Lensed. 20 Feb 2009

Why I Love Drag!

TEXAS|Sharleen + GETAWAY

In Demand! 1946Sharleen Spiteri & Birthday BoyAlan Rickman

Annie Lennox|Y.

How many times do I have to try to tell you
That I'm sorry for the things I've done
But when I start to try to tell you
That's when you have to tell me
Hey... this kind of trouble's only just begun
I tell myself too many times
Why don't you ever learn to keep your big mouth shut
That's why it hurts so bad to hear the words
That keep on falling from your mouth
Falling from your mouth
Falling from your mouth
Tell me...
Why
Why

I may be mad
I may be blind
I may be viciously unkind
But I can still read what you're thinking
And I've heard is said too many times
That you'd be better off
Besides...
Why can't you see this boat is sinking
(this boat is sinking this boat is sinking)
Let's go down to the water's edge
And we can cast away those doubts
Some things are better left unsaid
But they still turn me inside out
Turning inside out turning inside out
Tell me...
Why
Tell me...
Why

This is the book I never read
These are the words I never said
This is the path I'll never tread
These are the dreams I'll dream instead
This is the joy that's seldom spread
These are the tears...
The tears we shed
This is the fear
This is the dread
These are the contents of my head
And these are the years that we have spent
And this is what they represent
And this is how I feel
Do you know how I feel?
'cause i don't think you know how I feel
I don't think you know what I feel
I don't think you know what I feel
You don't know what I feel

Depeche Mode: TOUR OF THE UNIVERSENorth American Dates

NEW YORK, NY - February 20, 2009 — Groundbreaking electro legends Depeche Mode have announced North American cities and dates for their upcoming "Tour Of The Universe," which will mark the group's most extensive outing in the region in several years. Kicking off in Toronto on July 24th, the band's 22-city North American tour will cover both the US and Canada and hit most major markets across the continent (see dates below). Tickets for select markets are set to go on sale on March 13th.

Cities and dates for the group's 2009 North American concert tour are:
Friday, July 24th (Toronto)
Saturday, July 25th (Montreal)
Tuesday, July 28th (Washington, DC)
Friday, July 31st (Boston)
Saturday, August 1st (Atlantic City)
Monday, August 3rd (New York)
Monday, August 10th (Seattle)
Wednesday, August 12th (San Francisco)
Friday, August 14th (San Diego)
Sunday, August 16th (Los Angeles)
Monday, August 17th (Los Angeles)
Thursday, August 20th (Santa Barbara)
Saturday, August 22nd (Las Vegas)
Sunday, August 23rd (Phoenix)
Tuesday, August 25th (Salt Lake City)
Thursday, August 27th (Denver)
Saturday, August 29th (Dallas)
Sunday, August 30th (Houston)
Tuesday, Sept 1st (Atlanta)
Friday, Sept 4th (Tampa)
Saturday, Sept 5th (Ft. Lauderdale)

Pre-order YES in the US? Nope.

Hey iTunes?

Ever think you are the CAUSE of digital music piracy?

How about making this available in the US too?

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

OSCAR predictions|SLUMDOG SWEEP!MILK will be skimmed.

Actor in a leading role: Sean Penn (MILK)
Actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Actress in a leading role: Kate Winslet (The Reader)
Actress in a supporting role: ???
Animated Feature Film: Wall-e
Art Direction: The Dark Knight
Cinematography: Slumdog Millionaire
Costume Design: ???
Directing: Slumdog Millionaire (MILK, a close second)
Documentary Feature: ???
Documentary Short: ???
Film Editing: Slumdog Millionaire (MILK, a close second)
Foreign Language Film: ???
Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Music (Score): Slumdog Millionaire
Music (Song): Slumdog Millionaire
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire (MILK, a close second)
Short Film (Animated): ???
Short Film (Live Action): ???
Sound Editing: Slumdog Millionaire
Sound Mixing: Slumdog Millionaire
Visual Effects: The Dark Knight
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Slumdog Millionaire
Writing (Original Screenplay): MILK

I think SLUMDOG will sweep the Oscars, and although deserving, I think MILK will be ignored, in the same manner as BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN was spurned.

Sean Penn did an absolutely BRILLIANT job as Harvey Milk; he actually CHANNELED Harvey Milk.

But the establishment which permits films to be made, even by uber-director Gus Van Sant, they won't bestow the award of Oscar on him, the film, or Sean Penn.

That would make it OK to be gay, and open the floodgates for more gay-themed films.

We may be ready for an African-American president, but no! no! no! on more gay films.

And that's not necessarily my opinion.
It's just my read on what's more than likely going to take place on Sunday.

SLUMDOG will definitely sweep the Oscars, deservedly so, and MILK may get a token award, but other than that, it's going to be an evening with a nod to the late Heath Ledger, and safe bets on some of the other films.

Ann Coulter is a C_U_N_T!!!

Nicholas Copernicus|1473

To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.

And meanwhile, what's in that ring?

Justice League of America|1967Hawkman trys S&M

Sigourney Weaver by Helmut Newton

The Birthday in History|1964

The 1st Prize in Cracker Jack|1913

Introduced at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, the candy-coated concoction received its trademark name in 1896. In 1912, maker F.W. Rueckheim & Bro began inserting a "prize in every box."

By the time Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo became mascots in 1918, the company had already issued its most valuable prizes: 144 baseball cards featuring the likes of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Ty Cobb, and Christy Mathewson. In 2004, a complete set in near mint condition sold at auction for a record $800,000! For the original AP news story and for more details about the cards themselves go to CBS SportsLine (http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/7946720) and Sportscard Guaranty, LLC (http://www.sgc1914crackerjack.com/find.html).

Of course, the odds of stumbling upon mint-condition cards from 1914 are almost as astronomical as their prices. Still, there are many collectors of Cracker Jack prizes willing to plunk down a dollar or two, on up to several thousand dollars, for prizes ranging from 1930's "Made in Japan" lithographed tin whistles and 1950's polyethylene spacemen to 1970's coin holders and 1990's metallic stickers.

In fact, Cracker Jack is considered the world's largest purveyor of toys, having distributed an estimated 17 billion since 1912. Thus, collectors like "The Alphabet King" (see below) are able to specialize according to era, topic, materials, etc.

HINT: Many Cracker Jack collectors use non-PVC baseball-card pages to store and exhibit their collections. Each pocket easily accommodates a single item, which can then be viewed from both sides, and the pages themselves are then inserted in stiff binders for added protection.

As if there weren't enough prizes from which to choose, more than a few collectors add mail-in premiums, magazine ads, displays, and even the prize wrappers themselves to their collections. The scope of any collection, therefore, is bounded only by interest, storage and display space, and financial resources.

As with any potentially valuable collectible, one must learn to recognize reproductions and fakes. Luckily for the collector, there's a wealth of information about Cracker Jack collectibles available both in books and on the Internet.

This Day in History|1945The Battle of Iwo Jima

The battle was marked by some of the fiercest fighting of the War. The Imperial Japanese Army positions on the island were heavily fortified, with vast bunkers, hidden artillery, and 18 kilometers (11 mi) of tunnels. The battle was the first American attack on the Japanese Home Islands and the Imperial soldiers defended their positions tenaciously. Of the 21,000 Japanese soldiers present at the beginning of the battle, over 20,000 were killed and only 1,083 taken prisoner.

One of the first objectives after landing on the beachhead was the taking of Mount Suribachi. Joe Rosenthal photographed five Marines: Ira Hayes, Mike Strank, Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, and U.S. Navy corpsman John Bradley raising the U.S. flag atop Mt. Suribachi on the fourth day of the battle (February 23). The photograph was extremely popular, being reprinted in thousands of publications. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography that same year, and ultimately came to be regarded as one of the most significant and recognizable images of the war, and possibly the most reproduced photograph of all time.

Within the next month of fighting, 3 of the 6 soldiers raising the flag were killed.

Annie Lennox at 54

And Lennox is quick to add that she still prefers dressing in trousers. "I don't come across as pretty, sexy, all tits and arse. I never did, and I wouldn't now because I am too old for that," she said.

Birthday Boy|1954John Travolta

Birthday Boy|1964Matt Dillon

This Birthday in History|1963

Michael Phelps|Winner...Bong and all!!!

Hey Michael.

So you smoked some pot. Big deal.
OK, so you should have been a bit more discreet about the entire ordeal.
Even President Barack Obama has admitted to having a past which included "drug use" without going into specifics.

Still.
You swam your heart out in the Seoul Olympics, pulling off a Herculean task, even down to hundredths of seconds in your quest to win 8 gold medals.

You are getting a very raw deal here. So Kelloggs pulled their sponsorship. Big deal.
Think I'm going to be purchasing any Kelloggs' products? NOPE!

What galls me is that A-Rod LIED about taking steroids, and what's happening to him?
Nothing.

Not a DAMN thing.

I've had steroids administered to me for medical reasons, and while they helped temporarily, they didn't provide a quick and long-term fix to my lumbar region.

But marijuana?

Does the term "medical marijuana" ring a bell for anyone?

I think your DUI was a more serious offense in that the consequences could have been much, much worse.

But pot-smoking? Damn! With the capacity of your lungs, I'd like to have been there to watch!

But just hang on for a few years.

Decriminalization is on its way, and I wouldn't be surprised if it happened during this administration.

Slide on back into the pool, and ignore the media hounds bugging you.
Chances are they've been stoned themselves, and besides: who's going to remember their names in the years to come.

You are still an Olympic hero.

An Olympian God, actually.

A-Rod|LOSER!

photo ©Sports Illustrated

A-Rod|Liar! Liar! Liar! Jock's on Fire!!!

Hey A-Rod: 

you didn't just shame the game.

You shamed YOURSELF.

• On how he could not have known more about what he was taking: "I wish I knew. I was [25 to 28 years old], I was pretty naïve. Initially I was curious. I just gave it a try."

• On why he remained so secretive about what he was taking: "I knew we weren't taking Tic Tacs. I knew it potentially could be something that perhaps was wrong, but I really didn't get into the investigation perhaps like I would've. But again, when you're curious and you're ignorant, there's a lot of things you don't tell a lot of people, not just that and that was one of those things I decided not to share with anyone."

• On Feb. 7, Sports Illustrated broke the news that Rodriguez had tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan in 2003. In an interview with ESPN last week, Rodriguez admitted to taking a banned substance, blaming himself for being young and stupid, a criticism he frequently leveled at himself during Tuesday's press conference.

RITES XXX|The Black PartyWhy I wouldn't go without a camera!

First off, I really miss Studio 54. The really hip, hot and happenin' period between 1977 – 1979.

I'd been to THE SAINT when it was on St. Mark's Place, and every homo had to put down some outrageous sum (then) for a "membership" which just entitled them to wait in line and then pay the then-outrageous $35 – $50 (or so) cover charge. Sure, dancing under the infamous planetarium cum Roman amphitheatre set up was pretty damn amazing, even though the minions were fucking and sucking, fisting and God knows what else up in the very dimly-lit balcony ABOVE the dancefloor, no less. All I said to myself back then was "so this is how AIDS is spreading" and, years later, that prophetic statement more than came true. (In the instance of full disclosure, this writer is HIV-.)

Now there's THE SAINT AT LARGE and their annual bacchanal entitles RITES (insert Roman numeral), this year being RITES XXX. The price for admission to this den of shocking iniquity ranges from $90something for the early birds, to $125 at the door (if available) unless you are under 28 (can you say "chicken hawk?") then cover is only $40 before midnight or after 4am.

Would I go? Absolutely. Do I have a reason? Yeah.

If I was in Rome at its fall, I'd have loved to have documented it, had cameras been around. This is, to my taste, another fashion of Rome at its fall. And, I believe, it sets a very poor example of what a segment of the gay community is like. Fisting, pissing, foot-fucking, and leaving a dump on the dance floor (a rumor from Rites XXIX).

I'd like to see if I could be some sort of official photographer, but the chances are probably slim and none, seeing as how I am so far out of the loop, I'm inhabiting Pluto.

Still. It was great fun to not wait in line in the early to mid-80s, and saunter up to the counter, get in the "guest list" line, and once having my name checked and verified, I became "Mr Somebody" and, oh, have a good evening.

Maybe it was all about the balcony.

But for me? It was all about polishing the parquet.

Now? I couldn't possibly take enough 8gig, rapid-cycling EXTREME CF cards with me.

After all, I see in the dark what others totally miss.

And the harsh light of a flash, well, let's just say it reveals some things left in the dark. For some people.

Like I've always said: no one ever died from watching.

Hurry girls. Get your tickets early. You don't want to be left out now, do you?

The following is a report first posted on GAWKER.com,
referenced here for your NOT SAFE FOR WORK convenience!

If you have a hard time reading the small print,
just click on the image, and it'll open in a larger window.

Enjoy, and hold on to your stomach.

I wonder when the hosts of the party are going to be so tired and bored that a "snuff" act will be just the ticket...

1978 – 2009|Journals, UpdatedFound: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006

1978|Annual by Day appointment book
1978|journal (denim-look, red lines); noted January 1978

80s|mid-eighties; handmade US letter, pale orange cover,
black plastic spine binding; rotted
80s|eighties; b/w Composition-style; lined; rotted
1982|5" x 7" artist sketch-type, unlined; heavy rotting
1985|embossed, smooth + patterned leather binding; broken; heavy rotting
1986|Colored Pictures handmade planning book; red textured cover; heavy rotting
1986 – 1987|handmade book, pale-blue laminated HALSTON cover; heavy rotting
1988|January; antique RECORD journal-type; lined; 10ç at a Key West flea market
1989|mid-April; 8" x 11", black sketch book; unlined; pencil sketches, notes

1991|late November, antique RECORD journal-type; lined
1995|May 28; Ledger, small; lined; broken spine
1996|September; Ledger, small; lined; ink mostly dissolved
1997|July; Ledger, large accounting-size; lined; broken spine
1998|Diary: Mapplethorpe b/w negative gerber; daily

1999|Diary: partial, black, spiral-bound, artbook

2000 + 2001|Diary: partial, both years, chartreuse cover; 
2003|September; small, black, leather-bound; Italian; gift of Mickey $5 @ Marshalls in Cheshire; crayon-colored edges; flip book; each way has entries

2003|composition book; Hallbrooke, few entries; post-Aug 16|17

2006|scrapbook; orange glitter, spiral-bound, partial
2005 – 2009|blogs

This Day in History|1933News-Week Magazine

For the price of a dime, you could purchase the first issue of News-week (as it was named in 1933) and even less for a full year's subscription for $4.

Leave Michael Phelps Alone. REALLY.

So he smoked some dope.
Regardless, he still pulled a super-human feat in the water, swimming faster and better than any Olympian before him.

He's 23, and if every media wonk would come clean about their pot-smoking history, then maybe this issue would just disappear.

As an aside, didn't President Obama admit to past drug usage? I'm sure it included pot.

And what the fuck about A-Rod? He used steroids, and LIED about it.

But I'm sure A-Rod's still worth the millions and millions and millions he's being paid. NOT.

Susan B Anthony

Galileo

Queen|The Palace Theater 1975

Unfortunately, I wasn't there!

01. Procession
02. Now I'm Here
03. Ogre Battle
04. Father To Son
05. White Queen
06. Flick Of The Wrist
07. In The Lap Of The Gods
08. Killer Queen
09. March Of The Black Queen
10. Bring Back That Leroy Brown
11. Son & Daughter
12. Keep Yourself Alive
13. Seven Seas Of Rhye
14. Stone Cold Crazy
15. Liar
16. In The Lap Of The Gods... revisited
17. Big Spender
18. Modern Times Rock'n'roll
19. Jailhouse Rock
20. God Save The Queen