Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun–
By Sister Dana Van Iquity–
Sister Dana sez, “If you’ve already broken your New Year’s resolution, feel free for a do-over with mine: ‘I resolve to be the best me I can be.’ It’s foolproof!”
SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE is only six months away. Presented by the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration Committee, Inc., a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, an in-person PARADE AND CELEBRATION (the first since 2019) is scheduled to return on Saturday, June 25, and Sunday, June 26. The theme will be: “Love Will Keep Us Together” https://sfpride.org/
SF BAY TIMES & GGBA threw a fantastic holiday party mid-December at The Academy with fellow Bay Times columnist Liam Mayclem as emcee. Allow me to pun and remark how I was utterly SLAYED by one of the cocktails named “Sister Dana’s Sleigh”—Grey Goose vodka, cranberry juice, lime, and some other tasty ingredients served in a goblet in the form of an ornament clear ball with screw-off top to sip from! Tasteful!
THE 29TH ANNUAL KUNG PAO KOSHER COMEDY gave us Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a (virtual) Chinese Restaurant. The lineup of comics included Jessica Kirson, Ophira Eisenberg, producer and comedian Lisa Geduldig, and mama Arline Geduldig. Viewers in more than 30 states and 4 countries Zoomed in! The next Lockdown is January 20, 7 pm with Matt Kirshen (LA, via London), Sampson McCormick (LA and SF), Lauren Hooberman (Chicago), and the Geduldigs. https://tinyurl.com/mr2dra3d
The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler, said it best: “What Joe Manchin, who represents a population smaller than Brooklyn has done to the rest of America—who wants to move forward, not backward, like his state—is horrible. He sold us out. He wants us all to be just like his state, West Virginia. Poor, illiterate, and strung out!”
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it has approved the world’s first injectable treatment to help prevent HIV. Instead of the daily pills currently required for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the new drug, APRETUDE, first requires two shots one month apart, followed by one shot every two months. Apretude, according to GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmaceutical company behind it, will be more convenient than Truvada, which is the most common form of PrEP currently available and is a daily pill. Sister Dana sez, “And by now, if there is one shot we queers do NOT fear, it’s a shot in the arm!”
DAMN THIS STINKIN’ VIRUS! More bad COVID news: Due to increasing concerns about the spread of the Omicron Variant, Theatre Rhinoceros had to cancel its 2021 Holiday Extravaganza at the Gateway Theatre, previously scheduled on Thursday, December 30, 2021. Spokespersons for Theatre Rhino, the longest-running queer theater in the world, stated: “Motivated by concern for the health of our artists, patrons, and staff, Theatre Rhinoceros has taken the decision to postpone indefinitely its annual Holiday show. This show will be presented at a later as-yet-to-be-determined date. It is with great disappointment that we take this step.” They added, “We salute the artists and patrons who wanted to go forward with this evening. It is those people who have kept Theatre Rhinoceros going through the current crisis, as well as our supporters, both individual and governmental/foundational. We also salute the press who have leant their support to our programming during COVID-19.” They concluded, “Theatre Rhinoceros has survived many historic cataclysms. We are firm in our belief that The Rhino and the theatre community at large will survive the current crisis!”
They are currently planning to present HOW BLACK MOTHERS SAY I LOVE YOU at the previously announced first performance of March 17, 2022. http://therhino.org/
Sister Dana sez, “Many of the Proud Boys and their ill ilk are leaping from the Trump train because they feel abandoned by their leader—calling him weak and a shill. Now if we can just get the crazed Congress-creeps to jump ship as well!”
This month, RAINBOW WORLD FUND is celebrating its 21st Anniversary, and it will proudly be distributing humanitarian aid grants to its current projects in Cuba, India, Iraq, Guatemala, Mexico, Syria, and Uganda. RWF (with its headquarters in the heart of the Castro) will help educate poor children, give women economic opportunities, and save the lives of LGBTQ individuals who are in great danger. https://www.rainbowfund.org/
Officials in the anti-LGBTQ country Qatar—host to next year’s World Cup—seized children’s toys that happened to be in rainbow colors, calling them “un-Islamic.” Qatari authorities confiscated them with the claim that the toys “go against Islamic values,” in other words, “GAY!”
The latest reports show that Republican state legislators have introduced more than 389 bills in 48 states that would restrict voting rights. Voter suppression is a fundamental attack on democracy that Republicans have deployed repeatedly to maintain their power.
Sister Dana sez, “In more incredible Republican voter restriction news, Senator Rand Paul has accused Democrats of stealing elections by convincing voters to cast legal absentee ballots! Yes, he certainly busted us there!
I do not have enough column inches to express the massive grief and anger I know we all felt on the horrible 2022 first anniversary of the JANUARY 6 INSURRECTION RIOT at our Capitol. I spent all day watching MSNBC news for the excellent coverage—especially the extremely emotional, intensely personal testimonials of the democratic lawmakers. And in his powerful address that day, President Biden warned democracy is at risk, questioning, “Are we going to be a nation that accepts political violence as a norm?”
Michigan Representative Debbie Dingell, Senior Whip and member of the CONGRESSIONAL PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS, really made me awestruck when she recently stated, “Historians are saying we are more divided now than we were during the CIVIL WAR.” She added, “A civil society is a society that I want to work on.” Yes, please!
Somewhat comforting news in the tweeting world: that TWITTER permanently suspended MAGA-max Marjorie “Q” Taylor Greene’s personal account over COVID-19 misinformation. Her reaction was nothing less than stunning: “Twitter is an enemy to America. That’s fine, I’ll show America we don’t need them and it’s time to defeat our enemies!” FACEBOOK has temporarily suspended her.
Did House Minority Leader McCarthy further censure Greene? Of course not! He said, “Diversity of opinion is the lifeblood of our democracy; and yet that fundamental American value is under assault by Big Tech.” And by Big Trump Lies!
Throughout her life and career, iconic Betty White and TV’s classic The Golden Girls were known for tackling social issues in a way that sitcoms had never done before. In 1990, in an episode titled “72 Hours,” the show became one of the first sitcoms to even mention the AIDS crisis. The episode depicts White’s beloved character Rose Nylund being told that during a procedure to have her gallbladder removed, she may have been exposed to HIV via a blood transfusion. She is tested for HIV, and must wait an agonizing 72 hours for the test results. The episode aired during a time when AIDS stigma and misinformation was everywhere. That year, a study of U.S. doctors found that less than a quarter of Americans believed they should be legally required to treat patients with HIV. Many people still believed that HIV and AIDS were “gay diseases” that only affected queer men. But Betty White and The Golden Girls used the sitcom to tackle this misinformation, showing viewers that anyone could be affected by AIDS, not just the LGBT community. “Thank You for Being a Friend,” Betty White!
Last month, the Board of Directors finalized their selection for the SAN FRANCISCO AIDS FOUNDATION‘s next CEO. Tyler TerMeer, PhD, will take the helm on February 14. Dr. TerMeer will be the first CEO of SFAF to be a person of color, which is historic and noteworthy. He is driven to advance causes related to racial equity and justice through his leadership.
The 35TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW OF HOPE, benefitingSAN FRANCISCO COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER,is January 22, 6 pm at the Hyatt Regency. It honors PRC CEO Brett Andrews and Claudine Cheng, President of APA HERITAGE FOUNDATION. Headlined with Grammy award singer Jody Watley with gala emcee Reggie Aqui from ABC-7 Bay Area News. https://sfcommunityhealth.org/
King I and Founder of Krewe de Kinque Gary Virginia gathered us KREWE DE KINQUE members for our annual TWELFTH NIGHT PARTY to kick off our Mardi Gras fundraising season in San Francisco. I proudly attended as Queen VII Sister Dana. This year it was not held in a fellow member’s home as usual, but to keep with COVID restrictions, it was in the outdoor patio of the Pilsner Inn on December 8. Our annual club customs continued despite the new rules for EssEff! One new tradition (alas) was wearing a nose & mouth mask in addition to the traditional eye mask. And there were plenty of costumes, crowns, and beads. We did, as the famous Mardi Gras saying goes: “Let the Good Times Roll!”
Sister Dana sez, “I am changing the name of this virus variant to ‘OMNICRON,’ because of its OMNI-presence everywhere and anywhere! And hopefully science will soon have the OMNIscience to eliminate it!”
Published on January 13, 2022
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