McCAINrS DENIAL

Senator disputes Pentagon report that gay troops won't harm military. Page 14

You've heard about the kiss, but is 'Black Swan' a lesbian movie? Paige 23

Leslie Jordan returns to Atlanta with 'Deck Them Halls. Y'aIL' Page 28

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Atl a n ta Eag Ie I awsu i I sett I ed but quest io ns over gay bar raid remain. Page 4

On World AIDS Day, Ga. challenged

to fund HIV rneds, Page 8

lambda legal: Augusta counseling student could hurllGBT youth. Page 13

Report, Senate hearing support

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' repeal. Page 14

Federal agencies work to

address LGBT suicides. Page 15

Prop 8 lawyers Claim gay

marriage hurls kids. Page 16

Illinois legislature approves

civil unions. Pa.ge 19

Guest column:

My first Gay Christmas. Page 20

Speaking Out: Readers react to John McCain, Nathan. Deal. Page 21

'Black Swan: 'I love You Phillip Morris' treats for gay movie·goers. Page 23

Theater: Leslie Jordan's

'DeCK Them Halls, Y'all: Page 28

BOOKS: Portia de Rossi recalls 'Unbearable lightness: Pag.e 30

Music: Jan is Ian is still

'Breaking Silence: Pag.e 31

Music: Holiday CDs from

campy to classic. Page 32

Dining: Exquisite pizza

at Va rasa no's. Page 34

Photos: Atlanta Holiday

Ball shines. Page 35

Photos: Toy Pa rty draws hu nd reds. Page 37

II ;ll~I~lIm Ii!.

------

ARTvision brings Positive Impact for Atlanta. Pag.e 39

Nonprofit Spotlight: Jo.ining Hearts' Wish list. Page 40

Business Spotlight: W3lifestyle communities, Page 40

Domestically Disturbed:

Virtual visions. Page 45

Pages 42-44

OUTS

BY THE NUMBERS

71 .• perce. nt of milita.ry s .. ervice members who said allow-

ing gays to serve openly would have no impact on military readiness

5 7.. Percent 01 military service m.embers who sa id a Ilowing gays 10 serve openly would have no im pact on their morale

54

Percent of military service members who sai d allow i ng gays to serve open Iy would h ave no impact on

un it cohesion

53

Percent of coml)at'deployed military serVice members who sa id a liowing gays to serve openly wou Id have no impact on effectiveness

6 2 Percent of service members who

. sa i d the i r rnihta ry caree r Pia. ns

would not change due to repeal

Sour()e: Pentagon studv on -Don,t Ask. nent Tell:' rele,sed Nov. 30

ENIN THEIR OWN WORDS

"When I sit here and I hear adulterers and womanizers and folks cheating on their wives and down-low brothers saying they are going to vote against this [civil unions] bill, .it turns my stomach - the hypocrisy dripping in this chamber right now. We know what you do at night!"

-Illinois State S€n.Rickey Herndon (D'Chicago) as the Illinois SMale debated a bill to offer ci'lillfnions 10 gay couples, whioh passed Doc 1. The governor has pledged 10 sign il inlo law. (Oueerty.com, Doc 1)

"I think it was Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time, who was quoted as saying, 'He's ruining the movie.' Upper-echelon Disneyites, going, 'What's wrong with him? ... Is he drunk? By the way, is he gay?' And so I actually told this woman who was the Disney-ite , .. 'But didn't you know that all my characters are qav?"

- Actor Johnny Depp on Disney's reaction to his

in ilial portrayal 01 Capt. Ja ck Spa rrow in the p opu lar "Pirates of the Caribbean" series (Vanity fair via. Los Angel'es Times. Nov. 30)

"That means the next TSA official that gives you an enhanced pat-down could be a practicing homosexual secretly getting pleasure from your submission."

- Euqene Delgaudio, a member of the Loudoun County (Va.) Board of Supervisors and president of Ille conservative group Public Advocate of the Un~ed Slates,i n an email denou ncing the TSA's i nelusive non-d iscri minal ion stalement (WTOP. Nov. 30)

"lt was like the pink elephant in the room that was never touched upon until it was the day to shoot. Then we just did it really quickly and called it a day."

-Actress Mila Ku nls discussing her lesbian sex

seen e with Nata lie Portman in I he new movie "'Blac,k Swan"; Kunis says she asked her lather not to watch Ih e scene. (MWcom, Nov. 3D)

D GA Voice \ December 10.2010 \ News

www.theGAVoice.com

Atlanta Eagle lawsuit settled for more than $1 mi lion

other investigations continue into police raid on gay bar

By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

Geoff Calhoun held his face in his hands during the Atlanta City Council meeting on Dec. 6, visibly nervous as he leaned forward in his chair in the council's chamber at City Hall.

Calhoun was a patron of the Atlanta Eagle, a gay leather bar, on Sept. 10, 2009, the night it was raided by undercover Atlanta Police Department officers and the APD's Red Dog Unit.

As a plaintiff in the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by patrons who were detained and searched during the raid, Calhoun was waiting anxiously to see if the council would vote to approve a settlement tile city reached with the plalntiffs on Dec. 3.

When the City Council finally voted 14.-0 to accept tile resolution that the city pay more than $1 million in a monetary settlement and change pollcies within the police department, Calhoun breathed deeply and stood up to hug his attorney, Dan Grossman. There were tears in his eyes. Fourteen months after his nightmare began, it now seemed to be over.

Acourt-rnandated gag order remained in place at GA Voice press time Dec. 7, prohibiting anyone involved in the lawsuit from discussing spedfics of the settlement. All that was made public in the city resolution was the city would payout $1.025 million to be kept in an escrow account of Lambda Legal, a nonprofit legal agency that worked with Grossman and the Southern Center for Hurnan Rights to sue the city for violating tile constituti anal rights of the patrons of the gay bar on Ponce de Leon Avenue.

The resolution also stated, "the Atlanta Police Department has agreed to take certain actions in regards to their standard operating procedures."

How the money will be divided and the exact changes the APD will make to its standard operating procedures are not known, and will not be known until presiding federal Judge Timothy Batten signs off on the settlement and the gag order is lifted,

From the day the pLaintiffs filed the federal civil lawsuit in November 2009, there was a mandate from the attorneys and plaintiffs that the city offer an apology. No apology is included in the resolution the city council passed and it remains unknown if one will be received after all court documents are made public.

The lawsuit settlement also does not fully resolve all of the fallout from the raid, which shocked LGBT Atlantans and drew compari-

sons to the 1969 raids on New York City's Stonewall Inn that sparked riots and the modem gay rights movement.

The police department has not yet released results of its investigation into complaints filed with the APD Office of Professional Standards about the raid, and the independent Citizens Review Board also continues to investigate police actions that night

And while the APD and city leaders have taken steps to rebuild oust with Atlanta's gay community, including appointing a second police LGBT liaison officer and an LGBT citizen advisory panel, the wound caused by the raid co uld take years to heal.

Blue ribbon panel never used

On OCl. 28, at the gay Stonewall Bar Association's awards dinner, Mayor Kasim Reed was the keynote speaker and announced he would form a blue ribbon panel to help mediate between the city and the Atlanta Eagle plaintiffs' attorneys.

The panel idea turned out to be fruitless, as it never even had time to meet.

Lawrie Demorest, a lesbian attorney with Alston & Bird, was hand-picked by the mayor to be part of the blue ribbon panel.

The panel was actually still being formed when the settlement was announced late Dec. 3.

"They apparently resolved it before we met," she said this week.

Demorest said the mayor called her the weekend after the settlement was agreed upon to thank her for her willingness 10 serve,

"If the plaintiffs agreed to it they are obviously happy with the changes that will be made," Demorest said. "Hopefully they will be effective and something like this won'T happen again."

Citizens Review Board also investigating Eagle raid

Cris Beamud, executive director of the Atlanta Citizens Review Board, said the opinions of the CRE about the raid have been made very clear through its Investigations of a dozen complaints filed by those in the bar that night.

''We sustained tile allegations of false imprisonment ~ the board has been pretty clear on its opinions [on how the bar raid was handled]," she said.

Chief George Turner has never responded to the CRB's recommendations about the raid. City policy requires him to respond within 30 days.

And while a lawsuit has been ongoing during the CRB's actions, there are no exceptions cited in city policy that allow Turner to ignore the 3D-day requirement of responding to the CRE, Beamud said.

"He's not in compliance," she said.

While the CRE conducted its own investigations of complaints filed by Atlanta Eagle patrons

GeoffCa.lhonn (right), an Atlomn Eagle plaintiff, waits {or the Atlama CiQl Councin vote on a resolution to settle !he {ederallowsuit. (photo by Dyana Bagby)

'Mlla'W ii' www.theGAVoice.com

For breaki ng news on I heAl la n ta Eagl e settlement. visit theGAVOice.com

and employees, the board also voted to have Beamud and her staff investigate the supervisors involved in the raid and what roles they played. The eRE stated at meetings it wanted to ensure that officers following orders were not the ones to take the heat and that supervisors running tile operation should also be held accountable. That report is complete, Beamud said.

The report is being distrib uted to board members this week and they will likely take up the issue in January, she said. She declined to release any information about the report until it is made public next month.

Bartender barred from lawsuit?

Chris Lopez, a former Atlanta Eagle bartender who was one of the Eagle 8 arrested the night of the raid, has gone public vla Facebook and TWitter claiming he was kept from being part of the lawsuit against the city.

Shortly after tile news broke on Dec. 3 that a settlement had been reached in the Atlanta Eagle lawsuit, Lopez posted to his Facebook profile that it is "nice to know others will profit from me going to jail."

He also claimed "the main lawyer would not include me and another employee ... even with both of us going to jail., funny thing too, he got fired two weeks before me."

Lopez and doorman Ernest Buehl were laid off from the Eagle in recent weeks. Co-owner Richard Ramey said it was due to hard economic times.

On Dec. 7, Lopez filed a complaint with the city of Atlanta's Municipal Clerk seeking

$250,.000 for "false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution."

He claims in hls filing that he was kept out of the lawsuit despite repeated attempts to be part of it.

Grossman declined comment on Lopez's claims, citing the gag order as well as attorneyclient privileges. Buehl did not retum a call seeking comment.

Criminal defense attorney Christine Koehler, a. member of the Stonewall Bar Association, said Lopez does not have the same footing as the plaintiffs named in the suit.

"The plaintiffs were not accused of any criminal charges," she said.

And while the charges against Lopez were eventually dropped, she said that the police did have arguable probable cause to arrest him because he was an employee where illegal activity was believed to be taking place. Therefore, Lopez's civil rights were not violated, she said.

The police never believed the patrons did anything illegal and instead searched them and held them for more man an hour while running background checks - a direct violation of civil rights, she said.

"The police said, 'We'll violate their civil rights to see if they have broken the law while we're here," she said. "So they conducted illegal searches. The police did not even have reasonable suspicion to search them [the patrons)."

Robby Kelley, who is co-owner of the bar, is named as a plaintiff in the lawsuit as part of Ramey & Kelley, a Georgia corporation owning the Atlanta Eagle .. Kelley, who was also arrested the night of the raid, owns the bar with Richard Ramey.

Koehler said Kelley was likely not being named individually in the lawsuit for the same reason as Lopez.

Lopez remains hopeful and said he expects the city's legal department to respond to his claim within 30 days.

Moving forward

Glen Paul Freedman, chair of the Atlanta Police Department's LGBT Advisory Board, said he is glad to hear a settlement has been reached, but curious to know what changes will be made to police procedure.

"It's a Catch 22," Freedman said. "1 feel the individuals deserve something, but on the other hand this settlement is coming from taxpayers' money. This is quite a large amount of money."

The 14-0 vote by the council in accepting the settlement also sends a strong message to the city and the APD,. Freedman said.

"1 think it shows the council understands the situation and they wouldn't have voted for it if they didn't believe it was the right thing to do," he said. "It sends a very clear message ~ the city council is saying the APD needs to change its policies."

www.theGAVoice.com

News / December 10, 2010 / GA Voice a

-FROM-

SEARCHES

--TO--

SETTLEMENT

_2009

September

Sept. 10 - The Atlanta 'Eagle is raided by the At· I a n ta Pol ice Depa rl m e nt inc I udi nq m embers of the Red Dog Unit, on a Thursday, its once popular "Underwear Night" Eighl people are arrested, inCluding em pi oyees and da n ce rs, Th ey are cha rqed wi th operating and working at an adult establisbment with' out the proper licenses. Th e pol ice say th e ra id wa s part of a rnonths-lonq investigation into allegations 10 Mayor Shirley Franklin of public sex laking place in the bar. Of Ihe some 60 patrons in thebar Ihal night. no 0 ne wa s cha rged: wi Ih ill egal. sex 0 r wit h drug possession. In Ihe days following the raid, numerous political candidates, including Kasim Reed, running for mayor, call lor an investigalioninto the pol i ce actio ns.

Sept. 14 - Several patrons of the :bar the nigh! it was raided, including arrested employees, IHe official complaints with the Atlanta Police Depart· ment's Office of Professional Standards. They allege they were forced to lie face down on Ihe floor of the bar including some being cut by broken glass on the floor, were treated roughly including being kicked and shoved .by off i.ee rs wi th the Red Dog Un il and: had anti' gay slurs h u r I.ed at t hem. The OPS in' vestiaation has not yet been released 10 the public more than a year later.

Sept. 13 - Hundreds of people gather in the At· lanta Eagle parking lot to protest the raid.

Sept. 14 - Key commanders and now former APD Chiel Richard Pennington hold a press comerence to address the conlroversial raid, stressinq they di d nol h ing wro ng.

Controversy over police raid of Atlanta Eagle spanned more than a year

Sept .• 19 - Close to 100 people rally at City Hall on a rainy Saturday to protest Ihe botched Atlanta Eagle raid. Officer Dani Lee Harris, former LGBT liaiso n lor the AP D, spea ks at the rally. The I act Harr is was not informed about the raid before it happened causes more controversy between the LGBT community and the APD.

Sept.. 22 - At la n ta Pride annou nces tha t APD Officer Dani Lee Harris, then !he LGBT liaison for the department, would serve as a grand marshal for the parade. This decision causes backl'ash from Atlanta Eagle owners and patrons in the weeks following the announcement. To try to quell the anger, the AIlanta Pride Committee names the Atlanta Eagle and its staff and patrons as co-orend marshals.

November

Nov. 24 - Ali om ey Dan Grossman, lambda Legal and the Southern Cenier for Human Righls file a federal lawsuit against the city 01 A II a n ta Pen n ington, I

and 48i nd ivid usl offi' cers of the AP Don be' half of19 patrons 01 the bar the night it was raided. The su il cl aims the pat rons ha d I h ei r constil utio nal righls violated for being searched and detained when they were not suspected of any crime. Since the suit was filed, plaintiffs have said they were interested more in an apol.ogy from the city and the promise of the APD revising its policies to ensure no su ch ra i d ha ppe n s agai n ra ther Iha n mo ney. The case is Calhoun v. Pennington in the U.S. District Co uri for Ihe North e rn District 01 G eo rg ia

2010_

March

March 11 - The "'Eagle 8" -the name given 10 those arrested during Ihe raid -head to Atlanta Muni.cipal Court with their defense attorney, Alan Begner. to face charges 01 permit violations. During Ihe course of the trial Larry Gardner, prosecutor for the Solicitor's Office, dropped charges against bartender Ch rs lopez. mana ge r David S hephe rd. doorman Ernest Buehl and RoberlKline. Judge Cryslal Gaines found Thadeus Johnson, Robby Ketley and

lea ndro Ap ud not gui Ity. sa yi ng th e City did not prove b eyon d a rea sonable dou bt th e m en we re guilty:

Ma reh 15 - Di scove ryb egi nsi n All a nta Eagle ra id ladera I ci vi I lawsu it.

March 17 - The lederallawsuit against the city is amended to name 35 APD officers. including for· me r c h ie f Pen n i neton rat her tha n 48. Six addi ti on a I plaintiHs are also added to the original 19. The suit continues to allege the city violated the U.S. and state conslit u tio nal rig hts 01 the pi a i n Ii Ifs Ih rouq h un I awful sserc han d, seizure, fa lse i mprisonmen t, assault. battery and trespass. The sui! also alleges the city broke state law by ra id i ng th e ba r wit h ou t a rrest warra nts

June

June 10 - The Allanta Citizens Review Board votes to reeom mend APD off i eNS Benn i e Bridges an d John Brock be discipli ned lor falsely arrestin q assistant manager David Shepherd during the Atlanta Eagle raid. Shepherd was off-duty and was in his apartment up' stai rs watch in g TV when the fa id occ urred a nd po I ice cam e to his door a nd arrested hi m

July

July 22 - AI an LGBT town hall forum called by Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan to discuss recent anti'gay crimes in the City. Atlanla Eagle attorney Dan Grossman and Mayor Reed share a testy exchange about the federal lawsuit. Grossman rev,isi!s his argument that the city only needs to apologize for the raid 10 make the lawsuit disappear and cou Id have be e n settled for no money. Reed arq u es back th a t as mayor he is the primary pe rson wi Ih lid u c ia ry re spo nsi b i I ity for the city.

August

Aug. 12 - The Atlanta Citizens Review Board' sustains allegations that abusive language. including anti-gay slurs, was used by officers toward the pat rons of theba r the night it was rai d ed.

Aug. 31 - Mayor Reed announces the formati on of an LGB T adv i sory board to I he All a nta Po I ice Department. This is part of an effort to bridge the gap be tween the lGBT commu n i ty and th e po I ice department.

September

Sept. 9 - The All a nta Cit ize n s Review Boa rd finds 24 Atlanta police officers guilty of false imprisonment of patrons during the raid'. The board a Iso votes to conduct a sepa rate st u dy into the supervisors' roles in the botched raid to ensure full accountability.

Sept. 29 - Mayor Re ed a nd A PD Chief George Turner name OIl.icer Brian Sharp as Ihe department's second LGBT liaison. Having two LGBT liaisons on the police force fulfills a promise made by Re ed when he ca mpai g n ed for mayor.

October

Oct. 1 - The first meeting of the Atlanla Police LGBT advisory board takes place.

Oct. 6 - Atlanta Eagle attorneys lile court documen ts alleq i ng the cily has destroye d and with he Id evidence need ed d u ring the discovery phase of the lawsuit.. Allegations against Ihe cily include that ce II. phone ph otos and lext me ssages from officers i nvalved in the ra i d were erase d.

Oct. 21 - Mayor Kasim Reed speaks to the At" lanta Executive Network and promises a thorough i nvestigal ion intoallegal ions of destroyed evide nee. Reed. adds if the ailega t ion s are true th at t he city wi II deal with the individuals involved in a public manner.

Oct. 22 - The city denies allegations of de' stroying or witholding evldenca

Oct. 28 - Mayor Reed is the keynote speaker at the Stonewall Bar Association's annual awards din' ner and announces a "blue ribbon panel" 10 act as ani n Ie rrnedierv b elwee n Ihe city a nd Alta n ta Ea q Ie attorneys to try to resolve the case.

November

Nov. 1- Atlanta Eagle attorneys lire back at the city·s claim ,it has nol done anything wrong during the di scovery pha se of tn e ca se. They did no! re buff specific allegations of deslroying 01 ev,idence.

Nov. 10 - Federal Judge Timothy Batten issues a ga q orde r on the laws u ita nd requ i res pa rt ies to meet on Nov. 22 lor mediation before Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman.

Nov. 22 - Mediation begins between Atlanta Eagl e alto rnevs and city attorn eys.

December

Dec. 1 and Dec. 3 - The City and Atlanta Eagle plaintiffs enter into medial ion talks with a settle' men t Ii nally rea che d Dec. 3.

Dec. 6 - The Atlanla City Council votes 14-0 to approve the resolution on the settlement. which in' cl u d es a. $1.025 mill io n pay m ent to the plai n tills and a mandate Ihal changes be made to the APD's standard operating procedures. Before the settlement is final, however, presiding federal Judge Timothy Batten must sign off on it. At press time Dec. 7, details ot the seltlement had: not been released and the gag order rema i ned in place.

D GA Voice \ December 10, 2010 \ News

www.theGAVoice.com

IV tests up, but stl 1 in 5 don't know they have virus Ga. activists urge governor-elect to elimlnate AIDS drug waiting list

By Dyana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

While more adults are being tested for HIV in the U.S. than ever before, there are still one in five, or 200,000 people, who have HIV and don't know it, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Atlanta.

In a report released Nov. 30 - the day before World AIDS Day - the CDC noted that since 2006, when it recommended HlV testing become a routine part of health care for adults and adolescents, there has been an increase of 11.4 million people who have been tested for HIV.

The CDC recommends more frequent testing for those at high risk, including bisexual and gay men.

''WIth most adults and with nearly a third of high-risk people having never been tested for HIY, we need to do more to ensure that allArnericans have access 10 voluntary, routine and early HIV tesdng in order to save lives and reduce the spread of this terrible disease," said Dr, Thomas R Frieden, CDC director, in a press release.

Making voluntary HIV testing a routine practice in medical facilities is a top priority of the CDC, Frieden said during a. teleconference about the new HIV testing numbers .. The CDC is also working with community and civic organizations to make HIV testing available in such places as community centers and churches, he said.

''We would like to see HIV testing as common as a cholesterol screening," said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the HTV/A_IDS Prevention Program at the CDC.

The increase in HI\! lests shows "progress is possible," Frieden added, while acknowledging "it is certainly very far from success,"

Thai "far from success" acknowledgment includes the fact that 55 percent of adults - and 28.3 percent of adults with a risk factor for HIV (such as men who have sex with men, people of color; injection drug users and sex workers) - have not been tested, the CDC reported.

For example, Frieden noted that 70 percent of gay and bisexual men who were diagnosed after having the virus for some time often had contacts with medical staff but were not offered an HNtest.

If people at risk, including men who have sex with men, are tested regularly, those who know they are HIV positive are willing to take more precautions to reduce the spread of the virus, explained Mermin.

''HN testing is the fundamental link," Mennln said. ''The disease is transmitted by people who are not aware of their status.

Georgia also continues to rank high in the states with the largest number of HI\! and AIDS cases, the CDC reported. These include:

• In Georgia, some 28 to 41 people per 100,000

have AIDS, a rate among the highest in the region. The South continues to rank the highest among demographic regions on HN and AIDS cases.

• Georgia is fourth among states for the highest estimated number ofHIV diagnoses in a 12-month period. The state recorded 3,067 cases of HN, behind only Florida with 7,670 cases, New York with 6,129 and Texas with 4,.487 cases.

Ga. ADAP wait list growing

Georgia now has more than 800 people waiting for its federal and state funded AIDS Drug Assistance Program, and other states also have hundreds of people waiting for life-saving drugs on these waiting lists.

More HlY testing means more people findlng out that they are HIV positive, but activists fear that the wait for HIV medications and other health

care might cause some people to feel that there is no point to getting tested.

''We understand this concern, especially in this time of economic hardship, but we absolutely must encourage routine HIV testing," said Rachel Powell, a CDC spokesperson.

''Not testing people does not render them 00- infected - in fact, we will need to care for these people once they are eventually diagnosed or become ill due to the infection - and we know that the later you are diagnosed, the higher the treatment and care costs," she said.

"CDC's belief is that finding people early will prevent new infections and ultimately reduce healthcare costs - but we do recognize that in the short term, diagnoslng more people with HIV means that treatment and care costs may increase," Powell added .

Adorno observed World AiDS Day with a variety of events, including a press conference wilh Mayar Kasim Reed, HEV testing at City Hall, and a display of the AIDS Memorial Quill at Emory University. (Pharos by Dyal10 Bagby)

The CDC also estimates that a lifetime cost of a person living with HlV / AIDS comes to more than $350,000.

The new HIV testing data shows that 45 percent of adults have been tested for HIV in their lives in 2009, after resting rates held steady at about 40 percent from 2001 to 2006.

There are approximately 1.1 million adults ll V· ing wid1 HIV in the U.S., the CDC estimates.

Wait for meds 'unforgivable'

At a press conference inside the State Capitol on World AIDS Day, approximately 50 HIV activists and those living with HIV delivered 1,200 postcards to Governor-Elect Nathan Deal, urging him to fund the ADAP program that pro-

Please see AIDS DAY on Page 13

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ISENTRESS®

raltegravi r tablets

IS8mIESS is a ~ll<OO iradern;»I< 01 Merd<. SWp 8. DoItlre Ccql.. a IdosQary 01 MI'r~~ & Co .. , Inc. CqJyoi:Jht Ie 2010 Merd< ShaIp & Dctvm Cap. a SliEi1iaIy 01 Merck & Co.. Inc. All ri;)1"is ~. 21 (l!;225O(311)(110)·1 o/IIHSU·C(W

SiJsIMi is;3 ~ Iradenli¥I< to BrI;toI·MyIn Sq.Jt:IJ fltflOOl ,,;3 ~islered tmrellUk 01 Gilead &:ierols. In::.

Pa lient Inform atl on ISErnRESS'" (eye sen Iris) (rallegrav.ir) Tablets

Read til e patient information that comes with ISENTRESS' before you start taking n and each Ii me you get a refill. There may be new infonmation. Th is leaflet is a su mmary 01 the information for patients_ Your doctor or pharmacist can gilte you additional information. This leaflet does not take the place 01 tal king with your doctor about you r mediGaI condition or you r treatment,

What is ISENTRESS?

o 'ISENTR ES5 is an anti -H IV (antiretrovj ral) medicine 'used lor the treatme nt of If rv. The term HWslands for Hu man 1m mu nooeflciency Virus, H is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired 1m mune Deficiency Syndrome).ISENTRESS 'is used along with other anti ·HIV medicines. I SEmRESS will N 01 cure HIV :infection,

o People talIi ng ISENTRESS may still develop ,infeclions, intlud i ngl

opportun isUe infections or other conditions tllat Ilappen willl HN .Infection.

o Stay under tile care of your doctor during treetme nt witilISENTRESS.

o The safety and; eff€ctilreness of ISENTRESS in children nas not been studiOO

ISENTRESS must be used with ether anti·HIV rnedlclnes,

How does I SENTRESS wall(!

o !ISENTRESS bloo~s anenzym e wh ich the vi NS (H IV) needs in order to make more virus. The enzyme that ISENTRESS blocks is called HlVinlegraoo.

o W~ en used wit~ other ilrrti ·HIV medicin es, ISENTRESS may do two Illillgs: 1. Reduce tile amount 01 HIV in your blooo_ This is called your "viral load", 2, :Increase t~ e number of white 111000 cells called CD4 (T) cells.

olSENTRESS may not have these effects in all pa~e nts,

Does ISENTRESS lower tne r;hance of passing HiV to other .people?

No ISENTBESS does not red uce lIle chance of passing HlV to omers through sexual contact, sharing needles, or being exposed to your blood.

o COnbnue to practice safer sex,

o Use latex or polyurethane condoms or omer barrier methods to lower the enance of sexual contact witll any body fluids. Th is includes semen from a man. vaginal secretions from a woman, orblooo

o 'Neoer re-use or share need les,

Ask your doctor if you have any questions about safer sex or how to prevent passing HIV to other people,

What should I tell my doctor before and duling treabnent willl ISENTRESS? Tell your doctor about all of your medical condttions. Include any of lIle following' mat applies to yo u;

o Yljuhave any allergi es,

o You are pregnant or plan to oecome pregnant.

• ISENTRESS is not recommended fa r use during pregnancy.

ISENTRESS has not been studied in preg nant women, II you take ISENTRESS while you are pregnant, talk to your doctor about how you can be included, in the Anti retroviral Preg nancy Regislry .

o You are bream-feeding or ptan to bream.-feed_

- tt is recommendee that HIV-infected women should not breasHeed' their infanlS. This lsbeceuse lIleir babies could be infected with HIV through their breasl miJk.

- Talk with your doctor abaut tile best way to feed your baby,

Tett your doctor about all the medicines you take. Include the fottowing:

o prescription m ed icin es, i ncludin g' riflImpln (a rned ldne used to treat sorn e

i nfec~ons such as tu b€rculosis)

o non -prescripnon medici nes

o v,1amins

o 'herbal supplements

know Ille medicines you take.

o Keep a.lJst of your mOOicines Show the list to your doctor alld pharmacist

wh en you get a new medicine.

How shoul d I ta ke ISENTRESS?

Take ISENTRESS exactly as your doctor has prescribed. The recommended dose is as follows:

o Take onlV one 400·mg tablet ata UmB_

o TaJw ittwiae a day.

o Take n by mouth.

o Take it willl or willlout food.

Do not change your dose or stop taking ISENTRESS or your other anti-HIV medicines willlout fimt talking with your doctor.

IMPORTANT: Take ISENTRESS exactly as your doctor prescribed and at tile right times of day because if you don't;

o The amount Qf virus (HIV) in yourblooo may increase 'if the mOOicine is

stopped for even a short periocl of tim e.

o The virus m<II' develop resistanre to ISENTRESS and become harder to treat.

o Your medicines milY step working to fight HW,

o The activity of IS8NTRESS may be reduced (due to resistance).

'Registered trademarll of Merck Sharp & Dilhme Gorp., a SlJbsidiary of Merck & CO., lnc .• Copyr.igllt © 2010 Merck Sharp & Dahme Corp., a sutlsidiary of Merck & Co., IIlC,

All rights reserved.

--.....;.-ISENTRESS'

ralteg ravir tablets

If you fail 10 take ISEN1RESS Ille way you should, here's what 10 do:

o If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember, If you do not remember until His time for your next dose, skip the missed dosealld go back to your regular schedule. Do NOT take two tablets ollSENTRESS at the same time, In other words, do NOT take a dOlJble dose,

o If you take too m uch :IS ENTRESS, call your doctor or local Polson Control Center.

Be sure to keep a supply of your anti-H IV medlelnes,

o When your ISE'NTRESS supply starts III run low ,get more from your doctor or iphanmacy.

o Do not wait unUi your m ed icin e ru ns out to get more.

What are the possible side effects of ISENTRESS?

When ISENTRESS has been given with olller anti-HIV drugs, side effect:s inCluded:

o nausea

o headache

o tiredness

o weakness

o trouble sleeping'

o stomach pain

o di~iness

o depression

o suicidal thoughts and actions

Other side effects include rash. severe skin reactions, fee I ing anxious, paranoia, low blood platelet eou nt.

A co ndttian called, Imm une Recon-stitu~on Syn~rome can nappen in some patients wHh advanced H l.vi ~fection (AIDS) when combination anti retrovi ral trealm ent is started Signs and symptoms of iofiammaMn from opportunistic Infections tMt a personnas or hild may occur as lIle medicines wo~. to trest the HfV infection and Mrp to strengthen the immune system. catl you r doctor right away n you notice any siglls or sym ptorns of an infection aftllr starti ng ISENTRESS with other a~ti·HfV medJdnes.

COntact you r doctor promptly if you e~peri ence unexplained mllSCle pain, tenderness, or weakness while taking ISENTRESS. This is because on rare occasions. muscle problems can be serious and can lead to kidney damage,

Rash occurred, more often in patients taking ISENTRESS an d darunavir together than with either drug s9jl<Jrately, but wasgenemlty mild.

Tell your doctor ~ you have any side effects that both.er you,

Th ese are not aU the si de effects oIISENTRESS. For more i nformaUon, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

How should I store ISENTRESS?

o Store ISENTAESS at room temperature (68 to 77"F)-

o Keep ISENTRE.SS and aU medicines out of Ille reac'lI 01 C~ildren.

General informaticn about the use of ISENTRESS

Medicines ate sometimes prescribed for conditions that are not mentioned ill pafient lntormatcn leaflets.

o 00 not use ISENTRESS far a condition for which it was not prescri bed_

o Do not give ISENTR ESS to other peap'le. even if they have tile sam e S'lm ptoms you have It may harm the m

This leaflet gives you ti1e most important I'nfonmaton about ISENTRESS.

o If you woutd like to know more. talk with your coeior.

o You can ask. your doctor or pharmacist for additional informaUon about ISE'NTRESS that is written forneaHh protessionals.

o For more information go to WIMV,ISENTR.ESS,com or call 1-800·622-4477.

What are the Ingredients!n ISENTRESS?

Active ingredient: Each film"coated talJlet contains 400 mg 01 mltegmvir.

Inactive ingredients: MicrocrystaJline cellulose, lactose monohydrate, ca.lcium phosphate dibasic anhyllrous, hypromellose 2208, pOI@l!mer 407 (contains 0.Q1 % butylated hydroxytoluene as an~O>:idanO, sod ium stearyl' fu marate, magnesium stearate, In addition, the film coating contains the following inactive 'ingredients: polyv.inyl alcohol, titanium djoxide, polyethylene gtyool 3350, talc, roo iron oxide and black iron o~ide_

Distributed oy:

Merck Sharp & oahme cem, a subsidiary of Merel<. & Co.,. Inc. WhnBooure Station, NJ 08889, USA

Revised June 2010 9795110

U$_ Patent Nos US 7,169,780

21052250(21 )111 0)-1 011' 0 ·ISN-CO N

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News I December 10, 2010 I GA Voice m

Economy, heightened Lambda Legal: Ant.i-gay counseling st.udent threatens safe schools awareness blamed for' Gay legal group files

AIDS funds shortfall friend-ot-court brief in

AIDS DAY, continued from Page 8 Augusta case

vides medication to those who can't get them any other way.

"It is absolutely unforgivable that in this day and age a state like Georgia would have a waiting list for ADAP," said Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, which founded the Save Georgia's Drug Assistance Program group.

"Last year we saw a 17 percent increase in peopleusingADAP ... a record 5,700 people used ADAP last year - men and women throughout the state of Georgia who have no other option," Graham said.

There is currently a $15 million shortfall in the state's ADAP program, Graham said. Georgia is expecting $10 million in federal funding next spring but onJy if the state also contributes.

''This shortfall is the result of the economy and due to heightened awareness of the importance of testing for HIv;" Graham said.

Without new funding, the ADAP waiting llst is expected 10 grow to 1,300 people by next spring, Graham said. Since the waiting list was implemented July 1, there have been 30 people added each week.

Asking Deal to add $5 million to the ADAP program will be difficult, Graham acknowledged, but the result would actually be cost effective to the state overall,

"Keep one thing in my mind. It costs $9,000 per year per person on ADAP. If people don't have access to meds early on they will develop AIDS. The cost of treating someone with AIDS is much more costly and if someone is hospitalized the cost can reach $150,000," Graham said.

When Deal served in the U.S. House of Representatives, he was supportive of funding the Ryan While Act, which provides federal fundjng to AIDS programs indudlng ADAF. And Graham noted that Gov. Sonny Perdue never recommended cuts 10 ADAF.

''We hope Deal does the same," Graham said.

By Prana Bagby dbagby@thegavoice.com

Lambda Legal has filed a friend-of-the-court brief opposing an Augusta State University graduate student'S claim that her constitutional rights were violated when the school threatened to expel her because of her Christian belief that being gay or transgender is immoral.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court Southern Division in Augusta, argues counseling graduate student Jennifer Keeton's First Amendment rights were violated by the university because it stated her biblical opposition to homosexuality - that she would state in class and to other students - went against the professional code for being an ethical counselor.

Keeton, who wants to bea secondary school counselor, is represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian organization dedicated to defending "traditional family values."

On Nov. 29, Lambda Legal filed court documents on behalf of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG) and the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition.

"It is unethical and dangerous for a counselor to not respect the dignity and promote the welfare of her LGBTQ clients," said Greg Nevins, supervising senior staff attorney in Lambda Legal's Southern Regional Office based in Atlanta,i n a statement.

''When Georgia's LGBTQ youth are being bullied or thinking about committing suicide, we want them to be speaking with trained counselors who will help not harm them," Nevins added.

Keeton filed her lawsuit against the university in July .. In August, U.S. District Judge Randall Hall ruled against her, stating that the case should not be viewed as "pitting Christianity against homosexuality."

"This case is not about the propriety of

Jennifer KeelOn, a counseling graduate swdem m Augusw Stare Univel:sity, is suing the university otter she claims her professors vio/O{ed her consritufiona/ rights by saying her anti-goy viehls violated ethical counseling conducr. (photo via Alliance Defense Fund)

Plaintiff's views or beliefs, or any of the Augusta State University counseling faculty's views or beliefs, regarding the topics implicated in this case," Hall wrote.

Keeton said her professors ordered her to go through a remediation plan, including attending a Gay Pride event in Augusta, to better understand the LGBT community. Keeton refused to participate in the remediation plan.

The university also states that to be a professional counselor, it is unethical to have bias against a group of people.

PFLAG works with LGBT students as does GSSC, an organization of Georgia educators and activists dedicated to ensuring that schools are safe for LGBT students.

In a press release from Lambda Legal about

its friend-of-the-court brief, PFLAG and GSSC want to ensure that all schools are safe for LGBT students to learn and thrive.

"Lambda Legal emphasized the important role of counselors in preventing harm 10 LGTBQ youth. As part of their missions to help LGBTQ youth feel safe in schools, PFLAG and GSSC explained 10 the court how essential it is that school counselors honor their professional duty [0 promote the well-being of all students, especially those youth who are being bullied," the release stated. "LGBT students, compared to any other minority group, are more likely to feel unsafe in school and school counselors can profoundly affect an LGTBTQ youth's mental health."

The case is Keeton v. Anderson-Wiley.

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'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' debate moves forward despite uncertain future

Pentagon report: Majority of military thinks gay soldiers would have no negative impact

By Ryan Watkins rwatkins@thegavoice.com

The Pentagon released its highly anticipated report on the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy Nov. 30 and just two days later, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a two-day heari ng on th e report's f n din gs,

The reportfound that as much as 70 percent of service members would consider allowing openly gay and lesbian soldiers to be "positive" or have "no impart" on morale and unit cohesion.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and Gen. Carter Ham, who co-chaired the Pentagon's Working Group on the report, testified on the first day of the hearing. All three said that Congress should act to repeal the policy during the current lame-duck session.

The debate was largely drawn down party lines. Democrats were supportive of repeal based on the recommendations of the report, while Republicans voiced concerns over a pessible repeal and accused Democrats of turning a social issue into a political one.

Sen. John McCain (R~Ariz.), the ranking Republican on the committee, led the charge in favor of keeping the policy. McCain said that the time for repeal was not right due to the military's ongomg commitment in Afghanistan and Iraq.

McCain also questioned the validity of the report because it did not ask the question "Should "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" be repealed?" and because .1 ess th a n a q u alter of all s ervi ce members responded.

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said t.hat America was on the "frontlines" in a turning point with regard to LGBT-rights.

"It's just wrong to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation," he said in his opening remarks.

'''Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is a stain on the military that we have a chance to remove," he added.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) expressed concern over re-enlistment and pressed Gates for an answer on what would happen if substantial numbers of soldiers left the military if the policy were repealed.

"If I believed that a quarter of a million people would leave the military if given the opportunity, I could have concern, but I don't believe that," Gates responded.

Gates: Congress should act before courts

Gates and Mullen both. stated that repeal should come from Congress rather than through

1bp: Chairman o{.the Joint Chiers of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and Secretary or Defense Roben Gates testified during Senate ilearings that Congress s/10uld repeal 'Don tAsk, Dont Tell' before new lawmakers take office in January. Above: Sen. John McCa.in (R-Ari2..), [he ranking Republican on the Sen ace Armed Services Commicree, led the charge in rUlior or keeping the miii/Ory's ball on openly gay servicemembers. (Pharos by Michael Key)

the court system, which would leave the military inadequate time to prepare for a shift in policy.

In response to a lawsuit brought forward by the Log Cabin Republicans, a federal court struck down the policy as unconstitutional as it violated the due process and freedom of speech clauses.

The 9th Circuit of Appeals stopped enforcement of the lower court's ruling days later. An appeal has been filed by the Department of Justice. The case has since been expedited and is expected to be heard early in the new year.

"If the court decision were to be similar to the district court order that was handed down in October, we would have zero time to prepare," Gates said. "That is the worst imaginable outcome as far as I'm concerned."

Mullen echoed Gates' position before the committee.

Service chiefs question timing

The second half of the Armed Services Committee's hearing featured the individual service chiefs from each branch of the military.

Each of the service chiefs suggested that the military would be able to handle repeal, though several disagreed on the timing. Gen. Norton Schwartz, Chief of Staff for the Air Force, suggested deferring repeal in 2012, though he acknowledged the Air Force could handle repeal with limited risk.

Gen. James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, felt mat repeal should come during a time of peace, rather than while the Marines are deployed in combat operations in Afghanistan.

"My recommendation would be that it begins when our singular focus is no longer on combat operations," he said.

Gen. George Casey, current Chief of Staff of the United States Army, said that the policy should be repealed but also questioned the timing.

"Leadership is the key to everything. If we do this, it will get done and it will get done well," he said. "1 believe any course of action that gives us the time to prepare is the right course of action. We have to have the time to prepare."

All six chiefs suggested repeal through Congress would be preferable to another court ruling that would find the policy unconstitutional ..

Will lame-duck Congress act?

In the days following the committee's hearlng, high-level Republicans have questioned whether the 2011 Defense Authorization bill would even come before the full Senate for a vote during the lame-duck session.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate Minority Leader, told David Gregory on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the Defense Authorization billtypicaUy takes weeks to debate. He expressed doubt that the Senate would take up the issue before the 112th Congress convenes in mid-January.

"My personal view is that Senator McCain is correct on this," McConnell said. "1 intend to follow his lead. We'll find out when we finally get around to debating this bill, which 1 think will not be before the end of the year,"

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) suggested that the required number of votes to avoid a Senate filibuster were not in place. Though, according to media reports, several GOP senators are in favor of repeal, including Sens. Lisa Murkowksi (R-Alaska), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Jon Ensign (R-Nev.).

According to multiple media outlets, Democratic leadership has been "supportive" of extending the lame-duck session in the Senate to allow for time to debate and possibly vote on the 2011 Defense Authorization bill, According to Huffington POSt, an aide for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (0- Nv.) said Reid was considering extending the session, though as of press time, no commitments have been made.

In an interview with The Hill, a news publication that covers Congress, an aide for Sen. Lieberman said the senator favored keeping the Senate in session until repeal was passed.

"Sen. Lieberman believes that there are at least 60 votes to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' this year, provided that leadership allows time for sufficient debate and amendments," Lieberman spokeswoman Erika. Masonhall told The HilL

''Wanting to go home is not. an acceptable excuse for failing to pass a bill that provides essential support for our troops and veterans and failing to take action that the president, the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have called for."

As of press time, the Senate had not scheduled debate on the Defense Authorization bill.

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News I December 10, 2010 I GA Voice lEI

Feds support new national LGBT youth suicide task force

Government works with national gay groups on prevention programs

By Dana Rudolph

A national task force dedicated to suicide pre .. vention among LGET youth will be part of the new National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. The Alliance, launched by Secretary ofHealth Kathleen Sebelius and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in September, is a public-private partnership supported by the u.s. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration.

Pamela S. Hyde, administrator of SAMHSA, revealed the plan for an LGBT youth task force in a five-page Jetter sent last month in response to an inquiry from leaders of the U.S. House's LGBT Equality Caucus.

The task force will be led by Charles Rob .. bins, head of'The Trevor Project, which operates an LGBT youth sui.cide prevention program nationwide, and Kevin Jennings, the Department of Education's Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Jennings, an openly gay appointee, founded the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network.

Robbins said in an lntervlew that he thinks the Alliance could have a "broad impact" and "provide greater awareness and greater funding opportunities specifically for the LGBT com .. munity," He said he participated in a similar effort in California and was able to ensure that LGBT youth were included in the plans and that county grants were LGBT inclusive.

The Alliance will, however, act as a coordinating body and not have independent grantmaking authority, said Dr. Richard McKeon, Suicide Prevention Branch Chief at SAMHSA.

Hyde's letter was in response to a letter from U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler CD-NY), Barney Frank CD .. Mass.), Tammy Baldwin CD.Wisc.), and Jared Polis CD-Colo.). They had written to Hyde to urge the agency to take "immediate action ... to better protect LGBT youth and preven t further tragedies."

Their letter also questioned SAMHSA's recent draft plan, "Leading Change," and asked whether the agency is putting enough emphasis on "spedfic suicide prevention efforts" aimed at LGBT youth. They asked to be informed of SAMHSA's current and planned activities in this regard,

In her response, Hyde, another of President Obama's openly LGET appclntees, said SAMHSA "recognizes that LGBT youth face unique risk factors that make them vulnerable to suicide" and that the agency "will use its programs and initiatives to ensure a. focus on LGBT youth."

Specific SAMHSA efforts for helping LGBT youth, Hyde wrote, include the SAM-

HSA-funded Suicide Prevention Resource Center, which "includes LGBT youth as one of its priority populations." The agency has also "produced publications and trainings geared toward improving awareness and capacity for suicide prevention for LGBT youth."

SAMHSA's National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Hyde noted,"routinely refers youth to The Trevor Project," The agency also directs funds to state, tribal, and campus suicide pre .. ventlon programs through its Garrett Lee Smith grants, Hyde wrote, noting that currently nearly half of the 32 state grantees and nearly a third

of the 68 campus grantees reported activities focused on LGBT youth.

Hyde said materials from the Human Rights Campaign's Welcoming Schools program - designed to address family diversity, gender stereotyping, and bullying in elementary education - are included in resources given to grantees of SAMHSA's Child, Adolescent, and Family Branch.

SA.MHSA'sAnnual Children's Mental Health Conference this corning March will hold a workshop using the Welcoming Schools materials as well as anti-bullying resources developed by the

Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. And a toolkit being developed by SAMHSA to help schools create suicide prevention programs will include materials from Trevor.

Rep. Nadler, in a statement about Hyde's reply, thanked SAMHSA for its "comprehensive response." He called the agency's "recommitment" and "increased focus" on suicide prevention among LGBT youth "encouraging." He said he looked forward to seeing the "concrete steps" SAMHSA will take.and to working together with SAMHSA and other partners in the Obama Administration to ensure that they "achieve results."

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Prop 8 battle: Gay marriage makes kids 'preoccupied' with sex

Federal appeals court hears arguments in Calif. marriage fight

By Lisa Keen

SAN FRANCISCO ~ Famed attorney Ted Olson told a 9th Circuit US. Court of Appeals panel Dec. 6lhat the reason proponents of Proposition 8 have proffered to justify their ban on same-sex marriage is "nonsense."

That reason, said Olson, reading from a page in the argument brief filed by attorneys for the Yes on 8 coalition, which promoted passage of California's ban on same-sex marriage, was that same-sex marriage "will make children prematurely preoccupied with issues of sexuality."

"If believed," said Olson, "that would justify the banning of comic books, television, video games, and even conversations between children."

And that was not exactly the reason Yes on 8 put forth during their successful200B campaign 10 amend the California state constitution to bansame-sex marriage. Back then, the primary reason, noted Olson, was "protecting children" from the notion that marriage between samesex couples was ok.

So, what should the COUIt consider as the reason behind denying same-sex coupLes the right to many, asked Judge Michael Hawkins.

"Should we look just at the record in the district COUIt," he asked, or should we "imagine whether there is any conceivable rational basis" to ban gays from marriage?

Olson urged the court not to use its own imagination to figure out whether there might be any conceivable rational reason but to look at the reasons offered by the Yes on 8 proponents and to dererrnine whether they "make sense" and whether they are "motivated by fear" or a dislike of gay people.

"Protecting our children," said Olson,"is not a rational basis. It's based on the idea there's something wrong with" gay people.

Both Olson and his legal counterpart, Charles Cooper, argued with greater passion and animation during Monday's argument before the federal appeals court than they did in January and June before U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker.

It was Walker's ruling in August - that California's ban on same-sex marriage violated the U.S. Constitution - that brought them to the appeals court in San Francisco on Dec. 6,

Unlike at the district court trial, where the U.s .. Supreme Court forbid any television or web broadcast, the appeals proceedings were carried live on national television by CSPAN and several California stations.

Demonstrators crowded outside the federal building in San Francisco under the watchful eye of federal protection service officers.

Both sides challenged

Any pre-courtroom second-guessing that observers may have harbored over the political leanings of the three judges seemed to be put to rest fairly quickly, as the Judges vigorously challenged each side's arguments on both matters before the court: Yes on 8 and Imperial County's legal qualification (standing) to appeal, and the validity of Walker's declaration that Proposition B violates the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Consntutlon.

Judge N. Randy Srnith, an alumnus of the Mormonrun Brigham Young University, came out swinging hard questions for Cooper over Yes on 8's claim to have legal standing to press the appeal. Then he pitched equally hard questions to Olson's comrade David Boies, about the "problem" created for the court by the fact that neither the state's governor nor attorney general appealed the district COUIt decision themselves. Even though neither has the power to veto an initiative, said Smith, they both nullified the initiative by not appealing it.

Boies tried to make the point that Gov. AI~ nold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown made their decisions not to appeal after Judge Walker declared the initiative 10 be unconstitutional.

Judge Stephen Reinhardt, widely perceived !O be a staunch liberal, seemed to agree with Smith, saying the governor and attorney general's refusal to appeal the district court decision "does not seem to be consistent" with the state's initiative system.

And should the court find that Yes on 8 and Imperial County both lack the legal qualifications to appeal, the judges said, the appeals court has no cause to rule on the merits of the dispute.

Boies argued that the concern about what the governor and attorney general did was a "different issue" than standing. And on the issue of standing, said Boies, Yes on 8 and Imperia] County have no standing to bring the appeal, simply because they can't meet the standard of demonstrating a real injury from the decision.

It was not an easy sell. Hawkins expressed frustration that the court might not be able to render a decision on the merits "so it's dear, in California, who has the right to marry and who doesn't."

Yes on 8 attorney Charles Cooper had ar-

Mwrney Ted O/sal! (inset) told a 9th Circvit U.S. Coun of Appeals panel Dec. 6 tho: there is no rational basis to derry gay couples the righr to marry. Atlanlans rallied earlier this year wium a federal disrr.icr judge ruled California's Prop 8 u/1consrirutional. (Olson pub/icily pharo; mlly photo by Dyana Bagby)

gued that, because the California Supreme Court had, in an earlier, related court proceeding given Yes on 8 the right to intervene in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case to defend Proposition 8, it intended to convey standing, too.

By the end of the first hour 0 f the p roceeding ~ which was devoted to standing - the panel seemed inclined to ask the California Supreme Court to certify whether it intended Yes on 8 to have standing.

The panel seemed equally uncomfortable with the effort by a deputy clerk of Imperial County, Isabella Vargas, to seek standing to appeal Walker's decision. The judges, particularly Hawkins, pointedly and repeatedly asked why Imperial County's deputy clerk was seeklng the status, and no explanation was given as to why the county clerk did not.

Robert Tyler, an attorney with a religious advocacy legal firm representing Vargas and Imperial County pro bono, evaded the answer !O that question both in and Out of the courtroom. At a press conference following arguments, he claimed the answer was a matter of attorneyclient privilege.

Comparisons to segrega:tion, bans on interracial. marriage

The three judges were equally tough in questions about the merits of Judge Walker's decision. As Cooper attempted to read from his prepared statement, Judge Hawkins interrupted almost immediately to ask him whether voters have the right to reinstitute segregation in public schools.

"No," said Cooper.

"V/hy not?" asked Hawkins ..

"Because it would be inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution," said Cooper.

"As interpreted by the us. Supreme Court," interjected Hawkins.

"Yes," conceded Cooper.

But in 1870, the U.S. Supreme Court probably would not have interpreted the constitution !O forbid segregation, would it? asked Hawkins.

Cooper conceded that was probably true. ''Well, how is this different?" asked Hawkins. Judge Smith challenged Cooper using the

Loving v. Virgirua ruling by the u.s. Supreme Court that said states could not prohibit interracial marriage. He did so by noting that Cooper was arguing that the Supreme Court had already ruled on the right of states to proscribe same-sex marriage in Baker v. Nelson. The high court, in 1972, dismissed the appeal of a gay couple who had soughta marriage license in Minnesota. Dismissing an appeal has more Significance than Simply refusing to hear an appeal. But, in dismissing the Baker appeal, the high court explain ed it was doing so because there was no "substantial federal question" presented by the case.

There is dispute within legal circles as to whether that dismissal means anything today. But Cooper, and others, have tried to make a case that the Baker action is precedent, and that it governs attempts by other states to ban same, sex marriages.

If Baker was precedent, said Smith, then why couldn't states ban interracial marriage, too?

Cooper had [0 concede the right of states to

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Prop 8 opponents optimistic about case

PROP 8 , continued from Page 16

decide who can marry is "not an absolute right" and that their right to do so "is limited by the restrictions of the U.S. Constitution."

Marriage and procreation

When Cooper tried to argue that society has a rational interest in the creation of children and in promoting responsible procreation to ensure that children are adequately cared for, Judge Reinhardt suggested that might be a "good argument for prohibiting divorce."

Judge Smnh jumped m to challenge Cooper on this polne, too. He noted that California domestic partnership laws provide same-sex couples with all the same benefits and rights to marriage, induding those involving childrearing. What is the rational reason for denying same-sex couples the designation of the word marriage, he wondered.

Judge Hawkins challenged Cooper to explain how California's same-sex marriage ban is different from Colorado's Amendment 2 which said no law could prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Supreme Court struck down Amendment 2 in Romer v. Evans, saying that the only reason for the law was animus against gay people and that laws may not be justified by animus.

Cooper argued that Amendment 2 had been a "sweeping" denial of protections to gay people, in banking. employment, housing, commercial transactions, and many other areas of life. Proposition 8, he said, was focused just on marriage. And, in marriage, said Cooper; society had an interest to protect unrelated to animus against gay people, and that interest is promoting responsible procreation.

Therese Stewart, the openly gay Chief Deputy City Attorney for San Francisco, tackled that argument head-on, by noting that same-sex couples "do procreate - not in same way [as heterosexual couples], but they do procreate."

Arguments 'promising' for gay marriage?

Gay legal activists seemed pleased with how the arguments went Dec. 6.

Evan Wolfson, head of the national Freedom to Marriage Project, said that, overall, he thinks "it looks prornlsing, both on standing and on the merits"

Shannon Minter, senior counsel for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, agreed, saying he was especially encouraged that "at least two of the judges seemed highly critical of Charles Cooper's claim on behalf of the proponents that Prop 8 could be justified based on arguments relating to procreation."

Jenny Pizer, head of Lambda Legal Defense's Marriage Project, said she wouldn't be 5U rprised if the panel's even tual ruling i nel u des "multiple decisions" on how they reached the same outcome "with different reasonings."

"And if they conclude Prop 8 is invalid while disagreeing about the details of why," said Pizer, "that may be j US( fine."

The panel is expected to render its decision Oil both the standing issue and the constltudonality of Proposition 8 within a few months.

Boies speculated during a post-argument press con ference tha t th e earliest the pane I would likely render a decision is early next year and the earliest me case might be heard by me Supreme Court - during its almost inevitable appeal-would be 2012.

Illinois Gov. Pal Quinn will hold a ceremony in January to sign civil unions into low. (Piloto via Focebook}

Illinois legislature approves civil unions

Illinois will begin offering civil unions to gay and straight couples next summer, after the state legislature approved a bill last week.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn will hold a ceremony in January to sign the bill into law, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Dec. 5. The law will then take effect in June.

"The passage this week of the civil unions legislation was historic. It's a landmark law, it's headed my way and I think it will be the law of the land of Lincoln in the coming year," Quinn told the Associated Press.

The governor argued that dvil unions will help the state attract businesses and conventions.

''When they're picking a convention for their particular organization, I think they look for a state that is a welcoming, accepting, hospitable place and that's what we are in Illinois. We have everybody in and nobody left out," Quinn toldAP.

Supporters of me civil unions law note that it will give same-sex couples rights like hospi-

tal visitiation and inheritance that are governed by state law.

"It provides a lot of really crucial benefits in terms of protecting couples' ability to take care of one another in times of need," said John Knight, director of me Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Project of the ACLU of Illinois, told the Chicago Tribune. "That includes hundreds of different things that many people don't think about every day."

Illinois will join 11 states plus Washington, D.C., with laws providing "an expansive form of state-level recognition" for gay and lesbian couples, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay political group.

Out of those, gay couples may marry in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C., although they receive none of dle federal benefits of marriage.

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Hurfng Mom (or) My First Gay Christmas

I was 16, newly out, and faced with. a choice: boyfriend or mother?

Guest column by Mark s. King

There is so much distance in my mother's eyes that I fear she may never come dose to me again. Circling her stare are wrinkles of pain, betrayal even, and in her hand she holds the watch.

It was December of my senior year of high school, and things had calmed down considerably after my having burst forth from the closet that Fall, wearing go-go boots to school dances and openly flaunting my twenty-something boyfriend. But these were all healthy choices, I told myself.

If there was nothing wrong with beLng gay, then there should be nothing defiant about letting my family know about it. And my friends. And my teachers. And people at church. Never mind that we lived in Bossier City, Loulslana, Or that it was 1977.

But there was something about that look in my mother's eyes, in that moment. It took all my arrogance to protect myself from it, to seek refuge from the shocked stare, the battle in her face between heartbreak and fury. She was squeezing tightly to the silver watchband, and her hand shook lmperceptibly

The boyfriend had been my downfall, of course. He was both 100 old and too immature for me, and Mom knew it. She also knew that spending so much time with him that previous summer wasn't usual for a 16-year-old. So when she spotted a letter I'd written to him, she figured it would tell her what she wanted to know. She opened it.

It never occurred to me to place blame for that indiscretion. I was relieved when my parents found out, actually, and once that suspense was over I could get on with the business of scandalizing my high school.

There were brief exchanges between us following my big gay reveal, tense moments crowded with frustration and unfocused love. "What's your problem with it?" I would ask, adorned with multiple pooka shell necklaces or sporting a man-made hickey without shame, "What's your problem with me being gay?"

She would sigh with resignatlon, hand leanin,g on the kitchen counter. "Mark, it's just that I know this won't be easy. It's your whole life, and this will just make it ... difficult." There were no scripture readings or ignorant signs of homophobia. Just a mother's perfectly legitimate concern that a child's life could be tougher.

I didn't appreciate her enlightenment, I would reply with a teenage shrug, just before some eye rolling and a saunter out of the room that must have made her want to strangle my pretty little gay neck.

AE Chrtstmas approached that year, I made it known that there was a gift. that would be just swell for a certain high school senior. Something sophisticated, to show his increased maturity.

A watch.

But then, on my birthday rwo days before Christmas, I walked through the front door prancing like the QUeen of Sheba ~ meaning, more prancing than usual ~ and on my wrist was a glimmering gold watch, a shiny new gift from my boyfriend. It was not a quality timepiece, not that I knew it, and the gold was destined to fade faster than the relationship. But it looked quite fabulous as I strutted and posed like r had just discovered that I could vogue.

Mother didn't betray her emotions. She waited. And two days later, wearing a robe and a gold wrist, r opened a Christmas present from Mom and Dad that had been hidden behind the tree and saved for last.

It was a Timex, and it was beautiful. Silver.

There was more than the standard holiday tension as I slipped off my gold watch to try on the Timex. True to fOnTI, Mom kept her own counsel, but something told me that I wasn't simply being presented with. an additional watch, but with a choice. And I didn't want to make it.

All that year I had been trying on a confident young gay identity for size~ and thatlncluded a boyfriend who had given me what I wanted for Christmas, I valued him and J valued his gift. But family emotions were fairly clear: his gift was a bit much. After all, Mom and Dad could have had the man arrested for taking up with their 16-year-old. Seeing him shower me with jewelry had to push the limits of their patience.

But such concerns were beyond a self-centered teen like me. I was convinced that flaunting his gift was about my new-found gay pride, and about respect for my sexuality and all sorts of other lofty, misdirected ideals.

Later that day, after the mountains of wrapping paper had been cleared, Mom and I sat near the tree. "So, this is a bit strange," she began, as casually as she could muster, "having two watches ... what will you do?" She had never had to compete with a gift giver for my gratitude.

Mark King and his mo/her. (Courtesy photo)

Someone outside the family. And a man.

''What do you mean by that?" I asked, knowing,

"Maybe you should talk to your friend, and ... "

"And what, Mother?" I snapped back, propelled with a Little too much righteous indlgnation."Look Mom, I have an idea ... " I slipped off the Timex and handed it to her. "I think you and Dad should return this. SHver isn't really my COlOf. You should know that."

It is then, that moment, which continues to replay in my mental catalogue of regret. I wanted to collect the words from the air and gobble them up, but of course it was too late.

Her face was blank at first, and then a stunned, hun expression flashed across it that was as heartbreaking to me as it was utterly foreign. She looked like she was the target of some cruel joke. And then sudden.ly her vulnerability was abolished for her usual calm. Her face made the whole journey in an instant.

I moved to say something more but thought better of it. Instead I reached for the watch in her hands and took it back, my face a silent promise never to give it up again. Mother withdrew without more words.

It was a milestone, a. snap of the apron strings, a selfish or brave gesture of independence, depending on your point of view. I can consider whether it was an important step for a gay teen or simply the self-indulgent act of a child, but the debate doesn't interest me. My minds eye only remembers her face.

Even now, more than 30 years later, I want to take it all back.

Mark S. King can be reached through his blog, www.MyFabulousDisease.com. or his website, www:marksking.com

www.theGAVoice.com

Voices I December 10, 2010 I GA Voice .iii

John McCain on wrong side

of history with military gay ban

Re: "Service chiefs say DADTshould be repealed but question timing" (Dec. 3)

1948-1953 were the years Truman's integration of blacks into the armed forced took place, that was during the Korean War. I would think that was a far greater undertaking considering back home they still had to use separate entrances and water fountains.

r am amazed at Sen. John McCain's uneasiness about this; his hostility and resistance

to testimony is astounding. Yesterday he got into it with Admiral Mullen, and kept talking about waiting on these Servtce Chiefs today. However, he seems to have already made his mind up and is wasting the time of the panel with talk of Wlkileaks, tax cuts, etc. He is the one making this political (talking about his re-election, bleh), I used to have a modicum

of respect for the rna n, but I fear a gel a tino us spine is all that remains from being saddled with La Palin.

Whal someone needs 10 say to John MeCain during these televised hearings; "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

So, yesterday McCain said he didn't respect the president or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and he wanted to hear from the chiefs. Today he dld. So what's his stalling tactidexcuse today?

McCain only heard what he wanted 10 hear.

He said that it was clear from the testimony that it should not change now, even though every one of them said they could make it hap. pen now (though would like to wait until 2012 or a time of no war) and all said they would rather Congress dearly change it now than for another court ruling 10 muddy the waters.

I can't blame the judges (much) for the injunctions, etc. while [a court ruling strik-

ing down "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"] is under appeal: After all, this is not something you

can suspend and then start reinforcing if the appeals succeed. "Hey everyone, I'm gay!" ... "OK, the appeal was successful. Everyone forget who came out during the past six months." So I agree with the chiefs: For everyone's sake we need to end this cleanly with a reasonable nmerable to implement the recommendadons presented earlier this week.

Sell. Jolm McCoill (Publicity photo)

Editor's note: These comments on Georgia Voice articles were submitted via our website and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ thegavoice). Want to weigh in? Follow us there or submit comments on our website.

Will Georgia's new governor really help people with AI.DS?

Re: "AIDS activists ask Gov.-elect Nathan Deal to add $5 million to drug program" (Dec. 2)

Asking is fine, but I'd be surprised if you get it. I hope he comes through with his promises.

Yeah, good luck with that one. Republican admtrnstratton e screw those who can'! p rovi de for themsel YeS.

'It Gets Better' for gays = it gets worse for GOP

Re: "Dan Savage calls out Republicans for not participating in 'It Gets Better' ccmpo/gn" (Nov. 30)

The problem is, when it gets better for us,

it gets worse for most Republican goals Oust look at the platforms they run on.) It's counterintuitive to appear in a video supporting people you think are defective or evil.

It would be nice if Sarah Palin took a stand and made a video, especially after the recent controversy with her daughter and her homophobic Facebook comments. Seems highly unlikely, but maybe Meghan McCain will.

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A&E December 10. 2010

Jim Carrey's gay film finallv comes out, while 'Black Swan' dances around lesbianism

By Steve Warren

Now that "Burlesque" is a Thanksgiving leftover, there are still cinematic holiday treats for LGBT audiences. As usual Santa has more for gay men than lesbians (Hey, y' all had "The Kids Are All Right" and "Chloe" this year!), but that's just because he's gay.

"Black Swan" raised gay women's anticipation with its trailer showing groping and a liplock between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, and Portman alone under the covers. Is she ... ?

Yes, she is, and yes, they are, but if context matters to you, "Black Swan" is not a lesbian movie. A paranoid thriller set in the ballet world (which makes it of interest to some gay men, although it's even less gay than "Mao's Last Dancer," if that's possible), it's a mash-up of ''The Red Shoes," "The Turning Point" and "All about Eve," but with a twist.

Director Darren Aronofsky reverts to the over-the-top fantasies of his "Requiem for a Dream," but not being fueled by drugs they seem more grounded in reality. The openIng sequence, which rums out to be a dream, shows how melodramatic ballet can be, but the real drama takes place backstage, where overwrought emotions are overwritten larger.

In addition to getting a hislIionic workout, Natalie Portman became a ballerina to play Nina Sayers, who's been working all her life toward playing the Swan Queen in "Swan Lake." As company manager Thomas Leroy (Vincent cassel) explains, this means being both the virginal White Swan and her evil twin, the seductive Black Swan.

Thomas knows Nina, with her perfectionist tendencies, can play the White Swan, but questions whether she can give up control to bring spontaneity to the Black Swan.

She gets her chance when prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) is pushed into retirement and steps in front of a car - or is she pushed there too?

Soon Nina senses someone's shadow behind her: the new girl in the company, Lily (Kunis), "straight off the plane from San Francisco."

Nina lives with her mother (Barbara Hershey), who gave up her own dance career to raise her: Is mom a control freak or just trying to protect her fragile daughter, who has a tendency 10 mutilate herself?

Everyone has two sides, like the Swan Queen,

ONE FOR THE GIRLS

Top: 'I Love You Phillip Morris, 'based on the true life story of con man Steven Russell opens Dec. 17. Above: NalaJie Portman and MiJa KUllis shore some on-screen affectioll ill 'Black Swan', but the Ii/m itself is deceplively shy 011 lesbian content. (Top photo by Poai Perret; bot/om pharo by Niko Tavemise)

but one may be Nina's perception of them; or both may be. Is Thomas an evil seducer, or is he just trying to loosen her up? Is Lily ttying to be her friend or to sabotage her to steal her part?

The latter question leads 10 their lesbian erotic scene. Does it really happen or is it, as someone says, "some sort of lesby wet dream"? Either way it looks real to us, as does Nina's m asturbatus inte rruprus,

Aronofsky starts the movie in "Swan" drive and never takes his foot off the gas. The ambiguity will make it more interesting for some, frustrating for others, but no one will be bored.

Carrev's gay con man

There's no such ambiguity in "I Love You Phillip Morris." Jim Carrey has a sex scene 10 minutes in that will alert some people that they're in the wrong theater, and fro m then on there are countless CDAs (Cinematic Displays of Affection) and occasional sex, mostly between Carrey

and Ewan McGregor.

Based on real events, this is the story of a can man who falls in love. Lying being part of his nature, he can't be honest with anyone, including his love or, it turns out, the audience.

"Love's the reason I'm layin' here dyin'," Steven Russell (Carrey) tells us at the outset, narrating from a hospital bed. Adopted as a child, he grows up to become a r-espectable policeman, a churchgoer with a wife (Leslie Mann) and daughter.

He's always been gay, he tells us. A car wreck makes him decide to tell everyone else as well: "I'm gonna be a fag. A big fag." He moves to Miami where he soon has "two adorable pups and a boyfriend named Jimmy (ROdrigo Santoro)." II's there he discovers "Being gay is really expensive," and becomes a can man to supplement his income.

This eventually leads to a Texas prison, where Steven meets Phillip Morris (McGregor), a self-

described "blond-haired, blue-eyed queer." It's love at first sight and Steven arranges to get himself transferred to Phillip's cell.

Their life together is as romantic as it can be, given the surroundings, until Steven gets out and impersonates a lawyer to get Philip released. He lies his way into a job as chief financial officer of a medical management company, from whom he embezzles enough to let them live in grand style - until he gets caught.

There follow a seemingly endless parade of can jobs, suicide attempts, arrests, escapes, romantic interludes, wacky comedy and sobering drama - more than enough to quali.fy "I Love You Phillip Morris" as a gay date movie.

Longtime writing partners Glenn Ficarra and John Requa ("Bad Santa") are directing one of the ir scri pts for the first ti me. B ecaus e it doesn't open until Dec. 17 we can't tell you what we thought of it, but you'll want to see it for yourself anyway.

using VIRAMUNE gets you some things you can't get from a pilil-information, education, and inspiration.

Enroll now in the Vlife on TheraplM program, Whether you have been taking vremune" (nevi rapine) tablets/oral suspension together with your other HIV medicine for years, or just started, the Vlife on TheraplM program is an ongoing source of ideas and perspectives that may help you:

-Better understand HIV, and help you maintain yourVIRAMUNE care and treatment plan

-Learn how you may save up to $50 toward your monthly prescription co-pay for up to a year. Go to www.viramune.com for details

-Be inspired by people who lived through similar experiences and want to share them with you

VIRAMUNE used in combination HIV therapy helps to increase CD4+ cell counts (T-cells) and reduce HIV viral loads.

Receive a medication reminder when you enroll. *

It's a special top that fits on the cap of your medicine container that alerts you when it's time to take your medication.

*Limited quantities available.

Enroll today. Visiit www .. vlifeontherapy .. com/PROGRAMI

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vrrarnune (nevirapine)

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription

drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call1-800-FDA-1088.

tablets loral suspension

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Indication and Important Safety InformaUon VIRAMUNE is indicated for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV infection.

VIRAMUNE does not cure HIV or AIDS, and has not been shown to reduce the risk of passing H IV to others through sexual contact or blood contamination.

VIRAMUNE can cause severe Irver disease and skin reactions that can cause death. These reactions occu r most often during the fI rst 18 weeks of treatment, but can occur late[ Ask your healthcare provider about how to recognize symptoms of skin and liver problems.

Stop taking VI RAMUNE if you have any of these reactions. Do not restartVI R.A.MUN E if you experience any of these reactions. Call your hea~hcare provider immediately if you have any of these reactions.

VIRAMUNE is only for people diagnosed with HIV If you have not been diagnosed as HIV positive, then do not take VIRAMUNE.

Any patient can experience Irver problems with VIRAMUNE, but women and patients who have higher CD4 counts when they begin VIRAMUNE treatment have a greater risk. If you are a woman with CD4+ >250 cellslmm3, or a man with CD4+ >400 cells/mm3, you should not begin takingVIRAMUNE unless you and your doctor have decided that the benefit of doing so outweighs the risk. women, including pregnant women, with CD4+ cell counts >250 cellslmm3 are at the greatest risk.

COPYright ©2D10. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. (07/10) VR.74128CDNS·H

Do not take VIMMUNE if you have severe I iver problems.

The dose of VIRAMUNE for adults is one 200-mg tablet daily for the first 14 days, followed by one 2GO-mg tablet twice daily. VIRAMUNE is always taken with other anti-HIV medications. The 14-day lead-in period is important because it can help reduce your chances of getting a potentially serious skin rash. If you have a skin rash dun ng the first 14 days, immediate~ contact your doctor and do not increase your VIRAMUNE dose to twice a day. The total duration of the once daily lead-in dosing period should not exceed 28 days, at which point an alternative regimen may need to be started.

Other side effects that patients have experienced include nausea, fatigue, fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, alXlominal pain, and myalgia. Changes in body fat may occur in patients receiving antiretroviral therapy. Immune reconstitution syndrome has been reported in patients treated with combination AFN therapy.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www,tda.gov/medwatch or call1-800-FDA-1 088.

Please see Medication Guide for VIRAMUNE on the

following pages.

MEDIGATI,oN GUIDE

VIRAMUNE® (VIH~rah~munel (nevirapine) Tablets VIRAMUNE® (VIH~rah-mune) (nevirapine) Oral Suspension Read this Medication Guide before you start taking VJRAMUNE and each time you get a refill. There may be new information. This information does not take the place of talking to your doctor about your medical condition or treatment.

What is the most important information I should know about

VIRAMUNE? .

VIRAMUNEcan cause serious side effects. These include severe liver and skin problems Which can cause death. The risk of these problems is greatest during the first 18 weeks of treatment, but these problems can also happen at any time duri.ng treatment.

Severe liVer problems: Anyone who takes VIHAMUNE may get severe liver problems. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to liver failure and the need for a liver transplant, or death. You may get a rash if you have liver problems. People with higher risk of these problems include women or anyone with higher CD4+ cell counts when they begin VIRAMUNE treatment. Women with CD4+ cell counts higher than 250 ce.lls/mm3 at the start of treatment have the greatest risk for liver damage.

If you are a woman with CD4+ cell >250 cejs/mm' or a man with CD4+ cell >400 cells/mm3, you and your doctor will decide if VIRAMUNE is right for you.

People who have abnormal liver test results and peop.le with hepatitis B or C have a greater chance of getting liver problems and further increases in liver test results during treatment.

If you get any of the foUowing. symptoms of liver problems, stop ta.king VIRAMUNE and call your doctor right away:

• fever

" "flu-like" symptoms or you do not feel well

• dark (tea-colored) urine

• tiredness

• light-colored bowel movements (stools)

• nausea (feeling sick to your stomach)

• pain or tenderness on your right side below your ribs

• loss of appetite

• yellowing of your skin or whites of your eyes

Your doctor should see you and do blood tests often to check your liver function during the first 18 weeks of treatment with VIRAMUN E .. Vou should continue to have your liver checked regularly during your treatment with VI RAMUNE. It is important for you to keep all of your doctor appointments.

Severe rash and skin reactions: Skin rash is the most common side effect of VIRAMUN E. Most rashes happen in the first 6 weeks of taking VIRAMUNE. Rashes and skin reactions may be severe, life-threatening,. and in some people, may lead to death. If you get a rash with any of the following symptoms, stop using VIRAMUNE and call yom doctor right away:

• "flu-like" symptoms or you do not feel well

• blisters

• fever

• mouth sores

• muscle or joint aches

• swelling of your face

• red or inflamed eyes, like "pink eye" (conjunctivitis)

• tiredness

• swollen glands (enlarged lymph nodes)

• liver problems (see symptoms of liver problems above)

If your doctor tells you to stop treatment with VIRAMUNE because you have had the serious liver or skin problems described above, you should never take VIRAMUNE again.

These are not all the side effects of VIRAMUNE. See the section "What are the possible side effects of VIRAMUNE?" for more information.

What is VIRAMUNE?

VIRAMUNEis a medicine used to treat Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

VIRAMUNE is a type of anti-HIV medicine called a "non-nucleoside reverse transcriptaseinhibitor" (NNRTI) .. VIRAMUNE works by lowering the amount of HIV in your blood ("viral load"). You must take VIRAMUNE with other anti-HIV medicines. When you take VIRAMUNE with other anti-HIV mediclnes, VIRAMUNE can lower your viral load and increase the number of CD4+ cells ("T cells"). CD4+ cells are a type of immune helper cell in the blood .. VIRAMUNE may not have these effects in every person.

VIRAMUNE does not cure HIV or AIDS, and it is not known if it will help you live longer with HIV. People taking VIRAMUNE may still get infections common in people with HIV (opportunistic infections). It is very important that you stay under the care of your doctor.

Who should not take VIRAMUNE.?

Tell your doctor if you have or have had liver problems. Your doctor may tell you not to take VIRAMUNE if you have certain liver problems.

VIRAMUNE is only for people diagnosed with HIV.lf you have not been diagnosed as HIV positive, then do not take VIRAMUNE.

What should I tell my doctor before takingVIRAMUNE? Before you take VIRAMUNE, tell your doctor if you:

" have or have had hepatitis (inflammation of your liver) or problems with your liver. See "What is the most impo.rtantinformation I should know about VI RAMUNE?" and "Who should not take VIRAMUNE?"

" receive dialysis

" have skin problems, such as a rash

" are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if VIRAMUN E will harm your unborn baby.

Pregnancy Registry.: There is a pregnancy registry for women who take antiviral medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of the registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby .. Talk to your doctor about how you can take part in this registry.

" are breast-feeding or plan to breast-teed. VIRAMUNE can pass into

your breast milk and may harm your baby. It is also recommended that HIV-positive women should not breast-feed their babies, Do not breast-feed during treatment with VIRAMUNE. Talk to your doctor about the best way to feed your baby.

Tell your doctor and pharmacist about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements. VIRAMUNE may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how VIRAMUNE works .. Espec.ially tell your doctor if you take:

" St.John's Wort .. You should not take products containing St.John's Wort during treatment with VIRAMUNE because it can lower the amount of VIRAMUNE in your body.

" efavirenz (Sustiva®, Atripla®). Vou should not take efavirenz during treatment with VIRAMUNE. You may have an increased chance of side effects if this is taken together with VIRAMUNE.

" atazanavir (Reyataz®). You should not take atazanavir during treatment with VIRAMUNE.

" ltraconazole (SporanoX®). You should not take ltraconazole during treatment with VIRAMUNE.

" ketoconazo.le (Nizoral.®). You should not take ketoconazole during treatment with VIRAMUNE.

" rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®). You should not take rifampin during treatment with VIRAMUNE.

" Birth control pills. Birth control pills taken by mouth (oral contraceptives) and other hormone types of birth control may not work to prevent pregnancy if

you use them during VIRAMUNE treatment. Talk with your doctor about other types of birth control that you can use to prevent pregnancy during treatment with VIRAMUNE.

Also tell your doctor if you are taking the following drugs:

• clar.ithromycin (Biaxin®)

• fluconazole (Oiflucan®)

• methadone

• rifabutin (Mycobutin®)

Know the medicines you take .. Keep a list of them to show your doctor or pharmacist when you get a new medicine.

How should I take VIRAMUNE?

• Take VIRAMUNE exactly as your doctor tells you to take it.

• The dose of VIRAMUNE for children is based on their size and thus may not be the same as in adults.

• You may take VIRAMUNE with or without food.

• If you or your child takes VIRAMUNE suspension (liquid), shake it gently before use. Use an oral dosing syringe or dosing cup to measure the right dose. The oral dosing syringe and dosing cup are not provided with VIRAMUNE Suspension.

• After drinking the rneclclne, fill the dosing cup with water and drink it to make sure you get all the medicine. If the dose is less than 1. teaspoon (5 mL), use the syringe instead of the dosing cup.

• Do not change your dose unless your doctor tells you to.

• Your doctor should start you with one dose each day to lower your chance of getting a serious rash. It is important that you only take one dose of VIHAMUNE each day for the first 14 days.

• Call your doctor r.ight away if you get a skin rash during the first 14 days of VIRAMUNE treatment and do not increase your dose to 2 times a day.

• You should never take your starting dose (200 mg one time each day) for longer than 28 days. If after 28 days you are still receiving this starting dose because you have a rash, you and your doctor should discuss replaciing VIHAMUNE with another HIV medicine. Never increase your dose to 2 times a day if you have a rash.

• Do not miss a dose of VIRAMUNE, because this could make HIV harder to treat. If you miss a dose of VIRAMUNE, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, do not take the missed dose, just take the next dose at your reg ular time.

• lt you stop faking VIRAMUNE for more than 7 days, ask your doctor how much to take before you start taking it again. You may need to start with one time each day dosing again.

·If you take too much VIRAMUNE, call your local poison control center or

emergency room right away.

What are the possible side effects of VIRAMUNE.? VIRAMUNE may cause serious side effects.

• See "What is the most important .informalionl should know about VIRAMUNE?"

• Other common side effects of VIRAMUNE. include nausea, fati.gue, fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and muscle pain.

• Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV medicines. Your immune system

may get stronger and beg'in to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your doctor if you start having new symptoms after starting your HIV medicine.

• Changes in body fat can happen in some people who take antiretroviral therapy.

These changes may include increased amount ottat in the upper back and neck ("buffalo hump"), breast, and around the middle of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from your Jegs, arms, and face can also happen. The cause and lonq-terrn health effects of these problems are not known at this time.

Tell your doctor if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

These are not all the possible side effects of VIRAMUNE. For more information, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA atl-800-FD.A.-l 088.

How should I store VIRAMUNE.?

• Store VIRAMUNE at 59° to 86°F (15° to 30°C).

• Throwaway VIRAMUNE that is no longer needed or out-ot-date,

Keep VIRAMUNE and all medicines out of the reach of children. General information about VIRAMUNE

Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Med:lcation Guide. Do not use VIRAMUNE for a condition for which It was not prescribed'. Do not give VIRAMUNE to other people, even if they have the same condition you have. It may harm them.

This Medication Guide summarizes the most important information about VIRAMUNE .. If you would like more information, talk with your doctor. You can ask your pharmacist or doctor for information about VIRAMUNE that is written for health professionals.

For more information, can Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., at 1-800-542-6257,. or (TTY) 1-800-459-9906.

What are the ingredients in VIRAMUNE?

Activelngred ient: nevirapine

Inactive ingredients:

Viramune Tablets: microcrystalline cellulose, lactose monohydrate, povidone, sodium starch glycolate, colloidal silicon dioxide,. and magnesium stearate

Viramune Oral Suspension; carbomer 934P,. methylparaben, propylparaben, sorbitol, sucrose, polysorbate 80, sodium hydroxide, and purified water

Distributed by:

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Ridgefield, CT 06877 USA

Rev: June 2010

This MedIcation Guide has been app.roved by the US Food and Drug Administration

Atripla, Reyataz, and Sustiva are trademarks of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Biaxin is a trademark of Abbott Laboratories. Diflucan is a trademark of Pfizer Inc .. Mycobutin is a trademark ot Pharmacia & Upjohn Company. Nizoral and, Sporanox are trademarks of Janssen Pharmaceutica. Rifadln, Rltamate, and Ritater are trademarks of Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

©Copyri.ght 2010 Boehringerlngelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

0T1801 LE191 0

0T1803D

090340228/5

10003354/06

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.

~ Boehringer ~IIIIIV Ingelheirn

O\RES

F~UNDATION

~iIiod~~

~) Partnership for

.... Prestripti en As.Ii'itln<e

www.viramune.com

m. GA Voice \ December 10,2010 \ A&E

Jim Farmer

www.theGAVoicecom

omo humor for • he hor days

You can't get much gayer than Leslie Jordan's 'Deck Them Halls, Yall'

Funny man Leslie Jordan is a popular fixture wherever he performs, but his brand of humor hits home particularly in the South. He returns to Atlanta this weekend with his new holiday show, "Deck Them Halls, Y'all!"

The work is a complete departure for the openly gay performer - and the best thing he has ever written, he admits. He was supposed to perform. in London over the holiday season but instead will be there in February. With a few free months, his booker asked him to write something about growing up in the South. Jordan agreed, but his one stipulation is that he did not want to write about himself, feeling like he had exha us ted all tha t material,

"In "Deck the Halls, Y'all!" he brings three original characters to life - "three generations of white trash," Jordan quips.

One is a stripper named Mee-Maw, trying to win a trip to Vegas. Her daughter is a transgendered lesbian who is practicing to enter the Christmas Drag King Competition at a gay bar. She was raped at an early age and fathered a young boy, Ronnie Lee Posey.

Ronnie Lee has "potential," says Jordan, and refuses to get out of a Chtisonaschoir robe. There is song and dance and complete drag from the actor in the production, along with wigs and Velcro, Jordan warns.

Jordan had been on the scene for years but hit big with Del Shores' "Sordid Lives" (where he starred as Brother Boy) and with his recurring role in 'Wi.]] and Grace," for which he fe" ceived an Emmy award,

Coming to Atlanta is always a pleasure for Jordan, since he lived here in the '70s. His last show here, "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet," was well received and the actor took it off-Broadway.

Jordan actually considered trying to get on "Dancing With the Stars" earlier this year and encouraged his fans to lobby for him, but is

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now glad it did not pan out,

"That show is for has-beens who need the publidty to kick star! their careers," he says. "It gives you fame but hurts you in the industry. The director of the movie I JUSt did told me that I was 100 gootl of an actor to do that, and that if I had done the show, he would not have hired me."

That film ~ titled "The Help" ~ features an all-star cast including Sissy Spacek, Emma Stone, Viola Davis and AlLison Janney and is directed by Tate Taylor, who appeared in the TV version of "Sordid Lives." Jordan will also be seen next year in "Mangus!" with Jennifer Coolidge and John Waters.

The actor will be particularly busy at the beginning of 2011. His London gig is in a bigger venue than he imagined, the Apollo Theatre, sandwiched between a. Michael Jacksoru''Thriller' event and a stage version of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."

"I'm like Madonna over there," Jordan quips. He will then do a show on Broadway called "Lucky Guy" with Varla Jean Melman.

"Not one soul has asked me if 1 can sLng," he laughs,

Jordan is is glad to be back in Atlanta ..

"I can go to Chicago and say I was baptised 14 times and get no reaction, but people down here get it."

Jacob Gallman, REALTOR- 404-874-6357 jgalhnan@14west. com www.jacohgalhnan.com

A stripper, a trallsgendered lesbian and a young boy wllo /lever wants CO faKe off hi~ choi: robe make up tile over-the-top cost of Leslie Jordan'S new holiday show. (photo courtesy Jordan)

'Spectacular'skating

A number of skaters, including openly gay Michael Chack, are featured in ''The Holiday Ice Spectacular," opening in town next week. Chack calls the production a holiday show with a twist, with something for everyone ~ complete with skating (including a line dance), comedy, elves, and a 12~minute version of "The Nutcracker."

Chack is the principal male soloist. He orlginared the role two years ago in Reno. After skipping last year he came back for this road version, the first outside of Reno.

He began skating at the age of five and was a U.S. national bronze medalist, Alter retlr-

ing in 1999, Chack moved into teaching and choreography,

One obvious example was American skater Evan Lysacek, who won gold at the most recent Olympic Games. He's not a. fan of the flamboyant style of skater; a la Johnny Weir, he says.

He recognizes that it's not easy for a professional skater to be out while competing.

"In the sport, few skaters want to talk about their personal life," Chack says. "Figure skattng is All-American, an apple pie kind of sport, something that kids want to watch and get into. I think there is an underlying idea that people can sense you are gay, but people don't want to know that you are gay."

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IV) GA Voice \ Decem ber 10. 2010 \ A&E

www.theGAVoice.com

l:lI!ll$" by Terri Schlichenmeyer

AI t 'U·· b 'bl L· bmess'

._mos n earae_lg__ ness

Portia de Rossi's memoir aches with pain, but ends with Ellen and self-acceptance

There's a fine line between "want" and "need."

You didn't need another holiday cookie, chocolate-dipped goodie, or brownie hiding beneath powdered sugar. And definitely, you didn't need the calories.

But oh, you wanted them. So imagine denying yourself those and almost all other foods. Imagine living on 300 calories a day, then read "Unbearable Lightness" by Portia de Rossi.

Young Amanda Rogers always wanted to be "special." She was a smart kid and aspired to become a lawyer in her native Australia, until the modeling bug bit her and she quickly decided that the runway was the way to run.

She convinced her mother to drive her to an interview, and she convinced executives that, at age 12, she could handle me world of high fashion. Though she felt uncomfortable and self-conscious about perceived body flaws as compared with adler models, she persevered. She changed her name to Portia de Rossi and worked part-

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time while attending school.

Later, when given the chance to be in a movie, de Rossi was surprised that she loved acting but wasn't confident about her beauty. She iliought her face was too round, her cheeks too fat, her thighs too chubby. Her weight yo-yoed, Wardrobe tailors on the "Ally McBeal" set, where de Rossi played Nell Porter, were kept busy with alterations.

De Rossi was mortified.

Another secret

But that wasn't her only source of personal loathing, Portia de Rossi had always known that she was gay, but it wasn't discussed. She marned, but me union ended when he learned the truth at couple's therapy Co-workers weren't told because de Rossi feared for her job. She denied her feelings and lived in terror of being outed, although she eventually comes to terms

Aorsss Portia de Rossi starved herselfro fie in in Hollywood Of the same time she struggled wirh her sexual onentation. Her compelling memoir weaves (he (wo rogether in a cathartic tale of :;elf discovery .. (Pllo1O vill Fllcebook)

with her sexual orientation and is now married to talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres.

Embarking on a nutnnontst-recornmended low-calorie die! didn't quell me diet demon in de Rossi's mind, so she went on a program all her own. She meticulously weighed each ounce of food, fretted over "hidden calories," and obsessively avoided anything that might add one single calorie to her daily intake.

Of the day she hit 82 pounds, she said that celebration was in order but, "first I had to silence the drill sergeant that reminded me of mat extra inch of fat. First I had to get rid of mat."

As with many memoirs like "Unbearable Lightness," I had two very dissimilar feelings

while reading.

First, this book reeks with pain. De Rossi is very dear about the bruising thoughts and negati vity that she felt in hiding so many personal aspects of her life, and though this book has a makeyou-grin, wonderfully happy ending, getting there hurts, Whidlleads me to me second issue ...

This book buns to read not just because of the pain de Rossi relays, but because it can be slow. In the end, de Rossi's pantry held a paltry handful of items, for instance, and that fact was hammered home Ln many ways, many times.

Still, if you've ever lived too long with a secret that ale you alive, read this, You won't just want "Unbearable Lighmess," you need it.

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A&E / December 10, 2010 / GA Voice ID

'Mi~i(" by Laura Douglas-Brown

,

After almost five decades. smqer-sonqwriter Janis Ian continues to challenge

Janis Ian was only 15 when her first hit thrust her not only into fame, but controversy.

"Society's Child" tackled interracial romance, coming out right in the middle of the turbulent 19605.

"People got crazy. A radio station in Atlanta dared to put 'Sodety's Child' in

rotation, and someone burned the station down," Ian recalls in her 2008 autobiography, also titled "Society'S Child."

"Strangers walked up to me in restaurants and spit in my food .... The mail I got spanned the gap between heaven and hell; one letter would thank me for bravely speaking out, the next would have razor blades taped to the envelope so I'd shred my fingers opening it," Ian writes.

B lit the talented singersongwriter never backed down from difficult topics, from takmg on stereotypes of female beauty in her 1975 Grammy-nominated hit "At Seventeen," to coming out about being a lesbian with the release of her 1992 comeback album, "Breaking Silence."

"That's the great thing about music and art.

It cuts through those barriers, and doesn't recognize gender or race," Ian says in an interview from Nashville, where she Jives with her wife. "That's the beauty of it, and that'S what makes it so wonderfully seditious. That's what makes people want to ban it."

Currently on tour, Ian visits Atlanta for a Dec. 19 show at Eddie's Attic which will be her last of 2010.

"I'm going to be doing 'At 17' and 'Jesse' and 'Society's Child,' and it's the last show of the year, so I plan to have a good time," Ian says. "People should know that I stay after shows to meet people and sign things, so if they want to bring their stuff, that would be great."

A masterful guitarist with. a unique voice and forceful lyrics, Ian's stage presence belies her tiny frame. And in a career that has touched five decades, she continues to challenge herself - taking on new genres and art forms.

Her early fame landed her not only controversy, but tremendous success. Still, at the young age of 18, Ian, already a veteran, took

rea

g Silence'

Janis 1<m ~rst sparked con!rOver..y as a ceen Ivith her song above interracial low, and came out with [he release of her 1992 comeback album, 'Breaking Silence. '(photos by Peter Cunnillgham)

her first break from performing, three years in which she focused on songwritlng.ln 1983, she took nine years off - studying acting, but also facing the turmoil of marriage, divorce, and losing most of her money to what she describes as "an unscrupulous business manager."

Since her return to the music scene in 1992, Ian has continued to tour and perform, and also take on new artistic projects, including her autobiography and several published science fiction short stories.

''TIl I' shows are great," Ian says. "I hate the business part, I hate the travel, I hate not being home, bur I love interacting with the audience. No matter how many records you make, there's no thing like singing live."

'Love, life. marriage, politics'

Ian's songwriting has always tackled the political along with tile personal. And while much has changed in the last SO years, the overall themes remain constant, she says.

"It's the same: love, Ufe, marriage, politics," Ian says. Politically, "it's sad thar it doesn't change that much," she continues, but adds, "I think it is a huge kudo to America that we elected a black president."

Still, "I think it is unfortunate there is so much screaming now, because it is really hard to hear when you are screaming," Ian says.

"For a long time our country has been running 011 divisiveness, and that is hard."

That divisiveness includes the current battles over gay marriage, which Ian, who married her wife in Canada in 2003,. finds "embarrassing."

"It's a bit ridiculous that the United States doesn't recognize us," she says. "How do you explain that kind of stupidity? I don't know."

While she is described as coming out in 1992, Ian says she never hid her sexual orientation.

"I was always out to friends and family, so it wasn't as big of a shock as for someone who was completely closeted," she says. "1 never kept separate bedrooms or made any bones about it. It's a really different world now, for better or for worse, and I think mostly for me better."

And after all of her liie experiences, from facing down protestors 10 losing her life's earnings, Ian's advice to young lesbian and gay artists is the same as her advice to all artists: "Follow your heart and don't trust anyone."

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Janlslan

Su no ay, Oec. 19

Ooors open at 6:30 p.m, show at 7:30 p.m. Eddie·s Attic

515· B N. McOo nouQ h Rd. Oecatu r. GA 30030 www.eddiesattic.com

like m o

Pet Sitting

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oliday harmonies

Indigo Girls, Superions among holiday albums to make gay hearts glow

The B-S2s never put out a hollday record and that's a shame. But fear not, out B-S2s front man Fred Schneider has teamed up with Noah Brodie and DaJ1 Marshall to form The Superions and release "Destination. __ Christmas!" (Fanatic). Even without Kate Pierson or Cindy Wilson, "Destination .... Christmas!" sounds like it could be a lost 8-525 record, in (Christmas) spirit, at least.

The 11 new songs, with tides such as "Christmas Conga (Jungle Bells)," "Crummy Christmas Tree," "Jingle Those Bells," "Laughter At Christmas" and "Christmas Tears," have the kind of kooky lyrics we've come to expect from Schneider. There are also plenty of opportunities for dancing on "Santa's Disco" (as you might have guessed), ''Fruitcake,'' "Santa Je T'ainle" and the Cerrone-like "Teddy and Betty Yeti."

Schneider isn't the only out Georgia musician making the most of the holiday season. Amy Ray and Emily Sailers of Indigo Girls wrap up a dozen songs on their first holiday disc "Holly Happy Days" (IG Recordings! Vanguar-d). Originals such as the bouncy banjo number "The Wonder Song," the yearning "Mistletoe," and the inclusive "Your Holiday Song" are welcome additions to the Christmas music songbook.

Their distinctive interpretations of standards such as "Oh Holy Night," "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Angels We Have Heard On High," as well as out singer/songwriter Chely Wright's "It Really Is A Wonderful Life" and Beth Nie.lsen Chapman's "There's Sdll My Joy," are glorious, while the inclusion of Woody Guthrie's "Happy Joyous Hanukkah" is a delight.

Annie Lennox: 'A Christmas Cornucopia'

One listen to Annie Lennox's beautiful and abundant "A Christmas Cornucopia" (Decca) and you will wonder why she hasn't recorded an album such as this before. After all, she was born on Dec. 25. The dozen songs range from the well-known selecnons including "The First Noel ," "In the Bleak Midwinter" and "Silent Night" to less familiar fare such as "As Joseph Was a Walking," "See Amid the Winter's Snow" and "Angels From the Realms of Glory." Lennox doses the disc with the original composition ''U niversal Child," a powerful number with a message that extends beyond the holiday season.

Shelby Lynne: 'Merry Christmas!'

Shelby Lynne tosses her Santa hat into the ring with "Meny Christmas!" (Everso! Fontana). Like the Indigo Girls, Lynne combines her renditions of classics of the season, including a "Sleigh RidelWinter Wonderland" medley, "Christmas Time Is Here," "0 Holy Night," ''White Christmas,""Silent Night" and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," with her own compositions. "Ain't Nothing Like Christmas" is a celebratory song of the season, while "Xmas" reminds us of Lynne's way with heartbreak, even daring the holidays.

giving the song a timelessness. The same goes for George Michael's ''Last Chlistmas" and even Mariah Carey's "Alll Want For Christmas." As for familiar favorites such as "Santa Baby," "Let It Snow" and the ukulele-driven "Mele KaIikirnaka," they are given the respectful treatment one would expect from the Puppinis,

Ronnie Spector: 'Best Christm.as Ever'

A new cause for celebration, "Best Christmas Ever" (Bad Girls Sounds) marks ROnnie Spector's return to holiday music. From the inclusive "It's The Time (Happy Holidays) to the buoyant ''My Christmas Wish" 10 the radiant ''Light One Candle" and the retro "Best Christmas Ever;" this Is one Chrtstmas gift you won't want to return.

TIle Puppini Sisters:

'Chrisnnas With The Puppini Sisters'

The Puppini Sisters sound Iike they were born 10 sing holiday songs.They put Elton John's "Step Into Christmas" into their personal time machine on "Christmas Widl The Puppini Sisters" (VeJVe),

Canadian Tenors: 'The Perfect Gift'

The Canadian Tenors give "The Perfect Gift" (Decca) an especially Canadian fla-

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Lei: Noah Brodie, B-52s iroronon Fred Schneider and Dan Marshall are the Superians, with a decid" edly kooky toke 011 Christmas. (Pharo by Coit/in Sullivan, via Focebook) Above: Indigo Girls Emily Saliers and Amy Ray offer tile radiant 'Holly Happy Days,' a compellillg collection af new songs and beloved classics. (Publicity photo)

vor, The vocal quartet teams up with felJow country-person Sarah McLachlan on her "Wlnrersong," for example, and also perform "Huron Carol," written by Canadian Jesuit Jean de Brebeuf, as well as two co-written by Stephan Moccio (the title tune and "Instrument of Peace"). In an unusual twist, the Tenors extend the Canadian connection to include Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (complete with bagpipesl),

Celtic Thunder: 'Chrlstmas'

Celtic Thunder keeps the thunder to a minimum on their holiday disc "Christmas" (Decca). They do, however, perform new or lesser-known songs such as "Christmas 1915," "Going Home For Christmas," "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" and "Our First Christmas Together," which serve to enhance the familiarity factor on the rest of the disc.

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CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAY SEASON IN A RANGE ROVERI

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izza Baccanal

Varasano's earns reputation among America's best pizzerias

My partner and I recently went to the Atlanta Executive Network meeting at Varasanc's on Peachtree Street. AEN is the oldest local LGBT business networking group. Varasano's is consisrently rated as one of Atlanta's top pizza places. In fact Raehael Ray named Varasano's one of the elite eight pizzerias in America.

The buzz was huge before owner Jeff Varn· sano's restaurant even opened. I sat and talked with him for a while. He started as a software engLneer with an obsession for superlative pizza, He wrote blogs and had weekly pizza parties that gained a cult following. Finally be took the plunge and opened Varasano's,

I've read many controversial things about Jeff in numerous food reviews and blogs, but I'm just going to report what happened that night. He was warm and personable to everyone at our AEN meeting. He hand-delivered our pizzas and talked with many attendees. He worked the group like a pro, and he even made special custom pies that he himself liked. In short, Jeff

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Varasano's Pizzeria 2171 Pea en tree Road N E Atlanta. GA 30309 404-352"8216

w w.wva ras a nos.com

was a charming consummate host. I also want to give a shout to Candace and Jeff's supporting staff. You will be in good hands when you visit tills friend of the LGBT community.

The decor was cool New York chic: minimalist design, dean curves and lots of trendy low-hanging pendant lights with glowing zig-zag filaments. The sexy bar has a large angelic mural straight from a bottle of chianti. Toward the end of Varasano's you'll seethe large, open stone kitchen with the high-tech, htgh-remperamre ovens.

How was the fare? Absolutely delicious. We started with off the menu bruschetta - crispy, scratch-made bread crust with tomatoes and garlic. And then came the feast. I literally tried almost everything on the menu and was happily overwhelmed after a couple of hours.

One of my favorites was the Chica Bella and

The savory pies al \<Jrosonos rake pizza to a whole nelv level of culinary sopllistication. (Publicity pilato)

she was a pretty Ii ttle lady. First Jeff takes his artisanal scratch crust, topped wi.th high quality mozzarella and ricotta, baked at an extremely high temperature so the crust is charred crispy and the cheese is melted and gooey. Then the whole rich pie is topped with fresh, snappy arugula laced with lemon juice so you have a juxtaposition of rich cheese and crisp greens - addictive.

I was really looking forward to trying the white New Haven Clam pie; Jeff and his staff's handmade crust topped with sweet New Haven Clams white garlic sauce. Next carne the Fontina with gourmet mushrooms, followed by the rich decadent Salumi. The Salumi was over the top. It was like going to a fine Italian deli and putting hand-crafted meats in a blazing hot oven so the fat renders out like bacon on a hot skillet, leaving

crispy, rich complex flavor.

I had to uy the classic Margherita di Bufala; the classic cheese pizza with scratch red sauce and bufala mozzarella. What is bufala mozzarella? It's made from the milk of a Water Buffalo. Did I mention this is not your standard pizza place? Then Jeff sent out his desert pie dressed with Medjool Dates & Fontina dressed with Honey and Walnuts. I was spent.

How much would this experience cost? Not that much. You can get one of Jeff's pies from $12·15, big enough for two, and two glasses of Parados Malbec (a soft fruity complex red 'vine) and spend a little over $30 for two.

Jeff and his staff craft savory pizza. They are passionate about their product and genuinely care about the end result. It's Fierce with a capital F.

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IQluHlt\ by Sher Pruitt

Holiday Ball

The Atlanta Holiday Ball returned Dec. 3 after a hiatus in 2009. This year's event was a Good Friends for Good Causes gala hosted by Atlanta Womens Business Network and Benefiting Circle of Sisters and Atlanta Lesbian Health lnitiative.

The Druid Hills Country Club played host to the Holiday Ball, which saw more than 100 attendees. DJ Vicki Powell provided the beats.

m GA Voice\ December 10, 2010

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"High-spirited fun."

M Los Angeles Times

Plush beds. Flat screen TVs. Manicures. Spa treatments. Homemade holiday meals. Ice cream before bed,

It makes you wonder who's really on vacation.

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IQluHlt\ by Dyana Bagby

Toy Pary

Toy Party, held Dec. 5 at AmericasMart3, drew hundreds of LGBT Atlantans for the communlty's largest seasonal gathering. Clad in festive attire, attendees got to eat, drink and be merry for a good cause - admission to the gala was a toy or gift card worth $20 or more, and the inspiring row of gifts grew to a mountain by evening's end.

For the Kid in All of Us, established by gay volunteers to help children in need, founded Toy Party in 2003. Prior to this year's event, Toy Party had distributed 27,000 toys and gift cards, More than 20 beneficiaries will be receive the lays.

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Community I December 10, 2010 I GA Voice 4fFJ

COM

NllY LOCAL L FE

Celebrating a MILESTONE? Share your enqage· ments. weddings. births. adoptions. anniversaries.

bi rth days and other events! Ann Dun ce m en Is ca n be up to .200 words and can include a photo, E·mail edilof@ thegavoice,com with your milestone and contact info to see you r na me in print!

ARTvision makes Positive .mpact . n At anta

Online art sale raises funds to help people affected by HIV

By Tristan Skye

Derived from the inspirationaJ mind of founder Will Pollock, ARTvision launched in 2006 in honor of his late aunt, Betsy Weedon. A philanthropic leader in San Francisco's Bay Area for more than 40 years, Wheedon lost her fight with cancer in April 2006.

"I started ARTvision at a particularly challenging point in my life. I wanted to do something to give back after seeing great showings of generosity to me (gifts of wine, mostly) at my annual New Year's Eve party," Pollock says. "1 wanted to channel that positive energy into something bigger and better."

ARTvision -"Artists Reaching Through" - is a yearly fundraiser which consists of an online art show lasting the duration of December with a New Year's Eve grand finale hosted by the founder.

In its first year, a few artists came together and raised around $1,500 for the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, a favorite of Aunt Betsy.

The following year, nearly $3,000 was raised to help support. the AIDS Survival Project.

In 2008, ARTvision organizers selected Positive Impact as recipient of the funds and has kept the agency as their sole beneficiary.

Positive Impact, founded in 1992, provides mental health care and other services fur those impacted by HIV. The agency helped serve 135 clients in 1993; in 2010, it will help serve more than 3,900. This organization is the only one of its kind in the United States.

"Positive Impact represents some of the best of Atlanta's HIV support services," Pollack says. "This is clearly evident in tile enthusiasm of ARTvision's artists who have generously donated their talent, and buyers who have returned that gesture with considerable generosity of their own. I'm proud of the great work we've done together and all that's to follow in the future."

Five years later and still running strong, ARTvision has raised nearly $15,000 in charitable funds and 100 percent of that has been given as donations.

"I'm deeply proud and humbled by the gen-

erosity of our artists, who give of their talent with the sale purpose of raising money and giving back," Pollock says.

Diverse vision

Pollock expects to "notch past" the $20,000 mark this year since they have already earned more than $1,000 in preview sales before the art show went officially live on Dec. 1, marking World AIDS Day.

The two pieces sold prior to the ARTvision website going live included ''Watching, Dreaming,. Waiting" by Brenda Knosher and 'Watch Out for Those Spurs!" painted by Pollock's mother and Aunt Betsy's sister, Mary Pollock.

The featured art in 2010 is a diverse collection including photography, paintings, mixedmedia, music, books, pottery and other gifts.

The headline piece for ARTvision this year is "In the Moment" by Delia Cochran. Many other renowned artists have contributed their work; even Pollock himself has his piece "Teal Treasure" up for grabs.

Pollock will again open his home on New Year's Eve for his annual ARTVision & Gourmet Pizza Extravaganza, an opportunity for buyers to see the an in person.

Donations are the vital force to help keep this important project alive. For every $100 ARTvision receives, Positive Impact is able to

.ARTvision founder Will Pollock contributed the piece 'Teal Dream' (top left) to this year S arc sa/e. ARTvision offiCially launced Dec. 1 to coincide with World AIDS Day and continues online throughout the month. Borrom left to righr.· 'In the Moment' and 'Journey In' by Delia Cochran are a/so included in the {undraiser. (photos courtesy Pol.lock)

I~n)illml'~ www.theGAVoice.com

ARTvision 5: 'XL: Style & Substance' om i ne t hrouQ h Dec. 31 www.artvisionatl.or9

twitter.com/a rlvi sl on a II

provide three hours of menta] health counseling for individuals affected by HIV.

'1t is wonderful to have such a committed partnership with Will Pollock and the amazing artists that he brings together," adds Michael Baker, Positive Impact director of advancement.

''Will's aunt would be so proud of the positive impact he is making in our community. r am personally thankful to every artist, to every donor and to our friend Will for the support year after year," Baker says. "Every agency needs events to raise those crucial 'unencumbered' funds, and ARTvision is one of my favori.te events to do JUSt that year after year."

A live show, "ARTvision Live: In Person & Out Loud", which celebrates five years of the event, is currently in the works with a tentative timeline of July 2011.

"We have had difficulty finding an appropriate venue," Pollock says. ''We have lots of willing participants, from comedians to musicians to local public figures, but no home yet,"

• GA Voice \ December 10. 2010 \ Community

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NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT

Joining Hearts has a 'Wish List'

When you hear the words Joining Hearts, the image most likely to pop up in your head is hundreds of people in bathing suits, standing around the Piedmont Park pool enjoying cocktails, as booming beats thunder in the background - all to raise thousands of dollars for AID Atlanta and Jerusalem House.

But Joining Hearts also holds events throughout the year to mise funds for these organizations, as well as its annual WIsh List holiday party where guests bring toys for the children at Jerusalem House and gift cards for youths who are part of the teen program at AID Atlanta.

A wish list for the WISh List party is set up at Target Stores and available online, said Patrick McCuUey, board member of Joining Hearts. ''We're not as well known for these," McCulley says of the WISh List party.

It is always scheduled the week after Toy Parry, an event organized by For the Kid in All of Us that attracts thousands of people each year and collects toys for more than 20 agencies,

The annual WIsh List private party is belng

Joining Hearts Wish List After Party S un day, Dec. 12, 8·11 p. m.

Amsterdam

502 Amsterd am Ave. N E Alia nta. GA 30006 www.joininghearts.orq

held Dec. 12 at the home of Tommy Brendiar, an original founder of Joining Hearts some 24 years ago. Thls year, however, ihe Joining Hearts board wanted to open the party up to even more people and is hosting a WiSh List After Parry at Amsterdam with DJ Mike Pope.

''We thought, 'Let's do something additional this year,'" McCulley said. "People are invited and can bring a toy or a gift card but really we just want people to come out and join us."

Joining Hearts was founded by a group of friends in the mid-1980s to raise funds for people with HIV/AIDS. Since then, the organization has grown with its mission now to raise funds for

BSINESS SPOTL GHT

Known {or its onnuol summer party, Joining Hearts also holds a 'Wish Lisr' party each year to go/her rays for children at Jerusalem House and AID A/IonIa. (pholo courtesy Joining Hearts)

housing for people with HlV/AIDS. To date, the organization has raised more than $1 million for AID Atlanta and Jerusalem House.

- Dyana Bagby

W3 Lifestyle seeks the best of the best for apartment 'renters

When David Wolfe launched W3 Life- IMrlaiWil"

style in December 2009, he had one major 1llli1iM"'IMI~L ------:

goal - help apartment renters find the best place live.

"Our goal is that once a property gets a W3 designation, their renters won't want to leave," says Wolfe, who is gay.

With Atlanta being a transient dty and people moving here an the time, there was a gap in how newcomers could find a place to live that offers a hi gh quality 0 f life, he explains.

Wolfe and his staff review properties continuously, seeking the best of the best. And he says they don't hand out their "Best of the Best" designations easily - in the Atlanta market, for example, there are approximately 1,500 apartment complexes, Wolfe says.

"Only 300 of them will be privileged enough to call themselves W3 Lifestyle com-

W 3 lifestyle www.thew3.lifestyle.com

munities with our Best of The Best designation," he says.

And Wolfe and his team review the complexes monthly as well- this year VI3 lifestyle revoked 37 of its designations.

As part of its services. W3 Lifestyle also puts on events at complexes, at no cost to the property owners or renters, such as meet and greets, pool parttes or movie nights to try to enhance the residents' lives.

VI3 Lifestyle also puts out "minizines" online for each property it has designated .. The P obllcanons go to the renters and lncl ude artides about that particular property as well as articles

about health, wellness and a calendar of events.

When Wolfe began W3 last year, he had no intention of moving out of Georgia. Now his company offers the same designation services in cities in Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas.

"We are about supporting the residents." he says.

And the name W3?

"It originally came from myself, my partner and our daugbrer," Wolfe says.

But it's also about outreach to businesses, assisting properties and renters - three rings that provide a circle of opponunity, WaifI' says.

- Dyana Bagby

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December 10, 2010 I GA Voice m

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BEST BETS 12 09

SPOTLIGHT'

Tayl.or Dayne performs live al Jungle with OJ producer Oren. Nizri al Jungle, 2115 r a u I kner Rd., At lama GA 30324, www.jungleclubatlanta.com

Backstage at MIXX features an appearance by Rodiney of LOGO's "The A"List" with DJJoshua Bula. B·9 p.m (VIP entry: re ce ive d r.i n k tic ket); 9 p om. '12:30 a m. visit with Rodiney, MIXX Atlanta, 1492 Piedmont Ave. 'NE, Atlanta, GA 404-228- 4372 www.calibermodels.com

Alia nla music ia n Son iaLe i gh takes the stag e in Marietta .. 8 p m. at Dixie Tavern, 2319 Windy Hill Rd. Sf, Marietta, GA 30067, www.dixietavern.com

ONGOING

Jon atha n larson's hit mus ical sensa I ion' Rent' ru ns

I h ro ugh Oec. 22 at f abref acti 0 n Th ea I re Compa ny, 999 Brady Ave., Atla nta GA 30318, www.fabrefaction.erg

'Every Christmas Story Ever Told' runs through Dec. 23 at Actor's Express, 887 W_ Marietta St, Atla nte, GA 30318, www.actorsexpress.com

'The Santaland Diaries: based on the writings of gay humori st David Se d'a ri s. ru n s thro ugh Jan. 2 at H or i zon Ih eaIre, 1.083 Au st in Ave., Alia n ta, GA 30307, www.horizontheatre.com

Thursday, Dec. 9 ... Sunday, Dec. 12

The Design Is Show House benefits CHRIS Kids, with lour luxury apartments that will be decorated as a "Gallery of Rooms"by 12 of Atlanta's most talented interior designers. Includes special dessert tastincs from Midtown's favorite spots and unan· ncunced visits by local performers throughout the weekend_ 811 Piedmont Ave_ NE Atlanta, GA 30308., www.designismagazine.com

Friday, Dec. 10

'Joy!' f ea tu ring gay a rtlst Jon Arge ope ns a IKa i li n Gallery. 7 . 10 p.m., 800 Peac h I ree S L Atlanta, GA 30308, www.kailinart.com

Homegrown Atlanta duo IndiCjo Girls showcase their first"ever holiday album. "HoHy Happy Days," with a special concert with Shawn Mullins and Chery Wr.ight, the country singer who made headlines when she came out earlier this year. 8 prn at The Tabernacle, 152luckie s, Atlanta, GA. 30303, www.livenation.com.indigogirls.com

Guitarist Peter White leads a merry evening of smooth holiday jazz with Rick Braun on trumpet and Mindi Abair on saxophone. 8 pm, al Fersl Center for the Arts al Georgia Tech, 349 Ferst Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30332, www.ferslcenler.g'atech.edu

Bedlam presents "WreckTheHalls," with MSR com"

p lete Iy transf orme d .i n to a wi n te r won d e rl a nd complete with snow blizzard, naughty versions 01 Santa and Ms. Claus. and Michael Giel play.ing the electric violin_l0 pm. at My Sisters' Room, 1271 Glenwood Ave .. Atlanta, GA 30316, www.mysistersroom.com

Friday, Dec. 10- Saturday, Dec. 11

The Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus presents "Holiday Lights," featuring the celebrated Atlanta Young Singers of Callanwolde and the world premiere of "Ring Out. Wild Bells" by American composer David

1223

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There are two ways to add your events 10 our online and prinl calendars. Submit your info to www.theGAVoice.com or e-mail details to editor@theGAVoice.com.

Sunday, Dec.. 12.

Noto rious fu n ny lady and "fagha g'" Margaret eho will brin g th e h ig h Iy

a nticipated"Cho DeJ)endent" tou r to A !lanla. Cho wrote her entir-e show while livinQ in Peachtree City filming the lifetime series, "Drop Deae! 0 iva." John Robe rts wi II g race I he stage

as her special guest. 8 prn at the Tabemacle,152 Luckie St. Atlanta., GA 30303, www.tabernacleatl.com

looking for more events? Visit our website for our extensive dailv calendar, inc luding nightlife. schedules and community oruanlzation rneetinqs, provide.d~by our frie.nds·at,ProjectoAtlanla.com.

Conte. 8 p.m. Friday and SaturdaY,.2 p.m. malinee on Saturday followed by free ice cream. social. The Ca· the d ra I of SI.. Ph il ip, 2744 Peachtree Road NW, Atl a nta GA 30305, www_agmchorus_org

Saturday, Dec. 11

The Big Gay Supper Club enjoys brunch. 12:30 - 3 prn at Parish Foods & Goods. 240 N_ Highland Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307, www.the;biggaysupperclub.com

The se cond ann u a I. Atla nta Sa nta Spee do .Ru n raises money for Camp Twin Lakes, a non·profil network of Georgia camps that offers year·round recreational, therapeutic, and educational programs for children and young adults. Runners begin at Manuel's and wind through Virginia Highland.1 pm at Manuel's, 602 'N Highland Ave. NE. Atlanta, GA 30307, www.atla ntass ntaspee d oru n .orq

Leslie Jordan hosts "Deck Them Halls V'all." Shows are restricted to ages 18 and up. VIP tickets

Saturday, Dec. 11

Roxie Watson is a five piece stri ng ba nd thai is claiming the new genre "elternagrass" at Eddie's Attic. Doors open

at 8 prn ... Show at 8:30 p.m .. 515'B N. McDonough Rd" Decatur, GA 30030, www.eddiesathc.com

www.theGAVoice.com

$75 includes mest-and-qreet with Jordan after the show. The Bue kh sa d Thea tre, 311 0 Rosl'I e II Road, Atlanta. GA 30305 wl'/w.thebuekheadthealre.com

"Dlscursl .... e Documents: Performing the Catalogue," presented. by the Museum of Contemporary Art Ga. is based on queer artist John O's "Memory Flash" event last spring. remembering Atlanta's LGBT history. The show includes artifacts from "Memory FI ash" and items co nt ri b u ted by othe rs. 10:30 a.m. - 5:30 pm, Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, 75 Bennett SI.. Atlanta, GA 30309, www.motaga.org

Writer, entrepreneur and yachtsman Scotty Cade comes to Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse to read from and sign copies of his debut novel

"Final E.ncore." 2. p.m., 991 Pi.edmont Ave .. Atlanta. GA 30309, www.outwritebooks_com

Mon Cherie's Club Fetisli "Night of Misfit Toys" at Heretic Atlanta .. 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta, GA 30324. www.hereticatlanta.com

Jasmine Antoinette and the Iced Out Femme Show turn MSR into a winter wonderland. 10 p.m. at My Sisters' Roo m 1271 GI e nwood Ave .. , Atlanta. GA 30316.www_mysistersroom.com

Sunday, Dec. 12

Joining Hearts Wish List After Party is an evening of tun benefiting the children of Jerusalem House and Ihe AI D Atlanta Teen Program. DJ Mike Pope spins Irom 8-10 prn A $20 gill card or toy valued at $20 or more suggested. Amsterdam Atlanta, 502 A Amsterdam. Atlanta, GA www.joininghearts.org

Tuesday, Dec. 14

The Atlanta' lesbian & Gay Chamber of Commerce hosts a Bu si ness Bu i Ider lu neh. 11:30a. m. at 8 rio Tuscan Grille, 2964 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. GA 30306, www.atlantagaycha.m.ber.org

Wednesday, Dec. 15

Creative is a Verb: An Inspirational Night with Patti Oigh follows up on her successful "life Is a Verb," and in the tradition of Julia Cameron's "The Arti st's Way." Dig h pre sen ts abo 0 k 1 h at lea d s rea d ers by both heart and head to acknowledge, reinforce and' use their own creative spirit at Charis 800ks

& More. 7:30'9 p.m.,H89 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta., GA 30307. www.charisbooksandmore.com

'A Christmas Memory' opens today and runs

I h rough Dec. 23 at Balzer Thea tre, 84 lu cki eSt., Atla nta, GA 30303 www.lheatricaloutfit.org

Thursday, Dec. 16

Prepare your I avcnte holiday dish a nd come ou t fo r

a holiday potluck dinner at VouthPride. 5 prn, 1017 Edgewood Ave., At la nla, GA 30307, www.youthpride.org:

MEGA's Prospective Par-ent Group meets to get support on yo u r j 0 u rney towa rd pa renthood. 7 -B:3 0 p.m., conta ct Kat hyKe II y for dire ct ions, www.megafamilyprojecLorg

Coming: Out Support Group with MEGA Family ProJ-

Thursday, Dec. 16

"Holiday Ice Spectacular" opens today and runs th rough Dec. 24 at Cobb En e rgy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria

Pa rkway, Marietta., GA30339 www.cobbenergycentre.org

eet. ].8:30 pm .. contact Kathy Kelly at 404-808-3350 if it's your fi rst time visiti ng. megafamHyproje ct.org

Midtown Comedy Show at Bellissima wilh host

Bra dy Smit h. 560' B Amsterd am Ave., At la n tao GA 30306, www_myspace.com/beHissima_lounge·

.Friday, Dec. 17

Christina Paris & friends present "Merry CHRISMiss" Benefit. Show for CHRIS Kids. Festivities include drink specials, cabaret show and door prizes. 10 p.m. at Felix On The Square, 1510 Piedmont Ave. 'NE, Atlanta, GA 30324

DJ Lydia Prim spins at the Heretic Atlanta_ 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road. Atlanta, GA 30324, www.heretieatlanla.com

The Mary Edith Pitts Show brings the roof down with her special blend of musical comedy at Burkhan's Pub.1UO p.m. at 1492 Piedmont Ave NE #F, Atlanta, GA 30309 www.burkharts.com

Saturda.y,Oec. 18

Atla eta mus i cia n So n i a Leigh. ta kes the ste gei n

Ma rietta 8 p.m. at o.i x ie lave rn 2319 Wi ndy H ill Rd. SE, Ma rietta GA 30067. www.dixietavern.com

Tile Red Party sponsored by Women's Outdoor Network includes dancing, hors doeuvres, raffle. Free 10 WON members; $10 for non·members .. 7·10 p.m. at JunGle Club. 2115 Faulkner Road NE. Atlanta. GA 30324 www_jungleclubal,lanta.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

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Sunday, Dec. 19

Youth Pride benefits from tonight's performance of "Rent" at Fabrefaction Theatre Company, 999 Brady Ave .. Atlanta, GA 30318, www.fabrelaction.org

Janis lan who has challenged soeietvs stereotypes from he rea r Iy son Q S a b ou t i nterrac ia I love to her own cominq out. performs at Eddie's Attic, The show is sold-outbut will be aired live from their covered and healed rooftop grill. Doors open at 6:30 prn, show at 7:30 p.m, 515-8 N. McDonough Rd" Decatur,

GA 30030, www.eddiesat!ie.com .

Monday, Dec. 20

Piano Mondays with Da.vid Reed get start at S prn a! MIXX Atlanta, 1492 Piedmont Ave .. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309, www.mixxatlanta.eom

Tuesday, Dec. 2.1

The Atlanta. lesbian & Gay Chamber of Commerce hosts a Business 'Builder lunch. 11:55 a.m. at Hudson Gri II e, Broo kh aven Stat ion, 4046 Peacht ree Roa d, Atlanta, GA 30319, www.atlantagayehamber.org

Wednesday, Dec. 22

au ee r li terary Fief ion Book Grou p wi II di scuss "More of Ihis World or Ma.ybe Another"by Barb Johnson at Charis Books & More, 1189 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30307, www.eharisbooksandmore.eom, For mo re in 10, co n tact Eli zabet h@ehariSCirele;DrQ;

Ga.y Fathers of Atlanta support meeting is set for 7:30-9 p.m a t All Sa i n ts Episcopa I Ch urch 634 West Peachtree SI.. Atlanta, GA 30308, www.Qfoatlanta,orQ

Thursday, Dec. 23

Princess Charles has gathered some of Atlanta's finest "Fashionistas" for a niqht 01 draQ galore at

Saturday, Dec. 18

The DJ Perry Twins from Los Angetes

will be at JunQle Club, 2115 Faulkner Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30324 jungleelubatlanta.eom

UPCOM NG

Saturday, Dec. 25

Calling all ladies! Join Chase Daniels and

lrie n d s for the "N ot so N aug My 0 r Nice" Christmas Bash. My Sisler'S Room,1271 Glenwood Ave .. Atlanta, GA 30316, www.mysis· tersroom.com

Friday, Dec. 31

Bring in the New Year with a show, champagne toast at mid n i g ht a nd con tine nta I

brea kf a st. My Siste rs Room, 1271 G I e nwood Ave .. , Atlanta, GA 30316, www.mysistersroom.com

New Years Eve dance party with DJ Mike Pope .. He reli c Atilanta, 2069 Ch esh ire Sri dge Road,

Alia nta GA 30324, www.hereticatlanta.com

NYE Red Carpet Affair, Traxx Girls slyle. call 67S·368-643510r VIP reservations and tables .. www.!raxxgirls.com

www.theGAVoice.com

A&E/ December 10. 2010 I GA Voice m

DOMESTC ISTURB

A plan for the future makes it hard to accept the present

I've never been much of a gamer, but in my early 205 I was in a relationship with a geek (his term, not mine) for several years, which allowed me to closely observe that culture.

T could never really wrap my brain around the large Tupperware bins of comic books or hours spent playing "X-Men" on PlayStation, but considering I brought a costume closet and several puppets into the relationship, I wasn't in a position to judge.

The one exception was "TIle Sims," which could trap me in front of my desktop computer for an entire day, staring slack-jawed at the screen. The player was supposed to create an avatar, build them a house, then get a job and become a productive member of society.

I lost interest in the avatars after I exhausted the full range of their sexual behaviors. Building a beautiful house was my Singular preoccupation. I bought a book of home plans at Borders, and then set about re-creating my favorites in the online world. r had no interest in Living in the communities 1 very carefully planned. I was an online land developer. And just like so many of my real-world counterparts, I eventually lost interest and moved on to other things.

Last week, Preppy's parents came to visit, and we built ourselves a big damn fence, separating us once and for all from Anita, the screeching lunatic who lives next door. Anita challenged the property Line, lawyers were called, the police came by a few times, we were accused of putting smoke bombs in her car ... but in the end, we have contained the crazy. As the hardscrabble frontier folk taught us, good fences do indeed make good neighbors.

Shortly after the fence went up, my Dad called and started talking about making a nmeLine on the other improvements we've been talking. about doing since we moved in. I don't know if it was the fact that we had finally done our first actual upgrade to the property, or if having the in-laws conmbute raised some son of competitive spirit in him, but Dad was suddenly ready to pick out some bathroom tile and get to work.

I really think it was the hands-on involvement of Preppy's parents that got him inter-

ropher Payne is an AUant.a·based plavwright. and the author of theb ook ··Necessary tuxu ries: Notes on a Semi-f abutous lile,' fi nn out more at loplle rpayne.com

ested. My sister's In-laws are not the sort of people who come by and help you sheetrock, so there's no competition there. But Preppy comes from very task-oriented people, and r think Dad didn't particularly care for the imbalance that was happening here.

It's the way of the Southern man, isn't it? ''LeI me show you I love you by completing the following tasks on this List." Preppy and I are more than happy to encourage tills behavior.

Dad told me to get measurements of every room, and sent me software called "Sweet Home 3D." 1 did as I was told, and something amazing happened: II was ''The Sims" all over again. Only this time, r didn't have to get a job as a pizza boy to buy virtual wallpaper. [ had free reign to create the virtual version of our home, and I dtd so with gusto.

There's the "before" plan, which looks like out house now, and the "after," which is the most beautiful home in the entire world. The only way we'd ever have the "after" house is if one of my scratch-and-wins paid off, but I do not care. I want to live there right now.

This might not have been the best idea .. Be-cause now, living in the Before House is a bit disappointing. After House has a porch. It's always 70 degrees and sunny at the After House. Screw you, Before House.

Preppy, forever the pragmanst, reminds me that the After House was created to clarify our goals. Having our 3-D tour is the equivalent of putting a picture of a guy with great abs on your fridge to remind you not to eat ice cream. I tried the hot-guy-on-fridge thing once, and lasted a week before I got sick of looking at that smug bastard and threw him away.

Between the two of us, I can see Preppy has the healthier outlook. These things take time. Flve years ago, I never would have thought I'd be planning improvements on a home I share with my husband. And I sure as heck never thought I'd have two sets of parents offering assistance. So really, anything's possible. 1'1.1 just take a few more 3-D tours, so I'm ready when it happens.

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Monday - Thursday 11-10 · Friday 11-11

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