Cowboys, Porn and Rock and Roll!

So, I'm going to try and be better about posting to this thing a little more regularly. One of the main reasons that I haven't been is because I was waiting until my Web site went up before I started directing people to my blog, and well, the good news is that it's finally up! Yep, that's right; my site, HollywoodKen.com, is now up and running, so you folks should head over there and take a look at it if you still haven't done so. There are still a few bugs to work out (there's no sound on the flash intro yet, a few stylistic things to iron out), but for the most part, it's looking good, and I couldn't be happier with it. My Web designer, Roman, is a great artist, so you should totally check out his work too. He has his own site, so take a look at that if you're ever in need of a personalized Web site!

Two nights ago, we had a work mixer over at the Marriott motel in Woodland Hills. The staff from AVN, AVN Online and the AVN Novelty mag all got together and carried on for most of the evening. It was pretty fun hanging out with the co-workers. My boss was especially funny. Then last night, I went over to the Abbey in West Hollywood, where Chi Chi LaRue was having her annual birthday bash. This time, however, it was a tie-in to her new book, Warning, which includes some pretty amazing shots of gay porn stars by fashion photographer Greg Thompson, who has elevated adult photography to artistic expression with this book. I am very impressed with it. So if you get a chance, you should totally check it out. There's a pic of my favorite little porn star, Tag Adams, in the book that is just amazing.

When I first got to the party, it was already 8:30, and it had started at 7, but I had to run home from work and change into some WeHo-appropriate clothes (of course!) before I could head over. The party was pretty much in full swing, and once I got my VIP bracelet, I went on inside to salivate over the pretty boys. I have to say, though, there weren't as many porn stars there as I thought there would be. Chi Chi is, like, the biggest porn director there is, and I was kinda shocked that his birthday didn't attract a healthier roster of industry boys. True, there was Rascal Video exclusive Johnny Hazzard to drool over, as well as fellow Rascal boys Eddie Stone and Luca DiCorsa (that's him in the pic with me up above), and there were even appearances by Logan Reed, Michael Knight and Kyle Kennedy (pictured above with Hazzard), among a few others, but come on: where the hell was everyone? At home in the sling? At a sex club? Biting their nails?

Oh well, I guess I really shouldn't complain, right? I mean, after all, the drinks were free (though they reached their $5,000 "open bar" quota only an hour and a half into the party, so I only got one free drink!), the boys were pretty, and the music (courtesy of LaRue herself, who played DJ all night long) was pretty rockin' as well. (I actually broke off a piece of Chi Chi's birthday cookie, and it was delicious!) And really, any opportunity to mingle with hot gay porn stars is one that I'm going to enjoy, even if Tag Adams wasn't there to flirt with me. :)

Aside from my adventures in the skin trade, however, things are going pretty good for me as of late. This weekend, I will be attending my very first Hollywood press junket, this one for the upcoming gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain. I don't know how many of you people have heard about this movie, but I predict it's going to be huge. It might not top the box office, but it's going to be huge in other ways. It's the first gay love story of its kind, really. It features two very big young actors, Heath Ledge and Jake Gyllenhaal, and is directed by the highly revered Ang Lee, whose Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of my favorite movies ever. Not since the groundbreaking Making Love in 1982 has there been such a high-profile dramatic gay love story, so this movie has the potential to really "set the record straight" on male-on-male relationships and societal oppression. As Entertainment Weekly recently touted, "It has the power to change minds." Let's hope so.

Jake and Ang will both be at the junket on Sunday, and I'm a little nervous about it since it's my very first one, but a few of my journalist friends who have been to them in the past tell me they're pretty easy and simple. I'll just have to be assertive if I want to get one of my questions in. Saturday night is the actual screening of the movie, and I'm taking a hot cowboy as my date, so I can't imagine having a better experience than seeing a hot gay love story about cowboys with a hot cowboy. I'll have to let you know how it goes. I've also been booked for the King Kong screening, and I can't even begin to tell you how freakin' excited I am for that one!

Today I sent an email over to Madonna's people at Warner Bros, because I'm dying to interview her about her upcoming record Confessions on a Dancefloor. In the next few days, I'm going to start a 'Countdown to Confessions' series of blog entries, so be on the lookout for that! If you folks haven't heard the new song or seen the video for "Hung Up," then you seriously need to check it out over at Madonna.com. I think Madge is gonna be back--bigger than ever!--with this latest release. She sounds great, and it's nice to see her back on the dance floor again. It's just like old times. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big ole fag when it comes to Madonna, and I'm so not ashamed of it. She's provided such inspiration to me over the years, and I never turn on or give up on those who have inspired me. Madonna has remained a creative visionary throughout her career, and in a time of war and destruction and government-sanctioned hatred, her message of love and spirituality and human kindness makes her more relevant than ever. So there!

Oh well, I guess that's pretty much all I have to say for this time around. I have to put some pitches together for Pink mag. They're a new Southern California gay and lesbian magazine, and the editor has expressed interest in having me write for them. So, I'm pitching them an interview with Cyndi Lauper about her new CD, The Body Acosutic, which is a really cool album of her doing "unplugged" renditions of some of her biggest hits as well as two new songs. I think it's a great record, and I can't stop playing it. Love me some Cyndi!

Anyway, I'll leave you with this fun pic that my buddy Chris took of me up in the Hollywood Hills right by the famous HOLLYWOOD sign. It was like 8:30 in the morning, after we'd been up swimming and "stuff" all night, so I think I kinda look pretty tired. What do you think?

Talk with you soon! Stay in touch, and go check out my Web site!

XOXO,
Hollywood Ken