SHEE HEE!

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

ANNA NICHOLE SMITH FINALLY REACHES TARGET WEIGHT

HILARIOUS ARTICLE FROM THE ONION!



NASSAU, BAHAMAS—Former stripper turned Playboy Playmate turned reality-TV star Anna Nicole Smith has overcome her longtime struggle with obesity, at last reaching her target weight of 125 pounds, sources said Monday.

"Anna's been through a lot," said Florida Circuit Court Judge Larry Seidlin, who became visibly emotional as he spoke to reporters. "But I think it's fair to say that she hasn't been this happy in years."

READ WHOLE ARTICLE: THEONION

WORLD'S LARGEST CLIT FOUND

THE DROIDS: (DO YOU HAVE) THE FORCE?

Trippy, French STAR WARS-inspired synth-pop from '78!

DISCO DELIVERY

You've got to check out DISCO DELIVERY the next time you have a few hours to drool over rare audio and video clips from Tommy, a disco maestro who claims to be new a new fan of the genre but whose knowldege and taste would suggest that he's better-schooled than most who lived through the era--including moi! I'd never even heard The Supremes' fantastic YOU'RE MY DRIVING WHEEL. This disco-lovin' Canandian delivers the the video, which features a pregnant, caftan-wearing Mary in the middle and a goofy robot break! He writes beautifully and answers your questions on background info, updates on the artists' tracks and what else the producers worked on before you even have time to ask him! And talk about rare! He features Vanguard Records' artist Frisky (pictured below), finally letting me identify the artist behind the crazy groove of DANCING IN MY SLEEP. Current free mp3 downloads include Loleatta Holloway's CATCH ME ON THE REBOUND 12", her basketball-themed hit. Go get it!

BLAZING MAGNUMS

FROM YOUTUBE:

In this clip from 1976's Blazing Magnums, directed by Alberto De Martino, Stuart Whitman has to ward off a roomfull of drag queens (the movie calls them transvestites) and uses a curling iron in a particuarly nasty way.

"DIRT" FROM NYC'S BLACK PARTY

Forwarded from an unconfirmed source, but I love the tale, it's on my favorite subject and it gave me quite a giggle! I do know that Larry Tee dj'ed at a Black Party at Roseland several years back and sai that a partiton curtain for a more private area was used a giant cumrag with plenty of brown stains, so this doesn't seem too unusual. I've never attended one of these affairs.

FROM ANONYMOUS:

"Somebody shit or put shit on the dance floor. I thought some queen must of thought this mix was sooo good I could just shit in my pants and didn't realize he just did and was wearing chaps. Nevertheless, it happened. And to add insult to injury as the dance floor parted like the Red Sea somebody sprinkled some white powder, maybe baby, to cover the odor, some queen oblivious to what happened and thinking everyone like how he was dancing and giving him room did a few steps, slid on it and fell in it causing more of an odor.. or so I am told, and they're from 2 reliable sources. So I believe it and feel comfortable in relaying the story."

Now there's video testimonial GAWKER.CO, and I know the guy who slid in the shit! Are advance tix for next year on sale yet?

CHRIS JORDAN'S PHENOMENAL ART SERIES

SEE HOW THIS:



IS MADE FROM THIS:



Pain Killers, 2007
60x80" archival inkjet print

Depicts 213,000 Vicodin pills, equal to the number of emergency room visits yearly in the US related to misuse or abuse of prescription pain killers.

VIEW THE RUNNING WITH NUMBERS SERIES: CHRISJORDAN.COM

HOT MESS OF THE WEEK

FROM H.R.H. PRINCESS DIANDRA. Matching hair and lipstick! And a sack full of...hats? And with ATTITUDE, DAMMIT!

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

THE THAI SPICE "GIRLS"

MEET VENUS FLYTRAP, THE WORLD'S FIRST TRANNY BAND ON QUEERTY.COM!



And now they have their very own blog!

HARD GAY COOKING WITH KIDS

YOUTUBE

NEED ANOTHER REASON TO HATE PAT ROBERTSON?

Try this:

FROM YOUTUBE:

Pat Robertson is caught off the air of a Larry King call-in television show in 1992, referring to a caller as a "homo" and being coached by his staff how to 'spin' the discussion to his favor.

1973 BOWLENE COMMERCIAL

Speechless! Who knew shitty coul be so pretty?

THE GLAMOUR OF FLIGHT

Thrilling collection of vintage stewardess uniforms at DARK ROASTED BLEND. Not a fez on top of a flip! And those colors! What happened?

CNN IS SMOKING CRACK

By Erin Kotecki Vest

As the typical suburban housewife, I will admit I enjoy my fair share of tabloid news. Of course I would never be caught dead buying one of those rags in the grocery store...but, if I happen to come across one, I just might peek inside to see what Tom has Katie doing this week, or what weight loss magic Oprah is working.

That does not excuse today's news cycle on CNN.

It is my understanding there is a rather large international crisis looming in the UK and Iran-one with some very large implications. There is this war going on in Iraq, a historic moment in Northern Ireland, even some semi-news about our current (today anyway) attorney general.

I'm just curious why CNN keeps telling me about Anna Nicole Smith. Autopsy results are in, yeah...saw that. All those who really care raise their hands.

Don't give me that BS that this is the news America really wants. I'm not buying it. I am America...freaking white and Donna Reed as apple pie over here. CNN-do you HEAR ME??? I DON'T GIVE A SHIT. I turn to you FOR NEWS. N-E-W-S. Not entertainment news. Not gossip. NOT what some bimbo died of in the Bahamas.

READ THE REST: HUFFPO

SWOON OPENING

Sweetie and Johnny Dynell. Doesn't Sweetie favor Susan Hayward in this Aaron Cobbett shot?



The owners of HK, midtown's hot spot for great food and fine boys, are opening the doors to their new dangerously chic nightclub by the same name. The space is a design masterpiece mixing deco with sophisticated modern. Legendary DJ/ Promoter Johnny Dynell and Drag Superstar Sweetie have teamed up with HK with a Wednesday night soiree' called SWOON. Splashed against a backdrop of old Hollywood glamour, Johnny and Sweetie will deliver pumping dance music, glittering performances and a fabulous cast of downtown's movers and shakers and midtown's hoofers and broadway babies. Opening night will be a celebration of the 6th anniversary of Johnny Dynell and ChiChi Valenti's online community The MotherBoards with performances by some of New York's biggest and brightest, including international puppet master Basil Twist. If you're a leading lady, matinee' idol, ingenue or waiting to be discovered, settle into a casting couch, lap up some hooch and get ready for your close up!

SWOON @ HK
Every Wednesday
39th Street Between 9th and 10th Aves
Doors Open 10pm
Midnite Show
NO COVER

NEWS FLASH!

BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL

Lovely Lara Logan barely lets CNN's Howard Kurtz get a word in edgewise as she tells it like it T-I-S from a reporter stationed in Iraq's viewpoint. A friend of mine from Ohio just told me that in her area, CNN is called the "Communist News Network". So if CNN's the lefty news channel, I guess that means that they'll occasionally let a little truth slip out. This one's a must see! She is outraged!

FATHER BEGONE SPRAY

FROM MITZI:

US RANKS 111TH IN VOTER TURNOUT!

FROM MICHAELMOORE.COM:

Larson Is Told: Impeach Bush

By Matthew Kauffman / Hartford Courant

WEST HARTFORD -- U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, promoted his views on Iraq to a mostly friendly audience in West Hartford Saturday, but nearly lost the crowd briefly when he stopped short of endorsing the impeachment of President Bush.

In a two-hour town meeting at the Elmwood Community Center, Larson praised House colleagues who joined him in narrowly passing legislation Friday requiring an end to combat in Iraq no later than September 2008. But Bush has promised to veto the legislation, prompting John L. Cochran of Manchester to suggest an alternate tack.

"As long as Bush is going to veto everything you try to do, it kind of cuts your options," Cochran, 82, said in a slow, even voice. "Maybe you'll be able to get a few more Republicans to vote on your side, but that doesn't sound too promising as far as really having enough to overcome a veto.

"From my viewpoint, I think the only option left is impeachment."

The reaction from the crowd of about 100 was loud and instantaneous. Nearly 20 seconds of applause, punctuated by a cry of "Show some guts, John!"

Larson reacted with an uncomfortable smile and a challenge: "So you want Dick Cheney, huh?"

"Get 'em both!" came a yell from the back of the room. "A twofer!"

Cochran, who later said he was pleasantly surprised by the crowd's response, did not intend the proposal as an idle political bomb, telling Larson he truly believed Bush had committed impeachable offenses.

It is a notion that has gained a following since the November elections turned control of Congress to the Democrats. Salt Lake City Mayor Ross C. "Rocky" Anderson, dubbed "the new Cindy Sheehan" by his hometown paper, has supported impeachment and earlier this month submitted a 22-page treatise on the topic - complete with 40 footnotes - to Washington state legislators who were debating a pro-impeachment resolution.

In Vermont, voters in at least 35 towns passed symbolic resolutions this month supporting an investigation and possible impeachment of the president and vice president. And Dennis Kucinich, an Ohio congressman, and long-shot presidential candidate, inquires on his campaign's website: "Impeachment: I'm asking you. Do you think it's time?"

Nevertheless, Larson said it's unlikely to happen, in part because Bush's term would almost certainly be over before an investigation was completed and impeachment was put to a vote.

"Viscerally and emotionally, I understand where people are coming from," Larson said. "I understand people's frustration and desire for immediate change."

But, Larson said, quick change rarely happens in a legislative body ruled by due process and a system of checks and balances. He also said Congress might do better to focus on other pressing issues - from Medicare to student financial aid, rather than be forced to "drop everything" for a consuming impeachment battle.

Larson said a slew of oversight hearings launched by the new Democratic majority would at least hold the Bush administration accountable for missteps in the prosecution of the war, but he said that ultimately, the ballot box was the best way for Americans to register their opposition.

And if more dissatisfied Americans had come to polls in past congressional elections, said the former high school history teacher, those hearings might already have taken place. Larson said the United States ranks 111th globally in voter turnout.

"Now there is a Congress that is looking into [the war]. But it's the first time the public has voted for such," Larson said. "That's the point I'm trying to make. Without trying to go into Civics 101 - I understand the visceral frustration - but this is the reality. And when you're 111th in the world in terms of voting, it's time for Americans to wake up."

BUNNY NOTE:

Baby, go on and bust out that Civics 101 lesson. The US is also falling on the list of intelligent nations, and if I'm not mistaken, civics is being phased out in schools. Now I wonder why would anyone in power wanna keep us ignorant of our political options--like impeachmeantt?

ZARDOZ SAYS PENIS IS EVIL

ZARDOZ

BILL MAHER'S NEW RULES FOR BUSH AND CHENEY

A GREAT ONE!

OBSERVATIONS

If homosexuality is a disease, let's all call in sick to work: "Hello. Can't
work today, still queer."
~ Robin Tyler

I'd rather be black than gay because when you're black you don't have to tell
your mother.
~ Charles Pierce

"Dear Abby," In response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving
in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to
improve the quality of the neighborhood. 'You could move.'
~ Abigail Van Buren.

The one bonus of not lifting the ban on gays in the military is that the next
time the government mandates a draft, we can all declare we are
homosexual instead of running off to Canada.
~ Lorne Bloch

Why can't they have gay people in the army? Personally, I think they are just
afraid of a thousand guys with M16s going, "Who'd you call a
faggot?"
~ Jon Stewart

My lesbianism is an act of Christian charity. All those women out there praying
for a man, and I'm giving them my share.
~ Rita Mae Brown

Soldiers who are not afraid of guns, bombs, capture, torture or death say they
are afraid of homosexuals. Clearly we should not be used as
soldiers; we should be used as weapons.

~ Letter to the Editor, The Advocate

You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to
shoot straight.
~ Barry Goldwater

Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding
guns than holding hands?
~ Ernest Gaines

My own belief is that there is hardly anyone whose sexual life, if it were
broadcast, would not fill the world at large with surprise and horror.
~ W. Somerset Maugham

Drag is when a man wears everything a lesbian won't.
~ Author Unknown

If male homosexuals are called "gay," then female homosexuals should be
called "ecstatic."
~ Shelly Roberts

My mother took me to a psychiatrist when I was fifteen because she thought I was
a latent homosexual. There was nothing latent about it.
~ Amanda Bearse

It always seemed to me a bit pointless to disapprove of homosexuality. It's
like disapproving of rain....
~ Francis Maude

The only queer people are those who don't love anybody....
~ Rita Mae Brown

The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to
heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals.
It's just that they need more supervision.
~ Lynn Lavner

If Michelangelo had been straight, the Sistine Chapel would have been
wallpapered.
~Robin Tyler

I get sick of listening to straight people complain about, "Well, hey, we don't
have a heterosexual- pride day, why do you need a gay-pride day?"
I remember when I was a kid I'd always ask my mom: "Why don't we have a Kid's
Day? We have a Mother's Day and a Father's Day, but why don't we have a Kid's
Day?" My mom would always say, "Every day is Kid's Day." To all those
heterosexuals that bitch about gay pride, I say the same thing: Every
day is heterosexual- pride day! Can't you people enjoy your banquet and not piss
on those of us enjoying our crumbs over here in the corner?
--Adam Rowland

BARBARA DE KWIATKOWSKI

An interesting profile of the Andy Warhol's "well-bred it girl", who I'd never heard of.

FROM THE NY OBSERVER:

She said she remembered the infamous blackout of 1977. She was at a friend’s apartment and Studio 54 impresario Steve Rubell came over with “supplies” and they jumped into his Cadillac convertible.

“We had champagne and we just drove around,” Mrs. de Kwiatkowski said. “We drove up to Elaine’s and a ton of people were there, and there was candlelight. It was a very carefree time—everybody was happy, things were not serious. New York became serious after that. It was just really fun, probably because of Studio 54—all I liked to do was dance. I just liked dancing! Believe me. And I used to run out of that place and people were chasing me—I’d be in a limousine or I’d run home. I mean it, and this is kind of important, there were guys—it was unbelievable—running on the sidewalk. And I’m not going to name names, but they’re big-time names.”

What did she make of New York nightlife now?

“People don’t have fun anymore,” she said. “It’s over. I wouldn’t be caught dead in a nightclub.”

WHOLE ARTICLE: BARBARA OF BEEKMAN PLACE

Incidentally, Lady Bunion dj'ed recently at a birthday party at 1 Beekman Place. Just a tad ritzier than my usual crowd. Guests included ALLURE's editor Linda Wells who asked "Who made your matching earrings?" to which I replied "The same fag that made the dress!" (I've been wearing these oversized, fabric earrings a lot lately. Not only do they dispense with the need for the heavy glue-on, crystal kind, they are also so large that they actually manage to slim down my "neck".) Linda seemed to enjoy my little joke, but funnyman Jerry Seinfeld didn't really even give me so much as a nod. Until I ran over and did my spot-on Kramer at The Laugh Factory impersonation--kidding! They only booked me for one hour, before they popped up to the penthouse for din-din. I was certain the well-heeled bunch were walking in nudging their husbands with that :"Honey, what on earth is that thing dj'ing?". I normally bop around a bit when spinning, but I was already a little larger than life (and everyone else in the room) so I alternated between politely perky and the glazed, attentive-yet-not-intrusive look that is required of the help. But I managed to strike a confient pose in my imitation disco-era Fendi knock-off fake fur cape on the way out, much to the delight of the giggling doorman who snapped this pic.

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD! BUNION OF BEEKMAN PLACE

MEATWEED AMERICA TRAILER

Male and female nudity, rats, terrorists, guts, puppets and marijuana? What else do you ask from a low budget movie?



MEATWEED'S SITE: AIDENDILLARD.COM

STEVE/SUSAN STANTON

Though Steve Stanton has earned praise and a raise in his 14 years as City Manager of Largo, Florida, his announcement that he is transgendered and will soon plans to be known as Susan , has the city commission calling for his pink slip. And I don't mean negligee! Bless Susan's heart for her bravery to stand up like this while in office! Largo's citizens have had an overwhelmingly negative response.

READ MORE: CNN.COM

S/he certainly here thorough. He even provide a plan of action for his transition in office, including his first day back on the job:


City Manager Returns Back to Work: (June 18, 2007)

This will be the "big day" and will conceivably be of high interest to the media. It will be the first time the Susan Stanton will present herself to the city and will undoubted cause initial disruptions at city hall. Key issues to be developed addressed include:

Would it be appropriate to be accompanied by another person walking in?

Should I provide a picture of what I will look like before showing up for work?

Is there value is some lunch time "Come and Meet Susan" type event. This also will be very awkward but might help employees get passed their discomfort.

GUN PERMITS DOUBLED IN NOLA

God, it was already the murer capitol. Now with half it's pre-Katrina population, those who remain are arming themselves. Scary!

From HUFFPO:

"The number of permits issued to carry concealed weapons is running twice as high as it was before Katrina _ this, in a city with only about half its pre-storm population of around 450,000. Attendance at firearms classes and hours logged at shooting ranges also are up, according to the gun industry."

WHOLE ARTICLE: HUFFPO

NAOMI'S LAST LOOK

She's probably a monster bitch, but I have to hand it to anybody who wears this to mop floors for their community service sentence. I'd imagine that she's the first sanitation worker to work a gown and heels on the job. (Unless those bums I blew counted as community "service"!)



For her full 5 day fashion parade, click HERE.

IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM...

BEAT 'EM OFF! One of Manhattan's more twisted sex parties. Masked terrorists aren't a turn on for me, but it takes all kinds. Oh, now I get it! All those guys who requested that paper bag over my head must've been into this kind of kink!

THE AD FOR THE MONTHLY SPIT SOIREE:

Hey You Smokin' Hot Fucker You,

Are you still up since the Black Party?!

Well cum on down to SPIT! Take off your clothes and get ready to be taken by Night of the Sex Terrorists!!

Try and escape!



From the lowly bowels of the Alphabet Lounge, host Paul Short and the men of SPIT bring you:

Terror! with a twist!
Hedonism! with a lick !
Submission! with a slurp!
Bondage! with a burp!
Sex! with a Terrorist!
and maybe some light Dancing ?

Hairy Chunks, Prison Punks, Leather Hunks pack 'em in and party down to DJ Mike Grimes progressive grooves.

Michael Smart pours the Hooch! Sexy Surprises Await.
$3 Bud/ Bud lights Cheap beer, Cheaper men. Admission: $5

Dress to Terrorize !

Venue: Alphabet Lounge
Address: 104 Ave C (corner of East 7th St.) New York, NY 1009
Date: Wednesday MARCH 28th, 2006
Time: Wednesday March 28 at 10PM
Prices: $5 (Free Before 11 or if you're bare assed!)
Telephone #: (212) 780-0202

AVIANCE'S ATTACKERS SENTENCED

Sissies rejoice! 4 thugs plead guilty and recieved prison sentences. The details on EDGEBOSTON.COM.

LADY OF THE 80'S

Robert Coddington, the man behind Culture Vulture Media and deceased scenester/videographer Nelson Sullivan's youtube revival, sent me this ad from the Village Voice. I look so jewish in this pic! And check the acid wash mini! And those arms! See why I like long sleeves now? In another shot for this same ad series, I pose with drag sister Chicklette while "seductively" eating hot dogs near Central Park. That photo was deemed too racy for publication by the "progressive" weekly. Boy, have times changed! Now the Voice features pages of scantily clad hooker ads in the back. Or shoul I say in the rear?

JONATHAN ADLER: THE MAD POTTER

I interviewed this inspired potter/home furnishings guru and now star of Bravo's TOP DESIGN for last month's Genre. Here's the unedited version for all you knick-knack lovers. And do check out JONATHANADLER.COM for more info on his fantastically fab designs!

JA: Lady Bunny, how are you?

LB: Well, I'm just delighted with my new vase. I can't believe that I've inspired it, since I've always been more of a catcher than a pitcher, if you know what I mean...

JA: Now you have your mug on a jug!

LB: And in the same series as Twiggy--

JUST CALL ME JUGHEAD! THE JONATHAN ADLER JUG WHICH YOURS TRULY INSPIRED!



JA: All the stick-thin supermodels!

LB: It took me ages to even open the package it arrived in because I'm such a fan of your work. But my iea of spring cleaning is throwing away the dishes from Thanksgiving. But by some. By some error, I was placed on the mailing list for your catalogue.

JA: You mean I've just been wasting that postage?

LB: But I have marvelled over all of your work, starting with the black/white vases which came in out...

JA: You're making me feel old now--

LB: You don't need me for that, hon!

JA: They came out in 1994.

LB: And they're sort of your signature pieces--so graceful and distinctive. And I've always giggled at the names of your other creations.

JA: Now I do it all: rugs furniture--

LB: Even yarmulkes!



JA: I've covered all the basics.

LB: Do the yarmulkes sell well?

JA: Yes. Now you wouldn't know about this, but some of us have bald spots on the back of our heads and it's a great reason to find religion.

LB; Would those be the gay jews who pick up your yarmulkes? They are a rather fanciful print and not terribly masculine...

JA: No, but they are selling. People love a novelty thing. I have a novelty spouse, you're a novelty performer...

LB: No I'm not! I'm mainstream! This is Genre, dammit! What about the Disco Lady cushion? It's incredible! Is that a big seller?



JA: Huge! We can't keep it in stock. In our catalogue, we say it's "our homage to the hard-core hedonism of the disco era rendered in the paradoxically cozy medium of needlepoint”.

LB: Your furnishings are so bright and bold, do you find that people use them sparingly in a room, as they might cook with just a pinch of a bold spice such as cardamom?

JA: I call my whole design philosophy "Happy Chic", so it's about taking a chic design--normally people associate chic design with being dour and off-putting--so I try to make chic designs happy.

LB: You mention the wacky Lily Pullitzer as one of your influences. And I too have always grabbed every piece I could find from thrift stores. Lily used the wackiest, loudest fabrics but in tasteful silhouettes which endeared her to preppies. Your bio mentions that you fell in love with the preppy look. And the kooky side of preppy is so nutty—the green whales embroidered corduroy pants with a pink dress shirt and a gold shell belt.

THE LILLY PULLITZER BARBIE, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH HER PRINTS



JA: It's over-the-top and improbable but done with a sense of confidence that makes it irresistible. And even though I'm a raging jew, I looooove waspy Palm Beach style. I'm obsessed with it.

LB: Where were you exposed to it?

JA: First of all it was a vicarious situation, but I do spend a lot of time in Palm Beach and to me, Palm Beach waspiness is about having fun and excess. So I love it on a spiritual level and an aesthetic level.

LB: It's also a bit like "We're so rich that we can be eccentric. We're not new money that has to dress down."

JA: Totally. It's like "Fuck it."

LB: Now you got your start as a potter, and I think many gay men can certainly identify with the desire to plunge their fist in and out of a pulsating, muddy hole, but not all of them become potters.

JA: Well, I did have a super-foxy potter counselor. I saw him and I immediately signed up for pottery class. But then, I fell in love with clay and I couldn't take my paw out of that muddy pulsating whatever it is that you said.

LB: And the first things you made were…

JA: Bongs. I was a total bong-maker throughout high school.

LB: And user?



JA: Total.

LB: And at one point, one of your instructors encouraged you to give up pottery.

JA: Yes, a very mean, very discouraging instructor. But in the end it was really great having her tell me that I didn't have any talent because I could just make what I wanted to make without looking for anybody's approval.

LB: Was her disapproval based upon your campy Chanel-inspired pottery, which were quilted to look like Chanel bags?

JA: Yes, I should really pull those out again. But I think everyone's development can benefit from having a discouraging crone like my teacher in the picture.

LB: Speaking of discouraging crones, you're in a long-term relationshi[p with SImon Doonan, well-known writer an bon vivant. I can only imagine what your digs look like. Is it the gayest place in town.

JA: Yes! It changes every minute. It's like an Auntie Mame re-decorating festival as I go off on a new giggly design fantasy. It's a real bank-breaker.



LB: But as their creative director, doesn't SImon get a lot of stuff from Barney's for free?

JA: Not really, and he stopped shoplifting in his 20's.

LB: Are there other designers who you favor in terms of home furnishings.

JA: Of course! My favorite, favorite, favorite people are Alexander Gerard, Bjorn Wiinblad--

LB: Ah yes! (nervously) I know them well!

JA: Of course! But they're both mid-century designers who are chic but with a real sense of fun.

LB: Do you feel any kinship with Todd Oldham?

JA: Todd Oldham was one of my very first supporters. A friend arranged a meeting with him and I was a nervous wreck--so intimidated! But he was so supportive and great and we collaborated for years. He's such a right-on sister. Love, love, love her!

LB: Now that her designs are at Target--

JA: Now she does Lazy-Boy.

LB: I saw a big Todd Oldham billboard. Is there a Jonathon Adler billboard going up anytime soon?

JA: My stuff is both at fancy-pants stores, at Bed, Bath and beyond and I have seven of my own stores.

LB: Is Bed, Bath and Beyond Bath nationwide?

JA: You are literally under a rock, Mary!

LB: And that rock is known as crack, Jonathan. Well, I'm not exactly going shopping for home furnishings when I'm out of town! But I saw some of your line at B, B and B and that's more accents--

JA: I do bedding, bath and beyond and tabletops. But the most stuff is on the website, duvet covers, lighting.

LB: Ah, I'm browsing your site now I see you've done on other piece inspired by me...the Fish lamp.

JA: CLICK!

LB: Hello? Jonathan? Hello?

SOMETHING FISHY...

ZAP: PI

ZAP was an 80's parody of ZOOM, the educational kid's show which was popular when I was a brat. ZAP is pretty trippy, especially when taking on the mathematical concept of PI. Thanks to Tommy for forwarding this lunacy, which he advised watching stoned. I'll freely admit that I'm more familiar with the concept and reality of pie than PI.

I WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU, DEER!

FROM YAHOO NEWS:

SUPERIOR, Wis. - A 20-year-old man received probation after he was convicted of having sexual contact with a dead deer. The sentence also requires Bryan James Hathaway to be evaluated as a sex offender and treated at the Institute for Psychological and Sexual Health in Duluth, Minn.

"The state believes that particular place is the best to provide treatment for the individual," Assistant District Attorney Jim Boughner said.

Hathaway's probation will be served at the same time as a nine-month jail sentence he received in February for violating his extended supervision.

He was found guilty in April 2005 of felony mistreatment of an animal after he killed a horse with the intention of having sex with it. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail and two years of extended supervision on that charge as well as six years of probation for taking and driving a vehicle without the owner's consent.

Hathaway pleaded no contest earlier this month to misdemeanor mistreatment of an animal for the incident involving the deer. He was sentenced Tuesday in Douglas County Circuit Court.

"The type of behavior is disturbing," Judge Michael Lucci said. "It's disturbing to the public. It's disturbing to the court."

KELLY PERFORMING AT BANK

Larry Tee and Josh Wood's hit Saturday night affair welcome youtube star (an straight transvestite comedian) Kelly, singing her hits SHOES, TEXT MESSAGE BREAK-UP and CAN I BORROW THAT TOP? this Saturday.

DETAILS:

Saturday, March 24

Music by JOHNNY DYNELL & VITO FUN

Free before 11pm, $10 until midnight for Josh's list.

Element, 225 E Houston

PRAISE HIM!

LADY BUNNY'S BLOW JOB ETIQUETTE

FROM AN INTERVIEW I DONE DID WITH JONTY SKRUFF OF SRUFFF.COM WHICH IS FEATURED ON TRACKITDOWN, THE ONLINE MP3 STORE, IN PROMOTION FOR MY NEW SINGLE, IT'S TONIGHT, BY THE BONEHEADZ FEATURING LADY BUNNY.



“I am one of the only people I know who gives oral sex with a condom. People say ‘I couldn’t do never that.’ Well, do what you want. The fact is; oral sex is considered low-risk behaviour. I’ve only got one life and it takes only one contact to get infected with HIV. Plus, since the disease has a 12-15 year incubation period, infected partners can look completely healthy.”

Chatting to Skrufff from her New York pad, ‘actress, deejay, singer/ songwriter, comedienne, ho’ (her description) Lady Bunny admits safe sex is always on her mind.

“Sexperts say you shouldn’t floss your teeth beforehand but honey, a piece of pizza crust abrades the skin on my upper palate. As can toast! F**k low-risk! I want NO-RISK. I’m a safe slut. So please purchase my new single ‘It's Tonight’-it'll keep this whore in condoms! DJs may present me with a receipt for a blowjob!” she laughs.

READ THE REST: TRACKITDOWN.COM

GAY ACTION NEWS

Relax, it's not as serious as it sounds. Veteran performers, scenesters--okay--drunks and degenrates--Ffloyd (center) and (right) Michael Wakefield will join Linda SImpson at SLURP to kickoff their new comedy/news show, which features regular, very rare appearance by Wigstock legend Barbara Patterson Lloyd with other downtown crazies.



GAY ACTION NEWS PREMIERES THURSDAY NIGHT (THE NIGHT AFTER THE PARTY) AT 12:30 AM ON CHANNEL 34 (MNN)

THE DAILY SHOW'S DIAGNOSIS: MYSTERY

Takes on ex-gay therapy and hilarity ensues.

LOOK OUT VEGAS!

LOOK OUT JOEY ARIAS! JACKIE BEAT HAS HIT THE TOWN AND WILL BE OPENING FOR ROSEANNE BARR FOR 5 WEEKS AT NY NY!


ANY HIGH-ROLLERS WANNA SWING BY IN THEIR PRIVATE PLANE AND CART ME AND A BUSHEL OF TOMATOES TO SIN CITY?



Her press release:

Lucy & Ethel, Thelma & Louise... Roseanne & Jackie!?

That's right, Emmy award-winning comedian Roseanne Barr has asked larger than life drag diva Jackie Beat to be a part of her exciting new Las Vegas show at The New York New York Hotel & Casino!

Roseanne will be serving up a heapin' helpin' of her signature sass in ALL YOU CAN EAT COMEDY with large 'n' lovely Jackie as the salty appetizer! After performing together everywhere from London to gay cruise ships, the dynamic duo will unpack their bags for a limited 7 week run in Vegas!



Jackie Beat is one of the most popular drag artists in the world. The undisputed hardest working "woman" in show business has performed her comedic song parodies all over the US and Europe, written for countless magazines, was one of US Weekly's Fashion Police top cops and a staff writer for the WB series Hype!, and is the lead singer of the electro-rock band Dirty Sanchez on Cleopatra Records. She has had the honor of working with Robert Deniro, Philip Seymor Hoffman, Parker Posey, Margaret Cho, Andy Dick, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Coolidge and more, but feels a special kinship with the ultimate bad girl, Roseanne Barr.

Roseanne Barr presents ALL YOU CAN EAT COMEDY!
With special guest JACKIE BEAT
New York New York Hotel & Casino: 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109

March 15th thru April 30th. Every night at 8 PM, with additional late show every Saturday night at 10 PM. NO SHOWS ON WEDNESDAYS. For more info or tickets go to www.nynyhotelcasino.com.

A LETTER TO HETEROSEXUALS

FROM THE LA TIMES:

An aging 72-year-old gay man isn't hopeful about the future.

By Larry Kramer, LARRY KRAMER is the founder of the protest group ACT UP and the author of "The Tragedy of Today's Gays."
March 20, 2007

DEAR STRAIGHT PEOPLE,

Why do you hate gay people so much?

Gays are hated. Prove me wrong. Your top general just called us immoral. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is in charge of an estimated 65,000 gay and lesbian troops, some fighting for our country in Iraq. A right-wing political commentator, Ann Coulter, gets away with calling a straight presidential candidate a faggot. Even Garrison Keillor, of all people, is making really tacky jokes about gay parents in his column. This, I guess, does not qualify as hate except that it is so distasteful and dumb, often a first step on the way to hate. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama tried to duck the questions that Pace's bigotry raised, confirming what gay people know: that there is not one candidate running for public office anywhere who dares to come right out, unequivocally, and say decent, supportive things about us.

Gays should not vote for any of them. There is not a candidate or major public figure who would not sell gays down the river. We have seen this time after time, even from supposedly progressive politicians such as President Clinton with his "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military and his support of the hideous Defense of Marriage Act. Of course, it's possible that being shunned by gays will make politicians more popular, but at least we will have our self-respect. To vote for them is to collude with them in their utter disdain for us.

Don't any of you wonder why heterosexuals treat gays so brutally year after year after year, as your people take away our manhood, our womanhood, our personhood? Why, even as we die you don't leave us alone. What we can leave our surviving lovers is taxed far more punitively than what you leave your (legal) surviving spouses. Why do you do this? My lover will be unable to afford to live in the house we have made for each other over our lifetime together. This does not happen to you. Taxation without representation is what led to the Revolutionary War. Gay people have paid all the taxes you have. But you have equality, and we don't.

And there's no sign that this situation will change anytime soon. President Bush will leave a legacy of hate for us that will take many decades to cleanse. He has packed virtually every court and every civil service position in the land with people who don't like us. So, even with the most tolerant of new presidents, gays will be unable to break free from this yoke of hate. Courts rule against gays with hateful regularity. And of course the Supreme Court is not going to give us our equality, and in the end, it is from the Supreme Court that such equality must come. If all of this is not hate, I do not know what hate is.

Our feeble gay movement confines most of its demands to marriage. But political candidates are not talking about--and we are not demanding that they talk about--equality. My lover and I don't want to get married just yet, but we sure want to be equal.

You must know that gays get beaten up all the time, all over the world. If someone beats you up because of who you are--your race or ethnic origin--that is considered a hate crime. But in most states, gays are not included in hate crime measures, and Congress has refused to include us in a federal act.

Homosexuality is a punishable crime in a zillion countries, as is any activism on behalf of it. Punishable means prison. Punishable means death. The U.S. government refused our requests that it protest after gay teenagers were hanged in Iran, but it protests many other foreign cruelties. Who cares if a faggot dies? Parts of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. are joining with the Nigerian archbishop, who believes gays should be put in prison. Episcopalians! Whoever thought we'd have to worry about Episcopalians?

Well, whoever thought we'd have to worry about Florida? A young gay man was just killed in Florida because of his sexual orientation. I get reports of gays slain in our country every week. Few of them make news. Fewer are prosecuted. Do you consider it acceptable that 20,000 Christian youths make an annual pilgrimage to San Francisco to pray for gay souls? This is not free speech. This is another version of hate. It is all one world of gay-hate. It always was.

Gays do not realize that the more we become visible, the more we come out of the closet, the more we are hated. Don't those of you straights who claim not to hate us have a responsibility to denounce the hate? Why is it socially acceptable to joke about "girlie men" or to discriminate against us legally with "constitutional" amendments banning gay marriage? Because we cannot marry, we can pass on only a fraction of our estates, we do not have equal parenting rights and we cannot live with a foreigner we love who does not have government permission to stay in this country. These are the equal protections that the Bill of Rights proclaims for all?

Why do you hate us so much that you will not permit us to legally love? I am almost 72, and I have been hated all my life, and I don't see much change coming.

I think your hate is evil.

What do we do to you that is so awful? Why do you feel compelled to come after us with such frightful energy? Does this somehow make you feel safer and legitimate? What possible harm comes to you if we marry, or are taxed just like you, or are protected from assault by laws that say it is morally wrong to assault people out of hatred? The reasons always offered are religious ones, but certainly they are not based on the love all religions proclaim.

And even if your objections to gays are religious, why do you have to legislate them so hatefully? Make no mistake: Forbidding gay people to love or marry is based on hate, pure and simple.

You may say you don't hate us, but the people you vote for do, so what's the difference? Our own country's democratic process declares us to be unequal. Which means, in a democracy, that our enemy is you. You treat us like crumbs. You hate us. And sadly, we let you.

CAN O' WHUP-ASS

You may wanna check out this funny blog, uniquley done in a stylish black and white format. The very funny and insightful posts fake news stories such as Naomi Campbell's Mopping Tips (she's begun her community service for NYC's Sanitation Dpt.) and Hillary's flip-flopping on gay rights. Here's a sample:

Hillary's Current Favorite Homosexual Position

From the desk of Sen. Hillary Clinton:

"After days and days listening and dialoguing and communicating and conversing with you, the American people, I have decided to clarify my clarification regarding earlier remarks designed to clarify my position on the alleged immorality of all things faggoty.

First let me say that I am a woman. A female. I have an "inny" rather than an "outie" and that means I like to talk and listen and converse and talk. It also means I can say something, then listen to someone talk about why what I said is wrong. Then I can say that I agree with them, which might seem like a flip-flop but it's really just me, a woman, practicing my woman's perogative, saying what I think is right in a particular situation, and changing my mind cause I'm a woman. I look forward to having future dialogues about that conversation.

Earlier this week, as I was listening and dialoguing with the Gay Men's Health Crisis, General Pace was stating in an interview that he viewed homos to be immoral and felt vomity and irregular when he visualized what exactly two grunts might do in a foxhole. Then I, a woman, having finished listening to those gay men dialogue about their health crises, was asked if I agreed with the General's inconvenient remarks. I believe I responded by pointing to the sky and screaming "Oh my God! What's that??" Then I ran away when the question-asker looked up."

READ THE REST: CANOFWHUPASS

This blog also brought to my attention a Ukrainian drag queen from the Eurovision contest named Verka Serduchka. The author savagely, if cleverly attacks her music, dancing, weight, etc. And hey, I'm a plump dragoon who is trying to make music and perform as well so I tend be supportive of other gals, but honey!, this polka trancen tanzen jam with the Sister DImension pointy mirrored headdress doesn't quite translate for me! But I do give the girl credit for building excitement with not one but two modulations up in key for that frenzied climax effect. So I'll let another blog read her to filth--and do check out her video! I'm not sure that Can O' Whup-Ass realizes that Verka intends to be a comic take on a doughy, traditional babushka, which is clearer in her other videos. And she has a beautiful website, but it's in russian!



Chernobyl's Sad Legacy: Verka Serduchka

KIEV -- Eurovision, the lamest contest ever, is gearing up for quite a battle. It would appear that the Chernobyl-poisoned land of Ukraine has spawned one Verka Serduchka. She's a horrifying drag queen whose disco act is defiantly tacky, and aggressively retarded.

Not all of her countrymen are thrilled with the notion of this unholy collision of polka, disco, and transvestitism representing their beloved (albeit dangerously radioactive) country in the Eurotrash song contest. Her substantial effigy has been burned. Burly vodka-soaked men are slurring rude things about her in Russian and menacing the restive streets of dazzling downtown Kiev.

READ MORE, INCLUDING THE MUST-SEE LINK OF VERKA'S PERFORMANCE: CANOFWHUPASS.TYPEPAD.COM

CLICK HERE TO SEE VERKA SHOW HER HUMOROUS SIDE IN HER MUSIC VIDEO FOR GOP! GOP!: YOUTUBE

COLORADO: STILL THE HATE STATE?

This was forwarded from a friend of a recent bashing victim, whose scuffle with a homophobe occurred in Denver. I include it because we're not all as well-equipped to act and think fast to defend ourselves, and we certainly aren't all law stuents who are more aware of what can and can't be requested of the police, so maybe some pointers can come from Nima's misfortune. The bashing doesn't stop and I suspect that it's usually under-reported.

FROM RON LASKO:

My friend Nima was recently visiting Denver and was gay bashed. He works as a go-go boy around town and has appeared on cards for several of our Pop Rocks! parties (you may remember our go-go zombie pics this past Halloween). Nima is one of those people who makes us all look bad by being practically perfect -- beautiful, smart, fashionable, strong, kind (yes -- he's even off to Africa this summer to help orphaned AIDS babies!). Need I go on?

He has a flair for somewhat flamboyant, though very hip fashion that covers his compact, amazingly chiseled physique. His attacker would have never suspected that Nima is actually an amateur boxer -- so he was able to defend himself quite well. The surprising part of this story is that the Denver police refused to allow him to press charges against his attacker. "The Hate State" strikes again! But what the homophobic cop didnt know is that Nima is currently in law school. So once again, Nima was able to get the upper hand.

His story follows and I think it would be of great interest. I think we all need constant reminders that this kind of thing could happen to any of us any time. Its also helps us to know what to do and what not to do. And perhaps where not to spend our gay dollars!


From Nima:



So, Saturday night my cousin Janet, her boyfriend Evan, and myself
were walking home from dinner in downtown Denver. We passed by a couple
and the male said "Keep that faggot away from me". I said "Excuse me?"
with an incredulous tone and he stepped up to me and said "Fuck you
faggot, I will fuck you up" and punched me in the face.

I retaliated and punched him twice in the face and put him in a
headlock to keep him from hitting me again. His girlfriend then
proceeded to punch me several times in the face. I couldn't let go of him,
so I took several blows to the jaw, head and face as my cousin and
her boyfriend tried to restrain her. Officer R. Boehnlein (and his partner) of the
Denver police department arrived and physically restrained me and my two assailants.
I told him I wanted to press charges, he said "No, go home".

Three times I insisted that I wanted Officer Boehnlein and his partner
to arrest my attackers and to every request he said "No, go home". I
told him I was a second year law student and that I know I had the
right to defend myself after I was attacked. I told him that I have
the right to press charges. I told him this was a hate crime. He
didn't care. So we went home and cleaned me up. We then went
straight to the 6th precinct of the Denver police and attempted to file
a report against Officer Boehnlein. They wouldn't let me. They said I had
to wait until a sergeant arrived. My cousin Janet managed to convince
them to at least allow us to leave statements. We did and were told a
sergeant would call us.

Sergeant Marion Penn called me at 4:00am and after I related the
attack to him he said he would call me back the next day, after
speaking to Boehnlein and his partner. Sunday afternoon Sergeant Penn
called me back and Janet and I went into the precinct. There, Penn and
another off-duty sergeant began apologizing to me for Officer
Boehnlein's behavior. They then brought Boehnlein in to apologize to
me and made him fill out the police report that I had requested him to
fill out 20 hours earlier.

For every question he asked me, I said "Well, you were there, what time
do you think it was", "Well, you were there, how tall do you think he
was", "Well, you were there, how bad were my injuries". Officer
Boehnlein was unfazed by this. I know in his mind not only am I the
faggot who got beat up, now I'm the faggot who's getting his ass in
trouble.

Sergeant Penn assured me that Officer Boehnlein is going to be
reprimanded and investigated and they assigned Detective Vasquez my
case. He is going to go and see if there are any surveillance cameras
in the area or to see if he can locate any witnesses.

While all this makes me feel a little better (as does the fact that I
fucked up that homophobe and for the rest of his life he's going to
know that a cocksucking fudge packer fucked up his face), the bottom
line is that 1) I was randomly attacked solely because I am gay. I
chose to wear white pants and a fairy necklace and thus
was subjected to a physical attack and 2) Officer Boehnlein did not
give a flying fuck. The asshole, who very well could have pummeled me
into a pulp, (if I were someone who was unable to defend myself) was in
physical police custody, a gay guy said he wanted to press charges,
and instead of allowing me to press charges against him, the officers
chose to release him and we all know he will never be found and never
be punished.

This is precisely the reason I go ballistic on gay rights and
equality. If I were a straight white man, do you, dear reader, think
that I would have been attacked? Would I have been denied the right to
press charges? This entire debacle is complete and utter bullshit.

ROTTEN AND WRONG

JUST THE WAY I LIKE IT!


An office manager at Wal-Mart was given the task of hiring an individual to fill a job opening. After sorting through a stack of resumes he found four people who were equally qualified.

He decided to call the four in and ask them only one question.

Their answer would determine which of them would get the job.

The day came and as the four sat around the conference room table, the interviewer asked,

"What is the fastest thing you know of?"

Acknowledging the first man on his right, the man replied, "A THOUGHT." It just pops into your head. There's no warning that it's on the way; it's just there. A thought is the fastest thing I know of."

"That's very good!" replied the interviewer.

"And now you sir?" he asked the second man.

"Hmm.! Let me see. A BLINK ! It comes and goes and you don't know that it ever happened. A BLINK is the fastest thing I know of."

"Excellent!" said the interviewer. "The blink of an eye, that's a very popular cliche for speed."

He then turned to the third man who was contemplating his reply.

Well, out at my dad's ranch, you step out of the house and on the wall there's a light switch. When you flip that switch, way out across the pasture the light in the barn comes on in less than an instant. Yep, TURNING ON A LIGHT is the fastest thing I can think of."

The interviewer was very impressed with the third answer and thought he had found his man.

"It's hard to beat the speed of light," he said.

Turning to Bubba, the fourth and final man, the interviewer posed the same question.

Old Bubba replied, "After hearing the three previous answers, It's obvious to me that the fastest thing known is DIARRHEA."

"WHAT!?" said the interviewer, stunned by the response.

"Oh I can explain." said Old Bubba. "You see the other day I wasn't feeling so good, and I ran for the bathroom, but, before I could THINK, BLINK, or TURN ON THE LIGHT, I had already shit in my pants."

Old Bubba is now the new greeter at a Wal-Mart near you!

SHEILA B. DEVOTION

Although her Chic-produced hit SPACER was incredible, this fluffy version of(by then) decades-old showtune SINGIN' IN THE RAIN was probably one of the cuts which inspired the Disco Sucks movement. But I think Sheila's trademark hotpants, bare midriff and silver boots are the perfect combination of covered/uncovered skin. And will some of you designers out there force men to wear pants this tight again?

TR-ANIME

Found this on xpeeps.com, the X-rated myspace. I love that some talented artist's fetish is for an ejaculating tranny with pink nuts so large that she could never even walk! I wish I could introduce him to Sweetie. Oh wait, she's the one with a gut so large that she can't walk. And you know she has to be a porker if Lardy Bunny can read her! Actually Sweetie just lost 100 pounds! That laser hemorrhoid surgery works wonders!

STUPEFYING!

Dolly and Cher on the latter's TV special from 1978 on contrasting couches and couture! Who would think of this today? Can this be anything but Bob Mackie's input?

Related:



Bowie and Cher team up for a very weird, Vegas-y medley which begins and ends with Bowie's brilliant YOUNG AMERICANS with a very snazzy arrangement.

PARIS HILTON SUCKS!

Literally, as these pix of her blowing Cee-Lo's (of Outkast and Gnarls Barkley fame) fat cock suggest. Click here to view. They're on Ashton Cruz's site THEASHTONCRUZZOO.BLOGSPOT.COM, a blog so filthy that you need to be 18 to read it! But if you ever wanted to get inside the mind of a handsome, young, funny, irreverent, intelligent NYC puerto rican stud, meet Ashton! And if you ever wanted to get inside one's britches, here's what you'd find in Ashton's:

GULP! DROOL...SLOBBER...SLOBBER..THE BOY'S GOT ONE NEW FAN!

COULDN'T MAKE THIS ONE UP!

Well, now ya don't have to!



From MSNBC:

"As authorities stormed into a middle school office to arrest an alleged meth-dealing principal inside, they found an even more surprising scene inside. Sources said 50-year-old John Acerra, of Allentown, was naked and watching gay pornography when they arrived at Nitschmann Middle School in Bethlehem to arrest him on Tuesday.

Acerra also had sex toys, drugs, cash and a pipe in his school office when authorities stormed his office, the sources added."

On the bright side, he sure doesn't look 50!

LADY ESTHER GIN FISHING IN RIO!

And what a prize catch! Would love to have seen her 7-inch heels digging into the sand in pursuit!

MISS GAY BLACK OHIO VS MONIQUE GREEN

Sick these vicious vixens on Alberto Gonzalez!

From youtube:

"These 2 entertainers are from Chicago. Takiya Valentino and Monique Green. Both have held state titles with Takiya being the reigning Miss Gay Black Ohio. This clip is from Judge Mathis where Takiya sues Monique for not paying the remaining balance of a rental car."

WAS I GOOD AMERICAN IN THE TIME OF GEORGE BUSH?

Published on Wednesday, March 14, 2007 by the Guardian/UK

Was I a Good American in the Time of George Bush? by Rebecca Solnit


Was I a good American? How good an American was I? Did I do what I could to resist the takeover of my country and the brutalisation of my fellow human beings? How much further could I have gone? Were the crimes of the Bush administration those that demand you give up your life and everyday commitments to throw yourself into maximum resistance? If not, then what were we waiting for? The questions have troubled me regularly these last five years, because I was one of the millions of American citizens who did not shut down Guantánamo Bay and stop the other atrocities of the administration.
I wrote. I gave money, sometimes in large chunks. I went to anti-war marches. I demonstrated. I also planted a garden, cooked dinners, played with children, wandered around aimlessly, and did lots of other things you do when the world is not crashing down around you. And maybe when it is. Was it? It was for the men in our gulag. And the boys there. And the rule of law in my native land.

Before the current administration, it had always been easy to condemn the "good Germans" who did nothing while Jews, Gypsies and others were rounded up for extermination. One likes to believe that one will be different, will harbour Anne Frank in one's secret annex, smuggle people across the border, defy the authorities who do evil. Those we scornfully call good Germans merely did little while the mouth of hell opened up.

I now know the way that everyday life can be so absorbing, survival so demanding, that it seems impossible to do more on top of it or to drop the routine altogether and begin a totally different life. There is the garden to be watered, the aged parent in crisis, the deadline looming; but there are also the crimes against humanity waiting to be stopped. Ordinary obligations tug one way even when extraordinary ones tug the other way. The Bush administration is by no means the Third Reich, but it produced an extraordinary time that made extraordinary demands on US citizens, demands that some of us rose to - and too many did not.

Periodically, I would speculate on what was the most extreme and radical thing I could do to stop the illegal prison camp at Guantánamo; picture chaining myself to the gates of the Senate, becoming one of those activists who takes up residence outside the White House or takes over a TV station to get a message out. I wanted to do something so epic that it would turn the tide, stop the crime. Then I would consider that the best approaches were probably already being taken, by the heroic lawyers at the Centre for Constitutional Rights and other human rights organisations, and I would write another cheque and some more letters and feel a little futile and a little corrupt.

These days Americans seem to be waking up one at a time, groggy and embittered, from the hypnotic nightmare that was the Bush administration's one great success - spreading a miasma of fear and patriotic submissiveness that made it possible to mount an illegal and immoral war, piss on the bill of rights, burn the constitution and violate international charters on human rights and prisoners of war with widespread torture. None of the sleepers seems to remember that they were part of the legions who obeyed the orders to fear and hate - but we welcome the latecomers into our ranks anyway.

What took them so long? How could people believe that a fairly defanged country, one we had been bombing since the first Gulf war, was an apocalyptic menace in a world where most nations were well-equipped for mass civilian murder? A year ago, the turning point was marked by the comedian Stephen Colbert's volley of (accurate) insults delivered to Bush's face, in the guise of giving the keynote address at the Washington press corps' annual dinner. He was just aggressively ignored by the mainstream media. Perhaps Katrina turned the tide: the indifference, incompetence, and obliviousness of the federal government was so gross that its pedestal melted.

And there were others who were in resistance all along. I remember with admiration the Japanese-Americans who came out in the months after 9/11 to testify that they had been incarcerated en masse during the second world war, not for what they did but for who they were, and they were not going to remain silent as the same treatment was meted out to Arabs and Muslims. I remember the way that 20,000 of us in San Francisco came out to shut down the business district the day the war broke out, and the huge marches before and after. I remember the few congresspeople - mostly African-American - who dared to stand in opposition early on. I went to Camp Casey outside Bush's vacation home in Texas and spent a day with Cindy Sheehan, who gave her life over to stopping the war after it took her soldier son. Others did as she did. Some of them are my friends.

There is resistance. But if it were enough, the crimes would have stopped, the war would have ended. When it does and they do, some will have been heroes. Some will have been honourable but moderate, in times that did not call for moderation. And some will have consented, through inaction, to crimes against humanity.
Rebecca Solnit is the author of Hope in the Dark: The Untold History of People Power, and Wanderlust: A history of walking.

CLOWN-A NICOLE SMITH

A new glitter portrait by San Fran artist Rene Garcia, inspired by that drugged-out video footage of Anna's "trip" to the Caribbean. Get it here:

website --> http://www.renegarciajr.com/
gallery --> http://www.renegarciajr.com/gallery/gallery_index.html
anna-nicole smith portrait: --> http://www.renegarciajr.com/gallery/29_anna.html



And as you see from the photos below, Anna really loved her big, garishly made-up sad clowns!