SGN September 29, 2023 - The last issue by former publisher Angela Cragin.

ISSUE 39

C E L E B R AT I N G

VOLUME 51

49 YEARS

F R I D AY

IN

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

PRINT

SE AT T L E & T HE PACIF IC NOR T H W E S T ’S L GB T Q I A + NE W S & EN T ER TA INMEN T SOURCE SINCE 19 74

AN UNLIKELY PUBLISHER BIDS FAREWELL

by Angela Cragin SGN Publisher

Angela and her father George Bakan – Courtesy photo

Raising over $100,000 one step at a time Photo courtesy of Access Walk

by Kali Herbst Minino SGN Intern The team behind Access Walk, a new nonprofit with a mission to fund organizations that provide safe access to abortion, held their first fundraiser last Sunday at Volunteer Park. Participants walked as many 1K laps as possible,

and were encouraged to set a personal fundraising goal of $100 per lap, and $1,000 in general. The event garnered over $100,000 for Cedar River Clinics, a series of facilities in Washington offering abortion services, birth control, and Trans care.

see ACCESS WALK page 4

I must admit, September is by far my favorite month of the year. The weather starts to evolve, bestowing all sorts of conditions in one month as it vacillates from intense to subtle sunshine, from soft breezes to blustery wind, from misty rain to torrential downpours,

with a light chill infused prominently in the mornings.

As it sparks all the senses, this prelude to fall represents a reset of life for school, work, and often the fiscal year.

And so it is for me. September 2023 marks the end of an extremely personal journey: my time at the helm of the SGN.

see FAREWELL page 9

Dude Brunch: Bellingham’s first all-king drag brunch Dizzy Phoria – Photo by Cameron Martinez

glamour displayed on shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race.

But that type of style doesn’t ring true While drag kings and their precursors, for every drag entertainer. So Nonbinary male impersonators, have been around for performer Dizzy Phoria established and as long as drag queens have, they have his- hosted Bellingham’s first-ever all-king torically been overshadowed by the queens. “Dude Brunch” in a taco-induced display of So now, when most people think about masculinity at Black Sheep. drag, they focus on the feminine glitz and

by Cameron Martinez SGN Contributing Writer

see BELLINGHAM page 6

October is Orca Salmon Month!

To help celebrate, join us for our free youth ORCAS Camp Saturday, October 14th Visit orcanetwork.org/events for more details and to register.

Looking for a FREE, fun family experience?

Visit Orca Network’s Whale Center in Langley, WA •Educational exhibits on local marine life •Ocean themed gift shop •Fun kids room Follow Langley Whale Center on Facebook for info on free youth activities and other events.

The endangered Southern Resident Orcas have made a presence recently in the Salish Sea, including their first seasonal (fall/winter) foray into Puget Sound proper!

Be a Community Scientist - Report Whale Sightings •Email: sightings@orcanetwork.org •Report & follow sightings on Orca Network’s Facebook page •Call: 1-888-ORCANET (672-2638) Visit us at orcanetwork.org for more details on educational programs, events, how to report, and to donate or shop online.

2

SGN

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

ORIGINALLY SEATTLE GAY NEWS FOUNDED 1974 MEMBER 509 10th Ave E Seattle, WA 98102 (206) 324-4297 info@sgn.org sgn.org

SUPPORT INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM

DONATE TO SGN TODAY!

Publisher Angela Cragin Acting Editor Benny Loy Copy Editor Richard Isaac Advertising

In this Issue

SEATTLE NEWS 4 REGIONAL NEWS 6 NATIONAL NEWS 7 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 8 OP-ED 9 A&E 11 TRAVEL 16 FILM 17 BOOKS 21

Maggie Bloodstone, Advertising Manager National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Staff Writers Lindsey Anderson • Mike Andrew Sara Michelle Fetters • Daniel Lindsley Isabel Mata Contributing Writers Alice Bloch • Maggie Bloodstone Kylin Brown • Sharon Cumberland • Clar Hart Jack Hilovsky • Teddy MacQuarrie Cameron Martinez • Nemesis • Kai Uyehara Interns Ian Crowley • Kali Herbst Minino Social Media Team Lindsey Anderson • Cameron Martinez Nemesis Photographers Lauren Vasatka • SGN Staff Comics Clar Hart Production Mike Pham SGN is published by Angela Cragin. © 2023. All Rights Reserved. Reprints by permission.

Publication of names, photographs, or likeness of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business.

Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper.

SGN welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material.

All rights revert to authors upon publication.

We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write.

And please play safe.

It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your ad. Credit will be given for the balance owed.

No exceptions.

In Loving Memory Of George Bakan

Scott Roger Alpert Cookie Andrews-Hunt James Arnold Ken Campbell Belial Darshan Steve Foiles Shaun Knittel James Leland Moore Don Paulson Randy Peters Lee Richeson Shaun Shelton Jim Tully

SHOW YOUR PRIDE! seattlegaynews.redbubble.com

Merch Store!

Follow SGN

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

SGN

3

Seattle News

Seattle City Council passes new drug-possession and public-use legislation

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer On Tuesday, September 19, the Seattle City Council voted to change how the city prosecutes drug possession and public use. In a 6-3 vote, the council updated the municipal code to align with a new state law that classifies public drug use and possession as a gross misdemeanor.

Now the City Attorney’s Office is responsible for prosecuting said crimes, with a maximum punishment of 180 days in prison and fines up to $1,000. People with two prior drug possession convictions can see their prison time extended to 364 days.

A return to the war on drugs?

Opponents of the new drug law include District 3 Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who argued that it will return Seattle to the era of Drug War tactics, which disproportionately impact Black and Brown people.

Instead, Sawant and fellow councilmembers Tammy Morales and Teresa Mosqueda argued that the city should invest time and money in providing aid for people struggling with addiction.

“I cannot in good conscience vote for this bill, as it doubles down on harmful, ineffective, and costly incarceration to address a public health crisis, with no assurances that there will be significant new funding to provide treatment on demand and diversion strategies instead of jail,” Mosqueda said.

Tuesday was the second time the council voted on legislation to align the city’s municipal code with the 2023 state law. In June, it voted down a proposed bill with a similar agenda by 5-4. At the time, Councilmember Andrew Lewis, who initially favored updating the municipal code, voted against the bill due to the exclusion of treatment plans.

After the June vote, Lewis and Lisa Herbold co-sponsored an updated version of the bill, which now emphasizes arrest as a last resort for drug users.

Photo by Ted S. Warren / AP

An emphasis on diversion “I hope that we see a measurable increase in the number of people who are getting well, who are taking advantage of services, and who are getting off the street,” Lewis said on Tuesday. “And I hope that we see accountability for people who are declining those services, who continue to disrupt public services on our streets by not taking advantage of them.”

Herbold emphasized that the intention of the new legislation is not to incarcerate.

“We know a police-only response to addiction will not work,” she said. “This legislation acknowledges that and, for the first time in Seattle, explicitly states that diversion and treatment should be the foundation of our response to drug use.”

Part of the new law’s controversy lies in the freedom it offers Seattle police when assessing a drug possession incident. While

the updated legislative text does emphasize arrest as a last resort and encourages officers to seek alternatives to arrest, such as diversion or outreach, the decision still falls on police to determine whether someone using drugs in public poses a threat and what degree of action they should take.

There are no straightforward consequences for officers who do not reserve arrest as a last resort. Some are worried that a “strong emphasis” is not enough to prevent police from using the new law to incarcerate people struggling with addiction.

The mayor responds On Wednesday, September 20, Mayor Bruce Harrell praised the new legislation. In an official statement, Harrell wrote, “Today’s vote by the City Council is a needed step forward in our efforts to address the deadly epidemic of fentanyl and

other synthetic drugs. Fentanyl is tragically killing thousands in our city and around the country, and we need urgency and innovative solutions to make change.

“In this bill, we are also making it clear that putting the public’s health and safety at risk when consuming drugs is unacceptable.

Everyone in our city deserves to feel safe and to be safe — waiting for a bus, entering a small business, walking any street in any neighborhood. This law will help us toward that goal.”

Fighting drug use in the city has been a priority of Harrell’s. In April, he signed an executive order to advance new public health strategies and to focus law enforcement on fentanyl. In 2023, King County had over 760 fentanyl-related overdose deaths.

The mayor’s office stated that Harrell plans to sign the bill immediately.

ACCESS WALK continued from cover

Jeff Pyatt, founder of Access Walk, says the idea sprang from family conversations following the Dobbs v. Jackson case that overturned Roe v. Wade. After discussions with his daughters, the Pyatt family took on the startup costs, so 100% of donations could go to whichever beneficiary was chosen.

The money will not be paying for the medical procedures, but it will fund efforts related to access, like transportation and lodging, for people who have to travel outside of their state to secure an abortion.

“The fundraising has been better than we thought,” Pyatt said.

Two hundred and thirty-three individuals and 31 teams registered for the walk. For those who weren’t walking, a community space with vendors, a stage, information booths, and a beer garden covered Volunteer Park’s amphitheater area. Future Primitive Brewing’s employees offered a beer called “Their Body, Their Choice.” The company was originally sold out of the beer but brewed more specifically for the Access Walk. “ Not only did they brew the beer for this are walking by…, who maybe don’t know event, but they rebranded the logo and put anything about the event,” Zapalowski said. our QR code and our branding on all of “We wanted to really invite the community.”

Activity in the community space looked their cans. I can’t thank them enough for the amount of support they’ve given us,” sparse, but Pyatt said that the turnout was said Meg Zapalowski, director of donor as anticipated.

“We were told for our first year to not have engagement at Access Walk.

She also said the community space was too high of expectations,” Pyatt said. “We part of creating an inviting atmosphere met the turnout expectations that we were organizers wanted. “Even spectators who told we [should] have.”

4

SGN

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

Photos courtesy of Access Walk

There was also a small handful of protes- do it all next year, eventually expanding to tors, who held signs visible from the commu- cities outside of Seattle and other states. nity space but who did not otherwise disrupt “Once we get Washington set — and it the event. Pyatt said he thanked the protestors. may take two or three years — we’ll go to “If we have protestors, that shows we’re legit. Boise and Birmingham,” Pyatt said. “We I’m a firm believer in the First Amendment are going to make Volunteer Park look and they have a right to their beliefs. I think small. We’re going to raise a lot of money. they’re wrong, [but] I have to honor that they We are starting a movement that is going to have as much right to be here as I.” be heard nationwide.”

Pyatt and other organizers are looking to

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

A haunting in Georgetown rooms (the Georgetown Morgue, Cell Block 12, the Bank, and Abducted) running yearround next door that keep the employees busy year-round. These experiences are usually done in groups and last for one hour.

If you don’t figure out the clues and escape with your team in the allotted time, the lights come on and your team loses.

by Nemesis SGN Contributing Writer With fall officially in session and Halloween fast approaching, there’s an amazing opportunity to get in the spooky spirit this year: visiting the iconic Georgetown Morgue.

The Morgue, built in 1928, has a unique and checkered past. Located in Seattle’s Industrial District between Georgetown and SoDo, the space was originally Kolling Mortuary Services of Seattle, owned by Scottland Timothy Kolling. The building’s initial purpose was to process and prepare the deceased. It changed ownership several times over the years (in 1939, 1969, and 1989), as well as function, from a funeral preparation home to a crematorium to a morgue.

It has a dark history of deaths, suicides, and stolen corpses, and was the site of the infamous Seattle Crematorium Massacre of October 25, 1968, when (allegedly) nine employees were forced into the crematory and burned alive. The Historic Morgue Society ranked the Georgetown site number 4 on its “Most Intriguing Urban Historic Morgues” list in 1999.

Blood runs like water I had the absolute treat and privilege to get a behind-the-scenes tour of this haunted house (rated in the top 25 out of over five thousand in the country) with the owner, Scary Scott, who has been running it since its inception 16 years ago. He gave me the full breakdown of his operation.

On any given day, it is run by about 50 staff members, including walkabouts, security personnel, and ticket sellers. Forty percent of the interior changes every year, so longtime guests have something new to look forward to.

The scares and jumps are half run by staff members in full costume and character, with the other half being occupied

Photos by Nemesis

by intense animatronics. Blood runs like water, and you are constantly sprayed in the face by sneezes and coughs expelled from ghouls and goblins popping out from the most unexpected places. The floors

move, wind blows in your face, and wriggling body bags hang in your path from the ceiling.

The layout of the Morgue transitions as you’re scared along its dark and winding path, from a bloody morgue to a run-down shanty town to rooms with exposed electrical elements to a sort of voodoo taxidermy house. This is a very intricate experience, giving visitors the feeling of were walking through a Costco-sized space, even though the layout is much smaller.

As intense as this haunted house is, there are also clearly marked exits for guests to leave at any time if things get too overwhelming.

Although the Morgue’s operations are seasonal, there is a set of four different escape

Love and community It’s important to note that a lot of love is put into this particular haunted house. It’s a family-owned operation, and the team behind it wants you to be entertained from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave.

Scott has been working at haunts for 34 years, 16 of them at the Morgue. When asked if people get scared enough to hit the actors, he replied, “If the actors are getting hit, they’re doing it right.” I was informed that this haunt is so scary, the actors get hit by patrons every evening.

The Morgue also likes to give back to the community. There is a canned-food drive every Sunday: if you bring four cans, you get a certain dollar amount off of your entry fee, with donations being given to local food banks.

The business also host blood drives, and participants can get to the front of the line if they donate. The owners are also avid supporters of the “Don’t Be a Monster” program, which aims to provide free bullying prevention assemblies to schools across the US, thus making “a world where kindness is empowering and uniqueness is celebrated.”

Georgetown Morgue is a seasonal haunt running from September 22 to November 4.

It is located at 5000 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, WA 98134. You can buy tickets at https://seattlehaunts.com/tickets. You can support the “Don’t Be a Monster” program at https://www.dontbeamonster.org.

Hiking Discovery Park’s Loop Trail On our way back, I noticed the paths diverged.

Without a glowing neon sign reading “Walk this way, Lindsey,” I felt unsure of which route to take and made a gamble.

A fruit fly may also have noticed that “the Loop Trail” is self-explanatory. If you follow the same trail for long enough, it will deposit you right back to where you started.

Unfortunately, I could not recall where I had started.

As we continued to walk, several people passed us. Discovery Park is a great location for long-distance runners. One mulletted individual in pink shorts passed us four times. The third time, I realized we were lost — and embarrassingly slow.

Eventually, the gears clicked. I needed to stop following the signs that pointed out the Loop Trail and start looking for the signs pointing toward the parking lot.

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer I’m 24 years old, and more often than not, I find myself pondering questions about my place in the world, who I want to be, and what it means to be alive.

For anyone who has made it past the phase millennials coined “the quarter-life crisis,” these questions may seem silly, but to me and thousands of others floating around in their mid-20s, they feel like everything.

My research (scrolling through Instagram) led me to realize that my peers are coping with nauseating self-discovery through travel. My timeline is littered with photos of hot people traversing Europe, Boston, and New York. A few have ditched civility to travel the country in vintage camper vans.

My career as a writer (and inability to find a no-strings-attached sugar daddy) means I cannot afford these glamorous coming-of-age adventures, but I can still get out and explore. I live in one of the most beautiful regions in the world, and when the calendar turned over to 2023, I vowed to get to know it better by hiking 12 trails this year. For me, hiking is therapy.

Like most aspects of self-care, hiking has also taken a backseat in my life. Nine months into the year, I have hiked exactly one trail — but I’m not giving up. If I trek along a new one each week, I can still reach my goal. Maybe by December, I’ll feel more connected to myself — or at least have killer calves.

Discovery Park I started my journey with one of Seattle’s easier trails: the Discovery Park Loop. This 2.8-mile path snakes past four parking lots, winds through serene mossy trees, and eventually deposits hikers at beautiful observation points with views of Puget Sound.

While the trail takes hikers deep into lush forests, it is not secluded. You can expect to

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

Photo by Lindsey Anderson

pass plenty of other people and also weave right by roads. For the most part, the path is well maintained and easy to traverse. It also has several outhouses and porta-potties, so leave your poop shovel at home.

Upon reaching the lookout spots, there are benches to rest at. For the more adventurous hikers, steep stairs lead to an offshoot path to the beach.

Getting lost in The Loop Anyone with more common sense than a fruit fly would find the Loop Trail easy to navigate. I, unfortunately, do not have common sense. Upon my arrival, a couple of European tourists asked me how to get to

Illinois Street. I shrugged and apologized.

Pointing to my LA Dodgers hat, the couple noted aloud that I must be from California and also lost.

I am not from California. I wear the hat because it has my initials on it.

A fruit fly may have taken a mental note of what lot she parked in. The fly may have remembered landmarks, so as not to become frantically lost shortly after her encounter with European tourists. I did no such thing. Instead, I traversed the paved trail with my dog, Benji, and took too many photos of mushrooms.

We followed the loop down to the beach, where Benji made friends with other dogs.

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

Always remember where you park We followed the path toward the North Lot for half a mile. When I finally spotted the parked cars, I felt I’d finished a race.

My euphoria died, though, when it turned out that my car was not in this lot.

We continued east, scoping out each parking location until we finally arrived at the one I’d parked in. Benji and I climbed into my car, exhausted from the journey.

In all, we’d walked 5.5 miles — 2.5 of that searching for our car.

In all, Discovery Park is a beautiful location for beginning hikers. The trail is easy to find and easy to manage (and easy to get lost on). The beach access and proximity to the city make this hike especially fun.

Other walkers are very friendly, willing to offer advice, and make assumptions about you based on what hat you choose to wear.

Despite hiking alone, I never felt unsafe, even when my dog treat crumbs failed to bring me back to my car. The walk provided a brief escape from reality and plenty of natural serenity for thinking.

It also helped me discover something about myself: I have no sense of direction.

SGN

5

Regional News

BELLINGHAM continued from cover

“I felt like it was important to showcase drag king talent, because so often in drag culture, we’re underrepresented and undervalued, and drag kings are incredibly talented,” Dizzy Phoria said. “Most often, if there are drag kings booked at all, it’s usually one. There’s like a token drag king.

And I feel like we deserve more space and more recognition… “[So] I started a drag brunch to showcase that and to show the community our talent and hopefully raise awareness that drag kings exist and we’re awesome.”

In the end, Dude Brunch had a fantastic turnout, with the entire first floor of the venue filled with people. Besides Dizzy Phoria, the cast included Sir Loin, Axe Andros, Sid Seedy, and Justin Abit. While each act was unique, they were all brought together by the theme of what it means to be masculine. Whether it was Sir Loin’s beer chugging, Justin Abit’s leather-daddy outfit, or Dizzy Phoria’s taco costume, the audience was in for an often sexy, dude-like treat.

“A lot of the drag kings that I work with and that I hope to cast are also Trans,” Dizzy Phoria said. “It’s just a really beautiful opportunity to have Trans drag kings… [that you] don’t see … when you’re looking at like drag pop culture, like RuPaul’s Drag Race and stuff. Just very recently, we have seen Trans drag performers on the big screen… A lot of people explore drag as a way of exploring their gender identity, and I think it’s really sacred.”

Dizzy Phoria also used their hosting opportunity as a way to raise money for a cause that is near and dear to them.

“Northwest Youth Services is the nonprofit I chose, …because they work with homeless youth in Bellingham and they have Queer youth services, and I just really admire all the boots-on-the-ground work that they do,” they said.

“I wasn’t a part of their organization when I was younger,” they added. “I was in the system when I was younger. I’m a foster care alum, and I was working with a different nonprofit that I’m actually working with now, called Youthnet …based out of

To receive information on a possible future Dude Brunch, follow Black Sheep on Instagram @blacksheepbham or Dizzy Phoria @dizzyphoria.

6

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

SGN

Mount Vernon… We work with foster kids all around, [so] I just really wanted to give back to a nonprofit that is serving some of our most vulnerable community members.”

While there aren’t any plans set in stone for a future Dude Brunch, Dizzy Phoria is hopeful that Black Sheep will host the event again.

“I hope Dude Brunch can be a space where performers and people who come to watch the show can feel safe and represented and know that no matter how they identify or how they look, they have a place in our community and that they’re worth something,” they said.

(from top, l-r) Sir Loin, Sid Seedy, Axe Andros , and Justin Abit – Photos by Cameron Martinez

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

National News

National LGBTQ Task Force gala puts faith front and center Miami reverend breaks ground in United Methodist Church unexpected finding a loving, Christian community that helped me come out of the closet. That was a true gift.”

After DC, he went to Miami on a summer internship that turned into a full-time position, fulfilling a childhood dream to live in tropical South Florida.

by John McDonald Special to the SGN The presenting sponsor of this year’s National LGBTQ Task Force gala may come as a surprise.

St. John’s on the Lake, a United Methodist church, is the presenting sponsor of the annual soirée in Miami Beach. It’s an attempt to cast Christianity in a different light for a community often targeted by its conservative factions, said the church’s pastor.

“The fact is, Christianity has been used for so much harm, and now we as a church are taking this opportunity to use Christianity to fight for what we believe in is good and to really promote a positive and healing message during a time when so much harm is being done to our community,” said Rev. Kipp Nelson.

Nelson, who is Gay, knows firsthand about the harm the church has done to Queer people. Last year, he was denied a promotion on the grounds of his sexual orientation.

“That was a very discouraging and disheartening moment last summer that knocked the wind out of me in a way that I didn’t expect,” he said.

It also derailed the hopes of 15 others who wanted to become clergy members or advance to senior positions. Because the church confirms these positions as a slate, Nelson’s denial held the entire class back.

The rejection was crushing.

“It came with health complications and a flare-up [of] an autoimmune disease that I’m still trying to heal from,” he said. “It had a pretty significant effect, but we’ve continued to fight for the good and plant our feet firmly and say, ‘This is not okay, and we’re not going to let unjust policies destroy the church and destroy peoples lives.’”

The group stayed together, however, and grew even closer, and this summer, the tide changed. At the state’s annual clergy conference, they were all confirmed, making Nelson the first out Gay man to hold the title of reverend in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Rev. Kipp Nelson – Courtesy photo

It was a huge moment in UMC history, Nelson said, as church leaders recognized the group’s unity.

“Seeing us holding hands and knowing we come from diverse backgrounds and were committed to each other made a difference,” Nelson said. “Our class has become so close through this journey we’ve been on. We’ve trauma-bonded through the experience of rejection.”

Protecting Queer spaces Now Nelson is helping others heal and reconcile their faith. In Florida, the battleground is littered with damaged souls from political culture wars, and there’s a need to protect spaces for Queer people to gather and connect, Nelson said.

Venues that have drag performances have become major targets of Gov. DeSantis’s administration. For example, R House in Wynwood recently agreed to pay a $10,000 fine after state regulators accused the restaurant of violating decency laws by exposing minors to “sexually explicit drag shows.”

“If our governor succeeds at shutting down drag shows, that would be detrimental to the LGBTQ community,” Nelson said. “Particularly places like the Palace here in South Beach and … Gaythering and Nathan’s, where drag is a big part of our community. So there is a big need to work to protect our community and the places in which we can find belonging.”

Finding belonging It took Nelson a while to find that belonging, although he first realized he was Gay at 14. Growing up in Alabama, however, left little room for expressing his true feelings, much less dating.

And he wasn’t going to give up his faith.

“I wasn’t raised in a place where those two things were reconcilable,” he said.

A lifelong Methodist, Nelson did his seminary studies in Washington, DC, where he was finally able to come out.

“I found the community that helped me come out and celebrate the person that God made me to be,” Nelson said. “It was very

“All humans are of sacred worth” During his time in Miami, Nelson has worked to make the church more welcoming to LGBTQ families, while occasionally hearing that the two worlds cannot coexist — a misconception he quickly corrects.

“I simply tell them, ‘That’s your opinion, and that might be what you’ve been taught, but that is simply wrong,’” he said.

“In the Methodist church, something that we believe, that is within our specific discipline, is that all humans are of sacred worth, and that is an unconditional worth that is bestowed on every human being.

Humans have no power to change the values of another human’s life. A beloved child of God is the starting point.”

Through the Task Force gala, St. John’s on the Lake has an opportunity to raise its profile and introduce its reconciling message to a new audience. And if Florida is to repair its reputation as a true free state, Miami is where it begins, Nelson said.

“Back in the ’90s, Miami was a mecca for Gay people. It was a place that people were flocking to to live their independent, free lives as Gay people,” Nelson said. “I think that is still why there’s a very prominent Gay community in Miami Beach.

“I think if there is change that is going to happen in the state of Florida, I firmly believe it has to begin on the local level, and Miami would be one of those places that has the biggest footprint and stronghold to make that difference across the state, for sure.”

The National LGBTQ Task Force gala will take place on Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Miami Beach Convention Center. For more info, visit https://www.thetaskforce.org.

National news highlights

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer Montana judge blocks anti-Trans law Montana District Court Judge Jason Marks ruled on Wednesday, September 27, that a new law banning gender-affirming care is likely unconstitutional and will lead to physical and mental damage to young people with gender dysphoria.

It was to take effect in just four days.

The judge’s injunction will remain until the Montana Supreme Court can provide an offical ruling in a trial. The ACLU of Montana, which had been fighting the legislation, is counting Marks’ ruling as a victory, though it notes that there is still a long way to go.

The Montana law would have blocked gender-affirming surgeries for minors — a procedure the ACLU notes is incredibly rare among the demographic. From 2016 to 2019, only 3,700 patients in the US between the ages of 12 and 18 recieved gender-affirming surgery.

The Montana law would have also Image courtesy of Netflix banned Transgender youth currently receiving care from continuing to access discussing Trans rights. Shepard began the The argument quickly devolved into a their medication. conversation with Van Ness about a range of debate about Trans athletes, with Shepard topics but eventually moved to a debate over questioning if including Trans girls in sports JVN addresses transphobia how liberal the New York Times actually is, is fair to cis girls. The argument lasted for on Dax Shepard’s podcast based on the publication’s coverage of Trans- over 20 minutes, with Van Ness attemptWhile appearing on Dax Shepherd’s gender issues. ing to explain how the logic that Trans girls podcast, Armchair Expert, Queer Eye star Shepard used transphobic dog whistles in devalue women’s sports is both transphobic Jonathan Van Ness broke down in tears while the conversation, bringing up detransitioning. and misogynist.

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

Ultimately, Shepard apologized to Van Ness before changing the subject.

“I wish that people were as passionate about little kids being able to be included or grow up as they were about fictitious women’s fairness in sports. I have to tell you, I am very tired,” Van Ness said as tears fell down their face.

Federal judge strikes down anti-drag law in Texas On Tuesday, September 26, a federal judge struck down an anti-drag law in Texas. LGBTQ+ watchdog groups across the country had flagged the law as dangerous, fearing it would lead to the imprisonment of drag queens who perform in front of minors.

The bill, which was signed into law in June by Gov. Greg Abbott, repeatedly cited drag shows as a threat to children in its statement of intent. Opponents of the law argued that it infringed on free speech.

US District Judge David Hittner agreed.

“Not all people will like or condone certain performances,” Hittner wrote in his ruling.

“This is no different than a person’s opinion on certain comedy or genres of music, but that alone doesn’t strip First Amendment protection.”

The lead defendant of the case, Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton, said in a statement that he plans to appeal the ruling. Paxton was acquitted in an impeachment trial earlier this month.

SGN

7

International News

International news highlights

Photo by Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer Content warning: Hate crime, murder Two suspects come forward in Puerto Rico murder case On Monday, September 25, two Puerto Rican men pled guilty to the murder of a Trans woman, Alexa Negron Luciano, over three years ago, on February 24, 2020, in Toa Baja. Luciano’s body was found on the side of the road, riddled with bullet holes. Luciano was 29 and houseless at the time of her death.

Two of the three men involved admitted to using paintball guns to kill Luciano.

They said they spotted a social media post about Luciano using a women’s bathroom and plotted to kill her. The men recorded themselves assaulting Luciano just hours before she was killed and posted that to social media.

The FBI had offered a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of her killers.

A trial date has yet to be set.

Turkey’s government has embraced new anti-LGBTQ+ laws in recent years, with Erdogan frequently referring to Queer people as “deviants.”

“One of the issues that bother me the most is that when entering the United Nations General Assembly, you see the

Turkish president bashes UN for including “Pride colors” in latest summit On Thursday, September 21, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan complained to the United Nations that he was uncomfortable with the organizing body’s decorative choices. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Summit in New York City included colorful banners, which the president interpreted as “LGBT colors.”

Erdogan was disappointed he did not get the chance to discuss the decorations with UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

8

SGN

LGBT colors on steps and other places,” Erodgan said to broadcaster Haberturk following the meeting. “How many LGBT are there in the world right now? However much right now they have on these steps, those against LGBT have as much right as well.”

Following Erdogan’s complaints,

UN diplomats clarified that the colors on the floor were not representative of the LGBTQ+ community but set to represent the different goals proposed by the Sustainable Development Summit. There are currently no LGBTQ+ flags or Pride promotional decorations at the UN headquarters.

Photo by Mike Segar / Reuters

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Op-Ed

A letter from the editor: A goodbye to SGN publisher Angela Cragin

by Benny Loy SGN Acting Editor When you, dear readers, pick up our humble paper, you see the final product of a collaboration akin to running a marathon while frantically spinning many plates.

Every week, by the will of whatever deity that looks fondly on us — caffeineaddicted, news-scrolling, cold-calling word fiends — we find a way to get this paper printed and into your lovely hands. By no means has this effort been easy. This has been and always will be a product of our passion for our community.

Our publisher, Angela Cragin, has been an exemplar of that passion.

Her father, our former publisher and editor-in-chief, George Bakan, passed on in 2020. He left the paper to his daughter. To suddenly be tasked with running a newspaper during a worldwide pandemic is a daunting call to action, but she took it on.

Speaking as a writer, I’ll say that managing us can be like herding cats. Angela nonetheless led us forward into what you see today.

Behind the scenes, she worked tirelessly to not only keep the paper running but to improve it in the process, hiring a diverse crew of new writers, boosting the paper’s original reporting, and broadening its perspective. Her efforts ensured that the SGN, founded in 1974, nearly 50 years ago, would survive.

Angela saw not only the paper’s historical value to the LGBTQIA+ community but also the value of our present-day work.

She gave us a safe place to share our diverse identities and experiences. She gave us the

Angela Cragin and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell – Photo by Renee Raketty

opportunity to go out into our communities and report on what is important to us.

These gifts are priceless.

This is Angela’s last issue with the SGN. It is bittersweet to see her stepping down as publisher. Having cultivated friendships

with her, the SGN staff and I will miss working with her.

Angela will no longer be guiding us forward, but she leaves a lasting impression to help light the way. We are unbelievably lucky to have had such an impressive

woman to care for us and this paper and carry on her father’s legacy.

We love you, Angela.

Read the upcoming issue to learn more about what’s next for the SGN.

George Bakan with Angela in December 2019

FAREWELL

continued from cover

Angela with her daughter Molly at Seattle Pride 2022

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

I did not quite understand what I was walking into when my father, George Bakan — the SGN’s publisher, owner, and editor-in-chief — passed away on June 6, 2020. My emotions were riddled with grief, his affairs were in utter disorder, a gargantuan hoard laughed at my face. Plus a pandemic was lurking indefinitely.

The mess, the circumstances, the everything made me want to sprint, hide, and curl up into a ball. It was terrifying.

However, something prompted me to give it a chance. It wasn’t the allure of a lavish lifestyle, historically bestowed on the newspaper heiresses of the past (although one can always hope!). Certainly it wasn’t the experience that I had had in the newspaper industry — which was absolutely zero.

It was the community surrounding my late father. As I listened to the heartfelt stories of those who were loved by George and touched by the paper (especially in preinternet times), which brought a sense of belonging to a group that had been ostracized for so long, I realized my heart was becoming involved.

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

Heart journeys, or passion projects, are messy and crazy, and do not make sense at times. These odysseys are tainted by seeds of doubt, distrust, and fear. They require a multitude of flowery traits (which are too many to list).

But between myself and the SGN team and allies, we tapped into our strengths.

And we are are still breathing.

It has taken the belief, tenacity, patience, and self-sacrifice of all the past and present SGN team members — a level of dedication that cannot be bought, grown, or sold.

The changes we’ve undergone have come with pain, but the reward eventually is joy.

Thank you, SGN crew! I appreciate you taking a chance on me. I love each one of you and am so incredibly proud of your growth (like my alias: Mama Newspaper).

Thank you to the friends, the readers, the advertisers, the partners, and the supporters that have helped sustain this publication.

Not to mention, thanks to Mike Schultz, the new owner of the SGN, for putting his faith in what we have built.

And of course, heartfelt thanks to my beloved family for supporting me every step of the way.

May life treat you well, as you treat others.

SGN

9

Op-Ed

Navigating PDA and internalized homophobia

by Isabel Mata SGN Staff Writer Ask Izzy is a biweekly advice column about relationships, mental health, and sexuality. Written by Isabel Mata — a Seattle-based lifestyle writer, podcast host, and mental health advocate — Ask Izzy offers tangible expert advice so all readers can have stronger relationships, better sex, and healthier mindsets. Submit your question today by scanning the QR code below.

Photo by RDNE Stock Project / Pexels

Dear Izzy,

Thank you for sharing with me! You are so valid in your feelings, and it’s entirely normal to experience anxiety as you navigate your Queer identity and the complexities that come with it. It’s important

to remember that embracing your authentic self is a journey, and it’s entirely okay to have reservations along the way. Be patient with yourself, and go at your own pace.

You’ve already identified that your aversion to PDA is probably linked to anxiety about how your same-sex relationship might be perceived by others. I recommend sitting with these thoughts, maybe even take some time to journal about them, where they might have come from, and how these fears might be impacting your relationship.

It’s clichéd but true, communication is key to maintaining a healthy relationship.

Sit down with your girlfriend and share your feelings openly and honestly. Let her know you love her and are actively working on it and that you value your relationship deeply.

One way to actively work on this is to set boundaries. Discuss what specific acts of PDA make you nervous and explain why.

10

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

I HATE PDA [public display of affection]. But my girlfriend loves it. She isn’t trying to full-on make out with me at a grocery store (LOL) but a peck on the lips here and there… Even hand-holding makes me nervous. To be honest, I’m afraid it’s some deep-seated anxiety about somebody hating us for being Gay. I just “came out of the closet” a couple years ago. My girlfriend feels rejected, and I feel guilty.

How do I navigate this? Help!

— Unaffectionate in U District Dear Unaffectionate,

SGN

Are you willing to compromise by finding a middle ground in a way you both are comfortable with, such as holding hands in certain situations or sharing affectionate moments in more private settings?

Once you have established boundaries, start with low-pressure environments and work your way up to more public settings.

And celebrate the small milestones.

This gradual approach can help your nervous system relax over time. If the physical anxiety persists and significantly impacts your relationship, consider a therapist or counselor, who can provide tools, strategies, and offer support for more effectively managed this anxiety.

Finally, talk to other Queer people about their experiences! They might be able to offer insight or advice on how they have navigated similar challenges. If you are comfortable, you could even share your own feelings. Being vulnerable is a great way to connect with people!

The main takeaway is that relationships are built on trust, compromise, and understanding. It’s not about changing who you are but rather finding a balance that allows both you and your girlfriend to feel secure and loved. As you continue to grow as a couple, your comfort levels will evolve and, who knows, you might even be a person who loves PDA one day.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Arts & Entertainment

Wholesome competition and Queer vibes unite in local indie game Spirit Swap

by Daniel Lindsley SGN Staff Writer After one of their favorite match-three games, Sailor Moon Drops, was shut down in 2019, Alex Abou Karam and two roommates set out to fill the gap with a game of their own. The first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic would also be the beginnings of the Washington-based indie studio Soft Not Weak and its upcoming action-puzzle game, Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To. The basic formula of the match-three genre is simple: a player is shown a board of various tiles, and the goal is to manipulate them in such a way that three or more of the same are contiguous. Those contiguous tiles are then removed, awarding the player points, and the remaining tiles adjust accordingly.

There are countless iterations of matchthree, the most prominent being PopCap’s Bejeweled and King’s Candy Crush.

Games like this are popular because they’re easy to understand, fairly simple to code, and generally require a small time investment from players. But Karam wanted something those titles couldn’t offer.

“There’s a look to them,” Karam said of most match-three games. “Not to hate on it, but it’s just not for me.”

A quick scroll through mobile game marketplaces is enough to see that many of the titles there, in any genre, have art styles that are far from adventurous, perhaps out of an appeal to the lowest common denominator.

By contrast, Spirit Swap has a bold, neonpop palette and a very “girly” aesthetic, with a chill, lo-fi soundtrack to match. That’s part of what drew many Queer con-goers to the game’s booth at PAX West this year.

Narrative element and diverse characters The game also has an actual narrative, in the style of a visual novel, with a cast of unabashedly Queer characters. Designing them was a collaborative effort.

“The best way to diversify the cast was just to ask people what they wanted to see,” Abou Karam said. “And because we had a team that was very varied and kind of all

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

Images courtesy of Soft Not Weak

over the place, we got very different characters. If you’re a Queer person, usually you look around and you have like 15 different flavors of Queerness there.” The cast reflects that to a great degree.

A story might seem like a hefty imposition on a genre that’s normally quite casual, but Karam insisted that it’s all very lowstakes. It’s about “just hanging with your friends, and if you wanna get really messy, you could try dating them,” he said.

“It’s this fantasy of, What if you and your friends understood each other completely — that even if you got into it, you were able to fix it?”

Friendly competition At first, those wholesome vibes might seem at odds with the game’s competitive nature. While Bejeweled and Candy Crush are traditionally a solo affair, Spirit Swap is

designed to be played against an opponent — either real or digital — and throughout the game’s storyline, that’s what players do.

By matching tiles (“spirits”) on their own board, a player disrupts their opponent’s board, and also charges up a characterspecific “spell.” All the while, more tiles rise from the bottom of the board. When one player’s tiles top out, the other player is awarded a heart and both boards reset. The first to three hearts wins.

These “versus” scenarios aren’t framed as battles for dominance so much as friendly competitions, borrowing from the idea of “body doubling” as both characters involved work to help spirits pass on to the next world.

Spirit Swap is set to release next year, but it already has fans. It had a “gangbuster” Kickstarter campaign and a warm reception on the show floor at PAX West, with

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

some attendees coming back for more and bringing their friends with them.

“We’ve been working on this for so long in our own little bubble, and obviously the internet and whatever people are really sweet, but to see people play our game and enjoy it in person — I was shattered in the best way,” Abou Karam said of the event.

A demo of the game, with a robust tutorial for beginners and a short, sweet taste of the storyline, is available on Steam now.

The best way for interested readers to support this title for free before release is to add it to their wishlist.

To keep up with development and learn more about Spirit Swap: LoFi Beats to Match-3 To, visit https://spiritswapgame. com.

SGN

11

12

SGN

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

OCTOBER 13 - NOVEMBER 5, 2023

SEATTLE PUBLIC THEATER Presents MACBETH: A ROCK MUSICAL in association with MACHA THEATRE WORKS Adapted by LISA TRICOMI Music and Lyrics by JOE POPP Directed by AMY POISSON SEATTLEPUBLICTHEATER.ORG #ROCKBETH

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

SGN

13

Arts & Entertainment

A triumph of sex, love, and Mozart at PNB’s Petite Mort

Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Angelica Generosa and Lucien Postlewaite in Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort – Photo by Angela Sterling

by Sharon Cumberland SGN Contributing Writer PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET CHOREOGRAPHY BY JIRÍ KYLIÁN AND ALEXANDER EKMAN MCCAW HALL SEPTEMBER 22, 2023 The season opener at Pacific Northwest Ballet on Friday was a festival of erotic and

heart-pumping rhythms in three dances particularly suited to the youthful vigor and beauty of the PNB performers. The first two pieces were set to music by that sexy rascal, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert making their appearances after the intermission — all played beautifully by the PNB orchestra led

by Emil de Cou. “Petite mort” is the French term for orgasm — or the droopy delight of postcoital collapse — and we see both conditions

(mostly the orgasmic parts) in these three fabulous performances.

The first half of the evening — two dances by the great Czech choreographer Jirí Kylián — struck a delicate balance: first, the intense opener, “Petite Mort,” then the hilarious send-up of 18th-century style in “Sechs Tänze.” The evening’s finale, “Cacti,” by Alexander Ekman of Sweden, premiered at PNB in 2018 to the same uproarious applause it enjoyed now. All three parts had the McCaw Hall audience

Pacific Northwest Ballet soloist Dammiel Cruz-Garrido and corps de ballet dancer Clara Ruf Maldonado in Jiri Kylian’s Petite Mort – Photo by Angela Sterling

14

SGN

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

punctuating their standing ovations with whoops and hollers.

And here’s the good news: this wonderful program is at McCaw Hall through October 1. If there was ever a great date evening, this is it! Or just go to see some of the best dance and most beautiful music you’ll enjoy this season.

Petite Mort (1991) Jirí Kylián, choreography Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer: Piano concerto in A Major adagio and Piano concerto in C Major andante Christina Siemens, pianist Six couples are dressed in skin-toned costumes — at once erotically minimal and elegantly confined, with boning on the men’s briefs and the women’s bustiers.

They appear to be both naked and classical, like Michelangelo’s David. Yet their moves are unmistakable — more positions than most people could imagine — and unmistakably loving because of Mozart’s accompanying music. The familiar piano movements, played with elegant tenderness

by Christina Siemens, make what could be seen as elaborate and systematic sex into acts of thoughtful passion.

The dance begins with six seminude men alone onstage, facing the audience like soldiers, each with a rapier (whiplike swords) that they manipulated with amazing precision. The opening portion was silent so that the audience could hear the swish! of each sword as it cut the air, or as the men rolled the rapiers in circles on the ground.

In addition to the obvious showmanship of symbolic penises, the audience witnessed truly remarkable and difficult choreography. In the subsequent sequences, each pair performed their own coupling in time with music — sometimes astonishingly energetic, sometimes woozy and dreamy — but always a beautiful embodiment of love and Mozart.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Pacific Northwest Ballet company dancers in Alexander Ekman’s Cacti – Photo by Angela Sterling

Sechs Tänze (Six Dances) Jirí Kylián, choreography Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, composer Here we see Mozart in his embodied silliness, with the performers wearing 18thcentury-style white wigs and underwear. In each short piece, Kylián gives the couples flirtatious dances that bounce along on the beat, like puppets discovering erotica for the first time.

The wit and humor of the choreography was matched by the audience’s laughter.

I found myself grinning and tapping my feet the whole time. What could be more jolly? After the solemn, beautiful erotica of “Petite Mort,” these bouncy dances supplied the playful reminder that sex is fun.

Cacti (2010) Alexander Ekman, choreography Franz Josef Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, composers

Pacific Northwest Ballet company dancers (l-r) Leah Terada, Miles Pertl, James Yoichi Moore and Elle Macy in Jiri Kylian’s Sechs Tänze (Six Dances) – Photo by Angela Sterling

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

Sixteen performers are frozen on small platforms while a snooty academic voice talks about art in a language that suggests that knowledge is condescending rather than elevating or powerful. The dancers appeared to be trapped by some mean professor. I had trouble entering into this aspect of the piece in 2018 (full disclosure: I’m a professor), and I had the same reaction this time. Why make education sound distancing and cruel?

Fortunately that voice went away in time to let the dancers show us all the ways you can move on a tiny platform, and how simultaneous movement among sixteen powerful performers, all dressed in identical black and white, can thrill and mesmerize the viewer with rhythmic movement.

By the end, the snooty voice was forgotten, and the audience was cheering in the sheer joy of witnessing such a thrilling and often hilarious piece. The PNB dancers are masters of simultaneous and exhausting movement that builds and builds until the whole auditorium is breathless. It’s a great performance, full of surprises.

My hope is that by now the youthful Alexander Ekman has moved away from framing his choreography with unnecessary voiceovers. Great dance makers don’t need gimmicks, and he’s truly one of those.

Get yourself and your friends to McCaw Hall by October 1 if you want to have a wonderful evening of laughter, love, brilliant music, and terrific dance.

SGN

15

Travel

Pride journey: Columbus, Ohio

by Joey Amato Special to the SGN Columbus, Ohio, a city known for its friendly atmosphere, has emerged as a thriving hub for LGBTQ culture in the Midwest. This vibrant community has grown exponentially in recent years, drawing people from all walks of life to experience its inclusivity, acceptance, and celebration of diversity.

Columbus has a long history of supporting LGBTQ rights and fostering an accepting environment. Additionally, it has a thriving Queer neighborhood, known as the Short North. This eclectic and artsy area is home to numerous LGBTQ-friendly bars, restaurants, galleries, and shops. The Short North is not only a place to socialize and enjoy nightlife but also a symbol of the city’s commitment to LGBTQ inclusion and representation.

From popular bars like Union Cafe and Axis Nightclub to LGBTQ-owned cafés and art galleries, the neighborhood offers a safe environment for authentic self-expression. The Columbus LGBTQ Community Center (3208 N. High), known as “The Center on High,” is a vital resource for the community. It serves as a gathering place for meetings, support groups, educational workshops, and social events, fostering connections and a sense of belonging.

Although the Short North is definitely the city’s most vibrant area, I urge you to check out the Franklinton neighborhood, just a short drive away. The area is home to new shops, restaurants, apartments, and condos, as well as the Center of Science and Industry (COSI for short) (333 W. Broad).

It is also home to The Junto (77 Belle), a new independent “lifestyle hotel and modern-day ‘club for mutual improvement,’” where I stayed for the weekend. It serves up a very trendy but comfortable vibe in a part of Columbus that is quickly emerging as one of the most sought-after addresses in the city.

The rooms feature luxury linens and a separate living room space, as well as a supersized bathroom with a soaking tub in the shower area. Yes, you read that correctly. It was massive enough to fit about a dozen people.

One of the highlights of the hotel is Maudine’s, a lovely café named after a cow.

But Maudine wasn’t just any cow: she was named Ohio State Homecoming Queen back in 1926. Maudine’s makes its own syrups for its beverages, and you can clearly taste the difference. I ordered a vanilla latte, and it was one of the best I’ve ever had.

Another highlight of the pet-friendly property is the Gear Garage, where guests can rent anything from bikes or kayaks to vintage Polaroid cameras.

After checking into the hotel, my boyfriend and I decided to explore the Franklinton neighborhood. A short walk away is the Bee Collective (410 W. Town). The owner Luke was gracious enough to give us a tour of the property and show us the inner workings of the extensive hives, some of which contain thousands of bees. We even got a chance to taste some honey, which beats the store-bought variety any day.

A few blocks away from The Bee Collective is Makers Social (461 W. Rich), a gathering space where visitors can create a variety of leather products, all while indulging in delicious cocktails, or in our case, mocktails. We made a beautiful leather-bound journal and a wallet. And don’t worry, all of the projects come with detailed instructions, and the friendly staff will also be more than happy to assist if you get stuck.

The business was founded by Megan Pando in 2020 and serves as one of the key gathering spaces for the Franklinton community.

Next, check out a new fashion district called Common Thread, located in downtown Columbus (1110 Chambers Rd. B), home to local designers and boutiques, including Gerardo Encinas, Xantha, and Alex Vinash.

For dinner, head to Speck (89 N. High), a modern Italian eatery in downtown. We decided to start with an order of the blistered shishitos, which were served with parmesan, Maldon sea salt, and a lemon aioli, as well as the mussels special, prepared in a delicious white wine broth. For our entrée, we shared the fungi pasta, which consisted of a variety of sautéed mushrooms served over pasta in a delicate cream sauce.

Every time I go to Columbus, I have a good time, but if you happen to visit in June, check out the Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival and Parade. Established in 1981, is one of the oldest in the Midwest.

This annual event brings together thousands of Queer people, allies, and supporters to celebrate and advocate for equal rights, visibility, and social acceptance.

Held in commemoration of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, this festival showcases the vibrancy, resilience, and unity of the LGBTQ community. Attendees can enjoy live performances, food vendors, workshops, and a powerful parade that brings together people from all backgrounds to march for equality and justice.

Numerous organizations in Columbus are dedicated to providing support, resources, and advocacy for LGBTQ people. Among these, Stonewall Columbus is a prominent nonprofit that offers a wide range of services, including support groups, counseling, health services, and youth programs. The Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO) is another crucial organization working to combat violence against Queer people and provide assistance to survivors.

As Columbus continues to evolve and champion LGBTQ rights, it serves as a reminder to other communities around the world that embracing diversity is not only the right thing to do but also a catalyst for creating a richer, more harmonious society for all.

Enjoy the journey!

16

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

SGN

Photos courtesy of Joey Amato

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Film

Ambitious sci-fi spectacular The Creator finds humanity in artificial intelligence

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer THE CREATOR Theaters After two successful efforts for Warner Bros. (Godzilla) and Lucasfilm/Disney (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), director Gareth Edwards returns to his small-scale Monsters roots with the bracingly heartfelt science fiction thriller The Creator.

But he’s still working on the same largescale canvas of his previous two franchise endeavors, only now presenting an entirely original story that plays like an intelligently ambitious amalgamation of everything from Blade Runner, Platoon, and The Terminator to Ghost in the Shell and A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.

And it works. Primarily shot by cinematographers Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer at locations around the globe (with much of the stunning outdoor footage in Cambodia) and with most of the digital effects seamlessly added afterward (utilizing many of

the techniques Edwards employed on Monsters), The Creator is mind-blowing from a purely visual perspective. But it is the masterful human saga at the film’s center that makes it special, and even if this story isn’t especially innovative, the emotions fueling the action are so intimately satisfying that they lingered with me for hours afterward.

The setup is sci-fi simplicity: In the near future, humans find themselves at war with the artificial intelligence they invented after an atomic bomb goes off in New York. Led by the United States, Western forces are up against AI rebels and their human supporters based in Southeast Asia.

The US military has developed a powerful weapons platform nicknamed Nomad, a missile station located in the Earth’s upper atmosphere that gives the West an almost unbeatable advantage.

Ex-special forces operative Joshua (John David Washington) had been sent undercover behind enemy lines to uncover the identity of the AI’s leader, Nirmata, aka “The Creator,” a human scientist who has been devising a secret weapon that could

turn the tide of the ongoing war. But after his wife Maya (Gemma Chan) is killed during an air strike, Joshua begins to wonder if he’s fighting on the right side. Even when Colonel Howell (Allison Janney) and General Andrews (Ralph Ineson) coerce him out of retirement for one last mission, the soldier’s uncertainty remains, especially after he discovers that the AI’s ultimate weapon is an innocent android child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles).

Few would blame Edwards (who cowrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz) if he had kept things as unpretentious as that synopsis. There’s nothing unwieldy about the road the filmmaker travels to get to his destination. It’s a given how the relationship between Joshua and his new charge will turn out, nor is the link between her, his late wife Maya, or the secretive Nirmata much of a mystery.

But Edwards digs deeper. Taking his cues from Samuel Fuller, Harlan Ellison, and Satoshi Kon, the filmmaker crafts a not-so-thinly-veiled Vietnam or Iraq War parable and crosses it with the technologi-

The Creator – Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

cal conundrums the advancements in artificial intelligence production have inevitably led to. He asks about the nature of mortality (and morality) and attempts to examine the impenetrable ambiguities of the human soul. Edwards wants to know if love can transcend death — and doesn’t seem to care one bit if the audience gets angry at him if he refuses to supply a definitive answer.

Not all of the film works, but I have a sneaky suspicion that much of that is by design. Edwards knows his central plot is fairly rudimentary, so he plays fast and loose with some of the connective tissues, trusting viewers will figure things out for themselves. But it also means that, especially in regard to several of the supporting players, few characters make a lasting impression. Outside of Washington, Janney, the always reliable Ken Watanabe (whose character I am not going to spoil), and the spellbinding youngster Voyles, I’d be hard-pressed to recollect what most members of the large ensemble were doing or why it was supposed to matter.

Yet I was okay with all of this. I was in almost continuous awe while watching the film. Even though they share little screen time, Washington and Chan have instantaneous, almost overwhelming chemistry. As for the actor’s give-and-take with Voyles, they make magic. The bond between the pair borders on familial, and the ease in which their patter grows in resonant strength is nearly otherworldly.

Edwards also stages some of the best action sequences of 2023, mainly because he keeps them entirely character-focused.

Most of the time, the more astonishing visuals are in the background, the director making sure to keep Joshua, Col. Howell, or some other member of the primary cast at the forefront, since what is happening to them — and by extension to anyone with them — is far more important than the next massive explosion or incredible jolt of digitally augmented razzle-dazzle.

As much as I loved Godzilla and Rogue One, I do hope the director can continue to avoid becoming stranded helming major Hollywood franchises and instead gets to continue to focus on more personal projects. If The Creator is any indication, Edwards shows he has the talent, the determination, and the confidence to at least make a valiant go of doing just that.

SGN

17

Film

Unforgettables: Cinematic milestones with Sara Michelle Days of Heaven: Terrence Malick’s ethereal, windswept ballad of love, lust, and nature’s wrath remains an otherworldly triumph

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer The term “masterpiece” doesn’t come close to doing Days of Heaven full justice.

This divine saga of love, friendship, greed, longing, desire, and sacrifice — Terrence Malick’s moody, gorgeously ethereal followup to his devastatingly killer 1973 debut, Badlands — is an absolute stunner from the first sun-drenched frame of wispy Texas fields of grain to the last. Now celebrating its 45th anniversary, this is one of the finest cinematic achievements I’ve ever seen.

What’s most unusual about Malick’s sophomore outing, even for the auteurdriven 1970s, is how fearlessly the director assaults traditional narrative convention.

He puts the viewer on edge almost immediately, refusing to show things that would seem obvious to focus on and instead turning the spotlight onto other, seemingly more mundane items and events that at first glance would appear to be unimportant.

But they are anything but. On the surface it’s the story of two lovers, Bill (Richard Gere) and Abby (Brooke Adams), who are forced to flee early 20th-century Chicago for the secluded emptiness of the Texas panhandle by disguising themselves as brother and sister. But the emotional reality goes so much deeper than that. As narrated by Bill’s actual younger sister Linda (Linda Manz), the truth is a never-ending metaphorical sandstorm of relentless gray, and even the uncompromisingly honest are nowhere near as innocent as they initially appear.

This hook is that Bill, Abby, and Linda end up working at a nondescript farm in the middle of a vast nowhere, owned by a firm, if kindly, nobody (Sam Shepard).

When the harvest ends, he asks them to stay on, mainly because he’s fallen in love with Abby, but also because he is secretly terminally ill and does not expect to live out the year. Bill convinces his lover to accept the farmer’s marriage proposal so that, when he dies, they’ll inherit his estate. Things do not go as planned.

Admittedly, I didn’t know quite what to make of Days of Heaven the first time I watched it. I’d never seen Badlands, and I had no idea who Malick was when I picked up the VHS cassette from my local video store. The rather nondescript, bright yellow box didn’t exactly scream that this was a drama I needed to watch, yet I still snagged it anyway. I figured, what the heck? It had

Richard Gere, who I had just fallen in love with while watching An Officer and a Gentleman. That was good enough for me.

It sounded straightforward enough. But Malick, utilizing editing techniques and voiceover concepts he’d ultimately perfect 20 years later with his adaptation of The Thin Red Line, takes this familiar neo-noir conceit and turns it on its head. His film becomes a meditation on humanity’s relationship to nature, a treatise on constantly shifting perceptions of morality, a blistering social commentary, and, most affecting of all, a hauntingly tragic romance.

Nothing happened as I expected. As told

by Linda, there is an almost Rashomon-like structure to her recollections, in which the fantastical desires of youth crash headfirst into the unrelenting realities of adulthood.

Memories merge together in a constant, unfiltered stream, the described events flowing in a mostly linear fashion that still hint at a hardened, indissoluble time before the farm, along with an unknown yet still hopeful future, where tragedy can give way to something indescribably glorious and inner peace can thankfully still be found.

But as perplexed as I was, I could not

18

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

SGN

Days of Heaven – Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

tear my eyes off of the screen. Even on a pan-and-scan VHS, it was clear that this film was a visually audacious masterwork.

The images composed by cinematographer Néstor Almendros (with a generous assist from “additional photographer” Haskell Wexler) were otherworldly, and I subconsciously became lost within them, overcome with hushed immediacy. It’s no wonder Almendros would win that year’s Academy Award.

It’s Adams who captivated me the most.

As outstanding as she would be in thrillers like the remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (also released in 1978) and David Cronenberg’s magnificent adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dead Zone, her work as Abby remains the high point of the actor’s nearly 50-year career. Even with minimal dialogue, I was enraptured by her almost androgynous femininity. The way Adams coupled her physical expressions with her practical surroundings was undeniably eerie, and this led me to an almost instantaneous rewatch before I had to return the tape to the store the following day.

As the years have passed, I have returned to Malick’s film again and again. I’ve seen

it in a theater on multiple occasions since moving to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, and it’s one of the few titles where I can say I’ve owned a copy in pretty much every format it’s been available in. So many moments, including the stunning locust attack and the dreamlike finale, where life and death become inexorably intertwined, are burned into my memory for eternity.

“Nobody’s perfect,” states Linda matterof-factly during her narration. “There was never a perfect person around. You just have half-angel and half-devil in you.” It’s a cold statement, but a true one. We all are the sums of our inner angels and our inner devils, the pair in constant conflict, as if they were straight out of a Bugs Bunny or Donald Duck cartoon.

In Days of Heaven, Malick allows this internalized conversation to take human form. On this secluded Texas farm, where anything is possible and doom could still be waiting on the hay-covered floor of a musty barn, heaven and hell collide, and all that’s left afterward are the remains of good intentions and bad ideas equally plowed into oblivion.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Scarecrowber: SIFF and Scarecrow Video collaborate on a monthlong celebration of psychotronic greatness

Bram Stoker's Dracula – Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

by Sara Michelle Fetters SGN Staff Writer Both the Seattle International Film Festival (most frequently referred to by its recognizable acronym, SIFF) and Scarecrow Video (featuring the largest publicly available physical media library in the world, with more than 145,000 titles currently listed in its massive database) are cinematic gateways into the Pacific Northwest, and it’s difficult to imagine a world without either of them.

While the two nonprofits have worked together on projects in the past, never have they collaborated to program an official series of films selected by Scarecrow and showcased at one of SIFF’s venues. Until now.

Going under the moniker “Scarecrowber,” the pair have crafted a monthlong psychotronic celebration that runs the gamut from bona fide classics (The Bride of Frankenstein, Cat People, Carnival of Souls), cult favorites (Night of the Comet, Near Dark, From Beyond), and auteur-driven sensations (Possession, Bram Stoker’s Dracula) to kiddie curiosities (Mad Monster Party?), salacious Hammer Films barn burners (Twins of Evil), and dangerous doggies (Cujo), including jolts of surreal, Z-grade madness so bizarre (Spookies), it would take me a week to describe even a fraction of the lunacy about

to be unleashed on an unsuspecting audience.

The series begins on Monday, October 2 and concludes on Sunday, October 29, with all screenings to be held at Seattle’s legendary one-screen movie house the SIFF Egyptian on Capitol Hill. I sat down with Scarecrow Video’s executive director, Clinton McClung, to chat about “Scarecrowber” and what it means to him and the video store’s devoted and knowledgeable staff to work with SIFF to program this series. The following is the edited transcript of our conversation: Sara Michelle Fetters: First things first.

Before we dive too much into “Scarecrowber” and what this series means for Scarecrow, for the uninitiated, let’s just play a quick game of “definition,” as you are the psychotronic guru here. “Psychotronic”: what is it?

Clinton McClung: What is it? [The term] is based on a very popular book that came out in the 1980s that cult film lovers just fell in love with called The Psychotronic Video Guide [by film critic Michael J. Weldon]. “Psychotronic video” as defined in the book… [laughs] Okay, I can’t remember exactly how it’s defined in the book. It’s been a long time since I read it. But the definition … is basically “weird genre films that are made typically on a low budget and are not

Clinton McClung – Courtesy photo

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

sort of your mainstream Hollywood films.”

Now, we [at Scarecrow] don’t necessarily subscribe to the low-budget part, because there’s John Carpenter films. I wouldn’t call those low budget. But definitely a lot of those films fit outside of the Hollywood mainstream and fit under that genre umbrella.

Years ago, when Scarecrow Video was organizing its show floor and deciding where to put things — because the unique thing about the layout at Scarecrow is [that] we have all those little rooms where we can put things, rather than create just one room and call it “the horror dungeon” or something like that — they decided to call [a room] the Psychotronic Room, so it could embrace everything from horror to sci-fi.

(There’s a section called Christploitation in the Psychotronic Room that I love. [laughs]) But, yeah. Psychotronic is typically sci-fi horror fantasy and any and all combinations one can think of, sort of an umbrella term to put all those genres under.

SMF: As for “Scarecrowber” itself: Is it a festival? Is it a series?

CM: It’s an entire month. [laughs] SMF: Touché. [laughs] CM: It’s a film series. Basically, we were approached by SIFF — and this was really great, because, as you know, I used to work there. But I didn’t approach them, and their approaching Scarecrow wasn’t because of my connections with them. Literally, the current programmer at SIFF, Kasi Gaarenstroom, approached me after the festival this year and was like, “We want to work together with Scarecrow more and use our platform and our theaters to elevate other nonprofit organizations in town that are doing cool film-related work.”

So, during the festival, we were invited to go to the films that we were sponsoring and actually give away physical media before the screenings, which was delightful. We also went to closing night (I Heart Movies), which is about a video store, and were able to be involved there, too.

After that experience working together and giving us a chance to get up before SIFF audiences and talk a little bit about Scarecrow and why we’re an important aspect of the community, … Kasi happened to mention that in October at the Egyptian, they do lots of rentals for special events and little mini festivals and stuff. They had a lot of holes in the schedule, ones that they

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

couldn’t really fill with first-run movies.

And I was like, October is the hottest month for Scarecrow Video. It’s the month that we have Video Store Day. It’s the month that we do our Psychotronic Challenge. For video store nerds, October is our favorite time of year. [So] I was thinking, if SIFF had a lot of holes in their schedule to fill, then I had a bunch of staff members who would probably give SIFF a list of incredible titles to help with that.

From there, we were just talking and spitballing ideas, and together we came up with the name “Scarecrowber.” Immediately it just perfectly made sense. If the month of October is helping to celebrate Scarecrow Video and showcasing all these great psychotronic films, “Scarecrowber” it had to be! It was kismet. It just really made sense.

SMF: As you brought it up, you did work at SIFF as a programmer for quite a long time. Additionally, SIFF and Scarecrow have had a strong relationship in the past, the video store being a frequent sponsor of the annual festival. With that being the case, why has it taken so long for there to be a series like “Scarecrowber” that brings the two together in this way?

CM: I would say, speaking as the former programmer of the theater, honestly, it never crossed my mind. I think in the old days, 10, maybe 15 years ago, before Scarecrow became a nonprofit, a lot of it was just like, they’re a sponsor. They give us money to support SIFF. So we talked about them, but it was never a lot more than that.

I think a big shift that I’ve seen … in general in the last several years — and I think the pandemic was a big part of this — is that more nonprofits, especially art nonprofits, are realizing that we’re stronger if we work together. If it’s not just about “we have sponsors and we’re doing our own thing.” If everyone comes together and is like, “How can we support each other?,” that’s when the magic can happen.

One thing I think we’re all learning is that we need our audience. We need our community to not just know we’re there or to throw money at us but to pay attention to what we’re doing and to help spread the word about all these great organizations around town.

see SCARECROWBER page 20

SGN

19

Film

SCARECROWBER continued from cover

Also, Tom Mara, who’s the current executive director at SIFF, was really sweet to reach out to me when I first got this job at Scarecrow, to meet and to talk specifically about how could we work together more.

I think that’s a new path forward.

I don’t want to speak on behalf of SIFF, but a lot of nonprofits are seeing this new path forward of building that community and working together toward the same goals. It’s not just being about, “How do I get people to come to my theater?” or “How do I get people to come to my video store?”

It’s more about building awareness. It helps us all. There’s been a nice change in how things work that I feel really heartened by.

SMF: When it looked like “Scarecrowber” was going to become a reality, what was the staff reaction when they understood they were going to be able to program their own series of films at one of Seattle’s most celebrated theaters?

CM: They were really excited. Partly because being able to see a lot of these movies on the big screen was delightful for them. We’ve worked closely with other cinemas over the years, and we’ve done little one-offs and shows and stuff together.

I’m not saying this was completely like, oh my God, this has never happened, but it was more just such great timing to have this overlap with our big month of October with the Psychotronic Challenge. And, of course, [it was great] to program a venue like the SIFF Egyptian.

I worked with both SIFF and with our staff to be like, okay, we’re not just going to program a bunch of crazy movies that we like.

We want a little bit of everything in terms of stuff that would attract an audience, and we want to use this to highlight some of the special things that we do here at Scarecrow. … I talked to Jensen Ward, who puts together the Psychotronic Challenge every year, and wanted to know if there were specific days where we could tie in the Psychotronic Challenge to the “Scarecrowber” selections. …He selected October 6, and he sent me five titles that he felt would work.

The [challenge] for this date is: “THE TORN TICKET: You guessed it, films/scenes that take place in a movie theater,” so he picked five titles and we ended up with Night of the Comet, which we all love. [laughs] Viva Physical Media is a … biweekly show [that we do] devoted to, naturally, physical media. [The hosts are] always talking about dog movies; it’s sort of a popular running gag. So I went to them and was like, why don’t you guys pick a dog movie?

We’ll do a Viva Physical Media night.

That’s how we ended up with Cujo.

“Unstreamable” is a column that Jas Keimig and Chase Burns from The Stranger originally started, and now they do it on our blog. And I was like, let’s do a night where we just focus on “Unstreamable” and find a film like that.

Everybody was really excited, not just that we got to play fun movies, but that we got to tie it in with stuff that is very specifically Scarecrow. At one point, I just sent out … to all the staff: “Everybody pick five and we’re going to narrow those down to fill out the series!” [laughs] It worked out perfectly.

Everybody got their picks.

SMF: It’s one thing, though, to have a Scarecrow night at, say, The Beacon or over at the Grand Illusion, and another to program an entire month at the SIFF Egyptian. I mean, at those venues, if you program something like Spookies and only 20 people show up, that’s a successful night. It’s harder to say that in a venue the size of the SIFF Egyptian.

CM: Right. Well, that’s one reason why Kasi and I talked about this when we started planning. [Since I was] a former film programmer, she was a little bit more trusting, because I think she knew I understood how big this theater is and what was needed to fill it. She trusted me to find the balance between the obscure and the mainstream.

We tried to [walk] that line a little bit [with] titles we knew people would come out for and ones that would be a little more of a risk. I know people love From Beyond.

I know people love Bride of Frankenstein. I know there are certain titles that will bring people out, and then just mixing that in with some, like 1946’s Cat People, that are a bit more of a risk.

SMF: Wait. Cat People is a risk? Don’t people know how much of a classic that film is?

CM: I know, right? I love it, but lots of people don’t even know that that movie exists anymore. Part of programming a festival or a series like this is giving people their… how should I phrase it? It’s giving people their candy and their medicine and be like, you know you like this, but you might not know that you’re also going to like this.

Also, honestly? I think Spookies is going to be hit. I really do.

SMF: I certainly hope so. What a beautifully weird little film that is!

Personally, I look at the lineup and I keep thinking to myself, “That movie’s great!” and “Oh yeah! That movie’s great, too!” It’s such a cagey mixture of stuff that is definitely going to bring people in, like Bram Stoker’s Dracula or From Beyond or Near Dark, but then switching that up a little bit with fun, obscure, or maybe even forgotten fare like Twins of Evil or Mad Monster Party?

I mean, come on now, it’s all great.

CM: Mad Monster Party? is the movie I watch every Halloween. I’ve shown it in theaters before, and there’s a new restoration of it. It’s one of my childhood favorites.

I still watch it every year.

But, yes, you have to throw those in.

People are going to want to see them even if they don’t already know they are going to want to. Stuff like Possession. I’ve never seen Possession, and it’s been on my list for a decade or more to watch. Well, if we program it, we all get a chance to go watch this movie. I hope I’m up to the challenge. [laughs] SMF: Wait. You’ve never seen Possession? This honestly surprises me.

CM: I know about it, and I know how influential it is, but … I’ve never sat down and actually watched it.

SMF: Which screening are you going to be at? I just want to watch you watch the movie. I can’t wait to see your reactions. [laughs] CM: Watch my wife watch me watch Possession. I have a feeling that will be the real show. [laughs] I’m so excited to see it. I recently listened to a podcast where Sam Neill was talking about making that movie. Afterward I was like, “Oh my God, why have I never seen Possession? What’s wrong with me?”

20

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

SGN

Cat People – Photo courtesy of RKO

SMF: Isabelle Adjani gives one of the greatest performances you will ever see.

CM: I can’t wait.

Twins of Evil. You mentioned Twins of Evil. That’s another one I’m excited about.

That was a film that was selected by Leo Mayberry, one of our staff members who used to run the “Monster Planet” series at Re-bar. His list of films was all really obscure, weird, older stuff. But I had just watched Twins of Evil a couple months ago, and that one shot to the top of the list of what he suggested, partly because we knew it was available, but also, it’s just so much fun! More people need to see this movie. It is fun and weird. I just love it. Our staff is so good at pulling those little nuggets out that you don’t expect sometimes.

Another of our staff members, Matt Lynch, who I think you know, actually went with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. That surprised me. It’s such a mainstream pick for him, or, so I thought. But he said that was straight up his favorite horror movie. How great is that?

SMF: If we’re being totally honest, probably the most mainstream title — outside of The Bride of Frankenstein, of course — is arguably Night of the Comet, and it’s as much of a 1980s cult favorite as any film made that decade.

What I love about this series, no matter your background, no matter if you are straight or Queer, there’s always something about horror that speaks to everyone. It’s a genre for everyone, whether they realize it or not, and this series proudly showcases that.

CM: I was giving [someone] a little tour of the store, and we have the Comedy Room and the Drama Room, and there’s some small breakouts in there, but none of them are quite as broken out as the Psychotronic Room. We don’t just have a horror section — it’s broken out into demons and witches and little bastards. We have all these amazing breakouts throughout that room.

The reason is that genre films, in particular, have rarely gotten any respect. This has maybe changed a little in the last 10, 15 years, but it’s still like, for most stores, here’s the horror section. Put the weird stuff on the bottom shelf and don’t worry about it.

We have never done that. If you really look at the genre as it is, there are so many different elements of horror. There are so many different kinds of horror. So many different styles of horror movies. Horror is for everyone, because it accepts everyone for who and what they are.

I grew up in the ‘80s, when I thought every horror movie was Friday the 13th. I was like, meh. That’s not for me. Then you discover your Carnival of Souls, you discover your Cat People, you discover your Near Dark. You discover the weird, interesting horror film that’s more psychologi-

cal, that messes with your head, which I am really hoping is what Possession’s going to be like.

SMF: Oh, you’re going to be scarred.

You’re going to be scarred for life. [laughs] SM: I can’t wait.

SMF: Talk to me about how you feel this series is going to help Scarecrow in its mission.

CM: The great thing about this series is, since 2020, we’re still not back at the levels financially of people coming in and renting videos and buying stuff and visiting Scarecrow that we were, even in 2019. We’re still building back up to that. That’s the case for a lot of businesses and nonprofits.

One thing I’ve been working on since I started at Scarecrow in May is raising awareness that we’re still here, that we’re not just Seattle’s last video store, but we’re an archive of almost every video that’s ever been made.

I mean, granted, there’s lots of stuff we don’t have in our collection, but we have 145,000 titles. That is three times as much as all the streaming services combined.

It’s more than any other publicly available archive, meaning you could actually come in and check anything out. We have more than any other publicly available resource in the world.

We’re not just the only video store in Seattle, we’re kind of the biggest video store in the world. What’s special about that is that even if you don’t go out every Friday and rent movies anymore, every once in a while, there’s going to be that one fever dream movie that you remember that you’re like, “What was that? I want to see that.”

Scarecrow is here for you for that. When you’re working on a project — and it can be about anything, it doesn’t even have to be cinema-related — there will be films and documentaries that that we will have available for you if and when you need them.

But outside of the archive aspect of it, if we can get more people to just come and visit Scarecrow, that would be great. I talk to lots of people who are like, “I love Scarecrow, but I haven’t been there in years.”

It’s kind of like going to a bookstore that you love. You know what book you want when you walk in the door, but walking around and looking at all the books, you open yourself up to so much more discovery than you would ever get from an algorithm. What does this employee pick?

What is this weird thing? There is this section of just the Disney live-action remakes?

There’s the Psychotronic Room. Things that catch and capture your imagination.

Even if you’re not going to rent that movie right that day, it’s going to inspire you to dig deeper and explore more, and I think that’s the power of Scarecrow.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Books

Justine Pucella Winans’ debut novel is a thrilling gender/murder mystery

Image courtesy of Clarion

by Lindsey Anderson SGN Staff Writer When Justine Pucella Winans started writing their debut novel, Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything, their goal was to create a fun, spooky adventure about overcoming anxiety. When the final draft hit shelves three years later, it was so much more.

Bianca Torre is a book about a Nonbinary teenager daring to explore the parts of themself that can seem frightening while also solving a murder mystery. Discovering their main character’s gender identity was a cathartic way for Pucella Winans to explore their identity at the time.

“I was going through my own exploration of gender, and for that reason, I was like, ‘You know what? It’s pandemic, so I can’t go outside and go to any groups or anything, so let me just work through this using this book,’” they said. “That’s why, in the book, Bianca is also just first exploring their gender identity, because that’s what I felt I needed to say and explore at the time.”

While Pucella Winans did not write Bianca as Nonbinary in earlier drafts of the book, they did always expect the character would be Queer. “Bianca’s character was always a Lesbian. That, from the beginning, was always something I included,” they said. “I love to have Sapphic characters in my writing, and I feel like it allows me to explore that side of myself and feelings and relationships I had and use that in fiction, and add to the growing representation that’s available in scenes.”

A not-so-predictable mystery Bianca’s gender and sexuality are minor points of contention in the book but are not the instigating factor that drives the plot forward. Instead, the novel follows a pattern similar to other mystery thrillers.

“If it was just a contemporary book, you would have funny characters and nothing really happening,” Pucella Winans said. “I wanted to work on something that inherently needed to have things happening. That drew me to the thriller genre as well, because I’m a big fan of mystery and [thrillers] as a reader, but I just hadn’t tried it as a writer before.

“I will say, without giving spoilers, [that] my biggest pet peeve as a mystery reader is when twists come out of the blue, and there’s no way you could have solved it. I like being smart and solving the mystery if I can, so I always try to have some clues or make the ending still feel hopefully surprising but not something that feels like, ‘Wow I wouldn’t have guessed that by reading the book.’”

Its okay to be afraid Pucella Winans hopes their book can

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

Justine Pucella Winans and Twinklepop – Courtesy photo

help readers embrace whatever struggles they may be facing — whether it’s a murder mystery or a gender mystery — and know that it’s okay to be scared.

“I would love all readers to take away the idea that being afraid doesn’t have to prevent you from doing things and that being afraid doesn’t take away from your bravery,” they said.

“That’s a big theme in the book. There’s this big idea that to be the hero, you have to be fearless, and Bianca is not that, as it says — it’s in the title. You can be afraid, your brain can work differently, be very anxious, and have panic attacks, but you can still be the hero and save the day. Your fears don’t have to hold you back. They can be valid.”

More books on the horizon Despite spending the last three years writing, editing, and publishing their first novel, Pucella Winans had more than Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything on their mind. When Bianca was in the final drafting stages, Pucella Winans started writing their second novel, The Otherwoods, a middle-school mystery that hit shelves last week — while recovering from surgery.

“There was overlap, but at least it wasn’t everything. I got to experience things with Bianca on the YA side and then have more of an idea of what to expect on the other side,” they said.

The Otherwoods isn’t the only release fans can expect to see from Pucella Winans

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

this year. “For people interested in the YA side, my next YA murder mystery — which is similar to Bianca in the sense that it is very Queer and very funny — One Killer Problem, releases next August,” they said.

This novel focuses on a Bisexual heroine with IBS who has to solve her math teacher’s murder along with her cozy-murder-obsessed best friends. “I think the people who enjoy the humor of Bianca will also enjoy this book as well,” Pucella Winans added.

There isn’t a set release date for One Killer Problem yet, but fans can keep up with Pucella Winans’s progress through her website, https://www.justinepucellawinans. com, and her newsletter.

SGN

21

Books

Bayard Rustin: Essays on the civil rights movement’s lesser-known leader

Rustin in 1963 – Photo by Eddie Adams / AP

by Terri Schlichenmeyer Special to the SGN BAYARD RUSTIN: A LEGACY OF PROTEST AND POLITICS Edited by MICHAEL G. LONG © 2023 NYU Press $27.95 256 pages

22

Image courtesy of NYU Press

Somehow, it seems, in the discussion about Martin Luther King and the leadership he brought to the civil rights movement, certain things are left out. In the case of Bayard Rustin, says Michael G. Long, editor of a new set of essays on the man, the record needs to be corrected.

His mother was still a teenager, and unmarried, when Rustin’s grandmother helped deliver him in the spring of 1912.

The boy’s father refused to acknowledge him, so his grandparents gave him a family name and raised him in their Quaker faith.

Still, alongside the peaceful, gentle mandate of that religion, young Rustin experi-

SGN

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

enced Jim Crow segregation. His grandmother left a major impact on him, teaching him compassion, kindness, and generosity — she reared him to do the right thing — but they lived in Pennsylvania, where racism was common and the Klan maintained a nearby presence. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, Rustin realized he was Gay, which was illegal then.

At that point, though, he had seen many wrongs around him, and he became an activist. He also worked for justice as a speaker and organizer; at one time, he’d embraced communism but eventually became a socialist. By his own admission, Rustin was jailed more than 20 times and served on a chain gang for several months — but even then, his nonviolent Quaker beliefs emerged, and he befriended his jailers, gaining their respect.

By the time he met a young preacher named Martin Luther King Jr., Rustin was well versed on civil rights work. He had direction, contacts, and the organizational skills the movement needed.

And yet, he was willing to let King take center stage...

As a collection of essays, Bayard Rustin has one flaw that probably can’t be helped: it’s quite repetitive. Each of the essayists in this book wrote extensively about Rustin’s work and legacy, but there just doesn’t seem to be quite enough about the man himself — perhaps because, as Long indicates in his introduction, history left him more in the background. This means that the nearly two dozen contributors to this book only had so much to go on, hence the repetition.

Even so, if you look for Rustin, you’ll find a fair number tales about him, and this book has a good portion of them. Readers will be entertained, confounded, and pleased by what they read here. It’s like finding treasure you never knew you needed.

This book needs to sit on the shelf next to everything written about Dr. King, as an essential companion to any volume about the civil rights movement.

C E L E B R AT I N G 4 9 Y E A R S!

Episode 79: Aidan Key T Lindsey interviews author and educator Aidan Key about his upcoming book Trans Children in Today s Schools.

Learn more at: https://www.genderdiversity.org

WEEKLY! FIND US WHEREVER YOU LISTEN TO PODCASTS!

VISIT US ONLINE SGN.ORG

SEP TEMBER 29, 202 3

SGN

23