from the archives :: miss usofa pageant

let's try this again - it seems i hit the wrong button on my sidekick and cleared out my last entry.

tonight was the final night of prelims which means (if you are playing along at home) that the scores are in and tomorrow we find out who our top 12 will be. in true pageant tradition - the hotel is buzzing with people's predictions. i tell you what - the judges had a tough job as usual. lots of strong gowns tonight as well as a few cute talents. tomorrow night at the adams mark will be interesting. layla larue has had a fabulous week reports say and tonight was no exception. the formers were lovely - shout outs to alexis gabrielle sherington, raquelle lord, and erica norrell - ladies you rocked tonight. and it wouldn't be complete without the comic antics of our hostess with the mostess - miss sophia mcintosh. as usual she kept us in stitches. it's late - 3am - and groups are up rehearsing. talk about dedication! i for one am heading to bed.

good night and talk to ya'll tomorrow!

from the archives :: miss usofa pageant

dallas, tx

well kids - i made it to dallas - and oh my god - forgot about the humidity! i left nyc when it was 43 and raining - got to dallas and was hit by the humidity like a mac truck! the host hotel (crowne plaza) was a buzz with people talking about the pageant, practicing their dance moves, and gossiping about american idol (of all things).

i met up with owners jerry bird and lou haskell to watch the 2 hour season finale of american idol (go carrie - still can't believe she pulled a kelly clarkson on us and beat out bo!) - and then i headed to s4 to watch the sednesday night show.

fun times let me tell you - s4 is the old village station rebuilt and cleaned up. they expanded the rose room upstairs (which is where the prelims have been held the past few nights) and the light system down on the dance floor is fantastic.

the show was fun and entertaining - i realized last night that it's been a long time since i've seen a drag show like this. of course everyone was there to help send off layla larue as she is giving up her title as miss usofa on friday. she was stunning in her mohawk - made me gag! go layla! can't wait to see what these girls bring tonight and tomorrow!

well kids - i'm off - look for me - i'll be around - i'm staying in the host hotel (1904) - come say hey!

if you are here in dallas - can't wait to meet you - if you aren't - have fun playing along at home! more later - till then - happy dragging!

from the archives :: what a week

so yeah - it's been a while since i've written - lord knows i should get a smack in the bottom for neglecting my people but it's been a busy one. this week was particularly interesting! let's start on monday shall we?

when: monday 5.16.05
where: galore, monster, cafeteria (nyc)

stopped off at xes in nyc for galore early on monday. met up with deryck todd and dj jimmy beats. the week prior i was unable to attend as i was in dc on business - but nonetheless - i had to go to show my love to my friends and support their great evening of music and art. the week prior marked a new month and a new set of artists' work on display (including 4 of my own pieces.) entertainment for the evening was neal croomer. neal is a gay pop star who reminds me a bit of george michael circa 'faith' in his music styles - looks nothing like george michael - talented nonetheless.

after the show i had to duck out to meet up with and out of town friend at monster down in greenwich village. the monster - if you've never been - daddy daddy daddy bar with latino boys amuck on mondays. piano bar upstairs - dance/salsa club below. monday nights is laritza dumonte's show. it is rumored that laritza was the inspiration for john leguizamo's character chichi in the movie 'to wong foo, thanks for everything julie newmar.' her special guests came all the way in from florida. misty eyez and the newly decrowned (for no good reason i may add) miss florida ffi - angelique ali. our good friend antonio edwards was in the crowd - lovely man I might add - it was the first time we had met. laritza did her normal half english half spanish show to some hot latin dance music - she got the crowd pumped and ready for a good time. she was followed by misty who did some very clever camp/comic routines with dance breaks and cute costumes. of course this was followed by the ever-so fishy vocal talents of miss ali. it was good to see miss ali back on her home turf - she let me have it for not being in attendance at her show at therapy the night before.

between acts one and two they brought the night to a hault to have an amateur strip contest. 7 contestants climbed on stage to win a cash prize. if you are ever at the monster on a monday night - this is the time to go outside and smoke, get a drink (or 6), or go upstairs and sing some showtunes with the piano boys. this contest was chuck full of the most random assortment of men you can imagine. the hottest one lost to an old(er) man who pulled down his pants to show his scabby butt with his ass cut out of his kmart undies - scabby butt people - it was so gross. he won - proving that if there's a scandal - you may trick people into screaming no matter how gross you are!

in true monday tradition - the girls did a little runway to close the night. laritza and angelique had to show misty how the new york girls do it - but misty got the hang of it afterall.

after the show we retired to our favorite late night eatery for mac 'n cheese - cafeteria. cafeteria is a trendy little 'gay' 24-hour diner in chelsea with great 2am mac 'n cheese. if you are lucky - you can see one of the olsen sisters chowing down (then puking it up again) in the wee hours. i got to meet misty in person and discovered we were already connected in cyberland. funny how small the world is. long story short - it was good to see old friends and great to have the opportunity to meet new ones.

moving on...

when: tuesday 5.17.05
where: beacon theater - nyc

i got to pop into a semi-private concert at the beacon theatre for aol music live. featured artist was coldplay - one of my absolute favorite bands out there. the show was great and best of all - I sat near gweneth paltrow who looked lovely. see - she's married to the lead singer and the two of them have an adorable child by the name of apple. the concert was great and the energy was kicking. i can't wait for their new cd to come out next month. also in attendance was 'desperate housewives' star teri hatcher and musician beck.

after the show i headed down to the soho area to meet up with my good friends eric himan and meghann robinson. eric himan many of you know as one of our links on our link page. both he and meghann are gay singer/songwriters making names for themselves in the big world. very happy to have them as friends. anyway - we hung out had some beers and then headed home for a good night sleep. i was sad i had to miss eric's show at the bitter end here in nyc to see coldplay but he understood.

wednesday 5.25 i head to dallas to hang out for miss gay usofa (20th anniversary) - way to go usofa! final night of prelims are on thursday and final night is friday. should be a killin' - see ya'll there!