San Francisco Bay Times - November 10, 2016

ORIGINAL IMAGE BY DEBRA WALKER

November 10-23, 2016 | www.sfbaytimes.com

I’m with her.

Hillary Rodham Clinton Concession Speech Presented to the Clinton campaign staff, volunteers and other supporters on November 9, the day after Donald Trump was elected to be the 45th President of the United States fer of power. We don’t just respect that. We cherish it. It also enshrines the rule of law; the principle we are all equal in rights and dignity; freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values, too, and we must defend them.

Last night I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country. I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and I’m sorry we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.

But I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together. This vast, diverse, creative, unruly, energized campaign. You represent the best of America, and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too. And so do tens of

millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort. This is painful, and it will be for a long time. But I want you to remember this. Our campaign was never about one person, or even one election. It was about the country we love and building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted.

We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought.

But I still believe in America, and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful trans-

Let me add: Our constitutional democracy demands our participation, not just every four years, but all the time. So let’s do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear. Ma k ing our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top, protecting our country and protecting our planet.

And breaking down all the barriers that hold any American back from achieving their dreams. We spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe that the American dream is big enough for everyone.

For people of all races, and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people, and people with disabilities. For everyone.

I am so grateful to stand with all of you. I want to thank Tim Kaine and Anne Holton for being our partners on this journey. It has been a joy getting to know them better and it gives me great hope and comfort to know that Tim will remain on the front

lines of our democracy representing Virginia in the Senate.

To Barack and Michelle Obama, our country owes you an enormous debt of gratitude. We thank you for your graceful, determined leadership that has meant so much to so many Americans and people across the world. And to Bill and Chelsea, Mark, Charlotte, Aidan, our brothers and our entire family, my love for you means more than I can ever express. You crisscrossed this country, even 4-month-old Aidan, who traveled with his mom. I will always be grateful to the talented, dedicated men and women at our headquarters in Brooklyn and across our country. You poured your hearts into this campaign. To some of you who are veterans, it was a campaign after you had done other campaigns. Some of you, it was your first campaign.

I want each of you to know that you were the best campaign anybody could have ever expected or wanted.

And to the millions of volunteers, community leaders, activists and union organizers who knocked on doors, talked to their neighbors, posted on Facebook—even in secret private Facebook sites. I want everybody coming out from behind that and make sure your voices are heard going forward. To anyone that sent contributions, even as small as $5, that kept us going, thank you. To all of us, and to the young people in particular, I hope you will hear this— I have, as Tim said, I have spent my entire life fighting for what I believe in. I’ve had successes and setbacks and sometimes painful ones.

Many of you are at the beginning of your professional, public, and political careers—you will have successes and setbacks too. This loss hurts,

but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it. It is, it is worth it.

And so we need—we need you to keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives. And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me: I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.

Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will— and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams. Finally, I am so grateful for our country and for all it has given to me.

I count my blessings every single day that I am an American, and I still believe, as deeply as I ever have, that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strengthen our convictions, and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us. Because I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never, ever regret fighting for that.

Scripture tells us, let us not grow weary of doing good, for in good season we shall reap. My friends, let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary and lose heart, for there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do. I am incredibly honored and grateful to have had this chance to represent all of you in this consequential election. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.

What Now? Trump; his disregard for the norms of civil discourse; his threats and bullying; his complete indifference to factual reality—I’m convinced that these have all been poisonous to our collective well-being.

Examined Life Tom Moon, MFT I wrote what follows a week ago, when I assumed that Donald Trump would not win this election, and the point of the column was to talk about taking a “Trump detox” to undo some of the damage he has already done to the soul of our country. I can’t recall ever seeing a presidential election that was as destructive and ugly as this one. It was a dramatic demonstration of how much harm one man’s toxic narcissism can do to an entire nation. The racism, misogyny and xenophobia of Donald

This year, psychologists invented a new term—“election stress disorder”—to refer to the anger, anxiety, hopelessness, distrust, and other brutalizing effects that characterized this cycle. Our social fabric was already frayed, but Trump further degraded our sense of common humanity. Many people found that they even lost trust in themselves, because this election unleashed a depth of rage and fear that they hadn’t known they could feel before. I certainly found myself speaking and behaving in ways that violate my core values.

But now that he’s won, it is perhaps even more important that we do all that we can to affirm the fundamental values that I know we all cherish.

Chief among those values is kindness—toward ourselves and others.

None of the following suggestions will fix our broken politics, but they

may help us approach that task with renewed energy and clarity.

The first suggestion is just that we pay special attention to our own emotional needs right now. What do you need to renew yourself ? Maybe it’s time to take a media fast, or at least limit your exposure. Spend some time in nature. Exercise. Have a massage. Meditate. Listen to yourself. If you’re anxious, let someone know about it. If you’re fearful about the future, share your concerns with someone you can trust.

Second, re-commit to doing all that you can to be the solution that you want to see. Many other people are also exhausted, distressed, and afraid right now. In ways you may never know, your small acts of kindness could reverberate in the lives of others long after this election is forgotten. This time in our history calls for a special quality of heartfulness—the courage to stay engaged, with an open heart, and a renewed commitment to compassion and common decency; and a determination to hold onto our faith in what connects us.

These days I’m trying to practice a simple, but beautiful, ethical maxim: “Give no one cause to fear you.”

What small actions can you take to help lessen the anxiety of others and help them feel safer? Here are a few ideas: Be mindful of all the subtle ways in which we dominate or abuse others—self-righteousness, edginess, irritation, and impatience; caustic, sarcastic or withering tones; condescension, ridicule, and humiliation; eye-rolling and sighs; prosecutorial questions, high-handedness, putdowns, and on and on—and make a special effort today to refrain from such behavior. Avoid hostile speech and insulting political arguments on social media. If you drive, refrain from using the horn to “express your feelings,” and use it only when absolutely necessary to avoid a collision.

If you’re walking, try this: whenever you pass someone, brief ly make eye contact (don’t stare, as that may convey hostility) smile to acknowledge the other person, and then look away.

might all strive to treat one another: “Admit something: Everyone you see, you say to them, ‘Love me.’ Of course you do not do this out loud, otherwise someone would call the cops. Still, though, think about this, this great pull in us to connect. Why not become the one who lives with a full moon in each eye that is always saying, with that sweet moon language, what every other eye in this world is dying to hear?”

Here’s a modern translation of a short poem by Haf iz, which expresses a beautiful vision of how we

Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. For more information, please visit his website http://tommoon.net/

Finally, in our politics, let’s remember these words from Ram Dass, “There is no us and them. We’re all us.” That doesn’t mean ‘be nice,’ as in papering over our differences and never saying or doing anything that might ruffle anyone’s feathers. There are many battles ahead, and it is crucial that we find the courage to defend the vulnerable and to speak up for social and economic justice. In that work, it will be vitally important that we look for ways to speak to the best in each other, and that we never forget our common humanity.

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

5

I’m with her.

This Is Our Fight Song

Debra Walker (Editor’s Note: For months, Debra Walker worked tirelessly on the front lines of the election, supporting Hillary Clinton. She wrote this article just before Election Day and before it was announced that Trump will be president. Walker is also a talented, award-winning artist and is the creator of the poster cover of this issue of the San Francisco Bay Times.)

As I started this piece, I just finished packing for Vegas. I am starting this a few days before the election, and I am traveling to Las Vegas to help get out the vote in Henderson.

putting final touches on the gigantic pair of rooms that used to be sound studios at KRON. They were being readied to house the hundreds of volunteers piling in to activate the GOTV phone bank and text bank.

We spent the day putting up art, decorating, and breathing a second life into those rooms. Several of the media who came by to take shots of the action had worked there in its previous iteration as KRON. It was really moving in many ways for all of us. As I departed, the building was buzzing, and by the time I walked out the front door, the news teams were starting their live feeds.

I realize that we have become a family at 1001 Van Ness. Whenever you work this passionately together towards electing someone, especially with the historic nature of this election, you bond. But this election means so much to so many. Across this country, growing and expanding groups of supporters came together and hit the streets for Hillary Clinton and democrats down the ticket.

The experience of working on this campaign has been life changing.

Yes, of course, it is also history making, but for each and every one of us who signed on to help get Hillary Clinton elected, our lives have changed.

Now I am in Nevada, my hotel on the “Strip,” here to do the same things in Nevada that I did in San Francisco until the election. Even though it felt like I was leaving my San Francisco family at the holidays, there is family here—many, many friends from California and all over the country.

As I left the San Francisco HQ of the campaign, workers were busy

As my anthem, everywhere I go I take “Fight Song” with me. When

my phone rings, that is what plays.

It really has become my rally song and moves me forward. We are in the fight of our lives.

The fact of what is going on in America—the attacks being waged against our democracy—has woken a resolve in many of us. The attacks from within and without are terrifying even for the most stoic of us.

That the FBI looks to be trying to tilt the scales against the first woman likely to be elected president is just jaw dropping.

What happened to our country?

What happened to a country that has prided itself on climbing out of the wounds of civil war, slavery, discrimination of women … that only a decade ago seemed on a path forward? Where is that America?

What we are left with is at least forty percent of the public who are voting proudly for an admitted bigot and racist who routinely disparages all women, all Muslims, all Mexicans, and anyone else who challenges him.

(Editor’s Note: Clinton won the popular vote, receiving more votes nationwide than Trump, but he was still able to win the state-by-state electoral vote.) What happened to the America with open arms?

I’ll tell you what happened: partisan politics that ignores the voice and needs of most Americans. Trump came to represent an America ripe for the picking by the alt-right and self-interested egomaniacs. What

Campaign Reflections team, but it isn’t the same as the work to make a positive difference in others’ lives through public service.

After working at the national level on military policy, I turned my focus to local politics. I got involved with the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club, worked actively on several local campaigns and eventually ran for Democratic County Central Committee.

Do Ask, Do Tell Zoe Dunning In the period between the primary election and this general election, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on the political process, what it is like to be a candidate, and how I personally want to spend my time and energy.

My proudest accomplishment in the public policy realm was my contributions to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). It was the perfect storm—an issue that is morally righteous, that impacted me personally, with colleagues who were passionate, smart and strategic, and during a time when the public was eventually moving to support the efforts to right a wrong. DADT repeal was a much cleaner and distinct policy issue than, say, homelessness or taxes or health care. The nearly 18 years I spent trying to influence decision makers—the White House, Congress, the Pentagon, the media, the public—were worth it.

After retiring from the Navy, and after successful DADT repeal, I missed public service. I love my private sector consulting work and 6

My decision to run for office in 2012 did not come lightly. I knew the campaign would take a lot of effort and require sacrifices, but I’m not afraid of hard work. I ran, in part, because I thought I would prefer to be a decision maker, rather than influence decision makers. I thought I could be an effective leader, and do some good for the city and the party.

I enjoyed my four years on the DCCC. Despite some of the nastier infighting between “progressives” and “moderates,” I learned a lot, met some really amazing folks committed to important local issues, and developed friendships with colleagues.

It was a positive enough experience I agreed to run for reelection this year.

The 2012 election, although a crowded field, was a cakewalk compared to this year’s crazy DCCC field and election. As we saw, current and former elected officials with high name recognition entered the field in an effort to sway the balance of power. Millions of dollars poured into the race from a variety of special interests. In the end, the Democrats of San Francisco spoke loud and clear that they wanted a change, and most more moderate incumbents such as myself got swept out of office.

SA N F RANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

That campaign changed me. I enjoyed meeting voters at farmers’ markets, transit stops and on their doorstep. I don’t particularly like fundraising, but I did it and managed to secure about $40K in donations, almost all from friends and family who believed in me. I’m still humbled and amazed at people’s generosity and willingness to help me achieve my dream. Many believed it was a step for possible higher office, maybe even D8 Supervisor should Scott Wiener get elected to the Senate. Supporters believed I have what it takes in the rough and tumble world of San Francisco politics.

Looking back, I realize I was naïve, thinking I could make a big difference, and believing I could be independent—voting how I saw was best on each issue that came before the committee, allied with neither progressives nor moderates. But the reality of San Francisco politics is that you pretty much have to pick a team or be left on the sidelines. Because of my distaste for some of the personalities on the progressive side, and to be honest, the bullying I saw imposed on committee members that did not comply in lockstep with the progressive party line, I leaned moderate.

As a result, I ended up on the socalled “Progress Slate” for the 2016 election. With that came an Independent Expenditure (IE) Committee that put out its own mailers and campaign literature. While it was helpful in providing resources and support, candidates like me have (continued on page 19)

has risen to the top of this is the basket of “deplorables” whom the rest of the world is ashamed of, horrified for, and tired of already. People looking at the U.S. can see how our prisons are swollen with African American youths whose biggest crime is that they were born black in our country. They watch the possibility of our nation rolling back to the Jim Crow days of winning because you are white, and losing because you are not.

This America will wither against the weight of the rest of the world unless we shake it off and elect the only candidate really qualified to lead: Hillary Clinton. By the time this article publishes, she will hopefully, and prayerfully, have won.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about Hillary Clinton is that she has lived the “America we love” and has always worked, her entire life, to make our country one that we can be proud of. Even as the new “gross America” spits out its venom on her, she gets up, raises her head and looks to the America we all want it to be.

She lifts us up. She has changed America’s mind before: on LGBT rights, on HIV/AIDS research and funding, on same sex marriage, on healthcare, on nuclear containment, and much more. On so many issues that she herself evolved on, she helped America to change its mind.

We need her leadership now more than ever. We need her strength, focus, and compassion to wrap around

us and to pull us together again, conquering the hate.

Hillary Clinton has formulated real solutions to pressing problems over the course of her entire extensive career both in and outside of politics.

She has had to bear the consequences for her husband, for Obama when she served as Secretary of State, and for everything anyone wants to blame her for. Her shoulders can, and have, borne the weight of centuries of the oppression of women. The piling on is a familiarity to many of us, and she can take it.

I love living in America, but I am angry that America has been hijacked

by Donald Trump and his followers.

I am confident that our collective conscience will overcome the fear and hate that presented at the urging of Trump, and will offer up a new direction to our better tomorrow.

If I am right: Welcome, President Hillary Clinton—our 45th President. Our leader of tomorrow.

If I am wrong … we are screwed.

Debra Walker is a Commissioner for the City and County of San Francisco Building Inspection Commission. A past president of the Commission, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and the San Francisco Arts Democratic Club, Walker is also an internationally recognized painter and printmaker. For more information: http://www.debrawalker.com/

Reflections on Election 2016, Remembering Agar Jaicks and Leno’s Victory Lap dling in Aaron Peskin’s upset victory over the mayor’s appointee in District 3 just one year ago.

A San Francisco Kind of Democrat Rafael Mandelman Reflections on Election 2016 Unfortunately, dear reader, I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You see, as I write this column, in the final week of the 2016 campaign, I don’t know how the story turns out. I know that Nate Silver’s projections of a Clinton victory seem distressingly contingent; and closer to home, I know that an unprecedented deluge of special interest money has poured into our State Senate race and the local Board of Supervisors and ballot measure contests. But I do not know (as you should by the time this is published) whether Clinton in fact pulled it off, whether she had any coattails at all in the congressional races, and whether all that money spent on our local elections succeeded in stamping out the flames of reform that found their kin-

One thing I do know about the election, regardless of the results, is this: In 2016, at every level of government, from the Presidency to the California Senate seat to San Francisco’s State Senate seat to the BART and Community College Boards to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, we saw amazing women (and often, women of color) stepping up to run for elected positions they probably should have occupied long ago.

These contests were insanely tough, but whether they won or lost, in each case they ran strong campaigns, campaigns of which they should be proud and for which we should all be grateful. Thank you Hillary, and thank you Kamala, Jane, Lateefah, Shanell, Sandy, Hillary (Ronen) and Kimberly. Win or lose, you changed our politics for the better and, I am certain, will continue to do so.

Remembering Agar Jaicks I ran into Agar Jaicks’ daughter Lisa as I was campaigning on Church Street in Noe Valley a couple of weeks after he died at the age of 93.

His was, she assured me, “a life welllived.” The former Democratic Party Chair and longtime Democratic Party activist’s contributions to San Francisco’s civic and political life were tremendous, and those of us who love this town are very much (continued on page 19)

I’m with her.

Keep Calm and Stay Agitated

The Day After: Hillary and the Boomer Legacy

marked that “our day-to-day issues make what goes on in Washington just not worth agitating about. Neither Hillary or Donald (or Gary) are going to make a huge difference to what occupies” us.

6/26 and Beyond John Lewis & Stuart Gaffney Now that Americans have all cast their votes, we and many others are beginning to assess in real terms the impact of the election—in particular, how it will affect our lives.

A few weeks ago, at John’s high school reunion in Kansas City, we were struck by how differently two of his classmates’ perceived the potential impact of the election on their lives.

One classmate, a straight man who is enormously supportive of LGBT rights, and his wife are compassionate physicians. Moreover, for the past 25 years, they have cared day in and day out for their own special needs son who has severe physical challenges. This classmate re-

By contrast, a gay classmate, who has been with his partner for 23 years and someday hopes to marry him, offered a different perspective.

He told us: “We may get married sometime soon, but as you know, Missouri is not as progressive as California—and we are waiting to see how this particular election turns out, especially for our local politicians; many of them still want to fight marriage equality.”

As LGBT people and also as people who have always believed that we should try to use the political system and public policy to better people’s lives, the first classmate’s remarks initially took us aback. What do you mean that “what goes on in Washington was just not worth agitating about?” We’ve been agitating about what goes on in Washington for years. Millions of other LGBT people have been doing so as well.

We’ve gone from protesting the Supreme Court 1986 decision permitting states to put LGBT people in (continued on page 10)

Aging in Community Dr. Marcy Adelman I am writing to you a few days before Election Day. Being an optimist, I believe that Hillary will be the winner in what has been one of the most, if not the most, polarizing elections in U.S. history. We have watched as Hillary Clinton, a superbly qualified candidate, was vilified and threatened with incarceration and violence. Hillary faced off against a bullying, racist, misogynist fascist. Through it all she was strong and steady—the personification of grace under fire.

Friends, family, colleagues and neighbors worked phones, travelled to red states, walked door to door and/or donated money at an unprecedented level to elect the first

woman president and to keep our demo c r at ic i n stitutions strong.

They went the extra mile because a l l of u s wer e rocked to our very core by a fascist right wing candidate that pandered to the worst in people—hateful racist, misogynist, anti-Musl i m com ment s spilled out of television sets and the internet and into our living rooms and into our lives.

We were disgusted, shocked, angry and, finally, exhausted and fed up. The boomers, the activist generation, and even the prior generation were energized and reengaged by this election.

We were everywhere.

A 65-year-old gay man: “Heading to Ohio this weekend. Come join me.”

An 85-year-old gay man: “This election is crazy. I have given more money to Hillary than I thought I

would and more money than I have ever given a candidate in my entire life. And that is saying a lot. But I am too scared not to help as much as I can.”

A 72-year-old lesbian: “Sorry, I have to cancel the movie for Friday night. I’ve decided to help in Nevada. It is all just too nerve racking not to do something this weekend.

Be back on Monday.” (continued on page 10)

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

7

Donating Time May Cut Your Tax Bill portation, i.e., bus and subway tickets or taxi fare, airfare, meals and accommodations.

Can you keep your lifestyle in retirement?

Let’s talk.

415.623.2450 Brio Financial Group

A private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Service, Inc. 44 Montgomery St, Ste 4210 San Francisco, CA 94104-4815 415-623-2450

BrioFG.com

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2016 Ameriprise Financial, Inc., All rights reserved.

Generally, for all travel and driving expenses, the primary purpose of the trip must be to perform services for the charitable organization. A deduction may not be allowed if the trip also includes a significant amount of personal, recreational or vacation activities.

Money Matters Brandon Miller For many people, volunteerism is about more than simply doing something nice—it’s about enriching peoples’ lives and making the communities where we live and work a better place. But did you know your stewardship and goodwill may also help you reduce your taxes? Gifts given to charity and other expenses related to volunteering may be tax deductible. For the avid volunteer, the savings could be worth the effort to track expenses related to your charity work.

Transportation expenses While you cannot deduct the time you spend on the road driving to and from volunteer events, you may be able to write-off related expenses, such as parking, tolls and gas directly used in your charity work. It’s important to note that you cannot claim costs for car repairs, routine maintenance, registration fees, insurance or depreciation.

If your charity work requires you to travel, you may be able to write-off the amount you spent on public trans-

If you’d like to include volunteerism as part of your tax strategy, keep reliable written records of your expenses, including the total amount incurred.

With regard to driving expenses, keep track of the reason you drove and the date you used your car for the charitable activity.

Additional out-of-pocket expenses If you need to make a purchase to perform your volunteer work, you may be able to claim the purchase as a tax deduction. For example, a committee member might deduct the cost of supplies needed to host an auction. Other expenses could be deductible depending on your situation. As a best practice, keep good records and review them with your tax advisor.

As you tabulate your costs, be aware that the amounts must be: • Unreimbursed. (if the organization has repaid you for an item, you may not claim it on your tax return); • Directly connected with the volunteer services; • Expenses incurred only because of the volunteer ser v ices you gave; and

• Unrelated to personal, living or family expenses (for example, childcare is not an eligible expense you can deduct).

Financial contributions Generally speaking, cash donations you make to a qualified charitable organization are deductible if you keep proper records and itemize deductions. Property you donate may be written off as well based on the fair market value of the asset at the time of the donation. Note: Special rules may apply to certain contributions.

If you receive something of value from a charity, such as a benefit dinner or an auction item, you need to subtract the value of the item from the total donation to determine the deductible amount.

As you prepare for tax season, there are a few important things to keep in mind. For you to write-off volunteer expenses or donations to charity, you must itemize deductions on your tax return and keep reliable written records of anything you intend to claim.

Also note that you cannot claim a deduction on your tax return for the value of donated time or services. If you’re considering deducting volunteer-related expenses or donations on your tax return, meet with a tax advisor to get his or her perspective on your financial situation. You may also refer to IRS publication 526 for guidance on charitable deductions.

Brandon Miller, CFP is a financial consultant at Brio Financial Group, A Private Wealth Advisory Practice of Ameriprise Financial Inc. in San Francisco, specializing in helping LGBT individuals and families plan and achieve their financial goals.

Two Crossovers in Autumnal Colors

Ford Edge Titanium

Auto Philip Ruth Fall colors are the theme this week.

Both the tested Ford Edge Titanium and Jeep Renegade Trailhawk 4x4 came in shades that evoked the season of pumpkins and squash.

Fall also provokes the desire to hunker down and settle in with a casserole and your special someone, but that’s where these diverge from the theme.

Their unique shades made the Renegade and Edge the extroverts among the traffic around them, as they received the kind of attention one aims to get when hitting the town.

Color is a funny subject in the car industry these days. On many vehicles, there’s little variation from the regulation choices of white, black, silver, blue and red. A drive through San Francisco yields visual explosions of color from the houses but little variation within the passing traffic. This is a relatively new phenomenon—cars of the 1950s were alive with pastels, and even a humdrum 1995 Taurus wagon I picked up cheap on Craigslist had a “Light Evergreen Frost” finish that glowed in the sun. But today’s market globalization has carmakers playing it safe with basic shades that will sell in San Jose, Shanghai and everywhere in between.

So you won’t find many orange or yellow sedans. Mainstream buyers seem to have little interest in dis8

SA N F RANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

Jeep Renegade Trailhawk 4x4

rupting the current dialed-down color flow. But the paint this week— Electric Spice for the Edge and Colorado Red on t he Renegade — came on vehicles that are already more expressive than their competitors by design, so that their finishes were icing on the cake.

The Ford Edge is a crossover version of the midsized Fusion sedan, and the Edge’s tightly pulled lines give it a look of taut athleticism, like it’s ready to spring. The Edge’s styling exacts a price in utility, as it stretches 10 inches longer than the compact Escape, but has only about five more cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row. You’d accept that trade-off if you wanted to roll up in something with the Edge’s rakish look.

Edge prices start a bit higher than the low-to-mid-$20K range of compact crossovers, with a 2016 starting price on its lowest SE trim that bumps up against $30K. Base prices run up to $40K for the Edge Sport, which adds

more drama to the Edge’s look with big 20” wheels.

While the Edge sports a look that’s urban and chic, the Renegade is chunky and jaunty, with a kicked-up beltline and a basket-handle rear pillar. Combined with signature Jeep round headlights up front, the Renegade clearly originates from one of the U.S.’s most storied car brands.

The Edge is based on the midsized car, the Renegade spawns from a subcompact structure it shares with the Fiat 500X. Renegade base prices run $19K–$28K and have several trim and color themes in the six different trim levels.

Both the Edge and Renegade are pleasant daily drivers, with ample power and amenable handling. Their bold shapes and colors add another layer of appeal.

Philip Ruth is a Castro-based automotive photojournalist and consultant at www.gaycarguy.com. Check out his automotive staging service at www.carstaging.com

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY   T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

9

Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor 1978 Kim Corsaro Publisher 1981-2011

2261 Market Street, No. 309 San Francisco CA 94114 Phone: 415-601-2113 525 Bellevue Avenue Oakland CA 94610 E-mail: editor@sfbaytimes.com www.sfbaytimes.com

The Bay Times was the first newspaper in California, and among the first in the world, to be jointly and equally produced by lesbians and gay men.

We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.

The Bay Times is proud to be the only 100% LGBT funded and owned newspaper for the LGBT community in San Francisco.

Dr. Betty L. Sullivan Jennifer L. Viegas Co-Publishers & Co-Editors

Abby Zimberg Beth Greene

Design & Production

Kate Laws

Business Manager

Blake Dillon Calendar Editor

Kit Kennedy Poet-In-Residence J.H. Herren Technology Director Jennifer Mullen Web Coordinator

Mario Ordonez Juan Ordonez Distribution

CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Kirsten Kruse, Kate Kendell, Alex Randolph, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Tim Seelig, Cinder Ernst, John Chen Rafael Mandelman, Kit Kennedy, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Thom Watson, Michele Karlsberg Lyndsey Schlax, Elisa Quinzi, Elizabeth River, Debra Walker, Wendy Ross, Howard Steiermann Photographers Rink, Phyllis Costa, Jane Higgins Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg

ADVERTISING Display Advertising Standard Rate Cards are available online at sfbaytimes.com or calling: 415-503-1375 Custom ad sizes are available. Please inquire! The Bay Times reserves the right to reject any advertising at the discretion of the publishers.

National Advertising: Contact Bay Times / San Francisco.

Represented by Rivendell Media: 908-232-2021 Circulation is verified by an independent agency Reprints by permission only.

CALENDAR Event listings for consideration to be included in the Bay Times online or print Calendar section should be sent by e-mail to: calendar@sfbaytimes.com. © 2016 Bay Times Media Company Co-owned by Betty L. Sullivan & Jennifer L. Viegas

Students at June Jordan School for Equity Strengthen Resolve Following October Shooting

By Lyndsey Schlax (Editor’s Note: Teacher Lyndsey Schlax of the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts launched the nation’s first on-site high school LGBT course in 2015. She has just resumed teaching that groundbreaking class. In this column, her students usually share their thoughts about LGBT-related matters, including their concerns, what they have learned in class and more. For this issue, however, Schlax has invited Jamie Pelusi, a teacher at the June Jordan School for Equity, to present the work of the Excelsior District’s school’s students.

On October 18, four students were shot outside the school’s campus, and four others were injured. Police have since arrested two suspects, but are still searching others. The victims, including a female who was shot in her upper right thigh and left hip, are recovering.

Students, faculty and staff at June Jordan have since unified and become even stronger. Negative news articles published in other media inspired the students to create a video—http:// jjse.org/jjse-in-our-own-words/—to speak out about the event and their dedication to community building and social justice. They also crafted the below pieces, which we are proud to share with you. June Jordan will soon offer an LGBT class, inspired by Schlax’s work. For more information about the school, please visit: http:// jjse.org/) Words from Our Community (Collected and edited by students in grades 9–12) June Jordan is a community fighting oppression…

Working together to be a part of something Standing up for what we believe in Social justice Knowing that we have different struggles but we come together to try to understand each other Helping each other out About not fighting who you are but loving who you are Where you can push yourself and grow in many ways

June Jordan is safety…

No oppression, no racism, no homophobia, no sexism, no sexual harassment, no oppressive language Respecting each other’s differences Being able to express yourself in any way without being judged Being yourself and loving who you want to love Everyone here is a brother or a sister or a non-binary sibling Never feeling alone People coming together sharing one safe place Safe haven Respect, integrity, courage, humility Hope June Jordan is family…

Diversity Where you can come to be yourself and have fun All are welcome Spreading love not hate Queer A strong community Cool teachers and amazing students About respecting others’ right to use their preferred pronoun and gender identity Friends, laughter, and fun The nest that shapes you A second home Family Love

jail to advocating for, and then celebrating, the Court’s 2015 nationwide marriage equality decision. The year 2017 will once again witness the Court addressing a vital LGBT issue: transgender kids’ right to use public restrooms fitting their gender identity.

We protested the federal government’s inaction on HIV/AIDS dating back over 30 years ago, and through Stuart’s professional work participated in the development of effective HIV/ AIDS policy. We witnessed the passage of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and its eventual repeal, and participate in the ongoing struggle to pass nationwide protections against discrimination in employment, housing, and public services. The identity of the President, members of Congress, and the Supreme Court justices has had, and will continue to have, a profound effect on the lives of LGBT people.

John’s gay classmate’s thoughts also highlight the importance of statewide and local elections to LGBT people.

Local elections, even in places like the San Francisco Bay Area, not long ago had significant effects on the rights and protections of LGBT people; they continue to have vital impacts across the country. Ever since the passage of Proposition 8, we have felt a vague foreboding on election day—a lasting imprint of LGBT people’s ongoing vulnerability as not all our basic civil rights are yet protected nationwide.

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

Students communicated through social media and showed solidarity by wearing our school shirt, a blue shirt with the solidarity fist on the front and a quote on the back: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” Wednesday morning, our school had an assembly about standing in solidarity with each other. Students and teachers had spaces for them to talk about the incident, their feelings, and ways to cope about it. Our community, slowly but surely, is healing from the incident.

True Social Change Requires Reforming Institutions that Oppress Student, Grade 11 As the truth came to light, I had a f lashback to 5 years ago when my family & I came home and our house was robbed. I began thinking: our community and our home, June Jordan, has just experienced an invasion. We’ve become the latest example of school gun violence. Over the next few days we wondered, what is the root cause of this violence?

A New Sense of Purpose Student, Grade 12

While our school mission is social justice, we mean social justice for everybody, including the people who affected our community. We live in a society where the focus is “profits above everything,” which makes people disposable. Living under this profit-driven mentality has brought advancements to our society, such as technology and transportation. Although the developments under this mentality are crucial, they do not outweigh the unjust treatment it brings upon us. Not everybody can be rich; there is only limited space at the top.

You get your riches on the back of someone else.

On October 18, June Jordan’s community changed drastically due to an unfortunate event. Members of our community were injured by outsiders. After the incident, many members in our community felt in denial, worried, unsafe, and traumatized to come back to a space that has been violated a day after. However, students came back to school with a sense of purpose: to rebuild our community’s safety.

Ironically in this rich city of San Francisco, there are groundbreaking levels of unemployment, displacement, poverty and environmental degradation. This is critical because the Black Lives Matter Movement states that “Black people are not inherently more violent or more prone to crime than other groups. But black people are disproportionately poorer, more likely to be targeted by police and arrested, and more likely to

6/26 (continued from page 7)

But the first classmate’s reaction suggested great wisdom as well. The cir10

A place that teaches you that realizing your own internalized oppression is uncomfortable and takes time but it’s possible to fight Warriors Solidarity

Student Voices attend poor or failing schools. All of these social indicators place one at greater risk for being either a victim or a perpetrator of violent crime.” Although the movement is talking about black people specif ically, this connects to other people of color. Since the profit-driven mentality produces inequality, poverty, & unemployment, this leads our communities to be divided through structural violence all over the nation. This mentality truly brings oppression upon us, or makes us oppress each other.

Nevertheless, our people are resilient; our people are strong & our people have solidarity. To fight structural factors, we must fight to change systems, rather than demonize individuals. If we want to change how people are deprived of basic human rights & dignity under capitalism, then we must train ourselves and each other to become organizers who work to build organizations and movements to strike the root causes of problems.

If we want true social change, we must reform the institutions that oppress us.

Lyndsey Schlax has been a teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District since 2008.

She is uniquely qualified to address multiple areas of LGBT studies, having also specialized in subjects such as Modern World History, Government, Economics and U.S. Politics. She is a National Board Certified Teacher, and earned her M.A. in Teaching at the University of San Francisco.

ADELMAN (continued from page 7) cumstances of his life mean that caring for his son and family (not to mention his patients) is what he devotes most of his life to. It reminds us of the importance of caring for ourselves, those closest to us, and others as well, regardless of the outcome of elections or whether or not our movement for civil rights is enjoying success or facing challenges.

Indeed, caring for ourselves and others is the motivating reason for the movement itself. His reaction also points to the value of finding wellbeing and happiness that sustains regardless of the results of elections or other life circumstances. Homo-bi-transphobia has caused far too many of us to live far too long in pain and isolation, but our community has found extraordinary and often creative ways to find joy, meaning, and human connection in the face of formidable personal and political obstacles. We don’t know what the next four or eight years will bring, but we will benefit by finding wellbeing amidst both the joys and the sorrows that lie ahead. Let’s keep calm and stay agitated.

Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008.

Their leadership in the nationwide grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

When you read this, the election will be over and we will have much work to do. The next four years are going to be hard, very hard. There will again be gridlock in Washington.

If Hilary wins, the Republican far right will attempt to undermine her at every turn. If she loses, we the people will need to stay vigilant and engaged. What is different from the last eight years is that Trump has empowered and legitimized racism and the politics of hate. At a time when our country is challenged by terrorism and global and financial instability, we are at war with ourselves about our fundamental, core values.

The ugliness and rancor we have witnessed will only get worse.

Baby boomers—the generation that challenged the Vietnam War and fought for racial, gender and LGBT equality—has been on the front lines in this campaign, and I believe, will continue to be engaged to fight for the values we have fought for all our lives. Baby boomers are the generation born between 1946 and 1964.

The fastest growing part of the U.S. population is people over 65. By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 years of age or older. We are living longer and healthier lives.

Boomers are retired, semi-retired or are preparing for retirement and looking forward to a long, healthy and meaningful later life. It is hard to think about “sunset years” when you know you are likely to live three or more decades after retirement.

Looking 30+ years straight on is hardly a time for disengagement, but rather an opportunity to reinvent and reimagine ourselves.

In a digital global world that will change everything about our day to day lives from work to how we care for ourselves and each other, our skills and our wisdom honed over a lifetime of living are needed to ensure that the world is a better, more loving place when we leave it. We will have a myriad of opportunities to manifest the wish to leave this world a better place. Here’s to making America the best it can be.

Marcy Adelman, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in private practice, is co-founder of the non-profit organization Openhouse.

She is also a leading advocate and educator in LGBT affirming dementia care and a member of the Advisory Council to the Aging and Adult Services Commission.

To advertise in our upcoming Holiday Season Issues, contact us: Publisher@sfbaytimes.com or 415-601-2113

GLBT Fortnight in Review

By Ann Rostow Google: “Penguin Homewrecker” I am writing ahead of you on Election Day, still in that state of terrified anxiety, torn between gluing myself to a combination of MSNBC and online political analysis, or let’s say, watching penguin videos.

You may be fine by the time you read this, assuming you’re part of the 90 percent of our community supporting Clinton and assuming we won. But I’m not fine by any means. Not only does the specter of President Trump still loom at 30 percent on Nate Silver’s web site, but also does the noxious possibility of Secretary of State Gingrich and Attorney General Giuliani. I just read that and nearly lost my lunch.

Seeking a respite, I clicked on yet another link to a gay penguin story, this time news of some gay German penguins celebrating their tenth anniversary. But instead of pursuing those sentimental details, I was sidetracked into the disturbing on-camera spectacle of a heterosexual male penguin who returned to his mate, only to find that a rival had taken his place. He tried to fight the other penguin off, slapping frantically with his stubby little wings, but the female came out, sided with the homewrecker and the new couple went back to their nest.

The jilted penguin was so sad and lonely. He sidled over to the nest and tried to peck at the other male penguin. Eventually, the mean penguins stuck their heads out, squealed at him in a nasty fashion and he slumped away, covered in blood, blindly stumbling over a twig with his head bowed down in defeat.

Yes, I’m anthropomorphizing the entire species, but why not? If these penguins can be gay and remain devoted to each other for ten years, doesn’t that suggest they possess an emotional life? And if that’s true, can anyone watch this agonizing three minutes of penguin heartbreak without wanting to reach out and give the little fellow a hug? I wanted to transport him to my house, give him a cool bath and wash off the blood. Then I’d go to Whole Foods and buy him some raw mackerel and put him in the guest bedroom for the night. The next day I would give him a pep talk and send him back to the tundra to search for a new mate.

Now I’m reading: “Will college students come out to vote?”

They’d better have done so by the time you read this. And I’m not talking about a vote for third party prattlers. That said, I confess I did not vote in my first election because I was not mature enough to plan in advance and register, even though I vaguely knew that registration was a necessary first step. I’ve always felt guilty about that, but seriously, does anyone even care at this point whether Carter beat Ford or vice versa? Somehow I think people will care about the 2016 election for a long time.

Giving Up on Australia I should tell you that the Australian parliament has voted down the prospect of a non-binding public vote on marriage equality, but I have a problem. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you that at least twice before.

Without looking it up, just off the top of my head, I remember that I voiced some misgivings about the first time I covered this parliamentary rejection, because there was some reason to suspect that the vote was preliminary. But then there was another such vote, which I dutifully relayed to you.

And now I’m reading that, yet again, the parliament has come out against the referendum, which is good for us.

Marriage activists don’t want a refer-

endum because it’s little more than a divisive and expensive delaying tactic. But this is beside the point. I’ve had enough.

I don’t really care much for Australian politics anyway, but I have tried to be professional about it. Now, this is too much. I am sure I could spend a couple of hours trying to track down the ins and outs of the legislative process Down Under, and craft a nice explanation for why the parliament appears to hold multiple votes that are then reported multiple times. For all I know, the lawmakers plan to vote on this over and over again, for whatever reason. But here’s the bottom line: Unless or until the parliament holds an up or down vote on marriage equality itself, nothing good will happen. I therefore recommend that we all ignore the side developments and see whether or not these folks ever get serious.

Back to SCOTUS I should have led this column with the major news that the Supreme Court has accepted review of the transgender rights case out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Last March, a 2–1 panel ruled that the Gloucester County school district in Virginia was obligated to allow a transgender student, Gavin Grimm, to use the boys’ facilities at his high school. The panel based its ruling on the Obama administration’s view of the scope of Title IX, and, in fact, it’s possible that this deference to agency policy might be a key reason the Court chose to take this appeal.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the law that bans sex discrimination in public schools and colleges. But does that ban also encompass a ban on transgender bias?

Various courts and legal experts differ, but the Obama Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights says yes, it does. Not only has the Office made this a formal policy, but it also sent a letter to the Fourth Circuit when it was deliberating over this issue. Now, the High Court has asked whether or not such a letter must be obeyed when a court is considering an ambiguous question of law.

I’m not sure I have an opinion one way or another. The policy and the letter helped us out in Gavin’s case, but obviously I wouldn’t want a court to be forced to follow some wacko nonsense put forward by the leaders in President Trump’s cabinet. Putting this aside, I’m far more interested in how the Court analyses the scope of Title IX, and by extension, the scope of every federal law that refers to “discrimination because of sex.” Those laws, of course, include Title VII, the law that prohibits workplace bias. If the Court were to rule that transgender men and women, or maybe even gays and lesbians, deserve protection under the general word “sex,” the positive repercussions would be tremendous.

But who knows? Maybe they’ll just deal with the non-trans stuff and leave Gavin and the rest of us all hanging.

Remember, unless something unexpected happens with Merrick Garland, this case will almost certainly be heard by the 4–4 Court. Still, it’s a big deal.

To the Liquor Store!

Writing that line reminded me that the Supreme Court hangs in the balance today. I cannot stand waiting.

Mel and I are going to an election party, but we plan to race home early, change into sweats and line up the Champagne bottles. We’ll need at least two regardless of the outcome.

Or if the outcome is bad, I suppose we’ll head straight for the scotch.

I know I’ve told you about the night Ronald Reagan was elected when (continued on page 19) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

11

12

SA N FRANCISCO BAY   T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY   T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

13

14

SA N FRANCISCO BAY   T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

In the News Compiled by Dennis McMillan LGBT Center Hit by Thefts, Vandalism, Homophobic Graffiti A recent rash of burglaries and vandalism targeting the nonprofit Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa has stirred up memories of a turbulent period of open anti-gay bias in Concord. The attacks on the Rainbow Center and the burning in April of a Clayton church’s rainbow flag, indicate that the LGBT community still faces bigotry in the famously liberal Bay Area. In the span of two weeks, thieves broke into the Rainbow Center’s office on Willow Pass Road four times. Concord police are treating the last incident as a hate crime because the culprits also scrawled homophobic graffiti on the exterior of the building.

The burglars kicked in doors, forced open desk drawers and trashed offices. They stole seven laptops, a cash box, a projector, computer towers, flash drives and a credit card machine. The suspects also took a file containing donors’ financial information and fraudulently charged $10,000 and used a forged check to purchase $1,000 worth of goods at a Kohl’s. But a week before the first burglary in late September, a vandal threw a rock through the window of the Rainbow Center’s thrift store on Pacheco Boulevard. Two weeks ago, someone tried to kick in the shop’s door and broke the glass again. eastbaytimes.com After 37 Years, Celebration of Craftswomen Canceled After much research and discussion, it has been decided not to produce the Celebration of Craftswomen. This annual event, which “Betty’s List” and the San Francisco Bay Times have frequently participated in, has been an important part of The Women’s Building for over 35 years. It had grown large enough to fill a giant hall at Fort Mason over two 3-day weekends. In recent years, as the commercial space in San Francisco has skyrocketed in price, it had become more and more difficult to secure space at an affordable rate. The Celebration of Craftswomen was traditionally held in late November, during Thanksgiving weekend and the start of the Holiday Shopping Season. After a year of waiting, Fort Mason has confirmed that they do not have space available during this time. Other event venues are prohibitively expensive. Changing the time of year for the fair would likely significantly reduce income for the artists. Reducing the size of the fair would only reduce the cost of production slightly, yet have a large impact on the income. celebrationofcraftswomen.org

Fix-It Program Pushes Forward in Castro with New Community Ambassadors Fix-It director Sandra Zuniga will be training five new community ambassadors. The paid staff—part of an entry-level training program that could eventually lead to future job opportunities for them with the City—will help to implement the Fix-It program on Castro streets, including cleaning up leaves and litter, removing graffiti, and calling in quality of life issues to 311. The Fix-It team has been continuing to address cleanliness and upkeep concerns around the Castro, as well as call in 311 issues. According to Zuniga, Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Library remains a focal point of her team’s efforts, and Fix-It recently installed a new light on 16th Street to brighten the sidewalk around the library. A four-hour training session was divided between classroom and field training covering job duties, tools and equipment, safety practices, and customer service skills during the classroom training.

On the streets, she and her team will lead the new ambassadors around the neighborhood, reinforcing classroom training, and demonstrating how to identify and report concerns to 311. hoodline.com CDC Report Says Sexually Transmitted Disease Rates Are Rising The most commonly reported sexually transmitted diseases reached an all-time high in 2015, according to the annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2014 and 2015, cases of primary and secondary syphilis grew 19%, gonorrhea grew 12.8% and Chlamydia grew 5.9%, according to the report. The CDC blames state and local STD program budget cuts for the rise. Americans aged 15–24 accounted for most Chlamydia and gonorrhea diagnoses. Men who had sex with men accounted for the majority of new gonorrhea and primary and secondary syphilis cases. usatoday.com Second Castro Station Escalator Upgrade Almost Done; Use of Rainbow Lights Still TBD This spring’s unveiling of the Castro Muni station’s rainbow escalator was a memorable moment for the neighborhood—and drew some mixed opinions. The escalator’s upgrade, the first of several at Castro Station, was significantly delayed: the SFMTA said last October that it would take four and a half months to replace it, but it didn’t debut until about seven months after construction began. The SFMTA has made better time with the station’s north

entrance escalator, which closed for an upgrade in May, and is now saying that it will resume service later this month, five months after construction began. Once it reopens, construction will immediately begin on a third escalator: the inbound escalator that leads to the Castro Station platform. According to the SFMTA’s website, that escalator is similarly expected to be out of service for “about five months.” It’s still uncertain if the soon-to-debut new escalator, and Castro Station’s other upgraded escalators, will include rainbow features. The use of rainbow lights “has not yet been determined,” wrote SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose in an email. According to Rose, the initial plan was for the escalators to have traditional white lights. “If [rainbow lights] are something the community would like, we can certainly consider it.” hoodline.com Folsom Street Events Seeks New Executive Director As Demetri Moshoyannis is leaving Folsom Street Events to join Positive Resource Center as Managing Director of Strategic Partnerships, FSE is looking for a new Executive Director. This person must work diligently in many areas in order to properly oversee this nonprofit organization.

These areas include management and administration, fundraising and finance, events management and program development, Board of Directors, and more. FSE is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that produces nine annual events including dance parties, parades and two world-class street fairs that serve the adult alternative lifestyle communities. The mission of Folsom Street Events is to create world-class leather and fetish events that unite the adult alternative lifestyle communities with safe venues for self-expression and exciting entertainment. Their events raise funds to sustain San Francisco Bay Area-based and national charities. folsomstreetevents.org Pentagon to Same-Sex Domestic Partners: Get Married by New Year’s Eve, or Else In a move that is sure to create preholiday season stress for unmarried LGBTQ couples who work for the U.S. military as civilians, the Department of Defense is preparing to announce an ultimatum that it claims is meant to ensure “that both same-sex and opposite-sex couples are treated on an equal basis,” according to Pentagon documents revealing the military is ending all same-sex domestic partner benefits for civilian employees, effective December 31, 2016. The plan, according to the information prepared by the DoD, offers those who cannot plan, organize and commit to a wedding by New Year’s Eve the military equivalent of COBRA, known as Temporary Continuation of Coverage, or TSS. The only hitch is that

these papers show those choosing this option “will be responsible for 100 percent of the premium payments.” lgbtqnation.com Grand Opening Celebrates San Francisco’s Newest Park, Noe Valley Town Square Supervisor Scott Wiener was joined

by State Senator Mark Leno and others in celebrating the newest park in the city. Wiener worked for the last six years on this project, including passing legislation to have the City purchase the parking lot on 24th Street, and then securing funding in the budget to help develop it.

The Residents for Noe Valley Town Square organized community support, attended countless public hearings, and raised over $500,000 in private donations for the development of the park. They had support from state and federal grants, from Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Senator Leno, and Assemblymember David Chiu. City staff, most importantly from the Recreation and Parks Department, helped build a beautiful park in the heart of Noe Valley.

Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation Distributes Checks The Grass Roots Gay Rights Foundation invited the public to attend their Wrap-Up Party & Check Presentation. Their 2016 Season of Events has come to an end and they presented the ‘big check’ to their 2016 beneficiaries. This year, they were supporting the following worthy organizations: Project Homeless Connect, HIV Story Project, Dolores Street Community Services, LGBTQ Connection, New Conservatory Theatre Center, and The Trevor Project. The Foundation has raised and granted more than $2.3 million to promote a happy, healthy and connected Bay Area LGBT community over the last 27 years. grassrootsgayrights.org Study Confirms Children of Gay and Lesbian Parents Are Well-Adjusted Science has shown once again that gay and lesbian parents are just as good at raising happy, healthy children as straight parents. Children’s behavioral issues are not impacted by the sexual orientation of their parents, but rather by parenting stress and other child adjustment issues, according to findings from a longitudinal study published in Developmental Psycholog y this month. “In these adoptive families diverse in parental sexual orientation, as has been found in many other family types, family processes emerged as more important than family structure to longitudinal child outcomes and family functioning,” explained the study’s author, University of Kentucky assistant professor and psychologist Rachel H. Farr. “Regardless of parental sexual orientation, children [in the study] had fewer behavior problems over time when their adoptive parents in-

dicated experiencing less parenting stress.” The report also debunked a discredited study claiming kids from same-sex families have major developmental problems. lgbtqnation.com Joshua O’Neal and Jared Hemming in New Director Roles at Strut Joshua O’Neal is the new Director of Sexual Health Services, and Jared Hemming is the new Strut Site Director. O’Neal started at San Francisco AIDS Foundation as Manager of Testing Services and then served as Interim Director of Strut before becoming Director of Sexual Health Services. Hemming’s tenure at Strut has included Magnet Community Organizer, Bridgemen Program Manager, and Interim Director of Community Engagement before accepting his new role of Strut Site Director. Strut is the relatively new home for health and wellness from San Francisco AIDS Foundation as a place where gay, bi and trans men can find tools and support to manage physical, emotional and social aspects of health. strutsf.org Mayor Lee Announces Opening of Three New Supportive Housing Buildings for Chronically Homeless Individuals Mayor Ed Lee and Jeff Kositsky, Director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, recently announced that 244 new permanent supportive housing units will soon become available. Adding supportive housing is central to the City’s plan to end chronic homelessness. The extra housing will be added to San Francisco’s existing portfolio of over 6,200 units with the addition of: the Crown Hotel, the Winton Hotel and the National Hotel. These three buildings will provide homes to people currently living on our streets and in our shelters.

Supportive Housing is a nationally recognized best practice in ending homelessness that combines longterm affordability with onsite social services to ensure that our most vulnerable residents can maintain their housing and improve their health. sfgov.org

For the most recent results in San Francisco elections, click on the link in red saying Election Results on the Department of Elections website: http://www.sfelections.org

As Heard on the Street . . . What do you hope the new president will do to help the LGBT community?

compiled by Rink

Elizabeth Echeviarra

Jazmine Godinez

Alex Ray

Christian Bryan

Michael Hoff

“Equality for all, especially for my son, Fabian”

“Equal rights, especially for my cousin, Fabian”

“A gay Supreme Court justice”

“National laws protecting transgender citizens”

“I just want the President to preserve the rights that we have gained under Obama”

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

15

Three Tips to Get the Best Wedding Photos Ever!

Photos by Colson Griffith

By Colson Griffith Many people say wedding photography is the most important thing about your wedding. I totally agree, but here’s the thing: If you are rushed, frazzled, frustrated, or otherwise not having a totally bombastic time, every photo is going to remind you of that terrible, no good, feeling. Ugh! Photos remind us of what our true emotions were during a particular time in the past. We love a photo because of how it makes us feel, not because of what it looks like.

So, in order to get the best photos ever, what should you be focused on? Having an absolute freaking amazeballs celebration! If you’re feelin’ the groove, boppin’ your head, smiling like a giggling school girl, and letting your inner beauty shine, I can guarantee you’re going to love your photos. That, my friends, is what great wedding photography is all about. So, how do we get all of this energy and excitement to come bubbling out of your body on such a crazy, jam-packed day? Here we go: My top 3 tips to maximize your wedding photo success!

Buy a Bluetooth battery powered speaker, make a playlist, and bump some tunes!

Spotify might be god’s greatest gift to our ears. It can also be god’s greatest gift to your shaking booty! Have you ever walked into a bride or groom’s getting ready room and found that it’s just silent? Yuck! Imagine if Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was tickling your eardrums instead.

See? You’re starting to move your body just thinking about it! If you start to move and groove, that energy is going to come shining through in a massive smile on your face. All your photographer has to do is snap, snap, snap! Buy a Jambox, make a playlist, and have a palooza!

See each other before your ceremony and grab a drink with your peeps!

Traditionally, photographers think of a first look as a time for photos. That’s weak. If planned correctly, it can be a time to kick off your celebration early! Do your first look and then invite your bridal party to join you for a kickoff celebration and plan to have a drink and a bite to eat! The whole purpose is to intentionally schedule time to relax, have fun and enjoy the day! When you all start feeling the f low, then grab your photographer and take some photos. Your smiles will be in full effect!

Look at your schedule, and add 10 minutes.

Time on wedding day is your BFF! Feel like you’re cutting it close? Just add 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there, and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Weddings get all cray cray because you feel pressed for time. Add a little nugget here, and a little nugget there, and there will be nothing that can get in the way of your awesomeness.

We are proud to be nationally recognized by our peers and the media as the first national firm to launch a LGBT practice ‒ we make it our business to understand our clients’ unique needs.

www.marcumllp.com Nanette Lee Miller 415.432.6200 I nanettelee.miller@marcumllp.com International Member of Leading Edge Alliance

ASSURANCE 16

I

TAX

I

ADVISORY

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

That’s it! Honestly, set yourself up to be relaxed and have fun on your wedding day and all your photographer will need to do is capture you beaming from head to toe. You’ll feel utterly amazing, and years from now you’ll get to go back and re-experience all that awesomeness time and time again.

Colson Griffith specializes in creating tailored photographic experiences that are designed to help you have the best day ever! Visit www.colsongriffith.com or call 415314-6096 to book a consultation.

Frederick Sullivan and Jaime Botello, who oversee the Weddings & Occasions page for the “San Francisco Bay Times,” are the talented wizards behind Sullivan-Botello Events (415-334-7394, http://sullivanbotelloevents.com/) and SnB Party Rentals (650-877-0840, wwwsnbpartyrentals. com). Both are Certified Wedding Planners with extensive experience in creating memorable, personalized events for special occasions. Their rental service is exceptional, offering everything from beautiful gold Chiavari chairs to LED dance floors, and all at competitive prices. They are the creators of the Gay Vanity Wedding Show and are longstanding members of the Golden Gate Business Association, which is the nation’s first LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY   T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

17

In Remembrance Susan Levinkind

Cynthia Katona

Susan Levinkind, 74, a generous and loving spouse, friend, mother and grandmother, died on October 29, 2016, of Lewy body dementia with an accompanying seizure disorder. Born in Holyoke, Massachuset t s, she received her library degree from Columbia, and J.D. from Western New England College of Law. She worked f irst as a librarian in New York and Amherst, Massachusetts, and then as “the lesbian lawyer” of Northampton.

In the early evening of Saturday, October 29, Professor Emeritus Cynthia Lee Katona passed away at her home. The cause was pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis received just two months ago.

Katona was born in Hollywood in 1947, but moved with her family to Castro Valley as a teenager. At Castro Valley High she met her future husband, Dennis, with whom she shared a deep love. That love was a constant in her life, and although the marriage ended, her close friendship with Dennis did not. He passed away due to AIDS in 1991, and Katona was his caregiver.

In 1989 she moved to California, where she worked as a legal librarian for California Rural Legal Assistance and the Superior Court of San Jose, as well as being “the lesbian tax mom” for over 100 clients after her “retirement.” A life-long activist, she took her daughter, Andrea, to Vietnam War and anti-nuke protests, and participated in environmental, anti-racist and feminist organizing.

She was always active in promoting lesbian visibility. She did so by working to ensure Northampton would have an LGBT march in the 1980s despite off icial opposition, performing tireless office work for the journal Sinister Wisdom, coorganizing the senior and disabled services for the San Francisco Dyke March, and, after 60, tirelessly promoting Bay Area and National Old Lesbians Organizing for Change.

Upon graduation from high school, she attended California State University Hayward, receiving both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in English Literature.

She began her teaching career at her alma mater, but ultimately took a tenured position at Ohlone Community College in Fremont. Katona was an integral part of the College, devel-

She was one of the recipients of the legendary Pat Bond Old D ykes Award for her many cont r ibut ions to com mu n ity. She is survived by her loving spouse, Elana Dykewomon, her daughter, Andrea Cook, her son-in-law Scott Cook, and grandsons Sam and Adam.

Susan Levinkind

18

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

spouse, Christine Bolt. She will be interred in the mausoleum at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward. As she requested, there will be no funeral service; however, there will be a celebration of her life at a later date.

Wayne Friday Former San Francisco Police Commissioner, LGBT rights pioneer and Bay Area Reporter political editor Wayne Friday died on October 12 at the age of 79. After years of ill health, including battling Parkinson’s disease, Friday tragically took his own life.

Cynthia Katona oping new courses, establishing the Women’s Studies program, working on the student publication The Legend, guiding students on international tours and much more. She retired in 2009.

Katona also was a prolific writer. Her publications include ti-

tles such as Book Savvy (a reading resource found in almost every library in the U.S.) and Modern Ivory Netuske, which is a gorgeous coffee table book. In addition, Katona published 12 books of Haiku, each illustrated with either her stunning photographs or her own watercolors. The American Distilling Institute published her The Cocktail Chronicles with Recipes, a memoir of sorts.

After photographing graffiti for 40 years, she published Graffiti: The Audacious Alphabet. Her justcompleted book is a travelogue called Redeeming Miles.

With San Francisco Bay Times co-publisher and “Betty’s List” founder Dr. Betty Sullivan, Katona founded a Book Club that for several years hosted events throughout the Bay Area, with many occurring at the Duboce Park Café. Katona also served as the photographer for many local LGBTQ events.

Katona is dearly missed by her circle of friends as well as by her

Upon hearing of Friday’s passing, Mayor Ed Lee issued the following statement: “The passing of Wayne Friday is a significant loss to the city of San Francisco. Wayne was a man of many trades: Navy sailor, stock trader, bartender, LGBT rights pioneer, police commissioner and political columnist. A true representation of the free spirit of San Francisco. And although Wayne was not a native San Franciscan, his contributions to the community both as police commissioner and as a weekly columnist shedding light on the issues of the gay community make the City proud to call him one of our own. Our thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family during this time of sorrow.”

As a mark of respect for the memory of Friday, former San Francisco Police Commissioner, Mayor Lee, ordered flags to be flown at half-staff on City Hall, the Police Headquarters and the ten SFPD District Stations from sunrise until sunset on Friday, October 14. As reported by the B.A.R., a celebration of Friday’s life will be held on Sunday, November 20, at 4 pm at the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco.

ROSTOW (continued from page 11) a bunch of us were watching from our apartments in New York that were down the hall from one another. Amazingly we ran out of booze, and we finally drank the half bottle of Creme de Menthe that had been sitting under my sink for several years.

I just read that some kids these days drink hand sanitizer for the alcohol component. I think I have some Purell in my purse, just in case.

This Time, Let’s Agree to Agree Some leaders of the GLBT community are engaged in a philosophical debate over our strategy going forward in the state legislatures. In general, it’s a debate over incrementalism, the idea that we achieve progress step by step, and that we damage our cause when we make “all or nothing” demands.

On the other side there are those who argue that asking for half a loaf wins you a few slices at best and undermines your ability to win the whole loaf in the future.

Much of the back and forth was reported on Buzzfeed in a series of articles by Chris Geidner and Dominic Holden, and the catalyst for the controversy began perhaps back when Houston voters revoked the city’s GLBT rights ordinance after a campaign dominated by images of men in ladies bathrooms. Pragmatic activists came to the conclusion that it would be easier to advance gay rights in state legislatures if we simply left public accommodations out of the equation. In other words, lawmakers might agree to protect us from job bias or housing discrimination, as long as we don’t also ask to be protected in restaurants, in bakeries, or in the bathrooms.

The idea is craven. And we should have learned by now that real progress demands courage, idealism and persistence. Many people thought we should just fight for civil unions. Many people thought we should just fight for gay rights in Congress. Even the abysmal Employment Nondiscrimination Act (thankfully now abandoned) was nothing more than an exercise in settling for less as a “first step.” It got us nowhere and indeed, arguably made us weaker rather than stronger. Going back further, there was a time when the Human Rights Campaign explained to Congress that we had no interest in marriage rights, which were being used as a red herring against us by our adversaries. For shame.

Finally, have we already forgotten the defeatist campaigns we waged against the anti-marriage amendments of the early 2000s? We claimed, not that we deserved marriage equality, but that these amendments were “unfair” and “unnecessary.” Well, in fact, they were quite necessary for anyone who wanted to block marriage rights. And indeed we lost 31 out of 32 public votes in a row thanks to our poll-driven cowardice. Now is not the time to return to such tactics.

Sure we’ll have to battle bathroom scare mongers. So what? It’s a battle we will win. Plus, it’s likely that our federal civil rights will be determined, like marriage, by court action.

Lawmaking helps, but meanwhile our community must remain unified.

Ironically, it may well be transgender rights that lead our way through the courts. As we’ve discussed before, current case law has carved out more

room for transgender men and women than it has for gay men and woman. It may well be the GLB that follows the T into a more just America, not vice versa.

One Last Thing Finally, I have a personal question for all the middle-aged male readers out there. There’s a commercial for one of the erectile dysfunction drugs that shows a man and woman wandering around outside in a park or somewhere. The narrator then says something about how frustrating it might be if you were in the mood for sex, and you didn’t want to have to “stop to take a pill or find a bathroom.” To avoid this dilemma, you can just use this drug—I think it’s Cialis—and it will give you a sustained ability to do your thing.

You can take a pill anywhere. But why would you have to “find a bathroom?”

What would you do in there? Further, if you’re going to have sex, won’t both participants be obliged to retreat to a private location? The narrator keeps telling us that the “moment is right” and there’s no reason to wait.

But these couples are at ballgames and are having picnics surrounded by other people. So the moment is actually not right. It’s not just that you have to “stop to find a bathroom.” Unless you want to be arrested for public lewdness, you have to “stop” to go home or find a hotel, regardless of which drug you’ve selected.

Forgive me if I’ve said this already, but these mystifying ads continue to bug me and I must speak out again. arostow@aol.com

MANDELMAN (continued from page 6) in his debt. Honoring Agar a few years ago on the occasion of his 90th birthday, his good friend Nancy Pelosi spoke of “Agar and [his wife] Diana and their Haight Ashbury neighbors, Jack and Jane Morrison and Sue Bierman,” as people who “stood on the progressive front of important San Francisco battles, from stopping the central freeway that would destroy San Francisco neighborhoods and Golden Gate Park neighborhoods to fighting unrestricted downtown development.” Now only Jane is left, still doing what she can to promote our causes even at the age of 96. Drive up Woodland Avenue before any election, and you will see her windows still covered in the campaign posters of the season’s great progressive hopes.

Leno’s Victory Lap Leading up to this year’s election, our termed out State Senator Mark

Leno has been enjoying a well-deserved victory lap, being celebrated at events throughout the City for his years of service on the Board of Supervisors and then in the State Assembly and State Senate. Over the last few months, Livable City, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Horizons Foundation and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have all celebrated Leno’s many and various legislative accomplishments at their big annual events, and those are just the ones that have crossed my radar; there have surely been many others. Of course, I am particularly grateful for Leno’s unflagging support for City College, without which it is doubtful the institution could have weathered the last several years, but Leno’s work to save City College is just a small piece of his Sacramento résumé, having won major victories in the areas of worker’s

rights, economic and social justice issues, LGBT civil rights, and a host of others. Leno’s a class act, a mensch as well as a great public servant, and we can only hope that he will find ways to continue to serve. As many have noted, San Francisco is, after all, long overdue for a queer mayor, and Leno is the obvious choice.

dialing for dollars, meeting with endorsers or going to events? Exercise, eating healthy, time with loved ones, your paid job. All of these things suffered while I pursued this goal. My support network was, well, supportive.

But I was missing the things that matter most to me—my loved ones and my personal health.

while from local politics. For me, life is too short to fight other Democrats.

Save the Date: The LGBT Center will be celebrating our fifteenth anniversary and the re-opening of our remodeled building on April 8. It has been one of the great privileges of my life to be able to serve on and lead the Board of a community institution that does so much good. We’ll have lots to celebrate in April, and I hope you all can make it!

Rafael Mandelman is an attorney for the City of Oakland. He is also President of the City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees.

DUNNING (continued from page 6) no say in their campaign or messaging, to be compliant with campaign finance law. I was aghast when a terrible hit mail piece was sent supporting our slate and me, with my photograph on it, slamming women of color on the opposing slate. There were other strategies and efforts put forth by the IE that I had no control over, but that I felt reflected poorly on me and my campaign.

I was also approached, unsolicited, with donations, which put me in the position of deciding what to accept and what, if any, to decline. Money and volunteers are the lifeblood of a campaign, so to turn anything down is a big deal. Late in my DCCC campaign I was approached with a sizable donation from someone I didn’t know, hoping to keep moderates in control of the DCCC. Many colleagues fighting for re-election accepted the money. I was the only one who didn’t—it just felt odd and a little slimy.

But the worst part of a campaign is the opportunity cost. What do you give up while you are busy knocking doors,

For all of these reasons, I’ve decided to withdraw from any pursuits for future political office. And I’ve never been happier. It’s hard to step away from a dream, but it’s also easier when the dream turns out to be different than you had hoped. I have nothing but respect for my colleagues who continue to serve in public office, or who run for public office. It is a big sacrifice for them and their families. I can’t imagine what Hillary Clinton has gone through these past two years. Going forward, I hope to apply my passion and skills toward a particular issue— veterans, LGBT rights, and women’s issues are possibilities. In the meantime, I am enjoying detaching for a

I’m grateful for all of the support and great feedback I get from the readers of this column. Rest assured, I am not going away—just transitioning to the next big thing.

“I wouldn’t give you two cents for all your fancy rules if, behind them, they didn’t have a little bit of plain, ordinary, everyday kindness and a little looking out for the other fella, too.”

Jefferson Smith, in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Zoe Dunning is a retired Navy Commander and was a lead activist in the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. She served as CoChair of the Board of Directors for the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club and as an elected Delegate for the Democratic National Convention. She is a San Francisco Library Commissioner and is the former First Vice Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party.

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

19

From the Coming Up Events Calendar See page 28 Sunday, November 13 - 9th Annual Silicon Valley LGBT Movie Night – 4 pm @ Camera 7 Cinema, 1875 S. Bascom Ave, Campbell. Screening of Inferno, followed by After Party. defrankcenter.org/ events/9th-annual-movie-fundraiser

The Love Witch Casts a Campy Technicolor Spell Over Some, But Not All, Viewers

Wednesday, November 23 - Thanksgiving Lunch - 11:45 am @ Blue Room, Aquatic Park Center, 890 Beach St. Co-hosted by Aquatic Park Center and Project Open Hand.

Reservations: (415) 603-0190

Literary Fun Facts Michele Karlsberg: Do you write naked?

K ate Cl inton: I wear ful l HAZMATs. Bryan Borland: Metaphorically, yes, but other than that, I get cold easily and I often write in public places, so that would be problematic.

Words

Film

Michele Karlsberg

Gary M. Kramer Anna Biller wrote, directed, edited, produced, art directed, designed the sets and costumes and even composed the music for The Love Witch, opening November 11 at the San Francisco Landmark theatre. And the film is a triumph of style. When Elaine (Samantha Robinson) drives her cherry red convertible out of San Francisco to redwood country to start a new life in a cherry red dress, with her cherry red purse, and cherry red suitcases, viewers who give themselves over to the spell being cast will enjoy the film’s campy, Technicolor romantic thriller.

However, there are sure to be some viewers who will actively resist the film’s artifice, and who will find the stilted acting and cheesy qualities to be more than they can bear. For all its visual opulence, The Love Witch is sluggishly paced and some of the set pieces—particularly those in a burlesque house, or at a Renaissance fair—simply go on too long. It is as if Biller is dragging things out deliberately so viewers can concentrate on the fabulous sets and costumes that she spent time creating, and allow the actors’ dialogue and line readings to be funny—or flat in the hope that they turn funny again.

The stor y is none too complex.

Elaine, a witch, is moving on after the death of her ex-husband Jerry (Stephen Wozniak, seen only in flashbacks). She has been a suspect in his murder, but there was not enough evidence to charge her. Arriving in a new town, Elaine befriends her landlord, Trish (Laura Waddell), and they discuss what men and women want in terms of sex and love, each holding onto a romantic ideal. While Trish is happily married to Richard (Robert Seeley), the single Elaine wants love with “a beautiful, sweet man who loves me as I love him.”

She soon goes on a manhunt, setting her sights on Wayne ( Jeffrey Vincent Parise), a ruggedly handsome university professor.

One of the best scenes has Elaine seducing Wayne in his cabin, after giving him a potion to drink that contains a hallucinogen. Their love scene, filled with psychedelic visual

Michele Karlsberg: Tell us about your work as a writer.

effects, is both sexy and trippy. But things get icky when Wayne dies, and Elaine creates a “witch bottle” using both her urine and a bloody tampon.

While Elaine goes after another man—Trish’s bland husband Richard, in fact—Griff (Gian Keys), a hunky, square-jawed police detective in a natty suit, starts investigating Wayne’s death, and comes into contact with Elaine. Of course, the detective falls under Elaine’s spell, questioning her guilt despite the circumstantial evidence against her.

The Love Witch does not create much suspense as Trish makes some disturbing discoveries, or as Griff excuses his new girlfriend’s questionable behavior. Biller is more interested in playing with the tropes of the genre than in crafting a sophisticated story. As such, lengthy scenes of naked worshippers chanting and dancing or performing ritualistic acts stretch out the film for little dramatic purpose.

There is, however, considerable discussion about witchcraft and how it is a response to men’s fear of women’s sexuality, as well as how witches use their power to “take what they want” from men. These are not uninteresting feminist ideas, but as they are spoken in The Love Witch, they lose some of their power and meaning. This is, in part, because Samantha Robinson spouts some of Elaine’s rhetoric in such a wooden manner.

It may be intended to be tongue-incheek, but it misses more than hits.

Biller’s efforts to play with the masculine characters—as when Elaine’s witchcraft turns Wayne into an emo-

tional wimp—fare better. A scene of Richard being crazed with obsession for Elaine is also amusing. Alas, The Love Witch does not maximize the sexual tension between Griff and Elaine, putting them in King and Queen roles in a mock marriage rather than playing up the sexual magnetism between these very attractive leads. Moreover, the film sadly misses the opportunity to have predator and prey exchange witty and naughty double entendres instead of rings.

And this is perhaps why Biller’s film is best in part, not as a whole. While there are many terrific background elements—Elaine’s tarot-card inspired painting, burlesque dancers, and the giant goblets and magic potions—there is not enough emotion at the heart of the story. Elaine is certainly an intriguing character, but Robinson’s performance is best when she is playing the seductress with Wayne and Richard. When she acts all innocent towards Griff or Trish, whom she has betrayed, the comic verve is missing, even if the style is all wink-wink.

The Love Witch is not without merit, but its ambitions exceed its success.

Biller gets all the details right, but it still comes off that she is trying too hard. See for yourself and meet Biller too, as she will be in attendance 11/12 at the Opera Plaza and 11/13 at the Shattuck in Berkeley. © 2016 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer

Kate Clinton: My oeuvre (and I really hope that’s French for ‘body of work’ and not Spanish for ‘eggs’ but I refuse the tyranny of auto-correct unless it actually writes a joke for me) consists of Don’t Get Me Started, What the L? and I Told You So. They are collections of essays written over 30 years. Thanks to technology you can refresh your memory while reading some of the early works: “Siri, is Poindexter an actual guy or a type of guy?” In a lovely cross-pollination, some essay ideas fueled my stand-up and some stand-up bits quickly became essays. I also have nine live recordings and as yet, no Nobel. They beg to be podcasts.

I throw them farm to table ground beef.

Bryan Borland: I’m on a book tour promoting my third collection of poetry, DIG, just out from George Mason University’s Stillhouse Press. DIG is the story about the end of one relationship and the beginning of another. It’s also a book about desire in its many forms: the desire to love and be loved, the desire for sex, the desire for commitment, and the desire to maintain a sense of individuality even as we fall in love with someone.

It’s about all these things we bring into our relationships and marriages that drive us and are simultaneously both beautiful and taxing. When I inscribe the book to someone, I typically write that this collection of poems is my heart, and that’s certainly true. As I travel, I’m also promoting our fall lineup at Sibling Rivalry Press. We’re proud to have new books by Julie R. Enszer, Kazim Ali, Jessica Jacobs, Theresa Davis, and Lambda Literary Fellows in Poetry, Imani Sims and Annah Anti-Palindrome.

Michele Karlsberg: What is your biggest fear?

Kate Clinton: Should I have one?

They’re more spiraling wraiths that come in the night when I can’t get back to sleep after the friggin longest slowest pee in the world. Biggest fear: that I’ll never stop peeing.

Bryan Borland: I used to have dreams about showing up to class unprepared as a student. Now I have dreams of showing up to poetry readings unprepared to read.

Michele Karlsberg: If you could have any accents from anywhere in the world, what would you choose?

Kate Clinton: My galpal tells me my Indian accent is bad Peter Sellers. (Editor’s Note: Her partner is Indian-American LGBT rights activist Urvashi Vaid.)

Bryan Borland: I’d keep my southern accent. It sells books.

Michele Karlsberg: What literary character is most like you?

Kate Clinton: Henry from The Boxcar Children.

Bryan Borland: I’ve modeled my own character after Soda from The Outsiders, who was my first literary crush in life. I hope I’m like Soda, and I hope he’s like me.

Kate Clinton is a writer and is the oldest living continuously performing lesbian humorist in the continental U.S. She hopes to have a career as long as Betty White’s.

Bryan Borland is the author of “DIG,” “Less Fortunate Pirates,” and “My Life as Adam.” He is also the founding editor of “Assaracus: A Journal of Gay Poetry,” and is the founding publisher of “Sibling Rivalry Press.” He is a Lambda Fellow in Poetry and a winner of the Judith A. Markowitz Emerging Writer Award from the Lambda Literary Foundation.

Michele Karlsberg Marketing and Management specializes in publicity for the LGBT community. This year, Karlsberg celebrates twenty-seven years of successful book campaigns.

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

21

Join OurTownSF.org for an Expo to Connect San Francisco with LGBT Nonprofits

By Paul Margolis OurTownSF.org, in an attempt to showcase San Francisco’s wide array of private nonprof its serving the LGBT community, has created a free expo that will be held on November 19 from 1:30–4:30 pm in the gymnasium at Eureka Valley Recreation Center on Collingwood at 18th Street. Co-hosts will include Sister Roma (the Most Photographed Nun in the World™), Tom Temprano (former President of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and City College Trustee Candidate), and Sister Hera Sees Candy.

This is an opportunity to connect in English or Spanish with San Francisco’s LGBT nonprofit service providers, arts and athletic groups. Representatives from over 50 groups will be on hand to assist you, and handouts from hundreds more will be available. Also, you’ll learn about the exciting programs at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center.

All Free! No ticket is needed, and families with children are welcome Entertainment: Sundance Saloon - Country-western dancing and lessons San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band - The “Official Band of San Francisco” & the first openly gay musical organization in the world Momma’s Boyz - Alex U. Inn, the Bestie Award Winner for Best Drag King, and Kaylah Marin, aka Mailman, who is on the Billboard Charts Cheer SF - They inspire, entertain, and amaze audiences through powerful performances The event will also include: Dozens of door prizes A cooking demo by Project Open Hand Snacks, including tasty treats from Hot Cookie Face painting courtesy of the Eureka Valley Recreation Center Travel Guides by Damron for men and women Danielle Castro of TAJA’s Coalition will speak about the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance T.J. Lee-Miyaki of Positive Force/ Strut will speak about the role of Strut in our community.

Videography: Archive Productions, Inc.

OurTownSF founder Paul Margolis

Community Partners: Academy of Friends, AIDS Emergency Fund-AEF, AIDS Legal Referral Panel -ALRP, National AIDS Memorial Grove, Archive Productions, Inc., Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, AtmosQueer, Bare Chest Calendar, Brava Theater Center, Castro Community On Patrol, Castro Country Club, Castro Merchants, 50-Plus Network, Federation of Gay Games, Flesh & Spirit Community, GAPA Foundation, The GLBT Historical Society, GLBT National Help Center, Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco, The HIV Story Project, Healing Waters Wilderness Adventures, HRC San Francisco Bay Area, Imperial Council of San Francisco, Instituto Familiar de la Raza, Maitri Compassionate Care, Momma’s Boyz, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Openhouse, Our Family Coalition, Positive Force, Project Open Hand, Queer LifeSpace, Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness, Rainbow Honor Walk, Rainbow World Fund, Rashad Eid Design, Recycled AIDS Medicine Program - RAMP, The Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation-REAF, San Francisco FrontRunners, San Francisco Leathermen’s Discussion Group-SFLDG, San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, Shanti Project, Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc., SQREAM San Francisco, Sundance Saloon, TAJA’s Coalition, Tenderloin Tessie Holiday Dinners, Theatre Rhinoceros, Wagz Pack’s Service Pups Media Sponsors: San Francisco Bay Times, “Betty’s List,” ChrisCairnsList For more information and to register for this free event, please go to: https://www. eventbrite.com/e/ourtownsf-live-tickets-26673201263

Thanks to San Francisco Bay Times photographer Paul Margolis, founder of OurTownSF, who contributes an array of images each week from diverse events, such as the ones here from a recent Thrillpeddlers performance, the monthly meeting of Castro Merchants Association, and the Mr. Chaps event held at SF Eagle.

Photos by Paul Margolis 22

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY   T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

23

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

By Sister Dana Van Iquity Sister Dana sez, “As we went to press before the election results were announced, Sister Dana is now either popping champagne corks for the glorious victory of President Hillary Clinton or packing a U-Haul for his new life in Canada.”

NOCHE DE AMBIENTE was a VIP Reception with the GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Board of Directors and staff at their newest exhibition, “NOCHE DE AMBIENTE: LATINX LIFE FROM THE 1970S TO THE 1990S” at the GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th Street. For decades, Spanish speakers in many parts of the Western Hemisphere have recognized the word ambiente—literally meaning “atmosphere” or “environment”—as a coded reference. Queer Latinas and Latinos have used the word to identify themselves, their distinctive cultures, and their spirit of resistance.

The term is at the heart of a new exhibition that debuted October 28 at the GLBT History Museum. The show opens a window into the meanings of “ambiente” as reflected in Latino drag performance and LGBTQ and AIDS activism in San Francisco from the 1970s into the 1990s.

Curated by JULIANA DELGADO LOPERA AND ÁNGEL RAFAEL “RALPH” VÁZQUEZCONCEPCIÓN, the exhibition brings together documents, images, and videos from the GLBT Historical Society’s archives as well as materials contributed by community members. At the reception, Lopera and Vazquez treated us to a lively pre-presentation salsa dance exhibition. “Growing up in Puerto Rico, the word ‘ambiente’ was familiar; I heard it a lot when I was a kid in the ‘80s,” said Vázquez-Concepción. “Later I came to understand the shielding effect it has. Like a spell, it turns the space it refers to into Latinx queer domain.” Delgado Lopera first learned the word from the woman she sees as her queer mother, Adela Vázquez, who told Lopera stories that opened an underground world of queer Latinidad invisible to the public eye. Through Vázquez she met many queer Latinas and Latinos active during the 1980s and 1990s, some of whom formed her chosen family. “I’m committed to the unearthing and preservation of their stories because they’re part of me, they created openings for me to exist,” Lopera said.

Executive Director Terry Beswick welcomed us and announced there are just four years left on the lease at the Castro museum, prompting “Vision 2020” as the program to expand into a world-class museum space. To kick off Vision2020, he said they are launching a $75,000 year-end fundraising drive with a $30,000 matching challenge from three exceptional donors: Al Baum, Elisabeth Cornu, and the Excelerate Foundation. “Thanks to their generosity, new donations or increased gifts from previous donors that we receive by the end of 2016 will be matched dollar for dollar,” he said. All donations are tax-deductible. Beswick said this exhibition was but “a teaser” of what could have occurred in a larger venue to display the massive amount of Latinx queer culture—past and present. He also thanked Nucha Empanadas for sponsoring the opening of 24

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

Noche de Ambiente with a delicious array of fresh-baked empanadas!

Yum! As a very special presentation, the illustrious veteran Latinx drag queen, Adela Vázquez, appeared decked out in full-length black sequined gown, red glittered roses in her black feathered wig, pearls, and high heels of death to sing live. She tore up the floor with singing, dancing, and emoting. Sister Dana congratulated congratulated her later when she dressed down in less flamboyant drag, saying in what little I still retain in Spanish from being the Spanish Club president in high school, “Buena, muy bonita, and besos from Hermana Dana!” She responded, winking and lifting her wine glass while sending air smooches.

Several of the 81 pieces stand out for me: the 1975 handwritten letter from Mayor-Elect George Moscone to gay activist Professor George Raya; a 1978 nude photo of AIDS activist Roberto Jesus “Bob” Vargas (1954–1997); a 1986 photo of The Tropical Heat Wave Silver Peacock Grand Duchess XIV Lola Lust; detail from a brochure for Proyecto ContraSIDA Por Vida; a 1990 photo of a group of Latinx drag performers and members of the trans community in the Castro during Pride, with Adela Vasquez in the center; and the 1991 San Francisco Examiner news clippings of Latinx AIDS activists occupying INS HQ protesting the exclusion of HIV-positive immigrants and visitors. The final framed window (number 82) concludes in calligraphy, “La historia continua!” This amazing exhibition continues through February 2017 at the GLBT History Museum.

PROJECT INFORM held their annual fundraiser, “EVENING OF HOPE - A NIGHT OF LIFESAVING FASHION” in the Green Room at the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center.

This is always San Francisco’s most unique party complete with cocktails, culinary delights, and clever condom couture. All proceeds from the event went to fight HIV and hepatitis C in the U.S.—supporting individuals to make informed choices about their health. Project Inform is a national nonprofit that supports thousands of individuals and families each year. Donna Sachet was the live auctioneer (and joked with me that the Green Room really should have tried to match her green gown). This year’s entertainment included Jason Brock belting out the Tina Turner classic, “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” and the Billy Joel number that shot Brock to stardom on America’s Got Talent, “New York State of Mind”—accompanied on piano by Dee Spencer—along with DJ Christopher B. spinning tunes. Executive Director Dana Van Gorder (whom I lovingly kid as being another “DanaVan” to my first two names of my Sister Name) spoke of the progress of Project Inform in the process to end HIV and Hepatitis C. He presented the Thomas M. Kelley Leadership Award to three board members who will be leaving soon: Vice President Fred Dillon, Brenden Shucart, and Christopher Esposito. Nine designers put together some truly incredible couture designed partially or fully out of condoms and condom packages: Borris Powell, Rickie Lee, Jose Lopez, Ellie MJ, Jared Auckland, Sandra Raya, Amanda Carrillo, Charlie B., and Hector Manuel. Van Gorder said he was grateful for nine years of service, and gave deep appreciation to Michael Armentrout, PI’s brand new Development Director, Philip Walker, Development Manager, and Emily Mariko-Sanders, Operations and Program Manager. I simply have (continued on page 30)

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DE YOUNG AND LEGION OF HONOR

Frank Stella: A Retrospective Exclusive West Coast Presentation

EVERYTHING YOU NEED

Through February 26, 2017, at the de Young

FOR THE HOLIDAYS & THEN SOME

479 Castro Street 415.431.5364 cliffsvariety.com Studio at 84 Walker Street, New York, 1967. Photo by Arnold Newman. © Arnold Newman / Getty Images

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are pleased to present Frank Stella: A Retrospective, an expansive presentation surveying the career of this towering f igure in post-WWII American art. Fifty works, including paintings, r e l ief s , s c u l pt u r e s and maquettes, are displayed at the de Young, representing Frank Stella’s prolific output from the late 1950s to the present day. This is the first comprehensive U.S. presentation devotFrank Stella, "Lac Laronge III," 1969. Acrylic on canvas, 108 x 162 in (274.3 × 411.5 cm). Albright-Knox Art ed to the artist since Gallery, Buffalo, New York. © 2016 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 1970.

“Frank Stella’s impact on abstract art is unmatched,” says Max Hollein, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “This retrospective is timely and important for San Francisco audiences. To see the development of an artist who created ‘masterpieces’ just one year out of college, who is still working as a major force today—it is impressive to see an extraordinary body of work that spans six decades.”

Stella first burst into the New York art world in 1959, at the age of 23, when four of his Black Series (1958–1960) paintings were included in the group exhibition, Sixteen Americans, at the Museum of Modern Art. In the following six decades he has remained one of the most important and influential figures in the evolution of modern art. Stella anticipated and pioneered many of the explosive changes in the art world, and remains an enduring figure of both critical and popular attention, as well as controversy.

“Frank Stella’s works span the spectrum of art from Minimalist to Maximalist,” notes Timothy Anglin Burgard, Curator-in-Charge of American Art at the Fine Arts Museums of

Frank Stella, “East Broadway,” 1958. Oil on canvas, 85 1/4 in (216.5 x 205.7 cm).

Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachuetts; gift of the artist (PA, 1954), 1980.14. © 2016 Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

San Francisco. “In both ambition and achievement, his work appears to be the output of a dozen different artists. By combining intellectual rigor with aesthetic audacity these works have transformed the history of art.”

As part of the exhibition, Das Erdbeben in Chili [N#3] (The Earthquake in Chile) (1999)—one of Stella’s largest works, measuring 12 x 40.5 ft.—has been installed in Wilsey Court.

Frank Stella: A Retrospective comes to the de Young after a premiere at the Whitney Museum in New York and a showing at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas.

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

25

Freedom, Choice, Ease

Take Me Home with You!

choice. The whole exercise thing often ends up being full of lousy feeling experiences. Many people just give up.

Inside Out Fitness Cinder Ernst During this election season we have all been thinking about choices. Sometimes the choice is easy and obvious!

When it comes to exercise, however, lots of folks really don’t know what to do next. There is so much information out there that it’s hard to know the best choice for you.

Doesn’t it suck when you can’t seem to choose? Our freedom to choose can be overwhelming. What about when you do make a choice, but secondguess yourself ? That sucks too. You didn’t line up with your decision.

Why, when it comes to exercise, is it so hard to figure out what to do? The voices that say what you “should do” are so loud that they interfere with your own wisdom. Then those same voices can make you second-guess yourself when you finally do make a

When it comes to physical activity how do you decide what is right for you? At Inside Out Fitness we teach you to make internally directed choices. It’s much easier to line up with a choice when you have made it from your inner voice of wisdom. In today’s column you will discover our comfortable way to access your internal wisdom and choose what’s exactly right for you!

At Inside Out Fitness we have a formula to help you know what to do next. It’s the Make a Choice Formula and it comes in the form of a question: What would a person, who is willing to be happy and healthy, do today?

Ask yourself that question, answer it, and then do the answer. That’s how you use the formula.

Sometimes the answer is resting, walking, having tea, taking a nap, calling a friend, petting your dog, cuddling your cat, stretching, yoga, baby-sitting your best little friend(s), watching a movie, going to the gym, or… . The point is that you decide what is best for you. Make a choice.

Then, line up with it. Lining up with your choice is just as important as the choice itself.

Your brain may try to convince you that your decision is not right. Thank your brain for sharing, and then get on with it. Try using this formula

SF Sketch Randy Coleman Randy Coleman hails from New York, but has lived in San Francisco since 1975. Coleman shares that before moving to the Bay Area, he studied Art History and Architecture at Boston University while working as a resident artist for architectural rendering at a Massachusetts historical society.

“All of my life I’ve been an artist,” Coleman says. “To know me is to know that I have a passion for art and architecture. I love this project for the San Francisco Bay Times, and hope that you enjoy my sketches.” © Randy Coleman, 2016

THANK YOU, Hillary Clinton!

26

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

when you are not clear about what to do next. The answer that comes to you should feel like the next logical small step; no big deal. Relax, give it a shot, line up with it, and you can’t get it wrong!

How to best use the Make a Choice Formula? Write the question on a post-it or widget. Copy it precisely as written. Ponder it with your breakfast or coffee/tea. The possibilities are endless. Answer the question. Do the answer. Use it to your advantage.

There is no limit as to how often you use the formula each day. Eventually, you will simply be following your own trail to your own well-being.

Give it a try. Trust yourself. You are your own best expert.

Cinder Ernst, Medical Exercise Specialist and Life Coach Extraordinaire, helps reluctant exercisers get moving with safe, effective and fun programs. Find out more at http:// cinderernst.com

“My name is Romeo, and I’m ready to steal your heart! Like any great wooer, I enjoy long walks and good conversation. And if we click, maybe even cuddle session! I’m looking for a home filled with lots of love, and I’m ready to give just as much in return. As another famous Romeo once said, ‘Don’t waste your love on someone who doesn’t value it…’”

Romeo

Romeo is presented to San Francisco Bay Times readers by Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, the SF SPCA’s Co-President. Our thanks also go to Krista Maloney for helping to get the word out about lovable pets like Romeo.

To see Romeo and other pets seeking their forever homes, please visit: San Francisco SPCA Mission Campus 250 Florida Street San Francisco, CA 94103 415-522-3500

Dr. Jennifer Scarlett and Pup

Aside from major holidays, the adoption center is open Mon–Fri: 1–6 pm and Sat–Sun: 10 am–5 pm. Free parking is available for those wishing to adopt!

For more information about Romeo and other pets available for adoption, please visit www.sfspca.org

Professional Services

LAW OFFICES OF MILES & TORRES Estate Planning 1393 Noe Street, San Francisco, CA 94131 (415) 308-2307 www.milestorreslaw.com

NewPer specti ves Center for Counseling

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY   T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

27

Compiled by Blake Dillon

10 : Thursday 15th Anniversary San Francisco Transgender Film Festival – Multiple screening times Nov 10-13 @ Roxie Theater, 3125 16th St. Promoting transgender and gender-variant visibility, culture and community. sftff.org Brava Studio Sessions presents a reading of Untold – 7 pm @ Brava Theater Center, 2781 24th Street. Explores how women navigate stories and myths of shame, secrecy and respectability surrounding their bodies and choices.

Brava.org 14th Annual SF Interntional South Asian Film Festival – Multiple screenings through November 13 @ New People Theater (1746 Post St) and Castro Theatre (429 Castro St). With the theme “Voices from the Diaspora,” the 2016 festival fetures work by filmmakers living between two cultures and multiple histories and identifies. themethirdi.org

11 : Friday Shocktoberfest 17: Pyramid of Freaks – 8 pm @ The Hypnodrome, 575 10th Street.

Thrillpeddlers presents their 17th annual extravaganza of terror & titillation through November 19. hypnodrome.org Shakespeare’s King John – Through Nov 20 @ Kelly Cullen Community Auditorium, 220 Golden Gate Avenue. Theater of Others presents Shakespeare’s rarely staged play featuring two of the Bard’s strongest female roles: Constance and Eleanor of Aquitaine. facebook.com/theaterofothers/ Pacific Pinball Expo – Through November 13 @ The Pacific Pinball Museum, 1680 Viking Street, Alameda. The West Coast’s most unique display of pinball machines. pacificpinball.org

12 : Saturday Art Reception for Watermelon Woman 3.0 – 7 pm @ Center for Sex & Culture, 1349 Mission St. The first AfricanAmerican lesbian film; presenting an interactive program.

Sexandculture.org/events Soma Now and Then – 3 pm Saturdays & Sundays thru Dec 4 @ SF Eagle, 398 12th Street. World premiere of the dance program on one man’s journey through SF SOMA back alleys and secreit rooms in the neighborhood’s queer culture. pushproductions.org Writers With Drinks – 7:30 pm @ The Make Out Room, 3225 22nd Street. A line-up of LGBT writers reading from their works. makeoutroom.com/calendar.htmm

13 : Sunday An Afternoon with David Sedaris – 4 pm @ Oakland Scottish Rite, 1547 Lakeside Drive.

Reading and signing with the author and humorist. Benefit for student scholarships. eventbrite.com/e/anafternoon-with-david-sedaris-presented-by-cca-tickets-2599928355 9th Annual Silicon Valley LGBT Movie Night – 4 pm @ Camera 7 Cinema, 1875 S. Bascom Ave, Campbell. Screening of Inferno, starring Tom Hanks, followed by an 28

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

after party. Presented by Silicon Valley LGBT Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). defrankcenter.org/ events/9th-annual-movie-fundraiser Leave It to Diva Band – 5 pm @ The Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Avenue, Albany. Popular LGBT dance band with DJ Karen Soo Hoo. Ivyroom.ticketfly.com/ event/1339163-leave-it-diva-albany

14 : Monday 2nd Annual Celebrating Women in Music – 6:30 pm @ Yoshi’s Jack Long Square, Oakland.

Featuring the Montclair Women’s Big Band. Equalrights.org/yoshis Harvey Milk Photography Center’s Annual Staff & Volunteer Exhibit – Varying times through Nov. 30. Check schedule for additional exhibits and workshops.

Harveymilkphotocenter.org Perfectly Queer: A Night for Us! – 7 pm @ Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street Presenters include Chivvis Moore, Michael Helquist and Wilfredo Pascual. dogearedbooks.com/castro-events. html

15 : Tuesday Bay Area Stand with Standing Rock: Stop Dakota Access Pipe Line! – 6:30 pm at Civic Center Plaza. facebook.com/ events/1778370889093030 Outloud Storytelling “Early Trannyshack” – 7:30 pm @ Oasis, 298 11th Street. Peaches Christ hosts and veteran Trannyshack performers entertain.

Sfoasis.com Secrets of the City – 6 pm @ The Green Room, 401 Van Ness Ave. SF Bay Area NACE’s Annual Fundraiser and gala benefitting the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society. eventbrite.com/e/sf-nace-2016-galasecrets-of-the-city-tickets27791114973?aff=erelexpmlt

16 : Wednesday GGBA Make Contact – 6 pm @ The Women’s Building, 3543 18th St. Golden Gate Business Association’s monthly mixer cohosted by the San Francisco Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. ggba.org Smack Dab Open Mic – 7:30 pm @ STRUT, 470 Castro Street.

Hosted by Larrry-bob Roberts and Dana Hopkins, with featured artist Natasha Dennerstein. strutsf.org Beach Blanket Babylon Holiday Show Premiere – Continues through December 31 @ Club Fugazi, 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St). The quintessential SF experience dons its holiday hats for the 2016 run of these special performances. beachblanketbabylon.com/tickets/

17 : Thursday LGBTQ Alumni Mixer – 6:30 pm @ Infusion Lounge, 124 Ellis Street. Fall Mixer where all are welcome for social, professional and intellectual networking. E-mail: josephlee@berkeley.edu Comedy Returns to El Rio! – 8 pm @ El Rio, 3158 Mission St @

Precita. Featuring Milt Abel, Bob McIntyre, Cara Tramontano, Barry Fischer and Lisa Geduldig.

Elriosf.com/calendar Cirque du Soleil’s Premiere of Luzia – 4:30 or 8 pm through January 29 @ AT&T Park. An acrobatic waking dream of Mexico. cirquedusoleil.com/luzia

18: Friday Meet-Up Group - Gays Who Tech + Gay Entrepreneurs & Self Starters – 7 pm @ Jillians, 175 Fourth St. Bi-weekly networking. meetup.com/gays-who-tech/ events/235107914/ Star Trek Live! “Mirror Mirror” – Through Dec 10 @ Oasis, 298 11th St. Drag Kings take over the stage in a parody of the classic Star Trek episode with a gender-bending farce based on one of the most beloved Sci-fi TV shows. Sfoasis.com Zoovie Night at Oakland Zoo – 6:30 pm @ Oakland Zoo, 9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland. An evening of Zoovie magic for the whole family hosted by Roosevelt, the Oakland Zoo’s costumed alligator mascot. oaklandzoo.org/ Calendar_Item.php?i=1494

19 : Saturday OurTownSF Live! – 1:30 pm @ Eureka Valley Rec Center, 100 Collingwood St. An expo of over 300 SF LGBT nonprofit service groups plus arts, and athletic groups in the gymnasium and much more. facebook.com/ events/561248044000497/ Book Event presenting Words of Fire! – 6 pm @ Laurel Book Store, 1423 Broadway, Oakland. Featuring Antonia Amprino with author and translator Katie Gray.

Laurelbookstore.com The Complete Works of Pat Parker – 1 pm @ SF Public Library, 100 Larkin St. A book launch reading and musical program celebrating the publication of the works of the iconic poet and activist. http://sfpl.org/index. php?pg=1025602601

20 : Sunday SF Bay Area Gay Dads Meetup – 10 am @ Sweet Inspirations Café, 2239 Market Street. Dads and their kids enjoy great food and socializing.

The Not-Creepy Gathering for People Who Are Single and Want to Fall In Love – 7:30 pm @ Center for Sex and Culture, 1349 Mission St. Carefully crated, structured events designed to facilitate connection. thenotcreepygathering.com

NOVEMBER AT THE MARKET THANKFUL FOR NOVEMBER'S BOUNTY

Keshet Goes to TDOR – 3 pm @ Trans:Thrive, 730 Polk Street.

Transgender Day of Rememberance. facebook.com/ events/1416388891995923/

Apples, grapes, persimmons, and Brussels sprouts are here; citrus is slowly arriving; and winter squash is at its peak. There is the fall crop of olive oil, gorgeous fall flowers, and delicious baked goods to enjoy. Pick up extra produce and give to your local food bank. Or prepare a fresh meal for someone who can't get to the market. Don't forget to thank your farmers for their hard work, too!

King Lear – 8 pm @ San Francisco Theater, 144 Taylor St. SF Theater Pub facebook.com/ events/1866216763609413 No Cover Charge Night – 5 pm @ The Elbo Room, 647 Valencia St. elbo.com

22: Tuesday Queer Chronic Pain Support Group – 7 pm on 2nd and 4th Tuesdays @ Pacific Center, 2712 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley. Queer

folks with chronic pain support each other and talk. pacificcenter.org Business Exchange Network (BEN) – 11 am @ Castro Community Room, 501 Castro Street, 2nd Floor. GGBA’s business referral group (Castro group) with category exclusivity. ggba.org

23 : Wednesday Thanksgiving Lunch – 11:45 am @ Blue Room, Aquatic Park Center, 890 Beach St. Co-hosted by Aquatic Park Center and Project Open Hand. Reservations: (415) 603-0190

Read more online at sfbaytimes.com

SOCIAL MEDIA ENTER-TO-WIN Win two tickets to the SF Exploratorium, plus a big basket full of market produce and other goodies!

Geotag Castro Farmers’ Market or use the hashtag #CastroFarmersMarket with your public Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter photos to enter.

PCFMA.ORG

1.800.949.FARM

fb.com/castrofarmersmarket

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

DESIGN : LOGOMAN : logomantotherescue.com

21 : Monday

29

SISTER DANA (continued from page 24) to point out the creative table decorations of jars of buttons, spools of thread, and a tape measure wrapped around a candle. So totally thematic!

organizations through large annual costume balls and various other, smaller fund raisers throughout the year. We love them!

I had the privilege of joining over a dozen fans of the extraordinary comic MARGA GOMEZ at the Castro ARTSAVESLIVES gallery for her rehearsal of her upcoming offBroadway one woman show, “LATIN STANDARDS.” This multi-media show features stories about her talented Latin performer father and later on, stories and video from Esta Noche gay nightclub in the Mission—especially during the closing night. Congratz, Marga!

In the late 1980’s, a group of gay guys came together in San Francisco and founded “MAX.” The name did not mean anything—they just wanted something that sounded masculine. The group was founded as a social club for gay men (and their friends) where they could meet, connect, and have fun together. Its purpose was to help people make friends and to bring joy into life during the darkest years of the AIDS Crisis. Today they are putting together a new “MAX 2.0” and giving it a test run for 6 months to see if people want to get onboard. Membership is free. To help make this experiment fly, email MAX 2.0 Chair: phil@askphilwalker.com I was unable to attend this November MAX TGIF event at the City Club, but I heard I got a shoutout anyway. The next TGIF is on December 2, 5 to 8 pm. Let’s do this!

One of the biggest cult sci-fi sensations got a drag makeover just in time for Halloween. D’Arcy Drollinger presented “BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER LIVE!” at Oasis nightclub.

Based on the popular 90’s supernatural television series known for its groundbreaking themes, smart quips, and indie-rock score, Buffy the Vampire Slayer LIVE! was a loving tribute and high-camp parody of the characters and situations that so deeply affected a generation. Adapted and directed by D’Arcy Drollinger, it featured Michael Phillis (as Buffy), Kim Burly, Melanie Marshall, Flynn DeMarco, Adam Roy, John Paul Gonzalez, Laura LeBleu, Sergio Lobito, Sue Casa, Laundra Tyme, and D’Arcy Drollinger as the Master. D’Arcy’s productions are always fully freakin’ fantastic!

GRAND DUKE PETER “UPHORIA” GRIGGS AND GRAND DUCHESS MIGITTE NIELSON in conjunction with THE GRAND DUCAL COUNCIL OF SAN FRANCISCO held their INVESTITURE at Oasis nightclub, where they introduced their new court: The Royal House of the Beautiful Butterfly and the Penguin of Peace! The theme was “BACK TO THE 80’s” - “From Prom to Punk.” The Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco, Inc., is a predominantly gay 501(c)(3) nonprofit fund raising organization. Formed in 1973 as a more camp-oriented response to San Francisco’s Imperial Court System by H.L. Perry, who reigned as the Court’s Grand Duchess I, the Grand Ducal Council raises money for a wide array of charity

SISTER DANA SEZ, “ASSUMING THE AWFUL TRUMPOCALYPSE & TRUMPMAGEDDON HAVEN’T HAPPENED, HERE ARE SOME FUN HAPPENINGS!” Between October 2014 and June 2015, THE ROYAL BRITISH COMEDY THEATRE has staged all 12 episodes of Seasons One and Two of the Brit hit, “ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: LIVE!” under clever Christian Heppinstall’s direction. And now RCBT brings British TV’s most stylish dysfunctional family back in two exciting episodes this fall in “ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS: LIVE! - SEASON THREE” with two episodes, “SEX” and “SMALL OPENING” live on stage at The Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy Street, now through November 19, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 8 pm. Starring ZsaZsa Lufthansa as Patsy, Terry McLaughlin as Edina, Dene Larson as Saffy, Raya Light as Bubble, Lisa Appleyard as Justin and Christopher, Ginorma Desmond as David, Sarah and Edina 2, and Ryan Engstrom as Gran. Also starring Steven Sparrow, Lisa Darter and Hilda Roe. Sister Dana

sez, “If you miss this, it’s boo-hoo, so sad, squish squish, sweetiedarlings!” rbct.us CASTRO STREET ARTSAVESLIVES STUDIO AND GALLERY presents the “NOVEMBER SHOW OF ARTISTS & PERFORMERS” at 518 Castro Street on November 11, 6–9:30 pm.

Some of the artists include: Liam Peters, Bonita Cohn, Joel Hoyer, Martin Freeman, David York, Chuck Drees , Bill Bowers, Kate Rosenberger, Celia, Scarlet Astrid, Frank Pietronigro, Ed Terpening, Wes Loesch, J-Wo, and Cystal Karmanov.

Performers include: Lynnee Breedlove, Scarlet Astrid, Ash Fisher, Kristine Wilson, and more! As always, free wine, beer, water, and food provided, courtesy of gallery owner/ artist Thomasina De Maio. It’s a no-commission gallery, and all proceeds go to the artists.

Create the queer sports fantasy you could never have dreamed of back in high school. COMFORT & JOY presents TOUCH:BASE, a C&J spin on a sports-themed shtick. Comfort & Joy is a welcoming community that advances queer values globally and at Burning Man by building community and creating spaces celebrating art and creative expression.

This is not your typical masc4masc gear party. They’re building a league of their own and queering an institution, so slap some sequins on a jockstrap and dust a little glitter on your shoulder pads. Faggotry is fair play and revelry is requisite. Decor worthy of an opening ceremony will be provided by head coach Chickpea and a team of local artists. At 11:30 pm, Oakland’s very own Beatrix LaHaine, Creator and Priestess of the Tragic Queendom, will flex her incredible entertainment skills and present a halftime show of pumped up proportions. Saturday, November 12, 10 pm–5 am, Nov 12 at Club Six, 60 6th Street.

The 2016 SAN FRANCISCO TRANSGENDER FILM FESTIVAL will take place at the Roxie Theater, 3125 16th Street, November 10–13. The San Francisco Transgender Film Festival was founded in 1997 as North America’s first transgender film festival. They exhibit groundbreaking, provocative,

outrageous, courageous, moving, and innovative works that show the complexity of lives lived on the transgender spectrum. For info and program schedule, visit sftff.org On Saturday, November 12, join THE RUBBER WOMEN OF SAN FRANCISCO and WAGZ PACK at ARTSAVES LIVES, 518 Castro Street, 8:30–11:30 pm for a formal fundraiser benefitting both clubs, celebrating the arts and abundant talent within the Leather Community. Starting with a Spanish dinner, guests will be seated “parlour style” to enjoy classical dance, music, literature, and cinema all performed or produced by folks within the Leather community. Complimentary wine and beer will be served by hooded butlers, collared service submissives, and sissy maids. After the entertainment concludes, enjoy dessert and a panel style discussion with all of the artists where friendly questions are encouraged. Dress Code: Formal Leather and Fetishwear.

Rubber encouraged. Black tie optional. eventbrite.com/e/rubber-salon-tickets PEACHES CHRIST PRODUCTIONS presents “SHEETLEJUICE,” an all-new, all-drag theatrical parody of everyone’s favorite ghost with the most, now featuring everyone’s favorite queen of mean! Starring Bianca Del Rio as Sheetlejuice, Peaches Christ as Lydia, and many, many more of your SF-drag favorites. Don’t miss the World Premiere of Peaches’ latest movie send-up, taken from the wild and unabashed cult film Beetlejuice, starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Jeffrey Jones and Catharine O’Hara. The live show will precede a screening of the 1988 film—all at the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street, November 19, 3 and 8 pm. peacheschrist.com The Drag Kings are taking over the stage at Oasis, 298 Eleventh Street in “STAR TREK LIVE! “ D’Arcy Drollinger’s send-up of the classic Star Trek episode, MIRROR MIRROR, runs November 17–December 10, Wednesdays, Thursdays at 8 pm; Fridays, Saturdays at 7 pm.

This “only in San Francisco” gender-bending farce of one of America’s

Next Castro Community On Patrol Training: November 15 The 10th Anniversary Celebration of Castro on Patrol was held during October to commemorate the organization’s decade of service to the community. Congratulations to Chief of Patrol Greg Carey and the entire membership. Members of the San Francisco Bay Times team who live in the Castro neighborhood are very appreciative as are our colleagues who live in other parts of the city and beyond.

All volunteers complete the Patrol Basic Training Class. The training involves reading a manual and attending a 3-house class. Non-patrol as well as patrolling opportunities are available for volunteers.

To find out how to volunteer and participate, visit the webpage: castropatrol.org/volunteers/sing_up/

most beloved sci-fi TV shows plays as a Limited Engagement—only 14 performances. sfoasis.com “FOTOHOTO” is a sexy photo series now on the gallery walls of STRUT, the 470 Castro Street gaybi-trans men’s health and well-being center. The made-up word gets its title from the Spanish words “foto” and “ joto” which translate to “photo” and “faggot” respectively. The artist, FABIAN ECHEVARRIA, says, “Growing up knowing, forgetting, and relearning Spanish has given me a unique experience as a gay Latinx man. There were instances in my life that I was shamed by others for not speaking Spanish fluently, not being dark enough, not straight enough, not Mexican enough, and being too gay. There is a constant pressure in this society to chase the projection of an ideal. The intention of HOTO with an ‘H’ is an acknowledgement of the off-center, nonstandard, ‘un-lable-able’ aspects of queer Latino men living in the U.S., while also embracing our intercultural differences, shortcomings, and our journey of learning. I want FOTOHOTO to be a reminder of the beauty of ourselves and the perfect ‘imperfections’ that make us who we are.” The incurable romantic that Sister Dana is, I really enjoy the “Besos Set of Four” (“besos” translating to “kisses”) of four different gay male couples kissing, as well as “The Throuple” of three gay men snuggling on a couch. At the reception for FOTOHOTO, San Francisco AIDS Foundation Community Organizer Baruch Porras-Hernandez introduced Echevarria, who brought up about a dozen of his handsome models for a photo-op. Fabian said he was grateful to Strut for helping him get onto the Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, as a way for people who do not have HIV but who are at substantial risk. strutsf.org Sister Dana sez, “What is happening lately with this weird fad of men attending Agay formal affairs dressed in formal attire, but rolling up the pants cuffs to reveal bare ankles and feet without socks in shoes?!

Ew.”

RECOGNITION Castro Community On Patrol received a commendation from Senator Mark Leno honoring the 10th Anniversary.

Founding members were recognized, including Carlton Paul, first board chair; Scott Wiener, legal advisor to the board; and Ken Craig, director of volunteer training and certification to the board.

ADDITIONAL AWARDS INCLUDE: Community Pillar Awards: State Sentaor Mark Leno Supervisor Scott Wiener District Attorney George Gascon SFPD (retired) Chief Greg Suhr Community Guardian Awards: Cpt. Daniel Perea, SFPD S.F. Patrol Special Police Ptlr. Neil Fullagar Patroller of the Year Award: SPtlr. Kyle Wong, S.O. (C.S.G) Certificate of Appreciation: SPtlr. Alexander Upchurch Ptlr. Neil Fullagar

30

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S NOVE MB E R 1 0 , 2 0 1 6

Fall Season - All Over Town

Starbucks employess Jury, Mario and Greg on October 31 dressed for Halloween and standing in front of the store’s Orlando tribute flag.

One of many costumed pedestrians decked out for Halloween on Castro Street.

Photos by Rink

Members of the Brass Liberation Orchestra performing at Harvey Milk Plaza for a pre-Halloween A protester at the Creepy Castro Crawl anti-eviction protest rally, the Creepy Castro Crawl, on October 29. rally on October 29.

Participants, including Rachel Goudey, expressed their creativity during the Day of the Dead mask making workshop at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Castro Street gallery on October 29.

A pre-Halloween benefit for the new Groundswell Faery Sanctuary in Anderson Valley was sponsored by the Radical Faeries and Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence on October 30 at the Eagle Tavern.

A dog wearing an “Adopt Me” sign with a volunteer for Family Dog Rescue on October 29 at the organization’s booth on Castro Street.

Protestors carrying their handmade ghostly signage at the Creepy Castro Crawl eviction protest rally on October 29.

Annie Eagan with Assemblyman Phil Ting and Michael Kahn at Sam’s Grill on October 26 for a Phil Ting campaign party.

Valentin Aguirre, Adela Vasquez, co-curators Ralph Vasquez and Juliana Delgado Lopera, and executive director Terry Beswick at the GLBT Historical Society’s opening for the exhibit on October 29.

Daniel Balugay and James Poole at Strut’s photography exhibit opening on November 4.

Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club members campaigning on October 29 at Hibernia Beach (18th and Castro).

Taschen Book’s Dian Itanson, the Bob Mizer Foundation’s Dennis Bell, Mikey Youens and Sister Roma at The Magazine shop on Larkin Street celebrating the publication of a book on the work of legendary “beefcake” photographer Bob Mizer.

Strut’s receptionist Matt Beard welcoming attendees to the photography exhibit on November 4.

SF AIDS Foundation’s Michael Donofrio on Strut’s 3rd floor deck during the photography exhibit opening on November 4.

Photographer Fabian Echevarria spoke to the crowd at the opening reception on November 4 for his exhibit at Strut.

Photographer Fabian Echevarria (front fow center) with his models at the opening recpetion for his exhibit at Strut.

SF AIDS Foundation advisory board member Matthew Denckla (center) with friends Brian and Jose at Strut for the photography exhibit opening on November 4.

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES NOVEM BER 10, 2016

31