Debbie Harry has donated a play list from a concert two weeks ago and a t-shirt – both personally signed – for the Big Womble raffle. The organization raises money for UK charities. Find out how to buy a ticket and see pictures of the items at www.bigwomble.org.uk

Pop superstar and acclaimed actress DEBORAH HARRY plays the leading role of the mysterious General in a staged reading of NANCY AND NICOLE, a comic thriller by TOM SIME. The play, presented by The Modern Stage, launches “Oh. Nine. A Play Reading Series” at the Bleecker Street Theatre, 45 Bleecker Street in the NoHo area of New York City’s East Village, on Monday, Feb. 9 at 8 pm.

Deborah plays an enigmatic foreign General encountered by a pair of hapless smugglers stranded far from home. The guys aren’t sure if the General is friend or foe, but she’s their only hope of escape. The playwright describes this suspenseful comedy as “the adventures of two straight guys in a gender-bent world.”

NANCY AND NICOLE will be the first of nine plays by Modern Stage founder TOM SIME scheduled for the series, which marks his debut as Writer in Residence at the theater. The readings will be performed Monday nights at 8 p.m. starting Feb. 9 and ending March 30, with no performance on March 16.

Admission to the readings is a $10 suggested donation. Each reading is followed by a free reception. No reservations are needed or taken; admission is first-come, first-serve, pay at the door. The readings will be performed in the theater’s downstairs space.

The theater, also the venue of the hit comedy Sleepwalk With Me, is located at the corner of Bleecker and Lafayette, a block north of Houston Street and just down the street from the Public Theater. Nearby subway stations include Broadway-Lafayette for the B-D-F-V lines and Bleecker Street on the 6.

Coincidentally, the theater is also less than a block away from 315 Bowery, former location of the late, hallowed nightclub CBGB, where Ms. Harry’s massively popular, influential and still-thriving band Blondie gained early fame.

For more information, call the theater at 212 260 8250 or email modernstagenyc@yahoo.com. On the web: www.themodernstage.com

“Blondie drummer Clem Burke is teaming up with British researchers to investigate the potential health benefits of playing drumming-based interactive computer games.” Full story here: http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/science_technology/computer+games+may+fight+obesity/2918332

“Deborah Harry returns to I.C.E. for a fundraiser to help the children of our school. If you are looking to see Ms. Harry perform in a cool theater space, get tickets to the show. You’ll see her do solo numbers, and perform with support from ICE musicians and teachers Roy Nathanson and Sean Sondregger, and the ICE student band.” More information at the I.C.E. School web site.

Check out the new January 2009 dates at Magic Christian’s MySpace page.

Mr. Patrick Duffy Presents
Andrew Buckler’s White Christmas Party
A Holiday Party and Concert Benefiting GMHC

Come one, Come all it’s an all inclusive party complete with performances and a little something for everyone. It’s an Event NOT TO BE MISSED!

Tis the season of giving and two of Downtown’s brightest sons are giving back to a most worthy cause. Event-planning impresario, Mr. Patrick Duffy, and fashion designer, Andrew Buckler, have teamed up to throw a holiday party and concert on Saturday, December 20 at Santo’s Party House, to support GMHC’s efforts to reduce HIV infections, help people living with HIV maintain and improve their health and independence, and keep HIV prevention and treatment and national priority.

Mistress of Ceremonies, Lady Bunny will be hosting a constellation of performing stars including Debbie Harry, Jasper James, Angelique Ali, Michele Balan, Sequinette, Acroback. The hosts for the evening will include Cator Sparks, Chef Josie, Kelly Cutrone, Kevin Crawford, Spencer Sweeney, Deryck Todd, Kai Kuhne, Pedro Andrade and The Trinity. The DJs for the night will be SPANK, Prince Peter and Max Pask. The event sponsors are SKYY Vodka, Classic Cars and HX.

“Guests must be at least 21 years of age.”

$40 Ticket Price: 9 til late
Includes 2 hour SKYY VODKA Bar (9 pm – 11 pm) and evenings concert

$25 Tickets Price: 11 pm til late
Doors open at 11 pm includes concert

For tickets and more information visit Gay Men’s Health Crisis

back to work yesterday, we ARE in fact beginning work on a new recording, more later…

so yesterday i was perusing the stuff out there (here) in cyber land, i just wrote ‘Obama’ into google to see what popped up and lo i was confronted by just insane racist rants given credibility i suppose by appearing as they do in ‘forbes’ and to the ‘mail on line’… see i didnt realize at first that i was dealing with the ‘daily mail’ and that these two strange reports; one entitled “Obama the divider” and the other “say goodbye to the United States” (really) were the product of British not American crazy racists… ah! the light dawns, i guess the overt racism of various British peers of the realm is less understated and just plain out there than there counterparts over here… i guess you in the UK are used to this stuff, that is the more direct comments made by lunatics in the media, here its usually been unstated the way the opposition in the campaign used the word ‘terrorist’ as racial code… the ‘say goodbye’ piece was penned by one Peter Hitchens… he reports that the United States is now on its way to becoming the ‘third world’ nation that the UK already is, though he doesnt spell it out we must presume that his vision of the UK as third world is the result of the ‘fuzzie wuzzies’ and ‘coloreds’ who have come to his shores… he does go on to report anecdotally about his being in Washington DC on election day and that while he noted a few whites celebrating “among the Mexicans, Salvadorans and the other Third World nationalities, there was something like ecstasy.” of course again we are to presume that this is a terrible thing… you get the idea… so i was real fucking pissed off for a day or so then wow! i am feeling defensive about the US government! whats gonna happen next? a really interesting week

the final weeks that lead up to the election were steeped in a weird tension that was new for me in relation to the world of politics… i dont recall previously being so deeply involved with the outcome of any political event… i have mentioned watching the last election night four years ago from a hotel room in Lima Peru and feeling disgusted with the results but this time along with many others i was really caught up in the whole thing; daily looking at the polls on ‘realclearpolitics.com’ while engaging in endless discussions etc etc so i was very relieved by what went down… many things that i hadnt thought of came to the surface not the least of which was that should ‘our side’ not prevail there might be a lot more therapy needed than for those on the ‘other side’ happily this wasn’t the case

we dont have a TV mostly cause of the kids and i absorbed all my election media from the internet… lots of time looking at clips on YouTube… after a while it hit me that every time someone posted some awful comment, raving about niggers and terrorists that this was being viewed by the whole world… this is part of the image of the US in the eyes of the world… all the stupid racism and negativity; and then the very people who are putting this stuff out there are the ones who are saying “why do they hate us!??”

in relation to the election there were more emotional moments for me than i can count… i will always remember watching the Chicago speech while sitting on the floor with Barbara in front of the computer… the kids were both aware of what was going on to varying degrees; Vali is just three so she only got a bit of it but Akira really understood at least that we were hoping that this Obama guy was going to be the next president… and a great deal of my seeing things though the kids eyes made for even more heavy emotions; while discussing all of the ramifications of the win Akira asked “what are slaves?” after hearing us use the word, how then does one explain this to a little kid who barely knows what a ‘war’ is?

really for the first time in years i feel like its not fifty fifty in the balance of the dark and light sides any more… for so long now so many of us have been living in this anti-government mode that its become second nature… those of us that were teenagers in the sixties had a taste of what was possible, what could be; all that togetherness, it was such a brief thing… i always wonder where it went, what happened to make that huge positive outpouring turn negative… now overnight there’s a return, this is a lot what it felt like back then… this is the first that is a real counter to 9-11, an exorcism of that event maybe

so thanks to all of you who helped make this happen…i know that i am going to keep up my interest in what happens with Obama and the new government, maybe things are gonna lighten up now, it would be really nice for all of us…

dont forget terrorism doesnt work on people who aren’t afraid

xxximagesxxx

this is totally stolen from Colbert but: ‘JOE’ THE MCCARTHY least we forget

“Fall Out Boy have admitted they were ‘honoured’ to work with Elvis Costello and Debbie Harry on their new album. The emo rockers roped in the legendary singers along with Lil Wayne, Panic At The Disco’s Brendon Urie and Gym Class Heroes singer Travis McCoy for their fifth record Folie a Deux. Singer Patrick Stump said: ‘To say I’m influenced by Elvis Costello is a gross understatement. To have him on this record was just a real honour.’ He went on: ‘Debbie Harry’s song came together very naturally. She’s amazing and she just added so much authority to the song.'”