'Heart of a Giant'
Stores 'chained' down
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'Pearl Earring'
VOTE NOW!
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ARTS
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The
www.ebar.com
Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 43 • No. 06 • February 7-13, 2013
Black LGBT elders face isolation by Seth Hemmelgarn
L Photographer Duane Cramer is one of the spokesmen for a new HIV app.
HIV apps assist PWAs
by Matthew S. Bajko
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eople living with HIV and AIDS now have another tool to help manage their health needs and medications: their smartphones. A variety of downloadable applications for cellphones, as well as computers, are aimed at helping HIV-positive people keep track of when to take their medicines and record health data to share with their physicians during doctor visits. Two of the earliest options were PozTracker and iStayHealthy, which was recommended by Poz magazine. The HIV and Your Heart app uses research and guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American Academy of HIV Medicine to provide suggestions on how to live healthy with HIV. Drug giant Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp. has created the My Health Matters and My Positive Agenda mobile and desktop apps. The digital tools help users track symptoms they incur from their HIV treatments and allow for the creation of reports that display those symptoms users can then email to their doctor. When Merck introduced the apps last year the company teamed up with Project Runway contestant Mondo Guerra, who revealed his HIV status on the show’s Season 8, to promote them through the national I Design campaign. This year it has engaged San Francisco-based photographer Duane Cramer, who splits his time in Manhattan, to join Guerra as a paid spokesman for the campaign. “I want to encourage people not to be victims but to really be victorious,” said Cramer. “It is 2013, and when it comes to HIV, we now can use online electronic tools to better manage our health.” Cramer, 50, is a well-known black gay man who has been a longtime advocate for people See page 13 >>
Cheers can’t help 49ers Rick Gerharter
A
packed house of screaming and cheering San Francisco 49er fans at Hi Tops sports bar in the Castro, including Philip Garcia and Ivan Ferrer, was not enough for the team to win its sixth Super Bowl Sunday, February 3. While the Niners made a comeback late in the game, it was the Baltimore Ravens who carried home the Vince Lombardi Trophy with a 34-31 victory. The Bay Area Reporter, which lost a wager with the Washington Blade, has sent a check for $1,000 to Chase Brexton Health Services in Baltimore, which was the Blade’s charity of choice. For more on Super Bowl XLVII, see Jock Talk, page 12.
arry Saxxon knows firsthand about the isolation and loneliness that researchers and others say are among the main challenges facing black LGBT elders. February is Black History Month, and in a recent interview, Saxxon spoke of going to the Castro district, the largely gay neighborhood with a reputation for favoring people who are young and white. He Rick Gerharter said the area is “flowing with the sea of Larry Saxxon wonderful humanity,” but he indicated his time there hasn’t always been pleasant. “People walk past you, and they turn their heads,” he said. The reaction appears to be, “What am I going to do with this old black queen?” said Saxxon, 60, who’s been with his See page 12 >>
AOF prepares for Oscar gala
by Seth Hemmelgarn
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San Francisco nonprofit that’s raised more than $8 million for Bay Area HIV and AIDS charities over the years is preparing for its annual Academy Awards gala. Academy of Friends, which started more than 30 years ago, will hold “Boas, Bowties and Bubbly” Sunday, February 24 at Terra Gallery. The Oscar viewing party begins at 5 p.m. This year’s Academy Award nominees include Daniel Day-Lewis for best actor in Lincoln and Jessica Chastain for best actress in Zero Dark Thirty. It remains to be seen whether Ben Affleck’s hit, Argo, about the Iranian hostage crisis, will emerge as the dark horse winner for best picture. Affleck was snubbed by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in the best director category, but the movie has already won top honors at the Golden Globes and from the Screen Actors Guild. AOF board Chair Howard Edelman said the organization’s six beneficiaries for 2013 are “putting their heart and their soul” into the gala, and “the energy level this year is just amazing.” The focus this season is on HIV prevention, and AOF started over this year with beneficiaries. It did invite back Maitri, which provides hospice and short-term care for people living with HIV and AIDS. Others partners are AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Larkin Street Youth Services,
Rick Gerharter
Clayton Fields, left, from Nordstrom, makes an adjustment to Dion Repple’s bowtie, after showing him how to tie one in preparation for the Academy of Friends annual Oscar night gala, at a pre-event party last month at the Bubble Lounge. This year’s Academy Awards viewing party and benefit is at Terra Gallery Sunday, February 24.
Mission Neighborhood Health Center’s Clinica Esperanza, and Pets Are Wonderful Support.
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“It’s important to keep the focus on HIV/ AIDS,” Edelman said. “For us it’s not about keeping AOF alive, but about helping other people and the community.” Lance Toma, executive director of API Wellness Center, said in an email, “We have developed a strong partnership with Academy of Friends over many years. They have been tremendous supporters as we have grown, particularly when we expanded last year to provide services to all HIV-positive residents, of any race or ethnicity, in the Tenderloin,” which is one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. “We are thrilled to take part in this year’s event,” Toma said. Edelman said the amount that AOF distributes to beneficiaries this year “really depends on people’s generosity” when it comes to raffle and gala ticket sales, and silent auction proceeds. Those funds are set aside for the partners. AOF is hoping to raise a total of $95,000 to $150,000 from those three sources for the beneficiaries, Edelman said. “It wouldn’t make sense to have this event if we couldn’t give away a lot of money,” he said. AOF has asked beneficiaries to participate by supplying volunteers for the gala and selling tickets, among other means. The amount each partner raises is tracked. The organization is working to keep people who attend entertained. This year, AOF will be holding its first-evSee page 13 >>