Latest news with #ViceVersa
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
This new Napa Valley winery is charging $250 for tastings. Here's why
Patrice Breton admits that $250 is a lot to charge for a wine tasting. But the Napa Valley vintner stands by it. When visitors come to his Vice Versa winery, which recently opened in Calistoga, Breton said he opens at least $1,000 worth of wine. A four-glass flight, a 'crescendo in terms of intensity,' will likely include Vice Versa's $575 Magnificent Seven, a Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from name-brand vineyards like To Kalon, Dr. Crane and Las Piedras, before moving on to $350 Les Cousins, a 50-50 blend of Napa Valley and Paso Robles Cabernet that's a collaboration with Paso winery L'Aventure. Still, Breton hopes he won't have to charge the tasting fee at all. He'd rather customers buy at least three bottles of Vice Versa, which waives the charge. His permit allows him to host a maximum of 10 people a day, so he wants to make every visit count. 'Some people can do as many tastings as they want, and I don't have that luxury,' said Breton. Since opening last month, Vice Versa has been busy, Breton said. In fact, sales are up about 30% this year, a stark contrast with the overall U.S. wine industry, whose retail sales were down 6% year over year as of April, according to Wine Business Analytics. Small-scale, high-end wines like Vice Versa are performing better than lower-priced wines right now, and companies that rely more heavily on direct-to-consumer sales — which a tasting room enables — are better insulated from the crisis unfolding in the wine distribution tier. The Calistoga winery opening is the end of a long road for Breton, who has operated Vice Versa since 2003 as a virtual brand with no facility or vineyards of its own. Like many upscale Napa wine brands, he buys fruit from some of the most pedigreed sites, especially those owned by grower Andy Beckstoffer, and employs a famous winemaking consultant, Philippe Melka. But now that he has a stake in the ground, Breton hopes that Vice Versa will stand out among the Napa elite with an estate whose aesthetic he describes as both 'minimalist' and 'punk rock.' The 5,000-square-foot steel and concrete structure hovers over an outdoor crushpad, lined with slender stainless tanks and concrete cylinders. (The fireproof materials mean that his insurance bill is only $1,000 a month, he said, a bargain for a rural winery.) The indoor areas are contained almost entirely within underground caves, and an arched doorway leads into a spare tasting room with a single long, black table. Chaotic paintings from Brazilian artist Bruno Leonardo Franklin de Melo line the walls of the tasting room, a look that Breton said is inspired by his stint as the bass player in a punk band. Despite the loud colors, the place is quiet: Breton spent $1 million on a cooling system that doesn't make the loud heaving noises that other systems do. He will project black and white films like 'Casablanca' or 'Seven Samurai' with no sound. The look may be minimalist, but the budget was not. When Breton acquired the 11-acre property in 2019, it came with plans for a winery designed by Howard Backen, the famed Wine Country architect who died in 2024. He wanted a different look from the luxe stone farmhouses that are Backen's signature, and enlisted San Francisco architects Olle Lundberg and Lev Bereznycky. They drew up a second floor, but the initial quote of $18 million jumped to about $40 million after Napa Valley's 2020 wildfires, which drove up demand for new construction. Breton decided to hold off on the second story for now. The Ottawa-born Breton made his fortune in software, founding Mediagrif Interactive Technologies in 1996, an early player in Canada's tech industry. In the span of a few years, he said, he went from a 20-something working in his basement to running a public company with more than 450 employees and over $76 million in annual revenue. When Breton left in 2001, he said he was sleeping four hours a night. 'I wasn't healthy. I was exhausted.' Although he came from a hockey-and-beer sort of family, Breton had become passionate about wine. His first love was Sauternes, the golden-colored sweet wine of Bordeaux, and in 2002, he came close to buying a 200-year-old chateau there. But the winery wasn't doing very well and he decided against it. He came to California instead, where he 'loved the possibility to innovate and create.' Winemaker Paul Hobbs took him under his wing, putting Breton on the sorting line during harvest and helping him secure a small amount of fruit for himself. The first vintage of Vice Versa was a blend of fruit from the To Kalon and Stagecoach vineyards in 2003. He managed to generate some buzz on critic Robert Parker 's forum and sold out of his small production quickly. 'Pliant' is the word Breton uses most frequently to describe his desired wine style. He prizes a wine's texture, seeking 'that silky finish.' The wines, like many that Melka advises on, indeed feel smooth and supple — Les Cousins, the Napa-Paso blend, is the most chewily tannic of the bunch — with generously ripe, fruit-forward flavors. He accentuates the silkiness by decanting all wines before serving them to customers as long as nine hours in advance. (Though Melka consults, Spencer Kelly is the day-to-day winemaker.) Breton seeded Vice Versa with $3 million of his personal funds, he said, and it took him 10 years to break even. That year, 2013, was when Breton stopped traveling back and forth from Montreal and moved to Napa Valley. His investment was still a pittance compared with what it would have cost to buy a winery upfront, he believes. Rather than sink $50 million into real estate, 'I decided to build the brand first.' His Calistoga property came with 5.5 acres of 30-year-old Cabernet Sauvignon and, surprisingly, Lagrein, a northern Italian red that's rare in California. He's removed the Lagrein vines and plans to replant more Cabernet and perhaps Cabernet Franc. The fruit currently goes into Vice Versa's lowest-priced wine, the $150 Spinning Plates. Although the winery is permitted to produce up to 10,000 cases of wine a year, Breton said he'll stick with his current 5,000-case output for now. After nearly 20 years of custom crushing, he is looking forward to the greater control that having his own winery will afford him in 2025. In the meantime, he's scouting for his next big purchase to extend further control over his grape quality: another vineyard. 'I've got my eye on something,' Breton said. With many wineries and vineyards closing or selling right now, 'it's a good time to look.'
The Advertiser
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Pay attention, there's plenty going on in this twisty swap plot
Freakier Friday (PG, 111 minutes) 2 stars Body-swap movies are nothing new. It's a surefire premise when done well, with well cast actors who can handle the challenge of playing "each other". We've seen lots of people - often a parent and child - spend time in each other's shoes. They're often comedies - Vice Versa, The Change-Up, to name two - but can also be horror movies, like The Skeleton Key and Freaky. Freakier Friday bears no relationship to that last film. It's a sequel to the comedy Freaky Friday (2003). That's one of four screen adaptations - movie and TV - from Disney of Mary Rodgers' 1972 novel, one of which was based on a stage musical version (the company certainly knows how to exploit its properties, though the musicalisation was no match for Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King). Although there were name and story changes, the premise remained the same in the various incarnations. This film's predecessor told the story of a mother, Tess Coleman (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage daughter, Anna (Lindsay Lohan) who swap bodies Now it's happened again - with a new wrinkle. This time, four people are involved in the exchange of bodies. It makes things a little trickier to follow and there are a lot of returning and new characters. At times it feels like notes are needed to keep up (this review might help). More than 20 years after the first film, things are a little different. Anna (Lohan), a single mother, retired from performing to work as a music manager so she can spend time raising her now-teenage daughter, Harper (Julia Butters, who was so good opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Hollywood). Tess (Curtis) helps out when she's not working as a successful therapist, author, and podcaster. Everyone seems pretty happy. But, of course, things aren't perfect. Harper's enemy at school is Lily (Sophia Hammons), a snooty English girl who's worked in fashion and who's in the US for a year with her widowed father, Eric (Manny Jacinto), a celebrity chef. After a massive food fight at school started by the two girls at a cake sale (it's quite a spectacle), their parents are summoned for a meeting with the principal (X Mayo) and, before you can say "meet cute", are instantly smitten with each other. Six months later, Ann and Eric are about to be married and the prospect of being stepsisters does not please Harper or Lily. And where will the blended family live? This time, the changeover comes courtesy of a psychic (Vanessa Bayer) and involves four rather than two people. Anna trades bodies with Harper and, less expectedly, Lily and Tess swap. Now the girls have a reason beyond simply disliking each other to see that the wedding doesn't happen. But, as before, there's something that has to occur before everyone can return to their own bodies. And the switching doesn't make things easier. There's a lot of fan service here. Among the several reappearances from the first film: Chad Michael Murray is shoehorned in as Anna's ex, Jake, with the tease that she might return to him; Mark Harmon is pleasant as Tess's husband Ryan (but has little to do); and skilled character actor Stephen Tobolowsky once again plays goofy teacher Elton Bates. It's quite impressive that so many actors were reassembled all these years later but the film does feel overstuffed as a result. And it also feels underwritten. The screenplay - by seasoned scribe Jordan Weiss (Dollface), from a story devised by her and Eyse Hollander - has its moments but feels like it could have been better. As mentioned, there's a lot going on, much of which doesn't really lead anywhere. A lot of comic possibilities are either overlooked or not exploited to really good effect - there's so much story to get through and so many characters to juggle. The emotional side is also shortchanged. Lohan (who's had her share of ups and downs but is, we can only hope, in a happier state now), Butters and Jacinto are appealing but Hammons and especially Curtis have the best parts and do well with what they're given. Curtis, evidently thick-skinned, seems to be having fun as the vain Lily frequently bemoans the effects of age on her new body and Hammons is able to channel the cool, smart grandmother (it's a pity more wasn't done with this). Director Nisha Ganatra (Late Night) keeps things moving and the film is pleasant but not memorable. Fans of the original might think it was worth the wait more than I did. Freakier Friday (PG, 111 minutes) 2 stars Body-swap movies are nothing new. It's a surefire premise when done well, with well cast actors who can handle the challenge of playing "each other". We've seen lots of people - often a parent and child - spend time in each other's shoes. They're often comedies - Vice Versa, The Change-Up, to name two - but can also be horror movies, like The Skeleton Key and Freaky. Freakier Friday bears no relationship to that last film. It's a sequel to the comedy Freaky Friday (2003). That's one of four screen adaptations - movie and TV - from Disney of Mary Rodgers' 1972 novel, one of which was based on a stage musical version (the company certainly knows how to exploit its properties, though the musicalisation was no match for Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King). Although there were name and story changes, the premise remained the same in the various incarnations. This film's predecessor told the story of a mother, Tess Coleman (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage daughter, Anna (Lindsay Lohan) who swap bodies Now it's happened again - with a new wrinkle. This time, four people are involved in the exchange of bodies. It makes things a little trickier to follow and there are a lot of returning and new characters. At times it feels like notes are needed to keep up (this review might help). More than 20 years after the first film, things are a little different. Anna (Lohan), a single mother, retired from performing to work as a music manager so she can spend time raising her now-teenage daughter, Harper (Julia Butters, who was so good opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Hollywood). Tess (Curtis) helps out when she's not working as a successful therapist, author, and podcaster. Everyone seems pretty happy. But, of course, things aren't perfect. Harper's enemy at school is Lily (Sophia Hammons), a snooty English girl who's worked in fashion and who's in the US for a year with her widowed father, Eric (Manny Jacinto), a celebrity chef. After a massive food fight at school started by the two girls at a cake sale (it's quite a spectacle), their parents are summoned for a meeting with the principal (X Mayo) and, before you can say "meet cute", are instantly smitten with each other. Six months later, Ann and Eric are about to be married and the prospect of being stepsisters does not please Harper or Lily. And where will the blended family live? This time, the changeover comes courtesy of a psychic (Vanessa Bayer) and involves four rather than two people. Anna trades bodies with Harper and, less expectedly, Lily and Tess swap. Now the girls have a reason beyond simply disliking each other to see that the wedding doesn't happen. But, as before, there's something that has to occur before everyone can return to their own bodies. And the switching doesn't make things easier. There's a lot of fan service here. Among the several reappearances from the first film: Chad Michael Murray is shoehorned in as Anna's ex, Jake, with the tease that she might return to him; Mark Harmon is pleasant as Tess's husband Ryan (but has little to do); and skilled character actor Stephen Tobolowsky once again plays goofy teacher Elton Bates. It's quite impressive that so many actors were reassembled all these years later but the film does feel overstuffed as a result. And it also feels underwritten. The screenplay - by seasoned scribe Jordan Weiss (Dollface), from a story devised by her and Eyse Hollander - has its moments but feels like it could have been better. As mentioned, there's a lot going on, much of which doesn't really lead anywhere. A lot of comic possibilities are either overlooked or not exploited to really good effect - there's so much story to get through and so many characters to juggle. The emotional side is also shortchanged. Lohan (who's had her share of ups and downs but is, we can only hope, in a happier state now), Butters and Jacinto are appealing but Hammons and especially Curtis have the best parts and do well with what they're given. Curtis, evidently thick-skinned, seems to be having fun as the vain Lily frequently bemoans the effects of age on her new body and Hammons is able to channel the cool, smart grandmother (it's a pity more wasn't done with this). Director Nisha Ganatra (Late Night) keeps things moving and the film is pleasant but not memorable. Fans of the original might think it was worth the wait more than I did. Freakier Friday (PG, 111 minutes) 2 stars Body-swap movies are nothing new. It's a surefire premise when done well, with well cast actors who can handle the challenge of playing "each other". We've seen lots of people - often a parent and child - spend time in each other's shoes. They're often comedies - Vice Versa, The Change-Up, to name two - but can also be horror movies, like The Skeleton Key and Freaky. Freakier Friday bears no relationship to that last film. It's a sequel to the comedy Freaky Friday (2003). That's one of four screen adaptations - movie and TV - from Disney of Mary Rodgers' 1972 novel, one of which was based on a stage musical version (the company certainly knows how to exploit its properties, though the musicalisation was no match for Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King). Although there were name and story changes, the premise remained the same in the various incarnations. This film's predecessor told the story of a mother, Tess Coleman (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage daughter, Anna (Lindsay Lohan) who swap bodies Now it's happened again - with a new wrinkle. This time, four people are involved in the exchange of bodies. It makes things a little trickier to follow and there are a lot of returning and new characters. At times it feels like notes are needed to keep up (this review might help). More than 20 years after the first film, things are a little different. Anna (Lohan), a single mother, retired from performing to work as a music manager so she can spend time raising her now-teenage daughter, Harper (Julia Butters, who was so good opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Hollywood). Tess (Curtis) helps out when she's not working as a successful therapist, author, and podcaster. Everyone seems pretty happy. But, of course, things aren't perfect. Harper's enemy at school is Lily (Sophia Hammons), a snooty English girl who's worked in fashion and who's in the US for a year with her widowed father, Eric (Manny Jacinto), a celebrity chef. After a massive food fight at school started by the two girls at a cake sale (it's quite a spectacle), their parents are summoned for a meeting with the principal (X Mayo) and, before you can say "meet cute", are instantly smitten with each other. Six months later, Ann and Eric are about to be married and the prospect of being stepsisters does not please Harper or Lily. And where will the blended family live? This time, the changeover comes courtesy of a psychic (Vanessa Bayer) and involves four rather than two people. Anna trades bodies with Harper and, less expectedly, Lily and Tess swap. Now the girls have a reason beyond simply disliking each other to see that the wedding doesn't happen. But, as before, there's something that has to occur before everyone can return to their own bodies. And the switching doesn't make things easier. There's a lot of fan service here. Among the several reappearances from the first film: Chad Michael Murray is shoehorned in as Anna's ex, Jake, with the tease that she might return to him; Mark Harmon is pleasant as Tess's husband Ryan (but has little to do); and skilled character actor Stephen Tobolowsky once again plays goofy teacher Elton Bates. It's quite impressive that so many actors were reassembled all these years later but the film does feel overstuffed as a result. And it also feels underwritten. The screenplay - by seasoned scribe Jordan Weiss (Dollface), from a story devised by her and Eyse Hollander - has its moments but feels like it could have been better. As mentioned, there's a lot going on, much of which doesn't really lead anywhere. A lot of comic possibilities are either overlooked or not exploited to really good effect - there's so much story to get through and so many characters to juggle. The emotional side is also shortchanged. Lohan (who's had her share of ups and downs but is, we can only hope, in a happier state now), Butters and Jacinto are appealing but Hammons and especially Curtis have the best parts and do well with what they're given. Curtis, evidently thick-skinned, seems to be having fun as the vain Lily frequently bemoans the effects of age on her new body and Hammons is able to channel the cool, smart grandmother (it's a pity more wasn't done with this). Director Nisha Ganatra (Late Night) keeps things moving and the film is pleasant but not memorable. Fans of the original might think it was worth the wait more than I did. Freakier Friday (PG, 111 minutes) 2 stars Body-swap movies are nothing new. It's a surefire premise when done well, with well cast actors who can handle the challenge of playing "each other". We've seen lots of people - often a parent and child - spend time in each other's shoes. They're often comedies - Vice Versa, The Change-Up, to name two - but can also be horror movies, like The Skeleton Key and Freaky. Freakier Friday bears no relationship to that last film. It's a sequel to the comedy Freaky Friday (2003). That's one of four screen adaptations - movie and TV - from Disney of Mary Rodgers' 1972 novel, one of which was based on a stage musical version (the company certainly knows how to exploit its properties, though the musicalisation was no match for Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King). Although there were name and story changes, the premise remained the same in the various incarnations. This film's predecessor told the story of a mother, Tess Coleman (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and her teenage daughter, Anna (Lindsay Lohan) who swap bodies Now it's happened again - with a new wrinkle. This time, four people are involved in the exchange of bodies. It makes things a little trickier to follow and there are a lot of returning and new characters. At times it feels like notes are needed to keep up (this review might help). More than 20 years after the first film, things are a little different. Anna (Lohan), a single mother, retired from performing to work as a music manager so she can spend time raising her now-teenage daughter, Harper (Julia Butters, who was so good opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Hollywood). Tess (Curtis) helps out when she's not working as a successful therapist, author, and podcaster. Everyone seems pretty happy. But, of course, things aren't perfect. Harper's enemy at school is Lily (Sophia Hammons), a snooty English girl who's worked in fashion and who's in the US for a year with her widowed father, Eric (Manny Jacinto), a celebrity chef. After a massive food fight at school started by the two girls at a cake sale (it's quite a spectacle), their parents are summoned for a meeting with the principal (X Mayo) and, before you can say "meet cute", are instantly smitten with each other. Six months later, Ann and Eric are about to be married and the prospect of being stepsisters does not please Harper or Lily. And where will the blended family live? This time, the changeover comes courtesy of a psychic (Vanessa Bayer) and involves four rather than two people. Anna trades bodies with Harper and, less expectedly, Lily and Tess swap. Now the girls have a reason beyond simply disliking each other to see that the wedding doesn't happen. But, as before, there's something that has to occur before everyone can return to their own bodies. And the switching doesn't make things easier. There's a lot of fan service here. Among the several reappearances from the first film: Chad Michael Murray is shoehorned in as Anna's ex, Jake, with the tease that she might return to him; Mark Harmon is pleasant as Tess's husband Ryan (but has little to do); and skilled character actor Stephen Tobolowsky once again plays goofy teacher Elton Bates. It's quite impressive that so many actors were reassembled all these years later but the film does feel overstuffed as a result. And it also feels underwritten. The screenplay - by seasoned scribe Jordan Weiss (Dollface), from a story devised by her and Eyse Hollander - has its moments but feels like it could have been better. As mentioned, there's a lot going on, much of which doesn't really lead anywhere. A lot of comic possibilities are either overlooked or not exploited to really good effect - there's so much story to get through and so many characters to juggle. The emotional side is also shortchanged. Lohan (who's had her share of ups and downs but is, we can only hope, in a happier state now), Butters and Jacinto are appealing but Hammons and especially Curtis have the best parts and do well with what they're given. Curtis, evidently thick-skinned, seems to be having fun as the vain Lily frequently bemoans the effects of age on her new body and Hammons is able to channel the cool, smart grandmother (it's a pity more wasn't done with this). Director Nisha Ganatra (Late Night) keeps things moving and the film is pleasant but not memorable. Fans of the original might think it was worth the wait more than I did.
Axios
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Miami chef Nando Chang wins James Beard Award
Nando Chang of Itamae AO in Midtown won the Best Chef: South category in the James Beard Awards last night — just one year after his sister, Valerie, won the same award. ViceVersa in Downtown fell short in the Best New Bar category. Why it matters: The James Beard Awards are the Grammys of the food and beverage world. The big picture: Chang's win solidifies Miami as a foodie city with restaurants and talent worth celebrating. Valerie's win last year marked the first time since 2010 a Miami chef took home an award, per the Foundation. What they're saying: "It's pretty surreal," Chang told Axios after winning. "I was fortunate enough to watch my sister win this award last year, but being here in person this year [...] I feel very fortunate. We won back to back, it's pretty cool." "My family and I owe Miami so much," he said. "We're blessed to have been embraced by the community and our hope is that we continue to have a space to further grow our culture."
Eater
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Miami's Own Chef Nando Chang of Itamae AO Gets a James Beard Award
Chef Nando Chang of Itamae AO in Miami has received the prestigious James Beard Award in the category of Best Chef: South. The chef from the Nikkei cuisine restaurant-in-a-restaurant was one of two nominees for the city (Italian cocktail destination ViceVersa was nominated in the Best New Bar category, though it went to Identidad Cocktail Bar in Puerto Rico), alongside two other Florida finalists that did not ultimately take home awards. Tasting menu-centric Itamae AO's Chang won over such nominees as both Matthew Cooper from Confier and Rafael Rios from Yeo's El Alma de Mexico in Bentonville, Ar.; and both Kevin Garcia from La Faena AgroCocina and Angel David Moreno Zayas from Ell Gallo Pinto in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Overall, it was an exciting night for the industry, where the awards paid tribute to standout destinations across the country, including New York's Jungsik Yim of Jungsik as Outstanding Chef across the nation, and Boulder, Colo.'s Frasca Food and Wine for Outstanding Restaurant. A full list of winners is available here. See More:
NBC News
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Meet the 1940's secretary who used office time to produce the first lesbian magazine
In 1947, Edythe Eyde was a secretary working at RKO Radio Pictures in Los Angeles. A speedy typist who often completed work ahead of schedule, her boss told her: 'Well, I don't care what you do if you get through with your work, but … don't sit and read a magazine or knit. I want you to look busy.' The literary-minded lesbian saw an opportunity. Gay culture was largely underground, and it was difficult for 'the third sex' to meet like-minded others. Using a Royal manual typewriter and carbon paper, making six copies at a time, the 25-year-old launched Vice Versa — 'a magazine dedicated, in all seriousness, to those of us who will never quite be able to adapt ourselves to the iron-bound rules of Convention.' 'During those days I didn't really know many girls,' she told the lesbian magazine Visibilities in a 1990 interview. 'But I thought, well, I'll just keep turning out these magazines and maybe I'll meet some!' It worked. By Issue 4, the writer was awakened one night by readers tapping at her window. 'Their enthusiasm was gratifying indeed,' she wrote. Vice Versa featured original poems, short stories and reviews of books, films and plays; any dramatic work with the slightest undertone of attraction between women was fair game. Her 'Watchama-Column' was a catch-all for her musings, and she invited others to sharpen their pencils and contribute. Eyde distributed the photocopied magazine to friends, asking that they be passed along. ('But puh-leeze, let's keep it 'just between us girls.''). She also sent copies by mail, until a friend warned of illegality; the Comstock Act forbade sending 'obscene, lewd or lascivious' materials, without describing further. 'I don't know if she understood when she started typing the magazine that you could get in trouble for distributing work like that,' said acclaimed historian Lillian Faderman, author of 'The Gay Revolution.' 'It was a sort of blessed naivete, I think, that made it possible for her to do that.' From June 1947 to February 1948, Eyde produced nine monthly issues, stopping only when Howard Hughes bought the studio and new work in secretarial pools did not afford privacy or extra time. She could not have known then that her humble magazine would be heralded well into the next century as a first in the lineage of lavender press. 'It was revolutionary,' Faderman said of Vice Versa. 'I don't think she realized how revolutionary it was. I don't think she realized how brave and meaningful it was.' Faberman noted that Vice Versa inspired several female writers, who took courage from Eyde's friendship and undertaking, to contribute content to the male-centric ONE Magazine, which launched in 1953 (and in 1958 was at the center of a landmark Supreme Court case that protected free speech around homosexuality). In the mid-1950s, Eyde also got involved with the first lesbian rights organization, Daughters of Bilitis. Adopting the name Lisa Ben (a clever anagram of 'lesbian'), she contributed to the organization's magazine, The Ladder — the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the U.S., which ran from 1956 through 1972. 'It was a very brave little magazine, and I was happy to be a part of it,' she said of The Ladder in a 1988 interview with Manuela Soares for the Daughters of Bilitis Video Project at the Lesbian Herstory Archives. 'I was bubbling over with this sense of gayness, and it was easy to transpose it onto paper and send it in.' Eyde's brand of activism was not overt, though her talents were wide-reaching, and she used creativity as a counterpoint to society's disdain 'of our inclinations,' as she called them in Vice Versa. An assiduous student of the violin in earlier years, Eyde took up guitar for a cause. The inspiration took root at a West Hollywood drag bar Club Flamingo, which drew gay people in the afternoon and, toward the evening, a broad audience who enjoyed impersonations of Golden Age divas. Eyde stayed late one night and was horrified by the 'filth' she witnessed, particularly the willingness of gay performers to 'debase' themselves — and, specifically, lesbian nightclub singer Beverly Shaw — to get laughs from the general public. Eyde set to writing parodies that cast gays and lesbians in a positive light. She performed at parties and private homes. 'Gee, my phone rang off the wall,' she told Soares. 'I would bring my guitar and sing all these gay parodies — and I had an awful lot of fun doing that.' As for those lesbian pulp novels, she told Soares she 'read as many as I could get my greedy little hands on.' 'It was so nice to be able to read things like that and not have parents breathing down my neck,' she said. As a teen, her overbearing parents even monitored her library books. 'Her parents were very conservative,' recalled Vicky Venhuizen, 81, a distant cousin by marriage. Venhuizen met Eyde when the writer came to Rockford, Illinois, with her parents. 'My impression … was that she was glamorous,' Venhuizen said, noting that she was in awe of Eyde's independence. 'She was unmarried, which was rare for a '50s kid like me, and she lived in California.' 'She was ahead of her time,' Venhuizen said. 'Her writings proved that.' Though not identifying as a SciFi writer, Edye was an enthusiastic consumer of horror stories and fantasy; a card-carrying member of the Fourth World Science Fiction Convention Society; and, to the delight of the modern admirer, can be seen in a 1945 photo in a bikini top reading the pulp magazine Weird Tales. She preferred frilly dresses over trousers and loved dancing with the 'gay gals' at the If Club, a low-lit Los Angeles bar considered safe for the butches that she favored — and great spot to distribute Vice Versa. Eyde 'ran with a hard-drinking crowd,' but she didn't care for alcohol herself. In a 1995 interview, Eyde recalled meeting a gorgeous girl at a party who wasn't fit to drive her home: 'She was a hell of a lover — golly, she was great, and I enjoyed being with her and all that, but she just couldn't leave the booze alone: couldn't drive the stick shift.' Eyde maintained her vivacious spirit over the decades. In 1989, Eric Marcus, creator of the Making Gay History podcast, tracked her down in her small Burbank bungalow, attained through many years of secretarial work and frugal living. 'She was absolutely charming,' Marcus said of Eyde, then 68. 'She had curly hair and was very girlish in a lovely, charming way — very welcoming and eager to talk and happy to play her music for me.' As an only child on a fruit ranch in Los Altos, California, her friends had been animals — a dog and cat, then later, a goat and riding pony. So, too, in later years, she settled into a quiet isolated life, caregiver to 15 cats. Edythe Eyde, aka Lisa Ben, was inducted into The Association LGBTQ+ Journalists' Hall of Fame in 2010, and in 2015, she received the association's first Lisa Ben Award for Achievement in Features Coverage. She died later that year, at 94. She may never have fully appreciated her own courage, but it appeared she knew no other way. 'My feelings in such matters have always seemed quite natural and 'right' to me,' she wrote. 'Right' like that exquisite time that she never did let go of — when a wavy-haired high school girl took her in her arms to dance around the living room. 'As our acquaintance grew, we found out how pleasant it was to kiss one another and hug one another ... and I just really thought she was tops. I just loved her.'
