to go. While researching her role in a drag play about the Charles Manson family, she read about Susan Atkins’ cellmate Virginia Graham, who broke the story that the Manson family committed the Tate murders. “One of Graham’s aliases was Connie Champagne, and I thought it was a hilarious name.” Her drag queen co-star Doris Fish started calling her Connie offstage, and the name stuck. “If I was

going to pick a name to be a serious actress, I wouldn’t have chosen it. But I like it. It’s not pretentious.” The actress got more than just a drag-friendly name from the experience. “I’ve learned a lot from drag queens about owning the stage and rising to the occasion.” Which she’s certain to do on Monday and Tuesday nights, when Connie Champagne once again becomes the immortal Judy Garland.▼

Nutcracker bringing their training, values, music, and ballets they knew from of old, such as Nutcracker, which the Russian community here in San Francisco urged the new SFB director, Willam Christensen, to put on the Opera House stage. They backed it financially. That production, in 1944, was based on reports told to Christensen by George Balanchine, who had danced in the original. (Balanchine had yet to land on his feet, and was working in Hollywood. He went on to found the New York City Ballet and choreograph his own great version in the 1950s.) Nutcracker’s success looked likely in 1944. The music was already extremely well-known; the recording in 1909 of the Nutcracker Suite is perhaps the first record album ever made; recordings were hugely popular during the Depression; and Disney’s animated Nutcracker Suite helped make the fortunes of Fantasia (the movie) in 1941. (Mark Morris, who’d later choreograph his own alternative Nutcracker, proclaims the Fantasia choreography “the best Nutcracker ever.”) The Nutcracker Suite is just extracts of the most fantastic parts. But the whole Nutcracker is a nostalgic story of a middle-class girl, Clara, whose brother fights with her throughout their Christmas party. It moves seamlessly from the real world, seen through a child’s eyes, into Wonderland. We see all the cousins, aunts and uncles in their best clothes, lots of dancing, Uncle Drosselmeyer’s magic tricks; how she falls asleep, dreams she’s shrunk to the size of a mouse, has to fight off an army of vermin with the help of the Nutcracker her uncle gave her, how she summons her

Eric Tomasson

▼

Vanessa Zahorian and Taras Domitro in Helgi Tomasson’s Nutcracker.

page 17

courage and attacks the Mouse King so the Nutcracker can run him through, and, having conquered her fears, sails off through the snow into the world of Konfiturenburg, where all the desserts of the world dance for her in a celebration of international peace and harmony. And then, of course, she goes back home. A small-town recital can be a delightful thing, if you know all the children involved; since it’s about a little girl, a lot of skill is not required. But a big-city, opera-house production, with big-time stage-magic, snow falling from the skies, a tree that grows to giant size, a live orchestra in the pit, apparitions materializing through trap doors, the kinds of illusions that lighting, costumes, scrims, stage fog and, most of all, big-time ballet technique can create: these can make a

sweet story into something visionary, grade-A fancy, and haunting. A SugarPlum Fairy who darts about on tiptoe, almost swimming in the air, who seems fairy-like – well, that is something to see. A ballerina in full flight can create effects that make computer animation seem flat by comparison. The best thing about this year’s production, which I saw on Saturday night, is the young dancer playing Clara, Elena Harutyunyan, who was so thoroughly in the moment, alive to the music and the other characters around her, her performance cast a glow on everything else. That, and the house she lives in and comes home to. The furniture dances in this production; during the battle with the Mouse King, the china closet lets down a drawbridge, and tin soldiers fighting

on Clara’s side come marching out. There are many other wonderful effects. Unfortunately, our current Nutcracker (the production was new in 2004) only rates two cheers, not three. The production suffers from several story-telling flaws that cause it to pull its punches and sometimes fail to touch our hearts, sometimes when it’s very important. The party scene lacks distinction. It’s a pleasant blur of people milling about, but cues in the music get missed that seem to call for very specific events: big deals like the entrance of newly arriving guests, piquant small details like the opening of an ugly present. The party should get overheated and go on too long; this feels over too soon. There is a lovely sequence for the grandparents, and a touching dance for the father and

Connie Champagne as Judy Garland, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Mon. & Tue., 12/20-21, 8 p.m. at the Rrazz Room at Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St., SF. Tickets ($30) at ww.therrazzroom.com or (800) 380-3095.

daughter, but these touches do not make a big family party. The visionary act is iffy. The SugarPlum Fairy’s music is now given to a ballerina who’s supposed to be a magical transformation of Clara, but the transformation is badly prepared: if we don’t believe it (depending on the casting, it’s sometimes too abrupt), the climax can be a tinny display of technique. Sugar-Plum, meanwhile, has had to invade the “Waltz of the Flowers” to have a chance to dance at all, but there’s nothing appropriate for her to be doing to that music, since it’s grand and rich with massed French horns, thick with orchestral colors – not appropriate for a soloist – which leaves the Flowers with little to do at their biggest moments. On the other hand, the framing of the story is excellent: the mother-child reunion at the very end, when Clara wakens from her dream, is the strongest final scene of any Nutcracker anywhere. Gold stars go to the following dancers: Luke Willis as Clara’s father; Jim Sohm as her grandfather; Yuri Posskohov as her uncle Drosselmeyer. Shannon Roberts, as a Spanish dancer; Isaac Hernandez, Diego Cruz, and Daniel Baker as the three Russians who burst out of Faberge eggs, then spin their heads off in the Russian Trepak, with extra credit for honoring so splendidly the memory of Anatole Vilzak, the great Russian émigré dancer/ teacher who choreographed that number; Clara Blanco as a Housemaid and a Snowflake; and Sofiane Sylve, who danced heroically in the adagio of the Grand Pas de Deux. A silver star goes to the new SFB dancer Artem Yachmennikov, who faded as the evening went on, but had danced with winning presence, gallantry, and style as the Nutcracker prince.▼

▼ Schumann ▼

page 21

also could probably have happened today only in the recording studio. The simple reason is that the day when pianists could tour with their pianos of choice is gone, and the piano of choice on this recording is a vintage Erard from 1837, and itself reason enough for another recording of these well-known songs. Padmore has now joined Cecilia Bartoli as a singer I once deeply admired and now can hardly bear listening to. Padmore’s nonstop hooting and crooning, like a wilted Peter Pears, with headtones ad nauseam, simply drives me bats. But I strapped myself into my chair (and took generous intermissions between the two cycles and the five songs from Franz Paul Lachner’s Saengerfahrt tucked in between them) for the unalloyed pleasure of Bezuidenhout’s pianoplaying. The Dutch musician and periodperformance specialist, who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, is now cropping up in historically sensitive performances all over the place, sometimes even playing modern pianos, and every scrap of recorded evidence says more about why his star is blazing. His playing brings new meaning to the word alert, and intellect, wit, and subtlety enliven everything he does. There’s another extraordinary piano, a 1962 Steinway, in the best Schumann CD of the “Year,” the

Holiday music ▼

page 20

it weeks ago. You were right to do so. “White Christmas,” first in English, then Japanese, and “Ukrainian Bell Carol” in Ukrainian, or some approximation thereof. “Santa Baby” is a delight, “Elohai, N’tzor” quite a bit different from how my Yiddische grandfather prayed it. Pink Martini gives us a holiday bubble-bath, with room for everyone to dive in. Less fattening that Christmas chocolates, and filled with joy. Lea DeLaria: Be a Santa (Warner) Anyone expecting a CD full of lavender laughs will be surprised by DeLaria’s smilingly voiced but innuendo-absent, retro-swing Christmas. Except perhaps for her appearance, this is a Christmas CD many a church lady could love. DeLaria could have benefited from a little reverb, but Janette Mason, who arranged many of tracks solo or with DeLaria, sounds very cool on piano and Hammond organ. DeLaria may never replace Ella on your shelves, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t much here to enjoy. Chanticleer: A Chanticleer Christmas (Chanticleer Records) What professional male vocal en-

16 December 2010 . eBAR.com . BAY AREA REPORTER

29

MUSIC pairing of the Davidsbuendlertaenze and the C Major Fantasie with Mitsuko Uchida (Decca). But it’s Uchida, in her long-awaited return to Schumann on disc, who takes these two seminal Schumann piano works to new heights. It comes with a companion disc, of Uchida talking about the pieces with Gramophone editor James Jolly, that’s worth a listen, but it’s her singular eloquence at the keyboard that takes you so deeply into these works. There’s so much to get right in Davidsbuendlertaenze – the tricky, ur-Schumann rhythms, the pacing, the proportions, the daunting technical matters before we even get to the “characters” of Florestan and Eusebius, putatively the composer’s alter egos, who carry on the musical dialogue – that few interpretations that meet the work’s intellectual demands also meet its aesthetic ones. But Uchida’s deep grasp of the work, her incomparable keyboard touch, and what is perhaps best called her psychic mobility conspire to a reading of unprecedented naturalness. Hers is luminous playing, disarming in its lucidity, bold in its imagination, and probing in its psychological reach and depth. Many great pianists have stumbled on this maddening puzzle of a piece. Uchida brings it an uncommon cohesion and, playing from deep inside it, also allows it to sing and dance. The hush at its end, segueing seamlessly into the tempest and lofty architecture of the Fantasy, is heart-stopping.▼

BAYAREAREPORTER

PERSONALS

MASSAGE

GREAT BODYWORK

NUDE , EROTIC MASSAGE BY WELL BUILT, WELL HUNG, MASC. GDLK / MAN. NEAR CIVIC CENTER

415

290-1136

IN / OUT

LOVING STROKES Nurturing, Sensual Healing, Satisfying

semble can sing more beautifully than today’s Chanticleer? Perhaps only one of the SF-based group’s many previous incarnations. Recorded in Memorial Church, Stanford University, during several of their recent annual Christmas concerts, “the boys” sing 15 seasonal selections written over multiple centuries. Volume levels and background room noise change somewhat, but the beauty remains consistent, drawn from performances broadcast on public radio. 15 singers and two music directors contribute to this beautiful, alive-in-themoment CD. There isn’t a weak link in these marvelous, must-hear performances. Stile Antico: Puer natus est (Harmonia Mundi) For its fifth release, English ensemble Stile Antico brings its heavenly harmonies to Tudor music for Advent and Christmas. The singing is gorgeous, with exceptional purity from the shining sopranos and warm altos. Their tone is ideal for this program, the backbone of which is Thomas Tallis’ incomplete seven-part Christmas mass Missa Puer natus est. Stile Antico clearly loves this music; they caress the vocal lines, soft passages as compelling as their most forthright utterances. This sublime vocalism is suitable for every day and moment of the year.▼

STRONG HANDS SENSITIVE & EXPERIENCED From Stress Reduction to Simple Relaxation

STEVE C.M.T. 821-2985

Real Massage

SAN BRUNO

When you just wanta "real" massage. Professional & Experienced 20+ yrs, L M T

20 Min from Castro Body Electric Certified 24 Years Experience Negotiable Rates $85 - 60 min, $115 - 90 min

Deep tissue/Swedish non-sexual In calls only - near Castro nights & weekends only

415-378-0083

roysf59@gmail.com

650.745.6566 masseurfinder.com/boomerbear

ASIAN ECSTACY Superb Sensual Massage By Handsome Athletic CMT. Full Body Soothing Satisfying In/$45 Hr. Oakland Near Bart Clean, Pvt., Shower EZ Park Out/ $65 Hr. Entire Bay Area

Call Shin # 510-502-2660 Late Hours OK

SEXY ASIAN

*EXCELLENT MASSAGE*

$60 Jim 269-5707

E50W

MASSAGE FOR SENIORS ONLY DAVID 415 806-3150 WILL TRAVEL E51W Fremont, Jim CMT * Great Hands * Mature $40/HR (510) 651-2217

E50W

Castro $50/$70 Jim 415-621-4517

E01W

HAIRY MASSEUR

Erotic Relaxing Full Body Massage by hairy Irish/Portugese guy. All Bay Area. (510) 912-8812 late nights ok.

E50W

Superb Full Body Sensual Massage By Handsome friendly Asian CMT In/$45/Hr Oakland, Nr. BART EZ PARK Out To Hotels /$65/Hr. Entire Bay Area Call Shin 510-502-2660 Late Hrs. OK

E01W

DADDY MASSAGE ME SIR 510-830-8768 Out calls only. Let DADDY care for you.

E01W

Asian CMT In Sunnyvale. In -$50, Out$70 Michael 408-400-9088 or 408-893-1966

E51W

Quality in Marin As relaxing, healing, or erotic as you want or need. Mention this BAR offer: $60 for an hour of eternity. Greg 415-454-3454 E51W

www.capuciomassage.com "Dr. BLISS" is IN! I love touching men and it shows! Massage is my artform. 415.706.6549 http://bodymagicsf.blogspot.com/ Genital &/or Prostatic Certified Sexological Bodyworker Health and Pleasure. Goal Focused 415-796-3215,Post and Hyde.

Swedish Deep Tissue Thai Massage 510-420-0112 $70/In - $90/Out

E49W E50W

Pelvis-Hips-Thighs-Low Back-Abs Jeff Gibson 415-626-7095 SF

E01W

AN ALL LATIN LOOK.VISITIG DONT MISS OUT 23 y.o. 6pak abs hot smooth lean worked out frame flat stomach,jet black hair brown eyes 5'’9 ‘ 150 Eriss: 213 804 1939 incall/outcall 100% real Website: eriss.net

E50W

Body Electric CMT offers erotic massage. willbeing.com 415 821 6477

SOFT SWEDISH ESALEN n ENERGY HEALING by 20yrs. exp'd therapist. CASTRO EZ PRKNG ANWAR cmt 574 8451

E50W

E50W

52W E50W

*20 YEARS EXPERIENCE* CMT. Swedish/Deep Tissue 60/$90 415-240-9941

COREMASSAGE4MEN.COM

E50W

E50W

Asian CMT massage 510-779-8234 E02/11W

ASIAN EAST BAY, KJ CMT Johnny (415) 505-3060

Full Svc: Swedish, Erotic, Hypno & Prostate sessions. SF Mission 6’3”, 198#, Blond, 8” CMT 415-706-9740

E52W

East Bay 510.830.8549 Duane $60

E51W

"Dr. BLISS" is IN! I love touching men and it shows! Massage is my artform. 415.706.6549 http://bodymagicsf.blogspot.com/

E50W

Nude-Tantric-Prostate -Nipples!!! Therapeutic-Neck-Back-Shoulder Groin & HappyEnding. Release ($60/1 Hr)($75/75min)($90/90min) Corner of Grove & Franklin St. In Only Gary @ 415-305-5609 http://masserfinder/gctantric

E50W

30

BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com . 16 December 2010

▼

PERSONALS

MODEL/ESCORTS

PEOPLE Call. Cruise. Connect.

I like to give pleasure, versatile, horny.

SM

FREE to listen to ads. FREE to reply to ads.

San Francisco

415.430.1199 Oakland

Concord

510.343.1122

925.695.1100

Palo Alto

San Jose

408.514.1111

650.223.0505

Better Value than Competitors!

Eduardo

More FREE Features! No Per Minute Charges!

skot2trot.com

415.374.4439

USE

FREE CODE 5338 TM

1-888-634-2628

Scott 916-284-2248

MegaMatesMen.com

24/7 Friendly Customer Care 1(888)MegaMates 18+ ©2010 PC LLC

BLK BI MASCULINE TOP Handsome, Hung, and Stays Hard. Clean, Friendly. Older Guys & Bears Welcome. Discrete - In or Out Cedrick 510-776-5945

E50W

HIV+ TOP/VERS.6’3” 205# 8” Blond SF Mission Friendly 415-706-9740

USE THE BAY AREA REPORTER ADULT SERVICES CLASSIFIEDS! IN PRINT AND ONLINE. CALL 415-861-5019 FOR RATES AND DEADLINES. HTTP://EBAR.COM MAKE YOUR PHONE RING! EIB

• USE CONDOMS • BE WISE - 24/7 CENSORED?

E50W

Youthful Caucasian, Blonde, Blue. 415-320-1040

E01W

Bondage 2 Buttplay. Toys/FF/S&M Sling/Hose. Anthony 415-763-8677.

Edgy Escort For Xtreme Clients

E01W

HOT LATIN24HRS. E1B

23 HOT LATIN KID 23, 5'8", 146lb, 29waist , Athleticslim lean frame , Brown Hair & eyes CELL:213 804 1939

Out* 860-5468*$100 Hr. $300 (4)Hrs E50W

Call 415-861-5019 for rates and deadlines.

Miguel 22yo Mexican. Nice Handsome Guy for Pleasure.Into mutual touch 415-987-1390 Don’t be shy. E50W

HTTP://EBAR.COM BAR CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS!

Thickest Dick 9X7.5 All Scenes Confident Top Nick 415-615-0933

Place your Adult Services ad in the

BAY AREA REPORTER

EIB

E50W

RIM $20 415-240-1151

E01W

NOON on MONDAY. Payment must accompany ad. No ads taken over the telephone. If you have a question, call 415.861.5019. Display advertising rates available upon request.

RATES Newspaper and website:

First line, Regular All subsequent lines Web or e-mail hyperlink

8.00 5.00 5.00

CAPS

double price

BOLD

double price

X-BOLD triple price PAYMENT ■ Cash ■ Personal Check ■ Money Order ■ Visa ■ MasterCard ■ American Express Minimum $10 charge.

Indicate Type Style Here ▼

E50W

New Sexy Latino 22 in the San Francisco area for a couple of days Escort & Masseur 6’ ,155lbs, Nice guy 323-872-6593

E50W

BAYAREAREPORTER DEADLINE

E01W

Sexy Soccer Player Nude Massage, 30, In/Out (415) 336 9081.

CLASSIFIED ORDER FORM X-BOLD Stops Here ▼

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

CONTACT INFORMATION

Card Number

Name

Expiration Date

Address

Signature

City

Name

Number of Issues

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

CAPS Stop Here ▼

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

CREDIT CARD PAYMENT

I I I I I I I I I I I I

BOLD Stops Here ▼

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I

Regular Stops Here ▼

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

MAIL WITH PAYMENT TO: Bay Area Reporter 395 Ninth Street SF, CA 94103

Telephone

OR FAX TO: State

Zip

415.861.8144

OR E-MAIL: Classification

Amount Enclosed

baradv@aol.com

I I I I I I I I I I I I I

16 December 2010 . BAY AREA REPORTER . eBAR.com

▼

31

PERSONALS

PEOPLE

MEAT MARKETS

Happ

y

ys a d i l Ho

Drink responsibly. Drive safely. Wash the dishes. Wear clean underpants. Use condoms. Don’t leave the tree lights on. Send thank-you notes.

BA R AY

REA

EPORTER

WEB

MEN CRUISING MEN

copiousEJACULATIONSofJOY! @succor4u (TWITTER!)

Match & Reply FREE! 415-430-1199 SF 510-343-1122 East Bay Use FREE Code 5818, 18+

SF MANSCAPING EI B

Body Trim and Shaving In The Castro Call 415-626-1168 for appt E50W

Look Good, Feel Great! www.sfmanscaping.com 831-261-8472 / Gil

E01/11W

E50W

BE SAFE. BE SANE. Use condoms while driving.

E50W

MEAT MARKETS

ADULT JOBS OFFERED

BAYAREAREPORTER

HOT GUYS 4 PORN Looking 4 Hot Guys For Adult Films. RU 18-40, In Good Shape? apply @ factoryvideos.com/casting

E48W