So this is a summary of the entire week of January 17 all in one blog entry...
I had a great conversation with Juli Ashton this week, who I missed seeing in Vegas. She's totally awesome and smart and is a shining example of someone in the adult industry I really respect. We talked about this amazing event she is hosting called Soul Days. It's a week at Hedonism III in Runaway Bay, Jamaica with porn stars, bands, parties, workshops, and lots of fun. I will be teaching sex classes there, and if you are interested in going, I can get you a special rate-just email me at tristan@puckerup.com.
As if my online dispatches for The Voice, for Day 1, 2, 3, and 4, my Best & Worst Dressed List with Jonno of Fleshbot, and my blog entries weren't enough, my Voice column for next week is on what else? the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. They posted it early, so check it out. For all of you who signed up for the email alert that tells you when my column goes live, you've probably noticed that you haven't been getting it lately. The Voice is going through a major redesign, and editors there tell me that they had to suspend the email alerts for now as they finish the makeover. So, be patient, but don't forget to still read my column!
The boy and I made a commitment last year to spend more time with friends, and we've stuck to it which has made a huge difference in my life. I love my friends. I have the best friends in the world. Thursday night, we went to Clyde's place in Jersey City for dinner with him and julie. We exchanged holiday gifts (finally), and I got the most amazing lavendar furry pillows that match my big purple furry coat! Clyde is an amazing cook, and made us a green curry with shrimp, scallops, bok choy, mushrooms, and squash (then julie made chocolate-pumpkin brownies)-the whole thing was divine! julie leaves NYC for Brown soon (winter break is over), and we are sad to see her go. Friday night, we went to B & D's house for dinner and a movie. We got sushi from my new favorite Brooklyn place that has a special made of tuna sashimi, avocado, flying fish roe, and Fuji apples; it's fantastic. We were all our usual spastic selves, talking about twenty things at once and the only thing that made us shut up was Entenmann's doughnuts (assorted 12 pack with chocolate) and a viewing of Catwoman, which none of us had seen. Are you shocked that I actually have an Entenmann's link? I really like doughnuts. OK, back to the movie. I thought it had tremendous potential (like before it started), but it was pretty awful. I see why it flopped at the box office; it didn't know what kind of movie it wanted to be so it ended up being muddled and unsure of itself. And the fight sequences were shot in a way that was really annoying. And Halle Berry's ripped leather feline SM outfit wasn't even that good.
I just found out that Best Lesbian Erotica 2005 is a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award - for the third year in a row! I feel so honored and must give major props to all the contributors whose stories got us there! I'm thrilled to see that many of my friends are nominated as well, including Helen Boyd for My Husband Betty and Rachel Kramer Bussel and Stacy Bias for Up All Night-all first-time nominees-as well as Michelle Tea for Rent Girl and Pills, Thrills, Chills, and Heartache, Greg Wharton and Ian Philips for I Do/I Don't, Don Weise for Fresh Men, Matt Bernstein Sycamore for That's Revolting!, Alison Smith for Name All The Animals, oh the list goes on Congrats to everyone!
This weekend, the boy and I were supposed to go to Baltimore for a big staff meeting and hotel walk-through for the event we co-produce, Dark Odyssey: Winter Fire. Because of the big snow storm, we had to reschedule, but I am thrilled with how the event is shaping up. Registration is headed toward 400 people, and the host hotel is already sold out-which is not that big of a deal since we've now reserved blocks of rooms at nearby hotels where folks can stay. In fact, it might be nice to party all day and night at the host hotel, then retreat to a quieter place for some sleep. We've confirmed that the ultra-fabulous Wau Wau Sisters will be entertaining us with their zaniness at Saturday night's dinner banquet. And the unbelievable class list-which includes classes like Urban Tantra, G-Spot & Female Ejaculation, Trans/Genderqueer Bodies & Sex, Mind Fuck, Cocksucking, Pagan BDSM, Saline Inflation, Polyamory, and Objectification-has been updated on the site, and a schedule will be up soon. It's going to be kick ass, and I am really pushing right now to get more queer and gender variant folks there. I feel like people hear the word