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queerVOICE
Even at the Ball!
James Duggan copyright 2008
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During this year's Indigo Ball I had the pleasure of hosting several lawyers at the QUEERtimes table, including Dan McCaffery, a candidate for Philadelphia District Attorney. The Indigo Ball brought us together to celebrate the past, present, and future works of the William Way Community Center while helping to raise the funds necessary to continue their work. As one who finds himself an accidentalqueer activist I enjoyed an evening of frank discourse on some of the issues that continue to confront our community.
I would like to thank those who joined me for an evening of laughter and camaraderie, along with inspiring conversation about courage and hopes that our fight for queer civil rights is still growing strong. Thank you.
I love the Indigo Ball. To me it has become the one event in the city where we gather, hetero and queer alike, to join together to celebrate our goals of acceptance, fairness, and equality through the work of the William Way Center. I've heard it described as the one event where we can dress up and act like adults for one evening. An interesting description but however we choose to see it the Indigo Ball is an opportunity to be out and proud about who we are and what we have accomplished, while acknowledging those things we still need to achieve.
Thanks to the hard work of a handful of volunteers the evening was truly enjoyable. However, I was surprised when I was approached by a (hetero) attendee who shared his views on our civil rights fight. In a nut shell he told me enough was enough . . . he didn't see what the problem was and that since we were already out and proud we should just get over it. I couldn't believe my ears. Here at the queerest of all balls I found myself defending our civil rights movement.
What to do? Should I just smile and walk away? Could I just ignore it? To ignore his ignorance would have been an opportunity wasted. I was determined to set this young man straight and present him with some truths about our struggle for full equality. It was interesting to watch him squirm a little as some of the facts made him slightly uncomfortable. He was not one to shy away and in a small but significant way he seemed to come to a new understanding and appreciation of our struggle for full equality.
As much I cannot ignore either ignorance or protest against queers, there are others in our community who would advocate just the opposite. In the Philadelphia Gay News a local events organizer was quoted as saying in regards to protestors at OutFest, "I want to thank the majority of the community who ignored the protestors. That's the smartest thing to do."
I could not disagree more. To ignore those who would advocate our death because we are queer is not just an injustice to all we believe and our cause for equality, but for our very survival. But sadly this notion to ignore the opposition seems to have permeated our very soul. Take for example the following: when the phrase "Kill a Queer," was shouted aloud at OutFest it elicited absolutely no reaction, but when the chants of "kill a Black" or kill a Jew" were shouted, complete silence fell over the crowd. How can this be?
What is it about us that we would accept the former but not the latter; how can we ignore a defenseless, outrageous comment directed at queers but become shocked and indignant when the same verbal onslaught is directed against other minorities? Have we so embraced the mantra that we should ignore that we have been made cowardly by our complacency?
Where is our indignation? Where is our outrage?
Even at the Indigo Ball we are confronted by ignorance . . . We cannot ignore it.
Comments: james@QUEERtimes.net
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12th Street Gym |
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OCTOBER: 31 Days. 31 Icons. |
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Thom Talks with Chefs
Featuring Executive Chef Subhash Sarpal
Thom Cardwell copyright 2008 |
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 Executive chef Subhash Sarpal of Palace at the Ben, the gourmet Indian cuisine restaurant, located in the Ben Franklin House, adjacent to Jeweler's Row in Center City, Philadelphia, is as modest, gentle, authentic and understated a man as is the spectacular dishes that he prepares daily in the opulent surroundings of the several rooms that make up the restaurant and bar, designed by renowned hospitality interior firm Koeser Designs Inc.
Born in the Northern Province of Punjab, India, Sarpal immigrated to the United States of America in 1996 at the age of 21. The young Indian settled in the area of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where an older brother and other family relatives were already living and working for 7 years at Palace of Asia, the parent company of Palace at the Ben.
At the suggestion of his brother, Sarpal, who always liked to cook, applied for his first job in his newly-adopted homeland, in the kitchen of the Indian chef Sukhdev Kabow at Palace of Asia. Hard-working, always eager to learn and focused on honing his culinary skills whether under Kabow's mentoring or others along his quest to climb up the ladder, Sarpal served as general assistant, assistant cook, prep chef and sous chef at the Palace of Asia.
 Thirteen years later the educated-on-the-job Sarpal has positioned himself as executive chef at the Palace at the Ben (Ben Franklin House, 834 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia).
With his quiet sense of humor and appreciation and pride of all things Indian, Sarpal enjoys dispelling the many assumptions, misunderstandings and confusions about the cuisine that some are reluctant to taste. "Hot and spicy?" Sarpal chuckled, "I only use two chilies, most often, sparingly, and sometimes I eliminate them completely for diners who genuinely don't like their flavor."
Nowadays one of his main goals is to satisfy the area foodies by seducing them with the richness of the traditions, customs and flavors of authentic Indian cuisine while educating Americans about the wonders, truths, and discoveries of the many dishes from his birth nation.
Thom Cardwell (TC): There are a lot of misconceptions about Indian food that American diners, Philadelphians included, seem to have? What's the most popular one?
Subhash Sarpal (SS): Hot and spicy! Most Americans have been brought up with the notion that all Indian food is very hot and very spicy, in fact, even overly spicy, so much so that they think that they can't eat it. Actually, there are only two hot spices--red chili powder and tiny green chilies--of the 60 spices typically used to flavor Indian cuisine. Even then, you can ask our servers to go light or my cooking staff won't use them at all in the food that we're preparing for diners. There's always mild spicy, too. I don't eat much spicy food myself.
TC: So, it's something of a challenge to have area foodies relax and enjoy authentic Indian food in your restaurant?
SS: Our philosophy is to be as accommodating as possible to our diners in responding to their personal needs and choices. It's not like our dishes are all pre-prepared or anything like that. The only thing that is prepared in advance by the staff are the ingredients themselves.
TC: I adore curry but I've many friends who don't like it. In fact, they have a prejudice and a dislike for the smell and taste of curry to the point of refusing to dine in Indian restaurants.
SS: Yes, I understand completely. Americans think that Indian food is loaded, to the point of being overpowering, with curry powder. But that's another major myth. In Indian cuisine, curry powder is the combination of a number of spices from about 60. We form those into a sauce that can range from sweet to hearty to savory. For us to make spicy sauce, you'd have to request it.
TC: With so many eating healthy trends and vegetarian practices on the rise among diners, Indian food can really satisfy many of those needs, right?
SS: Definitely, traditions in Indian cooking have always incorporated techniques that retain the freshness and nutrients of the wide variety of vegetables and fruits used in the dishes. Navartan Korma featuring nine garden vegetables simmered in a coconut sauce is a good example. Indian cooking has been sensitive to using spices, like turmeric, ginger, garlic, and green chilies that possess medicinal, even healing qualities. It's an Eastern philosophy tradition that's thousands of years old.
TC: And what about vegetarian practices and dishes?
SS: Yes, it's another long-standing tradition in Indian cuisine, based upon religious, philosophic, cultural and health-conscious beliefs. We serve fresh Panir (house-made cheese) with Daal Makhani (a dip made from seven verity of lentils), Naan (flatbread), Raita (cucumber and yogurt with mint), and Basmati Rice. There are also plenty of menu items that we can prepare as vegetarian like traditional Thali. I consume less meat, except for lamb and goat curries that I'm fond of, in favor of vegetarian Indian dishes.
TC: But there's also many meat and fish dishes on the Palace at the Ben menu.
SS: Of course. We use a lot of lamb, chicken and seafood in Indian cuisine. But we've made up a number of inspired and influenced dishes that aren't attributable to our culture like a shrimp cake that I specially created for diners based upon its success at Mexican restaurants and an eggplant appetizer that I was inspired to make after watching several chefs on television food channel shows.
TC: I'm curious. What's a guilty pleasure of yours that you might eat on your day off?
SS: I'll admit that I enjoy eating a good steak once in a while.
For more information, call 267.232.5600; or visit, thepalaceattheben.com
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Help Support Queer Candidate |
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Lift The Ban |
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Give Barack A Day |
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A note from Barack Obama's Pennsylvania Campaign for Change
For the last two presidential elections, we have expected our candidate to win the day, but the Republicans, through a combination of hard work and dirty tricks, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. In order to win the victory that will help Barack make the change we need, we need to make sure that we hit the streets and turn out the vote.
As a resident of Pennsylvania where the race is neck-and-neck, you can make a huge difference right in your own community -- even if it's just for a day or two.
We need to go after every single vote. Please commit now to volunteer on one or more of the four crucial days leading up to Election Day?
Our goal is to have 3,000 LGBT people signed up to volunteer across the State. You help is needed
Volunteer today! Take just 1 minute to signup here,
or visit: http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/palgbtGOTV
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Chiropractic and Sports Rehabilitation |
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An Urgent Plea For Help From PAWS |
 This is an urgent plea for your help. The shelter is packed with dogs whose lives depend on getting out -- into rescue, an adoptive home, or a temporary foster home -- immediately.
The dogs are large and small, young and old, healthy and sick, and of a variety of breeds. They are all desperately waiting for a chance at life. We cannot house them all, and more are coming in all the time. By taking one home, either temporarily or permanently, you give them the chance at life they deserve and make room at the shelter for another whose life depends on us having the space. Bull (below left) is just one of the dozens of dogs at the shelter who are waiting for you to save them today.
IF YOU CAN FOSTER, RESCUE, OR ADOPT AN ANIMAL:Come to the shelter (111 W. Hunting Park Avenue) immediately. A staff person or volunteer will be thrilled to help you find the right animal(s) for you to take into safety. Assistance will be available until 8 p.m. tonight, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day of the week. To make special arrangements to come at another time of day, please email Natalie at Natalie@phillypaws.org (please email only as a last resort; Natalie is inundated. It is best to just come directly to the shelter.)
Directions to the shelter are available here:
http://www.phillypaws.org/Directions/default.asp
More information about foster care is available here:
http://www.phillypaws.org/Foster/default.asp
SPREAD THE WORD: Even if you can't adopt, rescue, bring a foster animal home, you can still make an enormous difference and help save countless lives.
- Please take a few moments NOW to forward this message to your friends, colleagues, family -- anyone who might possibly be interested in helping to save a life -- and encourage them to do the same.
- Post this urgent plea for help on online message boards/groups you might be afilliated with, and ask fellow members to continue spreading the word.
When the shelter is as crowded as it currently is, every moment counts. Please do what you can to join us in saving lives. Thank you in advance!
PAWS, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of Philadelphia's homeless, abandoned, and unwanted animals. PAWS is the lifesaving force behind the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association (PACCA), the City of Philadelphia's contracted animal care and control shelter, which takes in approximately 30,000 orphaned animals each year and operates the highest volume shelter in the region. PAWS is working toward making Philadelphia a city in which every healthy and treatable pet is guaranteed a home. Supporting PAWS helps fund lifesaving initiatives including adoption and foster care programs, spay and neuter surgeries, low-cost vaccinations, and other community-based programming, all of which help reduce and will ultimately eliminate the unnecessary killing of Philadelphia's animals. For more information, please visit: www.phillypaws.org.
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I Wish I Had Said That: |
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 Feminist goddess Gloria Steinem lashed out about the current state of women's rights, where they (and she) have been, where they've gone--right and wrong--with the women's movement, where they aren't, where they still have to go, and her opinions about vice presidential Republican candidate, Sarah Palin, among other current issues that affect women and, for that matter, when it gets right down to it, men, too. The war of the sexes is far from over, and, happily, the voice and mind of the now 74-year-old pioneer in the women's movement has been neither quieted nor tamed (New York, October 6, 2008): "You know, even if Sarah Palin was better on the issues, the goal is not to elect Superwoman. As social justice movements have learned the hard way; having someone who looks like you and behaves like them--who looks like a friend but behaves like an adversary--is worse than having no one."
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 Queer design god Yves Saint Laurent became a larger-than-life figure in the fashion, design and even branding world. He was among the first great couture designer to go commercial, lending his name and his signature initials, simply YSL, on everything to mass consumers, from bed linens to ties to men's and women's fragrances. Simply look at the anticipated YSL estate sale, at Sotheby's in Paris in February 2009, which promises to gross $787,000,000. Certainly, this attests to his importance and ever-lasting imprint and impact on the history of fashion. Of course, his life companion and business partner for 50 years, Pierre Berge, amassed incredible collections of antiques, furnishings, art (Goya, Picasso, Mondrian, Matisse, among others) and residences, in Paris, Marrakech and the French country village of Benerville. Of Laurent, Berge, now the president/cofounder of the Foundation Pierre Bergé, explained of Laurent's approach to interior design or fashion, there was always fantasy, always story-telling, (Elle Decor, October 2008): "Whether you are creating a fashion collection or decorating a house, you have to find a story, an idea. After that, you just have to follow the story. When a dress by Yves came down the runway, it wasn't just a dress--it came out of his reading 'War and Peace.'"
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 Every political pundit to every film critic has something to say about an Oliver Stone movie. His latest, "W," something of a third in the loosely-related trilogy of previous Stone films about American presidents, "JFK" and "Nixon," takes on the life and times of George W. Bush. Released within two and a half weeks prior to what many are calling "the most important Presidential election in the United States for several decades," Stone's biopic seems somewhat tame about the "person whose decisions have affected the entire planet for the past eight years." While the buzz about the anticipation of this Stone film was swirling around every circle from the Washington political insiders to the Hollywood industry types, literally, for months, AP Movie Critic Christy Lemire (The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, October 17, 2008) points out: "'W' will change no one's mind. If you thought Bush was an idiot going into the movie, you'll continue to think so; if you were a fan of his, you'll think this is a hatchet job. In that regard, 'W' has more in common with "Religulous,' Bill Maher's dissection of organized religion, than it does with any previous Stone film. Both men are preaching to the choir--they're just doing it with entertaining style."
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I'm Glad I Never Said That!
"The schools need to get out of the bedroom and back to the 3 R's. This is why Johnny still can't read because the children are being used as pawns to further a political agenda. We should be helping them out of that lifestyle, not helping them into it,"
Kathy Reese, a Chicago parent, speaking at a recent Chicago Board of Education meeting in opposition to a proposed gay and lesbian-friendly high school before the Board tabled the idea. |
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Raising The Colors |
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