GAYLETTER

If you care about the Academy Awards and need a place to watch it here’s a suggestion. We all know that the Oscars is a white event, which is why it’s extra boring. I mean look at the nominations... At least we can enjoy some of the fashion, get drunk, and be with friends, hoping it’s gonna be entertaining, then we can get on Twitter and bitch about how we really feel. Anyways, if you go to watch the show at Wise Men you are probably not gonna hear much (I hope they have subtitles) but at least you’ll be with a fun group of queers and you won’t have to clean your place the next day. Baby Tea is usually presented by The Dauphine of Bushwick (Tyler Ashley) who will be co-hosting with Hamm Samwich, that queen is super funny, she’ll be perfect for this event. I read all of her Facebook updates and watch every video she ever posts, she’s nuts! After the red carper and the show is over the party is gonna get cray cray. Music will be provided by Brent Coover and Horrorchata. On a side note, when I was younger and in that delusional stage, thinking I could do anything and everything, even be an actor, I remember whispering to myself a few times Academy Award nominee Abi Benitez... I meaaaan, ha ha ha  —Abi

Lord help me if I know, I’m as white as a fucking bowl of rice, but it’s Black History Month and I’d  love to hear about the experience from people who are living it. Especially when one of those people, Elliott Brown Jr., is a contributor to our magazine. This panel discussion features “a selection of artists from NYU Tisch School of the Arts” and they’ll “consider the social responsibilities of artists, matters of representation and ownership, and the use of identity in Black artists’ work.” Other artists involved in the discussion include: Micah Ellis (actress), Brittany Fenell (writer, director, and activist), Myles Golden (performance artist, photographer, and poet), Saba Green (lyricist, singer, songwriter, and producer) and Chioma Nwana (photographer and poet). The event is moderated by Bria Webb. I’m sure this will be a lively discussion. It’s also accompanied by a one-night-only exhibition on the 8th Floor in Room 814. The discussion will conclude with a Q&A so don’t be afraid to raise a hand if you want to speak up — there are no stupid questions, just stupid outfits.  —tom

Who knew there were so many gay-themed, healthy, social activities one can do in NYC? There’s this group called Guy Social (who we mentioned earlier this year) and they have tons of events aimed at homos. There’s Guy-raoke, Guys Paint Night, even a Guys for Hilary event… and then there’s this one, Gayzer Tag. For $15 you get unlimited laser tag, unlimited bowling and unlimited pool. There’s also $8.00 Grey Goose vodka drinks and $14.00 beer pitchers. Holy shit that’s a great deal. We tried to bowl in Brooklyn last weekend and it was way more than $15. I don’t know the types of guys that are into gayzer tagging, but who cares, bring your own crew and make the most of it. I haven’t played laser tag for years but from what I remember it was a fun, cheap thrill. It’s much healthier than getting wasted, but with the great drink deals they’re offering you can do that too. I mean, you’re only human.  —tom

So I guess it’s Valentine’s Day this weekend. We’re not a fan of the holiday, it’s commercialized and stupid and we’ve made it a point not to promote it since we started the letter. Which is why we suggest you instead head to Central Park and enjoy the thrill of seeing men with chainsaws attack 6,000 pounds of ice. The ice-carvers come from Okamoto Studio, and along with the chainsaws they’ll also use chisels and picks to transform a giant block of ice “into a glistening replica of one of the Park’s most iconic statues. As night falls, revel among colorful lights as the Mall becomes a vibrant silent disco with live DJs, all to celebrate Central Park Conservancy’s preservation efforts.” I know this is a pretty random event for us to send you too, but honestly it sounds like a pretty cool thing to see in person. Chainsaws have a primal scream quality about them. There’s also something incredibly satisfying about seeing a giant slab of ice transform into a beautiful sculpture right before your eyes.  —tom

Nothing like a little controversy, every now and then, in the letter to keep things interesting. You may have read about what went down with chocolatiers, The Mast Brothers recently, or maybe you didn’t. Here’s a refresh. Basically they got accused in the media of using someone else’s chocolate in their recipes when they first started. The fact is they admitted to this way back when they were doing it, but it stirred up some drama from the chocolate community (who apparently are all a bunch of bitches) about the overall quality of the Mast Brother’s chocolate. A lot of experts were saying that the brand’s chocolate is not that great and their success is more about style (they have beautiful labels) over substance. On Friday, February 12, we offer you the chance to taste the chocolate for yourself and decide whether you think they’re worth $10 a bar. The Strand Bookstore on Broadway are hosting the brothers for a chocolate tasting. “Experts from our friends at Mast Brothers will be on our store’s main floor to pass out samples, talk about their different varieties, and answer any questions you may have about the chocolate.” Hold your judgement until you try it. But once you have head to our FB page and let us know what you think. Keep it real bitch!  —tom

We love how many new independent magazine’s there are out there. Especially one’s that aren’t afraid to talk about sex, baby. Math Magazine is a “playful and provocative dirty magazine featuring words and images for sex-positive people. Issue One includes photos by Sophie Ebrard, artwork by Stasia Burrington, and words by Tim Josephs, to name a few.” From what we’ve seen it looks like a beautifully designed mag. This Thursday, February 4th, they are hosting a launch party for issue one with DJ Hazyl at Bizarre Bushwick. You can expect “sexy surprises like sex education in a dark corner with Dirty Lola of Sex Ed. A Go Go.” Sounds like a great way to launch a new publication. From one publisher to another, congrats Math Magazine. Welcome to the family!  —tom

The Canadian artist Zachari Logan is back in NYC for a residency at Wave Hill at their Winter Workspace Program. During his time here, he has a few things coming up and we are gonna tell you about one you shouldn’t miss. Just to give you some background on Zachari, his drawings are amazing and a lot of his work deals with “the intersections between masculinity, identity, memory, and place.” In previous work, related to his current practice, Logan investigated “his own body as a site of exploration...” In this early work he used to be really into himself, naked and often flaunting his massive penis. Now I think I got the attention of some of you. He will be giving a talk at the New York Academy of Art this wednesday, January 27th at 1:00PM. He told me that he’ll be discussing: “the narrative and material shifts in my work away from the exclusive pictorial use of the figure (my figure), to an engagement with the queer embodiment of space, landscape and nature, where ideas of my body as ever an ever-present catalyst, explore intersections between masculinity, identity, memory and place.” Sounds deep, just don’t forget to show the peen!  —Abi

Well this is about the darn cutest thing I’ve ever hear of. It’s a gay skating and tea dance on ice at Bryant Park. And even better they are serving booze! That’s right: gays, ice skating and vodka, what could possibly go wrong! I’m kidding, this sounds like a fucking blast. Season 6, RuPaul's Drag Race contestant, and GAYLETTER issue 3 contributor, MILK (pictured) is also doing a live performance. We’re super excited for that as I have a feeling that queen is pretty good on ice. Music is by DJ XAVIER and there’s also performances by Michael Paul Dionysiou, and the Drags On Ice Spectacular. Also a portion of proceeds go to benefit the Ali Forney Center. I mean, what are you waiting for, lace up those skates and getting down to Bryant Park this Sunday, January 24th. We’ll be there, just don’t get in our way, we’re real cunts on ice.

I haven’t seen Sam Ashby in years… He’s a friend, and the creator of the film magazine Little Joe, which as far as I know is the best queer magazine about film out there. For those of you that don’t know why it’s called Little Joe, it’s a reference to the Warhol star Joe Dallesandro — who Sam refers to as “the man of my dreams.” Yeah I get it, he looked tasty in those Warhol films and his peen looked correct. The magazine was in hiatus for a bit but now it’s back with the 5th issue. This is the first co-edited issue, in collaboration with Toronto-based curator Jon Davies. “We worked together but apart, through a year of a lot of change for the both of us... The cover is the original cover from Cruising the Movies by Boyd McDonald (founding editor of Straight to Hell) and it’s by the artist Joseph Modica.” He told us. This latest issue is packed with 240 pages of essays, interviews, fiction, and art. This Saturday, January 23th, Sam is gonna be in NYC to launch the issue at Printed Matter. They’ll have drinks, reading, temporary tattoos and you can also get the new issue. I can’t wait!  —Abi

This sounds pretty awesome. After Xmas New Yorkers throw away thousands of Christmas trees, most of them are abandoned like used tampons, thrown in the trash (or street curb). A very clever artist named Michael Neff decided to collect these trees and turn them into an art project. This is how he came to create the Suspended Forest, "a room-filling forest of discarded Christmas trees collected from the streets of Brooklyn. Suspended Forest has been shown twice previously in an unauthorized, unused space under the BQE along Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. Those installations were removed by the city within days. The exhibition at Knockdown Center, on view for a month and configured in a grid, allows for a much different experience, most importantly time for the trees to shed their needles into halos on the smooth concrete floor below. Paired with the subtle pine fragrance of the trees and the opportunity for quiet contemplation, the exhibition encourages repeated viewing." Sounds wonderful. Saturday night the show opens with a reception between 5-7pm. Nothing like spending a Saturday night with some dying trees.  —tom

This wonderful exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian — which by the way is a fucking MAJOR museum, like BEAUTIFUL and old and really cunty, I mean who knew this gem existed in the Financial District — is about to close. Called ‘Glittering World’ it features Navajos jewelry by the Yazzie family (I was yasssing for the Yazzies all afternoon). There’s over 300 gorgeous pieces made by the family in silver, gold, and all kinds of stones (I loved the opal pieces). This family is a big deal in New Mexico where their workshop is based. In fact “Lee Yazzie and his younger brother, Raymond, have won every major award in the field.” It was smart of them to keep these beauties behind glass ‘cos when I visited with my friend Beatrice last Sunday we were ready to nab a few pieces for our own collections. Wandering around the peaceful rooms of the museum, examining these intricate and colorful jewels, was exactly what the doctor ordered. Hurry to see the show before it closes on Jan 10th.  —tom