I’m a little later to the game (OK, incredibly late), but I am thoroughly enjoying John Rechy’s breakthrough novel City of NIght, published in 1963. Based on his own adventures, the story is narrated by a hustler as he sells his body while traveling across America.

Here’s from the inside flap of the book:

When John Rechy’s explosive first novel–now a classic–appeared in 1963, it became a national best-seller and ushered in a new era of gay fiction. Bold and inventive in his account of the urban underworld of male prostitution, Rechy is equally unflinching in his portrayal of one hustling “youngman” and his search for self-knowledge within the neon-lit world of hustlers, drag queens, and men on every kind of make. As the narrator moves from El Paso to Times Square, from Pershing Square to the French Quarter, we get an unforgettable look at life on the edge.

Rechy is now 86 years old, and according to this 2015 article he’s still writing. I need to read more! The gay classics are so satisfying!

My art work is in a fancy museum—in the Gender Fluid section!

A short video from my photo project The Drag Explosion (featuring my photos of NYC’s drag scene in the 1980s and ’90s) is included in a  big new exhibit at ICP – International Center of Photography called “Perpetual Revolution: Image and Social Change.”

The video, which is juxtaposed in a large collage, got a mention in a New York Times review (by Holland Carter)!

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was a huge influence on me as a kid. She was exactly the kind of person I aspired to be—an independent career gal on the go in the big city.

Thank you, Mary, for being such a fabulous role model!

I teamed up with friends for the Women’s March, but I ended up mostly just walking around solo.

What an exhilarating and hugely successful event. There must have been at least a zillion people, and that’s probably an under estimation.

And speaking of women’s marches…

Let’s keep the momentum going!

On the eve of Trump’s inauguration, what better way to escape the doom-and-gloom than to go to the cinema?

My welcome relief was Julieta, the latest creation by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar. Like many of his other films, it’s a psychological study of complicated women, and filled with fantastic acting. While there’s some humor, it’s mostly a serious movie about grief and longing. I was totally absorbed and didn’t want it to stop.

The cast includes one of his favorite actresses Rossy de Palma in a decidedly unglamorous role as a housekeeper.

She was so convincing in the role that I wondered if that’s what Rossy actually looks like now. But in promo photos for the movie she still looks exotically glamorous.

Gracias Pedro and crew for the entertainment!