Metro Weekly - 11-27-14 - Marc Solomon

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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
EDITORIAL
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Randy Shulman
NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Volume 21 / Issue 30
ART DIRECTOR
Todd Franson
POLITICAL EDITOR
Justin Snow
NEWS & BUSINESS EDITOR
John Riley
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Rhuaridh Marr
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Doug Rule
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
NEWS

10

12

Remembering Marion Barry

by John Riley
Hagels Final Act?

by Justin Snow

BUSINESS
16
Every Body Welcome
by John Riley

NLGJAs Dateline:DC
Honoring Dinae Rehm
19
Community Calendar
SCENE
18
photography by Ward Morrison

SCENE
21
Transgender Day of Remembrance

FEATURE
22
Marc Solomon
by Justin Snow
OUT ON THE TOWN

28
The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay Part 1

by Randy Shulman
30

Lights up on 14th Street
STAGE

34

Thought and Dance
GAMES

37

Assassins Creed: Unity
TECH

39

Moto 360
PETS

41

Winter Pet Care
NIGHTLIFE

45

Freddies Beach Bar
54
Last Word
by Doug Rule
by Doug Rule
by Rhuaridh Marr
by Rhuaridh Marr
by Doug Rule
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LGBT
News
Now online at MetroWeekly.com
Michigan Asks SCOTUS to Hear Marriage Case

Fundraising for Trans Youth Summer Camp
Remembering Marion Barry

Former mayor for life was one of the first D.C. politicians to embrace LGBT rights
by John Riley
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
RANDY SHULMAN / METRO WEEKLY
OLITICIANS, PUNDITS AND

residents of the District of
Columbia mourned the loss of
former four-term mayor and
longtime Councilmember Marion Barry,
Jr. (D-Ward 8), who died at United
Medical Center in Southeast D.C. early
Sunday morning. He was 78.
Barry, who had undergone a kidney
transplant and surgery for prostate cancer in recent years, had been released
from Howard University Hospital hours
earlier on Saturday after initially checking himself in on Thursday. A largerthan-life figure who got his start in the
Civil Rights Movement, most notably
as chairman of the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Barry
entered the world of D.C. politics, serving
as an at-large member on the first elected
D.C. Council following the establishment
of Home Rule in 1974 and later challenging and defeating incumbent Walter
E. Washington in the 1978 Democratic
primary for mayor. Serving as mayor
from 1979 to 1991, and then again from
1995 to 1999, Barry became inextricably linked to the D.C. political scene
and to the citys dominant Democratic
Party, with his mayoralty marked by an
increase in the number of D.C. residents
holding government jobs. As a result of
his initiatives to tackle unemployment,
including the start of Washingtons summer jobs program, Barry was heralded
as a fighter for low-income and middleclass residents of the city. As a result, he
became a kingmaker of sorts, with future
generations of candidates often seeking
the blessing of D.C.s mayor for life as
they pursued political office.
In 1990, following an FBI raid of
a hotel room where he had been videotaped smoking crack cocaine, Barry
was arrested and tried on 14 different
Marion Barry at Capital Pride circa 1996
charges, including perjury, possession of

crack cocaine and conspiracy to possess
cocaine. The jury voted to convict him
on one charge of possession, acquit on
another and deadlocked on the remaining 12 charges. Barry was sentenced and
served six months in prison, and later ran
for and won the Ward 8 Council seat in
1992 by ousting incumbent Wilhelmina
Rolark, using his Council position as
a springboard to challenge and defeat
incumbent Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly in
the 1994 Democratic primary. Despite his
personal shortcomings, Barry remained
popular among a wide swath of the citys
residents, particularly among AfricanAmericans specifically the residents of
Ward 8, who elected him to the Council
twice more, in 2004 and 2008.
While Barry made headlines as one
of only two councilmembers to vote

against the Districts marriage equality
law in 2009, his actual record on LGBT
rights was much more nuanced, and, at
times, more supportive than many casual
observers might believe. As mayor, and
early on in his political career, Barry
courted the LGBT vote, hiring the first
openly gay person in a mayoral cabinet,
and was a proponent of Gay Pride Day,
which eventually evolved into Capital
Pride.
Mark Meinke, founder and chair of
the Rainbow History Project, which
tracks LGBT history in Washington, D.C.,
said Barry learned from the lesson of
community activist Frank Kamenys 1971
race for D.C.s non-voting seat in the
U.S. House of Representatives. Kameny
came in fourth among six candidates, but
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
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LGBTNews
demonstrated that the LGBT community
constituted a significant voting bloc that
could swing election results. As a result,
Barry courted LGBT support to help
him win his 1978 primary over Mayor
Walter E. Washington and Council Chair
Sterling Tucker. Afterwards, Barry and
the LGBT community worked together
as political allies for years, Meinke said.
Craig Howell, the former president
and a longstanding member of the Gay
Activists Alliance (GAA), said Barry was
first given a -15 on a scale of -10 to +10
because he had avoided the groups questions when he ran for the D.C. Board
of Education in 1971. However, when
Barry later became the president of the
board, he helped pass a nondiscrimination policy that protected employees of
the school system based on sexual orientation. When he ran for and won an atlarge seat on the Council, he was strongly
supportive of GAAs priorities, including
eliminating the plainclothes police squad
that was entrapping gay men in parks,
increasing funding for the Gay Mens VD
Clinic and the Office of Human Rights.
He really carried the ball for us during that time, Howell said. Everything
we wanted him to do, he did, and usually
led the way.
When Barry later became mayor, he
signed a law that prohibited subjecting
anything under the Human Rights Act,
such as protections for LGBT people,
to the initiative process. He also followed through on a campaign promise to
appoint gay people to lots of boards and
positions. Howell was responsible for
coming up with a list of qualified applicants, which Barry then used to make
appointments.
We used to brag we were way ahead
of everyone else in the country, Howeell
said, due in large part to the leadership
shown by Marion Barry.
Those same sentiments were echoed
by the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club,
the citys top LGBT political organization, which issued a statement saying
its members were deeply saddened by
Barrys death.
He was a champion for the rights of
the underserved and under-represented
citizens of the District, which included
LGBT residents, the statement read.
He was one of the first politicians to
campaign directly for the LGBT vote and
pushed for HIV/AIDS funding during
the early stages of the AIDS pandemic.
He was a worthy ally and his presence
will be missed.
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Despite criticism from many in the

LGBT community even being rejected outright by Stein members when he
sought their endorsement for the Ward
8 seat in his 2012 re-election bid Barry
defended his record on LGBT rights in
a Nov. 23 interview with Slates Dave
Wiegel, claiming gay marriage is not the
only litmus test. Barry had made similar
arguments in the past when the Council
considered various LGBT initiatives
or appointments, such as when Mayor
Vincent Gray (D) named local activists
Earline Budd and Alexandra Beninda
as the first two transgender women to
serve on the D.C. Commission on Human
Rights. Barrys pro-LGBT record extended to other issues, as he supported antibullying policies for LGBT schoolchildren, the JaParker Deoni Jones Birth
Certificate Equality Amendment Act of
2013, and the repeal of prostitutionfree zones, which have been criticized
for promoting profiling of transgender
women.
Budd, whose nomination to the
Commission on Human Rights was shepherded through the Committee on Aging
and Community Affairs by Barry, remembered the former mayor as a friend and
positive role model for all people as she
extended her condolences to his family.
As a transgender activist and advocate for the transgender and LGBTQ
community, I have always looked at
Mayor for Life Marion Barrys life as
an inspiration to me in the daily work
that I do, Budd said. While Marion
Barry might not have been seen as an
advocate for transgender and LGBTQ
people, he was in his own way as one
who wanted equality for all inclusion. ...
I often believe that God puts ordinary
people like Marion Barry in our lives, and

that comes with the good and the bad.
Even his bad could not outshine the good,
because he sincerely was one who loved
his people, especially his Ward 8 family.
Richard J. Rosendall, president of
the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
(GLAA), likened Marion Barry to former President Bill Clinton for his charm,
political savvy and a phenomenal memory paired with an ability to connect personally to people.
In his early years as mayor, before
his addictions got the better of him, he
appointed more gay officials than any
mayor in the country, Rosendall said. I
remember him announcing the birth of
his son Christopher from the stage at Gay
Pride. He was an ally of the LGBT community throughout his mayoral years.
However, Rosendall also recalled the
times he sparred with Barry, particularly
after the latter touted his opposition to
marriage equality.
I was greatly disappointed when
he opposed marriage equality, and said
Shame on you to him after he led a
call-and-response at an anti-gay rally in
Freedom Plaza in the spring of 2009,
Rosendall said. He replied, I supported
you on everything else.
That did not mollify me, but it
was noteworthy that he and the only
other no vote on marriage, Ward 7
Councilmember Yvette Alexander, touted their pro-gay credentials from the
dais rather than launching into anti-gay
screeds, Rosendall continued. They
were voting with their constituents; but
they still, implausible as it seemed were
eager not to be thought anti-gay. That
was a tribute to how far the LGBT community had come. l
Hagels Final Act?

Outgoing defense secretary urged to act on
militarys transgender ban
by Justin Snow
HUCK HAGEL IS FACING

renewed calls to order a review
of the militarys longstanding
ban on transgender service following the announcement he will step
down as secretary of defense.
On Monday, President Barack
Obama announced at the White House

that Hagel would resign as defense
secretary after nearly two years in the
post. According to White House press
secretary Josh Earnest, Obama and Hagel
arrived together at the decision that
Hagel should resign after concluding a
different defense secretary might be better suited to meet current challenges. He
will stay on as defense secretary until his
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DOD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS SEAN HURT/RELEASED
LGBTNews
Hagel
successor is nominated by Obama and

confirmed by the Senate.
A former senator from Nebraska critical of the Iraq war, Hagel is the only
Republican member of Obamas national
security team and, as a Vietnam veteran,
is the first former enlisted combat soldier
to serve as defense secretary.
Although reports indicate Hagel
was pressured to step down as Obamas
national security team has struggled to
address threats such as ISIS, his departure puts into question progress made in
recent months to end the ban on transgender Americans serving openly in the
military.
Hagel told ABC News Martha
Raddatz, in an interview that aired May
11, that the militarys transgender ban
should be continually reviewed and
stated he isopen to such a review. I go
back to the bottom line every qualified
American who wants to serve our country should have an opportunity if they fit
the qualifications and can do it, he said.
This is an area that weve not defined
enough.
During a flight en route to Saudi
Arabia a few days later, Hagel expanded upon his remarks, stating that the
Pentagon should continue to evaluate
the ban. Ive not asked for a specific
task force, he said. Ive not asked for a
specific study. I would want to hear more
from individuals who are close to this
issue, know this issue, who I would value
their judgment and their direction on.
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
On May 16, the White House signaled

their supportfor such a review. I would
certainly point you to what Secretary
Hagel said and we certainly support his
efforts in this area, White House press
secretary Jay Carney said in response to
questions fromMetro Weekly.
Such statements illustrated a dramatic
shift in tone by the Pentagon and Obama
administration on transgender military service, but more than six months
later, there has been no official action.
Following news of Hagels resignation,
Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Nate
Christensen told Metro Weekly no review
of the militarys transgender ban has yet
been ordered.
Secretary Hagels leadership has been
critical to the steady progress LGBT service members and their families have
experienced during his tenure, and we
commend him for living up to his belief
that Every qualified American who wants
to serve our country should have the
opportunity to serve, stated Allyson
Robinson, a former Army captain and
director of policy for the LGBT military
group SPARTA. In his remaining days
in office, we call upon him to uphold
those values by initiating a review of the
Department of Defenses obsolete policies that bar fully qualified transgender
Americans from serving. Mr. Secretary,
six months ago you promised 15,000
transgender service members and their
families a review would happen. We
expect you to keep your promise to them.
Fred Sainz, vice president of the

Human Rights Campaign, said Hagels
departure should have noimpact on the
awaited review. It should proceed with
all due haste and nothing should slow it
down, Sainz said.
While gay, lesbian and bisexual
Americans have been able to serve openly since the repeal of Dont Ask, Dont
Tell (DADT) in September 2011, with no
negative consequence, a medical regulatory ban still prohibits transgender military service. Unlike DADT, the ban is not
a federal statute and the ability to lift it
lies not with lawmakers on Capitol Hill,
but leaders at the Pentagon. An estimated
15,500 transgender personnel currently
serve in the armed forces.
An independent report released in
August, authored by a nine-member
commission consisting of three retired
U.S. military generals and convened by
the Palm Center, found the Pentagon
could immediately open the armed services to transgender Americans in a way
that is consistent with military readiness
and core values.
Robinson also noted that more than
three years after the repeal of Dont Ask,
Dont Tell, military nondiscrimination
protections have not been updated to
include sexual orientation. Its past time
for the Pentagon to bring itself in line
with nearly every other federal agency
and protect its lesbian, gay, and bisexual troops from discrimination, said
Robinson.
Although Hagel faced skepticism
from the LGBT community during his
confirmation process in 2013 for his
record as a senator, he soon earned their
trust. He became the first secretary of
defense to attend a Pentagon Pride event
in June 2013, implemented the Supreme
Courts decision striking down Section
3 of the Defense of Marriage Act and
sought to ensure states blocking requests
for benefits by members of the National
Guard with a same-sex spouse followed
federal policy.
Hagel has been an important ally
and transformational leader on issues
of equality with the Department of
Defense, stated Ashley Broadway, president of the American Military Partner
Association. While there is certainly still
a tremendous amount of work to be done
for full LGBT equality in the military,
Secretary Hagels leadership has made
a profound impact on the lives of the
families of our nations LGBT service
members. l
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LGBT
Business
Every Body Welcome
Capitol Hills Freed Bodyworks specializes in radical inclusion, client-centered care

by John Riley
16
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
JULIAN VANKIM
RANCES REED AND JESSICA

VonDyke, co-owners of Freed
Bodyworks, a wellness center
on Capitol Hill, have rolled
out the welcome mat for potential clients. It starts with their business cards,
emblazoned with the words Radical
Inclusion and All Bodies in blackand-white lettering on red background
on the backside. On the front, alongside
their contact information, theyve placed
five logos a Pride flag, a BDSM flag, a
trans flag, a fat-positive seal and a no
shame seal, making it clear that these
specialists in healing and holistic body
treatments are intent on opening their
doors to as wide an audience as possible.
That is the first things we put out
there, at all times, that you are welcome no matter what, VonDyke says of
the companys branding and advertising strategy, which she calls overt and
unapologetic.
All of our marketing materials and
graphic design is geared towards folks
who arent looking for the massage or
acupuncture or holistic treatments that
have the lotus flowers on them, she says.
Not anything against those places
theres nothing wrong with those places
but thats not us. Were intentionally
talking to people who are like, Oh, I see,
this is bold colors, this is big graphics,
this has got my attention. And also, now
Im noticing that it has this message that
says Im welcome there.
That inclusion is apparent within the
first few minutes of a clients arrival. In
what would normally be a mundane ritual filling out intake paperwork Freed
Bodyworks spices it up, asking clients not
only personal questions about their body,
such as whether a person binds their
chest, wears hair extensions, or even carries a messenger bag on their shoulder,
VonDyke (L) and Reed
but their legal name and the name they

prefer to be called. And the therapists
will then use whatever preferred name
the person writes down.
I will call you Cupcake if you write
it as your preferred name, says Reed,
who identifies as genderqueer, meaning
neither male nor female. I wont even
remember your legal name.
Reed, who first founded Freed
Bodyworks as a solo practice in 2011
before launching a joint venture with
VonDyke in 2013, wanted to ensure clients did not have to explain or defend
their identity to the therapists that work
on them.
I wanted to do away with that, and
have a place where we would do the work
to know a broad swath of identity information, so that when people walk in the
door and say, I identify as fat-positive,

we knew what that meant, Reed says.
And not only did they not get judged for
it, but they got a feeling of belonging and
being met in their identity.
To perform specific therapies, Freed
Bodyworks hires out qualified independent contractors. Clients pay Freed
Bodyworks, which acts as an umbrella
organization, and takes a cut to pay for
supplies, cleaning and laundry services,
and maintenance of the physical space,
which currently includes a waiting area
and three treatment rooms inside a converted row house near 14th Street and
Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Every therapist eight in all, including Reed is
responsible for maintaining their own
client relationships, though it is common
to cross-promote or refer clients to their
fellow colleagues within the company.

We have a lot of clients who see more
than one of us, and as we expand to offer
more wellness services, thats our vision,
says Reed. That piece of sharing and
building up clients goes to a core ethic of
client-centeredness. The wellness of the
client is our guiding principle. We believe
if you just move the client towards wellness in the greatest possible fashion you
can, youve made your best customer.
Among the therapies and services
offered at Freed Bodyworks are psychotherapy, acupuncture, reiki, reflexology, neuromuscular, deep tissue massage,
sports massage performed by a certified
personal trainer, and various relaxation
therapies such as Swedish or Esalen massage. Rates for each therapy range from
a one-hour standard massage, priced
at $80, to a combined acupuncture and
massage session, which costs $125. Freed
Bodyworks also offers short 30-minute
massage sessions for $42 for clients who
wish to stretch their dollars a little more.
Most therapies are not covered by insurance, although the State
Departments insurance is the only company in the area that covers massage or
other bodywork therapies. Other therapies, such as acupuncture or psychother-
apy, are recognized by insurance companies, offering clients the chance to be

reimbursed for those expenses.
VonDyke and Reed, who are both business partners and life partners, hope to
further expand the companys offerings.
They want to start offering hot stone
therapy and art therapy, as well as bring
on an herbalist and a nutritionist. They
also have long-term plans to hire a receptionist, although Reed notes that there is
not currently a need for one. The business does not accept walk-ins, requiring
potential clients to book an appointment
through their website or via phone, preferably a few days in advance.
Until I can have enough therapists
free for large chunks of the day, we just
cant accept walk-ins, Reed says.
Part of the companys expansion also
includes moving into a bigger space,
which will be located just a few blocks
from the current headquarters. The new
space will offer five treatment rooms,
a movement studio for yoga and tai chi
classes, and a a classroom space that can
be used to host various workshops, from
massage for those who bind their chests
to adult-geared body-based sensual education focusing on finding pleasure in the
body. Reed foresees offering that class-
room space as a meeting place for special

outside groups, such as community LGBT
organizations or meditation groups. The
space will also be wheelchair accessible.
Currently, the business offers outcall services to clients with mobility issues to
compensate for the lack of accessibility in
its current space.
Above all, Reed and VonDyke are dedicated to hiring therapists who are not
only well-qualified, often in several different types of therapies, but who also
have good people skills, in order to ensure
their clients have an enjoyable experience
and will return, hopefully recommending
the business to their family, friends and
colleagues.
The quality of work that our therapists do is astonishing, VonDyke says.
Not everyone can work here, adds
Reed. Particularly now that we really
have 15 months of reputation under our
belt. We pick really carefully. We owe it
to the other therapists, and our 1500-plus
clients, to only be bringing in people worthy of our brand.
Freed Bodyworks is located at 1426
Pennsylvania Ave. SE. To make an appointment, or for more information, visit
freedbodyworks.com. l
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
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Thursday, November 20
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LGBTCommunityCalendar
Metro Weeklys Community Calendar highlights important events in
the D.C.-area LGBT community, from alternative social events to
volunteer opportunities. Event information should be sent by email to
calendar@MetroWeekly.com. Deadline for inclusion is noon
of the Friday before Thursdays publication. Questions about
the calendar may be directed to the Metro Weekly office at
202-638-6830 or the calendar email address.
sex packets. Pizza provided. 6:30-8:30 p.m. 2000

14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
Michael Brazell teaches BEARS DO YOGA, a program of The DC Center. 6:30 p.m., Green Lantern,
1335 Green Court NW. No cost, newcomers welcome. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.
DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session
at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit

swimdcac.org.
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice, 6:30-8:30
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27
at 9 a.m. from East Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride

lot. Craig, 202-462-0535. adventuring.org.
BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer organiza-
WEEKLY EVENTS
tion, is supporting the 13th Annual Clear Out Your

Closets Thanksgiving Clothing Drive for the Needy
and the Ruth Long Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for
the Needy food drive. To participate and/or donate,
visit burgundycrescent.org.
The DC Centers Center Global and Center Aging

groups host THE DC CENTER THANKSGIVING
DINNER for those who do not have plans or are not
with their families for the holiday. Doors open at 1
p.m., Dinner is 2-7 p.m. Bring a dish to share, plus
music, board games, or other holiday traditions.
2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For more information,
visit thedccenter.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
Regularly-scheduled events will resume next week.
Happy Thanksgiving!
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28
GAY AND MARRIED MENS ASSOCIATION
(GAMMA) is a twice-monthly support group for
men who are gay, bisexual, questioning or dont

identify as any of the above, but who are attracted
to men; and are or were married or otherwise
involved with a woman. 7:30-9:30 p.m. at St.
Thomas Parish Episcopal Church, 1772 Church St.
NW. For more information, visit GAMMAinDC.org
or meetup.com/GAMMAinDC.
WOMEN IN THEIR 20S, a social and activity group

for queer women, meets the second and fourth
Fridays of each month at The DC Center. Dancing
at Phase One after meeting. 8-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th
St. NW, Suite 105. For more information, visit
thedccenter.org.
WEEKLY EVENTS
Regularly-scheduled events will resume next week.
Happy Black Friday!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29
ADVENTURING outdoors group hosts strenuous 10-mile hike with 2400 feet of elevation gain
to Signal Knob, at northern end of Massanutten
Mountain near Strasburg, Va. Bring beverages,
lunch, sturdy boots, and about $20 for fees. Carpool
BET MISHPACHAH, founded by members of the

LGBT community, holds Saturday morning Shabbat
services, 10 a.m., followed by Kiddush luncheon.
Services in DCJCC Community Room, 1529 16th St.
NW. betmish.org.
p.m. Garrison Elementary, 1200 S St. NW. dcscandals.wordpress.com.
GETEQUAL meets 6:30-8 p.m. at Quaker House,

2111 Florida Ave. NW. getequal.wdc@gmail.com.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 5-7 p.m. 2049
N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington. Appointments:
703-789-4467.
BRAZILIAN GLBT GROUP, including others inter-
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by

appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger.
Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155 or testing@smyal.org.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social
The DC Center hosts COFFEE DROP-IN FOR THE

SENIOR LGBT COMMUNITY. 10 a.m.-noon. 2000
14th St. NW. 202-682-2245, thedccenter.org.
ested in Brazilian culture, meets. For location/time,

email braziliangaygroup@yahoo.com.
club welcomes all levels for exercise in a fun and

supportive environment, socializing afterward.
Meet 9:30 a.m., 23rd & P Streets NW, for a walk; or
10 a.m. for fun run. dcfrontrunners.org.
DC SENTINELS basketball team meets at Turkey
Thicket Recreation Center, 1100 Michigan Ave. NE,

2-4 p.m. For players of all levels, gay or straight.
teamdcbasketball.org.
DIGNITY NORTHERN VIRGINIA sponsors Mass

for LGBT community, family and friends. 6:30 p.m.,
Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, 3606 Seminary
Road, Alexandria. All welcome. For more info, visit
dignitywashington.org.
GAY LANGUAGE CLUB discusses critical languages and foreign languages. 7 p.m. Nellies, 900 U St.
NW. RVSP preferred. brendandarcy@gmail.com.
IDENTITY offers free and confidential HIV testing
in Takoma Park, 7676 New Hampshire Ave., Suite
411. Walk-ins 12-3 p.m. For appointments other
hours, call 301-422-2398.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30
US HELPING US hosts a black gay mens evening

affinity group. 3636 Georgia Ave. NW. 202-4461100.
WASHINGTON WETSKINS Water Polo Team
practices 7-9 p.m. Takoma Aquatic Center, 300 Van
Buren St. NW. Newcomers with at least basic swimming ability always welcome. Tom, 703-299-0504,
secretary@wetskins.org, wetskins.org.
Whitman-Walker Health HIV/AIDS SUPPORT
GROUP for newly diagnosed individuals, meets 7
p.m. Registration required. 202-939-7671, hivsupport@whitman-walker.org.
HIV TESTING at Whitman-Walker Health. D.C.:
Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center, 1701 14th St. NW,

9 a.m.-6 p.m. At the Max Robinson Center, 2301
MLK Jr. Ave. SE, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For an appointment call 202-745-7000. Visit whitman-walker.org.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2
WEEKLY EVENTS
CHRYSALIS arts & culture group visits National
Gallery of Art to view exhibits on El Greco, Degas et

al. Free, all welcome. Lunch in Cascades Cafeteria.
Meet at 11:30 a.m. inside the 6th & Constitution
Avenue NW lobby. Craig, 202-462-0535. craighowell1@verizon.net.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 1
The DC Center hosts its monthly VOLUNTEER
NIGHT. Activities include sorting through book
donations, cleaning up, taking inventory for safe-
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH offers

free HIV testing, 9-5 p.m., and HIV services (by
appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
ASIANS AND FRIENDS weekly dinner in Dupont/

Logan Circle area, 6:30 p.m. afwash@aol.com,
afwashington.net.
DC FRONT RUNNERS running/walking/social club
serving greater D.C.s LGBT community and allies
hosts an evening run/walk. dcfrontrunners.org.
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
19
LGBTCommunityCalendar
THE GAY MENS HEALTH COLLABORATIVE
offers free HIV/STI screening every 2nd and 4th

Tuesday. 5-6:30 p.m. Rainbow Tuesday LGBT
Clinic, Alexandria Health Department, 4480 King
St. 703-321-2511, james.leslie@inova.org.
THE HIV WORKING GROUP of THE DC CENTER

hosts Packing Party, where volunteers assemble
safe-sex kits of condoms and lube. 7 p.m., Green
Lantern, 1335 Green Court NW. thedccenter.org.
SMYAL offers free HIV Testing, 3-5 p.m., by

appointment and walk-in, for youth 21 and younger.
Youth Center, 410 7th St. SE. 202-567-3155, testing@smyal.org.
SUPPORT GROUP FOR LGBTQ YOUTH ages 13-21

meets at SMYAL, 410 7th St. SE, 5-6:30 p.m. Cathy
Chu, 202-567-3163, catherine.chu@smyal.org.
US HELPING US hosts a support group for black
gay men 40 and older. 7-9 p.m., 3636 Georgia Ave.

NW. 202-446-1100.
Whitman-Walker Healths GAY MENS HEALTH
AND WELLNESS/STD CLINIC opens at 6 p.m.,
1701 14th St. NW. Patients are seen on walk-in basis.
No-cost screening for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea and
chlamydia. Hepatitis and herpes testing available
for fee. whitman-walker.org.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3
BOOKMEN DC, an informal mens gay-literature
group, discusses Denton Welchs 1945 comingof-age novel, In Youth Is Pleasure. 7:30 p.m.
Tenleytown Library, 4450 Wisconsin Ave NW. All
welcome. bookmendc.blogspot.com.
THE DC LGBT CENTER PROGRAM COMMITTEE
meets to provide input on program content and

management and examine relationships with organizations for whom The DC Center serves as fiscal
sponsor. 6-7 p.m. 2000 14th St. NW, Suite 105. For
more information, visit thedccenter.org.
THE TOM DAVOREN SOCIAL BRIDGE CLUB
meets for Social Bridge. No reservation and partner

needed. All welcome. 7:30 p.m. Dignity Center, 721
8th St. SE. 301-345-1571 for more information.
THE TREVOR PROJECT, along with Still Point
Pictures, host a free screening of Broken Heart

Land, a documentary about gay teen suicide, HIV/
AIDS awareness and LGBT rights in the American
heartland. Panel discussion to follow. Tickets available via Eventbrite. For more information and link
to tickets, visit brokenheartland.com.
WEEKLY EVENTS
AD LIB, a group for freestyle conversation, meets
about 7:45 p.m., covered-patio area of Cosi, 1647
20th St. NW. All welcome. Jamie, 703-892-8567.
ANDROMEDA TRANSCULTURAL HEALTH offers
free HIV testing, 9-5 p.m., and HIV services (by
appointment). 202-291-4707, andromedatransculturalhealth.org.
HISTORIC CHRIST CHURCH offers Wednesday

worship 7:15 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. All welcome. 118 N.
Washington St., Alexandria. 703-549-1450, historicchristchurch.org.
JOB CLUB, a weekly support program for job
entrants and seekers, meets at The DC Center. 2000

14th St. NW, Suite 105. 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. More info,
www.centercareers.org.
NOVASALUD offers free HIV testing. 11 a.m.2 p.m. 2049 N. 15th St., Suite 200, Arlington.
Appointments: 703-789-4467.
PRIME TIMERS OF DC, social club for mature gay

men, hosts weekly happy hour/dinner. 6:30 p.m.,
Windows Bar above Dupont Italian Kitchen, 1637
17th St. NW. Carl, 703-573-8316. l
FOR MORE CALENDAR LISTINGS

PLEASE VISIT
WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM
20
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
scene
Transgender Day
of Remembrance
at Metropolitan
Community
Church of D.C.
Thursday, November 20
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!
Photography by
Ward Morrison
21
22
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
Wedding
THE
PLANNER
In his new book, Marc Solomon reflects on how the marriage-equality movement
found itself on the brink of victory
Interview by Justin Snow
OR THE PAST 13 YEARS, MARC SOLOMON HAS FOUND

himself at the center of some of the marriage-equality
movements most contentious battles.
While I was in graduate school, the marriage decision
happened in Massachusetts, he says. I was already volunteering 40-plus hours a week on the cause and after we
won, I went to work full time in early 2004 and have been
at it ever since, nonstop.
A former Republican staffer on Capitol Hill, it would
not have been easy to predict that Solomon would spent
the majority of his working life fighting for same-sex couples right to marry. But after the Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court issued a ruling in November 2003 legalizing
same-sex marriage in the state, Solomon turned his focus to other states, including
Vermont, Connecticut and California. In 2010, he joined Freedom to Marry, where
he currently serves as national campaign director, and immersed himself in the legislative fight over same-sex marriage in New York. As other state legislatures have
considered same-sex marriage legislation, Solomon has often been there, lending
advice to activists on the ground on how to drive the issue over the finish line.
In his new book, Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How Same-Sex Couples
Took on the Politicians and Pundits and Won (ForeEdge, $27.95), Solomon charts
how the marriage-equality movement found itself on the brink of victory and provides a blueprint to other movements on how to win.
With same-sex marriage legal in a majority of states and the Supreme Court having been asked to hear five cases challenging same-sex marriage bans in five states,
a national resolution legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide now seems closer
than ever. Public support in on the rise, and with Democrats solidly behind marriage
equality, a growing number of Republicans appear to be as well. But Solomon warns
that despite those gains, marriage-equality supporters must not grow complacent or
comfortable until the job is done.
The idea that this is inevitable is really scary to me, he says. None of this stuff
is inevitable. The Windsor decision was a 5-4 decision, so its one justice who gets
sick or who resigns. We know we need to drive it over the finish line and be done. It
concerns me when I hear people say, Well that one is done already. Actually a third
of the country doesnt have the freedom to marry and its not done yet. This has been
such a great success in the context of the last decade. Lets finish it and then we can
party and say it was inevitable.
Photography by Todd Franson
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
23
METRO WEEKLY: Who is Marc Solomon?

MARC SOLOMON: I grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. Was born
a raised there from zero through 18. I went to Yale for college
and I was Mr. Republican when I was a kid, and also when I was
coming out of college and in my early 20s. I was a Republican
staffer on Capitol Hill for a senator from Missouri Jack
Danforth who actually Im still very close with. Hes still sort
of a mentor, father-figure kind of guy.
But I was always super involved in politics from early on.
When Danforth retired from the
Senate, I moved to St. Louis and helped
him set up an not-for-profit project. I
was on both this ideological journey as
well as in the process of coming out and
moved to Boston in 2001 and went to
[Harvard Universitys Kennedy School
of Government]. I also started volunteering with this grassroots groups called
the Massachusetts Freedom to Marry
Coalition and really got hooked on the
issue. It just seemed to make so much
intuitive sense to me that gay people
should be able to marry. I remember
looking at an array of issues and causes
that the groups were fighting for in
Massachusetts and that one just appealed
to me so strongly. And after I came out I
really decided I wanted to use the political skills that I had developed and the
background I had to advance the cause.
In Massachusetts, I ended up running
the campaign and we defeated two constitutional amendments that would have
taken the right to marry away. When I
started we were at 50 votes out of 200
in the legislature to stop a constitutional
amendment when we needed to get 150.
We needed 75 percent of the legislature in order to defeat the constitutional
amendment in Massachusetts and keep it
off the ballot. We finally did that in 2007.
We reelected every lawmaker who voted
our way in 2004 and 2006. It was 195 out
of 195. And we were the only state in that
whole period of time. We lost four court
cases in Maryland, Washington, New
Jersey, New York, and then after we won
in 2007, I started working closely with
GLAD and doing essentially consulting
work in other states.
I spent some time in Vermont and
Connecticut helping guide them on electoral and legislative strategy. I went out to California for the last
two weeks of Prop. 8 just to lend a hand and after it passed it was
so clear to me that we had to overturn it. I felt really emotional
about it so I went back to Massachusetts and said I was leaving,
and moved back and joined Equality California as their marriage
director. People always asked me if I was planning weddings
and stuff. It was really to build a ballot campaign to win back the
freedom to marry in California. That was overtaken with events
by the Prop. 8 lawsuit. It was a few months after I moved out
there that Chad Griffin and team filed the lawsuit. Once we won
in district court it was clear to me we werent going to go back to

the ballot, and if we had a chance to win it in court we should let
it play out. I started talking with Evan Wolfson around that point
and joined Freedom to Marry at the end of 2010.
What Evan had seen was that from campaign to campaign,
each of them was reinventing itself. There was not much transfer of knowledge and information from one state to the next.
It was sort of happenstance.
And Evan saw that if we could
set up a centralized campaign
operation that could make sure
that every state is using the best
practices, that centralizes messaging because the right messaging is pretty consistent state
to state, if we could set that up
we could really accelerate our
progress. He asked me to run the
campaign elements of the work.
Evan is really the big picture
strategist the persuader and
Im the one who is really the
political strategist: How do we
win in Illinois? How do we win
in New York? What are we going
to need in this campaign and that
campaign? What are the smart
ways to push the president? How
do we build power in strategic
ways to get us where we need
to go?
MW: Tell me more about the young
Republican aspect.
SOLOMON: I decided I was a
Republican when I was probably
13 or 14 years old, which was
ironic because my parents were
super liberal, so it was around
the time I was recognizing that
I was gay. In retrospect I really
think it was a reaction. It was
certainly a rebelling against my
parents but it was also the idea
of being with the tough guys, the
Republicans, the badasses it
was sort of If Im one of them
then Im not gay. I didnt map
it out that way, but in retrospect I think there was plenty of
that going on. I was never a gay
Republican. I was a Republican
and I was gay.
I also talk about in the book
one of the most transformational things Ive ever done is that
was chosen to be part of this fellowship to the Rockefeller
Foundation called Next Generation Leadership. They took 24
of us from around the country to focus on different elements of
democracy and had all sorts of really inspiring advocates for different causes. That was during the time I was coming out. I was
around all these incredible leaders like Dan Gross, who heads
the Brady Campaign, and Eric Garcetti, who is now mayor of
Los Angeles, and it just became clear to me that ultimately at its
root the fight for LGBT equality is a fight against oppression and
There is this
idea in our
culture now that
there needs to
be a superhero,
and thats how
things happen.
I WANTED
TO TELL THE
STORY OF HOW
A SUCCESSFUL
MOVEMENT
REALLY
WORKS. THE
MOVEMENT
IS NOT ABOUT
ONE PERSON.
24
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
when it came down to it what side did I want to be on. I wanted

to fight against all oppression and that meant that I was on the
left, and not on the right anymore. Ive been a pretty active liberal for a good amount of time since.
MW: Do you think that experience has informed how you approach
Republicans in this fight?
SOLOMON: No question. I joke that Im not a Republican but I can
play one on TV. If you want to make real advances on a cause in
America with divided government its crucial that it becomes a
bipartisan cause. And on most causes I care about now it means
working extra hard to enlist Republicans to be in support and
then highlighting and touting that support. It cant be lip service
its got to be real.
I think thats why weve been successful with this Young
Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry people know me and
they know that Im about one cause. Its about winning the freedom to marry and its not in my day job my work thats all Im
about. I know we need Republicans in order to win, in order to
make our strongest case and in order to make it a truly American
issue. Ive been able to develop a lot of trust with Republicans
who know how serious I am about the cause and Im not winking
and nodding and just giving them lip service.
MW: What made you write this book? Why now?
SOLOMON: Well, it took a long time to write. I started writing this
book five years ago,
after Massachusetts,
because nobody had
really told the story
of Massachusetts.
After
I
joined
Freedom to Marry in
2010 I immediately
immersed myself in
the New York marriage fight. That
was such a powermomentumful,
shifting battle the
disgusting intrigue
in Albany, which is
one of the grimmest
state capitols politically, working super
closely with Gov.
Cuomo and dealing
with some of these
horrible shenanigans by legislators. It
was really a compelling story. But then we had the ballot fights
and we did all this work with the Obama administration, pushing
them and working with them. And then we had the DOMA case
and the Prop. 8 case. I just kept writing and writing and writing.
There is this idea in our culture now that there needs to be
a superhero, and thats how things happen. I wanted to tell the
story of how a successful movement really works. The movement is not about one person. There are certainly leaders like
Evan Wolfson and Mary Bonauto and Tim Gill and a few others
who really point the way with a long term vision and a plan, but
the creation of this movement and the hard work of the movement thats the thing I wanted to show. The hard work of the
movement, the unglamorous work.
MW: Whats been the highest point and lowest point for you?
SOLOMON: The highest points were the first couples marrying in
Massachusetts, being at my first marriage. I remember it was one

of the plaintiff couples. I remember always being wistful going
to weddings and I was in a lot of weddings as a groomsman and
seeing my friends get married and feeling like I wasnt allowed to
do this. I was barred from doing this by the law. I did feel like a
second class citizen, and I felt like it was really wrong. And going
to this wedding and seeing two guys getting married, everything
felt so perfect. Hearing the officiant say, By the power vested in
me by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it was exceptionally moving.
The other point was on the political side when we beat back
the final constitutional amendment in Massachusetts. So many
people thought wed never get a majority of the legislature, but
we actually got three-quarters of the legislature to vote our way.
That was such a huge emotionally powerful day. I remember
Ted Kennedy called me and left this great message on my phone.
None of the states have had anywhere close to the intensity
we had in Massachusetts. A lot people dont realize how intense
it was. There were religious nuts from all over the country who
came. There was this one guy who carried this huge cross back
and forth in front of the state house. I remember people were
walking behind Mary Bonauto chanting Evil!
MW: Police had set up sharpshooters, too.
SOLOMON: That sort of epitomizes it. Prop. 8 was very intense
but even some of
the more intense
moments during Prop.
8 were nothing like
the vitriol and intensity in Massachusetts
because it was the first
place.
As far as lows
losing Prop. 8. We
were at this hotel in
San Francisco and
outside people were
celebrating like crazy
because Obama had
won, and here we
were. It felt like even
in San Francisco, on
this joyous night for
so many people, our
community was being
left behind. The next
day, the giant rainbow
flag in the Castro was
flying at half-mast and people were protesting. It was really
devastating.
MW: What do you think the state of the opposition is currently?
SOLOMON: Were seeing them moving into these so called religious protection or as we call them, license to discriminate
efforts. But ultimately, I dont think those are going to have too
much resonance because what theyre about is telling people
that you can keep gay folks out of your store, out of your restaurant, not provide services to gay people. And when you remind
people weve been through that period in U.S. history before
when blacks werent allowed to sit at lunch counters, people
really recoil because some of those images are so instilled in
peoples memories. I think ultimately its not going to catch on.
I dont know where they go next. Weve seen them go to fight
equality for transgender people, which is really terrible. But also
I was in a lot of weddings

as a groomsman, seeing my
friends get married and
feeling like I wasnt allowed
to do this. I WAS BARRED
FROM DOING THIS BY THE
LAW. I DID FEEL LIKE A
SECOND CLASS CITIZEN.
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
25
other issues. Many of the people who fight against us are also the
people fighting against immigration reform. There is this strain of
cultural conservatism. Were also really seeing a shift in evangelical churches away from this Pat Robertson style of fire and brimstone. Given where millennials are, if they want to keep appealing
to younger people, theyre going to have to do something.
MW: After so many losses, what was the turning point for the
marriage-equality movement?
SOLOMON: There have been several. Number one was gay people finally marrying. People have been working on this for
years and years, and finally, in
Massachusetts gay people were
able to marry. People around the
country were able to see it was
good and it was fine, and experiencing the real couples and
why they wanted to get married
really was transformational.
And thats why our opponents
put so much effort into trying to
stop it because they knew once
people saw what we were really
talking about, people would be
fine with it.
Winning in New York was
a huge turning point because
we hadnt won in awhile and
New York was such a big powerful state. That provided real
fuel. And I think losing Prop. 8
provided real intensity to everybody. It was a big wake-up call
to the gay community that if we
really wanted this freedom and
right then we really needed to
work hard for it. It wasnt going
to happen on its own and we
couldnt just expect people to vote our way.
The final one was the Windsor decision and just how powerfully it was written. Justice Anthony Kennedy was so clearly
onboard, and when you read Justice Antonin Scalias dissent and
how clearly he saw what it meant.
But that gets back to what I was talking about before. I wrote
the book because I wanted to show what a movement is how
a movement works and how our movement gained power and
won. The Windsor decision didnt happen on its own. The
Windsor decision happened because it rests on not only the other
DOMA cases but the wins wed had in the states and the growth
in public support. Its the cumulative effect that gets us to the
point where its downhill skiing.
MW: When do you think the movement for marriage equality will
come to a conclusion?
SOLOMON: I think it could happen by June 2015. There are [five]
cases now pending before the Supreme Court.
I saw this USA Today piece where the reporter had my quote
right next to [National Organization for Marriage President]
Brian Browns quote and they were like the exact same quote: we
want the Supreme Court to take up a case and rule immediately.
I think from the states, whether youre for or against, people
want national resolution. They realize that theres a need for
national resolution and that having this patchwork doesnt make
a lot of sense. Having the unclarity doesnt make a lot of sense.
Spending all of this time and money fighting our opponents in
the states fighting these suits doesnt make much sense.

Now that theres a split in the circuits, weve answered what
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said was really needed for them to
take up a case. What were doing now is working to highlight
two things that America is ready for national resolution and
that every day of denial is a day of real harm for real people, and
highlighting that harm so the justices realize that punting or not
taking up a case and letting it go for another year or two has a
real serious impact on lives.
MW: Is there a politician you think has ever led on this issue? It
seems like a lot of them are always
playing catch up.
SOLOMON: The most important thing
for the vast majority of elected officials is to continue to be an elected
official. So there arent many who
will take these ber-courageous
votes. There are a few who really
led on this issue when it wasnt
in their political best interests.
One is a woman named Barbara
LItalien a Democratic then-state
rep in Massachusetts. There are
a few others. Richard Ross from
Massachusetts, who replaced Scott
Brown in the state Senate, and
Brown called him right after he
switched his vote and voted our way
and said, What the fuck are you
doing? He thought he was going to
lose his seat, but he recognized that
he couldnt live with himself if he
voted the other way. A couple of the
leaders of the Republicans in New
York who voted our way took truly
courageous votes they knew that
it could cost them their seats and a
couple of them have lost their seats.
I think Republican Sen. Rob Portman took a very principled
stand on marriage. He got some flack from people in our community because they said he only did it because his son is gay. Let
me tell you how many politicians I know who have gay kids who
are opposed to us because they are worried about the political
consequence. To me, it was really moving because he was essentially saying his kid was more important to him than a potential
political future if it ever came to that. I thought that was very
powerful. On the national front, that was the most courageous
stand Ive seen.
MW: Freedom to Marry has said once same-sex couples secure a
national right to marry that you all are done and the organization
will shut down. So whats next for you?
SOLOMON: Theres no question that Im passionate about issue
campaigns. There are some issues I care a lot about, such as how
can we reframe the issue of income inequality in this country so
that we can create serious momentum to deal with it and give
everybody an equal opportunity to succeed. Theres certainly the
immediate need in the LGBT movement to drive forward nondiscrimination and get that passed for gay and trans folks. I love
thinking about the different pressure points that a movement or
a cause has that it can strategically leverage to gain power and
start putting wins on the board and create this snowball effect.
MW: What lessons can other movements take from this one?
SOLOMON: Have a very clear goal of what youre fighting for and
The most important

thing for the vast
majority of elected
officials is to continue
to be an elected
official. THERE
ARENT MANY
POLITICIANS WHO
WILL TAKE THESE
BER COURAGEOUS
VOTES.
26
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
being able to enunciate it clearly. Whats the endgame? And

then to have a big-picture strategy of how to get there. Those are
things that Evan really developed theyre what weve always
called the roadmap to victory. The freedom to marry nationwide
was the end and the strategy to get there was to win a critical
mass of states and achieve a critical mass of public support so
we could get the Supreme Court to ultimately do the right thing.
Its very important to have an aspirational goal. Winning the
freedom to marry is something that inspires lots of folks. You
need something that is inspiring enough to get people to go
knock on doors in rural Virginia or Maryland or to sit down with
your lawmakers.
Having strong campaigns in the states is also important.
Being very strategic about where we play knowing theres not
unlimited resources or unlimited talent and when we decide
on them just being exceptionally professional about the kinds
of campaigns we put together. Always having those campaigns
be very field focused, very strategically grassroots focused. On
issues as big as ours and some of the other issues that have been
tough to move along like gun violence or immigration, you need
lawmakers hearing from people in their districts so they hear
much more from your side than your opponents side.
And the framing of the issue is really important. You need to
know who your audience is. Audience is sort of middle America,
so you really need to figure out a way to talk about your cause
in a way that resonates with regular people and the people who
represent them. Always being very focused on values-laden
messaging. Thats something we got wrong a lot before we got it
right, and its something professionals in the business get wrong
all the time. The messages that poll the best arent necessarily
the ones that work the best. People need to feel ultimately that
if they dont support your position they are not living up to their
best selves. And that takes figuring out how to really tell the story
in a way that people can connect with.
Its also important to be very positive and not demonizing
of people who arent with you. When I first started on this our
support was in the 30-some odd percent. If we demonized the
people who werent with us back then wed still be there. Its
respecting the fact that people come from all sorts of backgrounds and most people learn that marriage is not two guys or
two gals. They learned that marriage is a father and a mother.
Thats what you learn from your first story book as a kid and
thats what plenty of religions teach as well. People arent bad
people because they believe that or because they were taught
that. Its how do you walk people through a journey to get to
the place where you want them to get and how do you help
them see that thats where they want to get. And then welcoming them and embracing them. Not saying, What the hell took
you so long?
I wanted this book to show how we constructed this movement and how the movement works so people get a deeper
perspective of what it takes to have a social movement that
really builds power for itself and wins in our American political system. Its a very positive and optimistic story in the end
because what Im showing is that you can win in America. Even
in dysfunctional Washington and divided government, you can
still accomplish great things.
Marc Solomons Winning Marriage: The Inside Story of How
Same-Sex Couples Took on the Politicians and Pundits and
Won is published by ForeEdge and available in bookstores and at
online booksellers. l
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
27
NOVEMBER 27 - DECEMBER 4, 2014
Compiled by Doug Rule
Unnished Business
Mockingjay Part 1 is all build up with no emotional or
dramatic payoff
by Randy Shulman Illustration by Christopher Cunetto
VERYONES EITHER GOING TO WANT TO KISS YOU, KILL YOU OR

be you, says Capitol couture maven Effi e Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) to her
young charge Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), the valiant heroine of
The Hunger Games trilogy-turned-quadrilogy. When we last saw Katniss, at the
end of the magnifi cent The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, she was being whisked
away to District 13, home of an underground revolutionary base. Her maybe-beloved
Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) had been rushed off in the other direction, to
the tyrannical Capitol, where life is a giant cesspool of excess to which the various
impoverished districts pay tribute.
And so commences The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1, as Katniss is groomed
for gamesmanship of a propagandizing kind. Recruited by Plutarch Heavensbee
(Philip Seymour Hoffman) and District 13s brittle president, Alma Coin (Julianne
Moore) to be the face of the revolution, Katniss fi nds herself pushed, pulled and
twisted as though she were the kneaded dough in Peetas family bakery. As the
reluctant star of rebel propaganda, or propos as they are called in the fi lm, Katniss
is once again paraded around in a way not altogether dissimilar from what the
antagonistic Capitol forced her to do in the previous fi lms. She spends most of
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
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the movie in a morose fog, battling

PTSD and heartsick over her separation from Peeta. President Snow
(Donald Sutherland, whose delicious,
glint-of-evil performance is only outmatched in polish by his alarmingly
well trimmed, white locks) continues
to torture Katniss from afar. Every so
often theres a sign of the old Katniss
a trace of ferocity, a hint of anger, a
moment of resolve but mostly she
spends the movie with a very bad case
of the blahs.
And so it goes for two long, nearly
action-free hours, as Katniss grows
mopier and mopier over her separation from Peeta, despite the fact that
theres a perfectly good stud nearby
who adores her Gale Hawthorne
(Liam Hemsworth), ready to fi ght
alongside her and even kiss her
chastely, lips closed vise-tight.
Directed by Francis Lawrence,
who also helmed Catching Fire and
will do similar honors a year from
now with Mockingjay, Part 2, the current Hunger Games installment suffers from Hollywoods recent, greedfueled need to split the fi nal installment of trilogies into an unmatched
pair. Mockingjay Part 1 is a static,
grim setup for what is sure to be a terrifi c payoff, particularly if President
Coin makes good on her promise of a
special weapon.
Claustrophobic and bleak, virtually devoid of color, Mockingjay Part
1 is essentially the fi rst half of any
traditional action fi lm all buildup,
with no emotional or dramatic payoff.
Even the few assorted incidents that
kick the movie to sudden life sputter
into nothing. Fans of the books will
no doubt love Mockingjay Part 1. The
rest of us are left to fi dget in our seats,
wondering why were not at home
watching an encore of Catching Fire.
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1
(HHHHH) is now playing at area
theaters.
Holiday Gift Guide
Visit the Holiday Gift Guide Online at metroweekly.com/giftguide
SPOTLIGHT
A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS CAROL
Kathy Feiningers A Broadway Christmas Carol tells

Dickens classic by altering the lyrics to familiar
Broadway tunes, 30 or so in all, from The Music
Man to Sweeney Todd to Annie. The result is a pretty
gay show, especially with gay Helen Hayes Awardwinning actor Michael Sharp at the helm as director and choreographer. This year, Peter Boyer will
take on the bah-humbugging duties, while Sharp
plays The Man Who Isnt Scrooge, Tracey Stephens
plays The Woman Who Isnt Scrooge and Howard
Breitbart is the music director aka The Man
Behind The Piano. I always think of it like the Carol
Burnett Show, Sharp told Metro Weekly a couple
seasons ago. [Three] people playing a million different characters. Runs to Dec. 28. MetroStage, 1201
North Royal St., Alexandria. Tickets are $50. Call
800-494-8497 or visit metrostage.org.
TODD FRANSON
A DRAG SALUTE TO MOTOWN REVUE
Deck the Shops

Lights Up on 14th Street kicks off the holidays in Logan Circle
HESE DAYS THE MID-CITY AREA OF 14TH STREET IS ALREADY

bustling. But the folks at Miss Pixies Furnishings and Whatnot are
determined to make the citys trendiest strip glow even brighter this
holiday season. The store has spearheaded Lights Up on 14th Street, which
launches Friday night, Dec. 5. Businesses up and down the street in Logan
Circle will hang outdoor lights and decorate window displays, with many
offering promotions that evening, from specials to free food and samples.
We told everyone do anything that you want to do that suits your business, says Joani Maher of Miss Pixies. Its just a way to get people excited
about the holidays, start shopping and cruise the street.
Participating businesses include Home Rule, Logan Hardware, Flowers
on 14th, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, Cork & Fork Fine Wine Merchants, Teds
Bulletin, BakeHouse, Bodysmith Gym, City Paws, Redeem, and even the newest kid on the block, West Elm.
The idea springs from the customer appreciation shopping bazaar that
Miss Pixies first hosted last year and has decided to expand. We invite local
artists and vendors to sell in the store, Maher says about the annual bazaar,
where customers can find art, cards, vintage clothes, jewelry and candies,
going well beyond the eclectic goods the store sells year round. This years
event will feature live music from the gypsy jazz band Bitter Dose Combo,
and there will also be prizes and contests.
To encourage more businesses to go all out in decorating, theres also a
contest for best storefront displays organized by the Washington City Paper.
People who take the time to vote on their favorite will be entered to win gift
certificates, Maher says. And the Logan Circle Community Association is
also working to encourage residents in the area to decorate their houses and
apartments for the evening.
Says Maher, Were hoping over the years it will get bigger and bigger.

Doug Rule
Lights Up on 14th Street starts at 5:30 p.m., with the Customer Appreciation
Bazaar running until 8 p.m. at Miss Pixies, 1626 14th St. NW. Call
202-232-8171 or visit lightsupon14thstreet.com for more information.
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
Indefatigable local drag sensation Shi-Queeta Lee

and her troupe of illusionists offer another edition
of her show A Drag Salute To The Divas, this time
singing, lip-synching and dancing to the songs from
the Motown Era. You know, Diana Ross and the
Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, the Four Tops
and the Temptations yes, thats right, there will
be drag kings and female-to-male performers this
time around. Sunday, Dec. 7, at 8 p.m. The Howard
Theatre, 620 T St. NW. Tickets are $20 in advance
or $45. Call 202-588-5595 or visit adragsalutetothedivas.com.
FRANK WARREN
Sixth & I offers a multimedia presentation by the

founder and curator of the PostSecret Project, a
collection of over one million highly personal and
artistic postcards mailed anonymously from around
the world to share secrets. The website is reportedly the most visited ad-free blog in the world. Frank
Warren shares some of these secrets in his newest
book from the project, The World of PostSecret. Hell
also sign books after the presentation. Wednesday,
Dec. 3, at 7 p.m. Sixth & I Historic Synagogue. 600 I
St. NW. Tickets, including one book, are $30; $45 for
two tickets. Call 202-408-3100 or visit sixthandi.org.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC:
FARM-TO-TABLE MEAL IN HUBBARD HALL
National Geographic head chef Matthew Crudder

offers a local, sustainable dinner paired with local
wine, beer and cider in the first headquarters of
the National Geographic Society, an evening inspired
by the exhibition Food: Our Global Kitchen. Archivist
Renee Braden joins to share the history of the society
and its relationship with food. Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7
p.m. Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium, 1600 M St.
NW. Tickets are $175 per person. Call 202-857-7700
or visit events.nationalgeographic.com.
NATIONAL ZOOS ZOOLIGHTS
Every year, the Smithsonians National Zoo presents

ZooLights, in which 500,000 colorful Christmas
lights illuminate life-sized animal silhouettes, dancing trees, buildings and walkways. All that, plus
select animal houses will be open, displaying nocturnal creatures, including the Small Mammal House,
the Great Ape House and Reptile Discover Center.
Opens Friday, Nov. 28, at 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. To
Jan. 26. National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW.
Free, courtesy of Pepco. Call 202-633-4800 or visit
nationalzoo.si.edu.
ONCE THERE WERE BILLIONS
Once There Were Billions: Vanished Birds of North

America documents those species of birds weve lost
on this continent over the past two centuries, from
Holiday Gift Guide
13
the puffin-like great auck to the Carolina parakeet

to the heath hen to the passenger pigeon, not to be
confused with the commonplace carrier pigeon.
Through October 2015. National Museum of Natural
History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.
Call 202-633-1000 or visit mnh.si.edu.
SUTTON FOSTER WITH THE NSO POPS
I would torture my family with made-up arias and

stuff, and sing around the house, Sutton Foster
told Metro Weekly last year, about her childhood
days in Georgia and Michigan. Of course, her familys torture has become the worlds pleasure. The
38-year-old Foster has been nominated five times
in the last decade as Leading Actress in a Musical
at the Tony Awards and won twice. Foster stops
by the Kennedy Center to perform selections from
her Broadway career with the National Symphony
Orchestra Pops as conducted by Steven Reineke
and also featuring guest vocalists Joshua Henry and
Megan McGinnis. Friday, Nov. 28, and Saturday,
Nov. 29, at 8 p.m. Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
Tickets are $20 to $88. Call 202-467-4600 or visit
kennedy-center.org.
STEVEN LUTVAK
The gay composer behind this years Tony Award

winner for Best Musical, A Gentlemans Guide to Love
and Murder, stops by the Kennedy Center as part of
the free Millennium Stage nightly programming in
a cabaret presented as part of ASCAPs Broadway:
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow series. Tuesday,
Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
Tickets are free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedycenter.org.
THE SUZANNE FARRELL BALLET
The Kennedy Centers resident dance company returns to the Kenn Opera House with three
Balanchine works, including the 1951 one-act version
of Swan Lake. Scott Speck conducts the Kennedy
Center Opera House Orchestra during the performance. Friday, Nov. 28, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov.
29, at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 30,
at 1:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera House. Tickets
are $2O to $95. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedycenter.org.
THE NUTCRACKER
There will be no pirouettes at Bethesdas Round

House Theatre this season, as the company premieres
its production of a Chicago-born new musical based
on the famous story by E.T.A. Hoffman which also
inspired the far more famous ballet by Tchaikovsky.
Joe Calarco directs Round Houses production of
this musical, set in a contemporary American home,
written by composer Kevin ODonnell and writers
Jake Minton and Phillip Klapperich. Will Gartshore,
Sherri L. Edelen, Mitchell Hbert, Erin Weaver
and Lauren Williams star. Now to Dec. 28. Round
House Theatre, 4545 East-West Highway, Bethesda.

roundhousetheatre.org.
STAGE
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Molly Smith directs an Arena Stage production of

Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnicks beloved musical,
celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. Jonathan
Hadary, a Bethesda native who has been nominated
for a Tony Award and won a Helen Hayes, plays
Tevye, leading a 28-member cast. Arena favorite
Parker Esse (Oklahoma, The Music Man) adapts
Jerome Robbinss original choreography for the inthe-round Fichlander Stage. To Jan. 5. Mead Center
for American Theater, 1101 6th St. SW. Tickets are
$50 to $99. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.
FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE
Arena Stage presents Clarke Peterss celebration

of the feel-good music of Louis Jordan, whose hits
included Let the Good Times Roll and Is You Is or
Is You Aint My Baby. Robert OHara directs a cast
featuring Travis Porchia, Jobari Parker-Namdar,
Paris Nix, Sheldon Henry and Clinton Roane. To
Dec. 28. Mead Center for American Theater, 1101 6th
St. SW. Tickets are $51 to $109. Call 202-488-3300 or
visit arenastage.org.
HANDBAG
In Handbag, provocative British playwright Mark

Ravenhill (Shopping and F***king) explores the pursuit of parenthood by gay couples in present-day
London by juxtaposing it with a Victorian-era tale,
styled as a prequel to Oscar Wildes The Importance
of Being Earnest. Scena Theatre kicks off its 28th season with a production of this black comedy, whose
two storylines run in parallel until colliding in a satire of societys progress. Scenas Robert McNamara
directs a cast that includes Anne Nottage, Amanda
Forstrom, Gray West, Edward C. Nagel, Robert
Sheire and Haely Jardas. Closes this Sunday, Nov.
30. Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Place S.E.
scenatheatre.org.
JULIUS CAESAR
Specters haunt the stage at Folger Theatre, and these
cloaked souls ghosts of those lost to war lurk in
the shadows and stalk the set, like a group of grim
reapers, in Robert Richmonds stunning, mystical
production ofJulius Caesar. They faintly chant what
must be warnings of further bloodshed to come, if
we could only make them out. But just as Caesar
ignores his Soothsayers fervent plea Beware the
Ides of March, so the lost souls incantations fall
on deaf ears. Its impressive how Richmond, working with fight director Casey Dean Kaleba, has his
attractive actors move from the lurching lost souls
to the multiple slow-motion battle scenes to the
marches and synchronized hand gestures showing
group solidarity. Everything here is stylized in an
evocative, even elegant manner, with every detail
carefully thought out, right down to the poppy petals
that are regularly tossed out after each death. After
all, since the First World War red poppies have been
a symbol of remembering the war dead. To Dec. 7.
Folger Shakespeare Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE.
folger.edu. (Doug Rule)
PEN
Kasi Campbell directs a Washington Stage Guild

production of this sharply funny, poignant play, a
recent Off Broadway hit. Written by contemporary
American playwright David Marshall Grant, Pen
focuses on the perplexing future faced by a divorced,
mixed-religion couple and their college-bound
son. Closes Sunday, Nov. 30. Undercroft Theatre
of Mount Vernon United Methodist Church, 900
Massachusetts Ave. NW. Tickets are $40 to $50. Call
240-582-0050 or visit stageguild.org.
MUSIC
MOYA BRENNAN
An Irish Christmas has become something of a

tradition at the National Geographic Society, featuring the woman who came to fame as the voice of
the Irish group Clannad. Moya Brennan performs a
selection of Irish musical gems for the season, and
the Culking School of Traditional Irish Dance offers
a special performance. Saturday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m.
and 7 p.m. Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium, 1600 M
St. NW. Tickets are $30. Call 202-857-7700 or visit
events.nationalgeographic.com.
THE SELDOM SCENE
Formed over 40 years ago in Bethesda, the progressive bluegrass band Seldom Scene remains especially
popular in its hometown region. The group returns
to Alexandrias seated show palace the Birchmere
for two nights over Thanksgiving Weekend, this
time with special guests Dry Branch Fire Squad.
Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28, at 7:30
p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave.,
Alexandria. Tickets are $35. Call 703-549-7500 or
visit birchmere.com or seldomscene.com.
ZELLNIK BROTHERS
Writer David Zellnik and composer Joseph Zellnik

wrote the gay-affirming Off-Broadway military musical Yank! a decade ago. The duo perform from that
work and other collaborations, including The Wright
Brothers: First in Flight as part of the Broadway:
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow presented as a
free Kennedy Center Millennium Stage concert by
the American Society of Composers, Authors and
Publishers, better known as ASCAP. Saturday, Nov.
29, at 6 p.m. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
Tickets are free. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedycenter.org. l
FOR MORE
OUT ON THE TOWN
LISTINGS
PLEASE VISIT
WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
Holiday Gift Guide
33
stage
Josh Adams (L) and Lou Liberatore
Theater J stages an extraordinary,

intelligent epic, while KenCen
turns up the dance
by DOUG RULE
M THINKING, ONE CHARACTER SAYS AT THE END

of the long play with the long title now in production at
Theater J. Youll be thinking at the end of this play, too
and all throughout its more than three-hour running time.
The Intelligent Homosexuals Guide to Capitalism and Socialism
with a Key to the Scriptures is a Tony Kushner play, after all. The
gay playwright has all but cornered the market on long plays
that reward thinking, even over-thinking, ever since his breakthrough masterpiece 20 years ago, Angels in America: A Gay
Fantasia on National Themes which, before it was a six-hour
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
miniseries on HBO, was two plays, each three hours long.

However daunting The Intelligent Homosexuals Guide might
sound, youll ultimately find it worth the effort. Director John
Vreeke has assembled a fine cast of 11 actors who portray
members of an Italian-American family and its assorted friends
and lovers. Tom Wiggin portrays family patriarch, Gus, who in
2007 has summoned his three children to the familys Brooklyn
brownstone to announce his plans to liquidate and vacate
that is, sell the house and commit suicide. A retired longshoreman and labor organizer, Gus feels like hes spinning his senescent wheels. Hes also not particularly proud of the marks hes
left on the world.
Most of the action takes place in the familys parlor room and
plays out like an Arthur Miller classic, exploring all manner of
topics philosophical, political, personal. But the opposing concepts of freedom and oppression predominate, and even Guss
desire is portrayed in this light he sees suicide as the only way
to gain a sense of freedom, while his children naturally see it as
an oppressive act that will cause great distress.
Wiggin commands the stage as Gus, getting to the heart of a
contradictory kind of character the learned everyman. Susan
C. STANLEY PHOTOGRAPHY
Thought and Dance
Holiday Gift Guide
53
Rome puts up a good fight as his earnest bisexual daughter,

Empty, who endeavors to defeat death by talking him out of
his plans. Lisa Hodsoll plays Emptys partner, Maeve, as less of
a monster and more personable than the character otherwise
might be in a different actors hands while the opposite is
true of Lou Liberatore. He plays Guss gay son Pill as a weaselly
character who struggles to connect with anyone and seemingly
disappoints everyone, including gay hustler Eli (Josh Adams),
who falls for him. Speaking of struggling to connect, Michael
Anthony Williams is tyrannical as Pills lover Paul, making it
hard to see any redeeming virtue.
It might take a theatergoer a while to connect overall to The
Intelligent Homosexuals Guide, which is split into three acts
by two 10-minute intermissions and into scenes by Jared
Mezzocchis intriguing projected black-and-white cityscape
images. The plays first act is convoluted and slow-to-rise. But
by the second act, a war of words and wills has broken out all
over at one point, there are four overlapping conversations
and youll be on the edge of your seat, enraptured by every
well-timed volley.
THE NEW MUSICAL Little Dancer, now having its world premiere at the Kennedy Center, tells the partly imagined story of
the girl who posed for Edgar Degass famous statue. Its chiefly
set in and around the demimonde of the Paris Opera Ballet in
the 19th century.
As such, the musical is at its strongest and most original
when director and choreographer Susan Stroman incorporates
elements of ballet, most notably during an extended sequence
near its end. Here, Tiler Peck, a principal dancer with the New
York City Ballet, gets to display her dancing skills, as her char-
36
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
acter, the Young Marie, concisely conveys through movement

everything that we just saw and heard happen in the musicals
preceding two hours. Its a rather unprecedented merger of two
parallel performance genres, and a dazzling display that almost
makes Little Dancer worth seeing all its own.
There are other aspects that make this production a worthwhile trip to the theater principally Beowulf Boritts grand,
art-inspired sets, William Ivey Longs equally imaginative costumes and Stromans starry, strong-voiced cast. Boyd Gaines
and especially Rebecca Luker are knockouts as Degas and Adult
Marie, respectively. Other standouts include the charismatic
Janet Dickinson, who brings artist Marie Cassatt vividly to life,
and Jenny Powers, who as Antoinette is a dream of a bawdy,
well-heeled older sister.
The show itself is on less solid footing. Stephen Flaherty has
composed several great tunes (Laundry, Little Opportunities),
but the score isnt as distinguishable as the overall conceit. Lynn
Ahrenss book and lyrics, even less so. Theres also the unavoidable creep factor, as a 14-year-old girl spends hours alone with
a significantly older man and is pursued by a couple others with
far more prurient interests. Still, if you can overlook that, Little
Dancer will surely pirouette its way to favor.
Little Dancer (HHHHH) runs to Sunday, Nov. 30 at the Kennedy
Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $45 to $155. Call 202-4674600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
The Intelligent Homosexuals Guide to Capitalism and Socialism
with a Key to the Scriptures (HHHHH) runs to Dec. 21 at Washington,
D.C.s Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $35 to
$65. Call 202-518-9400 or visit washingtondcjcc.org. l
games
Paris is Burning
Assassins Creed: Unity may not
be perfect, but its depiction of
Paris is incredibly fun nonetheless
by RHUARIDH MARR
UBI SOFT
HAVE A LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE

Assassins Creed series. I invariably fall in love with the
wonderfully realized historical settings, the rich cast of
characters and the narratives the games attempt to weave.
I then, more often than not, get bored and stop playing after
several hours with the series janky controls and repetitive missions. Theres only so many times I can tail someone and stab
them before I want to play something else. Last years Black Flag
was different in that, instead of focusing so much on the assassinating, Ubisoft instead gave us an incredible pirate game
complete with gorgeous water physics and ship-to-ship combat
and added the assassination stuff on as fun distraction from
the main, water-based action. It was a blast. Literally, when cannons came into play.
So, what then would I make of Unity, the latest entry to
the series that strips back the fun and frivolity of Black Flags
Caribbean setting and instead aims for the close, city-based
action of the series fi rst two entries? As it transpires, I kind of
loved it. Unity is far from a perfect experience, and indeed can be
downright frustrating at times, but it represents an astounding
technical achievement and sets the Assassins series up well for
its next foray on the new generation of consoles.

Unity is set in revolutionary France, a bloody and violent place
that saw as much beheading and murder as it did sunrises and
sunsets. Paris, specifi cally, is the main focus here, and developers
Ubisoft Montreal have created an utterly gorgeous depiction of
the city in the eighteenth century. To call it photorealistic seems
the most fi tting praise, as textures, lighting, graphics and details
add up to make Unitys world one of the most realistic Ive ever
encountered in a game. Climbing to the top of the Notre Dame,
Paris sprawls out beneath you, with several districts each with
their own distinct populations and intents. Noblemen inhabit the
wealthy areas, with their sprawling mansions, palaces, and wide,
clean streets gleaming in the Parisian sunshine. On the opposite
end of the spectrum, the slums of la Cour des Miracles are horrific cesspools of pestilence and poverty, with prostitutes, beggars
and murderous revolutionaries lining the cramped, dirty streets.
It helps that the streets themselves are fi lled with people.
Ubisoft touted the engine powering Unity for its ability to draw
hundreds of characters on-screen at once, and indeed it makes
for an impressive sight. I cant remember ever seeing so many
people wandering around in a game before, and, particularly
in one of the later story missions, that number can seemingly
stretch into the thousands. It helps that the streets sound as
youd expect, too, fi lled with the chattering and hustle and bustle
of daily life, the screams and shouts of protesters and revolutionaries, the roars of gathered crowds, the sound of music from
buildings or the calls of pedestrians who require your help. As a
means of refl ecting the feeling of being in a tight, cramped city,
the deluge of people only adds to the feeling of a living, breathing
recreation of 18th century Parisian life.
To navigate this world, players are given control of Arno Dorian,
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
37
a French nobleman we first meet as a child, navigating the corridors of the Kings palace. Here, his father is murdered, and Arno is
adopted by Monsieur De La Serre, who, it transpires, is the Grand
Master of the Templars. De La Serre adopts Arno, despite knowing
that his father was an Assassin, with the Brotherhood of Assassins
being enemies to the Templars. Still with me? Good, because the
series lore is a little confusing after so many games. Flash forward
to Arnos adult years. De La Serre is murdered and Arno is accused.
In jail, he meets a member of the Brotherhood and so begins his
rise through the ranks of the Assassins.
In the early stages of the game in particular, Arno is a delightful character to play. He has some of the bravado and swagger
that made Edward Kenway such fun to play in Black Flag, but
without quite as much of the my family is dead misery of
Connor from Assassins Creed III. This is all toned down once he
enters the Brotherhood, but in cutscenes and dialogue snippets
during the game, Arno represents an amusing and interesting
character, even if his story can be boiled down to seeks revenge,
wants girl the girl in question being De La Serres daughter
Elise, now a member of the Templars.
Ubisoft have worked hard to fix one of the series biggest bugbears: the controls. Arno has a fluidity to his movement, aided by
fancy new animations and a newly added downward traversal
ability that makes descending from a height easier than jumping
from the building and praying you wont die. Clambering across
Parisian rooftops, scampering up churches and diving through
open windows the city is littered with explorable interiors
that can be used to effect an escape or wandered through to marvel at the interior design is all made easier by improve collision
detection and numerous grab points for Arno to cling to. Still,
theyre not perfect. Too often, Arno will simply refuse to jump
the way youre directing him to, or hell grab the wrong object
and ruin the momentum youve built. Similarly, moving down
buildings remains a little janky, and Arnos inability to effectively
move into a window instead preferring to jump around it
quickly becomes an irritance more than a humorous quirk.
The controls impact other areas of the game, as well. Stealth,
in particular, is needlessly frustrating at times. Why cant Arno
move around corners when in cover? Its such a simple thing
that would make life so much easier, but instead you have to
leave cover and move around the corner and then re-enter cover.
He can already switch between covers such as across doorways so is this really such a tough thing to implement? Object
detection, too, is still less than perfect. All too often Id run at
two guards, intending to kill them both, but the game would only
highlight one or the other. As the (admittedly lovely) animation
played, showing Arno slicing his blade into one guards side, the
other would invariably start hacking at Arno with his sword.
Combat is the usual parry and attack brand that series fans
have come to love or loathe. Attacks are mounted with X (on
Xbox One, which I reviewed the game on) and blocked with B.
Pistol fire is attributed to LB (and RT, if you prefer to manually
aim) while bombs and distractions are dropped with RB. Once
again, its possible to stand in the middle of a group of guards
and parry each incoming attack until youve killed everyone,
though this hardly seems like the most rewarding way to do so.
Instead, drop a smoke bomb and leg it out of there and then pick
them off one-by-one. This is when Unity is at its best, silently
killing people from the shadows or leaping onto their heads
from above. Guns work well here, too, such as sniping with a
rifle, as do phantom blades, which can be silently fired to kill, or
berserk blades which can drive enemies insane and force them
to kill their comrades so you dont have to. When not trapped in
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NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
a group of enemies trying to slice and shoot you, Unitys combat

is a lot of fun.
Its aided by new, open-plan mission structures that actively
rewards exploration and experimentation. The story frequently
places Arno into a giant set-piece and then tasks him with finding his way to the target. Do you burst through the front door,
slicing and shooting, killing guards until you reach your assassination target, or do you work your way to a window or balcony
and silently slide past threats? Is there a distraction you can
use, such as blocking chimneys to fill passageways with smoke,
or rescuing citizens from guards who will then help you fight?
Theres a relative freedom to certain missions that task you with
thinking through your objectives, and it makes for a welcome
break from the rigid structure of the normal tail this guy, then
kill him or go here, work your way through guards and kill that
guy structure of other missions.
Your experimentation will get you Creed points, given to
reward stylish kills or actions, such as vanishing from searching guards or successfully killing any enemies after you. These
points, as well as Sync points earned while playing through
missions and money collected from missions and side quests,
can be spent on upgrading Arno and his abilities. Guns, swords,
skills, costumes and gear can all be customized and adapted to
your playstyle if you prefer pistols and wearing disguises, you
can upgrade Arno to match. If stealth kills and dropping from
heights is more your style, thats an option, too. Even simple
things, like sitting between people on a bench to disappear from
guards, is now an upgradeable option. Of course, theres a payto-win option, in the form of Hack upgrades available for every
item, the points for which can be bought in-game for worryingly
high sums of real world money. Theyre not necessary, though,
so ignore them and your bank balance will be safe.
You can, of course, explore Unitys numerous side missions
to collect money and points to spend. There are dozens of activities, from rift missions that throw you into Paris in the late 1800s
(complete with Eiffel Tower), to riddles that require you to solve
increasingly difficult puzzles and send you hunting around Paris
for clues, to crowd events such as stopping criminals and thieves,
to unlocking dozens of chests scattered around the city. Youll
meet a vast array of interesting characters a personal favorite
was the delightfully sadistic Marquis de Sade and youll see
every inch of the big, beautiful map. If you prefer to play with
friends, there are co-op missions available, which are fun, difficult challenges that require proper teamwork to prevail. If one of
you dies, the entire team fails, so communications and resource
sharing is key to ensure you successfully complete your objectives. Of course, if youd rather just scamper around the city with
friends, thats also supported and jolly good fun.
Sadly, Unity is far from a perfect experience. Its clear that
Ubisoft is pushing each system to its max, but its also apparent
that the company gave up on some bug-testing and fine-tuning in
the interest of getting Unity out in time for the holidays.
For starters, while the game is gorgeous, it can slow down
to a chugging crawl at times. One interior, in a church atop the
Assassins base, was impossible to navigate as the framerate
inexplicably slowed to an almost complete standstill. Similarly,
it can plummet during cutscenes, in places with lots of people,
and is particularly apparent when syncing viewpoints in each of
the districts theres nothing pretty about the camera panning
around Paris when it does so at such a low framerate. Character
animations are usually wonderful, with excellent detail, but
youll frequently see glitches, such as hair bouncing around during camera changes or body parts clipping through others. AI
continues on page 40
tech
All in the Wrist

The Motorola Moto 360 pairs Android
Wear with a premium exterior to make
the best smartwatch you can buy
by RHUARIDH MARR
MOTOROLA
N THE WORLD OF WATCHES, STYLE IS KING.

Whether its rugged, sleek, waterproof or gold-plated, we
want whatever adorns our wrist to be a piece of jewellery,
a fashion item others can glance at and learn a little more
about our personality. Whether its Breitling, Jaeger-Le Coultre,
Casio, or that Mickey Mouse timepiece youve had for years, a
watch really, above all else should look good on ones wrist.
Oh, and tell the time accurately. Thats also pretty important.
With smartwatches, however, form too often gives way to
function. Samsungs Gear devices are crammed with technology
but styled as an afterthought. Pebbles watches are useful, but
theyre hardly sexy. The first raft of Android Wear devices were
intended to showcase the software, but neglected the hardware
(in my review of LGs G Watch I described it as being simply
dull). Even Apples Watch, which wont launch until next year,
isnt the most attractive of devices. Despite what the hordes of
Apple faithful will tell you when asked, on the (watch) face of it,
its an uninspired design.
Of course, there is one smartwatch that does place a big
emphasis on style. It was one of three announced when Android
Wear launched, it was the one that drew the most intrigue, and
the one everyone interested in the platform was eager to get
their hands on: Motorolas Moto 360. Designed and built from
the ground up to look like a premium, elegant watch complete

with a traditional, round face it radiated style and quality from
every machined pore, at a price of just $249. Its no wonder
attendees of Googles I/O conference gave it a standing ovation
when they were told theyd be getting one for free. However, can
the 360 stand up to its own hype, and deliver a great smartwatch
experience where so many others have delivered merely an okay
one? Well, the answer to that is a somewhat mixed bag of hardware and software limitations.
Lets start with the hardware and boy, is it a great piece
of hardware. Motorola currently offers the 360 in three color
choices: light finish, dark finish and champagne, though in
laymans terms, its stainless steel casing is either silver, black
or a very subtle gold. Straps are available in leather or metal
though the gold band is restricted to the slimmer, 18 mm style. I
opted for a light finish 360 with the grey leather band.
When first taking it out of the box, its clear that the 360 is
different to its Android Wear brethren, and not just because it
was the first round watch sporting the software though its
now joined by LGs G Watch R in that category. It looks and feels
like something that should cost much more than $249. The silver
finish of the casing is cool to the touch and captures the light, the
soft-touch Horween leather band creaks like leather should as
it wraps around your wrist, the chamfered edges of the Gorilla
Glass screen feel exquisite as your finger slides over them. The
Moto 360 is a gorgeous piece of technology. Indeed, in the sprint
to build the best-looking smartwatch, Motorola has easily outmaneuvered Apple in a race the Cupertino company would have
been expected to win.
What about that 1.56-inch LCD display? It too is a sight to
behold. Its 320x290 resolution isnt anything to write home
about, but at this size, that still equates to a pixel-per-inch rating
of 205. If youre wondering why the resolution isnt a perfect
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
39
320x320, given the screen is circular, thats because the 360 has
a small strip at the bottom of the display that holds the display
drivers and the ambient light sensor. Motorola claims it was necessary to avoid giving the 360 an unsightly bezel, but the tradeoff
is a flat tire effect when viewing the screen. In day-to-day use,
however, you forget its there. As for the screen itself, its big,
bright and colors are nicely balanced. The ambient light sensor
allows for auto brightness to be used and while occasionally
slow to detect when moving from bright to dark situations
makes the hassle of manually changing brightness on earlier
Wear devices a forgotten annoyance.
Underneath its polished exterior lies a mixed bag of hardware. Theres 4GB of storage and 512MB of RAM, much like
every other Wear device, as well as sensors to detect movement
and activity, including a pedometer and heart-rate monitor. The
360 is water resistant for up to 30 minutes in three feet of water,
and theres wireless charging so you wont have to fiddle with
any cables to replenish your watchs power at night. And, indeed,
youll have to charge it every night as the 360 has a tiny 320 mAh
battery. Its not helped by the bizarre use of a TI OMAP 3 processor which is ancient in technology terms, hailing from 2010.
Presumably its to help the 360s cost, but its hardly the most
efficient processor. Indeed, swiping through Android Wear is
noticeably less fluid than on the G Watch. Not enough to impact
your useage, but its apparent in comparison. Whats more, it
means that charging every night is a requirement though you
will at least get a full days use out of it. I took my 360 off the
charger at 8 a.m. and, after a day of notifications, voice dictation
and frequently checking the time, returned it to its charging
dock at midnight with 27 percent left. Your mileage will vary, but
the 360 can at least make it through an entire day and unless
you sleep with your watch on, taking it off and dropping it onto
its wireless dock is a simple solution, particularly as the watch
can be used as an alarm clock when in its dock.
As for Android Wear, well, there are still limitations. Head
online for my full review of the software (http://bit.ly/mwandroidwear), but suffice to say that its still in its early stages
though, even compared with launch this summer, its now infinitely more useful. It still relies heavily on your smartphone for
most tasks, but now users can download music to the watch and
listen to it with bluetooth headphones useful if youre going
for a run or bike ride and dont want your phone in your pocket.
As Wear matures, more apps are being updated to use it. Indeed,
most of the apps I use every day have some kind of functionality,
whether its swiping to a second screen or offering interaction
with notifications.
Emails can be read and responded to, as can messages from
texts, Facebook and Whatsapp, among others. Workouts can
be started, runs can be logged, maps can be opened up and
directions given, music playback can be controlled, cars can be
ordered through Lyft, flight details and boarding passes can be
displayed and so much more. Android Wear will only continue
to improve, and the amount of times I pull my phone out of my
pocket each day has been significantly reduced as more apps
start to work with it. Googles excellent voice dictation is obviously key to this, as its your only means of responding to items
or asking questions on the 360 and the watchs dual microphones means that it rarely fails to understand what Im saying.
In day-to-day terms, the 360 is a joy to use. It helps that it
simply looks so damn good on the wrist. Its sleek and modern,
but still recognizable as a watch. Motorola continues to push
software updates to the watch, which have helped with concerns over battery life and its aging processor. The real question,
40
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
though, is should you buy it? Ill admit, I rarely wore a watch
before I got the 360 my phone was my preferred means of telling the time. Now? I wear it every day. The sheer convenience
of seeing and responding to notifications from your wrist cant
be ignored, and when its operating through something which
looks as good as the Moto 360, it makes it even more pleasurable. Thanks to some of its internals, the 360s beauty may only
be skin-deep but its gorgeous enough that you simply wont
care. For $249, its the best smartwatch you can buy right now.
The Motorola Moto 360 starts at $249 and is available from the
Google Play Store (play.google.com) and via motorola.com. l
continued from page 38
characters will frequently have moments where their programming seems to fail entirely in one cutscene, a random Parisian
was having a heated argument with the wall right behind the
man Arno was talking to. There are other technical issues, such
as unresponsive controls at times, or the world failing to load
properly when coming out of a cutscene or changing locations,
but none is more egregious than the loading times. Oh, god, the
loading times. To call them obscene would be an understatement. When Grand Theft Auto V can stream the entirety of Los
Santos without a loading screen, why on earth must I sit through
a 20-40 second loading screen every time I move between
exploring Paris and whatever it is that Im loading into, be it
the Brotherhoods base, or a training mission, or a rift mission.
Loading times can often be longer than that, and are on numerous occasions entirely inexplicable. One training mission saw me
fighting enemies in the Cafe Theatre. Once it had ended, I sat for
over half a minute while the game loaded into the same damn
location. Yes, you can run from one end of Paris to the other
without a loading screen, but its ruined every time you have to
sit through the dark, unresponsive screen which greets you far
too frequently during missions and cutscenes. Its infuriating,
and on consoles this powerful, inexcusable.
There are there bugbears, too, such as everyone having
regional English accents while the random characters on the
streets chatter away in French. Even Napoleon, who you meet
during the game, speaks with an English accent. Its infuriatingly distracting. If everyone in the game spoke with an English
accent, or everyone spoke English with French inflection, itd
be fine, but this weird hybrid distracts more often than not.
Similarly, the map is hideously cluttered with all of the available
icons and missions, though it thankfully can be sorted into categories, and there are random difficulty spikes during missions
which can seriously punish you if youre caught off-guard.
That said, Unity does succeed where I thought it might fail.
Its Parisian setting, while slow to load, is so gorgeously detailed
and filled with activities, Ive still yet to see and do everything
it has to offer. Its story, while far from original, is fun to romp
through. Side missions are interesting, co-op play is an excellent
distraction and Revolutionary France is an interesting setting
for the game. My time in Unity was not one without frustrations,
but unlike previous entries in the series, they werent sufficient
to actually drive me from the game. Yes, it could have used a few
more months of testing and optimizing, and yes, youll have to
endure several large patches as Ubisoft tries to fix problems to
justify the $60 youll spend buying the game, but at the end of
it all, Unity remains a big, beautiful, bountiful world to play in.
Assassins Creed: Unity (HHHHH) retails for $59.99 and is available on PS4, Xbox One and PC. l
pets
Warm Pets
From avoiding toxic puddles to
giving shorter walks, 9 tips for
optimal winter pet care
by DOUG RULE
OGS PARTICULARLY ARE NOT VERY GOOD

about setting their own limits, especially if theyre
having fun outside, says Janine Calabro, chief of
emergency and critical care at D.C.s Friendship
Hospital for Animals. If its too cold for you to be outdoors
without your hands getting really cold, then maybe your dog
shouldnt be running around for too, too long outside either.
VVVITA
9 TIPS FOR OPTIMAL WINTER PET CARE:

1. ANTIFREEZE IS DELICIOUSLY DEADLY
Antifreeze may taste sweet to animals, but its effects are decidedly not. Antifreeze contains ethylene glycol, which is very toxic
to both dogs and cats, and can cause neurological abnormalities,
including seizures, and gastrointestinal complications, including acute kidney failure. It is fatal without prompt treatment,
Friendship Hospitals Calabro says. Even one little lick for a
small pet can be quite dangerous. Any exposure and they should
be promptly brought to a veterinarian.
2. NO HELTER-SKELTER SHELTER
Wintertime doghouses, says Nick Lipincott, a humane law
enforcement officer with the Washington Humane Society, need
to be raised off the ground to keep from flooding as snow melts
[and feature] a windbreak so the insulation from [a dogs] body
heat is not pushed out from the cold. Also, a dogs water needs
to be constantly changed, put in a heated water bowl or placed
under a heat lamp to keep it from freezing.
3. TO COAT OR NOT TO COAT
Both Calabro and Lipincott advise putting at least a light coat
on top of thin-coated dog breeds, such as greyhounds and Jack
Russell terriers. A coat will help keep their skin both warm and
dry, shielding from snow or freezing rain, and suiting them in the
same way that natural fur does on their thick-coated brethren.
4. ITS A SPRINT, NOT A MARATHON
Of course, not every little dog will stand for wearing a coat. In
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
41
pets ix
which case, especially with short-haired, skinny dogs, or those

older ones suffering from arthritis, Calabro recommends more
frequent but shorter trips outside enough to still get a decent
amount of daily activity and daily walking in.
i
Pet P
/pets
y.com
Weekl
Metro
urs at
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Upload
5. ALL ABOUT THAT PAW
If you dont clean your pets paws after a walk, theyll likely do
the deed with their tongue and licking too much Ice Melt can
cause upset stomachs and digestive problems. The chemicals
used in snow and ice removal and the overall dry air outside
can also cause paw irritation. For more sensitive dogs, Calabro
recommends putting booties on them, as silly as they look. If
you or your dog wont allow the wearing of silly booties, then you
should wipe their paws clean after walks with at least a damp,
clean rag. Rubbing baby oil or Vaseline either pre- or post-walk
on a dogs paws can also help keep them free of slushy buildup,
Lipincott recommends. It can also help keep pads from drying
out and cracking.
6. SEASONAL GROOMING
Gazpacho, Mojito and Lumpia

Reggie & Travis Reyess 15-year-old Chihuahuas
Our pets are like people. Gazpacho, the cream one, is 15, so hes the
old grumpy one, yet still runs around like hes a puppy. Mojito, the tan
one, is the coy one who plays dumb to get things. Then theres Lumpia,
the only girl, who is just one year old, but is already showing the other
two that shes queen bee.
by ??????
42
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
In addition to Vaseline, consider trimming the hair on a dogs

toes every winter to keep the area clean and clear, says Calabro.
She also recommends bathing your pet less often in the dry, winter months, using a moisturizing shampoo, and brushing them
regularly between baths.
7. ALWAYS USE A (TICK) CONDOM
I do recommend continuing flea and tick prophylactics

throughout the year, Calabro says. In part because some ticks
survive into the winter, but also because its harder to forget
when you squirt your pet with medicine routinely the same
day and time every month.

8. SKULL AND CROSSBONES
Theres a whole list of things your pet shouldnt eat because

theyre toxic and yet might, given the indulgent nature of the
holidays. Friendship Hospital sees an uptick in pets brought in
over the holidays after theyve consumed chocolate, fatty turkey
skin or grapes, among other human food no-nos. This time of
year its also important to keep your pet away from rat poison
or take them to the hospital right away if they ingest some.
Just as with antifreeze, exposure to rat poison can be fatal if not
treated promptly.
9. HELP IS STANDING BY
We are the only 24-hour [animal] hospital inside the Beltway,

Calabro says. In fact, Friendship Hospital is currently expanding
its large Tenleytown complex and will soon have even more staff
working in more specialties. Meanwhile, WHS works with the
city government to enforce the citys animal cruelty laws and to
provide shelter to all animals in need. Its the place to call 24/7,
according to Lippincott, if an animal isin some form of distress
[or] if you have any concern about an animal you see that may
not be getting the proper requirements in the cold months, or
anytime.
Friendship Hospital for Animals is at 4105 Brandywine St. NW.
Call 202-363-7300 or visit friendshiphospital.com.
The Washington Humane Societys main shelter is at 1201 New
York Ave. NE. Call 202-723-5730 to report cruelty, or visit
washhumane.org. l
by ??????
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
43
NIGHT
LISTINGS
THURS., 11.27.14
9 1/2
Doors open 7pm Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
7-9pm Multiple TVs
showing movies, shows,
sports Expanded craft
beer selection No Cover
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm-7pm
$4 Small Plates, $4 Stella
Artois, $4 House Wines,
$4 Stolichnaya Cocktails,
$4 Manhattans and Vodka
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call
Martini, $3 Miller Lite, $4
Rail, $5 Call, 7-9pm $3
Rail Drinks, 10pm-midnight,
$5 Red Bull, Gatorade

and Frozen Virgin Drinks
Locker Room Thursday
Nights DJs Sean Morris
and MadScience Ripped
Hot Body Contest at midnight, hosted by Sasha
J. Adams and BaNaka
$200 Cash Prize Doors
open 10pm, 18+ $5 Cover
under 21 and free with
college ID
FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Thanksgiving Buffet, 11am
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
JR.s drafts, 8pm to close

Halloween-themed
Throwback Thursday featuring rock/pop retro hits
NUMBER NINE
Doors open 7pm Happy
Hour: 2 for 1 on any drink,
7-9pm No Cover
GREEN LANTERN
Doors Open 9pm 2 Full
Hours of Shirtless Men
Drink Free, 9-11pm Music
by DJs BacK2bACk
NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Doors open 4pm
Featuring DJ Lemz Beat
The Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm), $4
(7-8pm) Buckets of Beer
$15 Drag Bingo
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers
New Meat Thursday DJ
Tim-e in Secrets 9pm
Cover 21+
JR.S
Doors open 7pm $3
Rail Vodka Highballs, $2
METROWEEKLY.COM
45
LIFE
46
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
scene
Freddies Beach Bar
Sunday, November 23
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!
Photography by
Ward Morrison
FRI., 11.28.14
9 1/2
Open at 5pm Happy Hour:
2 for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
Friday Night Videos with
resident DJ Shea Van Horn
VJ Expanded craft beer
selection No cover
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
Martinis Upstairs open
5-11pm
COBALT/30 DEGREES
All You Can Drink Happy
Hour $15 Rail &
Domestic, $21 Call &
Imports, 6-9pm Guys
Night Out Free Rail
Vodka, 11pm-Midnight, $6
Belvedere Vodka Drinks
all night DJ Keenan Orr
and guest DJs $10 cover
10pm-1am, $5 after 1am
DC BEAR CRUE
@Town Bear Happy
Hour, 6-11pm $3 Rail,
$3 Draft, $3 Bud Bottles
Free Pizza, 7pm Hosted
by Charger Stone No
cover before 9:30pm 21+
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
BOOM Go-Go Bears, 10pmclose Hot Jock Contest
hosted by Danny Boom
Featuring DJ Chord Bezerra
$5 Smirnoff, All Flavors,
10pm-close
JR.S
Buy 1, Get 1, 11pm-midnight Happy Hour: 2-for1, 4-9pm $5 Coronas, $8
Vodka Red Bulls, 9pm-close
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
DJ Matt Bailer Videos,
Dancing Beat The Clock
Happy Hour $2 (5-6pm),
$3 (6-7pm), $4 (7-8pm)
Buckets of Beer $15 DJ
Jeff Pryor
NUMBER NINE
Open 5pm Happy Hour: 2
for 1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
PHASE 1
DJ Styalo Dancing
$5 cover
PWS SPORTS BAR
9855 Washington Blvd. N
Laurel, Md.
301-498-4840
Drag Show in lounge
Half-price burgers and fries,
4-8pm
TOWN
Drag Show starts at
10:30pm Hosted by Lena
Lett and featuring Miss
Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee
and BaNaka DJ Wess
upstairs, BacK2bACk
downstairs Doors open
at 10pm For those 21 and
over, $5 from 10-11pm and
$10 after 11pm For those
18-20, $12 all night 18+
TOWN PATIO
Open 6pm 21+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
All male, nude dancers,
hosted by LaTroya Nicole
Ladies of Illusion with host
Kristina Kelly, 9pm DJ
Steve Henderson in Secrets
DJ Joey O in Ziegfelds
Cover 21+
SAT., 11.29.14
9 1/2
$5 Absolut & Titos, $3
Miller Lite after 9pm
Expanded craft beer selection No Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Drag Yourself to Brunch at
Level One, 11am-2pm and
2-4pm Featuring Kristina
Kelly and the Ladies of
Illusion Bottomless
Mimosas and Bloody Marys
Happy Hour: $3 Miller
Lite, $4 Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Sizzling Saturdays with

Music by DJ MadScience,
10-close $5 Rail, $4
Fireball, $8 Vodka and Red
Bull $5 Cover after 10pm
21+
NUMBER NINE
Happy Hour: 2 for 1 on any
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Diner-style Breakfast
Buffet, 10am-3pm
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Freddies Follies Drag
Show 8pm-10pm, hosted
by Ms. Destiny B. Childs
Karaoke, 10pm-1am
PWS SPORTS BAR

Karaoke in the lounge
Charity Bingo with Cash
Prizes 3rd Sat. of Every
Month Half-price cheesesteaks and fries, 4-8pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm $5
Bacardi, All Flavors, 9pmclose
JR.S
$4 Coors, $5 Vodka highballs, $7 Vodka Red Bulls
NELLIES
Guest DJs Zing Zang
Bloody Marys, Nellie Beer,
House Rail Drinks and
Mimosas, $4, 11am-5pm
Buckets of Beer, $15
METROWEEKLY.COM
PHASE 1
Dancing, 9pm-close
TOWN
DC Rawhides host Town
& Country: Two-Step, Line
Dancing, Waltz and West
Coast Swing, $5 Cover to
stay all night Doors open
6:45pm, Lessons 7-8pm,
Open dance 8-10:30pm
CTRL Pop Dance Party,
11-close upstairs Doors
open 10pm Drag Show
starts at 10:30pm Hosted
by Lena Lett and featuring
Miss Tatianna, Shi-QueetaLee, Epiphany B. Lee and
BaNaka Music and videos by DJ Wess downstairs
Cover $8 from 10-11pm,
$12 after 11pm 21+
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
47
TOWN PATIO
Open 10pm 21+
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Men of Secrets, 9pm
Guest dancers Ladies
of Illusion with host Ella
Fitzgerald, 9pm DJ Steve
Henderson in Secrets
DJ Joey O in Ziegfelds
Doors 8pm Cover 21+
SUN., 11.30.14
9 1/2
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
COBALT/30 DEGREES
$4 Stoli and Miller Lite all
day Homowood Karaoke,
10pm-close
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Champagne Brunch Buffet,
10am-3pm Crazy Hour,
4-7pm Karaoke 8pm-1am
48
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm
Bears Can Party featuring
DJ Jeff Eletto upstairs,
6-10pm Mamas Trailer
Park Karaoke downstairs,
9:30pm-close
JR.S
Sunday Funday Liquid
Brunch Doors open at
1pm $2 Coors Lights &
$3 Skyy (all flavors), all day
and night
NELLIES
Drag Brunch, hosted by
Shi-Queeta-Lee, 11am-3pm
$20 Brunch Buffet
House Rail Drinks, Zing
Zang Bloody Marys, Nellie
Beer and Mimosas, $4,
11am-close Buckets of
Beer, $15
NUMBER NINE
Pop Goes the World with
Wes Della Volla at 9:30
pm Happy Hour: 2 for
1 on any drink, 5-9pm
No Cover
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Decades of Dance DJ
Tim-e in Secrets Doors
8pm Cover 21+
MON., 12.01.14
9 1/2
Multiple TVs showing
movies, shows, sports
ANNIES
4@4 Happy Hour, 4-7pm
Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $2 Rail, $3
Miller Lite, $5 Call, 4-9pm
Monday Nights A Drag,
10pm-close $3 Skyy
Cocktails, $8 Skyy and Red
Bull No Cover, 18+
NUMBER NINE
No Cover
FREDDIES
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
9 1/2
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-close
Michaels Open Mic
Karaoke, 9:30pm-close
TUES., 12.02.14
JR.S
Happy Hour: 2-for-1, 4-9pm
Showtunes Songs &
Singalongs, 9pm-close
DJ Jamez $3 Drafts
ANNIES
Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
NELLIES SPORTS BAR

Beat The Clock Happy Hour
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Buckets of
Beer $15 Poker Texas
Holdem, 8pm
COBALT/30 DEGREES
SIN Industry Night
Half-price Cocktails, 10pmclose
FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4pm-close
JR.S
Underground (Indie Pop/Alt/
Brit Rock), 9pm-close DJ
Wes Della Volla 2-for-1,
all day and night
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
Beer $15 Karaoke
NUMBER NINE
No Cover Safe Word: A
Gay Spelling Bee, 8-11pm
Prizes to top three
spellers After 9pm, $3
Absolut, Bulleit & Stella
WED., 12.03.14
9 1/2
ANNIES
Stella Artois, $4 House
Wines, $4 Stolichnaya
Cocktails, $4 Manhattans
and Vodka Martinis
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Karaoke, 10pm-close
$4 Stoli & Flavors and
Miller Lite
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm The
Boys of Hump upstairs, 9pm
JR.S
Trivia with MC Jay Ray,
8pm The Queen, 10-11pm
$2 JRs Drafts & $4
Vodka ($2 with College I.D./
JRs Team Shirt)
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Shirtless Night, 10-11pm,
12-12:30am Military
Night, no cover with
military ID DJ Don T. in
Secrets 9pm Cover 21+
THURS., 12.04.14
NELLIES SPORTS BAR

$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
$4 (7-8pm) Half-Price
Burger Night Buckets
of Beer $15 SmartAss
Trivia, 8pm
9 1/2
drink, 5-9pm Multiple
TVs showing movies,
shows, sports Expanded
craft beer selection No
Cover
NUMBER NINE
No Cover
ANNIES/ANNIES
UPSTAIRS
4@4 Happy Hour, 4pm-7pm
Martinis
FREDDIES BEACH BAR

Crazy Hour, 4-7pm Drag
Bingo, 8pm Karaoke,
10pm
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
49
COBALT/30 DEGREES
Happy Hour: $6 Call
Martini, $3 Miller Lite, $4
Rail, $5 Call, 4-9pm $3
Rail Drinks, 10pm-midnight,
$5 Red Bull, Gatorade
and Frozen Virgin Drinks
Locker Room Thursday
Nights DJs Sean Morris
and MadScience Ripped
Hot Body Contest at midnight, hosted by Sasha
J. Adams and BaNaka
$200 Cash Prize Doors
open 10pm, 18+ $5 Cover
under 21 and free with
college ID
FREDDIES BEACH BAR
Crazy Hour, 4-7pm
Karaoke, 9pm
GREEN LANTERN
Happy Hour, 4-9pm Free
Pizza Thursday, 9-10pm
Shirtless Scandals Rugby
Team sells Jell-O Shots
Shirtless Men Drink Free,
10-11pm Music by DJs
BacK2bACk
50
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
JR.S
$3 Rail Vodka Highballs, $2
JR.s drafts, 8pm to close
Throwback Thursday featuring rock/pop retro hits
NELLIES SPORTS BAR
$2 (5-6pm), $3 (6-7pm),
Beer $15 Drag Bingo
NUMBER NINE
drink, 5-9pm No Cover
ZIEGFELDS/SECRETS
Shirtless Thursday DJ
Tim-e in Secrets 9pm
Cover 21+ l
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
51
scene
Freddies Beach Bar
Sunday, November 23
scan this tag
with your
smartphone
for bonus scene
pics online!
Photography by
Ward Morrison
52
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
53
We never really went out of our way to decide on the sex of [Toad and Toadette],
even though they have somewhat gendered appearances.
KOICHI HAYASHIDA, producer of Nintendos Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker and director of Super Mario Galaxy 2, somewhat
altering all of our childhood memories in an interview with Gamespot. Hayashida confirmed that the characters of Toad and
Toadette from the Mario series of games, typically presented as male and female, are in fact genderless.
If I had it my way,
I never would have done it the way I did.
MICHAEL SAM, the NFLs first openly gay player, speaking with GQ. Sam expressed regret over his coming out being publicly
announced, stating that, while he has no regrets, hed have preferred his sexuality to have been known to his teammates but not
to the entire world. But the recruiters knew, and reporters knew, and they talked to each other, and it got out, he told the
magazine. Several critics have argued that Sam, who was recently cut from the Dallas Cowboys,
would still have a team had he not come out.
We look forward to the opportunity to

clear his name.
KRISTEN WINEMILLER, a lawyer for Terrence Terry Bean, who helped establish the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the Gay
& Lesbian Victory Fund and the National Gay Games, speaking in the wake of accusations that Bean had sex with a 15-year-old
minor, The Oregonian reports. Bean and his former boyfriend are accused of using Grindr to set up
an encounter with the minor in Eugene, Ore., in September last year.
Initially I came to this community searching for love, intimacy and brotherhood. In return,
I got shade, infidelity, loneliness and disunity.
LUIS PABON, writing for Thought Catalog in a piece titled Why I No Longer Want To Be Gay. Pabon maintains he has
experienced all aspects of the life and can safely say that it no longer speaks to the person that I am, before listing the various
problems he has with the gay community, including its adherence to stereotypes, the decline of chivalry, and the rise in apps over
in-person conversations. Pabon ends by saying: The gay life is like the love of a bad boy whose attention and
love you initially covet but eventually outgrow.
I am disgusted.
STACY DEE HUDSON, friend of Jennifer Gable a 32-year-old trans woman from Idaho who died suddenly of an aneurysm in
October writing on her Facebook. The Miami Herald reported that Hudson was upset Gables family chose to bury her as
Geoff, despite Gable having changed her name and lived as Jennifer for several years. They cut her hair, suit on. How can they
bury her as geoff [sic] when she legally changed her name. Meghan Stabler, a board member of HRC, stated, No mention of the
woman she knew she was...Just erosion of her identity.
54
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
METROWEEKLY.COM
METROWEEKLY.COM
NOVEMBER 27, 2014
55

Metro Weekly - 11-27-14 - Marc Solomon

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NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

SALES & MARKETING

2014 Jansi LLC.

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Remembering Marion Barry

Hagels Final Act?

photography by Ward Morrison

OUT ON THE TOWN

Lights up on 14th Street

Thought and Dance

Assassins Creed: Unity

Winter Pet Care

Freddies Beach Bar

photography by Ward Morrison

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Now online at MetroWeekly.com

Michigan Asks SCOTUS to Hear Marriage Case

Remembering Marion Barry

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

RANDY SHULMAN / METRO WEEKLY

OLITICIANS, PUNDITS AND

Marion Barry at Capital Pride circa 1996

charges, including perjury, possession of

of only two councilmembers to vote

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Despite criticism from many in the

people like Marion Barry in our lives, and

Hagels Final Act?

HUCK HAGEL IS FACING

Obama announced at the White House

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

DOD PHOTO BY PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS SEAN HURT/RELEASED

successor is nominated by Obama and

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

On May 16, the White House signaled

Fred Sainz, vice president of the

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

Every Body Welcome

Capitol Hills Freed Bodyworks specializes in radical inclusion, client-centered care

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

RANCES REED AND JESSICA

VonDyke (L) and Reed

but their legal name and the name they

door and say, I identify as fat-positive,

fellow colleagues within the company.

apy, are recognized by insurance companies, offering clients the chance to be

room space as a meeting place for special

NOVEMBER 27, 2014

SEE MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT AT WWW.METROWEEKLY.COM/SCENE

sex packets. Pizza provided. 6:30-8:30 p.m. 2000

DC AQUATICS CLUB (DCAC) practice session

at Hains Point, 927 Ohio Dr. SW. 7-8:30 p.m. Visit

DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds practice, 6:30-8:30

at 9 a.m. from East Falls Church Metro Kiss & Ride

BURGUNDY CRESCENT, a gay volunteer organiza-

tion, is supporting the 13th Annual Clear Out Your