New York Writer

2018-07-08T02:10:00.000-07:00

Crypto Currencies And Drug Legalization As drug legalization spread, banks are often reluctant to process payments for marijuana companies. The main reason as so long as drugs are illegal under the federal government of the US, major payment processors such as Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, among others will not process those transactions. Marijuana vendors are then forced to either credit unions or local banks that do not do business across state lines. But they are compelled to accept payments in cash. This is risky in case the business is robbed, and also customers often don’t feel comfortable or the need to carry cash in the digital age.

Blockchain presents the perfect solution. Marijuana vendors and the vendors of legal drugs can accept bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. Many vendors of legal drugs already do (depending on the nation marijuana may be legal, coca leaves may be legal, khat leaves may be legal, among others). Many of these vendors already accept cryptocurrencies as safe ways to make large volumes of sales without having to handle cash. As the regular banking industry still shuns the legal drug market, blockchain technology is becoming the de facto payment method for marijuana and other legal drugs. As customers get used to using cryptocurrencies in this sector, it will eventually spread to other sectors. Though Amazon does not yet accept bitcoin payments, Amazon Web Services is heavily investing in blockchain technology. Goldman Sachs is now trading bitcoin futures, and will trade bitcoins themselves in the future. As large institutions become more heavily involved it bitcoins, corporate use will become more mainstream for both investment and for use as active currency.

As legalization spreads, Canada is due to make marijuana legal nationwide this year. By 2020, pot sales are projected to surpass weed sales. Cryptocurrencies will likely heavily be involved in this, and will grow considerably along with the marijuana market in Canada. As businesses complain about the cost of payment processors, cryptocurrencies can offer an alternative to companies such as PayPal that offer high fees for business transactions. Cryptocurrencies have the potential to bring competition to the market in terms of payment transaction, and that’s likely a huge factor in why blockchain and cryptocurrencies are now getting huge institutional investment.

2018-07-08T02:03:00.000-07:00

Blockchain is now in the process of transforming real estate. Payments can now be paid to sellors of real estate using cryptocurrency. Earlier this year, the first apartment was sold in Spain using cryptocurrency. Purchasing apartments in cryptocurrency can help foreign investors in real estate, as one wouldn’t have to rely on funds from local banks to purchase the real estate. For certain types of major transactions one is often required to make them in the local currency on funds drawn from local banks. Cryptocurrency prices are determined by world markets, so once one has purchased the relevant amount of bitcoins one can use that to purchase the relevant real estate wherever in the world, provided that the seller and the broker accept bitcoins. Those who have already invested considered sums in bitcoin can cut out the currency exchange fees, and also cut out the bank wiring fees. Properties are currently being sold in NYC to those paying in bitcoins. Using bitcoins to purchase real estate has become popular in other parts of the world as well, as bitcoin investors seek to convert their investments into something tangible.

Cryptocurrencies can also be used to sell shares in buildings. The first test of this is in a buildings in Bushwick. Those who wish to invest in the building can be tokens, and the tokens represents shares of ownerships in the building. This is an interesting way renters can use to buy equity in buildings they live in. Buildings that need money for repairs or renovations can raise capital by selling tokens. This has not only the potential to completely change the ownership of private buildings, but this could even be applied to public housing. NYC’s NYCHA is a vast network of public housing that could be a city within itself. It has been neglected and chronically underfunded. NYC could issue tokens to residents of public houses. Tokens could represent their ownership stakes in the building, and the city could also raise funds to repair and renovate by selling extra tokens for capital repairs. Residents could chose to remain in public housing and a reasonable amount of money in rent (to be determined by a board elected by the owners of the tokens) or they could chose to sell the tokens and cash out of living in public housing. Cryptocurrency could be used to help reverse the devastating effect the so called wars on poverty and drugs, along with other forms of historical discrimination have had on minority communities in places like NYC.

Utter Devastation Strikes the Caribbean and Mexico; Millions Need Your Help

2017-09-30T00:21:00.000-07:00

The devastation from Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico is so extreme many maybe without electricity for months. Congress has yet to allocate an aid/reconstruction package to Puerto Rico. The entire island electrical and communications network was destroyed, along with devastation to houses, infrastructure and essentially everything else. Those with medical problems cannot necessarily get medical help as hospitals themselves have been severely damaged.

Sadly Puerto Rico is but one place that has severe hurricane damage. Many other Caribbean Islands also had considerable damage. The Virgin Islands, though a part of the United States like Puerto Rico, similarly have not had an aid package passed. A number of prominent politicians are now urging Congress to step up the help for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Meanwhile, other nations in the Caribbean also have horrible devastation. The Dominican Republic had considerable flooding. Flooding to this degree can spread disease, at a time with medical facilities are damaged.

Mexico has recently had two major earthquakes. Rescue crews are still digging people out of the ruble. There have been over 300 confirmed deaths in the second earthquake, and 96 confirmed deaths in the first earthquake. Mexico has also had substantial property damage.

Potentially tens of millions of people are affected. There are a number of ways to assist.

American Black Cross

Como Ayudar Mexico

Caritas Mexico

Caritas Dominican Republic

Caritas Puerto Rico

Emergency Supplies to Loiza, Puerto Rico

Purchase David Ortiz T-Shirt to Help the Caribbean

St. John’s Rescue, Virgin Islands

Post Production of Wine Tasting

2017-06-03T10:40:00.000-07:00

Post Production was January and February. During the post production, the film's official website was made. Scored music was added to te film, and all the needed film editing was done. During post production we began to discuss the film's official distribution plan, discuss our next projects, etc. We settled on Amazon Video and overall VOD distribution, while we would submit the film to various film festivals for screenings. During this time we worked on a trailer for the film as well, as well as the cover art and necessary associated photos. All fun. We also finalized the film's IMDb profile. The final film can be found here.

The Filming of Wine Tasting

2017-06-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Wine Tasting was filmed in Los Angeles just before the holidays. Josh Mitchell and his crew worked fast, and the film was shot in mid Dec and wrapped up before the holidays. The shoot went well and everyone had fun. I was not able to be present as I was finishing up my last semester at Columbia University, where I graduated with a MA in English Education. Still I got the daily photo updates on Wine Tasting's official Facebook. The film can be viewed here.

How Wine Tasting Became a Film

2017-06-03T10:15:00.000-07:00

The first draft of Wine Tasting was written in 2013. The final draft of the spec script was written in 2015. In between I'd received feedback from BlackList readers and did my revisions. I entered Wine Tasting as a screenplay into some festivals, and it placed as finalist in Sunscreen Film Festival West, Beverly Hills Film Festival, and Evolution, Mallorca Film Festival. Wine Tasting placing as finalist got me some interviews. I was interviewed by La Libertad, Search My Trash, and by Cinemaddicts. Josh Mitchell of Wickid Pissa took notice. He proposed that he direct Wine Tasting. I agreed and worked on raising the budget till I got it. The film can be viewed here.

Article on Why Coca Should be Legal

2017-05-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm against the war on drugs and on mass incarceration. I just wrote an article on why coca should be made legal. Check it out.

New Film Wine Tasting Available on Amazon Prime

2017-05-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

My film Wine Tasting is now on Amazon and will soon be on other VOD platforms. Wine Tasting was accepted into several film festivals, including Finisterra Arrabida of Portugal, Premios Latinos, Evolution, Mallorca, and LA San Rafael of Spain, and Beverly Hills Film Festival and Sunscreen Film Festival West in the United States. Wine Tasting-written by Justin Samuels, directed by Josh Mitchell and produced by Anjanette Miller has been released on VOD. Wine Tasting follows the lives of four men who are professional wine tasters. They sacrifice considerable sums of money and time in order to pass the sommelier exam. Their relationship is tested when one out of the four guys doesn't pass - leading to a series of scandalous repercussions. The film is free for those on Amazon Prime.

Wine Tasting Trailer

2017-05-05T01:29:00.001-07:00

Check out my film Wine Tasting. Please leave comments and share the trailer with your films. Soon Wine Tasting will be on Amazon and other VOD outlets.

Políticas Públicas de Sanders sopla Clinton y Otros Candidatos Fuera del Agua

2016-04-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

Sanders no ha abordado formalmente solo la desigualdad de ingresos, pero las condiciones que crearon comunidades negras empobrecidas. Décadas de discriminación extrema en la vivienda, el empleo, la imposibilidad de obtener préstamos para pequeñas empresas u hogares, y la incapacidad para conseguir aprovechar los programas gubernamentales beneficiosos como el GI Bill después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial tienen la riqueza negro en promedio un 5% de la riqueza blanco. El economista Richard Rothstein detalla cómo la política gubernamental obligó a los afroamericanos a permanecer en ghettos del centro urbano, las políticas que permanecieron en el lugar durante toda la nación y cuya herencia afecta a los afroamericanos en la actualidad.

Bernie es el único político importante que completamente ha reconocido cómo la política pública creado estos guetos. Sus planes para deshacer esta política es horrible, para fomentar la inversión en las comunidades de bajos ingresos. Él no es compatible con las reparaciones, sino que apoya el gobierno y la inversión del sector privado en las comunidades de bajos ingresos de colores. Sanders, como Rothstein toma nota de que la política federal creó los proyectos de vivienda y guetos del centro urbano, que tomará una reversión de la política federal para poner fin a esto. Esto significa que necesitamos un gobierno que no permite que las empresas de acumular grandes cantidades de dinero, mientras que la deslocalización de puestos de trabajo en el país tercero del mundo más barato disponible. No sólo ha de libre comercio perjudicado aún más comunidades negras pobres, comunidades de la clase trabajadora blanca ya tienen el aumento de las tasas de mortalidad debido a la insuficiencia de ingresos ya que las empresas utilizan la deslocalización y la subcontratación a empresas de trabajo temporal a otra fuente de ingresos los trabajadores más bajos y que terminan por completo cualquier sentido de la estabilidad en el empleo para los trabajadores . Sanders va mucho más allá de Clinton en desafiar el sector empresarial en estos temas. Cabe señalar que la administración Clinton antes de firmar los acuerdos TLCAN y la OMC que devastaron aún más la mano de obra. Ataques de la era de Reagan contra el trabajo, así como el gobierno dando licencias excesivas a las tiendas de licores en los barrios pobres negros, que ofrecen en ese momento poco en la forma de tratamiento para problemas de adicción a las personas pobres ayudó a contribuir a la era de crack. La respuesta de Clinton a esto fue las tasas de encarcelamiento en masa que crearon un gran número de hombres negros no pueden trabajar debido a sus antecedentes penales. El esposo de Clinton llamó el Negro Lives activistas de los delincuentes cuando se enfrentaron a él. Sanders por el contrario quiere hacera frentelos problemas de raíz que causan tanta miseria en las comunidades negras, y que ahora están contribuyendo al aumento de las tasas de mortalidad entre los estadounidenses blancos de clase trabajadora. Está claro que Sanders es el candidato superior, por el momento, y que lo necesitamos como Presidente, así como más gente como él elegidos para el cargo de todos los niveles. Es hora de que la nación entera para sentir el Bern.

Activismo Canalizada Través del Escuelas de Pública

2016-04-19T02:33:00.001-07:00

El apoyo del estado financiado de ESL y otros programas que atienden a las minorías han permitido la movilidad ascendente para las minorías en California y esto ha llevado a altos niveles de aceptación en la Universidad de California. Los activistas tratan de dar a las minorías el acceso a los servicios gubernamentales que crearon la clase media blanca. Ellos promueven programas que incluso las disparidades educativas entre niños de diferentes orígenes socioeconómicos y raciales. Estos programas también contratan a personas de municipios y proporcionan una vía para la clase media para sus empleados. Esto ha sido beneficioso para las minorías, a veces, ya que estos programas hacen para ayudar a los grupos raciales / étnicos marginados también contratar a muchas personas de esos grupos. El sistema educativo ha servido durante mucho tiempo como un programa de puestos de trabajo que se expande la clase media, y California en su abrazo temprana de ESL y educación bilingüe se ha movido por delante de otros estados en la incorporación de las minorías en la clase media.

California utiliza la educación como un programa de empleo para hacer frente a las cantidades en acelerado aumento de los latinos y los asiáticos. Las leyes de derechos civiles llevan a la Ley Hart-Celler, que abolió las cuotas para los inmigrantes europeos a los EE.UU.. Una vez que los EE.UU. fue abierto, el número de inmigrantes asiáticos e hispanos aumentó rápidamente. Esto condujo a enormes nuevas poblaciones de niños que eran personas que no hablan inglés. Los sistemas de educación pública y el estado de California tuvieron que hacer frente a estas cuestiones. Activistas de la comunidad lucharon por los programas de educación y de ESL bilingües en sus distritos locales. Se contrató a profesores de las comunidades que hablaban chino español o para enseñar a esos idiomas. Estos maestros no estaban acreditados. Más tarde en la burocracia educativa instituido requisitos para la educación bilingüe y ESL, pero para entonces se llevaron a cabo otros cambios importantes en relación con la inclusión de maestros pertenecientes a minorías. Activistas en California llevan la carga para la creación de los estudios étnicos en las universidades. El objetivo era que no sólo promueven orgullo étnico, sino de proporcionar empleo para los latinos y los asiáticos. Se ayudó a sentar las bases para la creación de una clase media latina y asiática. La innovación de California en la educación bilingüe y ESL, más el apoyo de ESL para adultos a través de los distritos escolares locales ayudó a más familias inmigrantes se mueven hacia arriba socioeconómica.

Otro ejemplo de cómo contratar y capacitar a los miembros locales de una población minoritaria creado movilidad socioeconómica se produjo en Mississippi. El programa de ventaja inicial en Mississippi desde la década de 1960 llamado CDGM fue formado por una coalición de activistas locales y del Norte. Se entrenaron mujeres de la localidad con la educación media para trabajar como maestros de Head Start. Alrededor de este punto negros de Mississippi tenían bajas tasas de alfabetización y un gran número de ellos trabajaban en el sector agrícola o en el servicio doméstico. El programa de ventaja inicial dio muchas mujeres negras en Mississippi su primer empleo y capacitación laboral formal. Muchos de ellos eran capaces de avanzar para obtener la educación universitaria e incluso graduados. El programa de ventaja inicial, además de la enseñanza de la alfabetización niños Negro, trató de contrarrestar los estereotipos negativos que se habían arraigado en el pueblo negro debido a la opresión extrema. Los programas tratado de preparar a los niños para un mundo en el que tendrían que luchar por sus derechos y por la capacidad de moverse hacia arriba socioeconómica. En Wisconsin una dinámica más cerca de California ocurrió con los inmigrantes a los negros del Sur. A medida que los negros se unieron a la expansión de migrantes comunidades empobrecidas, activistas como William Kelly lucharon por las autoridades escolares locales para contratar maestros negros.

Los esfuerzos para aumentar la matrícula de minorías han dado resultado en California. En California, mientras la economía sigue recuperándose el sistema de la UC se ha incrementado el número de residentes que acepta. Durante la recesión, el sistema de la Universidad de California aceptó más provecho de los estudiantes estatales e internacionales para compensar los déficits de presupuesto, ya que recibieron subsidios estatales reducidos. Con tanto las finanzas universitarias y estatales recuperaron, el sistema de la Universidad de California ofreció la admisión a un 15% más californianos. El diario Los Angeles Times informa que el número de latinos admitidos en el sistema de la UC aumentaron de 16 608 a 22, 704, lo que representa el 32% del total de la clase admitida. En general, el sistema de la UC admitió 66, 123 estudiantes de primer año en el sistema. El número de los negros aumentó de 2.337 a 3.083, lo que representa un 4,7%. Los blancos y los asiáticos americanos representan el 25% y el 34,3% por ciento, respectivamente. California es un estado de mayoría minoritaria y el sistema de la UC está reflejando eso. Los estudiantes minoritarios aceptados en UCLA mencionan los programas del sector sin fines de lucro y desde el sistema de la UC como jugar papeles importantes en guiándolos a los cursos apropiados para tomar con el fin de ser competitivos solicitudes para la universidad. La investigación ha indicado que la educación bilingüe tiene beneficios cognitivos a largo plazo. El Instituto Nacional de Salud afirma que los bilingües tienen mejor capacidad de atención, habilidades de conmutación aumento de tareas, el aumento de la capacidad de adaptación a los cambios ambientales, y menos deterioro cognitivo en la vejez. Hay un número de escuelas bilingües de caracteres en California. Las escuelas charter están cumpliendo una función de su misión, de ser innovadora en la educación bilingüe. Los programas que California tiene que las minorías de ayuda no se limitan a los menores de 18. Los distritos escolares locales y el estado también financian ESL para adultos.

Otros factores aparte de los cambios en la política de educación que han llevado a un aumento de la matrícula universitaria minoría en California. Los estudiantes entrevistaron en los citados artículos los Angeles Times mencionó todo el trabajo duro que ponen en hacer bien en la escuela. Y seguramente los padres de estos estudiantes a ambos apoyados emocionalmente y financieramente. No hay duda de la responsabilidad individual y familiar como en juego en estos casos y juega un papel importante. Esto no niega el hecho de una buena política pública en forma de dibujo educadores de estas comunidades ayudaron a abrir las vías para estos estudiantes minoritarios para entrar en el sistema de la UC en cifras récord. El aumento de la matrícula de los residentes de California, así como la creciente población latina y asiática eran obviamente factores en el aumento de la matrícula de minorías. Sin embargo hay que tener en cuenta que en la década de 1960 los estudiantes de ESL fueron colocados en clases para niños con retraso mental y tenía muy altas tasas de deserción. Es evidente que la creación de programas que atienden a las minorías lingüísticas y el cese de las prácticas discriminatorias hacia las minorías lingüísticas hicieron enormes diferencias en los resultados educativos de California entonces y California ahora.

California es un ejemplo de cómo la contratación de más educadores minoritarios aumenta el número de minorías de clase media y proporciona vías para otros a seguir su educación superior. Más esfuerzos deben hacerse para contratar maestros minoritarios de las comunidades que tienen problemas con la escasez de maestros. En la contratación de los locales de estas comunidades existe una clara vía para salir de la pobreza para aquellos que son contratados como puestos de trabajo en la educación son estables con buenas prestaciones. En 2016 la ciudad de Nueva York anunció que iba a contratar a 1.000 hombres de las minorías de CUNY para enseñar en las escuelas públicas de Nueva York. Este programa necesita ser ampliado. Ahora que Nueva York tiene universales pre-k aquellos maestros también deben ser contratados de las comunidades locales NYC que vayan a enseñar él. Estas iniciativas deben ser ampliados a nivel nacional. Los programas que ayudaron a esas minorías con baja representación en California en convertirse en estudiantes competitivos para el sistema de la UC se deben crear o ampliado en otros estados.

Transformation in the 21st Century

2016-03-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

Harold Smith sits in his living room, drinking coffee. Harold is an shriveled up old man in his 90s. He looks at his sleek tablet and reads the news online. The date is Dec. 23, 2094. Harold has work to do before his husband Frank Torres gets home. In Frank’s advanced age he is still able to drive limousines. Though Harold truly loves Frank, Frank’s battle with depression often annoyed him. But regardless, today Harold has work to do. This is work that must be done in secret. Harold is a powerful sorcerer unknown to Frank. He chants. Today is the day when he must commune with the spirit world of his family line. An astral image appears. The image is that of Harold’s father Nate.

“Hello, father.”

“Son, you are the last of your line. I was destroyed before I could father another son. Your cousins were all killed in the battle with the Brinsley clam.”

“What do you expect me to do about it?”

“You must father children, Harold. With the most negative woman you can find. Only a vile negative person can carry our seed.”

“I’m gay Dad.”

“If our lines ends with you I will torment you endlessly in the afterlife. Find a way to father kids and continue my line, or you will suffer as though you never thought possible.”

“I’ll see what I can do father.”

Nate smiles. Then he disappears.

Frank enters. He staggers in drunk. Harold looks at him with pity. Nothing seems to stop Frank’s alcoholism. Frank collapses on the couch.

“Hey babe. Has my nephew Juan come over?”, said Frank.

“No, he hasn’t. Shouldn’t you stop drinking so much?”

“When pigs fly!”

“Suit yourself. I have to go out on an errand.”

Harold leaves the apartment. He walks down the street. He concentrates all around and looks for the perfect woman. His magic summons a woman to him. But she’s horribly fat. A snap of his fingers dismisses her. He works his magic again. A horrible old woman comes to him. Clearly she went through menopause decades ago. He dismisses her. He walks along the street till he sees a newspaper at a newstand. An article titled the transformation machine is there. As he reads the article, it says how the latest research has come up with a machine that can reshape the human body. An old body can be made young. The machine can instantly perform surgeries and even genetically modify bodies. Harold grabs the article and heads home.

Harold opens the door. Frank is still sleeping. He wakes him up.
“What the hell, Harold?”
Harold shows him the article.

“We can be young again!”

“You woke me up for this bullshit? I don’t want to be young and stupid again.”

“Stop being such a miserable old drunk. You’re coming with me whether you want to or not.”

At the university medical center, Harold and Frank both sign in. The clerk takes them to the machine that they both look at in awe. Harold smiles at the machine. He’ll be a young man again, and this will surely make it easier for him to find the perfect bitter woman to have his children. Besides, as an old man he possibly didn’t have the sperm to impregnate a woman. Harold walks towards the machine.

“I’m going in first.”

Harold enters the machine. Frank looks in fear. A blindly light comes out of the machine. Out stumbles Harold, a hot, handsome 25 year old lookimg man.

“It feels so wonderful to be young again. It’s your turn now.”

“Never. This is bullshit and unnatural. And stupid. I don’t know how I let you talk me into even being here. Fine, you’re young again. Go back to the clubs and the sites and whore around like you did when you were young again.” Harold waves his hand and Frank is slammed across the room.

“What has the machine done to you?”

“I was always a warlock, you rotten old fool”

Frank’s eyes grow wide with fear. Harold laughs. He looks at the machine. He looks at Frank.

“I should let you rot and be worm food. But I do have my plans.”

Harold waves his hand and Frank is forced into the machine. Harold then casts a spell.

“In the name of the ancient gods, I perform a reverse, and from now on Frank shall carry a purse.”

A blinding light comes out of the machine. A 25 year old woman comes out of the machine. She’s tall, busty, and curvy. She feels her body. She’s frightened and horrified. She puts her hand in her crotch and she finds there is no penis. She has a vagina. Harold sits there with glowing eyes.

“You don’t just have a vagina, sweets. You have ovaries and an uterus too.”

“How could you?”

“Your new name is Nicoletta, my love.”

Harold eyes glow and Nicoletta falls to his charms. They make passionate love in the university medical center. Nine months later, Harold and Nicoletta are back at the university medical center. Nicoletta has just given birth to quadruplets. The quadruplets are two boys and two girls. Juan, Harold’s nephew is there. Nicoletta lays down in the hospital bed. Nate’s spirit appears.

“You fathered four children and the family life will flourish.”

“Yes, father. I will be raising the children with my new husband, Juan.”

Nicoletta screams.

“What? You can’t have left me for my young nephew!”

“But I have Nicoletta. You served your purpose. No one was more bitter and negative than you. So I realize I should turn you into a woman and impregnate you. Only an extreme negative person could stand to carry the children of a warlock.”

“Fuck you Harold!” screams Nicoletta.

“You have done far better than I could have dreamed Harold. Our line is safe in your hands.”

“Thanks Dad.”

Weeks later Nicoletta is wasted at a bar. She’s crying. Kylene, a purple haired woman comes over and puts her hand on Nicoletta’s shoulders.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

“My husband left me for his nephew right after I gave birth to his children.”

“Men are scum honey.”

Nicoletta sobs. Kylene kisses her tenderly. Nicoletta looks into Kylene’s eyes and in the depts of Kylene’s purple eyes, she finds true love. She collapses into Kylene’s arms and lays her head on Kylene’s breasts.

2016-01-04T01:17:00.000-08:00

Raymond Arrieta, the Telemundo host has a history of doing Blackface and Brownface in his sketches. Strangely Telemundo which took great offense at Donald Trump’s comments seems to think that mocking Black and Brown people is harmless. Media representation of Latinos in Spanish Language media historically has been White. Afro Latinos or people of Native descent were excluded or otherwise marginalized by Spanish Language Media. A movement has risen against this and now protesters are taking to the internet to protest these racist images in Spanish language media. An example of this is a petition that demands Raymond Arrieta stop his Blackface and Brownface performances. More appalling is that Telemundo is owned by NBC Universal. NBC could never get away with having Blackface on their English language channels, so why is it okay for them to have Blackface on their Spanish language channels?

Homecoming to Jackson Heights

2015-07-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

I was born in Elmhurst Hospital in Elmhurst, NY. Elmhurst is a neighborhood in Queens, a heavily Asian and Latin neighborhood. At the time we lived in Jackson Heights, a neighborhood that’s largely a combination of South Asian and Latino (Central and South American and Mexican). When I was a little boy we left the neighborhood. But Central Queens always seemed like home. I had fond childhood memories, and I often visited my aunt there. After finishing up at Cornell University I ended up staying with my aunt. Queens seemed like the perfect place to come out of the closet as being gay, as I had such wonderful memories of it.

But childhood memories are deceptive. Children are often not fully aware of what’s going on around them. In my early 20s upon moving back to Jackson Heights, I rather quickly got to know my neighborhoods. I was living in the historic district, near the post World War II apartments. The neighborhood had a diverse array of food, and as someone who was an exchange student and who studied Spanish at the university, it seemed cool to be able to use that in my everyday life.

I soon started looking for work. My first few jobs were temp jobs in the banking sector. I used the money I earned to buy more clothes. Walking around the neighborhood, I was often offered bazooka. Bazooka wasn’t the gum. Bazooka was a crack cocaine derivative. Two people on my block I’ll call Marco and Fred would offer it to me all the time. I quickly rejected it. Fred and Marco were aggressively insistent. When I would go grocery shopping, in order to get to my place I had walk past there’s. They would ask for my food. During the day in those days I would dress professionally, a sign in their minds I had money. I was afraid of Fred and Marco. But in order to get them off my backs I told them I did 5 years in a state psychiatric hospital for arson and that I was on a variety of prescription pills and therefore had no need for crack. That wasn’t true, I would never do arson or anything violent. But Fred and Marco didn’t know that. So they were nervous and stopping offering me drugs and stopped trying to get my food. Marco and Fred in those days hung out on 37th road. It was called Vaseline Alley as male prostitutes sold their services to other men in those days. Eventually the NYPD under Giuliani cleared out Vaseline Alley, plus prostitution generally went online to sites like Adam4Adam.

The other two notables on my neighborhood were the grandparents of the block. Jim and Louise, an elderly couple who had lived there before the neighborhood had changed demographics. They were friends with my aunt. Through my aunt I found out which of our neighbors were bad. Allegedly, Jose and Jose had robbed a candy store and killed the owner. Those two were creepy enough, so it wasn’t like I was going to ask them detail or if what Jim and Louise said was true. They were friends with Julio, a crack addict male street prostitute.

But not all of my neighbors were bad. Though I would say I eventually learned appearances can be deceiving. Alfonso was a recovering drug addict who got a job, got married and raised a family. I knew his daughter Elizabeth. She was often outside with her friends Stephanie and Anthony. They were in high school. As far as I know they were law abiding, and they certainly never gave me trouble. Last I heard from Alfonso Elizabeth had gone off to college. Alfonso was nice and always friends with my aunt and with the elderly landlord couple. There was a huge Pakistani family in the apartment above us. The guys worked as cab drivers and they also worked for our neighbor Anit. Anit was a photographer and filmmaker. The men and Anit had their differences as they were Muslim and Anit was Hindu. Still, they worked together professionally. Anit also had others who worked with him. Matt, who lived across the street from me looked like a stereotypical California surf dude. He was tall and blonde. He worked at NBC Universal.

After getting reintegrated into my block, I decided to explore the gay bars in Jackson Heights. My favorite drink in those days was red wine. I soon got to know a number of people in the bars. My friend Anna worked as a secretary and then a licensed massage therapist. She always came out to the bar early in the week. We often discussed spiritual topics and what we read about herbal treatments. Matt hung out in those places, and he was friends with George. George was a neurologist. He shared my love of fantasy and sci fi movies, and we could talk for hours about Xena, Charmed, Hercules, and related shows. I was friends Pedro, the bartender from Peru. Yosef was an accountant who lived in Chelsea, in Manhattan. But he hung out in Queens. Frank was an older man who worked for a car service. Frank would appear in the bar at rather odd hours, as his work schedule varied. It stressed him out and he drank rather heavily. The bar was pretty much a home for Frank. He often slept in the bar. He was lovers with Gerald, a retired professor who lived in the East Village. Those two fought frequently.

As I always loved X-Men comics (and other Marvel Comics) I went to a local comic book store in Jackson Heights. There I met Paul the hippier owner. The main people who hung out there where Serbian twin brothers Adrijan and Darko. Darko was a normal stable man. He ended up marrying a woman from the old country, and they had 4 children. Adrijan was a cringing machoist who attended S& M conventions with his sexually liberal girlfriend Michelle. The Serbian twins were good friends with Raul aka John aka Franklin aka Davio aka Daniel aka Gustavo, the cool man of many names and many a bar fight. I always had fun at that shop. Adriana, Tiffany, and Isabel were the girls who hung out there. Tiffany was the lover of Paul. The others made fun of her and called her ghetto because she was originally from Harlem. The others in the shop accused Tiffany of being a player, so there was often tension between her and the others. The relationship between TIffany and Paul fell apart when she pawned his mother’s old ring, which was a gift from the heart to Tiffany.

From time to time I would hang out with Yosef. We would hang out at the beach. It was fun for us as we were both swimmers. I learned that Yosef was really a swimming instructor, not an accountant. He worked part time. And that wasn’t the only think Yosef was hiding. He lived in a low income apartment in Chelsea and was on welfare as he made so little money from his swimming instructor job. Yosef exploited the system in ways I never thought possible. His low income apartment had two bedrooms. He paid $500 a month in rent. He rented out both bedrooms for $1,000 each, while he slept in the living room. He collected food stamps and medicaid, so his income from his low income apartment was obviously unreported. As time went by, Yosef became a bolder con artist. He got yet another low income apartment (also in Chelsea) and rented it out as well. The second low income apartment was an 80/20. 80/20 apartments are 80 percent luxury/market rate and 20 percent low income. So Yosef got a low income apartment in a luxury building in a prime location. He rented it out to tourists he found off craigslist and off certain agencies that find temporary housing for European and Asian tourists. Yosef began taking vacations to Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.

As for me, the type of jobs in banking I was able to get quite frankly sucked. The better, more interesting career paths were out of reach. Since that clearly wasn’t going to work out in any worthwhile way the effort I put into work went down. I began hanging out at the bars more often. To be completely honest what was the point of having a regular job, I began to wonder, when the Yosef’s of New York City did so well financially by living this less than conventional lifestyle. Of course that’s just a polite way of saying criminal lifestyle. Still, I decided it was not a good idea to do anything that could put me behind bars. Still, it seemed nice that people from the clubs could take such extensive and frequent vacations all over the nation and the world. I began wondering about some of the others. I did know legitimately wealthy people from Cornell who worked as lawyers or certain other professionals (I looked up their post graduate lives via Google). And at the same time, I respected people’s right of privacy not to prime into every claim. But still, I wondered. I myself had legitimately been all over the US and I was an exchange student in Paraguay. I’ve visited Brazil. So I personally like to travel. But something seemed a little off with some of my friends trips.

At this time, Anna and I had become close. She lived in Manhattan. She was often in and out of town, so she would ask me to house sit for her. I glady did so, as who wouldn’t like to stay in Manhattan if only temporarily. Of course, I should have been a bit more suspicious on how does a secretary/massage therapist afford a Manhattan apartment. Still, Anna was nice to me so there was no reason for me to question her or get into her business. She had her share of family drama with ex husbands and the rest of her family. Still, her children had grown up and become productive citizens. Who doesn’t have issues or drama in their life?

At this time my friend George had grown tired of working as a neurologist, or so he claimed. He got a job at a floral shop owned by Cassandra and her brother Miguel. George and Miguel often went to Colombia, supposedly to visit Miguel’s family. One day I got a hysterical call from George. He told me a disaster had happened on their last vacation in Colombia. But he sobbed so loudly he couldn’t talk straight. He said he had an e-mail for me. I checked my e-mail. An article from a newspaper named La Patria (from Pereira, Colombia) showed a picture of Miguel. I read the article in Spanish. Miguel was unfortunate enough to be busted in an airport in Colombia for trying to smuggle cocaine out of the country. George called me back to tell me he and Miguel were supposed to run coke for Cassandra. But George always made Miguel carry all the coke. So when they got busted, George put all the blame on Miguel. Miguel got locked away in jail in Colombia and 14 years later to this date I never found out what became of him. George was hysterically guilty as he was truly close to Miguel. But he quickly got over it. Cassandra, after attempting to smuggle coke herself, also got busted in Colombia and did time there. Upon returning to the states she existed the drug business and legitimately stuck to working as a florist. Or at least that was the story George told me 10 years ago. Cassandra refused to speak to George again as she wanted to cut all her ties to that world, so I have no idea what she’s currently doing. Similarly, Pedro the bartender got busted. He would work for two months, and then stay in Peru for one month. Allegedly he was taking care of a grandfather who had cancer. But the reality is he was a mule. A mule is another name for international cocaine runner. Pedro got fired by his job (they suspected something shady) and after he attempted his last run he got busted on the Peruvian side. I’m told by those in the business that due to increased scrutiny at the airports, most drugs are brought in on cargo ships and cargo planes as it’s two difficult to get drugs past the airports. Unless of course one wants to put the drugs inside condoms and place them in one’s own stomach or intestines.

At the comic book store, it eventually fell victim to new development. The owner Paul moved on to opening up another store elsewhere. The man of many names, now calling himself the Sphinx is the same as ever. He still gets in bar fights and can still drink everyone in any bar under the table and still remain standing. It would take something industrial strength to put him down. The Serbian twins, sadly, both got played big time. Darko found out his wife Bojana cheated on him many times and was only interested in marrying him to get US citizenship. He had their children dna tested and found out he was the father of only two of them. They got divorced. Adrijan’s girlfriend, Michelle, after she tied him to the bed during an S&M act, left him tied there and robbed his apartment. Poor Adrijan was found two days later, still tied up and alive. His girlfriend had fled the country. Adrijan had valuable baseball cards, gold watches, an expensive stamp collection, and a rare coin collection. All of this was stolen by Michelle, and these assets were worth an estimated 800k. We still don’t know of Michelle’s whereabouts. Oh, and what happened to my friend Matt . He was a typical Jackson Heights case after all. He turned out to be a gigolo, and this was confirmed by people who saw his dirty little deeds in action at various Midtown Manhattan bars. He was evicted from his apartment. That wasn’t the end of him. He swindled his way into a lover’s apartment, and stole quite a bit of money from the lover. After that, he disappeared. Perhaps he returned to his home state of California (if he is really from there) or maybe he went to jail. Or perhaps he went elsewhere. Who knows?

The aunt that I was staying with retired and moved away. Now there are those who thought why stay in Jackson Heights, which is so full of such sketchy characters? So my friend Anna had decided to rent out space in her apartment in the Upper East Side. I happily moved in. From Queens to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. That was a great transition. I loved living in Manhattan. I was a shorter train ride to work in midtown, and on a good day I often walked home. It was nice living more upscale people and not around the scammers of Jackson Heights. All was apparently well. But I of course forgot that I met Anna in Jackson Heights. I’d been living there for awhile, lots of men came by the apartment to see Anna. Noises came from Anna’s room that sounded like Cape Buffalo on the savannah in heat! And clearly these were too many men to be boyfriends. Anna confessed that being a licensed massage therapist didn’t pay enough to live the lifestyle she wanted, so she had become a prostitute. She made an upgrade to her career and become a madam. So gave me a deal on the room, free rent in exchange for writing the advertisements for her business. She recruited desperate illegal immigrant girls from places like Jackson Heights, Corona, the Bronx, Washington Heights, Harlem, Woodside, and other neighborhoods full of immigrants. She pimped them out.

After a few years of living in Anna’s apartment, I ended up moving to a nice part of the Rockaways (the Jewish part of Far Rockaway). I loved living there, where in the summer I went swimming in the ocean on a regular basis. Hurricane Sandy ended that, unfortunately and now I am presently out of New York. Still, I fondly remember my Jackson Heights days and my New York days. I know real success in much harder than it appears, and aside from inheriting money from one’s parents or having influential parents who are able to hook you up with opportunities, there are no magically easy paths to success. For many, it won’t just happen. Others are determined to make it happen in any way possible, no matter at whose’s expense or what laws they have to break. The tales of Jackson Heights would be the tales of a significant portion of any large international city. In these places, the traditionally hard working people are basically treated like suckers and are played by the every economy of the city itself. The nature of New York’s economy encourages the shenanigans of those I mentioned in Jackson Heights, and clearly not just in Jackson Heights. Anna slept her way all the way up to an apartment on the Upper East Side, one of Manhattan’s most prestigious neighborhoods. Two English professors I had and the cranky old man Frank said there’s only two ways make money, to inherit it from your parents or to steal it. I think there’s a lot of truth to that. And by the way, Frank can be found in the same spot in the bar that he has been occupying for 30 years, still fighting with his lover Gerald. Some things never chang

A Hipster in Do or Die Bedstuy

2015-07-20T15:29:00.002-07:00

After my living situation in Chelsea was no more, I decided to try out Brooklyn. I first looked at that hipster haven, Williamsburg. Williamsburg was full of creative, educated people. Unfortunately it was out of my price range. But I soon found out many creative types were moving to Bedstuy and Bushwick. So I went on Craigslist and I found an one bedroom apartment I could afford. Finally, I wouldn’t have to deal with con artists and hookers as roommates. So I signed for the first apartment I looked at, near the subway station Bedford/Nostrand Avenues on the G train. It was just a few stops away from Williamsburg or Downtown Brooklyn. The G train is often called the ghost train as it doesn’t frequently run and has only 4 cars, but it has convenient connections to both the L and A. The L and A trains both go to parts of Manhattan that I do business and socialize in. So it seemed perfectly convenient when I moved in that cold winter day. I didn’t even see any hoodlums there, so rumors that Bedstuy was ghetto seemed greatly exaggerated. Of course, crime always does down in the winter in New York, and up in the summer when it’s warm enough for people to go out.

Virginia was living in Williamsburg itself. She lived with her roommate Billie. We often hung out in the East Village, going to movies and bars and taking the L train back to Brooklyn. But Bedstuy certainly had it’s rough side. Despite gentrification, gunfire was a problem during the summers. Bedstuy, which had seemed gentrified in the winter, was pretty ghetto in the summer. I wished I had listened to all those who warned me about moving to Bedstuy. But as a broke freelance writer, what else could I afford? Virginia and I were both living in less than ideal circumstances, due to our shared career path. Virginia also freelanced as a writer and we both went to Cornell. Virginia, desperate not to live in unsafe circumstances, convinced a women’s group that she was battered when she wasn’t. She was able to move into a women’s only residence run by nuns. The women’s only residence was cheap, and she saved a lot of money by living there. I thought about moving in with priests to get a decent price for a Manhattan location, but never got around to doing it.

As for me, I too needed a way to raise extra money. I had dental problems, and I had to pay off student loans. So I decided to get roommates. I rented out my apartments to two Norwegian girls, who paid a lovely amount of money for my apartment each month in cash. I crashed in the upstate NY home of my friend Yosef, who was my mentor in every thing that had to do with NYC. As the cash came in over a period of 10 months, I paid for my dental work and reduced my student loans by one third. As for what I did for fun when not writing, I did what I always do. I took the G train a few stops to Williamsburg and went swimming at the gym on the corner of Bedford and Metropolitan. I went there on a regular basis. I also went to Metropolitan, the one gay bar in Williamsburg at that time. During the time I lived and hung out in hipster people, it was a revolving door. Many creatives moved in. Many creatives moved out in a few months, totally underestimating what it would take to establish oneself in a career in anything in New York. It’s particularly difficult in the creative fields, where multiple factors such as talent, luck, family connections, education, and things I likely haven’t thought of all way in. The instability of this crowd made it difficult to bond with anyone long enough to have a decent boyfriend. Those that stayed any length of time had to resort to extreme measures like Virginia and I did. Everyone loves a success story, but those A listers are few and far between in a city of 8 million that has been a revolving door for centuries.

My last week in my apartment ended on a crazy note. I went three different birthday parties, one thrown by a group of friends, another with my family,and another with a group of friends. Upon leaving my place to go to one of my parties, I went to the store and came back. Michelle, my crackhead first floor neighborhood sat on the door steps. She was drinking out of a bottle of vodka. She had refused to move and allow me into the apartment. Not wishing to get into a fight and in trouble for punching her out, I called 911. The police always come in force in Bedstuy. Ten officers arrived. They urged me that everything was fine. I went in the house to get my camera, as I was going off to my celebrations. As I left my building and walked down the street, Michelle got up in a cops face. He slammed her to the ground and told her she had one more time. About a week later, her husband notified me he wanted to speak to me. But unknown to him, I had already packed and shipped all of my belongings out. I was just enroute to get my bus ticket. He informed me that we needed to have a serious discussion. I told him to knock on my door at 9pm the following night. I went to Port Authority, got my bus ticket and returned to my apartment. I picked up my suitcase and my laptop briefcase, called a cab, and went back to Port Authority. I boarded the bus and went off to my next adventure.

My Time in the Party Scene in NYC’s Upscale Chelsea Neighborhood

2015-07-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

My Time in the Party Scene in NYC’s Upscale Chelsea Neighborhood

After learning that my friend Anna was a prostitute, I moved out of her apartment located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. I desperately searched on Craigslist for new roommates. None of the places I saw seemed to be good options. I figured the next roommate would be a crackhead or a serial killer with my luck. And unfortunately, even a studio in one of the worthwhile parts of NYC (Manhattan below 96th Street or East River Brooklyn or East River Queens) can cost upwards of 3k. I did not have the kind of success in my day job or in my writing that could afford a proper residence. It was either live in a high crime ghetto where rent was cheap, or do the roommate thing. But of courses, crazies, con artists, and other assorted freaks come with the territory when you’re dealing with roommates.

So what was I to do? Living in Manhattan would let me walk to work. I worked as a waiter in a wine bar/restaurant in Chelsea. Saving on commuting time would be great, plus I’d have all the convenience in Manhattan if only I could afford to live there. Various friends suggested I move into the subsidized apartments for artists. But those apartments had massive waitlists, I soon learned. Getting into an apartment like that could take years. What was I supposed to do, live in the shelter in the meantime? I finally decided to rent a room from my friend Yosef. Now Yosef I knew was a bit unconventional. He had two local income apartments in Chelsea that he rented out. I had been his friend for years. So he decided to give me a good price on one of the rooms. I moved in. Upon moving in with him, I learned that Yosef was more devious than I dreamed. In one of the apartments, he rented out both bedrooms for $1,000 dollars while he slept in the living room. His rent was only $500, so his profit was $1,500. He worked part time as a swimming instructor. But Yosef was such a schemer he had food stamps, and he went to the soup kitchens for free food. On top of that, Yosef carefully monitored the neighborhood for anything thrown out. Chelsea always has people moving in and out of town, students, interns, medical residents, law clerks, theatre industry people, film industry people, professors, etc. People often throw away good good because it’s not worth it to ship. So Yosef would scan the streets for good garbage. This way he got his air conditioners, his microwaves, his beds and other furniture all for free. Ditto his plates, pots, pans, drinking glasses and other kitchenware. The only thing Yosef paid for his apartment was his laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Yosef loved electronics. Electronics,and vacations to Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico were the only things Yosef was willing to spend money on. He was the king of being cheap, as I called it. He called himself the king of craft. Though Yosef was a bit extreme, I would say as a freelance writer I learned a lot from him. Working as a waiter and freelance writer paid poorly. In order to be able to pay my rent I needed to cut costs where possible. So each day I worked in the restaurant was a free meal on the house. That in itself helped tremendously. I did go to the soup kitchens like Yosef. I even learned you could get free groceries from certain soup kitchens. I needed to cut expenses on food so I would be able to party at the city’s most exclusive clubs. I looked up a good friend of mine from my Cornell University days. I hadn’t seen Virginia since graduation. But I looked her up and found out she lived not too far away.

Virginia was a freelance writer and a temp. She also occasionally waited tables as well. She had been living in hipster Brooklyn with her boyfriend until they fell out with each other. She went on the boards at her job looking for a new room to rent. Isabel, a woman who worked at one of Virginia’s gigs was renting out a room in a Lower East Side housing projects. Virginia accepted the room as it was cheap and within walking distance to all the places she loved. Unfortunately, shortly after moving in that building, a couple of people not known to Virginia got shot. But she and Isabel were questioned by the NYPD, along with many other building residents.

As for me, I was taking advantage of all the area had to offer. I’m an excellent swimmer, and there were several New York City Parks Department Recreation Centers nearby. These city owned gyms offer yearly membership of $150 dollars, and they have pools. I went swimming at least 5 days a week. When I could afford to do grocery shopping I went to Whole Foods and Trader Joes. I eat a lot, and what I was getting for free from the restaurants and the soup kitchens didn’t cover all of what I liked to eat. Events at various film organizations were within walking distance. I frequently attended events at Tribeca and IFP. At one of these events, I met documentary filmmaker Lukas. Lukas had a phd in astrophysics from Harvard University. He had tried to move further in the academic world, and it just wasn’t working out for him. So he decided to do documentaries on various scientific topics. Lukas was a pretty smart guy and we started hanging out. I learned he had done volunteer work for the UN across South America and Africa. He always kept himself busy. However, he hadn’t made it big as a filmmaker. Depression came in, and he turned to coke which drained his already meager finances. Now, having come across my share of frauds and psychopathic liars, of course I didn’t believe Lukas’s claims. So I did my research and found out he told the truth about his educational and work history. That was pleasing.

Now everyone probably thinks if Virginia, myself, and Lukas were all having how could we afford to drink in the expensive bars in the area. Well, we looked young. I carried a backpack with me (I would go swimming earlier in the evening before going to the bars). Lukas would have his briefcase, and of course Virginia would have her purse. We would just tell the bartenders we wanted juice and that we didn’t drink alcohol. They would sell us big glasses of cranberry juice for $2. And we would sneak away at different points to the bathroom, open our bags and poor vodka or other hard liquor in the cranberry juice. We always carried booze in our bags. Granted this was low class but you do what you have to do in New York City. Isn’t that the whole point of being there? Lukas, Virginia, and I were the broke Ivy League crowd. We weren’t ever going to be Presidents, CEOs, or lawyers. Everyone always wondered why people like us attended top level universities and didn’t follow in whatever politician’s foot steps. We didn’t bother to explain. No one will ever really know why someone does or doesn’t do something. But we all felt that we missed our ship. Certain things have to be done in a very narrow time frame career wise, and if they are not done then you’ve more or less indefinitely lost your chance. You basically need the right internships and summer jobs, and your first job or two after graduation is critical. Things at Lukas’s post doctoral program ended horribly after a massive falling out with the professor he worked with. That was the end of him in academia. Virginia and I just never got good career building jobs in our first year after graduation, and after that things went downhill. So both of us gave up on normal things and ended up doing the freelance writer thing. All three of us exchanged tips on how to cut expenses and get over in New York City. Lukas had the rare cheap studio in a busted up tenement building in the Lower East Side. He got wind of this from another friend of his who hooked him up. Lukas was lucky because tenements in the Lower East Side continued to be bought out by developers. The new owners would evict those legitimately not there ,and buy out the remaining people. The tenements would be either gutted and renovated, or demolished and replaced by luxury condominiums.

As bad as things were, we all held on to the hope we would make it. Now hope can be seen as good or bad. While it is nice to be positive, if you keep hoping for something that never happens that absolutely sucks. It’s something that many artists agonize on. Most would be artists will not make it. There’s a line of thought that says since your likelihood of making it is so small, money cannot be a primary motivation for doing artwork. You have to do your art because you love doing it above all other things. I feel that way about writing and swimming. I will do those two things no matter what. So I am in the school of thought do what you love because you love it, but understand you may face indefinite poverty because of it. The stereotype of the starving artists is a fairly accurate stereotype.

Yosef on the other hand, was far from starving. He’d come along away from the housing projects of the South Bronx. He took the money he made from his low income apartments and invested it in the stock market. During the latest bull market, Yosef sold some of his stocks at the height of the market and made a huge profit. He reinvested. How could Yosef do this and not get caught by the welfare department? Yosef’s schemes new no bounds. He placed all his ill gotten money in his grandfather’s account, who he had manipulated him to name him the sole heir in his will. He had never driven a car, but with his newfound prosperity he decided to take driving lessons. He got his driver’s license. Yosef had his grandfather buy a house and a car in upstate NY. Yosef would began spending his weekends in the countryside.

Yosef nearly got busted. He took interest in a crackhead girlfriend named Nora. She was from Florida. After Nora stopped crack, she gained weight and became fat. Yosef manipulated her into moving back to Florida getting a Section 8 apartment there, and renting it out while she lived with in New York with him. Yosef took the money from that too. What possessed his girlfriend to be this dumb I’ll never know. But anyway, they had a huge fight and the girlfriend turned Yosef in to welfare fraud. She was furious when he called her a fat ass ox. But Yosef was slimy than a snake. He and the other roommate living with us were all over 6 feet tall. So when the welfare investigators came over and searched the apartment, Yosef made sure we were gone that day. He claimed our clothes and possessions as his own. By this point he had already thrown Nora’s clothes in the garbage, so her clothes were not a factor in the search. Yosef then proceeded to turn Nora as living in New York to the government, and she lost her apartment in Florida. She became homeless.

My days and my social circle in Chelsea would soon come to a quick end. In all this time, cocaine was taking a serious toll on Lukas. He decided to leave New York City and return to his native Oregon. I would miss him, but I understood. I saw him off at the airport. Virginia had grown weary of being a struggling writer in New York. She felt she’d never achieve her dream of being a property owner. She felt her financial state limited her dating and marriage options as well. She had grown depressed. She decided to return home to the Midwest. So out of the crew that just left me and Yosef. Only a developer bought the building that Yosef was in. They wanted to gut renovate this tenement. They offered Yosef 40,000 to leave. Yosef laughed at this. But the developer seriously wanted all low income people out. Yosef was eventually able to negotiate $200,000. He accepted the buyout offer and left. He still had another low income apartment in Chelsea. I declined living in it. I began the search of looking for a new roommate all over again. Then I said the hell with it and I hit the road. As for where I went to, that’s a story for another time. But after all this time I do miss my Chelsea crowd. Sadly, we did not keep in touch. But New York City is like that, people are in and out of town all the time.

Interview with Justin Lee, Asian American Film Lab's New Shootout Coordinator

2014-02-18T17:41:00.000-08:00

Today's interview is with Justin Lee. Justin is Asian American Film Lab's new Shootout Coordinator. Justin joins AA Film Lab at an exciting time. AA Film Lab just had the Asians on Film Festival in Los Angeles, which is the first event that it's had in LA. Justin Samuels: What has interested you in working with AA Film Lab?

Justin Lee: I wanted to be around independent filmmakers. I wanted to be around more people like myself, people who are all making sacrifices to be around what they love. That was my initial interest. However, after talking to lovely Jennifer (board member); she made me realize the wider spectrum of the 72-hour shootout. For example, I get to come up with the theme! JS: Have you yourself dealt with the lack of diversity in the media?

JL:Yes. I work at a advertising production company- and the lack of diversity in the whole industry is astounding. Not that it’s on purpose or inherent- it just is. I think it’s backlash from not having more diversity when filmmaking was just coming out, but I’m sure a film historian could tell you more about that.

The lack of diversity isn’t just racial, it’s everything. Their promoting a certain shape: chiseled chin, dark brows, tall, skinny, ripped, big breasts...etc. If you don’t meet the criteria (I certainly don’t), people tend to pay more attention those who do. It makes who you are as an individual, what makes you interesting & good- irrelevant.

I think due to the lack of diversity, people lump minority groups together and stereotype them according to what they see. I deal with the lack of diversity in the media every time someone calls me Jeremy Lin, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Bruce Lee...etc. I want to be defined by me, not by some middle age white guy sitting in some Hollywood exec office saying “This Kung-fu movie is going to be great!”

JS: How do you think the film, tv, and commercial/advertising media can be diversified?

JL: I was attending a panel where Spike Lee mentioned how films got green-lit. He brought up the film Soul Plane, a movie considered hurtful to Black America. It’s a film that basically reinforces black stereotypes.

I remember Spike Lee reeling about how there was probably no black person in that conference room when they decided to make the film. No one in that position of power who can say “Hold on a second, this movie is about what?!”.

We need more diversity among positions of power and influence. We need someone in that conference room saying “You know what? That’s pretty racist. No.”

JS: What can you tell us about the 2014 72 Hour Shootout? Where are the films screened or shown?

JL: The screenings are usually run through Asian American International, and a theatre will be provided to the shootout as time gets closer.

I can tell you that I’m super excited for it! I’m a big advocate for individuality and visual expression. I can tell you that we’ll probably see some form of those two as the 10th annual theme for the shootout.

JS: What does the Shootout Coordinator do?

JL: I think the most exciting thing about being the shootout coordinator is how much of our personality/work can be put into each shootout. We get to come up with a theme, a promotional video, do interviews, and basically represent each years shootout.

Usually when I coordinate it’s to support the producer. A lot of bookings, budgets, and a logistics (Which I will also be doing for the shootout). It’s kind of refreshing to be able to put some of my personality into this job.

JS: Have you ever worked with a non profit film organization before?

JL: Yes! I volunteered for the Asian American Film Festival back in 2011- but I think that’s it.

JS: Do you have any additional work planned with AA Film Lab?

JL:I really hope so, but you should get back to me at the end of the shootout!

Columbia Stages Presents the Physicists, Starring Jon Peacock

2014-01-22T21:28:00.001-08:00

As Advertised by Columbia Stages.

Columbia Stages is proud to present THE PHYSICISTS, an MFA Directing thesis production, written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, translated by James Kirkup, directed by Sina Heiss. THE PHYSICISTS will open at The Connelly and run from January 22-25, 2014.

This Swiss play was written in the early 1960s, during the Cold War, under the looming danger of a devastating nuclear attack. Durrenmatt brings his characters to life in a home for the mentally ill and with a good sense of black humor, investigates how people behave within social confinements and their power politics.

In the well-funded asylum Les Cerisiers, nurses have recently been meeting violent deaths. The assailants are two lunatics who believe themselves to be Newton and Einstein and their fellow inmate, Johann Wilhelm Möbius, knows more than he is willing to share . . .

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THE PHYSICISTS by Friedrich Durrenmatt Translated by James Kirkup

JANUARY 22-25, 2014 THE CONNELLY THEATRE

Address: 220 East 4th Street, NYC

Showtimes: January 22-25 at 8pm January 25 at 2pm

Tickets: $15/$5 Seniors/FREE with Student ID.

To Donate for FREE TICKETS: (Please Share!):

***

Director: Sina Heiss Producer: Mia Shen Dramaturg: Ashley Minihan Choreography: Lia Bonfilio Scenic Design: Evelien Stichelmeyer Lighting Design: Daisy Long Costume Design: Brooke Cohen Sound Design: Manuel Mitterhuber Sound Engineer: Grant Jefferson Vocal Arranger: Regina Mallinger Production Stage Manager: Jenny Ainsworth Assistant Stage Managers: Kate Dial, Alayna Graziani Company Manager: Polina Bogacheva

Featuring: Lia Bonfilio, Ben Compton, Dianne Diep, Matthew Dunivan, Tim Elliott, Chris Holland, Cameron Jefts, Miranda Kahn, Toby Knops, Brian Keith MacDonald*, Jon L Peacock, Alexander Reed, Aubrey Lace Taylor, Vanessa Winkle.

At the Golden Globes Adrian Bustamante Interviews Nathalie DuBois of DPA Gifting Suite

2014-01-21T13:32:00.000-08:00

Today I have a guest interviewer, actor Adrian Bustamante. We decided to cover the Golden Globes and interview one of the gifting suite companies that provides gifts to celebrities at major events such as Golden Globes and Cannes. The company interviewed was DPA Gifting Suite , owned by Nathalie Dubois. Some of the major companies that were at her suite were Coco Libre, Herzog Wine Cellars, the Yes Bar, Toffee Talk, Jill's Chocolates, the Sierra Club, Hinerava, Arido, Salvatore Ferragamo, Michael Kors,and Doina Pirau. The companies ranged from food/snack and beverage companies to fine jewelry, sunglasses, and other apparel companies. Adrian Bustamante: What's the name of the gifting suite?

Nathalie DuBois: DPA Gift Suite.

AB: How long have you been doing the gifting suite?

ND: This is the 9th year.

AB: Is there anything you would say to set your gifting suite apart from others at the Golden Globes?

ND: Two different things. There are many gifting suites in this city. The main thing is we're French and the French are very picky. We're the only one that have an international business. We did Dubai Film Festival for 5 years. We worked in the Middle East. We also worked in Asia in the Hong Kong Film Festival. We did pre Oscar, and we've done Cannes since 2005. Aside from our international events, we do international brands. The quality of our products is much better than some of the other gifting suites. Everything we have is really good quality. We have products that range from snacks and beverages to apparel. The clients are welcome to go somewhere else, but they will see the difference. We have the most A list celebrities.

A:B Yeah, exactly. I've noticed that as opposed to other suites, you guys actually have tour guides. What made you want to go that way instead of the normal route where they walk through and just say hi?

ND: Simply because I want them to have an experience. We have to carry their bags. We introduce them to people so they feel comfortable. We don't want to bombard people with different colors. We have to be a bit more sophisticated. I once took my clients to a suite that looked like a really bad trade show. I thought I could do much better. Also being French, I thought we could bring sophistication to it. I don't like to use the swag words. My thing is not swag. Just really beautiful products.

AB: I notice the products DPA has are actually products that I can use or that I can consume. Sometimes gifting suites have a lot of useless things.

ND: Everything we have, I use myself or I believe in it. It's my integrity. I am not money driven. I will not take a product I don't believe in even if someone offers me a fortune. I am not able to sell anything I don't believe in. Everything I have in the suite I either have, use, or wear. An example of what I'm proud of is that Sharon Stone will come to my suite wearing a necklace I gave her two years ago. Or in September Felicity was wearing a clutch I gave her three years ago in the Monte Carlo Film Festival. She said it was her power clutch that she uses when she goes to important meetings. They don't give my products to their maids, family, or friends. They don't recycle my gifts. They wear them.

AB: Yeah, makes sense. How do you choose what companies are at your gifting suite?

ND: There's different ways. We do a lot of research. I buy about $300 worth of press a week. I go to trade shows. I have meetings with foreign consulate with their development, like L'Oreal. I go to fashion week in Paris and Mumbai. I go to luxury trade shows in Monte Carlo and Paris. I just search. Before that I produced fashioned shows, and before that I was a journalist. Producing fashion shows gave me an edge. A lot of people approach me, they want to be a part of me. To give you an example someone called me at 7:30 this morning after she saw a segment on Fox. She wanted to put 25 pairs of shoes in my suite. I told her no; it was at the last minute. It is through referrals that companies get into my suite. Clients and stars both refer companies to me. The handbags were referred to me by a star in Paris. We have fantastic reputations with both the clients and the celebrities because of our excellent service and that makes our image.

AB: Yeah, it definitely does. I noticed from talking to people that there seem to be a few more people from Northern California. What that happenstance, or was that something you sought out?

ND: People are from everywhere. You'll see many French and Canadians (especially people from Novia Scottia). I search. You see the stars have everything. So what we want to do is surprise them with brand new things, new drinks, machines, etc. When you're dealing with people like Charlize Theron or Richard Gere, you want to make sure its worth their time.

AB: No, of course. I think this is an amazing event. Thank you so much for your time. ND: My pleasure.

Caleb Hannan and Grantland Professionally Handled Dr. V's Story

2014-01-19T01:42:00.001-08:00

Caleb Hannan is at the center of a major controversy. 8 months of research lead to an article that was recently published at Grantland. As a Stephen Krol, a man also known as Dr. V committed suicide. As Dr. V, Kroll lived under the name Essay Anne Vanderbuilt and claimed his gender was female. A number of activists felt that Hannan and his editors at Grantland were extremely insensitive in releasing information about Hannan.

Neither Hannan nor his editors were insensitive. When Hannan noticed major discrepancies in Dr. V's claims, he looked further into them. Originally he had wanted to do a story about this amazing new gold putter. But certain things about Dr.V set off red flags. Further research revealed rather unsavory details about her past, her criminal past, and the fact that her ex wives and relatives were all unwilling to speak about her. Most likely what horrified Dr. V the most is that Hannan's investigative journalism revealed things that opened her up for lawsuits and criminal prosecution.

I do understand why some in the transgender or gay community might feel uncomfortable with the prospect of someone digging around in their past. But this isn't a matter of someone exposing a transgender woman to the world. This was a matter of a reporting exposing a con artist, Dr. V, who lied about all aspects of his past. His educational record was fake, his career was fake, his name was fake, and yes, his gender was fake. Hannan would have been unprofessional to write about the criminal past of Dr. V, without revealing Dr. V's birth name of Stephen Krol and Krol's past (Including being married twice, being the father of children, having a brother-in-law who said now the world has one last con man after Krol's suicide, etc.). Perhaps those wishing to hide bad behaviors behind being gay or transgender should not that one cannot hide behind one's sexuality or gender identity.

LeNair Xavier on the Exploitation in the Porn Business and Gay Club Scene

2014-01-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

Today's Interview is with LeNair Xavier. LeNair Xavier is a former porn star/sex worker. He know has taken up the mantle of anti porn activist. Check out LeNair's blog here. Recently he has called out singer Lovari for joining the Latino Fan Club. I decided as there are at least three sides to every story that it could be a good idea to explore the issues LeNair brings up, as they are serious.

Justin Samuels: How do you think the porn industry harms its actors and gays in general?

LeNair Xavier: The porn industry in general preys upon one's desperation for validation. For who else would put themselves through the torture and humiliation that porn actors, especially females and bottoms are put through? So for gays, who isn't more desperate for that validation that a gay male. When gay media makes sexualizing anything possible being the only way to acceptance. Or as a gay person feels ostracized by family and friends due to a homophobic home or religious upbringing. I am definitely the latter, which explains my late coming out, followed by my road to porn 3 years after that.

JS:Could it be that these alleged downlow guys are just acting? How closeted can they be if they are willing to have sex on tape?

LX: Possibly, but that proves to you what's wrong with the industry. If you're doing that much acting, then your greed and narcissism made you forget how porn teaches questioning gay males how to sexually interact. For gay porn picks up in those lessons of sex where their straight parents are naturally void of the information. But more importantly, porn is like every other business. You have to be mindful of what other companies are doing. So with so many other companies using guys who actually define themselves as "gay for pay", you can't be the one studio out of a gazillion where your guys are just acting straight. If a questioning gay male hears all of these "gay for pay" marketing ploys, then finds that video of gay guys acting straight on Pornhub, he doesn't see the difference.

Now how closeted can they be just shows the stupidity of gay-for-pay models regardless of their ethnic background. The White ones do it out of White entitlement thinking they're invincible. So the boomerang of doing this porn is not going to hit them. Meanwhile, the ethnic ones are the ghetto trash who are the opposite end of the spectrum. They're totally dimwitted to the fact that there is a boomerang that exist for doing this. I'm not saying that Black or Latinos who present themselves as educated don't screw on the down low. The majority are just not dumb enough to use money as an excuse to get in front of a camera and do it. Their intellect reminded them that as long as there's a means to play it, what they did in front of that camera is around forever. Ghetto boys don't know that. That's why no matter how big their dick is, they're still boys and not men.

JS: Is there any porn you consider positive?

LX: Any porn that shows 2 people genuinely into each other, who knew of each other, therefore chose each other before getting in front of that camera. That's positive porn. And the only incident I had such a casting was in one of my last (but less known) movies, All Out Assault. For that reason, I am still friends with the man who directed that movie.

JS: You speak out a lot on drug use. Can you talk about how drugs have decimated the gay scene?

LX: That's easy. Whatever your race, gender, orientation, or religion, etc., drugs are a means of escapism. So those in the gay scene using drugs are still trying to escape something. It usually shows itself to be the shame of their homosexuality. For why else would that drug use usually occur with sex play? Sex is a beautiful enough high on its own.

I'm in the gay scene as an observer, but I am not of it like most of the people I know from it. For you can't collect information that I have by standing on the sidelines. You have to get in the middle of it to some degree. That's why some of my views on porn has changed now from what they were before I got in it. Anyway, what I've found is that the gay scene has never been much good for us from past to present. For many in it were and/or are alcoholics and drug abusers. That's why in my Adam4Adam profile, I put in my profile that if you saying "Out No" means you're on the down low, I don't want to talk to you. Because I have chatted with guys on there whose profile says "Out No", and are actually out, they're just not out in the gay scene of bars and clubbing. If their profile says "Out No", then they're one step closer to be man enough for me to want to meet them. Be it for a night, or for life.

JS:You've called the actors at the Latino Fan Club ghetto trash. But perhaps there's another way of looking at this. Where do you think these guys will be in a few years? What's the future of someone's whose ghetto (if the person really is ghetto assume no job skills and a poor education) who gets into this business?

LX: I think you and I define "ghetto" differently. For when I say ghetto trash, I'm talking about the Black and Latino guys who always want to talk the street lingo to be praised for having street cred. They might get an education at Harvard, and have a high paying job, but if you can't present yourself as such when you're away from the job, you are not man enough to be acknowledged as one. For you are presenting the lowest form of our Black and Latino brothers. So whether they're my definition of "ghetto", or yours, the weight of presenting such stupidity is weighing on their shoulders by their time in that business. For it weighs on mine, and I didn't play ghetto, but I was in scene with them. And while I don't regret it since it taught me the lessons I'm passing on now, it does disgust me with myself to think back on it.

JS: Do you think gay culture is collapsing? I ask because many iconic gay bars have closed and a number of aspects of the gay scene just aren't what they used to be. In the 1990s New York, you still had a number of young gay guys desperate to move into Manhattan and become popular by having a sexualized job. Porn star, bartender or waiter in gay bar, or even a drag performer. But it seems as though the scene is dying due to many factors. Gentrification has priced out many gays, and I think younger gays are a lot more mainstream. I've noticed more younger gays with degrees and advanced degrees with actual professional jobs, so the whole allure to even participating in much of the gay scene isn't what it used to be. Also, Adam4Adam and Grindr are proving major competitors to going out looking for hook ups. No need to spend money to get drunk. Your thoughts on all this?

LX: If gay culture is collapsing it's the gay powers-that-be own fault, and no one who has enough pull daring to overthrow them. For gay media puts out there that the only way to get ahead is to prostitute yourself. Look at how many prostituting ads are in nightlife magazines like Next Magazine. How many parties where gay guys end up drunk and/or high make Odyssey and Get Out magazine's advertising money. A newly out gay male feels this is their ticket into these circles to get to their goal. Go-go dancing worked for me to a degree since I've always been a sexual person, and I love to dance. But for some of these guys that's not the case. They get up on the box or bar at a venue, and there's an emptiness in their eyes that shows that being touch by a patron is to them like being molested. And for prostitutes to do their job, they must go to a dead place like a molested child. So it's no wonder gays are known for a skewed view of love.

And before anyone tries calling me a hypocrite again, note how there is a big difference between being a prostitute and an exhibitionist like I was aiming to be in porn. But I admit to my prostituting moments in porn, which is why I know of the ugliness it takes to live such a life. And it began being that was the only way to stay in the business, which is another reason I left. Be the sex I have be done privately or in front of a camera, it must be full of life for a mental connection was formed, and not a financial one.

And gays have always had degrees and advanced degrees. So that's not what's preventing them from going out. What prevents them from going out is that the cost of living is so high that they don't have the time. So Adam4Adam and Grindr are not really competitors. That's media hype. But they are enablers to gays being socially inept, and unable to communicate. For I have often been at a bar full of gorgeous guys, yet you can easily find a guy being a wallflower looking at Grindr.

JS:You obviously say a lot online in many forums about your anti porn activism. Have you decided to take your story and activism to the mainstream media? Perhaps you could pitch your story to publishing companies and write a book. Or maybe you could go on television. Perhaps you should write newspapers too, or even do a documentary on this subject matter.

LX: I would love to go on a tv talk show, and other mainstream media. But they never seem to want a Black voice on the issue. For I tweet, comment, and send emails about blog posts addressing these issues to mainstream media all the time letting them know about my porn past. BUT they always go for the White guy who tip-toes around the deep issues I address. That's why in my poem "Faux Rainbow", some early lines say:

You hear wise words come from the dark skin But you show how it's light you favor For you wait to give him a platform To praise his light skin as the brand of a savior

As for writing a book, I am actually working on an autobiography right now. I'm participating in the Rainbow Book Fair's Poetry Salon for the 4th straight year, and plan to talk to publishers there. But my main goal is to reach more mainstream publishers. Because just because I'm a predominately gay man, my experience overall is not a gay story.

JS: Have you thought about working with community organizations on these issues of exploitation by the porn and sex industry? I would imagine one could hold interesting workshops at places like the LGBT Center, GMHC, QueensPride House, etc.

LX:I have moderated discussions about the porn industry. In fact, I invited some organizations to attend. And talked to the head of a PR company to try to get in contact with these organizations. Well, the organizations didn't attend, and I never heard from the guy from the PR firm with those contacts. And based on the behavior of some guys at my discussion for Men of All Colors Together/NY, "Gay Porn: Sex Educator, Indicator, or Both", I'm sure the reason is because of gay males known arrested development issues. For some showed what I unfortunately expected...When you challenge gay males to think about the porn they're viewing and what they may or may not have learned from it, they act like 5 year-olds when you threaten to take their toys away.

JS: Sometimes people who have gone through what you went through use this passion to propel them back to school and into new careers like social workers, psychologists, lawyers, etc. Have you ever entertained any such ideas?

LX: No, because I'm an artist first and foremost. I'm creative all day long. Any spare moment on my day job I'm jotting something down. So I'm making my art in poetry and writing be my way of being a psychologist, therapist, etc.

JS: What would you tell any young person who wants to play the role of a thug in a gay porn? What would you suggest he do instead?

LX:To any Black or Latino, wanting to play a thug, I might first ask them. To be honest, I know my temper, especially towards such ignorance. So let's hope I would ask them that before telling them how much of a sellout to their own they are being. I would also tell them that if you find that lowering yourself is your only way into a certain circle, then it's not a circle worth being in. For I lowered myself when I worked for Pitbull Productions doing 2 movies, then became a blogger on their ThugPornBlog. I was giving fuel to a bad image of us Blatinos that needs to disappear, and the sooner it's gone, the better. Luckily, I took those lessons, and did better for myself. But not everyone is as blessed as I am to come to that needed realization.

JS: You have your ideas on what's wrong with gay culture. Well, what's right about gay culture, if anything. What should people do to fix it?

LX: The fact hiding it is not as necessary as it once was. But sadly, that's about it. For many gays have taken the lack of needing to hide as much too damn far. Like the slightest sign of someone not coming 100% around to accepting homosexuality just yet, or President doesn't sign a bill into law on their timetable, there a groups running to the media saying "How dare you?!" These are gays who need to realize that acceptance takes time in them just as it probably took time for you yourself. As far as what should be done to fix it, we need to stop the ageism, racism, and sexism within our community. If we start with that many walls within the gay community will come crashing down like they should.

JS: Any thoughts about how recent things such as allowing open gays to serve in the military or allowing gay marriage might benefit gays?

LX:I have a bad history with the military. For a number of people I've met who have been in the military showed themselves to be verbally abusive to me, and others. Including my own grandfather. So to me, gays in the military means more gays getting that drilled into their head, than they got from sexualizing the bullying they've endured. It also means more people dying in war. My feeling is that as gays, we had an out to avoid being another war casualty. Gay activists should have took it. I love this country, but I have higher priorities than this country to live for, like living to love my family.

As for gay marriage, I didn't care much about it until I was a witness at my best friend's wedding. I'm glad to see that gays are afforded the same rights by getting married. But I think after a certain amount of time together, and living together because of it, any couple, straight or gay should be afforded the same rights as a married couple across the land. I do find the fact that it has to go by state to be silly. But then again, that's the hypocrisy of Congress, the Senate, etc.

JS: It seems that much of your criticism of gays is tied to the club scene or porn scene. What about gays who don't operate in this scene or just only occasionally go out? What about gays who live in the suburbs, small towns, and in other locations.

LX: Most of my criticism is tied to gays from the club and porn scene (which are greatly intertwined) because this is what teaches many of us how we are suppose to be if we are gay. Most gays at one point or another operated in the club scene. It may have gotten old for them, but they still did it.

Although many porn producers run to that "it's a fantasy" excuse when someone calls them out, and viewers use it when they don't want that porn taken away because it's on their bucket list, and they want to beat off to it until they can fulfill it, the porn scene is a teacher to many gay males. And that's why I make my criticisms. For it teaching those gays in the suburbs, small towns, and other places across the globe what a certain group of people are like. That's why many small town or suburban White or Europeans come here looking for either the Diesel Washingtons, Bobby Blakes, and Black/Latino thugs to use sex as a tool for abuse. They've sexualized their past abuse as a coping mechanism, and/or their guilt over slavery, corporate theft at the expense of people of color, etc. That's why they're shocked when I treat them the same humanity (or usually way more) than they expect to be treated by a White suitor.

JS: Some gay men say these psychoses are from oppression from the mainstream society. Do you see these pressures improving in recent years (look at the legal advances)? Have you yourself noticed any positive effects or changes?

LX: This is a case where I'm hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. For not looking my age (43 come March) has made me able to infiltrate the younger generation of gays. And sadly, I see this generation of 20-something gays having a sense of entitlement when they've done nothing to deserve it. That's an attitude that will definitely halt their emotional and mental growth. Thereby making them easy targets for the older gays (and society in general) who are more savvy on how to manipulate their naivete. So I'm hoping some young gay will do like I do, and give them a wake up call. Their popularity won't start out full of smiling faces, but they will be respected. And gays will hopefully want to follow that person to earn that respect themselves. --

My New Author's Page on Amazon

2014-01-18T18:36:00.001-08:00

I didn't realize until recently that Amazon even had an author's page. Amazon made it easier for book readers to find authors on Amazon by grouping all the books and readers comments they have together as a single page. This way of someone is fan of writer they can keep updated on all the books they've written. My own Amazon page can be found here. I also have three documentaries available on Amazon. The first is the Many Faces of Occupy Wall Street. That video covers the spectrum of people from Occupy Wall Street as it was happening in 2011, from a variety of activists. The second is Rockaway Gentrification, which chronicles the history and the current gentrification of Queens, NY's Rockaway peninsula. The third is Coney Island Restoration, which is about how the city of New York brought Coney Island back from being nearly demolished.

The History of My Insanity and the Stripper Diaries, Trishas Paytas's New Books

2014-01-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

Trisha Paytas has written two new books. One, the History of My Insanity, chronicles the damage the sex life has done to her mentally. It's an issue she's talk about in her videos on YouTube. The second is the Stripper Diaries, which are also more or less autobiographical.

Overall the common consensus seems to be that though the books have good story telling potential, that there were some technical errors (spelling, grammar) as well as plot eras which took a lot away from the books. Trisha self published her books on Amazon. Nothing's wrong with self publishing, one just needs to make sure one's books are edited before publishing on Amazon. Let's hope she reads the comments and incorporates the advice from the constructive elements into her work.

Trisha is a marketing genius. She did use her YouTube superstardom and decided to use it to make money in other ways. YouTube pays money per views, and for awhile that was probably one of her main sources of income. But she realized you can easily use that fame to make money for yourself in other ways. If her book sales become big enough, she might get a publishing deal or a film deal. Trisha is an excellent example of how to promote yourself as an entertainer in the digital age. For more of Trisha's perspective, you can check out my interview of her.

Lovari and Brian Brennan Relaunch Latino Fan Club

2014-01-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

Today's interview is with recording artist/actor Lovari and his business partner erotic filmmaker Brian Brennan. Particularly well known within the LGBT community, he is adding another belt to his name. He is a producer now and now has relaunched Latino Fan Club with Brian Brennan.

Justin Samuels: You just produced a new adult film with the Latino Fan Club. What's the name of the film? When can we expect to see it?

Lovari: Brian Brennan is a legend in the adult film industry, and I am honored to be working side by side with him. We completed a preview film called Savage Urban Desires, which will be out this spring. It is a prelude to other projects that we are beginning to work on. Think of it as the mixtape before the album. It introduces some new faces to the adult film world.

JS: Where will fans be able to buy your new film and other Latino Fan Club films?

Brian Brennan: Our new features will be in stores and you can also buy them directly on the Original Latino Fan Club website.

JS: I've heard Latino Fan Club parties were fantastic back in the day. Will there be more parties?

BB: Yes, our parties are now legendary. We are hoping there will be official Latino Fan Club parties this year, but topping what has been in the past will be a real challenge!

JS: What would you say you've learned from producing your first adult film?

L: I treated producing my first adult film the same way that I treated my suspense short film Shore Thing that won an award at the NY International Film Festival. I followed storyline and Brian's direction, and I assisted with my input.

JS: LeNair Xavier claims to have dated you in the past, and calls you a hypocrite for producing porn. Your thoughts on this?

L: LeNair and I had a courtship that lasted about a week. If you want to call that dating, then fine. I think it's pretty ludicrous for a former porn actor to be calling me out as a hypocrite for branching out into producing for the adult film industry. I am an entrepreneur who has various interests and passions in a number of entertainment genres. I was always gratified by the images and storylines in The Original Latino Fan Club videos, and therefore, I am excited to be a part of a franchise that was my favorite within this particular industry. I think the basis of LeNair Xavier's disdainment of me is that I decided not to pursue dating him after I discovered that he was active at sex parties. I wasn't interested in developing a relationship with somebody who was being sexually intimate with several other people as well. That's just not my thing. He is taking that aspect and twisting it into something else.

JS: On his blog, he claims you're a Latino degrading Latino while he had a past as a prostitute/porn actor. Thoughts?

L: Actually, I am Italian. So that's a false statement on his end right there. Secondly, how is it degrading somebody that is acting and being given scripted lines? These are works of fiction. And yes, some of the actors do identify as straight. In Hollywood, there are several straight identified actors who have played gay roles. Look at Brokeback Mountain for example or Sean Penn in Milk. As far as the element of degrading because of using the terms such as downlow and other urban slang,that is a fantasy that some men have. They like storylines of straight men getting it on with their homeboys. So what? That's what porn is for. It allows the viewer to be sexually gratified by whatever fantasy you choose. And this happens to be one of the bases of what The Original Latino Fan Club is. If you have a problem with downlow and straight bro fantasies, then you might as well have a problem with S&M videos, husband watches wife being gangbanged videos, and naughty maids videos. We are allowed to fantasize about whatever we want.

JS: You just made this announcement two days ago. What is the reaction of the gay community? And your fans?

L: I love my LFamz (Lovari's word for fans) because they are not afraid to express their opinion, even if they disagree with me. I always encourage them to do that because honest two way communication is the essence of a real artist/supporter fanbase. For example, when I released the song No Holding Back to radio, a few LFamz messaged me said, "Lovari, we like No Holding Back, but we love Take It To The Top instead. But we will support you!" And I wrote back and said, "Listen, don't be afraid to put that in the YouTube comments. You can be real and express how you feel, because that's what I'm about. I will love you more for it." And so, some of them did- even though they were kind about it. They wrote things like "This is a good track. Take It To The Top would be a great followup." As of right now, they have all supported this decision and just see it as an extension of who I am. You see, on my No Holding Back album, I spoke about my life openly. This includes downlow and sexual experiences, so this is just a natural progression. Snoop Dogg produced an adult film line while one of his albums was in the Top 10. Madonna released the Sex book right after co-starring in the successful film A League Of Their Own. This is not a career killer. The adult film industry is one of the most profitable of any type of business across the board.

Three Sisters (all small children) Brutually Raped and Killed

2013-02-21T20:33:00.001-08:00

Three sisters were brutally raped and killed in India. This is apparently having substantial political consequences in India, as protesters filled the streets demanding justice. The Indian authorities are finally being forced to put more resources into the protection of women. This comes on the heels of a brutal rape/murder of a young woman in India in Dec. This crime rapidly spread through the news, and finally motivated the Indian government to action. With anti female violence finally out in the open in India, it can be addressed by the government and by the society.