My Cover Story

Fellow YA writer Melissa C. Walker has an author blog in which she features the stories behind the covers of books by fellow teen novelists.

This week, she picked my first novel A REALLY NICE PROM MESS for the "Cover Story" treatment. And it's a good one; it's the true behind the scenes story of how my book cover got semi-censored by Barnes & Noble. No--not for anything gay about it. Just too much boobage! Seriously.

You can read the full story here. And if you want to read the book, it's now in paperback from Simon & Schuster for only $9 bucks. As I say in the interview, the book is not your average prom story as it involves a bisexual drug dealer, a deaf stripper, a gay football player and a large contingent of the DC police force.

Crown Jewels & A Broken Arm

When I was a kid, one of my fondest memories of visiting New york was going to the Statue of Liberty, walking up the inside of her metal skirt on a circular staircase for 12 stories and looking out through the windows in her crown on the harbor. Amazing!

Now, after nearly 8 years of being closed for security and safety reasons, the crown is reopening, as the TIMES reported. Starting July 4th, small groups will be able to to go up the staircase to the top and see that same magical view of the harbor.

However, access to Lady Liberty's arm and torch will remain closed, as it has been for 90 years. I remember as a kid wanting desperately to go up to the arm. But passage has been restricted to maintenance workers only because the arm is structurally unsound for larger groups. Strangely enough, the reason for its unsoundness was a terrorist attack.

Back in 1916, during WWI, German saboteurs set off a massive explosion on a munitions loading dock near Ellis Island. The Black Tom Explosion (named after the island where the docks were located) was the most serious act of espionage on US soil during the war. And the explosion was massive, the equivalent of an earthquake measuring between 5.0 and 5.5 on the Richter Scale. It was even felt as far away as Philadelphia! Windows broke as far as 25 miles away, including thousands in lower Manhattan. And the statue's arm, after being showered with debris, was damaged so badly it was permanently closed.

This website has a great narrative of the whole incident if you want to read more about it....a fascinating bit local history.

The Tempermentals

I recently saw a wonderful new play by Jon Marans called THE TEMPERMENTALS. It's all about the founding of the Mattachine Society, the first gay rights organization that got its start way back in 1950. The play is a fascinating look at a time when even saying the word "homosexual" was dangerous. Michael Urie, the lead from my film "WTC View" who is now on ABC's UGLY BETTY, plays a Hollywood fashion designer whose identity as one of the founders of the group was kept secret for more than 30 years.

Rudy Gernreich got his start with the studios but became a fashion force in the 1960's and even ended up on the cover of TIME magazine. But what I love most is that he was a guest star on one of my favorite episodes of BATMAN (a Catwoman episode, of course!). He even designed the outfits for another childhood favorite show SPACE: 1999. In his performance as Rudy, Michael is amazing in the show, as is the whole cast lead by Thomas Jay Ryan as Harry Hay.

After getting a great review in the NY Times, it will be moving to a larger space soon and running through June. Check SmartTix for more details on tickets and availability....definitely worth seeing.

I'm Hailing Them On All Frequencies

OK--brace yourself for a Code Red geek alert. You can now buy a Star Trek communicator which works as a VoIP handset for your computer to talk on Skype or iChat. And it's certainly cheaper than some headsets at $44. It will not beam you up anywhere but it's still a pretty cool accesory for those Trekkers (not Trekkies!) out there. Including me :)

America's Worst Mom?

I was watching ABC World News last night when, in honor of Mother's Day, they had a story about a New Yorker, Lenore Skenazy, who was being called "America's Worst Mom". Lenore believes in the concept of "Free Range Kids" which also happens to be the title of a book and blog on the subject. Go figure. Anyway, her parenting philosophy is to let her kid roam around on his own, doing his own thing....a notion that's totally anathema to today's so-called "Helicopter Parents", who hover over their children at all times.

The big crime which earned her the "Worst Mom" label was that she had let her child, an adorably bright kid with a huge Jewfro, ride the subway at age 9 and the LIRR at 10. Unaccompanied. Cue horror music. Now this story is a great headline but if you really think about it, it's not as terrible as it sounds. The subway is not some sort of horror show and hasn't been for a good 20 years. I see kids riding on it often, usually in groups but definitely under 13. Personally, my biggest concern about putting a child on the subway would be not so much the danger factor but more that the NYC subway can be so damn confusing, especially with all the service advisories lately. But Lenore's kid asked her if he could do this and, as a city kid, had already been on the subway countless times and knew where he was going.

There is a general feeling these days that the world is very "dangerous" for children. There are predators everywhere...or at least that's the impression you'll get if you watch DATELINE. However, Justice Dept. stats show that crimes against children remaine relatively unchanged over the last 40 years. They are incredibly rare (115 abductions in 2006, in a country of 300 million) and when they do occur, wholly sensationalized and overpublicized.

Growing up in the seemingly pastoral 70's and 80's, I was lucky to have a pretty free range existence, walking to school starting at age 7 and roaming the general Kensington, MD area without parental supervision. But there was nothing extraordinary about it either. And, not only did I survive, I thrived and had a great childhood filled with adventure and mischief, as all childhoods should be. Lenore makes the point that some kids these days are prisoners of their parents irrational fears. Though that may make for a perfectly safe and heremetically sealed childhood, she believes it's not exactly helping kids grow into responsible, self-sufficient adults.

"Dammit Jim!" -- Bones Is Back

Being the film geek that I am, I went to see the new STAR TREK at midnight last night and, I have to say, it's fantastic! For someone who was never keen on the "Next Generation" or all the other TV spinoffs, the new movie revives the spirit of the original series (or TOS, as Trekkies say) and brings it roaring back to life in some familiar as well as unexpected ways.

The cast was uniformly great but Karl Urban, playing "Bones" McCoy was a standout. He boldly goes where none of his other crew mates dare by going for a true imitation of his predecessor, the cranky DeForrest Kelley, while also adding his own unique spin to the role. I had never really heard of this actor but he did look familiar, apparently because he was in two of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Below is an interview about his breakthrough role with some Auckland press (he's a New Zealander) which is quite good, if a little long. No spoilers so feel free to check it out before or after you see the movie. But this guy is one to watch...as is the movie.

Star Trek Porn (SFW)

With the new sexed-up "Star Trek" opening across the country tomorrow, I was recently reminded how the original 1960's era show was pretty racy itself.

I was flipping channels late one night and came upon an episode "Star Trek" or TOS as the fanboys like to call it ("The Original Series"). It was the one where the Enterprise arrives at a planet where Nazi's are in charge, due to a Federation captain who thought he could take Hitler's model of government and use it for good. Well, that didn't quite work out how he'd planned.

Anyway, Kirk and Spock ended up in shirtless in jail and the whole thing looked kinda porny to me. Vintage Shatner was one of my first boyhood crushes but I didn't recall Spock being such a sexy otter! I created a slide show of some screen caps I took and, I gotta say, it sorta looks like scenes from a '60s prison porn flick. So here's the old TOS hunks workin' their shirtless magic.

Kensington Television

When I was home this week, I went up to the little strip mall in downtown K-Town that, when I was growing up, was home to the 7-11, a barbershop, the consignment store, a florist and an old TV repair shop. I noticed that amazingly they were all still there, though the 7-11 had gone upscale as some sort of fancy "Market" that served croissants and macchiatos as well as Hostess snack products.

But what amazed me most was the TV repair shop. It has not changed at all not only since I was a kid but it looks like since maybe the mid-1950s as indicated by the listing of the "Dumont" brand above the door.

Dumont not only manufactured top of the line sets in the 40's and 50's but it was also the original fourth television network. The nascent network broke up in 1956 due to a lack of stations and stars. After that, Dumont TV's were still manufactured by Emerson for a few years. But now, like this store, they are relics of a lost era.

Though Kensington Television listed actual business hours, I peeked in didn't see much activity inside. Or anyone in the store for that matter. The interior was stacked with old antique sets and radios. It made a nice window display though, a sort of living Smithsonian right in my hometown.

DC Recognizes Same Sex Marriage

Today the DC City Council voted 12-1 to recognize gay unions performed in other states.  Go Washington!  

So you may be wondering who was the one holdout in the 90%-plus Democratic District.  It was none other that self-described "moral leader" and infamous ex-Mayor Marion Barry.  OK--I thought this guy was dead.  Or at least not an elected official anymore.  But the formerly crack-addicted mayor who has been married four times(!) has a big problem with the morality of marriage equality.  Really?  Seriously?!  I'll let him explain himself.... 

My Sister-In-Law Is A Flamenco Dancer

For reals!  This weekend I went to see her perform at the American Dance Institute in Rockville. She did this incredible solo performance that she choreographed herself.  It was so good it made me want to go to Spain!  Here's a one-minute clip that I took with my camera.  Congrats Cecilia....Ole!