Gay Haters

I'm working on an art project that starts with meeting guys on the internet for a hookup. So I've been pretty active on these hookup sites and every once in a while I've been encountering these haters, guys who have seen my postings and accusing me of being a slut...or worse. Of course the fact that they are there encountering every post I've put up would imply that they are spending quite a bit of time there themselves, so who's the bigger slut? But actually the whole notion of strangers monitering my activity and coming to conclusions about my moral makeup is astounding, part of what makes this project so interesting really...all this gay on gay hatred, is it really just self loathing? Jealousey?.. I had one guy commenting on my posts for over a year...here's an example.... Whoa, Daddy Whole new photo shoot, but was this taken 20 years ago, when U were a virgin? and my response to him..... Hey, I've been getting these mails from you and I have to ask....why? They kind of feel like harrasment. I'm single now and I'm hooking up a lot...big deal...It's nothing to be ashamed of...It's always, safe, sane and consensual. I'm very honest and upfront and I send a potential partner a very clear face shot and ask the same of them, so I'm not doing anything that's bad for my Karma, no one's getting hurt, It's usually pretty enjoyable for both parties. Are you seeing too many postings from me? Just ignore them, like everyone else who's not interested....obviously they're not intended for you. Craigslist has a built in 5 posting a day limit so there's no need for you to appoint yourself a cop and harrass me. But the saddest and weirdest part is that I'm being harrased by another gay guy for what? Liking sex? Being gay? adapting to growing older by labeling myself a daddy? As a 40 something gay guy, I've lived an entire lifetime of harassment, from my dad who beat me and bullied me for being a sissy, the kids in high school who harrassed me for being different, students in college, employers and coworkers...It's taken me years of therapy to come close to getting over that shit, of learning to accept my self and dare say even love myself for who I am. I'm finally starting to feel good about myself and really enjoying having sex with other men. Then you come along and start harrassing me, critiquing my pics and posts...why?? Why is another gay man harrassing me for trying to enjoy my life and have some fun recreational sex? You have got to be a stone-cold evil bastard to send these mean and hateful emails...and dude...you are wasting a hell of a lot of time and creating some seriously bad karma for yourself...but what comes around goes around, the only thing you are doing is stirring up more bad karma for yourself...but please, no more emails from you. They are unwanted and very sad. I hope you can find another way to get what you want and I seriously wish you, best of luck. He sent me a brief email saying sorry and that he'd stop, and he did. The thing is, I may put up a few posts a day, but that dosn't mean I'm meeting someone for every post I put up... far from it. Many of the responses are a few words, or a vague blurry picture. Or I'll get a flurry of enthusiastic emails setting up a meeting then....gone, the person disappears, never to be heard from again. I can post 5 times a day, for seven days in a row and still not meet anyone. It's all interesting, and a little sad but I have met some incredible guys. People who I've been so glad to have in my life, even if it's just for an afternoon. But most of all, I've learned a lot about myself. Any artist's art is first and foremost about the maker and this project is no exception. I've always been interested in myself alongside others, the way different people bring out different parts of me. And it is fun, too. But truth be told, it's a little exhausting and emotionally draining. It's turning into a really good art piece but I'll be glad when it's done. The variety is interesting and frankly, as a middle aged gay guy, I never thought I'd be able to meet so many handsome, sexy, desirable guys, I'm glad I photograph well. But truth be told, I was in a monogamous relationship for over a year and I really liked it. I would gladly trade all this variety for one person I could trust an confide in and build something deeper with, but right now I don't have a person like that in my life so I'm adapting to where I'm at and going with it.

Words of Wisdom from AA Bronson

The artist is NOT a professional. And the artist has no personal life. The artist has a vocation, not a career, and so the private and the public are one.

Jim Hodges at Barbara Gladstone

This is my favorite artwork in Chelsea right now

Historic Train Day

ation

For two weekends around Christmas the NYC MTA runs a subway train composed of historic cars from different eras. The begin and end at my subway station, nd ave and run along the F line

Jean Frederic Schnyder

Jean Frederic Schnyder @ Swiss Institute 18 wooster st. If you are out and about in Soho check out this free exhibit at Swiss Institute. I loved it!

Sean Landers in Mousse Magazine

I kind of love this painting and prety much everything that Sean has been up to laely, what a strange interesting career this guy is having. Heres a link to a recent interview... http://www.moussemagazine.it/articolo.mm?id=760

Christmas At The Factory

Gay Vietnam vet tackles Romney

Republican Mitt Romney probably didn’t know what hit him in a Manchester diner on Monday when he tucked into a booth to make small talk with an older man wearing a “Vietnam Vet” baseball cap.

Romney has been vocal in opposing cuts to U.S. military spending, and chatting up a veteran would seem like an easy warm-up to a day on the campaign trail.

But military spending wasn’t on the mind of Bob Garon, who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.

Garon is gay, and a newlywed. He was eating at the Chez Vachon diner, as he does most days, with his husband, Bob Lemire, 73. The couple — whom friends sometimes call ‘Bob One’ and ‘Bob Two’ — married in June after 15 years together.

Same sex marriage became legal in New Hampshire in 2010, but the state’s Republican-controlled legislature has moved toward repealing the law.

When Romney sat down next to Garon, the Epson resident asked him, “If two men get married, apparently a veteran’s spouse would not be entitled to any burial benefits or medical benefits or anything that the serviceman has devoted his time and effort to his country, and you just don’t support equality in terms of same-sex marriage?”

Romney reiterated his support for the Defense of Marriage Act. “And we apparently disagree,” he added.

“It’s good to know how you feel,” Garon said. “That you do not believe that everyone is entitled to their constitutional rights.”

After more sparring Romney was whisked away for a television interview, leaving Garon to hold court.

“We got married here, where it’s legal. Unless Mitt Romney gets elected,” Garon told reporters. “I don’t think his beliefs should dictate our Constitution. It’s not his choice, it’s my choice.”

“I went and fought for my country and I think my spouse should be entitled to the same [benefits] as they would if I were married to a woman,” he said. “What the hell is the difference?”

Garon told reporters he thought Romney would fail on his quest for the White House. “The guy ain’t going to make it,” Garon said of Romney. “You can’t trust him. I just saw it in his eyes.”

“At least Obama will entertain the idea [of gay marriage],” said Garon. “This man is ‘No way, Jose.’ Well, take that, ‘No way, Jose’ back to Massachusetts.”

Garon’s military service came decades before the 1993 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law, which prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual service members, but barred openly gay, lesbian or bisexual persons from military service. The law was ended by President Barack Obama in September 2011, allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. military.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Brian Snyder – Mitt Romney (R) talks to Vietnam War veteran Bob Garon at Chez Vachon Restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire December 12, 2011.

Angry Birds, The Evening Dress

Now, just when you thought that the Angry Birds phenomenon might be about to explode in a puff of smoke and die, we bring you Angry Birds: The Evening Dress.
Well, what else was the wife of creator Rovio's chief marketing officer going to wear to the Finnish Palace?
Teija Vesterbacka, whose husband Peter is rarely seen wearing anything but his favourite red Angry Birds hoodie, had the dress specially made (as far as we know, you can't get this look in Harvey Nichols quite yet), for the formal event to celebrate 94 years of Finnish independence.
Well, it's definitely one way of asserting your independence - no one else would be seen dead in this, that's for sure.

Roland Barthes In China

It seems a chinese department store thought the name of the French philosopher Roland Barthes would be just right for their inhouse label. That country never failed to blow my mind. I'm glad I got to go

Marshmallow Manger