To Think, I Almost Put This Off...

So after Justin's last post about doodles on demand, I twittered in my own suggestion. However, (and I hope this wasn't the case of most of your potential clients), I did not get a response. After waiting patiently for several hours, I sighed heavily and looked forlornly at my tweet-free phone. Then I thought, you know what? I don't need Justin's promised falsehoods! I'll make my own. So here, readers, is my suggestion that I sent in and then made myself in MS Paint:

A big clock with nuts as numbers and squirrels as the hands.

Jealous? You should be. However, after spending an excruciating 1.5 hours on this masterpiece, I realized that I'm at work and that I should have been actually productive. But I already know that I'm a procrastinator, and I'm good at it.

I sometimes wonder if it's a medical condition. How come some people are way more productive than others? Why do I spend an hour getting ready to do 5 minutes of work? Why will I clean my entire apartment just to avoid getting started on a project? Why do I wait for my cats to claw my jeans into shreds before I feed them?

Fortunately, I've learned recognized this condition in me, and admittance is the first step on the road to recovery. Right? So I found this book that's going to help me with my procrastination. However, instead of reading it, I just surfed YouTube for half an hour and found this:

I'm Drawn to You

So, fair readers, you may ask "why is Justin in Chicago?"

Or you may be asking "who the crap pretended that the Mile High Club could actually exist," as Plus One (x3!) Austin Helms questioned in his previous post.

Well, I'll tell you! I'm working on a funtastic, super-de-duper social media project for a client. And you can all have some fun with it. The product, as was reviewed by blog buddy (and Plus One Alum) Pat Sandora over at ABlogAboutThings, is a paint that turns ANY surface into a whiteboard.

It's pretty awesome.

Even MORE awesome was my crazy social networking idea. It's simple really - we have an illustrator here at NeoCon. When you tweet a drawing request to @mdctabrasa and I will see to it that within a short period of time, you will receive a re-tweet with your picture request personalized just for you!

Even better, your photo will also be featured over on our web site GoBeyondtheWhiteBoard.com

Here are a few of the best photos that have been requested so far - love them!

Two pandas in top hats engaged in a fierce logrolling competition.

A pigeon on a pancake.

Zombie Lincoln.

A shark lashed to an elephant.

A chinchilla puking up the Twitter bird.

It's just a lot of fun... and it's only going on a few more hours until Twitter shuts down (stupid Iranian unrest!) So get your requests in NOW!

xoJR

Come Fly With Me

Wow Justin. Chicago just doesn't seem to suit you. On top of that, it seems as if it's out to kill you--whether by car, weather, or pizza (but as for the latter, what a way to go). And sorry about the one post. I was hoping to get a little back and forth action. But as usual, you only want to take and never give. When you get back, we simply must work on your reach-around.

But all your talk about travel got me thinking about a topic that I think is basically an urban legend. However, it's talked about so much and even portrayed in the entertainment industry, that I think people think it actually happens. Personally, I would love to be proved wrong. I am talking, of course, about the Mile High Club.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sexually ambitious. I think I would consider myself just shy of an exhibitionist. I enjoy engaging in some sort of sexual act in places where I might get caught--movie theaters, dressing rooms, bathroom stalls, your mom's bed, etc. However, I have never done anything on an airplane. I don't even see how's possible.

Let's assume said sexual act will occur in the airplane lavatory, right? Well for one, it's always a big production when anyone goes to the bathroom. You have to parade in front of all the other passengers, and everyone knows where you're going. In addition, there are usually like 3-5 bathrooms on a plane, and it seems there is always a line. Or at least there's someone just starting at the "Occupied" sign just waiting for it to go off. Also, the door are always where everyone can see.

Secondly, those damn flight attendants always know what's going on during the flight. I think they even have a special training to prevent this sort of thing. I think it goes: a) learn the safety demonstration, b) practice your nice, but firm voice, c) always carry change for the booze, d) at all cost, keep horny couples out of the lavatories.

And lastly, just look at the size of these bathrooms. I believe they're even smaller than porta-potties. Of course, I do love a challenge. However, it would seem that most exciting part of having sex in there would just be to figure out the angles. Once you actually get to the sex part, it's like you've already decoded the puzzle. At that point, I think you just finish because you're already there.

As you can see, I've been turning this over and over in my mind like some sort of busted engine with a dead battery (the mechanic reference were for my lesbians--holler!). The only possible solution I could come up with was to attempt it during an overnight flight. However, I would love to hear some stories from all of you. Anyone out there had a successful or (possibly more entertaining) unsuccessful Mile High Club anecdote to share?

Live from Chicago!

Hello Plus One Readers!

My most sincere apologies for being so silent today (and for the fact that much may be the same tomorrow). However you must understand! I am not in New York, in fact I am in Chicago. I have been here since Saturday and will be here until Wednesday. It is why I called Austin in to blog - I needed someone who could hold down the fort while I was away.

Of course he held down said fort by spreading malicious rumours about me (the british kind, not the American kind... just more classy that way). But you take what you can get.

Anyway here are some things that have happened to me since I touched down in the windy city:

1. It's not very windy, but it has been very rainy.

2. It had not been two minutes since I told my friend (who I used to stalk in college) that I was happy to be in a town where I didn't know anyone, that I crashed into two people that I knew.

3. Chicago Deep Dish Pizza is horrifying. I had half a slice and it was like I had drank a gallon of Bisquick.

4. I almost died as a result of a high speed car chase between a car robber and a line of police cars. Seriously, a car vaulted up a sidewalk not ten feet from where I was standing. It lost a tire that flew by me. It then sped away before being taken down by cops.

5. I spent all day tweeting for a client at The Merchandise Mart - which is this horrifyingly massive structure filled with things interior design. In case you don't know me I don't pay attention to interior design. I am a minimalist (aka, the coolest name I could find that basically says I don't give a shit about design and I'll be over here at Electronics Boutique while you walk through Pier 1.

Anyway, that's the big Justin update for tonight! So sorry I didn't post earlier and I will take great pains to post tomorrow to keep the mojo going.

But hey! Austin! Just one post? What the fuck is up with that? You should be ashamed. When you wake up tomorrow morning you will find a horse's head in your bed, and your boyfriend missing (and no, I won't godfather you, I actually am practicing a spell that turns boyfriends into horse heads).

xoJR

You Love Me.... You Really Love Me...

At least, I hope you love me. Because it's time for a triple dosage of Austin Helms this week. I know this is usually done as an intro post, but I've been here twice already. Read my other intros and subsequent weeks of posting here and here (start at the bottom and work your way up. Let's just get right to it, shall we?

Now I know many of you are already wondering why in the world I could possibly be invited back after only 2 short months. Well, dear readers, I did you a favor, put myself in your shoes, and did some thinking of my own. Scary, I know. However, I have chosen the top 45 reasons that you may believe was the reason I may have come back as the first ever three-time alum. It's the stuff that tabloids are made of. Also, I will neither confirm nor deny each statement:

1. Justin and Austin are sleeping together.
As is the way with relationships, we tend to show favoritism to those whom we are physically or emotionally involved with. The new mistress gets the recently-available secretary position. The sexy Latino yard boy gets the best glass of lemonade. The quaterback's girlfriend gets head cheerleader. It could be that J_1 is no different. In fact, it could be that he has slept with ALL of his Plus Ones. The one timers are the equivalent of one night stands. Those who return must be REALLY good in bed. It's possible...

2. Austin has a dirty secret on Justin.
As everyone knows, being a Plus One is an esteemed and highly sought after position. Those who write on this blog gain instant success and power in the gay night life community. It could be that Austin just wants to stay on top of his game and is resorting to blackmail to get his way. It's very Gossip Girl and appropriate to our lifestyle.

3. Austin has something that Justin wants.
On the flip side of these speculations, it could be that Justin wants something from Austin. Using his immensely popular blog as a tool, Justin could be using invitations to blog with Austin as a way to get on his good side... lure him in close... make him feel like one of the team... Then, when you least expect it, BAM!!! Justin drains his bank account. Or Austin's boyfriend is stolen. Or Austin's pet rabbit is stewing on his stove top. It's not that implausible.

4. Justin and Austin are in cahoots for plans for world domination.
Perhaps, you may be thinking, JustinPlusOne is all just a clever front for something much, much deeper. Using this blog that only Justin seemingly operates, Justin and Austin are secretly plotting behind the scenes to disable the major world governments and seize control of the country's coffers. Using these funds, they will then hold the rest of the world hostage as they bend the laws to their every whims. Now all cute boys will be forced to stay in shape and shirtless. The not-so-cute boys will go through state-sponsored plastic surgery. Women will be imprisoned and only used for their reproductive capabilities... Don't laugh. It could happen.

Okay, I do have the other 41 written out, but I think that's enough for now. Besides, the rest all deal with something sexual or down-right pornographic, and I don't think you want to read all that. But every single one is possible and may or may not be true. I'm a man of many mysteries... and Justin is just as equally, if not more shady...

Wouldn't you agree, boss?

Re-Re-Meet Austin Helms!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a major event this morning on Justin Plus One - our first three-time alum! You may remember my good buddy Austin from March or December. He's a fabulously fantastic fella and one of my favorite Plus Ones (hence why he's back for a THIRD time)

Also, as I will be a corporate whore this week, working a convention in Chicago for a client, I may be a bit scarce during the daytime hours. So be gentle to the lad. Show him the love. And get bitchy whenever he registers an opinion that you disagree with.

xoJR




My Name:
Austin “Piledriver” Helms

My Location:
Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, North America, Planet Earth

My Site/ Sites:
AustinCountry.com
Facebook
DudeVu.com

Previous weeks on J+1:
March 30, 2009
December 21, 2008

My Best Post from last time:
This was really just a culmination of our entire conversation for the day:
http://www.justinplusone.com/2009/04/kablammo-haaaaaay.html

My Worst Post from last time:
I don’t have any regrets… Okay, well maybe this one:
http://www.justinplusone.com/2009/03/i-am-high-on-you-know-what.html

Why I came back to Justin Plus One:
Huh? What? Where am I again? This isn’t the Huffington Post?

What I might blog about this time:
Broadway, television, sex, extreme gaydom, Gay Rights Movement, movies, naked sports

What’s happened to me since the last time I blogged:
Well geez, it’s only been two months (first 3-time alum, heeeyy!!)! But let’s see… I got a new apartment with my boyfriend (now in the Upper West Side!). I threw a kick ass Tony Party. I met a few famous people. Plus, I may or may not have started a rumor involving Justin, myself, 4 Korean go-go boys, Rush Limbaugh, and a Chihuahua named Sanchez.

(note from Justin: it wasn't a rumor, stop hiding from the truth!)

One More Last Word:
I’m considering recreational, prescription drug-use, so this week should be interesting…

Alas, Poor Dustin, I Now Know Him Too Well

Remember when Dustin Lance Black brought tears to your eyes? His rousing Oscar speech inspired millions - talk of love, marriage, equality.

Well now he's inspiring erections in many of those same millions as well. Thanks to Perez Hilton, and whatever dude he's getting fucked by, we now can see Dustin outside of that dapper suit.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, Dustin Lance Black is in a sex tape. A bareback one.

I'm not going to say that there's something wrong with what he did. We're all gay men. We all have sex. Granted, hopefully MOST of us aren't fucking stupid enough to do it sans protection... but I don't know.

The man who inspired millions needs to take better care of his image. If you want to fuck random guys, go ahead. If you want to endanger yourself, that's fine too (it isn't really, but I'm making a point here.)

But whatever you choose to do, don't let it get captured on video please? Seriously. I didn't win an Oscar and even I'm smart enough to know that.


Again, I'm not asking for a chastised, perfect image. I mean, I shoot softcore go-go boy porn to market sex-themed parties in the East and West Village. I'm hardly a moralist. But, on the other hand, I don't stand on a soapbox and speak in soaring terms about gay rights and marriage. If you're going to open your mouth and become a hero, you best read the manual on how to behave like one.

On the other hand, this is probably the hottest guy to ever have come out with a sex tape - well, besides Dustin Diamond. That shit was fierce.

xoJR

THE MAC ARE BACK!

According to Mick at the end of the last night's return to Madison Square Garden; funny, I didn't think they had gone anywhere. Nor did I particularly feel like I was missing them in any significant way.

I'm a huge Fleetwood Mac fan and their albums Tusk (!!) and Rumors are on my regular listening rotation. Well, last night's concert was particularly focused on the hits (and, for Rumors, pretty much the entire record was played, except MIA Christine McVie's big tunes). It's pretty remarkable to look at this band's six full-length studio albums (I do not count 1980's Fleetwood Mac Live or 1997's reunion The Dance) and marvel at just how many songs we know by heart from this band. Nearly every song was greeted with a cheer of recognition - and there were more than 25 on the setlist!!

In their early 60s now, Buckingham and Stevie continue to play out their school-kid crush melodrama out on each other despite a break-up that happened nearly 30 years ago; Buckingham's young child and (presumably secure) wife were in the house (he dedicated the sole Tango In The Night track "Big Love" to them). For two and a half hours, my childhood soundtrack was played by a group of senior citizens in decidedly lower keys, decidedly slower twirling, and it was pretty terrific. The absolute highlights for me were Stevie's "Storms" (first tour ever - they have now performed all five of Stevie's songs from Tusk live in concert over the years!) and "Gold Dust Woman".

Watching the pair work the crowd was a study in contrasts: Buckingham is clearly the idiot savant who is also decidedly more neurotic and desperate for love; he's also had a lot of therapy and meanders in his monologues about songs being mere "echoes" of the past. Nicks, on the other hand, is a legend, pulls in the crowds, and knows it; she's barely breaking a sweat. And when the two gypsies DO interact on stage, it has the spontaneity of an "American Idol" episode. Still, when she started wailing away on the show closer "Silver Springs" (cut from Rumors, but featured on 1997's The Dance and now a huge concert hit for the band - revenge must taste like cherries, Stevie!), it is quite easy to clutch the person next to you and remember loves lost and hope for the love just down the road.

Mick and John McVie just look happy they're getting paid.

What's with those dangling balls, Mick?!?!

Tori Amos has been listening to our conversation

See below, from a new interview conducted with the Dutch rag GAY & NIGHT (courtesy of my current go-to source for all things Amos - www.undented.com):

I spoke with Patrick Wolf about Gay Pride, and the parades. There's always a discussion about whether or not it's a good idea to dance half-naked on boats, or whether minority groups should just trying to blend in as much as possible. As Amsterdam Gay Pride is coming up soon, what is your opinion on the gay pride events?

You're talking to a woman who courts controversy. I mean, if you stop doing the gay pride thing, do you know that song by Jim Reeves, Each Time You Leave? [starts singing 'Each time you leave, I die a little'] I understand what people are saying, but it seems to me, if you're really gonna become influential, then instead of worrying about tempering the gay pride thing, trying to tone it down, I think you need to start getting in office. Those people who don't want to partake in the gay pride side need to get involved in getting into positions of authority, that can start to turn people around in their way. I think the problem with the whole gay pride thing is, if you stop doing that, then you're not just taking it away from the gay community, you're taking it away from the people who also think "they're so creative, they express themselves". If that goes away, then that dies in me a little too. I don't think the black community got a black president by thinking "They're segregating us, let's just be quiet, and don't make noise". I think the rap music scene thought "If it's too loud, turn it up." But that's the entertainment side, the gay pride parades. That's fun. Now you all need to roll up your sleeves and get fucking serious. I would only spend so much energy on your floats and your festivities. I'd be thinking about my votes instead of my floats. Getting into positions where laws are made and governments are influenced and lobbysists are there. You need gay lobbyists, being smart, knowing how to play the chess game, knowing how to get people to open up to the concept. That's what I think. You have to be working on all fronts, you know?

Swine Flu's Back, ALL RIGHT!

Hey there, remember Swine Flu? Sure you do. Or maybe you remember it being called H1N1. It was all we talked about (and, a slightly later) joked about about a month ago.

People were wearing masks. Countries were slaughtering millions of pigs. Pig farmers were issuing statements saying that pigs don't currently carry swine flu and that BLT we were setting aside for the chicken cordon bleu was only deadly in the heart-attack-alicious way it always was.

But then something happened. And by something, I mean we got bored. Snoresville! Swine Flu? That shit is like BELLBOTTOMS or BEANIE BABIES or RICHARD SIMMONS. Ooooover! We have a 24-hour news cycle. The news networks could only splice together so many menacing looking montages of pigs, bathed in red, before their graphics and animations groups were asleep at their desks begging for a new animal to demonize.

So we forgot about Swine Flu. Think about it - when's the last time you heard about Swine Flu? Recently? I know I haven't.

So, naturally, Swine Flu must be gone, right? I mean, it's like Beetlejuice. If you don't say his name, he just sorta disappears.

Unfortunately, not so much. Turns out that Swine Flu is still here, and it's swinier than ever.

The World Health Organization raised the swine flu alert Thursday to its highest level, saying the H1N1 virus has spread to enough countries to be considered a global pandemic.

"This is an important and challenging day for all of us," WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in a briefing with reporters. "We are moving into the early days of the first flu pandemic of the 21st century."

The last previous pandemic occurred in 1968.

As of Thursday, the virus had spread to 74 countries, the health agency said. There were 28,774 confirmed cases and 144 deaths.

The United States had 13,217 cases and 27 deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said June 5 in its weekly update. Cases have been reported in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Well shit on me. That's a bit of a hardon softener, ain't it? So pull back out those masks, folks. Toss that Jimmy Dean in the dumpster. And prepare for another onslaught of media insanity and hyperbole.

Why? Because going to level 6 is sexy. Swine Flu wasn't interesting when it evened out, but now that it's getting all up in our faces again, it's worthy of coverage. Maybe.

(oink).

xoJR

Muppet Conference!?

As I was scanning my news feed on Facebook I came across a post from a girl who I used to go to college with. Her father is some famous luminary in the world of puppets. Yes. Puppets. Now before you titter allow me to say that I positively adore puppets. Ask anyone.

In fact, once upon a time I dropped sixty dollars on a whim and bought a puppet. He was a muppet-y looking guy in a long sleeve tee. I named him Terry and decided I would then start doing puppet shows.

I never followed through and gave the puppet away. HOWEVER I am still very much intrigued by puppets.

Today the girl in question posted a link to a PUPPET CONFERENCE, one started by her father, the King of Puppets back in 1990. Sure this may conjure up visions of muppets running around a hotel lobby, pins saying "HI I'M KERMIT" bouncing on their lapels. And you know what? That might be exactly what happens here. Either way, it sounds totally awesome and I kinda wish I could go.

Because puppets go way beyond Muppets... even though Muppets themselves are pretty impressive things. Have you watched The Muppet Show? Those guys were cranking out new and hilarious creations every single week. But the puppets at this conference, while including those of the Muppet variety, also delve into deeper, more artistic and breathtaking creations.

Here's a bit about the conference:

The mission of the conference is to encourage puppet artists to create and communicate through the visual and kinetic form of the puppet, push beyond their personal boundaries and develop new works for puppet theater, while reinforcing strong dramatic structure. Participants collaborate with renowned guest directors, puppet artists and playwrights to develop innovative productions conceived by guest artists, as well as presentations initiated by the conference participants.

For eight days each summer, puppet artists have the opportunity to explore various performance styles through workshops and rehearsals, master classes, and individual critique sessions. The Conference culminates with two public performances, featuring works which explore the extraordinary range and power of the puppet.

So cool. You know what else is cool? Their photo gallery page. Check it out.

Granted I don't have the $1,000 to shell out on a puppet conference right now. But hopefully someday I will.

Refuge of the Road

Besides the opportunity to reference one of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs ever, I thought it was pertinent because both Justin and I are hitting the highways this weekend - Justin off to Chicago (to ostensibly work for a client, but mostly to try out Boystown - beware the Pride Rockets lining Halsted, Justin!! Stop by Elaine Place, my old stomping ground street!! Track down Borderline Music on North Broadway and buy a Cyndi Lauper remix cd!) and I'm hitting the shores of Hilton Head, South Carolina to spend a week with my family - and get my sister married off to her terrific husband-to-be. It should be a great week down there - but my particular interest is in a little city about 45 minutes away: SAVANNAH, GA!!!!

I have a small fetish for Georgia, I really do. I love peaches (and Peaches, for that matter!) and the old-world propriety of the South. Good manner are appreciated, and a decided lack of decorum is celebrated. They serve waffles as a side-dish with nearly everything!! My kind of region.

So in order to prepare, I re-read sections of the classic "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" (which I picked up from the top of a toilet in a sorority house in 1998), and searched the "36 Hours in ..." section of the New York Times, which yielded some great results. However, I'm desperate for some inside juice on Savannah and its seedier sections. I'm going to try and shake the family shackles off for at least a little while and pretend I'm a closeted walker, just dropping off my wealthy lady friend at her home, and taking a short cut through a park ...

Any insider tips and referrals, dear readers???

Inspired and Brilliant

I've only got 12 seconds to save the world

As we dive deeper and deeper into this Internet infused world, it seems that brevity and speed is the universal expectation. Blogs were too wordy, and so we move to tweets. Emails were too arduous and so we move to instant messages. Phone conversations are too talky, and so we shoot texts at each other.

But I think we may have gone too far.

Enter 12seconds.tv. Think of it as YouTube, on speed. You only get 12 seconds of video to do something. I don't know about you, but I can't do much in 12 seconds, besides think "hey, there's not much I can really do in 12 seconds."

Maybe I'm too old and finicky for the likes of this new technological turn, but I feel I'm not the only one. What value, if any, comes from 12 seconds of video? I'm sorry but in my not-so-humble opinion, 12 seconds is a farce. Someone saw Twitter, wished they did it, and so found something they thought comparable: "Ha! Ha! Only 140 characters? Fuck you, bird and failwhale! I'm giving people 12 seconds to do something on camera!"

Even cybersex takes longer.

Plus, this also fails because the Internet just ain't quick enough. When I post a tweet, the payback is instantaneous. I see it register on my page. If I were to upload a 12 second spot, I'd have to wait at least a few minutes for it to upload and render.

No thank you.

But, hey, maybe it's just me that feels this way. I have embedded a few 12 second tidbits of brilliance for you to determine. Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong. Tell me 12second.tv is the wave of the future, and I'm in duck floaties in the pool that only the senior citizens use.

Somehow I feel you'll agree with me. Feel free to watch them all - I promise you it'll only take a minute of your time.

xoJR


Ellie considers her shirt! on 12seconds.tv


Descobrindo a "pólvora".... funfa no tweetDeck direto... o_O on 12seconds.tv


Begging for a job on 12seconds.tv


12erator: How Much My Parents Know About the Internet on 12seconds.tv


Proof. on 12seconds.tv

Promoter Life: The Science of Sleep

Mondays and Tuesdays, how quickly they fly. Bye bye!

Last night I was eating dinner with my Dad at Big Daddy's (I let him stay with me on the nights before he goes to Memorial Sloane Kettering for treatment) when he looked over his chicken salad and asked me: "So, do you sleep any more?"

Funny enough, this was not the first time I was asked this question. A guy I have been hanging out recently texted me randomly and asked if I drank a lot of coffee. He had seen me down an iced quad soy caramel macchiatto after we saw Up together on the Upper West Side, and had assumed that this was standard procedure for me.

Co-workers continue to marvel, as do friends and family alike.

The answer, really, comes down to two things:

1. Sleep is cash.
These days I'm working a few parties. I host Campus Thursdays at Splash. I also host Dirty Pop Sundays at Stonewall. Hosting a party is not as easy as showing up at the venue. It's also going out as many nights a week as you can to meet new people. In other words I also go out Wednesday nights - usually to Chris Ryan's other party, Rewind at Ritz. Friday and Saturday nights, same thing.

So what I do is I treat my sleep levels like a bank. I withdraw a lot on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday nights. I use Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays to deposit it back. Monday nights I am back home and in bed by about 12:30, which is early. Friday and Saturday I can sleep in til all hours and I usually do.

2. The dreaded 1 hour.
I am lucky enough not to be affected by exhaustion for too long. Actually, I usually suffer terribly for about one hour in the morning. My eyes burn. My stomach is sour. I literally feel like death. Luckily for me, by the time I get off the subway, the feeling is gone and I have returned to the land of the living. Sure, I hate that 1 hour with the passion of a million suns (all of which are burning in my throat) but I just remind myself that, 60 minutes later, it'll be as if none of it ever happened.

And that's how I do it. How I can be at Campus Thursdays until 2:15, in bed by 3AM and back up and at them at 7AM. It's how I can practically close down Dirty Pop on Sundays, hit my bed at 4AM and again, be up at 7AM.

It's not my preferred life but, so long as I want money to save and purchase things with - it's the life I must lead.

And so my two delicious days of sleep are now gone. I had my early night at Musical Mondays, and my Tuesday night in with Dad. I will now hit the ground running.

Rewind tonight.

Campus tomorrow.

Friday undecided.

And then I'll be working my ass off for a client in Chicago from Saturday to Wednesday (and you KNOW I'll be checking out Boystown while I'm there... I mean, c'mon.)

xoJR

Sonic Youth, The Eternal

One of my favorite bands in the entire world put out a new record yesterday.  I'm still processing the experience of listening to the 12 tracks, in album order (you should all try this sometime - it's pretty remarkable - and with SY, sequencing is important).  Below is the NYT review from Monday's edition:

SONIC YOUTH

"The Eternal" by Sonic Youth.

“The Eternal” (Matador)

No Sonic Youth record boils down to a single imperative. Each one is hard to reduce. They’re all mixed up. They’re about songs, and they’re not; they’re about improvising, and they’re not; they’re aggressive, and they’re not. This is a band that leaves a certain amount to chance, with crisscrossing spirals of guitar noise and first-thought-best-thought lyrics. But over the course of 21 records it’s run through a couple of cycles. If you squint, you can see each one taking its place along a graph.

The first thing to know about the new album, “The Eternal,” is that its songs aren’t as tightly shaped as those on the last one, “Rather Ripped.” That might not have anything to do with Sonic Youth’s shift back to an independent label, Matador, after 16 years of recording for Geffen. It might make you remember “Washing Machine” and “A Thousand Leaves,” from 1995 and 1998, from a similar stretch in an earlier cycle of tighten and loosen. After some success in the early ’90s the band members had gone back to the idea of playing for themselves, exercising the imagination in songs that grew comfortable with their own ritualized awkwardness, disharmony and hypnosis. “A Thousand Leaves,” especially, was kind of temperate: strange and confident but not truly self-indulgent. It has held up well.

The second thing to know is that Sonic Youth’s confusion and chance have settled into a standardized language. You can see its strategies of instrumental ebb and flow coming at 50 paces as tones clash and resolve, rise and fall, and the whole band floats elegantly into endings.

But the rise of Kim Gordon as Sonic Youth’s crucial wild card continues. In a way she has had the murkiest profile in the group. She helped found it in 1981 and played bass from the start, but by 2000 newer members took up a lot of that role: first Jim O’Rourke and now Mark Ibold. Ms. Gordon played guitar too, but her input was hard to distinguish amid the dramatic face-offs of the other guitarists, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. (On “The Eternal” she plays only guitar.) She always sang, but diffusely, mockingly. Her warnings and chants and beckonings enhanced the ritual spookiness, but she didn’t always get around a song, hold it down, control it, bring you close — you know, be a singer. Now she does it with authority, and you still don’t quite know what she’s doing.

So here’s a Sonic Youth record in which Ms. Gordon sings all the best stuff. It begins with a short, hard and self-referential rock song, “Sacred Trickster.” (“What’s it like to be a girl in a band?” she intones. “I don’t quite understand/that’s so quaint to hear/I feel so faint, my dear.”) It ends with the psychedelic folk of “Massage the History,” the record’s sleeper stunner. It’s her stock in trade: a calling-into-darkness narrative. But something’s really at stake in this performance.

“All the money’s gone,” she sings. “Funny, it was never here.” And then, quietly, with a bit of echo, over the band’s creeping persistence: “Come with me to the other side/Not everyone makes it out alive.” There’s some trick emotion here, in the singing and the music, something unsettled and uncertain. After hearing almost 30 years’ worth of songs like this, I still don’t know what it is. That’s good. BEN RATLIFF

And here is a profile with the band from the UK Guardian (thanks Largehearted Boy for the original link!!!):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/jun/05/sonic-youth-rock-music

Any summer that features a new Sonic Youth record is a GREAT summer.  Lather up!!

Wither The Nipple Clamps and Garter Belts?

Interesting observations, Justin.  And I concur with one of the comments - as a disenfranchised minority community, strategy is key to maximizing our efforts.  However, I also think that empowerment is empowerment and if some want to sit nightly outside the courthouse in downtown Manhattan until George Onorado goes to the Senate hearings on gay marriage.  We need to stand up and do what we feel compelled to do.  It's inspiring.

All that being said, when was the last time you attended (not you, specifically, Justin - the proverbial YOU) the NY Gay Pride Parade?  I took last year off after feeling so disenfranchised and unrepresented the year before.  Simply put - the Parade is evolved into a (not-very-successful) political platform and a place for minorities within our culture to celebrate diversity.  The A-gays I know either: a.) flee to Fire Island or wherever and avoid it entirely; b.) host/attend rooftop cocktail parties where they can survey the masses - and buzz in the desired; c.) stand in crowds surrounded by smelly "allies" and gawkers and people selling over-priced bottled water.  Last year, I opted for a; the year before, it was a combination of b and c.

Guess which year was the most pleasurable?

I guess what the Parade represents is the assimilation process at its most awkward: in order for us to achieve equality, I feel that the head honchos of the rights groups are trying to send the message that "WE" are just like everybody else.  We have the same dreams, the same problems, the same challenges, the same values.  And anyone within the community who doesn't fit that increasingly narrowing mold gets swept under the Jonathan Adler rug - until Pride Weekend, when they are trotted back out in order to show our diversity (and to grace a NY Times front page) before heading back into the shadows.

One of my favorite past times is to watch fellows cruise each other in the locker room of my gym - and these boys are bankers, executives, lawyers, professionals.  They slide back into their John Varvatos dockers and sling their Marc Jacobs pouches over their shoulders and resume their privileged NYC existence (one that, I'm sure, they have worked extremely hard for); but in the locker room, we're all just a naked bunch of guys turned on by the sight of each other.  I wish they would remember that sensation when they step off the ferry into the safety of Fire Island.

Admittedly, I don't feel connected to any of these worlds in a significant way.  I'm a cultural tourist that collects experiences and people and their stories.  I see how divided we are as a community.  I see how gay men and lesbians do not mix and mingle in this town.  I see how our trans community continues to struggle for acceptance by the brothers and sisters who should be the first in line to embrace them.  I see how the alternative lifestyles that should be celebrated within our community are being tucked over onto 10th Avenue.  I see it all happening, slowly but surely, awaiting that inevitable rationale:

"Well, the end justifies the means."

Can't we all just GAY ALONG?

Last week I was out to dinner for cousin and Plus One Alum Kristin's birthday. There, one of her co-workers from Lomography, Travis, was speaking about an upcoming gigundo March on Washington, DC for gay rights. My friend Matt looked over his bruschetta and asked "so who's organizing it?"

"We are," Travis said, raising his wine glass.

"No, I mean, what groups? Gay right groups?"

"None."

Matt and I looked at each other. Clearly Travis had just not taken the time to read the full Facebook invite that he received, that silly artsy yahoo! Of COURSE a march would be organized by one of the prima ballerina gay rights groups... that's how they git er dun round these parts!

Well, nope. Turns out Travis was right, and Matt and I were idiots for not believing him. It looks like gay men and women everywhere are going to go ahead and organize a march on Washington, gay rights groups be damned.

And speaking of gay rights groups, and the speakers that come from them, they don't like it. Over here are ten good reasons not to have the march.

So what happens now? We have gays banding together to do a march that seems supported by blogs such as Queerty, much to the dismay of the rights groups that are supposedly fighting for their equality.

It's funny when the Republicans have in-fighting... it sucks when the gays do. And in watching this I must admit - I don't stay much up on gay rights. Am I a terrible gay? Maybe. It certainly doesn't help that I live what seems like a fully free life in one of the most liberal bastions in the United States. Sure I can't get married, but right now I don't want to be married. I'm not saying that's an excuse, I'm just saying that's why I don't NOTICE I'm without certain rights.

Hopefully this all gets ironed out. The last thing we need is for the gays to split into two groups. That's not going to help us get any equaler, any sooner.

xoJR

Why I Might Move To Brooklyn By Mark Snyder

Check out Word Brooklyn

Portland Queer at Bluestockings

Happy Tuesday all -

One of my favorite bookstores in all of New York City is Bluestockings, a feminist community shop down on Allen Street in the Lower East Side (www.bluestockings.com). In addition to selling books, Bluestockings has a the volunteer-run fair trade cafe and serves as a meeting place for the activism and dialogues necessary to incite change in our culture and society. What I love about the store is its no-bullshit approach to books - and yet, it is a totally welcoming place. The vibe is rich and full, no matter what time of day I visit. And the clientele is a mix of old school and new - young people and the more weathered, coming together to talk, exchange ideas - even to join the weekly knitting circle!

During Pride Week this year, the store is hosting a fantastic event: contributers from the new anthology Portland Queer will be on hand Wednesday, June 24 to read from the book, which is published independently by http://www.litstarpress.com/. I spent a few days in Portland earlier this year and fell in love with the city's scrappy beauty and its low-vibe scene. I'm hoping this anthology captures some of the voices I heard while I was there.

Bluestockings hosts events like this almost every day - check out their events page on the website. Support them, and support independent bookstores, please!!! Amazon may be cheaper and Barnes and Noble/Borders may be more convenient, but there is nothing like opening a new book and seeing the Three Lives or Brooklyn's Community Bookstore or WORD's bookmark waiting in the fold to greet you.

I'll be there on Wednesday night, hopefully jacked up on Stumptown Coffee, and wearing some sort of white shorts ensemble. I don't know why ... I'm just feeling it this morning...

Forget ratings - ticket sales???

Just a teeny riff off of Justin's post -

After watching the Tonys, which shows do you think properly sold themselves to the at-home audience?  I was surprised how excited I was to see Shrek's performance - what a great number!!  I also thought that, despite the critical drumming Guys&Dolls received, I'll bet they sold some tickets today.  As did the over-animated Hair.

The problem with being a probing artistic show like NextToNormal is that you really can't properly sell that show in an isolated clip.  Also, Ripley's speech (while commendably prepared and passionate) was COMPLETELY lost on the viewing audience.  She seemed like a nut job.

I wonder how it did do in the ratings - particularly with a current TV star as the host.

Hmmm ?????

I'm a terrible gay

While Plus One Mark was relaxing out on Fire Island, taking in the Tonys (which is being touted as arguably one of the best in years), I was hosting my Dirty Pop party down at Stonewall. I can't tell you how sad I was about this.

I was able to catch five seconds of the grandiose opener before flying out my door to the subway. I was then lucky enough to grab the tail-end of Next to Normal's performance when I ducked into Pieces for a quick madras (and a weird stare-down from some buggy-eyed bald guy in a suit).

It was there that I realized that the Tonys really are the gay superbowl. When the girl from West Side Story (my gay card has been sent to the shredder) won, the gays around the bar erupted in cheers that scared me, and almost grabbed the attention of the creepy buggy eyed guy who would NOT STOP STARING AT ME. No, seriously. He was fully spun on his stool and STARING at me. I felt like I was in the beginning of a new David Lynch movie (the red lights dangling everywhere certainly helped the scene.)

And then, as I ran around the space chatting and dispensing of drink tickets, I was able to grab a passing glance of the awards on MUTE - which the owners were generous enough to keep on for me and the few theater queers who weren't singing along with the Chris Sieber number from Shrek at giant apartment parties.

Oh, and I had my friend Joe sending me text updates in digest form. I have to commend him, he did a fabulous job. I'm pretty sure that there are services that do the same thing he did for profit. Thank God I got to him before he got wind of his marketable talent.

So I will be watching the Tonys in an interesting way. Performances first, when I go to Musical Mondays tonight and the VJ puts all the new songs into the video rotation. Then any meaningful speeches via YouTube. And then I may have a bunch of go-go boys and promoters over to watch the Tonys on DVR. Sure we know the winners already, but we might as well get a shot at seeing the show, right?

And now all that remains to be seen is HOW WELL DID THE TONYS DO LAST NIGHT IN THE RATINGS? To be honest, this is the most nerve-wracking part for me. Sure I wanted Next to Normal (dammit!) to win best musical. But what I really want is deliverance (ah hay-eee-yay-ee-yay... sorry Alanis moment). What I really want is for the Tonys to have nabbed a few more viewers this year.

Let's see how that plays out.

OH and a few weeks ago, I penned an article for my theater column on Homo-Neurotic where I mentioned things the Tonys must do to get an audience. The big one? More musical performances! And guess what? There's a poll on the Tonys site, asking people what they liked most about the show. And the answer? THE ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES!

Just kidding. Toldja so.

Good morning, readers!

Let's kick-off with a confession: I am quite skeptical of bloggers and blogging. Nobody needs to know if my lunch sandwich was tuna or peanut butter, or what I had for dinner last night (for the record: it was a stunning grilled pork tenderloin on the grill, corn on the cob, asparagus, and a moment of salad. Plus ice cream while watching the Tony Awards). But when Justin approached me about guesting on his blog this week, and I realized that with Twitter and Skype and Gawker and Hoochie Man, I am slowly but surely fading with the times. I'm an admitted luddite; I refuse to accept the Kindle trend (I much prefer the paper and glue smell of books), and I refuse to set up a real, true-blue blog of my own. Despite my devotion to stringing words together in pleasing and witty ways.

HOWEVER - Justin can be quite persuasive; and I am quite interested in seeing if I can keep up this commitment over a week's time. So wish us both luck.

Last night, the 2009 Tony Awards were broadcast in all their abridged glory on CBS. I use the word "abridged" because, like the last few years on the Tony broadcast, they have cut the creative awards from the primetime show - AND made no bones about a blatant bid for commercialism. Hence last night's iffy performances by touring shows around the country, a cameo by Dolly Parton (whom they flashed back to when she didn't win the Tony for Best Score - she waved like the friendly trooper she is, then got the hell out of there), and a very strange 1-2-3 by the casts of Guys&Dolls / West Side Story, followed by the rock band Poison, and THEN having Stockard Channing stroll on semi-belting a Rodgers and Hart tune. Odd blend of show business and, well, um, BUSINESS.

The NYTimes is right - the oddest moment of the opening number was Channing flirting with the dead boy in NextToNormal - despite his protests that he's "alive" - and trying to harmonize as they walk backwards off the stage. You know Stockard was doing shots backstage before coming back on to dance with the smelly tribe from Hair during the finale.

All in all, though, from the vantage point of a Fire Island television, the show was quite fun, albeit with nary an upset. The last few years of the Tony Awards have been greeted with pretty near-locks in all the categories pretty much since the day the nominations are announced; any attempts at suspense created by the producers and/or agents is met with shrugs and indifference: Geoffrey Rush, Alice Ripley, Marcia Gay Harden, the kiddies from Billy Elliot (how about that photo op backstage - crazy staring Ripley with those three? Like an alternate version of "The Shining"), etc etc etc. All were predicted, and all won. The closest upset was when the writers of NextToNormal (deservedly) beat Elton John for Best Original Score - and then, with all the hoopla over not paying the writers due respect, had their mic turned off during their thank yous!

(Somebody who did not get her mic turned off during her acceptance speech was Ms. Liza May Minnelli - and you knew that she wouldn't because a.) she's a "national treasure" according to the producer of her show; b.) she mentioned those two golden words - her Ace in the Hole: "my parents." You don't turn off Liza when she's talking Judy and Vincent, y'all.)

The highlight for me, of course, was Ms. Angela Lansbury finally receiving a standing ovation at the Tonys (remember the year that she opened the show between the lines of dancers from A Chorus Line and Ethan Hawke refused to applaud her?) when she won her fifth Tony for Blithe Spirit. It's been thirty years since Lansbury won her last Tony (for Sweeney Todd!) and it was a graceful tribute that the Emmys never seem to recognize. The fact I could be sitting and watching a legend be recognize while dipping my feet in the Atlantic Ocean was worth all the razzmatazz that one suffers through along with it.

And yes, Neil Patrick Harris' finale number was indeed witty and clever - and unapologetically theatrical. None of this will matter tomorrow, but tonight ...

Meet Mark Snyder!

Welcome back to another week of Justin Plus One! This week I'm super excited to introduce you to my Plus One, NYC playwright Mark Snyder, whom I've already had the pleasure of interviewing for my theater column over on Homo-Neurotic.

Mark and I met and began fighting each other immediately, actually. We practically came to fisticuffs over a debate concerning who was the better Mama Rose - Bernadette or Patti. Seeing as to how I view Patti as a Hoover switched on reverse, and grew up idolizing Bernadette - from her Into the Woods witchery to her Ocean Spray cranberry pimpery, I picked one side. Mark picked the other. It was bloody.

Anyway, this week should be an interesting one, especially with the Tonys having gone down last night. Get excited, folks. This week is gonna be good!

My Name:
Mark Snyder.

My Location:
New York City, NY

My Site/ Sites:
You’ve gotta seek me out.

What I might post about:
Theater (particularly post- Tony Awards), books, music, food, politics, my insomnia, Justin’s role as a night life promoter (particularly the music and the new venues in town – more a socialite perspective), my family wedding I’m embarking on the following week, random New York stuff.

What I love:
Coffee

What I hate:
Decaf – and paper cuts.

My Last Word:
Just because I may describe someone as “worthless” doesn’t mean I don’t still think they’re swell.

Heroes

Join Claire, Sylar, Hiro, Suresh, Maya and Mr Muggles in this hilarious spoof of Season 3...

Starring: Michelle Prenez, Captain Lucky, Jennifer Wenger, Roger Motti, Melissa BacelarWritten,

Directed, Edited by Olivier Lebourg

Plane Crazy

Today as I was grabbing my orange juice I saw a news alert that the debris found near Brazil is in fact NOT from the missing flight. This is quickly becoming a very creepy sort of story. And I'm not even thinking of LOST (which you all know I hate).

I'm actually thinking of Amelia Earhart. And I'm also just thinking that, in this day and age, when everyone can know that I'm taking a piss in the basement of Splash because my cell phone has a GPS in it, no matter where they are, that we can somehow lose a FUCK-HUGE plane... how is that possible?

I mean, there was so much to fear about planes already. Terrorists. Crashing into shit. Swine flu. Bird flu. Bad food. And now, as if that wasn't enough, you need to fear disappearing into thin air and never being seen or heard from again.

I hope they find them soon... it's just really strange to reconcile the fact that there we literally have misplaced an airplane.

Super odd.

Twilight

Twilight The Deleted Scenes - watch more funny videos

With the craze over the New Moon movie trailer i decided to dig up our Twilight spoof. This was actually booted from YouTube by summit entertainment. Apparently they didn't think it was funny. What do you think??

BTW, In this vid I look hideous! HIIIIDDDEEEOOOUUSS...

Super TMZ

Everyone is obsessed with Celebrity. Find out what happens when those celebrity's are superheros!

Keep up with the latest superhero gossip! This TMZ sketch comedy spoof features Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Robin, Supergirl, Spiderman and other heroes caught in embarrassing celebrity moments. (a la Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, David Hasselhoff, Miss South Carolina, Chris Crocker, and more) This is a Lucky Legendary production. Please visit www.luckylegendary.com and let us know what you think ;-)

Starring: Michelle Prenez, Jennifer Wenger, Chandler Poling, Captain Lucky, and Nico Lombardo

Meet Adam Lambert's Boyfriend

Yup. Glambert is gay. And he has a boyfriend, too...

Special thanks to Plus One Alum Chris Haigy, who always seems to be on top of everything gay, dorky and/or newsworthy. We all know that Adam Lambert is gay, it's public knowledge that he will be revealing it in Rolling Stone (if he hasn't already, I may have lost track of time.)

But the Interwebs have once again won out, and one upped the print media. Okay so Glambert's gay - but did we ALSO know he had a boyfriend?

Well, he does. And his name is Drake. And as Chris put it, "He is more vapid and boring than any other person ever."

Do you want to meet Drake? Well he's right here, in video form (and in a silly hat) telling us about a KA-RAY-ZEE situation that has something to do with Milan.

When Adam sang "the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I ever had," I can kinda guess what he was visualizing to really make it stick.

I Blanked a Blank (and Blanked It)

Oh my, Captain - you've gone and opened up a can of worms.

While watching your parody of I Kissed a Girl, I glanced over at the "related content" tab and found a whole bunch of OTHER parodies. All with very low production values. Yeesh. I mean really. Some of these are just... yeah. You'll see.

I'd say you have some stiff competition... but you don't really!

I Slapped Your Gram


I Licked a Spoon


I Peed in a Pool


I Kissed a Boy


I Kissed a Pig

I Kissed a Girl and Liked it!

This was one of my favorite shoots. It gave me a chance to be a totally outrageous character. After this video when I would hit the clubs people would stop me and be like, "OMG its the i kissed a girl guy!!" Never in a million years would i think my family would ever see it. They did. I was a total disgrace and I loved it!

A gay boy gets invited to an all girl slumber party. They play spin the bottle and the kiss changes his life as he discovers his bi-curious nature. Brought to you by www.luckylegendary.com. Please enjoy and leave comments.

Starring: Captain Lucky, Jennifer Wenger, Michelle Prenez, Shauna McCoy, Ashley Cuellar, Phillip Schaff

The Clicker

Ok so this is my geek fantasy come true! I get to fight Buffy, the Charmed sisters, and more! I originally was going to have a Xena fight but her costume comes with a heavy price tag. One of my favorite moments was seeing tranny Piper! ROLF people!!

Thanks to Mystic Jade's new television remote control, mayhem ensues when Captain Lucky accidentally zaps himself into the television and creates havoc in several episodes.

Starring: Captain Lucky, Tiffany Thomas, Michelle Prenez, Jennifer Wenger, Chandler Poling, Thomas Mikusz, Elizabeth "Manders" Thompson, Nico Lombardo, Nora Frankovich, Ashley Cuellar and Olivier Lebourg.

Directed by Chandler Poling

Written by Captain Lucky

Edited by Ken Saba

Captain Lucky on Justin!

Hey everyone in Bloggity blog land! I'm Captain Lucky, leader of the Los Angeles superhero squad The Legends. You can check out my webcomic and blog at www.LuckyLegendary.com We have tons of exciting events coming up. For instance the mega event for all superheroes San Diego Comic Con!! We already have some booth appearances lined up as well as giveaways and nightclub appearances!

The Legends are a mismatched, rag-tag group of almost anti-heroes giving you comedy, laugh out loud humor, and pop-culture exploitation. Follow them in their weekly web comic as well as their live action web series! Browse the cast profiles to get acquainted with your favorite Legend origin! Visit the store and shop for all of your Legendary apparel! Keep up to date with info on our public appearances, charity events, and heroic happenings with our blog. Lucky Legendary features the artwork of acclaimed artist, Shaun "Spanky" Piela, and horoscopes by Celebrity Psychic Belinda Bentley.

All week I'll be blogging here with Justin about all things nerdy as well as showing you cool pics and vids of our exploits and follies as well as offering up commentary on current pop culture happenings. So stay tuned because adventures await!

Rock On
~Captain Lucky

Making the Video: Campus Thursday's Underwear Party

Imagine me in my underwear and a black, skintight Splash Bar NY t-shirt. Running around a two floor club, my FLIP HD Mino camera in my hand. I'm sprinting from the DJ booth to the basement underwear party. Digging my way through the throngs of dancing boys, working with the lighting guy, asking him to throw me a few strong reds and greens.

Then I'm on the back bar, two gogo boys shimmying on either side of me. Some guy comes up to me asking if I'M a gogo boy. I tell him that he's blocking my shot and try to pan around him. He holds up a dollar, I shrug, drop to my knees, and let him stick the dollar in the band of my Gap blue and orange boxer briefs.

Up in the DJ Booth, twink party God Alan Picus is shooting digital photos of two shirtless gogos, one holding a graduation cap. One of those pictures would then find its way to the promo I'm using this week.

Then came the "biggest stick" competition - with Campus Thursday's 40 gogo boys dropping everything they were wearing (behind a blanket, for the most part). Familiar faces some of them, including Rowan - formerly of my party Dirty Pop, now shaking his stuff at The Big Banana, a party I already shot a video flyer for. Also Dylan - our lead gogo at Dirty Pop.

A swirl of lights and sound. Sweating profusely as my package is grabbed and I run to catch on film two of the gogo boys making out and grabbing at each other.

And then 3 hours of editing - my closest yet to a video strip tease. The gogo boys showed a lot, and I made it my job just to give a peek. Just when you think you're about to see a whole gogo butt, cut away to another shot. Panning and shifting angular shots of boys in their 2xist briefs.

The outcome, my newest video flyer, is surely my best work to date. I certainly feel (and others reiterate) that I am getting better with each one. The choice of Kelly Clarkson's single "I Do Not Hook Up" seems inspired - it's cute and ironic, not to mention that the gogos all look like they're dancing TO the song (and in the begining, one of them looks like they're lip-synching to it.

Now that you've seen the behind the scenes, check out the final product. Be sure to press HQ so you can see and hear it in full high definition. Hope you like it.

And if you're in NYC, come by this Thursday and say you're on Justin's List - you'll get in free if you're over 21, or you'll get in for $10 if you're under 21.

Hope to see you there. I'll be the guy running around with the video camera.

Meet Captain Lucky!

Happy June, Everyone!

This week I am proud to welcome to Justin Plus One yet another sexy gay nerd. Captain Lucky, our guest this week from the left coast, is known in gay circles for his online comic book series.

Being a self-professed (and very proud) nerd myself, I am happy to share the soapbox with him. Hope you all have a GREAT week!

xoJR

My Name:
Captain Lucky

My Location:
Hollywood, CA

My Site/ Sites:
www.LuckyLegendary.com

What I might post about:
Comic books, video games, movies, superheros, and all things Lucky Legendary.

What I love:
Netflix, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, The Arclight Cinema, X-Men, Xbox 360, all things nerdy!

What I hate:
Close minded people, the sound the happens when you rub on a balloon, rap music.

My Last Word:
I was born and raised in Los Angeles California and i couldn't imagine living anywhere else. I have a webcomic which you can check out on www.LuckyLegendary.com where you can follow the adventures of me and my team The Legends!! Recently I've been writing music on top of all my other creative outlets. My life is a roller coaster of fun adventures.

My goal is to travel more and visit exotic locations. In the meantime you can find me on my couch watching Star Trek or Xena on Netflix or at the gym pumping iron. Guess that kinda makes me a jock nerd?? I need to find more jock nerds out like me out there! My motto: You only live life once so make it count and in the words of Nike, "Just do it!"

My philosophy

Recently, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh called nominee for the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor "an angry woman" and "a reverse racist" and has urged his conservative brethren to reject her nomination. Which is fine. That's his right. He can say whatever idiotic things he wants (if I'm to be perfectly honest, I sorta think that the comment he was responding to in the second clip was kind of not a great comment for her to have said, though I wouldn't necessarily call her a reverse racist for it, especially because there's no such thing as "reverse racism." Just the regular kind. But I digress).

So he's got the right to call her whatever he wants to (I mean, within reason), but then someone on the internet remembers this comment that he made a few years ago:

I'm tired of these Democrats acting like they won the election. Somebody needs to stand up and say, "When you win the election, you pick the nominees. Until then, SHUT UP! Just shut up! Just go away! Bury yourselves in your rat holes and don't come out until you win an election. When you win an election, you can put all these socialist wackos, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, all over the court, but until then, shut up! You are really irritating me."

So, you know, that's a problem for his credibility. Not that it matters.

So when I say that the Supreme Court of CA has to uphold Prop 8, or when I argue that Obama's statement that he's seeking a Justice with empathy is exactly the wrong kind of thing to say, it's because I don't want to be like Limbaugh. I don't want to be the guy who thinks that it's okay to rant about someone's actions and then to turn around and do the same thing myself.

Peekaboo cat

If you're doing anything but watching funny animal videos, brother, you are wasting your life.

Tiny Alcoholics

Special thanks to Plus One Alum, Becky for sending me this in IM just now saying "ZOMG Post This!"

Okay, I will.

This video is apparently (not kidding) an ACTUAL episode of Tiny Toons that was aired ONLY ONCE in America. It shows the perils of alcohol... namely, Bubs, Hampton and Plucky getting trashed and becoming derelicts off of one sip each of beer.

Seeing as to how I don't drink beer, I don't see this as any sort of powerful and/or cautionary message.

"This is a banned cartoon from the banned episode, Elephant Issues. It's about the dangers of alcohol. This cartoon was only shown once in America, when it first aired, afterwards, it was never shown again on TV in America in later channels like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network. I can't say if it was banned in other countries like Canada or Mexico."