See?

I'm not the only one trying to carve out an oasis in the gay desert. Doggy Styler Ed emailed to show that there are Supergays everywhere!

Carroll Gardens - A Gay Bar Scene Is Born.

We don't have go-go dancers at Doggy Style, but who really wants that anyway? OK shut up.

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New Year Musings

Sitting in the waiting area to board my flight to Palm Springs on New Year's Eve, I commented via text to some friends that it was like sitting in death’s waiting room, on account of all the old people. It turns out I was completely correct as a woman in first class had a heart attack in the restroom and we were forced to make an emergency landing in Colorado. And after we took off again the guy across the aisle from me had to be put on oxygen. It was really insane.

[And as a nice bookend, as I waited for the flight that would take me back to the Midwest – a flight that was delayed on its way to Palm Springs because of an emergency medical landing – I heard the gate agent put in a call for SEVEN wheelchairs to assist the arriving passengers.]

But Palm Springs isn’t just old people. It’s gay people too. A lot of them. Like so many it’s a little uncomfortable, as least until you get used to it. Well, if you come from the gay desert of Detroit it takes getting used to. 40% gay is the number I heard. Isn't that nuts?

I went to Palm Springs to meet up with a group of guys who were my core group when I lived in Ann Arbor. Over time we all moved away, me only as far as Detroit, but the rest to various California locales. It is always absolutely wonderful meeting up with them, because as we've all noted, we've met great people in our new homes but there was a special kind of connection on the sense of humor front in that group. Whenever we meet up it's pretty much constant laughs. And we're not even high.

Palm Springs is like the opposite of Detroit - it's mostly modern, the weather is beautiful (even in winter, when it is the cold desert). The amount they do modern there is actually almost crazy. Even all new contruction seems to be modern, and you know America loves a neo-traditional homestead. All in all, it's very pretty there.

An open house at the condo across the lane from my friends' place ...
the pool was gorgeous, but alas, the interior was straight-guy TRAGIC.

A lady moment at the wonderfully prissy Kaffeehaus.

Fruits are cheap in PS!

A spontaneous drag moment while out for Sunday afternoon cocktails

As mentioned, the gays are everywhere. And they skew older, this isn't a young man's town. So it is a little strange to go to the bar and see guys in their 40's and 50's acting as typical and stupid drunk as the kids you might see at Menjo's. Honestly fellas, haven't you learned anything in the past 20 years?

The up side, of course, is that I am basically a twink when I go there, and that was kind of nice. Everyone wants to feel pretty now and again.

Now speaking of pretty, even though not all the architecture there is executed flawlessly, people there are pretty house-proud and modern is the prevailing aesthetic for commercial spaces as well as residential, so from my perspective things look good. And there is no blight. Even the homeless people seem pretty happy (and they aren't braving frostbite standing out with their stupid "Why Lie? I want beer" signs).

It was with a heavy heart, then, that I returned to the depressing winter weather and the oppressive oppression of the economic disaster that is Michigan. Everything just looked so ... ugly. It was just so ... cold. And getting together with friends - the usual antidote when the bad parts of living in Detroit get to you - is met with people complaining about the same things you're complaining about.

Now boarding: flight back to Detroit.
I would have been lucky to be seated in between these two. Instead I got the overweight single mom from downriver
with a smoker's voice, and a styrofoam container of fast food and a two-year old on her lap.

It's an ugly time in Detroit.

And that leads me to thinking about the Supergay agenda for 2009. Last year I wanted to promote the city as a good destination for gays and help foster gay community. I think overall I can say that was achieved, although without any measurable result (except for Doggy Style, that's a certifiable hit).

This year I need to strike closer to the root of the problems that disturb me. I learned in Palm Springs that a surplus of gay people isn't what I really want - being there, as delightful as it was, actually made me long for the mosaic of people who are part of my life downtown, even if I do sometimes feel like I'm somewhat isolated as a gay dude. All good things in moderation, I suppose.

This year, we've got to work on the aesthetics of life in Detroit. As inspiring as the cycle of decay and (ideally) rebirth can sometimes be, the downward slope can be really depressing. Palm Springs showed me what pretty can do for your attitude, and my return home showed me how ugly can just suck the life out of you.

I can't fix the weather, and I can't fix the blight. But I can point out what is right and I can try to encourage individual efforts to make Detroit slightly more attractive.

So on top of the gay attraction agenda of 2008, this year we'll add "beautification" to the list. Because Detroit, you can do better, even if means not wearing that ugly sweatshirt out in public. I'm sure I'll follow through as well as last year, but at least we'll get the message out there for a while.
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Screw Secularism

Friends report that the Castro loves a religious holiday!

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My Prayer for Detroit

Via Darren in NYC.

New York Report

My friend Darren Locke is a great musician who, until last fall, resided in Woodbridge. But now he lives in Manhattan. He is making a go of it there and getting gigs and good internships and was even on OutQ radio's morning show. Very exciting! Go to Darren's MySpace page and you can hear some of his music, which I predict you will like a ton and you can buy on iTunes and CDBaby. Everybody loves "Carolina" although my favorite is "City of Trees" because the guitar is amazing.

Soon to be famous.

Last night we were chatting and he told me about a news story that was filming at a restaurant where he was eating. It was a news story about Bacon Salt. Which I looked up and it is such a weird idea I feel like I need to post about it.

Bacon Salt is a seasoning salt that makes everything taste like bacon. Which sounds weird and strangely gross until you start to think about it. How good would that be on spinach, or mashed potatoes, or fries (well, anything potato really), or chicken, or a hamburger? You're intrigued, aren't you? I know I am, and I don't even really love bacon.

It is also allegedly calorie-free, fat-free, vegetarian and kosher. It's like a strange substance from another dimension.

There is nothing really gay or Detroit about Bacon Salt, but you have to admit it does sound kind of super.

And that's the news from New York.

Gay Trash

There has been follow-up from the San Francisco visit. A third party forwarded the following email to the friends I was visiting the day after my departure ...

Dear Mrs. Kravitz,

I was walking my dog (and minding my own business) and couldn't help but notice what was in your neighbor's recycling bin. Who do they think they are: Lindsay Lohan? How can they live on Fresca, Diet Red Bull, Veuve Cliquot, Ghiradelli Chocolates and Pellegrino? Is this some kind of Gay holiday diet?

It's as small a gay town as our very own Detroit, it seems. Or at least as nosy.

Foreign Correspondence: Chicago Market Days

I didn't make it to Chicago for Market Days this year, but friends reported in that it was a full-scale party time, as usual. Market Days is the largest of the many Chicago street fairs, and it takes place on Halsted Street right in the middle of Boystown. It's gotten increasingly popular over the years (and apparently cleaned up a good deal - I guess it used to be a little more Folsom Street Fair-ish), and this year they added the provision that bars along Halsted could serve liquor outside, so you weren't consigned to getting bloaty on beer or headache-y on wine cooler type freezy drinks. It's good that they strive to improve it each year.



My favorite part of the fair is the performance by ROTC, the Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps. It's a performing group consisting of guys who, in their younger years, participated in the whole drum corps/color guard thing, and it's possibly even gayer than performing in drag. So of course I love it! (video link here)

It is one of the great things about being a gay man that you can participate in something like this, something you loved in your youth, and you not only don't have to apologize or be embarrassed about it, you can celebrate it! I call that Gay Privilege.

Watch the video above for their signature number (from the movie "Bring It On") as published by the group, or watch this video of the same number, which gives you a little better view of the group performing (vs. close-ups), plus has some funny candid footage at the end.

Foreign Correspondence: Follow Up

Our foreign correspondent reports back with a few videos of the Easter celebrations in San Fran.

A slideshow of the Easter Bonnet competition.

"In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it ..."

A few short clips from the Hunky Jesus contest.

Look at the size of this crowd, that's more gay people than exist in Detroit!

Breck Girl Jesus!

Sanjaya Jesus!

Foreign Correspondence: San Francisco

Just a little fun for Easter in San Fran. It was a lovely day, and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence had their annual festivities: Children's Easter Party, Bonnet Contest, and Hunky Jesus Contest.

Our San Francisco correspondent reports.

We headed down to Dolores Park this morning since it was a beautiful sunny day here in SF. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were out in full force with the nice weather and crowd. Great outfits, hats and freaks a-plenty.

The Hunky Jesus Contest saw a few really good ones; Jesus Christ Superstar, or as they were introduced "Jesus and his bitches."

There was Old School Jesus carrying a huge wooden cross, Pogo-stick Jesus whose hair flowed as he bounced up and down on his pogo stick, Easy Rider Jesus who wore a vintage yellow motorcycle helmet and yellow pants and proceeded to strip down to nothing, and Peeps Jubilee Jesus who had a hat made entirely of Peeps, which he then lit in on fire - on his head - to a blazing bush of Peeps. It was hot!

San Francisco is fucking awesome. When Detroit chews me up and spits me out, that's where you'll find me.