SGL Café

End Times & Chemotherapy

[CBS.news] Some Americans have extreme plans this weekend. A religious leader named Harold Camping has convinced them the end of the world starts at 6 p.m. ET Saturday. Most of the world's faithful do not believe the date is Judgment Day. But as CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports, it seems just about everyone's seen the signs about the end of the world. Personally, with aggressive chemo commencing on Monday, I think it would be silly to cancel anything. Why subject the entire world on my own personal plaint? And if I'm wrong ... well, who wanted to puck for days anyway?

Mighty Real: a new millenium anthology destined to become a classic!

It seems like ages ago and oddly just like yesterday when I was first approached to participate in this ambitious endeavor. A new millenium collection of black gay literati to combine their voices for one memorable, historic work. In the honorable and noble tradition of In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology, Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, and Shade: An Anthology of Fiction by Gay Men of African Descent, comes Mighty Real. At a whopping 737 pages, this newest addition to the lexicon of Same Gender Loving Literature "features both new and established writers. Grounded in a poignant and truthful sensibility, imbued with the realities of sex and love, Smith and Williams present a culmination of poems, short stories, radical essays, sermons, plays and interviews honoring notable figures within the SGLBT community." So put on some sounds from our tearfully soulful, gender-bending, trend-setting icon of yesterday, the late-great Sylvester [who's song "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" began a disco anthem] - and sooth your souls with our griots of today.

Reteaching Gender and Sexuality from Sid Jordan on Vimeo.

Who cares about Chi Chiz bar?

[NY POST] "Gay activists and civil rights lawyers will go to court Thursday to try to stop the NYPD from closing Chi Chiz, a Christopher Street bar that caters to homosexual and transgendered black men." Once again forces are gathering to shut down a symbol of Black Gay New York. Love it or hate it, that's what Chiz Chiz is, a symbol, though one of many. Sitting in the West Village on iconic Christopher St. mere blocks from the historic birth of the modern gay rights movement at the Stonewall Inn over 40 years ago. It seems when it comes to Chi Chiz, modern West Village residents' tolerant attitudes falter and "they cry 'quality of life' and 'not in my neighborhood.'" Hmmm ... would that be the same historic and globally renowned gayborhood that they moved into? But to answer the question posed: We care. Or at least we should. Though some of us don't go out to bars as much as we used to, we should still care what happens to Chi Chiz -- a spot described in Flavalife magazine as "Black Gay Family at the Center of the World." Pictures here are from one of the art exhibits the bar caters (this one is Derek Bell), and some random shots from karaoke night and such, which show the spot is hardly the nefarious drug den it's being labeled to be. Chi Chiz's lawyer, Tom Shanahan, told Page Six the city asked the bar to make an iron-clad guarantee that no drugs would be sold or used on its premises -- but Chi Chiz couldn't promise that. "We can't guarantee that," Shanahan explained. "I said to the judge, when the city figures out how to keep drugs off Rikers Island, they can hold us to the same standard. The terms they are insisting on would put us out of business. This is what they wanted all along." Harmless karaoke. Does a more dangerous element show up sometimes? Maybe a drug dealer or two? Of course, just like in ALL bars drug dealers will defy the bars "no drug policy" and covertly peddle their wares anyway. Shanahan accused undercover cops of encouraging people to go into Chi Chiz to buy drugs. "It's a set-up," he said. "It's entrapment. It's similar to what happened in the '60s to gay bookstores." Witnesses will include Raven, a transgender Chi Chiz bartender. "She gets pulled over almost every night driving home from work for alleged prostitution," Shanahan said. "It's ridiculous." It is ridiculous. Are all Village Bars being harassed equally, or just the black gay ones? Bad things happen in bars occasionally and more aggressive action may be needed to tamp it down, but this pressure seems unfairly targeted at this one particular bar. Whether we go to Chi Chiz or not, Ask yourself, as beautiful and as loud and as 'shade' throwing as it is, should we sit back and watch the black gay experience be so easily displaced, only to watch it pop up in the next trendy location and have all this drama repeat itself? Or should we do something? And if so, what? Love it or not, letting it buckle to unfair pressure without a fight would be a sad blow from the community it caters to and shares a reputation with. Maybe if we as a community of artists of all mediums began to hold more events there -- even more art openings and book signing, a virtual parade of talent -- we could actually change our black gay footprint on Christopher St. As long as The Village is known around the world as NYC's 'gayborhood central', it should represent all in the LGBT rainbow (and not just one Chelsea Boy stripe). Maybe it's time for Chi Chiz to shut down and we'll visit the matter somewhere else. Or, maybe it's time for our talented community to grow up and take control of its reputation. Let's bet on the latter. ~

Cavemen forever

"People are just mammals with gadgets. Monogamy is somewhat against our baser instincts... model: Travis Daise / pics courtesy: Ka-os|Theory LENSED We want to believe we're better than lower mammals because we're clever. We NEED to believe we have a higher purpose... Still, our inner caveman is always there, secretly craving to club something cute and drag it home." ~ Taylor Siluwé ~

SGL Weekly Mag - Where are they now issue

"We caught up with Daniel Rhyder to talk about his new project and the release of his movie "Layover".We also caught up with Taylor Siluwé to discuss what he has been up to over the course of the last year and his short story [A Taste for Cherries] being released on the Kindle." We are clearly biased here at SGL Café because of our fascination with all things Cleavester Brookes, including his talented new Design Director, Martrel Howard -- however, this is the prettiest, hottest, most informative issue yet. It's a must for the coffee table. Order your own glossy copy today!