Celestial Stroll | Pride Leadership Children Services Queer Yoga This and so much more! OC MAY 20142014 OCTOBER
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CONTENTS
OCTOBER 6 FIRST PERSON Franklin County Children Services Supports LGBTQ Youth
26 COUPLE Christy Echevarria & Jennifer Deiderich
8 SCENE Open Streets Columbus
29 SEXPERT Outbreak
10 MOVIES The Importance of Pride
30 FEATURE The Body is Already Enough: Five Years of Queer Yoga
12 SARA SHARES We All Have Something to Cheer For
32 UPDATE Catching up with Gregg Dodd and his #greggslist
14 FROM THE ARCHIVES A Dedicated Life: Lynn Greer
34 DEVELOPMENT Make No Small Plans: Passenger Rail in Columbus
16 PERSPECTIVE Proud of Pride Leadership Cycle 7
36 SCENE Hot Times & Hot Tunes
18 BARTENDER Kelli Slezak
38 FITNESS Functional Training: Defined
19 SCENE The Artistic Legacy of Corbett Reynolds
39 CRAB RACES Crab Racing with Kris
20 SCENE Southbend Presents: Hellin Bedd, Alley Katt & Virginia West
40 TASTE BUDS Incredible Eats & Exceptional Eclesia at Local Cantina
22 FEATURE Take a Celestial Stroll with Jeffrey Wise
45 ADOURN A Season of Change - Michael Lloyd
24 SINGULARLY SINGLETON Come Out, Come Out Whoever You Are!
Quorum Columbus Magazine is published monthly by Qmunity, LLC. Quorum Columbus Magazine issues are FREE at distribution locations throughout the greater Columbus area. COPYRIGHT© 2014 Quorum Columbus Magazine. Reproduction without expressed written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. All rights in letters, manuscripts, photographs, drawings, illustrations, and artwork sent to Quorum Columbus Magazine will be treated as assigned for publication and copyright purposes and are subject to Quorum Columbus Magazine and Qmunity, LLC terms and conditions. All models are at least18 years of age. All photographs included are posed for by professional models or willing participants in Quorum Columbus Magazine except as otherwise noted. Neither said photographs nor accompanying editorial is indicative of sexual orientation. The publisher of the magazine does not assume responsibility for statements by advertisers. ALL CONTENT AND RELATED MEDIA ARE COPYRIGHTED © 2014 BY QUORUM COLUMBUS MAGAZINE. All rights reserved.
On the Cover:
Illustrator | Patrick Butler
PHOTOS | TODD POPP
Quorum Columbus Isaac Bendele
Mickey J. Hart
President & Publisher
Editor
Angel Lemke
Managing Editor
Erik Hays
Jerry Turnes
CFO
Multimedia Creative Manager | Designer
Amy Tannenbaum
Patrick Butler
JM Rayburn
Heather Doughty
Craig Chadwell
Mike Moffo
Columnist
Graphic Designer Illustrator
Graphic Designer Social Media Manager
Graphic Designer
Columnist
Columnist Account Executive
Photographer
Sara Ernest
Michael Greenhouse
John Henry, Jr
Adrian Jay Neil-Hobson
Allyson Fridley
Columnist
Columnist
Columnist
Columnist
Photographer
Mike Lovett
Josh McConaughy
Scene
Scene
Also on the Crew:
Ray LaVoie, Photographer Meg Alley, Columnist Lori Hollenbaugh, Event Support Tom Queen, Columnist Sile Singleton, Columnist Clayton Walter, Columnist Clare Hughes, Graphic Designer Mimi Webb, Scene This Month’s Contributors: Michael Lloyd, Writer Jim Ryan, Writer Ryan Schumann, Rude Photography
Kris Littler
Joshua McCarty
Contributor
Distribution Coordinator
CONVENE
| MICKEY J. HART October is a most interesting time of year that, in my opinion, passes by far too quickly. You just can’t beat the colorful fun of autumn, the harvest fun of the Circleville Pumpkin Show and the costumed fun of High Ball. Plus, it is a very queer month. During October, National Coming Out Day is observed, LGBTQ History Month is commemorated, and it all wraps up with the queerest of holidays – Halloween. What’s not to love? Our October issue is also packed with queer goodness. Jim Ryan promotes the LGBTQ-friendly efforts of Franklin County Children Services. Sile Singleton reflects on and prepares for National Coming Out Day. Angel Lemke reports about Jeffery Wise’s reach for the stars and Queer Behavior’s weekly queer yoga sessions. Adrian Neal-Hobson shares about his experience with Pride Leadership and their family-focused project. Isaac Bendele catches us up on #greggslist and Gregg Dodd’s quest to complete 52 new experiences this year. Michael Lloyd adjourns the issue with observations on change. Happy LGBTQ History Month and Happy Halloween! Mickey J. Hart Editor mickey@quorumcolumbus.com
PHOTO | RAY LAVOIE
#jointhequorum
FIRST PERSON
Franklin County Children Services Supports LGBTQ Youth | JIM RYAN TWO QUESTIONS: 1. Are you voting November 4? 2. Have you ever thought about volunteering to be a friend or mentor to a youth? If the answer to question one is yes, you can support LGBTQ youth (and families) with one of your votes on Election Day. Franklin County Children Services, which provides services to kids who have experienced abuse or neglect and their families, has a renewal levy – Issue 4 – on the upcoming ballot. I want you to vote FOR Issue 4. If the answer to question two is yes, you should not only vote FOR Issue 4, you should contact Franklin County Children Services. I want you to become a volunteer. What does Issue 4 have to do with LGBTQ youth? •
LGBTQ youth disproportionately experience neglect or abuse from their parents or other family members. A Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund report states that over 30 percent of LGBTQ youth experience neglect or abuse from their family of origin.
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LGBTQ youth are much more likely to be homeless. The National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that over 20 percent of homeless youth are LGBTQ. A Williams Institute study puts the number closer to 40 percent.
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LGBTQ youth are more likely to be truant from school or drop out due to bullying and harassment, which often leads to engagement with the child welfare system.
The bottom line: Many LGBTQ kids are experiencing neglect or abuse, and a lot of those kids are served by Franklin County Children Services.
How LGBTQ-friendly is Franklin County Children Services? •
Every newly hired employee at FCCS – including maintenance, IT and office staff – receives three hours of training on working with LGBTQ youth and families as part of their orientation.
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FCCS has a strong volunteer program that matches adults with youth in the agency’s care in a one-on-one friendship/ mentorship relationship. Over 400 adults are currently matches with FCCS kids. FCCS has welcomed LGBTQ volunteers for over 25 years – eons before many other youth-serving organizations.
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FCCS also encourages fostering and adoption by LGBTQ people and has for many years. The agency also makes training on LGBTQ issues available to foster and adoptive parents.
If you’re not convinced yet, also know that Franklin County Children Services was one of the first Franklin County agencies to advocate for domestic partner benefits for its LGBTQ employees and includes non-discrimination and non-harassment language in its employee policies. The good news about Issue 4: It’s a renewal of a levy passed in 2004 that expires at the end of 2014. So no new tax dollars. The not so good news about volunteering: Even with over 400 adults matched with kids under the care of Franklin County Children Services, several hundred additional kids do not have a volunteer. So you are needed. I speak from experience. I have been volunteering as an out gay man with Franklin County Children Services for over 20 years, and I have been matched with six youth during that time. I am just one of numerous out LGBTQ adults volunteering with Franklin County Children Services, and individually and together, we are making a difference for all kinds of kids in Franklin County, including the far too many LGBTQ kids who have experienced abuse and neglect. On November 4, support LGBTQ kids – and non-LGBTQ kids, too! - by voting FOR Issue 4. And today, you can take another step toward aiding kids who need a role model and friend by learning more about Franklin County Children Services’ volunteer programs.
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FranklinCountyOhio.gov/Children_Services Jim Ryan has been volunteering with Franklin County Children Services for over 26 years.
Celebrate!
1777 East Broad Street | Columbus www.fpconservatory.org | 614.715.8100 eventsales@fpconservatory.org Indoor & Outdoor Venues Select 2014 Dates Still Available
OPEN STREETS COLUMBUS
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SCENE
Open Streets is a free event that temporarily closes streets to cars so that people of all ages and abilities may use them for healthy and fun activities.
PHOTOS | ALLYSON FRIDLEY
MOVIES
THE IMPORTANCE OF PRIDE | CLAYTON WALTER THERE’S A KIND of movie – not a genre, really, but a subset of film – referred to as “feel-good.” Feel-good movies are those that leave the audience feeling buoyant as the credits roll; these often true, usually inspirational, and typically tear-jerking pictures are catnip for viewers because they make us feel like we’re better people for having made the trip to the theater, or to Redbox or to the Netflix queue. Feel-good movies are rarely challenging because they’re designed to placate, entrance, and uplift: The King’s Speech is a prime example. That’s why you can watch a feel-good movie with almost anyone without worrying about whether he or she will like it or not. Queer movies are, generally, the exact opposite. Movies dealing with sexual minorities are often downers, dealing with the AIDS epidemic, the painful struggle of coming out, rejection by society and unrequited love. Movies like Brokeback Mountain and Blue is the Warmest Color have their moments of rapturously happy romance, but overall, are rather bleak and depressing. So Matthew Warchus’s Pride is a sort of miracle, and – in my estimation – the most important LGBTQ movie in a banner year for queer cinema. Warchus has crafted what might be considered the first feel-good queer movie, and my, it feels so good. Pride, featuring a screenplay by Stephen Beresford, is an unbelievable true story about a group of gays and lesbians who begin collecting money to support the 1984 miners’ strike in the UK. It’s a footnote of that vexing historical event, one that has barely been remembered or discussed in the years since, but Beresford unearthed the story and has crafted a brilliant script, bringing history to vivid life under Warchus’s lovely direction. Pride has all the elements of a typical feel-good movie. It’s a true story, a bit of forgotten history, full of memorable characters. There’s as much humor as heart, and the lows pass quickly in a (gay pride) parade of highs. As is common in these kinds of movies, two differing sides come together
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IT’S A TRUE STORY, A BIT OF FORGOTTEN HISTORY, FULL OF MEMORABLE CHARACTERS. on common ground, uniting in the face of a common foe: Margaret Thatcher’s government. By the end, viewers will likely have cried a gallon or two of tears; no movie this year has made me bawl more openly, or more happily. We get plenty of feel-good movies every year, yet few manage to rise above blatant manipulation to say anything worth saying, but with the expanse of queer cinema, familiar genres and old tropes take on a sheen of novelty. It’s a thrill to see a film that tugs at heartstrings with this subject matter. Viewers will likely relate to the rural mining community that receives LGSM’s (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) support, but they’ll also find parts of themselves in the gays and lesbians, too, just as they saw themselves in stuttering royalty in Tom Hooper’s Best Picture winner. Pride stands out from its fellow crowd-pleasers by not shying away from weightier subject matter. The spectrum of queer experience is here, with one character struggling to come out of the closet, another fearful of trying to reconcile with his mother, and another anxious about being diagnosed with AIDS. These are issues that are difficult to work around, and issues that shouldn’t be ignored; they’re real day-to-day fears and woes that we face, but that doesn’t mean that every cinematic presentation of them needs to be a depressing slog. Pride is proof that there’s a lot for sexual minorities to feel good about, and a lot to be proud of.
SARA SHARES
| SARA ERNEST RUNNERS ARE CRAZY. Aside from being a fairly widely accepted notion, I can attest to the validity of this statement. After years of resisting, much to my chagrin, I have submitted to the fact that I am indeed a runner, and therefore, indeed crazy. After five years of my sister asking me to run the Race for the Cure with her, I finally decided to put down the cigarettes and tie on some running shoes to do the race with her. It was a great experience, and I’ve learned much since then. I’ve learned about races and the running community, myself and the population at large. It’s been quite an eye-opening experience. Aside from just being crazy though, runners by and large are a very supportive group of people. The majority of runners just want people to enjoy running and to realize how awesome they are when they accomplish their goals. The community as a whole tends to put an emphasis on lifting up individuals, with some runners going so far as to give up first place finishes or personal records in order to carry a fellow athlete across the finish line. Being the state capital, with a fairly large population in the metro area, Columbus has its fair share of races. There are usually races going on every weekend somewhere around town. A few times a year we host half marathons and marathons that draw quite a large crowd of competitors and spectators. The Columbus Marathon and Half Marathon, now in its 34th year, will be held on October 19. This event started in 1980, with 2,500 people taking part, and has grown into a contest with 18,000 participants competing. Since 2012, The Columbus Marathon has been a fundraiser for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, raising over $2 million dollars in that time frame. The race sells out more and more quickly each year. I am very excited to be participating for the first time this year. 12
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Even though I was not a participant in the race last year, I checked Facebook to see if people I knew had posted their results. I found it disheartening to mostly find people complaining about the inconvenience of the road closures. I admit, it is not convenient to be stopped by a race when a person has a place to be and didn’t plan for the road closures associated with this race. Considering the size of the event and the considerable history it has, the associated inconveniences should not be unexpected.
AFTER YEARS OF RESISTING... I HAVE SUBMITTED TO THE FACT THAT I AM INDEED A RUNNER Simply put, this race is a great event for Columbus’s profile, and it raises large sums for a worthy cause. Not only that, but the people who plan it and the athletes who compete in it put numerous hours and much sacrifice into making the race what it is and working toward their goals. Don’t be the person who takes a little bit of wind out of one of our sails with a nasty comment on social media. I’m looking forward to cheering on all of the athletes that I will be running with. I’ll be happy to stand up for and cheer on anyone who devotes that much effort to do the thing they love.
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
| TOM QUEEN IN MY RECENT conversation with Lynn Greer, who still expresses amazement that she can now call her partner, Stevie Walton, her wife, it is readily evident to me just how far we have come in gaining acceptance and equality for the members of the LGBTQ community. It is because of pioneering activists like Lynn that we have come so far in a very short time. Lynn is a fourth-generation Columbus native who grew up in Upper Arlington. She attended The Ohio State University, where she played on the women’s golf team. From there, her career as a player in the LPGA spanned the years 1978-1988 (in fact, she was the first female in the PGA, selected in 1978). She recently served as the co-chair of the Leadership Council of the 2014 Gay Games, where she also participated as a competitor. Both Lynn and her partner Stevie’s golfing achievements at the legendary Firestone Country Club were awarded with medals—Lynn taking the bronze, and Stevie the gold! In this LGBTQ history month issue, we focus on Lynn’s longtime devotion to activism in our community. Her brother, Michael, was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS early in the plague, and in a matter of months succumbed to the disease. In those dark days, when everyone who was diagnosed with AIDS was dying, Lynn remembers it as being a period where there was “no light at the end of the tunnel for many of us.” Rather than AIDS tearing apart the family, Michael’s death led both Lynn and her mother, the late Sue Greer, to become leaders in the fight to combat the disease and to provide treatment for those who were suffering. In fact, Sue became the “mom to all of the boys who were kicked out of their homes.” Lynn’s devotion to activism was sparked when she attended the 1987 March on Washington, which she describes as “absolutely life-changing.” This was the first major march for LGBTQ rights after the onset of the AIDS crisis, and it was also the first time that the NAMES Project - AIDS Memorial Quilt was unveiled for the world to see. Lynn promptly quit her job and took a position as a low-paid intern with the Human Rights Campaign’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. In 1991; she served as the co-chair of the founding board of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, now known as the Victory Fund, an organization which has helped thousands of openly LGBTQ candidates get elected to local, state and federal offices.
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While some activist organizations, such as ACT-UP, chose to take more dramatic means to bring attention to their plight, Lynn and her colleagues were working behind the scenes. Rather than creating roadblocks at the entrances of government agencies, they attended charity events and mingled with the straight community to win them over as supporters, and their hard work was rewarded when Ohio passed a comprehensive AIDS bill in 1990. Lynn cites Ohio State Senator and later U.S. Congressman David Hobson—a Republican, no less—as a true champion and lifelong friend of our community. Mr. Hobson felt that, first and foremost, public health policy was of utmost importance.
LYNN’S DEVOTION TO ACTIVISM WAS SPARKED WHEN SHE ATTENDED THE 1987 MARCH ON WASHINGTON, WHICH SHE DESCRIBES AS “ABSOLUTELY LIFE-CHANGING.” While great accomplishments have been made, there is more work to be done. As Lynn said to me, “We’re at a crossroads in our history where almost everybody (from the pioneer activists) is gone.” Lynn and Stevie now spend much of their time in the Lake Tahoe region of Nevada, but Lynn remains devoted to activism, even declaring her beliefs on her vehicle tag. Lynn also remains a strong supporter of Columbus, a city which has become the great place to live because of the work of dedicated people like Lynn Greer.
Don’t Miss These October Stonewall Events!
Thursday, Oct. 16th 6:30-7:30pm Goodale Park Gazebo 120 W Goodale St. Wear Purple Thursday to show your spirit and support
October is National Anti-Bullying Month. Join our Spirit Day Vigil at the Goodale Park Gazebo in honor of LGBT youths who have taken their lives or have been impacted by bullying. Wear purple to show your support. Talk to your friends, family, and co-workers. Spread the message that together we can overcome bullying. Remind LGBT teens that it DOES get better.
Find out how to get a Spirit Day Awareness Ribbon at stonewallcolumbus.org/spiritday
Saturday, October 4 2-4pm & 6-8pm
UPCOMING SEMINAR! New Updated Information for 2014!
40 free flu shots available to those age 50+ Get your discount Flu Shots at the Center during Gallery Hop $25.99 each* provided by
Same sex couples tax seminar
DOMA and Taxes: What it means to you. Tuesday, October 21st | 6:30-8:30pm Join us for this educational talk on how your federal, state and local taxes will now need to be prepared. Whether you prepare your taxes yourself or use an accountant, be sure you have the most up-to-date information. Speaker: Lea Ann Maceyko, CPA For more information, call 614-299-7764
* Cash and Insurance Only Accepted. Discounted price valid for this event only.
1160 North High Street | Columbus, Ohio 43201 | 614-299-7764 | stonewallcolumbus.org
PERSPECTIVE
| ADRIAN JAY NEIL-HOBSON ONE OF THE THINGS I like about being a writer is the opportunity to expose the community to new things. Several months ago a friend of mine told me about Pride Leadership, a program by the United Way of Central Ohio that prepares members of the LGBTQ community to take an active role in the larger community. Specifically, Pride Leadership gives individuals the tools and knowledge that will enable them to be assets to various organizations by being an active board member. Pride Leadership is a five month leadership program that consists of a retreat, monthly workshops and activities. Each session is designed to build skills around specific areas one may encounter while serving on a board such as fiscal management, diversity and inclusion and board governance.
From day one, we meshed very well, and we recognized what each individual could contribute to the group. During the retreat we did numerous team building activities, but the “Artifacts” activity was especially memorable to me. Each person had to bring one item from home that they could not part with. The scenario was, “If your house caught fire and you could only grab one item, what would it be?” As you can imagine, this process was very personally revealing for the members. By the time we completed the circle, nearly everyone was in tears. We realized that no matter what our careers were and where we came from, we were human, and we were all there for a common goal—to make Columbus, and therefore the world, a better place where everyone could live in peace and be treated equally.
When I first found out I was accepted into Cycle 7 of Pride Leadership, I still wasn’t sure what to fully expect. I remember the program coordinator, Shayne, giving a speech at the orientation reception that made me nervous—but in a good way. He promised that the program would challenge us, but only as much as we would let it. “You will only get out of the program what you put into it,” is what Shayne would repeatedly say to us — and he was right. Even though there were plenty of opportunities and knowledge shared, it was up to us to apply what we learned.
Each Pride Leadership cycle is given the task of planning and implementing a group project that will impact the community in a positive way. The projects can have various components to them such as fundraising, holding events, assessing needs and marketing. The goal of each project is to be build awareness around a particular issue or organization. This can be achieved by working with an organization, or in our case, creating a new one.
I will also be honest and say that I was nervous about how I would interact with my fellow participants. All of them were in some way, shape or form making Columbus a better place. I realized that I would be working with some of the most innovative, passionate and intelligent individuals that this city has to offer. It was a feeling that I haven’t felt since my freshman year of college, but I discovered that I had nothing to worry about since I, too, was selected for the program. The chemistry among the Cycle 7 members was amazing and inspiring. 16
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In Columbus, there aren’t any organizations that cater specifically to meeting the needs of LGBTQ families, and there isn’t a central location for those interested in creating a family to go to for resources and support. Our cycle saw this as a huge need and opportunity, so we went beyond our expected goal to create The Family Pride Network of Central Ohio. Learn more about the kickoff of this new organization on the next page. I am proud to be part of Pride Leadership and proud of what the members of Cycle 7 have accomplished together. Learn more or get involved with Pride Leadership: LiveUnitedCentralOhio.Org
UPCOMING
LGBTQ FAMILY SUPPORT IS HERE:
Introducing Family Pride Network of Central Ohio | ADRIAN JAY NEIL-HOBSON LGBTQ FAMILIES HAVE fewer legal protections and societal support. This affects the whole family, but children are often most strongly impacted. While Ohio permits single LGBTQ individuals to petition to adopt, it does not permit a same-sex couple to jointly petition to adopt, nor does Ohio permit a same-sex partner to petition to adopt their partner’s child or a child of the relationship. As a result, it is more difficult for same-sex couples to get many of the resources/benefits that are afforded to heterosexual couples. Additionally, these limitations can lead to a sense of loneliness or exclusion. Pride Leadership, a program of United Way of Central Ohio, wanted to do something to help change these conditions by providing legal, financial and informational resources to LGBTQ families. As a result, Pride Leadership Cycle 7 has established The Family Pride Network with the mission to provide resources and a community that connect, support and educate LGBTQ families within Central Ohio.
The public and LGBTQ families are invited to attend a community kickoff event featuring educational and social components. Speakers and other professionals will provide a variety of adoption, legal and financial resources. The social component will allow LGBTQ families and those interested in having families to be able to connect. During the event, children will get to interact with peers who are experiencing similar journeys. There will be snacks, mask-making and other fun activities. D: October 26 T : 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. (Registration at 2:30 p.m.) L : Grange Insurance Audubon Center, 505 W. Whittier Street Facebook.com/FamilyPrideNetwork Twitter: @FamilyPrideCO
BARTENDER SCENE
| ANGEL LEMKE KELLI SLEAZE LOVES being a part of the “family” at Bareburger, where she’s been working since they opened earlier this year. “From front of the house to Bareburger Corporate, we all get along and support everyone throughout every day.” The bar—a unique feature of Columbus’s Bareburger—has a limited selection and focuses on local, craft, natural and gluten-free options, so it is a great place to bring your favorite foodie. The location is also a great place to meet interesting people. “Working across from the convention center and in the middle of hotel way, I get to meet so many different types of people and hear stories and talk of travels It makes for never a dull moment.”
WHO:
COCKTAIL:
WHERE:
FUN FACTS:
Kelli Slezak
Bare Burger 463 N. High st. Columbus, Ohio 43215 614-706-4790
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After 11 years behind the bar, Kelli has changed a lot. “Before I was extremely quiet and introverted, but with all my time behind the bar, and all of the people I have served, met, become friends with, worked with, and counseled, my personality has changed and evolved and continues to every day.” Kelli loves the vast LGBTQA community in Columbus. “Being a girl from the country, it has been such a huge change and such an inspiration. Let’s just love each other and learn to continue to support and build up everything from here.”
Johnny Appleseed
Kelli loves music, pizza, tattoos and her friends.
PHOTO | JOSHUA MCCARTY
SCENE
The A rtistic L egacy
WRITING ABOUT HIS WORK, the late Corbett Reynolds wrote, “What I enjoy most is being able to achieve a balance between what is commonly considered beautiful and objects not ordinarily thought of as beautiful, which are often perceived as threatening.” The wide scope of his work reflects this balance, mixing classical forms with found objects, religious iconography with neon lights, and utilizing a staggering array of media. Gallery owner Chas Ray Krider, Reynolds’ photographer and frequent collaborator, and Quorum’s own Tom Queen brought together pieces from throughout Corbett’s career for The Artistic Legacy of Corbett Reynolds at the Invisible Gallery.
of
Opening night, September 20, found the gallery full of Reynolds’ friends and admirers who were treated to treasures from the legendary Red Parties he threw at his club, Rudely Elegant, the Wizards photo series Reynolds created with Krider, his most well-known Apollo heads, “The Total Liberation of the Unconscious,” and the glass totems which were displayed in his “Glass Menagerie” exhibition in New York City near the end of his life. Attendees shared stories of Reynolds’ life and work and gave tribute to this visionary Columbus artist who gave so much to our community.
PHOTOS | ANGEL LEMKE
Corbett Reynolds
2014 OCTOBER
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SOUTHBEND TAVERN
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PRESENTS:
HELLIN BEDD, ALLEY KATT AND VIRGINIA WEST
PHOTOS | ALLYSON FRIDLEY
FEATURE
Take a Celestial Stroll
with
Jeffrey Wise
| ANGEL LEMKE FOR JEFFREY WISE, it was love at first sight—first sight of Jupiter, that is. Unsure what he wanted to do after high school, the Reynoldsburg native found his calling one fateful moment when he found himself looking through a friend’s telescope in the south of France. “I was there for a weekend, and it was super magical. It was the first time that I ever saw Jupiter with my own eyes through a telescope. It blew my mind and sparked this fire in me.” Returning to Columbus, Wise enrolled as a non-traditional student, first at Columbus State Community College and now at OSU. His current Celestial Stroll project is driven by the desire to bring a similar sense of wonder to Columbus. The proposed science and art exhibition would create a permanent scale model of the solar system to educate and inspire our community. “When I was learning about the scaling of the solar system” while a student at Columbus State Community College, Wise remembers, “I was intrigued” by a scale model in front of the Smithsonian along the National Mall in Washington D.C. In that model, the sun is about the size of a grapefruit. Wise thought that maybe Columbus could go bigger. “It would be one of the largest linear scale models that would be on permanent exhibit in the country.” 22
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Wise reached out to the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) to help bring his vision into reality, and found enthusiastic support. COSI CEO David Chesebrough writes, “This seamless fusion of sculpture, interactive exhibits and science education matches well with COSI’s initiatives. Celestial Stroll portrays the nature of our existence on planet Earth, celebrates the human capacity to explore and uses interactive models as powerful tools of exploration. Through such an experience, we believe that the project has the capacity to instill a sense of wonder, change perceptions and inspire the next generation of explorers.” Wise has also received advice from Ithaca, New York’s Sciencenter, based on their experiences with their own Sagan Planet Walk, a scale model roughly half the size of that planned for the Celestial Stroll. Wise credits them with helping him anticipate “how a local science center can work in conjunction with the project, making it mutually beneficial for the city, the science center and the outdoor space.” The Sciencenter also shared data with Wise about costs for construction and maintenance and the revenue generated by the extra traffic in the public space. Once the project is built, COSI has agreed to take on the ongoing maintenance costs.
CELESTIAL STROLL PORTRAYS THE NATURE OF OUR EXISTENCE ON PLANET EARTH, CELEBRATES THE HUMAN CAPACITY TO EXPLORE, AND USES INTERACTIVE MODELS AS POWERFUL TOOLS OF EXPLORATION. Though the site isn’t finalized, Wise hopes that the model will be located on the Franklinton side of the Scioto River and integrated into the Scioto Greenways project currently under construction. The Greenways project creates about 33 acres of new green space downtown with walkways and bikeways that make it a natural fit with the Celestial Stroll. The model of our sun would be about a half meter across—about half the length of a standard baseball bat—and be located near the Main Street bridge, while the most distant planet, Neptune, would be across from the North Bank Park. Wise hopes to construct the Sun out of a transparent spherical solar power collector, a technology recently developed by Andre Broessel. “The idea would be to have the model sun collect the energy from the Sun, from the city and from the Moon to power the light fixtures within each of the stations of the planets,” Wise explains. The four inner planets would fall between the Main Street and Town Street bridges. With a half meter wide sun, the scale of our own planet is quite small—just 4 millimeters across, or roughly the size of an ant. All planet models would be suspended in acrylic stations in order to allow the tiny planets to withstand the elements.
Wise also hopes to benefit the community through forming a scholarship fund, The Celestial Foundation, for lowincome families in the Columbus area. He wants to extend opportunities to those in need while also helping Columbus to maintain its status as one of the world’s most intelligent cities. Scholarship recipients would not be bound to science or astronomy majors, but allowed to pursue their true passions, just as he has been lucky to do himself. Wise adds, “In my life, I feel like I’ve had so many opportunities just because of the family that I happened to grow up in, the city that I lived in, the people who have come into my life and some of the major inspirations that have come into my life, and I know that a lot of people don’t have that opportunity.” Reflecting on what the project could mean for Columbus, Wise says, “There is this very unique and very wonderful dance that all the planets are doing around our sun. When you can see it in true perspective, it is art in itself.” Learn more or get involved: TheCelestialStroll.com
“Part of the project idea is to help people understand and directly experience the true vulnerability of the Earth,” says Wise. The Celestial Stroll would “help people really, truly grasp how small we are and what our true focuses should be.” He observes, “Rather than fighting each other, we should be working together. It is the only smart thing to do.”
PHOTOS | RAY LAVOIE
SINGULARLY SINGLETON
Come Out, Come Out Whoever You Are! | SILE SINGLETON I KNOW IT’S CLICHÉ to say it but I swear – I can hardly believe that 15 years have passed since my first National Coming Out Day (NCOD) civil/social justice act of participation. I mean OK, I went to a 1st annual NCOD celebration 10 years earlier, I always wore green on Thursdays and for most of the 80’s, I made sure to use the rainbow as a political accessory. However, I had taken no part in the strategic planning of the movement, local or otherwise. I was deeply entrenched in trying to figure out how I wanted to wear my feminism while my voice as “other” was being encouraged by identity rhetoric to amplify itself. I mean I was still rockin’ three layered Izods, a feathered bouffant and Gloria Vanderbilt jeans. If you know me now, you’ll appreciate how out of touch with the personal I was. So, yeah it took me a second to intentionally connect the dots to NCOD’s significance in my life. A couple seconds and a tragedy changed the trajectory of my queer life forever. Five days before NCOD 1998, Matt Shepard became a martyr for the LGBTQQIA community and its war on bigotry/homophobia and hate crimes in a way that I’d argue no one had seen since Ryan White’s AIDS-related death eight years prior. When I heard the news I wept for hours. I wept because people were so shocked, because James Byrd, Jr., a black gay man, had met a horrific end four months earlier and the outrage was minimal compared to the media attention to Shepard’s death, because I knew that I was only playing with being visible. My vulnerability was protected by all my carefully cultivated home, social and work environments.
If I am honest, I wept because I couldn’t call home and say, “I’m gay and so afraid right now. Can you just come over and hug me?” Why? I had no mentors, and I didn’t trust any adult member of my family would care to support me. Once my grief subsided, I understood that I had to be visible, if not for myself, for my future and the legacy of an entire community. I understood that if a community is allowed to pretend that we don’t exist, we buy the the falsehood and behind the closet door we remain. Being out and proud really is a call to do more than be seen and fabulous at the gay pride parade. It’s a call to shine the light for all those folks waiting for a ray of hope, a hand, a conversation, a visual of what is possible if they dare to be. So mark October 11 on your calendar and do something special. It’s a Saturday, so gather your allies around you and thank them for being out --they’ll appreciate it. (You know it’s hard hanging out with societal weirdoes.) Do an “It Gets Better” video. Go to a rally, and do more than stand and stare. Take a deep breath, and come out come out whomever you are. I promise that there are those of us celebrating your leap into the rainbow abyss, and as I vowed in 1998, I’ll do my best to catch you.
BEING OUT AND PROUD REALLY IS A CALL TO DO MORE THAN BE SEEN AND FABULOUS AT THE GAY PRIDE PARADE. IT’S A CALL TO SHINE THE LIGHT FOR ALL THOSE FOLKS WAITING FOR A RAY OF HOPE, A HAND, A CONVERSATION, A VISUAL OF WHAT IS POSSIBLE IF THEY DARE TO BE. 24
OCTOBER 2014
Bringing Hope. CHanging Lives. a year of powerful results. arC ohio pharmacy filled over
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COUPLE
PHOTOS | AMY TANNENBAUM
Christy Echevarria & Jennifer Deiderich | AMY TANNENBAUM CHRISTY AND JEN’S STORY is equal parts simple and sweet. Their story is not full of twists and turns; coming out was relatively painless for both, and they found each other through mutual friends. They just got legally married in Washington DC and held a reception here in Columbus to celebrate!
They did, however, seal the deal this year, legally marrying in July. They chose Washington, DC because Jen has family there, and Christy had never visited before. Jen’s cousin and her husband hosted them in their home and took video and pictures of them
Though they grew up in different towns - Jen grew up in the Columbus area, and Christy was raised in Huron, Ohio — their lives intersected one afternoon at Slammers in 2008. At the time, Jen was living in Lexington, Kentucky, and Christy had just moved to Columbus, but as if the stars aligned, Jen was visiting town with mutual friends. Both were fresh out of relationships, and Jen had been itching to relocate. In fact, she had always wanted to live in Columbus. Though both were a bit leery of being set up, their mutual friend ensured they meet. “I thought my friend was crazy, I don’t need to be set up on a date,” says Jen. “But when I met her, I knew I couldn’t stop looking.” Christy also felt the instant attraction, and gave her friend a lot of credit for introducing her to Jen. “I could tell that our mutual friend was a genuinely caring and good-hearted person,” says Christy. “She wouldn’t have hooked up two people she didn’t care about. We hit it off—we enjoy a lot of the same things, we have the same likes and dislikes, and it’s been easy since the beginning.” After their first date on Valentine’s Day, they endured long distance for several months, but by June that was remedied when Jen moved to Columbus. Christy’s lease was up, and Jen was planning to buy a house, so as Jen puts it, “We U-Hauled it!” They moved in to a home in German Village together.
being married by their officiant, Tiffany Newman. Back home several weeks later, Jen and Christy hosted a laid-back and fun reception for family and friends at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.
“We hit it off—we enjoy a lot of the same things, we have the same likes and dislikes, and it’s been easy since the beginning.”
When it came to making their relationship legal, they had talked about marriage jokingly, until they got engaged on Thanksgiving of 2012 while on vacation in Mexico. “There was this joke that I made this pseudo-deal,” says Christy, “that if I got a Tiffany ring, then I would get a tattoo of her name on my side. Neither end of the bet held up.”
Now newlyweds, Christy and Jen find success in their relationship through spending time together doing things they love, but always finding time for themselves. “We go out with friends and party, but we know when it’s time to deck out,” says Christy. “We have a good balance of spending time for us and things we enjoy, and going out with friends and having a good time.” 2014 OCTOBER
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SEXPERT
| JOHN HENRY, JR ATTENTION CENTRAL OHIO: Syphilis has now reached outbreak proportions here in Franklin County. Due to this pressing health issue within our community, I want to inform and educate our readers on what exactly this means and how to protect yourself and others. While syphilis can be easily and effectively treated with antibiotics, if left untreated, it can have serious health consequences. According to Columbus Public Health’s HIV/STI Prevention Program Manager, Michael Burnett, RN, DHSc, MSA, BSN, “Syphilis testing is critical to the sexual health and well-being of our community, whether heterosexual or MSM (men who have sex with men). If left untreated, syphilis can lead to many adverse health outcomes including other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), hair and skin disorders, neurological problems, blindness, and death.” What does it mean when we call it an outbreak? From an epidemiological perspective, “outbreak” and “epidemic” are used synonymously. Typically, outbreak is used to describe a localized phenomenon, while epidemic is a large-scale health crisis. Currently, the syphilis rates in Franklin County are among the highest rates in Ohio and the United States. According to the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), “The numbers of infectious early syphilis cases (in Franklin County) have increased by 40% when comparing January-July of 2013 to January-July of 2014.” Dr. Burnett adds that “MSM have disproportionately higher rates of syphilis infection compared to the general population.” Data from the ODH confirms this: “The majority of infectious syphilis cases in Franklin County are among men, particularly men who have sex with men. Of the cases diagnosed in men, 50% are reported among White men and the other 50% are reported among African American men. Specifically, the most impacted communities are white MSM greater than 40 years of age and African American MSM between 18 and 39 years of age.” How do you protect yourself? I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, wrap it up! Put a bit more delicately by Dr. Burnett, “Consistent and proper use of barriers including condoms and dams reduces the risk of transmission (of syphilis, HIV and other STIs).” Regular testing for syphilis is also important to avoid infecting others and contain this outbreak. Syphilis testing is a simple blood test.
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While some may say needles are not your thing, it is imperative that you get tested. That means everyone. Unless you are celibate, you could be at risk. Empower yourself and others to take sexual health seriously. Protect yourself from becoming infected, and test regularly, so treatment can be provided, if needed. The end of this outbreak starts with each one of us. Do it for yourself, for your loved ones and for your community.
Symptoms of early syphilis are often misdiagnosed and can include: • Cutaneous lesion(s) - often painless ulcers, oN genitals, anus/rectum or in/around the mouth • Maculopapular rash - genital, body, palms or hands/ soles of feet, scalp, face • Condylomata lata - usually painful, raised and moist wartlike lesions in groin and perianal area • Swollen lymph glands and fever • Meningitis, cranial neuropathies, uveitis/optic neuritis, sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. Testing Sites: All are free and walk-in CPH (240 Parsons Avenue) Monday: 8:00 a.m.-2:15 p.m. & 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Tuesday: 10:00 a.m.-6:15 p.m. Wednesday: 8:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m. Thursday: 8:00 a.m.-4:15 p.m. & 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Friday: 8:00 a.m.-4:15 p.m. ARC (4400 N. High Street) Tuesday: 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. Stonewall (1160 N.High Street) Monday: 1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. AHF (815 W. Broad Street) Monday: 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Columbus.gov/PublicHealth Free confidential HIV and STI testing is available at ARC Ohio’s locations. Anonymous HIV testing is available. For more information call 614-299-2437 or visit ARCOhio.org
FEATURE
T he B ody
is
A lready E nough :
F ive Y ears
of
Q ueer Y oga
| ANGEL LEMKE AT $6.00 PER CLASS, Queer Behavior’s weekly Queer Yoga is likely the best value in town, but that’s only a small part of why the program has had staying power, celebrating its 5-year anniversary this month. Queer Behavior, an all-inclusive network of self-identified queer peoples, formed in 2009 in response to the demise of spaces like queer coffee shops and bookstores. Co-founder Zach Reau explains, “Queer Behavior formed to break down some of the barriers that exist in the queer community. We found that everyone was kind of self-segregating, and we weren’t OK with that.” In their quest to facilitate dialogue and connection, they soon began offering yoga classes, a project led by Caleb Founds. In October 2009, classes began at 83 Gallery in the Short North, with Lauren Strong as the original instructor. Five years later, Queer Yoga has been the only continual programming amongst the wide variety of activities the group has undertaken. “One of the things that was part of the vision of Queer Behavior early on was creating a safer space, a space where people felt accepted and welcomed, where their differences were appreciated, rather than minimized. That’s been a constant,” says Michael Morris, who has been the class instructor for the past three years. “We start every class with a reminder that this is a safer space. What we mean by that is that we don’t assume things like gender and sexuality about one another. It also means we don’t assume things like race, age, ability, ethnicity, any sort of identification that comes with a value judgment. That’s the baseline we start from.”
OCTOBER 2014
PHOTOS | ALLYSON FRIDLEY
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The wide variety of participants may also be a result of Queer Yoga’s changing locations across the city, as different neighborhoods bring out different participants. The class has seen several different incarnations. After its original home 83 Gallery closed, classes were held at The Garden Theater for about six months and have been at the current space at the It Looks Like It’s Open Gallery in Clintonville since June 2013. Classes have also been held outside at Goodale Park, at Feverhead in Grandview and at 400 W. Rich Street. The current space is small—Morris reports that they have fit up to 22 people in it—but offers a dedicated space, while the class had to contend with other events sharing the venue in other locations. “83 Gallery was a beautiful space, and we loved practicing yoga surrounded by art, but sometimes people would drop off their art while we were having class, or the people at Mikey’s Late Night Slice would be really loud. At the Garden Theater, there might be tap dancing happening.” says Morris. Though a bigger space would allow Queer Yoga to serve more members of the community, Morris sees beauty in the smaller space. “Yoga is already a way of sensitizing ourselves to the other, ourselves as the other, but when you’re that close to other people practicing, you can’t practice as if you were in isolation. You have to practice with an awareness of others. People who haven’t talked to each other yet suddenly are talking to each other because they’ve gotta navigate space, and that’s exciting.” Accessibility is a priority of all Queer Behavior activities, and Queer Yoga’s $6.00 price tag is a reflection of that commitment. “There’s always been a focus on making this accessible to people of different economic brackets or class backgrounds,” says Morris. Queer Yoga is also a drop-in class, so there’s no need to register in advance. There’s no set curriculum, and Morris structures the class in a way that allows the people who are there every week variety, while allowing any newcomers to start wherever they are. Participants do not need props— Morris teaches people instead to modify poses using their own bodies—and there are always a few community yoga mats available for those who aren’t ready or able to invest in one of their own. “Props can be useful,” says Morris, “but also can be cost-prohibitive. The body is already enough.” What makes Queer Yoga queer, then, is not necessarily the self-identifications of the participants, but the approach to instruction. “I can’t imagine anything more queer than learning to resignify our bodies,” says Morris. For example, rather than having all participants trying to achieve an ideal posture and bring their bodies in line with each other, Morris offers variations of each posture, allowing participants to find how it might emerge differently in their different bodies, day by day. “We are already different from ourselves, moment by moment, week by week, posture by posture. We’re becoming a different version of ourselves, and yoga gives you an opportunity to pay close attention to the fact that you’re already more than you were.” Reau believes that this makes Queer Yoga especially approachable. “It’s this weird phenomenon where we always have at least one new person every single week.” The group also gets a lot of visitors who are in town for art projects or conferences. “People say, I Google searched ‘queer,’ and this is what I came up with in Columbus, so we get a little bit of tourism as well.”
“ILLIO has been really great. Michael became a member of the co-op, so we’re able to use the space whenever it’s available for a pretty small investment,” says Reau. “And it’s in Clintonville, where a large community of queer-identified folks live. It’s right off the #2 bus line. It’s easy to get to.” With many other art and community activities taking place there, Reau and Morris predict it will soon become a queer alt-arts hub. In keeping with Queer Behavior’s goals of increasing dialogue, there is always a reason to stay after class and talk, usually a snack of fruit or tea. “While the class is from 7:30-8:30, people are usually there until 9-9:15,” says Reau. “We’ve built a little community around it.” Those after-class conversations have led to other Queer Behavior events, including a storytelling event coming up on October 16 at Kafe Kerouac. Queer Yoga is always changing as well, as conversations about how to be a safer space and maintain the values of the group continue. “All of us are learning,” Morris observes. “Balance is not something you have or you don’t have, and it’s not an opportunity for self-judgment. It’s the practice of refining your ability to respond to changing forces.” On this same note, participants leave class with a last reminder of self-acceptance. Participants are asked to thank themselves for their practice and honor themselves as they already are. “That’s one of the hardest messages to re-write is that you are already good enough,” says Morris. “You are already more than you imagined.” Queer Yoga Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. $6.00 (Cash or Credit Card) It Looks Like It’s Open Gallery 13 E. Tulane Road Columbus, OH 43202 Facebook.com/QueerBehavior
UPDATE
Gregg
Catching up with Dodd and his #greggslist | ISAAC BENDELE GREGG DODD WANTS to be a dream maker. When he jotted down his New Year’s resolution list on the first day of the year, he scrawled on his kitchen chalkboard 52 experiences he’s never had (an average of one per week). His now notorious #greggslist was designed to make 2014 the most memorable year of his life. Quorum profiled Gregg and his list with our May cover story, and with just three months until 2015 we wanted to see how he is coming along. Gregg’s list has been an inspiration to many, and right now his focus is on #17: “Make someone’s wish come true.” Gregg admits he doesn’t know exactly what this looks like, but says, “I’ll know it when I see it.” We wish him luck in being a dream maker and inspiring all of us to create our own lists that change lives and “make wishes come true.” Dream big, Columbus! Total budget of $5,200.00 Spent to date $3,042.35 Highlights since we last saw Gregg. . . 27. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge: “It’s not until you walk across the most famous bridge in the world that you realize the ingenuity of humanity. The engineering feat was felt with each step and every breath as I looked out over the amazing San Francisco sky line.” 43. Run the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art: “Isn’t it every child’s dream to be like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky? Running up the intimidating stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art was an exhilarating feat that symbolized victory and triumph.” #greggslist items yet to go. . . 2-Run two marathons in two different cities. 3-Go parasailing. 4-Spend a day with a CEO from a Fortune 500 company. 11-Learn to do the Salsa. 16-Enter and run 12 (1 a month) 5Ks. 17-Make someone’s wish come true. 18-Pick apples then make a pie. 19-Be able to do 10 pull-ups. 21-Surf. 22-Host a murder mystery dinner. 23-Swim with dolphins. 29-See the Northern Lights. 30-Shout, “drinks on me” at a bar and pay the bill. 34-Shave my head in support of someone with cancer. 48-See DC through the eyes of someone who’s never been. 49-Have a drink at every Short North bar in a single night.
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DEVELOPMENT
“Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir humanity’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized.” - Daniel Burnham | JM RAYBURN DANIEL BURNHAM WAS an American architect and urban planner. In Columbus, we can thank him for the Wyandotte Building and the Columbus Union Station, which served railroad passengers. Passenger rail service existed for over 125 years in Columbus— from February 27, 1850 to April 28, 1977. Columbus Union Station, as it is recalled today, was actually the third Union Station in Columbus. The previous two served in the nineteenth century, and their replacement and upgrade reflected the rapid growth in traffic and importance of Columbus’s railroads at that time. The subsequent decline in rail passenger traffic following World War II was symbolized in Union Station’s demolition and replacement with a convention center in the early 1980s.
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Ironically, just after the demolition, the oil shock of 1979 pressured the Ohio government to development a statewide plan for high-speed passenger rail service as a way to hedge the risk of future oil shocks. An economy simply cannot move or function without reliable energy sources and efficient transportation. That being so, why hasn’t Ohio built a statewide passenger rail system over the last three decades? Many of us can recall the recent 3C passenger rail plan to link Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. Former Ohio Governor Bob Taft conceived the idea during a trade trip to Japan were he was inspired by the Japanese bullet trains. As history would have it, another Republican governor would kill the project in 2010, even after Ohio was awarded $400 million from the federal government to cover the costs. Imagine where we could have been if the 3C passenger rail project was judged based on its public benefits rather than scoring quick political points against President Obama, who threw support behind passenger rail in 2009.
MAKE NO SMALL PLANS: PASSENGER RAIL IN COLUMBUS
Demand for intercity passenger rail is growing. Amtrak has set a new ridership record with 2013 being its best year ever at 31.6 million passengers. John R. Stilgoe of Harvard University writes that the convergence of globalization, congestion, energy prices and discomforts of air travel has driven a renewed interest in the role of rail for both passengers and freight. The US High Speed Rail Association, an independent, nonprofit, trade association envisions a 17,000 mile national high speed rail system by 2030, connecting regions, cities and towns in an integrated, multi-modal system. Among the principal benefits: revitalizing the economy, reducing congestion and cutting the nation’s carbon footprint. A rail advocacy group in Fort Wayne, Indiana called the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association (NIPRA) unveiled a study last summer looking at the feasibility of running a 110mph passenger rail line between Columbus and Chicago. The study, which calls for upgrading existing freight lines, estimates that the entire project would cost about $1.285 billion and be eligible for federal funding that would cover 80 percent of the cost. It puts the economic benefits at over
$6 billion (new jobs, development around stations and increased tax returns). Potential timetables show a trip from Columbus to Chicago taking 4 hours on a local train and 3 hours, 45 minutes on an express train. Annual ridership is projected at 2.1 million in 2020 and over 3.3 million by 2040. The system could potentially generate an annual positive operation cost ratio estimated at $5 million in 2020, and $64 million in 2040. The business plan indicates that a private operator could manage the system without annual government subsidies. The project simply makes good economic sense. It is important to remember that Chicago is the economic engine of the Midwest, and the Columbus Region is the largest metropolitan area without high-speed passenger rail service. I am pleased to report that the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) along with the City of Columbus and City of Marysville have jointly announced that they will collectively be continuing with the necessary steps to realize the Columbus-to-Chicago high-speed passenger rail line. Daniel Burnham was right in his proclamation to make no small plans. Allow me to add that fortune favors the bold.
SCENE
THE OLDE TOWNE EAST favorite Hot Times Community Arts and Music Festival returned for its 38th year to help bring the summer to a close with a theme of “Community Unity.” On an ironically cool Saturday evening, the crowds came out to enjoy the street fair, art cars and great food. Many folks gathered around the Parsons stage to enjoy LGBTQA fan favorites Debé, Bobby Hamlin, Jazzmary, Donna Mogavero and Wednesday Wine, as well as to celebrate the youth performers from the Girlz Rhythm n’ Rock Camp. A great way to welcome the fall!
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FITNESS
FUNCTIONAL TRAINING: DEFINED | MICHAEL GREENHOUSE MANY PEOPLE PERFORM strength training to look and feel good, but strength training can also help improve performance in athletics or in daily activities. To achieve greater goals, you should train your body in the way that the human body moves – functionally and beautifully. Movements that do not look smooth, clean, graceful or easy are likely movements that are not beneficial to positive training momentum. The body is an integrated system with each component linked together to provide coordinated movement in our daily lives. With its origins in rehabilitation, Functional Training helps us prepare for daily tasks, and it ingrains the correct movement patterns with which our brains are already familiar, rather simply than training isolated muscles. There are many definitions of the term Functional Training: An exercise continuum involving balance and proprioception, performed with the feet on the ground and without machine assistance, such that strength is displayed in unstable conditions and body weight is managed in all movement planes (Boyle, 2003). Multi-joint, multi-planar, proprioceptive-enriched activity that involves deceleration (force reduction), acceleration (force production) and stabilization; controlled amounts of instability; and management of gravity, ground reaction forces and momentum (Gambetta & Gray, 1995; Gambetta, 1999). A spectrum of activities that condition the body consistent with its integrated movement and/or use (Santana, 2000). Many experts also believe that training tasks should be chosen according to their mechanical specificity and their relationship to activities of daily living (ADLs). In other words, their basic mechanics – but not necessarily their appearance – should correspond to one or more target activities. Functional Training should supplement traditional weightlifting, rather than replace it. It provides variety and additional benefits that directly transfer to common sports and daily life movements.
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When learning how to train functionally, a person should perform traditional strength training regularly. Functional movements should be slowly added using free weights (dumbbells and barbells, pulley/cable machines, bands, stability balls and suspension trainers). Functional Training should mimic the movements of a sport or daily movement pattern while working against resistance. For best results when working with functional movements, train using movements that are equal to or greater than your current range of motion. Also, train the movement with a speed similar to how you normally perform the movement. Research indicates that training at high speeds improves human performance on dynamic movements better than training at low speeds. When training functionally, you must train all muscles associated in a movement.If you throw a baseball, you primarily feel stress in the arm or shoulder, but in reality, your chest, back, legs, hips and core are being used in the actual throwing motion. If you want to increase your throwing performance you need to train all of these muscle groups to increase the strength skill of this movement. Using muscular contractions and speed of movement during training that are specific to the demands of the motion pattern will cause a higher success rate than simple, fixed movement patterns. This should be a pleasant surprise: Me, a fitness professional and movement specialist, telling you to work less! You do not need to work on 10 fixed machines when you can do four exercises and get a better workout. WORK FUNCTIONAL, NOT MECHANICAL!
CRAB RACES
CRAB RACES WITH KRIS
| KRIS LITTLER GREAT NAMES:
UPCOMING:
Shell-ijah Woods the Claw-bbit, 2 Claws-1 shell, Shell We Dance, Crab-n-Go, Rainbow Dash, Snippy Long Stockings, Fuzzy Moose Hoof, Pinch Hitter, Don’t Ask - Don’t Shell, Clawdette Peterson, In a Pinch.
Attack of the Crab Monster: Halloween Crab Race
NOT SO GREAT NAMES: Mark, Bruce, Crab, Tim, Tracy, Baby, Pearl, Bob, Cody. OK, at least be creative with bad names! For example: Poppin’ Cold Sores, Thank God Paul’s Leavin’, Take Ben’s Virginity, Cale Yar-Claw.
There will be a costume contest and prizes. Come show off your costumes. I would love for someone to come as your vision of the Crab monster! There will be great photo opportunities that night. D: Thursday, October 23 T: 9:30 pm L: Exile, 893 N. Fourth Street
FASCINATING FACT:
Hope to see you at the races, Local bar on Mondays at 9:30 Exile bar on Thursdays at 9:30.
A female crab, depending on her size can lay anywhere between 800 to 50,000 eggs.
Until next time, STAY CRABBY!
You can follow the crabs on Facebook, CRABRACINGWITHKRIS
Celebrate!
1777 East Broad Street | Columbus www.fpconservatory.org | 614.715.8100 eventsales@fpconservatory.org Indoor & Outdoor Venues Select 2014 Dates Still Available
TASTE BUDS
| CRAIG CHADWELL & MIKE MOFFO WHEN THERE’S A LOCALLY-OWNED eatery whose motto is “We believe in craft beer, hand-crafted tacos and finelycrafted tequila,” we would be derelict in our Taste Buds duties not to report said establishment. (And let’s face it, the Taste Buds can be derelict enough without shirking our foodie duties.) So let’s get our taco and tequila on and check out Local Cantina.
So about those two (or three) tacos you’re likely going to select? Though you can’t go wrong with any selection, our faves are:
We all know Local Bar, the space for great craft beers, crab races and a great time in general. Recently, one of the owners wanted to “bring the Local Bar flair to a restaurant” and that investment helped bring us Local Cantina. This review, in order to ensure its thoroughness, “required” more than one visit in order to keep trying different things. To be exact, four visits were required. With great food and great drinks, who could resist a $4 Mustache Ride and a couple of tasty tacos?
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Local Cantina features tacos in normal people portions. If you’re expecting that rice-overboard bloat from “that” mas Mexi-chain, you won’t get it here. What you do get are ingredients clearly prepared with exquisite detail and assembled in very unique, flavor-complimenting ways. Pick two tacos (two different ones, if you’re like us) and then fill up with the free, endless chips and salsa. This isn’t your runof-the-mill “What do they expect for free?” salsa. It has just the right blend of tomato, mild heat and cilantro goodness.
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Roasted Carnitas: juicy pork and a pineapple mango salsa with a little cilantro on top. The Avocado BLT is amazing. The cilantro ranch dressing really sets it apart. The Grilled Fish taco has a jalapeno slaw and a little chipotle cream drizzle. For a touch of Mexican meat, there’s the Chorizo and Egg with an onion-cilantro-salsa mix.
And about that Mustache Ride? It’s Tequila Cazadores, Grand Marnier, agave and lime. It’s a simple but potent concoction that you can find for five bucks on happy hour, when you’ll also find their extensive selection of craft beers on draft for $3 a pint. The House Margarita at $5 regular price is nice. The same drink without the splash of OJ is $4, El Pozo. Nice. Rustic. Rough yet smooth.
WITH GREAT FOOD AND GREAT DRINKS, WHO COULD RESIST A $4 MUSTACHE RIDE AND A COUPLE OF TASTY TACOS?
TASTE BUDS Beyond tacos, we can recommend the quesadilla, and superb fajitas, as well as the Cantina Cobb Salad with Grilled Chicken. Taste Bud Craig suggests ordering that last item plus a side of black beans, mix it all together, and ask for an extra of their house Chipotle Agave Vinaigrette Dressing. This, folks, is an amazing, filling salad. If you have eaten your fair share of chips, you’ll likely have take-home lunch for tomorrow! You can find Local Cantina in Grandview at 1423-B Grandview Avenue and also in the Creekside at Gahanna at 101 Mill Street. Like to plan for your visit? Check out: LocalCantina.com The Taste Buds have full intentions of giving Local Cantina a full four thumbs up, as soon as all four hands stop shoving this fine local food into their faces!
PHOTO | RYAN SCHUMANN, RUDE PHOTOGRAPHY
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4 Club 20 Old North Columbus 20 E Duncan Ave 614.261.9111 8 Exile Italian Village 893 N 4th St 614.299.0069 10 Wine on High Short North 789 N High St 614. 294.8466 13 Local Bar Short North 913 N High St 614.670.8958 14 Slammers Downtown 202 E Long St 614.221.8880
2 Axis Short North 775 N High St 614.291.4008 22 Wall Street Night Club Downtown 144 N Wall St 614.464.2800
EAT + DRINK. 11 12 21 23 25
La Fogata Grill Short North 790 N High St 614.294.7656 Level Dining Lounge Short North 700 N High St 614.754.7111 Union Short North 782 N High St 614.421.2233 Circus Short North 1127 N High St 614.421.2998 Barrel 44 Short North 1220 N High St 614.294.2277
28 BossyGrrl’s Pin-Up Joint Old North Columbus 2598 N High St
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SHOP. 9 The Garden Short North 1186 N High St 614.294.2869 18 Torso Short North 772 N High St 614.421.7663 19 Torso (in Exile) Italian Village 893 N 4th St 614.299.0069
ENGAGE. 5 ARC OHIO Clintonville 4400 N High St 614.299.2437 24 ARC OHIO Medical Ctr + Pharmacy Short North 1033 N High St 16 Stonewall Columbus Short North 1160 N High St 614.299.7764
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MERION VILLAGE
BREWERY DISTRICT SOUTH SIDE OLDE TOWNE EAST
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26 Explorers Club Merion Village 1586 S High St 614.725.0155
Cavan Irish Pub Merion Village 1409 S High St 614.725.5502 Club Diversity Brewery District 863 S High St 614.224.4050 South Bend Merion Village 126 E. Moler St 614.444.3386 The Toolbox Saloon South Side 744 Frebis Ave 614.670.8113 Tremont Brewery District 708 S High St 614.445.9365
DRINK + DANCE. 1 A.W.O.L. Bar + The Barracks Olde Towne East 49 Parsons Ave 614.621.8779
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MUNITY RESOURCES
LOCAL & STATE ORGANIZATIONS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Stonewall Columbus 614-299-7764 www.stonewallcolumbus.org This local community and resource center serves the Central Ohio LGBTQ community by providing programs and services that enhance the well-being and visibility of a diverse
GLAAD www.glaad.org A national organization that promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive media representations of LGBTQ people. as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Additionally, Stonewall Columbus hosts the annual Pride Holiday.
Human Rights Campaign www.hrc.com The nation’s largest gay and lesbian political organization.
ARC Ohio 800-252-0827 www.arcohio.org Fights the spread of HIV, works towards reducing its transmission, stigma and the resulting discrimination through education and awareness, and provides quality services to BRAD (Buckeye Alliance of the Deaf ) membership@gmail.com www.bradohio.com Protects and promotes the interests and well-being of deaf and hard of hearing LGBTQ people while increasing awareness about the needs of Deaf and hard of hearing community. BRAVO (Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization) 614-294-STOP www.bravo-ohio.org Works to eliminate violence perpetuated on the basis of prevention, advocacy, violence documentation and survivor services. Equality Ohio 614-224-0400 www.equalityohio.org A statewide lobbying organization working to secure equality for LGBT Ohioans. FreedomOhio 614-246-3807 www.freedomohio.com The Freedom to Marry Ohio movement is dedicated to ending marriage discrimination in Ohio. Kaleidoscope Youth Center 614-294-5437 www.kycohio.org Provides advocacy, education, support and a safe environment for LGBT youth in Central Ohio. P-FLAG Columbus 614-806-8025 awareness and understanding for Central Ohio’s LGBT citizens and our families, friends and allies. Rainbow Sisters www.rainbowsisters.info A social and community-oriented group for lesbian women age 40 and over.
NGLTF www.thetaskforce.org The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is a leading progressive civil rights organization that has supported grassroots organizing since 1973. The National Coalition for LGBT Youth www.outproud.org A wide range of resources available for youth and educators. ARTS & MUSIC Capital Pride Band of Columbus 614-325-1590 www.cappride.org A statewide LGBTQ organization of instrumentalists promoting the joy of music, friendship, and personal growth. They provide a variety of performances each year. Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus 614-228-2462 www.cgmc.com Singing out since 1990, this chorus presents a series of concerts each year. Open auditions held prior to rehearsal for each show. Evolution Theatre Company 614-233-1124 www.evolutiontheatre.org A semi-professional theatre company that presents musicals, dramas and comedies that have not been seen in the area well as new works and world premieres. Imagine Productions 614-398-1110 www.imaginecolumbus.com entertaining and educating community stakeholders. They recognize that empowerment and growth occurs for both the audience and performer. Wexner Center for the Arts 614-292-3535 www.wexarts.org Internationally known contemporary arts center at OSU, programs, as well as a store and a café all under one roof in an architectural landmark. COUNSELING
Sisters of Lavender
614-445-8277
A social/support for women 40 and over. S.O.L. is the oldest lesbian organization in Columbus.
A center for psychotherapy and growth with a long history of working with LGBTQ clients.
TransOhio 614-441-8167 www.transohio.org Serves the Ohio transgender and allied communities by providing services, education, support and advocacy.
Randi Cohen, LPCC-S 614-267-1993 www.randicohen.com Helping adult clients to create a strong sense of self, learn good communication skills, and gain a clearer sense of how others see you.
Why Marriage Matters Ohio www.whymarriagemattersoh.org A marriage equality education campaign supporting the right for any loving, committed Ohio couple to marry.
Shawn D. King, PhD., LISW 614-655-3554 www.shawnkingphd.com Providing individual, family, and group counseling services to the LGBTQ community. Specializing in relationship issues, anger management and mental health services. HEALTH & WELLNESS AHF Wellness Center & Out of the Closet Pharmacy: 614-732-5947 Wellness Center: 614-223-1532 www.aidshealth.org The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) operates Out of the full-service pharmacy, and HIV testing at the corner of N. High St., Suite 350. CHOICES 614-224-4663 www.choicescolumbus.org Since 1977 they have provided counseling, shelter, crisis intervention, education and community and legal support and advocacy to central Ohio residents facing domestic violence. Columbus Public Health LGBTQ Health Initiative 614-645-1493 www.publichealth.columbus.gov As part of the department’s mission to protect health and cultural competency trainings to health care and other service providers. Additionally, their LGBTQ Health Advocate manages The Crystal Club 614-214-4828 www.thecrystalclub.org female impersonators, and other transgender individuals. Huckleberry House 614-294-5553 www.huckhouse.org Established in 1970 to provide a safe place for runaway youth homeless or runaways. NetCare 614-276-CARE www.netcareaccess.org Provides 24 hour mental health and substance abuse crisis intervention, stabilization and assessment for Franklin County Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio, Inc. 614-224-2235 www.plannedparenthood.org The nation's oldest and largest sexual and reproductive health care organization. Trevor Project 866-4U-TREVOR www.thetrevorproject.org Determined to end suicide among LGBT youth by providing nationwide, 24/7 crisis intervention lifeline.
ADJOURN
A Season
of
Change
| MICHAEL LLOYD AS I WRITE THIS in a small restaurant in Athens, Ohio, the contemporary Pagan holiday of Mabon (the autumnal equinox) is mere days away. The changing season is apparent all around. Sycamore trees shine like molten gold in the sunshine. The days run down to dark, while the nights ripen to a misty crispness that demands a bonfire. And pumpkin spice everything is, for better or worse, everywhere. I’m spending a lot of time in Athens County these days as I prepare to move to a piece of land in the country. Mickey Hart asked me to write an October column before I leave central Ohio, promising that I could do it on “any topic you choose.” That’s always a dangerous proposition to offer this gayPagan-engineer-author. As you read this, Hallowe’en is fast approaching. Many of the Witchy persuasion might be tempted at this time of year to hold forth on that subject, but frankly, that’s been done to death for the better part of 70 years now. Instead, I’ll discuss the real reason for the season. Hallowe’en, like all of the Pagan sabbats , is a celebration of change. Samhain, as we refer to it, marks the end of the growing season and the beginning of the dark time of year. It’s no surprise that the changes marking this period mainly conjure up images of death and darkness because that’s what many of our ancestors observed all around them as the land drifted slowly to sleep. Many Pagans honor that winding down process, the memories of friends and loved ones both living and dead, and the passing of abundant times and warmer weather.
Change is often feared because it’s a disruption in our comfortable routines, but change is a vital part of life, for without change there can be no growth. One simply cannot evolve from a position of stasis. Indeed, how we respond to the very real challenges of man-made climate change in this era may affect the future of our species, perhaps to as great an extent as our ancestor’s response to the changes in climate that forced them from the trees in east Africa millions of years ago, and that prospect scares me much more than a few black cats and vampires. But not all change is cataclysmic. For example, the gay community has gone from Stonewall to the legalization of our existence and the verge of marriage equality in the space of barely 50 years. This, after millennia of discrimination. However, if the history of racism in the U.S. is any indicator, we’ll yet endure further generations of trauma before we’re held on equal terms with our fellow Americans. Many of them are afraid because an abyss has opened at their feet as their petty assumptions of entitlement and moral superiority have been swept away. Their fear and willful ignorance continues to threaten our advances, but regardless of their resistance – or ours – change will come. It’s not always fast, nor is it without its costs. I’ve done well by Columbus over the past 23 years (21 of which were spent in Olde Towne East, itself a scene of many changes). I formed the second longest running gay men’s coven in the U.S., co-founded one of the country’s largest spiritual gatherings for queer men, wrote a book, helped inaugurate a LGBTQ employee group at Battelle, served on the Near East Area Commission and the Kaleidoscope board, and found, and lost, love. Change comes to us all. Blessed be.
Michael Lloyd is a retired Battelle engineer. He co-founded, and for ten years co-facilitated, the Between the Worlds Men’s Gathering, a Pagan spiritual retreat for men who love men. He is the author of Bull of Heaven: The Mythic Life of Eddie Buczynski and the Rise of the New York Pagan (Asphodel Press, 2012), the first book to chronicle LGBTQ involvement in the history of contemporary Paganism in the U.S. His latest adventure is Arcadian Groves, LLC in Athens, Ohio. Stay tuned.
2014 OCTOBER
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