An Awesome Weekend of Birthday Fabulousness!

It was a busy weekend.  It was a fun weekend.  It was a weekend full of birthday celebrations from start to finish and it's about freaking time!  It seems like it's been forever since I've enjoyed myself as much as I did this weekend.  The birthdays I helped celebrate all belonged to special people and so this last weekend of February and first into March was one that I'll remember for a long, long time to come.

 

Happy Birthday Manny!

The plan was two trips into the city on Friday and Sunday, with a family birthday party for my nephew Jake sandwiched in between on Saturday.  First up on Friday night was an evening of debauchery for my pal Manny's birthday.  His birthday is actually today, but Monday's not really a good night for going out, and so he, our friend Ozzie and I traipsed into NYC for a little fun with Manny's friends Norberto and Raj at the Fairytail Lounge and then on to Icon in Astoria for a nightcap and some dancing.  I'll spare you any gory details, but let's just say it was great to be with these two friends for such a fun night!

Happy Birthday Jake!

My youngest nephew is a teenager.  My brother's younger son turned 13 years old on Saturday and after spending an awesome day with him seeing Wicked a few weeks back, I was only too glad to spend his special day with him.  Until that jaunt into the city I'd never really spent much time with Jake, and I'm so glad that we took that trip because for the first time I really got to know him as a person.  All I can say about that is he is one awesome kid...um, young man!  Jake, you rock!  Happy Birthday!

  

Happy Birthday Blanchie!

Last, but certainly not least was the best part of my weekend.  You see, tomorrow one of my oldest friends, Bobby, will be joining the '50 Club,' and me and our third Rich treated him to see Kinky Boots on Broadway,  The three of us spent the awesomest of days together in the snow-covered city laughing, dining and enjoying a spectacular show.  Though I consider many of my friends a part of my extended family, these two are my real family, and it was nice to be just the three of us together. The only sucky part was an awful ride home because a murky forecast of snow turning to freezing rain was mostly snow...and a lot of it!  Poor Dita had to drive us for the better part of a two and a half hour ride through unplowed expressway to get home.  That didn't stop the mood of the day, though, as the ride was full of good music and good friends, just like the day had been.

Anyway, since I feel like a lot of the time lately I've been writing about negative stuff (it's been a long winter!), I wanted to share a good time for a change.  So for what it's worth, happy birthday to Manny, Jake and Blanche!  I love you all and I'm lucky to have each of you in my life!

   

The Allure of Cherry Grove as a Gay Man's Playground Diminishes

On Saturday night I went to Cherry Grove for the second time in three days.  I haven't gone there this year as much as I usually do in the summer, but judging from these last two visits, I'm not really that upset about it. You see, there's been a definite change in the place over the past few years, one that's becoming more and more a deterrent for us gay men, and I'm starting to think it's gotten to the point where to me it's become decidedly sad.  Both evenings were disappointing, a beautiful, but empty Thursday evening and a dreary (okay, I'll give you that one!) Saturday with drag shows and lots of gay women and straights gave this gay man a reason to rethink going to the Grove regularly anymore

I've been going to Fire Island regularly now for more than thirty years. When I was partnered, Joe and I would usually go only on holiday weekends in the summer, and since I'm single, I've become much more of a regular on Saturday nights in the summer.  Like anything else, things invariably change over time, but not always for the better.  The crowds that frequent the Grove, as well as the bar scene and the cost, are much different today than they were in years past and neither bodes well for the town's future.

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Cherry Grove Nightlife

The landscape of the nightlife at Cherry Grove has both dwindled and morphed into something entirely different than it once was.  Where there was once at least four nightclubs in this writer's memory, there are now only two.  Unfortunately, the recession of the mid-2000's hit the town hard and both The Monster (then Tides) and Sunsets sadly shuttered their doors forever during the decade.  All that's left are Ice Palace and Cherrys on the Bay, and even these two clubs are much different today than in the past.

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Back in the 90's, when I really started to spend more time at the Grove, Ice Palace was THE place to be. The bar was a genuine dance club that saw plenty of crowds both at the bar, on the outside deck, and on the dance floor.  Today, the club's main Saturday night attraction is The Porshe Show, followed by a Saturday night dance party that hardly fills up the cavernous dance floor in the place.  Now Porshe is a very entertaining performer, but not the type of entertainment clubbers like me are looking for. Daniel Nardicio's Friday night underwear parties attract troves of gay men from the Pines, and is the one regular event that hearkens back to the old days.  Cherrys on the Bay is the other bar/club at the Grove, the one I most frequent. Ever since the Ice Palace started to wane from its glory days as a dance club and the other bars closed, Cherrys became the catch-all for people who want to let loose and have a good time.

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Traditionally, Cherrys was always known to me and my friends as the "lesbian bar," the one place where ladies of the gay persuasion would gather.  I don't even think I ever went there until a few years ago, after I started frequenting Fire Island more in my secondary single days, but once I started going, it became my place.

A Gay Man's Deterrents

The lesbian majority at Cherry's has remained throughout, and almost always the women outnumber the men at least two to one.  I know friends and acquaintances who don't like going to the Grove because of that.  I don't exactly love it either, but there are guys who do go there and I do often have fun when I go.  But there's another reason a lot of people I know have stopped going to the Grove and that's the straights.
Straight people have always frequented the Grove in the evenings, and it's never been a big deal, but these days there seems to be more and more of them.  Between the lesbians and the straights, it's no wonder why gay guys no longer make the Grove their hangout like they once did.

That's my pal Laura Kim with Porsche in 2012

Shows like Porche's, and the Ice Palace's famous Sunday afternoon pool shows are one thing that attracts the straights in droves, but from interactions I've had with many of them over the years, they also come because they see gay men as a safe folly with whom they can have some real fun.  I'm sorry straight people, but you have the whole world to hang out in.  Why you gotta rain on my gay parade?

Show Me the Money

There is one other reason I think the crowds, and especially the crowds of gay men, have dwindled at Cherry Grove is economic.  Though cover charges have halted, the prices at the ferry booth, parking lot and bars have jumped significantly.  Where I used to bring around $80 for a day at the Grove, I am now bringing even more.  The price of drinks has risen astronomically.  I bought a round of three drinks the other day at Cherrys and it cost me a whopping $38.  I mean, I know all about inflation, but this is ridiculous!

Perhaps the rise in prices is caused by the less than stellar attendance I've witnessed on my jaunts over to the Grove during the summer, but if I'm going to be spending that much money over there, I should have reason enough to want to go there.  Smaller crowds, and filled in large part with lesbians and straights for that matter, do not warrant the regular Saturday night jaunts I used to love so much.  Perhaps it's time for this man to start frequenting the Pines.

Now, I hope that no one takes any offense to what I've said here.  I still love Cherry Grove and I will still visit.  I've had a lot of great times over there and it will always have a special place in my heart.  Besides, I'm not sure what the folks over there could do, even if they wanted to, to revamp the place as a prime destination for gay men...lesbians and straights have money, too!  Don't get me wrong, though, I have nothing against either lesbians or straights, but when I want to go clubbing, part of the allure is to meet someone and neither of those groups fit that particular bill for me.    

The Latest Madonnathon Coming to Rockbar NYC this Sunday

It was over two years ago already that I went to my first Madonnathon at Splash Bar in New York City. Being a huge Madonna fan for many years, I was overwhelmed with joy at being in a great club with fellow Madonna fanatics listening and dancing and singing along to our star all night long.  It was such a great time!

Since covering that event, I've heard a couple of times from Jeannie Buxo, founder of Madonna's World blog, which puts on these fabulous Madonnathon parties several times a year in and around the world's greatest city. There've been a couple that I'd known about from Jeannie since that first one, but this Long Island boy could never make it on a work night.  Well, it's summer and that's about to change...

The latest, fabulous Madonnathon, Unapologetic Bitches Unite, is happening this Sunday, July 20th, at Rockbar in NYC from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., and I can't wait to be there.  So if any of you Madge fans are up for a lil bit of dancing to the greatest dance music star ever, then get your butts over to Rockbar NYC this Sunday.  See you there!

Back in the NY Groove

It has been waaaay too long!

For the past I don't know how many months I've stayed on Long Island Saturday nights.  I've stopped dancing.  I've stopped being adventurous.  It hasn't been making me feel so good about myself.  Almost every week for the past several weeks I've been saying that I was going to go back into the city, but each week I've found a reason to stay on L.I.

Gosh, for years I went into the city clubbing week after week after week, and I almost always had the time of my life.  Eventually though, with the opening of XL and then the closing of Splash, my visits to NYC have waned.  I'm glad we've got Nuts n Bolts out here, but it's nothing in comparison to a city club.

Out here, the people are the same, there's really no dancing, and it's easy to get bored with it each and every week.  In the city it doesn't matter who you know.  Anonymity makes it easy to be yourself, and I find it so easy to let loose when I have no one around me, judging me.  At least that doesn't make me uncomfortable.

So tonight, I am returning to the city.  My first destination is XL Nightclub and then perhaps The Ritz, where I haven't been since last spring.  I can't wait to be out there on the dance floor!

   

Ida Corr vs Fedde Le Grand - Let Me Think About It by dunyaerk

Saying Goodbye to Splash

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Wow, it is almost 11:30 p.m. on Sunday and I have not slept, well really slept, since Friday night. It's hard to believe, really, even for me, and I'm still pretty wide awake.  You see, after writing that post yesterday, Is It Me?: An Introduction, I've just been all out of sorts, and I drank one too many cups of coffee yesterday, including a large one from Dunkin Donuts on my way home from Splash.

Splash, yes, that's the reason for this post.  Last night was the last Saturday I would ever have the chance to go and so I couldn't miss it.  For any of you who've ever followed me over the years, you all know how I've enjoyed my Splash Saturdays (and Tuesdays, and Thursdays, and Fridays...) over the past years, and even from when before I was single, Splash was always fun.

I know that to a lot of people it became, with its fame, a kind of a hokey, touristy place, the kind that tourists go to when they come to NY, but still, despite the touristy type that goes there, it's been fun for me going there over the past five years.  I have a lot of good memories of the place, like getting to know my little Asian group of co-clubbers, dancing up a storm on my own or with complete strangers on many a night, making friends and meeting people, the Madonnathon last year, and meeting Domingo, too!

The place was very packed in last night, just like in the club's heyday.  There were so many people there that I almost yearned for a Saturday night like the ones I experienced there ever since XL opened last year.  It was too crowded to really have a great time.  Apparently, I wasn't the only one taking in the old place just one last time.  There wasn't much room on the dance floor, and it felt like a typical night at Splash just a couple of years ago.  The music was thumping with DJ's Steven Sidewalk and Hector Fonseca and the crowd, and the male dancers, were bumping and grinding right along.

My bartender was there, too.  I don't know why, but I can never remember his name.  I met him a few years back when he worked downstairs and he had his own crowd of customers, not because of his looks, but for his pleasant character.  As always, he greeted me with a fist bump and a smile and poured my drink without me even having to order it. What a truly nice guy, and with a good memory to boot!  I didn't get a chance to ask him, but I'm hoping he's going to XL with the rest of the Splash staff.

That's my bartender, the larger one towards 

the back.  I know it's not a very good picture, but hey!

Throughout the evening, I couldn't help but feel a little sad that this was all coming to an end.  It really is the end of an era in New York.  I still may try to get there just one more night this week. I'm afraid I'll be a few hundred miles away next Saturday when they have their final sendoff, which I'm sure will be way bigger than last night.  Who knows what's in store?  Weeknights are a different kind of fun, anyway, so for me I still want to spin around on that dance floor one more time.  I didn't really get to do that last night.

So here's a big thank you to Splash bar for giving me (and many others) a place to let loose a little and meet some nice people along the way!

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A Fun Return to Splash

Last night I returned to Splash for the first time in a long time.  It's funny, but in summers past I'd have been there at least ten times by now.  I guess my own clubbing habits were affected by the waning of the legendary club.  But with the announcement of its closing, I just had to get there at least a couple more times.  Though I had said I'd be going on Friday night, I never did make it, but I did last night, and it was just like old times.

I got there around 11 PM, and there was a line.  There had never been much of a line the past few times I'd gone there, so I'm guessing that many others are returning for old times sake.  The crowd inside was buzzing, and DJ Steve Sidewalk had the crowd up and dancing all night.  I always liked it when Steven played...he used to be a staple at Campus Thursdays when I would go every week.  

Anyway, I danced and danced, alone and with others around me, having a good time until my shirt was soaked with sweat and it was time for me to go.  I left kind of early for me...around 2 AM, but I knew I'd be back there at least one last time anyway (mental note: bring extra shirt next time!).  I've had a lot of good times and met a lot of cool people in that place and I'm going to miss it.  

Oh, and by the way, Mr. Sidewalk finally let the cat outta the bag last night, too.  Dougie Meyer, longtime Splash promoter, recently announced that the entire staff of Splash would be moving to a new location immediately after its August 10th closing.  After a few Dougie hints on his Facebook page, I can now say for sure that the "new location" will be XL.  Stay tuned...

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Clubbing in NYC and Long Island Christmas Week

Last night, my friend Paul and I went into the city for one of our occasional nights of clubbing. It was the first time I'd been to the city in a couple of weeks and since it was a Friday night, we were planning on hitting bars in Hell's Kitchen, the newest gay hot spot in Manhattan.  This area of the West Side, just outside of Times Square, is teeming with clubs and bars and we planned on hitting at least a couple of them.

For the first time in awhile, I was excited to go dancing again.  In the past I would have already been out a few times during the break, but for whatever reason, visits with friends, working, lack of funds, writing, etc., I haven't gone out like I used to.

Penthaus at the Copacabana

Our first stop for the evening was the opening of an all new Friday night club at the Copacabana on 47th Street.  Penthaus is the newest 'gay dance party' by Alan Pincus and Justin Luke's BoiParty, and from the looks of just the line as we approached, this one was gonna be packed.

The line went quickly, thankfully, because it was absolutely freezing out, and before you knew it, we were up on the third floor of the Copa at a packed Penthaus.  The place was gorgeous, with two giant rooms, one with a dance floor and the rooftop area, complete with seating and a big bar.

Facebook - Penthaus Fridays

The crowd was pretty, and brought to mind the image of Chelsea Queens, only this wasn't Chelsea.  One dude was prettier than the next, and the ones that weren't pretty thought they were.  Needless to say there was a lot of attitude in this very crowded venue.  The only other bright spot other than the place itself was the music, spun by the fabulous Scotty Rox.

After about an hour and a half, and a couple of way overpriced drinks, we decided to head on out of there.  I wanted to try another new bar, Hardware, but the drinks had emptied my pockets quicker than I expected, so we hopped down one block to my always go-to place, The Ritz.

Facebook - The Ritz

Putting on The Ritz

I love The Ritz!  It is always jam-packed with people and it's very hard to move around in, but the music is always slamming and the crowd is always good looking and never snooty (see above!).  Last night was their final Flex Friday of the year and we got there around 1:30 AM and stayed until the wee hours, and as usual, the music was fierce and the crowd friendly.  I just may have to do a piece on the place for Examiner.  They like to call their patrons Ritzians, which I absolutely love...I guess I'm one!

Oops...I almost forgot about Circus Wednesday and Ruby's B'day Bash

I almost forgot that I had gone out on Wednesday night, as well.  Today is my friend Ozzie/Ruby's birthday and she had a big birthday celebration at Lizard Lounge the other night.  Though it was very cold, windy and rainy, I traipsed out for my friend...ugh...to be a part of his night.

The show was extra long and featured all of the resident drag queens, Sassy Temptress, Saline Dijon, Savannah Monroe, and others.  Savannah, who loves Katy Perry, went all out and gets my vote for best dressed (see below).  Unfortunately for me, I got sick all of a sudden and had to leave during Ruby's second performance.  Ah, well, I was cold and tired anyway.

Check out Savannah's outfit...very cool!

Nuts & Bolts is back!

I also forgot all about last Saturday, too, when I returned to Nuts & Bolts, which had been closed for almost a month after its grand opening.  I went with my pal Blanche, who had missed the opening because he was out of town, and I'm glad to say it's still getting a nice crowd.  There was a fear that being closed for so long would have killed it a bit, but as I said in my two pieces about the place, it was needed!  Yay!

Well, I guess I did do substantial clubbing this week after all!  Anyway, happy birthday to Ruby and Ozzie...and as always, thanks for reading!

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Saturday, July 7th - Catching up....

Good morning and Happy Saturday!  Well, we're in the middle of a scorcher today, with temperatures expected to reach in the upper 90's.  UGH!  My buddy Dita mentioned to me again yesterday how my blog's been 'empty' lately and so I thought I'd post a short piece to catch up a little.

Not much has been going on here, really.  As has happened in the past, I've been none too inspired lately to do much writing, which really stinks because now is when I have more time for that.  Continued frustrations with Yahoo Voices haven't helped matters any.  Well, I'll just keep trying...

As for summer, well I've been going out some.  Fire Island every Saturday night and on the 4th of July.  It's been fun and I've got a couple of potential guys out there, but it's still too early to tell what will happen.  I hit Splash on Thursday for the first time since April and it was a lot better than last time...bigger crowds and nice music!

Well, there you have it...an update!  Stay tuned as I try to get inspired.  Have a nice day and keep cool if you're living in a hotspot!

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April 29th, 2012: Central Park; more Ziggy times; Let's Go Rangers

It’s been awhile since I last updated anything personal on here and since I’m up early enough and with a clear head, I figured I’d catch up now.  It’s been a busy month so far, both at work and at home, and today promises no let up.  The weather here in New York has cooled down quite a bit from what it had been, but it’s been beautiful nonetheless.  Since it’s Sunday, a day off, I need to get outside sooner rather than later…

Central Park

This Thursday I will be taking my students on a field trip to New York City’s Central Park.  The trip is going to be a cool one, with an awesome scavenger hunt built in.  In the past several weeks I’ve been doing a lot of research on the park, and even though I’ve been there plenty of times before, I learned a lot about the place.  Yesterday I took a test run to scope out the things I’ve read about so I can prepare for the trip.

The weather in NYC was absolutely gorgeous yesterday, making it a great time to go into Central Park.  There are so many things to see there, and I wanted to catch most of them while I was there.  I arrived at the park around noonish, and meandered my way through many of the beautiful pathways that wind their way around the place.  As it was such a beautiful day, the place was teeming with activity and only served to remind me of how much I want to live in the city.

I visited the Central Park Zoo, Bethesda Terrace, the statue of Balto the sled dog, Belvedere Castle, Sheep Pasture, and so many other places I can’t even remember it all.  Here are a few photos I took so you can appreciate the wonderful beauty that exists right in the middle of Manhattan…

Ziggy

Ugh, lately I’ve been having some of those Ziggy moments that I experience from time to time.  I dunno, there’s definitely some sort of bad energy that hits me for spells every once in awhile and all I can really do is try not to let them get me down and wait them out until they go away.    

I guess it all started about two weeks ago when I got my third bill from my gas company in a month.  I pay that bill on a monthly budget and once a year I get a year-end statement with a reconciliation between what I paid and what I used.  The first bill was for $28 and change, which was a nice surprise, but then I got a second year-end statement a few weeks later in which the amount jumped to more than $330.  A week after that, yet another came saying my total was well over $400.  Sheesh!?!?! 

I called the company, which is something I neither good at or like to do, and I got this robotic service representative who simply couldn’t answer my questions.  I mean, I’m not disputing what I used, but aren’t I right in that I am on a budget to avoid things like this?  The whole thing brought me from extra money in my pocket to a negative balance.  Ya just can’t fight “the man,” I guess!

My Zigginess continued on Thursday when I got a speeding ticket.  I told you once before about a ticket I had gotten last fall and fought, and now I got another one on my way to work.  Again, this one was cheesy as I was one of about 6 or 7 cars all moving relatively close to one another at a similar speed.  Yes I do drive fast, but I’m not the type of driver that weaves in and out of traffic flying past every car in my way.  I asked the officer why he picked me over all of the other cars that were going at a similar pace and he could not answer me.  All he said was that it didn’t matter if I was in a group of cars cause he uses laser radar and he could pinpoint my speed.  That doesn’t answer the question, does it? 

I felt that I was targeted because of my car, my sporty little Eclipse, and I still do.  I only should have opened my mouth sooner because I don’t think he would have given me the ticket if I had asked before he wrote it up.  I dunno, just a feeling…

I also got a parking ticket in the city yesterday.  Oh when will this end?  It was my first one ever in the city, and again it was cheesy because there were other cars parked in front of and behind me and the “No Standing” sign was at least a half a block up from the spot.  I simply didn’t even notice, and considering all of the illegal things that people do on the roads of NYC, this wasn’t so bad, was it?  And it was for a hundred bucks, too!  Again, when will this end, lol….

On the Bright Side

Earlier this week we held our 6^th annual ESL Family Night at school and once again I was tasked with public speaking.  Though I’ve done it a gazillion times before, I still get butterflies for about 24 hours before, and as always it was for nothing.  I’m not sure if it’s because the other teacher who went on before me is so bad, but she energizes me to get out there when she’s speaking and I always do a good job once I’m up there.  Both my boss and the principal were on hand and if I say so myself, I rocked it!

Let’s Go Rangers

Yesterday afternoon the Rangers began their 2^nd Round series with the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  I DVR’ed the game and watched it last night after I got home from the city.  The Rangers won the game, 3-1, and I’m starting to really love rookie Chris Kreider, who scored a beautiful goal and had an assist for the Blueshirts.  Go Rangers!

Da Bunk

I went to the Bunk House last night for the first time since opening night, and I’m only telling this to anyone who’s read my review of the place to catch up on what it’s really like now that it’s up and running.  The crowd is still nice…not as big as on that first night, but nice enough to make it a regular thing.  The music was great and the crowd was, um, very Long Island.  Take that for what it is…

Well that’s all she, or rather, he, wrote folks!  As always, thanks for checking out my lil corner of the Web.  Your visits are always appreciated.  Enjoy your Sunday, and stay tuned for my late “Y” post…

Image Sources:

John Myers

Seattle Traffic Lawyer

The Wallpapers


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Circus Wednesdays still a great time!

I wouldn’t ordinarily be posting a new memoir unless I was really inspired to do so, but last night I had the most surprisingly good time at Circus Wednesdays at Lizard Lounge.  Now I’ve written about the place before both on Examiner and here, but I don’t get to go too often due to having to get up so early during the week.  Since I’m on vacation this week, I opted to take a ride down and I’m glad I did!

For the longest time, I’ve been saying that Long Island gay nightlife has been abysmal, especially during the weeknights.  Last summer, though, I was introduced to Circus and I was pleasantly surprised, and in the time since then, things have picked up round these parts, which is really a good thing!  Choices are what it’s all about and they are much more plentiful nowadays than they had been, including Wednesday nights at Eagle, Thursdays at Bunk House, and so forth.

Anyway, back to last night…

When I got to Lizard, it was around 11PM, and the crowd was very decent for a Wednesday night.  After saying hey to my friend Ruby, I took a seat at the bar and took in the scene.  Within a few minutes, these two young girls came in.  They came up beside me and asked if they could grab a seat.  Within a few minutes we started talking.  Their names were Marianna and Laura, and this was their first time in a gay club.  They had always wanted to see what one was like and they came all the way from the Hamptons to give Circus a try.

We sat and talked for a long time before heading out to the dance floor for a few spins.  Soon enough, the show started and the three of us took our places right by the stage to watch.  I was especially excited to see this one because one of my acquaintances, Matthew, was performing as Saline Dijon.  I’ve known Matt for awhile now through the community and he’s a really great, fun dude with one helluva voice!  He’d only been performing in drag for a few weeks and he was on last night.

Let me tell you, I had a smile on my face the whole time as Matthew belted out Celine.  He’s different as a drag performer because he actually sang along to the songs rather than lip sync, and he got a really nice response from the crowd.  In fact, the whole show was very entertaining and when it was done, the crowd stayed, for the most part.  This is something I hadn’t experienced before, as usually the patrons disperse quickly after the show.

Marianna, Laura and I continued to dance and have a good time and I met this really nice, adorable guy, Tony, with a killer smile.  Finally, the time had come to leave, but it was probably the latest I’d ever stayed at Circus.  Here’s to new friends!  So if you live on Long Island and you’re looking for a nice place, with a nice crowd and a fun atmosphere, then check out Circus!  

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Sunday, March 18th, 2012: Back to the Personal; Splash Waning; Bowling

Happy Sunday! Today is going to be a beautiful day, with sunny skies and temps in the 60’s. It’s really amazing how weather can affect your mood. I would imagine that people who live in places where it doesn’t get cold, though, wouldn’t ever really experience this euphoria that comes with the change of seasons from winter to spring. It’s a feeling like no other! Now I’ve just got to put my head down, write what I’ve got to write and get out there to enjoy it!

Back to the Personal

As many of my regular readers may have noticed, the blog has changed in recent months from what it used to be. During this time I’ve gotten away from more of the personal side of my life and a little more into music tidbits, interesting items, and of course, my “Songs of the Day.” I know that most blogs should really focus on one specific thing in order to be really successful, but I can’t help it, I’m not a single-minded type of guy. I have many different interests and I like to spread myself around, so to speak.

With that said, I have tried to stay a little bit more away from the personal side of stuff, but I’ll not abandon it completely. I call this blog “John’s World,” because that’s exactly what it is: my world. I think that in their entirety my posts give people a sense of who I am as a person and who knows, maybe this will end up being my legacy.

So from time to time, like now, I’m still going to pen some personal memoirs…I know that there are some out there that enjoy reading my trials and tribulations, no matter how sappy or trivial. They’ve not stopped, so neither will my talking about them. It just won’t be as often as in the past…


The new XL nightclub is giving Splash a run for its money!

Splash Waning

For the first time in a long time, I went to Splash on a Saturday night. It was a last minute decision, because I went bowling last night and got a late start out of my house so I wasn’t sure whether or not I would make it by 12 (that’s when the price doubles!). I had originally wanted to go to the new XL, which I haven’t tried yet, but since I got out of my house late, I just opted for my usual standby. XL is undoubtedly the hot spot these days in NYC, and I can tell from both the photos they put on Facebook and the size of the crowds at Splash.

For the past several weeks, Splash has been undergoing a renovation, presumably to try and win back some of the clientele it has certainly lost to the newer and supposedly larger midtown nightclub. The place is somewhat of a mess, with the whole front section of the upstairs being reconstructed. The new bar there is in place and to me it doesn’t look too different from before???

Time will tell whether or not these renovations will make a difference, but for the time being things are definitely not the same. The crowds are much sparser than they once were and last night DJ John Marto was conspicuously absent from his downstairs gig, at least while I was there. It used to be that down there would get just as packed in as upstairs with people who prefer a more pop sound to their dance music, but there was no one dancing to the automated video/dance music.

Needless to say, Splash is still a city club and the place wasn’t empty by any means. The crowd was still much larger than a LI club, and the music was pretty good, too. Unfortunately I made the choice to run up to the Ritz around 1:30, but even that place was packing them in more-so than Splash, as there was a hefty line outside waiting to get in. I figured with such a line it would be way too crowded so I chose not to wait and opted to head home. I should have stayed where I was!

I think that next week is the time to try XL, finally. Stay tuned for that…


XL Nightclub, Facebook

Bowling

I’m not sure if I ever mentioned this before on here, but once a month I bowl in a league. It’s the first such time since I was a kid and I joined as a favor to my friend Reet, whose friend asked her to join. This particular one-Saturday-per-month league is called “Just Friends,” and it is not a serious league by any means. Many of the bowlers kind of stink, and up until recently it really hasn’t been that much fun….key words “until recently.”

The past two times we bowled were a lot of fun! I’m not sure if it’s the company, the beer, or a combination of the two, but I become absolutely giddy when I’m there. I like making jokes and playing around with people. Just last month there was this one lady who was what I like to call a “chucker.” That is, whenever she bowls, the ball flies in the air about half-way down the lane, crashing with a loud thud before moving on towards the pins. No matter how many times she went, every single time up she’d chuck that ball, which I found to be so funny, especially considering her, um, large stature.

Not that I am any better…My form when I bowl is much better than when I was younger, but still a little odd. As a kid, for some crazy reason whenever I bowled my left leg used to kick up high and to the side, lol. I don’t know why that was, but it was. I credit my childhood friend Marc’s dad for helping me rid myself of that embarrassing habit. I remember him on the last day of our league, going up with me every time it was my turn and forcing me to concentrate on not kicking my leg up. Unfortunately, in the years since, I’ve developed another irregular method of bowling: these days I stumble!

Yes, I don’t know if it’s because I take too many steps before I reach the foul line or whether I’m just too excited to be doing what I’m doing, but almost every time I throw the ball, I stumble. Sometimes I even fall forward, having to brace myself from falling completely down.

Last night we bowled against a really fun team, and it was finally somebody else’s turn to make fun of me. They were cheering for us and we were reciprocating, laughing the whole night long and having the best time ever. At the end of the night, one of the ladies came up to me and told me that I had such a “fun” method of bowling, that it was “unique and hysterical.” Well, I’ll never be a serious bowler, and so I guess my bowling style has to fit my giddy personality when I’m at the lanes.

By the way, our team began last night in third place overall. Not bad, huh? And we won two out of the three games we played and maybe next week we’ll inch a little closer to first. Ya never know!






Well that’s all she wrote, for now! Time to get out there and enjoy this beautiful gorgeous day…enjoy!

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Grand Opening Gala at the new Bunk House

Here we are again late on a Sunday night! Why does the weekend go by so fast? Never mind…don’t answer that. I already know it’s because it’s our own time, right? Well, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from life is that time does go by quickly, and the older you get, the faster it goes….Ah, well, whaddayagonna do?



The Bunk Revisited

Last night my friend and I went to the “Grand Opening Gala” of the all-new Bunk House. I have to admit, I had mixed feelings about going. On the plus side, last night was a short night, with Daylight Savings and all, and the new club is only about a mile or two from home. I really didn’t want to take two hours of a short night to go all the way into Splash or the new XL (gotta try that place!), but one big detriment to going was the drag show that would be featured at the “gala.”

Call me old fashioned, I do enjoy drag shows every once in awhile, but back in the day they were held on off nights, like a Sunday, to bring people in on a night when they might not ordinarily come out. Saturday night is always a night for dancing and mingling and a drag show just puts everything to a halt at a time when a club is most likely to be crowded. Maybe it’s just me. Who knows?

Also there’s that Long Island factor. Maybe I’ve just gotten used to the clubs in the city, but I started going there in the first place because for one thing, the crowds at bars out here have been a crapshoot the past few years, and also Long Island people are just not nice in general. They’re as clicky as clicky gets, and if you’re not a part of the click, well… (Oh, I’ve got a lot more to say about that!). But in the end I decided to go anyway and I’m glad I did.

Now I’m not going to use this space to describe the new club. I wrote a review on it earlier today which you can read here. All I’ll say is that I like it. The place is much bigger than the old one, with a bigger dance floor and a nice sized, mixed crowd. I said in the review that it is very reminiscent of the old Gation/Luxe at Industry in Levittown, which was a good space for a good time.

We got to the Bunk around 11ish and it was already packed. The parking lot was already full and so both of us had to park on the street, which I wouldn’t normally like to do except for this special occasion, being an opportunity to contribute to my Examiner page.

It seemed as if everyone came out for this. Many people I knew were there, including my friends Tony, Lisa, Paul, and a whole crew of peeps I hadn’t seen since the summer at the Grove. Eileen, the owner was there of course, and so was Eddie who puts on these dance parties. I will say that being a writer definitely is nice, as I was greeted by several people just because of that (Cool, huh?).

The place was packed, almost too packed, as they had four bartenders working one large bar and the wait for a drink was long every time. It was nice to see, though, for it’s been a long time since a LI club seemed like a city one.

The music was pretty good, except every now and then you’d hear the same song for the second time, which is something I’ll never understand. As a former deejay myself, I would never have played a song twice in a night unless it was super-hot. There were probably about three or four songs played twice, and with so much other good stuff out there, I have to say WTF! (Mental note: they played a nice remix/dance version of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” that I’ve gotta get my hands on…stay tuned, it just may be a future “Song of the Day!”)

My pal and I made a quick exit once we heard someone say the drag show was coming on in five minutes. It was around 2:30, new time, anyway, so that was okay. All in all, it was a good night and I’d say the new Bunk is someplace I’d definitely go to again, especially when I want to save money on those expensive tolls and of course, the gas that gets me into the city.

Love this song!







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Writing Wednesday - Good Stuff and Lots of Music News

Other than a couple of pieces on Examiner, the rest of this week's stuff appeared here on John's World. Here's the rundown:

Examiner



10th Annual Hamptons Restaurant Week coming March 18th

Restaurant Weeks have become a popular and fun way to enjoy dining out, and in a little over a week, the East End of Long Island is putting on its' 10th Annual Hamptons Restaurant Week.

LGBT Community of Long Island is finally abuzz with activity


The LI LGBT community has been abuzz with activity lately, and this piece recaps all of the special events, new clubs, and online communities that have been popping up all over the place.



John's World

M.D.N.A.thon at Splash

My recap of last Friday's Madonnathon at Splash in NYC. What a night!

Recovering; Tornadoes; We Have a Winner; Happy Birthday Blanchie!


New Blogrolls; A Madonna High; Another Madonnathon Coming this Summer

These are two of my personal journal-type posts this week. This is one of the kinds of posts that got me started with this blog and I hope to keep up with them more often in the coming weeks. Good stuff here, so check em out!

Music Items on John's World



I love to share the many exciting things I hear going on in the music world, and this week there was plenty of good stuff:

Song of the Day - It's All About U - SWV

I posted an SWV "Song of the day" after learning that these fabulous women of 90's R&B are coming back. Very excited!

Florence + The Machine Releasing an MTV Unplugged Album

The title says it all! Click on the article for more...

The Wanted to Return to US for TV Appearances

The latest hot boy band from the UK are riding a high with their song "Glad You Came," and they're back in the States for another spell of appearances.

P!nk Tweets "NEW RECORD TIME"

The most exciting music item of the week came as a surprise, as one of my favorite singer/songwriters is coming back with a new record!

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John's World

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