Photo 22nd & 8th NYC

Photo of the intersection of West 22nd Street and 8th Avenue in the Cheslea section of New York City, taken on June 17.

I have to make another visit to New York in the near future. Being stuck in the suburbs can be such a bore.

Friday Video #41: The Human League

Twenty-five years ago this month "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League hit #1 on the US pop charts. Funny that Americans (including myself) think of this as one of the ultimate summer songs, considering that it had previously hit #1 in Britian around Christmas 1981. DYWM would lead the way for British dance-wave acts getting on US radio, and the video (directed by Steve Barron) would become a staple on the fledging MTV. The song has become a New Wave classic, and still gets played quite a bit. (BTW the song recently turned up in a Chips Ahoy commercial without the band's consent.)

Above is the offical promo video, and below is a clip of the Human League performing on Top Of The Pops back on December 24, 1981. I think that it's kind of strange to see the band perform with Christmas trees on the stage in the later clip, since I'm more likely to think of the beach when I hear this.

Sorry

I know that outside of the Friday Video postings I haven't blogged much here in the past couple of months. Guess I've been depressed about a few things and that my blogging, as well as a few different things, has affected by that. To admit that I have a problem is a first step. Time to move on from there and stop goofing off.

Starrbooty Review

Back on Saturday July 14 me and my friend Mike went to see the new RuPaul sex comedy-cum-blaxploitation takeoff Starrbooty at the Prince Music Theater as part of the most recent Philly Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and the place was packed. If you had checked out last week's Friday Video, RuPaul herself as well as some other members of the cast and crew were there to introduce it personally and to hold a quesion and answer session afterwords.

As for the film itself, it was quite enjoyable with some really out-there moments. It definitely was a take-off of the 70's sexploitation (a la Russ Meyer) and blaxploitation (Pam Grier) flicks. In the film RuPaul is Starrbooty, a supermodel turned international superagent who finds out that her niece Cornisha has been kidnapped by her arch nemesis, Annaka Manners (played by Candis Cayne). It turns out that Annaka has been using her make-up company as a front to lure hookers off the street, kill them, and sell their body parts on the black market. So in order to rescue her niece, Starrbooty is forced to go as an "undercover ho" nicknamed "Cupcake." But before she is able to infiltrate the prostitution underworld, she has to gain street credibility by turning tricks with the johns. (Among the people she has to service is Owen Hawk, Lady Bunny, and as Starbooty's own boss who's undercover himself, Tom Judson (a/k/a Gus Mattox). A great chance to get some full frontal male nudity in!)

RuPaul defintely commanded the screen with her prescene and her facial expressions. And thanks to director Mike Ruiz (who is a photographer and has directed music videos like Kristine W's "Fly Again" and RuPaul's "Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous"), the picture had a very colorful and nearly psychedelic look to it; it was like someone had slipped me some LSD and I was starting to trip as the picture came on. It was the images on the screen were like assulting your mind. (Maybe it was my pollen allergies acting up instead.) There were a couple of faults with the film--the second half of the film tended to "dragged" a bit, it could have used a faster pace in directing. Some people complained that the climatic fight scene was kind of choppy. Plus the print shown that night had some glitches where twice the picture would go black for a moment though the sound continued just fine. (RuPaul apoligized for the quality of that print and said there would be a new complete print at the film's showing the next day.) But overall the audience enjoyd the picture and laughed loudly throughout it.

Starrbooty is currently doing the gay flim festival circuit this summer and will be coming out on DVD in the fall. As long as you're not one with finer sensitivitites, you'd find it to be, conservatively speaking, a hoot. And if you have the chance to see with an audience, do just that; the picture seems to work better that way.

Friday Video #40: Gay Film Festival

The Saturday night showing of Starrbooty at the Philly Gay Film Festival was packed that night. I will be giving my review of that film in the next couple of days. Here's two YouTube clips of that night's (July 14) festivities. The one above has a Q&A session with RuPaul and other members of the cast and crew, and a party afterword at XIX. The one below, taken by Steve from PhillyGayCalendar.com, also has an interview with RuPaul, as well as a couple of other festival happenings that evening, including a showing of the gay take-off of slashers film The Gay Bed And Breakfast of Terror.

Friday Video #39: Starrbooty

This weekend the new RuPaul movie Starrbooty will be playing at the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The film is described by the Supermodel herslf as "part Russ Meyer, part John Waters and part The Naked Gun." RuPaul will also be there personally to host its two screenings. Above is the trailer for the new film.

RuPaul also just did an interview with EdgePhiladelphia.com to promote the film. Check it out.


RuPaul first created the character Starrbooty in 1985 as part of a trio of low-budget films he did with Jon Witherspoon. All three are availible on one DVD from Funtone USA. Here is a five minute portion of the first film, titled Starrbooty - The Motion Picture!

My Simpsons Avatar

If I was on the Simpsons, I'd probably look like this:

You too can get yours here. Thanks for Someone In A Tree for refering me to this.

Friday Video #38: Mimicking Anastacia

Have you ever discussed music with a friend while going to the bathroom, mimicked a certain popstar, only to have said pop star walk in on you? Well, the following does happen to the comedy team of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, and the pop star happens to be Anastacia. This is taken from their TV show French & Saunders. Dawn's impersonation of Ana is hilarious.

Why my blog won't be playing at Blockbuster

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

gay (23x)
queer (4x)
porn (3x)
gays (1x)

Oh well screw Blockbuster and their censorship policies, I don't patronize their stores. Besides, I hear that they're are going to be some of their stores.

Thanks for Hot Lunch for referring me this!