Paris is Burning

Crackhead Hooker Maces Kid - watch more funny videos

Regular HOMOPOP.com readers all know how much I live for the legendary children - especially the grand dames who serve it up raw, fierce, and oh-so-lovely in Paris is Burning. Well, we came across this one the other day and color us (well, me actually) totally obsessed. Hit play, stand back and watch in gaga-riffic awe as Miss Honey here tears open several new assholes on a group of bashing children (as in from the uterus, real snotty, manner-less, parent-neglected, they deserve-to-be-beaten kids) in an L.A. subway car.

Who knew that outside of the Keanu-pleasing Speed L.A. even had a subway system? If this is what goes on down there on a daily basis I'm thinking of buying a season ticket.

Make sure to watch all the way through to the video's truly glorious finale: Miss Honey lets these little brats totally have it, culminating in a reading and macing of epic proportions. (Hey - she warned them tomorrow was her birthday. Hello.)

Ok, someone needs to tell Miss Knowles to back up just a tad. Last night at the BET Awards, Destiny's firstborn Child put on an over-the-top performance like no other. The awards decided to turn last night's show into a tribute to Michael Jackson - 'cause he like, died 'n stuff - and Miss Honey thought it would be the perfect time to put the queens of Paris is Burning to shame.

The show was already weird enough: CNN's cutie-pie reporter (and former Philly broadcaster) Don Lemon was covering the red carpet arrivals and snagged an interview with MJ's abuser - uh... father - that was awkward and uncomfortable, to put it nicely.

The world is decidedly a much less fiercer place than it once was, with the confirmed passing of Octavia St. Laurent. For those of you children not in the know, Miss Octavia was one of the legendary stars of director Jennie Livingston's fan-fucking-tabulous award-winning documentary Paris is Burning. (Many of you will recall her on-point gagger during the film's credits, when she nonchalantly tossed off the entire male species with one very cunty quip).

I had heard of her passing over the weekend, yet didn't want to post anything until it was confirmed. This is going to be a very personal post: I worked very closely with Miramax back in the day upon the film's release, and was house manager and booker at one of the only theatres to be given access to some of the film's stars - complete with limo rides, private fund-raisers, and late-nite after-hours parties with some true legends, including the late Dorian Corey and Pepper LaBeija - both of whom I miss. Octavia transformed herself over the years, even appearing later on in the unofficial Paris sequel How Do I Look.

Octavia's passing marks another loss in the list of the film's stars who are no longer with us. There has never been (IMO) a more defining, life-affirming, gay-positive, quotable, fuck-the-haters, gender-and-race stereotype destroying, or important doc than Paris, and thank fucking Christ it finally came out on DVD. (Click here to read an amazing review of the film.)

I privately told RuPaul the sad news other day, as he and I kee-kee over the flick constantly. The Supermodel of the World said: "Oh, shoot. Well she had a fabulous run. And she'll [always live on and] be remembered by you and me." Well, Keeneye here is going to make sure y'all remember her, too. (A big shout out to the New York Times for their coverage.) As Dorian so eloquently put it at the end of Paris - "If you shoot an arrow and it goes real high? Hooray for you." Well, Miss Octavia shot her arrow, alright - straight to the hearts, minds, and souls of all future legends. Honey, you're now as free as the wind on that beach, and your voice will always still be there.

"You take the good, you take the bad

You take them both and there you have
The Facts of Life, the Facts of Life."
-As written by poet laureates Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton

Even bitchy media masters Gawker felt the heat. Their sexcentric site Fleshbot - which is more hetero than homo, but still throws us gayboys a lump of cock coal every so often - announced layoffs a while back. The cutbacks, according to one source, reflected "the understanding that people are getting more and more of their porn for free, as well as that the taboos that drive interest in seeking out porn for porn's sake are fading away." Or just maybe it's just that those deliriously depraved, dirty, and decidedly more diligent boys at POPPORN.com started stealing their thunder? Yeah I know, we shouldn't be throwing shade as we just launched and are still kinda lame, but what the fuck. We're assholes.

UPDATE: We know this info. is older news, and we have no idea if things have gotten better or worse for the Gawker crew and their affiliated sites, and of course we don't wish anyone any ill will. Hell, we've had our own dramas to deal with and they ain't pretty or fun. But, like we said, we're assholes.