Will Clark World

FINALLY! Tough Talk From the Obama Admin. Oh, it's ON, Hold My Baby #obama #koch

In what I hope is an ongoing and intense trend for the Obama campaign, today this video is making the rounds - watch it and pass around. This is a response video to a ludicrous attack ad from the Republican's where, as usual, they simply lie about things that the President has done/not done. You know, I've certainly been a supporter of Mr. Obama but even I have been frustrated by the lack of rebuttal over the years to attacks. On one hand, you could say that giving them attention is akin to validating them (and I agree) but on the other hand, even the 'coward of the county' got it together and beat the crap out of the bully eventually. Thankfully while I don't in any way shape or form think that Obama is any kind of coward (I'm a firm supporter of his attempts to bridge a very large gap between our two - sadly only two- political idealogies) but really enough is enough.. and the moment that they say in the video "we're going to call them out on their BS" was the moment that I swooned.

Dude, we got your back - go get 'em. The Koch Brothers might be spending 6 million on attacking you, but you got millions of people supporting you - and while our culture is seriously screwed up in terms of where we place our priorities, in the end, it is the people that will win out. And it is the truth that will also win out. And that's actual truth, not "truthiness".

It's at this point that we need Al Franken to wake up like Sofia-like from THE COLOR PURPLE. Lying liars who lie need to be defeated!

Oh, it's ON. Hold my baby. :) (AB will be happy about that reference) :)

 

Shaynee Rainbolt Tonight April 26th on The Will Clark Show at The Ritz!

Tonight, one of my fabulous guests is the awesomey awesome Shaynee Rainbolt and just in case you aren't familiar with the deliciousness that is Shaynee.. here's her bio from her website Shaynee Rainbolt.com) .. you know I love my male hotties but I also love love love love having incredible performing talent on the show.. so excited for tonight!

Shaynee Rainbolt's sumptuous tone and instrumentally oriented jazz chops have made her a New York audience favorite & Critic’s Pick since she relocated from the San Francisco bay Area in 2005. Described as “smooth, sultry, sophisticated, and swinging” it’s not wonder that Time Out NY said: “Talent, Charm, Sheer Magic- Rainbolt’s got it!” and the Siegles of Theatermania.com declared: “San Francisco’s loss is New York’s gain. The arrival here Shaynee Rainbolt is cause for celebration.”

Now a regular on the New York City music scene, Shaynee brings her fresh, unique and sultry style to music of all eras. She swings, scats, entertaining audiences of all ages.

Shaynee is also a 2012 Backstage Bistro Award Winner, a two time MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs) Award Winner, and four-time MAC Award Nominee with three critically acclaimed CD’s to her credit, the first two released on the UK Indie jazz label, 33Jazz (33jazz.com).

Hailed as one to watch in the Scott Yanow’s 2008 book: The Jazz Singers: The Ultimate Guide, Shaynee has performed at world-class venues & festivals in the U.S. & abroad, but when she’s not on the road, you can hear her monthly at Ashford and Simpson’s Sugar Bar on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Shaynee has performed at New York’s Highline, Iridium, Metropolitan Room, Danny’s Skylight Room and many many more!

Good Reads - Get Your Gay Lit in 2012 #IML #davidmixner #chulito #leatherman

I think that most folks consider New Yorkers well read - and I think having tons of time to sit on a train or a bus every single day helps us get through more books than the average American who spends half their day in a car.

If you're a reader, I have three new books to point you towards - ones that focus on the gay world around you.

First up is Charles Rice-Gonzalez' first novel, CHULITO, just published a few weeks ago by Magnus Books. I haven't had time to read it yet but any book that opens with the line, "Chulito awoke with a hard-on as usual" is something to pay attention to. ;) "Chulito" means "Cutie" by the way for those of you not familiar with the vernacular. :) Anyway, it's a coming out and coming of age novel set in the South Bronx and who better to write about this subject than Rice-Gonzalez who has made a home for his theatre company, the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, over the past few years? It's a love story of a sexy, tough, hip-hop loving, young Latino man and the characters that populate his block. I'm really looking forward to diving in to this book this week.

Politico David Mixner (aka "the most powerful gay man in America") released AT HOME WITH MYSELF, a quiet book, culled from his personal blog, about the three years he spent in upstate New York until his health demanded that he return to the city. Despite Mixner's outspoken reputation, this is a nice relaxing book where you'll become familiar with snow storms, deer and the locals that inhabit Turkey Hollow, the town near David's country home. Being country-raised, I saw a lot of my own growing up in the childhood recollections that pepper the book (although we are about 15 years or so apart chronologically) and being a city rat as an adult, I can appreciate his desire to go 'back to nature'. This is less a polemic on gay rights than it is a peek into the necessity to pull back from those fights and rediscover one's roots and recharge ones battery. I can't think of a better, more appropriate book for me to have read at this point in my life than this.You can read David's current blog by clicking here (and it is a must-read for anyone even remotely interested in the world of LGBT politics). This too is published by Magnus Books.

Finally, most gay men have heard of IML weekend, also known as International Mr. Leather in Chicago held over Memorial Day weekend. But few know of the life and contributions that it's creator, Chuck Renslow has had in the gay community locally, nationally and yes, even internationally. Thankfully authors Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen set out to resolve that problem by penning LEATHERMAN: THE LEGEND OF CHUCK RENSLOW. Every pornographer, every erotic photographer, every leatherman and everyone who has ever been to a leather contest or been a titleholder ought to read this - and frankly, every gay man ought to read this book too. It's a comprehensive history of Renslow's life and while it can seem, at times, almost too detailed and riddled with facts and quotes, (Baim's influence for sure - one of the best reporters the LGBT community has ever had the good fortune to have working on our behalf) the sheer volume of stories and anecdotes create a portrait of a man who has shaped the community in ways that most people barely realize.

From a personal perspective, knowing Chuck in my own small way, I reveled more in the first half of the book, about his family and growing up gay in Chicago (I grew up in Wisconsin not that far from Chicago) decades before gay rights was a common thing, than I did in the second half which emphasizes more of the IML machinery which I'm more familiar with (although, as with many porn themed books, reading quotes from friends of mine is always a kick). The book is published by Prairie Avenue Productions and getting it now means you have enough time to pour through the intricate history before boarding the plane in May to go to the actual event in Chicago (because there is nothing else like it on Earth).

Together, these books represent a kind of queer past, present and future as they tell us where we've been, where we are, and most importantly, where we're going.

This Blog Post Is So Gay, I May Have to Same Sex Marry It

It seems like only yesterday that I went to the launch party for Michael Musto's new book FORK ON THE LEFT, KNIFE IN THE BACK. I haven't gotten a copy of it to review yet so I can't tell you if it's any good but I'm sure it is, like Michael himself, casually amusing (wink) :)

Anyway, Murray Hill and Dirty Martini (right, in one of my favorite pics from the past month) performed and some women from the Real Housewives show showed up to be famous but it really was Bridgette Everett who stole the show by performing like an insane whirling dervish, not just in the performance area high above the crowd, but down in the maw of the crowd. A train wreck but I think that's kind of Bridget's talent (and what a great talent she is!). Bridget performs regularly at Joe's Pub and geez there's not much chance of a performer climbing down into the audience there, so I'm sure the minute she saw a semi open dance floor space, she ran like the wind!

Later that night Molly Pope hosted a party for single gay men at Vlada and because I do not have a ring on my finger (I can't say the same about other places, however) I went because, like the New York lottery, you just never know.

Pope has been on the Will Clark Show numerous times and performed at Joe's Pub too. This was the first of her Mixer events and it was filled with charming young men most of whom do not know a time when THE SIMPSONS has not been a currently broadcast program, but that's OK. I find the young'uns to be fun and awfully cute (especially when they have their hands down my pants, not that they did, but I'm just putting it out there for the twentysomething generation. If you don't ask, you don't get, is my motto).

Anyway, Molly put on a GREAT show and will be returning to Pieces on December 7th (more deets to come). And you know what? As I left Molly's show, who was sitting downstairs having a refreshing beverage? Bridget Everett. Was the first time I could see her face all evening! LOL

That week I spent getting interviewed by the This is So Gay podcast, going to the launch party for a gay indie horror film at the Eagle (I'm cast as a Priest, fun!) and of course watching the final episodes of ALL MY CHILDREN.

After that, the Broadway Cares Flea Market, seeing "Sister Act" (a much better show than I thought it was going to be) followed later in that week by a presentation on the state of HIV/AIDS at the Leslie Lohman - which is now officially the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art. The presentation was produced by my friends Amy and Nelson at Visual AIDS. Regular Bingo goers know that we've been giving away "PLay Smart" trading cards for the past few weeks. For the rest of you, the Play Smart trading cards are a way to help get the word out that 'safe sex is hot sex'. The photos are taken by prominent New York photographers and the models are hot. To learn more click here for the Visual AIDS website.

T hen came the Mr. Eagle contest, the Flaming Saddles opening, a concert by Uptown Express at the Metropolitan Room (Uptown Express will be the beneficiary at the Will Clark Show on Wed Nov. 23rd and their newest member is a long time Will Clark Show guest Jaymes Hodges whom gay moviegoers will remember - in all his glory - from the film version of NAKED BOYS SINGING). Geromino will be our guest go go hottie on that night so if you're not headed out of town for turkey day, consider making us the first stop over the long holiday weekend!

Theatre-wise, in short order I saw Bianca Leigh's BUSTED and the all-male SALOME, VENUS IN FUR (just transferred to Broadway.. if anyone's seen this, I'm not 100% what I saw, did you 'get it'? I actually loved the show, although others I was with weren't as enthusiastic), and the MARILYN IN PURGATORY show at Theatre for a New City.

Plus I had the opportunity to see the incredible Tonya Pinkins in MILK LIKE SUGAR now playing at Playwright's Horizons. This is an amazing show and a must see. The story is about three inner city girls who make a pact to get pregnant by any means necessary in order that they can live their lives together, give birth together and have their baby showers together. But what happens when one of the girls starts believing that there may be more for her in this old world than that and that she could have a different life - if she only aimed higher. It runs through November 20th and you can find out more by going to the PH website.

Pinkins, by the way, wrote an awesome book, GET OVER YOURSELF about owning your life and making it better. She knows from experience. She's gone from having everything to nothing and back again. And this book will help you change your thinking (I highly recommend it).

Along the way, I attended the CB4 meeting for the possible move to midtown, I did two more interviews, one for Leatherati and then another one for DJ Baker's Doo Dirty Show, went to Lady Bunny's new show Tuesday nights at Esquelita (extended through the end of November), and participated in the Bronx Community Pride Center's first Bachelor Auction (again: please note, no ring on finger).

The auction is something I've done before and is usually nerve wracking. It was great to arrive and find the other guys just as nervous as I was. Emcee Marti Gould Cummings started the show off with a live number - singing ABBAs  "Money Money Money". The auction itself was fast - the crowd was into it but we were whisked up on stage so fast that some folks later complained they didn't have a chance to really bid on folks (there were some low bids) but then, Boxers is a great space, but not sure it's the right venue for an auction of this kind. Anyway, by manwhoring myself out, I made the Center a few bucks and will have a nice dinner with a generous man to look forward to. (pic of Marti to the right is from the night at Flaming Saddles - but I love it so much that I just had to run it when talking about his awesome hosting duties).

Then there was the Comic Con which sort of ate up my entire weekend and is best saved for another blog post (because this one is already crazy long) but suffice to say, it was amazing at the LGBT presence at the Con. You can read the article I read for EDGE New York by clicking here!

This past week I went to a few networking parties for a new part time job in the wedding industry and of course the Studio 54 party, at which I had a blast. I also managed a small same sex wedding in Central Park. That was nothing short of fantastic!!

I haven't been to the gym much lately but I did spend an incredible day riding my bike from where I live in Morningside Heights (aka the UWS) up and over the George Washington Bridge and into Palisades Park in New Jersey. If you missed that post, click here for the full account and a couple pics.

And that is enough for one blog post, as usual, more later (because it's New York City, there is ALWAYS more).

 

Good Morning Monsters, er Peeps! Lady Gaga DVD Released Nov. 21

Good morning Peeps! Now that was an incredible weekend, more to come from the Comic Con but as various projects have been keeping me from the gym, it's time to get back to that this afternoon.

But first I thought I'd share that Gaga's Monster Ball tour will be released on DVD with some never before seen footage in about a month, on November 21st. It's the show that played at Madison Square Garden a couple years ago- the same show that I saw with my partner just a few months before in Montreal for like $50. We liked the show so much that we went to buy tix for MSG - and the lowest tix prices were in the hundreds, the highest in the thousands. Yikes. So seeing the show on DVD is a pretty good deal (I mean, for those of you who don't work on Wall Street and aren't part of the 1%).

In other news, November will also mark the release of four Tom of Finland designs to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Tom's death. The shirts are initially 50 euro (whatever that's worth these days, dollar-wise) with $10 going to the Tom of Finland Foundation based in Los Angeles. Order them now by clicking here to Gear of Berlin, the exclusive seller of these designs.

Visual AIDS' Online Web Gallery Curated by Jake Yuzna

I'm a lover of hot men's bodies, I think drag queens are awesome, my favorite music literally keeps me alive - providing a soundtrack to my life -, I try to read as often as I have time for (but I find that happens less often than I'd like) and I admire all forms of Art. Capital A Art - especially when it explores the Bigger Questions of life.

My friends over at Visual AIDS have been producing a cool web gallery over the past couple years with a different curator every month showcasing the work from the Frank Moore Archive Projet.

This month curator Jake Yuzna (from the new museum at Columbus Circle, the Museum of Arts and Design) presents "Ciao" a collection of work that Jake describes this way:

"It is impossible to escape the finality of time, and in some bittersweet way, this is precisely what instills such experiences with a remarkable beauty. In the Visual AIDS archive, incorporating so many artists and works touched by endings, it is the emergent nature of humanity that is highlighted.... Facing such finality, we are left with the choice of struggling in anguish over the precious nature of time, or accepting the inevitable, enjoying the incoherent nature of life as it is lived, and when the time comes for such startling shifts, simply giving a slight wave goodbye to what once was."

See the complete gallery by clicking here!