The Word April 2015 (p4-Mother Goose)

The Word April 2015 On The Web At: www.thegayword.com

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Good Bye! Good Luck! Good Riddance!The Word Gets New Owners As Ted Retires (And Takes His British Spellings With Him)

By TED FLEISCHAKER(For One Final Time)Word Publisher

INDIANAPOLIS—Ah what to say? The headline I am sure says it pretty much all anyway: it’s my goodbye as this is the final edition of The Word I will be publishing. To some it’s good luck to me for surviving the community (and the community surviving me) for 24 years. And for others it’s “good riddance...please do not let the door hit you on your way out!”

In any case, it’s been quite a ride...since the June/Pride Word hit a very few streets in 1991 (before a good batch of you current readers were even born) thru this final “Ted Edition” The Word has been read, trashed, trusted, mis-trusted, hated, loved and sworn by and about in seven states.

As the paper has been sold and the May edition (and all going forward) will be published by a new duo of D.J. Doran (shown with me in the photo) and Joe Morales (the publishers and owners of the very popular and glossy gay travel magazine Gaycation) this is my last time to rant, rave and inform along the way. It’s also the final Word with British spellings and styles and I am 100% sure will be the last with a lot of what some call my “quirks” and others comment on in far less printable ways.Regardless of your feelings, I want to thank the community for the “ride”. It’s been a wild, crazy and, above all, fun 24 years for me. And while he doesn’t own the paper it’s been an interesting time for my partner of 22 of those years, Ivan Howard. He’s had to live and breathe Word with me, often whether or not he wanted to. He’s taught me about karma and kept a lot of the things I might have said in the paper off the pages. And he’s cheered me on, held my hands and dried my tears during some interesting times.

I also want to thank the readers for supporting us, including those all across the seven Midwest

The Word March 2015 On The Web At: www.thegayword.com


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Word...states we call our circulation area. We get big welcomes when we show up at prides and other events and we also constantly find folks who “didn’t know” there ever was a gay newspaper and still others who have been longtime readers.

I also want to thank my advertisters, without whom we really, truly never could have made it happen. A special shout out to Aaron Hunt over at what’s now called Club Indianapolis. The Club (or if you recall the name when we started in 1991, Club Body Centre) is the ONLY advertiser which has never missed a single issue. Not one. They have believed in us since 1991 and I am thrilled they still do.

They have several close competitors for the “only” title. The now-defunct Unicorn Club owned by Paul Eckert and Johnny Martin was in almost every issue from day one till they closed (save for three when they had a fire and while rebuilding nothing to advertise!) and Jim Brown over at Metro has hardly missed an issue since he bought the place from Marc Griffin who did ads and started it with his boyfriend at the time.

There are so many other strong supporters I am sure someone will feel left out, but Michael Wright at Edward Jones, Chuck, John, Steve & Brock and crew at English Ivy’s, Tim & Dean at Olly’s and the guys down at Louisville’s Connection have all been or are strong Word supporters — as are the folks at Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand, Play Louisville, the Damien Centre, Saugatuck’s Dunes and Lexington’s Bar.

But many supporters are not sponsors, but writers and readers. All of the current crop of columnists — with a special shout out to Sheila Kennedy who is “retiring” with me after this issue — deserve a pat on the back for putting up with my constant whining about deadlines and schedules, some for years. Sheila has been here in every issue snce the first 16-pager, by the way.

And almost as long-term is “Standard Reviewer” Bill Elliott in Bloomington. And Denny Solso who (Or is that whom? I never remember!) has been proofing The Word for at least the past half-dozen years.

There are also the people you never see but without whom we could not reach you. Not only partner Ivan who keeps the website up and purring (and feeds the gossip cats) but Nick, Lee, Thomas and Christian who deliver the papers to a news stand or a shipping point so they can reach you, our readers.

They are the ones carrying papers in snow and sleet and rain and filling boxes or dropping them in stores and bars and doing the real “heavy lifting” for us so they all deserve a huge thank you and gift cards for new trusses. These papers can get really heavy, specially at pride time and special occasions.

I am 100% certain I am leaving out a lot of folks from this final “Ted edition” but there are two who are not reading as they have passed on I want to thank before I say my final farewell. Those would be my parents.

My mom, Rosa Lee, who died in 1993, is responsible for giving this newspaper its name. When I began the

planning and was searching for a name she looked at me and said “Call it The Word...because as a kid and still today you always have to have the last word on everything!” She was shocked I took the suggestion and it seems after almost a quarter century to have stuck. I do still like the last word, so it’s approprite that I thank her in this, MY last Word.

And my dad, Arthur, who when Heartland, a gay paper I’d been with just a few months folded and left me “stranded” jobless and with nine months left on a year’s Riley Towers lease in Indy, said “What made them fail?” I gave him my


The Goose Is Loose!

By Michael Chanak Cincinnati Pundit & CommentatorYour poor gaseous Goose has managed to touch the third rail of gay and lesbian sensibilities in Cincinnati!

After all, I am called here “a community commentator and pundit.” Alternatively others say I am old journalist, whose social life revolves around free buffets, snooping and going to business meetings as a source of local tidbits.

Maybe the truth is all these things and neither. I’ll admit I have a morbid fascination with the community’s internal politic. This is an offering of the recent tale of your peripatetic Goose.

I knew I had hit pay dirt when in one my usual rants and screeds I dared to comment on FB some “members dined on their $175 gay-LA repast, posting pictures of their prom dresses as other community members died,” (notably the transgender teen Leelah Alcorn).

I didn’t call names because there was no need to: things speak for themselves. Goosie lamented that while the transgender community talks about lack of resources, another organisation was sending $500K elsewhere. I fully expected some backdraft.

Some accused me of being bitter because this gay-LA group dissed me by not giving me any recognition for my years of work at P&G for inclusion. That was, of course, the work which led to the company adding “sexual orientation” to their EEO policy in 1992.

(An aside: It is a rather common pan to call someone bitter when you don’t agree with them.)

Imagine my delight when a member of the gay and lesbian community became very personal on FB and stated (about this Goose): “you are a tired rehash of Larry Kramer,

and I am tired of your contrarian point of few, with your nose pressed to the glass complaining. It is tiresome.”

My only response to this individual was “I rather like Larry.” I reported the incident to the followers of Goose, who found the comment fascinating and offered “what a compliment, even a pale, rehash of Larry Kramer is better than eating rubber food.”

Now, folks, I am no Larry Kramer. But I was reminded by my critic how much groupthink does go on and how isolated some segments of our community can and do become to other parts of it. I do, however, have a large bill and yes, it has been pressed up against the glass (note that flat spot on end of it).

I’d like to believe not all criticism is personal and that sometimes people just become tone deaf and apathetic. Some don’t like us. We forget our history and believe that the world of activism is long dead or replaced by paid lobbyists at the D.C. level.

I am not so convinced. If anything, all of us, including Goose, can too easily become victims of our own silo of belief, reinforced by FB interests and the abundance of the “like, like, like, awe, awe, awe” generation’s comments. Maybe this is the very reason as a writer and observer I attend many events. It’s so that I can be a witness to history. I went to most of the vigils near Cincinnati for Leelah Alcorn, including a planning meeting. I saw and listened to the concerns of these communities. I do not consider myself a spokesman for the transgender community. Like many, I continue to learn.

Ironically, with no influence from the Goose, Lindsey Deaton of the Transgender Community of Cincinnati announced a “die-in” on Fountain Square on the 28th of February. What’s a die-in? Oops! I remember those at the height of the HIV/lack of medication protests. Oh no! Is the corpse of local activism rising from the grave of long forgotten and tired activism? Well, all I can say is I have waited for that resurrection for a very long time. Isn’t it time we stop believing that only our betters can save us - if we only we send our dollars to the national church?

I recall an old saying “charity begins at home.” I also recall learning all politics are local. Please read me right. I am not against organisations which want to lobby for us nationally. But I am saying isn’t it time we expect from these groups some interest and help returned to local communities from where the dollars were derived?

Dare I further suggest it isn’t all about marriage equality and never was? Be an informed consumer! I am not against a “celebration” - as we have always celebrated in our communities during the darkest moments. But those celebrations always came with an acknowledgement of those who passed, those who continue to work with arms outstretched to others and those who used said events and raised a lot of money for local causes all at the same time. I am not speaking about too many of today’s celebrations which are held behind closed doors that only the 1% can afford to open and which send money raised out of town.

In the olden days, when Goose was formed, there were community picnics. They were free or low cost and I continue to advocate for their return. I find it odd that with our general success the advent of high priced soirees and gay-LAs have taken the place of old fashioned get-to-know-others picnics. It is almost as though we came out so we could go in and emulate the very behaviour of our former oppressors. And often I suspect the same oppressors are still in our midst, just cloaked in modernisms.

So, to Lindsey Deaton I ask: are you another tired embodiment of Larry Kramer? Tired or not, I think we need a lot more of us! Thanks for reminding all of us of our shared history!


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The event will take place Wednesday 1st April at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Centre, located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.

In 1985, the eyes of the world turned to Indiana as the 13-year-old Kokomo student attempted to join his fellow classmates at Western Middle School in Russiaville. However, his wish to return to school was met with near hysteria by many school officials and parents — as White had been diagnosed with AIDS after receiving contaminated blood-based products used to treat his hemophilia.

The Quiet Hero: A Life of Ryan White, written by Nelson Price with readers of all ages in mind, explores the courage White and his mother, Jeanne, displayed in their battle to have him join his classmates. Price, who covered White’s controversy as a reporter and columnist for The Indianapolis News, goes behind the scenes and brings to light stories and individuals who might have been lost in the media spotlight that followed Ryan until he passed away on 8th April 1990.

The 1 April book launch event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. with a reception and book signing with author Price. The evening will also include a panel discussion which will feature Price, White-Ginder, Louganis and IHS President and CEO John A. Herbst and be followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

Admission to the book launch event is free, but space is limited for the programme portion of the evening. To reserve a seat, contact Kimberly Rohl at [email protected] or 317/233.5658. For more information on IHS books and programmes, call 317/232.1882 or visit www.indianahistory.org

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views on it and he said “Well, I’ll loan you some cash. You start your own paper and don’t make the same mistakes!”

Dad owned a chain of furntiure stores in Louisville, had a business degree from Indiana University and taught me business from age 14 as a furniture salesman on weekends. He got his loan back in 90 days and also stayed with The Word after he retired. Dad did my books, sent out my dun letters to no payers and kept us on track.

It’s thanks to that we have never had a single issue that has not been “in the black” and it’s why I have a newspaper to sell to Joe & D.J. today. Dads are very special people and I am glad mine stuck around until 2008 to see us grow and to hold my hand and spank my butt when needed. It’s somewhat ironic his last act on earth was to vote in the November 2008 presidential election for Obama. He died the very next day.

I am proud of what we have done, given and had. And we’ve had some fun times, done a lot of work and given and received our fair share of shit. I will have a 2nd story about a few of the best and funniest times we’ve enjoyed (Not!) elsewhere in this issue, but for now I am going to use my last word to say thank you. Thanks to the community and region. Thanks to all the people near and far. And, above all, thanks to D.J. and Joe who will, I am 100% certain, do a great job following after me to continue our traditions, make new ones of their own and expand and expound upon what we have started.

In closing, to those fearful of changes and growth, I am reminded of an editorial by the publisher of The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin in that newspaper’s final issue in the 1980s. In it, he talked about the choice he had to make to sell or close — and he chose the latter — but in that editorial to justify the afternoon paper’s end he said, “remember that once dinosaurs roamed the earth, but dinosaurs don’t live here anymore.”

In our case, the choice has been made to change, to continue, to grow and for new (and younger) minds to take over while this dinosaur retires.So that’s my story till now. Happy reading for many, many years to come!

Word... Continued From Page Three


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By Dr. Fred Schloemer, LCSW / Louisville

Outside The Box

Dear Dr. Fred:

We go back a long way together. You and I were classmates in the 1960s at Atherton High School in Louisville and we had the distinct displeasure to be bullied by the same guy . . . a guy who today would be expelled for his acts and homophobia, but whom, back in the day, administrators did nothing about. Despite our high school friendship, we more or less lost track for a while, but for the past many years, you have been writing this advice column for me as owner of The Word. And this brings me to a question I want to ask both an authority and an old friend:

I have sold the newspaper and as of the day this one goes to press, my job here is done. A new owner, D.J. Doran, will take over with the May edition and I wish him all the luck in expanding what I started 24+ years ago, but my question is not about The Word, but about Ted.

My partner of 22+ years, Ivan, is taking a transfer with Apple and we will soon be relocating to Portland in Maine. When we were there house shopping, everyone I spoke with, upon hearing that I do newspapers, and especially a straight one called Up Downtown here in Indianapolis, asked me to try doing a downtown newspaper in Portland. We did buy a condo, will be living downtown there and I will have a fair amount of time on my hands with Ivan working every day.

So my question is this: My dad always taught that it was better to wear out and not rust out, but I am unsure if I want to “really” retire or indeed start a new paper in a new community and see where it goes. Dad also taught that one should save for retirement and between having done so since he got me started saving back when we attended Atherton together and my continuing to do so, plus having a husband 20 years my junior work (and providing me with excellent health insurance) I have no pressing financial need to work, but in many ways I want to.

I have nothing to prove as I have been a business success now for many years, but part of me wants to start a newspaper there or do some work in broadcasting (which I did at WUOL and WHAS in Louisville as well as at several Indy stations).

Can you offer any suggestions or ideas? Do I retire and “put my feet up” or look for a new challenge or find something part time or maybe do volunteer work or some bits of all of the above? I have always valued your advice and will remain your reader, but for this final time under my leadership I’d appreciate some of your usual excellent help in a personal nature. It’s been a pleasure having you as a friend for half a century as well as working with you the past many years as well.

Ted FleischakerIndianapolis.

Dear Ted:

What an honour to have someone I’ve always admired so much seek my advice on a major, life-changing personal decision, (and stroke my ego so warmly along the way). Hard to believe it’s been a half century though. Can we really be that old?

Both as a therapist and as the author of this column, I always strive to attune my advice to the character of the client or reader posing a question. Knowing your character as well as I do, plus through zeroing in one some key language you use in your letter, I think I can offer several ideas that I hope will be helpful.

I often wish I had known your dad, and sometimes feel almost like I did, because you frequently cite such excellent guidance from him. I love his phrase “better to wear out than to rust out,” and I think that idea is probably already firmly implanted in your mind or you wouldn’t be feeling the dividedness you express.

That dividedness, by the way, is totally natural and appropriate to your circumstances. Having worked so hard and been such a success, it’s understandable that you would both to want to rest and want to continue doing something equally challenging, productive and successful.

I’ve also told clients, and said here in this monthly feature, that many times people expressing uncertainty about their options actually answer their own question simply in the posing of it. I think you’ve done that here, my friend. You’ve always been a seeker, an achiever, an intellectual, and a lover of diverse cultures, as well as different aspects of all cultures (their art, music, food, literature, etc.). So given all of the above, I have a hard time imagining you “putting your feet up,” except perhaps for a brief respite to let yourself catch your breath after moving.

I also have a hard time imagining you moving to a new city and state and not soon getting into your usual avid exploration of their cultural scene, restaurants, art, architecture, music, etc. It’s just your nature to get out and go, exploring all that’s out there, and then sharing it with others, thus starting a new paper certainly sounds like a good idea to me. I also like your thoughts about doing a “bit of all of the above.” I’d probably start with the part time or volunteer work option, take it slow, get grounded in your new community, and go from there.

As a last note, I’d like to share my personal resonance with your situation. You and my readers are already aware that I have been battling prostate cancer for most of the last year, and that I had closed my practice at the outset of that battle.

What you may not know is that a couple of months ago, I found myself dealing with what was a new and unknown feeling for me . . . boredom.

So I have resumed seeing a few clients a week, and begun a new novel, i.e. a “bit of all of the above;” and I have found it very satisfying.

I hope this gives you plenty to mull over and that it will prove useful in the long run. Meanwhile, best wishes to you and Ivan for many other successes in Portland. I feel quite sure you’ll make them happen.

Your friend,Fred


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Ah, The Memories We Made...I wanted to get just a bit personal in my final issue of The Word, and after thanking husband Ivan for sleeping with and putting up not only with me, but the newspaper for our entire 22+ years together, I wanted to share just a few “funnies” from my years here.

And there’s none as good as one from the very early days about 1993 or so. I had to paste up the paper back then as there were no computer desktop programmes, and I often relied on a lady at my old printer I nicknamed “Momma” because she looked vaguely like Anne Ramsey, the actress who played that role in Throw Momma From The Train, one of my all-time fave films.

Momma used to set the type, fix the head-line, wax it all, paste it up and I’d give it the thumbs up or down. Well on this one particular issue, I was in a rush as I was going to see my sister in Florida, so I gave the paper a cursory look-over, checked the “OK ” box and boarded a plane.

A few days later I got a panicked call from someone at Indy’s Metro swearing that the paper had a major error because on the front page I’d missed Momma’s spelling of “Lesbian”, which came out

(in 42 point type no less) as “Lesbisan”. The dude was asking me what I’d planned to do as it was a very obvious error, had been pointed out by more than a few customers, etc. etc. But before I could fumble for an answer he gave me one.

“Of course, nobody here until you came along ever spelled anything Brit-ish. Is Lesbisan a British spelling?” he asked.

I responded that “Yes, it sure is!” to which he said “Oh, good. I’ll let folks know!” and I never heard another word about it.

Of course it’s NOT a Brit-ish spelling at all and it WAS a major mistake in huge type, but to this day I don’t think anyone ever found out!

There have been other not-so glamorous days here, too. Back in the day we used to print separate editions for Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. We were the very

first “zoned” edition gay newspaper any-where in the country, and for that matter perhaps the world — a practice which obviously did not succeed as no one else has been stupid enough to try it, and we

quit splitting the papers after a few years. Of course zoned state edi-tions can make for some terrible er-rors and often did, especially when all these editions were printed at the same time as our straight Up Down-town newpspaper we do for Indy.

Probably the most memorable screw up was one month when the then-printer, who was supposed to ship

the Illinois papers in boxes to our delivery points there sent them Indiana’s, brought Indianapolis the Illinois papers and when the error was discovered had to send a truck back to collect the Indiana Words. But the driver, not being the sharpest

pencil in the box swapped them out for Up Downtowns instead of Illinois papers! That meant the next day we did it all over again, along with trying to figure out what folks in Illinois who grabbed up the downtown papers thought was going on!

Speaking of late, we have, proudly, in our 24 years only been late one other time. That was when a huge snowstorm closed the Ohio River bridges, so the then-printer at Jeffersonville was unable to get to the Louisville airport and pick up the rental truck they used to deliver. The gov-ernor of Kentucky reopened the bridges the next day and The Word was out, just 24 hours late!

And finally, I’d be remiss were I not to recount at least one Gossip Cats tale. We try and not give any real specifics so the folks we’re dishing know (or think they do) and others have fun guessing and no lawyers need get involved. One recent item brought us calls from three states, with all three callers threatening to sue after claiming it was they we were writing about. In truth it was NONE of them, but we did suggest they each have their respective lawyer call the other two’s lawyers and let that prove nobody could tell anything for sure, so thus nobody had a case!

Ted Fleischaker, Publisher


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Your Vote Counts

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BON VOYAGE, TED! GOOD LUCK!

TWO YEARS LATER: WHY YOUR VOTE COUNTS

In late March 2013, the United States Supreme Court convened for oral arguments in two cases now known as Hollingsworth and Windsor. What’s happened since has shaken the civil rights world. A rapid-fire domino effect meant that by last December, so many circuits and district federal courts had weighed in, that the Supremes had no choice but to take another limited look at marriage equality. They’re doing it while you read this. Only one of the circuits had ruled agaiunst marriage equality — the 6th, which includes Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Tennessee. Now, that circuit’s 2-1 decision against marriage equality is being debated by the highest court in the land. It’s a different case than either Hollingsworth or Windsor. In the largest sense, the 6th Circuit decision stands alone. Only the 6th Circuit contradicted the avalanche of district and appeals court decisions in our favour in the last 18 months. It was a narrow decision, largely on a technicality, so the Supreme Court felt obliged to weigh in.

Once and for all. Nine justices. The same Gang of Nine that ruled 5-4 on Windsor and Hollingsworth two years ago. As of presstime, the 27th & 28th of March were the days the Supreme Court was set to hold oral arguments in the historic marriage equality cases. For the first time ever, dozens of lesbian, gay, bi & trans groups conferenced months in advance. They presented a united front for two days of meetings on Capitol Hill, an interfaith church vigil and huge outdoor public rallies. The cooperative attitude among the groups was difficult: typically, lesbian, gay, bi & trans advocacy groups have fought for turf, members, money and prestige. But not on those two glorious March days. Activists and their group leaders from around the country came together like never before. As I’ve noted here prior, it was a privilege to sit inside the Supreme Court to listen to those arguments. I’ll never forget it. It’s likely the Sixth Circuit decision — which was granted certiorari, meaning review of the lower court’s ruling — will be finished by late June. Perhaps sooner. The Supreme Court should come to a decision within two months. Speculation is rampant, but it would be unprecedented for the Supreme Court to undo so many district and appeals court decisions in favour of marriage equality. The toothpaste is out of the tube. It’s important also to note how these decisions are reached in federal courts: by judges appointed by the President for life terms, and confirmed by the Senate. It’s why your vote counts — for Senate and President. The next one to three years could be crucial for the balance on the Supreme Court. Most progressive issues have come to 5-4 votes. If only one justice moves his or her vote the balance shifts. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is aging and has beaten cancer twice. It’s likely one of the justices will retire in that timeframe. When the Republicans retook control of the U.S. Senate in January, Justice Ginsberg’s health became a key flashpoint. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is holding up a sure-fire nominee for Attorney General to appease his right-wing caucus members. A Supreme Court vacancy would be the icing on the cake for that obstructionist crowd. But good ole’ Ruth ain’t having it. Shortly after the holidays she launched a blitzkrieg of interviews. All were intended to demonstrate her health and vitality. Every interview she granted eventually came around to the same question: What’s an 83-year-old cancer survivor and Jewish grandma doing on the court? Or something to that effect. She handled it well. Her basic answer: I’m not going anywhere. And judging by what I saw during those oral arguments two years ago, she’s got more vitality in an hour than Justices Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas have in a whole day. When you vote for U.S. Senator or President, the federal judiciary nominations are almost never a part of the campaign rhetoric. Except for that stormy period over 40 years ago when President Nixon’s nominations of Haynsworth and Carswell were

rejected by the Senate, individual nominations and confirmation votes are rarely part of the campaign fabric. Those nomination fights were led by the young chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments, Birch Bayh of Indiana. It was risky — a liberal young senator from a conservative state taking on that kind of high-profile fight. But he did, and he got very little home-state campaign blow-back. All of which confirms what he once said regarding the Senate’s most-overlooked but important job: confirmation of presidential nominees. “We should approve a President’s nominees unless we have grave reservations about their past performance or potential conflicts,” Bayh once said. “But that doesn’t mean we roll over if it’s bad for the country.” The political climate is much more volatile in 2015 than it was during the Carswell fight. In that time, there were three TV networks covering Capitol Hill. Today’s 24-hour news cycle is a beast that demands to be fed. A Ginsburg vacancy on this court — or ANY vacancy — would be a lightning rod for the myriad of Senate presidential wannabes. A nightmare. So let’s light a candle for Justice Ginsburg’s health. And the next time you have an opportunity to vote for a U.S. Senate candidate make it a point to ask them how they’d vote on presidential nominations. Because your vote does count.

A MAYOR FOR OUR CAUSES

The 2015 Indianapolis municipal election will choose a new mayor. That’s because two-term Mayor Gregory Ballard decided not to seek a third term. The retired Marine lieutenant colonel deserves a hearty thanks from the lesbian, gay, bi & trans community. His steadfast support for full inclusion always includes a line about “making Indianapolis a welcoming city.” He views it as an economic development necessity. I’ve often told friends that whenever we’ve asked the mayor to carry a gallon of water on our issues, he carries three. It’s no surprise I don’t agree with any — ANY — of his business decisions. But give credit where it’s due. He has been a strong advocate for our community. He helped behind the scenes on HJR-3. He brought along recalcitrant fellow Republicans. His eight years in office will be graded by voters. Despite my outgoing publisher’s adoration of Mayor Ballard, this voter gives him a “Gentleman’s C,” with an A for civil rights advocacy. I hope he enjoys his retirement. He’s earned it.


By Bill Elliott / Word Critic

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South African-Canadian director Neill Blomkamp burst onto the American movie scene with the sci-fi apartheid allegory District 9 in 2009. He followed that up with a tale of the consequences of global economic inequality, Elysium, four years later. Both films are hard-hitting pieces of social analysis, employing elements of satire. Blomkamp’s third feature-length film, Chappie, has little of the geopolitical and social insight of his first two films, relying more on digital pyrotechnics and humour.

The film treads familiar ground: mankind’s desire to use technology to replicate humans artificially. From Dr. Frankenstein’s experiments stitching together second-hand body parts to a slew of contemporary novels and films dealing with artificial intelligence, it appears humans are not content to share the planet with billions of our own kind. We want to create new forms of life and new forms of consciousness.

In Chappie, a South African technology company develops a tactical unit of police robots to cope with spiralling crime rates in Johannesburg. While the robots result in a reduction of crime on the streets of the city, a minor battle is going on within Tetravaal for supremacy: weapons guys versus artificial intelligence engineers. Nerdy Deon Wilson (Dev Patel) is the AI geek while pumped-up Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman) is the weapons nut.

Wilson asks Tetravaal CEO, Michelle Bradley (Sigourney Weaver), to support his efforts to create robots that can think and learn like humans. Moore just wants to create the biggest, baddest killing machine he can.

However, as long as cheaply-made-and-operated police robots are keeping the streets of Johannesburg clean, Bradley is not inclined to spend huge amounts of research money on new hardware or software.

Wilson decides to take matters into his own hands by salvaging a damaged robot destined for the crusher. Moore goes off to seek his revenge with MOOSE, his monster robot.

As he does in his earlier films, Blomkamp takes the audience on a trip deep into the heart of darkness — in this case into Johannesburg’s seamier underbelly.

Ninja (played by the eponymous South African rapper) and his sidekicks, Yolandi (South African singer Yolandi Visser) and Amerika (Jose Pablo Cantillo), are drug runners who have fallen foul on a deal with local gangster Hippo (Brandon Auret). Hippo is an aptly named piece of visual unpleasantness who requires subtitles to interpret his mangled version of English (which is as grotesque as his appearance). Hippo demands that Ninja’s gang of three come up with 20 million rand in a week or he will kill them. With no way to raise the money, the group of misfits has to think of an alternative way to placate Hippo.

They hit on the idea of kidnapping the brains behind the police robots and forcing him to retrofit a unit to serve their criminal needs. Since the opening of Chappie goes to great lengths to discuss how Tetravaal’s security is impenetrable, it is quite astounding how easily the three are able to hijack Wilson’s vehicle.

Despite the threat to his personal safety, Wilson finds himself in a position where he is able test out his artificial intelligence experiment on the piece of actual hardware in his trunk.

Wilson’s experiment works and before you can say, “downloading artificial consciousness,” Chappie is born. Unfortunately, the robot is very much a babe-in-arms. While he is capable of learning quickly, he needs to be nurtured. Wilson and Yolandi are happy to spend time playing with Chappie, introducing the robot to rubber chickens and children’s stories. But Ninja needs a piece of bank-heisting, police-dodging machinery right now.

Wilson wants to teach Chappie about art and poetry; Ninja and Amerika want to teach him how to steal cars. They have to do so using a little subterfuge, telling Chappie that they are reclaiming cars that have been stolen from “daddy.” Then they progress to robbing armoured vehicles, claiming they need the money to pay for a new body for Chappie (his battery only has five more days of life left).

Watching Chappie transform into a criminal is the most engaging and entertaining part of the movie. Using the voice and movements of Blomkamp’s long-time collaborator, actor Sharlto Copley, Chappie becomes an endearing but slightly creepy character. While subjecting the innocent and impressionable to a life of crime and violence is disturbing to see on film, it has become a reality in many parts of the world today.

Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the playful character of Chappie, the film veers from allegory into cartoonishness. The film builds to a conclusion of gang violence, gore, and special effects that takes the sting out of an enlightening tale of the dangers of technology in the wrong hands.

What made District 9 so appealing is the transformation of Sharlto Copley’s sneering, nerdy bureaucrat into an empathetic and compassionate alien hybrid. Reduced to just Copley’s voice and action, the character of Chappie lacks the screen presence that Copley offers as an actor. In a film of thoroughly unpleasant characters, Chappie cannot salvage the film alone.

South African rappers Ninja and Yolandi Visser (essentially playing themselves) manage to create reasonably believable characters that are torn between lawlessness and family values. Giving such large roles to novice actors might account for part of the film’s lack of cohesion. But to be honest, the two musicians are far more interesting than Jackman’s and Weaver’s characters. Both Hollywood A-listers are under-utilised with Jackman’s performance feeling a little wooden and Weaver’s just a little over the top.

Blomkamp’s films are interesting visually and ideologically but Chappie really needed a much stronger script and more subtly defined characters. The dialog switches between the comic and the ridiculous. And the action, towards the end of the film, jumps from unpleasantly gory to fairytale sweet.

That’s a shame because Chappie could have been a welcome addition to Blomkamp’s fine work hitherto. As it stands, it can be seen as a slight blip in his development as a filmmaker._________

Before signing off this on this month’s review, I want to take a moment to say that I have enjoyed working with Ted and The Word for close to 23 years. During that time we have become close friends, and I wish Ted and Ivan all the best as they start a new chapter of their lives on the east coast. Thanks, Ted!


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You might not think that 70 ½ represents any particular milestone and to you twinks who think 30 is “old” and 50 is “dead” the whole idea may seem outlandish, but when you do reach this age, you will have to make some decisions that affect an important aspect of your life — your retirement income.

Here’s the background: Once you turn 70 ½, you will need to start taking withdrawals from your 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plan and from your tradi-tional IRA (but not your Roth IRA). Actually, you will need to begin these withdrawals — known as “required minimum distributions” (RMDs) — by 1st April of the following year and continue taking them by 31st December each year after that. These RMDs are calculated by dividing your account balance at the end of the previous year by your life expectancy, as determined by IRS mortality tables. If your spouse is your sole benefi-ciary and is more than 10 years younger than you, you’d use a separate table. Don’t worry too much about the number crunching, though — your financial advisor gener-ally can do the calculations for you.

What you should concern yourself with, however, are the first two words of RMD: “re-quired” and “minimum.” These words mean what they say. If you don't take withdraw-als or if you withdraw less than you should, you could face a 50 percent penalty tax on the difference between what you withdrew and what you should have withdrawn — and then you'll still have to take out the required amount and pay taxes on the taxable portions of those withdrawals. So it’s a very good idea to take your withdrawals on time — and without “shortchanging” yourself.

Of course, you can certainly take more than the required minimum amount — but should you? The answer depends on whether you need the money. But even if you have to take larger-than-minimum withdrawals, you'll want to be careful not to take out more than you need — because if you “over-withdraw” year after year, you run the risk of outliving your resources. That's why it's so important, during the early years of your retirement, to establish a sustainable withdrawal rate for your retirement accounts. Your withdrawal rate will depend on a variety of factors, such as your other sources of income — Social Security, earnings from employment, savings, etc.— your lifestyle choices, your estimated longevity, and so on. In any case, once you have arrived at an appropriate withdrawal rate, you’ll need to stick to that rate unless your circumstances change.

If you have multiple IRAs, you'll also face another decision, because, once you've calculated your total RMDs for the year, from all your IRAs, you can take that amount from one or more of them. Depending on the investment mix of these individual IRAs, you may find it beneficial to take the money from one account and leave the others intact to potentially grow further. (If you have multiple 401(k)s, though, you will likely need to calculate and withdraw the separate RMDs for each plan.)

Other issues are also involved with RMDs, so, when the time approaches (And to my under 30 readers, trust me, it will!), consult with your tax and financial advisors. By studying all your options before you begin taking these withdrawals, you should be able to maximise their benefits.

On another topic (and I’m sure one of more interest to the whole community), in April we observe the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. Since its inception in 1970, Earth Day has inspired millions of people to take action to improve the environment. But the les-sons of environmentalism can also be applied to other areas of life — such as invest-ing. Specifically, as an investor, you may well want to follow the “three Rs”: reduce, reuse and recycle.

Let’s see how these environmental themes can be applied to your investment habits:

Reduce — Many of us probably own more things than we really need. In fact, if all the other people on Earth used as much “stuff” as we do in the United States, the planet would need to have three to five times more space just to hold and sustain everybody, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. So from an en-vironmental standpoint, it might be smart for all of us to “streamline” our possessions.

And the same could be true for our investments — it’s not always a case of “the more, the merrier.” It’s particularly important not to own too many of the same type of investments, because you could suffer a setback in a market downturn that primarily affects those assets.

Reuse — One way of being environmentally conscious is to repair, rather than replace, durable goods such as bicycles, washers, dryers, etc. After all, “new” is not always better. Many investors are also prone to tossing out the old and bringing in the new — and not always with the best results.

For example, some investors switch their overall strategy every so often in attempts to capitalise on some trend they have heard about. But you’re almost certainly better off by sticking with a long-term strategy that’s appropriate for your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.

Of course, within your strategy you can make adjustments as your circumstances change over time, but there’s probably no need to toss your entire approach overboard. As you invest, though, always be aware that the value of your investments will fluctu-ate and there are no guarantees that you won’t lose value.

Recycle — Aluminum cans become airplane parts, old phone books are transformed into textbooks and plastic beverage containers may end up as the carpeting on your floors.

It’s truly amazing how recycling can give new life to old, unwanted products. In a way, you can also “recycle” investments that no longer meet your needs, either because your circumstances have changed or because the investments themselves have become fun-damentally altered — as is the case when a company in which you invested has shifted its focus or taken its business in a new direction.

Instead of just liquidating the investment and using the cash to buy, say, an ultra-high-definition television with all the bells and whistles, you could find a new use for the proceeds in your investment portfolio. To name one possibility, you could use the money to help save for that 2nd home you always wanted in P-Town or Key West. Or you might use it to help fill other gaps in your portfolio. Or maybe to pay off the last of your or your husband’s student loans.

By following the “reduce, reuse and recycle” philosophy, you can help make the world a “greener” place to live. And by applying the same principles to the way you invest, you can create a healthier environment in which to pursue your important financial goals.


Pink In The Sheets

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Dear Mz. Pink,

I have been with my partner for a while, but before her I was in a long-term relationship with another woman and we had kids together. The issue is, the kids have always been in the picture and aren’t going anywhere, but my girlfriend does not like my kids.

I work fulltime and she does not. She does pull her own weight, however, so that’s not the issue. I also never ask her for assistance with my children. Her mother and I have a routine that works. It’s just when I’m off work she doesn’t want to spend time with all of us and she never takes it upon herself to help with the kids like handing stuff to them or playing. She isn’t hateful — she just isn’t interested.

I think the more serious we get the more she pulls away. There is no contest that my decision will always be my children, but is there any way that I can get her more on board with the family life? Or is this a lost cause?

Lesbian with Children, Indy

Dear Lesbian,

Having a family is important to some, but can be an obstacle to others. It’s not her fault if she feels on the fence about your kids. What is her fault is that she is still in a relationship with you knowing that you have kids. She should’ve never taken it this far if family life wasn’t for her.

I do applaud you as a mother working and taking care of business as well as it appears you do. Let’s try to understand why your girlfriend is pulling away from you and then maybe we can come up with a start to a solution.

Maybe she didn’t think that she would feel so strongly for you and therefore was okay in the beginning with your family. She could have been in it for a good time and never relating the fact that you are a mother as well as a single woman. Once she realised this was the real deal with her dating a mother, then maybe she started feeling that she couldn’t tell you how she felt.

Your girlfriend may also feel threatened by your relationship with your ex. Maybe she thought you two would be more hostile to each other instead of working for the kids as a team. That may make her jealous. Maybe she feels inadequate to your kids because they have two loving parents and she feels she doesn’t have a role in their lives therefore making family time awkward for her even if it is with just you and your kids.

Try to talk to her and ask her if she wants to do more with you and the kids. Tell her the kids really like her and want her to be more involved with what they are doing. Talk to her by herself first and try to find out where she is with wanting to be a part of their lives.

If she wants to be more involved or if that is why she has been acting strangely lately, then tell her she can be more involved. Start by talking with her and the kids and let them work something out together. Let your kids help in the decision-making as well as her. If she wants to help with school projects, pick them up from playdates, etc. let them decide.

Make sure you tell her that you’re not pushing your kids on her but that this was something you decided together, so she can’t change her mind when things get rough. Again, she could say that she wants the family life but then run scared when things don’t go the way she planned. She could also tell you that because she doesn’t want to lose you. Try things out and see how they go. If this doesn’t work, you can’t change the situation. In that case it might be time to think about a change.

Don’t feel too bad if breaking up is something you eventually have to do because you can’t change anybody. You and your kids deserve somebody who wants to be with all of you.

Good luck,

Mz. Pink


Hackin’ The Net

By Ted Fleischaker / Word Publisher We got a problem. The problem is not all the devices we have, but using them in such a way that they enhance our lives, not detract from them. This was brought to mind a few times lately, but none quite so dramatically as when walking on a downtown street on a 65 degree Spring Saturday four people approached. They were walking two-by-two and were obviously together. Sadly, not a single one of them was speaking nor even enjoying the sunshine or each others’ company: instead they were all peering oblivious into their phones, apparently texting or messaging.

It got me to thinking of the old expression about the medium and the message. Or to quote Wikipedia: “ ‘The medium is the message’ is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived. The phrase was introduced in his most widely known book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964. McLuhan proposes that a medium itself, not the content it carries, should be the focus of study. He said that a medium affects the society in which it plays a role not only by the content delivered over the medium, but also by the characteristics of the medium itself...”

Complicated, but in the years since 1964 we have so changed the meaning that these days the message is often lost on the medium — especially as we expect delivery of the first Apple Watches by month’s end and most folks are sadly so busy texting, messaging and (to use the kids latest expression) “blowing up someone’s phone” for attention that they forget what’s surrounding them.

Before I get too far I will admit that I am guilty. I never fail to check my stocks over lunch and I text friends. If I don’t get a reply in what I feel is a “correct” amount of time I text again until one recently accused me of blowin’ up his phone. Then there are the 100+ e-mails a day which land in my box as a newspaper publisher... and I could go on.

But what to do about it? First, we recently had the National Day of Unplugging. I was pleasantly shocked that a few of my fiercest critics tried unplugging — some a few hours and some for the full 24 — and without exception they said it was easier than they thought, and one even said he “enjoyed” the experience as he’d forgotten what a few hours was like with no phone, tweets or instant messengers interfering with real life.

I found my 24 hours easy and really enjoyable. I caught up with a reader who’d called and whose message I’d set aside. We had a nice hour’s chat and she was most complimentary about these pages. And I went to Chinese lunch with Steven and his sister and made a grocery run. I also actually got in my chair and took an hour’s nap and woke up feeling good. But my point here is not that I did this or that, but that I was unplugged 24 hours and the world did not stop revolving nor did anyone panic about not getting an immediate text or IM back.

So what to do when Apple’s latest investion puts the world and more on our wrists? Well, I wanna go try one out so look for me at the Apple store, but I’m not planning to buy the latest creation from the House of Jobs because I can’t see any real reason for me to do so. I have a drawer full of watches which I rarely if ever wear. I have an iPhone, iPad and two Macs so anything I need or want online can be at my fingertips or at least in my jeans pocket in short order.

But more than that, a comment by a friend who is counting the minutes until he can buy his watch caught my attention. As readers know, the health functions are one of the watch’s biggest selling points and this wag was overheard telling a friend who said he did not need or want one “but how will you reply when I send you a record of heartbeat at 2.30 a.m.?” His answer (and mine) would be identical: “If you bother me at 2.30 a.m. with such nonsense I won’t be your friend when I wake up in the morning!”

So will you be buying one of the “magical” watches? I do not plan to, even though they can and will (with some help from an app) let you own your own (for those old enough to remember) Dick Tracy two-way wrist radio. I am reminded of my late mother who, when as a kid I discovered the joy of owning a watch and some days wore two at once because I could not decide which of mine to wear, would pull her sleeve up and like a back alley salesman would say in a loud stage whisper “Psst! Wanna buy a watch?”

But back to my initial comment: Have we any peace and will we ever learn to boss our electronics instead of the other way round? My reply is only if we WANT that to happen. I will admit that I use the net as an assist in many things. For example, a friend posted on Facebook about the sad demise of newsstands. I used to spend countless hours at Indy News or Louisville’s Readmore and Liberty News or Downtown Dayton’s Wilkie’s. All had row upon row of newspapers from all across the region and world. All are now part of history. These days you can’t even get a Chicago Tribune in Indianapolis because the Trib quit circulating here a half-dozen or more years ago. The Sydney Morning Herald is nowhere to be found and the Louisville Courier-Journal has half their old circulation area. If I want an out-of-town paper I

have to either wait until the mail shows up with one I paid a lot of postage for or get an assist from the net and www.pressreader.com

With that I can subscribe ($29.95 a month) and read any or all of thousands of world and U.S. newspapers. Literally from The Washington Post and my lamented Chicago Tribune to the UK’s Western Mail and that Sydney Morning Herald. Best of all, thanks to the immediacy of the net they all show up when they are published in their local time zone so (like The Glasgow Evening Times promises) you will get today’s news in today’s paper. The net did not change what I read; just the media sending my message.

Same with radio. Indianapolis, for one, has no 24/7 classical FM. There are some ways with HD radio to get a classical music show all the time, but not by just tuning in. Thanks to the net and a TuneIn Radio app on my pad and phone (online, too, at www.tunein.com) I can choose from hundreds of classical stations ranging from Swiss Radio 2 to Toronto’s Stereo 96 and the UK’s wonderful Classic FM. If I want a morning upbeat show in the afternoon there are choices from Australia and if I want relaxing music with lunch, there are British stations where the time difference means they are well into the evening. Again, the same radio I used to get static-filled on a tuner or by having a friend record it and mail it on cassette from London or Melbourne is live right now thanks to the net.

There are a million other examples. I still use an encyclopaedia but now it’s a few clicks not a painstaking trip to the library. Cookbooks are all but off my list as websites from Food Network to www.uktv.co.uk/goodfood keep us very well fed. TV has gone “on demand” and it would be hard to imagine husband Ivan without his daily Netflix or Hulu fix, which means fewer visits to the theatre and has anyone even seen a video store lately?

So how did we get here from the Apple Watch and the Day of Unplugging? Simply because like everything there is a good side and a bad side to the net and all that technology. That means we need to manage it and not let it manage us. There’s nothing wrong with leaving the phone at home (not on vibrate or silent but home) when you go out for a date or dinner with friends. And unplugging from some tech for a day every now and then will not cause the world to stop. You can read that book you have been wanting to read (yes, on your Kindle, iPad or as a talking book downloaded from iTunes) while not answering 1000 texts. And you can relax and listen to a radio show or watch a movie without tweeting incessently or sending 35 IMs or texts to all your friends at the same time.

So my conclusion is just what I stated: Manage your electronics and do not let them manage you. Get an Apple Watch if you want one, but keep in mind your messages and all the other disturbing temptations of the net will be even closer than now when they might just remain in a purse or pocket.

And remember to respect friends who might not want their phone (or watch) blown up or their evening constantly interrupted. What was that old expression about a place for everything and everything in its place? I need to Google that!


Attorney Clayton Morgan317.536.2886

morganlawindy.com

Are you ready to make one meal matter? During Dining Out for Life 2015, dozens of area restaurants will donate 25%, 50%, or 100% of your bill to support The Damien Centre and hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS right here in our community. Supporting the fight against AIDS is as easy as grabbing a bite to eat.

According to Centers for Disease Control (CDC), roughly 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV—and 14% don’t know they have it. Right here in Indiana, 10,000 people are infected with HIV.

So which restaurants will be participating in this year’s event? Check out the growing list online at www.diningoutforlife.com or www.damien.org, where you can search by cuisine, location, cost, and more to find the perfect Dining Out for Life restaurant.

New to the event this year, Partner Restaurants Bluebeard, Nine Irish Brothers, The District Tap and Tavern on South will each give 25% of sales to The Damien Centre on 30th April, along with returning favourites Late Harvest Kitchen, English Ivy’s, and La Margarita Fountain Square. Long-time supporters Metro Nightclub and Restaurant, The Greek Islands Restaurant, Santorini Greek Kitchen and Arni’s Restaurants in Greenwood and Indianapolis will give 50% of sales as Premier Restaurants.

The Damien Centre’s spokesman noted, “The generosity of participating restaurants and sponsors coupled with additional donations from diners will make a very real difference in the lives of thousands of men, women, and children throughout the region living with HIV and AIDS.

The Damien Centre is proud to have numerous local sponsors for this year’s event, including Gold Sponsors Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, Indiana Grand Racing and Casino, and Indy Pride; Bronze Sponsor Old National Bank; Spirits Sponsor Ketel One; and Afterparty Sponsor Talbott Street. Media Partners include The Word, 99.5 WZPL, 107.9 The Mix, CBS Sports Radio, 93.9 The Beat, 104.5 WJJK, NUVO and UNITE Magazine.

Created in 1991 in Philadelphia, Dining Out For Life is an international event now produced in 60 cities throughout the United States and Canada. More than 3,000 restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds from this one special day of dining to the licensed AIDS service agency in their city. More than $4 million dollars a year is raised to support the missions of 60 HIV/AIDS service organisations throughout North America.

For the latest up-to-date information, check out the tweets (@DamienCenter) and Facebook (/thedamiencenter). Follow/like during and after the event for the latest scoop on The Damien Centre.

By the way, if you’re not a restaurant owner, but you’d still like to help make Dining Out For Life a success... No problem! Individuals can also serve as restaurant ambassadors, volunteers who represent The Damien Centre at participating restaurants the day of the event. Visit diningoutforlife.com/indianapolis for ongoing updates, ambassador info, participating restaurants and more or like The Damien Centre on Facebook for updates and info.

The Damien Centre leads the fight to prevent the spread of HIV and assists persons in Central Indiana affected by HIV/AIDS to move forward each day with dignity. The Centre offers vital supportive, preventive, and medical services to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS so they may live abundant and productive lives.

A spokesman noted, “We believe passionately in the dignity and worth of every person who seeks our services. We strive to be a safe and welcoming place so that no barriers separate people from the services they need to prolong and enhance their lives.”

Dine Out For Life Indy!




Sheila's Column

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“Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow”. Exactly one year ago, in April of 2014, my column focused upon the immense change in social attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bi & trans Americans, and included the following observation:

There are plenty of non-business examples of social change, and readers of The Word are undoubtedly familiar with the stories of gay athletes coming out, gay celebrities getting married, schools recognising Gay-Straight Alliance clubs and much more. But I have focused on stories involving businesses because for the past several years, the business community has been in the forefront of the fight for gay equality.

That’s partly because, as one consultant recently wrote, “There are few more treacherous actions a CEO can take than to make derogatory comments about gay men and lesbians or to be publicly exposed for funding anti-gay causes.”

The business sector’s involvement in the struggle for gay civil rights is undoubtedly motivated by the perception that being welcoming and inclusive is good business. They’re in the market, and the market has spoken, loud and clear. But along the way, as they’ve listened to that market and tended to business, a lot of corporate executives, HR professionals and mom-and-pop enterprises have become true believers and awesome allies.

This game is in its ninth inning. Indeed.

I have been writing a monthly column for The Word for nearly 20 years — long before celebrities felt safe coming out or businesses were willing to call themselves allies.

I began keeping copies of my columns in 1999 and the earliest ones now sound positively quaint. There were analyses of the Supreme Court case allowing the Boy Scouts to exclude gays. There were responses to crazy “Doctor” Laura. There was bemused consideration of the sexual orientations of Sponge-Bob and Tinky-Winky. There were disquisitions about “special rights,” and wedge issue politics. And beginning around 2005, there was a steady, if uneven, drumbeat of good news: Vermont civil unions, the Massachusetts marriage decision, President Obama’s “evolution” on marriage, the Windsor case.

During all those years, The Word has served to facilitate a sort of “family conversation” within the community. At a time when mainstream media sources ignored gay issues or served as a platform for actively opposing equality, this publication and others like it around the country allowed for robust discussion of issues that mattered to gay folks, many of whom were still closeted.

As readers of The Word are aware, Ted has sold the paper; he will enjoy a well-deserved retirement (or, knowing him, semi-retirement) while Ivan transfers in his job with Apple. The new ownership will undoubtedly put its own stamp on the paper and make other changes meant to keep The Word relevant to the community it serves and the new environment within which that community now exists.

This seems like a good time for me to put away my computer, and terminate my monthly diatribe. The issues facing lesbian, gay, bi & trans Hoosiers in 2015 are dramatically different from the barriers gay folks faced 20 years ago. There are still issues, of course — there always will be. But these days, we can address them in a wide variety of forums that simply didn’t exist when The Word first filled the need for a source of community news and views.

These days, the community has lots of allies, and full legal equality — while not yet here — looks inevitable.

I’ve been honoured to appear in these pages for all these years. Many thanks to Ted for carrying my monthly rants, and to those who faithfully read them. Good luck to the new owners and the new generation of “out and proud” people who will be their audience.

It’s been quite a ride!


Panther’s Perspective

By Panther Daddy / Word Columnist

Recently, I’ve found myself taking a step back from the Leather/Kink community. Like a much needed vacation, it was time for me to step away and let my mind decompress. I felt the need to recalibrate my bearings in navigating my journey.

The reasons for doing this are many. I didn’t feel nourished from the activities and contacts I was making in the community. It was almost as if I tasted the fare that was being offered but it had become more and more bland with each bite.

I found myself walking away from encounters feeling more agitated than soothed, more empty than full and overall, not quite sure why. I wasn’t getting the return on my investment, whether that was time, energy, money or spirit.

If I had to sum it all up, I was feeling lost, not heading in a direction that was going to be useful. I guess if I am going to be truly transparent, it felt like I was stuck in a rut, spinning my tires and not getting the traction necessary to be able to move forward.

I began reflecting on my history with our community. My first encounter with a leather man was at a bar in Cincinnati called Spurs. His Marlboro man looks and detached, bad boy swagger were enough to prick my gay boy hormones. I enjoyed the sensations that coursed through my body as I imagined him having his way with me. Of course, he didn’t give me the time of day but his pit-stained, tight white t-shirt, dirty jeans and scuffed boots provided me with scenario after scenario of unbridled imaginary man passion. I felt dirty, it felt good and I wanted more.

Eventually, I moved beyond the idea of the man with the pit-stained t-shirt and actually engaged in physical encounters with others who were similar. One can only go so long thinking about eating before one has to eat. Like the blue icon on the Pac-man machines, I ravaged the physical, emotional and sexual encounters as I explored the underground, lurid world of leather and kink. I enjoyed the sounds, smells and tastes that each new encounter added to my search. I couldn’t get enough.

Physical sex wasn’t always a part of the equation. It was about being around and being in touch with sexual energy, my own and that of other men. It was the times, the tail end of the sexual revolution and we were getting a lot of tail. As we all know, change is an inevitable process of life. Without it, life becomes stagnant and eventually dies.

Our community quite naturally evolved. Some blame it on the AIDS crisis of the 80s; still others blame it on leather and kink becoming more visible. We have veered from being a community that celebrates our sexual nature as outlaws and renegades to a community of regulators, arbitrators, contests, events, vendors, drag shows and talking heads.

We have developed sexual Icons to promote our ideals and our beliefs of what sex is supposed to be like for us. We have flesh jacks, Grindr, Jacked Up, Skype and Fetlife that are designed to satisfy the desires we seem to have kept at bay in our quest for acceptance and a place at society’s table. We have pushed for legitimisation and in the process, appear to have forgone the essence of what started us on this road in the first place. To me it seems to be a high price to pay.

In some ways, I’m a little envious of the younger members of our community. They remind me of the hormone-driven young man who stood in Spurs, looking at the man in the t-shirt with the dirty jeans and scuffed boots. I enjoy hearing the stories of their sexual exploits and how while they appreciate the community and all it has to offer, all they really want to do is hook up. It would appear we have done our job. Somewhere in my bag of goodies, I’m sure I have a pit-stained t-shirt. Maybe now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of our labour. April Events:

—3rd, 4th annual Erotic Art Shop, The Artists’ Collective, Zanesville, Ohio 5-8 p.m. https://www.facebook.com/theartistcollective.net

—4th, Leather/Pup Night, On Broadway Bar, Cincinnati, 10 p.m. https://www.facebook.com/OnBroadwayCincinnati

—11th, Leather/Fetish Mixer, 501 Eagle, Indianapolis, 10 p.m. https://www.facebook.com/events/1410439749258578/ & Guerilla Leather Invasion, Below Zero Lounge, Cincinnati, 10 p.m. https://www.facebook.com/events/788673361186310/ & GLSEN Prom, Cincinnati Club, Cincinnati, 7 p.m. http://glsen.org/chapters/cincinnati/prom

—19th CARACOLE 5k for AIDS, Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, 9 a.m. www.caracole.org/5k-for-aids

—23rd thru 26th, CLAW 15, Cleveland www.clawinfo.org/


andtheby Matt Ponder

pecsWe all have talents. Some of us are good at sports or can sing the entire vocal range of A-Ha’s Take On Me. Some of us are brilliant chemists or cooks while others can build furniture or motorcycle engines. Me? I’m a pretty good writer, a damn good kisser (according to popular opinion), and can relay fitness knowledge, movie trivia and off-the-cuff sarcasm at the drop of a hat.

The one thing that I’ve learned is that no matter how talented anyone is, no one is an expert at relationships. Not me, not you, not so-called relationship experts, not even Carrie Bradshaw — or should I say the writers who gave her a voice.

Every person has their own blueprint, their own experience and their own wounds and wants. No one is exactly the same. You can’t take a relationship exam or win the relationship lottery. It’s a crapshoot every time. Every relationship has to start somewhere, so let’s analyse the topic that inspires debate as to whether or not it’s an urban legend: love at first sight.

How many times have you met someone’s eyes across a dancefloor or at a party or even behind the counter of a Starbucks? How many times have you felt your pulse speed up and land in your suddenly dry throat?

You know what I’m talking about, right? It’s that moment when you see your entire relationship in seconds: First words, first date, first kiss, tangled together in bed, laughter frozen in photographs, cohabitation, meeting the parents, holidays, anniversaries, road trips, fights, makeup sex, waking up together — all of it in a flashbulb instant as your mind asks the tiny whispered questions: “Is this the one? Is this the person I was destined to meet?”

Then, in the blink of an eye or the flash of a smile, they are gone and you’ll never know. It’s happened to every single one of us. But is it love?

I tend to take the Agent Scully approach: I don’t believe it until I have proof, and even then I’m skeptical.

When a friend of mine first saw his ex-boyfriend he said, “he’s the one.” But did you notice I said ex-boyfriend?

Another friend told me that she knew as soon as she met her husband that it was true love. Now they’re divorced. Isn’t true love, the kind of love that fills novels and aching ballads, supposed to last forever?

So maybe what you feel when you first lay your eyes on someone amazing isn’t love at all. Because when it comes down to it, you’ve got three things working for you: your head, your heart and whatever you’re packing down below.

When I see the brooding Kellan Lutz doppelgänger at the gym who gives me the shaky, nervous feeling every time we lock eyes in the mirror I know that’s just animal attraction entwined with the anticipation of what may or may not happen between us. But that’s lust, not love right?

So will it be love at 5th sight or 10th sight or 20th sight? Situations like this show that what’s become a romantic comedy staple (love at first sight) can get a little muddy. It’s like that old pickup line: “Do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?”

Believe it or not, they have done actual studies which have determined it only takes ten minutes to know where a relationship is going. Ten minutes. I can only imagine the hilarious experiments that this study based its results on. So if you can pay attention to someone for ten minutes you’ve got a good chance of spending the rest of your life with them? Yes, that makes perfect sense. Ten minutes can’t possibly be


enough time to know if you are in love, and by saying it is diminishes the effect of what love truly means. Like I mentioned earlier, everyone is different. The ten minutes of amusing flirtation that sends the sensation of “love” to your head and heart may not reveal that there is something darker hiding behind those big brown eyes or that rock-hard body. Then you’ll discover the hard way that love was never in the cards.

There is also a study which states that it all has to do with sex and ego. People are attracted to people who are attracted to them. Basically, a narcissistic reaction to someone who is giving you the come-hither look from across the room led by your response to social signals that indicate the attraction stems from how attracted someone is to you and not just their physical beauty.

Whew, that’s a lot of scientific explanation for the basic desire of human companionship. In all honesty, it seems like the science of human desirability is not an exact science at all. And why should it be? Love and emotion are not quantifiable, so how can the outcome of an experiment be held as fact?

Maybe we should ask the question that people have been asking since human beings attached four letters to their feelings: what is love?

Or in the words of an 80s pop song: “What is love anyway? Does anybody love anybody anyway?”

That is the ultimate question. I mean, what is love really? Chemicals in our body? The function of our heart? A Hallmark creation? Is it sex or sacrifice or even the desire to have someone next to you at night?

Love is a word for any emotions that connect to strong affection. For example, I love my dogs, I love Chris Hemsworth, I love sushi, I love my family and friends and — I’ll be honest— I’m still in love with my ex-boyfriend.

These are all valid examples of love but they are all wildly different. The diversity of these meanings combined with the intricate workings of the emotions involved makes love nearly impossible to define. We use the word love so loosely when speaking that its focus and power becomes diluted, especially when we speak of romantic love.

Love has its defenders and its detractors, and people’s attitude toward it usually comes from their own experience. Someone suffering from a broken heart will tell you that love is a monster with fangs and claws that, as Def Leppard so succinctly put it, bites.

Someone who is in the throes of new love will tell a different story; how the sky is bluer, the grass is greener, the birds are singing and the whole world seems to be perfectly in sync.

Some believe it’s merely a chemical reaction in the body so that the human race will procreate. That doesn’t explain why two men or two women fall in love then does it? Some believe it’s merely a plot device, used by writers to connect you to Jake Ryan as the Thompson Twins’ If You Were Here plays in the background. I believe all of these things are true, because just like the definition of love, its effect is amorphous.

I believe that love has stages; steps that you have to go through before you truly are in love.

In the beginning, there is lust. Now lust is something we all can identify with. And like love, it’s different for everyone. We lust after different things regardless of who we are: a broad chest, blue eyes, muscular legs, full lips, whatever it is, it kick starts the process. Lust, unlike love, can encompass a wide array of people, depending on your desire at the moment.

Then comes attraction, where the lust you have for one person simmers into a slow burn, and you focus totally on that individual and how they make you feel — and not just sexually either. The way they make you laugh, the heat of their body while you sleep, the sound of their voice on the other end of the phone, the way your heart beats when they are walking toward you: all the minutiae that add up and make this individual stand out from the rest.

These things layer upon the lust and form the basis for the third stage: attachment. Attachment is the foundation for a deeper love that supports a long relationship; the kind of love that makes you ache when they are not around, makes you love someone more than yourself, and allows sacrifice without resentment. The purity of this feeling is something that will change your life forever. That being said, the depth of this feeling cannot be achieved in the time it takes to drink a cocktail or spot someone on a park bench.

So, what do we think? Is love at first sight fact or fiction?

When I ask people this question it provokes many different responses. Some swear it’s true even though they’ve never experienced it. Some say it’s happened to them more than once. Some believe it’s pure fiction reinforced by whatever god-awful book Nicholas Sparks has cranked out this month.

Me? I’m on the fence. Right now, I believe in love at first sight about as much as I believe I’ll get struck by lightning, doused with chemicals and awaken with the ability to run faster than the speed of light. I’ll keep an open mind, however. No one can predict what they may or may not feel in the future.

So whether or not love at first sight is a real thing, what I can say for sure is the feeling we get when we see that someone we are instantly attracted to is an instinctual reaction to the window of opportunity.

So the next time you feel that spark as it lights the fuse, say something because in the beat of your heart, the moment will be gone, and you’ll never know what path you could’ve taken. It could lead to one night or three months or 20 years.

In the long run, love at first sight may be amazing but when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime, that’s when it becomes a miracle.


Save the Dates!

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Cincinnati Trans Community Holds Downtown Die-In To Highlight Crisis

Word Photos By Michael ChanakCINCINNATI—Despite less-than-favourable weather, members of the Southwest Ohio community took to Fountain Square to high-light the tragic deaths and lack of assistance for mem-bers of the trans community recently. Local news and other coverage of the event helped spread the protestors’ message that trans lives do matter.


Word Photos By Michael Chanak


By DJDandy / MJ's Cafe / Dayton

Music Corner

Top 10 for April 2015

01. Dave Aude Feat. Jessica Sutta — I’m Gonna Get You

02. Madonna — Living For Love

03. Maroon 5 — Sugar

04. Zedd Feat. Selena Gomez — I want You To Know

05. Eric Prydz vs CHVRCHES — Tether

06. Taylor Swift — Style

07. Pitbull Feat. Ne Yo — Time Of Our Lives

08. Giorgio Moroder Feat. Kylie Minogue — Right Here Right Now

09. Kelly Clarkson — Heartbeat Song

10. Clean Bandit Feat. Jesse Glynne — Real Love

Hello and thanks for checking out the Music Corner review this month. The weather has finally improved here in the Midwest and that gets me thinking about planning some road trips. I always like to check out what the gay bars in other cities are doing, but it sure doesn’t keep me out of trouble. I enjoy a good pitcher of beer and to dance off those calories while I’m at it. If you are in the mood to travel to Dayton, be sure to check out my club: MJ’s on Jefferson. Our 30 beers on tap, great entertainment and excellent service are sure to please! Well, enough of the shameless promos. Let’s check out some music news for April!!!

I was expecting that there would be a lot of dance music releases during the month, however, there seem to be some changes in the formula that determines what gets re-leased and when. It appears a lot of big name producers and deejays are pushing to get their work released to radio, as opposed to just the dance market. This may limit the annual push of new music during events like the Winter Music Conference held each year in Miami. Since my submission date for this article is right before that event this year, I will hopefully have more dance specific material to write about next month. It just doesn’t seem, however, like record companies are gearing up for big releases prior to this conference like they have done in past years.

Another change that is occurring is the shift from digital downloads to streaming music. The teenage crowd does not have an interest in owning a particular song or album like previous generations did. So there is a major transition ahead for the music industry to keep up with this new phenomenon. In case it isn’t apparent, whatever is trending at the moment in fashion and music, or what is being promoted, is what‘s hot. Once it gets that 15 minutes of fame, it is on to the next thing.

I describe it like a sports game. Once the game is over, very few people want to own a copy of the game or watch it again. It’s a memory. Even though the same two teams will undoubtedly play again, the outcome and experience will always be different. So the same is true in music today. One of the questions for the industry is how can a record company or artist profit off of a streaming service, knowing that the end result may not be calculated in record sales. Digital sales fell 15 to 20 percent last year, and the trend will only accelerate through 2015. How this affects the release of music and who is in control of the trends remains to be seen.

So, in all that, I forgot to mention that Rupaul released her 7th studio album last month titled Realness. It includes production from Eric Kupper, who produced her debut album including the song Supermodel in the early 90’s. One of Kupper’s contri-butions, and the first single The Realness, is a swanky house track that really pulls from the sound of the songs on Rupaul’s first album. I also love the track Step It Up featuring production from Dave Aude. Both have a retro 90s feel that is the focus of this record.

Zedd has released a new song featuring Selena Gomez called I Want You to Know. What we want to know is if there is any more to the chemistry, other than music pro-duction, between these two. Rumours have been going around for months about them dating and holding hands. Fans have even dubbed the couple Zeddlena and supposedly Justin Bieber, Selena’s ex, is not happy. Is this just a working relationship like Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding, who looked so hot and heavy in the video for I Need Your Love (even though they were both seeing other people during that time)? We want to know! The official release for this song is 10th May, but it has now been pushed to

radio and to the clubs. A video has already been done as well. It is the first single to be released from Zedd’s second album, tentatively titled Tru Colours. The song is similar to Zedd’s other hits with Ariana Grande and Hayley Williams and should do well on the radio.

Deadmau5 is involved in a lush production for an artist named Colleen D’Agostino who is a member of the punk rock band The Material out of San Diego. The song called Stay is part of a 6 song ep of electronic music she is releasing entitled Collide. D’Agostino has worked with Deadmau5 on two previous tracks, Drop The Poptart and Seeya, the latter reaching the top 25 on the U.S. dance charts.

Well as soon as I get rolling on this article, I run out of space to keep going. Look for more exciting music to spring forth in the coming months as we get ready for pride events in June. This is my favourite time of the year as a deejay because so much is go-ing on. I hope to see you dancing on those dancefloors soon.


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In this, the final edition of the “old” Word before we turn over to new owners, we dug into our stacks & stacks of photos to find a few “gems” dating back to the very first edition in June 1991. There are a lot of familiar faces here, a lot of faces of folk who have left us and a whole lot of memories for those of us who have been here literally since “day one.” We hope you see some memories in this photo layout, for if you do, we will have accomplished our goal.


Saturday, April 18, 2015 Doors Open at 6:30 p.m.* Show at 7:00 p.m.

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Food For Thought

Gossip Cats

By Gossipcats Britain & Sydney By Ted Fleischaker / Word PublisherAh, food. For those who have known me for awhile they know I at one time weighed 316 pounds, wore size 64 (yeah, really) pants and joked with friends that Louisville Tent & Awning made them custom for me. Times have changed. These days I wear a size 38 jean, weigh under 220 (still big enough to bug my MD but not grossly “fat” as I hate the word “obese”) but I am working on it. I guess that’s my way to say I love to eat so sadly this is my final restaurant column as readers know I have sold the newspaper and a new staff takes up the forks and spoons (Yes, spoons — the now sadly missing utensil in too many restaurants, but one I still eat with despite being “all grown up”!).So what to do for this final column? I plan to answer a question I have been asked all too often through the years: What are or were the very best or favourite spots you ever eat/ate at in our area — open or closed. If you wanna know, do read on. Here are a few that come quickly to mind in a variety of cities and towns, both open and historic...

—Norman’s at Union Station. Norman’s was in Indianapolis’ downtown when I had the first meal I ever ate as a resident at the time I moved here almost 25 years back. Developer Bob Borns had turned a vacant station into a (sadly) short-lived festival marketplace and Norman’s was in the Grande Hall right by the Louisiana Street entrance. Norman’s had a lot of good eats, but I especially adored their Sunday brunches. You could find the fatter Ted there most Sundays, including one on which a sterno keeping some crepes (Theirs were delish!) warm got knocked over, setting the tablecloth below on fire and causing us to have to evacuate midway through. I don’t recall if we paid or the half brunch we consumed was a freebie, but I do recall we were back the next week. I was sad to lose this one for while the current banquet hall in the space is fine, I miss Norman’s despite it being gone well over 15 (or maybe 20) years!

—Louisville’s Lynn’s Paradise Cafe. I keep hearing rumours that this bastion of poor decorating taste and great food taste is gonna reopen, be sold and on and on though so far it’s not happened, much to my chagrin. Lynn’s always had THE best of the best Hot Browns, which were invented in Louisville (If you don’t know what one is Google it LOL.) at the Brown Hotel. Even the Brown’s is 3rd or 4th place to Lynn’s. Their Kentucky Bourbon Ball milkshake (Yes it really did have liquor in it so more than one and you’d need a designated driver.) was to die for. And they did some great egg dishes at Lynn’s, too. They had a great tacky giftshop, always were out the door busy and it was all because of the food, as well as the fun, quirky and wonderful owner/hostess. Lynn’s is spoken of still in reverent tones at our house.

—Lafayette, Indiana had a wonderful place for many, many years called Morris Bryant. It was not only one of the first smorgasboards anywhere (Jello Salad was a staple.) but they had an awesome seafood buffet on Fridays. It was originally the dining room of a motel on the old U.S. 52 route to Chicago and dad would take us kids on every trip during the 60s and 70s at least once. When I moved to Indy in 1990 I was thrilled to find it still alive and well, but a few years later it was sadly killed by a double whammy: First they had a fire which destroyed parts of the still-standing (but by then mostly vacant) motel and damaged the restaurant. But before they could rebuild a tornado swept through and levelled what was still standing. The owners, who do have another restaurant in Lafayette decided with that many “natural disaster” cards stacked against them (and declining U.S. 52 traffic) it was not worth reopening, so Morris Bryant faded into culinary memory.

And there are many many others I could and should mention...Some of those include Indy’s Santorini (best Greek anywhere and do not miss Taki’s potatoes); Louisville’s Kingfish for the rolled oysters and the Towboat Sandwiches; Columbus, Indiana’s Zaharako’s Ice Cream Parlour (They have food too. And a lot of folks swear by the GOM Sandwich which is their version of a Sloppy Joe.); Shapiro’s Deli (Since 1905 and the best corned beef, bagels and pastrami in the Midwest though we find it a bit pricy of late.); Fogo de Chao (The Brazilian steakhouse with the town’s best rare lamb chops and while part of a chain unique and delicious); Jeffersonville, Indiana’s Ann’s By The River (Plate Lunches! Remember Plate Lunches? They got ‘em and more all for great prices.). Plus there’s Ralph’s Great Divide (Quirky decor and hilarious I Love Lucy names for sandwiches but the town’s best pea salad and pickled beets, not to mention a mini candy bar in every basket.); Marco’s on the north side of Indy (Do not miss Tuesday “cheap meat night” for great steak and more.); English Ivy’s (Fun service, cute staff and good food. Do not miss the Weekender breakfast with one of the only offerings of steak & eggs in town!) and Metro (Where Chet bakes his own fabulous breads and they have mini burgers of all types and styles to go with the great drinks at their antique bar!) And on that note, I’ll fold my napkin, say it’s been a real blast to get paid to eat and that 24 years have flown by. Thanks for reading and be sure you always tip your server!

Normally in this space you’d be reading about how a Mid-west club has turned their whole place into a huge “Throw-back Thursday” as a lot of the former staff has returned to their old jobs, including one dude who apears to have sampled way, way too much of the menu since he departed, but instead of tales like that and stories of a certain former Indy, now Vegas, boy who seems to have developed a strong taste for Mexican eats, we cats want to spend our final time with you readers saying goodbye. Oh, and never fear, the column is not going anywhere, it’s just that we two pussies belonging to Ted & Ivan will be retiring with Ted, so this is our final column. You might say we are being put out to pas-

ture, but we never much cared for grass (at least that kind) so we are gonna look for a cozy corner of our soon-to-be new home in Maine and spend more time relaxing. We did want to pay tribute to the cats who started and have written this column so well for years. The photo above left is Miss Lila. She was rescued from Tony’s house and took to the keyboard from day one. If you want to see her doing tricks (not that kind) she could high five and shake and there is video on You Tube (Miss Lila Shakes). Sadly her reign as the first gossip cat was short, but her assistant, a Florida transplant the guys got from Ted’s sister, Miss Madison (that’s her at right) was able to step in and continue our work. Before too long the guys adopted us from the Alliance for Responsible Pet Ownership and we went right to work. That’s a “Throwback Thursday” photo below of Sydney as a kitten. She’s named for Sydney, Nova Scotia, one of the guys’ favourite cit-ies and a place they’d just returned from the week before we were added to the family. And that’s me

below in the left corner. I’m Britain (named, of course for the country whose spelling we use in this column) and the poor puss who usually ends up doing all the typing while Syd basks in a sunny corner. But wait...who is that in the bottom right corner? That’s Pyewacket (we were told the name, we did not come up with it, but we hear tell it runs in his family) and he belongs to D.J. and Joe who bought The Word from Ted. Yep, he’s gonna be our replacement as of the

May issue. While he lives in Upstate New York, we have introduced him to all of our usual “mouthpieces” (including the guy behind one of the local bars, another at the laundry and some others who we shall just leave unidentified) so you may count on all the usual “dish” and probably a whole lot more. He does look pretty well fed and has really big ears so we suspect he

will be doing a grand job. All of that just leaves us to say you can e-mail him at [email protected] and space for us to say thank you to our readers for mak-ing the catty column The Word’s most read space for over 20 years. Meow!


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The Word April 2015 (p4-Mother Goose)

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