When My Worlds Collide

Friday night, in celebration of my sister being in town with two of her closest friends, I decided to gather some of my favorite people in the City to dine with me and the girls at my favorite tapas restaurant, Sala (Bowery @ Great Jones). The evening went better than expected and just as I had hoped. A few hours full of warm goat cheese, cool sangria & random conversation.

In addition to the three visiting Bama girls and myself, the table was rounded out by four of the most interesting people I’ve met since moving home over three years ago.

R.S. dates back to Miami, after which we made the trek here together and pursued our big city dreams simultaneously with the help of many happy hours (aka bitching sessions) at Verlaine. My love of Crasians began the day I met this fabulous fellow lush.

J.K. has been my most loyal confidante on Fantasy Island ever since our paths first crossed a few months after my arrival. His couch was my safe haven for months between Harlem and Alphabet City, and it’s quite possible that I would not still be here if it wasn’t for his generosity.

K.H. has become my rock in my professional life over the past 2 years, and the thought of losing her to her dreams in just a short while is not something I’m ready to accept. But my love for this future rock star could never waiver after all we’ve endured together at the hand of the Jews.

S.R. is my newest friend and cohort in the game of gay here in the city that never sleeps and will always fuck you when you least expect it. We share an obsession for hot boys and unhealthy food and both have a soft side that we hate to admit we possess.

An eight-person reservation made with both hesitation and excitement. An evening made only slightly awkward by my sister’s refusal to ingest alcohol and my refusal to be anything but obliterated. Another summer in Manhattan – the first for some, the last for others. I’m not sure how many more I have here; all I know is that it’s great to have friends that you know you can count on and that you feel strongly enough about to do anything for.

This may have been written with 2005 Sauvignon Blanc on the brain, but that doesn’t make it any less true. It probably makes it more so.

Cheers to Spanish tapas and its power to bring people from all different backgrounds together for a night of celebration in honor of the visiting Southerners and the hosting birthday boy! 21 for ever :)

Broken English

Last night I saw the film of the summer (in my opinion). Yes, I'm definitely biased when it comes to (the mother of my future child) Parker Posey. But there's no denying what I saw.

And after reading Glenn Whipp’s (Los Angeles Daily News) piece about the film, this is what I like about it (the article that is). I liked everything about the film:

The engaging-enough romantic comedy "Broken English" focuses on Nora (Parker Posey), a mid-30s Manhattan career gal given to panic attacks and excessive drinking. But then you might be, too, if you attracted the kind of men Nora does -- a parade of losers and users distinguishable only by the methods with which they lie to Nora and themselves.

"Broken English," written and directed by Zoe Cassavetes (daughter of Rowlands and the late filmmaker John Cassavetes), can occasionally feel like an arthouse episode of "Sex in the City." But Cassavetes gives the movie a bittersweet truthfulness that distinguishes it from the pack, allowing Posey the chance to play Nora as not just another bewildered singleton with a shoe fetish but as a woman realizing that happiness and healing can only come from within.

Of course, it doesn't hurt Nora's cause to have a charming and handsome Frenchman pursuing her with an intensity that matches Pepe Le Pew -- only without the odor. Nora meets Julien (Melvil Poupaud) at a Fourth of July party. She distrusts his sincerity -- with her romantic history, you would, too -- but his passion and soulfulness soon wears her down. She's in love.

Naturally, there's a catch, a complication that takes Nora out of her element and, in some respects, forces her to face herself for the first time in her life. Cassavetes handles this with a subtlety that's free from cutie-pie theatrics, imbuing "Broken English" with an underlying sadness not normally found in the genre. And if the movie's ending duplicates "Before Sunset," right down to the dialogue, at least Cassavetes has the taste to crib from the best. "Broken English" is a promising debut for Cassavetes, and something of a career-best for Posey. They make a great team.

I agree.

My take on the film?

It was just what I needed at the exact time that I needed it. A film with Parker Posey in her element, as a quirky New Yorker with not much else going for her besides her cynicism and forgiving liver. It’s about quick love and not being afraid to live in the moment and snatch it up when you think you've found it.

And yes, the awkward blind date scene was filmed right around the corner from my office! Once of the things I heart about Parker Posey is her brilliant use of physical comedy, and this film definitely let’s her shine in that respect. Definitely a “career-best"! I f**king loved it.

For more info: click here

On an unrelated note:

if you have Showtime on Demand, run (don’t walk) to your remote and press 220 > proceed to movies and select Filty Gorgeous. This original dramedy from Oscar-nominated writer Ron Nyswaner ("Philadelphia") and director Robert Allan Ackerman ("The Reagans") charts the lives of male and female employees, as well as their chic clients, at NYC’s most exclusive and expensive escort service. Isabella Rossellini stars with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Eva Simon.

F**king HOTT!!

Enjoy kids!

Reality Rears Its Ugly Head

Speaking of reality biting, it did/does in a huge way today. Back to work, back to reality, and back to everything that I know to be true that I’ve been denying. Yes, I’m being a bit dramatic, but it’s been a LONG weekend in every since of the word.

The past 6 days are a blur, and now I have Rihanna’s ‘Rehab’ on replay for good reason.

This is how I feel about my holiday weekend:

And all of a sudden you went and left
I didn't know how to follow
It's like a shock that spun me around
And now my heart's dead
I feel so empty and hollow
It's gonna take a miracle to bring me back
And you're the one to blame

I guess that's what I get for wishful thinking
Should've never let you enter my door

It's like you were my favorite drug
The only problem is that you was using me
In a different way than I was using you
But now that I know it's not meant to be
I gotta go, I gotta wean myself off of you

It’s official: I need to drink less and live more; spend less and write more. I’m physically, emotionally and socially hung-the-fuck-over.

The next adventure starts Monday. My sis and her two BFFs are flying in for a week to take over my pad. If all goes according to expected, it’ll be just the week in rehab that this body needs!

Cheers to that, and to me sobering up from this funk in the next 24 hours. :)

A Must: Holding Trevor

Set in Los Angeles, Holding Trevor follows its title character on his cynical journey of self-exploration as he tries to cope with romance, friends, and everything in between. A sort of 'Reality Bites' from the vantage point of a young gay protagonist.

Um, I heart Reality Bites! And, hello, I'm the gay protagonist of my life. This movie is basically about me, so everyone must see it! But it's still in the "festival phase" it seems, so even us New Yorkers might have to wait a few weeks before getting our eyes on the goods.

Starring: Brent Gorski, Jay Brannan (Shortbus), Melissa Searing, Eli Kranski, Christopher Wyllie