GAYLETTER

There is A LOT going down at this event — it’s the closing night of the Dirty Looks film festival (a platform for queer experimental film and video) at MoMa PS1 and Bradford Nordeen (the festival’s curator) told me that he’s planning an “insane” night. The artist Luther Price (in his first performance in 8 years) is bringing us “a multi-media ice scream clown dance party” titled ‘How Deep is Your Love?’ From what we’ve heard it sounds pretty strange, but that’s probably a good thing, stuff like this gets us excited. Here’s the deal: “Santa is going to fuck the Easter Bunny and turn him into a giant ice-scream sundae.” The “scream” part is not a typo, this thing is going to be scary. You can also expect a unique live rendition of Elton John’s Rocket Man and a “confectionary climax sure to chill to the bone.” Can’t wait!  —Abi

Taylor Mead (pictured right) is dead. He was a living legend. One of the first underground gay film superstars that Warhol “practically built all of the factory films around.”  Taylor was a man who LOVED his drugs. He died in May, in Denver, at the age of 88 after moving from his Ludlow street apartment in April, following a dispute with his landlord. He is being remembered this week in a series of loving events. At 7:30pm this Friday at the Film Anthology Archives they’re playing clips from Taylor’s varied film roles, and on Saturday at 2:30pm the St. Marks Church (131 E. 10th St.) is conducting a memorial service after which I am told they will be spreading his ashes at a location to be determined. You can bet a slew of underground personalities will be in attendance such as Jim Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi, Paul Morrisey, Ultra Violet and Gerard Melanga. Drop some E, eat a pot cookie, do what you need to get in the mood and come celebrate the passing of a man who Penny Arcade describes as “the downtown hero of the 20th Century.”  —Gayletter

Cultural producer Jake Yuzna (who curated the Araki retrospective now on at the Museum of Art and Design) told me earlier today something super exciting. Just wait until I tell you, you are probably going to shit in your pants. Ready? “As part of the cinema retrospective God Help Me: Gregg Araki, Araki himself will be coming to MAD for a rare master class this Saturday.” I mean wow, yes wow. “Araki is one of the most important American directors of the past two decades.” This man is a big deal! As Jake puts it: “Not only a pioneer of new queer cinema, Araki launched the careers of Joseph Gordon Levitt in his portrayal of a young gay hustler and Rose McGowan as 1/3 of a teenage, criminal ménage à trois...” In his films we can encounter lots of “doomsdays,” and familiar faces such as, Parker Posey, Ryan Phillippe,Traci Lords, Rose McGowan, Heather Graham, Mena Suvari, Christina Applegate, John Ritter, and Beverly D’Angelo. Gregg also directed the ultimate stoner movie Smiley Face. Please do yourself a favor and go eat a bag of weed and then smoke a plate of pot cookies and watch it immediately...then attend this class.  —Abi

Hey Queens! The summer is slowly fading and outdoor events are not going to be a thing pretty soon, so sad right? Well it’s not over till it’s over, especially if Bushwig has anything to do with it. Bushwig a giant festival of Drag Queens, yes hunty you heard me. The House of Bushwig & Secret Project Robot are presenting “the 2nd annual outdoor festival of drag in Bushwick.” This year is going to be grand with about 50 performances — it starts at 1:00pm and finishes 12 hours later! Just think how much makeup is going to be applied during this event, I mean it’s one thing for a queen to go out in drag at night time, but during the day, these girls are going to have to apply some heavy layers. The performers include some of our favorite queens but I am not going to list them all because I don’t want to fill this entire newsletter with names. Expect: BBQ, cocktails, make-up booth (some bitches are def going to need several touch ups), a cruising area, nail art and lots of other surprises that you’ll only discover if you tuck. After the show head to the after-party at Bizarre (12 Jefferson St., also in the BK). Honey bitches better work!  —Abi

After taking a long break from printing, Pinups returns with issue No.17. For those of you unfamiliar with Pinups, it’s a publication that features, larger and hairier men than the average underwear catalog all you fags are used to. I don’t want to call it a bear magazine because I got into a big drunk argument with this guy at Boiler Room (I know trashy) about what was a bear compared to an otter… I am trying to avoid any labeling arguments these days. To the uninitiated Pinups is“a periodical transformable from book to poster. Each issue consists of images from a single male nude pictorial. Large dot patterns appear abstract in book form but coalesce to reveal a giant portrait in poster form.” Created by a real life bear: Christopher Schulz (he’s fine with that label). He tells us this issue features artist Jake Dibeler and is even “more complex” than past issues because “in contrast to the halftone pages, which are only fragments of the poster, other pages contain parts of numerous images scattered randomly across the pagination...” I feel like we all need a visual reference here, so why don’t we head over to the launch party for a look at this new complex issue. There will be otters, bears, hairless twinks and everything in between...  —Abi

Not to state the obvious, but Russia is pretty fucked at the moment. Honestly, I used to want to visit Moscow, not any more. Government sanctioned beating, murdering and arresting of people for even talking about homosexuality...this is just so sad. Then there’s Putin’s treatment of the “feminist, anti-authoritarian, punk art performance group” Pussy Riot. “One year ago three members of Pussy Riot were sentenced to 2 years labor in penal colonies in Russia,” simply because the government didn’t like what they had to say. If that sort of treatment (from any government) upsets you then this Saturday is your chance to protest. There’s a gathering of “masked solidarity to show these women, as well as others in Pussy Riot and around the world, that they are not forgotten.” Head to the General Consulate of Russia at 11am. “Bring signs, wear a bright neon mask and colorful clothes” flash your pussy. Let’s show those fascist cunts that expressing your individuality and sexuality should not be a crime. Let the Pussy Riot begin!  —tom