F I T PRESENTS: "QUEER FASHION" (SEPT 13TH)

 

 

The Must-See Exhibit: Queer Fashion at FIT

 (OPENS SEPTEMBER 13TH--FREE)

(Fashion Institute of Technology)

• Seventh Avenue at 27 Street
• New York City 10001-5992
• 212-217-7999

F I T HAS AMAZING FREE EXHIBITS ALL YEAR LONG--DON'T JUST WALK BY--FEED THE MIND, STOP IN!

By Max Berlinger

'From the Closet to the Catwalk' explores fashion through a queer lens 

 

Above: Clockwise from top left: Gay Pride “Kings and Queens 3,” 1989; Gianni Versace, leather evening dress, Autumn/Winter 1992 (worn by Naomi Campbell); Jean Paul Gaultier, orange shirred velvet dress, 1984; model Jenny Shimizu, Helmut Red campaign

This fall, Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and her co-curator, Fred Dennis, set out to expose the vital, if sometimes unsung, contributions the queer community has made to the fashion industry. “What people will find is that there is a multitude of gay aesthetics,” says Steele of their exhibit A Queer History of Fashion: From the Closet to the Catwalk, which includes everything from Versace’s leather bondage dresses (a nod to backroom debauchery), Gaultier’s conical bras and skirts for men (a camp take on sexual politics), Saint Laurent’s tuxedos for women (which helped put androgyny on the map), and an 18th-century dandy’s suit worthy of Oscar Wilde.

The show’s timely coda features a selection of same-sex wedding ensembles. Ultimately, Steele and Dennis see it as a more accurate portrayal of fashion’s past, which has too often been scrubbed clean of any sexuality. “By deliberately acknowledging what gay people have done for fashion,” Steele says, “we’re shedding a whole new light on the subject.” Opens September 13.

GINGER PARADE? I'M MOVING TO SCOTLAND!

First Ginger Pride March blazes trail on streets of Edinburgh:

 Countless gasps and shrieks were no doubt suppressed in Edinburgh Saturday when scores of redheads met during the Fringe Festival for a Ginger Pride Walk. The event was organized by fiery-haired Canadian comedian Shawn Hitchins, and featured smiling pale folks parading through the streets holding signs that read "It gets redder" and "Ginger and Proud." "Even although it isn't a real word, gingerism exists and bullying exists and you can’t deny that kids are being subjected to taunts or being bullied in schools just for having red hair," Hitchins said. His Scotland vacation must have been a breath of fresh air; Scotland is lousy with gingers, home to a fifth of the world's redheads. 

(BULLIED? WTF??THEY ROCK!!!)

________________________________

 ADDITIONALLY:

NYPD agrees to stop bullying redheads on the force

4/22/2013

It ain't easy being a redhead. But if you've got fiery locks and have endured years of high school bullying, then bag yourself a job in the NYPD, because hair-related harassment won't be tolerated there anymore. According to sources, NYPD officers have just been told that making fun of those with red hair is a form of discrimination, because redheads are often of Irish or Scottish descent. Justine Lisser of the EEOC in Washington, D.C., explains, "It's an innocuous-seeming criteria, but if it has a 'disparate impact' on a certain racial group, red hair could be considered the basis of discrimination." The force clarified its stance after a number of officers allegedly complained about hair harassment

COMPUTER "MOUSE" INVENTOR DIES-88

 

 

Doug Engelbart Dead: Inventor Of The Computer Mouse Dies At 88

By By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
(HUFFINGTON POST)

"... One of the biggest advances was the mouse, which he developed in the 1960s and patented in 1970. At the time, it was a wooden shell covering two metal wheels: an X-Y position indicator for a display system. (MOUSE)


The notion of operating the inside of a computer with a tool on the outside was way ahead of its time when Engelbart began working on it.

The mouse didn't become commercially available until 1984, with the released of Apple's then-revolutionary Macintosh, a prelude to future breakthroughs such as the iPhone and iPad.

All of those devices were conceived by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in October 2011. Although Jobs' contributions to personal technology are far better known, Engelbart left an indelible mark, too..."

( IN 1966 HE CREATED THE "X-Y INDICATOR" OR "MOUSE" BUT MADE VERY LITTLE MONEY ON IT.  WHEN THE MOUSE REALLY TOOK OFF HIS 17 YR OLD PATENT HAD EXPIRED--SAD.
I'M USING ONE NOW & BILLIONS ARE TOO; BTW, HE WASN'T FOND OF APPLYING THE WORD MOUSE TO THIS COMPONENT BUT IT STUCK. HE WAS A VISIONARY WHO SAID WE WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF A TECHNOLOGICAL MOUNTAIN & "LET'S GET ON WITH IT!" HE ROARED)

"Engelbart dazzled the industry at a San Francisco computer conference in 1968.
 Working from his house with a homemade modem, he used his lab's elaborate new online system to illustrate his ideas to the audience, while his staff linked in from the lab. It was the first public demonstration of the mouse and video teleconferencing, and it prompted a standing ovation.

In 1997, Engelbart won a most lucrative award for American inventors, the $500,000 Lemelson-MIT Prize. Three years later, President Bill Clinton bestowed Engelbart with the National Medal of Technology "for creating the foundations of personal computing"

GREG LOUGANIS GETS MARRIED

 

Diving Great Greg Louganis to Marry in Fall

NEW YORK June 18, 2013 (AP)

Former Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis plans to get married this fall.

People magazine says the 53-year-old Louganis will marry paralegal Johnny Chaillot.

The four-time gold medalist is the only man to win consecutive Olympic titles in springboard and platform diving — in 1984 at Los Angeles and 1988 at Seoul.

After his diving career ended, Louganis revealed he was gay in 1994 and announced he was HIV-positive a year later.

Louganis is helping Olympic hopefuls as an athlete mentor for USA Diving.

 He's also been featured as a coach on ABC's reality diving competition "Splash".

(If you really wanna know him better read his very candid  autobiography,"Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story" or  see the "muy caliente", Mario Lopez, portray him in the 1997 movie. I had the honor of watching this amazing athlete in 1994's Gay Games in NYC. The guy flies from a diving board, it is truly a thing of beauty. Friends who know him say he's a sweet man as well. )

JEAN STAPLETON DIES, 90--R I P

 

 I had the amazingly good fortune to meet this lovely & talented woman in 1986 when she was starring in "Arsenic and Old Lace"in NYC.

The Theater Wing in NYC offered fans a chance to have conversations with actors starring on Broadway. I made it to a number of these limited sessions and had many memorable times.

My selfish goal was to make Ms. Stapleton laugh. When I caused her to have a genuine guffaw, it gave me such joy since I consider her one of the funniest actresses who ever lived. I left on a cloud.

Thank you Ms. Stapleton for being a part of my comedic development & appreciation of the layers a comic/actress can achieve. God bless you!

_________________________________

 CNN) -- Actress Jean Stapleton, best known for her role as Archie Bunker's wife in the groundbreaking 1970s sitcom "All in the Family," has died, her son said Saturday.

(CNN): 

"Her son John Putch told CNN about her passing and, along with his sister Pamela Putch, wrote an obituary saying that she "passed away peacefully of natural causes" on Friday at her New York City home "surrounded by friends and her immediate family."

The daughter of an opera singer and businessman, Stapleton grew up on Long Island and in New York City. It was there during the early 1940s, while working as a typist for the British War Ministry Office, that she began her career in theater.

Stapleton made it to Broadway in the production "In the Summer House" in 1953, the same year of her television debut on the daytime drama "Woman With a Past." Other big stage roles followed, including in "Bells Are Ringing" and "Damn Yankees."

She also did more and more television, including appearances on shows such as "Philco TV Playhouse" and "Dr. Kildare."

Her breakout role was as Edith Bunker, the kindhearted foil to husband Archie, played by the late Carroll O'Connor.

"All in the Family" was one of television's most popular shows as it broke ground while tackling a host of social issues such as racism, sexuality, life and death. Edith Bunker, played by Stapleton, for instance revealed that she had breast cancer on the show, a rare occurrence at the time.

"I just loved doing it from the very beginning," Stapleton told CNN in 2001, shortly after O'Connor's death..."

1988 "LIBERACE: BEHIND THE MUSIC"

 1988 "LIBERACE: BEHIND THE MUSIC"





go to HULU --it;s being shown for free there now ...

 MUST THE WORD "BEHIND BE USED IN ALL MOVIES ABOUT HIM?

 Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
	Victor Garber	...	Liberace
	Saul Rubinek	...	Seymour Heller
	Michael Dolan	...	Scott Thorsen
	Maureen Stapleton	...	Frances Liberace
	Shawn Levy	...	Glenn

 GONNA WATCH & COMPARE TO LAST WEEK'S CAMPY, LAUGHABLE "BEHIND THE CANDELABRA"

PAL'S CABIN CLOSES IN WEST ORANGE, NJ

.



"Liberace would earn a few extra bucks giving piano lessons to Don Horn and his brother, Marty Jr'


( "the Pine Room, helped launch the career of an 18-year-old piano player from Wisconsin named Wladziu Valentino Liberace. The flamboyant performer played at Pals for six months, earning $40 a week; the piano Horn bought especially for him is still in the bar, known as the Tap Room..."

( SO MUCH LIBERACE LATELY, HUH READERS?)
________________________________________________________________________________

BEING THE POP CULTURE NUT I AM I RAN TO "PAL'S CABIN" ABOUT 10 YRS AGO, WHEN I READ THIS BIT OF TRIVIA IN "THE STAR LEDGER", MY PARTNER, AT THE TIME, AND I DECIDED TO STAY & EAT WHILE WE SAW THE PIANO.

 WE HAD A DELICIOUS STEAK DINNER--A BIT PRICEY,  BUT AT THE TIME I THOUGHT WELL WORTH IT.

I HAVE ALSO ATTENDED THEIR CATERING HALL, MAYFAIR FARMS, FOR CATERED EVENTS--GREAT FOOD/GREAT SERVICE...

PAL'S CABIN CLOSES TOMORROW JUNE 1, 2013.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PIANO, GUYS?

HERE'S MORE ON "PAL'S CABIN":

Pals Cabin — a favorite haunt of Babe Ruth, who loved to chow down on its hot dogs after a round of golf at nearby Crestmont Country Club — would make any short list of Jersey food landmarks.

Don Horn, Jr, left, with his father Don Horn, Sr, center, and brother Marty Horn at their legendary restaurant Pals Cabin in West Orange. Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger   

The legendary restaurant will soon be torn down to make way for a CVS. (WTF???)

"Our customers say, 'I can't believe you're closing'" says Marty Horn, grandson of the original co-owner and one of four brothers who now run Pals Cabin. Smiling, he added, "They don't have to pay my bills."

The bills include $20,000 a month for gas and electric and nearly $200,000 a year in property taxes.
"That's a lot of burgers we have to sell," Horn said. "Sometimes you have to look at it and say you have no choice financially."

The sprawling restaurant will eventually fall to the wrecking ball, but the name will live on; the family is considering opening Pals Cabin burger joints — on the order of Smashburger or Five Guys — in North Jersey..."

 "It was the Depression, but people were flocking in here," Don Horn recalled.

His mother was the one who named the restaurant. "As Marty and Roy were leaving the building one day," Don Horn wrote in an unpublished history, "the topic of conversation became what to call the little summertime venture. Marty's wife, Kathryn ... said, 'Since you two are pals and it is a little cabin, so why not call it Pals Cabin?'"..."

( READ ENTIRE ARTICLE ON NJ.COM)

NYC BIKE SHARE PROGRAM-A GOOD IDEA?

 

 

 In the USA/NYC Citibank is the sponsor of the program. Critics of the program involve ma & pa bike rental places as well as delivery/loading people who are claiming they block their limited area where some of the racks are placed. I guess this affects parking spaces as well. Only time will tell. NYC has tried other programs unsuccessfully before-others with minimal to high success rates-we'll see. Even the newly appropriated bike lanes are a problem for bikers-esp. in midtown where pedestrians use these lanes to avoid the crunch of the sidewalks; making the bikers impossible to stay on course.

_________________________________

NBC NEWS ONLINE:

The privately funded Citi Bike bike-share program is launching with 6,000 bikes at 330 docking stations in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn

NYC's Bike Share, Largest in Nation, Launches

New York City's long-awaited and much-hyped bicycle-sharing program has finally begun.

An annual membership costs $95 and a day pass will cost $9.95.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan are set to christen the beginning of bike-sharing at a docking station near the Brooklyn Bridge Monday morning.

  The privately funded Citi Bike bike-share program is launching with 6,000 bikes at 330 docking stations in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Officials hope to expand to 10,000 bikes and 600 docking stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. (what???good???bad???)

On Friday, the blue bicycles started appearing in docking stations throughout the city.

More than 9,000 people who have signed up for the program will be able to ride starting Monday. The bikes will be available to anyone starting June 2.

_______________________________________________________________

As of May 2011 there were around 375 bike-sharing programs around the world (CHINA having the largest, I believe)

I FIRST SAW THIS IN PARIS IT'S A BIT DIFFERENT:

Bicycles are made available for shared use to individuals on a very short term basis.

Bicycle sharing systems can be divided into two general categories: "Community Bike programs" organized mostly by local community groups or non-profit organizations; and "Smart Bike programs" implemented by government agencies, sometimes in a public-private partnership.

The central concept of these systems is to provide free or affordable access to bicycles for short-distance trips in an urban area as an alternative to public transport or private vehicles, thereby reducing traffic congestion, noise, and air pollution.

 Bicycle sharing systems have also been cited as a way to solve the "last mile" problem and connect users to public transit networks.

Public bike sharing programmes address some of the primary disadvantages to bicycle ownership, including loss from theft or vandalism, lack of parking or storage, and maintenance requirements.

However, by limiting the number of places where bicycles can be rented or returned, the service itself essentially becomes a form of public transit, and has therefore been criticized as less convenient than a privately owned bicycle capable of point-to-point transport.

 Government-run bicycle sharing programs can also prove costly to the public unless subsidized by commercial interests, typically in the form of advertising on stations or the bicycles themselves.
_____________________________________________________________________________
ALREADY??????????????????????????????????????WTF??????????????


LOLOLOL--UPDATE :(MAY 30, 2013):

A 24-year-old Bronx man tried to make off with an improperly docked Citi Bike early Thursday morning, only to be promptly stopped by cops, the Daily News reports. Anthony Jones allegedly tried to filch one of the pricey blue behemoths from the W. 40th Street station in Midtown after a legit renter failed to securely anchor the bike in place.

The News reports that Jones was halted by nearby police, and faces charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and perhaps most damningly, failure to pay the bike’s rental fee, the tabloid reports.

What a laudable display of NYPD vigilance! Could it possibly be because Citi Bike thefts are categorized as grand larcenies, meaning each bike that goes missing drives up the department's meticulously managed crime statistics? Quite possibly.

“If one of them gets stolen or vandalized now we’ll get stuck with a number for the grand larceny,” a Manhattan cop told the Post. “You know it’s going to happen. They’re going to get stolen or vandalized.”

" 60 MINUTES" (CBS) MAY 19, 2013: WOW !!! 3 GREAT SEGMENTS

1-------PRIVACY GONE...
"A Face in the Crowd: Say goodbye to anonymity:
Over the last 10 years, the ability of computers to identify faces has gotten 100 times better, a million times faster, and exponentially cheaper.

Yet facial recognition technology is still a work in progress. While investigators in the Boston marathon bombing had multiple images of both suspects, the technology did not come up with a match. They were not identified by their faces, but by their fingerprints! Authorities won't say what went wrong. One possibility is that government data banks - through which the photos would've been searched - are not big enough.

As we discovered, the FBI is working on expanding its database. Businesses are tapping facial recognition to sell us stuff and computer scientists are upgrading the technology..."

(THIS IS NOT EVEN MENTIONING "GOOGLE GLASS"--WHICH OPERATES IN A SIMILAR FASHION: Essentially, Google Glass is a camera, display, touchpad, battery and microphone built into spectacle frames so that you can perch a display in your field of vision, film, take pictures, search and translate on the go...)
______________________________________________________________________

2------CAMP 14...
"-North Korean prisoner escaped after 23 brutal years
 By all accounts, a modern-day concentration camp, a secret prison hidden in the mountains, 50 miles from North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. It's called Camp 14, and according to human rights groups, it's part of the largest network of political prisons in the world today.

Some 150,000 people are believed to be doing hard labor on the brink of starvation in these hidden gulags. But it's not just those who have been accused of political crimes, it's their entire families -- grandparents, parents, and children -- a practice called "three generations of punishment."

North Korean prison escapee describes a life of hunger

Very little was known about Camp 14 until a young man showed up in South Korea with an extraordinary tale to tell. His name is Shin Dong-hyuk and, as we first reported in December, he said he had not only escaped from Camp 14, but he was born there. He's believed to be the only person born and raised in the camps who's ever escaped and lived to tell about it..."
_______________________________________________________________

3------ RICHER NOW...
It's been almost four years since Michael Jackson died, but he continues to make headlines. Some of them coming out of a Los Angeles courtroom right now where his mother is suing for damages over his death from a powerful anesthetic in June 2009. But the headline of this story is that Michael Jackson is making more money after his death than he ever did when he was alive.

 The most remarkable financial and image resurrection in pop culture history. And get a rare look at what Michael Jackson left behind. The Michael Jackson brand is alive and well. Well-paid that is. Extremely well-paid.

Barcelona, Spain. The 297th performance of the Michael Jackson IMMORTAL World Tour. Cirque du Soleil produces the show featuring their acrobats and contortionists, but Michael Jackson -- or at least his music -- is the star.

Backstage at Cirque du Soleil show ''Immortal''

John Branca: We sold 230,000 tickets in two days in Japan. We did 90,000 people in Moscow. 190,000 people in Mexico City alone..."

TYNE DALY ROCKS NJ LAST NIGHT

 



THE INCOMPARABLE TYNE DALY GRACED US WITH HER WIT LAST NIGHT AT THE GEORGE STREET PLAYHOUSE IN NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ.

THE SERIES IS CALLED "CONVERSATIONS WITH..."
( BY  ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, DAVID SAINT), AND CAN TYNE DALY CONVERSE!
SHE WAS DELIGHTFUL, A TRUE RECONTEUR AND UPROARIOUSLY FUNNY-SHE DIDN'T MISS A BEAT!

I GOT LUCKY BEING IN ROW B CENTER FOR SO MANY REASONS (THE OBVIOUS BEING THAT I WAS ALMOST ON DALY'S LAP-LOL)
SECONDLY, SITTING IN THE  SEAT NEXT TO ME  WAS A BEAUTIFUL REDHEADED YOUNG WOMAN. TOO YOUNG TO REMEMBER MS. DALY IN "CAGNEY & LACEY" -AND DARE I SAY, EVEN A WEE TOO YOUNG FOR WANTING TO WATCH THE MATURE THEMED  TV SHOW  MS. DALY WAS IN  LAST, "JUDGING AMY".  I WAS CURIOUS TO PICK HER BRAIN. MY CURIOSITY PEAKED BECAUSE IT WAS A SEA OF WHITE , GRAY & BLUE HAIRED FOLK-THE MEDIAN AGE BEING 60.

SHE DID REMEMBER HER FROM "JUDGING AMY" BUT SHE WAS ALSO GETTING AN ACTING DEGREE FROM NEARBY RUTGERS UNIVERSITY. THIS WAS PART OF HER STUDIES. I  REASSURED HER SHE HAD CHOSEN A GREAT ACTOR TO OBSERVE SINCE DALY HAD WORKED IN EVERY MEDIUM.

I'VE NEVER BEEN SO RIGHT. HEARING TYNE DALY RECOUNT HER ACTING HISTORY WAS A MAJOR EDUCATION TO US ALL IN ATTENDANCE. SHE MADE THE OTHERWISE LACKLUSTER INTERVIEWER METAPHORICALLY DISAPPEAR--SHE HAD FULL CONTROL OF THE STAGE & KNEW HER AUDIENCE. I GET THE FEELING BEING "ON" IS PART OF HER MAKE-UP WITHOUT PRETENSE OR EGO.

DALY'S WARMTH MADE ONE FEEL LIKE SHE WAS TALKING TO US AT SOME INTIMATE DINNER PARTY AND NOT A THEATER. IT'S THIS  UNPRETENTIOUS WARMTH THAT SEEPS THROUGH ALL HER CHARACTERS-ESPECIALLY IN HER TONY AWARD WINNING PERFORMANCE AS MAMA ROSE IN "GYPSY" ( MY FAVORITE ROSE TO DATE-I SAW IT , TRANSFIXED, TWICE- I STILL PREFER THE SOUNDTRACK TO ANY OTHER).

BESIDES A TONY SHE HAS A TON OF EMMYS & OTHER ACCOLADES.

"CONVERSATIONS WITH..." ALLOWS  A Q& A. SEGMENT- ONE GUESS WHO ASKED A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS?

I ASKED WHY WITH ALL THIS WIT & HUMOR SHE WASN'T THINKING OF DOING A ONE WOMAN SHOW, I EVEN GAVE HER A WORKING TITLE "AFTER ROSE"-SHE CHUCKLED, I , ON THE OTHER HAND, WET  MY PANTS! TO PARAPHRASE SHE SAYS SHE'S A WORKER AMONG WORKERS LIKE HER PARENTS WERE (BOTH WERE ACTORS-HER DAD WAS JAMES DALY FROM THE SERIES, "MEDICAL CENTER".  HER MOTHER ACTED TILL SHE BECAME A STAY AT HOME MOM). WE ALL KNOW HER SUPREMELY HANDSOME BROTHER, JIM DALY FROM "WINGS" AND OTHER WORKS-OF WHICH SHE LOVINGLY SPOKE AS WELL- "JIMMY TO HER.
SHE SAYS SHE DOES LOVE TO LAUGH & MAKE OTHERS LAUGH AND CASUALLY REFERRED TO HERSELF AS A "LAUGH WHORE"--BRILLIANT. SHE LIKES INTERACTING WITH OTHER ACTORS , IT'S HER COMFORT LEVEL

MY FOLLOW-UP QUESTION WAS REGARDING THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME "TYNE". SHE SAYS IT'S A FAMILY NAME & SHE IS ONE OF ONLY TWO TYNES (OFFERING A BRIEF LORE ABOUT THE ORIGIN SHE'S HEARD FROM HER FAMILY).
SHE MADE ME HOWL WHEN SHE SAID, "MY FIRST NAME IS ELLEN BUT THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CALL ME ELLEN IS THE I R S.

KUDOS TO A MAGNIFICENT LADY WHO I THOUGHT I COULDN'T LOVE MORE--BUT I DO!

" SPARKLE" 2012..(remake of 1976)

FUN, FUN, FUN !!!

BUT, ONE OF THE WORST MOVIES EVER MADE.
I OWN THE 1976 VERSION-WHICH ITSELF IS PRETTY TACKY AND A BORE TO WATCH.  THE 2012 "SPARKLE" IS ABOUT HALF A NOTCH BETTER BUT AT LEAST IT'S FUN BECAUSE IT'S SO DARN CAMPY. WE ALSO GET THE PRIVILEDGE TO WATCH OUR WHITNEY HOUSTON BRILLIANTLY PERFORM HER LAST SONG FOR THE PUBLIC.

"SPARKLE" is a throw-back to the melodrama of the the late 50's & early 1960's --I was waiting for the ocean hitting the rocks at any moment indicating sex was occurring..lol...

I laughed throughout at the sheer amateur writing, directing and overall poor acting of the film. the wigs deserve a special "Rotten Tomatoes" award (they could have consulted any NY drag queen for better fake hair--oy vey!).

Jordan Sparks ranks as the worst breakout newcomer in film to date (say what you will about Mairah Carey in "Glitter" but she is awesome in comparison). Sparks needs to get serious acting lessons or just stick to being the talented & beautiful singer we all know her to be. Carmen Ejojo is sultry, pathetic & stunningly beautiful in her tragic role, but it is Tika Sumpter that delivers w/ her amazing acting chops. Tamela J. Mann was great too.

I gotta say a lot of HOTTT eye candy..the men are smokin!!! (that Omari Hardwick? Double Danm!)

The soundtrack is ok with lots of recycled songs. I think I will pick & choose some of the songs for my playlist but avoid buying the entire CD.

The most heartbreaking part of this movie is not the forced cliche situations written into the script  but the painful foreshadowing & reflection of  Whitney Houston's real life her character shares.

Everyone was portraying real life people, in my opinion. Michael Epps was the Sammy Davis Jr. prototype while Cee-lo Green channeled Barry White. Whitney could have been channeling herself as her mother, Cissy Houston. Reminding a younger more naive  rising star about  the perils of the entertainment world & its glaring spotlight  -where they can tragically lead.

PHOTOGRAPHER: BOB GRUEN

Bob Gruen captures the immortals of rock new book:"ROCK SEEN"

The legendary rock and roll photographer recalls the music idols whose power can be seen as well as heard has a new book of most of the legendary rock stars. He began with a very young-unbearded-chap by the name of Bob Dylan--lol. He continues to reside in the village in NYC and still has that fascination & enthusiasm he had back when he was a permanent fixture at places like CBGB.

This pictorial book he calls a "family album". He never saw his assignments as "jobs" because he loved being "there".

Of course his most popular, most recognizable and most stolen image is that of the late John Lennon in the NEW YORK CITY cut-off tee shirt (coincidentally a gift from Gruen to Lennon).

You can see him tomorrow:
Photo Talk at Huntington Camera Club
Tuesday, May 29nd
7-9pm
Huntington, NY
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An upcoming documentary at BAM (Brooklyn) & SUNSHINE THEATER(East Village,NYC) in July.