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January 2008
Issue 51
FREE
of charge
Tobacco
Reduction Act
Alberta Gets Tougher on
Second-Hand Smoke
The Distress Centre
BASH’D!
Spread Some Late Holiday Cheer
Hip Hop Homos Hit High
Performance Rodeo
>> STARTING ON PAGE 16
GLBT RESOURCE • CALGARY & EDMONTON
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gaycalgary and edmonton magazine #51, January 2008
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Established originally in January
1992 as Men For Men BBS by MFM
Communications. Named changed to
GayCalgary.com in 1998. Stand alone
company as of January 2004. First Issue
of GayCalgary.com Magazine, November
2003. Name adjusted in November 2006 to
GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine.
Publisher Steve Polyak & Rob Diaz-Marino,
publisher@gaycalgary.com
Editor Rob Diaz Marino, editor@gaycalgary.
com
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Table of Contents
7
Resolutions
Advertising
Steve Polyak sales@gaycalgary.com
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Newslets
Contributors
Steve Polyak, Rob Diaz-Marino, Jason
Clevett, Jerome Voltero, Kevin Alderson,
Allison Brodowski , Mercedes Allen, Stephen
Lock, Benjamin Hawkcliffe, Andrew Collins,
Felice Newman, GayRealEstate.com, Mike
Stansberry, Romeo San Vicente and the
Gay and Lesbian Community of Calgary and
Edmonton
11 The Dish On Alberta
Beef
12 BASH’D!
Photographer
Steve Polyak and Rob Diaz-Marino
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Credit on the Line?
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Out of Town
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Map & Event Listings
23
Some New Year Musings
25
Q Scopes
26
Adult Film Review
28
Deep Inside Hollywood
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Whole Lesbian Sex
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Tobacco Reduction Act
Original Graphic Design Deviant Designs
Videographer
Steve Polyak and Rob Diaz-Marino
Please forward all inquiries to:
GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine
Suite 403, 215 14th Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2R 0M2
Phone (403) 543-6960 or toll free (888)
543-6960
Fax (403) 703-0685
E-mail magazine@gaycalgary.com
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Hip Hop Homos Hit High Performance Rodeo
Print Run Monthly, 12 times a year
Copies Printed Monthly, Over 10,000 copies.
Letter from the Publisher
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Masthead continued on page 6
Convenience of Pre-Paid Cards
Unusual Tours to Great Destinations
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Find out what’s happening
“Economize sensibly, Capricorn!”
Out on Vacation, Mutiny, College, Vanished
What Do Butches Want?
Alberta Gets Tougher on Second-Hand Smoke
Continued Next Page
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From Previous Page
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37
February 2008
Press Deadlines
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Fundraising Photos
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A Bitter Girl
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High Performance Rodeo
OYR’s 22nd Annual Event has Arrived
Continued from page 5
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Letters to the Editor
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Real Estate Sales Tips for Winter 2008:
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The Pursuit of Muscle
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A Year Of Transgression
Distribution points up to 200 points in
Calgary, largest number of distribution
points for any Gay publication in Calgary.
Up to 150 points in Edmonton, largest
number of distribution points for any Gay
publication in Edmonton. Also distributed
coast to coast across Canada in select
locations in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal,
Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and other
places across Canada and the United
States. Please call us if you would like to
be a distribution point.
5 tips to keep your listing active as the market cools in winter.
The Quest to Pee, Searching For a UnitedENDA, Transphobia Strikes Even the
Hetero World
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The Distress Centre
Distributed by Gallant Distributions
(Calgary), Clark’s Distribution (Edmonton),
Canada Post (rest of Canada and USA)
and by GayCalgary.com
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Alpha-Q Volleyball
Deadline for Ad Bookings 25th of the month
(unless otherwise stated)
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Snowballs!
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Where Else Can I Dance?
In Circulation - Friday February
1st 2008
Legal Council Courtney Sebree Aarbo,
Barristers and Solicitors
Alternatives for Calgary’s LGBT Dance Crowd
Printers North Hill News
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Movie Review
This Issue Cover Model front Chris
Craddock and back Nathan Cuckow. Photos
by Ian Jackson, of Epic Photography.
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Music Review
The opinions expressed in this magazine are
not necessarily those of GayCalgary.com or
the contributors of the magazine.
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Queer Eye - Calgary & Edmonton
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A Couple of Guys
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Classifieds Ads
People photographed or interviewed,
writers, advertisers, contributors and
anyone else involved with this publication
are not necessarily gay, lesbian, bi,
bi-curious or trans gendered. They can be
straight people that are gay friendly.
Blades of Glory, Testosterone, Kinky Boots
Adagio, Songs of Mass Destruction, Sex Party
Community Events this Month
No part of the publication may be reprinted
without the expressed permission of the
editor-in-chief.
Copyright 2008
Ad Space Booking - Friday
January 25th 2008
Ad Submission Monday January 28th 2008
Deadline for Ad copy 28th of the month
(unless otherwise stated)
A Gay Ski Weekend in Banff
Member of
Canadian Gay &
Lesbian Chamber
of Commerce
Member of International Gay &
Lesbian Travel Association
Please contact us right away if
you think you may have missed
the Booking or Submission
Deadlines
Member of Tourism Calgary.
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Member of Edmonton Rainbow
Business Association.
Resolutions
Letter from the Publisher
By Rob Diaz-Marino
New Year’s resolutions are definitely the recurring
theme of this month’s magazine. My resolution
for this year is to get myself a little better organized than I currently am, both in my work and
in my personal life. I am finally wrapping up my
Master’s thesis at well over 125 pages and look
forward to finally accomplishing this goal that has
been 4 years in the making.
Strangely, the magazine layout although electronic,
goes through a lot of wear and tear over the course of the
year as we duplicate, delete, and move design elements
around. The first month of the year is our time to clean
things up again, review comments and suggestions from
our readers and makes changes to the content and layout of the magazine.
One very large change has been in the Classifieds area,
where we finally found the time to make it all a little
more user friendly. We assembled a completely new list
of categories better suited to the needs of our readers,
and headings are now color coded to easily identify their
subject. Also, when multiple classifieds appear under a
single category, they are no longer divided by redundant
category headings – hooray for saved space!
We have several new articles and columns starting
this month. Since we have porn reviews for the men, we
decided to take on a monthly Lesbian sexuality column
for the women. Trust me ladies, I’m going to dread
proofing these so I truly hope you enjoy them! Also
by reader demand, we have taken on a monthly travel
column to showcase gay destinations outside of Calgary
and Edmonton. Lastly, I’ve decided to spin off a number
of topics I usually discuss in the Publisher’s column into
a news clips section I call “Newslets”. I wanted to do this
so that I can write about them in a reporting capacity,
rather than mixing them in with my personal experience
and perceptions. I may still make mention of some of the
topics from my own perspective here in the Publisher’s
column, if I have something subjective to mention.
We are making an amendment to our photography
policy for the upcoming year in order to make things
fairer. Although it has been our policy to concentrate
on special events and fundraisers, we have been making
exceptions in the case of weekly for-profit drag shows.
Call this a grandfathered guideline from the days when
we photographed the drag shows at Metro Boyztown and
Detour alternating weekends, but it is time to retire this
exemption. Sadly, even though weekly shows may vary
in song selection, getting distinctive photographs boils
down to what the queens are wearing…and it’s a little
hard for the regulars to show off a new outfit every week.
We even joked about printing photos from months prior
to see if anyone would notice. In Edmonton, we are not
even sure if there will be drag shows any more, since The
Roost is no longer operating and, last we heard, Buddy’s
was debating on cancelling their shows. From now on,
for-profit weekly drag shows will only receive coverage in
the magazine if they are part of a special event, or if we
are notified of special circumstances.
Christmas with the Polyaks
Since I’ve known Steve, we have followed a similar
schedule each December – I spend a peaceful Christmas
Eve and part of Christmas day alone with my mom and
dad, and then join Steve (by his own insistent request)
for “moral support” as he visits with his own family on
the 25th and 26th. There is never a dull moment thanks
to family drama, and it takes a toll on him to keep smiling as some of his more
colorful relatives do and
say outrageous things.
First off, Steve’s mom got
a free Christmas tree as
a gift from a friend of the
family. Unfortunately the
thing was as wide at the
top as it was at the base,
containing about 8 branches concentrated at the top
and bottom - a concave cylinder, as opposed to a cone.
Still, they didn’t want to be
rude and so this tree was
put up in the living room
and decorated. Steve and I
couldn’t help making snide
jokes about using dead
squirrels as ornaments, but
Mom secretly had a chuckle
over it all the same. Steve’s
older sister just about died
laughing, as she admitted
that she had coincidentally
encountered squirrel road
kill round about the time
the Christmas tree arrived.
Then there’s Steve’s aunt
who, when he was a child
told him that he should
kill himself if he was gay.
Since then she has come
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a complete 180 degrees, telling us at Steve’s brother’s
wedding two years ago that she accepted us and gave
her blessings. This year we were all pre-warned that
she was experiencing some emotional problems directed
toward grandma and other relatives, and though none of
us sought to breach the topic, she was more than happy
to bring it up on her own. I can see that there is a good
person inside her, but her high-strung behavior sadly
rubs people the wrong way, and receiving disapproval
from them only seems to make things worse. She is receiving help, and we definitely hope she can work things
out.
Also there is a friend of the family who comes to visit
each boxing day, who is constantly gifting religious and
fad diet literature (and sometimes a bizarre combination
of the two) to family members. Every year it is a new
thing – last year it was eating particular foods according
to your blood type, this year it was about the evils of pasteurized and homogenized milk. Steve’s younger sister
and her fiancée are now expecting, and they received
a gift from her which was a book about the benefits of
feeding their child unpasteurized milk. This sounds like
a stunningly bad idea, since pasteurization is required to
eliminate ecoli and salmonella. Still she insists that the
pasteurization process eliminates powerful healing properties of milk, and hopes to team up with like-minded
people to buy their own cow (since it is illegal for farmers
to sell unpasteurized milk products). We just hope she
isn’t going to make herself sick…or do we?
After three Christmas dinners, Steve and I finally got
a chance to spend time at home again, and play with
some of our gifts. I bought Steve the latest Dance Dance
Revolution game with floor dance mat, so that we can
occasionally have a fun and physically active break from
working. We coordinated this so that Steve bought a
second mat as a gift to me, this way we can play simultaneously. We’ve been having great fun with it and are
amazed at what a workout we get even at the beginner
level.
So even though we didn’t get a chance to put up a
Christmas tree in our own home, we still had a good (and
interesting) holiday season.
Community Banter
Momma G’s annual Christmas dinner at The Calgary
Eagle was sold out once again this year, but attendees
(including Steve and myself) were treated to something
way beyond turkey and mashed potatoes. We all received a five-course meal including French onion soup,
garden greens in an edible cheese-bowl, turkey-mushroom medallions, and several other delicious things
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I didn’t even know the name of. We were forewarned
that the meal would be served at a relaxed pace, which
I found to be a good strategy - I couldn’t possibly have
eaten everything if not for the time between courses to
digest and socialize.
Similarly, Money Pennies sold out for their New Year’s
Eve dinner. I arrived to take photos at around 10pm
to find the place chocker-block full, and DJ Curtis was
keeping the dance floor hopping. I don’t normally do
crowd shots as I can’t ask everyone’s permission, but I
managed to get a good one where only the face of a staff
member was visible.
The Calgary Men’s Chorus held their annual concert,
this year entitled “Guitarra”, back at the Rosza Centre at
the University of Calgary. They took on a Spanish theme
which proved to be a challenge, however the show went
over very well. One of the attendees, a former member of
the chorus, believed it to be their best turnout ever.
Steve tells me that many of the gay, lesbian, and
straight parents who have regularly attended the Roost’s
annual Children’s Christmas Party event were having
trouble not feeling depressed that this was the last year
it was going to occur. The Roost closed its doors at its
account is easy and takes no more than 10 minutes of
your time as we verify your E-mail address. Visit the
Signup page to get started – www.gaycalgary.com/Signup.aspx.
Additionally, I got the website search feature up and
running. You can search the GayCalgary.com Business
Directory, Events Calendar, and even Magazine articles
with the click of a button! Photo and user searches are
planned for the future.
Unfortunately a website form for adding events to the
calendar is still not ready. Phew, I tell you, the calendar
is no simple thing to program, and I don’t yet have it at
a level of user friendliness that I would want to expose to
the general public. For the time being, please continue
to send us event information by E-mail and we will add
them to the calendar appropriately.
current location after New Years Eve, bringing a 30 year
legacy to a close. Already rumors are circulating madly
about what is coming to take its place. So far we have
been unofficially informed of two separate plans, both
from capable Edmonton residents, and both not happening for a little while still. The ad for one appears in this
magazine, the second is said to be tentative. For now
we have been asked to keep all additional details under
wraps, pending future updates.
Looking Forward into 2008
This year is going to see changes in the usual schedule
of yearly events. For one, Apollo Western Cup occurs
on Easter long weekend which has the event placed in
March instead of April. March is typically the month of
the Vagina Monologues, Calgary Cares and the Different Strokes Mardi Gras Dance. However, because of the
proximity to Western Cup, Different Strokes has opted to
cancel their dance this year in order to focus on competing in the tournament.
The ARGRA Rodeo long weekend falls entirely in June
this month, which for us, puts it together with Calgary
and Edmonton Pride. Leading into this busy month is
the 10th annual Fairy Tales Film Festival, at the end of
May.
Food for Thought
I would like to leave you with an allegory that I recall
learning all the way back in Elementary school. It is of
fairy tale stock, but has an interesting moral not just for
the gay community, but humanity in general.
Once upon a time there were two villages that had
been at war with one another since before anyone could
remember. One village obtained a magical object that
granted them a single wish, on the condition that whatever they chose would be given in double to their rivals.
With war-like intentions on their mind, they knew they
couldn’t wish for weapons, but were quick to scheme up
the idea that half of their own village should be destroyed
in a fire, so that they could finally be rid of the people
they had fought with for so long. But not everyone was
prepared to withstand such unbearable hardship to be
rid of their enemies. Some of the more level-headed villagers suggested instead that they should wish for peace
and prosperity, and an end to the greed and jealousy
that had started the villages warring in the first place.
Even though the other village was twice as peaceful and
prosperous as their own, they themselves benefited from
their humble generosity and spirit of cooperation, and
they all lived happily ever after.
We want to hear what YOU have to say about the topics in this article, and any
other articles in our magazine. Visit the chat forums at www.gaycalgary.com and
write your heart out! Or write us a letter to the publisher by E-mailing publisher@
gaycalgary.com, and we may respond to it in the magazine!
GayCalgary.com Website
This month, as promised, I completed the online form
to submit new listings for our free business directory.
The listings link into the new user login system, so businesses and non-profit groups must create a user account
before they can submit or edit their listing information.
Unfortunately this leaves all of the listings from the previous incarnation of the site orphaned.
We are encouraging any organization that wishes to
update their old listing, to create a user account and
get into contact with us so that we can return control of
their listings. Whenever possible, we recommend creating an account specifically to be shared by the group,
rather than using a personal account. Creating a user
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Newslets
By Rob Diaz-Marino
Toys 4 Tots raises $14,000
A huge mountain of
toys formed at Money
Pennies last month for
Dr. Richard Denney’s
12th Annual Toys for
Tots Christmas toy drive
to benefit less fortunate
children. Fred Udey
and a Country Furniture
driver donated their time
and resources the morning after the event to haul
the toys to their destination. Dr. Denney estimates that the event accumulated a
total value of $14,000 in toys and donations.
Living Christmas Tree a Painful Success
The Calgary Eagle’s 2nd annual Living Christmas tree
fundraiser saw two people volunteer to be Christmas trees,
and one more to be a fedora. These three brave individuals had their bodies painted with green latex body paint,
and decorated with ornaments on plastic pinch-clips.
Bar patrons made donations to attach the ornaments to
the volunteers, and to be involved with the painting and
peeling process. The event raised close to $1200 for the
SHARP Foundation, on par with their total from last year.
Roost Closes After 30 Years
New Years Eve was the last day of operation for The
Roost nightclub in Edmonton. Last month the bar, which
is touted Canada’s longest surviving dance club at an age
of 30 years, suddenly announced its planned closure.
During their last Sunday night drag show, performer Van10
Community | News
ity Fare said it all. “Since I heard the roost was closing a
couple weeks ago…I’ve heard nothing but people bitching
and complaining that the bar is a dump, and it’s old and
it’s about time, blah blah blah. But I just want to say,
none of you in this room come to the Roost for the décor…
you guys all come to the Roost for the people. The Roost
is about the gay people of Edmonton…it’s the people and
the patrons who made it what it was for 30 years. It’s going to leave a huge hole in the gay community…” Rumors
are already circling, speculating about the potential of the
Roost reopening elsewhere, and new bars surfacing to take
its place.
Twisted Backpedals Replacement ISCCA Event Night
Twisted Element club owner RayJean Fafard made a
pointed statement on the microphone in his club last
month during the ISCCA’s CandyCane Queens Christmas
show. He claimed that GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine “lied” in a recent article that mentioned the cancellation of the ISCCA’s Wednesday Night “Starlight Nights with
a Twist” fundraising shows, announcing that it has instead
been re-formatted as “Karaoke with the Court” Wednesdays. But members of the ISCCA board confirmed that the
former show had indeed been cancelled indefinitely with
no known alternate plans, and that the concept for the
new Wednesday night court shows were not seriously discussed until several days after the article was published.
As of press, details about the new event have not yet been
released by either Twisted Element or the ISCCA, however
a representative of the ISCCA stated their first show in the
new format is scheduled to occur on January 2nd.
GayCalgary Writer Barred for Door Policy Article
GayCalgary and Edmonton writer Allison Brodowski was
barred indefinitely from the Twisted Element while entering the club for casual reasons earlier last month. Club
owner RayJean Fafard personally intercepted, and kicked
her out along with a group of friends, citing no other reason but her recent article that criticized the bar’s selective
cover charge and questionable door policy. Also banned
was Sig Moser, a member of the Pride Calgary board, for
no stated reason other than his attendance as a director at
last month’s controversial Pride AGM. In addition, 7 other
people were barred just for being associated with the two.
Brodowski stated that she wasn’t surprised about this reaction from Fafard, but isn’t worried about the ban placed
on her friends – she doubts Fafard and staff will remember
them all or maintain the decision without specific reason
to keep them out.
The Dish On Alberta Beef
By Allison Brodowski
Community | Spotlight
It seems appropriate that a drag king troupe would
form around a gender theorist, even though no one
would have guessed that the successful Alberta Beef
formed at the urging of LF Crawford in the bowels of
the U of A. Taking inspiration from Judith Halberstein, renowned gender theorist, performer, and
author of the “Drag King Book”, how could they go
wrong?
‘There were a couple kings in Edmonton performing on
their own but it was more of start from scratch,” explains
LF Crawford, Founder and Performer with Alberta Beef.
The call out to the community for performers yielded eight
participants who strutted and swaggered for a surprisingly
packed crowd at Prism Bar and Grill on January 25th of last
year.
Since then they have packed the house for two more
full performances, one in June of last year as part of Pride
month, and this past November as part of the Exposure
Festival.
Both events took place at Prism. “It’s one of the only
[woman-oriented] places in the city so we do want to continue to support them.”
The performers have changed over the year, as members
move to other cities, or move on in life. The current six
regular performers include: Lawrence of Alabia, LJ Steel,
Buzz E. Brator, Lil’ Mak, Randy Packer, and Master B.
The troupe works well together - as Crawford puts it, ”We
inspire each other.” They have lent smaller performances to
other events, participating in the Exposure festival costume
ball, and smaller gigs around the city. This gives the performers the opportunity to spends a lot of time together and
grow closer.
An eclectic mix of personalities, backgrounds and ideas
helps to bring passion, politics and fun to their numbers.
Some members participate in the Edmonton Court – the Imperial Sovereign Court of the
Wild Rose (ISCWR); others
the Edmonton Pride Center
or the University of Alberta.
Because of this, the group
tries to involve as many
people as possible in their
large performances, including groups that are trying to
raise funds for charities, and
alternate performers ranging from spoken word, belly
dancers, and more.
show, there are motivations behind the mustaches that drive
these gender deconstruction workers.
“There is something really radical about acting, and we try
to push the boundaries of what is drag and what is trans,”
Crawford explains.
”Drag Kinging seems so impossible to a lot of people but
I’d like to encourage people to give it a try at home, just start
experimenting with it, it’s really exciting. No matter how
much you want to challenge other people, you always end
up challenging yourself and the way you think of gender.”
Societal expressions of gender are linked so closely to the
legal category of sex in North American culture that we often
overlook the markers of behavior that betray the performative nature of gender. Maleness is used as a base for
behavior and humanness, (for example you can call a female
actress an actor but never the other way around). Therefore
the inherent power in exposing masculinity is explosive in
the little conservative sphere that we call Albertan.
Crawford has high hopes for expanding the drag culture in
Edmonton. Tentative plans for the coming Pride celebrations
involve creating a combination of women and trans identified performance nights or sex parties, which they hope to
host in one of the bath houses in town. It is an opportunity
to challenge ideas about sex, public expressions of sex, and
give performance spaces to community members – and it is
incredibly exciting!
Until then, grab five bucks and support your local gender
deconstruction worker as they tear down gender stereotypes
for all of us.
Aside from the thrill of the
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BASH’D!
Hip Hop Homos Hit High Performance Rodeo
By Jason Clevett
Preview | Theatre
In September 2006, BASH’d! exploded onto the
Edmonton scene with a successful engagement at The
Roost nightclub. With a buzz that reached all the way
to Calgary, those who couldn’t make the trek up north
to catch the show will now finally have their chance.
BASH’d! runs as part of One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo from January 22nd – 26th.
BASH’d! is the story told by two gay male hip-hop artists
who chronicle the tale of a pair of lovers. One out of the couple
is gay bashed, prompting his boyfriend to take revenge - he
decides to reverse the “discrimination” and go out and bash
innocent heterosexuals. The story is fueled by the streak of
gay bashing that happened during Premier Ralph Klein’s refusal to legalize gay marriage in Alberta. BASHd! explores assumptions about distinct categories of race, gender and sexual
orientation, while exposing the discrimination and oppression
on both sides of the coin as we try all try to co-exist in a free
and equal society.
Catching back up with “Feminem” Nathan Cuckow, co-creator of the show, and Chris Craddock (T-Bag) we asked, “what
took you so long to get to Calgary?”
”Both Chris and myself are pretty busy guys with lots of
other professional responsibilities. Chris is Artistic Director of
one of Canada’s premiere improv groups, Rapid Fire Theatre,
and I am Co-Artistic Director of an Independent Theatre
company in Edmonton, Kill Your Television Theatre, so that
certainly takes up a lot of our time. Outside of that, we’re both
working on other writing commissions and different gigs here
and there.”
The show has also kept them busy as they went out on tour
in 2007 to Fringe Festivals in Toronto, Winnipeg and New York
City.
“It was expensive and exhausting, but we were thrilled at
the response and were very
excited to be getting our
show out there,” Cuckow
recalled. “There were lots of
mishaps along the way, we
shipped our set/costumes/
promotional materials to
NYC through U.P.S and
they lost everything! But
as the old saying goes, the
show must go on, and we
did whatever needed to be
done to make it happen.
Fortunately we had a great
team of friends around us
to help us out with things.”
It was a huge accomplishment for Cuckow, who
studied at the American
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Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and returned to
the city a decade later with success.
“When I left New York City for Canada back in 1998, I
remember thinking to myself ‘One day I’ll be back with a show
of my own’ and that’s exactly what I did. It was 10 years in
the making for me, so it was incredibly rewarding. A highlight
of being there for me was when a woman approached me in
Greenwich Village and told me that she had just seen the
show with her daughter, and they wanted to thank us and
congratulate us on the success our show. That was certainly
something that I daydreamed about during my time studying
in New York, and was a very exciting dream to have realized.
I’m still kind of dumbfounded that it all happened.”
That woman was an example of the type of reception the
show received in ‘The Big Apple’. “Our show was very well
received in NYC. It was unbelievably exciting. Reviews were
favorable across the board and the audience response was
through the roof. RuPaul saw our final show and wanted to
meet us afterwards. Of course Chris and I were thrilled. We
were approached by an agent at ICM who wanted to represent
us and who worked very hard at getting a lot of producers out
to see the show. Somehow it all cosmically came together and
now we have an Off-Broadway contract in the works for our
show, which is tentatively scheduled to open in New York at
the same time as the Pride festival June 2008.”
The result of the tour: critic acclaim across the board and
multiple awards. Named by Theatremania.com as one of the
top shows in New York City in 2007, BASH’d! has also been
awarded Outstanding musical at the NY Fringe, Now Magazine’s and Patron’s Pick at the Toronto Fringe, and receiving
four nominations and winning the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes
award in Edmonton among others.
Continued on Page 51
Credit on the Line?
Convenience of Pre-Paid Cards
By Rob Diaz-Marino
Before the invention of credit and debit cards, you
could see exactly how much cash you were spending. You might have taken out a certain budgeted
amount of money to do your Christmas shopping, and
better chosen your purchases to be within that limit.
Nowadays with large sums of money at your fingertips
in plastic form, you probably found it all too easy to
overspend during this past holiday season. Credit
cards are a dangerous thing, especially for the spontaneous buyer - you are spending money you may not
actually have. Then you have to deal with the consequences of paying it all back, racking up interest if
you delay, or being hounded by a collection agency if
you become too far overdue. Or maybe you screwed
up in the past and can’t get a credit card at all due to
a bad credit rating.
Review |Product
important to shop around for the card with features that best
fit your needs, incurring the fewest fees. In some cases, prepaid card fees can be more expensive than regular credit card
fees. Read up on the terms and conditions before committing,
and be mindful that most cards have limits on how much money you can load them with. Also be aware of expiration dates
on non-reloadable cards, as you may not be able to retrieve any
remaining funds after the card becomes defunct.
Pre-paid cards can give you all the convenience and flexibility of a credit card with the ability to cap your spending and
avoid accumulating debt.
More information is available from the Financial Consumer
Agency of Canada (FCAC) at: www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/
publications/Prepaid/PrepaidCards_e.asp
You are probably already familiar with the idea of a giftcard, which contains a certain amount of money that you can
only use in a particular store. But Visa and MasterCard have
introduced pre-paid cards (aka “stored-value” cards) that are
accepted anywhere a Visa or MasterCard credit card would be
– even outside of Canada!
Pre-paid cards are not credit cards because you are using
your own money to purchase them, or load them up. You cannot improve your credit rating by using them, but you don’t
need to go through a credit check in order to get them.
You can buy them as non-reloadable which are basically
disposable, or multi-purpose which you can reload and reuse.
Some credit card companies provide travel cards which you
can load up with large amounts of money, on the idea of using
the card instead of traveler’s cheques. Some businesses are
even using payroll cards to replace paper cheques when paying
salaries, benefits, or expenses.
There are many more advantages. Pre-paid cards can be
handy if you don’t have a bank account, or don’t want to carry
cash; but if you need cash, you can withdraw funds from a
multi-purpose card at a standard bank machine. You can use
them in situations where a credit card is required, such as
online/phone purchasing, renting a car, buying a plane ticket,
booking a hotel room etc. If you are concerned about the security of your credit card information when making payments
over the internet, or accidentally racking up recurring charges
that you didn’t agree to, a pre-paid card can be used to compartmentalize just enough funds for what you mean to spend.
Visa and MasterCard branded pre-paid cards have zero-liability
protection, which means if your card is stolen you are not held
responsible for fraudulent purchases in most situations. You
can even use them to keep your regular credit card statements
clean of any “naughty” purchases that you don’t want others
to see.
The downside is that you pay fees instead of interest, so it is
13
Out of Town
Unusual Tours to Great Destinations
by Andrew Collins
If you’ve come to associate organized tours with
massive chartered cruise ships, packed buses,
and onerously large groups of fellow travelers,
you might want to give this concept a fresh look.
Today’s organized-travel options include a tremendous variety of companies offering intimate,
upscale, customized adventures. In many cases,
the method of transportation - canal barges, bicycles, vintage trains - are part of the excitement.
Many upscale tour companies that cater to relatively small groups are also extremely gay-friendly, attracting educated and sophisticated travelers who appreciate a diverse mix of participants.
Here’s a look at five exceptional tour operators,
four of them mainstream and one specifically gayoriented, but all offering guests unusual ways to
experience some of the most intriguing destinations in the world.
Travel
accommodations, and they start at around $5,500 per person, double-occupancy
Stroll Through Northern New Mexico, Tuscany, or New Zealand
We live in a super-speedy, boom-boom world, and it’s in
part for this reason that so-called “walking” vacations have
become increasingly popular in recent years. One company
that has tapped into this market with great success, offering tours to a variety of stunning and gay-popular destinations around the world, is The Wayfarers, whose intimate
and pleasingly slow-going 4- to 12-day rambles cater to
educated, independent-minded, and curious adventurers
who are fit enough for extended walks but still appreciate
upscale accommodations and superlative food. On Wayfarers vacations, during the day you’ll hike with a guide and
your small group of fellow travelers, maintaining a leisurely
clip through some of the world’s most picturesque terrain. At
night, you stay in distinctive accommodations, from adobe
inns in Santa Fe to posh resorts in the South of France to
seaside villas on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.
Ride the Rails Through the Rockies
With its accepting and tolerant attitude toward gays and
lesbians, Canada continues to generate plenty of interest
from GLBT travelers. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that parts of
this country rival just about anywhere in the world for stunning scenery - the Canadian Rockies, a region best explored
by luxury rail, are especially breathtaking. Gay-friendly
Royal Canadian Pacific offers cushy, distinctive rail excursions from late spring to early summer. Transportation and
accommodations are inside beautifully refurbished 1920s
and ‘30s railcars, where large windows afford dazzling views
of snowcapped mountains and pristine lakes. At a number
of points, passengers leave the train for touring, hiking, golfing, fly-fishing, and horseback riding through the countryside.
Wayfarers offers tours in several regions, including such
European destinations as the British Isles, Italy, Slovenia,
Croatia, Austria, the South of France, and Spain. In the
United States, you can tour the Maine coast, New Mexico,
Utah, Washington’s Cascades and Olympic Peninsula, and
Santa Barbara. In a few destinations (Italy’s lakes, England’s
Cotswolds, New Mexico) you can choose between womenonly and mixed-gender tours. These trips are great for
couples or groups of friends traveling together. They’re wellsuited to outdoorsy types, but they’re also accessible and
enjoyable to globetrotters who don’t get outside much yet
still enjoy occasional opportunities to commune with nature.
Prices vary a bit according to the itinerary - the 5-day New
Mexico trip is about $2,300 per person, the 6-day Tuscany
adventures cost $3,500 per person, and the 12-day New
Zealand treks cost $4,200 to $4,500 per person.
The 6-day Royal Canadian Rockies Experience starts and
ends in Calgary, Alberta (you spend the first night at the
historic Fairmont Palliser Hotel), a modern and lively city
with an intriguing gay scene (and, in late June, the Canadian Rockies International Rodeo - the world’s largest such
gay event). The route winds west through Canmore (where
Brokeback Mountain was filmed), Banff National Park, Lake
Louise, and the Columbia River town of Golden. Then the
train heads south through the Rockies before cutting east
at Cranbrook and venturing into the Canadian Prairie and
the city of Lethbridge, before finally heading north back to
Calgary. The 6-day Royal Culinary, Wine, and Music Experience is another great itinerary - it begins in Calgary and
continues through Banff, Yoho, and Glacier national parks,
before ending at beautiful Kamloops, with a side trip to
the stunning Kelowna and Okanagan Wine Country. Royal
Canadian Pacific tours include fantastic food and ultra-posh
Pedal Across Provence, Adalucia, or Iceland
Of the many gay-oriented (i.e., open to gays and lesbians
as well as friends of the community) tour companies out
there, few have earned a more stellar reputation over the
years than Alyson Adventures, which offers a slew of soft-adventure getaways that focus on such invigorating activities
as canyoneering, rock-climbing, hiking, kayaking, rafting,
and scuba diving. In particular, Alyson offers wonderful bike
tours through some of the world’s most fascinating places.
These tours typically last about a week; are led by knowledgeable guides; include accommodations in well-chosen,
mid-range hotels; include all breakfasts and some lunches
and dinners (for others you’re on your own); and use of a
bike. The trips are geared toward all levels of biking experience (they average 25 to 40 miles of travel per day, depending on the route), as participants are free to go at their own
pace, and you’re as likely to meet single travelers on these
14
adventures as you are couples
or groups of friends.
Alyson offers about a dozen
itineraries, most of them in
France (Provence, the Dordogne River, the Loire Valley, etc.), but others through
Tuscany, Spain’s Andalusia,
Iceland’s volcano and hotsprings country, Vietnam, and
Arizona’s Mission Trail. There
are tours from mid-spring
through mid-fall, and prices
range from about $1,700 to
$2,800 per person, double-occupancy. This helpful company has even created a website,
www.gay-bike.com, filled not
only with further information
on the tours it offers but also
with tips on traveling by bike.
If you’re keen on other types
of adventure, consider some
of Alyson’s similarly intriguing
getaways, such as rafting the
Grand Canyon, diving off the
Caribbean island of Saba, or
eco-touring Costa Rica.
Cruise the French Canals
French Country Waterways offers travelers an intimate,
upscale way to traverse some 4,800 miles of navigable rivers
and canals throughout the Gallic countryside. This is not
your conventional cruise adventure. These leisurely and
romantic excursions are offered in four regions: Champagne
(a short distance east of Paris), the Upper Loire, Burgundy,
and Alsace-Lorraine. If you’re planning a gay vacation to
Paris and its hip Marais District, consider tacking on one
of these boat trips after your city stay. The company uses
five beautifully outfitted barges, which accommodate from
8 to 18 passengers, and whose staterooms and suites all
have private bathrooms and individual climate control. Each
barge has a large wooden sundeck, ample lounge space and
bars stocked with complimentary beverages and snacks, and
richly furnished dining rooms in which you’ll be treated to
superb classic French cuisine and fine wines. Special meals
are also planned at a number of restaurants along each itinerary. French Country Waterways cruises last a week, are
offered April through October, and cost from about $5,000
per person, double occupancy.
Trek Through the African Bush
Among the many companies out there offering African
safari adventures, Philadelphia-based Premier Tours earns
kudos for its distinctive and well-planned itineraries, which
provide participants a nice mix of in-the-bush adventure
and sophisticated big-city and wine-country diversion. The
gay-friendly company has a huge range of trips covering
several African nations - Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia,
Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Gay travelers
should book a trip that includes some time in the scenic and
vibrant city of Cape Town, South Africa. For instance, the 7day Cape Town & Safari excursion includes Cape Town and
nearby wineries as well as safari experiences in Kruger National Park and the stunning Elephant Plains Game Lodge.
There are also much more extensive 15- to 17-day South
Africa tours, some that include Johannesburg, Zambia’s
Photo caption: African penguins amble about the beach at Cape Town’s Boulders
National Park, a popular spot on the tours offered by Premier Tours. (Photo by Andrew
Collins)
Victoria Falls, and Swaziland.
The company’s many different types of tours cater to
a wide range of interests and capabilities, as you can try
anything from a rugged adventure trip that includes hiking
and camping to cushier trips where you spend the night in
fine hotels and posh game lodges. Premier Tours provides
accommodations, many of the meals, airport transfers,
game-viewing experiences, and other daily tours. Tour prices
start around $1,300 per person, double-occupancy, for the
7-day Cape Town & Safari tour. This is a pretty amazing
deal, when you consider the once-in-a-lifetime chance to
see elephants and leopards in the wild, not to mention the
swank restaurants and lively gay nightclubs of Cape Town.
Andrew Collins is the author of Fodor’s Gay Guide to the USA and
eight additional travel guides.
The Little Black Book (all prices quoted in the article are in
U.S. currency):
Alyson Adventures (305-296-9935 or 800-825-9766, www.
alysonadventures.com). French Country Waterways (781934-2454 or 800-222-1236, www.fcwl.com). Premier
Tours (800-545-1910, www.premiertours.com). Royal
Canadian Pacific (403-508-1400 or 877-665-3044, www.
royalcanadianpacific.com). The Wayfarers (401-849-5087 or
800-249-4620, www.thewayfarers.com).
15
Events Listing
Find out what’s happening
Calgary Listings
Accommodations
Westways Guest House 13
216 - 25 Ave SW • (403) 229-1758
http://www.gaywestways.com
Bars and Clubs
Money-Pennies 9
See our ad on page 19, 29 and 43
1742 - 10 Ave SW • (403) 263-7411
http://www.money-pennies.com
Texas Lounge 6
See our ad on pages 4
308 - 17 Ave SW • (403) 229-0911
Open 7 days a week, 11am-close
http://www.goliaths.ca
BackLot 3
See our ad on page 44
209 - 10 Ave SW • (403) 265-5211
Open 7 days a week, 4pm-close
Twisted Element 33
1006 11th Ave SW • (403) 802-0230
http://www.twistedelement.ca
Calgary Eagle Inc. 4
424a - 8 Ave SE • (403) 263-5847
Open Wed-Sun 5pm-close
http://www.calgaryeagle.com
Bathhouse and Sauna’s
16
Goliath’s 6
See our ad on pages 62
308 - 17 Ave SW • (403) 229-0911
Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
http://www.goliaths.ca
Businesses
A Little More Interesting 51
1501B, 17th Avenue SW •(403) 475-7775
http://wwww.alittlemoreinteresting.com
Adult Depot
140, 58th Ave SW •(403) 258-2777
Sex toys, and Straight, Bi, Gay video rentals, largest
Gay video rental collection in Alberta
B & C Financial Services
9298 Horton Road SW • (403) 250-55785
Insurance
Brian Mahoney & John McNeill
#10, 6020 - 1A St SW • (403) 259-4141
Re/Max Reality Professionals
Courtney Sebree Aarbo 24
1138 Kensington Road NW • (403) 571-5120
http://www.csalaw.ca
Barristers & solicitors
Chronos Apollo
#520 922 5th Avenue SW • (403) 237-2353
Physician directed skin care and more
Cruiseline
(403) 777-9494 trial code 3500
http://www.cruiseline.ca
Phone chat room & talking classifieds for 18+
Deva Dave Salon 32
910 12th Avenue SW • (403) 290-1973
http://www.devadave.com
eXude Productions
http://www.exudeproductions.com
First Class Flowers
Elbow and Heritage Drive SW• (403) 255-2239
Inside
Corner of Blackfoot Trail & 34th Avenue SE• (403)
241-8550
Jane Doe Marketplace & Cafe 50
311 17 Avenue SW • (403) 245-5263
Calgary’s Only Marketplace featuring Women
Entrepreneurs. Coffee Shop too!
La Fleur 41
#103 - 100 7th Avenue SW
(403) 266-1707
Florist Shop
Lammle’s Western Wear
Chinook Centre •(403) 255-5292
Crowfoot Crossing •(403) 547-9808
Deerfoot Mall •(403) 275-6877
Market Mall •(403) 247-9224
Marlborough •(403) 273-2233
Stephen Avenue Walk •(403) 266-5226
Westhills Town Centre •(403) 249-2822
MFM Communications
(403) 543-6970
http://www.mfmcommunications.com
Web site hosting and development. Computer
Hardware and Software.
More Better Buses
(403) 651-1692
Providing unique, comfortable & affordable
transportation. Charter us for: High School
Graduations, Senior Groups, Pub Crawls and
Sporting Events
Priape Calgary 16
1322 - 17 Ave SW • (403) 215-1800
http://www.priape.com
Clothing and accessories. Adult toys, leather wear,
movies and magazines. Gifts.
Lorne Doucette /CIR Realtors
(403) 461-9195
http://www.lornedoucette.com
Rev. Nadene Rogers
(403) 247-0602
http://www.weddingsmyway.com
Marriage Commissioner
Marcy Calberry /CIR Realtors
(403) 291-4440 or (866) 859-4440
Reymark
Able Craftsman, Your home renovation specialist
(403) 478-2411 • reymark@telus.net
Marnie Campbell /Maxwell Realtors
(403) 479-8619
http://www.marniecambell.ca
R. Cobalt 45
735 12th Avenue SW • (403) 228-7822
Hair & Aesthetics
Sol Sourced Weddings
(403) 270-9480
http://www.solsourcedweddings.com
Wedding Commissioner
Z-Group
Voice over IP (VOIP) phone service and long
distance
(403) 770-1940
Community Groups and
Organizations
Aids Calgary 2
110, 1603 10th Avenue SW • (403) 508-2500
http://www.aidscalgary.org
Saturday, March 29, 2008 - Calgary Cares
2008: Sweet 70s at the EPCOR CENTRE, Calgary
– The much anticipated event returns o the Jack
Singer. Calgary Cares offers a heart pounding
evening packed with music, theatre, dance,
and interpretation, in support of AIDS Calgary’s
HIV/AIDS awareness, education, prevention and
support programs. Visit www.calgarycares.ca for
more information. Online ticket sales available in
November.
Apollo Calgary Friends in Sports
http://www.apollocalgary.com
Apollo Friends In Sports is a volunteer-operated,
non-profit organization serving primarily members
of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgendered
communities but open to members of all
communities. We currently have more than 400
members and are growing fast! The primary focus
of Apollo is to provide our membership with well
organized and fun sporting events and other
activities to allow them to participate and interact in
a positive social framework.
Join us Easter Weekend, Thursday evening, March
20 to Saturday, March 22, 2008
Absolutely Smashing! Badminton - The 2007
season for Badminton runs from Sunday, October
14, 2007 to Sunday, December 16th, 2007.
Sessions are 1:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Please note
there is no badminton on Sunday, November
11th (Remembrance Day). Bookings for 2008 will
be notified by December 5th. Location: Western
Canada High School (641 17th Ave. SW) Schedule:
Sunday afternoons in the MAIN GYM, 1:30 p.m.
to 3:00 p.m.
Curling - The 17th season of Apollo Curling will
begin in October 2007, with the same general
format as last year. Games are at the North Hill
Curling Club (1201 - 2 Street N.W.) with two draws
on Saturdays: 2:20 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and at
the Inglewood Golf and Curling Club, Saturdays at
12:30 p.m.
Squash - Location: University of Calgary. Day:
Mondays. Time: 6:45 - 8:15 p.m. (90 minutes).
Date: Sep 17 - Dec 10 (Fall Session) except October
08th - Thanksgiving Day - No Squash. Weeks: 12
Apollo Volleyball - Sunday Intermediate/
17
Competitive at the YWCA, 320 – 5th Avenue SE,
from 4:30pm – 7:00pm. Friday Recreational
at Langevin School, 107 – 6th Street NE, from
7:00pm - 9:00pm. Email vb@apollocalgary.com
to confirmation dates.
Rainbow Riders Bowling League - Let’s 10 Pin
Bowlerama, 2916 5 Avenue NE, Wednesday’s at
6:30pm. Season is from September to April. League
fees are $15.00 per Night. Shoe rental is $2.00
Outdoor Pursuits - In attempting to meet our
members requests for diverse sporting activities we
have formed the Apollo Outdoor Pursuits League!
If it’s done outdoors we do it! (and occasionally
we venture indoors too). This summer we will be
hiking, biking, rock climbing, rafting and a whole
bunch more. If you’re interested in any of these
or something else completely, get in touch with
us. Tired of playing alone outdoors? Well this is
a GREAT opportunity to participate in events you
enjoy doing with other interested members of the
community. To be added to the distribution list for
regular updates please email outdoorpursuits@
apollocalgary.com.
Golf - Contact golf@apollocalgary.com, Or by
phone 276-8094
Lawn Bowling - For more information, please
contact Chris or Phil at lawnbowling@
apollocalgary.com.
Slow Pitch - Friday Nights - Slo Pitch League, Co-Ed
* Rec * Drop-In, Every Friday at 7:00pm - starts
May 11, 2007 (tentative – based on weather),
West Hillhurst Community Centre, 18 Street & 5
Avenue NW (East Field)
Yoga - Have you always wondered about yoga?
What really is down-dog? Do you think touching
your feet with your legs straight is just humanly
impossible? For the second year, Ki Essentials is
offering an exclusive yoga class to Apollo members
and friends. This class comprises of 12 weekly
90- minute sessions that focus on basic poses and
proper alignment, and are conducted in a fun and
supportive environment. This is a multi-level yet
beginner friendly class. No previous experience is
required.
ARGRA – Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo
Association
Hotline: (403) 541-8140
http://www.argra.org
January 12th, 2008 January Dance More Info
February 16th, 2008 (anti) Valentines Dance
Artists for the Quality of Life
(403) 890-1261
http://www.afqol.com
Calgary Frontrunners Running Club
When: 9 am on Saturdays,
Where: Update! Coffee Junkies -795 1 Avenue SW
(no longer meeting at Eau Claire Y)
What: Walkers and Runners between 5 km – 15
km from sub 5 min/km pace to 10 min/km pace.
Who: All are welcome - Typically about 15-20 men
and women depending on the weather conditions
Contact: E-mail calgaryfrontrunners@shaw.ca or
call Tim at (403) 660-6125
18
Calgary Gay Fathers
calgaryfathers@hotmail.com
http://www.geocities.com/calgaryfathers
and are fun and entertaining. The group meets
the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month from 7 pm
to 9 pm.
Peer support group for gay, bisexual and
questioning fathers. Meeting twice a month
- Illusions Calgary
Social group for Calgary and area transgender
community members (cross dressers, transvestites,
drag kings and queens). Illusions provides a safe,
discrete and welcoming atmosphere, in which
transgendered people can meet others of like mind.
Illusions offers discretion, acceptance, compassion
and a safe place to express your gender. Crossdressing is the purpose of the group, but is not
mandatory.
Calgary Humane Society
(403) 250-4455
http://www.calgaryhumane.ca
Animal Adoptions and for Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals
Calgary Men’s Chorus
http://www.calgarymenschorus.org
Rehearsals are held from 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
at the Old Y Centre for Community Organizations,
located at 223 12 Avenue SW.
Calgary Sexual Health Centre
304, 301 14th Street NW
(403) 283-5580
http://www.calgarysexualhealth.ca
Calgary Sexual Health Centre is a pro-choice
organization that believes all people have the right
and ability to make their own choices regarding
their sexual and reproductive health. Calgary
Sexual Health Centre started as a volunteer based,
grassroots organization and has been providing
comprehensive sexuality education and counselling
programs to the Calgary community since 1972.
Calgary Outlink Formerly know as GLCSA
- Gay And Lesbian Community Services
Association 1
#4, 1230A 17th Avenue SW
(403) 234-8973
http://www.glcsa.org
Peer Support and Crisis Line - Front-line help service
for GLBT individuals and their family and friends, or
anyone questioning their sexuality.
Library - A great selection of resource books, fiction,
non-fiction, videos and everything in between, all
with a queer perspective.
Drop-In Center - A safe and supportive environment
for one-to-one peer counseling for many issues
surrounding family, coming out, homosexuality,
loneliness and other issues.
- Between Men and Between Men Online
Peer support, sexual health education for gay
or bisexual men, as well as those who may be
uncertain or questioning their sexuality. Discussions
range from personal relationship or life issues, to
sexual health and well-being.
- Inside Out
Peer-facilitated youth group for GLBTQ ages 15-25.
The group aims to let youth know they are not
alone, and to connect them with their peers. Every
Monday, 7 pm to 9pm at GLCSA. It is a funky and
safe environment with a variety of resources and
activities.
- New Directions
Drop in peer-support group to provide support and
resources for individuals who identify as transsexual
or inter-sexed. The group meets every 3rd Friday of
the month from 7 pm to 9 pm at GLCSA.
If you are transsexual, or know of someone who
is, please contact our office for information and
assistance. You are not alone! There is support!
- SHEQ Soulful Healing Ego Quest
A workshop for women that want to be themselves
in a supportive, safe environment. It is a chance
to grow and share their experiences related to
women’s sexuality. Runs for a ten week period on
Thursdays at 7pm. Call Trudy or Krista at 5857437. To participate, please call the exclusive
SHEQ line at 585-7437 (you may leave a voice
message for Trudy or Krista) or leave your name
and a contact time/number with the Gay & Lesbian
Community Services Association at 234-8973.
- Womynspace
Peer social/support group for women providing an
evening of fun, bonding, discussion and activities.
Meets every first and third Friday 7pm to 9pm at
GLCSA.
Deer Park United Church and Wholeness
Centre
77 Deerpoint Road SE - (403) 278-8263
http://www.dpuc.ca
Worship Time - 10:00am Sundays
Meetings at GLCSA Tuesdays 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Different Strokes
http://www.differentstrokescalgary.org
Swim Club.
- Calgary Networking Club
Check website for current schedule
Calgary Networking Club (CNC) is back.... after a
5 year hiatus, CNC is meeting again in Calgary on
the first Thursday of every month. The networking
meetings are open to all individuals who would
like to promote their businesses or who would like
to meet new people - no business affiliation is
necessary.
Don’t Buy In Project
http://www.dontbuyin.ca
This Calgary Police Service Initiative aims to
encourage youth to working towards an inclusive
environment in which diversity is embraced in their
schools and community.
- Heading Out
Peer group for men who are looking for an
alternative social activity to the bar. Activities vary
Fake Mustache
Calgary’s ONLY Drag King Show
Soda Lounge: 211 - 12th Ave S.W.
(403) 923-3953
http://www.miscyouth.com
calgaryfakemustache@hotmail.com
A benefit show for the Miscellaneous Youth Network,
Fake Mustache is guaranteed to please! Come see
our boys strut their stuff at Soda, the first Thursday
of every month. $5 cover. $2 cover under 18.
Advance tickets available at Barbies Shop.
All Ages show starts at 7:30. 18+ show starts
at 10:15.
Gay Prairie Alumni
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gayprairiealumni/
This group is for all gay/lesbian/transgendered
alumni of Prairie Bible Institute and/or Prairie
High School in Three Hills, Alberta. It’s purpose
is twofold: First, social -- to renew old friendships
and make new ones. Second -- to talk about
our common experiences as gay people at a
fundamentalist school. Any other questions, please
feel free to ask.
Girl Friends
http://members.shaw.ca/girlfriends
Saturday, February 9th, 2008 - Chinese New Year
Celebration - details to come
Girlsgo Productions
(403) 510-2502
http://www.girlsgo.ca
Event production and promotion in Alberta for
women. Check online for fun things to do!
GLASS, Gay & Lesbian Association of Students
and Staff
279R Student Union Club Spaces
University of Calgary
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~glass
(403) 220-6394
HIV Peer Support Group
(403) 230-5832
hivpeergroup@yahoo.ca
ISCCA – Imperial Sovereign Court of the
Chinook Arch
http://www.iscca.ca
Every Saturday Shooters with the ISCCA @ the
Bunker/Texas Lounge 7pm - Midnight
All monies raised go to Charity: Agape Manor,
Beswick House, HIV Peer Support, Artists for Quality
of Life, Children’s Wish Foundation
Integrity Calgary
http://members.aol.com/DWFrancis/integrity.html
NO SERVICES TILL FURTHER NOTICE
St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, at 1121 - 14th
Avenue S.W., is a very welcoming community that
you may consider going to, they worship every
Sunday morning at 8:00 am (traditional prayer
book service) and the contemporary worship service
at 10:30 am. Or try.
Knox United Church
506 - 4th Street S.W. • (403) 269-8382
http://www.knoxunited.ab.ca/
Knox United Church is an all-inclusive church
located in downtown Calgary. A variety of facility
rentals are also available for meetings, events and
concerts.
Restaurants
Worship Services
Wednesdays - Communion Service 12:10 pm
Sundays - 11:00 a.m. September to June
Sundays - 10:30 a.m. in summer July and August.
Ave. .S.W. Doors open at 4:00pm
NETWORKS
knowsponge@hotmail.com
Jan. 12 - Coffee at Midtown Co-op 1130- 11 Ave.
S.W. Meet at 10:00 am - ARGRA Dance
Radio Show – Every Wednesday from 9-10pm.
Focus on sexuality; gay bisexual lesbian trans
gendered and straight issues here in Calgary and
around the web. Listen on CJSW FM 90.9.
Positive Space Committee at Mount Royal
College
4825 Mount Royal Gate SW
Phone: 403-440-6383
Web: www.mtroyal.ca/positivespace
Email: stavcer@mtroyal.ca
Jan. 15- Pumphouse Theatre production “Camelot”
Showtime 7:30pm Meet at MoneyPennies for dinner
before show. also Executive Meeting
Western Canada Bigmen and Admirers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
WesternCanadaBigmenGroup/
Jan. 16 - Free Pool at the Eagle
bigpaul41@yahoo.com
Jane Doe Marketplace & Cafe 50
311 17 Avenue SW • (403) 245-5263
Calgary’s Only Marketplace featuring Women
Entrepreneurs. Coffee Shop too!
S.W. Meet at 10:00 am
The Positive Space Committee at Mount Royal
College works to raise awareness and challenge
the patterns of silence that continue to marginalize
lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gendered, two-spirited
and queer (LGBTTQ) individuals.
Jan. 22 - Stitch N’Bitch at Len’s. If you would like
to attend , please give him a call at 229-3717
Vigor Calgary
(403) 255-7004
http://www.vigorcalgary.ca/
Money-Pennies 9
See our ad on page 19, 29 and 43
1742 - 10 Ave SW • (403) 263-7411
Violence in Gay Male Relationships (VIGOR) is a
committee of professionals dedicated to increasing
the awareness of gay men’s domestic violence and
the services available to them.
Theatre and Art
Jan. 27 - Vertigo Mystery Theatre production
Mystery Of Snake in the Grass. Director’s
performance only $10.00 Curtain Time 7:30pm.
- Be there an hour early to be assured a seat.
“Yeah... What She Said!”
Every Monday evening from 8:30-9:00pm
CJSW 90.9 FM
yeahwhatshesaid@gmail.com
YouthSafe
http://www.youthsafe.net
DANGEROUS LIAISONS - February 7 - 9, 2008
in Calgary
MOZART’S REQUIEM - March 27 - 29, 2008 in
Calgary
GISELLE - September 13 - 15, 2007 in Calgary
Making Positive Space at Mount Royal Jan. 16 on
Main Street Positive Space MIXER Jan. 31 4p.m. to
8p.m. in the Lincoln Park Room free admission, free
food & beverages, music, fun and community
Pride Calgary
(403) 262-3410
http://www.pridecalgary.ca
Pride Calgary Annual General Meeting - Wednesday,
January 09, 2008, 7:00 pm. Knox United Church,
506 Fourth Street SW, Calgary
Military Ball - Saturday June 07, 2008 at the
Calgary Eagle
Pride Parade and Street Gala - Sunday June 08,
2008 Stephan Avenue Walk and Olympic Plaza
Pride Dance Event - Saturday June 14, 2008
Location TBA
Jan. 8 - Card Night at Bryce & Jim’s. If you would
like to attend please call them at 281-2637.
Rainbow Community Church
Hillhurst United Church
1227 Kensington Close N.W.
Website: http://www.rainbowcommunitychurch.ca
E-mail: roneberly@shaw.ca
The Pride Rainbow Project was started in Fall 2003
by 4 youth of the Unitarian Church of Calgary.
The Pride Rainbow Project is a project designed
to show support for same-sex marriage in Canada
and elsewhere. It is a fabric rainbow banner
approximately 5 feet wide, and the goal is to make
it 3.2km (2 miles) long, in order to break the world
record (set by a group in Florida at 1.25 miles)!
It contains the 6 colours of the pride flag: Red,
Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. The project
is youth run, but anyone can help!.
Saturday, January 26th - Bear Bar Night at the
Calgary Eagle, (424A 8th Avenue SW). Bears are at
the Eagle after 10:00pm.
Jan. 6 - Monthly Gathering at the Old “Y”223-12
Alberta Ballet
http://www.albertaballet.com
ATP, Alberta Theatre Projects 36
Phone: (403) 294-7402
http://www.ATPlive.com
OLIVER TWIST OR, THE STREET BOY’S PROGRESS
- By Charles Dickens, Adapted by Michael O’Brien,
November 22 – December 27, 2007
Rocky Mountain Bears
http://www.rockymountainbears.com
Monday, January 14th - 7:30pm - Coffee Night at
Good Earth Cafe (1502 11th Street SW) Kick off the
New Year with Friends over Java
Prime Timers Calgary is designed to foster social
interaction for its members through a variety of
social, educational and recreational activities. It is
open to all gay and bisexual men of any age and
respects whatever degree of anonymity that each
member desires.
Alberta’s website for youth with sex-and-gender
differences. Youthsafe.net lists the resources,
information and services to help youth find safe and
caring spaces in Alberta.
Calgary Eagle Inc. 4
424a - 8 Ave SE • (403) 263-5847
http://www.calgaryeagle.com
The Rainbow Community Church is an all-inclusive
church. Everyone is welcome (and we mean it!).
Services are held every Sunday afternoon at 4:00
PM.
Pride Rainbow Project
prp@planet-save.com
http://www.priderainbowproject.com
Primetimers Calgary
E-mail: primetimerscalgary@gmail.com
http://www.primetimerscalgary.com
Urban Sex
http://www.cjsw.com
Sunday, January 27th - Bears do Banff. Join a
group of friendly Bears for a day trip to Banff, lots
of great food, and a dip in the hot spring. Details
regarding car pooling and where to meet will be
posted later.
Safety Under The Rainbow
http://www.safetyrainbow.ca
Mission: To raise awareness and understanding of
same-sex domestic violence and homophobic youth
bullying.
Sharp Foundation
Phone: (403) 272-2912
E-mail: sharpfoundation@nucleus.com
http://www.thesharpfoundation.com
Travel Masters - Need a vacation?, Ed Smith at
Travel Masters has agreed to donate 25% of
his profit from WestJet bookings to The SHARP
Foundation. So before you plan your next trip with
WestJet, email Ed at TravelMasters
19
AXIS Contemporary Art
107, 100 – 7 Ave. SW • (403) 262-3356
rob@axisart.ca
Edmonton Listings
Edmonton Pride Week Society
http://www.prideedmonton.org
Northern Chaps
http://www.northernchaps.com
Monday to Friday: 10am to 6pm
Saturday: 10am to 5:30pm
Sunday: 11am to 3pm
Bars and Clubs
Boots & Saddles 5
10242 106th St • (780)423-5014
ERBA - Edmonton Rainbow Business
Association
#3379, 11215 Jasper Avenue • (780) 49154458
http://www.edmontonrba.org
Northern Chaps is Edmonton’s original leather,
latex, fetish, uniform club. We have been in
existence officially since 1987 but have been in
existence originally around 1982 in Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada. Everyone is welcome to join or
attend events
First Thursdays (the First Thursday of each month):
10am to 8pm
Broadway Across Canada
http://www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
http://www.cpo-live.com • (403) 571-0849
Fairytales International Gay & Lesbian Film
Festival
http://www.fairytalesfilmfest.com
Lisa Hienricks (Artist) 43
Art Central, lower level, 100 7th Ave SW
http://www.creamydreamy.com
Looks Could Kill Art Boutique
Art Central, lower level #11, 100 7th Ave SW •
(403) 264-7576
One Yellow Rabbit 35
Big Secret Theatre – EPCOR CENTRE for the
Performing Arts • (403) 299-8888
http://www.oyr.org
Pumphouse Theatre 37
2140 Pumphouse Avenue SW • (403) 263-0079
http://www.pumphousetheatres.ca
Skew Gallery
1615 10th Avenue SW • (403) 244-4445
http://www.skewgallery.com
Stagewest
727 42 Avenue SE • (403) 243-6642
http://www.stagewestcalgary.com
Sweet Charity Nov. 22, 2007 – Feb. 10, 2008,
Sweet Charity is a musical look at one woman’s
belief that in the midst of adversity, that she will
find hope and strength to know that someday she
will finally meet that nice young man who will
romance her away; and all of her dreams will come
true. Sweet Charity features classic musical numbers
such as the show stopping “If My Friends Could See
Me Now” and “Big Spender”.
Stride Gallery 47
1004 MacLeod Trail SE • (403) 262-8507
http://www.stride.ab.ca
Theatre Junction
http://www.theatrejunction.com
Truck Gallery 46
815 1st Street SW (Basement) • (403) 261-7702
http://www.truck.com
Vertigo Mystery Theatre 34
161, 115 – 9 Ave SE • (403) 221-3708
http://www.vertigomysterytheatre.com
20
Buddy’s Nite Club 6
11725 Jasper Ave • (780) 488-6636
Prism Bar & Grill 8
10524 101st St • (780) 990-0038
http://www.prismbar.ca
The Roost (Now Closed) 9
10345 104th St • (780) 426-3150
http://www.theroostniteclub.com
Woody’s 12
11725 Jasper Ave • (780) 488-6557
Bathhouse and Sauna’s
Down Under Baths 7
12224 Jasper Ave •(780) 482-7960
http://www.gayedmonton.com/
Steamers 10
9668 Jasper Avenue • (780) 422-2581
Steamworks 11
11745 Jasper Ave• (780) 451-5554
Businesses
B & D Emporium 13
New City Compound, 10081 Jasper Avenue
STORE HOURS FRIDAY 9 PM - 1 AM, SATURDAY
NOON - 6 PM, 9 PM - 1 AM
http://www.bdemporiumedmonton.com
Cruiseline
(780) 413-7122 trial code 3500
http://www.cruiseline.ca
Phone chat room & talking classifieds for 18+
Pride Construction
(780) 239-9197
Construction and Renovations
Organizations
Buck Naked Boys Club (Edmonton)
Naturism club for men.
Meets the second Saturday of each month.
(780) 471-6993
http://www.bucknakedboys.ca
Our club has been meeting continuously for over 10
years. The similar club in Calgary ceased to exist
several years ago. Naturism is being social while
everyone is naked, and it does not include sexual
activity. Therefore participants do not need to be
gay, only male, but almost all participants over the
years do self-describe as being gay or bisexual.
Camp fYrefly
7-104 Department of Educational Policy Studies
Faculty of Education, University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G5
http://www.fyrefly.ualberta.ca
Our primary focus is the provision of networking
opportunities for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered (GLBT) owned or operated and
GLBT-friendly businesses in the Edmonton region.
Membership is open to all kinds of entrepreneurs,
from tradespeople to professionals to commission
salespeople.
The Edmonton Rainbow Business Association After
Business Mixers. Held on the second Wednesday of
every month 5:30 – 7:30 pm
January 9: Garage Burger Bar & Grill, 10244
-106 Street
February 13: Prism Bar & Grill, 10524 – 101 Street
March 12: Garage Burger Bar & Grill, 10244 -106
Street
April 9: Prism Bar & Grill, 10524 – 101 Street
Edmonton STD 4
11111 Jasper Ave
Edmonton Vocal Minority
http://www.evmchoir.com
Phone: 780-479-2038
Free To Be volleyball
Amiskiwcy Academy, 101 Airport Rd. (near the
downtown airport)
Every Wednesday and Thursday night, 8pm-10pm.
Wednesday night recreational level: All players
and skill levels welcome. Contact Marc for more
information: padremark@hotmail.com, Tel: (780)
445-0365.
Thursday night intermediate level: Coaching and
drills provided. Contact Alex for more information:
flipside@telus.net, Tel: (780) 424-9984. (Please
note that there is limited space on the intermediate
night)
HIV Network Of Edmonton Society 3
11456 Jasper Ave
http://www.hivedmonton.com
Imperial Sovereign Court of the Wild Rose
http://www.gayedmonton.org
Edmonton Illusions Social Club
The Edmonton Illusions Social Club meets the
second Thursday of each month at the Roost
Bar&Grill, 10345-104St, Edmonton, in the upstairs
boardroom at 8pm. For info go to http://groups.
yahoo.com/group/edmonton_illusions/ or call
780-387-3343.
Living Positive through Positive Living Society
of Alberta 2
(780) 488-5768
http://www.edmlivingpositive.ca
Providing confidential one-on-one peer support for
infected or affected individuals…. Internet support
peersupport@edmlivingpositive.ca
Pride Centre of Edmonton 1
95A St. and 111 Ave. • (780) 488-3234
- Bears Movie Night
Bears club of Edmonton meets the last Sunday of
the month for movies 1- 6 pm in the TV room at the
Pride Centre of Edmonton 95A St. and 111 Ave. Ph:
(780) 488-3234
- Trans Education/Support Group
Support and education for all transsexual,
transgendered, intersexed, two-spirited and
questioning individuals meets 1st and 3rd Sundays
of each month, 2-4 pm at the Pride Centre
of Edmonton 95A St. and 111 Ave. Ph: (780)
488-3234
- Sunday Night Mens Discussion Group
Mens social and discussion group meets every
Sunday @ 7 pm at the Pride Centre of Edmonton
95A St. and 111 Ave. Ph: 488-3234, Contact: Rob
Wells - robwells780@hotmail.com
- Saturday Movie Night
Weekly movie nights, with themed movies and
discussion afterwards at the Pride Centre of
Edmonton 95A St. and 111 Ave. Ph: (780) 4883234. from 2:00 to 5:00
- The HIV Positive Gay Men’s Group
Drop in caring circle every Thursday, 1-4 pm @ 79 pm in main area, at the Pride Centre of Edmonton
95A St. and 111 Ave. Ph: (780) 488-3234
Facilitator: Mark, HIV Outreach
The HIV positive Gay Men’s Group is a place for
gay men to come and share their feelings on
how it is affecting their personal lives. This is a
personal private time for them to express how it has
changed their outlook on life. As well to support and
help each other dealing with being HIV positive.
Whatever is said in the room stays within the room.
Remember! You are not alone!
- Youth Understanding Youth
Youth support and social group meets every
Saturday from 7 to 9 pm at the Pride Centre of
Edmonton 95A St. and 111 Ave. Ph: (780) 4883234 Contact: yuy@shaw.ca (www.members.
shaw.ca/yuy )
- Womonspace
(780) 482-1794.
see our ad on page 50
womonspace@gmail.com
www.gaycanada.com/womonspace
A non-profit lesbian organization established for
Edmonton and surrounding areas. Organized
activities include: licenced non-smoking dances;
coffee houses; family events; games nights; golf
tournaments; and more. Memberships available,
which also includes confidential bi-monthly
Newsletters.
January 18 At Prism Bar & Grill, 7pm $2 Pool
Tournament Entry
- Prime Timers
(EPT) is a group of older gay men and their
admirers who come from diverse backgrounds but
have common social interests. We meet on the
second Sunday of most months at the Unitarian
Church of Edmonton (10804 - 119th Street) at
2:30 pm for a social period, a short business
meeting and then either a guest speaker, discussion
panel, or a potluck supper. Special interest groups
meet for other social activities throughout the
month. In July and August we have a BBQ or picnic
in lieu of a meeting and in December it’s replaced
with a Christmas party. EPT is affiliated with Prime
Timers World Wide. If you would like to know more
about our group, email edmontonpt@yahoo.ca,
visit http://www.primetimersww.org/edmonton/, or
attend a monthly meeting.
- Suit Up and Show Up Big Book Study
Saturdays at 12 noon. At Pride Centre
- Sick and tired of being sick and tired? Cocaine
Anonymous meeting
Thursdays 7-8pm CA Hotline 425-2715
- Youth Drop-in
Every Wednesday at 5:00pm
Open to all youth 25 years and under
Contact brendan@pridecentreofedmonton.org or
call 488-3234 for more info.
- Men’s HIV Support Group
Will be meeting on each second Monday of the
month. At the Pride Center, Edmonton Starting in
April, from 7pm to 9pm.
- Parents Rock the World Workshops
PFLAG Canada: Edmonton Chapter - Workshop
Series Tuesdays, Pride Centre (95A St. and 111
Ave.) 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. Ph: (780) 488-3234
A series of workshops for Parents of Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning children.
Each session will feature a 30 – 45 minute
topic specific presentation, followed by a group
discussion. Social time for sharing and networking
will follow at the end of each session. Call the Pride
Centre to register or for more details.
welcome. Salsa, Rhumba, Waltz, Jive. Begins
Sunday December 2, 7:30pm-8:30pm Phone: 469
- 3281 ballroom@teamedmonton.ca
- GLBT Seniors Drop IN
Every Thursday Pride Centre (95A St. and 111
Ave.), 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
The Pride Centre is thrilled to introduce a new
program serving our GLBT seniors. Hosted by Jeff
Bovee, contact the Centre at 488-3234 for more
info.
CURLING WITH PRIDE - Resumes Mondays at 7:15.
Oct 15 2007 to Mar 17 2008. Granite Curling Club
8620 - 107th Street. curling@teamedmonton.ca
Team Edmonton
http://www.teamedmonton.ca
Team Edmonton is hosting their annual mixer on
February 23 2008 from 7-11pm at the Amber
Brewery located at 9926-78 Avenue. This free
public event is an opportunity for to raise awareness
and promote sports and recreational activities within
the GLBT community in Edmonton.
BADMINTON - Women’s Drop-In Recreational
Badminton, Oliver School Gym 10227-118 Street.
Begins October 3, and then every Wednesday
6 to 7:30pm. Levels: Beginner, Intermediate
and Competitive. Fees: $30.00 for the season or
$5.00 drop in Phone: 465-3620. badminton@
teamedmonton.ca
BALLROOM DANCING - All gender combinations
BOOTCAMP - Monday at 7:00- 8:00pm. St.
Alphonsus until Dec 10. 11624 - 81 St. $30.00 fee
for the season. bootcamp@teamedmonton.ca
BOWLING Northern Titans Bowling resumes on
Saturday September 29. Every Saturday 5 to 7pm,
GATEWAY LANES at #100 3414 Gateway Blvd
$15.00 per person. bowling@teamedmonton.ca
CYCLING - Wednesdays 6:30 Various locations in
Edmonton. cycling@teamedmonton.ca
KICKBOXING - Dates to be determined. Location to
be determined. kickboxing@teamedmonton.ca
OUTDOOR PURSUITS - January 25-27 2008,
Ski/Snowboard Trip to Banff and Lake Louise
For more information contact outdoorpursuits@
teamedmonton.ca
RUNNING - Arctic Frontrunners. Sundays, Tuesdays
and Thursdays. Times and locales vary running@
teamedmonton.ca
STEP AEROBICS - Resumes in September. Every
Tuesday Night. Meet in the Aerobics Studio at
5pm. Kinsmen Sports Centre 9100 Walterdale Hill.
step@teamedmonton.ca
SWIMMING - Making Waves Swimming resumes
September 6th. Tuesdays 8 to 9pm. Thursdays 7:30
to 8:30. Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
(NAIT) pool. 11762 - 106 Street. swimming@
teamedmonton.ca
TENNIS - Dates to be determined. Tennis is
currently looking for a new coordinator for the
fall. If you are interested, please contact Norm at
communicatoins@teamedmonton.ca
VOLLEYBALL - Free to Be Volleyball resumes on
October 10th and 11th, 8 to 10pm. Wednesday
Recreational recvolleyball@teamedmonton.ca.
Thursday Intermediate volleyball@teamedmonton.
ca. Fees to be determined. 101 Amiskiwacy
Academy (the former Municipal Airport Terminal just
off Kingsway)
YOGA (HATHA) - Lion’s Breath Yoga, Every
Sunday 2:00 to 3:30. Beginning September
9th, 2007. Fee: Free. This is an introductory
level class. No previous experience with yoga is
required. Bring: Yoga mat or beach towel & water.
Wear Comfortable sweats or shorts & t-shirt. To
confirm your participation please contact yoga@
teamedmonton.ca
Soccer - will be on the South field of the Oliver
School every Thursday from 7 - 9pm. 10227 -118
Street. (weather permitting) For more information
contact soccer@teamedmonton.ca
Theatre and Art
Alberta Ballet
http://www.albertaballet.com
DANGEROUS LIAISONS - February 15 - 16, 2008
in Edmonton
MOZART’S REQUIEM - April 4 - 5, 2008 in
Edmonton
GISELLE - September 18 - 19, 2007 in Edmonton
21
Broadway Across Canada
http://www.broadwayacrosscanada.ca
Exposure, Edmonton’s Queer Arts and Culture
Festival
http://www.exposurefestival.ca/
Lethbridge Listings
GALA/LA - Gay and Lesbian Alliance of
Lethbridge and Area
(403) 308-2893 (live on Mon. and Wed. evenings
until 11 p.m.)
http://www.newgaylethbridge.ca
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance of Lethbridge and Area
dance season begins Saturday, August 25 with
the next to follow the last Saturday of each month
(except December) until May. For more information
on dances, monthly Pot-luck Dinners (all ages) and
other programs, visit the GALA/LA website at www.
newgaylethbridge.ca. Also our Support Line (403)
308-2893 is open Monday OR Wednesday 7 pm
-11 pm (leave a message any other time). PFLAG
offering support through Parents & Friends for
Lesbians and Gays is available as well, call us any
time for more information.
Red Deer Listings
Affirm
Composed of LGBTQ people, their friends, family
and allies. No religious affiliation necessary.
Activities include support, faith and social justice
discussions, film nights, and potlucks! Affirm
meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7PM at
Sunnybrook United Church, (403) 347-6073.
National Listings
Businesses
Entre Nous
1-866-467-5252
http://www.entrenousnetwork.com
Love and Pride
Gay and Lesbian themed Jewelry
http://www.loveandpride.ca
Squirt
Dating and hookups website
http://www.squirt.org
Wega Video
Adult DVD’s
http://www.wegavideo.ca
Organizations
Alberta Transgender Support and Activities
Group
http://www.albertatrans.org
A nexus for transgendered persons, regardless of
where they may be on the continuum.
Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition / Coalition
santé arc-en-ciel Canada
P.O. Box / C.P. 3043
Saskatoon SK Canada S7K 3S9
306-955-5135
toll -free / sans frais 1-800-955-5129
fax/ télécopieur 306-955-5132
http://www.rainbowhealth.ca
http://www.santearc-en-ciel.ca
Egale Canada
#310, 396 Cooper
Ottawa, ON K2P 2H7
1-888-204-7777 toll free
Stephen Lock – Regional Co-Director (Male)
Prairies/NWT/Nunavut
(403) 708-5302 cell phone
http://www.egale.ca
stephenlock@egale.ca
Egale Canada is the national advocacy and lobby
organization for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals,
trans-identified people and our families.
Membership fees are pay-what-you-can, although
pre-authorized monthly donors are encouraged (and
get a free Egale Canada t-shirt). Egale has several
committees that meet by teleconference on a
regular basis; membership on these is national with
members from every region of Canada.
Theatre and Art
Brothers TV
http://www.brotherstv.com
OUTtv
http://www.outtv.ca
If you would like to add your business or non-profit
group to the list above, please call (403) 5436960, or toll free 1 (888) 543-6960 or E-mail
magazine@gaycalgary.com. You can add your
information to the GayCalgary.com directory on the
website for free.
GayCalgary.com endeavors to have the information
here as accurate as possible. Events and listings can
change at any time so it is recommended that you
check with the establishment before you head out.
Non-Profit groups get free listings. Business receive
a listing once an ad has been placed. The business
listing will last 1 year after the appear up to ad
has been placed unless there is a GayCalgary.com
service located at that business.
22
Some New Year Musings
By Stephen Lock
The beginning of a new year is a time to reflect;
to look inward, and maybe think about what we, as
individuals and as a community, can do to make the
coming year a bit better than previous ones; to think
of ways we can improve our approach to life and to
others around us.
Of course, all such musings tend to be on the idealistic side
of the graph – we all wish for world peace, better/healthier
lives, dignity, comfort, safety and prosperity, just to name a
few. Like many New Year’s resolutions, of course, they never
actually come to pass or don’t come to pass in quite the way
we had envisioned. Perhaps the point is the envisioning of
them to begin with, because nothing can come to fruition
without first creating it in our minds.
Setting aside personal resolutions, perhaps it would be
useful to think about what we, as a community, can resolve
to try and do in the next 12 months.
Every year we hear complaints about how “community”
doesn’t really exist, or how superficial it is if it does exist,
how “political” it can be, etc. I think “community” does exist. It may not be quite the warm, welcoming, open and supportive environment we all assume it would be as we start to
come out into it, but it is there and, like so much in life, it is
- by and large - what we make of it.
Looking back over the last few years, I can see some sterling examples of ”the community” creating something worthwhile. Not just this macrocosm of GLBT, but local communities made up of the individuals who, in turn, created and
make up the organizations, bars, cafes, social networks, and
organize events, both small and large, in a particular city, or
work on issues of importance to the community as a whole.
The first thing that springs to mind is equal marriage.
The “community” pushed that forward, made it happen. We
Politics
made it happen on so many different levels. It wasn’t just
the “handful” of activists in Toronto and Ottawa that won
all us queer folk the right to marry the person we love, if we
chose to - although in many ways those activists were on the
forefront of the struggle and received very little of the glory
and a lot of the flack – it was individuals.
It was the quiet gay or lesbian couple down the street who
decided that their lives together were every bit as valid as
the heterosexual couple across the street and who decided
to start presenting themselves as a couple; married in all but
name and being clear that they believed they deserved to be
married in name.
It was our parents who looked at the life we had with our
respective life partners and saw a reflection of the life they
had with theirs. It was our friends and, yes, the activists
in our midst, who spoke out when some bozo started going
on about how the sanctity of marriage was under attack by
‘them radicals.’ It was a myriad of different constellations
of people, coming together in a common struggle to make it
happen. And it did.
I look further back and see how a community made a
difference in the face of a terrifying, deadly and devastating
disease; how that community stood its ground, in so many
fields and on so many levels, and demanded we be listened
to, respected, and dealt with properly.
Much of today’s support and education networks for HIV/
AIDS sprang from the gay men’s community responding to a
threat when nobody else would. Those networks didn’t come
out of some governmental agency, or some Congressional or
Parliamentary directive; it came from those whose lives were
being directly impacted by a disease nobody wanted to talk
about, let alone do anything about. It was, literally, a bunch
of concerned men and women, gathering around kitchen
23
tables and in community centre drop-ins, and coffee houses
and bars who asked ‘what are we going to do’ and then coming up with some answers to that question and implementing them. It was individuals losing lovers, friends, chosen
family, and other people around them, or at risk of becoming
infected and dying themselves, who created something positive out of something so horribly negative.
I look further back still and see the formation of what we
know today as “community” rather than just a collection
of individuals with nothing more in common than a sexual
interest in other men or other women. Think about that
for a minute: Building community involved creating an infrastructure where none existed; setting up counseling and
support centres, information phone lines, sports leagues,
social networks, resource libraries, discussion groups, activist groups, and social groups of all descriptions. Even more
than that, however, it involved a truly radical mind set shift
from secretive, furtive, illegal activity undertaken by isolated
individuals and creating a mind set that understood who we
were in terms of “orientation” and of recognizing a commonality that included, but went beyond, sexuality.
In some urban centres a simultaneous phenomenon was
emerging that had hitherto been unheard of – neighbourhoods whose over-arching characteristic was they were
primarily populated by homosexuals choosing to congregate and live their lives openly in a specific geographic area
rather than trying to blend into the society and culture
around them by hiding not only ‘what’ they were but, more
profoundly, ‘who’ they were. Being formed for and by homosexuals, thereby consciously carved out a certain ethos, an
atmosphere, which declared in no uncertain terms “this is
gay territory.”
The 1980’s saw the birth of the Gay Village in areas such
as The Castro in San Francisco, West Hollywood in Los
Angeles, Christopher Street and, to a certain degree, Greenwich Village in New York City, St. Catherine’s in Montreal,
Centretown in Ottawa, and the West End in Vancouver.
Community was being created, not by happenstance, but
consciously.
We, as a community, are capable of accomplishing so
much, of improving the lives of our brother and sister queer
folk – and therefore our own - of making a difference not just
for ourselves, but for society at large.
But, like any community, there are internal stresses and
conflicts that sometimes overshadow the accomplishments
and the potential. It is difficult in our day-to-day lives to
step back and avoid those conflicts. It is easy to emotionally engage and get caught up in them. It is part of being
human.
No community is immune, be it a community based
on orientation and gender identities, a community based
on ethnicity or race, a small town somewhere, a religious
faith…all communities, like all families, experience conflict
and upset and struggle and varying degrees of acceptance of
others within that community. Is there an answer to avoiding, or at least resolving, such undermining of what community means? Sure…like the creation of community itself, it
starts with each of us, as individuals, resolving to contribute
what we can for the greater good; each other.
It’s not easy. Every one of us sees the world – and community – in terms of how it relates to us and not so much
in terms of how we relate to the world/community. That,
too, is part of being human. But another part of being human, history shows us, is being able to reach beyond our
limitations, to create things of beauty and ideas of sparkling
construction that will endure and enrich not just our own
lives, or the lives of others, but Life itself. The creation, and
maintenance, of what we know as ‘community’ is an amazing thing, something to be treasured and nurtured and built
upon.
Perhaps, as we move into a fresh new year, full of promise
and potential and possibility, we can all resolve to add to the
building of community so that all have some place to feel
safe, respected, and secure.
24
Q Scopes
“Economize sensibly, Capricorn!”
By Jack Fertig
The Sun aspecting Neptune and Eris makes us question our place vis-a-vis others, creating confrontations
between the real and the ideal. In the gap, you could
find discouragement or opportunities to improve on
reality. A subtle, sensitive approach should work best.
ARIES (March 20 - April 19): Worries about
social obligations can make you uncertain about
your goals and your standing. Accept that as an opportunity
to seek counsel and to make adjustments. Remaining clear
with your friends while you change tack can be hard, but it’s
necessary!
TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): You live very much
in the real world, but realms within and beyond
are tugging at your attention. You need time out from your
routines to reassess your career path and to remember that
work serves larger goals - which would be...?
GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): You could strut
around, enjoying and exploiting your heightened
erotic charisma - but is that all there is, my dear? Explore
new realms in art and music to add further depth to your
pleasures.
CANCER (June 21 - July 22): Feeling tested by
colleagues at work is all right if you rise to the
challenge and prove yourself through competency and dedication. Avoid lowering yourself when baited, or throwing back
attitude, no matter how much of it you’re getting to start with.
Be professional!
LEO (July 23 - August 22): Accept any criticism
graciously (no matter how stupid it is!), and be
very reserved about offering your own. Agree to disagree and
otherwise avoid petty controversies. Try to delay important
debates. Arguments now just sow trouble and confusion.
Lifestyle | Astrology
help you see where you do stand.
SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Yes, you
need to focus on details now, but stay mindful
about how the parts relate to the whole. Family wisdom, or
Wiccan-style goddess traditions, can help you keep perspective, seeing the forest along with the trees.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 20):
Don’t let money problems upset you. You are a
champion problem-solver. Listen to advice from a friend. Don’t
follow it, but consider it a step toward figuring out an approach that neither of you would have come up with alone.
CAPRICORN (December 21 - January 19): Happy
birthday? Ha! At your age, you should be richer
and better established in your community. Not really, but we
all feel that way sometimes. Give yourself full credit, surround
yourself with friends, but do economize sensibly!
AQUARIUS (January 20 - February 18): Keeping
a journal would help provide keen insight. If you
find that dull and tedious, keep a journal as a fictitious character. Even that will reveal some deep inner truth.
PISCES (February 19 - March 19): Politics, or just
entertaining friends, can be an expensive hobby.
Getting involved - perhaps with your pals - in some volunteer
work will be cheap and effective. For bargain entertainment,
churches and synagogues often have secular concerts and
programs.
Jack Fertig, a professional astrologer since 1977, is based in
San Francisco. He can be reached for consultations at 415-8648302, through his website at http://www.starjack.com
VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): You have
brilliant opportunities for playful adventure.
Some risks may be necessary, but many can be avoided. Don’t
get suckered into druggy or otherwise unsafe situations. You’ll
have more fun if you keep a clear head and take sensible
precautions.
LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): Questions of
familial structure make you wonder about your
own status, perhaps even about where your loyalties should
lie. Some simple fun and games should lighten things up and
25
Adult Film Review
Out on Vacation, Mutiny, College, Vanished
By Jerome Voltero
“Out on Vacation” by
AlphaMale Media, Courtesy of Adult Depot
CAST: Steve Cruz, Dillon
Buck, Dan Vega, Trojan
Rock, Jake Ryder, Martin Mazza, Dean Monroe,
Carlo Cox, Marcus Troy,
Butch Grand.
Steve Cruz and his
buddies Dillan Buck and
Dan Vega go on a tropical
island vacation together.
What else is there to do in
the tropics but get up to
naughty business?
Unfortunately Buck and
Vega ditch Steve to go cruising for cock, leaving him alone
on a bar patio…some friends they are! So Cruz resolves
to make his own fun, and he doesn’t have to go far – he
merely steps inside the bar and finds bar tender Jake
Ryder and starry-eyed Martin Maza making out across the
counter.
Cruz apologizes for interrupting, asking what there is to
do…perhaps he was hoping to get in on this action but instead Ryder sends him on a boat tour. Cruz takes off but
we get to stay behind and see things getting hot and heavy
between the two.
The boat tour doesn’t turn out too badly for Cruz
however. He is the only passenger on the small vessel,
and Captain Trojan Rock enjoys his company very much
– especially when Cruz puts on a swimsuit stroking show.
At first the two gawk at one another through an open
window into the cockpit – conveniently it is head height for
Cruz and crotch height for Rock. Eventually Rock comes
around and the two make whoopee to the breathtaking
ocean scenery.
To follow are some very sexy beach and poolside scenes.
Every actor in this film has an attractive build and is
nicely hairy, some tanned, some tattooed. But if you won’t
look at a guy unless they get a body wax, then perhaps the
next two films will be more to your liking.
“Mutiny: Shipmates Revenge!” by Dark Alley Media,
Courtesy of Adult Depot
CAST: Jake Corwin, Owen Hank, Rick Gonzales, Carlos
Marquez, Tim Rusty, Ian Alexander, Matthew Green, Jamal.
26
Review | Adult Male
Captain Matthew Green
runs a very tight ship
– so tight that the crew
is starting to get restless.
Nothing is good enough
to satisfy him; not Jake
Corwin’s repairs to the
engine, not Tim Rusty’s
job swabbing the deck.
Despite these efforts, the
ship is an absolute dump
– dirty and covered in graffiti. The crew’s uniforms
seem ridiculously white for
this setting.
Jamal, a young and
slender African-American
boy, steals Rusty away
for a little buggery below deck. My jaw dropped as Jamal
unzipped his pants and had to still reach down to pull out
his meat. Rusty goes at it eagerly, but is quickly unable
to swallow the full length and breadth. In the end there’s
really only one place to put that…in the end.
Meanwhile Captain Green is keeping himself entertained
as he plays dom to Ian Alexander, stepping on his face and
making him lick his boots. Green has an enormous PA
that he wraps in a condom along with the rest of his junk
before ravishing the passive crew mate. Owen finishes
but takes Alexander down to the engine room for further
disciplining, and this is when it really starts to get kinky.
He uses a chain to hang the young lad upside down by his
ankles, completely naked, and proceeds to flog him. After
witnessing this, Corwin and Gonzales begin to get worried
for their own safety. Rusty insists on trying to reason with
the captain, but the other two start planning a mutiny.
The actors are generally buzzed and waxed, with the
exception of Corwin’s sexy patch of chest hair – the rugged
look is fitting for his role as a mechanic. This film does go
more into the kink/fetish side of sex, with a water sports
and fisting scene to follow.
“College Cocks 2” by High Octane, Courtesy of
Priape
CAST: Lucio Maverick, Flavio Valentino, Rod Stevens,
Tim Black, Chris Hacker, Geoffroy Garcia, Steve Hunt,
Rogerio Matteo, Fred Fele, Rick Bauer, Ian Lynch, Alex
Lynch, Sanjoy.
Well first of all, a lot of these guys look far too old to
be in college, but while
they’re wearing their
old-school uniforms I
guess we can pretend.
The porno starts off with
Rod Stevens shamelessly
cruising Tim Black at the
urinal, which leads to
some steamy bathroom
action.
Chris Hacker unwittingly walks in on Stevens
and Black. He is stunned
and doesn’t know what to
do until Black yells at him
to get lost – I got a chuckle
from Black’s impatient yell
as he bobs up and down
on top of Stevens. Hacker
hastily runs out and shuts the door.
At several points during the previous scene they cut to
Steve Hunt sitting quietly, reading, under the shade of a
tree. His peace is short lived as Lucio Maverick emerges
from the bushes with horny intentions.
Personally the whole school boy look doesn’t do anything
for me, perhaps because I never attended a school with
such a strict dress code. Still, it’s a fetish that I’m sure
many others have – how can you not get randy at an allguys college? Factor in boyish curiosity and the appeal of
many cast members’ Italian sounding names and you have
College Cocks 2 in a nut shell.
Next he encounters Matthew Ford enjoying his caged
slave Bo Matthews. Matthews is wearing an odd iron
head-cage with a mouth hole for – you probably guessed
it. Ford is a hot beefy daddy, and even though I’d be terrified in Dakota’s position, I would want to join in as Dakota
does.
Dakota and Ford were by far my favorites, but the rest
of the cast ranged from smooth and muscular (Andrew
Justice, Rodrigo DeLeon and Tyler Saint) to pale and
scrawny (Wolf Hudson, Bo Matthews, and Jay Armstrong).
I would not recommend this film to anyone with a weak
stomach for kink. They get into harnesses, slings, latex,
leather masks, gas masks, rape, and approach fisting with
an oversized dildo – though not to worry, the guy’s insides
remain inside.
Priape Calgary
Canada’s Favorite Gay Store
1322, 17th Avenue SW – (403) 215-1800
http://www.priape.ca
Adult Depot
Over 3000 Gay Titles for Sale or Rent
140 – 58th Ave SW – (403) 258-2777
afterdk@telus.net
“Vanished” by Mustang, Courtesy of Priape
CAST: Jake Dakota, Tyler Saint, Andrew Justice,
Ryann Wood, Jay Armstrong, Wolf Hudson, Bo
Matthews, Matthew Ford,
Rodrigo DeLeon.
Jake Dakota is on a
mission to find his friend
Tyler Saint who mysteriously vanished weeks ago.
His phone is disconnected,
his E-mail no longer
valid – but Dakota finds a
lead by breaking into his
colleague’s house and revisiting the internet bookmarks on his computer.
He is taken to a website for a heavy kink/S&M club called
MEAT, which runs in the basement of an abandoned meat
processing plant every Sunday. Dakota visits a store to
gear up in leather wear so that he can blend in.
As he wanders the halls of this abandoned industrial
basement, he witnesses a number of men indulging their
fetishes. He walks by Wolf Hudson using a pump-dildo on
Ryan Wood, the both of them wearing ass-less latex body
suits. Dakota stops for a moment to watch and touch
himself before moving on.
27
Deep Inside Hollywood
By Romeo San Vicente
Jake Scores Joe
It’s not a given that
Hollywood’s hottest actor
who recently played gay
would be cast in the lead of
a biopic about a flamboyantly nonconformist-yetstill-hetero football star.
But it does make a kind of
sense that Jake Gyllenhaal
has been chosen to play
60s gridiron icon and sex
symbol Joe Namath. The
legendary sports figure
and 1969 Super Bowl hero
was also a pop culture
phenomenon known for his
flash: wearing fur coats on
the sidelines and accepting endorsement deals
from pantyhose companies
(check out that vintage Beautymist commercial on YouTube
if you’re too young to remember). And thanks to Brokeback
Mountain and subsequent drag appearances on Saturday
Night Live, Gyllenhaal is known for being game to go where
lots of young actors won’t. So when the writers’ strike is over,
the film’s script and production schedule can get on track.
L Word’s Kirshner to Buy Borrow Steal
When The L Word shuts down production at season’s end,
star Mia Kirshner goes back to work: on feature films. Her
latest project, after recently co-starring in The Black Dahlia,
is Buy Borrow Steal alongside Heather Graham. Graham
plays a young professional in London who learns that she has
very little time left in which to get pregnant. Her unreliable
boyfriend refuses to assist in the science experiment, so she
enlists the help of best friend Kirshner to help her fulfill the
mandate of the film’s title. Maybe the success of Knocked Up
means more pregnancy-themed comedies coming down the
28
Celebrity | Gossip
multiplex turnpike, or maybe, like egg fertilization itself, it’s
all an accident. Either way, the U.K. shoot wrapped in early
2007, and the film is on the festival circuit now with American
distribution soon to follow.
Jarmen Explored by Julien
British filmmaker Isaac Julien is one of 30 directors to be
awarded a Sundance grant for his latest work, Derek, a combination documentary/biopic about the life of experimental filmmaker Derek Jarman, who died in 1994. Best known for his
controversial 1977 punk rock-themed film Jubilee - a movie
starring Adam Ant that imagined Queen Elizabeth II time-traveling to a dystopian future - Jarman was one of the few openly
gay directors working in England in the 1980s. Julien, director
of Young Soul Rebels and the queer film-fest favorite Looking
for Langston, worked with executive producer - and longtime
Jarman collaborator - Tilda Swinton (Chronicles of Narnia) to
bring the project to life and ensure that Jarman’s cinematic
legacy isn’t forgotten. The finished film debuts at the 2008
Sundance Film Festival in January.
George Takei Treks to New Frontiers
Forget what they say about coming out ruining an actor’s
career. Given the nonstop forward motion of Star Trek’s
George Takei’s work schedule, it’s probably an understatement to say that the actor wishes he’d done it even sooner.
The man has no fewer than five projects taking shape right
now: a video game based on the hit animated series Futurama,
and four live-action roles in films, ranging from the soundslike-it’ll-open-at-a-drive-in-theater-in-1978 Ninja Cheerleaders
and American Summer (a comedy about prostitution) to the
war drama, The Red Canvas. But playing himself in The Great
Buck Howard might prove to be his biggest comeback vehicle
to date. The movie co-stars John Malkovich, Tom Hanks, and
Colin Hanks, and concerns a magician and his young assistant. Sounds like the 70-year-old actor is working some magic
of his own.
Whole Lesbian Sex
What Do Butches Want?
By Felice Newman
Butches, bois, stone butches. A sexy brew of masculinity in a female body. Do they, well, you know,
get done? Heels in the air or on their knees, do
butches give it up? And if they don’t, what do they
like?
That was the question a femme, newly smitten with her first butch
partner, asked me recently: “What do butches want?”
Many butches like strap-on sex. Some like clitoral stimulation and
some like cunnilingus. Others like rimming and anal penetration. And yes,
some butches like vaginal penetration.
If getting a partner off is central to lesbian sex, it’s paramount to butch
sex. Often what a butch wants most is to drive a silicone dildo - or fingers
or a hand - into the place that will please a partner most. When your butch
is bringing you to orgasm, her body becomes a conduit for sexual energy.
Of course, let’s not assume your butch requires direct genital stimulation to get off.
Lesbian | Sexuality
In any case, the butch directs the action, deciding how far to go and
when to quit - no judgments.
Receptivity is an energetic quality that can be cultivated - it isn’t necessarily about who’s doing what to whom. In fact, you can be stone through
and through and be receptive. How? Well, you can be open and inviting of
the pleasures of the senses rather than closed or defended.
So what do butches want? Well, a lot of things - a classic hand job or
blow job. Your butch may put her heels in the air in her own rendition of
Bend Over Boyfriend. She may even invite your fingers, hand, or mouth
to explore her body inside and out. When she’s packing for you, dear
femme, she wants you spread before her, your body wrapped around her
sex. However that butch likes to get off is good - because that truly is
what she wants.
Felice Newman is a founding publisher of Cleis Press and the author
of “The Whole Lesbian Sex Book: A Passionate Guide for All of Us.”
Visit her at www.cleispress.com.
Just the visuals of that dildo thrusting in and out of you may be enough
to push your butch over the edge. The base of the dildo rubbing against
her clitoris (perhaps with the help of a well-placed egg vibe) may provide
the stimulation she needs. Many butches slip a hand under their harness
and take care of themselves.
The real question is this: Is there something wrong with a partner who
doesn’t want you paying attention to her genitals. Is that a hurdle to be
overcome or a preference, thank you very much?
Don’t assume that every stone needs to be melted. That butch’s sexuality is her business. For some, it is indeed a preference. Others may go
to great lengths to explore the source of their disinclination to receiving
touch, much less vaginal penetration. They may examine all the nooks and
crannies of their histories and turn every rock in their psychic gardens.
They can work through past trauma and come to terms with gender dysphoria. And then decide - you know what? - it was a preference all along.
Not everyone wants to get f**ked.
But some do. Some butches want to explore receptive sex. It’s an individual choice. If a butch decides she wants to explore receptivity, there are
many ways to go about that. (For starters, it helps to have a partner who
accepts her exactly as she is.) Here are some suggestions:
Femmes, don’t run out and buy a sparkly red patent leather strap-on.
Take it slow.
Butches, bust your own myths. Many butches believe that “real”
butches don’t get penetrated. (“Well, maybe in the butt. But if you eroticize your female genitals, you’re not really butch.”) Not true.
By opening up the subject with your partner, you, as the butch, are not
agreeing to give up your identity or your lifelong sexual practices. It’s just
a conversation. You don’t have to change a thing.
Don’t conflate receptivity with “bottoming.” If you’re into power play,
you can construe a scene where the butch “orders” the femme to “service”
her.
29
Tobacco Reduction Act
Alberta Gets Tougher on Second-Hand Smoke
By Rob Diaz-Marino
It has been a year since the Smoke Free Places
Act was introduced, ridding Calgary bars and
restaurants of second-hand smoke, and forcing
smokers to take their butts outside. By now,
many don’t even notice the absence, or miss the
presence of cigarette smoke in Calgary’s gay bars.
But as promised for the beginning of 2008, the
next step of the Alberta government’s wellness
agenda came into effect January 1st.
The newly touted Tobacco Reduction Act is designed to
replace the Smoke Free Places Act, eliminating exceptions
such as casinos and First Nations reserves. Now the use
of tobacco products (including smokeless products such
as chewing tobacco) is prohibited in public places and
workplaces regardless of whether minors are permitted;
the only exceptions are privately owned vehicles, private
residences, and aboriginal rituals that involve tobacco.
Furthermore, smokers will have to venture a little further outside in order to light up. The regulation distance
from a doorway, window that opens, or an air intake of a
public place or workplace has been increased from 3 to 5
meters, which may put a damper on the loopholed use of
outdoor patio space for some bars.
The fines for not abiding by this new act are much
steeper than they were prior. An individual caught smoking in a prohibited place may be fined up to $1000 for a
first offense, and up to $5000 the second time. Managers
are responsible for ensuring that people in their establishment abide by the rules, and are also liable if someone
is caught committing an offense – up to $10,000 for first
time, and up to $100,000 the second time. For now the
act will be enforced by police officers and peace officers,
but additional inspectors may be appointed by the Minister down the line.
The act is supported by 80% of Albertans, according to
the Ipsos-Reid poll conducted in January 2007. The Alberta Tobacco Reduction Strategy (ATRS) benefits Albertans
according to statistics that indicate Tobacco as the number one preventable cause of premature death in Canada,
and that Tobacco usage costs Alberta’s economy over $1.8
billion each year in lost productivity and direct health care
costs.
Despite these tightened regulations, there is no plan to
go so far as banning the sale of tobacco products altogether. The Alberta government acknowledges that change
has to happen gradually, and does not want to create a
demand for contraband cigarettes.
More changes are yet to come. On the first of July this
30
Community News
year, all retail displays promoting tobacco products will be
prohibited, and January 1st of 2009 will see the prohibition of the sale of tobacco products in health care facilities,
public post-secondary campuses, pharmacies, and stores
that contain a pharmacy.
For more information about the Tobacco Reduction Act,
visit:
http://www.health.alberta.ca/SmokeFree/TobaccoReduction_FAQ.html
For information on how to quit smoking, visit:
http://www.albertaquits.ca
Fundraising Photos
Photos by Steve Polyak and Rob Diaz Marino of GayCalgary.com Magazine
Misc Youth Fake Moustache Drag King Show at Soda
- Calgary
31
Living X-Mas Tree at the Calgary Eagle - Calgary
32
ARGRA X-mas Dinner and Dance - Calgary
Dr. Richard Denney’s Toys for Tots at Money Pennies
- Calgary
ISCCA Candy Cane Queens Show at Twisted Element
- Calgary
33
34
OYR’s 22nd Annual Event has Arrived
By Jason Clevett
It’s a new year, and with the dawning of 2008
comes one of the highlights of Calgary’s theatre
season, One Yellow Rabbit’s High Performance Rodeo. Truly a “something-for-everyone” event, the
Rodeo is one of the most eclectic theatre events in
Calgary.
“The High Performance Rodeo, Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts, is dedicated to entertaining as wide an audience as imaginable, while remaining fertile ground for the
progressive and the wild. That’s why you will find Gryphon
Trio, the 10-Minute Play Festival, spanking new work from
Alberta Ballet and the queer hip-hop music theatre smash
hit BASH’d side by side on the same playbill,” said Rodeo
curator Michael Green in a statement on the OYR website.
With 30 different shows on the Calendar, there is lots to
choose from. In addition to BASH’d!, (see article page 12)
here are some of the other shows that may be of interest to
GayCalgary readers.
Sylvia Plath Must Not Die – January 8th to 12th
One Yellow Rabbit’s newest original work presents a seductive look at the poetry and passions of Sylvia Plath and
Anne Sexton, two intense souls who attempted to escape the
straitjacketed social norms of their time through a cathartic
flow of ink and emotion. Sylvia Plath Must Not Die offers a
compelling glimpse into the lives of two of the 20th century’s
most prolific and complex literary figures, conflicted women
whose sexual and intellectual appetites were often at odds
with their prescribed roles as mothers and wives. Despite
enjoying remarkable success in their field, both would eventually succumb to their demons and commit suicide; Plath
in 1963 and Sexton in 1974.
Garden Cities of Tomorrow – January 15th to 16th
Dolores loves dirty dishes, and her husband, Morton
“Showstopper” Calhoun, can’t dirty them fast enough. She
solicits neighbours’ dishes, strangers’ mail-in dishes, even
adopts dish-dirtying orphans to quench her domestic addiction – but is it enough? This eccentric portrait of Kansas
City matrimony is built around the music of Lullaby Baxter’s
two critically-acclaimed albums, Capable Egg and Garden
Cities of To-morrow, with songs like Mr. Powder-Blue Breadbox and Cardboard Armoured Car. Part three-penny Opera,
part urban fable, this world-premiere musical play tosses
the term ‘kitchen-sink drama’ on its ear–and fills yours with
sultry-smooth folk-jazz.
Luckyburden – January 22nd to 23rd
For over 70 years, Keno City was the epicentre of Yukon
silver mining. People flocked there from around the world to
live and work, building a flourishing community in the Gustavus Range, four hundred kilometres north of Whitehorse.
Then, in 1989, the mines closed.
Preview | Theatre
A heartbreakingly beautiful documentary by filmmaker
Andrew Connors combines rarely-seen footage of Keno City’s
boom time with contemporary images of the derelict mines.
With the film as a backdrop, Juno-nominated musician Kim
Barlow performs live, crafting an exquisite portrait of Keno’s
20 remaining denizens in a folk-music soundscape of mixed
blessings and rugged eccentricity.
Tubular Bells – January 18th to 19th
In 1972, a 22 year-old record-store owner, Richard Branson, met a 19 year-old musician, Mike Oldfield. Branson
wanted to start a record label; Oldfield wanted to record an
album. After a one-week session in Branson’s Manor House,
both wishes were granted. The label: Virgin Records. The
album: Tubular Bells. Oldfield’s album was an explosion
of sound and style, featuring more than 20 layered instruments. The music leaps across genres, from an eerie piano
opening (made famous as the theme from The Exorcist) to
a gently resonating glockenspiel to a bluesy electric guitar
shuffle. It stayed on the UK charts for 279 weeks, sold over
15 million copies worldwide, went gold in the USA and received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition.
Fast-forward to the present: acclaimed Calgary composer
and concert pianist Marcel Bergmann, fuelled by his teenage passion for the album, arranges the first side of Tubular Bells into a dynamic four-piano composition. Now, in a
massive collaboration commissioned by One Yellow Rabbit,
Bergmann’s arrangement will sound out on four Steinway
grand pianos, performed by The Bergmann Duo and special
guests Jeroen Van Veen and Hong Xu – and, in the Tubular
Bells spirit of daring juxtaposition, four company dancers
from Alberta Ballet, choreographed by Yukichi Hattori, will
perform a startling contemporary ballet synchronized to the
pianos’ innovative harmonies.
Midway: Carnival of the Macabre – January 10th to 12th
Duck under the Big Top to feast your eyes and ears on
the freaky, creepy and carnivalesque. Step into the darker
side of strange, as the Centre Court is transformed into a
high-flying carnival. Chomp on a gourmet hot dog and steal
a smooch at the kissing booth while testing your ick-factor
with extreme piercers and contortionists. Daily scheduled
events turn a spotlight on the bizarre, with sword-swallowers, tarot card readers and aerial acrobats, and the Midway
Stage features circus musicians, spoken-word artists and
dancers that delve into the twisted depths of your imagination. No single tent can contain the boiling chaos of a circus,
and that’s where Freak Show comes in (8pm-10pm). The
Swallow-a-Bicycle Performance Co-op hosts a cavalcade of
Calgary’s freakiest emerging artists in an interactive tour
through the bowels of the EPCOR Centre, from the Ledge to
the Hall of Pillars.
35
Letters to the Editor
Letters
By GayCalgary.com Staff
Dear GayCalgary,
Artists for Quality of Life
(AFQOL) has cleared over
$10,000! Talk about the
little engine that could!!
2007 was a banner year.
Between immense community support, our premiere
fundraiser, (the 4th Annual Donnie Peters Memorial Cut-a-thon), and cash donations, we exceeded the $10,000
mark. This money enables us as a 3rd party charity to help
support the nutritional needs of those living with HIV/AIDS.
From this money, $6700 will be used for the Positive Living
Lunch Program, as well as Xmas hampers and emergency
nutritional needs.
An additional $3000 has been earmarked for the first
AFQOL Weekend Retreat, which will offer those with HIV/
AIDS a chance to get back to nature while enjoying tai chi,
counseling and the company of others - once again boosting
the quality of life.
We still need cash donations to assist us with the retreat, so
please contact David Patten (Finance) @ (403) 560-3119 if you
are able.
Also, we are proud to announce that the 4th Annual AFQOL
Celebration and Awards Gala will be held at 7pm on Sunday
February 17th 2008 at Money Pennies. Come one come all
and celebrate another successful year while we kick off 2008.
Best wishes to everyone and Happy New Year!!
Linda Eckess
Executive Chair
Artists for Quality of Life
Dear GayCalgary and Edmonton,
On Dec 31st the Roost closed its doors…
I remember the Roost opening in Edmonton in 1978. Oh
those were the days - the original name was The Cock Roost,
ha ha, and after a few months the name was changed to The
Roost.
I remember dancing to Star Wars with my 1st lover Rick.
I was 20 years old. Today Rick and I are the best of friends.
He was the one who told me about the Roost closing its doors,
and I was sad to hear the news.
The Roost gave the Gay community in Edmonton a good
30 years of fun and dance, and brought the gay community
together hand in hand. Now the question is, will the Roost
open again?
More of the older warehouses and buildings are bought
36
every day across Canada and converted into offices or lofts or
parking lots - as it happened to Flash Back, which closed in
1989.
The Roost will be missed. I would like to thank Dow the
owner for his dedication of 30 years, giving the gay community
a place to call home. I will always have many memories of The
Roost and Flash Back - I could not have done it without the
two of you...
Love to all of you in Edmonton from the coast,
Allen Ross
Dear GayCalgary,
As I was present at the recent Pride Calgary AGM, I felt it
pertinent to cover a few aspects that escaped attention with all
of the dramatics that were present. I think it would be better
to discuss things in a more positive light.
- Pride allows us to stand up for ourselves, fight when we
need to, no matter win or lose.
- Pride gives us a way to demonstrate our achievements in
life and celebrate with others.
- Pride is not a representative of the community it is a reflection of it.
- Pride is not diminished by the differences of others.
- The pride of those before us gave us the equality of today.
- We only need our own approval to have pride.
Now admittedly I am new to working with Pride Calgary,
and as such have been blissfully ignorant of what politics
have plagued the organization. Truthfully, I would rather
remain that way and focus on going forward. One of the few
things I am aware of is that as an organization Pride Calgary
is suffering from a lack of manpower, volunteers, members
and board directors alike. We are all responsible for making
Pride happen, not entitled to it because of the efforts of a few.
Pride does need the support of the people it supports in turn.
I hope there are those who can find their Pride and aid Pride
Calgary. There are many ways people can do it, not all of it requires a two year term of dedication. By being a member and
offering your opinion, by going to events and enjoying yourself,
by getting involved, volunteering and simply speaking up and
being proud.
I would like to thank all those agencies and businesses who
have helped Pride to succeed up to this point and those that
will in the coming years. At this point I am going to work my
greatest to help Pride be the spectacle it deserves to be, preferably with the rest of the community at our side. With a little
work, Pride 2008 can be even greater than previous years and
it will be our own efforts that make us proud.
Sig Moser
Director, Pride Calgary
Real Estate Sales Tips for Winter 2008:
5 tips to keep your listing active as the market cools in winter.
By GayRealEstate.com
Although winter is notoriously sluggish in terms
of real estate shopping, the downtime provides a
golden opportunity for homeowners to enhance their
property’s marketability. Here are five simple ways
to pump-up your listing, even during the winter lull:
Calculate your estimated heating costs going forward for the rest of the
winter.
Heat rises, and so does the cost to keep a house warm
while energy prices escalate. So you may want to offer a
discount to your potential buyers in exchange for a prompt
sale. For example, one owner of a large antique house faced
combined utility bills of $900 a month for the upcoming
four months, for a total of $3,600. He advertised that he
would contribute $2,000 in closing costs to a buyer, and one
jumped at the chance. He closed within 30 days, saving himself more than $2,500.
Provide a Home Warranty.
Especially if you are selling an older home, consider buying
home warranty insurance and giving it to your buyer. A home
warranty policy offers coverage for repair or replacement of
items such as appliances, heating and air conditioning units,
electrical systems, and clogged plumbing.
The cost of the policies varies, but most average between
$250-$500. But the reassurance they provide to a homebuyer
usually far outweighs the expense of paying for the policy, so
a home warranty can sometimes give you a competitive edge
as a seller.
Host a Broker’s Open House
While public open houses are common – and we see lots
of balloons tied to listing signs during spring and summer
months – the broker’s open house is a more specific marketing tool. And Realtors generally agree that a broker’s open
house is much more effective in terms of generating a sale.
Rather than invite buyers, you invite only Realtors, so
for every person who attends you generate many potential
contacts with qualified buyers who are looking for a home.
Realtors visit your home, tour it, pick up information sheets
on the property, and keep it in mind for possible showings to
their own clients.
To host a broker’s open house, contact local real estate
brokers and invite them to attend. Schedule the event for a
weekday, because weekends are busy for Realtors and they
will have more time to attend during normal working hours. A
good idea for a broker’s open house is to host it on a Monday
or Tuesday from 12 to 2 p.m., and offer a simple lunch of deli
sandwiches, coffee, and soda. Because winter months are
slower for Realtors – and because the entire event is hosted
indoors – winter is a great time for a broker’s open house.
Real Estate
subprime
mortgage
mess. To help
potential buyers who visit
your home
come up with
a mortgage,
enlist the
help of a local
lender. Many
mortgage
loan officers
will appreciate the opportunity to work with your potential buyers,
because it gives them a chance to generate fresh leads for
possible loans.
Visit your lenders, talk to them about ways they might be
able to provide mortgage information to your buyers, and
then provide their contact info to buyers. If you hold an open
house event, have the mortgage professional set up a table in
your living room and advise visitors regarding various types of
mortgages and current interest rates.
Clean out the Clutter and Make Minor Repairs
Concentrate on clearing out closets, the garage, and the
attic. Remove any unnecessary personal belonging and furniture. Emptying closets and rooms makes them look bigger,
and buyers will feel like they are getting more space for their
money.
There is no need to go into debt over minor repairs, but a
strategic approach to fixing up your house can pay for itself
in a faster sale at a better price. For example, if your doorbell
does not work and there are cracks in your windowpanes or
rips in your screens, buyers will notice and deduct points.
Maybe the bathroom needs a coat of cosmetic paint, the
kitchen faucet leaks, or the gutters need to be cleaned. You
may be accustomed to these minor inconveniences, because
as we live in a home we adapt to its quirks. But to a skeptical
buyer they stand out as evidence that the rest of the property
is not well maintained and may have major hidden problems.
Use the winter months to spruce-up your home and enjoy
the pride of having a home that shows well and looks its best.
Buyers and Realtors will notice and appreciate the effort, and
attention to small details is often the difference between a
languishing listing and a closed transaction.
To find mortgage and real estate professionals committed to
exceptional service to the GLBT community, check out www.
GayRealEstate.com and www.GayMortgageLoans.com. Or call
their toll Free phone number 1-888-420-MOVE (6683).
Enlist the Expertise of a Reputable Mortgage Lender
One of the biggest obstacles to a successful sale is financing, and this has never been truer than it is now, during the
37
The Pursuit of Muscle
By Kevin Alderson, Ph.D., R. Psych.
“The big issues for me in being gay have been
coming out and then what you look like. How am I
gonna fit in? You get these messages that you have
to be like that or you don’t count” (Todd, 1999). [1]
Most of us have thought about setting New Years Resolutions as year end encroaches. I try to set goals in several
life areas, including the physical. Would I like bigger
muscles in 2008? You bet I would, and I am not alone in
desiring the perfect male physique. While I continue what
at times feels like a frantic attempt at the gym to develop
this, I am aware that many more women than men are
ashamed of the story told when they look in an undistorted mirror. I wrote in Queer Quest (July 2006 issue) about
body image and its effect on eating disorders. This month,
I want to look closer at the pursuit of muscle and body
sculpting in general for men, women, and adolescents.
Who wants more muscle? It turns out that both men
and women want greater musculature [2] – however, the
ideal body is different for men and women in North American cultures. The ideal male body is thin, muscular, and
hard. [3, 4] In one study, about 90 percent of the college
men wanted a more muscular frame and none wanted to
be less muscular. [5]
The female heterosexual ideal has been changing over
the years and the thin and soft look of yesteryear has been
replaced with a look that is lean and toned. [6] Although
muscularity is desired by women, most do not pursue
maximum bulk. Even in female bodybuilding, the International Federation of Bodybuilders recently asserted that
maximum muscularity – which is an ideal for male bodybuilders – does not apply to women. [7]
Men’s bodies are increasingly being objectified and sexualized, largely through the use of “young, bare-chested,
lean, and muscled male bodies in fashion magazines and
advertising.” [8]
The print media does portray men’s bodies as vehicles
for selling everything from fitness memberships to cars.
Movies and television also include far more lean muscular
characters in less clothing than in past years. The men in
pornographic films also need to be buff (a sharp contrast
to the porn stars of the 1970s) and well endowed. Even action figures have become increasingly muscular. In 1964,
if the GI Joe dolls were morphed to become a 5-foot, 10inch tall man, he would have 12-inch biceps and a 44-inch
chest. In 1998, the GI Joe doll then being marketed would
have a 27-inch bicep and a 55-inch chest when morphed
as a man (no wonder I wanted these dolls more than my
son)! [9]
Research has shown that the chests, biceps, and abs
38
Queer Quest
of many contemporary action figures actually exceed
the muscularity attained by
world-ranking bodybuilders.
Furthermore, even comic
book heroes now make me
pant as they are drawn in
amazing detail with razor-defined chests and nipples (they
never used to draw nipples in
comic books) and ripped abdominals. Male strippers are
also a new phenomenon, and
their look is generally everything you could ask for in an
ideal. Lastly, have you noticed that the male mannequins
are more muscular compared to the 1990s? [10] God, I
can’t even walk past the gay store, Priape, without wanting
to rip the clothes off their very realistic mannequins and
devour them in every way (I’m sure there is a name for this
mental disorder).
The media is often blamed for the changes that are occurring in our perceptions of what we find attractive, but
the media is as much a reflection of the times as it is a
creator of them. I remember watching the Beatles on the
Ed Sullivan show back in the 1960s and thinking that
they caused guys to start wearing their hair longer. The
fact is, longer hair became symbolic of a rebellion that was
already long underway in the US, Canada, and Britain.
Other factors occurring besides the influence of media
helped shape the current physique craze and sexualization
of men – for example, the growth of the men’s movement
and the gay liberation movement. [11] Women had already
long been sexualized both in media and in general by a
male-dominated culture, but the emergence of viewing
men as sex objects was clearly a new phenomenon developing in the latter part of the 20th century.
Does the objectification of men and women have a negative effect on our mental health? Although the research is
correlational, meaning it cannot tell us anything about the
causal relationship, there is evidence that men, women,
and adolescents are becoming increasingly dissatisfied
with their bodies, and some developing a condition called
muscle dysphoria, meaning they are never happy with
their bodies, regardless of how much muscle they have already developed. [12] A large-scale 1997 Psychology Today
survey found that 43% of the men were dissatisfied with
their overall appearance and more than half wanted a better abdomen. [13] One study found that 17 percent of the
men reported that they would give up three years of life to
look like the ideal, and 11 percent would even sacrifice five
years! [14]
Although both gay and heterosexual men want bodies
that are thinner and more muscular, body dissatisfaction
is greater with gay men. [15] Compared to straight men,
gay men are more critical of their appearance and they feel
shame when they believe themselves to be physically lacking. [16]
Adolescent boys are not immune to desiring a better
body either, and underweight boys experience the most
appearance-related pressure and teasing from their peers.
[17] Recent studies have shown that about a third of teenage boys want bigger muscles and another third want to
become thinner. [18] Interestingly, gay and bisexual boys
reported less interest in having bigger muscles compared
to their heterosexual counterparts. [19]
The pursuit of increased muscularity and fitness is a
healthy well-intentioned quest for most teens and adults.
The problem occurs for those who suffer emotionally or
abuse themselves physically because of it. The number
of boys who have used anabolic steroids is estimated at
between 1 percent and 12 percent. Furthermore, between
0.2 percent and 9 percent of teenage girls have used steroids as well. [20] Severe enough, body dissatisfaction can
also lead to the development of eating disorders (see Queer
Quest, July, 2006).
Steroid use is common in competitive bodybuilding.
Interestingly, too much steroid use in men results in an
overproduction of testosterone, and the excess actually
converts into estrogen. In turn, this results in excessive
pectoral development that looks feminized. The result is
known in bodybuilding circles as “bitch tits.” [21] The
female bodybuilding scene is about having the right combination of steroids to produce muscular development,
but their success is also contingent on having the right
combination of “breasts, makeup, and hairstyle.” [22] Steroid use in women results in breast shrinkage, and breast
implants are taken for granted in female bodybuilders. [23]
Serious bodybuilding can lead to numerous health problems. The high protein diets combined with dehydration
can lead to kidney problems. The actual lifting of heavy
weights is associated with increased injury to muscles,
tendons, and ligaments. Steroid use in both sexes is associated with acne, heart problems, hypertension, tumours,
irritability, aggressiveness, and poor judgment. [24]
If developing a better physique is part of your New Year’s
resolution, plan a strategy for yourself that is healthy and
well-intentioned. The ideal male body is unattainable for
most men [25] and it will simply ruin your mental and
physical well-being if you push yourself too hard. If you
are new to body sculpting, consider paying for at least
a consultation with a personal trainer (most gyms have
them) to get instruction on how to begin at an appropriate pace for you. I will forever want the ripped abs, but I
also am not going to deny a glass of beer with a friend to
achieve it. “All things in moderation” still strikes me as a
good motto to follow in life.
References:
1)
Padva, G. (2002). Heavenly monsters: The politics of the male
body in the naked issue of Attitude magazine. International Journal of Sexuality & Gender Studies, 7(4), 281 292 [quote from p. 289].
2)
Gray, J. J., & Ginsberg, R. L. (2007). Muscle dissatisfaction: An
overview of psychological and cultural research. In J. K. Thompson & G.
Cafri (Eds.), The muscular ideal: Psychological, social, and medical perspectives (pp. 15-39). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
3)
Tiggemann, M., Martins, Y., & Kirkbride, A. (2007). Oh to be lean
and muscular: Body image ideals in gay and heterosexual men. Psychology
of Men & Masculinity, 8(1), 15 24.
4)
Martins, Y., Tiggemann, M., & Kirkbride, A. (2007). Those speedos become them: The role of self objectification in gay and heterosexual
men’s body image. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(5), 634
647.
5)
Gray & Ginsberg (2007).
6)
Gruber, A. J. (2007). A more muscular female body ideal. In J. K.
Thompson & G. Cafri (Eds.), The muscular ideal: Psychological, social, and
medical perspectives (pp. 217-234). Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
7)
Ibid.
8)
Tiggemann, Martins, & Kirkbride (2007). [quote from p. 15].
9)
10)
Luciano, L. (2007). Muscularity and masculinity in the United
States: A historical overview. In J. K. Thompson & G. Cafri (Eds.), The
muscular ideal: Psychological, social, and medical perspectives (pp. 41-65).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
11)
Martins, Tiggemann, & Kirkbride (2007).
12)
13)
14)
15)
Tiggemann, Martins, & Kirkbride (2007).
16)
17)
Ricciardelli, L. A., & McCabe, M. P. (2007). Pursuit of muscularity
among adolescents. In J. K. Thompson & G. Cafri (Eds.), The muscular ideal:
Psychological, social, and medical perspectives (pp. 199 216). Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.
18)
Ibid.
19)
Ibid.
20)
Ibid.
21)
Schippert, C. (2007). Can muscles be queer? Reconsidering the
transgressive hyper built body. Journal of Gender Studies, 16(2), 155 171.
22)
Ibid. [quote from p. 161].
23)
Ibid.
24)
Gruber (2007).
25)
Dr. Alderson is an associate professor of counselling psychology at
the University of Calgary who specializes in gay and lesbian studies. He
also maintains a private practice. He can be contacted by confidential
email at alderson@ucalgary.ca, or by confidential voice mail at 6055234.
39
A Year Of Transgression
The Quest to Pee, Searching For a UnitedENDA, Transphobia Strikes Even the Hetero World
Trans Identity
By Mercedes Allen
This past year saw a diverse number of events
in which gender variance made news. The rollercoaster ride shuttled between extremes of bigotry
and enlightenment at a breakneck pace.
ENDA
Federal legislators attempted to make some civil rights strides, despite being under the shadow of a probable veto. One such bill sparked
a debate that spilled out in ripple effect through the GLBT community
even beyond American borders. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) became noteworthy because transgender people were
dropped from the bill at the eleventh hour, before it was taken to a vote.
The bill’s sponsor, Barney Frank, argued that there would not be enough
votes to pass the bill if it included transgender people, and that incremental progress was better than nothing. The transgender community
feared, meanwhile, that “incremental progress” would mean that (as has
happened often in the past) they would be left behind indefinitely.
Most significantly, the debate raised a number of sub-debates about
transgender peoples’ place in the GLBT community. Some highlights:
• AmericaBlog’s John Aravosis wrote on Salon.com: “I don’t think
the T was added because there was a groundswell of demand in the gay
community that we add T to LGB. I think it happened through pressure,
organizational fiat, shame, and osmosis,” an argument which forgets
that transsexuals were among those who touched off the Stonewall riots
and the beginning of the gay rights movement, and were even politically active before then, such as at Compton’s Cafeteria (1966).
• Susan Stryker pointed out that there was a definite overlap in need
between issues of sexual orientation and gender identity due to societal
emphasis on “heteronormativity, the idea that whatever straight people
do is really what’s what, and that whatever anybody else does is deviant
to some degree. To want to have sex with somebody of the same gender
violates heteronormative expectations of gender behavior as much as it
does heteronormative expectations of sexual behavior.”
• Lambda Legal wrote, following a reading of the non-inclusive
version of ENDA, “We fear that defence counsel will argue, and some
courts may rule, that a lesbian, gay or bisexual plaintiff was ’really‘
being discriminated against based on gender nonconformity…in just the
same sort of ways that courts have treated national origin discrimination
as ’only‘ language discrimination that is not prohibited, race discrimination as ’only‘ hairstyle discrimination that is not prohibited, and sex
discrimination as ’only‘ pregnancy discrimination that at the time was
not prohibited.”
But ENDA’s legacy to date is not in the legislation that passed
congress and seems likely to die when it reached the President, but in an
overwhelming groundswell of support for the transgender community,
both in America and further into the Western world. With one notable
exception, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and multi-inclusive
organizations all across the United States (plus some additional non-official support from organizations such as the National Organization of
40
Women) – banded together in virtual unanimity: employment protection
that did not include transgender people was simply not good enough,
and selective inclusions were no longer an acceptable political tactic.
The 368 organizations that formed UnitedENDA.org sent a strong message about the validity of the transgender community as part of the gay
community as a whole.
Incidentally, the single exception was the Human Rights Campaign,
which has had a long history of transgender exclusion. One HRC
President, Elizabeth Birch declared that transgender inclusion in the
then-fledgling ENDA would happen “over my dead body.” The HRC
has since embarked on its “Project Win-Back,” enlisting spokespeople
such as Susan Stanton, in an attempt to regain the veneer of being
transgender-supporting.
More Trouble In The South
• In Riverdale City, Georgia, incumbent transgender Councilmember
Michelle Bruce was sued by opponents who claimed that she defrauded
the public by identifying herself as a woman. The judge tossed the
lawsuit out, but the accompanying press coverage was enough to cause
Bruce to lose her re-election bid.
• Three state representatives made headlines when they made comments during a debate on the house floor in which they compared trans
individuals to animals, among other things.
• 2007 saw a dramatic movement on both sides of the border among
schools and universities to develop transgender-friendly policies and
gender-neutral housing and washrooms. Fearmongers likewise retaliated, especially regarding washroom accommodations, raising the specter of young boys and girls peeing together and/or harassing each other
– even in those cases in which the “gender neutral” washrooms would
be single-stall, with locking door. Safe2pee.org emerged as a cataloguing resource of gender-neutral washrooms everywhere.
• The State of California opened a Pandora’s box of controversy
with Senate Bill 777, which adapted the Education Code to accommodate already-existing anti-discrimination laws and policies regarding
transgender students. Following a massive petition and political action,
opposing lawyers for Advocates for Faith and Freedom and the Alliance
Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in San Diego in order to prevent the legislation from taking effect. Equality California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network then filed a counter-motion to defend SB 777 and other
statutes that prohibit discrimination and harassment in public schools.
The Media Goes Trans?
The year saw an explosion of transgender representation on television, particularly on the ABC network. Returning characters on
Ugly Betty and The L Word were joined by new characters on All My
Children, The Riches, Dirty Sexy Money, Big Shots and Entourage. But
there was much more:
• Barbara Walters brought the struggles of transgender children to
light in a 20/20 news special entitled “My Secret Self.”
• MSNBC followed with “Born In The Wrong Body,” which also
focused on transgender youths and was tied in with a Newsweek special
on “Rethinking Gender.”
• Oprah Winfrey and Larry King both ran several episodes on
transgender people and related issues, lending a sympathetic ear.
• Quizzically, the news program 60 Minutes aired a dubious news
item that focused on discredited author J. Michael Bailey and his latest
researches, which try to reinforce stereotypes of gay men as effeminate
and transsexuals as being misguided gay men, by equating the two in a
number of behavioural studies.
• In the music world, rock band The Cliks released their debut
album, launching out female-to-male frontman Lucas Silviera into the
spotlight.
• Catherine Crouch’s short film, The Gendercator, which predicts
a future in which women undergo gender transition as a “cure” for
lesbianism, raised controversy and was eventually pulled from the San
Francisco International LGBT Film Festival because of concerns of
transphobia.
Closets Are For Clothes
The following people came out in the transgender world, or were
outted:
• Julie Nemecek (formerly John), an ordained Baptist pastor and professor, was fired from her job at Spring Arbor University in Michigan
after obtaining her legal name change. She had been employed by the
private Christian university for 16 years.
• Susan (formerly Steven) Stanton, the city manager of Largo, Florida for 14 years, made news after it was leaked that she planned to soon
begin living as Susan Stanton. Despite Mayor Pat Gerard’s support, the
city commission voted to terminate her employment.
• Los Angeles Times sportswriter Mike Penner announced that he
would be returning from vacation in “yet a new incarnation, as Christine [Daniels].”
• Ann Gordon, a pastor at St. John’s United Methodist Church of
Baltimore City, made a decision to change gender from female to male,
changing his name to Drew Phoenix. During the annual conference,
Phoenix was reinstated and Bishop John Schol stated that The Book of
Discipline did not prohibit transgender clergy from serving in the pulpit.
• Khadijah Farmer, a lesbian who had just participated in the New
York gay Pride parade was ejected from Caliente Cab Company by a
bouncer who refused to look at her identification. This occurred after
someone complained that a man was in the ladies’ room. She later sued
the popular Greenwich Village restaurant.
• An official at the at Treorchy register office accidentally entered
newborn Ieuan James Jones’ gender as female rather than male, sparking a dispute which eventually involved the local MP. The event drew
attention to some remaining difficulties in permanently changing gender
markers on birth certificates in the U.K.
The Canadian Connection
• A federal human rights tribunal ruled the Canadian Forces discriminated against transwoman Micheline Montreuil when they dismissed
her application to become a grievance officer with the Forces in 2003.
• On December 12, possibly inspired by the ENDA debate in the
south, NDP MP Bill Siksay introduced private member’s bills in the
House of Commons to add gender identity and gender expression to the
hate propaganda section of the Criminal Code, and to add them as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act.
• Ironically, the aforementioned bills were introduced by the NDP at
roughly the same time that the party ejected Micheline Montreuil from
candidacy in Quebec, claiming that she was not a team player. Meanwhile, she countered that the action was the result of other candidates’
complaints of association with the well-known transgender activist.
Into 2008
With the riotous ride of 2007, it’s hard to know what the general
direction will be for transgender and overlapping gay and lesbian issues
this year. Positive media still appears likely, with development in even
the usually-tawdry world of reality TV – transgender activist Calpernia
Addams is set to appear in Transamerican Love Story, and promises to
show more dignity and taste in the treatment of transgender people than
has historically happened in that genre. But still, the ENDA debate is
not over, and closer to home some have asked whether EGALE Canada
will take up the same supportive and determined stance as its American
counterparts.
• Olympic pole vaulter Yvonne Buschbaum quit athletics in order to
begin hormone replacement therapy to become a man, boldly saying “I
am aware of the fact that transsexuality is a fringe issue, and I do not
want to be responsible for it remaining on the fringe.” The 27-year-old
German athlete added that a recent injury had contributed to her decision.
• Paul Schum, principal of Bethlehem High School in Bardstown,
PA was charged with prostitution-related offences after police found
him dressed in women’s clothing, including fake breasts and fishnet
stockings, while on the way to a Halloween party. Though he was later
cleared, the school board accepted his resignation.
It’s Not Just About Transgender People Anymore
2007 saw a number of instances in which non-transgender persons
were affected by issues of gender expression.
• In Washington DC, Virginia Grace Soto, born biologically female,
was deemed to be transgender based on what were assumed to be
masculine features. She was housed with male inmates for several days
before the error was corrected (despite having been strip-searched).
41
42
The Distress Centre
It is a sad thing to realize that the highest yearly
suicide rates fall around Christmas. While the holidays can bring extreme happiness to those gifted
with family and friends of any variety, for others it
is a reminder of elements that may be lacking in
their life. Factor in possible financial trouble and
the cold weather, it can prove to be an extremely
depressing – even fatal - combination. January
has been shown statistically to be the second most
depressing month of the year. It is one of the coldest, and after the hype of Christmas it can leave
individuals drained and yearning for the warmth
of spring, or wallowing in financial woes
At times like this it is important to remember that options
are available to help relieve the stress by offering a sympathetic ear.
The Distress Center relies on community donations, and
the funds raised from their yearly Rocky Road Ride which invites motorcycle enthusiasts to try their luck at winning the
motorbike of their dreams.
You won’t hear a cry for help unless you take the time to
listen. Simply lending an ear or offering some sound advice
could make a huge difference to those who are struggling to
cope with the pressures of life.
The Distress Centre
Main Crisis & Addictions Line - (403) 266-1605
Teen Line - (403) 264- 8336
Youth Drug Line - (403) 269- 3784
Men’s Line - (403) 266- 4357
Seniors Line - (403) 264-7700
Out is OK Line - 1-877- 688-4765
Family Violence Info Line – (403) 310-1818
www.distresscentre.ab.ca
The Calgary Distress Center offers a variety of programs
and hotlines to help in times of need. Their work has been
changing the lives of Calgarians since 1970, allowing them to
form long term partnerships with other community assistance
based programs and organizations, forming a large resource
center.
The Distress Center now offers seven separate lines to meet
the needs of various individuals in the community.
The newest addition to the group is the Out is OK line,
designed to serve the greater GLBT community. The line is
primarily for peer support and counseling, and is not a community information hotline outside of related services. The
program is still in its pilot year and is looking for volunteers.
While it is manned 24/7, general volunteers often have to take
over when peer volunteers are not available. Their goal is to
gain a peer volunteer base to handle the line fully.
Currently, Out is OK is manned by members of the community on Monday from 12pm to 5pm, Thursday from 6pm
to 11pm, Saturday from 10pm to 2am, and Sunday from 5pm
to 10pm.
In order to volunteer with the distress center you are required to go through an interview process. During this,
you can specify which group you are interested in working
with, and your in-interview training will be directed for that
stream.
The Distress Center also offers counseling services which
are accessible through their main line. The counseling offered
is short term, focusing on the current situation of the client
and moving forward. Counseling is offered in 12 languages
and also serves three area high schools outside of the main
building.
43
44
Alpha-Q Volleyball
By Stephen Lock
One of the defining characteristics of the Calgary
GLBT community is the way it has organized itself
along recreational and social lines. Compared to other
urban centres in Canada, the Calgary community can
boast about having perhaps the most organizations
- over 60 at last count.
And like any community, as a need presents itself,
someone forms a new group.
For many years, much of the sports aspect was covered
by Apollo: Friends in Sport. This enduring organization
continues to fill much of its niche and has gone on to become well known throughout Canada and the US, especially with its annual Western Cup Tournament. Apollo has
also long included a volleyball league, Innercity Volleyball,
which operates on a ‘drop-in’ basis every Sunday.
TJ Fedyk, a member of Apollo, the organization’s Social
Director, and Western Cup Director, along with a handful
of other volleyball enthusiasts, thought a competitive intermediate team able to travel to out-of-town tournaments
was needed. Though they appreciated what Apollo had to
offer when it came to volleyball, this was something the
Apollo ‘drop-in’ teams didn’t have. The result was AlphaQ.
“The drop-in is great, and a good way to meet new
people and have fun,” said TJ, who is Alpha-Q’s organizer
and team captain. “But…Apollo’s infrastructure just isn’t
able to support traveling to places like San Diego or out to
Vancouver.”
“A few of us were able to go down to the Montreal
Outgames last year and had so much fun there we decided
to form a team that was competitive and could travel,
hence Alpha-Q.”
Whenever a new group is created that mirrors the function of an existing group, sadly one often wonders if it was
formed for some sort of “revenge”.
“Not at all!” TJ is quick to point out. “All the guys currently involved with the team are also Apollo members, although Alpha-Q is a separate entity from Apollo. We also
promote Western Cup when we are on the road.”
Alpha-Q, while still a new team, has already gone to the
Queen Vicky Volleyball Tournament in Vancouver, which is
held just before that city’s Pride. As well, they have competed in tournaments in San Diego, with plans to travel to
Irvine, Miami, and attend the Outgames in Copenhagen
next year.
The team is also a member of the North American Gay
Volleyball Association (NAGVA), which sponsors numer-
GLBT Sports
ous tournaments, including the Queen Vicky, throughout
North America.
“In San Diego there were four divisions, with 17 teams
playing in our division,” said TJ. Divisions are broken
down as AA (ex-National Team players and university
players, therefore the elite division), A (University players
outside of the AA Division), BB (Intermediate level competitive players) and B (competitive). Alpha-Q is a BB level
team and came in fifth out of 17 teams at the San Diego
tourney.
The team has six players, four of which live in Calgary.
“We have a member who lives in Phoenix, Arizona, who
we met at the Outgames, and another member who lives in
Saskatoon,” TJ said.
“The neat thing is, even though many teams in NAGVA
play in leagues all year round, and we obviously can’t all
practice together and just meet up at tournaments – it’s
a killer commute from Phoenix and Saskatoon to Calgary
–,we are able to read each other really well. We just seem
to have that connection with each other,” he said.
So far, Alpha-Q is a gay men’s team. However, this is
more by chance than design.
“It’s not easy finding women in volleyball, although at
the Apollo Innercity drop-in we now have three women who
come out to that,” he said. “And they’ve fit right in with
the guys who have been there forever.” TJ pointed out
that many of the NAGVA tournaments are mixed gay/lesbian/trans.
Currently, the team is practicing for at least four upcoming tournaments and plans to go to the US Nationals
being held in Miami in May 2008, where between 200 and
250 teams from throughout Canada and the US will be
competing.
Alpha-Q’s primary sponsor is Manhunt.net, a gay men’s
contact website based out of the US.
“We went with them because [similar outfits] already
carry a pretty heavy sponsorship load and are always being hit up for sponsorships. We wanted to kind of stand
out a bit, too. Manhunt has been great with supplying us
the t-shirts we wear and great swag to hand out like tees,
and towels, and stuff.”
Actual travel expenses such as air travel, accommodation, the $400US tournament fee, renting a van, and food
and entertainment expenses, all come out of the members’
own pockets.
45
Snowballs!
A Gay Ski Weekend in Banff
By Mike Stansberry
Gay-themed ski trips are rapidly gaining in
popularity as gay men and women head for the
hills for snow, shopping and socializing. Snowballs! is your chance to get away during January
25-27, 2008.
Organizers wanted to offer a low-cost weekend getaway right here in Alberta, as opposed to a week-long
ski trip where costs might be higher. The fun begins on
the round-trip party bus (yes, they have a liquor license),
with movies, prizes, and entertainment. The bus leaves
Edmonton on Friday evening with a quick stop in Calgary,
and returns Sunday evening. Join the group for a weekend in Banff, a leading ski resort with plenty of activities
for non-skiers, too. You’ll stay in comfortable 2-bed rooms
at the Banff Inn, walking distance from restaurants, shopping, and downtown Banff.
roommate.
How much for all this excitement? Well for $370 (taxes
included), you get round trip transportation, two nights of
accommodation, and lift tickets at both hills. Your meals;
drinks; ski equipment rentals or instruction, if needed are
not included (although you will get a coupon for discount
rentals). There are a few places remaining so sign up
soon. Final payments are due January 10th, 2008.
Snowballs!
For more information:
gaysnowballs@gmail.com
Mike - (780) 905-8180
Aaron - (780) 908-5151
Darren - (780) 235-4378.
Or visit the Snowballs! Facebook group.
Downhill skiers will have two hills to enjoy. Lake Louise
Mountain Resort has been awarded Gold in the ski/snowboard resort category in the 2007 Calgary Herald Readers’
Choice Awards. Sunshine Village offers over 3,300 acres of
terrain on three mountains, with an average annual snowfall of over 30 feet! Try your hand at snowboarding or even
sign up for a lesson.
Ski all you want, and there’s still time for other activities. Relax in the hot tub, visit Banff’s art galleries and
shops, and then enjoy a terrific dinner with new gay
friends. Saturday night, the group can dance the night
away at the Aurora Nightclub with special guest DJ Jay
Toonflash.
“I remember my first gay ski trip… it was a blast! I met
a great group of people, many of whom are still my friends
today,” says Aaron Churchill, an organizer of the event.
Is it the right vacation for you? Skiers of all levels will
find plenty of challenges and excitement in Banff, on
both downhill slopes. Non-skiers who enjoy other winter activities, or who simply prefer a relaxing week in the
mountains to the usual hectic holiday rush, are equally
welcome.
Travelling alone? So are some of the people who have
already signed up. Prices are per-person, based on double
occupancy, and they’ll do their best to pair you with a
Alpha-Q Volleyball - From Page 45
The team is, at the moment, “pretty much set” in regards to membership, said TJ.
“However, if another team was interested in traveling we
would absolutely lend a hand with that however we could,”
he added.
While the arrangement with Manhunt, the details of
which are confidential, is “pretty good,” TJ said the team is
always open to additional fundraising efforts, and are willing to distribute promotional items, business cards, and
swag for any group or business interested in having them
do so when they are out-of-town.
“We promote Calgary, and the Western Cup Tournament
of course, like crazy when we’re on the road,” TJ noted.
“Anything we can do to bring more people to Calgary, we’re
open to doing it.”
For more information on Alpha-Q, TJ can be contacted
through the Apollo website www.apollocalgary.com or
through the Western Cup website (www.westerncup.com).
46
Where Else Can I Dance?
Alternatives for Calgary’s LGBT Dance Crowd
Not too many years ago there were a number
of choices for gays and lesbians that wanted
to go out for a night on the dance floor. Metro
Boyztown was the spot for men, Indulge was the
spot for women, and Detour had a good balance
of everyone. Nowadays the obvious choices are
few, and the question has been posed, “Where
else can I dance?”
Let us begin our list with the closest event coming up
right away, this January 12th. The Alberta Rockies Gay
Rodeo Association (ARGRA) holds monthly dances at the
HillHurst-Sunnyside community center (1320 5th Ave NW)
– only a few blocks walk from the Sunnyside C-Train station. The building has a sizeable gymnasium used as the
dance floor, with the whole set-up of lights and DJ. If you
want to take a break, you can hang out in the main hall
to chat with the other hot cowboys/cowgirls, or partake in
the free food prepared by MP Catering. These dances help
to raise funds to support the yearly rodeo, and occasionally feature costume themes. More information about
ARGRA and their future events, visit their website: www.
argra.org.
The Eagle (424A 8th Ave SE) recently started hosting
Cabin Fever: a lesbian-run night of local DJ’s spinning
from 8:30 until 12:30pm every Thursday night. The contact information for the group is available on Facebook.
Also keep an eye out for special dance nights with DJ
WCDB, where all are welcome. Check the Calgary Eagle’s
list of events advertised in this magazine for more information, or visit: www.calgaryeagle.com. Yes, the Eagle does
serve food, but the kitchen usually closes 10pm at the
latest.
Money-Pennies (1742 10th Ave SW) is continuing with
karaoke and dancing on Friday nights along with Name
That Tune and more dancing on Saturday; DJ Curtis spins
both nights. The kitchen is open until 9pm if you have the
munchies. For more information about special events, see
their website at www.money-pennies.com.
Apollo’s well known and well attended annual Western
Cup Dance is happening March 22nd this year, with a
dinner the previous Friday, but members of Apollo are also
privy to smaller meet and greet dances outside of the main
fare. This is a fun opportunity to meet and mingle with
Calgary’s LGBT athletes and sportsmen, even if you’re just
a fan. Visit the Apollo website for more information about
upcoming dances and events: www.apollocalgary.com.
age” show - an opportunity for Calgary’s queer youth to
come out and have fun even if they aren’t yet old enough
to be permitted into 18+ establishments. However, a second show for the 18+ audience starts at 10:15pm, with a
DJ spinning in between. All funds raised from cover go to
the Miscellaneous Youth Network, who works to provide
safe spaces for queer and trans identified youth. The Soda
lounge itself features constantly changing acts from local
band, to DJ’s and artists. For more information visit www.
miscyouth.ca or www.thesoda.ca.
Did you know that the basement of The Warehouse used
to be a bath house? The Warehouse has been the official
host for Pride Calgary’s after-hours dances for many years,
and the club is considered an alternative bar in some
LGBT circles. The Warehouse features a large dance floor
and a variety of music: Friday is electro, Funky Techno
and house music, Saturdays the mix moves to Indie Rock,
Britpop, Retro and New Wave. The Warehouse remains
open until 7am with a DJ swap happening at 3am to put
some new music on More information is available on their
website: www.warehousenightclub.ca.
Broken City has events every day of the week with music
ranging from hip-hop, reggae, indie, punk, jazz, and techno. They have often been a friendly venue for LGBT bands
to play, and also offer a full menu. Mondays feature DJs
PJ Party and Dynomite Dan; Tuesdays are Irie Tuesdays
with Hip Hop, Drum ‘n Bass, Reggae, and Break Beats;
Thursdays and Fridays have Live Music, and Saturdays
are jazz themed from 3-6pm.
The Republik is emerging in the Calgary scene as a
queer positive space and alternative music haven, offering
local DJ’s and music. Some may still have fond memories
of the old Republik which existed at the current location
of Tequila, however they recently reopened in the Detour/
Arena space at 318 17th Ave SW.
There are many opportunities within the community
to go out and have a great time with friends, dancing the
night away. Supporting a local non-profit dance can turn
out to be a lot of fun, and a chance to meet new people.
Change is good - it stops you from getting sick of your
regular hangout. So mix things up a little this 2008: try a
new venue, or revisit an old favorite.
The first Thursday of the month features Calgary’s only
drag king troupe, Fake Mustache dancing it up at the Soda
(211 12th Ave SW). The first show at 7:30pm is an “under
47
48
Movie Review
Blades of Glory, Testosterone, Kinky Boots
By Rob Diaz-Marino
Blades of Glory (2007)
This over-the-top slapstick comedy takes a look
at the wonderful world of
figure skating. It has the
style of humor typical to
Will Ferell movies – good
for you if he makes you
laugh, but mostly he made
me groan in embarrassment.
Self-proclaimed “sex on
ice”, Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferell) and boy
prodigy Jimmy MacElroy
(Jon Heder) are competing skaters in the men’s
singles. With inflated egos,
it is too much for the two
of them to bear when they
receive the same scores at the championship and tie for first
place. A brawl erupts between the two of them as they stand
on the award podium – a public embarrassment that sees the
two of them banned for life from men’s singles skating.
After some much needed soul searching, MacElroy thinks
of a loophole to get back into skating, but he needs Michaels’
help. The two of them are forced to get over their differences
as they make the outrageous move to compete together, in
pairs skating. This shift of division puts them in the same
arena with some stiff competition, namely the incestuous
brother and sister duo played by Will Arnett and Amy Poehler
who are bent on keeping their title.
Michaels and MacElroy take advantages of their male on
male team, inventing all sorts of crass and painful looking
manoeuvres – everything from crotch-grabbing spins to skating 69’s. It’s uncomfortable even for a gay man to watch. If
you’re not in tears from all the silly humor, keep an eye out for
cameos by famous figure skaters.
Testosterone (2004)
This gay-themed comedy/thriller showed at the Toronto
Film Festival. The film has several laugh-out-loud moments
but its convoluted plot will leave you guessing right to the end.
Dean Seagrave (David Sutcliffe), a comic book illustrator,
accidentally fell in love with
Pablo (Antonio Sabato Jr.)
who voluntarily swore to never
leave him. This made the
disappearance of Seagrave’s
Argentinian lover that much
more mysterious.
Cast out of his house by a
Review | Movie
fire, and tackling a severe
case of writer’s block, Seagrave is desperate for closure more than anything
– and it is eating him up
inside. When he runs into
Pablo’s supremely bitchy
mother at a comic art exhibition, the woman attempts
to ignore him and then
laughs in his face when he
demands answers. She
does say, however, that
she and Pablo are returning to Argentina and that
Seagrave will never see him
again. Hah, we’ll see about
that!
Seagrave takes time off
work to travel to Argentina to track down his lost
lover, but his attempts to breach the house where Pablo’s
mother is staying are met with speedy police and hired goons.
He develops a wary friendship with the enigmatic Sofia,
who works in the restaurant across the street from Pablo’s
mother’s house. She seems to know something about Pablo
that she is not letting on. Little does he know that he is
becoming hopelessly entangled in an elaborate plot to keep
him from his past love – but for what reason? Getting to the
bottom of this mystery may very well be what Seagrave needs
to get the juices flowing again, if he does not lose his sanity in
the process.
Additional perks to this film are that Sutcliffe appears partially or fully naked at several points in the story, and we even
get an unimpeded glimpse of Antonio Sabato Jr.’s substantial
manhood. Yowzers!
Kinky Boots (2006)
This heart-warming, feelgood English comedy is a
story about understanding
one another and working
together – a great view for
audiences both straight
and gay.
Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) is thrust into the
job of running his father’s
shoe factory when the man
passes away. The factory
manufactures good-quality
men’s shoes designed to
49
Music Review
Adagio, Songs of Mass Destruction, Sex Party
By Rob Diaz-Marino
“Adagio” by Dr. Draw
I must admit that I
didn’t think this one looked
terribly promising, though
judging a CD by its cover is
just as wrong as doing so
with a book. Adagio is an
absolute gem, and I really
mean that – my track ratings should be indication.
The songs on this CD are
mostly instrumental, often
dark and haunting, lead by a masterfully played violin. The
music has an eerie depth to it, as if played in an empty concert hall or a valley tightly enclosed by mountains. Rain sets
the tone for the album with a tragically beautiful melody and
overlaid voice clips that tell a simple but sad story.
I got very excited when I heard Poleshko Pole…no, not
because there was a “pole” involved! This is their rendition
of a very famous melody that I recognize, though I unfortunately don’t know the name or composer of the original. I’ve
also heard the melody in Marc Almond’s “So Long the Path”,
but Dr. Draw makes gives it quicker tempo, set the beat of a
marching drum.
Siberian Sonata creates an amazing atmosphere that made
my skin crawl. It is cold, dark, and lonely, but has an element
of urgency. I visualize someone traveling through an oppressively cold winter landscape at night.
Surprisingly, a number of tracks break the dark and depressing theme. 6AM Vegas is joyful, Nostalgia brings back
fond feelings, and The Party is upbeat leading to a frenzied
climax.
If I don’t stop now I might talk about every single song; each
is so distinct and striking. If you have any inclination toward
classical or theatrical music, this album is an absolute musthear!
Track List:
1)
Rain
2)
Poleshko Pole
3)
Siberian Sonata
4)
6AM Vegas
5)
Night
6)
Nostalgia
7)
The Party
8)
La Main
9)
Dancing on Tables
10)
Head Cleaning
11)
Adagio
12)
The Last Race
“Songs of Mass Destruction” by Annie Lennox
A youngin’ like me might not be familiar with the works of
50
Review | Music
Annie Lennox if it weren’t
for their frequent use in
drag shows. For instance,
“Walking on Broken Glass”
is archetypical for me, but
the containing album was
released all the way back
in 1992. After doing a little
bit of research I realized she
has released a number of
albums since then, which I
have been totally unaware
of. However, Songs of Mass
Destruction is a hard-hitter
that is burning onto the charts with a new vigor!
My favorites on this album were the more upbeat tracks like
“Love is Blind”, “Ghosts in My Machine” and “Coloured Bedspread”. The exception is “Dark Road”, which starts out slow
and sentimental but bursts into a powerful bridge. “Coloured
Bedspread” is very sexual, as Lennox sings about “all the
things I do on my coloured bedspread.”
“Sing” was released as a single charity record for World
AIDS Day last month. She teamed up with 23 of the world’s
most acclaimed female superstar voices to raise money and
awareness for the HIV/AIDS organization, Treatment Action
Campaign (TAC). It’s catchy but quite different from the other
tracks with a sound of gospel.
This will make a fine addition to the gay man’s music collection, and I’m sure we will also see the songs on the stage
pretty soon.
Track List:
1)
Dark Road
2)
Love is Blind
3)
Smithereens
4)
Ghosts in My Machine
5)
Womankind
6)
Through the Glass Darkly
7)
Lost
8)
Coloured Bedspread
9)
Sing
10)
Big Sky
11)
Fingernail Moon
“Sex Party” by Sex Party
This self-titled album is really not my cup of tea. The band
classifies themselves as electro/indie, and has played gigs at
The Soda in Calgary and New City in Edmonton, along with
making it onto CJSW and being featured in Edmonton’s See
and Vue Weekly papers.
Despite these credentials I found the music and cross-talk
lyrics to sound cacophonous, the beats hyper and irregular
and the electronic instruments just plain annoying.
If I had to compare them
to any other band I know, I
would say they sound most
like Le Tigre - particularly in
“Deceptacon”.
Sadly I couldn’t listen
to most of the tracks from
beginning to end – the first
few minutes were enough
to turn me off. Call me a
square but I have trouble
appreciating music when
there is little recognizable structure - though I can agree that
it does make for an excuse to go ape-shit crazy on the dance
floor!
I give the band extra points for their clever method of nesting their bonus track. It is preceded by 57 blank, 4-second
tracks to push the last track up to number 69. On the other
hand, this makes it a nightmare for anyone who wants to rip
the music to their MP3 Player (and I point to myself). Naughty
band, no track listing for you…sorry to say it would look
pretty abysmal anyway.
If this style sounds like something you might like, definitely
check out their myspace page for more info and some rather
bizarre pictures.
Sex Party
http://www.myspace.com/sexxxparty
BASH”D - From Page 12
“BASH’d! has a lot of elements that an audience can respond to. It’s a high-energy ’rap‘ opera, it’s a comedy, it’s a
drama, it’s political, it’s a gay love story, etc. So we would have
a variety of responses from our audiences. One minute they’re
laughing, the next second tears are streaming down their
faces.”
This year marks the return for both Cuckow and Craddock to One Yellow Rabbit. Cuckow’s amazing one-man show
STANDupHOMO was a hit in 2005, while Craddock appeared
in 2005’s Faithless and his solo show Moving Along in the
2006 OYR season. Cuckow expressed excitement for both to
be returning to The Big Secret Theatre.
“We are thrilled to be back. Performing STANDupHOMO at
the 2005 rodeo was a career highlight for that show and me. I
was fortunate to work with OYR Co-Artistic Director, Michael
Green, on some of the re-development of STANDupHOMO and
was elated when he asked me to be involved in the festival.
OYR audiences are sophisticated and hungry for a challeng-
ing theatrical experience. They really got me and my show
bigtime and we really had a blast. Plus, I’m from Calgary
originally and most of my family lives there, so it was a
great opportunity to get some of them and my friends out,
who normally wouldn’t make the trip up to Edmonton, to
see my work,” he concluded.
last a man a lifetime, but alas, retailers are more interested in
the cash grab from cheap shoes that need to be replaced each
year. To make matters worse, Charlie finds that the buyer of
a large order has gone into receivership, forcing him to lay off
several loyal employees.
But fate hits Mr. Price over the head...literally. When leaving the pub one night, he comes to the rescue of what he
believes to be a woman who is being surrounded by a group of
punks with malicious intentions. In a flurry to defend herself,
the drag queen swings her boot at the attackers, scaring them
off but accidentally knocking Price out cold in the process.
He wakes up in the drag room of Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor),
the large sassy drag queen rescued thanks to his chivalry. A
brilliant idea dawns on him, as Lola complains about how
women’s shoes are not built to hold the weight of a man.
Though Price’s lack of knowledge about Drag Queens is obvious, he enlists the help of Lola to develop a new line of boots
for a niche market – sturdy, long lasting shoes for women...
who are men.
There are many obstacles along the way. Meeting Lola’s
demands are the easy part – getting the factory workers’ respect and support is slightly more difficult, especially as Price
himself is unsure of his leadership. But the bigger trials are
yet to come as Price’s fiancée reaches the end of her patience,
and Price suffers a relapse of understanding for Lola’s drag
lifestyle.
Movie rental courtesy of Zip.ca. Online DVD rentals carrying
a huge selection of GLBT themed DVD’s as well as standard
brand new releases, TV shows, classics and more. No Late
Fees, No Due Dates, and 57,000 Titles.
http://www.zip.ca
High Performance Rodeo - From Page 35
Ground Zero Theatre’s 10-Minute Play Festival – January 5th
For the ninth year, Calgary’s rising theatre stars dive
headfirst into 24 hours of caffeine-crazed, adrenalinecharged performance creation, emerging dazed but triumphant with ten minutes of theatrical mayhem. The intrepid
artists start with a single prop and a line of dialogue, and
fold them into snapshots of pathos and hilarity. Anything
goes in this test of artistic masochism. The festival is hosted
by Doug McKeag and featuring the mad talents of the Downstage Performance Society, Ground Zero Theatre, Obscene
But Not Heard, the Swallow-a-Bicycle Performance Co-op
and more! Brought to you by the company that brought you
Urinetown, The Full Monty, and CockTales!
One Yellow Rabbit
January 2008
www.oyr.org
BASH’D!
January 22nd – 26th, 2007
OYR High Performance Rodeo
www.oyr.org
www.homohiphop.blogspot.com
51
Queer Eye - Calgary & Edmonton
Community Events this Month
Photos by Steve Polyak and Rob Diaz-Marino of GayCalgary.com Magazine
52
Children’s Christmas Party at The Roost - Edmonton
EVM X-Mas Concert - Edmonton
Guitarra - Calgary Men’s Chorus
53
Christmas Dinner at the Calgary Eagle
54
Snowball Envy Dance - Edmonton
New Year’s Eve - Calgary
Texas Lounge, Money Pennies, Twisted Element, Backlot, Calgary Eagle
55
New Year’s Eve - Edmonton
Prism, Boots, Buddys, Woodys
56
Last Drag Show at The Roost - Edmonton
57
New Years Closing Party at The Roost - Edmonton
58
59
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Appliance ................................ 310
Audio/Video............................. 312
Business For Sale ..................... 320
Clothing................................... 325
Computer Equipment ................ 330
Furniture ................................. 335
Garage Sale ............................. 340
Home For Sale ......................... 345
Home For Rent ......................... 347
Home To Share ........................ 350
Investment Opportunity............. 355
Musical Instrument ................... 360
Office/Business Space ............... 362
Pet/Animal .............................. 365
Seeking Accommodation ........... 370
Sale ........................................ 372
Sports Equipment ..................... 375
Studio Space............................ 377
Vehicle .................................... 385
• Personals ................................. 400
Club/Group .............................. 410
Dating Service .......................... 415
Erotic Massage ......................... 420
Female Friends
Friends.........................
......................... 430
Fetish ...................................... 435
Internet ................................... 445
Male Friends ............................ 455
Models/Escorts ......................... 460
Phone Chat .............................. 465
Sightings ................................. 475
• Products/Services ..................... 500
Aesthetics/Decoration ............... 502
Artist ....................................... 505
Animal Care ............................. 507
Beauty/Skin/Hair ..................... 510
Body Art/Tattoos....................... 512
Chiropractor ............................. 515
Cleaning .................................. 517
Clothing/Fashion ...................... 520
Computers/IT ........................... 522
Construction ............................. 525
Consulting ............................... 527
Counseling ............................... 530
Diet/Nutrition........................... 532
Education/Training ................... 535
Financial/Bookkeeping ............. 537
Fitness/Training ....................... 540
Food/Catering .......................... 542
Funeral
Funeral....................................
.................................... 545
Graphic/Web Design ................. 547
Health Seminar ........................ 550
Insurance ................................ 552
Landscaping/Gardening ............ 555
Legal....................................... 557
Massage .................................. 560
Medical/Dental ........................ 562
Moving .................................... 565
Musician.................................. 567
Photography ............................ 572
Real Estate/Mortgage ............... 575
Relaxation ............................... 577
Retirement Homes .................... 580
• Destinations ............................. 600
Accommodation ....................... 610
Bar/Restaurant ........................ 620
Culture .................................... 630
Guided Tour ............................. 640
Tourist Sights ........................... 670
Time Share .............................. 675
Travel ...................................... 680
GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine Classified Ads Form
Deadline for Classified ads is the 25th of every month. Fill out the form below and mail it to, GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine, Suite 403, 215 14th Avenue SW, Calgary,
AB, T2R 0M2 or Fax it to (403) 703-0685. Please print clearly. All phone numbers listed will be verified. GayCalgary and Edmonton Magazine is not responsible for errors in the
ad submission. Any address placed in the classified will not be placed into the map or business listing. Please verify your information before sending to reduce errors. If you have
questions, please call us at (403) 543-6960 or toll free 1 (888) 543-6960.
Payment Method
Cheque
Money Order
Category # (above):
Date:
Cash (only if paid in person)
Months to Run:
Credit Card (fill out below or pay online)
Name:
Address:
Credit Card Info
Name on Card:
City, Prov, Postal/Zip:
(AMEX ONLY*)
Card Number:
Day Phone:
Expiry (MM/YY):
Night Phone:
* For VISA and MasterCard transactions, please visit www.gaycalgary.com/PayInvoice.aspx
Headline for Ad (add $4.00):
Invoice
First 25 Words - $10.00
Additional Words - .20¢ per word
First 25 Words:
$10.00
Each additional word:
$0.20
Bold entire ad:
$5.00
Entire ad in capitals:
$6.00
Headline:
$4.00
Colour Photo: (1.66”x 2.25”) $15.00
Border around ad:
$6.00
Mail Forwarding:
$5.00
Single Month Cost:
Number of months:
Full Run Cost:
X
=
Frequency discount:
-
3 Months=15%, 6 Months=20%,12 Months=25%
5% GST:
TOTAL:
60
+
=
Classified Ads
Adult Oriented
210
GAY bmpa.ca
Beauty&Mayhem – Calgary’s hottest
adult production agency – is now
casting gay/bi/tv/ts/tg male and
females for its upcoming new website
Gay bmpa.ca for the fall season.
Contact Sean bmpa@telus.net or call
266-4383 serious inquires only 18+.
Help Wanted
240
Beauty & Mayhem
Production Agency
Calgary’s rapidly growing adult
production agency is in need of
a photo/video/website editor. An
extensive knowledge in the use of
Mac system and its editing software
is a must with an understanding of
the adult entertainment industry and
lifestyle. Contact Sean bmpa@telus.
net or call 266-4383 serious inquires
only 18+.
is looking for writers. Call us at
(403) 543-6960 or toll free at (888)
543-6960 or email us resumes and/or
writing samples to magazine@
gaycalgary.com
270
Salesperson Wanted
is looking for an experienced part
time sales rep. Must be able to do
cold calls and have transportation or
enjoy doing leg-work. Fax resumes
to: (403) 703-0685, contact us at
(403) 543-6960 or toll free 1 (888)
543-6960, or email us at hr@
gaycalgary.com
300
Room for Rent. Large house in SW.
Rumpus Room. Own bathroom W/D.
Utilities: cable, internet included.
$550/month plus D/D. (403) 2435969.
Home to Share
Club/Group
410
Gay Readers Book Club
Interested in poetry, prose & literature? Want to meet like-minded gay
men? Then come to our meeting at
Good Earth Cafe, 1502 - 11th Street
SW at 7:30pm the last Tuesday of
each month.
Male 49 looking for any age male for
fun times. Own my own home. Live
alone. Clean, discrete, well endowed.
Call (403) 243-5969.
Single GWM, early 40’s, general
non-scene. Fit, good shape. Looking
for like-minded normal fun, down to
earth, honest, kind, professional, mature male for long-term relationship.
Hoping to find someone to be both
a life-long partner and best friend.
Is that you? Reply to box1001@
gaycalgary.com or mail to Box 1001
c/o GayCalgary Magazine.
Educated oriental male, 65. Looking
to meet other males (60’s +
senior) for fun. Love heavy build.
I am bottom, need you to be top.
box1007@gaycalgary.com
415
REAL WOMEN, REAL ADS
Free membership - Join now!
Girldates.net
Male Friends
into drugs. Love cooking, coffee and
long walks. If this sounds like you,
leave a message at (403) 714-4940.
350
Room mate wanted immediately for
1st Feb 08. Must be mature, responsible male. To share 2 bedroom apt
in beltline area, just off 17th Ave SW.
Call (403) 475-1613 after 6pm.
Dating Services
Writers Wanted
Sales
Sales/Rentals
455
Male 40’s 6’1-“ 140lbs tanned, looking to meet other males for fun times
or more. Fort McMurray area. Lets
meet. Phone (780) 868-9216.
Married male, early 40’s, 6’3, good
shape, looking for a good friend,
married too, about same age for
long term relationship. Email justmozart@hotmail.com
Single GWM, 50, Hairy chest. Looking for other hairy guys 30-55 for fun.
Possible long-term relationship. Not
Single GWM early 40’s looks younger.
Passive bottom, very oral. Looking for a masculine top. Cannot
entertain. Very discreet. Safe. Clean.
Drug free. n/s. No mind games.
Reply to box1002@gaycalgary.com
or mail to Box 1002 c/o GayCalgary
Magazine.
Model/Escort
460
Female escort, 120 lbs., offers seductive play in fetishes, Greek, and oral.
Outcall only.
Friendly and fun. Edmonton.
Call Petra (780) 442-3039
053816197-002/52911847-001
Products/Services
500
Marriages
Walk in or by appointment.
•Non-religious
•Elopements
•Cross-cultural
•Hetero, homo, and trans
•Witness provided.
Contact Rork Hilford
Marriage Commisioner for Alberta
(403) 246-4134 • ca.ca@shaw.ca
Animal Care
507
The Stables (CLI)
Customized HORSE BOARDING, you
tell us what you want, we custom
design to meet your needs and
budget. A very friendly atmosphere
welcoming all lifestyles. Full time
care taker on site. Varying types and
levels of horse experienced personnel
available upon request. 20 Acre’s, ¼
mile track, barn with grooming stalls
and client socializing lounging areas.
Located 9km west of Airdrie, Alberta.
For Inquiries please contact Ms Stacey
@ 287 7299 Calgary Lifestyles Inc.
dba “The Stables (CLI)” www.
altlifestylescalgary.com
Cleaning
517
Recycling made easy!! Have you
tried waiting in line at the recycling
plant? An you have decided it is not
for you. Don’t throw it out. Give me
a call. I’m willing to pick it up, sort
it and give you 75%. Don’t let it
pile up after a party - call me and it
will be gone. I give 5% to charity at
the end of the year. So you can now
drink for a cause. For further details
call Glen @ (403) 229-3791. Always
drink responsibly as I definitely want
to see you again.
Continued Next Page
61
From Previous Page
Counseling
530
Chandra Leavitt - Life Coach
Do you want change? Do you have
dreams? Do you want to achieve
excellence in your life? Coaching by
phone, convenient accessible and
safe. Coaching the Gay Community,
young people and women. Website
www.chandraleavitt.com.
I’m a compassionate counsellor
who understands our community.
Individuals, Couples & Families.
Emotional, Physical & Spiritual
Wellness. Extended medical insurance
coverage. Bryan Campbell 265-8462
www.geocities.com/b_camp_bell
Travel
680
Northern Lights B&B
EDMONTON
Swimming pool and Antique rooms
TV/VCR (780) 483-1572
www.nlightsbnb.com
nlight69@hotmail.com
The Whistle Stop Vacation House
Golden, BC
Newly Renovated , Sleeps 9, Out
Door Hot Tub, Hydro Fitness Gym,
Business Center, Laundry Facilities,
Galley Kitchen, BBQ.
Minutes From Kicking Horse Ski
Resort. $250.00 Daily ,Weekly Rates.
www.thewhistlestopvacationhouse.com
Toll Free# 1 866 538 6625.
Montreal Village B&B
Room only $49/night, TV, Cable,
Telephone, Air, Wi-Fi, Video XXX,
1-888-334-0348. www.gaybed.ca
AFFORDABLE
CLASSIFIED
ADVERTS.
First 25 words for just
$10.00 per issue, plus GST.
NEW Classified Ad
Categories!
62
63
64

PDF - GayCalgary.com

Transcription

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