Genuine Identity

 

By Kurt Perez

Who are you, really?

 

Throughout the holidays, I ponder what we give when we hand our loved ones presents. A sincere present is an extension of your love for that person. A material object is just the vehicle in which it is expressed. Contrarily, those who give or expect presents with superficial intentions aim to inflate egos, not hearts. In relationships, it is prevalent to create an identity that is not genuine. We build masks that hide our true self. We put up a façade, losing the opportunity to put in effort that a relationship entails through personal growth. This is expressed subtly through various ways: making you older or younger, taller or shorter, heavier or skinnier.

In February, we are filled with the excitement of expressing love and romance. If you are single, the pangs of solitude may urge you to seek a partner. If in a relationship, Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to display emotions and your appreciation through gifts or a nice dinner. The materialistic aspect of your relationship becomes highlighted during this time of the month and so does your identity. As you are sitting at the table at dinner or enjoying a movie with your partner, does your partner truly know you? Have you vastly exaggerated your flaws and virtues? Have you created a mask or have you presented your genuine identity?

Presenting your genuine identity lies primarily in acceptance. Acceptance of who we are is usually sought outwardly. As we encounter different people in our lives, we begin to adapt to what people consider socially acceptable. The history of the LGBT community across the globe shows the antagonistic speculations made by those who do not understand our sexual orientation. According to the American Psychological Association, sexual orientation “refers to the sex of those to whom one is sexually and romantically attracted.” This has been stigmatized as morally and even divinely wrong if you are LGBT. The constant discrimination in LGBT history reverberates till this very day. People still look at us like we are the plague and it is this very notion that makes acceptance difficult. While standing in front of that mirror, the only person looking back at you is you. Acceptance needs to come from within so that you are able to fully understand, love and care for another human being.

Inner acceptance leads to confidence while poor self-image leads to disappointment, tempting us to change when there truly is no need to change.

On September 29, 2014, Palo Alto University released an article written by Kimberly F. Balsam titled, “A Multifactor Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Positive Identity Measure” where Balsam explains that “at the most basic level, to have a positive identity is to feel good… about oneself.” Balsam mentions that it is positive identity that even “contributes to psychological good health and enhances social functioning, our flourishing.” Specifically, Balsam digs deeper and identifies that “LGB identity is an individual identity within a social context, linking individuals to others with similar experiences” which provides insight on two important facts: whether you are heterosexual or LGBT, positive and negative identity affects us all and that in order to better understand and accept ourselves we need to analyze our position in relation to those who share our community. Numerous interviews conducted in Meridian, Boise and Nampa resulted in the unanimous agreement that in order to be in a long-lasting relationship, you have to accept and love yourself. A straight couple in Nampa states that homophobia is one of the causes that LGBT men and women refuse to shed their skin and reveal their true self. A gay couple in Boise state that they have felt threatened, hated and discriminated against which caused them to hate who they truly were for many years.

The LGBT and straight community alike agree that the only way to love is by being genuine and true to yourself.

During this holiday season, before kissing your beloved or hugging your most precious friends, hug and kiss yourself first. Come back to this article a million times if you have to and remind yourself to be genuine at all times. A genuine identity will assure you that it does not matter if you are not tall, skinny, old or young enough. The best gift you can give yourself this Valentines is the courage to be yourself.

 

Foster: A Serial Drama

Chapter One: Senior Year

by Chance Fuerstinger

 

Trevor listened to the methodical humming of the engine as the bus turned into the school parking lot, his eyes closed. The rest of his classmates were quiet, all of them still too exhausted, unaccustomed to the early morning hours that the start-of-school brought upon them. The bus creaked to a halt, and the door opened with the sound of expelling air. Trevor waited for the rest of them to traipse off lethargically before he began to move.

The atmosphere inside the school was much more cheerful than it had been on the bus. Now that friends were reuniting, they were all fervently whispering to one another, sharing their summer adventures and already beginning to gossip about their peers.

Trevor’s stomach did a somersault when he saw Jack’s face bobbing through the sea of students.

“Hey, bro!” Jack said, slapping Trevor on the back and pulling him into a tight embrace.

“Hey,” Trevor said.

He and Jack had become best friends in kindergarten and they had practically been inseparable ever since. Trevor spent most of the summer at Jack’s house, a sanctuary from either of his own parents, ten years divorced.

Jack, alone, had been by his side through some of the hardest times in his life. The divorce, his mother’s drug abuse and subsequent rehab, his father’s remarriage to a woman who was, there was no other word for it, a horrible bitch. He had even encouraged Trevor to seek counselling for depression. Jack was always there for him. But there was one thing that Trevor was too afraid to tell even him.

Trevor was gay, and he feared that his best friend would abandon him if he told him. And then he would have no one. Well, he would still have Sarah. But that was different. Sarah had coaxed the truth out of him a couple of years ago with a mixture of booze and incessant prodding. Despite Sarah’s reassurance, Trevor was certain that his best friend would abandon him if he ever learned the truth.

He smiled now as Jack recounted his trip to Italy, which he had just returned from the night previous. He tried to pay attention, but he lost himself in Jack’s smirk; the smirk that he always wore whenever he was the center of attention. He laughed at the punchline to a joke that he had not heard. But Jack beamed with satisfaction nevertheless.

And then Rachel emerged, leaping onto Jack’s back and wrapping her scrawny arms around his neck. Jack grabbed a hold of her and whirled her around.

Trevor’s stomach sank as he watched him kissing Rachel.

“So, what class you got first?” Trevor asked. When it became clear that Jack hadn’t heard him, he cleared his throat.

“Huh?” Jack said, breaking away from his tongue battle. “Sorry, bro.”

“I said what class have you got first?”

“Uh…” Jack said, digging in his backpack. He pulled out his schedule and examined it. “Government. Ugh… First period?!”

“Me too, babe!” squealed Rachel.

“What about you, bro?”

“French,” Trevor said glumly.

The bell rang and they went their separate ways. The classroom was empty when he got there. He picked a desk in the back corner and started rummaging around in his backpack.

“Well, well, what’s up, queer bait?” said a deep voice.

Trevor looked up and his heart stopped.

Tommy Dean, starting running back for their high school football team and Trevor’s nightmare for the past six years, was standing in the doorway, wearing a malicious smile.

“You have a good summer, sucking dick?” Tommy asked, coming to sit next to him.

“N…No,” Trevor muttered.

“No? Didn’t get enough? Hahaha! Nah, I’m just fuckin’ with you, queer bait. We’re gonna have fun this year, me and you.”

He said it with malice in his voice, and Trevor knew that this was going to be anything but a good year.

 

Foster will continue in next month’s edition…

Season of the Singles

 

by: Ezikiel Coy

photos courtesy Budge Photography

There is an old cliche– that you can’t find love until you learn to love yourself. I call bull. There are tons of miserable people I know who seem to have found their soulmate against all odds. There are tons of happy people I have met who enjoy being single, even. There seems to be an all too prevalent expectation that “single” somehow means “incomplete,” or even “desperate.”

Being single doesn’t mean that you should be relegated to disingenuous and often corrupt conceptions of what it means to be single. Everyone has their own way of living, whether you are single or in a relationship, it is most important to understand how to treat yourself with respect and dignity. Today, more than ever, in the age of online dating and easy hookups one needs to have a clear understanding of ourselves in conjunction with the world around us.

There are several great habits and traits that one can work on while single that will also lead to a more stable and balanced life while in a relationship. It all begins with self awareness, which seems like a “duh” moment to most people; however, defining yourself is one of the most difficult things for a person to realistically do. It’s not just about what you’ve been through, and what you’ve accomplished. Self awareness extends to your goals, dreams, and needs from another person as well. Looking back over your previous relationships to honestly understand why they haven’t worked can be painful, but those moments of heartache are probably the best teachers.

When looking at your experiences, try to answer the following questions: What traits do you bring to a relationship? How do those traits manifest themselves when you are dating someone? How do you communicate with your friends, versus how you communicate with your dates? What are the differences between a relationship and a friendship? How do you tell someone you love them? What tells you that someone loves you?

These last two questions are possibly the trickiest (at least for me) because they directly address the ways that we as lovers communicate. I find myself doing little things in relationships that communicate how I feel. Like working my schedule differently so that we can spend more time together, letting the person I’m dating have quiet time alone, keeping my promises, cooking for them, touching them when we pass, that sort of thing. These are things that I am extra-attentive about when I’m in a relationship, and those little gestures are my non-verbal cues to them that I care. Everyone has their own language for this, and knowing yours isa great way to know what you need out of a relationship. For instance, I need someone who responds to politeness, is a physical communicator, and respects my own boundaries. I know this, because that is my language. Unless we’re speaking the same language, it’s unlikely that a relationship is going to be long lasting or fulfilling. Communication is always key to relationships, but many people I’ve met seem to have a “boyfriend” voice, and a “friend” voice.

One of my ex-boyfriends pointed this out to me, and I have spent a long time trying to avoid this particular pit-trap. We all communicate differently, and depending on the circumstances that communication can be efficient, useless, or somewhere in the grey area. Most of my communication is in the grey area, because I tended to listen more critically when I am listening to a boyfriend than I do when I’m listening to a friend. Knowing this horrendous little habit of mine has made it a lot easier to open up my communication channels so that I’m not constantly interpreting more into the conversation than is actually there.

The various levels of communication are important to know, simply so that you can tell the difference between “I need me time,” and “I hope you die in a fire,” when your partner says they don’t want to go out to dinner on Thursday. Being able to separate yourself from the relationship is a pivotal skill that I find many people struggle with, and the best way I have found to maintain your own identity while in a relationship is to have clearly defined goals that involve (but do not require) your partner.

Knowing who you are, what you want, and how you plan to accomplish those goals while single will benefit yourself if you do find someone you want to date. Working together to achieve separate goals is important; someone who finds fulfillment by raising a family is not going to be content in a relationship with someone who wants to pursue a career out of state unless some serious commitments and conscious compromises are made.  By knowing what will make you happy in life, it is much easier to seek out someone of the same long term needs.

As with any life, changes happen constantly, and today’s long term goals may not be tomorrow’s; but if you are able to talk about these goals openly and honestly with your partner as they progress, it will be much easier to change with each other instead of sacrificing the important things in your lives.  Not just this, but if you are clearly outlining boundaries for your life, you’ll also be able to outline boundaries for you relationships as well.

These last few questions will assist you in understanding what you need for a relationship to be functional as well as fulfilling.  It strikes me as important along with everything else to make sure that what you consider a functional and healthy relationship is well understood by both parties.  We seem to assume that things like marriage, children, monogamy, and two people working full time are the basis of relationships, but many of those things are as outdated as the gender-role assignments that society has forced into the relationship dynamic. What’s really important about your relationship is that you are happy with your partner(s) in it. Negotiating your expectations for behavior can be tricky to time in a budding relationship, but making sure that your needs and boundaries are clear will prevent heart-breaking miscommunications.

These questions should help you better define your expectations in a relationship, and hopefully provide yourself with some clarity on your own needs as well. Do I care about monogamy? Do I want to get married? How many children do I want to raise? What does it mean to be faithful in a relationship? Is sex important to me? What kind’ve sex to I want out of my partner?

Sex is a huge factor in relationships. I hear so often from couples seeking more adventurous sex because they bore each other, they just aren’t attracted to one another anymore, but don’t want to lose the emotional connection they share. Reaching out to a professional (not a hooker, I mean a counselor), regardless of your relationship status, is a great way to invite some fresh ideas into your life. Finally, remember not to rush. Being single has so many fewer stigma attached these days, and you can always reassure your single self with the disappointments of Grindr if you ever get too caught up in the Valentine’s Day boyfriend envy.

 

Crockpot Honey Apple Pork Loin

by Jerry Nabarrete-Stuart

 

Ingredients:

Pork loin, 2.5-3lbs

4 sliced golden delicious apples sliced

Approximately 4 Tablespoons of honey

2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon

 

1. Lay 2 sliced apples in the bottom of the Crockpot, sprinkle with cinnamon.
2. Cut slits in the pork loin (approx. ½-inch to ¾-inch), drizzle some honey in the slits, then place apple slices in the slits.
3. Place the pork loin into the crockpot and drizzle with the remainder of the honey. Place the rest of the apples on top; sprinkle the whole thing with cinnamon.
4. Cook on low for 7 hours. For a deeper flavor you can also place the pork loin in a bag with honey and cinnamon and marinate overnight.

The Last Word with Minerva Jayne

Where are my single lover-dolls at? I have a questions for you. A question about l’amour!

What do the following three things have in common:
Liturgical celebration of Christian martyrs.
The beginning of spring.
Celebration of romantic love.
Depending on your religious preferences and your location in the world, these three seemingly unrelated topics are celebrations called “Valentine’s Day.” Of course, most of us have now associated it with the latter: Romantic love. Those randy folks in the 14th century are to blame, for taking the chance to celebrate romantic love. And why not? In the 1300s if someone was lucky enough to live past 21, they would likely be dead by 45 (that pesky plague thing, don’tcha know). While the fantastical ideals of courtly love were alive and well and very inspirational, it has given us a holiday that we seem to either love or hate as the fickle arrow of Cupid dictates.
Love is a human desire. It is something that knows neither color nor age; neither race nor creed; neither orientation nor social status. For many LGBTQ people celebrating same-sex marriage this year, or as I prefer to call it, “marriage.” Valentine’s is bound to be full of gifts and chocolates, doves and roses, romantic dinners, spa days and gallons of lube. But for many, loneliness will set in and all of the red roses and red velvet flocked boxes of candy will change from crimson,to purple, to cerulean. Sometimes Valentine’s Day just sucks. But it doesn’t have to if you can come around to Minerva’s way of thinking.
Some people will be lucky enough to be with the one’s they love. Some will be unlucky enough to be without them. That doesn’t mean you can’t get through it.
Don’t be a martyr: Don’t throw yourself on the pyre of the loveless and forlorn. The last thing you want in your life is to be a martyr to your own heart. Instead of thinking of the love you have lost or have never found, think of the love you have had or that may burst forth in showy profusion tomorrow. Don’t pollute the heart shaped pool of your mind with negativity.
Spring into action: Use this schmoopiest of holidays to practice a little self-love. (No, NOT that kind…well…that kind too! After all, you should be loving yourself most of all). So you are alone on Valentine’s and it bugs you. Eat your favorite meal and leave room for your favorite dessert. Cuddle up with a favorite hobby, book or movie. Love can also be actively fanning the fires of your own personal desires. Feed that passion in your life and you will glow with the light that only loving yourself can provide. Spoil yourself rotten because I bet you have probably been far harder on yourself than anyone else has been. Knowing your own value will show you that no number of conversation hearts will suffice if they are being given by someone who doesn’t love you in a real way. Better single than sorry!
Celebrate Love: Love is not something that you do. Love is something that exists and ebbs and flows and changes and shifts. Love is something that is. Allow yourself to feel any of the emotions that you want to about love. They are real. They are part of your story. That is the magnificent enraging frustrating glorious wonderment of love. It isn’t always pretty. Loving who you are, however is beautiful, and as the French say (and if anyone knows about l’amour…), “il faut souffrir pour être belle.” Heartbreaks contribute to your beauty. Own them.
Valentine’s Day might be cards and flowers and candy. But love isn’t. Discover, re-discover, and uncover the love you have in your life. Don’t be a hopeless romantic, be a hopeful romantic.
Republicans are Red
Democrats are Blue
But neither can love you,
Like you can love you.
Hopefully Romantic,
Minerva Jayne

Our Health: February 2015

By Robert Collins

Good News!
In the early to mid 80s I was living in the Los Angeles area and had the experience of Knowing some of the early AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) patients. Then it was Known as GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency). The treatments at the time consisted of treating the secondary opportunistic infection. The underlying cause was still unknown and therefore untreatable.
I was at the time horrified at what was happening to my friends. My friend Chris, who was a blonde, blue-eyed, cornflakes type Rid of Scandinavian descent, contracted a disease usually confined to dark older men of Mediterranean descent. Chemo helped, but other infections took root and Chris succumbed in 1983. His death certificate simply said at the time cause of death: Kaposi’s Sarcoma, origin unknown.
In 1986, I moved to the Ohio River Valley area where I grew up and already the impact of AIDS was making itself Known in the area. I became active in the AIDS Task Force Of the Upper Ohio Valley. I specialized in education, giving seminars for sheriffs departments, police forces, hospitals and clinics. I also was involved in seeking and distributing medications for treatment. In September of 1986, the first drug to treat retroviral infection such as HIV was in trials for use by the Food and Drug Administration. Azidothymidine, Known as AZT, offered many the first real hope of long term survival.
The drug was harsh and had numerous undesirable side effects. It was however the only option. Unfortunately, the U.S. supply was limited and expensive. Getting into the trials was difficult. If you lived in certain parts of the country obtaining the drug was almost impossible. A thriving black market flourished, channeling AZT from Mexico and Canada.In 1989, results from a major drug trial Known as ACTG019 were announced. The trial showed that AZT could slow progression to AIDS in HIV positive individuals with no symptoms. The findings were seen as nothing but positive.
Health Secretary Louis Sullivan said regarding this: “Today we are witnessing a turning point in the battle to change AIDS from a fatal disease to a treatable one.” His optimism was short lived when the price of the drug was revealed. At more than $700,000 a year the drug was financially out of reach to all but the richest patients. After much protest, the price was reduced by 20 percent.
This compromise left the drug expensive and still made the black market necessary. From there other drugs were developed as well as strategies to treat the opportunistic diseases prevalent with an AIDS diagnosis. AZT is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI). In 1991, a second NRTI was approved for use and was offered to patients who showed scant improvement or drug intolerance with AZT. Later in 1991, the two drugs were used in combination creating the first drug “cocktail” used for AIDS and HIV treatment. Patients on the cocktail showed vast improvement although the side effects could be severe.
As time went on and other drugs were developed, combination drugs and once a day treatments such as Atriplia and Triumeq have become the norm, making many HIV positive people have undetectable viral loads. Most people with HIV who are on treatment now have a normal life expectancy with HIV becoming a treatable chronic disease rather than a fatal disease.
In 2003, a new class of drug represented by the drug Enfuvirtide was released. Classified as an entry inhibitor, this drug effectively prevented the virus from entering the cell to replicate. This class of drug was quickly added to the cocktail drugs to increase effectiveness. had an interview with a man, I will refer to him as Joe. His move to the drug Triumeq has changed everything for him. Joe’s numbers are rising, He has an undetectable viral load and no side effects to speak of. Joe’s previous treatment caused bowel problems, anxiety, depression, and sleeplessness.
Trimeq has become a true miracle drug for him.Even as I write this new breaRthroughs are in the making. In 1998, my partner was diagnosed with AIDS. Before his diagnosis we didn’t even Know he was positive. Due to our long term intimate relationship and our sexual practices we assumed I would test positive. I did not.
My partners physician was shocked once he learned about our sexual history. He had me tested again, and then a third time. All tests came back negative. After learning this, he referred me to a study being conducted at Vanderbilt University Hospital of people with known multiple exposures, who did not become HIV positive.

I went every month, was tested, gave blood samples and was examined. I participated in the study for 10 years. Vanderbilt was developing a vaccine for testing, and also began doing DNA testing. They took exhaustive family and sexual histories of me, and also obtained blood from both of my parents. I reported every sexual contact I had to them.
At the end of my participation in the study they informed me that I had a rare genetic makeup where I had two copies of a specific gene. That meant I lacked a cell receptor known as CCRS, making me essentially immune.The finding of this genetic anomaly in me and a few other people in 2002 led to the development of a new type of treatment.
The drug Maraviroc was FDA approved in 2007 and worked using the CCRS inhibitor studies by blocking the HIV from entering the cell through the CCRS receptor, which was the most common route for HIV to enter a cell. The CCRS studies hold promise as a possible route for a cure through means of genetic engineering and splicing. These treatment possibilities are still under study at the present time.
There are other cure options on the horizon as well. In 2008, a man named Timothy Brown underwent a radiation and chemotherapy to Rill his bone marrow while being treated for Leukemia,and then was given a transplant of bone marrow from a donor who was HIV immune because of their lack of CCRS receptors. In one fell swoop Brown was cured of his Leukemia and was cured of HIV infection!

He is as of now the only patient Known to be fully cured of infection. His treatment offers great hope of a cure. The cure is not at this time practical for large scale use due to the lack of HIV immune donors. It is estimated that only 1 percent of the caucasian population carries two copies of the gene in question. With world wide population taken into account, that is one in 70 million people. There just are not enough donors to make the treatment practical on a wide scale. In 2014, Researchers at Tempie University for the first time were able to remove the HIV virus from human cells.
The team headed by Kamel Khalili PhD professor and chair of Neuroscience at Temple and his colleague Dr. Wenhui Hu led the work by developing molecular tools to permanently delete the HIV virus from DNA. From there the cells repair machinery takes over attaching the loose ends of the genome back together resulting in virus free cells.
This in lab work is a huge step in the
direction of a cure. Actual human trials are still a long way off but this breakthrough is the first step in the direction of a practical cure. As time goes on new drugs, new treatments and new channels of research will continue to present themselves. The astonishing conclusion here is the unbelievably rapid progress made in the area if HIV treatment. To the HIV positive it may seem unbearably slow, but from a medical and research standpoint, taking HIV infection from being a disease that Rills within two years to a treatable chronic disease in only a 34 year time span is incredible! Consider this, diabetes is first mentioned in a manuscript in 1500 BC and an effective treatment was not developed until 1921-22.
The unprecedented speed with which this research has moved forward is inspiring and gives us all hope for a better future. Our community will no longer be divided into positive and negative subgroups. We will instead be unified.

 

Valentine for AIDS

Flying M COFFEEHOUSE’S 22ND ANNUAL fundraiser SET TO KICK OFF FEBRUARY 5TH

by Gary Simpson

photos, courtesy Budge Photography

Kent Collins was generous enough to take the time to sit down with us to discuss details on their annual Valentine for AIDS event. This year marks the Flying M’s 22nd year for the silent art auction.
Originally started by the Flying M’s original owner, Lisa Myers, and was taken over by Collins three years ago, over $400,000 has been raised since the event began, benefiting SNAP (Safety Net for AIDS Program) of Boise. Last year, the event raised over $24,000.
SNAP provides assistance in housing, utility bills, groceries, and medical insurance payments for clients living with HIV/AIDS.

Over 450 invitations are sent out to local artists every year, who have contributed their own unique Valentine’s to display around the shop over the years. But, due to the space limitations, only around 250 local artists are able to create and donate Valentine’s that will be on display. There is usually a waiting list for those who want to participate, due to its popularity.

Planning an event of this caliber takes months of preparation, typically starting the details in early November. But Collins has help from his staff, to ensure the event is a success.
The artwork will be on display and available for bidding starting Feb. 5, until 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 15 at Flying M Coffeehouse in downtown Boise.
Valentine’s can be viewed from 9 a.m.m-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 8, from 9-6 p.m.

If you would like additional information about Valentine for AIDS, you can email Kent Collins or Kelly Mclaughlin at: valentineforaids@gmail.com.
For more information on SNAP you can contact Jaime Perry at 367-7033.
There will be a private party for the artists involved on Feb. 4 from 7-9 p.m. during which time the Flying M will be closed to the public.

At the Movies: In Your Eyes (2014)

 

by Kris Muñoz

In Your Eyes (2014)
Think you know what human connection is?
Joss Whedon must have been thinking about this question when he came up with this script in 1992. At that time, Social media wasn’t even close to what it is today. As humans, we are naturally social creatures. Can you imagine a connection so strong and personal that it feels more than human? Whedon brings to you this concept with “In Your Eyes”.
The story focuses on two main characters. Rebecca, played by Zoe Kazan, is a lonely insecure socially awkward housewife living under the shadow of her successful doctor husband. The landscape of the East Coast seems to be something like a physical metaphor of Zoe’s inner-self. While across the country in the Southwest, Dylan, who is played by Michael Stahl-David, is an ex-con trying to turn his life around, but struggling with self-examination. Charismatic he may be externally, but the dry, hard and rough New Mexico landscape only reflects what he fears may truly be his future and feelings about it. These two characters develop a very unlikely connection between them that forms when they both need it most. This connection forms a bond so strong that it cannot be denied or severed. They wouldn’t know how even if they had a choice in the matter. In discovering each other, they also find themselves.
I found this film to be somewhat refreshing and representative of today, and possibly Whedon himself. What I found refreshing about this film is that it is quite simple as a whole. The movie shows what a truly intimate human connection could possibly look like. No secrets, no lies and no defenses. Every card you’ve had, or will have are out on the table already. After you and that other special someone discover this, what do you do? How would you handle that situation?

I realized I kept thinking of this movie for days after I saw it on Netflix. I have to say again, the simplicity of the story and filmmaking made it all come together well. Plus, when you have the ingenious wit of Whedon behind it, you know you will like something about the film regardless. No big budgets or top of the line special effects. Just a simple story of something we all want in our lives. An authentic connection to someone else.

Now just throw in a touch of the supernatural with warm and witty romance. Then let that sit and simmer for one hour and five minutes. You would have just then experienced a nice movie experience for yourself. But if you were lucky enough to watch this movie with someone else, then I hope you found it to be a good date movie during this month of love.
Until next month!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2101569/?ref_=nv_sr_1

OutBoise Magazine: February 2015

Check out our February issue of OutBoise Magazine:

Strawberry Delight

 

 

 

by Jerry Nabarrete-Stuart

 

1 pkg of frozen patty shells (Or use your favorite dough, I used puff pastry dough)

1. 8-oz  container of whipped cream cheese

3/4 C granulated sugar

2 TB lemon juice

1 tsp grated lemon rind

1 qt fresh strawberries (2 1-lb packages is enough)

Whipped cream is optional

 

1. Prepare patty shells according to pkg directions.

1. Combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and rind; blend well. Line bottom and sides of cooled patty shells with cheese mixture; then fill with fresh whole berries.
2. Spoon glaze (recipe below) over berries and top with whipped cream, if desired. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 6 servings.

 

Strawberry glaze:

1. C strawberries

1/2 C granulated sugar

1. TB cornstarch

 

In saucepan , mash berries with sugar and let stand for 30 minutes. Add cornstarch and cook until thick and clear. Strain and cool.