It’s winter, it’s cold, the light is dim. And then something wonderful happens. Suddenly i’m in a tropical paradise where it’s 80 degrees F and i’m wearing shorts and flip-flops and swimming in the turquoise ocean and laying in the bright sun on a beautiful beach looking at shirtless guys. No, it wasn’t a dream, and no, i didn’t need a passport. I just went to Miami Beach and Key West. (I know, we’re such lucky bitches, aren’t we?) I’ve never been there before, (except in the airport on my way to Cancun.) It was just a 4 day, unplanned, last minute trip to spend some time with Paul’s parents who are truck drivers. (They had to deliver a load to Key West, and they had never been there, either.) Paul found round trip tickets on Hotwire for only $280 each. We couldn’t pass up the chance, and it was SO worth it!
Of course, when i first realized that we would be going to South Beach, my first thought was, “I have to see Miami Ink!” Paul, being the loving boyfriend that he is, found out where it was and took me there on Monday. I was so excited! Unfortunately, their waiting list for an appointment is 3 weeks long, and the people from the show are not there. We did not even go inside, we just looked in the windows and saw 3 artists i’ve never seen on the show. I did take pictures of it from across the street, though.
We found a gay club in South Beach called Twist that has 7 bars and 2 dance floors and some very hot go-go dancers. We went there on Sunday and Monday night. Man, there are a lot of beautiful men in Miami!!!
I would suggest not staying at the Sovereign Hotel, though! It was cheap and promised an ocean view, but our room had no soap or shampoo or towels, no ocean view, i got stuck in the elevator when it stopped working the first time, and it is next to a loud construction sight. I went down to the lobby between 11 and noon and asked if they had any coffee. The guy at the front desk suggested i try next door. (It took me a moment to process the fact that “next door” was another hotel!) They never did deliver the soap and shampoo we asked for twice, but luckily i found it in the hallway the next morning while the housekeeping staff was cleaning down the hall. We never did get the ashtray we asked for either, even though it was a smoking room. (I had to use a water glass, which for some reason still had water in it from the guests before us!) However, we did not let our less-than-ideal accommodations get us down. We were still in paradise!
I told Paul i could live there. Paul was not as impressed. Oh well. If we move to Missouri or Nashville, we’ll be a lot closer to Miami than we are now in California.
Of course, i wish we could have spent a lot more time in Key West and South Beach exploring the depths of these gay meccas, but that will have to wait until next time.

A home in Key West

Beach volleyball in January

Miami Ink in South Beach

Art Deco architecture in Miami Beach

South Beach sunset

On the everglades in an airboat

Egret

Alligator

Popularity: 49% [?]

Here’s a fairly new photo of Steve-O dropping his drawers. (I know, he’s not hottt, but oh well!)
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Popularity: 14% [?]

Some of you may have watched CSI: NY tonight, (January 24, 2007, The Lying Game) and wondered what that song was that was playing during the autopsy scene. It was Lou Rhodes “Each Moment New.” I wrote a long blog post about her on Nov. 27th when i found out that she had released a solo album after being the voice of one of my all time favorite bands, Lamb. Check it out and check her out on her website and MySpace.

Popularity: 15% [?]

As i promised, here is the first video from Daughtry. I have to say, though, i’m very disappointed with this video! There are 5 seriously hottt men in this band! That’s a whole lot of handsome faces, muscles, asses, & tattoos that i was hoping to see, and what did i see? Chris. That’s it, just Chris. Yes, it is Chris in leather pants and looking very hot, but still… not a single good close-up of anyone else in the band!? The director of this video is obviously a complete idiot! Sorry, i have nothing else to say. I’m pissed!

Daughtry “It’s Not Over”

Popularity: 15% [?]

Nelly Furtado came on the scene back in 2000 when Whoa Nelly was released, but it was a couple of years before many people heard of her when the video for “I’m Like A Bird” started getting heavy rotation and she finally started winning awards for the album released 2 years earlier. I have a very vivid memory of seeing Nelly Furtado on TV back in 2000 or 1999. I thought it was Lollapalooza or Woodstock, but i cannot find any evidence of the performance. All i remember is that her hair was done in cornrows and she looked like a “tom-boy,” and i’m pretty sure she sang “Turn Off The Light.” (Does anyone remember where that performance was?) Anyway, she became an international star and the album sold 2.4 million copies. Then, just as she was releasing her incredible and ingenious 2nd album Folklore in 2003, an unfortunate series of events took place that crippled her career.

Folklore was released around the time that her label, DreamWorks, was sold to Universal Music Group, and slipped through the cracks of that corporate merger. Barely promoted, the album sold a pale 400,000 copies in the U.S. Culturally, however, it proved as important as its predecessor — in Portugal, anyway. The song “Forca” was enlisted as the theme for the Euro 2004 soccer tournament held in Portugal, and its chorus (sung in Portuguese) became a source of national pride for the hosts. - Mtv.com

When i heard “Powerless” on Yahoo radio with its powerful foot-stomping, hand clapping beat, i immediately bought the album, but unfortunately the amazing song did not play very much on regular radio, and no one in America knew it existed. Folklore was definitely my favorite album of 2003, and after “Powerless,” my favorite songs were “Explode,” “Fresh Off The Boat,” “Forca,” “One Trick Pony,” and “Island Of Wonder.” Heavily influenced by her Portuguese background, the album appealed to my love of world music, but her genius had also created sounds that were totally new and futuristic, especially in “Explode,” a supremely powerful song about young girls discovering themselves and being taken advantage of and abused, but emerging as powerful young women who have learned from all that they have been through, and exploding. This is one of those songs that gives me chills when i hear it, and the video, (which i saw for the first time today,) is equally incredible.
In “Forca,” she sings about the power, or force, within you that makes you succeed and overcome your past and allows you to become a stronger person through all the experiences of your past. Translating her Portuguese lyrics, the chorus and bridge say, “Like a force that no one can stop, like a force that no one can kill. Closer to the sky, closer to the sky!”
At this point, she was still a guitar playing, folky, Bohemian, international pop star, but because so few people bought the 2nd album, she reinvented herself as a hot, sexy, hip-hop ass shaker, and she says it was a total surprise even to her. (It certainly was to me. I was quite disturbed at first. Now, I’m only slightly disturbed.)

She hopped on a popular remix of Missy Elliott’s “Get Ur Freak On,” and the combination of her jazzy voice with Timbaland’s electronic boom-bap made for a woofer-shaking hit. “Ever since I did [that] remix, people have been asking me, ‘When are you gonna do a record that’s more clubby?’ ” She began building a reputation in the rap world, becoming a favorite of Timbaland’s, who borrowed the Latin-tinged background hook from Whoa, Nelly!’s “Baby Girl” for MS. Jade’s 2002 single “Ching Ching.” And in 2005, when Pharrell Williams, avid co-sponsor of ghetto passes, shouted her out on “Can I Have It Like That,” her hip-hop transformation seemed preordained. “I had no idea it was gonna happen,” Furtado gushes. “I was like, ‘Sweet! It’s my first official hip-hop shout-out!’ “ - Mtv.com

At first, i was skeptical, but i bought the 3rd album, Loose, and i quickly realized that she did not sell out, she simply evolved with a sound that is incomparable to anything else. (And, as usual, my favorite songs on the album are not the most popular. What’s up with that?!)
The 1st song “Afraid (featuring Attitude)” is a mind-blowing, hauntingly powerful beat with burning harmonies that talks about overcoming your fears and becoming who you want to be. (She has not turned her back on her convictions and ideals.) “Maneater,” which has become a huge hit, talks about becoming a powerful woman that no man can tame, though they try. Then of course there is “Promiscuous,” the first single that is an honest, raw portrayal of our insatiable sexual appetite at an age when our parents still have no idea that we even know how to have sex. “Glow” unleashes a powerful, orgasm inducing bass line, beat, and spacey vocal that perfectly captures the feeling of the words - falling head over heals in love and lust with some one. “No Hay Igual” is completely in Spanish and perfectly tells the story of being dizzily infatuated with just one person to whom no one else will ever compare, because there will never be anyone else. “Say It Right” is much more tentative and mature in meaning, though just as heart-felt a love song. It definitely rings much more true with those of us who have been in love over and over again and have learned what’s really important. “Do It” reminds me a LOT of EARLY Madonna, and actually sounds like a mixture of Madonna’s “Lucky Star,” “Dress You Up In My Love,” and especially, “Burning Up,” and talks about being powerless to resist the power of attraction. (Wow, what a time warp back to 1983!!! I had completely forgotten about “Burning Up.”) (I have read that the music for this song was taken from a Finnish musician without credit or compensation. I hope the matter will be worked out soon. No matter who wrote the music, it still reminds me of Madonna.) “Wait For You” is another powerfully body-moving beat that is full of Moroccan (Arabic) musical elements. It tells the story of destiny and knowing when you have found your perfect love, and being willing to wait for destiny to bring you together. “All Good Things (Come To An End)”, another Madonna inspired song, has the most poignant and heart shattering lyrics of the whole album.

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end?

Nelly Furtado “Explode” Great, GREAT video! Fantastic animation and beautiful, bizarre imagery.

Nelly Furtado “Forca”

Nelly Furtado “Say It Right” Timbaland is adorable in this video, isn’t he? And I LOVE the 3 dancers. Very HOTTT

Madonna “Burning Up” (Just for the fun of it!)

Popularity: 14% [?]

I love Margaret Cho. In fact, the quote in the header of this blog, “Don’t lick my eye,” is a quote from one of her stand-up specials. This quote has become very personal to me because ever since we saw it, Paul has taken to licking my eye whenever possible, to which i always respond, (you get the picture.) We saw her live in Sacramento on her State of Emergency tour which would become Assassin, and she was fabulous! Now our favorite “fag hag” is doing new stand-up comedy on Logo, the gay television channel as host of the new series The Outlaugh Festival featuring a great lineup of gay comedians. Set your Tivo, or go to Logo online for showtimes and to watch and catch up on episodes. If you don’t know Margaret Cho, here’s your chance to check her out and laugh your ass off! If you really want to see Margaret Cho at her finest, buy the 3 disc box set of her first 3 comedy specials. Get it, watch it, and soon you, too, will be walking down the street with your friends yelling in a loud, obnoxious voice, “HI, my name is Gwen, I’m here to waaash your vagina!”

“Margaret is comedy’s most fearless superhero.”
Mary Kaye-Schilling, Entertainment Weekly

“She makes Al Franken and Michael Moore look like Rush Limbaugh.”
Kevin Nance, The Tennessean

“Brilliant. Over the edge. One of the funniest comedians in America. I laughed until the tears were running down my face.”
Stephen Holden, The New York Times

“Outrageous! A one-woman comic army…with seemingly limitless wit at her command. She understands the power of humor to provoke thought and to liberate.”
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

“Grade: A- …gleefully, blasphemously invasive.”
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

“Honest and raunchy enough to make even Richard Pryor blush.”
Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune

“…the patron saint of anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.”
The Washington Post

“…I can say without reservation that Cho’s “Notorious C.H.O.” is the best comedy concert movie I’ve seen since Cho’s previous concert comedy film, “I’m The One That I Want,” in 2000.”
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

“the Richard Pryor of her generation.”
Sacramento Bee

“Exhilirates while it has you guffawing non-stop.”
Brandon Judell, Detour Magazine

“It’s humor with a message (love yourself as you are) that doesn’t forget to be funny.”
Curt Fields, The Washington Post

On her website she writes an award winning blog that is SO fun to read, and you can see videos such as “My Puss.”
Margaret Cho has also become a belly dancer and burlesque artist and has a MySpace page under the name The Sensuos Woman.

Margaret Cho - gay marriage

Margaret Cho - Hi my name is Gwen…

Margaret Cho - Asian chicken salad

Margaret Cho - Ass Master

Popularity: 51% [?]

Junior Boys

Inthralled. I completely forgot this word existed. I don’t think i have ever written this word, and can’t remember the last time i spoke it, but it suddenly popped into my mind as the perfect word to describe what i’m feeling about this band. It’s a very interesting word.

(Inthrall: To reduce to bondage or servitude; to make a thrall, slave, vassal, or captive of; to enslave.) - Dictionary.com

So, i’m enslaved! Why? This band’s music has everything! great vocals, great melodies, great moving drum beats, great lyrics, a fantastic, unique electronic sound… [grunting in ecstacy]… so good!
I was just over at Queerty.com, a top gay blog, and i saw a video that quite literally changed my life. It is from a Canadian group called Junior Boys, and i am so in love with them right now!!! (Discovering great new music always changes my life because i’m a songwriter, but these guys especially, because their sound is so unique and their songwriting so awesome!)
First, watch the video for “Count Souveneirs” below from their new album So This Is Goodbye. (To me, this song is a little bit Depeche Mode, a little bit Bronski Beat, a little Low Millions, and just a hint of The Smiths, and the distorted bass line reminds me of Goldfrapp ’s “Strict Machine.” I LOVE that song!) Then check out their MySpace page, listen to the VERY SEXY SONG “In The Morning,” (This is the kind of song Justin Timberlake wishes he could write,) and make sure you listen to the song “Birthday” from their 2004 album. Then, click on the albums in the left column (or the following link) to buy their albums from their record label. (Or, purchase them from wherever you like to buy your music. It’s there, i checked.) Then check out their websites for other cool stuff. Have fun! You like?

Junior Boys - “Count Souveneirs”

Popularity: 15% [?]

Well, in case you missed it, American Idol started yesterday. We are very excited. I’m crossing my fingers there will be a new Chris Daughtry, Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino, or Mario Vasquez discovered this year! Remember mario Vasquez? The incredibly beautiful curly haired boy with the smile that could break hearts and the voice of a seductive angel who disappeared from the show early last season and we all wondered what would become of him… well, he’s finally stepped out of the mysterious shadows! I wonder if they will mention him on the show, or even bring him on as a guest. That will be interesting! I hope they do!

Popularity: 20% [?]

…Says it all!!! Here’s more from Scissor Sisters for the hell of it, and i saved the best for last. This is the dirtier and longer version of the video for “Filthy Gorgeous” directed by John Cameron Mitchell who was Hedwig in the Hedwig and The Angry Inch film and also created the character and directed the film. This is not the version on Mtv or You Tube and contains nudity. It is not the original version, however. Apparently the original versions shows an oral sex scene and can only be seen on pay sites.
Featuring Jake Shears tongue-kissing a hot brunette guy who also licks his armpit, (there’s lots of gay kissing actually,) Jake getting his bare ass spanked, ass fondling ;-), naked breasts, (titts if you’re filthy, bosoms if you want to make me giggle,) a hot hula-hooping golden drag queen, a flying blow-up doll, this video is… exhilarating? intoxicating? steamy? Hottt?! Yes.

Posted in HOTTT!!!, Gay Pride, Sex, Music | 1 Comment �