Author: jameswagner

swinging Diego Garcia


[photo does not illustrate incidents in this story, but it is from Diego Garcia]
Although the following events seem to have occurred some time ago, I suspect things are still interesting on this not-so-tight little island.
A story to gladden the hearts of many lusty male queers this holiday weekend has just been reported in the Australian media.

AUSTRALIAN sailors had sex on the beach, streaked through military buses and pranced naked with rolled-up burning paper stuck between their buttocks in a wild, drunken romp at a US outpost in the Indian Ocean.
An investigation by The Weekend Australian has revealed many other complaints of misconduct during the 24-hour shore leave on Diego Garcia – the US base dubbed “Gilligan’s Island with guns”.
Among the allegations were widespread drunkenness among the crews of HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Kanimbla, urinating in public, overt public male-to-male kissing and abuse of foreign military personnel.
But the Australian Defence Force investigated only a handful – including urinating in public, public nudity, verbal abuse, sexually inappropriate displays of affection and intoxication – because military police found insufficient evidence to identify the other offenders. No other details were ever released.
Disciplinary action has been taken against just two sailors – one for the so-called “dance of the flamers”, where rolled paper inserted between the buttocks was set alight, and another for exposing himself in public. Penalties included restriction of privileges and leave, plus a fine equal to five and three days’ pay respectively.
Navy chief Vice-Admiral David Shackleton has already ordered a review of behaviour, in particular the use of alcohol. A defence spokesperson said that review was ongoing.

After all that, the Australian authorities seem to believe the big offense is too much alcohol? That kind of attitude is just so damn refreshing for us Yanks.
Have a great Stonewall Weekend, what’er your island!
[thanks to bentkid]

um . . . yup

The AP reports,

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says Thurmond showed what one person can do by living life to the fullest.

Sometimes even an atheist likes to think about an afterlife. I would really like to think that Strom Thurmond could look at the NYTimes front page this morning. At the top is a banner headline reporting the Court’s legalization of gay sex, and it rests above a large photo of the two defendents embracing yesterday. For those who notice these things, the couple is mixed-race. Near the bottom of the page is a small-ish headline, “Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100.” The photo is also rather small. Justice, but with more than a touch of wit.

vintage Stonewall


Virtually 34 years to the day after the Stonewall rebellion, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided we have rights.
Today’s ruling invalidates sodomy laws in the 13 states which have retained them until this moment. Until 1962, when Illinois repealed its statute, every state had these laws on the books. The next repeal had to wait until after Stonewall, when Connecticut joined Illinois in 1971. New York shuffled along until 1980 when its law was invalidated by its own judiciary, but the statute itself had remained on the books until it was legislatively removed this month.
For a more Delacroix-esque, full-color take on the events of June, 1969, see this image by California [legislatively repealed, 1976] artist Sandow Birk:

will we even notice?


Today, Thursday, on what is essentially the beginning of “Gay Pride” weekend, the Supremes will announce their pontifical decision about whether us queers may have sex.
Either they’re going to be delivering good news, or they’re really asking for trouble. If it’s the latter, will there be rioting in the streets, or will we be too busy partying in our ghettos to notice or care?
Let’s be ready across the country, either way. In New York, the designated time and site is 7 in the evening, Sheridan Square (7th Avenue/Christopher Street).

“Paul P. Last Flowers”

[revised June 26 with additional information]

I can’t believe I hadn’t yet posted anything on a wonderful artist very new to New York, who is opening a one-man show tonight at Daniel Reich.
Disclaimer: We bought three of Paul P.‘s works from Daniel’s last, wonderfully-over-the-top show, “Karaoke Death Machine,” one painting and two images in colored pencil on paper. They are a treasure.
Even as they were effectively mounted as only a part of the magical collage-of-the-whole which composed that show, Paul’s pictures, the pink boys and vases of flowers, stood out for their purity and energy – and beauty. In fact they are together the survivors of two plagues. The boys are innocent faces drawn from pre-AIDS porn, the flower arrangements pay homage to Manet‘s last works, those in which he delighted while dying of syphilis. The title of the show at Daniel Reich is “Paul P. Last Flowers.”
The lines of the pencil images float, like delicate etchings, softly colored, on tissue. Tonight’s opening should be dynamite, and that’s without accounting for the crowd, which should be worth a run-through for its own beauty and its frisson!
Toronto-based, Paul has shown work in Toronto, Stratford, Winnipeg, Santa Monica and on the othergallery, a web-based nomadic gallery that, like its Winnipeg home gallery, focuses on Contemorary Canadian Art. [Who knew that Winnipeg was in Scotland? Listen to the delightful accents of several of the people interviewed in the CBC story.]
Daniel Reich is located at 308 West 21st Street, 2A, New York. The show continues until July.
Oh, has anyone else noticed how hot Canada is these days – at least here in New York?