WILL CLARK WORLD

BE ITALIAN

Quick update this evening before going off to a show and a holiday party... went to see NINE this afternoon and as someone who has nothing to compare it to (i.e. the original movie nor the Broadway show) I loved it. Daniel Day Lewis is such a magnificent actor (his role in 2007's THERE WILL BE BLOOD would have made me a fan for life if I hadn't already been a fan for life after his thoroughly passionate and committed same sex kiss (the first time I ever got turned on by an on screen kiss by the way) in the 1985 flick MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE -a film not quite as good as PARTING GLANCES but important in the gay film canon nonetheless.. but I digress.

The film is filled with homages to Fellini and numbers from the Broadway show although I'm told it does change some things around a little and the Kate Hudson number, while visually stunning, was a terrible song (and apparently written for the movie - just concentrate on the visuals and pretend not to listen to the lyrics).

But other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed it - although I can kind of imagine that anyone who isn't involved in the creative process might not be as invested in the story as me and my partner (both writers) were. Anyway, any movie that casts Sophia Loren and uses her brilliantly, is good in my book.

NINE INCHES

Lots of snow here in NYC last night.. and it's gorgeous out today! So, get off line and get out into the world and enjoy a beautiful day (at least that's what it is here in NYC). We're off to see NINE... checking back in later here and back for more entries in the morning. - Will

SNOW BLOWER

UPDATE: DUE TO THE WEATHER, THE BELOW EVENT, TWINKLE, HAS BEEN CANCELED TONIGHT. ENJOY THE SNOW!

Snow's a comin (or so they say) but don't let that keep you in your apartment because when the snow is piling up in feet, there are guys with lots of inches who are just looking to get snowbound with another fella. Oh sure you can try the hookup sites (but really, where has that gotten you except for a couple of extra trips to the free clinic telling them how many times you've been paid for sex?) but it's better to go out.

First, you don't have to worry about falling for that old trope "I'm 36" when they are really 50.

You don't have to worry if "football player build" means big n muscular or simply big and blobby.

And finally, the guy you talk to in person will have a head. I'm just sayin. I worry about people who are actively looking for sex on some website and refuse to show their face and then bitterly complain that other people are cagey. Use Windex to shine up that glass house, buddy.

But it's the holigays and there are oodles of horny crazed men all over the place who still have to be in town for work next week or whose families have disowned them. Mine disowned me a long time ago and it was a relief not to have to deal with their dysfunction any longer. I miss them of course but one call back home and I remember "ah yes, being an outcast from a band of complete freaks is not such a bad thing". I still long for a Princess Diaries scenario where my 'real' family shows up and I'm a monarch in some heretofore unknown principality tucked into the mountains of Europe. That would suck since I barely speak English but I'd cope. Well, I know the language of love (and that's one I'm fairly fluent in. Just sayin).

Tonight at 8pm at Pieces, Vodka Stinger (who hosts "Win, Lose or Draw" at Pieces on Wednesday nights immediately following Porno Bingo) presents "A Very Vodka Christmas" in the back cabaret room (christened Vodka's VIP Lounge). Special guests include the Vodka Stinger Good Time Band and the Puppetfuckers (both which sound appropriately twisted). There's no cover but there is a two drink minimum. The show also plays Sunday December 20th at 10pm and Midnight. Pieces is located at 8 Christopher Street. You can write Vodka for reservations at vodkatickets at gmail dot com.

Then up the street at the Center at 208 W. 13th Street, promoter Joe Fiore cranks up the party with DJ Robbie Leslie spinning tunes at an event Joe calls "Twinkle". That starts at 9 and runs til 1am. There's a special performance by Chevonne who will also be at Woof at View on Monday night and at Bingo on Wednesday night. 

Finally, a real holiday treat - director John Waters has added a second show at his BB King event this Tuesday January 22nd The early show sold out but you can now click here to get tickets for the just added 11pm show. I've seen this one man show twice already (in San Fran a few Xmases ago and three years ago in Huntington) and it's fantastic, if you are even remotely a fan, this is not to be missed.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

It's easy in today's rush around world to forget the things that matter most - the things that last, that linger, that are eternal. I am grateful for my boyfriend of two and a half years, I am thankful for continued health (knock on wood), I am thankful that in January I will have lived in this same apartment for six years. I am thankful that we've had such great shows at Bingo the past few months that we could break our 100k goal months before we thought we would, I am grateful for the tremendous support we've received from Next and Time Out. I am grateful for the opportunity to do this blog every day. I am grateful for the friends that have stuck with me over the years, for those who have found their way back to me after long absences and am grateful that friends that I'm not in contact with now will eventually return to my life.

But aside from all of that, I am most thankful for this photo as it has made me VERY HAPPY the past couple months....

Enjoy your day everyone. I will have some postings over the weekend but it'll be light as I'll be in Montreal with the boyfriend and other friends for the holiday weekend. I hope I'll have some fun stories to share with you all next week!!

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH WILL

I don’t know about YOUR weekend but MY weekend but pretty damn fantastic!

Where to begin? Well, last night my BF and I took in Coco Peru’s show at the Laurie Beechman and fabulous doesn’t even begin to describe the show. There’s a lot of cabaret in New York and there’s a lot of theatre in New York but seldom does it blend so seamlessly together as Coco’s show does. To be frank, I expected a show of one liners and bawdy songs, but what Peru delivers is an evening full of meaningful stories that speak immediately and directly to the audience in a genuinely heartfelt way. There’s one more weekend, don’t miss it! (We’ll have tickets for Coco’s show this Wednesday as well as two tickets to Joan Rivers’ December 2nd show). You can find Coco here

(pictured: Empress Ann Tique and Emperor Tony from the Imperial Court – Coco will be hosting the annual Night of a Thousand Gowns at the end of March 2010.. more as we get closer to the date)

But yesterday was such a gorgeous day that if you didn’t get out into it, you missed something special. We spent some time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art taking in the Vermeer exhibit and then enjoying the view of Central Park on the roofdeck displaying Roxy Paine’s sculpture (it leaves at the end of November, don’t miss seeing this up close if you haven’t already).

Afterwards we took a walk through Central Park and decided to catch THIS IS IT which we’d been meaning to see since it came out. A little long by about 20 minutes, it is, nevertheless a testament to a fantastic performer and a peek into the creative process. After seeing the movie, it’s hard to reconcile the man who was on top of his game with conflicting reports of a man who had to be super sedated just to quell his nerves or to catch a few hours of sleep. I guess we never really know what’s happening with people apart from what we see publicly.

Anyway, Friday night I saw RAGTIME now in previews. I enjoyed the original run so much that I saw it twice back ten years ago. However, the new version, while musically still brilliant, has questionable staging for it’s dancers and there are some questionable casting choices. It’s as if the director specifically went against Frank Galati’s original direction just because she could. If it ain’t broke…..  I was also dismayed that they cut one of my favorite songs, the duet between Harry Houdini and Evelyn Nesbit (“The Showbiz”) which is a beautiful song of acceptance of changing times and the inevitability of time marching on. If they wanted to cut a useless song (even though I like it) is the baseball song which always just feels shoe-horned in (narratively and musically). But beyond all that, RAGTIME has enough to recommend it and is certainly worth seeing.

And then there was Saturday. I spent the day in Brooklyn shooting a little comedy video for Soce, the elemental wizard. That was fun. I love doing things like that.. 

Afterwards,  headed back to Manhattan to see LOVE CHILD at New World Stages. LOVE CHILD is the latest in a new crop of shows where two performers play multiple characters. I’m not sure if this trend is due to shrinking budgets (and thus shrinking casts) or a desire for performers to really show off their ability to believably play multiple roles simultaneously, but here it does work. I will grant you that I found it difficult to get into (so much exposition and crazy characters being thrown at you ratatat!) but was, in the end, deeply affected by the show. We'll have tickets for LOVE CHILD over the next three weeks at Bingo.

That’s it for today, enjoy another gorgeous day in paradise!

IT’S ALIVE

Yes, I made it through one nasty ass flu just in time to vote this morning. You know, there’s simply something cool about knowing exactly where to go to vote. It’s even cooler to see the names of friends and neighbors as they’re flipping through the book that you have to sign in. In this crazy world, it’s good to be able to find the joy in smaller things.

Tonight I’m heading to the Leslie Lohman (26 Wooster) and you oughta go too. Photographer Michael Harwood is one of fifty artists who have work showing tonight as part of their GMHC: ART AND AIDS: LIVING FOR THE MOMENT exhibition. The party begins at 6. The exhibit then runs through to the end of the week from noon to 6.

Then, tomorrow night November 4th before Bingo, if you’ve always felt you were better than Barbie (at least better in bed if not better dressed),check out the BAD BARBIE exhibhit from photographer David Levinthal at the John McWhinnie in Glenn Horowitz Bookseller (50 ½ E. 64th Street) from 6pm to 8pm. The reception is tomorrow night but the exhibit will be up through to December 5th.

Coco Peru begins a two weekend run at the Laurie Beechman this Friday November 6th – Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 8pm through November 15th. Catch this sharp toothed siren now before you get something in your eye. “IN YOUR EYE!” (Naturally we’ll have tickets for this fab show at Bingo this and next week as well as ticks for the just extended DIARY OF ANN FRANKENSTEIN) You can get tickets for both shows at SpinCycle!

Some notable events coming up: GLEE’s Jane Lynch will be at the Center next Monday night November 9th. Tickets are $35; this should be a MUST for any fan of the show (or of her work in JULIE/JULIA and the NOM video).

That same night (November 9th), if you have a little bit more cash, consider grabbing tickets to the Gay/Lesbian Anti Violence Project’s annual Courage Awards at the W New York Ballroom (541 Lexington Ave). It’s a big deal fundraising event for one of the best organizations in town which annually honors excellence in the community. This year they’ll recognize playwright Tony Kushner and Clifford Chance US LLP for their commitment to LGBTQH (the H stands for HIV-affected) rights and extensive work on behalf of the communities AVP serves. Plus, AVP will honor blog creators Bil Browning, Joe Jervis, Pam Spaulding and Andy Towle for the effect that their blogs have had on getting information out to the queer (and not so queer) masses. VIP reception starts at 6 and then the main event runs from 7 to 9.

There are some other super cool events (like the annual Glaad Out Auction on November 15th) coming up which I’ll write more about later this week.

SPOONING ON A MONGAY MORNING

Hey all, good morning! I'm back up to nearly full strength again after being flat on my back for over a week with whatever flu that was. I'm just glad to be the hell done with it (knock on wood!!).

I'm sorting through a week's worth of mail and that should take a day or two, who knows what treasures are buried within my aol box!

Anyway, here's something to get you started, sent to me by my friend Darrio who's cousin Amanda comes to Bingo once a month. It's a long one and a little irritating as you sort of start to feel like you're being hit with a spoon as well but it's clever filmmaking and good parody (and even genuinely scary in a couple places, at least I thought so).

I AIN'T FRAID OF NO GHOST

Hey all, feeling MUCH better today.. for the first time all week I actually left my apartment for more than a juice run at the grocery store .. back home and waiting for kids to come for tricks n treating. I'm thinking I shouldn't push it by going out tonight but man, I wish I could because these two parties sound like a lot of fun.. right?

First, tonight starting at 9pm at the Center on W. 13th Street Joe Fiore throws his annual monster bash featuring creepy costumes, crazy couture and music that will wake the dead! There's a contest and DJs Gustavo and Rich King from the Friday Snaxx party at the Westside Tavern. Celebrity judges as usual and more tricks and treats than ever before!

Then, you can go right from the Center uptown to Purgatorio at 268 W. 47th for the biggest party of the season thrown by the Saint at Large folks featuring 50 live acts and four big DJs including the always fun Randy Bettis who'll be spinning in the special Paradise lounge.

Originally the party was supposed to begin at 4am but due to demand, it's been moved up four whole hours with a start time of 1am. Four? Well, because due to the time change, there's an extra hour of ghoulish delight in the wee hours of the morning...!

If you haven't gotten your tickets by now, it's too late to pick them up for the pre event price, but hey, it's a mere $60 for some seriously major dance party action!!

I'll catch you all on the flip side tomorrow back here on the blog for the usual goings on in Will Clark's World!

THURSGAY BRIGHT AND SHINY

Well, after a few bedridden days  I am back on my feet. Not at 100% yet but almost there. Thanks to all of you who sent nice emails wishing me well.

What did I do while incapacitated? Watched a LOT of tv. From the super horny night on BROTHERS AND SISTERS to past episodes of GLEE on my boyfriend’s DVR (wow that guy with the Mohawk is fucking smokin’ hot). I cannot believe that Mika threw away the contest on The Amazing Race, I can’t believe that MODERN FAMILY is getting critical raves (what an awful show) and I cannot believe that the Hallmark channel is a premium level station on Time Warner. Not that I really have a yen to watch anything on the Hallmark channel but I was shocked when I clicked on it and discovered that I had to upgrade to see it. For the Hallmark channel? For real?

Thankfully ONE LIFE TO LIVE has been must see TV especially for it’s gay content – this is a show that shows it’s humor and shows it’s star-crossed romance, rather than bangs you over the head with music cues telling you how you’re supposed to react and feel (I’m looking at you DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES.. what a terrible show it’s become!). Tomorrow, Friday October 30th, ONE LIFE TO LIVE features the Big Gay Mass Wedding and you cannot miss this one as it promises to be sorta kinda the culmination of the “Kish” storyline as well as a huge step for daytime.. or is that gaytime television? That’s at 2pm EST!

OK I’ll be back to normal blogging by tomorrow and will see you all back here then!

HALLOWEEN COSTUMES FOR EFFEMINATE BOYS

As you may remember from the other night, I came home from my DC/Woodstock trip completely wiped out but who knew that it wasn't merely exhaustion, but that I was coming down with the flu? I spent all late Sunday night and all day Monday pretty miserable (thanks to my bf for bringing me soup and soda!) and at last this morning the fever broke and I feel at least somewhat human again. Still a little achy and have developed a little cough but certainly better than I was 24 hours ago! Anyway, my friend Stephen forwarded this off to me and I thought you'd enjoy it ... it's really incredible to me that the Onion had kind of lost it's relevance only two/three years ago and was a crappy free paper that hardly garnered one or two laughs to this supremely funny website filled with amazingly funny and topical videos. Enjoy! Now that I have an appetite again I'm going to have lunch. More later!
How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son