If you truly believe that all people, regardless of their differences are deserving of human rights, the grassroots Human Rights Campaign might have some information for you.
There's a community section with local news, detailed information on what the issues are that the campaign deals with, an action guide on how to “speak out”, info on current advocacy campaigns taking place, and other ways to get involved.
I admire the cultures of ancient Rome and Greece. Their religions were fun and made for great story telling and, importantly, they were accepting of homosexuality. Not everyone, obviously would find that an admirable thing, but nearly everyone agrees on their significant achievements in art.
Perhaps the most beautiful place to see that art is the Getty Villa in Malibu, an impressive mansion once owned by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty that houses hundreds of priceless pieces and stunning gardens. There is almost too much here to take it all in in one visit, but I would highly, highly recommend you make time for the current exhibit The Color of Life (which ends tomorrow, so go soon!!).
The exhibit focuses on the surprising and fascinating aspect of Roman and Greek art, the part we rarely see: it's color. While we are used to the classy and subdued white marble, the sculptures we usually see in museums were actually painted in bright and gaudy colors when they were new. Seeing the examples, which they determined through chemical analysis, you'll look at the the world of ancient Rome in a whole new light, a light that makes even the tackiest towns pale in comparison.
Also currently on view is the reconstructed Hope Hygieia. Coming soon the Grecian Taste and Roman Spirit: The Society of Dilettanti exhibit will be on display.
The museum is also home to amazing pottery, sculpture, and architecture. Here are some of the many photos I took on my inspiring visit.
When people lament that the city is changing too much, it's the loss of special little stores like Mr Pink that they're mourning. While the store, stocked full of vintage glass wear and holiday decorations, might be around until next April, the friendly, flamboyant owner Gerald Nixon (whose been known to guest star on the Martha Stewart show with bright pink hair) told me they could close up as soon as the end of July or August.
High rents and people with less money to play with have caused the store, which has graced Chelsea with it's kitchy presence for eight years, to call it quits. Be sure to stop by before it's too late! Everything is half off and there is no place better to find such tawdry gems as “bottoms up” cocktail stirrers, full sets of odd shot glasses, funny salt and pepper shakers, beautiful cocktail shakers, and a wall of those McDonald's Muppet Show, Looney Tunes and Stars Wars glasses we're all nostalgic about.
Make time to browse. Even though the store is tiny, there is a lot to see here. And with the fabulous sale now on, there's lots to buy too.
In the next couple weeks there are a ton of Gay Pride events happening in the city:
A rally at Bryant Park: 2 to 6pm on Sunday, June 22nd?
Pridefest (a street fair on Hudson Street between Abingdon Square and West 14th Street): Sunday, June 29th from 11am to 7pm.
The famous March from 5th Avenue and 52nd Street to Christopher and Greenwich: Sunday, June 29th from noon to whenever; a moment of silence is held at 2pm.
Dance at the Pier, at Pier 54 on 13th Street at the West Side Highway: Sunday, June 29th from 4 to 10:30pm. There will be fireworks!
All events are free except for the Pier Dance which costs $55 per person when purchased from June 1st to June 28; $75 when bought at the door.
The Phoenix, a dark and smelly place, used to be my absolute favorite gay bar in town. I would frequent the Foot Locker-scented den often with one of my great friends, who turned out to be a total jerk off bad news friend and, therefore, it's been a while since I've been back. But braving a potential awkward run-in, we stopped by after work the other day and my, my, things have changed.
I was really excited to sit in the annex room that only my friends and I ever seemed to utilize, the room with the cock table–a table literally covered in a decoupage of cocks from various magazines. Much to my shock and dismay, I walked in and found that the table was gone!
Also no longer present: the totally sweet and weird bartender who barely ever wore pants!
Also, also missing: there was NO Stevie Nicks on the juke box!!
Sigh… Not all was lost though and certain things made up for the horrifying changes. For one, the Guinness was somehow the best Guinness I've had in ages. I don't know how they did it, but it was creamy and the pant-wearing bartender poured it to perfection.
Also, the bathroom graffiti is still going strong. Mike took a photo and, in case you can't read it, it says: “Beyonce shops at Strawberries”. I love it!
As they took Stevie away on the juke box (to be fair, some pages were stuck together so maybe her royal top hat and velour highness was stuck in the greasy crevaces of the juke box) but recently added choices include Grace Jones's “My Jamaican Guy” (which you'll hear more about soon in these pages) and “Dreadlock Holiday“.
Like all bars, The Phoenix tends to get rowdy and crowded on weekends, when I'm hardly ever at bars, and my friends tell me it can be a bit too intense. But on week days it's great for a mellow, friendly drink and it's dark enough (even when the sun is shining brightly outside) to make you feel like your enjoying your adult beverage in sin, which is the best way to drink, don't you think?
I suggest that you go to P*ong, just not in the way I experienced it. We splurged (really splurged–this meal ended up being probably the most expensive since Tailor) on the tasting menu and found that while much of it was good, it was just too sweet over all and we were only really wowed by a few dishes (the menu changes frequently). For the price, there are better spots to spend your time (ten courses takes a while) and money.
One of the reasons the bill can climb is the $14 cocktails (the beer menu is limited, you're encouraged to go with the premium cocktails). For that price, make sure you order wisely. We found the Citrus Gin Fizz and the Caipirimansi to be (again) too sweet. But the Southern Beauty and the Bangkok Margarita were excellent. I also tried the Vegetarian, which included carrot juice and was like a nice subtly sweet Bloody Mary, though not quite as good as the Margarita and the Southern Beauty.
Each dish, savory ones included, has a sweet component, like the excellent peeky toe crab salad, which is served with green apple mousse; on the subway ride home, we felt a bit like we had eaten too many Good and Plentys instead of a proper dinner.
Not surprising, P*ong excels at desserts. I would absolutely recommend you go and indulge in the $30 dessert-only tasting menu. It changes and it's updated often, so I can't tell you for sure what you'll get, but the sweet stuff is where chef, Pichet Ong shines.
One of the few openly gay chefs in a machismo world, he opened the restaurant a couple years ago after working as a pastry chef at such respected places as Jean Georges's Spice Market and Rick Moonen's rm. He is also the author of a few cook books including The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts.
Not only are the Szechuan Chicken Dumplings from (warning: turn down your computer before clicking) Rickshaw Dumplings?totally delicious, you're helping the world by ordering them. Kenny Lao's mini chain restaurant will be donating $1 to Red Cross Relief Efforts in China. It's great for a quick atypical lunch; and the dumplings are surprisingly fresh tasting for the speed at which they're served.
Star Chef, Anita Lo, an openly gay Food Network regular who defeated Mario Batali on Iron Chef, former Bouley canape maker and chef at Mirezi, and one of “Crain's Most Influential Women in NYC Business“. She's also the chef at her more pricey and fancy venue Annisa (reported to be really delicious).
As for the slowly growing Rickshaw family, it looks like a midtown cart will be opening soon.
Tennessee Williams, playwright and icon, is possibly one of my most favorite people. His plays: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie, Night of the Iguana, A Streetcar Named Desire, Suddenly Last Summer, Sweet Bird of Youth are unforgettable, decadent, and amazing.
Influenced by the sadness in his own life, particularly the lobotimization of his dear sister Rose as a treatment for her schizophrenia, his work is often unsettling and frank, especially for its time. As he said:
“The strongest influences in my life and my work are always whomever I love. Whomever I love and am with most of the time, or whomever I remember most vividly. I think that's true of everyone, don't you? “
After a youth in Mississippi, he made his home in Provincetown, New Orleans, and Key West. Provincetown and New Orleans both honor his memory every year with a Tennessee Williams Festival, the former of which is having its on September 25th to the 28th.
Blue Eyed SoulWhile the soulful, magnificently beehived songstress Dusty Springfield never openly called herself a lesbian, in 1970 she stated, “Know I’m perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy. More and more people feel that way and I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”–which was a bold and daring statement at that time.
Both her privately rumored love affairs with women and her flamboyant personality have made her an unparalled gay icon, whether she wanted to be or not. Always a complex woman, she gained a reputation of being an often difficult perfectionist (she once said “I wouldn’t know how to handle serenity if somebody handed it to me on a plate.“). She suffered from serious problems with depression and substance abuse but was also known as a complete sweetheart, a cat lover, and a fun-loving, larger than life personality who enjoyed food fights and her fans.
I adore her, her style, her voice, and her amazing career that includes the classic album Dusty in Memphis. Soon fans Nicole Kidman and Kristin Chenoweth will both be starring in movie versions of her life. Michael Cunningham (The Hours) will be penning the Kidman/Oscar grabbier of the two; both are in pre-production.
Never intending to become a famous photographer, let alone a famous controversial photographer, the enigmatic and darkly handsome Robert Mapplethorpe began his career as a hobby, taking Polaroids of his friends, like singer Patti Smith (who used his photo for the cover of her iconic Horses album).
Despite a varied range of subject matters from celebrity portraiture to flowers, to sculpture, it is Mapplethorpe's homoerotic and BDSM images that he is most associated with thanks to some highly publicized controversies. One scandal involved the Corcoran Gallery of Art in DC refusing to go through with a posthumous show when the “sexually suggestive” photos were revealed. The decision cost the gallery a one and a half million dollar donation from artist and Mapplethorpe friend Lowell Blair Nesbitt.
Another controversy arose in Cincinnati when a travelling exhibit resulted in an unsuccessful lawsuit, another in England where a book of his was confiscated from the University of Central England followed by another unsuccessful lawsuit.
Polarizing and talented, Mapplethorpe was an intriguing figure in art and culture who was taken too soon by the AIDs epidemic in 1989.
An exhibit of his polaroids is currently showing at the Whitney.