KANN MAN HOCHWASSERHOSEN TRAGEN?
Unbelievably handsome baby diaper Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras hosted a pre-holiday housewarming at his Neu Kölln compound. The food was delicious, and included Chestnut and pumpkin soup and meaty meats by Mr. Gibbs super lovesexy East German beau Enrico. Enjoying the warmth and good cheer: Film historian Marc Siegel with his lovely intermedia actress girlfriend Susanne Sachsse, master musician and filmmaker Tim Blue escorted by dashing LA fashion designer Cornel Collins, Daniel “Haji" Hendrickson with ItalioGerman partner Piero Bonnehomme,Anna Muelter of the HAU, Gallic artist Christophe Chemin, journalist Malte with his older brother, Turkish beauty boy and set designer Senol Senturk, kJohnny Blue, Christian Siekmieir of Exile Gallery with his ginger lifepartner, Dolce & Gabbana mannequin Evandro Soldati, and DJ Snax who previewed some of the hot wax trax off his explosive upcoming CD.
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Just found out that Sam Bottoms, the youngest of the famous Bottoms Brothers acting dynasty of Santa Barbara died. I had a bit of a dalliance with Sam back in the 70s, but i´ve always been more enamored of his older brothers Joseph and Timothy. Timothy Bottoms co-starred with me in an episode of the ABC TV drama Gideon´s Crossing back in 2000.
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Michael Lucid, the star and co-creator with Demanda Barrett of Cable & internets hit electronic short film series Pretty Things came by the Cheese Endique Trifecta Sunday for a visit. Ms. Lucid aka Damiana Garcia is in Berlin for a gay wedding. We had a wonderous time hobknobbing together and she filled me in on lots of Los Ang gossip, like the Museum of Death returning to Hollywood after a long hiatus. The Museum of Death use to be a San Diego cult institution, but then they moved North to Hollywood Blvd for a while right next door to the gay sauna The Hollywood Spa. Now they are back on Hollywood Blvd, but further down the street at Gower. Michael and his creative partner Demanda are now 30 years old. When all the children you¥ve inspired start to hit 30+ you know you’re an old heffer. DeManda along with her wife Abby are in the popular heritage music group The Ditty Bops. Michael also went to school with Billy, the F2M who is now a top Oscar nominated film editor who got his start working behind the scenes with Bruce La Bruce on the movie Hustler White. If you haven’t seen any of Michael Lucid’s performances or films check them out online. He is one of those rare LA talents that should be a household word. I¥ve been one of his biggest fans and supporters from the very beginning and i have to get him and The Ditty Bops here to Berlin for a project.
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Daniel “Haji” Hendrickson, the Scandanavian Muslim threw a joyous Muslim Hannukah Party at his Neu Kˆlln compound. The decor was scintilating with 100 Menorah¥s scattered around the festive drawing room, Arab music and dreydels for everyone to play with. The fabulous food was all kosher and delicious— latkas with persimmon pudding as desert. Seen spinning the dreydel: the beautiful Empress of The Arsenal Institute of Film and Video Kunst Miss Stefanie Schulte Strathaus with her right hand gal pal the luscious bubble butt Nanna Heidenreich, a party isn’t a party in Berlin without the beloved Anna Muelter of the Hebbel Theater. Music filmmaker Tim Blue with his handsome Negro boyfriend the LA designer Cornel Collins, little brother kJohnny Blue, film historian Marc Siegel with his ladylove the famous, gorgeous actress Susanne Sachsse and hunky Turkish set designer Senol Senturk who is off to Los Angeles and the states for the first time to visit his girlfriend the renown academic, Professor Jennifer Doyle of UC Riverside.
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With the death of pinup queen Bettie Page i started thinking about other sisters of the cloth like Tempest Storm, Blaze Starr and the great Lilly St. Cyr. Ms. St. Cyr owned a store on Santa Monica Blvd and Crescent Heights called The Undie World of Lily St. Cyr. Of course being a drag diva i was a frequent customer to this incredible store where you could buy old fashion style sexy foundation garments and the most incredible girdle¥s, stockings and accessories. When the store closed in the early 90s it was quite a loss. Lily St. Cyr¥s stock was much better made then the things you can buy at Playmates of Hollywood, Victoria¥s Secret or Fredrick¥s. There was another more modest, simple boutique owned and ran by a bunch of old Jewish ladies in the shopping center at 3rd Street and Fairfax near Lohmann¥s Dept store. This place was great for big boned gals like myself, and the women didn¥t bat an eyelash that a queen was coming in to shop and try things on. If anything they got excited and were all rushing about catering to me like i was Barbra Stanwick. Sometimes i forget just how much of a glamorous allure i have. Even dressed in boy clothes i exude something special. This was made evident to me recently while treating myself to breakfast at a little Turkish cafe on the day of my Rising Stars, Falling Stars event. I was coming out of the loo wrapping a scarf around my neck and this middle aged German woman looked up at me and cood “You¥re beautiful”.
I smiled graciously and said thank you, then caught a glimpse of myself in the reflection of a shop window and i did have a certain wintery glow. Funny i left my flat that morning feeling quite plain and ordinary. Considering I am a woman of a certain age, the years have been extroidinarily kind to me. Whenever i see old pals after many years, some who are decades younger then me, i find i can¥t return the compliment.
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Baby Diaper Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras hosted a Gallic Christmas Day dinner. Joel and Val the exotic French/Martinique via London temptress of the super hot electro duo Noblesse Oblige cooked a plump toddler in the shape of a turkey with all the trimmings. Normally i¥m not much of a cannibal, but this meal was extroidinary, and whats one less baby in the world eh? Guests included muscular artiste Christophe Chemin with his sweet lady friend from Paris, La Bourette who works for Ungaro, Berlin legendina Zazie de Paris came with Nina Hagen¥s manager Mabel the Man, and dapper Weiland Speck of the Berlinale¥s Panorama Section. An evening of festive merriment and yummy food ensued. Don¥t forget to mark in your Berlin calenderia Friday Jan 16th because Noblesse Oblige will perform at Search&Destroy the queer noises club at the Schwuz at Mehringdam
In Kreuzberg. Joel Gibb, Acme Singt the naked superstar spinmeister, and Ms. Vaginal Davis will be part of the DJ team in the Golden Streams lounge that evening. There will be a pretty cock and cooch contest so start primping your privates.
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Stars always die in groups of three. I don¥t know where the great Eartha Kitt fits in to this equation but she has now met her mortal coil at the age of 81 or 84. No one is quite sure how old she was, but those two numbers are the best estimates. A complete original, i had the opportunity to see Ms. Kitt in action several times at one of her many appearances at the Cine Grill at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd in the 1980s and 90s. The CineGrill was one of the few upscale style cabaret joints left in Los Angeles. A holdover from the era of the supperclub.
Ms. Kitt was born a sharecropper¥s daughter like my mother, in the deep south to a white Plantation owner¥s son who came down with jungle fever for her black mother. As a teen Ms. Kitt was sent to NYC and became a dancer with the famous Katherine Dunham Dance troupe and later conquered Broadway in New Faces of 1952. She caused a political scandal in the 1960s when invited to a White House luncheon with Ladybird Johnson where Ms. Kitt denounced America¥s involvement in the Vietnam war. Her taking that stand caused her career to suffer for ten years in America.
Most people are familiar with her from the role of Catwoman in the 1960s Batman TV series, and for her many sultry recordings from the 1950s and even her free style disco hit from the early 80s. A truly unique talent that could not be pigeonholed, she spoke and sang in a million different languages. Truly an internationalist. Also one of the hardest working, sexy and fascinating women in the world. The only other entertainers she could be compared to are Josephine Baker and Nina Simone. She was still keeping an amazing performance schedule up until her death of colon cancer on Christmas Day.
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Susanne Sachsse the luscious star of two of Bruce La Bruce¥s films The Raspberry Reich and Otto: Up With Dead People, and a classically trained German actress triumphed with her yearly after Christmas dinner party. Frau Sachsse¥s is the most famous table in Berlin. The endless supply of food included sheering lamb, Brocolli Salad with truffle sauce, a bean collard parfait and chickpeas. The guest list included a veritable who¥s who: kJohnny Blue and his girlfriend Nadine, Stefanie Schulte Strathaus the Empress of the Arsenal Institute of Film and Video Kunst with girl friday Nanna Heidenreich. Ms. Stefanie and Nanna generously gave the Vaginal Doll a special VIP transportation pass and key to the City of Berlin. Also seen: filmmaker Tim Blue and fashion designer Cornell Collins smooching and enjoying their hot and heavy love affair, renown academe Katja Sander with her Danish beau Simon, independent curator Hannah Hurtzig, muscular french triple threat artist Christophe Chemin, hairy chested Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras, Daniel “Haji” Hendrickson, naked Superstar DJ Acme Singt,16 year old DeRohan Chabot crushing on Suzi¥s pretty 15 year old daughter Salome Gersh, La Bourette of the House of Ungaro whose sizzling book of poetry La Bourette Enchante is part of the famed French literary series Le Rayon created by the late controversial pro bareback sex activist, writer and judge Guillaume Dustan, Belgium Princess Anne He’lene D’Arenberg with Anouchka Delon the 18 year old daughter of actor Alain Delon. Ms. Suzi surprised me with a sensational gift of deadstock vintage 1920s stockings in their original packaging and her beau Marc Siegel gave me a copy of the latest edition of the academic journal Camera Obscura that features Kiki & Herb on the cover and Mr. Siegel¥s masterful essay “Vaginal Davis’ Gossipal Truths”.
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Film director Richard Mulligan died at age 83. Mulligan was most known for the 1963 film To Kill A Mockingbird starring Gregory Peck from the Harper Lee book, and Summer of ’42 starring Jennifer O’Neill and Gary Grimes. Other famous passings at the end of the year include South Afrikan singer Miriam Makeba, Playright Harold Pinter, quite the vocal critic of US policies and Fluxux pioneer George Brecht who died age 82 in Cologne, Germany.
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The famous Love Camel aka: Andrea Novarin my Italian/British assistant since 1996 arrived Saturday to spend the Silvester Holiday with me. Andrea originally hails from Milan, but has lived in England for 10 years. i still can¥t understand a word he says. I think that is necessary for us to get along all these many years. This is our third year toasting the New Year together, and we always spend it the same way watching a marathon of movies and eating junk food. New Year¥s eve in Berlin is crazy with all the firecrackers, cherry bombs and molitav cocktails you would think you were on the Gaza strip. Thats why i like to stay at home and not go to any parties.
Speaking of soirees the last of the holiday season was Tim Blue¥s birthday Sunday which always starts at 3pm so he can kick everyone out early. His new boyfriend designer Cornel Collins took charge of the excellent menu. Being seen and heard: Berlin¥s experimental film maestro Wilhelm Hein just returned to the continent from SRO shows in New York and New Orleans and will present Sunday Jan 25th his You Killed The Underground Film or the Real Meaning of Kunst Bleibt . . .Bleibt at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art where your¥s truly along with the Blue Bros Tim & kJohnny will make guest appearances. The talented Isabel Spengler who just finished a new film called “The Pitch” with Evi R¸ssler that i have been hearing oodles of good things about, that Naked DJ boy Acme Singt with 16 year old boy wonderkind DeRohan Chabot who was shyly talking to pretty Salome Gersh the 15 year old daughter of actress Susanne Sachsse, film historian Marc Siegel, Daniel Hendrickson, Stefanie Schulte Strathaus, Nanna Heidenreich, cutie pie German actor Stefan Faulpel, Uli Ziemon,the most beautiful boy in Berlin, the wonderfully delightful Finnish video artist Gun Holstrom, Israeli beauty boy Lior Shamreiz who works for Heinz Emigholtz who is doing a new film starring Tilda Swinton and Cheaps Susanne Sachsse, kJohnny Blue with girlfriend Nadine, and of course The Love Camel. The party ended around 10pm and everyone flanked to nearby Porky Club at Ficken 3000, where the motto is: Exploit Yrself Today, Pay For It Tomorrow. The new clubs wild host Tennessee aka Baby Brian, the nutters Mormen concubine of A-list directors Gus Van Sant and Brian Singer was back home in the states for Christmas, and taking his place was Travis Jeppeson¥s super hot lover Mario of Slovakia behind the wheels of steel. Joining in on the post birthday celebration was cute Israeli Imre who works at Barbie Deinhoff with that all talking, walking career known as Rajendra Roy the handsome South Asian who use to be a mover and shaker with the Berlinale and now works for MoMa in New York. Raj said he wants to do a Vaginal Davis Retrospectacle at MoMa, now wouldn¥t that be something?