Breaking A Commandment

I covet this objet d'art so much it hurts. How can a human creation look so divine?

Killing Idols

Hollywood is going to attempt to destroy another icon by doing a biopic of Germs frontperson Darby Crash.

The film is called "What We Do Is Secret". Do yourself a flavor and ignore it...Instead just watch the legendary "Decline Of Western Civilization" and call it a day.

Mind Boggling Creativity

When you come across design as fundamentally genius as this it truly takes your breath away.

Bring On January

Could I be more excited for the arrival of the 2008? A brand new special edition of the incomparable Body&Soul party...what better way to celebrate than with a couple of thousand people dancing to spiritually uplifting music.

Balenciaga Does It Right

Kudos to the Children over at La Maison Balenciaga. They truly prove they have "it" with this masterpiece of design

The first person I see delivering these on the streets gets a personalized kiss from moi.

The Definition of Serving...

Do not front on Tramaine Hawkins. She can crush 90% of The Children just by walking on stage.

Serve!

Devastating

In general I think Oprah is pretty overrated. But anyone who can gather such true legends to deliver it to the Children must have my respeck...

Closing In...

This store is only 3.5 blocks from my apt., which means the odds me coming across a line of sheeple waiting to buy shoes is that much greater.

God forgive me if I am forced to lash out.

Real Beauty

I forgot to write a post about this when it happened a year or so ago, but this is one of those stories that is so gorgeous it blows your heart and mind away.

Nimrod Nation

This show is so great it kills me. Basically, early David Lynch without the irony.

Partial Luxury

Half day of work...great work out at the gym...semi-professional massage...food ordered online delivered to my front door...chat with sister...a bit of TV, then early to bed. A refreshing end to a stressful week.

Too bad a new stressful week begins tomorrow.

Take What Is Given

Even though it is an aquarian horoscope from an astrologer that I have never met before, the following is exactly what I need to hear right now:

Quick, contact the authorities. You’ve surely beat the world record for holding your breath. How long’s it been since you took in a proper lungful of fresh, cool, clean, refreshing air? A few months, at least. Whatever constrictive force has restrained you from truly breathing and relaxing is about to let up, whether it’s a self-inflicted emotional corset or a predatory metaphorical boa constrictor. Your ribs might crack, and it might hurt to draw in that first delicious breath—but you’ll know it’s the good kind of hurt. Yawn, gasp, sigh, and pant—and know that things will have to be at least a little easier from now on.

Even if it is just self fulfilling prophecy leading me in the above-stated direction, I will take whatever release that the Universe has to offer.

The Return

This is the best album title in forever. And the music taint half bad either. Believe it.

Computers Do Not Give Justice

Only two weeks left to see the Ben Grasso exhibition at the Thierry Goldberg gallery. Although Grasso content is visually exhilirating, it is his use of color that will blow you away.

In the painting above he mixes some very fresh greens with some other-worldly purples and lavenders that create an amazing lightness and depth. These are paintings that have to be seen to be appreciated. No computer can mimic the colors that he communicates.

Damn Her!

I can't believe Vanessa Del Rio had the cojones to steal the title of my future autobiography for her own high-end art book.

I shall have my revenge...

Higher (And Lower) States Of Consciousness

Leave it to Billy Beyond to harness the power of music to cleanse the mind and the body.

The AMA better watch out.

Poem Du Jour

Saw this on one of those MTA poetry posters on the subway.

Tell All The Truth

Tell all the truth but tell it slant,

Success in circuit lies,

Too bright for our infirm delight

The truth's superb surprise;

As lightning to the children eased

With explanation kind,

The truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind.

Emily Dickinson

That last line absolutely destroys me...I have been blinded many times by both the unfiltered beauty of "The Truth" as well as being blind-sided by the ugliness of a truthful revelation.

Let's Get Down To Business Indeed!

If this is what life was like back in the repressed 1950's...then I say lets go return!

The Inspiration For The Now

If, as you claim, you are actually a man AND you want to know the look of the season, here it is.

So you think that denim hot pants are a bit feminine...I will give you 500 dollars U.S. to watch you tell that to Lemmy. He would crush the skull of anyone who dared make such a suggestion.

"Ace Of Spades!"
"Ace Of Spades!"
"Ace Of Spades!"

Insight To My Way Of Thinking

The other day I was in my office when I began singing two-hit-wonder Monica's 1995 hit "Just One of Them Days (Don't Take It Personal)". A seemingly normal response to a stress-filled day at work.

My co-worker Miguel was within earshot and said "Oh no!...now you are going to have me singing that song all day"

"What's wrong with that...it is a great song" I replied.

"Yeah, but everyone will think I am crazy for singing it" Miguel responded.

"That's your problem Miguel, you have everyone thinking that you are normal and then you don't want them to find out you're insane...I let everyone know I am insane from square one, then they don't raise an eyebrow at anything I do after that"

Going Internationale

Congrats to my neighbor Andre for making the current cover of Vogue Francais avec Miss Murphy photo'd by the legendary Bruce Weber

Give it to the Children!

The Look Of The Moment

If you are a female, either biological or post-birth-modified, this is the Look that you should be delivering right now.

Think cool-high-school-guidance-counselor en route to the local discotheque.

Past Advice

An old Arabic parable that I truly need to incorporate in my life:

"Write the bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble."

New Self-Improvement Plan

Apparently my decades of introspection have been in vain. This advertisement is guiding me to the clear path to happiness. Who knew?

Blurred

With increasing frequency, I am one of those people who keep saying "I can't believe it is already (insert today's date)". It seems like the past few months have just flown by, which is kind of strange as stressful periods often feel like they go on forever.

Carol called earlier this week regarding coming up from D.C. for Thanksgiving. I was finding it hard to fathom that Halloween was upon us, now I am shocked that T-Day is only three weeks away.

I am fully aware that this happens every year, but my perception is that life is on hyperdrive. Perhaps it is because I have little time to really come to a full stop and smell the proverbial roses. Even when I am away from work or other obligations I feel like I always have something in the back of my head gnawing away at me...Is this what a 21st century adulthood feels like?

Sunday School

They simply do not come more legendary than Miss LaBelle.

She can destroy The Children in any era, in any style.

Nothing In Moderation

Remember five days ago when it was literally 83 degrees?

Those days are done...now it is seriously 43 degrees and I am dreading the thought of fall/winter.

Can I interest anyone in some Hot Dr. Pepper?

The Honest Truth

I used to say that I was a "Part-time Lover, and Full-Time Hater". After some introspective moments I must admit that I am just a "Full-Time Hater"

First Post Of The Month

Too much stress, too much going on in my head, can't form a coherent thought.

Under New Management

I now work in the Department Of Making Mountains Out Of Molehills.

Nighttime Is The Righttime

Had a dream last night that Tom Otterness was designing a subterranean bus depot that only dispatched buses to Brooklyn.

Everything looked cute but menacing and got rave reviews from everyone.

Weekend Review

Saturday I chilled most of the day. The unexpected rains kept me from doing my errands so I just hung out around the apartment.

Early evening I pay-per-viewed this movie. Of course any film with even the briefest of appearances by Amy Sedaris is instantly deemed praise-worthy. It was not a laugh riot, just extremely languidly enjoyable. At only 81 minutes it was the perfect length for my attention span

Later on I connected with Timmy and we went on a tour of New Yorks most vile gay bars. The highlight/lowlight was meeting Timmy's friend Jeff for a round of "Who Can Kiss The Most Transsexuals?" at what was once briefly Club Edelweiss, but is now even a more deliciously repulsive version of that iconic locale.

On Sunday, Jeremy scored some free Yankees tickets, so along with Alyssa, we headed out to the Bronx. Despite an atypical hangover, and the absence of my boy Jorge Posada, we had an awesome time with the other 54,000 fans.

Fell asleep watching the new Ken Burns documentary on "dubya, dubya two"

Font Clip

I can't believe that I missed this feature-length film on Helvetica when it was screened at the IFC theater last week.

I am sure it will pop back on to the radar soon.

Beautiful Claws

Camille Paglia gives her opinions on new books about The Menz

Icon

If I could just look half as stylish as Cornel West I could die a happy man.

He has everything working in his favor. Respectable, well-proportioned sunglasses. Simple monochromatic color schemes. The Africa-emblazoned cufflinks scream "I know where it all begins!"

Why he doesn't have a House is so far beyond my comprehension...

Serve it to The Children, Cornel!

The Way We Used To Do...

Holy Sh*t...came across this insane flier. Can you fathom a New Year's Eve with the incomparable Leigh Bowery, German chanteuse Nina Hagen and techno dieties 808 State on one bill?...and at the notorious Limelight no less.

This is how we used to "Do" ....this is how New York was before everything got cliquish and gentrified. People of varying "scenes" used to party together.

Quote of The Day

From Oscar Wilde:

A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing.

What Brand Are You?

In the new Interview Magazine, genius Tom Sachs says...

"...I think the best work of art of our time is Ashley Bickerton's Tormented Self-Portrait (Susie At Arles) with all the brands. In my own art I've used brand issues to help me understand my ambivalence about, say, wanting something from Chanel or thinking it's stupid to want something from Chanel. I'm not for or against it; I'm simultaneously both things."

I remember being enamoured with Bickerton's work when I saw it in an issue of Artforum back in '88. I think it speaks to what we have been reduced to in our consumerist society....we are what we buy. You can take this even further in the artworld and find that people define themselves by the artists they love/hate. It is all about purchasing an identity, or getting validation from your "tastes"

New Bartlett

Stopped by the new John Bartlett boutique. John was there interacting with the hoi polloi. Either good help is hard to find, or he truly believes only he can give the customer service his clientele demands.

There were some super-starched blue oxford shirts that I definitely could have served.

In The Future...

Bought tickets today for Justice . The show is still over a month away but I am super excited.

The hype is intense, but I know they are going to deliver the goods.

Is Being A Poser Necessarily "Bad"?

One of the things I like about my friend Scott is that he exemplifies the phrase "Fake It 'Til You Make It".

He has no problem basically pretending that he is business genius or CEO. He is not a "know-it-all", he simply knows what he wants to become.

In encountering such people previously in my adulthood, I usually just call them a "Poser" and roll my eyes. Now I am starting to think that they are onto something. Perhaps the pretending actually prepares you for the situation you desire to actually come to fruition.

Upside/Downside

This week I learned of a "restructuring" plan at work.

The good news is that we are slowing down our growth. Hopefully this will mean that we approach problems with a more refined sense of "sanity", instead of getting chewed up on our way to expansion.

The bad news is that with the slowing of the growth, there is a slowing of the opportunities for advancement. Everyone seems to feel "stuck" in their positions.

Obvious

Miss Ross...Central Park 1983...LEGENDARY!

Open Up

Shigeru Ban, the architect behind one of my dream houses the Curtain Wall House, is apparently constructing a residential building over on West 18th St.

The site's website offers no clues as to what it will look like...one can only imagine.

Kinetic Sculpture

Having not owned a car for almost a decade, having constant battles with automobiles on the streets of The New York, one would rightly assume that I am not a car afficiando. But this 1969 Mustang is so ridiculously gorgeous it boggles the mind.

In a perfect world a human could marry a machine...when humanity progresses that far, I will make this car my bride. Imagine the beautiful cyborg babies that would result out of that holy union.

Morning

After an abbreviated workout at the gym, stopped by Think Coffee and saw Antony working at his laptop.

On the way back to my "flat", saw some squirrels having sexshual relations....Aaahh! Fall in New York

Ovah!

The Children are going to be served at this affair. True Legend Danny Krivit pairs up with Master @ Work Louie Vega. I am sensing Monday morning is going to be painful after the necessary hours on the dancefloor of Pacha.

Ouch.

Target

When will I learn not to date clients? They know where you work, so there is no escaping their desired contact with you.

As y'all know...I needz my space.

1.4 (and a million) Miles Away

It is the sixth anniversary of 9/11 and I am wishing that I had something profound to say, but, unsurprisingly I don't.

Had a long conversation with my sister last night as I sat on my roof and watched as the "Towers of Light" beamed up into the heavens. Memories of that horrific day flooded into my head. The day seemed simultaneously like it happened yesterday AND like it happened a lifetime ago.

I feel torn in many directions...many emotions...many thoughts, none of them fully formed. And that is how I will leave them.

Street Theater And Nature Theater

After recovering from the Art Parade, headed uptown to Central Park to see the Public's rendition of "Midsummer Night's Dream".

Ben and Peter directed tickets in my direction, so there was no need to wait in line with the masses...completely effortless.

The production was absolutely amazing. The actors were spellbinding. The weather was perfect for under the stars.

The one downside of the experience was that it was so awesome I feel I may have to go to MORE theater. Unfortunately productions like this are not usually free.

Dun

Can people please immediately cease wearing wayfarers? They were only marginally cool a year ago when the fashion press was hyping them (after presumably seeing 11 hipsters wearing them at MisShapes)

...And I do not care if you have them in Banana Yellow or Neon Orange. They are over.

Pure Power Meets Joan

Husker Du on Joan Rivers...how much more awesome can you get.

Still Summer

Trekked up to the staid Upper East Side to listen to Nicky Siano give it to the Children at the Cooper Hewitt DJ series.

Nicky dug deep into the crates to serve everything from Chaka Khan to Kenny Bobien. Too many legendary tracks to mention.

Fierceness Defined

A clip with Nicky Siano, Jayne County, and Anita Bryant being publicly humiliated, what more could you possibly want.

Looking Good...

So this is supposedly the mug shot taken of notorious senator Larry Craig shortly after he was arrested in the Minneapolis airport.

Notice the impeccably tied necktie and the american flag pin. Is there a more dignified look to serve a stranger as you prepare to give him anonymous sex in bathroom stall? I think not.

Kudos Mr. Craig!

Read Your Clothes

The good folks at DSquared remind us that religion does have a place in fashion.

So you say you don't believe in Jesus? Just substitute the name of your favorite deity and or prophet and the statement still holds true.

Coming Distraction

While I can frequently be found hatin' on the Deitch Gallery. I have to give them props for producing the Art Parade. It is one of those "only in New York" that never fails to give a sense of the full spectrum of delightfully ridiculous people in this town.

Officiel!

It has been decided that if you are, indeed, a woman this is the shoe of the right now. 'Tis all 'bout color and shape at the moment and this Pierre Hardy originale has both in spades.

...And I don't want to hear any backtalk about how we are entering autumn and therefore we are returning to muted colors....Didn't you comprehend the first sentence of this post?..."It has been decided..." Just accept it, move on, and make the world a more beautiful place

Out (of it)

Hung out with Timmy last night.

We went to Pravda, Eastern Bloc and then broke up the communist europe theme with a visit to The Phoenix. It was Timmy's first visit there and he was surprised to see the bar was tended not by the de riguer hot bartender, but an elderly woman who looked like she was not unfamiliar with the inside of a methadone clinic...and people still question why I love this city.

Space Bubble

Is it wrong to not want to date someone because of their neighborhood? I definitely don't think so.

Don't get me wrong, I am not one of these people who say "I never go above 14th St." (although it is true.) I am speaking about seeing people who live too close to your own neighborhood. I need my space...that is part of deal, yo.

Shout Out: Chris Burden

During college, when I should have been in class, I could frequently be found in the library reading back issues of Artforum and Art In America magazines. One of the artists I discovered and fell in love with was Chris Burden.

Performance art was a hot topic at the time due to the whole NEA Four controversy. Yet, Burden's work decades earlier put his contemporaries to shame...he literally personified "Bleeding Edge" art. How many others would literally take a bullet in their arms and call it art? Honey, smearing chocolate on your naked body is nowhere near as gangsta as getting shot.

Viva La Glamour

Is there anything sexier than smoking a cigarette naked in the hallway of an apartment decorated with international magazine covers? The legendary After Dark magazine and I say "No"

Internet Diet

I am sure I have mentioned the hard copy magazine before, but the online blog of Linda Simpson's My Comrade is an absolutely essential part of the thinking pervert's internet diet.

The Craigslist ripoff layout is so genius that it literally hurts my skull. The content is so off-the-wall that it you will wish you were that clever...at least I do.

Addicted To Love

Other than the obvious drama that addiction conjures, one of the things I love most about the A&E show Intervention is that it is one of the few places on TV where families and friends tell others that they love them.

The unscripted nature of the documentary allows people in pain to express what is in their heart to someone who, through their addiction, is hurting them. So often the families involved show the power of forgiveness...they are willing to forgive past hurt for the greater good of getting the addict on the road to recovery.

F.A.C.

Hung out with Jasmin, Jeff and Boyle yesterday at Old Town Bar.

Everyone was in a particularly kvetching mood, which was good because it mirrored my own.

Sometimes it is nice to do nothing except drink Guinness and bitch about the world.

A Visual Depiction Of How I Am Feeling Today...

...in a word RADICAL.

Silver Streak Leads To Blue Streak

We were sitting around a small hexagonal table. Just me and a couple of my second grade friends. Talk turned to what we had done the previous holiday weekend...

Even though I was only seven years old at the time, my brothers had taken me to see the Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor movie Silver Streak. How they convinced my mom to allow me to see a "PG" movie still remains a mystery.

The movie's adult plot was way beyond my comprehension. What I did pick up on were the several "curse words" that probably emanated from Richard Pryor's character.

At this young age I was still hyper-hyper concerned with being a "good boy". I never got into trouble and was basically the apple of my teacher's eye.

But here I was sitting with my friends around a table...and I began to tell them of the movie I had seen. I doubt any of them had seen anything but a Disney movie, but here I was having seen an adult comedy.

Despite my better judgement, I knew that I had to relay the "curse words" I had been exposed to. After a brief plot synopsis, I gathered them in close and in a hushed tone I said "...and then, one guy said 'Ass'". I had never verbalized a naughty word before, and here I had just uttered it within earshot of my teacher.

My friends were justifiably impressed with the outrageousness of my verbage. They were so impressed that they began laughing and saying the word "Ass" out loud.

What should have been a liberating rebellious experience immediately turned into torture. Although I quieted them down...I was instantly racked with guilt and regret. I just knew that I had made a mistake...I knew that somehow someway my verbal transgression would come back to haunt me...one classmate might tell another who might tell our teacher or their parent.

I was burdened with guilt for days...never knowing when the hammer might drop and I would be called into the principal's office for a "talking-to".

As it turned out, nothing ever came of my "blue streak"....I thanked G-d profusesly for saving my sterling reputation at the time.

I think about this incident quite frequently...over the course of time I gave into the temptation to swear and now I have what is affectionately known as "potty-mouth". I still have an amazing ability to censor myself in those situations that demand it...but otherwise....I talk a great deal of shit...

Dog Day Afternoon

It is supposed to be 105 degrees tomorrow...I am really over this heat and humidity...If this continues I may lose control.

Week In Review

...Drinks with Ben...Date with new "boy"...Kitchen repairs...No "day off" from gym...Lugging home ten books from the Library...fresh Beats In Space podcast...etc.

Respect Yourself

Holy shiite...just watched the "Great Performances" documentary on Stax Records. Absolutely fantastic.

So much history on so much awesome music.

At various points in the film, practically every participant describes the color-blind atmosphere at the Stax Studios in Memphis. Black or white, it did not matter provided you had talent and soul.

The artists they had were blessed with both talent and soul...Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas and many many others.

There are some scenes with the Stax artists on tour in Europe in 1967. The performances on display are the very definition of "tearin' the roof off the sucka!". Smokin' hot.

Guiding Force

Just picked up Michael Musto's "La Dolce Musto". It is a well-edited collection of his columns from the past two decades. It is funny as hell.

Before I moved to New York, I relied on Musto to give me the dirt on the comings-and-goings of B-list celebrities and the Club Kids that are/were his milieu.

Although the Village Voice is free on the streets of Manhattan, I had to pay through the nose to get a subscription mailed to Lincoln Nebraska...but trust me, it was worth every cent. Musto's gloriously bitchy writing was a large part of my desire to head to New York. He deliciously documented slices of nightlife that I had not even come close to experiencing.

Creative Growth

After a workout at the gym I stopped by Gavin Brown's Enterprise to check out some art. I pretty much approve of everything Mr. Brown presents so I usually don't have to check the art listings to verify what is on view.

The Creative Growth exhibition was absolutely ridiculous. The artists definitely had their finger on what is au courant in the artworld right now. It was only after checking out the works that I learned the artists being presented were with the Creative Growth Art Center.

There were a couple of works that referenced obscure-ass Disco stars from the seventies. This shit was for real.

The Crush

We have been training a ton of new people at work this week. While I don't normally mind a few new fresh faces, there were a couple of days when you literally could not move without bumping into someone. After saying "Excuse me" for the thirty-first time I just gave up and noted that these interlopers were going to have to get used to being elbowed as long as they were in my space.

Other factors were causing me frustration, but the claustrophobia created by having so many people around threw me for a loop. I was reminded of the lack of privacy I endured as a youth. Ten humans living in a house that had, if one stretched their imagination, three bedrooms. My parents, needless to say, had a private bedroom. My sole sister was bestowed a seperate room due to her gender which left the seven sons to divide up one bedroom and whatever common space was left.

For many years my "bedroom" was a couch in a tiny nook off of our dining room.

As an adult I absolutely savor the privacy I have in my apartment. It is a dreamlike environment that I could not have imagined as a child.

Green Club

Friday night's party in the garden of Cooper-Hewitt was, in a word, refreshing.

It is so nice to listen to really soulful music surrounded by flowers, trees and green grass instead of a club. Tony Humphries was truly amazing. He brought tons of fresh songs...I did not recognize a single one of them until I was about ready to leave... when he served up Chic's gem "My Feet Keep Dancing". It was so perfect to bring a 30 year old jam that sounded as vital as the new stuff he had just played.

Two Guilty Pleasures

Although on the surface I appear to be a cosmopolitan sophisticate, that is not completely true. For instance I love Mo'nique. She is the type of sassy black woman who seems to have all but disappear from our pop cultural landscape (only to be replaced by cardboard fake-assed "divas")

Mo'nique is saucy and world-wise, but never bitter in her humor...

While on the topic of guilty pleasures I feel I owe it to the public to admit my heartfelt love for Nacho Cheese flavored Combos pretzels. Yes, I am fully aware that these were conceived and produced in a chemistry lab somewhere, but that does not mean that they are necessarily un-awesome does it? No it does not. If the level of carcinogens involved in their manufacture is what I believe it to be, then I shall book passage to chemo-ward and enjoy their deliciousness henceforth.

All The Help I Can Get

I have not been eating very well lately. It definitely shows in my skintone. My usually luminous face has become muddied. Vows have been made to eat more fruits and vegetables as well as drinking more fluids...we will see how it goes.

In the meanwhile I will be employing some facial corsets to get me to the other side.

Still recovering from Sunday nights party. Other than getting started later than advertised it was pretty much flawless.

On their own Joe, Francois, and Danny are phenomenal DJs...on the rare occaision that they play together it can only be described as magic. The drop tracks from all eras and styles creating a set that is greater than the sum of it's awesome parts.

I still get blown away by the positive vibe that erupts from crowd when they play a gem like Don Ray's "Got To Have Loving". It is probably a cliche to say anymore but the dancers do truly become a unified tribe...something that is increasingly rare in the clubs of New York.