Instant Convertible
The height limit for the Lincoln Tunnel is exactly 13 feet. Not 13 feet, six inches. Now you know. And so does a certain Texan plumbing supplies deliverman.
Labels: NYC
The height limit for the Lincoln Tunnel is exactly 13 feet. Not 13 feet, six inches. Now you know. And so does a certain Texan plumbing supplies deliverman.
Labels: NYC
Last night I trekked down to Soho to meet From Boys To Men editors Ted Gideonse and Rob Williams at the launch party for Bob Smith's new book Selfish And Perverse. Great party, tons of gay lit bigwigs in attendance, with Michael Musto lurking in a corner. The loft was stiflingly hot, but I lucky enough to spend a few sweaty minutes chatting with Edmund White about his new book Chaos, during which he confessed that he'd read the comments here on JMG when we gave the book away on Swag Tuesday. I also got to chat with comedian Judy Gold about her upcoming appearance at the Commercial Closet Awards. She kills me. By the way, From Boys To Men lost in its category at Thursday's Lambda Literary Awards. Rats. But Famous Author Rob Bynes won in his category, go Rob!
Labels: Bob Smith, Edmund White, Judy Gold, publishing
Google Map's new Street View feature is quickly raising privacy concerns from people dismayed to find they can zoom right in on their homes, with one woman even spotting her cat sitting in her window. At the present, Street View only has complete street-level images of New York, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas and Miami, with more cities to be added. Some dismiss privacy concerns, saying that anything that can be seen from a car on the street cannot be considered private, but others are worried about stalkers and other forms of internet harassment. I just checked my own address and instantly found a panoramic image of my street and my front door. Neat, but also kind of creepy.
Labels: Google, internet, privacy
A California lesbian is suing dating site eHarmony.com for discrimination because it does not offer any not-hetero options. Linda Carlson is citing California law that prohibits sexual orientation discrimination in business and is moving to make hers a class-action suit, with a jury trial and unspecified damages requested. Recently, competing dating site Chemistry.com launched a widely praised ad that mocked eHarmony for not allowing gays to use the service.
Labels: business, California, internet, LGBT rights
After viewing RuPaul's Starrbooty yesterday afternoon, I hopped an uptown train and met Aaron to attend Grey Gardens, currently celebrating 10 Tony nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Leading Actress (Musical) for Christine Ebersole. Looking around the gorgeous Walter Kerr Theatre, I tried to remember when I was last there. Could it have been waaaay back in '91 for Angels In America? While the show wasn't exactly my style (all those affected New England accents get on my nerves, paging Mayor Quimby), the cast was marvelous, especially Miss Ebersole, who is my pick to win her category at the Tonys. Xanudu, Starbooty, Grey Gardens: possibly the 24 gayest hours of my life.
Labels: Broadway, Grey Gardens, Tony Awards
Yesterday I attended a screening of RuPaul's new movie Starrbooty, which makes its debut at NYC's NewFest film festival this Saturday. Produced by RuPaul and directed by Mike Ruiz (above right), Starrbooty follows the title character, the world's leading supermodel and secret agent, as she goes undercover as a Meatpacking District hooker to find her adopted niece Cornisha who has been abducted by evil cosmetics mogul Anika Manner (Candis Cayne) who plans on selling Cornisha's clitoris to the highest bidder. Along the way there is kung-fu action, gun play, dance routines, and lots and lots of raunchy, perverted sex with full-frontal engorged male nudity. Got all that?
Labels: movies, RuPaul, Starrbooty
Built in 1930, Time Square's Brill Building, at 1619 Broadway, is where a massive amount of American pop songs were written, home to the offices of such luminaries as Leiber & Stoller, Bacharach & David, Carole King and Neil Sedaka. By the early 60's, the work done in this single building so influenced American pop that many music historians charcterize the sound of the time as the "Brill Building sound". My favorite Brill Building song: Burt Bacharach and Hal David's The Look Of Love.
Labels: Morning View
Remember Cpl. Adam Kokesh, USMC? Last month I blogged about the sexy Iraq war veteran, photographed here at the Alberto Gonzales hearings. Because of his anti-war protests, Kokesh is now facing a revocation of his honorable discharge from the Marine Corps and a discharge from the Individual Ready Reserves.
Labels: Adam Kokesh, Iraq
David Hyde Pierce's publicist confirmed yesterday that the multi-Emmy winning actor is a homosexual. Was there ever any doubt? Previously Pierce had declined to discuss his personal life, taking the Sean Hayes "my private life is personal" route, although his gayness was well-known to friends and industry associates. I think Pierce is a fantastic talent, yet I can only offer slight applause for this cautious, declaration-by-lackey, sort of self-outing.
Labels: David Hyde Pierce, outing, showbiz
"If there's anyone to blame for size zero, it's not women. Blame gay men who work in the fashion industry and want these women as dolls." - Lesbian rocker Beth Ditto, lead singer of The Gossip, saying that gay men are responsible putting anorexic models on runways.
Labels: HomoQuotable
New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed that state's civil unions bill into law today. When the law goes into effect in January, NH will join Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey as the 4th state with civil unions available to same-sex couples. A total of 10 states now offer gay couples some sort of state-level recognition.
Labels: civil unions, LGBT rights, New Hampshire
Last night Little David and I attended a preview of Xanadu, joining an audience that seemed to be 50% gay men. When the house lights went down, a roar of anticipation went up. David said, "Rowdy crowd!" And they were not disappointed.
George Bush asked Congress today to double the amount spent fighting AIDS to $30 billion a year, beginning in 2008. In 2003, Bush requested a $15 billion annual allocation, a five-year funding that expires when the new amount would kick in. The 2003 budget remains the largest annual AIDS funding in the world. Critics complain that even the new amount is far too little to meet worldwide needs and that any AIDS funding tied to abstinence programs undercuts its effectiveness.
Over the weekend, Mikel Gerle of Los Angeles was crowned Mr. International Leather 2007 at Chicago's annual gathering of SM/BD enthusiasts and fans of the couture. Gerle will use his title year promoting world peace, fighting third world hunger, and smacking around anybody that seems to like it. Perennial favorite Mr. Trinidad-Tobago did not make the final round. After the contest, contestants and audience members gathered in the Palmer House lobby for drinks, cigars, and a heated discussion of Maria Callas.
Labels: gay culture, IML, leather
With an appletini in one hand and a Marlboro 100 in the other, Lady Random spun her glittery wheel and landed on Fog City Mike, this week's Swag Tuesday winner. Mike, a music writer who has just written the liner notes for the upcoming Sugarhill Gang reissues, will be getting a copy of Mike Jones' I Had To Say Something, courtesy of Seven Cities Press. Mike sez: "Wow! As an abject but admiring fan of JoeMyGod and someone who never wins anything, I am most appreciative." Publicists, if you'd like to participate in Swag Tuesday on JMG, please email me.
Labels: Swag Tuesday
My favorite supermarket is the BridgeMarket Food Emporium, cleverly wedged under the supports of the Queensboro Bridge with a fabulous tile vaulted ceiling. Just outside is Terrence Conran's Shoppe of Expensive Whimsy, where you can pick up such necessities as a $2000 molded plastic sofa.
Labels: Morning View
Two weeks from today I'll be performing at Gays Gone Wild, the annual gay pride edition of WYSIWYG, alongside JMG blogroll pals Joel Derfner and Rod Townsend . This will be the final Wizzy, after four years the promoters are burned out and decided to pull the plug on a high note, as the pride show is always a smash. As usual, I don't know what I'm doing for the show yet, it usually comes to me a couple of days before. If you're in NYC on June 13th, come on by.
Courtesy of Seven Stories Press, today's Swag Tuesday prize is a hardback copy of Mike Jones' brand new autobiography, The Art Of Ted Haggard's Fall: I Had To Say Something (cowriter: Sam Gallegos). The book ships this week.
Labels: Mike Jones, Swag Tuesday, Ted Haggard
"I'm not deterred one iota from coming back to protest in Moscow." - British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell, who was beaten by suspected neo-nazi protesters at this weekend's Moscow gay pride event. Unbelievably, after he was beaten, Tatchell and other marchers, including Moscow Pride organizer Nikolai Aleksee were arrested by Moscow police. Tatchell delivered the keynote address to Moscow Pride before the attacks began. Read his inspiring comments here.
Labels: HomoQuotable, LGBT rights, Moscow Pride, Peter Tatchell, Russia
Charles Nelson Reilly, the campiest creature ever to challenge Paul Lynde's chiffon sash as TV's first mean queen, died yesterday in Los Angeles at 76. Most probably know Reilly from his trademark evil snigger, which he delivered for many years on game shows such as Hollywood Squares and Match Game.
Labels: Charles Nelson Reilly, obituary, show biz, television, Tony Awards
Mr. Fleet Week is climaxing. Waist-deep in the Hudson River he stands, back arched, toes curling, straining...UGH...to blow his patriotic load of bipedal cannon fodder one last time over America's well-fingered g-spot, Midtown Manhattan. The spot, after six nights of polite (compared to the locals) but woefully unskilled (ditto) attention, is currently wavering perilously between grateful, exhausted satiety and "not tonight fuckwads, I have a headache." As I watch the streets of Gotham swell a final time with jarheads and swabbies - all of them young perfect happy bounding eager horny puppies, their arrival again strikes me with feelings of envy and apprehension. They also make me think of boobies, but we'll get to that in a bit.
Labels: boobies, Fleet Week, military, NYC
Father Tony took this shot at yesterday's picnic on Bear Hill in Central Park. I'll post some pics of my own after the weekend is over. In the meantime, Father Tony has lots more over at his place. This photo is now embiggen-friendly.
Labels: bears, Bloggers, Central Park, GB:NYC4, NYC