Nicht jede Kuh laesst sich melken

When I was giving Hollywood film reviews a few columns back I neglected to mention that the wonderous actress Jeannie Berlin is featured in Woody Allen's latest flicker Cafe Society. What a grossepoint oversight that was on my part. Ms. Berlin is the daughter of comedienne and film director Elaine May, and Jeannie starred in May's brilliant 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid along with Charles Grodin and Cybil Shephard. Another one of her 1970s films Sheila Levine is Dead and Living in New York directed by Sidney J. Furie is a hoot of the period. She took a long repreive from acting but I am glad to welcome her back on the big screen.

Also forgot to give my womanly take on the latest Meryl Streep film Florence Foster Jenkins about the New York society maven and klipklack soprano. I have never been a part of the Streep cult. The only thing of hers that I've ever liked was a PBS film version of Wendy Wasserstein's Uncommon Women & Others from the late 1970s. Her co-star Hugh Grant continues to play his greatest role as Divine Browns bewildered Sloan Ranger sex partner. The real breakthrough in this film is dweeby Simon Helberg who was one of my former students ages ago, and is really divoon here. Mr. Helberg is already the ensemble star of some longrunning TV situation comedy where his talents are wasted in dumb TVland shtick. In Jenkins his prissy mannerisms convey everything of a proper fagula of the 1940s—think Billy DeWolfe crossed with Taylor Mead with an expressive protean Wally Cox facecal.

Baby Diaper Joel Gibb of the Hidden Cameras invited me to his latest concert at Music & Frieden in the Wrangle Kiez. He was debuting his brilliantine new album Home on Native Land which is of the Lonesome Dove style thematically. His band members were also appropriately dressed matching Mr. Gibb in his Nudie rodeo tailored goldenen suit. The Honky Tonk Bisquit Queen, My Darling Clementine, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon spirit was permeating the venue and the Berlin audience a notoriously tough crowd were sighing and swooning to Gibbs Cimarron paced shit kicking hoedown.

Mr. Gibb was in fine voice,looking high wide and handsome in the matinee idol spotlight. I was very impressed with his banjo player a new arrival to Berlin from Nashville, and his high holy drummer Teutonic Tomas who is the most talented dynamic skin pounder on the seven planets with a radiant personality, a mighty sweet smelling bubble buttkiss, powerful muscles throbbing from his fingertips down to those sexy feet and twinkle toes.

Erst kommt das fressen, dann die moral

My darlings,

Was invited to the fabelshaft table of La Susanne Sachssee for one of her early winter feasts of the Magi. This one being in honor of sexy and ultra sophisticated Shai Heredia the filmmaker and festival director of the highly lauded Experimenta Festival of Bangalore. The gorgeous Ms. Heredia was in Berlin with her handsome ultra cool and sleek partner of the silky voice, the electronic musician Yashas Shetty. Also in attendance Daniel Hendrickson the Jewish Muzlim warrior translator to the shtars, Max Brauer the cute and cuddly Andy Kaufmanesque darsteller and bon vivant who will host his own eclectic evening at the Volksbuhner's Roter Salon, and everyone's rad party favourite Bruce“Judy”LaBruce who was in good form spilling all the proverbial “T” thats way too fart for the faint of heart. I love me some Canadian farmgirl lil Judy LaBruce.Yowza!

The next evening it was the return of CHEAP Funk on Reboot FM the radio program hosted by the amazing Diana McCarty. Joining CHEAP was Yashas Shetty as special guest who weaved his mercurial electronic musical magic live on the air. The night turned all non-sequitur with discussions and readings from and about Werner Schroeter via Susi Sachsse from Schroeter's nachruf fuer Maria Callas plus the dying diva propentittaly of Dalida,John Cage,Glen Meadmore and Kembra Phahler and her Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black album Black Date. And if that wasn't enough there was vissi d'arte and moi je vais mourir sur sce'ne.

I've been getting lots of email requests asking for more about the CHEAP PianoBar in Prague. Well below is the formal description of the piece we did as part of the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival.

Piano Bars are mainstays of gay and lesbian culture, historical places of musical refuge from a hostile outside world. They are like regular queer bars, but with an added bonus for the show-tunes-inclined among us: the chance to sing along to and distort popular songs with lovers, friends and intimate strangers all gathered together around the piano. CHEAP will distort not only songs, but the piano and the piano bar atmosphere itself, in this one night only performance and installation on the staircase in the smoker's area of the festival cafe. Come hang out with us. Drown your sorrows about queer culture in a glass of whiskey while humming along. Maybe we'll even play something you like. Probably not, but who cares, as long as we're kind of together. CHEAP art collective from Berlin has been making queer performances, installations, music, clubs, festivals, parties, videos and stuff for the past fifteen years. CHEAP Piano Bar will feature Vaginal Davis, Daniel Hendrickson, Susanne Sachsse and Marc Siegel.

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Those of you who are internationalists please rush to support Lia Gangitano the woman Suprema of Magical Arts and Sciences and founder of Participant Inc. Gallery the only not-for-profit art space left in New York City. We need Lia and what she brings to culture now more then ever as an antidote to the Gulag mentality that is sweeping the world and has now fully enveloped AmeriKKKa. Of course we always knew what was lurking in the stage door Johnny wings in goddessa foresaken US of A didn't we?

Friends,

This time last year, we felt grateful.

This year, it’s harder.

PARTICIPANT’s value system is modeled on another time, past or future – it’s hard to tell. Our new-ness is haunted by prior activisms, and necessitates longtime political imperatives to seek out new tools to create – and make claims to describe – alternative worlds.

To move forward with determination and urgency, we seek to redefine our gratitude.

We need survival tools.

Your commitment is meaningful.
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Looking forward to: of poetry / John Willie / Matt Keegan / Baseera Khan / Dash Snow / Pauline Boudry and Renate Lorenz / Glendalys Medina / Damien Echols and Jen DeNike / G.B. Jones and Paul P. / Narcissister / Lyle Ashton Harris

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Was able to spend a little girl-on-girl time with one of my oldest lady friends and collaborateurs the Mad Ms. Glen Meadmore. She was in Germany for two surprise shows in Liepzig and Berlin where she wowed the Burlesque frantic audience with her cowpunk antics at White Trash.

I love and adore this woman who at 6'8'' in her stalking feet is even taller then little womanly me who is miniscule at 6'6''. Ms. Meadmore's dayjob in LA is the limo driver to all the Hollywood Stars who love her and request her as their number one companion and driver of choice.

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Had a nice reunion recently with rocker dude Rasp Thorne. Mr. Thorne is an American musician who is now a British citizen and just moved to Berlin a few weeks ago. Before that he was living in London and was married to the famed Jewess Tatooess Marisa Karnisky.

That Canuckian wonder of big titty hasculinity Baby Diaper Joel Gibb and his band The Hidden Cameras will perform Wednesday Dec 7^th at 8pm at Music&Frieden in Berlin at: Falckensteiner Strasse 48

10997 in support of their new LP Home on Native Land. The big peniled Mr. Gibb is embracing his Home on the Range roots. I heard a preview of this material in the summer along with Alice Bag and its indeed impressive. Go to www.hiddencameras.com for more information.