Buddy Beaverhausen's Random Thoughts: Keep the Cameras Rolling for Kim Davis

Andy Warhol famously said, "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." And as far back as Elizabethan England, the phenomenon was known as being a "nine days' wonder." Nowadays, it seems, media-created attention monsters will use every trick in the book to extend their time in the limelight and by any means possible.

I've hesitated to write about the ongoing Kim Davis debacle because (a) she really doesn't need any more attention, (b) I think my readers know where I stand on LGBT issues, (c) this is an entertainment blog and I didn't think of this as "entertainment," and (d) I felt Kim's saga was already beyond boring to me.

Then I reconsidered points (c) and (d) above because this is infotainment in its own way. I was inspired by what basketball great Kareem Abdul Jabbar wrote in Time magazine this week on the subject. In his eloquently written op-ed piece http://time.com/4024556/kareem-abdul-jabbar-kim-davis/, he said that Kim's martyr act is theater. It's for the cameras. Marshall McLuhan was right; the medium is the message. But Kim's just a mess. Her story would make a great biopic for John Waters to script and direct one day.

Let's face it: this matronly figure (for 49, she doesn't look that great) makes over $80k a year (in Kentucky yet) but dresses in schmattas that make Moms Mabley look fashionable. I presume Kim's haut couture icon is Kathy Bates in Misery because her office duds look inspired by Bates' character in that film. And that hair! She's ready to star on Duck Dynasty with that 'do!

Hasn't everyone worked in an office under a whack-a-do like Ms Davis? In the endless stream of photos and videos, you can see her co-workers looking quite wary of her behavior at the front desk of the County Clerk's office.

Of course, the Teapublican Presidential wannabes have flocked to rather disingenuously defend Kim Davis, most notably Mike Huckabee and Ted Cruz, even though she is criminally in flagrant disregard of the law, the Supreme Court and the Constitution of the United States. She is not, as claimed, being persecuted for her "deeply held religious beliefs" and the "sanctimony of marriage." Hypocritically, she has been married four times to three different men and is an adulterer. She is also a registered Democrat.

TMZ reported yesterday that Caitlyn (nee Bruce) Jenner supports Davis and recently told Ellen DeGeneres, on her tv talk show, that she (Jenner) is tepid on support for gay marriage. Jenner is a neo-conservative who has exploited the LGBT community for their support while giving less than nothing back. With friends like Jenner, who needs enemies, I say!

In the latest turn of events, Kim was released from prison on the grounds that, when she returns to the office as County Clerk, she not interfere with deputy workers who will issue marriage licenses to all who qualify under the law. Upon stepping out of prison, our Kimmie was absolutely ebullient; aglow once more in the media attention that has lifted her from total obscurity. A star was born or, perhaps merely, a bore was starred.

Kim immediately announced that she intends to defy the court order and not allow same-gender couples marriage, further protracting this sad saga that can only end in tragedy given her apparently self-destructive bent. Heavens to Betsy, lady, just get a job your conscience will allow you to do. (I don't suggest anything that involves dealing with the public or inter-personal skills.)  But no, anything for more media attention for this hopeless schlemiel! So keep the cameras rolling.

Buddy Beaverhausen's Goodbye to Bobbi Kristina Brown

Variety just announced that Bobbi Kristina Brown has passed away at age 22.

Miss Brown was, of course, the daughter of the late Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown. “Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away July, 26 2015, surrounded by her family,” the Houston family said in a statement to People magazine. “She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months.” The family has endured much heartache over recent years.

On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston was found dead in her bathtub. The memory of that night is still so vivid to me. I was downstairs, in my friend Kevin's apartment. A small group of us had just carried boxes up full of give-aways from Pottery Barn. I had only moved into my apartment three months earlier. We were celebrating in the living room when the news of Whitney's death came across the tv set. Needless to say, we were all shocked, sharing this together in disbelief.

Like her mother, Bobbi was found (by her partner, Nick Gordon) in her tub. She was unconscious and placed in a medically induced coma. Bobbi is from a long line of recording artists snd divas, starting with grandmother Cissy Houston. Her godmothers are Dionne Warwick and Darlene Love. Ms Love just celebrated her 74th birthday this past Friday.

Wrote Ms Love on Facebook: "Heart broken over the loss of this young, beautiful spirit. Rest in peace, my love."

Madonna Vs.the Neo-Nazis

Well, it didn't take long this Gay Pride Month for Madonna to find herself featured in the news when the Material Girl once more took on right-wing political bullies abroad. As you know, Europe recently had a shocking turnout of support for extreme reactionary candidates, leading to victory for seats in European Parliament. Kind of the Tea Party goes European is the best translation I can offer for that unfortunate turn of events.

On Tuesday, June 3, the following report appeared on the LGBT news blog, Joe.My. God:

Yesterday Madonna today took a swipe at France's neo-Nazi National Front Party, which last week won numerous seats in the European Parliament. Today the National Front hit back. 

France's National Front on Tuesday branded Madonna a "Granny Gaga" after the global pop icon became embroiled in a new row with the resurgent far right party. Madonna had enraged the FN in 2012 by showing a video depicting its leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika over her forehead at a Paris concert. She took another swipe at the party on Monday with a post on her Instagram account. The post featured the front page of French newspaper Liberation from May 26, the day after the FN topped the polls in European elections with a record 25 percent of the vote. FN vice-president Florian Phillipot responded with a sarcastic suggestion Madonna was seeking controversy to court publicity at a time when her career has been eclipsed by the global stardom of younger rival Lady Gaga. "In politics too, Granny Gaga has lost the plot," Philippot tweeted.

Nazis can be so bitchy! Besides, they're getting much more publicity out of this than Madge in my humble opinion. Talk about your Eurotrash, honey! France, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, how did this happen? I find it frightening; despairing. And I'm firmly on Madonna's side in any contention in this matter.

The UK Mail reported:

The democracy watchdog Network for Democratic Culture said the far-right had been busy recruiting and throwing dozens of candidates into the  elections as they fed off fears and insecurities related to the economic crisis.

Opponents are pleased that their victories were not greater and that a sprinkling of seats in most places will not give the extremists authority over funding, immigration issues and other sensitive areas such as policing.
But long-term solutions to the far-right menace continue to evade policy makers.  The number of far-Right attacks last year rose to 20,422, with violent crimes up 5.6 per cent at 1,113 cases, including two killings.

Far-Right crimes accounted for two thirds of all "politically motivated" crimes last year, which reached 31,801 - an increase of 11.4 per cent and the highest level since 2001.

Lebanon's The Daily Star further explains Madonna's latest clash with National Front.

[Madonna] took another swipe at the party on Monday with a post on her Instagram account.

The post featured the front page of French newspaper Liberation from May 26, the day after the FN topped the polls in European elections with a record 25 percent of the vote.

The page shows a triumphant Le Pen celebrating the victory next to the headline, "FN France".

Madonna's caption read: "Russia. Ukraine. Venezuela ...., now France?!!!!! #fight Fascism #fightdiscrimination #fightlynchmobmentality #fighthatred #fightforffreedom #revolutionoflove


Back in 2012, Madonna was simply expressing herself and telling it like it was. And now, the beat goes on.

All the News That Fits! Buddy B's Weekly News Report 4/16/14

Cheyenne Jackson

Fashion designer Tom Ford announced, at the start of the month, that he has gone to The Chapel of Love with journalist Richard Buckley and they are now legally betrothed. Of course, this means another one of my matrimonial dreams has been dashed but I shall manage somehow. Actually, Tom and Richard have been together for nearly three decades. 27 years to be exact. I'm lucky if my relationships last more than 27 minutes!

Ford and Buckley (aren't those two of the most white-bread names you ever heard?) met at a fashion show. Tres chic! "We had three dates. We were living together four weeks later. He gave me the keys to his apartment, and we have lived together ever since," Ford told Women's Wear Daily two years ago. The 52-year-old Texan is also the director of the brilliant, Oscar-nominated (for Best Picture) A Single Man. One of my absolute favorites! The film, told with minimal dialogue, stars Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.

But Ford is not a single man, it turns out, people, and came out of the conjugal closet at an interview conducted at the Regent Street Apple store in London. "[W]e're now married, which is nice," he said for the article that appeared in Vogue UK. "I know that it was just made legal in the U.K., which is great. We were married in The States."

Tall, dark and handsome Cheyenne Jackson is still on the market, however. The singer/actor/dancer of Broadway stage, cabaret, screen and television is currently a gay divorcee. I mean, it's not like he's advertising but, my dears! Shortly after an online sex tape leak, Manhunt magazine printed pictures of Jackson clad only in black leather straps. "A friend who’s a chorus boy in a Broadway show sent me this," a writer at Manhunt allowed. "He was going through his old phone and found this pic Cheyenne Jackson sent him a while ago."

Well, hubba-hubba, big boy! You look terrific in basic black. Really basic.  It's true the color is slimming and chic, and you wear it well if barely.

As you know, Jackson is no mere himbo. But he could be for the right chorus boy, apparently. The star has received numerous awards and is an out and proud gay man (perhaps not proud of these pics, albeit), a strong LGBT supporter and advocate, and an ambassador for AmFar and The Hetrick-Martin Institute.

There is nothing like a Dame, however. Angela Lansbury, at 88 and not dressed in leather fetish minimalist clothing, was honored at Windsor Castle on April 15, joining other acting grand Dames like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.

"Venerated these days in much the same way that Julie Andrews is, both by children and by those who appreciate high kitsch, the British-born star has straddled genres and eras in the entertainment industry," UK's The Guardian stated.

Well, the Queen certainly looked happy bestowing the elevated honor of Dame Commander of the British Empire upon the internationally beloved actress. My only concern is that, once Jessica Fletcher sets foot at the Palace, isn't a royal likely to get murdered very soon?

Valerie Harper, meanwhile, was cancer-free and then she wasn't! Closer magazine insisted, on April 16, that Ms Harper stated she was absolutely "cancer free." Shortly thereafter, Variety reported that Ms Harper denied that report. “In response to a recent erroneous quote concerning my health, I am not ‘absolutely cancer-free,’” a statement from Harper [read]. The Emmy award winner clarified: “I wish I were. Right now what I am is cautiously optimistic about my present condition, and I have hope for the future.”

We wish Valerie lots of luck and congratulate her, as she was told she had only three months to live after a diagnosis of her brain cancer in 2013.

Until next week, then, this is all the news that fits and, as Edward R. Murrow used to say, "Good Night and Good Luck!"

Everything That Fits! Buddy B's Weekly News Report for the Week of 3/31/14

Love's in Bloom!

Oh, what a long, grueling month it's been! And winter seems to have gone on forever, don't you think? Through the entire first quarter! But on the middle Atlantic, things are warming up at last. People, I officially declare it Spring-a!



Action character Steven Seagal (well, I can't in all good consciousness refer to him as an actor) made headlines this week. In the belief that bad publicity is better than no publicity, the 6'5" martial artist was not so much Die Hard as Blowhard when he embraced Mother Russia and Vlad Putin this week. In fact, he promised to move there. Well, buh-bye, babushka!

Action guy Steven Seagal weighed in on the international dispute over Russia's annexation of Crimea this week. Spoiler alert: he's siding with his friend Vladimir Putin and not with President Obama,  reported The Wire. In an interview with the state-run Rossiskaya Gazeta, Seagal called Putin "one of the great living world leaders," adding that he "would like to consider him as a brother."

The now-chubby Above the Law has-been, who looks like he's readying himself to play Chris Christie in a tv-movie, is apparently shoe-polishing his hair to reclaim his youthful "glamor." He's been blacklisted from Hollywood for being one of its "biggest jerks" (according to Huffington Post). But the doey-eyed Vladdy doesn't mind, so who am I to judge? Good luck on your move, Steven, though I seriously doubt you're giving up your creature comforts in Hollywood.

Not Without My Daughter? It's all about her son as Sally Field wrote a heartfelt, impassioned letter to her son who is gay. E-Online reported that "[i]n an effort to help support the Human Rights Campaign’s battle against the various 'license to discriminate' [i.e., "religious freedom"] bills that have cropped up around the country, Sally Field has written a heartwarming letter about the struggles of her gay son Sam Greisman."

The Oscar-winning actress wrote: "Sam is my youngest son, by 18 years, and he's gay. To that, I say: So what? Growing up, Sam wanted desperately to just be like his older brothers — athletic, rambunctious and even a little bit macho. He wanted to beat Eli at tennis, trounce Peter at computer football and learn everything about every basketball player on the court. But Sam was different. And his journey to allow himself to be what nature intended him to be was not an easy one.

"Finally, at 20, long after he beat his brothers at tennis and computer games and knew as much as anyone about basketball, Sam was able to stand up proudly and say, 'I am a gay man "Sam knows that if he ever marries, he'll have my full support. After all, I like to believe I raised him with the good sense to choose a great partner. But there are people out there — organizations and politicians, strangers who have never even met Sam — who would rather devote themselves to denying his happiness. Why would anyone want to prevent my son — or anyone's son or daughter — from having basic legal safeguards like family medical leave, Social Security survivors benefits, or health insurance? It doesn't make any sense — but it won't change until people speak out. I'm proud to stand with HRC to add my voice. Will you join me?"

Sally, we are with you on this. You are as brave as you are talented. We like you, we really like you! And, until next week, friends, this is Buddy B with all the news that fits!







 

Buddy B's Weekly News Report for the Week of 3/24/14: Everything That Fits!

As Tina Charles sang, "I Love to Love." But some people love to hate! Go figure. Yes, the world would be a better place without them. And that brings us to the death of the virulently anti-gay hate monger, Fred Waldren (rhymes with cauldron) Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, who died late last week.

Huffington Post reported: Under Phelps' leadership, Westboro members have preached that every calamity, from natural disasters to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, is God's punishment for the country's acceptance of homosexuality. Phelps had advocated for gays and lesbians to be put to death.

"Fred Phelps will not be missed by the LGBT community, people with HIV/AIDS and the millions of decent people across the world who found what he and his followers do deeply hurtful and offensive," the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force said in a statement.

Freddie's son, Nathan, insisted his dad was excommunicated from WBC. His daughter insisted there would be no funeral because "we do not worship the dead." They only dishonor them. Of course, I think Westboro Baptists ~ largely a bunch of inbred Phelps fucktards if I must say so (and I must) ~ were basically making these pronouncements to the press because they didn't want to have... well, you know, any sort of nasty, hateful protests at the funeral.

Reaction by the LGBT community was restrained.

And on Sunday, June 23, when the reverential WBC lot showed up with erudite and sophisticated signs that read "God Hates Sluts" and their ever-popular "God Hates Fags" at a Lorde concert in Kansas City, fans of the New Zealand pop star "met them with a new tactic: killing them with kindness," wrote the New York Daily News. "From the opposite side of the street, the rival protesters sent their condolences to the followers of Fred Phelps, the longtime pastor of the Church who died on Wednesday of natural causes. Megan Coleman helped make the sign for the Friday night protest with the simple words: 'Sorry for your loss.'"

As in "Fuck off, losers!" In my most humble opinion.

The UK's Guardian described Phelps as "an angry, bigoted man who thrived on conflict." R.I.H. (Roast in Hell), Fred Cauldron Phelps.

Meanwhile, such bile has been expressed toward the cover of the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair featuring Kanye and Kim. (Posted at top.)  I mean, it's like they're the most hated couple in America
or something! Oh..., wait a minute!

"I'd like to nominate honey boo boo for the cover of next year's age issue," Tweeted a reader.

"If you think you're upset about Kim K's Vogue cover imagine how Paris Hilton feels! 'That big butt girl used to arrange my closet'," wrote another.

Rumor has it Kanye paid off editor Anna Wintour for this month's cover. Most likely true. And, besides, controversy sells!

Until next week, signing off on my latest news report. And remember, dahlings, it's all love, it really is!

It Will Be a Gay Day for the Irish

February is over, March comes in like a snow beast and St. Patrick's Day cometh on the 17th, two days after the Ides. My friends and I long ago dubbed the day "Straight Pride Day" because it has a parade, revelers, big bar scene, souvenir street vendors and the event organizers still refuse to let openly gay groups participate in the parade.

Well, this year, New York City finally refused to be a part of this discriminatory practice. Previous mayors have marched on St Patty's but the City's new Mayor, Bill de Blasio (who took office in January) will break with tradition and skip Manhattan's St. Patrick's Day parade, the nation's largest. "I will be participating in a number of other events to honor the Irish heritage of this city," de Blasio said during a press conference earlier this month. "But I simply disagree with the organizers of that parade."

Four days later, NYC's City Council joined in the official boycott. According to Colin Campbell at Politicker:  "Citing the parade’s exclusion of openly gay participants, Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s office said today that 'there will be no official City Council presence at the parade, no banner and no Sergeant–at-Arms present.'

“'Individual Council Members can still be able to participate if they wish,' the office noted."

Not far up the East Coast, Boston's mayor, Martin Walsh (the son of Irish immigrants) announced he, too, will boycott his city's St. Patrick's Day parade unless organizers allow gay military veterans to march.

Since the 1990s, the Manhattan parade (a tradition that began in 1762) has had its bigoted policy protested and has been subject to anti-discriminatory lawsuits. Drawing over a million people each year and about 200,000 participants, its exclusionary rules led to a separate, gay-friendly St. Patrick's Day parade in Queens. Some elected city officials -- including de Blasio -- chose to march in the Queens parade while boycotting the one in Manhattan.

Remember, St Patty's organizers for Manhattan, the half-Irish-American Buddy O'Beaverhausen says: the pot o' gold lies somewhere under the rainbow.

By the way, in Ireland, due to St Patty's Day's status as a Roman Catholic holiday, it is commonly celebrated by churchgoing. The religious restrictions on drinking during Lent are lifted for the day but many pubs are closed because of the holiday. March to that in March!

religious restrictions on drinking alcohol during Lent that are normally in place are lifted for the day - See more at: http://www.irish-expressions.com/saint-patrick-day.html#sthash.w3QImpXh.dpuf

religious restrictions on drinking alcohol during Lent that are normally in place are lifted for the day - See more at: http://www.irish-expressions.com/saint-patrick-day.html#sthash.w3QImpXh.dpuf

religious restrictions on drinking alcohol during Lent that are normally in place are lifted for the day - See more at: http://www.irish-expressions.com/saint-patrick-day.html#sthash.w3QImpXh.dpuf

Hail, Caesar!

Sid Caesar (with Edie Adams) in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

Sid Caesar has died at the age of 91. Long live Caesar!

The New York Times called Caesar " a comedic force of nature who became one of television’s first stars in the early 1950s and influenced generations of comedians and comedy writers."

Without Sid Ceasar (a native of Yonkers, NY), it's difficult to imagine Saturday Night Live or the sketch comedy we see on contemporary tv. He was such a major influence in the world of comedy entertainment. From 1950 - '54, his tv series, Your Show of Shows, was a tremendous television hit that redefined contemporary comedy.

A list of Mr. Caesar’s writers over the years reads like a comedy all-star team. Mel Brooks (who in 1982 called him “the funniest man America has produced to date”) did some of his earliest writing for him, as did Woody Allen, wrote Mervyn Rothstein in his Times obituary.  So did the most successful playwright in the history of the American stage, Neil Simon. Carl Reiner created one landmark sitcom, “The Dick Van Dyke Show”; Larry Gelbart was the principal creative force behind another, “M*A*S*H.” Mel Tolkin wrote numerous scripts for “All in the Family.” The authors of the two longest-running Broadway musicals of the 1960s, Joseph Stein (“Fiddler on the Roof”) and Michael Stewart (“Hello, Dolly!”), were Caesar alumni as well. 

The 6'2" Sid Caesar had an athletic physique in his youth and a handsome but comically expressionistic face perfect for comedy. I best remember him (in Your Show of Show reruns) when I was in my college years. I saw him as a remarkable and impressionable talent.

The Times added: Under his manic exterior, he recalled in “Where Have I Been?,” his 1982 autobiography, he was distraught and filled with self-hatred, tormented by guilt because he did not think he deserved the acclaim he was receiving. 

He was also given to explosive rages. Mr. Caesar once dangled a terrified Mr. Brooks from an 18th-story window until colleagues restrained him. With one punch, he knocked out a horse that had thrown his wife off its back, a scene that Mr. Brooks replayed in his movie "Blazing Saddles."

R.I.P. Sid Caesar. A brilliant and seminal source of modern comedy.

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen Remembers Shirley Temple

Eleanore Roosevelt & Shirley Temple

As Ray Davies of The Kinks sang, "Celluloid Heros never really die." Shirley Temple may have sailed away on the Good Ship Lollipop (where the bon-bons play on the sunny beach of Peppermint Bay) but she will forever live on in our hearts as America's sweetheart; the childhood actress/singer/dancer who kept America optimistic, at the movies, throughout the Great Depression. The American Film Institute ranks Shirley Temple the 18th greatest female Screen Legend of all time.

Ms Temple died of natural causes at age 85, forever remembered as the upbeat, cherubic child star with dimples, ringlets and winning disposition. Her look indeed inspired Bette Davis as the aging child-star Baby Jane Hudson in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

My mother was a year younger than Shirley Temple and idolized her on the silver screen from the time my grandmother would take her and her sister, my Aunt Ellen, to the Paterson, NJ movie palaces to see Ms Temple's films. Mom even had a Shirley Temple doll from the era.

Growing up, watching Shirley Temple movies on television was a must in our house. There was one every Sunday afternoon on our local NY-based channel. I loved her songs, especially "Baby, Take a Bow," "We Should Be Together," "At the Cod Fish Ball," "When I Grow Up," "Animal Crackers in My Soup" and "On the Good Ship Lollipop," which my Mom would sing to me as part of her repertoire of lullabies.

Originally slated to star in MGM's The Wizard of Oz, on loan from 20th Century-Fox, Darryl F. Zanuck pulled the plug on that casting at the last minute. MGM quickly replaced Temple with their own Judy Garland and the rest is cinema history.

Temple hosted a tv series, Shirley Temple's Storybook, from 1958-1961. I never failed to tune in, watched all the episodes and even owned the Mattel Storybook Theater, moving the cardboard characters around with a magnetic wand under the stage floor. The Theater came with cardboard sets and props as well.

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen also appreciates, to no end, the fact that the world's most famous non-alcoholic beverage was named the Shirley Temple -- basically a Cosmo with ginger ale instead of vodka -- introducing generations of children to the joys of sipping pretty pink cocktails when they grow up.

At age 17, Shirley Temple married celebrated Army Sergeant-turned-actor John Agar. They divorced six years later. In 1950, she married Charles Alden Black, a Navy Intelligence Officer and exec for the Hawaiian Pineapple Company. She was the mother of two daughters and a son.

Shirley Temple underwent a mastectomy in 1972. Wikipedia writes, "Following the operation, she announced it to the world via radio, television, and a February 1973 article for the magazine McCall's. In doing so, she became one of the first prominent women to speak openly about breast cancer."

CNN reports that "after stepping down from the silver screen... she did not fade from the public eye. She embarked on a new career as a foreign diplomat: She served in the U.S. delegation to the United Nations from 1969 to 1974 was U.S. ambassador to Ghana from 1974 to 1976, and U.S. ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989 to 1992."

A liberal Republican (the term was not always a paradox), she strongly opposed the Viet Nam War. Shirley Temple Black, as she was then known, was also in charge of arrangements for Democratic President Jimmy Carter's inauguration and inaugural ball.

In 1939, Salvador Dali created a montage, Shirley Temple, The Youngest, Most Sacred Monster of Contemporary Cinema, that still hangs at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It is a satirical, surrealistic protest of the sexualization of children by the Hollywood film industry. This topic has since become a hotly debated one in contemporary culture.

Shirley Temple, rest in peace. You are alive in our remembrances, in our hearts and, forever, at the movies.

Hell Hath No Fury Like Cher Scorned

It's a Woman's World and Warner Brothers better Take It Like a Man as Cher spoke out against her label, getting Closer to the Truth. Billboard reported two days ago:

Cher says her record label "hasn't got a great deal of interest in my CD" and that the "decision makers" at the company "don't seem to care that much."

Cher released her most recent album, "Closer to the Truth," last September on Warner Bros. Records. It debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking the diva's highest charting solo album ever.

Cher took to Twitter on Thursday, February 6, to gripe about her label, but noted that "not all" of the folks at the company are unsupportive, adding that "there (are) hard working adorable" people there, too.

Cher has been with Warner Brothers since 1996. Perhaps sensing the discrimination against older artists, especially the female of the species, Cher lashed out on Twitter: 

Just read mean TILAM review. The video had nothing 2 do with me. I was told it would only be shown in gay bars. It’s true WB’s hasn’t got a Great Deal of Interest In My CD. Not ALL,THERE R HARD WORKING ADORABLE PPL.,But Decision Makers Don’t Seem 2CareThat Much. It’s Ok YHSTLOM

YHMSTLOM means You Haven't Seen The Last Of Me in Cher shorthand. And the video in question is not available on the Internet as of yet.

Closer to the Truth, released last September, sold 285,000 copies in the U.S. alone. It is the superstar's 25th studio album. It's possible that the dance-music-friendly tracks are something Warner brass are not all that investing in promoting. "Woman's World" did go to #1 while "Take It Like a Man" stalled at #2, with My Crazy Girlfriend's "Go F***k Yourself" catapulting to the top spot like a slap in the face.

So far, Warner Brothers hasn't issued a comment regarding the diva's accusations nor said a word on its behalf in this matter.

Blondie to Receive NME's Godlike Genius Award

The BBC has reported: US band Blondie are to collect an award for their life's work at the NME Awards in London later this month.

The veteran group, who are celebrating their 40th year together, will receive the magazine's 'Godlike Genius' award at a ceremony on 26 February.

"It's out of proportion, but it's nice to be recognised," said lead singer Debbie Harry.

"I find it particularly interesting that there aren't many Americans who've been given this award before, so that's flattering," added Harry.

Blondie last charted a number one hit in 1999 with their single, "Maria" from the No Exit album. "Maria" failed to be a hit in the USA, unfortunately, peaking at # 82 on Billboard's Hot 100. The song has a devoted cult following, however, judging by audience requests shouted to the band at Blondie's 2013 Roseland concert.

New Musical Express ("NME") is a British  pop/rock magazine published since 1952. It turns 62 in March.

Blondie, the NYC-based musical group, is best known for their songs, "Heart of Glass," "Call Me," "Hanging on the Telephone," "Rapture," "Atomic," "The Tide Is High" among many others.

Mike Williams, editor at NME, stated that the band was chosen in their 40th anniversary year and stated, "They rewrote the rule book in the late '70s by dragging punk rock to the top of the charts."
Williams added that Harry, 68, is "the most iconic front-woman rock 'n' roll has ever produced."

In 2006, Blondie was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood as well.

According to Wikipedia regarding Blondie's latest double-album: "Ghosts of Download" will be released in a 2-disc package entitled "Blondie 4(0) Ever" which will celebrate the band's fortieth anniversary with the new album and a collection of Blondie's hit singles re-recorded and remixed in 2013. The band's official worldwide 40th anniversary tour will begin in February 2014 and span many countries, shows and continents.

Accepting NME's Godlike Genius Award, Blondie will also perform at the ceremony February 26th at O2 Academy in Brixton, south London.

Revenge of the CCOKCs

Kirk Cameron, anti-LGBT bigot and ex-child star of tv's Growing Pains, lashed out on Facebook following last week's GRAMMY Awards:

"How did you like the Grammy's all out assault on the traditional family? As a husband and father, I am proud to announce the release of my new family movie, MERCY RULE. Last night, the lines were drawn thick and dark. Now more than ever, we must work together to create the world we want for our children. I'm hoping that just as Fireproof restored marriages, MERCY RULE will strengthen families."

As you just read, he also just happened to have a movie to sell you.

Well, a group of actors who once co-starred, when children, in tv sitcoms, had something to say about Kirk's hate mongering in 2013. Calling themselves Child Celebrities Opposing Kirk Cameron ~ otherwise known simply as CCOKC ~ they put together a video.

The Hogan Family's Jeremy Licht replied: "As former child stars ourselves, we don't want to be associated with that horseshit!"

Mr. Belvedere's Brice Beckham added, "I'm a CCOKC and, Kirk, you're just a dick."

True Colors: the Tragic Death of an LGBT Hero

It is indeed tragic when the political climate of any country pressures an individual so much because of one's politics, gender, race or sexual orientation that it pushes him or her beyond the breaking point.

Isa Sahmarli, a mere 20 years old, took his life in his homeland of Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic, three days ago. Isa was chairman of the Azad LGBT group and a prominent figure there who received international attention. As a final protest, Isa hung himself with a rainbow flag in his Baku apartment, obviously intent on being a martyr for his cause. He left this note on his Facebook page:

I am leaving you. God bless you. This country and this world are not for me. I am going to be happy now. Tell my mother I loved her very much. I blame you all for my death. This world is not colorful enough for my colors. Farewell.

Azerbaijan decriminalized same-sex relationships in the '90s although the culture remains extremely hostile toward LGBT people. 

On-line's The New Civil Rights Movement reported today:

After months of anti-gay propaganda laws, discussions on outlawing lesbianism, and continued votes preventing same-sex marriage, the LGBT community in the former communist world suffered another setback this week.... Sahmarli... served as the head of Azad (Free) LGBT, one of the few gay-rights organizations in the country. He also organized multiple LGBT movie nights for the community in Baku, and had begun... an LGBT radio station, according to those who knew him....“Isa was so proud to be an openly gay young man in Azerbaijan. He wore it as a badge, sometimes literally, and nothing made him smile more than educating people about LGBT rights,” one of Sahmarli’s friends, who lives in Azerbaijan and requested anonymity, told The New Civil Rights Movement. “He was repelled by hate. Any kind of hate.”

I liked best what someone posted on-line at inagist.com and I echo the sentiment: "RIP, beautiful soul."

Elton John Speaks Out Against Rampant Homophobic Injustice in Russia Ahead of the Winter Olympics

"Pop singer Elton John spoke out on Wednesday against Russia's ban on homosexual propaganda, saying the law legitimized homophobia and provided legal cover to extremists," reported Reuters news service today.

"Everyone shared stories of verbal and physical abuse - at work, in bars and restaurants or in the street - since the legislation came into force last June," said the 66-year-old international pop star.

"Russia's law bans the dissemination of 'gay propaganda' among minors, and has become a focal point of criticism by the West and human rights activists who say the law is discriminatory and represents a crackdown on rights and freedoms under Putin," Reuters explained.

Last week, a pro bono legal document from a prominent international, corporate law firm crossed my desk. It was the testimony of a young man with HIV who was from Russia, currently living in the USA, but threatened with deportation. His story of the injustices, brutality and lack of any equal, basic human rights in his native country shocked me because it was so far beyond what we even read in the news and are aware of in this country and perhaps in most of the world. It was a nightmare and I can't even imagine living that kind of life where unprovoked physical, emotional and psychological brutality as well as the most extreme forms of discrimination against an individual, a citizen, are sanctioned by the authorities. This man's story is corroborated by what Elton heard from the LGBT community in Russia.

Elton John's statement, quoted in its entirety, in today's Rolling Stone on-line:

I am deeply grateful for the support of the Russian people who have welcomed and accepted me in their country ever since I first visited in 1979.

On my last visit, in December 2013, I wondered whether the new legislation banning "homosexual propaganda" might have changed that. It hadn't. I still felt the same warmth and welcome from the audiences that I have felt every time I have been in Russia.

On that trip I met with members of the LGBT community in Moscow. Although I was still welcomed as an openly gay foreigner, I wanted to really understand at first-hand what difference the legislation had made to Russian LGBT in their own country. What I heard reinforced all the media stories that have been circling since the propaganda bill became federal law: that vicious homophobia has been legitimised by this legislation and given extremists the cover to abuse people's basic human rights.

The people I met in Moscow – gay men and lesbians in their 20′s, 30′s and 40′s - told me stories about receiving threats from vigilante groups who would 'cure' them of homosexuality by dousing them with urine or beating them up. One young man was stalked outside a gay club by someone posing as a taxi driver who tried to garrotte him with a guitar string because he was a "sodomite". Everyone shared stories of verbal and physical abuse – at work, in bars and restaurants or in the street – since the legislation came into force last June. And, some of the vital work providing HIV prevention information to the gay community has been labelled "homosexual propaganda" and shut down.

It was very clear to me that, although foreigners like myself who are visiting Russia are not affected by this new law (and President Putin has recently confirmed this), it is a very different story for those living inside the country. As Maria Maksakova told her fellow Russian MPs last month: "We are seeing extremely negative consequences as a result of this law, with the growth of hate crimes."
President Putin asserts that this was not the intention, but it is undoubtedly the effect that this law has had by promoting misunderstanding and ignorance. In particular, it is very disappointing that the law explicitly links homosexuality with child sex abuse, which countless studies have shown to be conclusively wrong.

The people I met in Moscow were decent, kind, patriotic men and women who had no thought of forcing their sexuality on anyone. Whatever the intention of Russia's homosexuality and paedophilia propaganda laws, I am absolutely clear from my own personal experience that it is proving deeply dangerous to the LGBT community and deeply divisive to Russian society. I would welcome the opportunity to introduce President Putin to some Russians who deserve to be heard, and who deserve to be treated in their own country with the same respect and warm welcome that I received on my last visit.

Remembering Martin Luther King in 2014

If Martin Luther King had lived, he would be 85 on January 15, 2014.

The struggle for civil rights continues with the struggle for equality. Although the Constitution clearly states "all men are created equal," we have been living in a kind of apartheid in the USA. That is, certain people have a full set of rights and other people have their lesser set of rights. Uh-uh, honeys! Not American, not Constitutional and none of us are having it.

It was the Suffrage movement that, in 1920, brought about the 19th amendment that "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

America's Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968) was based on non-violent civil disobedience to end discrimination and inequality based on race. Martin Luther King, a preacher, activist, humanitarian, and leader led this movement and became a martyr when he was assassinated in March 1968.

Last year, Irene Monroe wrote in Huffington Post: [King's] now-deceased wife, Coretta Scott King... addressed the LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal [in 1998], asserting that LGBTQ rights and civil rights are the same. "I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King's dream to make room at the table of brother and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people," she said.

We remember and give our many, grateful thanks to Rev. Martin Luther King as the struggle for equality continues.

Exclusive Q&A with Dr Frank Spinelli, Author of Pee-Shy

Frank Spinelli, M.D.'s  Pee-Shy appeared in bookstores and became available on the internet at the start of the new year. I more or less previewed the book when I copy edited the initial draft before it ever went to the publisher (Kensington Books). (If nothing else, we both learned how to properly spell Barcalounger.) Pee-Shy is infused with drama, humor, wit and even suspense, and I think most readers will find it hard to put down. This is a powerfully and frankly (yes, pun intended) told memoir and the ramifications of childhood sexual abuse that last a lifetime. Highly recommended and I wish Dr. Spinelli every success with it.
 
Dj Buddy Beaverhausen: Dr Spinelli, thank you so much for doing this Q&A with us at Leave It to Beaverhausen and Queens NYC Our City Internet Radio. I was so impressed by Pee-Shy and I have to tell you there is so much in it that I can relate to. The personal insecurities, the misguided (even emotionally masochistic) romantic involvements and -- at the heart of your memoir -- being molested at age 11. What compelled you to write this story in the first place? 
Dr Frank Spinelli: Well, first of all, it was something of a catharsis for me. I felt the need to free myself of thoughts and feelings that were pent up in me. But, most of all, I hope it brings child sexual abuse out of the closet because it's far more widespread in this country than most people know.
Dr   Spinelli: I had always wanted to tell my story, but the subject of child molestation has been DBB: Your memoir is very, very candid and, when I read your first draft, my immediate but, at the time, unexpressed concern was whether the public at large was ready for this. However, it is obviously a critical success and very well received and embraced by its readers (five out of five stars on Amazon's customer reviews). Were you surprised by the praise and the reception this has received?  

DFS: Yes, surprised and thankful. The literary reviews have been wonderful, but to read reviews by readers is so humbling. Of course, you hope people buy your book, but when someone actually takes the time to write a good review... there’s nothing better than that.
 
DBB: I know your manuscript went through various drafts, rewrites and perhaps more than one editor. Would you tell us a little about the process of getting Pee-Shy from first draft to final copy? 
DFS: I wrote a first draft and my agent read it. Then we had several conversations about what Pee-Shy was actually about. Once we derived that it was about a family in which one of its members suffered a traumatic experience, I went back and focused on that particular part. It’s not just about a boy who was molested. It’s more about how a childhood trauma affects someone well into adulthood, and how that person navigates his life so that the trauma doesn’t define him. I’m very adamant about referring to myself as a survivor and not a victim of child sexual abuse.

DBB: Wasn't there one point where an editor had a problem with the title of the book and suggested you change it? 
DFS: My previous agent said, “No publisher will go for that title,” and so for a time, I called it Gone the Son. Then I switched agents. The first thing my current agent, David Forrer, said was, "You need to change the title because it's dreary." I explained that I originally wanted Pee-Shy. He loved it. Fortunately, the publisher did too. Most authors don't have final say in choosing the title or the cover art. I was very, very lucky Kensington shared my vision. Pee-Shy sets the tone of the book. Yes, it’s a serious subject but there is humor in it.
 
DBB: Gone the Son would be an awful title! Pshaw, thank God it's Pee-Shy! So happy the published book is titled that and it ends the same way you originally wrote it. I think it's the perfect ending and even a touch poetic. Since your first draft, the man who sexually abused you as a child (William Fox, your Scoutmaster) died in prison in 2013. You address that in the book in a single, factual sentence. But how did you actually feel when you received this news? 
DFS: I was numb for weeks. My therapist said I was grieving. I remember thinking, grieve my molester? No way. Actually, I was grieving the loss of a part of childhood. Bill Fox’s death didn’t bring me "closure." It simply gave me peace in knowing that he was never going to touch another boy again.

DBB: Pee-Shy has a rather kaleidoscopic narrative of vivid memories and characters. It's poignant, sad but also with flashes of humor. When you sat down to write this book initially, how did things flow from your memory onto the page? Structuring this into a cohesive whole had to have been difficult I imagine. 
DFS: Growing up, I read Stephen King novels. He had such a way with writing scenes and dialogue involving children. So I fashioned Pee-Shy like an early Stephen King novel: beginning in the present, flashing back to the past and then returning to the present. For many people who experience a traumatizing event, the memories remain so vivid because the trauma leaves an imprint. I had no problem recalling the events of those two years I was being molested. Conversely, there are individuals who block out the memories of a trauma and, in Pee-Shy, that is made painfully clear in the character of Johnathan.

DBB: Fox's home comes across as a very dark, foreboding place in the book. I know you're a big Hitchcock fan and, what with the bedridden mother, it has a touch of Norman Bates/Psycho to it, doesn't it? In fact, when you first saw Psycho, did it by any chance summon up thoughts of Bill Fox and his house?  
DFS: That’s so funny you mentioned Hitchcock and Psycho.... Bill Fox’s home reminded me of Norman Bates’ house, complete with the old woman in the corner. As a child, it was a unsettling place to visit. I never knew what to expect when I climbed up the stairs to his room. I can still see the guns on his desk, the Farrah Fawcett poster over his bed and the drab wood paneling on the walls. That rooms still haunts my dreams.

DBB: Two adjectives that come to mind about this book are "brave" and "bold." Did you sense you were being either (or both) while you were writing your memoir?  
DFS: The words that came to mind while I was writing were “obsessed” and “driven.” I was living in a tunnel of focus, completely oblivious to my surroundings because all I wanted to do was write this book. As you know, my husband became ill while I was writing. I incorporated that into the story because I wanted to show how life goes on even though I was working with the police to apprehend Bill. Despite whatever notions I had of being Nancy Drew, I had to stop solving my mystery to be with my family. 

DBB: You previously had a success with your wellness manual, The Advocate Guide to Gay Men's Health (available, along with Pee-Shy, at Amazon.com). I seem to remember you once saying that Dr Ruth inspired you to write this. Am I right about this or did I just dream this up? 

DFS: You have a very good memory. I owe everything to Dr. Ruth's radio show. She was my sexual myth buster. As a young gay boy growing up with staunch Italian Catholic immigrant parents, I didn’t learn about the birds and bees. I had no idea where babies came from. So you can imagine how naïve I was about gay sex. Listening to Dr. Ruth in the back seat of my parents’ Cadillac as we drove home from my grandfather’s house over the Verazzano Bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island, I clutched my Culture Club pin, praying my mother wouldn’t turn the channel because I was desperate to hear what Dr. Ruth had to say. After I wrote the Advocate Guide, I met Dr. Ruth. We had lunch and I kissed her on the cheek as a thank you.

DBB: Great story! You're donating a portion of your earnings from Pee-Shy to the Gay Men's Health Crisis. Can you tell us a little about your involvement with GMHC? 
DFS: I’m proud to be on the board of the first and oldest HIV service organization. Children who were abused are more likely to engage in unprotected sex. The fastest rising rates of HIV infection are among African American men who have sex with men ages 13-24. I've been treating men and women with HIV my entire career. Being a member of GMHC has been a wonderful experience, and so supporting them with the proceeds from Pee-Shy felt like the right thing to do. 

DBB: Thank you, Dr. Spinelli. My best wishes for you and this brilliant, new memoir and to Chad, your whole family and, of course, to Hoffman. Now, are you ready to hit the talk show circuit? And, when they make a film version of Pee-Shy, who should direct and who should portray the adult Frank Spinelli? 
DFS: Well, it goes without saying that it would have to be an Italian director like Martin Scorsese to capture the family dynamic and who better to play me in a movie than … I don’t know…. James Franco? I mean, if you’re going to make a movie about your life, the guy playing you should be handsome. Otherwise, why bother. 

http://www.amazon.com/Pee-Shy-Frank-Spinelli/dp/0758291329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375132822&sr=8-1&keywords=pee-shy

Debbie Harry: Vanity Fair 2014 Fashion Idol

Debbie Harry photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair magazine 2014

Conde Nast publication, Vanity Fair, tips us off about its article in the new February issue: In honor of Blondie’s upcoming 40th-anniversary reunion tour, and Annie Leibovitz’s portrait of the singer in the February issue of Vanity Fair, we thought it high time to take a look back at the greatest fashion moments of one of rock ’n’ roll’s preeminent female icons. From punk tees and bodysuits to Stephen Sprouse vintage couture, a survey of four decades of Debbie Harry’s iconoclastic style.

There will be a layout honoring Debbie as punk's fashion goddess. Plus the magazine will feature an exclusive photograph by Annie Leibovitz, an icon herself. (See above.) http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/10/happy-birthday-annie-leibovitz.html

I recently enjoyed Blondie's performance in NYC at Roseland, and one of the burning questions on the audience's collective tongue was: "Does anyone know what she's going to wear tonight?" Turned out a little black dress was the style for the evening, it suited her well and she knew how to work it. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/10/debbie-harry-and-blondie-rule-roseland.html

Pretty Baby: Harry in 1970, 6 yrs before debut album w/ Blondie

Debbie Harry is a true diva and fashion plate; certainly punk's poster girl in the '70s, and a perennial rock/disco fashion icon for over forty years.

We look forward to getting our mitts on this Vanity Fair issue for this article alone. Congrats, Ms Harry, on getting the recognition you certainly deserve!

AB FAB: The Movie Is ON, Sweetie Dahlings!

Do you have the champs handy? Ok, sweeties, this is swell! Huffington Post reported today that Jennifer Saunders absolutely fabulously confirmed the making of an "Absolutely Fabulous" feature film on the UK's Jonathan Ross Show over the weekend.

"Rumors about a movie of the classic British sitcom have been swirling all year," writes HuffPost about AbFab.

They went on to tell us: "Yes, well I have to do it now because I've threatened it a lot," said Saunders while on Ross' show this weekend. Saunders then continued, "And then Joanna Lumley kept announcing it and saying, 'Yes, she's going to do it, she's going to do it' and then Dawn French on our radio show at Christmas said, 'I bet £100,000 that you don't write it.' So now I have to write it, otherwise I have to pay her £100,000."

Saunders also revealed that her procrastination is one of the reasons the film has taken so long, as well as "second album syndrome." She explains to Ross, "Once you've had a bit of success, the last thing you want to do is go and make a flop. So the biggest fear in me is that it won't be good enough. I'm really nervous about it."

We're sure the brilliant Ms Saunders will come through with rainbow colors and bells on no doubt.

Thanks, especially, to Queens Our City Radio's Chris Colby for being the first of many to tip me off and encourage me to write this up. And thank you to you all! 

This is such delicious news, we're salivating as we type, dahlings!

R.I.P., Carl Goodman, ACT UP Activist

Carl & Mario

This just in from gay and human rights advocate, San Francisco's Michael Petrelis, regarding the suicide of activist Carl Goodman, from Petrelis' blog http://mpetrelis.blogspot.com/:

"Earlier this morning, I spoke with my friend Mario Cavero who told me the tragic news that his beloved husband and my cherished friend had died yesterday in Bristol, Rhode Island. Sobbing with sadness, I needed to get off the phone and grieve and Mario understood and said we would of course talk again later. This news was a shock and totally unexpected.

When I checked in with our friend Wayne Harris up in Portland, Oregon, he delivered the news that Carl had committed suicide and we both had to process that info. Wayne shared this story from the East Bay RI news site:

A Bristol man jumped to his death off the Mt. Hope Bridge Sunday afternoon. Carl Goodman, 58, of Bristol, was pronounced dead at Rhode Island Hospital at 4:42 p.m. Jan. 5."

As of this writing, any links regarding press coverage of this story have yet to surface on the Internet.

Petrelis added:

"Mr. Goodman was recently interviewed by the Providence Journal for and article about Obamacare. The Providence Journal reported that Mr. Goodman was “a consultant who does business development and training for lawyers.

"As I've gone through my morning routine, with tears and sadness, and a few giggles at the good times we shared over the decades, I have tried to come to grips with the fact that Carl was surviving all these years with AIDS and chose to end his life with an act of suicide....  Carl was with me at [Larry Kramer's] now-famous talk that led to the formation of ACT UP and participated in many early actions, and was an occasional member of the Treatment + Data Committee.

"Ok, the tears are flowing again as I write this and in the background I'm listening to the classic album "Gonna Take a Miracle" from Laura Nyro and LaBelle. One of my earliest and fondest memories of time with Carl and Tom Hannon at their Greenwich Village Perry Street studio was listening to the album and we three queen singing along with the girls.

"Rest in peace, Carl. You were and are very much loved."

We are saddened by this news and mourn the loss of a great activist in the social struggle to bring about treatment and policies to ultimately bring an end to the scourge of AIDS. He was a friend to many here in New York including Queens Our City Radio's Barbara Sobel who tipped me off to this story.

R.I.P., Carl. You will be missed and remembered by many.

The Goodbye Girl and 1,000 Gowns

The annual event, Night of 1,000 Gowns, today announced on its Facebook page: "BREAKING NEWS!! Oscar-nominated Actress, Marsha Mason (i.e. Good-Bye Girl, Chapter Two, Heartbreak Ridge...etc.) has agreed to serve along side Cyndi Lauper & Joan Rivers as Honorary Chairperson for the 28th Annual Night of a Thousand Gowns on March 29, 2014!"

That will be one powerful triumvirate of divas guesting, let me tell you, people! And this event is a charity gala that will benefit God's Love We Deliver and the True Colors Fund as well.

Ms Mason, who has a distinguished career in theater and was once married to playwright  Neil Simon, is also an Oscar-nominated actress for her roles in "Cinderella Liberty" and "The Goodbye Girl." She has guested on tv shows, including Seinfeld, Frasier, Will & Grace and Lipstick Jungle.

"Their Most Imperial Sovereign Majesties Emperor XXII Wen-D Bouvier Pinkhouse and Empress XXVII Gracie Steeles and the membership of the Imperial Court of New York cordially invite you to the most lavish, glamorous, outrageous event in New York City!" declares Night of 1,000 Gowns of this year's event. It will take place on Saturday, March 29, 2014, from 6 PM to midnight at The Marriott Marquis in Time Square, NYC.

The event is known as a dressy one for the largely LGBT crowd. "Creative Formal, Black Tie Festive, or Dress Uniform" is their dress code.

Press for the event adds: "Marsha will be in attendance, so come out & celebrate with us! Buy your tickets now! Great seats seats are still available (You choose them) Go to: www.icny.tix.com — at Night of a Thousand Gowns."