“Jones’ minimalist writing, recalling in some ways E. E. Cummings, carves out finely designed pictographs for the mind to explore. The depictions in his poems of the Momma figure are so endearing and heart-warming, I could almost smell the home cooked meal on the stove as I read the often monosyllabic lines on the page. What Jones can do with one syllable, takes many at least a dozen to get across.”
-Pandora Scooter, CEO Fushicho Entertainment & Spoken Word Artist
"Jones' prose pops and percolates, possessing an immediacy and energy so electric you'd swear you were at a poetry slam. And, as with any riveting performance, you will be on the edge of your seat, captured by the rapture of Jones' "a-to-the-men" testimonies on love and lust, hurt and healing, sadness and celebration. Long before you get to the very last stanza, you will be giving this intensely moving collection--and Jones--a standing ovation."
- James Earl Hardy, author of the bestselling B-Boy Blues series
- Lee Hayes, author of The Bad Seed and Passion Marks
-Paula Brancato, CEO, The Writers Place --
Professor, University of Southern California
The Faison Firehouse Theater located at 6 Hancock Place will present Opera Is HOT December 2nd, with a 6pm opening night reception, followed by the 8pm performance; Saturday, December 3rd, 3pm and 8pm and Sunday, December 4th, 3pm, followed by reception. Tickets for the 8pm concerts (Friday and Saturday), $25 in advance and $30 on the day of the performance. Opening Night Reception and concert: Friday, December 2nd $40 per person. 3pm concerts (Saturday and Sunday) $20 in advance, $30 on the day of the performance.
The closing matinee performance with reception on Sunday, December 4th is $40 per person. Tickets on line: www.faisonfirehouse.org and for reservations call 212-665-7698, or e-mail at faisonfirehouse.org.
The series will present of four concerts featuring Harlem Opera Theater Vocal Competition Winners, Jasmine Thomas, soprano, Flora Mendoza, mezzo-soprano, Patrick Dailey, counter-tenor, and Barry L. Robinson, baritone. The program will also include guest performances by Robert Mack, tenor of the Metropolitan Opera, Phillip Boykin, the acclaimed Crown in the upcoming Broadway production of Porgy and Bess, Richard Bellazin, acclaimed bass, Victor Trent Cook and Roderick Dixon, celebrated tenors and original members of “Three Mo’ Tenors”. The series will present arias by Donizetti, Puccini, Mozart, Bizet and Gershwin.
In addition the repertoire will include Negro Spirituals and works by African American Composers Hal Johnson and Nathaniel Dett. As conceived and staged by George Faison, poetry form renowned African American writers will be interwoven throughout the program to recreate an era of self discovery and determination reminiscent of the Harlem Renaissance. Brian Whitted, Faison Firehouse Theater Musical Director will provide the piano accompaniment. The historical prospective will blend the talents of these gifted young stars of tomorrow into a new creative production that will serve as a preview of future presentations of up and coming opera singers. This artistic philanthropy is in keeping with the now eleven-year Faison Firehouse mission to “reclaim restore and rebuild our youth and our community through dance, music, art and theater.”
WHAT
Whether old or young, masc or fem, prep or urban, we all share an attraction that draws us together and forces us to see the similarities in our differences...and in the club, there's no hiding from this truth.
An unparalleled collaboration between 4 noted filmmakers, LANGSTON'S is a modern portrait of gay men of color who are linked together by a tragic act.
A film by and 4 boys of color.
WHY
Together we can stop other young men of color from sinking.
Novo Film Project is dedicated to examining the questions latent in the LGBT community of color. In every project, Novo Film Project builds upon the contemporary and classic concerns and themes that remain timeless in order to introduce more "colorful" images in the cinematic landscape. In association with Off The Clock Productions, LANGSTON'S is the first feature length effort in achieving this goal.
In short, LANGSTON'S is a response to the diminishing presence of "colored folks" in mainstream film, a novel opportunity for us to tell our story and affect positive change within our community.
WHO
LANGSTON'S fuses the talents of 4 emerging, award-winning filmmakers:
Dane Harrington Joseph
Co-producer and writer of Drama Queenz, the hit comedy series about three friends and roommates dealing with life, love, and trying to make it in New York City. Now in its third season, the show has been presented at film festivals and pride events across the country, on many notable blogs and websites, and has a special partnership with BGCLive.com.
Dwight Allen O’Neal
Executive Producer/Creator/Writer of Christopher Street TV (now available through TLA Releasing) and the forthcoming spin-off series cockTALES. A notable blogger, celebrity make-up artist, and international GAYlebrity, Dwight’s work has featured in Vogue Magazine, TheFutureFoward.net, and various other hot spots across the world wide web.
Daniel Armando
Executive producer/director/writer, Boys Like You (winner “Best Male Short,” North Carolina Int’l Gay and Lesbian Film Festival) and vice president of development at Novo Film project.
James Peoples
BET/Urbanworld Screenwriting finalist and writer of the first novo film project, Where Truth Lies (Official Selection, North Carolina Int’l Gay and Lesbian Film Festival). James' work has also been featured in the NBC Shortcuts festival. James was also one of the recipients for Best Science Fiction film at the Terror Film Festival.
HOW
YOU can make this happen. Through your support, you can help give voice to emerging artists, a disenfranchised community, and the individuals within that may be sinking. By partnering with Novo Film Project and Off the Clock Productions, you will bring to life work by us, for ALL of us.
Give today.
The GLBT Travel Store, the premier gay travel store for the prolific LGBT traveler. We're happy to bring you a specially curated array of travel accessories and services for the LGBT community. The gay travel store opened just in time for the holidays when the most traveling happens. It will be featuring select gift ideas to make your Online shopping easy here and on facebook: Like us on facebook, join the facebook group and our newsletter. We know what you want to arrive in style! We've shopped the Internet for eco-friendly luggage options and everything to fill it from swimwear, underwear, and accessories to skincare and hair care. They have designer labels from Calvin Klein, Emporio Armani, D & G Dolce & Gabbana, and Hugo Boss as well as sexy labels like 2Xist, Pistol Pete and Gregg Homme.
“In recent years, I have produced events across the country and realized that there was not one place where I could get those travel accessories that made things a bit easier for me” said Steve Levenberg, Co-founder of the GLBT Travel Store. Certainly, none that appealed to a gay Aesthetic. For myself and the other members of the LGBT community, I wanted to put together a site where we could do one stop shopping.”
“Our site is easy to navigate and provides a varied selection of items from the very best suppliers. We are always looking to add to the selection. I believe Our Travel Store is a unique and exciting purchasing venture. Our blogs will be insightful, helpful and of course, humor filled” said Herb Hernandez, Co-founder of The GLBT Travel Store.
About Co-founders
Steven Levenberg has produced LGBT events since 1994. These events have migrated all across the country from the Javits, LA to the Miami Beach Convention Centers as well as other venues. In recent years, he has successfully produced The GLBT Travel Expo, www.glbttravelexpo.com that has herald in NYC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Ft. Lauderdale. He was excited to add Miami and Chicago to the 2012 tour.
Herb Hernandez is co founder and President of H2Internet Services, a NYC based computer and internet services company. He has a 15-year background in retail sales.
By Christina NgThese images aren’t the latest political scandal. They’re a new ad campaign from Italian clothing company United Colors of Benetton called “Unhate.”
The images are digitally manipulated but they send a pointed message. The newly unveiled UNHATE Foundation seeks to promote a culture of tolerance and combat hatred around the world, the company said in a news release.
Click here to see all the images.
The campaign was launched today in Paris.
“Unhate is a message that invites us to consider that hate and love are not as far away from each other as we think,” the campaign’s website said. “Actually, the two opposing sentiments are often in a delicate and unstable balance. Our campaign promotes a shift in the balance: don’t hate, Unhate.”
The website features photos of people holding large banners of the images “on the walls of locations symbolic of the desperately-needed peace process: Tel Aviv, New York, Rome, Milan and Paris,” the news release says.
The ads have already become a source of controversy.
After the images went up, the Vatican quickly denounced an image of Pope Benedict XVI kissing Egyptian Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb on the lips.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi called the digitally altered image an “unacceptable” and offensive manipulation of the pope’s likeness, according to the Associated Press.
Benetton removed the image shortly thereafter and it is no longer on the website.
The company is known for its striking, and often controversial, ads. Past ads have shown a priest kissing a nun, a white baby breast-feeding from a black woman and three human hearts with the words “white,” “black” and “yellow” printed over them.
As I prepare to wrap up my final 7 weeks in Las Vegas with The Lion King, nerves settle in as questions of "what next?" percolate my mind. The questions appear to be rooted more in stability, which is so ironic in this life... is anyone really stable? With that said, I've been reading Russell Simmons's book Do You and Shaktai Gawain's Creative Visualization which has helped with my spiritual and creative balance so I don't really fear what's next because I have faith that what is next is already in place. Creatively I have used the time in Vegas to complete my 1st collection of poetry, Shadows & Lights. So excited that it will be released next month, allowing the universe to have her/his way.
I am back east in the new year, briefly, visiting family and friends. Next I am making my way to sunny LA: creating, networking, and growing is what's in store for the time there. That being expressed, I've visualized my future for 2012, which includes a huge gift for mom, a new book project and show, healthier living, touring and exploring a new place, and more youth outreach work. Have you visualized your 2012?
Let me not forget, Thanksgiving will be here next week, and I am thankful for the courage to share. Inviting you to take a moment to check out the details on my book and a reading/outreach project I facilitated in Vegas.
Enjoy the holiday.
“In this, Jones' first anthology of poetry, he comes to terms with and expresses great pride in his sexuality and positive-status. His minimalist writing, recalling in some ways e.e. cummings, carves out finely designed pictographs for the mind to explore. The depictions in his poems of the Momma figure are so endearing and heart-warming, I could almost smell the home cooked meal on the stove as I read the often monosyllabic lines on the page. What Jones can do with one syllable, takes many at least a dozen to get across.”
-Pandora Scooter, CEO Fushicho Entertainment & Spoken Word Artist
“Jones' prose pops and percolates, possessing an immediacy and energy so electric you'd swear you were at a poetry slam. And, as with any riveting performance, you will be on the edge of your seat, captured by the rapture of Jones' "a-to-the-men" testimonies on love and lust, hurt and healing, sadness and celebration. Long before you get to the very last stanza, you will be giving this intensely moving collection--and Jones--a standing ovation.”
- James Earl Hardy, author of the bestselling B-Boy Blues series
“Shadows and Lights is a moving, intimate portrayal of the life of poet and playwright Cornelius Jones Jr. In this heartbreakingly beautiful book, Cornelius fashions images both brave and delicate to describe growing up black and gay in Washington D.C., the decay of the body and the rage of living with HIV. But it is the writer's honesty that lifts these words off the page. This is experiential poetry at its finest. You must listen to the music of Cornelius, Jones Jr.”
-Paula Brancato, CEO, The Writers Place -- Professor, University of Southern California
"What is next is already in place"
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As I am slimming down preparing myself for production of my new film CockTales I am feeling more fashion inspired. With that said I stumbled across a very talented hair stylist who has the male version of Carrie Bradshaw’s shoe collection and he has several signature pieces within his wardrobe that help his fashion stand out. I really think that you could learn a thing or two from him and I know where I want to get my next pair of pumps… JAPAN! Meet Anto Lloyd King Cheetah.
We first heard back in August about Lady Gaga‘s upcoming holiday collaboration with Barneys, in which a floor at the legendary Madison Avenue store will be turned into Gaga’s Workshop. A lot more details have finally been released, and it’s going to be like a modern day rendering of The Nightmare Before Christmas, with a large dose of Gaga kitsch and drama mixed in.
Gaga’s Workshop at Barneys will officially open at 11:59pm on November 21 and will be open through January 2. A huge neon Gaga monster will grace the front doors of the store, and an entire floor will be devoted to the Workshop. The whole project was a collaborative effort between Nicola Formichetti and installation artists Eli Sudbrack and Christophe Hamaide Pierson of Assume Vivid Astro Focus, along with Barneys creative director Dennis Freedman–and of course, Gaga herself. Even Gaga’s mom got into the act. Formichetti told WWD, “She knew Gaga’s favorite chocolates or her favorite books when she was little. We really wanted this experience to be like going through her memories, in a very surreal way. For that, I needed the help of Mrs. Germanotta.”
The workshop, which will be on the fifth floor, will house eight different stations including: a giant wig that will house fake nails and other beauty items; a Gaga-faced spider holding jewelry; a giant pop-up book for the books; and a sculptural candy shop (apparently her favorite childhood treats were malted milk balls, gumballls, and candy lipsticks.) Some of the Gaga candy offerings will include chocolate “poker face” chips and “disco stick” lollipops. (Um.)
The Gaga theme continues with the windows, which were inspired by various Gaga songs. One will feature that most festive of holiday decorations–hair–on every surface, obviously in honor of her song “Hair.”
If you can’t make it to New York, you can get in on some of the fun online on the Gaga’s Workshop microsite, which is up and running now. There’s a “12 Days of Gaga” teaser feature up now, which will highlight a new Gaga product every day until it officially opens, after which you’ll be able to buy most of the products that are featured in the store. Today’s item is a Gaga cookie (right), which sells for $15. You can also scan codes for clues and tidbits about the Workshop, and there’s a Monster picture frame in which you can post pics of yourself if you’re so inclined. Barneys is even giving away 30 trips to NYC for the opening night via a Golden Ticket contest.
The merch will range in price from stocking stuffers for $6 (like candy) to a one-off pair of Gaga shoes for $4,100. A claw-shaped stocking, fringed with hair, will go for $65. Barneys is donating 25% of all sales to Gaga’s newly-minted Born This Way Foundation, which “aims to empower youth and promote equality through programs on antibullying, self-confidence, mentoring and career development” according to WWD.
And of course the question on everyone’s mind is–will Gaga show up at Barneys at some point? To Gaga’s Little Monsters, that might be the best holiday gift ever.
"We're here to celebrate the power of words and music to help us appreciate beauty but also to understand pain. To inspire us to action and to sear us on when we start to lose hope. To lift us up out of our daily existence, even if it's just for a few moments."