June 12, 2014 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Few challenge Wiener for D8 seat by Matthew S. Bajko

ractically from the moment he was elected four years ago, critics of gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener have sought to find someone to run against him this fall who could conceivably oust Rick Gerharter him from office. Over the years half a Scott Wiener dozen potential high-profile progressive candidates were rumored to be thinking about jumping into the race against the moderate Wiener. Yet none announced they would in fact seek to represent the gay Castro district, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights and Glen Park at City Hall. In recent weeks pressure had mounted on two LGBT community leaders to enter the race: gay attorney David Waggoner and Sara Shortt, a lesbian and executive director of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. Shortt announced last week that after seriously considering it, she had decided “that being a city supervisor is not for me, at least not at this time.” Waggoner, as of last week, had appeared ready to announce his candidacy. Yet on Tuesday, June 10, the deadline to file paperwork with city elections officials, he informed the Bay Area Reporter that, “after much thought, I’ve decided not to run for a variety of reasons. I’m very grateful for those who have supported me and who believe in a more just District 8 for everyone.” According to the unofficial candidates list the city’s Department of Elections posted Wednesday, four people filed to run against Wiener, including nude activist George Davis and gay blogger and LGBT global rights activist Michael Petrelis. The other two challengers are Tom Wayne Basso and John Nulty. Petrelis readily admits he is “an honorable protest candidate in the tradition of ” Jack Fertig, who in 1982 ran citywide for supervisor as Sister Boom Boom, the name given him by the drag nun group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. “I am more running to give people a way to register a protest against Castro gentrification and development greed,” said Petrelis. As for Wiener, he kicked off his re-election bid last fall and has been campaigning ever since. By the end of 2013, he reported having nearly $143,000 in cash on hand in his campaign account. The Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club has already endorsed his reelection bid. “It is a democracy and no one owns their seat on the Board of Supervisors,” Wiener said. See page 13 >>

Vol. 44 • No. 24 • June 12-18, 2014

Trans reservist becomes public advocate by Matthew S. Bajko

S Kaplan enters mayoral race

Jane Philomen Cleland

ebecca Kaplan, left, formally entered the crowded Oakland mayor’s race, holding a June 5 news conference at a trash-strewn corner in East Oakland. Above, Kaplan demonstrates the city’s “See, click, fix” app that allows residents to report problems such as litter to city agencies, following her remarks about

running for mayor. Kaplan, a lesbian, is the only out candidate among 17 who are vying for mayor. She said that the city needs strong, stable leadership and that the revolving door of top officials at City Hall is one of the reasons she jumped into the race. For more, see the Bay Area Reporter’s blog post at www.ebar.com.

age Fox’s military career began in 1993 when she enlisted in the Army and was deployed to Tahiti. She then spent several years working for the Army chief of staff at the Pentagon. Rick Gerharter After a decade out of the armed forces, Sage Fox Fox returned in 2008 and became a direct commission officer with the Army Reserves. Stationed at the B T Collins Reserve Center in Sacramento, Fox was sent to Kuwait in 2012 where she managed $50 million in projects and oversaw 70 personnel. See page 12 >>

LGBT groups ditch ENDA support

by Chuck Colbert

growing number of national and statewide LGBT organizations are coming out against the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act, saying that while it bans workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the federal law also would allow religious organizations to discriminate against LGBTs even in non-ministerial or non-pastoral capacities. Advocates for LGBT equality maintain the proposed religious exemption, unprecedented in civil rights legislation, would in effect gut the non-discrimination protections. Last week, Shannon Minter, legal director for the San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights, said in an email that NCLR now “strongly oppose[s] any religious exemption in ENDA or any other federal, state, or local non-discrimination law that is broader than the religious exemption that already exists in federal civil rights laws.” “We do not support legislation that will create a new and broader exemption for LGBT people than exists for other protected groups,” Minter said. “While we are confident the current discriminatory religious exemption in ENDA will not be part of the final legislation, we will not continue to support ENDA if it is not changed to be consistent with Title VII’s religious exemption.” The 1964 Civil Rights Act Title VII in fact

contains an exemption that adcategories, such as race, gender, disdresses a narrow issue, specifically ability, sexual orientation, or gender the interest of a religiously affiliated identity.” organization to create a community Minter said that “sanctioning that of similarly aligned co-believers. type of discrimination is antithetical Accordingly, the exemption alto the whole purpose of an anti-dislows faith-based organizations to crimination statue.” hire employees based on their reli“And to set the precedent that gion in order for the entity to mainthere is somehow something special tain a religious community, a faith or different about anti-discrimiCourtesy NCLR based-identity. Title VII does not re- NCLR’s Shannon nation laws for LGBT people that strict protections in the law against Minter warrant that kind of unprecedented workplace discrimination based on and unprincipled exemption would race, sex, or national origin. open a door that we do not want to Reached by telephone, Minter said that open. I think it is very dangerous.” if ENDA were enacted in its current form it In a similar vein, Mark Snyder, a senior comwould be “the first time in any civil rights legismunications manager for the Oakland-based lation at any level, to my knowledge, expressly Transgender Law Center, said in an email that permitted discrimination on any other basis his organization is now “unable to support other than religion.” ENDA in its current form.” He added, “There is a long history now of acAt the same time, he added, “We are fully commodating religious beliefs, by permitting committed to continuing to work for the pascertain narrowly defined religious employers sage of a law like ENDA that contains an exto favor individuals from the same faith. emption for religious organizations that is no “That Title VII exemption,” explained broader than the exemption in Title VII.” Minter, “is reasonable” as “religious liberty In his recent comments, Snyder reiterated is important. That kind of accommodation, TLC’s “grave concerns” about the religious exwe have decided for a long time now, makes emptions that were voiced last spring in a joint sense.” statement, along with NCLR, the American “But never, ever,” he added, “has a civil rights Civil Liberties Union, and Lambda Legal Delaw – certainly not at the federal level or state fense and Education Fund. level – said in addition to that, you can also That statement spelled out the implicadiscriminate on the basis of other protected See page 13 >>

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2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

New ED joins Huckleberry Youth by Seth Hemmelgarn

San Francisco-based nonprofit that assists homeless and runaway youth and offers HIV prevention education is getting a new executive director. Doug Styles, 49, will officially take the lead at Huckleberry Youth Programs July 1. Styles, a straight ally who was born and raised in San Francisco, said he wanted the job because the services the organization provides are “just fabulous,” and he’d met many staff members. Team members are “all working very hard to really connect with the youth in San Francisco and Marin,” said Styles. “I was just impressed to see their work, and I realized this is a team I want to be on.” The nonprofit offers many of its services to people in San Francisco and Marin counties. Programs include Huckleberry House, which departing

Executive Director Bruce Fisher says in the group’s 2013 annual report is “the only licensed, 24-hour crisis shelter for teens in San Francisco.” The organization’s work also includes HIV Youth Prevention Education, a four-day workshop series geared toward young people. Styles, a licensed psychologist, most recently worked as the clinical director and associate director for StarVista, a nonprofit in San Mateo that, according to its website, works to help young people and others “overcome challenges through education, counseling, and residential services.” Fisher, who’s retiring after leading the organization since 1988, is staying through June. Styles has been executive director-designate since May 1 and will officially become executive director after Fisher leaves June 30. Jerry Peters, chair of Huckleberry Youth’s board, said in a statement, “During the interview process, it became very clear to us that Doug has

a deep passion for youth services and developing untapped potential in others. He believes strongly in everyday creativity, shared leadership, and participatory decision-making.” Huckleberry Youth served over 6,000 clients during the 2012-13 fiscal year, when its total expenses were about $4.5 million, according to its annual report. Styles declined to state his salary but indicated it’s over $100,000. He said the group has “between 70 and 80” paid staffers. This fiscal year, about 20 percent of youth served through Huckleberry House and the Huckleberry Youth Health Center identified as LGBTQQ, with approximately 25 percent of clients not disclosing their orientation or gender identity, according to Styles. Styles said there’s a divide between people who do have resources and those who don’t that’s “getting stronger and greater” as many youth go without stable housing, educa-

tion, and access to health care. The challenge for Huckleberry Youth is meeting the needs of the youth it serves “as best as possible,” he said. As it is for many nonprofits, fundraising is another challenge the group is facing, and Styles said it’s continuing to “go out and fundraise,” seeking support from foundations and grants. Huckleberry Youth also raises money through its annual Run for the Roses party that coincides with the Kentucky Derby. This year’s event, held in May, raised more than $200,000. Asked about any changes planned for the nonprofit, Styles said, “The organization is really solid. It’s nice to walk into something like that. I don’t see anything quickly on the horizon.” He said that he and Fisher have been working on “some future ideas” and suggested that there will be more information in the fall.

Courtesy Doug Styles

Huckleberry Youth Programs new executive director, Doug Styles

In the nonprofit’s annual report, Fisher said, “I am optimistic that Huckleberry will continue to grow and continue to provide caring and committed support to thousands of youth annually in the years to come. I will always be one of Huckleberry’s biggest supporters.”t

Forum to address LGBT homelessness by Seth Hemmelgarn

lected officials, homeless advocates, and others are hoping to cut LGBTQ homelessness in half over the next five years and improve the city’s response to the issue as they prepare for a policy forum on the topics next week. The forum, which is set for noon to 5 p.m., Monday, June 16 at the LGBT Community Center, comes as the needs of LGBT homeless people are drawing an increased amount of attention. Last June, the biennial San Francisco Homeless Point-In-Time Count and Survey was released and, for the first time, included statistics on LGBT people. The 2013 report found that out of a total of 7,350 homeless people, more than one in four (29 percent) identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or “other,” for a total of 2,132.

In October, Mayor Ed Connect participants, Lee’s Office of Housing Dufty said, 29 percent were Opportunity, Partnerreceiving Supplemental ships and Engagement Security Income and other and other agencies hosted disability benefits, coman event called LGBTQ pared to 13 percent of the Connect, where more city’s homeless population than 400 people checked overall. People who receive out services related to HIV the disability benefits may testing, housing, food, and face more challenges in Rick Gerharter other assistance. finding housing, Bevan Dufty Bevan Dufty, the gay “Seeing a higher prevadirector of the HOPE oflence of SSI participafice, said that bringing together city tion in our community is just one and nonprofit leaders, people afmarker as to why we may see greater fected by homelessness, and others levels of homelessness,” said Dufty. at the forum “enables us to lay out a He noted employment could strategy to reduce LGBT homelessbe another challenge for people ness by 50 percent over five years receiving the benefits, since “for and, specifically, to look at some of many people, they can’t make too the barriers and some of the unique much money or they put at risk features of homelessness in the their health benefits.” One hope is LGBT community.” to have “strategies where we start to Based on a survey of 75 LGBTQ look at part-time employment” that

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wouldn’t jeopardize that disability income, he said. Supervisor Scott Wiener also plans to be at the forum. “I think it’s a great opportunity to hear from the community and also to brainstorm about ways to address homelessness in the LGBT community,” said Wiener, who is gay. “We have real challenges, particularly around at-risk youth and also LGBT seniors who may be unstable in their housing,” among other groups facing housing instability. Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of San Francisco’s Coalition on Homelessness, will be at the event, too, and said the LGBT homeless community is “a subpopulation of the homeless that’s long been ignored. We’re hoping to draw more public attention and, hopefully, more support. ... There are very few services available for them.” Friedenbach, a straight ally, said, “One example where there’s a lot of

SOMA murder suspect fights extradition by Seth Hemmelgarn

pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m. A friend of Warren’s he man accused of was also shot and hospitalshooting to death a ized, but she was eventually woman who’d been celebratreleased. ing her partner’s birthday at The San Francisco Police a gay San Francisco club still Department announced Courtesy Miami-Dade has not been brought back to May 19 that its Major County Corrections and the city almost a month after Rehabilitation Dept. Crimes Unit arrested Green his arrest in Florida. three days earlier in Florida Michael Michael Sione Green, 24, Sione Green with the help of the Miami of San Mateo, was arrested Police Department and the in mid-May in Miami for Florida Department of Law the November 2013 murder Enforcement. San Francisco of Melquiesha “Mel” Warren, 23, but police said he’d be extradited back according to Alex Bastian, a spokesto the city and booked on murder man for the District Attorney’s office, and attempted murder charges. Green is contesting his extradition. According to an affidavit proIt’s not clear how long it will take vided to the Bay Area Reporter by to bring Green to the city, but Sil Miami police, Green was arrested Warren, 40, Melquiesha Warren’s on a warrant from California at 2:23 aunt, said in an email, “It’s just a a.m. at Miami police central headmatter of time. It’s just a stall tactic. quarters May 17 – almost exactly six He will have his date in court soon.” months since Warren’s death. Warren and her female partner Napier Velazquez, a Miami police had gone to the South of Market area spokesman, said he didn’t know the Club OMG, 43 Sixth Street, just becircumstances of Green’s arrest, but fore Warren was shot November 17. “normally” when the station address According to police accounts, is used for the place of arrest, “they Warren was in her car with friends walked in on their own.” in a parking lot at about 2:10 a.m. at But another agency indicated Sixth and Jessie streets when anothGreen didn’t just walk in. er car backed into theirs. Warren got In an email, Florida Departout to inspect the damage, words ment of Law Enforcement spokeswere exchanged, and the shooting woman Samantha Andrews said started. her agency assisted the SFPD “with Warren was taken to San Francissurveillance, the arrest, and a subseco General Hospital, where she was See page 13 >>

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unmet need is around shelter.” Some have said they’ve experienced harassment in the city’s shelters. “People probably assume that homophobia doesn’t exist in San Francisco,” said Friedenbach, but “it does, in very real ways.” She said, “When you’re in a congregant living environment, when you have hundreds of strangers living together, it can feel very unsafe for people who are singled out as different in some way.” An LGBT-focused homeless shelter has been in the works for several years, and backers say it could open this fall. The forum will include three panels that will each be followed by a question and answer session. The forum will be on the fourth floor of the community center, 1800 Market Street. For more information or to RSVP, contact Christine Keener at (415) 554-6164 or email Christine. Keener@sfgov.org.t

Community News>>

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

Hayward LGBT center shutters doors by Sean Piverger

he Lighthouse Community Center in Hayward, which has struggled for years to make ends meet, pulled the plug last month after the board of directors unanimously voted to close its doors. On its website, the board noted that the decision to shutter the center, which served the LGBTQ community, came about because community need and support had dwindled. The center had recently been run by volunteers. Its last day was May 11. “Nonprofits, especially in the East Bay, have been hit hard by the economy, a shrinking volunteer force, and a lack of need for such a community center,” said a message on the center’s website posted by John Ridyard, a volunteer. The Lighthouse Community Center was a meeting place that provided a sanctuary for the LGBTQ community. It primarily served Hayward and southern Alameda County. The center opened its doors in July 2000. The need for a center was expressed by Hayward residents who wanted a safe and substance-free meeting place with social, informational, and community awareness programs for people. Two of the early proponents were former Hayward City Councilmember Kevin Dowling and the late gay rights activist, Marvin Burrows. Skip Pernice, Lighthouse board president, recalled the impetus for the center in an email. “The vision of the LCC was to be a ‘beacon of light’ in Hayward and southern Alameda County – hence the name Lighthouse,” Pernice wrote. “It was a place to come listen to music, watch TV or a video, check out the library, surf the web, play pool and board games, have a cup of coffee, meet a friend, or just hang out.” In an e-mail, Geonna Alvarez, who

worked as a secretary for a Wednesday night group at the center, said it “was there to support and be inviting to the GLBT community.” “It’s a very comfortable and safe place for the GLBT community to get support in any difficulties [that] they are having,” said Alvarez, who asked that the group not be identified. Over the years the center hosted 12-step recovery programs, leather corps meetings, and grand ducal council meetings, to name a few, Pernice stated. The Lighthouse held fundraisers and went to an all-volunteer model several years ago in an effort to save money. Pernice said that some organizations, like Berkeley’s Pacific Center for Human Growth, helped with some expenses to cover the costs of some peer groups that met at the Hayward center. Despite having fundraisers, barbecues, and beer busts, these efforts weren’t enough. The center’s last benefit was its Viva Las Vegas fundraiser in February. Pernice expressed sadness that the community no longer felt a need to patronize or support the center. “The brutal truth is that the only ‘purpose’ for the Lighthouse to remain open was for those organizations that found it a cheap place to hold their meetings, and their contribution to the center was between 13-15 percent of annual expenses,” Pernice stated in his email. “The sad part is that when it came to our fundraisers to keep the center open so that they could have a place to convene meetings, they very seldom, if ever, attended the events, volunteered to help, or even sell tickets with an agreed $5 per ticket going to their organizations. “So we had to ask ourselves – have we outlived our usefulness?” Pernice said. Four years ago, Dowling acknowledged that money had always

Courtesy Skip Pernice

The Lighthouse Community Center was known for its annual Viva Las Vegas fundraiser, but the center closed last month due to dwindling resources.

been a challenge. “Money has been tight for the whole 10 years they have been there,” Dowling said in a September 2010 Bay Area Reporter article. “There is not a whole lot out there.” Pernice said that interest in the center waned as the community changed the way it communicated and socialized. For example, medical advances made HIV/AIDS a more manageable disease. “It appears to have become a ‘non-issue,’” Pernice wrote. “This was embarrassingly evident by the fact that in a year’s time, fewer than a dozen people (at least four of which were board members) showed up for our free and confidential fast results test program.” Unfortunately for the Lighthouse center, it still had bills to pay. “Unlike many nonprofit organizations that exist on paper or a website, the Lighthouse has real costs related to operating a physical location – rent, utilities, insurances, etc. However, T:9.75” neither the financial or manpower resources remain to

go forward,” said Ridyard. Pernice also said that as the LGBT community has won more rights, thanks to recent court victories like last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decisions that threw out California’s same-sex marriage ban and a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, perhaps the need for a common meeting space is no longer relevant. “We now have rights,” he said. “Society in general is allowing us to assimilate. Yes, there are still pock-

ets of resistance, but not at the level in 2000 that sparked the need for a community center.” Kari McAllister, a transgender woman who served on the center’s board from 2008-2012, said the center provided a needed service. “The Lighthouse Community Center, as it sadly closes its doors on a 14-year history, can look back with pride on the countless people who attended its events, forums and community meetings,” McAllister said. “We gathered at the center to honor those taken from us, and to celebrate our milestones and achievements. When the center opened in 2000, same-sex marriage was not even a real movement. Now today, with 19 states and counting, change is upon us. And maybe the center closing will be a catalyst for change. Maybe something will take its place.” Alvarez said that she could not believe the news of the center’s closure. “I’m so sad that the Lighthouse Community Center closed,” she said. “It happened so suddenly... I literally found out 24 hours before it closed. We will truly miss our Wednesday night group that was held there. I will miss the warm and home-like feeling of the Lighthouse. I will miss how accessible help was for our community here in Hayward.”t

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4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Volume 44, Number 24 June 12-18, 2014 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird ARTS EDITOR Roberto Friedman ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko Seth Hemmelgarn Jim Provenzano CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dan Aiello • Tavo Amador Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Philip Campbell • Heather Cassell Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds David Guarino • Peter Hernandez Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell • John F. Karr Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy • David Lamble Michael McAllister • Michael McDonagh David-Elijah Nahmod • Elliot Owen Paul Parish • Sean Piverger • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota •Bob Roehr Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel Khaled Sayed • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Jim Stewart Ed Walsh • Sura Wood ART DIRECTION Jay Cribas PRODUCTION/DESIGN Max Leger PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland Rick Gerharter • Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge Christine Smith ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION Colleen Small VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.359.2612 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media – 212.242.6863

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<< Open Forum

t Immigration reform efforts go local I

n the last few weeks, law enforcement agencies around the Bay Area have sent a unified message to federal immigration officials: we won’t hold inmates for you anymore. Sheriff’s departments in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties have all said that they will no longer detain most individuals on behalf of immigration authorities when they have otherwise been cleared for release. There are exceptions for those believed to pose significant public safety concerns, but the overriding message to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials is clear: get a judge to grant an order or these people will be released. The move by the various sheriff departments is significant, and is part of a national trend of resisting the Obama administration’s deportation dragnet, the Contra Costa Times reported. At the state level, Governor Jerry Brown signed the Trust Act last fall, which limits the state’s cooperation with the Secure Communities federal program. That bill was authored by gay Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) and means that only those convicted of a violent felony can be subject to deportation hold requests. Under such requests, a person could be held for up to 48 hours to allow federal officials time to pick up the detained person for possible deportation. San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who had previously limited who could be placed on an ICE hold, has gone further now in that only cases where there is a judicial determination or arrest warrant would result in a person being held for immigration officials, according to the San Francisco Examiner. In the case of Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern, the move marks a complete turnaround. Ahern, a Republican, previously led the fight to block the plan to shut ICE agents out of jails, the Times noted. Immigration advocates are elated, as the rights to due process will be restored with these new policies. It also means, as Mirkarimi noted, that immigrants need not fear the repercussions of cooperating with law enforcement if they know that local authorities won’t be holding them for federal officials.

cause this behavior falls outside of the current definition of bullying, he most significant catalyst that abuse on the part of faculty is not gives rise to bullying in coman aberration that needs to be adpulsory schools is the oppressive dressed; rather it is systemic and can environment. People have a need be regarded as an unpleasantry no for fundamental self-determinadifferent from testing or homework. tion, and deprived of it, they will Every student in compulsory bully others to attain some feeling schools is bullied by their teachof control over their lives. This baers and administrators. Students Courtesy Cevin Soling sic understanding is scandalously are held in captivity where their Cevin Soling absent not just from the books and thoughts and actions are controlled. research on bullying, but from inThey must take orders in a docile tervention programs, media coverage, and dismanner even when those demands cussions in the classrooms. violate their best instincts, better The transformation of the definition of judgments, and basic desires. Like “bullying” over the past 20 years strongly sugany bully, threats from faculty are gests that the inability to discuss the subject commonly acted upon. If a child in a meaningful way is by design. One of the does not behave precisely in the prominent early researchers, Dan Olweus, arbitrary ways a faculty memprovided the following definition in 1993: “A ber wants – and these demands person is bullied when he or she is exposed, vary dramatically among teachrepeatedly and over time, to negative actions ers, administrators, and schools on the part of one or more other persons, and – there are consequences. Most he or she has difficulty defending himself or of the rules that govern the lives of herself.” However, the federal government curstudents are unwritten and teachers and adrently asserts that: “Bullying is unwanted, agministrators capriciously decide when those gressive behavior among school-aged children rules have been broken and what the punishthat involves a real or perceived power imbalment should be. The environment students are ance.” forced to endure is quite literally tyrannical, The most significant development in the yet this is routinely overlooked because there evolution of the term is that bullying is now is a higher purpose. For this reason the nature exclusively limited to actions perpetrated by of the environment and its impact on students’ children. The abuses of power by teachers and psyche is dismissed. Few appreciate that the atadministrators are no longer considered bultainment of this higher purpose is thoroughly lying despite widespread prevalence. In one undermined by this approach to education. In study, 86 percent of the student respondents addition, this kind of environment is a breedreported having experienced at least one ining ground for peer bullying. cident of physical maltreatment by a faculty Efforts to address bullying that do not recmember and a slightly higher percentage reognize the role of the environment are offenported enduring psychological cruelty. Besively ignorant or outright duplicitous. The

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ity Leader Eric Cantor (Virginia) at the hands of a little-known Tea Party candidate virtually assures there will be no immigration vote this year. Cantor lost in part because he was portrayed as “soft” on immigration, which is laughable given he was against reform and was one of the obstacles to a House vote. According to the Times, the poll is based on interviews with 1,538 Americans who took the same survey last year. “Support has remained ‘remarkably steady,’” the Times reported of the survey findings. That is, if undocumented immigrants meet certain requirements, there should be a way for them to gain citizenship. Even 51 percent of Republicans support a path to citizenship. The problem is the stubborn Tea Party members, of which only 37 percent favor offering citizenship. That’s Boehner’s problem in the House too; Tea Party members are holding immigration reform hostage for their own political gain and they will work to defeat any Republican who votes for it. Boehner, who wants to hold on to his post, won’t schedule a vote. But trouble is looming for the Republican Party if it does not act soon on immigration reform. Arizona Senator John McCain, the party’s presidential nominee in 2008, told Talking Points Memo this week that the party won’t win the White House in 2016 if the GOP blocks immigration reform, no matter who the nominee is. That’s a telling statement, and an indictment on the current state of Congress. There are many moving parts to immigration reform and other changes to the system that will help those with criminal matters. Locally, the authorities are easing up on ICE holds by defying the feds. Nationally, the American people want change, but their Republican representatives won’t budge. The easiest solution would be for voters in those areas to toss their representatives out of office. But realistically we know that won’t happen because 90 percent of House members will be re-elected in November. Perhaps the GOP losing another presidential election will make Republicans take action, but that’s two years off. In the meantime, the Obama administration should ease deportations and continue its deferred action for the childhood arrivals program. And more local law enforcement agencies need to stand up to the feds.t

Oppressive environment leads to bullying by Cevin Soling

BAY AREA REPORTER

The fact that California and the county sheriffs are standing up to the feds is just one recent example of the problems with this country’s immigration system and a local response to congressional inaction. This week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a horrible ruling that says children of immigrants who lost their place in the slow-moving system because they turned 21 and “aged out” could not be given special priority. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority decision, which, according to the New York Times included “seemingly humorous asides” that don’t have a place in such a serious issue. These young people came to the U.S. with their parents and now face being separated from their families. Kagan blamed Congress for not being clear enough with its 2002 law, the point of which was to keep families together. That law permits aged-out children to hold on to their child status after they turn 21. Don’t count on Congress to clear up the confusion that so befuddled Kagan, much less vote on comprehensive immigration reform even though a new poll shows a clear majority – 62 percent – of Americans favoring a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. A growing number of advocates – LGBT, business, religious – have beseeched the House of Representatives to take action, but it doesn’t look like Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will call for a vote on a bill that the Senate already passed. Tuesday’s defeat of House Major-

reason for misdirection is obvious. Bullying can only be mitigated if the autocratic structure of schooling is leveled and there is no political will to even engage in that discussion let alone acknowledge this as a legitimate proposition. By willfully avoiding the complicity of compulsory schools, society does not have to address the difficult task of finding a more effective and less destructive means of educating children. The LGBT community has its own distinct challenge. When it takes on bullying as an issue to raise awareness of the suffering of LGBT children, community members should do so with the appreciation that success will have no impact whatsoever on the phenomena of bullying. If the current campaign achieved its goals overnight, mainstream acceptance would only succeed in changing the targeted attributes. Those very same LGBT children they seek to protect would still be bullied, just for different reasons. Instead, just like everyone else, they will be bullied because they are too fat, too short, too skinny, too tall, wear the wrong things, like the wrong music, etc. Exploiting bullying in this manner certainly advances a worthy cause that should be supported by all people of conscience, but it does nothing constructive for current and future victims of bullying. That kind of change can only happen when children are given meaningful agency over their own lives.t Cevin Soling produced and directed the first theatrically released documentary on education, The War on Kids. He is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Letters >>

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

Congrats to tech company

Congratulations to Airbnb and the San Francisco Pride Committee on Airbnb’s first-ever contribution of $100,000 to support the Pride parade [“Airbnb joins Pride as sponsor,” May 29]. It’s heartening to see tech companies like Airbnb demonstrate that they are part of the community by supporting institutions like Pride. We need more good San Francisco corporate citizens like Airbnb, and we should recognize and appreciate philanthropy when it happens. I hope this will be just the beginning of a long and successful partnership between Airbnb and the LGBT community. Mike Sullivan San Francisco

SF Pride’s ‘bizarre’ decision

Thank you for printing Jonathan Bonato’s eloquent letter about San Francisco Pride’s bizarre decision to accept sponsorship from Airbnb [Mailstrom, June 5]. Some decisions are tough and others are easy. That accepting sponsorship from a company that’s played such a large role in the dismemberment of working class San Francisco while flouting the city’s tax laws for years should require, at minimum, extensive public debate and considerable community input before taking the money should have been a no-brainer. I am staggered, saddened, and disgusted. Bruce Mirken San Francisco

Add a ‘path of shame’

I agree with the Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District board when it voted to omit Dan White’s name on the Castro History Walk [“History walk Whitewashes history,” Editorial, June 5]. I do also agree there should be information available in the Castro about our fight. We have a rose garden with pink triangles for homosexuals who lost their lives in the Holocaust. There could be a “Path of Shame” through the garden listing all the negatives (Anita Bryant, Olympic committee, politicians who fought us with the Bible, and others). We are already seeing young people who have grown up with rights I never had (just married after 43 years together)

and if we don’t make our history clear to them now, it will be lost until they will have to fight for their rights again. Happy gay Pride. Allen Charlton San Francisco

Combatting tobacco use

In 1988, California voters passed Proposition 99, which imposed a 25-cent tax on every pack of cigarettes sold in the state. Since then, a portion of those funds have been dedicated to tobacco prevention and education services in every county. San Mateo County has a strong history of advancing campaigns that assist smokers to quit and protect the health and well-being of all non-smoking youth and adults. Tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death in the United States. Most citizens know this but we miss the fact that some communities are at even greater risk of targeting by tobacco companies. African Americans who smoke lose an average of 16.3 years of life. Tobacco-related cancer and cardiovascular disease are the top two causes of death of Asians and Pacific Islanders and Latino high school students have the second highest smoking prevalence of all high school students. If these stats weren’t bad enough, 43.4 percent of our LGBT young adults smoke compared to just over 10 percent of their general population peers. These numbers are beyond unacceptable. We know that more work needs to be done to change things around, but we can’t do it alone. We need new ideas, community insight, and dedicated individuals with specific understanding of each of these communities to help us target our efforts. The San Mateo County Tobacco Education Coalition meets quarterly and all are welcome to attend. For more information about our current work, please contact us at (650) 573-3777 or flomotan@smcgov.org. Shaunda Scruggs, MSHS, Public Health Educator Tobacco Prevention Program Director Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Division San Mateo County Health System San Mateo, California

Volunteers needed for pink triangle installation

compiled by Cynthia Laird

he 19th annual pink triangle installation will return atop Twin Peaks over Pride weekend and organizers are now putting out the call for volunteers to help. The pink triangle, originally used by the Nazis in concentration camps to identify and shame gays, now represents a symbol of Pride. The display of the gigantic tarp triangle, which can be seen from the East Bay if the weather is clear, is meant to educate others about the hatred of the past, noted Patrick Carney, one of the core organizers of the installation. “The past year has been a particularly horrible period for LGBTI rights worldwide while at the same time being a mostly positive year here in America,” Carney said in a news release, referring to anti-gay crackdowns in Russia, several African countries and elsewhere, as well as advancement of marriage equality in several U.S. states. Volunteers are needed Saturday morning, June 28, beginning at 7 a.m. People should bring a hammer and gloves and wear closed-toe shoes and sunscreen. Following the installation, there will be a commemoration ceremony at 10:30 that will feature Pride grand marshals, political leaders, and music from the San Francisco Lesbian/ Gay Freedom Band. On Sunday, June 29, helpers are needed to take down the tarps; interested people should meet at the site beginning at 4:30 p.m. Carney said that even an hour of time on either day would be a “huge help.” Detailed driving directions to the top of Twin Peaks and the vista point, and more information about the project are available at www. thepinktriangle.org.

Rick Gerharter

The beginning stages of the 2012 pink triangle installation on Twin Peaks are clear in this view from Dolores Heights.

Symposium on elder abuse

A panel presentation and discussion to mark World Elder Abuse Awareness Day will be held Friday, June 13 from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Born Auditorium, 170 Otis Street in San Francisco. The event, sponsored by the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services, will feature information about the latest scams and frauds targeting seniors; grassroots and community level prevention efforts; and interagency partnerships that protect older adults and adults with disabilities. Scheduled panelists include Mary Twomey, MSW, co-director at the Center of Excellence on Elder Abuse and Neglect; Elizabeth Aguilar Tarchi, San Francisco assistant district attorney; and Shawna Reeves, MSW, director of elder abuse prevention at the Institute on Aging. The event is free and open to the public. To RSVP, contact Herschell Larrick at hlarrick@ioaging.org or (415) 750-4187.

LGBT senior dance

The Institute on Aging will hold an LGBT senior dance Friday, June 13 at 7 p.m. in the Coronet Auditorium, 3595 Geary Boulevard. The event is free and open to people 62 years of age or older. LGBT DJ Jon Sugar will be spinning at the event and has also put out the call for any drag queens or go-go boys who want to volunteer their time to give the event “a little flavor” to contact him at (415) 731-2424.

LGBT hidden histories of WW II

C OCLOOL RO RYYOOUURR W WOORRL LD DW W ITH ITH

PRIDE PRIDE

The Rosie the Riveter/WW II Home Front National Historic Park in Richmond will have a special Pride Month presentation Saturday, June 14 at 3 p.m. The program is entitled “LGBT Hidden Histories on the WW II Home Front,” and will feature park ranger Elizabeth Tucker and public historian Donna Graves. The 45-minute talk will discuss the National Park Service’s efforts to preserve the stories of LGBT civilians who worked or volunteered on the World War II civilian home front. See page 14 >>

TOYS • CRAFTS • HOUSEWARES • HARDWARE • GIFTS 479 Castro Street

cliffsvariety.com

TOYS • CRAFTS • HOUSEWARES • HARDWARE • GIFTS 479 Castro Street

cliffsvariety.com

<< Business News

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Gay jeweler forges LGBT wedding business by Matthew S. Bajko

or nearly a quarter century Rony Tennenbaum worked behind the scenes in Manhattan’s jewelry business, helping to market other designers’ collections. Then, in 2007, the gay jeweler made the decision to launch his own signature line. Each collection features up to 20 different designs, with one of his most successful so far dubbed LVOE. Its tagline is “Love is love. No matter how you spell it.” “I tell everyone there is no such thing as gay jewelry unless it stands up proud with flags and dances,” joked Tennenbaum. “Really it is about the sentiment.” He quickly built up a following, and thanks in part to the successes of the marriage equality movement, began extending his market reach nationally. “Ten years ago if you were Googling ‘gay’ and ‘jewelry,’ what you got was gaudy lavenders, triangles, and rainbow jewelry. My intent was to make jewelry that was much more elegant,” he said. “These are engagement and wedding rings.” Another popular collection is his “Tie the Knot” line featuring pendants and rings sporting a rope motif and diamonds. “There have always been nautical jewelry but they were never able to sell as a wedding message. People usually buy them as fashion jewelry,” he said. “I sell them as a wedding piece of jewelry.” This spring marked his first foray into the California market, due to the decision by Christensen and Rafferty Fine Jewelry in San Mateo, south of San Francisco, to begin carrying several of his wedding rings and bracelets. “Five years ago I partnered with someone doing distribution all over the country,” said Tennenbaum. “Slowly, I have been creeping into

mainstream stores interested in carrying a new kind of product, which this is and definitely attracts an LGBT audience.” Tennenbaum is now in talks with stores in San Francisco and Los Angeles that are interested in also selling his namesake jewelry. His collections can be found in stores in Seattle; Chicago; Richmond, Virginia; Miami; and in cities in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. None of the gold he uses is bought from mining companies, as he uses recycled gold, and he uses the industrybacked Kimberly Process to avoid buying conflict diamonds. Nearly all of his jewelry is manufactured in New York City’s jewelry district. “One of the factors I believe in strongly in my line is nothing gets taken overseas. I have the labor stay here,” he said. His website (https://ronytennenbaum.com/) may prominently feature photos of loving same-sex couples, but Tennenbaum said he has also attracted a strong straight clientele interested in his unique design perspective. “I have a very large straight following. They love and want jewelry that is more modern and a little edgy,” he said. “A lot of people fall in love with the meaning behind it.” Although not officially married in the eyes of the state, Tennenbaum and his husband of 21 years are “married for all intents and purposes,” he said. In addition to his jewelry line, Tennenbaum has also started providing guidance to same-sex couples about wedding and engagement etiquette. Questions he is often asked by customers include: Do we get engaged? Who proposes to whom? Do we get a diamond ring? “The first state that allowed gay marriage is only 10 years old,” noted Tennenbaum, referring to Massa-

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Jewelry designer Rony Tennenbaum

chusetts. “The gay community is still confused.” EQL, a new print magazine focused on the LGBT wedding market debuting this year, will carry a column by Tennenbaum on wedding jewelry etiquette. And once he partners with more stores on the West Coast to carry his jewelry, Tennenbaum plans to present his lecture “The New Etiquettes of the Rainbow” for LGBT residents in those markets. “The engagement process was really skipped over in the LGBT community because we were so focused on getting the marriage rights and laws passed,” he said. “I am a big believer it is a rite of passage in your relationship and you should enjoy that period and be proposed to. I am finding more and more of the two people in a couple, they both want to hear ‘Will you marry me?’ and ‘Yes, I will.’ It is a double proposal.”

so I thought let’s start this up,” said Delphine, who sold his financial planning practice in 2012. “This is my life’s work. I will sink and swim with this.” The idea for the Equality One fund stemmed from the Human Rights Campaign’s guide called “Buying for Workplace Equality,” said Delphine. The report breaks companies into three color-coded categories – green for buy, yellow for caution, and red for avoid shopping at – based on their adoption of LGBT supportive policies and benefits. “We looked at over the past 10 to 12 years those companies considered LGBT friendly and were very surprised to see those companies trumped the market,” said Delphine, referring to their stock performance. “They were significantly higher performers in the market than their competitors and peers who were not LGBT-friendly. It made intuitive sense to me. If you treat people better, you make more money.” Delphine officially launched his Equality One fund in November, with James Cornehlsen of Dunn Warren Investment Advisers managing the investment portfolio. So far 11 clients have invested the $25,000 minimum required to join the fund.

SF baker celebrates Pride

San Francisco-based baker Kara Haspel Lind has debuted special cakes for Pride Month. The owner of Kara’s Cupcakes is whipping up the delectable dessert in two special cake-only flavors – paradise and chocolate eclipse. Paradise cakes feature organic bananas, a passion fruit curd filling, a cream cheese frosting, and a Courtesy Kara Haspel Lind dusting of fresh toasted coconut. Kara’s Cupcakes’ Pride Cake The chocolate eclipse version is a chocolate cake filled with Italian meringue marshmallow that “Picking up traction on this is is then covered in a rich chocolate really challenging,” said Delphine, ganache frosting. whose company’s two-person fiThe cakes can be adorned with nance department is located in the a shell that consists of white candy East Bay city of Hayward. hearts broken up by a line of rainThe goal is to reach $10 million bow-colored hearts. Six-inch cakes in assets under management so that cost $40; 9-inch cakes cost $70. the threshold to invest can be lowStarting next week the company, ered, he said. which has eight locations around “That will allow for those lower the Bay Area, will unveil Pridefees, lower costs internally,” said themed window displays and be Delphine. “We would like to get it selling a special Pride cupcake. The down to maybe $1,000 onetime inchocolate-covered cupcakes with a vestment or $100 per month to instrawberry filling sell for $3.75, with vest into the fund.” 15 percent of the proceeds benefitMost of the money is invested ting the San Francisco LGBT Pride with companies in the HRC report’s Celebration Committee. The sweet shop’s cupcake truck will also be participating in San Francisco’s Pride festival for the fourth time this year. For more information visit http://www.karascupcakes.com/.

Pro-gay investment fund launches

A gay Seattle-based financial adviser has launched an investment fund aimed at championing pro-LGBT workplace policies. Marc Delphine, 37, the CEO of Equality Funds Inc., is targeting investors who want to invest in LGBT-friendly businesses. It is modeled after funds that invest in Courtesy Marc Delphine so-called green companies that are environmentally friendly. Equality Funds Inc. CEO Marc Delphine “There was nothing for LGBT,

green category. Delphine said the fund is open to investing with companies in the yellow zone and will consider those in the red as well. “It is not just, hey we are going to cherry pick the companies already there. We want to have impact there and go to companies not yet there and guide them along,” he said. “We have not done that yet. Once we hit mutual fund status we can then push our weight around.” He is not the only one to believe there is an advantage to investing in LGBT-friendly companies. Last October Credit Suisse launched its LGBT Equality Index, the first index to track the equity performance of companies with LGBT-friendly policies. It includes those publicly traded companies that score 80 or above on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. At the same time Credit Suisse also introduced an associated investable portfolio, the Credit Suisse LGBT Equality Portfolio, for its private banking clients in the U.S. “We are very pleased to be launching an index that tracks the economic impact of LGBT-supportive policies,” Credit Suisse global head of equities Timothy O’Hara stated in a release announcing the new index and portfolio. Undaunted by having a global bank as a direct competitor, Delphine expects to see more such LGBT-focused funds be offered as the idea catches on with more investors. “I hope so, frankly,” said Delphine when asked about such funds becoming more common. His goal is to launch multiple funds on various global exchanges, such as in Australia, India, Russia, and China, and use his clients’ investing power to push for LGBT public policy changes in those countries. “By going into these countries that don’t have good public policies for LGBT equality, we believe we can change the hearts and minds of business leaders,” said Delphine. “Through the almighty dollar we believe we can change public policy.” For more information about the Equality Funds, visit http:// www.equalityfunds.com.

Honor roll

Patrick York, a gay real estate agent with Coldwell Banker NorCal, has earned an accredited buyer’s representation designation from the Real Estate Buyer’s Agency Council. Mr. July in the 2012 Barechest Calendar, York performs on occasion at Castro gay bar the Edge as drag queen Cheron Dippity. For the second time the San Francisco Business Times has honored lesbian certified public accountant Nanette Lee Miller, the West Coast partner-in-charge of assurance services at accounting firm Marcum LLP and co-leader of the firm’s national LGBT and non-traditional family practice group. The weekly publication named Miller one of its 2014 “Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.” Celebrating its one-year anniversary, Castro store Local Take is holding a party from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 15 with wine tastings and 10 percent off everything in the store. Located at 3979-B 17th Street and fronting Jane Warner Plaza, the shop carries goods made by local artisans and designers.t Got a tip on LGBT business news? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 861-5019 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

Politics>>

t Zoning causes hiccup for planned SOMA gay club by Matthew S. Bajko

zoning issue has caused a hiccup in the plans by drag queen Heklina and her business partners to open a new gay club in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. The group of investors is in escrow to buy the former Oasis nightclub at the corner of 11th and Folsom streets. They have not disclosed how much they offered the current owner, Annie A. Berthiaume, though an online listing pegged the sales price at $875,000. “It is more than we wanted but within the range of what we could do and makes sense,” said Geoff Benjamin, one of Heklina’s business partners. “We are paying a premium for a building that is run down because it is one of the few properties that has the capacity for entertainment and a liquor license.” Heklina, whose given name is Stefan Grygelko, has been searching for a permanent home to re-launch her weekly drag shows, which she recently announced would no longer be called Trannyshack due to individuals who have decried her use of a trans slur in the name. “I want to bring Trannyshack back as a weekly show but not under that name,” Heklina told the Bay Area Reporter in a phone interview last week. “If we get a new sound system and lights, we could bring in nightclub acts. I see a lot of potential there.” Last summer the business partners had tried to land the lease for the former Paradise Lounge club space on the opposite corner of the 11th and Folsom intersection. But the landlord rejected their proposal. The Oasis site is included in the entertainment corridor created on 11th Street between Folsom and Harrison streets. But due to additional language incorporated into the Western SOMA Neighborhood Plan that the city adopted last year, it would not be permissible for the owners to obtain an entertainment license and they could only operate it as a bar. The reason, said Benjamin, is because it falls within 200 feet of a residential enclave district located on a nearby alley called Kissling Street. The rule is meant to provide a buffer zone between housing and entertainment uses in the area. Thus, under the current rules, Heklina would not be allowed to throw her drag shows at the space, nor could a DJ or musical acts perform there. “I can’t find a single person who asked for this zoning control,” said Benjamin. “It is one of these crazy planning processes where it all sounded good but nobody really thought about it. They included property in an entertainment corridor that can’t have entertainment.” The deal to purchase the building had been on track until Heklina and her business partners discovered the zoning issue with the property. If not dealt with by city leaders, they do not want to buy the building. “It looks like it is going to happen except for this stupid zoning issue,” said Heklina. “It is a ridiculous zoning thing no body wanted. Not even the residents wanted it or asked for it.” In a phone interview this week with the B.A.R., District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim, who represents SOMA, said the zoning issue with the Oasis site stemmed out of a desire by nightlife backers and SOMA residents to limit conflicts between entertainment and residential uses. “The intent was always for that site to be zoned for uses that include entertainment and nightlife,” said Kim. Jim Meko, a gay man who

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

chaired the Western SOMA Citizens Planning Task Force, told the B.A.R. that he had warned entertainment officials and Kim that the last minute change they made to the new zoning plan would negatively impact the Oasis site. “This happened because they didn’t want any new residences anywhere near the 11th Street nightclubs,” said Meko, noting that the initial proposal would have grandfathered in the existing clubs as legal nonconforming uses. “Our zoning proposal would have allowed this to go through without a blip.” Gay District 8 Supervisor Scott Wiener, the lone vote on the board against the Western SOMA zoning changes, said he was not surprised to learn of the problem with the Oasis site. He voted against the plan, said Wiener, “precisely because it is antinightlife. It is designed to reduce the amount of nightlife in Western SOMA.” Saying he is “1,000 percent supportive of Heklina being able to move forward with the space,” Wiener added that he hopes the city “can quickly fix” the zoning issues. In May, Benjamin approached Kim’s office to seek her support in changing the zoning for the Oasis property. Before they closed on buying the property, they wanted assurances that the restriction on entertainment use would be lifted. “They consistently said they were happy to fix this. They just haven’t been moving on it,” Benjamin told the B.A.R. during a June 6 phone interview. Adding to their urgency, said Benjamin, is the property owner has informed them she has offers from developers who want to build housing on the site. Last Thursday, the same day Heklina spoke to the B.A.R., she posted a message on Facebook to complain that Kim was “moving very slowly” on the matter and asked supporters to contact the supervisor’s office. By Friday afternoon Kim, who was traveling last week, had posted her own note to her Facebook page saying her office had contacted the city attorney’s office last Monday, June 2, to request they draft up legislation to deal with the zoning issue. “I absolutely support this zoning clean up and had already informed the owners re: our support,” wrote Kim. Asked by the B.A.R. about the complaints her office was foot-dragging on the issue, Kim said, “I honestly didn’t know where it came from.” After meeting with Benjamin in mid-May, Kim said her staff spent two weeks contacting interested parties to gauge if there would be any opposition to fixing the zoning issue. After finding none, they submitted their request with City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office to draft the planning code change. “Honestly, our office was moving very quickly on this issue,” said Kim, adding that, “It is not a simple change actually.” Meko said there could be opposition depending on what changes to the zoning the city proposes. “I can’t imagine what Jane is going to do,” he said. Benjamin said this week that due to Kim’s announcement the nightclub investors “feel comfortable moving forward” in buying the building. “I think the timeline of politics and the timeline of business don’t always go at the same pace,” he said. “We needed Supervisor Kim to respond in a very short time frame and we really appreciate she was able to.”

tend. It takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 14 at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street at Octavia, in San Francisco.

HIV listening tour hits Bay Area

Rick Gerharter

Drag queen Heklina and her business partners hope to turn the long vacant club at 11th and Folsom streets into a new gay club.

Kim hopes to introduce the zoning change legislation by the end of June, triggering a 90-day deadline for the planning commission to then address it. The Board of Supervisors would then vote on the zoning change sometime this fall. “I am absolutely in full support of club Oasis re-opening,” said Kim. Heklina and her investors hope to close on the sale by the end of June. Benjamin said there is a chance they could have the bar open in time for this year’s Folsom Street Fair, set to take place Sunday, September 21. “As a gay man I would love to have that space open during Folsom, at least as a bar,” he said. “It would be fantastic to have another gay venue right on Folsom Street right in the fairgrounds.” Other than cleaning up the building, which has been closed for five years, Benjamin said they are not planning to do much work on the space. “We are keeping it simple,” he said. “It will work for us as is, so that should make things relatively easier than if we were doing a major remodel.”

SF forum focuses on LGBT seniors

The third annual Howard Grayson LGBT Elder Life Conference is

set to take place this weekend in San Francisco and will once again highlight various aging issues impacting the LGBT community. The main focus of this year’s event will be the findings and recommendations of the city’s LGBT Aging Policy Task Force’s report it presented to city officials this spring. In particular, the conference will zero in on housing and health concerns among LGBT seniors. “The convergence of these two life problems for elders in our community has created a crisis, especially for seniors whose HIV/AIDS care depends on maintaining their San Francisco residency,” stated conference convener Sue Englander. “To worry about losing both at this point in their lives can be overwhelming. We want to promote pro-active strategies for dealing with these two inextricably connected issues.” Sponsored by the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, the conference’s name honors Milk club stalwart Howard Grayson, a gay, union, and civil rights activist, who died in September 2011. This year’s event will also pay tribute to Jazzie Collins, a transgender activist and member of the aging task force, who died last year. The daylong gathering is free to at-

The Office of National AIDS Policy is bringing its listening tour to the Bay Area later this month. The federal office’s newly appointed director, Douglas Brooks, has been hosting listening sessions around the country this spring. President Barack Obama named Brooks, a gay African American man living with HIV, to the post in March following the resignation of Dr. Grant Colfax, who previously had served as the director of HIV prevention and research for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The focus of the sessions will be on local implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and the HIV Care Continuum Initiative. The first one will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 24 in the Oakland City Hall Council Chambers. The building is located at 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, near the 12th Street BART station. The second will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday, June 26 at the UC Hastings College of the Law’s Louis B Mayer Lounge located at 198 McAllister Street in San Francisco. To register to attend, visit www. cmpinc.net/onap/registration.aspx.t

On the web Online content this week includes the Bay Area Reporter’s online columns, Political Notes and Wedding Bells Ring; the Out in the World column; and an article about the 10th anniversary of Wild Rainbow African Safari. www.ebar.com.

<< Community News

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Trans men contemplate manhood in new book

by Matthew S. Bajko

ebar.com

he question of what does it mean to be a man is at the heart of a new book featuring essays from a diverse group of men who have transitioned from female to male. Manning Up: Transsexual Men on Finding Brotherhood, Family, and Themselves, published by Oakland-based Transgress Press, explores issues surrounding masculinity and manhood within the FTM community. It aims to move the conversation beyond tales of transitioning and focus it on the 28 contributors’ lived experiences and daily struggles. “There are a number of pieces in there where people talk about why fatherhood is important to them and what it means to be a good dad, especially as a transman,” said Oakland resident Trystan Cotten, 45, a straight married black man and professor of gender studies and African American studies at Cal State Stanislaus. “Life is not the same as a cisgender man. Not to say being a cisgender man is easy. But as a trans man you have a different road to take.” (Cisgender refers to individuals who have a match between the gender they were assigned at birth, their bodies, and their personal identity, as a complement to transgender.) Cotten, who transitioned from female to male in 2007, is the book’s publisher. He launched Transgress Press two years ago as a platform for trans writers to find an audience. His company’s latest title, released in late May, provides readers with a “much broader, diverse understanding about what it is to transition to manhood,” said Cotten. The book is filled with “beautiful stories of men becoming fathers, husbands, brothers and about mentoring other men,” said Berkeley resident Zander Keig, 47, who came up with the idea for the book and co-edited it. Taken together the collection of essays is “a celebration of being a man and all of the different aspects each of them experience as a result of being men,” said Keig, a clinical social worker with the Department of Veterans Affairs who works with homeless vets. Based on the subject matter of the essays, Keig and his co-editor, Boston-based transgender activist Mitch Kellaway, decided to use the

Jane Philomen Cleland

Publisher Trystan Cotten, left, and contributor Maximilian Wolf Valerio are pleased with the release of Manning Up: Transsexual Men on Finding Brotherhood, Family, and Themselves.

phrase “man up” as the basis for the book’s title. “Becoming men, or manning up, is a different take on the phrase, which tends to be a negative thing,” said Keig. “We wanted to not reclaim it but reframe it for our purposes.” During his late teens and into his 20s, Keig identified as a dyke. In his early 30s he started identifying as trans, and at age 39, began his medical transition. Several years ago Keig co-edited the book Letters for My Brothers: Transitional Wisdom in Retrospect, which was a series of letters trans men wrote to their pretransition selves with words of advice and guidance. Following the success of that book, it was a 2011 Lambda Literary Awards finalist, Keig turned to wanting to spark a conversation among trans men, whose voices are often not heard from in mainstream media or within the LGBT community itself. “What happened is I was looking for mentors and other men like me I could exchange stories with. There were few and far between,” said Keig, who is married to his wife, whom he met 12 years ago. “I thought other people might be having the same experience. I talked to other FTMs who were having a hard time finding mentors and living unapologetically as men. A lot of them don’t identify anymore as trans.” Former FTM International leader Jamison Green, 65, a consultant on trans issues who wrote the award-

winning 2004 book Becoming a Visible Man, said too often the discussion around trans masculinity is muted. “When people think of transgender, they pretty much think of trans women,” said Green, who lives in the East Bay and, since February, has served as president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Having written the foreword to Manning Up, Green called the book a first-of-its-kind effort “to extract and expose trans men’s personal feelings about masculinity and what does it mean to become a man.” Far too often, he said, trans men are misunderstood or “are diminished because they used to be women.” One of the book’s contributors is Maximilian Wolf Valerio, 57, a former longtime San Francisco resident who is now living in Oakland. He transitioned 25 years ago and identifies as a straight man. “At some point the man part is more important and the trans part is more and more like a footnote,” said Valerio, who works for a tech company and published his own book, The Testosterone Files, in 2006. “It is less something I think about.” For Manning Up Valerio repurposed an essay he initially wrote for a gay website back in 1998 about why he is not transgender. He prefers the term transsexual, which he argues is being lost under the transgender umbrella. “I think being transgender or See page 14 >>

recently moved to Merced, California. On June 2, 2014 at the age of 66 Craig passed away with his longtime partner by his side. He leaves behind his devoted partner of 30 years, Matthew Hansen; mother, Elsie Weiss; and sister, Robin. Craig attended Johns Hopkins University and Baylor College of Medicine, earning his degrees in medicine. For 25 years, Craig worked as a pediatrician at Southeast Bay Pediatrics,

where he was also a managing partner. He was proud of his success and all he had accomplished. A big part of Craig’s livelihood was in making others happy and introducing them to the enjoyments life had to offer such as theaters, dancing, and traveling. His happiest moments where out on the dance floor with Matthew. Craig will be remembered for his love of life, his sense of humor, and how giving of himself he was.

Obituaries >> Craig W. Beachler March 1, 1948 – June 2, 2014

Dr. Craig W. Beachler was born March 1, 1948 in Dayton, Ohio. He later moved to San Francisco for a few years, then to Guerneville, California, where he resided for 22 years. He had

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<< Sports

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Bicyclists mourn death of LifeCycle rider by Roger Brigham

ach of the 2,340 cyclists and 600 volunteer roadies in the just-completed massive AIDS/LifeCycle fundraiser was given a unique bib number at the start of the race, but all crossed the finish line last Saturday wearing the same number on their helmets to honor a beloved veteran rider who had died midway through the 545-mile journey. Event organizers announced that San Francisco cyclist Edna FloresLagunte, 41, riding in her 13th LifeCycle, suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday, June 4 and died in the hospital the following day. She is survived by her husband and fellow rider, Richard Lagunte. “She was a wonderful woman,” Ryan McKeel, spokesman for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, told the Bay Area Reporter. “She was so beloved and will be deeply missed.” To enable her to cross the finish line symbolically, the final day of the race the cyclists rode with her number, 1371, on their safety helmets. McKeel said the riders raised a

record $15 million this year, shattering the previous record of $14.5 million. The funds are used to support HIV/AIDS programs at SFAF and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Event organizers said condolences on the passing of Flores-Lagunte may be sent to: Richard Lagunte, 3008 Alemany Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94112

Pride Run registration

Online registration is open for this year’s 35th annual Pride Run, Saturday, June 28. The beneficiary for this year’s event, organized by San Francisco Frontrunners, is Castro Community on Patrol. The 5- and 10-kilometer races start at 9 a.m. in Golden Gate Park. Registration information is available at www.sffr.org.

Frameline 38 sports films

Sports junkies will have ample offerings to watch in this year’s Frameline 38. The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival offers a variety of sports-related films, dealing with surfers, divers and swimmers, a transgender basketball player, and roller derby fanatics.

Among the jockathon offerings: Back on Board is a 90-minute documentary about gay Olympic diver Greg Louganis, long removed from the glory of his brilliant successes in the 1980s. His sexual orientation, at first just rumored and then later publicly acknowledged, kept him from getting the endorsement opportunities other photogenic male Olympic champions of his and other generations took for granted. Louganis is expected to make a personal appearance at the Wednesday, June 25 premiere at the Castro Theatre. Derby Crazy Love explores the world and history of women’s roller derby, one of the few pre-Title IX women-dominated sports outlets that was a haven for lesbian athletes. The film is directed by Frameline veterans Maya Gallus and Justine Pimlott, who previously showcased Punch Like a Girl and Girl Inside. The 68-minute film shows with the 13-minute documentary The L Riders, featuring five lesbian motorcycle riders finding expression and empowerment on their two-wheeled steeds. The films will be shown Saturday, June 21, at the Roxie. Out in the Line-Up pairs eye candy and heartache in a 78-minute documentary on gay athletes in the op-

Courtesy SFAF

San Francisco resident Edna Flores-Lagunte, right, died last week after suffering a cardiac arrest during the AIDS/LifeCycle ride. She is survived by her husband, Richard Lagunte, left.

pressively hetero Bay Watch culture of surfing. The film documents the friendship and experiences of Australian champion surfer Dave Wakefield and gaysurfers.net founder Thomas Castets. The June 27 showing is preceded by Clan, an eight-minute short on the coming out of an indigenous

Australian rugby player. Gender Games offers a special treat for Bay Area residents with its exploration of our own Gabrielle Ludwig, who drew national attention when, in her 50s, the 6-foot-7 transgender woman rejoined college women’s basketball and led her team to the league championship. The nine-minute documentary screens Monday, June 23, as part of the “Transtastic!” collection of films. Floating Skyscrapers is a dramatic exploration of love and lust in a swimming pool locker room in repressive modern-day Poland. The audience at the Thursday, June 26 showing at the Roxie will get into the mood for the film with Home from the Gym, six dialogue-free minutes of a young man changing in a locker room. Boys is a Dutch drama with subtitles about two adolescent track athletes struggling with their budding attraction for each other. It is a coming out story that reminds us that the battle for acceptance is fought against the voices within us as much as the voices around us. The film screens Saturday, June 28. Full descriptions and information and schedules and tickets are available at frameline.org.t

A great body of work by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

n the days of my youth, after I first heard of the existence of transgender people via the popular media, I went to my local library in an attempt to find more information. I spent long days buried in dusty card catalogs and primitive microfiche machines, focusing heavily on entries between “transportation” and “transvaal” for anything that spoke to me. There wasn’t much there. At that time, there really was little even in the biggest libraries, and the small community library two blocks from my home simply did not carry anything of the sort. At the time, the majority of texts you might find out there were slim, and mostly focused on autobiographies. First and foremost was The Christine Jorgensen Story, followed up by Jan Morris’s Conundrum and Renee Richards’s Second Serve. It wouldn’t be until I was well into my 20s that I would even see a copy of these books. The books, naturally, focused on the experiences of their subjects. While the Jorgensen book is a classic, Richards’s book is much less of one. All three tell – by design – a limited narrative based around the authors’

Trans reservist

From page 1

For most of her military career Fox had served as a man. Yet during her deployment in the Middle East, Fox decided to transition to a woman. By December 2012 Fox had returned to the states and was placed on the inactive ready reserves list. She started taking hormones, enrolled in graduate school, and divorced from her wife. During this time she received a promotion to captain and underwent surgery to have several ribs removed due to a shoulder injury. The medical procedure, however, prompted the military to inform Fox she could no longer be listed as inactive. Rather, she needed to be back in

own experiences. They tell their readers their histories, but they don’t necessarily tell their readers where to find resources or information beyond what little the author provided. What I really wanted was a tome that could tell me more about my experiences and me. I was seeking a book that could give me resources and information to prepare me for living my life as a transgender woman. That book was simply not in existence. It was still some time before I could locate a fairly good local support group and other resources. There was no Internet at the time, no search engines with which I could readily find nearby resources. In my neighborhood, you found ads for the local trans support groups in the back pages of the “swinging singles” rags sold in the seedier parts of town. Between then and now, the transgender community has blossomed. The rise of the aforementioned Internet allowed people from across the country to quickly and easily network with each other. Transgender people began to organize, began to reach out in new ways, and began to work with larger LGBT groups for inclusion. Support groups grew up. Popular culture still lagged behind,

but even that began to slowly shift. More books were published. Ground was broken with texts like Kate Bornstein’s Gender Outlaw, Loren Cameron’s Body Alchemy, and Leslie Feinberg’s Transgender Warriors, among others. That trend continues with Janet Mock’s recent Redefining Realness and Jennifer Finney Boylan’s She’s Not There. Still, even with those great, powerful books, one thing remained lacking. There was no single, solid compendium of resources. That changes now. The other day, a sizable box appeared on my doorstep. In it was a thick, softbound tome containing nearly 650 pages of detailed information about being trans. The book in question is Trans Bodies, Trans Selves, edited by Laura EricksonSchroth and published by Oxford University Press. The groundbreaking feminist-created tome Our Bodies, Ourselves inspired the book. That text, published in 1971, was the first on women’s health written by women and for women. Borrowing that notion, this book is truly written by transgender people, and designed for transgender people. It is written neither by nontransgender medical professionals nor academics, but speaks directly to its transgender peers. It also provides a wide variety of voices: rather than suffer from the

unavoidable self-focus of an autobiography, it provides space for a great variety of transgender people to share their knowledge and their experiences. I mentioned the thickness of the book above, and there is very little wasted space in those pages. Designed to encourage people to flip through and read at their leisure, the book includes sections titled “Who We Are,” “Living As Ourselves,” “Health and Wellness,” “Our Relationships and Families,” “Life Stages,” and “Claiming Our Power.” Each section is further broken down into a handful of subsections, and further peppered with boxed sections written by transfolks who speak well to the sections in question. This is the book I wanted to find when I was that young kid prowling the local library branch. It was the book I could never find, but always

uniform in order to be evaluated by a medical review board. The process, she was told, could last up to a year. “It was the right thing to do,” said Fox, “but the catch was I am a female now. As far as California and the federal government are concerned, I am female.” Fox, 41, had legally changed her name and gender, and due to the hormones she was taking, had developed physical changes so that she no longer presented as a man. “I was not going to cut my hair or shower with the guys because I am not a guy,” explained Fox about the prospect of having to go back on active duty. She informed her commander about her gender transition and was told she could rejoin as female. Now classified as a signal officer for

the Army Reserve, Fox took part in a training weekend in November 2013. “I had no issues,” she recalled. Nonetheless, two weeks later in an email sent to Fox and 400 of her fellow reservists, she was transferred to the individual ready reserve. The move, Fox believes, was due to her being in violation of the Pentagon’s ban against transgender people from serving in the military. “I was told to take the orders and go away, pretty much,” said Fox. “It was easier to follow the policy than have me setting precedent. As far as I know, I was the first person invited back to serve under a new gender.” Captain Eric W. Connor, the deputy chief spokesman for the Army Reserve, confirmed that Fox had been placed on the individual ready reserve list in November last

year. He said it is unclear when her “permanent separation” from the military will be finalized. “When you are separated from the armed forces you are no longer considered a service member,” said Connor. Stressing he was not speaking directly about Fox’s case, Connor noted that under current Department of Defense “policy and guidelines a soldier or service member who chooses a transgender lifestyle he or she cannot serve in the armed forces.” Fox would like to be officially discharged from the Army Reserve so she can join the California State Military Reserve and serve as its LGBT outreach coordinator. The all-volunteer, unarmed force acts as the state’s militia and assists with the California National Guard dur-

Christine Smith

wanted to. This book would have made my own transition that much easier, and would have given me a sense of community that I simply could not find near me. That said, I also want to tell you that this book also teaches me today. It touches on topics I’ve never seen put in print, and talks about them in ways that are honest and refreshing. I don’t feel “talked down” to or patronized by the writers or editor. Each section is, in my opinion, pure gold. I think of how much has changed for the transgender community since my days in the library stacks, let alone when I was managing the earliest days of my transition. The community has dramatically changed since then. I have to assume that the next decade or two will be equally transformative. I lack a reliable crystal ball, but I suspect we will continue to embrace new mediums, and continue to grow and mature as a community. This book, though, I feel may be a large component of our community as it goes forward. I want to see Trans Bodies, Trans Selves continue to evolve like its feminist counterpart – and I want to see it in our libraries and support groups for decades to come. It may be a key to our very future.t Gwen Smith is proud to be named on page 581. You’ll also find her at www.gwensmith.com.

ing emergency events, such as earthquakes or wildfires, when called up by the governor. “As a transgender woman she is working to resign her position so she can then join our state military reserve. Federal law prohibits you from being in both,” explained Shannon Terry, deputy director of government affairs for the California Military Department and an Army captain in the California National Guard. Due to the military’s ban on transgender service members, Fox is barred from joining the state National Guard. “It is unfortunate,” said Terry, who is straight but described herself as a strong advocate for the LGBT community. See page 14 >>

tions of a faith-based exemption in the proposed legislation: It could provide religiously affiliated organizations – far beyond houses of worship – with a blank check to engage in employment discrimination against LGBT people. “Some courts have said that even hospitals and universities may be able to claim the exemption; thus, it is possible that a religiously affiliated hospital could fire a transgender doctor or a religiously affiliated university could terminate a gay groundskeeper,” TLC’s statement said. In addition to NCLR and TLC’s opposition to ENDA, GetEqual and Queer Nation no longer support its current version. For its part, New York Citybased Queer Nation has called for a comprehensive civil rights law that would ban discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, and federally-funded programs. The Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, ACLU, and the National Center for Transgender Equality all support the current measure but remain concerned about any religious exemption carve-out provisions. Moreover, recent legislative attempts at the state level in Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon, Tennessee, and South Dakota by social conservatives and the far right that would

D8 seat

From page 1

“We are all in these positions because the voters have elected us to four-year terms. It is my responsibility to talk to the voters about the work that I have done around housing, transportation, and infrastructure work in the district. I look forward to having that conversation.” Even before it became clear he would not be facing a high-profile progressive opponent, Wiener had told the B.A.R. that he felt “very good about my support level in the district.” Pointing to his championing such projects as the Castro Street sidewalk widening now under construction and the purchase of a parking lot on 24th Street in Noe Valley to turn into a parklet, Wiener said, “We have worked with people all over the district and have delivered very positive results for the district.” Petrelis’s candidacy brings a unique predicament to the District 8 supervisor race since he is under court order to remain at least 150 feet away from Wiener. The stayaway order stems from his photographing the lawmaker in a City Hall restroom in 2012. Later this month Petrelis is expected to file a motion in superior court to request a modification to his re-

Murder suspect

From page 2

quent search warrant.” She said she couldn’t provide more information since “this is the SFPD’s case.” According to the Miami-Dade County Correction and Rehabilitation Department’s website, Green is in custody without bond on two out-of-state warrants. Bastian said it’s not unusual for people to fight extradition. He couldn’t provide specifics on the extradition process, including how long it may take, but he said, “We are taking all steps necessary to bring him back to justice.” People who knew Warren have described her as ambitious and kind. She was originally from Oakland and graduated in 2012 from California State University, Sacramento with a criminal justice degree. Despite the delay, Sil Warren said, “We are all very happy” that Green was arrested. “We knew it was just a matter of time because ‘God answers prayers!!’”

straining order so that he can participate in candidate forums. In order for him to qualify for public campaign financing, Petrelis is required to take part in at least three debates. “The details are to be decided,” Petrelis said this week when asked what specific changes to the restraining order he would seek. Asked if he planned to take part in candidate forums, Wiener told the B.A.R. that he “will participate in debates.” But he declined to address if he would support changing the conditions of Petrelis’s restraining order so that he could also participate. “I don’t want to comment on his restraining order, that is between him, his lawyer, and the police,” said Wiener.

Several statewide LGBT groups are also voicing their own growing uneasiness, including Equality California, which said in a June 9 statement that it “supports passage of” ENDA, “but strongly oppos[es] the broad religious exemption attached to it.” “Ensuring that all American employees are judged on the quality of their work, not their sexual orientation or gender identity, is fundamental to achieving full equality,” said

Rick Zbur, EQCA executive directorelect. “But that protection shouldn’t come with an asterisk or loophole, and that’s what this religious exemption is – a way to promise full protection without delivering it. This exemption undermines the value of ENDA and it must be fixed.” In voicing concerns, EQCA, which rarely weighs in on federal legislation, also pointed to California’s anti-discrimination protections “that don’t include this broad religious exemption.” “These protections have been proven fair and effective in the nine years since they were enacted,” EQCA’s statement said. Last week, another statewide LGBT group, Equality Illinois, also issued a statement on ENDA, insisting the religious exemption provision be removed from “any bill that moves forward in either chamber.” Like its California counterpart, Equality Illinois said it supports ENDA because of its overarching aim to “prohibit workplace discrimination against LGBT Americans” but opposes “including any exemptions that would give LGBT people less protection than other protected groups already under civil rights law,” according to the statement. And like EQCA, Equality Illinois points to its state’s 2005 Human Rights Act, which “has worked effectively to protect LGBT employees on the same terms as other groups.” ENDA passed the U.S. Senate on

November 7 by 64-32 vote, marking the first time that legislative body approved federal civil rights legislation banning anti-LGBT employment bias. In 1996, the Senate failed to pass ENDA by vote of 49-50. Other stumbling blocks remain. For instance, the current version of ENDA contains a provision that would ban state and local governments from “retaliating against religious groups that take action only permissible because of [ENDA’s] religious exemption clause.” And House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said over and over that he would not bring ENDA to a vote, claiming the legislation is unnecessary and would lead to frivolous litigation. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposes ENDA in its entirety, with San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone penning a letter to a Senate committee explaining the Catholic Church’s reasoning against the measure. The pro-LGBT Catholic group Equally Blessed wrote (on September 16, 2013) to senators in support of ENDA but at the same time, the coalition raised concerns about any religious exemptions. “We urge you to remove ... the religious exemption from the current draft of the bill. Our nation’s religious institutions have nothing to fear from legislation that treats every citizen as though they were equal in the eyes of God,” the letter read.t

mer boss, Carmen Chu, when she became the city’s assessor recorder last year. In November Tang easily won election to fill the remainder of Chu’s supervisor term and is now all but assured of a full four-year term. In District 6, which covers South of Market and the Tenderloin, Supervisor Jane Kim is up against three men, including gay Rincon Hill resident Jamie Whitaker. Another neighborhood activist, Michael Nulty, and David Carlos Salaverry, a Republican who placed third in the

June primary for the 17th Assembly District seat, are also running. District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen faces the most serious challenge this fall. Well-known progressive Tony Hall, who came close to winning the seat four years ago, is once again seeking to represent the Potrero Hill, Bayview, and Hunter’s Point neighborhoods. The District 10 contest, with six candidates, is the most crowded field for supervisor this year. Two other challengers, Ed Donaldson and Mar-

lene Tran, also ran for the seat in 2010. The other candidates are neighborhood activists Shawn M. Richard and DeBray Carpenter, who is also known as Fly Benzo. A rapper and activist against police harassment in the Bayview, Carpenter gained media attention three years ago when he filmed police officers during a rally and was subsequently arrested for allegedly assaulting one of the officers. A jury convicted him on lesser misdemeanor charges, according to press reports at the time.t

Courtesy EQCA

Incoming Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur

leave hospital orderlies, school cafeteria workers, and shopping mall security guards without protection,” said Michaelson.

Statewide groups weigh in

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Other SF supervisor races

Like with Wiener, several other supervisors seeking re-election this year also appear the heavy favorites to win their races. Fellow moderate District 2 Supervisor Mark Farrell, who represents the Marina and Cow Hollow neighborhoods, has one opponent, Juan-Antonio Carballo. The board’s most freshman member, District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang, is running unopposed to represent the Outer Sunset and Parkside neighborhoods. Tang was tapped by Mayor Ed Lee to replace her forShortly after Warren was killed, police said they were searching for a woman who was over 6 feet tall and described as Pacific Islander who’d allegedly been involved in the parking altercation. Citing police and other records, the Medical Examiner’s office report on Warren’s death says that after the parking collision, “multiple occupants exited the other vehicle, approached the vehicle that [Warren] was occupying, produced firearms, and fired multiple rounds.” Expressing concern about compromising the investigation, San Francisco police wouldn’t answer several questions, including whether they are looking for anyone else in connection with Warren’s death. Sil Warren said, “I will be glad when this is over. We are reliving this nightmare all over again. I am looking forward to sentencing day.” A call to the San Mateo address listed in court documents for Green wasn’t returned Tuesday. His criminal history includes assault and domestic violence charges, the files show.t

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enable persons to discriminate against LGBTs and same-sex couples based on religious beliefs opposed to homosexuality have only raised the level of concern. On the matter of social conservatives’ efforts to empower discrimination against LGBTs, Jay Michaelson, Ph.D. offered his assessment. “Religious conservatives have really succeeded at ‘moving the goalposts’ here. Just two years ago, this kind of broad exemption was a huge compromise for the Obama administration, in the context of the Affordable Care Act. Now, ENDA’s backers are offering it up as the default position. That is a huge, silent victory. And we all know what the ultimate goal is: Religious exemptions for anyone who wants one, including corporations and individuals. That would represent a tragic erosion of the rule of law,” said. Michaelson, a visiting scholar at Brown University, authored the 2013 report, “Redefining Religious Liberty: The Hidden Assault on Civil Rights.” He said that it’s “gratifying” that some organizations are saying that ENDA in its current form is “too high a price to pay.” “Employment non-discrimination is vitally important, but at what cost?” Michaelson said. “Hopefully, progressive members of Congress will insist on an appropriate, narrow exemption for churches and religious functionaries, while rejecting this over-broad one that would

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ENDA

From page 1

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

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14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Trans reservist

From page 12

The California Military Department, which will participate for the second year in Sacramento Pride this Saturday, is supportive of seeing the Pentagon overturn its ban against transgender service members, said Darrin Bender, director of government affairs for the state agency. Bender, a lieutenant colonel in the state military reserve, added that the department believes having Fox become a member of the state’s militia will set an example for how anachronistic the Pentagon’s policy is. “By bringing Sage into the ranks, and allowing her to advocate as a member of a military organization, we believe will be a good example for the federal government that you can integrate transgender soldiers into your force. It is seamless and not an issue.” Fox would become the first out transgender member of the California Military Reserve, Bender said. Transgender people “can serve openly and there are no breakdowns in order or discipline” when they do, added Bender. “We want to be an example and have California to be the first state to do this.”

SF Pride nixes info booth

Even though Fox is not yet an official member of the state militia, she recently joined with its members to petition San Francisco’s Pride organizers to allow it to have an informational table during this year’s festival taking place Sunday, June 29. “They asked to have a booth at Pride, not to recruit but to say we exist and we accept transgender members,” said Fox. Last year, the state military department participated at San Francisco Pride for the first time by having a booth at the festival grounds and recruiting prospective members for both the National Guard and the state militia. But due to a public outcry, the board of the San Francisco

News Briefs

From page 5

The Rosie the Riveter park is located at 1414 Harbour Way and the program will be held inside the visitor center. For more information, contact (510) 232-5050, ext. 0 or www.nps.gov/rori.

San Mateo Pride festival

San Mateo County will celebrate LGBT Pride with a festival Saturday, June 14 from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at San Mateo Central Park, 50 East 5th Avenue in San Mateo. This year’s theme is “Bridging Communities,” and the festival has something for everyone: food trucks, DJ and live music, panel discussions, kids’ space, youth space, and workshops. The festival is a clean and sober event; admission is free. Several local LGBT organizations, including PFLAG, Peninsula MCC Church, and Our Family Coalition are co-sponsors. The event is produced by the diversity and equity team at the San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services office. For more information, visit the Facebook page, “San Mateo County Pride Initiative.”

East Bay AIDS Walk coming up

The eighth annual East Bay AIDS Walk is coming up and organizers

Trans men

From page 10

genderqueer has a political project to it. It is a political term, that has sometimes been my perception,” he said. “There are people who see it as a stamp against binary gender. I am not for or against binary gender; my particular transformation from

LGBT Pride Celebration Committee voted in February to ban military recruiters from the festival grounds. The ban on transgender service members played into the board’s decision, said Pride Executive Director George Ridgely, adding that so did other issues members have with the military, such as its recruitment in minority neighborhoods and how it handles reports of sexual assaults. “I do think it was a multi-layered situation,” said Ridgely. Pride board President Gary Virginia, in a May 24 email he sent to state militia officials, wrote that the board was willing to review its decision after this year’s event. “We remain open to further discussion, perhaps at a public community forum and/or SF Pride membership meeting this summer or fall,” wrote Virginia. The prohibition on military recruiters does not apply to the parade, though the state military department did not apply to march. Officials said it is partly because they want to be able to talk to people one-on-one to explain what the state militia is and that its policies are LGBT-inclusive. “It is an organization who strives to be inclusive, and not only to be inclusive, but to be a model and example for the rest of the country. To have this organization banned from San Francisco Pride, to me, is absurd,” said Bender. The board’s refusal to allow the state militia to have a table at Pride seems hypocritical, said Fox, when it will be honoring Chelsea Manning, the transgender Army private convicted of espionage for releasing classified U.S. documents to WikiLeaks, as an honorary grand marshal this year. “She is convicted of espionage. How does that honor us?” asked Fox, who views Manning as a traitor to her country. “The part that really upsets me with their honoring Chelsea Manning is she has not done anything or stood up for transgender military members.”

An ‘inspiration’

are hoping for a big turnout this year, as many nonprofits that benefit from the walk are in need of funds that the event raises. The walk takes place Saturday, June 21 at the gazebo at Lake Merritt in Oakland. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m., followed by the 5K walk at 10. Following the walk there will be lunch and a health fair from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The AIDS walk is smaller than its counterpart in San Francisco, but last year featured over 750 participants and raised $70,000 for East Bay community-based and faithbased nonprofits. Registration is $25 and participants can walk on their own or join a team. For more information, visit www.eastbayaidswalk.org.

Institute for PWAs

Fox, who works as an IT consultant, currently lives outside Sacramento but is in the process of moving to the city’s downtown area. Born in Santa Clara County, she lived in San Jose until her parents separated and she moved to the state capital with her mother. Divorced twice herself, Fox has four children from her previous relationships. Her two daughters are now 20 and 18, while her sons are 3 and 5 years old. She is the director of outreach for the Transgender American Veterans Association and is working with the California Department of Veterans Affairs on an invite-only forum for LGBT veterans this September. She also recently joined the board of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. Fellow board member Matthew James Reese, a gay man who serves in the state military reserve, considers Fox to be a role model for himself and other soldiers. “Sage is definitely an inspiration to me,” said Reese, 24, who lives in Sacramento. He added “she is paving the way for the service members who will come after her and come out as trans.” When the Pentagon ban is finally overturned, as Fox predicts will occur within five years, she would like to return to the armed forces as a therapist or social worker once she earns her master’s degree. Until then she plans to continue to speak out publicly about the issue. “We are already serving and we’ve been serving for decades,” said Fox. “Our allies have already proven having transgender service members is not an issue and can be done.” The U.S. military has nothing to gain by discriminating against transgender people, argued Fox, and can only gain by ending the ban against them. “We are not asking for special privileges. We are asking for equal privileges and equal rights,” she said.t

Tenderloin Tessie, which provides holiday meals to people in need, is looking for volunteers to help at the Pink Saturday party in the Castro June 28 and the Pride festival Sunday, June 29. Board President Michael Gagne said that the more volunteers who staff shifts, the more money is earned for the nonprofit. Several shifts are available for both events, which also includes a mandatory training meeting. To sign up for a shift, contact Gagne at (415) 584-3252.

The Positive Resource Center and state Senator Mark Leno (DSan Francisco) are co-sponsoring “Thriving in 2014,” a daylong institute on access to income and health care for people living with HIV/ AIDS. The event takes place Tuesday, June 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Milton Marks Conference Center (State Building), 455 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco. This year is significant for launching Covered California and Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, as well as implementation of state and federal regulations on the equal treatment of same-sex marriages. In addition to the access panels, the day will also include HIV community dialogue sessions. Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments will be provided. Several local agencies are partnering with PRC, including the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, National Senior Citizens Law Center, National Immigration Law Center, AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Project Inform, and Openhouse. Funding is provided by the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the Ryan White HIV/ AIDS Treatment Modernization Act. To register, visit www.positiveresource.org/thriving2014.t

female to male was not a politicized project. It was a medical transition and a personal transformation.” He sees the book as presenting a broad perspective on how to define manhood. And it presents in personal terms, said Valerio, “the beauty and strength and the journey these men take to become who they are.” To celebrate the release of Man-

ning Up, Transgress Press is hosting a launch party from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 17 at the LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street in San Francisco. The free event will features signed copies of the book for sale and readings by some of the local contributors. For more information visit http:// www.transgresspress.org.t

Tenderloin Tessie needs Pride volunteers

Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035839100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: VOLKOV LAW FIRM, 211 GOUGH ST #116, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALEKSANDR VOLKOV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/15/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035844100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BUMP IT UP, 2176 CHESTNUT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed AIMY TANTUWAYA-REHM. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/19/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/19/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035840000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WORLD STARS, 1369 22ND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARGARET K. LEE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/19/07. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/15/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035843400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JIAN MING TRADING COMPANY, 2400 ULLOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JIAN MING LIU. 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 05/19/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035843500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: XING SHENG TRADING COMPANY, 120 WENDY LANE, EL SOBRANTE, CA 94803. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed DENG YONG. 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 05/19/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035820900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: IDEAL STORE, 4214 CALIFORNIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ELENA TUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/05/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/14.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035833500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PLEASURE WORKS ECOROTIC, 603 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BARNABY LTD LLC (OH). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/13/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035833600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PLEASURE WORKS ECOROTIC, 1620 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BARNABY LTD LLC (OH). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/13/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035833700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOOD VIBRATIONS PLEASURE WORKS, 899 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BARNABY LTD LLC (OH). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/13/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035833900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOOD VIBRATIONS PLEASURE WORKS, 189 KEARNY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BARNABY LTD LLC (OH). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/01/08. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/13/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-14-550346 In the matter of the application of: RAYMOND BRENNAN, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner RAYMOND BRENNAN, is requesting that the name RAYMOND BRENNAN be changed to RAYMOND DAVILA. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 24th of July 2014 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

MAY 29, JUNE 5, 12, 19, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035851600

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035827600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WELEARN CENTER, 2650A BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SUMI LEVY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/2214. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/22/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035842200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BIEN BIEN, 255 STEINER ST, #602, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed EMILY DULLA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/23/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/23/14.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ADVANCE HEALTH SF, 528A SAN JOSE AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MAGNOLIA NG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/08/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/08/14.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SPIRAL TOUCH MASSAGE THERAPY, 1840 48TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARY B. FONTE. 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 05/16/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035840600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO PERIODONTICS AND IMPLANT DENTISTRY; SFPID; 129 SACRAMENTO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ALEC J. TEMLOCK, DMD, MS, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/15/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/15/14.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035830600

MAY 29, JUNE 5, 12, 19, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035852200

MAY 29, JUNE 5, 12, 19, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035823100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAYDE MARK DESIGNS, 1112 DE HARO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HEATHER FORBES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/11/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/07/14.

MAY 29, JUNE 5, 12, 19, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035838600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LOGOPEDA; PASSION COACHING FOR MEN, 550 FELL ST, #15, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ALINA GABRIELA MIHAI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/15/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/15/14.

MAY 29, JUNE 5, 12, 19, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035867100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SYMBIO; SYMBIO, INC; 393 7TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SYMBIO, INC. FAMILY THERAPY AND CONSULTING SERVICES (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/12/14.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DANIEL DESIGNS, 3626 GEARY BLVD #202, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed THANH D. VONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/02/2014. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/02/2014.

MAY 22, 29, JUNE 05, 12, 2014

JUN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2014

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Legal Notices>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035856200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GOLDEN GATE ENVIRONMENTAL, 1980 SUTTER ST #217, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NANCY LEE CRANE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/1994. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/27/2014.

JUN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035863800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BAY AREA STRENGTH AND NUTRITION, 150 LOMBARD ST #4, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94111. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANDREW BABKES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/12/2014. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/30/2014.

JUN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035858400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MICHAEL JONES ARCHITECTURE, 326 EUREKA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MICHAEL J. JONES. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/28/2014. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/28/2014.

JUN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035861200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CITIZEN FOX, 2205 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SMARTHUNGRY LLC (CA). 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 05/29/2014.

JUN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035837100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RICHMOND REPUBLIC, 642 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed AED LOCAL, LLC (CA). 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 05/14/2014.

JUN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035838500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MISSION BRASSERIE, 2146 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed BONNE CHANCE HOSPITALITY LLC (CA). 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 05/15/2014

JUN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2014 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-034554900

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: AMERICAN TRUTH COMMISSION LLC, 2141 FILBERT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business was conducted by a limited liability company and signed by AMERICAN TRUTH COMMISSION LLC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/27/2012.

JUN 05, 12, 19, 26, 2014 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Dated December 20, 2013 To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are: 1102 TARAVAL LLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 33 New Montgomery St. #1230, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 1102 TARAVAL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 941162440. Type of license applied for

41 – ON-SALE BEER & WINE – EATING PLACE JUNE 12, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035880100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FOGGY PIXEL, 2019 20TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NICOLAY POSTARNAKEVICH. 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 06/09/14.

JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035883000

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHEBA INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND TRANSLATION CENTER, 1700 CALIFORNIA ST #475, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ISMAEL MANSOOR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/10/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/10/14.

JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-14-550351 In the matter of the application of: HEATHER TEETER ROCKER, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner HEATHER TEETER ROCKER, is requesting that the name HEATHER TEETER ROCKER, be changed to PEMA TEETER ROCKER. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept. 514 on the 29th of July 2014 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

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MAY 29, JUNE 5, 12, 19, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035878800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WAGATHON, 2741 CLAY ST #2, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed HELENA ZILBERSTEIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/09/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/09/14.

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JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035870500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ELEVATE ENSEMBLE, 1374A FULTON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed CHAD TYLER GOODMAN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/04/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/04/14.

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JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035870400

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE BARE FOX, 1275 COLUMBUS AVE # K, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed TAMAR YACOUBIAN. 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 06/04/14.

JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035832800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LIQUID HAPPINESS BARTENDING SERVICE, 735 DARTMOUTH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134-1809. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed JERREMI D. CLARK & CAMILLE A. FISHER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/12/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/12/14.

JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035876500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: COUNTY ROAD ASSOCIATES, 1412 VAN NESS AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed MARILYN WOLPER; ROLAND LAMPERT; MALKAH W. CAROTHERS; JULIE WOLPER BRENNER; ANDREA WOLPER; EDWARD FERNANDEZ; SUSAN FERNANDEZ; SAMUEL W. FERNANDEZ; & GORDON T. FERNANDEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/06/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/06/14.

JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035876200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ELT-PRO, INC., 355 28TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed ELTPRO, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/06/14. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/06/14.

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JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-035870800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: URCHIN, 584 VALENCIA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed LDHS, LLC (CA). 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 06/04/14.

JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-035340000

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: YUMMY HUT, 4543 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business was conducted by a general partnership and signed by SIMEI CHEN & XIN QUAN HE. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/30/13.

JUNE 12, 19, 26, JULY 03, 2014

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Vol. 44 • No. 24 • June 12-18, 2014

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Can’t help lovin’ ‘Show Boat’ by Philip Campbell

ecent debate in the press and social media about the suitability of Jerome Kern’s and Oscar Hammerstein II’s legendary Show Boat opening the San Francisco Opera’s summer season seems a bit unnecessary now. Some were wondering if the operetta based on Edna Ferber’s panoramic novel would be operatic enough to merit a place on the War Memorial stage. Others said the famous watershed musical, filled with beloved American Songbook standards, didn’t really need the grand treatment.

Morris Robinson (Joe) in San Francisco Opera’s Show Boat.

See page 20 >> Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Modernism points the way

by Sura Wood

odernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection, a new exhibition that opened last weekend at the de Young Museum, arrives on the heels of another big modern art show now at the San Jose Museum of Art. This one, though, consisting of 46 paintings and a few sculptures (and a pair of Joseph Cornell’s boxes) by 28 artists, is selective, substantially smaller, and emphasizes an earlier period of postwar American art, particularly the 1960s and through the early 1980s. It focuses on Abstract Expressionism and the period that followed it, with works

Harry Cooper, Curator of Modern Art at the National Gallery of Art, discusses Philip Guston’s “Courtroom,” part of the show Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection now at the deYoung Museum.

{ SECOND OF TWO SECTIONS }

PRIDE

by the likes of Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and Frank Stella. As is the case with San Jose’s show, Modernism mirrors the idiosyncratic, albeit cultivated tastes of the collectors. While it may be true that following the devastation of WWII and the incomprehensible barbarity of the Holocaust, artists were confronted with existential questions regarding the value of art and how to express themselves in a world that had lost its innocence, some of the work that came out of the era can be cerebral and esoteric in ways that don’t elicit rapturous enthusiasm. Still, the show has individual pieces to recommend it. Here are some highlights. See page 26 >> Rick Gerharter

2014 Reservations now being accepted for our June 26, 2014 PRIDE edition, our largest annual issue. Call 415-359-2612 or email advertising@ebar.com for more info.

<< Out There

18 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Music to our thirsty ears by Roberto Friedman

s jaded and been-there-donethat as Out There can sometimes feel – occupational hazard – we still get a little thrill when we see the gay Pride rainbow flags aflapping down Market Street. So happy Pride month, LGBT peeps! In honor of the auspicious month, we offer this archival photograph of two immortal LGBT heroes, author James Baldwin and playwright Lorraine Hansberry, cutting a rug together. We adore this photo because: a) both clearly have style and elegance, b) it’s in glorious black-and-white, c) she is smoking a cigarette while dancing, and d) they’re so gay, gay, gay! Out There loves the entire Arts & Culture beat, but our heart most belongs to music in all its forms. Symphony, opera, lieder, jazz, show tunes, pop tunes: you name it, we’ll listen to it, being quite promiscuous in our tastes. We’re endlessly fascinated with how people react to music. To our mind, one of the few endearing traits of the human race is how a whole room full of us will sit, transfixed, when someone with a great set of pipes sings a simple song to us. And this is despite the fact that music is the most abstract art-form of all. Folks who can’t or won’t appreciate abstraction in visual arts, non-narrative film or (heaven forefend!) experimental fiction easily accept the abstract nature of most, if not all music. OK, there is some programmatic music – say, Peter and the Wolf – but most of the time, there are no signposts built in. Yet

music so rules. Last week the worthies of the Opera Guild invited us to an elegant cocktail party at the St. Regis San Francisco to announce plans for Passione, the Opera Ball 2014 that will kick off San Francisco Opera’s fall season in September. The opening-night attraction will be Vincenzo Bellini’s great tragic opera Norma. In keeping with its Roman Empire setting, Opera Ball 2014 Chairmen (Chairwomen?) Teresa Medearis and Cynthia Schreuder promised the party will provide Roman centurions ushering us into City Hall for the Ball. OK, we’ll take that! Not that it’s been officially announced, but given the acclaim and excitement that has greeted SF Opera’s production of Show Boat this summer, it’s not surprising that word has leaked out: coming up in a few seasons will be a fully staged operatic production of Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece Sweeney Todd. Attend the tale! Last Friday at Noon, the City of San Francisco officially saluted 40 Years of Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon with a special event in the Rotunda of City Hall. The hats, the costumes, the politicos and dignitaries were all there – the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd – but it was hearing show music fill our civic cathedral that gave us the shivers. Last Saturday night, OT was at Davies Hall to hear conductor Charles Dutoit lead the San Francisco Symphony in an account of Beethoven’s Second Piano Concerto with soloist Kirill

James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry show some gay style.

Gerstein, and Shostakovich’s great 10th Symphony, that fascinating conundrum of Soviet-era music. The composer had been tormented by the brutal dictator Joseph Stalin, who could snuff out his career – or indeed, his life – at his caprice. Stalin died in 1953, the year of the symphony’s composition, so it’s hard not to hear the 10th as Shostakovich’s commentary on the end of a personal threat. A lively Georgian dance (Stalin was born in Georgia) is countered by the insistent repetition of Shostakovich’s signature musical phrase. Composer conquers all! Today, with a Russian leader asserting Soviet-style intimidation against the free expression of artists (Pussy Riot) and citizens (“homosexual propaganda”), it’s hard not to hear echoes of Stalinism. Let’s hope that artists and gay people will again prevail!

Traveling in style

We’ve been reading a little

American history in the new volume Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire – A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival by Peter Stark (Ecco), and as usual, found some suppressed gay history within. In its 19th-century tale of both seagoing and overland expeditions to reach the fur-bearing riches of the Pacific Northwest, Stark describes the flamboyant style of certain French-Canadian voyageurs. “The voyageurs wore soft Indian moccasins on their feet and deerskin leggings up over their knees that were held up by a garter-like string tied to a belt around the waist. In warm seasons they typically wore a breechcloth, in the Indian style, leaving thighs bare. “Above the waist, the voyageurs wore a loose-fitting and colorful plaid shirt, perhaps blue or red, and over it, a long, hooded, capelike coat called a capote. In cold winds they cinched this closed with a waist sash – the gaudier the better, often

Courtesy SFS

Guest conductor Charles Dutoit.

red. Topping off this rainbow-hued, multicultural ensemble, the welldressed voyageur sported either a colorful headscarf or a red wool hat, on which the French-Canadian voyageurs loved to display badges of their status. ‘Je suis un homme du nord!’” And they say drag queens are over-the-top?t

Theatre>>

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 19

Summertime stages come alive by Richard Dodds

ummer always has its own theatrical glow. While mainstream theater catches its breath before rebooting for the fall, you can count on a diverse array of special attractions to arise for the care and feeding of unsated stage-goers. Here are a quartet of those opportunities that both begin and end in a basement.

When worlds collide

Since his first appearance in 1902, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan has been the source of more reinterpretations than you can shake a hook at. One of the more singular variations on the story of the boy who wouldn’t grow up was first seen last year at New Conservatory Theatre Center, to where it now returns for an encore run. In Pansy (June 19-28), a young gay man finds a box of mementoes in his basement, left behind by a gay man of the 1990s who never had the chance to grow up. Evan Johnson plays Michael, whose discovery of old videotapes, audiocassettes, party fliers, and other keepsakes leads him on a journey into the life and times of a club kid named Peter Pansy, whose life was cut short by AIDS. Written by Johnson in collaboration with director Ben Randle, the production incorporates physical theater, video, shadow imagery, and what is called performance-art nightclub aesthetics. Pansy was developed through NCTC’s Emerging Artists Program, and a tour is planned following this run. Following each performance there will be a talkback with local queer luminaries designed to spotlight the community’s lineage. Ticket info at nctcsf.org.

First friend to the first lady

A pioneering journalist and a pioneering first lady were such avid correspondents that more than 3,000 letters between them were finally revealed in 1978 even while hundreds more were known to have been destroyed for a certain lack of discretion. Hick: A Love Story (July 10-27) builds its portrait of Lorena Hickok and her multi-decade relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt from these intimate exchanges that suggest a physical as well as an emotional bond. Terry Baum, who coauthored the script with Pat Bond, plays Hickok, who fought her way into the male-dominated newsrooms of the 1920s and became an unmistakable presence with her tough-talking, hard-drinking, cigar-smoking, flannel-wearing 200-lb. self. Assigned by the AP to cover Eleanor Roosevelt during her husband’s first presidential campaign, Hick and ER, as they called each other, began a friendship that included Hick’s own sleeping quarters adjacent to ER’s White House bedroom, a coaching role encouraging ER to be an activist first lady, and, later in life, living in a cottage built for her at the Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park. Baum will take on the persona of Hick, while Paula Barish will read verbatim from Mrs. Roosevelt’s letters. Carolyn Myers, who often performs with Baum as the Crackpot Crones, is directing Hick at the Eureka Theatre in association with Theatre Rhino. All tickets are free, but reservations are a must: Call (800) 838-3006, or go to crackpotcrones.com.

Forbidden Feinstein’s

While Feinstein’s at the Nikko has presented dozens of performers with Broadway credentials, it will

Lois Tema

Evan Johnson plays a young gay man in the solo show Pansy that finds inspiration from Peter Pan at NCTC.

Back in the basement

Joan Marcus

Michael Urie will bring his acclaimed performance as an assistant to Barbra Streisand in Buyer & Cellar to SF in August. Lynn Fried

In Hick: A Love Story, Terry Baum takes on the role of journalist Lorena Hickok, whose intimate relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt is explored through their letters.

turn over most of its July schedule to an actual stage show. Forbidden Broadway: Alive and Kicking! (July 10-27) is the 18th edition of satirical rewrites of popular showtunes that poke both light and barbed fun at the current state of the Broadway musical. (Already, in New York, Forbidden Broadway Comes Out Swinging has

Planet campiness by Richard Dodds

ampy spoofs of old movie genres have been around for decades, from a relatively prim example like Dames at Sea to the considerably more outre worlds of Psycho Beach Party and The Mystery of Irma Vep. Even if on tippy toes you can’t reach these higher bars, you better well be stretching toward them. The creators of Devil Boys from Beyond may not have even been thinking in these terms, content enough to create a wispy frolic, but it’s pretty late in the game for such uninspired satire. Devil Boys from Beyond gained attention at the 2009 NY Fringe Fest, and now New Conservatory Theatre Center is presenting it as part of its Pride season. Supposedly a sendup of 1950s B-list sci-fi flicks, it doesn’t exert much effort at actually taking potshots at this target, certainly not in the way that preceding genre spoofs poked at specifics with a clever wink. Even within a plot that slips and slides all over the place, the show’s notion of humor often seems satisfied with men in drag hurling insults at one another. The plot crafted by Buddy Thomas, Kenneth Elliot, and Drew Fornarola bears occasional resemblances to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as aliens swap out middle-aged rednecks with hunky replacements to the delight of their blowsy wives. But it takes far too long to arrive at this bit of fun, as earlier scenes focus on arguments between an ambitious female re-

Lois Tema

Chris Maltby, left, plays a Florida housewife in league with space invaders in Devil Boys from Beyond as a group of newspaper reporters (Nathanial Marken, A.J. Davenport, and ’Drew Todd) looks on in disbelief.

porter (a forceful, hard-edged Nathaniel Marken), her alcoholic ex-husband (a wan Kai Brothers), and the brassy, red-baiting gossip columnist (a shrewish ’Drew Todd) who wants to scoop her rival on the alien story. As an old-school newspaper editor, A. J. Davenport gets some of the best laughs with the character’s tabloid exuberance. When the action moves to Lizard Lick, Fla., director F. Allen Sawyer’s snappy-enough production warms up with something of a Greater Tuna vibe. Chris Maltby steadily mines humor as a menopausal harridan who comes to like the idea of

Patinkin also come under the satirical gun. And it’s hard to imagine that Forbidden Broadway perennials Carol Channing and Liza Minnelli won’t show up at some point. Longtime producer John Freedson has said the touring editions over the years have tried to keep the material more broad-based than the New York editions, where audiences can be savvier to current news and attractions on the rialto. “We’re very careful to make it so it’s not too insidery,” he said. “It’s very important that people wherever they are won’t leave the show scratching their heads.” Tickets are available through hotelnikkosf.com/feinsteins.aspx.

the Plutonian invasion, envisioning herself as a galactic high priestess. As her meeker sidekick, Jennifer S. McGeorge is also helpful in the humor department. Finally, Gabe Lopez and Brandon Richard fulfill their duties as the buff and briefly clad aliens. Devil Boys is a show that requires considerable goodwill from the audience, and a dedication to finding pleasures where you can.t Devil Boys from Beyond will run at New Conservatory Theatre Center through June 28. Tickets are $25-$45. Call 861-8972 or go to nctcsf.org.

added yet another title to the canon). Created in 1982 by Gerald Alessandrini, who provides the alternative lyrics without yet getting sued by the original songwriters, the show takes its shots at current musicals (The Book of Mormon, Once) and old faves (Cabaret, Les Miserables). Stage personalities such as Catherine Zeta-Jones, Matthew Broderick, Patti LuPone, and Mandy

In her coffee-table book My Passion for Design, Barbra Streisand described a little village of quaint shops filled with her bric-a-brac that was constructed in the basement of a building on her estate. Playwright Jonathan Tolins (Twilight of the Golds) imagined what it would be like if a down-on-his luck actor was hired to run this unpopulated village, and share with us the character’s encounters with Streisand, his Streisandobsessed brother, and her husband James Brolin in this one-man show. Buyer & Cellar (Aug. 15-31) was rapturously received when it opened off-Broadway last year, not only for Tolins’ unique take on celebrity, but also for Michael Urie’s performance as the make-believe burgermeister. The run in New York is continuing with another actor, but fortunately for us, the SF-bound tour will star the acclaimed Urie (perhaps bestknown as Marc St. James from TV’s Ugly Betty) at the Curran Theatre. Tickets are at shnsf.com.t

<< Books

20 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Unmasking the surveillance state by Tim Pfaff

ven if you think you’ve read everything Glenn Greenwald has written about NSA mass surveillance and Edward Snowden’s gamechanging revelations about it, the high-profile gay journalist’s new book, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State (Metropolitan Books), is must reading. Watching HBO’s The Normal Heart hours after finishing Greenwald’s dizzyingly readable book, I was struck by the film’s scene of the first in-person encounter of Ned Weeks and Dr. Brookner, in which the Larry Kramer stand-in says, “I’ve got a big mouth. Is that a symptom [of AIDS]?” and she replies, “No, it’s a cure.” It was that very capacity of Greenwald’s mouth as a journalist that led the then-29-year-old Snowden to seek him out as the reporter of the young cyberanalyst’s leaks documenting the extent of NSA telephony and Internet sleuth-

ing – hard evidence of the NSA’s documenting of itself, more like it. Longtime Greenwald blog-followers, who know that his hard-hitting missives can be tryingly long-winded, will appreciate the careful structure of No Place to Hide (something he may have learned from the highly disciplined Snowden in his filing and cataloging of the documents), its concision relative to the scale of its explosive contents, the lucidity of its polemics – and its sheer narrative verve. Almost as if compensating for nearly having missed the story of the century himself, he tells it masterfully. The chapter “Ten Days in Hong Kong” is asphyxiatingly tight story-telling. Fully aware of the fact that the Snowden story has brought and will continue to bring the reporter previously unimaginable levels of fame and fortune – while Snowden can hope for at best, in his own words, “the bottom bunk at Gitmo” – Greenwald paints a credible, consistent picture

of a wise-beyond-his-years young man of character and courage. In the Hong Kong narrative, you can’t overlook the contrast of the edgy, chronically underslept reporter and the whistleblower who, on the lam, sleeps soundly and with the same discipline he brings to everything else he does. Greenwald’s professional partner, the investigatory journalist and filmmaker Laura Poitras, also steps off the page as a three-dimensional individual as well as a woman of unshakeable convictions. And Greenwald’s husband, the Brazilian David Miranda – who, with his own recent detention at London’s Heathrow Airport returning from a visit to Poitras in Berlin, has assumed a role of his own in the ongoing narrative – similarly emerges as a flesh-and-blood human being, sage, wise and street-wise. It may surprise Greenwald that he has become so public about his private life, but these are the prices and rewards of the openness and transparency to

presents

Broadway...Our Way! June 25, 26, 27 8pm Nourse Theatre, San Francisco Tickets on Sale Now 415.392.4400 sfgmc.org Featuring Tony Award winner Laura Benanti The June 26th show will feature ASL Interpreted Performance. For details boxoffice@sfgmc.org

Season 36 Sponsors: Dazzle Sponsor: Don Julio Tequila Additional Support: Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund Grants for the Arts, Bay Times, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bob Ross Foundation, Folsom Street Events

which he has committed himself (and demanded of Big Brother). It’s clear that in Miranda he has a full partner. No one asked me, but it seems there might be a dog or two too many at Villa Greenwald in Rio, not to mention what Woody Allen would call “a spider bigger than a Buick,” but this is clearly a gay marriage for the record books. Throw in the stretched yet singularly responsive Guardian journalists, and you have one great cast. The prose goes from the heart-racing international-intrigue yarn to a grimmer kind of nailbiter in the third and fourth sections, “Collect It All” and “The Harm of Surveillance,” in which Greenwald painstakingly unpacks the creepy, testosterone-iferous acronyms – PRISM, TARMAC, BLARNEY, STORMBREW – that have stolen into our balking consciousnesses as surely as the surveillance programs and transgovernmental agencies they represent have infiltrated the most recondite alcoves of our once personal, now public, digitized, file-served lives. Greenwald builds on his own, career-long investigation of the surveillance state, adding the evidence of the Snowden-captured documents to build an expository slideshow (including many actual government Power Point slides) that’s calculated – and sure – to make the reader first go very quiet and then, however much already “in the choir,” rageful. Yet somehow even more damning, and chilling, is “The Fourth Estate,” in which Greenwald autopsies the ways the media have offered up their collective powers and responsibilities in the interest of attaining money, property and prestige. The largescale death of investigative journalism seems nearly trivial compared with the ways media have become the public-relations departments of corporations and governments, awaiting and dutifully re-issuing the press releases of clandestine powers of unimaginable wealth. Greenwald wears the badge of “journalist” as proudly and defiantly as anyone today, and he is merciless in pointing out how officialdom, displeased with his wares, has turned him from a journalist or reporter into a “blogger” (with its implications of second-tier, can’t-get-officially-hired status) or “activist” – when not an outright co-conspirator or traitor. What with the possibility of his arrest upon entering his native United States at any time, don’t expect him in this year’s

Show Boat

From page 17

The argument stopped when conductor John DeMain confidently mounted the podium and crashed headlong into a loud and quick-tempo pit-band version of the overture. He had us engaged so quickly and enjoyably no one could pause long enough to ponder or even care whether Show Boat is high- or middle-brow art. Director Francesca Zambello’s sensibly fastpaced staging turns out to take a fairly safe stance, but the bright and blaring production still manages to entertain us and exhibit the pioneering soul of an incredible 87-year-old experiment. The disturbing social commentary embedded in the plot is somewhat soft-pedaled in the current edition, and the controver-

San Francisco Gay Pride Parade, though he’s consistently good about calling Chelsea Manning “Chelsea.” In describing the global fight against government secrecy, Greenwald gives credit where credit is due and surgically pares away the lines of deception that have demonized Manning and Julian Assange – while drawing clear distinctions between what each has done, compared to what Snowden has done and how he has done it. It speaks to the integrity as much as the breathlessness of Greenwald’s writing that it is hard to pull a quote. His hammering condemnation of the Obama administration’s expansion of the Bushies’ surveillance policies yields this: “The Obama administration, which has brought more prosecutions against leakers than all prior presidencies combined, has sought to create a climate of fear that would stifle any attempts at whistle-blowing. But Snowden has destroyed that template. He has managed to remain free, outside the grasp of the United States; what’s more, he has refused to remain in hiding but proudly come forward and identified himself. Quite simply, [Snowden] has reminded everyone about the extraordinary ability of any human being to change the world.” The title No Place to Hide is sure to have special resonance for othersexual people everywhere. Although Greenwald has been remarkably little vilified for his sexuality – a traitor is a bigger catch than a queer – the corrosive language of disparagement shows in Secretary Kerry’s recent call for skinny, geeky Snowden to “man up,” come home and face the music. The baggy evidence of time-zone dysphoria is showing as much on Kerry as it did on his predecessor, while Edward Snowden continues to speak out and speak clearly, and sleep soundly.t sial aspects of the New York 1927 premiere (a mixed-race chorus of singers and dancers!) can’t help but seem less shocking today. Zambello understands the significance of the libretto, but avoids a heavy-handed revisionist style. Show Boat is a musical first and foremost. The serious moments are potent, but the ultimate aim is to amuse. The famous “miscegenation scene” framed by the doleful (and often cut) “Mis’ry’s Comin’ Aroun’” sung by the black members of the chorus is strong, but it is muted by the sheer size of the opera-house stage. Joe’s powerful first rendition of “Ol’ Man River” becomes less a symbolic motif than a welcome reprise as the show goes on, and everything bogs down dramatically in the surprisingly weak second act. See page 24 >>

Books>>

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 21

Summer mysteries entice by Tavo Amador

hether sitting poolside or on a plane during an endless flight, murder mysteries are excellent entertainment, even when they’re serious. Readers familiar with Paris will find The Chatelet Apprentice by Jean-Francois Parot (translated by Michael Glencross, Gallic, $15.95) gripping. Set in 1761 during the reign of Louis XV, with his dazzling mistress Madame de Pompadour presiding over an elegant court at Versailles, it captures the ebonycolored side of what would become the city of light – a dark, filthy, malodorous place filled with muddy streets and criminals from all classes. Nicholas Le Floch, reared in the country but no bumpkin, is a new recruit to the capital’s police force. When an officer disappears, he’s assigned to find him. Among the places he visits is the grim morgue. Does the decomposed body that unexpectedly turns up mean he’s now investigating a murder, not a disappearance? Either way, Nicholas is facing significant danger, especially during the debauched days and nights of Carnival, which soon descend upon the capital. This debut novel is suspenseful, atmospheric, and features an engaging, resourceful hero. A century later, Baron Haussmann, working for Napoleon III, had rebuilt Paris, turning it into the magisterial and breathtakingly beautiful city of today. But it was still dangerous, never more so than when besieged by the Prussians in 1870-71. Bob Van Laerhoven’s Baudelaire’s Revenge (Pegasus Books, $25.95), winner of the Hercule Poirot Award, recreates that terrible period when, while ordinary citizens were eating rats, aristocrats were reveling in orgies. Murder vic-

tims turn up, each bearing a verse from Charles Baudelaire’s Fleurs de Mal, in what seems to be the author’s distinctive handwriting. Commissioner Lefevre wonders if the influential modernist poet (1821-67) has returned from the dead to exact some form of revenge. Frightening and hard to put down. Princess Elizabeth’s Spy (Bantam, $15) is Susan MacNeal’s terrific follow-up to her fine debut mystery, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. As England stands alone against the Nazi menace, Maggie Hope leaves 10 Downing Street for Windsor Castle, where she’s to tutor 14-year-old Princess Elizabeth in math. King George VI and Queen Mary had refused to send her and her younger sister, Princess Margaret, to Canada for their safety, and as Maggie soon discovers, danger lurks in both the upstairs and downstairs worlds of Windsor. It’s up

to her to protect her royal charge, not an easy task, but one that the smart and likeable Maggie proves capable of doing. MacNeal does a good job recreating the terror British citizens experienced during the Nazis’ aerial onslaught and while they marched, seemingly unstoppable, across Europe. The French take food and restaurants very seriously, yet Killer Critique (Kensington, $15), Alexander Campion’s latest Commissioner Capucine le Tellier gourmet mystery, is very funny. Food critics are dropping faster than poorly made souffles, and tout Paris wonders if angry cooks have taken revenge for snarky cuts. Is a sexy starlet or a famous novelist trying to frame an innocent if temperamental four-star chef de cuisine who fears his canard a l’orange will be trashed? The ever-resourceful Capucine

dines her way to the solution. Who knew that copy editing in Manhattan could be dangerous? In Jane O’Connor’s Almost True Confessions: Closet Sleuth Spills All (William Morrow/Harper Collins, $14.99), Miranda “Rannie” Bookman arrives at famous author Ret Sullivan’s sumptuous Upper East Side apartment to find the reclusive writer strangled to death, with one of her Hermes scarves as the weapon. The police think a kinky sex date got out of hand, but Rannie worries that a sadistic killer is stalking Gotham. Her mother, son (“What are you, a corpse magnet?”) and new boyfriend Tim try to discourage her amateur sleuthing, but fortunately for readers, they fail. Desperate collectors will do anything to get what they want. In Barbara Allan’s latest laughout-loud adventure Antiques

Con (Kensington, $24), Prozacpopping dealer Brandy Borne is in Manhattan to attend a huge comic book show and sale. With her is Vivian, her drama diva mother, who has a rare and valuable 1940s Superman drawing in a briefcase handcuffed to her wrist. Things get off to a rough start for the Serenity, Iowa, ladies as their car dies on the George Washington Bridge, but they are rescued by a kind woman who drops them off at their hotel, which is also hosting the event. That night, the drawing disappears. There’s no shortage of suspects. With Brandy’s blind shih tzu Sushi in tow, these anything but proper Midwestern gals seek out the thief and killer in a strip club and in a retirement home. Neither place will ever be the same. Venice in the summer can be brutal – the heat, the tourists – but if one walks a short distance from the Piazza San Marco, the air becomes cooler and the day-trippers fewer. In Donna Leon’s 23rd Guido Brunetti mystery, By Its Cover (Atlantic Monthly Press, $26), someone has been stealing pages from rare and valuable books housed in one of La Serenissima’s most important libraries. Is the thief an American professor from Kansas who’s unexpectedly sailed away, and for whom no records exist? Then a theologian who had been reading the church fathers for several years at the library is brutally murdered. Is there a connection? Brunetti’s investigation leads him to his aristocratic motherin-law, a very social, well-connected contessa. Leon evokes Venice’s magical but corrupt ambiance as it exists at all levels of that improbable city’s society. Brunetti; his socialist, Henry James-loving college professor wife Paola; and their children are familiar yet continuously surprising characters, always a pleasure to spend time with.t

<< Out&About

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

O&A Out &About

Fri 13 The Bakla Show

Pridezilla

Micca de Joya

by Jim Provenzano

igger isn’t always better, but scary can be amusing, done carefully. Enjoy this week’s Friday the 13th, which falls on a full moon. Or go see Godzilla destroy San Francisco. See the notoriously spooky “Scottish play” on Friday. Hopefully, en route, you’ll walk under a ladder and meet a gay werewolf. Get lucky or unlucky. Knock on wood. Just warm up your pride. It’s coming, too, with any luck.

Thu 12 The Both @ Great American Music Hall Aimee Mann and Ted Leo perform music from their new album. (also June 11 at City Winery, Napa). Nick Diamonds of Islands opens. $26-$51(with dinner). 8pm. 859 O’Farrell St. 885-0750. www.slimspresents.com

The Homosexuals @ New Conservatory Theatre Center Bay Area debut of Chicago playwright Philip Dawkins’ comic drama about young men facing the new gay community. $25$45. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. thru June 28. 25 Van Ness Ave. lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Kevin Fisher-Paulson @ Green Apple Books The local gay author of A Song for Lost Angels: How Daddy and Papa Fought to Save Their Family discusses his struggle to remain adoptive same-sex parents. 7pm. 506 Clement St. 387-2272. www.greenapplebooks.com

Laura Deutsch @ Books Inc. Writer, editor and author of Writing from the Senses: 59 Exercises to Ignite Creativity and Revitalize Your Writing shares a miniwriting workshop and discussion. 7:30pm. 2275 Market St. 864-6777. www.booksinc.net

New and Classic Films @ Castro Theatre June 12, Joe (7pm) and Red Rock West (9:15). June 13: Interview With a Vampire (7:20) and Vampire’s Kiss (9:45). June 14: Frozen Sing-along (1pm) and Lost in America (7:15) and Something Wild (5pm, 9pm). June 15: Frozen Sing-along (1pm) Orson Welles’ Othello (5, 7, 9pm). June 17: Under the Skin (7pm) and Trouble Every Day (9pm). June 18: Rosemary’s Baby (7pm) and The Brood (9:30). $11. 429 Castro St. 621-6120. castrotheatre.com

The Orphan of Zhao @ American Conservatory Theatre BD Wong stars in James Fenton’s new stage adaptation of the a centuries-old Chinese legend of sacrifice and revenge when a young orphan discovers the truth of his heritage. $30-$130. Tue-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Sun 7pm. Out with A.C.T. night June 18. Thru June 29. Geary Theatre, 405 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Pride Business Expo @ Hotel Whitcomb The Golden Gate Business Association’s annual showcase of more than 75 local and regional LGBT vendors and professionals includes workshops, panels and receptions. 11:30am-8pm. 1231 Market St. at 8th. 362-4422. www.ggba.com

This Lingering Life @ Z Space Chiori Miyagawa’s multi-character play, inspired by Japanese Noh plays from the 14th century, explores the past and present lives of people dealing with the Buddhist concept of Karma. $15-$50. Wed & Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 14. 450 Florida St. theatreofyugen.org

Yerba Buena Gardens Festival @ Esplanade The months-long free performance series has commenced, with weekend outdoor dance, music and theatre concerts, on various days and evenings. June 12, Destani Wolf, 12:30pm. June 14: John Santos Sextet 1pm. June 15: Native Contemporary Arts Festival, 12pm. June 17: Poetic Tuesday at Jessie Square, 12:30pm. Thru Oct. Mission St. at 3rd. 543-1718. www.ybgfestival.org

Fri 13 American Buffalo @ Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Aurora Theatre Company performs David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1977 drama about three desperate men who plot to steal a valuable coin collection. Previews; opens June 19. $35-$60. Tue 7pm. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm & 7pm. 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org

The Bakla Show @ Bindlestiff Studio Third annual show of short plays and installations dealing with LGBT and queer youth issues in the Philipino community. $10-$20. Thu-Sat 8pm. 185 6th St. at Howard. Thru June 28. 255-0440. www.thebaklashow.wordpress.com

Dan Hoyle @ The Marsh The award-winning solo performer premieres his new show, Each and Every Thing, a multi-character play about the search for real community in a hyperconnected world. $20-$50. Thu & Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Thru July 12. 1062 Valencia St. at 21st. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

David Hawkins @ Glama-Rama Exhibit of spooky child-like pen and ink and digital images by the local gay standup comic. Exhibit thru July 27. 304 Valencia St. 861-4526. www.glamarama.com

Daylighting @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley

Show Boat @ War Memorial Opera House

Shotgun Players’ production of The Berkeley Stories Project, Dan Wolf’s play about a young East Bay woman whose day-long walk includes real-life stories from Berkeley residents. $20-$35. Wed-Sat 8pm. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

San Francisco Opera’s beautiful production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II’s classic musical about people in the 1880s who live and work along the Mississippi River. $24-$379. Various times, June 13, 19, 22, 26, July 1 & 2. 301 Van Ness Ave., 864-3330. www.sfopera.com

Devil Boys From Beyond @ New Conservatory Theatre Center

The Speakeasy @ Private Location

Buddy Thomas and Kenneth Elliot’s hilarious comedy is about an ace reporter who investigates a Florida colony of elders who are shacking up with alien beefcake guys. $25-$45. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 28. 25 Van Ness Ave. lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Golf Fore Good @ Chardonnay Golf Club, American Canyon Women’s golf tournament fundraiser for the Horizons Foundation. $150 ($550 per team) includes all fees, plus a box lunch, post-play dinner banquet, dancing and an awards ceremony; one grand prize Olivia trip to Hawaii for two. 11am-9pm. 2555 Jameson Canyon Road. 398-2333. www.horizonsfoundation.org

Boxcar Theatre’s popular Prohibition-era interactive bar, gaming and performance show extends its sold-out run before closing to find a bigger venue. $65-$100. Wed-Sat admissions times 7:30-9pm. Thru June 21. Address given after ticket purchase. www.thespeakeasysf.com

Triassic Parq @ Eureka Theatre Ray of Light Theatre company’s production of the innovative musical about a female T-Rex who turns male, leaving the herd of singing dinosaurs to question their prehistoric gender identity. $25-$36. WedSat 8pm. Thru June 28. 250 Jackson St at Battery. www.rayoflighttheatre.com

The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures @ Berkeley Repertory The West Coast premiere of multiple award-winner Tony Kushner’s epic new play takes on politics, sex, and power in his expansive and brilliant way, by focusing on a Brooklyn Italian family (with a gay son and a lesbian daughter) whose patriarch decides to die. $55-$89. Tue, Thu-Sat 7:30pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Thru June 29. Roda Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Queer Art Exhibits @ SOMArts Cultural Center Body, Body, Bodies, a group exhibit exploring perspectives on the human form. Also Second Helpings, a group exhibit about “fat politics,” and The Most Sincere Gesture, an exhibit about intimacy by four New Orleans-based artists. Thru June 28. Tue-Fri 12pm-7pm, Sat 12pm-5pm. 934 Brannan St. at 9th. www.somarts.org

Fri 13

Homo File @ CounterPulse

Macbeth

Seth Eisen’s innovative multimedia musictheatre production about the life of gay author, tattoo artist, and sexual raconteur Samuel Steward blends puppetry, projections and even aerial artistry. $25$35. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 7pm. Thru June 15. 1310 Mission St. 626-2060. www.counterpulse.org

Macbeth @ Fort Point We Players’ innovative audience participation staging of the tragic “Scottish play” by William Shakespeare returns (after being abruptly closed for the government shut-down). Audience members walk through the historic building as the show takes place in all areas of the fort, including a snack and beverage break during the famous “banquet scene.” $30-$75. Thu-Sun 7pm. Thru June 29. Golden Gate National Recreation Area, 999 Marine Drive. 5470189. www.weplayers.org

Maestro @ Berkeley Repertory Theatre Hershey Felder, who wowed audiences with his recent Gershwin one-man show, returns as famed conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein in a solo and piano biographical play, in which he discusses and performs excerpts from the creator of West Side Story, Candide, On the Town and other works. $29-$87. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Extended thru July 3. Thrust Theatre, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. www.berkeleyrep.org

The Objects @ ASC Projects Evie Leder’s photo and video installation that uses nude portraits of local gay artists to examine the human form. Thru June 29. 3150 18th St. facebook.com/ascprojectssf

Pearls Over Shanghai @ The Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers’ hilarious Cockettes revival returns, with new choreography, costumes, performers, and some of the original cast members. $30-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Extended thru June 28. 575 10th St. (800) 838-3006. www.thrillpeddlers.com

Pen/Man/Ship @ Magic Theatre World premiere of playwright Christina Anderson’s drama about passengers on an 1890s ship bound for Africa. $30-$55. Tue 7pm. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2:30pm. Thru June 15. Fort Mason Center, Bldg. D, 3rd floor. 441-8822. www.magictheatre.org

QWOCFF @ Brava Theatre Queer Women Of Color Film festival includes three days of 32 feature, short and documentary films from around the world. $5-$10. Different times daily. 2789 24th St. at York. Thru June 15. www.brava.org

Thu 12 The Homosexuals

Walk Like a Man @ The Costume Shop Theatre Rhinoceros’ production of Laurinda D. Brown’s Lambda Literary Award-winning drama about African-Amercian lesbians and their relationships. $15-$35. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 3pm. Thru June 15. 1117 Market St. at 7th. (800) 838-3006. TheRhino.org

Sat 14

Lois Tema

A Raisin in the Sun @ Bruns Ampitheatre, Orinda

Opera Goes to the Movies, a concert of film scores (Smyth’s Wreckers Overture, Herrmann’s Psycho Suite, Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, and works of John Williams and Ennio Morricone). $15-$35. 50 Oak St. www.bars-sf.org

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi

Rites and Passages @ Nourse Theatre

The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. $25-$160. Beer/wine served; cash only; 21+, except where noted. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 421-4222. beachblanketbabylon.com

Five-time Grammy-winning SF Girls Chorus performs in a special concert of Eastern European composers (Bartok’s Three Village Scenes, performed with Joe Goode Performance Group), two scenes from Stravinsky’s Les Noces, and Stravisnky’s Four Russian Peasant Songs. $18-$36. 8pm. 275 Hayes St. 392-4400. www.sfgirlschorus.org

The Farnsworth Invention @ Lucie Stern Theatre, Palo Alto Palo Alto Players perform acclaimed TV and movie writer-producer Aaron Sorkin’s compelling play about the inventor of the television. $23-$45. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2:30pm. Thru June 29. 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. (650) 329-0891. www.paplayers.org

Feisty Old Jew @ The Marsh Charlie Veron’s new solo show about a fictional elder man who hitches a ride with surfer-hipsters, and rants about what he hates about the 21st century. $25-$100. Sat & Sun 5pm. Extended thru July 13. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Frank Pietronigro @ Johnston Gallery Opening reception for gay-themed paintings (“Great American Patriots”) and “Documents,” an unusual installation that uses antigay words. Reception 1pm-5pm. Thru Sept. 2327 Market St. www.pietronigro.com www.johnstontaxgroup.com/art

Opening reception for the third annual portrait invitational, this year, with a Contemporary Portraits of the Ancient Gods theme, including large paintings by more than a dozen artists. 6pm-10pm. Thru July 5. 403 Francisco St. 956-3303. www.moderneden.com

13th annual festival of films about an array of subjects. Thru June 19. Roxie Theatre, Brava Theatre and Oakland School of the Arts’ Marion E. Greene Theater. 552-5580. www.sfindie.com

Monthly Zen Buddhist meditation and discussion group for the LGBTIQ community, with speaker Jisan Tova Green. 1-3pm. 300 Page St. www.sfzc.org

California Shakespeare Company’s production of lesbian playwright Lorainne Hansbury’s classic drama about an impoverished African American family’s struggle to overcome oppression. $45-$61. Tue-Thu 7:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 4pm. Thru June 15. 100 CA Shakespeare Theater Way Hwy 24, Wilder Road Exit. (510) 5489666. www.calshakes.org

Bay Area Rainbow Symphony @ SF Music Conservatory

Olympus @ Modern Eden Gallery

SF Documentary Film Fest @ Various Theaters

Queer Dharma @ San Francisco Zen Center

SF Hiking Club @ Marin Lakes Join GLBT hikers for a 6-mile hike near Mt. Tam. This is a beautiful, mostly flat loop around two of Marin’s most scenic lakes, Bon Tempe and Lagunitas, with views of Mt Tam. Bring water, lunch, sunscreen, hat, layers, good walking shoes. Carpool meets 10:00 at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores. (510) 985-0804. www.sfhiking.com

Together Strong @ Kelly Cullen Auditorium The Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco and the SF Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band perform their annual Pride concert, with vocal and orchestral works by Phil Orem, Nathan Hall, a tribute to Jose Sarria, and; featuring host Joe Wicht and bassist Jefferson Packer. $14-$45. 3pm. 220 Golden Gate Ave. www. brownpapertickets.com/event/664544

La Traviata @ War Memorial Opera House San Francisco Opera’s new production of Verdi’s classic opera stars Nicole Cabell, Simir Pirgu and Vladamir Stoyanov; in Italian with English supertitles. $24-$379. June 14 (8pm), 17 (8pm), 20 (8pm), 25 (7:30pm), 29 (2 p.m.), July 5 (8pm; live simulcast at AT&T Park), 8 (7:30pm), 11 (8pm) and July 13 (2pm). 301 Van Ness Ave. 863-3330. www.sfopera.com

Out&About>>

Sun 15 God Fights the Plague @ The Marsh

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Thu 19

Maikaze Daiko at the Fresh Meat Festival

18-year-old playwright (who made a splash at 14 with Prop 8 Love Stories) performs a solo show with multiple gay and straight characters of different faiths, each searching for God. $15-$100. Sat 8:30pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Aug. 10. 1062 Valencia St. at 21st. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Passage and Place @ Alley Cat Books Gallery Multimedia visual arts exhibition, book project and skillshare series of works that explore a queer aspect of incarceration, immigration and other social issues; with works by Grace Rosario Perkins, Sarah Biscarra Dilley, Paper Buck, Zeph Fishlyn, Annah Anti-Palindrome and Lex Non Scripta. 3606 24th St. www.lexnonscripta. com www.passageandplace.tumblr.com

South Pacific @ Cushing Memorial Ampitheatre Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical based on James Mitchner’s novel is performed at the scenic outdoor ampitheatre. $20-$60. 2pm. Last show June 15. Mount Tamalpais State Park, Highway 1, Mill Valley. 383-1100. www.mountainplay.org

Mon 16 Biconic Flashpoints @ GLBT History Museum Four Decades of Bay Area Bisexual Politics, thru Aug. 15. Also, the new exhibit of fascinating historical items and how their legacies are still with us; includes queer youth, Harvey Milk, José Sarria, AIDS and gay bar ephemera and the lesbians of The Ladder. Reg. hours Mon-Sat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. ($5/free for members). 4127 18th St. 621-1107. www.glbthistory.org

Kegan Marling

Jim Provenzano @ Books Inc. Author of the Lambda Literary Awardwinner Every Time I Think of You reads from the novel’s sequel, Message of Love, about two young gay men’s college years in 1980s Philadelphia. 7:30pm. 2275 Market St. 864-6777. www.booksinc.net

Meditation Group @ LGBT Center New weekly non-sectarian meditation group; part of the Let’s Kick ASS AIDS Survivor Syndrome support group. Tuesdays, 5pm, 1800 Market St. www.LetsKickASS.org www.sfcenter.org

Roman Street @ Yoshi’s Oakland Brothers Noah and Josh Thompson perform their jazz-classical-infusedflamenco instrumental music. $15. 8pm. 510 Embarcadeo West, (510) 238-9200. www.romanstreet.com www.yoshis.com

Sat 14

Javier Rocabaldo @ Public Barber Salon The Bay Area gay artist’s iconic Catholic icon-inspired paintings Nature for Sale, blend money and endangered animals; on exhibit thru June. Reg hours 9am-9pm. 571 Geary St. 441-8599. www.publicbarbersalon.com

Pride Readings @ Readers Bookstore LGBT authors from SF, New York, and LA read; Rebecca Chekouras, C. Kevin Smith, Steven Coulter, Matthew Phillp, Carlyle Nuera, Leslie Absher, B. Cooke, and Elaine Beale; sponsored by Friends of the SF Public Library and the Lambda Literary Foundation. 6:30pm. Bldg C, Room 165, Fort Mason Center. www.fortmason.org

Secrets of the City @ Verdi Club Strange But True Tales of Investigative Reporting ; Tim Redmond, Annalee Newitz, Laura Fraser, and others share tales at this fundraiser for Porchlight. $15-$250. 8pm. 2424 Mariposa St. www.porchlightsf.com

Tue 17 Chomp! @ Conservatory of Flowers They Came From the Swamp, a new floral exhibit of carnivorous plants, includes exhibits, docent talks, and a giant replica model so you can feel like a bug about to be eaten. Thru Oct. 19. Reg. hours, 10am4pm. Free-$7. Tue-Sun 10am-4:30pm. Thru Oct. 19. 100 JFK Drive, Golden Gate Park. 831-2090. www.conservatoryofflowers.org

Thu 19 10,000 Maniacs @ Yoshi’s The popular alt/rock band returns. $45$69. 8pm (premier seating/meet & greet available). 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. Also June 20 at Yoshi’s Oakland, 510 Embarcadeo West, (510) 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

David Barnett @ Hotel Triton The local gay artist exhibits his popular animal/pet portraits and landscapes at the stylish hotel lobby. Opening reception, June 19, 6pm8pm. Mezzanine, 342 Grant Ave. www.hoteltriton.com

The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival opens at the Castro Theatre, with many features, shorts and documentaries screening at several Bay area theatres. www.frameline.org

The Kinsey Sicks and 20 Years of Dragapella Activism, a new exhibit about the musical ensemble; thru July 10. 100 Larkin St. www.sfpl.org

Jews and Midcentury Modernism, an exhibit of architectural, furniture, dinnerware, photos, and interior design in post-WWII. Also, Arthur Szyk and the Art of the Haggadah, an exhibit of 48 fascinating and richly detailed illustrations of Hebrew stories by the early 20th-century artist (thru June 29). Also, To Build & Be Built: Kibbutz History (thru July 1). 2pm-5pm. Free (members)-$12. Thu-Tue 11am-5pm (Thu 1pm-8pm) 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

New photo exhibit of the artist’s 1920s prints of the beautiful French capital. TueSat 11am-5:30pm (1st Thursdays til 7:30). Thru Aug. 23. 49 Geary St. #410. 781-1122. www.roberttat.com

Framline 38 @ Various Cinemas

Chicks with Shticks @ SF Public Library

Designing Homes @ Contemporary Jewish Museum

William Odiorne’s Paris @ Robert Tat Gallery

Fresh Meat Festival @ Z Space

Olympus @ Modern Eden Gallery

Wed 18 Not a Genuine Black Man @ Osher Studio, Berkeley Brian Copeland’s tenth anniversary run of his compelling autobiographical solo show gets restaged at Berkeley Repertory’s studio theatre. $14-$430. Wed 7pm. ThuSat 8pm. Extended thru June 28. Osher Studio, 2055 Center St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Rotimi Agbabiaka @ The Garage The local actor (SF Mime Troupe, Beach Blanket Babylon ) restages his solo performance (which won Best Solo at the 2010 SF Fringe Festival) about his ‘black queer immigrant’ journey from Nigeria through Bulgaria to the U.S. $5-$15. 8pm. Also June 19. 715 Bryant St. www.715bryant.info/the_garage

Smack Dab @ Magnet

The annual rousing festival of queer and transgender dance, music and performance this year includes hip hop, taiko, trapeze and modern dance from Jocquese Whitfield, Katastrophe, Cohdi Harrell, Maikaze Daiko, Shawna Virago, Las Bomberas de la Bahia, Sean Dorsey Dance, Star Amerasu and more. Post-show parties each night with DJ Miz Rowdy, photo booth, drinks and dancing. Also, scenes for Lana And Andy Wachowski’s new Netflix series Sense8 will be filmed during and after shows. $15-$25. 8pm. Thu-Sat. Thru June 21. www.freshmeatproductions.org www.zspace.org

Spring at the Cliff House

Pansy @ New Conservatory Theatre Center Evan Johnson returns with his magical solo show about a young gay Peter-Panesque man who revels in the 1990s queer culture. $15-$20. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 28. 25 Van Ness Ave. lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

To submit event listings, email jim@ebar.com. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publication. For more bar and nightlife events, go to On the Tab in our BARtab section, online at www.ebar.com/bartab

Pioneering singer-songwriter Blackberri is the featured performer at the monthly eclectic open mic show, cohosted by Larry-bob Roberts and Dana Hopkins. Sign-up 7:30pm. Show 8pm. 4122 18th St. www.magnetsf.org

Join us for these Cliff House Weekly Favorites • Wine Lovers’ Tuesday – Half Priced Bottled Wines* • Bistro Wednesday Nights – $28 Three-Course Prix Fixe • Friday Night Jazz in the Balcony Lounge • Sunday Champagne Brunch Buffet *Some restrictions apply. Promotions are not valid on holidays.

The Lands End Lookout Be sure to visit the Lookout Cafe at the Lands End visitor center. Operated by the Cliff House team, the cafe serves a delicious selection of locally sourced grab-and-go items including the famous It’s It originally for sale at Playland at the Beach.

Tom Spanbauer @ Books Inc. Found of Portland’s minimalist writing group reads from and discusses his critically acclaimed first novel in seven years, I Loved You More. 7:30pm. 2275 Market St. 864-6777. www.booksinc.net

The center, under the direction of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, offers educational and interactive exhibits, a museum store, stunning views, and the amazing Lands End Trails.

Un(dis)sing Our Abilities @ ATA Gallery Lisa Ganser and Lorin Murphy’s curated night of erotic queer women’s short films that visualize various different bodies to turn the tables on terms like “fat,” “crip” and “porn.” $5-$10. 8pm. 992 Valencia St. www.ATAsite.org

ebar.com

Open daily from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Located at Point Lobos and Merrie Way

Wed 18 Rotimi Agbabiaka

1090 Point Lobos

415-386-3330

www.CliffHouse.com

<< Books

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Transformative vision by Brian Bromberger

The Snow Queen by Michael Cunningham; Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, $26 s befits the leitmotif of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale from which it draws its title, the mystifying, renewing power of love infuses Michael Cunningham’s latest novel The Snow Queen. But make no mistake, this is Cunningham’s mid-life crisis book. All the characters are trying to find meaning as they enter middle age, figuring out what the purpose of their lives is. The novel begins with Barrett Meeks, a stocky gay man in his late 30s, dumped by his latest in a long line of boyfriends via a text message on his cellphone. Barrett is a bona fide failure. After a promising start as an undergraduate at Yale, he careens in and out of Ph.D. programs, slipping through various careers, floundering in relationships and jobs. He lives with his brother Tyler and his girlfriend Beth in a Bushwick Brooklyn apartment. With Beth he is an assistant clerk at a trendy, over-priced used clothing/jewelry boutique catering to upper-middle-class denizens. Four days after being rejected again, he is walking through Central Park on a

Show Boat

From page 20

That is no fault of the production team. The first act may be much longer, but it is more clearly plotted and never dull, thanks to Zambello’s brisk direction. The exciting choreography by Michele Lynch and Peter J. Davison’s fluidly functional sets keep things moving. The parade of gorgeous costumes by Paul Tazewell is just more eye-catching icing on the cake.

winter’s night when he looks up and spies “a pale aqua light, translucent, a swatch of veil” in the night sky. As he stands there gazing, the light takes on a sentient quality. He feels it is looking back at him as “a whale might apprehend a swimmer with unfrightened curiosity.” Barrett believes the light is trying to tell him something, though he is conflicted about his experience, not sure if it is real, imagined, a collection of gases, the aurora borealis, or the result of a brain injury. Though the vision rocks him to his marrow, he keeps the experience to himself, not even sharing it with Tyler. Tyler, a bartender, blocked musician, and cocaine addict, believes the drug will unleash his creativity so that he can produce a song that he wants to perform for Beth, dying of stage four cancer, on their wedding day. A theme of the book is creativity and how it needs to be nourished. Both brothers have innovative ideas, but never seem to do the hard work to produce any art. It becomes clear that neither brother will attain fame or riches. They have not fully recovered from the death of their mother during their teens, struck by lightning while playing golf. Prior to her death, she had wheedled a promise out of Tyler to watch out for Barrett,

as he is “special,” a coded message; she sensed he was gay. Beth unexpectedly goes into remission, and Barrett tries to connect his vision to her dramatic comeback. She becomes the courageous moral axis of the story, revealing how illness impacts relationships. The hopes, secrets, and delusions of these characters and their coterie of close friends, who form a surrogate family, develop into the core structure of the novel, covering a fouryear span from George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004 to Obama’s win in 2008. Snow, as in Andersen’s myth, becomes the primary metaphor. This framework endows Cunningham’s tale with a fable-like quality, wrapped in an otherworldly aura. The book catalogs the way transcendence can manifest in our lives, via drugs, music, visions, even a pair of jeans (that “make one irresistible to everyone”), but especially love. Barrett dabbles in religion, visiting an Armenian church, where he is content to sit in the back

It is left to the cast to add dramatic weight to the darker moments, and they flesh out every joyous minute of lively comedy as well. Following in the footsteps of Paul Robeson as Joe, Morris Robinson gives his own memorable interpretation. His big and fluent bass has no trouble filling the auditorium, and he also shows flashes of droll humor. Angela Renee Simpson is irresistible as his wife Queenie, and she makes the stage her own every chance she gets. Luckily, she gets

more than a few. Seeing a black married couple fussing and loving alongside the similar personalities of a white domestic duo is another remarkable aspect of Hammerstein’s insightful book. Bill Irwin as Cap’n Andy Hawks is a treat, with his trademark looselimbed goofiness eliciting belly laughs during the comic set-pieces. He can’t sing, but he doesn’t really need to, and he channels Joe E. Brown hilariously during the potentially shticky scene in which he plays

pew. The underlying question of the novel is how to make sense of life when events and relationships have not turned out as you thought they would. Snow Queen is Cunningham’s best novel since his Pulitzer Prizewinning The Hours, but it is not

all the parts in a melodrama that has been cut short on the show boat stage. Harriet Harris (the ruthless agent from TV’s Frasier) is Andy’s bossy wife Parthy, and she is a perfect foil to his gentle ineptitude. The comedy song-and-dance team of the floating Cotton Blossom gets a lot to do, and John Bolton is engaging as Frank Schultz. As his impossibly twinkly partner Ellie Mae Chipley, Kirsten Wyatt is energetic to the point of shrillness, but her “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” is cute without cloying. The romantic leads are given the show’s big, soaring, near-operatic duets, and baritone (make that barihunk) Michael Todd Simpson as the rather poignant ne’er-do-well Gaylord Ravenal makes an assured SFO debut. His acting is a little under-characterized, but he is still convincing when he sings, and his clean and pleasing voice pairs beautifully in “Make Believe,” “You Are Love” and “Why Do I Love You?” Heidi Stober is Gaylord’s great love Magnolia Hawks, and she is believable enough in the part, if also a bit bland. I have seen her display stronger acting skills before, and she did cope admirably with the role’s grueling vocal demands. The potential centerpiece of any Show Boat is the beautiful and tragic character Julie La Verne. Her racial heritage is cruelly turned against her, and her decline into alcoholism is pitiful. She also gets two of the best songs in the score. Local and world favorite soprano Patricia Racette showed her amazing versatility and stamina (yet again) making her role debut as Julie. When she sang the

as good as that masterpiece. For those who like action or suspense, Snow Queen will disappoint, because this is a novel of interior journeys, with any plot advancement occurring mostly in each character’s head. Insight comes from observation rather than story. Cunningham’s rhetorical theme is epitomized in this quote: “People are more than they think they are and less as well. The trick lies in negotiating the way between the two.” Cunningham’s technique follows the Edmund White school of episodic fiction, namely evocative prose with only slight character development and minimal plot movement. But Cunningham can reveal dark emotional truths in a lyrical fashion simultaneously realistic and elegant. Ultimately, Cunningham convinces us that love can be transformative at critical crossroads in our lives: “Love it seems arrives not only unannounced, but so accidentally, so randomly, as to make you wonder why you, why anyone, believes even fleetingly in the laws of cause and effect.”t first of her big songs “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” Racette turned it into the showstopper it deserves to be. In the second act, her rendition of the heartbreaking “Bill” fell just short of the emotional mark. We know she has the requisite pathos, so I suspect she may have been purposefully underplaying. Maybe she is saving it up for her June 19 return to SFO, when she rounds off the three-opera summer season in her signature role as Madama Butterfly.t Show Boat plays the War Memorial Opera House through July 2. Info: sfopera.com.

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Heidi Stober (Magnolia Hawks) and Michael Todd Simpson (Gaylord Ravenal) in San Francisco Opera’s Show Boat.

Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Patricia Racette (Julie La Verne) and Patrick Cummings (Steve Baker) in San Francisco Opera’s Show Boat.

Books>>

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Stimulating, erudite & infuriating by Tavo Amador

he English-born, San Franciscobased movie historian and critic David Thomson is prolific, opinionated, informed, and engaging. All of his gifts and some of his weaknesses are evident in the Sixth Edition of his invaluable Biographical Dictionary of Film (Knopf, $29.95). Who else can discuss silent-screen great Lillian Gish and Lindsay Lohan with equal assurance? Or would describe Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (1990) as “an Audrey Hepburn who’d give head?” while writing intelligently about both stars? He correctly cites Maria Felix as “Mexico’s greatest woman film star, and probably the biggest of all Spanish-language stars.” He admires Hou Hsaio-Hsien and Howard Hawks, and articulates what makes them special and important. Thomson doesn’t limit himself to actors and directors: he discusses fellow critics, including Pauline Kael and James Agee; costume designers like Edith Head and Travis Banton; composer Bernard Herrmann; writers Lillian Hellman and William Goldman; cinematographer Nestor Almendros; as well as Johnny Carson. He justifies an entry on Lena Horne because she didn’t have a shot at a true film career. His strengths, however, are often failings. For example, he has never revised his assessment that Cary Grant (1904-86) “was the best and most important actor in the history of the cinema.” Why? Because of Grant’s ability to “be attractive and unattractive simultaneously: there is a light and dark side to him, but whichever is dominant, the other creeps into view.” He cites his romanticism, misogyny, playfulness, and manipulativeness with women.

But nowhere does he consider that Grant’s bisexuality, evidenced by his long-term affair with actor Randolph Scott, may have contributed to the duality that Thomson so admires. Nor does he mention Kael’s brilliant analysis of how Grant was pursued by his leading ladies, rather than aggressively seducing them, the way Clark Gable did. Actresses as different as Mae West, Katherine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn all chased him. That Thomson still dismisses the great, openly gay director Luchino Visconti (1906-76) as a “middlebrow,” and denigrates his stunning films, including The Leopard (1963), is frustrating, but one comment is completely crackpot. After criticizing his taste for “high literary thunder,” Thomson writes, “Visconti had a gloomy premonition of something like AIDS (especially in Death in Venice (1970)) years before the virus was recognized.” That superb film was based on Thomas Mann’s novella, published in 1912! Would Thomson have written that if the movie had been directed by the heterosexual Hawks? Thomson is no homophobe, yet his essay on Ang Lee omits Brokeback Mountain (2005), although it’s discussed in entries on Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, where he writes, “That film says little that is interesting about gay life.” Not interesting compared to gay life in San Francisco, perhaps, but it’s a touching picture about two men who fall in love in a hostile, rural world, with tragic consequences. On the other hand, his section on John Waters, though brief, is admiring and perceptive. Thomson is at his best in discussing the “failure” of open lesbian

The Gorgeous Opening Party Fri, June 20, 7–11 PM Asian Art Museum

Lily Tomlin’s movie career, insisting that we “admit that a good deal of that failure is ours.” He’s equally good and sympathetic about Rock Hudson, acknowledging his comic gifts and the dilemma his sexuality posed. His assessment of George Clooney – and the inevitable comparison to Grant – is excellent, even if it undervalues Clooney’s achievements. Angelina Jolie would benefit from reading the entry about her. Brad Pitt is likely to be pleased with his. So will Tom Cruise, whose screen work gets appropriate respect. He correctly praises Matt Damon’s brilliant The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) while unfairly lamenting most of his other performances. He’s not enthralled by Meryl Streep, although he acknowledges her technical skills. His discussion of Roberto Benigni and his ghastly, acclaimed Life Is Beautiful (1997) is laugh-out-loud funny and worth the price of the book. Time provides Thomson with the distance to assess classic stars. Despite incorrectly writing that Mildred Pierce (1945) was Joan Crawford’s first turn as a mother (she played one in 1940’s Susan and God), no one ever wrote more intelligently about her. He overrates Katharine Hepburn and insists Bette Davis was a “vulgar, bullying actress.” He demythologizes Marilyn Monroe while acknowledging her achievements. Elizabeth Taylor, Gable, Gary Cooper all get perceptive treatment. Yet he remains inexplicably harsh about the post-Joseph von Sternberg Marlene Dietrich, and fails to appreciate Vivien Leigh fully. As for directors, Thomson’s pantheon still includes Orson Welles, Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, von Sternberg, Max Ophuls, Luis

Bunuel, and openly gay George Cukor, but he’s making room for Hou, Theo Angelopoulos, and Pedro Almodovar, whose All About My Mother (1999) made him wonder if “God didn’t mean the movies to be gay.” He is, however, conflicted over Gus Van Sant. He has insightful comments about My Own Private Idaho (1994), but fails to grasp Milk (2008). Thomson is often infuriating, but

never dull. He challengers the reader and the filmgoer as few critics do. Like most great teachers, he seems less interested in indoctrination than in stimulating creative ideas, in getting students and audiences to see, feel, and think. He leaves no doubt that movies were the great art-form of the 20th century, and that new masterpieces appear regularly.t

It’s time to shimmy and shine for our summer exhibition, Gorgeous. Take your fingers to the next level with TopCoat Nail Studio, who’ll adorn your nails with dazzling designs. DJs Dr. Sleep, Robot Hustle (Honey Soundsystem), Natalie Nuxx and davO (Double Duchess) will keep our booties shakin’ while the fierce International Haus of Nu Benetton vogues all over the museum. Sip silky milk tea courtesy of Boba Guys. And of course, the galleries will be open. The afterparty will be at The Stud. Just $10.

$20 members, $25 general www.asianart.org #HelloGorgeous

This exhibition was organized by the Asian Art Museum in partnership with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Presentation at the Asian Art Museum is made possible with the generous support of Prospect Creek Foundation, Fred Eychaner, Helen and Charles R. Schwab, Doris Fisher, The Bernard Osher Foundation, United Airlines, The Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Fund for Excellence in Exhibitions and Presentations, Jim Breyer, William Mathews Brooks, Eliza and Dean Cash, Sakurako and William Fisher, Fred M. Levin and Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation, Hiro and Betty Jean Ogawa, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Lucy Sun and Warren Felson, Jean and James E. Douglas, Jr., and an anonymous donor. Media sponsors: San Francisco Examiner, 7x7.

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26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Gay gadfly from American royalty by David Lamble

s a child of the 1950s, I was encouraged to read the classics from Alcott to Twain, but allowed to indulge my growing appetite for “the boob tube.” It was therefore courtesy of our family’s 12-inch Motorola TV that on May 8, 1955, I first encountered the witty if jaundiced worldview of 29-year-old novelist/aspiring playwright Gore Vidal. Presented live that night on The Goodyear Television Playhouse was Vidal’s Visit to a Small Planet. Re-reading the script in a collection of Best Television Plays edited by Vidal himself, I realize that with the creation of Kreton, the polite if mischievous space traveler whose landing in the rose garden of a TV commentator’s family threatens to destroy the cozy worldview of an American family, Vidal was throwing down a gauntlet. In fact, he

was well on his way to becoming a “thorn in the side of an American establishment of which he was himself a charter member.” Kreton, as wittily essayed by Cyril Ritchard, an actor known for breathing life into Peter Pan’s antagonist Captain Hook, is drolly funny here as a mind-reading space invader who regards the denizens of Earth as his personal hobby. “You are savages. I have returned to the dark ages of an insignificant planet simply because I want the glorious excitement of being among you and reveling in your savagery! There is murder in all your hearts, and I love it! It intoxicates me!” Although my 10-year-old brain was incapable of realizing it at the time, I was experiencing the overarching philosophy of one of 20thcentury America’s sharpest minds and definitive queer voices. It would be another 15 years before I would

begin to assert my own queer voice in the media, almost 30 before I would observe Vidal joust for a US Senate seat from California, and even longer before I realized what a high price he paid for trying to be America’s gadfly critic/public scold. The trenchant new documentary Gore Vidal: United States of Amnesia (opening Friday) provides a powerful journey into the life of a man born into a kind of royal American family, who was fated to spend much of his 80+ years in a kind of elegant exile, both here and during a long expatriate stint in Italy. “You will never be forgiven for this book.” In 1948, Vidal, 23, saw his “notorious” gay novel The City and the Pillar become both a bestseller and the cause for his expulsion from the literary pantheon, in a viciously homophobic broadside by New York Times book reviewer Orville Prescott. This triumphant setback pushed Vidal off to Hollywood, where he followed William Faulkner’s advice and wrote for money. Not merely a paid hack, Vidal laced his Ben-Hur script with a deliciously queer subplot. Director Nicholas Wrathall provides an incisive, witty montage of Vidal debunking the myths of Pax American: JFK was “one of the most charming men I’ve ever known,

IFC Films

Subject character in a scene from director Nicholas Wrathall’s new documentary Gore Vidal: United States of Amnesia.

one of the most intelligent, and one of the most disastrous presidents we’ve ever had.” Vidal, as the queer intellectual scold, inspired revealing vitriol from bullyboys William F. Buckley and Norman Mailer. But the film’s sharpest comments invariably emerge from the lips of its subject. “Whenever I want to know what the United States is up to, I listen to my own dark heart.” We see footage of both the delicately beautiful blonde-haired boy and the old man wearily trudging along the walkways of his Italian

villa supported by a cane, shortly before his growing infirmities and the death of a life-long companion forced his return to America for a final bow. Vidal even tempts fate by appearing at his own future gravesite. In his last years, Vidal was attended to by his brilliant filmmaker nephew Burr Steers, who would give the great man a graceful late cameo in the coming-of-age film Igby Goes Down. Vidal played a private-school dean who grandly expels the naughty-boy hero from one of a series of prep schools.t

Battling the Big C by David Lamble

’ll tell you right off I’m not a huge fan of so-called “disease of the week” movies – it’s probably one of the reasons I checked out from broadcast TV. Also, perversely, I’m a little bit hooked on film stories where there’s an asshole lurking in the woodpile for some late secondact fireworks. The new film The Fault in Our Stars takes my leastfavorite movie genre and shakes it up with a real second-act asshole. Based on John Green’s popular young-adult novel, directed by Josh Boone (Stuck on Love) with a script by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber ((500) Days of Summer), the story follows the wobbly emotional path of two teens battling cancer. What makes this potentially icky material cook is the off-kilter chemistry between the young leads, who nimbly skate past some of youngadult fiction’s obvious drawbacks. A key moment arises when the girl, Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shaileen Woodley), confronts the blasé antics of a cute fellow-teen cancer patient, Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort). The talented leads deftly sell a potentially eyeball-rolling bit of business from Green’s novel. “So let’s watch a movie.” “OK. I’m free later this week.” “No, I mean now.” “You could be an axe murderer.” “There’s that possibility. Come on, Hazel Grace, take a risk!” He sticks an unlighted cigarette in his mouth. “Oh really, that’s disgusting! Do you think that’s cool or something?

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Ansel Elgort and Shaileen Woodley in a scene from director Josh Boone’s The Fault in Our Stars.

You just ruined this whole thing. Despite the fact you have freaking cancer, you’re willing to give more money to a corporation for a chance to get more cancer. Just let me tell you that not being able to breathe sucks!” “Hazel Grace, they don’t actually hurt you unless you light them. I never lit one. It’s a metaphor, see. You put the thing that does the killing right between your teeth, but you never give it the power to kill you. A metaphor.” Having survived a potentially deadly dose of “author’s message,” the kids set out to live their possibly severely shortened lives with grace and humor. What saves TFIOS from becoming this generation’s Love Story is their decision to fly to Amsterdam to chat up Hazel’s favorite inspirational nov-

elist, Peter Van Houten, a brutal misanthrope-mean drunk given a gleefully cranky spin by veteran Willem Dafoe. It’s when the drunken-monster European-dad figure throws cold water on their dreams of a Hallmark Card-perfect moment that my tear ducts started to moisten. There’s nothing like a realistically constructed adult misanthrope to put sappy thoughts to the test. To their credit, the kids slip free of the monster and find their perfect moment instead in the attic of Otto Frank’s shrine to daughter Anne. The rest of TFIOS delivers a lifeaffirming coda that even the grumpiest amongst us can stomach, even grudgingly salute. Much of the credit goes to the plucky Shaileen Woodley, who cut her spurs as a no-bullshit teen in her prickly duet with George Clooney’s pushy dad in the Alexander Payne family drama The Descendants. While she’s not the prettiest girl in the room, Woodley is a no-nonsense gal who invariably wins every big scene. Quasi-newcomer Ansel Elgort lends Gus a devil-may-care insolence that defuses the story’s potential bathos. And actor/musician Nat Wolff (Palo Alto) gives his best friend who’s losing his eyesight to cancer an ability to lighten the load before the story heads to its downbeat third act. While not living up to its selfproclaimed Shakespearean pedigree, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves” (Cassius’ speech to Julius Caesar), TFIOS at least manages to earn those muffled sobs I heard in the dark during a West Portal Empire Cinema matinee.t

Modernism

From page 17

Hans Hofmann’s operatically exuberant “Autumn Gold” (1957), on display in the first gallery, was the Meyerhoffs’ inaugural acquisition, and is a good place to start for visitors, too. Rectangles in tangerine, chartreuse and avocado, made vivid with luscious, nearly three-dimensional slabs of thick paint, vie for attention. Hofmann, who’s considered a catalyst for Abstract Expressionism – he emigrated from Germany via See page 27 >>

Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

“Painting with Statue of Liberty” (1983), oil and Magna on canvas, by Roy Lichtenstein, part of the show Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Collection now at the deYoung Museum.

Music>>

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Psychedelicacies by Gregg Shapiro

t’s too bad that so few CD players allow the listener to watch the disc spin as it plays. If you could watch Turn Blue (Nonesuch) by The Black Keys revolve as you listened, it would certainly enhance the psychedelic mood of the album. Fear not! Just hang the accompanying poster on the wall, dig out your old blacklight, and turn on (the disc). Working with Danger Mouse as they did on the commercial breakthrough El Camino, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys unlock its funky side on “In Time.” The Black Keys also color our world on the title cut, heat up the disco on “Fever,” hit the target on “Bullet in the Brain,” mellow out on “Waiting on Words,” strut sexily on “10 Lovers” and make

Modernism

From page 26

Paris in 1934 – clearly relished texture, gobs of impasto, the interaction of saturated colors, and how, in concert, they act on the eye. A show of his early works will be at BAM in July. When Philip Guston turned from Abstract Expressionism to the cartooning style he stuck with for a decade, colleagues rejected him. Though the move may have tanked his career, it paved the way for the vernacular art in vogue among a younger generation of artists. Against the bubblegumpink background of “Courtroom” (1970), someone in red-and-blackstriped pants, perhaps the artist, has landed head-first in a matching red trashcan, his legs sticking straight up, spread-eagle, with black clown shoes on each foot. Nearby, a hooded Ku Klux Klansman in a white, blood-stained sheet holds a cigar in a blood-soaked hand. From stage right, an arm with red-gloved fingers points to the action, a bit of vaudeville addressing a serious subject. Guston, ne Goldstein, a committed lefty and the son of persecuted Ukrainian Jewish immigrants, bottled up a traumatic past – his father hung himself, his brother had his legs crushed in an accident – and popped out of his britches, as it were, with playfulness, lacerating humor, and no shortage of technique. Embarked on while he was recovering from a heart attack and painted over a decade from 1958-66, Barnett Newman’s The Stations of the Cross: Lema Sabachthani, a series of Minimalist, mostly uniformlysized six-by-five-foot, neutral canvases with bands of black with grey shadings in varying widths, occupies its own meditative space. The assembly of 14 stations and a coda has the austerity of a convocation gathered for prayers in the serenity of a monastery. Frustrated and despairing that he wasn’t receiving the recognition he deserved, Newman watched as peers like Jackson Pollock zoomed by him on their way to the top, a source of anguish he may or may not have equated with the suffering of Christ. Jesus’ unanswered question from the cross, why did you forsake me, was the purported subject of the series. Regarded as the apex of his career, the opus secured Newman’s place in the pantheon. He discusses the work in a film screened in the museum’s media room. Painter, sculptor, printmaker and filmmaker Nancy Graves is the real find of the show. An expressive colorist and world traveler interested in nature and anthropology, Graves came on the New York scene impressing with a trio of life-size camels; anatomically correct, slightly abstracted, and made out of burlap, wax, fiberglass, and animal hide, they were worthy of a Natural History diorama. An iconoclast, she not only

a bid for pop accessibility on “Gotta Get Away.” Kevin Barnes, Of Montreal’s frontman, is at his most Velvet Underground-era Lou Reed on “Fugitive Air,” the first track on Lousy with Sylvianbriar (Polyvinyl). The 1960s-70s influences don’t end there. “Obsidian Currents” sounds like one of those deep album tracks that FM DJs used to spin very late at night. OM blends Dylan and drug references on “Belle Glade Missionaries,” and “Sirens of Your Toxic Spirit” calls on the folk deities of the era. “She Ain’t Speakin’ Now” and “Raindrop in My Skull” are reminders of the Of Montreal kind of beauty. Just try not to do the frug or the jerk to “Triumph of Disintegration.” Dan Aurerbach’s foray into psychedelia also extends to his produc-

tion work on Supernova (RCA), the new album by Ray LaMontagne. LaMontagne’s scratchy but soothing voice and his soulful delivery sound of another time, say the 60s or 70s. What makes Supernova super is that LaMontagne is moving away from his safe zone into uncharted territory in “Lavender,” “Smashing,” and the Dylanesque “Drive-In Movies,” daring his fans to follow. From their album covers, it would

appear that LaMontagne and Beck frequent the same hat-maker. You’d think they were regulars at the same head shop from the sound of Beck’s latest, the gorgeous Morning Phase (Capitol). Farther away from his suburban hip-hop roots than ever, Beck radiates sunshine and groovy vibes all over the place. Particularly luminous are “Morning,” “Heart Is a Drum,” “Turn Away” and “Waking Light.” There’s too much Stephen

Malkmus to be contained in one place: too much for indie icons Pavement, and too much for a solo act. With Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks we get to experience Malkmus’ various facets, including a touch of the old psychedelia, on Wig Out at Jagbags (Matador). The brassy soul number “J Smoov” is the best one on the disc, but “Cinnamon and Lesbians” (really!), “Lariat” and “Planetary Motion” are also worth hearing. Mogwai’s post-rock instrumentals have always had a touch of psychedelic improvisation. The 10 songs on Mogwai’s new album Rave Tapes (Sub Pop) range from the Tangerine Dream-ish “Remurdered” to the dizzying layers of “Master Card” and the vocoder-driven “The Lord Is Out of Control.”t

did not subscribe to orthodoxies or succumb to the demands of popular taste, she often violated them. Those choices and her gender limited a career that should have been bigger. In “Agualine” (1980), it’s as if a bunch of balloons in the turquoise, fuchsia and pale yellows of the South of France (where she spent time) burst into shreds and landed on the canvas. Amidst the fluid movement

reminiscent of Calder, whom Graves admired and whose sculptures she collected, rust-colored imagery of prehistoric animal vertebrae, a reference to cave painting, snakes across the lower third of the painting. Jasper Johns often leaves me cold, but I liked “Perilous Night” (1982), an intricate, fascinating collaged piece, where he looks over his shoulder at art history, including his own,

sculpture, construction, music and time. Informed by the Resurrection panel of Matthias Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece (1512-16) and named for John Cage’s 1944 composition for prepared piano, the work integrates bizarro and gruesome puzzle pieces into a montage that shouldn’t fit together, but does. Silkscreened pages from Cage’s “score” lay underneath three decay-

ing forearms cast in wax from a live model. Painted with patterns and dripping blood in primary colors, they hang from hooks across the top right of the canvas just above a charcoal-gray relief that looks as if it had been scrawled in finger paints by a youngster with aggressive technique. You could spend hours deciphering it and still have difficulty tearing yourself away.t

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PERSONALS Vol. 44 • No. 24 • June 12-18, 2014

Aimee Mann & Ted Leo making new music as The Both by Jim Provenzano

Aimee Mann & Ted Leo

Art and Artisans Building Community Through Food and Craft in the Bayview

by Sean Timberlake

nitially you may think you’ve lost your way. East of Third Street in Dogpatch, 22nd Street seems to end, then curls down a slope toward a series of seemingly derelict corrugated steel buildings. As you approach, you hear live music booming through the vacuous space. Welcome to Pier 70, a vestige of San Francisco’s ship-building past. Here, every Thursday, the Bayview Underground Food Scene holds its weekly Community Pop-Up Market, a grassroots oasis in one of the city’s food deserts. The market stemmed from a pop-up market called Bayview Mercantile at All Good Pizza (1605 Jerrold Ave at 3rd Street; www.allgoodpizza.com), a restaurant turning out sandwiches and Neapolitan pizzas from a converted container. Fun fact: The mirror ball that hangs from the patio at All Good comes from the original location of The Stud. The original set of vendors met in neighborhood meetings. “We could never fully agree on where to put this or what to paint that,” says Earl Shaddix of Earl’s Bread and Brittles (www.facebook.com/EarlsBread), “but the one thing we could always agree on was the food. The food was always fabulous.” See page 3 >>

Jake of Jake’s Castro Kitchen’s many jams, and sexy apron.

Sean Timberlake

eparately, they are Aimee Mann (of the MTV-iconic Til Tuesday and the Oscar and Grammy award-nominated Magnolia soundtrack), and Ted Leo (punk-indie musician with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Chisel, Hell No and other bands), but together, they are The Both, and they’ll be playing their new music on the full moon night of June 12 at Great American Music Hall. Talking in a conference call via their homes in Los Angeles (Mann) and New York City (Leo), the duo shared how their collaborative efforts also take on a cross-country nature. Working together for less than two years, the two musicians have co-composed online by sending each other music segments and playing together long-distance. Said Mann, “We’ve been on the road for a lot of that time, both with me opening for and performing with our bands. While we don’t necessarily write on the road, we get a lot of our ideas going while traveling, and then start mapping out how we’re gonna approach things together.” See page 2 >>

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Aimee Mann/Ted Leo

captures a contemporary air. “For some reason, we were in this kind of mind space of the dystopian future where nature rises up,” Of the variety of media they use said Mann. “There were all sorts of to communicate, Mann said, “It’s murky images for me; half-Tolkein definitely a different world. It makes kinds of images.” it a little more immediate. In the old “With a bit of THX-1138,” added days, we’d be mailing each other Leo. “Lyrically, neither of us are cassettes.” known for being particularly dreary, Although the tone of the new but this goes there a bit.” songs ranges from familiar enerMann said the intent wasn’t to getic indie folk to harder rock, a few latch on to any cultural trends, however. “We didn’t want it to be like some kind of musical ‘clickbait,’” Mann said of annoying online content where, she mocked, “The answer will shock and surprise you!” Leo further explained. “We tried to write about some things separately, and then together. A lot of my albums address Aimee Mann and Ted Leo performing outwardly political things, rather than human issues and relationship ismore serious themes pop out besues. This album tends more toward tween the jaunty hooks of songs like an internal dialogue. But there are “The Inevitable Shove.” With lyrics points where something more polithat even call out evil agrigultural ticial creeps in.” conglomorate Monsanto, The Both Fans of a certain age will recall Mann’s initial fame as the lead singer of Til Tuesday, particularly the 1985 hit single “Voices Carry,” whose music video featured the singer suffering through a controlling relationship (based on her break-up with then-boyfriend and producer Michael Hausman). Three albums later, Til Tuesday broke up, and Mann began working as a solo artist. “When I was in Til Tuesday, I was in my 20s and into that post-New Wave dance stuff,” said Mann, now EDITOR 53. “I liked that kind of semi-dance Jim Provenzano music melodic style. But then I got tired of that and realized my roots DESIGNERS Jay Cribas, Max Leger and influences are much more from ‘70s acoustic music, early Elton John ADVERTISING SALES and Badfinger. So it was a more orScott Wazlowski ganized switchover, to write songs 415-359-2612 on acoustic guitar and have that be the basis for my stuff.” CONTRIBUTORS In the 1990s, Mann married Ray Aguilera, Race Bannon, singer Michael Penn (known for his Matt Baume, Heather Cassell, song, “No Myth,” he’s the brother of Coy Ellison, Michael Flanagan, From page 1

Dr. Jack Fritscher, Peter Hernandez, John F. Karr, T. Scott King, Sal Meza, David Elijah-Nahmod, Adam Sandel, Donna Sachet, Jim Stewart, Ronn Vigh, Cornelius Washington PHOTOGRAPHY Biron, Wayne Bund, Marques Daniels, Don Eckert, Lydia Gonzales, Rick Gerharter, Jose Guzman-Colon, Georg Lester, Dan Lloyd, Jim Provenzano, Rich Stadtmiller, Monty Suwannukul, Steven Underhill BARtab is published by BAR Media, Inc. PUBLISHER/PRESIDENT Michael M. Yamashita CHAIRMAN Thomas E. Horn VP AND CFO Patrick G. Brown SECRETARY Todd A. Vogt BAR Media, Inc. 225 Bush Street, Suite 1700 San Francisco, CA 94104 (415) 861-5019 www.BARtabSF.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE Rivendell Media 212.242.6863 LEGAL COUNSEL Paul H. Melbostad Member National Gay Newspaper Guild Copyright © 2014, Bay Area Reporter, a division of BAR Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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actors Chris and Sean Penn), and be into. Some of them, like “Milreleased her first solo album, Whatwaukee” have a nod to Thin Lizzy; ever. “Hummingbird” has a nod to ReBut it was the set of songs for the naissance or Tolkein-ish sounds. esoteric Los Angeles-based Paul What’s really interesting for me with Thomas Anderson film Magnolia Ted, when we were playing together, that brought Mann back into the he can be doing an electric guitar spotlight. Featuring the hit single solo, and I hear how virtuosic just “Save Me,” the album garnered one guitar can be. That really made nominations for an Academy Award me want to envision this as a threeand a Grammy. piece band that could make a very As independent artists, Mann and full sound. I like the idea of a bigLeo have the advantage of creating ger rock song, slightly with a proat their own pace. “I’ve been putting out my own records for twelve years,” said Mann. “At this point, I’m luxuriating in not having to ask peoples’ opinions, enduring a group of executives who’ll pick over my songs and nod sagely in a board room to decide whether I can be produced.” Mann admits that owning her own label leads to budgetary concerns. Their current shows are as a three-piece band. The Both’s new album And yet, the clarity and simplicity of Mann’s music, combined with Leo’s gressive edge, but this time we’re feisty rock edge, have found a good working with a very stripped down balance and maturity. line-up.” Along the way, Mann has not For Leo, the combination of only forged her own independent working separately and together has process, but has become a stalwart brought new inspiration. in the fight for musicians’ and com“There are times where I feel that posers’ copyright defense, particuour normal go-tos where we might larly with illegal downloads, and be writing in isolation for a solo corporate profit margins that slight projects changes,” said Leo. “We artists. After being freed from her each have interests musically that contract with David Geffen Records, go beyond the borders that people she founded SuperEgo Records, and think about us seperately. In each of through it released several albums, us trying to meet where we perceive including the boxing-themed conthe other might go, we’re allowed cept album The Forgotten Arm, to open doors into where our own which won a Grammy for Best Rewriting spreads.” cording Package. For example, one of the new In addition to her own work, songs, “Volunteers of America” Mann has collaborated on songs started as a mere vocal fragment, with Rush, Matthew Sweet and on and, Leo said, “Aimee brought it to several tribute albums. life as a rock song, which was then In working with Ted Leo, she notmade rock-ier by me, and then Aied some varying inspirations. mee wrote the break. Within each “For the ideas that I sent Ted,” song, there are these twists and Mann explained, “I made an effort turns that we can make those enerto send things I thought he would gies that might seem different and

not workable together.” For their San Francisco concert, expect most of the new songs, and a few classics and covers by each musician. While bouncing around the country on their tour, they may come up with even more material. The two retain a casual working relationship. “One of the selling points of working with Ted is that I knew he’d be funny onstage,” said Mann, who, despite her reputation as a serious artist, has been known to show a deadpan wit on several TV shows. She performed with her band in a 2002 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (where her one line was, “Man, I hate playing vampire towns”), has appeared on Comedy Central, and as a housemaid version of herself on the series Portlandia. “I’ve been friends with (Portlandia cocreator) Fred Armisen for fifteen years, before he started at Saturday Night Live,” Mann explained. “It was like working for the President; when he calls, you show up.” Mann even poked fun at her Til Tuesday past in a decades-later recreation/parody of “Voices Carry,” in the music video for her 2012 song “Labrador” (which features Jon Hamm as a sleazy director). Ted Leo can be spotted wearing a wig, and their collaborative dry wit is also in their new music videos. “I have a lot of friends who are very funny,” said Mann, whose 2000 project Aucoustic Vaudeville included shows with comedians Janeane Garafolo, Patton Oswalt and David Cross. “I listen to them when they make suggestions, so I have a moderate sense of humor.” Leo added, “Aimee is one of the funniest people I know,” he said “We essentially met through our comedy world.” So, expect some witty banter between the refreshing new songs by The Both.t The Both (Aimee Mann and Ted Leo) perform music from their new album at Great American Music Hall. Nick Diamonds of Islands opens. $26-$51 (with dinner). 8pm. 859 O’Farrell St. 885-0750. www.slimspresents.com (also June 11 at City Winery, Napa). www.aimeemann.com

Variety Shows Highlighted June events by David-Elijah Nahmod

on the planet. This beautiful at the ballet, Comedy Returns second event includes you can gaze upon The Obligatory June Gay Comedy une is bustin’ out all over town. performances by some of the city’s best Night is hosted by our favorite From dating games, to comedy Small Black and dancers up close and nice Jewish girl Lisa Geduldig, who shows, and a farewell to one club Beacon, and interackick off the summer shares another raucous night of night, here’s a variety pack of fun tive art pieces from in style as you join Kosher comedy, sure to make her stuff to do. Azael Ferrer. You can them for an evening Rabbi cringe. Enjoy the sophistialso walk through an of cocktails and cated comic stylings of Karinda The Dating Game electrifying, illumidancing. VIP tickets Dobbins, Bob McIntyre, Bobbie What color is your underwear, nated garden. There include a private reGolden, Irene Tu, and an up and Contestant Number One? Are you will also be a disco ception from 8-9Pm, comer named...Lisa Geduldig. wearing undies, Number Two? The driven set courtesy of personal meet and These wonderful laugh fests hapDating Game is back! Join a bevy DJ Heathered Pearls, greet with the hosts, pen at El Rio on the third Thursday The Hubba Hubba of beautiful male bachelors, and and more. 21 and light appetizers, and of every month and are well worth Review at DNA Lounge contestants of course. Comic Valover only. Thursday, a libations-filled VIP a listen. Thursday, June 19, $7-20. erie Branch will host June 12, room. 21-plus. Friday, 8pm-9:30pm. El Rio 3158 Mission. as Pia Messing. Watch 6-10pm, $10-$12. June 13, 8pm, 9pm. San Francisco www.ElRioSF.com some of our best California Academy Armory, 1800 Mission. known local celebs of Sciences, Golden www.reasontoparty.org Farewell to Bibi SF and stand-up comics Gate Park. Bibi SF holds its final party on June come together in their www.calacademy.org Hubba Hubba Review 27 after seven years of offering some search for love and/or You’ll wish that you could shimmy of the best hip-shaking dance parties a good time. Naughty Reason To Party: like your sister Kate when the in town. Bibi has come to represent questions, naughtier Pas de Deux Hubba Hubba Review presents the LGBT Arabic community, who answers. Who will This benefit for DancBurlesque Nation, know how to belly dance win a date with the er’s Group at the San taking it all off at with the best of them. featured guest? June Francisco Armory DNA Lounge on There will indeed be 14, 7pm-9pm. Club offers stylish fun. Friday June 13. Bump belly dancers on hand, OMG, 43 6th St. Dancer’s Group is an and grind with this along with DJ Raffy, DJ Fauxnique cohosts www.clubOMG.com amazing nonprofit sizzling variety show Nile and DJ EmacipaReason to Party that provides grants featuring Koko cion. Shake those hips Nightlife Live to artists of all styles LaDouce, Ginger one more time, Habibi, Nightlife Live is a new and encourages public participation Valentine, and The then bid a fond Salam monthly series that pairs live music in the art of dance. The party will Ruby Revue. Friday, Alekem to this iconic and innovative art as inspired be hosted by porn actor Brent CorJune 13, 9:30pmevent. Bibi SF will be by science. The Academy’s East rigan and dancer-choreographer 2am. DNA Lounge missed by many. Friday, Garden transforms into a unique Monique “Fauxnique” Jenkinson. 375 11th St. www. June 27, Pork Store Café, Bobbie Golden at venue for emerging set against the No matter if you like to break-dance DNAlounge.com 3122 16th St. $10-$15. Comedy Returns backdrop of the greenest museum to hip hop or think everything is www.bibisf.org t

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

Art and Artisans

From page 1

It inspired them to come together and form an ad hoc market where they could showcase their goods together. Only then did they realize that many of the players in this new group were LGBT. In fact, the area has a burgeoning gay population; you can meet some of the community at a Pre-Pride BBQ at All Good Pizza on Friday, June 13, from 6pm to 10pm. That’s not to say that the food scene is exclusively the domain of the LGBT population. One of the original vendors, still participating to this day, is Yvonne’s Southern Sweets (5128 3rd Street; www.yvonnessouthernsweets.com), who has been making classic pralines and pies since 2003, having opened her storefront in 2006. April of Auntie April’s (4618 3rd Street) sets up shop with a deep fryer and turns out piping hot fried chicken. It’s also not to say that the influx of gay and lesbian residents is entirely new. Cody Reynolds has lived

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

one of just four bonded wineries in San Francisco at the time. Since then, the city has seen a renaissance of local wineries. Gratta aptly means “from scratch” in Italian, and she lives up to the name, crushing and fermenting tons of grapes from Teldeschi Vineyards in Dry Creek Valley each year. Last year she produced sangiovese, old-vine zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and petite sirah. Gratta Wines are currently available by the bottle at Canyon Market in Glen Park and at Rainbow Grocery, and is available at El Rio and Hotel Rex’s Library Bar, as well as by the glass at the market. Gratta is looking to expand operations with another BUFS vendor, Xan Devoss of Fox and Lion Bread (www.foxandlionbread. com). A self-taught baker, Devoss bakes in Bayview’s Eclectic Cookery, starting with grains sourced from Grass Valley Grains, about 140 miles northeast of San Francisco. She mills some of the flour fresh at time of baking to give it a richer flavor and spur enzymatic activ-

Melorra and Melonie Green explore what makes community through art.

Community Warriors Sean Timberlake

n this city, when the forces of gentrification are being scrutinized in the media daily, the melding of divergent populations in a place like Bayview demands discussion. Artists Melonie and Melorra Green of Gallery 1307 (www.facebook.com/gallery1307) are taking the discussion to the streets, including occasional appearances at the BUFS market. By asking people to provide their definitions of community and gentrification, they hope to capture a holistic view of the issue. Catch them Saturday, June 14, 12pm at Lush Life Gallery to engage with the “Can Art Save a Community?” project.

vendors, and add on new features. For the existing vendors, it’s mainly been a labor of love. “They know,” says Shaddix, “that for now, if they make $20, that’s a

good day. They don’t do it for the money. They do it for community.”t www.facebook.com/ BayviewUndergroundFoodScene

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in the Castro, Jake’s Castro Kitchen (www.jakescastrokitchen.com) sells both food and craft. Jake himself makes a wide spectrum of jams, sauces, and chutneys from fresh produce sourced locally, and while you’re at the booth, you may wish to pick up one of the hunky cowboy or fireman-themed aprons lovSean Timberlake ingly made by his mother in Utah. Jake’s partner, Clint, is the BUFS Ava shows off strawberries as part of the market manager. Other crafts at Oakdale Community Garden CSA the market have included leather goods, letterpress statioin Bayview with his partner for nery, handmade soaps and more than 20 years. An avid garjewelry, and more. dener, Reynolds joined up with the Shaddix himself no Oakdale Housing Community and longer sells his bread at City of Dreams to establish a comthe market, taking on munity garden, and works with more of a leadership role. children in the community to teach He was one of the first in them how to grow food. The efforts San Francisco to launch have born fruit – literally – and the a business under the produce from the garden is now auspices of AB1616, the being offered as affordable CSA California Cottage Food boxes to community members. Operations statute that This helps fill a void created by last went into effect at the beyear’s closure of the Fresh & Easy ginning of last year, allowNeighborhood Market, among the ing individuals to retail few markets in the neighborhood. certain classifications of Barbara Gratta and her partner foods, including breads Cathy purchased their Bayview and brittles, produced in home 15 years ago. Gratta had home kitchens. Through been making wine for a few years, the market, he is able to and the new home’s garage offered offer classes on helping Sean Timberlake her an opportunity to expand on others start and grow their Earl Shaddix selling his bread at the her passion. In 2006, Gratta Wines food businesses. original Bayview Mercantile last year. (www.grattawines.com) became With the support of consultant Andrea Baker ity. Devoss and Gratta have and Supervisor Melia Cohen, he their eye on a space on 3rd focuses on growing the market, Street, a former barbershop, and with growth comes opportuwhich they aim to convert nity. They’ve been able to hire from to a bakery and wine tasting within the community, including a room, a casual space for the paid intern. community to congregate. As popularity of the market Though no longer based grows, so can they bring in more

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Barbara Gratta makes wine in her Bayview home’s garage.

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4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Chicago Style International Mr. Leather’s tribal kinship by Race Bannon

es, it’s that time of year again when the Grand Poobah of leather contests happens, International Mr. Leather (IML). This annual contest takes place in Chicago and it brings together men from around the country and world to compete for what is generally considered the most high profile of the leather contests. Accompanying the contest itself is a huge leather and kink celebration of parties, a leather market and a multitude of other event offerings that are enjoyed by thousands every year. This sets IML apart as truly one of the premiere gay male leather events in the world.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this year. Luckily, I know a lot of the guys who did attend and I know the IML staff well. I also followed the weekend closely from afar and got feedback from lots of people. While I could have asked IML attendees for a blow-by-blow accounting of the various details of the weekend, and I will certainly mention a few here, I think the real allure and magic of IML is the familial feeling that so many kinky gay men have when they attend. As local leatherman Patrick Mulcahey once told me, “People talk about a ‘leather tribe,’ but I never experienced that until IML - thousands of men of all ages and races who share collective ideals about

Rich Stadtmiller

International Mr. Leather 2014 podium (left to right) Steve Dupont, IML 2014 first runner-up; Ramien Pierre, IML 2014 winner; Scout, International Mr. Bootblack 2014; and Cody Troy, IML 2014 second runner-up.

sexuality, pleasure, masculinity, beauty, character, and a more just and loving future.” So that’s what I want to focus on mostly here – the IML experience and why so many men keep returning to that very special weekend each year. I myself have been to approximately 20 IML weekends and it continues to be something I look forward to Rich Stadtmiller each year. This year IML took Finalists in the 2014 IML in Chicago. place May 22-26 at the same hotel as last year, highly skeptical about but please note that it will be at a it, but my moment different hotel next year. Check out came after the contest. their web site (www.imrl.com) for They were hustling hotel and registration details for me and the rest of the IML 2015. title podium through I’ll start with the contest, the the Harris Theater centerpiece of the weekend. 46 backstage to a room men competed to be International for press photos. We Mr. Leather 2014 and eight men turned a corner and competed to be International Mr. there are all my brothers –clapping, smiling and congratulating me. What those guys didn’t know is that I am an only child, a latchkey kid from a single-parent home. What they didn’t know is that I spent most of my childhood alone with my imagination or books. What they Rich Stadtmiller didn’t know is that, as an adult, I carry around Scott “Big Red” Farrell, Mr. San Francisco a simultaneous desire Leather 2014, struts his stuff on the Internafor connection and a tional Mr. Leather 2014 stage. powerful stranger danket. The leather market becomes, ger. What they didn’t know was that for a few days each year, the most rein that hallway I went from having markable and immense leather, gear 45 near strangers/co-contestants to and kink marketplace in the world. having 45 brothers. What they saw One vendor this year was Kristofer was me completely lose my compoWeston (www.boundjocks.com) sure. I swear if Jon Krongaard hadn’t who has been attending IML as a kept the train moving, I would have vendor for over two decades. been a puddle on the floor. That’s Weston offered this observathe moment from this whole expetion. “I noticed the attendance of rience that I won’t forget.” the leather market was much larger But the contest is only a part of the this year, but not with the normal IML weekend experience. Truthfully, repeaters. I saw new and younger the vast majority of attendees don’t faces and they all seemed to be havattend the contest at all, but instead ing fun. No one seemed mystified focus on the rest of the weekend’s ofby it all, but rather adventurous ferings. That’s one of the great things about what they were going to exabout the IML weekend. There is plore next. Top versus bottom roles something for every gay male kinkseemed to also melt away into an eiRich Stadtmiller ster of just about any kinky erotic ther, or, or both vibe. It was fun to Ramien Pierre, International proclivity or interest. see and experience.” Mr. Leather 2014. One big draw is the leather marOne of the highlights of the weekend is the San Francisco Bootblack 2014. Among the party. Hosted by Folsom Street competitors were our own Bay Events, the party at the host Area’s Scott “Big Red” Farrell hotel continues to be one of (Mr. San Francisco Leather the most attended parties of 2014) and Gage Fisher (Mr. the weekend. Demetri MoSan Francisco Eagle Leather shoyannis, Executive Direc2014) vying for International tor of Folsom Street Events, Mr. Leather, and Scout vying reported that once again the for International Mr. Bootparty was off the hook. black. All reports I heard were “The party went really well; that our Bay Area contestants it usually does,” he said. “It’s a all did a fantastic job, and in great way for people to conthe end Scout ended up winvene in a big space for the first ning as International Mr. time over the weekend, a place Bootblack 2014. to catch up and cruise.” Ramien Pierre (Mr. DC Others who attended the Eagle 2014) ended up winning party gave me similar feedback the International Mr. Leather and were grateful for the party title while Steve Dupont (Mr. as a social venue packed with New England Leather 2014) lots of hot men to kick off their was first runner-up, and Cody weekend. Troy (Mr. Midwest Leather Since the Bay Area had its 2013) was second runner-up. first IML winner since 1992 The new IML 2014, Ramien when Andy Cross won last Pierre, offered some insight year, I thought I’d close with a into a side of being a contescomment from Cross about his tant many don’t often see. Year IML experience as last year’s tiafter year I hear from IML contleholder. I think Cross also eltestants of similar experiences oquently highlights why we in that changed their lives. the Bay Area should be proud Rich Stadtmiller Pierre said, “We had all been and excited about our own lotold that the contest would be Gage Fisher, Mr. San Francisco Eagle 2014, cal leather and kink scene. life changing. It had been said was among three Bay Area competitors at See page 8 >> so much that I had become this year’s International Mr. Leather contest.

<< On the Tab

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

The Tubes @ Yoshi's

eON THE – TAB f June 12 19

★

The 80s pop band is still going strong, and performs their hits, plus new music. $29-$34. 8pm. 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. www.yoshis.com

Retro disco tunes and a fun diverse crowd, each Thursday; now in its tenth year! June 12 with special guests, Lil & Lloyd. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Underwear Party @ Powerhouse

Themed Nights @ The Brig

Strip down to your skivvies at the weekly cruisy SoMa bar night. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhouse-sf.com

If you're looking for a new sexual adventure, check out this new space. Weekend events take place Fridays through Mondays, and the intimate venue with a jail theme offers slings, tables and various spaces for erotic play. Sat-Mon, above PopSex960 at 962 Folsom St. at 6th St. www.BrigSF.com

Fri 13 Bad Girl Cocktail Hour @ The Lexington Club Every Friday night, bad girls can get $1 dollar margaritas between 9pm and 10pm. 3464 19th St. between Mission and Valencia. 8632052. www.lexingtonclub.com

Cubcake @ Lone Star Saloon Bears and sweets, plus DJed beats; no cover. 9pm-2am. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Cubcake

I Thu 12

Fri 13

t’s getting to be the time of year when wearing every color of the rainbow is fashionable. Warm up with pride-tastic pre-parties.

The Both @ Great American Music Hall Aimee Mann and Ted Leo perform music from their new album. (also June 11 at City Winery, Napa). Nick Diamonds of Islands opens. $26-$51(with dinner). 8pm. 859 O'Farrell St. 885-0750. www.slimspresents.com

The Crib @ 715 Dance night for the younger guys and gals. 9:30pm-2am. 715 Harrison St. www.thecribsf.com

La Femme @ Beaux Ladies' happy hour at the Castro nightclub, with drink specials, no cover, and women gogos. 4pm-9pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Nap's Karaoke @ Virgil's Sea Room Sing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town, hosted by the former owner of the bar. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 829-2233. www.virgilssf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences Themed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fish, frogs, food and fun. June 12, an SF Design Week event with music by indie rockers Small Black, R&Bers Beacon, ISO50, plus visual artist Azael Ferrer, interactive video installations, garden of illuminated paper flowers, and more. $10-$12. 6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Fedorable @ El Rio Free weekly queer dance party, with gogos, prizes, old groovy tunes, cheap cocktails. 9pm-2am. 3158 Mission St. 2823325. www.elriosf.com

Freaky Friday Pride Party @ Longboard Margarita Bar, Pacifica The surfer dude hangout goes totally gay once a month, with a fab drag show hosted by Ana Mae Cox. No cover. 9:30pm-2am. 180 Eureka Square, Pacifica. (650) 7385905. www.thelongboardbar.com

Friday Night @ de Young Museum Nightlife events at the museum take on different themes. $20-$35. 6pm-8:30pm. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. www.deyoung.famsf.org

The Monster Show @ The Edge Cookie Dough's weekly drag show with gogo guys and hilarious fun. June 12: a Queen tribute! $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

PRIDE2014 2014 Whether you listen to the Devil or the Angel on your shoulder this year... stay in touch with the latest latest in Pride event coverage, LGBT news and entertainment!

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, Oakland Enjoy eight bars, more dance floors, and a smoking lounge at the largest gay Latin dance night in the Bay Area. Happy hour 4pm8:30pm. Dancing 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Judy Kaye @ Feinstein's at the Nikko

Whimsical Belle Epoque-style sketch and magic show that also includes historical San Francisco stories; hosted by Walt Anthony; optional pre-show light dinner and desserts. $40. Thu-Sat 8pm. 433 Powell St. www.SFMagicParlor.com

DJed tunes, gogo hotties, drag shows, drink specials, all at Oakland's premiere Latin nightclub and weekly cowboy night. $10$15. Dancing 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

The Bay Area burlesque troupe welcomes performers from around the world for a big women's strip show. $15-$30. 9pm-2am. 375 11th St. 21+. www.hubbarevue. com www.dnalounge.com

Enjoy cheap/free whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar. 10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 5512500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Magic Parlor @ Chancellor Hotel

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, Oakland

Hubba Hubba Revue @ DNA Lounge

Gym Class @ Hi Tops

Veteran DJ Page Hodel (The Box, Q and many other events) presents a new weekly dance event, with soul, funk, hip-hop and house mixes. $10. 21+. 9pm2am. 314 11th St. at Folsom. www.BeatboxSF.com

SF Mr. & Miss Gay Pageant (Robb Huddleston and Jezebel Patel in 2013

The popular video bar ends each week with gogo guys (starting at 9pm) and drink specials. Check out the new expanded front lounge, with a window view. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Weekly event, with Latin music, halfoff locker fees and Latin men, at the South Bay private men's bath house. $8-$39. Reg hours 24/7. 18+. 1010 The Alameda. (408) 275-1215. www.thewatergarden.com

Jukebox @ Beatbox

Sat 14

Happy Friday @ Midnight Sun

Fuego @ The Watergarden, San Jose

The multiple award-winning stage actress-singer ( Nice Work If You Can Get It, The Phantom of the Opera, Gypsy, Tales of the City) performs a new intimate show celebrating the music of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. $35-$50. 8pm. Also June 13, 8pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

The Speakeasy @ Private Location Boxcar Theatre's popular Prohibition-era interactive bar, gaming and performance show extends its sold-out run before closing to find a bigger venue. $65-$100. Wed-Sat admissions times 7:309pm. Thru June 21. Address given after ticket purchase. www.thespeakeasysf.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge

Lick It @ Powerhouse

Sat 14 Christine Ebersole

Pan Dulce @ The Cafe Amazingly hot Papi gogo guys, cheap drinks and fun DJed dance music. Free before 10pm. $5 til 2am. 2369 Market St. www.clubpapi.com www.cafesf.com

Pearls Over Shanghai @ The Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers' hilarious Cockettes revival returns, with new choreography, costumes and cast members. $30-$35. Thu-Sat 8pm. Thru May 31. 575 10th St. (800) 838-3006. www.thrillpeddlers.com

Thursday Night Live @ SF Eagle The weekly live rock shows have returned. 9pm-ish. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Lance Holman's 2nd Friday sexy party goes black light (so don't wear black clothes; only your lint will show up!). $5. 10pm-1am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhouse-sf.com

Manimal @ Beaux Gogo-tastic night starts off your weekend. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Reason to Party @ SF Armory Fauxnique and Brent Corrigan cohost Pas des Deux, a benefit for Dancers' Group, with hosted cocktails, live music, DJed dancing, and a penthouse view from the Armory. $40-$200. 9pm. 1800 Mission St. www.reasontoparty.org/pdd

Roller Disco Party @ Women's Building The monthly roller-skating fun returns, with a full cash bar, skate rentals and loopy fun. $10. 8pm-12am. 3543 18th St. www.sfindie.com

Some Thing Mica Sigourney and pals' weekly offbeat drag performance night. May 30, a special Malificent-themed night. 10pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

Sat 14 Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi The musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. $25-$160. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 4214222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Beer Bust @ Hole in the Wall Saloon Beer only $8 until you bust. 4pm-8pm. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle

Christine Ebersole @ Feinstein's at the Nikko The two-time Tony Award winner ( Grey Gardens, 42nd Street ) performs her new cabaret show, "Strings Attached," with the Aaron Weinstein Trio. $60-$85. 7pm. Also June 15, 7pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Club Rimshot @ Bench and Bar, Oakland Weekly hip hop and R&B night. $8-$15. 9pm to 4am. 510 17th St. www.bench-and-bar.com

The Dating Game @ Club OMG

The classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event now also takes place on Saturdays! 3pm-6pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Pia Messing (aka comic Valeria Branch) hosts a gay/lesbian version of the 70s dating TV show, with performances and prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. $12-$20. 7pm-9pm. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Bootie SF @ DNA Lounge

Destructo @ Audio

The weekly mash-up dance night, with resident DJs Adrian & Mysterious D. No matter the theme, a mixed fun good time's assured. $8-$15. 9pm-3am. 21+. 375 11th St. at Harrison. www.BootieSF.com www.DNAlounge.com

LA DJ and producer presents a night of electronic techno, with Morgan Page, 3LAU, Arty, Ummet Ozcan, Christina Noveli and Tony Junior. $30-$90. 4pm-2am. 2 Marina Blvd. Festival Pavilion. www.ticketfly.com

Dragathon @ The Café SF Gay Men's Chorus fundraiser, where the queen who raised the most money, or lip-synchs the best, is crowned; Pollo del Mar hosts. 4pm-7pm. 2369 Market St. at Castro. www.firstgiving.com/89384/ dragathon-2014

Frolic @ The Stud Furry fun at the historic gay bar. Wear your animal costume (encouraged, not required). $3-$7. 8pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.neonbunny.com/frolic www.studsf.com

Magic Shows @ Rex Hotel New weekly magic show and cabaret act with Adam Sachs and mentalist Sebastian Boswell III. $25. 8pm. two-drink minimum. Thru 2014. 562 Sutter St. www.MagicattheRex.com

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

Pound Puppy @ SF Eagle

Full of Grace @ Beaux

Special monthly kink and DJed fun with Carlos Souffront and Stanley Frank spinning; leather sexy gogo guys, buzz cuts by master barber Tony DiCaro, and general carousing and kink. 9pm-2am. 398 1`2th st. www.sf-eagle.com

Weekly night with hostess Grace Towers, different local and visiting DJs, and pop-up drag performances. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Stallion Saturdays @ Beaux The gogo-tastic night returns, with hunky dancers Michael Tempesta, Sticky Ricky and Jimmy Durano; lap dances upstairs in the lounge, hosted by Sister Roma. $4. Free before 10pm. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Sun 15 Beer Bust @ Lone Star Saloon The ursine crowd converges for beer and fun. 4pm-8pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

GlamaZone @ The Cafe

Tue 17

Red Hots Burlesque @ El Rio

13 Licks @ Q Bar

Women's burlesque show performs each Wed & Fri. Karaoke follows. $5-$10. 7pm. 3158 Mission St. 282-3325. www.elriosf.com

Weekly women's night at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Block Party @ Midnight Sun

So You Think You Can Gogo? @ Toad Hall

Jock @ The Lookout

Weekly screenings of music videos, concert footage, interviews and more, of popular pop stars. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 8614186. www.midnightsunsf.com

The weekly dancing competition for gogo wannabes. 9pm. cash prizes, $2 well drinks (2 for 1 happy hour til 9pm). Show at 9pm. 4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

The weekly jock-ular fun continues, with special sports team fundraisers. 3pm-7pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

Bombshell Betty & Her Burlesqueteers @ Elbo Room

Sony Holland @ Level III

Liquid Brunch @ Beaux

The weekly burlesque show of women dancers shaking their bonbons includes live music. $10. 9pm. 647 Valencia St. 5527788. www.elbo.com

Pollo del Mar's weekly drag shows takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:30-11:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

No cover, no food, just drinks (Mimosas, Bloody Marys, etc.) and music. 2pm-9pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Real Bad Margarita Party @ Beatbox Kickoff event for the annual fundraiser dance party; announcement of expanded events and beneficiaries. Donations. 1pm4pm. 314 11th St. www.realbad.org www.beatboxsf.com

Salsa Sundays @ El Rio Salsa dancing for LGBT folks and friends, with live merengue and cumbia bands; tapas and donations that support local causes. 2nd & 4th Sundays. 3pm-8pm. 3158 Mission St. 282-3325. www.elriosf.com

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550 The popular country western LGBT dance night; enjoy fun foot-stomping twostepping and line-dancing. $5. 5pm10:30pm with lessons from 5:30-7:15 pm. Also Thursdays. 550 Barneveld Ave., and Tuesdays at Beatbox, $6. 6:30-11pm. 314 11th St. www.sundancesaloon.org

Sunday's a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey's Ronn Vigh hosts the weekly LGBT and gay-friendly comedy night. One-drink or menu item minimum. 9pm. 500 Castro St. at 18th. 431-HARV. www.harveyssf.com

Strip down to your skivvies at the popular leather bar. 9pm-2am. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Naked Night @ Nob Hill Theatre

Way Back @ Midnight Sun

Strip down at the strip joint. $20 includes refreshments. 8pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Piano Bar @ Beaux

Thu 19

Robin Zander Band @ Slim's

The popular alt/rock band returns. $45$69. 8pm (premier seating/meet & greet available). 1330 Fillmore St. 655-5600. Also June 20 at Yoshi's Oakland, 510 Embarcadeo West, (510) 238-9200. www.yoshis.com

Cheap Trick front man and fellow musicians perform new (and Cheap Trick) music. Coo Coo Birds open. $26-$51 (with dinner). 8pm. 333 11th St. www.slimspresents.com

Paul K hosts the amateur singing night. 8pm-2am. 3600 16th St. at Market. www.lookoutsf.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight Sun Honey Mahogany's weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm, 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Monday Musicals @ The Edge Mr. & Miss Gay SF Pageant @ Hotel Whitcomb The Emerald City by the Bay, the Imperial Council's annual pageant, includes festive contestants who'll compete in creative costume, evening/formal attire and talent. $20. 6pm. 1231 Market St. at 8th. www.imperialcouncilsf.org

Beer Bust @ SF Eagle The classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event in town draws the menfolk. 3pm-6pm. Now also on Saturdays! 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Brunch @ Hi Tops Enjoy crunchy sandwiches and mimosas, among other menu items, at the popular sports bar. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Daytime Realness @ El Rio Sunny drag and retro tunes on the patio at the Mission club. Carnita, Heklina, plus performances by D'Arcy Drollinger, Matthew Martin, Cookie Dough and more! BBQ food if you get in early. 2pm-8pm. 3158 Mission St. www.elriosf.com

Sun 15 Disco Daddy

Disco Daddy @ SF Eagle Enjoy the one-year anniversary of the post-beer bust disco fun night at the leather bar, with DJ Bus Station John. Open late, 7pm-2am. $5. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

The casts of local and visiting musicals often pop in to perform at the popular Castro bar's musical theatre night. 7pm2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pm-closing. 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni's Sing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone). 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

Name That Beat @ Toad Hall BeBe Sweetbriar hosts a trivia challange and live drag show. 8:30-11:30pm. 4146 18th st. at Castro. www.toadhallbar.com

Sports Night @ The Eagle The legendary leather bar gets jock-ular, with beer buckets, games (including beer pong and corn-hole!), prizes, sports on the TVs, and more fun. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

10,000 Maniacs @ Yoshi's

Christina Bianco @ Feinstein's at the Nikko The YouTube sensation vocalist performs Diva Moments, songs performed as famous singers (Streisand, Celine, Judy). $35-$50. 8pm. Also June 20, 8pm. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.ticketweb.com

Circle Jerk @ Nob Hill Theatre Whacking good fun in the downstairs arcade playroom with porn stud Drew Sebastian. $10. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Drag Mondays @ The Café

Karaoke @ The Lookout

Weekly screenings of vintage music videos and retro drink prices. Check out the new expanded front window lounge. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Singer extraordinaire Jason Brock hosts the new weekly night, with your talented host and even you singing. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Specials on drinks made with Cock and Bull ginger ale (Jack and Cock, Russian Mule, and more). 8pm-closing. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Weekly dance lessons and live music at the pub-restaurant, hosted by John Slaymaker. $5. 7pm. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. www.thestarryplough.com

BeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly night of trivia quizzes and fun and prizes; no cover. 8pm-1pm. 500 Castro St. 431-4278. www.harveyssf.com

Show off your tattoos and piercings at the weekly cruisy SoMa bar night. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhouse-sf.com

Cock and Bull Mondays @ Hole in the Wall Saloon

Irish Dance Night @ Starry Plough, Berkeley

Trivia Night @ Harvey's

Underwear Night @ SF Eagle

Mon 16

Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko's weekly drag and dance night. 9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

The acclaimed jazz vocalist performs with guitarist Jerry Holland. Weekly 5pm-8pm. Also Thursdays & Fridays. JW Marriott, 515 Mason St. at Post. www.sonyholland.com

Ink & Metal @ Powerhouse

Jennifer Graham

On the Tab>>

Thu 19 Karinda Dobbins @ Comedy Returns

Comedy Returns @ El Rio The "Obligatory June Gay Comedy Night" features LGBT comics Karinda Dobbins, Bob McIntyre, Bobby Golden, Irene Tu, and host Lisa Geduldig. $7-$20. 8pm. 3158 Mission St. (800) 838-3006. www.elriosf.com

La Femme @ Beaux Roman Street @ Yoshi's Oakland Brothers Noah and Josh Thompson perform their jazz-classical-infusedflamenco instrumental music. $15. 8pm. 510 Embarcadeo West, (510) 238-9200. www.romanstreet.com www.yoshis.com

Showdown @ Folsom Foundry Weekly game night for board and electronic gamers at the warehouse multipurpose nightclub. 21+. 6pm-12am. 1425 Folsom St. www.showdownesports.com

Wed 18 Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi Tops Play board games and win offbeat prizes at the popular sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Mad Manhattans @ Starlight Room The new weekly event includes classic cocktails created by David Cruz, and inspired by the the show Mad Men, plus retro food classics like prawn cocktails and Oysters Rockefeller, all with a fantastic city view. 6pm-10pm. 21st, Sir Francis Drake Hotel. 450 Powell St. www.starlightroomsf.com

Miss Kitty's Trivia Night @ Wild Side West The weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm. 424 Cortland St. 6473099. www.wildsidewest.com

Queer Salsa @ Beatbox Weekly Latin partner dance night. 8pm1am. 314 11th St. www.beatboxsf.com

Ladies' happy hour at the Castro nightclub, with drink specials, no cover, and women gogos. 4pm-9pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Gym Class @ Hi Tops Enjoy cheap/free whiskey shots from jockstrapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular new sports bar. 10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

The Monster Show @ The Edge Cookie Dough's weekly drag show with gogo guys. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of Sciences The museum's weekly cocktail parties continue with drinks, food live music and pop-up display exhibits and docent talks, plus creature, plant and science exhibits. $10-$12. 6pm-10pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Pan Dulce @ The Cafe Enjoy amazingly hot Papi gogo guys, cheap drinks and fun DJed dance music. Free before 10pm. $5 til 2am. 2369 Market St. www.clubpapi.com www.cafesf.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's Lounge Tenth anniversary of the intimate groovy retro disco night with tunes spun by DJ Bus Station John. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Want your nightlife event listed? Email events@ebar.com, at least two weeks before your event. Event photos welcome.

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

Steven Underhill

PHOTOGRAPHY

415 370 7152

WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITS

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Ramien Pierre, International Mr. Leather 2014, gets a congratulatory smooch from 2013 Mr. IML Andy Cross.

IML 2014

From page 4

Cross said, “This year I was a judge for the contest and got to see a different side of not only the inner workings of the whole event, but most importantly, I got an insight into the men vying for the title. We had three Bay Area competitors for International Mr. Leather who not only represented themselves with such integrity, but also represented this community impeccably. And now we even have a new international titleholder to hail from the Bay Area! Our own bootblack, Scout, won the International Mr. Bootblack title, which was very much deserved. It’s reassuring to see that just as this community built me and countless others up, it’s continuing to do so with a new wave of leather men and leather women.” Cross continued, “I’ve heard people say ‘leather is dead’ or ‘leather will never be as great as it once was,’ but I’ve never heard that from anyone in this community. That is one thing that makes us unique. It might be that ‘Bay Area bubble’ that we live in, but we experience things differently than most. I’ve learned that our attitudes and actions are a direct product of who we associate with and in my opinion we set the standard.”

Let me echo Cross’ comments. I travel the country a lot and while I enjoy myself wherever I go, there’s no place quite like the Bay Area and its leather and kink scene. We are so damn lucky.t Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. You can reach him through the contact page on www.bannon.com For more of Rich Stadtmiller’s Leather event photos, visit www.RichTrove.com

Rich Stadtmiller

Finalist Cody Troy rocks a leather kilt during the 2014 IML competition.

Rich Stadtmiller

String quartet Well Strung performed at this year’s IML.

Leather Events, June 12-28, 2014 T

here’s always a lot going on in the San Francisco Bay Area for leather and other kinksters.

Wed 18

Tue 24

Wed 11 – Sun 15

Red Hanky Nite by Hell Hole @ Powerhouse

GearGear @ Wicked Grounds

Social night for men into fisting, 1347 Folsom St., 9:30pm. www.powerhouse-sf.com

Rubber Men of San Francisco game night, 289 8th St., 7:30pm. www.rmsf.org

Fri 20

Wed 25

Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country Club

Leathermen’s Discussion Group @ Mr. S Leather

Officially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members, 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountryclub.org

Susan Wright - An evening with the writer, advocate, media gadfly, and founder of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom, 385A 8th St., 7:30pm. www.sfldg.org

Sat 21

Fri 27

Kink Salon @ Powerhouse

Fist City @ Mr. S Leather

Erotic open mic, show and art exhibition benefit for LeatherWalk 2014 and St. James Infirmary, 1347 Folsom St., 6pm. www.powerhouse-sf.com

Men’s fisting party. 385A 8th St., $20, 8pm. www.mr-s-leather.com/studio

15 Association Bootcamp @ Sarasota Springs Men’s BDSM play weekend. www.the15association.org

Fri 13 Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country Club Officially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members, 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountryclub.org

Lick It: Black Light Pride Party @ Powerhouse Benefiting Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, 1347 Folsom St., 10pm. www.powerhouse-sf.com

Sat 14 Whips in the Park @ Castro Country Club A place for folks to practice throwing whips while they socialize, States Street Playground down the hill from Corona Heights and the Randall Museum, 1pm. www.castrocountryclub.org

Sun 22 Folsom Forever @ Victoria Theater Documentary about Folsom Street Fair at Frameline LGBT Film Festival, 2961 16th St., 9pm. www.frameline.org

SF Puppy Park @ Mr. S Leather A male-energy event for newcomersbeginners to experienced-seasoned pups and Handlers, $10 at door, 385A 8th St., 1pm. www.mr-s-leather.com/studio

Sat 28 Leathermen’s Discussion Group Pink Saturday Beer Bust & Fundraiser @ SF Eagle Fundraiser for SF Leathermen’s Discussion Group, 398 12th St., 3pm. www.sfldg.org

Show It @ Powerhouse Rubber Pride party, 1347 Folsom St., 5pm. www.rmsf.org

GearUp Men’s Play Party @ Mr. S Dungeon A friendly erotic space where kinky men can socialize with, learn from, and play with other men, $20, 385A 8th St., 9pm. www.gearupweekend.com/play-parties

Read more online at www.ebar.com

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

Arrested Developments by John F. Karr

’m not gonna call anybody in the movie under consideration this week a tranny. That’s not because the word police have declared the word to be no longer acceptable, but because none of the movie’s performers are trannies. The noted directress of the movie, Chi Chi LaRue, is a drag queen, not a tranny. But I’ve just gotta throw my opinion in the ring, by asking this: What is the first syllable of the words transexual or transgender? And what’s the affectionate diminutive for that? As Johnny is to John, tranny is to tran. Not an insult, not a pejorative, but an endearment. It’s a word good

thrills in Sentenced. Though both herself and producer Doug Jeffries are credited with writing the film, they’ve provided little more than a scenario for the nearly dialogue-free movie, which, however, suffices. Scene 1, a cruise and sex in the park. Scene 2, a cop arrests one of the cruisers, only to have sex with the guy himself. Scene 3, after the cop and his partner hurl invective at the accused, they so greatly arouse themselves while reciting his sex crimes that they fuck each other right there in front of him. Scene 4, when the cruiser escapes custody, he stumbles upon a bunch of ranch hands having an orgy (if a four-way can be considered an orgy).

C1R

Allesandro Del Toro and Mike DeMarko get acquainted in Sentenced.

cept the movie’s unwarranted (and unwanted) manipulations of film stock and image quality. I have no idea why various tints wash the screen, or why scratches, curlicues and unknowable hieroglyphs, as well as irritating strobe effects, mar the image. Chi Chi’s used such devices previously; maybe they make him feel like a filmmaker. She seems to be going for an ominous tone. But you know, ominous isn’t a good tone for porn. It tamps down energy and spontaneity, elicits cold stares from performers (which, I think, many directors mistake for Butch), and, to me, removes whatever personality and soul the performer has (or, had). Scene 1 is a fuck on a picnic table. “Damn, that’s a big fuckin’ horse cock,” Alessandro Del Toro exclaims when he comes face to phallus with Mike DeMarko’s meat after a long cruise in the woods. And he’s right. Justifiably popular DeMarko used to be a cute kid, but he’s recently grown hair on chest and face, and toned up some muscle, so that now, his boyish looks barely mask an emerging, handsome man. In Scene 2, cop Trenton Ducati arrests DeMarko, and after telling him “This didn’t happen,” quite enjoyably goes down on that horse cock. The switch to fucking is abrupt, but you gotta admire (and flinch a little) at the ease with which DeMarko sits down on Ducatti’s dong to receive a manly fuck. Their relationship lacks personal connection, but as unadorned sex, it’s pretty good. And, as he did in the first scene, DeMarko cums while being fucked. Pay no mind to the movie’s lack of verisimilitude in both setting and dialogue during the third scene’s interrogation; policemen Trenton Ducati and Billy Santoro suck intensely upon each other’s choice cocks, and fuck each other with mucho macho gusto. Finally, bearded and furry ranch hands Adam Russo, JR Bronson, and Brock Avery are making out along with smooth buddy Kieron Ryan. The music tells us this is ex-

enough for Justin Vivian Bond and Jayne County (Google ‘em for trenchant remarks). And while I support Heklina in her careful consideration of the word’s use for her famous club, I urge her to reclaim its original name. Meanwhile, Ms. LaRue is facing some other controversies regarding her recent movie, Sentenced. Once upon a time, many producers of condom-ed porn refused to employ performers who had barebacked. C1R Nowadays, that’s next to impossiHandcuffed Mike DeMarko watches Billy Santoro plow ble. While long-time safe sex advoTrenton Ducatti in Sentenced. cate LaRue requires her performers to use condoms, nigh unto all of them in Senciting, but it’s kind of tenced have barebacked routine. – for which Internet Avery’s a former commentators have Cocksure Men percalled her a hypocrite. former. Sturdy Mr. Well, Internet posters Ryan, a broad-shoulare notoriously hysdered, blue-eyed blond, terical; I find Chi Chi’s hasn’t yet attained starstance acceptable. Why dom, despite having blacklist performers modeled butt plugs for at the moment they’re Mr S, and appeared at willing to demonstrate several websites and in safer sex? four mainstream feaBut what about the tures. If his showcase final scene of Senin Sentenced is any intenced, which climaxes dication, he’ll be better with not one but three known soon. He’s getC1R oral cum shots? Abanting seasoned and putdoning her safer sex Adam Russo, JR Bronson, Kieron Ryan and Brock Avery ting on a lotta muscle. habit of prohibiting are rowdy ranch hands in Sentenced. He looks robust, shows such activity, this is a pizzaz, gets fucked with major shift in Chi Chi’s filmmakI found the movie’s ambient the handle end of a shovel (which ing. In the face of PrEP and the soundtrack and music most athe seems to find questionable fun) flagging of general sales, I have no mospheric. But I’ve always found and drinks in his buddy’s cum. This doubt that she, along with many it hard to accept LaRue’s disregard is surprising for a LaRue movie, but other producers, is re-thinking the for gravity, and the tilted, woozy completely appreciated—a strong definition of “safe sex.” camera angles of Sentenced are exconclusion to what’s been mostly She provides a limited number of treme. And you’ll have to just acrote scene.t

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 12-18, 2014

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Shooting Stars

June 12-18, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

photos by Steven Underhill S

an Francisco’s City Hall rotunda enjoyed high-hatted hoopla as Steve Silver’s Beach Blanket Babylon celebrated its 40th anniversary. Cast members of the comic musical theatre revue, noted for its oversized costumes and headresses, were joined by members of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, former mayor Willie Brown and current Mayor Ed Lee, San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and local dignitaries and celebrities. For tickets, visit www.beachblanketbabylon.com. See more event photo albums on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife and on www.StevenUnderhill.com See this and other issues in full page-view format at www.issuu.com/bayareareporter

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TWO AND THREE BEDROOM UNITS AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY 8 TENTH STREET ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ CA 94103 RENTNEMA.COM / 415-881-5061 /

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Crescent Heights ® is a service mark used by a group of limited liability companies and partnerships. NEMA is being developed by Tenth and Market, LLC, which is a separate, single purpose entity that is solely responsible for its development, obligations and liabilities. Renderings, photographs and other information described are representational only. We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of Equal Housing Opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.