Will Clark World

TONIGHT ON THE WILL CLARK SHOW - SHERRY VINE, 7 TO 9! #sherryvine #willclark #theritz

TONIGHT: from 7 to 9pm - the incomparable Sherry Vine returns to The Will Clark Show for a night of erotic prizes and fundraising for the AIDS Service Center

You know her, you love her, you probably have done her (at least in your head) - she's the hostest with the mostest not safe for work music videos on You Tube - she's the one and only SHERRY VINE!

As regular Bingoettes know, the AIDS Service Center helps HIV/AIDS inflicted homeless people with food and clothing, the essential materials for this part of our community to re-enter the job market.

And you can help those in need by bringing in those soaps and shampoos that you get when you go to hotels on business trips. ASCNYC has an ongoing need to have these on hand.

See you tonight at The Ritz located at 369 W. 46th Street from 7pm to 9pm!

LOTS OF HAM AND PLENTY OF BEEF TONIGHT ON THE WILL CLARK SHOW

Tonight on the Will Clark Show feat. P*rno Bingo we go the extra mile and give you not one or two but three fabulous guests as we raise funds for Braking the Cycle.

As you might know from teh internets, Braking the Cycle has recently partnered up with Housing Works  as their new beneficiary and we'll have basking in that good news tonight before the real work begins - the long road to the next ride (dates to be announced)!

Tonight I welcome back the awesomely awesome Joe Zaso who has appeared in numerous indie horror flicks and graciously let's us refer to him as the 'horror himbo" and you can check out his "Cafe Himbo" series here.. it's great campy fun .. and if you don't time for the whole ep (it clcks in at 13 and a half minutes) you MUST check out the first couple minutes for the view of Joe wearing less and less clothes while racing through the West Village .. :)

Then we've got "Scream Queen" Raine Brown, a horror indie star in her own right. She sounds like a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to meeting her tonight!

Finally, we'll have mid-event entertainment by singer DiSanto whose working his way up the charts.

Join us for a fun n fabulous evening's worth of entertainment and fundraising courtesy of me, DJ Chauncey Dandridge and photog AB! :)

Jan 25th, Imperial Court Comes to Bingo PLUS Thousand Gowns UPDATE #icny #marriottmarquis #willclark #p*rnobingo #gaynewyork

Good morning all! It's turned all nipple-y this morning but this will pass and soon it'll be time for this weekend's annual extravaganza, the biggest event of the spring season that doesn't involve a harness, yes, it's the Imperial Court's "Night of a Thousand Gowns" held this Saturday night March 31st at the Marriott Marquis here in New York's Times Square. You're sort of on your last few minutes to buy a ticket but I think there might be one or two left.. check it out at the Imperial Court website by clicking here. 

The current Empress Pepperica Swirl and Emperor Vanity Society will step down after a glorious year of fundraising (and putting the fun back in fundraising in a way that only the Court can do) and the new Empress and Emperor will be crowned - Witti Repartee and Ritz Kraka (two of my favorite Court names second only to Gefil Tefish and Robin Kradles). There'll be performances by one of my favorite musicians in New York - the incomparable Terese Genecco (who'll be coming to The Will Clark Show on Wed April 25th with her wife to be... more on this in the coming weeks) who plays monthly at Iridium (coincidentally also in Times Square).

Speaking of the show, on Wed January 25th, the Court joined us for a great night of fundraising to benefit the good people over at Visual AIDS, the ones who do such incredible work in the community helping artists who are struggling financially due to HIV/AIDS. Along with Vanity and Pepperica, Vicountess Doris Dear joined us to call a round (back home in Wisconsin, they would call Doris "a hoot!") and the super sexy Gregory Nalbone who not only sang but shed his clothes as well. It was a very good night .. just how good? Well, there are some sizzling hot photos of Greg in the free gallery from the night as well as all of our other guests and some of our awesome patrons. :) Enjoy by clicking here! (Photos by AB)

I'll see you this Saturday night for the one and only, the annual "Night of a Thousand Gowns"!

 

Save The Dates: Jan 6 - 8, Visual AIDS Postcards From the Edge #pfte #visualaids #queerart

The first "don't miss" event of the New Year takes place next weekend, January 6 - 8 at Cheim & Read gallery at 547 W. 25th St. here in New York City - Visual AIDS' annual Postcards from the Edge.

What is Postcards from the Edge? It's "is a Visual AIDS benefit show and sale of original, postcard-sized artworks by established and emerging artists. All artwork is exhibited anonymously. While buyers receive a list of all participating artists, they don't know who created which piece until after purchased. Whether the works purchased are created by a famous or emerging artist, all collectors walk away with a piece of art they love knowing the money raised will support art programs raising AIDS awareness."

The sheer number of pieces is overwhelming and the price is pretty incredible: each piece is only $85 each and if you buy four, you get a fifth for free on Saturday January 7th and on Sunday January 8th, if you buy just two pieces, you get a third free! Such a deal. 100% of the proceeds goes to Visual AIDS, helping artists struggling with HIV/AIDS afford artists materials to carry on the work they were meant to do. There's a suggested donation both days of $5 (can't beat that price with a stick). They take cash, checks or the usual credit cards. (Sat 10am to 6pm; Sunday Noon to 4pm).

Now if you really want to get the jump on everyone, you'll want to go the Friday January 6th preview party - I've been to this and it's pretty awesome. You can't buy anything but you get to see all the work in it's entirety for a mere $85 which includes a raffle ticket, prizes for the raffle include the opportunity to be the very first to buy a postcard that very evening! That's from 6pm to 8pm and tickets are available at the door.

1500 masterpieces are waiting for you, check out the Visual AIDS website now to find out more details.

Will Clark's Journal: Postcard from Louisiana

"I'm poor, black, I might even be ugly, but dear God, I'm here. I'm here." Celie, The Color Purple

Some months back my Los Angeles friend Jodie Hart invited me to participate in his mid-December   fundraiser at an MCC somewhere in Louisiana. He told me the details but I didn't really hear what he said through no fault of his own; I just said yes. You know, there are just certain people that can ask me to do something and I'll agree without knowing or caring much about the details. Jodie is one of them.

You see, Jodie and I go way back --about twelve years or so. I'm not quite sure how we became friends but there was definitely a good chunk of time during 2000 when I was grieving the end of an important relationship and I leaned on Jodie for a lot of emotional support. I was also being chiseled away daily by many in and around the gay porn industry for my stand against barebacking in gay porn movies. This wore on me tremendously although thankfully I did have friends, like Jodie, to emotionally support me throughout.

Jodie not only read Tarot cards at the Bad Boys Pool Partys in LA and Palm Springs but eventually began to play piano at one of the weekend events. People appreciated a quiet moment at the end of the evening and Jodie was (and is) brilliant at this.

But the time we spent together was a kind of difficult time for both of us, each for our own reasons....and over the years we (I think I can speak for him LOL) became quite fond of each other, laughing a lot and telling tales of our friends and "foes" in the industry, makking light of some of the most troublesome people and blaring "bubble gum" music on my car's CD player when we'd travel to Palm Springs.

In short, Jodie saved me.

I got to a point where I wouldn't/couldn't do an event without Jodie being a part of it. Although Jodie referred to himself as Aunt Clara (some medication he took at the time made him slightly absentminded - not enough that I would worry about him, but enough that "Clara" was apt), I often looked to Jodie as a kind of security blanket, someone who knew how to take care of trouble and watch out for snakes -- and in Los Angeles, and at that time, there were plenty of snakes to watch out for.

However, although I had great success with the Bad Boys parties and my weekly Cocktails with the Stars show, I yearned for a return to my New York life. I missed my Jodie but needed to go away and heal from the stuff I'd gone through. A sensitive person can only take so much, and after awhile, I not only knew my time there was over, but that a New York adventure was calling me and about to begin.

And so, many years later, last Friday December 16th, I boarded a Jet Blue flight bound for New Orleans. Jodie picked me up and drove me to our destination: Baton Rouge where he was set to produce an evening of gospel music at the MCC church there as a fundraiser for "Paws and Claws", an animal rescue organization.

Strangely I never once thought I'd be an odd fit for this type of event - but maybe that's because a few months ago I was ordained as a ministry through Open Ministry.com so I could perform legal marriages in New York state. What started out as a kind of lark almost has become what might be a new path for my life to take.

This whole process started over the summer when I discoverd that a close friend had a severe drug problem and I made a choice to intervene. Intervening, if you don't know, means, at least for me, that you love the other person enough to put yourself through the immense pain of having a front row seat to addiction. It would be easy to walk, run the other way, but I couldn't do that, not with this friend. He had saved me too.

It wasn't a fun time for me as I was also breaking up with my boyfriend, moving back into my own apartment, looking for a full time job and Pieces was going through it's calamity with the W. 8th Street Community Board. To help myself cope, I went to a Nar Anon meeting (for friends and relatives of addicts) to find out what I could do to help my friend.

To be honest, I found the Nar Anon meeting to be dour and depressing. I realize that it's not fun and games, but I wondered - would it be so awful to crack a joke?

A week later when I was mentioning this to my friend (and also, like Jodie, a Reverend and Tarot card reader) Roger Anthony Yolanda Mapes (who's wedding I would later attend as part of the Halloween parade) he suggested I start my own support group and make it a little more fun, to show some glimmer of hope and joy for those scared at the thought of losing a loved one to a bottle, a pill or a syringe. Somehow we both spun that out into the path of going into the ministry and this idea was born.

I've gone through some struggle with this and I'll write about that another day, but suffice to say that I wondered if it was something I ought to do until I remembered the couple dozen years that I've been raising money for various organizations. If that's not a type of ministry, what is?

The first morning of the trip, Saturday the 17th, Jodie rushed us up out of bed and out of the hotel to drive three hours north to a family reunion celebrating his paternal 2nd oldest Aunt's 90th birthday. I thought it was a terrible idea the logistics of traveling three hours one way, seeing the family for a few minutes and then driving back three hours -- but that didn't seem to phase him even though we had only  7 hours to get there and back for an evening rehearsal (we would end up getting back with literally a minute or two to spare).

But I'm glad we went because the trip turned out to be a joy as we caught up on years and years worth of news and I got to see the Louisiana and Mississippi countrysides. It reminded me a lot of the backwoods of where I'm from in Wisconsin and I rather felt as though it were me going home instead of Jodie.

Now I don't know what I was thinking, wearing a too tight-even-for-a-big-city-gay-bar-shirt, but there I was standing next to Jodie in the middle of the deep south with gay boy muscle poking out of my gay boy shirt. Seriously What Was I Thinking? <wink>

Although Jodie told me that I'd think they were hillbillies, I found everyone I met to be charming and exciting - it too felt like home but because of my own crooked family dynamics, I've not been to a family reunion since I was a teen. I transposed faces of all the people I knew when I was a kid on the folks standing around and it kind of became like it was my family. Naturally, most of those that I remembered would now be long since passed away, but it was nice to brush by the sensation of family again.

At one point the kids and grandkids of the birthday "girl" stood up to make testamonials - glowing reports of a life well lived by a hunched-over old woman who had taken in her fair share of relatives and become a second mother to many.

One woman, who had been orphaned, testified of the love of her adopted mother by telling the story of how she, the daughter, had done something that she had been ashamed of and had been scared to come clean to her mother, only to be reassured, lovingly, "what kind of mother would I be if I didn't forgive?" If there was ever a true example of a real Christian, that would be it. The daughter stifled tears at the telling of her mother's grace and I admit I choked up too ... and I didn't even know their names.

The food was delicious and plentiful, the soda spilled generously, a makeshift band of guitars and a keyboard played gospel music in the corner and life in this tiny corner of the Earth could not be sweeter. This is what real life is like. KFC and homemade casserole, kids playing tag with each other, finding it endlessly amusing and relatives trading family stories, fighting those battles that only really matter to the tribe they belong to - but that is everything. How I miss it.

We drove like a bat out of hell back to Baton Rouge for the rehearsal and the gospel performers spent much of the evening vocalizing and learning the order of music as another one of Jodie's relatives made a crockpot of rice to go with the delicious pot of franks and beans. It was like I'd gone to heaven.

Sunday evening, December 18th, people arrived at the church and the gospel concert began. Nervously I wondered if I could make jokes about religion or if I were just to introduce people. But I found my groove soon enough (in part due to the exBF who sent me an encouraging text just before show time) and emceed brilliantly (if I do say so myself... lol). I told stories and talked to the singers and was moved by the things that each, in turn, had to say, not only about pets that meant a lot to them in their lives, but how being together with other "strays" was healing their heart.

What struck me most was that the 40 or so people in the church were actually listening to me speak - something that never really happens at Bingo in the big city. It's something that has been bothering me for quite some time to be honest.

Anyway, Jodie played the piano to accompany several singers and did a couple numbers as well.

The whole night went incredibly well and well, it was kind of neat to look over to stage right and see Jodie's smiling face looking back at me. :) Seemed like old times. Or maybe, seems like future times.

Afterwards we dragged ourselves back to the hotel and all climbed into one room to go over the highlights of the evening. We ordered pizza and tried to figure out where to get booze on a Sunday night in a city that doesn't sell liquor on Sundays. We all thought of everything else except that. But it didn't matter, the company made us intoxicated. And I could listen to those male Southern voices all night long and then some.

The next day on Monday the 19th, Jodie and I drove to New Orleans. After beignets in the Quarter, he drove me to the area that had been flooded the worst. I saw the abandoned houses with the X's and the numbers of dead written upon the doors. It was all I could do to stifle my own sorrow of the loss, now so many years in the past. So many others lost, swept away by a misfortune not of their making. And yet the neighborhood lives. It thrives. There are blocks of brand new business sprouting up. True, there are blocks still decimated even this many years, but healing is happening there, it is.

As we began our trip out past the Quarter, Jodie couldn't bear to drive down Poland Street, where his favorite restaurant, Dempsey's, had been located. He feared that they had long since gone out of business and this loss would be the most crushing for him.

But, upon my return home in New York, I did a Google search and found that the restaurant was still there.

It had survived. Like Jodie had survived. Like I had survived. Through all the trials and tears (and fundraisers!) we have shared over the years proving that it takes a lot to keep us down for long.

And all I could hear as I boarded the plane back to New York was - "We may be poor, we may even be ugly, but Dear God, we are here. WE ARE HERE..... " And so we are.

 

Boxing Day -About Bingo and P*rn Stars and Hugh Jackman #willclark #pornobingo #hughjackman #antoniobiaggi

I have said it for years - some day I want to leave New York just after Thanksgiving and return just before New Years - the city gets crazier and crazier every year and while there are some GREAT parties that happen, people do the frenzy mambo a little too intensely for me.

If anyone reading this can point me in the direction of a place where I can work for five weeks during December 2012, write to me. Seriously.

Thankfully it all ended last night with a great party with new friends up in Connecticut, followed by a fabulous train ride home followed by my first sex dream in years - where I imagined I met and had a lot of fun (that would be euphemism just in case you weren't picking that up) with four different hotties who turned out to be brothers (whoops.. embarassing but kinda hot in a 'comedy of manners' kind of way. Even in my dreams I'm an English Lit major!)

Anyway, speaking of sex, my friend AB saw Alan Cumming in the men's bathroom at Julius' and given that he was with Village Person Randy Jones, he made the comment that it was like being in the middle of a sequel to "Can't Stop The Music" except that Alan was the new Valerie Perrine. I guess there are worse recasts. ;)

This holiday season I got a couple of really nice presents - one from Dale - a set of Mickey Mouse glasses (I LOVE them) and a couple of others from my best friend Matt who not only gave me a cute little Journal to write things down in for the next five years but also treated me to Hugh Jackman's one personish show on Broadway. I sat there inspired, not just by the Jackman's hotness or talent or charisma, but also by his exhilarating personality and determined upbeatness. I mean, it's easy to be upbeat when you are doing a show on Broadway but I think it comes naturally to him.. and that's pretty damn inspirational. I was especially moved by a segment he did celebating the aborigines underlined by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Over the Rainbow" accented by didgeridoos. It was a neat/spiritual moment and I actually had the thought - "I wish I had a show like this" and then it hit me, "uhmmm I do". And it's made me rethink some things about how I do things.

You know, for some reason I sometimes forget that I have control of the content of the show - and while I know that people expect porn stars to appear at an event called "Porno Bingo" I've become less and less enchanted with those that I book - not because they are out murdering cats or burning houses or anything, but because I simply can't rely on sex workers to show up or well, be interesting. I had one star sometime in the past few months (no names!) who told me flat out that he didn't want anyone to take his picture and he didn't want to get undressed for the crowd. My actual thought was "then what the fuck are you doing here?" ... but my Midwestern/hospitality industry nature kicked in and I just smiled my host smile and I said "Okee dokie" BTW when you get the Okee Dokie from me, you know it's not really Okee Dokie with me but I've just given up fighting with you. I can fight like the best of them but at one point, one has to walk away. That guest will not be asked back. Frowny although I should add that said star did indeed allow people to take his photo and he did eventually get undressed but he rolled his eyes and told me on the mic how bored he was throughout. I wonder - how does anyone think that it's OK to say that during an appearance? Rolling my eyes on this end just thinking about it! LOL

As a side note, I was criticized (slightly) by a couple of people who questioned why I had booked Antonio Biaggi on the show some weeks back given that Antonio is now doing bareback flicks. Well, that is always a tough call for me, but I'll tell you the thing about Antonio that makes him a great guest - he lets me know in advance when he's coming to town, he shows up on time, he never complains about anything, is interesting on the mic, is prepared with a jockstrap and Raging Stallion routinely (and reliably) donates product that Biaggi made for them (and for those of you reading this that aren't consumers of porn, Raging Stallion produces movies with models wearing condoms).

I would love to really interview the stars who appear who have done the bb stuff (and there have been about three that I can think of off the top of my head just in the last year) but I think that the Bingo crowd wouldn't want something so serious so I sidestep it. And btw it wouldn't be in a judgmental 'how dare you' kind of way, it would come from a place of being genuinely interested in finding out how they decided to go that direction with their careers. Maybe when I have a radio show it's something to explore. :)

Anyway, those are a few of the thoughts that are on my mind this day after Christmas.

Write me, I know you want to! LOL ;)

In the meantime, chillax with the sounds of "Over the Rainbow", a piece that never fails to touch my heart.

 

The Mollys Bring Big Bucks to the AIDS Service Center, Get All Xmasy! #mollypope #ascnyc #willclark #pornobingo

It was a packed night on the evening of Wednesday December 7th, the rafters were crammed with fans of my guests, Molly Pope and Molly "Equality" Dykeman who joined me for a night of four rounds of Bingo to raise money for the AIDS Service Center, which just celebrated it's 20th anniversary of helping the HIV/AIDS infected homeless of New York find food, clothing and, most importantly, jobs.

We also got a visit from the principal cast members from LOS NUTCRACKERS, A CHRISTMAS CARAJO now playing through Saturday night December 17th at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance. Click here for deets.

We had great fun, raised a bunch of bucks, got drunk and gave away some terriffic XXX flicks - what more can you ask from a rainy December night in New York City?

Click here to see pics from the night (including ASC's helpers, a gaggle of cuties who passed around safer sex kits) and our friends CB and Joe among others (and get a load of CB's tongue, now that is a ride that needs riding...) (Photos by AB)

TONIGHT ON THE WILL CLARK SHOW - HAVE A MOLLY HOLLY JOLLY XMAS!

The Will Clark Show featuring P*rno Bingo at Pieces (8 Christopher Street near 6th Ave between Greenwich and Gay Streets)

Hosted by Will Clark with Photographer: AB and DJ Chris Padilla

Sponsored by NEXT Magazine, Steel Gym, ID Lube, Eden Fantasies

It’ll be a night of Mollys – with Molly Pope (host of the popular singles night uptown at Vlada) and Molly “Equality” Dykeman who has a new show opening at the Laurie Beechman.

Porn and show tickets and probably some drinks laced with alcohol are on the agenda as we raised big bucks for the AIDS Service Center.

About AIDS Service Center

AIDS Service Center NYC (ASC) is a multiservice community organization that carries out its mission of “helping many, one by one” by building community, connection and stability for New Yorkers living with and at risk for HIV/AIDS. ASC’s comprehensive programs include state-of-the-art peer education and training, harm reduction, specialized women’s services, HIV counseling and testing, mental health services, medical and holistic care, case management, support groups, and many other innovative programs that help New York City’s most vulnerable individuals and families to survive and thrive in the face of HIV/AIDS.

About Molly Pope

Molly Pope is a critically acclaimed cabarettist whose solo shows, Introducing Molly Pope, The Molly Pope Show and The Diva-lution of Molly Pope, have played Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova, The Laurie Beechman Theater and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in Australia. Hailed for her “viscerally thrilling alto” by Time Out New York, she is a regular guest at the MAC-award nominated show, The Meeting* with Justin Sayre, and has performed in the hit long-running Top Ten countdown show Our Hit Parade over 25 times at Joe’s Pub. Other concert and live appearances include Cafe Panache at The Griffin, Foreign Affairs at the Night Hotel, Tingel Tangel Club and frequent guest hosting at Mostly Sondheim at the Duplex.

On stage she has appeared as Regan in King Lear (Gallery Players/Players Shakespeare), Colleen/Sanchez/Sequins in Bromance: The Dudesical (Caroline’s on Broadway, 92Y Tribeca), Maria in Twelfth Night: The Drinking Game (Legitimate Theater Co) and Fran in the tour of Swing For Victory (Lively Arts). On camera work includes Law & Order: SVU, Secrets of the Mystic Oracle, Hunting and Evie’s Big Break (both at Big Apple Film Festival), and promotional spots for Papa John’s Pizza, Sundance Channel and Bristol-Myers Squibb. She earned a BFA in drama from New York University and has studied acting with Louis Scheeder & Darci Picoult and voice with D Michael Heath, Marianne Challis, Scott Barnes, Victoria Mallory and Kurt Peterson.

About Molly “Equality” Dykeman

ANDREA ALTON last appeared as Molly “Equality” Dykeman in "The F*cking World According to Molly" in the New York International Fringe Festival and at Women's Week in Provincetown in October. Her current project includes "A Molly Jolly Christmas" at The Laurie Beechman Theatre in December. Alton has performed all over New York with appearances at Gotham Comedy Club, Comix, The PIT, Arlene’s Grocery, UCB, The Knitting Factory, and Bowery Poetry Club. She’s also performed at The Chicago, DC, San Francisco and Toronto Sketch Comedy Festivals as well as at The Miss Fag Hag Pageant and Murray Hill’s Miss Lez Pageant.

Outside of writing and playing Molly, Alton can be seen on New York and Regional stages. Her favorite theatre credits include; Big Girl, Little World (FringeNYC), The Strangest Kind Of Romance (Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival), Labor Day Weekend & The Chiselers (Emerging Artists Theatre), Reckless (Kaleidoscope Theatre) and Carl & Shelly, Best Friends Forever (FringeNYC). She is a member of Emerging Artists & TOSOS Theatre. Alton's film/TV credits include Little Magician 3D (Int Releases, filmed in NY and India), Target Audience (licensed by Showtime), Chappell’s Show (Pilot/Comedy Central) and Girls Behaving Badly.

A Molly Jolly Christmas at The Laurie Beechman Theatre - December 6th, 9th, 13th and 22nd.

A MOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS is poet/security guard Molly "Equality" Dykeman's first Christmas variety show. Will she be able to muck her way through musical numbers, choreography, and a glittering array of guest stars in the Percocet-fogged haze that is her mind? Will she finally land the lady...or ladies... of her dreams? Will the chef at the Laurie Beechman Theatre agree to serve her beloved nachos? Special guests nightly!

About The Will Clark Show

Will Clark produces and hosts a weekly fundraising event benefiting New York based non profits with four rounds of Bingo, celebrity guest callers and fabulous prizes!  Part game show, part talk show and all fundraiser!

Now in it¹s seventh year, The Will Clark Show featuring P*rno Bingo has raised over $170,000 for New York LGBT charities.

The Will Clark Show is held at Pieces which can be reached via the 1 train (Christopher Street) and the ABCDEF lines (West 4th).

AIDS Is Not Over - Visual AIDS Marks 20 Years of World AIDS Day

To mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of December 1st as World AIDS Day, Visual AIDS commissioned four artists to come with designs for their "NOT OVER" campaign.

Last night at The Will Clark Show we distributed about 50 red ribbon/buttons - thanks to all who took and wore them proudly throughout the evening. It was especially poignant as we were raising funds for Iris House which offers direct aid to women effected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

For me, this day is one that I simultaneously dread and celebrate. I dread because I think of all the friends who have died of AIDS (a few that I was very very close to) and it's a very sad day for me. However, I also make a choice every year not to let their memory be clouded by remorse, regret and sadness, but, instead, focus on the good times I had with them and the beautiful ways each of them touched and influenced my life.

When I first came out 25 years ago, AIDS was a scary thing that was "out there" infecting and killing thousands of gay men in America. Our President would not could not talk about it even though Americans were dying in horrible ugly ways.

I started volunteering for AIDS organizations not for any personal reason, but merely because it was the right thing to do. I spent three years as a peer educator for the Stop AIDS Project in Chicago and, later on in the 90s, producing fun and sexy fundraisers for AIDS causes.

These days, men (and women) living, thriving and being positive is a common thing that people just live with..and I daily celebrate the advances that the Cocktail made in preserving the health of the people in our community. I also celebrate the hard hard work of the activists of ACT UP and Queer Nation -although pooh poohed by many in the LGBT community as being too much 'in people's face', they accomplished what felt at the time impossible - they not only got people talking about AIDS, but they pushed through past all the bullshit red tape and beauracacy and gave millions of Americans access to drugs that literally saved their lives.

The men and women of these groups are the true heroes of our community. They literally changed the course of this epidemic and saved millions of lives.

Today, I think of my best friend Jeff who died in 1993. He was an incredible man who was very kind to me in so many ways. He also did the best Pee Wee Herman impresion I've ever seen. :)

I think of my friends Tom Rolanti, Scott Roderick, Karl Walker, Steve Beery, Mason Flynt (David), Steve S. and John Harelkin all friends and all who died from complications related to AIDS. There have been others of course, some who didn't make it to see the cocktail, some who threw their lives away binging on crystal meth and compromising their health beyond what their body could take.

However, I will not dwell on the loss. I will focus on the men I know who are strongly living with HIV. Those that have positioned themselves on the front lines of activism and who will not see themselves dying of AIDS, but living, thriving and bringing hope to others.

Thankfully, while AIDS is not over, hope is alive and well. And today, that's the message I'm focusing on when it would be too easy to let grief overwhelm.

Best to you all and if you'd like to help someone today, please consider making a donation to Iris House in honor of someone you've lost. It is not over. Well, not yet. :)

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30TH: NIGHT OF A THOUSAND SANTAS!! #willclark #pornobingo #irishouse #djmissbxxx

The Will Clark Show featuring P*rno Bingo at Pieces (8 Christopher Street near 6th Ave between Greenwich and Gay Streets)

Hosted by Will Clark with Photographer: AB and DJ Chris Padilla

Sponsored by NEXT Magazine, Steel Gym, ID Lube, Eden Fantasies

Jingle Jingle Jingle isn’t just the sound of change in the pockets of the Occupy Wall Street protestors showing all they have left after being unemployed for three years.

In this case, Jingle Jingle Jingle is the sound of the official start to the XXXMas season with our annual ‘Night of a Thousand Santas” featuring the legendary Brittany Andrews, plus gay porn hottie Ray Stone, Santa Claus and special guest Candy Samples (hopefully as a sexed up Mrs. Claus!).

We’ll be raising big bucks for the amazing IRIS HOUSE and so if you’ve got your own bowlful of jelly underneath your flannel shirt, join us for cheap booze, XXX flix prizes and a whole lot more as we unveil the start of the last holiday season at 8 Christopher Street!

PLUS special ticket giveaways for STANDING ON CEREMONY: THE GAY MARRIAGE PLAYS, SILENCE! THE MUSICAL and LOS NUTCRACKERS (the annual holiday show at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance - a mashup of a couple different holiday stories that's quickly become one of my favorite holiday traditions).

And as December 1st is World AIDS Day, I'll have red ribbons available to everyone courtesy of our friends at Visual AIDS.

AND do NOT forget to come wearing RED or dressed up like Santa… you’ll get coal if you don’t!!

About Iris House

Iris House provides comprehensive services and advocacy for women, families, and communities infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS, while simultaneously providing prevention and education services for our clients and at-risk communities.

About Brittany Andrews

Miss Brittany Andrews is a legendary Hall of Fame icon in the adult industry that has not only successfully crossed over into the mainstream film and television world but now is proving to be a major mover and shaker in the international DJ club scene. She is an all around entertainer who is transcending genres to create her own global music brand.

Her achievements this year alone include 13 awards for mainstream films she has produced, genres ranging from horror films to arthouse thrillers. She produced Crumble which went on to Cannes Film Festival and has to date won 6 awards, 2 of them for the music score which she helped put together for the film. This year she also has done a numerous amount of television and radio appearances as well.

Miss Andrews is also a Playboy/Penthouse Model as well with over 100 magazine covers. She has been in various mainstream magazines as well such as Cosmopolitan Magazine, Rolling Stone, NY Time Out etc. She is a Two Time Hall of Fame Superstar with a handful of AVN & X-Biz awards, a Best Actress Award from the New York International Film Festival and M.C./Host of several international events in Ibiza, Japan, Dubai and Europe – including hosting and performing at conventions worldwide from Australia to Finland. With her talents ranging from mainstream film, to music, to adult SuperStar she has garnered an extreme amount of fans and followers on Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, Miss Brittany Andrews has become a universal phenomenon.

Always an avid music lover and involved in various aspects of the LA & NY club scenes since the early 90’s, Miss B’s journey into the DJ booth began in 2001 when she hosted an upscale club event in Miami where the owner of the venue asked her to “stand and look pretty” in the DJ booth and “pretend” to spin a few songs. Miss B INSISTED that she does not do anything half-assed and immediately threw together an improvised pulse pounding 20 minute mix on their sound system. The crowd went absolutely bonkers and loved every minute of it. Thus began Miss B’s interest in learning all of the proper techniques of a real DJ and implementing spontaneous turns in the DJ booth into her event appearances.

After attending New York’s DUBSPOT for a master certification of Ableton she is starting to produce her own tracks and beats. With several private and public events as a DJ under her belt, Pornstar DJ Miss B is ready to jet set around the globe with her turntables and take the international club scene by storm.

“The possibilities are limitless! I have concentrated a lot of energy into putting together something really special for my appearances and tours to make them mind-blowing live experiences” says Miss B. “my love of music has lead me to put together mixes of all genres from Electro, Hip Hop, Top 40, Indie, Nu-Disco, House, Rock, 80′s, etc. I love to put together fresh hot experimental mixes from various musical genres to give guests an aural orgasm on the dancefloor!”

We can only imagine what Porn Star DJ Miss B has in store for 2012 and beyond!

FOLLOW DJ MISS B @ WWW.TWITTER.COM/DJMISSBXXX

About The Will Clark Show

Will Clark produces and hosts a weekly fundraising event benefiting New York based non profits with four rounds of Bingo, celebrity guest callers and fabulous prizes!  Part game show, part talk show and all fundraiser!

Now in it¹s seventh year, The Will Clark Show featuring P*rno Bingo has raised over $170,000 for New York LGBT charities.

The Will Clark Show is held at Pieces http://www.piecesbar.com which can be reached via the 1 train (Christopher Street) and the ABCDEF lines (West 4th).