Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying this wonderful Southern California weather. I know I sure am. This gurl is getting her T&A back to bitchin’ bikini body shape. Those winter months were not kind. I am on a new diet; it is a 4-course meal a night, two olives and a double Martini! I just don’t understand, for some reason the only thing I seem to have lost is my morals. But that’s OK, I will be rocking that new Sports Illustrated two piece, better than Kate Upton!

So I was out on my mid-morning sashay around Hillcrest, working off the extra six olives I splurged on the night before, when I came across another new design find in the gayborhood that I had to share with all my little Trendies. It is Establish, 1029 University Ave.

They have wonderful home accents and treasures galore such as, chairs, bedding, candles, cologne, handbags, jewelry, artwork, children’s organic toys, towels, plants and lighting; OMG, someone call the paramedics ‘cause this girl is going into a design coma!

Can I just say how much I loved the equestrian themed home accents? It brought back many a steamy memory of my teenage years; of those warm summer nights when I would spend hours down at the stables dreaming of Big Billy Joe the stable hand on my grand-paps farm. And let me tell you they didn’t call him Big because he was tall! But I digress.

I had to find the “T” out about the place, so I found the owner Burnz Fernandez, a very nice, yummy tasty treat. (I later found out he was Mr. Gay World U.S.A 2012!) Like that wasn’t enough to get my attention, he was a contestant on HGTV’s The White Room Challenge and won! Oh my, I was amidst a gay stud design celebrity! I almost bowed before him but was afraid I wouldn’t get up!

After Burnz and I talked a bit about, shall I say a few of our favorite big things, he shared with me the philosophy for Establish. “By establishing your home, you establish your life …” What a fabulous philosophy. I know it has taken me years to get to a point where my home was my life not the other way around. It did, however, bring me back to what my bartender also says to me on Friday nights, “By establishing your alcohol limit, you establish your morals.” I guess that’s why I seem to keep losing them! But as I said before, “I look fabulous!” So if you are out and about in the gayborhood stop by Establish and check out all the eye candy and the store as well.

As much as I wanted to stay and shop more this girl had to get home and beat her face for the show with the Golden Chicks. The more bills she makes the more she can spend! It is not easy being a design whore. Like my momma always said, “Those who said beauty was skin deep, are just poor!”

See you all Thursday nights at 8:15 at 1202 University Ave. And don’t forget about our new Sunday brunch show on the first Sunday of every month.

Emmy Rossum in Beautiful Creatures

dvd of the week

The plot is basically a standard supernatural star-crossed lovers tale, one that is rather familiar to young consumers of contemporary pop culture. But there is a snarky, dark edge to Beautiful Creatures, partly because of the potential evil in Lena (Alice Englert) and partly due to the wry insults the teens throw at each other.

Richard LaGravenese’s screenplay has a simple structure, but the repartee between the characters, particularly when it involves hyper-literate Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich) or delightfully evil Mrs. Lincoln (Emma Thompson), is where the fun comes in. I’m not sure how LaGravenese managed to assemble such an incredible cast for a genre film.

Lena and Ethan are unknowns, and while Englert is perhaps a bit too mopey in her role, Ehrenreich oozes a witty, sexy charm; I hope we see more of him. And Thompson, Jeremy Irons, Viola Davis and Emmy Rossum have a great deal of fun with their roles, and I had a great deal of fun watching them.

Scott Baio and Henry Winkler return for Arrested Development season 4

dvr this

Netflix, Sunday, May 26

True, you can’t really DVR this, since Netflix is like a DVR in the sky. But the long awaited fourth season of Arrested Development arrives on Netflix Sunday with 15 new episodes available all at once. The style of this insanely wacky comedy about the dysfunctional Bluth family begat 30 Rock, Community, and Modern Family, and yet, I haven’t seen all of the original series yet. So, before I binge on the new season, I’ll binge on the first three, which are also available on Netflix.

Susan Atkins

June 28, 2010 the San Diego City Council voted 6-2 to approve construction of the new San Diego Central Library. At the time the project had its detractors. Councilmembers Carl DeMaio and Sherri Lightner voted against the library saying it was too expensive and the City could not afford it. Former City Attorney Michael Aguirre was also opposed to the project, once again citing costs.

The library’s architect, Rob Wellington Quigley noted at the time that the new central library had been a long time coming. “I know people have been involved in this for 30 years,” he said. “We were hired almost 17 years ago. Luckily they were smart enough to hire a young architect.”

The San Diego Central Library may have had its detractors and it may have been a long time coming but fast forward to today and the library is almost complete. The current Central Library will be closing Sunday, June 9 in preparation for the move and the Grand Opening of the new Central Library at 330 Park Blvd. has been set for Saturday, Sept. 28.

One of the foremost visions with this new library was to create a civic space that would allow San Diego to showcase its diverse communities and define its regional pride.

For one of San Diego’s communities the opening of the library could not have happened at a more significant time. 2013 is fast evolving as a historic year for the LGBT community with marriage equality at the vanguard of the fight for total LGBT equality.

The new Central Library provides the perfect platform for the LGBT community to forever memorialize the importance of this year for San Diego LGBT Americans.

Recognizing that, longtime national and local LGBT leader and Library Commissioner Susan Atkins is spearheading a project to name an alcove window as a gift from the LGBT community.

The goal is to raise $150,000 to help fund the Teen Center and to grow and maintain the library’s LGBT collection. In recognition of the LGBT donation the Library Foundation will name one of the alcove windows overlooking Park Boulevard. The location of the LGBT window is significant as it will be next to the Social Studies section of the library which houses the library’s extensive LGBT collection (8,800 items). It is worth noting that this is one of the largest LGBT collections in the country and is buttressed by multiple online services and LGBT items throughout other collections in the library.

San Diego LGBT Weekly recently caught up with Susan Atkins and asked her about the origins of the campaign, the importance of it and how it was all going.

San Diego LGBT Weekly: Thanks, Susan for finding the time to talk to us. Firstly, how did this campaign start and who else is involved with it?

Susan Atkins: Libraries are enormously inclusive places – perhaps the last bastion of democracy where rich and poor, homeless, transgender, minority or elite get the same tireless service from dedicated library staff.

So, as a library commissioner for six years, I watched as our fantastic new Central Library began to take shape; and like everyone else, I was grateful when “the usual suspects” of generous, wealthy San Diegans began to step up and come up with nearly $60 million so far to fund this iconic new edifice. But I said to myself, “Where are the LGBT people? This is our library, too.” So many LGBT people in town are leaders in the community at large, but only a precious few know that they are gay unless they are elected officials.

So, I asked fellow commissioners if they thought an LGBT-focused fund would fly, and then I called some LGBT leaders and asked their advice and opinions, and following much positive feedback I got started on the campaign.

2013 is turning into a historic year for LGBT rights. How can the LGBT library campaign contribute to marking the significance of that?

Civil rights have never come easily in our country, but I think the idea of public lending libraries helps the cause. I further believe that because of the significance of the LGBT rights cases currently before the Supreme Court, and their likely outcome, the year 2013 will make “13” the lucky number for LGBT people. I think it is fitting for our very generous and outstanding San Diego LGBT community to mark this lucky “13” year by helping to fund and putting our name on this Central Library that will bolster our education and grace our skyline for at least the next 100 years.

I believe our fund and our name in the very heart of this iconic public library will acknowledge that the LGBT community is an integral part of the San Diego community. Also, I think it will help generations of San Diegans recognize and understand the extensive participation of LGBT people in the community.

How is the fundraising going? How close are you to reaching your goal?

So far we have more than $80,000 in the door (or pledged.) That’s more than half way to the $150,000 we hope to raise to name the grand alcove window near the LGBT collection – and near the Teen Center which is important!

People who have stepped up so far with money and/or support include Gene Burkard and Ron Hicks, Randy Clark and Michael Clark, Bonnie Dumanis and Denise Nelesen, Susan Guinn and Denice Feldhaus, Jeanne Hall, Christine Kehoe and Julie Warren, Bob Nelson, Tracy Jarman and Marcia Bonini, Joyce Rowland and Pam Morgan, Todd Schultz and Paul Scott Silvera, Laura Shawver and Tracy Macuga, Maureen Steiner and Camille Davidson, Susan and Crystal Atkins-Weathers, Dr. Delores Jacobs at The LGBT Center, Kay Chandler at the Human Dignity Foundation, the Rescue Social Change Group and many others.

But we still have a way to go and I’ll keep smiling and dialing – with a little help from my friends – until we’re done.

What would you say to members of the LGBT community in order for them to donate to this fund?

The LGBT community has made huge contributions to San Diego, from serving on boards and commissions to volunteering, campaigning and donating to so many things that make San Diego a great city.

The LGBT community has a history of giving, and I want the greater San Diego community to know this. I also want everyone to be aware that among the highest users of the Central Library are homeless youth, and a staggering 40 percent of them are LGBT. I want us to help take care of our own. I want every LGBT person in San Diego, and every person who supports LGBT rights (our wonderful straight allies) to step up with whatever they can to help us reach this goal.

And finally, for those who can give larger amounts, this is a one-time (non-recurring), tax-deductible donation that can be paid out over several years.

How will the new Central Library serve the LGBT community?

The new Central Library will serve all of San Diego. From the richest to the poorest, every San Diegan will benefit from the resources in our library. This may be health information. It may be job information, school research projects, or LGBT information for a questioning youth or parent. The library is here for everyone. The facilities at the library will also provide meeting places and free public entertainment including LGBT-oriented pieces of entertainment, art and history.

Will the funds raised go toward anything else?

You know the funding for this library has been an amazing thing, from the State Library Association; from the Unified School District; from the old Center City Development Corporation and, of course, from private donors. The money we raise will be chiefly funneled into the Teen Center and into growing and maintaining the library’s LGBT collection. In recognition of the LGBT community’s generosity, we get to name a window. Some of it will also go to funding all of the expenses involved in this $185 million home for our new Central Library. And by the way, our new Central Library is the first in the nation to house a public school – on two of the top floors!

It is said that every great city has an iconic central library. Why is it important for the LGBT community to embrace this new project?

I feel that the LGBT community of San Diego benefits from everything that benefits the city. We know that libraries change lives, and we know they change them for the better. I want LGBT San Diegans to be a significant part of this life-changing event. And, I want San Diegans to know that we care.

Once this project is complete will there be any ongoing efforts to further enhance the LGBT presence in the library?

Throughout its lifetime, the library will continue to host exhibits of relevance to the LGBT community. The Lambda Archives has contributed exhibits, and I anticipate the national Lambda Literary Foundation and the local LGBT Center will provide exhibits, speakers and programs for the library as Lambda Archives has in the past.

At the time the City Council approved this project it had its detractors. What would you say to those individuals now?

You know, part of our democratic process is that anybody can voice their opinion about – well, about anything. There are good people who hold opposing opinions, but I think that even the nay-sayers will be proud of our new library. It is something that should bring us all together as San Diegans, and it is something in which we should all take great pride.

Finally, Susan, tell us about the Buy-a-Brick community campaign?

This is a very exciting campaign and an opportunity for donors to own a lasting piece of this community treasure. Commemorative bricks are available for donations of $150, $500, $1,000 and $2,500. Depending on the level of the donation the bricks will be placed in the main lobby, the trellis walk entrance to the library or in the garden courtyard. The donor’s name can be on the brick or the donor may want to write a special message to a loved one or in fact anything they want. A donor will have up to 36 characters to be creative!

An alcove window in the new Central Library

Overall, I am so proud to be involved in such a wonderful project and the generous participation of the LGBT community will mean that the new Central Library will truly reflect our LGBT pride.

Thank you, Susan, for all your efforts on behalf of the LGBT community.

Donations of any amount can be made to the LGBT initiative by sending checks made out to the Library Foundation to Jay Hill, chief executive officer, San Diego Public Library Foundation, 820 E Street, San Diego, CA 92101 with LGBT in the memo line, or by going online at give.supportmylibrary.org/LGBT and including LGBT in the comments section.

To purchase a commemorative brick visit give.supportmylibrary.org/buyabrick

When Mayor Bob Filner finds himself up against a wall politically, he turns to the very source of his political power: his constituents. That political power supply, the mayor says, is also his best source of personal vigor.

As one of the mayor’s senior staff members told San Diego LGBT Weekly during a recent day of exclusive, unlimited access “it takes a lot of energy just to keep up with him.”

According to that member of the mayor’s team, multiple staffers working in shifts is what’s needed to ensure Bob Filner has more than just a security detail accompanying him to the myriad of events he attends in a single day.

Indeed, trailing Bob Filner as a reporter is challenging. Consider just one hour-and-a-half slice of our time with San Diego’s top government official.

In a mere 90-minute period, we found ourselves struggling to keep up with the mayor’s SUV, racing from the outermost edges of Balboa Park, across town to the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley, then north to the farthest reaches of the 163 freeway to arrive at the Chinese School in Kearney Mesa.

There, along with San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts and celebrated physicist, Prof. Stephen Hawking, Filner helped dedicate the planting of a peach tree in honor of the late San Diego philanthropist (and friend of Dr. Hawking), Dennis Avery.

Earlier, at the Veteran’s War Memorial Museum in Balboa Park, Filner gave a speech to a gathering of vets, many of whom were decked out in uniforms from just about every American wartime period – from the Civil War, to Operation Iraqi Freedom. There, his honor presented an official proclamation welcoming home soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen from Vietnam.

“This is long overdue,” Filner told the crowd, adding that they deserved much more than a plaque. He promised to provide more city services to homeless veterans.

“The people are his secret weapon; he thrives on interaction with them,” the aforementioned staff member said. “And as you can see, they gravitate to him.”

Indeed, anyone who spends a day with this mayor can see that Bob Filner enjoys a uniquely understated brand of rapport with most “regular folks,” as the expression goes. Was that ease with voters, residents, families, youths and other constituents always part of this mayor’s personality? In a word, he says, “Yes.”

“Maybe it sounds corny to say it,” Filner explains. “But, they’re why I got into politics, into governing, to begin with. It’s that simple; I love the people of this country and this city.”

For the most part, Filner laments, the media seem to miss the story of his “connectedness” to the people he represents.

“Sometimes I don’t think they see past the personalities and hype surrounding only the most sensational issues,” Filner said. “The problem with that is not only does the fact that I get along with most people very nicely – I mean real people, like these San Diegans you see here (at a park in City Heights) – not only does that fact get missed, but the most important aspect of the issues we face in our city get missed.”

According to Filner, the most important aspect of any issue involving governance is how everyday people are affected by public policy decisions.

“Yet somehow, multinational corporations who own hotels in San Diego have the undistracted ear of those in power and in the media,” said Filner, who at the time of our interview had just taken a minor beating in the Tourism Management District (TMD) special assessment battle.

Indeed, seemingly lost amid the din of disdain for the mayor’s reticence to help hoteliers pay for their advertising and marketing, was the fact that every indication was that Filner had vast support from voters regarding his stance on TMD.

“Of course, that was underreported,” he said. “I don’t know what the exact poll numbers were – if they were scientific polls – but no one can argue that voters didn’t support my decision to take a second look at this notion that government should help corporations pay for their marketing.”

The mayor’s refrain of incredulity toward TMD’s loudest went something like this: These guys usually say government can’t do anything right. Why now do they need us to be involved with their advertising campaigns?

In the end, however, Mayor Filner signed the TMD contract – albeit, with one caveat: Should the City be sued by citizens groups for footing the bill for private companies’ marketing plans; those companies – not the taxpayers – would be responsible for settlement payments or court-ordered damage awards.

By backing away from a full-fledged war with San Diego’s big hotels and all but one City councilmember, Mayor Filner probably preserved a great deal of political capital.

He may need that capital if he takes on some in the City who are dubious about the mayor’s plans for more housing for homeless veterans.

A former congressman and chair of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Mayor Filner has called veterans the most underappreciated members of society. Historically even lower on the totem pole of appreciation for their sacrifices and service, according to Filner, have been LGBT veterans.

“These men and women have gone to war,” Filner said. “They’ve risked their lives for your freedom and mine; they’ve asked for nothing in return except that we treat them with respect and decency.

“Of course, they want and I believe have earned, the basic services they were promised when they enlisted – services like good health care, a chance to work, decent, affordable housing and the educational opportunities they’ve earned.”

As a congressman, Filner was a supporter of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the now defunct Dept. of Defense policy that, until 2011, denied lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers the right to serve openly in the military. Filner now wants all servicemembers, including all LGBTs to be allowed to serve openly (transgender members are stilled barred).

Filner says he also wants equal benefits for LGBT servicemembers and their families.

“They’re not getting that now,” he said. “That’s not what America is about. That’s not what we’re sending gays and other LGBT soldiers abroad to fight for. Why shouldn’t they have the same rights and benefits for their families as straight soldiers, sailors and Air Force members? I think they should.”

Filner spent two months behind bars in Mississippi as a prisoner for protesting in favor of equal voting rights and civil rights protections for African Americans when he was 19, as one of the legendary Freedom Riders.

With a civil rights pedigree such as his, it’s comes as no surprise that Filner considers the worst mistake of his professional career to have been his vote, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, in favor of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

“I wish I could undo it,” Filner told LGBT Weekly. “It was wrong, and I regretted it almost instantly.”

Our day with the mayor ended at a Cambodian New Year festival at a park in City Heights. There, the mayor was at home with a vastly diverse and quintessentially San Diegan mass of constituents.

There, he mingled contentedly with Pacific Islander Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, African Americans, LGBTs and their families, as well as opposite-sex couples and traditional families – and even folks of European descent.

Circa 1993 President Bill Clinton – known for his kinship with the African American community – was introduced as “America’s first black president” to roaring applause from a mostly black crowd.

Allegorically, Mayor Filner was introduced at the 2013 Cambodian New Year celebration as “San Diego’s first Asian mayor.”

In fact, Bob Filner has earned affinity and loyalty from a wide swath of several minority communities. If this mayor holds true to his vow never to let the LGBT community down again in our fight for equality, he might one day be introduced as California’s first (honorary) gay governor.

Shame is something that no one wants to experience. It may be caused by that most embarrassing moment in your life that if simply mentioned makes your blood boil. You are absolutely humiliated and wish you can make that awful moment go away. Shame is one of the most powerful emotions.

What makes LGBT people remain in the closet? Shame, as well as fear of rejection. Shame that they will be shunned by their family, friends and co-workers. Shame because you are thought of differently; “Hey there’s that gay guy.” The power of shame. It can control your life and affect what you accomplish.

Do LGBT people lead more productive lives after coming out? I think so. No more hiding at work, with college friends or most importantly, with your family. The energy that is expended creating this veil can be put to more productive use, accomplishing your goals in life. Living honestly and authentically is reward in itself.

I came out at 18 in 1978. I was considered a trailblazer, but hey, I just added gay to the discrimination I experienced because I am black. My family was fantastic, which can be unusual but I was free. Free to be me, no shame or regret.

We only need to look to the recent headlines to see that shame can be overcome, but also see its power to derail you. Tiger Woods is back on top. He is the number one golfer in the world and has won four tournaments this year. By the way, faster than in any year in his career. What does Tiger have to do with shame?

When Tiger’s infidelity scandal happened in 2009, the magic of his golf game seemed to disappear. Tiger lost his number one ranking and basically experienced a three year slump. I think it was all caused by shame. Can you imagine how humiliated Tiger was each time he took to the golf course? The whispering in the gallery about his infidelity, how could that not affect Tiger’s game? It did.

But Tiger has managed to come out the other side. The good thing about shame is it dissipates, once you accept whatever caused it. Tiger is finally at peace with what happened, as evidenced by his public announcement of his new girlfriend, Lindsey Vonn.

Tiger is no longer feeling shame. He is now focused upon his work and his new life. Guess what? He is back on top; so is Congressman and former North Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Sanford had to resign his governorship also due to infidelity. He was censured by the North Carolina ethics committee. Good, bad or indifferent, Sanford is also back on top. He has moved beyond his shame.

Now comes Anthony Wiener, who is running for mayor of New York.

I say to those of you in the closet, I understand your fear; no one wants to experience shame or rejection. I am here to tell you that you will come out on the other side. Be a tiger and come out. Things will be just fine.

Stampp Corbin

Publisher

San Diego LGBT Weekly

LGBTweekly.com

Zachary Quinto and Zoe Saldana in Star Trek Into Darkness

The first question I was asked after I walked out of Star Trek Into Darkness was not, “Was it good?” but rather, “How good was it?” After the 2009 glorious reboot of the iconic sci-fi series Star Trek, with J.J. Abrams directing Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock, the expectations for the sequel were high. Very, very high.

Throughout the previous decade, Star Trek had wandered into the darkness; the original cast and movies of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s (with William Shatner as Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock) had given way to the celebrated TV series Next Generation, and the less so Deep Space Nine,Voyager, and Enterprise. The movies based on the Next Generation cast started out fine, and then not so much, and the last one, the 2002 Star Trek: Nemesis, was a dud, earning $67 million, a sixth of the box office of what J.J. Abrams’ reboot did.

Abrams, who co-created Lost, Fringe, and Alias and has been tapped to – gasp! – reboot Star Wars, is a great science fiction filmmaker; his Star Trek was thrilling, gorgeous, epic and perfectly cast, particularly Quinto as Spock. So, how good was its sequel? Very, very good.

Star Trek Into Darkness starts out a few years after the last film, with Kirk deciding to save Spock’s life instead of following the Prime Directive, the Star Fleet rule that states it is not supposed to interfere with the destiny of another planet or species.

In this case, Kirk allows a primitive culture to see the Starship Enterprise. Back on earth, this decision causes him to lose his ship and get Spock reassigned to be another ship’s first officer. But that all changes when a rogue Star Fleet officer (Benedict Cumberbatch) bombs a top secret weapons lab and, then, when they are assembled to discuss it, he kills half of Star Fleet’s leadership.

Seeking vengeance, Kirk asks Admiral Marcus (a Cheney-esque Peter Weller) to allow him and his crew to find and kill the villain, who has hidden himself on the Klingon home world. Who this man actually is and why he is doing what he’s doing harkens back to (and rewrites) arguably the best Star Trek film, the 1982 The Wrath of Khan.

And arguably, Into Darkness is as good, if not better. Not only is Cumberbatch as brilliant, fierce and accented a bad guy as Ricardo Montalbán was in Kahn, but unlike in Khan, the character development of both Kirk and Spock are central to the plot.

While Spock is trying to understand and accept how his human emotions can exist side-by-side with his affectless Vulcan half (and manage his relationship with Lt. Uhuru, played by Zoe Saldana), Kirk has to deal with his achieving his potential as a leader, his great trouble following rules and his great trouble accepting Spock’s utilitarian belief that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Both Quinto and Pine do great jobs, but I was particularly enamored with how the taut, funny and pointed script allows Quinto to become Hollywood’s first out, gay action star. In Star Trek Into Darkness, Spock kicks ass.

Into Darkness is also the most politically relevant of the films, even if the allusions to 9/11 are not as deftly handled as similar themes were in, say, the Battlestar Galactica TV series. Spock and Kirk’s debate about the many and the few become the central theme around which the film is centered.

It expands from Kirk saving Spock and spooking a planet’s natives in the opening to dealing with – in the classic metaphorical and allegorical ways that science fiction is so good at doing – the moral problems of drones, weighing vengeances against justice and the misuse of weapons of mass destruction.

I think Abrams ultimately avoids delving into the darkness that the film’s last act creates, but perhaps he knows that the key to Star Trek is its optimism about the future. And this makes me hope the next movie is even better.

MOVIE REVIEW

Star Trek Into Darkness

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Benedict Cumberbatch

Rated PG-13

In 3-D

At your local multiplex

Patrick Leahy

Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed an immigration reform bill that did not include language from the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which would have allowed same-sex couples equal access to spousal/partner immigration privileges. So much for the sinister Democratic plot to use equality to kill immigration reform for their union friends.

The plot was apparently as ineffective as it was absurd. Ruben Navarrette claimed that “Democrats thought of everything, even having the task of amending the bill fall to a senator from Vermont, a state where … Latinos account for just 1.6 percent of the population?”

The aforementioned Vermont senator is Patrick Leahy, whose 39 years in the Senate gain him the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee, making amendments his prerogative. So as President Reagan signed his Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986, Democrats knew we’d need another in 27 years, and were maneuvering Leahy into just the right spot for 2013? That’s right up there with Barack Obama’s parents faking a Hawaiian birth certificate on the off-chance he might need proof of citizenship for a presidential run.

Still, if Leahy hadn’t been there, who could possibly have proposed including the immigration bill-killing LGBT protections and survived the forecast Latino backlash? It would have to be someone from a marriage equality state, with a less than 5 percent Latino population who won with nearly 65 percent of the vote and isn’t up for re-election until 2018. I give you Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a member of the Judiciary Committee.

So what does it mean that Leahy and Klobuchar didn’t propose the UAFA language? Is there a right-wing conspiracy to break up President Obama’s progressive coalition by driving a wedge between the Latino, immigrant and LGBT communities?

My guess is that we’ll hear a lot about that sinister plot in the next few days, and it doesn’t make any more sense than the first one. There are no doubt some conservatives looking forward to the infighting, but I doubt they were able to enlist Leahy and Klobuchar. If reports that the White House pressured Leahy not to propose the UAFA amendment are true, President Obama would have to be an even less likely co-conspirator.

So here’s a crazy thought – maybe it’s not a plot. What if Leahy, who has a string of 100 percent scores from the Human Rights Campaign and whose state has marriage equality, was planning to add the UAFA language because he thought it was the right thing to do? What if he decided not to because he feared it would kill the immigration reform bill?

My undocumented LGBT friends deal with the same agonizing choice in a deeply personal way. They are torn as individuals and divided as a group. Some would wait longer for a path to citizenship that didn’t relegate their sexual orientation to second class status.

Others would prefer to have protection against deportation now, and try to add the LGBT protections later. None are involved in a plot, except perhaps to avoid judgment and retribution in favor of working together.

That’s a conspiracy we would all be wise to join for the long legislative road ahead.

Entrance to Azalea Park

City Heights is a diverse community of San Diego stretching from El Cajon Blvd. to the north and freeway 94 to the south. Previously known for neglect and urban blight, the district is presently in a state of revitalization with the infusion of new commercial developments, parks and street improvements

Atop a plateau and three miles east of San Diego bay is the secluded and canyon-laced neighborhood of City Heights known as Azalea Park.

Formerly known as Lexington Park, Azalea Park was originally a real estate sub-division. In the 1980s, the Lexington Park Neighborhood Association opted to take the name Azalea Park. This tight-knit neighborhood consists primarily of smaller homes with a scattering of light commercial and multi-family dwellings.

There are two conveniently located parks which make it ideal for young families with kids. Featured in Azalea Community Park is a water conservation garden displaying unique art and water conscious landscaping. In February of this year, Councilmember Marti Emerald presented a City Proclamation to the Azalea Park Neighborhood Association recognizing the water conservation garden along with their extended community efforts.

In 1981 the reform of Azalea Park began. Increased police presence and community watch programs began in an effort to clean up the streets and increase property values. Residents got together to walk the streets and parks at night in an effort to monitor illegal activities occurring within their neighborhood.

In July of 1993, with the entry of the first float in the San Diego Pride Parade, the vicinity was introduced to the gay community. With hand painted banners, residents and supporters of Azalea Park marched enthusiastically in an effort to attract the LGBT community to the up and coming neighborhood. It worked! CNN carried news of the effort to the nation, and by 2003, there were more than 100 gay households in Azalea Park.

Sporadically placed throughout the community are hand-carved wood banners representing the streets named after varying plants. Completed by artist Tom Benson, there are 38 featured pieces of art which are well worth a look.

Situated just north of the immediate neighborhood is the award winning City Heights Urban Village consisting of a community gymnasium, Mid-City Police Substation and a public library. Authentic ethnic restaurants and markets also line the main corridors offering taste treats for the most exotic of pallets.

Offering vast canyon views, easy access to downtown and Balboa Park, and community oriented residents, Azalea Park is still one of the most affordable communities within the City of San Diego, featuring properties ranging from $149,000 to $377,000 for a detached home.

Ron Monigold is a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser and a California Licensed Real Estate agent. He is a member of the National, California, and San Diego Association of Realtors. You can reach Ron at The Metropolitan Group at 619-990-4631 or at ronmetro@cox.net. DRE Licence #01865841.

Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell and Ralph Macchio in The Outsiders

If you are on Facebook (duh!) then you might have noticed a recent weekly phenomenon that has come to be known as Throwback Thursday. It is an opportunity for “friends” to post an image of themselves from sometime in the past so that we can all laugh and/or go ahhh. Quite often the photo is of the person we know now looking quite dated and ridiculous (but sometimes cute and sometimes hot) in an outfit from the 1970s or the 1980s and with a whole lot more hair.

The Museum of Photographic Art (MOPA) is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and it is in a similar mode as far as its programming is concerned. Their May POP Thursday this week is all about 1983 and you are invited to get in on the action,

Voting has just ended and members determined which of three classic 1983 movies to screen. The Outsiders beat out Risky Business so you can enjoy watching the very beginning of some pretty luminary Hollywood careers (Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe). There will be music and food and libations and it is a perfect opportunity to dig out your best ‘80s attire. In conjunction with this screening there will also be a Push Pin Party. Just like when MOPA opened in 1983, they invite you to put your pictures up on the walls of the museum. It’s a rare opportunity for the aspiring photographer to have an image hanging in a world-class photography museum.

mopa.org

Liquor by Carla Richmond, The Art of Photography Show 2012

The Art of Photography

If you are a photographer you have probably heard of or perhaps even entered the locally organized Art of Photography juried exhibition. It is a notable opportunity to have your work seen by a respected authority in the world of photography and possibly win acclaim and a cash prize. The organizers of this year’s show have just extended their deadline to June 10 so you have time to review your work and submit your best.

The juror this year is Julia Dolan, curator of photography at the Portland Art Museum. The winners will be announced later in the summer and the exhibition takes place at the San Diego Art Institute right here in San Diego.

artofphotographyshow.com

DEV as Michael Jackson

thursday, may 23

Dance Like Michael Jackson Workshop

Michael Jackson lives on in our hearts, our stereos and in our living rooms as we spin, kick and thrust our hips attempting to recreate those magical moves. If you have never tried to moon walk just from watching him, it simply won’t happen. It is one of those counter intuitive dance moves that must come from a trained professional. Learn the moves and choreography of the King Of Pop. Taught by master dancer and MJ impersonator Devra Gregory aka DEV as MJ.

The Dance Place, 2650 Truxtun Road, Suite 106 in Liberty Station, Thursdays at 5:30-7 p.m. May 23-July 18, $150/8 week session or $20 single class, 619-225-1803, sandiegodancetheater.org/workshops

friday, may 24

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Millie, a young bride living in the 1840s Oregon wilderness, plans to civilize and marry off her six rowdy brothers-in-law to ensure the success of her own marriage. Her plan backfires when the brothers kidnap six women from a neighboring town to be their brides. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is all boisterous fun and romance that harkens back to the glory days of the movie musical. Presented by Classical Academy High School.

California Center For The Arts, 340 North Escondido Blvd. in Escondido, 4 and 7:30 p.m., tickets from $9, 800-988-4253, artcenter.org

The cast of Fiddler on the Roof

saturday, may 25

Fiddler on the Roof

The tale of Tevye the milkman and his daughters from the popular stories of Sholem Aleichem, became one of the world’s greatest musicals. Featuring memorable songs like “Tradition”, “If I Were A Rich Man”, “To Life!”, “Sunrise, Sunset” and “Little Bird, Little Chavela,” this fresh, stirring and joyous production draws on the fascinating musical tradition of the Klezmer band, with powerful dance numbers and an amazing cast of actor-singer-dancers.

Lamb’s Players Theatre, 1142 Orange Avenue in Coronado, 4 and 8 p.m., tickets from $38 (4p.m.) and $34 (8 p.m.), 619-437-6000, lambsplayers.org

sunday, may 26

The Divine Sister

Do nuns really have more fun? The Divine Sister is an inspired homage to every Hollywood film ever centered on the convent. This is the gleefully twisted tale of an indomitable Mother Superior trying to cope with a young postulant experiencing “visions,” a sensitive schoolboy in need of mentoring, a mysterious nun visiting from Berlin and a former suitor intent on luring her away from her vows. No nun, whether singing or flying, is spared and no Mary left un-hailed in this loving parody that dares to take a look beneath the habit.

Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd., #101 in San Diego, 2 p.m., preview tickets $25, 619-220-0097, diversionary.org

monday, may 27

Pacific Horizons: Melanesian Art from the Valerie Franklin Collection

This ongoing exhibition explores the artistic achievements of Melanesia, where art connects people with land, nature spirits, ancestors and each other to create strong and vibrant communities. In this region, each time art is created and displayed social relations and cultural understandings are refined and strengthened. Pacific Horizons: Melanesian Art from the Valerie Franklin Collection presents a startling variety of visual forms and intellectual models and allows visitors to experience some of the finest art created in Melanesia – art that remains one of the least understood in the world.

The San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado in Balboa Park, hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m., adult admission $12, 619-232-7931, sdmart.org

Alex Nee and Trent Saunders in American Idiot

tuesday, may 28

American Idiot

Direct from Broadway, this smash-hit musical tells the story of three lifelong friends, forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia. Their quest for true meaning in a post 9/11 world leads them on the most exhilarating theatrical journey of the season.

San Diego Civic Theatre, Third Avenue and B Street in San Diego, 7 p.m., tickets from $20, 619-564-3000, broadwaysd.com

Marilyn Manson

wednesday, may 29

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson is an American rock musician and former music journalist known for his controversial stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band Marilyn Manson. Manson has been ranked in the Top 100 Heavy Metal Vocalists by Hit Parader. Picture Me Broken plays support.

House of Blues San Diego, 1055 Fifth Ave. in San Diego, 8:30 p.m., tickets from $39.50, 619-299-2583, houseofblues.com

Two-thirds of LGBT seniors live alone. Fifty percent of nursing care employees say their co-workers would be uncomfortable assisting LGBT residents. These are just two of the problems facing LGBT seniors that the movie Gen Silent hopes to bring more public awareness to.

There was recently a screening of Gen Silent hosted by the Greater San Diego Business Association (GSDBA), Scripps Hillcrest and Lifeline. It’s about LGBT seniors dealing with aging in a health care system that’s not always embracing of them. Several seniors told their stories as they aged. Heartbreaking experiences were revealed as they faced aging alone or cared for by their aging partners without help.

As LGBT seniors age and require care, many go back into the closet as they reach out for access from the health care system. Or even worse, they are too fearful to seek any help at all.

It may be hard to understand why someone feels they need to hide who they are or be fearful of being LGBT in a time when our community is making so much progress in terms of both legal recognition and public acceptance.

However, Gen Silent does an amazing job of taking us back in time when these seniors were young. They grew up in a very hostile environment. Gay was considered a mental health disorder. Police were raiding gay bars and publicly outing them in newspapers. The seniors of today that did come out 30 years ago were mostly estranged from their families.

As a result of that history, LGBT seniors created a safe home as protection to live fulfilling lives in private. This also caused isolation from a crucial network of family and public services that typically care for seniors as they age.

Now that they are aging and need help, LGBT seniors have no other option but to allow elder care workers into their safe zone. This is a good thing because they are asking for help. However, a majority of elder care facilities and case workers are not being trained to work with the LGBT community. They don’t know to ask about sexual orientation or understand why it would be relevant to know if a patient is LGBT or not.

LGBT seniors respond by hiding pictures of deceased spouses and “de-gaying” their homes so that elder care workers won’t be tipped off that they are LGBT. Some LGBT seniors don’t want their friends to visit them in living facilities because they fear being outed and will be ostracized by other residents.

It’s an enormous effort to identify and help our LGBT seniors.

One of the key takeaways I took from the movie is that LGBT seniors need relationships. These relationships can be from a weekly senior luncheon, volunteers visiting them at home, or case workers trained to work with LGBT seniors. Any kind of outreach to LGBT seniors is the starting point.

One of the LGBT seniors in Gen Silent said in her last video diary before she passed away alone and suffering “Don’t ever let this happen to anyone you know.” Let’s all make an effort to educate ourselves on the issues facing LGBT seniors so it doesn’t happen any longer. They did so much for the LGBT community to live with dignity and pride. Now it’s our turn to help “gen silent” do the same.

Steve Doster is a Certified Financial Planner™ professional providing commission-free financial advice for do-it-yourself investors. You can reach Steve at Doster Financial Planning by phone 619-688-1192 or email steve@dosterfinancialplanning.com. You can also follow Steve on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, or blog to get more personal finance advice and tips.

Why should I personally go forward as a trans activist pushing for change? Why do anything for trans and LGBT community members when I have received a significant amount of pushback through the years from the religious right, LGBT community members, radical lesbian feminist separatists and even transsexual separatists?

I’ve written in the past about why there is trans activism and what are the major goals of trans activism, but have never really spelled out what motivates me personally.

I began by blogging and archiving LGBT stories for the SD-GLBT and transgendernews Yahoo groups. At the time I was studying for an information systems undergraduate degree – that degree being a feeder degree for a library science graduate degree. Archiving articles that dealt with gay and transgender issues was a way to combine my interests in current events and library work, and combining these with my then recent coming out as trans.

I then began blogging for the Ex Gay Watch back in the mid-2000s, and later for Pam’s House Blend. For me, the blogging at these LGBT blogs was centered on teaching T to L, G, and B community members, since at the time there were no trans bloggers in the most visible LGBT blogosphere. I wanted to highlight commonalities between the trans portion of the LGBT community and other community members.

At Pam’s House Blend, I began being more personal in what I wrote because it dawned on me that many lesbian, gay and bisexual people had never met a transperson in the brick-and-mortar world, so I wanted to humanize T-experience for my peers in the LGBT community

Well, that was how it started. Fairly soon after blogging at Pam’s House Blend, I realized that humanization of trans people and experience was more for me than for my LGB peers. I began thinking in terms of what many of my trans activist peers and I wanted for our next generations of trans community members – to include transsexual adults who would come out needing the means to change their gender identification markers, and that needed antidiscrimination protections based on gender identity in housing, employment and public accommodations.

Then I was confronted with the reality of trans youth. And, I remember being a child that couldn’t put a finger on why I felt different from other children. But now, through therapy, I discovered that I identified more with the little blond girl Susan than the little boy Tom in those old elementary school Ginn Basic Readers of the 1950s and ’60s. I also realized that one of my motivations for activism was found in earnestly desiring to create a better, loving world for trans youth.

My community’s children, as well as my community’s next generations, are great, precious gifts to the world, and I prefer to give them hope and not hopelessness.

In small part, I’ve worked to give them tools to live their lives in such a way that they may never waste what little time they have; to be able to legally establish their gender identities and more easily obtain housing and employment.

There are always going to be people who are going to see my life, and the lives of other trans people as lies; yet I see my life as an opportunity to pay forward love and hope to a community that I love.

Any action I might take that may help even one other trans person see and live in hope that the world will recognize them for the boys, girls, men, women and genderqueer people they know themselves to be, then my actions in my brief moments here on earth will have been more than worth it.

Actor Ricardo Montalbán promotes the Chrysler Cordoba

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom …” – Matthew 16:19

I clearly remember when I held in my hand, for the first time, a most precious set of keys! What an incredible feeling of power, elevated status and sweet freedom came over me when my grandpa placed in my hand the keys to my first car! It was as if I had been given wings to fly!

It was a beautiful car, a mint condition brown 1972 Chrysler Cordoba with rich Corinthian leather, which my grandparents had driven for 14 years. It didn’t matter to me how old it was; it had a big powerful engine, power windows and power steering! It was awesome! But it wasn’t just the car, it was the “keys,” and all that those keys represented.

You probably have a set of keys with you now. Each one of those keys represents something; a relationship to somebody or something, or some level of responsibility! To a great extent keys represent trust. I was entrusted with keys from Gramps and it was amazing!

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus entrusted Peter with the “keys” of the kingdom of heaven. The word for keys in Greek literally means the keys that lock or unlock. But similar to my experience with the keys to my first car, in the New Testament “keys” are a metaphor for power, authority and responsibility.

Do you remember when you entrusted the keys to your car for the first time to a friend or one of your kids? How did you feel? Did you have a wave of anxiety come over you – as you thought of your insurance premiums doubling if they got in an accident? Did you have a few concerns, “Can they handle it without misusing the power, authority and the responsibility that comes with the keys?”

I think Christians through the centuries have not always handled the “keys” of the kingdom very well. We who call ourselves Christians can be very good at making Jesus look a lot more like us than looking like the Jesus of the gospels. We often mistake our conjured up images of Jesus for reality. How many times has Jesus been recreated and reshaped by forces of human insecurity and the thirst for power and control? Oh, what a great temptation to recreate Jesus in our image.

Looking at the history of Christianity we see a shocking and dreadful landscape littered with the victims of those who have named Jesus as Lord – but what kind of Lord did they recreate and reshape him to be? J. Holub says, “Christians have used Jesus to distort people with guilt, bigotry, intolerance and anger.

“In Jesus’ name, Christians practiced slavery, defended segregation and approved lynching. In Jesus’ name, children have been abused, women diminished, the LGBT community hated, wars waged, the unrepentant condemned even tortured and executed; Jews and Muslims persecuted, doubters excommunicated and violence used to achieve conversion – all seemingly without care or conscience and often in the name of Jesus.”

Sadly, Christian history has too many distorted images of Jesus. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

I wonder what the Jesus that lived and walked this earth 2,000 years ago would think if he were to return today and look around at the images of himself by the wide variety of expressions and manifestations of Christianity down through the ages. What would Jesus think?

The main idea behind the “keys” is entrusting authority and power from Jesus to the disciples and ultimately to us. But what kind of power and authority is it to be? That’s the question. What kind of power are we, you and I, entrusted with as disciples and followers of Jesus? What kind of power and authority are we to put to work for the sake of the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus? (In our families, work places, relationships, community and world.)

Let’s look at our Scripture again. These “keys” that Jesus entrusted to Peter only came after a question and a confession. “Who do people say that the Son of man is?” asked Jesus. That was not only Jesus’ question of the disciples, but it was also a heated debate in the early Christian community in the decades immediately after Jesus’ earthly life. One of the primary places that debate and that discussion took place was in the synagogue. One of the popular notions of the expected Jewish “messiah” was that this messiah would defeat and destroy Israel’s enemies, specifically the Romans. So when Peter blurts out, “You are the messiah,” in response to Jesus’ question, it was a technical term loaded with political expectations of the messiah’s expected victory over the Roman occupation.

It’s no wonder that Peter, as well as many others in the synagogue community after Jesus, simply could not accept the idea that Jesus was going to Jerusalem to die at the hands of Israel’s enemies. The messiah was expected to go to Jerusalem all right – but not to die – but to overthrow the Roman oppressors, not forgive them! “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you!” said a very disillusioned Peter speaking out of his expectations; expectations that were blinding him to see anything new; blinding him from seeing and accepting the authentic Jesus that was standing right there in front of him!

We all live with expectations. We all know about the power of expectations. For the most part, expectations are a very good thing because they raise the bar and challenge us to new heights of accomplishment and fulfillment. But they can also blind us to others if we see others only through the lens of our expectations.

Some progressive theologians say Peter, in this story, functions as a metaphor for that kind of blindness. He couldn’t see the real Jesus right in front of him because that Jesus was not living up to his expectations of whom and what the messiah should be and do. What expectations might you have of Jesus that could be obscuring your view of the Jesus of the gospels?

Matthew tells us that from this time forward Jesus began to explain to his disciples he was headed toward a cross, and so were they if they chose to follow him. As followers of Jesus, the “keys” placed in our hands are the way of the cross. The way of the cross does not “conform” to the conventional power of this world. The conventional power of this world is the power of coercion; power exerted from the outside by a stronger entity over a weaker entity and is often experienced as oppressive.

The way of the cross, the power of sacrificial love, is a love that gives itself freely away and gets inside of people and renews them from the inside out; sets them free; gives them wings to fly to be all they can possibly be. This is the love that the disciples experienced in Jesus, and in which Jesus mentored them, and still mentors us. The power of sacrificial love; the way of the cross; the keys of the kingdom!

How many of you have seen the movie Gandhi? I remember seeing it and I’ll never forget the reaction of the crowd at the end of the movie. First of all, there was a silence, a deep silence in the theater. Second, many people just sat in their seats, not saying a word, after the closing scene of Gandhi’s cremation fire filling the big screen. In the life of this slight man with his spinning wheel, bare feet, passion for peace and passionate opposition to every form of violence, we, in that theater, had gotten a glimpse of something, a glimpse of a kind of life that made every other kind of life seem empty and missing something.

I believe the disciples and early Christian community experienced that kind of vibrant God presence in Jesus and it set them on fire! They understood that his life was about unlocking boundaries. He unlocked boundaries of race and ethnicity. He unlocked forbidden religious boundaries that separated the clean from the unclean, the righteous from the sinners. He unlocked any boundary that dehumanized or diminished another human being. J. Holub said, “The ‘keys’ with which we are entrusted are these special keys of sacrificial love that always focus on building others up, and hence, they are ‘keys’ that unlock rigid boundaries that devalue human beings.”

The “keys” of the kingdom, the way of the cross unlocks forgiveness of enemies and seeks to build bridges with our adversaries.

Jesus unlocked people trapped in the prison of fear and set them free to fulfill their humanity. The way of the cross is a journey out of fear to take risks for love’s sake in this world.

For Peter and for us, the way of the cross is dying to old ways of thinking and living and being reborn into new ways of thinking and living that are firmly grounded in our mentor Jesus and the sacrificial love that was embodied in his life.

The way of the cross is to selflessly put to work, for the sake of others, and for the sake of God’s kingdom the unique gifts, talents and skills with which each of us is blessed.

“I will give you the keys to the kingdom …” These are not merely words spoken to a few disciples of long ago. This is not ancient history, but rather it’s a promise that has been passed down through the centuries, and it flows into our hearts where among us it takes new expression again. In this faith community today this story springs to new life and is re-enacted all over again, and you and I are entrusted with the “keys” – the “keys” of the kingdom.

They have been placed in our hands; in yours and in mine. And the yet to be answered question is, “What are we going to do with them?”

Rev. Dan Koeshall is the senior pastor at The Metropolitan Community Church (The Met), 2633 Denver Street, San Diego, California, themetchurch.org. Services every Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m.