GAYLETTER

I’m sorry guys, but I couldn’t resist talking about this brand new salad just added to Sweetgreen’s ‘Late Summer’ menu. I’ve never talked about Sweetgreen before, but I eat there almost every day, even our GAYLETTER boys (Chris & Jeffrey) eat Sweetgreen for lunch when they are working with us. This is not a paid ad, we are not getting free lunch for this mention, we just think it’s worth recommending. So this salad comes from their latest partnership with the “farm-to-table pioneer” Blue Hill Market. On my last trip to Sweetgreen (NoMad location) I bought the salad based on the ingredients: “broccoli leaf, romaine heart, carrot ribbon + arugula mix, roasted kale stems + broccoli stalks (roasted with anchovy oil), shaved parmesan, spicy sunflower seeds, homemade croutons, pesto vinaigrette.” It was 490 calories of deliciousness. Also, while I was eating the salad I did some research about Blue Hill and it sounds ridiculously cunty. Just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about here are some quotes from their site: “Cellular telephones and flash photography are not permitted in our main dining rooms.” and “Blue Hill is not a restaurant. It’s an epic, ten years in the making.” Some of you are probably rolling your eyes. But I appreciate how serious they are about this. My last quote from BH’s chef, Dan Barber: “If we can utilize some of this ‘waste,’ we can feed a lot more people — it’s the right thing to do, and it can be really delicious.” They care about the environment and quality food, so sweet. Enjoy your salad.  —Abi

I used to work at a Greek restaurant in Soho, and like every restaurant in New York the kitchen was staffed by Mexicans. I didn’t understand 90% of what they said but I did pick up one word that seemed to continuously lob in my direction: Maricón. I asked Abi what it meant and he said it was an offensive term for “gay.” He said that the next time they said it I should reply with “Se lo quiero meter a tu hermana por el culo” which translates roughly to “I want to fuck your sister’s asshole.” After that they stopped calling me maricon. Which brings me to this party at Tropical 128 in Little Italy. The organizers are clearly reclaiming the word maricón, which is something we can get behind. The party is a “queer celebration of everything TROPICAL.” Music for the night is by Joey Labeija (love that he gave us a shout-out on Sway earlier this week, that is major!), Joro Boro, Mona Lisas and Tr(otter). The party is hosted by...a lot of people. I don’t have the space to list them all, but trust us, there’s some power Latinos in the mix. Have fun chicas.  —tom

OK, I started my GAYLETTER day at 9:00AM yesterday with an intense curbside meeting with Abi over a delicious cup of hot coffee served by an even hotter barista, now I’m ending the work day at 10pm after a fierce photoshoot by the Christopher St. piers on the West Side Highway at a bar called The Rusty Knot (with $4 beers all night long). Being one of the most preeminent cultural correspondents for GAYLETTER can be exhausting! So, on to another post about a must-see gallery exhibition (we wrote about the opening a while back) at Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art called Interface: Artist Forming Communities Through Social Media. It’s closing August 2nd so this is your last week to see it. Some of our absolute favorite artists are in the show including Jordan Eagles, Natasha Gornik, Brian Kenny, Scooter LaForge, Slava Mogutin and of course Mr. Gio Black Peter. “This exhibition emblematizes a shifting time in the art world where technology allows artists to not only create in a different way, but also alters the way the public encounters them and their art.” Walt Cessna did a brilliant job curating the show. Before you pass out from this heat go go go to this show.  —Gayletter

I came across an Indiegogo campaign for this film sometime last year. I watched their pitch video and instantly wanted to do everything I could to help. Just the other night I was looking through Netflix when I saw that the completed film has been added to their library. An Honest Liar is a full length documentary about magician and bullshit-buster, James “The Amazing” Randi. Randi started out as a magician in the 1950’s, but made a name for himself in the 60’s by publicly debunking those who claimed to have paranormal, occult, or supernatural powers. His biggest adversary was Uri Geller, a Russian asshole who was able to convince a bunch of idiots that he had psychic powers by bending spoons on live TV. Randi would follow Uri around the country appearing after him on TV shows to show how his stupid spoon bending tricks were done. An Honest Liar focuses most of its attention on Randi’s life-long (he’s now in his late 80’s) quest to unmask all kinds of charlatans from TV evangelists to self-proclaimed psychics, but it takes an unexpected twist in the last 20 minutes when we discover that Randi’s male partner of the last 25 years has been living under a stolen identity since moving to the US from Venezuela at the age of 18. I won’t spoil how it all ends, but it gets juicy. An Honest Liar is a wonderfully made documentary, it’s well-paced and well edited, and well worth 92 minutes of your time.  —tom

Last year we ran some pictures from this rooftop event organized by Tyler Ashley, when we got the images from the photographer we were like WOW that party looked cray cray — we were mad we missed it. It’s Tyler official bday party, for those of you that don’t know Tyler, he’s a dancer and now a nightlife personality in NYC. He/she also have given himself a tittle, The Dauphine of Bushwick. “But the idea is we all are the heir of Bushwick.” But Tyler tells just cause it’s his Birthday doesn’t mean is all about him, “it’s about just getting a lot of great people together to dance and get silly. Sure, we all know I love the attention...” The party is not at a regular venue, it’s in the rooftop of his building, yasss “The rooftop at my current Bushwick apartment was one of the main selling points when I moved in over 2 years ago. It’s HUGE with a gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline.” Expect 7 DJs, 20 performers, “two 30 foot slip n’ slides, a surprise art installation, and more! Don’t forget to BYOB!” After 11:00PM there’s an after party that’s co-hosted by Horrorchata at Lovegun with more DJs, performers and hosts. Check out their Facebook page for location and for the overwhelming list of people involved. I mean these Bushwick bitches are NOT playing.

My friend Peter told me that I must go to The Lefrak Center at Lakeside - Prospect Park for a roller blade disco party. I looked into it and it doesn’t really seem to be a gay party, I saw an illustration of a white lady on the site, which is not necessarily promising — but come on, disco, roller blades and cocktails? Who are we kidding? This sounds like a perfect Summer activity to me. Peter also mentioned to me that the last time he went there were some hot boys in short shorts and it’s adults only: “you won’t run over any kids.” Good, because as Samantha Jones would say children can be assholes and we can only imagine the trouble that you would get into with their parents if you ran over one. Anyways, whatever it is, here’s a great opportunity to queer this park up. I’d say put your sluttier outfit on, get as drunk as possible and skate on over. Think Beyoncé in her video Blow (pictured). Oh one more thing, the park is beautiful and there’s less tourists than in Central Park. We’re sold!  —Abi

Greg Araki is one of my favorite directors. Smiley Face starring Anna Faris is one of the most singular and fucking hilarious films I have ever seen. It’s a stoner film that captures the experience of being super, super high, in all its absurdity, so fucking well. Araki’s filmography is long and impressive and this Thursday, July 23 Dirty Looks On Location has teamed up with Opening Ceremony (he recently made a short film for Kenzo, who’s designers also run OC) to screen one of Araki’s best films, the 1995 road movie starring Rose McGowan: ‘The Doom Generation.’ “Blending his early Godardian formal approaches with an MTV flair for blood, guts, and stunt casting (including Margaret Cho, Porno For Pyro’s Perry Farrell, Heidi Fleiss, and former cast members of the Love Boat, The Brady Bunch and Herbie, the Love Bug) Araki’s Doom Generation is the penultimate midnight movie of the 90s, a total cult sensation and the central installment in Araki’s Teen Apocalypse Trilogy.” Rose Mcgowan will appear in person at the screening and I’m sure give some fascinating insight into the film and Araki as a director. I’m sure it’ll be a night filled with 90’s teen angst. You’ll love it!  —tom