GAYLETTER

The Warwick Rowers are a rowing team from a university in the U.K. who created a naked calendar to raise money to fight homophobia. Isn’t that so sweet of them? I don’t even think they are gay. I’m sure one or two are, but I think most are straight and just really cool and caring about their gay brothers and sisters. Adorbs! This Thursday is your chance to meet 3 of the rowers at the launch event for Out Travel magazine’s Great Britain edition along with the launch of the Warwick Rowers 2016 calendar. They’re telling us to come join them “for a gin-and-tonic or two and find out more about what it is that makes Britain great.” Sounds fabulous sweetie darling. Naked rowers, gin and tonic, what more could you want from a Thursday night, one of them to fuck you? Well that’s just pushing it, they’ve done enough already! Fight your way in or RSVP here.  —tom

This is a pricey event to go to. Tickets start at $300, but it’s Grimes and she’s awesome and it’s at the Guggenheim, and it’s a fancy gala that’s likely gonna be full of fancy young people, and...well, IDK, look, if you can afford the ticket get one, but if you can’t then you should just sneak in. You’re smart, I’m sure you can figure it out. Do you think when Abi and I started GAYLETTER we we’re invited anywhere? Shit no, we talked our way into more parties than that couple that snuck into the White House in sari’s then self combusted on the Real Housewives of D.C. Pretend you’re on the phone then just walk in, bring a clipboard and ear piece, or carry a mop and say someone vomited inside and you need to go clean it up. There’s a million ways. According to their website, Grimes is putting on a “special musical performance.” It’s not just a performance it’s a “special musical” performance. And did I mention it’s at the fucking Guggenheim, that building is L-E-G-E-N-D-A-R-Y. Frank Lloyd Wright queen. I mean, what are you waiting for?? It’s NYC, hustle hunty!  —tom

Sleater-Kinney guitarist, and co-creator of Portlandia, Carrie Brownstein, has written a new memoir called Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl. It’s about finding her identity through music, and about her parents (her mom had an eating disorder and her dad came out as gay in his 50s). This Wednesday, October 28, Carrie is going to sit down for a conversation with her Transparent co-star, and one of my favorite actresses (please watch her in Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus, she’s brilliant) Gaby Hoffman (pictured). I’m sure these two are besties so we’ll probably have a very easy-flowing and completely unfocused conversation. It’s taking place at the beautiful Barnes & Nobles on Union Square and best of all, it’s free! Bring your Sleater-Kinney band shirts and your Portlandia mason jars and get them signed by Carrie. Enjoy.  —tom

Bring Your Own Body is a brilliant exhibition “focusing on transgender artists and archives, from the institutional and sexological to the personal and liminal” that features work by Justin Vivian Bond, Vaginal Davis, Zackary Drucker, Pierre Molinier and many other incredible artists we love. This Saturday the exhibition presents “a free, public screening of The Queen, (1968) followed by a conversation with the artist, producer, activist, and cultural icon Flawless Sabrina.” The Queen “follows a cross-country drag competition organized by Flawless Sabrina that concludes in the Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant held at Town Hall in 1967.” After the film Flawless will speak with artist Zackary Drucker and archivist Diana Tourjée “about the collaborative process of cataloguing Sabrina’s 57-year archive.” This is an incredible opportunity to get to know Flawless, a true queer icon and learn about the trans world from last century. The screening and conversation are both free, so you have no excuse not to attend. Plus it’s at Cooper Union so there will undoubtedly be plenty of hot art school boys for you to cruise! Win win.    —tom

Last weekend I did some pumpkin carving with some of my dear friends for the first time, it got very competitive (because all of my friends love a competition) but we had a blast. We found it very therapeutic to create something with our hands that didn’t involve our smartphones (we only did a couple of quick Snapchats) Now that it’s getting a little cold, it’s nice to just do something chill and creative with a group, which is why we suggest you attend the Queer Collage Party at the Bureau of General Services - Queer Division.“Everyone who attends should bring at least one magazine or book or a bunch of pictures that you’ll contribute to the group. Each person can make their own collage(s), or team up with others!” They suggest you bring a snack to share, they’ll have beer, wine and soda to purchase by donation. The boys that run the Bureau are lovely to be around so I’m sure this event will be filled with good vibes. I’d suggest you avoid getting competitive like our friends did with their pumpkins, nobody wants to get snatched over a collage. Collaborate instead of of being cutty, well except with your scissors, you can cut with them...paper not people.  —t&a

We’ve showed images from this party on our website a few times now. You can always spot Tyler Ashley’s ass all over the party in the pics, sometimes she’s even spreading it. It’s her party, so she can really do anything she wants. That’s the T, but the real T is that this is a very special edition of Baby Tea, presented by The Dauphine of Bushwick and Wise Men. It’s a fundraiser to benefit the amazing organization FIERCE. Tyler posted on facebook: “It’s simple. I want to use this platform as a way to celebrate my trans sisters and brothers and raise money for a local NYC LGBT organization that fights for trans rights!” All ticket sales and Purity vodka sales will be donated to Fierce! WOW! Hosted by lots of people: Lina Bradford, Iman Le Caire, Quay Dash, Franco De Marco, Maria Jose, Katy Pyle/Ballez, Devynn Emory, Mickey Molly McSherry, and more... DJs Macy Rodman, Frankie Sharp and Horrorchata, plus a performance by Charlene. It’s gonna be very Fierce! You can pay between $10 to $50 to get in depending how rich you are, I am sure if you pull your pants down and hand over a fiver they’ll also let you in.  —Abi

Printed Matter, the non-profit behind the L.A. and New York Art Book Fairs (which we had a wonderful time at last month) are packing up shop and moving into a fancy new space up the street from their current digs on 11th Ave. The organization, in case you don’t know (what’s wrong with you?!) was founded in 1976 by artists Sol Lewitt, Lucy Lippard, and friends, and specializes in artists’ books and publications. They have thousands upon thousands of publications to browse through. Since they doubled their staff to 10 over the last year they needed a bigger space. Their new two story location, which doubles their previous square footage, provides them (according to the New York Observer) “with a dedicated flexible space for exhibitions and public programs, an upper level wrap-around balcony and reading room accessible by staircase, and an expanded office area.” This Thursday, October 15th, they are hosting a party, open to the public, to celebrate their new home. Come have a drink, check out the new digs and buy some printed matter for god’s sake!  —tom

Hey nerds this one’s for you! OK, I’m going to stop right there, because when the only films making any money these days are those featuring comic book characters, being a nerd suddenly seems a lot more mainstream than it once did. I guess you can comfort yourself knowing that being a gay nerd still gives you a little more street cred! This is the 10th annual New York Comic Con at the Javits Center and there’s a new subway station (the 7 train extension at 11th ave) to make your journey there that much easier. Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston is scheduled to show up plus there’s going to be panels and literally hundreds of comic legends autographing their shit. If you’ve never been to a Comic Con you should go for the people watching alone. The costumes people pull out are truly wild — you’d be amazed by the lengths fans will go to with their looks. See above. lol  —tom

Another food event? Yes! The Fall is here and it’s time to eat. While that might sound crazy to all of you with “Instagram bodies” (you know, those guys that are simply a body and nothing else, they spend most of their time at the gym, they kind of behave like models, but in reality the only agency that represents them is Instagram) but for everyone else this cold weather means it’s time to eat. Just to put it into perspective, two weekends ago Tom and I had brunch twice in one day. We figured that if they didn’t see us at the other restaurant eating no one was the wiser. We were all giggles about it because eating in excess can be hilarious and fun. The Food Book Fair is starting a monthly event called the Food Book Party and this is the first one. Sarah from the awesome zine, Put A Egg On It, who’s one of the moderators, told us more about this event: “We are looking at ways in which gayness/queerness shapes food — from a historical standpoint (James Beard was gay, for example) to how the queerness of chefs and waiters and bartenders shapes the restaurants and bars we love — service as performance in a way.” Also, the queer food magazines Mouthfeel (pictured) and Jarry (recently launched) will be part of this event. Go have some free hot dogs!  —Abi

I’m gonna be honest with you, I hate $1 slices of pizza. I love pizza, it’s just that the $1 version of pizza is always so shitty. Cheap sauces, cheap cheese, you gotta be stupid drunk to enjoy that shit. This Wednesday however I will be chowing down on as many $1 slices as I can fit in my stupid mouth. That’s because it’s for a good cause, and because the pizzerias making these $1 slices are some of the city’s best. Over 50 of them, including Motorino, Nicoletta, Roberta’s and Lombardi’s will be serving $1 slices to benefit the Food Bank for New York City at the St Anthony Of Padua Church. The event was created by pizza lover Scott Wiener of Scott’s Pizza Tours (yes, he actually gives tours of the city’s best pizza restaurants.) Honestly I can’t think of a better way to spend a night than this — there’s going to be over 1000 different pizzas on offer for fucks sake! If you’re really serious about helping you can pre-purchase a ‘VIPizza Passport,’ which costs $100 and gets you 10 slices, but more importantly it puts you at the front of the line so you don’t have to wait with the general public (gross). Nom, nom, nom. Enjoy!  —tom