Windy City Times - Chicago, IL, USA
Cayne-Do Attitude
2007-01-03
BY CHARLSIE DEWEY
On Jan. 24, Candis Cayne helps mark an important step for the media
industry
as she takes on the portrayal of a trans character on the Prime
Time CBS
crime drama CSI: NY. Her portrayal marks an important milestone
because not
only will she be playing a trans part, but because she is a
transsexual
actress. ( To her credit, Alexandra Billings has also made
advances for the
trans community, appearing on such shows as Grey's Anatomy.
)
Cayne is an actress, dancer, singer and all-around showwoman who has been
gaining attention since she moved to New York in the early '90s to become a
performer. Her credits include television, film, print ads, commercials and
videos. Windy City Times spoke with Cayne over the phone to discuss her
growing fame, the importance of positive visibility for the trans community
and why she is so happy in her life and her choices.
Windy City Times: Why do you think having a trans character on CSI: NY, and
Prime Time television for that matter, is so important?
Candis Cayne: For me personally, there are hardly ever any trans characters
played by trans actresses. You know lately there have been a lot of trans
characters, but they've been played by men or women; they haven't been
played by trans actresses. So I think that's an important step in the right
direction, because I think we do it best. I think it will open up even more
awareness.they [ members of CSI: NY ] were very accommodating in wanting to
get it right, the writers, director, producers. If something didn't feel
right for a trans character, I would say 'this wouldn't really happen, in
reality this wouldn't happen'. They were all very accommodating and rewrote
things and everything.
WCT: So, it helps with the authenticity of the portrayal?
CC: I think it does help having a person of transsexual orientation on a
set
like that because they can tell you their feelings, because they went
through the same process. For me it's an exciting experience because for so
long I played drag roles and then I transitioned and I hadn't worked for a
long time because people didn't know where to put me. Finally it's starting
to happen where I'm starting to get calls for roles. It's really an exciting
thing for me.
WCT: Do you think the industry is becoming more open to using trans actors
and actresses?
CC: I think they are. It also depends on the actor. I go on set and I am
really comfortable with who I am and what I went through. I'm able to talk
about it and be very open about it. It's not a big secret for me. I think
that makes people who are interacting with me are comfortable enough to talk
about it and be more open to it.
WCT: Did you see Transamerica and, if so, what was your reaction to
that
film?
CC: Well, I liked it. There were parts I liked and parts I didn't like. I
liked Felicity. I thought she was a great actress in it, but there are
certain things, again in the writing, that don't make sense. I think you can
say a lot more with words than pictures, especially when it comes to
situations that are inappropriate in the trans world. A perfect
example-standing and peeing- [ exemplified ] my big problem with that movie.
No matter who you are and what step of your transition you're at, a trans
woman would never stand to pee, no matter if it's eighty below zero outside.
She's going to squat and she's going to do it the way her mind tells her
she's supposed to do it. It was little inaccuracies like that which made me
not love the movie, but like it. . This is all groundbreaking, a new thing.
So, of course, people are going to make mistakes, people are going to ask
awkward questions. You just have to be open about it and not defensive, not
take yourself too seriously.
WCT: What about the new trans character on All My Children?
CC: I haven't seen it yet, but they actually have contacted me about
talking
to the actor who is going through that. In the New Year I am
probably going
to be getting together with him and discussing the
transition, which doesn't
bug me because they want to portray this character
starting the transition.
You can't get a post-operative transsexual or one
who's halfway through the
transition to play the character because they want
to start from the
beginning. I think it's a great step, and that they're
actually writing a
character like that into a daytime soap opera. I think
that it would be
great if they do it correctly.
WCT: The New York Times called your one-woman show a "must-see." What was
that like?
CC: That was amazing. It's like out of left field, on the cover of the
Metro
section. It was a really cool experience. It felt really great to be
acknowledged.
WCT: What else do you have coming up in the near future?
CC: I did a really funny, silly movie with RuPaul called Star Booty
Reloaded. That's in post-production. I have some other things I'm working on
that I can't really talk about, but I have projects ahead.
WCT: How do you feel about being a spokesperson for the trans community? It
seems that a lot of lesbian and gay performers who are coming out lately are
stating that they don't want to be gay or lesbian spokespeople. How do you
feel about that role?
CC: Well, you know there aren't really any-so I have to take on that role
if
it lends itself to me. I'm not going to go and be like "I'm the
spokesperson," because I might not be one transsexual's spokesperson but I
might be another. I just feel like if the community goes that way, I would
definitely step up and [ be in ] that position, because I've always prided
myself on making myself a positive role model, because that's how I was
raised and that's what I know. I would never assume that I am the role
model.
Still Considering Silicone Injections?
STOP!!!
Lethal Aesthetic Silicone
Injections
According to a study conducted at the University of
Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, liquid silicone, which is often
used for breast augmentation and other aesthetic procedures, can
cause respiratory failure if not injected properly by a licensed
physician. A study of individuals who underwent illegal silicone
injections revealed a high fatality rate from pulmonary silicone embolism,
or obstruction of the lungs.
"The illegal use of fluid silicone is a practice
that carries life-threatening risks, and the community should be aware of
the complications," says Carlos S. Restrepo, MD, director of
chest radiology at the Health Science Center. Restrepo and his
colleagues compiled the imaging findings of 44 patients with pulmonary
embolism that resulted from illegal silicone injection, constituting
the largest case series to date.
Seven patients who presented to the hospital with
respiratory distress
due to illicit silicone injection were studied, along
with an additional 37 cases from the literature. Patients'
demographic information, clinical presentation, imaging findings, and outcome
were analyzed.
All patients experienced respiratory difficulties
after receiving the injections, and nearly half had fevers. One fourth of the
patients died from resultant bleeding in the lungs.
Improperly injected silicone travels through the
blood stream and causes blood to coagulate in the lungs, creating
circulatory obstructions that can be immediately life-threatening if
not identified and treated quickly. The imaging findings of
pulmonary silicone embolism include dark, hazy patches in the lung tissue
on x-rays or computed tomography scans.
"Transsexual males in particular should be checked
closely for signs
of pulmonary embolism when they show symptoms of
respiratory distress
and fever," says Restrepo. Male transsexuals often
undergo aesthetic
procedures of the breasts, genitalia, and other areas to
make them appear more feminine.
[www.medicalnewstoday.com, December 01,
2006]
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Hawaiian music
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
For all of its variants and permutations — traditional chant to lilting
steel guitar, 'ukulele jazz to slick contemporary Hawaiian, smooth
slack-key and falsetto to jouncing Jawaiian, hapa-haole pop ditties to
Jack Johnson-style surf rock — the music of Hawai'i's past and present
has always managed to evoke a sense of place that is unmistakably
Hawai'i.
The original music of Hawai'i was as functional as it was expressive,
with chant, or mele, performed solo or in combination with hula (often
with additional instrumentation from ipu heke gourds and other
percussive devices) for a singular performative experience.
As in other cultures, ancient chant served a number of purposes:
invocation of religious or spiritual figures, prayer, genealogical
recording, storytelling and many others.
With the opening of Hawaiian ports came a massive influx of foreign influences, including a wide variety of musical styles.
Western Europeans brought instruments like piano, flute and accordion.
Missionaries brought religious hymns and European-style choruses.
Portuguese workers brought an early form of what would be known as the
'ukulele. Mexican cowboys recruited to work on Hawaiian ranches brought
the guitar, which Hawaiian players adapted to their own traditional
music by down-tuning the strings — the origin of slack-key.
The origins of steel guitar have been in perpetual dispute, but its
sustained, doleful tones came to characterize generations of Hawaiian
music up to the present day.
The evolving Hawaiian sound, a curiosity at first, quickly gained favor
in the United States and Europe through the compositions of Queen
Lili'uokalani and through performances by traveling Hawaiian musicians.
The export of Hawaiian music began in earnest after a successful
showing at San Francisco's Panama-Pacific International Exposition in
1915, and performers like the Tau Moe Family and Jenny Wilson toured
extensively.
The popularity of Hawaiian music grew through the mid-20th century with
the development of so-called hapa-haole Hawaiian music, singable
Hawaiian-inflected songs with English lyrics popularized through the
syndicated Hawaii Calls radio show.
With the 1960s and '70s came a conscious return to traditional Hawaiian
influences, thanks to gifted performers such as Gabby Pahinui and Eddie
Kamae, both of whom honed their skills with American jazz before
reconnecting to their Island roots. Kamae, as much a scholar as a
musician, found inspiration in the compositions of Lili'uokalani and
other seminal figures and, with Pahinui, helped forge a new indigenous
sound with the Sons of Hawaii.
The group's tradition-based yet innovative use of slack-key and steel
guitar, Pahinui's elemental falsetto, 'ukulele and Pacific-Western
synthesized structures made them an instant hit in the Islands.
Building on this momentum, a new movement of contemporary Hawaiian
musicians like the Beamer Brothers, Olomana, Kalapana, and Cecilio and
Kapono helped usher Hawaiian music into mainstream local radio in the
1970s and '80s, helping to establish a local music scene that has
flourished ever since.
While the ensuing years have produced scores of talented and
influential acts — Keali'i Reichel, Amy Hanaiali'i Gilliom and
Ho'okena, among others — none has raised Hawaiian music's profile on
the world stage higher than Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, the larger-than-life
performer whose disarming stage presence and riveting, personal
recordings made him an international star that every local community
wanted to embrace as its own.
It was only after his death in 1997, an event that saw mourners
overflow the state Capitol where his body lay in state, that "Bruddah
Iz" realized his broadest appeal. The posthumous "Alone in IZ World"
cracked the Billboard 200 chart and was No. 1 on the Top World Albums
chart. His plaintive medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a
Wonderful World" has been used in several films and TV shows.
The broad appeal of Hawaiian music was acknowledged in 2005 when the
Grammy Awards introduced a Hawaiian music category. The award went to
the recording "Slack Key Guitar, Vol. 2."
Illicit silicone injections can be lethal
By Megan Rauscher Thu Nov 30, 11:30 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061130/hl_nm/silicone_injections_dc
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Illicit injections of liquid silicone for
cosmetic purposes can be fatal, often leading to pulmonary embolism and
severe respiratory failure, Dr. Carlos S. Restrepo told the Radiology
Society of North America's annual meeting in Chicago where he shared
imaging findings from a series of 44 patients.
In 1992, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned direct injection
of silicone, but the increasing popularity of so-called "pumping
parties" -- where black market silicone is injected by untrained
"hosts" into paying clients -- speaks to both the demand and
availability of the substance, experts say.
Male transsexuals often undergo cosmetic procedures of the breasts,
genitalia and other areas to make them appear more feminine. They may
seek out liquid silicone because it is cheaper and easier to get than
professional plastic surgery or hormone therapy and it provides
immediate results.
But silicone that is injected improperly can travel through the
bloodstream and cause blood to clump in the lungs, creating blockages
that can be immediately life threatening if not identified and treated
promptly.
Of the 44 patients in Restrepo's series -- the largest case series
reported to date -- 25 patients were transsexual males and 19 were
females.
All 44 patients experienced respiratory difficulties after receiving
illicit liquid silicone injections and half developed fever. "The
mortality rate was 25 percent," Restrepo, who is director of chest
radiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San
Antonio noted in an interview with Reuters Health.
Silicone was injected most often in the breast, hips, buttocks, vagina, chest and arms.
"It is difficult to really quantify how prevalent this practice is,"
Restrepo said, "since patients usually do not disclose when they come
to the ER with respiratory symptoms that they have received illicit
injections of fluid silicone."
Restrepo hopes that by making the public and medical community aware of
the symptoms and severe consequences of illegal silicone use, mortality
risks and patient outcomes from this clandestine practice will improve.
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Hanana 
Queen
Mother House
of Sei
Richard
Aunty Anita
Shelley Quan
