Dvoskin Debauchery

One thing you can always count on when visiting our buddy Larry D. is a roomful of beautiful boys. Last evening he hosted a soiree that certainly held up to high standards. If I were to even attempt writing captions for some of these picolas, I'd have to convert The Smoking Nun into an adult-oriented site. Use your imagination!

"Beyond Borders": Let's Pitch A Homer!

Tinatin and meese had a working session today at her digs to apply final polish to the proposal for her memoir "Beyond Borders." It's time to shop this baby. Cross fingers, cool cats.Perhaps you can tell that neither of us was feeling particularly fetching. We wanted to record the occasion... if covertly.

Unemployment Locked At 9.6%

The American economy lost 95,000 jobs amid gains of only 64,000 jobs in September, locking the nation's unemployment rate at a consistent 9.6%.

There are now 14.8 million people officially unemployed in the United States. Adding those people plus others who are working part time but would prefer full-time jobs, nearly 27 million are "underemployed"—17.1% of American adults, up from 16.7% in August and close to a record. The Second Great Depression plows ever onward.

A Really Big Shoe

Tonight we've got a really big shoe for you.

Brooklyn: From Downtown To DUMBO

On Thursday, Timmy ventured to BK for a full afternoon excursion, starting with a walk through downtown Brooklyn. Let's hike, shall weese?First stop: thrift shopping at Unique on Fulton Street, followed by a walk through the age-old Macy's downtown BK, which looks as though it's locked in the 1980s... The elevator bank there is a national landmark.The elevator bank, vintaged.Along Fulton Street, a la watercolored.As this truck drove past, dozens of pigeons took flight. The birds, the birds!White Castle for lunch: So damn bad it's mighty good!Next, a walk along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, then down to Fulton Ferry Landing into the DUMBO section of Brooklyn Bridge Park, under the Manhattan Bridge.I took a few minutes to paint a watercolor of the Manhattan Bridge, as pictured above.Never fail to see wedding couples getting photos taken down this way.
Next a walk through the LOUD nabe of DUMBO proper, where the subway passing overhead across the Manhattan Bridge is overtly annoying. How do these folks bear it—and pay $5,000 for their glamorous condos?... Here's the best view in the nabe: the iconic view of Empire State Building through a tier of Manhattan Bridge.Onward to the =new= first phase of Brooklyn Bridge Park... here, looking into Brooklyn Heights.Views of the BQE double-decker highway beneath the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.The glorious new Beekman Tower in Manhattan.A slightly different perspective...Back to the Heights, up to the rooftop for a cocktail and a stunning view at dusk.With a modicum of digital editing...With a shitload of editing.With a shitload more editing.And that's a wrap!

Karine & Ayhan Cradle The "Crystal Ball"

Karine Hannah saddled up for a three-hour session at 2C Studios in Brooklyn yesterday to record background vocals for the Blue Planet and Crystal Ball remixes—two wickedly festive dance re-rubs that Ayhan has been commissioned to do for a Grammy-winning female vocalist who has one of the top 10 pop hits of all time. Who could it be? Stand by for details by year-end!

Photoshop Turns Taylor Swift Attractive!

Glamour proves that with enough swipes at Photoshop, you can take an alien face and alter it into a pretty girl. WOW! Taylor Swift actually looks human!Here's the country warbler before Photoshop...

Happy Birthday John Mellencamp

Nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, somehow he's only won one. John Mellencamp turns 59 today. My fave among his hits remain some of the earliest: "Ain't Even Done With the Night," "Hand To Hold Onto," "Authority Song" and "Hurts So Good." The more socially conscious he became ("Rain on the Scarecrow," "Little Pink Houses," "Small Town"), the less I found him melodically appealing. Still, he's one of the good ones.With my friend Sylvia at a WLPJ/New York showcase, December 2002.

James Franco: Ooh La La, What A Drag

For god's sake, The Smoking Nun has been gay enough of late without bringing undue attention to James Franco's lipstick-drenched cover appearance on drag mag Candy, which has drenched webbies worldwide. We'll just run it real small and consider it a matter of the record, for what it's worth. P.S. He's prettier as a man. (Click image to make it large enough to kiss.)

New Music For Christmas 2010

In addition to Mariah Carey's second holiday album, which we alerted you cool cats to last month, the potential top of the heap is led by Annie Lennox's "A Christmas Cornucopia." Let's hope the disc is more fashionable than this not-so-cute vintage CD cover... and for that matter, bounds better than her previous 2007, aptly titled "Songs of Mass Destruction." It's out Nov. 16.Also on the holiday roster: Mariah, Jessica Simpson, Susan Boyle, Katharine McPhee, Now That's What I Call Christmas 4, Olivia Newton-John (a collective of previous releases) and—loving this one—Wilson Phillips!

Pizza WIth Paulie

Met up with love-lived pal Paulie Tuesday for lunch in Chelsea. Patsy's Pizzeria. Great time, good pie!Cloudy and cool. The Empire State Building looks more like the Empire Sta...