It's Not Always Sunny In Philadelphia

I visited the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts earlier this week. There I saw an amazing exhibition of Jeffrey Stockbridge photographs. Check out my latest Huffington Post Arts entry.


36 and Haverford, No. 2 by Jeffrey Stockbridge

Worst (Or Best) Award Ever

Came across this beauty at an antiques mall.
It brings tears to my eyes.

Step Into Her World: Carmen Carrera

And then there were five.

Read my interview with Carmen Carrera on The Huffinton Post.

RuPaul's Drag Race airs Monday nights on Logo. Stay tuned for my weekly interviews with the remaining finalists as well as with Drag Race's outspoken judge, Michelle Visage.

News From The Garden

It's been 16 days since I planted these seeds and just as I was about to give up on the whole tray a cucumber sprout decided to make its grand entrance! I've only gotten a few (2, literally) lettuce sprouts from this tray so far. I guess I'll give it another week before trying new seeds in it.


Lots of herbs are sprouting as well!




Outside, in one of the raised beds sprouts are beginning to also appear.


In other garden news, I made a bed using some found bricks by our side entrance and planted a hydrangea bush along with some salvia pants and a columbine.

Fierce Friday on a Wednesday: R.I.P. Liz Taylor

I did not grow up watching Elizabeth Taylor films. It was not until high school, when I became active in theater , that I first watched "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?" It, of course, left an undying impression on me and remains, to this very day, one of my favorite films ever. Shortly after that, I became to familiarize and fall in love with her impressive body of work.



There has always been a soft spot in my heart for Ms. Taylor. Her great acting and persona aside (not to mention her generous dedication to the fight against HIV/AIDS), she has always reminded me of my mother (or the other way around). Not to say that my mother was a dead ringer for Liz, but she was that "type" of beauty. People often told her so and this comparison endeared me to the movie star.



As a dear friend of mine mentioned earlier today, she was one of the last true movie stars. They simply don't make them like Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor anymore. She perfectly balanced talent, glamor, sex appeal, kindness, compassion and yes, even scandal. She was a gutsy and flawed; as intriguing off as she was on screen. Young Hollywood could take a lesson or two, perhaps an entire course from her.



Today, Ms. Taylor, I do not mourn you.
I celebrate you!
Rest in peace, you beautiful goddess.

Elegant And Big Square

WTF-ish product seen over the weekend:



To boot, the product description is not printed on the package but on the panties themselves.
HOT!

Happy Monday

Fierce Friday!

Embrace humor.
Don't over think.
Do you.

And speaking of doing "you", here's a bit of fierce fun from the one and only Amanda Lepore to send you off into the weekend:

Latest Huffpost Piece: A Duck Walks Into A Bar...

Read it HERE.

I'm A Dirty Boy

I worked in the yard all day today. The raised bed I ordered from Ebay arrived yesterday and I was, of course, in a hurry to assemble it. How long do you think it takes me to assemble a simple rectangle (with instructions)? You really don't want to know the answer to that.


An untrained monkey could assemble this faster than I managed to.

After preparing the first bed I decided to keep the momentum going so we ran to Lowes and picked up a second, smaller, bed. I am officially a fan of Suncast raised bed kits. They are super simple to assemble. I was filling it in just minutes after opening the box. I will definitely add a few more next spring.




Cool weather crops: Broccoli and Romaine.
I also planted spinach and radishes by seed.


Just keepin' things real in the garden.

Today I tilled dirt and turned sod, filled in beds, did a few plantings, dug a small trench for drainage out back and even helped Ron put down new flooring in our sun room. It was a packed day and a great way to kick off the gardening season. Too tired (or lazy) to cook, we ended the day by filling our bellies with some Afghan take-out.

I'm covered in dirt and every inch of me hurts (in a good way). As soon as I finish uploading this post I'm taking a shower and then soaking in a hot bath. I love Spring!

The Return of Fierce Fridays

I've decided to resurrect my "Fierce Fridays" weekly posts from way back when. I think the last one was in 2009.

I send you all off into the weekend hoppin' and prancin' and stompin' to Sam Sparro's fierce House music throwback "Pink Cloud".

Mr. Sparro, please please please release your new album soon!!!



Be sure to stop by Sam Sparro's site where you can download a "Pink Cloud" EP FREE! It includes 3 mixes of this song plus "You's a Nasty". Who doesn't need that??



Keep it fierce, everyone!

Seated Girl With Clouds on Literacyhead.com

"Seated Girl With Clouds" has been included in the current issue of Literacyhead.com under the lesson plan Write StARTs. This particular collection offers students the opportunity to explore ways portraiture can tell a story.


Seated Girl With Clouds
acrylic on canvas
18" x 24"

This image was also the cover for a Spring issue of Philadelphia Stories.
The painting is currently available for purchase from Singing Stone Gallery in Tampa, FL.

New Erotic Pop: Also Try

Detail:

Check out the full piece on my Naughty Bits Erotic Pop Blog.

Excuses For Bad Behavior Part 1

I was obsessed with this album when it was first released in 1991. I played it (on tape) over and over and over. I still love it and I am still enamored with Sandra's picture on the cover. Fashion!



This song and "Phone Sex" (of which I can only find remixes on youtube, sigh!) are personal favorites.

Sowing Seeds

Well, here we go...



I've decided to garden using both seeds and transplants. I will use raised beds as well as plant directly into the ground. As this will be my first year doing any kind of vegetable gardening that extends anywhere beyond a container tomato plant, I want to cover different bases and ensure that if one does not turn out terribly productive then the other will. Hopefully both will yield plenty of fruit, in which case the combination will simply add versatility to my garden. My ultimate goal is to expand beyond a few traditional beds and create an edible landscape.

I also now can't get this damn song out of my head:

Domesticated Diva

I am devouring this book at the moment as if it were a suspense page-turner.
You see, we're finally living in a home where I have a large and sunny yard in which to create the vegetable garden I've been wanting for 13 years!



I also picked up one of those seed-growing kits today and am calling Home Depot tomorrow about renting a tiller this weekend.
Oh, I mean business.

This year, when anyone asks what I want for my birthday I will tell them that I will gladly accept gift certificates to Home Depot or Lowes so I can spend them on plants and gardening supplies.

Stay tuned.

Happy Weekend!

I will be cooking a hearty Puerto Rican dinner for friends tomorrow.
Looking forward to an evening of cocktails and laughter.

Wishing everyone a great Saturday Night Experience!




Saturday Night Experience
from Jody Watley's Midnight Lounge

Frame Inspiration

I seldom frame my work. I paint mostly on canvas and either let the composition spill onto the sides or finish the edges off in a color that complements the painting. Every now and then, however, I see a frame and am inspired by it. This weekend I came across a pair while browsing through an indoor antiques market.



The second I laid eyes on the frames I imagined cubist-inspired compositions in them and knew I would regret not leaving the store with them. Sold!
I love the decorative hangers on top of the frame rather than the standard wire on the back.



Now I need to order some Masonite 5x7's and cut them down just a bit so that they will fit into the frames properly.

Here are some of the styles that are floating around my brain:


Still Life With Violin
Georges Braque


The Guitar
Juan Gris

...or even


Composition
Stuart Davis

Street Music

Street Music
Acrylic on canvas
8" x 10"
Available through www.latinpopshop.com

Giddy About Gaga

Once upon a time, a day existed when there was no internet, no Youtube and no Twitter. It was a strange time when information and entertainment was shared through a box with dials called a television. Imagine that! Are you old enough to remember rushing home to catch an MTV World Premier Video? I am. Yesterday, as the video for Lady Gaga's Born This Way was released on the internet I was transported to those days, if only for a few minutes. A man nearing forty years of age, I awaited with great anticipation for the Twittersphere to come alive with news that her video had been officially released.

La Gaga did not disappoint! She still delivers (no pun intended). The video's visuals are as stunning, as I expected they would be. The camp quotient, right down to the glittery unicorn is perfect. The song, despite all the media and internet criticism, is fabulously catchy. After all, how could it not be? If it in fact sounds so much like Madonna's Express Yourself, a song that suddenly is being praised for its brilliance, then how bad can it really be?

I fear that if I read yet another story or internet forum comment about how much Lady Gaga's Born This Way lacks merit and is a blatant rip-off of Madonna's Express Yourself my head might implode, not from anger, but boredom. At first I honestly did not hear it and rolled my eyes at the comparisons. Now I kind of do and roll my eyes still, but for different reasons. So what if Gaga's latest single borrows heavily from Madonna's 1989 hit? When has Lady Gaga not acknowledged Madonna as a major influence in her work? She has repeatedly expressed her admiration of the Material Girl and other artists of the 70's and 80's. So Born This Way sounds a lot like Express Yourself, the same way that Cher's Strong Enough is an obvious throwback to Gloria Gaynor's iconic I Will Survive and Fergie's Fergalicious sounds incredibly similar to J.J. Fad's Supersonic. Even my all time favorite artist, Prince borrows heavily from The Pointer Sisters' Automatic in the hook to Lavaux, from last year's overseas release 20Ten. The list goes on and on. None of these similarities affect my ability to enjoy any of these songs.

I suppose that harsh criticism is to be expected. With over-exposure comes backlash. Gaga is constantly chastised for putting on too much spectacle. Her critics accuse her of trying too hard to shock rather than being "herself". Well, who can truly be the judge of this? How are we even to know of or speculate on such things? Until a relative or close friend comes forward stating otherwise I will continue to suspend my disbelief and go along for the ride, thinking that she is expressing something sincere. Truth be told, I don't really care one way or the other. I just want to be entertained.

In this day, when so many talented yet boringly "real" artists fall by the music industry wayside never to be heard from again, I am thankful for spectacle. I grew up on spectacle and arrogance. Didn't Madonna once declare that she wanted "to rule the world?" Didn't Prince grace us with his assets in yellow butt-less pants? Didn't Cyndi Lauper all but become a professional wrestler? These are the things of show business! The over the top antic was an art form in and of itself. Frankly, I'll take an outrageous performance and wardrobe over a "leaked" sex tape or crotch shot any day.

Yesterday I felt 14 and giddy. Thank you, Lady Gaga.

Flakes

Flakes
Acrylic and collage on canvas
2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Available through www.latinpopshop.com