Now What?

8:44:23 PM    sro home /

Well Firefly has been pre-empted here in L.A. by baseball. Obviously the programmer at Fox 11 isn't queer. I mean baseball is nice and all but, c'mon, you can see baseball anytime.

Here in West Hollywood, there has been a recent spate of criminal assaults. One of the victims is in a coma and the attacks are strongly believed to be Hate Crimes. Today the District Attorney - via Ashcroft, natch - decided not to pursue the Hate Crime aspect. As a result, there is a demonstration tonight near where I live.

The most unsettling part of tonight is all the helicopters I can hear outside, both news and police. In Manhattan, there were seldom overhead copters because of the high buildings. Here in L.A., they're more common and certainly arouse doom's day feelings.

I know in many parts of the world, this added noise is a daily occurance. If you don't normally hear it in your area, sleep better for me tonight and knock on wood.

8:32:02 PM    sro home /

Great book: Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs.

He's had several articles in Salon and recently came out with this book about his "home life" growing up. It's funny and moving and raises alot of interesting questions, what more could you ask for?

Most of the book takes place when he's in his early teens and from what he tells us, he frankly sounds strange. But on the jacket his author pic is, well, this stud. I became so perplexed by the distance between the two, I finally took the jacket off and sat it next to me so I wouldn't have to keep flipping back.

The jacket notes also listed his website, http://www.augusten.com, which I immediately went to just to see if there were other pictures to compare. There were a couple and yeah, that's pretty much what he looks like.

I wrote him an e-mail and to my surprise, received a very polite and warm response. I wrote him a few times before deciding to stop, thinking I was on the edge of being dysfunctional about it and veering off into Single White Female Territory.

This is not the first time I've been Author Stalker Man. Years ago, soon after it first came out, I read "The Mists of Avalon" and was moved to call information since the author's blurb said where she lived. Sure enough, she was listed! In the phonebook! I called the number and asked "Is this Marion Zimmer Bradley who wrote the book The Mists of Avalon"?

"Yeeesssss..."

I then proceeded to gush for ten minutes about her book - asking her lame-o questions like "Where did you first get the idea?", real Jay Leno stuff - until she finally managed to squeeze in she was eating dinner. Oops.

Hell, read both books. Then e-mail Augusten but just don't say Hugh sent you.

3:30:18 PM    sro home /

My mother called me this morning.

"Did you see Will and Grace last night?"

My mother calls me whenever anything gay and/or gay-related (in her world) is in the Media. In case I wasn't "caught up". When she called I had been doing My Part, mulling over pics in the LA Times of the current Spring Shows in New York.

"Yes, I did see it."

"Can you believe she wants to have a baby with him?"

Yes, as a matter of fact, I can but what my mother's fishing for is some reassurance this kind of thing doesn't happen in real life.

"I mean, he's gay!"

The link between being queer and wanting kids is where she gets stuck. That may be because, other than Peggy, I have zero parental instinct. For my mom, looking at kids as if they're letter bombs is part of the Gay Package.

"Why doesn't she hook up with that Harry Connick fellow?"

Why indeed. Maybe because his guest stint on the show is actually just that, a stint, and after he hurdles thorough the finish line and collects whatever caché he can from being on the show and the show catches what it can from having a celebrity guest star, after that we'll never see him again.

"He's gotten chunky."

But his Big Hair hides it so well.

"That Jack, he's something else."

Yes, he is Something Else. He's a Wound-Up-Stereotype on speed. One who's taste in men sucks so far. Last night he was stalking Kevin Bacon. Kevin Bacon! It was a very L.A. idea. I don't know any NY queen worth a full share on the Island who would loiter around some celeb's house.

When the conversation spirals into talking about Jack, I know it's time to sign off.

"Well I'll let you go."

Please. I have a Vanity Fair to read and a Homo Pop Quiz later that I haven't even studied for.

12:20:06 PM    sro home /

Perk of living in L.A. :

This morning I had a great conversation with Mickey Rourke at the coffee place around the corner from me. I've seen him a number of times and he looks great. He also had his dog and canines were the ice-breaker. I'm not the hugest M.R. fan, nothing bad, I just never got into the Sensitive Thug thing. The only two tidbits I recalled were he dated Carrie Otis and was in "8 1/2 Weeks", neither being something I thought he'd want to be reminded of.

We chatted about dogs, LA, NYC and the hookers and crack whores that misuse his neighborhood. Outside of his house, I assume. He's apparently a Scoundrel but today he was smooth as puddin' (as my Mother might say).

Oh yeah, I also remembered he's idolized by the French. It was very appropriate that we were sharing a 'spresso and a fag at a sidewalk cafe. One man's bread is another man's baguette.

I don't even know what that means. The point was how interesting and odd life can be.

11:48:32 AM    sro home /