#everyones life events... everyones schedules... ill make them all sync up..!!

[tvlandofficial]

true end of tvlandofficial is if the hiatus doesn't end by the time ch3&4 drop and every player within a ten mile radius decides to send tenna the ultimate cognitohazard of Canon Tenna Real, killing her instantly.

[sarcasticshutter]

Man, a lot happens in a year: Number 2020

Started these yearly reviews back when I was in high school lol, and def haven’t done it every year (or if I did they’re not all on tumblr. Who knows, cause I feel like I’ve done more than I’ve found here) but I’d like to reflect on 2020 because wow. It obviously feels to everyone like a lost year where all you did was sit around at home and mourn all the normal things and the plans and the big life goals that have been fully stopped in their tracks thanks to a little (ongoing) global pandemic. 

Hello to future me, hope things are well. Shit sure is strange and tenuous at the moment lol. But it’ll all get unstuck again and the world will start turning soon enough. You know that. Anyway from where I’m sitting right now, it’s kind of hard to remember anything that’s happened this year. It feels like I’ve blinked and a year has been omitted from my life, aside from the first three months of 2020 where I was still very much out and rolling on my life-momentum and doing exciting things. So I just want to convince myself that things *have* happened this year, and actually they haven’t been so bad, and to reflect on life going on despite the odd flavor permeating everything this year. I’m glad that’s all I have to complain about because I guess feeling stuck isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person. I digress. Here’s the highlights I’ve meandered through this year with my eyes closed apparently lol. Please enjoy them with me as I remember them again:

Travelled to Belize, Mexico, Jamaica, Haiti, the Cayman Islands, St Thomas (and probably more) Caribbean islands on the final months of my ship contract

Got to live through the distinctly odd and certainly once in a lifetime experience of being stranded on a cruise ship as the world shut all of its borders in March to reduce transmission of a global pandemic. Feels surreal to think about all the stuff I was seeing as it happened and how that’s probably a very small percentage of people on this planet who were...forgive me...in that boat at that moment in our collective history. So eerie, but with the calm of knowing you don’t know how bad it actually is out there. The self awareness that this is bigger than you can comprehend yet. Eye of the storm type feeling

St Patricks day party on that cruise ship when the rest of the world had ground to a halt and we all were stranded out there isolating as one sealed off covid pod of crewmembers, because if one of us on the ship had it we were all gonna have it. So no use distancing among us at that point. We had no guests left on board and had a huge end of the world party on the pool deck with full use of the guest pools and bars lol

Came home and life slowed waaaay down in march/april. Hiked with mom and dad, saw a lot more of the cats, had a wholly uneventful zoom birthday in early April for my 26th. A weird birthday for what felt like a strange age for me. 26 just fit weird as a number, I’m much more switched on for 27 for some reason. This one coming up feels more right somehow

Spent time in the pool, and doing a lot of yoga which has carried me through this whole year as a constant mellower of things for me mentally. A repeated exercise in re-grounding

Visited Alex in Flagstaff! Got to see meteor crater and spent a cute weekend in a little air bnb with my family, and did some aspen-y hiking as well

Bought my first car with my own money outright, that I’d been saving for the whole time I was in NYC. Been learning to be comfortable driving since I’ve never felt that way in my life lol, but I do think I’m less stressed behind the wheel now than I’ve ever been. Has been so nice to finally be combing through that anxiety. Finally was ready for it I guess

Started a (very long distance) relationship with a friend from the ship. He’s been a huge relief as far as someone to lean on through this year and a great sounding board for frustrations/lifeline to some feeling of sanity a good number of times. Shit is weird but taking this step still feels right, so we’ll see where tf this relationship is going haha

Moved to Tucson with a bff from college. A gigantic help for my sanity as far as getting a feeling of self reliance back and feeling like I have my own space. Soso grateful to be able to be sharing her home with her

Got a part time job so I could not feel so helplessly tied to the clusterfuck that has been unemployment insurance this year. Still have a lot to sort out with that... Glad to be earning my own cash, and glad that the weird little ragtag group of coworkers I’ve found myself with are actually a group of good hearts 

Pumpkin carving and a night hike up in Phoenix with my family for Halloween. And made sure I dropped off my early voting ballot to see that fucker out of office lol

Sweet god, Biden’s horrendously way too close presidential win. Can you imagine the other outcome... This is maybe the biggest relief of 2020 that he didn’t scrape out a second term

Outdoor attempt at a covid safe thanksgiving with my parents and my grandparents on my moms side in Phoenix

Finally had the balls to schedule a scary doctors appointment I’d been using covid to avoid going to. Got back the clean health news I had been anxious I wouldn’t receive. A huge weight off my chest that had been sitting there in the back of my thoughts since last year

Outdoor attempt at a covid safe christmas at my dads’ parents’ house in Sun City, and some cinnamon rolls and peanut butter ball making with my parents. Drove through a huge neighborhood of christmas lights and did a small mom and dad christmas gift opening on christmas eve night

Virtual new years game nights with SASH and the Joneses. Didn’t see a single firework or leave the house (heard em though) and felt surrounded by my closest friends safely even without seeing them in person

None of this stuff is all that flashy and a lot of the normal holidays or events, or even everyday things, were so much more low key and quiet this year. But it was still nice to at least have found a way to celebrate in a stripped down, sort of back to basics way. Glad to have been able to see my family so much more this year. Glad to have had countless meaningful text conversations with my friends who have had the same issues as me as far as having our entire industry unable to function for the last 9 months with no end in sight. The candidness of speaking about the difficulties everyone has had this year, but specifically sharing that weight of the arts being particularly suffocated, and having all of our young career momentums snuffed out for no reason of our own, has been soothing to commiserate about. It’s been a mentally taxing year in the hardest to describe way. But I’m glad that as hard as it is to find kind words for this year, at least it’s just boring and stuck and frustrated that are the things I’m feeling. Because I’ve managed not to lose anyone close to me, or have anyone dealing with any serious illnesses at the moment. 

(I believe) I’ve worked through all of the absolute bullshit I had on my plate in 2019. This year has been easier for me than last, as nuts as that sounds with every thing going on in 2020. I’m out of a suffocating relationship that had become very wrong for me.  Left the city that was killing me to remain stuck in. Had the courage to take this cruise job that I’d been curious about since graduation. Got to travel the world and meet amazing people I otherwise would have never known.  Met a new guy I’ve felt so much more effortlessly in sync with than I ever did in the last relationship. And that’s in an LDR lol, I can’t believe how comfortable that’s been given the ludicrous circumstances of seeing a guy from a different continent, 8 time zones away, during a global pandemic where our borders are shut to foreign visitors and we still at this moment don’t know when they’ll reopen. 

This year I’m just coasting in a house with my friend. Going to work at an easy job that covers my bills. Having the health and freedom to drive *my* car two hours to see my family way more often than I’ve seen them in the past four years. I’m feeling a lot more appreciative of my relationship with my brother, my parents, my grandparents. I’m feeling better about maybe returning to live where I’m from instead of seeing it with a chip on my shoulder. So in a lot of ways 2020 has been less of an emotional mindfuck for me than 2019 was. Or it’s at least been the landing pad to detangle everything from 2019.  I’ve been learning that maybe gathering a bit closer to a support system isn’t a weakness, but a comfort instead.

So this isn’t the tour de force bucket list I’ve grown accustomed to watching myself tackle in each year since undergrad. It’s a retracting of arms, and a regrouping to center. Being forced into looking inward at small details I hadn’t been interested in seeing lately. May be nice just to collect my feet underneath me again and take in all this chaotic crash course learning I’ve been doing the last few years before stepping back out of the plane. Time will tell if 2021 is another time of building and reflection, or a time to start taking a few shaky steps back out into whatever comes next.

What a year.

[doomonfilm]

Review : Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

For all of the ups and downs that came with 2020, one of the biggest impacts felt was the passing of Chadwick Boseman.  His illness (due to complications from colon cancer) was one of the most tightly guarded secrets in Hollywood, which made his passing drop like a bomb for both fans and collaborators alike.  Initially, announcements about his involvement in the MCU and the Black Panther franchise were the main talking points, but attention quickly shifted to the posthumous releases slated for 2020 that would symbol the end of his brief but impactful legacy.  Da 5 Bloods was a powerful performance, and one that visually presented his suffering from the disease in hindsight, but with its release, one film remained before Boseman’s run would eventually end : Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. 

Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and her band are scheduled for a recording session in 1920′s Chicago.  The session, run by Ma’s manager Irving (Jeremy Shamos) and recording studio owner Mel (Jonny Coyne), promises to be a tense one from the start : not only is Ma running late, but tensions are brewing between the members of her band.  Band leader and trombonist/guitarist Cutler (Colman Domingo) is ready to work, along with double bass player Slow Drag (Michael Potts) and pianist Toledo (Glynn Truman), but the spirited young trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman) complicates matters by not only pressing for his arrangements to be recorded (in hopes of locking in a deal to record songs with his own band), but his youthful energy flies in the face of the remaining older members of the band.  Upon Ma’s arrival, the already tense situation grows as Sylvester (Dusan Brown), her young, stutter-laden nephew, is given a key speaking role on the record, and her young girlfriend Dussie Mae (Taylour Page) stirs up the emotions of Levee.  With money and reputation on the line, all parties involved attempt to find ways to circumvent the rising tensions in hopes of committing Ma Rainey’s magic to record.

The blues has a rich history of pain, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom goes all in on exploring art as an escape from a less than desirable reality, as well as exploring how the talented (or, sometimes, the desperate) turn their pain into something beautiful in order to not feel defeated.  In rare occasions, disenfranchised African-Americans were able to use fame as a way of taking the power back from those that labelled them as less than human, and Ma Rainey serves as a stark example of this.  Sadly, the dynamic of the band stands as a symbol for how the African-American community is often pit against one another, to the point that the inability to work together allows everyone to remain victims of exploitation.  Strong philosophical ruminations on life, love, spirituality and the thrill of dangerous foolishness exist in the narrative, with all serving as a hopeful passage to leaving a lasting impression on the world.  Despite the story taking place a century ago, it remains a scathing artistic reflection on the condition of living Black in America, and how things have not changed much during our time occupying this land. 

The narrative is driven by the tension caused by band power dynamics, the ware between those with talent and those with leverage, and the strife that often comes in tandem with having a creative soul.  Levee plays a symbolic tug of war with his bandmates, fully illustrating the eternal struggle between youthful, fearless exuberance and comfortable tradition.  All parties involved take part in numerous manipulative power games, be it standard actions like referring to grown men as “boy”, or deeper turbulence, like Ma Rainey’s mixture of a masculine, aggressive nature and primadonna tendencies.  Ultimately (and most importantly), the narrative button illustrates the continued practice of commodifying America’s fascination with the Black experience, all the while ignoring the tragedy that created said experience.  This slow march towards a crisis of faith is the fuel behind much of the art produced by African-American creators, especially prior to the Jim Crow era, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom presents it as plain (but all the while as moving) as it has ever been presented to the masses. 

A golden hue is applied to the visuals, as if to lighten up the events we are presented with, or in a bigger sense, add a feeling of nostalgia to a dark time.  The make-up and costuming are top notch, be it Levee’s golden shoes, or Ma Rainey’s extravagant dress and silver teeth that drive home her “my way or the highway” antagonist nature.  The direction keeps the spirit of the August Wilson play while comfortably applying incredibly intimate and vibrant cinematography, lifting the experience to new levels.  The music, of course, is stellar, both in its nature and in the performances by the actors. 

Chadwick Boseman infuses so much pain and fearlessness into his incredibly moving, tragically touching performance that I will be surprised if he does not receive posthumous awards for this performance... it’s sad to see any talent pass on, but Boseman is certainly closing the door on his prematurely ended legacy on a supreme high note.  Viola Davis is a true force of nature in this film, swaying the tides in her favor with every calculated, piercing look and every stark, commanding line read.  Colman Domingo stands as the audience surrogate, helping us navigate the dark and murky waters we find ourselves submerged in.  Glynn Turman’s wise, philosophical nature serves as a sort of grounding force for the chaos, with makes his story arc that much more powerful at its point of culmination.  Dusan Brown and Taylour Paige bring different hues of tortured souls as they run parallel to the gravity of Davis’s Ma Rainey.  Michael Potts, Jeremy Shamos and Jonny Coyne turn in sound supporting performances to help round out the tightly in-sync cast.

Most of the Netflix originals are mediocre at best, but Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is an achievement that should be mentioned in the same breath as films like The Irishman, Marriage Story and Roma.  Films of this level further solidify Netflix as a force to be reckoned with in the film industry, and will likely rack them up awards with each film of this quality made.  With the holidays coming up, be sure to find some time to jump into this one... you won’t be sorry for doing so.

[thotyssey]

On Point With: Honey LaBronx

This truly inspiring Sober Vegan Warrior of the drag world has a long history of both entertaining the masses and fighting for the civil liberties of humans and animals everywhere. Now she’s bringing a play that she’s written about her life before drag to a major theater festival in the city, while lighting up the internet with podcasts and video cooking shows. Lets enjoy this sticky-sweet moment with playwright Ben Strothmann, aka queen Honey LaBronx!

Thotyssey: Hello Honey! You must be real busy this week, fine- tuning things for a brand new production of your autobiographical play Virtual Memory, which premieres Friday as part of Dixon Place’s HOT! Festival! What is the most surprising thing you’ve learned about theater production from this experience?

Honey LaBronx: Honestly, I'm learning how much work goes into getting butts in seats! When I first presented a staged reading of Virtual Memory, I asked very few people to come. It was really something--I thought I was just doing for myself. I was hoping that maybe 20 people would show up; but somehow we had 85+ people there. It was full to capacity, and people had to stand in the doorway and watch from the hall!  

This time around, I just assumed "Okay, so those 85 people will show up--plus, a healthy fraction of the new people I've met over the last three years!"  Not the case--especially in August! I forget that August is dead for theater. So many people leave NYC in the summer, and it seems like everyone is going out of town that very weekend.  

So I actually made a spreadsheet to track each and every person I contacted about the show. So far, I've texted/ emailed/ Facebooked 591 people. I have 88 confirmed butts-in-seats, 9 uncomfirmed, and 107 maybes. Not bad, considering the space holds about 120 people. I really want to make a strong first showing at Dixon Place; it's the only way I can truly show my gratitude for this opportunity. Tom Amici (director) once told me the secret to selling tickets is making personal phone calls to invite people... but I just haven't had the time. 

I ended up spending the better part of two weeks just promoting the show, rather than actually working on it. Now, it's three nights before I take the stage, and I'm still worried about putting everything together and doing the work as an actor.

Many nightlifers recognize your drag persona Honey LaBronx from gigs, or from your online vegan cooking web show. Why did you decide to make Virtual Memory a Ben Strothmann production, and not a Honey LaBronx production?

Well, the show is just about Ben Strothmann. To be honest, Honey LaBronx didn't become a part of my life until roughly where this play ends. So who knows... maybe there will be a followup play. Becoming Honey, or something like that!

Without giving away too many juicy details, since I’m sure much is discussed in the play… where were you raised, and what was life like growing up gay and fabulous?

I was born in Milwaukee, and raised in Wauwatosa, a suburb of Milwaukee. Growing up gay was pretty lonely. I'm not that old, but I can already say it was a much different time back then. The internet wasn't really a thing until I was 11... and even then, most people didn't really get online til about two or three years later. So I grew up not really knowing any other gay people. 

It wasn't until I was 11 that we got the internet, and after a few years, once I was out to myself I started finding other people like me. I think that was really scary for my parents, that I was using the internet to find other gay men when I was barely a teen. But through it, I found fabulous friends in New York who worked in the theater, a friend who traveled the world and was able to expose me to so much culture, and I really got that I was okay and accepted.

How, when and where did Honey get born?

Honey was actually born in the apartment of Alexis Michelle from Season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race. Alexis (Alex) and I were in a production of The Cradle Will Rock and he mentioned that he does drag. Some friends were organizing a drag pageant for charity, and I asked if they needed help. I wasn't expecting to be in drag, but they said it would be great if I could be there in drag to help sell tickets and work the crowd. 

So I went to see Alex, he painted me, and after 11 years of already having my drag name picked out, Honey LaBronx walked out that door and onto the streets of Manhattan. I didn't know what to expect! I wore a large men's raincoat to hide my drag underneath. I must have looked so awkward. I was convinced that people would stop and say something to me...  like, I'm not allowed to do this, or like I was breaking some rule, or something! 

I got to the venue, and backstage I met a guy named Caldwell who was putting his face on, and asked if his highlights were even. They weren't, and I was the only one willing to tell him. We became best friends and roommates for four years. He asked if he could be my drag mother and I said yes, somewhat reluctantly as I thought maybe letting Alexis paint me made her my mother by default. 

Caldwell / Kittin Withawhip later changed her drag name to Bob The Drag Queen -- and we all know how that worked out for her.

How would you describe your drag performing style, or Honey’s stage persona?

Midwestern mom drag. A slightly less brief description would be to say: Honey LaBronx -- the Whitest Lady Ever.

If I must elaborate, I would say that Honey is a comedy queen, a singer, and when people aren't expecting it, a shock queen. I've pulled a few stunts in my day. I may have been involved in an incident with an apple at The Ritz but that's another interview.

There's something I've observed about my performances: behind much of what Honey says or lip syncs on stage, there's usually an attitude of "--and I shouldn't even have to be saying this..."

You were involved in the staged gay weddings of couples on the street that Bob, Frostie Flakes and other friends used to oversee, as a public protest to anti-gay marriage before it was legalized. What’s your “favorite” memory from those times?

Yes! Those were started by Bob, Frostie, and Azraea. I used to be a waiter at... *sigh*... I used to be a waiter at Dave & Buster's in Times Square.  And so I could never join--nor even see them on Saturdays. For the first many months, I would be at work knowing that my best friends were fighting for our rights just blocks away. Finally, I worked out my schedule so that I could join them.

My favorite memory was the first time Bob and I walked down the "aisle" together. It was a pretty well-staged and scripted event. We walk towards the "priest" as if down the aisle, and then we exchange "wishes" instead of vows.  We wish for a world where foster children aren't refused parents, where gay men can donate blood, and other protections for LGBTQ people.

As we were walking the aisle, Bob said to me, "get ready for this moment. When you turn around, there are going to be about 200 people hanging on your every word.  It's a really powerful experience."

I turned around and held Bob's hands, wedding style. We started the ceremony. What seemed like hundreds of people from all over the world gathered around, listened, took photos, applauded...  and I was raising my voice to describe the kind of a world I wanted-- no, DESERVED to live in...  Bob was right. It was an incredibly powerful moment.

Bob made me an activist.  One day, I came home and Bob said "You know what? Too many gay people just accept the fact that they don't have equal rights. I am not okay with that." And from there, he devised his plans for the Drag Queen Weddings -- and later for blocking traffic as part of Queer Rising.

I discovered veganism around the same time--and because I already had an experience of myself as an activist, it was only natural for me to carry on fighting and demonstrating for animal rights. After working so hard and fighting so fiercely for marriage equality, does it boil your blood to see this monster in the White House so recklessly piss away queer civil liberties?

No. What boils my blood is to see how many friends and family are complicit.  Hearing "We love you -- we support you" all my life from so many people, not only my family, only to see them support a man who would piss away my civil liberties. I have never been this angry in my life. I still don't know what to do with that anger.

Honestly, that's what fueled me to bring back this show, and to tell my truth as a gay man. Hearing about the gay holocaust currently taking place in Chechnya, and watching the world just allow it, made me finally say "Fuck it -- why am I sitting back and not giving the world every ounce of me?"

I don't see how the two correlate. But the idea that there are men like me in Russia who...  I can't even let myself think about what is happening to them right now. I have an opportunity to live my life that they don't have--and only because of geography, not because I am more deserving of my freedoms.

I refuse to squander those freedoms, so long as I have them.

What specifically motivated you to become an animal rights activist and a vegan?

The book The Face On Your Plate by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson. My friend John J. Oliver recommended it to me, and after I read that book I knew that I could no longer justify taking the life of an animal for the sake of my palate. And that's all it is. 

We don't need to eat them. There is nothing a human being needs from an animal. I actually believed we had to eat them. We don't. But we continue doing so--despite the fact that it causes heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and all sorts of illnesses that almost never happen to humans who simply don't eat animals.

It really angers me that there are people out there who say "But I could never give up fill-in-the-blank...” meanwhile, their "personal choice" is decimating the only planet we have.

Non-vegans are like Uber passengers who decide to loudly and generously fart in your car, and when you tell them you can't breathe, they tell you you're pushing your beliefs on them.  Sorry, not sorry.

So then, what would you say to someone who states they would never become a vegan because it would be too impractical of a lifestyle?

I tell them if I can do it, they can. There is nothing about me that would ever suggest I'd become a vegan. I am born to a food business family in Wisconsin. My mom is a dairy celebrity. My dad's family owned a German American restaurant that was in our family for four generations. There is nobody alive who was brought up on more meat and cheese than myself. Anyone, from any culture, can point to any aspect of that culture and cite reasons why they "could never" be vegan. And yet, there are people from every single one of those cultures who are making it happen.

No, it isn't more expensive. No, you don't have some blood type or rare disease that requires you eat animals. No, you wouldn't have to learn to cook all your own food.

How am I so certain?  Because I've already been in the other person's shoes.  I lived the first 30 years of my life arguing the opposite point.  I am delighted to have learned I was wrong.

Tell us a little about your cooking web show, The Vegan Drag Queen.

I became a drag queen about a month before going vegan (though I had already been vegetarian a few months, transitioning to veganism and doing all my research).  When I finally made the switch, I was living in a remote part of Brooklyn (Sunset Park) where there was a dirth of options for groceries and restaurants. I didn't have specialty vegan products. 

So, I had to rely on YouTube videos to learn how to make things. That's just how I learn. I'm not a reader. I mean, I'm literate, but I can't stand looking at words on a page. I'd rather watch it than read it. I hadn't yet discovered awesome vegan cooking channels like The Vegan Zombie or Black Metal Vegan Chef. I was lucky if I could find some hippie making a cooking demo and filming it with their iPhone. 

Some of the YouTubers had engaging personalities. Some had good production values. Some had good personalities. Few had all three. So I decided I could do better.  As soon as I thought of a drag queen offering vegan cooking shows online, I knew it was my calling.

My original mission was to show people how to make stuff for themselves without having to rely on specialty products. Why buy seitan or almond milk, when you can make it yourself?  But as the show continues, I'm discovering there is also a need for people who just want quick recipe ideas, or creative ideas for putting together the specialty vegan products they already know and love. So, I'm enjoying broadening the show's scope, bringing on guests... and I would love to tell you some ideas I have for future episodes but...  I'm sorry... those details are only available to my supporters on Patreon.

And you also host the Big Fat Vegan Radio podcast!

I'm sorry, the what? Did you just mention my Patreon? Why, thank you for asking! That's right, internet queens can't take your cash tips through the screen. So the only way to support your internet queens is to tip them on a monthly basis! What's three dollars a month to you? You know it won't make or break you. You don't need guac, anyway.

If one out of every five of my Facebook friends supported my Patreon at $3 a month, that would be $3,000 a month! I would be able to afford to do nothing but make content, tour, do shows, offer classes, give speeches...

Seriously, you people! What gives?

Oh, and you probably don't know I also have a podcast. That's okay. I'll tell you about it anyway.

Big Fat Vegan Radio is my baby. I started it just about five years ago with my dear friend Laura, and we just dish about vegan food, culture, and news. About half of our episodes are interviews. We occasionally do silly stuff, like vegan song parodies. 

What people like about our podcast is that it's just fun. There are better podcasts out there for hard hitting animal rights news. There are better podcasts out there for information on health and recipes and whatnot. But Big Fat Vegan Radio is your best bet if you just wanna plug in and pretend you’re hanging out with your best friend who happens to be vegan, and who happens to think he's better than everyone else because of it.

Congratulations on being sober and continuing to work in nightlife and the arts… not an easy lifestyle, to say the least. What’s the history of your sobriety?

Thank you. This month I am celebrating nine years clean and sober. You hear more about my pre-sobriety life in Virtual Memory, but if I have an opportunity to talk about my sobriety, what I'd really like to express is that I was (and am) a marijuana addict, first and foremost.

I say that because I want to dispel the myth that marijuana isn't addictive. It's not a matter of whether or not marijuana is addictive as a substance. It matters whether you have the disease of alcoholism.

Not everyone with alcoholism drinks alcohol. The disease is just named that way because problem drinkers were the first group to help us discover that addiction is an illness. If you suffer from addiction, then you can't use marijuana safely. Period. 

 What you can do is waste a good chunk of your life trying to prove you don't have a problem and that you can manage it.  But here's the question to ask yourself honestly: if marijuana has become a priority in your life--if you're running out of money, and you make sure you have marijuana before making sure you have food--well, we're holding a seat for you. There is hope.

I once shot headshots for one of Broadway's greatest leading ladies of all time. I have admired her since I was a young teen, and here I was sitting across from her at Joe Allen's, going over her photos after our session. She was even comforting me as I gushed about my recent breakup. And despite the fact that I am lunching with a Tony winner, all I could think was "How long before I can get out of here, go home, turn off the lights, close the blinds, put my sweats on, crank the AC, pack the bong, and just zone out watching TV?"

If that's all I wanted to do with my life - I didn't need to move to New York.

Also, if I never knew that marijuana addiction stems from alcoholism (whether or not you're a drinker), I never would have known that there was help for me in the 12 steps. People split hairs between alcoholism, drug addiction, or other compulsive behaviors. But the truth is -- there's ONE common solution to all of those problems.

I thank God for my life in Sobriety. I got sober at 29 (right in the middle of my Saturn Return), and I wouldn't trade my best days then for my worst days now. I can't believe how useful I feel today, and how much purpose life has. Not just "my life," but life.

What’s your connection to Iceland? You go there lot to perform and to give lectures, and I recently saw you at Star Search accompanied by a lovely young Icelandic queen.

YOU WERE THERE??? Did you say hi?

I have no real connection to Iceland. I'm just an enormous fan of Björk. After seeing her film Dancer In The Dark, I became even more interested in her, and I really started examining her music more closely. This will sound ridiculous, but I heard something in her music calling to me. Speaking to me. As if it were my ancestors trying to deliver an urgent communication from centuries past. Okay yeah, that's dramatic. But you get the picture.

One day, I found an album of hers I didn't know about: Gling-Gló, It's a jazz album almost entirely in Icelandic. I never knew Icelandic was even a language. Now as a singer, I learned many languages: Spanish, French, Italian, German... I've never heard one of those languages sung before, and thought "My God! What is this I'm hearing? I need to hear more of it!"

But when I first heard Björk sing in Icelandic, I asked myself "Am I going to translate these songs and learn what she's singing about, or do I just let go and listen passively?" The next thought was this:  "Ben...  FOUR year olds know what she's singing about!!!" It made no sense, but it convinced me. 

In 2002, I started teaching myself Icelandic... which is tough, not only because it's the 10th most difficult language, but there are very few resources for it. Especially back then (nowadays, surprisingly, there are many more people interested in learning it.)

I visited Iceland first in 2003, then again in 2006, then not until 2012. I returned last summer, and I am going there next week for my fifth visit.

By now, I have so many friends in Iceland that it doesn't make sense not to go there often. I've also connected with Drag-súgur, a local drag group there, and so I'll have an opportunity to do a few drag shows. I spoke there at the second annual Reykjavík Vegan Festival last year, which was such a treat because when I visited in 2012 people acted like they didn't know much about veganism. Four years later it was much more prominent, and I'm told that since last year, it has grown even more. So I can't wait to see what's in store for me -- especially on my cheat days!

Okay, let’s talk more about your one-man-show Virtual Memory. How would you describe the play?

I hate calling it a "coming-of-age gay play,” but it's a coming-of-age gay play. In short, it's about everything that's "wrong" with me--and learning to love myself exactly the way I am.  But the show is not as trite as that last sentence was.

Mark Finley is directing me and lending his vision to the writing. Thank God I have someone to help me edit.  Could you imagine if my play read like the answers to this interview?  I mean, come on! How have you been handling the challenge of acting in a work of your own writing? 

It's kind of weird, acting in my own stuff. I keep thinking of what Elaine Stritch said about her one woman show At Liberty. Watching the show, it just looks like she's acting natural up there. Like she couldn't possibly go up on a line, because she's just telling her story.

I realize now what she meant when she said "I am an actor playing the role of myself."  It's very different. I don't just get to be myself. I am still very much playing a character, in the sense that I'm not today who I was at the time of whatever scene I'm playing.

Fortunately, I'd say it's been a lot easier memorizing lines when I wrote them myself.  Except the question has become "which VERSION of the line is it by now???"

We’re all highly anticipating this play. What else is coming up for you?

Did I mention I have a Patreon?  Because I do.  And people can support me. Because who doesn't love tipping drag queens?

Seriously. There are so many creative projects just languishing on the back burners of my brain, because instead of creating, I'm busy schlepping to pay the bills. If the people who enjoy my work -- and who can honestly afford to do so -- would pledge a dollar, three dollars, ten dollars, whatever they can per month...  It would make it possible for me to devote 300% more of my week cranking out content and creating things that change the world.

Lastly, you want plugs?  Here are some random things I'm proud of that people might not ever know to look up...

 My White Christmas (White Privilege) parody song

My favorite drag performance ever (with Miz Cracker)

Me draining the water on my knee with help from Bob The Drag Queen

Check out my cooking show!

I just launched my merch store! So buy some shit!

Last question… if “Virtual Memory” ever gets a big Broadway—or even big screen--treatment, who should play Ben?

Judy Tenuta.

Thanks, Honey!

Honey LaBronx aka Ben Strothmann’s play “Virtual Reality” will be performed as part of Dixon Place’s HOT! Festival on Friday, August 4th (7:30pm). Follow Honey on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Patreon.

On Point Archives

[householdchores-blog1]

What Inspires me to Write This Blog? :)

Everyday is just normal. That we don’t look at it too much, I’ve read an article about doing daily tasks to improve your home. They are much simple only that we are not aware of. So I want to share to you this article that inspired me the most.

By the way, you can read the full post here: http://mashable.com/2014/10/21/daily-tasks-auto-pilot/#fxTa7UoGVZqj

Putting your daily tasks on autopilot isn't just an efficient way to conduct your life: It’s the smart way.

We're all triple-taskers nowadays, and it’s sometimes impossible to take a moment to catch your bearings and recall the laundry list of things you have to get done. That’s where technology comes in — and it’s time to embrace it. Welcome to the age of automation.

SEE ALSO: Tech That's Revolutionizing Your Daily Chores

Here are some tools and technologies to help put your daily tasks on autopilot, so you'll never have to worry about them again.

1. Setting reminders While you're completely capable of re-setting reminders daily or weekly to ensure your workflow is balanced and your appointments are set, you can never think too far ahead. There are certain tools you can use to set reminders in stone so that you don't have to constantly think about upcoming tasks.

Most (if not all) of us are familiar with the wonderful organizational tools Google offers, but many don’t take full advantage. Most (if not all) of us are familiar with the wonderful organizational tools Google offers, but many don’t take full advantage. Google Calendar reminders are often used in the workplace to schedule meetings and assignment dates, but they can also be lifesavers for reminding yourself to do your weekly chores or pay your bills. Here are some quick tips for mastering your calendar.

Use the "Quickadd" function underneath the "Create" button, where you can easily type a date, time and event into a dialogue box, and your calendar will automatically integrate and save you some time.

Make sure to adjust your reminder settings for your one-time and recurring events — whether email or pop-up — ranging anywhere from 10 minutes before to one week before the event.

Consider logging your daily spending on your calendar, as you're constantly checking and refreshing the page.

When holiday time is nearing, create a calendar devoted to gift-giving, where you can budget yourself and schedule for shopping, shipping, etc.

things IMAGE: THINGS Things, a task manager application, is true to its name — the system is all about getting things done. It runs on Mac products and costs $50 for your computer and $9.99 for your iPhone, but the system is worth it if you want to keep your to-do lists updated across all your devices. You just type in what you need to accomplish, whether it’s one thing or a laundry list, and the app will help you set reminders, time limits and task categories.

You can sync the app with your iPhone’s Reminders application (and with Siri, too) so that simply telling your phone, “Remind me to call Mom tomorrow morning” will set a notification for that time.

2. Doing your chores chorewheel IMAGE: FLICKR, BLUE OXEN ASSOCIATES ChoreBuster is a useful tool to automate chore delegation within your household. It can certainly be a pain to have to remind your roommates (or kids) of their cleaning responsibilities week after week — this platform takes care of that. Not only will it remind you and your roommates of your chores through weekly emails and online charts, but it can also randomize who receives what chore. This means you don't have to alter the charts every few weeks to give everyone a mixture of chores; instead, this tool removes the pressure and automates away.

3. Waking up Monitoring your daily activity has become a much-talked about subject lately. Now that we have the tools to track and quantify our habits, it’s become second nature to some. Now that we have the tools to track and quantify our habits, it’s become second nature to some. For those who want to revolve their routine around health tracking, one way to do so is through monitoring your sleep cycle.

The Sleep Cycle app that uses the accelerometer in your phone to track your movements throughout the night. It then uses that date to wake you at the optimal time in your "wake-up phase," so as not to disturb you mid-cycle. You can set a preferred time range for the alarm — no one wants to rise at 4 a.m., even if it’s the most optimal.

Similarly, Sleep as Android does similar things for Android users, and will wake you gently in the morning at the best time during your sleep cycle. The app will even supply you with puzzles to solve in order to turn off your alarm, if waking up isn't the easiest for you. It also will catch you snoring or talking mid-sleep and help diagnose any sleep-related illnesses you may have.

4. Using social media hootsuite IMAGE: HOOTSUITE Tools like Hootsuite and Buffer let you program Tweets and Facebook posts ahead of time so that you can occasionally step away from the computer screen and still successfully run your brand (business or personal). Hootsuite makes it easy for you to manage multiple accounts concurrently, monitor what people are saying about you and use algorithms to find the best times to schedule your posts.

5. Proofreading your documents Editing your documents can be a drag, especially if you're in a time crunch. Enter Grammarly: An online platform that will correct grammatical errors, catch contextual spelling mistakes and poor vocabulary usage. You can either upload a document onto the Grammarly site, or download a browser extension so that proofreading your text becomes automatic.

6. Managing your inbox Cluttered Inbox IMAGE: MASHABLE COMPOSITE. ISTOCKPHOTO, LHFGRAPHICS Personalized responses: Setting an auto-reply is an easy fix when you're out of the office, but there's more that can be done with canned responses and inbox filters. If you're someone who spends too much time replying to emails with extremely similar responses, you may want to think about setting up canned responses. If you're someone who spends too much time replying to emails with extremely similar responses, you may want to think about setting up canned responses. To do this in Gmail, go under the "Settings" tab and then select "Labs," search for "Canned Response" and enable it. Now you can save any email response as a canned one by clicking the down arrow in the bottom right corner of an email.

Re-routing emails: Not only can you categorize your incoming mail, but you can program Gmail to intercept certain messages and either filter them in your inbox or forward them elsewhere. There are some very obvious benefits to having this ability — like being able to separate "work" and "play," or taking care of your spam or junk mail in one fell swoop.

Here's a hack you may not know about: Junecloud is a delivery status software that tracks packages from multiple shipping companies. By forwarding an order confirmation email to track@junecloud.com, the software will automatically find your tracking number and keep tabs on your order. Take this one step further by programming Gmail to automatically forward any email with the phrase "order has shipped" to track@junecloud.com, or if there's a common vendor you use, you can sort for that as well.