Archive for April 19th, 2007

In my opinion, sex, literature, and laughter are all very good things. So, in an attempt to titillate my brain, I stopped by the In the Flesh Erotic Reading Series hosted by the erotic writer/editor and BJ afficionado, Rachel Kramer Bussel (who is also a lovely individual). I’m pleased to report that it surpassed all of my expectations.

All the writers who read were good or great. From stories of accidentally winding up in a porn with Annie Sprinkles, to “the time I banged a clown,” nearly everything had me either crying with laughter or honestly touched. Stories of sloppy sex elicited goofy grins, while hearfelt examinations of ones own sluttiness had me sighing with sympathy. Rachel really does a fabulous job of bringing together a solid group of erotic readers without ever dipping into the seediness or fakey cheese-factor I tend to associate with all things porn.

The crowd was packed into the space, seemed fixated on the speakers the entire time, and were obviously having a good time. If you’re cruising for swingers or someone to give you a different sort of happy ending, you might find a few freaks (I mean that in the nicest possible way) in the crowd, but most people just seemed like highly-literate, normal, geeky people who happen to enjoy sex and fun.

The series is hosted every 3rd Wednesday of the month (so check your calendar) in the upstairs bar section of Happy Ending (at Forsythe and Broome), the vibe of which–like high school sex on a summer night in the back of your Dad’s Buick–was dark, hot, sweaty, cramped, and hilariously awkward. While a more comfortable space would have been nice, I’d hate to see the vibe ruined by a less intimate space, so as long as it stays there suck it up and go early for a good seat.

Pretty people: there will be ugly people there, and they probably have more and better sex than you. It’s true. If this bothers you, please don’t go. As for the rest of you, I’ll probably see you there next time.

Thanks for the photo Viviane. For more pics check out http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianvan/sets/72157600109296432/

NOTE: SPOILERS CONTAINED WITHIN!!!!

I know it’s not right to speak ill of the dead. . . but Captain America was an asshole.

Okay. At this point, I’ve already pissed off thousands of Cap fans, and I’m not sure where to begin on my assessment, so I think the start of Civil War is a good place to start.

And Civil War began with the deaths of 612 ordinary, non-superpowered American citizens in the town of Stamford Connecticut.

And suddenly, all the inner dramas, all the nit-picky little soap-operas between all the super-heros, super-villains, and all the kinda-sorta half-way between-the-two sociopaths like Wolverine and The Punisher, who would be considered serial killers if they weren’t just so darn sexy, NONE OF IT MATTERED!!!

What mattered was that regular people like you and me died so that a group of amateur living weapons could get publicity.

These man-made Gods on Earth began at the dawn of the second World War, and the oldest one to persist to this day was a government-funded, government-produced Super-Soldier project performed on a flawlessly devout American patriot who commited himself to the service of the American Dream ever since.

But the American Dream never planned for mutants, radio-active animal-human hybrids, cyborgs, telepaths, alien symbiotes, et al. And if I had to choose between the safety of maybe 250 million non-powered American citizens and the rights of a few hundred walking WMDs to wear masks and fight/commit crimes at their own discretion, then there really is no choice.

Super-heroes are constantly asked to make sacrifices to protect the “mortals” around them. Now, that sacrifice is revealing themselves to, and working for the U.S. Government. Apparently for some, that was too much to ask.

Captain America (who led the anti-Super-Human-Registration resistance) has always had the problem of living in the past. When the only Super-human was a stalwart, loyal soldier fighting against the greatest evil of the 20th century. Even then, super-humans were a Government Sanctioned Project

Now, in the 21st century Marvel Universe, With so many super-powered beings all across the globe, regulation has become a necessity. And there are no two people I would trust to manage that task then the two greatest minds of the Marvel Universe: Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic.)

Noted, Stark and Richards had their share of mistakes, the biggest of which was the absolute hubris of cloning Thor. That was unforgivable. Otherwise, I felt most of Tony’s decisions were if not right, then at least justified

Cap may be the Ultimate Soldier and Patriot, but he’s no genius. He’s simple. He thinks with his gut, and in this case, his gut-instinct may have been pure, but it was wrong. And at the end of Civil War, he finally realized it at the hands of the heros of the real world: Firefighters, Police officers, and EMTs finally made Cap realize the pointlessness of his stand.

And without Cap, there was no real resistance. Luke Cage and Daredevil are the paranoid brute thugs of the superhero universe who will always thumb their noses at authority. They can’t help themselves.

The Young Avengers are a bunch of amateur punks who would jump on to any bandwagon lead by the Living Legend of WWII, and the rest of the resistance (aka The Secret Avengers) were just sucked in by their guilty consciences. (Spider-Man’s decision to change sides halfways through Civil War are the most tragic and regretable example of Cap’s charisma leading to others making bad choices.)

I could rant forever about this, but instead, lets discuss it at the first PANELGEEK discussion group, TBA for early May.

In the meantime, for the more human side of the Civil War saga, I reccomend you pick up Civil War: Frontline

Which explores

A. the mission of two journalists to explore the details of each side of the war and

B. the story of Robbie Baldwin aka Speedball, one of the “heroes” “responsible” for the Stamford tragedy, and his transformation through guilt into a much darker, much more haunted anti-hero.

Written more intelligently than most of the other battle-driven comics, and concludes each chapter with a vignette alluding to a different war. One linking Spider-man’s internal conflict to the Japanese internment of WWII, and Iron Man’s consolidation of power to the rise of Julius Ceasar at the Rubicon in 59 B.C..

Smart stuff.

You really have to love a Lanford Wilson script- I mean come on- the man’s a cool playwright & he’s not even dead, yet. (Happy 80th B-Day Lanford!)

I was excited to watch the The Sackett Group’s production of The Mound Builders at the Brooklyn Music School Playhouse directed by John C. Scheffler; and was taken on a thrilling ride through a tale of love affairs, broken hearts, violence, deceit, mistrust, betrayal, secret bi-sexual fantasies, who the baby daddy, drunken stupidity and possible disappearance/murder.

The first 2 minutes of low energy made me a teensy bit worried, but the pace picked up quite quickly & pulled me right into a dynamic performance. It was a bit like a choose your own adventure game- you kinda got to pick your own ending or at least got to draw your own freaky conclusions- fun!

The straightforward lighting design smoothly transitioned the intentional lapses in time. The set was simple, yet completely adequate. What was up with that cheesy desk, though?

Noteworthy performances by Johnathan Pereira (Dr. Dan Loggins) and Deborah Harris (Delia DK Erikson); Pereira’s realistic presence brought believability to this physical role. Harris, stationary for most of the show delighted us with her killer line delivery and interaction with other characters.

By far, the most challenging role in the Mound Builders is that of Chad Jasker, powerfully played by Paul Newport. The most natural and comfortable performer on stage- Newport eats, lives & breathes Chad Jasker. The play is worth coming to see for Newport’s performance alone.

Of course, even with a good production there are always little poopsies along the way, so- here’s what bugged me:
1) Were those twist off beer caps?? I’m guessing that’s a no no for 1975.

2) 3 women at imaginary window downstage describing what the audience can’t see to move the plot along- okay fine- it’s a well-known theatrical technique built into the script, but WAIT… this blocking was sloppy. Where exactly WAS that imaginary window? The gals were looking in different directions! Seriously guys, it’s called the 4th wall & it’s taught in like Theatre 101. So, pick ONE spot, please.

3) Play jumped back & forth in time, really should have been made more clear- if office represented a different time, then leave it that way- it was confusing!

4) Sorry, but you lost me on some of the costumes. In this kind of play, if you notice the costumes it’s probably not a good thing. One character’s wardrobe in particular was all over the place & didn’t make sense at all. (But hey- Jean had a FABULOUS pair of wedges! I totally want a pair for spring to go with my new pedi.)

5) Was that elastic on the ancient burial mask? Okay, maybe I’m easily distracted, but it drove me crazy, nonetheless- next time maybe find a period appropriate alternative.

Now, back to the good stuff: I liked this show a lot- liked the theatre, liked the cast- impressive. This, the solid directing, plus the friendly antics of Producing Director Dov Lebowitz Nowak both before and after the performance- will make me come see another Sackett Group production.

Overall: Great show, very well done– support NYC theatre and go see it!!! Runs through April 29th Thursday’s through Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 3 PM.