Metrosource LA - October/November 2019

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 METROSOURCE LA

METROSOURCE

MICHAEL R. MOORE

SHOOTS HOLLYWOOD

ALYSSA EDWARDS

COLORADO

REVEALS HERSELF

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

THE NEW CALIFORNIA?

HOWARD ROFFMAN

SEX , BOYS AND STAR WARS TOYS

READING

INDULGENCE

ADAM RIPPON

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®

This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

(bik-TAR-vee)

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including: } Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section. } Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY. } Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY. } Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat. } Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain. } The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).

} Worsening of Hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you

have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains: } dofetilide } rifampin } any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider if you: } Have or have had any kidney or liver problems,

These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY.

including hepatitis infection. } Have any other health problems. } Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby.

Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY. } Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed.

Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:

Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

} Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-

counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.

} BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other.

Ask your healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.

Get HIV support by downloading a free app at

MyDailyCharge.com

GET MORE INFORMATION } This is only a brief summary of important information

about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.

} Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5. } If you need help paying for your medicine,

visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, DAILY CHARGE, the DAILY CHARGE Logo, KEEP LOVING, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.

Version date: December 2018 © 2019 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0102 01/19

KEEP LOVING.

Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.

BIKTARVY® is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in certain adults. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you.

To learn more, visit BIKTARVY.com.

Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the previous page and visit BIKTARVY.com.

BROOCHING THE SUBJECT

VIEWS

EDITOR’S LETTER

THERE’S SOMETHING I NEED TO GET OFF MY CHEST - LITERALLY.

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If I don’t remove it each night, it’s unlikely to survive the laundry. I’ve heard things like it called pins, pendants, even baubles. But generally I go with the term “brooch.”

There was a time when I would have thought wearing such an adornment was the epitome of being a fussy, over-accessorized queen. But now, I think of it as a little bit of joy that I display nearly every day.

This began several years ago with my husband Justin.

Ever on the lookout for the perfect gift, he had noted me mentioning a desire to learn how to properly tie a bow tie. Thus, come that holiday season, he presented me two lovely packages. Each contained a matched set of a patterned bow tie, colorful shoe laces and complementary pins. Much to his surprise it was the pins - little felt flowers meant to adorn a lapel - that really got me excited. I pictured myself sporting them like mid-series Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City.

I was eager to debut my flowers. At first I saved them for actual lapels, but it seemed a sad waste not to incorporate them into my daily attire of button-down shirt and tie. So occasionally, I would affix one to the corner of my breast pocket (or approximately there on shirts without such a pocket). This practice became even more common after the next holiday season, when Justin presented me a follow-up gift: a veritable garden of such buds in a variety of shades that allowed me to incorporate them into an even greater number of ensembles.

Seeing how much fun they brought to my daily routine (and ever determined to outdo himself), Justin broke out the big guns another year later. These gifts were much bigger flowers that had carefully-shaped petals and leaves — apparently crafted of the material one would find in a necktie. Some had centers that sparkled or shone like pearls. Others featured intriguing pattern combinations or gleamed with metallic accents. I was mad for them!

I started investigating where one could purchase them on Etsy and found a store that offered a tantalizing array. I began to stock up my online cart — less with the intention of buying them than to catalogue what I had seen and liked. Periodically, I would comb through the list, eliminating choices that seemed too similar or failed to spark joy. (I had recently inhaled Netflix’s Tidying Up and was determined to “Kondo” down my selection before committing.)

Suddenly I got a message from Etsy that someone else had placed one of these one-of-a-kind selections into their cart. Rather than risk losing out, I impetuously purchased the lot. And I repeated this process again a few weeks later while combing through further flowers with friends. I had soon tripled the size of my collection.

I wanted to wear them all the time, but the new ones felt too ostentatious for daily wear.

Once again, Justin came to the rescue. He discovered where he could purchase reasonablypriced assortments of brooches that were a bit smaller but also offered fun varieties of texture and pattern. Soon, I had enough to match almost any outfit and any level of fanciness. Eventually, I sorted my collection into “everyday” and “special occasion” brooches based on size and scintillation. Though I almost certainly had too many, this meant when I did occasionally lose one to the washing machine, I could - as they say - “let go lightly.”

In the midst of all this, I saw former Metrosource cover guy Zachary Quinto arrive on the Tony Awards red carpet, sporting quite an ornate jacket decoration of his own. When the person interviewing him asked about his “brooch,” Quinto’s eyes went wide. “Is that what we’re calling it?” he asked, evidently preferring the more masculine term “lapel pin.” I remember deciding in that moment that I would own the word brooch - whatever its gender implications. Yes, there are days I push the envelope a bit far (e.g. I have worn one with a t-shirt and shorts). And, yes, there may be people who see them and think I am the epitome of a fussy, over-accessorized queen. But I've carved out space for them in my dresser and my life. And if Marie Kondo ever asks me if they really spark joy, I can very honestly say: Absolutely.

■ OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

METROSOURCE.COM

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on the cover credit Aaron Jay Young

This Page: Adam Pose by Craig Sjodin courtesy ABC • courtesy michael r. moore • Courtesy of Howard Roffman • The Ramble Hotel Adam Szafranski

October/November 2019 | VOLUME 30, NO. 5

CONTENTS

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36 30 24 Michael R. Moore is nothing but love he moved to los angeles to chronicle black hollywood. Now, this fabulous photographer reveals how he shot that — and so much more along the way.

30 The force is strong with Howard Roffman what do star wars action figures and sexy gay photo books have in common? Their worlds collide in the twin careers of one talented man.

36 Adam Rippon goes on rippon discusses his new memoir, which chronicles his journey from coming

out to skating at the Olympics to Dancing with the Stars and beyond.

48

48 Colorado: the new california? it’s a state that celebrates personal freedom, from its legal weed to its gay

governor. But how did the home of the Mile-High City become so liberated?

DEPARTMENTS Indulgence

October/November 2019 | VOLUME 30, NO. 5

40

14 culture

5 the scope MoMA reopens, Actor’s Studio relaunches and Tina Turner is reborn... in scope!

14 screen Virginia’s romance, sex in a Slovenian prison, and the new Pedro Almadóvar.

18 TECH When Amazon meets Whole Foods, who wins?

19 FINANCE Ten mistakes to not make with your taxes.

20 music Get girl Power with SleaterKinney and Charlie XCX.

46 books Dance fashion, ‘90s club kids and Cindy Sherman.

Body

Exclusively LA

12 metro hiv

52 LA Scope

Revisiting a place that changed treatment forever.

40 HEALTH How to work off your favorite Thanksgiving foods.

One Rita Moreno at a time.

54 hot shops Go on a wine safari.

56 weddings Honeymoon in Beantown.

views

58 restaurant Review

13 POV

59 restaurant bites

Kevin asks what a picture is really worth to a gay man.

44 Voices Are Catholic colleges failing LGBTQ students?

45 diary Wade reveals his possible addiction — to lip balm.

64 LAST CALL Alyssa Edwards on what being on TV taught her.

Order some Pizzana.

Where to chow down...

60 bar source ... and where to drink up.

61 business directory Our exclusive list of businesses catering to the LGBT community.

63 Community resources Organizations and resources for LA’s LGBTs.

This Page: Photo by Volodymyr Tverdokhlib-Shutterstock • Photo by Kimberley French courtesy The CW • Vita and Virginia - Mongrel Media

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culture

the

thescope

curated by Sebastian fortino, Paul Hagen and syra taub

this page, clockwise from top left: View of The Marlene Hess and James D. Zirin Lounge. Photo by Iwan Baan • View of the Louise Reinhardt Smith Gallery, including Lawrence Weiner’s SLOW CORROSION LEADING TO A LOSS OF INHERENT DIGNITY OF THE OBJECT AT HAND (1985). Photo by Iwan Baan • North/south section-perspective through the new gallery spaces at The Museum of Modern Art, looking east along Fifty-third Street. © 2017 Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Scope

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Art Beat

big opening With its 40,000 square feet expansion launched in 2017, it

seems that the Museum of Modern Art is bringing modern art into the 21st Century — starting October 21. The expansion, developed by MoMA with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler, has added room for more art and seeks to do so with an interdisciplinary approach.

Spaces include a Platform for education, which invites visitors to react to and question art in today’s historical and contemporary landscape. The studio space will present performances that continue to further their education mission. Most exciting still are the street level galleries which MoMA intends

to keep free for visitors who may be hesitant to pay an entry fee - whether for financial reasons or because they might not be fans of what the museum offers — namely a worldrenowned collection focused on the modern, contemporary and 20th Century art that broke the mold with movements such as dada, fauvism, cubism and abstraction.

Coinciding with the reopening will be a slew of exhibitions, including printmaker Betya Saar’s“The Legends of Black Girl’s Window”, “Su moderno: Journeys of Abstraction”, “Private Lives Public Spaces”, installation artist Haegue Yang’s “Handles” and more. moma.org metrosource.com october/november 2019

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some time to celebrate

culture

thescope

the perfect books to give as holiday gifts tend to come out in

the fall. That’s certainly true of Holiday—The Best Travel Magazine That Ever Was ($85, Rizzoli New York). It’s a celebration of the USA mindset in post-WWII era. Flush with cash from the war era, Americans became entranced with the prospect of travel. But this publication — which ran originally from 1946 to 1977 — wasn’t merely comprised of recommendations about where to go, what to eat or do away from home. Its pages came to life with images from such draftsmen as Al Hirschfeld and Ludwig Bemelmans. It hosted photos from the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson and Slim Aarons.

And acclaimed writers including Jack Kerouac, Ernest Hemingway,

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Screen It

who becomes a legend most?

Before Lady Gaga, before Madonna, before Cher, there was

Judy Garland. The star’s upcoming Renée Zellweger-starring biopic, simply called Judy, hits theaters on September 27th. It will chronicle a low point in Garland’s story: Her money is gone; she has no home — and in hopes of keeping her family together, she must now head to London for five weeks of concerts at The Talk of the Town nightclub. How will audiences respond to Zellweger’s depiction of this enduring gay icon? Will longtime fans find her believable? Will younger audiences even care? Might it even

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Graham Greene, Joan Didion, Truman Capote, Colette and E. B. White filled its pages. For some, Holiday was a how-to for getting out and see the world. For others, the closest they would ever come to adventures abroad was getting lost in these pages and dreaming of distant shores. Now, this collected volume functions as a sort of time capsule for how they saw the world and their place in it. Author Pamela Fiori is the ideal writer to capture the publication’s legacy, too. She started there in 1968, and later went on to helm Travel+Leisure and Town & Country. Franck Durand, who brought the publication back to newsstands in 2014 offers an afterward about Holiday’s legacy in the 21st Century.

october/november 2019

metrosource.com

bring about another Stonewall Uprising? (Garland passed away during that fateful week in 1969.) In early previews, Zellweger seems be deftly channeling the singer, actress and mother. In one tear jerking scene, she muses,“Everybody has their troubles, and I’ve had mine. I just want what everybody wants. I just seem to have a harder time getting it.” It’ll be a must-see for fans of Garland, Zellwegger and big screen musicals. But it may leave fans wondering - if they could be listening to Judy sing, why oh why listen to Renée? roadsideattractions.com

this page: “holiday” images courtesy rizzoli • judy Photos by David Hidley courtesy LD Entertainment / Roadside Attractions

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Ink Spotted

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NEXT UP

AUTEUR/PAINTER

THIS PAGE: © GUS VAN SANT; COURTESY THE ARTIST AND VITO SCHNABEL PROJECTS • ALEC BALDWIN PHOTO BY TYLER ESSARY COURTESYNBC, JANE LYNCH PHOTO BY VIVIAN ZINK COURTESY NBC

MANY ARTISTS WORK IN MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES, FINDING THAT IT SERVES TO

Gus Van Sant. Untitled (Hollywood 16), 2018-2019. Watercolor on linen 84 x 66 inches.

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expand their creative minds. For instance, David Lynch recently had an exhibition of his artwork at the Pennsylvania Academy of Art in Philadelphia. Now groundbreaking director Gus Van Sant is offering a glimpse at his own talents in another medium. You likely know the out filmmaker from such queer films as My Own Private Idaho (1991), and 2008’s Milk (written by Dustin Lance Black). In Gus Van Sant: Recent Paintings, Hollywood Boulevard at Vito Schnabel Projects, his paintings - largely watercolors on stretched linen - take center stage. For example, Untitled (Hollywood 4) features a male nude strolling across the city, a colossus taking it in stride. The figure’s power is revealed in an almost impressionistic use of color and line. Meanwhile, Untitled (Hollywood 16) features another male nude: His profile recalls Picasso’s early classically-inspired figures. However, this one has a different gravity than the first. Rather than dominating the scene, his body almost seems to fade into the background, where a vintage automobile hovers behind.You can see Van Sant’s work in New York City through November 1. Don’t miss this opportunity to see an artist with whom you’re familiar working in unfamiliar ways. It can be most revealing. vitoschnabel.com

NOW AND THEN

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CURSE WORD? WE’VE ENJOYED INSIDE THE ACTOR’S STUDIO FOR DECADES. FROM

its what’s-your-hurry pace to its classic 10-question finale, there’s seldom been a better way to understand a star. Over the years, the show has featured various notable members of the LGBTQ community, including Neil Patrick Harris, Sean Hayes, Jim Parsons and Alia Shawkat — not to mention the gay-beloved like Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler. So it was hard to imagine who could step into the shoes of its august, longtime host James Lipton when he announced that he would step down after last season. Well, it turns out that – for now –

no one person will need to stand up to Lipton’s legacy alone.

The revamped show will feature a rotating cast of hosts. At least four host-guest pairs have been announced do far. Jane Lynch will interview David Oyelowo (Selma). Alec Baldwin visits with Henry Winkler (Barry). Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos) will speak to Willem Dafoe. And Kelsey Grammar will sit down with legendary sitcom director James Burrows. How else will the series continue to evolve as the show moves from Bravo to Ovation? To find out, tune in starting Sunday October 13 at 10pm. ovationtv.com METROSOURCE.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

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CIRCUIT SHAKERS

BEARLANDIA PORTLAND OCTOBER 4 - 6 IF YOU’RE AN ADMIRER OF SEXY BEARDS AND

THE MOST QUEER TIME OF THE YEAR?

THERE’S STILL PLENTY TO CELEBRATE IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS! ALL OF OCTOBER IS LGBT

CULTURE

THESCOPE

History Month, an ideal time to remember our fight for LGBTQ rights. International Lesbian Day is October 8. And National Coming Out Day is October 11 - the anniversary of 1987’s National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. You may be less familiar with International Pronouns Day. October 16 honors the right to be referred to by your preferred pronoun. Observe it by putting your pronouns on your email signature and encouraging others to do the same. October 17 is Spirit Day, dedicated to speaking out against the bullying of LGBTQ young people. Wear purple that day to show solidarity with the largest anti-bullying campaign in the world. Intersex Awareness Day is October 26, the anniversary of the first public demonstration by intersex people in the U.S. 23 years ago. Asexual Awareness Week follows the last week of October to educate about asexual, aromantic and demisexual experiences. The Intersex Day of Remembrance comes next on November 8, the birthday of Herculine Barbin, a French intersex person whose memoirs are highly regarded. Transgender Awareness Week is the second week of November, followed by Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20, when we honor the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-trans violence. And last but far from least, International Stand Up to Bullying Day is the third Friday of November.

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DRINK UP

THE SCORPION’S KISS LOOKING FOR A SPOOKY COCKTAIL FOR YOUR HALLOWEEN

gathering? Or perhaps you’re seeking an extra splash of flavor at Thanksgiving? We found a cocktail from the folks at Alacrán Tequila that is colorful, delicious and will pack a punch – no matter when you decide to serve it. It’s also a delightful way to share tequila with friends beyond the classic shots or the often so-sweet Tequila Sunrise.

Eastern Seaboard? The City of Brotherly love’s National Coming Out Day event becomes a sort of second Pride celebration — and who couldn’t use more Pride? The main event takes place that Sunday, with a block party in the Gayborhood featuring plenty of performers. But the city will be ready to romp all weekend with dance parties, bar crawls and events attended by locals and visitors alike. phillygaypride.org WINTER PRIDE MASPALOMAS NOVEMBER 4 - 10 GET YOUR PASSPORT READY, AND BOOK YOUR

flights to the Gran Canaria, the Spanish island off the coast of Northwestern Africa.

Known for its black lava and white sandy beaches, the island also hosts the last Pride event of the calendar year with Winter Pride 2019. From November 4 through the following Sunday, it’s a full seven days of fun! Expect top international acts and DJs, boat excursions, pool parties, live shows and more! winterpridemaspalomas.com CIRCUIT FESTIVAL MIAMI NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 2 CAN’T MAKE IT TO SPAIN BUT WANT SOME

Ice 0.5 oz. lime juice 1.5 oz. of Alacrán Tequila 1 oz. of simple syrup 5 basil leaves

LATINO fire in your gay getaway? Then you

Serve in a glass and garnish with a basil leaf.

For more unique ways to mix up a tequila cocktail, visit Alacrán online. autenticoalacran.com/drinks OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

LOOKING FOR A FUN, QUEER ESCAPE ON THE

INGREDIENTS:

PREPARATION: Blend together all ingredients in a blender.

8

OUTFEST PHILADELPHIA OCTOBER 11 - 13

METROSOURCE.COM

should consider Circuit Festival Miami, a celebration of nightlife and dancing. Expect non-stop parties at local clubs, the official pool party, the pervert party and of course the wide, sandy stretch of South Beach alive with hundreds of caliente party goers.

It’s a great way to dance off Thanksgiving calories. Plus, a fresh Cuban sandwich beats leftover stuffing! circuitfestival.net/miami

THIS PAGE: CAN’T MISS STOCK PHOTO CREDIT AARON AMAT

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CAN’T MISS

local brews, Bearlandia Portland 2019 may be just right for you. Fly into PDX, and get ready for a weekend that includes the Bearraduca PDX party, Lumbertwink Party, Graffitia Bear party, Beardy Brunch and maybe even Goldilocks. beardlandia.com

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THE TV SET

NOT A GIRL, NOT YET BATWOMAN

THIS PAGE: BATWOMAN PHOTO BY ELIZABETH MORRIS COURTESY THE CW, PHOTO BY KIMBERLEY FRENCH COURTESY THE CW

WHEN THE CW UNVEILED THE TRAILER FOR ITS NEW SUPERHERO

series Batwoman, the LGBTQ community flipped out. The exciting show will follow Kate Kane, cousin of original Batman Bruce Wayne. After returning to Gotham City, Kane learns that her girlfriend has been taken captive. In response, she picks up where her cousin left off, asking that the batsuit“be fixed”to fit a woman.

The most exciting part of this new female-centered drama may be that its lead character is a lesbian, whose relationship will be central to the plot. Batwoman bills itself a the first LGBTQ liveaction superhero to lead her own show. She will be played by Ruby Rose, a 33-year-old gender-fluid Australian lesbian. Rose

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says she wants young people to be able to identify with Batwoman. Part of that effort will involve offering audiences will up close and personal views of traumatic experiences. These will include navigating relationships, dealing with the idea of living in the closet, and both written and unwritten rules about LGBTQ people in the military. “Representation is everything and diversity is our strength,” adds Executive Producer Sarah Schechter. “We love this character and we love her sexuality and we love her beyond her sexuality…We’re really proud of being able to have an out lesbian woman front and center of these shows.” Catch the groundbreaking series beginning October 6. thecw.com

STAGE ADVICE

GOOD JOB IN THE CITY

IN APRIL, LONDON AUDIENCES WERE TREATED TO A NEW MUSICAL

celebrating the life and career of legendary singer Tina Turner.

Coming on the heels of such similarly single-artist celebrations as Donna: The Donna Summer Musical and The Cher Show, we can’t help but wonder whether audiences will be ready for another?

But this show boasts both Turner’s unmatched catalogue of hits and the artist’s famously dramatic story of rebounding from domestic abuse - which should certainly make audiences stand up and cheer in the era of #metoo. It also has a secret weapon in the form of Adrienne Warren’s turn as Turner, which had critics raving across the pond. The show itself highlights Turner’s career in the 1970s when she was emerging from Ike Turner’s shadow into the solo spotlight. It’s especially appropriate that the musical opened in London, since that’s the city that nurtured her reinvention. The show also overflows gee-whiz facts about her life, from her Buddhism to the fact that David Bowie helped produce her first solo endeavor. The production, which The Guardian hailed as“a celebration of triumph over adversity,” begins previews in NYC on October 12 with an opening night on November 7th. tinaonbroadway.com

Adrienne Warren as Tina Turner, Photo by Manuel Harlan, 2018 METROSOURCE.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

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Nurse Alison Moed Paolercia

BODY

METROHIV

Journalist Hank Plante

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CARING FOR 5B

A film revisits the caregivers of Ward 5B, who faced fear and scorn to assist the first AIDS victims. BY JEFF SIMMONS

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

METROSOURCE.COM

THIS PAGE: IMAGES COURTESY RYOT

BY DEFINITION, A HERO IS SOMEONE WHO DISPLAYS COURAGE OR ABILITY AND IS AD-

mired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. To the men who were encamped at San Francisco General Hospital’s unprecedented Ward 5B, that word was made manifest by the esteemed corps of nurses who displayed care and compassion toward them when so many others refused to do so.

The bonds between these caregivers and their patients is on full display in a heart-wrenching and inspirational new documentary called 5B, which chronicles how the hospital and its caregivers launched the world’s first ward to accept people with AIDS. The film chronicles the efforts of doctors, nurses, and other volunteers whose lived were forever altered while trying to help patients desperately in need.

“It was totally groundbreaking. There wasn’t another unit like this in the world,” says Alison Moed Paolercio, one of the dozen nurses who first opened the unit in 1983. “I don’t think there was another job that I had ever applied for so hopefully as a position in this unit.”

Directed by Dan Krauss and Paul Haggis, 5B is distributed by the Verizon Media outlet Ryot. It’s already been screened at Cannes and premiered in Los Angeles to standing ovations. It’s also scheduled to be released on various on-demand platforms in the next few weeks. Delivered through first-person accounts, the film recounts the many setbacks and few successes of those who came together to deal with the epidemic and try to offer assistance to its victims when no one else would.

Ward 5B was not just a place; it was a remarkable nexus of hope and courage in the face of fear and stigma. Though not a single one of 5B’s first residents survived, the nurses – led by Cliff Morrison - gave their AIDS patients genuine care from the heart and the grace and opportunity to see their last days through with dignity.

As physicians encountered what was being described as “gay cancer,” patients were routinely quarantined — isolated amid fears they were contagious.

Ward 5B opened with only a dozen beds. But demand soon outpaced supply, and the unit quickly mushroomed. Just the same, patients were placed in single rooms to provide for their individualized care. Nurses welcomed visits by nonblood relatives and found cots for loved ones to stay with their companions.

“We encouraged the presence of those they saw as family,”Moed Paolercio says.

“That could be a friend, a lover, a member of their nuclear family.” Not only did these practitioners care about patients’ pharmaceutical regimens. They also“wanted to know how they were feeling, what other issues were affecting them. We were very conscious of the fact that many of our patients were dying, how that was being experienced, who was helping them, and what they needed.”

Moed Paolercio adds,“Our goal was not only to provide good nursing care, but to provide a healing environment and ensure they felt accepted in our unit.”

Openly gay reporter Henry “Hank” Plante, who provided comprehensive coverage of AIDS for San Francisco-based KPIX TV, describes the impact of these caregivers as life-changing.“They were unafraid,”says Plante, now on-air reporter with the NBC Palm Springs affiliate KMIR-TV. “This was an era when nobody knew how HIV was spread… The nurses and doctors didn’t know if they were bringing this home to their families, and yet that didn’t stop them from doing their jobs. They were really the heroes. They sent a message to those of us in the media that it was okay to touch and love and care for people with HIV.” While the term “AIDS movie” may elicit expectations about more depressing cinema, Plante describes 5B as“a love story, because it’s about the jobs they did with great love, and that love and compassion prevail in the face of horrible tragedy.”

And Moed Paolercio, who left the hospital in the early ‘90s to pursue her Masters degree, brushes off any notions of her own heroism. “I didn’t see myself as a hero,”she demurs.“I truly saw the patients as heroes. They were the heroes because they as a community helped us to learn how to care for them, and helped the medical community hear what was needed.”

■

REVEALING PHOTOGRAPHS estate in this issue honoring the art of photography. These amazing records of moments frozen in time have become so ubiquitous, it’s hard to believe they’ve existed only for a few lifetimes before our own. And like television — an invention once intended to enrich and ennoble— smartphone cameras now can and do record anything.

Some early Native Americans were said to be terrified of the first photos. They believed that capturing one’s image also trapped the subject’s essence. And anyone who has a cherished keepsake Polaroid knows there’s a certain truth to that.

My father Robert Phinney died of cirrhosis while I was in college. When it happened, I hadn’t seen him since I was seven. He surrendered my sister and I to my mother’s third husband, who adopted us. I remember my mother and stepfather taking us to say goodbye to my Dad. We had no idea our farewell would be forever.

But the photos remain. Mysterious; elusive.

There’s a blurry snapshot of him smiling while he holds my sister astride a pony. There’s a series of him and my mother on their wedding day - he in a suit and she in a gown that shows off the hourglass figure she had in her prime. Because she absentmindedly recorded the date on the back of the photo, my sister and I learned we were both born before they married. When I confronted my Mom with this evidence as an adult, she admitted that when she got pregnant with me, Bob was actually married to someone else.

Photographs document our time here - not just yours and mine, but also those of England’s heirs to the throne; Anne Frank’s cruelly short time among us and Michael Jackson in between trips to the surgeon. When we look back at such photos now, it’s somehow easier to understand how time marks us — and visa versa.

We get to see, all at once, how remarkably and quickly the human body changes from infancy through adolescence. And then there’s the way time seems to stop for some people - for a while, anyway. I recall thinking how strange it was that my appearance didn’t change much from 20 to 40 - even though that was roughly the same amount of time my body underwent the seismic changes that occurred during the two decades before that. Sometimes the only giveaway to a photo’s date is the fashion of the day or some telltale auto or shop window in the background. You still look just like you.

At 40, I decided to get serious about working out. I got myself a trainer and documented the changes. I also started a longdistance relationship with my now ex-husband, who is 17 years younger than I am. When I was satisfied enough with my progress, I invested in a real photographer to create a present for my guy.

The photographer wanted to shoot me naked.

“So here’s how it works,” he explained. “If you pay me, you get a set of prints and all the negatives. Or you can get a set of prints for free, and I get to sell the photos on the internet — discreetly.”

Oddly enough, I was flattered. And so, being the free spirit I am, I agreed to let him sell his work online. I figured that if somebody was willing to pay money for images of me well past what most gay guys would consider their sell-by date, it would ultimately be doing some good in the world. I asked the photographer only once how well my little collection sold. He gave me a wry smile. “Oh, you’d be surprised,” he said. “More than you’d expect, and not enough to retire on.”

All of these memories cascaded together recently when someone wrote in to Ask Gay Daddy (our new advice column at metrosource.com). He confided his own fascination with a site focused on photos of men snapped before 1960. When I visited the site myself, I quickly understood what captivated him. It’s true that - while fashions and hairstyles come and go - what’s truly handsome is immutable. Maybe that’s why Michelangelo’s David continues to leave us speechless through the centuries.

The site in question includes vintage photos of some men who are unabashedly gay — kissing, embracing; holding hands. Often they simply lean into each other affectionately. Others might have been considered the porn of their day, with men sporting outfits crafted to reveal more than they hide. And still more shots create tableaus that invite the gay male mind to wonder: images of guys lounging around with fellow servicemen, leaning over under the hood of an open car, on the beach, arms over shoulders at a bar.

Scrolling down, I saw what appeared to be my Dad peering out at me. It wasn’t him, of course. But the Irish twinkle in his eye, his confidently crooked grin and that stylishly off-center sailor’s cap all seemed immediately familiar. That pic inspired me to create a new document of a past I never had. By sifting through and pulling photos from the site, I’ve created a gallery of cousins and uncles from generations past. It stretches back to some of the earliest photographs ever made. I’m fully aware that it’s all fantasy. This is not my family tree. But they also remind me that gay families are always created. Maybe you’ll think it’s silly to feel attached to an imaginary family. But it beats the absence of one any day. ■

VIEWS

WE’VE EXPENDED A LOT OF REAL

POV

Kevin retraces a lifetime in pictures - from his lost father to his brief stint as a nude model — all along the path to creating a very different kind of chosen family. BY KEVIN PHINNEY

IS THERE A PHOTOGRAPH THAT MEANS THE WORLD TO YOU? SHARE YOUR STORY IN “GAY VOICES” AT METROSOURCE.COM. METROSOURCE.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

13

THE WAY TO REMEMBER

CULTURE

SCREEN

Virginia Woolf has a florid romance; a gay hookup turns out to be more than meets the eye; a Slovenian inmate falls for his prison bully, a Mexico City boy falls in with ‘80s counterculture and a director seeks to escape his memory. BY JONATHAN ROCHE

ESTEEMED FILMMAKER PEDRO ALMODÓVAR RETURNS WITH

what many are calling his best film in years. Pain and Glory is certainly more grounded than 2013’s playful romp, I’m So Excited. It’s certainly less reserved than 2016’s adaptation Julieta. More than anything else, this film is intimate. It follows Salvador, a famous aging and ailing film director grappling with both his present and his past. He is played by a saltand-pepper-scruffy Antonio Banderas. Though Almodovar has said the film isn’t biographical, the director has obviously put a lot of himself into the character. And Banderas isn’t doing an Almodovar impression (despite the hairdo knockoff of his director’s famous mop). In fact, the character’s apartment is Almodovar’s actual home. Salvador heads out to visit the star of one of his older films, whom he hasn’t seen in years. He wants the actor do a Q&A after

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a special screening of their old collaboration, a film called Sabor (Taste). But Salvador actually wants the druggie actor to teach him how to do heroin. Troubled by a laundry list of chronic ailments (muscle aches, joint pains, tinnitus, anxiety, depression), Salvador seeks escape. He is also running from his own memories. Moreover, he’s trying to outrun his own uncertain future as an artist - and the possibility he may no longer able to produce art. Throughout the film, Salvador drifts - sometimes in a narcotic haze into the past. His reveries lead to memories of his mother (Penelope Cruz) in the 1960s when his poor family lived in a cave/home in the parochial village of Valencia. THE WORD: Here’s an atmospheric character study that probes the ghostly mysteries of life without the intention of uncovering any specific truth. COMING TO: Theaters

THIS PAGE: PAIN AND GLORY - SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

PAIN AND GLORY

END OF THE CENTURY

THIS PAGE: END OF THE CENTURY COURTESY OF CINEMA GUILD • FRANKIE © GUY FERRANDIS/SBS PRODUCTIONS. COURTESY SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

END OF THE CENTURY BEGINS IN SILENCE, SAVE FOR THE GENTLE

ambient noise of the surrounding city. A man is strolls through Barcelona, then checks into an AirBnB. He deposits his bag and inspects the place. Then, while gazing from his balcony, he watches a handsome fellow pass by. Later — after some casual sightseeing — he lingers on a beach and notices the man again. They exchange glances in the sea. But, back on land, the mystery man vanishes before our protagonist can speak to him. Soon Ocho is back on his balcony enjoying a beer when his handsome stranger appears yet again. Ocho calls out and invites the man to join him. Upon consideration, Javi decides,“Why not?” Upstairs the familiar dance of the gay hookup begins. Ocho mentions that he couldn’t find Javi on Grindr earlier. Soon they’re discussing the benefits of PrEP and condom use. So when it comes, their sex is, graphic and

very convincing. At the same time, it’s not eroticized per se.

Rather, the camera seems to observe the pair with a slow and unblinking eye. What unfolds is a lingering tryst filled with conversation and fueled by chemistry, wine and cigarettes.

Eventually we come to understand that these two men have already met and commingled some 20 years earlier. The film dives into their shared past before picking up again in the present. With 20 years between them, it would seem these two promising lovers now have very different lives. Or do they? In a twist worthy of many of Latin America’s great writers, the story continues down a very unexpected road.

THE WORD: In his excellent first feature film, writer/director Lucio Castro crafts a subtle and poignant story highly reminiscent of Andrew Haigh’s film Weekend — with just a hint of Sliding Doors. COMING TO: Theaters

FRANKIE IRA SACHS IS ONE OF THE FINEST GAY DIRECTORS CURRENTLY

producing feature films. His brutal look at a long term gay relationship torn apart by time and drug addiction Keep the Lights On caused a stir with its honesty and sad beauty. He returned with an even more acclaimed effort, Love is Strange a bittersweet tale of love vs. reality that featured shining performances from John Lithgow and Alfred Molina. His Little Men is also about a breakup, but of boyhood best friends and with a less distinctly gay theme. Now in Frankie, Sachs offers a portrait of a woman who is preparing to break up with life itself.

Frankie (Isabelle Huppert) is a famous actress who appears in good health but is dying of cancer. Now she’s summoned those closest to her to Sintra, Portugal, a town famous for its fairytale beauty. There, she and her family (legal and chosen) meander the perfect winding streets in conversation or quiet reflection.

These reveal truths about Frankie and her relationships. The perfectly bearish Brendan Gleeson (Braveheart, In Bruges) plays her doting spouse, while veteran French actor Pascal Greggory (Non-Fiction) plays her homosexual ex-husband and father of their son (Jérémie Renier - In Bruges). Marisa Tomei plays Frankie’s longtime work companion who has been invited to town unaware of Frankie’s condition. What’s more, she’s got

a boyfriend (Greg Kinnear) in tow, and his desire to take their relationship to the next level also becomes part of the story’s arc.

True to Sachs’ form, things seems to fall apart, but in the gentlest ways possible. THE WORD: This director has an eye for the end of things and asks his audience to reflect on the reality of loss. However, it’s a difficult needle to thread, and while still worthwhile, Frankie is not his finest work. COMING TO: Theaters METROSOURCE.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

15

CONSEQUENCES film from the nation of Slovenia revolves around a story of troubled youth. At 17, young Andrej finds himself in court after he punches a girl in the face for laughing at his apparent impotence. (The pair had been trying to hook up at the time.) Andrej’s mother does him no favors in court. She reports to the judge that Andrej does drugs, skips school and won’t listen to anyone.

As a result, he ends up in a kind of juvenile detention center.

However, circumstances there doesn’t generally seem too horrible. He’s even allowed to go back to his nice middleclass home on weekends. The real trouble is that some of Andrej’s peers in this new environment appear much worse than he is. Case in point: Željko, a thief who sells drugs and extorts money from anyone weaker than him. Drawn toward Željko’s alpha personality (or perhaps something else about him), Andrej soon ends up trying to please his role model by serving as his main enforcer. Then - after a night of drinking and drugs leads to a surprisingly intimate encounter between the two strapping young men - Andrej finds himself

becoming more deeply immersed. Despite his antisocial behavior, the handsome and powerfully built Andrej has a kindness in his eyes that is undeniable — further amplified by his tender behavior towards a beloved pet rat. And speaking of pets, like a loyal dog, Andrej abides by his blackmailing master, until Željko ultimately pushes him too far. The message of the film is clear from its title.

The real question is: who will reap the consequences? Will it be Andrej? Those who abuse him? Or those who denied him the love and acceptance that might have helped him build a different life?

THE WORD: While this film lacks nuance, it does make for a decent cautionary tale about how youths at risk might benefit from more compassion and less discipline. COMING TO: Video on Demand

THIS IS NOT BERLIN HERE’S THE OPENING IN STORYBOARD FORM: TWO LARGE GROUPS OF TEEN

schoolboys brawling in a dusty field - in slow motion. In the center, a boy hovers. He is not engaging any of the other combatants. There’s a look of alarm frozen on his face. Eventually, in the distance, he seems to see something. But before we can ascertain what that might be, he faints. The boy wakes up in a car with his school brothers admiring their battle bruises, and thus the scene is set. We are in the world of these middle class youth in 1980s Mexico City. Carlos (Xabiani Ponce de León - who is as pretty as his name) is soon revealed to be

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smarter than most of his friends. In fact, it turns out he is something of an engineering prodigy. He has a serious crush on his best friend Gera’s older sister, Rita (Ximena Romo). And when Carlos fixes her boyfriend’s broken keyboard, he earns passage for him and Gera to the underground club where Rita and her fellow cool kids party every night. Inside Carlos and Gera are exposed to a world of punk music, art, drugs and sexual liberty.

Gera appears hesitantly drawn to the queer aspects of this new world, while Carlos becomes a quick convert to the look and social defiance of a gay counterculture artist. Diving headfirst into the scene, Carlos is bullied at school for his punk haircut and participation in public protests concerning the then-wildly raging AIDS crisis. And amid the tumult, he still has eyes for Rita. As he attempts to navigate the muddy waters of love and personal identity, Carlos seeks advice from his very cool uncle, played by the film’s director, Hari Sama. What makes this film pop — apart from Sama’s strong visuals —is the personality of Mexico City. This place has long possessed of one of the most exciting art scenes in the world, and it must’ve have been especially vibrant in the lean and permissive ‘80s. THE WORD: Not the best story, but Sama’s film successfully captures the vibrant energy of a time and place. COMING TO: Video on Demand

THIS PAGE: CONSEQUENCES COURTESY DARK STAR PICTURES • THIS IS NOT BERLIN - SAMUEL GOLDWNY FILMS

CULTURE

SCREEN

THE FIRST NARRATIVE LGBTQ FEATURE

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begin to guess they do? Hold that thought, because Peter Lucian (Peter Sarsgaard) is a successful one. That’s surprising in part because few of his clients seem to understand what exactly it is he does when they hire him. Only in a place like New York City would you ďŹ nd such a professional. You’ll ďŹ nd him by getting his phone number from an eccentric friend who’s noticed just how stressed and sleepless you’ve been.

Then Mr. Lucian comes to your home with his odd and rigid professionalism and proceeds to listen to your apartment.

He takes in all of the ambient sounds: the low whine of a radiator, the buzz of a toaster, the hum of an electric clock. He doesn’t try to eliminate all these constant and mostly overlooked sounds. Instead, he seeks to tweaks their collective output to a tone promised to deliver you to inner harmony, rather than the nervous exhaustion you’ve been experiencing. It’s all a part of the Lucian world view: how sounds affect people, and even what uniďŹ ed sound the city itself is making.

Like many men of vision, Lucian seems to dwell at the bor-

der between genius and madness. Things get a bit more complex when Lucian meets a client, Ellen (Rashida Jones), a woman whose environment appears resistant to his skills or charm. Meanwhile, even as some of his peers respect (and even covet) his work, others seem to believe he could be simply nuts. Expanding on his own short, 2013’s Palimpsest, freshman feature director Michael Tyburski crafts a thoughtful ďŹ lm with an original premise. But he seems a bit tentative about where to take his story. The ďŹ lm’s concept might have worked better as a short, which only has to be concerned with character and ethos, rather than a more well-realized narrative. THE WORD: Sarsgaard is the strongest part of the ďŹ lm; he excels at playing volatile and enigmatic weirdos. COMING TO: Video on Demand

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Virginia Woolf brought to ďŹ lm. While some of the romance between these famous Brits is speculative, the wealth of letters that the writers exchanged speaks to their enraptured connection. A more commercially successful writer, the aristocratic Vita (Gemma Arterton -Clash of The Titans) takes an interest in Virginia (Elizabeth Debicki - Widows), whom she recognizes as her artistic superior. Vita pursues the married Woolf with a passionate intensity, which in turn worries Vita’s high-toned husband (with whom she has an understanding regarding their sexual proclivities). He’s already rescued Vita’s reputation after she ran off with a woman once; he won’t abide it again. Nor will Vita’s wealthy and controlling mother (Isabella Rossellini).

Meanwhile the mentally unstable Virginia depends on Leonard, her loyal caretaker, publisher, and husband. The representation

of Woolf’s ecstatic mind is something worth savoring here.

For Virginia, everything will suddenly freeze: vines will snake across a room, climb the walls, then burst into bloom. This exquisite madness has a wonderful intensity that brings to mind the potency with which Woolf was depicted in The Hours. The efďŹ cacy of these scenes owe a lot to an excellent, driving score composed by Isobel Waller-Bridge (sister of Phoebe WallerBridge - Fleabag, Killing Eve). The ďŹ lm’s strengths are its focus on these exceptional women personiďŹ ed by two strikingly beautiful and talented leads. The script, coauthored by director Chanya Button and actress Eileen Atkins is impressive and literary, if limited by historical record. THE WORD: Worth watching, especially paired with 1992’s Orlando (starring Tilda Swinton), based on Woolf’s novel whose gender-switching main character was inspired by Vita. COMING TO: Video on Demand METROSOURCE.COM /#4/"%2 ./6%-"%2

17

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS

WHEN AMAZON MEETS WHOLE FOODS Will the partnership between the retail giants deliver a brave new era in grocery shopping — or is it just one more way to point-and-click your way to indulgence? BY DUSTIN YOUNG ordering pizza online in The Net and it became my teenage obsession. At the time, that scene embodied my boyhood fantasy of an ultra-connected tech future. It was the mid-’90s, grunge was everywhere and dial-up services like AOL billed by the minute. Looking back, I now realize that Bullock’s character was less living the luxe life and more wallowing in isolation as she hacked together a customized pie for delivery from the fictitious Pizza.net.

Fast forward 25 years and that vision of the future has more than come to pass.

There’s almost no Avoiding the Noid when all you need to do is tweet a pizza emoji to alert Domino’s of a delivery desire. Plus - unlike the very limited reach of a 54-hundred baud modem circa 1995 - today’s highspeed access gives the term“fast food”a whole new meaning.

But it’s not just fast food that has been brought so tantalizingly close at hand by touch screens and track pads and smart phones (oh my!).

BEHEMOTHS RISING It was close to the same time during the nascent dot-com boom of the 1990s when both Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market began their respective journeys toward offering the ultimate in choice, quality and speed of satiation. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994. A few years later in 1997, one of the many consolidated subsidiaries that came to make up present day Whole Foods - WholePeople.com - began to seriously explore the online sales potential of their products.

Those visions of the future lead to this present day singularity: The tools of our present full of instant gratification were already in place.

However, it would take more than a dozen years for Amazon to become profitable, and about the same for Whole Foods to establish itself as a premium grocer throughout major markets of the nation. Another decade passed, and now these two behemoths of business have finally merged into a super massive black hole of perpetual indulgence.

INSTANTLY GRATIFIED? In theory, Amazon’s logistical ingenuity combined with Whole Foods’ curated grocery acumen means that consumers can now declare that “fast” food is no longer synonymous with groceries considered subpar.

Or can we? In researching this article, I must admit I was at first confused and ultimately, pretty far from instantly gratified by the reality of Amazon Prime Now delivery through Whole Foods.

That’s not to say what’s available isn’t good. It might even be great.

However, the sheer volume of choices can be a barrier to entry compared

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METROSOURCE.COM

to the simple user experience once anticipated by the fictional pizza configurator depicted in The Net. Though we long ago grew accustomed to such services from the likes of Domino’s and Pizza Hut, the ultimate result is just faster fast food. However, the partnering of Amazon and Whole Foods does actually result in several crossover services you need to understand in order to get the most in return. However once you do, they can yield high quality food, much faster.

THE MEGA-MERGER MENU To make the most of these services, you need to grasp the various ingredients making up the recipe. It begins at Amazon and it ends with Whole Foods at your door. In between is Prime, a $119 annual (or $12.99 monthly) subscription that includes Amazon Prime Now two-hour delivery. Use it to find most of your Whole Foods favorites — including their prepared meals and 365 branded products.

Meanwhile, Amazon Fresh is a total grocery delivery add-on to your Prime subscription that ups your monthly cost by another $14.99.

Amazon Fresh combines Whole Foods offerings with more conventional supermarket brands. (However this, as well as Prime membership, is provided free of charge for customers with a valid SNAP/ EBT card.) In most major markets, orders over $35 are delivered at no extra charge.

Elsewhere, that threshold is $50. But let’s say you absolutely require a pack of gum delivered.You can have it for the price of the gum and a $9.99 fee.

You can further request a one hour “attended delivery” window that arrives in paper bags. Or you can request a 2-3 hour “doorstep delivery” in temperature-controlled totes - depending on location and availability.

Whole Foods Discounts for Amazon Prime Members can be obtained both in-store and when ordering online. You can even front-load your shopping trip by checking out the available discounts online first.

But remember: Get that app installed before you get to the checkout in order to authenticate your membership.

SPECIAL DELIVERIES If you’re prepared to make the internet your cyber-sous chef, Amazon and Whole Foods can up your kitchen game to gourmet levels. But it’ll take thought, planning and coordination. Ultimately, it’s less about gratifying your every whim of instant consumption and more like employing a robotic workforce to keep supplies coming aligned with your culinary forecast. If you use these services at peak efficiency, they can provide a route to a healthier lifestyle and more efficient food budgeting. Or – if you simply enjoy the thrill of ordering groceries online as easily as Sandra ordered pizza in The Net — they might be just one more indulgence. ■

THIS PAGE: STOCKPHOTO (WITHOUT THE LOGOS) CREDIT NEYRO2008

METROSOURCE

TECH

AT 16 YEARS OLD, I SAW SANDRA BULLOCK

These Are

10 Tax Mistakes You Might Be Making

The year will be gone before you know it; gather those receipts. By JENNIFER DAY The U.S. tax code is nearly 4 million words. That’s a lot of

6. Inaccurate account numbers

complicated legal jargon that most people don’t really want to read.

However, even though the rules are complex, most of the mistakes LGBTQ taxpayers make on their returns are fairly simple. Here are 10 of the most common errors taxpayers make:

You should always double-check your bank account and routing numbers if you prefer your refund direct deposited or if you’re making an electronic tax payment. Entering incorrect information can delay your refund or result in

1. Not filing on time

7. Missing a tax break

The IRS estimates a full 20 percent of taxpayers wait until a week before the deadline to file their income tax returns. Unfortunately, waiting until the last minute can also force some procrastinators to miss the deadline entirely if they happen to run into any problems while completing their forms.

Sure, filing for an extension can give you more time, but you still need to pay any taxes owed by the original deadline, which is April 15, 2020 for tax year 2019. And if you don’t make that payment by the due date, the IRS will charge you interest.

While the IRS isn’t famous for its generosity, there are a number of tax credits and exemptions available – especially to families and students. Credits like the Child Tax Credit can lower your tax bill by as much as $2,000, so make sure you don’t miss out if you qualify.

In addition, make sure you think twice before deciding to take the standard deduction. Homeowners in particular should itemize their biggest deductions to see if they add up to more than the standard.

2. Missing or incorrect information One of the more common tax filing mistakes is leaving a box blank or screwing up your own Social Security number. The easiest way to avoid those mistakes is to import info from last year’s return so you don’t risk creating a typo when keying in your information.

culture

8. Filing the wrong tax forms

finance

penalties and interest on late payments.

The IRS now provides a single income tax form for all filers to complete regardless of their tax situation. That’s Form 1040. Forms 1040A and 1040EZ were eliminated starting with tax year 2018. The revision of Form 1040 also brought with it six new schedules. If you own a business and need to report profits and losses, you’ll still need to complete Schedule C.

9. Filing under the wrong status 3. Math errors Formulas used in tax forms are notoriously tricky — i.e. “Add line 8 to line 32 and multiply by .356 if your AGI is greater than $50,000.”

Excuse me: What?? Save yourself a headache and use tax preparation software like TurboTax that will make the calculations for you.

stock photo Copyright: Tharakorn Arunothai

4. Falling behind on the latest tax news Not only is the tax code complicated, but Congress changes it a little every year. The tax reform at the end of 2017 was the largest overhaul of the tax code in 30 years. That amount of change can feel overwhelming for some. Make sure to consult the IRS news page for important updates so you don’t miss out on valuable deductions and credits (or attempt to claim a benefit that no longer exists).

5. Not keeping a copy of your return Tax experts recommend keeping a copy of your tax return for at least three years. That’s how long the IRS can legally audit you for a gross under-reporting of income.

The IRS applies different income tax rates - and it awards different standard deductions - according to your filing status: single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household or qualifying widow(er). Married couples filing jointly, for example, are entitled to twice the standard deduction of single filers.

Also note that married couples filing separately are subject to different rules than joint filers. For instance, if you file separately, both spouses need to claim either the standard or itemized deductions - not one of each.

10. Not filing at all Even if you can’t pay your full tax bill at the time it’s due, file a return and contact the IRS to start an installment payment plan. The interest rates are low, and it’s far better than ignoring the law and failing to file, which can result in penalties and potential tax evasion charges.

Remember as Benjamin Franklin said,“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”So remember: keep your receipts, consider filing as soon as you have the necessary documents for the previous year, and to file before April 15th. It’ll be here before you know it.

■ metrosource.com october/november 2019

19

changing colors An English vocalist crafts a fantasy dreamscape, a pop futurist embraces collaborations, and a rock trio goes dark. by matt gross

Sleater-Kinney The Center Won’t Hold

culture

music

According to rock trio Sleater-Kinney, The Center Won’t Hold is Sleater-Kinney’s “midnight record on the doomsday clock.” For 25 years Corin Tucker, Janet Weiss and Carrie Brownstein (of Portlandia fame) have been creating“riot grrrl” music before it even became a recognized genre. As they explain,“we’re always mixing the personal and the political. But on this record, despite obviously thinking so much about politics, we were really thinking about the person - ourselves or versions of ourselves or iterations of depression or loneliness - in the middle of the chaos.” Produced by pop auteur St. Vincent (that’s Annie Clark’s stage name), The Center Won’t Hold strays a bit from Sleater-Kinney’s signature gritty, guitar-heavy sound by adding electronics, traditional choruses and an undoubtedly goth vibe befitting the record’s dark subject matter. “Here are intimate battle cries. Here are shattered songs for the shattered survivors,” they declaim. The record’s highlights include the ferocious “Hurry on Home” and the album’s sleek and direct title track.

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this page: Sleater-Kinney credit Charlie Engman

(Mom + Pop Music)

BAT FOR LASHES Lost Girls (AWAL)

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Inspired by Los Angeles (where the album was recorded) and growing up in the ‘80s, Lost Girls is a lush and sensual release from this English singer. Bat for Lashes (born Natasha Khan) has been making waves internationally since 2006 with the release of her boundary pushing Mercury Prize-nominated debut release, Fur and Gold.

Her sound is equal parts Kate Bush, Siouxsie Sioux, Stevie Nicks, Annie Lennox and something entirely her own. And it always comes with a tinge of mystery, grace and passion. Her previous release, The Bride, was more melancholy and mournful. Conversely, Lost Girls is being called “an album for driving in the dark; holding hands at sunset; jumping off bridges with vampires; riding your bike across the moon.” The synth poppy lead single, “Kids in the Dark” could have perfectly accompanied a sex scene in some coming-of-age flick around 1985.

Elsewhere,“Feel for You” (not the Prince/Chaka classic) is reminiscent of a lost ‘70s disco jam and would fit beautifully next to Donna Summer on your Spotify workout playlist. Listening to Lost Girls is like stepping into a fantasy dreamworld.

CHARLI XCX

Charli (Atlantic Records) On her third studio album, the pop futurist celebrates the art of collaboration.

Throughout this collection, Charli XCX seamlessly blends musical genres from across the pop spectrum. Acclaimed collaborators here include Lizzo, Troye Sivan, CupcakKe, Big Freedia and Sky Ferreira among many others.

However, it’s her duet with French pop phenomenon Christine and the Queens on “Gone” that takes the top pop prize.

According to a statement from the artist,

the tune serves as a “hard-hitting ode to the complexities of falling prey to others’ opinions.” (Plus, the video is pretty fantastic and worth seeking out).

Since the start of her career nearly a decade ago, Charli XCX has regularly challenged the conventions of pop music, and this fun, self-titled record is no exception. She has always fallen slightly to the margins of the mainstream (not counting “Fancy” with Iggy Azalea which spent seven weeks at #1 back in 2014). But that’s all about to change. It’s easy to envision these bops receiving heavy Top 40 airplay. Want to see Charli XCX strut her stuff live? She’ll tour the record extensively throughout North America this fall, starting September 20 in Atlanta and ending October 22 in New York City.

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Arkansas CareTeam Member and CarePartners

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THESE STRAIGHT

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HIV HEROES

Trudy Crestone

Victoria Noe

In her new book, Victoria Noe chronicles the stories of people whose contributions to addressing the AIDS epidemic have often gone unheralded: straight women. BY JEFF SIMMONS THEY ARE THE UNSUNG HEROES: THE STRAIGHT WOMEN ON THE FRONT LINES

of the HIV/AIDS epidemic who served as the advocates and allies, the angels of mercy who provided comfort and care for the sick and dying.

“These mostly anonymous women have put their bodies on the line, sometimes literally, to fight for the rights of people with HIV/ AIDS,”writes Victoria Noe, in her new book, Fag Hags, Divas and Moms: The Legacy of Straight Women in the AIDS Community ($16.99, King Company Publishing). “They have delivered meals, covered for, and housed people who were abandoned by their birth families. They have comforted the living and buried the dead. They have raised money and awareness and given hope to those in despair. They have celebrated successes and mourned too many lives cut short by a virus and stigma.

And their efforts have largely gone unrecognized.”

A longtime author, essayist, and veteran member of Chicago’s AIDS community, Noe lost countless friends to the epidemic. She notes how many chronicles of the plague focus on the work of men and the gay community — but not the contributions of straight women.

“The epidemic is more diverse than people think,” she wants to make clear. “The public face has typically been white gay men, not that there’s anything wrong with that. They were at the forefront of everything. But it’s important for people to see that, as astounding as the contributions are from gay men, there have been significant contributions from women of all races, of all ethnic groups and from all around the world. And it’s time for their stories to be told.”

Fag Hags sheds light on the courage, defiance and compassion displayed by heterosexual women who came forth when the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and ‘90s was decimating the gay community and communities of color across the United States. Many of the advocates – including Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Rivers and Princess Diana – were household names who leveraged their celebrity in order to highlight the epidemic. But many others have been largely unknown, and Noe wants to make certain their contributions are remembered as well.

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These unsung heroes include such women as Rosa E. MartinezColon, who aided Puerto Rican men felled by the plague. There’s also the Red Pump Project, which educated women in African American communities. Martha Cameron reached HIV-infected children in Zambia. Iris De La Cruz advocated for HIV-positive Latinx New Yorkers.

And Trudy James of Arkansas connected volunteers in faith communities to people with AIDS. “I tried to include women who did things that did not get a lot of attention, so you have Trudy, who matched people with AIDS with the faith community, which was unheard of in 1989 - given the tension between religious groups and the AIDS community,” Noe says. “They had 140 teams at their peak. When I contacted her to tell her story, she asked,‘Why would anyone care about it?’ I said,‘Because you did something else that no one else was doing.’”

Noe also chronicles the impact of the volunteers, nonprofit executives, researchers, moms, divas, activists, artists, medical establishment and a multitude of caregivers. She illustrates the myriad, courageous ways women made tangible differences by confronting stigma and ignorance even as they lobbied for treatment and drug policy reform policy. Often, they were doing it all while simultaneously fundraising.

“These were women who would just go about their jobs and work in an office every day, and they would then raise money or provide services. They were doing this because they felt it was the right thing to do.

They weren’t looking for adulation or a pat on the back,”Noe says. That humility illustrates the core of their care, seeking to help others without personal gain.

Noe laments that she could not tell all these women’s stories. If she had, the book “would have been about 800 pages.” But she still hopes it offers a lens into many contributions that have long been ignored.

As Noe writes,“It’s time for straight women in the AIDS movement to come out of the closet and share the spotlight they so richly deserve.

Their stories have only begun to be told.”

■

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MICHAEL R. MOORE IS NOTHING BUT LOVE

THIRTY YEARS AGO, A YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER MOVED TO LOS ANGELES WITH THE DREAM OF FOCUSING HIS LENS ON BLACK HOLLYWOOD. HE ENDED UP CAPTURING SO MUCH MORE.

BY PAUL HAGEN THERE’S A SPECIAL SPARK OF LIFE IN THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF

Michael R. Moore. Where does it come from? Does it have to do with the fact that the Dallas-born artist has been shooting since the age of six? Could it relate to his uniquely personal appreciation of subjects who are LGBTQ or people of color? Might it be the way he approaches subjects - from celebrities to the homeless - with the same sense of wonder? As it turns out, the secret is written on the skin of the 64-year-old LA transplant.“I have a tattoo,” he reveals,“that says: I am nothing but love.”

THIS SECTION: ALL IMAGES COURTESY MICHAEL R. MOORE

DARKROOM ON MY DESK When asked when his relationship with photography began, there is an almost childlike awe in the graveltinged voice of the artist. This might be because he started at such a young age.

“I was in the darkroom by seven,”Moore remembers.“I modeled from the age of six to 17.”At that point, his agent saw some photos Moore had taken. “‘Did you do these?’ she said. And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And she said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ I told her, ‘It’s just something I do.’” She made a phone call, and Moore began working professionally at 18.

“As I got older, I was more able to command people” he explains. “I was more able to create what I saw in my head. Digital helped a lot with that.” However, he was

reluctant to abandon analog photography at firs But then “a friend bought me a digital camera and I felt like I was six years old again.” It was a relief for Moore to no longer be limited by a set number of exposures and to be finally free to explore how the photos could be further manipulated once they appeared on his computer screen.“I would have these visions and things that I wanted to do that I really couldn’t do in the darkroom.”

So even though at that point he’d had a studio in Hollywood for six years, he shut it down to study what could be done with digital. “My computer is now my darkroom on my desk,”he explains. He celebrated 46 years as a photographer in June of 2019.

EVERYTHING JUST TURNS ME ON When asked about what inspires him, it seems to be the act of photography itself. “I’m actually really, really crazy about just shooting. I shoot every day. Even if it’s not a gig, you know? I shoot shadows on walls, landscapes, urban scenery. Everything just turns me on visually.” At times, the camera was more of a way of looking at the world than recording it. “I remember there was a time when I was shooting. I would just be clicking my camera, looking through the viewfinder, without even having film in it.”

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medium, it may be no surprise that Moore has developed a unique vocabulary in which photography sounds distinctly like an act of communication. ““I call portraits conversations because we’re having a conversation,” he explains.“And when I’m doing full-length, I call it a dance because we’re moving. I’m moving and they’re moving and we’re just dancing, having fun.”

And then there are Moore’s extraordinary shots that feature extreme makeup. “I call those my dreams because they are,” he offers. He points to one example in particular. “There’s an image of a young lady and she’s painted black with gold hair,” he remembers. “I was home in Texas, laying on my mom’s sofa in the den and that image came to me. I wanted her to be crying. And I called the make-up artist right away, and I was like, ‘Oh My God!’ In the shot that resulted, the girl’s hair is fantastically flecked with gold and she is, indeed, crying.

“The gold tears that she’s crying is actually K-Y jelly with gold eye shadow,” Moore reveals.

We Needed More Light Moore responds with a pleased laugh at the suggestion that the extraordinary way he captures people of color on film could be seen as an act of social justice, considering photography for many years was usually balanced to favor white skin. “I have been accredited with shooting black people differently,” he admits.

“And a lot of black people come to me because of the way that I shoot black people. I learned very early from a black man how to shoot. And I grew up in a black neighborhood where I used to walk around and shoot people on the street. I learned that we needed more light.”

For years, Moore struggled with the fact that most makeup also did not seem designed to favor darker skin. As a result, black subjects“would end up either in black-and-white looking ashy or in color: they would be pale with a pink or orange undertone.”

Though Moore has carefully watched the evolution of makeup, he is also not afraid to ask models to go without.“Right now, I’m working on a project where I want to shoot women, and I just want three elements of make-up: red lipstick, Vaseline and eyelashes.”

Moore asked a young lady with whom he’d worked for many years to pose for the series. “And she came with a completely beat face,” he says with a hearty laugh. He explained the concept to her again and asked her to remove the makeup. She hesitated.

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“Michael, I don’t know if I can do that,” he remembers her saying. This was a subject, Moore notes with pride, that has been“photographed everywhere”and appeared in movies and music videos. “She had just not been photographed without make-up.” Nevertheless, when she washed her face and they took the photos, she loved his results.

mic for 16 months now every Monday night. And I attend. I went this past Monday, and there was a folk band; there were rappers; there were singers; a young lady just moved here from Texas — been here a month! And she tore it down! She moved to LA to get on The Voice, and she didn’t make it. But she said she just has to sing.”

SOMETHING STRANGE AND TRAGIC ONE OF MY MUSES Moore sees his tendency to develop long term relationships with subjects as a plus. At times it has even begun online.“One guy, we were friends on Facebook,”Moore recalls. And the guy kept saying, “I really want to work with you.” Later, he was at the presentation breakfast for an LGBTQ cultural calendar that has featured Moore’s work for the last three years.“From behind, somebody said my name, and I turned around, and it was the guy from Facebook,” Moore recalls.

About two weeks later, Moore called him in for a session.

“We worked, and I have a feeling that he will be one of my muses,”says Moore.“He does one man shows, designs clothes, writes poetry. That’s his living, and he’s very avant-garde.”

“Once I’ve shot them they become Mo-Boys,” Moore explains. “‘Cause of the fact that I can drop a dime and say, ‘Let’s play,’ and they’re willing to do it.”

“I have Mo-boys that I met and photographed when they were, like, 17 and they’re in their forties and I’m still working with some of them,” Moore adds.“So, yes, people do not only inspire me and I inspire them: We become family.”

WHERE’S THE DAMN TIGER? When asked to create a sense of indulgence on film, Moore isn’t afraid to pull out all the stops.“Where’s the damn tiger?” he says with a laugh. He remembers a shoot at which he worked with a half-million dollars in jewelry. “We had two security guards, and - you know - it was great,”he remembers.

“It turned out to be a beautiful ad campaign.”

But the heart of indulgence takes him back to his love of the art of photography. “I find that just creating, for me, is my indulgence. It feeds my soul; it keeps me from being depressed,” Moore says. It seems to be a reminder of how fortunate he is to be doing what he loves. “Being a gay black male,”he contemplates,“I could be in prison, maybe on drugs.

There’s so much that I could have going against me.”

Moore’s personal indulgences include good food, music and shoes.“I go from Converse to Loubitins, you know? I just love shoes. I love fashion, but I love shoes! I’m not opposed to wearing a good pair of pumps - the higher the better!”

His eclectic tastes also extend to music. “I was raised in a musical environment growing up. I have had several friends that are creative musically from gospel to rap. I have a friend here — his name is Unkal Bean. He has been hosting an open

However, on at least one occasion, Unkal Bean’s open mic has lead to more than an opportunity to witness excellent musicianship. “Something strange and tragic happened a week before last at open mic,” Moore reveals. “I’m there, and I’m videotaping and — you know how you’re in a crowd and you feel somebody looking at you, and you look over and your eyes meet? Well, that happened to me!”

“And this guy, he smiled and he nodded. I smiled and nodded. And with that, he aggressively started making his way through the crowd to get to Unkal Bean, who had the mic. And he put his hand on the mic, and it was this back and forth little tussle and Unkal said,‘Get in line and wait your turn!’

“The guy did, and there was, like, one person before him. So he comes up, and this guy confessed to murdering his girlfriend - and burying her in the dirt! And that next morning, that Tuesday morning, Unkal calls me and he goes, ‘You know crazy guy that came last night?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘I just watched SWAT surround and handcuff him — he was sleeping in his car.’

And they still haven’t found her body!”

ON THE BLOCK Such incidents have not shaken Moore’s resolve to stay involved with the less fortunate in his community. He makes a point of attending gatherings such as The Wayfarer Foundation’s

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Skid Row Carnival of Love - which is meant to create bridges between those experiencing homelessness and the wider community, while also helping provide necessities to the former. These can include health care, legal advice, career opportunities, hygiene services, food and even pet care.“Paul Mitchell has these teams,”Moore offers as an example.

“Stylists come and give haircuts.” These are also joyous events featuring carnival games and music. Moore has also been part of events where volunteers visit to hand out food and clothing weekly to those who need them around Skid Row. Moore will take pictures at such events and gift them to the organizations to use as part of their awareness-raising efforts.

down on skid row “I live on the edge of Skid Row,” Moore explains. He describes an area in Los Angeles of approximately 50 blocks. “When I moved here, my friend that I was living with — we lived in a loft space in downtown when it was not the chic thing to do. Sort of like the East Village in the ‘80s. When I got up that next morning, he said, ‘C’mon! I wanna show you something!’ So we got in his little Toyota truck and we went like two blocks behind where we were living, and I had not ever seen anything like it! The homelessness! And now it’s like 20 times worse. In fact, there are some blocks you cannot even walk down because of tents and stuff, and it’s almost like a third world country. And we’re maybe four blocks from City Hall!”

It turns out Moore’s friend Unkal Bean is also known among the homeless. As such, Moore has also been working on a series tentatively called On the Block with Unkal. “At first I was very hesitant about photographing homeless people. It bothered my soul to do it. I would always hesitate,” Moore explains,“and think about that person’s

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dignity, that person’s history - which I don’t know, and I think about family, you know?”

“I’ve been documenting Unkal for 15 years. And he is very wellrespected and regarded in the homeless community. So, we’re out and about, and I’m photographing him, or we could just be standing on the street corner talking. And I’ve always got the camera with me and somebody would come up and say, ‘Take my picture with Unkal!’”The results are a mesmerizing series of photographs.“These people that are homeless are with Unkal and they are very touching portraits. Some are funny. And some — you just stare at them.”

old school to kindergarten Moore says it’s hard to choose a favorite from among his decades of work.“It’s like asking parents with multiple kids,‘Who’s your favorite?’” he explains, although he is an only child. Though he also admits, “There have been some that shine more because of the exposure.”

“I have a photograph of my great grandmother when she was 103.

At my first exhibition, I showed it,” he remembers.“A large majority of the people wanted to buy it, but I couldn’t sell it.”

He also counts among his highlights the more than three years of work he’s done with Empire star Bryshere Y. Gray.“The images that I created with him are fabulous to me because I was with this guy anywhere from 10 to 16 hours at a stretch — shooting him on junkets, on red carpets, for editorial, even just hanging out.”Moore remembers when they were first introduced.“My friend who got me the gig, Jayson Griffin, is his personal stylist. Jayson called me and he said, ‘I have a celebrity for you.’”But he couldn’t tell Moore who the celebrity was.

As a show of good faith, Moore went on a long drive to the Valley to meet the mystery celebrity. Moore describes it as quite the journey, and mentions that by the end of it, he was rather uncomfortably aware of the call of nature. So when Moore was finally led up into a mysterious apartment where “there was this one person in the kitchen that you could see when you opened the door but they had this hoodie on.

When he turned around, it was Bryshere,”Moore recalls.“I just walked up to him and I said, ‘You know, I really wanted to kick your ass!’ And his eyes got big, and I said,’“But Cookie already did it for me!”(For the unfamiliar, Moore was referring to the scene early on in Empire when Taraji P. Henson’s character Cookie gave Bryshere’s character, her son Hakeem, quite the whupping.)

“And he laughed and that was the beginning,” Moore remembers fondly. Gray and Moore developed an instant rapport. Gray engaged Moore as his personal photographer and they arranged to meet whenever Gray was in Los Angeles. Gray’s Mom has told him she feels safer knowing Moore is around her son. She even used one of Moore’s photos on the cover of her book.

WHAT COMES NEXT? What Moore sees ahead for himself is the fulfillment of a dream he’s had since he moved to LA 30 years ago. “I moved here to document Black Hollywood - old school, new school and kindergarten,” he says.

“I consider Bryshere, he’s my kindergarten. And I had the honor and pleasure to be invited to the NAACP Awards with Danny Glover. When he achieved his Lifetime Achievement Award, I got to photograph him.” So now Moore’s goal is to“fill in that gap - from Danny to Bry.” Moore would also like to photograph Brad Pitt.“In the photographs that I’ve seen of him throughout the decades,” Moore points out,“he’s such a giving subject.”

LOVE CONQUERS Beyond that, Moore has a hope for us all to share going forward. “In this time that we’re living in, I want to express that — and it sounds elementary and it sounds simple and it sounds too flower power: we gotta love and understand the power of love,” he says. “And I see a brighter future because I am surrounded by LGBT youth, and they are passionate, and they are strong and they are resisting the bullshit. They have fire.”

“On the one hand, it is so uplifting. And on the other hand, it is so disheartening and painful that a lot of transgender male-to-females are being murdered,” he adds.“And it’s like open season, you know?”

“I just want people that are truly human to use their love to educate, to free people,” he continues. “Because I grew up in a family that loved me. I remember when the term ‘closet’ came out. And I was like, ‘What’s that?’’’ Perhaps one of the keys to Moore’s success was that - unlike so many LGBTQ people of his generation - he did not experience rejection and isolation from his family because of his identity. “The love that I got from my family and friends growing up made me — makes me, because they still do — the man I am today.

“I truly believe that the power of love will conquer, does conquer, has to conquer. Love conquers. And again, in this time that we live in, we all need it. Even the people that hate — they need love because that’s what they’re lacking. It’s the ignorance of love.”

To learn more about Michael R. Moore and purchase prints of his work, visit him online at iammoore.com.

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Roffman and his husband Sarit

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THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THIS ONE

WHAT DOES THE STAR WARS GALAXY HAVE IN COMMON WITH A GALLERY OF GAY NUDES? MORE THAN YOU EVER KNEW. BY KEVIN PHINNEY

MANY WHO KNOW HOWARD ROFFMAN

consider him the man who helped pilot Star Wars into the franchise juggernaut it is today. Others praise his work as a fine art photographer finding that instant in a young man’s life when he slips into his first warm summer of adulthood — at play, relating to friends and partners, and most often, nude.

Roffman’s twin careers reflect a restless creativity that’s beckoned him to leap from one medium to another in his pursuits over the years. And now that he’s both stepped down from the top tier of Lucasfilm and put down his camera, he’s convinced himself: it’s time to write a novel.

ALL IMAGES THIS SECTION COURTESY OF HOWARD ROFFMAN

BOYS AND THEIR TOYS As a gay man with a husband half his age, the 66-year old Roffman has managed to hold onto the youth and curiosity of an Eagle Scout. So perhaps it’s no surprise that he also had more than a little to do with why boys today can play with dolls.

He cautions that an assortment of contributors had a hand in creating the toys that were reintroduced as what were called “action figures” back in the 1980s. But Star Wars characters were among the first on the block. Before Luke, Han, Darth and the droids were cast in plastic, there was G.I. Joe, and there wasn’t much else.

Roffman arrived at Lucasfilm in 1980 as a contract lawyer specializing in entertainment mere days before the opening of The Empire Strikes Back. One of his first assignments: work out the fine points of Harrison Ford’s contract for Raiders of the Lost Ark. How do all these puzzle parts fit together? Guardian at the gate of Lucasfilm’s most bankable property, gay fine art photographer, lawyer,

writer and toy visionary? “When you talk about me and ‘career,’ that’s something of a strange word,” Roffman says from his home in San Francisco. “I started out as a writer working in non-fiction with one book on the JFK assassination and another on the Cold War. Was that a career?” He laughs softly.“It certainly wouldn’t have paid any bills.”

IT’S THE LAW To solve that problem, Roffman enrolled in law school and then clerked for a federal judge. “That experience profoundly influenced me,” he grants.

“Before that, I was a pretty loud critic of the system. There were certainly some good things that came out of the ‘60s, like the Civil Rights Act. But at the same time for me, it was the era of the Vietnam war, which I felt was immoral; the embodiment of evil. Then all of a sudden, I was on the inside.”

In acclimating himself to the legal process and the interplay of personalities involved, he soon discovered “the person you’re working for isn’t just a faceless name in the newspaper anymore. I got to know the judges at the Court of Appeals and came to understand their friendships and rivalries and see how the process worked as an insider.

Here’s the interesting thing: for the most part, they didn’t let political differences infringe on the camaraderie they shared. Seeing how judicial decisions are made gave me a new respect for the institution.”

By the end of the decade, attorney Roffman was practicing contract law in a galaxy far, far away from showbiz. He remembers seeing the first Star Wars film in 1977 from the front row, watching as it was projected directly over his head — “with a theater full of screaming METROSOURCE.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

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kids, no less. I left thinking I just didn’t get it. The George Lucas movie that impressed me at the time was American Graffiti.”

But within weeks of his arrival at Lucasfilm,“I got to attend the premiere of Empire in Washington D.C. and the film blew my mind. When I started my job, one of the first things I did was to ask for a screening of the first film, A New Hope, so I could actually see what was going on — and that blew my mind, too. This time I got it!”

when howard met george Roffman didn’t meet Lucas for some time after his hiring, but the pair gradually warmed to each other.“I was thrown into the fray of everything. Six months in, George fired a lot of the management. It seemed like the sky was falling, but I just tried to keep my focus. At that point I became a part of senior management.

During that time, he says, “I really got to know George as a person and forged a friendship with him. He’s incredibly smart and insightful with an unbelievable imagination, a fantastic sense of humor and really great values.

You could be in conversation with him for hours. I suppose I’m drawn to people with big intellects and big ideas.”

Then suddenly, Star Wars went into hibernation. After the rollout of Return of the Jedi in 1983, it fell to Roffman and a handful of others to keep the fantasy alive for its fanbase. There were Star Wars books and comics that had to conform to the universe Lucas had created. Action figures and video games followed. Lucasfilm is often singled out as the originator of the movie toy tiein, although Roffman calls that a bit simplistic.

“Here’s what happened,” he explains: “When George made the original Star Wars deal, it was at the low end of his market rate as a writer/director.

All of a sudden, American Graffiti comes out in 1973 and becomes one of the most profitable movies of its time (that’s dollars spent vs. dollars made).

George’s lawyers told him he could renegotiate a bigger fee on Star Wars. But he didn’t care about the fee, and he wasn’t really focused on merchandising at that point. He was focused on the possibility of sequels. And he held firm and got a deal that let him keep the sequel rights. That turned out to be maybe the single best business decision of his life. It’s what gave him the leverage to get merchandising rights back when the negotiations for Empire were taking place. 20th Century Fox wasn’t very happy, but they agreed to give George all Star Wars merchandising rights.”

And while G.I. Joe had opened the door to boys playing with dolls,“Star Wars took it to a whole new place,” says Roffman. “The initial instinct at Kenner was to make 12-inch dolls for Star Wars, just like the original G.I. Joe. But one of their execs, Bernie Loomis, said, ‘This isn’t going to work, because part of what makes Star Wars appealing is that all these characters have their own ships, and kids are going to want to put them in their vehicles.’ Ships scaled to 12-inch figures would have cost thousands of dollars — totally impractical. The apocryphal story is that Bernie put up his hand and opened a space between his thumb and his index finger and said, ‘That’s how big the figures should be. Measure this!’ One of the designers put his ruler up to Bernie’s hand and the gap was 3½ inches. And that’s how the 3½-inch action figure was created.”

Full Exposure In the meantime, Roffman was feeling his own urge to create. He put his dreams of a film career on hold because he knew that would mean a full-time

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commitment. Instead, he picked up photography. With Star Wars in dry dock, he had enough spare time to indulge a hobby.

“You can’t be a filmmaker in your spare time,” says Roffman.

“So unless I was prepared to leave — which I wasn’t — I had to put filmmaking aside. But I still had this desire to express myself in a visual way. I’d been taking pictures of cute guys at street fairs through a long lens for many years. I guess you could call it voyeurism. It certainly wasn’t art. Then in 1991, I took a photo of a pair of guys at the Folsom Street Fair. I had no idea who they were, but I ran into them a week later at the Castro Street Fair and invited them over to see the picture. They begged me to take more pictures and I was like, ‘Sure!’ I had the most incredible photo shoot with them, and it proved to be the start of my career as a photographer.“ Despite a few attempts, he found studios would not yield the intimacy and connection he wanted to convey. “I always got the best results shooting in a real environments,” Roffman says.“In their homes, other people’s homes, outdoors. Also, I rarely put people who didn’t know each other together. I liked shooting real relationships.

John and Gary (the street fair couple) were in a seven year relationship, and then I introduced them to Kris, and that became the book Three.

I learned you can actually be a photographer in your spare time, if you have the passion and the drive.”

The Bulk Stops Here Back at work, no new Star Wars movies were being made and “everything,” Roffman says, “went into a dormant stage. The toys had been discontinued. By the early ‘90s we could see there was a continued appetite for Star Wars, because every time we released a new product, the audience was coming back for more.”

And he noticed a phenomenon never seen before. Adults were buying the action figures as collector’s items. Roffman urged Kenner

to release a new edition with them in mind, and they agreed.“But we got into a pretty big fight about what the new figures should look like. I felt authenticity was key, and by then, figures could be much more realistic than back in the late ‘70s. Technology had improved dramatically. So now the figures could be better sculpted, and much more detailed. Kenner disagreed with me. They said kids wanted figures that looked like He-Man. “They gave me sculpts of Luke and Han that were all bulked up and I said, ‘No, you can’t do this. Luke Skywalker isn’t He-Man!’ I finally gave in,” he says, “but I drew the line when I saw the HeMan version of C-3PO. I told them droids can’t go to the gym and build muscles. The figures came out and were big sellers, but all the collectors came down hard on Kenner because they really hated the bulked-up look. It became a big round of ‘I told you so’, and Kenner finally gave in and started making figures that actually looked like the characters.”

beyond the optics In his private life, Roffman’s circle of contacts continued to expand, and he began to publish his photographs in book form. He quickly developed a following with the gay men who found his work as beautiful and sensual as the models he captured.

“I’ve thought a lot about why I shoot what I do,” he says. “Of course, there is that basic human quality that we all have of finding certain people attractive. God only knows why. There’s no apparent rhyme or reason to it. But if you’re an artist who captures people, it goes much further. I think all artists tend to develop muses. What makes a muse for me isn’t just about what a person looks like, it’s about their personality; their relationships, their style, their values.

I’ve always wanted to shoot people as people, not objects. It’s the essence of portraiture, and that’s how I always saw my work.” metrosource.com october/november 2019

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His first chose to work in black and white, but eventually branched out into color photography and struck up a partnership with Bel Ami Studios, who flew their roster of young men to exotic locales so that their visual surroundings would be every bit as breathtaking as the models themselves.

“The black and white period was largely a process of finding and cultivating models,” Roffman explains. “If I saw someone I thought had potential, I would reach out to them. I was giving my card out left and right, probably scaring a lot of people along the way. Eventually I built a network of people finding models for me.”

As his reputation grew, not only amateur models came calling.

Soon professionals were knocking at his door, too.

“My process changed with Bel Ami. I didn’t have to go out looking for models anymore. The models were delivered to me. But these were not people who were in love relationships. They were friends doing intimate and erotic things. It was just a continuation of my passion.”

eye of the jedi Roffman’s worlds collided when he invited friends from Lucasfilm to a showing of his work.“I’m a very open person and I don’t believe in a separate work persona and private persona,” Roffman says. “People can be such hypocrites when it comes to porn. They shun it and condemn it, they look down on anyone connected to the industry, and then they go home and masturbate to it. It drives me crazy.“

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For a moment, Roffman’s voice trails off. “Unfortunately,” he intones, “we’re all a bundle of contradictions. Essentially we have all the primal instincts and drives of our pre-human ancestors. But we have one other ingredient that really screws things up, and that’s our intellect. It actually allows us to behave irrationally. If you look at the animal kingdom, aggression and rituals of dominance are everywhere.

But humans are the only animal societies that kill each other because they believe in different deities or different economic theories or scary stories about invaders coming to replace them.”

Roffman refused to allow himself to be caught in an ideological tug-of-war between his dual worlds. “My photography was never a secret,”he maintains.“So much so that when I had my first exhibition, I invited a lot of people from the company, including George. And a lot of people came, including George. He was always supportive and dug that I was branching out into photography. George is a Renaissance man and respected that I was an artist as well as an accomplished executive. That left an indelible impression on me. It’s one of the things that I truly love about him.”

disney dollars Roffman was appointed president of Lucasfilm licensing in 1999, and he helped shepherd Star Wars from its relaunch into films through Lucasfilm’s acquisition by Walt Disney in 2012 for $4.05 billion. In a mere six years, Disney has already recouped its original investment.

“Two years ago, I retired from Lucasfilm,” says Roffman. “I’d been there for 37 years and was amazingly fortunate to work as close as I did with George. I also felt privileged to work with Disney for the final five years of my stint, and I knew Star Wars was in the hands of a very capable company, even if I may not love everything that’s been done with the franchise. It was just time to get off the bus; time to focus exclusively on my own pursuits and take more time to smell the roses.”

And, after years of gorgeous men parading past his viewfinder, Roffman finally fell in love. “That’s one of the things I love about aging,” he says. “You get a perspective at each stage of your life that you didn’t have in the stage before. I’m married to someone who’s half my age, who I had the good fortune to meet on OK Cupid. Today I have different insights into what attracts me in a partner than I did 10, 20, 30 years ago. I knew I wasn’t interested in a life partner my age. But what age is right? When people are 18 to 25, they may be gorgeous, but they’re usually not formed enough to be partnered with an older adult man.

You’ll find the occasional exception, but it’s rare, because they’re not yet seasoned by life.

In terms of who would make a good partner for me, especially as a guy in his 60s, I knew it had to be someone who’s had enough life experience to be tempered but not enough to be cynical or blasé. And that’s exactly what I found in my wonderful husband Sarit.”

a new hope Of course, Roffman remains restless. “There are still so many things I want to do with my life,” he concludes.“One of my biggest aspirations was to write a novel, and so that’s what I’m doing today. It’s challenging, but that’s what I love. I guess I’m a pretty driven person.”

The novel is semi-autobiographical. Roffman says he’s making progress, but has no firm deadline and is taking his time.“It’s about a life informed by my own,” he’s willing to say, “but definitely fictionalized. I’ve written about 150 pages so far, and it’s only a small percentage of what I want to cover. It’s fairly foolhardy to be this ambitious in a first novel, but it’s a cathartic process and I’m having a good time with it.”

For the moment, he’s taking pleasure in informally “talking with people and doing lots of research. The writing itself is the most isolating. You’ve got no choice but to sit alone at a keyboard and put the words down.”

But after decades of movie campaigns, photography trips, Star Wars concert tours and holiday toy releases, “I’m not holding myself to hard deadlines. “I figure I’ve got somewhere between four and five years to go on the novel,” Roffman says. “And you know, deadlines have a wonderful way of making things happen. So maybe one day I’ll start using them again.” ■ metrosource.com october/november 2019

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Rippon goes on

Adam Rippon is nothing if not audacious. While most young adults

don’t come close to hitting their stride until they’re on the far side of 30, Rippon has already lived enough to pen a memoir a year shy of that.

His autobiography,“Beautiful On the Outside” (available October 2019 from Grand Central Publishing) offers an unflinching account of his two-decade trek from sensitive schoolboy to Olympic medalist.

Something Different The eldest of six, Rippon was born with a severe hearing deficiency that was miraculously reversed by surgery when he was an infant. His mother Kelly has been his guardian angel since Day One. However, his parents were divorced when Adam was barely into his teens.

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Since then, he’s been alternately broke and saved by contest prize money. He’s been written off by sports pundits as too erratic and old, then reemerged in his best form yet to find himself in a media war with the Vice President of the United States. He disappointed many who hoped he’d grab gold at the Olympics, then delighted TV audiences by winning his season of Dancing With the Stars out of nowhere.

“My life-defining moments have always been the mistakes I’ve made,” the skater muses over the din of his car zipping from one California stop to another. “They’ve pushed me to be better. I realize that every missed opportunity — and I mean every situation I’ve been in that felt like a setback — was really an opportunity to do something more or do something different.”

this page: Adam Skates by Craig Sjodin Courtesy ABC

on the eve of releasing A memoir at the tender age of 29, adam rippon reflects on fame, Pence and his love of the limelight. by Kevin Phinney

Adam and Reese Witherspoon on the set of Colbert

this page: Photo by Scott Kowalchyk courtesy CBS

May I have your attention Whether his abrupt course changes along the way made sense to anyone else has never been a primary concern for Rippon. Even at the youngest age he can recall, Rippon’s decision-making process was not based on whether something was smart or all the other kids were doing it. It was about whether it would get him noticed.

“I think the first time I ever realized that was — I think — when I wrote about it in the book,” he laughs.“I said I wanted to host a talent show on our back deck. I wanted to tap dance and I had never taken a tap dance lesson. But I wanted everybody to watch me tap in my costume. I had been a really shy kid, but there was something inside of me that was like, ‘You should definitely tap dance in front of everyone you know.’”

Inspired by a graceful skater drawn on the family cookie tin, Rippon also decided that he would absolutely look that fabulous gliding across the ice. He also had every confidence this pre-ordained moment of glory would occur the instant he donned his first pair of skates. After the tragi-comic debut that followed, the young Rippon decided skating might actually be worth working at. He quickly learned two valuable lessons. The first was that making something look easy can be very hard. The other was that as a skater, he was unusually gifted. Thus began a 20-year odyssey that saw him bounce between snatching top honors and turning in poor showings and slowly resurrecting himself again. A stream of coaches did what they could to keep him on track, with varying degrees of success. And in the middle of the whirlwind, Rippon determined he had to tell his family that he was gay.

Icy REception Coming out to his mom at 22 was difficult, he says. But once the family expressed their support, “I knew everything was going to be okay; it didn’t matter what anyone else thought.” He does recall some teasing at the rink, though. “My classmates didn’t know too much about my skating. So I don’t know if being out of school actually saved me .”

Rippon shrugged off his detractors. What required more immediate attention was the voice inside his head constantly demanding perfection. He barely missed making the USA Olympic Team in 2010 and ultimately ended up an alternate. Four years later, he faltered at nationals and came nowhere close to qualifying.

Disheartened, Rippon retreated inside himself and spent months adrift soul searching. But when he reappeared, the transformation was there for all to see. He cut and dyed his hair. He jettisoned his music program of the classics for tracks by The Beatles and Ida Corr.

He became himself, and it set him free.

Frozen in Time In 2015, Rippon came out again — this time through a very public profile in Skating magazine, a publication of United States Figure Skating. He orchestrated the opportunity with as much precision as any routine he ever choreographed.

As he writes in his memoir*, “I told Renee Fulton, who was in charge of media relations for USFS, that I wanted to come out in the article. It was important to me that I come out through U.S. Figure Skating, so it would be a subliminal sign to young people that the organization is behind this and that they support their out athletes.

“I made my intentions clear to Renee before we had even met the journalist doing the story, and she told both the president and the director of USFS. They both got in touch with me and said that they were behind me 100 percent. It’s not like anyone in the sport didn’t know. I always had too much charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent to ever present as straight, but now the world would know.”

The result of this decision, Rippon assesses a few lines later, was decidedly anti-climactic. “After about three weeks,” he recounts, “it finally got picked up on ESPN and in the sporting press, but the main reaction was support from everyone, along with the feigned shock that a male figure skater came out.” metrosource.com october/november 2019

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NO SHAME IN HIS GAME With the weight of coming out lifted and his head clear, Rippon finally started to soar. “For a big chunk of my athletic career, It felt like pressure,” he says now. “I think I saw every time I didn’t feel like I lived up to expectations as failure. Nobody else around me saw that as failure. They saw it as growing and a chance to learn. But I didn’t see it that way. I felt like I let them down, like I was letting myself down. I felt like I was wasting people’s time.

But then I realized that if I didn’t learn from those situations and I was just embarrassed by them, I didn’t grow and I didn’t get better.”

That, he freely admits, “took me a hot minute to figure out.

But when I did, even when I did have a rough skate or rough competition, it didn’t hold me back. And it wasn’t something like, ‘Oh I can’t ever watch myself do that performance,’ or ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ I was open and willing to talk about it,. I almost wanted to talk about it right away so that I could process it immediately and learn from it — and I was over it and felt good about it almost instantly — because I just learned that there was nothing to be ashamed of. There’s no shame in making a mistake.”

In 2016, he won the US championship, and quipped,“I’m like a witch. You can’t kill me.” Two years later, he qualified for the Olympics and became the oldest first-time Olympian among figure skaters since 1936.

And then it happened: USA Today reporter Christine Brennan asked the skater how he felt about the U.S. delegation being represented by Vice President Mike Pence. Rippon shot back, “You mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy? I’m not buying it.”

The result was a media frenzy that followed Rippon halfway around the world to the Winter Games in PyeonChang, South Korea. Throughout the subsequent conversation, he remained quick-witted and poised, never retreating, but never letting Pence prevent the skater from putting his A Game before the judges.

Rippon also befriended another out American athlete at the Games, Gus Kenworthy. And together they went on to show a global television audience that gay athletes take a back seat to no one.“Gus and I are still good friends,” Rippon chirps.“I think we’ll always be close because of our Olympic experience. I also think the moment of the Games that stands out for me most was when I went to compete in my first event. I remember never being more nervous and more ready in my life.”

By the time that Rippon arrived in the Olympic Village, he was ready to overcome any adversity — real or imagined — to deliver a career-defining performance. “It could have been the Vice President; it could have been anybody. It could have been anything and I would have been able to skate a clean program. I remember thinking that before the Games and before I ever said anything about Mike Pence; that if the lights go off, if there’s a fire burning in the arena when I’m competing, I will finish.”

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THIS PAGE: ADAM-JUNIORSPROMO

HATERS GONNA HATE

Young Adam and his Mom Adam and Gus: Olympic Gaymers

this page: Adam and Gus credit Ashley Osborn • Jeremy Scott-Adam Rippon and family photo courtesy Adam Rippon

The Red Carpet In the end, Rippon brought home a bronze medal as part of the figure skating team event. Nevertheless, he interpreted his experience there as a different kind of victory.

He’s satisfied that competing as an out athlete, particularly in the current political climate, sent a message.

“Where we are right now is a really pivotal moment,” says Rippon. “There have been so many really awful things to come from the Trump administration. You look around at what’s happening in the news currently today or a few days ago. And I think what this moment in time has done is, it’s really inspired a lot of people to speak out.

Even watching Megan Rapinoe at the World Cup, it’s really inspiring like when people have these platforms for them to use it.”

And, if there was any doubt that 2018 was Rippon’s year, he made a splash after his return to America at the Academy Awards rocking a Moschino harness tuxedo.

He followed suit with a guest appearance on Will & Grace, and then high-stepped to victory on Dancing With the Stars side-by-side with professional dancer Jenna Johnson.

Now he says,“that part of my life is over. There were so many things that I learned about myself that I wanted to share, so it felt like a good time to write this book. Maybe I’ll have collections of memoirs when I’m like older, and this is the first installment.”

booking it Sifting through rocky times as well as personal victories presented challenges of their own, he’ll say now. “It can be really emotional, because you go back to the moments of where you didn’t feel so great about yourself or when you didn’t really like yourself much. So it was really a process to go through, but it was something that I’m glad I did.”

What did all that self-examination yield? “For a really long time, especially as an athlete, you hear people talk about ‘enjoying the journey,’ and the journey is like what everything is all about,” Rippon says.“They’ll say, ‘Don’t forget to enjoy where you are right now in the process’. And as an athlete, you’re like, ‘Please shut the fuck up and never talk to me about ‘the journey’ ever again.’

“But then you get into the thick of it and realize that those moments are a celebration of all those things that you went through on the journey — what you learned about yourself, those ups and downs, the chaotic nature of your life is the journey,” Rippon reflects And when you celebrate those and learn not to push them away? That’s really what it’s all about.”

■ *Excerpted from the book BEAUTIFUL ON THE OUTSIDE: A MEMOIR by Adam Rippon.

Copyright © 2019 by Adam Rippon. Reprinted with permission of Grand Central Publishing.

All rights reserved.

Designer Jeremy Scott and Rippon at a fitting for “the Oscars harness.”

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HEALTH BODY

HOW MANY CALORIES ARE IN YOUR FAVORITE THANKSGIVING FOODS AND HOW DO YOU BURN THEM OFF? Wondering how high you can heap that Thanksgiving plate? That might depend on how much time you have to exercise afterward. BY SYRA TAUB the year — at least when it comes to all of that food. Who hasn’t ended up wolfing down way more than they intended. From the turkey and stuffing to the mashed potatoes, the average Thanksgiving feast can add up to 4,500 calories! This is by no

FOOD

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CALORIES

means a reason to skip the festivities, but it does call into question how we can stay healthy before and after indulging. But even if every Thanksgiving food has a price, you can make time for a workout to burn it off. So go ahead, have that extra slice of pie - if you’ve got an extra 30 minutes to spend at the gym! ■

EXERCISE TYPE

TIME IT TAKES TO BURN CALORIES

1 cup mashed potatoes

237

Stationary bike

About 30 minutes

3.5 oz white meat turkey with skin

177

Running on treadmill

About 15 minutes

½ cup stuffing

195

Mountain climbing

About 23 minutes

4 oz (1 medium) candied sweet potato

187

Butt kicks

About 22 minutes

½ cup green bean casserole

227

Swimming

About 30 minutes

¼ cup gravy

25

Jump rope

About 3 minutes

¼ cup cranberry sauce

102

Walking

About 25 minutes

3x3-inch square cornbread

198

Rowing machine

About 20 minutes

5 fluid oz wine

125

Weight lifting

About 30 minutes

1 slice pumpkin pie

280

High-knee running

About 30 minutes

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METROSOURCE.COM

THIS PAGE: PHOTO BY VOLODYMYR TVERDOKHLIB-SHUTTERSTOCK

AH, THANKSGIVING. IT MAY BE THE MOST INDULGENT HOLIDAY OF

re al Talk

Beard Care

with Grooming Expert Carissa Ferreri Balms and oils and shampoos, oh my! We talk to a celebrity grooming expert about the long and short of rocking the best beard. By Jeffrey James Keyes

this page: stock photo credit Tomas Anderson

Does all that apply to men who like to keep shorter beards?

Using a facial scrub once or twice a week will remove dead skin cells and help with any inflammation you’re experiencing with growing out or keeping it trimmed and on the shorter side. Adding beard oil is still a fundamental product for men with short beards or in the early stages of growing out their beards. Its moisturizing properties help treat beard dandruff and flaking, and also calm down any itchiness. Another advantage with a beard oil for shorter beards is that it absorbs not only the top layer of the skin, but also down into the root of the hair follicle, locking in hydration, and resulting in clear skin and healthy hair.

What products do you recommend for longer beards?

The longer the beard, the more coarse and dry the hair can be, which can require more attention. Coarse hair is prone to

body

Do you recommend an all-purpose routine for beard care?

Make sure to wash and condition your beard a few times a week using a formula specifically made for the coarse hairs on your face.

A two-in-one shampoo and conditioner like Bulldog Skincare Original Beard Shampoo and Conditioner is a simple way to keep your beard clean, smelling great and prevent any debris and buildup from excess oil. After shampooing, it’s best to then apply a beard oil to moisturize the skin and hair follicle. This step is essential for the beard and skin underneath to be well hydrated to prevent irritation, under-beard acne, itchiness, and excessive dryness. After beard oil is well massaged in skin and hair, use a comb and brush downward to disperse the oils evenly while preventing split ends. Every few weeks trim stray, unruly hairs with small scissors to maintain hair health and avoid uneven growth.

health

It’s no secret that beards have been back in style for quite some time now. And most of us know that maintaining the look and quality of the hair on top of our heads requires specific daily care: shampoo, conditioner, brushing, daily maintenance. But what about our beards? There are some important steps everyone who decides to sport a little more than five-o’clock shadow can do daily to ensure we look, feel (and smell) our best. We checked in for with grooming expert Carissa Ferreri of Bulldog Skincare for Men to get a few pointers on proper whisker maintenance. Ferreri’s celebrity clients include Eric McCormack, Michael B. Jordan, Annette Bening, Gina Rodriguez, and Ansel Elgort. In addition, Ferreri has contributed to numerous marketing campaigns for Yeezy, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, L’Oreal and Kimpling.

breaking and drying, causing a need to keep it well conditioned.

Shampooing with a two-in-one is vital to wash away any debris and cleanse environmental smells. Next, choosing a beard balm such as Bulldog Skincare Original Beard Balm will lend an extra boost of conditioning while providing some hold, especially for your mustache and sideburns.

How should men adjust their approach to grooming a beard once the seasons start to change?

In the warmer months, use beard oil three times a week. While in the cold, dryer months, up your beard oil game to at least once a day.

Especially during colder months, the skin under my beard gets pretty dry. How do I moisturize better below the beard?

Be prepared to face extra dry skin in the winter months by incorporating a combination of both beard oil and beard balm to your routine. Beard oil is great for keeping the skin under your beard healthy, but beard balms offer extra hydration due to its thick texture. Balms have a higher viscosity than oils and will take longer to absorb, which gives you more nourishment and longer-lasting moisture. A beard balm is also very versatile for the winter months and can be used on other dry parts of the body (like elbows) or to give your tattoos a nice shine. Any excess left over on your hands simply run through the sides of your hair giving it a bit of hold with minimal sheen.

■ metrosource.com october/november 2019

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in Therapy The LGBTQ community faces unique stresses in the world today. Now more than ever, therapists are finding ways to make sure everyone gets the help that they need. By Syra Taub In 1972, a vice presidential candidate had to resign from the Demo-

cratic ticket when his mental stability was called into question. Why? Because he had been treated for depression. Although the stigma around psychotherapy has lifted somewhat since then, those who need it most are often afraid to say so — including members of LGBTQ family. The good news? It’s easier than ever to find the help you need.

body

health

“Therapy” shouldn’t be a taboo term. Seeking counsel has proven to offer a host of benefits — particularly to LGBTQ individuals. Even in today’s more open society, LGBTQ community members face issues both internal and external that can come from problems coming out, body image pressures or relationship issues. Such struggles do not necessarily end once you figure out that you’re part of the subculture.

Some middle-aged gay men report difficulty finding their place in the community. People whose understandings of their own gender identities and sexual orientations continue to evolve may also face added challenges in expressing themselves and dealing with partners’ expectations. But there’s no need to deal with those pressures alone.

Professional expertise is out there, and the sooner you start looking, the happier you’ll be. The field of therapy itself is in motion, too — looking for better ways to be as attentive and helpful as possible to those who seek them out. And for therapists, part of that is seeking out better ways to identify and reach the patients who need them most.

“People still need help with coming out—when, how and to whom,” said Doug Haldeman, PhD, a clinical faculty member at the University of Washington. “But psychologists are seeing a whole host of other issues related to the creation of LGBT families, LGBT people in the workplace, generational differences and the reality of multiple-minority identities — issues that demand our best research and clinical skills.”

As the general public becomes more aware of the issues that the LGBTQ community faces, therapy options are becoming more tailored to meet their needs. Research shows that more LGBTQ individuals are seeking out therapy than not, and that most are doing so with positive results. Provided safe spaces to explore emotions and behavior, clients in therapy are seeing marked improvements in self-confidence.

Counselors are seeing particular progress with LGBTQ affirmative therapy, an approach to psychotherapy which focuses on empowering individuals in all aspects of their lives. In doing so, therapists are able to respect and help work through the variety of unique experiences and challenges their patients experience in this increasingly non-binary world.

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this page: stock photo credit Denis Ismagilov

The Benefits of Therapy

THIS PAGE: STOCK PHOTO CREDIT RACORN

NEW ALTERNATIVES Mental health professionals continue to evolve in their understanding of sexual orientation issues. For example, therapists are finding new ways to provide assistance — via online therapy apps. Your computer or smart phone can be a great way to get advice that is affordable, convenient and discreet.

The digital counseling medium was created in response to the lack of access millions of people had to professional help.

As a result, therapists and programmers have worked together to create options that save time and reach a greater number of people in need. This new and convenient therapy alternative connects certified psychologists with those experiencing mental health issues. And although online therapy is still in its early stages, there’s already a variety of possibilities.

Various therapy apps provide dozens of services that may appeal to different kinds of patients. But these are not bots with whom clients are interacting. Users are connected with certified psychologists trained to address a host of problems relating to mental health and well-being. Online counseling also means you can connect with a psychologist who is a good fit for you regardless of where you or they are and more easily change therapists if you find the relationship is not a good fit. Translation: more people get access to the right help. Efficiency is also one of the biggest benefits, as online therapy apps allows for 24/7 access on-the-go.

Ultimately, that means fewer times you’ll have to sacrifice your state of mind for the sake of your busy schedule. As with any other form of therapy, digital counseling remains between you and your professional. High-level encryptions that only patient and therapist can access safeguard your confidentiality.

Maybe you’re seeking relationship counseling instead. ReGain was named the best app for couples therapy by e-counseling. com. Also priced at $65 a week, the service provides couples with therapists who specialize in counseling for partners. These sessions can also be conducted on a variety of digital platforms.

There are numerous options available for anyone in need of a safe space to be heard - whether you’re more comfortable doing so remotely or in person. Check out our Metrosource Directory of qualified LGBTQ-friendly professionals for options today.

■

WHERE TO START One of the highest ranked therapy apps is Betterhelp. For $65 a week, users receive access to unlimited sessions with their choice from 4,000 licensed therapists. Sessions can be conducted over the phone, via video chat or through messaging.

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GAY VOICES

I S OUR ONLINE FORUM FOR SHARING STORIES — FROM THE HEARTBREAKING TO THE HILARIOUS — ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO LIVE IN THE LGBT SKIN WE’RE IN.

ARE CATHOLIC COLLEGES FAILING LGBTQ STUDENTS? One gay student at a Catholic college wonders whether it’s more than tradition that keeps the staff, faculty and clergy from fully embracing LGBTQ students. BY ROI MASE CATHOLIC AND OTHER RELIGIOUS COLLEGE CAMPUSES WALK A fine line when attempting to embrace LGBTQ students because their founding dogma stands opposed to current social norms.

and a support network. In 2017, the school made a statement by rejecting the proposed opening of a Chick-Fil-A on campus after the chain’s continued support of anti-LGBTQ causes came to light.

MAKING DECISIONS In our current political climate, college campuses are finding themselves with an increased queer presence – from events and clubs directly catering to the community to calls for institutions to provide traditional resources in ways more sensitive to the needs of LGBTQ students. However at the same time, Catholic and other religious campuses do not always effectively welcome their LGBTQ students.

In 2015 when I made my college decision, it largely came down to one simple factor: the LGBTQ community’s presence on its campus. I was deciding between two major Catholic colleges in the Northeast: Seton Hall and Manhattan College. Both colleges seemed similarly matched in overall academics, amenities and social scenes.

Each is also located close to the “queer mecca” of New York City. Why did I ended up committing to Manhattan College? Its campus LGBTQ club was the first result in a Google search.

NOT ALL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES TREAT LGBTQ ISSUES EQUALLY Catholic doctrine often prevents school communities from fully embracing the queer members of their campus families. In recent years, there’s also been a wave of anti-LGBTQ action by Catholic colleges.

A pro-LGBTQ priest was even fired at Seton Hall, which resulted in a petition to reinstate him by the ALLIES club.

On the upside, another major Catholic college in the area, Fordham University, has become a public supporter of its LGBTQ community. The university has a web page dedicated to LGBTQ resources

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My experience at Manhattan College as the President of its LGBTQ Student Group has truly been an interesting one. At first glance, the college’s Catholic identity might seem like it would be a roadblock.

On the contrary, the group has found great support from both the local church and the college administration. The group was originally formed in 2014, but continues to grow each year. Moreover, I believe the greatest challenges it now faces come not from the administration — but interaction with the student body.

Although Manhattan College is located in New York City, a place known for its diversity, many of the school’s student body have had little interaction with the LGBTQ community. If they have, it’s usually through social media or some form of entertainment. And that begs the larger question: How can we combat such ignorance among student populations? One answer is by increasing the visibility of the queer community on Catholic campuses.

WE’RE HERE, WE’RE QUEER; GET USED TO IT Increasing our visibility on campus is one of the main reasons I got involved in my college LGBTQ group. Although there was this queer presence on campus, student interest was waning. This was in contrast to the club’s founding, when vigorous student action demanded the administration’s attention and ensured its approval.

I knew our community was present on campus. And I believed if the group was brought back to the student body’s attention, it could improve the lives of both queer people on campus and the population as a whole. The only way to improve our lives is to directly confront homophobia. Fostering meaningful interaction between the community and larger student population is the way.

In the last decade or so, it seems Catholic college campuses have overall done a better job of supporting LGBTQ students. However, there is still room for improvement. At the end of the day, what LGBTQ students want is to be a part of the campus like everyone else.

Increasing student visibility puts us on the path towards success. ■ DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE ABOUT RECONCILING RELIGION WITH BEING AN LGBTQ PERSON? YOU CAN SHARE IT VIA

“ GAY

VOICES” AT METROSOURCE.COM.

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HOW FAR CAN CATHOLIC CAMPUSES GO TO EMBRACE LGBTQ STUDENTS?

how I learned to stop worrying & love the balm they asked about my daily routine or if there was anything in my life about which I was obsessive. Others learned when they caught me applying my “lip” before going onstage. I even began to show off the contents of my pockets, including the fact that I often carry two or three balms any given time. That way, I can mix them to get just the right feel and tint. Though I was occasionally uncomfortable when this was met with silence, I was pleased when that gave way to understanding.

“My lips require five steps!” some women would say, showing off the contents of their purses.

“I have over 200 pairs of shoes!” said others.

“I have over 300 perfumes!” some even admitted.

Meanwhile, men would reveal they had obsessions with buying “tools” or “golf clubs” or “ballcaps.”

Eventually people – friends and strangers alike – began giving me lip balms. I kept them all - until one day when I heard a crash. Gary was on a cleaning spree. He had opened my medicine cabinet (the one that is off limits to him!) and my lip stash came tumbling forth.

“WADE!” he screamed.

My glossed lips trembled.

“This has gone a bit too far, don’t you think?”

The entire sink was filled with balms. And yet there were still more to find - in drawers, in pockets, in my jewelry case, under the bed.

“I don’t know whether to submit you to My Strange Addiction or call Marie Kondo immediately,” he said.

“I know it’s a tad obsessive,” I explained.

“A tad?”

“It’s just this weird little indulgence that helped me realize I was gay and also empowered me to be me.”

Gary smiled. “I understand,” he said. “But some of these…”

He opened a tube and curled his lip as if he’d just sniffed a carton of old milk. “They’re just downright nasty.”

I ended up paring my collection - a bit. And then I ended up buying more. But I also realized that was perfectly fine. I may have too many lip balms, but it is a relatively inexpensive and harmless indulgence that keeps me happy and my lips healthy.

Just don’t invite me over and leave a Bonne Bell Root Beer Lip Smacker unattended.

■

views

My obsession with lip balm

began in grade school when I stole Bonne Bell Root Beer Lip Smackers from the backpack of the girl who hung her coat next to mine. I hid it and ran all the way home after school to try it on.

I looked beautiful.

For years, I’d been fascinated watching my mother put on her makeup. She perched on a tiny stool in front of her vanity and transform her face. She always ended with a dramatic red lip.

Moreover, I liked the way my contraband lip balm felt. My brother and father always had chapped lips. Though they slathered on Chapstick, its pasty texture never cut it for me.

When I confessed my obsession to one of my best girl friends in middle school, she started giving me her castoffs. These mostly consisted of half-used tubes or flavors she didn’t like.

In high school, I began to use my allowance to buy balms at the mall. When I went to college, my roommate (and eventual best friend) busted me mid-balm-application. I showed him the stash I’d hidden under the bed.

“Okay, Christie Brinkley, what the hell is going on?”

I confessed, and he laughed. “Better than being a serial killer,” he said.

By the time I started my career, men’s makeup had become en vogue, thanks to MTV. That’s when my lip balm obsession turned more extreme. I began to buy lip balms to suit every occasion, mood or need.

I found that Vaseline Lip Therapy worked best overnight because it coated my lips well, kept them moist and tended not to fade away. For me, finding Burt’s Bees was akin to stumbling upon a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. They had fruit and veggie-based balms that were tinted! And a simple quiz (asking for my eye color, hair color, and what color best complements my skin tone) led me to just the right shades for my face.

Oh, and there were endless variations of shimmer! I waved wands to apply glosses that sparkled, shined, and hydrated in muted tones of pink, rose and taupe. These not only elevated evening looks but could be varied to match to my ensembles.

For day, I sported SPF-laden balms that looked sexy in the sun.

A number of years back, I began to acknowledge my lip balm love publicly on a book tour. Some readers learned because

diary

His childhood preoccupation with lip balm has only grown since grade school.

Now Wade wonders whether it will land him on My Strange Addiction. BY WADE ROUSE

Check out Wade’s latest novel under the pen name Viola Shipman, The Summer Cottage, and visit him online at waderouse.com. do you have any secret indulgences? share your story in “gay voices” at metrosource.com. metrosource.com october/november 2019

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masters of reinvention

culture

books

Dancers take flight in fashion, a lesbian icon shows off her thousand faces, and the Club Kids of the 1990s leave an indelible mark on the nightlife of Manhattan. By sebastian fortino

New York: Club Kids

By Waltpaper; Damiani; $55

Clockwise from top left: Michael Fazakerley, Desi Monster, 1992. Copyright Michael Fazakerley. All Rights Reserved.; Catherine McGann, House of Field at subway fashion show, 1993. (Left to right) Arman Ra, Andy Ecstasy, Jojo Field, Missy Field, Codie Ravioli. Copyright Catherine McGann. All Rights Reserved.; Adolfo Gallela, Lil Keni and Waltpaper at Webster Hall, 1995. Copyright Adolfo Gallela. All Rights Reserved.

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to the glory days of Manhattan night life at the turn of the century, New York: Club Kids by former club kid and artist Waltpaper — also known as Walter Cassidy — is an equally ardent homage to the earlier part of that heady decade.

The term “club kid” arrived in the ‘80s, but the movement made a more lasting impression on the decade that followed.

It consisted primarily of fashion-conscious youths who came to be known publicly through daytime talk shows, magazine editorials, fashion campaigns and music videos. Some credit them with planting the seeds for reality TV, self-branding, the rise of influencers and the gender revolution.

New York: Club Kids’ chapters are largely organized by the clubs of the time (Limelight, Tunnel, Roxy, etc.). That was before they were padlocked out of existence by then-mayor Rudy Giuliani. Now, this photo book and memoir captures the heavily made-up and costumed movers and shakers of the era.

Names like a newly celebrated RuPaul, eternal club kid Björk, and actor Chloe Sevigny decorate these pages vibrantly — even when the images are black and white.

What motivated Waltpaper to commit his reverie to book form? He cites the quintessential club kid, Michael Alig of Party Monster fame. “After the years of media coverage of the Alig story,” Waltpaper realized,“this is not my story.” So he decided to reclaim that moment in time for all the kids who partied alongside him back then — monsters or otherwise.

this page: all photos this section courtesy their respective publishers

If Jake Shears’ memoir Boys Keep Swinging was a love letter

THE STYLE OF MOVEMENT: FASHION & DANCE

By Ken Browar and Deborah Ory; Rizzoli New York; $75.00 THE WAY BODIES MOVE IN DANCE CAN BE AS STIMULATING TO WATCH AS

it is sensual to feel. Pairing these extraordinary bodies in motion with sartorial designs from couturiers Dior, Valentino, or Oscar de la Renta is an object lesson in how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

The Style of Movement: Fashion & Dance offers physical manifestations of that entrancing alchemy. The collection was created by the team behind the best-selling photography book The Art of Movement, and also offers perspectives from designers through Pamela Golbin’s introduction and a forward by Valentino.

But perhaps the designers are best represented by the book’s 250 expertly curated photographs: Modern fashion luminaries such as

Moschino collide with costumes designed by the legendary Martha Graham. The book also reconsiders the titanic Halston, who often designed with the disco dance floor of Studio 54 in mind.

The world-renowned dancers featured on these pages bring joy and vibrance to the clothes and read like a Who’s Who of the dance world — including Tiler Peck, Daniil Simkin, Misty Copeland, Michael Trusnovec, Christine Shevchenko, Xander Parish, Olga Smirnova and Artem Ovcharenko. The result is a feast for the eyes. It would be a welcome addition to the collections of dancers and fashionistas alike.

And it just might make the perfect reciprocal gift for that friend who’s always willing to share that extra ticket to American Ballet Theatre.

From left: Cover; Untitled Film Still #15 by Cindy Sherman, 1978. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York; Untitled #574 by Cindy Sherman, 2016. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York; Untitled #466 by Cindy Sherman, 2008. Courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures, New York

CINDY SHERMAN Edited by Paul Moorehouse; Rizzoli Electa; $45 ALL TOO OFTEN IT SEEMS THAT - IN THE ERA OF INSTAGRAM, ADRIFT ON A

sea of selfies - we have lost sight of what portraiture was meant to be.

That’s especially true of self-portraits, which (after all) are the more august forerunners of today’s epidemic of children looking into their phone cameras making duck lips.

Artist Cindy Sherman is a master of the self portrait — in addition to being one of the most respected artists of her generation, with an influence that stretches from the 1970s to the present. Some suggest that her most recognizable works — in which she places herself in identity-redefining disguises and often posed within intricate tableaux — may have presaged the age of social media we’re in now.

Are they still vital? See for yourself. The book traces Sherman’s

work from her black and white bust portraits of the 1970s onward.

It also includes images from Untitled Film Stills — a collection of stills from an imagined film that lofted her to become an art world sensation. Readers will also find masterworks from her elaborate History Portraits, in which she takes on the personas of famous historic figures. Completists will be pleased that the anthology rolls right up through such recent Sherman works as Masks and the alluring Flappers.

The book chronicles an exhibition of Sherman’s eye work that appeared at The National Portrait Gallery in London from June through September. A companion book of (simply called Postcards) allows you to share images of the versatile, lesbian artist with friends and fellow art lovers through the mail. Just don’t call them selfies.

METROSOURCE.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

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Boulder hiking paths

t to the end of the pier at

A crew team carries its boa in Estes Park

WITH ITS RESPECT FOR PERSONAL FREEDOM, GETTING HIGH AND THE GRANDEUR OF MOTHER NATURE, THIS MAY BE THE PLACE THE ‘60s DREAMED ABOUT. BY MARK A. THOMPSON Rocky Mountain National Park

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IMAGINE STANDING ON THE CORNER OF SAN FRANCISCO’S HAIGHT

and Ashbury during 1967’s Summer of Love, casually sharing a joint with a time traveler from the present. Now imagine that your happily high visitor from the future tells you that Colorado, not California, will be the first state to legalize cannabis. And that Denver, not San Francisco, will be the first US city to decriminalize psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms).

Oh, and also that Colorado, not California, will be the first state in the US to elect an openly gay man as governor.

Such prophecies might have stretched credulity in the late ‘60s when Northern Colorado was bone dry due to Prohibition-era restrictions. But the 21st-century realities of Colorado do recall the utopian optimism of flower-powered California.

Colorado legalized cannabis in 2014, and Denver decriminalized psilocybin earlier this year — four months after openly-gay Jared Polis became the 43rd Governor of Colorado in January.

If you’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of the annual two-day kaleidoscopic fantasia known as Denver PrideFest, you might imagine the fabled pot of gold at the rainbow’s end may be found in Colorado. Each year in June, nearly 400,000 peo-

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ky Mountain National Park

A resident herd of elk in Roc

Boulder Reservoir

THIS PAGE: CITY AND COUNTY BUILDING- INDEPENDENCE EVE CREDIT EVAN SEMON

City and County Building- Independence Eve

ple transform Denver’s Civic Center Park into a resplendent playground with the same freedom-loving vibe of Woodstock and Burning Man — a pansexual panorama of humanity’s rainbow spectrum.

No wonder Denver has become the second largest millennial boomtown in the States. Perhaps it was destined to be: After all, Colorado is the Centennial State, and granted its statehood on the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. How fitting this sort of national anniversary gift ended up a reminder of the republic’s founding principles of equality, freedom and the pursuit of happiness?

“What I hear most often from people who come here is ‘I feel at home,’” says Jayne Buck, Vice President of Tourism at Visit Denver. “After only a couple of days, they tell me, ‘I feel at home here.’ I think that feeling stems from the Gold Rush; that sense of seeking an adventure, embarking on a new chapter and then finding yourself in the process.”

Inhabited by Native Americans for more than 13,000 years, the territory later known as Colorado boomed during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush, with an influx of some 100,000 gold miners who created mining camps known as Denver City and Boulder City. In the 1920s, Denver’s Five Points neighborhood became known as the“Harlem of the West”in deference to its multitudes of jazz bars and clubs, as well as a reminder that one in three cowboys who took part in the cattle drives of the Old West was African-American, and very often a freed slave.

More than a century later, Colorado retains an adventurous spirit with a populace increasingly known for their progressivism and ecosensibility. Home to 45 state and national parks, nearly a thousand wildlife species and 6,000 miles of rivers, the nation’s eighth largest state has committed to 100% renewable energy over the next 20 years.

DENVER HIGH The Rocky Mountains, which spans nearly 5,000 miles of the western half of North America, define Colorado and embody Denver’s milehigh sensibility. Nearly omnipresent on the horizon, the mountains are to Denver what the ocean is to Miami: a four-season playground

and an easy escape from the urban grind and grid.

As Alyson Calagna, founder of Remix Your World, states,“My life as a DJ and music producer is chaotic. And as soon as I hit Colorado, I am instantly grounded.”Calagna relocated to Colorado from Miami in 2011 because “my soul needed to get into the mountains and get lost in the wilderness — and the stillness.”

“I wanted to see the sky,” says Calagna, who lives in Boulder and keeps a music studio in Denver, “but I still wanted a city with a metropolitan feel.” As the largest city within 600 miles, Denver has been dubbed the LGBTQ oasis of the West. Located 5,280 feet above sea level, the Mile High City averages 300 days of annual sunshine, which means that a marriage proposal on the 13th step of the Colorado State Capitol at precisely 5,280 feet could be quite a sunny proposition.

RINO HUNTING One of Denver’s most vibrant neighborhoods, RiNo (an acronym for River North) emerged from an industrial hub just north of downtown with a mission to empower artists and encourage their creativity. Denver Graffiti Tour, which was founded by a pair of art-loving locals, offers a two-hour walking tour of RiNo’s celebrated street art scene alongside an insider’s perspective on RiNo’s tagline“Where Art Is Made.”

Easily recognized by its wall-size Shepard Fairey mural, Denver Central Market has become RiNo’s de facto community center, thanks to a curated collection of local vendors — in addition to its buzzing bar with a popular happy hour. Locals who love Izzio Bakery line up for the third-generation baker’s Italian-American delicacies, particularly the beloved Colorado Queen, a caramelized sweet-and-buttery croissantlike pastry that induces cravings from morning to midnight.

At the nearby Il Posto, a squid-ink-infused mezcal cocktail serves as a welcome prelude to the Northern Italian specialties of Milanese chef/ owner Andrea Frizzi, whose toothsome pizzas at Vero in Denver Central Market are perfectly-charred in a mosaic-tiled brick oven.

More than 2,000 electric scooters zip around Denver, gliding a milMETROSOURCE.COM OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019

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Denver Union Station

The Ramble Hotel

lion miles in the first six months after their introduction to the city in 2018. RiNo is just as frequently traversed by cyclists, joggers, pedestrians and skateboards. And within the radius of a single mile, the neighborhood serves as home to at least a dozen craft breweries and distilleries.

For an elegant perspective on the neighborhood parade, reserve a ringside table in the French-infused lobby boîte known as Death & Co. at The Ramble Hotel.

Inspired by the literary salons of the Marquise de Rembouillet in 17th-century French society, The Ramble Hotel opened in 2018 in a purpose-built structure that reflects RiNo’s manufacturing history — albeit with the addition of crystal chandeliers, Persian carpets and a secluded speakeasy. As the first outpost of New York’s celebrated Death & Co., the Denver incarnation maintains its dedication to expert mixology with the addition of a full-service lobby restaurant known as DC/AM. Equally alluring is the adjoining Super Mega Bien, a Pan-Latin dim sum dining hall helmed by James Beard-nominated chef Dana Rodriguez. Her ebullience and culinary wizardry steer parties through the night.

Rooms and suites at The Ramble evoke the pleasures of a civilized sanctuary above the fray, complete with French press coffee, illuminated

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The Ramble Garden

dressing room vanities and a curated Death & Co. bar complete with crystal rocks glasses. A three-tier, cut-glass chandelier above the wallsize windows further enhances the slightly-illicit seductive atmosphere.

Guests who book the “I Must Have Flowers, Always & Always” package at The Ramble are fêted with floral-themed cocktails and artworks.

In a neighborhood fueled by cocktails and cannabis, breakfast is equally beloved. This is especially true at the award-winning Call, which bumps the morning meal into Michelin-star territory with a Northern European-influenced menu composed of seasonal Colorado fare. For another take on breakfast bliss, hop a scooter to Denver’s historic Union Station, where Mercantile serves the elevated comfort food of James Beard award-winning chef Alex Seidel in a soaring setting that functions as restaurant, market and bar. Fortunately, Denver B-cyle offers an opportunity to bike off that breakfast with 700 bicycles available for use on 850 miles of urban cycling trails.

ALL THAT GLITTERS Notable for its 24-karat gold dome, Colorado’s majestic state capitol serves as an entrance to Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood with

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Denver Art Museum

Aerial view of downtown Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall with The Flatirons in the background

its various civic and cultural institutions. Named for artist Vance Kirkland, the newly-relocated Kirkland Museum houses one of the nation’s most important design and decorative arts collections with over 30,000 works by more than 1,500 artists and designers.

Equally impressive is the neighboring Clyfford Still Museum dedicated to the work of one of the 20th century’s leading Abstract Expressionist painters. More than 90 percent of Clyfford Still’s total output is housed in a remarkable textured concrete museum that is both a complement to Still’s work and an architectural marvel in its own right. Prior to the museum’s 2011 opening, the bulk of Still’s estate had been unavailable to the public since 1980. Now visitors have access to nearly the entire oeuvre of a painter who ranks alongside Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock. The collection is breathtaking.

Similarly, the architectural bravura of Denver Art Museum (DAM) is unmistakable, thanks to the titanium planes and prow of Daniel Libeskind’s Hamilton Building — connected via aerial walkway to Italian modernist Gio Ponti’s 24-sided fortress-like building from 1971. One of DAM’s most anticipated upcoming exhibitions is Claude Monet: The Truth of Nature, which will house the most extensive assortment of Monet paintings exhibited in the States in more than 20 years.

THIS PAGE: DENVER PRIDEFEST PHOTO COURTESY OF MRNY

INSIDE THE BOULDER BUBBLE For certain people, the city of Boulder is a nearly-mythical locale representing all the riches of life. “I felt this intense vibe during my daily meditation,” explains Calagna about her decision to relocate to Boulder.

“My soul was calling,‘Go to Colorado, to Boulder’ — which, at that point, was a place I only knew about from books on Buddhist communities and its healing history. I knew I had to uplevel my consciousness. So I sold everything and said,‘Show me my healers.’And the moment I drove into Boulder, it felt like home. I knew right then.”

To picture Boulder is to imagine the world if the values espoused by the hippies of the ‘60s had been made manifest in the subsequent decades. Compassion for Mother Earth commingles with respect for all — with better gardens for gourmet food included. As some locals like to say,“We’re nestled between the mountains and reality.” In 1967, Boulder voted to become the first American city to tax its citizens for the preservation of open spaces, which now comprise 45,000 acres of unspoiled nature. More than 300 miles of hiking and biking trails serve a richly-

Denver PrideFest

caffeinated populace, 50,000 of whom participate in the outrageouslyattired 10K race known as BolderBoulder.

“Boulder is a much higher-vibed community and very highly conscious,” says Calagna, “where a non-binary queer is readily integrated into the larger community. I came from a background where you checked boxes about your identity and Boulder shifted that. All these soul-seekers in Boulder, they are unafraid to question those self-imposed boundaries.

Embracing my own sexuality and being able to explore that comes from living here in Boulder.”

Pride celebrations in Boulder kicked off this year with the unveiling of a rainbow-painted intersection at Broadway and Pearl in the heart of downtown. Each year in May, Out Boulder sponsors an annual Garden Party, which is followed in September by Boulder Pride Week and the city’s annual Boulder Pridefest. This year’s annual December Holiday Party will be held at the city’s historic Hotel Boulderado at License No. 1, so named for the receipt of the city’s first liquor license in 1969 — after an astounding 62 years of alcohol prohibition.

Today, Boulder boasts more breweries per capita than any other American city and guests at St. Julien Hotel & Spa book therapeutic CBD (cannabidiol) treatments at the luxury hotel’s wellness retreat. Situated 5,430 feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountain foothills, St. Julien’s rooms and suites offer views of the Flatirons, the omnipresent sheer red rock formations that have become Boulder’s signature.

A university and research town, Boulder’s architecture is more horizontal than vertical, which better frames the Flatirons and the surrounding Colorado Chautauqua which beckons to local hikers, bikers, runners, and more than one million annual visitors. Open year-round, the National Historic Landmark offers summer concerts in the 1898 auditorium and meals with panoramic vistas from the Chautauqua Dining Hall.

Boulder is almost synonymous with the James Beard award-winning restaurant Frasca Food and Wine. Located just beyond Boulder’s brickpaved Pearl Street pedestrian mall with its streetwise buskers, the sleek and stylish restaurant received James Beard accolades for its exemplary service, which is masterfully displayed throughout a seven-course Friulano tasting menu with wine pairings that showcase the gastronomic bounty of Colorado and its producers. By the time the post-prandial artisanal chocolates are offered in a presentation box, it’s possible to believe that Colorado is perfecting the recipe for a better American future.

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all the world’s a stage Nineteen Nineteen

Sisters in Law Through October 13

Tony winner, MacArthur, Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellow Bill Irwin uses his formidable comedic and clowning skills to offer his perspective on the language of playwright Samuel Beckett. Irwin takes on the comic and tragic in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and other masterworks in an intimate, engaging and hilarious performance. centertheatregroup.org

Collecting Long Beach Through November 3 The Long Beach Museum of Art has culled work from 35 local artists in its permanent collection for this exhibition, which showcases the unique art scene of this often overlooked California city. The collection of work helps celebrate the opening of the Museum’s new downtown galleries and artist studios. lbma.org

Opens October 11

Summer

Vincent van Gogh, Les Vessenots in Auvers, 1890. Oil on canvas.

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Inv. no. 559 (1978.41). © Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

Santa Barbara’s Museum of Art brings together 15 works by Vincent Van Gogh and positions them with 125 pieces from artists he admired, which represent a surprisingly wide range of artistic styles. By juxtaposing Van Gogh’s work with the work of those who meant something to him, the exhibition shows the legacy of the tortured Post-Impressionist master while illustrating how his work was a radical departure that resonates to this day. sbma.net

La Marisoul October 12 Growing up on both sides of the border and spending many formative years on LA’s Olivera Street, vocalist Marasol Hernandez (aka La Marisoul) has a unique grasp of MexicanAmerican musical history. Covering everything from Lalo Guerrero to Los Lobos, the

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soulful and powerful Marisoul invites a host of guest musicians onstage to help tell her story. thesoraya.org

Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources

los angeles

LA scope

October and November Pasadena’s famed Huntington Library celebrates its centennial celebration through an exhibition that examines the year it was founded, 1919. Organized around the verbs “Fight,” “Return,”“Map,”“Move” and “Build,” the Huntington showcases books, letters, posters, artwork and photos that embody a year rife with post-war conflict, political revolution and the suffrage movement. huntington.org

october/november 2019

metrosource.com

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sandra Day O’Connor had their ideological differences when they both served on the Supreme Court, but as the first female justices they were irrevocably connected professionally and socially.

Tovah Feldshuh and Stephanie Faracy play the unlikely friends in this stage adaptation of the bestselling book that profiled their unique relationship. thewallis.org

On Beckett Through October 27 Bill Irwin in “On Beckett”

November 5-24 With her first single, Donna Summer transformed from the teenage daughter of a Boston pastor to the ultimate disco diva and launched a career that spanned four decades of pop and dance hits. This musical biography of Summer’s life incorporates three performers taking on 20 of her classic songs, all while telling the incredible story of the ‘70s and ‘80s music superstar’s life. hollywoodpantages.com

An Evening with Rita Moreno November 9 The EGOT-winner and musical theater legend takes to Santa Monica’s Broad Stage to discuss her eight decades as a performer - from West Side Story to the acclaimed Latinx-themed reboot of her One Day At a Time sitcom. She looks back on her career and reminisces as she performs some of her favorite American Songbook and Broadway classics. thebroadstage.org

Melissa Etheridge November 16 One of the greatest rock voices of her generation wraps her latest tour in Los Angeles, singing a mix of her classics with new songs from

this page: van gogh courtesy santa barbara museum of art • “sisters in law” image courtsy the wallis • On Beckett Photo by Carol Rosegg • opposite page: abrantes still courtesy redcat.

Area stages come to life with tributes to the friendship of Supreme Court justices, the genius of Samuel Beckett, Donna Summer’s music and more. by christopher lisotta

her most recent album, The Medicine Show. Busy on the 16th? No worries. The proudly out Etheridge also performs at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA on the 14th. musiccenter.org

Playful Perversions: Short Films By Gabriel Abrantes November 25 The celebrated and often confounding Portuguese director Gabriel Abrantes appears in person at this REDCAT screening of his transgressive and expressive shorts. With a taste for allegories that explore everything from sexuality to gender to colonialism, Abrantes is churning out films that are helping to redefine contemporary cinema.redcat.org ■

Still from “The Artificial Humors” by Gabriel Abrantes

bodyelectrictattoo.com

323-954-0408

7274 1/2 Melrose Ave. Los Angeles, CA metrosource.com october/november 2019

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From the ashes of a fire and the fallout of a crop failure arose a unique attraction where visitors indulge their love for animals and the fruit of the vine. By steve gottfried Malibu Wine Safari 32111 Mulholland Hwy Malibu, CA 90265 (818) 578-4081 LAsafaris.com

Safari in the City if you’re in the market for an antidote to the

stressors of modern life, why not consider one offering breathtaking canyon views, majestic vineyards, a chance to interact with exotic wildlife and winetasting? Merely a half-hour off the Ventura freeway along a scenic drive through the Santa Monica Mountains lies an oasis for nature lovers, animal lovers and wine enthusiasts called Malibu Wine Safari.

Humble Beginnings Celebrating its sixth year in business, Malibu Wine Safari is the brainchild of 27-year-old Dakota Semler. Well, sort of. His father, Ron Semler, purchased thirty acres of land in 1978 after a fire prompted the original owners to sell – a literal fire sale. Semler and his wife raised nine children, living off the land in this idyllic setting. But a freeze in the early ‘90s

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wiped out their avocado orchard (they lost a million pounds of produce) and put them out of business for two years. Semler decided a bit of reinvention was in order, taking his cues from the climate and the terrain suggesting a more reliable and lucrative crop. By 2002, Saddlerock Malibu Estate Vineyards was born, utilizing roughly 80 acres of the family homestead which now encompasses 1100 acres.

After a 2010 family vacation to South Africa, Papa Semler was inspired to also recreate the safari experience in Malibu. At first, the family scoffed at the idea, but in 2014, after returning from his studies in Washington D.C., Dakota came up with a proposal and plan to make his father’s dream a reality, offering guided tours to both Angelenos and tourists looking for a respite from urban life.

At most zoos, there’s often a strict policy not to feed the animals. Not so at Malibu Wine Safari. In fact, it’s encouraged. There’s nothing quite like befriending another species with a lettuce leaf or a handful of pellets.

Winetasting with a Twist

Art, Kitsch and Americana

Today, Saddlerock Ranch is home to a veritable Noah’s Ark of animals, including American buffalo, yaks, zebras, Scottish highland cattle, alpaca, llamas, emu, dwarf goats and an 18-foot tall giraffe named Stanley that has its own Instagram account. Stanley is

The property also incorporates the Semlers’ interest in art and Americana via whimsical touches that can be seen throughout the property. Some of these include a Bob’s Big Boy statue, a bright yellow taxicab and a collection of RV’s at Camp Cabernet, one of the

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officially “retired” - having been featured in commercials for Skittles, Target, Best Buy and the movie Hangover 3. The safari lasts approximately 90 minutes and promises a relaxed, scenic and informative excursion aboard a custom-built, open air vehicle that seats up to 20 passengers. Personable tour guides offer a guide to the property and its colorful history with four planned stops along the way to visit and interact with the animals and partake of some of the local wines in the region.

Out of the Palm of Your Hand this section: All images courtesy MaLIBU WINE SAFARI

LA hotshops los angeles

you had me at merlot

tasting stops along the tour. There’s even an oversized picture frame overlooking the property which visitors can use to capture a very instagrammable selfie. And who doesn’t like a little cheese with their wine?

Rising from the Ashes While a fire was part of the origin story of how the Semlers acquired the land back in 1978, the cycle came full circle with C the devastating Woolsey Fire that ravaged nearly 97,000 acres of Los Angeles and M Ventura counties in November 2018 and Y prompted the evacuation of 295,000 people CM in the area. Like their neighbors, the SemMY lers lost a number of structures at the ranch — including their own home, — and now CY they’re rebuilding. But the Safari business CMY was up and running again three weeks K after the wildfires and is now fully operational, averaging 20 tours a day during the week and up to 40 tours daily during the weekends.

You Are Cordially Invited In addition to regularly scheduled wine safaris and wine hikes, Saddlerock Ranch is also a popular locale for corporate events and weddings. As a venue, the ranch offers five distinctive settings to capture just the right ambience. And since visitors wouldn’t want to leave without a keepsake or souvenir, there’s a gift shop offering everything from t-shirts and sweatshirts to giraffe ears and sun hats with wine-themed messages on the brim. Our favorite: “You had me at Merlot.”

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6 Harbor Park Drive, Port Washington, New York 11050

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Boston Common

Hotel Envoy Lobby

Hotel Envy Lookout

historic honeymoon

los angeles

Weddings

Boston is for Lovers

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Boston, with its blend of colonial history, cutting-edge innovation and relaxed style welcomes over 20 million visitors every year.

Tourists flock for events including the Boston Marathon, Pride Week, First Night First Day, Dine Out Boston and Harborfest.

However Beantown can also prove an optimal city for same-sex couples in search of some historic honeymooning. After all, it's the capital city of the first state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage. What's more Boston is without a doubt - proud, accessible and welcoming. If you haven’t been before, definitely plan to spend a little time on the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile-long path through downtown Boston, featuring sixteen locations considered to be significant to U.S. History. These sites include the Boston Commons, Massachusetts State House, Old Corner Bookstore, the Paul Revere House, the USS Constitution, Bunker Hill Monument and more.

In addition to the Freedom Trail there’s also the Boston Equality Trail, a walking tour that follows the route of Boston’s first Gay March in 1971 and also includes homosexually historically sites like Jacques Cabaret and The Other Side, Park Square, the South End, the Boston Public Garden, and Massachusetts State House - where state licenses were issued to same-sex couples beginning May 17, 2004.

Art lovers can get up close and personal with John Singer Sargent’s paintings at The Museum of Fine Arts Boston. The museum holds the world’s most complete collection of his paintings, murals, watercolors, drawings, sculptures and photographs. Meanwhile, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is modeled october/november 2019

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after a 15th-century Venetian palazzo surrounding an indoor courtyard garden (prime for Instagram snaps). It features some of the world’s most incredible art collections, including works by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Degas, and even more pieces by John Singer Sargent (he did consider the city his American hometown, after all).

Looking for a good way to take in more culture without breaking the bank? Pick up a Boston CityPASS in order to gain admission to popular attractions like the New England Aquarium, Museum of Science, Skywalk Observatory, Harvard Museum of Natural History, and take in a view of the city from the water through Boston Harbor Cruises. If you want to get out on the harbor and explore more of New England’s marine wildlife, Boston Whale Watching Cruise offers a three-hour cruise around the Stellwagen Bank of National Marine Sanctuary where you hop on a high-speed catamaran to spot humpback, fin, and right whales - plus Atlantic white-sided dolphins and other porpoises.

Is Cambridge on your mind? Make sure to plan some quality time to take in the Ivy League grandeur of Harvard Square. Take the T to Harvard Square and make sure to build your day around lunch at Mr. Bartley’s Burgers (where they offer what is possibly the best burger in the world). Try to get in on a Crimson Key Tour, where you can gain a comprehensive perspective of Harvard life, and don't miss the opportunity to peruse one of Harvard’s museums. Cambridge is much more than just Harvard, though, seriously. There’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology (with its MIT Museum), Longfellow House (Washington’s Headquar-

ters), Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, and American Repertory Theater. In on a Saturday night? Plan on checking out The Donkey Show, the disco retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Looking for the perfect place to stay? We've got three to consider: The Envoy is Autograph Collection Hotels’ first Boston property and conveniently located in the Seaport District. It offers a modern, design-forward aesthetic and a comfortable, easy-going vibe. The 136 hotel rooms are spacious, bright and rich with harbor views. Guests have access to two on-site dining options: Outlook Kitchen & Bar and Lookout Rooftop & Bar where Chef Tatiana Pairot Rosana offers American cuisine with local seasonal inspirations. Rosana was recently featured on Food Network’s series Chopped and won her battle on the episode “Under the Cuban Sun,” which featured Cuban chefs using Cuban ingredients. Lookout’s skyline and harbor views make it a perfect spot for an afternoon or after-dinner cocktail on cozy outdoor couches. Want to explore the neighborhood? The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum is practically in the Envoy Hotel’s backyard. You can’t get more Beantown touristy than getting into a reenactment of the watershed event that changed American history, but why not? History buffs will get a kick out of exploring 18th Century sailing vessels, historic artifacts and multi-sensory documentary Let it Begin Here.

After your walk through history, go ahead and have a cup of tea (oh, the irony) at Abigail’s Tea Room & Terrace, an adorable location to enjoy a few scones, a cup of something warm, or sip Dark and Stormy.

Four Seasons Hotel Boston is one of the

this page: Boston Common Credit Kyle Klein • photos courtesy of Hotel Envoy

After you wed, head to the town where colonists threw tea in the sea. Plus, check out our updates from the global struggle for marriage equality BY JEFFREY JAMES KEYES

stock photo Copyright rawpixel

more decadent ways you can spend a few nights. This Back Bay oasis is nestled in a neighborhood rich with Victorian brownstones and just a stone’s throw from the Freedom Trail.

Take in views of the storied Public Garden, Beacon Hill, and the gilded dome of the State House. Be sure to touch base with their wedding specialist to learn more about honeymoon offers including activities like their couple’s massage and a romantic boat cruise in the Boston Harbor. You can also nibble on bites and sip luxurious martinis at The Bristol Lounge Bar, renowned as a meeting spot for “power dining” among Boston’s elite. Or book a treatment through the hotel spa where you can extend your experience with a dip in the heated pool and whirlpool or have a relaxing steam in one of the saunas.

Beacon Hill is synonymous with federalstyle row houses and picturesque gaslit streets.

It's home to the incredible XV Beacon, a stunning member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts - in an impressive turn-of-the-century landmark Beaux-Arts building. Book any one of the 63 luxury rooms at this ultraluxe property, and relax with your new spouse in an ambiance that features gas fireplaces, cashmere throws, a pillow menu (yes, they have an actual pillow menu), and rainforest showerheads. Really live it up by booking one of the 475-square foot Boston Common Studios, which feature a sun-filled sitting area and corner views of historic Beacon Street and the Boston Common.

Or live even larger in The Bromfield Suite, an enormous luxury, one-bedroom suite that also features a Parlor Room and an imported marble bathroom with a whirlpool tub. Head up to the private Roof Deck to have a glass of champagne and catch the sunset over the "Shining City Upon a Hill." If you don't want to stray too far from your suite - you're honeymooning after all - be sure to check out XV Beacon’s premier steakhouse "Mooo...." (yes, that’s three o’s and four….) for a menu that varies from pancakes to smoothies to a scrumptious Wagyu A5 sirloin dinner. Want to head out and explore the area? Utilize the hotel's in-town Lexus service to travel in style. XV Beacon is especially welcoming to the LGBTQ community, offering a Preferred Pride Package as part of the Preferred Hotel Group’s Preferred Pride collection, a distinctive group of independently owned and operated hotels. All hotels in this group are either TAG-approved (part of worldwide collection

of LGBTQ welcoming hotels) or members of IGLTA. The package includes a bottle of chilled house champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to sweeten your stay. Enjoy your Beantown honeymoon!

first same-sex wedding at the church. Reverend Kate Bottley officiated and Wallace reminded fellow Christians that: “Jesus preaches about love, inclusion, kindness, compassion.”

Wed in the World ALABAMA

It’s been a little while since Kim Davis, the infamously anti-gay former Kentucky county clerk, has been in the news. After gaining notoriety for pushing religion as a justification for discriminating against processing paperwork for samesex couples wishing to tie the knot, she’s back in the papers because she may finally face legal action after three judges (that’s 3-0, hennies!) on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati issued a ruling that she can be formally sued for damages after couples appealed initial court rulings.

KENTUCKY

Marc Brown, creator of the PBS series Arthur expressed his frustration after Alabama Public Television pulled his Series 22 premiere because it featured a gay wedding. In the episode, Mr. Ratburn, Arthur’s teacher, married his longtime partner. This echoes the 2005 decision Alabama Public Television made to also yank the spinoff series Postcards from Buster which featured lesbian mothers. Shortly after the announcement appeared, Birmingham’s First Methodist Church teamed up with Sidewalk Film Festival and SHOUT LGBTQ Festival to hold a special screening of the episode.

Guests who attended the screening were offered sparkling apple juice and wedding cake in honor of episode entitled Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone.

CAYMAN ISLANDS Friction on the equality front has been rattling in the Cayman Islands for the past few years.

Currently, no country in the Caribbean allows for same-sex marriage or civil unions even though it's legal in certain other overseas territories of the Netherlands and the United States.

Chantelle Day and Vickie Bodden Bush went to court last year after they were denied the opportunity to marry each other in the islands. After Chief Justice Anthony Smellie ruled that the definition of marriage is between a man and a woman last March. Day and Bush went to bat for same-sex rights during a three-day hearing in August.

NEW JERSEY This past summer, Amit Shah and Aditya Madiraju did what many considered unthinkable: they threw a traditional Desi wedding for themselves. The couple had met at a birthday party in 2016 and were formally wed in New York City in early 2018. But the groundbreaking part of their celebration took place this year.

The wedding, performed at a Hindu temple on July 18, was the talk of the South Asian LGBTQ community, with the grooms clad in handsome outfits designed by Anita Dongre (and floral kurtas from Bohame for the party). Images of the wedding went viral practically overnight.

Why is a formal Desi wedding such a big deal?

India does not currently recognize same-sex relationships, let alone marriage. In fact, the Supreme Court of India only decriminalized homosexuality as recently as last year.

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SCOTLAND The Methodist Church in the United Kingdom and the Church of Scotland are currently reviewing changes that would include marriage equality. Individual congregations have been able to vote on whether or not their churches can hold same-sex weddings. Ian McDowall, 27, and Jamie Wallace, 39 - a gay couple from Scotland - were married in Glasgow’s Rutherglen United Reformed Church on Songs of Praise, a Christian reality program broadcast on the BBC. The couple’s ceremony was the metrosource.com october/november 2019

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West Hollywood’s Upper Crust: PIZZANA

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Celebrity-owned restaurants are nothing new

for Los Angeles, but even jaded diners had to concede there was something special about Pizzana. The original location opened in Brentwood in 2017. It was backed by Sprinkles Cupcakes founders Candace and Charles Nelson, and their partners, actor Chris O’Donnell and his wife Caroline.

Los Angeles was in the midst of a pizza boom.

But chef and master pizzaiolo Daniele Uditi, who grew up and honed his craft in his native Naples, still managed to stand out from the crowded field thanks to his“bubbly slow dough,”seasonal toppings and creative neo-Neapolitan pies. The restaurant even garnered a coveted Michelin Bib Gourmand earlier this year when the guide returned to California.

Although hopscotching across the 405 at rush hour was worth it, Eastsiders can consider themselves lucky that the team recently opened a new location in the heart of West Hollywood, just south of the bars of Boystown. Taking over the former Ed’s Coffee Shop, the smell of freshbaked pizza now wafts amidst a stretch of upscale interior design showrooms.

Speaking of interiors, the indoor dining room seats less than a dozen. There are a few small tables and a counter overlooking the kitchen, which is dominated by two enormous wood-fired october/november 2019

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Stefano Ferraro ovens imported from Naples. The main action is out on the covered front patio: The space is narrow, so tables are set flush against a brick wall. The mood also remains casual and convivial thanks to low-hanging, low-watt bulbs and a few well-placed planters. This area can also only accommodate a small clutch of diners at a time, so reservations are essential.

If you do snag a table, prepare to settle in for both warm service and delicious fare. Start with the carciofi arrostiti, crispy fried baby artichokes, charred artichoke heart and toasted pine nuts sprinkled with tangy parmigiano, lemon and olive oil. It’s a simple but delicious dish you might find at a traditional Roman trattoria. The hearty, woodfired meatballs are doused in San Marzano DOP tomato sauce and served with crusty wood-fired bread. There’s also caprese salad with blistered cherry tomatoes, basil pesto, and creamy burrata for those who like something straightforward but scrumptious.

The quartet of salads includes a Caesar made from little gem lettuce with fried capers, parmigiano, pizza crust croutons and Calabrian chile dressing for a kick. The shaved Brussels sprouts are tossed with lolla rossa lettuce, sliced apples, toasted pistachios and a savory-sweet caramelized shallot vinaigrette.

Now it’s time for the main attraction: the pizza. The tables have anchors for serving trays that stack like tinker toys — so order as many as you like. Before you make your final decision though, consult the specials list. Occasionally it might include such options as the now-signature smoked salmon pizza (which Uditi made in homage of Wolfgang Puck’s famous version) with luscious strips of fish complemented by dollops of mild ricotta, sprigs of fresh dill and parsley, some briny bottarga for contrast, chive, and lemon zest to add a touch of freshness.

As for the regular options, mushroom lovers

can choose between the funghi and tartufo pies.

Every mouthful of the former is a burst of umami delight, containing Italian crema, fontina, juicy shiitake and oyster mushrooms, and caramelized onions. The latter is earthier but still flavorful – delicate slices of Norcia black truffle resting on a bed of fior di latte, fontina, and pine nuts.

The corbarina pizza tastes like a simple summer evening dish, topped as it is with San Marzano DOP tomato sauce, gooey burrata, cherry tomatoes, zesty gremolata and bright yellow zucchini blossoms. Finally, treat yourself to the decadent cacio e pepe pizza with smoky provoloncino di agerola, velvety fior di latte and pungent parmigiano crema dusted with cracked black pepper for just the right amount of spice.You can order any of the pizzas with Uditi’s gluten-free crust if you prefer.

Hopefully you’ve left room for dessert since these offerings were overseen by sweets savant Candace Nelson herself. The apple upside down cake with salted caramel and vanilla ice cream is a crowd favorite, as is the luscious vanilla bean panna cotta with a salted caramel surface and caramelized pretzels on top. For pure indulgence, though, select the dark chocolate olive oil cake. It is fluffy, moist and rich, topped with a satiny layer of chocolate frosting, and comes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

The list of wines is small but sharp with options by the glass, quartino, or bottle sourced from both California and Italy. These include a tongue-tinglingly crisp Pinot Grigio from Lombardia and a brawny Chianti redolent of black cherry and licorice flower.

Can’t get a reservation? Stop by after your evening out in WeHo for a New York-style thin crust slice, available after 10pm daily.

■ 460 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90048; 310-657-4662; pizzana.com

This page: photo credit Dane Deaver

los angeles

Restaurant Review

Seating is strictly limited, but the bubbly “slow dough” pies at Pizzana’s recently opened West Hollywood outpost make it a reservation worth snagging. BY ERIC ROSEN

RESTAURANT BITES Edited by Eric Rosen

WEST HOLLYWOOD ANGLER Joshua Skenes, one of San Francisco’s best-known chefs, offers an LA outpost of his Embarcadero classic. Diners enjoy fresh seafood in the glow of huge aquaria. 8500 Beverly Blvd. Ste. 117, 424-332-4082

ANIMAL Chefs Jon Dotolo and Vinny Shook’s meat-centric restaurant is a mainstay for upscale comfort food prepared with seasonal, local ingredients and a bit of flair. 435 N. Fairfax Ave., 323-782-9225

AUBURN Chef Eric Bost is behind the stoves at one of the city’s best fine-dining establishments. Diners can opt for à la carte seasonal dishes, or order one of the tasting menus. 6703 Melrose Ave., 323-486-6703

CONNIE & TED’S Chef Michael Cimarusti has been dazzling LA palates since he opened fine-dining redoubt, Providence, but he takes a more casual approach with this genial ode to the simple seafood shacks of his Rhode Island childhood. 8171 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-848-2722

FORMOSA CAFÉ This nearly 90-year-old American-Chinese relic has regained its former glory thanks to a top-to-toe renovation. The menu features modern dim sum and Asian dishes along with cocktails both classic and creative. 7156 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-850-1009

GRACIAS MADRE The folks behind vegan-raw mainstay Café Gratitude created this Mexican-inspired eatery; the plant-based cuisine is as delicious but without affirmation-heavy names. 8905 Melrose Ave., 323-978-2170

JON & VINNY’S You love their grilled meat at Animal and the seafood at Son of a Gun. Now it’s time to try Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s take on neighborhood Italian at this friendly Fairfax trattoria. Try the handmade pasta and seasonal pizzas along with a Dolcetto from the little wine shop located at the back. 412 N. Fairfax Ave., 323-334-3368

KITCHEN 24

KISMET The ladies behind Madcapra at downtown’s Grand Central Market now have their own brick-and-mortar restaurant in a busy section of Los Feliz, serving up a menu that meshes Mediterranean classics with Californian flavors such as Persian cucumbers with rosewater labneh and parsley-seed zaatar. 4648 Hollywood Blvd., 323-409-0404

MA’AM SIR Rice Bar’s Charles Olalia hits a homerun at his Filipino spot in Silver Lake. The gorgeous, plant-filled space has a retro-homey vibe, as does the menu of updated South Asian sizzlers, including a rich beef oxtail kare kare and finger-licking hangover fried rice with lop cheung sausage. 4330 Sunset Blvd., 323-741-8371

SALAZAR All the best restaurants have a checkered past, and this Frogtown taqueria is no exception. Sitting in the expansive, palm-shaded patio, you can only just tell that this used to be an auto body shop. But what does that matter when the handmade fish tacos and mesquitefired steaks are so tasty? 2490 Fletcher Blvd.

SQIRL Ever wonder why there’s always a line around the corner at this East Hollywood eatery for breakfast and lunch? It’s because of chef Jessica Koslow’s famous sorrel-pesto bowl with feta and poached egg. Though her menu features plenty of other mouthwatering specialties, that’s the dish that put her on the map…and got her into the New York Times and Vogue. 720 N. Virgil Ave., 213-394-6526

VESPERTINE

Chef Jordan Kahn doesn’t do things by half measure, and Vespertine is no exception. Located in Culver City’s eye-catching Waffle Building, the restaurant serves only a $250 per person tasting menu that changes constantly but always surprises in a good way. It may be a power splurge, but makes a perfect special-occasion restaurant. 3599 Hayden Ave., 323-320-4023

On a hidden, gritty little alley at the eastern edge of downtown, Israeli chef Ori Menashe has transformed a former factory building into a congenial gathering spot where hipsters and foodies converge to consume housemade cured meats, pastas and other Mediterranean-inspire fare. 2121 E. 7th Pl., 213-514-5724

GUERRILLA TACOS

MAJORDOMO

Aussie chef Curtis Stone presents this fine-dining spot and butcher shop. Guests can come for cocktails, enjoy a five-course prix-fixe in the dining room, or drop by the gleaming meat counter for cuts of dry-aged beef and charcuterie. 6600 Sunset Blvd., 323-946-7500

Chef David Chang of New York’s Momofuku recently made his West Coast debut with this Chinatown eatery. The menu skews Korean with delicious dishes like smoked bone-in short ribs with shiso rice paper and ssamjang. 1725 Naud St., 323-545-4880

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU

MANUELA

HIPPO This Highland Park hangout comes courtesy of James Beard Awardwinner chef Matt Molina. Expect appetizing, approachable dishes like Hamachi crudo with Meyer lemon and cedar-smoked ocean trout with sweet corn succotash. 5916 ½ N. Figueroa St., 323-545-3536

TO ADVERTISE CALL 818 762-1955

GJELINA

BAVEL

GWEN

EASTSIDE/LOS FELIZ/SILVER LAKE/ ECHO PARK

The former Joe’s space is looking fresh after a makeover, as are the pastas being turned out from the kitchen of chef Evan Funke’s (formerly at Bucato). Try strascinati with ceci, cavolo nero greens, pangrattato and wild fennel but save room for one of the wood-fired pizzas as well. 1023 Abbot Kinney Blvd., 424-387-8622

You might recognize chef Niki Nakayama from her episode of Netflix’s Chef’s Table. But fame hasn’t changed the way she meticulously prepares spectacular tasting plates at her hole-in-the-wall restaurant on Sawtelle’s sushi row. 3455 Overland Ave, 310-836-6252

HOLLYWOOD AND MID-CITY

Chef Michael Cimarusti has long been lauded as one of LA’s best chefs thanks to the fabulous seafood feasts here. Taking sustainability one step further, he formed the West Coast chapter of Dock to Dish, promoting eco-conscious local seafood by directly connecting California fishermen with chefs. 5955 Melrose Ave., 323-460-4170

FELIX

N/NAKA

The taco truck that the late Jonathan Gold made famous now has a brick-and-mortar location downtown so fans don’t have to wait out in the cold (or hot) for favorites like the octopus quesadillas or fish tacos with tempura Baja cod. 2000 E. 7th St.

PROVIDENCE

The folks behind Rustic Canyon and Spice Table teamed on this Santa Monica spot, which melds Californian seasonality with Vietnamese tradition. Start with crab legs from the raw bar. Ease into bigger dishes like savory scallops with hazelnuts and curry leaf; and a hearty Vietnamese pot au feu with short rib and bird’s-eye chile. 1314 7th St., 310-393-6699

San Francisco chef Daniel Patterson brings his signature restaurant Alta to LA, and there’s probably no more perfect spot in the city than West Adams for his winning fusion of California soul food, such as skillet-fried chicken, collard greens with smoked oil and black eyed pea fritters. 5359 W. Adams Blvd., 323-571-4999

BESTIA

This Koreatown eatery has won raves thanks to former Animal chef Jonathan Whitener’s mélange of flavors from Latin America, Vietnam and the U.S. cooked to perfection over custom-made grills. Make your reservations (way) in advance. 3901 W. 6th St., 213-568-3573

CASSIA

ALTA

RONAN

The folks behind Taste turn to Mexican cuisines with a taqueria that takes favorite Mexican dishes and makes them with farm-fresh ingredients and organic produce. 616 N. Robertson Blvd., 310-657-9888

Chef Jeremy Fox is back in the kitchen at this Santa Monica stunner surrounded by the contemporary art galleries of Bergamot Station.

The menu is an homage to the cooking of Fox’s grandmother including diner classics, but with updated seasonal twists. 2421 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, 310-310-3616

DOWNTOWN/STUDIO CITY/ SHERMAN OAKS

The latest venture from the husband-wife chef team behind Bestia, Bavel skews Israeli, with pan-Mediterranean accents, like flatbreads topped with savory lamb, duck nduja hummus, and chicken-leg confit with an earthy turmeric sauce. 500 Mateo St., 213-232-4966

TORTILLA REPUBLIC

BIRDIE G’S

Venice’s most sought-after reservation, Gjelina serves a Mediterranean-inspired menu: fresh salads, wood-oven specialty pizzas and fresh seafood. You can plan a party at the private dining room upstairs, but if you’re dining casually, opt for a seat in the back garden. 1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, 310-450-1429

Spacecraft Group brings a futuristic all-day-all-night diner concept to this always-bustling eatery. Expect greasy spoon-inspired plates with a bit of attitude thrown in — perfect for a late-night on your way back from Boystown’s bars. 8575 Santa Monica Blvd., 424-777-0959 Melrose’s restaurant row has a hopping new spot for Neopolitan wood-fired pizzas, sizzling seasonal specialties and some of the best cocktails in Weho, courtesy of a chef who’s done time in notable LA kitchens like Sotto and Alimento. 7315 Melrose Ave., 323-917-5100

THE WESTSIDE/SANTA MONICA/ VENICE

What do you get when you combine a former factory, a world-class art gallery and one of Downtown’s Arts District’s best restaurants?

Manuela: its indoor dining room is abuzz with well-to-do downtowners, but the quieter patio with a view of the courtyard’s sculptures is the place for an intimate date. 907 E. 3rd St., 323-849-0480

ROSSOBLU Sotto’s chef Steve Samson staked out a gorgeous space downtown in the Fashion District and serves up rich dishes from Italy’s EmiliaRomagna region. Try the signature tagliatelle with Bolognese ragu.

The industrial interior is fine to dine, but if you’re lucky, you’ll snag a seat on the expansive patio when the weather is nice. 1124 San Julian St., 213-749-1099

THE FACTORY KITCHEN Part of a quickly gentrifying Arts District on the east side of downtown, The Factory Kitchen makes its home in a former fish factory.the specialty is homemade flatbreads, like one heaped with prosciutto, stracciatella and arugula over fried sage dough, and pastas, including a pork-veal casonzei in sage butter. 1300 Factory Pl., 213-996-6000

YOURS TRULY

Formerly at downtown’s 71Above, chef Vartan Abgaryan is making his mark on the Westside with this Venice eatery. The modern Californian menu includes highlights like carbonara with squid ink, uni and trout roe, and heritage pork rib with fleur de sel and sweet garlic. 1616 Abbot Kinney Blvd., 310-396-9333

PALM SPRINGS AZUCAR

Seasonal small plates made with farm-to-table ingredients sourced from local producers are what set this Spanish-Mediterranean eatery apart from the more staid settings in Palm Springs. Also keep an eye out for special menus upstairs in the Sugar High bar. 339 S. Belardo Rd., 760-832-8044

CANTALA

The Riviera Resort brings to mind Palm Springs’ bygone glamour, when Hollywood’s A-list would flounce out for sun-soaked weekends.

Cantala evokes the Italian Riviera with a menu of Mediterranean classics like whole-roasted branzino and rib-eye fiorentina, and an indoor-outdoor dining room that’s equal parts supper club and sumptuous garden party. 1600 N. Indian Canyon Dr., 760-778-6659

DRAUGHTSMAN

It might be housed in a former Pizza Hut, but there’s nothing down-market about this convivial gastropub with a selection of favorites from local brewery Coachella Valley Brewing Company.

Dishes are hearty and delicious, including specialties like sort-rib poutine and a selection of specialty burgers. 1501 N. Palm Canyon Dr., 760-507-1644

WORKSHOP KITCHEN + BAR

Even if you’ve wandered this far afield from LA, you have the right to seek a mouth-watering meal and making that goal a little easier is this stylish, airy restaurant, which specializes in updated chophouse cuisine, including juicy 18-day prime aged rib-eye and house-cured gravlax tartines with horseradish cream. 800 N. Palm Canyon Dr., 760-459-3451

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BAR SOURCE Edited by Eric Rosen

WEST HOLLYWOOD ABBEY

WeHo’s most famous (and crowded) spot, The Abbey draws sexy guys and gals from near and far. Strong cocktails, model-handsome bartenders, and an over-the-top interior all add to the venue’s allure. 692 N. Robertson Blvd., 310-289-8410

BEACHES BAR & GRILL

Despite loud décor and a focus on spiked slushies, this bubbly spot has some serious cred. Its backers were some of the folks behind downtown cocktail den The Edison. Think “Love Boat” meets “Miami Vice.” 8928 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-360-0395

BIBO ERGO SUM

Cozy Art Deco-inspired watering hole off Robertson that’s one of the town’s best-kept secrets and keeper of one of its best most magical cocktail lists. 116 N. Robertson Blvd., 424-323-0066

EMPLOYEES ONLY

One of NYC’s most celebrated speakeasies landed in LA at the former Baby Blues BBQ space, serving handcrafted cocktails and seasonal share plates. 7953 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-536-9045

FIESTA CANTINA

Thanks to 2-for-1 drink specials at two happy hours (4-8pm, 10:30pm-12:30am), this festive Mexican-themed bar swells all evening long, especially the patio on Santa Monica and second floor deck. 8865 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-652-8865

FLAMING SADDLES

Save a horse, ride a cowboy at the West Coast outlet of this kitschy (but still fun) Wild West-themed franchise serving up cocktails and cowboys. Boys come for strong drinks, hijinks and eye candy in tight muscle tees and boots. 8811 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-855-7501

FUBAR

The wild, sexy energy here has an East Village NYC bar feel with a Silverlake twist. Preps, jocks, hipsters and alternative guys have turned Fubar into one of the city’s sultriest and most popular venues, especially late at night. Thursday’s Big Fat Dick is a can’t-miss experience. 7994 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-654-0396

GYM SPORTS BAR

Butch, athletic types and their admirers inhabit this inviting and energetic space. The outdoor patio is fun for people watching, while the flat-screen televisions are tuned to the latest games. Come on Saturday afternoons when the boys from the area’s sports leagues come for drinks to celebrate or drown their sorrows. 8737 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-659-2004

HI TOPS

This relatively recent entrant actually comes by way of San Francisco, though the locker-room concept somehow still feels fresh.

Order classic bar bites and settle in for a strong sports-themed cocktail or on-tap beer. 8933 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-332-6445

MICKY’S

Micky’s sexy interior, multiple dance areas, and party-ready patio are only the icing on the cake at this long-running venue. The barechested bartenders are just the eye-candy you need to get your engines revved, and the tight go-go boys are the flirtiest guys you’ll meet in Weho. 8857 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-657-1176

MOTHER LODE

Even with its new facelift, Mother Lode is still the same delightful, divey Boystown landmark without the attitude. Neighborhood gays come for the pool tables, karaoke nights and a truly fun night out.

This is definitely the place to start the evening before hitting the other nearby bars. 8944 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-659-9700

RAGE

Two stories packed with a dance-loving crowd who can’t get enough of the potent cocktails being served at three bars. Multiple theme nights, go-go dancers, and a party atmosphere 365 days a year. 8911 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-652-7055

REVOLVER

A more gentrified option, Revolver gets packed on weekends, when go-go dancers rule inside and hotties congregate on the front patio.

The drinks aren’t cheap but they’re strong as the well-muscled gym boys you’ll meet. 8851 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-694-0430

ROCCO’S WEHO

Lance Bass is a partner, but if boy bands aren’t your thing, there’s plenty to love at this natty newcomer on the corner of San Vicente.

Despite room for 200 indoors and out, it’s packed most days. 8900 Santa Monica Blvd., 424-343-0123

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ST. FELIX

A cozy restaurant and lounge enjoyed by flirty singles, romantic couples and groups, St. Felix’s selection of wines, beers, and playful cocktails are a great way to start your evening (and maybe even meet someone). 8945 Santa Monica Blvd., 310-275-4428

TIGERHEAT

Relive your “Teenage Dream” at this 18+ event playing pure pop music every Thursday from 9:30pm on. Energetic go-go dancers, world-renowned DJs and celeb nights make this one of the most fun dance parties in town. See clubtigerheat.com for venue info.

EASTSIDE/SILVERLAKE/ DOWNTOWN AKBAR

This hipster venue is frequented by skater punks, East Side studs and indie-loving gays. There are two bars, a packed dance floor, an eclectic jukebox and low-priced drinks: all you need for the perfect East Side night out. 4356 W. Sunset Blvd., 323-665-6810

APOTHEKE

Like its NYC sister, Chinatown’s Apotheke has medicinal-themed cocktails whipped up by bartenders dressed like old-timey pharmacists. Try the Il Tabarro with lapsang souchong-infused gin, Campari, vermouth and orange zest. 1746 N. Spring St., 323-844-0717

EAGLE LA

Notoriously dark den for men who love uniforms, leather, latex and kink. Theme nights dedicated to bears and other fetishes make for some down-and-dirty fun. 4219 Santa Monica Blvd., 323-669-9472

FAULTLINE

The Sunday beer bust is legendary, as is the Thursday underwear party, but the bar is also great for spotting leather daddies, Levi’sclad hotties and bears most days of the week. Drink specials, theme nights and good times await. 4216 Melrose Ave. 323-660-0889

MIKKELLER BAR

Copenhagen comes to Los Angeles with this enormous gastropub with over 50 seasonally rotating microbrews – including many sought-after, hard-to-find beers – on tap at any given time. There’s also Scandinavian mini-bites for those feeling peckish. 330 W. Olympic Blvd., 213-596-9005

PRECINCT DTLA

At over 10,000 square feet, this much-loved bar is one of the largest in LA. It occupies pride of place on the second floor of a historic 1902 brick building. Though the dance floor is a draw, the main attraction is a semi-open patio with plenty of windows for peoplewatching. 357 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, 213-628-3112

REDLINE

The name is a nod to LA’s growing rapid-transit system, but there’s nothing pedestrian about this Downtown hotspot. It’s on the small side, but that just makes this industrial-chic space a tad cozier (and easier to talk to your neighbors). Happy hour runs a good three hours from 5-8pm. 131 E. 6th St., 213-935-8391

SPIRE 73

Located on the top floor of the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown, it’s the highest open-air bar in the Western Hemisphere. Boasting prime views, slick private cabanas and flickering fire pits, and an extensive menu of cocktails, it’s the perfect place to drink while taking in the skyline. 900 Wilshire Blvd., 213-688-7777

THE BROKEN SHAKER

Like its counterparts in NYC and Miami, this rooftop bar atop Downtown’s Freehand Hotel (alongside an always-packed pool) is anything-goes. Drinks include tiki-inspired sips and regional spirits including tequila and mezcal. 416 W. 8th St., 213-395-9532

THE WOLVES

This Parisian-inspired bar might just be Downtown’s most dapper drinking den thanks to vaulted stained-glass ceilings, deep leather booths, pressed-tin wall panels and a menu of sensational sips like a gin martini spiked with sake, fig vermouth and goji liqueur with hinoki wood fragrance. 519 S. Spring St., 213-265-7952

WESTSIDE/SANTA MONICA/VENICE DEL MONTE SPEAKEASY

Many bars call themselves speakeasies; this was an actual Prohibition-era drinking den. Its Venice vibe is beachy and laidback, but its cocktails are serious and strong. Case in point: the Red Car Rickey with gin, falernum, orgeat, crème de violette and lime.

52 Windward Ave., 310-392-4040

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 METROSOURCE.COM

LANEA Handmade tacos and craft cocktails concocted from ingredients sourced at the area’s famous farmer’s market are just two reasons to stop in at this watering hole in Santa Monica. 217 Broadway, 424-265-7437

STUDIO CITY/SAN FERNANDO VALLEY/INLAND EMPIRE OIL CAN HARRY’S Open for over 40 years, this classic Valley gay bar is still going strong. Locals and visitors alike find a home on the range here, with strong but inexpensive drinks, a rotating roster of evening events, and even line dancing. 11502 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 818-760-9749

MISTER O’S This Studio City spirits spot has a swinging mid-century vibe where Don Draper wouldn’t look out of place. Ask for a Forbidden Garnet with hibiscus-infused vodka, tamarind and Ancho Reyes chili liqueur. If any of the ingredients on the list are new to you, there’s a helpful glossary in the back of the menu. 11838 Ventura Blvd., 818-358-3839

THE BULLET BAR This leather and Levi’s joint stands out for having a no-attitude, cruise-friendly vibe. Karaoke, drink specials and theme nights are part of the fun and make this one of the swinging-est scenes in NoHo. 10522 Burbank Blvd, 818-762-8890

LONG BEACH THE FALCON Pulse-pounding DJ sets and affordable drinks attract an eclectic, good-looking crowd. The space gets packed, but when it’s filled with twinks, bears and everything in between filling it up, there’s someone for everyone. 1435 E Broadway, 562-432-4146

HAMBURGER MARY’S An all-American menu, a no-attitude environment and enormous drinks all make this Long Beach classic perennially popular.

Cute boys pack the lively bar and resto for its hot bartenders, hopping dance floor, and expansive back patio. 330 Pine Ave., 562-436-7900

THE MINESHAFT One of the most popular gay bars in town thanks to friendly service and cheap drinks, with a healthy mix of regulars and newcomers alike. DJs on Friday nights and live bands on Saturdays.

Bring cash because cards aren’t accepted, though you won’t need much thanks to $2 happy-hour specials. 1720 E. Broadway, 562-436-2433

THE SILVER FOX Long Beach’s long-running gay bar is still going strong thanks to fun weekly events like karaoke on Wednesdays and Sundays and 2-for-1 Tuesdays. Though the patio is a popular spot, once the crowd warms up to the music, you’ll find everyone inside on the dance floor. 411 Redondo Ave., 562-439-6343

PALM SPRINGS HUNTERS One of Palm Springs’ most popular clubs, the inclusive vibe, thumping dance floor, packed bars and a game area, as well as prime cruising on the front patio, all keep this bar at the top of everyone’s must-hit list. 302 E. Arenas Rd., 760-323-0700

STREET BAR Right next door to Hunters, the vibe here is more laidback and friendly – just what you’d expect from Palm Springs’ oldest gay bar.

Make new friends among the locals while enjoying sing-alongs or karaoke as well as regular local art exhibits. 224 E. Arenas Rd., 760-320-1266

TOOL SHED This Palm Springs staple still packs in the leather lovers and skintight jeans-clad hotties. Early birds get the drink specials, and a good time for all is practically guaranteed. 600 E. Sunny Dunes Rd., 760-320-3299

TOUCANS TIKI LOUNGE A veritable landmark, this campy joint brings the tropics to the desert. Come for the cabaret or the renowned drag shows, and stay all night for great drinks and dancing at this nostalgic oasis in the heart of Palm Springs. 2100 N. Palm Canyon Dr., 760-416-7584

TO ADVERTISE CALL 818 762-1955

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EMPLOYMENT

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61

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HOTELS (CONTINUED) – WEDDING SERVICES Opus Hotel Vancouver Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel 322 Davie St Vancouver, BC, Canada ��������������� 604 642-6787 www.opushotel.com

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PHYSICIANS & MEDICAL SERVICES

Viceroy

Family Medicine & Mental Health 3324 W Sunset Blvd, LA ��������������323 660-2400 www.hsfreeclinic.org

415 South Belardo Rd Palm Springs �������������������������������760 320-4117 www.viceroypalmsprings.com

VIVE Hotel Waikiki

2426 Kuhio Ave Honolulu, Hawaii ������������������������808 687-2000 www.vivehotelwaikiki.com

INSURANCE HealthSherpa

Toll Free ��������������������������������������844 346-9476 www.metrosource.healthsherpa.com

Marc Berton Insurance

LA ����������������������������������������������323 872-0482 San Fernando Valley ����������������818 365-9449 Toll Free �������������������������������������800 924-4459 www.marcberton.com

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PHARMACIES/DRUGS

805 Larrabee St West Hollywood �������������������������310 659-5762

AHF Pharmacy

WEDDING SERVICES

1400 S Grand Ave, Ste 801 Downtown LA ����������������������������213 741-5271 1300 North Vermont Ave Hollywood ����������������������������������323 661-0643 www.ahfpharmacy.com

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Cake and Art

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LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY RESOURCES Metrosource is committed to helping non-profit organizations in their ongoing efforts to serve our diverse community.

ATHLETIC ARRIBA SKI & SNOWBOARD CLUB PO Box 69611 West Hollywood, CA 90069 www.arribaski.org BIKE OUT 2811 Pico Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 90405 310 453-5040 CHEER LA 1223 Wilshire Blvd #1580 Santa Monica, CA 90404 www.cheerla.org DIFFERENT SPOKES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA P.O. Box 2466 Hollywood, CA 90078 www.differentspokes.com GOLDEN STATE GAY RODEO ASSOC - GLAC P.O Box 2407 Long Beach, CA 90801 562 498-1675 www.larodeo.com GREATER LA IGBO LEAGUES www.igbo.org LA BLADES ICE HOCKEY PO Box 4346 Laguna Beach, CA 92652 310 288-3632 www.bladeshockey.com LA POOL LEAGUE PO Box 2227 Los Angeles, CA 90078 818 426-2171 www.lapl8ball.org LA TENNIS ASSOC. (LATA) PO Box 481226 Los Angeles, CA 90048 www.lataweb.com OUTSPORTS www.outsports.com PALM SPRINGS FRONTRUNNERS PO Box 2184 Palm Springs, CA 92263 760 318-8809 www.psfr.org SHORELINE FRONTRUNNERS OF LONG BEACH PO Box 90774 Long Beach, CA 90809 562 252-0218 www.shorelinefrontrunners.org SOCAL GIRL GOLF 714 391-3615 www.socalgirlgolf.com SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WRESTLING CLUB (SCWC) www.geocities.com/scwc2002 SURF & SUN SOFTBALL www.surfandsunsoftball.com TINSELTOWN SQUARES www.iagsdc.org VOLLEYBALL ASSOCIATION IN LOS ANGELES (VOILA) www.gayvolleyball.org WEST HOLLYWOOD AQUATICS www.wh2o.org WEST HOLLYWOOD SOCCER CLUB www.gaysoccer.com

CULTURAL, ETHNIC & SOCIAL

PACIFIC PRIDE FOUNDATION 126 East Haley, Ste A-11 Santa Barbara, CA 93101 805 963-3636 www.pacificpridefoundation.org

ASIAN PACIFIC AIDS INTL TEAM 6501 West Olympic Blvd Ste 610 Los Angeles, CA 90015 213 553-1830 www.apaitonline.org

THE POINT FOUNDATION 5757 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 370 Los Angeles, CA 90036 866 33-Point www.pointfoundation.org

BEST FRIENDS ANIMAL SOCIETY 5001 Angel Canyon Rd Kanab, UT 84741 435 644-2001 www.bestfriends.org

VALLEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 18111 Nordhoff St Northridge, CA 91330 818 677-2488 818 677-3000 valleyperformingartscenter.org

BEST FRIENDS PET ADOPTION & SPAY/NEUTER SERVICES 15321 Brand Blvd Mission Hills, CA 91345 818 643-3989 www.bestfriends.org/la CHRISTOPHER STREET WEST/GAY PRIDE 8235 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90046 323 969-8302 www.lapride.org DIVERSE & INCLUSIVE VISIONARY ARTISTS (DIVA) 8581 Santa Monica Blvd #220 West Hollywood, CA 90069 www.queerdiva.com GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION (GLAAD) 5455 Wilshire Blvd, #1500 Los Angeles, CA 90036 323 933-2240 www.glaad.org GAY MENS CHORUS OF LA 9056 Santa Monica Blvd, #300 West Hollywood, CA 90069 800 636-7464 www.gmcla.org I LOVE ME FOUNDATION 6444 Fountain Ave Hollywood, CA 90028 323 467-6444 www.chazdean.com KIDSAVE 11835 W Olympic Blvd #295 Los Angeles, CA 90064 310 479-5437 www.kidsave.org LA GAY & LESBIAN CENTER The Village at Ed Gould Plaza 1125 N McCadden Place Los Angeles, CA 90038 323 860-7302 www.laglc.org LA GAY & LESBIAN CENTER McDonald/Wright Building 1625 North Schrader Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028 323 993-7400 www.laglc.org LA YOUTH SUPPORTIVE SERVICES 8111 Beverly Blvd #306 Los Angeles, CA 90048 877 465-2977 www.la-youth.org

GAY & LESBIAN CENTER Orange County 1605 N Spurgeon St Santa Ana, CA 92701 714 953-5428 www.thecenteroc.org HEALTHSHERPA 844 346-9476 www.metrosource. healthsherpa.com

THE TREVOR PROJECT 9056 Santa Monica Blvd #100 West Hollywood, CA 90069 310 271-8845 www.thetrevorproject.org VALLEY COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE 6801 Coldwater Canyon Ave North Hollywood, CA 91605 818 301-6314 - HIV testing 818 301-6390 - Medical Services www.smarthealthla.com

LEGAL LAMBDA LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND INC. Western Regional Office 3325 Wilshire Blvd #1300 Los Angeles, CA 90010 213 382-7600 www.lambdalegal.org

WORLD HARVEST FOOD BANK 1014 Venice Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90015 213-746-2228 www.worldharvestfoodbank.org

HOLY FAMILY SERVICES, ADOPTION & FOSTER CARE 840 Echo Park Ave Los Angeles, CA 90026 213 202-3900 www.holyfamilyservices.org

HEALTH/ COUNSELING

INLANDS AIDS PROJECT (AIP) 3756 Elizabeth St Riverside, CA 92504 951 346-1910 www.inlandaidsproject.org

NATIONAL G & L TASK FORCE 5455 Wilshire Blvd #1505 Los Angeles, CA 90036 323 954-9597 www.thetaskforce.org

LA FREE CLINIC • 5205 Melrose Ave Los Angeles, CA 90038 323 653-1990 – appts 323 653-8622 – admin www.lafreeclinic.org • 6043 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028 • 8405 Beverly Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90048

LESBIANS

AID FOR AIDS AFA 8235 Santa Monica Blvd #200 West Hollywood, CA 90046 323 656-1107 www.aidforaids.net AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION/MENS WELLNESS CENTER • 6255 W Sunset Blvd, 21st Fl Los Angeles, CA 90028 888 AIDS CARE • 1300 N Vermont Ave, Ste 407 Los Angeles, CA 90027 866 339-2525 800 367-2437 www.inspotla.org AIDS HEALTHCARE FOUNDATION PHARMACY 8212 Santa Monica Blvd The David Geffen Center West Hollywood, CA 90046 323 654-0907 www.ahfpharmacy.org AIDS PROJECT LA (APLA) Client & Community Services The David Geffen Center 611 South Kingsley Drive Los Angeles, CA 90005 866 679-0958 213 201-WALK (9255) www.apla.org www.aidswalk.net AIDS RESEARCH ALLIANCE 1400 S Grand Ave Ste 701 Los Angeles, CA 90015 310 358-2429 www.hopetakesaction.org www.aidsresearch.org AIDS WALK LA 3550 Wilshire Blvd, #800 Los Angeles, CA 90010 213 201-9255 (WALK) www.aidswalk.net AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY 3333 Wilshire Blvd #900 Los Angeles, CA 90010 800 227-2345 www.cancer.org

LONG BEACH LESBIAN & GAY PRIDE PO Box 2050 Long Beach, CA 90802 562 987-9191 www.longbeachpride.com

BEING ALIVE PEOPLE WITH HIV/AIDS ACTION COALITION 621 N San Vincente Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069 310 289-2551 www.beingalivela.org

OUTFEST THE LA GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL 3470 Wilshire Blvd #1022 Los Angeles, CA 90010 213 480-7088 www.outfest.org

DESERT AIDS PROJECT Palm Springs, CA 1695 North Sunrise Way Palm Springs, CA 92262 760 323-2118 www.desertaidsproject.org

TO ADVERTISE CALL 818 762-1955

GAY & LESBIAN ARMENIAN SOCIETY (GALAS) 8721 Santa Monica Blvd Ste 654 West Hollywood, CA 90069 310 203-1587 www.galasla.org

LA PUBLIC HEALTH www.reallycheckyourself.org LA YOUTH SERVICES McDonald/Wright Building 1625 North Schrader Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028 323 993-7450 LIFEWORKS www.lifeworksmentoring.org 310 724-6300 PENNY LANE CENTERS 15305 Rayen St North Hills, CA 91343 818 892-3423 www.pennylane.org OUT OF THE CLOSET AIDS Healthcare Foundation 6210 West Sunset Los Angeles, CA 90028 323 860-5200 OUT OF THE CLOSET THRIFT SHOPS • 8224 Santa Monica Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90046 323 848-9760 • 3500 East Pacific Coast Hwy Long Beach, CA 90804 562 494-0340 • 1726 East Colorado Blvd Pasadena, CA 91106 626 440-1719 • 360 North Fairfax Ave Los Angeles, CA 90036 323 934-1956 PROJECT ANGEL FOOD 922 Vine St Los Angeles, CA 90038 323 845-1800 www.angelfood.org

LA GAY & LESBIAN CENTER Jeff Griffith Youth Center 7051 Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90038 TOLL FREE: 800 773-5540 LA GAY & LESBIAN CENTER MacDonald/Wright Bldg 1625 North Schroder Los Angeles, CA 323 933-7400 www.angelfood.org THE TREVOR PROJECT 9056 Santa Monica Blvd #100 West Hollywood, CA 90069 310 271-8845 www.thetrevorproject.org THE VILLAGE AT ED GOULD PLAZA 1125 North McCadden Place Los Angeles, CA 90038 323 860-7328 prevention@laglc.org www.laglc.org

RELIGIOUS

LESBIAN LAWYERS ASSOC OF LA PO Box 480318 Los Angeles, CA 90048 213 486-4443 www.lgla.net

LA GAY & LESBIAN CENTER Health Education & Prevention 13210 South Figueroa Los Angeles, CA 90061 310 327-0590

REFERRALS/ SWITCHBOARDS

POWER UP 419 North Larchmont Blvd, #283 Los Angeles, CA 90004 323 463-3154 www.power-up.net WOMAN ON A ROLL PO Box 5112 Santa Monica, CA 90409 310 578-8888 www.womenonaroll.com

PROFESSIONAL LOS ANGELES GAY AND LESBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE P.O. Box #57555 Sherman Oaks, CA 91413 888 552-4522 www.balaweb.org THE QUEER LOUNGE PO Box 69887 West Hollywood, CA 90069 www.queerlounge.org

ALL SAINTS PARISH 504 North Camden Dr West Hollywood, CA 90036 310 275-0123 BETH CHAYIM CHADASHIM 6000 West Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90035 323 931-7023 www.bcc-la.org GLORY TABERNACLE CHRISTIAN CENTER 3215 East Third St Long Beach, CA 90804 562 438-7758 www.glorytabernacle.com OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES 4101 Willow St 562 925.3533 www.open-door-ministries.org ST. JANE FRANCES CATHOLIC CHURCH G & L OUTREACH 12930 Hamlin St North Hollywood, CA 91606 818 985-8600 WEST HOLLYWOOD CHURCH 916 North Formosa Ave West Hollywood, CA 90069 323 656-2400

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63

welcome to alyssa’s haus Alyssa Edwards, aka Justin Johnson, is in the top tier of RuPaul’s

views

last call

Drag Race alumni. After first competing in Season 5, then returning to All Stars, Edwards reached new heights of celebrity in 2018 as the star of Netflix’ Dancing Queen — a docu-series built around him/her juggling duty as a dance school instructor (and managing stage moms) with a red hot career in drag. We caught up with the peripatetic performer during the launch of a new Alyssa Edwards-endorsed eyeshadow palette to find out what’s next.

Metrosource: We all want to know: Will Dancing Queen be back?

EDWARDS: I think we’re in that in-between. The thing about Netflix is that they’re very mysterious, and we all know they don’t really get in a hurry for second seasons. And truth be told, the first season took a looong time. It was a long process. Dancing Queen was filmed over a good year. Sometimes you don’t want to rush what you put out. You want something that’s true to who and what you are. I will tell you this: Regardless if anybody picks it up or they call me and say it’s a ‘no,’ it will go again. If that’s me having to produce it and putting it online through my Instagram, I will, because I’m so proud of Dancing Queen. It’s definitely the biggest platform I’ve been on, because it’s about me and my life, day in and day out and what I do. And I love doin’ all this. I love being onstage, but not nearly as much as I love being in that studio with those kids. That is my passion, and I think that’s my destiny. That’s what I was born to do — to be a leader and a teacher and a choreographer. I found drag by accident, just for my kicks onstage. It’s special and very meaningful, and it’s important because it’s not every day a drag queen gets a knock on the door from Netflix that says,“Hey, can we build a show around you and your life?’”

What did you learned about yourself, seeing that year again on TV? I’d watch me in a situation where I’m being a tough love coach to one of my students, and I’m like,“That’s the man I you were born to be. Be honest with these kids; be there to comfort and nurture them. But scold and hold them at the same time.” I watched myself have very difficult conversations with my sisters that were very private and personal. And I learned that I am very socially awkward on a date, so I just learned a lot about myself. I learned

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that I am a man that is strong but sensitive. And I learned that I have an awkward head-lean when I’m really deep in thought.

When we talk about Season 2, I’m like,‘How are we going to top this?

What would we do?’ I’m now in a relationship — after two years ­— and he also teaches dance as a high school teacher in Dallas. We we’re both socially awkward together, and he gets everything about me. My students just danced at Barclays Center for WorldPride and he was here with his students taking dance at Alvin Ailey.

And now you’re also branching out into a signature makeup line through Anastasia Beverly Hills with an eyeshadow assortment.

When I open this box, I don’t just see eyeshadows. I see my life; my journey.

I look at these names — the Unicorn Tribe, that’s all my dance students, that’s what I refer to them as. HOE, I know it sounds silly, but the Haus of Edwards: that’s my family. Beyond Belief Dance Company, Texas Made, Don’t Dream It, Be It. Things that have meant something to me. Make up was always very important to me. For the very first time for me to feel like I could just jump off this building and fly like Superman, I had makeup on. It gave me the courage, the confidence I needed. Now it’s easier, but as young Justin, a young man I was very confused and lost. So in all of this it was very important for me to be true to the definition of who I am.

And now there’s some little guy or girl out there who has you to look up to as a role model when they’re feeling like you did.

I believe my book of life has already been written. It’s just now being read out loud. If I could go back and tell teenage Justin something right now, it would be,“Stay tuned, cause these dark nights- just a few more hours the sunlight is going to come out.”And that’s where I hope the world is going.

I kept my dance studio Beyond Belief in Mesquite for that very reason. I knew there was another Justin somewhere who’s family couldn’t afford to take him to Dallas or some fancy dance school. I’ve always been true to my roots and who I am. It’s important to me every time I get in drag to remind myself, through the power of social media, there is a little boy or a little girl watching. So always use your superpower for positivity. And drag now is so much bigger on stage with the kicking and splitting. People see us, and like you said, it may inspire them to be their authentic selves. It gives them the hope that I can be like that too.

One of the most emotional performances I’ve ever given was at the Barclays Center for the WorldPride opening ceremony, and I opted out of doing it with professional dancers. All the other queens used the 20 professional dancers, and I said,“No, I’m doing this with my students, because my kids are my professional dancers, and they’re my heroes. Those kids’ parents celebrate me; they lift me up. And we took that stage and I’ll never forget Cyndi Lauper coming up to say,“Thank you. That was so beautiful.”

And I came out and I thought,“I don’t need to dance. I want to watch you all.”And I did Pink’s “What About Us,” and it was so powerful. The whole room was on their feet. And I walked off stage and I was a bawling mess and I said,“This is what my life was supposed to be.”And I would be selling myself short if I did not do what was true to my heart. The pageants, they ■ fade, the crowns... But what lives forever will be the memories.

this page: Getty courtesy Smirnoff

The breakout Drag Race star gets real about whether her Netflix series will return for a second season ­— and what she learned from watching a year of her life on TV. By kevin phinney