Friday, July 24, 2009

B UNIQUE - CIRQUE DU FASHION SHOW - ROAD TRIP 2009

"Cirque du" was a fashion show organized by the fashionistas of Asbury Park during Road Trip Weekend 2009.  This video focuses on "B Unique", one of the local stores, who participated.  It captures the spirit and fun of this new free, fun event--which should grow and prosper in the years ahead.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

AMANDA LAPORE - ON BEING A TRANSSEXUAL

Amanda Lapore, a famous model & performer, was once biologically a male. She talked with Randy Wicker about her early rejection by the gay male community--who now comprise a significant part of her fan base & why she thinks her glamorous feminine mystique appeals to gay men. This interview was conducted right after she had received a standing ovation for her performance during Road Trip 2009 Weekend in asbury Park, N.J. Videographer/cameraman was Ryan Wolowski.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

FELIPE ROSE - A NATIVE AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY

Felipe Rose, one of the original members of The Village People, remineses with Randy Wicker about his life before stardom.  Felipe was obviously caught off-guard by Wicker's memories of his days as "Puppet Lady" in a male burlesque show in the early 1970s.

However, he graciously recovers & describes his success in life as a musician and as a representative of Native Americans--in music, theater & real estate investments.  This is a "real life" interview.  The cameras were rolling even before the "interview" officially commenced - real Cinema Verite !

Do check out www.FelipeRose.com  Please tell him how much you enjoyed this interview.  he is a great American and will hopefully be a symbol of hope for Native Americans languishing in the backwater of American society because of prejudice and lack of opportunity.

Pertsonally, this was one of the greatest & most-fulfilling interviews I've ever done.  So many of my friends died prematurely of AIDS, etc.  It was a "delicious-in-life" experience to find one who survived & prospered & continues to thrive.  Felipe Rose will always be one of my special "personal heroes"!

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

GREAT GAY BALLS OF FIRE - ROAD TRIP 2009

The sun had just faded away at the Asbury Park Sand Bast Dance on the beach. A mesmerizing young blond juggler/acrobat/ball-player got his balls flying through irregular orbits. The effects were startling and hypnotic..as you will see.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

GAY MALES ON FIRE - ROAD TRIP 2009

Road Trip Weekend is a gay celebration held the third weekend of every July in Asbury Park, N.J.  The big dance on Saturday runs from early afternoon to shortly after sunset on a temporary public dance platform built right on the beach itself.  It's a spectacular show in-and-of itself.  The day ends with entertainers & fireworks.  It's the ultimately romantic & exciting new event rapidly becoming the hottest ticket on the East Coast.  This video captures a few intimate minutes of one couple attending.  It speaks for itself.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Friday, July 10, 2009

INVASION OF THE PINES - THE SHOW BEFORE THE SHOW

Costumed "invaders" gather & socialize in Cherry Grove before the "Invasion Ferry" arrives. It's a compact preview of " the show' before 'The Show' begins". Here are selected clips from those memorable hours with a few fashion 'sources' tossed in. Actually, it's faster paced than either the boarding of the landing itself. You get to see everything--including stuff that just stays behind in Cherry Grove to enjoy the less congested party that continues there all day long.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

"VIOLENT STORM" - DRAG QUEEN AT SEA

Campy documentary about a silly flirtation between luscious hot drag queen named "Violent Storm" & yours truly on the boat carrying all the drag queens from Cherry Grove to the annual "Invasion of The Pines". "Drag Repair" volunteers help fix make-up. "The Pope" rails against Michael Jackson's untimely death. A Masochist asks to be tied up & tied down. A mariner hopes to find a place to stay through "the kindness of strangers". The tapestry of the plot shows how a kind-hearted lonely videographer is nearly "taken" for free drinks by a cabin-boy/girl slut.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

FIGHTING TRANSPHOBIA- - EDUCATING THE WORLD

The biological father of two works to help others understand gender issues while remaining married to her wife although she is now a woman also.
Hormones, transgender issues, building community, proper trans terms & other issues are explored in this remarkable and inspiring interview done with the head of the Transgender Education Association (TGEA dot NET) during Washington, D.C's LGBT Pride Festival on 6/14/2009.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

TRANS SECRETARY - WAITING FOR YOUR CALL

Katherine is an accomplished typist, take minutes & handles the voluminous emails an interview like this might well produce.

She volunteers to help people who are isolated and don't understand their feelings about being pre-opt, post-opt, cross-dressers, transsexual, transgender or just confused. She's "comfortable in her skin" & volunteers her time to help others feel comfortable in their skin--even when they choose to live 24-7 as a social gender that doesn't match their biological one.

Thank God for trans folk volunteers like Katherine who are there to help others find their way home. I nominate her for "Miss America 2010"!  Do I hear a second?
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Friday, July 03, 2009

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING - GAY PRIDE & UNIVERSAL HOPE

How exciting it was to see The Empire Stste Building bathed in lavander light for the first time on Gay Pride Day in NYC many years ago.  The "Reigning Queen" of NYC  is the first glimpse of the Manhattan skyline one gets from 15 to 17 miles away & it always makes a New Yorker's heart beat a bit faster.  This video is only possible in the free world.  In the Middle East, homosexuals are put to death publicly and/or slaughtered privately.  In Russia & Poland, skinheads beat up those who want to celebrate their community while the police & government officials "look the other way".  Read the terrifying comments on my video "gay Russians March Freely in NYC Gay Pride Parade" and you will see HATE is alive & well in many parts of the sworld.  But, standing tall over NYC, "the center of the known world" (Quentin Crisp)" the Empire State Building carries messages of celebration & pride for dozens of different ethnic communities.  On Gay Pride Day, she stands as a beacon of freedom to LGBT people all over the world.  Oh, how I do love her ! !
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

BLACK WOMYN - LESBIAN TERMINOLOGY PRT 2

Agressive fem, femmie butch, stud,bisexual, flipfloppers--they all get discussed in an amazing film called "Black Womyn: Conversations with Lesbians of African Descent". Tiona M. (TionaMproductions@yahoo(dot)com) discusses some terms & her film in this final segment of their interview.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

BLACK WOMYN - LESBIAN CONVERSATIONS

"Black Womyn: Conversations with Lesbians of African Descent" is a feature-length documentary focusing on the lives and views of lesbians of African descent. It features candid interviews with black lesbian women discussing coming out, sexuality and religion, love and relationships, marriage, patriarchy, visibility in the media, discrimination and homophobia, gender identity, Black lesbian youth and elders, blancing gender/race/sexuality, and, finally, what it means to call oneself a Black lesbian today. Randy Wicker interviews Tiona M. who produced this masterpiece. This is the first 10 minutes of a 16-minute interview. Continued in "BLACK WOMYN - LESBIAN TERMINOLOGY".
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

MANGA ART KINOKUNIYA BOOKSTORE

Magna are book length stories told in a comic-book format. This Japanese art-form is rapidly growing among young people in the USA. Chris, a helpful employee at Kinokuniya Bookstore in NYC, gave me a brief tour of the Magna section there during a "Lolita Fashion Shoot" event I was videotaping. He explains a mural actually drawn by renowned Manga artist Inoue Takehiko on the wall of the second floor there & shows me some books those just getting interested in Magna might want to research.
Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)