Lost Gay New York: Muscle Queens, Hair Fairies, and Dentures

By Perry Brass

It was 1966. I was 19 years old, and my roommate, Bob Schwiller, 42, introduced me to two of his best friends, a 30-something gay couple named Larry and Pete. Larry was beefy, butch, and loud. He was also a body builder. I had never met a gay body builder before. Ever. At that time, you didn’t see guys with muscles in the bars. You saw a lot of what we used to call “cologne queens” in cashmere sweaters and slacks, or even occasionally “hair fairies,” guys with teased, bleached or dyed hair parading down the street, especially in the Village. Hair fairies were the poster boys of fruitdom: they were blatant, wild, outrageous, and their prodigy, the street queens who’d riot at Stonewall a few years later, were actually a milder version of them. Street queens often could fake it as girls, but hair fairies were not trying to be women; they were outrageously, wildly gay.

I knew some hair fairies in California, the kind who rarely appeared in daylight, and made a living selling drugs or themselves in the dark to horny closet cases. But Larry was one of the first muscle queens I’d ever met; as you can imagine, he fascinated and attracted me. He appeared at Bob’s apartment  off Central Park West (stylishly decorated: walls painted bright Venetian Red; plaster details accentuated in gold paint) in a tight white T-shirt, his glossy dark hair slicked back, James Dean-style. A pack of cigarettes was tucked into his rolled left shirt sleeve, displaying a large smooth bicep.

“May!” he called out. Bob’s pet name was May. “I needa cuppa coffee, Schwiller!”

Springtime Walk: Brooklyn

By Patrick

Travelling by subway sometimes feels like a giant whack-a-mole game, where I'm the mole.  I've been going to various locations, some of them for years, with no real understanding of where they were in relation to one another.  Periodically I'd consider looking at a map, but that would have first involved buying a map (or yes, looking at Google Earth or some such), and since there was never a pressing need, it never happened.

Then serendipity intervened.  First Bill and I saw a play at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (a tepid production of The Tempest, let's leave it at that), and since the directions provided by the theatre used a clocktower as a landmark, I took special note of it.

   

The following day I was modeling for a class at Pratt and realized that I could see the same clocktower from the fourth floor window.  It was a gorgeous day, I had no place to be after work, so I decided to walk towards the tower to see how long it took to get there.  This little jaunt was fun for its own sake, but it also meant I connected at least five different important-to-me places above ground.  By subway each location requires a different line, usually with a transfer or two, but now that I can connect them above ground, suddenly I have a variety of ways to get to each one.  As long as I don't mind walking (and I rarely do, if the schedule permits) I never need be frustrated by closed subway lines or trackwork again.  Options, I've got all kinds of options.  I can't tell you how freeing that is.  Let's not waste a lot of time wondering why it took me so long. 

 

Of course the real benefit is rediscovering how beautiful Brooklyn can be.  I loved living there; a move may be in my future.   

'Milk Tea' Madeleines

by Hungry Rabbit

I grew up with two rituals of afternoon tea: the British-in-Hong-Kong-version and the local Chinese variation. Both fit snuggly with two of the main drivers of Hong Kong culture—food and gossip. Many hotels cater to the British tradition, serving up exquisite tasty morsels to cure late afternoon hunger, but most of us didn’t order the two- or three-tier mini-sandwiches and pastries. It was that cup of tea and the serene setting that supplied the calming comfort in the midst of the chaotic non-stop Hong Kong lifestyle. As we flocked to these places to catch up with friends, the bonus was a possible glimpse of local celebrities and movie stars sipping their Monkey Picked Oolong (the highest quality, youngest oolong tea that legend says was originally picked by monkeys trained by Buddist monks).

At the hotels, you get classic afternoon tea—a pot of black tea with milk and sugar on the side—but at the local Chinese restaurants, cafés, and especially at Dai Pai Dong (open-air food stalls) you get a different beverage. Hong Kong-style milk tea is made of a mix of several types of black tea (every establishment claims to have a secret formula), evaporated milk and sugar, the last of which customers add themselves. The tea maker uses a traditional sackcloth bag as a filter to provide a rich flavor and deep color. These filters resemble pantyhose, so this beverage is also known as Silk Stocking Milk Tea. The reason for the switch to evaporated milk from regular milk isn’t clear, but I suspect the use of the canned product came from the infrequent use of fresh milk in the Chinese diet. Evaporated milk also has a much longer shelf life that suits the hot tropical climate of Hong Kong.

Until the recent invasion of Starbucks, tea was always the choice of beverage. Of course in the summer, you can get iced milk tea to quench your thirst from the intense humidity and heat.

QNY Wishes JMG A Happy Anniversary

By Tony Adams

JoeMyGod is today beginning its seventh year. Blog years, like those of dogs, race by, and it is hard to believe that this photo of Joe, baad lamb and David on Broadway is four years old.

We wish Joe a very long run.

Butterscotch, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Mocha Ice Creams

By Brooklyn Bill

The weather doesn't have to get too warm to get me in the mood for cranking out the ice cream like a goy Ben or Jerry. A few weeks ago, I made Butterscotch Ice Cream that was an improvement over my previous, not-bad-at-all attempt back in February. Then I made my all-time favorite flavor, Mint Chocolate Chip, because fresh peppermint had returned to the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket and my friend who is the most enthusiastic about my MCC was coming to visit. And on Monday, I made Mocha Ice Cream for the first time, partly in anticipation of a visit from my father this coming weekend.

I made the butterscotch kind the same way as in the recipe in the Hawleyblog post I linked to above except I used all (1 cup of) brown sugar in the egg-yolk mixture. So between that and the caramel base, this ice cream was totally brown sugar–rific.

Your Future Travel Guru Requests A Favor

By Tony Adams

By Tony Adams

Hey gang,

I'm in the application process of the competition to become the travel guru for Gaytravel.com.

For the moment, one step of the application is to receive at least 25 "hearts" on a travel tip I've posted there.

Would you take a minute to follow the link below to my first travel tip, register on the site and click on the heart next to the title of the tip? (this is cumbersome: register, do profile, get email verification, go back and login. I know.)
The heart should turn red when it registers your click.

There's a lot more to the application process, but this is the first step.

Thanks,

Tony

http://www.gaytravel.com/guide-to/things-to-see-and-do/in/new-york-city/bear-hill-in-central-park/

Visit Moscow If You're in San Diego

By Father Tony

This what my friend John Whitley, who lives with his partner Raul in Greenwich Village when they are not in California, is up to these days.
Here is a description of the musical: 

Trapped in limbo, three gay men stage a musical production of Chekhov's The Three Sisters. A compelling fusion of music, emotion, melancholy and lust. “…a timely tribute to the redemptive powers of art, a reminder that even the most apparently hopeless lives can be transformed through the unifying fellowship of the theater. – The L.A. Times
Moscow was first produced in Los Angeles in 1998 and went on to win the top honor at that year's Edinburgh Festival. The men are: Jon, a scholarly playwright who has lost many loved ones to AIDS and has retreated into cerebral celibacy; Luke, a sexually needy male hustler who lives solely for the next fleshly encounter; and Matt, a shy virgin, who struggles to balance the conflicting urges of love and lust. Trapped, uncertain if they are alive or dead, the men soon become emotionally embroiled. Naturally, romance is rocky in this limbo. Unlike the tormented trio in No Exit, the characters in Moscow rally, recoup and bond.


John is the handsome fellow on the left. He used to sing in Manhattan (often at the Duplex) with an a cappella group called Mystery Date.


Diversionary Theatre
4545 Park Blvd
San Diego, CA
619 220-0097

Family Week

Posted by Mondschein

"Family Week" presented by MCC Theater at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, April 9, 2010

Beth Henley has revisited this work from 2000 courtesy of Jonathan Demme, making his theatrical directing debut.
It is familiar ground for Ms. Henley, this high-estrogen tale of an emotionally shattered mother Claire (Rosemarie DeWitt), self-admitted to "the best facility in the country" to come to terms with the unsolved murder of her son.  Coming in to assist during family week are her mother Lena (Kathleen Chalfant), sister Rickie (Quincy Tyler Bernstine) and daughter Kay (Sami Gayle).

This production is something of a rework from earlier productions of this story, though I think there's still a good bit of work to be done.  Ms. Henley's knack for finding humor in the darkest of moments doesn't ring with the same intensity as found in other works, such as Crimes of the Heart, and  The Miss Firecracker Contest.

Sondheim on Sondheim

Posted by Mondschein


"Sondheim on Sondheim" presented by Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54, April 3, 2010

In a continuing year of celebration of Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday, the Roundabout presents a new revue of his life and works.  Frequent collaborator James Lapine conceived and directed the event, including songs from his earliest to the most recent efforts, combined with a series of recorded video clips of various interviews with the man himself.

Mr. Lapine has assembled an attractive, if uneven, cast for the show, including Barbara Cook in her first extended Broadway run in almost 30 years.  Vanessa Williams also returns to the boards, along with Tom Wopat, Euan Morton, Leslie Kritzer, Norm Lewis, Erin Mackey and Matthew Scott.

For The Man Who Has Everything

Le Cock Ring by Esculpta.

QNY Blog Book Review: "Horns" by Joe Hill

I found Joe Hill some time ago when his debut novel, "Heart-Shaped Box" came out which I loved.  At the time, he was being trumpeted as the son of Stephen King which was supposed to get people into his book, at least for a look-see.  From what I could tell, it totally worked.  "Heart-Shaped Box" had all the elements of a great horror-y speculative fiction story: likable characters, vile villains, and just a really enjoyable plot.  Most importantly, he, much like his famous father, is a story-teller first and then a writer.  I've always appreciated this quality and Joe Hill has it in spades.  His novel led me to his short fiction collection "20th Century Ghosts" which satiated my appetite for a bit.  And then "Horns" was announced and I had my pre-order copy bought before I read anything about.

A Tour of the New Brooklyn Bridge Park

by baad lamb

Easter weekend, I zoomed off to Brooklyn as early as I could on Saturday morning to check out the newly opened first section of the long-time-coming Brooklyn Bridge Park. I began at the Promenade for a panoramic overview of the current development status.

For me, crossing Columbia Heights and entering the Promenade remains a thrilling experience, every single time. It serves as a reminder that although there is much to despise about R-Mo, he has actually left us all some gifts that keep on giving, and the Brooklyn Heights Promenade must be near the top of the list (too bad it was just his sweet icing on the rancid cake of the BQE hidden below).

From up here, you can see the full reach of the new Brooklyn Bridge Park. The view to the north shows the tiny completed section near the center of this picture (that green grassy area). This is the only part currently open to the public, but the finished park will eventually stretch from Dumbo's shores in the north to Atlantic Avenue in the south.

Plenty more after the jump...

all the news that's fit to print and then some

BY REQUEST........More Mel Odom

By Darling!

I've written about my friend/artist Mel Odom before here and here.
His is some of my favorite work plus he is a great guy.



Here's another great link about Mel.

Sharon Gless Plays Lesbian Hannah Free And Greets QNY

by Tony Adams

In the low light of Miami Beach's Bar 721, I met up with Sharon Gless after attending the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival screening of her new film Hannah Free in which she plays a lesbian.

At the screening, Sharon Gless received a special Career Achievement MGLFF award for her many years of contribution to the festival. When presented with her award, she spoke to a very appreciative crowd at the Regal Theater on Lincoln Road. Given the no-nonsense roles she has chosen in her lengthy acting career, I was surprised by her emotional speech. It's after the break. 

Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

By Tony Adams

I'm covering the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival for QNY, and I'm running into all sorts of New Yorkers amid the beautiful folks of Miami.

Before the opening film I Killed My Mother, a delightful coming-of-age Montreal movie, I stopped to chat with hot Brooklyn-born actor Wilson Cruz.

More photos of people you may know, after the break.

Which Neighborhood Should You Really Be Living In?

By Brooklyn Bill

There was a lot to enjoy in New York magazine's special Neighborhoods issue (dated April 19). "Urban Villagers," was an interesting look at the history of the city's ever-evolving neighborhoods. "Clash of the Bearded Ones" examined the conflicts betweens hipsters and Hasids in Williamsburg, particularly over a bicycle lane on Bedford Avenue that exposed ultra-Orthodox Satmar men to the temptations of women in spandex.* And then there was Nate Silver's ranking of "The Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York."

It was kind of fun to see my neighborhood, Park Slope, at the top of the overall ranking, even though it didn't come in first in a single one of the categories used to quantify livability and was 40th out of 60 for housing cost, the category that was given the heaviest weighting.

Silver and his editors acknowledged that your priorities might differ from the ones they selected in creating the ranking. With that in mind, they put a Livability Calculator on the nymag.com Web site that lets you figure out which neighborhood is best for you. I pumped up the weightings for safety, green space, and health & environment and dropped the weighting for schools. The results: I should really live in Tribeca, with West Village/Meatpacking, Brooklyn Heights, East Village, and Murray Hill rounding out my top five.

Where should you live?

*There were no doubt some Satmar men tempted by men in spandex and some Satmar women tempted by either men or women in spandex and some men and women who were tempted by both men and women in spandex, but they apparently didn't count to the Satmar leaders.

Gay Lost New York: Radio City Music Hall, Bed of Debauchery

The year: 1966. Bob Schwiller, my 42-year-old room mate on Central Park West, told me about New York during World War II.

“They had black-outs all the time, and the black-outs were fantastic for sex. Guys would go into Central Park and do each other behind the lake or the boat house, behind benches, behind anything they could get in back of. Including each other. We had orgies in the park, and there was nothing the cops could do about it because they weren’t a lot of them—so many guys were in the service—and there were too many other things to worry about. Like staying alive. Having a ‘roommate’ became normal because there was such an apartment shortage, and even straights would end up rooming with queens and enjoying it.”

Bob was into straight men. At a time of specialized gays, he told me that his specialty was married men.

“I like ‘em because they’re nicer than queens, and more grateful for anything you give them. Give ‘em a cup of coffee, a sandwich, and a blow job and they’re yours for life.”

Mayorical on 34th Street

By Father Tony

I've long been a fan of Mayor Boomberg's efforts to calm traffic in Manhattan.

Today we read about his administration's decision to restrict 34th Street to buses and pedestrians.

I like this because it will add a bit to the dissuasion of vehicular visitors to Manhattan, but I am slightly hesitant about any plan that crosses buses with pedestrians.

I still hope to live to see the day when Manhattan will be entirely relieved of the noise of the gasoline engine and auto horns, and when most of its streets are exclusively for pedestrians and bikes.

(A New York Times graphic)

brooklyn botanical gardens

MY LIFE AS A BLOND........

It was either late 70s or early 80s that I went to London to visit a friend and decided to have my hair bleached. I had it done at a trendy salon and only got a few stares from the English streets. However I traveled on to Paris for the fashion shows and was surprised by the reaction on the streets of Paris. They were freaking out! Turning all the way around as I walked past to stare, taking my photo at stoplights, even at the fashion tents I got some funny looks. I was more shocked at their reaction. After all this was Paris France not Toledo Ohio. A few years later avant guarde designer Jean Paul Gaultier bleached his hair blond....I like to think I inspired him.

Thankfully when I got to New York City the people on the streets paid me no mind....nothing shocks them, to my relief. It was on this NY trip that I met, with great pleasure, the artist Mel Odom. I kept my hair blond for a while until I just cut it all off one day.

In the top two photos I'm wearing a jacket by designer Norma Kamali, who I think to this day is the most original of the American designers. Remember the long "sleeping bag coat" that is still being copied. I have the original and consider it my vinyl fur coat it is so warm and cozy.


In the above photo, taken by celeb photographer Harry Langdon in Hollywood, I'm wearing a sweater by Kansai Yamamoto. Being blond was fun........

Broadway Beauty Pageant - Winner!

Meet Charlie Williams, winner of the Mr. Broadway title at the Broadway Beauty Pageant!

Contestants were required to compete in talent, interview, and swimsuit portions last Monday, April 19. Proceeds benefit the Ali Forney Center which provides housing for homeless LGBT youth in NYC.

He can currently be seen in the musical Memphis, but you can learn more about him at his personal website.

UPDATE: JoeMyGod has the story with full slideshow.

NYC LGBT Community Center Solidarity Event

By Justin

Sometimes flag burning is not limited to the American Flag, even here in New York City. On the morning of April 14th the staff at the center arrived to discover that someone had torched the huge Rainbow Flag hanging out front of the center. NYPD detectives from the hate crimes unit are currently investigating the hate crime incident.

Anyone who has ever walked down 13th street and past the LGBT Community Center knows the Rainbow Flag hanging outside the center is a symbol of pride and is a welcoming greeting to everyone that comes into the center. The LGBT Community Center is an amazing place here in NYC. It is the meeting place for the community. Over 300 groups meet at the center from SAGE to the New York City Gay Men's Chorus. More than 1,000 youth come through the centers doors annually for support.

Center video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kELATKa28t4&feature=player_embedded#!

In response to this hate crime, the center held "A Community Response In Solidarity" Event to raise a brand new 20 foot Rainbow Flag.

More with photos after the break

Three-Handed at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

by baad lamb

Cleveland Mississippi, 1932 by Nicola Verlato

Last Saturday I went to Jonathan LeVine Gallery to see the opening of the group show “Three-Handed”. The titular three very talented painters are Eric White, Nicola Verlato and Fulvio Di Piazza. Eric White is from Ann Arbor, but lives and works in Brooklyn, as does the Verona, Italy born Nicola Verlato, who has sculptural works in this show as well. Mr. Di Piazzi, from Siracusa, Italy, currently produces his paintings in Palermo, Italy.

Much more, and plenty of pictures after the jump

Why Does The Night Fall ...

By Habanasky

Why does the night fall when it knows that I won't hold you in my arms because you are so far. Does the night not realize that everytime it comes I think of you and feel so blue.

The stars look on me and the tears twinkle in their eyes because they know my heart is lonely without you and the wishes we made go undiscovered ... you are not by my side.

The moon has lost its glow as the darkness fills my soul and I can't bear to see how sad we've both become.

I once saw my reflection in your eyes, but now you won't take the time to find what we once felt, the energy that brought us to each other long before we met.

I once touched you and could feel your love, but now you push away my every thought, every caress.

I once knew what was in your heart, but now I feel like we are worlds apart and there's no reasoning or logic, but still you choose to give us up, to turn your back ... walk away and ignore the words I say.

So my cries go unheard and my words just blow into the wind ...

And everytime the night falls I hear them once again.

Leslie Jordan's: My Life Down the Pink Carpet

Leslie Jordan, of "Will & Grace" and "Sordid Lives" fame (among so much else), opened a 12-week run in NYC of his autobiographical, "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet" last week.  You can get more information and available showtimes from the show's site.
He and Lily Tomlin, who is producing his show with Jane Wagner, were on "The View" this morning and have been making the press-junket rounds.  Even on The View he was hilarious which doesn't surprise me in the least.  I think he's one of those rare actors that has so much comedic talent just oozing from his pores that he must leave a trail of sloppy, laughing, people in his wake.  Thursday night I'm hoping to be one of them.

It Wouldn't Have Mattered

By Knucklecrack

I could tell you it was the White Party or The Winter Party or some weirdo after party where you dance in the middle of a zoo, but it wouldn't matter. I could also tell you that this was the party where the lights went out, or where the DJ collapsed on her turntables, or where Teddy and Eddy broke up, or where somebody took a dump on the dance floor, or where that guy I've seen a few times out died of a GHB overdose. I could tell you all that, but it wouldn't matter.

What matters is that it was Carmine and me, old pals, arms slung around the others shoulder, stumbling through loose-fit sneakers through the rocky terrain of empty water bottles and plastic cups. Danced-dazed-drug walking shirtless human apes, trudging for an exit. And we were with them.

It was balmy outside. Our bodies sticky with the crowd, the heat and sweat. The lights glowed, thumping lightly. We stood there rolling on our heels for awhile coming to our senses. Buoys in the middle of the sidewalk.

I lit a cigarette. "Where to now?"
"Let's go back to my room. We'll shower, sit down for awhile and head to the after party."
"Aye, Aye Captain."

The walk was pleasant and goofy. I kept grabbing Carmine from the back and squeezing his ribs, tickling him. Making him run away from me and then whining that he was too far away. Pals. Real true pals. It's the only word that comes to mind. That push-push, "I've known you forever/we've been through this thing together" familiarity and old-root strength. We've been there, with each other, the whole time.

At a stoplight I went to poke his ribs another time. He had a delayed response. He wasn't paying attention. He was somewhere else. He pushed away my arm and began walking closer to the wall. Our energy dropped.

"Hey," He said, "I have to tell you something."

crossroads

Lost Gay New York: Lost Lingo, Park Queens and Department Store Queens

By Perry Brass

“The rent is $69,” my roommate on Central Park West, Bob Schwiller told me. “A lotta people make something of that. It’s actually $16.80 a week, but to make it easy, I’ll ask you for $69.”

I asked him what he meant by “people make something out of it,” and he told me that “69” was code for gay sex. “So if your rent was $69, people just put two-and-two together, and that’s what they get,” he added. “Their minds are always in the gutter. Sometimes I don’t mind being there myself.”

After I moved in, I met many of Bob’s friends. They were all older guys who’d been in New York for a while, remembering queer New York during World War II, when the city was “wide open, not like now when everything’s closed up still because of the Fair.”

This was 1966, remember.

One thing I got out of meeting his friends were that gays were often “specialized,” and had a lingo of their own. They needed the lingo, because you had to be able to talk about something very forbidden, queer sex and its devotees, in a way that straights could not decode.

Perry Brass at the NYC Gay and Lesbian Center June 25, 2009

By Father Tony

The other day, while reading up on new QNY voice Perry Brass, I began to think that I recognized him. I looked into my Youtube archives and found this. I don't know if he's ever seen it.

Midnight Cowboyz

by Father Tony

Four New Yorkers (L to R) Doug Meade, Olivier Cale, Bob Wilson and Peter Zupcofska spent the day hootin and hollerin at the Gay Rodeo in Fort Lauderdale.

Exit Through the Gift Shop. Banksy, is that you?

by baad lamb

"I always used to encourage everyone to make art. I don’t do that any more." -Banksy

"Life is a chess game, and I don’t know how to play chess." -Thierry Guetta aka Mr. Brainwash

As soon as I heard about Exit Through the Gift Shop, I started to doubt the premise. The concept of a documentary movie both about and by the camera shunning world famous street artist-provocateur Banksy seemed beyond unlikely. Then after seeing the trailer, I got really skeptical (rather unusual because I’m actually pretty trusting, and don’t automatically step into the doubt side).

Yet here I was prepping myself to look for subtle Fight-Club revealing moments. Would we ever see Banksy and Thierry together in the same shot? I wondered which one might be playing “the game” on The Other, sustaining a prolonged cerebral fabrication between Dueling Art-heads, two opposites acting completely genuine while purposely leaving us guessing the reality of either.

Much more after the jump...

It's a hard knock life.....

Lock it up....

Out Goes The Baby With The Bath Water?

By Father Tony

(photo by David Goldman for the New York Times)

The city wants to reduce the number of vendors of "expressive media" that clog the sidewalks of its major public parks.

While I agree that they are a nuisance, I think that simply reducing their number is not the best approach. Better would be a change of definition of what is allowed. All the mass-produced stuff ought to be prohibited, leaving only original arts and crafts made by New York City artists and artisans. Photography should be allowed but only if the photographer is the one who has the permit for the assigned spot. Businesses that traffic in identical stuff that is available in dozens of adjacent booths ought to be eliminated.

The same rule change ought to be applied to those scoundrels who sell funnel cake, bedding and fake oriental rugs at all the neighborhood street fairs.

Simply limiting the number of vendors will unfortunately eliminate some local artists who are not backed by a large retail entity that is simply taking over our public spaces and detracting from the beauty of our parks.

These permits to sell stuff are supposed to benefit local artists and artisans, but they don't. I don't think the tourists will miss those endlessly churned out photos of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis.

QNY Welcomes A New Voice - Habanasky

by Father Tony

Please join me in welcoming our first female QNY voice, Habanasky.

She is a Cuban born lesbian writer and poet. You'll have to ask her if the name she has chosen for this blog is pronounced Habanaski as if it were a Polish name, or, Habana Sky as in the lyric "There's full moon in the Havana sky tonight". Either way, I'm delighted that the QNY family now contains a female voice. We started out with an unintentional lack of diversity and I've made efforts to recruit good writers who are more reflective of the glorious diversity that is NYC. Let's hope she doesn't choke on the high level of testosterone in this room!

Habanasky, glad you're with us and looking forward to hearing from you often!

QNY Welcomes A New Voice - Perry Brass

By Father Tony

On behalf of our growing QNY family, I'd like to welcome our newest member Perry Brass!

Perry is an accomplished author and well known speaker who moved to NYC in 1966 and was one of the earliest members of the Gay Liberation Front.

Please visit PerryBrass.com for a complete list of his many books and projects. His newest book is The Manly Art of Seduction. He has just begun his QNY series  Lost Gay New York.

Oh Ricky

By Father Tony

Lost Gay New York, A Series by Perry Brass

I came to New York in August of 1966, a month before my nineteenth birthday. I had grown up in the Deep South, in Savannah, Georgia, and New York was strange to me. It felt immediately huge, rude, cold, and unfriendly. And also, quite ungay. You have to remember, this was only a year after the New York World’s Fair (1964-65), when Mayor Wagner had closed down most of the gay bars in the city to keep hordes of tourists and their families from stumbling innocently into queerness. So the few bars that remained open or were re-opened later by the Mafia (and in this period, Tony Soprano and his cousins ran virtually all gay enterprises in the city) were still vulnerable to shake-downs by the cops.

I’d also been away from home (or at least the city of my birth) for more than a year. In order the escape the South, where I had already come out, and the literal threats of murder I’d had there, I hitchhiked, at the age of 17, after a year of college at the University of Georgia, to San Francisco. Gay Nirvana. This was the interesting period of my real coming out—being a 17-year-old attractive kid on his own in California, where I could not wait 10 minutes for a bus without guys cruising by and trying to pick me up—but it’s another story. So by the time I got to New York, I’d already had somewhat of a life, and New York seemed less than welcoming. But immediately I got a job. In those days it was simple: there were more jobs than people in the city, during the boom period of the mid-60s, and since I had wanted to work, in my naive way, in the “art field,” I got a job as a messenger/apprentice at an art studio in the East 50s.

Gay Extortion

For my adult life I have always been a replicator, never an originator. As Oscar Wilde stated " Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone elses opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."

My computer skills are similar, I nearly failed "Fortran" and "BASIC" programming during my college years. Thanks to the folks that created the internet, and write software for bloggers I can now join the legions on the web.

After a string of gay cyber social site linked killings Father Tony warned us once of inviting men into our homes for hook ups. He labeled such conduct the "Gay Death Wish" He was correct.

Now the BBC is reporting that a Porn Virus malware can copy a persons web history. After the criminals burglarize a computer's content they contact the owner with a vile threat. " Pay up and buy our clean up removal program" or we will post your private web history for the world to see.

Because most of us including myself are replicators we have to "trust" the others whether it's a website, car mechanic, lawyer, physician and other trust based professions and institutions. However as we have seen from the greed on Wall Street, corrupt elected officials, the Y2-K scare and social net working cites, criminals are lurking everywhere.

For our community in which many of us have more robust, varied and progressive views of sexuality a public posting of a persons cyber history could cause personal and professional destruction. As what may be normal in our community would be viewed as "deviate" by many others. ( hypocrisy not withstanding)

We are still in the infancy of the web,GOOGLE" pulling out of China because of cyber crimes and spying by a repressive regimes are a bold reminder. That yes the web is awesome but like driving on a highway when you enter you assume risk. When you drive and surf the web every click could result in a virus, malware, and now this public extortion. Scary stuff.

Smoky Chocolate Lava Cookies

by Hungry Rabbit

Chocolate Chip Cookies fresh from the oven are an American favorite that translates quite easily to foreign palates. The distinct smell of butter and chocolate is intoxicating. Ever since my first bite of this seemingly simple cookie, I've been searching for the right combination of chocolate, sweetness, and texture. As with brownies, there are so many interpretations: thin, thick, large, small, chewy, crispy, plus the magical extras of walnuts, almonds, and peanuts. All have something to recommend them.

After much research, baking, and dedicated sampling, I found the Jacques Torres' cookie suits me well. It's a combination of chewy center, slight crispy edge, buttery taste—all with a pronounced chocolate essence. Every bite of this cookie has chocolate. He uses chocolate discs/féves which do not harden after baking, but remain soft and slightly gooey. It's pure sensory overload of flavor and texture. To further amp up the complexity, I tossed in my favorite smoked almonds.

The only drawback to this recipe is that you have to make it ahead of time and chill the dough for at least a day, so the recipe can’t deliver instant gratification. It does support complete indulgence, however.

(recipe after the jump)

Mould & Morel's Blowoff:NYC - Friday, April 23rd

There are probably more hyped dance parties in New York then you can shake a stick at these days but I'm not sure any of them can come close to Bob Mould & Rich Morel's Blowoff.  Phenomenal music and a swelling crowd of humpy dudes for everyone's taste.
And luckily this isn't a review but a call to action: it's happening next week so everyone has time to make appropriate arrangements, launder their slightly faded, ironic-text t-shirt (that you'll end up taking off about a half hour into the thing anyway) and get their Friday evening disco naps in to be able to attend.

BlowOff: NYC

Friday April 23rd, 11:30pm - 4am @ Canal Room

285 West Broadway NYC

$15 in Advance / $20 at the door

Tickets

Blowoff Facebook Page

Spring Flowers From the Greenmarket

By Brooklyn Bill

Like Stash and hungry rabbit, spring makes me think of certain foods, especially fresh produce from the Greenmarket. But I'm also delighted this time of year with the reappearance of gorgeous, locally grown flowers.

I'm usually loyal to a family of flower growers from Burlington County, New Jersey, who come to my neighborhood Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza. The past couple of weeks, though, I've been stepping out on them and buying my bouquets at the Union Square market. Don't tell 'em.

Anemones

Narcissus. These were advertised by the farmer as mildly scented, and they do have a nice perfume along the lines of hyacinth, only much more subtle.

TAX TIME

These boots are made for walking........

LYNDA CARTER'S (Wonder Woman) BOOTS.

LYNDA CARTER'S BOOBS (and first husband). I took these SX70's in 1980.

13Relay: Baton-passing to Homo Mecca

By Beau

On May 1st and 2nd, a team comprised of 12 NYC Front Runners will be running the 13Relay, a 199-mile course starting in Boston and ending in P-Town.  Each runner will run three non-consecutive legs of the race over 24-hours, morning, noon, and night.  I've never done one of these kinds of races before but the Front Runners team was so gracious and kind to invite me to participate when I inquired about the race, even allowing for my self-confessed glacial-paced galloping.

Quite honestly, I'm still not sure how it all works other than there are vans full of team-mates, water stops, three-changes of clothing, and lots of cheering.  I hope we can hang out of the van and be loud and obnoxious while seeing the beautiful sites of New England so I'm planning on taking my flip-cam and tweeting while I'm running (not safe but whatevs).  I am disappointed that in crossing the finish line in beautiful, downtown Cape Cod, I won't be able to spend any time there and will have to haul ass back to NYC for work on Monday but that's the way these things sometimes go.

a coney island day

OH....REALLY...!

BREAKING NEWS - QNY Exclusive: It's Official 2010 NYC Pride March Cut by 25%

by Maurice Michaane



On Monday April 12th, the General Membership of NYC Pride (HOP), which was open to the public, discussed and voted on how to respond to the new City-Wide March/Parade rules.

In the interest of the NYC community, the details of the meeting last night will not be released until negotiations for all City-Wide March's/Parades are finalized.

JoeMyGod - The Florida Boy Comes Home

This was an especially enjoyable interview for South Florida Gay News, and one which rather wrote itself.