I am busy, busy, busy this week as I finish creating my latest slideshow extravaganza, “The Drag Explosion, Part Two,” featuring more of my photos of NYC’s momentous drag scene from the late 1980s to the mid ’90s. The premiere is Friday, August 1st, at 7:30pm, at Dixon Place’s annual HOT! Festival (which is where I triumphantly debuted “The Drag Explosion” last summer).

In “Part Two,” I delve further into this seminal time in drag history as I reflect on life lessons I’ve learned as a queen, as well as compare drag’s hot-button issues then and now. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the photos that I’ll be narrating:

Dixon Place is located at 161a Chrystie Street between Delancey and Rivington Sts, and advance tickets are available at the HOT! Festival website.

Hope to see you!

Let it be publicly known that I, Linda Simpson, disapprove of the following cultural developments:

*Comic character Archie is being killed in an upcoming issue, when he stops a bullet meant for his gay friend Kevin.

Gee whiz, what ever happened to comics being lighthearted? I used to love the Archie series as a kid, but how can I ever appreciate them again with this tragic gay twist? Bad publicity stunt!

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*Lawmakers want to crack down on Times Square’s costumed characters, because some of them are supposedly bothering tourists.

I live right next to Times Square and I’ve seen some of the characters be a bit uncouth as they try to get payment for posing for photos. But most of the tourists love the characters. As for those tourists that are bothered, well, maybe they should never ever leave their hotel rooms. New York is over regulated as it is, leave the costumed guys and gals alone!

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*Media goes crazy over kids left alone in cars in parking lots.

Yes, we get it, leaving infants in hot, suffocating cars is a bad thing. Not good. Now go report on some real news!

Wanna hear me yak about gay nightlife on the mega news site The Huffington Post?

I’m the most recent “prominent person” to be included in the ongoing series, “After Dark: NYC Nightlife Today And Days Past.”

I mostly focus on my early days of doing drag. One of these days, I’ll have to share what I’ve done after 1995!

Big thanks to writer James Nichols for including me.

My website has been undergoing a makeover, with a new updated design.

As soon as it’s done this week, I’ll be blogging on a regular schedule.

Thanks to Tim McNerney and John Boyer for all their efforts!

My last couple of weeks have been chock full of drag queen funniness.

Along with the rest of gay America, I watched Bianca Del Rio win top honors on RuPaul’s Drag Race.

I’ve known Bianca for a few years, and she definitely deserves something for all her hard work—that girl is a work horse! With her $100,000, she’d be wise to get some Valium.

It”ll be interesting to see how Bianca’s career evolves. Her stage act is about a million times more bombastic and harsh than what we saw on television, a nonstop barrage of racial, ethnic and sexual insults.  But did she undercut her bitchy persona by revealing on Drag Race that she’s actually a softie who cares for her sister queens and even likes children? She’s gonna have to come on extra strong to make up for that sappy behavior!

Speaking of filthy loud mouths… Lady Bunny has returned to Escuelita nightclub with a new show, Clowns Syndrome, which is sort of a sequel to her 2012 show, That Ain’t No Lady. 

Once again, the  format is dirty jokes, vulgar song parodies, and Bunny sounding off on various cultural topics. But don’t let that stop you! The show is riotously ridiculous, and that’s just Bunny’s costumes!

Meanwhile, over at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, I caught a couple of acts. The first was BenDeLaCreme, who won fourth place on Drag Race. Honey, I was impressed!

The show is called Terminally Delightful, in which she displays her impeccable stagecraft (Her roots are in the burlesque scene), and provides some very smart insights about the identity crisis that comes with doing drag. The show returns to NYC in August, and I am definitely planning on attending again. Brava!

Lastly, I caught Jackie Beat, in from Los Angeles with See Something, Say Something, another of her bitter laugh fests, with an emphasis on side-splitting song parodies. Afterwards, Jackie and I caught up as she “manned” her merchandise table.

After not seeing any sort of drag performances in a while, I must say that the volley of DQ shenanigans really perked up my spirits.

Oh no, am I becoming a softie, too…?!

Check it out! I’m the featured guest on the new episode of How Was Your Week?, the popular podcast from comedian-actress Julie Klausner.

Listen to it HERE.

I’ve known Julie for a while, but this is the first time we’ve really had an extended conversation, and I gotta give her credit for being a great and insightful interviewer. Our conversation was mostly about my life and times as a drag queen—you know, the ancient history stuff that I won’t shut up about!

The actual taping occurred a couple of weeks ago, and since then Julie has been a busy bee. She filmed a pilot for a new TV show called Difficult People,  produced by Amy Poehler and co-starring Julie and Billy Eichner!

I hope she becomes a huge star so I can say, “Honey, I’ve know Julie forever, I was even a guest on her podcast. We taped it in her kitchen!”