1.31.13 - CYNDI LAUPER'S VISIT TO CAPITOL HILL TO ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF GAY AND TRANSGENDER HOMELESS YOUTH FEATURED ON THIS SATURDAY'S EPISODE OF CYNDI LAUPER: STILL SO UNUSUAL ON WE TV AT 9 / 8c.

LAUPER AND HER TRUE COLORS FUND'S FORTY TO NONE PROJECT VISIT WITH CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS

Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual\ follows the True Colors Fund co-founder through her “struggle of the juggle” of being a rock star, mother, wife, Broadway composer, New York Times bestselling author, and philanthropist. This season also features the launch of the True Colors Fund's Forty to None Project, the first national organization to solely address the issue of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness.

This week's episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at Cyndi's visit last May to Capitol Hill, along with her True Colors Fund and partner organizations the Human Rights Campaign, Center for American Progress and the National Alliance to End Homelessness, to advocate on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender homeless youth.

Meetings were held with various congressional leaders, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Kerry and Representative Jared Polis, as well as a briefing for congressional staff, on a number of legislative matters that would have a positive impact for gay and transgender homeless youth:

- Increased funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.
- Added protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth in this year's reauthorization of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.
- Passage of the Reconnecting Youth to Prevent Homelessness Act

While also in Washington, DC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius presented Cyndi with a SAMHSA Special Recognition Award for her work in helping gay and transgender homeless youth. "Homeless gay and transgender youth face unique challenges, like family rejection," said Cyndi. "They inspire me with their honesty and bravery to do all that I can to help them overcome their adversities and succeed in life."

It is estimated that up to 1.6 million youth are homeless each year. Up to 40% of these young people identify as gay or transgender, while only 3-5% of the general youth population does the same. The primary factor in these young people being homeless and for this large disparity is family rejection.

To learn more about how you can get involved and make a personal commitment to advocating on behalf of gay and transgender homeless youth, please visit the Forty to None Project at www.fortytonone.org.

Watch back-to-back episodes of Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual this Saturday night at 9pm EST | 8pm CST on WE tv.

ABOUT THE TRUE COLORS FUND
The True Colors Fund was co-founded by Cyndi Lauper to inspire and engage everyone, especially straight people, to become active participants in the advancement of equality for all and, through its Forty to None Project, to raise awareness about and bring an end to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth homelessness. To learn more please visit www.truecolorsfund.org.

1.22.13 - "RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 5 pink carpet premiere at Abbey West Hollywood California.

Drag mogul RuPaul continues to make "herstory" with the fifth season of "RuPaul's Drag Race", where he, along with show regulars Michelle Visage and Santino Rice and a league of celebrity guest judges, will decide which glam goddess will take the throne and walk away with a $100,000 cash prize and the coveted title of "America's Next Drag Superstar." Season five of "RuPaul's Drag Race" kicks off with a 90-minute premiere on Monday, January 28 at 9pm ET/PT on Logo, followed by a new season of the behind the scenes fan favorite "Untucked:RuPaul's Drag Race" at 10:30 PM ET/PT.

Alaska Thunderfuck

Alyssa Edwards

Carmen Carrera

Dougall Fraser-Heidi Hamilton

Chad Michaels

Coco Montrese

Detox

Devon Green

Honey Mahogany

Ivy Winters

Jade Jolie

Jinkx Monsoon

Lineysha Sparx

Michelle Visage

Mimi Imfurst

Monica Beverly Hillz

Penny Tration

Raja

Roxxxy Andrews

Serena ChaCha

Sharon Needles

Vivienne Pinay

more video

Victor Ortiz Successfully Launches His Signature Scent, VO by Victor Ortiz, at Star-Studded Event

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 16, 2013): Victor Ortiz, former Welterweight Champion Boxer, unveiled to the world last night at LA hot spot The Whisper Lounge his new fragrance, the cologne aptly named, “VO by Victor Ortiz.” Celebrities filled the black carpet all night long to support Ortiz and VIP’s toasted to the success of budding mogul Victor Ortiz. With the collaboration of TLK Fusion, Impact Management and Eclectic Collections, the event exceeded even the highest expectations.

VO by Victor Ortiz has an enticing scent built from a combination punch: tough and sexy. With hints of Jasmine and Rosemary hovering above a musky whisper of Oakmoss and Brazilian Rosewood, this casual, seductive, yet classic aroma is perfect for the tough exterior of a real man and the sensual side he unveils when the moment calls for it. VO by Victor Ortiz is a knockout scent that won’t apologize for the attention it’s about to bring you and is currently lining the shelves at Deardens Department Stores and dominating online sales on Sears.com and Cologens.com.
Victor Ortiz personally thanked all of his guests for the support in and outside the ring, by sending everyone home with a signature VO by Victor Ortiz bag complete with a full size fragrance, Geek Eyewear, an autographed poster, and samples from his Anti-aging Skincare line, VO by FaceLube.

In attendance were undefeated boxers Diego and Jessie Magdaleno, Fashion Designer and Reality TV Star Lana Fuchs, as well as music mogul Steve Lobel with rappers Mann & Bizzy Bone from Bone Thugs & Harmoney. Singer/ Song Writer Corey Robinson, Actor Kyle Massey, Fashion Designer & CEO of Shibue Couture, Jenny Buettner, TV personality T. Lopez, Fashion Designer, Kelly Nishimoto, & Actor/Singer/Songwritter Dave Patten all walked the black carpet in style at the event.

Fire extinguisher scene from Universal Pictures 2009 release Brüno starring Sacha Baron Cohen.

“Should We Care?”

By Mike Skiff - Third Rail Media

Sometimes a fire extinguisher isn’t a device for saving lives....especially when an actor is using it on a movie set as a dangerous sex toy - by physically inserting the nozzle up another human being’s rectum and injecting the high pressure contents - for the purpose of satirizing the sex lives of gay men, as seen in the Universal Pictures 2009 comedy release ‘Brüno’ starring Sacha Baron Cohen.

Recently emerging details about this scene (warning - graphic content) have the LGBT community, including media watchdog group GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), expressing renewed concerns about Hollywood’s depictions of gay people - as well as what constitutes ethical filmmaking involving a major entertainment corporation.
! In the movie ‘Brüno’, Cohen - a married, heterosexual man in real life - plays a character he originated: the gay, Austrian fashionista named Brüno. In response to GLAAD’s concerns about the impact on the gay community from the negative stereotypes of gay men Cohen relied on to create Brüno, Universal Pictures pushed back, claiming the movie ‘Brüno’ used satire to “powerfully shed light on the absurdity of many kinds of intolerance and ignorance, including homophobia.”

The fire extinguisher gag, as viewed in the ‘Brüno’ movie, lasts only split seconds. But on the DVD’s commentary track, Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles (actual name Lawrence Charles Wengrod) discuss in graphic detail the difficulties of pulling off the visual effect of white foam (“whipped cream”, Cohen claims) coming from the extinguisher as if bursting out of

actor Clifford Bañagale’s rectum. They talk about the painful mishap that occurred when Cohen inserted the nozzle inside of Bañagale, injecting the actor with its high pressure contents, causing Bañagale, as Cohen recounts, “to roll off the bed, start screaming, and then said ‘I have to go to the toilet’ and had an evacuation.”

(L-R) Sacha Baron Cohen, as Brüno, and actor, Clifford Bañagale (inset) director Larry Charles Wengrod and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Cohen says clinically the nozzle “had accidentally gone up...(Bañagale)” Wengrod adds, “Yes. Very high into his colon,” then snorts a laugh.
! While Cohen claims it was an accident on the DVD’s commentary track, Wengrod says, “We were encouraged to shove it in a little deeper.”

Using a frame grab of the extinguisher’s nozzle going to Bañagale’s anus - censored by a black dot - Third Rail Media was able to locate what looks to be a company logo on the fire extinguisher’s tank (see photo at top of story). The logo appears to be that of Amerex Corp, a major manufacturer of fire extinguishing safety devices.
Andy Halasz of Amerex acknowledged that the extinguisher being used by Cohen does appear to be one of the company’s products, and that Amerex never gave permission for their products to be
used in the ‘Brüno’ movie. He also released this statement:
Amerex has concerns regarding the use of this product other than for firefighting.
These would include the pressurization of the extinguisher, the contents used that replaced the agent in the extinguisher, and the potential for physical harm. Fire extinguishers are designed for one specific use: the suppression of fires. Amerex has never been involved in product placement, nor has the company asked for product placement. Amerex is willing to offer advice and consultation for proper use and placement of extinguishers in scenes involving extinguishers and has done so in the past without any compensation. Amerex was not aware of this movie or the sequence in which an extinguisher that appears to be an Amerex extinguisher was used.
The intentional misuse of a fire extinguisher as a sex toy inside an actor’s body in a major motion picture has also brought new attention to the subject of ethics in Hollywood filmmaking. In light of the new details surrounding the fire extinguisher gag
in ‘Brüno’, GLAAD”S vice president of communications, Rich Ferraro says, “With negative reactions from so many in the LGBT community, as well as many in the film industry, the film makes clear that more sensitive practices and content be priorities for the industry moving forward”.
! Gay director Quentin Lee (‘Ethan Mao’, ‘White Frog’), a fan of ‘Brüno’, felt the fire extinguisher gag was unethical when it was described to him by Third Rail Media reporters at a recent Bent-Con 2012 appearance, adding that he would have used CGI to get the effect instead.
! Another gay director who’s been outspoken about ‘Brüno’ ever since seeing a rough cut of the movie in which a gay-bashing was played for laughs is Richard Day (“Arrested Development”). Addressing a 2008 ‘Brüno’ filming incident at a downtown Prop 8 civil

demonstration, Day said in an email to Third Rail Media: “SBC using the Prop 8 rally as a backdrop for a comedy that sells out gays was absolutely a dick move. The whole movie was a dick move.”
! Day says he spoke out in 2009 at the time of the movie’s release because “SBC was carting out the same old tired stereotypes about gays at the worst possible time, and even worse his, comedy street cred might have actually convinced people that this retrograde caricature was somehow acceptable or even hip.”
! Much of the criticism at the time of the movie’s release dealt with Cohen’s minstrel- esque portrayal of a mincing, lecherous, self-absorbed, gay man; a role that harked back to blackface as performed by white entertainers in black make-up that perpetuated harsh stereotypes of African-Americans for over a century as lazy, dim-witted, and for black men - sexual predators white women needed to fear. Only in the ‘Brüno’ movie, it was the unwarranted sexual advances of Cohen’s naked character on a group of straight red-necks in their tents as they slept at night making for a discomforting scene with guns in the mix for fun.
! A principal ethos of the queer BDSM community is ‘safe, sane and consensual’ sexual
play. Embraced by the gay men’s Leather culture at the height of the AIDS crisis in the late
1980s, ‘safe, sane and consensual’ came from a place of responsibility and compassion. How Cohen and Wengrod felt using a fire extinguisher as a sex toy on another human being was a legitimate form of satirical commentary on the lives of kinky gay men is anyone’s guess.
! “He lost his anal virginity to an inanimate object,” Cohen glibly says of his co-actor
Bañagale at the end of the DVD commentary on the fire extinguisher gag.

Kristofor Graham, suffered horrific injuries after a drunken prank with a fire extinguisher in 2004.

! The physical harm that can be caused by as a result of ejecting the high pressure contents of an extinguisher inside a human colon is tragically made clear in 2004 by a drunken prank gone horribly wrong for Scottish DJ Kris G.
! Kristofor Graham, who DJ’d in Scotland’s clubs, was attacked by workmate Brian Kennedy as he lay passed out after both had been drinking. Kennedy shoved the nozzle of a fire extinguisher inside Kris’s rectum and released its contents inside him. Kris spent two weeks in the hospital but was re- admitted with abscesses, leading to a colostomy.
! Kris said, “I have suffered a great deal of torment. This hadcaused me tremendous pain.”

! Five years after the attack, unable to cope with the physical and emotional trauma resulting from the fire extinguisher prank, Kristofor Graham ended his own life at the age of 27.
! Kennedy, his attacker, was fined 4,500 GBP and sentenced to 300 hours of community
service.
! Bañagale told Third Rail Media he wished he could talk about events surrounding the filming of ‘Brüno’, but that he’s under a non-disclosure agreement that Cohen would first have to release him from - which according to Bañagale, Cohen hasn’t. It is possible that GLAAD could advocate on Bañagale’s behalf, putting pressure on Cohen to free Bañagale from the
agreement that keeps him silent for nearly four years.
! If Amerex could prove that the logo on the fire extinguisher was in fact theirs, the issue of
‘trademark dilution’ by Universal Pictures may arise because the brand is tarnished by an unsavory or unflattering association. The Federal Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2006 gives corporations this legal protection. Asked if Amerex was concerned that its brand could be tarnished by the possible usage of their safety device, Halasz said: “It would be difficult to say whether the company’s image has been tarnished as we have been unaware of this scene until now, and we have not had any concerns raised by any of our customers.”
! Whether the fire extinguisher gag will remain part of the footage, as currently seen in the
‘Brüno’ movie and on the DVD commentary track, will be a decision for NBCUniversal (the parent company of Universal Pictures).
! NBCUniversal was asked for this article if their legal department had vetted the ‘Brüno’ movie and DVD before their public distribution - as well as if they considered inserting the nozzle of a fire extinguisher inside another human being and injecting the high pressure contents for commercial entertainment to be ethical filmmaking. NBCUniversal spokesperson Kori Bernards declined to comment and referred all questions to Media Rights Capital, a production company of the film.
! MRC spokesperson Susie Arons also declined to answer the same inquiry about the ethics of the fire extinguisher’s usage on a human being in their film.

Sacha Baron Cohen is set to star as iconic gay rocker Freddie Mercury in an untitled biopic scheduled for release in 2014.

Mike Skiff email - Skiff@ThirdRailMedia.com

ThirdRailMedia.com

THE FIRST-EVER FRIGHT NIGHT AWARDS ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO VOTE ONLINE FOR THEIR FAVORITE SCARY MOVIES, TV SHOWS, SUPERNATURAL CELEBRITIES AND MORE GOING INTO HALLOWEEN TO RAISE BLOOD CANCER AWARENESS

LOS ANGELES (October 22, 2012) – Cancer Bites, a national blood cancer awareness and education campaign launching on Halloween, announced the nominations for the first annual 2012 Fright Night Awards today – from Robert Pattinson to Lady Gaga – in which fans all around the world can vote for their favorite frights in 21 categories that encompass film, television, celebrity costumes and more. The Fright Night Awards is a virtual awards show held exclusively online. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, October 30. Fans can vote for their favorites at www.frightnightawards.com.

CANCER BITES has enlisted the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) to help fuel its mission. As the nation's leading blood cancer patient advocacy organizations, LLS, LRF and MMRF will play an integral role in the campaign at every level: funding research to find effective new treatments and cures; connecting patients and their families to free educational information; and providing support services for patients at every stage of their cancer journey. The awareness campaign will encourage the public to support their efforts to beat cancer.

Despite the fact that every four minutes someone will be diagnosed with a blood cancer and that collectively blood cancers make up the fourth most common cancer type overall, blood cancer lags far behind other cancer education initiatives on the public awareness scale. Cancer Bites is aiming to change that.

Harnessing the Halloween season and the public's obsession around the mystique of vampires and the supernatural, Cancer Bites has assembled a powerful team of partners, experts and spokespeople to educate the public about the prevalence of blood cancers. Cancer Bites will focus on raising awareness around those most impacted by the disease and creating a broad national dialogue on the importance of funding life-saving research. Robert Pattinson introduced the concept at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards in his acceptance speech for his "Choice Celebrity Vampire" win by saying "Cancer Bites!"

For Cancer Bites and the Fright Night Awards, blood cancer survivor and creator/co-executive producer of the FOX Teen Choice Awards, Michael Burg saw a unique opportunity to raise awareness for blood cancer programs and generate broad national dialogue. "Bringing a touch of entertainment and fun together during a time that celebrates Halloween is really rewarding," said Burg. "Our ultimate goal is to rally the public to increase overall awareness of blood cancers."

The Fright Night Awards highlights nominees in fun and unique Halloween-related categories including:

1. Fright Night Favorite Scary Movie of the Year

1. Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
2. Scream 4 (2011)
3. Silent House (2011)
4. The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
5. The Woman in Black (2012)

2. Fright Night Most Anticipated Movie of the Halloween Season
1. Frankenweenie
2. Hotel Transylvania
3. Paranormal Activity
4. Silent Hill Revelation 3D
5. Sinister

3. Fright Night Favorite Vampire Movie of the Year
1. Dark Shadows (2012)
2. Fright Night (2011)
3. Hotel Transylvania (2012)
4. Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011)
5. Underworld: Awakening (2012)

4. Fright Night Favorite Supernatural TV Show (2012)
1. Supernatural
2. Teen Wolf
3. The Walking Dead
4. True Blood
5. Vampire Diaries

5. Fright Night Favorite Female TV or Movie Vampire
1. Ashley Greene- Twilight
2. Deborah Ann Woll- True Blood
3. Kate Beckinsale- Underworld
4. Kristen Stewart- Twilight
5. Nina Dobrev- Vampire Diaries

6. Fright Night Favorite Male TV or Movie Vampire
1. Alexander Skarsgard- True Blood
2. Ian Sommerhalder- Vampire Diaries
3. Johnny Depp- Dark Shadows
4. Robert Pattinson- Twilight
5. Stephen Moyer- True Blood

7. Fright Night Favorite Movie or TV Werewolf
1. Joe Manganiello as Alcide- True Blood
2. Joseph Morgan as Klaus- The Vampire Diaries
3. Michael Trevino as Tyler Lockwood- The Vampire Diaries
4. Taylor Lautner as Jacob- Twilight Series

8. Fright Night Favorite Actor in a Horror Film (2011-2012)
1. Chris Hemsworth- The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
2. Colin Farrell- Fright Night (2011)
3. Daniel Radcliffe- The Woman in Black (2012)
4. David Arquette- Scream 4 (2011)
5. Michael Ealy- Underworld: Awakening (2012)

9. Fright Night Favorite Actress in a Horror Film (2011-2012)
1. Ashley Greene- The Apparition (2012)
2. Jennifer Lawrence- House at the End of the Street (2012)
3. Kate Beckinsale- Underworld: Awakening (2012)
4. Neve Campbell- Scream 4 (2011)
5. Rose Byrne- Insidious (2011)

10. Fright Night Favorite Actor I would like to "Sink my Teeth Into"
1. Brad Pitt
2. Johnny Depp
3. Liam Hemsworth
4. Robert Pattinson
5. Ryan Gosling

11. Fright Night Favorite Actress I would like to "Sink my Teeth Into"
1. Angelina Jolie
2. Halle Berry
3. Jessica Biel
4. Mila Kunis
5. Scarlett Johansson

12. Fright Night Favorite Male Celebrity who Dresses for Halloween Every Day
1. Johnny Weir
2. Marilyn Manson
3. Ozzy Osbourne
4. Perez Hilton
5. Redfoo, LMFAO

13. Fright Night Favorite Female Celebrity who Dresses for Halloween Every Day
1. Katy Perry
2. Ke$ha
3. Lady Gaga
4. Nicki Minaj
5. Snooki

14. Fright Night Favorite Celebrity in Costume (2011)
1. Beyonce- "Bumble Bee"
2. Heidi Klum- "Visible Woman"
3. Katy Perry- "Skeleton"
4. Kim Kardashian- "Poison Ivy"
5. Lea Michele- "Black Swan"

15. Fright Night Favorite Talk Show Host Halloween Costume
1. Carrie Keagan as Jem from Jem & the Hollograms (VH1 Big Morning Buzz Live)
2. Hoda Kotb as Yoda from Star Wars (TODAY - Kathie Lee & Hoda)
3. Kelly Ripa as Kim Kardashian (Live with Kelly & Michael)
4. Matt Lauer as Prince William (TODAY)
5. Robin Roberts as Nicki Minaj (GMA)

16. Fright Night Favorite Scream of All Time in a Horror Movie Scene
1. Halloween (Jamie Lee Curtis) View Clip
2. Psycho (Janet Leigh) View Clip
3. Scream (Drew Barrymore) View Clip
4. The Shining (Shelley Duvall) View Clip
5. The Blair Witch Project (Heather Donahue) View Clip

17. Fright Night Most Frightening Horror Movie Villain of All Time
1. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector (Hannibal)
2. Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance (The Shining)
3. Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th)
4. Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
5. Michael Meyers (Halloween Series)

18. Fright Night Favorite Series of Horror Movies of All Time
1. Friday The 13th
2. Halloween
3. Nightmare on Elm Street
4. SAW
5. Scream

19. Fright Night Favorite Male Halloween Costume for 2012
1. Big Bird
2. Christian Grey
3. Governor Mitt Romney
4. President Barack Obama
5. Psy (Gangnam Style)

20. Fright Night Favorite Female Halloween Costume for 2012
1. Anastasia Steele
2. Gabby Douglas (Fierce 5)
3. Honey Boo Boo
4. Kate Middleton
5. Katniss Everdeen

21. Fright Night Favorite Halloween Candy of All Time
1. Butterfinger
2. Candy Corn
3. M&M's
4. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
5. Twix

In addition to voting for their favorite Fright Night nominees, people can show their support by spreading the word about Cancer Bites and blood cancer awareness. The official Cancer Bites website, www.cancerbites.tv, will launch on Halloween. In the meantime, voters are encouraged to spread the word via their social networks to encourage friends and family to vote and to log on to get the latest updates about the campaign, blood cancers and of course, their favorite supernatural celebrities. Fans are encouraged to join the Cancer Bites community on Facebook and Twitter.

Edge Health: The creator of Cancer Bites, Edge Health, is an entertainment and branding entity that focuses on creating healthcare messaging for the consumer. To learn more, visit www.edgehealth.com.

These days, families come in all forms – single dads, double moms, sperm donors, egg donors, one-night-stand donors… It's 2012 and anything goes. Bryan (Andrew Rannells, "Girls," "The Book of Mormon") and David (Justin Bartha, "The Hangover") are a Los Angeles couple and they have it all. Well, almost. With successful careers and a committed, loving partnership, there is one thing that this couple is missing: a baby. And just when they think the stars will never align, enter Goldie (Georgia King, "One Day"), an extraordinary young woman with a checkered past. A midwestern waitress and single mother looking to escape her dead-end life and small-minded grandmother (Emmy and Tony Award-winner Ellen Barkin), Goldie decides to change everything and move to L.A. with her precocious eight year-old daughter. Desperate and broke – but also fertile – Goldie quickly becomes the guys' surrogate and quite possibly the girl of their dreams. Surrogate mother, surrogate family.

Ryan Murphy serves as creator/executive producer and director along with creator/executive producer Ali Adler ("Glee," "Chuck") and executive producer Dante Di Loreto ("Glee," "American Horror Story").

"The New Normal" is produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ryan Murphy Productions.

On a weekend in Chicago when the weather was unusually cooperative, REEL GAY TV attended their first Market Days, and the verdict is a definite thumbs up. Most of the locals say this festival, which inhabits "boystown" along Halstead between Belmont and Addison, is their favorite local event, even better than pride. Parades are a little overrated.

Anyway, no one missed the marching bands, what with MIA MARTINA, WYNTER GORDON, KARMIN, SHEENA EASTON, THE POINTER SISTERS and olivia newton john taking to the 4 stages.

Martina

Wynter Gordon

WYNTER GORDON was her sweet self, but hung around after her 5-song set to take pictures with nearly everyone of her fans. She was still hanging around an hour after the show, posing, hugging and generally eating up the love that the crowd had for her.

MIA MARTINA was sexy and stylish, backed by a live band that included the famous accordion from the hit "Stereo Love" and a sax player that was as good as she. It's not often you catch a dance diva backed by a tight, powerful live band, including DJ, and it was a real treat.

We were introduced to a new act that we totally fell for-ERIC HIMAN, who looks a bit like ADAM LEVINE, and rocks like the real deal. This guy has got it-tatoos, a manly presence on stage, a comfort level with the genre of music that is lacking in most wannabe rock and rollers-he did a cover of "Valerie" that was phenonmenal, and his original material is fantastic too. Plus, he is openly gay, and sings of topics that fit more squarely into GLBT lives, while still being authentic rock. Check out "Little Boy Blue." Amazing!

The really shocking event of the weekend was the polished and energetic performance by THE POINTER SISTERS. I know they are mutliple Grammy winners, and I know that have a string of hits that could stretch to the moon and back. But didn't they start back in the day we first landed on the moon. (Actually, their first album was released in 1973.). I was not excited to see them.

But the crowd sure was, packing in the stage area and the street leading into the stage, gridlocking the entire festival. The "girls" came out in bright colored flapper dresses, RUTH in blue, ANITA in red, and some new girl in stunning yellow. At first galnce they seemed about the same age-ageless-but after further review it was clearf the new girl was younger, and not liked very much. She was left in the back as RUTH and ANITA traded lead vocals on "Happiness", "Slow Hand", "Automatic", "Fire", "I'm So Excited" etc., etc. These ladies can still sing!

Near the middle of the show we learn that the new girl is actually RUTH'S granddaughter, SADAKO. Not her daughter, her granddaughter! No wonder the old pros don't give her much shine, until the end of the show, when grandma turned it up a notch on "Neutron Dance" riffing and dancing with the youngster, before giving her a lead role on the show's finish, "Jump For My Love." It was electrifying, and that from a couple of near 70-year olds. Unbelievable.

SHEENA EASTON, KARMIN, OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN and a host of others completed a crazy crowded, booze filled weekend at Market Days Chicago. Each of the bars has a liquor booth on the street, and most of the city's best clubs are located along and within the festival so in addition to wlaking the streets, you can pop in and out of your favorite "boystown" destinations. A great, great time!