"Sari (W)rap" at The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

I find myself at Arclight the other day at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, specifically to see my pal Rasika Mathur's rap video spoof, "Sari (W)rap!" Here she is with pal Andrea James.

Along for the ride are Chris Scornaienchi who did the music for the video along with his girlfriend Genia and friends Christine and Michelle. The video is part of a compilation of short films. (My Flickr photo-set for this outing is here.)

The whole event is an absolute blast, with the added bonus of running into a friend, Sarba Das, whom I haven't seen since my bright college years.

On Saturday, I'm back there with Dad to see the rest. Our favorites are "Midnight Lost & Found," "Love Story," and "Lost Rainbow."

Another great one is "Three of Us," though it's a little sad. The story is a day in the life of a severely disabled man who lives with his parents in a single room. My father keeps hoping they are only actors, but unfortunately this is not the case. :(

Cleavage Invasion at La Casa Blue!

Why do we gay guys attract so much cleavage? So I find myself at La Casa Blue in Highland Park this weekend for my pal Chandler's birthday party. The locals get an eyeful of cleavage, debauchery and homo erotic PDA. The whole evening is super-fun!

The lovely ladies of LuckyLegendary serenade Chandler with their very own song: "Love on the Internet." They also do a song about a guy with a small penis that is freaking hilarious. I'll make sure to have my camera ready next time so I can catch that!

Also in town is Chandler's lovely sister who is not even old enough to drink, so I'm wondering how familiar she is with all this sort of rowdiness.

Click here to see all 43 rowdy pictures from the party.

Tripp Roberts, aka DJ Raw-burt of BLENDER spins mash-ups all night long. (I heart mash-ups!) And Andrew Burnette, whom I last saw perform at The Joint, sings and wields a riding crop.

The somewhat off-the-beaten-path locale doesn't keep anyone away. Here I am with Rachelle and Dahni, and there's Trevor with his friend Aram, both of whom you may recall from my trip to the Gay Zine & Comic Convention.

Here's a parting glance of a bunch of us having an awesome time. Click here to see all 43 rowdy pictures from the party. (Seriously, there are some awesomely crazy pictures in there you must see.)

Bread, Butter, Cheese, VICTORY! The National Grilled Cheese Invitational

I'm walking through the Crystal Springs picnic area in Griffith Park. The intoxicating smell of butterfat and toast wafts through the air. Crowds of hungry cheese lovers cheer. It can only the the 1st 6th Annual National Grilled Cheese Invitational.

What other sandwich can drive a crowd into such a frenzy? As 140 competitors feverishly cook, cheese runners run the sandwiches to the onlookers who push each other out of the way and claw for the tasty delights.

Check out my Flickr photoset of this event.

I'm lactose a little bit lactose intolerant, but still the temptation to stuff myself with the yummy sandwiches is overwhelming. Says NGCI founder Tim Walker: "I've never met somebody who hates a grilled cheese. I know people who are terribly lactose intolerant but who stuff themselves to bursting with grilled cheese. That's a sacrifice!" I think I might be one of those people.

Go here for the rest of the photos from this event!

Masuimi Max's "Dirty 30" Birthday Party

I hung out with the corset crowd at Masuimi Max's "Dirty 30" Birthday Party. I met Masuimi through my friend Chad M. Ward, an awesome photographer, years ago. She's awesome!



And yes, she really has two extra "superfluous" nipples. How cool is that! For more pictures from the party, check out my Flickr photoset. The pictures are from towards the end of the night when everyone was already drunk and messy.

Kami Shade Kicks off Fashion Week, Hollywood

I found myself back at Ritual in Hollywood as designer Kami Shade kicked of LA's Fashion Week with the 3rd annual "Shop Til You Drop" event.

I'm continually fascinated by the "bored" look models affect, especially on the runway, so I did my best to get a few shots of them smiling and looking happy!

Click here to view all my photos from the party.

Shoppers took breaks from the party and fashion shows inside to shop at the outdoor booths. I ran in to pals Dale and Jason. (Who would make an incredibly cute couple, but assured me they are not.)

Here I am with Susanna, my shopping buddy for the afternoon. The event even gave us the option of getting a massage to recover from all the activity. But we opted for Spanish lattes at Groundwork. (So good!) Check out my photoset for the rest of the pics.

Party Ben Visits Bootie LA!

DJs Mysterious D, Adrian and Paul V brought Bootie LA back to The Echo. This time Party Ben came along from San Francisco to do a special midnight set of mash-ups that turned the crowd inside out! I took over 60 pictures, which you can check out by clicking here.

Two crowd-favorites were "Don't Stop Believin' In Planet Rock" (Journey vs. Afrika Bambaataa) by A Plus D and "Paid For My Doorbell" (Eric B. & Rakim vs. White Stripes) by Party Ben. I might be biased, since these happen to be my favorites too, and I am listening to them even as I type this.

The line was so super long there was a 30 minute wait starting at midnight! Luckily, my friend Chandler, (aka Tauren from Luck Legendary) was already inside and got DJ Adrian and Mysterious D to intervene on my behalf. Next month they're moving it downstairs to The Echoplex which is much larger.

See all the photos on Flickr!

There were a lot more people in costume this time around. Not a requirement, but it sure makes things a lot more fun. So if you come next time, at least wear a bandanna. That last photograph, was one of my favorite moments, Chandler's friend, Manders, singing along to "Don't Stop Believing." She really is holding on to that feeling!

Ne-Yo's Grammy Party

You can see the photo-set of all my photographs here.

The highlight of the evening was hanging out with the folks covering the red carpet. The two gals above were so fun. I didn't catch their names, but the one on the left was from LA-XLarge and the on the right was from NapkinNights.

There were a bunch of music folks and reality stars in attendance, but also some American Gladiators! The ones above are Mayhem, who is actually quite nice and very hunky, and the gorgeous Siren.

You can see the photo-set of all my photographs here.

"Warhol: Dead at 21" at WOW Gallery

Production studio World of Wonder had another fantastic art opening at their Storefront Gallery on Hollywood Blvd. It was conceived and pulled off extravagantly by the unstoppable Thairin Smothers. Pictured above, the fabulous Lenora Claire and friends.

Every Hollywood nightlife mainstay imaginable was in attendance, including author/celebutante and subject of WOW's movie Party Monster, James St. James.

Click here to view all my photos from the party.

Here I am with friends Rachelle, Forrest and Chandler. doing "Edie Sedgwick," "Goth Elvis," and "Construction Worker." Minutes earlier I had undergone an improvised costume change to become "Fashion Terrorista!" There's Lenora again with Ian and Tony. (See the rest on Flickr.)

Doo-Dah Parade 2008 in Pasadena

I went to the 31st (Occasional) Doo-Dah Parade. The freaks came out as they do every year: Sperm Donors of Pasadena, Ren Fair Cos-Players, Count Smokula and more.

View my entire photo-set here.

(I even saw two folks I didn't expect to see, Maureen & John Charles, marching with the "Shower to Empower" contingent.)

Casino Night Party at Neha's

Neha and Cezhan, two friends of mine from high school, had a Casino Night party up at Neha's lovely home in the hills. I got there early and helped set up lights. Knowing me from back in the day, Neha remembers that I'm a bit more "handy" than I let on.

There wasn't any detail missing and she still managed to get upstairs and make herself gorgeous before all the guests arrived. And they got the party sponsored by PINK Vodka. Remind me to get future house parties sponsored!