Party People: Hot Mix 5 Reunion @ House of Blues in Chicago

On Saturday, August 30, I had the privilege of attending the reunion of the legendary house music djs, the Hot Mix 5, at the House of Blues in Chicago. Here are some b&w pictures that I took of Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, house diva Ce Ce Peniston and some of the party people.

Sweet Love

Rarely does a fashion editorial make me tear up. But there is something so sweet, melancholy and moving about these Emma Summerton pictures of Jourdan Dunn and Josh Beech in the new Vogue Italia that I literally felt my eyes water while flipping through the magazine at Borders.





(I got the images from Funketiquette.)

I also think it's cool how the pictures are so different from the ones Summerton took of the models in the new i-d.

Another Pic from My New Neighborhood

Craig's Obessions: Another Dumpster

Jennifer Hudson's Amazing Anthem

Gotta Have Faith!!!

I just finished Keep the Faith, the new memoir by Faith Evans, one of my favorite vocalists and the widow of the Notorious B.I.G. (my favorite rapper of all time; check the Notorious C.R.A.I.G. shirt I wore in this photo shoot. The book is a great read, full of fun gossip about such hip-hop and R&B luminaries as B.I.G., Lil' Kim, Mary J. Blige, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Tupac, and Missy Elliott, among many others. But the main appeal of the book is the easy and honest way that Faith tells her story and how she's unafraid to expose her contradictions and complexities. (Who knew that this sweet-voiced church gal could also be such a blunt-smoking, gun-toting, butt-kicking bad ass?) Anyway, you can read my full review here.

I thought I'd also post a video of one of my favorite Faith songs, "Never Let You Go", courtesy of aNnenG09.

ALL I COULD BARE in DC #2

Here's a video that revolves around my book signing at Lambda Rising, DC's gay bookstore, on August 24, 2008. I had a lot of fun promoting the signing with a couple of hot, half-naked guys. Watch and enjoy.

Flashback Joint: Monica

Monica's new single, "Still Standing," got me in the mood to seek out some of her older performances on YouTube. This is one of my favorites. It's from the legendary Urban Aids concert, where some of the top hip-hop and R&B acts performed to support people with AIDS. I've also posted Mary J. Blige's killer performances of "I Love You" and "Everyday It Rains" from the same concert.

ACID BETTY

In honor of Acid Betty doing so well on Project Runway last night, I wanted to post these pics that I took of her last year in a bathroom at Avalon (the old Limelight).

Craig's Obessions: Dumpsters

Don't know why, but I'm completely obsessed with taking pictures of trash cans. They have such interesting shapes and colors...

Video Roundup

Hey - Here are some YouTube videos that some other people have posted with me in them. The first set is a series of videos from my New York reading, which were posted by the amazing Rich Merritt.

Creative Inspiration: Byron Katie

This vlog is about me moving to Chicago and discovering the work of Byron Katie on Oprah's Soul Series podcast.

Below is a list of some stuff that I talk about in the vlog, including the new JoBros CD. And, if you're wondering, these are my favorite songs so far:

"Shelf":
"One Man Show":

Happy Birthday, Madonna

In honor of Madge's 50th, I thought I'd post Peter Rauhofer's Classic Mix of "Nothing Fails." It's one of my favorite of her recent mixes. Such a beautiful love song, and Peter kills the track:

Market Days 2008

I think it's funny that my arrival in Chicago coincided with the biggest gay street festival in the Midwest.

Jennifer Holiday at Market Days in Chicago

Got the chance to see "Dreamgirl"'s original Effie White at Market Days. Here are some pics:

My New Neighborhood

As many of you know, I've moved to the Wrigleyville area of Chicago. Here are some pictures from my neighborhood.