Weapon Detected

Russia puts out an effective (and hot) PSA advocating that a condom will get you in to a bed with an aggressive security setting. Nicely done.

The Vagina Song

Willam Belli of Ticked Off Trannies With Knives and Nip/Tuck re-works the "Billionaire" song, imagining what life will be like after the old *snip* and tuck. You can follow Willam's cheeky humor and in-your-face exploits on the blog we've been following forever, here: as long as there's sidewalks, I'll have a job.

Um ...

Much more here.

Ticked Off Trannies

After unexpectedly getting a night off due to anemic ticket sales, I suddenly realized I would have an opportunity to check out what turned out to be a controversial entry in to last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Ticked Off Trannies With Knives, after initially receiving some positive support from more "mainstream" gay media groups like GLAAD, suddenly found itself the focus of a lot of negative notices after a group of actual "trannies" found the title alone to be offensive.

There ensued much wailing and gnashing of teeth, as much of the LGBT press on both coasts took sides. Ultimately, while the protesters failed to get the film pulled from Tribeca, The New York Times ended up censoring the title, and Ticked Off T****ies was listed on movie clocks and some press coverage.

I really wanted to see the film myself before I made up my mind, a craaaaaazy concept in this day and age I know, but I ended up working through most of the screenings. So when I saw a notice that it had returned to the major markets this week, I looked for a chance to see what the fuss was about.

The theater is on 12th street in between the East and West Village, very near NYU, and this was a Thursday night. While I didn't expect the screening to be sold out, I did think there would be some like-minded people, this is NYC, that would be there. If nothing else, I assume there are people that literally go to everything.

So imagine my surprise when I arrived at the theater about 10 minutes before showtime and I was the only person in the entire place. Still thinking there would be at least a smattering of people wandering in I took out a magazine and my crackberry and started reading and cleaning out my email. The movie started and I settled in, quite comfortably with no one to block my view or take up my armrest.

After seeing the film, I confess I don't agree that it was exploitative, nor do I think it promotes or encourages violence towards transsexuals. I also know that I've met many many trans women that support themselves performing in gay clubs as well as stripping or exotic dancing. I understand many trans people have everyday "normal" jobs, but this film wasn't about them, and these people, the ones in the film, do actually exist. I suspect all the protest was as much about an opportunity to get some press for people with a larger agenda as much as it was actual outrage over the actual content of the movie.

In any case, the movie really needed another screenwriter more than it needed to be more politically correct. The acting was OK and some of the line readings rang true, but most of those seemed like they might have been improvised, which is more a testament to the actors than the director. But there was a beginning a middle and an end, which I was always taught is the most important requirement for a story, it's just that the middle got quite a bit messy and really would have benefited from another edit. Or two. Overall, I've spent $11 on much worse.

As the credits rolled and before the lights went up I took a look behind me to see who had come in last-minute. It was then that I realized that I had just experienced a first. I was the only one there. My first private screening. Just me in a 150 seat theater. I wonder if they would have actually shown the film if I hadn't bought that one ticket?

Miles And Miles And Miles Of Art

Sent this photo from a shoot last year off to the printer and got back a gorgeous 24X36 print that I framed for the bedroom. I bought a poster sized frame from Bed Bath & Beyonce that felt kind of flimsy, so I broke down, crossed the boycott line and bought a sturdier frame at Target. I know. We're not supposed to be shopping there. I try to be politically correct, although I loathe knee-jerk political correctness. I tend not to just react to every boycott or letter writing campaign or Facebook posting that pops up on the Internets, as I find that frequently the whole story, with the correct facts, doesn't come out for a few days. I also find that things that outrage other gays many times don't bother me at all. And I often find them quite amusing.

So while I support the boycott Target kerfluffle in the abstract, if I really need something at a reasonable price that I know Target sells, like a sturdier frame, I will put on a pair of sunglasses and a hat (to avoid the paparazzi) and do what needs to be done.

I ended up hanging the picture up late one night last week. Then I took Riley out for his last walk. When I returned, the sturdier (heavier) frame had fallen off the wall from where I had badly secured it and shattered into several pieces. So I ended up spending an extra $25.00 at Target with nothing to show for it. The picture is back on the wall, in the flimsy original frame, which I have grown to actually like better.

Annie Lennox Explains It All

Annie has been spotted and photographed many times sporting her "HIV POSITIVE" T-Shirt. At the opening day of the 2010 AIDS conference in Vienna, Ms. Lennox gives the straight poop on why and what the shirt actually means. I was cleaning out my closet the other day, and watching this video made me run out to the hallway and rifle through the bag of clothes I was preparing to throw away. In it was a baseball jersey I had purchased a few years ago. It had a parody of the old Intel logo on the front, only my shirt was "HIV Inside". I was thinking that since I frequently sport my own "POSITIVE" T-Shirt, that perhaps the baseball jersey was overkill. And a bit dated. But I decided that until the stigma attached to being HIV+ in this country is talked about openly and dealt with, I should probably get a few more miles out of that jersey. It's what Annie would do.

Mommie Dearest- Interactive

Went to an "interactive" screening of Mommie Dearest in honor of Gay Pride week. Interactive meaning the film was cut with sound effects (farting), boring exposition scenes were fast forwarded, and all the fighting and classic lines, the good stuff, was re-wound and repeated for maximum camp. Two slaps became 10, and the living room fight scene came with ringside commentary. It was a blast. There are two more showings tomorrow and Saturday if you're so inclined.

Real Estate Porn

Interesting article and great pictures from a property nearby on 14st. For years the top floors had been vacant while the bottom housed a grimy check-cashing joint. Several years ago the space was gutted and re-done. The street level facade was interesting and mysterious. I always wondered what was behind it. Turns out it was a ridiculously cool brownstone project where the entire second floor wall facing the street opens up. I'm assuming you need to at least wear clean undies at all times. I would. Probably. Here's a shot of the outside and the gorgeous living room. I love that couch!


-via New York Magazine

No Lucy, You Can't Be In The Show

So I decided to try and cross a few things off my bucket list, and I've always wanted to be on a game show. But not just any game show. I have no interest in any show where I have to jump up and down, mindlessly applaud myself or fall on the floor when I'm offered a car. I want to be a contestant and hopefully win some money, but escape with my dignity, or the illusion that I have some, intact.

So I arranged for an audition to be a contestant on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. By arranged, I mean you go to the Millionaire website and find the link for contestant auditions. Basically , since I live in NYC where the show is taped, all I had to do was request a couple of days for an audition when I was available and they answered within 24 hrs via e-mail.

So Monday evening at 6:30 was my audition date and time. And I got lost. In NYC. Where I've lived for 20+ years.

The ABC studios are located on W 66th street. And I've absolutely walked by there on many occasions. But I didn't really "know" know where the studio was located? Y'know? So when I got on the subway I was planning on getting out at 57th and 7th, which would have put me about 9 blocks and 15 minutes away from where and when my audition was. But at the last minute I second-guessed and stayed on the train until 59th & 5th. And when I got off the train I was outside Central Park. Somehow I ended up heading west instead of north, and when I started to panic at the thought of being late, I tried to cut through the park and found myself completely opposite where I needed to be, on the east side of Central Park. I finally had my bearings but realized I was screwed.

So I ended up running and walking up 5th avenue to 66th street and then across the park to the west side. By the time I arrived at the ABC studios I was sweating like a pig, gasping for breath ... and late for my audition time. I was put 1st in line for standby at the 7:00 audition. Which was actually a blessing as it took the full 1/2 hour before I stopped sweating buckets and my shirt was reasonably dried out.

I got in with the 7:00 group of auditioners, about 30 people in all. And the audition is actually a test. You are handed a souvenir magnet, a manila envelope with the test inside, and a scan-able answer card with a No. 2 pencil. The test is 30 multiple choice questions, and you have 10 minutes to answer them. It goes by fast.

I thought I did well on the test, which is a mix of pop culture questions just like on the show. I only struggled with about 7 or so out of the 30. By my reckoning, I got about 22-23 out of 30 questions correct. But I guess that's not good enough, as right after the time is up they collect the scan cards and feed them in to a computer. About 2 minutes later they are announcing by number who has passed and will go on to a taped interview with a producer, and who has failed. About 3 minutes later you are out on the sidewalk where you started.

Or rather, I was.

You are, of course free to take the test another day, and as many times as you like. I overheard one gentleman talking on the phone that this was his fourth attempt, And his fourth failure. I suppose I might someday, as I abhor being told I can't do something. I at least would like to pass the test, even if I get rejected at the interview. I don't like feeling too dumb to be on Millionaire. It makes watching the show and screaming out the answers infuriating instead of fun.

I threw out the souvenir magnet.

Madonna On "Milk"

"But you know, what the movie triggered for me was all my early days in New York and the scene that I came up in-you know, with Andy Warhol and Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf. It was just so alive with art and politics and this wonderful spirit. So many of those people are dead now. I think that's one of the reasons I cried. In fact, the character that Richard E. Grant plays in the film I directed, Filth and Wisdom [2008], is this blind professor who was based on my ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn. Growing up in Michigan, I didn't really know what a gay man was. He was the first man-the first human being-who made me feel good about myself and special. He was the first person who told me that I was beautiful or that I had something to offer the world, and he encouraged me to believe in my dreams, to go to New York. He was such an important person in my life. He died of AIDS, but he went blind toward the end of his life. He was such a lover of art, classical music, literature, opera. You know, I grew up in the Midwest, and it was really because of him that I was exposed to so many of those things. He brought me to my first gay club-it was this club in Detroit. I always felt like I was a freak when I was growing up and that there was something wrong with me because I couldn't fit in anywhere. But when he took me to that club, he brought me to a place where I finally felt at home. So that character in Filth and Wisdom was dedicated to him and inspired by him. I don't know why I'm bringing all this up, but I guess it's just coming from that world in Michigan and the trajectory of my life: after going to New York and being a dancer when the whole AIDS epidemic started and nobody knew what it was. And then suddenly, all these beautiful men around me, people who I loved so dearly, were dying-just one after the next. It was just such a crazy time. And watching the world freak out-the gay community was so ostracized. But it was also when I was beginning my career. . . . I don't know. Your movie really struck a chord for me and made me remember all that. It's a time I don't think many people have captured on film. It's a time that people don't talk about much. And even though there was so much death, for me, New York was so alive." -via Interview magazine

Movie Review: Yummy!

I saw Kick-Ass over the weekend. I never read the comic it was based on, but being a comic book geek I was naturally thoroughly entertained. The acting was uniformly good, and they found a way to make Nick Cage's freaky delivery work, much the same way they did when he starred in Raising Arizona. The trick is to have him play a character that is so "out there" that his completely baffling line readings actually seem to make sense. I'm predicting that Hit Girl will be a hot costume this year for Halloween. Of course the main highlight was enjoying Aaron Johnson, playing the earnest and sensitive, and curiously wildly sexy everyman "superhero" Dave. In the movie Dave is a teenager, but actor Aaron is all of 20, so enjoy these ab-tastic pictures.

And go see Kick-Ass!

Fight!

Saturday I had planned on taking a trip across town to spend the afternoon photographing from the High Line. As I was getting my camera and supplies ready the night before I came upon a link to a happening in Union Square which seemed a much better bet. They were advertising the World's Largest Pillow Fight. Over 150 cities participated this year, and the New York crowd was estimated at 5000+. If you count the observers in and around the park, 5000 was on the low side.

The site published a Facebook page, and there were rules. Among them:

+ Soft, feather-free pillows only!
+ Swing lightly, many people will be swinging at once.
+ Do not swing at people without pillows or with cameras.

Well, the feather pillow ban was good in theory, but thank goodness that it was ignored by some, as the crowd roared whenever a feather pillow burst open and disgorged feathers to the wind.

People did in fact swing lightly, especially at first as there were many young kids in the crowd, Nobody was beating down children and in fact, some people made it a point to engage them and have little mini-fights with the kiddies.

But after about an hour and a half, as the event started to thin out a little, things got a little rougher. It started innocently enough, as people began to target certain participants. One young guy near me climbed on a friend's shoulders and called out to "Increase the peace! Put down your pillows!" He was attacked in a fusillade of foam until he fell.

Pretty soon it became less of a pillow fight and more of a pillow fatwa. As people were targeted for wearing costumes, having helmets, climbing light poles or any other infraction. Quite funny.

But as these things are, eventually it was taken over by a more aggressive pillow fighter, mostly boys with anger issues and free testosterone. And while I made good use of the opportunity to try and capture some of them sweaty and beating each other with pillows ( I know!), it soon became apparent that anyone was fair game and liable to be hit or knocked over as collateral damage. My cue to exit.

As a social experiment, and a way to have a fun Saturday in an urban setting on a sunny day, I would declare it a resounding success.

Facebook 'em, Danno.

All right, so I decided to go ahead and jump in to this Facebook pool. The Kool-Aid had a little bit of a bitter "almond-y" aftertaste but besides that it was ... *gak*.

Well as expected everyone I ever met is on and I spent about an hour or so adding friends and then friends of friends. More and more people that I hadn't counted on finding so quickly, most of them from Buffalo and my post High School years. Although finding my old music and voice teacher from my High School was an amazing surprise. Come to think of it, the old bastard hasn't returned my friend request. Hmm.

Needless to say I'll be spending a lot of my free time reading other people's pages and getting caught up. I haven't decided yet whether "From The Ashes" will be meeting up with Tom's Facebook page. That might be over-sharing, but you know how I love attention ....

Oleta Adams - Live

Just because I felt like it. This is music kids, and what the nice lady is doing is called singing. You know what you don't hear? That damn tinny ringing underneath from the auto-tune. Oleta don't need no friggin' auto-tune. Learn it.

You Go Lady!

Johnny Weir holds a press conference in Vancouver following some ugly remarks made by Quebec sportscasters calling him a "bad example" and stating that he "should pass a gender test".



And then there's this:

Gym Etiquette

The NY Times runs a complaint box column, basically an Op-Ed area for the masses, which typically just ends up to be a place were one New Yorker complains about the behavior of other New Yorkers, and then hundreds of other New Yorkers write in to second that complaint, take the opposing viewpoint, or point out other things that other New Yorkers do to drive them crazy.

Last week the subject was the clusterfuck that gym noobs, typically found in large quantities every January and February, cause for those of us who work out on a more regular basis, and have been for years. I've written before about the phenomenon, complete with brand new gym "outfits" instead of clothes, along with matching sneakers. You can spot a gym neophyte that won't be around past March if he or she is working out with makeup and/or jewelry on.

The article is pretty typical, along with an accompanying piece about the proliferation of people that insist on updating their twitter feed, or worse (IMO) making phone calls in the locker room.

What I found most amusing, as always, were the comments from the rest of New York, most of whom had an entire other litany of complaints, as well as those who basically begged for tolerance and patience, as gym novices be given the time and instruction to, you know, get off the phone and get the hell out of the way.

But there was one gem amongst all the other "Me too's":

Guys who put their shod feet on benches in the locker room to tie their laces. How witless can you get?

"Shod?" "laces?" "witless?" - where does this guy work out? A 19th century YMCA? And what is the objection/obsession I've discovered peeving New Yorkers about sneakers touching seating areas? There was a similar outburst when a subway rider was recently ticketed for putting his feet up in a car at 2:30am. People passed right over the outrage the article meant to invoke and went on and on about how filthy and nasty it is to put your sneaker on a seat. I wouldn't think twice about putting my foot on a bench in the locker room to tie my sneaker. Would you? Am I missing something?

Or is this another case where, in a city of 9 million people, someone will always be pissed off about something?

Meanwhile ... I'm having some serious connectivity issues, and I got Verizon on the phone to test my line. While at first he was claiming that everything was A-OK, my insistence that it most assuredly was not led him to run another diagnostic, which revealed that it's a miracle I can even post this blog piece. A repairman is coming on Wednesday so hopefully I'll be zipping along The Internets in a day or so.

Gay Marriage Done Right - "Finally"

I ran across this video a month or two back, but for some reason there was no option at the time to embed it (I think). I'm on record as not being a very strong proponent of gay marriage -for me- but I certainly recognize and support that many people are, and are working tirelessly to achieve it. However, this is a very sweet video and one of my favorite songs refashioned brilliantly. And it omits one of the things that turns me off about gay marriage as well as marriage in general. The need for some big, ostentatious display to accompany your desire to legally take a partner. Namely a big wedding ceremony and reception. Aside from the fact that the wedding industry (dress, flowers, photos, tuxes, and reception among other things) is a HUGE scam that I am continually shocked millions and millions of people fall for, it would seem to me that if all you really wanted out of gay marriage was the legal recognition, it would make sense to not imitate the ridiculous "show" that straight people put on and just get married by a judge with a few close friends, or in this case, one tastefully turned out drag queen.

We Fucked Up "We Are The World"

A great idea to make a new recording and video for WATW on the 25th anniversary, and there's no denying the need in Haiti is great. Every dollar helps. But you know there's trouble brewing when Justin Bieber opens the video.

Overall I didn't hate it. And I actually really loved the rap break they dropped in at the 3/4 mark. I thought it added a grittiness that counters what is a pretty saccharine song. But the video as a whole was ruined when they decided to try and 'modernize" it by using that fucking auto-tune. I didn't hate it when I first started hearing it, when artists were using it as a novelty for an effect, like Cher did on "Believe". But now every lame-ass out of tune untrained lazy singer is pushing their recordings through the vocoder and everything I hear now has that slightly "tinny" background that Drives. Me. Wild.

If you had the pleasure of hearing k.d. lang sing "Hallelujah" at the opening ceremonies last night at the Olympics, you would know how gorgeous, trained, unfiltered vocals can move you to tears. If you didn't get the chance, I strongly suggest you watch it here. And then you will know why I hate the auto-tune, and why We Are the World - 25 turned out crappy.

J'Adore Johnny Weir

Johnny Weir has run a-fowl (get it?) of the wing-nuts at Friends of Animals, all because he wore a skating costume trimmed with fox fur. Rather than bowing down to the crazies, our Ms. Weir leapt to the defense of his costume designer, boldly offering to take the heat all by himself. He also issued this statement:

"I totally get the dirtiness of the fur industry and how terrible it is to animals. But it's not something that's the No. 1 priority in my life," Weir added. He also notes the thousands of people dying in Haiti and said he prefers to focus his energy on causes related to humans. "While that may be callous and bad of me, it's my choice."

As I have always said, if the cure for HIV has to come by crawling over the dead carcasses of a thousand bunnies, I will personally start to strangle Mr. Floppytail with my own two hands.

Strike That (UPDATE): Not that I blame him, but he caved.

Oompa-Loompas Lay Down A Track

And could someone explain how the black kid fits in the storyline?