Adopt A Piece Of Fine Art Today

A friend of mine who works at NYFA recently told me about this fantastic website where you can "adopt" works of fine art for free.  The Fine Art Adoption Network was started by an artist named Adam Simon who thought it might be a way for artists to get some exposure while also clearing out some working space in their studios too.

This painting on the left is by artist Heidi Neff, is 60 x 66 inches and inspired by her love of church ceilings. It is available for free...the only cost is shipping.  And like adopting a child, that baby is yours for eternity.  But you have to be a good parent and take care of it.  And, just like adoptiong, you have to apply.  But where in NYC can you get free art? Nowhere....except the Fine Art Adoption Network.

EW Puts Kurt And His Crush On The Cover

Kudos to EW for putting GLEE's Chris Colfer and Darren Criss on the cover of this weeks issue. It's a totally adorakable pic....and a pretty good story to go with it as well.  EW's piece talks about the history of gay teens on TV and how suddenly they are popping up everywhere, most prominently on GLEE.

Now, I know that GLEE may not be a perfect show but it is easily the most unusual and groundbreaking TV show in years, especially in terms of its portrayal of gay teens.  It's actually pretty astounding to see how  Colfer's "Kurt" has become the heart and soul of this show. It seems lately that GLEE works best when it focuses on Kurt's storyline, with one of the best episodes of the season being Kurt's introduction to the all-boy school, the amazing singing of Blaine and The Warblers.

After the two of them did a sweet duet of "Baby It's Cold Outside" on the Xmas episode, fans of the show are clamoring for a real gay bromance. Could Kurt and Blaine become the new Ross and Rachel?  There are many hints that things are going that way, especially in an interview Colfer gives on the set of their photo shoot.  Only time, and new episodes of season 2, will tell....

Forget Spidey-The Book Of Mormon Is Coming To Bway

The big Spiderman news this week, as reported in the NY TIMES, is that they added a new closing number with more flying around the theatre and ending with the movie's famous upside down kiss w/Mary Jane.  This is news?  Really?!

Look--if you want some actual news about what's happening on Broadway these days, the funniest new musical to hit the Great White Way since AVENUE Q is opening in March and you probably haven't heard much about it.  Trust me, you will hear more as word spreads about THE BOOK OF MORMON, a collaboration between the South Park guys (Trey Parker and Matt Stone) and the creator of AVENUE Q.

I was lucky enough to catch the show in a workshop production at the Vineyard Theatre in 2009 and it was awesome.  It's about a couple young Mormon's who get sent on their first missionary trip to Africa....comic chaos ensues.  It is full of tasteless but hilarious laugh-til-you-cry jokes and some outrageous songs in the style of TEAM AMERICA'S crazier bits (remember the AIDS number?).  I don't want to give all the good stuff away so I'm gonna leave it at that.  Previews begin February 24th and the show will actually open a month later, on March 24th. Take that Spidey!

A Post-Blizzard Brooklyn Mystery

During last month's incredible December blizzard, a young man in Brooklyn went seeking an adventure by  slapping on some cross-country skis and shushing through Prospect Park.  On his journey, he came across a small canister of black/white film that someone had lost in the snow.  Curiously, he printed the photos and found them to be quite interesting.

Determined to find the people who took them, he created this YouTube video below. I found it over on the Daily Beast and wanted to share it here.  It's already had more than 100,000 hits and rightly so...it's a wonderful little New York story.

Quorum Forum Kicks Off With Museum/Loft Party

The Quorum Forum is a 10-day series of free arts-related events happening in Brooklyn and Queens, from January 14-23.  I heard about this from attending their kick-off event last Friday, The Pop of Museum of Queer History, which took place in a Bushwick loft packed with artwork, movies and performance.  This event was co-curated by queer artists Hugh Ryan and Buzz Slutzsky and was partially created in response to the removal of David Wojnarowicz's work from the National Portrait Gallery, which I've covered here on the blog.  It was packed with the hip/arty gays and turned out to be so much fun that even the police showed up!

Anyway, I wrote about my night at the museum (ha) for NEXT magazine's "The Nexus" blog and took some pictures too, including the shot above of the Stonewall Riot made out a gingerbread.  This is the sort of homemade creativity that the other Forum events will be encouraging this week: there'll be  some bookmaking, tarot card reading and, the final event, a "Hot Pink Mass" on Sunday.  Amen, Mary!  :) You can find all the details on their website.

Film Shot On iPhone To Screen At Berlin

Korean director Park Chan-wook, who brought us the bloody cinematic feast OLD BOY, has shot his latest movie entirely on the iPhone 4.  It's a 30 minute short that he made in Seoul last fall and is now starting to show in theatres there.  He used multiple iPhones shooting simultaneously to create a horror-fantasy-comedy film called PARAMANJANG which is about a man who catches a woman while fishing. The film will show in South Korean theaters starting January 27th and will get it's international premiere at the Berlin Film Festival next month.

So the question is why? "The new technology creates strange effects because it is new and because it is a medium the audience is used to," Park said.  It almost sounds to me like more of the growing trend of "branded entertainment", meaning the film was created as a promotion for the iPhone in Korea.  Apple is not officially involved and Chan-wook claims that he had no special iPhone made for the shoot.  He added that he made no changes to the existing model, except for the addition of lenses.  Not to be a stickler but I'd say that's a pretty big change as you don't see many people taping jury rigged Zeiss lenses on their phones.

Anyway, I'm curious to check it out.  Could it be the future of cinema?  Will Hollywood start making feature films on the iPhone?  Like all technological changes, it's still not going to make movies cost nothing.  The budget on this 30 minute short was $133,000.

Remembering MLK And The 1960s

When I was a junior at Boston College, I took a class called "Remembering the 1960's".  It was taught by a woman who lived the decade and knew the subject intimately.  In fact, she had attended Bob Dylan's bar mitzvah!  Anyway, it was an amazing class as she told the story of how the decade that changed this country actually began in the 1950's, most notably in the 1955 Montgomery, AL bus boycott organized by a young preacher named Martin Luther King.  As she told the story of Dr. King and his use of non-violence to change the hateful Jim Crow laws across the South, I was deeply moved and also somewhat inspired.  Dr. King's words and actions showed a great nation that it had forgotten one of its founding principles...that ALL men were created equal.

While many in my class bemoaned the fact that the 80's were not as interesting as the '60s and that there was nothing to fight against, I knew this was not true. The AIDS epidemic was killing the gay community and polarizing the straight world and, once again, there was the assumption that a certain group of people (gays and lesbians this time around) were not so equal as the rest of Americans.  I wondered why the nation viewed us as The Other?  I thought one reason was that this country hardly knew us, outside of what they'd gleaned from Elton John and episodes of SOAP.  And so I started writing openly and honestly about my experience as a gay man.  It began as short stories in a writing class that same year, then became films and books and even some plays.  But, looking back, I can trace the inspiration for all my writing back to that history class in which I learned about the civil rights movement and how one man raised his voice and made a difference.  Even though I was not a politician or a preacher, I thought I would do what I could to show people that we were not The Other.  We were human, just like everyone else, and wanted the same things that all Americans are promised; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Anyway, as I reflect today on the the legacy of Martin Luther King, I can see that the struggle for equality and equal rights is not over.  Though we have certainly come a long ways since his death more than 40 years ago (we've got an African American President!), his remarkable dream is not quite complete.  Gays and lesbians still suffer from hate and discrimination and a lack of equality when it comes to some pretty basics rights, including the right to marry.  So in honor of Dr. King, I urge you to look around and do what you can to support the continuing struggle for equality for all.

My Brother's Photograph Is Part Of LIFE's Best Of 2010

I've linked a few times here on the blog to the newly reinvented, online version of LIFE magazine.  They've done some great photo essays over the past year and have released some historical photos too, like some never before seen shots of Hiroshima after the Bomb.

Yesterday, I found out that my brother, who is a photojournalist based in Washington with AFP, had one of his photos of President Obama selected for LIFE's Pictures Of The Year.  It's a shot of the very tall commander in chief being positioned for a summit photo by the hands of a hidden South Korean presdient.  It's a somewhat comic but also suprising pic as it's not often you seen the President of The United States being manhandled into position....except on healthcare.  Badump-chik! Thank you folks....I'm here all week and don't forget to tip your waitresses!  :)

But seriously folks, it's a great honor for my brother to be included in this compilation. And it's a stunning collection of photos in general.  To check out the whole visual recap of the year that was, it's on LIFE.com.

When Polar Bears Attack Video Cameras

Below is a video clip from a UK nature show in which polar bears, who are being secretly filmed by some very clever spy cams, get a little too curious about these strange objects that are following them around.  Apparently, more than any other animal they have filmed before using these stealthy cams, the polar bears not only take notice of their new "friends" but also get incredibly curious as well.

The bears are sorta playful but sorta scary, especially when they crack open these pieces of machinery with their bare paws as if they merely were just another walnut.  While polar bears may be cute, they are pretty damn strong too and best viewed from a distance....or a reinforced spy cam.

Walking In A Central Park Wonderland

I had a meeting up near Columbus Circle this morning so, after it was over, I felt inspired to take a stroll through a newly snowy Central Park.  Even though the big storm had stopped only a few hours before, after dumping more than a foot on the city, the Park wasn't exactly the pristine wonderland I was hoping for. There were plenty of tracks through the powder and lots kids sledding down the "mountains", as I overheard one group of toddlers call them.  But it was still a pretty beautiful and wintry wonderland.  And there were photographers everywhere!

Anyway, thought I'd share some of my pics from today. Enjoy!  :)