Right now is a very exciting time for men’s fashion.  Ralph Lauren, the leader in American fascination with rugged leather and the American Frontier, is bringing the logo back!  The recently rolled out line of polo shirts features their trademarked polo rider logo, now called The Big Pony. The Big Pony will take precedence on the front of their shirts, bringing the logo back.  As I go through the many men’s fashion magazines I did notice that Dolce & Gabana (“How do you spell Gabana?”) has gone Nautical! 

No Pink Wool

Newest outspoken-woman for PETA, Pink, has gotten fired up against Australian wool. She says that she has evidence that supports the claims that they treat sheep inhumanely and that their means are “so sadistic that it makes you consider clearing out your closet.”  In a press conference last week she called for a boycott.  PETA has released a video narrated by Pink with gruesome footage. 

You can watch the video right here! To see this video. Everyone needs to watch this.  Even though I am not a PETA member, maybe this time they have found something we need to pay attention to—Merino Wool.  Learn more at SaveTheSheep.com

On Display

Storks Gets Ricki Stuart 

	Robert Bagley
	Sally Cooper
	Tin Ly

Currently, at the Coral Springs Museum of Art is happy to present a photo exhibit by Robert Bagley, experimental paintings by Sally Cooper, and dimensional work by Tin Ly.  This is going on now through February 17^th.  The Coral Springs Museum of Art is located at 2855 Coral Springs Drive.  You can call them at 954*340-5000 or csmart.org. 

Marilyn in Boca 

Right now, in the Boca Raton Museum of Art you can catch their current exhibit, Life as Legend:  Marilyn Monroe.  This show contains more than 300 works by 80 different artists all centered on the film icon.  There are works by Eve Arnold, Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Yasumasa Morimura, and the incorporable Andy Warhol.   The Boca Raton Museum of Art can be found at www.bocamuseum.org or at 501 Plaza Real in Mizner Park , Boca Raton, Florida or by phone at 561.392.2500.

We’ll Make a Lover Out of You, Thru Jan 21^st  

We’ll Make a Lover Out of You is curated by Francesco Locastro at The ArtCenter/South Florida. The Gallery is located at 800 Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach. 305*538-7887.   

Cradle of Christianity 

This week marked the opening of The Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale’s latest exhibit, Cradle of Christianity:  Jewish and Christian Treasures from the Holy Land.  This exhibit provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to learn about aspects of early Jewish life, the concurrent birth of Christianity, and how the two faiths influence each other by presenting archeological treasures excavated in Israel during the last century.  This exhibition will travel two only two other venues in the US has extraordinary biblical artifacts from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.  You can go to www.moafl.com for more information and to purchase tickets, and the museum is located at One East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.  For any questions, you can call them at 954*525-5500

Chihuly is Back! Until May 31^st 

Right now, at the Fairchild Gardens, you can get a second chance this year to see the amazing blown-glass objects mixed in with the natural flowers and botanicals in Chihuly at Fairchild Part II.  On Sunday, December 10^th, Dale Chihuly will be visiting the garden from 11am to noon for a book signing.  The Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden is located at 10901 Old Cutler Road in Coral Gables and you can go to www.fairchildgarden.org or call them at305*667-1651. 

Chicano Visions:  American Painters on the Verge

A nationally touring collection of more than 80 works, mostly oils and acrylics that date from 1963 to 2003 that depict life from the Mexican-American artists viewpoint.  Cheech Marin, known from the Cheech and Chong movies, donates most of his personal collection that illustrate urban life and the Latino culture.  The collection, which has been traveling for the past five years, can be found at the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale at 1 East Las Olas Blvd or for further information and gallery times, go to www.moafl.org or call them at 954*525-5500. 

Graphic Noise at Atlantic University through Jan 27^th  

Atlantic University is proud to host, Graphic Noise:  Art at 1,000 Decibels.  Graphic Noise is a big and bountiful exhibition of contemporary concert posters that is currently touring the country.  With nearly 500 posters by over 100 artists representing eight countries, this exhibition provides an exhilarating visual culmination of work from skilled screen printers, illustrators, and graphic designers. Graphic Noise is organized by the Museum of Design in Atlanta and will be at the Schmidt Center Gallery at Atlantic University located at 777 Glades Road in Boca Raton, FL.  .  There will be an Opening Reception Thursday, November 9^th at 7pm and the show will run through January 27^th, 2007.    

Bodies Found in South Miami

The controversial and gruesome exhibit displaying the human body from the perspective of the bones and muscle tissue titled Bodies…The Exhibition, which I reported was in Tampa and then New York City, is now in the area at the Shops at Sunset Place.  Bodies will be on display until March 25^th and tickets cost between $16-$22.50.  The Shops at Sunset Place is located at 5701 Sunset Drive Suite 105 in South Miami.

For further information call 866*866-8265, 305*663-0873 or see them on the web at www.bodiestheexhibition.com. 

Funney / Strange

Through January 28^th, the Norton Museum of Art is featuring William Wegman’s collection of photographs that are, for a lack of a better word, Funney/Strange (yes, I spelled funney, the way they spelled funney).  Within the collection are more than 200 works, among them the signature 24 X 20 Polaroids, early black and white altered photographs, paintings, drawings, collages, art books, videos, and film. 

They also have Before The Camera: Remaking Reality and the Make-Believe until January 7^th.   This is a collection comprising works from local and national collections that looks at the distinction between “taking” and “making” photographs.  Historically, photographers “took” them while artists “make” an artwork.  Within the past couple of decades, creativity has merged.  See what they have found.    

The Norton Museum of Art is located at 1451 South Olive Avenue in West Palm Beach.  You can find them at www.norton.org or at 561*832-5198. 

In Remembrance

This week marked the passing of former President Gerald Ford.  He took the helm as the American President in 1974 after Richard Nixon resigned and led the nation through political turmoil.  There will be a state funeral planned in both Washington, DC and California with public viewings before his internment on Wednesday, January 3^rd.  He was 93 years old.  You can go to www.cnn.com for further information and streaming videos.   

The Scream Might Be Damaged

As readers of this column might know, I have been giving updates to the Scream painting by Edvard Munch and how it was stolen, damaged, returned, and lastly, one of the thieves responsible died.  Well, the latest is that the damage may be too severe to be repaired.  This comes about as the result of a 200-page assessment that was turned over last week to the police in Oslo, Norway.  The Scream and Madonna, which were recovered in August, (two years later), have water damage and one corner has abrasion damage.  The Munch Museum of Oslo is trying to determine if the damage can be repaired.   

Local Theatre Buzz

Forbidden Broadway:  SVU,  Dec 26^th thru Dec 31^st  

Starting Tuesday December 26^th, and running until Sunday December 31^st, Forbidden Broadway:  Special Victim Unit will be at The Kravis Center for Performing Arts.  Fans of current Broadway and those familiar with the movie series Scary Movie will find this hysterical.  This contains musical parodies of Broadway’s most revered songs and performers and is Wickedly good fun.  This latest edition targets such hits as:  Avenue Q, Wicked, and Movin’ Out and poke fun at such celebrities as:  Julie Andrews, Many Patinkin, Robert Goulet, and several more.  For tickets and more information, go to www.kravis.org or call 561*832-7469. 

Spamalot, Jan 9-21^st 

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is proud to host the 2005 Tony Award Winner for Best Musical— Monty Python’s Spamalot.  Tickets are available at www.browardcenter.org or through their Box Office at 954*462-0222. 

Sir Elton John & Tim Rice’s AIDA 

Tickets are on sale now for the timeless love story converted from the opera AÏDA.  The musical, will be at The Sinatra Theatre January 2^nd, and tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or you can charge by phone at 954*523-3309.  The Sinatra Theatre is presented by the Bank Atlantic Center and, for further information you can go to www.theaidatour.com.   

I Want My Tee Shirt! Dec 30^th thru Feb 11^th 

The Caldwell Theatre Company is proud to announce that they will be performing Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias!  Yes, I want to find a way of getting printed up, I Smacked Ouiser Boudreaux! (Yes, I checked with IMDB.com).  The Caldwell Theatre Company is located at 7873 North Federal Highway in Boca Raton and you can call them at 877*245-7432 or at www.caldwelltheatre.com. 

BINGO Comes to Stage Door Theatre

Held over thru Jan 28^th!

The Stage Door Theatre is presenting their latest musical, BINGO.  This is a splashy, zippy, outrageously funny new musical about three pals that have driven through a terrible storm in the name of their weekly obsession.  In between the number calling, strange rituals, and fierce competitions—love blossoms and long lost friends reunite!  If you would like more information or to purchase tickets online, go to www.stagedoortheatre.com or call them at 954*344-7765.  The Stage Door Theatre is located in 26^th Street Theatre in Wilton Manors.  Check out my last review of Hairspray.  

Unidentified Human Remains Thru Dec 30^th

Read Stephen's review of Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love

The Coffee House Theatre is producing Musical Memories of Rodgers & Hart.  They are looking for sophisticated male and female singers aged 20-45.  For further information call them at 561*488-9952. 

The Sound of Silence

Gays Get A Kiss in Berlin

As you read this, plans are underway for a permanent memorial to Gay Holocaust victims.  Conceptual artists Michael Elmgreen from Denmark and Ingar Dragset from Norway, both Berliners since 1997, have won the competition to design and construct a monument to the documented 15,000 to estimated 600,000 gay men killed and tortured by the Nazis.  This monument will be a large concrete slab encasing a continuous video projection of two men kissing and can only be seen through a window in one side.  Why kissing?  Well, history buffs already know that the infamous Paragraph 175 actually outlawed males (but not females/Lesbians) from participating in homosexual acts and was later adopted by the Nazis and included kissing, which later explained beatings and being sent to the camps. This monument will be unveiled in early 2007 and will be at the edge of Berlin’s Tiergarten Park which has been a cruising park for centuries and is across the street from the Murdered Jews of Europe, that was unveiled in May 2005.

If you say that you want to have a memorial for the homosexual victims, then you have to see some real homosexual act.—Elmgreen.  

Fans of blues singer Nina Simone can now rejoice for they have just released Nina Simone:  Remixed and Reimagined.  This album is a new collection of retooled 13 hits including, Save Me, Go To Hell, and Oh Child and includes DJs Cold Cut, Françoís K, and Logic. 

Don’t Call Him Sir 

Irish rocker and humanitarian Bono will become a Knight of the British Empire but don’t call him “Sir.”  The 46 year old rocker will receive an honorary knighthood from the British Ambassador to Ireland in a Dublin ceremony shortly after New Year’s Day.  He will not be entitled to use the title “Sir” because he is not a national of Britain or the Commonwealth of former British colonies but is flattered by the honor and hoped it will help him open diplomatic doors in his campaign for more Western aid to Africa.

At www.shopbobandjoyce.com you can get your very own knife set.  What’s so funny about this set?  The holder is shaped like a man and you stab him to put the knives back.  Cool huh?  This is a radical alternative to the typical block o' wood! No knife holder has taken a greater stab at the theatrical than this specially designed Ex knife holder. Et tu, Brute? The sets are $60-$100 and are available in Black, Apple, Pink, Red, Chrome, and White.

Salute to Vienna, Monday, Jan 1^st 

This year marks the 10^th consecutive year for Vienna’s Concert at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.  Salute to Vienna returns with another sensational performance led by a friendly Viennese Maestro and the new cast includes leading singers from Europe’s finest concert halls performing the most popular excerpts from famous operettas, such as The Merry Widow and Die Fledermaus. Swirling dancers from the Hungarian National Ballet will perform the Viennese Waltz live on stage in beautiful costumes. A brilliant cast of 75 musicians, singers and dancers presents a new program showcasing the best of Johann Strauss waltzes, polkas and marches.  For more information go to www.kravis.org. 

Ocean Dance. Dec 30^th & 31^st

Get your Tickets for Riverdance

Tickets are currently on sale for the Celtic sensation Riverdance.  This amazing cultural phenomenon will be at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts February 23-25.  As anyone who knows me can attest, I personally grew up on Celtic folk music, with my Ma being a bagpiper in her own bagpipe band and my Dad being their Drum Major, things were a little different for me.  As the years have passed, I have embraced it and love it, and especially after seeing this March’s performance of Celtic Women, I will be there opening night.  Riverdance will be at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts and I located at 501 SW 2^nd Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.  You can go to www.browardcenter.org for tickets, www.broadwayacrossamerica.com or www.riverdance.com for additional information, or call their Box Office at 954*523-3309.

The Dancer’s Life Jan 2-7^th 

Tickets are on sale now for Chita Rivera’s The Dancer’s Life: A Musical and will be at The Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.  This charts Chita’s amazing journey from aspiring ballerina to Broadway legend through story and song as she relives fascinating moments from the years she spent working with such greats as Bernstein, Fosse and Sondheim. She will perform knockout numbers from some of her biggest hits, including West Side Story, Chicago, Bye Bye Birdie and Kiss of the Spider Woman.  For tickets and times, go to www.carnivalcenter.org, www.broadwayacrossamerica.com or call their Box Office at 305*358-5885. 

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Currently, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, they are showing Magritte & Contemporary Art:  The Treachery of Images that examines the diverse and sometimes subterranean ways that René Magritte’s images and broader themes have seeped into popular culture as well as influence the work of American and European artists over the past fifty years.   Magritte (1898-1967) is closely linked to the Surrealist Movement, which was founded in Paris by French writer André Breton in 1924 and was shaped by emerging theories of perception, including some of Sigmund Freud’s theories.  The movement’s primary aim was to resolve the contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality—a Super-Reality—and to revolutionize human existence by freeing people from what the surrealists saw as false rationality and restrictive social customs.  His primary aim would be to reveal the hidden and often personal affinities between objects, rather than juxtaposing unrelated objects.  The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (www.lacma.org) is found at 5905 Wilshire Boulevard or can be contacted at 877*522-6225. 

Famed British Choreographer Matthew Bourne’s latest show is Edward Scissorhands and is now showing at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.  Based on the Tim Burton movie of the same name, this is the story of a boy created by an eccentric inventor who lives in a ruined castle overlooking a sleepy American suburb.  When the inventor dies, Edward is left unfinished, with only scissors for hands, he is then rescued by an Avon lady who takes him down to live with her family but struggles unsuccessfully to fit in.  This is a traveling show and leaves Los Angeles on December 30^th and goes to Charlotte’s Blumenthal Theatre for a January 4^th performance.  For more information about this performance go to www.matthewbourne.org. 

Gay Life & Culture

Robert Aldrich’s latest book Gay Life & Culture is more of an encyclopedia vice a coffee table book that shows gayness throughout Ancient Greece and Rome through to the Middle East and Asia, then on to the Middle Ages up to New York’s Greenwich Village.  As a person that is fascinated by history, especially gay history, I plan on getting this book.  Gay Life & Culture is available at Books & Books on Lincoln Road Mall.

Label Whores are going to love this next book; famed design company Gucci has just released Gucci By Gucci by Sarah Mower.  This book is dedicated to the couture’s house’s 85^th Anniversary and feature many glamour shots of famous stars with Double G’s. 

During my trip down to Miami’s Art Basil last week, I was able to sit down and talk with the world-renown photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg at the Avalon.  He has an All Access Pass to celebrities and shows how fame works, he has been everywhere and done everything.  Now, he is able to sit back and look at the machine that makes celebrity—the fans, and the adoration that promote ordinary individuals into icons.  His latest book, Idols + Believers shows us his world.  Check out my interview here! 

Blue Days, Black Nights

At home with Ron Nyswaner, author of Blue Days, Black Nights and screenwriter of Philadelphia, A Soldier’s Girl and this month's, The Painted Veil.

How creative are you?  Everyone wants the unique and everyone wants something that everyone doesn’t have.  Well, if you are handy, creative, and have the space, I have the thing for you!  The people at Sears and Craftsman have come up with a computerized woodworking machine that makes you look like the professional without all the tools!  The Craftsman 21754 CompuCarve Compact Woodworking Machine is a compact, computer-controlled, 3-dimensional woodworking machine with an easy-to-use interface and allows a novice to make a complete project without a shop full of tools. This unique configuration allows it to perform many other woodworking functions, including ripping, cross cutting, mitering, contouring, jointing, and routing. The CompuCarve can work in most soft materials, including wood, plastics (polycarbonate or cast acrylic) and certain types of high density foam.  You are able to preprogram things into the computer—and it does it for you!   All it needs is a PC running Windows 2000 or XP with 128 MB RAM and 75 MB of hard drive space and an accelerated graphics card with OpenGL support to run.  For more information, look it up at www.sears.com. 

Satyagraha

This week, the English National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera have announced plans to collaborate on a new production entitled, Satyagraha.  This Philip Glass production was written in 1980 and is based on Gandhi’s formative years in South Africa as he developed his philosophies concerning non-violent protests and their uses as a powerful force of change.  This is the second “portrait” trilogy by Mr. Glass, the others being Einstein on the Beach (1975) and Akhnaten (1983-1984).  The visionary British theater company Improbable, will open it in April 2007 at the English National Opera in 2008 at the Met. 

Coming to Town

Patti Lapone Jan 4^th 

On January 4^th, the legendary Broadway diva Patti Lapone will be live onstage at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.  As a Living Legend, Ms. Lapone has been the voice of such Broadway hits as Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Evita, Sunset Boulevard, Les Misérables, and Annie Get Your Gun.   For tickets and directions, go to www.kravis.org or call them at 561*832-7469.  For more information on her, her life, and fabulous career, go to www.pattilupone.net. 

Chris Botti, January 11^th 

Tickets are now on sale for Chris Botti, the amazing trumpeter will be live in concert at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.  Tickets are available at the Box Office, at 305*949-6722 or at www.ticketmaster.com.  For additional information about Chris Botti, you can also go to his Official Website, www.chrisbotti.com. 

Do You Think I’m Sexy? 

Yes, the incomparable Rod Stewart will be in town on January 12^th at the Bank United Center and tickets are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.com.  Tickets start at $55. 

John Mayer, January 26^th 

On January 26, 2007, John Mayer will be live in concert at the UM BankUnited Center at 8pm.  John will be playing selections off his latest album, Continuum.  Tickets are now on sale through www.ticketmaster.com or you can charge by phone at 954*523-3309, 561*966-3309, or 305*358-5885.  This is a Fantasma Productions Concert Event and for further information, go to www.fantasma.com or www.johnmayer.com.

Red Hot Nights  

On Wednesday, January 31^st the Bank Atlantic Center will be hosting The Red Hot Chili Peppers and have special guest Gnarls Barkley.  For tickets you can go to www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 954*523-3309.  This is a Fantasma Production Concert event and can be found at www.fantasma.com and if you would like more information about the boys, go to www.redhotchilipeppers.com or www.gnarlesbarkley.com.  The Bank Atlantic Center is located at 1 Panther Parkway in Fort Lauderdale. 

Bring Us Hippie Chic 

Justin & Pink, Feb 24^th & 25^th 

As of Saturday, the Justin Timberlake and Pink In The Round Tour will be at the American Airlines Arena on Saturday, February 24^th and the Bank Atlantic Center on Sunday, February 25^th.  Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.com or at www.aeglive.com.  For further information you can also call 954*523-3309 or 305*358-5885.  Don’t forget to also check out www.justintimberlakefanclub.com! 

Carrie Gets an Illusionist

Currently, Drag Performer Sherry Vine will take his Female Illusionist to the next level, playing a famous fictitious title character Carrie in Carrie—The Musical.  Sherry took notes from and actually studied for years the Sissy Spacek immortalized performance yet will also do some clever maneuvers to pull off the opening Locker Room scene and said, “In my world, it’s all about an illusion.”  The musical will run until December 30^th, and is at PS 122 and is located at 1250t and 1^st Avenue. 

Jennifer Gives Us One Night Only

On Saturday, December 30^th, newest singing sensation Jennifer Hudson will give us One Night Only at the Saint At Large’s New Year’s Eve party at 10pm in their Hammerstein Ballroom that is located at 311 Wet 34^th Street.  Tickets are on sale at www.saintatlarge.com. 

The Little Dog that Laughed

Yes, we love the cinema for its great performances, its glorious faces, and daring images.  Yet, in this tabloid age where big stars go on The Oprah and jump around like heartsick schoolboys, what we really love is all that dish!  This is the story of a hard-working Hollywood Agent, her budding screen idol client, a sexy young drifter, and the drifter’s naïve and needy girlfriend.  The cast includes such gems as:  Johnny Galecki who played Darlene’s boyfriend on Roseanne, Tom Everett Scott who played in Dead Man on Campus, and Julie White who played Grace’s best friend Nadine on Grace Under Fire.  The Little Dog That Laughed is currently at the Cort Theatre is located at 138 West 48^th Street and for tickets go to www.telecharge.com.

Rockefeller Center Celebrates 70 Years

This Christmas morning marked the 70^th Anniversary of ice skating at Rockefeller Center.  The rink, next to the infamous tree in midtown Manhattan, originally opened on December 25, 1936 as the premier artificial outdoor skating pond built in the city.  Originally, it boasted amenities such as lights for nighttime skating, a heated changing room, piped-in music, and a dining area.  Only years later they added now iconic golden Prometheus statue.

Kathie Lee is Miss Hannigan

Currently, famed good-girl has gone bad!  Kathie Lee Gifford is playing the raging drunk and caretaker to all the “Little Girls” of an orphanage in the Broadway production of Annie.  This is the 30^th Anniversary production of the classic musical and is at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden on Seventh Avenue at 32^nd Street.  Call 212*307-7171 or go to www.thegarden.com for further information.  Show runs until December 30^th.