I give the interview with Toni, author of "Five Flights Up," five thumbs up!

: )

-jason

Said by: Jason at June 27, 2006 07:53 AM

FABULOUS INTERVIEW! So much fun! It reminds us that many times fact is far more fantastic than fiction.

Said by: Patricia Fernós at June 27, 2006 08:03 AM

This interview only rekindled my life-long dream of living in New York. Great show today.

Said by: Cesar at June 27, 2006 09:06 AM

me too, Ceasar.....God I wish I could afford to live in NYC. Someday, maybe.

another great interview guys...thanks -- I'm getting this book ASAP.

john s

Said by: john s at June 27, 2006 02:24 PM

I love Toni's way of speaking -- doesn't she sound a little like Teri Garr? I cracked up every time Fausto said something outrageous, and then Teri would calmly say, "Oh, no, it wasn't like that at all."

Fausto, I have a book I would LOVE for you to write a blurb for.

I'm a book designer at an academic press, and every once and awhile a book comes across my desk that I actually want to sit down and read. I got lucky today -- this book is about gay life in London in the early 1900s, and it's fascinating. I'm sure you could write a much juicier blurb than the dry, scholarly ones they actually have on the jacket.

I have to share some of these quotes with you -- I'm not getting any work done today, because I can't put this book down!

- Techniques for not getting caught having sex in public urinals:
"The police used to come and look underneath the doors.... If there were four feet they'd bash it down. This man always took two carrier bags... He told his partner to stand with his feet in the bags. When the police looked all they saw were two feet and two carrier bags."

- Thomas Burke on the "Bohemian" scene in London in 1922, which sounds a lot like Pride:
"Here and there may be seen queer creatures ... and hermaphroditic creature with side-whiskers and painted eyelashes ... things in women's clothes that slide cunning eyes upon other women. Male dancers who walk like fugitives from the City of the Plain. Hard-featured ambassadors from Lesbos and Sodom."

- On the unintended (or maybe not?) consequences of the Victorian obsession with hygiene:
The swimming pool of the Central London YMCA was "for men only ... full of young fellows. I thought this was great. You weren't allowed to wear swimming trunks -- it was considered unhygienic -- so as you can imagine a lot of people who were gay were members of the YMCA."

- And this one is for Marc and Fausto and SAL-E (your photos from Pride look fabulous! sorry we didn't see you in person -- we were late and we must have missed you):
"I was a swine for make up. My perfume was called Soir de Paris. If I could scrounge together half a crown to have a bottle of this, my day was made. We used to put powder on ... thought we looked absolutely marvellous ... the eyebrows were plucked to hell, all shaped."

If you want to read the official blurb:
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/153564.ctl

But I'm sure you could do much better than them!

I wish I had gotten to design this book in the first place... that would have been awesome. Unfortunately, I'm just converting the cover design for the paperback edition. sigh.

Your ambassador from Lesbos,
Maia

Said by: Maia at June 27, 2006 04:50 PM

Teri is a wonderful interviewee. She made me laugh and of course I found a connection to her witticisms and anecdotes about New York City living accomodations. As a current tenant in a pretty crappy apartment, I understand the trials and tribulations we New Yorkers go through with sketchy/creepy landlords, leaky ceilings, and the like. I think Teri hit a good mark when she spoke about New Yorkers' ability to adapt to situations and ignore the pitfalls of their living spaces because they are such workaholics. I spend a minimal amount of time in my apartment because I am always at work or in class or out in the city doing something fabulous. And even when I happen to be home, I just don't take much time to notice the bad stuff. I've become enured to the situation by reminding myself that I live in the most wonderful city in the world, and that's enough such that I can deal with it.

Fausto, I know that you think we New Yorkers (and while I have only been here a scant three years I still think of myself as at least a New-Yorker-in-training) ought to get over ourselves, but self-aggrandizement and exaggeration of our own plight by way of pointing out all of our misfortunaes is our way of showing to the world that we are tough and macho and able to deal with everything which comes our way. A good reason must exist for why people still move to the City in spite of squalorous living conditions.

I may have gone off on a bit of a tirade, and I certainly don't mean to make myself out to be the poorest and most destitute of New York City dwellers, but I just wanted to explain in greater detail than perhaps Teri did about the NYC attitude toward housing.

I certainly to buy Teri's book. I have it on hold in my Amazon shopping cart, pending a search for something else to add which would bring the total purchase above $25 and allow for me to receive free shipping. What can I say other than that I am cheap and thrifty.

Thank you for bringing Teri onto the show today. She was a fabulous guest, especially since she was talking about New York City, which is something I can clearly identify with. As always, the Feast of Fools proves that it is the podcast with the big dreams, and an even bigger place in my shirt.

P.S. I wore my official FoF T-shirt to the bar this past Friday, and got many intrigued comments from the people I met there. They all loved the design, and wanted to know what the Feast of Fools was all about. Needless to say, I told them all about you and urgently implored them to subscribe, or at least listen to a few shows. I hope my good deed is rewarded with a few more subscriptions. Love you guys. Keep the greatness coming into my ears.

Said by: Milton in NYC at June 27, 2006 05:13 PM

Milton, if you're looking for a good book, this is a real hidden gem that I discovered listening to NPR one day--

I Remember, by Joe Brainard

It's a collection of short paragraphs of random things that the author remembers from growing up as a gay kid in Tulsa. (I bought the book as a present for my sweetie, who is an Oklahomo too.)

It's a really delightful read, because he veers from subject to subject, and he remembers things in such detail... here's an excerpt (you can also read some of it on Amazon):

I remember my first cigarette. It was a Kent. Up on a hill. In Tulsa, Oklahoma. With Ron Padgett.

I remember my first erections. I thought I had some terrible disease or something.

I remember the only time I ever saw my mother cry. I was eating apricot pie.

I remember how much I cried seeing South Pacific (the movie) three times.

I remember how good a glass of water can taste after a dish of ice cream.

I remember when I got a five-year pin for not missing a single morning of Sunday School for five years. (Methodist.)

I remember when I went to a "come as your favorite person" party as Marilyn Monroe.

--okay, I'm really testing the "fair use" clause of copyright law today. Better quit while I'm ahead...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1887123482/qid=1151452416/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-5266378-8719829?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

p.s. I just bought Toni's book and a Saffire album from Amazon by linking through the FOF site -- trying to do my part!

Said by: maia at June 27, 2006 07:08 PM

Once again a wonderful interview and podcast from our friends at FOF. Toni was truely delightful. I had to laugh at her story of being an unintentional porn actor. I was running sound for a girl-on-girl porn movie called Gladiator Eroticvs (a parody of the Russel Crowe movie). They told us they didn't have enough actors to play the roman soldiers, so they dressed us up in bad dime store roman outfits and had us rush into the field. Then they didn't have enough people to play the barbarians so they dressed us up in fun fur and wigs and sent us into the field in the opposite direction. Through the magic of editing we ended up fighting ourselves. I'd almost forgotten about it until one night a good friend of mine called me at 1:00 in the morning, sounding a bit disturbed, and said, "um.... Don. I... um... I just saw you on Showtime... you were in a porno with lesbian gladiators".

Said by: pup don at June 27, 2006 07:24 PM

Thanks maia! I just ordered both books. I can't wait to read them.

Said by: Milton in NYC at June 27, 2006 10:19 PM

excellent interview, guys! I am gonna run out and get the book today! I am moving to Brooklyn soon. . .

Said by: mikeypod at June 28, 2006 08:20 AM

hey Milton, that's great -- you won't be disappointed! Brainard also writes about his time as a young artist in NY, so there is some parallel with Toni's book, too...

Said by: maia at June 28, 2006 10:52 AM