David Sedaris has a new shorty published in The New Yorker. It’s about smoking.
Sedaris has a new collection of essays coming out in June, ” When You Are Engulfed in Flames.”
His upcoming book tour doesn’t have him in Dallas. But he’s stopping in Austin on June 19. And then in Houston on Oct. 21.
Dallas Voice contributor Rex Wockner battled termite poop to dig out his May 1990 issue of OutLines, the Chicago paper that contained Michelle Shocked’s “coming out’ interview. (Thanx, Rex!) By the way, OutLines merged into Windy City Times in 2000.
In last week’s edition of Dallas Voice, Shocked demanded that I quote her what the article said.
Well, here’s just one tidbit (there are many after the jump) that might have made people think she came out as a lesbian:
“I was with my first woman lover about a year and a half ago. To be honest, the real fear of coming out of the closet, not fear, but the real pressures of coming out of the closet had been if you had certain problems identifying yourself one way or the other.”
Gays in Congo apparently have a new excuse when they exaggerate their size: “A sorcerer shrunk it!” But it seems like “white magic” would be a more appropriate description. Here’s the story from Reuters.
This morning on the Daily Crime Report I noticed a robbery in the Oak Lawn area in which the victim was bitten. As a one-time cops reporter, I couldn’t help but wonder whether this incident was related to another alleged biting that occurred recently. I began to imagine there was some sort of gay serial biter on the loose near Cedar Springs, and that I was going to break the story.Turns out, that’s probably not the case, as the two incidents appear to be unrelated, according to Cpl. Kevin Janse of the Dallas Police Department. But since they were both so bizarre, and since I sometimes miss writing about crime, I’ll provide details anyway. They’re after the jump.
In the calendar section this week, we listed Valiente’s spring mixer for Thursday, May 1. This morning, Valiente sent word that it has postponed that mixer by one week so as not to conflict with the AIDS Arms LikeWalk kickoff party, which is scheduled for the same day. The red carpet launch soiree will take place at The Apartment, 1444 Oak Lawn Ave., Suite 206, 6–10 p.m.
Courtesy the Human Rights Campaign, here’s a list of representatives who co-sponsored a resolution in the U.S. House in support of the National Day of Silence. The Day of Silence, which is today, is an annual event designed to draw attention to anti-gay bullying in schools. Conspicuously absent from the list are any members of Texas’ congressional delegation, including Sheila Jackson Lee and Eddie Bernice Johnson, who both scored a perfect 100 on HRC’s most recent congressional scorecard.
Michelle Shocked’s audience is indeed ever shrinking — which is bad for her, but awesome for people who still know she’s incredible musician and live entertainer. Her 300-seat venue at the House of Blues’ Cambridge Room barely had 100 people inside. And most of them were Shocked’s relatives.
With the brilliant multi-instrumentalist Rich Armstrong accompanying Shocked, she delivered a rollercoaster ride of a performance. The beginning of the set was so emotionally raw it would have raised Janice Joplin’s hackles.
Shocked began with a wailing version of “When I Grow Up,” which Kaiser Permanente currently wants to use for a commercial about breast exams. Shocked is thinking about the offer, but wants the company to give her health insurance.
Early into the set, she got her pastoral Lone Star State shoutouts out of the way — “Memories of East Texas” and “Anchorage.” And in between, she got on her rebel soapbox, issuing left-leaning opinions about guns, war, Bush and the impending recession.
From there, it became a kooky, heartfelt family reunion. Shocked’s mom played autoharp (mother and daughter patched up their relationship after 25 rocky years), her dad on mandolin, a nephew on shaker percussion. And then Shocked welcomed her 85-year-old grandma onstage to dance with her Asian dancing partner.
Strangely, the set was not as gospel-themed as anticipated. It was more like a homecoming gig. And the tiny number of ticket buyers who attended were so close to Shocked, it seemed like the audience was sitting in her lap. 
As a follow-up to my story in today’s Voice about gay Dallas superdelegate David Hardt, I think it’s important to note that while Hardt hasn’t committed to vote for either Clinton or Obama, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t decided whom he supports.
Although I didn’t specifically ask him this, I think it’s safe to assume that Hardt voted in the Texas primary for one of the two candidates. But for whatever reason, as a superdelegate, Hardt has simply chosen not to reveal his preference. For example, Hardt may think remaining uncommitted puts him in a better position to influence the race, or he may not want to commit to a losing candidate. Of course, this applies not only to Hardt but to all of the uncommitted superdelegates, which is why this story explains that Harry Reid, Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi may write a letter “demanding that superdelegates make their endorsements public.”
Bodybuilder/versatile porn-bottom Caesar, pictured, needs sexy amateur exhibitionists. In collaboration with Manhunt.com’s new adult-video site, OnTheHunt.com, Caesar is becoming a porn impresario. Accepted applicants hoping to plow the muscleman shouldn’t hold their breath: So far, it looks like Caesar is only filming the scenes.
They’re filming in Las Vegas, May 1-May 5. Pay is $1,000 per scene.
If you check the MySpace profile for Caesar’s production company, you’ll notice that his Number One friend is David Papaleo (a.k.a. Tom Katt), the former gay porn legend who’s now a happily married [not-gay-hating] Christian, who was interviewed in Dallas Voice a while back.
Is “Hard Candy” — that album that we’ve heard illegally downloaded copies of — so awful that Madonna is going to make a personal appearance at a tiny gay club in Austin? That’s what some gossips are saying — that Madonna might play Oil Can Harry’s at a CD release party on May 1.
And Michael Barnes’ Austin-American Statesman blog, Out and About, picked up the story — about the rumor, which has neither been confirmed nor denied.
Wow — Elton and even Prince hung out at Oil Can Harry’s in the last year? And now Madge might do as well? On a Thursday nite?
