2008 White Party Launches New Website

The 24th Annual White Party Week website is now LIVE and features a sleek, clean all new look, with easy navigation and lots to see and do.

Explore the shops for exclusive White Party music, clothing and jewelry. Visit the photo page that contains links to pictures from the 23rd Annual White Party as well as pictures from prior years and be sure to keep up to date with White Party's latest news by checking out the News page, this page updates often so bookmark it now and keep checking back.

Visit the new White Party website now and enter the "Win Two VIP Tickets to White Party" contest. Just click on the TICKETS link on the navigation bar and enter your information. You and a friend could be our exclusive VIP guests to the 24th Annual White Party in November.

DJ Paulo Rated as 2007 BEST DJ ON THE EDGE

When the EDGE / New York staff got together to bring you the Best of Nightlife 2007, the new resident at New York’s much-coveted gig Work at Stereo, DJ Paulo, was rated as THE BEST DJ ON THE EDGE.

I, myself, which recently downloaded several of his mixes from his website ... including Erotic Tribal After Hours / August 2006, GIMME MORE TRIBAL (Part 1) / December 2007 and GIMME MORE TRIBAL (Part II) / December 2007 understand why.

Friday's Photo of the Week . 01 February 2008

Billboards . Times Square / NYC

Friday Afternoon, 14 February 2003

35MM Film Revisited Project

2008 Friday Photos of the Week

August 2008 24th Annual Gay (Male) Naturists Gathering Registration NOW OPEN

Dana Ellyn included in tonight's DC GreenheART Exhibit

Dana Ellyn's 18 x 24 oil on canvas "Adoration of St. Padua (Patron Saint of Barren Women)" will be included in tonight's (one night only) “DC Greenheart Exhibition” new paintings, drawings, and photographs by 19 local artists priced at $500 or less. Art will showcase environmental awareness with a touch of Valentines Day inspiration. 10% of all sale proceeds will benefit http://www.earthecho.org/ in support of saving our planet.

The one night only DC GreenheART Exhibit opening reception will take place TONIGHT, 1 February 2008, from 7 until 10 pm at Lofts 11 at 1125 11th Street, NW, WDC. The opening night party is free to attend but please RSVP to rsvp@taurusdev.com.

Having embarked on a brand-new series for 2008, "The Year of Presidents", Dana will be holding an OPEN STUDIO on February 16th (Presidents Day Weekend) to officially unveil the series.

Next Saturday, 9 February 2008, Dana Ellyn will be holding a one night only solo show at The GallAerie, a small grassroots showing space in Mt. Pleasant. It's a one night only event so please, no procrastinating! Free to attend, no RSVP necessary - just come out and enjoy the party. It starts at 8 and goes until late. The GallAerie is located at 1644 Newton Street, NW, WDC.

01 February 2008 / Black History Month

On 01 February, White Crane Magazine /Gay Wisdom For Daily Living reminds us that not only was the great American poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist LANGSTON HUGHES born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902 but that in 1960 four African American students sat down and ordered coffee at a lunch counter in Woolworths in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Visit Gay Wisdom & Culture.

Artomatic Happy Hour - Science Club - Wednesday, 6 February

Artomatic Happy Hour at The Science Club, 3rd Floor, next Wednesday, 6 February 2008. From 6 - 8 PM. The Science Club is located at 1136 19th Street, NW, WDC.

Artomatic Happy Hour happens the 1st Wednesday of every month. The next meet up will be Wednesday, March 5, at The Science Club.

US Supreme Court Police

Established in 1949, the Supreme Court of the United States Police is a small federal law enforcement agency headquartered in the District of Columbia, whose mission is to ensure the integrity of the constitutional mission of the Supreme Court by protecting the United States Supreme Court building, the Justices, employees, guests, and visitors.

Read more at Wikipedia.

Though I have captured the USSCP and MFL many times over the years - not to mention that and one of 2006 MFL USSCP which was published on page 57 of Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society . Volumer 8, Number 2, Spring 2006 issue was also featured as the front cover of Racializing Justice, Disenfranchising Lives: The Racism, Criminal Justice, and Law Reader (Critical Black Studies) book, released in September 2007 I did not know the correct acronym for the agency, until yesterday, which was when I searched GOOGLE.

Unfortunately, when I photographed at the Supreme Court, over the years, my experiences have always been text book examples of racializaing justice. As was the case on Tuesday evening, 22 January 2008 with a white female and male feminist and then black male USSCP officer.

Click the above photo view my USSCP 2008 photo set and Cop Duty 2008 collection.

Manhunt & Apex presents dj Hector Fonseca at this Friday's "Cherry's Official ManHunt Party"

What do you get when you mix HECTOR FONSECA, one of the hottest DJs from New York, with APEX, one of the hottest dance clubs in DC? You get DC's Official ManHunt Party. There will be hot guys galore, giveaways from ManHunt & CHERRY, and our good friends at Apex will be donating a portion of the door to The Cherry Fund! As an added bonus, if you buy your CHERRY PASS at Apex this Friday, we'll knock the $9 cover charge off of your pass price, so you only pay $121! So come on by, and start getting pumped for CHERRY!

Excerpted from Cherry Fund Newsletter / Update dated 31 January 2008.

Split This Rock Poetry Festival / WDC . 20 - 23 March 2008

Author Ed Hamilton & "Legends of the Chelsea Hotel" Thursday's Reading at the Dupont Circle Olsson's Featured in WDC's Local Press

As reported in my 19 January 2008 blog posting, author and blogist Ed Hamilton will appear at the Olsson's / Dupont Circle South on Thursday evening, 31 January 2008, at 7 PM. Where, at a book signing, he will read from his latest book "Legends of the Chelsea Hotel".

I've just received news that articles pertaining to "Legends" and Ed Hamilton will be featured in Thursday's issues of the Washington Post Express and Washington City Paper.

Here is an excerpt from the City Paper.

The New York that made the Chelsea Hotel a bohemian mecca vanished a long time ago - frankly, if the best music to come out of it lately is the Libertines and Ryan Adams, bring on the wrecking ball. But it’s hard to argue that Ed Hamilton isn’t doing the world a service by serving as the storied joint’s self-appointed historian. In his book Legends of the Chelsea Hotel, Hamilton profiles and collects stories about Chelsea residents past and present like Arthur Miller, Michael Alig, and you-know-who; on his blog, Hamilton mostly bemoans every move made by the Chelsea’s new management team, from the hold music (“a bad recording of the Velvet Underground”) to the policy against unsupervised children in the lobby (“It’s a shame because the Chelsea Hotel in the old days was welcoming to all age ranges”). In other words, he’s exactly the kind of pain-in-the-ass old-timer who’ll never vanish from New York. Hamilton discusses and signs copies of his work at 7 p.m. at Olsson’s Books & Records, 1307 19th St. NW. Free. (202) 785-1133.

Author / Activist Mark Thompson's Fellow Travelers Exhibition

Touring LGBT community centers around the country, Fellow Travelers: Liberation Portraits by Mark Thompson, en exhibit sponsored by White Crane Institute was at the Gay Center in NYC from late March until early May 2007.

Derived from a 2005 'word and picture' film project by that same name, the photography exhibition is a collection of 14 stunning black & white images of Gay liberation pioneers taken by Mark Thompson, one of the foremost chroniclers of the movement.

After travelling to Philadelphia in October for Gay History Month at the William Way Center, Fellow Travelers was on display at A Cup of Joe in Salt Lake City during the month of December 2007 and, apparently, for a few days in January 2008. Where, in conjunction with the exhibit, several Queer Spirit events were held including Gay Soul Making / Mark Thompson and a weekend mini-retreat featuring Mark Thompson and Shoshone ceremonialist, Clyde Hall, who is one of the subjects in Thompson's exhibit.

With plans currently in development for exhibitions in Portland OR, Modesto CA, Detroit and Chicago donations to the White Crane Institute in support of the traveling exhibition are more than welcomed.

Friday's Photo of the Week . 25 January 2008

WMATA Rail - Gallery Place / Chinatown Station

NW WDC . Thursday, 24 January 2008

2008 Fridays' Photos of the Week

Tasting at Artfully Chocolate / Del Ray - Wednesday, 30 January 2008 - 6:30 PM

Featuring special deals, exceptional champagne and exquisite new chocolates from the brilliant Christopher Blume of Christopher's Confections, a TASTING will be held at Artfully Chocolate / Del Ray on Wednesday evening, 30 January 2008.

Beginning at 6:30 pm, this event is free. However, space will be limited. To ensure that there will be enough tasty treats for everyone, please RSVP by email no later than Friday, 25 January to mkj116@hotmail.com.

Artfully Chocolate is located at 116 E. Del Ray Avenue in Alexandria, VA. Telephone at 703.635.7917.

Now Is The Time To Send Birthday Wishes to Dr. King

This is a very important month - the month we remember Dr. King's birthday.

To help the Foundation celebrate this important occasion by sign the online birthday card today.

When you sign the card your name is added to the list of thousands who are remembering this important man and the invaluable legacy he left.

Born in Atlanta and on his 79th birthday, Dr. King's life and message are as relevant now as they were 40 years ago when an assassin's bullet prematurely ended his life.

By signing the card your signature is the first way you can honor his life and legacy.

But there's another way for you to help right now.

Add your name to the Founding Roll of Honor by making a secure online contribution of $79 or more to the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project.

The first Memorial to a person of color on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. you may remember, the Foundation must raise $100 million to formally break ground.

Having raised $87 million to date, just $13 million more must be raised before the Foundation can build the dream.

Now is the Time to:

Sign the special online birthday card to honor the legacy Dr. King has left, and make a special gift of $79 this month which is just $1 for each year since Dr. King was born to add your name to the Roll of Honor and help create a permanent place for Dr. King's legacy on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Happy 114th Birthday To My Great Grandmother, Violet Biscoe

At the age of 105, my great grandmother, Violet Emma Dove Biscoe, passed in November 1998. Today, on 21 January 2008 I will celebrate her 114th birthday.

David Comb's Most Famous Painting is Now 3-D!

When passing the Chelsea Hotel during my Labor Day Week 2007 visit to NYC I had the pleasure of capturing the artist David Combs as part of my ongoing Street Artists series.

In an email, he now informs me that his most famous painting, "Red Chelsea" is now available as a 22 x 30" 3-D lenticular!

The first collaboration between Combs and Depthography (R. Anthony Munn & Sara Cook) and after decades of research, development and seven hundred man hours ... because of the nature of 3-D ... the product must be seen in person to appreciate it.

Combs' 22 x 30" 3-D "Red Chelsea" may be viewed at Dan's Guitars in the Chelsea Hotel on 23rd near 7th Avenue in NYC. Or email David Combs at david@davidcombsart.com to set up an appointment.

Number 5/50 is not only a fantastic piece of work but a great investment. Be one of the first to get your hands on one of the most exciting pieces of artwork to come out of the Chelsea Hotel ever!

My Second 2008 FLANEURISM Video of the Week

"Trapped" Video Walk / WDC

... to the Corcoran Gallery of Art / Annie Leibovitz

Saturday Afternoon, 12 January 2008

Elvert Xavier Barnes Projections

background music featuirng:

"La Liberate" / Tangerine Dream

"Downtown" / Petula Clark

"Trapped" / 2 PAC

click image

Ed Hamilton, Author of "Legends of the Chelsea Hotel" Book Signing & Reading At Dupont Circle Olsson's

The Chelsea Hotel recently made news as money hungry corporate types ousted long-time proprietor Stanley Bard and his family.[In} danger of losing the artists and outlaws that made it the cities "rebel Mecca", author and Chelsea Hotel resident Ed Hamilton recently released his book Legends of the Chelsea Hotel: Living with the Artists and Outlaws in New York's Rebel Mecca. The book, an extension of the Hotel Chelsea Blog, started as a chronicle of the outrageous events that always seem to happen at the hotel, but with the removal of the Bards, may be a eulogy of sorts.

For Hamilton, Legends Of The Chelsea Hotel is also something of a labor of love. The book begins with the residents gathered in the hallway of the hotel after a fire that may or may not have been started by the hotel's telephone operator — who is herself a rather eccentric character. Sadly, it ends with the inevitable realization that like so many other things these days, the Chelsea is about to become the latest victim of gentrification — despite the rich history detailed here.

While Hamilton has been on a book signing and reading tour mostly in NYC since Legends Of The Chelsea Hotel late October release I am pleased to report that Ed will be in WDC on Thursday evening, 31 January 2008, for a 7 PM book signing and reading event at Olsson's Books & Records at Dupont Circle (South).

Here are some reviews:

• “One of the recurring pleasures of Ed Hamilton’s Legends of the Chelsea Hotel is his sly rendering of its former proprietor, Stanley Bard, an eccentric patron of the arts…There’s something remarkable about the way the author manages to celebrate the Chelsea’s singular atmosphere without ever forgetting how toxic the air is for many of the people who come desperate to breathe it…What really resonates in the book, what makes it so sorrowful at times, is Hamilton’s evocation of all the young and old hopefuls who have just enough ambition to push their lives past the point of no return. Legends comes close to convincing you that, as destructive drugs go, self-delusion has heroin beat.”—New York Times Book Review, October 28, 2007
• “"Legends of the Chelsea Hotel" is a collection of bizarre tableaux -- aging actresses, bathroom high jinks, ghosts and tricksters. It is full of affection for a passing era. Surrounded by creeping gentrification, the Chelsea may not long remain affordable to the kinds of characters Hamilton describes.” — Los Angeles Times, January 6, 2007
• “The stories in this book are far too numerous to recount here. But let us just say if you have an appetite for true stories about the famous (and some not so famous) that range from the somewhat bizarre to the downright insane, then this book will leave you breathless. With the truly odd collection of punk rockers, beat poets, and other colorful characters who populate the pages of Legends Of The Chelsea Hotel, your perverse satisfaction is guaranteed.” — Glen Boyd, www.blogcritics.org, December 08, 2007
• “Hamilton's best sketches come from direct observations and firsthand experiences — and don't worry, there are plenty of them. In "Expert Advice on Combating Terrorism," for example, he takes a break from writing his novel to transcribe construction workers bothering him outside his window. The result is a concise and accurate portrayal of what it is to live in post-9/11 New York as it builds itself into something new.
  Maybe now he can get back to writing that novel. He certainly has enough material — he just needs a quiet place to write.” — Philadelphia City Paper, December 4, 2007

The book signing and reading event begins at 7 pm on Thursday evening, 31 January 2008 at Olsson's (Dupont Circle South) which is located just a few feet south of the Dupont Circle South Subway Station exit at 1307 19th Street, NW, WDC. Telephone 202-785-1133.

Fetish Photographer Adam Kozik Work Included in LA's Antebellum Gallery "S&M For Valentine Day" Group Exhibition

Though I first became acquainted with Adam Kozik when he contacted me on 13 December 2007 regarding my connection to Robert Mapplethorpe who his work is often compared to ... I wanted to make sure that my blog posting pertaining to Kozik's inclusion in LA's Antebellum Gallery "S&M For Valentine Day" Exhibition was in conjunction with the Mid Atlantic Leather Weekend.

Born in Chicago, in 1970, Adam Kozik's work is of thee classical tradition. After attending The American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he studied painting and drawing, Kozik moved to New York City in the 1990s where his interest in photography grew.

Kozik traveled to Europe in 2001, and lived in Paris for six months where he was introduced first hand to the style of classic mannerism, which continues to serve as a mainstay in his work today. In order to create his own images he turned to photography. Interested in portraiture, when returning to Chicago, he found an entirely new world for the photographer with gallery associations, commissions, and future artistic course.

Adam had his first shows in the spring of 2007 in Chicago, with two galleries showing his homoerotic works. Adam’s diverse works - S&M, floral images, still lifes, and commissioned portraits - are brought together by the photographer’s constant approach to clarity and honesty.

Here are some Press Reviews regarding his work.

Though he and his partner are in the process of relocating BACK to NYC from Chicago, in the midst of putting the final touches on the prints that will be included in the "S&M for Valentine Day" Group Exhibition at the Antebellum Gallery in LA Adam says "After exhibiting relatively small prints in the past year, this will be the first exhibit where all of the pictures are 13" x 19". I'm using a fiber based inkjet paper. The tones are real warm and rich - it's very nice paper, though quite expensive .... The result is the nearest that I have seen to produce similiar silver gelatin darkroom prints. Even though the process is entirely digital. The quality of the finished print is almost as important to me as taking the picture."

Owned and operated by Rick Castro, the Antebellum is a casual space for art and engaging conversation. Antebellum Gallery is intended as a hybrid of artistic, cultural, and political iconoclasm.

ANTEBELLUM GALLERY presents "S&M: an exhibition of sadomasochistic art" will feature the works of Mitchel Evans, Adam Kozik, Aj Epstein, Marsorama, Rick Castro, Tony Ward, Dillinger, Ashley, Buck Angel Elayne Angel, Dave Naz, Domasan, Edward Lucie-Smith, Fakir Musafar, Robert Maplethorpe, Herb Ritts, Steven Meisel, Joel-Peter Witkin, Pier Paolo Pasolini & More.

Opening on Valentine Day, 14 February 2008, with a 6 - 9 pm reception ($5 admission) the exhibit will be on display until 15 March 2008.

Rick Castro's Antebellum Gallery is located at 1643 N Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, CA. Telephone at 323.856.0667. Email at antebellum@earthlink.net.

A contributing artist to the Tom of Finland Foundation (Los Angeles) and Leather Archives & Museum (Chicago) Adam Kozik can be reached by email via his contact page.

Or, if you are 18 years of age or older, and are interested in being photographed by Adam Kozik, please submit inquiry (with JPG image) and brief self-bio by email at adam@adamkozik.com.