June 2, 2011 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter

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BARtab Still Studly

Street artist faces charge

'Tales' opens at ACT

Arrests at Moscow Pride

The Eagle has Flown Pride by Night June Events

see inside

The

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

Vol. 41 • No. 22 • June 2-8, 2011

Candles await marchers at last month’s annual AIDS vigil in the Castro. This Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of the first reported AIDS cases.

Rick Gerharter

The quest turns for a cure Attention to older HIV patients

by Liz Highleyman

by Matthew S. Bajko

T

G

reg Edwards will turn 60 this August.

It is an age he could hardly imagine he would ever celebrate when he was diagnosed with having HIV in 1992.

At that time the country’s AIDS epidemic was entering its second decade. And it would be another three years before the introduction of breakthrough medications that would turn HIV into a manageable, chronic illness.

“A lot of the anxiety and fear has dissipated over the years. But so many people over 50 were infected in the late 1980s or early 1990s but clearly are no longer around,” said the openly gay San Francisco resident who is the director of the Oakland-based Flowers Heritage Foundation, which supports HIV and AIDS services.

As the AIDS epidemic now enters its fourth decade, older Americans represent the fastest growing age group among HIV-positive people.

In San Francisco the majority of AIDS cases are already in this age bracket. As the Bay Area Reporter reported in February, 53 percent of AIDS cases in 2010 were among people 50 and older.

And one in six people are over 50 when diagnosed with being HIV-positive, city data

The quest for a cure

Greg Edwards was diagnosed with having HIV in 1992.

shows. By 2015 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that half of the people with HIV in America will be over the age of 50.

That will be “a pretty big milestone,” said Dr. Brad Hare, medical director of the UCSF Positive Health Program at San Francisco See page 16 >>

hirty years after the first report of what would come to be known as AIDS, more and more researchers and advocates are talking about a cure for HIV – a development that is both shocking and long overdue.

“Hope for a cure is based on amazing progress in drug development and in understanding the underlying biology of HIV infection,” said Paul Volberding, one of the first doctors to treat HIV and cofounder of the AIDS clinic at San Francisco General Hospital.

When the syndrome of opportunistic infections, wasting, and plummeting T-cell counts was linked to a virus, many believed it would not be long before effective treatment, a vaccine, and ultimately a cure would become available.

But HIV – which attacks the CD4 T-cells that coordinate the immune response – proved a wily foe. The advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the mid-1990s dramatically reduced morbidity and mortality, and improvements over the past decade have enabled most people with access to treatment to reach an undetectable viral load.

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Liz Highleyman

Long-term AIDS survivor Matt Sharp, left, is a participant in a clinical trial run by Dr. Jay Lalezari.

Yet current antiretroviral drugs cannot completely eliminate the virus; HIV can silently hide in reservoirs such as long-lived memory T-cells and comes roaring back soon after treatment is interrupted.

Several changes during the past few years have made discussion of a cure no longer taboo, including greater understanding of how HIV evades the immune system and persists in the body.

“We’ve learned so much about the basic biology of HIV that we’re willing to say aloud See page 15 >>

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

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AIDS at 30 >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3

An AIDS timeline ~ compiled by Cynthia Laird ~

Here’s a look back at some of what has happened in the 30 years of the AIDS epidemic, focusing mostly on San Francisco.

June 5, 1981: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report” notes that during the period October 1980 to May 1981, five young men, “all active homosexuals, were treated for biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia at three different hospitals in Los Angeles, California. Two of the patients died. All five patients had laboratory-confirmed previous or current cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and candidal mucosa infection.”

Local artist curates exhibit while facing charge

by Seth Hemmelgarn

A

n artist who’s curating an exhibit designed to address homophobic bullying is facing accusations of vandalism and threatening a Bay Area Reporter staffer.

Jeremy Novy, a.k.a. Jeremy Wendtz, is perhaps best known for his stenciled colorful sidewalk koi fish. Recently, he’s assembled the show, titled, “A History of Queer Street Art,” for the 14th annual National Queer Arts Festival. The Queer Cultural Center is presenting the festival.

The center’s website says the street art exhibit, which opens June 4, “sheds light on the constant bullying of queer street artists and depicts the lineage of queers in street art and graffiti.”

According to a police report, Novy was arrested by San Francisco police shortly after a May 4, 2010 incident where he allegedly pushed Castro resident Jesse Sanford up against a wall and cracked the glass of Sanford’s front door.

The report says that Novy had asked to spend the night at Sanford’s home because he was “under the influence of alcohol,” but Sanford and a roommate had turned him down, according to the report, a copy of which the B.A.R. obtained.

Sanford declined to comment on the incident.

Novy, 31, was booked on charges related to battery, vandalism, and disorderly conduct. The District Attorney’s office subsequently charged him only with misdemeanor vandalism.

On May 17, 2010, Novy appeared in San Francisco Superior Court and he was referred to pretrial diversion, which could have led to his case being dismissed. He was ordered to return to court on June 21 for a report on whether he was eligible for

Jeremy Novy

the diversion program.

Novy didn’t appear at the June hearing, and the court issued a bench warrant for his arrest. Bail was set at $5,000.

Dispute with B.A.R. editor In another incident, B.A.R. assistant editor Jim Provenzano filed a request for orders to stop harassment with San Francisco Superior Court last Thursday, May 26.

The request stems from a history with Novy that dates to last year.

In 2010, B.A.R. general manager Michael Yamashita caught Novy defacing the paper’s property and asked him to stop.

In January 2011, Provenzano and Novy were both set to be guests on the cable show Ten Percent.

Provenzano requested that Novy not post his work on the B.A.R.’s property.

According to documents that Provenzano filed with the court, Novy “flew into a verbal rage” and said, “I will bomb your office! I know where you are now! I know who you are!” Later that same day, he allegedly

spray painted “Everything you did in NYC for queers you fucked up today” on the B.A.R.’s back doors.

In the documents, Provenzano says Novy posted a photo of the graffiti on Facebook, along with the message “Die, motherfuckers, die!!!”

The paper’s management filed a request for a restraining order against Novy to protect staff and premises, but because he couldn’t be found, a process server’s attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Provenzano’s recent filing covers only him. According to those documents, postings against Provenzano appeared on Novy’s Facebook “wall,” including a May 25 message that said, “It’s official. Jim Provenzano is closely related to the Jewish Nazi members. A self hater.”

Vandalism case continues On May 20, police arrested Novy on the bench warrant from last June, though police spokesman Lieutenant Troy Dangerfield couldn’t tell the B.A.R. exactly what type of incident was involved. Erica Derryck, a spokeswoman for the DA’s office, confirmed the arrest, but didn’t have details and said there’s no new case stemming from it.

In court Friday, May 27, Ariana Downing, an attorney representing Novy, said he hadn’t appeared in court last June because he had been under the impression that his case was going to be dismissed.

Judge Donna Alyson Little expressed frustration with Novy’s case and said, “I’m not buying what he says.” Little discharged Novy’s bench warrant and terminated him from pretrial diversion. The next hearing in his case is June 21.

Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Hoopes is prosecuting the case.

Novy was served with a copy of Provenzano’s request for orders to See page 5 >>

<< AIDS at 30

4 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

June 1981:

▼

October 29, 1981:

The first case of Karposi’s sarcoma is diagnosed at San Francisco General Hospital. At right, an AIDS caregiver and patient visit in Ward 5A/5B at SFGH, circa 1980.

One of the first mentions of what was then called “gay cancer” in the Bay Area Reporter was an advance of a meeting of the Stonewall Gay Democratic Club where the topic would be discussed.

Rick Gerharter

Courtesy SFGH

Condom maker targets gay men

by Matthew S. Bajko

S

ince the start of the AIDS epidemic the main strategy gay men have utilized to prevent their becoming infected with the HIV virus is to use a condom.

That advice is not always adhered to for a variety of reasons. For some, fumbling around in the dark trying to put on a rubber can be a mood killer in the heat of the moment.

Others dread the embarrassment of putting the penile sheath on wrong.

The maker of a new brand of condoms believes it has solved that issue. The Florida-based Grove Medical LLC is marketing Sensis Condoms with QuickStrips as having “fast, safe application technology.”

The condoms come attached with pull-down strips the company argues makes them easier and more accurate to put on. The back of each latex condom also has a simple 1-23-step picture diagram of how the clear plastic strips work.

The company argues the design eliminates the need to “flip” a condom in order to figure out which way it should be applied, thus diminishing the risk it will

Sensis condoms come with pull down strips, which the company says makes them easier to put on.

be soiled. It also argues that the strips help men correctly apply the condoms even in the dark or if they are intoxicated.

“If we can eliminate those problems, we can make the experience better for all involved,” said R. Beau Thompson, who came up with the idea for the strips

and patented them. “What we are about is making life better through technology. If we can improve it, and still stay safe, hey, it is a beautiful thing.”

While Thompson is straight and conceived of his condom concept during a particularly frustrating interlude with a female sexual

partner, his company is targeting gay men as it fights for market share in the $250 million prophylactic business. The blue packaging for Sensis’ two types of condoms – thin lubricated and sensitive micro-dotribbed – uses colored, squigglylined images of couples that could be heterosexual or homosexual.

“If you put the dot-ribs and thins boxes together the Kama Sutra figures dance together,” said Thompson. “What sexuality should be all about is fun. It is an enjoyable experience; it is what we hope our box is.”

Considering all the technological advances that have reshaped society in the last three decades, it is somewhat astounding to think that condoms have changed relatively little during that time. What also hasn’t changed is the gripes many gay men have about using them.

“I think some of the research and anecdotal information I have heard about shows that, outside of condoms not being available at the moment of having sex, sometimes it becomes difficult to negotiate for a variety of reasons, whether because of drug taking or just lack of skill in putting it on,” said Ernest Hopkins, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s legislative director.

It is a problem health officials have had to contend with in promoting the “condom code.” Without a cure for AIDS or an effective HIV vaccine, the best weapon of choice

in the fight against AIDS remains a simple see-through piece of latex.

Faced with this condom conundrum, health officials have tried to find solutions. Earlier this year San Francisco officials launched a campaign advising gay men to use female condoms during anal sex as an alternative to the male condom.

Condom companies have also searched for ways to make their product more palatable to men.

Durex is developing condoms lined with a gel to help with erectile dysfunction.

Ostensibly geared toward older gentlemen, the “Viagra condoms” could prove marketable to gay men who use party drugs that impact their ability to maintain an erection.

“A lot of guys don’t use condoms because they lose their erection.

Well, a condom that enhances your erection puts a different twist on that problem,” said Hopkins. “These condoms have a little oomph factor to them. I thought that was a brilliant idea.”

With condoms the best defense against a multitude of STDs, they are likely here to stay for the foreseeable future.

“You will always need some sort of sheet, always need some sort of physical barrier,” said Thompson.

“We are trying to make a difference and to make the experience better so you don’t interrupt the moment when putting on a condom.”▼

Fauci at the center of the AIDS story

by Bob Roehr

O

ne man has been at the center of AIDS treatment, research, and policy since the beginning – Dr. Anthony Fauci. Recently he has been giving a series of speeches, a personal reflection on his 30-year journey through that global pandemic.

Fauci was a young researcher at the National Institutes of Health when he read that first report of a cluster of five gay men in Los Angeles with pneumocystis carinii pneumonia that appeared in the June 5, 1981 issue of the then-obscure journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

How odd he thought, because it is a rare disease “that you never ever see in someone with a normal immune system.” The mark of his native Brooklyn is heavy in Fauci’s voice, even though he has not lived there for decades.

A month later another issue of MMWR landed on his desk, this one with a report of 26 young gay men in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City, otherwise healthy, who presented with pneumocystis carinii and/or the unusual cancer Kaposi’s sarcoma, also seen in immunocompromised persons.

“It was the first time in my medical career that I ever got goose pimples, because I knew this had to be a new disease,” said Fauci. He quickly decided to make the mysterious new

Bob Roehr

NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci makes a point during a recent speech where he talked about his 30 years of work fighting HIV/AIDS.

disease the focus of his research, despite contrary advice from his mentor and colleagues.

These reports marked the first official notice of what would become known as the global HIV pandemic.

The disease had been around much longer; people simply had not recognized it. But that would change as the virus grew with exponential ferocity to ravage and kill millions of human beings.

See page 9 >>

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AIDS at 30 >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 5

October 2, 1985:

April 1982: The San Francisco AIDS Foundation was established. The agency, one of the first of many HIV/AIDS nonprofits in the Bay Area, has grown to become the region’s largest, serving over 11,000 clients with a budget of $21.5 million. The “San Francisco Model,” as it became known, incorporated city and private funding, as well as Department of Public Health and nonprofit services, in the early years of the epidemic when there was no federal funding. Ballooning salaries of AIDS executives became a focus in the late 1990s, as activists began to demand accountability and transparency from nonprofit leaders.

Actor Rock Hudson died of AIDS at the age of 59. His search for a cure in the months preceding his death drew worldwide attention to the disease.

AIDS forever changed Castro Lutheran church

by Matthew S. Bajko

I

n September 1981 James DeLange, a straight married man, assumed his duties as pastor of St. Francis Lutheran Church in San Francisco’s Castro District.

At the time a small, struggling congregation, DeLange expected his main focus would be filling the pews of the Danish-built brick church that had survived the 1906 earthquake.

The 1970s had ushered in sweeping changes to the neighborhoods surrounding the Church Street house of worship.

As gay men moved into the old Victorian homes in Duboce Triangle and Eureka Valley (the gayborhood’s former name) further south on Market Street, many of St. Francis’s longtime straight parishioners had moved to other parts of the city and Bay Area. And not many of the new residents attended the Lutheran services.

“There were some gay men in the congregation when I became pastor.

It was a small congregation,” recalled DeLange.

But DeLange soon found himself providing pastoral care to many gay men raised Lutheran who had succumbed to a mysterious disease that had only been discovered that summer.

“Mostly what happened is there were people in the congregation who said their friends were sick and asked if I would go visit them,” he said. “The hospitals would also call to say there was a gay man here who is Lutheran and very sick. That got me involved.”

As more and more of the city’s gay male population succumbed to what became known as HIV and AIDS, St. Francis would be forever transformed by the epidemic raging outside its front door. The church reached out to the gay community, running ads in the Bay Area Reporter to promote its welcoming LGBT parishioners.

It also called upon two openly gay “non-stipendiary” pastors to assist DeLange. The first, in 1982, was the Reverend Jim Lokken, who had been an active member of the church. The Reverend Michael Hiller, who had joined the church that year, became a pastor in 1984.

“The AIDS epidemic had stimulated part of the outreach to gay men, and would prove to overshadow

<<

Local artist From page 3

stop harassment Friday morning when he entered the Hall of Justice.

A court date for that case has been set for June 8.

Pam Peniston, the Queer Cultural Center’s artistic director, declined an interview request. In response to an email from the B.A.R., she said she had no comment on Provenzano and Novy’s “personal fight.” However, she did say, “We commissioned Jeremy to curate an exhibition and he’s done a great job with it.”

Provenzano questioned why the center is promoting Novy’s exhibit that’s “fighting homophobia” when he’s “clearly inflicted it on many gay people.”

Novy’s work had been on display

Jane Philomen Cleland

St. Francis parishioner Grant Burger, left, joins retired pastor James DeLange on the Memorial Terrace at the church.

the next 15 years at St. Francis. Several people who were already members became ill; others, diagnosed with HIV, joined St. Francis to reclaim their faith and their relationship to the church,” wrote St. Francis parishioner Paul Goth, an architecture professor at UC Berkeley, in a history he compiled about St. Francis.

Longtime parishioner Kirsten Havrehed said the 1980s were “terrible years” for the church and its members as they dealt with so much death and sorrow.

“We had many members at St. Francis who died of AIDS. We became a community who took care of those people,” said Havrehed.

“Every week we had big bingo games to raise money to take care of people with AIDS in the hospice.”

DeLange, with the help of Lokken, now deceased, and Heller, currently the interim rector at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley, would provide comfort and care to many Lutheran parents of AIDS patients who would learn their sons were gay when they arrived at the hospital.

“Within 15 minutes they would find out he was gay, he had a partner who was the roommate, and third he was dying,” recalled DeLange. “Part of our ministry was not just dealing with the dying and the bereaved, who were often sick themselves, but also helping the families process this.”

Its outreach to people living with AIDS led St. Francis to be branded the city’s “gay Lutheran church.” While some older straight members turned to other churches, new parishioners at Sweet Inspiration, a Castro neighborhood cafe, but it has been taken down.

Robert Vo, the cafe’s curator, had said in an interview when Novy’s artwork was still up that, “An artist crosses the line at times, but that’s not my issue, per se. Whatever is between him and the law is between him and the law. I have nothing to do with that.”

But the work was removed, Vo said, because of complaints about its quality.

Before his hearing Friday, when a B.A.R. reporter introduced himself, Novy said, “Fuck you. You can write that in the paper, too.” Outside court, he placed his hand over the reporter’s notebook to stop him from taking notes and yelled that the B.A.R. was stalking him, among other complaints. ▼

took their place.

“By 1987, more than half of the now-larger congregation was made up of gay men. Membership was growing enough to have three membership classes a year,” wrote Goth in his history on St. Francis.

“St. Francis was ready to plunge into a new national advocacy for full inclusion of lesbian and gay people in the life of the church and society.”

The church’s involvement in caring for people living with HIV and AIDS helped lay the groundwork for its taking on an even greater stance in the fight for gay rights. In 1990 St. Francis, along with First United Lutheran Church of San Francisco, called three out non-celibate reverends to be their pastors. The decision would lead to their decades-long expulsion from the national church and touch off an international discussion about the role of openly LGBT clergy that continues to this day. (St. Francis rejoined the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America after an official ceremony earlier this year.)

Even as St. Francis fought to change the national Lutheran Church’s policies, it continued to care for those living with HIV. Grant Burger found himself walking through its doors in September 1993 two years after learning he was positive.

“I was born and raised Lutheran.

My relationship with God is very important to me independent of what the church told you,” said Burger, who had been referred to the church by the Lutheran Gay and Lesbian Ministry. “They recommended I come to St. Francis and check it out, so I did and never left.”

What he found, Burger said, was a support network that helped him through his darkest moments, especially prior to the introduction of protease inhibitors in 1996 when he was close to dying.

“I found a family, not just people sitting in some pew,” he said. “It was just huge to know St. Francis welcomed me unconditionally and loved me with no shame at all. It speaks to just what love is all about.”

Looking back at the role the church played during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, DeLange believes he and his colleagues were able to offer many people comfort.

“The positive thing that came out of the AIDS movement was that families for the most part changed their minds about what it was to be gay. They stood by their adult children,” said DeLange, adding that few of the parents he worked with turned their backs on their gay sons. “Another positive side to it is that a lot of gay people were able to reconcile their sexuality and their spirituality. The negative part of it is we lost a whole generation. There are too many people who had so much to contribute to our society and to our culture who are gone.”▼

<< Open Forum

6 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

Volume 41, Number 22 June 2-8, 2011 www.ebar.com PUBLISHER Thomas E. Horn 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 • Matt Baume Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Scott Brogan • Victoria A. Brownworth Philip Campbell • Heather Cassell Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds Raymond Flournoy • David Guarino Liz Highleyman • Brandon Judell John F. Karr • Lisa Keen • Matthew Kennedy David Lamble Michael McDonagh Paul Parish • Lois Pearlman Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota • Bob Roehr Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel • Jason Serinus Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith Ed Walsh • Sura Wood

ART DIRECTION Kurt Thomas PRODUCTION MANAGER T. Scott King PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland Marc Geller Rick Gerharter Lydia Gonzales Rudy K. Lawidjaja Steven Underhill Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge Christine Smith

GENERAL MANAGER Michael M. Yamashita DISPLAY ADVERTISING Colleen Small Scott Wazlowski CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING David McBrayer

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▼

AIDS is not over A

fter 30 years, tremendous scientific advances have changed the way people living with HIV/AIDS are treated – medically and emotionally. But too many continue to become infected with the virus and too many – particularly in the developing world, and even here at home – do not have access to medical treatment.

Starting from that first mention of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, or PCP, among a handful of gay men in Los Angeles to the announcement last month that a large clinical trial showed that early antiretroviral treatment can decrease the risk of transmission to sexual partners, the last three decades were full of fear and hope. We watched as friends and colleagues died; we reported on promising treatments that fizzled; and it’s been frustrating that the search for an effective vaccine has been elusive.

Desperation in those early years resulted in permanent changes to the drug approval process and medical research. AIDS activists provided a model of fundraising and services for advocates of other diseases – from direct action to lobbying political leaders. The vaunted San Francisco model – local government and service organizations working together – was replicated in other cities.

Still, since the beginning of the epidemic, a total of 28,409 San Francisco residents have been diagnosed with AIDS. That’s 18 percent of California AIDS cases and 3 percent of cases reported nationally, according to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the San Francisco Department of Public Health. As of December 31, 2009 there have been just over 19,000 reported AIDS deaths in the city.

At the end of 2009, there were 15,836 San Franciscans living with HIV/AIDS, most of whom were gay men. As has been reported for

years, minority communities are hit especially hard by the disease. SFAF notes that survival after an AIDS diagnosis is worse for African Americans than other racial and ethnic groups.

And yet funding for prevention has always lagged behind dollars devoted to treatment. This should not be an either-or proposition; funding for HIV prevention must be increased, but not at the expense of treatment dollars. In the long run, preventing HIV would result in substantial health care savings, and officials know that. Somehow, however, the wherewithal to dramatically increase prevention funding has been weak. The observance of the 30th anniversary of AIDS would be a good time to reverse that trend.

It is true that all the money in the world won’t stop the disease without personal responsibility,

in whatever form that takes. SFAF and other HIV/AIDS agencies, along with federal and local public health officials, recently embarked on campaigns urging people to get tested, know their HIV status, and disclose their status to their sexual partners. The San Francisco Department of Public Health has also established a policy that people should be tested and treated early for HIV. Sure, we are all tired of the “wear a condom” prevention message that for the last 30 years has caused gay men untold angst. But wearing a condom is the single most effective way to prevent HIV and it’s also the cheapest.

We would love to report on a cure for AIDS. But after 30 years, the virus has proven to be especially good at mutating, hiding, and building up resistance to medications. With all the scientific advances in the last three decades – and there have been many – doctors still don’t know a lot about how HIV is able to survive.

AIDS is not over, and so the fight must continue.▼

What makes us ride edited by Cynthia Laird

T

he 10th annual AIDS Life/Cycle departs San Francisco this Sunday, June 5, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the start of the AIDS epidemic. The 545-mile trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles raises millions of dollars for the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.

The Bay Area Reporter, through SFAF, contacted several of the Life/Cycle participants about publishing their short essays on why they are taking part. These are their stories.

Kaya Dzambic, East Palo Alto I rode AIDS/LifeCycle 9 last year in memory of my brother Samuel, who died in 2003 in Kenya. The AIDS/LifeCycle community gave me the courage to come out with my status and unlocked the stigma I allowed to stagnate my life. I hope to help thousands of people, especially within black and minority communities, to live freely and realize HIV does not define who we are but empowers us to change the course of this disease.

We are the custodians of change – open with our status. I have since started a new career in the medical field, and I’m the mother of a 10-year-old boy who supports me. Education is paramount. If we reach out, we can change the face of HIV and AIDS.

HB Eckmann, San Francisco I am participating in my fourth and last AIDS/ LifeCycle with my daughter. In December, just as I was preparing to start training for AIDS/LifeCycle 10 I suffered a stroke. I was rushed to the hospital and the first thought was, “How am I going to ride in AIDS/LifeCycle?” I even asked the neurologist how soon I could get back on my bike.

On January 23, the doctor cleared me to begin riding again and I’m thrilled to be joining all my fellow cyclists on the road this year. I believe I healed so quickly in order for my daughter and I to ride together to help others less fortunate than us. Hopefully as the years progress we as a community will be riding for a new cause because AIDS will have been conquered.

Dan Jones, Concord My brother Mike died of AIDS in 1995. My brother was one of my very best friends. I miss him terribly. As I look around at other families I hope no one will have to suffer through this disease like my family did. Since Mike has been gone I have tried to make his death a positive thing by contributing to AIDS awareness and prevention causes. I previously rode in the California AIDS Ride in 1999 and 2000, raising more than $16,000. I walk in the AIDS Walk every year and carry a sign that says, “I Miss My Brother.” I was a camp counselor for Camp Sunburst (a camp for children with HIV and AIDS). I have conducted a food drive and donated thousands of cans of food to the Diablo Valley AIDS center until it closed.

This is my first AIDS/LifeCycle and I am looking forward to it. I set out to raise awareness (and money) by committing to raising the $3,000 participant fee, one dollar at a time. Yep, one dollar at a time.

My big plan was to ask 3,000 people for $1, this way those 3,000 people know about the ride and the need for ongoing AIDS support.

Well, my plan has worked. In less than 10 days from the release of my homemade fundraising video on YouTube, I reached $3,500 and I am still going strong. I have received donations and support as far away as the United Kingdom, France, and all over the United States.

I will help in fighting this battle because I can.

I will help fight because I know what it’s like to lose a brother and best friend to AIDS.

Maralina Milazzo, San Jose I am a teacher and a stepmother, and I began riding because I wanted to set a positive example to both my son and my students of how if you put your mind to a great challenge, you can change the world a little at a time. I have lost friends over the years to HIV/AIDS, and I wanted to honor them while I inspired my young followers.

Students helped me raise the money selling rubber ducks and my son sold lemonade.

Some of my former students are now looking to be riders in ALC 11. What I didn’t expect is my

brother contracted HIV/AIDS this last year, and is now using those services for which I have been riding. This year, I am riding for and with him.

We are all connected. When one of us has HIV, we all have HIV, whether we recognize it or not.

Our web in life is smaller than we believe. You never know when the life you save may be that of the person you love, or even your own.

Matthew Rice, Santa Clara We ride to celebrate the lives we are living, and to celebrate those who are no longer with us. My first friend was diagnosed with HIV when I was 18. I began doing turns helping friends with hospice care for dying boyfriends and girlfriends when I was 21. I buried my first friend lost to HIV at 22. I stopped counting when I turned 25. I started counting again last year when one of my high school students told me he had seroconverted.

He is 18, and very fiercely gay in a very homophobic southern city. I will continue to celebrate his life, and support him as he learns how to celebrate each and every day.

I will be 42 when I ride out from San Francisco on June 5. I can only pray that an end to this disease can come in my lifetime. Until then, we will continue to ride and to raise funds and to support our brothers and sisters and children who struggle with this disease.

David, San Francisco I am riding because I’m passionate about raising awareness. I want everyone to know that HIV/AIDS still needs urgent public attention.

I was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1994. At the time, doctors couldn’t find any treatment that worked for me and I nearly lost all hope. Fortunately, new medications arrived at just the right time and through the support of doctors, family, and friends my life turned around. I ride for all the friends I’ve lost and for the love of humanity.▼ Opening ceremonies for the AIDS Life/ Cycle take place at 6 a.m. Sunday, June 5 at the Cow Palace; the riders and roadies will depart shortly thereafter. For more information, visit www.aidslifecycle.org.

▼

Politics>>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7

1980s: Actress Elizabeth Taylor became involved in raising money for AIDS research and helped start the American Foundation for AIDS Research after the death of her former co-star and friend, Rock Hudson. Taylor, who died March 23 of congestive heart failure, spoke out against AIDS discrimination and brought attention to the disease at a time when the president of the United States would not utter the word, “AIDS.” In the early 1990s she started the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, and by 1999, she had helped to raise an estimated $50 million to fight the disease.

Rex Wokner

Former AIDS exec pens book

by Matthew S. Bajko

A

n early nonprofit leader in San Francisco’s response to the AIDS epidemic, Jim Geary earned a national reputation through his work as executive director of the Shanti Project in the 1980s. Under his direction, the agency survived a fiscal crisis three decades ago to emerge as a major provider of services to people living with HIV and AIDS. But a management scandal eight years later tarnished his legacy, and despite an investigation that cleared him of any wrongdoing, Geary left the city he loved to relocate with his then-partner, Jess Randall, to Daytona Beach, Florida.

Shortly after moving to the East Coast, Geary learned that he was HIV-positive. Then, in 1992, Randall learned he had full-blown AIDS. His health steadily declined, and in October 1998, Randall died from AIDS complications.

After grappling with his grief and falling in love with partner Jeff Allen, Geary has penned a memoir reflecting on his experiences and the tremendous loss of life he witnessed during the first 30 years of the AIDS epidemic.

The nearly 300-page book, titled Delicate Courage (iUniverse Inc.), mixes intimate letters, diary entries, photos, and spiritual encounters to weave together Geary’s life journey and firsthand account of a seminal chapter in the city’s history.

“The book is something I started, really, when I was back at Shanti,” Geary, 59, told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent phone interview from his home in Ormond, about eight miles north of Daytona Beach. “What prompted me was the amazing people I knew I was working with. I wanted to speak about these people in the book and the lessons I learned from working with them.”

In 1974, Geary followed his partner at the time from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco and landed a job as an attendant in a hospital oncology unit.

While there he first learned about Shanti, which at the time was located in Berkeley, and its peer counseling programs for mainly cancer patients.

But it wasn’t until 1978, having lived through the Jonestown massacre and assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and gay Supervisor Harvey Milk, whom he knew from fighting the anti-gay Briggs initiative, that Geary started volunteering with Shanti. He eventually was hired on at the agency as a volunteer coordinator.

In 1981, as gay men began to be diagnosed with a mysterious lifethreatening illness, Geary helped launch through Shanti one of the first support groups specifically for people living with what came to be known as AIDS and HIV. “I can remember in 1982 I was in a gay bar on Polk Street looking around in this piano bar. I started to cry looking around at how many people would be diagnosed with this illness,” recalled Geary.

Shanti itself nearly ceased to exist as the nonprofit found itself essentially

Former Shanti Executive Director Jim Geary

broke and near closure. Unwilling to accept the agency’s demise, Geary volunteered to be Shanti’s executive director on an unpaid basis and lived out of his office.

“We had just started to do outreach into the gay community in San Francisco to recruit gay volunteers to work with other gay individuals,” he said. “There was no money for salaries. I decided I would try to seek funding for the project.”

Looking to tap into funding San Francisco officials had earmarked for AIDS services, Geary oversaw the relocation of Shanti into the city. Within eight years Geary had not only vastly expanded Shanti’s budget and staffing, he also helped the agency establish one of the first HIV and AIDS housing programs in the country.

“One of the amazing things, and I don’t know if this gets talked about enough, is Shanti really showed the community a different way of looking at HIV. We walked in the Pride Parade every year and we dressed up. We did that intentionally because we wanted to communicate to the community that working with people with terminal illness is not a depressing thing but an enriching experience,” said Geary.

Throughout that time Geary witnessed the deaths of countless clients and friends. A number of their stories he recounts in his book.

“The life expectancy was so different then than it is now,” he said.

“People were succumbing to death in a very short time.”

He also fell in love with Randall.

The two started out as friends and roommates and progressed to a committed couple. Randall, having gone through Shanti’s training, also became the agency’s finance director.

The arrangement, however, would lead to charges of nepotism and unfair hiring practices. By 1988 Geary and Randall found themselves in a full-blown scandal with the gay and mainstream press asking them about anonymous allegations of sexual harassment, fiscal mismanagement, and personnel problems at Shanti.

“It was a crazy time,” recalled Geary, who briefly addresses what he considers a “difficult chapter” in

his life in the book. “I had the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner at my door and calling me constantly.

There was kind of a group of individuals sort of hounding me or whatnot.”

In the book Geary recounts how problems arose when the health of longtime volunteers and board members who had AIDS declined and became “bothersome” to both him and his staff. He writes about dealing with one manager with a “serious cocaine problem” and how there were “serious morale problems” among some staffers.

The sexual harassment charge stemmed from an incident when Geary mooned a female employee who complained about it when she was dismissed years later. He also admits in the book that under his leadership he encouraged an atmosphere “that allowed for and treasured the occasional outrageous act as a way of balancing the work’s intensity.”

An investigation by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission exonerated Geary. But the damage had been done both to his professional life and the agency’s standing in the community.

“It started to affect funding adversely, so I was offered by the board very generously another position as director of training. I felt I had been wronged,” recalled Geary, who sought legal counsel. “I felt I had done my job well as executive director. The idea of stepping into another position was not appealing to me.”

In exchange for his stepping down he was given $74,000 taxfree, which was his yearly salary, said Geary. The cash settlement allowed him and Randall to relocate to the Sunshine State, rent a much cheaper apartment, and start anew.

“There was so much negative press that the idea of immediately going to work for another organization seemed difficult,” said Geary. “We decided it would be a good change for us.”

While the move provided him “tremendous healing,” Geary said he also “went through a period of feeling lost for several years.”

In hindsight, Geary believes his only being 30 when he became executive director at Shanti led to some misjudgments.

“In retrospect, I would have done a few things differently,” he writes.

“Like each of us involved, I was going through my own maturing and learning process in the midst of an epidemic that had forever altered our lives.”

The last third of the book details Geary’s remaining years with Randall and the spiritual journey he embarked on following the end of their 20-year-long love affair. It is at times painful to read, and Geary’s raw emotions spill forth in journal entries from that time.

“I didn’t hold anything back in the book. I spoke from my heart,” he said.

The book’s ultimate message, said Geary, is love does triumph over adversity.

“It is really a love story,” he said.

“We need more love stories about our relationships and what we are able to manifest as gay people together.” ▼

<< Commentary

8 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

1987:

▼

1987:

Activist Cleve Jones creates the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Today, there are more than 40,000 panels, virtually every one of which memorializes the life of a person lost to AIDS. The last display of the entire quilt was in October 1996, when it covered the entire National Mall in Washington, D.C. Much of the quilt is in storage in Atlanta, although blocks are regularly on display throughout the country.

The federal Food and Drug Administration approves AZT, the first of a class of drugs known as nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, for prolonging the lives of AIDS patients. Severe side effects were common.

Rick Gerharter

Separated at birth

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

I

n this era of instant information overload, even the smallest of fads becomes big news. From vajazzling to planking, we live in a time when even the most inane trends are inescapable.

Enter the gender reveal party.

Perhaps this replaces the typical baby shower or just adds another excuse for a pregnant couple to throw a big ticket party, but the idea

is a simple one: gather your friends together and throw a party where you’ll reveal the sex of the stillgestating child. It seems as if most gender reveal party planning sites suggested having a cake with colored frosting, or a colored gumball in the middle of cupcakes.

It all seems a bit weird to me, but then again, the idea of focusing so intently on the genitals of an infant – let alone one not yet born – does

seem a bit off in modern society. But I digress.

The gender reveal party just seems like an extension of a century long move toward stronger and stronger gender division. As discussed in the book Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls from the Boys in America by Jo Paolett, children one hundred years ago were raised quite differently. A child of any sex would wear long hair – perhaps in fashionable curls – and wear a dress, Mary Janes, and frills.

Far from being considered a girl’s outfit, such attire for young children was viewed as gender neutral. It would not be until children sat through their first haircut at age 6 or 7 that they would move into genderspecific attire.

I’m sure that doctors still announced the sex at birth then, and there was likely plenty of other gender-specific expectations present, but when it came to matters of appearance, the look was not gender specific and would be, by modern standards, viewed as girlish.

Pink for girls and blue for boys was still a long time to come: white was the color for children, thanks to its ability to be bleached clean. It

wasn’t until the teens and 1920s that you begun to see pastel tones for children, and it would be another two decades before those colors were divided into the gender-specific camps we have today.

There have been times when we stepped back a bit, such as in my youth when unisex fashion was all the rage. Pink and blue pastels were out as well, in favor of bright, bold, and in some cases eye-searing color combinations.

Of course, when I was born there weren’t gender reveal parties, nor was a child’s genitals on view via ultrasound. My earliest clothing was not pink or blue, but a presumably neutral yellow.

All this swung back the other way in the 1980s, as ultrasound became an option and the somewhat androgynous fashions of a decade before were replaced with more gender specific attire.

It may have been the era that brought us Boy George and Annie

Christine Smith

Lennox, but gender was more codified than ever. Store toy aisles became the place of transformers and ninja turtles for boys, little ponies and Strawberry Shortcake dolls for girls. And now people can shop for all the things to help get their boy or girl off to a color-coded start. You could even get elastic headbands in gender-friendly pink to wrap around your baby girl’s head, lest anyone mistake them for a boy.

So in a century’s time we’ve gone from children becoming gender segregated at age 6 or so, to having gender reveals before a kid is even born. Enter into this era Baby Storm.

Storm is the child of Kathy Witterick and David Stocker of Toronto. After experiences with her first two children, Kio and Jazz, the couple decided to go very much the opposite route of the gender reveal See page 15 >>

▼

AIDS at 30 >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 9

October 11, 1988: One of ACT UP’s most significant actions took place on this day, when the group, including San Francisco activists David Stern, Camo, and Michael Ryan Rick Gerharter shut down the federal Food and Drug Administration’s headquarters in Rockville, Maryland.

<<

Fauci From page 4

Fauci’s decision to focus on the unknown pathogen proved to be not only a good career move, but also an important one for the gay community and people living with HIV because of the role he would play in shaping government policies over the ensuing decades.

Fauci was named director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1984. It would become the center of research and research funding for AIDS. At 43 he was the youngest institute director ever at NIH. When some on the institute staff opposed creation of the Division of AIDS, he said, “I had to do something I don’t like to do and that is get rid of them.”

Five administrations have relied upon him for counsel.

It started with Ronald Reagan.

While Fauci acknowledges the criticism of Reagan for not publicly addressing AIDS earlier than he did, he also defends the man.

“When we were asking for more money for HIV [Reagan] was actually more generous than people thought,” Fauci said. Reagan would also “encourage and allow people like me and Jim Curran from the CDC to go out there to the bathhouses, go to the crack houses and try and find out what was going on and develop a research program for it,” he added, referring to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The director praised George H.W. Bush for taking the time to learn about AIDS when he became a candidate for president.

“He came and spent about three to four hours at the NIH, which for those of you who know presidential visits, that’s a lifetime for a president to spend. They usually come in and say hello and leave,” Fauci said.

Activism People living with HIV/AIDS, who knew there was little in the way of treatment in those early days, became furious at the slow pace of research and drug development and approval. People were dying. Groups like the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power started staging direct actions.

Institutes like the NIH were not immune from the protests.

AIDS activists “stormed the NIH” in the late 1980s bringing surly, chanting throngs and smoke bombs to the bucolic research campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The police were about to arrest them when Fauci said no; he invited them to send five leaders up to his seventh floor office to talk.

“These guys came in with Mohawk haircuts, multiple earrings, black leather jackets, making a lot of noise; scientists ran for the hills. They could be preaching the gospel and scientists wouldn’t listen to them,” he said.

“They were challenging our paradigms of how we do clinical research and how we regulated drugs” for people who had no viable therapies.

“By the time the FDA approved it, everybody who needed it would be dead,” Fauci said, referring to the Food and Drug Administration. “That was something that we just didn’t get here in this city of Washington.”

“But what they said made really great sense. They wanted a parallel

track” to make the drug available while a trial was under way. When Fauci stood up at a meeting in San Francisco and supported the idea, the FDA went wild and tried to have him fired.

“Fortunately I had a good friend; that was George H.W. Bush. When I explained [parallel track] to him, he thought it was a good idea.”

Fauci recalled how playwright/ activist Larry Kramer once wrote “An open letter to an incompetent idiot Anthony Fauci.” But from that confrontational start, the relationship between the two evolved to one of dear friends.

PEPFAR Few recall that a young George W. Bush worked in his father’s White House office, where Fauci came to know him and other junior staffers.

Those relationships came to mature when he was asked to play a leading role in creation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the international effort better know by its acronym PEPFAR. The program launched in 2003 and Fauci proudly ticked off the accomplishments: “close to 4 million lives have been saved by providing treatment for individuals; 450,000 infants were saved from being infected by treating them and their infected mothers; and about 11 million people came under care.”

“The sobering news is that only 40 percent of the people who need therapy are actually getting therapy.

For every person you put on therapy, two to three people get newly infected,” Fauci said.

The NIH investment in HIV research has been staggering. When Fauci became director of NIAID in 1984 AIDS funding was just $20 million. Today it is $1.3 billion, about 11 percent of the annual NIH budget.

The cumulative total has reached $45 billion, but he says it is money well spent.

“If you take a problem seriously, and make well thought out investments in biomedical research, you will get benefits from that, for sure,” he said.

Fauci said the changes in HIV/ AIDS over the last 30 years have been dramatic. For the first eight years of his HIV practice, “every one of my patients died;” the average survival was 27 weeks. The corner was turned in 1996 with introduction of protease inhibitor-based combination therapy and other subsequent drugs.

Now when a person initially starts treatment, Fauci said, “according to mathematical models, they will live an additional 52 years.▼

<< Community News

10 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

October 6, 1989:

August 18, 1990:

What started out as a peaceful rally for federal AIDS funding at the Federal Building turned ugly when San Francisco police officers stormed the Castro in what became known as the Castro Sweep. Fully armed riot police made hundreds of arrests and people were beaten.

The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act was enacted. This federal legislation, which had input from San Francisco health officials and AIDS organization leaders, is the largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS. The money is allocated by local planning councils and provides treatment and care for low-income, uninsured, and under-insured persons. It was named in honor of Ryan White, an Indiana teenager who contracted AIDS through a tainted hemophilia treatment in 1984 and died in April 1990.

▼

Rick Gerharter

Union Bank to host B.A.R. exhibit compiled by Cynthia Laird

T

he commemoration of the Bay Area Reporter’s 40th anniversary continues this month with a special retrospective at the main branch of Union Bank, 400 California Street in San Francisco.

The exhibit, which is free, will be open to the public weekdays through June 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located on the first floor.

Bank officials said the collaboration was a fit with the company’s focus on diversity; Union Bank is also hosting the KQED Local Heroes reception tonight (Thursday, June 2),

where several community leaders will be recognized.

As the oldest, continuously published LGBT newspaper in the country, the B.A.R., which formally marked its anniversary April 7, has been a leading voice in the community since 1971.

The retrospective exhibit consists of memorable covers of the paper, vintage photographs, video footage, and critically acclaimed articles from the paper’s archives showcased through a historical timeline of LGBT milestones and events over the last 40 years.

“Union Bank places a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion with our support of the retrospective and our community,” Michael Ferrara, a bank vice president, told the B.A.R. At an opening reception Tuesday, May 31, B.A.R. publisher Thomas E. Horn thanked the bank.

“I can’t tell you how proud we are at the Bay Area Reporter to have logged 40 years and to celebrate in the lobby of Union Bank in San Francisco,” Horn said.

He recounted the late founding publisher Bob Ross’s vision back in the early 1970s following the Compton’s Cafeteria riot in the 1960s and the outcry over a police raid on a fundraising dance for the Council

on Religion and the Homosexual at California Hall in 1965.

“There was no voice and Bob Ross and [the late co-founder] Paul Bentley decided the community needed a form of communication,” Horn said, adding that over the years, the paper chronicled the LGBT community.

Ferrara, who is gay and lives in San Francisco, also co-chairs the bank’s employee resource group, UB Proud.

The group has chapters in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the northwest. Tuesday night was the first time the San Francisco chapter had met together.

“It started last year and really took off this year,” Ferrara said of the group.

Nicolas Smith

Union Bank Vice President Michael Ferrara, left, talks with Bay Area Reporter publisher Thomas E. Horn.

Ferrara said that he looks forward to people stopping by the bank to see the exhibit.

“It’s a landmark building,” he said of the bank’s offices, “and is known as the Grand Old Lady of California Street.”

Obama issues Pride proclamation President Barack Obama this week issued his annual LGBT Pride proclamation for June, as cities around the country prepare to celebrate with parades and festivals.

In this year’s statement, Obama took special note of his signing last December the repeal “of the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy. With this repeal, gay and lesbian Americans will be able to serve openly in our armed forces for the first time in our nation’s history,” the May 31 proclamation states. “Our national security will be strengthened and the heroic contributions these Americans make to our military, and have made throughout history, will be fully recognized.”

The president also noted that June marks the 30th anniversary of the emergence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, “which has had a profound impact on the LGBT community.”

“I am committed to expanding access to HIV/AIDS prevention and care,” Obama stated, noting that last year he announced the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the U.S. The proclamation does not include anything about relationship recognition, although it does mention steps the administration has taken to eliminate discrimination against LGBTs in federal housing programs, hospital visitations, and the federal workplace.

In closing, the president called on the people of the United States “to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.”

East Bay AIDS Walk coming up People can sign up now for the fifth annual East Bay AIDS Walk, which takes place Saturday, June 18 at scenic Lake Merritt in Oakland.

This grassroots event raises funds for nonprofit organizations that participate in the walk and supports programs in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano counties. The first year 35 friends walked around the lake and raised $9,000. Last year, the walk attracted over 600 participants and raised over $110,000.

People can join teams, start their See page 12 >>

▼

AIDS at 30 >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11

1990-1995:

1991:

December 1, 1993:

AIDS deaths in San Francisco peak at 2,400 per year, according to San Francisco General Hospital.

Los Angeles Lakers basketball star Magic Johnson announces he is living with HIV. He goes on to create the Magic Johnson Foundation.

To commemorate World AIDS Day, the U.S. Postal Service issued a postage stamp encouraging awareness of the AIDS epidemic.

Peers often reach out to younger men

by Seth Hemmelgarn

F

or Ben Cabangun, HIV awareness came early. When he was an 18-year-old college undergraduate, four of his roommates became HIV-positive in a six-month period.

“That, to me was traumatic to see happen in my apartment,” said Cabangun, who said the men were all young, queer Filipinos.

Now 26 and the health education program manager for San Francisco’s Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, he said, “I decided to take a stand and make a difference among men in my community.”

But Cabangun, who is gay and HIV-negative, indicated not everybody in his generation takes HIV so seriously. A mentor of his recently talked about how his generation had “pretty much lived through the Holocaust and watched their friends die left and right.”

Most gay and bi men in their 20s had not been born in 1981, the year of the first reported cases of what became known as AIDS, and they weren’t around to see the devastation the disease brought before there was easier access to life-saving treatments.

Without having that history with the disease, Cabangun said, “It’s a larger battle to get youth to be concerned about this issue.”

On the flip side, some suggest 20-somethings aren’t as careless as they are often pegged.

“It shouldn’t be a rite of passage for men in their 20s to experience the deaths of their entire network of friends,” said Steve Gibson, director of Magnet, the gay men’s health center in the Castro.

“It feels kind of unfair to generalize men in their 20s,” he added, when one could point to men in their 40s as well. “We don’t try to scapegoat them and say, ‘They should have known better,’” said Gibson, who is 45 and HIV-negative.

According to city data, in 2010, people in their 40s accounted for 29 percent of those newly diagnosed with HIV, more than any other age group. Those 30 to 39 were at 28 percent, while people 20 to 29 accounted for 27 percent.

Most of the people who tested positive at Magnet in 2010 were in their mid-20s to mid-30s, but they were also more likely than others to get tested.

The clinic provided 4,245 HIV tests last year, said Gibson. Forty-six of the 68 people who tested positive were ages 26 to 35, and that age group accounted for 63 percent of the clients who came in for testing.

Getting tested Arnie Mayen, 26, who was with friends at a Starbucks near Magnet on a recent Friday afternoon, said he’s more careful than other people he knows.

“I have friends that just don’t care, they just go with anybody and don’t care about using condoms,” said Mayen, who’s HIV-negative and only has sex with other men.

Now that medications are available, he said, others think having HIV is

“easy and simple. ... They don’t know the truth.”

Mayen gets tested once a year. He said he should get screened more often, “but I know I’m not having unprotected sex, so I’m not worried.”

He recently was tested about a month ago.

Tomas Flores, 29, a friend of Mayen’s who got tested with him, said he’s in a monogamous relationship but still uses protection every time he has sex. He indicated that Mayen had been nervous before his latest test. “I did it because he See page 16 >>

Seth Hemmelgarn

Arnie Mayen

www.ebar.com

<< AIDS at 30

12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

July 31, 1994:

July 1996:

The San Francisco Giants became the first professional sports team to raise HIV/AIDS awareness with the Until There’s A Cure Day event. This year’s 18th annual event will take place July 18.

One of the most important International AIDS Conferences ever took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, where a steady stream of reports discussed the fact that HIV could be reduced through antiviral drugs, including a new type known as protease inhibitors. AIDS activists disrupted the conference’s opening speeches.

▼

Jane Philomen Cleland Rick Gerharter

Campaign aims to keep people talking about AIDS

by Seth Hemmelgarn

A

group of San Francisco AIDS service organizations is launching a yearlong campaign today (Thursday, June 2) to send the message “AIDS is still here. Do something!”

The campaign is an effort to keep HIV/AIDS in the news as the media shifts from its examinations this week and next of the 30th anniversary of the first reported cases of the disease and is meant to combat what the organizations’ leaders call AIDS “fatigue.”

The project is known as 30AIDS. Over a dozen local HIV/AIDS

service organizations are part of the new effort.

Campaign officials will hold a press conference today at 10 a.m. at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street.

“Our goals are to raise awareness and money while paying tribute to those who have passed away and the individuals who have helped along the way,” officials with the agencies said in their statement, issued May 26. “Ultimately, we want to provide better services to reduce infection rates, to help our community to be adequately resourced, improve the lives of people living with HIV/

AIDS, and help find a cure.”

30AIDS will include a marketing campaign to grow a social network that will involve videos, among other tools. Participating organizations include AIDS Emergency Fund, Project Inform, and Project Open Hand.

AEF Executive Director Mike Smith said in an interview that the coalition’s hoping to “reignite the conversation about AIDS.” He said the agencies involved “tap a pretty large spectrum of donors and volunteers and community leaders.

If we can create some momentum to get people talking again about AIDS, that’s good for the community, it’s good for our agencies, and it’s good for our clients.”

As part of the campaign, people will be encouraged to create 30-second videos “to share their story about what they’re doing about AIDS,” said Smith.

Campaign Co-Chair Henry Lucero of Project Inform stated, “Giving out 30 condoms one day or donating $30 or $300, calling 30

friends and reminding them to get tested, these are just a few of the many ways that we can make big impacts.”

Lucero said each agency is contributing $300, which goes toward costs such as maintaining the website. Campaign organizers

are trying to get the work done for free or at discounted rates when possible. The campaign also paid for an ad in the Bay Area Reporter.

Project Open Hand Executive Director Tom Nolan said in an interview that the campaign is a way of acknowledging that his agency and others “are all in this together.”

“This is a way of recognizing that,” he said, and reminding people that while HIV/AIDS has “changed radically, and thank God for that,” it’s “still a huge issue in San Francisco and beyond.”

Others involved in the campaign are AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Black Coalition on AIDS, Horizons Foundation, Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Maitri, Mission Neighborhood Health, Native American AIDS Project, Pets Are Wonderful Support, Positive Resource Center, Shanti, Stop AIDS Project, and Tenderloin Health.

The campaign website, www.30aids.org, is expected to go live by Thursday morning.▼

<<

Sonoma, Santa Cruz Pride this weekend

Rick Gerharter

Project Open Hand’s Tom Nolan

News Briefs From page 10

own teams, or walk as individuals.

There is no registration fee, but all participants are encouraged to raise money. Those who raise $50 receive a T-shirt.

The event begins with on-site registration at 8:30 a.m. at the band shell (near Children’s Fairyland on Grand Avenue); the opening ceremonies begin at 10, followed by the 5K (3.1-mile) walk. Strollers and dogs are welcome, although dogs must remain on a leash at all times.

There will also be a kids’ fun zone with arts, crafts, and activities for children under 10.

For more information and to register, visit www.eastbayaidswalk.org.

LGBT Pride activities will take place in Sonoma County and the city of Santa Cruz this weekend.

In Sonoma, the annual parade, under the theme “Gay Sera, Syrah” will take place in Guerneville Sunday, June 5 at 11 a.m., followed by the celebration at noon on the grounds of the Guerneville Lodge. For more information, visit www.sonomacountypride.org.

The night before, Saturday, June 4, Z Productions will present Fresh, a new series of dance socials at Aubergine After Dark, 755 Petaluma Avenue in Sebastopol. The party starts at 9 p.m. with DJ Lori Z spinning. Admission is $10.

Meanwhile, in Santa Cruz, the 37th annual Pride Parade takes place Sunday, June 5 at 11 a.m. under the theme “Courage. Unity. Equality.”

The parade starts at Pacific Avenue and Cathcart downtown and ends at San Lorenzo Park, where the festival takes place from noon to 5 p.m.

Admission is free. The parade and festival are programs of the Diversity Center. For more information, visit www.diversitycenter.org.

Church inaugurates discussion series with talk on black gays Horace L. Griffin, an Episcopal priest and associate professor of field education and leadership development at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, will discuss his Lambda award-winning book, Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians and Gays in Black Churches, with Alan Jones, dean emeritus of Grace Cathedral, at the inaugural program of Cyprian’s Talks.

The event takes place Wednesday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church, 2097 Turk Street (at Lyon) in San Francisco.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact (415) 567-1855 or turkandlyon@ gmail.com.▼

Read more online at www.ebar.com

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 13

<< AIDS at 30

14 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

▼

October 1996: A historic milestone was reached when Congress and President Bill Clinton approved the National AIDS Memorial Grove Act, created by now-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senator Dianne Feinstein. The official designation proclaims to the world that there is now a dedicated space in the national public landscape where anyone who has been touched by AIDS can grieve openly without being stigmatized. The grove was conceived in 1988 by a small group of San Francisco residents. Site renovation began in 1991 and is still in progress.

Rick Gerharter

The longest journey

by Roger Brigham

I

ebar.com

n years past, New York attorney Jim Williams biked in the AIDS/ LifeCycle to help raise money for friends infected with HIV. This year, he’s biking as a poz athlete across the country as part of a team to help raise AIDS awareness and to prove to himself and others that life rolls on.

Williams and two other 52-yearold HIV-positive athletes, Steven Berveling of Sydney and Don Smith of Vancouver, are racing with Francisco Liuzzi, 34, of New York City as Team4HIVHope in the 30th annual Race Across America – a grueling 3,000-mile trek from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland that is perhaps the toughest endurance cycling event in the world.

RAAM crosses 12 states and, unlike European races such as the Tour de France, is a continuous race rather than broken into stages.

Women racing alone and men over the age of 60 will start on June 14; other solo men on June 15; and relay teams of two, four, or eight members will depart June 18. Teams are given nine days to finish and soloists are allowed 12 days.

Williams had started cycling years ago when he trained for and rode in AIDS/LifeCycle.

“I felt like a hypocrite, though,

Jim Williams

doing an AIDS ride and not knowing my own status,” Williams told the Bay Area Reporter. “I suspected I was positive, but I kept putting off getting tested.”

Five years ago he stopped putting it off and got tested. And then he knew.

“When I was diagnosed, I decided to hit it fast and hard,” he said. He started treatment immediately even though his T-cell count was still at a healthy high.

“I didn’t want to wait,” he said. “It was hard adjusting to the medications. There have been ups and downs. I had to switch my medications once.

But so far I have been asymptomatic.”

Berveling, who won three gold medals in his age group last year at the Gay Games in Cologne, Germany, came up with the idea of putting together a poz team for the race.

“I ride because it confirms that I am alive, and to show that HIV need not be an impediment against participating in major sports,” Berveling said. “I’m determined to live life to the fullest, even with HIV.” Berveling said USA’s decision to drop restrictions on travel by HIVinfected persons made his decision to race in RAAM easier, but he had trouble getting interested cyclists from some countries willing to disclose their HIV status because of the very stigmas the racers are trying to erase. In June 2010, Positive Pedalers put Berveling in contact with Williams and within minutes they were working to put together the team, competing under the auspices of UTECVelo, the cycling branch of the Until There’s a Cure organization.

Williams speaks of the thrill and the beauty of the race he is looking forward to – “How many people can say they’ve seen the United States from the saddle of a bicycle?” – but the nervousness is setting in.

“I’m very nervous and very scared, but I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “The enormity of it has started to sink in, what we’re about to do.

The racers will be accompanied by large support crews to keep them going and the first weeks of June are devoted to settling logistics and putting together supplies.

“I think we’re going to have a lot of the same challenges that everybody else does,” Williams said.

“Everybody who takes on RAAM

has those thoughts of, ‘What am I doing?’ Putting your body through this type of endurance test lowers your immune system, and we’re taxed already, so we need to be more conscious and aware of it. For example, in the Rockies, it is not uncommon for racers to get a case of pneumonia. We’ve got a nurse on our crew who is going to be with our racers pretty much all the time.”

Williams laughed when I asked him what his personal goals were for the race.

“I’m either going to be dead or in really good shape,” he said. “I want to see how fast I can ride my bike across the country. My goal is to do my best and not let my teammates down.”

And Williams said he and his teammates hope folks take notice of what they do.

“We’re trying to eliminate the stigma attached to HIV,” he said.

“That’s one of the things that keeps people like me from getting their status tested. We need to get people tested and get them the medications they need. We want to show that with the proper treatment and medication, people with HIV and AIDS can contribute to society and do almost anything everybody else can do.”

Check out the following links for more information: www. raceacrossamerica. org, www.pospeds.org, www.utacvelo.wordpress.com, and www.team4hivhope. com. To read Berveling’s blog, visit www.raampositive.blogspot.com.

Tickets for Giants LGBT night on sale Tickets are available for the San Francisco Giants LGBT Night at AT&T Park, Monday, August 29. The Giants will play the Chicago Cubs at 7:15.

The reserve infield tickets have a base price of $24, which works out to $33.75 with fees and handling.

Purchase includes seating in a special LGBT section, pre-game party, and commemorative hat.

To order tickets, visit sanfrancisco. giants.mlb.com/sf/ticketing/group_ special_events.jsp - lgbt.

The Giants this week released their It Gets Better video, which can be viewed at tinyurl.com/3p6yhce.

LGBT coaches group forming As a volunteer with the Federation of Gay Games, I was asked this year to help coordinate the FGG’s interactions with North American LGBT sports youth groups, a natural tie-in with my work in coaching. As I started connecting with the groups for athletes, it occurred to me that no organization existed through which LGBT coaches could connect with each other. Last week I started reaching out to other coaches I know in the community and we have started Equality Coaching Alliance as a place where as coaches we can address issues we face on a daily basis.

The launch includes a Facebook group and a blog (www.eualitycoachingalliance.blogspot.com). Interested coaches can contact me at jocktalkroger@yahoo.com▼

▼

AIDS at 30 >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15

May 13, 1999:

October 9, 2006:

About two and a half years after protease inhibitors were widely available, San Francisco saw a decline in AIDS cases, but not in HIV numbers. “AIDS cases have been declining since 1992,” Sandy Schwarcz of the Department of Public Health’s AIDS office told the Bay Area Reporter.

AIDS activist Jeff Getty dies in Joshua Tree, California at the age of 49. The longtime Bay Area resident was perhaps best known for receiving the first-ever baboon bone marrow stem cell transplant in 1995. Diagnosed with AIDS in 1985, Getty threw himself into volunteer work and treatment activism.

He was a longtime member of ACT UP/Golden Gate and its successor group, Survive AIDS. Rick Gerharter

<<

Quest for a cure From page 1

what has always been a distant dream: that HIV may be cured, not just controlled,” Volberding told the Bay Area Reporter.

While ART can keep most HIVpositive people alive and relatively healthy, persistent immune activation and inflammation due to long-term infection can contribute to cardiovascular disease and accelerated aging, even in people with suppressed viral load and good T-cell counts. On the global level, there is a growing consensus that we cannot treat our way out of the epidemic.

From Berlin to California Many people attribute renewed hope for a cure to the Berlin Patient, a man who appears to have eradicated HIV after a bone marrow transplant, providing proof-ofconcept that a functional cure is possible.

At the 2008 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, German hematologist Gero Hütter presented the case of Timothy Brown, an HIV-positive American man living in Berlin who required a bone marrow stem cell transplant due to untreatable leukemia.

Hütter’s team managed to find a donor who was both a genetic match and carried an uncommon mutation that makes cells resistant to HIV infection. CCR5 is one of two gateways, or coreceptors, that HIV uses to enter cells. People who carry two copies of a genetic variant known as CCR5-delta-32 do not express this receptor on their CD4 T-cells, so most types of HIV are unable to enter.

After his own cells were killed off with chemotherapy and radiation to eliminate the leukemia, Brown received two transplants of hematopoietic or blood-forming stem cells from a donor with the double resistance mutation – a procedure that essentially replaces the recipient’s immune system with that of the donor.

<<

Transmissions From page 8

party. They’ve opted to not reveal Storm’s sex, letting hir decide on hir own.

“We’ve decided not to share Storm’s sex for now – a tribute to freedom and choice in place of limitation, a stand up to what the world could become in Storm’s lifetime (a more progressive place? ...)” was how the email to family and friends from Stocker and Witterick read. So much for pink and blue icing.

Unlike the way this story has been framed in much of the media – and certainly in the conservative arenas that have painted the story as that of the so-called genderless child – those closest to Storm do know and acknowledge hir sex. Further, Storm will also have plenty of say in how they choose to present when the time comes. This is about the family resisting the barrage of messages from well-meaning outsiders trying to tell Baby Storm how they should act for one of their birth sex.

I mentioned the media and others

Three years later Brown, who recently moved to San Francisco, remains off antiretroviral therapy and shows no signs of HIV in his blood, lymph nodes, gut, or brain.

This remarkable case led researchers to ask whether gene therapy could alter immune cells in a way that mimics the natural mutation.

Richmond-based biotechnology company Sangamo BioSciences developed a zinc finger technique to delete the CCR5 gene from cells, rendering them resistant to HIV. At this year’s retrovirus conference in February, Dr. Jay Lalezari from Quest Clinical Research in San Francisco reported findings from a clinical trial of this approach in six participants with long-term HIV infection who had undetectable viral load on ART but still had low CD4 cell counts.

Participants had whole blood withdrawn and CD4 T-cells were filtered out. The harvested cells were sent to a laboratory to undergo the zinc finger procedure to remove CCR5, and the altered cells were then reinfused back into the patients. Five of the six participants experienced significant and sustained CD4 count increases, averaging about 200 cells.

“I was one of those people that over the years was finally able to reach undetectable [viral load] but my T-cells never recovered fully,” said study participant and longtime AIDS activist Matt Sharp. “My hope in this trial was really to get my T-cells to a safe and normal range, which they appear to have done out to eight months.”

Based on an ongoing analysis, Lalezari told the B.A.R., “We remain enthused and we’re encouraged that the study is moving in the right direction, but it’s still too soon to know if this approach is going to provide true benefit.”

Lalezari’s team is currently recruiting additional participants for related gene therapy studies, including people who have not yet started ART, people experiencing treatment failure, and people with CD4 counts below 200.

above. The usual talking heads have weighed in, claiming all sorts of psychological damage that Storm will face, let alone accusing Witterick and Stocker of abuse simply for not disclosing their child’s gender. No such accusations are leveled at those who feel it necessary to equip their young ones with tiny baseball hats and denim-patterned diapers to somehow preserve their masculinity – let alone monsters like Pedro Jones who allegedly pummeled a 17-month-old baby in his care to death because, “I was trying to make him act like a boy instead of a little girl.”

In a world with gender division forced that strongly, I wish Baby Storm and hir parents the best of luck, and hope that their stance may make it safer for other children to express themselves without having a gender forced on them from before birth.

That would be a fad I could get behind.▼ Gwen Smith thinks Storm is also one heck of a cool name.

You can find her online at www.gwensmith.com.

While the CD4 cell approach could allow people to stay off ART for prolonged periods, using gene therapy to alter hematopoietic stem cells that give rise to all types of immune cells that may harbor HIV could potentially offer a permanent functional cure.

This strategy is riskier, but it has been shown to work in mice. John Zaia’s group at City of Hope is now testing the approach in HIVpositive people who need stem cell transplants for leukemia, with funding from the 2004 stem cell ballot initiative that established the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine.

“Since my case had a huge impact on getting the thought of a cure back on the agenda, I am hoping that people will not see this as a done deal,” Brown, the Berlin patient, told the B.A.R. “I am hoping for lots of effort and money to be directed toward a cure that may be attainable for everyone.”

Other approaches Scientists from government, academia, and the pharmaceutical industry are exploring a variety of other approaches to curing HIV. Broadly defined, these fall into three areas, explained Dr. Steven Deeks from the Positive Health Program at SFGH: preventing any remaining low-level viral replication, enhancing the capacity of the immune system to seek out

and kill HIV, and interventions that “can either reverse signals that force the virus into hiding or stimulate the virus so that comes out of hiding.”

Researchers are currently testing a wide array of compounds to purge latent HIV from resting memory T-cells and other reservoirs. Once these silent viral genes are turned on and start producing new virus, they become visible to the immune system and can be targeted by existing antiviral drugs.

“We will undoubtedly learn a great deal with this first generation of ideas and hope to make breakthroughs, but it is certainly conceivable that our first ideas might not work,” said Gilead Sciences researcher Romas Geleziunas. “However, since science is often an iterative process, this first generation might produce novel insights which will lead us to better ideas.”

Advocates are devoting increased effort to promoting awareness of how far HIV cure research has come and encouraging more funding to enable it to go further.

“It’s fantastic that we have 10 to 20 great scientists working on this, but we need a few hundred,” said Stephen LeBlanc of the AIDS Policy Project. “Community pressure is critical for getting this research moving more quickly. Whether a cure becomes available in three years or 20 years makes a tremendous difference to the world in terms of the number of people who will be

felled by HIV.” Indeed, most experts are hesitant to predict when a cure for HIV might be available, especially after decades of wrong guesses about HIV vaccines.

“Over the next five years we’re going to see development of a variety of interventions that have a partial effect, and once we identify these various partially effective approaches, the next step will be to combine them to create a cure,” Deeks told the B.A.R. “The first part is easier, the second part will be harder.”

“Whether a cure is going to come from one approach or some combination, I do think its possible that in our lifetime we’ll be curing HIV,” Lalezari conjectured.

In the meantime, UCSF Positive Health Program Medical Director Bradley Hare encourages people with HIV to take advantage of stateof-the-art therapy available today.

“My belief is that when we have strategies that can lead to a cure, the people who are going to be in the best position to benefit will be those who have controlled HIV,” he said.

“Getting on treatment early, staying on treatment, and keeping the virus undetectable make those people most likely to be successful.”▼ People interested in learning more about the Quest gene therapy trials can contact (415) 353-0800 or drjay@questclinical.com.

<< AIDS at 30

16 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

December 27, 2008: Christine Maggiore, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1992 and for years denied that HIV causes AIDS, died at the age of 52. The Los Angeles Times reported that she had been treated for pneumonia within the last six months of her life. AIDS denialism has waned in recent years, but for a time activists associated with ACT UP San Francisco – including the now-deceased Michael Bellefountaine, Ronnie Burk, and David Pasquarelli – subscribed to UC Berkeley professor Peter Duesberg’s belief that HIV does not cause AIDS.

<<

Younger men From page 11

wanted me to do it with him,” said Flores, who’s gay and HIV-negative.

Increased testing rates San Francisco health officials are hoping more people will get tested more often. The health department recommends testing every three to six months for gay and bi men and others in high-risk groups.

“We’re working, moving forward, to encourage more young gay men to get tested more frequently as part of our prevention strategy,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, the city’s director of HIV prevention and research.

He said along with community partners, city health officials are planning “innovative interventions to increase testing rates” that will roll

<<

Older men From page 1

General Hospital. “For those of us working in the field, this happened right under our noses.”

The main reason people are surviving longer, said Hare, is due to “the success of treatment for people who are HIV-positive. The current antiretroviral treatment is keeping

2010:

February 25, 2011:

UCSF/SFGH-based leaders establish first policy to treat all persons with HIV, regardless of CD4 count.

Producer/director David Weissman and editor/codirector Bill Weber’s powerful documentary We Were Here is screened at the Castro Theatre.

The film looks at how the AIDS epidemic impacted five people in San Francisco.

out over the summer and late fall.

He didn’t talk about specifics of the campaigns, but said, “There’s a lot of excitement and a lot of discussion around working with the community of young gay men. Obviously, that’s part of what we’ll be doing.”

Colfax, who’s HIV-negative said, “The data continue to show we’re in an endemic state,” meaning rates of infection remain stable rather than rising upwards. However, he said, gay and bi men who are 20 to 45 “are still getting infected at such a rate we’ll continue to have increasing levels of HIV in our community.”

As of 2008, according to data compiled by the city’s health department, most people living with HIV/AIDS in San Francisco were white gay and bi men ages 40 to 59.

Asked whether people in that age group were more likely to get tested,

Colfax said, “They obviously have had more time to get tested, and they have also had more time to get infected. It’s both of those factors at work.”

people alive much longer.”

But as this population ages, they face a barrage of health issues that are complicated by their having compromised immune systems.

And health officials are increasingly turning their attention to address the needs of older HIV patients.

“The dialogue in a lot of medical visits has shifted from HIV to other chronic health conditions because

the new medications control HIV infection more effectively,” said Hare.

“These other diseases take up a bigger portion of the health care visit.”

A study published in April by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that between 1991 and 2005 increases in non-AIDS-defining cancers were mainly driven by the growth and aging of the country’s AIDS population. Researchers discovered that compared with the general population, HIVpositive people are at greater risk of AIDS-defining cancers such as Kaposi’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, and cervical cancer.

The researchers also concluded “a growing number of HIV-infected people, with or without AIDS, are at risk of non-AIDS-defining cancers that typically occur at older ages.”

Researchers have also documented that people infected with HIV who are over the age of 50 progress to AIDS more rapidly than adults in their 20s or 30s. How to treat such patients presents its own complications when they may be facing a variety of health issues.

UCSF’s California HIV/AIDS Research Program awarded a threeyear grant to Hare and his colleagues aimed at developing and evaluating programs that integrate HIV/ AIDS and geriatric care for HIVpositive people age 50 and older.

The new initiative, launched in conjunction with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, will focus on age-related conditions such as cardiovascular disease, neurocognitive impairment, and osteoporosis.

It will also examine the premature aging of the immune system in HIV patients, which is a growing concern as people with HIV live longer due to antiretroviral therapy.

Over the last decade, Hare said researchers have noticed that HIVpositive people are at greater risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, osteoporosis, dementia, and cancers at an earlier age than HIV-negative people.

“You tend to see these conditions in older populations but they are occurring much younger, on average 10 to 15 years younger, in people who are HIV-positive. We don’t exactly understand why that is,” said Hare.

“If you look in the laboratory at the immune cells from someone HIVpositive they behave similar to people HIV-negative but older, so something is happening at the cellular level.”

Access to safety Enrique Guzman is the HIV prevention manager for the Mission Neighborhood Health Center. The people he sees are mostly Latinos who speak only Spanish, and he said a large number of them are in their 20s.

He said it’s the younger people he works with who don’t see HIV/AIDS as serious of an issue as older clients do. An average of about 37 percent of the people who have tested positive at the organization for each of the last three years are in their 20s, said Guzman.

Many of his agency’s clients acknowledge having sex with other men, but others are more reluctant to

▼

do so, he said. Guzman said the center works with a lot of day laborers who get picked up by other men for sex work.

“There’s a lot of shame that comes with that,” said Guzman, who’s HIVnegative. “... A lot of them won’t disclose.” Guzman said they don’t have a lot of data on it, but there are times when customers pay more when condoms aren’t used.

In addition, clients may have limited access to condoms, for reasons that include not being able to afford them, and being “marginally housed.” Guzman said a lot of them stay in shelters or with friends. He also said his agency sees people who come from rural areas of Mexico who speak their native dialect, not Spanish, and sometimes haven’t even seen condoms before.

Cabangun, of the API Wellness

Center, said that based on his daily experience talking to clients, about half of them sometimes don’t use condoms. He said the dominant reason seems to be fear of losing their partner.

For Asian and Pacific Islander youth specifically, they don’t have the history of HIV/AIDS, plus “sex is such a taboo to talk about in the home in Asian families,” making it “much more difficult” to talk about sex and sexual health with each other, he said.

Asked about different attitudes toward HIV among different racial and ethnic groups, Colfax said, “There’s data that suggest that in certain communities, there’s greater stigma around HIV and AIDS than others, and that unfortunately remains true even in our city. There’s tremendous variation depending on where people are in their lives.”▼

Six months of insomnia

been some speculation either HIV or the medications or some factor associated with those may be accelerating the aging process in HIV individuals,” said Valcour.

“There is a fair amount of urgency to study these issues so we can provide the best care for people living with HIV.” In his work with patients, Valcour said he is seeing more cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and cognitive issues such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.

“We need to think about aging and HIV together, what that will look like and how you can maximize somebody’s quality of life,” he said.

“It is a large and emerging problem.”

Older people with HIV show “a fair amount” of cognitive impairments, said Valcour.

“Fifty percent of people living with HIV test in the range considered impaired. Some patients who test in the impaired range don’t feel they have any problem,” he said. “If you brought them into a clinical setting and asked them to do some common tests, like balance a checkbook, make change, or manage their medications, they are at higher risk for not doing that well.”

More research is needed to better understand how HIV impacts a person’s aging process, said Valcour, as well as what, if any, consequences come from taking HIV medications over the course of decades.

“There is some speculation the medications might be contributing to some of this aging. There is a lot of concern the medications are not sufficiently suppressing the virus, so low-level inflammation is going on so adding to the aging acceleration,” said Valcour. “We have made great success for life expectancy. But current treatment approaches don’t appear to be sufficient to completely protect from the co-morbidities occurring.”

Despite the growing attention being paid to older PWAs, Edwards said he believes health departments and AIDS agencies need to do more to better understand the needs of their aging clienteles.

“I think local agencies need to do more work to find out what those needs are. There is need for more assessment of how they are getting care, where they are getting it, and how they feel about it,” he said.

“How are they best treated in the context of these co-morbidities? I think there is a lot to learn there.”▼

The Flowers Foundation’s Edwards said when he first learned of his HIV status, he had six months of insomnia wondering not if but when he would die.

“I got an entire scenario from my doctor not so much if, it is when. You need to go and start talking to your family and make arrangements,” recalled Edwards.

Having lived so long with the virus, Edwards said his health worries are no longer so morbid.

“Today, yeah, my concern is high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart disease,” said Edwards.

“Not only those co-morbidities as the result of aging in general but also what are the long-term affects of the drugs I am taking for HIV infection.”

Realizing that he and his peers likely had long lives yet ahead of them, Edwards two years ago saw there was a need for more attention to issues facing people 65 and older living with HIV. Working with San Francisco’s Office of AIDS, the nonprofit helped fund a review of the pertinent academic literature available at the time of issues facing people in that age bracket.

As noted in the paper, people 65 and older have the lowest survival rates following an AIDS diagnosis of any age group, according to the CDC. And in San Francisco, the review found that between 2001 and 2008 the percentage of people 60 older living with AIDS had increased more than 11 percent.

The “relatively large numbers of local long-term survivors” was due to the city’s being a leader in caring for people living with HIV and AIDS, said the report. And it stressed the need for health officials to change their focus from merely keeping people with HIV and AIDS alive to better managing “the quality of the extended life that older persons with HIV now have.”

Dr. Victor Valcour, an internist and geriatrician at the Memory and Aging Center at UCSF, has spent the last three years studying the effect of HIV on the brain in adults ages 60 and older. He is also a member of the newly formed Office of AIDS research working group on HIV and Aging at the National Institutes of Health.

“I think there are two emerging and congruent priorities in the field related to aging. The population of HIV patients is getting older as a whole. Secondarily, there has

â&#x2013;ź

International News >>

32 arrests at Moscow Pride, city flouts Euro Court ruling

by Rex Wockner

ClassiďŹ eds The

Legal Notices>>

U

ndeterred by the April ruling from the European Court of Human Rights that banning Moscow Pride is illegal in multiple ways, the city banned the May 28 gay Pride Parade for the sixth year in a row.

Activists responded by trying to rally near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and City Hall. They were violently arrested.

Among those taken into custody were U.S. activist Dan Choi, International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia President Louis-Georges Tin, Chicago activist Andy Thayer, and 15 Russian LGBT activists, including, according to Choi, Anna Komarova, Tim Magomedov, Alexey Kiselev, Elizaveta Nikitina, Aleksandr Shiriaev and Andzey Zayziev. Fourteen antigay protesters also were arrested. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was arrested and put in a solitary confinement without any air, without any light,â&#x20AC;? said Tin. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The policemen were calling me â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fucking faggot.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; After four hours ... I was released.

My concern now is about European institutions. The right to vote of Russia within the Council of Europe has to be suspended.â&#x20AC;?

Choi, best known for his work around repealing â&#x20AC;&#x153;Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Ask, Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Tell,â&#x20AC;? the U.S. militaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anti-gay policy, live-tweeted his arrest from the moment he was placed into a police wagon until his release several hours later.

Once out of custody, he wrote: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Released.

No charge, no fine. ...

Few bruises on left leg, scratches and swelling right ear. Punched in the face 5 times. Still alive. Overall best Pride march yet. (U.S. Secretary of State) Hillary Clinton still needs to say something about the Russian ban on this freedom of expression. We were absolutely non-violent. My Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/ltdanchoi) has some pics from the jail, and other details from the event. Love is worth it.â&#x20AC;?

Komarova said police pressured her to divulge information about the structure of Moscow Pride, according to British gay leader Peter Tatchell, who was in Moscow but was not detained.

The Council of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commissioner for human rights, Thomas Hammarberg, denounced Moscowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s refusal to abide by the Euro Court decision. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I learnt that a LGBT Pride event planned for Saturday 28 May in Moscow has not been authorized by the authorities because of expected traffic obstructions and the impact of this event on the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;psychological health and moral damage of children and teenagers,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Hammarberg wrote. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[T] he rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fundamental rights in a democratic society and they belong to all people. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in two judgments against unlawful restrictions or bans running counter to the exercise of freedom of assembly by LGBT persons in the context of the organization of Pride parades. Peaceful demonstrations cannot be banned simply because of hostile attitudes to the demonstrators or to the causes they advocate.

The state also has a duty to protect the participants in peaceful demonstrations including when they

June 2-8, 2011 â&#x20AC;˘ BAY AREA REPORTER â&#x20AC;˘ 17

City and County of San Francisco For Monthly Edition Papers June, 2011 June & July 2011 Board of Supervisors Regularly Scheduled Board Meetings OPEN TO THE PUBLIC â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Come see your San Francisco government in action.

Tuesdays, 2:00pm, City Hall Chamber, Room 250.

June 7, June 14, June 21, June 28, July 12, 19, 26 Recreation and Park Department Get out and play this summer with SF Rec and Park! Youth summer camp registration is still open and, beginning May 21, you can register for summer programs for the entire family, including yoga class for mom, basketball for dad and dance class for grandma!

For more information, call (415) 831-6800, or log onto http://www.sfrecpark.org to browse our entire catalog of offerings.

U.S. activist Dan Choi was one of 18 LGBT people who were arrested in Moscow on May 28 after they defied yet another city ban on Pride.

hold unpopular views or belong to minorities.â&#x20AC;?

IDAHOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tin said the Council of Europe must react to Russiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flouting of European law and the Euro Court ruling. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This situation is intolerable, and cannot last anymore,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Council of Europe, which was created to promote human rights, cannot include (in its membership) without any reaction a member state that denies human rights so clearly.â&#x20AC;?

There is video of Choi and Thayer being arrested at www.tinyurl.com/danchoimoscow. Choi posted a video from inside the police wagon. See www.tinyurl.com/choiwagon.

In ruling against the Moscow governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s violent homophobia, the European Court of Human Rights said that previous yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; gay-pride bans by then-Mayor Yuri Luzhkov violated the European Convention on Human Rights in the areas of freedom of assembly and association, the right to an effective remedy, and prohibition of discrimination.

Gays have marched or staged other public actions yearly since 2006 despite the bans. The gatherings were attacked by anti-gay hooligans, picketed by religious protesters, and broken up by police.

Meanwhile, five days before this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pride drama, about 60 LGBT and other people staged an Equality March on Gogolevsky Boulevard in central Moscow.

That march had been banned as well. Officials said it would provoke a negative reaction in society and could affect the psychological health of children and teens.

Other groups taking part in the Equality March included feminists, socialists, anarchists, leftists and liberals, a spokesman for the group said.

There is video at www.tinyurl.com/ mos-em-a.â&#x2013;ź Bill Kelley contributed to this report.

Correction The news brief in the May 26 issue about KQEDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Local Heroes event mistakenly stated the station would air the Pride Parade on June 26. The public television station will air the Local Heroes event on that day at 5 p.m. The online version has been corrected.

News from the S.F. Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Board Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let disputes escalate! The San Francisco Rent Board can now help you resolve disputes involving your landlord, tenant, roommate, property manager or neighbor through mediation. The ADR Program offers the public the opportunity to address KRXVLQJ UHODWHG GLIĂ&#x20AC;FXOWLHV LQ D VDIH YROXQWDU\ DQG SURGXFWLYH VHWWLQJ 7KH VFRSH RI WKH ADR Program is not limited to issues involving rent increases or decreased housing VHUYLFHV XQGHU WKH 5HQW 2UGLQDQFH 2WKHU KRXVLQJ UHODWHG FRQĂ LFWV FDQ EH DGGUHVVHG The program is simple and free to use. Learn more online at http://www.sfrb.org/ or by calling 415 252-4602. The short request form is available online or by 24 hour fax back service by calling 415 252-4660 and requesting document #551.

Did you know you may be due interest on your security deposit? Chapter 49 of the San Francisco Administrative Code requires landlords to pay interest annually on deposits held on residential property. Landlords are required to pay interest on all monies held over one year, regardless of what the deposit is called. From March 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012, the interest rate on security deposits is 0.4%. More details at www.sfrb.org.

From March 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012, the annual allowable increase amount for rent-stabilized homes, apartments and hotel rooms is 0.5%. More information at www.sfrb.org. Information on over 80 topics of interest to landlords and tenants is also available in English, Spanish, and Chinese by calling (415) 252-4600. For individual FRXQVHOLQJ FDOO RU YLVLWLQJ WKH 5HQW %RDUG¡V RIĂ&#x20AC;FH LQ 6DQ )UDQFLVFR DW Van Ness Avenue, Room 320, during regular business hours.

Urban Forestry Council Regular meetings are held on the fourth Friday of January, March, May, September and the second Friday in December at 8:30 a.m. at City Hall, Room 400 and on the 4th Tuesday in February, June, August, and October at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, Room 416.

No regular meetings shall be scheduled for April, July and November. This information shall be posted on the Department of Environmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website.

The City and County of San Francisco encourage public outreach. Articles are translated into several languages to provide better public access. The newspaper makes every effort to translate the articles of general interest correctly. No liability is assumed by the City and County of San Francisco or the newspapers for errors and omissions.

STATEMENT FILE A-033537900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as TL CAFĂ&#x2030;, 393 Eddy St., San Francisco, CA 94102, This business is conducted by an individual, signed Tony Tran.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 05/04/11. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/04/11.

MAY 12,19,26,JUN 2, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033530700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CS TRUCKING & TRANSPORT, 457 Wheeler Ave., San Francisco, CA 94134, This business is conducted by an individual, signed Charles M. Shepard III.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 05/01/11. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/02/11.

MAY 12,19,26,JUN 2, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033565900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as OUR HOME CHURCH, 1590 Broadway,#08S, San Francisco, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a an unincorporated association other than a partnership, signed Telema W. Okobi.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 04/15/96. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/16/11.

MAY 19,26,JUN 2, 9, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033547000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as WALCOTT CONSULTING,1236 Hopkins St., Berkeley, CA 94702. This business is conducted by an individual. signed David Walcott.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 01/01/00. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/11.

MAY 19,26,JUN 2, 9, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033565300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PHOTOBOOTH, 1193 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, signed Michael Shindler.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/16/11.

MAY 19,26,JUN 2, 9, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033548700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ALL PHASE TILE, 35 Dorman Ave., #1,San Francisco, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an individual, signed John Ma.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 05/09/11. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/09/11.

MAY 19,26,JUN 2, 9, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033499500

NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR CHANGE IN OWNERSHIP OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are : 2295MARKETSTLLC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street, Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 2295 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94114. Type of license applied for:

41- ON-SALE BEER AND WINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; EATING PLACE JUN 2, 2011 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are : BUONVICINO INC. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street, Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 414 Columbus Ave., San Francisco, CA 94133-3902.

Type of license applied for:

41- ON-SALE BEER AND WINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; EATING PLACE MAY 19,26,JUN 2, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033545800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SIMPLY BRILLIANT PRESS, 110 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94104, This business is conducted by a limited liability company, signed Scott Ellis.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/11.

MAY 12,19,26,JUN 2, 2011

STATEMENT FILE A-033546000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SIMPLY BRILLIANT PRESS, 2336 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94114, This business is conducted by a limited liability company, signed Scott Ellis.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/11.

MAY 12,19,26,JUN 2, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033535800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SF REIKI CENTER, 1167 Bush St., #504, San Francisco, CA 94109, This business is conducted by an individual, signed Christopher Tellez. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 05/03/11. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/11.

MAY 12,19,26,JUN 2, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033546500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as COMPUTER TIME, 4342 3rd St., San Francisco, CA 94124, This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Fred Zupancic.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 05/06/11. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/11.

MAY 12,19,26,JUN 2, 2011

The following person(s) is/are doing business as DARK GARDEN, 321 Linden St., San Francisco, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Automn Adamme. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 04/18/11. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/19/11.

MAY 19,26,JUN 2, 9, 2011 STATEMENT FILE A-033549100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as IRISH NETWORK BAY AREA,856 14TH St., San Francisco, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Nick Ginger. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed ďŹ ctitious business name or names on 06/12/07. The statement was ďŹ led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/09/11.

MAY 19,26,JUN 2, 9, 2011 NOTICE OF APPLICATION TO SELL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES To Whom It May Concern: The name(s) of the applicant(s) is/are : GODDARD TRUBNICK LLC, PATRICK JOSEPH MOUNSEY. The applicants listed above are applying to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control at 71 Stevenson Street, Suite 1500, San Francisco, CA 94105 to sell alcoholic beverages at 620 Post St., San Francisco, CA 94109-8222. Type of license applied for:

42- ON-SALE BEER AND WINE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PUBLIC PREMISES JUN 2, 9,16, 2011

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

18 • Bay Area Reporter • June 2-8, 2011

Legal Services>>

Legal Notices>>

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033544200

statement file A-033584500

statement file A-033582800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as H.K. FIRE PROTECTION INC, 3447 Mission St.,San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Shun Kit Ha.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/06/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/11.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as NOB HILL FLORIST, 1396 California St., San Francisco, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Terence L. Calhoun.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 07/11/83. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/23/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033581900

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 Statement of abandonment of use of ficticious business name: #A-0331938-02

The following person(s) is/are doing business as SAN FRANCISCO SOLAR POWER,5530 Mission St., Apt.#8, San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Carlos A. Aguirre.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 05/05/11.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as MARYLIN FASHION DESIGN, 654 Jackson St., Apt 1,San Francisco, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Lin Huang.

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 05/23/11.

may 19,26,jun 2, 9, 2011 statement file A-033554700

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033582700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as WEST COAST PEDICAB, 1455 Market St., San Diego, CA 92101. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Eric Wesselink.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/11/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/11/11.

may 19,26,jun 2, 9, 2011 statement file A-033499300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as 1.AVERY REAL ESTATE GROUP,2.ATELIER 360, 3053 Fillmore St., #265, San Francisco, CA 94123. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Golriz Natasha Shahabi.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/19/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/19/11.

may 19,26,jun 2, 9, 2011 Second amended summons:Breanna M. Moore v.

Barbizon Modeling School of San Francisco et al. case #1318600 superior court of california county of Santa barbara, 312 c-East cook Street, Santa Maria, CAlifornia 93454, cook division.

NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: BARBIZON MODELING SCHOOL OF SAN FRANCISCO, INTERNATIONAL MODELING & TALENT ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS ASSOCIATION, 1-10 DOES. YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLANTIFF BREANNA M. MOORE NOTICE – You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.

There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services web site (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp),or by contacting your local court or county bar association. Note: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case.

The name and address of the court is :

superior court of california county of Santa barbara, 312 c-East cook Street, Santa Maria, CAlifornia 93454 The name, address, and telephone number of the plantiff’s attorney, or plantiff without an attorney, is.

Breanna M. Moore, 2775 Summer Ranch Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446.

805-237-1355 may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033584400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as DACHSTAR, 3927 26th St.,San Francisco, CA 94131-2001. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Clinton Alexander Werner.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/24/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011

The following person(s) is/are doing business as THE PRODUCER’S LOFT, 2773 Folsom St., Suite 101,San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Vic Ferrer.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 05/23/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033584800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CUTE TANK, 300 Buchanan St., #207,San Francisco, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Eden Slezin.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/24/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/24/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033568500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as EVA LINDA’S CLEANING SERVICE,194 Flournoy St., San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Michael Mellegers.The registrant(s)commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/17/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/17/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033572300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as DIEP CONTRACTOR,462 Otsego Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Tai Phu Diep.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 05/18/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033573600 The following person(s) is/are doing business WENJIAN TRADING,759 Cayuga Ave.,San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Wennaun Chen.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 05/18/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033531400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as FIVE STAR WINERY TRADING COMPANY, 181 Taraval St., San Francisco, CA 94116, This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Derrick Luu.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/02/11.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/02/11.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 statement file A-033571300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as MYSTIC INVESTMENTS, 228 Arlington St., San Francisco, CA 94131. This business is conducted by a general partnership, signed Benedict Cerney The registrant(s) Commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/15/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/18/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033576200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as 1.S.F. MAD LAB,2.SAN FRANCISCO MAD LAB, 2050 Bryant St.,Loft #8,San Francisco, CA 94110.

This business is conducted by an individual, signed Robert W. Caughlan IV. 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 05/19/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033519400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS, 152 Jules Ave.,San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed John Sommerfield. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/01/06. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/27/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011

The following persons have abandoned the use of the ficticious business name known as ALL-PHASE TILE,33 Dorman Ave., Suite 100, San Francisco, CA 94124.This business was conducted by an individual, signed Peter Mar. The ficticious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 03/05/10.

may 12,19,26,jun 2, 2011 statement file A-033519900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CHURCHILL, 198 Church St., San Francisco, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, signed Anthony Healy-London.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/27/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/27/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033540600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as SAN FRANCISCO BROKERS CLUB, 564 Market St.,Suite 721, San Francisco, CA 94104. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Stephen Larwence.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/04/11.

The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/04/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033582400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as YORKIES BRAND BRIEFS, 860 Corbett St., #202, San Francisco, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Patrick H. York.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/12/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/23/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 statement file A-033548300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as GREENWICH STREET DESIGN, 287 28TH Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121. This business is conducted by co-partners, signed Ann B. Morris.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/01/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/09/11.

may 26,jun 2, 9,16, 2011 state of california in and for the county of san francisco file# cnc-11-547777 In the matter of the application of DANIEL CANDELARIO SANTIAGO for change of name.

The application of DANIEL CANDELARIO SANTIAGO for change of name having been filed in Court, and it appearing from said application that DANIEL CANDELARIO SANTIAGO filed an application proposing that his/her name be changed to DANIEL SANTIAGO CANDELARIO. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Room 218 on the 28th of JULY, 2011 at 9:00 am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033534000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as TAKES OF YOU, 4249 18th St., San Francisco, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Floyd Walls.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/03/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/11.

statement file A-033591800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as IMPROV CONSULTANTS, 5808 California St., San Francisco, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Lisa Safron.

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/27/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/27/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033589000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as CHRIS’ SPA NAIL 3821 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94118. This business is conducted by an individual,signed Cuc Thi Tran. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/25/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/25/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033593800 The following person(s) is/are doing business as PASEO PROPERTIES,355 Vista Linda, Mill Valley, CA 94941. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, signed Porter Farthing.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/15/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/27/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033590700 The following person(s) is/are doing business as VITORIA ROOTER AND PLUMBING, 1438 34th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual,signed Hai Yuan Huang.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/26/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/26/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033590100 The following person(s) is/are doing business as JAZZ CELLARS,1406 ST.Kitts Lane, Foster City, CA 94404. This business is conducted by an limited liability company,signed Joseph J. Lazzara. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/26/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/26/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033594000 The following person(s) is/are doing business as EB AUTO SPORT,1939 Oakdale Ave., San Francisco, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a general partnership,signed Meelan Bravo.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/23/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/27/11.

Movers>>

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033587900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as ORPHAN ANDY’S, 3991 A 17th St., San Francisco, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, signed Dennis Ziebell.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/18/77. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/25/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033598500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as EMC BUILDING MAINTENANCE, 1185 Shawnee Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Enrique Nacias.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/01/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011

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jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033533900

Hauling 24/7 441-1054 Lg. Truck

The following person(s) is/are doing business as TAKES OF YOU, 538 Castro St., San Francisco, CA 94114. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Floyd T. Walls.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/03/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/03/11.

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statement file A-033568300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as BEEFY & CO.,39 Lobos St.,San Francisco, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, signed Menh Voong.The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/17/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/17/11.

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jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011 statement file A-033589400 The following person(s) is/are doing business as LATITUDE 19, 3118 22nd St., San Francisco, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, signed James B. Lappin Jr. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/26/11. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/26/11.

jun 2, 9,16,23, 2011

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June 2-8, 2011 • Bay Area Reporter • 19

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Celebrating pride

When you look back at the efforts and achievements of LGBT men and women over the years, there’s every reason to be proud. Not just once a year, but every day.

Wells Fargo takes great pride in the diversity of the communities we serve. That’s why we continue to make financial contributions to LGBT nonprofits, provide services specific to the needs of our LGBT customers and foster a work environment that doesn’t just accept differences, but celebrates them. Happy Pride. All year round.

wellsfargo.com/lgbt © 2011 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved.

Member FDIC. (535406_02085)

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Vol. 41 • No. 22 • June 2-8, 2011

www.ebar.com/arts

Channeling Armistead Maupin Jeff Jeff Whitty Whitty on on bringing bringing ‘Tales ‘Tales of of the the City’ City’ to to the the stage stage • by

by Richard Rich Ri har a d Dodds Do D odd dds

The cast of Tales of the City sings a group number in the new musical about San Francisco in the 1970s in the ACT world premiere.

Kevin Berne

T

he man most responsible for transforming Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City into a musical was only five years old when the serialized story began its newspaper run in 1976. But Jeff Whitty, a Tony Award-winner for Avenue Q, doesn’t look back on those days as either nostalgia or a benighted period when gays and lesbians had scant social acceptance.

“In a weird way, it feels like we’ve taken a huge step backwards,” Whitty said during a break in a fine-tuning rehearsal before one

of the preview performances at American Conservatory Theater. “In many ways, Tales of the City feels like my ideal possible future.

There’s almost something utopian about it.”

It’s been more than five years since Whitty convinced author Maupin that his vision for a musicalized Tales, which had already had several previous unsuccessful startups, was worth his trust. “I feel like I’m sort of channeling Maupin as if he were a musical book writer, and he and I share a certain sensibility so sometimes I can’t remember if

the dialogue is Armistead or if it’s me.”

Maupin, an iconic SF figure, was writing about contemporaneous life when he began the Tales series in the 1970s. The initial impetus was a possible feature story on the Marina Safeway’s popularity as a heterosexual meeting ground. But in the Tales series, Maupin introduced characters not only straight, but gay, lesbian, transgender, black, white, filthy rich, dirt poor, and even a whorehouse madam.

“One of the things Armistead has issues with is that bookstores always put Tales of the City

in the gay fiction section even though more of the characters are straight,” Whitty said. “I think the reason is that he put gay characters on an equal footing with the straight ones.

They’re just as flawed, funny, interesting, damaged, and yearning as straight people, but I think it was such a shock that it overrides what people see in the other characters.”

At times, Whitty himself gets frustrated at being filed into a gay niche. “But then again, I See page 32 >>

It gets better – with a time machine ~ by Tim Miller ~

Remembrance of Things I Forgot by Bob Smith (Univ. of Wisconsin/Terrace); hardcover, $26.95; e-book, $14.95

I

have read all of Bob Smith’s earlier memoirs and his first novel, but in his new novel Remembrance of Things I Forgot, his gifts as a writer, humorist, and keen observer of gay identity have reached new heights. The novel is built around a gay man who accesses a handy time machine to go back in time to connect with his young gay self, stop BushCheney in their tracks, and prevent his sister’s suicide. Like all of us raised on Saturday afternoon TV viewings of The Time Machine or Time Tunnel, Smith has followed his nose into real

pay dirt. Early in the book, when the main character’s partner informs him he has invented a time machine and says, “Today I proved time travel was possible. I sent a condom back to 1979,” I first laughed out loud, then almost wept at the power of that notion: a condom sent back to stop AIDS in 1979.

Diagnosed with ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2007, Smith has dug down, dared to ask the huge questions, and come up with a book that is rich in humor and heart.

Tim Miller: What was the initial nudge that took you to Remembrance of Things I Forgot?

See page 33 >>

{ SECOND OF TWO SECTIONS }

Author Bob Smith.

<< Out There

22 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

▼

Jeannie comes out!

by Roberto Friedman

W

e’re told that deep in the 1960s culture wars, one of the most contentious questions you could pose was, “Are you a Bewitched person or an I Dream of Jeannie person?” Partisans rioted, friendships were lost.

Out There is not one to reveal preference, but is excited to announce that in 2011, Jeannie will reign supreme at the Castro Theatre as impressario Marc Huestis presents I Dream of Barbara Eden live and in-person, on Sunday, July 10.

Yes, Jeannie herself comes out (of the bottle) for a summer gay-la to end all summer gay-las. And Huestis is absolutely barking mad with delight. Listen to him go! “There’ll be a live interview with the iconic Barbara Eden, there’ll be bellydancing superstars busting out of a huge paper-mache bottle, there’ll be crooner Arturo Galster singing ‘Harper Valley PTA’ [Eden starred in

the TV flick based on the hit song], there’ll be a fabulous ‘Jeannie lookalike contest’ open to all cummers, there’ll be a clip reel above and beyond all previous clip reels, and in honor of the 50th anniversary of Barbara being crowned Miss San Francisco 1951 [Eden grew up in our little burg, and actually attended City College], there’ll be a superspecial and deeply moving commemorative presentation fit for a queen.” Or, in the case of the expected audience, several queens.

Well, we do love queens – particularly ones that live in/out of a bottle (we know several). So we’re dizzy with delight and now Marc-ing our calendars. If you’d like more info on the big shoe, call (415) 863-0611. Ask for Master Marconi and get $5 off the ticket-price, what a deal.

Museum growth Out There was among the interested parties at the press

conference last week when the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art revealed the preliminary designs for its expansion, designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta, to be completed by 2016. The firm’s principal architect Craig Dykers showed, with slides and a scale model, how the new building will fit seamlessly between the Mario Botta-designed main SFMOMA building and the Timothy Pflueger-designed old Pacific Bell building behind it, an Art Deco treasure, without detracting from the street or skyline presence of either.

Sited on a severely hemmedin space, the addition manages to add 225,000 square feet and a new Howard Street entrance to the museum. The project also creates an 18-foot-wide pedestrian promenade through the middle of the city block, connecting Howard with the current dead-end Natoma Street. In fact, one of the most sensitive aspects of the design is its recognition of the energized urban spaces created by San Francisco’s alleys, and its creation of new public spaces, pathways, staircases and terraces in the museum’s growing campus. The expansion also calls for a new, glass-enclosed gallery along Howard, which should serve to animate what is currently a rather deadened city block.

The museum has raised more than $250 million toward a projected $480 million goal for the expansion.

From the presentation last week, it’s clear that SFMOMA chose the right architectural firm, one whose principals demonstrate empathy, generosity and a real understanding of the urban environment, the specifics of our beloved city and its burgeoning Yerba Buena arts district.

Odds & ends Here’s a tidbit from author Michael Bronski’s A Queer History of the United States, reviewed in this issue. The famous and hugely influential “Arrow Collar Man,” the creation of openly gay illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, was modeled on his handsome lover, Charles Beach, with whom he lived openly. No less a macho man than Theodore Roosevelt praised the image of Beach as “a superb example of the common man.” Indeed he was – and gay, gay, gay!

Television star Barbara Eden as Jeannie in I Dream of Jeannie.

Courtesy SFMOMA

Architectural firm Snøhetta’s conception of the SFMOMA expansion, as seen from Howard Street, with glass-enclosed gallery.

We have word of two special screenings of a film being released this month titled The Best and the Brightest. It stars Neil Patrick Harris, Amy Sedaris, Bonnie Somerville, Jenna Stern, Bridget Regan, Christopher McDonald, Peter Serafinowicz, Kate Mulgrew, and John Hodgman, and has been described to us as an insane farce filled with raunchy, hilarious comedy, great for audiences and meant to be seen with a good crowd of fans. Tonight (Thurs., June 2) at 7 & 9 p.m., the film will screen at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., SF. For ticket info ($10), go to www.roxie. com.

Aurora Theatre Company announced that Arion Press in San Francisco will print a limitededition, handcrafted book of renowned gay American playwright Edward Albee’s script for A Delicate Balance, the book printing coinciding with Aurora’s production of the play. The book is designed and produced by Arion Press under the direction of Andrew Hoyem, and all copies will be numbered and signed by Albee. The edition will also feature original artwork by celebrated California artist Tom Holland, as well as a foreword written by Bay Area writer and critic David Littlejohn (Wall Street Journal). The book will officially be made available for purchase when A Delicate Balance opens at

the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley in September (Sept. 2-Oct. 9).

Literati: winning!

The 23rd annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced in New York last week. Here are just a few of the winners; for a complete list, go to www.lambdaliterary.org.

LGBT Anthology: Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation, edited by Kate Bornstein & S. Bear Bergman (Seal Press).

LGBT Drama: Oedipus at Palm Springs: A Five Lesbian Brothers Play

by Maureen Angelos, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey & Lisa Kron (Samuel French).

Lesbian Fiction: Inferno (a poet’s novel) by Eileen Myles (OR Books).

Lesbian Memoir/Biography: Tie: Hammer! Making Movies Out of Sex and Life by Barbara Hammer (The Feminist Press), Wishbone: A Memoir in Fractures by Julie Marie Wade (Colgate University Press).

Lesbian Poetry: The Nights Also

by Anna Swanson (Tightrope Books).

Gay Fiction: Union Atlantic by Adam Haslett (Doubleday).

Gay Memoir/Biography: Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist and Sexual Renegade by Justin Spring (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).

Gay Poetry: Pleasure by Brian Teare (Ahsahta Press).▼

bartabsf.com

▼

Theatre >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Gays in the military: then & now

by Richard Dodds

season with the area premiere of [title of show], running at Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts through June 26. It’s the sortof true story of librettist Hunter Bell and songwriter Jeff Bowen who had to come up with an idea for a new musical in time for a theater festival. Their best idea turns out to be the struggle of coming up with an idea. The opening number, for example, is titled “Untitled Opening Number,” and from innocent beginnings, their stories devolve into backstage conflicts over casting,

H

ollywood has helped make icons of such Scottish warriors as Robert Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson in Rob Roy) and Sir William Wallace (Mel Gibson in Braveheart), but perhaps the war hero most venerated in Scotland has never received the glittery tap that could widely spread his name beyond the Scottish borders. The story of Major-General Hector MacDonald, affectionately known in his homeland as Fighting Mac, certainly has the ingredients for great drama, but it’s a recipe that turns so utterly sour that the big-budget treatment must be a scary prospect.

But playwright John Fisher, Theatre Rhino’s artistic director, is a military-history aficionado, and 15 years ago he read a book about Victorian-era generals that had a chapter on MacDonald. “It talked about how he committed suicide when he was found out to be a gay man,” Fisher said, “and I was, like, what? Ever since then, I’ve thought I’ve got to do a play about this guy.”

When Fisher announced Rhino’s 2010-11 season a year ago, Fighting Mac was set as the final play of the season. It still retains that slot – beginning performances June 2 at Thick House – but the play has been heavily reconceptualized during the intervening months.

What was intended as a biographical drama has bifurcated with scenes from both MacDonald’s life and a contemporary gay graduate of West Point that have become interwoven.

Fisher decided to make the change when the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy began unraveling. “We’re in a gray area right now,” Fisher said of gays in the military, “but I project us into the near-future where I feel it’s inevitable.”

For West Point grad Jesse, now an officer in Afghanistan, MacDonald had been an early inspiration as a gay man who had risen through the ranks to become a celebrated military leader. “But as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell has fallen apart, and it’s OK to be gay in the military,” Fisher said, “Jesse finds there are still social tensions that make his life very complicated.”

Beyond the personal and professional journeys that both Jesse and MacDonald experience, geopolitical issues also come into

Kent Taylor

William S. Brown, Jr. (flanked by Alex Lee and Evan Bartz) plays a Scottish war hero and Victorian-era gay man in Fighting Mac, a world-premiere play by Theatre Rhino’s John Fisher.

play. Many of the battles that MacDonald successfully oversaw were colonial wars meant to preserve the far-reaching British Empire. MacDonald’s prowess still earns heroic honorifics, though the concept of colonial empires has passed on – or at least been given new nomenclature.

“Afghanistan is the location for at least half of the play in each period,” Fisher said, “and that’s another reason why these two stories are parallel. We are fighting the exact same wars that England seemed to be fighting forever.”

While numerous theories continue to swirl on the circumstances and accusations of MacDonald’s behavior with young men and even boys in the countries in which he was stationed, there is strong evidence that MacDonald did enjoy the sexual company of the male gender. Rather than face the possibility of court martial, MacDonald put a gun to his head in 1903.

“I don’t necessarily believe that what is happening in America right now makes it any easier to be a gay man,” Fisher said. “I think in many ways it’s just getting more complex.

You look at somebody like Hector MacDonald and you think his life is a tragedy, but the life I give him is the life of a Victorian man whose life and work is about solving problems.

But the Jesse character is much more emotional, and there are so many complexities in his situation,

Mark Kitaoka

The cast of [title of show] play characters who create a musical about creating a musical in the TheatreWorks production.

he can’t find the way to solve his problems.”

Fighting Mac is at Thick House through June 19. Tickets are $15$30. Call (800) 838-3006 or go to www.therhino.org.

Musical mirrors The lead sentence in The New York Times review for the quirkily named [title of show] wasn’t exactly subtle. “Calling all show queens,” Charles Isherwood wrote when the musical about writing a musical opened off-Broadway in 2006, adding, “Have I got a show for you.”

Names of almost-celebrities and famous-flop musicals are dropped left and right, so it helps if you’re steeped in Broadway lore.

But [title of show] obviously has an appeal beyond those who store their Playbills in binders, having moved to Broadway after its hit offBroadway run, and now invading regional theaters across the land.

TheatreWorks is closing its

billing, and who’ll get to speak at the Tony Awards if and when that time arrives.

Ian Leonard and Jamison Stern are playing the characters that Bowen and Hunter based on themselves, and Laura Jordan and Farah Alvin are actress-friends who jump aboard the unsettled project. Meredith McDonough is directing and choreographing [title of musical].

Tickets at www.theatreworks.org or (650) 463-1960.▼ BARstage@comcast.net

<< Film

24 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

▼

The horror, the horror!

by David Lamble

H

ebar.com

orror films serve a bewildering variety of needs in our absurdly distracted times. They’re relatively cheap to make; if the film really stinks, you can pass it off as an “homage” to something better; George Romero has spent his entire adult life remaking his flesh-eating zombie classic so newcomers can plunge in and not feel that they’re slumming; for youngish actors, it’s a step up from juvenilia well in advance of the slippery slope of dinner theatre and TV infomercials; for college art students, there’s the hope that their digital carnage may attract the attention of international masters like Guillermo del Toro or Wes Craven.

This year’s Another Hole in the Head Horror Film Festival, Part 8 (Roxie Theater, June 2-17) provides over two dozen creature features, flesh-eating zombie remakes, a hefty slice of Japanese horror (especially sushi-derived), futuristic sciencefiction parody, nervous skinnywhite-guy aspiring vampires, disgustingly specific sexual slasher fantasies, and at least one genuinely scary movie.

The Craving Is there room for a locally produced stab at a lesbianspecific, snotty restaurant splatterfest that might rival Paul Bartel’s deliciously dark Eating Raoul or Ted Kotcheff ’s kitchen laugh-riot Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?

But of course! Or, for that matter, something lower down the food chain like Texas bad boy Robert Rodriguez’s Machete? Definitely.

Valerie R. Castro is going for a grindhouse sensibility and aesthetic in her exploration of how a lunatic female chef starts inappropriately

Scene from The Craving: a mysterious, leather-clad assassin.

Scene from Bloodrayne: The Third Reich.

mixing work and pleasure at her upscale gourmet restaurant. The opening credit sequence begins promisingly enough as a hefty young woman is butchered in her tub by a mysterious knife-wielding, leatherclad assassin. Smacks of Psycho’s shower scene, but that’s fair game.

Unfortunately, Chef Ronnie Sixtos (Anna Curtis) has a number of scores to settle, and rather than stabbing her enemies, she chooses to bore most of them to death with some achingly long-dialogue scenes, with attitudeheavy insults that reek of a kind of curdled camp sensibility.

Grindhouse needs to be downand-dirty, over-the-top violent and action-packed. Shot on Super16 with some judicious cuts, this one might have worked, for at least the Dario Argento crowd. As it is, by the time Chef Ronnie is finally separated from her cutlery, we’ve long since stopped caring. (6/4, 6) Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale This Scandinavian fairy tale kicks off with two pre-teen boys exploring their culture’s feudal myths about a

Santa Claus who wasn’t packaged

by Coca Cola. Stumbling upon an American corporate expedition’s attempt to excavate a local mountain accidentally killing off a reindeer herd, the boys uncover the horrifying truth about what Santa’s little helpers actually do for the jolly fat man. (6/11, 14) Auschwitz German director Uwe Boll takes a sobering look at how little his nation’s schoolkids know about the Third Reich. Part brutally realistic docudrama depicting the fate of refugees arriving at the death camp on fetid boxcars, part a free-form Nazi 101 discussion by German adolescents – at least one punk-attired boy has a graduate student’s command of the subject – this unusually gripping film gives us an uncomfortably realistic look at two German camp guards knocking down shots of liquor while “talking shop.” Seldom has “the banality of evil” been so unsparingly exposed by everyman characters. (6/10) See page 25 >>

▼

Books >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 25

Reclaiming our past

by Tavo Amador

W

e cannot understand history without first understanding the process by which it is written. Writing and reading of history is always a political act of interpretation.” This premise underscores Michael Bronski’s A Queer History of the United States (Beacon Press, $29.95). Bronski, a Dartmouth professor of women’s and gender studies, believes that the traditional teaching of history – what he and others call “snapshots” – is misleading. To him, history is a movie, “not a Hollywood one, with a traditional narrative, but rather an experimental film that presents a reality that makes sense only when we appreciate its intrinsic complexity.” Readers don’t have to accept this analogy to benefit from this stimulating, beautifully written account of the emergence and importance of people now identified as LGBT in American society.

Bronski begins with the shocked reactions of early European Christian explorers regarding practices among several Native American tribes, which accepted transvestitism and same-sex relationships, usually with one male assuming a female role. Christianity tolerated sex only within a reproductive context. Thus, sodomy, even if practiced by married couples, was condemned. Yet this tradition often clashed with the Puritan belief in privacy. For the Puritans, marriage was a civil contract, not a sacrament.

Behavior that threatened marriage and the family, like adultery, was criminalized. Bronski refers to examples of homosexual sodomy being punished, although only after repeated offenses. There are also indications that Puritan male couples

<<

Hole in the Head From page 24

Bloodrayne: The Third Reich Uwe Boll takes a slyly sardonic view of the same material, filmed in the fashion of a Saturday sci-fi serial, with a possibly lesbian vampire fighting a Nazi Vampire camp commandant.

The result is sexy, action-filled, engaging kitsch. (6/10) Absentia Possibly the best piece of filmmaking at the festival. I actually felt that proverbial chill run up my spine as a pregnant woman encountered a vivid hallucination of her long-missing husband in the basement of their suburban ranch house. This impeccably written and acted melodrama explores the psychological ramifications of declaring a loved one legally dead.

(6/6, 12) Midnight Sun One of the reasons we tolerate, even crave the endless vampire films, shows and spoofs flooding our download zone is the opportunity they provide pastywhite, skinny boys to get their mojo working. Appropriately for this genre, we first encounter security guard

may have lived together, despite such behavior being proscribed.

Although the Bill of Rights separated church and state, American law criminalized non-procreative sex. Bronski contrasts this with France. During the 1789 French Revolution, the National Assembly issued “The Rights of Man,” based on Enlightenment principles. It included the right “to do anything that does not injure others.” By 1791, laws punishing sodomy, heterosexual and homosexual, were abolished. In 1810, the Napoleonic Code applied these protections throughout the French Empire, including Louisiana.

In the 19th century, John Addington Symonds and the pioneering Karl Ulrich documented same-sex relationships in Western civilization, particularly the acceptance, indeed glorification, of male intimacy in Classical and Hellenistic Greek societies. They also cited Renaissance chronicler Vasari, who suggested that Michelangelo and Da Vinci, as well as their contemporary, “Il Sodoma,” had sex with men. Symonds and Ulrich used these examples as proof that homosexual behavior was natural, that it should be accepted and decriminalized. They were influential in America, but other forces were also at work.

Bronski cites Walt Whitman to demonstrate the increased articulation of American homoerotic desire, even if the poet denied having sex with men. (Edward Carpenter, another early advocate for same-sex love, insisted he and Whitman had sex.) Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, and Ralph Waldo Emerson also expressed intense feelings for men, although whether they were physically consummated is unknown.

Jacob (Zak Kilberg) hopping out of the shower. Jacob’s doc tells him he has anemia, what the TV used to call “tired blood,” and sure enough our boy starts to crave blood, first by the cup, and eventually via those little naughty bites. Kilberg’s soft, doe-eyed performance keeps the proceedings grounded until third-act plot complications finally drive it over the top. If you like the bloodwork effects, thank students at San Francisco’s Academy of Art. (6/11, 15) Krackoon This one is so broadly executed that it’s almost a Rocky and Bullwinkle spoof set within the precincts of a comic-book-worthy South Bronx Italian-American hood. The low-budget tale of a boy and his crack-addicted raccoon is grotesque and weirdly funny. (6/15) Haunted Changi This is yet another Blair Witch homage/ parody, but I loved its bilingual Singapore cast. (6/3, 9) Grave Encounters The Vicious Brothers perform the same wacko story, only in a more pretentious, annoying manner. (Closing Night, 6/16)▼ www.sfindie.com

He illustrates how many seemingly unrelated movements had a profound impact on LGBT civil rights.

The abolition of slavery, for example, ended one person’s control over another’s body.

Other significant forces include the increased urbanization of American society during the 20th century, and the growth of African American and women’s civil rights. WWII had an enormous impact. Women powerfully challenged gender norms by replacing men in factories. Men served and fought in all-male societies, which resulted in powerful homoerotic bonds, often expressed sexually.

Furthermore, the sexual revolution of the 1960s and invention of the birth control pill enabled heterosexuals to enjoy sex without procreation as a goal or consequence. Hence, the pill’s use was and is forcefully condemned by the Roman Catholic Church. Non-

procreative sex among heterosexuals helped legitimize same-gender sexual relations.

Other compelling insights include American society’s demonizing of the “other,” such as African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, religious minorities, and LGBTs.

H He shows how the most mythic of A American folk heroes, the cowboy – strong, silent, self-reliant – was aactually another outsider, and rreveals the homoerotic elements in tthat persona.

The contributions of Harry Hay, E Eleanor Roosevelt, Phyllis Lyon and D Del Martin are discussed, although H Harvey Milk is barely mentioned.

B Bronski’s analysis of the horrible le legacy of Anita Bryant’s 1977 h homophobic “Save Our Children” ccampaign to successfully repeal gay rrights laws in Dade County, Florida, is superb, as is his assessment of th the failure of the Briggs Initiative in C California.

The devastation of AIDS, and it its resultant increased visibility and power of LGBTs – underscoring the need for legal protections regarding health care, hospital visitation rights, and other benefits taken for granted by heterosexual couples – are presented with insight and compassion.

Homophobes blamed the disease See page 32 >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

26 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

▼

Theatre >>

Fundamentally crazy

by Richard Dodds

I

t’s a dithery sort of fun that The Stops provides, as the lightweight church-lady musical tosses random offerings into the collection plate with faith rather than with finesse.

You can see the promise, gossamer as it may be, in material that stakes its comedic claims on the conflicts between old-line churches and the homosexuals who keep popping up in their congregations. But the humor, puns, and rim-shot jokes are too weak to sustain any kind of hilarity, and the motivating premise is too ridiculous a contraption to pass muster, even in a show that wants to be no more than a modest romp.

And yet there’s little fault to be found in director F. Allen Sawyer’s production at New Conservatory Theatre Center (other than, perhaps, the theater’s decision to produce it).

The three church ladies who greet

us are members of NALOG – or the National Ladies Organ Guild. They are played by men in drag, for no specific plot purpose beyond a builtin comic function and, perhaps, a transgressive statement. We are at a rally of sorts to save the job of Dale Meadows, the musical director of the Quad Cities Faith Tabernacle, who has been ousted for reasons that have to do with either his newly proclaimed homosexuality or his shift in hymn-writing to songs that mock religion, or both. The former reason is a legitimate rallying point; the latter is a straw dog that suggests members of, say, the Sierra Club should have its mission statement amended by the United Strip Miners of America.

The most fun comes in the first act as the ladies introduce themselves as sort of a bitchily un-sister act. Ginny Dooley (David Bicha) is a tippling Baptist, Euglena Belcher (Cameron Cummings) is a fussy Nazarene, and

Rose Rabinowitz Rigdale (Jonathan Reisfeld) is a loose-cannon JewishCatholic-Unitarian. (She brings mazel toffee to the potlucks).

Between the so-so jokes, the three harmonize quite agreeably (G. Scott Lacy is the musical director) on such beloved Dale Meadows songs as “Come on and Get a Faith Lift,” the Hawaiian-flavored “Alleluia Aloha,” and “Bossa Nova for Jehovah.”

The women become conflicted over whether to sing for us Dale Meadows’ new cycle of songs, which include “Just Let the Bible Think for You,” “But You Are, Blanche,” and a song that strings together many of the horrid commandments from Leviticus. The battle among the women over the new songs is a senseless display that would have played out long before this rally.

But the prize for hypocrisy comes at the very end of show when the three women abruptly reunite in the spirit of love, Jesus, and God with

Lois Rema

Jonathan Reisfeld, David Bicha, and Cameron Cummings play three church ladies rallying to save the job of their favorite gospel (and gay) hymnist in The Stops at New Conservatory Theatre Center.

two straight-ahead inspirational ballads. They are passionately sung, in a sort of Christian-American Idol fashion, but this sudden spiritual uplift has the taste of a stale communion wafer.▼

The Stops will run through June 25 at New Conservatory Theatre Center. Tickets are $24-$40. Call 861-8972 or go to www.nctcsf.org.

Music >>

Smiles of a summer night

by Tim Pfaff

S

ummer is a’comin’ in,” as Chaucer famously begins The Canterbury Tales, and it’s hard to imagine a better way to celebrate than with Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’ete, the Shakespeare-besotted composer’s imaginative take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and one of the greatest song cycles in the repertoire. Now two new recordings

of it, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s with SF’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (the debut issue by PBO’s house label, which also includes seven Handel arias) and French soprano Isabelle Druet’s with pianist Johanne Ralambondrainy (Aparte), shed new light (and better, sound) on a work about which everything seemed already to have been known.

More B.A.R. readers know this music than think they do. Rufus

Wainwright sings the hell out of “Absence,” the cycle’s fourth song, on the Live at the Fillmore DVD tucked into his Want Two set, and his rendition, if not exactly classical, is a serious and moving account of the song by a voice maven who knows his classics inside out.

As Hunt Lieberson made abundantly clear in Les Troyens at the Metropolitan Opera, she was as born to sing Berlioz as Handel

and Mozart, and it was up to whatever orchestra she, a former violist, was performing with to rise to her musical level. This November 1995 performance of Les Nuits d’ete, recorded live at Berkeley’s First Co n g re g a t i o n a l Church, marked the peak of her long collaboration with Philharmonia and its gay periodperformance specialist (almost a redundancy these days) director, Nicholas McGegan. They always brought out the best in one another, and this time, produced not just the best but the truest Les Nuits d’ete in recorded history.

No one’s going to throw out the classic Regine Crespin recording, with Ansermet, or should; it’s one of the great vocal recordings of all time. But this Les Nuits d’ete is something else again. The case for performing a work with instruments (and in a playing style) the composer would have known and written for has rarely been more compellingly made. There’s more sheer musical detail audible in this recording than in any other I know, but, more to the point, the music itself has never sounded more pointed and expressive. The more I listen to it, the more I sense that this is not just the first time I’m hearing the piece Berlioz envisioned; it’s the first time I get it.

As but one example among literally hundreds, the bumptious double reeds, with their oom-pahpah rhythms, in “L’Ile inconnue” make narrative sense of that puzzlingly upbeat final song.

Similarly, the infectious insistence of the repeated wind notes at the cycle’s outset, always the most succulent of inducements, emerge with new buoyancy.

That said, the grave beauty of Hunt Lieberson’s singing plumbs new depths in this hauntingly atmospheric music. She’s a human cello in the lowest notes of “Le Spectre de la rose” and “Sur les lagunes,” but she’s a human wonder throughout. The sense of loss and longing she conjures is as close to the bone as you could endure, and the rapture is aching in its purity. It feels like she sings the seven-and-a-

half minutes of “Spectre” on a single breath, so sure is the line to the almost shockingly intense climax and back. Now that he’s heard her “Absence,” I’m guessing Rufus is going to take it out of his repertoire.

I wouldn’t suggest listening to Isabelle Druet’s Les Nuits d’ete immediately after Hunt Lieberson’s.

Still, Druet and her pianist partner give a fine, sometimes exquisite performance of what appears to be the piano version of the songs Berlioz began composing in 1840, long before the orchestrated cycle was completed in 1856. The piano writing also imbues these haunting songs with new timbres.

But what makes this CD a must for lovers of French chansons are the “wrapping,” 16 other French pieces on nocturnal themes. Some of them are poems, including Victor Hugo’s “Nuit,” sensitively read by Christian Pageault, and Charles Baudelaire’s “Tristesse de la lune,” almost hypnotically intoned

by Druet herself – an ingenious solution to the perennial problem of how to keep an all-chanson disc from becoming a slumberfest.

There’s no overstating the value of French performers in this music.

Many a non-Francophone artist has pulled it off, but for that last measure of tristesse, you can’t beat the natives. The disc begins and ends with Poulenc, and along the way some of the greatest of chansons,

by Faure, Chausson, and Massenet, are interspersed with more off-thebeaten-path items. Best of the lot are three songs by Reynaldo Hahn, Proust’s one-time lover and lifelong friend, about whom Proust once said, “Everything I have ever done has been thanks to Reynaldo Hahn.”

The more I listened, the more I couldn’t help wondering if these two handsome Gallic women were trying to tell us something.▼

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Film >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27

Merie Wallace, Twentieth Century Fox

Brad Pitt as the patriarch in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life.

Cosmos by Terrence Malick

by David Lamble

R

egardless of your opinion of his five films, squeezed out over 38 years, Terrence Malick, the Harvard-educated son of a Waco, Texas oilman, is neither a critic’s darling nor an opening-weekenddriven, box-office whore.

Loosely based on a real-life crime spree (Charles Starkweather), Malick’s auspicious 1973 debut Badlands feels very much of a piece with its bratty film-school contemporaries, nestled somewhere between the genre-revising visual poetics of Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde and the hyper-Disney pop slickness of Steven Spielberg’s Sugarland Express, Badlands gives us a cocky Martin Sheen as a James Dean-styling serial killer who seduces his slightly dim girlfriend (Sissy Spacek) on a jaunt across the Great Plains after shooting her pop and burning down the family homestead.

I bring up Badlands because its hot-wired energy and off-kilter focus on the family as the source of our ills, illusions and neurotic longings is clearly also topic A in Malick’s possibly genius-level new work, The Tree of Life, opening Friday. Whereas in Badlands, the mother energy was almost entirely missing, rudely shoved aside by a pistol-packing prodigal son bent on a nihilistic attack on the father, The Tree of Life can be viewed as a passionate debate between a violence-prone 1950s dad and a not entirely submissive, slightly battered homemaker mom.

“There are two ways through life, the way of nature or the way of grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow.”

“It takes a fierce will to get ahead in this world. Come on, son, hit me!”

“He’s afraid of you. You expect things of him only an adult can achieve.”

“Some day you’ll fall down and weep, and then you will understand things as they are.”

“Unless you love, your life will fly by.”

In Malick’s lyrical, almost freeverse adaptation of James Jones’ WWII novel The Thin Red Line (1998), a cool commanding officer (George Clooney) tells combatweary grunts that their unit is a kind of family, with himself as the dad who must be obeyed, and a prickly, misanthropic sergeant (Sean Penn) as the mom who really runs the show. The Tree of Life’s 50s Waco clan is in many ways modeled on this American Sparta prototype of the family as a basic fighting unit. There’s the frequently absent, authoritarian dad (lean and mean Brad Pitt), the mostly-nurturing mom (newcomer Jessica Chastain) and a feisty trio of real boys (heartfelt performances delivered in an almost dialogue-free zone by pre-teens Hunter McCracken, Laramie Eppler and Tye Sheridan) as the restless grunts, seen both cowering under dad’s drill sergeant dinner-table rants, and out-of-doors with their feral buddies getting into trouble.

Malick shows that these boys’ lives teeter between a Lord of the Flies descent into chaos and a Norman Rockwell/Disney version of a crewcut nirvana. With an editing style that totally fractures any coherent narrative – death intrudes at the municipal swimming pool, and claims one of the brothers in a mysterious late-adolescent accident – Malick evokes the brutal freedom of an Eisenhower-era boyhood.

Throughout most of the slim Malick canon, the imagery is seductively male, if not obviously homoerotic. Gay boys of all ages will be struck, mesmerized and haunted by how much of our unofficial erotic underworld flows from Waco, Texas, circa 1950. If Oliver Stone missed some bets by not plumbing W.’s 50s Midland, Texas world, Malick has come to his rescue.

And, oh yes, outside of the core (approximately 90-minute) family story, huge chunks of The Tree of Life are a Kubrick-worthy gloss on the origins of life on this planet, complete with Christian imagery vs.

Big Bang science theory, colliding with scenes of a depressed Sean Penn, as son Jack, wandering

through a white modern office complex, culminating in a future, Rapture-like vision. I don’t know what to make of these spiritual musings, but don’t let them distract you from a vibrant, challenging piece of filmmaking.

Malick’s complex, naturally illuminated films have been praised as pastoral and dismissed as pretentious, but this son of Texas brings a nuanced European film language and sensibility to a very American quest to solve the dilemmas about the purpose of childhood and the larger meanings of life. I would venture that this Bible Belt-raised philosopher has transcended his Christian upbringing, and that Malick #6, rumored to be in production, should be a knockout.▼

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Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

28 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

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roles. $15-$32. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm.

Thru June 26. GK Hardt Theatre, 52 West 6th St. (707) 523-4185. www.6thstreetplayhouse.com

Nobody Move @ Intersection for the Arts Campo Santo ensemble performs Dennis Johnson’s play, based on his book, about a gambler facing a metaphysical trial. $20-$35.

Thu-Sun 8pm. Thru June 12. 626-2787. 446 Valencia St. www.theintersection.org

Organ Donor @ The Garage Dance-performance works with gay themes by Kyra Rice, Michael Velez, Ronja Ver and music

by Tyler Holmes. $10-$20. 8pm. Also June 4.

975 Howard St. 518-1517. www.975howard.com

The Pride @ New Conservatory Theatre West Coast premiere of Alexia Kaye Campbell’s innovative play about two men and a woman caught in a complex love triangle. $24-$40. Previews. Opening June 4. Wed-Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm thru July 3. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

Fri 3

The Real Americans @ The Marsh

by Jim Provenzano

Dan Hoyle’s moving and funny solo show, with multiple characters based on Midwesterners on the right and Coasters on the left, asks how a politcially divided America can survive. $25-$35. Fri 8pm, Sat 8:30pm. Thru July 24.

1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Iraqi Bodies @ Southside Theatre Contemplate the unending monstrosity of war from a different perspective at the US debut of Crying of My Mother, a dance about religious conflicts in Iraq; also, Middle East-themed work by Nina Haft & Company in a shared bill. Part of the SF International Arts Festival. $12-$25. 8pm. Also June 4 & 5. Fort Mason Center, Buchanan St. at Marina.

399-9554. www.sfiaf.org

Fri 3 >> Anita Cocktail @ The Rrazz Room Bubbly faux queen sings and does comedy with pals Sean Ray, Sara Moore and others.

Proceeds benefit local charities. $25. 10:15pm.

Also June 24, 10:15pm. 2-drink min. 21+.

Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Another Hole in the Head @ Roxie Theater Annual festival of strange, horror, scifi and thriller flicks from the underground, with parties and other events. Thru June 17. 3117 16th St. at Valencia. 820-3907. www.sfindie.com www.roxie.com

The Edenites @ Exit Stage Left Stuart Bousel’s new comedy about gay, bi and straight relationships in San Francisco’s dot-com boom era. $12-$25. Thu-Sat 8pm. thru June 25.

156 Eddy St. www.horrorunspeakable.com

Larry Carlton @ The Rrazz Room Four-time Grammy winner performs a variety of styles of music. $47.50. 8pm. Also June 3, 8pm. June 4 & 7, 9:30pm. 2-drink min. 21+.

Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Assassins @ Eureka Theatre Ray of Light Theatre (acclaimed recent productions of Jerry Springer the Opera, Tommy, The Rocky Horror Show ), presents the controversial Stephen Sondheim musical about assassins. $20-$36. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 25. 215 Jackson St. at Battery. www.roltheatre.com

Blue Man Group @ Golden Gate Theatre Touring production of the popular theatrical show with music, percussion and lots of splashy drums full of glowing goo. $30-$200.

Tue-Sat 8pm. Wed, Sat, Sun at 2pm. Thru June 19. 1 Taylor St. at Market. (888) SHN 1799. www.shnsf.com

Reborning @ SF Playhouse Zayd Dohm’s unusual play about a dollmaker whose new demanding client may be her longlost mother. $20-$50. Tue-Wed 7pm. Thu-Sat 8pm. + Sat 3pm. Thru June 11. 533 Sutter St. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Chanticleer @ SF Music Conservatory Grammy-winning a cappella ensemble performs at the music school’s beautiful recital hall. $20-$52. 8pm. Also June 4-11 at various other venues, and June 12, 5pm back at the Conservatory. 50 Oak St. 392-4400. www.chanticleer.org

Risk is This @ Exit Theatre Cutting Ball theatre company’s experimental plays festival, with comic, serious, odd and unusual themes; most plays run two nights.

Free. $20 reserved. $50 five-play donation.

Thru June 25. 277 Taylor St. (800) 838-3006. www.cuttingball.com

Embodiment Project @ Dance Mission Theater Of Her Rib, a hip hop dance drama with women dancers, featuring live vocals by Valerie Troutt, with pre-show dances by other troupes. $7-$28. 8pm. thru June 5. 3316 24th St. 273-4633. www.dancemission.com

Royal Danish Ballet @ Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley Third oldest ballet company in the world performs in the Bay Area for the first time in 50 years. Program A: The Lesson (1963) and La Sylphide (1836). Program B: Bournonville Variations, Lost on Slow, Alumnus and Earth (2000-2010). $38-$100. 8pm. Thru June 4. Bancroft Way at Telegraph Ave., UC Berkeley campus. (510) 642-9988. www.calperformances.org

Ethnic Dance Festival @ City Hall Rotunda Opening ceremony featuring the Rumsen Ohlone Tribe’s singers and dancers. Festival plays thru July 3 at various venues. www.sfethnicdancefestival.org

Ledoh, Salt Farm @ ODC Theater

Sat 4 >>

Comedy Brains @ The Marsh, Berkeley

70mm Films @ Castro Theatre

Colleen Watson, Candy Churilla and Joe Tobin perform stand-up. $15-$50. 8:30pm. 2061 Allston Way at Shattuck. www.themarsh.org

Celebrate 70mm widescreen films at a screening of West Side Story, the Robbins/Bernstein/ Sondheim classic musical film adaptation at 7:30pm, and June 5 at 1pm, 4:15, 7:30; Jacques Tati’s Playtime June 6 at 7pm; 7th at 5pm & 8pm; Hitchcock’s Vertigo June 8-10 at 2pm, 5pm, 8pm. Lawrence of Arabia. June 11 & 12 at 2pm, 7pm. $10. 429 Castro St. www.castrotheatre.com

Adele @ Greek Theatre, Berkeley Popular soulful singer performs live (moved from SF’s Warfield Theatre). $45 lawn. $65 reserved. 8pm. Gayley Rd. at Piedmont Ave., UC Berkeley campus. (800) 745-3000. www.adele.tv www.thewarfieldtheatre.com

Anna Deavere Smith @ Berkeley Rep Acclaimed solo performer brings her new show Let Me Down Easy, about healthcare and many other issues, to the stage. $17-$73.

Tue-Sat 8pm (Wed 7pm) Sat & Sun 2pm. Thru June 26. LGBT Night Out July 10. 2015 Addison St. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

Theatre and dance works by local and visiting companies, including FACT/SF, Hope Mohr Dance at Fort Mason Center (Bldg. D, 3rd fl.); Teatr Zar (see Fri. listing); Erling Wold’s Queer opera (Fort Mason); Scott Wells Dance (at CounterPulse, 1310 Mission St.). Thru June 5. www.sfiaf.org

Little Shop of Horrors @ Boxcar Theatre

The Stops @ New Conservatory Theatre

Local production of the hit Off-Broadway musical by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman based on the ‘60s B-movie about a carnivorous talking, singing alien plant. $20-$50.

Tue-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 26. 505 Natoma St. at 6th. www.boxcartheatre.org

Eric Lane Barnes’ satirical musical revue about fundamentalist drag queens, er, ladies, who try to save their outed gay organist. $15-$40.

Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 25.

25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. 861-8972. www.nctcsf.org

The Mystery of Irma Vep @ 6th St. Playhouse, Santa Rosa

Tales of the City @ A.C.T. American Conservatory Theatre’s world premiere musical adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s first novel in his popular series, with book/lyrics by Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q ) and music by Jake Shears and John Garden ( Scissor Sisters). $48-$123. Thru July 3. Tue-Sat 8pm.

Wed, Sat & Sun 2pm. 415 Geary St. 749-2228. www.act-sf.org

Charles Ludlam’s hilarious drag parody of Gothic melodramas with two actors playing 30

Teatro Zinzanni @ Pier 29 Caliente is the new show at the theatre-tentdinner extravaganza, with twin acrobats Ming and Rui, Vertical Tango rope dance, plus magic, comedy, a five-course dinner and more. $117-$145. Saturday 11:30am “Breve” show $63-$78. Wed-Sat 6pm (Sun 5pm). Pier 29 at Embarcadero Ave. 438-2668. www.teatrozinzanni.com

Kent Taylor

Vice Palace @ Hypnodrome Thrillpeddlers, the fabulous ensemble that brought us Pearls Over Shanghai and Hot Greeks, now brings forth the last Cockettes musical (which originally starred Divine and Mink Stole), the saucy 1972 revue and Felliniesque parody of Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death. $30-$35. Fri & Sat 8pm Sun 7pm. 575 10th st. at Bryant/Division. Thru July 31. www.thrillpeddlers.com

Zeropoint @ Z Space Sara Shelton Mann and David Szlasa’s collaborative dance/multimedia work about nuclear meltdown questions and transformational world healing. $25. 8pm. Thru June 4. 450 Florida St. www.sarasheltonmann.org www.zspace.org

Planet Booty @ Café Du Nord Funkadelic fun band performs on a bill with Tigercat and Tres Lingerie. $12. 9:30pm. 2170 Market St. 861-5016. www.cafedunord.com

Pride Comedy Night @ Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa Lesbian and gay comics Julie Goldman and Ali Mafi perform stand-up. $19-$35. 8pm. 50 Mark West Springs Rd. (707) 546-3600. www.wellsfargocenterarts.org

Remember When @ Toad Hall AIDS Emergency Fund’s 29th anniversary party, with nostalgic Sylvester-era music and fun, Sharon McNight, awards ceremony. $50.

11:30am-1:30pm. 4146 18th St. at Castro.

After-party outdoor T-dance behind Castro Theatre (429 Castro St.) hosted by Cliff’s Variety Store. 2pm-6pm. www.aef-sf.org/rememberwhen

Sacramento Pride @ Capitol Mall LGBT Pride event with a parade (10am) and festival in the mall til 6pm. Miss Coco Peru, Luciana, Tom Goss, Raquela and Xavier Toscano perform. www.SacramentoPride.org

Sail & Winetasting @ Freda B Schooner Betty’s List hosts this LGBT event; sail around the Bay while enjoying excellent wines. $65.

3pm-5:30pm. Optional drinks and dinner before and afterward. Hyde Street Harbor.

503-1375. www.bettyslist.com

SF International Arts Festival @ Various Venues

Butoh master and multimedia artists collaborate on Suicide Barrier: Secure in Our Illusion, which compares natural insect and animal behavior to modern human urban activities and decay. $15-$18. 8pm. Also June 4, 8pm. June 5, 7pm. 3153 17th St. www.odctheater.org

Wars come and go, but gays have always served. John Fisher’s new play about 19thcentury gay general Hector McDonald, and contemporary Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policies, explores the subject from historical and contemporary angles. $15-$30. Thu-Sat 8pm.

Sun 3pm. Thru June 19. 1695 18th St. (800) 838-3006. www.therhino.org

Enjoy neat visuals at the opening of an exhibit of artist Noel’s bear-centric graphic art.

8pm. Panel discussion June 7, 6:30pm. Exhibit thru June. 4122 18th St. www.bearmusement.com www.magnetsf.org

The popular alternative city parody musical revue returns, with jokes on and about San Francisco’s illustrious history. $35. Saturdays 8pm, Sundays 3pm. Thru June 5. Pier 39, Beach St. at Embarcadero. (800) 838-3006. www.sffollies.com

Acclaimed musical quintet performs A Chinese Home and Ghost Opera; with projections. $20$25. 8pm. Also June 4. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. www.ybca.org

Fighting Mac! @ Thick House

Bearmusement @ Magnet

SF Follies @ Theatre 39

Kronos Quartet, Wu Man @ YBCA Forum

Sat 4

Fri 3

Fri 3 Anne Bluthenthal & Dancers @ CounterPulse Modern Dance meets Little Monsters when the company performs Goin’ Gaga: Musings on Street Queer and Bad Romancing by a Post Modern Romantic Middle-aged Jewish Lesbian Mother and her Spiritually Transgendered Dance Daughters, set to the music of Lady Gaga, plus other works. $15-$20. 8pm. Also June 4. June at 6pm. 1310 Mission St. at 9th. (800) 838-3006. www.abdproductions.org www.counterpulse.org

Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club Fugazi Musical comedy revue, now in its 35th year, with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. $25$130. Wed, Thu, Fri at 8pm. Sat 6:30, 9:30pm.

Sun 2pm, 5pm. (Beer/wine served; cash only).

678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.).

421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Care of Trees @ Ashby Stage, Berkeley Shotgun Players’ production of E. Hunter Spreen’s drama about two people whose lives become connected via an ancient oak tree, and how the environment and a mysterious ailment alter their lives. $17-$26. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm (Wed 7pm from June 1). Thru June 26. 1901 Ashby Ave. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Castro Cabaret @ Gingerfruit Restaurant Fundraiser show for the SF Center for the Performing Arts, with Bryan Safi (writer, Ellen DeGeneres Show ) as MC, and performances

by Alotta Boutté, Damien Masterson, Cami Thompson, Russ Lorenson, Patrick Landeza and comic Marga Gomez. $40. 6pm-12am.

2029 Market St. www.GoSFCPA.org

SF Hiking Club @ San Geronimo Ridge GLBT outdoors group takes a 10-mile hike through Marin County’s forests and trails. Carpools meet at the Safeway sign, Market St. at Dolores, 9am. 279-5570. www.sfhiking.com

Seeing Gertrude Stein @ Contemp. Jewish Museum Exhibit of personal artwork, collected work and archival materials showing how the lesbian poet’s life, mostly in Paris, changed over the decades before and after WWII. Free-$10.

Thru Sept. 6. 11am-5pm daily (closed Wed), Thu 1pm-8pm. 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

Sleepaway Camp @ Bridge Theatre Peaches Christ hosts a screening of the campy horror flick, with a live drag stage show. $13.$15. 12am. 3010 Geary Blvd. www.peacheschrist.com

Sonoma Pride Party @ Aubergine, Sebastopol LGBT Pride event for Sonoma County residents and friends; Lori Z spins funk, house and Pride anthems. $10. 9pm-1am. 755 Petaluma Ave. (707) 861-9190.

The Steins Collect @ SF MOMA Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian AvanteGarde, an exhibit of pivotal artworks originally collected by lesbian poet Gertrude Stein and her family. 4th floor galleries. Free (members)-$25. Thru Sept. 6. Also, Eadweard Muybridge, exhibit and the first-ever retrospective examining all aspects of artist Eadweard Muybridge’s pioneering photography; thru June 7. 11am-5:45pm daily. Closed Wed.; open til 8:45pm Thu. 357-4000. www.sfmoma.org

[title of show] @ Mountain View Center for the Arts Hunter Bell and Jeff Bowen’s hilarious musical within a musical about the making of a Broadway hit, which, by the way, actually became a Broadway hit. $24-$42. Tue-Wed 7:30.

Thu-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Sun 7pm. Thru June 26. 500 Castro St., Mountain View. (650) 463-1960. www.theatreworks.org

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Read more online at www.ebar.com

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 29

Dr. Horace L. Griffin @ St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church Priest and author of Their Own Receive Them Not: African American Lesbians & Gays in Black Churches discusses homophobia in the church with Grace Cathedral’s Alan Jones. Free. 7pm. 2097 Turk St. www.saintcyprianssf.org

Geezer @ The Marsh Veteran clown and actor Geoff Hoyle’s witty solo show about his young life in England and his ruminations on aging. $25-$50. Wed & Thu, 8pm. Sat & Sun 5pm. Thru July 10. 1062 Valencia St. at 22nd. (800) 838-5750. www.themarsh.org

Pia Zadora @ The Rrazz Room

Sat 4 Cabaret Lunatique @ Pier 29 Teatro Zinzanni’s latest installament in the cabaret-circus celebrations of various communities in San Francisco this month features The Castro, represented by Cassandra Cass, Twilight Vixen Revue, SF Boylesque, Tom Orr, aerialists Ling Rui (photo above) and Oliver Pavick, and MC Donna Sachet. $25-$35. 11:15pm. Embarcadero at Battery. 438-2668. www.cabaretlunatique.org

Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter @ Marion E. Greene Theater, Oakland Julie Marie Myatt’s play about a female African American soldier who loses a leg in Iraq, and how she adjusts to returning home. $15. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 19. 531 19th St. at Telegraph. www.theatrefirst.com

Sun 5 >> Balenciaga and Spain @ de Young Museum Fashion exhibit focusing on the influence of Spain on the work of haute couture master Cristóbal Balenciaga. Thru July 4. $6-$17.

50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park. 750-3600. www.famsf.org

Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance @ Asian Art Museum Expansive exhibit of more than 100 historic art works in exhibits that showcase the practicality of the performing and visual arts in this beautiful culture. Special performances and interactive workshops throughout exhibit run.

Reg. admission: $7-$17. Reg. hours Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. Thu til 9pm. Thru Sept. 11. 200 Larkin St. www.asianart.org

Sunday’s a Drag @ Starlight Room Donna Sachet and Harry Denton host the fabulous weekly brunch and drag show. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 3958595. www.harrydenton.com

Mon 6 >> B.A.R. Retrospective @ Union Bank Rick Gerharter curated this new exhibit of images, video and ephemera from the four decades of the Bay Area Reporter’s history. Free.

Mon-Fri- 9am-5pm. Thru June. 400 California St., 1st floor. www.unionbank.com

Marga’s Funny Mondays @ The Marsh, Berkeley Marga Gomez, “the lesbian Lenny Bruce” (Robin Williams), brings her comic talents, and special guests to a weekly cabaret show. $10. 8pm. 2120 Allston Way. (800) 838-3006. www.margagomez.com www.themarsh.org

Eileen Fulton @ The Rrazz Room TV and stage star (As the World Turns, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Fantastiks ) sings and tells stories of her soap opera days. $30.

3pm. 2-drink min. 21+. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

All-Stars @ The Garage Jesse Bie’s Steamroller performs a gay-themed dance about Prop 8, and works by Zari Le’on, James Graham. $10-$20. 8pm. 975 Howard St. www.975howard.com

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

Sonoma County Pride @ Guerneville Lodge Music and talent show at the Guerneville Pride day; MC Pippi Lovestocking, Coyote Grace, The Battlin’ Bluebirds, Joshua Klipp, Sistas in th Pit and others. 11am-6pm. 15905 River Road. www.sonomacountypride.org

Fri 3 AXIS Dance @ Malonga Casquelourd Center, Oakland Attend an open rehearsal and silent auction fundraiser for the innovative dance company of differently-abled performers. $10. 7pm. 1428 Alice St. (510) 625-0110. www.axisdance.org

Q Comedy @ Martuni’s Host Nick Leonard, with Cookie Dough MCing, guest comics Morgan, Candy Churilla, Cassandra Gorgeous; Joe Wicht on piano afterwards. Proceeds benefit the SF Ducal Charity Fund. $5-$15. 8pm. 4 Valencia St. www.Qcomedy.com

Ten Percent @ Comcast 104 David Perry’s talk show about LGBT local issues. Mon-Fri 11:30am & 10:30pm, Sat & Sun 10:30pm. www.davidperry.com

Kenny Mencher @ ArtHaus Renovated Reputations, an exhibit of paintngs coordinated with his online flash fiction contest. The local painter’s faux-retro themes and style are unique yet reminiscent of an era gone by. Thru June 25. Tue-Fri 11am-6pm. Sat 12pm-5pm. 411 Brannan St. at 3rd. 977-0223. http://kenney-mencher.blogspot.com/

Mamma Mia! @ San Jose Performing Arts Center Touring production of the hit musical featuring the music of ABBA. $20-$69. Tue-Thu 7:30pm.

Fri-Sat 8pm. Sat 1pm. Sun 1pm & 6pm. Thru June 12. 255 Almaden Blvd. (408) 792-4111. www.sjtix.com

Kirk Read @ The Garage Acclaimed gay author and performer’s new solo show, about online falsehoods and real queer truths. $12-$25. 8pm. Also June 8, 14, 15.

975 Howard St. www.kirkread.com www.975howard.com

Authors of Teaching the Taboo: Courage and Imagination in the Classroom discuss their work with Jon Carroll. Proceeds benefit the Park Day School. $30. 7pm. 360 42nd St. (510) 653-0317.

Romare Bearden @ Museum of the African Diaspora From Process to Print: Graphic Works by Romare Bearden, one of the greatest 20thcentury collage artists; exhibit includes 85+ lithographs, prints and displays showing his process, and inspiration in capturing Black culture, jazz and urban and Southern scenes. $5-$10. Thru July 3. Wed-Sat 11am-6pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. 685 Mission St. at 3rd. 358-7252. www.moadsf.org

Thu 9 >> Dirty Diaries @ YBCA X-rated feminist porn screenings; straight, lesbian and other. $6-$8. 7:30pm. Also June 11. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

701 Mission St. www.ybca.org

Formerly Known As @ Center for Sex & Culture Kirk Read curates an evening of performance by male, female and trans sex workers, including Bambi Lake, Cassandra Gorgeous, Ben McCoy and George Biramisa. $10-$15. 8pm.

Also June 10. 1349 Mission St. at 9th. www.sexandculture.org Katya Smirnoff-Skyy hosts a night of cabaret musical delights. 7pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

Tue 7 >>

Tue 7

Rick and Bill Ayers @ Park Day School, Oakland

Katya Presents @ Martuni’s

Out of Necessity @ Mission Cultural Center Poets Regie Cabico, Najva Sol, Cheryl Clarke, Vanessa Huang, Achy Obejas and Suzanne del Mazo read their lesbian-themed works. $12$20. 5pm. 2868 Mission St. www.missionculturalcenter.org

Actress does her cabaret act. $40-$45. Thru June 12. 2-drink min. 21+. Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (800) 380-3095. www.TheRrazzRoom.com

Wed 8 >> David King @ Inclusion Gallery Exhibit of large collage work by the acclaimed local gay artist. Wed-Fri 2pm-8pm. Sat & Sun 12pm-6pm. Thru June 19. 627 Cortland St. 817-1493. www.DavidKingCollage.com www.InclusionGallery.com

LunaFest Screenings @ Sports Basement Fundraiser and screening of select films from the upcoming annual women’s film festival, with food, drinks, crafts and vendors (6pm), plus screening of selected upcoming films (7pm). $10. 610 Old Mason St. www.lunafest.org

Not a Genuine Black Man @ The Marsh, Berkeley Brian Copeland’s longrunning autobiographical solo show about racism in San Leandro. $20-$50. 7:30pm. Thru July 14.

(800) 838-3006. www.themarsh.org

Opus Q @ Julia Morgan Center, Berkeley Gay chorus performs a variety of songs, from pop to traditional music by Gershwin, Copeland, Pink, Coldplay and others. $5. 6pm & 8pm. Also June 12. 2640 College Ave. (888) 579-9729. www.opus-q.org

Our Vast Queer Past @ GLBT History Museum New exhibit from the GLBT Historical Society, with a wide array of rare historic items on display. Free for members-$5. Wed-Sat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. 4127 18th St. www.glbthistory.org

William F. Simpson, Mitchel Obremski @ Robert Tat Gallery Vintage photos from the 1920-40s by two lesser-known yet accomplished photographers. Tue-Sat 11am-5:30pm. Thru August 27.

49 Geary St., Suite 410. 781-1122. www.roberttat.com

Wish We Were Here @ New Conservatory Theatre Center Michael Phillis’ one-man -and one-genieshow (with Sara Moore) about a man who finds a genie in his hookah; hilarity ensues. $20-$32. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru June 25. 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 www.bartabsf.com

30 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

<< Leather+

▼ Psychology of leather, part 2

by Scott Brogan

T

he following is the conclusion of my interview with David Ortmann, a San Francisco-based psychotherapist, sex therapist, and author. His areas of clinical focus and study include the sexuality of the BDSM, Kink, Fetish, and Leather communities, and more.

Thank you, David, for taking the time to share your expertise!

Scott Brogan: Aside from the Daddy/boy and Master/slave dynamic, open relationships seem more prevalent in the leather community than in the greater gay community. Is this because the leather community is generally more promiscuous? Is it the leather/fetish dynamic?

David Ortmann: Well, not all Daddy/boy and Master/slave relationships are open, and I don’t think queer or kink communities are more promiscuous in general, but we have the liberty to say how and when we have sex, a freedom that, oddly, came out of social oppression.

There are evolutionary, socioeconomic, and religious reasons for monogamy, but it’s a relatively new concept, born of a need to keep agrarian, heterosexual families together. Later, this became about land ownership and finance.

Monogamy has more to do with capitalism and law than about love and romance. Families stayed together because they had to, and monogamy fit that reality. That isn’t the socio-economic case today.

I’m not criticizing monogamy.

It’s one way to form a relationship. I will criticize judging other models as substandard. What a sadly limited way of viewing human relations! The idea of people having sex with, even loving, people other than a primary partner is strangely inconceivable in America. Remember when Mo’Nique disclosed her open relationship with her husband,

Scott Brogan

San Francisco author and sex therapist David Ortmann.

Sidney? Sometimes it takes a public figure to fracture a social taboo. Marlene Dietrich wearing men’s suits (a practice common for women in Weimar Republic Germany) upon her arrival in Hollywood in 1930 was a scandal! Naturally, Dietrich wore them anyway, had an open marriage, a child, and was openly bisexual. In 1930! This isn’t new, but we still gorge on sensationalism in America. Would you rather read about Mo’Nique and Sidney making breakfast together, or would you rather read about Jude Law diddling the nanny?

If people were encouraged to honor their desires, we’d see a lot less failed “monogamous” relationships and hear far less about “cheating.” Maybe your relationship is exclusive, open, or in transition. Maybe you’re having sex three-to-four times a week, or

maybe playing chess is more fun right now. It’s only for the people in that relationship to decide. Not me, not you, and not society.

Are Americans too puritanical about sex compared to other societies? Is this a reason for the negativity and shame attached to sexual acts? Are we preoccupied with worrying about who’s doing what to whom?

I love America because, in theory, we have the freedom to choose who and what we want to be. In practice, we have a lot of work to do, because we rarely live up to those ideals. America is young compared to European cultures. We’re in our adolescence, and adolescents act out. It’s part of being young. Unfortunately, religion and morality play an inappropriate role in civil liberties in the United States, and sex is one of that particular hydra’s most popular targets. We’ve still got a lot of growing up to do.

See page 31 >>

Coming up in leather and kink Thu., Apr. 7: Underwear Night at the Powerhouse (1347 Folsom), 10 p.m. Wet undie contest and drink specials. Go to www.powerhouse-sf.com.

Thu., Apr. 7: Edges Wet Munch at Renegades Bar (501 W. Taylor St., San Jose). 7 p.m. Happy hour for sex positive and alternative communities: 4-7 p.m.

Go to: www.edges.biz or www.renegadesbar.com for details.

Thu., Apr. 7: Locker Room Thursdays at Kok Bar SF (1225 Folsom). 9 p.m.-close. Jockstraps, gym towels, sports gear, wrestling singles, etc. Free clothes check. Hotwire on deck. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com.

Thu., Apr. 7: Mystique Female Dominant Party at the SF Citadel (1277 Mission). For dominant women and whose who wish to serve them (male & female).

House slaves provide service all evening. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org.

Fri., Apr. 8: Renegade Weekend featuring the Renegade Contest tonight at the Cat Club (1190 Folsom). Meet & Greet, 9 p.m., followed by the contest at 10 p.m. Go to: www.therenegadecity.com.

Fri., Apr. 8: Ruff House Dance Party in conjunction with The Renegade Weekend at Club NV (525 Howard). 10 p.m.-5 a.m. Featuring DJ Craig Gaibler vs. DJ Christopher B; and DJ Joseph Lee vs. DJ Noah Bud. Go to: www.therenegadecity. com.

Sat., Apr. 9: Lady Thorn’s Community Exchange, aka SM Flea at the SF Citadel. 1 p.m. $5. Go to: www. sfcitadel.org or www.smflea.com.

Sat., Apr. 9: Shake It for Japan hosted by Daddy Tony Koester and Kelly Rivera Hart at the Powerhouse. Shake it and win $100 while raising money for disaster relief in Japan. 9 p.m.Midnight. Entertainment by Lexi Girard, and some

sexy surprises. If you can’t attend, donate at: www. rainbowfund.org.

Sun., Apr. 10: Beer Bust Sundays at Kok Bar SF. All you can drink Bud Light or Rolling Rock drafts. 5-9 p.m. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com.

Sun., Apr. 10: SF Men’s Spanking Party at the Power Exchange (220 Jones St). This is a male-only event. You must be 18+ with valid ID. 1-6 p.m. Go to: www.voy.com/201188/.

Sun., Apr. 10: Castrobear presents Sunday Furry Sunday at 440 Castro. 4 - 10 p.m. Go to: www. castrobear.com.

Sun., Apr. 10: PoHo Sundays at the Powerhouse.

DJ Keith, Dollar Drafts all day. Go to: www. powerhouse-sf.com.

Mon., Apr. 11: Trivia Night with host Casey Ley at Truck. 8-10 p.m. Featuring amazing prizes and ridiculous questions. Go to: www.trucksf.com.

Mon., Apr. 11: Happy Hour After Gym at Kok Bar SF. Mondays are all-day happy hour; Tue.-Thurs., 6-9 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 4-9 p.m. $2.75 on all beer & well drinks. Go to: www.kokbarsf.com.

Tue., Apr. 12: 12-Step Kink Recovery Group at the SF Citadel. 6:30-8 p.m. Go to: www.sfcitadel.org.

Tue., Apr. 12: Ink & Metal followed by Nasty at the Powerhouse. 9 p.m. Go to: www.powerhouse-sf.com.

Wed., Apr. 13: Golden Shower Buddies at Blow Buddies. Yellow is the color of the night. This is a male-only club. Doors open 8 p.m.-12 a.m. Play till late. Go to: www.blowbuddies.com.

Wed., Apr. 13: SoMa Men’s Club. Every Wed., the SoMa Clubs (Powerhouse, Truck, Lone Star, Hole in the Wall, the Eagle, Kok Bar SF) have specials for those who wear the Men’s Club dogtags.

▼

DVD >>

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31

Rebel with a cause

by Ernie Alderete

R

ebel is an excellent title for this BelAmi DVD from the Czech Republic. The rebel, Paul Valery, not to be confused with the worldfamous poet of the same name, is rather arrogant and petulant with the cameraman and his off-camera interviewer.

He’s a variation on a theme, not the typical blue-eyed East European BelAmi specializes in. He’s a 19- or 20-year-old, brown-eyed, tan, exotic twink, maybe Czech by birth, but an expat, perhaps of Middle Eastern or North African background.

Although he says he’s a rapper, he point-blank refuses to rap even a single line. No amount of pleading can budge him. At first it seems as if he’s going to be completely noncooperative, but he soon warms up, his clothes peel off, his smile broadens, he mugs for the camera, he agrees he’s not Mr. Universe material, but good-naturedly shows off his puny muscles in several endearing poses.

The second scene is quite an engaging fantasy. Once again an off-camera voice questions him, this time about how many phone calls he gets a day. We see his derelict touchtone phone caked in mud sitting before him on an old steamer trunk that serves as his office desk.

When asked when he expects his next call, he picks up a broken old wall clock off the floor, glances at the long-frozen hands, and says just about now! He pulls off all this nonsense with exquisite charm, and keeps the storyline moving forward.

Of course the dialogue is in Czech, but the English subtitles are quite good. Soon his Germanic-looking, ultra-platinum blond, blueeyed, skinhead business partner

arrives. They are all smirks and giggles, normally a deal-breaker in porn, but in this case absolutely appropriate, and in no way an interference in our enjoyment of their slam-bam, thank-you-ma’am sexual encounter.

Both guys are virtually hairless.

The rebel’s darker bush is a little bit more evident, his partner’s pale bush virtually invisible. Each dude deep-throats the other’s thick, solid prick with gusto. I like the

way Germanic dude’s handsome face blushes beet red when he sucks Rebel’s dark pole. If you like mainstream actor James Franco, you should like the Rebel. Not quite his mirror image, you couldn’t mistake one for the other, but similar in a generic sense.

Rebel is refreshing and arousing.

It’s a welcome change of pace from standard-formula Stateside porn.▼

is. Borrow someone’s pail. Share a shovel. Go ahead. See what happens.

Enjoy!” It’s easy to become über internally focused and engage in a lot of in-fighting and backbiting. I challenge us to find more effective uses for that energy. Oppressed minorities turning against ourselves is nothing new: we’ve seen it in the Civil Rights Movement, the Feminist Movement, and Gay Liberation.

There’s a huge network of people out there, across America, not to mention the world, they may not wear leather or neoprene every day, or be privileged enough to attend Folsom every year, but they are there. They’re our brothers and

sisters. They’re family. This is much bigger than San Francisco. We’re everywhere.

I was at a wedding in the deep South a few years ago. My boyfriend and I chose to slow dance together at the reception, and no one even raised an eyebrow. Later the bride and groom quietly took me upstairs and showed me their big, solid, four-poster bed. “This is where he ties me up,” the bride glowed.

“It’s really sturdy,” the groom said, blushing just enough to make it real.

We really are everywhere.▼

www.belamionline.com

Tickling ivories

by David Lamble

T

he fate of a feckless family of Balkan refugees striving to be good burgers in Angela Merkel’s Germany is amusingly spoofed in Sasha, Dennis Todorovic’s slapdash comedy that alternates laughs for the swells and the groundlings. The most precious creation is young Dustin Hoffman look-alike Sascha Kekez, who pulls off an unconscious homage to his Hollywood soulmate in his portrayal of a fidgety piano student who’s caught between his bumpkin family’s pratfalls, his mother-fueled concert ambitions and his ferocious crush on his German piano teacher. Features: Widescreen, in German with English subtitles; original theatrical trailer (Strand Releasing, $24.99)▼

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Leather + From page 30

Based on your experience, how do you see our community evolving?

I love the expansion! I mean, who heard terms like Gear Play and Puppy Play 10 years ago? Now, people are barking in singlets. It’s great! But with expansion comes the inevitable territory-staking.

“This is mine!” There’s a lot of talk about “spaces.” Male spaces, female spaces, gear spaces, leather spaces, sober spaces, animalfriendly spaces, scent-free spaces, oy! Sometimes I just want to yell, “Relax, people! Stop acting like the sandbox isn’t big enough. It

Information about Ortmann’s work and practice are available at www.DoPsychotherapy.com.

<< Theatre

32 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 2-8, 2011

<<

Tales of the City From page 21

don’t want to be like everybody else.

I think straight people need to get their shit together and realize how much we bring to the table.”

Maupin’s newspaper columns evolved into a series of novels, and Whitty is using Tales of the City and More Tales of the City for his libretto.

“We do stick with what works in musical theater,” Whitty said of the structure of the piece. “But at the same time, what makes Tales different is the multi-storyline, and I didn’t even know for five years until the first preview if that would work.”

Though the Tales of the City series is often cast in gay terms, the lead character, Mary Ann Singleton (Betsy Wolfe), is a young straight woman just arrived in San Francisco with the intention of reinventing her life. Her quest is accelerated when she rents an apartment on Barbary Lane, modeled on Macondray Lane, where landlady Mrs. Madrigal (Judy Kaye) is a mysterious but motherly type who believes in the affirmative properties of pot, and whose tenants notably include Michael “Mouse” Tolliver (Wesley Taylor), who is exploring his gay sexuality with gleeful abandon. There are more interweaving subplots and characters too numerous to mention here.

The first preview came in at three hours and 20 minutes, and Whitty expected the show to be running at two hours and 55 minutes by opening night. “For me, it’s a blessing to have to cut the show down,” Whitty said, “because the goal is always to stay one step ahead of the audience.”

Since he was the prime instigator of the project, Whitty was in the position to choose his collaborators.

For director, he asked Jason Moore, with whom he so successfully collaborated on Avenue Q. For the songs, he strayed from Broadway veterans to ask flamboyantly out Jake Shears, songwriter and lead singer for the Scissor Sisters, to write the score, and Shears in turn brought in bandmate John Garden.

“One of the incredible things about working with Jake and John is that the Scissor Sisters are such chameleons,” Whitty said. “If you listen to their albums, very often their songs will sound like they were written in the 70s, but it’s still entirely fresh. These guys get under the hoods of the characters, and the fact that they’re not from the musical theater has given them a certain degree of risk-taking that I’m not even sure they’re aware of.”

When Whitty roughed out his script, he indicated places where he thought a song would be appropriate, but he also worked backwards from the songwriters’ passions.

“They wrote a song called ‘Paper Faces’ for the end of the show, and it’s a scorcher. For me it was about building backwards from the top of Act II to give Mary Ann justification to sing it. And Jake said he really wanted to write a song for the A-list gays in the book, and he turned it into ‘Homosexual Convalescent Center,’ which is this huge burst of energy in the middle of Act I.” While the high-profile producers

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▼

Queer History From page 25

on “immoral” behavior, especially promiscuous, anonymous sex. Gay assimilationists countered that validating same-sex relationships would reduce promiscuity and the disease’s transmission. Many in the LGBT community were uncomfortable with that response, but agreed that basic legal protections were necessary.

Bronski masterfully recounts the two fundamental, often conflicting

Kevin Berne

The newly out gay Michael Tolliver (Wesley Taylor) and SF newcomer Mary Ann Singleton (Betsy Wolfe) form a bond on Barbary Lane in Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City.

Kevin Berne

Jeff Whitty, who won a Tony Award for his book for Avenue Q, is the prime instigator for turning Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City into a musical.

of Rent and Avenue Q were associated with the project when it had a workshop at the O’Neill Theatre Center in 2009, according to Whitty, they amicably parted ways shortly thereafter. The entire $2.5 million budget – high for ACT, a pittance on Broadway – was raised locally by donors as opposed to investors.

“It was a mutual agreement to let us develop the show without commercial pressure,” Whitty said.

“Within 48 hours of them stepping off the project, [ACT Artistic Director] Carey Perloff had snapped us up. We wanted the show to be homegrown, and it’s better for it.”

The future of Tales of the City after its summer run at ACT is uncertain.

“It would break my heart if this was the only shot it got,” he said, “but that doesn’t mean it has to head straight to Broadway. I just want it

to have a life. People always look at me like, ‘Oh, you’re holding out on us’ when I say that about the show’s future.”

In fact, after Tales is up and running, Whitty soon heads into production for a new musical based on the cheerleading movie Bring It On. It begins a tour in Los Angeles in November, and will play SF in December without a Broadway stop on the itinerary.

There was time for a final question before Whitty had to head back into rehearsals: Have you been sleeping well? “Not for the past few weeks, but that’s what July and August are for.”▼

philosophies and strategies that have resulted in the modern LGBT civil rights movement.

One, based on an anarchistic belief in limited government that rejects the bourgeois capitalist social model, identifies with other marginalized groups. The second is assimilationist, concentrating on legal protections because same-sex relationships are fundamentally no different from opposite-sex ones.

The latter is behind the increasing legalization of gay and lesbian marriages.

Bronski’s biases are antibourgeois, but his approach is balanced. His command of the issues is exceptional. Sources are fully noted. His bibliography is encyclopedic. An occasional copyediting error (like the date of the California Gold Rush) and an incomplete index are minor faults in an otherwise monumental achievement, a brief book that anyone interested in how we have arrived at this critical juncture in history should read. ▼

Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City will run through July 10 (with a possible holdover) at ACT. Tickets are $50-$133. Call 749-2288 or go to www.act-sf.org.

▼

Read more online at www.ebar.com

June 2-8, 2011 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 33

Music >>

Gay variety pack

by Gregg Shapiro

D

ragapella superstars The Kinsey Sicks provide 3D glasses with their latest album, Each Hit & I (kinseysicks.com). Slip them on to find hidden messages in the album artwork. You don’t need 3D glasses to listen to the humorous and often politically motivated messages in the disc’s 20 tracks. Of course, when you open a CD with “Wake the F@#k Up, America,” you definitely set a tone, which continues on “Decaf ” (a hilarious parody of “Rehab”), “Obama Self ” (based on “All By Myself ”), the Michael Jackson tribute “Dead,” “Gonorrhea” (from “Mamma Mia,” so to speak) and “I Kissed a Gull.”

Armed with a new drummer, Sick of Sarah is back with their new fulllength disc, 2205 (Adamant). The all-female quintet is well-equipped to rock, as on “Kick Back,” but they’re also perfectly comfortable slowing down the pace, as they do on “Simple Parts.”

Like Sick of Sarah, Dark Dark Dark also hails from Minneapolis, but that’s where any similarities begin and end. An organic chamber-folk/ pop group, Dark Dark Dark boasts three out queer members, including lead vocalists Nona Marie Invie and Marshall LaCount. Wild Go (Supply

and Demand), their latest album, is a marvel of musicianship and distinctive songcraft. The wildest Dark Dark Dark gets, and that’s not saying much, is on “In Your Dreams” and “Right Path.” But listen to them for the wondrous title track’s waltz, the heavy-lidded stare of “Daydreaming,” the low-key celebration of “Celebrate,” the intimate “Something for Myself,” or the piano-and-strings sweep of “Say the Word.”

The members of the all-female hard rock band Lez Zeppelin are noncommittal about where they fall on the Kinsey Scale, but on the strength of their name alone they are included here. We certainly know where they stand when it comes to the legendary metal/blues outfit Led Zeppelin. On their first disc, they drew from the Zeppelin deck and played songs from various stages of their career. On Lez Zeppelin I (Pie), the women make the tribute official, playing all nine songs from Led Zeppelin’s 1969 debut. Let’s be honest, Robert Plant’s voice had female characteristics, so it makes sense that they’re a nice fit for Shannon Conley. Plus, by not changing the gender in the lyrics, they naturally up the queer factor.

One of the more experimental queer bands, Dearling Physique isn’t afraid to mix it up on Deadeye

Dealer (dearlingphysique.com).

The album opener weaves spoken word and synthesized beats into the song’s rock-oriented framework.

That kind of artistic blending remains true throughout, on songs like “Hooks for Safety” and “Discipline Your Hands.”

Variations on the San Francisco sound can be heard on discs by True Margrit and The Bobbleheads. The baker’s dozen cuts on The Juggler’s Progress (Bobo Tunes), written by Margrit Eichler, are clever, catchy pop tunes that inspire toe-tapping and head-bobbing. Eichler, who works the piano keys over like a queer Ben Folds, and fellow bandmates have created an irresistible collection of

Books >>

Trans-formations

by Jim Piechota Nina Here Nor There by Nick Krieger; Beacon Press, $15

N

ew York native turned San Franciscan Nick Krieger offers an edifying, passionate memoir detailing his gender odyssey from female to male, surrounded by close friends, family, and a life rich with newfound possibility.

His journey in Nina Here Nor There begins as “Nina” Krieger, a biological female comfortably ensconced in a lively circle of athletic lesbian friends and upper-crust “A gays.” She’s given up playing soccer to write website content and reflect on her many

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nomadic travels “backpacking in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, bicycling from Canada to Mexico.” In other friendly circles, Krieger notices the increasing frequency of parties thrown as fundraisers for femaleto-male transgender “top-surgery” for “genderqueer” acquaintances who had embarked on their own life-altering transformations. Soon enough, Nina begins to question her own contentment with a female physical body, becoming at odds with issues of gender, and realizing that her large, 36-C breasts simply aren’t in sync with the masculine persona she has always strived for.

Krieger intricately unfolds the private machinations of becoming

tunes, with highlights including “Casseroles and Thunderstorms,” “500 Years” and “Lucy.” On their new five-song EP M Class (PopPop), John Ashfield’s trio the Bobbleheads open with the darkly humorous “Rose, I’m Sorry,” before launching into the early-Beatles pop of the title tune. On “Are You Coming Now?” the Bobbleheads sound as though they are looking in new and exciting directions.

As giddy and exuberant as its 2008 predecessor Ice Cream Spiritual!, Do Whatever You Want All The Time (We Are Free) by Ponytail is the feelgood record of the season, even if you have no idea what out vocalist Molly Siegel is saying. Siegel hoots

and hollers, wails and whoops, oohs and aahs her way through the seven songs on DWYWATT, including the rubbery “Easy Peasy,” the squeaky “Flabbermouse,” and the wiggly “Tush.” It’s the musical equivalent of a ponytail bouncing and swaying before your eyes. Whip my hair, indeed!

Led by two lesbians, inclusive seven-member band Dangerous Ponies makes its full-length album debut with a 13-track disc on Punk Rock Payroll. With a reputation for captivating live shows, Dangerous Ponies have saddled that energy on songs such as “I Only Wear My Favourite Clothes at Home,” “I’ve Been Going About This Wrong” and the retro pop of “Ghosts.”▼

ma masculine in appearance by we wearing a “tritop” binding un undergarment to flatten bre breast tissue, donning a pliable, “pack-n-play” ph phallus to mimic the ma male crotch bulge, taking tri trips to Good Vibrations for strap-on dildos, and sh showing the nerve-wracking th thought process and valiant co courage necessary to have to top-surgery performed.

Gi Girlfriend Ramona eagerly an and patiently educates the in initially insecure, fumbling, 29 29-year-old Krieger on “b “boyfriend skills” and the in ins-and-outs of harnesseddi dildo fucking. But, Krieger w writes, “I wished sex seemed ap appealing; I felt like I was go going spelunking with a le lead pipe attached to my cr crotch.” While these scenes

won’t provide any new information for readers already embarking on their own gender reassessments, the uninitiated and the curious will find these pages brimming with an enlightening, first-person experience that is both intriguing and educating.

The dialogue and free-flowing nature of the first sections of the book belie more heart-rending truths about Krieger’s odyssey found in later portions. A visit from the author’s mother and father is bittersweet and poignant, providing insight into the inherent struggle transgendered people encounter when addressing such sensitive subject matter with loving (or disillusioned) parents.

What emerges is a powerful and moving portrait of one man’s quest for happiness in finding the truest sense of himself. Krieger has produced an intimate memoir about how vital physical changes can beautify every aspect of life, inside and out.▼

Bob Smith From page 21

Bob Smith: About six years ago, my brother Jim gave me a photo of myself he’d taken in 1986. I’d never seen it before and was shocked at how handsome I was, since I always thought of myself as my high school graduation picture: a geek with big eyeglasses.

I joked to friends that I needed a time machine to go back and give me the heads up. That picture was my Proustian Madeleine, and I found the idea off a gay time travel storyy funny, creepy and novel,, since you could be sexuallyy attracted to yourself.

The novel combines all the strongest juice from your memoirs, your stand-up, and your first novel. What is the balancing act between fiction and your own autobiography in this work?

I’ve always thought of my standup act as a fictional autobiography, and I’ve started to see that my novels are autobiographical fictions. Selfish

“‘Remembrance’ is a comic novel with a sci-fi launching point.”

– author Bob Smith

and Perverse is a novel, but I did have a romantic and exciting fling with a hot gay salmon fisherman in Alaska. In Remembrance, everything about Carol’s suicide is true, and the mother is based upon my mother, and most of the opinions are mine, although I’m not quite

th the opinionated New Yorker m my main character is, and I’ve ne never lost my hair.

Right now, I’m working on a novel set in Ancient Greece, an and you’d think that world w would be completely alien, bu but during my research I read X Xenophon’s Symposium, and it opens with a comedian who o offers to entertain at a dinner pa party in exchange for a free meal. He bombs, and I immediately knew I could write about that culture. I’ve told jokes in exchange for free vacations, so I could identify.

The novel is set in the Ancient Greek theater world, and in 2,500 years that subculture hasn’t changed as much as you’d think.

The time travel concept allows you to go to amazing places.

I’ve always liked time travel stories, so I wrote a short story where a gay guy goes back in time and meets his younger self. In the intervening years he’s built himself into a hunk, and his younger self is attracted. Friends of mine read it and suggested it should be a novel.

At first, I didn’t see it, then it hit me.

There’s a convention in time travel stories that if you change the past you might alter the future, but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that everyone would want to change their pasts.

Remembrance is a comic novel with a sci-fi launching point. Once the main character is in the past, I

made every effort to have the novel play out realistically. What would you change about your past, and how would you go about doing it? That’s where I found the real comedy in the book.

The novel faces the hard times (AIDS, Reagan-Bush-Bush) we have been traveling through head-on. How has dealing with ALS these last years informed this novel?

Well, the last five years have been some of the best and worst of times in my life. I became a donor to a lesbian couple and have two amazing children, and I was diagnosed with a terrifying disease.

While I was writing this novel, I thought about living through the Reagan era, when our president sat back and watched gay men die, and today, when the Republicans have broadened that policy to sit back and happily watch everyone die without health insurance.

I believe Bush and Cheney have become historical villains like Richard III, and it’s the duty of playwrights, novelists and historians to ensure their diabolical policies aren’t forgotten. I also thought the nauseating idea of having a Republican boyfriend was a great comic premise. ▼

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34 • Bay Area Reporter • June 2-8, 2011

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