The Existential Lip

NPR 3 Minute Fiction Contest Entry: "Counting for something"

2012-01-07T17:05:00.003-05:00

My entry to the NPR's 3 Minute Fiction contest this past fall. The piece may not have won -- or even received an honorable mention -- but it's probably the best thing I've ever written.

A BLADE OF GRASS, a weed, a twig—somethingin the mud beneath Dolores pokes her neck—and it hurts. She turns her head from side to side andwiggles her shoulders, but now the pricking pierces the soft skin behind herear. She wants to scream, but can’t.

“Uno, dos, tres…”

Dolores swallowshard and begins counting silently, knowing that when she reaches six hundred, shecan sit up. She learned this counting trick from the girl with the empty eyes, theone also from Chihuahua, who she never saw again. Often Dolores’s mind escapes, like the baby goats that wouldbreak loose from the embrace of her chubby arms when she was a toddler. In thepen behind their cinder-block house, Papá would catch one and let her hug it,but no matter how tightly she held on, the braying kid would scamper away. Herthoughts were like that—especially today.

Already losingher concentration, Dolores restarts with sixty.

“Sesenta, sesenta y uno...”

The pungent odorof sweat mixed with mud fills her nostrils. Dolores wants to see the sun and looksup. A thicket of reeds, like cathedral arches, blocks the light, but she knowsit’s a beautiful day. She saw the clear sky this morning as they were corralledinto vans and left San Diego. When they stopped by the side of a desolate road,the air was thick and hot. Doloreslonged to run away—barefoot and free. She hates the stilettos and polyester miniskirtsthey make her wear. Dolores walked down a cement slope and under the overpassthat crossed the San Luis Rey River. Already, she could see the hoarde of weather-beaten menshuffling around the reeds, farmhands looking for pleasure.

It’s happenedagain. Dolores is lost and must fix her attention. The sharp pressure againstthe back of her head makes her want to cry, so she squeezes her eyes shut.

“Tres cientos, tres cientos uno…”

Images passthrough her mind; she focuses on her task. Blocking out the faces of her farawayparents, she sets her mind on the numbers—and only the numbers. She doesn’t allowherself to ponder the beautiful dress Mamá had shown her months ago, a pink gownto be worn for her quinceñera.

To counter theimages, Dolores shouts inside her head.

“¡Cuatrocientos veintiseis! ¡cuatrocientos veintisiete!” She will notthink about Miguel, the older boy from school who tricked her into the car, whobeat her, violated her, and sent her away from her home, her friends, and herfamily.

“¡Quinientos once! ¡Quinientos doce! Dolores refuses to think about being marchedacross the border in the middle of the night, praying the American police wouldstop them and save her. She refuses to see the cockroach-infested hovel whereshe lives with the other kidnapped girls.

“¡Quinientos cuarenta y ocho! “¡Quinientos cuarenta y nueve!”

The egg timer, placed near the stained piece of carpet whereDolores lies prostrate, begins to ring. Six hundred seconds—ten minutes—hasended. The man with the mustache stands up, zips his fly, and walks away.

Dolores pulls down her skirt, though she knows it doesn’treally matter. There will be four more hours of lying on the ground with undocumentedworkers on top of her, each having paid twenty dollars for ten minutes of sex. With the rest of the men today, she’ll try harder to focus on the counting. Maybe, shehopes, it will help her forget that today is her fifteenth birthday.

This short story is a fictionalized account of forced prostitution on the San Luis Rey River, mentioned in a New York Times magazine article from 2004 called "The Girls Next Door." Since reading the piece of investigative journalism, I've been haunted by its horror.

From the Huffington Post: Terrified in Texas

2012-01-07T16:00:00.001-05:00

"You're gonna get us killed!" I thought.

The door on my parents' beige '99 Chevy Lumina had just slammed, a dull thud ringing through the crisp December sky. Eddie and I were heading into the Salt Lick, a barbeque joint legendary for its tender pork ribs, sage-filled sausage, and pit-smoked beef, located in Driftwood, Tex. (population 1,585).

As we strolled side by side across the restaurant's muddy parking lot, my fiancé threw his arm over my shoulders and pulled me in for a squeeze. Although I love the way he shows affection back home in Manhattan, this time my neck stiffened. A line of sweat began sprouting over my upper lip when I realized he might kiss the top of my honey-colored head.

Instinct made me want to shove the dark-haired man away from me, praying nobody had noticed the public display between two guys who obviously aren't related. Then, better sense took over. I sucked in a breath.

Why did I -- even if only for a moment -- feel such terror?

To read the rest of my essay, please click here.

Ce n'est pas juste, Chelsea Clinton

2011-11-16T09:59:00.001-05:00

For my French class, a short written exercise!

Jene connais pas Chelsea Clinton,mais je l'ai toujours aimée.Bill et Hillary Clinton ont travaillédur pour s'assurer qu'elle allaitavoir une enfance privée, et par tous les comptes, leurs efforts ont été un succès. La jeune femme a la réputationd'être bien ajustée,intelligente et sociable. Néanmoins,je suis consterné d'apprendre que ledirecteur du département des nouvelles à la chaîne de télévision NBC acontracté Chelsea comme journalistepour l'entreprise. Etant donné quela femme n'a jamais travaillé comme un correspondant, nimême, comme un personnage public,accepté de donner des interviews aux médias,il semblerait que cela est un cas où quelqu'un obtientun emploi pas à cause de ses talents,mais à cause de ses connexions. Ce n'est pas juste.

Thomas Glave, The Queer Liberator

2011-11-08T09:06:00.001-05:00

From Nov '11 INSTINCT Magazine "Leading Men" Issue

By: Court Stroud

Today, or perhaps on another day not so different fromthis one, a day of birds and light and even laughter—genuine laughter—anotherfaggot in Jamaica will perhaps scream—or not—as someone tries to burn down hishome with him inside it, or tries to rip open up his bowels with a machete.–Thomas Glave’s opening line, 2011 Oslo Freedom Forum

Thomas Glave—author and founding member of J-FLAG (JamaicaForum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays)— sees himself as a writer, not anactivist. When participating in this year’s Oslo Freedom Forum, rather thandeliver a speech, the Bronx-born Glave tells a story about the extreme hatredqueers face in Jamaica, a place Timemagazine has labeled the most homophobic on earth. Describing a litany ofhorrors such as ice pick disembowelments and acid attacks, the two-time LambdaLiterary Award winner draws a wide contrast between the country’s nationalmotto “Out of Many, One People” and its frequent exclusion of homosexuals,often viewed as less than human—mere “things,” “filth,” or “abominations.”

Despite Jamaica’s easygoing image created, in part, by thesoothing voice of Bob Marley crooning the familiar chorus of “One love! Oneheart! Let’s get together and feel all right,” the daily truth for the LGBTcommunity lies closer to the lyrics of four-time Grammy nominee Buju Banton’s1988 monster hit “Boom Bye Bye.” The song begins with the refrain, “Boom byebye, Inna batty bwoy head”—a call to shoot a “batty boy” (gay man)—andcontinues the blatant incitement to violence with “Guy come near we, Then hisskin must peel, Burn him up bad like an old tire wheel.”

Partially growing up in Jamaica’s capital, Glave foundhimself heavily exposed to its intense homophobia, making him a product of boththe gay liberation movement in New York City and the overt oppression ofKingston. After receiving a Fulbright fellowship to his ancestral homeland, thegraduate of Bowdoin College and Brown University began volunteer work inHIV/AIDS prevention. Soon he connected with members of the island’s largelyunderground queer community, including prominent gay activist BrianWilliamson. In 1998, Glave andWilliamson, among others, joined forces to create J-FLAG with the goal ofgiving hope to the Antillean nation’s LGBT populace.

In the thirteen years since its creation, the advocacyorganization has opened public discussions about ending institutionalizedhomophobia, including repeal of the “buggery” law and Offences against thePerson Act that criminalize relations between men. J-FLAG’s persistent requestshave pushed the Jamaican parliament to hold sessions on the matter, but legislativechange has proved illusive; sex between males still remains punishable by up toten years in prison. Also the group has provided “substantial support” forJamaican asylum-seekers wanting to live abroad. Perhaps the best result,according to Glave, is the change in visibility. “We [now] have so muchdiscourse about homosexuality…that was never the case when I was younger,” hesays.

However, despite some progress on the political and socialfronts, queer Jamaicans still live in danger. After Williamson was hacked todeath in 2004 with a machete, a joyful mob celebrated over the mutilated body,calling out, “Let’s get them one at a time” and shouting lines from “Boom ByeBye.” As recently as late 2010, another volunteer was murdered in an equallybrutal fashion. The current J-FLAG leadership moves in fear, using onlypseudonyms in public, and refuses to publish its meeting-place address.

Because he now resides in the United States, Glave uses hisU.S. citizenship and residency on behalf of his compatriots. In 2008, afterJamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding proclaimed during a BBC-TV interview thathomosexuals would never serve in his cabinet, Glave realized he was scheduledto read that week on opening night of the island’s Calabash Literary Festival. “I couldn’t just stand by and let that statement gounchallenged,” he says. “I knew that there were people there—both in Jamaica andat the festival—that would not be able to speak out.” Undeterred by the realthreat of immediate gunshot retaliation at the open-air event, Glave directedremarks to Golding, calling his television appearance “simply the stupidity andcruelty of bigotry.” “First world citizenship made it possible for me to dosomething hopefully good in Jamaica, a country I love, to help other people,”he says.

Glave continues to devote himself to his craft, both as acreative writing professor at the State University of New York, Binghamton, andas a frequently published author. His first book, Whose Song? and OtherStories, was nominated by the AmericanLibrary Association for Best Gay/Lesbian Book of the Year, and a 2005 essaycollection, Words to Our Now: Imagination and Dissent, received the O. Henry Prize, making Glave only thesecond gay African American writer after James Baldwin to win the award. In2012, Glave will be a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge University, where he plansto work on a new novel. Yet, despite his devotion to writing, this man who onlyreluctantly accepts the label “activist” nonetheless has every intention tocontinue to aid in the Jamaican struggle for LGBT rights. “We still have agreat deal of work to do,” he says.

Out.com's First Look: Not Getting Any Younger

2011-09-05T23:16:00.000-04:00

Marga Gomez may be a liar, but she’s a damn funny one. Within the opening minutes of Not Getting Any Younger, her new solo show performed last weekend as part of the 2011 Dixon Place HOT! Festival, the pioneering lesbian comic ‘fesses up –- she plays fast and loose with her real age.

But her pain is our gain. In a high-octane performance that would wear out even the most athletic contestant on So You Think You Can Dance, Gomez careens from one side of the stage to another while sharing her hilarious observations about growing older. From infancy (the Latina funny lady recounts how the lullaby lyrics “when the bow breaks, the cradle will fall” caused her great worry) to childhood (Gomez as a little girl asked for an ant farm, but her mother refused, saying, “We’re not paying for bugs. Go play with the cucarachas”) to adulthood (she hates when an ex-lover teases by saying, “Oh, Marga, everybody knows you’re dating Lady Clairol”), the San Francisco-based comedian makes the case that if you have to grow older, you might as well do it with laughter.

Not Getting Any Younger

Written and performed by Marga Gomez

Originally directed at The San Francisco Marsh by Ellen Sebastian Chang

For information about upcoming performances, see www.margagomez.com.

The 20th Annual Dixon Place HOT! Festival, the oldest, continually running queer festival in the world, continues until Saturday, August 6, 2011. For more information, go to www.dixonplace.org

Dixon Place Experimental Theater

161A Chrystie Street

New York, NY 10002 

Tel: 212 219-0736  

My Fellow Americans

2011-08-18T13:07:00.000-04:00

Out.com's First Look: Tickets to Manhood

2011-07-31T09:31:00.001-04:00

A quickie review on Out.com's Popnography blog

In Tickets to Manhood, a new play featured this month as the centerpiece of the Dixon Place HOT! Festival in New York City, writer James Scruggs tackles the question “What makes a man today?” He believes that in America, while religious ceremony, military service and marriage were once a boy’s route to manhood, gang violence, drug addiction and imprisonment have also become coming-of-age milestones as our society has become more and more urbanized.

“There is not one universally accepted introduction to manhood today,” says Scruggs. “When the draft was active, there was the notion that boys went off to defend their nation and, as a result, came back men.” The New Jersey State Council on the Arts fellowship winner adds, “There is apparently a real need for some kind of transition experience. Boys are creating their own rites of passage. Urban youth all too often look almost romantically to prison experiences to deem themselves men. Gang involvement is also seen as a viable option.”

The play, which has two remaining performances on Friday, July 29th, and Saturday, July 30th, was directed by Mark Rayment, and features thespians Maximilian Balduzzi, Gerard Joseph, and three out gay actors: Douglas Allen, Spencer Scott Barros, and James Scruggs himself. They portray men attending “Ticket to Manhood,” a self-help group where participants recount personal stories about growing up with the presence (or absence) of a father, an exercise designed to help each figure out what type of man he has become -- and what kind of man he would like to be.

To read the rest of the article, please click here.

Eddie on Gay Marriage

2011-07-18T11:15:00.000-04:00

This clip of Eddie on Comedy Central may be a few years old, but it's very timely -- and hilarious!

Jokes.com

Eddie Sarfaty - Gay Marriage

comedians.comedycentral.com

Jokes

Joke of the Day

Funny Jokes

Trailer for Bob Smith's new novel REMEMBERANCES OF THINGS I FORGOT

2011-07-18T09:44:00.001-04:00

Broadway actors Lea DeLaria (On the Town, Rocky Horror Picture Show) and Susan Blackwell (Title of Show), along with (my) Eddie Sarfaty, perform selections from Bob Smith's latest novel.

From the Front Porch: An Evening with David Mixner

2011-07-17T19:43:00.000-04:00

A teenaged couple lay bloodied on a rural New Jersey road, not far from the young woman’s home. A poor farmer, her father, heard the collision and raced to the scene but couldn’t call for medical help since a nearby ambulance, reserved solely for the wealthy, was unavailable to the family. Young David watched as his distraught parent transported sister Patsy and her boyfriend to the nearest doctor himself.

The wounded pair survived and David’s father began raising funds to purchase a 1938 ambulance, founding a volunteer ambulance association, which still exists today. Under the solid conviction that no man should ever have to carry his own injured child into a hospital, Ben Mixner declared, “I don’t have to accept the unacceptable,” a statement that was forever burned into the memory of his son, the future activist.

During his fifty years of fighting for social and political change, civil rights champion David Mixner has held his father’s words fast and firm. They have fueled his passion and defined his standards. In From the Front Porch: An Evening with David Mixner, the former Clinton adviser shares his father’s inspiring call-to-action, along with other personal and historical memories.

The one-man show headlines the 2011 HOT! Festival and was presented last Monday in front of an effusive, sold-out crowd as a fundraiser for Dixon Place and the Ali Forney Center. With tickets running as high as $3,000 per seat, it was the highest revenue-producing night in the theater’s 25-year history. Noted community leaders in attendance included former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevy, GMHC CEO Marjorie J. Hill, Ugly Betty star Michael Urie, former Republican National Committee chair Ken Mehlman, San Francisco AIDS Foundation CEO Neil Guiliano, and Magnus Book publisher Don Weise, who in September publishes the 65-year-old’s new memoir At Home With Myself: Stories from the Hills of Turkey Hollow.

For the rest of the review, please click here.

Catching Up With: Lorna Luft

2011-03-11T15:45:00.000-05:00

From Out Magzine's website, an interview I conducted of Lorna Luft:

It’s been called the greatest night in show business history. On April 23, 1961, Judy Garland gave a tour de force comeback performance in front of an adoring and frenzied crowd at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Two years earlier, the actress’s bout with acute hepatitis had left her so weak doctors predicted she would live only five years and would never sing again, but the Wizard of Oz star not only fully recovered but once again began singing in public, culminating with the historic one-night-only gig at the fabled venue.

Before Garland could warble her first note, the audience, full of stage and screen stars like Lauren Bacall, Henry Fonda, Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, Carol Channing and Richard Burton, jumped to their feet for a standing ovation that seemed to last forever. Sitting among the many teary-eyed fans were Garland’s daughter Liza Minelli and two younger children Joey and Lorna Luft.

Today, Friday, March 11^th, Lorna, alongside Mary Poppins star Ashley Brown, Grammy Award-winner Heather Headley and West Side Story’s Karen Olivo, will take the stage as a Special Guest Star with the New York Pops orchestra in a song-for-song re-creation of her mother’s legendary Carnegie Hall debut.

Out recently spoke with Ms. Luft about her memories of that momentous occasion, thoughts about the upcoming New York Pops concert tribute, and how she wants her famous mother to be remembered.

For the rest of my interview with Lorna, please click here.

Krista Tippett: Reconnecting with compassion

2011-02-17T14:24:00.001-05:00

The term "compassion" -- typically reserved for the saintly or the sappy -- has fallen out of touch with reality. At a special TEDPrize@UN, journalist Krista Tippett deconstructs the meaning of compassion through several moving stories, and proposes a new, more attainable definition for the word.

From OUT.com: Need To Know: Steven Carl McCasland

2011-02-12T12:02:00.002-05:00

I played a small role in an off-off-Broadway production and interviewed the director for Out Magazine's website.

(Photo credit: Unknown. Featured: Charlie Duncan and Elizabeth Ness as AJ and Des DeLaria.)

2011 marks the tenth anniversary year of the World Trade Center attacks. To honor the occasion, Steven Carl McCasland, founder and Artistic Director of The Beautiful Soup Theater Collective, is reviving the off-Broadway musical Crossing Brooklyn for a workshop production in New York City. Opening this week, the original musical features music by Larson Award-winner Jenny Giering and Book and Lyrics by Kleban Award-winner Laura Harrington.

Set in New York City in 2002, the play tells the story of Des and AJ, young, idealistic public school teachers bent on changing the world, one kid at a time. Life is full of promise and endless possibility until Des begins to unravel under the weight of her fears ignited that fateful September day. Splitting apart under the strain, Des and AJ struggle to find their way back to each other. Giering and Harrington's musical premiered at Manhattan’s The Transport Group in 2007.

We recent sat down with the 24-year-old, openly gay McCasland to talk about the production.

Out: Where were you on 9-11?
Steven Carl McCasland: I was in high school French class and my teacher explained what happened at the World Trade Center in French.

For the rest of my interview with Steven, click here.

Snippets from the first week of "Crossing Brooklyn" Rehearsals

2011-01-09T10:46:00.001-05:00

For the first time in 13 years, I'll be trodding the boards as a cast member of an exciting new musical called Crossing Brooklyn. It's a dream come true for me to appear on a New York City stage!

From the press release:

The Beautiful Soup Theater Collective is presenting "Crossing Brooklyn," with music by Larson Award-winner Jenny Giering (Alice Unwrapped, Saint-Ex, The Mistress Cycles) and Book and Lyrics by Kleban Award-winner Laura Harrington (N Bonaparte, Resurrection, Alice Unwrapped). Set in New York City in 2002, "Crossing Brooklyn" tells the story of Des and AJ, young, idealistic public school teachers bent on changing the world, one kid at a time. Life is full of promise and endless possibility until Des begins to unravel under the weight of her fears, ignited that fateful September day. Splitting apart under the strain, Des and AJ struggle to find their way back to each other. This innovative production will use original multimedia film pieces by filmmaker Brian Oh (Deeproot Films) to help tell Des' and AJ's stories.

Giering and Harrington's musical premiered at The Transport Group in 2007 and was directed by Jack Cummings III. Since then, the musical has undergone several rewrites. This will be Steven Carl McCasland's second time directing a workshop of the project, after a Pace University run in 2008. McCasland is founder and Artistic Director of The Beautiful Soup Theater Collective. Beautiful Soup has a mission to revisit three classical plays (Greek, Elizabethan and American-classic [O'Neill, Miller, Williams, etc]) with an innovative twist in each annual season. The company will also produce a workshop of a new play or musical each year, in addition to readings and one-night-only theatrical events. Beautiful Soup has a desire to be an active part of the charitable community in New York. Working with tri-state area organizations (like BC/EFA, The Fortune Society, A-STEP, Prison Families Anonymous and Gay Men's Health Crisis, to name a few), the Collective chooses charities that relates to the production and donates a portion of the box office proceeds to helping them reach their goal.

Performances begin on Thursday, January 27th at 7:00pm at The Michael Chekhov Theater @ The 45th Street Theatre at 354 West 45th Street, 2nd Floor. The subsequent evening performances are Friday and Saturday, along with a 2:00pm matinee on both Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $18.00 and are available online now at http://beautifulsoup.showclix.com/. A portion of box-office proceeds will benefit A-STEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty), founded by Tony Award-winning musical director and orchestrator Mary-Mitchell Campbell (Crossing Brooklyn, Company, next to normal, The Addams Family). A special educational matinee will be presented on Thursday the 27th at 11:00am.

The cast includes Elisabeth Ness as Des Delaria, Charlie Duncan as AJ Delaria, Emily Floyd as Madeline (Ophelia in Beautiful Soup's HAMLET), Logan Riley Bruner as Kevin, Court Stroud as Bobby, Peter Waugh as Jimmy, and Rory Allan Meditz (the title role in Beautiful Soup's HAMLET) as Travis. The production team includes Jana Mallo as the Publicity Manager, Kate Adler as the Dramaturgist, Andrew Slater as the Stage Manager, Allison Wilmer as the Assistant Director, and Steven Carl McCasland (Beautiful Soup's HAMLET, Group Therapy Production's Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, Falsettos, Antigone, Medea and more) as Production and Musical Director.

Check out these video snippets from the first week of rehearsals.

I Do, I Don’t

2010-12-04T14:48:00.004-05:00

Holly Hughes explores just how fractious gay marriage can be, even among us

For Holly Hughes, a wedding could be one more performance.

(JOHN W. SISSON, JR.)

Performance artist Holly Hughes and her longtime partner want to marry each other but may need to hold competing ceremonies. Hughes, who has spent more than 20 years on the frontlines in America’s culture wars, wants to dress up, have “Mr. Showbiz” Murray Hill officiate, and make the event a bitingly funny political statement.

Her girlfriend, anthropologist Esther Newton, would prefer to wear slip-on shoes, and keep the nuptials serious and the whole affair private.

It’s just this kind of conflict that’s led Hughes to collaborate with Chicago-based director Megan Carney and WOW Café founder Maureen Angelos on a new performance piece called “Let Them Eat Cake,” an interactive “marriage gone wrong” in which the audience takes the role of wedding guests who are encouraged to salvage the situation through spirited debate.

Hughes, the author of “The Well of Horniness” and “Clit Notes: A Sapphic Sampler,” gained national attention in the early ’90s as one of the NEA 4, when she and fellow performance artists Tim Miller, Karen Finley, and John Fleck were stripped of their National Endowment for the Arts grants due to the “indecent” content of their work.

The indecency continues with “Let Them Eat Cake,” which runs at Dixon Place through December 18.

COURT STROUD: Why tackle the subject of same-sex marriage?

HOLLY HUGHES: This issue is framed as black or white — you’re either pro-gay marriage or anti-gay marriage. A lot of gay people have more complicated feelings, but it seems like there’s no place to have that conversation. We give voice. There are characters in the show and probably people in the audience who say we shouldn’t be doing this, that it’s a distraction and inherently conservative.

To read more of the Q&A, please visit the NYC Gay City News website by clicking here.

Catching Up With: Steven Reineke

2010-11-01T16:56:00.001-04:00

From OUT Magazine's Popnography.com:

If Glee ever salutes Sweden’s most famous musical export, you already know what it will look like: gold lamé-clad singers belting out “Dancing Queen” to a full symphonic accompaniment against a stage awash with blue and pink clouds projected against flashing ten-foot tall letters. Until that time, we'll have to settle for an ABBA celebration that isn't gracing the stage at William McKinley High School. It was at Carnegie Hall during opening night of The New York Pops 2010-2011 season. Musical Director Steven Reineke began his sophomore season at America’s largest independent pop music orchestra with a camp sensibility that shows he may look like Finn and act like Mr. Shu, but under it all he’s pure Kurt. Out recently interviewed the dashing conductor, composer and arranger to learn more about his music and motivation.

To read the rest of my interview with Steven Reineke, click here.

It Gets Better and Funnier

2010-10-07T22:41:00.001-04:00

Sex columnist Dan Savage recently sent out a call for the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender community to help teenagers who may be feeling suicidal, as part of his "It Gets Better" Project. Last night my partner Eddie and some of his comic friends recorded this message of hope and humor.

Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide: "The Harvard Psychedelic Club"

2010-09-18T11:18:00.005-04:00

The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide's subscription firewall won't allow me to include a link to this piece I did for the Sept/Oct 2010 issue, so here's the article in its entirety.

The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America
by Don Lattin
HarperCollins. 256 pages, $24.99

Court Stroud

TIMOTHY LEARY proclaimed it “the greatest Good Friday in two thousand years.” On the morning of April 20, 1962, the Dean of Boston University’s Marsh Chapel led his congregation in an intense two-and-a-half-hour session of dark poetry, dramatic homily, and somber music about the Passion of Christ. Meanwhile, a clandestine experiment was being conducted in the church’s basement. Under Leary’s supervision, half of twenty volunteers were given the hallucinogen psilocybin, while the rest received a placebo. The purpose of the experiment was to test the drug’s reliability as an entheogen (literally that which “generates the divine within.”)

    “The only natural light shines from three tiny stained-glass windows,” writes author Don Lattin in his description of the womb-like setting, “including one depicting Jesus holding an open Bible.” While half of the divinity students remained calmly in their pews, the others began crawling around on the floor or meandering in ecstatic bliss. “God is everywhere!” exclaimed one seminarian, while another escaped from the house of worship and ran down Commonwealth Avenue, trumpeting the dawn of a Messianic millennium of universal peace.

    Huston Smith, a Methodist minister, MIT philosophy professor, and author of the best-selling The World’s Religions, was a pre-selected guide for the test and among those who received the drug. He later remembered that day as “the most powerful experience he would ever have of God’s personal nature.”

    Lattin fills each chapter with mind-blowing stories that make good on the promise of the book’s bold subtitle. By giving birth to the drug-fueled 60s, the author, a religious journalist, claims that the group “changed nothing less than the way we look at mind, body and spirit.” It’s a bold but highly plausible claim, and Lattin presents a impressive array of evidence concerning the influence of these four men on the Counterculture, which in turn transformed the country’s views on politics, medicine, religion, and culture for decades to come.

    The book begins with crossed paths in Cambridge during the fall of 1960. Wife-swapping Leary (whom Lattin calls “the Trickster”) and another Harvard faculty member, the closeted Richard Alpert (“the Seeker”) taught in the school’s Department of Social Relations, where they conducted psychology experiments with mushrooms and LSD. Family-man Smith (“the Teacher”) wrote about the mystic experiences of the great masters, but had yet to reach that higher state of consciousness himself. Seeking a fast track to enlightenment, he consulted writer Aldous Huxley, who introduced him to Leary and “the Harvard Psychedelic Club.”

    Freshman pre-med student Andrew Weil (“the Healer”) quickly learned about the psilocybin project but was refused participation by Leary, who cited an agreement with Harvard permitting only graduate student involvement. Lattin reports that Alpert became infatuated with Ronnie Wilson, an undergraduate and Weil’s former roommate, and decided to share the synthetic “fruit of the gods” with the object of his attention. When the spurned Weil learned his underage friend had joined the “acid cult” inner circle, “with the zeal of a jilted lover” he spearheaded a damning exposé in The Crimson, leading to the dismissal of both Alpert and Leary.

    Media attention on the firings turned them into instant celebrities. They relocated their research project to Dutchess County, New York, where their work “morphed into an extended family, spiritual commune, religious cult, and finally, social movement.” Alpert had assumed a “maternal, wife-like role” with Leary’s two children, but nonetheless was forced out of Millbrook, the 64-room home where they lived, because Leary took issue with Alpert’s penchant for young men.

    After the four central figures disperse, Lattin follows their adventures over the next forty years. He conducted firsthand interviews with Smith, Alpert, and Weil (Leary died in 1996), and many other key players. There’s no doubt that he’s done his investigative homework, yet covering so much history in a relatively short book means that Lattin never dives too deeply into any particular event or person. The storyline moves forward at such a rapid clip that readers may find themselves wishing Lattin would slow down and let them enjoy the groovy trip. It’s a bit unusual to damn a writer for being too entertaining, but this book reads like a novel crafted from the screenplay of an outlandish HBO mini-series—smart, fast and thought-provoking, with copious amounts of sex, drugs, and intrigue. Cameos placed throughout the book—including of President Kennedy, Allen Ginsburg, John Lennon, Grace Slick, Keith Richards, Jerry Garcia, AA founder Bill Wilson, “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, even actress Uma Thurman, whose mother was married briefly to Leary—reveal the widespread influence of the foursome. But the appearances can also be distracting, in the same way that major Hollywood actors playing minor roles can interfere with a viewer’s ability to suspend disbelief.

    In his life after Leary, Alpert trekked to Katmandu and changed his name to Ram Dass, or “servant of God.” Returning to the States, he dedicated his life to philanthropic endeavors and became one of the most sought-after speakers on the New Age conference circuit.

    As the self-appointed messiah for the counter-revolution, Leary’s life would be marked by controversy, particularly after he delivered his infamous mantra, “Tune in, turn on, drop out!” In May 1969, he ran against Ronald Reagan for governor of California, but was sentenced to jail for drug possession. After breaking out of prison, he lived in exile abroad until U.S agents captured him. Lattin believes Leary provoked Nixon’s “War on Drugs” and sparked the conservative backlash of the 80s.

    Weil graduated from Harvard Medical School and traveled to South America hoping to find answers from curanderas. His quest to the folk healers taught him the answers he was seeking could be found within his own culture—and within himself. As the leading alternative medicine expert, Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people in America.

    Smith continued to teach and write. His The World’s Religions sold over two-and-a-half million copies, and PBS aired a five-part special about him, The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith. A student of Vedanta Hinduism and Zen Buddhism, Smith tried to put those 1960’s experiments in perspective: “the real test of a person’s spirit is the way they live their lives. It’s what happens after the ecstasy.”

Court Stroud lives in New York City where he teaches a college prep literature course at GMHC’s G.E.D. adult education program.

OUT's Popnography: I Light Up My Life – The Mark Sam Celebrity Biography

2010-08-11T14:43:00.000-04:00

A tall man sporting a Burt Reynolds mustache steps from behind a black curtain. The audience responds by sending a tsunami of applause back to the stage. Mark Sam Rosenthal, the creative force behind the off-Broadway hit Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire, is debuting a new work-in-progress during one of the final nights of the 19th Annual Dixon Place HOT! Festival.

Out followed up with the actor/writer this week to gauge his thoughts about porn, fame and the world premiere of I Light Up My Life -- The Mark Sam Celebrity Biography.

Out: How would you describe your new show?
Mark Sam Rosenthal: It’s like you’re going to Barnes & Noble to hear a famous person read from their book -- except you’ve never heard of me.

You call it the “world’s first-ever preemptive celebrity autobiography.”
You might as well get it out there. I won’t have time to write it later on down the line.

If it’s preemptive, then you aren’t a celebrity now, right?
I’m on the verge! That’s the definite idea. You know, I’ve been Off Broadway. [Giggles]

Do you have the foresight to know how the celebrity will come to you?
Unfortunately, that is in the hands of God, although I think we’ve already tried the porn route. That’s not going to be it.

For the rest of the interview, click here.

Out's Popnography: The Dog and Pony Show (Bring Your Own Pony) at Dixon Place

2010-08-06T08:59:00.001-04:00

"I come from a time and place when vaginas roamed the earth!" Holly Hughes proclaims at the start of The Dog & Pony Show (Bring Your Own Pony), her new one-woman tribute to man’s best friend—and feminism—featured this week during the 19th Annual Dixon Place HOT! Festival.

Clunking across the stage in lemon-yellow wedge shoes, a simple dark dress, and a shock of tri-colored hair, the internationally acclaimed performance artist points out that “in this country, we hear how women look.” She then teases the crowd that "this show is not about the human condition." A spontaneous "Yeah!" erupts and the crowd laughs. The evening promises to be much more than yet another lame, been-there-done-that-wake-me-up-when-it's-time-to-leave monologue.

An associate professor at the University of Michigan and a 2010 Guggenheim Fellow, the unapologetically smart Hughes punctuates the evening with razor-sharp humor, poignant insights, and occasional moments of lesbian rage. Veering off at times on organic tangents from the show's main premise—dogs and the people who love them—Hughes wonders at the unexpected world she finds herself in. Of the current state of the LGBTQQ movement, she shrugs and says, "There's a battered, tattered, pink canopy that's mostly decoration."

For more of the review, click here.

Out's Popnography: smithsoniansmith at Dixon Place

2010-08-02T13:27:00.006-04:00

A bound man, his pants pulled down to his knees, lies exposed on a metal table while a stern-faced woman spritzes his genitals with mist. Upstage, a nude woman slithers out of a mound of dirty blue jeans and slowly marches away.

The first few minutes of smithsoniansmith set the evening’s tone -- bizarre, maybe even baffling, but highly entertaining. Three years in the making, the dance performance opened last week as part of the 19th annual Dixon Place HOT! Festival, and continues through this Saturday. The work is a collaborative effort between openly gay dancer Scott Heron and the choreographic duo known as HIJACK (Kristin Van Loon and out lesbian Arwen Wilder.)

From chocolate drippings to glue-gun dance sequences to clothesline conversations, the 75-minute show kept the opening night’s full house gasping and laughing. After three curtain calls, Out pulled Scott Heron away from his fans for a quick post-show interview.

Out: How would you describe smithsoniansmith?

Scott Heron: (Sighing) Rollicking, high-energy, full of surprises, wild-changes and mood swings. We’re willing to accept anything as dance -- from arts and crafts to flinging each other violently across the stage to building and destroying things out of junk. It’s all dance.

For more of the interview, click here.

OUT's Popnography: Dan Fishback's The Material World

2010-08-01T20:10:00.003-04:00

After submitting the Frank DeCaro piece, Eddie and I were asked by Out Magazine's Popnography blog to talk with artists performing in the 19th annual Dixon Place HOT! Festival. This is the first article in a series of four.

Madonna, a twelve-year old labor activist, Britney Spears, Russian refugees, an amateur gay pornographer, a neurotic Jew, and an intermission dance party make up writer/composer/performer Dan Fishback’s new musical, The Material World, which premieres July 22 at New York’s Dixon Place as part of the venue’s 19th Annual HOT! Festival NYC. Out was able to lure Fishback away from one of the production’s final rehearsals to find out more about his inspirations for the show and the challenges in bringing it to the stage.

Out: When I saw that The Material World was a musical about a family of Jewish refugees from Tsarist Russia, of course I wondered if it’s your homage to Fiddler on the Roof.
Dan Fishback: In a strange way it is -- but not quite. The legacy of the Russian pogroms is definitely felt in the piece, but so is the legacy of homophobia.

For the rest of our interview, click here.

OUT's Popnography: Homo-schooled

2010-07-10T09:14:00.002-04:00

Not only were many of us gay boys bullied in school, but we were also forced to suffer through courses with no relevance to our soon-to-be fabulous lives: algebra, auto mechanics, and (the mind-numbingly dull straight version of) sex ed. Luckily, Gay 101: A Primer, written and performed by Sirius OutQ’s Frank DeCaro, gives those of us who weren’t homo-schooled a chance to earn our G.E.D. (Gay Equivalency Diploma).

Earlier this week, as part of the 19th Annual Dixon Place Hot! Festival NYC, the flamboyant former film critic for The Daily Show shed some lavender light on seminal moments in queer TV, film and pop music from the past century.

For more of my review, go to Out Mag's Popnography by clicking here.

Eddie on ConchTV's "Buzzz in the Keys" Radio/TV Show

2010-05-22T20:25:00.000-04:00

Click on segments 2 and 3 to watch my comedian boyfriend discuss Sarah Palin and his Comedy Boot Camp class.

My Accidental Appearance on Radio Free Key West

2010-05-19T20:18:00.001-04:00

A quick stop for java landed me six minutes on Key West Internet radio and TV morning show. (Warning: Jump to minute 30 to see me. Other than plugging Eddie's Comedy Boot Camp, I don't do much but scratch mosquito bites.)

Christopher Sieber in The Advocate: The Kid Is All Right

2010-05-11T08:58:00.000-04:00

The versatile leading man opens up on playing Dan Savage in the new stage musical The Kid, his plans on parenthood, and why he bristles at the “openly gay” modifier.

By Court Stroud

Christopher Sieber is a brat. At least that’s what the two-time Tony nominee (Spamalot, Shrek) and former Advocate cover boy says about himself when he sits down to discuss his latest role as sex columnist Dan Savage in the new off-Broadway musical The Kid. Then a winsome smile flashes across the actor’s photogenic face, soon followed by a throaty eruption of infectious laughter. It’s impossible to take him seriously.

Sieber, on a break from a late-morning rehearsal, arrives enthusiastic — perhaps even giddy — to discuss the show (currently being performed through May 29 at the New Group at Theater Row). The first musical produced by the New Group since its smash hit Avenue Q seven years ago, the play has already won the 2009 BMI Foundation Jerry Bock Award for Excellence in Musical Theater. Based on Savage’s best-selling memoir, The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant, with book by Michael Zam, music by Andy Monroe, and lyrics by Jack Lechner, examines the legal and emotional complexities of adoption as seen through the eyes of a same-sex couple.

The 6-foot 3-inch leading man is definitely not a brat, but with his tousled mop of hair and youthful outfit of sneakers, cargo shorts, and a faded shirt, Sieber does exude the boyish charm that makes him so endearing in the part.

For the rest of the interview, click here.

Colbert Rips Anti-Gay Activist, Throws 'Rentboy' Dance Party

2010-05-10T09:40:00.000-04:00

Homophobic Rev George Rekers travels to Europe with male prostitute because he can't lift his own luggage.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Alpha Dog of the Week - George Rekers

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Fox News

The Handsome Men's Club

2010-03-09T09:47:00.004-05:00

Funnier than the Oscars!

Eve Ensler: Embrace Your Inner Girl

2010-03-04T10:15:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Susan for bird-dogging this video.

The thrilling potential of 'SixthSense' technology

2010-01-20T08:38:00.001-05:00

At TEDIndia, Pranav Mistry demos several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data -- including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper "laptop".

In an onstage Q&A, Mistry says he'll open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all.

Brad Lamm: From Professional Partier to Intervention Specialist

2010-01-19T08:43:00.003-05:00

Here's a second -- and completely new -- interview I conducted of the addiction expert for OUT Magazine.

Brad Lamm was once reigning king of the gay late night scene. As host of Party Talk, a ‘90’s cult TV show seen in New York, L.A. and other markets across the country, Lamm held court each week in front the camera while reporting on the hottest nightclub trends.

The party continued for Lamm even when the show didn’t: A few years after Party Talk went off the air, the Oregon native nearly died from alcohol and drug addiction until some friends intervened and convinced him to go check into rehab. Once clean and sober, Brad opened an intervention practice. Seven years later, he’s now a consultant to Oprah and Dr. Oz.

The openly gay author is traveling the country with his new book, How To Change Someone You Love, which hit bookstores this month. Out recently caught up with Lamm to chat about his tour.

To read the full interview, click here.

Together In Change

2010-01-08T15:25:00.004-05:00

An interview I conducted for the January 7, 2010 edition of Gay City News

Brad Lamm’s experience tells him we can help addicts help themselves

Tremors sometimes caused Brad Lamm’s hands to shake all day long. The TV anchorman and newspaper columnist had become essentially immured in his life of crystal meth and booze –– to the point where his friends feared he would die. They intervened, convincing Lamm to check into rehab.

Seven years later, the long-time New Yorker’s life has completely turned around. First, he opened an intervention assistance practice to help families coping with addiction. Now, talk show superstar Oprah asks him for advice. Her protégé Dr. Mehmet Oz often invites him to appear as an expert guest on his show. This week, “How to Change Someone You Love,” his first book, arrives in bookstores across the country.

To read the full article, click here.

Nothing Taboo (A Love Song for the Outcast)

2010-01-04T16:00:00.005-05:00

When the New York Senate rejected a marriage equality bill, word of an inpromptu rally quickly spread via Facebook. Eddie and I ran the twenty blocks north to join others near the TKTS booth in Times Square.

A song about equality and the freedom to love, with images from the Times Square Rally the night the New York State Senate denied same-gender couples their civil rights, December 2, 2009.

Music and lyrics by David Brown with additional vocals by Jeff Stults. Photography by Carlos Gustavo Monroy. Video created by David Turan. "We're just singing our love song....There's nothing taboo about me and you." For more music by David Brown visit DavidBrownMusic.com.

Changing Canales

2010-01-03T08:59:00.003-05:00

from the 12/31/09 New York Press

COURT STROUD just can’t drop the soaps

Illustration by Thomas Pitilli

It's no surprise I grew up to be a bean queen. As a child, I was addicted to telenovelas, those Latin American TV shows so melodramatic they make The Real Housewives of New Jersey seem understated. No one in my south Texas family spoke Spanish, and my parents controlled the set. Once alone, however, I flipped to Univisión, hypnotized by the beautiful people and big passions. I was clueless about what the actors were saying but loved how they looked and sounded.

For more, go to the NY Press website by clicking here.

Mind over matter

2009-11-14T08:56:00.000-05:00

By JUSTIN ROCKET SILVERMAN in the November 14, 2009 New York Post

Think you can outsmart a genius?

Here’s your chance to try — and if you succeed, you’ll get a lot more than an ego boost.

You’ll get the serious bragging rights that come with helping to end world hunger.

Idea Aid is a weeklong Internet campaign launching today. Sponsored by Mensa Process, the consulting arm of the genius club Mensa, the campaign aims to collect practical strategies for getting food to people without enough of it. The theory is if you put 100,000 people in a room and ask them to solve a problem, you’re likely to get some creative solutions. But put 100,000 of the certified smartest people in the world in that same room, and you might just get a few solutions that work.

Single Babies

2009-10-15T10:29:00.001-04:00

Although the videoclip runs a tad long, it's worth the time to check out "Single Babies."

Animals Are Beautiful People

2009-10-12T15:06:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Lilli for sending this cute video.

This is a video from a French documentary about Africa. You may not understand a word, but the video is a hoot. There are trees that grow in Africa which, once a year, produce very juicy fruits that ferment and contain a large percentage of alcohol.

Seeing Funny from Alaska

2009-09-30T14:24:00.002-04:00

Groundbreaking comedian Bob Smith talks with me about his first novel SELFISH & PERVERSE in an interview for New York's Gay City News.

While most of us daydream about an exciting life, comedian and author Bob Smith lives one. As the first openly gay standup to appear on the “Tonight Show,” as well as the first to have his own HBO special, he has become a legend among the out-and-proud funny set.

For more, click here.

Oil in a Frying Pan

2009-09-29T07:54:00.010-04:00

(Thanks to Lilli for sharing this informative video.)

I never realized that a wet dishcloth can be a one size fits all lid to cover a fire in a pan. This is a dramatic video (30-second, very short) about how to deal with a common kitchen fire.

At the Fire Fighting Training school they would demonstrate this with a deep fat fryer set on the fire field. An instructor would don a fire suit and using an 8 oz. cup at the end of a 10 foot pole, toss water onto the grease fire. The results got the attention of the students.

The water, being heavier than oil, sinks to the bottom where it instantly becomes heated. The explosive force of the steam blows the burning oil up and out. On the open field, it became a thirty foot high fireball that resembled a nuclear blast. Inside the confines of a kitchen, the fire ball hits the ceiling and fills the entire room.

Also, do not throw sugar or flour on a grease fire. One cup creates the explosive force of two sticks of dynamite.

This is a powerful message--watch the video and don't forget what you see. Tell your whole family about this video or better yet, send this to them.

Great Chinese State Circus - Swan Lake

2009-09-28T17:04:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Lilli for sharing this eye-popping video. The acrobatics the circus performs are superhuman!

The Tamalera

2009-09-23T18:51:00.005-04:00

After 11 years of searching New York City for the perfect tamale, my quest has come to end, as described in this week's New York Press.

The first time the police handcuffed Yolanda Hernandez, her child-sized wrists slipped through the rings, so she handed the metal restraint back to the cops. (Read more here.)

Leaves Unbound

2009-09-22T19:02:00.001-04:00

Photographer: Paradise Gonzalez; (l-r) Ali Kahn, Dillon Porter, Kesh Baggan, Tjasa Ferme and LaChrisha Brown

My boyfriend and I had recently started reading poems by Walt Whitman each night before falling asleep... (To read more on Out Magazine's Popnography.com, click here.)

NY Post Clip

2009-09-21T19:07:00.002-04:00

Recently I pitched an idea to the New York Post's Real Estate section. The paper liked the idea, but said someone on payroll needed to write the article. Fortunately, I was given the chance to add this sidebar piece, called "Listen to your doctor."

Not too many people have a shrink who is also their real estate guru. (Click here to read in full.)

Post staff writer Max Gross penned the main story, entitled "Sue City." (Click here to read.)

Facebook Posting

2009-09-02T08:56:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud heard a Who this morning, reminding him ‘‘even though you can’t see or hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small.’’

Facebook Posting

2009-09-01T08:59:00.003-04:00

Court Stroud looked out the window before a morning run. The weather was cloudy but he decided to jog shirtless anyway. If the past month's weather was an indication, in 10 minutes he'd be soaked in sweat. To his surprise, fall came early and hard to NYC. Deep into his jog, Court looked down and noticed small icicles had formed from the perspiration dripping off his nipples -- a sign it's time to break out the thermals.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-29T08:59:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud feels bliss now that someone has come home.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud likes this quote from Henry Ford: “Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you're right.”

Facebook Posting

2009-08-26T09:01:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud misses someone very much.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-25T09:01:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud hears "The Summer Knows" while pool-lounging and remembers the lyrics:

The summer smiles, the summer knows

And unashamed, she sheds her clothes

The summer smoothes the restless sky

And lovingly she warms the sand on which you lie

Facebook Posting

2009-08-24T09:02:00.002-04:00

Court Stroud is listening to Eartha Kitt while reading by a pool, wishing he could've been a guest at the White House luncheon where she made Lady Bird Johnson cry. (He's a big fan of both ladies, but thinks it would've been great history to see.)

Leaves Unbound

2009-08-21T09:18:00.003-04:00

Recently Ed and I went to a staging of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. To read the review I wrote for Out Magazine's Popnography website, please click here.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-21T09:03:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud placed his hand on the familiar kitchen appliance and nodded his head slowly. Constant discomfort during the past weeks had beaten him down. It was time to take dramatic action. After opening the metallic box door, he exhaled, then paused for refle...ction and finally lowered his head. The air changed. So did he. Court never imagined putting his head in the freezer could so free him from the heatwave's misery.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-17T09:04:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud likes to place socks on hands, turn on C-SPAN and pretend his puppets are mouthing the words of politicians trying to solve big problems. Court's little show isn't nearly as funny as watching the real thing.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-14T09:04:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud finds mornings are arriving too early lately.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-12T09:05:00.002-04:00

Court Stroud is a child asked to choose between quarreling parents during every USA vs MEXICO soccer game.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-10T09:05:00.002-04:00

Court Stroud loves that in Mexico you don't say "eye candy" but "taco de ojo" (eye taco).

Facebook Posting

2009-08-07T09:06:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud admits JULIE & JULIA may not have much action, but he'd watch Meryl Streep hang wallpaper.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-06T09:07:00.003-04:00

Court Stroud felt joy bubble up inside him, opened his mouth and began to sing.

Facebook Posting

2009-08-03T09:07:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud feels a little bit country today, not very rock n' roll.

Facebook Posting

2009-07-27T09:08:00.001-04:00

Court Stroud sailed away, for a year and a day, To the land the the Bong-tree grows, And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood, With a ring at the end of his nose.

Inside the Mind (and Pants) of Eddie Sarfaty

2009-07-24T18:15:00.003-04:00

Click here to read a Q&A piece I wrote about Ed featured on Out.com's sister blog Popnography.

Fame Must Be Exhausting

2009-05-28T10:27:00.001-04:00

By VERONICA LORRAINE
and GARY O’SHEA

Published: Today in the London Sun

RANTING Susan Boyle completely lost her cool with TWO four-letter outbursts in a day, The Sun can reveal.

She stunned Britain's Got Talent fans, contestants and their families before going into meltdown later in front of hundreds of hotel guests.

There were fears last night that the pressure was getting to the show favourite.

Cops intervened at 5pm yesterday after Susan, 48, went berserk in the lobby of the Wembley Plaza Hotel in North London when two strangers set out to "wind her up".

Law and warbler ... she explains outburst to officer

Law and warbler ... she explains outburst to officer

The Scottish singer was heard to roar: "How f***ing dare you! You can't f***ing talk to me like that."

One of two cops stationed at the hotel went up and asked: "Is there a problem?"

Susan, dubbed SuBo, roared: "Of course there's a f***ing problem."

Tears flowing, she turned on her heel and marched out the exit followed by her family, production staff and the cops.

Hotel guests legged it to the windows to get a better view of the rumpus. Police spoke to Susan and her family for several minutes in the car park.

Flat note ... Susan heads back inside after talking-to

Flat note ... Susan heads back inside after talking-to

One officer told her: "You are in the public eye, you must learn to expect this sort of thing."

A pal of Susan's told the star: "You can't act like this."

TV producers ushered her back upstairs after police finished speaking to her.

Crush

One onlooker added: "It took her a long time to calm down from whatever upset her. She was breathing heavily and in a terrible rage.

"The pressure is obviously getting to Susan. Perhaps all the fame is too much for her."

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A BGT spokesman said the strangers had been "trying to wind her up". He added: "The police were not called. They were already present."

The entire episode lasted 15 minutes.

Incredibly, Susan flew into another rage on Tuesday night after judge Piers Morgan lavished praise on rival singer Shaheen Jafargholi.

Shaheen, 12, wowed the judges with And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from the musical Dreamgirls.

Piers, who gave spinster Susan her first kiss, said: "I think that, pound for pound, that was the best singing performance we've seen so far."

Smiling Simon Cowell added: "You are a real contender in the competition."

Hairy Angel Susan - watching on the hotel bar's TV with Shaheen's pals, family and show fans - stood and screamed "f*** off" before flicking a "V" at the screen and storming out.

More than 100 people saw her tantrum.

One onlooker said: "Susan was sitting there quite happily with her drink at first.

Rival ... Shaheen

Rival ... Shaheen

"She got a bit annoyed when a busload of tourists asked for autographs and told them to wait until Shaheen had finished. She was smiling as Shaheen sang but afterwards, when Piers started praising him, Susan went nuts.

"She got up, did one of those strange wiggling dances that she does, and then stuck two fingers up at the TV. Then she marched off. We didn't see her again.

"Everyone staying at the hotel gets on really well - it's like one big happy BGT family - so everyone was shocked by her outburst."

Shaheen was voted into the final by Piers, 44, and Amanda Holden. She's admitted to fancying "baby-faced" Piers.

The onlooker added: "She was clearly upset that her favourite judge had sided with one of her main rivals.

"It's beginning to look like its all getting a bit much for her."

Locals in Susan's hometown of Blackburn, West Lothian, claim Susan has frequent angry outbursts.

They've called her Rambo after the troubled fictional film hardcase "for years".

A neighbour told The Sun: "The reason is because if Susan doesn't get what she wants, she goes wild."

Another added: "It's not unusual to see her freak out over the smallest thing.

RamBoyle ... our cartoon of 'short-tempered' Susan

RamBoyle ... our cartoon of 'short-tempered' Susan

"A few of us think it's only a matter of time before she loses it on the show."

Susan - who made Saturday's final of the ITV1 hit with her version of Memory from musical Cats - is half way through a dental makeover.

Dr Justin Glaister, of Umbrella Smiles in Harley Street, said: "She's definitely had veneers on the top teeth.

"Unfortunately it can accentuate how bad the bottom ones are, but when they're all finished she'll be fine."

Meanwhile, a bookie has taken a £7,000 bet on Susan to win.

A punter at William Hill in Torquay, Devon, stands to take home £11,000 at 4/7 odds.

Susan Boyle Performs "Memory"

2009-05-27T17:41:00.004-04:00

The latest performance from global sensation Susan Boyle. (Thanks for sending, Lilli.)

A Jewish Buddhist

2009-05-14T10:31:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine who is Jewish (Frances) forward this amusing gem to me.

If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?

Be here now.
Be someplace else later.
Is that so complicated?

Drink tea and nourish life;
with the first sip, joy;
with the second sip, satisfaction;
with the third sip, peace;
with the fourth, a Danish.

Wherever you go, there you are.
Your luggage is another story.

Accept misfortune as a blessing.
Do not wish for perfect health,
or a life without problems.
What would you talk about?

The journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single Oy.

There is no escaping karma.
In a previous life,
you never called,
you never wrote,
you never visited.
And whose fault was that?

Zen is not easy.
It takes effort to attain nothingness.
And then what do you have?
Bupkis.

The Tao does not speak.
The Tao does not blame.
The Tao does not take sides.
The Tao has no expectations.
The Tao demands nothing of others.
The Tao is not Jewish.

Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your
problems.

Let your mind be as a floating cloud.
Let your stillness be as a wooded glen.
And sit up straight.
You'll never meet the Buddha with such rounded shoulders.

Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers.
Each flower blossoms ten thousand times.
Each blossom has ten thousand petals.
You might want to see a specialist.

Be aware of your body.
Be aware of your perceptions.
Keep in mind that not every physical sensation
is a symptom of a terminal illness.

The Torah says,
Love your neighbor as yourself.
The Buddha says,
There is no self.
So, maybe we're off the hook.

Cannes 2009: 3D film Up to make history at festival opening

2009-05-13T11:49:00.002-04:00

(I hope soon to start writing real posts for my blog. In the meantime, here's the trailer for a groundbreaking 3-D film premiere.)

A three-dimensional cartoon about the adventures of a sprightly pensioner will make cinematic history tonight when it brings the curtain up on the Cannes Film Festival.

Sex and the City - Parody starring Bea Arthur

2009-05-01T11:31:00.003-04:00

Thank you for all the laughs, Ms. Arthur.

The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad

2009-04-19T21:55:00.000-04:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

Threadless

2009-04-18T08:03:00.003-04:00

My friend Jonathon has entered a t-shirt design contest. To vote for his design, please click here.

I DREAMED A DREAM

2009-04-15T09:07:00.003-04:00

This is SO worth the time to watch.

Susan Boyle Stuns Crowd with Epic Singing - Watch more Funny Videos

The Lion-hugger

2009-03-26T11:58:00.000-04:00

Brave or stupid? Perhaps both.

Little girl gets into the heart, mind of a distant, wary dog

2009-03-04T12:25:00.002-05:00

By Sharon L. Peters, USA TODAY

This is one of those stories that stretches the bounds of credibility. You can choose to believe it or not. All I can do is swear it's absolutely true.

Nearly a year ago, a beautiful young husky landed at the rural animal shelter where I volunteer, brought in after being spotted alone in a snowy field. Days passed and no one claimed her so she got a name — Alpine —and efforts commenced to find her a home.

Alpine seemed distant, watchful, wary of people — a fairly common reaction when a dog finds itself in a new environment and is figuring out new survival techniques. But as weeks passed, it became clear that this was not a temporary condition. Her aloofness was extreme (even for a husky, which is generally not an instant-bonding dog like, say, a Lab), and time and our displays of love were having no impact.

She loved going for walks, but she did not regard this as a time for connecting with a human or getting her ears rubbed. The dog walker was merely the thing at the end of the leash that allowed her to cover some ground. She was always polite, never aggressive, but she moved away when physical contact seemed likely. And, in fact, it was only when someone entered her run carrying a leash that she approached; if the person was empty-handed, she'd move to the back.

As winter turned to spring, then summer, she proved herself to be a prodigious fence-climber (the shelter's 8-footer was easy sport) and escape artist that could get out of almost anything. This wanderlust was yet another quality unappealing to people who were seeking a loving pet.

Eventually, someone gave her a chance. But Alpine ran off repeatedly, and soon she was back at the shelter. Next came a couple with a rambunctious puppy. They understood that they'd have to give Alpine time and space to assess things; that when she licked her lips she was signaling stress and she wanted them to back off a little; and that they'd have to monitor their massive pup to make sure he didn't push too much. That one lasted a weekend. Alpine had been stressed by many things, not least of all the puppy, and tried to escape. When she couldn't, she pinned the pup to the ground. No blood was spilled; it appears she was engaging in dog-style puppy control, but that was that.

Back in the shelter, Alpine remained at the back of her kennel when visitors arrived. She continued to be polite but cool to those of us who walked her and cared for her. She wasn't depressed. She just seemed to have a narrow view of her life role, which was to patrol the hallway along the back runs at night, protect the other dogs from interlopers (she killed a raccoon that snuck in), and behave perfectly on walks. The director of this no-kill shelter, aware of our growing concern, kept saying, "It just takes one, one right person, and Alpine will have a forever home."

Two months ago the shelter got a call from a mother with two little girls who wanted to be volunteer dog walkers. But, she said, one of the girls "talks to animals," and if doing that at the shelter would rain ridicule upon the child, they wouldn't come. She was assured that no one would make fun of the girl, and soon they showed up. Within seconds, tiny 6-year-old Grace spotted a dog on a blanket in the office, sat with it, and announced that its tummy hurt. In fact, the dog had just been spayed and had been restless all afternoon. It settled down fully with Grace.

Grace made her way through the shelter, stopping at times and putting her hand in a dog's mouth, as that, her mother explained, is how she communicates best with them. This hand-in-mouth thing is absolutely not done in shelters, but the dogs were so calm and responsive, it was allowed. Soon dogs were literally holding their mouths open as the girl approached their gates.

She spent extra time with one, then said it had sore teeth and wanted something to chew on. It was a teething puppy.

When Grace approached Alpine's kennel, the husky approached the girl. They stood together quietly. Alpine, the girl finally offered, missed the dog she had grown up with, and that's why she runs away — to find him. No other information was shared. "Alpine doesn't want to talk anymore," the girl said, turning her attention to walking dogs.

Days later, the mom and girls returned to walk dogs again. Alpine had been on Grace's mind, so the girl and the dog sat together, oblivious to all around them. Alpine seemed happy, almost affectionate. "She can come home with us," Grace said at last. "She's not going to run away anymore."

There were reservations all around, of course. The parents brought in their three dogs to meet Alpine, which went well, and after much candid conversation — "It'll be OK," Grace kept saying, "I'll talk to her" — the family was allowed to take the husky.

Alpine has been with her family for two months now. She has never left her yard, even though there's just an easy-to-climb 4-foot fence. She's attached to all the pets and humans. And this snow dog that couldn't be forced into the shelter's indoor kennels at night sleeps happily in the girls' bedroom.

I can't explain it.

I can only swear it's true.

(Thanks to Greg for sharing.)

Courage Campaign: Divorce

2009-02-11T21:44:00.001-05:00

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Elizabeth Gilbert on "Having" Genius

2009-02-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

Hero Chile Dog

2009-02-03T09:06:00.003-05:00

Another amazing animal true story!

PS When the story broke, many called the TV station hoping to adopt the brave canine. Unfortunately, that couldn't happen because the rescue dog ran away and has not been found. Let's hope she or he found a good home anyway.

The Animal Odd Couple

2009-02-02T12:23:00.003-05:00

I'm jaded about cutesy videos, but this one is worth the time.

(Thanks to my animal-loving cousin Greg for sharing.)

Bonding over Bond, a chance encounter in Chelsea

2009-01-30T23:41:00.004-05:00

“Daniel Craig Dares Wear Short Shorts” screamed a recent headline. Below I saw a beefcake photo of the Brit on a mid-winter beach vacation. A shiver slithered up my spine as I recalled the last time I had seen that much of James Bond: While beholding the blond’s muscled flesh, a stranger and I clandestinely touched.

To read more of this essay published in today's edition of Chelsea Now, please click here.

Iceland likely to name world's first gay premier

2009-01-30T10:19:00.004-05:00

Not since Richard the Lion-hearted, King of England, has there been such an overtly gay head of state (at least that I can remember.)

(CNN) -- A gay rights group is welcoming the likely appointment of the world's first openly gay prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir of Iceland.

Protesters in Reykjavik celebrate the prime minister's resignation on Monday.

Sigurdardottir, the country's 66-year-old minister of social affairs and social security, is on track to succeed Prime Minister Geir Haarde, who resigned Monday following the collapse of the country's main banks, currency and stock market.

Negotiations are underway between Sigurardottir's Social Democratic Alliance Party and potential coalition partners. If they succeed, she will become interim prime minister until Iceland next goes to the polls, which must happen by May.

"We really warmly welcome that," said Gary Nunn, a spokesperson for Stonewall UK, a British gay-rights group. "At a time when we've just seen a black man elected to the highest office in America, it gives us hope that we will see an openly gay prime minister here some day."

"It really does matter. It is helpful" to have an openly gay prime minister, Nunn said. "We are trying to foster the ambition that young people can be anything they want to be."

Britain has only one openly lesbian member of Parliament, Angela Eagle of the Labour party, Nunn said. The United States currently has three openly gay members of Congress -- Democratic Reps. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Jared Polis of Colorado.

Stonewall considers it a higher priority to have significant numbers of openly gay lawmakers than an openly gay prime minister.

"For a head of state of to be gay is great and really encouraging, but it's really important for Parliament to represent the people it serves," he said.

Sigurdardottir has been a member of Iceland's Parliament for 30 years, and is in her second stint as minister of social affairs.

She started her career as a flight attendant for the airline that became IcelandAir. She was active in the flight attendants' labor union during her 11 years with the airline, according to her official resume.

Sigurdardottir briefly led her own political party, which merged with other center-left parties to form the Alliance party.

She would become Iceland's first female prime minister, although not the North Atlantic nation's first female head of state -- Vigdis Finnbogadottir became its fourth president in 1980.

Sigurdardottir lists author and playwright Jonina Leosdottir, 54, as her spouse on her ministry Web site. She has two children from an earlier marriage.

Teach What...

2009-01-28T21:44:00.007-05:00

During life coaching sessions late last year, I noticed that words coming out of my mouth were ones I needed to hear. The client's issue often mirrored my own, such as fear of failure, lack of trust and impatience. Then, three times in the space of a week I heard, "Teach what you need to learn." Message from the Universe heard loud and clear. I started paying more attention to my own advice.

Tonight, after a two-hour mandatory faculty meeting, I ran into my friend Lucky. As we walked back to 9th Avenue and 23rd Street, I told him about my first two days as a teacher. This evening I received the class textbook and learned, for example, that I need to explain the importance of structure and tone for short stories.

Then, the proverbial thunder bolt struck. I'm teaching a literature class because I want to be a writer. What better way to improve my ability to arrange words on paper than to study the technique of others, as seen from the reader's point of view!

A conspiracy for my highest good has once again subtly revealed itself, leaving me in awe of its beneficence.

Dreams Really Can Come True, Even at Forty-Two

2009-01-27T08:11:00.023-05:00

Last year I began life coaching at G.M.H.C. (Gay Men's Health Crisis), which despite it's name serves the entire community--straight or otherwise. When two months ago Dr. Lawson, director of a GED program housed at the center, inquired about my interest in teaching a junior college Intro to Literature class, I considered dropping to my knees with gratitude. My entire adult life I've wanted to be an instructor at the university level--especially a class about dissecting books or writing--but never thought it would happen.

Life coaching unexpectedly lead to teaching, my heart's true desire. When you volunteer, you really do get more than you give.

Tonight was my first class. I was a tad panicked, as the school couldn't find a textbook for me, so I was flying blind. Fortunately, I had two expert educators to advice me. My mother taught elementary school and also happens to be extraordinarily well-read. In her spare time, she prepared the entire first lesson for me, complete with worksheet and suggested reading materials! We used the day to discuss the definition of poetry, including whether hip-hop/rap and other musical lyrics of today may be considered poems. My prayer partner Sylvianne works as a teacher and also gave me wonderful tips.

First using Robert Frost's short piece Stopping by Woods On a Snowy Evening, we examined the basic aspects of poetry--rhyme, rhythm, stress, etc. Then, since most of the students come from the African-American or Afro-Hispanic communities, together we read On the Pulse of Morning by Maya Angelou. The students had covered Elizabeth Alexander's work from the Obama inauguration in a class the previous day, but fortunately none of them had heard Angelou's from the Clinton swearing-in. They--and I--were mesmerized. For as long as I live I'll never forget the excitement one student expressed when he nearly jumped up from his seat with a quiver in his voice: "She's saying we're all slaves in one way or another! Everyone!" When we completed our reading, the class enthusiastically agreed we had encountered not just an excellent poem, but a profound message of hope.

Here are a few of the pupils who agreed to a quick photo:

As a kid, I always wanted to be an Olympic gymnast like Bart Conner. That was not such a popular idea to hold growing up in Texas. I was terribly awkward and shy in any sports, but thought that I might be good at the parallel bars. When in 7th grade I could choose which gym class to take, I joyfully selected gymnastics. Later, one of the female coaches approached me to let me know I'd be the only male in the class. "You can still take it, but...," she cautioned. Doing so would be a one-way ticket to social purgatory--and I was already on shaky ground because of my studious and artistic nature. Baseball was my distant second choice. My confidence was so low that in the entire semester, I never once managed to hit the ball, no matter how valiantly I tried.

Fast forward thirty years: on the schedule I spotted Acroyoga, a special class at Chelsea Piers which combines tumbling and yoga. From the moment I started the my vinyasa practice, I had finally found a sport I was good at. A friend has teased me that I must have been a yogi in a previous life because I have been able to do things quickly that for others may take years to master. (It's an exaggeration, but directionally true.)

Before the class, I thought it would be full of middle-aged gay men like me, but I was wrong. While the ratio of girls to boys was quite high, there were a number of other guys. However, they were straight, showing up with their girlfriends. I was paired with an instructor named Rene, who was wonderfully patient.

Here, she performs an early warm-up:

Next came the tumbling. Rene hangs upside down, while I fervently pray I don't drop her and crack her neck:

We add a spotter to the mix and begin completing back flips. Here I'm pictured mid-flight, preparing to land on my hands.

It's never too late to have the life that might have been.

Note About Musical Parody

2009-01-23T09:36:00.004-05:00

Several people have asked where I copied The Wicked Wretch Has Fled. I didn't. While in China waiting for the election results, I imagined a multitude of munchkins singing with joy in the streets if Obama won: "Ding! Dong! The wretch is dead!" On Inauguration Day this week, I wanted to post something but feared any mention of George Bush and death (even if by a fallen house) would get me in trouble with the FBI. So "is dead" became "has fled."

Note to FBI: I would never threaten to harm Mr. Bush, the Bush family--or anyone on the planet at all. Please understand this was meant to be silly fun!

The Wicked Wretch Has Fled

2009-01-20T06:02:00.006-05:00

No more Guantanamo!

No more political witch hunts by the Attorney General!

No more premature "Mission Accomplished" claims!

No more ignoring Bin Laden in order to seek revenge against a Middle East dictator who threatened to assassinate his father!

No more back rubs for female heads of state!

No more a-fourth-of-his-presidency-on-vacation-at-the-ranch!

No more Bush in the White House!

Sung to the tune of Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead

from The Wizard of Oz

(Glinda) Let the joyous news be spread

The wicked, old wretch at last has fled

(Munchkins) Ding-dong the wretch has fled

Which old wretch? The Wicked Wretch

Ding-dong the Wicked Wretch has fled

Wake up you sleepyhead

Rub your eyes, get out of bed

Wake up the Wicked Wretch has fled

He's gone where bad cowboys go

Below - below - below

Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out

Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low

Let them know the Wicked Wretch has fled

(Mayor) As mayor of the Capitol City

In the county of the land of the U.S.A.

I welcome you most regally

(Judge) But we've got to verify it legally

To see...

(Mayor) To see...

(Judge) If he...

(Mayor) If he...

(Judge) Is morally, ethically

(Munchkin 1) Spiritually, physically

(Munchkin 2) Positively, absolutely

(Munchkin Men) Undeniably and reliably fled

(Colonel) As Colonel, I thoroughly examined him

And he's not only merely fled

He's really most sincerely fled back to Texas

(Mayor) Then this is a day of independence for all the munchkins

And their descendants

Yes, let the joyous news be spread

The wicked old wretch at last has fled

(Munchkins) Ding-dong the wretch has fled

Which old wretch? The Wicked Wretch

Ding-dong the Wicked Wretch has fled

Wake up you sleepyhead

Rub your eyes, get out of bed

Wake up the Wicked Wretch has fled

He's gone where bad cowboys go

Below - below - below

Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out

Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low

Let them know the Wicked Wretch has fled

Under the Big Top

2009-01-15T22:14:00.020-05:00

Lucky invited me as his guest to his company holiday party, which was held at the non-profit Big Apple Circus this year. I love the greatest show on earth, but hadn't been since I was a kid. (OK, there was that one time in the '90's when I took a date, but that doesn't count because he insisted we leave after fifteen minutes.)

In keeping with my birthday week theme of acting out scenes from famous movies, my friend and I argue about which flick we should choose for the Big Apple circus: Dumbo? Too sentimental. Freaks? Too weird. The Elephant Man? Too sad. Finally, Lucky comes up with a winner, a cult film favorite featuring Paul Reubens.

Here my friend gives his best Big Top Pee-Wee Herman impression. For some reason, though, he doesn't quite pull it off. (Maybe it would help if he wore a grey suit and red bow-tie.)

Later, when taking my photo, Lucky thinks it's funny to position my face underneath the neon signs so it looks like I'm wearing a tiara. At first I wasn't amused. (I may be gay, but don't consider myself a queen.) Soon, however, I lightened up and laughed.

Despite it being one of the coldest nights of the year, we survived the outing. Our adventure at the circus left us filled with popcorn, brownies and many warm memories. (Ah, saccharin-y sweet blog endings.)

P.S. If you love the circus as much as I do, check out the online http://www.circopedia.org/

X-Rated, But Really Very Tame

2009-01-14T22:06:00.001-05:00

After filling their bellies with Mexican food, two good ole boys from small-town Texas decide to wander around 42nd Street reenacting scenes from the movie Midnight Cowboy. Christopher insists he alone can fill the mighty Jon Voight's boots, leaving me to play the less glamorous "My name is Enrique Salvatore Rizzo ... Call me Rico ... I'm not Ratso" Dustin Hoffman role. In order to stay in character, I fake a fatal case of TB, phlegm balls and rattling lungs included.

PS The title refers to the flick, not our evening, which was super G-rated, Mom!

Snowy Peaks and Surprise Visits

2009-01-11T21:39:00.011-05:00

As the first powdery flakes fell from heaven Saturday night, I could tell there'd be good skiing the next day for the brave of heart. With a few hushed whispers, soon my trusted pal Robert and I cooked up a plan. The two of us (plus our guest Tom) thought we'd leave the country house shortly after dawn for an early morning visit to see some little ones. However, if we claimed the roads were impassible in the morning, then we could race down the nearby slopes for a couple of hours and still arrive by noon. Spitting into our hands and shaking, we made it a deal.

Robert and I clipped our nostril hair that morning and here demonstrate our clean-nose confidence to the camera.

Robert asks me if he has any branches stuck in his tonsils. (He had been munching on evergreens earlier.)

On our way home, Robert removes his ski pants and saunters back to his truck in his skivvies. When I complained, "Whaaaaaat?" was his only reply. You can take the boy out of the backwoods, but you can't take the backwoods out of the boy.

Next we made our way to West Orange, where despite our late arrival, some of our hosts were still sleeping.

Fortunately, the adults were awake. Here Sophia props up an obviously exhausted Brent.

Tom, Joe and baby Paolo enjoy snickering silently at Robert's feeble attempt at humor. Pa-the-tic!
Our day of snowy peaks and surprise visits ended. Tom and I returned to the bustling city, while Robert hopped into his four-wheel and returned from whence he came--the hicks.

For the Jobless, Words That Work

2009-01-08T15:30:00.007-05:00

Here's an excerpt from my first serious article, published in the New York Post on December 22.

IF YOU'RE AMONG the laid-off, or want to help out someone who is (or find him or her a last-minute gift), plenty of books can offer inspiration, perspective or strategy. As a life coach, I counsel many downsized and dejected New Yorkers, and regularly suggest books for them. Here are several that clients say have given them hope.

"THINK, AND GROW RICH," by Napoleon Hill

Now that we're staring at the worst financial crisis since the Depression, it's a good time to visit some tips gleaned during the mother of all meltdowns. For this pioneering self-help book, first published in 1937, Hill interviewed people such as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell to see what distinguishing characteristics successful people share. He identified 13 universal principles, built around the idea that your outer world reflects your inner thoughts.

For the full article, please click here.

New Year's Eve

2009-01-01T11:23:00.005-05:00

For the first time in a many years, I planned to be in New York for New Year's Eve. I wasn't sure what to do, but knew that I didn't want to go to celebrate with the masses. News reports suggested that the temperatures would be way below freezing (around 12 degrees), so anything outdoors was out of the question.

Lucky and I decided to hang out together but agreed we both wanted to do something different--no packed, noisy restaurants, no bars, no big parties. Since my friend currently attends seminary school, I checked out churches online and discovered a jazz performance service at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village. We arrived breathless and chilled, but soon our spirits and bodies warmed from the surrounding environment. Lucky ran into several people from his school, including the Dean and her husband.

The service was outstanding, consisting of jazz piano selections interspersed with inspirational readings. Halfway into the hour, the musician played a song that I recognized from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. For over a year I listened to the music while jogging, so should have immediately been able to identify the song's title. Nonetheless I couldn't place it. When the pianist finished, he spoke into the microphone and told the audience about the piece, called "Nature Boy," which ends with the refrain, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." As a single guy, I found the moment particularly poignant.

Once done, we headed to Chinatown, where I had booked us reservations at a restaurant known for its spicy and healthy food. On the map it didn't look far, but in the frigid air, our walk seemed interminably long. Here Lucky decided to stop and smell the fish as an excuse to get warm:

Hoping for warmth, I placed my right cheek on a stack of flounder, where it promptly froze. I wanly smiled after freeing myself from the icy food.

Warm gloves are a must when the wind chill factor reaches 0 degrees. I envied Lucky's pair, snapping a quick photo as a reminder to rush out and buy some.

Our meal filled our bellies well. We headed to Little Italy for desert, but most of the places were closed or about to close. Lucky suggested we grab some cannoli and head to his place to watch some episodes of Little Britain. On our way back to Chelsea, the Manhattan neighborhood where we both live, we entered the L line subway to head west. Lucky was so cold he couldn't feel anything below his waist. His face lit up as he felt his toes once again.

I spotted my friend "Holly's" last name on a movie poster.

The evening ended with the two of us on Lucky's couch. We watched the Times Square ball drop and pitied the folks out in the cold. At midnight, we gave each other a friendly hug and kiss on the cheek, then called it a night. As I walked to my apartment, I realized how refreshing it was to be sober and peaceful on the first night of the year.

How ‘Hair’ grew on me, and eventually set me free

2008-12-12T23:48:00.007-05:00

When the Public Theater announced recently that its 40th anniversary production of “Hair” would return to Broadway in 2009, my mind flashed back to this past August. Beneath a balmy, moonlit sky in Central Park, I saw the musical for the first time.

If you'd like to read the full essay, click here.

Ice Diamonds

2008-12-12T23:22:00.007-05:00

An ice storm hit many parts of the northeast this week, including the higher elevations of Vernon, NJ where some friends and I have a weekend place. My housemate Robert described what we saw to our third musketeer/owner, Adrian.

Court and I went to the house this afternoon and are now back in the city since there was no power. It was truly an unique thing to see Hidden Valley [note: our subdivision] the day after the ice storm. Driving up 515 you would think that Eric [note: friend who owns a place next to ours in the country with his partner Rich] must have been crazy as everything was clear and calm. Then, in the distance, you could begin to see the higher elevation and everything was shimmering. All at once, 515 at a certain point became a thing of beauty. It was as though the world was covered in trillions of diamonds shining brightly and the weight of the diamonds was causing the proud trees to bow over the road creating almost a tunnel like atmosphere. I am sure I was driving with my mouth wide open in awe of the beauty of nature.

Then I reached Hidden Valley. I have never seen anything like it in my life. While still a thing a beauty, there was a very eerie quality about the world. Trees were no longer just bowing over, they were snapped at the core with bits of debris surrounding the earth below. Power lines were weighted down so much that I wasn't sure I would be able to clear them and some were lying on the road. Rich and Eric's house was nearly invisible from the road because of the trees all over the place. It would have been impossible to enter their driveway as a result of the forest of wood and cable blocking the entrance.

Fallen trees caught in power lines, here only a foot higher than my Jeep

Then the turn onto Hidden Valley Drive. Eric had warned me that you would see where trees had been down in 4 places that they had to cut through to clear the road. THAT was an understatement! I was beginning to feel that I now knew what the apocalypse will look like. The entire road was a disaster area. Words cannot describe just how beautifully awful it looked. I consider it a small miracle that [our house's address] suffered no damage. There were mighty trees bent completely over and touching the ground. Court ventured a bit further out back and says there are quite a few trees completely down, but nothing has touched the house and all wires to the house are still in tact. I don't think we are completely out of the woods yet as things could still snap, but I think we are probably okay as anything that looked like it might be a problem were a far enough away not to hit the house. Still, you never know.

Electrical connections remaining in the street

When I wrote this entry Saturday afternoon, much of Vernon still had no power.

China Day 6 (Shanghai Surprise)

2008-11-07T16:48:00.009-05:00

A downpour greeted our China Air flight as it neared the Shanghai Airport. The rain descended so hard and quickly that it didn't just come down in sheets, but in pillows, comforters and mattress pads, too.

Our plane landed around noon, but we didn't get to the city until about 3 pm. That's because the weekend traffic had already begun, our guide explained. With 18 million people, automobile don't really circulate here. They idle, move 1o feet, then wait some more.

We tried walking The Bund, a district sometimes called the "Wall Street of the East", to see the skyscrapers across the Huangpu River, but the atmosphere was cold and wet, so our host rushed us back to the hotel. Because of the inclement weather, all of our visits were moved to Saturday. I have no interesting sites to describe nor many fun photos to throw onto this blog entry. Instead, I'll toss out a couple of interesting facts (courtesy of Eric, the tour guide) about this "City by the Sea" as the name translates from Mandarin.

*Shanghai has the most elevators in the world.
*More office space was built here in 2007 than currently exists in all of Manhattan.
*The "crane is the national bird of China". (This is a joke about all the construction happening in the country.)

The Jin Mao Tower's architectural designs were modeled after the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, with the desire to create a modern building with a traditional Chinese sense of style. It was the tallest building in the People's Republic, until...

the completion of the World Financial Center, currently the second tallest building in the world and the tallest by roof. A Japanese bank financed the WFC, which caused protests against the original blueprints. Many here in Shanghai remember the cruel occupation by the Japanese in the 1930's and '40's. To them, the structure looks too much like a samurai sword posed to chop down its smaller neighbor. Originally, the taller building had a round circular opening at the top, rather than a square. When locals pointed out that it looked as if the Japanese were subtly replanting the Rising Sun flag over the city, voices were raised so loudly that the bank ordered a new design.

I hope to have more interesting things to write for the next entry.

(Photo of Grand Hyatt/Mao Jin Tower courtesy Leonardo Media Services B.V; photo of World Financial Center courtesy of www.privateclubthai.com)

China Day 5 (Terracotta Warriors)

2008-11-06T16:15:00.010-05:00

We're in Xi'an, one of the oldest cities in China with a history over 3,000 year-old. Because the Silk Road started here, it was the wealthiest place on the planet at its peak. Currently the city has enjoyed a renaissance because of the country's rapid economic growth. The presence of the Terracotta Warriors, or "the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century," as we've been told numerous times, has given the location a reputation as the Sino-cultural capital.

During the 1950's the central planning committee decided to tear down the fortifications that formed a ring around the old part of Beijing in order to build a road. Fortunately,the Xi'an City Walls escaped the same fate. Begun nearly 200 years B.C., the structure remains one of the oldest and best preserved examples of ancient military prowess in the world.

(Pollution level appears to have fallen in the morning, which makes the photos a tad less grey.)
At night bright lights shower the sentry buildings, creating magnificent views. But I couldn't get a good shot, so you'll have to live with a boring daytime photo.

Throughout the wall's roof, vendors plied their wares. Morgan snapped this picture of the delicate string of tiny kites. (You can always identify her work, as she usually shoots on a diagonal. I guess she sees the world from a distinct point of view.)

Next, we went on another sales pitch call. Because this trip cost only our plane fare (and a heavily discounted one at that), we have been dragged each day to a couple of government-sponsored stores. It's sort of like getting use of a condo for free in Boca. You can play at the beach for days as long as you agree to a sales pitch.

This morning, our guides explained how the Terracotta Warriors were made two thousand years ago. Then, they shared the stunning news that for a price between $50 to $50,000, we, too, could have one in our homes!

In front of the workshop, Gorka and I try to have a tough guy contest. Here's my best look:

Somehow my Spanish friend got the rules mixed up. He thought we were auditioning for the Chinese military version of Brokeback Mountain, posing thusly:

Six thousand years ago a matriarchal society lived in the area today called the Banpo Village. Little remains of the society, other than a couple of pots and some holes in the ground. I'll spare you the dull pictures. As Morgan pointed out to me, "I'm impressed with how old it all is, but this is pretty boring." Agreed.

What was not boring was our visit to the Terracotta Warriors. This was the view of Pit 1 (the largest) upon entering. It reminded me of the Civil War battle scene in the movie Gone With the Wind when the camera pulled away to reveal the magnitude of the casualties. The clay figures filled an enormous space.

Closer inspection revealed that no two are alike, just as the guide told us.
The atmosphere eerily felt as if the troops awaited battle, ready to rise at a moment's call. Electric charges of the supernatural swirled in the air.

More details:

Here are some of the members of the Ontario, California tour group: Bob, Maury, Sandy, Morgan, Gorka and Loretta. Few people on our tour hail from Southern California. Most came because they heard from friends about the incredibly cheap way to see China.
The city of Xi'an uses this image, "The Archer", as its symbol, one of the few statues found intact.

Morgan discusses with Loretta a delicate subject matter regarding her boyfriend. I try not to listen, but can't help myself. We all become concerned.
Fortune has smiled upon us, for it looks like she was wrong. Gorka doesn't have head lice, as you can see in this photo!

We leave early this morning for Shanghai. In fact, I'm running late!

China Day 4 (Big Wild Goose Pagoda)

2008-11-05T16:23:00.009-05:00

When our flight from Beijing landed at the Xi'an airport, I could barely see the runway. "Terrible fog," I thought. Wrong I was, for the grey stuff in the air was smog. We had been lucky in Beijing, as the first two days a strong breeze made for clear blue skies. In this ancient capital city, however, we could barely breath. I've lived in Mexico City, which has the reputation for the world's worst air quality. Today's surpassed any pollution I can remember from south of the border or anywhere. My eyes burned constantly all day.

Our first stop of the day was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 A.D. (The photo appears fuzzy because of airborne contaminants.)

Xi'an was the end and beginning of the Silk Trade Route. A monk named Xuanzang used the trail to travel to the cradle of Buddhism, where he spent 17 years. Upon his return to China, the scholar brought with him 657 Sanskrit texts, which he translated.

My sister has remarked that she loves "Middle Earth" --as the locals refer to their country-- so much that she feels Chinese. Here, Gorka and Morgan pause to reflect on the tranquility in the temple confines.

Okay, silly joke. That's actually Gorka and ME doing a momentary meditation near the incense. Here's Morgan by an urn:

While my sister took a much-needed nap, her beau and I headed into the city. Our first stop was the Drum Tower, built in 1380.

Next we headed to the Islamic Quarter, which teemed with food stands, bright colors and chaos.

Here we stopped by a small gymnasium and peaked through the front window. Both Gorka and I thought the locals need to work some on their legs.

Yes, I can hear you groan. The last attempt at humor was even worse than the first. Give me a break. I've been up since 2 am!

For dinner, we watched a "cultural show" which reminded me a little of an elementary school pageant, although with much better talent. The singing, dancing and costumes truly were wonderful (but I must admit that I slept through most of the performance.) After, our tour group enjoyed a local speciality: dumplings.

Gorka and I ate heartily, but Morgan had issues. She's a vegetarian and swore some of the dishes were pleading for mercy. Look at the concern on her face:

We tried to convince her that the food wasn't still alive, but didn't have much luck when the pieces looked like this:

Now, I need to prepare myself for the famed Terracotta Warriors visit.

Divided We Fail

2008-11-05T16:21:00.003-05:00

The folks who put together the AARP video have released a new one. Check out the great message and stunning technology.

China Day 3 (Summer Palace)

2008-11-04T14:22:00.009-05:00

When the guide told the group we would visit Tong Ren Tang, a 339-year old Chinese pharmacy in the heart of Beijing, my curiosity became piqued. Over the past few months I have developed an interest in alternative medicines, but really know little about them. This would be an opportunity to learn something new.

As we entered into the modern, sterile building, it could have been any medical clinic around the world (except for the signs in Mandarin). We were shepherded into a small classroom, where a sprightly lady explained the history of the establishment. First, she translated the name into English: "Tong" = "Equal", "Ren" = "Kind" and "Tang" = "Big Store", or put all together, "A pharmacy that treats everyone kindly."

Then, she explained the similarities and differences between Western and Chinese medicines. The former works well for acute disease and treating symptoms, while the latter strives to prevent and regulate illness, she said. There are four main ways that Chinese doctors make a prognosis:

1. Visual Observation (skin, hair, eyes, nails, tongue)
2. Smell (particularly the breath)
3. Questions
4. Pulse

As evidence of the effectiveness of Oriental medicine, she asked us to guess her age. Most of us thought she was forty or fifty. To our surprise, she said seventy-two!

Morgan, Gorka and I all agreed to undergo diagnosis. Here's our Spaniard with the doctor and translator:

Next, we headed to a historic district for a rickshaw tour. The "hutong" is a traditional living area for ordinary Beijing citizens. Some houses are 1,000 years old in this densely-packed area with narrow streets. Below Gorka snaps me as I'm filming them.

A park glimpse during the ride:

Deep into the heart of the neighborhood, we lunched in a private home. Among a number of outstanding meals during the trip, this one has been the tastiest. Some places have served "American-style" Chinese food, but our host explained we ate what he serves his family.

Next we stopped by a pearl factory. Morgan and her boyfriend attended the presentation, but I grabbed my journal, found a couch and wrote. Five minutes later, Gorka wandered over and joined me. Neither of us could fake an interest in jewelery for very long.

Finally, we arrived at the highlight destination for the day, the Summer Palace.

Here, I reenact the doctor's exam at Tong Ren Tang by sticking out my tongue for the camera.

We were moved nearly to tears by China's concern to preserve not only historical items, but also the gates around them.
Morgan and I near the entrance to the royal family's quarters:

Gorka and Morgan bask in the last sun rays of the day:
As we departed the Summer Palace, a lionness bid us "bai bai", as they say in Chinese.

China Day 2 (The Great Wall)

2008-11-03T19:10:00.011-05:00

The morning began with a quick bus turn past many of the buildings constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. My favorite, the "Dragon Building", looks like this:

My sister, her boyfriend and I have all commented on how we have been impressed with Beijing. It shines from all of the improvements: beautiful highways, clean streets, many modern buildings.

Next our guide took us 50 minutes outside of the city to visit the Ming Tombs. There are 13 of them in this particular valley houses, but fortunately we're only visiting the most famous. It's only 9 am, but already I'm tired.

Morgan breaks out into a song-and-dance routine to entertain Gorka during a lull in the action. Here she belts out the final chorus from "He Had It Comin'" in the musical Chicago as a subtle warning that she's from Texas and knows how to use a gun.

Emperor Gorka and Empress Morgan don traditional royal Chinese garb and glibly pose for the camera.

The best shots always are taken when the subjects least expect.

Our guide suggested that we take the Great Wall route pictured below, to the right of the entrance. The left side looked tougher and more crowded. Gorka and I wanted to go left. Morgan opposed us. Of course, she won, and thank goodness she did. It was a killer hike.

I begin to see that the climb ain't gonna be easy.

Morgan chose to wear high-heeled boots. Here she is celebrating her shoe selection.

About half-way to the peak, my two traveling companions decided to head back to the bus. I continued forward, only to discover that the view at the top wasn't much different from the half-way point vista. Isn't that always the case in life?

Back at the base, our band of three pauses to take in the moment.

So far the meals have been outstanding, but tonight's dinner consisted of a buffet at the National Reflexology Museum. Somehow, the concept of mixing feet and food didn't work for us. We consumed lightly. Given that we aren't paying for our meals, however, we chose not to complain. Pictured below is the waitstaff, multitasking by collecting plates from the several hundred people in attendance while stretching calf muscles, too. Nice concept, but don't think I'll try it at home any time soon.

Once we returned to our hotel, the rest of our bus group tried to convince us to hang out with them in the lobby. We politely declined, exhausted. As we parted, I heard someone say quietly, "What do you expect? None of them are even fifty. They can't keep up with us!"

And the craziest part is that it's true. The retirees on our tour are animals.

China Day 1 (The Forbidden City)

2008-11-02T15:17:00.000-05:00

Running to catch my 5 am bus to Xian. Will organize photos and add commentary later today (Wed in China.)

AARP

2008-10-26T14:32:00.002-04:00

Cute concept and great message from AARP. Check out this link: http://www.aarpvote08.com/?d=Q291cnQgU3Ryb3Vk

Thanks to Susan C. for sharing the video!

SNL (on Thursday): Bush Press Conference

2008-10-24T18:34:00.000-04:00

Was Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider gay?

2008-10-24T15:45:00.004-04:00

While we're occupied with the Presidential race, news continues to be made in the world. For example, xenophobic Austrian "family values" party leader Joerg Haider died in an auto accident. Turns out he was a (to use a Yiddish term) "fagala".

Modern history abounds with stories of hatemongers (J. Edgar Hoover and Larry Craig to name a quick two) who hope their venom can act as a smoke screen. One problem remains: the truth seems always to come out eventually!

By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer William J. Kole, Associated Press Writer – Fri Oct 24, 7:31 am ET

VIENNA, Austria – Was Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider secretly gay?

Speculation that he led a double life raged this week after his political protege, Stefan Petzner, publicly called Haider "the man of my life" in a tearful tribute to the former Freedom Party boss killed in a car crash earlier this month.

Petzner, 27, did not say explicitly that he and Haider, a 58-year-old married father of two, were gay or had a sexual relationship.

But Petzner's tears and the tone of his remarks — along with photographs purportedly showing Haider in a gay bar on the eve of his death — have raised questions about whether the ultraconservative nationalist had something to hide.

"This can't go on," said Michael Fleischhacker, editor-in-chief of the daily Die Presse.

"Stefan Petzner needs to make a decision: Either he describes what was so special about his relationship with Joerg Haider, or he stops publicly playing the role of Haider's successor and widow," Fleischhacker wrote in his blog.

Haider died Oct. 11 after crashing his car in the southern province of Carinthia, where he was governor. Investigators say he was drunk and speeding at twice the posted limit when the car plowed into a concrete post and flipped.

Haider was alone in the vehicle, and although authorities have said there is no evidence to suggest foul play, his widow has refused to have Haider's body cremated until independent forensics experts take another look at the remains.

In death, as in life, Haider remains steeped in controversy.

When his Freedom Party won 27 percent of the vote in 1999 elections, and joined Austria's coalition government early in 2000, the European Union slapped the country with months of diplomatic sanctions in protest of statements by Haider that came off sounding anti-Semitic.

Though Haider praised aspects of Hitler's labor policies, criticized immigrants as lazy, criminal and corrupt, and seemed contemptuous of Jews, neither he nor his party ever said anything derogatory about homosexuals, or made traditional family values a key campaign theme.

Haider had left the Freedom Party to form the somewhat more moderate Alliance for the Future of Austria, and Petzner, his deputy, succeeded him as party chief after Haider's death. Together, the two rightist parties won about 29 percent of the vote in last month's parliamentary elections.

Within hours of the fatal crash, Petzner went on national television. Sobbing, he declared: "For us, it's like the end of the world."

That in itself struck some as a bit unusual. But late last week, in an emotional interview broadcast on Austrian radio, Petzner went further.

"We had a special relationship that went far beyond friendship," he said. "Joerg and I were connected by something truly special. He was the man of my life ... I loved him as a best friend."

Petzner chose his words carefully, and what he really meant remains open to interpretation. He called Haider his "Lebensmensch" — a term in German that could suggest an intimate relationship, but also could be used to describe an icon or a mentor.

Calls by The Associated Press to Petzner's cell phone seeking comment went unanswered Friday.

In recent days, several Austrian newspapers and the respected news weekly Profil have published grainy photos they say show Haider in the Stadtkraemer — a gay bar in Klagenfurt, the provincial capital of Carinthia.

Haider's widow, Claudia, and two married daughters have refused to comment, and his party insists his relationship with Petzner was purely platonic. Petzner was passed over this week as the Alliance's floor leader in parliament, but he remains the bloc's boss.

Party officials said Friday the controversy was not a factor in the decision to snub him as floor leader, noting that Haider also didn't serve in that capacity.

For decades, rumors had swirled that Haider might be gay. Some had even taken to calling his political bloc the "Boys' Party" because Haider's entourage often included a bevy of tanned young men.

Austrians, however, are fiercely protective of what they call the "sphere of privacy" — a no-go zone that many feel applies as much to public figures as to ordinary citizens.

Others, like businessman Thomas Neuhold, contend a politician's sexual orientation is irrelevant.

"I believe it's been well-known for a long time that Joerg Haider was gay, and to be honest, I'm completely OK with that. We're living in 2008," he said.

"If more homosexual politicians would out themselves, it would be a great thing for Austria."

Next Season on Dancing With the Stars

2008-10-22T16:33:00.001-04:00

Isn't it amazing what you can do with PhotoShop?

THEY'LL TAKE A LIFELINE

2008-10-22T16:13:00.005-04:00

My friend freelance writer Cara O'Flynn sent out an email SOS. She needed subjects for a NY Post story about how the economic downturn has effected every day people. I read the request and left my apartment. Walking past my regular barbershop, I ran into Cesar, who often cuts my hair. I asked if he'd be willing to speak with Cara and he immediately agreed.

The barbers had been told me about the lack of business. I hope that the free publicity from the story will bring in more customers.

THEY'LL TAKE A LIFELINE

WHAT LAYOFF - SPOOKED NEW YORKERS ARE DOING - AND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO

By CARA O'FLYNN

CUTTING BACK: With business slow at CityLife Barbers in Chelsea, Cesar Gutierrez, Jerry Rivera and Josue Ortiz are among the many NYC workers anxious about what the future holds.

October 13, 2008--

When you think about economic downturns, barbershops aren't usually the first businesses that come to mind. People always need their hair cut, after all. But these days CityLife Barbers in Chelsea is feeling the pinch as strongly as any Wall Street firm. The mood is decidedly bleak at the shop, which primarily services go-getters from the financial industry. As formerly flush clients cope with an uncertain future, their hairstylists face the same fears.

"The last couple of weeks have been really quiet," says barber Cesar Gutierrez.

Not only are old patrons coming less frequently and scaling back tips, new customers aren't coming at all. Regulars jokingly threaten to start cutting their own hair. Others are just plain depressed.

"They don't even care what their haircut looks like anymore," says Jerry Rivera, another CityLife employee. "They look at the mirror and don't say anything."

Josue Ortiz, who also works at the shop, has been taking home $300 less per week than he was a few months ago.

"I'm just hoping this business won't fold," he says.

These same anxieties are rippling throughout city. With the stock market in free fall and thousands of jobs gone from the finance sector, it's not just investment bankers who are feeling the strain. Worried about what lies ahead and wondering how safe their jobs really are, jittery workers across the city are taking steps many wouldn't have considered even a month ago.

For Sheldon Ramdial, a recent graduate with a bachelor's degree in accounting, that means weighing options he didn't think he'd have to think about, including relocating.

"I don't know how optimistic I can be about the future," Ramdial says. "With all that's happened on Wall Street, there might be more opportunities outside of New York."

For others, it has meant holding onto more of their paychecks and otherwise socking away money.

"I've been selling off things I don't need - clothes, furniture, sporting equipment - and putting the money in savings. In the past, I would have treated myself to something, like a nice dinner out or a massage," says Allison Leonard, a media research consultant.

Cutting back on expenses, even small ones, is also fast becoming a priority.

"I used to meet a colleague for lunch, but now I bring mine," says Fran Siegal, a psychotherapist.

She's also stopped buying clothes and is using the library instead of buying books. What does she do with her extra cash?

"I hoard it," she says. "I'm terrified to spend it."

Siegal is also taking steps to expand her practice, in anticipation of possible rough seas ahead. Until recently, she maintained a line between business and leisure, keeping places like the gym separate from work. But she recently found herself speaking to a manager about referring potential clients.

"Everyone I have a friendly rapport with, I'll bring up referrals," she says.

Judy Karp, who records sound for movies, has likewise been inspired to start networking, in her case for the first time.

"I've always had enough work and thought because of where I am in my career that I wouldn't have to network," she says. "Now I have to call everyone I know to say I'm available, and I'm also starting LinkedIn and Facebook."

Karp is suddenly open to other ways of marketing herself online, as well.

"Three weeks ago, if someone asked if I had a Web site, I'd say, 'Web site?' " she says. "Now I say, 'I'll make one!' "

SUBHED: Battening the hatches

Karp has the right idea, say career experts. While the average worker can't do much to put the Dow back on track, people should take proactive steps in a changing and unpredictable economy, especially if they're worried about losing their jobs.

Identify your underlying skills. Gregory Shea and Robert Gunther, authors of "Your Job Survival Guide: A Manual for Thriving in Change," recommend thinking of your career as a portfolio of projects instead of a linear path of job titles.

"You're not where you've worked, you're the skills that you bring with you," says Shea.

If you had an interview tomorrow, could you point to anything specific to showcase - say, your team-building or project-management abilities? If the answer is no, find or create some projects in your current job. (This could have the added benefit of helping you avoid a potential layoff!)

Network, network, network. Now is the time to start tapping your network - don't wait for the ax to fall.

"Getting on LinkedIn.com is one of the first things I'd recommend so you can cover ground faster," says Jonathan Mazzocchi, a partner at the staffing firm Winter, Wyman. Facebook is another good resource - and now's the time to clean up anything you wouldn't want a prospective employer to see.

Beyond the Internet, begin conversations with people in your alumni network, as well as family, friends and others in your community.

"Churches, schools or other organizations may have contacts that could be sources of new projects or work," says Gunther.

When networking, be clear about what your goals are, suggests career counselor Judith Gerberg.

"Don't say, 'I'll do anything,' " she says. "It's much better to say, 'I'm looking for a back-room job in financial services at a company likely to get busy with new work from Washington.' "

Diversify your skills. Gerberg recommends getting credentials or experience in an area that is always needed and wanted, like health care or education. Just like diversifying investments, having multiple streams of income from different sectors of the economy can reduce your overall risk.

Perfect your resume. "Be prepared," says Mazzocchi. It's crucial to have a great resume ready to send - or, even better, several resumes tailored for different kinds of jobs. You never know when you might need it.

Determine whether your current path is right for you. With change comes opportunity, and that can be just as true of unwelcome changes like layoffs. If you don't find your career fulfilling, take a step back and reflect on what might be a more satisfying move if you were to be pink-slipped.

"This is a great time to ask yourself where you want to make your contribution," says Gerberg.

Look for opportunities. Take time now to start researching where there's growth in the economy.

"The new directions you might find for your career could come from other industries," says Gunther.

For example, health care is often not on the radar of people working in financial services, but it's an expanding field with a large demand for experienced money managers.

Pay attention to your health. If you're feeling distressed, don't forget to keep up with doctor visits, get regular exercise and tend to any emotional issues that could impede you in a job search.

"Get to a place where you're not depressed and lethargic," says Shea. "You don't want to walk around afraid, casting yourself as vulnerable."

Be ready financially. Having at least six months of living expenses in savings is a good idea. If you don't have an emergency fund, open a bank account and start stashing away as much as you can.

Give back. "The world has so many problems," says Gerberg. "Think about ways to make a difference."

Doing volunteer work can leave you feeling more connected to the world at large. Plus, you could gain new skills and contacts that might come in handy later.

Don't despair. "While it looks like everything is falling apart, people still need to have their teeth cleaned and buy groceries," says Gerberg. "There are industries that are needed and wanted, even in this environment."