The Georgia Voice - 7/04/14 Vol. 5, Issue 9

EDITORIAL

Editor: Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

IN THIS ISSUE OF GA VOICE

07.04.14

THE GEORGIA VOICE

PO Box 77401 | Atlanta, GA 30357 404-815-6941 | www.thegavoice.com

Deputy Editor: Patrick Saunders psaunders@thegavoice.com

NEWS 6-7 | LGBT people living with mental illness face double stigma 12 | National Gay Blood Drive comes to Atlanta 14 | Baton Bob sues APD, Supreme rule in favor of Hobby Lobby

Art Director: Rob Boeger rboeger@thegavoice.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Jim Farmer, Vandy Beth Glenn, Shannon Hames, Bill Kaelin, Ryan Lee, Steve Warren

BUSINESS

PETS

Publisher: Tim Boyd tboyd@thegavoice.com

Managing Partner: Christina Cash ccash@thegavoice.com Sales Manager: Marshall Graham mgraham@thegavoice.com Sales Executive: Anne Clarke aclarke@thegavoice.com

12 | NATIONAL GAY BLOOD DRIVE PROTESTS FDA'S LIFETIME BAN

Business Advisor: Lynn Pasqualetti Financial Firm of Record: HLM Financial Group

In loving memory of Mike Ritter, 1965-2014

OUTSPOKEN

A&E Publicity photo

National Advertising: Rivendell Media, 908-232-2021 sales@rivendellmedia.com

FRIENDS & FOES IN THEIR OWN WORDS

FINE PRINT

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“These arguments are not those of serious people.”

—U.S. District Court Judge John G. Heyburn dismissing Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s arguments that same-sex marriage was prohibited in the state to promote and support couples who have the “natural ability to procreate” in his ruling striking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban. (Associated Press, July 1)

“So you’re engaged.

Some woman has agreed to marry you?”

-Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak to a gay male contestant.

(The Concourse, June 26)

24 | Theater: ‘Rocky Horror Show’ fills audiences with antici … pation 25 | Food: Random restaurant thoughts and news 26-28 | Calendar 29 | Books: ‘For Today I Am a Boy’ explores self-acceptance

COLUMNISTS 30 | That’s What She Said: Melissa Carter remembers her brother’s best prank 31 | Outside the Box: Bill Kaelin on finding salvation through yoga and the dance floor

“I’m no expert on vaginas … but I know enough to know that you are not supposed to go in feet first.”

-Openly gay CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, reporting on an American man getting stuck in a giant vagina sculpture in Germany.

(CNN, June 24)

Screenshot via CNN

All material in the GA Voice is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the GA Voice. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. We also do not accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers.

Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the GA Voice, but we do not take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. Guidelines for freelance contributors are available upon request.

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Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Tim Boyd, tboyd@ thegavoice.com Postmaster: Send address changes to the GA Voice, PO Box 77401, Atlanta, GA 30357. The GA Voice is published every other Friday by The GA Voice, LLC. Individual subscriptions are $60 per year for 26 issues. Postage paid at Atlanta, GA, and additional mailing offices.

The editorial positions of the GA Voice are expressed in editorials and in editor’s notes. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the GA Voice and its staff.

To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words and commentary, for web or print, should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verification. Email submissions to editor@thegavoice.com or mail to the address above.

16-17 | Uncommon pets all over metro Atlanta area 18-19 | Pet portraits 20 | Pets by the numbers 21 | Pet vet Q&A 22 | Angels Among Us animal rescue volunteers work 24/7

• Having sex when partying (with drugs, including alcohol); • Using IV drugs; and/or • Having sex in exchange for money, drugs or a place to stay.

Find a health care provider with whom you can talk frankly about your habits and come to a PrEP decision together.

Knowing your status Whether or not you are considering PrEP, you should know your HIV status. Pride Medical provides free anonymous HIV testing.

Call to schedule an appointment.

PrEP can reduce your risk of contracting HIV

Recently, the HIV drug Truvada was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for once-a-day dosing for HIV-negative males to help prevent them from becoming HIV-positive. This preventive approach is known as PrEP: Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis.

Truvada also has previously been approved and prescribed not only for treatment of HIV, but also for Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).

That is, for someone who has had sexual contact with an HIV-positive person. Truvada continues to be used in HIV-treatment regimens, as well as for PEP.

Who takes PrEP? You are a candidate for PrEP if you are HIV-negative. Once your provider verifies that you are HIV-negative, they may consider you for PrEP if these conditions apply to you: • Repeatedly having unprotected sex; • Having sex with someone you know is HIV-positive, or whose HIV status is unknown;

Risk and benefits Like many pharmaceuticals, Truvada can cause kidney problems, as well as other complications. Your health care provider will monitor you for these issues should you opt for PrEP. Most people report some nausea at the beginning of this treatment. It usually goes away. Your health care provider can help address side effects.

Truvada has been shown to be extremely helpful in reducing the risk of getting HIV, but only in people who took it daily. You cannot miss a dose, so it is a commitment you must be ready to make.

Getting PrEP? PrEP is prescribed by a health care provider (physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant). Most insurance plans pay for PrEP, though some require pre-certification and your usual insurance responsibilities – such as copay – would apply.

Again, your health care provider will want to test you regularly for side effects, HIV and STDs. Bottom line PrEP is a treatment protocol that involves the prescription Truvada to help prevent HIV. It is not for everyone and is just part of an overall HIV-prevention strategy. PrEP requires HIV testing and monitoring for side effects. You need a prescription for PrEP, and most insurance plans are paying for it.

PrEP is available at Pride Medical, which also has an in-house pharmacy for your convenience.

Contact us at 404.355.3788.

PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) also is available at Pride.

Call for more information.

404.355.3788 | www.PrideMedical.com

David Morris, MD Medical Director, Family Practice, Certified HIV Specialist

PrEP is just one part of an overall HIV-prevention strategy. It only works against HIV – not other STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). So it is not a substitute for condoms or other safe-sex practices, and it must be taken every day.

Rodney Fox, PhD APRN, Nurse Practitioner, Certified HIV Specialist

PrEP is a serious decision you make with your health care provider.

Advertorial feature sponsored by Pride Medical, Inc.

GA VOICE

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07.04.14

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Coming out of the closet twice LGBT people living with mental illness face double stigma

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com

DETAILS In Our Own Voices A panel discussion on LGBT people and mental health July 27, 3 — 5 p.m.

The Rush Center, 1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307 www.nami.org/minoritymentalhealthmonth www.thehealthinitiative.org

J

uly is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, and in Atlanta, the Health Initiative is teaming up with the DeKalb County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness to bring awareness to LGBT people about resources available.

LGBT people with bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder or chronic depression not only face stigma not only because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, but also because of their mental illness.

“The double stigma of being GLBT and having a mental illness limits our access to resources and support. Not many can provide specialized care I think our community needs and this is a great disservice,” says Alisa Porter, marketing director of NAMI DeKalb.

“We’re not mentally ill because we are gay, but because various factors impact our lives,” she adds.

Arlene Noriega, a psychologist who has studied LGBT and mental health issues, is in private practice and works with adolescents and adults who identify as LGBT as well as gender nonconforming children, and also works with the Latino population.

She says sexual minorities are two and a half times more likely than non-LGBT people to have attempted suicide.

BUCK COOKE As executive director of Atlanta Pride, Buck Cooke has the responsibility of planning the city’s largest LGBT party every year. Sometimes, though, he has to plod through his days carrying a burden on his back.

Cooke was diagnosed with depression in 1996.

He was having extreme difficulty coming out to himself and his conservative South Carolina family, so he entered therapy.

Antidepressants helped in the beginning, but Cooke says he no longer has to take medications because he’s learned better coping skills. At one time he believed taking medication was a sign of failure.

“If someone has arthritis and they have an especially painful flare-up of their symptoms, they don’t look at themselves and think, ‘My joints really hurt today. I’m a failure.’ It’s the same thing with mental health,” he says.

Cooke finds ongoing talk therapy and lifting

The Health Initiative and NAMI DeKalb are joining forces to bring awareness to LGBT people about mental health with a panel discussion at the Rush Center on July 27.

“Studies show that the transgender population risk for suicide attempts is significantly high. Some studies have found that sexual minority women are at a higher risk for substance abuse disorders while sexual

minority men are at a higher risk for suicidal attempts,” Noriega says.

Chronic, persistent stress related to stigmatization and marginalization due to sexual orientation and gender identity is

“I am sure that someone is reading this right now thinking, ‘Buck Cooke is crazy!’

I’m not crazy; I have depression. I also have chronic sinusitis and suffer from allergies, but most people wouldn’t find that shocking to hear in the least.”

—Buck Cooke

weights helpful to stabilize his moods but also several other self-care ideas he’s found useful. These include: n Being kind to himself and understanding he will have good and bad days. n Making a conscious choice to listen to positive self-talk that gives him praise and affirms what he’s doing and how he’s doing. “Whether people want to admit it or not, we all have posi-

tive and negative self-talk and if you give more weight to the negative perceptions you have about yourself and you have depression, you’re not operating in a healthy way.” n Music. “From going to concerts to listening to music that I find really uplifting, it’s been an incredibly effective tool for me over the years,” he says. n Laughter is one of the best medicines, he

known as “minority stress,” she says.

When we don’t acknowledge this discrimination there is an increase in negative health and mental health consequences, she says. The discrimination can be overt, such as family rejection as adolescents, sexual and physical abuse, and hate crimes.

“However, the discrimination can also be subtle and these are known as microagressions, which LGBT individuals encounter in their everyday lives, such as someone using heterosexist or transphobic terms, such as fag, dyke or she-male, or when an LGBT person is told ‘not to act so gay,’” Noriega explains.

One of the best ways to help people get the help they need is to erase stigma, she says.

“We need to understand that the mental health issues seen in the LGBT population as a result of minority stress are normal ways of responding to abnormal environmental stressors when our coping is depleted,” she says. “We need to address people’s isolation and secrecy around mental health issues through public education.”

stresses. “Spending time with family with friends, watching old sitcoms and movies that always make me laugh—these are things that always help lighten my mood and remind me that there is good in the world and good in my life,” he says.

Cooke is unafraid to share his story and wants to help eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.

“I am sure that someone is reading this right now thinking, ‘Buck Cooke is crazy!’ I’m not crazy; I have depression. I also have chronic sinusitis and suffer from allergies, but most people wouldn’t find that shocking to hear in the least,” he says.

People are afraid to deal with their own thoughts, feelings and emotions, much less share them with someone else, Cooke says.

“My allergies are a health condition that has been normalized. I hope that one day, my depression is also [considered] a health condition that can be normalized.”

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JENNY HOWARD Denying her gender identity until she was 53 certainly played a role in Jenny Howard’s diagnoses of dysthymia (chronic depression) in 2004 and then major depressive order in 2011.

It was in 2004 when Howard says she hit the “Great Depression”—she and her second wife had been married 11 years, their daughter was four and she was a successful computer systems administrator for a Michigan university.

“My family relationships suffered, my work suffered, and after a couple of uncharacteristic bad performance reviews, I started therapy,” she says. “The depression diagnosis came almost right away. It was only a month or two later that I told my therapist about my cross-gender feelings. Though I’d been acting them out secretly for decades, I’d never talked to anyone about them before. It felt like it would be too frightening, because it was too weird,” Howard, now 63, says.

After finally confronting her feelings of not being a man, Howard says she came to understand she was “a textbook case of transsexualism.”

“And I learned that the only thing that had ever helped a transsexual to relieve the emotional pain was external transition to the internallysensed gender identity,” she says.

ALISA PORTER In 1996, Alisa Porter was in a high stress job and feeling depressed. Her primary care physician prescribed Prozac.

The popular drug worked well at first, but a couple of months later, Porter emotionally crashed, became suicidal and was hospitalized for two weeks.

Her diagnosis? Bipolar disorder.

She went on and fell in love with a woman and the two began a relationship. Porter said she was manic—the extreme high feeling people who have bipolar disorder feel—and she eventually “crashed” again. She was also diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, once known as multiple personality disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder.

Porter has 15 different personalities, she says, of all races, ages and sexual orientations.

It wasn’t until 2004 when she found a lesbian therapist who helped her through her and her partner’s breakup that she started seriously dealing with her mental illness.

In 2005, Porter gave birth to a girl thanks to artificial insemination. But caring for the infant, changing her diapers, potty training, all of the normal mothering duties, began to wear Porter down. She was projecting the sexual abuse she suffered as a child and young adult onto her daughter.

“I would see myself in her. I felt as though she was being abused. Something in me was being triggered that someone was hurting her,” Porter says.

“And I knew as she continued to develop over the years I would continue to be triggered by her.”

Caring for her daughter became increasingly difficult and in 2008 Porter took extreme measures to

07.04.14

“I learned that the only thing that had ever helped a transsexual to relieve the emotional pain was external transition to the internally-sensed gender identity”

In 2010, she found a computer job, moved to Atlanta and started dating another trans woman.

The couple broke up after three years.

Howard says her motivation plummets when she becomes depressed. She is filled with self-loathing and thoughts of suicide can become pervasive.

Therapy and medication help.

“I take my meds faithfully. I’ve tried the trick that so many of us do, telling myself I feel OK, so I don’t have to take them. That doesn’t end well within just a couple of days. So now I take them faithfully,” she says.

Self-care for Howard includes helping others.

“Trite but true, I try to reach out to other people who are troubled. Helping others really is part of self-care,” she says.

“The government used to sterilize mentally ill people because it didn’t believe they deserved or were capable of raising children. I plan to do something about that in my lifetime.”

—Alisa Porter

get her daughter the care she needed. She sent out a message on the MEGA Family Project listserv for gay parents seeking a family to care for her daughter for one year as she worked to get well.

“Six gay families reached out to me. I was overwhelmed with their generosity,” she says.

She interviewed the families and settled on a gay couple (“they were strangers”) to take care of her daughter. The little girl stayed with the family for more than a year while Porter visited when she could.

When Porter tried to bring her daughter back into her life, however, her illness again would not allow her to properly care for her child.

“In 2010 I was not getting any better. I tried to bring my daughter home but the thought put me in deeper crisis. My alter personalities began to act out and began to do dangerous things,” Porter says.

Her daughter was also hurting, acting out in school and at home with her foster family she was living with. Her therapist then gave her an ultimatum—it was time to put her daughter up for adoption.

“That was the most devastating conversation I ever participated in,” Porter says. “I love my daughter more than words can express. I chose to have

her and I felt I completely failed her. I really felt I betrayed her.”

Porter was fortunate to find an African-American lesbian couple interested in open adoption and wanting to add a young girl to their family. It was the perfect match under the circumstances, Porter says.

“I could not have chosen a better family or community for her to be raised in,” she says. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done but I did not want her to wait to have joy in her life.”

Now Porter is working to help other parents living with mental illness understand the options they have.

“Some people like myself can’t raise their children,” she says. But there is no information available about parenting with a mental illness. Removing a child from a family is traumatic for the parent and child and can be avoidable, Porter says, and not all children should be removed permanently from their parents’ care.

“The government used to sterilize mentally ill people because it didn’t believe they deserved or were capable of raising children. I plan to do something about that in my lifetime,” she says.

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“My world became very lonely.”

—Alejandro Lopez

—Jenny Howard

In 2005, Howard came out to her wife and other family members. Her wife demanded a divorce. Howard began her transition and by the end of 2005 had transitioned in her social environments. In 2006, she came out at work “and I’ve been living as Jenny ever since,” she says.

Howard spent 2008-2010 in seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, but that plan didn’t work out.

Howard still struggles with her gender identity.

“I’m quite clear that I’m not a man, and certainly where society enforces an either/or choice, I live as a woman. Still, I’m a little reluctant to claim the title ‘woman,’ though oddly, I’m quite comfortable with ‘female,’” she says.

Howard prefers to identify as queer—not more attracted to men or to women, but more attracted to LGBTQ people than straight, cisgender people.

GA VOICE

ALEJANDRO LOPEZ Alejandro Lopez, 48, was born to migrant farm workers in Laredo, Texas. He also worked on the farms until he graduated from high school and joined the U.S. Army.

In May, just two months ago, he was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. As a navigator for the Health Initiative assisting people sign up for the Affordable Care Act, Lopez says he has listened to many sad stories.

Their stories affected him and his mood, causing him to seek professional help. He learned that his suppressed memories of being kicked out of the Army after being investigated for being gay had built up and contributed to his post traumatic stress disorder.

It was in 1987 and 1988 when Lopez was being investigated by the military for being gay. A bitter ex-boyfriend, a civilian, called Lopez’s 1st Sergeant to tell him Lopez was a “faggot who had AIDS.” Lopez was demoted, forced to move back onto base in the barracks and was told to not interact much with his fellow soldiers.

“My world became very lonely,” he says.

One night Lopez went to a club, met some people, and was invited back to their place and offered an illegal drug. “I was so desperate to get rid of this pain I felt that I accepted the offer,” he says.

On the following Monday, his unit had to take a surprise drug test. Lopez failed and he was discharged under Article 13, conduct unbecoming of a soldier, under honorable conditions. The investigation into his sexual orientation was dropped.

“Working as an ACA Navigator and listening to so many sad stories for some reason heightened my memories of this part of my life and I could no longer shake the memories,” he says.

Lopez, who has been HIV-positive for 20 years, lost sleep, quit exercising and found himself unsure what to do. This year he began seeing an AID Atlanta psychotherapist at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and on May 17 was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

“The shame and embarrassment I had was so intense that it made it difficult at times to even hold a conversation. Therapy is making me feel a better sense of worth and helping me to get a grip on my thoughts. So I now find myself in a better place,” he says.

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National Gay Blood Drive comes to Atlanta Pressure mounts for FDA to get rid of lifetime ban on blood donation

BY PATRICK SAUNDERS psaunders@thegavoice.com The issue of the 31-year-old ban preventing gay and bisexual men from donating blood for life has gotten more and more attention in recent years, and activists hope to take it to another level with the National Gay Blood Drive, which hits the parking lot of TEN Atlanta on July 11.

Sixty cities throughout the U.S. will participate in the event, organized for a second year by Los Angeles-based filmmaker and activist Ryan James Yezak.

The event is different this year in that gay or bisexual men will bring an eligible ally along with them who will donate blood in their place.

The gay and bisexual men will write a message to the Food and Drug Administration while the eligible allies will get a name tag saying “I donated for” followed by the name of the gay or bisexual man whose place they took.

Pictures of each pair will be taken for sharing on social media, and they will also sign a White House petition requesting a change to the ban. If 100,000 signatures are received during the month of July, the Obama administration has to respond.

GAY BLOOD DRIVE EVENT SPRANG OUT OF ‘UNCOMFORTABLE, ALIENATING SITUATION’

The FDA’s official position on the matter is that they do not allow donations from any men who have had sex with men since 1977,

citing the increased risk for HIV, hepatitis B and other infections that can be transmitted through transfusion.

The idea for the National Gay Blood Drive came about when Yezak was asked by his boss at MTV, where he worked at the time, to donate blood with her.

“It created this uncomfortable, alienating situation, which I realized was based on discrimination based on my sexual orientation,” Yezak, who is gay, tells the GA Voice.

It set him on a quest to create a documentary on the subject called “Second Class Citizens,” a response to his inability to get anyone at the FDA to agree to an interview on the issue and instead referring him to the FDA’s website.

“I had questions and they wouldn’t answer them,” Yezak says. “I was looking for a way to change the ban and it’s so gridlocked under the FDA and HHS [Department of Health and Human Services]. I thought the best way to do that is to get as many voices as possible to weigh in on it.”

So the National Gay Blood Drive was born.

Last year’s event was successful, but after later meeting with the American Red Cross and members of Congress and organizing a blood drive with Viacom, they found they would exceed their goals by having a twopronged approach—raise awareness with the gay and bisexual men taking part, while employing eligible allies to give blood.

“That led us to this year and bringing someone to donate in our place,” Yezak says.

“Everybody wins.”

Gay Atlantan Ben Nicoara took part in

By the numbers 1976 the last year a man who

ONE YEAR

TEN

the location of the Atlanta event

the period of time that the AABB, has had sex with another man American Red Cross and America’s is eligible to donate Blood Centers recommends blood the policy be changed to between sexual contact for MSM and donation time the length of the blood U.S. cities participating donation ban for any man who in the National Gay Blood has had sex with another Drive on July 11 man since 1977

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LIFETIME

MORE INFORMATION National Gay Blood Drive July 11, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

TEN Atlanta 990 Piedmont Ave. Atlanta, GA 30309 www.gayblooddrive.com

against a significant number of people.

The FDA spokesperson refused to answer these questions, instead quoting from the FDA’s website and saying the policy will continue to be evaluated.

MAJOR ORGANIZATIONS BACK REMOVAL OF LIFETIME BAN

Los Angeles-based filmmaker and activist Ryan James Yezak (Photo via Facebook)

last year’s event and volunteered to become the Atlanta organizer for the 2014 version.

“The idea is to show the FDA how many people are willing to give blood because of this outdated ban,” Nicoara tells GA Voice. “It’s not like the blood goes straight from a tester to the person needing it. We were in the dark then but we clearly have the means now to make sure that blood donations are safe.”

FDA AVOIDS SPECIFICS ON POLICY CHANGE

The GA Voice ran into the same difficulties as Yezak in getting specific answers from the FDA on several questions, except to say that they are open to continuing to look at new data.

“The Agency welcomes scientific and public input and will continue to re-evaluate donor deferral policies as new data become available to ensure the safety of blood and blood products for patients who need these products,” FDA press officer Jennifer Rodriguez says.

Rodriguez also put the onus on a committee in the HHS saying, “FDA intends to follow the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability (ACBTSA) and conduct the studies necessary to fill the identified gaps in information.” The ACBTSA’s next meeting is this October.

The FDA states on their website that the current HIV risk is 1 per 2 million units of blood, and that that risk is “almost exclusively” from “window period” donations. The window period for an HIV antibody test is about three months, so the obvious questions became, “Why not exclude only those men who have sex with men [MSM] who have had sexual contact with another man in the last three months? Or six months to be safe? Or even a year?” This would appear to decrease the HIV risk to nearly zero while not discriminating

The spotlight on the issue has gotten bigger and bigger in the last few years due to the number of organizations who have come out against the ban. The American Association of Blood Banks, American Red Cross and America’s Blood Centers all support a one-year deferral from the time of sexual contact for gay and bisexual men.

And last June, momentum picked up when the American Medical Association announced that it opposes the lifetime ban, calling it “discriminatory and not based on sound science” as AMA Board of Trustees member William Kobler, M.D. stated at the time.

The AMA recommends evaluating donors according to the individual level of risk and not on sexual orientation alone. It was considered by many to be a significant moment in the movement because the AMA not only came out against the ban from a scientific point of view, but also took it a step further by publicly declaring the lifetime ban discriminates against gay and bisexual men.

The group behind the Gay Blood Drive has no formal stance on what exactly the policy should be changed to for MSM who donate blood, or how long the wait should be after sexual contact. But they know what they don’t want it to be.

“I don’t think it should be based on sexual orientation,” Yezak says. “I think there’s a way to change the ban based on sexual behavior, whether you have protected or unprotected sex, how many sexual partners, how long you have to wait after sexual contact.”

However, Yezak admits he thinks it will be a step-by-step process, with the FDA moving toward a year deferral before eventually taking sexual orientation out of the equation.

Nicoara, organizer of the Atlanta event, echoes Yezak in saying it shouldn’t be based on sexual orientation, but says he thinks there should be a 90-day wait after sexual contact in order to give blood.

“The truth is gay men are not the only ones that can become HIV positive,” Nicoara says. “The idea is to show people that it’s not a gay disease and that everyone can be affected by it so we should all be treated fairly when it comes to blood donation.”

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Baton Bob sues Atlanta Police Department Street character alleges constitutional rights violated after arrest

By DYANA BAGBY dbagby@thegavoice.com Atlanta gay street-performance character Baton Bob has filed a federal lawsuit against the Atlanta Police Department, alleging his constitutional rights were violated when he was arrested one year ago.

The lawsuit, filed June 26, includes the allegation that the APD coerced Baton Bob, whose legal name is Bob Jamerson, into making a Facebook post to his some 5,000 fans that the police treated him well after taking him into custody after he was arrested last June. Jamerson is suing the City of Atlanta, APD Chief George Turner, Zone 5 Commander H.J. Davis, Officer C.A. Andry and an unknown police officer. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Bob Jamerson, who is the street performer known as Baton Bob, is suing the city of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department alleging his constitutional rights were violated when he was arrested last year. (File photo by Dyana Bagby)

The city and APD do not comment on pending litigation, according to city of Atlanta spokesperson Carlos Campos.

Jamerson was arrested on June 26, 2013, at Colony Square in Midtown, hours after the historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court

striking down a major portion of the Defense of Marriage Act. He was charged with two counts of simple assault and one count of obstruction of a police officer.

According the lawsuit: “Atlanta Police authorities quickly realized that the media was beginning to cover the wrongful arrest. In the wake of the notorious raid on the Atlanta Eagle nightclub, numerous officials within the City of Atlanta and Atlanta Police Department became fearful of another lawsuit and public outrage from the L.G.B.T. community. In an attempt to save their public image police asked Plaintiff to make a public statement on the Baton Bob Facebook account. While Plaintiff sat with his hands bound behind his back, Plaintiff was demanded to give his login username and password to the Baton Bob Facebook account. Atlanta Police didn’t have a warrant, had not read Miranda, nor allowed Plaintiff an opportunity to consult with an attorney.

Plaintiff was promised a signature bond if he gave a favorable statement about the incident on his Facebook page.”

Criminal defense attorney Joshua Brownlee, who is straight, took on the case pro bono after reading about it in the media.

Gay activists decry Hobby Lobby Supreme Court ruling Georgia Equality worries ‘religious freedom’ bills strengthened by decision

By LISA KEEN Some LGBT legal activists say the June 30 decision in a U.S. Supreme Court religious exemption case amounts to a “dangerous and radical departure from existing law that creates far more questions than it answers.”

Saying it is not providing a “shield for employers who might cloak illegal discrimination as a religious practice,” a 5 to 4 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a federal law may not require a closely held commercial employer to provide health insurance coverage for contraception if that employer claims that to do so violates his or her personal religious beliefs.

The opinion in the Hobby Lobby case, written by Justice Samuel Alito, also states that the decision applies only to a federal mandate that employers provide coverage for contraception and does not necessarily apply to coverage for other medical services to which some employers might raise religious objections.

Leading the dissent, Justice Ruth Bader

Ginsburg called Alito’s opinion “startling.”

Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, called it a “dangerous and radical departure from existing law that creates far more questions than it answers.”

“Thankfully, however, the majority recognized that even under its sweeping new rule, corporations cannot rely on claims of religious liberty to evade nondiscrimination laws,” said Minter. “That limitation is extremely important and means that employers cannot exploit today’s decision to justify discrimination against LGBT people or other vulnerable groups, but we will need to be vigilant to make sure that principle is respected and enforced.”

Georgia Equality, the state’s largest LGBT political advocacy group, expressed its disappointment in a press release.

“While protecting an individual’s right to adhere to deeply held religious beliefs is a core American value, as a society we must remain vigilant and mindful to ensure that such beliefs are not used to discriminate against any specific class of people in the workplace or within the day-to-day conduct of business,” the release states.

Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of the Equality Federation, which works with state LGBT organizations, also issued a statement

about her disappointment in the ruling and said that it could lead to more discrimination.

“The Court’s decision is also deeply troubling because it may embolden those who are trying to use religion to trump other anti-discrimination measures. For example, we can expect to see supporters of the Arizona bill that could have allowed businesses to turn away gay customers push again for such measures.”

Georgia Republicans tried to get a bill passed in the last session similar to the Arizona bill and are expected to try again in the next session.

Nan Hunter, a Williams Institute Senior Scholar as well as a Georgetown Law professor, said the decision itself is “carefully limited to the particular context of contraception and health insurance.”

“But what Justice Ginsburg is worried about—and I share her concern—is that a host of other possible claims for exemptions by for-profit businesses are simply left undecided,” said Hunter. “The examples of discrimination that she cites, as well as the possibility of religious employers discriminating against LGBT workers, are left to another day, but the Court establishes no principles that would preclude such actions. The camel’s nose is well under the tent.”

Justice Anthony Kennedy joined Alito’s

decision, as did the court’s most conservative members, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

The court’s more liberal members, Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, joined Ginsburg’s dissent. Breyer and Kagan also joined in a separate dissent.

Alito said the federal regulations prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the Affordable Care Act violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That Act, passed in 1998, prohibits the federal government from imposing a “substantial burden” on a person’s religious beliefs unless that burden is tailored narrowly to address a compelling governmental interest. While the majority concedes that the ACA regulations regarding contraception serve a compelling governmental interest, it believes “There are other ways in which Congress or HHS could equally ensure that every woman has cost-free access to the particular contraceptives at issue here and, indeed, to all FDAapproved contraceptives.”

The decision says closely held corporations—owned by a small group or family— should be treated the same as “religious nonprofit corporations” when the owners have religious objections to contraceptive coverage.

— Dyana Bagby contributed

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Parrots are a guy’s best friend

By PATRICK SAUNDERS

I

Craig Hawkins, holding Mario the macaw, lives with his partner as well as Sora and Kyree, the popular peacocks, a bunny, a squirrel, some chickens, a cat and two dogs. (Photos by Patrick Saunders)

Exotic birds, other odd pets stand out in Atlanta neighborhood Oakhurst couple known for housing uncommon brood

By PATRICK SAUNDERS

I

t all started with a dog. Back in the ’90s, Craig Hawkins and his partner, David Sample, moved into their home in Oakhurst, where at the time there were wild dogs running around the neighborhood. A group of them had puppies. Hawkins, 50, and Sample, 51, rescued two and kept one, which has since passed away.

And then around 2005 began “the other stuff” as Hawkins describes it. “The other stuff” now includes a cat, two dogs, a bunny, three chickens, a macaw, a squirrel and two peacocks.

“This is mostly David’s doing, which is … fine,” laughs Hawkins as he gives a tour of the various creatures scattered about their stylish home and yard.

The first to greet visitors from the front

porch is Seamus the squirrel. Hawkins and Sample were walking past the East Lake MARTA station one day last year and she was clinging to a fence, barely moving and looking like she was close to dying.

They took her off the fence and put her in a tree they had seen a squirrel’s nest in, hoping she would move in. After lunch they came back by and she hadn’t moved, so they brought her home and nursed her back to health by feeding her puppy formula out of a syringe.

They thought she was a boy; hence, Seamus, who in her spare time likes to hang out in the trees in the front yard.

“She’ll be in a tree and we’ll go out there and call her and she’ll come down,” says Hawkins. “She’s completely tame.”

Inside the house there’s the cat, Ichi, and the two Australian shepherds, Ozzie and Trixie, who are very cute. But it gets really interesting in the backyard.

Mario the macaw is a beautiful, head-

bobbing, blue-tailed bird who greets all with a chipper “Hello.” He’s got an extensive vocabulary, can identify apples by taste and frequently barks out “I want a nut” because he knows he’ll get a Brazil nut. He can even feed the other animals.

“He’ll call the dogs and throw food out on the ground,” Hawkins explains.

The bunny, named Lady, is a friendly little fur ball in a cage who had a health scare recently but has gained back lost weight and is on the mend. And roaming the grounds in a pack are three chickens, who provide eggs for the couple when Ozzie isn’t stealing them.

But the main attractions are the two peacocks, which the couple have had for seven years. The male, Sora, has a stunning plume and his partner is the female Kyree, who at press time was calmly sitting on an egg, waiting for it to hatch any day.

When it does, the Hawkins-Sample clan will add yet another rare, friendly member to the brood.

f you see a guy riding a bike on the Beltline with a parrot on his shoulder, it’s probably Denis Lemay. The West Midtown resident and his partner, Daniel Slack, have four parrots in all, making for an often noisy but always entertaining household.

The love for birds started early for Lemay, 48, who had parakeets when he was younger. He moved to Atlanta with a Nanday Conure named Buster and met Slack, 51, and the two started buying parrots together.

“But four is the limit,” Lemay says.

They started with Chelsea, a hybrid between a Nanday and a Sun Conure, which they’ve had for about 18 years.

Next came Dusty, a Moluccan Cockatoo, and finally there was a blue-fronted Amazon named, again, Buster. So there’s Little Buster and Big Buster; Big Buster is the one you’ll see bopping along on Lemay’s shoulder on the Beltline.

If there’s one thing you should know about buying certain types of parrots, it’s to settle in for a long haul, especially if you’re buying a big one. Blue-fronted Amazons live to be about 50 or 60 years old, and Moluccan Cockatoos can live 60 or 70 years. People often leave birds like these in their wills—Lemay and Slack were told they’re the third owners of Big Buster, and he’s been flying high from perch to perch since the early ’70s.

Affectionate and playful birds like these choose favorites, attaching themselves to one person in particular.

Dusty prefers Slack, while Big Buster prefers Lemay.

But the companionship and entertainment factors are high as long as they get frequent interaction. There is also another perk for all the gentlemen out there.

“Sometimes it can be a man magnet,” says Lemay, laughing. “Overall, they’re just great pets.”

Daniel Slack, left, and Denis Lemay love their four exotic parrots. (Courtesy photo)

PETS

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07.04.14

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Creature comforts Georgia lesbian couple finds family in farm animals

By PATRICK SAUNDERS

E

very weekday morning at 5:30 a.m. on a farm in Fairburn, Georgia, Joan Sherwood rises to let the dogs out and get ready for her job as senior editor at Professional Photography Magazine in downtown Atlanta. Shortly before sunrise, her partner Debbie Fraker is up and ready to do the day’s chores.

Not your usual chores, but the kind needed to care for … take a deep breath: … 22 chickens, eight ducks, five guinea fowl, five goats, two dogs and a goldfish named Oscar, who spent two summers in a rain barrel and has now retired to a fishbowl inside the house.

When asked how they came to build this unique world of pets, Sherwood, 48, says with a laugh, “Backyard chickens are gateway drugs.”

‘We just started adding to it’

It was 2010 and the couple was living in East Point when they ordered their first set of chicks.

“Then we just started adding to it,” says Fraker, 57.

They needed a larger property to have goats, so they made the move to three-anda-half acres in Fairburn, home of the Georgia Renaissance Festival about 20 miles south of downtown Atlanta.

Fraker says they were ordering animals before the unpacking was done. Soon the goats joined the fun, and along came ducks, guineas and the rest.

The work involved in running the farm is not for the weak. Fraker’s first chores are letting the birds out of their coops, milking the goats, changing out all of the water, cleaning up and refreshing the food.

Then it’s on to the garden and the grounds, where she spends time planting, harvesting, weeding and mulching. By evening she’s milking again and locking the birds back up.

If Fraker is at her part-time job when Sherwood comes home from work, she’ll feed the chickens, do the evening milking and lock up the birds. “There’s always something to get mowed or clipped or cleaned out,” Sherwood says. Then it’s up again the next day to do it all over again.

“We each have one morning a week that

we can sleep in,” Sherwood says.

They also haven’t had a vacation in three years because of the farm responsibilities, which they’re planning on training a neighbor to do so they can get a solid break.

“The biggest challenge is making time to relax together and not have it be about what else we have to do,” Sherwood says. “And our time schedule is so dependent on sunrise and sunset, so you have to be here when it gets dark.”

Joan Sherwood, left, and Debbie Fraker started with just a few chickens in their backyard before having to move to a place with more land to hold the many animals they’ve added to their family farm. (Photos by Rob Boeger)

Witnessing a mother’s big day

But the payoff is more than enough for the couple.

“Watching the baby animals grow up is an awesome experience,” Fraker says.

When one of the goats was ready to give birth recently, Fraker set her alarm clock for 2 a.m. two nights in a row to be with the mother, Dena, for her big day. She was there when the first baby goat appeared, and she texted Sherwood, saying, “We’ve got one.”

Sherwood came out in the freeze of that February night with towels and water for the goats and hot tea for Fraker. Soon enough, a second little goat arrived to join the family.

“I felt like a new mom, excited and worried all at the same time,” Fraker wrote in the couple’s blog, “City Girl Seeks Farm.”

“The baby goats have made us very popular with our friends,” Sherwood says.

They also love having the ultimate farmto-table experience.

“I’ve been gardening a lot and I get excit-

ed seeing what’s coming out of the ground. I love finding eggs, bringing milk in and vegetables to feed us.”

Sherwood notes that they haven’t had to buy milk in three years thanks to their goats.

They don’t eat their friends on the farm and Sherwood often posts videos and photos to Facebook of the goats and other animals playing together—like others do with their dogs or cats, or children.

‘This is the kind of life I want’

The couple advises those looking to raise their own goats or chickens to find out what’s legal where they live.

“If you bring them in and get attached and they get taken away, it’s heartbreaking,” Fraker says.

Chickens are fairly low maintenance, they say, but keeping them safe is a challenge. Hawks or raccoons are predatory when it comes to chickens and it can make for a tragic ending if they aren’t looked after and put away in the coop safely at night.

Ducks are typically messy creatures, and goats can be very high maintenance, says the couple.

“One of things we were surprised by was we fenced in a whole new area for the goats and they went through the forage in a few weeks,” Sherwood says. “So we had to give them another new area. Now we supplement their diet with organic fruit and vegetables. They go through a lot of food.”

The overall message is to do research before hitting the road to pick up new clucking and bleating friends.

But Sherwood and Fraker wouldn’t have it any other way, even though they live outside the gay-friendly ITP bubble.

There are “not a lot of queer people out here,” Sherwood says, but all the neighbors know the two are a couple and everyone gets along great.

“This is the kind of life I want,” Fraker says.

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PETS

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The ‘tail’ of the tape Pet facts and figures all across the board

BY PATRICK SAUNDERS We looooove our pets. Whether it walks, flies, hops or slithers, we love it, and usually in greater percentages compared to the straight community. Here’s a breakdown of all things P-E-T, wheth-

71 PERCENT

LGBT ADULTS WHO OWN PETS (COMPARED WITH 63 PERCENT OF STRAIGHT ADULTS)

$29

AVERAGE MONTHLY PREMIUM FOR DOG INSURANCE

$19

AVERAGE MONTHLY PREMIUM FOR CAT INSURANCE

164 MILLION

NUMBER OF U.S. HOUSEHOLDS WITH PETS

62 PERCENT

er in the LGBT community in particular or overall across the U.S. Find out how many pet-owning households are out there, the most popular pets, the most expensive ones to care for, the number that enter shelters, the number that (sadly) don’t make it out and more.

$193

AVERAGE ANNUAL AMOUNT SPENT BY CAT OWNERS ON ROUTINE VETERINARY VISITS

3,500

NUMBER OF ANIMAL SHELTERS IN THE U.S.

6-8 MILLION

NUMBER OF CATS AND DOGS ENTERING SHELTERS ANNUALLY

3-4 MILLION

PERCENTAGE OF U.S. HOUSEHOLDS WITH PETS

NUMBER OF CATS AND DOGS ADOPTED FROM SHELTERS EACH YEAR

$50 BILLION

2.7 MILLION

AMOUNT AMERICANS SPEND ON PETS ANNUALLY

Most popular pets for LGBTs

$231

AVERAGE ANNUAL AMOUNT SPENT BY DOG OWNERS ON ROUTINE VETERINARY VISITS

NUMBER OF ADOPTABLE CATS AND DOGS EUTHANIZED IN SHELTERS EACH YEAR

Sources: Harris Interactive, Pet Insurance quotes, the Humane Society and ASPCA

The percentages are based on a poll of LGBT adults who own one or more pets.

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PETS

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The Humane Society of the United States has tips to keep your dog safe this summer. (Photo via Facebook)

Playing it safe in the sun this season Humane Society has tips for pet owners roaming hot, humid Atlanta

BY PATRICK SAUNDERS Summertime is fun-time for roaming Atlanta with your dog, whether it’s a stroll down the Beltline or meeting some friends at the dog park at Piedmont Park. With temperatures soaring, it’s important to take some precautions and know the signs when your little friend isn’t doing so well.

The Humane Society of the United States is one of the leading authorities in pet care, and the Atlanta chapter will be marching in this year’s Atlanta Pride parade. Here’s what the group has to say on taking care of pets in the summer, avoiding heatstroke and more to keep them safe and happy throughout the season.

What are the biggest concerns about taking care of pets in the summer?

Leaving a pet in the car in the summer is by far the worst thing you can do. You can’t do it even for a minute, even with the car running and the air conditioning on. On an 85-degree day, the temperature inside the car with the windows opened slightly can soar to 102 degrees within 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees. In that situation, your pet could suffer irreversible organ damage or die.

The humidity, especially in a city like Atlanta, can be a silent killer. “Animals pant to evaporate moisture from their lungs, which takes heat away from their body,” says Dr. Barry M. Kellogg, VMD, of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, on the organization’s website. “If the humidity is too high, they are unable to cool them-

selves, and their temperature will skyrocket to dangerous levels—very quickly.”

What are the best ways to address those concerns?

For one, never leave your pet in the car. And if outside playing, limit your pet’s exercise to early morning or evening hours. And be careful with pets with white-colored ears, as they are more susceptible to skin cancer. Also, shortnosed pets typically have difficulty breathing.

And since asphalt gets so hot and can burn your pet’s paws, walk your dog on the grass if at all possible. Finally, always carry water with you to keep your dog from dehydrating.

Can dogs get sunburned?

Yes. To avoid putting your pet in pain, use a pet-safe sunscreen to protect them from the sun’s harmful rays, which can cause skin cancer, particularly of the ears and nose.

What are some symptoms of heatstroke?

Signs include a rapid heartbeat, glazed eyes, heavy panting, excessive thirst, difficulty breathing, dizziness, lack of coordination, vomiting, lethargy, fever, profuse salivation, a deep red or purple tongue, unconsciousness and seizure.

Animals at particular risk for heatstroke include those that are very old or very young, as well as those that are overweight, not used to long exercise or have respiratory or heart disease. Boxers, pugs, shih tzus, and other dogs and cats with short muzzles have the hardest time breathing in extreme heat.

How do you treat heatstroke?

Move your pet into an air-conditioned area or the shade. Apply cold towels or ice packs to their head, neck, and chest and run cool (not cold) water over them. Let them drink small amounts of cool water or lick ice cubes. Then take them directly to a veterinarian.

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PETS

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A young girl looks at one of the dogs up for adoption by Angels Among Us at a local meet and greet set up by the animal rescue organization. (Courtesy photo)

Helping to save the ‘Angels Among Us’ Atlanta animal rescue volunteers work 24/7

By DYANA BAGBY “Rescue one until there is none” is the motto for Angels Among Us, perhaps the largest all-volunteer animal rescue organization in the Southeast. Organizers say they will keep doing the work of rescuing dogs and cats, puppies and kittens, until they have no more to save.

“They say animal rescue is like the Mafia.

Once you’re in you can never get out,” says LuAnn Farrell, co-founder of the nonprofit that has rescued more than 6,200 pets since it was founded in 2009.

Farrell founded AAUPR with her friend and neighbor, Valerie Addington, after the two started seeing large numbers of dogs being turned away from shelters. They immediately rescued 15 black dogs because those pets are typically the first animals euthanized at shelters.

“I started rescuing on my own. Then we started focusing on rural shelters that didn’t get much help and now on local area ones in the Atlanta area that needed help,” Farrell says.

The organization has dozens and dozens of volunteers and social media plays a significant role in getting the word out to people who can help find a foster family and then a forever family for animals rescued from shelters. Many of those pets face sure death without the help of AAUPR and other animal rescue agencies.

“These animals in shelters are not throwaway dogs. They are family pets, they are unwanted litters,” Farrell says. “I couldn’t understand why they shouldn’t be given a chance.”

Although the agency is nonprofit, it did just hire its first CEO recently. The organi-

DETAILS Angels Among Us Pet Rescue www.angelsrescue.org

zation spends $150,000 a month just on vet bills—all money that is raised through grassroots fundraising. A small adoption fee helps but hardly puts a dent in the costs associated with rescue, Farrell says.

Farrell holds a full-time job as a financial advisor, but says saving cats and dogs is a full-time passion.

“You can probably ask any rescuer and they’ll tell you it’s a 24/7 job—if you’re not doing it, you’re thinking about it, planning, dreaming. It never actually goes away,” she says.

“It’s like using an eyedropper to stop a flood, but one person can make a difference. Once we have them they will never be abused, hungry or neglected again,” Farrell says. “We keep trying one at a time.”

Farrell herself has two dogs, two cats and one foster dog. The foster dog belonged an acquaintance that died. AAUPR currently works with a hospice nurse who has many atients with pets. They are able to rest easier knowing their pets will be cared for after they are gone.

“How many people can look back on their day saying they did something that saved a life? This work is extremely trying and makes you very tired, but it is incredibly rewarding. The pictures we get of families that adopt with their new pet—it’s worth it all. It’s wonderful knowing the cat or dog went from being close to death to having an amazing life,” she says.

Part of AAUPR is education, including going into schools to teach children about spaying and neutering pets and how to properly care for them. The hope is they will influence their parents on pet care while also growing up understanding how to care for their pets.

“Education is key,” Farrell says.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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THEATER BY JIM FARMER

‘Rocky Horror Show’ fills audiences with anticipation Actor’s Express production of cult favorite coming soon When playwright Richard O’Brien opened his new “The Rocky Horror Show” way back in 1973, he had no idea what he was launching. It spawned the biggest cult movie of all time, 1975’s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show—still getting weekly screenings—and the stage musical itself is still produced regularly as well. Actor’s Express turns its attention to Dr. Frank N. Furter and the rest of the Transylvania characters next week.

Freddie Ashley, the company’s artistic director, will direct. He was looking for something to produce as a summertime show and hadn’t stumbled across anything that fit the bill until he saw a remount.

“I saw a production of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ in D.C. last summer and it was like rediscovering an old friend,” he said. “I was hooked and couldn’t get the idea out of my head.” He admittedly likes doing something in the summer that is different from the rest of his season.

As a director, he is especially taken with the show’s ensemble.

“The cast is brimming over with talent,” he

DETAILS “The Rocky Horror Show” Actor’s Express 887 W. Marietta St., Atlanta, GA 30318 July 9 – August 9 www.actorsexpress.com

Craig Waldrip, left, plays Frank N. Furter, with Jeremiah Parker Hobbs as Riff Raff in the new production of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Actor’s Express. (Photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)

says. “There are some new young actors on the scene, as well as familiar faces. Craig Waldrip is a perfect Frank. He’s played the role before and understands the camp factor. Plus he can sing the crap out of that music. Ben Davis and Randi Garza (who play couple Brad and Janet) are brand new and are extremely adorable and talented. I’ve wanted to work with Diany Rodriguez for a long time now and she oozes

sex appeal and attitude as Magenta.”

Two familiar Express faces fill out the cast. “Jeremiah Hobbs is the perfect actor to play Riff Raff—he’s a beast of a singer and is also really funny and able to find interesting and unexpected details—and Jill Hames as Eddie and Dr. Scott will completely shatter everyone’s memory of Meat Loaf from the movie,” says Ashley. “She is making the role(s) her own. The cast is a fun group that understands the balance between being sexy and being funny, and how the two needn’t be mutually exclusive.”

There are significant differences between the musical and the movie.

“There are a few inherent differences, but the main thing is how our production will be different,” Ashley says. He is fully aware that some people may have preconceived notions of what they expect the show to be like and promises his take will be uniquely his own.

“I told the design team early on that I did not want us to reference the movie in the visual look of the production,” he says. “I wanted our ‘Rocky Horror’ to be something new and unexpected, while preserving the spirit of the show. It will be unlike any ‘Rocky Horror Show’ you’ve ever seen. The costume designs are brilliant and completely unique.

As with anything that might be familiar to audiences already, I approach the work as if it’s brand new and try to shed some of the preconceived notions of the show.”

The director has a theory as to why “Rocky Horror” has remained relevant for so long. “It’s such a celebration of otherness,” says Ashley.

“Anyone who feels like a freak can identify with the show. And of course the music is great—every song sounds familiar the first time you hear it. So many of us have fond memories of discovering ‘Rocky Horror’ as teenagers or as college students that there’s this built-in nostalgia that people associate with the show.”

However, “Rocky Horror” has never been a family friendly musical. The Actor’s Express disclaimer reads “This production contains strobe lights, haze, adult language, nudity, violence, sex, loud music, aliens, the Time Warp, muscles and a head in a bag.

Hire a sitter and leave the kids at home.”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Eating my words BY CLIFF BOSTOCK

It’s OK to eat out alone Random restaurant thoughts and news This week, I’m sharing some random restaurant visits and news.

While many consider it pathetic, I love dining out alone. This is in great part the result of needing to visit restaurants several times weekly for 25 years. I carry a book usually, often leaving my phone in the car. If it’s a new restaurant, I don’t have to feel guilty if I expose friends to food they consider weird or too spicy.

At the same time, there are neighborhood restaurants I go to regularly, like Grant Central Pizza & Pasta (451 Cherokee Ave., 404-523-8900, www.gcpatlanta.com), that are probably too prosaic for my friends.

I usually eat the daily special, like chicken Parmesan or linguine with shrimp. The specials are almost always under $10 and, believe me, you leave full.

Last week, I dined at a few restaurants alone for the first time. Number one was Sushi Itto (2173 Briarcliff Road, 404-633-3400, www.atlantasushiitto.com). It offers a full Japanese menu in addition to the sushi that many of my friends find scary. I don’t get it, although it’s certainly true that high-end sushi bars like Taka (375 Pharr Road, 404-869-2802, www.takasushi.com.) and Tomo (3360 Peachtree Road, in the Ritz Carlton, 404-835-2708, http://www.tomorestaurant.com/) can max out your credit card.

Sushi Itto, which will be changing its name soon, is less costly and pretty good. I visited alone last week and ended up ordering a delicious special roll, “French Kiss,” that was made with (cooked) crawfish tails, avocado, cucumber, eel sauce, spicy mayo, green onions and more. It also contained the despicable “crab stik,” fake crab that’s used as a filler everywhere these days. I also ordered shrimp yakitori—six fat and flavorful shrimp grilled on skewers.

Do you like eating with your hands?

You might want to try 20-year-old Ghion Cultural Hall (2080 Cheshire Bridge Road, 704-449-8991, www.ghionculturalhall.com), an Ethiopian restaurant. This is no Desta (3086 Briarcliff Road, 404-929-0011, http://www. destaethiopiankitchen.com/), but the experience is weird enough that you might want to try it. The dining room is beyond a long hall adjoining a bar. The big attraction here is live music on Friday and Saturday nights. During my recent weekday lunch, a large TV screen broadcast music and dancing that made me wonder if you have to be a double-jointed contortionist to dance in Ethiopia.

The food, always served over sourdough injera bread, is pretty good, although I could not finish my pair of lamb stews—one spicy and

Sushi Itto on Briarcliff Road offers less expensive sushi than at high-end sushi places and has good offerings. (via Facebook)

one mild. They were served with a small vinegary salad. I would have preferred some traditional sides like collards. Two nearly irreconcilable cautions: First, be judicious in your use of the injera bread. It always fills me up too quickly. Second, clean your plate or take the leftovers home. Otherwise, you might offend the staff, as I did. Not cleaning your plate is often considered insulting in many ethnic restaurants.

A few new restaurants have opened lately or are on the verge of doing so. I’m most looking forward to Tapa Tapa (931 Monroe Drive, 404-481-5226). It’s in Midtown Promenade, across from Après Diem, where the Royal Orchid used to be. The thing here obviously is Spanish small plates, but I’m most excited by the plan to regularly host flamenco dancers.

True Food Kitchen (3393 Peachtree Road, 404-481-2980, www.truefoodkitchen.com), part of a chain, has opened in the vacated space of Lenox Square Grille. The gimmick is “anti-inflammatory” food. There are quite a few vegetarian dishes, but it’s a mix. For example, you can have a burger made with quinoa, turkey or bison.

Another newbie is The Painted Pin (737 Miami Circle, 404-814-8736, http://www. thepaintedpin.com/). This rather bizarre but not really new concept is a pub with 20 bowling lanes. Chef Thomas Collins, who worked at Parish and One Midtown Kitchen, terms the menu “upscale alley food.” You can order pizzas, burgers, tacos, and various small plates. It’s all about Buckhead partiers, so you might as well leave your gaydar at home.

At this writing, Delia’s Chicken Sausage Stand , a hit at its East Atlanta location (489 Moreland Ave., 404-474-9651, http://www. thesausagestand.com/), is about to open in West Midtown at 881 Marietta Street. The restaurant, which serves all-natural, hormonefree sausage, will have rooftop dining at the new location.

Cliff Bostock, PhD, besides being a longtime Atlanta dining critic, is a psychotherapist-turned-life coach, specializing in creativity, midlife transition and gay issues.

He offers individual sessions and group workshops. www.cliffbostock.com.

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Event spotlight

Legendary Children: In Heat features an art installation with entertainers including Brigitte Bidet, Edie Cheezburger, Ellisorious Rex, Jai’Ne Van Michaels, Kryean Kally, Lavonia Elberton, Mo’Dest Volgare and Violet Chachki. 8 p.m. at the Mammal Gallery, www.legendarychildrenatlanta.com

(via Facebook)

THURSDAY, JULY 10 Barbara Brown Taylor, author of “Leaving Church” and “An Altar in the World,” will answer questions and sign books. This is a Charis Circle From Margin to Center Literary Event and the suggested donation is $10.

7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

(Photo by Dwight Carter)

TUESDAY, JULY 15 “The Horizon Leans Forward: A Reading for Maya Angelou” is a Poetry Atlanta, Georgia Center for the Book at DCPL and Charis Books & More tribute to the legendary artist featuring local poets and writers reading poems and passages from Angelou’s work. Hosted by Collin Kelley. 7:15 p.m. at Georgia Center for the Book at DeKalb County Public Library, www.georgiacenterforthebook.org

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bout Tell us aBT event your LGays to submit your

ow There are tw inclusion in our online r fo t n event ve e T LGB ubmit your S . rs a d n le ail and print ca eGAVoice.com or e-m h .t w . w info to w AVoice.com ditor@theG details to e

FRIDAY, JULY 4

Publicity photo

(Video Still by Blake England and Jon Dean)

SATURDAY, JULY 5

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Edie Cheezburger and her usual assortment of special guests present “The Other Show” drag event weekly at Jungle, 9:30 p.m., www.jungleatl.com It’s Pump Friday Nights at the Heretic, 10 p.m., www.hereticatlanta.com The Atlanta Eagle hosts the Panther Leather/Levi club Night, 10 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com Monica Van Pelt presents Synergy at 11 p.m. at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

SATURDAY, JULY 5

The Atlanta Gender Variations: Parents of gender variant/trans children support group meets in Atlanta today from 2 – 4 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, www.uuca.org Legendary Children: In Heat is a hot and sweaty summer night featuring some of your favorite local artists serving you good ol’ southern queer drag, installations, photos, film, drawings, performance, sexy go-go boys/slaves, music, dancing and shameless innuendo. Entertainers include Brigitte Bidet, Edie Cheezburger, Ellisorous Rex, Jai’Ne Van Michaels, Kryean Kally, Lavonia Elberton, Mo’Dest Volgare and Violet Chackhi, 8 p.m., the Mammal Gallery, http://www.legendarychildrenatlanta.com, www.Mammalgallery.com

FRIDAY, JULY 4-SUNDAY, JULY 6

The annual Atlanta BearFest, sponsored by Southern Bears and welcoming hairy men from around the Southeast, continues at the Courtyard Marriott with all sorts of events over the four-day holiday weekend including appearances by George Und, star of the web series “Where the Bears Are” www.atlantabearfest.com

Southern Bears and Atlanta Eagle present the Mr. Atlanta Bear and Atlanta Cub contests.

9 p.m., Atlanta Eagle, www.atlantabearfest.com The Atlanta Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and The Atlanta Eagle bring to you a night of fun and frolic the first Saturday night of the month with Jockstrap Sister Twister, 9 – 11 p.m., www.atlantaeagle.com

SUNDAY, JULY 6

In the Life Atlanta, which sponsors Atlanta Black Pride, hosts Partying with a Purpose Fourth of July celebration, a free event with music, entertainment and nibbles, Piedmont Park.

For more information - www.inthelifeatlanta.org Atlanta 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer holds its inaugural “Babes for Boobs” party with a DJ on the patio, frozen drinks, half-price chicken wings and more. 6 p.m., Hobnob, http://www.communitashospitality.com/hobnob/, www.itsthejourney.org

SOMETHING GAY EVERY DAY!

Bookmark www.thegavoice.com to get your daily dose of local LGBT events. $2 well drinks are on tap all day and night at Sunday Funday at Bulldogs, 893 Peachtree St., Atlanta, GA 30309 The Ready for Hope Harness/Red Hot and Blue Party celebrates the holiday in style with DJ Vicki Powell, 7 p.m. – midnight, bckspce atl, http://jungleatl.com

MONDAY, JULY 7

The mellow sounds of Lionel Richie come to town as part of his All the Hits All Night Long tour, 7:30 p.m., Chastain Park Ampitheatre, http://www.ticketmaster. com/Lionel-Richie-tickets/artist/735972

The Atlanta PFLAG Support group meets today from 7:30 – 9 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, www.uuca.org

TUESDAY, JULY 8

“Under the Sea!” The stage version of “The Little Mermaid” makes its ATL debut at the Fox Theatre tonight at 7:30, running until Sunday, July 13, http://foxtheatre.org/ Stories on the Square, an open mic storytelling event for true personal stories that must be told,

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Photo by Dyana Bagby

Publicity photo Kenny Rodgriguez

Decadence: A Night of Drinking and Debauchery is every Thursday starting at 10 p.m., hosted by Adam Bland and Ashley Mitchell with beats by DJ Daryl Cox. A wet underwear contest begins at 11 p.m, with a cash prize and dancers galore, TEN Atlanta, www.tenatlanta.com

FRIDAY, JULY 11

Fourth Tuesday hosts its July happy hour, 6 p.m. at Mixx, www.facebook.com/FourthTuesdayAtlanta The Plain White Ts open for Goo Goo Dolls & Daughtry, Chastain Park Amphitheatre, 7 p.m., www.ticketmaster.com

SATURDAY, JULY 12 CCE and Cardio ATL present Victor Calderone at Opera, 10 p.m., www.operaatlanta.com not read, with a max time limit of seven minutes.

Theme for this show is “May the Force Be with You,” 7:30 p.m. in the back room of The Famous Pub, www.stories-on-the-square.com Ruby Redd and Angelica D’Paige are the emcees of Drageoke, 10:30 p.m. at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

WEDNESDAY, JULY 9

“Chips, Cookies & Cheese Sticks: An Education Revolution in the Making” is a public gathering about the new Pride School, an LGBTQQIA school opening in Atlanta. To be discussed are a location, start date and format for the 2014-2015 school year. 6:30 p.m., Charis Books & More, www.facebook.com/prideschoolgeorgia Get leied at Luau Bingo with emcees Bubba Dee, Kimora Layou and Brent Star, 7:30 p.m., Jungle Atlanta, www.jungleatl.com Actor’s Express opens the cult favorite “The Rocky Horror Show,” directed by out Freddie Ashley, running through August 9, with a show tonight at 8 p.m., www.actorsexpress.com Monica Van Pelt, Angelica D’Paige and Viola Chachki are the hosts for Lips Atlanta’s Bitchy Bingo event, with show time at 8:45 p.m., www. lipsatl.com Primetime Wednesdays dance party revs up from 10 p.m. – 3 a.m. at Sutra Lounge, 1136 Crescent Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30309., www.sutraloungeatl.com

THURSDAY, JULY 10

Girlz Retro and Aunt Judy’s Social Circle join forces for a combined event which includes specialty drinks, dancing and a diverse group of women (and guy friends are always welcome).

5:30 p.m. at Bad Dog Taqueria, www.baddogtaco.com

Onstage Atlanta opens “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” featuring a character with gay parents tonight at 8 p.m., running through August 16, www.onstageatlanta.com The M4M Hardbody Revue, hosted by Envy Van Michaels, is a competition for men with a $100 cash prize weekly, LeBUZZ, www.thenewlebuzz.com The Goat Farm Arts Center presents Dad’s Garage and Friends, a kickass celebrity-filled (Tim Meadows, Kevin McDonald) summertime arts event, with performances on Friday, July 11th at 7:30 & 10:30pm, Goat Farm Arts Center, 1200 Foster St., Atlanta, GA 30318, www.facebook.com/ events/733195936738490 Meak Productions in partnership with the Atlanta Underground Music Awards present the inaugural LGBT Music Night, 9 p.m., 2241 Faulkner Road, Atlanta, GA 30324, http://tinyurl.com/lreqhct Traxx Girls night at My Sister’s Room offers drink specials, great music and lots of beautiful women, 10 p.m., www.mysistersroom.com Hotlanta Rubber Gear Club Bar Night w/ DJ Nat, 10 – 11 p.m., Atlanta Eagle, www.atlantaeagle.com Destiny Brooks gets the crowd worked up at Femme Fatale at 11 p.m. at Burkhart’s, www.burkharts.com

SATURDAY, JULY 12

“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” continues at Serenbe Playhouse, directed by out Brian Clowdus, through August 2, with an 11 a.m. performance today, www.serenbeplayhouse.com WRFG 89.3 Birthday Block Party starts at 2 p.m. in Little Five Points, www.wrfg.org In collaboration with the Smoke School of Art, a nonprofit art collective based in Atlanta, the Auburn Avenue Research Library will host Masterpieces: The Intersection of Visual Art and Postcolonial Racial Supremacy. Facilitated by Atlanta Metropolitan State College Assistant Professor of Art, Jason Sweet and conceptual artist and educator, Christopher Hutchinson, this community lecture will examine the connection between the visual arts

SATURDAY, JULY 5

Come boogie at the Independence Day Party/Cancer Birthday Bash for My Sister’s Room co-owner Jami Atlanta. All Cancers in for free before 11 p.m., My Sister’s Room, www.mysistersroom.com

and racial supremacy, exploring the historical roots of this relationship and the contemporary impact on art produced by communities of color. 3:30 p.m., Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, http://www.afpls.org/ auburn-avenue-research-library “Let’s Make a Deal,” hosted by Ken, is on tap tonight at Friends on Ponce, 6 – 10 p.m., www.friendsonponce-atl.com It’s a double bill at the Atlanta Roller Girls — an All Star Bout between the Dirty South Derby Girls and the Naptown Roller Girls at 5:30 p.m. followed by Apocalypstix vs the Denim Demons at 7:30 p.m., Yaarab Shrine Center, 400 Ponce De Leon Ave, Atlanta, GA 30308

SUNDAY, JULY 13

Cockpit Atlanta is the home for You Tubesday ‘90s mix, with VJ Ayem, www.thecockpit-atlanta. blogspot.com/ Will Solange be there? Beyonce and Jay Z bring their “On the Run” tour to the Georgia Dome at 8 p.m., www.ticketmaster.com/on-the-runtour-beyonce-and-atlanta-georgia-07-15-2014/ exchange/0E004C98A818B03D Team Trivia with Wil, 9 – 11 p.m., Atlanta Hideaway, http://www.atlantahideaway.com/

WEDNESDAY, JULY 16

Loosen up and settle in for some exercise with yoga at the MISTER Center, 5:30 p.m., www.mistercenter.org

For those who can stay up all night, Xion Atlanta gets cranking at 3 a.m. with DJ Dan de Leon, www.cariocaproductions.com

Ten Atlanta sponsors Dinner and a Movie every Wednesday at 8 p.m., www.tenatlanta.com

Angelica D’Paige and friends — including Brent Star and Destiny Brooks — purr up fun at Sex Kitten, with $5 burgers and Smirnoff cocktails, 8 p.m. at 10th and Piedmont, www.communitas hospitality.com/10th-and-piedmont/promotions/ Sex-Kitten-with-Angelica-DPaige

SAGE Atlanta hosts its weekly social hour/games and conversation event, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Phillip Rush Center, www.rushcenteratl.org

MONDAY, JULY 14

Monday Night Trivia, emceed by Wild Cherry Sucret, offers chances to win up to $250 in cash and prizes, 11 p.m. at Blake’s, www.blakesontheparkatlanta.com

TUESDAY, JULY 15

Two Step Tuesdays offer free two-step, waltz and swing lessons from 8 – 9 p.m. before an open dance from 9 – 11 p.m., Heretic, www.hereticatlanta.com

THURSDAY, JULY 17

Go Hillary! The big Atlanta is Ready for Hillary pep rally, with some high profile speakers, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar, is tonight, Park Tavern at Piedmont Park, 6 – 8 p.m., www.readyforhillary.com GA Voice’s Best of Atlanta party includes light bites by Henry’s and Campagnolo, sweet treats by Southern Sweets and complimentary cocktails and wine by Green’s and Barefoot Wine.

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Publicity photo Dan Lax

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DJ Vicki Powell will be providing the beats with the evening hosted by comedian Ian Aber. 6:30 p.m. at Georgian Terrace, www.thegavoice.com Brent Star hosts Game Night at G’s Midtown every Thursday from 9 – 11 p.m., http://www.communitashospitality.com/gs-midtown/

UPCOMING FRIDAY, JULY 18 AND SATURDAY, JULY 19

Indigo Girls hit the Atlanta Botanical Gardens as part of the Concerts in the Garden series, 8 p.m. both evenings, www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org

SATURDAY, JULY 19

Thomas Hynds leads an identity theft seminar at 11 a.m. at the Phillip Rush Center Annex, www.rushcenteratl.org Jungle hosts DJ Aron and vocalist Beth Sacks

SATURDAY, JULY 19 It’s back — Joining Hearts’ annual pool party is back, raising awareness and funds to provide housing assistance to Atlanta nonprofit HIV/AIDS service organizations for people living with HIV/AIDS. World renowned DJ/remixer/producer Manny Lehman will be headlining the Main Event Pool Party with an opening set by Atlanta’s own DJ Travis, 4 – 11 p.m., Piedmont Park Aquatic Center, www.joininghearts.org from 9 p.m. – 3 a.m., benefiting Joining Hearts, www.jungleatl.com

TUESDAY, JULY 22

Recording artist Beck visits the Fox Theatre, tonight at 8 p.m., http://foxtheatre.org/

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 23

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2

The Advanced Sexuality Series: Transfolks Talk Sex is a panel of trans identified folks will talk candidly about their sexual experiences, what they’ve learned about their bodies during their transition and how cisgender people can do better when approaching transgender folks about sex. This event is co-sponsored by Velvet Lips and Charis Circle’s Urban Sustainability and Wellness series. The suggested donation is $10. 7:30 – 9 p.m., www.charisbooksandmore.com

SUNDAY, AUGUST 3

Sara Bareilles sings some of her greatest hits with her Little Black Dress tour at 7 p.m. at Chastain Park Amphitheatre, 7 p.m., http://www.ticketmaster.com/ Sara-Bareilles-tickets/artist/978402

SUNDAY, JULY 27

Backpack in the Park is a fundraiser for For the Kid in All of Us, with admission $30 online or $40 at the door, Cator Woolford Gardens, 815 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30308 Frankly, you’ll give a damn – “Gone With the Wind” screens at 2 p.m. as part of the Coca Cola Film Festival, Fox Theatre, http://foxtheatre.org/

THURSDAY, JULY 31

The 5th Annual Marietta Rainbow Festival/ Marietta Pride will be hosted by The North Georgia Rainbow Coalition and LeBUZZ today through Sunday, August 2, www.rainbowgeorgia.org

The Inaugural 5k Run/Walk, part of Marietta Pride, will take place in the historic Marietta Square, beginning at 8 p.m., benefitting the Health Initiative, www.5kequalityrun.org Phish plays the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, 7:30 p.m., www.ticketmaster.com Thursday, August 7 Meak Productions present the second annual GLBT Career Fair & Technology Center Expo. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Hyatt Atlanta Midtown, with a special networking and happy hour from 4 – 8 p.m., http://lgbtfair. meakproductions.com

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23

The Guys as Dolls show is a drag extravaganza featuring a bevy of beauties to raise money for the 2014 AIDS Walk. Featured performers include Tara Kotta, Kymora Layou, Sue Nami, Paige Turner, Stella D’oro, Misti Shores, Charlene Boufontaine, Regina Carter, Jordan Mathews, East Point Possums, Berlinda Wall, Holly Walden and the comedy talents of Bob Killough.

Proceeds donated to Ready For Hope. TIckets are $8 in advance/$10 at the door. Doors open at 5:30 and showtime is 6:30 p.m., www.jungleatl.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

BOOKS BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

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GEORGIA EQUALITY’S

Bad boy trouble

HOSTS: Andrew Acuff Adrian Amin & Joshua Reynolds Rick Baker & Moacir Rodriguez C. J. Bannochie & David P. Key Ken Britt Javier Brown Jack & James Carvalho Katharine Cole Gail Cowie & Jean Spencer Matthew Duncan & Patrick Jasper Jeannie Heinsohn Austin R. Penna & Linda Ellis & Lesley Brogan Darryl Holloman Michael J. Yanosy III Jamie Ensley & Glyn Williams Drew Plant & Bill Golden Senator Vincent Fort Paul Horning Joe Royals & Kent Ouellette Glen Paul Freedman Kelly S. Johnson Sharon Semmens Friends of Athens PRIDE Karen Jones & Magaly Ickes Kaye Shipley for Rep. Pat Gardner & Josh Kenyon Georgia House District 110 Jerry Gardner Kevin Kirby Michael Shutt & Brian Madej Hon. Joan P. Garner Casey Lawing Jason Stanford Bob Gibeling Rabbi Joshua Lesser Atlanta City Council Member Jeff Graham & Peter Stinner Suzanne Marks Alex Wan Colton Griffin Councilman Brian Mock, Kyle Williams & Larry Kosten Dan Grossman & City of Chamblee Richard Wolitski & Robert Neis Chris Schmaltz Randy New for State Seth & Nathan Woodard Persily Michael Grover & Nunzio Lupo House District 56 Cathy Woolard & Karen Geney Gregory Gorman Senator Nan Orrock Colin Wright & Toby Bryan Harry Harkins Elena Parent & Noula Zaharis John Haupert & Bryan Brooks Briley Brisendine SPONSORS: UGA GLOBES Atlanta Human Rights The Coca-Cola Company AbsoluteCARE Campaign Steering Committee Grady Health System AID Gwinnett/The Ric Crawford Clinic Making Projects Work, Inc. Troutman Sanders Kitchens New Cleghorn Georgia Democratic LGBT Caucus Waste Management Gayborhood Atlanta Pride Committee Gilead Sciences Project Q Atlanta St. Mark UMC Cox Enterprises Fenuxe Magazine The Piedmont Group of Atlanta King & Spalding David Atlanta AIDS Athens Wells Fargo The GA Voice Stellar Mortgage Corporation The Schapiro Group Positive Impact

EVENING

FOR EQUALITY

‘For Today I Am a Boy’ explores self-acceptance You’ve planned for it, dreamed of it, wished it would happen. You imagined yourself with it and envied those who had it: family, vacation, money, success, a sibling, a pony. Whatever it was, it’s been your most fervent desire since forever.

Yes, you’ve wanted it your whole life but, as in the novel “For Today I Am a Boy” by Kim Fu, you might not have fully realized it.

Peter Huang should have inherited the keys to the kingdom.

He’d been the answer to his parents’ prayers: a long-awaited boy, given a Cantonese middle name that meant “powerful king.” He would be the son who would not shame his father.

It was a role that Peter didn’t want.

Truth was, he didn’t know what he wanted.

All his life, he admired his beautiful oldest sister, Adele. She was patient, generous, and agreeable, the sort of person others took advantage of.

Peter wanted to be Adele— but he didn’t want the things she did to get by.

He loved steadfast Helen but she seemed incapable of anything but study. Constantly reminded that her destiny was law school, she knew that she was nonetheless a disappointment to her parents.

Books couldn’t change her gender, but they could get her out of Fort Michel, Ontario.

Sassy, cute Bonnie was the little sister to whom Peter was closest in age and camaraderie. It was Bonnie who participated in Peter’s schemes, Bonnie whose hair Peter styled. They shared a bed when they were young, and pretend-games as they grew—the latter of which was a secret, lest they anger their father.

Father would be livid if he knew that Peter wore his sisters’ clothes and make-up. Their father never touched them—in anger or affection—yet the feelings that welled up in Peter

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Kim Fu, author of ‘For Today I Am a Boy.’ (Photo by Laura D’Alessandro)

would certainly have made him furious.

Peter tried sports and dating girls. He tried to get used to “the thing” that extended from his groin, and he tried a religious “camp” to fix his longings. He tried all his life to be a good son— and maybe that was the problem.

Here’s a little warning for you: from the very first sentence of the prologue, it’ll be hard to resist “For Today I Am a Boy.” That’s because this is an absolutely gorgeously-told story that author Kim Fu hands us—but it’s so appealingly melancholy, too: for the first two-thirds of this book, Peter is unsure of his own desires, other than to become like his sisters.

Fu gives him a sense of confusion that’s almost surreal at times—we sometimes can’t decide whether he’s thinking or doing, and it’s difficult to predict what will happen to him. That will-he-won’t-she guessing—the only thing more perfect for this novel is its ending.

This is a relatively short book that you’ll want to make last. It’s moving and sad, but hard to put down—and if that’s what you need, then “For Today I Am a Boy” is what you want.

THANK YOU

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COLUMNISTS

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THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID A bicentennial birthday bash Remembering big brother’s best prank It’s my brother’s birthday. I was the baby of the family and nearly a decade younger than my brother and sister. I was also incredibly gullible, which was the perfect formula for successful pranks by my siblings. From the classic “Why are you hitting yourself, Melissa,” during which they used my own hands to hit myself in the face, to “You better hide, Melissa, since the bogeyman is at the door,” I existed solely for their entertainment. But every year my brother’s birthday reminds me of the best prank they ever pulled on me.

Mike’s birthday is actually on July 3rd.

Growing up in my family, every birthday was celebrated with a homemade cake, candles, balloons and table dressings, even if it was just the five of us at home. For him, the colors were always red, white, and blue because of July 4th. In 1976 things were a little different because the United States was celebrating its 200th birthday, and the July 4th festivities lasted longer than one day.

People collected commemorative bicentennial quarters, a Freedom Train toured the country, and President Ford even welcomed Queen Elizabeth for a visit. (Though I’m not sure why having British royalty here to help celebrate freedom from British royalty was appropriate.) An international fleet of tallmasted sailing ships impressively gathered in New York and Boston, while people symbolically dumped things into Boston Harbor. And remember Schoolhouse Rock’s “I’m Just A Bill” and “The Preamble”? Those were created for the bicentennial.

I was six, Mike was 14, and we watched most of the bicentennial coverage on television. On his birthday there was a 12-hour special called “The Great American Celebration.” It featured the top names in entertainment performing patriotic-themed numbers, and was hosted by Ed McMahon.

Melissa Carter is one of the Morning Show hosts on B98.5. In addition, she is a writer for the Huffington Post.

She is recognized as one of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta and one of the few in the country. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCarter

Sprinkled in with that and other broadcasts that day were short Bicentennial Minutes, adding to the revelry. At some point during our coach potato session, Mike turned to me and uttered the words, “You know they’re celebrating my birthday.”

I shot a surprised look at him, studying the stoic expression on his face for any signs of a joke. There were none. My naïveté and unwavering trust in my brother forced his words to swirl in my very young brain until I realized it must be true. As much as I already adored my older brother, I never knew the entire country felt the same way about him.

I was in awe, but then spent the rest of the evening wondering why every American forgot my birthday in March.

Of course, I soon learned my brother had lied to me, and shrugged it off as if I never believed him in the first place. But even now, though he’s in his 50s, Mike still reminds me what the Fourth of July celebration really means.

Mike is not the only one who has a birthday near July 4th. Other well-known early July babies include First Daughter Malia Obama, who gets to live in the White House while fireworks boom on her birthday. Playwrights Tom Stoppard and Neil Simon are cutting their own cakes, along with actors Tom Cruise, Betty Buckley, Edie Falco and Eva Green. Television personalities Geraldo Rivera, Judge Joe Brown and Montel Williams also received birthday cards this week. I wonder if all these celebrities pulled the same prank on their siblings or friends as my brother did.

Happy birthday to my brother and everyone blowing out candles this holiday. However, I must admit there is a small part of me that continues to think, “Must be nice to have the whole country celebrate with you.”

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

OUTSIDE THE BOX Finding your religion within Yoga and dance floors lead the way to salvation

By BILL KAELIN A few weeks back I had the opportunity to host film director and producer Del Shores to Atlanta for a screening of the film “Southern Baptist Sissies” as a benefit for AID Atlanta. The night was a huge success. I had the honor to hang out and have a moment with Del and I was extremely proud to have helped raise money for an AIDS service organization.

However, I left the film heavy hearted, because the subject matter of young boys growing up in the South dealing with the self-hate teachings of the church about their sexuality struck a chord. At the end of the day the film was the story of my childhood— only the title of my movie would have been “Midwestern Catholic Marys.”

Self-hate was ingrained into my psyche at a very young age. When “praying the gay away” as prescribed by our local priest wasn’t working, I would grovel and make deals with God on a nightly basis not to send me to Hell.

The years of fear and self-hate really did a number on me until instead of finding God I finally found a really good therapist. I am now a proud “recovered Catholic,” but I still have moments of horrible anger fueled by the ignorant hate spewed by so many religious leaders. Being compared to pedophiles and drug addicts by old, cranky, scary popes and crazy conservative politicians could actually make me go out of my mind if I let it.

I ultimately had to create my own church as a result of “going it alone” for so many years with no support from religious communities in the ’70s and ’80s.

There have been moments in my life when my inner peace has truly come from lots of cardio instead of lots of Christ or the strict practice of meditation rather than maniacally praying to Mary.

One of my favorite places locally that has helped me develop my personal spiritual path is Exhale Spa in the Loews Hotel, where my practice of yoga has been taken to the next level. Yoga is a physical, men-

Photo by Lisa Jordan Bill Kaelin is the owner of Bill Kaelin Marketing Events and Consulting Agency in Atlanta. www.BillKaelin.com

tal and spiritual discipline, which aims at transforming your body, mind and spirit.

The Saturday 4 p.m. “Chill Class” is a great introduction to the fascia restorative practice called Yin Yoga. I believe fascia is the fabric of life; the body’s structural and energetic support system. Yin poses are still, deep and quiet. Practitioners focus on selfexploration, meditation and discovery.

Exhale’s Zen atmosphere sets the tone for finding your inner peace—only in a 5-star setting instead of in uncomfortable pews.

Since God can be found virtually everywhere, our city is also the perfect place to step outside your door and find your freedom of religion for free in the nature that surrounds us. Whether it is Piedmont Park, the trails at Sweetwater Creek or a hike up to the top of Stone Mountain, nature has been one of the key elements of letting go for this nancy.

I have created my own belief system and a unique personal relationship of God, Goddess, Buddha, Mother Earth and even Jesus for that matter. Our community is a lot like Jesus. Jesus was a rebel and a radical. He hung out with the misunderstood, and if He were alive today He very well would have found his own salvation, like many gays do, on a good old-fashioned dance floor.

I have a feeling He would be easily found drinking his own juice every second Sunday of the month with DJ Vicki Powell at my favorite Church: Sister Louisa’s in the Old Fourth Ward. I can just see His hands up in the air like he just doesn’t care because truly, as long as love is in the picture, He really wouldn’t care. Once this Midwestern Catholic Mary finally realized this truth, I finally found my religious freedom. Can I get an amen?

07.04.14

GA VOICE

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