Saturday Night at the Sully's...

Gore Girl and local party animal Sheri is having a birthday party on Saturday night at Sully's Pub on Park St. She modeled for her own birthday flyer which shows an admirable level of commitment which I applaud. I don't know what the Ig! is or what the Distance is, but it sure looks fun. I will probably go.

New Heights of Ridiculousness

If you have ever wanted to know what it was really like to live my life here at Oxford Manse, then make sure you pick up a copy of December's CT Slant magazine. Susan Corica wrote a rather titillating expose of our lives here in paradise. It's like all of the good parts of MTV's Real World if it were being filmed in Hartford. We're having a huge tiled gang shower installed on the third floor with all of the money we made from the magazine. Finally we can all shower together in the same room.

In other news, I would like to encourage everyone to go to Vegas Boulevard tomorrow night on Sisson Avenue to party with DJ Jprez and cheap drinks. They have hosted a really excellent party for the last two or three weeks in a row on Thursday nights, and I'm praying that tomorrow is no exception. Dancing in a tiny bar is really fun because it allows you an excuse to rub up against everybody you want and not feel lame.

Is The Hartford Courant Gay?

Today the Hartford Courant printed this semi-homo-erotic picture on the front page in full color. It's quite beautiful, actually, even for the Hartford Courant. The story is about super-hot Pieter Van den Berg (at right) who lost his mother, a popular professor at UCONN, in a car accident last May when they were driving to his college graduation in Long Island. In this picture they are showing off their matching chests now emblazoned with his mother's initials. His father survived but was badly injured. You can read the full story here, if this picture intrigues you to do so, as it did for me.

I already searched Pieter on the myspace and came across an even hotter picture posted below (let's not talk about how creepy that is that I did that). My curious suspicions were confirmed that Pieter Van den Berg does like to party (pictured again at right), and posting this picture ensures that Van den Berg will try to kill me if we ever meet in person. He lives in Mansfield Center so its not even like thats an impossibility, but I don't seem to care. I still can't believe they put such a sexy picture on the front page and thought that it would be read any other way. These boys are out to fuck.

Polo Club America, pretty kitty time.

On Saturday night we went to the Polo Club on Maple Street to see the drag show and also to wear tons of fur. We started the night out with champagne cocktails at Alice's place and by letting Aretha Franklin touch our souls. We also played with the kitty a lot.

Hostess with the kitty, posed like this all night

Chelsea with the kitty

Carolyn

Colleen and Kara

Grant

Alice wearing at least three varieties of fur

Alice, surrounded by bad fags

Best drag queen of the evening

Carolyn, finally feeling at home and accepted for who she is, embraced by the drag community

Brent and Shannon

Betsey Johnson

Winner, cutest girl of the night

Winner, cutest boy of the night

PUNK ROCK FLEA MARKET

On Sunday, go to the Charter Oak Cultural Center on Charter Oak Avenue in Hartford for the Punk Rock Flea Market. Myself as well as many others will be selling all sorts of good things for you and your gift list. Items for sale will include vintage and handmade clothing, vintage records, art, photographs, knick-knacks, kitsch, handmade stationary, handmade books, love, fun, PBR, and other miscellany. This event has been organized by Ellen Arnstein, a totally radical babe. The event is from 1-5pm in Charter Oak's sanctuary. Admission is $3 to benefit the COCC and all of the good work they do in Hartford. There will be DJs and good tidings.

Ross.com

Early this morning my house-mate Ross Fredella launched his ultra slick photography portfolio online. If you pour yourself a glass of wine and put some smooth jazz on the stereo, visiting www.rossfredella.com is just like going to a gallery opening on the internet. Definitely take a look. To the left is a portrait of me that Ross shot in our dining room a few weeks ago.

Also, make sure you come out to the Punk Rock Flea Market at the Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford this coming Sunday, the 25th. Ross and I will have a table where he will be selling photographs and I will be selling some small paintings. Other vendors will have vintage vinyl, vintage clothing, handmade books and stationary, soft sculpture, etc. I will post another advertisement for PRFM before the week's end. A portion of the proceeds will help benefit the Charter Oak Cultural Center's community programs, and another portion will benefit my broke ass bank account.

Paper/New England Grand Opening: the sequel; Kambui Olujimi at Real Art Ways

Thursday night has lately been the best party night of the week, consistently outperforming Friday and Saturday. Week after week with rare exception, Friday night unravels into a giant yawnfest with Ross, J. and I lounging around on the couch, listening to Leonard Cohen, vaguely staring at one another while maintaining a warm Cabernet buzz (not that I don't love that completely. God, my life is so luxurious).

Tomorrow night's plans include a double opening at 56 Arbor Street. Real Art Ways' Creative Cocktail Hour will feature the work of Kambui Olujimi (pictured). I met Mr. Olujimi last night at Barcelona, and he's probably the hottest artist Real Art Ways has featured in recent memory. I am very much looking forward to seeing him again. I'm told his installation, entitled "World Famous Dr. Keller's THE LOST RIVERS DREAM INDEX," is quite good as well.

Also, at the same address, suite 205, Michael Shortell's brand new nonprofit venue, Paper/New England, will be having the grand opening for its headquarters and touting a show called "New England Now." This show gathers the work of 18 artists from New England, including good friends Stephen Brown and Susan Finnegan. A couple of weeks ago, P/NE opened a temporary exhibition at a storefront in West Hartford's Blue Back Square, which featured Hartford area artists exclusively. Finally, Real Art Ways has a friendly neighbor, and gallery-hopping will actually be logistically feasible in this town, albeit a very short hop.

Afterwards, I'm thinking Vegas Boulevard on Sisson Ave. There I will chill to the max with DJ Jprez, who will be spinning all of the best aural sex jams, as per usual.

Saturday: Erin turns 30 and the Wierd Diner

One of my absolute favorites, Erin Kenney, turns 30 on Saturday and so we'll be trying to help her feel not so bad about it (I believe a mixed drink is in order). A private birthday party in Wethersfield has been arranged by her Marxist boyfriend, Chris.

Later on Saturday we'll bundle up and shimmy off to Bloomfield for a dance party at the Weird Diner. I haven't written about these kids yet, but they deserve it. They're the totally bizarre group of UH misfits who like to party hard and who also happen to have extremely good luck with real estate. I don't know how on earth they scored twin two-story houses for rent, side-by-side, with neighbors who don't care about the three-day dance/rock/sex parties, but they did, and Weird Diner is potentially everything you have ever dreamed of, if you like odd.

Anyway, on Saturday they are hosting a rock show and dance party where our boy JPrez will be spinning (apparently we follow him where ever he goes). Last night he promised nothing but 1991, camp, and all the sex-inspired pop hits we crave. It should be interesting; it might be fun.

Mayor Perez: still ugly

Elections were on Tuesday, America has spoken, and Hartford still has the ugliest mayor in the country. Yikes, just take a few minutes to let it soak in.

In other news, Joseloff Gallery's new show "Post Dec" opens on Friday night at six and it should be a minorly star-studded event. I'm hoping to meet Lari Pittman or Polly Apfelbaum, but I have not been able to successfully confirm either RSVP. If Joseloff tries to pull the old "dry campus" trick again, I will go berserk. I hopefully will have pictures regardless.

Halloween style notes

Halloween is a great holiday because everyone at the very center of their soul feels the need to invest far more effort into dressing than they normally would. The following is a selection of the best party dresses, creeps in masks, and well put-together costumes I saw at the various parties I attended since Saturday. I resisted including clueless babes wearing "sexy_____" costumes, as in "sexy nurse" "sexy cat" "sexy pilgrim" "sexy infant" "sexy miscellaneous." OK girls, we get it; it's really easy to get male attention on Halloween. Regardless, enjoy:

10/27/07 at Real Art Ways, Shadow Show opening:

Andrea Henchey

Olu Oguibe

10/27/07 Cocktail Party, West End, Hartford:

Jason Tragni, Ross Fredella, Yours Truly, Jamie Martini

10/27/07 West Hartford House Party Rager:

Linda Mac

Lauren Brenner, Samantha Hands

10/27/07 DJ JPrez's Dance Party, Farm-Ave, Hartford:

Angelica Bess

Taylor Landesman

10/31/07 Pre-Game Champagne Cocktails, Oxford Street, Hartford:

Kristin Centrella

Julie Bergeron

10/31/07 "Terror Never Dies", Gillette Street, Hartford:

Sam Ekwurtzel

Alice Smith

Cheryl ********

Yours Truly

Gabi Barnes

Patrick ********