I’m 3:00 in. How did I end up at the same party as Kim Kardashian? This party is TOTALLY not my scene, except for Randy, Tori, James and a few other people. And who was that bitch at 7:13 that dissed me? Ugh.

Get tickets HERE!
From http://www.lagaycenter.org/site/PageServer?pagename=TE_ON_OUR_STAGES

Seven of L.A.’s finest actresses join forces for a one-night-only event on Saturday, August 2 at 8 p.m. in the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Renberg Theatre. Celebrity guest-stars present readings from a collection of essays, monologues and rants edited by author and V-Day founder Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monogues).

The cast:
Calpernia Addams (Transamerica)
Rosanna Cacace (King of the Hill)
Kate Flannery (The Office)
Jorja Fox (CSI)
Melissa Lechner (The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams)
Melissa Peterman (Reba)
Lisa Tharps (All My Children)

Authors include Maya Angelou, Edward Albee, James Lecesne, Kathy Najimy, Howard Zinn and many more.

Inspired, angry, funny, heartfelt, tragic and beautiful, these writings--as delivered by superb actresses of stage and screen--create a profoundly moving and entertaining portrait these issues’ effect on every one of us.

For more information on UTVSLA, please click:http://utvsla.org/

Saturday, August 2 at 8 p.m.
THE RENBERG THEATRE

Tickets: $20 Click here for tickets

Hey kids! I’m going to be a guest on the talk show of sexy comedian Ian Harvie on Monday, July 28th, here in Los Angeles.

The format is familiar; the content is rich, authentic and solidly funny. Transgendered Comedian, Ian Harvie is at the helm of this unique talk show, brandishing his wit and humanity, charming guests into intimate and humorous dialogs.
...
Previous guests have included:
* Iconic Comedian, Author, Dancer and Actress, Margaret Cho
* Tony Award Winning Actor and Performer, Alan Cumming
* Fashion design rebel and Winner of Project Runway, Jeffrey Sebelia
* From CBS’ Two and a Half Men, Christopher Guest’s film: Best In Show, and Showtime’s hit series: The L-Word, Actress, Jane Lynch
* Adult Film Star, Buck Angel
* The 1st gay singer/songwriter signed to the 1st gay music label from TommyBoy Records, Matt Alber.
* Beautiful Model and talented Actress, Jenny Shimizu.
* From NBC’s The Last Comic Standing and Comedy Central Presents, comedian, Sabrina Matthews.
* From CBS’ News program Second Cup Cafe, hard-working country-rocker, Garrison Starr.

The Ian Harvie Show
Monday, July 28th, 9pm
@ Largo at The Coronet Theater
366 N. La Cienega Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90048
http://www.ianharvie.com/theianharvieshow.html

I had to great fortune to be interviewed by PFLAG‘s Steve Ralls for Ambiente magazine this month, and they gave me the cover! Please check it out, and leave a comment if you like the article and the coverage of trans issues they’re providing. =)

http://www.ambiente.us/07508Calperina.html

Calpernia Addams’ very first love story may have been with a fiddle.

“I started my entertainment career playing Bluegrass gospel fiddle in church with my family as a child,” she recently told Ambiente, “which gave me my first taste of being onstage.  I’ve never looked back since then, progressing to almost ten years in professional theatre before moving to Hollywood to explore film and television.”

Click HERE to Read More..

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/42353/She-males-gunning-for-Posh/

I’ve been unhappy about the “hot tranny mess” catchphrase popularized by fashion designer Christian Siriano ever since I first heard it, and then heard it repeated amidst squeals of delight by hetero and gay people who felt entitled because “a gay person said it.” I can take a joke, and I make quite a few myself. But if I’m going to risk walking politically incorrect thin ice, I try to do it firmly within the context of comedy. Just out-and-out promulgation on a television show of the idea that “tranny” goes perfectly with “hot mess” to describe anyone who is some sort of trainwreck or other, without even acknowledging that it could be negative, is ignorant and hurtful.

I know that in cases where the slur doesn’t personally affect the person using it, and where the person is of a certain character, there is no hope of convincing them that they are being hurtful because the idea is so far beyond and outside their thinking. It doesn’t hurt them, and it just seems “right” according to their worldview so they don’t question it. The idea that “trannies” are anything other than a “hot mess” is probably as ridiculous to Siriano as the idea that the Earth is flat. But I suspect that I know quite a few more transsexuals than Siriano, and even probably more transgendered people of all stripes. It’s a very difficult, misunderstood life. And now, along with being compared to Southpark’s pedophiliac detransitioner “Ms. Garrison” (a fictional character that has been brought up to me as an example of how “sick” transsexuals are in countless emails and replies), we can expect to be labeled a “hot tranny mess” by press and people on the street eager to repeat the latest screamingly funny catch phrase from their favorite show.

Is this what my generation suffered through the 1980’s GLBT civil rights battles for? To give a 21 year old gay man the comfort of being able to slam part of the community without any sense of the tradition of cruelty and ignorance he is perpetuating? I predict this will be the next big generational conflict, when GLBT kids who grew up with “Will & Grace” on television and Ellen Degeneres/Rosie O’Donnell hosting chat shows take all that hard won progress for granted.

As I say, one reality show contest winner’s prejudice and bigotry isn’t the end of the world, but since his negativity falls within my bailiwick, I thought I’d mention it. Especially after this:

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/42353/She-males-gunning-for-Posh/
Openly gay Christian, 21, was forced to apologise to “he-she” groups for using the term “hot tranny mess” on TV to describe frocks he doesn’t like.

He further upset the “snip-tuck” brigade by saying in a magazine interview: “If you think of heterosexuals, they have white trash women and trailer parks and we have drag queens and trannies.”

If the supremely ignorant Siriano ever chooses to enlighten himself on the subject of transsexuals before the next time he slanders us to the readership of another magazine, he might check out something like Lynn Conways TS Successes page. True, it even features “white trash” like me, but I think that this only proves that (flaws and all) a White Trash “tranny” can rise above mere “hot mess” status toward a hopefully useful life.

The article referenced is from The Daily Star, and following Siriano’s lead it refers to transsexuals as “the snip tuck brigade”, “he-shes”, “shemales”, “gender benders” and the tame-by-comparison “bizarre”. Being gay isn’t a free pass for bigotry against other people in the GLBT community. I hope people continue to call Siriano on his hurtful championing of derogatory and negative phrases and stereotypes. Designing for K-Mart can be just a season or two away from even many of the lucky ones in the fashion industry, and in any case you won’t catch me squeezing my 30-something curves into one of Siriano’s “hot tranny mess"-free, “white trash"-free garments even if it was given to me. Perhaps it would make a nice dust cloth to clean up the “mess”.

PS: He did apologize in a general sense, but whenever these things follow a “backlash” and come via press release that sounds like someone’s publicity folks wrote it, I have a hard time buying it. The damage is done.

Hey kids, I did an “artistic” photo shoot for a very well respected magazine on Friday. I’m not sure when it will come out, but I’ll keep you posted.

It’s that kind of “nude” where you don’t really see any of the “naughty bits"… nothing more than you’d see if I were wearing a bikini. Rather than erotic, it will be talking about other issues and only using my photo (among others) to illustrate the point.

But what’s the fun of doing it, if I don’t sensationalize a little?! Ha ha.

Probably the best I’ve ever looked in my life. Thank you, television!

Nowadays, one of the most frequent questions I’m asked by fans of the show is, “Are you and Shawn still together?” I’ve been incredibly busy recently, traveling and working on several new projects (which is one factor that informs the answer to their question), so I haven’t written anything about this yet, but I think it’s finally time.

The short answer is “No, Shawn and I are friends but we are not dating.” He is a great guy. We are both just very busy, and we live a long distance away from each other. Finding someone with whom you can share that rarest of sparks is like winning the lottery, and sometimes it only happens once in a lifetime… or even never. I’m kind of a handful anyway, so Shawn is probably counting his blessings at this point, ha ha.

I wrote a little article for The Advocate back in April called ”The Reality of Love”, in which I had this to say about the show:

I went into Transamerican Love Story with an open heart and an open mind, but I never felt I should be obligated to fake “love” with anyone if it didn’t happen naturally because, of course, actual emotions can’t be awarded as “prizes” on a show, no matter what the setup. A reality dating show is actually a very difficult circumstance in which to get to know someone because any time spent together is very brief, very managed, and under the probing eye of the camera. I decided that the best thing I could do was to look at it as exactly what it was: a fun romp with a bunch of interesting guys (like playing spin the bottle at summer camp) rather than a deadly serious path to matrimony. Fortunately, I met some really cool men, and I’m looking forward to seeing what might develop in “real life” with Shawn, the last man standing on the show.

I’ve said in a few interviews since the show “You can award your attention, but you can’t award your affection. It will either spark or it won’t.” In the case of Shawn and me, there was definitely some chemistry, attraction and interest, but I think we both recognized that life may still have a soulmate in store for us elsewhere. We’ve had some dinners and get togethers, but Shawn and I have not continued to date after the show. We remain good friends who will always share a unique experience.

It’s important for me to note that I did not go into the show with a jaded, heartless attitude and the expectation that I would discard the boys immediately upon the end of the series. I went in with an open heart and an open mind, fully ready to experience romance and love if it should happen, but fully aware that love is ever so much more rare than “I Love New York” and “Tila Tequila” would have you believe.

I think that with love, you can only be open to it. You can’t force it, or expect it, or demand it. At the risk of using a gaggingly cloying metaphor, it’s like planting flowers in the hopes of attracting butterflies. You can prepare the garden, bury the seeds and nurture the plants… after that, you just have to hope that the butterflies come. If they don’t, at least you still have some nice flowers.

Click HERE to Read More..