boiMAG.com "Pride"

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Editor: Nate Daniels COVER
Feature Editor: John Stephens
Media: Sylvia Shields Joey Amato in front of Stonewall Inn
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pride goes virtual

Celebrate Pride Without Leaving Home

The lack of in-person events shouldn’t stop on a virtual community celebration with
you from celebrating Pride. Organizations several events. Including, Trans Pride (June 26),
throughout the U.S. and in other countries are Pride Fest (June 27) and Seattle Pride (June 28)
presenting virtual pride offerings. Most will Check out the Together for Pride web page
present events and highlight members of the at www.togetherforpride.org for details and
LGTBQ+ community. In no specific order, check schedules.
out these virtual Pride Month events that are
taking place throughout the month of June. Stonewall Day

San Francisco Pride Pride Live and Warner
Media are hosting
SF Pride is holding an Online Stonewall Day online.
Celebration and Rally on June This event features
27 and 28. Get more details at numerous speakers, including a focus on black
www.sfpride.org/celebration/. and brown voices, and focuses on fundraising
for the queer community.
NYC Pride For more info. check out the Pride Live’s twitter
page at twitter.com/REALPRIDELIVE.
The first Pride parade
marched through the streets
of New York, and NYC Pride is
the result. This group will put on several events
including the Pride 2020 Dragfest (June 19-21)
and The Virtual Rally (Friday, June 26).

View the NYC Pride site at www.nycpride.org Dublin Digital Pride Festival & Parade
for details. Ireland’s holding Pride events online all
throughout the month of June. There’s way too
San Diego Pride many too list, so check out the full schedule at
www.togetherforpride.org.
There are several online events
sponsored by San Diego Pride, Toronto Pride
including a couple of virtual
5Ks and virtual bingo that are Joining several
planned during the month of other events in
June. San Diego Pride is also Canada, Toronto
hosting virtual youth workshops all summer Pride’s going virtual
long. Check out the San Diego Pride page at all month long. It’ll
https://sdpride.org/events/ for more details. feature artists, bingo,
drag shows, and even a tea party. Check out
Global Pride 2020 their web page at www.pridetoronto.com/
virtualpride/ for more information.
The organizers of EuroPride and hundreds of
other Pride events around the world have put Virtual Pride
together a 24-hour global extravaganza of
exciting performances, spoken word, and other The folks at Gay
events that will include some of the biggest Travel are hosting
names in show biz and world leaders including a “Virtual Pride”
heads of states and royalty. celebration
on Twitter in
The festivities take place starting June 27. Go to association with several Pride organizations.
www.globalpride2020.org for details. The festivities kick off on June 28, more
information go to www.virtualpride.com.
Together for Pride

The Seattle Pride community, along with
Gender Justice League and Pridefest, is putting

boiMAG.com

PRIDE JOURNEY

Featuring New York City

By Joey Amato about this property was the glass-enclosed
  indoor swimming pool. This is quite a rare
In this article, I’ll talk about all of the treat for a New York City property. I don’t
incredible sights and attractions available in think I’ve ever stayed at a hotel in the city
downtown New York. Well, for the purpose with a pool. Those traveling with children
of this story, the area from Times Square will love this feature of the hotel and I
and south. This isn’t what New Yorkers was also happy to see that the pool is also
typically consider as downtown, but this is handicapped accessible.
the region I’ll be referring to.  
  Growing up in Queens, New York, my
Within this area is the Greenwich Village, friends and I were always enamored
which was pretty much the epicenter of by Greenwich Village, or more
the LGBTQ community in NYC in the 70’s specifically, the West Village. What is
and 80’s, before people started movin’ on interesting is that I fell in love with the
up to swanky Chelsea or Hell’s Kitchen, gayest neighborhood in NYC before I
two neighborhoods that even realized I was gay. I guess it was
weren’t so swanky until a sign for what was to come. The most
the gays took over. iconic landmark of the West Village is
  of course The Stonewall Inn. Last year,
I had the pleasure of The Stonewall Inn celebrated the 50th
staying at the Millennium anniversary of the historic Stonewall
Hilton Downtown. The Uprising.
high-rise structure offers  
some of the best views Not too far away are a variety of LGBTQ
of lower Manhattan bars including The Duplex Cabaret and
you will ever see. We Piano Bar, Pieces, The Monster and
all know the saying. Location. Location. Julius’, the latter are two of the oldest
Location, and quite frankly, the hotel’s LGBTQ bars in the Village. Cheyenne
location is absolutely perfect on so many Jackson and Adam Lambert have both
levels. Not only is it directly across the visited The Monster in recent years,
making it one of the hottest spots in town.
street for the World  
Trade Center, the 9/11 Also, in the West Village is Henrietta
Memorial & Museum Hudson, a lesbian owned and operate
and the Oculus, but bar and lounge. Opened in 1991, the
it’s also within a block establishment is known around the
of numerous subway globe for being one of the most friendly
stations. A journey and welcoming places for the lesbian
uptown to Penn community to gather, share stories and
Station or Times Square will only take you party.
about 15-20 minutes and the hotel is within  
walking distance to both the South Street Arts and culture enthusiasts will love the
Seaport and Wall Street. Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art located
  at 26 Wooster Street (Between Grand &
As I entered my room, I was greeted by Canal Streets). Created to preserve LGBTQ
walls of glass and unobstructed views of identity and build community, the Leslie-
the World Trade Center campus. I arrived Lohman Museum of Art acts as a cultural
in the evening, so the view was simply hub for the LGBTQ community.
breathtaking and made for some wonderful  
late-night photos. What really struck me
(continued on a following page)
10 boiMAG.com





PRIDE JOURNEY

Featuring New York City (Continued)

According to the museum’s website, in  
1969, Charles Leslie and Fritz Lohman held New York City is the city that
an exhibit of gay artists for the first time in never sleeps, so if you are
their SoHo loft. Throughout the 1970s, they in the mood for a few more
continued to collect and exhibit gay artists cocktails, head to The Boiler
while supporting the SoHo art community. Room or Club Cumming, a
During the AIDS crisis, the collection cabaret bar co-owned by actor
continued to grow as they rescued the Alan Cumming. Both of these
work of dying artists from families who, are located in the East Village,
out of shame or ignorance, wanted to about a 25-minute subway
destroy it. This led to the formation of ride from the hotel. Although
the Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation in the NYC subway system runs
1987. In recognition of its importance in all night, trains become a lot
the collection and preservation of LGBTQ less frequent after midnight,
history, the organization was accredited so please look out for any
as a museum in 2016 and currently has a changes in service. Sometimes
collection of over 30,000 objects. the subway line you need will
  not run due to maintenance.
Downtown New York is also home to the  
city’s LGBTQ community center, simply Being a native New Yorker, I do enjoy
called The Center. Established in 1983, The downtown New York City a bit more than
Center offers a variety of health services, uptown. It’s a bit grittier, the streets aren’t
including support groups for those as wide, and you can feel the raw history
recovering from drug and alcohol use. of the city without being distracted by
In addition, The Center offers an array of the shiny storefronts of 5th Avenue.
other resources ranging from immigration Unfortunately, a lot of the gay community
support to career development. is moving north, even as far as Spanish
  Harlem, to escape the rising costs of living,
After you are done learning about the but visitors can still appreciate the LGBTQ
LGBTQ art, history and culture of NYC, head history in downtown New York. If I were
to the Big Gay Ice to ever move back to the city, I’d probably
Cream shop for a opt to settle in this part of town so I can
sweet treat. Grab a experience the village the way I should
cone with rainbow have in my younger years.
sprinkles and take  
a photo sitting on Enjoy the Journey!
the rainbow bench
outside the store. Rainbow Rating: 5/5
Life can’t get any
gayer than that!  
 
Stroll over to the Joey Amato is the publisher of Pride Journeys,
neighboring South a website dedicated to LGBTQ travel. Joey
Street Seaport, has spent over a decade in LGBTQ media
which overlooks the and public relations and currently resides in
Brooklyn Bridge, quite possibly one of the Indianapolis, Indiana. He can be reached at
most beautiful and iconic bridges in the [email protected] 
country.
Copyright © 2019 Pride Journeys, All rights reserved.

boiMAG.com 13





16 boiMAG.com

boiMAG.com 17

Masks4Chi - Making a Difference

Community Distribution Campaign

By: Jose Ochoa

We are proud to announce that as of today, Finally, in these turbulent times we
our nonprofit, Masks4Chi (masks4chi.org), encourage you to remain
has distributed nearly 100,000 reusable, attune to the needs of the
cloth masks to community communities that make
organizations and small up the social fabric and
businesses throughout vibrancy of Chicago. We
Chicagoland. Masks4Chi hope you will open your
was founded in early April hearts and put your hands
as a response to the COVID- to work on supporting the
19 pandemic. Our mission many communities that are
is to raise awareness about hurting not only because of
wearing non-medical, cloth the COVID-19 pandemic, but also due to
masks to slow the spread of COVID-19, with the systemic violence and oppression that
a focus on distributing free masks to the has been exposed by the recent murder
communities most significantly impacted of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police
by the coronavirus. We launched our first Department. We stand with the LGBTQ
reusable mask distribution campaign on community and Black Lives Matter in their
April 30th and in five short weeks partnered constant march towards justice. It
with 80+ community organizations and
restaurants to ensure our masks reached is our hope that we
vulnerable communities in need of masks. all work together
to remain vigilant
As the Executive Director about protecting our
of Masks4Chi, I could not neighbors and loved
be more proud of the ones through not only
work our team has been the rest of the COVID-
able to accomplish to 19 pandemic, but for
address the urgency of the long-term. The time is now for each
the COVID-19 pandemic of us to do our part to love every member
across Chicago. Our team is also inspired of our communities, regardless of their
by the many community organizations sexual orientation, ethnicity,
who partnered with us to reach this week’s religion, or background.
milestone. They come from all walks of life Masks4Chi sends the readers
and we couldn’t be more heartened by the of boiMAGazine our love and
work they are doing to help the people support and wish you the
of Chicago through these difficult times. best in these difficult times.
In particular, we would also like to thank Please do not hesitate to
boiMAGazine and Townie Branding for reach out to our organization
their early support of our mission. They if there’s anything we can do for you and
were instrumental in helping us connect your communities.
with both communities in need of masks Jose Ochoa and The Masks4Chi Team
and individuals who stepped up to help website: www.masks4chi.org
our mission by donating to our efforts. email: [email protected]
For a full list of our community and small
business partners, go to: www.masks4chi.
org/participating-locations/

18 boiMAG.com





NEW MUSIC "SOLDIER FIELD"

By Tom Reynolds I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Brent at
Hello music lovers. We have been Thalia Hall in 2015 and was recently able to
deprived of live music the past few speak with him over a phone call about the
months and the cancellation of new release and the inspiration behind the
Lollapalooza 2020 is a sign of the song. During a recent tour through the Windy
times. Without concerts, we look online City, he was on a cab ride to a restaurant when
for our music fix and often end up he saw the iconic Soldier Field and became
in rabbit holes given the plethora of reminiscent about his past and present,
online content, both a blessing and a which I found fascinating since the stadium’s
curse. On one hand you have unlimited architecture is a mash-up of neoclassical and
access to a multi-generational genres, modern. Brent was drawn to the name in
global grooves, and even extra- particular with the opening line, “And now I
terrestrial radio bursts, anyone heard stand at Soldier Field.” The lyrics quickly began to
of SETI? On the other hand, it is time flow, taking form of a conversation with his wife
consuming to navigate the maze of in Australia and how odd is was to be on the
music; easier to rely on the usual radio opposite side of the world in Chicago.
sources or word of mouth. While touring, Brent and bandmates enjoy
So allow me to part the sea of sampling local cuisines, sightseeing, and
sound and take you to the southern mingling with fans after shows. What stands
hemisphere where Australian out to him about Chicago are the steak houses,
psychedelic/folk/country band Chicago-style Hot Dogs, the skyline, and
“Immigrant Union,” just released extreme weather. A few of his favorite memories
their 3rd album, “Judas” on June were catching a few innings are Wrigley Field,
22nd featuring the melodic single meeting a security staff member at The Metro
“Soldier Field” available at: https:// with a proper Chicago accent and mustache
cheersquadrecordstapes.bandcamp. straight out of the infamous SNL skits, and some
com/track/soldier-field-2 Lolla moments, including one where Anton
Wait…hold up! Is there a Soldier Field Newcome of The Brian Jonestown Massacre,
in the land down under? Is it home to gave an impromptu architectural critique of a
an Australian rules Football team, Da building in the skyline, simultaneously turning
Koala Bears? Maybe this Aussie-Alt- +30,000 heads away from the stage. Around
Universe might explain the why Bears that time, The Dandy Warhols and The Brian
legend Walter “Sweetness” Payton Jonestown Massacre were the subjects of a
blazed Kangaroo shoes all the way to 2004 Sundance Film Festival award winning
Super Bowl glory. And Lollapalooza in documentary called Dig! There’s your next
nearby Grant Park kinda sounds like rabbit hole folks.
outback bushmen slang. Brent went on to describe touring as “an
Crikey mate! Put down the digeridoo; amazing opportunity to see the world.” And with
No alt-universe. It tuns out the lead the distinction of being a member of two bands
singer/songwriter, Brent DeBoer, on two continents, much of the world has had
who is better known in the US as the the opportunity to see him, having toured
drummer for his other band, “The with notable names like David Bowie, Noel
Dandy Warhols,” (Lollapalooza Alumni Gallagher, and Courtney Barnett, who was
’05) wrote the song during one of a member of Immigrant Union before going
many tours through Chicago during solo. Considering the geography Brent has
their impressive 26-year existence, covered, it’s remarkable that a fixture of our city
playing most recently in May 2019 at was the inspiration to this song released half
The Metro. way around the world.

boiMAG.com 21





Looking after your mental health

Now and into the Future

by Dr. Shakir Alcohol and drug use. Avoid using alcohol and
With the abrupt and drugs as a way to cope with social isolation, fear,
sudden reality of working or anxiety.
from home, online Help others. Serving other people can be very
schooling, possible loss rewarding. If you are able, offer support to
of employment, and lack people in your community who may need it.
of social interaction with Ask for help. There are resources provided
friends and co-workers has to the community for those who are having
taken time to get used to. difficulty adjusting and coping with this new
Feeling increased stress, anxiety, and worry over normal.
adapting to these lifestyle changes, in addition Remember, feelings of stress and anxiety are
to managing the fear of contracting a virus, are natural. When they being to interfere with your
natural reactions. When these feelings become daily tasks, it’s okay to ask for help.
overwhelming or prevent a person from Here are some signs to look for in yourself or
completing their day-to-day responsibilities, others indicating it may be time to reach out:
it may be time to seek help from a licensed Abrupt changes in mood or behavior. Increased
professional. This is especially true for people agitation and irritability towards family, friends,
with existing mental health conditions. or co-workers. Outbursts of anger or sadness.
Fortunately, there are tools and resources Changes in sleep patterns. Inability to fall and
available that we can use to care for our own stay asleep, frequently waking up during the
mental health and help those around us: night, or excessive sleeping.
Stay informed. Follow guidelines from local Changes in eating habits. Eating more than
and national health officials such as The World usual, increase in junk food consumption, or
Health Organization or The Centers for Disease loss of appetite all together.
Control. Follow trusted news sources such as Loss of interest. Losing interest in things that
local TV and newspapers. If watching the news brought you joy or fulfillment. Procrastinating or
or reading about the pandemic on social media not completing work assignments or losing focus.
makes you feel anxious or distressed, limit the One of the best places to help deal with these
amount of time you spend online. issues is the Chicago Behavioral Hospital, they
Maintain your routine. Sticking to a similar provide mental health and addiction treatment
routine you had prior to the pandemic will help services. Assessments are available 24 hours
you adjust and feel normal. Adopt a new routine a day, 7 days a week free of charge. A licensed
if you didn’t have one. mental health professional will work with you
Get up and go to bed at the same time every day. to find a solution. Chicago Behavioral offers
Eat healthy and avoid over indulging in junk food. treatment for adolescents, adults, and senior
Maintain your personal appearance and hygiene. adults on both an inpatient and outpatient basis.
Exercise regularly following social distancing guidelines. Assessments and outpatient programming
Spend time on your hobbies and set aside time for are also available via tele-health as well, so no
the things you enjoy. matter where you are, they are available to
Be social. If you are isolating alone or with a assist you.
small group of people, reach out to your friends Call today at 847-756-8600 or visit them online
and family with phone calls or video chats. at www.chicagobehavioralhospital.com.

24 boiMAG.com





why?

There Must be a Reason

There are certain questions that burn in Why Does Orange Juice Taste Horrible After
the back of your mind throughout your Brushing Your Teeth?
life. You might wonder why something Eating or drinking anything right after brushing
is the way it is. Yet you’ve never been your teeth is not a pleasant experience.
able to come up with a logical answer Toothpaste can make anything taste a little off.
to these common questions despite However, in the case of chugging down orange
knowing that there must be one. juice just after brushing, the taste can be one of
the most disgusting you will encounter.
Below are few questions that have baffled It turns out that the foaming agent used in most
people every day, along with the simple toothpaste is to blame for the unappealing
answers that finally provide closure. taste. The agent, sodium lauryl sulfate, dampens
What Causes Butterflies In Your Stomach? the sweet receptors in your mouth. This means
Every single person reading this will have orange juice and anything else you might eat
at some point in their lives experienced or drink will not taste as sweet straight after
the sensation known as having “butterflies brushing. So the toothpaste not only works
in your stomach.”The fluttery feeling in to make the orange juice less sweet, it also
the gut can occur for a variety of reasons, amplifies its bitterness. These two effects
from being scared or nervous because of combine to create the horrible taste.
an upcoming event to being excited about Why Is The Sky Blue?
going on a first date. Different emotions can Barring cloudy days (along with both sunsets
cause sensations and physical changes in and sunrises), the sky will usually appear to be
your stomach thanks to the so-called “brain- blue. This happens because of the way certain
gut axis.” Feelings in the brain, such as fear things can manipulate light. Just as prisms can
or excitement, are interpreted as stress and bend light to create a rainbow and a mirror can
activate the fight-or-flight response. This reflect light back to where it came from, some
releases extra adrenaline into the body objects can scatter light. The white light from
to help us either combat a threat or get the Sun hits oxygen and nitrogen molecules that
away from it by increasing blood flow to make up most of the Earth’s atmosphere and
the heart, lungs, and muscles. With only a is scattered to produce all the colors. However,
limited amount of blood in the human body, since the color blue has a shorter wavelength
less of it can flow to other organs, such as than the rest, it is scattered more.
the gut, which leads to the familiar feeling Why Are Dreams So Hard To Remember?
of nausea. Everyone has experienced waking up after an
Why Does Rubbing Alcohol Sting? amazing dream and struggling to remember it
People have been using rubbing alcohol only moments later. It can be infuriating, and even
on cuts and open wounds for a very long with self-help techniques, dreams can usually
time. If you have ever used it, you’ll know only be fully remembered for a matter of minutes.
that it can sting when applied, often Scientists have suggested several reasons for
more than the cut itself. This happens not why dreams are so hard to recall. The conditions
because the alcohol is killing bacteria but in the brain during REM sleep, where most
due to a reaction it causes in the body. dreaming takes place, are not suited to putting
When rubbing alcohol is applied to a cut, experiences into long-term memory. Lack of the
it directly affects the VR1 receptors in the hormone norepinephrine also plays a part. The
skin. These receptors are responsible for hormone plays an important role in memory and
sensing heat. While they usually activate is absent during REM sleep.
at high temperatures, the alcohol lowers Another factor that contributes to the poor recall
their threshold to a point where the body of dreams is that during REM sleep, neurons
temperature is enough to set them off. The from the hippocampus may not fire as they do
receptors believe the body is being burned at other times. This causes them to misfire with
and transmit that pain to the brain, even other neurons that help to record memory,
though no damage is actually done to the which is why the dream quickly fades.
skin.

boiMAG.com 27

by John Stephens

There has been a lot of talk about the technology using which an individual
Internet of Things (IoT) these days. or a company can make instant
It’s huge impact on almost everything transactions on a network without the
that we do just can’t be ignored. IoT is need of any middlemen. This is just like
a system connecting any device to the how a financial bank works.
Internet and to other connected devices. The transactions made on blockchain
It is a giant network of connected things are completely secured. The strong
and people that allows sharing of data computer codes used in Blockchain
within the network. make sure that no record of the
The Internet of Things is transforming transaction can be altered.
the everyday physical objects that will Blockchain technology has been used
enrich our lives. From refrigerators to by many financial & governmental
parking spaces to houses, the Internet of institutions, entrepreneurs, consumers,
Things is bringing more things into the and industrialists. This is one of the
digital world every day, which will likely most popular IoT trends that will
make the Internet of Things a multi- bring great differences in the field of
trillion dollar industry in the near future. technology and foster its advanced
Artificial Intelligence and Big Data will application to build technical devices.
clearly dominate. With the humongous Software As-a-Service (SaaS)
amount of data available today, it is becomes the Norm
important to analyze it for driving If we talk about the IoT app trends,
meaningful insights. The idea behind Software As-a-Service (know as SaaS)
using these technologies is to extract is now considered to be a hot trend.
processable information from this data. The service provider hosts the desired
This helps in better decision-making to application and makes it available
make fruitful business moves. to the customers for use over the
Among all the emerging IoT trends, Internet. This helps organizations in
both AI (artificial intelligence) and Big outsourcing IT software applications.
Data clearly are the technologies to look IoT trends like these render a
out for. AI and Big Data techniques are marketing platform to companies for
needed to access data in real-time. This promoting their product.
has helped to improve the efficiency With less cost being invested, SaaS
of processes within business thus has become the preferred choice for
offering an enhanced decisive power to the IT gaming sector. The advent of
strategize a plan of action. SaaS has made a great contribution to
Blockchain for IoT Security the field of technology. This IoT trend
What is Blockchain Technology? Is popping up in the market will soon
it the new internet? Blockchain is a make the lives of the people better
28 boiMAG.com than ever before.