Slowly, Slowly, the Colors...

Progress is coming along on the apartment.  This is the longest amount of time I have ever had to spend on painting, but I have so many conflicting priorities that I just have to squeeze the paint into my schedule whenever I can.  I still have both bedrooms and the kitchen left to do, but, my god, it's almost all done...   When I am completely done, I will put all the pix together in one post.  The Living Room post is a few entries back...

 

BEFORE                                                AFTER

BEFORE                                                AFTER

Bathroom (I didn't have any Before photos)

 

Columbia Cruelty

On a more serious note:  Please help the animals...  I don't care what you might think about different organizations designed to help the non-human animals suffering in this world, just help the animals, if you can.

Help Them

I got an update today from PETA2 alerting us to the atrocities being imposed on these amazing creatures at Columbia University in NYC.  PETA and many other supporters of animal rights are such important pioneers in the movement toward ultimate peace.  They may seem weird or overly-passionate, but that's because they have to make up for a world of apathy among most human beings.

Here is a copy of the letter.  Please pass it on:

A PETA investigation has revealed the grotesque abuse of animals in laboratories at Columbia University, including baboons who are subjected to invasive surgeries and left to suffer and die in their cages without painkillers. This horrific story came to our attention because a courageous whistleblower who was a veterinarian in Columbia's laboratories stepped forward to tell us what she had witnessed. Thank goodness for good people!

Now, PETA is calling on Columbia to end three crude and cruel experiments, one of which involves artificially inducing strokes in baboons by cutting out their left eyeballs so that a critical blood vessel to their brains can be clamped. These experiments have no practical value. Animal records reveal that baboons have been left without veterinary care while they hunched over in their cages, unable to drink, chew, or even lift their heads. This is the sort of thing that you expect from a horror movie, not a prestigious university!

This abuse must stop! Please e-mail the president of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger, at bollinger@columbia.edu, asking him to put and end to all three experiments now.

To earn 500 Street Team points, BCC your e-mail message to StreetTeam@peta.org before noon on Tuesday, July 27. Be sure to use BCC so that Lee Bollinger can't see that you're also sending a copy to us. If you don't know how to do that, just send us a second copy of your message. And as a thank you for helping animals, we want to send you a pack of our brand-spanking-new Columbia Cruelty stickers. We'll e-mail you the link to the sticker order form after we receive a copy of your e-mail message.

Please forward this message to your friends and family.

For more information about Columbia's cruel tests and to watch our undercover video, visit http://www.ColumbiaCruelty.com and http://www.peta2.com.

Thank you for speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Sincerely,
Noah Cooper
Street Team Coordinator
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510
PETA2@peta.org
http://www.peta2.com

The New York Sex Comedy

The gang and I went to see Josh's latest play:  HOPSCOTCH "the new york sex comedy". 

 

What started off as a disorienting, sort of startling and disturbing display of half-naked glittery homos and a couple of Paris Hilton/Britney Spears knock-offs eventually turned into this really endearing, totally hilarious jaunt into the world of NYC created by the expectations of mid-westerner transplants.  The play began as if it was taking itself seriously, and then suddenly you totally get it that it is not only making fun of the corny version of NYC that is portrayed by TV shows like Sex in the City, but they were making fun of the people who move here thinking that is really what it's like!  And even better was that the play makes fun of itself, sex, relationships,... I really loved it.
 
Once you started to "get it" what was going on, you started seeing that each character/actor was playing their parts perfectly.  Josh was excellent as usual, but his role as the dead, fat, horny Elvis in a dream sequence with a fetish for thong panties was at once creepy and brilliant.  Brianna Leigh Hansen played the naive yet snotty, secretly-from-Oklahoma girl trying to make it big in NYC, apparently by only using her ability to put on airs.  She played it up EXCELLENTLY.  So much so I wanted to smack her silly.  And oh my god, particularly striking and achingly funny was Diedre Kilgore playing the multiple facets of a sexed up psychic dominatrix hiring a detective to look for her long lost love (read: one-night stand), whom she can only describe in terms of how he approached her at the bar one night to offer a drink and how he fucked her with his maybe-10-inch dick.
 
The whole play didn't really seem to go anywhere, but for some reason when it was all over, you really liked all the corny, sexy characters a LOT!
 
We all wanted to go home after the play, but the cast convinced a few of us to go out for drinks for a bit, and even Cyprus went!  And this was a Wednesday night!  GO GRANNY!
 
PICS of part of the cast having food and drinks after: 

 

PARTIAL CAST OF HOPSCOTCH
 
 
 

Special Note:  Deandra, my good pal from my old position at Saks, has an accidental alter-ego we call DeNadra.  Note in the background of my photo of some of the cast of Hopscotch and you will see DeNadra gettin' all ghetto and goin' through someone's purse!

DeNadra, how could you!

Ps.  Just kidding... hee hee

The Tediousness of Tenderness

It is taking me forever to paint and clean and settle into our new home. I just thought I would send up a quick BEFORE/AFTER image of our Living Room.

We love happy colors!!


BEFORE & AFTER

Home... Again

We are finally done with our big move to our new apartment, settling in, and making the space liveable. I have not been this happy with an apartment and neighborhood in such a long time!

The neighborhood is full of gorgeous brownstones, very friendly services, conveniences, etc. It is the perfect balance of City vs Nature.

The people around here leave a little bit to be desired so far. The area is populated by what appear to be a mix of midwestern suburbia transplants who still do not know how to smile or be friendly to a stranger (true NYers are very friendly), and transplanted hipster cuties who generate a posture that was obviously learned from bad TV shows about NYC. It is really odd. When you say hello to most people around here you may as well have just spit a hocker on their faces. They react like you have just committed an atrocity! Very weird.

Despite the lack of friendly pedestrians, I still LOVE the apartment and the neighborhood.

Here are a few pictures of the day we moved in, along with one picture of how we have managed to make the best with what we have. We won't be able to paint for at least a couple of more weeks, but that will make a huge difference.


Living Room view from Dining/Foyer area (before)


Living Room area (after)


Looking toward Dining Area/Foyer from Living Room


Looking from my room across Living Room to Cyprus' room


Kitchen and Bathroom off of Dining/Foyer area


Cute Little Kitchen


Cute Little Kitchen (view 2)


Partial view of Cyprus' teeny Bedroom


Partial view of Cyprus' teeny Bedroom


Partial View of Cyprus' teeny Bedroom (looking out toward living room)


Partial view of Troy's Bedroom


Another partial view of Troy's Bedroom

I am so happy with how much light, air, and coziness there is in our new home! I think I could live here for the rest of my life! I will post more updates as we make the place into more of a home! As you can see, the landlord did NOT paint or complete repairs... sigh...

WORK: I am adjusting to my lack of steady work now... unemployment sure helps! I have been busting my booty to get my web site functional, revitalized, and made into a wonderful community again, so I hope that pays off on many levels! So far, so good. 7 Paths

DREAMS:

1: I dreamt that Nick asked me to get back together with him. How sad is that.

2. I dreamt that I was part of a secret society that had learned how to extract a liquid from a person that carried a quantifiable life force measured in years. So you could basically extract 5 years from someone and give that 5 years of life to someone who had been seriously injured or was terminal. Once that liquid 5 years was used, then 5 years was immediately removed from the donor's lifespan. You could actually see within minutes the aging of the 5 years! Anyway, this was a totally philanthropic organization who also had metaphysical knowledge as to who were the most powerful and positive and pivotal people on the planet. If any of those key people were harmed or became sick, we would track them down and give them the viles of liquid to extend their life until their pivotal task was done! I remember looking at my hands as I climbed a ladder and they aged before my eyes; I knew a vile of my years had been used successfully to help someone.

3. I dreamt about a bizarre display room in the basement of a mall where these unusual watches were being sold. I tried on this cool watch that looked like a smoothed, oddly-shaped stone. The stone was hollowed out and opened to reveal a glowing light of either blue or green along with its hollow filled with 3 differently sized stones. There were like 3 of one size, 6 of another, and 12 of another, all resting in this wet muddy moss. I was very confused as to how this was a watch and as I stared at the moss and mud, the stones started moving and shaping themselves into an order. The moss and the mud began dividing, too. I don't know how I knew it, but I figured out that the arrangement of the moss, mud, and stones, along with the color of glowing light, indicated exactly what time it was! I was thrilled with the concept!

4. Finally, I dreamt that I was invited to a TV cult classic movie showing. I was invited because people couldn't believe that I had created a movie, but it wasn't me. The name was very similar, but it was a couple of letters off. The movie was titled, "The Strange".

I dream the strangest dreams...

SAKS SUKS

I hope I look back on this day and see that I made the best of it... I was told today that I no longer have a job. Saks let me go. Several people were let go. I don't know the extent of the changes, but that's all moot. I now have no income.

Oh, and we signed our lease to our new apartment today...

Sigh...

Invasion is so Succexy...

I am finally getting these images posted from our amazing time with METRIC last week! I could not believe how much energy and charisma this band has. They have been on tour forever, and they still manage to seem as if every single night is the best night they have ever had performing! It feels so good! If you have not checked out METRIC, you really should. The music is deceptive at first, but after about 3 listens to one or two songs, you are hooked by the smart lyrics, catchy choruses, and impressive/expressive energy that is infectious.

Emily was in her trademark charismatic spastic weirdness that drives everyone into a happy worship, even leaping into the crowd to body surf briefly. She is so thin and tiny, it is not much a deal that 20+ hands can pass her around easily. I love seeing people do what they love to do. It is so inspiring.

I grabbed a few snapshots as best I could... click on an image for a larger version.



[leave your comments by clicking on the comments link below]

Shhh...

Elizabeth Fraser in Shhh... @ Victoria and Albert Museum in London

My god... the glorious sound of Elizabeth Fraser has graced me today in the throes of my illness. I am so happy. It is at once heaven and hell to hear her, because the clip is just too small and it just taunts me.

Elizabeth Fraser (formerly of Cocteau Twins) was asked to do a piece for an auditory museum theme in London, along with a number of other worshipped, unconventional true artists such as David Byrne, Leila, Faultline, and others.

Shhh... Sounds in Space
go direct to Elizabeth's feature
[hear Elizabeth below]
QuickTime Clip

DREAM

I dreamt I was in Taren's apartment (in which I have never been in waking life). We were all getting ready to go out or something. I had to go to the bathroom really bad, so everyone was waiting for me to piss. I stepped into the bathroom and was immediately disgusted. I started getting that tickle in my throat like I was going to vomit. There was a bare bulb hanging from the ceiling, mold everywhere, and the tiles/walls were this seafoam-greenish-nauseous color. I don't remember any smells, ironically. The room was very tiny so that my ass was actually touching the tiny sink as I angled to pee into the toilet, which was turning into its own disaster. The toilet was covered in piles of clothes, a basket, and various other things. I wanted to put the stuff on the floor, but I couldn't because the floor was wet and muddy with stones, dirt, gravel. So I lifted the seat to try to pee while holding it up, which of course left my pants to become too loose and they fell around my ankles. Because I was freaked out about my pants getting dirty, I flinched and started pissing onto the floor, but I quickly realized I not only pissed on the floor, but all over my own messenger bag that was dangling near my feet, and I had pissed on my jeans, too. I was getting really grossed out, but felt obligated to act like it wasn't offensive to use her bathroom. Meanwhile, the floor had become softened by the liquid and my own piss, and my shoe got sucked off. For some reason there was no solid floor anymore, just piss, mud, gravel, and disgust. I can't remember what led to my losing both of my shoes and my socks, but at some point before I awakened, I was standing with the piss and gravel squeezing up between my toes and the smell of urine was getting stronger (AND I hadn't even finished peeing!)

I woke up and had to pee.

The Hardest Hit Make The Best of It

Uuugghh... I am sick.

I have some kind of flu or severe SEVERE cold. The coughing I have endured has caused my ribs around the back of my body to ache beyond belief. Today I decided to check and I can't tell if it is my imagination, but I can swear that my skin is showing bruising along the sides of my torso. The pain is excruciating. I am taking 4 different drugs to help reduce the symptoms and aching. I have never taken drugs like this before. I am in a rare state, that is for sure.

I finally went on my first date since my breakup. I went out with the cutie who everybody refers to as my "wigger".


"wigger boy" (posted with permission)

The interesting thing is that we have absolutely nothing in common, he is antisocial, he hates my music, my tastes, my lifestyle, is impatient, distracted, comparatively superficial, very emotionally young, cynical, defensive, he eats animals,... basically he is the very antithesis of me. Somehow, though, we actually had a very sweet time. We walked all over Brooklyn Heights, along the promenade, to the pier, back through the heights, down Smith Street, all over. He peppered the evening with surprise gestures of affection and overall, we both had a great time.

Unfortunately, because of his distractions and our lack of common ground, I doubt much will happen beyond this one meeting. He seems to think the differences make no difference, and as friends, maybe they won't, but as far as dating, that gap would be a big problem. Also, I am a very indulgant boyfriend, so I love to indulge in the other person and expect as much enthusiasm from my boyfriend to indulge in me. That includes healthy compromises, passionate open-mindedness, patience, and a deep, deep trust. I don't think I would find that in "wigger".

But who knows... he may prove me wrong across time.

GOTHIC NEIGHBORHOOD

I just thought I would share some of these gothic photos I took while exploring our potential new neighborhood. I'm beginning to think I should take up photography as a serious hobby. I really love it.


Gothic Neighborhood


Gothic Neighborhood


Gothic Neighborhood


Gothic Neighborhood


Gothic Neighborhood

I say our new neighborhood is "potential" because now the new landlord has said that the gutted apartment he showed us may have to be "given" to a relative of his! I cannot believe it. He tells us this AFTER we have committed to a move out date with our current landlord, so now Cyprus and I really are in a state of limbo. The new landlord says he will confirm with us on Monday with a yes or a no to the apartment we were promised. He is trying to redirect us to an apartment that is half the size in a far less desirable location.

Needless to say, Cyprus and I are not amused.

Comin' Home Again...

Well it has finally happened (again)... Cyprus and I are moving! We continue to work hard and do our best to create a stable adult life, which is harder than you may think for two overgrown, big kids at heart.

The apartment is not far from where we currently live, but the DRASTIC nature of the neighborhood is amazing. But that's the way New York is anyway. One side of our current block is swarming with the stink of fast food, street noise from hell, screaming 'hood people, sometimes fighting, and just horrible, scraping trucks that idle for hours... then on the other side of our block, it is serene, gorgeous brownstones and playful dogs walked with pleasant people, trees, history, peace...

Well, Cyprus and I are now moving into that kind of space,... but even BETTER!

The neighborhood is embracing, warm, friendly, civil, and beautiful.

I don't want to post too many details, since this is public, but some pics are below. For the most part, I wanted to document the transition from the BEFORE and AFTER. We are renting an apartment that is not even finished being renovated. Thankfully, I have seen the renovations of this landlord in other apartments, so I trust it will be excellent. All new appliances, an elevator in the building, and laundry in the building. I cannot wait to move now!!! YAY!! We will be living near the water, along the promenade, with tons of neighborhood amenities!

Check out the BEFORE pix below. Our new apartment is currently gutted and in the process of being completely revitalized.

The entrance to our home! YAY!


The gutted kitchen!


First Bedroom w/Bathroom


First Bedroom w/Bath (note how HUGE it is with the person in the photo!)


Second Bedroom w/o bath


Second Bedroom w/o bath


Gutted bathroom outside of second bedroom!


A portion of the Living Room (it was filled with debris and too big for one photo)

So watch for your HOUSEWARMING PARTY invites in JULY!!

RUSSIAN SCAM!

How hilarious... I am barely a month into my online dating scene and I find I have been targeted with a scam. Thank god I am internet-savvy and very research-oriented, because in all seriousness, I might not have figured this out for a long time. Why wouldn't I have figured it out? Because as much of a researcher and an internet-savvy person I may be, I am also a sucker for kindness and giving the benefit of the doubt far too long.

I had received an email from a guy in Russia, flattering me and asking if he could basically be my pen pal and just have a gay friend with whom to share. I thought this was cool, kind of reminiscent of high school when I did have literal "pen" pals. I even affectionately thought about it today while at work, thinking this was a nice treat, no pressure, because I have been avoiding actually going on any dates. A pen pal might be a nice, non-threatening way to just have fun.

So I go to write him back tonight, re-reading his broken English email, and I decide to search on his country so I can speak intelligently with him, ask him questions, etc. About 6 entries into the search results, I see the words "INTERNET SCAMMER". Some part of me must have known, because for some reason it totally made sense to me within seconds despite my original affection for the idea of a pen pal.

Sure enough, the alert from ANTISCAM not only included the guy's picture, but his email to me nearly EXACTLY as I had received it. The letter continue on, eventually leading to a request for money, presumably once the victim is hooked with prospects of a foreign love affair coming to fruition through a few cash advances and a ticket out of Russia.

WOW!

SpringTime in NYC!

I love the cold, the cool, the chill of Fall, Winter, and Spring, and I HATE the heat, humidity, the stink of Summer. I have never been able to understand why some people prefer to sweat, give off odors, and generally appear greasy. The dry heat of the southwest is better, I admit, but that's like choosing between the lesser of two evils, like choosing between being trapped inside the thighs of an angry whore after three days of street-walkin' or being trapped inside the doors of an oven. Oddly, I do think we had quite a long Winter of cold, so I was actually happy to see the sun coming out in such glory recently within the chill.

 

Then, all of a sudden, it's an 80+ degree day!!! Where the fuck did Spring go?? Supposedly it will cool again and I hope that is our Spring, but if it just jumps right into humidity and heat, I am going to be in for a long, miserable Spring/Summer. Uggh. Still, for some reason, any weather in NYC is glorious in some way.

And that glorious day prompted all of us to go out and have a great time!

First, we all went to DOJO's on St. Mark's Place in the East Village for a nice brunch, then walked around for treats, and finally went to see KILL BILL Volume 2 (which was just brilliant!) 

<see pix below of the sunny fun day>


DON


JOSHUA


THZAIRA


Cyprus [through Tibetan store window]


Nick [with lover]


Troy [in my new Gay Pimp glasses]


Cyprus [with lover]

SO much to write about, so little time!!

[excerpts of a life synopsis of a week: a. cyprus and i are moving again! b. have had tons of dreams to upate here c. had another funtastic night out with Hedda and the Classics, so funny my face was still hurting the next day!]