I'm actually horrified

It takes a lot to actually upset me (clarifying that "anger" is different from "upset") but I just read this article on Slate.com and I actually feel nauseous.

"Sexual Reorientation: The Gay Culture War is about to Turn Chemical" discusses how the increased understanding of the biological factors that differentiate homosexuals from heterosexuals may actually lead to the scientific "adjustment" of sexual orientation in the womb. With scary endorsements of the possibility from the usual right-wing religious wingnuts (Southern Baptists, Roman Catholics). And hypothetically, parents might endorse it too:

If the idea of chemically suppressing homosexuality in the womb horrifies you, I have bad news: You won't be in the room when it happens. Parents control medical decisions, and surveys indicate that the vast majority of them would be upset to
learn that their child was gay. Already, millions are screening embryos and fetuses to eliminate those of the "wrong" sex. Do you think they won't screen for the "wrong" sexual orientation, too?

One observer on a national gay online forum made the following astute comment:

What's amazing to me is that, for centuries, we were persecuted on the basis that our orientation was a crime against nature, a contravention of natural law.

Now that we find out that homosexuality actually is part of nature, the same people want to use human agency and science to change nature. Precisely the crime they were accusing us of all along.

In a world careening toward overpopulation it's difficult to determine exactly what problems the existence of homosexuality cause. But obviously, millions of people still have a difficult time with it. It's horrifying to think that we as a people are still exploring ways for a majority to suppress a natural minority like this, since, you know, eugenics has worked out so well in the past.

Lady Elaine Fairchilde

Was she a lesbian?

Does she drink too much or is that rosacea?

Does she suffer from fibromyalgia?

Is she really British nobility?

So many questions.

Gay Movie of the Week

As mentioned previously, Tuesday Nights Doggy Style at the Park Bar are changing for the summer.

Game nights are mellow, casual nights. We will show video compilations and have relaxed, adult conversation over alcoholic beverages.

On non-game nights, however, we will enjoy the Gay Movie of the Week. These are films that as a culturally literate gay or gay-friendly American you must know. Just so you can make jokes at a cocktail party.

Kicking things off next Tuesday night will be the modern camp classic "Showgirls."

There is nothing and everything gay about this film. Come and enjoy it with the masses.

Like John McCain says, See You Next Tuesday!

Heel-arious

OK, all I am going to say is ... someone needs to relax.

High heels for babies. Your whorey teenager, 14 years premature! Inspired by "Kayla" and "Brook," the daughters of "Britta" and "Hayden."



I am pretty glad to be gay, but I don't think I've ever been happier than this moment right now.

I see your True Colors

Can I say ... the True Colors tour was absolutely an amazing time! What started out as a chance to enjoy a lovely outdoor concert and see some favorite performers turned into a life-affirming great evening.

DTE Music Energy Theater or whatever it's called was pretty full for a Wednesday night show.

The place was overflowing with lesbians. Now if you're like me, lesbians really bring joy to your heart. They are so mysterious and hidden and really kind of above it all, it can be like viewing a superior race. Gay men can be desperate for approval!

I'm generalizing, of course. But there is a reason that in the Hierarchy of Cool it's the cool lesbians who rate highest. Tied for second below them are cool gay men and cool straight women, and poor cool straight men come in third. (Sorry guys.) It's that "I'm not buying into the game" thing that really sets lesbians apart. To wit: Patricia Field, Marlene Dietrich and Jodie Foster. And locally, who is cooler in the Detroit gay world than Jackie Victor and Ann Perrault of Avalon International Breads? Need I say more?

[Note: if it's any consolation, when it comes to Not Cool things are the opposite. Not Cool straight guys are cooler than Not Cool Gay Men/Straight Women who are cooler than Not Cool Lesbians. God divides.]

Anyway, there was like a 60/40 female/male split at the place, plenty of cool and uncool of all persuasions with plenty of straight people mixed in. The weather was great.

The opening bands were really good! OK, well, we didn't get there right at 6pm so we missed the first two. But we caught Tegan and Sara, a band led by sisters (one cool straight and one cool lesbian) who were so fantastic, you absolutely must check out their music. And I can't speak for the entire Cliks performance, but during Cyndi's performance trans lead singer Lucas came out and sang "Time After Time" and "Money Changes Everything" and his voice was AMAZING.

Do I need to review the whole rest of the show? I mean, it was the B-52's, who played some of their great classics, standing there like Party Superheros during their blow-out performance of "Rock Lobster." And Cyndi. She was belting it out while crawling over the crowd and she couldn't have been more fantastic. And she sang "When You Were Mine," my fave Cyndi song ever.

Rosie O'Donnell did some stand up and reminded us just why she is so endearing and so relevant. And Carson Kressley was fantastic as emcee.

There are many reviews online about the tour, they are worth a read (and will save me the full re-cap). This one summed things up nicely, although it featured a slightly different lineup. If you have a chance to check the tour out, by all means do. And if you can check out the younger bands that toured, you won't be sorry. Queer music in the 21st century seems to be in great shape.

Giving Props

Between the Lines, SE Michigan's GLBT weekly, has a story in this week's issue about the Detroit Guerrilla Queer Bar! A cover story no less. This is great and long-overdue recognition of one of the few really interesting grassroots things going on in our gay community today. Well, in my opinion.

When it comes to Between the Lines, I'm a fan. I do think they have a tendency to underreport gay goings-on in the City of Detroit, and sometimes the quality of the journalism can be inconsistent (I get the sense the writing staff skews young). But they are great about being a political voice for the GLBT community, and it's also an excellent place to find out about local cultural events.

Poster children.

The Guerrillas article is a little silly but nice, and it's great that the point about featuring Detroit venues is made (although of course they mention the stupid Guerrilla field trip to the Emery in Ferndale. Cuz it's all about Ferndale. But why quibble?)

Let's hope this is the beginning of a trend, and BTL continues to look south of 8 Mile Road for some of the other compelling gay stories in the big city.

Music Makes the Gay People Come Together

I was pretty happy to see that the True Colors tour, the multi-act tour and benefit for the Human Rights Campaign that was apparently so much fun last year, was touring again this year, and the Detroit area rated a stop this year! Woo hoo! I think it's like the Cher "Never Can Say Good-Bye" tour - each year the venues lose a little cachet until you're playing dinner theater in Branson. So I guess ... good for us that we made the second year, right?

Well Detroit's no gay mecca, that's established, but tomorrow night DTE Music Theater (or Pine Knob, if you are olde school like myself) is the mecca for gays, and you - like me - can go see this year's True Colors tour!

The show is headlined by Cyndi Lauper (joy) and the B-52's (bliss), and some great new bands including Tegan & Sara, The Cliks and The White Tie Affair. It's not the giant super-slate of performers you see on the website because apparently it is a rotating cast, but if you have never seen Cyndi Lauper perform then you are in for a real treat. And hey, Rosie and Carson will be there!

Cyndi fights for your right and looks fabulous.

The weather is going to be beautiful tomorrow evening, and who doesn't love a lovely outdoor show at Pine Knob? Oh Pine Knob, the memories ... did I ever tell you about the first boy who ever hit on me? I was 17, the Eurythmics were performing "There Must Be an Angel Playing with My Heart," a boy asked me if I wanted to go to Backstage after the concert. "You have backstage passes??" ... "No, it's a gay bar in Detroit" ... I hem and haw and run away. An awkward beginning to an auspicious life as an award-winning professional homosexual!

The show starts tomorrow at 6pm and tickets are still available - $17 for a big gay lawn party, can you beat that?! Grab a gay and go!

My Prayer for Detroit

Via Darren in NYC.

We are the champions, mes amis

Well apparently the Red Wings are some kinds of champions now. All I really know is that people look stupid in hockey jerseys unless they are actually playing hockey.

I watched the last few minutes of the game at the Park Bar last night, which was packed with a shockingly large number of very cute men. A good number, by our estimation, homosexualists themselves. It was a nice distraction for me, since I don't really care about sports. I told my friends I'd get excited about hockey when they get excited about the Tony Awards (coming to television Sunday, June 15! Three hours packed with more talent than all the other award shows of the year combined!). Some guy from the Stone Temple Pilots (they played at the Fillmore down the street) was there too, entourage intact.

There were loud cheers and yelling when the Red Wings won, of course. Cars and a bit of revelry in the streets, cop cars everywhere. I was happy for everyone. I just wish we could get something good going on around here besides sports. I think it sets a poor standard for celebration etiquette, kind of this "barbarians at the gate" motif.

Taking the Queen-inspired subject line of this post and making a bit of a stretch, here's a fabu Pepsi commercial that never aired in the U.S., featuring Pink, Beyonce and (wait for it, wait for it ...) Britney Spears in her prime. As well as a very hot Amr Diab.

[thanks, once again, to Fabulon]

A Doggy Style Summer

I only care about sports inasmuch as they impact my quality of life living downtown (which they often do, negatively). However they are a fact of life, so sometimes we have to work around them.

Because of the changes ballgames bring about, I thought I'd give an update on what to expect with Doggy Style over the summer.

First off, Doggy Style is still happening every Tuesday night at the Park Bar, so come down and bring your friends! Except tonight. Tonight is a night off, brought about by rain and poor planning.

On nights when there is a Tigers game, we will continue our policy of starting the videos about 20 minutes after the game ends. The videos shown after games will be reruns of compilations we played during the winter/spring, but odds are you will enjoy seeing them again (as they are very enjoyable).

On non-game nights we will alternate Gay Movie of the Week (such as Showgirls, Mommie Dearest and The Women) and movie singalongs (such as The Sound of Music and Grease). There will also be the intermittent new video compilation, but rest assured I'll notify you about that.

To see if a particular Tuesday is a game night, you can check the schedule on the Detroit Tigers website.

I'll keep you posted here, and if you'd like to be added to my little e-mail reminder list please email me at supergaydetroit@gmail.com.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a music video clip I made from an old 45 that friends brought to Doggy Style for me earlier this year. Enjoy Disco Lucy.

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.

My current obsession ...

... is this video clip for the 1976 British television series "Rock Follies." I don't know too much about the series but here's what I do know:

* the music for the show - including this song - had the music written by Andy Mackay of Roxy Music

* the woman in the middle is Rula Lenska, and if you are old enough (like me) and wondering why you know that name, you may remember her in the Alberto VO5 tv commercials from the late 70's that started out with "I'm Rula Lenska ..." as if she were actually a US celebrity, which she wasn't. A funny take on that here.

* their cable management system is tremendous.

* this clip is fucking fantastic. I hope it changes your life like it did mine.

Boys and girls, I give you "Biba Nova."

[thanks to Fabulon!]

Rooms with a View

It's really the perfect morning: a gorgeous clear blue sky, a cool breeze blowing in the window smelling like early summer, the trees over the Mies van der Rohe townhouses finally their full leafy green, Blondie's Parallel Lines on the turntable and a cup of coffee. It never gets old.

The New York Times had a Real Estate feature on their website over the weekend with these two gay guys who bought an apartment in Lincoln Center. Their place was really, really unexceptional, although I highly approve of their sofas (although not the fabric choice) since I have the same one. They kept talking about how the view is just completely the focus of the place and I was like, I totally relate. I did want them to put in some fresh flowers or something before the Times photographer came in, though. Anything, an orchid, whatever.

My morning view.

The weather was just as great yesterday at Motor City Pride in Ferndale. I headed up there around 4:30 so I could help judge the Canine to Five Doggie Drag Show, which was a VERY fun event.

Motor City Pride is so different from what you get in other cities, and it takes you a little while to adjust to the small-town feel of it. Once you do, though, it's really really great. The people watching is fantastic, and everyone is in such a happy mood.

I was happy to see the black gay community present in relatively large numbers, and who knew there were so many black lesbians? Oh my God, it was nuts. And actually, the lesbians were out in big numbers in general. I guess they're not always invisible.

The entertainment, while maybe not name-brand, was quite good. Yes it skewed a little folky (while I was there) but you know, it's live music at a Pride festival. The Madonna impersonator was fun but oh my God, I have a better voice than she does. Credit to her for getting the outfits and choreography and a live band and everything, but my goodness, a voice coach couldn't hurt. Of course it being a set of Madonna songs you shortly forget about the specifics and just get into the groove. (It had to be said.)

I stopped into the new Affirmations community center, since I hadn't checked it out yet, and it made me happy. I don't know what goes on there all the time, but the space is really great, and they have a really nice library of GLBT literature and film. I was amazed and astounded by it. I fully plan on going back to check the place out on an "off" day.

Also making me extremely happy was the large gay youth presence. I'd guess there were kids there as young as 16 running around with their friends, holding hands with boyfriends/girlfriends, dancing on the always-packed dancefloor and just generally having fun.

There was a bit of a divide between the 9 Mile section, with the stages for live performances, which skewed more lesbian and the next street over, Troy (which had the dancefloor as well as the back yard of the bar "9"), which skewed more gay male. I guess not too surprising.

I only really missed seeing two contingents that one usually expects to see at a Pride day - the upwardly mobile gay crowd (and lesbian too, to a lesser extent) and drag queens. I guess the guppie crowd kind of saves their Pride for bigger events in Toronto and Chicago. And I guess we perhaps have a dearth of drag queens in the area.

As I wrapped things up for the day I spent a little time watching the dancefloor and just had to smile at the variety of people dancing - some serious, some seriously out there. I don't always feel connected to the gay community, perhaps just from being out of the thick of it for so long, but it does give me a lot of joy to see the community come together.

I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do post-Pride until I got a call from a friend who said come on over and hang on the roof of his building downtown. Another awesome view, and hanging with a friend discussing your individual gay problems, gripes and good times while watching the day come to a close was the perfect denouement for a really lovely gay pride day.

Not a bad way to end a gay pride Sunday.

June is busting out all over

This, my friends, is a classic. It's from some tribute to Rodgers & Hammerstein filmed on the Mall in Washington, DC - probably from the late '80's since Stacey Keach is the emcee. Leslie Uggums [note: we are misspelling her last name because all the videos with her name properly spelled have been removed from the internet] gives an unforgettable performance.

Tune in to see a real star turn it around when she forgets the words to a song on national television!

Hucka the bajeepers!

June Is Bustin' Out All Over

"Spice" Girl

Doggy Style this past week was fun, but I'm glad to be going into summer reruns. I love making the compilations but man, that's a lot of time doing that shit.

In compiling this final Doggy Style DVD I put in a clip from a movie from my distant past, and it reminded me of a funny story.

The movie is Spice World, starring, of course, the Spice Girls. I guess this was what, like ten years ago? I actually went and saw it in the theater something like five times with the guy I was seeing then. Now before you judge, it is a very funny movie. When you are totally high.

Five girls. Five days. One bathroom.

The guy I was dating, Brian, was kind of a high-on. Not in a hippy way, but in a recreational way. I was never big on the pot thing before, but I gave it a go because it was fun with him, and I was so crazy in love. So every other Friday or so we'd go to a movie and get high beforehand and then go in and be stupid. It was fun, back at a time when I wasn't working on something seven days a week and had the weekend to shed the pot haze.

Spice World was surprisingly hilarious, and we laughed our asses off the first time we saw it. The second time was even better because we'd forgotten all the funny parts until just before they happened and then we'd remember and laugh again at both the gag and the memory. The third time I think we fell asleep. The fourth time we brought his old housemate and she was not quite as amused, which was a little bit of a buzzkill.

The last time we saw it at the dollar show, and we were surprised to hear a group of people sitting a few rows back laughing at all the same things we laughed at. We were like "all right!" When the movie ended we looked back to see who these obvious geniuses were.

It turns out - how do I put this delicately? - it was a short bus-full of "challenged" kids on a special group outing. Needless to say, that was our last trip to see that work of cinematic genius.

Well, at least until our birthdays (they were the same week). Then there were gifts of Spice Girl dolls and Spice World VHS tapes. I still have complete sets of both the Spice Girl dolls and the Spice Girl On Tour dolls (mint in box!) from this period of cultural excellence! (make me an offer ...)

I had to lay off the ganja later that year because my professional life ramped up and I couldn't handle the brain haze I always had for a day or two after getting high. And then the relationship kind of imploded in a really horrible way, so the Spice Girls ended up in a box in the basement, along with the other detritus (emotional and otherwise) from that period.

Dusting off that movie this week was fun, though. Those were really good times for a while there. Brian died three years ago, but today was his birthday so I thought it would be kind of nice to post a fun memory of him. Those great loves always kind of live on, don't they?

What also lives on is the Spice Girls, although sadly I was not motivated enough to go to their reunion tour. Why bother, when you can just log on and watch this?

Go to Gay Pride. Do it!

As I mentioned in my breakfast rant, this Sunday is Motor City Pride, the Detroit area's gay pride extravaganza.

Extravaganza is possibly a strong word, but it's a our big street festival in Ferndale. And it seems like this year more than most recent years it might be a good time to get out and make your presence known.

I know our Pride event here has a bum rap, and compared to most major cities it's not quite in the "amazing" category (I almost wept when I saw the Milwaukee PrideFest website, it looks like so much fun). It's SUPER early in the Pride season - June is Gay Pride Month on account of the Stonewall Riots happening the third weekend in June - and it's not a parade or anything.

But it's worlds away from the Pride festivals from when I first moved back to Michigan, when they were held in a parking deck in Royal Oak (yes that's right). Now it is orchestrated by the Triangle Foundation - some of the Metro Detroit gay community's heaviest lifters - and is a full street festival. It's verrry interesting people watching and solid family fun!

And as for the lackluster reviews, well who really is to blame if a community's Pride event is not as great as it could be? I think ... the community is. As with gay bars, a gay community gets the Pride event it deserves. We aren't going to make it any better by sitting it out - higher attendance means better sponsorships and a better event next year!

This isn't intended as a tepid endorsement of Motor City Pride, but I'm a little angry today so this is what you get. I'd really like to encourage everyone to put aside any city/suburb rivalries and go, just to show the tiniest bit of community solidarity, and maybe make some new lesbigay friends!

Motor City Pride includes a mass commitment ceremony Saturday day, a movie event Saturday night (featuring a new film starring Tori Spelling!), and the Street Festival on Sunday from noon onward. Oh and lest I forget, there will be a Doggie Drag Show at 5pm sponsored by none other than our friends at Canine to Five!

Wrong Side of the Bed

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today so I'm gonna bitch about this region we live in for a just a minute.

I try to be circumspect about living here, and recognize the negatives while keeping in mind the many positives. I like how living in Detroit exposes me to so many different people, and prevents me from living in a bubble, able to ignore problems just because I don't see them. I feel like it keeps me aware of the importance of social justice, and also challenges me to keep an open mind to other people's perspectives. I feel like these are advantages over many other cities, including San Francisco and certainly Chicago.

HAVING SAID THAT, I am so fucking irritated with this backwater right now I could spit, and there are just so many things throwing me off my game. It's the horrible irony that the California Supreme Court affirmed gay marriage the same week the Michigan Supreme Court affirms the anti-gay marriage amendment's sweeping smackdown of rights for gays & lesbians. It's the multiple debacles at the Coleman A Young Municipal Center. It's the fact that overall we've got a population so full of lotus eaters that they turn down every proposal that could conceivably move this region forward in favor of policy that promotes a drive to the mall.

If you are straight you are probably not aware of the extent of the marriage discussion in the gay community right now. What the people of Michigan have done is relegate themselves to "backwater" status, right up there with Mississippi. There is absolutely no conceivable reason for a gay person to move to Michigan right now without an impetus such as a job, school or family. And even then, don't expect them to stay long.

And as a bonus, it doesn't end there! Not only did we send a big "fuck you" to the gay community, but the educated and creative types the powers-that-be keep trying to attract aren't exactly turned on by the idea of a state that is so openly hostile to gay people. As an example of this discussion, here is a post from a gay online forum based in New York that I occasionally read. There was a thread asking which is the best non-Ivy League school, UVa or U of Michigan (and included a discussion of UC-Berkeley):

Sorry - Michigan is over. The state's new law prohibiting any form of gay-partner rights has already stopped them from being able to recruit new teachers.

Academic friends of mine say that within a decade, Michigan will fall into the second tier unless the state relaxes its grip.

I know it's just a post on an online forum, but that's the tenor of the discussion.

Of course this weekend is the annual Mackinac Policy Conference, and Crain's Detroit Business has a group of attendees blogging for them while attending. The conference, which really does bring all the movers and shakers (and hangers-on) in Michigan together, has a couple big themes this year. And the one I keep hearing about over and over and over is "how do we keep young people from leaving Michigan after college?"

Now is it just me, or is that one of the dumbest goals in the history of time? Why in the world would you want to keep someone from leaving Michigan at age 22 to explore other cities, regions and even countries? Do we really need to encourage the provincialism that exists here? And at an age when people are actually able to pick up and move around, no less! If you love them, let them go!

It seems to me we need to do a better job of attracting these people back at age 30, when they have lived different, more urban or cosmopolitan lives. And when they have more disposable income, higher expecations and more refined tastes. At 30 they are at a point where they might want to take advantage of the great housing buys, the lower cost of living, the proximity to their families when raising kids. There is also real opportunity here for people with an entrepreneurial drive, with low barriers to entry and a real chance not just to succeed but to stand out.

And what does a fleet of 23-year olds bring to the table? I mean, they will rent apartments and work entry-level jobs and spend money at the bar and eat at cheap restaurants. And then get tired of living here by 27 and move on to where they think there is more excitement, burned out on Michigan and less likely to return than they were had we graciously let them leave after school. I'm not sure exactly how that changes what we've got now.

It's just my opinion, but I really think the people leading these discussions about change are really missing the boat (as I mentioned in this post late last year). It probably doesn't help that they aren't on the street - they tend to be policy makers or planners or work for foundations. And they mostly live in the suburbs, even if they work in the city, and skew toward middle age. They should be entrepreneurs who know the business vibe and talk to people every day, young people who can articulate what they want for themselves, and developers who can defend why they can't (or won't) do anything remotely architecturally interesting that might create some draw. And how about the creative types who are already here in droves? The ones no one seems to talk to (let alone support) as they search for this elusive "creative class" they can't really even define? Policy-makers can lead the discussion, but they shouldn't be providing the content.

From a gay perspective, what I have been most shocked to find, in the Detroit area at least, is how the gay community isn't even part of the conversation. We're not just absent from the table, we're absent from the actual content. Not a single straight person I know (outside of Ann Arbor) said anything about the Michigan Supreme Court decision. Not one. I don't even think they know about it.

Of course the gay community hasn't exactly been vocal about it either - they seem content to let straight white men do the heavy lifting (and bless their hearts, they are doing it). Where are the street demonstrations? Hell, this Sunday is Motor City Pride in Ferndale, let's see how many people turn out for even that.

Right now I need a sign that something here can be remotely progressive, that the people aren't hopelessly apathetic, and that leadership actually might be capable of a fraction of what seems so effortless to other cities (including Chicago).

I mean, seriously. Anything. I'm easy.

WSGD - Supergay Radio

Did I tell you guys about the last time I was on the radio? I can't even remember. Anyway, I am going to be on Detroit Public Radio again tomorrow, for those of you who are interested in finding out just how nasal my voice is on the radio.

I'll be on during the "Detroit Today" program, reading a piece I wrote about weddings. It's expected to air around 10:40AM on 101.9FM here in Detroit, or streaming at www.wdet.org. I believe there will be an archive of the show in the "Detroit Today" section of the site.

Tune in!

[Edit: Here is the link to the story.]

Doggy Style Update

I was sitting in my apartment Tuesday afternoon, gazing out at the trees in bloom in Lafayette Park and at the beautiful sunset, and thought to my self, "What the fuck am I doing stuck inside like this?" Of course the answer was creating the video compilation for Doggy Style at the Park Bar.

Now that the weather is nice I am less inclined to take a day out of my week to create these things (not that I don't love doing it), so Doggy Style is going to undergo a little change.

The next two weeks will be the last weeks with original compilations for a while. Doggy Style is going into summer re-runs (and with four months of content put together we've got plenty to run through). We will show previously-viewed compilations, perhaps a gay movie or two, and word on the street is that there will be a Sound of Music sing-a-long soon!

It'll still be fun, and I am sure I'll put together a few new compliations as well. I'll keep you posted.

The next two weeks will be tremendous, however! This Tuesday, May 20, will be Doggy Style's Greatest Hits. Everyone's favorite clips will be shown on one amazing evening!

Tuesday, May 27, is the Birthday Edition - there are a few significant birthdays over the Memorial Day weekend (mine included) so it will be a big video extravaganza! I've been saving up lots of good stuff for this one ... it's not to be missed!

In June, the gay fun continues on Tuesdays, it'll just be ... less work for me.

(this photo was removed from my MySpace page as sexually explicit!)

Pulp Friction

Long before the days of the internet, the Logo Network, Will and Grace or even Blueboy magazine, there was the lascivious world of paperback sleaze. A guy had to get his gay fix somehow.

The site Gay on the Range has an amazing collection of cover scans of these books from the 60's (and earlier). Have yourself a good chuckle and check them out.

It's like Grosse Pointe Gay except the wives aren't drunk.

A NYT review! Oh I miss the gay underworld...

Don't they have a custodian for that job?

All the drama! All the intrigue! All the pre-lubing!

I'm off to New York, kids, have a great weekend!

Mother

With Mother's Day just a brunch away, I thought I would send you a few vids to get you in the mood.

Happy Mother's Day, moms!

"My son is gay"

"My Day"

Mommie Dearest vs. Mamma Mia

Win a Butt

OK, I was going through some old internet bookmarks and came across the site for Atlantis gay cruises. At first I wasn't exactly sure why I had it bookmarked, because I am not really the gay cruising type (wait ...). Then I remembered that an old (old) friend sent it to me because my very first boyfriend was in one of the pictures on that site. It really is a small gay world.

So a free copy of Butt magazine goes out to the first person to correctly identify the guy who was my very first boyfriend at this link. He is in one of the photos on the page or in the rotating photo header. Friends dating back to 1990 are ineligible to win.

[edit and a hint: holy shit, he's actually in two pictures on that site. I hope he got a free cruise or something.]

Nothing like a production number ...

... to chase away those rainy day blahs! Here's a little Carmen Miranda to brighten up your afternoon. If "The Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat" doesn't do it for you, the big bananas should!

Share the love

Hey kids, do me a favor.

Tell five friends about Supergay Detroit. Or remind five friends. I would like you to share the love. And God knows word-of-mouth is my only recourse.

(click for a larger version)

You can use this graphic to help! I think it captures the spirit of Supergay Detroit nicely. (merci to Fabulon for the image.) And come to Doggy Style.

Besos,

SG

"House Beautiful" is right!

After I wrote about Hawkins Ferry and his impact on the overall fabulousness of SE Michigan, I heard from a couple readers who had some additional info on him. One regular reader tipped me off to the fact that Ferry's home had been published in House Beautiful back in 1969, and was even so kind as to give me a mimeograph of a page of it that had the house floorplans.

Obviously that was not enough for me and I had to see the entire feature, and recently my ebay searching bore fruit. Turns out Hawkins not only had a feature, he was the cover story. Naturally. Man, I've got a lot of catching up to do.

All this AND a feature called "Swing to Leather!"

It's a great spread and you get to see all the awesome furniture (hi, have a little Knoll) and art. I LOVE that he had a Giacometti in the living room, and in one photo you can see the awesome Bertoia sculpture "The Comet" that was only recently removed from the house by the Detroit Institute of Arts for restoration. And those upstairs porches outside the bedrooms are a verrrry nice touch.

Because I am a giver, I have taken the time to scan in the feature and I am posting it here. House Beautiful of that time was oversized and my scanner is normal-sized, so I had to perform unspeakable acts on the spine of that magazine and piece together two scans per page to get it, so please forgive the occasional obvious line where two images were joined. It looked fine in my graphics program but something about the conversion to jpg messed it up. Deal.

Each picture links to a larger version, and if you would like a hi-res PDF of the feature you can download it here (it is 30MB).
 
Ooooo and I got a little gossip too. I found out that Hawkins indeed had a boyfriend, a fellow who was Grosse Pointe gay. I have his name, but if you want it you'll have to ask realllllly nicely.

While I Was Out ...

I am sorry for not posting anything lately, but I am a busy professional.

The DAADS Benefit Preview Party for the Modernism Show was great fun, mostly because I love pretty things. I don't do much shopping typically because what I really love is weird unique shopping and that can be an infrequent option here. But when I get it I rejoice, so obviously a civic center full of cool booths of modern love was exactly what I needed.

Of course the place was gayer than a Key West Christmas, both in terms of vendors and guests. One of the most fabulous booths had about sixteen things in it that cost a small fortune and a mincing Manhattan art dealer looking down his nose at people passing through. Or maybe it was just me. Regardless, his stuff was flawless.

The most wonderful thing about the party was that I ran into so many people I haven't seen in forever, and I mean that in the best way. Suffice to say, it didn't disappoint (except for the fact that everything I loved was a little too expensive).

After the benefit a whole slew of us gays went down to D'Mongo's Speakeasy in Capitol Park.

Now D'Mongo's has been open since last summer, and has been uber cool for a while. I referenced it in my post about "The Deuce" last fall, and I finally made it in a few months ago. It's only open on Fridays, which makes it a difficult stop for a popular scenester with a full calendar like myself.

I took a bunch of photos once when we were there earlier this year, but I hesitated to post about it because honestly, I didn't want to promote it too much. It's an insanely cool spot, not overly fancy, just really authentic and perfect. And I didn't want it to be overrun with people who just don't get it. So I held off about the posting.

HOWEVER, since then the Detroit News and Model D have blown the code of silence about D'Mongo's (I expected more from you, Model D, please learn to keep a secret a secret), so I guess it's ok to tell you that I love it.

Check those links above for the history, but it really feels like the old time Detroit place that was mothballed for a decade that it is. Actually it kind of smells like mothballs until the smokers kick in. The crowd skews accessible hipster, the space is just a gas, and the entertainment varies from awesome whoa to awesome wow.

The little photo montage below will give you an idea of one of my early visits this winter ... the cool staff, the girl playing her autoplay Casio keyboard for entertainment (she was brilliant, by the way), the candles that melted over the years but stayed in their candle holders, the ... well, go check it out for yourself. It's really just great. Just don't be one of those douchebags who showed up last week with cigars and Bayview Yacht Club golf shirts. Thanks again new media.

If I really cared, these photos would align perfectly.

SASS the following night was once again the feel-good gay hipster dance party of the year. I don't what to say that I haven't said before, but I spent half the night just kind of watching it all with a happy glow in my heart. I swear to God you could throw a boutique run by Stirling in there and it's Todd's 1987 all over again (I am remembering that correctly, aren't I?)

Oh and to wrap it all up, Doggy Style has continued to be the fun meeting spot for downtown gays that it was intended to be. I have to say it has exceeded my expectations. My expectations, of course, being me and five friends. But exceeding even exceeded expectations was last Tuesday when, late in the night, the lights were turned down, Nina Simone was turned up, a woman removed her top and we were gifted with the twirling breasts of fire. Doggy Style is on fire.

Guest Blogger: Woodward's Friend

It's time for another guest blog post from our pal, Woodward's Friend. This time around the story isn't specifically gay, but it's a nice downtown slice-of-life story and I think you'll see why I wanted to post it.

Dear Supergay,

I was at the RenCen Marriott for a meeting Friday, and so was the Benny Hinn revival. Benny Hinn (for those of you who don't know) is a faith healer. He's a rock star in the voodoo doll/witch doctor sects of Protestantism.

I'm on the elevator with a couple of true believers and some normal people when one of the Normals asks, "Who is Benny Hinn?" The True Believers - dressed in their finest Branson-chic couture - are shocked that someone is unaware of a man as great and Godly as Benny Hinn. A True Believer responds, "He's a very great man anointed by God."

No one says a word. What can one say to that? Our silence upset the True Believers, apparently, because the woman turns around and adds in a cold and angry voice, "Very anointed."

I doubt you Godless heathens knew that there are degrees of anointedness. I like to think of myself as having transactional anointedness. Glory be...

It's very weird coming face-to-face with the true believers of faith healing. One would think such an experience would humanize these people and create some empathy for them. I had the opposite reaction. These people are third-rate morons who deserve the fleecing they get from hacks like Benny Hinn. I don't wish to rationalize a rank conman like Hinn but Jesus H. Christ people, God gave you a brain and that God-given brain should be telling you that no one, let alone a guy in a tacky suit, can cure your gout with a thump on the forehead.

(To read Woodward's Friend's last entry, click here)

If that's wrong then I don't wanna be right.

The Detroit City Council has been getting a lot of media love lately. It's kind of thrilling.

I don't like to get too worked up about goings-on in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center because, frankly, it's a bit of a freakshow. It's a shame, really, because a lot of real work does get done there, but you wouldn't know it from the insanity that occasionally ensues.

But I do have to remark about something that is actually kind of sweet that happens once a year in the Council Chambers. On her birthday each year Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins wears her birthday tiara to work.

Guess who just walked in wearing the SAME TIARA?

As far as BRC goes, I am not one of her fans. I worked for the U.S. House of Representatives in DC when she was a Congresswoman and thought she was a half-wit then, and I think she's a half-wit now. But people really seem to have latched onto her tiara-wearing as a symptom of the whole city's dysfunction, and I don't think that's fair. As a matter of fact, I don't think I want to live in a city where you can't wear a tiara on your birthday.

So keep it up BRC. You get a pass on the tiara from me. And I'm not even going to comment on the shoulder pads. Happy belated birthday.

What do I have to do to convince you to go?

Check out this video: Don’t Worry Darlings - Sass is Here

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An iTunes Editorial

You know how on iTunes there is that option to share your playlists over a network? You probably never gave it much thought. I know I didn’t. Well, until yesterday.

On my home computer I turned on sharing at one point to see how it worked and never bothered to turn it off. Every once in a while a neighbor’s playlist will show up in that left-hand pane, although typically the network connection is not strong enough for me to view the songs on the other computer. This is does not appear to be a problem for my neighbors, however.

Yesterday I was playing some music and saw the name of a shared playlist turn up in my list. Apparently one of my neighbors felt a need to weigh in on how gay he/she thought my music preferences are, because there in that little left-hand pane was a new playlist that seemed quite clearly to be a message to me.

It was named YOU LIKE PENIS.

Well I never.

Sass is back!

The best gay hipster dance party in the history of Detroit is back! Hurray for SASS!

If you want to know how great I think it is, read this post from last summer.

Saturday, April 19. OSLO. 10pm. $10.

You will not be sorry. I promise.

Subtlety Is Everything ... Except on Fabulon

I like to hoard my sources for cool shit and gay amusement. I prefer to keep this website the portal and mete it out in a miserly fashion, giving just enough to keep you checking in from time to time and wondering "where does he find this stuff?"

But today I am in a giving mood, so I am going to share a great gay website that is about three times more fun than this one and about seven times more fabulous. It is FABULON, a site featuring "A Galaxy of Glamour ~ Camp and Kitsch ~ Extreme Fabulosity ~ Divine Decadence ~ Delusions of Grandeur ~ Art and Artifice ~ the Sacred Feminine ~ the Gay Agenda." How can you stay away?

Well the truth is you cannot, because this is a website that contains frequent posts (they got me there) that are brief (and again) and witty (humor me on that one). Mostly just a photo and a quip, sometimes a little video. Recent posts feature Carol Channing and safety gays, the Pizzicato Five, handbags of the fifties and Bea Arthur. I know! Below is one of my fave recent entries. For maximum enjoyment, please pay extra close attention when viewing.

Somewhere on Fabulon ...

A new wig is being enjoyed.

Looking for some hot DAADS?

If you are gay then there is a very good chance you are into classic modern design. Urbane gays in the '80's were some of the earliest revivers of mid-century modern as an aesthetic choice, way before there was a bona fide resurgence. I hesitate to say we spearheaded the revival ... but only for a moment. When people were giving away Heywood-Wakefield dining tables and Bertoia Diamond Chairs and Eames Loungers, gays were taking them in and making them a part of their faboo new decor.

A Donelan cartoon that appeared in the Advocate back in the eighties.

Of course back then it was called "retro" and the aesthetics pretty closely mirrored those of the original period, with maybe a slight emphasis on the camp element of it all. Well we've come a long way, baby. Classic modern (as it is now called) is everywhere, and not only has it been revived, it's been assimilated, reinterpreted, restyled and ripped off. It's now a standard decorating element in any sophisticated decor.

The Detroit area has a few stores that specialize in vintage modern, notably Vertu in Royal Oak (just a few doors down from Pronto, if you need a landmark) and Xavier's 20th on Michigan Avenue in Corktown (just a little ways down from Slows, if you need a landmark). These places are great, but if you want a bigger, world-class selection of premium, hard-to-find, exclusive modern design then you have to check out the Michigan Modernism Exposition, which is next weekend at the Southfield Civic Center. And there is no better way to do that than at the Friday Night Preview Party, which as it turns out is also a benefit for the Detroit Area Art Deco Society.

Oh the good times I've had at the charity preview! And by good times I actually mean having a few drinks and then undertaking some frenzied scouting and lusting and purchasing of awesome classic modern things. It's been a few years since I've attended, but I used to go every year with one of my best friends who, as it turns out, is also an inveterate shopper.

The thing is, you have to go to the Preview Party to see the best stuff. Judging from our purchasing alone, by Saturday morning some amazing pieces were already removed from the selling floor. One year she bought this unbelievable orange and yellow Higgins Glass three-pendant ceiling fixture that I still pray she leaves to me should, God forbid, anything happen to her. Another year she bought some uber-glam Coppola e Toppo costume jewelry that not only looked great on her, but served me very well one year for a drag Halloween. And I snagged my Bertoia slat bench there (for a song, really) that is coveted by more than one friend.

That's the much-loved Bertoia bench there, underneath the memories.

But it's not just the buying that makes it great. Walking around, a glass of wine in hand, and discovering amazing things you've never seen before is the real treat. And sometimes finding out that cute little antelope sculpture you bought at Treasure Mart in Ann Arbor for $4.80 (discounted 20% because it had been there two months) was actually a Frederick Weinberg piece worth about $200 is exciting too.

Now I get invites to a lot of charity events and I've kind of gotten to the point where "it's for a good cause" really doesn't rope me in anymore. I need it to be fun, or interesting, or compelling in some way. So despite the fact that the charity preview is, in fact, for a good cause (read more about DAADS on their website), I can whole-heartedly recommend it as time and money well spent. It's Friday, April 18 from 7 to 10pm, $50 if you buy in advance, there are wine and hors d'oeuvres included, and jazzy live entertainment to boot.

Oh and did I forget to mention? It is always swarming with homosexualists.

So instead of just sitting around workin' your hole next Friday night, why don't you get out for a little once-a-year fabulous that could, ultimately, provide you with something to take home for a little year-round fabulous?

A little something good from our City Council

There is so much crappy news coming from the mayor's office in Detroit lately that our City Council is actually starting to look effective. And you KNOW things are grim when that's the case. I'm only half kidding.

In fairness, the foibles of the goings on in the Council Chamber are so often the subject of press coverage and the successes are so often ignored. So I want to congratulate the City Council on a great move they made today - 8 to 1 they voted to pass an ordinance that protects workers, residents and visitors from discrimination based on gender identity or expression.

For the layperson, that means transgendered people are now protected against discrimination in the city of Detroit.

I just want to take a moment and say THANK YOU to the City Council for a moment that not only shocked me in a good way, but makes me feel like I live someplace that is still remotely progressive. In case you didn't know, Detroit was one of the first major cities to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation (back in the 70's if I recall correctly - I'm too tired to google). At least in some instances, it's nice to see we're keeping up.

Well, except for Kwame Kenyatta. But you've seen his hats: it's clear he is completely invested in a different cultural imperative.

You can never have enough hats, gloves and shoes.

It must be spring ...

... because kids are playing outside behind Chrysler Elementary and the guy who plays the bagpipe in Lafayette Plaisance is back.

Thank God.

The beautiful beauty of Lafayette Park in spring.

Don't forget to have fun on Tuesday ...