december 25, 2014 edition of the bay area reporter

Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971www.ebar.com Vol. 44 • No. 52 • December 25-31, 2014

{ FIRST OF THREE SECTIONS }

The

12 17

Paradise in Key West Best theatre, 2014 Game night

Sit/lie law still draws concern

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FINAL WEEKS! CLOSES FEB 16

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Golden Gate Park • deyoungmuseum.org

H E R B ST E X H I B I T I O N G A L L E R I E S

FINAL WEEKS! CLOSES FEB 16OPEN TODAY!

GAPA early endorses SF mayor by Matthew S. Bajko

A club for gay Asian and Pa-cifi c Islander

men in the Bay Area has come out with an early endorsement for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s re-election bid.

After Lee met with the board of the Gay Asian Pacifi c Alliance at its December 9 meeting, the members voted to back Lee’s 2015 mayoral campaign.

“Mayor Lee has proven himself to be an ef-fective leader, he has taken the city in the right direction,” Benjamin Leong, who stepped down this month as GAPA’s co-chair, told the Bay Area Reporter. “The economy is up and unemployment is down. And we would like to see this trend continue.”

Leong added that since Lee became the city’s interim mayor in 2011, and then won a full four-year term that November, he has been a leader for both the LGBT and API communities.

“He has been a leader for the San Francisco community,” wrote Leong in an emailed re-sponse. “Mayor Lee has been a leader for the Bay Area and the region and that is why GAPA has come out and gave an early, sole endorsement of Mayor Lee.”

In doing so GAPA is the fi rst major LGBT group in the city to announce its support of Lee’s re-election campaign, whose slogan is “Ed Lee. He’s for Me.”

Neither of the city’s two main LGBT Dem-ocratic clubs – Alice B. Toklas and Harvey Milk – is currently looking to early endorse the mayor. In 2011 Alice gave Lee its third choice endorsement under the city’s ranked-choice voting system, and Milk altogether snubbed the mayor, who at fi rst had insisted he would not seek election to a full term.

Alice co-chair Zoe Dunning told the B.A.R. last week that it was “undetermined” if the more moderate political club would follow GAPA’s lead. No board member has yet requested that Alice consider early endorsing Lee.

Should someone do so, the club’s political action committee, by a 66 percent vote, would then need to recommend that the membership hold an early endorsement vote, otherwise it would be rejected. The threshold for approv-ing such a vote by the membership would then drop to 60 percent, and if met, the club would then consider early endorsing Lee.

“No one has done so or indicated doing this right now,” said Dunning, a mayoral ap-pointee to the city’s library commission who has yet to personally endorse Lee. “I am wait-ing to see where Alice goes fi rst.”

This year 29 Castro merchants chipped in to drape 31 sidewalk trees from Sanchez to Castro in white LED lights

to provide a festive, warm welcome to the

LGBT neighborhood. The tree lights joined the gold bows adorning the median palm trees for the holiday decorations, which were organized by the Castro Merchants group.

Rick Gerharter

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

Happy holid

ays!Mayor Ed Lee

Rick Gerharter

See page 14 >>

SFO Milk terminal is in holding patternby Matthew S. Bajko

Nineteen months after he agreed to name a terminal at San Francisco In-ternational Airport in honor of gay

San Francisco International Airport is decked out in holiday lights – and a miniature Golden Gate Bridge – as passengers arrive and depart.

Courtesy SFO

See page 2 >>

by Seth Hemmelgarn

Four years ago, San Francisco voters passed the sit/lie law, which bans people from sit-

ting or lying on the city’s sidewalks between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m.

From the beginning, opponents have said the law amounts to harassment of homeless people, including LGBT youth. Supporters have said the ban is needed to keep the side-walks open for businesses and residents.

Since the law passed in November 2010, the discussion has died down, and there hasn’t been much analysis on data related to the ban. But the law is being enforced, and it still evokes strong feelings.

“The biggest problem with sit/lie is we can keep ticketing and keep jailing, but it doesn’t end homelessness, so people have nowhere to go,” Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the city’s Coalition on Homelessness, said in an interview last week. Friedenbach said when people don’t pay their citations, they may get warrants, and then they can be blocked from getting into public housing or get arrested.

According to Offi cer Grace Gatpandan, a San Francisco Police Department spokeswoman, from January through December 17 this year, there have been 514 warnings and 776 citations issued citywide. Data by district and historical fi gures weren’t immediately available.

Data on how often people don’t pay their cita-tions – $50 to $100 for a fi rst offense – isn’t read-ily available from San Francisco County Superior

Court or other agencies, but longtime gay hous-ing activist and sit/lie opponent Tommi Avicolli Mecca said it’s time for the law to go.

“I really call on the leaders of the LGBT community to look at this law and to make it a priority to repeal this law, because it does affect the poorest of folks in our community,” said Avicolli Mecca, who works at the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. “It affects them by affecting their ability to get housing.”

“What is the point of having this law in the fi rst place?” he added.

Moving people alongAndrea Aiello, executive director of the Cas-

tro/Upper Market Community Benefi t Dis-trict, expressed support for the ban.

“I think that there are some times, when people spend fi ve or six hours in one spot sit-ting on the sidewalk, that it’s helpful for police to have a tool to move people along,” especially if someone is blocking the path, Aiello said.

Captain Raj Vaswani heads the Park police station, which oversees part of the Castro neigh-

Homeless people slept in front of Most Holy Redeemer Church in the Castro district in this 2012 le photo.

Rick Gerharter

See page 11 >>

by Khaled Sayed

LGBT nonprofi ts doing innovative work were recently recognized

by the Horizons Foundation, which hosted organization representatives at its annual grantee breakfast.

Horizons, a San Francisco-based philanthropic organization, granted

$1.37 million this year to key organi-zations serving the LGBT community in the nine-county Bay Area region.

The December 16 breakfast, held at the Westin St. Francis, brought together 30 nonprofi t organizations.

Dan C. Quigley, Horizons board chair, welcomed the attendees.

“For the board members at the

Horizons Foundation this is the highlight of our annual calendar,” Quigley said. “The main reason why we are here is to celebrate the prima-ry reason why the Horizons Founda-tion exists, which is to support and fuel the LGBT community and the nonprofi ts, who do the work day-in and day-out, to succeed and grow.”

Miko Thomas, of the Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits, performed a Native American cer-emony. BAAITS received $6,630 from Horizons for general operat-ing support to teach gender-neutral powwow dance classes and regalia-making classes for Native American Two-Spirit people.

Francisco O. Buchting, director of grantmaking and community initiatives for Horizons, mentioned 2014 grantmaking panelists, and also introduced many nonprofi t or-ganizations, such as the Transgender

Law Center, a 2014 Give Out Day prize award grantee ($5,000); the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, which received $10,000 to increase giving support for the implemen-tation of a new fundraising plan; and the Rainbow Women’s Chorus, which received $5,000 for general operating support to develop choral musical programming by the all-women’s chorus, to name a few.

Brian Villa, of the RYSE Center, presented a short video made by the center’s youth members. The orga-nization, in Richmond, received $8,000 from Horizons.

“I’m really honored to be here and share with you some of the work we do at the RYSE Center,” Villa said. “Before we opened in 2008, we wanted to make sure that we would be a space for all young people no matter who they were and where they came from. Because we understand the importance of providing opportunities to support their identities in a safe and healthy way.”

RYSE received support for the Alphabet Group, a space where LG-BTQQ youth can talk about their experiences, explore their identities, attain new skills, engage in political ad-vocacy, and inform allies about issues.

Annalise Ophelian of Floating Ophelian Productions, LLC, which received $5,000 from Horizons, showed a trailer of its new docu-mentary, Major!, about Miss Major Griffi n-Gracy, a formerly incarcer-ated black transgender elder and activist who lives in the Bay Area and has been fi ghting for the rights of transwomen of color for over

40 years. Griffi n-Gracy was a San Francisco Pride community grand marshal this year.

“Miss Major is the reason why we are all here today,” Ophelian said. “It is the women who were on the forefront of the LGBTQ struggle for civil rights. It’s transgender non-con-forming youth of color and feathered spectrum youth of color who were fi ghting back in Stonewall, fi ghting back in Compton’s, pushing back against a system that would seek to marginalize, eradicate or destroy us, that made it possible for us to talk about things like marriage equality.”

Ophelian was referring to the Stonewall rebellion in 1969 in New York City, and the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riots in San Francisco. Both events included trans people who fought back against police raids and other discrimination.

Other large grant recipients included Our Family Coalition ($15,000), the Rainbow Commu-nity Center of Contra Costa County ($15,000), the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus ($10,000), and the Transgender, Gender Variant, and Intersex Justice Project ($10,000).

Horizons has been hosting the annual grantee breakfast celebra-tion for 10 years. In all 100 people from Horizons Foundation’s board of directors, individual donors, institutional partners, and grantee representatives attended the event. Horizons Foundation’s grants are made possible through the generous contributions of individual donors, institutional partners, and legacy gifts included in the LGBT Com-munity Endowment Fund.t

2 • BAY AREA REPORTER • December 25-31, 2014

tHorizons awards grant checks

<< Community News

For the 5th year in a row, Kaiser Permanente has been recognized as a leader in health care equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations in the Healthcare Equality Index 2014 report.

We all bring something unique to the world, something for which we are proud.

EQUALITY= HEALTHY

kp.org/thrive

Grant recipients, Horizons Foundation sta� and board members, and donors attended the foundation’s annual grantee breakfast.

Khaled Sayed

Pride toy drive helps kids

Pride toy drive helps kidsJust in time for Christmas, Alvaro

Gonzalez, center, from San Francisco Pride, delivers a large box of toys to Melissa Larrea and Alex Goldsmith with the Homeless Children’s Network Monday, December 22. The toys will be distributed during the holidays to

children involved in the organization’s programs. The gifts were the result of the annual Pride Toy and Food Drive. The food will be distributed to several community partners of Pride. Dona-tions were much greater in this second year of the drive.

Rick Gerharter

icon Harvey Milk, Mayor Ed Lee continues to drag out the process for determining which one will re-ceive the designation.

Despite repeated pledges from the mayor that he was close to nam-ing his picks in 2014, Lee has yet to reveal his fi ve nominees to the advi-sory committee tasked with choos-ing which of the airport’s four ter-minals should be named for Milk.

Christine Falvey, Lee’s director of communications, told the Bay Area

Reporter that due to Nicole Whea-ton, the mayor’s appointments sec-retary, out on vacation this week, she wouldn’t know the status of the selection process until after the Christmas holiday.

Meeting with the paper’s editorial board in September, Lee had said at the time that he was “getting close” to naming his appointees to the panel.

“I am committed to that,” Lee said of selecting a Milk terminal. “We have an approach. I think it will be complementary and okay to everybody that is interested in this.”

<< SFO Milk terminal From page 1

See page 13 >>

by Seth Hemmelgarn

The San Francisco Public Library is looking for a new space to

house the Bay Area Reporter and other community publications after shelves near the main library’s Ful-ton Street entrance were recently re-moved. Heads of some newspapers are unhappy.

The publications “weren’t doing what the publishers and the organi-zations expected, and by that I mean they were being dropped off in the morning before we opened and left out in the rain,” or “people would come in and grab some to sit on,” and the area could get messy, Karen Strauss, chief of the main library, said.

The spot “was very much not me-diated by the library,” Strauss, a les-bian, said. “This was a space where people could come in and put a stack of fl iers one month” and then “not do it again,” she said. “It wasn’t something the library even tracked.” She added that the use of the shelves “has really diminished over time.”

The shelves were taken down at the beginning of December. It could take months for a new spot to be selected.

Strauss said, “We’re looking inside the library for a location that will be an improvement” for the communi-ties the publishers are targeting.

“We’re doing a fair amount of

construction” in the library, she said, and “we’re looking at a couple possibilities, so we’ll be working on those over the next several months.”

Strauss said the publications have been placed in sections of the library that match their subject mat-ter. The B.A.R. is now available near the James C. Hormel Gay and Les-bian Center on the third fl oor.

According to B.A.R. publisher Mike Yamashita, the shelves, which had been in place for several years, had been just inside the library’s Fulton Street entrance. There was never any written policy concerning the shelves, but the move caught Ya-

mashita and others off guard.“They were there one day and

gone the next,” he said.But in an email, Strauss said a fl ier

had been posted that said, “On Fri-day, December 5, these shelves will be removed and will not be replaced. All remaining fl iers and pamphlets will be recycled. Please keep this area clear in order to provide a welcoming entrance to the main library.”

Asked why the library didn’t move the newspapers to a new space and then take down the existing shelves, with a sign pointing people to the new spot, Strauss said, “That’s a fair question. That was never an

ideal space to begin with, and it re-ally had gotten to the point where we felt like it was time to address it.”

Strauss estimated there had been “half a dozen” papers on the shelves. Besides newspapers, there had also been advertisements and magazines in the spot.

She wasn’t sure of all the papers that were there, but said, “It was not a consistent set of publications.”

Geoff Link, executive director of the San Francisco Study Center, which publishes the Central City Extra, was also unhappy about the shelves being taken out. The paper covers the Ten-derloin and nearby areas.

“The main library is also the Tenderloin library, and we depend on being able to leave our papers

there,” Link said in an email to Strauss and others that was copied to the B.A.R. “It’s the biggest drop point for the Extra, and up to 800 people monthly depend on fi nding it there. How can the library unilat-erally decide to end its decades-long role as a dependable place to fi nd information about all of the city’s neighborhoods in one spot? It feels like a form of censorship and if that goes too far, it certainly is an abdica-tion of the library’s traditional role as a communication center for com-munity news.”

Strauss said the shelves are “com-pletely unrelated” to the archives of the papers the library keeps, includ-ing the B.A.R., and those archives are still available.t

December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 3t

SF main library removes newspaper shelves

Homeless youth group seeks new home in SF

Community News>>

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Shelves for community papers are gone at the cleaned up Fulton Street entrance to the main library in the Civic Center area.

Rick Gerharter

by Seth Hemmelgarn

A San Francisco nonprofi t that works with homeless youth –

and which itself has been homeless for a year – is working to raise up to $5 million to buy a building.

Homeless Youth Alliance, which provides therapy, basic medical care, needle exchange, and other services, had to move out of its drop-in cen-ter at 1696 Haight Street after the landlord decided not to renew the lease in January. Since then, the group has largely been meeting with young people on sidewalks or in restaurants.

Mary Howe, HYA’s executive di-rector, said when it left its Haight Street space after being there for over a decade, the alliance lost some of the services that are most impor-tant to clients, like a place to go to the bathroom and take a shower.

“More than anything,” though, Howe said, “we lost privacy and respite from the street. When we’re sitting with youth and talking about how they were assaulted or raped last night, it’s really diffi cult to make that feel safe when you’re sitting on the street having that conversation.”

The nonprofi t works with a pop-ulation of about 5,000 people ages 13 to 29 who live in the Haight’s parks and streets. The group says 44 percent of its participants are LGBTQ.

Buying and customizing a new building will likely cost from $1 million to $3 million, according to the organization. Money would also be used to cover expenses such as publicity and staff costs associated with the capital campaign, which launched December 15, and perma-nently increasing outreach, medical, and other staff.

Last week, Howe, 35, said the campaign, which is called “Go Big or Stay Homeless,” had raised at least $15,000 so far.

The nonprofi t, which wants to stay in the Haight, would like enough room for a larger medical room that’s better equipped than what it’s had, multiple showers and

bathrooms, a full-service kitchen, and spaces where youth can meet privately with therapists.

Even if the agency gets the money, Howe’s experiences over the past year indicate fi nding a new space will be tough.

“We’ve applied to 33 places and been turned down for all of them,” she said, adding, “I never thought for a second we would be homeless for an entire year.”

The nonprofi t has worked with “several Realtors who have given up quickly” since the search began, Howe, who was once homeless her-self and identifi es as “non-specifi c,” said.

Property owners “don’t want to rent space to us,” she said.

“I think they really thought the youth would leave the Haight when the drop-in closed,” Howe said of people in the neighborhood who didn’t like HYA’s clientele.

She also said, “It’s really easy for people to judge them when we see them doing things we get to do in-side.” She pointed to someone who urinates between cars after being denied access to a bathroom by res-taurants and businesses.

Jeanette Hall, 29, has been asso-ciated with the nonprofi t both as a client and as a volunteer. She’s had

housing for about a year and has a 1-year-old son.

Hall, a straight ally who said HYA has been “a huge infl uence in my life,” said the group has helped her with food, clothing, and other assis-tance, but it’s mostly provided her with “someone to talk to.”

She still helps with the needle exchange program and is studying health education in school.

“That space was so important to so many people,” Hall said of the drop-in. “It was like their home for kids that didn’t have anything.”

Since the site closed, Howe said, the health of young people who come to the neighborhood “has de-teriorated,” without access to things like showers and hot food, and watching the decline in their wellbe-ing “is breathtaking sometimes,” she said.

Howe said HYA is serving the same number of clients, except for “the really mentally ill folks.” With-out a stationary center, it’s diffi cult for some clients to remember when and where they can fi nd the orga-nization. The nonprofi t still sets up outside the former drop-in three days a week. The site appears to still be vacant, although some electrical

Homeless Youth Alliance Executive Director Mary HoweJane Philomen Cleland

See page 14 >>

by Matthew S. Bajko

Long touted as a rising star in the Democratic Party, gay fresh-

man Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) is already signaling he intends to make a mark in the Statehouse.

Elected last month to the 28th Assembly District seat covering portions of west San Jose and sev-eral Peninsula cities, the 31-year-old Low is the youngest out lawmaker

and youngest Asian American to be elected to the Legislature’s lower chamber.

Last week lesbian Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) released assignments for commit-tees and named Low to the panels overseeing legislation related to banking and finance, higher educa-tion, labor and employment, and public safety. Low was also given a seat on the Assembly Legislative Ethics committee.

Come February Low expects to introduce his first pieces of leg-islation, including LGBT-related bills, for the 2015-2016 Legislative Session.

“I am still in the process of put-ting the pieces together for that,” he said. “I am taking a thoughtful pro-cess, engaging with stakeholders to discuss pieces of legislation.”

In a recent interview with the Bay Area Re-porter, Low said one of his main priorities in the coming year would be to recruit out candi-dates to seek legislative seats in order to ensure there continues to be LGBT leaders serving in the Legislature.

The number of out lawmakers is down one and now numbers seven after the fall election. Three of the current members of the California Legisla-tive LGBT Caucus will be termed out of office in 2016: lesbian As-sembly Speaker Toni Atkins (D-San Diego); gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco); and gay Assemblyman Rich Gordon (D-Menlo Park).

Then in 2020 two more members

will be termed out: lesbian Senator Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) and gay Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens). Elected under revised term limit rules, lesbian Assembly-woman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) is able to serve in the lower chamber through 2024.

Due to freshman lawmakers now able to remain in their

seats, whether it is the Assembly or Senate, for a dozen years, it is

important that when a seat opens up that LGBT

candidates jump into the race. Should they win,

their being incumbents provides them a large amount of security in

not facing serious chal-lengers for their seats. And if they lose, it

could be a decade-long wait before they can run again.

“The continuity of the LGBT caucus is going to be critical. 2016 is our time,” said Low, who is eli-gible to serve in his Assembly seat through 2026. “I am also actively trying to recruit, look, and identify LGBT folks to run.”

When asked if he was interested in becoming the next chair of the

LGBT caucus next month, Low did not rule it out.

“Certainly, I would be willing to continue the leadership of the cau-cus,” Low told the B.A.R.

The caucus members will meet the morning of Wednesday, January 7 to elect a new chair, and after hav-ing served in the post the last three years, Gordon is looking to pass the baton.

“I have tried to step down both of the last two years,” said Gordon. “I have been very honored my col-leagues have said, ‘No, no, we want you to keep doing this.’ But this would be my fourth term; it is time for somebody else.”

Also that morning the caucus members will take up the request from Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), who is straight, to be allowed to join the LGBT legislative group. Its rules, how-ever, restrict membership to only those lawmakers who identify either as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

Echoing comments made by Leno and Gordon in interviews with the B.A.R. on the subject, Low also expressed reservations with doing away with the caucus’s membership requirement. Instead, Low favors creating an honorary membership level for straight lawmakers or host-ing joint activities with members of the other minority caucuses.

“I think there is definitely room for a partnership and coalition building,” he said.

In the meantime, the public is in-vited to send Low their suggestions for legislation that he should author to his Assembly email at [email protected].

“I welcome hearing those ideas,” he said. “Also for LGBT youth, if they are interested in leadership op-portunities, whether internships or whether it be shadowing me for a day, I really want to focus on LGBT youth and empower those youth to gain the necessary skill sets to be productive members of society.”

Out Senate leaders land key posts

The state Senate’s three out mem-bers have landed key posts for the 2015-2016 Legislative Session.

Last week the Senate’s new leader, Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), released his picks for committee chairmanships. Receiving one of the more powerful positions was Lara, who will become chair of the appropriations committee when the Legislature reconvenes Monday, January 5.

Leon will be sworn in that day as the new Senate Pro Tem, the chamber’s top leadership post that allows him to dole out committee assignments.

Keeping his chairmanship of the budget committee will be Leno, while Galgiani will remain as chair of the agriculture committee.


t

Low already sizing up his Statehouse role<< Politics

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Assemblyman Evan Low

See page 14 >>

by Gwendolyn Ann Smith

Normally at this time of year, I might just do a column high-

lighting all that the transgender community has been through – and trust me, it would be a long list. It’s been a huge year for us all over, and transgender issues are at the fore-front like they’ve never been before.

Before I can wax nostalgic on transgender issues in 2014, how-ever, there has been a very big gift given to all transgender people at the closing of this year.

On Thursday, December 18, United States Attorney General Eric Holder’s offi ce issued a news release. In it, the attorney general announced that the Department of Justice would include gender iden-tity, including transgender status, within claims of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

This is a change from the way the Department of Justice has treated Title VII in the past: historically, it was declared that Title VII excluded dis-crimination based on gender identity.

“This important shift will ensure that the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are extended to those who suffer discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status,” Holder said in the release. “This will help to foster fair and consistent treatment for all claimants. And it reaffi rms the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting the civil rights of all Americans.”

This is landmark stuff. In short, transgender people are being af-forded the same rights as others currently covered by Title VII. Cur-rently, Title VII prohibits discrimi-nation on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, preg-nancy, age, disability discrimina-tion, or based on their association with someone of the above.

This decision did not come in a vacuum: in April 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Com-mission ruled similarly, saying that discrimination against a per-son based on their gender identity is discrimination based on sex, and can be actionable under Title VII. This decision – from Macy v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – was one of the first transgender rights cases to be decided favorably for a transgender person under Title VII.

In September of this year, too, the EEOC fi led the fi rst federal lawsuits in Florida and Michigan on behalf of trans people who were discriminated against in the workplace. When fi ling these cases, a statement from EEOC attorney Laurie Young stated that Title VII “prohibits employers from fi ring employees because they do not behave according to the employ-er’s stereotypes of how men and women should act,” again tying transgender issues into the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

All of this surely helped to get the ball rolling on the DOJ decision.

This decision is also consis-tent with other departments in the Obama administration, including Housing and Urban Development’s move to protect transgender people as well as the Department of Education’s take

on Title IX. The latter was also determined to cover transgender people under its protections prohibiting sex dis-crimination. It is policy changes like this that

also helped pave the way for bills such as California’s As-sembly Bill 1266, which protects

transgender youth in public schools across the state.

Again, I cannot underscore how important this is. This secures the civil rights of all transgender people in the United States, and allows us potential recourse from discrimina-tion. It is a very big deal.

This is not an ending point, how-ever. There is still a lot of ground to cover. Transgender people are still harassed and ill treated within Immigration and Customs Enforce-ment detention facilities. Transgen-


A transgender titleCommentary>>

This Christmas, let MORE LOVE be born again!

Wherever you are in your spriritual journey, you are welcome here.

You’re welcomehere if you are:• Single, married, divorced, gay, straight, bi, cis, trans, filthy rich or dirt poor

• A person of color, a crying new-born, or using a walker

• Just looking or just waking up

We don’t careif you are:• More Catholic than the Pope or more Methodist than John Wesley

• Inked, pierced, or plain

• A tourist, a seeker, a doubter,or a bleeding heart

Christmas Eve:10:15pm Candlelight Vigil

10:30pm Choral Eucharist

The Episcopal Church ofSt. John the EvangelistThe Episcopal Church ofSt. John the EvangelistThe Episcopal Church of

1661 15th Street at Julian AvenueSan Francisco, California 91403

Christmas Day:10:15am Eucharist

We would love to welcome YOU!

Diverse People, Inquiring Minds, Open Hearts

Attorney General Eric Holder

See page 14 >>

On the webOnline content this week includes the Out in the World column. www.ebar.com.


tLumps of coal for these holiday scrooges

<< Open Forum

by Kate Kendell

This was a spectacular year in the fight for LGBT equality – especially for same-sex

couples. We began 2014 with 16 states in which same-sex couples could marry and end the year with 35. (Marriages are also set to begin in Florida, yes, that Florida, next month, so we will soon be at 36.) It is now irrefutable that we have hit our tipping point. When it comes to marriage equality, a just and fair conclusion, though it may still be many months or even another year off, seems inevitable.

For some in our community, it is the best of times.

Of course, a tipping point is not a finish line. We are far from done when it comes to so many other is-sues that affect the well-being and even survival of many LGBT peo-ple – employment protections, basic fairness for immigrants and undocumented people, parent-ing rights, an end to the systemat-ic abuse of LGBT prisoners, safety and acceptance for LGBT youth, se-curity for LGBT elders, protections for transgen-der people, and economic security for the most vulnerable members of our community.

In chilling contrast to the gains we have witnessed for same-sex couples, the recent killings of Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and many other unarmed black men and boys at the hands of police officers have exposed troubling injustice. These killings, and the lack of accountability, expose the stark reality of systemic racism that is a daily reality for people of color, particularly Latinos and African-Americans – the criminalization of youth of color, entrenched economic injustice, the militarization of law enforcement, and a deeply biased justice system. And the recent horrifying ambush murders of two New York police officers at the hands of a mad man leave all of us feeling more dispirited and hopeless.

For many in our community, it is the worst of times.

We live in a nation where white privilege, racial inequality, implicit bias, and structural oppression are calcified and entrenched. And where the gap between the police and the citizens they protect and serve seems to be widening.

Many of us who have never been an object of racial bias or who have benefited in count-less ways from white privilege, reflexively see the killings of Brown, Garner, and Rice as iso-lated or exceptional, or we make sense of the carnage by asserting that Brown, Garner, and

Rice were complicit in their own deaths. These are reactions rooted in privi-

lege. The privilege of never being hassled by the police, the privilege of seeing officers as protectors and

guardians (which they generally are), the privilege of believing that life is mostly fair and just, the privilege of knowing that you will be judged based on

character not color, the privilege of making a mistake and not losing

your life over it.From an early age many people of color learn

that the system is stacked against them. When you grow up both as a target and a witness of daily injustice, resistance is a rational response. When you grow up aware that no matter what you do, you will be unjustly judged by many, defiance is a rational response. If such a re-sponse seems inconceivable to you, you are liv-ing with privilege and you are very likely white.

In the weeks since grand juries refused to indict the police officers in the Brown and Garner killings, the protests, the outrage, the actions, the conversation, the demands for change have swept the nation. Led by the communities most impacted by our broken system, including countless LGBT people of color, joined by the president, the Depart-ment of Justice, and very likely you and your

neighbors, these actions have been vocal and visible in insisting that those of us living with privilege resist the urge to go back to our cozy lives until the next outrageous and sickening headline.

If we all keep resisting, we can help make the systemic changes that will be required to upend the system that makes too many lives mean too little. We all deserve a justice sys-tem we respect and trust. We all share a com-mon humanity and no one can stand on the sidelines.

In a few short years, we have seen breathtak-ing forward movement in the struggle for in-clusion, equality, and justice for LGBT people but those gains will decay if we do not assure that every LGBT person of color lives with dignity and freedom for ALL that they are. We cannot come close to declaring victory until we live in a nation where true and meaningful justice for all is a promise fulfilled.t

Kate Kendell, Esq., is the executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

The ecstasy and the agony of 2014

Volume 44, Number 52December 25-31, 2014

www.ebar.com

PUBLISHERMichael M. YamashitaThomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013)Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003)

NEWS EDITORCynthia Laird

ARTS EDITORRoberto Friedman

BARTAB EDITOR & EVENTS LISTINGS EDITORJim Provenzano

ASSISTANT EDITORSMatthew S. Bajko • Seth Hemmelgarn

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSRay Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Erin Blackwell • Roger Brigham Brian Bromberger • Victoria A. Brownworth Brent Calderwood • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Belo Cipriani Chuck Colbert • Richard Dodds Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger Michael McDonagh • David-Elijah Nahmod Elliot Owen • Paul Parish • Sean Piverger Lois Pearlman • Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Bob Roehr • Donna Sachet • Adam Sandel Khaled Sayed • Jason Serinus • Gregg Shapiro Gwendolyn Smith • Jim Stewart Sean Timberlake • Andre Torrez • Ronn Vigh Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington Sura Wood

ART DIRECTIONJay Cribas

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PHOTOGRAPHERSJane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Lydia Gonzales • Jose Guzman-Colon Rudy K. Lawidjaja • Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd Rich Stadtmiller • Steven Underhil Dallis Willard • Bill Wilson

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Kate KendellCourtesy NCLR

With Christmas upon us and a new year right around the corner, we decided to

take a look at some of the disappointing de-velopments of the past year, and award sym-bolic lumps of coal to those responsible for the actions, or inactions as the case may be.

Mayor Ed LeeIt’s been 19 months since San Francisco Mayor

Ed Lee brokered a deal with gay Supervisor David Campos to name a terminal at San Fran-cisco International Airport after Harvey Milk, the city’s first gay supervisor. Under terms of the arrangement, the Board of Supervisors and the mayor were each to appoint people to an advi-sory panel, which would suggest which terminal would be named in Milk’s honor. The supervi-sors and mayor would have final approval.

The supervisors picked their appointees months ago. The mayor, however, has yet to name his five people to the committee.

We have yet to hear a satisfac-tory explanation from Lee about what’s taking him so long. In May, the mayor told us that his office “had started putting our folks on it” and would announce the names of his appointees “very soon.”

Nothing happened.In mid-September we met

with the mayor and the topic again came up.

“I’m committed to that,” Lee said, referring to a terminal being named for Milk. “We don’t have our names yet but we’re getting close.”

Now, it’s closing in on 2015 and the mayor still has not picked his appointees.

This is important because at the rate San Francisco’s bureaucracy churns, it’s now look-ing increasingly unlikely that any decision will be approved in time for Harvey Milk Day, the May 22 observance, which next year marks what would have been Milk’s 85th birthday. That’s a milestone anniversary that would have provided the perfect time to unveil a Milk ter-minal. Even if the mayor announces his picks today, there are meetings, working with the airport management, and securing approval from the mayor and the Board of Supervisors. All of this takes time.

We don’t understand the hold-up. At first we

thought it was because Lee didn’t want to give Campos a success story (the mayor endorsed Campos’ opponent, David Chiu, in the As-sembly race that Chiu went on to win) ahead of the November election. But that’s been over for seven weeks now.

At any rate, Lee has dropped the ball on this project, and that’s a shame. We backed the 2013 compromise plan as an alternative to Campos’ original proposal of wanting to name the entire airport after Milk. Perhaps we were the ones being shortsighted.

SF planners, disability o�icialsThe recent rains have been a welcome relief

for our drought-stricken state, but they have only caused misery for homeless

people who, accustomed to the dry winters here, have suddenly been confronted with cold tem-peratures and days of rainy, windy weather. A planned homeless shel-

ter for LGBT folks has been mired in bureaucratic mumble-jumble

for nearly five years. In October we provided an update on the shelter and one of the hold-ups was that to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act,

the shelter needed a parking space. Never mind that the clients likely will not have cars. Thankfully, city bureaucrats signed off on a phased-in plan so that the parking spot can wait, but other permitting hurdles have caused one delay after another.

The idea for this shelter was proposed after a March 2010 hearing called by Campos that revealed widespread problems with the city’s shelters when it comes to serving LGBT cli-ents. The staff aren’t trained to deal with issues specific to trans people and use the wrong pro-nouns; there are issues with straight homeless people who stay there, such as name-calling, property theft, and more.

The fact that a progressive city like San Francisco can’t open a facility with 24 beds at an existing space is mind-boggling. And while city officials drag their heels, LGBT homeless people are in a no-win situation: stay out on

the streets, or be hassled at a shelter.We had been hopeful the shelter would be

open this year, but that didn’t happen. Officials need to get it together and solve the bureaucrat-

ic mess so that it can open in 2015. The shelter won’t solve the city’s LGBT

homeless problem, but it’s a start.

OpenhouseThere’s a senior art show now

on exhibit at the LGBT Com-munity Center, but visitors won’t

see one photo that was submitted because it was deemed “too graphic”

by the jury who selected the pieces.Openhouse, a nonprofit LGBT senior

agency, is sponsoring the art show. Five jurors – all LGBT artists 60 and over who were picked by Openhouse – made the decision.

Longtime gay photographer Lionel Biron, known professionally by his last name, took the photo, titled “Sailor Boy,” that features a handsome model with an erect penis. Biron maintains that while he understands the jury made the decision, he’s disappointed that the “gay community is censoring itself over sexual images when it is, essentially, though it’s been forgotten, a sexual movement.”

Rather than nix the artwork, the jury should have accepted it. And instead of caving, Open-house should have discussed the issue with the jurors. Agency officials have struggled to explain the jurors’ decision, especially given that two other pieces that were accepted for the show feature nudity.

Certainly, Biron’s piece could have been ex-hibited somewhere in the center. Visitors could have been told when they check in that there is some explicit material. Heck, Openhouse could have used “Sailor Boy” as a marketing tool and increased attendance – and poten-tially sales of the art, from which the artist and the LGBT center would benefit.

It’s a sad state of affairs when LGBT people start censoring material – decades ago we were the ones being censored, yet some in the com-munity are still doing it.

Art is in the eye of the beholder but peo-ple going to the exhibit – Vantage Points: A Lifetime of Perspective, which runs through January 26 – aren’t going to be able to behold “Sailor Boy.”t

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

• Divorce w/emphasis on Real Estate & Business Divisions • Domestic Partnerships, Support & Custody • Probate and Wills www.SchneiderLawSF.com

415-781-6500 *Certified by the California State Bar

family law specialist*

400 Montgomery Street, Ste. 505, San Francisco, CA

December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 7tThose were the days

It is interesting to see 298 11th Street at Folsom open-ing up again as a gay venue [“Drag club races to open by New Year’s Eve,” December 18]. In 1969, the space was an after-hours venue and owned by Ray Rule, who was a member of the Tavern Guild. In the 1970s a San Francisco law that would have caused him to close his business confronted Rule. It was a cabaret law that forbids many venues from being open after 2 a.m. To get around that law Rule installed an outdoor heated swim-ming pool and called his business a health club. I am certain that the pool is still under the fl oor. Rule also had a problem with the same law with his venue in the Polk Street corridor. Rule had his staff teach dancing lessons and called it a dance studio.

Jerry RoyerSan Francisco

Boycott SonyBy giving a pass to employees who make racist taunts,

they condone this activity.

Michael BrownstoneSan Francisco

Lesbian hits ‘trans obstacle course’Remember when you “forgot” to endorse Rebecca Ka-

plan, an out lesbian, in her Oakland race? Oops, you did it again, this time dragging singer Kate Pierson through the trans obstacle course [“No one’s ‘Mister Sister,’” Transmissions, December 11].

What is it with you and lesbians; can’t we all just get along? Why not take on the mighty Dan Savage, who in a recent column fl agged persons identifying as “gender neutral” as “attention whores.”

A. CobbettBerkeley, California

Shops before crosswalk?In a recent front-page story about businesses in

the Castro, Patrick Batt is quoted as saying out-of-town visitors are disappointed with the lack of “cute

little gay shops” where they can spend money [“Castro retail debate lands at City Hall,” December 4].

Shouldn’t the idea of getting a good mix of businesses into the neighborhood have had priority over building the rainbow crosswalk, which is already showing wear and tear from traffi c, and widening the sidewalks for the anticipated crowds – who will have nothing to do but go to bars and restaurants, if they arrive?

Steven ShortSan Francisco

Letters>>

compiled by Cynthia Laird

The San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee is now

accepting community and organi-zational grand marshal nomina-tions, as it gears up for the 45th an-nual parade in June.

The theme for 2015’s Pride parade and fes-tival, to be held June 27-28, is “Equality Without Exception.”

In a news release, SF Pride offi cials said that suggestions for grand marshal nominees should include the full name, contact informa-tion, and criteria qualifi cations.

Community grand marshals should be local heroes living in the nine-county Bay Area region (Al-ameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma coun-ties), who have contributed in large part to the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community; or as openly LGBTQ contributed in large part to society in general.

For next year, offi cials said there would be four community grand marshals: one selected by public vote, one selected by the members of SF Pride at its March 10 general mem-bership meeting, and two selected by the Pride board of directors.

Organizational grand mar-shal nominees must be nonprofi t groups.

Additionally, SF Pride announced that nominations will be accepted for a pink brick recipient. The pink brick is awarded to someone or

something that has caused harm to the LGBTQ community.

For organizational and pink brick categories, recipients will be selected by both public vote and the members in attendance at the afore-mentioned March meeting.

To submit nominations, email [email protected]. They can also be faxed to (415)

864-5889, or dropped off at the Pride offi ce, 1841 Market

Street, fourth fl oor (entrance is at 30 Pearl Street). The deadline is the January 13 general membership meeting, at which time

nominations can also be received verbally.

For more information, visit www.sfpride.org.

Tessie’s ready for Christmas dinner

Tenderloin Tessie will be serv-ing its annual Christmas dinner for those in need.

The nonprofi t also needs dona-tions of new or gently used coats, socks, blankets, and similar items for distributing to dinner guests.

The dinner takes place Thursday, December 25, from 1 to 4 p.m. at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin Street (at Geary), in San Francisco. Entertainment will be provided by Vanessa Bousay and pianist Marc Sanders.

Michael Gagne, president of the Tenderloin Tessie board of direc-tors, said that volunteer shifts have been fi lled.

Those making clothing dona-tions should contact Claire Brees at [email protected].

DeFrank center property remains intact

State offi cials have ratifi ed a de-cision by Santa Clara County staff that the Billy DeFrank LGBT Com-munity Center property in San Jose should remain intact and be kept in the public domain, meaning the site won’t be sold for redevelopment.

Gay county Supervisor Ken Yea-ger made the announcement in a recent newsletter to constituents.

In 2011, California passed a law dissolving redevelopment agencies across the state. In their place, suc-cessor agencies were established to dispose of all redevelopment agency properties and distribute the proceeds to benefit school districts and other local govern-ments. This year, Yeager said, the DeFrank property, at 938 The Al-ameda, came under consideration for sale.

The San Jose Successor Agency, as it’s known, determined that the city’s long-term lease of the build-ing qualifi ed it to be saved from being sold. However, Yeager said that agency staff proposed subdi-viding the property in order to sell the parking lot. Yeager said that he worked with staff to keep the entire property intact.

Ultimately, city staff determined that the entire site should be kept in the public domain and the San Jose Oversight Board for the Suc-cessor Agency voted unanimously to follow staff ’s recommendation. On September 8 the state Depart-ment of Finance, which gives fi nal approval on redevelopment prop-erty decisions, ratifi ed that decision, Yeager said.t

SF Pride accepting grand marshal noms

Silent protest in the CastroClergy and others at Metropolitan Community Church-San

Francisco held a silent protest at Harvey Milk Plaza Sunday, December 21 to call attention to the recent incidents of unarmed black men and boys killed by police offi cers in Missouri, New York, and Ohio. Participants also took part to show that all life matters and every person deserves to be loved and protected from hate and

gun violence. Those in attendance Sunday included, from left, the Reverend-elect Daniel J. Borysewicz, volunteer clergy at MCC-SF; congregant Liz LaVenture; the Reverend Robert Shively, senior pastor, MCC-SF; Irene Laudeman, executive pastor, MCC-SF; and volunteer clergy the Reverend Annie Steinberg-Behrman. Similar protests are planned for December 28 and January 4 at 1 p.m.

Jane Philomen Cleland

ebar.com


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December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 11tCommunity News>>

borhood, as well as much of Haight Street. That neighborhood is near Golden Gate Park, which serves as a haven for many homeless people, who often populate Haight Street and share sidewalks with shoppers and tourists. Reports of what’s been de-scribed as “aggressive” panhandling in the area helped spawn the sit/lie law.

Vaswani said the ban has been helpful.

“I think it is important for the merchants and residents not to have people in front of their store for long periods of time,” Vaswani said, and it’s “important for us to at least have that point to engage with somebody.”

That’s where sit/lie has been ef-fective, he said.

“We’re not trying to make it un-pleasant for the homeless,” Vaswani said. Police are “trying to make it a good place to shop and a good place to live.”

He added, “We do warn indi-viduals and try to gain their coop-eration,” and officers have “a good working rapport” in most of the interactions. “They know who they need to warn,” and “who gets cited.”

Often, Vaswani said, when of-ficers see someone new to the area, they’ll ask if the person’s looking for services and tell them about avail-able resources. Most of the officers who work on Haight Street have been to specialized training, he said.

Avicolli Mecca said the law’s being “selectively enforced,” where police pass over youth sitting on the sidewalk who look “respectable” and instead approach those who ap-pear to be homeless.

Vaswani said he wasn’t aware of any selective enforcement. He’s seen officers walk by homeless people vi-olating the law without citing them.

“They don’t always enforce,” he said. “It just depends on what they have on their plate” with other calls.

The captain wasn’t able to pro-vide statistics on sit/lie citations that have been given in his district.

Last Thursday night, one home-less man on Haight Street, who didn’t want his name published, said he was cited for violating the sit/lie ban six months ago. He didn’t pay the fine and eventually

got a warrant, spent about a day in jail, and was sent to a program for his drug and mental health issues, he said. The man, whose account couldn’t immediately be verified, said that he’d been “talking shit” to police when he got into trouble and the situation had “escalated.”

‘Incredibly useful’The Tenderloin is another neigh-

borhood known for drawing home-less people, but it appears sit/lie warnings and citations are issued infrequently. (Police have to issue warnings first.)

According to Captain Jason Cherniss, who oversees the Tender-loin Station, police in his district gave 12 warnings and 12 citations in 2011. This year, through December 10, there were 27 admonishments and nine citations. The figures reflect only the work of Tenderloin officers, and don’t show warnings or citations written by other officers or specialized units.

The ban has been “an incredibly useful tool,” Cherniss said.

He said interactions with people who’re sitting or lying down usu-ally start with the question, “Do you need help?”

It can give officers a chance to encourage people who are sleeping in the cold to get services or “at least get up and move around a little bit” to get their blood flowing.

“We can do that now because we have sit/lie,” Cherniss said.

The sit/lie law also gives police “a pretext” to look into activity that’s generating complaints, such as sus-pected drug dealing, he said.

The captain also said, “There’s a dif-ference between enforcement and ac-tion.” Even though sit/lie has enabled police to approach people who are sit-ting or lying on the sidewalk, “we don’t necessarily cite them for that.”

Asked about the ban resulting in harassment and wasted resources, Cherniss said, “We expect all our offi-cers to engage in community policing from a conscientious and compas-sionate perspective, and we expect them to consider the spirit of the law and understand the letter of it.”

Police “don’t always have to en-gage in enforcement when it comes to an infraction,” he said, but they do have to respond “to the concerns of the community,” he said.t

<< Sit/lie From page 1

If someone needs help …Most San Franciscans have likely

had the experience of walking by someone lying on the sidewalk and trying to determine whether that person is passed out, just sleep-ing, or in need of medical attention.

The consequences of someone not getting help can be serious. Based on state data provided by the city’s health department, almost 130 people who were homeless in the city died each year from July 2007 through June 2013.

“I think if someone’s not breath-ing, or not coherent and not able to answer basic questions, it’s definitely a medical emergency,” and calling 911 may be appropri-ate, said Jennifer Friedenbach, ex-ecutive director of the Coalition on Homelessness.

In an interview during the city’s recent rains, the Reverend Lyle Beckman, the night minister and director of San Francisco’s Night Ministry, said, “People can die from hypothermia when the tem-perature is around 45 being out in the rain like this. People can actu-

ally suffer an enormous amount of secondary issues from being wet and cold constantly.”

The website for the city’s 311 cus-tomer service line says, “There can be many reasons for someone to be in a sedated or non-responsive state, including serious medical problems. You should not attempt to touch or move the individual to assess the condition. Call 911 un-less the reason is clearly known not to be medical,” such as if they’re intoxicated. In non-medical cases, the site recommends calling the San Francisco Police Department’s non-emergency line at (415) 553-0123.

Beckman, whose group pro-vides pastoral care, crisis interven-tion, and other services to people who are homeless and others, encouraged erring on the side of caution, noting one option is to “wake [people] up a little bit and ask if they’re OK. ... It doesn’t cost anybody anything.”

He said, “It’s better to check just to be sure. 911 is a good first response if you’re really concerned

someone is ill or in danger.”If someone is “curled up and

sleeping like you would sleep in your own bed, they’re probably OK,” Beckman said.

For a situation that doesn’t ap-pear to be an emergency, numbers other than 911 are available.

Among other services, the Home-less Outreach Team can help some-one get medical help if they’re suf-fering from an injury that doesn’t involve bleeding, such as a twisted ankle, and they’re not having a heart attack or other medical emergency. The team’s 24-hour phone number is (415) 734-4233.

The Crisis Treatment Team provides psychiatric crisis inter-vention services in the city and can be reached at (415) 970-4000. The hours are 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday (last field visit at 10 p.m.) and noon to 8 p.m. Saturdays and holidays (last field visit 7 p.m.).t

– Seth Hemmelgarn

A tent on the sidewalk in the north Mission provided makeshift protection from the rain last week.Rick Gerharter

by Heather Cassell

A rooster crowed and sunlight was streaming through the

cracks in the blinds, lighting up the whitewashed room as I opened my eyes. I could hear women laughing outside. My girlfriend’s arms were tightly wrapped around me. I tried not to disturb her as I wiggled out of them, but failed.

“What are you doing?” she asked as I lifted up one of the blinds to peek outside.

Women were eating breakfast around the pool, chatting and laughing.

I turned around, smiling and pointed outside. We had arrived in paradise at the southernmost edge of the U.S.: Key West.

Unable to resist my excitement to get out and explore, we quickly got dressed and stepped out the door to fi nd ourselves in a world of sun, fun, and women. Neither one of us had been to what’s billed as one of the nation’s oldest gay resort towns, but we had heard about it.

Key West is legendary for its year-round parties, the New Year’s Eve “Shoe Drop,” – in which drag queen Sushi (Gary Marion) is lowered from atop the Bourbon Street Pub in a giant red high-heel shoe – and sites that pay tribute to famous 20th century writers like Ernest Heming-way and gay playwright Tennessee Williams.

We happened to be guests of the historic Lighthouse Court across the street from the Ernest Heming-way Home. Once the residence of the Nobel Prize-winning author, it is now the home to hundreds of six-toed cats, one of Hemingway’s lega-cies. Visitors can use the Key West Visitor’s Pass to tour the tropical plantation-style estate surrounded by lush gardens and pet the cats, as we did. The pass also includes en-trance to a dozen sites around the

main part of Key West, including the Key West Butterfl y and Nature Conservatory.

Key West escapeWe were enjoying the long week-

end getaway as guests of the Gay Key West Visitor Center, the fi rst offi cial LGBT visitors center in the U.S., and the Florida Keys and Key West visitors’ bureau, for Women-Fest, the annual all-women week-end in September.

One of our fi rst stops was at the visitor center where there’s a per-manent exhibit honoring Williams that is open to the public. Some of Williams’ personal belongings, along with books and movie para-

phernalia of his fa-mous plays, adorn the single room in the back of the cen-ter. In front, visitors

can pick up informa-tion about gay tours

and events in Key West.There’s a lot happening. On one

hand, it’s a typical tropical island destination. It’s completely laid back to the point that it feels like time has slowed down to a nice natural roll. There’s no need to rush, just be happy.

On the other hand, Key West is hopping with entertainment throughout the year from splashing around in the warm ocean water to its nightlife. The island’s residents like to play outside all day and party all night throwing extrava-gant weeklong parties and other events, many of which support local organizations.

My girlfriend and I fi t right in. We checked out Fury Water Adventures on its All-Women Ultimate Adven-ture aboard a catamaran headed by Captain Jenna Moller and her all-female crew. It was a day fi lled with sailing, snorkeling, jet skiing, para-sailing, kayaking, climbing wall, and water slide fun with our group. The package also included a nice break-fast and lunch.

At night, we enjoyed two sunset

sail dinners, but hands down the Fury’s “Commotion on the Ocean” Live Music Sunset Sail was the best. The Fury folks know what women want and they delivered, from the live music with Jennifer Corday to the food and even the sunset, which could be seen from every angle of the catamaran.

Just because the women take over Key West for a weekend it doesn’t mean the men aren’t out for fun, too. We couldn’t miss the drag queens outside of 801 Bourbon Bar on Duval Street, teasing people as they walked by, or the gay guide who led our Gay Key West Trolley Tour. He couldn’t help himself, checking out some of the hunky men stroll-ing down the streets in between rat-tling off historical facts and telling us stories about Key West.

Key West is a men’s paradise throughout the year with events such as the Annual Drag Races, Bone Island summer and winter weekends, and Tropical Heat.

In May, men and women come together for Kamp Key West, an adult camp that brings people back to those long days of summer with scenic na-ture outings, campfi res, and the awk-ward dances in the mess hall at night.

Nighttime at WomenFest fea-tured parties at the former Pearl’s Key West, or what was known as Pearl’s Rainbow, the all-women’s inn on the island. After decades of hosting women, Pearl’s shuttered its doors this past year and is being res-urrected as the Southernmost Inn.

During the day, my girlfriend and I enjoyed shopping, checking out pool parties at Bourbon Street Pub and Pearl’s, and cruising around the island on our scooter. Florida does not have a helmet law, so we let the warm breeze caress our hair as we rode around the island for an after-noon, stopping off at beaches and the famed Southernmost Point marker denoting that Cuba is only 90 miles away. What followed was more bar hopping and eating, stopping off at Antonia’s, Aqua Nightclub, Little Room Jazz Club, and Martin’s.

Eat like a localKey West doesn’t have a shortage

of good restaurants, but you’ll be sure to meet locals at Abbondanza Italian Restaurant and El Siboney. Abbondanza serves up huge por-tions, enough for two people and still have leftovers, but it’s a good old-fashioned Italian eatery, com-plete with checkered tablecloths. One of the things my girlfriend and I brought back from Key West was picadillo, a Cuban dish that she was introduced to at El Siboney, a locally owned Cuban restaurant. We have fond memories of sitting around the dinner table with our group sampling each other’s dishes, but the picadillo’s


tIt’s a gay old party in Key West

<< Travel

Steven UnderhillPHOTOGRAPHY

415370

7152WEDDINGS, HEADSHOTS, PORTRAITSstevenunderhill.com · [email protected]

Meet Your Neighbors

You’re invited to mix and mingle with the people who will one day share your permanent San Francisco address.

Wine & Cheese Open House

Friday, July 19, 2013 2—5pm

RSVP Required: (415) 752-8791

1 Loraine Court—San Francisco, CA 94118

A strong supporter of the LGBT community for many years, the Columbarium has added

a new building. Come see our Hall of Olympians.

Celebrate our largest discount ever!

25% off in the Hall of Olympians.Offer good through 12/31/2014.

Private tours are available.

…and of course we have the Harvey Milk honorary niche.

Call 415.752.7891Visit us at One Loraine Court in the heart of the Richmond.

COA 534

SAN FRANCISCOCOLUMBARIUM

801 Bourbon Bar’s drag queens and friends greet visitors to Key West.Geena Dabadghav

See page 13 >>

Famed drag queen Sushi (Gary Marion) is lowered from the roof of the Bourbon Street Pub as the last minutes of the year count down at Key West’s New Year’s Eve “Shoe Drop.”

Courtesy Florida Keys and Key West

by Roger Brigham

My goodness, is it that time of year again? Why, it certainly

is. So even though Fox News swears everybody in the media is out to kill Christmas, I’ll get into the holiday spirit by listing my gifts for some of the newsmakers in sports.

For the executive board of FIFA, the all-male cast that has made an obscenity of its ruling of internation-al soccer, a collective rectal enema and frontal lobotomy to clear out the way it thinks and does its business. In the past few months we’ve seen FIFA award its male World Cups to coun-tries that are decidedly homophobic (with its only cautionary step being to warn fans and players not to be too gay while at the event), and OK’d its women’s World Cup to be played on injury-inducing artificial surfaces. Taken together, these actions expose FIFA for the anachronistic, misogy-nistic, greedy money machine that it really is rather than the idealistic sports promoting body it should be. So, get the douche bags and scalpels ready: it’s time for soccer to clean up its act.

For the state of Missouri, an over-haul of its criminal laws dealing with HIV and unprotected sex. As we’ve seen in the case of former Linden-wood University wrestler Michael L. Johnson, the hysteria-driven laws are applied and abused in ways that are racist and homophobic. We pray that in the long run, sanity and jus-tice prevail.

For the NFL, a second chance to prove it’s ready to accept an openly gay player. Hell, it’s been 40 years since former player David Kopay walked out of the closet, the league swears it’s ready to accept a gay player and has cracked down on abusive language and behavior, and still the clubs col-lectively fumbled the chance to prove them-selves to be about win-ning and acceptance rather than fear and covering their own asses when not one of them signed SEC Defen-sive Player of the Year Michael Sam after he came out. (He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams but later cut. After a stint on the Dallas Cowboys practice squad, he was released.)

For LGBT fans at the San Fran-cisco Giants 2015 LGBT Night Out at the Ballpark, equal airtime on the Kiss Cam. Last year not a single same- sex couple was shown during the between-innings feature, and club officials declared they would make sure that snub was not repeated

next year. So, pucker up, Giants fans!For Indian national sprint star

Dutee Chand, a successful and unchallenged competition season. Last year the season of the runner,

who has an intersex condi-tion, was marred when she was quite suddenly and unexpectedly left off that national team on the eve of the Com-monwealth Games. Just this month Chand was cleared to compete in India’s national games, to be held January 31 through February 14,

but she still has yet to be cleared under the international track federation’s hyperandrogen-ism policy. “Only women athletes

fall under these regulations and there is enough evidence that ath-letes from a country like India are targeted and tested under this poli-cy,” said Jiji Thomson, director gen-eral of India’s sports authority. “So, this policy discrimination against women and specially women com-ing from Global South needs to stop immediately.”

And for me? Tickets in left field at O.co Coliseum for the May 25 game between the Oakland A’s and the Detroit Tigers. That game will mark the return to O.co of Yoenis Ces-pedes, whose trade last year to the Boston Red Sox marked the begin-ning of the unraveling of one of the most entertaining baseball teams ever to bless the bay. Until then, Go Giants!t

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Men get a start erasing their tan lines in the Florida sun in Key West.Courtesy Florida Keys and Key West

<< Key West From page 12

flavors of ground meat, olives, and spices burned in our memory.

We also enjoyed tasty appetizers for lunch at Martin’s, which has a mouthwatering menu and a sophis-ticated atmosphere.

One of the other places we enjoyed eating at was the Hard Rock Cafe. I know, you can enjoy burgers and rock and roll memorabilia at any Hard Rock Cafe in the world, but this one is unique. It’s set in a historic Victorian along Duval Street. It has a sprawling tiered patio to enjoy brunch, lunch, or dinner outside as well as an array of diverse dining rooms downstairs and upstairs. It was just fun and the food was good, too.

We didn’t get a chance to dine at Better Than Sex Dessert Restaurant. The name alone puts it on the top of our list for a reason to return to Key West, aside from locals’ recom-mendations for the restaurant. Also on our list to check out during our next trip to Key West, 2 Cents.

Sleeping around Key WestKey West is home to charming

historic inns as well as brand name resorts. We enjoyed our stay at the Lighthouse Court, which is a part of the Historic Key West Inns, where the service was friendly and help-

ful. It was perfectly located near the heart of the action just slightly away from the party.

Guests searching for a little ro-mance in addition to the party will enjoy the Gardens Hotel. Like the Lighthouse Court, it’s right off of Duval Street, but it’s a whole other world tucked away from the frenzy inside its sprawling gardens.

If resorts are more your style, the Hyatt Key West and the Reach, a Wal-dorf Astoria Resort, are good choices.

Island transportationThe best ways to get around

Key West are by bike, scooter, or walking.

Most hotels have bikes to rent and bike rental booths and shops are all over the main part of Key West. We didn’t rent a bike this time, as we chose to stroll up and down Duval Street, which is a little more than a mile long and stretches from the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Straits and the side streets.

My girlfriend and I rented a scoot-er for a day from A&M Rentals Key West, but we heard from others on the trip with us that the best deal on the island is at Moped Hospital.t

Tom Temprano, the outgoing co-president of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, took issue with how long it has taken to get the ad-visory committee up and running.

“I think many of us are really dis-appointed at the lack of movement around the airport naming commit-tee. I have not heard anything about it, which is also disappointing, from anyone really,” he said. “If the city and mayor’s office can hold such a grand Harvey Milk stamp release party at City Hall, the least he could do is show interest in permanently honoring Harvey at the San Francis-co airport. It should be a no brainer to get the city moving on this.”

The idea for honoring the city’s first out elected official at SFO dates back to January 2013 when gay District 9 Supervisor David Campos first proposed renaming the entire airport after Milk. Elected to a supervisor seat in November 1977, Milk was killed the following November along with then-Mayor George Moscone by disgruntled former supervisor Dan White.

Campos’ proposal stunned the

city’s leaders and was even met with derision from some quarters within the city’s LGBT community. Looking to salvage his idea, Campos brokered a compromise with Lee in May 2013 to name only a terminal, rather than the entire facility, after Milk.

By early 2014 the Board of Super-visors had selected its four members to the Airport Facilities Naming Ad-visory Committee, as it is officially known. In May ahead of the annual statewide observation of Harvey Milk Day, held each May 22 to coin-cide with Milk’s birthday – next year is Milk’s 85th – Campos told the B.A.R. that the board had no power to force the mayor to make his ap-pointments and the process was in a holding pattern until Lee did so.

Campos did not return a request for comment for this story prior to deadline Tuesday afternoon.

Gay Supervisor Scott Wiener, who supported naming SFO in its entirety for Milk, told the B.A.R. this week that he has no idea why it is taking the mayor so long to name his people to the advisory committee.

“I have never spoken to the mayor about that,” said Wiener,

adding that in terms of selecting a terminal, “I would like to see this happen, absolutely.”

Temprano suggested the hold up could be due to behind-the-scenes objections to seeing the airport’s international terminal, which is the building that greets passengers arriving to SFO from the highway, named for Milk. The advisory com-mittee has been tasked with recom-mending people to name all the airport’s terminals afterwards, if it chooses to do so, as well as other major structures.

The supervisors, who can either accept or reject the panel’s guidance, will then vote on the matter before sending their decision to the mayor.

“Now there is still jockeying over who gets the international terminal and who gets the new terminal, but we will see,” said Temprano, referring to the redevelopment of Terminal One.

The mayor also suggested as much earlier this fall when meeting with the B.A.R.

“There are a lot of interests in the naming of particular buildings and infrastructures,” said Lee. “We need to make sure there is a good approach to that that is inclusive to everybody.”t

<< SFO Milk terminal From page 2

ClassifiedsClassifiedsThe

December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15▼ Read more online at www.ebar.com

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STATEMENT FILE A-036183000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GENE FACTOR, 610 22ND ST #305, SAN

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registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names

on 01/04/2005. The statement was fi led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/03/14.

DEC 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

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MUTT MANIA, 647 FELL ST #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual,

and is signed JENNA HOOPER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above

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CROWN DIAMOND TRADING, 744 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted

by an individual, and is signed CYNTHIA THAN THANAYE AUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious

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FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAVEL VASILIK. The

registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 06/20/14. The statement was fi led with the City and




24TH STREET BAR, 3336 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an

individual, and is signed CAROLINE BROWN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under




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FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN JAMES TOYA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or

names on 10/01/14. The statement was fi led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/25/14.



MELISSA MAHER COACHING, 427 WEBSTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted

by an individual, and is signed MELISSA MAHER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under




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is conducted by a corporation, and is signed JM PACIFIC BAY PLUMBING, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above




STATEMENT FILE A-036174000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PANDORA KARAOKE; PANDORA KARAOKE AND

BAR; 177 EDDY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed

PANDORA KARAOKE, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above

listed fi ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was fi led with the City and County of San

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STATEMENT FILE A-036174400The following person(s) is/are doing business

as: FORT 1, 2801 LEAVENWORTH ST #J32, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FORT 1 LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 11/24/14. The statement was

fi led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/25/14.

DEC 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-036157500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SPOT ON SF, 325 NEWHALL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company and is signed HOGAN PENROSE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or



STATEMENT FILE A-036178000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FRANCESCA EVENTI, 35 CASA WAY #303, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FRANCESCA ANTONACCI

DELECCE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 11/26/14. The statement was fi led with the

City and County of San Francisco, CA on 11/26/14.

DEC 11, 18, 25, 2014, JAN 01, 2015FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT FILE A-036192200The following person(s) is/are doing business as: APP770, 2655 BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA

94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MENACHEM MENDEL PIL. The




STATEMENT FILE A-036180200The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PETALS 4 THOUGHTS, 8 10TH ST #2607, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KYLE THEIS. The





KELLY MASSAGE THERAPIST, 30 WAVERLY PL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted

by an individual, and is signed CHUN TONG WU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under





COAST TO COAST PATROL DIVISION, 740 LA PLAYA #225, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LLOYD A. FORD SR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business

name or names on NA. The statement was fi led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/03/14.



MUTTS LOVE, 122 JOOST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual,

and is signed J. LAYNE RINGGENBERG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under

the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was fi led with the City and County

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BONE APPETIT, 2948 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a general

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business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 11/14/14. The statement was fi led with the




PET’S CORNER 2, 1232 9TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed LINH DO and JONATHAN TRUONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/08/14. The statement was



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STATEMENT FILE A-036175000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUBWAY SANDWICHES 61241, 1501 B SLOAT

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signed NORTHBAY SUBS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above




STATEMENT FILE A-036201900The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CM INTERNATIONAL, 301 CRESCENT COURT

#3409, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAVAD MIRSAIDI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/16/14. The statement was


DEC 18, 25, JAN 01, 08, 2015

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individual, and is signed DONALD A. FRANKLIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was fi led

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DEC 18, 25, JAN 01, 08, 2015FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME


NAPA VALLEY SPICE CO, 2450 FRANCISCO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FREDERICK DAVID HALPERT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was fi led




as: PECO JANITORIAL, 511 BIRCH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RAMIRO VASQUEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 11/19/14. The statement was fi led




BIG DOG SAUSAGES, 300 7TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed BLAGO OGNIANOV &

GEORGI KRISTOV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious


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STATEMENT FILE A-036198400The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ICYBOTTOM SPORTS CAFE, 2275 SAN JOSE AVE,

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DEC 18, 25, JAN 01, 08, 2015


The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REAL ESTATE TIMES OF SAN FRANCISCO; SAN

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is conducted by a corporation, and is signed SAN FRANCISCO BAY DISTRIBUTORS (CA). The

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RONA CAREER AND LIFE COACH, 1425 FILLMORE ST, #609, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RONA DANEILO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/03/14. The statement was


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DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015

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4” X 6”BAY AREA REPORTER

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City and County of San FranciscoDecember 2014 Monthly

Stay Connected To the City through SF311

The SF311 Customer Service Center is the single stop for residents to get information on government services and report problems to the City and County of San Francisco. And now, we have even more ways for you to stay connected to the City with our SF311 App and SF311 Explorer website.The SF311 App lets you get information on City services and submit service requests on-the-go right from your smartphone. You can track your service requests through the app or through our new website, SF311 Explorer.SF311 Explorer not only lets you check the status of your own requests, it enables you to see what issues are being reported throughout all of San Francisco and what the City is doing to resolve them.Download the SF311 App from your smartphone’s app store and visit the SF311 Explorer at explore311.sfgov.org today!

Department of Elections

Coming in 2015: San Francisco Election Materials in Four Languages. Choose to vote in English, Chinese, Spanish, or Filipino! Beginning with the November 3, 2015, Municipal Election, San Francisco ballots, the Voter Information Pamphlet, and other elections materials will be available in Filipino, in addition to English, Chinese, and Spanish. The City has recently certifi ed Filipino (Tagalog) as the third language required under the San Francisco Language Access Ordinance, in addition to Chinese and Spanish. If you are a San Francisco voter and want election materials in a language in addition to English, please update your language preference at sfelections.org/language.

Healthy Foods and WIC Nutrition Services at No Cost To You

Eating well during pregnancy is important. The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program can help. WIC serves pregnant women, new mothers, infants and young children under fi ve years old who meet 185% or below of the federal poverty income level. WIC benefi ts include nutrition and breastfeeding education and support, checks to buy healthy foods (such as fresh fruits and vegetables) and referrals to low cost or free health care and other community services. Enrolling in WIC early in your pregnancy will give your baby a healthy start. Also, WIC staff can show you how you and your family can eat healthier meals and snacks. Migrants are welcome to apply as well.

San Francisco WIC has six offi ces throughout the City. For more information, call (415) 575-5788.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Board of Supervisors Regularly Scheduled Board MeetingsJanuary and February 2015

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – Come see your San Francisco government in action.Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m., City Hall Chamber, Room 250.

• January 8 (43rd Inaugural Meeting)• January 13• January 27• February 3• February 10• February 24

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

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALYSSA BLOCK STUDIO, 1015 PACIFIC AVE, SAN

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STATEMENT FILE A-036207600The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LEILA’S FLORAL DESIGN, 1950 15TH AVE, SAN

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BOTANICA LOS SUENOS, 3274 23RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MELISSA TREJO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under




STATEMENT FILE A-036211000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ASCEND FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS, 1957 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is

conducted by a corporation, and is signed CARGO CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/19/14. The statement was




INTACT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CORP., 599 THIRD ST, #104, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed INTACT

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above




STATEMENT FILE A-036193100The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAREEN SWIMWEAR, 2400 PACIFIC AVE,

#408, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MAREEN SWIMWEAR LLC (CA). The





ITTY BITTY VITI, 820 SCOTT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ITTY BITTY VITI, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under



DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

FILE A-034305500The following persons have abandoned the use of the fi ctitious business name known as: BOTANICA LOS SUENOS, 3274 23RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA

94110. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by MARIA G. PATINO. The fi ctitious name was fi led with the City and County of San Francisco,

CA on 04/30/2012.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015

/lgbtsf

Tom Temprano, the Milk club’s outgoing co-president, said the progressive group only in “very rare circumstances” makes early endorsements.

“I don’t personally see an early endorsement of Mayor Lee being one of those rare circumstances,” he said. “If the mayor wants to come address the club, which he hasn’t done in his four years in office, I am sure the club would come listen.”

In terms of the mayoral race next year, Temprano said there are “cer-tainly a number of club members would like to see some alternative candidate to the mayor.”

After flirting with the idea of challenging Lee, gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) in November nixed doing so. Gay for-mer Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, who has twice run for mayor, could jump into the race.

While he has already pulled pa-pers to run for Leno’s Senate seat in 2016, when Leno will be termed out

of office, the progressive Ammiano told the San Francisco Chronicle last week that he has not yet ruled out another mayoral bid.

Unless Ammiano or another pro-gressive announces their campaign in the coming months, the Milk club likely will wait until the filing deadline for the mayoral race closes next summer before it endorses, said Temprano.

“The most likely scenario is the club will be endorsing in the may-or’s race at the regular endorsement meeting in August,” he predicted.t


t<< GAPA

From page 1

Nancie GeeJanuary 30, 1940 – November 24, 2014

Nancie Gee passed away peacefully at Coming Home Hos-pice in San Francisco on November 24, 2014 after a nine-month struggle with

abdominal cancer. She was 74.Born to Edward and Helen Gee in

Lambert, Mississippi, Nancie was the youngest of five children, moving with

her family to California at the age of 12. Graduating from Oakland High, she went on to earn a B.A. from San Francisco State University and did graduate work at the University of Washington. In 1968, Nancie pub-lished Reflections in Pike Place Mar-kets, a photo book showing scenes around the Seattle landmark. In 1987, after 12 years in New York, Nancie moved to San Francisco, where she worked as a legal secretary until retir-ing in 2005. Afterwards, Nancie fo-cused her energies on investments and photography, conducting workshops

on the former, and using the latter to visually document pigeons. Online articles about her pigeon photography were published in SFBay.ca, San Fran-cisco Weekly, and the Noe Valley Voice.

She is survived by her sisters Mable and Lucy, six nephews, four nieces, five grand-nephews, and three grand-nieces, all of whom live in California. A private memorial service will be held at Unity Spiritual Center in San Francisco on January 24. Memorial gifts in her name may be made to the Castro Senior Center, 110 Diamond Street, San Francisco, CA 94114.

Obituaries >>

Serving the LGBT communities since 1971

and other permits have been filed for the building in the past year, Department of Building Inspection records show.

“It could take another year” be-fore HYA has a new building, Howe said.

HYA has a budget of about $620,000 and 14 paid staff. The group will add a campaign manager “by the end of the month,” she said.

Someone has been letting staff use her private home as office space, and the nonprofit does have some strong support in the neighborhood.

Christin Evans, who’s co-owner of the Booksmith and sits on the board of directors for the Haight Ashbury Merchants Association, which represents more than 160 businesses, said in an email that her group’s members “have individually contributed” to the campaign. The

board also voted to write a letter supporting the nonprofit.

“HAMA’s support is predicated on the belief that maintaining a stable place for the area’s homeless youth to get off the streets and use the bath-room, shower, and obtain vital health and human services is an investment in the commercial viability and resi-dential well-being of the neighbor-hood,” the letter said, in part.

A lofty goalDespite what may seem like a

lofty goal, Howe said “with all the wealth in San Francisco,” $5 mil-lion is a realistic figure. She also said people with less tend to give more.

“I have homeless kids panhan-dling for change and giving it to me as a donation, and I will meet bil-lionaires who give a few thousand dollars,” she said. “It’s always been that way.”

Bevan Dufty, a gay former super-visor who is Mayor Ed Lee’s director

for the Office of Housing Opportu-nity, Partnerships and Engagement, is one of the people who’s been try-ing to help HYA. He’s donated $100 to the capital campaign and has been encouraging others to help.

“It really only takes one donor,” Dufty said. “That can make all the difference in the world.”

Dufty also got one of the Real-tors that tried to help HYA find a new building.

The trouble finding property owners willing to sign a lease with the organization has “galvanized HYA and me to see we need to get them a property they control,” he said.

Despite the problems, Howe said, “We’re doing really amazing work,” and the youth “are really grateful. ... They are so touched that we have continued to show up every day to help them.”

To contribute to HYA’s campaign, go to http://www.homelessyouthal-liance.org/capital-campaign-2015/.t

Gay SF entertainment o�icial to resign

Glendon Hyde, whose drag per-sona is Anna Conda, will be resign-ing from San Francisco’s entertain-ment commission next month.

Hyde, 47, announced last week that his final meeting would be Tuesday, January 6. He decided to step down in order to focus on his undergraduate studies ahead of his moving to Portland next summer to complete his degree.

“I have never felt to be so of use ever in my whole life,” he said. “It’s really been one of the most positive experiences of my entire life.”

Currently enrolled at City College, Hyde will be transferring to Portland State University in June to pursue an

anthropology degree. He intends to then earn a master’s and possibly a doctorate in queer archeology.

“Partially, it is because I have se-nioritis and I am getting mouthy,” joked Hyde, who is HIV-positive. “I really want to concentrate on my next semester at school. I am mak-ing sure I have everything in line for my scholarship, housing and stuff like that when I get up to Portland.”

After running for the District 6 supervisor seat in 2010, Hyde was appointed by the Board of Supervi-sors to the city’s nightlife oversight panel in the summer of 2011. He also was elected in 2012 as the first drag queen to be president of the progressive Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club.

Before deciding on Portland, Hyde had looked at enrolling at Humboldt State University in Ar-

cata, California. He also seriously considered the University of Hawaii at Hilo but decided against it due to having to ship his 18-year-old Macaw, Conrad, to the island.

“I feel the city is changing, but also I feel like I have changed a lot,” said Hyde. “If I want to take school seriously, I should be somewhere where I am not involved in things like I am involved in here.”t

Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion, is on holiday hiatus. The column will return Monday, January 12.Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes.Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or e-mail [email protected].

<< Homeless youth From page 3

<< Political Notebook From page 4

der inmates – not the least of which being Chelsea Manning – are still denied transgender care. Transgen-der people cannot openly serve in the United States military.

I feel I should add another im-portant caveat: even with this deci-sion, people’s rights can and will be abused. This gives us recourse, but it does not stop things from happen-ing in the first place. We can and will still be discriminated against, even if it is not legal to do so. The difference – and it is key – is that we do have the law on our side.

Of course, such moves don’t come without backlash. I am sure we’ll see continued assaults on

transgender people from the right. Indeed, days before Holder’s news release, the Family Research Coun-cil – an anti-LGBT hate group based in Colorado – got a small amount of press pushing for no less than a constitutional amendment regulat-ing gender identity.

“I think the ideal policy for gov-ernment with respect to [transgen-der rights] is that your sex is your biological sex,” said FRC spokesman Peter Sprigg. “If your biological sex is unambiguous at birth – if your internal sex organs, your external genitalia, and your chromosomal makeup all are unequivocal in de-claring you to be of one sex – then that is your sex for life and that is your only sexual identity that the government will recognize.”

Now I hate to break it to the FRC, but I don’t think it will get a lot of traction on this, even within the up-coming Republican-majority Con-gress. I just don’t see that happening.

Nevertheless, this gives us a sense of where conservatives are going, and that they will be pressing to roll back some of these changes as they attempt to grasp what the transgen-der movement is all about, and how to best assault us.

Make no mistake, though: when they try, Title VII clearly provides for us another very important tool. Our inalienable rights are powerful things.t

Gwen Smith will wax nostalgic some other time. You’ll ¨nd her on Twitter at @gwenners.

<< Transmissions From page 5

ClassifiedsClassifiedsThe

December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 15▼ Read more online at www.ebar.com

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STATEMENT FILE A-036183000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GENE FACTOR, 610 22ND ST #305, SAN

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registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names

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STATEMENT FILE A-036179200The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OUCH! CPR & 1ST AID TRAINING, 1681 20TH

AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KENNETH J. LOO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business

under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was fi led with the City

and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/01/14.

DEC 04, 11,18, 25, 2014FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME


ESQUIRE REALTY, 1360 JONES ST #101, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual and is signed TYLER CASSACIA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under





MUTT MANIA, 647 FELL ST #B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual,

and is signed JENNA HOOPER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above





CROWN DIAMOND TRADING, 744 CLEMENT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted

by an individual, and is signed CYNTHIA THAN THANAYE AUNG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious


CA on 11/07/14.


STATEMENT FILE A-036155100The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN FRANCISCO ART MARKETING, 22 BUCARELI DR, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAVEL VASILIK. The





24TH STREET BAR, 3336 24TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an

individual, and is signed CAROLINE BROWN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under




STATEMENT FILE A-036174200The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TOYA STUDIO, 1040 FULTON ST #1, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOHN JAMES TOYA. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or




MELISSA MAHER COACHING, 427 WEBSTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted

by an individual, and is signed MELISSA MAHER. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under




STATEMENT FILE A-036179500The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PACIFIC BAY PIPING SYSTEMS, 161 UNIVERSITY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business

is conducted by a corporation, and is signed JM PACIFIC BAY PLUMBING, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above




STATEMENT FILE A-036174000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PANDORA KARAOKE; PANDORA KARAOKE AND

BAR; 177 EDDY ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed

PANDORA KARAOKE, INC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above





as: FORT 1, 2801 LEAVENWORTH ST #J32, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed FORT 1 LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 11/24/14. The statement was


DEC 04, 11, 18, 25, 2014


The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SPOT ON SF, 325 NEWHALL ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company and is signed HOGAN PENROSE LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or



STATEMENT FILE A-036178000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FRANCESCA EVENTI, 35 CASA WAY #303, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FRANCESCA ANTONACCI

DELECCE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 11/26/14. The statement was fi led with the



STATEMENT FILE A-036192200The following person(s) is/are doing business as: APP770, 2655 BALBOA ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA

94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MENACHEM MENDEL PIL. The




STATEMENT FILE A-036180200The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PETALS 4 THOUGHTS, 8 10TH ST #2607, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94103. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed KYLE THEIS. The





KELLY MASSAGE THERAPIST, 30 WAVERLY PL, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted

by an individual, and is signed CHUN TONG WU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under





COAST TO COAST PATROL DIVISION, 740 LA PLAYA #225, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LLOYD A. FORD SR. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business

name or names on NA. The statement was fi led with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 12/03/14.



MUTTS LOVE, 122 JOOST AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94131. This business is conducted by an individual,

and is signed J. LAYNE RINGGENBERG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under





BONE APPETIT, 2948 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a general

partnership and is signed MOLLY MCGEE and ANJULI KONAS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact

business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 11/14/14. The statement was fi led with the




PET’S CORNER 2, 1232 9TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed LINH DO and JONATHAN TRUONG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/08/14. The statement was



STATEMENT FILE A-036183700The following person(s) is/are doing business as: FLEETWOOD CONSTRUCTION; NUTRISHOP SAN FRANCISCO; 1118 POLK ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA

94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed FLEETWOOD INVESTMENTS, INC (CA).




STATEMENT FILE A-036175000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUBWAY SANDWICHES 61241, 1501 B SLOAT

BLVD, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94132. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is

signed NORTHBAY SUBS, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above




STATEMENT FILE A-036201900The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CM INTERNATIONAL, 301 CRESCENT COURT

#3409, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JAVAD MIRSAIDI. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/16/14. The statement was


DEC 18, 25, JAN 01, 08, 2015

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAMSON SOLOMON GROUPPE INTERNATIONAL;

CLEANTECH SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS AND SOLUTIONS; ANYTIME CUSTOM DESIGN; 2139

O’FARRELL ST #301, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115-3481. This business is conducted by an

individual, and is signed DONALD A. FRANKLIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 07/01/13. The statement was fi led




NAPA VALLEY SPICE CO, 2450 FRANCISCO ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed FREDERICK DAVID HALPERT. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was fi led




as: PECO JANITORIAL, 511 BIRCH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RAMIRO VASQUEZ. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 11/19/14. The statement was fi led




BIG DOG SAUSAGES, 300 7TH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a general partnership, and is signed BLAGO OGNIANOV &

GEORGI KRISTOV. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious


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STATEMENT FILE A-036198400The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ICYBOTTOM SPORTS CAFE, 2275 SAN JOSE AVE,

SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed PREMIER

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The following person(s) is/are doing business as: REAL ESTATE TIMES OF SAN FRANCISCO; SAN

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registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on NA. The statement was fi led with the City and County



STATEMENT FILE A-036172500The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SAN

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STATEMENT FILE A-036192400The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BIOGENIC ENERGY LLC, 184 MENDELL ST, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed

BIOGENIC ENERGY LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above





RONA CAREER AND LIFE COACH, 1425 FILLMORE ST, #609, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed RONA DANEILO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/03/14. The statement was



STATEMENT FILE A-036210100The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PHYSIOROBOTICS CONSULTING, 399 STEINER ST, #19, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANN STERNIN. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/12/14. The statement was


DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015

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City and County of San FranciscoDecember 2014 Monthly

Stay Connected To the City through SF311

The SF311 Customer Service Center is the single stop for residents to get information on government services and report problems to the City and County of San Francisco. And now, we have even more ways for you to stay connected to the City with our SF311 App and SF311 Explorer website.The SF311 App lets you get information on City services and submit service requests on-the-go right from your smartphone. You can track your service requests through the app or through our new website, SF311 Explorer.SF311 Explorer not only lets you check the status of your own requests, it enables you to see what issues are being reported throughout all of San Francisco and what the City is doing to resolve them.Download the SF311 App from your smartphone’s app store and visit the SF311 Explorer at explore311.sfgov.org today!

Department of Elections

Coming in 2015: San Francisco Election Materials in Four Languages. Choose to vote in English, Chinese, Spanish, or Filipino! Beginning with the November 3, 2015, Municipal Election, San Francisco ballots, the Voter Information Pamphlet, and other elections materials will be available in Filipino, in addition to English, Chinese, and Spanish. The City has recently certifi ed Filipino (Tagalog) as the third language required under the San Francisco Language Access Ordinance, in addition to Chinese and Spanish. If you are a San Francisco voter and want election materials in a language in addition to English, please update your language preference at sfelections.org/language.

Healthy Foods and WIC Nutrition Services at No Cost To You

Eating well during pregnancy is important. The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program can help. WIC serves pregnant women, new mothers, infants and young children under fi ve years old who meet 185% or below of the federal poverty income level. WIC benefi ts include nutrition and breastfeeding education and support, checks to buy healthy foods (such as fresh fruits and vegetables) and referrals to low cost or free health care and other community services. Enrolling in WIC early in your pregnancy will give your baby a healthy start. Also, WIC staff can show you how you and your family can eat healthier meals and snacks. Migrants are welcome to apply as well.

San Francisco WIC has six offi ces throughout the City. For more information, call (415) 575-5788.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Board of Supervisors Regularly Scheduled Board MeetingsJanuary and February 2015

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – Come see your San Francisco government in action.Tuesdays, 2:00 p.m., City Hall Chamber, Room 250.

• January 8 (43rd Inaugural Meeting)• January 13• January 27• February 3• February 10• February 24

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

KIP LEAKE, MA – Licensed Marriage & Family Thera-

pist #833123468 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Suite B200

offi ce, Suite B201 mailLafayette, CA 94549

925-297-5196


The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALYSSA BLOCK STUDIO, 1015 PACIFIC AVE, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MARY ALYSSA BLOCK.




STATEMENT FILE A-036207600The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LEILA’S FLORAL DESIGN, 1950 15TH AVE, SAN

FRANCISCO, CA 94116. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed LEILA SIMMS. The





BOTANICA LOS SUENOS, 3274 23RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed MELISSA TREJO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under




STATEMENT FILE A-036211000The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ASCEND FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS, 1957 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123. This business is

conducted by a corporation, and is signed CARGO CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fi ctitious business name or names on 12/19/14. The statement was




INTACT QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CORP., 599 THIRD ST, #104, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed INTACT

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CORP (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above




STATEMENT FILE A-036193100The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MAREEN SWIMWEAR, 2400 PACIFIC AVE,

#408, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MAREEN SWIMWEAR LLC (CA). The





ITTY BITTY VITI, 820 SCOTT ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94117. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed ITTY BITTY VITI, LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under



DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

FILE A-034305500The following persons have abandoned the use of the fi ctitious business name known as: BOTANICA LOS SUENOS, 3274 23RD ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA

94110. This business was conducted by an individual and signed by MARIA G. PATINO. The fi ctitious name was fi led with the City and County of San Francisco,

CA on 04/30/2012.

DEC 25, 2014, JAN 01, 08, 15, 2015

/lgbtsf

2219 19 25

Year in music Last call, Xmas Book hosts

www.ebar.com/arts

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

Vol. 44 • No. 52 • December 25-31, 2014

The

O&

AO

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Abo

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by Richard Dodds

If we had six fi ngers on each hand, I suppose it would be Top 12 lists that would have developed into end-of-year-traditions. As round as it sounds, 10

is pretty much an arbitrary number that evolution has established for human counting. But since it has been a journalistic tradition for tens and tens of years – did a 12-fi ngered species develop the notion of a dozen? – the tradition will be maintained here. There is no particular order in this theatrical Top 10 list, with each entry pro-viding its own distinctive memories as 2014 begins its disappearing act.

Best of the year in Bay Area theatre

See page 26 >>

Nicolas Pelczar, as a grieving man eating himself to death, tries to reconcile with his daughter (Cristina Oeschger) in The Whale at Marin The-atre Company.

“Untitled” (1982) by Keith Haring. Baked enamel on steel. The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Collection, Los Angeles.

Kevin Berne

Keith Haring Foundation

by Sura Wood

With few exceptions, 2014 was noteworthy for a lack of drama and knock-your-socks-off art shows, but there were pleasures to be found

and events worthy of comment. The opening of the newly constructed facility at Stanford Unive rsity for the Ander-son Collection, one of the fi nest privately-held assemblies of 20th-century post-war art, was certainly a high point. Right next door, with

in Bay Area art museums & galleries

2014

See page 27 >>


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by Roberto Friedman

1. In her cover of the classic 1965 Mamas & the Papas hit “Cali-

fornia Dreamin’” on her upcom-ing album Wallfl ower (Verve), jazz singer Diana Krall takes the well-known melody down to a simple vocal line backed by piano and strings. On the second verse, a bass line and electronic rhythm track assert themselves and return us to the song’s classic rhythms. Musical lifer Graham Nash sup-plies distant backing vocals. It’s the immortal dream of a new California, on such a winter day.

Other covers on the album in-clude “Desperado,” “Alone Again (Naturally)” and “Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word.” Sounds like our boyhood in the 1970s all over again. (Coming out in February 2015.)

2. “Nobody here but your body, dear” is the intriguing and sugges-tive hook-line to the danceable track “The Party Line” from the upcoming Belle & Sebastian album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, out next month from Matador Records. You can already fi nd the video online to whet your insatiable B&S appetite.

3. Contemporary composer Philip Glass began writing a series of etudes in 1991 to challenge him-self as a pianist. He eventually com-pleted two sets of 10 compositions, and now pianist Maki Namekawa has recorded them both, including the world premiere recording of the second book, Nos. 11-20, for the new 20-track double-album Philip Glass: The Complete Piano Etudes (Orange Mountain). An online video of Namekawa performing the Romantic Etude No. 20 shows the

pianist’s precision, grace, and her way with lush melody.

4. This week, electronic-musician Moby has re-released Hotel: Ambi-ent, the long out-of-print, limit-ed-edition companion disc to the 2005 album Hotel, in a remastered version, with the original tracklist fi lled out by previously unreleased tracks. Here’s the pop star talking about the music: “I fi rst heard, and heard about, ambient music on the B-side of David Bowie’s Heroes. As much as I’ve loved writing songs and dance tracks, I’ve always been obsessed with the ways in which ambient and instrumental music can transform the space in which they’re being listened [to]. I also really appreciate the subtle and at times un-demanding qualities of ambient music, and the ways in

which it can unconventionally reach people emotionally.”

5. Late gay beat author William S. Burroughs is nobody’s idea of a pop star. But consider this intriguing press release: “In 1980, Genesis P-Orridge and Peter ‘Sleazy’ Chris-topherson [both of Throbbing Gristle renown] travelled to New York City to meet up at the fortifi ed apartment, known as The Bunker, of famed beat writer and cultural pioneer William S. Burroughs and his executor James Grauerholz to start the daunting task of compil-ing the experimental sound works of Burroughs, which up until that point had never been heard.

“During those visits, Burroughs would play back his tape-recorder experiments featuring his spoken word ‘cut-ups,’ collaged fi eld record-

ings from his travels. Dais Records is honored to have worked with the Burroughs estate to fi nally reissue, for the fi rst time since its original release in 1981, a proper album reis-sue of Burroughs’ Nothing Here Now but the Recordings in its original vinyl format to celebrate Burroughs’ cen-tennial anniversary, fully remastered from the original master tapes in a limited edition of 1,000 vinyl copies.”

Frank talkWe were reading the new book by

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Rich-ard Ford Let Me Be Frank With You (Ecco), four interconnected stories featur ing Ford’s longtime creation Frank Bascombe. It’s set in post-Hurricane Sandy suburban New Jersey. But upon reading a para-graph in the second piece, “Every-

thing Could Be Worse,” we were suddenly pitched forward in time to the present, post-Ferguson America. It’s uncomfortably timely. This is the passage we mean:

“When the red-coated black woman at my front door realized no one was answering, and that a car had crunched into the snowy driveway, she turned and issued a big welcoming smile down to whoever was arriving, and a de-mure wave to assure me all was well here – no one hiding in the bushes with burglar tools, about to put a padded brick through my back window. Black people bear a heavy burden trying to be normal. It’s no wonder they hate us. I’d hate us, too. I was sure Mack Bittick was watch-ing her through the curtains.”

In some ways Ford’s book is a poem-in-prose describing post-

fi nancial collapse America (thanks again, unscrupulous bankers and speculators!). Here Bascombe de-scribes the long-range effects of the recession on his N.J. suburb: “Mean-while Haddam itself is countenanc-ing service cutbacks. Too much money’s ‘lost’ to wages, the Repub-licans on the Boro council say. The budget gap’s at fi fteen mil. Many old town-fi xture employees have been pink-slipped in these days before Christmas. The previous manger scene, mothballed a decade ago, the wise men all portrayed as strapping Aryans instead of dusky Levantines and Negroes, has been revived – the rental company for the race-appro-priate mangers having upped their prices.” Happy Christmas, one and all!t


t

Five short notes about music

Little wonders

<< Out There

thing Could Be Worse,” we were suddenly pitched forward in time to the present, post-Ferguson America. It’s uncomfortably timely. This is the passage we mean:

woman at my front door realized no one was answering, and that a car had crunched into the snowy driveway, she turned and issued a big welcoming smile down to whoever was arriving, and a de-mure wave to assure me all was well here – no one hiding in the bushes with burglar tools, about to put a padded brick through my back window. Black people bear a heavy burden trying to be normal. It’s no wonder they hate us. I’d hate us, too. I was sure ing her through the curtains.”

a poem-in-prose describing post-

by Philip Campbell

Masterpieces in Miniature San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Yuja Wang, piano (SFS Media, 2014)

I approached the latest Super Au-dio CD release from the San

Francisco Symphony and Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas with some hesitation. The arrival of the beautifully packaged and fully notated SACD recalled the pleasant

but ultimately unsatisfying memory of the concerts at Davies Symphony Hall from which the majority of the present selection was derived.

Gorging on hors d’oeuvres and then missing the main meal was my lasting impression of the original experience, despite the charming and sometimes refl ective qualities of the musical bon bons included in the delectable bill of fare. We know that was the point, after all, for there was never really a there meant to be

there, but it was something of a slog sitting through an evening primar-ily made of highlights and encore pieces.

Celebrating the lost art of enjoy-ing classical vignettes on their own smaller-scaled terms did dovetail rather nicely with the celebration of MTT’s 20th season with the orches-tra, and it added some needed cohe-sion to an unavoidably disjointed program. It is good to fi nd the pres-ent compilation makes better sense

as a recorded concert (which was the original idea, anyway) now that it can be heard at the listener’s own discretion.

Playing it through from start to fi nish, especially at full volume, might emphasize the still disjointed nature of the different tracks, but the editors have carefully paced the disc, starting and ending with strong selections, and placing an-other wake-up number in the mid-dle. That turning-point selection, “The Alcotts” from Henry Brant’s/Charles Ives’ A Concord Symphony, seems a little bit like an iceberg in the Sea of Tranquility, and it was also extracted from a previously released performance of the whole work. Much as I admired that re-cording (also live from DSH), it sticks out as a jarring mismatch here. The home listener can easily skip it, program it out, or better yet, enjoy it alone.

There wouldn’t be any harm in listening to the gorgeously recorded and performed concert simply as

background music, either. The fa-miliar strains of Rachmaninoff ’s Vocalise and Faure’s Pavane fl ow nicely with lesser-known but equal-ly refl ective pieces by Grieg and Delius.

Principal Trumpet Mark Inouye brilliantly opens Blumine by Gustav Mahler, which started as a theatri-cal piece and was later incorporated into the composer’s Symphony No. 1 (then later dropped). It is an ex-quisite moment, and the surging and lush strings of the SFS that ac-company him make it my personal favorite on the disc.

Yuja Wang starts the concert with the Scherzo from Litolff ’s Concerto symphonique No. 4, and MTT and his merry band end the parade with a rousing Cortege de Bacchus from Sylvia by Leo Delibes.

I can well imagine New Year’s Eve with Masterpieces in Miniature on the CD player while we savor other morsels from the past. (Avail-able for download from iTunes and from shopsfsymphony.org.)t


Making the Yuletide gay

Music>>

by Gregg Shapiro

For his fi rst holiday album A Mi-chael Feinstein Christmas (Con-

cord), the Great American Songbook specialist doesn’t stray too far from his roots. Accompanied by acclaimed jazz pianist Alan Broadbent, Fein-stein’s renditions of Christmas clas-sics are sources of endless joy. The ar-rangements allow both Feinstein and Broadbent to shine like the lights on a Christmas tree. Sure, we know these songs, including “The Christmas Song,” “There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays,” and “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” by heart, but Feinstein touches our hearts with these simple and pleasing renditions. Leave it to a nice Jewish gay boy to re-fresh these timeworn classics.

Gay smooth-jazz sax man Dave Koz’s annual holiday-music tour, billed as Dave Koz & Friends, is hit-ting the road and coming to a town near you this holiday season. Some of Koz’s friends, musicians and singers join him on his latest holiday recording, The 25th of December (Concord). A cover of the Beatles standard “All You Need Is Love” fea-tures Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Richard Marx, Heather Headley and Mr. Christmas himself, Johnny Mathis. Mathis can also be heard on “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” India.Arie is joined by Trombone Shorty on “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm.” And on “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow,” Koz goes toe-to-toe (or is that horn-to-horn?) with Kenny G.

The Classic Christmas Album(Columbia/Legacy) by Johnny Mathis consists of selections from Mathis’ considerable cache of Christmas albums, dating as far back as 1958’s mega-bestselling Merry Christmas. It also features Mathis’ duet with Bette Midler on the “Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow!” medley, as well as two previ-ously unreleased numbers, “Ol’ Kris Kringle” and “Give Me Your Love for Christmas,” both from 1961.

Australian vocal group Human Nature will be familiar to anyone who watches PBS and has seen its Motown show featuring Smokey Robinson. The foursome, featuring

gay member Toby Allen, gets festive on The Christmas Album (HN En-tertainment). With the exception of a cappella numbers “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Mary’s Boy Child,” Human Nature is backed up by a band, on holiday favorites “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” “Winter Wonderland” and “This Christmas.” The guys are joined by HLN anchor Robin Meade on “Sleigh Ride,” and Robinson on “Please Come Home for Christmas.”

A cappella favorite Pentatonix boasts openly queer Mitch Grassi among its ranks. For the quin-tet’s fi rst full-length holiday album That’s Christmas to Me (RCA), they

give their vocal muscles a workout and throw in a few surprises. A cover of “Let It Go” from Frozen is a pretty inspired choice. The group also earns points for including an original tune, the cheerful title track. Pentatonix spark “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” into a hand-clapping, foot-stomping gospel experience, and take “Silent Night” to church.

Gays love their divas, and this year the hottest diva around, Idina Menzel, releases her fi rst Christmas album, Holiday Wishes (Warner Brothers). She makes sure we hear her on “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and out-Mariahs Mariah Carey on her blazing rendition of “All I Want

for Christmas Is You.” Menzel raises the standard on the holiday standard “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?,” adds her own touch with the original “December Prayer,” tips her fur-lined hat to her Disney clan with a cover of “When You Wish Upon a Star” and interprets Joni Mitchell’s modern Christmas classic “River.”

Frumpy TV talent-show diva Su-san Boyle’s new album Hope (SYCO/Columbia) isn’t exactly a holiday album. But religious-oriented num-bers “Abide with Me,” “Oh Happy Day,” “You Raise Me Up,” and “I Can Only Imagine” (originally performed by Christian rockers MercyMe) give the album a specifi c bent. The real holiday gift here is Boyle’s reading of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” Not. Kidding.

Hipster gays love their divas, too, and they have four to choose from when it comes to The Living Sisters. Growing from a trio (Inara George, Eleni Mandell and Becky Stark) to a quartet with the addition of Alex Lilly (of Obi Best), The Living Sis-ters present Harmony Is Real (Van-guard), the best holiday album of 2014. What makes it so? First, The Living Sisters’ harmonies are pure perfection. With the exception of the gals’ interpretations of “Jingle Bells” (which must be heard!) and “Little Drummer Boy,” Harmony Is Real is a stellar set of new songs for the season. Mandell’s “Kadoka, South Dakota,” “Baby Wants a Bas-ketball for Christmas,” “Hanukkah” and “Neon Chinese Christmas Eve” are brilliant.t

by Tim Pfa�

Too many of the year’s best re-cordings were tombstones. Re-

cording of the Year was a tie between Claudio Abbado’s transcendent Bruckner Ninth Symphony with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra (DG) and Patrice Chereau’s production of Strauss’ Elektra from the 2013 Aix Festival (BelAir Classiques DVD). Abbado died Jan. 20, depriving the music world of one of its true vi-sionaries, but this live recording of his last-ever performance with the hand-picked orchestra he had groomed for just such a mission was, in the words of some who were there, cosmic, and so it sounds.

Gay director Chereau, by gen-eral consent the greatest and most discerning of opera directors, was gravely ill with the lung cancer that claimed him when he was mak-ing his Elektra, but that didn’t stop him from doing his customary me-ticulous, searching work. He both gave the opera back its dignity by respecting it on its own terms and found its molten core in the Elektra-Klytemnestra scene lesser directors were glad to play as camp.

Iconic gay composer Benjamin Britten was long dead, but the 2013 Britten Year that recognized the 50th anniversary of his passing spilled over, in recording, into the Opus Arte DVD of his fi nal opera, Death in Venice, in a radiant production by English National Opera. Like the La Scala Peter Grimes of the previ-ous year, and with the same tenor, John Graham-Hall, this Death in Venice took the opera out of Venice and Aldeburgh and into the univer-sal, while also giving us what Brit-ten had envisioned by way of Sam Zaldivar, a dancer worthy of the si-lent role of Tadzio.

Legendary soprano Magda Oli-vero, who sang Tosca at the War Memorial in what was to be histo-ry-making gay Supervisor Harvey Milk’s last night at the opera, herself died, at the age of 104, on Sept. 8.

Composer Francesco Cilea came out of retirement to bring Olivero out of early retirement (she married well) to school her in his Adriana Lecouvreur, which became one of her signature roles. Perhaps the fi n-est recording of her as Adriana, live from the 1963 Edinburgh Festival, appeared at year’s end, on the aptly named Testament.

Jonas Kaufmann, a sensational Maurizio in Adriana, if not with Ol-ivero, continued showing on record why he’s such an exemplary singer. He won a 2014 trifecta for Sony with a glowing Parsifal in the Met’s ideal production of the opera, a powerful Schubert Winterreise, and in proof of his versatility, a CD and DVD (slightly different contents) of Ger-man popular (semi-classical) songs from the Berlin Christopher Isher-wood knew, You Mean the World to Me. Same back at you, Jonas.

Schubert’s other major song cycles, Die Schoene Muellerin and

Schwanengesang, brought revelato-ry, mandatory and in some particu-lars game-changing readings from baritone Florian Boesch and Mal-colm Martineau (Onyx). A year that recognized the centenary of the be-ginning of WWI in myriad musical ways also was the year of the themed vocal/song recital, and produced none better than the overlooked Behind the Lines (DG), songs of sol-diers and war delivered with spell-binding power by soprano Anna Pohaska and pianist Eric Schneider.

Openly gay pianist Stephen Hough headlined a simply stunning year for keyboardists with In the Night (Hyperion), a canny program of night-themed pieces that includ-ed his own Sonata No. 2, “notturno luminoso,” which any of the follow-ing young pianists would do well to learn and perform. Jan Lisiecki made the Chopin Etudes (DG) sound fresh-minted. Alessio Bax matched a Beethoven Moonlight

Sonata as individual as Hough’s with an arresting Hammerklavier to take its place among the best. The best would also include the one by Igor Levit in his revela-tory Beethoven Late Sonatas, and at year’s end, the complete Bach Partitas, both for Sony. A pianist of staggering virtuosity, the 26-year-old Levit has already established himself as one of the great minds at the instrument, a successor to Rudolf Serkin in the way most of his age-mates are successors to Vladimir Horowitz. Into that sec-ond group, welcome 24-year-old Daniil Trifonov. Martha Argerich, still the greatest pianist playing, inimitably said that Trifonov has it all and more, and doubters need go no farther than The Carnegie Recit-al (DG), a scorching 2013 perfor-mance of Scriabin, Liszt and Cho-pin. If you hurry, you can fi nd his subsequent, Dec. 9 Carnegie recital online, where you can encounter

not just his Liszt and Bach-Liszt, but an ecstatic performance of Beethoven’s fi nal sonata, Op. 111.

The Composer Years were Jean-Philippe Rameau’s (250th anni-versary of his death) and C.P.E. Bach’s (300th birth anniversary), and breaking harpsichordist Ma-han Esfahani proved nothing short of revelatory in the music of both. His recording of Rameau’s com-plete Pieces de clavecin (Hyperion) makes it clear that he’s the equal of Christophe Rousset in this reper-toire, and very much his own man. And his Hyperion CD of the sec-ond-greatest Bach’s Wuerttemberg Sonatas was widely considered the best of the C.P.E. celebrations.

But in the end it was really Papa Bach’s year, in recordings at least. The fi rst book of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier got a com-pellingly fresh outing by pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard (DG), the second a masterful, concentrated reading from gay early-music wiz-ard Rousset (Aparte). The two books together yielded a brilliant re-visioning by onetime Berkeley music professor, harpsichordist John Butt (Linn), whose Mozart Requiem (Linn), a recreation of the fi rst performance with his ace ensemble the Dunedin Consort, similarly shed new light on the piece and would have been choral recording of the year, had it not been for gay director Peter Sellars’ ritualization of Bach’s St. John Pas-sion, with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Berlin Radio Chorus under Simon Rattle. It is a worthy, devas-tating yet unforgettably uplifting successor to the same musicians’ St. Matthew Passion.

It’s not, strictly speaking, my turf, but the recording that spent the most time on my various play-ers was the SF Symphony’s com-plete West Side Story, one of my favorite pieces, in a performance with unfading visceral, emotional impact.t

2014, the year in classical discs

by David Lamble

The latest release from hyperreal-ist filmmaker Mike Leigh, Mr.

Turner is simultaneously a splendid holiday treat from one of modern Britain’s living treasures, and illustra-tive of the current state of modern art-house cinema. For those of us who know nothing or next to nothing about the acclaimed landscape paint-er, we’re drawn in by the challenge of Leigh’s 11th full-length fiction feature. We know going in that Mr. Leigh can be as much of a mountain to climb for even his most fervent fans as Jo-seph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) was to aristocratic patrons as well as to the then-growing middle-class, art-appreciating world of early Victorian England. One of the film’s in-jokes features a still-young Victoria taking a derisive jab at Turner at a gal-lery within earshot of the tormented artist. It was a moment when royal bequests still mattered a hell of a lot more than critical buzz. It could be said that Turner’s career marks the point where the balance shifted from feudal to modern.

Naturally, this lively bio is more about the man than about the art, although Leigh does justice to both, even to the point of having his Turner (Timothy Spall) take painting lessons and complete a large-scale Turner copy. Spall, a veteran of four Leigh films (including the Gilbert & Sul-livan bio Topsy-Turvy from 1999), takes special pains to mime this earthy character in all his considerably off-putting traits, including a mode of speaking that can at times appear little more than animal grunting.

To say that Turner had a compli-cated personal life is to wildly under-state his reality. His three ongoing female relationships required both a year-round London residence and a seaside summer inn in Margate, com-

plete with a housekeeper who gave as good as she got, Hannah Danby (the witty Dorothy Atkinson). The drama is framed by gorgeous hunks of the British countryside and its steam-puffing monsters, the oddly beautiful sight of early trains cutting a swath through a landscape that inspired so much of Turner’s work.

One of Leigh’s many gifts is to subtly remind us about how much our “casual Fridays” world differs from Turner’s day, when even poor people felt the need to put on an ap-pearance well beyond their means. Turner and his class peers were forever moving from one dress-up event to another, exhausting their slim incomes with a whirlwind of costume changes as if their lives were really being filmed at the time.

A gifted actor and a great conver-sationalist (catch Terry Gross’ recent Fresh Air chat with him), Timothy Spall’s likely Oscar-bait turn gets one thing ever so slightly wrong: con-temporary paintings and early pho-tographs of the real Turner suggest he was a much more comely figure than the actor who otherwise serves his memory so extraordinarily well. He may have been the father of mod-ern abstract painting styles, but fore-most of all, Mr. Turner demonstrates that he was a complex, affecting and even memorably tragic figure who contributed considerably to our con-temporary notions of artists as wast-rels and failed adults.

The only thing I regret about Mr. Turner is that our current movie-rat-ing censorship system makes it un-likely that it will be viewed by visually hungry adolescents, the very folks who stand to gain the most from a peek at this splendid if morally un-tidy life. If you like catching every Oscar-worthy film, beat a quick path to Landmark Theatres for this fasci-nating true-life art lesson.t


t

Artistic genius in an English landscape

More from the ‘Greatest Generation’

<< Film

Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in director Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner.

Simon Mein, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Timothy Spall as J.M.W. Turner in director Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner.Simon Mein, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

by David Lamble

The new WWII-era survival film Unbroken hits theaters on

Christmas Day. As much as I hate to admit this as a self-respecting film critic, the movie works as well as it does because its creators – direc-tor Angelina Jolie and her screen-writing elves, Joel and Ethan Coen – shamelessly but effectively rip off classic 1940s rules for telling “true-life stories.” They’re rules that could have been lifted from virtually any issue of the Reader’s Digest from the third Roosevelt Administration through the free-booting capitalist nostrums of the men behind Gen-eral/President Dwight David Eisen-hower.

Yes, Unbroken is a story of, by, and largely for the surviving members

of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Gen-eration,” the hard-working, largely uncomplaining souls who endured the Great Depression, overcame the worst excesses that Hitler and the Japanese dictatorship could throw their way, and came out of the war to create a smug, prosperous world that my generation of 1960s brats could rebel against. The truly galling thing is that, by and large, their in-stincts were correct, as illustrated in this 150-minute saga (from which 15 minutes could easily have been trimmed) in which there is prob-ably not a single line of dialogue that is not a heart-wrenching but extremely serviceable cliche. We’ve seen and heard them all before, and we’d probably miss them if they weren’t there.

Louis “Louie” Zamperini (Jack

O’Connell) comes across on screen as if his everyman character had been cloned from leftover Tyrone Power DNA. (Newcomer C.J. Valleroy is a perfect lookalike fit as the young-er Louis.) He’s a frequently picked-on skinny little runt who literally de-velops speed to outrun the bullies. Quickly the story flashes ahead to Louie winning a come-from-behind sprint at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Then war breaks out and Louie be-comes an Army/Air Force “flyboy” until his aging “tin can” bomber gets shot down over the Pacific.

Spoiler alert: Louie survives nearly 50 days in a small inflatable raft, overcoming near-starvation, the pitiless sun overhead, the death of a buddy and a shark attack or two, only to slip from the frying pan into the fire dilemma of being

rescued by a Japanese war ship. It is here that the politically correct among us will squirm a bit, slip down in our seats or take a pow-der altogether. The film’s Japanese soldiers – most especially, a cruel P.O.W. camp commandant, “The Bird,” played with an almost lyri-cal sadism by a Japanese pop singer with the single-word name Miyavi – fulfill every worst-possible-scenario story-beat. Louie’s treatment by “The Bird” mirrors many a good-cop, bad-cop story, without any sign of the good cop. Essentially, Unbroken ratchets up the impact of the torture scenes from the level of David Lean’s genre-defining P.O.W. camp epic The Bridge on the River Kwai to a pitch almost unendurable for holiday-mall audiences. You’ll feel like bailing, but won’t want to

miss Louie’s ultimate salvation.Queer-content spoiler alert: this

is classic Hollywood homo-denying fare. The late Vito Russo might find here an entire new chapter’s worth of subliminal gay-exclusion-from-the-American-story material. There are, of course, the deliciously obliga-tory scenes of strapping young guys naked to the waist – almost half the running time – but they’re erotic only in the eyes of the beholder. I have no earthly idea what actu-ally happened in those bygone years around the time of my birth, but this movie follows the standard American film-industry playbook of, it’s either a queer-themed movie or queers don’t exist in this alternate universe. As we’ve observed recently with Tinsetown’s “Korea-gate” flap, big-budget Hollywood considers all issues to be bottom-line market-ing ploys. If you can sell a movie to queer people and their friends, great. If not, there’s not even a hint that homosexuality could possibly exist on this planet. It’s yin or yang, it overflows or it’s banished. Un-broken is, if nothing else, a startling update on how far we haven’t come.

Otherwise, it’s good popcorn fare with something for the whole family. Probably the single best thing about this yarn is the seam-less high-standard quality of the film’s supporting cast. From the Irish star-in-the-making Domhnall Gleeson as Russell “Phil” Phillips to Miyavi’s riveting sadist, to On the Road’s Garrett Hedlund, to Finn Wittrock, to Jai Courtney, to rising young movie icons Luke Treadaway and John Magaro, to Alex Russell, to Maddalena Ischiale, to Morgan Griffin, to Savannah Lamble as Sylvia Zamperini, there’s a lot to savor.t

Jack O’Connell as Louis “Louie” Zamperini in director Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken.


Bumpy rideDVD>>

095084.01_HNSF_Bay_Area_Reporter_12-25 ROUND #: MECHTrim: 5.75in x 7.625in Bleed: none Live: 5.75in x 7.625in Color Space: CMYK Fonts: Futura Publication Name: Bay Area Reporter PM: PM AS: RB AD: PA: BA Date: 12/05/14 Loaded Date: 12/25/14

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by Brian Bromberger

“What is a big gay love? A love so big it becomes infi nite; a

love so gay it contains no sorrow, a love so unconditional you can never fi nd it.” These poetic words dream-ily volleyed by the lead character, Bob Bartholomew, point to both the potential and ultimate misfi re of the fi lm Big Gay Love, just released on DVD by TLA Releasing.

The story begins with Bob, a suc-cessful party planner, ready to buy his fi rst house in LA, but he has no one with whom to share it. Bob is chubby and average-looking, which he reminds us ad nauseam through-out the movie. At his best gal-pal Lana’s party he meets “hunky” (at least in comparison to Bob) Andy Darcy, a successful chef, restaurant owner, and budding author of a soon-to-be-published book, A Gay Man’s Guide to Cooking. We know from the start it will be a bumpy ride, though many of the plot ob-stacles border on the trite. Will Bob be able to over-come his own fears and lack of confi dence to fi nd the happiness he so des-perately wants? You can imagine the conclusion of this fi lm within the fi rst 10 minutes, but sadly, by the time Big Gay Love ends, you will have probably lost interest in Bob and Andy’s fate.

Directed by newcomer Ringo Le, the movie stars Jonathan Lisecki, the writ-er, director, and co-star of Gayby, a superior movie from two years ago. Lisecki reminds viewers of a to-tally out, younger version of Nathan Lane. He plays a similar character in Big Gay Love, but with less

charm and vulnerability. Bob is an incessant pity-party whining about his inadequacies. He hates himself but in a self-deprecating way, which is amusing for about 15 minutes, then quickly becomes annoying. Oddly, Bob is as self-obsessed and narcissistic as he accuses LA’s pretty boys of being. Lisecki knows how to deliver clever one-liners such as calling Andy the love child of the Naked Chef and Carrie Bradshaw. Alas, a dozen funny quips cannot alone make a good movie. Bob con-tinues to sabotage his relationship with Andy, and after a while you just want to slap him and bring him to his senses.

The main culprit here is an inane script including a pointless section on Bob’s infatuation with liposuc-tion surgery. All the subordinate characters are cartoonish, from the fl ighty 20something gay couple who try to seduce Andy to Bob’s mother, a former USO singer now

See page 24 >>


Thu 25Into the Woods @ MetreonStephen Sondheim’s much-anticipated fi lm adaptation of the fairy tale musical is fi nally in theatres. Various times, and at other Bay Area theatres. 101 4th St. 369-6000. Also Dec. 26: Leathermen at the Movies, 7:30pm at AMC Van Ness 14, 1000 Van Ness Ave. AMCTheatres.com

Kung Pao Kosher Comedy @ New Asia Restaurant22nd annual Chinese food and Jewish humor night returns, with Ophira Eisenberg, Jeremy Holtz, Simon Cadel, and host Lisa Geduldig. Enjoy a seven-course dinner show at 5pm ($65), or the 8:30pm cocktail show (veggie dim sum) $45. Also Dec. 24 & 26. 772 Pacifi c Ave. www.KosherComedy.com

The Monster Show @ The EdgeCookie Dough’s weekly drag show with gogo guys. Special Dec. 25 Christmas night show takes on the music of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Free Family Day @ Contemporary Jewish MuseumEnjoy all the museum’s exhibit and kid-friendly activities. 736 Mission St. 655-7881. www.thecjm.org

Fri 26Avenue Q @ New Conservatory Theatre CenterThe local production of the naughty hit Broadway puppet musical returns! (Music and lyrics by Robert Lopez & Jeff Marx; Book by Jeff Whitty). $22.50-$45. Wed-Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Extended thru Feb 1. 25 Van Ness Ave., lower level. www.nctcsf.org

A Christmas Carol @ Geary TheatreAmerican Conservatory Theatre’s annual large-scale production of Paul Walsh and Carey Perloff’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge. $20-$110. Evening and matinees thru Dec. 28. 415 Geary St. 439-2309. act-sf.org

Cinderella @ Marines’ Memorial TheatreCampy comic family-friendly production of the British panto version of the classic fairy tale includes drag performances by Jason Brock and Matthew Simmons (as Peggy L’Eggs). $40-$60. Thu-Sat 7:30pm. Thru Dec. 28. 609 Sutter St. (800) 838-3006. www.pantosf.com

Cirque du Soleil @ AT&T Park LotThe Montreal acrobatic circus returns with their new show, Kurious: Cabinet of Curiosities, a steampunk-themed spectacle. $53-$135. Tue-Sat 8pm. Fri & Sat 4:30pm. Sun 1:30pm & 5pm. Thru Jan. 18. Third Street at Terry A. Francis Blvd. (800) 450-1480. www.cirquedusoleil.com

Foodies, the Musical @ Shelton TheaterMorris Bobrow’s musical comedy revue of songs and sketches about food. $32-$34. Fri & Sat 8pm. Open run. 533 Sutter St. (800) 838-3006. www.foodiesthemusical.com

The Jewelry Box @ The MarshBrian Copeland’s solo show about his family’s eccentric holiday memories, when as a six-year-old trying to get employment to buy his grandma a gift. $30-$100. Thu & Fri 8pm. Sat 5pm. Thru Dec. 27. 1062 Valencia St. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Kinky Boots @ Orpheum TheatreThe national touring company of the hit Broadway adaptation of the fi lm –about a failing shoe factory owner who collaborates with a drag queen– won six Tonys, and includes songs by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein. $40-$300. Fri & Sat 2pm and 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Dec. 28. 1192 Market St. at 8th. (888) 746 1799. www.shnsf.com

Mittens and Mistletoe @ Dance Mission TheaterSweet Can Productions’ annual winter cirucs cabaret show returns, with a dazzling array of talented Bay Area circus artists. $15-$60. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun-Wed 2pm. Sun, Wed, Fri 4pm. Thru Dec. 28. 3316 24th st. 225-7281. www.sweetcanproductions.com

New & Classic Films @ Castro TheatreDec 26: Casablanca (2:55, 7pm) and The African Queen (4:55, 9pm). Dec. 27: All About Eve (1:25, 6:30pm) and The Women (4pm, 9:05). Dec. 28: Gone With the Wind (2:30)and Django Unchained (6:45). Dec. 29: My Fair Lady (2pm, 8pm) and The Music Man (5:15). Dec. 30: The Thin Man (3pm, 7pm) and A Day at the Races (4:45, 8:45). $11-$16. 429 Castro St. 621-6120. www.castrotheatre.com

Our Town @ Ashby Stage, BerkeleyShotgun Players’ unusual take on the classic drama by Thornton Wilder (a 1915 Berkeley High graduate!) includes live music and a haunting take on life and death in a small town. $23-$30. Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 5pm. Extended thru Jan. 25. 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. (510) 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org

Promises, Promises @ SF PlayhouseBurt Bacharach, Hal David and Neil Simon’s lighthearted swingin’ ‘60s Broadway hit gets a local production. Tue-Thu 7pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sat 3pm, Sun 2pm. Thru Jan 10. Kensington Park Hotel, 450 Post St., 2nd fl oor. 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org

Smuin Ballet @ YBCAThe Christmas Ballet: Uncorked, the late choreographer/artistic director Michael Smuin’s holiday dances, and a new work by Amy Seiwert (set to music by Chanticleer), is performed, plus debut pieces from dancers Ben Needham-Wood, Nicole Haskins, and Weston Krukow. $24-$68. Thu-Sat 8pm. Sat & Sun 2pm. Sun 7pm. Thru Dec 27. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 700 Howard St. 912-1899. www.smuinballet.org www.ybca.org

Sat 27Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club FugaziThe musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. Special New Year’s Eve shows Dec. 31, 7pm and 10:15pm, with post-show dancing until 1am ($65-$190). Reg: $25-$160. Beer/wine served; cash only; 21+, except where noted. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 421-4222. beachblanketbabylon.com

Fool La La! @ The Marsh, BerkeleyUnique Derique’s holiday clowning show’s fun for kids and adults alike. $15-$35. Daily 2pm thru Jan. 4 (except Dec. 25, 31 and Jan. 1). 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. 282-3055. www.themarsh.org

Red Hot Patriot @ Berkeley Repertory TheatreKathleen Turner stars in the one-woman show, The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, Allison and Margaret Engel’s acclaimed show about the late Texan political columnist. $29-$81. Tue, Thu-Sat 8pm. Wed & Sun 7pm. Sun 2pm. Extended thru Jan. 11. Roda Theatre, 20171 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. berkeleyrep.org

SF Hiking Club @ Bay BridgeJoin GLBT hikers for an easy six-mile hike on the Bay Bridge Trail from Emeryville to Yerba Buena Island. Bring water, lunch, layers, good shoes, hat, sunscreen. Carpool meets at Safeway sign, Market & Dolores, at 9am. (530) 330-5524. sfhiking.com

Sharon McNight @ Feinstein’s at the NikkoThe veteran cabaret singer performs her popular music and comedy show, Twisted Xmas: A Druid’s View of the Holidays. $25-$40. 8pm. Also Dec. 27, 8pm. ($20 food/drink min.) Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. ticketweb.com

Wicked Games @ Wicked GroundsMonthly (4th Saturdays) evening of board and card games at the kink-friendly SoMa café. 6pm-10pm. 289 8th St. www.wickedgrounds.com

Sun 28Aquascapes @ Conservatory of FlowersFascinating new exhibit of underwater plant sculptures that resemble miniature outdoor English, Asian and classic gardens (thru April 12). Permanent fl oral exhibits as well. Free-$8. Tue-Sun 10am-4pm. Golden Gate Park, 831-2090. www.conservatoryoffl owers.org

Celebrating AIGA @ Museum of Craft and DesignDogpatch warehouse is now a museum store, gallery and program space. Exhibits include Celebrating AIGA (the American professional organization for design). Mon-Fri 9:30am-5:30pm. 2569 Third St. 773-0303. www.sfmcd.org

Houghton Hall: Portrait of an English House @ Legion of HonorExhibition drawn from the collections of a quintessential English country house. Built in Norfolk in the 1720s for England’s fi rst prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, Houghton Hall features suites of grand rooms conceived by architect William Kent as settings for Walpole’s old master paintings, furniture, tapestries and Roman antiquities. $10-$18. Tue-Sat 9:30am-5:115pm. 34th Ave. at Clement. www.legionofhonor.org

Roads of Arabia @ Asian Art MuseumRoads of Arabia: Archeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (thru Jan. 18); Dual Natures in Ceramics: Eight Contemporary Artists from Korea(thru Feb. 22). Other fascinating exhibits as well. Free (members, kids 12 and under)-$15. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm. 200 Larkin St. asianart.org

Songs and Sorrows @ Oakland MuseumDias de Los Muertos 20th Anniversary, a group exhibit of the Mexican-themed art (thru Jan. 4). Fertile Ground: Art and Community in California (thru April 12). Free/$15. Reg. hours Wed-Sat 11am-5pm (Fri til 9pm). 1000 Oak St., Oakland. (510) 318-8400. www.museumca.org

Tours and Exhibits @ The Old MintNew Sunday program offers tours and exhibits about San Francisco’s history. Explore the fascinating building’s grand halls and vaults. $5-$10. Weekly, 1pm-4pm. 88 5th St. 537-1105. www.SFhistory.org

Mon 291964: The Year San Francisco Came Out @ GLBT History MuseumExhibit focusing on San Francisco’s emerging gay culture at the time of the pivotal LIFE magazine feature “Homosexuality in America.” Reg. hours Mon-Sat 11am-7pm. Sun 12pm-5pm. ($5/free for members). 4127 18th St. 621-1107. glbthistory.org

All Aboard @ Walt Disney MuseumA Celebration of Walt Disney’s Trains, thru Feb. 9, plus classic art work and ephemera from the park and animated fi lms. Free/$20. Open daily 10am-6pm. 104 Montgomery St., the Presidio. 345-6800. www.waltdisney.org

Deck the Walls @ NIAD Art Center, RichmondGroup exhibit of art with a holiday theme made by developmentally disabled people. Also, The Geometry of Cats: Recent Work from Ann Meade. Mon-Fri 10am-4pm. 551 23rd St. Richmond. (510) 620-0290. www.niadart.org

Eden Hutchinson @ Glama-RamaThe hair salon hosts the artist’s exhibit of works, Bitter Waitresses, Hair-Brained Hairdressers & Whirling Dervishes. Thru Jan. 4. 304 Valencia St. www.glamarama.com

A Look at the City @ SF Public LibraryMini-exhibit showcases San Francisco in the 1970s era of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. Thru Jan. 8. Other exhibits thorughout the library. 100 Larkin St. www.sfpl.org

Various Exhibits @ California Academy of SciencesExhibits and planetarium shows with various live, interactive and installed exhibits about animals, plants and the earth; special events each week, with adult nightlife parties most Thursday nights. $20-$35. Mon-Sat 9:30am-5pm. Sun 11am-5pm. 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Woods to Wildfl owers @ SF Botanical GardensSee blooming fl oral displays, trees and exhibits. Also, daily walking tours and more, at outdoor exhibits of hundreds of species of native wildfl owers in a century-old grove of towering Coast Redwoods. Free-$15. Daily. Golden Gate Park. 661-1316. www.SFBotanicalGarden.org

Tue 30Alien She @ YBCAThe fi rst exhibition to showcase the impact and ephemera of the Riot Grrrl movement and culture. Free-$15. Exhibit Tue-Sun 12pm-6pm. Thru Jan. 25. 701 Mission St. www.ybca.org

Carl Linkhart @ Glamarama, OaklandDreamscape: The Night Vision of Carl Linkhart, a new exhibit of unusual surreal paintings. Thru Jan. 11. 6399 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.carllinkhart.com www.glamarama.com

Gay Skate Night @ Church on 8 WheelsLGBT night at the former Sacred Heart Church-turned disco roller skate party space, hosted by John D. Miles, the “Godfather of Skate.” Actually every night is gay-friendly, including Saturday’s Black Rock night (Burning Man garb encouraged). Also Wed, Thu, 7pm-10pm. Sat afternoon sessions 1pm-2:30pm and 3pm-5:30pm. $10. Kids 12 and under $5. Skate rentals $5. 554 Fillmore St at Fell. www.churchof8wheels.com

t<< Out&About

Beatus Ianuariis

O&AOut &About

Fri 26Kinky Boots

by Jim Provenzano

Say goodbye to 2014 in whatever way you choose; a big party, a quiet trib-ute, or complete indifference to the Gregorian calendar. Not surprisingly,

a lot of folks like to stay in for New Year’s Eve, aka the drinker’s “amateur night,” so a few festive TV listings have been added. For more boisterous bar fun, see our On the Tab listings on page 34. See you next year!

Shoot That Clown

Mark Gavin

Eric Carmichael

Sat 27Fool La La!

Fri 26

Sat 27

Mittens and Mistletoe

Red Hot Patriot

December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 23

Flaming Lips @ Warfi eldPsychedelic pop band performs. Foxygen and other artists open. $42-$55. 8pm. Also New Year’s Eve show, Dec 31 ($55-$70) 8pm. 982 Market St. www.fl aminglips.com www.thewarfi eldtheatre.com

It’s Everything @ KOFY-TVLocal nightlife host and singer BeBe Sweetbriar’s new streaming web talk show welcomes local celebrities. 7pm. Audience welcome at KOFY-TV, 2500 Marin St. www.BeBeSweetbriar.com

Meditation Group @ LGBT CenterWeekly non-sectarian meditation group; part of the Let’s Kick ASS AIDS Survivor Syndrome support group. Tuesdays, 5pm, 1800 Market St. letskickASS.org www.sfcenter.org

Science Exhibits @ The ExploratoriumVisit the fascinating science museum in its new Embarcadero location. Free-$25. Pier 15 at Embarcadero. Tue-Sun 10am-5pm (Thu night 6pm-10pm, 18+). 528-4893. exploratorium.edu

Stranger Than Life @ Cartoon Art MuseumThe Cartoons and Comics of M.K. Brown (thru Feb 15). Other exhibits and events. Free-$8. Tue-Sun 11am-5pm. 655 Mission St. 227-8666. www.cartoonart.org

Wed 31Art/Act: Maya Lin @ David Brower CenterExhibit of new works by the sculptor/designer (Vietnam Memorial). Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. Sun 10am-1pm. Thru Feb 4, 2015. 2150 Allston Way, Berkeley. www.browercenter.org

At Large: Ai Weiwei @ Alcatraz IslandThe internationally acclaimed Chinese sculpture’s exhibit of seven site-specifi c multimedia installations; the largest art exhibit ever hosted by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. $18-$30. Daily except major holidays thru April 26, 2015. www.AiWeiWeiAlcatraz.org

Drapetomania @ Museum of the African DiasporaGrupo Antillano and the Art of Afro-Cuba, a new exhibit of works by the Grupo Antillano, the name given to an outstanding group of artists in the 1970s and 80s, at the re-opened African-Caribbean art and crafts museum. Also Lava Thomas: Beyond is a two-part exhibition. Free/$10. Thru Jan. 4. 685 Mission St. moadsf.org

Edith Piaf: Beneath Paris Skies @ Cinnabar Theater, PetalumaWorld premiere of a concert/theatre tribute to singer Edith Piaf, with fi ve singers and a fi ve-piece band; adapted for the stage by Valentina Osinski, Michael Van Why and Lauren Lundgren. $9-$66. New Year’s Eve opening ngiht 9:30pm. Fri & Sat 8pm. Sun 2pm. Thru Jan. 18. 3333 Petaluma Blvd. North, Petaluma. (707) 763-8920. www.cinnabartheater.org

Keith Haring: The Political Line @ de Young MuseumNew exhibit of 130 large-scale paintings, sculptures and retrieved subway drawings by the late great gay graffi ti artist who came to global fame. Free-$26-$41. Also, Anthony Friedkin: The Gay Essay, an exhibit of photos, and an audiovisual installation, by the Los Angeles artist who focused on gay underground culture of the late 1960s and early ‘70s in SF and LA. Thru Jan. 11, 2015. Lines on the Horizon: Native American Art from the Weisel Family Collection, thru Jan. 4, 2015. Tue-Sun 9:30am-5:15pm. Thru Feb. 16. Golden Gate Park, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. 750-3600. www.famsf.org

Shopping @ Eureka TheatreTheatre Rhinoceros presents a one-night-only productoin of Morris Bobrow’s musical comedy about consumerism. $20-$25. 8pm. 215 Jackson St. at Battery. (800) 838-3006. www.TheRhino.org

Twenty Favorite Photographs @ Robert Tat GalleryPopular photographs selected by the gallery’s collectors, including Imogen Cuningham, James Bidgood, Walker Evans, Aaron Siskind and others. Thru Feb. 28. 49 Geary St. 781-1122. www.roberttat.com

Thu 1Great Performances @ PBSJulie Andrews hosts the annual From Vienna: The New Year’s Celebration, with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienaa State Ballet performing great works, with Zubin Mehta conducting. 9pm. www.pbs.org

J. Otto Seibold and Mr. Lunch @ Contemporary Jewish MuseumNew exhibit of works by the beloved children’s book author. Also, Arnold Newman: Masterclass, an exhibit of prints by the infl uential photographer. Other exhibits, lectures and gallery talks as well. Free (members)-$12. Fri-Tue 11am-5pm, Thu 11am-8pm (closed Wed). 736 Mission St. 655-7800. www.thecjm.org

Tom and Jerry’s Home Display @ Church & SanchezSee the annual over-the-top festive holiday house display, with a a Santa in attendance. Daily 6:30pm-9:30pm. Free. Thru Jan. 1. 3560 21st St. at Church. www.tinyurl.com/mhh98vz

Safeway Holiday Ice Rink @ Union SquareThe seventh annual ice skating festivities, including special events (Macy’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Nov. 28, 6pm); continues thru Jan 19. $7-$11. Skate rentals $6. Powell St. at Geary. 781-2688. www.unionsquareicerink.com

To submit event listings, email [email protected]. Deadline is each Thursday, a week before publica-tion. For more bar and nightlife events, go to On the Tab in our BARtab section, online at www.ebar.com/bartab

tOut&About>>

Chesire Isaac

Fri 26

Thu 25

Mon 29

Our Town

Into the Woods

Deck the Walls

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

by Brian Bromberger

Two big themes dominated 2014’s gay nonfi ction books.

First was the renewed interest in AIDS. Enough time has elapsed so that we can look back and as-sess what was lost and learned during the heartbreaking period when HIV was a death sentence. Second were the reverberations within the LGBT community af-ter last year’s landmark Supreme Court cases legitimizing same-sex marriage, as well as asking the challenging question, are gay and lesbian people becoming too assimilationist? Also with mainstream acceptance there has come a desire to revisit gay history recovering overlooked or underappreciated heroes who made recent societal approval of LGBT people possible. Any Top 10 list is subjective, and all crit-ics are biased. Nevertheless, here are my Top 10 Gay Nonfi ction Books of 2014, in ascending or-der:

10. A Heaven of Words: Last Journals, 1956-1984 by Glenway Westcott. Winner of this year’s Lambda Literary Award for best au-tobiography-memoir, these are the fi nal journal entries of the infl uen-tial gay midcentury American poet and writer Glenway Westcott. Edi-tor Jerry Rosco makes the case that Wescott’s lasting literary legacy is in his witty, melancholic, and insight-ful journals (including his sexual ex-ploits with and without his famous 50+ year partner Monroe Wheeler), which perhaps allowed him hon-esty and eroticism he wasn’t able to convey in his novels due to the ho-mophobia of his day.

9. Gay Is Good: The Life and Letters of Gay Rights Pioneer Franklin Kameny, edited by Mi-chael Long. A decisive force in the early gay rights movement, Kameny was fi red from his U.S. government job as an astronomer and argued his case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1961. Though he lost, his was the fi rst civil rights claim based on sexual orientation, the start of many activist accomplishments. Through the 150 letters he wrote from 1958 to 1975, Kameny’s provocative, inspir-ing, and infuriating voice is restored, underscoring that he deserves to be remembered and celebrated.

8. Positive: One Doctor’s Per-sonal Encounter with Death, Life,

and the U.S. Healthcare System by Michael Saag. An AIDS memoir by one of the principal researcher/clini-cians who founded the 1917 Clinic at the University of Alabama as a new, improved version of Ward 86 at SF’s General Hospital. The core feature of the book is the emotionally exhilarating and gut-wrenching case histories of patients stricken with the illness, unfortunately diluted by alternating chapters of a manifesto attacking our broken healthcare system and Saag’s vision of how to fi x it. Two books crammed into one, but crucial read-ing from one of the doctors whom HIV+ patients owe their lives today.

7. Forcing the Spring: In-side the Fight for Marriage Equality by Jo Becker. This provocative account of the historic Prop 8 Supreme Court case became a deserved bestseller. Beck-er, a NY Times investigative report-er, embedded herself for 4.5 years with the lawyers and four plaintiffs. Vilifi ed by the gay intelligentsia, her chief sin was not providing a background chapter providing the historical, legal and political back-ground of the fi ght for gay marriage, which certainly did not begin with Prop 8. While a fl aw in the book, it is not a fatal one, as this detailed behind-the-scenes record is a dra-matic page-turner even though we know the fi nal outcome.

6. Tennessee Williams: Mad Pil-grimage of the Flesh by John La hr. Lahr, the theater critic for The New Yorker, has written a compelling bi-ography of America’s greatest play-wright with the possible exception of Eugene O’Neill. Lahr is superb at analyzing all his plays, even the fl ops, and argues persuasively that Wil-liams channeled his turbulent life into his art, especially his family and lovers, who became stage characters. An ego-maniac, Williams’ decades-long spiraling descent into alcohol and prescription drug addiction is sympathetically rendered, though the role that anti-gay societal atti-tudes played, both professionally and personally, should have been given greater weight than it is here.

5. Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism by R.W. Holmen. This mammoth, 600-page history charts the 40-year struggle in mainline Protestantism (all fi ve denominations) for the full inclu-sion of gay and lesbian Christians. Written by a straight Lutheran lawyer and grass roots advocate, this comprehensive, exhaustively researched story chronicles the evo-lution from rejection to welcome. The Bay Area is well-represented in this inspiring journey as we get to re-experience many of the moving personal stories of these courageous witnesses (gay and straight) once derided as divisive heretics.

4. Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father by Alysia Abbott. Alysia’s father was SF gay poet/author Steve Abbott, who wrote many years ago for the B.A.R., and died of AIDS in 1992. She beautifully chronicles queer bohemian life in 1970s Haight Ashbury and the early years of the AIDS epidemic, with her primary source material being her father’s journals and letters. One of the many strengths of the book is Aly-sia’s fearlessness in revealing her father’s fl aws as well as her own in describing her unconventional up-bringing. Fairyland now becomes a vital part of the narrative history of SF queer culture.

3. Gay Berlin: Birthplace of a Modern Identity by Robert Beachy. Covering the period from the 1860s to the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s, the book highlights two key fi gures: Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, the fi rst openly gay man who believed homosexuality should not be criminalized; and Magnus Hirschfeld, who through his Institute for Sexual Science tried to prove same-sex desire is an inborn biological characteris-tic. Berlin became the showcase for uninhibited urban sexual ex-perimentation. This book makes a convincing case that Germany played a decisive role in construct-ing our modern understanding of sexual orientation and gay identity.

2. Body Counts: A Memoir of Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survivalby Sean Strub. A people’s history of AIDS activism, written by the founder of POZ magazine. Diag-nosed with HIV in 1985 and after

watching so many of his friends dying of AIDS, Strub started par-ticipating in ACT-UP/New York. In humorous and poignant detail we relive demonstrations where a giant condom is draped over the home of AIDS funding foe Senator Jesse Helms, and Cardinal O’Connor’s mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral is interrupted. The book is totally ab-sorbing, gossipy, but candid, bring-ing back the sense of panic and ur-gency of those early years of despair and wasted lives.

1. The Tolerance Trap: How God, Genes, and Good Intentions are Sabotaging Gay Equality by Suzanne Danuta Walters. Walters argues that despite the end of the military’s DADT and the Supreme Court decisions validating same-sex marriage, we have settled for a wa-tered-down tolerance as perpetual outsiders rather than full civil rights as equal citizens. She asks uncom-fortable questions with no superfi -cial answers, attacking both conser-vative and liberal orthodoxies about LGBTs, such as rooting civil rights in biological determinism. Walters recognizes the huge advances that have been made, but convinces us it is far too soon to declare victory. She presents a humane, snarky, compas-sionate vision of gay uniqueness via scholarly but accessible cultural criticism.t


t

2014 in gay non� ction<< Books

Queer Clergy: A History

Beachy. Covering the period from the 1860s to the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s, the book highlights two key fi gures: Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, the fi rst openly gay man who believed homosexuality should not be criminalized; and Magnus Hirschfeld, who through his Institute for Sexual Science tried to prove same-sex desire is an inborn biological characteris-tic. Berlin became the showcase for uninhibited urban sexual ex-perimentation. This book makes a convincing case that Germany played a decisive role in construct-ing our modern understanding of sexual orientation and gay identity.

Politics, Sex, AIDS, and Survivalby Sean Strub. A people’s history of AIDS activism, written by the founder of nosed with HIV in 1985 and after

attempting a comeback as an artist with semi-pornographic wall draw-ings of her vagina and breasts. Ac-tress Ann Walker manages to create a spirited portrait of a self-obsessed egomaniac. Nicholas Brendon (Xander on TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer) gives Andy depth, which

makes Bob’s continual rejection of him incomprehensible. There is little chemistry between him and Li-secki, and the big sex scene between them is a bust.

The fi lm deals with themes such as the gay obsession with looks and youth, and the search to be accepted as one is. Regrettably, the script de-generates into New Age cliches with lines such as, “In the gay universe, a

million stars are waiting to be born. They just need a little encourage-ment,” or, “Anything you have ever wanted to be is inside of you, and all you need is a little love to make that passion grow.” Lisecki is never dull, and there are a few humorous scenes, but the substantive movie critiquing the narcissism and gym-body infatuation of the LGBT sub-culture is still waiting to be made.t

<< Big Gay Love From page 21


Kings of queens

Nonstop virtuosity

Books>>

by Tim Pfa�

If force-fed holiday music has you down, modern opera offers some

quick routes out. For the really fast lane, there’s Gerald Barry’s The Im-portance of Being Earnest (NMC Recordings), an hour-plus screech through the familiar Oscar Wilde play with music doing the job of Wilde’s rapier wit, and more. The composer himself has whittled a libretto from the already fast-paced play, then dressed it up with music of lightning strikes. And did I men-tion? It’s also black comedy, but side-splittingly so.

Knowing the play could only help, but newcomers to Barry’s manic music – and, generally, peo-ple who think at normal speed – will be grateful for the enclosed libretto, if only as something to hang onto. The opera, a co-commission with the LA Philharmonic and here re-corded in a concert performance at London’s Barbican in 2012, stops just this side of the complete absurd, but there’s no mistaking the genius at work at every turn. The nonstop virtuosity fi nds perfect executants in the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group conducted by gay all-around contemporary music genius Thomas Ades.

You know you’re not really on Half Moon Street anymore when Barry’s version of “Auld Lang Syne” – all piano forearm chords with the familiar melody sounding out in some post-Ivesian distance – comes barreling out of the speakers. While on the one hand it’s an obvious pity that the performance is audio only – the opera has, since, been staged in Nancy and London, with largely the same cast – on the other, there’s

only so much a mind can keep track of, and the audio is essential.

Barry sends up a good deal of other music – a frantic ensemble version of Schiller’s Ode to Joy, with hints of Beethoven, is one of its most memorable moments – and the lampooning of German music in the later acts is delectable even to confi rmed Lieder-lovers. Yet what sticks in the ear, sort of, is the wild invention of Barry’s musical lines. They’re energetically supercharged and reel off in one direction only to take hairpin turns into another, but in the end they create character. Barry may set the text just this side of the speed of sound, but the right cast – and this is it – makes it dizzy-

ing fun. Sometimes you feel you’ve stumbled into a rehearsal of a Vir-gil Thomson opera, other times the Berg of Lulu, complete with Sprech-stimme. Against all odds, it’s all genuine.

Just knowing that the part of Lady Bracknell is written for bass (a highly resourceful Alan Dewing) should tell you a lot. While “her” music rarely requires actual low notes, the timbre achieved by send-ing a bass into head voice is, to use a small word, distinctive. Soprano Barbara Hannigan – for whom Barry wrote a solo one-act opera, La Plus Forte, based on the Strindberg play – is simply astonishing as Ce-cily Cardew, sometimes singing on

the nosebleed end of the scale (far off the staff) but if anything even more effective in the considerable spoken portion of her role.

Hannigan – my musician of the year; she conducted while singing at last summer’s prestigious Lucerne Festival, and plainly will now be doing more of that – is also at the center of a newly released DVD set of Berg’s Lulu (whose title role she was born to sing) from The Mon-naie in Brussels, also in 2012 (Bel-Air Classiques). Without her clear command of one of the most elu-sive characters in opera – her notes about her deep identifi cation with the scrappy fi ghter-survivor in Lulu are worth the price of admission

– the hyperactive production by Krzystof Warlikowski might go off the rails, or, as it turns out, the barre. But the director shrewdly hangs his concept of Lulu on the fact that she is, among the many other things she is, a dancer (literally so in the fi rst act), and Hannigan gives him every-thing he could possibly want.

She sings a good deal of Lulu’s torturous fi rst-act music in a tutu – and en pointe, and for real – and she inhabits the nymph (whom Warlikowski conceives as a primal Lilith, mate of Adam, banished from Paradise) to its far corners and beyond. She performs with a fre-quently shocking level of generos-ity, and a paradoxically low level of self-consciousness, and her singing of the notoriously demanding score is as close to perfect as could be ex-pected – or as you’d want in acting this adventurous and unsparing.

In the same way that Barry’s op-era feels like one that Wilde would relish, this Lulu is consistently Ber-gian in spirit, if sometimes too smart by half. The opera unfolds in three onstage performance spaces simultaneously, with some very fi ne child dancers and a superb balle-rina playing a Black Swan off Lulu’s bruised White Sawn counterpart. And many mimes. Not surprisingly, the Artist (a terrifi c Tom Randle) is a video artist, but the updating works superbly when Lulu forces Dr. Schoen (Dietrich Henschel at his most acute, playing an alarming-ly young-looking Schoen and Jack the Ripper) to text (yes, the verb) his betrothed the cancellation of their wedding. Sadly, the loser – yet again – is the lesbian Countess Geschwitz (Natahsa Petrinsky), who this time just gets lost in the shuffl e.t

by Jim Piechota

The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year by Andy Cohen; Henry Holt, $26

Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris; Crown Books, $26

Has the reality-TV circus gone too far? Not for ringleader

Andy Cohen, whose newly released epistolary mini-memoir depicts a year in his life as the Bravo televi-sion network’s gay golden boy. In The Andy Cohen Diaries: A Deep Look at a Shallow Year, he’s a chatty, effervescent tour guide escorting readers along the kind of glitzy, self-indulgent red carpet he’s become well-accustomed to, yet doesn’t seem to enjoy all that much. For all of the star sightings and parties and Housewives reunion showdowns, Cohen does a lot of kvetching.

Aside from the daily business-life of a Bravo executive producer, the author’s “human” side pops up quite often. The book softens in places where Cohen writes about his dog, Wacha, a constant companion who offers so much more than the occa-sional unconditional love and sup-port (pet owners can surely relate), or when he waxes nostalgic for his youth in the early 1990s, acknowl-edging that today’s New York City is “less glamorous and debauched, but no less fun.”

While there’s a certain thrill that comes from reading about how Cher and Madonna behave (does Madge really mouth the words to her own songs at parties?) or what they text and tweet, we can also sincerely ap-preciate the more charmless, cringe-worthy aspects of his showbiz life, which is shared generously and quite candidly throughout.

Cohen, 46, writes of being just

a “wide-eyed twenty-one-year-old intern at CBS News” back in 1989 when his journalism career had just begun, but that’s about as far back as he’s willing to go. The book’s year-in-the-life chronology launches in the fall of 2013, when he gets U.S. Open tickets for his parents and he writes of sitting in front of a humorless Martha Stewart and behind Kevin Spacey, who sported a “face full of makeup” and three male compan-ions who “were defi nitely not rais-ing any questions.” Celebrity outing seems to be something Cohen feels justifi ed to partake in, apparently.

The latitude of this self-pro-claimed “pop culture obsessive” seems endless as Cohen gleefully glosses across days spent taking business calls while getting massag-es, and nights hosting Bravo’s Watch

What Happens Live, where Lady Gaga once urinated in her dressing-room garbage can.

A good portion of the material is gratuitously titillating; however, in a nearly 350-page book, this leaves plenty of room for lukewarm scenes with his doorman Surfi n, screeching at a beetle infestation in his bathroom, and mean-spiritedly pondering the demise of his elderly upstairs neighbor so he can convert his condo into a duplex. This leaves the truly pedestrian: do readers re-ally care that the author ate French onion soup and branzino at a stiff dinner with his ex?

Cohen’s opinions of the unmiti-gated cruelty apparent within our own community (“Gay people will eat other gay people alive”), of his loneliness, of his struggles with

weight issues, and of fi nding love in the age of social-media devilry are refreshingly grounded, anchor-ing all the silly gossip to the real dirt found in everyday life.

So the book’s “shallow” subtitle can be construed as something of a misnomer, as there is indeed some substance in these pages. But there are also mountains of fl uff – depending upon how much im-portance you place on Madonna’s career, dating on Tinder, and a sum-mer vacation spent chasing Speedos on Fire Island. Ultimately, Cohen is an affable, hyperactively goofy, and exceedingly self-deprecating narrator. Though his book is often “grossly opportunistic” (Cohen’s own words), it’s still a defi nite must-have item for readers who thirst for endless pages of Hollywood dish or

those dedicated viewers of Bravo TV’s melodramatic Real House-wives franchise.

Freedom of choiceNeil Patrick Harris’ consider-

ably larger fan-base will revel in his new autobiography, Choose Your Own Autobiography. Curiously, it’s been modeled after the Choose Your Own Adventure game-book series, replete with illustrations, photo-graphs, a “cryptic crossword puz-zle,” shticky commentary on gay life, and a heartfelt chapter on life with his par tner, actor and chef David Burtka, and the surrogacy process gifting them with the birth of twins.

Of course, there is suffi cient de-tail of Harris’ youth growing up in Ruidoso, New Mexico, and of his stage and screen stardom on such hits as Doogie Howser, M.D. and How I Met Your Mother, and of more recent work in the Broadway production of Hedwig and the An-gry Inch (he won a Tony Award), the fi lm Gone Girl, and the fan-favorite, gothic television drama American Horror Story.

The narrative even delves into the more provocative parts of Har-ris’ life, in the form of past LSD trips and sex romps courtesy of the “golden age” of AOL chat rooms. The book further branches out to include cocktail recipes, magic card-tricks courtesy of “Neil the Magnifi -cent,” Doogie Howser references, campy celebrity “cameos,” and a few pages of silly Twitter tweets.

Though there’s nothing too ter-ribly earth-shattering to be found in either of these two autobiographies, there is suffi cient cuteness and clev-er creativity to please the masses. It just depends on whether readers prefer their celebrity memoir vigor-ously shaken (Cohen) or gingerly stirred (Harris).t

1. The Totalitarians SF play-wright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s new political satire was a little bit scary and a whole lot funny as it chron-icled the rise of a fear-mongering candidate with fascistic tendencies. Nachtrieb’s wonderful sense of the absurd found a fi ne forum in the Z Space-Encore Theatre production sharply directed by Ken Pres-tininzi and featuring an in-sync cast com-prised of Jamie Jones, Liam Vincent, Andrew Humann, and Alexis Lezin.

2. The Whale As the title character in Samuel D. Hunter’s funny/sad play, Nicolas Pelczar delivered an agonizingly detailed and ultimately triumphant performance as a grief-stricken gay man eating himself to death following his lover’s death. Director Jasson Minadakis’ produc-tion at Marin Theatre Company was all the more powerful for its pa-tient approach to the accumulation of short scenes, with vivid perfor-mances also coming from Cristina

Oeschger, Adam Magill, Liz Sklar, and Michelle Maxson.

3. Painting the Clouds with Sunshine Instead of reviving an old musical, which is its forte, 42nd Street Moon created its own “old” musical and provided it with a sunny new production. Co-written by Greg MacKellan and Mark D. Kaufman, and directed

by Kaufman, the show was a playful amalgam of old musical tropes made even more fun through the use of lesser-known songs by

the giants of the era. It can’t be easy working a song titled “Gather Lip Rouge While You May” into a story, but

the Moon team did it with panache.

4. Ideation Written before the Ebola crisis had emerged, but staged by San Francisco Playhouse just as panicky headlines were appearing, Aaron Loeb’s mordant comedy felt eerily prescient. Even without that specifi c immediacy, the play offered a caustic look at how corporate paranoia can spin out of control, as a think-tank team is charged with concocting a plan to liquidate car-

riers of a hypothetical virus for the common good. Loeb’s script had a lot more laughs than that summary might suggest, rooted largely in the increasingly complicated relation-ships among the corporate play-ers. Jason Kapoor, Mark Anderson Phillips, Michael Ray Wisely, Carrie Paff, and Ben Euphrat brought edgy comedy to these characters under Josh Costello’s taut direction.

5. The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Social-ism with a Key to the ScripturesTony Kushner’s newest play clocked in at nearly four hours, but given the number of ideas and subplots being juggled, it could almost be called a streamlined affair. At the play’s cen-ter, the quietly charismatic Mark Margolis played an old union orga-nizer whose family – a group with many, many issues – has gathered to dissuade him from the assisted sui-cide he has planned for himself. The multiple verbal collisions could be frustrating at times to sort out, but the emotionally wrenching, intellec-tually stimulating, and thematically unwieldy play found fulfi lling life under Tony Taccone’s direction at Berkley Rep.

6. The Habit of Art In one of Theatre Rhino’s classiest produc-tions in memory, Alan Bennett’s ingenious play-within-a-play gave us big-laugh backstage humor as well as the emotionally charged scenes that a somewhat disorga-nized troupe is trying to rehearse. An imagined late-life meeting be-tween the poet W.H. Auden and the composer Benjamin Britten circled around confl icting views on the proper approach to acting on their homosexuality in 1973 England. Director John Fisher played Britten and had an equal sparring partner in Donald Currie’s Auden in this stylish gift to local audiences.

7. Into the Woods Well, the mov-ie is now out, and word-of-mouth reports it’s a pretty good rendering of the musical. San Francisco Play-house offered a very good rendering of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s fairytale mash-up. Direc-tor Susi Damilano’s production highlighted the humor in the mate-rial without undercutting its darker sides, and the cast brought airy in-dividuality to the characters, even if the impact of some songs was lost in an awkwardly utilized set. But the production reemphasized Into the Woods as a musical that seems only to improve with time – at least in as good a production as provided here.

8. Hir Liberation from labels pushes a happy homemaker to the edge of insanity in Taylor Mac’s ab-surdist comedy that had its world premiere at the Magic Theatre. Nancy Opel was terrifi c and fright-ening as Paige, who has turned her home into a trashed circus as she tortures her now-disabled husband, mockingly embraces her daughter’s sexual transitioning into a gay man, and further rattles her war-rattled son returning from Afghanistan. Director Niegel Smith found con-trol and balance in a play of hairpin

turns that swerved among the trag-ic, the comic, and the absurd.

9. Die Mommie Die! New Con-servatory Theatre Center provided Charles Busch’s comedy with a high-tone production featuring a commanding performance by J. Conrad Frank in the star-turn role that Busch wrote for himself. Frank played Angela Arden, an ag-ing celebrity dealing with a family of disturbing neuroses in a send-up of the kind of movies Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were making late in their careers. Director F. Allen Saw-yer knew where to fi nd the laughs, and he was abetted by Kuo-Hao Lo’s luxurious bad-taste set and Mr. David’s splendiferous gowns that Frank worked to the max.

10. An Audience with Meow Meow The Australian-born per-former known as Meow Meow has a considerable following both Down Under and in London, but she ar-rived at Berkeley Rep pretty much an unknown quantity. Offering herself up as a chanteuse worthy of adoration, even as her cabaret show grows increasingly shambolic, the tottering Meow Meow demanded increasing affi rmation from an au-dience that needed a sense of irony to get on board. But directed by the magical Emma Rice of Kneehigh Theatre, the performance ended with Meow Meow crowd-surfi ng through the audience that seemed delighted to give her the support she needed.t

by David-Elijah Nahmod

We don’t see big-budgeted gay/LGBT themed fi lms very of-

ten. Pride, a recent release produced by BBC Films now out on DVD/Blu-Ray, is one of the most uplifting fi lms to be released in quite some time. The fi lm’s title is most fi tting.

Set in London and Wales during the Thatcher e ra, Pride tells the true story of Mark Ashton (Ben Sch-netzer), an idealistic young gay ac-tivist who aligns himself with strik-ing Welsh coal miners. At fi rst, the residents of the small Welsh town of Onllwyn aren’t terribly enthusiastic about the young queers who come

to their village and offer to help. There are also a few queers who have no interest in becoming allies with people they view as gay-bash-ers. Slowly but surely, an unlikely al-liance is formed, as both sides learn some important lessons about toler-ance, and about the need for com-munities to build bridges.

Pride is a powerful message fi lm, yet it never preaches. There are some genuine laughs, such as when a group of miner’s wives eagerly ex-amines one of their new friend’s gay porn stash. The ladies laugh hysteri-cally, wishing their husbands were as endowed as the well-hung models.

There are also many profoundly

moving moments, some of which might induce viewers to tears. In one scene, retired miner Cliff (Bill Nighy) turns to an old friend and says, “I’m gay.” “I know,” she replies. “I can’t speak for the rest of the village, but I’ve known since 1968.” They quietly continue making sandwiches.

There are characters on both sides of the fence who are dealing with coming-out issues. As a direct result of his involvement in the min-er’s strike, young, semi-closeted gay activist Joe (George MacKay) fi nds the courage to come out to his ho-mophobic family and leave home. “I hope we can be friends again, Mum,” he says tearfully, as he walks

out the door.Life lessons are learned in the

mining community as well. Miner’s wife Sian (Jessica Gunning) fi nds her own voice through her involve-ment with the gay activists. She returns to school. In 2005, Sian James was elected to Parliament. She remains in offi ce today, and was a strong opponent to renewed air strikes in Iraq.

These are real-life people, and Pride tells a groundbreaking story. It all happened, and it led to the Brit-ish Labor Party’s support for LGBT equality. Few LGBT fi lms have been more important, more worthy of viewing, than Pride.t


t

Uplifting ‘Pride’<< DVD


415370


<< 2014 Theatre From page 17

Nancy Opel played a happy homemaker-turned-maniac in Taylor Mac’s Hir at the Magic Theatre.

With Painting the Clouds with Sunshine, 42nd Street Moon created a new “old’ musical that it staged with panache.

Jennifer Reiley

David Allen

former CJM director Connie Wolf at the helm, the Cantor Arts Center, the little museum with a fat endow-ment and a splendid collection of Rodin sculpture, experienced a re-surgence, with shows on Carleton Watkins, the great 19th-century photographer who captured the vastness and grandeur of the Amer-ican West when the region was as remote as a distant planet; Elizabeth Murray, the New York abstract post-modernist painter who thought outside the box, plunging into ad-ventures in 3-D in both printmak-ing and painting with zest and zani-ness; and Sympathy for the Devil: Satan, Sin, and the Underworld, which featured artists’ evolving im-ages of the devil over the past 500 years, from fallen angel and horned beast to suave Mephistopheles.

The year was also marked by what was missing. Despite a series of satellite exhibitions at host ven-ues, SFMOMA’s absence was keenly felt, and surprisingly, other Bay Area institutions failed to step in to fill the void and grab the spotlight. The Museum of the African Diaspora was largely MIA while undergo-ing renovation, and the Berkeley Art Museum closed its doors this month and won’t reopen in its new digs until 2016. Alternative spaces, sometimes run out of storefronts or curators’ apartments, proliferated in the city as well as in Oakland, fast evolving into the city’s answer to Brooklyn for hipsters and art-ists. In a disturbing ongoing trend, non-profits were displaced by San Francisco’s astronomical rents, the highest-profile casualty being Meridian Gallery. Run by the be-loved powerhouse Anne Trueblood Brodzky, it valiantly fought evic-tion from its gracious Powell Street home, but ultimately was forced to move its various programs to three different locations.

Herewith, more highs and lows of

the year that was.Best Blast from the Past:

Roads of Arabia. Enter a time capsule and journey back a million years to the outer edges of history on the Ara-bian peninsula, courtesy of this archaeology buff ’s dream of an exhibition, exquisitely displayed (per usual) at the Asian Art Museum, which consistently sets the bar high.

Triumph of Hype Over Substance: @Large: Ai Wei-wei on Alcatraz. It’s difficult to recall another event in re-cent memory that arrived on such a tidal wave of publicity. It was an ambitious project with an irresistible premise: a Chinese dissident artist un-der house arrest in his native country creating a series of installations meditating on freedom of expression and prisoners of conscience for the sto-ried ghost prison in San Francisco Bay. But the results didn’t deliver on the promise, in part because the art-ist wasn’t able to commune with this haunted atmospheric site in person.

Most Joy in a Public Space: Keith Haring: The Political Line at the de Young Museum. Though its themes and motifs were redundant, it was hard to resist the humanity and in-fectious vitality of this 1,000-watt gay artist who wanted to change the world and did; Hofmann by Hof-mann at BAM, where a riot of color harmonized with lush gobs of im-pasto from an artist and respected teacher who was still going strong well into his 70s and 80s. To be in a gallery surrounded by his paintings was to be energized by his exuberant life force.

Maximum Exposure While Indisposed: SFMOMA kept their impressive collections on the radar and out of storage through “col-laborative” exhibitions that yielded mixed results. The most successful venture was Fertile Ground, a fas-cinating survey of communities of

Golden State artists from the 1930s to the present, at the Oakland Mu-seum, which integrated SFMOMA’s contributions while remaining true to its historical, California-centric imperative.

A 15th Anniversary Shout-Out to the wonderful folks behind Mod-ernbook Gallery. Established by a pair of college pals, the enterprise began life as a bookstore in Palo Alto before moving into the 49 Geary St. complex in 2010 as a full-blown art gallery. Mounting (primarily) pho-tography exhibitions and publish-ing limited-edition monographs, they’ve cultivated a stable of strik-ingly original artists such as Fan Ho, Maia Flore, Frank De Mulder and Tom Chambers, some of whom mine their dreams, the surreal and magical realism to weave enigmatic visual narratives rich in dark psy-chological subtext.

Best Gallery Show: Annie Kev-ans: Women and the History of Art at the Jenkins Johnson Gallery ad-dressed the disparity between the representation of female artists and their male counterparts in galleries and museums, as well as in the pub-

lic mind and the sexist annals of art history. The work itself, uniformly sized, bust-length, oil-on-paper paintings based on the artists’ self-portraits, may have been traditional, but it was the stories accompanying the pictures of these women artists who were recognized in their life-times, but then largely forgotten, that gave the show its punch. The same gallery mounted another fa-vorite: Romare Bearden: Storyteller, an array of dazzling collages, water-

colors and prints that sang out in a jazzy ring-a-ding-ding rhapsody of color.

Best Museum Exhibition: Inti-mate Impressionism from the Na-tional Gallery of Art, the gathering of gem-like small-scale beauties at the Legion of Honor, was as close to heaven as one could get this year. Could this many Frenchmen – and Berthe Morisot – be wrong?

Happy Holidays, all!t

December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 27tFine Art>>

Through his graffiti-inspired drawings, paintings, sculptures, and murals, Keith Haring created an immediately recognizable iconography that speaks to a diverse population. Making its US premiere at the de Young with more than 130 works of art, The Political Line lends gravitas to the artist’s career by focusing on his political activism. Exuberant, profane, witty, and provocative, the works in this exhibition trace Haring’s creative development and his historical significance as an advocate for social justice.

Keith Haring, Untitled, 1982. Enamel and Day-Glo paint on metal. Collection of the Keith Haring Foundation. Keith Haring artwork © Keith Haring Foundation

Media Sponsors Hotel Partner


This exhibition is organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Director’s Circle: Penny and James George Coulter. Curator’s Circle: Sloan and Roger Barnett, Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund, Holly Johnson Harris and Parker Harris, and the Shimmon Family. Conservator’s Circle: The Buena Vista Fund of Horizons Foundation. Supporter’s Circle: Nancy and Joachim Bechtle, Juliet de Baubigny, and Richard and Peggy Greenfield. Community Partner: WEBCOR Builders. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

SPECIAL HOLIDAY HOURS!OPEN DAILY DEC 26–JAN 4

<< 2014 Fine Art From page 17

“Self-Portrait Dedicated to Carriere” (1888 or 1889), oil on canvas by Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903).

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

Funerary mask (1st century CE), gold. Thaj city, Tell al-Zayer site, Saudi Arabia.

Courtesy of National Museum of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh

‘Tis the Season for Science

The reindeer are back! Meet our Arctic friends and learn how they adapt to extreme conditions in this one-of-a-kind interactive experience. Plus, enjoy indoor snow flurries, music and other festivities at our annual holiday exhibit.

Get tickets at calacademy.org

Now through January 4


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32 33 34

Vol. 44 • No. 52 • December 25-31, 2014www.ebar.com ✶ www.bartabsf.com

Leather Bianca Del Rio New Year's events

NIGHTLIFE SPIRITS SOCIETY LEATHER

DINING ROMANCE PERSONALS

{ THIRD OF THREE SECTIONS }

Game nightBrewcade blends Pac-Man and pilsners

by Andre Torrez

The excitement of being able to enter three letters as my initials for being the highest scorer on Galaxian was unexpected since I’m not much of a gamer. Whether or not my score was a fl uke didn’t

matter. I inaccurately entered ‘ATZ’, not exactly my initials but close enough, into the machine—one of the 24 video games at San Francisco’s Brewcade. See page 30 >> Guests enjoy � rst dibs of the

arcade fun at Brewcade’s opening.

Spirited OutingsSan Francisco bars with exceptional selections

by Sean Timberlake

Thank heavens the holidays are behind us, almost. All that frenzy is enough to drive one to drink. If you’re going to partake, you might as well go for the

good stuff; your head will thank you in the morning. Luck-ily, this happens to be one of the best drinking cities anywhere. See page 31 >>

Tiki décor overload at Smuggler’s Cove.

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Nestled on Market Street near where Duboce Triangle meets the Castro, recognizable names like Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Pac-Man and even his better half, Ms. Pac-Man, fi ll the medium-sized in-dustrial space designed by Craige Walters (Hi Tops) in all their 8, 16, and 32-bit pixilated glory.

The sibling entrepreneur duo of Shawn Vergara and his sister Tiffny Vergara Chung are the businesses’ owners and the team who, back in 2009, brought us Blackbird Bar, a comfy lounge about a block away. No strangers to the neighborhood, Shawn’s roots to San Francisco bars and restaurants runs deep and date the 46-year-old more than 20 years back to his start working the door as security at 1015 Folsom, to the more recent business partnership with his late mentor, Doug Murphy—the former owner of Moby Dick, who passed just weeks before Blackbird opened.

“I played these games as a teenag-er at 7-11,” he recalls over the phone. Vergara remembers his early 1980s youth, playing the game where Ma-rio would make his debut against a menacing kidnapper ape and an-other favorite, Dig Dug.

While the “barcade” is noth-ing new, it wasn’t until his nephew tipped him off about one in Colo-rado Springs that Shawn had heard about the adult concept. I myself had gone to one in Chicago called Headquarters Beercade that shame-lessly plastered Wrestlemania and Amercian Gladiators reruns on multiple big plasma screens.

Would that fl y in San Francisco? Maybe not so much near the Cas-tro. Instead, we get the scaled down, sophisticated version claiming to be a “date and entertainment destina-tion” that boasts 25 different craft beers and what Vergara calls “pre-batched, loop-hole cocktails.” Along with general manager and “beer guru” Kai Villegas, they’ll focus on expediting service, having learned from missteps after so many years in the industry.

Vergara says four draft cocktails will be available on demand and poured. “A couple of them are car-bonated; one of them is in a nitro-gen base.” He says they pour kind of like Guiness or a stout. “I have learned that guests get extremely frustrated with long waits.”

For patrons looking to forego any possibility of a hangover, or are maybe in the mood for something on the softer side, Brewcade serves assorted sodas from The Fizzary, San Francisco Soda Shop and even has Stumptown Coffee ready to go.

The bar may be marketed as a playground for adults, but the video game theme and heavy selection of sodas have some considering the bigger picture. What kind of cli-entele will this attract, and is there such a thing as “teenifi cation” of bar goers?

“My sister and I are just really proud to open another business for

the community. We’re always look-ing to add something that’s miss-ing and not duplicate things,” Ver-gara says about the neighborhood. “That’s what Blackbird was. Making the Castro as colorful and as diverse as it should be. We have a ton of empty storefronts. I’m helping to fi ll these storefronts and to provide job opportunities for people.”

About 15 employees have been hired so far, many of which identify as LGBT, but he’s aware of the idea that “stray” bars (straight/gay) could become the norm in a city where once- strictly queer spaces are get-ting pushed out or homogenized.

“I think there’s a fi ne line with protecting the overall LGBT busi-nesses in the heart of the Castro, but as we start to push out of the neighborhood, I think that it’s only natural that these bars are going to be more in the gray area just because of proximity.”

I’m munching on some kind of rosemary-infused caramel corn by OC Made. It’s one of the bar’s “gourmet” snack offerings and is de-licious. But I notice a bespectacled gray-haired man with a matching mustache busily scurrying around during the hustle of the bar’s me-dia preview night. Bob Albritton, or “Video Bob” as he’s called, is a game enthusiast and he’s very much responsible for supplying the city’s fi rst self-professed bar-arcade with these coin-op, vintage-arcade cabi-nets.

“Shawn pretty much singlehand-edly had the law changed,” Albritton tells me. He’s talking about the anti-quated laws in the city’s books that limit how many machines can be inside a building. Video Bob would

know. He’s been around as a busi-ness owner, game collector himself, perhaps best known for the old Star Base Arcade in San Rafael, which has recently lost its lease. He says many of the laws dated back to the 1930s and 1980s and had to be changed.

But it isn’t quite accurate to say Vergara did it by himself. His more fi nancially-minded sister, Tiffny, tells me they went through the pro-cess of obtaining a $700 Mechani-cal Amusement Device permit to-gether. She credited city supervisors Scott Wiener and London Breed as being instrumental in working with them to spearhead the initiative to get these complex, confusing, and sometimes vague laws changed and that there are still efforts to stream-line them citywide rather than on a district-by-district basis.

“Some districts are exempt on the law,” she says, mentioning that a lot of them were originally in the books because of child truancy and delin-quency concerns. But with hand-held gaming and the proliferation of smart phones, the supervisors agreed that the old rules didn’t quite apply in the same ways and needed to be amended. The police depart-ment and the planning commission are just some of the entities involved in the process of deciding how many machines can be placed within the square footage in one establishment.

Things went pretty smoothly on opening night by Tiffny’s account, but she did admit one impor-tant hiccup. The quarter machine stopped working midway through the night. While their business savvy has served the Vergaras well, the only one they knew to call for a fi x was Video Bob.t


tServing the LGBT communities since 1971


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<< Game Night From page 29

ebar.com

Guests enjoy a shooting arcade game at Brewcade’s opening.Dallis Willard

“Beer Guru” Kai Villegas and co-owner Shawn Vergara at Brewcade’s bar.

Dallis Willard

Pac-Man and other arcade games await on a casual afternoon at Brewcade.

Dallis Willard

“San Francisco is where what is new and novel in other cities has long been standard,” says spirits and dining writer Virginia Miller of The Perfect Spot (www.theperfectspotsf.com). “Many bar managers and bar-tenders alike have traveled to meet with distillers. They are among the first in the U.S. to taste new prod-ucts and create delicious outlets for them in their cocktails.”

The world of spirits is astonish-ingly diverse, and growing ever more so with the advent of craft distillers both domestically and abroad. So if you want to further your knowledge about the hard stuff, take to these

bars that have expansive or notable selections of particular spirits.

You wouldn’t think twice about the glass and steel facade on a bus-tling block of Gough Street, but cross the threshold into Smuggler’s Cove (650 Gough Street), and you are transported to a dimly lit three-level bar adorned with tiki para-phernalia. Here, owner Martin Cate boasts a nonpareil rum collection.

If rum conjures up memories of sickly sweet mai tais, you’re miss-ing the big picture. It is one of the most varied and interesting of spir-its, with a history spanning centu-ries and a deeply intertwined with America’s own story. Unlike many other spirits, there is no central au-thority that regulates production or nomenclature, so styles of rum run a gamut as wide as ocean.

Cate boasts some 530 rums, many of them unique, historic and irre-placeable. He could easily have sig-nificantly more, except that he sees no reason to stock white or flavored rums, since they’re neither suitable to his cocktails nor likely choices for tasting straight. Until recently, the oldest rum he had in stock was a French one from 1819. Current-ly, he has selections dating to the 1920s, though he intimated that he’s working on bringing in one special rum that would be older even than the 1819 items – much older. Cate’s selection is handily the largest in

America, and possibly second only to one other bar worldwide. This is where you want to get your rum on.

It would take a lifetime and two livers to drink your way through the expansive cocktail list, but the rum selection is the star here. Smuggler’s Cove features the “Rumbustion So-ciety,” a tasting club. You start with a punch card of 20 rums to try, each different in style. From there you go onto a list where you track the vari-ous tastings, and score plaques on the wall for achievement levels of 100 and up.

At least one club member has tried no fewer than 700 rums, hav-ing tasted rare selections no longer available. If you drop in, be sure to try a shot of their custom Plantation

Royal Blend, a blend of rums from four major producing nations – Ja-maica, Trinidad, Barbados and Guy-ana – that is aged in Cognac, France in Maury port casks. At $14 a shot, it’s not cheap, but its complex aro-mas and flavors of spice, dark fruit and an almost barnyard-like funk leave a haunting impression.

This spring, Cate will take his spirited obsession in a new direc-tion, opening Whitechapel at the corner of Polk and Turk. Whitecha-pel will feature a retro-Victorian in-

terior, reminiscent of a London un-derground station, and a profound selection of gins.

Like Smuggler’s Cove, Cate will bring his fascination of the his-tory of the spirit to the menu, and will also feature a tasting club. Gin is going through a major renais-sance, with many new craft distill-ers tweaking the formulas, dialing down the heavy juniper notes and expressing other botanicals like lavender, cucumber, and coriander. If you can’t wait until April to be-gin your gin education, the newly opened Cockscomb (564 Fourth Street) already has 65 gins on the shelf.

Cocktail pro�lesSan Francisco is a brown drink-

ing town, and there’s no shortage of spots to imbibe a good whiskey. Head bartender Larry Piaskowy at Alembic (1725 Haight Street) seeks to bring increased awareness to craft whiskeys. Though he stocks some 300 whiskeys with a primary focus on bourbon and American whis-keys, you won’t find stalwarts like Maker’s Mark. Instead, if Maker’s is your thing, Piaskowy will steer you toward Larceny, a small-batch pro-ducer with a similar profile, without elevating the price point. Piaskowy offers periodic tasting flights show-casing different expressions, like a flight of West Coast craft distillers: St. George Spirits from the Bay Area, Oregon’s Westward and Seattle’s Westland Distillery.

A longtime chef, Piaskowy takes a culinary approach to creating cock-tails with his whiskeys, focusing on complementing each spirit’s profile. For example, the Haiku d’État, uses Akashi White Oak blended whiskey from Japan. The whiskey is delicate and feminine, easily overpowered. Piaskowy washes the glass with smoky Laphroaig to add structure and finish to the cocktail, made with citrus, honey syrup and aromatic shiso. A dash of celery bitters gives it a fresh note.

Tequila is another spirit undergo-

ing a renaissance. Much has changed with regards to modern tequila pro-duction, and the caliber of what’s become available in the American market, so now is an excellent time to bone up on your agave.

Tommy, can you drink me?The city’s most iconic and fa-

mous tequila bar is Tommy’s (5929 Geary Boulevard) in the Richmond. Owner Julio Bermejo’s parents opened the restaurant in 1965 as a typical American eatery, eventually integrating dishes from their home-land of the Yucatan. It wasn’t until Bermejo took over the bar program 18 years ago that tequila began to make an appearance. As higher-quality tequilas started entering the U.S. market, he began to seek out the good stuff for the bar.

Tommy’s does not boast the big-gest selection of tequila in the world, nor does Bermejo seek that mantle. Instead, he focuses on quality over quantity. Still, the list is impressive, featuring more than 100 distilleries, with about 350 labels on their regu-lar list, plus another 110 vintage bottles. If you loved a bottle of Her-radura from the ‘90s, odds are you can take a trip down memory lane here. You’ll find original bottles of Patron, and a rare Chinaco black label extra añejo that goes for $100 per two-ounce pour.

Bermejo’s dedication to tequila has not gone unnoticed. In 2003 the governor of Jalisco dubbed him “Ambassador of Tequila to the United States.” Bermejo also is the creator of the Tommy’s Margarita, a global standard recipe used by bar-tenders around the world.

The MostoAnother great tequila spot is

Mosto (741 Valencia Street) in the Mission District, attached to Taco-licious. The bar sports about 300 agave spirits, mostly tequila and some mezcal. Bar manager Danny Louie goes beyond the traditional margarita to showcase the differ-ent styles of the spirit, with a focus

on small-batch, family-owned dis-tilleries. One of the more playful cocktails leverages the smoky flavor of mezcal in a savory drink called the Tomato Salad, made with roma tomatoes, basil, Aperol and a bit of spice.

Mezcal has been a growing trend for at least a decade, and San Fran-cisco is one of the major epicenters of popularity.

“San Franciscans love a good story, and if there’s one thing every bottle has, it’s a good story,” says Su-san Coss, cofounder of the website Mezcalistas (www.mezcalistas.com) and Director of Marketing and PR for CUESA (www.cuesa.org). “Here they can dive deep and learn the story of the craft of each bottle.”

Whatever Loló wantsJust a few blocks from Mosto,

Loló (www.lolosf.com) is one of the leaders in the mezcal revolu-tion. Though they stock only about 40 mezcales, each with a unique history. Working closely with folks like Max Garrone, the other half of Mezcalistas, they tap into small and rural communities to get small-batch, hand-crafted spirits. To ac-cess some of these communities, Garrone sometimes has to travel on foot to villages where there are no roads, sometimes traveling for a day to cross small distances. Some of these distilleries produce fewer than 50 bottles per batch. Adding to the scarcity, some of the varietals of agave used in their production are nearly extinct. Consequently, mez-cales can run quite expensive.

For the mezcal-curious, bar man-ager Juan Carlos Ruelas recom-mends El Jolgorio Tepeztate, made from wild-harvested agaves, for its mineral flavor and mild smokiness. They also stock a number of so-called Vinos de Mezcal, agave spirits from regions outside the prescribed mezcal confines. These are among the most exclusive and limited pro-duction, and have unusual profiles.

December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 31t Read more online at www.ebar.com

See page 33 >>

<< Spirited Outings From page 29

Outside, inside, behind the scenes in the kitchen, and a menu from Alembic.

Tequila cocktails poured at Tommy’s. Mosto on Valencia Street.

A pair of tasty cocktails at Alembic.

by Race Bannon

In past columns I’ve mentioned how younger leatherfolk and

kinksters face some unique chal-lenges. What about those at the other end of the age spectrum? What about the older among us? Of course, what “older” is remains a relative thing based on your own age, but let me randomly pick those over the age of 50 as belonging to the older group. (Apologies to those who think that cutoff should be higher.)

Since I fall into the older camp (I’m 60), this topic comes up a lot in conversations I have with my peers. Many of them have mentioned to me a wide range of challenges they face as they navigate the kinky social and erotic landscape. So what are those challenges and how might both the older and the rest of the community address those challenges?

Front and center are the chal-lenges that many older people face regardless of their sexual proclivi-ties or identities. The ravages of age on the body. How aging impacts a person’s face and appearance. Self-image that’s strongly influenced by society’s worshiping at the altar of certain standards of beauty. Plan-ning for future financial security. Affordable housing in retirement. And much more.

On top of and amid these ubiqui-tous issues, older kinksters also have other things with which to deal. Since I can’t assume my own perceptions of my advancing years are an accu-rate reflection of how others perceive their own aging, I asked a number of people for their own thoughts on the topic. I got an earful. Let me recount some of the things they told me. I hope this sparks some discussion about how we can improve the over-all situation.

One man immediately began to provide me a litany of things that he deals with as an older kinkster. He said the obvious physical aspects of getting older has turned his former three-hour play scenes into shorter 30-minute scenes most of the time. Energy levels also affect how many leather events he can go to and how long he can participate in them. His

fixed income status means he has to be more careful about what events he can attend.

His ideas about relationships have changed in that he and others vacillate between either not wanting more than one partner or alterna-tively wanting more partners. And he said that among his friends who are in long-term relationships he’s seen many of their part-ners no longer share a desire for anything leather or kink, and that this sometimes presents conflicts with the partner who still requires such play or identity. He no-ticed that many such re-lationships tend to open up even more than they might have previously.

Another guy brought up the wan-ing of erectile functioning. His dick doesn’t get as hard as it used to, and taking the usual erectile medications gives him a three-day headache. He said he’s more or less adapted to this situation, but he finds that younger bottoms are often more popular than older bottoms and such erec-

tile issues further exacer-bate the issue.

The comment about older bottoms often be-ing less desirable than younger bottoms came up a lot in different varia-tions. Apart from the is-sue of dick functioning, there is a common per-ception that the commu-nity generally perceives older kinksters as more likely to be (or should be) top or dominant, perhaps because our scene values experience so much, while the younger are relegated

to bottom or submissive status. This of course flies in the face of

reality. Older and younger both have desires that run the gamut from top to bottom and dominant to submis-sive. So older folks who want to bot-tom or sub often feel that their op-tions are fewer and this contributes to their erotic frustrations.

Related to the fixed in-come and housing issues

is another one that comes up a lot. As older kink-

sters ponder their later-in-life future, they want to make sure they can

continue to live among others who share their same values and life ex-

perience. While there have been efforts to provide housing and community living situations for the aging LGBT community, there have been no such efforts I’m aware of to provide kinksters with the same op-tions.

One lesbian was rather vocal about this saying that she’d rather live among heterosexual kinksters than among vanilla (non-kinky) LGBT cohabitants. That’s how strong the desire to remain within a kink community is for some. It can transcend gender orientation. I think this is an area that needs some serious groupthink energy behind it among our scene’s leadership and organizations. How do we keep older kinksters in their golden years living with others of like mind?

While I haven’t heard this much from those in the San Francisco Bay Area, elsewhere it appears that older and younger kinksters mixing is more difficult. Specifically, the re-jection of the older by the younger seems more pervasive than it does in the Bay Area. One leatherwoman mentioned that having younger

folks always assuming they’re be-ing cruised by them and loudly announcing that they are “icked” out by this happens far too often. Friendliness is mistaken for erotic interest more readily when an older person chats up someone younger.

I’ve touched upon just a hand-ful of issues, but I hope this leads to more frequent discussions about it. I know there are solutions.

There are ways to foster better self-acceptance. There are ways to adapt play to keep it hot. There are ways to bridge the divide between generations. There are ways to ac-commodate older players while not stepping on the toes of the younger. There are ways to create housing and community options so that kinksters can live out their lives sur-rounded by a supportive environ-ment. There are ways to encourage us all to be kinder to each other. I know there are such solutions. We just have to put our heads together and make it happen.

New Mr. Edge LeatherNow for some local news about a

contest I attended. Mr. Edge Leather 2015 was chosen this past week-end and that man is Gerald Borjas. Congratulations, Gerald. I hope you have a great year.

Let me also congratulate Paul Younadim (runner up) and Clay Gould for being great competitors. I chatted with one of the judges after the contest and he mentioned that all three contestants were outstand-ing during the entire competition.

Edge bartender Erick Lopez pro-duced the contest and he selected a wonderful group of judges: Stephan Ferris, Mr. Edge 2014; Nile Eckhoff, Mr. Daddy’s Barbershop 2014; Val Langmuir, Ms. SF Leather 2013; JB Kern, Mr. Hayes Valley Leather 2011; and Doug Mezzacapo, SF Leather Sir 2004. Jason Husted served as Tallymaster and Nate “Cotton” Bur-ris was Den Daddy. Sissy Parker the Church Lady did a masterful job as the MC for the evening.

It’s always great to see a leather and kink crowd in a Castro venue and the Edge is to be commended for continuing to be a welcoming place for us.

Oh, and so you know, the Edge contest crowd had a wonderful mix of younger and older kinksters. And they all got along really well. Yet an-other reason why I love living here.t

Race Bannon is a local author, blogger and activist. You can reach him on his website www.bannon.com.


tServing the LGBT communities since 1971

Older Kinksters

Fri 26Sober Kink Together @ Castro Country ClubOfficially a CMA meeting, but open to all Anonymous 12-step Fellowship members, 4058 18th St., 9:30pm. www.castrocountryclub.org

Mon 29Ride Mondays @ ErosA motorcycle rider and leathermen night at Eros, bring your helmet, AMA card, MC club card or club colors and get $3 off entry or massage. 2051 Market St. www.erossf.com


Mon 5Ride Mondays @ ErosA motorcycle rider and leathermen night at Eros, bring your helmet, AMA card, MC club card or club colors and get $3 off entry or massage. 2051 Market St. www.erossf.com


Leather Events, December 25, 2014 – January 11, 2015

*

Two of the guests at the recent Leather Alliance holiday party at Beatbox.

Richard Stadtmiller

Mr. Edge Leather 2015 contest night: Ray Tilton (front), rear left to right are Erick Lopez, Clay Gould, Gerald Bor-jas (Mr. Edge Leather 2015), Paul Younadim (runner up), and Sissy Parker the Church Lady (MC).

Nate “Cotton” Burris

Gerald Borjas, the new Mr. Edge Leather 2015.

Race Bannon

A pair of gents at the recent Leathermen’s Discussion Group holiday party at the LGBT Center.

Richard Stadtmiller

Ruelas remarks the Vinos San Luis Potosí has notes of sugar cane and chewing gum.

Urban Out� tA somewhat larger collection of

some 80 mezcales can be found at La Urbana (661 Divisadero Street). Open about a year now, La Urbana also cultivates close relationships with mezcal producers, featuring small batch producers, including a focus on mezcales made with wild agave. Bar manager Joel Ocariz fa-vors Tobala, made from the tobala agave that grows only in shaded high-altitude canyons, for its earthy, mineral and herbaceous notes.

Coming up with cocktails that play well with the assertive fl avors of mezcal requires creativity, and they draw inspiration from the fl avors of Mexico. For example, their Mexican Russian is a riff on the White Rus-sian, subbing in mezcal for vodka, orchata in lieu of milk and an Ital-ian coffee liqueur.

Grappa-titeReady for a nightcap? Do as the

Italians do and fi nish off the eve-ning repast with a shot of grappa. What started out as a way to use the leftovers from wine production has evolved into one of the great spirits of the world, and Bar888 at Luce in the InterContinental Hotel (888 Howard Street) has by far the best selection, currently clocking in at about 100 and growing.

In its purest form, grappa is a clear distillate, like vodka, but re-taining some of the character from the grape pomace it’s made from. Within Europe, the name grappa is protected, and only distillates from Italy’s Veneto region can be called that (in France, for example, it is re-ferred to as marc). The name is not

protected domestically, though, and so a few American producers have gotten in on the game, like Oregon’s Clear Creek and Germain Robin in Mendocino.

Grappa’s popularity is not huge in the states, but it is growing, and Bar888 helps expand that by doing

fl ights to illustrate how different grape varietals shine through in the fi nal product.

“It’s interesting to see how in white versus red varietals, differ-ent fl avors come through,” says As-sistant Director of Food and Wine Max Pilz. “With red wine grapes,

darker fruit fl avors are expressed even in the clear liquid.”

Some grappa makers are aging the spirit, as with cognac, and in-creasingly fl avoring their product with natural ingredients to add to their appeal. Bar888 uses a honey-infused grappa to make an Italian

version of a mojito, the sweetened grappa replacing both rum and sugar in the classic recipe, and so introducing customers to the appeal of this spirit.

With so many offerings in town, you should have a new year full of tasty spirits to try.t


<< Spirited Outings From page 31

Bar888’s fascinating suspended bar shelves, and bottles of Aquavite.Ron Armstrong

Shooting Stars Extra photos bySteven UnderhillBianca Del RioOn December 19, RuPaul’s Drag Race sea-

son six winner Bianca Del Rio took to the stage of the Castro Theatre with her comedy show Rolodex of Hate. Del Rio was joined by Peaches Christ, Pippi Lovestocking and producer Sasha Soprano. The audience also included local drag talents in high holiday glamour.

For our interview with Del Rio, read last week’s BAR feature in the Arts section.

Enjoy event photo albums aon BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife.

See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at www.StevenUnderhill.com.


Thu 25Acid Xmas @ F8Local DJs Carlos Souffront, Ken Vulsion, Miquel Solari and Tyrel Williams spin grooves at this special Christmas Day dance night. 9pm-2am. 1192 Folsom St. www.facebook.com/feight1192

Beats Reality @ TraxResident DJs Jim Hopkins and Justime welcome guest DJs and play groovy tunes. Weekly, 9pm-2am. 1437 Haight St. 864-4213.

Bulge @ PowerhouseGrace Towers hosts the weekly gogo-tastic night of sexy dudes shakin' their bulges and getting wet in their undies for $100 prize (contest at midnight), and dance beats spun by DJ DAMnation. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Club Yass @ City NightsFrisco Robbie presents a new 18+ LGBT weekly night, with live sets by guest performers, DJ TwistMix, with a Latin room up front, gogo guys and gals. $10. 9:30-3am. 546-7938. www.sfclubs.com

Fuego @ The Watergarden, San JoseWeekly event, with Latin music, half-off locker fees and Latin men, at the South Bay private men's bath house. $8-$39. Reg hours 24/7. 18+. 1010 The Alameda. (408) 275-1215. www.thewatergarden.com

Funny Fun @ Club 21, OaklandNew weekly LGBT and straight comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm. 2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Gym Class @ Hi TopsEnjoy cheap/free whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular sports bar. 10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Kung Pao Kosher Comedy @ New Asia Restaurant22nd annual Chinese food and Jewish humor night returns, with Ophira Eisenberg, Jeremy Holtz, Simon Cadel, and host Lisa Geduldig. Enjoy a seven-course dinner show at 5pm ($65), or the 8:30pm cocktail show (veggie dim sum) $45. Also Dec. 25 & 26. 772 Pacifi c Ave. www.KosherComedy.com

Mary Go Round @ LookoutSuppositori Spelling, Mercedez Munro and Holotta Tymes host the weekly night with DJ Philip Grasso, gogo guys, drink specials, and drag acts. 10pm-2am. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

The Monster Show @ The EdgeCookie Dough's weekly drag show with gogo guys and hilarious fun. Special Dec. 25 Christmas night show takes on the music of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

My So-Called Night @ BeauxHeklina hosts a new weekly '90s-themed video, dancin', drinkin' night, with VJs Jorge Terez and Becky Knox. Get down with your funky bunch, and enjoy 90-cent drinks! '90s-themed attire and costume contest. No cover. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Nap's Karaoke @ Virgil's Sea RoomSing out loud at the weekly least judgmental karaoke in town, hosted by the former owner of the bar. No cover. 9pm. 3152 Mission St. 829-2233. www.virgilssf.com

Nightlife @ California Academy of SciencesThemed event nights at the fascinating nature museum, with DJed dancing, cocktails, fi sh, frogs, food and fun. $10-$12. 6pm-10pm, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. 379-8000. www.calacademy.org

Pan Dulce @ The CafeAmazingly hot Papi gogo guys, cheap drinks and fun DJed dance music. Free before 10pm. $5 til 2am. 2369 Market St. www.clubpapi.com www.cafesf.com

Pussy Party @ BeauxWomen's happy hour, with all-women music and live performances, 2 for 1 drinks, and no cover. 5pm-9am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Rock Fag @ Hole in the WallEnjoy hard rock and punk music from DJ Don Baird at the wonderfully divey SoMa bar. 12pm-2am. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's LoungeChristmas Night special with guest DJs Kenneth L. Kemp and John F*cking Cartwright, plus guru DJ Bus Station John at the intimate groovy retro disco night. $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Holiday Party @ SF EagleDJ Dano spins tunes at the leather bar's holiday fete. 6pm-ish happy hour drinks all night long. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

VIP @ Club 21, Oakland Hip Hop, Top 40, and sexy Latin music; gogo dancers, appetizers, and special guest DJs. No cover before 11pm and just $5 after all night. Dancing 9pm-3am. Happy hour 4pm-8:30pm 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Fri 26Beach Blanket Babylon @ Club FugaziThe musical comedy revue celebrates its 40th year with an ever-changing lineup of political and pop culture icons, all in gigantic wigs. Special holiday-themed shows now through the New Year. $25-$160. 678 Beach Blanket Babylon Blvd (Green St.). 421-4222. www.beachblanketbabylon.com

Friday Night @ de Young MuseumNightlife events at the museum take on different themes. Free/reduced admission. 6pm-8:45pm. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive. www.deyoung.famsf.org

Happy Friday @ Midnight SunThe popular video bar ends each work week with gogo guys (starting at 9pm) and drink specials. Check out the new expanded front lounge, with a window view. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Latin Explosion @ Club 21, OaklandThe festive gogo-fi lled dance night; no cover before 10pm. ($10) 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St., Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Manimal @ Beaux Gogo-tastic dance night starts off your weekend. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Some Thing @ The StudMica Sigourney and pals' weekly offbeat drag performance night. 10pm-2am. 399 9th St. www.studsf.com

X @ The FillmoreExene Cervenka, Jon Doe and the band return for a night of hard rock. The Blasters open. $45. 9pm. Also Dec. 27. 1805 Geary Blvd. www.livenation.com www.thefi llmore.com

Sat 27Beer Bust @ Hole in the Wall Saloon

Beer only $8 until you bust. 4pm-8pm. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Beer Bust @ SF EagleThe classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event now also takes place on Saturdays! 3pm-6pm. 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Bootie SF @ DNA LoungeCelebrate eleven years of the weekly mash-up dance night, with resident DJs Adrian & Mysterious D. No matter the theme, a mixed fun good time's assured. $8-$15. 9pm-3am. 21+. 375 11th St. at Harrison. www.BootieSF.com www.DNAlounge.com

La Bota Loca @ Club 21, OaklandDJed tunes, gogo hotties, drag shows, drink specials, all at Oakland's premiere Latin nightclub and weekly cowboy night. $10-$15. Dancing 9pm-4am. 2111 Franklin St. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Club Rimshot @ Club BNB, OaklandGet groovin' at the weekly hip hop and R&B night at their new location. $8-$15. 9pm to 4am. 2120 Broadway. www.bench-and-bar.com

Husky @ F8The peppy Pound Puppy peeps present a Christmas weekend canine fun night, with DJs Taco Tuesday, Chipmint, guests Michael Serafi ni, Jackie House, Tyrel Williams, and hosts Blake and Jorge. 10pm-1am. 1192 Folsom St. at 8th. www.facebook.com/feight1192

Sharon McNight @ Feinstein's at the NikkoThe veteran cabaret singer performs her popular music and comedy show, Twisted Xmas: A Druid's View of the Holidays. $25-$40. 8pm. Also Dec. 27, 8pm. ($20 food/drink min.) Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. www.ticketweb.com

Telegenic @ White Horse Bar, OaklandPop music video night (4th Saturdays). 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Sun 28Beer Bust @ Lone Star SaloonThe ursine crowd converges for beer and fun. 4pm-8pm. 1354 Harrison St. www.lonestarsf.com

Beer Bust @ SF EagleThe classic leather bar's most popular Sunday daytime event in town draws the menfolk. 3pm-6pm. Now also on Saturdays! 398 12th St. at Harrison. www.sf-eagle.com

Beer Bust @ SF MixThe popular Castro bar hosts its weekly softball team beer bust fundraiser. 3pm-7pm. 4086 18th St. 431-8616. www.sfmixbar.com

Big Top @ BeauxJoshua J.'s homo disco circus night returns, now weekly, with guest DJs and performers, hotty gogo guys and drink specials. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.BeauxSF.com

Brunch @ Hi Tops Enjoy crunchy sandwiches and mimosas, among other menu items, at the popular sports bar. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Brunch Sundays @ BalancoireWeekly live music shows with various acts, along with brunch, mimosas, champagne and more, at the stylish nightclub and restaurant. 2565 Mission St. at 21st. 920-0577. www.balancoiresf.com

GlamaZone @ The CafePollo del Mar's weekly drag shows takes on different themes with a comic edge. 8:30-11:30pm. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Husky @ White Horse Bar, OaklandBear T-dance (4th Sundays), with DJs Sir Ellis and Lifeline; no cover, $10-$15 beer bust. 4pm-9pm. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Jock @ The LookoutThe weekly jock-ular fun continues, with special sports team fundraisers. 3pm-7pm. 3600 16th St. www.lookoutsf.com

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eON THE TABfDec. 25, 2014

–Jan. 1, 2015

Sat 27Sharon McNight @ Feinstein’s

How do you celebrate the new year? Do you make resolutions? To drink less? To drink more? Whatever your newly found convictions,

celebrate the new year safely.

Wed 31Heklina and D’Arcy Drollinger open Oasis on New Year’s Eve

Nic

k Ic

e

December 25-31, 2014 • BAY AREA REPORTER • 35

Liquid Brunch @ BeauxNo cover, no food, just drinks (Mimosas, Bloody Marys, etc.) and music. 2pm-9pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

The New Diva @ White Horse Bar, OaklandAna Mae Coxxx and Cemora Valentino-Devine cohost the revamped fun drag show, with Scarlett Rivers, Izzy Adahl, Amelia Ross, Viconia Knightingale, Sasha Stephane and King McQueen. $5. 8pm-12am (show 9:30pm). 6551 Telegraph Ave., Oakland. www.whitehorsebar.com

Salsa Sundays @ El RioSalsa dancing for LGBT folks and friends, with live merengue and cumbia bands; tapas and donations that support local causes. 2nd & 4th Sundays. 3pm-8pm. 3158 Mission St. 282-3325. www.elriosf.com

Sundance Saloon @ Space 550The popular twice-weekly country-western dance night includes line-dancing, two-stepping and lessons. $5. 6:30-10:30pm. Also Thursdays 6:30pm-10:30pm (closed dec 25). 550 Barneveld Ave. at Industrial. www.sundancesaloon.org

Sunday's a Drag @ Starlight RoomDonna Sachet hosts the weekly fabulous brunch and drag show. $45. 11am, show at noon; 1:30pm, show at 2:30pm. 450 Powell St. in Union Square. 395-8595. www.starlightroomsf.com

Unicorn @ PowerhouseThe monthly art party this time includes a live drag show with Phatima Rude, Laundra Tyme, Quinton Monroe, Jillian Gnarling; DJ Dutchboy Del Lee; art by Grace Towers, Diego Gomez, Uel Renteria and others. $5. 6pm-10pm (drag show 8:30pm). 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Mon 29Cock and Bull Mondays @ Hole in the Wall SaloonSpecials on drinks made with Cock and Bull ginger ale (Jack and Cock, Russian Mule, and more). 8pm-closing. 1369 Folsom St. 431-4695. www.hitws.com

Drag Mondays @ The CafeDec. 15: Gia Gunn from RuPaul's Drag Race season 6. Mahlae Balenciaga and DJ Kidd Sysko's weekly drag and dance night, 2014's last of the year. 9pm-1am. 2369 Market St. www.cafesf.com

Epic Karaoke @ White Horse, OaklandMondays and Tuesdays popular weekly sing-along night. No cover. 8:30pm-1am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Irish Dance Night @ Starry Plough, BerkeleyWeekly dance lessons and live music at the pub-restaurant, hosted by John Slaymaker. $5. 7pm. 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. www.thestarryplough.com

Karaoke @ The LookoutPaul K hosts the amateur singing night. 8pm-2am. 3600 16th St. at Market. www.lookoutsf.com

Mahogany Mondays @ Midnight SunHoney Mahogany's weekly drag and musical talent show starts around 10pm. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Monday Musicals @ The EdgeThe casts of local and visiting musicals often pop in to perform at the popular Castro bar's musical theatre night. 7pm-2am. 2 for 1 cocktail, 5pm-closing. 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Name That Beat @ Toad HallBeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly musical trivia challenge and drag show. 8:30-11:30pm. 4146 18th St. at Castro. www.toadhallbar.com

No No Bingo @ Virgil's Sea RoomMica Sigourney and Tom Temprano cohost the wacky weekly game night at the cool Mission bar. 8pm. 3152 Mission St. www.virgilssf.com

Piano Bar 101 @ Martuni'sSing-along night with talented locals, and charming accompanist Joe Wicht (aka Trauma Flintstone). 9pm. 4 Valencia St. at Market. www.dragatmartunis.com

Underwear Night @ 440Strip down to your skivvies at popular men's night. 9pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Tue 30Block Party @ Midnight SunWeekly screenings of music videos, concert footage, interviews and more, of popular pop stars. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Bombshell Betty & Her Burlesqueteers @ Elbo RoomThe weekly burlesque show of women dancers shaking their bonbons includes live music. $10. 9pm. 647 Valencia St. 552-7788. www.elbo.com

Funny Tuesdays @ Harvey'sRonn Vigh hosts the weekly LGBT and gay-friendly comedy night. Dec. 2; Thai Rivera headlines. one-drink or menu item minimum. 9pm. 500 Castro St. at 18th. 431-HARV. www.harveyssf.com

Gay Skate Night @ Church on 8 WheelsLGBT night at the former Sacred Heart Church-turned disco roller skate party space, hosted by John D. Miles, the "Godfather of Skate." Actually, every night is gay-friendly, including Saturday's Black Rock night (Burning Man garb encouraged). Also Wed, Thu, 7pm-10pm. Sat afternoon sessions 1pm-2:30pm and 3pm-5:30pm. $10. Kids 12 and under $5. Skate rentals $5. 554 Fillmore St at Fell. www.churchof8wheels.com

Ink & Metal @ PowerhouseShow off your tattoos and piercings at the weekly cruisy SoMa bar night. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Meow Mix @ The StudThe weekly themed variety cabaret showcases new and unusual talents; MC Ferosha Titties. $3-$7. Show at 11pm. 9pm-2am. 399 9th St. at Harrison. www.studsf.com

Piano Bar @ BeauxSinger extraordinaire Jason Brock hosts the weekly night, with your talented host –and even you– singing. 9pm-2am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Ryan Rose, JR Matthews @ Nob Hill TheatreEnjoy a special New Year's strip and sex show with the two hot porn studs. Dec 30, 8pm & 10pm. Dec. 31, 9pm & 11pm, with a dessert buffet, and a champagne toast. $25. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

Showdown @ Folsom FoundryWeekly game night for board and electronic gamers at the warehouse multi-purpose nightclub. 21+. 6pm-12am. 1425 Folsom St. www.showdownesports.com

Switch @ Q BarWeekly women's night at the stylish intimate bar. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.QbarSF.com

Trivia Night @ Hi TopsPlay the trivia game at the popular new sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Wed 31Bearracuda @ BeatboxCelebrate New Year's Eve with the manly menfolk; DJs John LePage and James Torres. $20-$25. 9pm-4am. 314 11th St. www.bearracuda.com www.beatboxsf.com

Booty Call @ QBarJuanita More!'s New Year's Eve affair features DJs Elaine Denham and Robin Malone Simmons; party favors, champagne toast. $10-$15. 9pm-2am. 456 Castro St. www.qbarsf.com

Bondage a GoGo @ Cat ClubThe (mostly straight) kinky weekly dance night, where fetish gear is welcome; DJs Damon and Tomas Diablo play electro, goth, industrial, etc. 9:30pm-2:30am. 1190 Folsom St. www.bondage-a-go-go.com

Bottoms Up Bingo @ Hi TopsPlay board games and win offbeat prizes at the popular sports bar. 9pm. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

Bromance @ BeauxDJ Kidd Sysko spins tunes for the bro-tastic midweek night, with $2 beer pitchers, beer pong, $1 shots served by undie-clad guys. It's like a frat house without the closet cases. 8:30-10pm. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Comedy Fiesta @ Brava TheaterMarga Gomez' annual comedy show features Diane Amos and Betsy Salkind, host Betty Pazmiño, DJ Page Hodel, champagne, no-host bar, party hats and treats. $35-$50. 9pm-1am. 2781 24th St. www.brava.org

Dare 2 Bare @ Club OMGNew weekly underwear night includes free clothes check, no cover, and drink specials. 9pm-2am. 43 6th St. www.clubomgsf.com

Gays Gone Wild @ PowerhouseSlutty New Year's Eve party, with DJs Juan and Adam Kraft, gogo guys, tequila shots, champagne toast at midnight. $10. 9pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Good Times @ Bench and Bar, OaklandOlga T and Shugga Shay's weekly queer women and men's R&B hip hop and soul night, at the club's new location. No cover. 8pm-2am. 2120 Broadway, Oakland. www.bench-and-bar.com

Honey Sunset @ Gray AreaHoney Soundsystem and Sunset Soundsystem's fi fth annual New Year's Eve dance music event, with DJ Lee Douglas and Honey/Sunset crew, plus a huge LED sculpture, and the BAAAHS crew out front. $25-$30. 9pm-4am. 2665 Mission St. www.HoneysunsetNYE.com

Joe Wicht @ R3, GuernevilleThe multi-talented singer-pianist hosts New Year's Eve and subsequent cabaret shows at the Russian River gay hotel's intimate nightclub, with different set lists of show tunes, and a Jan. 2 drag show as Trauma Flintsto ne (guests encouraged to don drag, too!). 6:30pm-close. Jan. 1-3 at 8pm. 16390 4th St., Guenreville. (707) 869-8399. www.ther3hotel.com

John Lloyd Young @ Feinstein's at the NikkoTony Award winning singer-actor (Jersey Boys) helps you ring in the new year with some classic songs from past years. $65-$80. 7:30pm and 10:30pm. ($20 food/drink min.) Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. (866) 663-1063. www.johnlloydyoung.com www.ticketweb.com

Miss Kitty's Trivia Night @ Wild Side WestThe weekly fun night at the Bernal Heights bar includes prizes, hosted by Kitty Tapata. No cover. 7pm-10pm. 424 Cortland St. 647-3099. www.wildsidewest.com

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See page 36 >>

Fri 26X @ The Fillmore

Tue/Wed 30/31Ryan Rose @ Nob Hill Theatre

Wed 31Sundance Saloon’s New Year’s Eve Dance

New Bohemia @ The ArmoryLarge-scale, mostly straight New Year's Eve event, with kink.com demos and tours, Elite Force, The Scumfrog, Lee Coombs, Vau de Vire Society, four stages, circus and freak acts, art cars, burlesque dancers and more. $50-$175. 8pm-4am. 1800 Mission St. www.NewBohemiaNYE.com

New Year's Dance @ Hotel WhitcombSundance Saloon's annual festivel dinner and two-stepping line-dancing party; hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will be two-steppin’ and line dancin’ right up to the midnight balloon drop, and then continuing on into the new year. $25-$55. Optional dinner 6pm, lessons 8pm. dancing 9pm-12:30am. 1231 Market St. www.sundancesaloon.org

New Year's Eve @ LexingtonMake a toast at your favorite self-described "lezzie bar" before it closes. Champagne toasts, dance music with DJs Durt and Siobhan Aluvalot, gogo gals and wild fun. No cover! 9pm-2am. 3464 19th St. www.lexingtonclub.com

Opening Night/New Year's Eve @ OasisHeklina, D'Arcy Drollinger and their coproducers present the fi rst night of the newest drag and cabaret-themed nightclub, with almost a dozen drag acts –Sue Casa, Raya Light, Jennifer Schulze aka Gurleen, Exhibit Q/Rory Davis and Michael Phillis, Travis Santell Rowland aka Qween, U-Phoria Peter Griggs, Miss Rahni NothingMore and others. $30-$40. 11pm show. 298 11th St. at Folsom. www.sfoasis.com

Open Mic/Comedy @ SF EagleKollin Holts hosts the weekly comedy and open mic talent night. 6pm-8pm. 398 12th St. www.sf-eagle.com

Rainbow Skate @ Redwood Roller Rink Weekly LGBT and friends skate night, with groovy disco music and themed events. $9. 8pm-10:30pm. 1303 Main Street, Redwood City. www.rainbowskate.net www.facebook.com/rainbowskating/

Red Hots Burlesque @ El RioWomen's burlesque show performs each Wed & Fri. Karaoke follows. $5-$10. 7pm. 3158 Mission St. 282-3325. www.elriosf.com

Rookies Night @ Nob Hill TheatreWatch newbies get nude, or compete yourself for a $200 prize. Audience picks the winner. $20. 9pm. 729 Bush St. at Powell. 397-6758. www.thenobhilltheatre.com

So You Think You Can Gogo? @ Toad HallThe weekly dancing competition for gogo wannabes. 9pm. cash prizes, $2 well drinks (2 for 1 happy hour til 9pm). Show at 9pm. 4146 18th St. www.toadhallbar.com

Trivia Night @ Harvey'sBeBe Sweetbriar hosts a weekly night of trivia quizzes and fun and prizes; no cover. 8pm-1pm. 500 Castro St. 431-4278. www.harveyssf.com

Way Back @ Midnight SunWeekly screenings of vintage music videos and retro drink prices. Check out the new expanded front window lounge. 9pm-2am. 4067 18th St. 861-4186. www.midnightsunsf.com

Wooden Nickel Wednesday @ 440Buy a drink and get a wooden nickle good for another. 12pm-2am. 440 Castro St. 621-8732. www.the440.com

Wrangler Wednesday @ Rainbow Cattle Company, GuernevilleThe Russian River bar's country music night attracts cowboys and those who like to ride 'em. 8pm-1am. 16220 Main St., Guerneville. (707) 869-0206. www.queersteer.com

Thu 1Bulge @ PowerhouseGrace Towers hosts the weekly gogo-tastic night of sexy dudes shakin' their bulges and getting wet in their undies for $100 prize (with a contest at midnight), and dance beats spun by DJ DAMnation. 10pm-2am. 1347 Folsom St. www.powerhousebar.com

Funny Fun @ Club 21, OaklandLGBT comedy night hosted by Dan Mires. $10. 8pm. 2111 Franklin St. Oakland. (510) 268-9425. www.club21oakland.com

Gym Class @ Hi TopsEnjoy cheap whiskey shots from jock-strapped hotties and sexy sports videos at the popular new sports bar. 10pm-2am. 2247 Market St. 551-2500. www.HiTopsSF.com

The Monster Show @ The EdgeCookie Dough's weekly drag show with gogo guys. $5. 9pm-2am. 4149 18th St. at Collingwood. www.edgesf.com

Morning Glory @ BeatboxSpecial New Year's Day after-hours dance party, with 30-minute sets from Steve Fabus, Primo, Doc Sleep, Trevor Sigler, Taco Tuesday, Carry On Disco, MJR, Jackie House and Chi Chi/Ajai Nicole. $5-$10. 4am-9am. 314 11th St. www.BeatboxSF.com

Pan Dulce @ The CafeEnjoy amazingly hot Papi gogo guys, cheap drinks and fun DJed dance music. Free before 10pm. $5 til 2am. 2369 Market St. www.clubpapi.com www.cafesf.com

Pussy Party @ BeauxWomen's happy hour, with all-women music and live performances, 2 for 1 drinks, and no cover. 5pm-9am. 2344 Market St. www.beauxsf.com

Thump @ White Horse, OaklandWeekly electro music night with DJ Matthew Baker and guests. 9pm-2am. 6551 Telegraph Ave, (510) 652-3820. www.whitehorsebar.com

Tubesteak Connection @ Aunt Charlie's LoungeEnjoy retro disco tunes and a fun diverse crowd, each Thursday; now in its tenth year! $4. 10pm-2am. 133 Turk St. at Taylor. www.auntcharlieslounge.com

Want your nightlife event listed? Email [email protected], at least two weeks before your event. Event photos welcome.


t<< On the Tab

<< On the Tab From page 35

Wed 31DJ Lee Douglas @ Honey Sunset

Wed 31New Year’s Eve @ Lexington Club

Thu 1Thump @ White Horse Bar

Wed 31Bearracuda NYE @ Beatbox

by John F. Karr

The two hour and twenty minute Cockyboys fi lm Boys to Adore

Galore is an anthology made up of fi ve disparate short features. I’m glad I saw it—the sex is mighty fi ne, although it’s constantly overlaid with arty intrusions.

CockyBoys prez and chief fi lm-maker Jake Jaxon has taken inspira-tion from Andy Warhol. In the fi rst, and longest episode (it’s well over an hour), the idea seems to be that sexuality in The Factory, Warhol’s headquarters during the 1960s, was openly expressed and consciously ignored (Warhol preferred voyeur-ism). So cuties Jett Black and Levi Karter share great intimacy while all around them hangers-on kib-itz, costumes are fi tted, haircuts are styled, fl ash bulbs pop, and Factory business is discussed by the management.

All this in turn is interrupted by title cards, like in silent movies, bearing factoids about Warhol’s forays into porn. That they’re in-teresting is beside the point. The two youngsters are having steamy sex (Black’s long cock as impres-sive as Karter’s deep throating ability), but it’s defused by all the interruptions. Note to director Jaxon: It’s one or the other, sir, or one at a time. The reality stuff would be intriguing as prelimi-nary scene setting. But running throughout, it sucks.

The fl imfl am fortunately ends after 20 unsettled minutes, when four other guys drift in for vari-ous duo, trio and fi nally, six-way couplings. Whoopee, they’re al-lowed to go on uninterrupted for 34

stimulating minutes. This makes us grateful, as the other guys are sultry Max Ryder, hot and thick-dicked fellas Bravo Delta and Dillon Rossi, and young charmer Ricky Roman.

The second short is only 14 minutes, but it’s ef-fective. It’s a JO mon-tage that Bravo Delta made to celebrate his cock—defi nitely an item worth celebrat-ing. In this scene, we’re disturbed by the found footage qual-ity of most of the clips, startling moments of polarization, and over-editing. Yet what you can see is worth seeing. I particularly

liked a triptych sequence, in which three images of Delta jack off side by side. Finally, he cums nice—copious and ropey.

Performer Frankie V (slender and pale, hung thick) made the next

short, in which he jacks off in creative positions for 15 minutes, while in a non-

stop Voice-Over (VO) he pontifi cates on the duo meanings of self-love, as masturbation and personal accep-

tance. His conclusion: the former can lead you

to the latter. Well, fl ip that, kiddo, as the latter can improve the former.

The next two scenes are special. The fi rst stars GoGo Harder, who also wrote and directed. He’s a Manhattan demi-celeb for his Boylesque performances. His appeal—and he is appealing—is not based on a big dick (although it is an attractive dick). Nor is his dancing special. It depends a lot on youth, enthusiasm and get-ting naked (refer back to his dick size, please). GoGo is off to Eu-rope, and he fi lms himself all the way. Seven weeks, six countries, eight cities and 35 shows. Quel whirlwind!

I enjoyed the tours a lot. They’re lively fun, and GoGo crams much into the 14 minutes allotted. I enjoyed even more the near half hour of sex he gets as an end of trip reward. He meets up with Sam Barclay (hung and uncut) and JP Dubois (very stiff and cut), and they barrel through

everything three guys can do, in-cluding a tasty chain fuck that cul-minates with the boys feeding their cum to each other.

The movie’s fi nale serves up an encore for Frankie V, in what he tells us is his fi rst partner scene. You’d never guess it, from his élan with dark-haired partner Cameron, who is also a newbie, and a foxy one, with tunnels through his ears, and cheek bones that slash his face. They’ve a pair of succulent cocks between them, and their coupling is passion-ate, horny.

But as in earlier scenes, they’re yapping in VO throughout, testify-ing to their profound thoughts on sex. I thought they’d stop the chatter when Frankie’s lush cock fi rst comes out of his briefs. That’s a moment when everything should fall silent. I mean, now we’re in the temple. But no, it’s yakkety-yak to the very end. After fi erce fucking, a side by side JO may be disappointing, but at least it ends in good orgasms.

So, Boys to Adore Galore is a fi lm worth exploring. And if you aren’t disturbed by the intrusions, or can block them out, you’ll enjoy some good sex with heated youths.

And what, pray tell, has become of the lovely Jett Black? Before porn, he’d been a dancer with the Royal Winnipeg ballet, which disappeared him when his porn career was dis-covered. And since this scene was

fi lmed, over a year ago, he’s disap-peared again. I Googled him as both Jett Black and his birth name, Jeppe Hansen, but couldn’t track him. Where, oh where can my little boy be?t


Warholes Cockyboys’ epic

The cast of Boys to Adore Galore.Cockyboys

Jett Black (on top) and Max Ryder in a hot smooch during Boys to Adore Galore.

Cockyboys

Bravo Delta shows why he earns fandom so easily.

CockyboysGoGo Harder’s hat trick dur-ing his Boylesque routine—a screengrab from Boys to Adore Galore.

Cockyboys

CockyBoys’Boys to Adore Galore

The fi rst stars GoGo Harder, who also wrote and directed. He’s a Manhattan demi-celeb for his Boylesque performances. His appeal—and he is appealing—is not based on a big dick (although it is an attractive dick). Nor is his dancing special. It depends a lot on youth, enthusiasm and get-ting naked (refer back to his dick size, please). GoGo is off to Eu-rope, and he fi lms himself all the way. Seven weeks, six countries, eight cities and 35 shows. Quel whirlwind!

They’re lively fun, and GoGo crams much into the 14 minutes allotted. I enjoyed even more the near half hour of sex he gets as an end of trip reward. He meets up with Sam Barclay (hung and uncut) and JP Dubois (very stiff and cut), and they barrel through


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Shooting Stars photos bySteven UnderhillShooting StarsDrag Queens on IceDespite the rain, the annual Drag Queens on Ice show,

held at the Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in Union square, took place. After a delay due to the torrential storm, the event was rescheduled to December 17. Other events at the rink continue through January 19. $7-$11. Skate rentals $6. Powell St. at Geary. 781-2688. www.unionsquareicerink.com.

More event photo albums are on BARtab’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife.

See more of Steven Underhill’s photos at www.StevenUnderhill.com.

december 25, 2014 edition of the bay area reporter

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