my tasty weekend

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10th, 2009
the other day my friend jason asked me how i manage to go to every single event in l.a. i had to laugh before telling him that for every event i attend there are at least three or four i don't go to, usually because 1)i am so not invited, 2)they are happening at the exact same time as every other event that night or, more likely 3)i am just too exhausted. like those vegas.com people though, i do it for you. and seriously, this is just the tip of the iceberg people!

l.a. is simply overflowing with things to do and, as usual, too many of them were happening last weekend. which meant too many captions to write and way too many photos to edit. but this time instead of shoving them into one monster post i am breaking them up into four. so... scroll down! i'm sorry for the delay. now let's get started, shall we?

last friday scotch whiskey makers macallan hosted a tasting at the vibiana. nice event, good turnout, great space.
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our multiplying shot glasses. don't judge. it was for educational purposes!

the next day (i think) there was another parade outside our door. the panamanian marching band of california was making their way up broadway. and having a good old time doing it. like people possessed those panamanians were seriously partying in the streets.

and speaking of partying kia introduced it's new vehicle, the kia soul with a road show called the kia soul collective featuring artists like diplo, the silversun pickups and janelle monae who aubrey, nelson and i caught at the siren studio in hollywood on saturday night. i love me some janelle monae and she was almost as good as the first time i saw her in september of 08. the best part? this time the show was free.99!

miss monae goes crowd surfing siren studios after the show

and there you have it.

project deadway?

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10th, 2009
i know the day of the dead has passed but last saturday i went to an incredible dod party at tropico de nopal that was actually a dia de los muertos gallery exhibit and outdoor fashion show. dod runway? why didn't i think of that?
click on any image to enlarge i thought the show would be good but i was amazed at the creativity. combining fashion, music and coreography the show was gorgeous performance art. i can't wait til next year!

this piece, a commentary on the slow death of print media, had a calavera reporter photographing the crowd

a designer with his creation

loving the heart shaped chain link fence topped with barbed wire and the chain link pattern on the skirt!

this piece was multi-layered, telling a story with multiple "reveals"

one of the outfits under the green cape above

the final layer below the red piece

the final mask

this guy danced a mambo in memory of people who passed away from hiv/aids. it was a great performance that reminded me for some reason of freddie mercury

a gustav klimt tribute

a borracho and his blow-up partner

a beautiful outfit made of corn husks like the ones used for tamales. there were also lots of feathers including feather eye lashes

proving you don't have to be a man to be a drag queen this woman models an outfit inspired by modern mexican artist rufino tamayo

another designer shows his creations

these two models(here with the designer) were completely naked under their see-through outfits. cheeky.

inside, the gallery exhibit featured outfits from past runway shows.

check it out! this outfit is a combination of the our lady of guadalupe and the lucha libre wrestler costumes i just made jimmy and i for halloween!

a tribute to artist keith haring

nelson and jesse trying to keep poor robert warm at the show

for more info on the gallery and to see their past shows go to www.tropicodenopal.com

and there you have it

home-oh for the holidays

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10th, 2009
on sunday i volunteered at glaad's holiday event glaad tidings.
the gay and lesbian alliance against defamation is a media watchdog group that advocates for fair and accurate portrayals of lgbt people and if that sounds a little serious you should know that they really know how to throw a party. the event, sponsored by lexus, took place at a beautiful bel air estate and featured a silent auction, open bar, runway show and performance by american idol's frenchie davis. check it out.
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glaad's new president jarrett barrios greets the crowd

no skeletons on the catwalk this time

crowd pleaser jp calderone

johnny rodriguez from bravo's the fashion show takes a bow

frenchie davis rips the runway

the usual crowd came out to show love including kim coles, doug spearman, darryl stephens, jai rodriguez, chad allen and candis cayne. i was excited to see chima(!!!) and kevin from last season's big brother. kevin made it to the finale, the furthest any gay contestant has made it on the show and chima (who could not have been lovelier) left the show, umm, early.

and there you have it.

streets of l.a.

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 10th, 2009
yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall and at midnight sunday a mock-up of the wall, decorated by local artists including shepard fairey, was toppled before a cheering crowd. first, there were greetings from local and international dignitaries and a video program about the history and impact of the wall followed by a performance by berlin-born ute lemper. this was a huge, ambitious project and i'm glad to say it has been a great success. i love that the celebration was accessible to everyone and that there are no barriers so you can actually get up close and even touch the sections of the actual wall that are on display until the end of the year. i also loved that the celebration closed wilshire boulevard with singing and dancing in the streets. ute lemper was absolutely fantastic opening with a melancholy streets of berlin then swinging on cabaret and with a medley of bertolt brecht and kurt weill songs including moon over alabama and mack the knife.
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it was crazy to see so many people in l.a. crowding the streets at midnight on a sunday!

part of the mock wall that was torn down. the red section on the right was created by shepard fairey

recreating the wall's fall 20 years later. the ceremony was broadcast live in

berlin which is one of l.a. sister cities.

ute lemper sings

kent twitchell painted this portion of the actual berlin wall sections of which are located at 5900 wilshire blvd. there was some controversy over changes to mr. twitchell's original design and the final product.

for more info go to http://www.wallproject.org/

and there you have it. auf wiedersehen!

a single man

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 6th, 2009
i saw a wonderful movie at the afi film festival last night. a single man is the new film from tom ford (probably best known as the designer who made gucci a sensation in the 90's) who attended the premiere along with stars colin firth(truly remarkeable in the film as he usually is) and ginnifer goodwin. the movie is a gorgeous work of art, sensual, moving and achingly beautiful. it's what used to be called an art house film (in the days before netflix stocked pedro almodovar's entire catalouge) and it succeeds because mr. ford gets both the big picture of the storyline and the tiny details of the time period and the characters just right. i spied cindy crawford, tobey maguire and angela bassett at the screening but i only whipped out my camera for (current out magazine cover boy) nicholas hoult who is wonderful in the film. you may remember him as the boy in about a boy with hugh grant and he's currently working on a remake of clash of the titans with liam neeson and ralph fiennes. he wasn't ready for my camera to flash two times but he was so polite i didn't ask for another. see this movie.
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and there you have it.

fall out boys

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 5th, 2009
so i checked out jones' 15th anniversary on tuesday with my new friends justice (gotta love the name) and robby who are visiting from vegas but might be moving out here soon (fingers crossed). it's odd how you half expect a tumbleweed to roll by that deserted stretch of santa monica bl but just inside the door it's a mobbed house-party of people drinking, dining and carrying on. for their anniversary everything on the menu was $5.00 including the drinks and the apple pie scented with rosemary. mmmmm.

i had such a good time i never whipped out my camera (i HATE it when that happens). i did remember to take a couple of shots though at the so cal social club mixer at remedy last night. here are keith, luke and calvin taken the way i like to frame people.
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and here's another shot taken the way calvin suggested i frame everyone. he says the downward shot is more flattering. what do you think?

with reuben, robert, hugo and tim at remedy

scsc founder luciano draws winners for the raffle. nice going.






and if you want to throw one back with the a-gays (and their admirers) or if you want to rub elbows with artist shepard fairey while supporting equality then you might want to come out to the andaz hotel next thursday for fall fair out supporting the love unites / shepard fairey equality project. there'll be an open bar at the former riott hyatt and mr. fairey will not only be dj-ing he'll have some of his prints customized by celebs like marc jacobs and jared leto available for sale. get more info at http://www.fallfairout.eventbrite.com/.

and there you have it.

jones-ing for a deal?

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 4th, 2009
back to the afi fest last night for the premiere of the imaginarium of doctor parnassus. maybe it was because we sat soooo close (the fifth row of the huge chinese theatre is still too close) but i liked it more than loved it. it's a sweet film with interesting visuals and good performances but too rambling and unfocused. definitely not on par with terry gilliam's other films including the monty python movies, brazil or the fisher king. even jude law, johnny depp, colin farrell and heath ledger (in his final performance) coudn't save it. for me, more of a rental than a go see.
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talking about go sees, the 60's turn 50 next year and one of the most colorful and turbulent decades is being spotlighted in a series of upcoming events including an architecture tour called it's a mod, mod, mod, mod city. get your mad men on this sunday during a guided tour of landmarks like the LAX Theme Building (you know the jetson's like structure that was just renovated) at this event presented by the los angeles conservancy . for more info click on www.lac.laconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=60sHomePage.

another anniversary is being celebrated today at jones restaurant in hollywood. the ever-hip spot (near santa monica and la brea) is celebrating it's 15th anniversary from noon till 2am with grilled salmon, spaghetti & meatballs and 13 other dishes for only $5.00 and $5.00 herradura, finlandia and jack daniels cocktails. i'm there! and unbelieveably, if you can't get in they'll give you a raincheck to come back another day at the same prices. wow!

more good stuff? how about gay networkers so cal social club hosting a cocktail party/mixer at the remedy lounge downtown tomorrow night? http://www.inthemixatremedy.eventbrite.com/. after getting your drink on you might feel like taking to the streets for a prop 8 anniversary march through silver lake www.equalitynetwork.org/2009/11/prop-8-one-year-later.
and you definitely don't want to miss the incredible janelle monae performing at siren studios this saturday. like the march, it's free.99. you might have to test drive the new kia first but that's a deal to see this dynamo up close - www.kiasoulcollective.com/home/tour/los-angeles.



and there you have it

no shoes, no service

MONDAY NOVEMBER 2nd, 2009
i drove by the hello kitty birthday party yesterday to try and score a gift bag and check out the airstream trailer but i never even made it out of the car. there were at least a thousand(!) people waiting outside and i couldn't even see the end of the line so i turned myself around and headed to my aunt liz's to celebrate the birthdays of my cousin mark and his wife magally instead. while i was there i marveled with jimmy at how fast kids grow up. its seems like one day they're in diapers and the next they're taking SAT's and dating! oh. my. god! and in case you're wondering, even though it's hello kitty's thirty-fifth anniversary she is eternally eight years old. of course those are cat years not human years (although i know quite a few humans who remain the same age every year too).
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my brother shawn, my sister-in-law sherry and their kids sierra and kai.

i always have to make sure i wear good socks before i enter liz's place. and when i leave i seriously consider trading up on my footwear.

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later on sunday i caught a screening of the white ribbon at the afi film festival. it was beautiful but i swear i was not really in the mood for something so serious. and in black and white! with subtitles!! james cromwell was sitting right behind me but the real star power was at the premiere of precious in the main theatre which brought out mariah carey, mo'nique, tyler perry and oprah winfrey (among others). i tried to snap some pix but it was just too crowded and when mariah strayed from the carpet to sign autographs a couple feet away from me it turned into something out of day of the locust. seriously. i'm lucky i wasn't crushed.

and speaking of movies, if you're looking for something to do tonight the new regal 14 theatres at l.a. live is showing non-michael jackson movies tonight including district 9, funny people, gi joe, star trek and the proposal for free.99! and popcorn and soda is only $1.00 each. for more details and showtimes click here - www.lalive.com/regal.

and there you have it.

c'mon, get happy!

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1st, 2009
started halloween downtown where jimmy, robert, jesse and i enjoyed a bottle of milagro tequila courtesy of casa restaurant before heading out to a party in hancock party thrown by aubrey's friends lars and jeffrey. there are always a few familiar faces at their annual soiree and this year reichen, jesse ferguson and eric stonestreet (the gay couple on the hilarious new show modern family) and allison janney were among the minglers. my costume was well received with this crowd and there were plenty of other inspired creations to enjoy which made the night even more fun.
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robert, jesse and jimmy on the patio at casa
i put pieces of robert and jesse's costume to create an impromptu amish outfit. with mi gente in hancock park big edie and little edie from grey gardens. the "cats" kept moving around and they even had a racoon! so brilliant! aubrey as michael jackson with aubrey and allison janney as one of the partridge family the partridge family group came in a big, painted cardboard bus and sang get happy!!!

and there you have it.

boo!

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31st, 2009
i'm kind of halloween-ed out right now. when jesse mentioned circus disco's $500 costume contest i trotted out my 'lupe outfit again last night but this time i got a very different reaction. they... hated it! while i'm exaggerating (a little bit) i think the crowd just didn't know how to handle me. based on the winners they wanted comical and over the top which is not what i was serving. anyway, it was a little slice of hell for me with 70 contestants on the crowded stage and a spanish-speaking drag mc who was so not with me (meaning of course the crowd wasn't with me either). when i stepped up there was some applause but there were also boos(!) and thumbs-down gestures. thumbs-down gestures? what is this... gladiator??? sheesh!!! in the end i was ok with it because i gave it my all and next time i'll know what crowd i'm playing to. ah well, live (or die of embarrasment) and learn.
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welcome to my nightmare

so last night i consoled myself with the knowledge that halloween is so five minutes ago. 40 is the new 30 and dia de los muertos is definitely the new halloween. all the cool kids are doing it. check it out for yourself at one of these festive dod parties (and more) by clicking on www.laeastside.com/2009/10/your-dia-de-los-muertos-guide/.

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and there you have it. BOO!!!