Meeting Jeanette

I met Jeannette Winterson, a true icon of mine. She came to Skylight and I had the honor of introducing her at her very first reading in Los Angeles. I read her novel The Passion some years ago, and it stuck with me. It wasn't until later that I discovered that she was a lesbian or that her work had been snubbed by some of the literati in her country (She's never won a major prize in her country). She has no problem attacking a literary male hero like Henry Miller. She called out the sexism in Mr. Miller's life, like using his girlfriends to prostitute themselves so he can sustain his life as a writer.

There were two things that she said that really meant something to me:

1. Trust the chaos. Writing can be an emotionally wrenching experience. Sometimes you just don't know which way is up in a story. That's ok.

2. This is your time. She said we can change alot about our selves. We can change where we live, what we look like (including our gender), but there is one thing we can't change: the time we were born. This is the hand we were dealt. We can not change the time we're living in.

This resonated with me, because I do think I was born in a rich, textured time (1968) and currently live in interesting (not necessarily the best) times. My time on earth is what I get to leave behind for others to read.

I'd been writing about the 1980's alot...great! It reinforced that I'm writing about what I need to be writing about.

Style Fashion Week: The More the Merrier

There was definately a feeling of good times a the LA Fashion Week party. Maybe because the economy is getting better, but it was a good feeling all around.

These two were my favorite couple at the party--slick, cool, stylish.

Loud colors, leopard prints--Antying goes! I love that about fashion.

The woman in the middle exudes a Bianca Jagger vibe.

Style Fashion Week: The Women

At Fashion Week LA, you'd expect to see well dressed women. And there were. Here were some of my favorite ladies.

This woman was simply magical. From the way she sat to the way she looked at you.

She simply was out of this world.

I thought his woman was simply stuuuuuuning. The whole package.

Baby, got back!

Color, color, color! Love it.

Style Fashion Week: The Men

I attended the opening night party for Fashion Week LA. It was in an "undisclosed location" in Bel-Aire. Of course, in an event like this you'd expect to see beautiful people in beautiful clothes. This party did not disappoint. Here are some pics of some of my favorite guys.

Oh, that smile

Love that shock of blue!

I loved this big guy--he was faaaabulous.

I liked the swagger of these two men. Comfortable, but not arrogant

Something tells me he's been in front of the camera before.

What an interesting face. He almost was shocked when I asked to take his picture.

I really liked these two. They just were kinda cool. No pretense.

Just men with nothing to prove.

Thre was a bow-tie theme, which I always think takes a confidant man to wear.

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Meeting and Becoming "Meathead"

(The Mayor's Prop 8 press conference)

I'd been reflecting a lot recently. In February, I honored 10 years that I've been a published author. Of course, I'd been creative much longer than that. I got my first acting agent at sixteen. I went to colledge to study Drama at 18. I started doing performance art/solo work in my twenties. My first novel was published when I was 34.

However, long before that, I remember feeling that there were some things that just weren't fair in the world. All of that shows up in my writing. When my family first moved to America, we lived in a ghetto in Boston. I remembered that dishevled neighborhood, and maybe feeling there was something not right about that situation.

My father was happy that we left for Los Angeles. In Boston, he said cops would come around and harrass the immigrants. This was back in the late 1960's and early 1970's. In my adulthood, I'd had the pleasure of performing near that neighborhood (which is now a trendy part of Boston). I felt nothing but safe and welcomed.

In the 1970's we moved to Los Angeles, and I remember the class divide when "Bussing" came into the fray. Kids from economically depressed neighborhoods (like mine) were bussed to wealthier nieghborhoods (like Bel-Air). I think the goal was to improve race relations and equal out educational opportunities. I'm still not sure.

(With writer Dustin Lance Black)

When I was going to drama school in the 1980's, I couldn't help but notice that my white friends were going out for real roles, roles with names and backgrounds. I was going out for roles like Drug Dealer #1 or Asian #3. I knew I was as talented as my counterparts, but the opportunities were slim. In the 1980's, I also saw how gay people were dying of AIDS and there was a good portion of society who believed that they deserved it.

Recently, I'd been thinking about my work and my life. I'm grateful for the opportunities that came my way and the opportunities that I created. If I have work or get published, I think it's with people who feel along the lines that I do.

I continue to write and I continue to be socially aware. Every once and awhile, it gets glamorous, like when I was asked to represent API Equality-LA , (I serve on the Steering Committee) at a press conference on Prop 8. It was really cool.

However, most of this creative and socially conscious life is usually pretty ordinary. I write as much as I can. I show up to help at work.

(With actor and writer Rob Reiner)

Sometimes, I like to think that I get a sign that I'm on the right path. I do think it was pretty cool meeting "meathead" at the press conference. Rob Reiner played the fiery liberal antagonist to bigot Archie Bunker in "All in the Family." At the press conference, he came off that very same way! Mr. Reiner spoke passionately for gay marriage.

I've become that fiery liberal. I'm Meathead.