“Forbidden Apple” in the Window of Barnes & Noble

Here I am in front of the Barnes & Noble at 6th Avenue and 8th Street in the West Village–and that’s my book in the window!

Ta-da! (photo by Shannon Leigh O'Neil)

My Personal American Idol

Anyone that knows me is aware of my Adam Lambert fixation (in a sociocultural context, of course). But I must share with the world the fabulousness of Jobriath, my personal American Idol. My GF just said to me, as I viewed the video, “you know he’s like the Heaven’s Gate of rock stars, right?” Of course I do.

In the early to mid-70′s, a bunch of music industry honchos got together and brainstormed an American counterpart to David Bowie. At the time, Bowie was as famous for his impeccable songwriting as he was for his fashion sense and casual bisexuality. Jobriath, though, was actually openly gay and a campily graceful performer. Sadly, the hype that preceded his talent framed him as some kind of sexual fad, destined to flame out after 15 minutes.

Long-Lost Larry Levenson Lives!

Larry and Mary Levenson, owners of Plato's Retreat

Another tidbit from the Long-Lost Archives: a couple of vintage photos from Plato’s Retreat, the ne plus ultra of swingers’ clubs in the 1970s.

Though the conventional wisdom holds swinging to be an outre form of sexual expression from the ’70s, in the course of my book research it became clear that swinging was actually quite a tame enterprise. First, swinging (or “Westport Roulette,” one of my favorite euphemisms I found in a 1974 swingers’ handbook in the New York Public Library) was exclusively a heterosexual pastime, with the exception of temporary bisexuality on the part of the female swinger.  Second, the majority of swingers were married couples, not singles–in fact, single men were never allowed into swingers’ clubs, but single women were always in short supply. Third, most swingers were suburban, middle class white couples. In many cases, the only radical thing about swingers was the fact that they swung. And they may have smoked a little “grass” when the mood struck.

Link to My “Behind the News” Appearance

Doug Henwood, the host of the “Behind the News” program on WBAI and the Left Business Observer, emailed me to say he’d posted a link my appearance on show. Take a listen.

“Behind the News” April 9, 2009 (the link takes you to the Doug’s page, then click on “streaming” or “download”).

Radio Interview Madness

I’m going fast and furious on the airwaves here. Yesterday I recorded an interview for “Behind the News” with Doug Henwood, a great show that “covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global…Since mystification is one of the tricks that power uses to maintain itself, emphasis is always placed on clarifying the complex.” I hope I clarified the complex when it comes to sex in New York, because frankly, a lot of the moves made by the anti-sex crowd mystified me.

Also yesterday, out of the blue I received an email from a producer at Newstalk, a national radio station in Ireland (!). I recorded a 10-minute interview with host Sean Moncrieff, whose show is simply called Moncrieff! No other explanation needed, apparently. I answered a few queries about the porn industry and its future. Sean and the nice Irish ladies who set up the interview all spoke at 100 miles (200 kilometres) an hour and I felt like I was drawling my responses like an uncouth American. Whaddyagonnado? It was 7:45am Eastern time.