Public Notice

Flaming youth, our ass. Cover band SSIK (featuring ol' hair-band master Jason McMaster) will be playing obscure, pre-'78 Kiss songs (none of the hits, none of the time!) for the throng of Knights in Satan's Service at the bloody Back Room, Fri, Dec 3, 10pm, at another of the SIMS Foundation's Day in the Life Concert Series. There will also be Zeppelin and Grand Funk tribute bands. Party down, dude. 494-1007. We remember back in the day, before the fall of the wall and the thaw of the Cold War (back when we had real enemies, dammit!), when everyone including Santa F. Claus was being accused of being a commie (for his red suit, of course -- get it?). See, back then, before crackpots had Clinton and black helicopters for the bulk of their material, you could actually hear real live patriots offering humorous witticisms like, "Better dead than Red!" (We're sure they had a lot of experience at being both. -- ) Nowadays, if you want to call into question a person's character, alls you have to do is call them gay! Isn't that a hoot? Well, poor Santa's got it coming and going this year: Informe-SIDA and Austin Latino/a Lesbian & Gay Organization (ALLGO) is hosting a Pink Santa annual gift-giving campaign. HIV+ clients of the AIDS services org will submit Wish Lists, and then the group will get that filled with your generous donations. We wonder how long it will be before gay baiting goes the way of calling someone a commie? We'll ask our 11-year-old. 472-2001. Cripes! We almost forgot to plug the Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas' (LGRL) first ever all-women Winterfest happening this Sat, Dec 4, 7pm-midnight, at Fiesta Gardens. The posters have this loopy type that says "Way Cool Women," and we keep passing them by knowing that they can't possibly be talking to us. We are card-carrying members of Dorks of America, after all. Enough about us -- the Winterfest sounds like a sort of Club Skirt Jr., if you will, as it is being held at the popular Skirt location, has a similar admission ($10), time frame, and features the sounds of DJ Lenne Degeddingsize. Not that we're complaining, mind you; no way. We support any group of two or more lesbians gathered in her name. 474-5475. -- Not bad odds, really. The Sustainable Food Center is holding a Raffle for a Ford Explorer XLT. They figure they'll sell about 1,000 tickets at $50 a pop. You could buy 10 tickets, improve your odds to 100:1, possibly win the damn thing, and be out only $500. It's all for a good cause, eh? Your contribution will help maintain area community gardens, farmers' market stands, and nutrition education and cooking classes. The drawing for the fully loaded Ford will be held Sat, Dec 18. And don't hold them to that 1,000 ticket number; that's just a guesstimate. 385-0080. Once something's been happening for a decade, it's a safe bet to call it a tradition. Project Transitions presents its 11th and last-of-the-century traditional Holiday Swing, Sat, Dec 4, 8pm, at the Ben Hur Shrine Ballroom, 4300 Westbank Drive. Project Transitions hosts the annual event benefit to provide housing and hospice facilities for individuals and families with HIV/AIDS, through their Roosevelt Gardens assisted living facility, Highland Terrace independent living facility, and Doug's House, Central Texas' only residential AIDS hospice. The Swing will feature live music by the 22-piece Sentimental Journey Orchestra and the Studebakers, plus swing dance lessons by Quicksilver Dancers (at 7pm), a cash bar, a martini and cigar bar, holiday hors d'oeuvres, desserts, and a 250-item silent auction. More than 1,000 swingers are expected to attend (read: great pickin's for singles of all persuasions). Limited tix are $35 in advance and will hop to $40 at the door. 454-8646. This year (as we have for the past four), "Public Notice" will run Public Service Organizations' Holiday Wish Lists for the holiday issues. Submit no more than five items, a contact name and phone number, and mailing address on your nonprofit's stationery to the address below. No phone calls, please -- only written submissions will be accepted. If your group has already been contacted by AIDS Services of Austin's Stewart Gallas, please disregard this and do go through him.