Category Archives: Movers and Shakers
Gay Blogger Nathan Manske Hits The Road with 50 State LGBT Stories Tour
New Yorker Nathan Manske,
creator of
Im From Driftwood.com
and one of The Advocate’s Forty Under 40,
recently announced a 50-state “Story Tour” to collect, publish and broadcast true LGBT stories from across the country.
The IFD team will set out in September on a 4-month tour of the U.S. with the goal of bringing IFD off the computer screen and into America. Along the way, they will meet the many faces of LGBT America, bringing their stories to the world through videos, audio stories and written word.
IFD is an award-winning website that collects true LGBT stories from all over the world–from the smallest towns to the biggest cities–to help gay youth feel not so alone.
Throughout the 50-state tour, IFD will have readings at cafes, bookstores, bars, community centers, college campuses and other venues where they will share stories from IFD and talk about the site and its purpose. Along the way, they will be filming and recording video and audio stories from LGBT people they meet across the country.
Throughout the journey, IFD will have a regular blog page chronicling their adventures. (and possibly we’ll be posting some things here as well!) Marquise Lee, IFD’s Video Editor and founder of Crush Deviant Productions will film the journey and make short YouTube videos about their progress. As the Story Tour progresses, they will publish regular video webisodes as well as written updates about their journey.
But first…they need your help.
In order to fund the story tour, IFD has launched a fundraising campaign, where they hope to raise $15,000 through small donations and fun incentives (check out their KickStarter page for more details). That won’t be enough money for the entire 4-month Tour but it will be enough to get started. They’re also hoping to make the entire experience as interactive as possible. The IFD team is taking requests of where to visit and even asking people to open up their guestroom or couches.
IFD knows LGBT people are everywhere.
You know LGBT are everywhere.
After this Road Trip, LGBT youth will know it, too.
We have been watching Nathan’s site for over year now, and this guy is going places!
Please help him out and support this project!
Nathan Manske is the creator and editor of the gay, true-stories website I’m From Driftwood. He was recently named one of The Advocate’s Forty Under 40 in 2010 for his work on the groundbreaking blog. Nathan is indeed from Driftwood, Texas, but has lived in Brooklyn, New York since 2003. Before creating I’m From Driftwood, he spent 4 years as a full-time copywriter, working first at Hanft Raboy & Partners, then Berlin Cameron & Partners, and has fortunately been able to combine his personal passions with his profession.
His Chemistry.com television commercials raised awareness as well as eyebrows by taking on eHarmony’s discriminatory policies towards gays and lesbians. eHarmony has since changed their policies. He also found a way to actually get paid for being a geek by writing the third X-Men film’s interactive website for 20th Century Fox. Find him on Facebook !
Ronnie Kroell Launches Geek Nerd Wonk Charity Monday June 7th
PLAYGIRL Magazine cover-model
& Bravo’s Make Me a Supermodel
runner-up, Ronnie Kroell, will be
hosting a benefit with business partner
Stephanie A. Jones, J.D., LL.M., M.P.H., Esquire,
to launch their GeekNerdWonk Charitable
Foundation, “Helping Charities Help Themselves.”
The event will be held on
June 7th, 2010 from 5:30-8:30PM
at the beautiful La Pomme Nightclub,
located at 37 W. 26th Street in New
York City.
There will be African music, complimentary beverages, raffle prizes, a live auction at 7:30PM, and a dance party to follow the benefit. There is a suggested donation of $50, but all donations are welcomed.
GeekNerdWonk Charitable Foundation-
GNW “helps charities help themselves” in three areas of support. GNW contributes funds, talent and
volunteers to support GNW’s own fundraising budgets, adds professional and academic credentials to
complement the GNW Charities’ own professional expertise in applied field work approaches to public
health education and promotion, and develops quantitative and qualitative research to provide the
epidemiologically and methodologically sound statistical research to enable GNW Charities to write
scientifically-supported grant proposals.
Amanda Lepore Presented a New Wednesday Night Party at Carnival New York City
We don’t usually run too many bar photos –
but we do Love Amanda, Cazwell,
and beautiful men!
Some tasty photos from the new
Carnival party on Wednesdays at Bowlmar .
110 University Place (Btw. 12th & 13th) • (212) 255-8188
Black Book Mags take on last night , “It is a triumph of glitz, glam and, more importantly, fun. All the usual and unusual gathered for this 3-ring purpose. We often judge these “fashion fag” events by the familiar faces, the cast of tried and true characters who have shaped this scene for decades. Their presence laid credence and their attendance was often the barometer of success. What I saw yesterday was much better….”
Pics courtesy of Michael Hardgrove .
SEE MORE OF AMANDA AND CARNIVAL !
New York Promoter Marc Berkley Dead at 57
NEW YORK CITY
mourns the passing
of Marc Berkley.
JOE MY GOD
reports Berkley had a heart attack .
He was 57. Berkley was the co-founder of HX Media, the now-defunct gay publishing company that owned the popular nightlife guide HX Magazine and the LGBT news title The New York Blade.
Berkley was a tireless promoter of all-night dance parties, gay culture, and, well, Marc Berkley — always knows where his thrill-seeking crowd wanted to be.
NEW YORK MAGAZINE profiled the famed promoter in 2001 . He talked candidly about his fight with drugs, his magazine projects and his “war” with Giuliani. “We’re living in Nazi Germany done by Disney right now.”
Over the years, Berkley’s served on his community board, coordinated Heritage of Prides nineteenth and twentieth anniversaries, and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to gay charities.
He may be gone, but not forgotten…..
Amanda Lepore Presents a New Wednesday Night Party at Carnival New York City
Best Gay New York LOVES Amanda Lepore !
She’s hooked up with Kenny Kenny and Joey Israel to launch a new Wednesday night party at CARNIVAL , starting April 28th.
Coney Island meets New York City at Carnival. On the 5th floor above Bowlmor, Carnival’s a cavernous, adultified take on the traditional chaotic fairground, with big top tent-evoking strips of red/yellow/black fabric soaring over a dual-sided bar featuring giant spinning pinwheels; a spacious main room w/ wall-to-wall game booths; and a soundproof “Fun House” dance room (with candy colored bottle service booths and constantly changing LED floor tiles.
The ever adorable and extremely talented CAZWELL will help provide music on the opening night April 28th along with a performance by Ms. Tickle ! – (Cazwell assures me the Amanda CD will be out soon – and well worth the wait!)
110 University Place (Btw. 12th & 13th) • (212) 255-8188
Will the Manhattan Madam Run For the Governor Seat of New York State?
“Last Saturday I gave the first political speech of my life. I spoke to the Manhattan Libertarian party and told them I planning a campaign for Governor of New York State.” stated the Manhattan Madam, Kristin Davis.
” I have not decided whether to seek the Libertarian party nomination or form my own party based on my platform; legalization, regulation and taxation of prostitution, marijuana, and legalizing gay marriage.
When was the last time a candidate put forward this kind of honest, radical platform? When is the last time a politician offered the voters something different than higher taxes, more spending, greater debt and service cuts.”
“I am the one who will be running and putting my name on the ballot. I am the one who will offer New York voters something different. I am the one advocating using our voice to speak out against inequality and the one who is ready to take on the career politicians and expose them for who they really are! I know the politicians and political reporters wont take me seriously at first. Let’s see if they are still laughing when my campaign files three times the number of signatures needed to get on the ballot.
New York voters will have a chance to vote to legalize prostitution, pot and gay marriage next November.
What could be more exciting?”
You Go Kristin! We’ll Support You!
Read more at her blog Manhattan Madam
The Best of Gay New York
Gay Pimps Atlantic City on Chelsea Lately – Out in the AC
The Gays Love Chelsea Handler!
And we love GUY BRANUM and CHRIS FRANJOLA from Chelsea Lately.
As you may remember, Harrah’s Atlantic City have started launching special events and parties geared exclusively for the LGBT community. And we were there for their big kick-off weekend back in late September. Guy and Chris from Chelsea Lately also joined us for the festivities. And today this short video was released on the E! Chelsea website.
(watch for the Gay Pimps and Micah Jesse)
The Best of Gay New York
There is a New King (Queen?) on Fire Island – Seth Jordan Weissman
NEXT Magazine broke the story first, that Von Kuersteiner and his business partner Tony Roncalli—whose empire includes two bars, a restaurant, a dance club, a small gym, a grocery store, a clothing store, a construction business, a freight business, the community’s dock, and the only hotel in town—has sold most of their properties to Seth Weissman, a young kid who no one knows anything about other than that he is from a rich family and is connected to the Hamptons and that he is an analyst at hedge fund Perry Capital who lives in Gramercy Park.
The deal—which is set to close next week—is reportedly $18 million for everything but the dock and freight companies.
GAWKER reports…Von Kuersteiner and Roncalli rescued the small resort five years ago since it had fallen into disrepair, but their business practices—especially von Kuersteiner’s, always the more public of the two—were often called into question. Since the town is so small and they were one of only three business owners, they often exercised their monopoly. They opened a grocery store to compete with the only other place to buy food—a small, family-owned store that had been there for decades. They had an acrimonious relationship with many of the local home owners and other business because they controlled the dock which means they controlled access to the island. Anything they asked for—or more often, demanded—they got.
Von Kuersteiner and Co especially had hard feelings for the neighboring gay community, Cherry Grove, and used their dock access to stop boats from taking visitors from one village to the next, and for anyone who has drunkenly stumbled through the Meat Rack—the dense forest between the two towns—at 3am, not having a boat to bring you to and fro is more than enough to keep you partying closer to your summer share and putting cash into Von Kuersteiner and Roncalli’s pockets. They also reportedly demanded that the army of young pretty boys they hired to staff all their properties were forbidden from hanging out in the Grove, even on their nights off.
Rumors are flying left and right he’s changing everything, he’s not changing a thing, this is great, this is horrible, blah, blah, blah, talk amongst yourselves. The summer season is still a few months away!
All I Want For Christmas is … Cazwell and Amanda….. Tonight
The ever-adorable, super-sexy, hot gay rapper is back with TONIGHT – with a little cameo by the seductively sexy Amanda Lepore!
Ever since meeting those 2 in Atlantic City this year, Best Gay New York has been trying to get them to sit down, for 15 minutes! To talk about their projects! Coming soon – in 2010! Watch for it.
For now – (GIVE ME) TONIGHT Cazwell Video from the album WATCH MY MOUTH.
The Best of Gay New York
ZEE BDR and His Blue Flower Project
Someone wrote us recently and asked if we knew what was up with that guy and the blue flower spotted all over Manhattan and this past summer on Fire Island??
Of course darlings, that’s ZEE BDR.
Although we have never met personally, we met through blogging about 2 years ago. He runs a funny blog and the whole thing with the blue flower started kind of a joke, and now has become his trademark!
Bdr moved to New York City eight years ago and since then everyday has been an adventure for him. He sees himself as a “regular gay guy who loves to have fun.” However, Bdr is famous for walking the streets of Fire Island Pines with his digital camera and blue flower in gear. He asks cute, gay men to take a quick picture with his blue flower in their hair and they never turn down his offer. Bdr has become sort of a Facebook sensation as everyone is quick to notice when he adds new photos to his famous “blue flower album.”Bdr also writes a blog where he shares funny, quirky stories about his personal life, his trials, tribulation, romance and drama.
Many of the best idea’s that take off, start out as a joke. And Bdr’s flower project was the same story. “Honestly it started as a joke. I was in Fire Island. My friends wanted to go to a drag show. I had bought the blue flower from a store in case I wanted to use it at the show as a funny accessory. I had a hair pin and it has a clip underneath. I put the blue flower on my head before we went to the show. While we were walking everyone started looking at me and smiling. They were telling me how pretty I looked. My friends wanted to try the blue flower on and I started taking their pictures. At the drag show, all the boys asked me to try it on. After the show we went to Low Tea which is a place for all gay boys to have drinks in the late afternoon in Pines. People went crazy and wanted to try and have their pictures taken. There was literally a line for the blue flower. In two hours, I took over 150 pictures. The process was hilarious and really worth it to watch.”
What does the blue flower actually symbolize? “To tell the truth, the blue flower makes everyone happy. I met so many people through the blue flower… I think the blue flower symbolizes happiness. You don’t need to have expensive things to be happy. One little pretty flower can make you very happy and laugh. It can make your day.” Even with these tough ecomonomic times, Bdr still finds a way to make everyone around him happy. – It’s all about having fun. It’s a conversation starter. Don’t you just hate going out and seeing a room full of gay guys stand and pose, and many of them won’t even return a smile?! Smile, for God’s sake. Be friendly and drop your attitude. Life is too short!
Bdr does not know where this project may take him in the future. “Honestly, I don’t know where this project will go. It is amazingly growing. I did blue flower pictures only in Fire Island. I haven’t even tried in Manhattan yet. So far I have over 400 pictures.
Some people suggested creating a glossy coffee table book. Some others said I should do a blue flower calendar. One blue flower boy a day! I don’t know yet what will happen with my project. I’m just happy everyone loves it. When I walk around Pines, even if I don’t have a blue flower on my head, everyone still notices me. Even if nothing happens in the end, 30 years from now I can look back and say, “Wow! I was the original blue flower boy. I rocked!!”
It’s funny how little things like these can sometimes really take off. Remember the FREE HUGS guy? That concept has now circled the world.
The blue flower photos add to the honesty of Bdr’s blogs. “My blogs name is Z reveals. Through pictures and stories, I’m revealing myself and my life. But you need to know that all the stories are based on true stories, but sometimes to make them funnier, I change some details. ..
I’m writing stories to make my reader laugh, while revealing myself. After I reveal my life, I like to see people’s reactions. I get so many emails from all over the world every day. Some of them are very interesting. Through emails, I become friends with many of them and eventually my readers are turning into my friends because they know so much about me. That’s my most favorite part of blogging. The other favorite part of blogging is that I can get creative the way I want…It is a very great outlook for my creativity.”
Some of Bdr’s favorite blogs include:
“My HOT trainer Adolvis” which is about Bdr’s hot trainer who made him mad, “To the guy who molested me in the subway this morning” and
“All I’m saying, Brazilians have nuts” which is about the time Bdr and his friend got a Brazilian wax.
Bdr states, “There are so many postings I love because there are things I could tell on my blog that nobody could tell freely. It feels so good having this courage and freedom….The persona I created on my blog has as a sharp tongue and no limits to making people laugh.”
Read Z REVEALS
Be his friend on FaceBook!
Photos by Zee Bdr
(portions of this article are from Kevin Casteel and The Examiner)
The Best of Gay New York
MADONNA’S CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION – 6-City Tour Launches December 6 in New York City
We’re talking about THE MADONNA –
As in the VIRGIN MARY!
Over 2000 years ago in the little hillside town of Bethlehem a
miraculous birth occurred. You might think you know the real story,
but you don’t. Jesus’ mother sets the record straight with MADONNA’S CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION, a musical retelling of the birth and life of the young Jesus Christ.
This inspiring holiday show features original
music, plus so-wrong-it’s-right parodies of holiday favorites and Top 40 hits by the likes of The Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Rihanna and the more-famous Madonna.
“You could go to Irving Berlin’s White Christmas or the Radio City
Christmas Spectacular, but then how could you look at yourself in the mirror the next morning? Instead, try the holiday show that dares to dress our Holy Mother in drag.” – New York Observer.
Move over Britney Spears! The Madonna — as in the Virgin Mary (or
Lady MaMa, in some circles) — announces her first U.S. holiday tour in over 2000 years.
Kicking off in New York City on December 6th at
The Laurie Beechman Theater, MADONNA’S CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION tour will
be performed in 6 cities stretching from Maine to California. Tickets, show times and venue information is available at 212-352-3101 or Virgin Mary Live.
MADONNA’S CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION is conceived and delivered by drag
writer/performer Mimi Imfurst and composer/lyricist/arranger Mike
Pettry (winner of the 2007 Jonathan Larson and Fredrick Loewe Awards).
It features costumes by Norrell Gardner
(Project Runway, Gossip Girl),
puppets by Mark Salinas and props by Jeb Knight.
The show is the 4th annual installment of Mimi Imfurst’s Virgin Mary series, which offers insight into the psyche of the teen mother and the choices Mary had to make as a 13 year-old bride.
It has been hailed by the Catholic Advocacy Coalition as “worse than the sin of abortion” and “despicable, blasphemous and abominable trash” by DailyCatholic.org (who never saw the show).
Described by Back Stage as
“somewhere between a plump Ricki Lake and a bawdy Bette Midler,” Mimi Imfurst has quickly established herself as one of NYC’s most outrageous, controversial, and hysterical nightlife personalities.
The inaugural production of Mary, Like A Virgin earned
Mimi Imfurst a prominent spot on the
Catholic League’s 2006 Report on Anti Catholicism and a
#2 spot on the Catholic Advocacy Coalition’s Top 10 Most Anti-Catholic People of the Year, following Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code) in the #1 spot and beating out President George W. Bush at #3.
NOT TO BE MISSED!
Mimi Imfurst on Facebook
Mimi Imfurst on YouTube
Mimi on Mimi
The Best of Gay New York
Gay Pop Artist Olan Montgomery Featured This Weekend – High Line Open Studio Tours
The tour will include an outside art exhibit as well as *free access* to some of the city’s best art studios in Chelsea.
Gay pop artist Olan Montgomery will be one of the featured artists at this year’s show. Olan’s work examines New York’s hidden subcultures including the city’s colorful gay nightlife personalities. He’s actually opening the doors to his home/studio for the tour!
Space is tight in Manhattan, so like many artists, Olan lives and exhibits his work in the same space. This will be a rare peek into the life of a real downtown Manhattan artist.
Montgomery recently released the first bound collection of his work in a pocket-sized hard-cover coffee table book titled POP Art inspired by New York’s own subcultures from celebrity to subway.
Seven years in the making, Olan’s work takes digital based art to a thrilling new level, combining fine art photography and hand painting, along with poetry and famous art quotes. The bound collection examines and shines a neon glow stick on New York’s hidden subcultures including the city’s homeless, its colorful nightlife personalities, and bold gay icons. “POP – Art inspired by New York’s own subcultures from celebrity to subway” was released this past August.
Olan’s subjects are aberrant yet strong individuals, many with alternate ways of living and experiencing the world. Portraits of Boy George, Rufus Wainwright, Heatherette’s Richie Rich, and transsexual Amanda Lepore are among those featured in POP. There are also some mainstream personalities including Courtney Love, Alan Cumming and Anna Nicole Smith.
AS FOR THE OPEN TOUR THIS WEEKEND – Start your tour at the Headquarters at 508 W26th Street to pick up the official map and speak with our tour specialists and receive a complementary gift from our sponsor, Bodum, while supplies last. Or take advantage of the High Line Open Studios Interactive Map and select the date of your visit so you can print a map and see the location of all 120+ artists and galleries that are participating. Start and finish your tour any where you wish and visit the artists in our community who have open their studios to the public for this special event.
More Info at The High Line Open Studios Tour
Olan Montgomery online at LipStickChic.
THE BEST OF GAY NEW YORK
SKYY Vodka Launches New Flavors with the Help of Lady Bunny, Heklina and Candis Cayne
As the official spirit sponsor of New York’s Heritage of Pride celebration and the sponsor of San Francisco’s Frameline Gay and Lesbian Film Festival this summer, we understand the importance of the LGBT community’s contribution to American society and the importance of finding a moment to relax and celebrate.
Who better to help get the party started than Trannyshack founder Heklina, renowned entertainer Candis Cayne and the legendary Lady Bunny? These three LGBT personalities have entertained thousands between them have attended and been the stars of quite a few celebrations themselves, and while planning their own summer agendas this year, have collaborated with SKYY whip up these tasty cocktail recipes which were first served to guests in late June at New York’s Heritage of Pride dances on the pier. Since then, Gays everywhere have been and stirring up drink specialties with Skyy Vodka Infusions! Vodka infused with REAL FRUIT FLAVORS.
(Lady Bunny Martini photo by Sergio Kardenas)
Lady Bunny’s Boy Chaser
1 ounce SKYY Infusions Grape
2 ounces Ginger Ale
Stir into a rocks glass and add a squeezed lime wedge as a garnish.
X-Rated Bunny Drop
1 ounce X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
1 ounce SKYY Infusions Cherry
1 ounce Pineapple Juice
Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a shot glass.
Heklina’s Ruby Sipper
1 ounce SKYY Infusions Pineapple
1 ounce Cranberry Juice
1 ounce Orange Juice
Mix into a highball glass with ice and garnish with a lime wedge.
High Kickin’ Cayne
1 ounce X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
1/2 ounce SKYY Infusions Citrus
1 ounce Cranberry Juice
Shake the ingredients over ice and strain into a martini glass or mix onto ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Candis Cayne’s Kiss The Girl
1 ounce X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
Splash of Orange Juice
Splash of Soda
Mix ingredients and serve on the rocks with an orange wedge.
Lady Bunny is one of the hardest working drag queens in the business. She travels the world constantly doing her live stage show, DJ-ing at special events, making appearances in movies and on television. Here in New York she DJ’s at Amalia for Rockit on Fridays and the T Dance at Splash on Sundays.
We have been chasing Le Grande Bunny for months to get some quotes and finally caught up with her this week! Of course, our talk turned to drinking! ” Everywhere I work, alcohol is served. My singing will drive anyone to drink! But drinking heavily on the road is tough. Especially if I have a gig the next day in another city–they are gonna get the bitter, hungover Bun-Bun. At least until I start guzzling again! And I’ve never understood drinking on planes. Flying already dehydrates you, and if you are buzzed, you are ill-equipped to deal with lost luggage, snippy hotel employees or jet lag. But if you must, order several drinks at once and pull out a credit card claiming that you have zero cash and that you must have been snoozing when they made the “cash only: announcement. Hee hee!
There was a time when I used to drag a whole crew back to my hotel room to keep the party going after clubs closed. But nowadays, you can’t get back on the plane without your ID. So if one of your tricks pinches your pocketbook, you could get stranded in Scranton indefinitely! Not cute. Use the hotel safe when available–especially for international travel. I’m told that the going rate on the black market for a stolen passport is $50,000. So you may only be paying that thai hooker $10, but he could be helping himself to a $50,000 bonus while you two “thai one on.”
Gotta Love Bunny! Read More about her travel tips on NEW GAY TRAVEL GUIDE.
And pick up some SKYY VODKA INFUSIONS!
The Best of Gay New York
Jack Mackenroth – Guide to Gay New York
Jack Mackenroth is not only a popular fashion designer and hot reality TV star, he’s also a successful World Outgames 2009 swimming competitor, having taken home a staggering eight medals from this year’s games held in in Copenhagen.
“I was really not expecting to win medals in all eight of my events,” said Mackenroth. “Needless to say, I’m ecstatic. However, it’s not just about winning medals. One of the most fun events was the Random Rainbow Relay where the meet organizers randomly picked swimmers from all different teams and we swam in a friendly relay with colored rainbow swim caps. It was a great way to meet swimmers from different countries.”
He recently chatted with PLANET OUT
about living in NEW YORK CITY.
What is the best date you ever had in this town? Why?
A guy took me on a midnight helicopter ride around Manhattan. We got pretty close to the buildings. It was pretty amazing to fly around the Statue of Liberty.
What are some of the things you love most about your city/town?
I love that you can get anything you want delivered to your door at anytime. I can get a hooker, a bamboo plant and a diet coke all at 2 AM. Then I can make that hooker water the bamboo while I drink my diet coke. Good times.
I also love the subway. Manhattan is so compact that you can get anywhere in the city on the subway in less than an hour. Plus you can sit next to a crack whore and a supermodel in the same ride. It’s a great equalizer.
What are some great restaurants for a night out with gay friends there?
Well almost all restaurants in New York are gay friendly. If they are not they are stupid. I like Buddakan in Chelsea and all the BLT restaurants. BLT Prime is my fave. www.bltrestaurants.com/. I also LOVE Freeman’s in a little alley way downtown. Cool scene and morbid decor.
For a big gay scene Elmo and Cafeteria are hot messes for Sunday Brunch. Bring your healthy liver and some sunglasses.
What are your favorite gay bars and/or dance clubs? What do you like about them?
There are so many bars here its hard to pick a favorite. For a tourist I would suggest picking up a Next or HX magazine that lists every thing going on each night and lists all the bars and clubs. There really aren’t any big dance clubs anymore since the Roxy closed. I like a more intimate bar like the Phoenix in the east village. No pretense or attitude.
If you had gay friends visiting from out of town for the first time, what are some “musts” that you’d recommend they see or do?
Skip the tourist sites and just buy the postcards. If you absolutely have to do one touristy thing I suggest the top of the Empire State building. On a clear day the view is redic. Also if you can splurge a little bit the helicopter ride around the city is incredible during the day or night.
They charter them from both sides of the island and they are not outrageously expensive. Definitely see a broadway show or two. I would reccomend going to see Central Park. It’s beautiful in the spring.
And you can trick in the bushes.
Check out Jack Mackenroths blog – Memoirs of a Gaysha! and his main site Jack Mackenroth.
GRACE JONES! Back in New York City Tonight!
JAW-DROPPING!
EYE-POPPING!
UNBELIEVABLE!
This is what EVERYONE was saying after Grace Jones first US appearance in over 30 years! (She performed all over Europe earlier this year to sold out crowds). She played the Hollywood Bowl this week and TONIGHT is at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
Few artists command the microphone and the stage as Jones. It makes you yearn for a world in which Madonna was the one-hit wonder, with Jones occupying the Earth’s Most Celebrated Diva throne. From her odd accent, which has tinges of French, British and Jamaican patois within, to her carved, menacing face, to those legs, which seemed forged from steel, Jones somehow seemed too large for even the Bowl stage. THIS IS A PERFORMER AND A STAR! Go back and sit down Britney.
At 61, you would never expect the caliber of performance that she delivered. Throughout the night Jones had, if we’re counting correctly, seven amazing costume changes. And while she was off stage changing, she talked to the audience via her mic and you could actually hear her rustling into the next outfit and next pair of 6 inch stilettos backstage!
(Her costumes were designed by infamous costume designer Eiko Ishioka, known for her Oscar winning wardrobe in Bram Stroker’s 1992 Dracula, Cirque du Soleil: Varekai, and the costumes for the Beijing-2008 Olympics to give you an idea of a few iconic pieces of her work.)
Sitting in a box seat at the Hollywood Bowl, Halle Barry and beau Gabriel Aubry (and pals) danced up a storm during Grace’s performance, while Gabriel just rested his chin on Halle’s shoulder. “During ‘La Vie en Rose’ the actress stood up and went crazy and applauded,” an onlooker told People. “It was wild!”
SEE MORE IMAGES FROM THE LA SHOW AT TREND LAND
This whole rebirth of Grace was not even planned! There was never supposed to be a new album, let alone a TOUR! “Hurricane was an accident. Blame it on Ivor Guest. I’d decided never to do an album again. Record companies today don’t allow artistic freedom, and I just couldn’t be bothered anymore. But when Ivor brought me the music to ‘Devil In My Life’, from there we had a creative chemistry and the music just flowed.
We followed where my voice was taking the music and where the music was taking my voice. We didn’t work to some industry formula of what the Grace Jones sound is. It doesn’t matter that it’s taken twenty years because me and the music are always in the same place. It doesn’t sound like the past or the future. It sounds like now, whenever now is. I don’t count. Quality surpasses quantity at any time.” – Grace Jones
Will there be a world tour???? God, I hope so!
Follow Grace Jones on MySpace.
The Best of Gay New York
Broadway Darling NICK ADAMS Boycotts the Anti Gay Turtle Bay Grill and Lounge
After moving out of line, Adams then watched as the bouncer allowed a group of straight guys in white t-shirts enter the bar. Adams was furious but decided to Tweet rather than cause a scene. His loyal fans and followers then retweeted and voiced their complaints to the mostly hetero bar whose PR manager, in turn, emailed Adams the following ‘apology’:
“I feel terrible about this impression/misconception and want to do everything I can to rectify the situation as soon as possible,” Kristi Paris said. “May I please invite you and your friends in as my guests for lunch/dinner and drinks on us? I’d love to meet you and your friends and have the chance to personally apologize for any negativity you experienced here.”
(The email, of course, made no mention of the guys in white t-shirts who were allowed into the club.)
Nick replied… Kristi- I do appreciate that you sought me out after receiving complaints from my friends, fans, and supporters regarding the other night at Turtle Bay.
I completely understand that you have a policy regarding capacity and dresscode. My posts via Twitter, facebook, and my blog comment on how your bouncer made me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. I watched him let a group of gentlemen into the bar, one of whom had an identical shirt to mine.
I do have to inform you that some messages posted on my blog by your general manager truly negate any goodwill you attempted in your deflection.
I will not attempt to become a patron of Turtle Bay, nor do I plan to mention it any further. Perhaps now your establishment and staff will be hyper aware of these situations and hopefully others in the gay community of New York will avoid an uncomfortable situation like I experienced.
Nick
Adams appreciates the bars attempt to reconcile the matter but says, bottom line, “I was discriminated against. I will not give my business to Turtle Bay and I urge you to do the same. This womans attempt to brush this aside as a misunderstanding is disingenuous at best if not hurtful and offensive to myself and the gay community of New York City.
Look for Adams’ solo cabaret show at NYC’s Birdland on August 17th!! Can’t wait!!
Book your reservations soon as it’s limited seating. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenue). Tickets are $25 and $35 with a $10 food/drink minimum.
For more information visit Birdland Jazz or by Telephone 212-581-3080.
The Best of Gay New York
Naked Cowboy – To Run For Mayor of New York City!
The Naked Cowboy plans to run against Mayor Bloomberg on a platform of “bringing transparency to a whole new level.”
A fixture in Times Square for a decade, Robert Burck has made a profitable business from strumming a guitar dressed only in cowboy boots and hat and tight-fitting white briefs, asking tourists to pay a fee to take a picture with him. He travels widely marketing products ranging from underwear to comics.
The Naked Cowboy, in a statement announcing the official launch of his candidacy, said his platform would include a stimulus plan for small businesses.
“No one knows how to do more with less than yours truly, and that’s the kind of thinking I plan on sharing with my fellow New Yorkers when you elect me,” he said, promising new ideas on tax breaks, tourism, gay marriage, transit and homeland security.
He also vowed to have a Times Square wedding chapel built in order to rival Las Vegas’s marriage profits, while stating that he could see the venture become a billion dollar boom for the metropolitan area.
Meanwhile, Michael Bloomberg, the current mayor of New York City, is expected to run for an unprecedented third term in office.
YEAH! We’d VOTE FOR ROBERT!
The Best of Gay New York
Sir Ivan Wilzig…New York Banker Turned Singer – The Peaceman Cometh
Ivan is the son of the late Siegbert (Siggi) Wilzig (died in January 2003), who as a penniless German Holocaust survivor earned a fortune through finance. Ivan was born in Newark and grew up in New Jersey as the oldest of the Wilzig children. Wilzig began voice lessons as a teenager, but was discouraged by his father, who wanted his son to have a more successful career. In 2000 “Sir Ivan” abandoned his banking career to begin a career in music.
Synonymous with “Sir Ivan” Wilzig’s eccentric and hedonistic lifestyle is his lavishly decorated 12,000-square-foot medieval-style estate in Water Mill on Long Island. Referred to as “the Castle”, it is considered by many entertainment journalists (and by the owner himself) as the “Playboy Mansion of the East Coast”.
New from his album “I AM PEACEMAN” that is breathing new life into the musical and social legacy of the 1960s and reinvented with 21st century cutting-edge style, is “For What It’s Worth.” The video (classic Buffalo Springfield) is a single from the album, which is a collection of 60’s anthems remade by Sir Ivan and remixed by all the current top talent (Eric Kupper, Tony Moran, Dj Chus, etc)- in his new genre ‘ROCKTRONICA’… all this to coincide with 40th Anniversary of WOODSTOCK in August.
FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH Video on YouTube SIR IVAN MUSIC / PEACEMAN
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Joan Rivers Wins Celebrity Apprentice and $500,000 for Gods Love We Deliver!
“You’re Hired”!
With these two wonderful words from Donald Trump, the audience at the finale of “The Celebrity Apprentice” burst into applause (and some tears) for Joan Rivers, this year’s “Celebrity Apprentice.”
No one could be happier for Joan than God’s Love We Deliver, which will receive the winner’s check in the amount of $250,000! All totaled, Joan won over $500,000 for God’s Love We Deliver. These funds will help God’s Love continue to meet the overwhelming demand for our services, and provide even more nutritious meals to people who are sick and hungry.
Through the course of many grueling weeks of competition, Joan beat out 14 other celebrity contestants, including Clint Black, Herschel Walker, Andrew Dice Clay, Jesse James, Khloe Kardashian, Brande Roderick, and Dennis Rodman, among others, and in the finals, Annie Duke.
Joan Rivers, a God’s Love We Deliver Board Member for over 15 years, has played an enormously important role in helping to guide the agency’s growth and expansion of its life-sustaining mission during her time here. She is an amazing friend to the agency and especially to our less fortunate friends and neighbors.
The funds Joan won on “Celebrity Apprentice” will provide over 56,000 meals and unlimited nutrition counseling for the clients of God’s Love We Deliver. Said Joan, “It was a grueling competition, but anything I can do to strengthen God’s Love We Deliver and help them provide more nutritious meals is well worth it.”
ABOUT GOD’S LOVE WE DELIVER:
God’s Love We Deliver is the New York City metropolitan area’s leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to preparing and delivering over 3,300 nutritious, life-sustaining meals each weekday to men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and other life altering illnesses. Since its founding in 1986, the agency has delivered nearly 10 million meals and has never had a waiting list. God’s Love We Deliver also provides free unlimited nutrition counseling to each of its meal program clients, family members and other service providers. All of the organization’s services are provided free of charge.
The Best of Gay New York
Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone Are Planning a Big Gay Wedding!
Lorenzo Martone confirms to New York Magazine that he and fashion designer Marc Jacobs are in fact engaged and the Brazilian hunk shares the story about how he proposed to Marc.
NY Mag writes:
Marc Jacobs’s trip to Brazil to meet Lorenzo Martone’s family was a success. “It went very well,” Lorenzo told us at the Cinema Society premiere of Obsessed last night. “He met my entire family — mom, dad, brother, grandmother. Everyone adored him. Like they should, right?” Lorenzo says that despite all the talk about their matching rings, this was not intended as an engagement trip. “It was just a trip to meet my family.” That said, he confirms that the two are, in fact, engaged.
Turns out Lorenzo proposed to Marc! Lorenzo bought the rings at Boucheron — Marc’s favorite jeweler — in Paris during Fashion Week. “I was in Paris for Fashion Week, for the Vuitton show, so I had a little planning beforehand to do that,” Martone says. The rings are pink-gold triple bands, and he surprised Jacobs with them during dinner at the Mercer Hotel, shortly before the trip to Brazil.
“That’s an iconic place for us, you know? [Marc] lived there for ten years. When I proposed, the rings came with our starters in the restaurant,” Lorenzo revealed. “I bought the rings in Paris, brought them here, and then before the trip to Brazil, I proposed.” Martone says he was nervous, and is relieved that it worked well. They haven’t set a date, but he thinks December in St. Barts would be lovely.
The Best of Gay New York
