FREE slogan for WKTU from Felber!

As I fell into a brisket coma last night (that even the fresh chrain fumes couldnt wake me from), this morning I had to drag my matzoh-filled ass from my mom's on Long Island to Manhattan via the Sueb (my sexy white ((if I bothered to wash it)) little Subaru wagon).

I put on the radio and scanned until 103.5 caught my ear. It was delightful. Zooming past the riot of forsythia on the Hell.I.E., I forgot my hatred of suburbia as I enjoyed song after song...

Vintage Madonna! She's learned her lesson well, she has a tale to teh-eh-ell!

"I'm every woman! It's all in meeeeeeeee!"

And loads mo' pumping disco complete with whistles so that when I saw the Manhattan skyline, framed at the top by a graffitti-covered BQE overpass, I was transported back to the 70's, when a gal like me could've joyfully, bralessly played a new bathhouse everynight.

Dream a little dream of me.

Amazingly, in this 9-10AM block there was no annoying DJ, and no talking, save for when they hawked their contest -- to win super 'spensive designer shoes.

And so, I offer up my copywriting services (normally $500-800/hour, suckas) to my new fave radio station, WKTU.

The current slogan is WKTU: The Beat of New York

New, improved, FREE, Felber slogan is...

WKTU: A Gay Bar for Your Car!

TODAY I spied: The first flip flops of the season!

Spotted on?

The $2 gypsy bus from NJ to Manhattan.

What's the gypsy bus?

It's a good way to inhale the fumes from the Lincoln Tunnel, and a great way to watch fellow passengers feverishly read their well-thumbed copies of the Koran.

Worn by?

A woman with a schmancy pedicure who looked like Mini-Me to J-Lo.

Who knew?

Apparently flip flops in cold temps are a Jersey thing? I thought I'd get by with my big hair, but no, I've got so much to learn...


Pic cred: http://www.jerseygirlusa.com

Page Six Scandal

As seen on (and photo stolen from) Gawker.

I am SHOCKED! SHOCKED I TELL YOU!

I mean, I went to college with this guy and I can't help but wonder...
<--- Pic of JPS stolen from the Daily News Exclusive

Do I look that old?

:::shiver!:::

PS This is the same guy who made many a simple (read: poor) Catskills weekender like me cringe when he revealed in a New York Magazine article that he and his wife painted their Catskills dining room "to match an orange Hermès shopping bag."

UPDATE: OK so if the Daily News article has his age right, he's a few years older than me, which I didn't expect because he graduated a year after me. Phew!

SNOW!?

Don't panic!

Remember what Prince sang,

"Sometimes it snows in April. Sometimes I feel so bad. So bad."

So true Prince. So true.

Live blogging C-SPAN

After taking in "Ellen" from Orlando, I decided to turn up the fun by tuning into C-SPAN

11:50PM
Immigration Cases in Federal Court
Senate Judiciary Committee

Starring...

Jonathan Cohn
Deputy Assistant Attorney

Senator Arlen Specter
R-Pennsylvania

Senator Jeff Sessions
R- Somewhere in the South

A Professor wearing glasses
UVA

I can't concentrate on "title 7-B" and "AWO's" because the cameraman behind Jonathan is wearing a blue golf shirt, chatting into his headset and swinging/pacing from side to side.

I can't grasp what they are talking about because I have zero knowledge of this stuff, so I listen without understanding, and can only entertain myself by comparing the men's eyebrows and ties. It's soothing, a bit like watching Korean soap operas.

Watching this debate makes me long for political blogs, where you know how people feel before you get there, so you can come in smug and knowing, without actually knowing anything.

Arlen looks awesome. Has he had work done?

No women here. I wonder what would happen if we gave them the right to vote?

The blue shirted cameraman is chewing gum.

12:17
BREAK!

Milling around and coughing take centerstage!

Fat blonde in need of a bra has no one to chat with.

Bald creepy man comes to talk with fat blonde. Score!

Wait, they just said that the Capitol has been evacuated because of power outages. They seem very calm about this. Is this common? Is this a C-SPAN sweeps week stunt?

I scooped CNN on the Capitol story by about 5 minutes. I can die happy.

Felber's What's Hot/What's Not Quiz!

Hot or Not?
The gypsy bus I take from Weehawken to NYC....

Does the frayed arm rest mirror his sideburn in the most delightful way?

Hot or Not?
The sketch that just came in for my mom's latest book cover...

Is this spicy or is she just partial to outdoor OB/GYN visits?

Hot or Not?
My dog gumming a Snausage...

Is a ratty little dog eating off the floor a turn on?

ANSWERS:

1. Not

2. Hot Hot Hot!

3. Hot... if you are the dog's owner.

Photo cred: Me, Avon books, Me

Port Authority,
just after midnight,
3.30.06

Waiting for the bus to Weehawken

Weehawken,
just after 10AM,
3.30.06

Waiting for the bus to NYC

Photo cred: me

File under: "Damn"

I just heard Junno's is closing at the end of April.

Here I am outside of Junno's in November 2005...

As you can see, this bar is so hot one doesn't need a coat when standing outside of it on a winter's night.*

New York City -- why do you kill every single bar and every restaurant I've ever loved?


*Especially if one was enjoying an open bar at their mom's book party, which this "one" was.

Help me Rhonda...

If, Rhonda, you are an adept web designer.

I am looking for:

1. Simple technical help. Well, simple for someone more versed in web than me. Like, hey, I know my mom's blog archives are in there, but I can't get them to show up in the live wide web. Oi.

2. A fabulous web designer to make me a pretty, integrated blog/website/portfolio that also has video. Come on, you're dying to see my reel, I know it...

3. But, if your skill is great but your design aint, that's ok as I can call upon mad talented illustrators to work with.

Is this you?

For my part I can pay (not tons) and I know enough basic web stuff to be helpful (hopefully).

Please use the email at right to contact me you brillaint web designer, you.

Wuv,
susie

No one's minding the shop...

So I leave comments for Larry David on MySpace about the time he came to perform at my show and chickened out. Someday soon I'll retell the whole story, in a book that pays me lots of money.

And...

Seems Sean Lennon and I have a lot in common. We are very choosy MySpacers.

The original Gay Robot, accept no imitations.

My brother and I created Troy, the Gay Robot in 2000, in New York City for a CD-ROM game published by Simon & Schuster. The whole story is here.

Adam Sandler's Gay Robot is now on MySpace, if you like cheap imitations. Or MySpace. Or torturing puppies. Ya know, those kinds of things.

New York: Where the Wild Things Are.

Beards are hot sez New York Times!

(That whirring you hear? Every hipster in Brooklyn shaving theirs off.)

Coyotes cavort in Central Park!

(Lucky coyote will get transported away from the most polluted air in the state, possibly the country. And I love this perky coyote-from-the-Bronx pic. It's like he's saying, "Hey, those little dogs in sweaters youse got here? Delicious! Two mangy coyote paws up!" Oh and special shout out to the lovely Sara Hoebel, quoted in the article and currently engaged to this very tall, very cool man. )

Women applying to college get shafted!

(OK, that's not exclusively New York, but like, it sucks. And it makes me feel sorry for all the adorable Chinese baby girls I was ready to adopt after reading this article and seeing the picture of super cute Chinese American teenage girls having a super cute pillowfight. They are such dolls! I want to collect all four!)

Photo cred: David Avila/New York City Parks Department in New York Times

PS If you know and love & loathe MySpace like me, don't miss "Add Me" the groovy new MySpace song .

via Chelsea Peretti's blog 'n she's in it too. Double woo!

I decided that if I were a rock star...

I'd be the frontman for Coheed And Cambria.


The frontman


...is the man who gets to stand in the front.


Damn, he is so good

...at standing in the FRONT!



"Eat me, band. I rule at fronting."



"Aw yeah, I'm in the front. And let's see... whose face is blown up on the screen? Hmm? Is it Mr. Drummer? Mr. Bass Player? Mr. Plays-a-kazoo or some crap? I DON' THINK SO!"

Photo cred: All of the shots are pure promotional for the band, except this one, perhaps, from a nice blog called Video Static. Oh and this image is from a Rolling Stone gallery. Oh and MTV had sexy pics but they could not be snagged so I'm not linking to them. Phooey.

"OK, you can be in the front

...but only if you sit down like bad little boys.

PS don't you DARE try to look moodier than me. I'll cut ya."

There is no watercooler talk
...and other amazing insights from Susie

Today I saw an ad for the TV Guide channel's new show TV Watercooler and I snapped.

Look people, stop using the phrase "what people are talking about around the watercooler" because nobody is talking around the watercooler. In my working life, having held more jobs than you can shake a stick at, nobody has ever talked around the watercooler.

Maybe before email (when the earth was still cooling and dinos ruled the land) people talked around the watercooler because they had no other way to take a break, swap gossip, and catch up with one another. But now offices are very very quiet, full of people sitting politely at their desks and tapping wildly, because they are emailing their friends and co-workers all the stuff they had to trek all the way to the water cooler for. And now it's better because you don't have to stop working or endure some jerk at the watercooler discussing something you aren't interested in.*

So stop. Now. When you say "what people are talking about around the watercooler" you are trying especially hard to sell me on how hot something is, but this tactic backfires worse than my ass after a bowl of blazing squrriel chili.

Now, tonight @9:30PM you should go to:
The Mercury Lounge
to see a band called Valley Lodge.
They are very good and I know Rob the drummer
...and everyone is talking about them around the watercooler.


*Although you do have to endure your relatives sending you countless urban legends and cute animal email forwards, for this is now their virtual watercooler.

I'm so sleepy.

I'm going to try and get "buzz" for that.

Wish me luck.

I am loathe

...to post this article because #1 I never talk about my day work on this blog nor mention the company. And #2, I look fat in the pic. But so what, here goes nothing. At least our CEO looks hot.

For a limited time only, you can read about the rumors of my demise being greatly exaggerated in one of my favorite newspapers, The River Reporter.

I love what my college bud, the talented Mr. Wyatt wrote when I sent him the link. Check it --

"I imagine The River Reporter being cranked out on a manual printing press located on a raft, the editor in chief in a rocking chair holding still ink-wet broadsheets at arms' length.

"Get me rewrite!" he shouts, his pipe rattling in clenched teeth.

A small, meek scribbler in a visor and arm garters paddles up to the raft in a small canoe.

"Yes, sir?" He asks...


River Reporter office, March 2006

Note: I worked for many more charities then are mentioned in that article (where my cancer at!), but I honestly raised bubkes for Operation Uplink this year through the New York Underground Comedy Festival and am embarrassed by my poor showing in light of the "isn't she great" award. I am sending them a check to assuage my guilt and if you'd send them money, that'd be awesome. Here's the official Operation Uplink site.

Oh and while the reporter did a fabulous job, the piece calls me a "second-home owner" which would lead people up there to the conclusion that I am rich (they think all NYC weekenders are), and that I indeed own two homes. No. I rent for the city and I own (have a big mortgage on a small cabin) a weekend place. SO not rich.

Dear people who passed me on the street today,

That stuff you saw me try to scrape off the bottom of my knee-high black boots this morning was not dog, horse or homeless person related.

It was, in fact, great gobs of white, yellow and blue buttercream icing. And now, it's decorating the best curbs in Manhattan and Weehawken.

(That's what happens after you host a rocking book release party/show produced by Liam.)

Just thought you'd like to know.

Your pal,

Susie

OH whadda night!


Tonight's guests don't just have issues, they have a whole subscription

I could give a rat's ass who wins, the fashions these days are too tasteful for my taste and only about 5 Americans went to the movies this year. But this year I predict 89% more crazy self-important celebrity talk AND I CAN'T WAIT.

Consider the facts: Mr. Good Liberal Jon Stewart (who drives an SUV and heads a show that employs non-union writers and performers who are white and almost entirely male),* is joining the Oscars at a time Mr. Cates says he doesn't mind people spouting off and Mel Gibson has promised he'll talk in ancient Maya. This is the perfect storm. This could turn every B-list actor into a Tim Robbins/Hour of Power preacher hopped up on crack.

Grab the popcorn and a defibrillator... this is going to be great.

*Did I say this is a bad thing?

Behold!

Cupcakes for dogs!

Peanut butter pup-cakes

From Buttercup's Paw-tisserie

What? You think cupcakes for dogs are lame? You think this content is not appropriate for this blog? I dare you to say that to my face...

at:
THE BOOK RELEASE PARTY I'M HOSTING ON MONDAY!

Monday, March 6th
THE TRUE PORN 2 MANUAL RELEASE PARTY
Tell Your Friends! at The Lolita Bar
266 Broome St., off of Allen St.
Take the F train to Delancey St.
8:00pm
Only $5 !!

This week, an eclectic group of performers helps us celebrate the release of the critically acclaimed comics anthology, True Porn 2. A sequel to the anthology that sold out its first two printings, it's a collection of autobiographical sex stories from some of the underground comix scene's best artists. Tonight we celebrate the happy ending of its manual release by cranking out an evening of debauchery, depravation, and quiet nerd lust.

WITH YOUR MC - Ms. Susie Felber

AND: Belly-dancer Leela Corman! Burlesque dancer Nasty Canasta! Comedian/TP2 contributor Liam McEneaney! Author/porn enthusiast Bob Powers! Comedian/cartoonist/TP2 contributor Karen Sneider! And rock n' roll music from the cartoonist band Flaming Fire! And house band - A Brief View of the Hudson.

The Next Enormous Thing

Eating my egg salad with tomatoes and sprouts and Dijon on a multigrain baguette today, I had a revelation: Egg salad is so out, it's about to be in.

Egg salad? More like Egg Sexy!

Mark my words. I can feel trends coming like old people can feel storms in their bad leg. Like me, you may have missed out on profiting from the dot com boom but don't be kicking yourself later that you missed out on this mega trend. Ride the Egg Salad wave.


Time to go back to the Back to the Egg days.

Things I want very badly

...that can not be put on my Amazon Wishlist

Time Warner available in Weehawken.
The worst part of moving to Weehawken (aside from the looks of pity I get from friends who live in the West Village, Crown Heights and Astoria) is Cablevision. Cablevision means no NY1, which means mornings with no temperature and weather together and no Roger Clark. No Roger Clark means that I must slow down and gawk at traffic accidents to get the same fix. Cablevision also means a channel guide that seems as advanced as an Atari 2600, and the choice of colors make your eyes bleed. Plus for some reason, unlike Time Warner, Cablevision service is not smart enough to remember the last channel you were tuned into and instead always defaults to Channel 2 when you turn it on. The worst part? I have been watching 7000% more CBS programming because of this.

Someone to tell me
...if CBS ratings are indeed better in markets where the cable box defaults to channel 2 and lazy people like me tune in because of this.

To not be a victim of

..the inevitable Zombie Holocaust

Buckets of money
From winning the lottery.

A brain that
...is smart enough to never buy a lottery ticket.

A vaccine to ensure that my love of nature

...never convinces me to purchase a tacky ass T-shirt.

Universal Health care for all Americans.
The "all" might be redundant, no?

Americans that cared about universal health care.
I don't get you people at all.

To have everyone come join me as I host this upcoming book release party next Monday.
Monday, March 6th
THE TRUE PORN 2 MANUAL RELEASE PARTY
Tell Your Friends! at The Lolita Bar
266 Broome St., off of Allen St.
Take the F train to Delancey St.
8:00pm
Only $5 !!

This week, an eclectic group of performers helps us celebrate the release of the critically acclaimed comics anthology, True Porn 2. A sequel to the anthology that sold out its first two printings, it's a collection of autobiographical sex stories from some of the underground comix scene's best artists. Tonight we celebrate the happy ending of its manual release by cranking out an evening of debauchery, depravation, and quiet nerd lust.

WITH YOUR MC - Ms. Susie Felber

AND: Belly-dancer Leela Corman! Burlesque dancer Nasty Canasta! Comedian/TP2 contributor Liam McEneaney! Author/porn enthusiast Bob Powers! Comedian/cartoonist/TP2 contributor Karen Sneider! And rock n' roll music from the cartoonist band Flaming Fire! And house band - A Brief View of the Hudson.

Susie says: Yet another old friend of mine not listed above contributed to TP2. If you haven't seen it, check out (and buy) Sharon Lintz's original comic Pornhounds.

Pornhounds was written by the amazingly talented Sharon Lintz (soon off to grad school for creative writing) and illustrated by Mark McMurray, Ed Piskor, Matthew Shultz, Robin Bougie, Jim Rugg, and Sophie Crumb. Covers by Joe Simko.

Woman vs. Bus
A series of matches between Me (the Woman) and the M42 (the Manhattan crosstown bus).

Oooh ahh, not-so-magic bus!

Usually when you take a bus in Manhattan you start inwardly cursing the bus and you think, "It would probably be faster to walk." But you really don't believe it, because if you did, you'd never have gotten on the bus in the first place. The bus stops a lot, but it has to be faster than walking, right? We shall see...

This morning's match 2.27.06: 9th Avenue to 3rd Avenue. Me Vs. M42
Distance: 1 mile

I was walking in sturdy black tundra waterpoof Merrell's.* Bus was presumably wearing big wheels. Why presumably? Because no crosstown bus was visible behind me when I set out, and none passed me along the way.

Outcome: Woman walking WINS over bus. Big time.

Current stats: I am 7 for 8 in beating the crosstown bus via walking.

NOTE: Manhattan buses that run along routes already serviced by subways are for the infirm and the unemployed only and any delays incurred are your own fault for being stupid enough to get on a bus.

*Do these shoes make me look gay or retired or both? Just a little, right? Awesome!

Today I am resting on my laurels.

Ahhhh...


"And don't that Felber have some fiiiine laurels! MMmm HMM!"
- The chick from the 1900 William Bouguereau painting Branche de Laurier (Laurel Branch).

WELCOME TO THE 2006 FROLYMPIC GAMES

Olympics not your cup of tea? Well let's rewind and check out this week's Felber highlights, so far:

MONDAY: A German woman woke me up at 3AM loudly asking to speak to my father, who passed away about 7 years ago. She spoke almost no English and muttered to someone else in German between shouting things at me like, "OOH AH EWW?" "SPEAK CHERMAN?" "ANYONE SPEAK CHERMANN DERE? I LETTER NOR-BEARDT FELD-AIR!" I said, "Who are you?" many times and her reply was always, "CHERMANY!" After this call I had nightmares, that is, after a few hours past and I could finally get back to sleep. No idea what it was about. I told her to send the letter. If she understood, then I’m sure there’s excitement to come. What kind of idiot calls America at 3AM expecting someone will be happy and ready for a chit chat in German?

THE GOLD GOES TO THE GERMANS IN FREESTYLE SCARY PRE-DAWN PHONE CALLING

TUESDAY: I accidentally was served, and enthusiastically ate, a baked potato with year-old sour cream. Actually it had expired Feb 19, 2005. So the dairy had celebrated its first birthday long before it got to my plate. After Googling "sour cream food poisoning" and finding evidence of multiple soft-cheese fatalities, I freaked out and called poison control. Once on the phone with poison control I found it hard not to laugh. For some reason it was suddenly totally hilarious but I didn’t want the very serious woman on the other end of the line to think it was a hoax and hang up on me leaving me to die of some rare borsht-topping disease. She told me about staying hydrated after the poisoning set in. Told me to go to the emergency room if I was throwing up and having diarrhea for longer than 24 hours. I steadied myself for a fun-filled night but amazingly, my iron constitution remained unscathed. There's more to the story, but if I reveal the dinner hostess who almost poisoned us both on this blog, she'll kill me for real.

FELBER TAKES THE SILVER IN THE KEEPING FAMILY FOOD SCANDALS SECRETATHON

WEDNESDAY: I had a rare night in, alone and wonderfully all to myself. I did the only thing sexier than lighting candles, taking a bath and changing into a peek-a-boo teddy... I watched a Vaudeville/Radio/TV doc on PBS, popped frozen soy wheat pizza munchies and drank Bokbunjajoo (very alcoholic Korean raspberry wine) on the rocks. SEHX-HHHHHHAY!

FELBER WINS THE BRONZE IN THE 500-METER DORK

THURSDAY: All I’ll say is that when you audition for something at a big agency, don’t accidentally swoop up their sides, stick them in your folder and walk out the door with them. Because when you find that you did it, you’ll feel like a total redheaded asshat.

ONCE AGAIN, FELBER RELUCTANTLY SNAGS THE GOLD IN THE CAREER-SABOTAGING FINALS!

Now, if you made it this far, here's a very special bonus link for you... Get ready for the motherload of dogs-and-cats-wearing-caps pictures. Are you ready for the cuteness? Can you handle the cuteness? Dear Thor I hope so.

Here's three pics to test your constitution:

OMG SO CUTE!

Have you been overcome by the adorability? If you don't feel woozy from going "awww" try this:

PRECIOUS!

And this:

Warning: This picture has been known to cause cute-induced seizures

OK, that was only the tip of the dog in caps-burg. See if you can handle the Classy Caps Gallery

PS For some reason the Classy Caps Gallery reminded me of my friend Eric Drysdale.

Greg Gutfeld's secret blog on Huffpo

...is really very funny.

Here's an excerpt:
MONDAY FEB SOMETHING OR OTHER
It's weird - i think that these people on the HUFFPO have now lived in their own agreeable snowglobe for so long, that making fun of a woman's dress = hilarity. At the Huffpo, they've got some form of Tourrette's syndrome, where they are unable to control their spontaneous outbursts of stupid Cheney Bush bumpersticker jokes. it's like a whole group of idiots crashing open mike night at a crap comedy club. Anyway, i am wearing a very silly hat right now. it gets me in the mood to post!

To read GREG'S DOUBLE SECRET HIDDEN BLOG!!! just go here, and then click on his bio.

Welcome to the Internet, desperate corporate stab at a demo!

Sometimes I wish I hailed from a country that drowned female babies at birth, because at least then, as a woman, I'd have no illusions about where my place was in the world, that is, if I ever made it into the world.

Office Pirates is a new Time, Inc. site. It's a comedy site hoping to lure bored office workers, but the content (and the recent Post article) makes it clear it's trying to lure boys, right down to the skull-wearing-a-tie logo. And no, I don't think that's a graphic representation of a dead Annie Hall.


Susie, ready to fire off a rant about sexism in comedy

Why? Do women not want funny, edgy sites to share with their mateys? Do we not toil in offices all day long to earn a few doubloons? Do we not then bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and serve it in a hot rum reduction sauce?

Listen Office Pirates, I'm pissed at you for making your new comedy site have everything but a badly-painted "No Girls Allowed" sign on your new web playhouse.

Sexist bears suck

And I'd tell you to get bent, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you're probably giving jobs to some funny boys I know and like and giving jobs to funny people is good. And I work in the biz and know you only got your little project off the ground because you had to dangle the carrot to advertisers that you'd reach the only people who matter to them: young men.

Am I angry? You bet your ass I am. It's not because I think the comedy is sexist --'cause I like sexist comedy, if it's funny, that is.

It's your faulty pandering/sexist business model that makes my labia itch. I wish the business world woke up to the fact that casting your net in this old-fashioned way just looks like stupid Boomer marketing crap. You're trying to reach young men but doing it in such a forced manner gives your site that old guy smell. Don't you want as many hits as possible? Because without the lad angle it could be a huge hit.

In conclusion, I'm down with OPP. But I'm not down with OP.

But the best part? They don't care. Obviously, I just don't get it.
How could I? I'm a chick.

Note: After four years of blogging, this is my first-ever rant. I won't make a habit of it, promise.

Felber's late-breaking thoughts on Brokeback Mountain

Finally saw Brokeback Mountain last night. There's very little dialogue, and when they do speak, all their jaws are locked in a Western death grip and you can't understand a word of it. I missed many key plot points, like why they were sent to the mountain and what they were supposed to be doing there.

Here are my thoughts while watching:

"When are they going to go gay? Now? Now? Now? How about now? OK NOW is a perfect time to go gay. No? Would y’all go gay already? Oi, the suspense is killing me!"

"Gee the theme music is catchy. Bow, bow, ba Bow Bow."

"Cowboys, but no cows? They don't write any good parts for women in Hollywood, especially larger ones."

"Bow, bow, ba Bow Bow."

"Women who make the first move are doomed to end up with a gay man."

"Bow, bow, ba Bow Bow."

"Gay men don’t age, they just get slightly dryer skin, bad haircuts and mustaches."

"Bow, bow, ba Bow Bow."

"So. Slow. Need more gay sex… to stay… awake. Where’s the gay sezzzz Zzz Zzz…"

"Zzz Zzz Zzzz. Bow, bow, ba Bow Bow. Oh, look, it’s an actress with REAL BOOBS. Now THAT is shocking. If they aren't real, then her boobs deserve an Oscar, cause they acted real, right down to not pointing north at all times."

"Being gay is OK. But being gay outdoors is awesome."

"So bored. I wish I could quit this movie. Bow, bow, ba Bow Bow. "

"In the old days people kept their sexuality in the closet. No like, literally, in the closet."

MySpace, MyWay

Do you like all the world's teenagers? Half-naked women of which half are porn stars and half are teenagers? A buggy, garish, ad-filled website that often looks like 1995 threw up on it? If you answered yes, then you'll love MySpace! But don't answer yet, as a member, you'll also get countless bands and even a few real people you've never heard of wanting to be your friend!

For example, here's my recent MySpace friend requests. As is often the case, the MySpace "Server is too busy" so I can't actually see these people's profiles, so I must rely on my batsense to figure out who they are.


The World wants to be your friend!
Feb 19, 2006 2:46 PM

Wow, the World wants to be my friend! Oh wait, is that a band? Not sure. It's such a crappy graphic something tells me it might be a comedy show. Better wait and see.


Keaton Simons wants to be your friend!
Feb 17, 2006 12:21 PM

Who? Oh, his profile pic is obviously an album cover. Verdict, musician.


Champagne wants to be your friend!
Feb 17, 2006 6:42 AM

Oh, finally, someone I know. Well, not really a someone, but these are two lovely comedians I know, and I'm guessing they are running a new show. Awright, that's cool! PS Is anyone better in the outstretched arm take-your-own-glamour-shot genre than comedians? No, no one is.


Greg Connors wants to be your friend!
Feb 16, 2006 5:11 PM

From your picture you look like an ultra moody Hugh Laurie what with your face against chain link. I'm going to take a wild guess: you're an emo/folk rock musician? How did you find me? Is there a computer monitor on the other side of that fence?



i'm not claudia wants to be your friend!
Feb 15, 2006 12:51 PM

Claudia! Yes, an actual person, who is not a band, who is a comedian, and who is a actual friend of mine! Score!



Crazy wants to be your friend!
Feb 17, 2006

Crazy... can't remember having the pleasure of meeting a Crazy. Ah, it's crappy pic of a dude with a guitar. Lemme take a wild guess -- musican? OK, I've got to try again and check this profile. OK, it's working... Yes, he's a 44-year-old dude named crazy John, who counts Pamela Anderson and Howard Stern as his closest friends. Wow, he has over 560 "friends" most of whom are mostly nakedy women. He is a dad, he works for the state government and he's a member of Playboy model Mandy Lynn's fanclub. OH and he's a published author! Well, a self-published author. Go to Amazon and you too can download one of the "books" he co-authored, "Releasing Stress, Through The Positive Teachings Of Christ And Christianity." Note to self: Forget the content of the book, his use of the comma after the word "Stress" is the the kind of thing that keeps me up at night.

In conclusion, MySpace creeps me out. I normally like shameless promo, but unlike my other comedy superfriends, I am not driven enough to be connected in any way with the likes of Middleaged guys who have never heard of me who write Christian screeds, play guitar in acid-washed jean jackets and collect fake-boobed women like virtual trading cards.

Most everyone who is my friend on MySpace, is my friend in real life. If they aren't it's either because someone who had less then 100 friends asked to be my friend, I met them and we hit it off or I am waiting a few weeks before deleting them in a stealthy manner. Most performers say yes to everyone. I've decided to have standards. Call me hard to get. Call me bad at self-promotion. Call me old. Mainly, call me paranoid, as I'm convinced that if I say yes to everyone, odds are that one of these people will murder someone. Then I will be "friends" with a murderer. And then I will be scared they will come and hack me up when they get out of prison, as they systematically work their way through their "friends" list. "The MySpace Murders" has too catchy a ring to it to not become reality. Of course for a long time no one will know that the the murders are connected. A bunch of strippers get knocked off, some manga fans, some middleaged pervs, teens from rat's ass nowhere... BUT NOT SMART OLD SUSIE FELBER! They called her paranoid, and now they are fertillizing crocuses. Ha! Ha I say to the imaginary people who challenge my hatred of MySpace!

So if you know me, or you've ever seen me perform or if you aren't just a creepy desperate musician who wants to use me as a promo receptacle, go ahead and join the elite online halls of nerdom: try and become my MySpace friend. You'll be glad you did. http://www.myspace.com/susiefelber.

UPDATE: 6/2006
I left MySpace.
MyReasons here.

What you should do tonight.

Here's me hawking a comedy show that has no trace of me. Yeah, I'm a saint. But seriously, this show's a winner. What I can't figure out though is why it aint being promo'd by the comic himself.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19th
"Liam Does A Half-Hour"
at Mo Pitkins
34 Ave. A, off of E. 3rd St.
Take the F train to 2nd Ave.
7:00pm - $5.00

Liam McEneaney headlines this show, doing a half-hour. His friends The Domestics will be the house band, and his opening acts include Baron Vaughn (who will be heading to the Aspen Comedy Festival) and warm-up by national (and internaltional when you count his recent gigs in Afghanistan) headliner Rob Paravonian from Comedy Central's "Premium Blend."
Liam's blog

Renee Ritter

These are some of her paintings.


Beautiful, no?


Yes!


I've known Renee a long time. Since I was in utero, in fact. And it's thanks to Renee's kindness that I'm in Utah now, staying in her fab octagonal ski house that's two stone's throws from the Park City lifts. Renee is an artist, a college professor on Long Island, and a friend of the family since mom was preggers with Adam, and Renee was preggers with Jen. Incidentially, Jen is getting married in less than two weeks. Jen's one of those do-gooder lawyers that us Jews are so good at producing. You know, one of those crazy "everyone is entitled to a fair trial" nut jobs. But seriously folks, Jen made me think; maybe a sister would've been cool. The Ritter family has always been a part of my family. And as I have have no memories of grandparents (thanks to the mega evils of illness, a drunk driver and Hitler), and having had no aunts, uncles or cousins nearby, family-that's-not-family has always been more important to me than my family knows.

Twilight Garden

I'm a very lucky woman. I can't thank Renee enough. And the moral of the story is...

Sundance

Make sure you make friends with good people now, so that your future spawn may benefit.

All images by Renee Ritter and stolen from www.reneeritter.com.

Win a big bunch of crazy!

Enter the Left Behind Sweepstakes.

Hurry, because you only have until March 1st (or the End of Times, whichever comes first) to enter!

Woman vs. Bus
First in a possible series of matches between Me (the Woman) and the M42 (the Manhattan crosstown bus).

Usually when you take a bus in Manhattan you start inwardly cursing the bus for its slowitude and you get bloody minded and think, "It would probably be faster to walk." But you really don't believe it, because if you did, you'd never have gotten on the bus in the first place. The bus stops a lot, but it has to be faster than walking, right? We shall see...

This morning's match: 8th Avenue to 3rd Avenue. Me Vs. M42 #9664, which had pulled up to the stop at Port Authority as I set off.

Woman walking WINS over bus by a 1/4 of a block.

NOTE: Manhattan buses that run along routes already serviced by subways are for the infirm and the unemployed only and any delays incurred are your own fault for being stupid enough to get on a bus.

UPDATE: Here are the latest Woman vs. Bus stats... As of 2/10, I am 5 for 6, in beating the crosstown bus. My walking to beat the bus matches took place in the day and in the evening. And did I mention the woman (me) taking on the bus was walking in heels? Nope, but I was.

I am currently in Park City, Utah skiing and panning for leftover Sundance fest swag bags. The excitement of Woman vs. Bus will resume 2/21.

Aahh vs. Cute

This morning, my b3ta digest directed me to a site called thingsthatmakeyougoaahh.com, which to my experienced-in-trivial-web-matters eye seemed like an an obvious cuteoverload.com rip off.

Only, it seems thingsthatmakeyougoaahh has been around since January 2004, while cuteoverload set up shop in September 2005.

Cuteoverload is currently nominated for 4 Bloggies (big whoop, I know) and is ranked a top 100 blog by technorati. But as thingsthatmakeyougoaahh links to cuteoverload as a "cute site they like", I doubt I can incite a blogger war. Pity, that. I was hoping to see them meet at dawn, Hello Kitty lunch boxes drawn.

I dined last night at The National Arts Club on Gramercy Park South. It's very beautiful and exceedingly quiet. Think The Friars Club on Quaaludes or The Society of Illustrators but with rich people instead of real artists or Soho House with history, good taste and far fewer Brits.

Oh how I love being invited to private clubs! I can judge, marvel and not pay dues! I've interloped on all of the above -- The Friars and Society of Ill being my faves -- so what am I missing? Let me know. I'm on a mission to get sauced at, er, I mean visit, all private clubs in New York.

OMG! OMG!

I just received an invitation -- in the mail -- to a Gold Medal Award Dinner honoring Jeff Zucker, CEO of NBC Universal Television Group from the International Radio and Televison Society! I am a paying member if IRTS, as it's called, and have been for many months. I adore NBC! How lovely it will be to meet, network and dine with my distinguished colleagues and peers at the Waldorf Astoria!

Oh whatever shall I wear?!?! I must comb the racks of Salvation Armani and Bergdof Goodwill!

OK, don't panic Felber, for you have almost a month to pick out the perfect frock for this grand fete! Oh but I'd best let them know I'm coming, lest they'll think I'm rude for not responding to their gracious invite!

Let's see. I'll just use the enclosed RSVP card and envelope... ah, it's on the web as well, how convenient...

Thursday, March 9, 2006 ~ The Waldorf Astoria, Grand Ballroom ~ Black Tie Preferred
6:30 PM Reception ~ 7:30 PM Program and Dinner

Please reserve the following:

______ GOLD SPONSOR at $100,000 which includes premier seating for 30, 4-color congratulatory page on inside front cover of the Dinner Journal*, plus signage and acknowledgement at the Dinner

______ SILVER SPONSOR at $50,000 which includes premier seating for 10, 4-color congratulatory two-page spread in the Dinner Journal*, plus signage and acknowledgement at the Dinner

______ PREMIER TABLE at $25,000 which includes premier seating for 10 and a 4-color congratulatory page in the Dinner Journal*

______ PATRON TABLE at $17,500 which includes prime seating for 10 and a black and white congratulatory page in the Dinner Journal*

______ SPONSOR TABLE at $12,500 which includes seating for 10

______ INDIVIDUAL TICKETS at $1,250 each

______ 4-COLOR JOURNAL PAGE at $7,500*

______ BLACK & WHITE JOURNAL PAGE at $6,500*

______ BLACK & WHITE JOURNAL HALF PAGE (horizontal) at $3,500*

______ I/We cannot attend but wish to contribute $____________


What? Tickets? The cheapest one being $1,250? The cost of the dental work I've been saving up for since 1995? Where is the option that I, a paying member of this esteemed society can afford? Where is this option...

_____ I can attend and wish to but I can't afford to. I mean, I can certainly bring a bottle of wine, something French, no Thunderbird or "Yellowtail Chardonnay" or something crass like that. Can I come? Please? You see, the thing is...I spent all my disposable income on a IRTS membership, a WICT membership and many other media organization memberships and I am tapped out. I am so hungry. I...I...feel dizzy. Everything is going black. I --
:::CLUNK!:::

Always happy to help...

I am flattered when my mom the historical romance author asks for my help naming her latest book. Thing is when she's really stuck for a title she canvasses a select group of family, friends, other writers who are friends, her dry cleaner, postman and all Wal-Mart greeters within a 50 mile radius.

In any case, she needed a title for one she just finished and according to my Gmail, she started asking us all for title suggestions on this one in November.

In her words, this is what the book is about: The hero is a prig, his father was a highwayman, and his greatgrandfather a pirate. The hero looks like them, and the heroine is halfway in love with him because of that...

On December 1st, the best title they had was "Shady Lady" (yikes!) and I suggested these:

A Pirate's Heart

To Love a Proper Pirate

Gentleman Pirate

Pirate's Promise

Pirate Heart

Pirate Past

A Pirate's Past

Son of a Pirate Man

Dude, Where's My Parrot?

You're a Prig, But I Love You Anyway

Flash ahead to yesterday. Still no title. Her editor had some good ones, but they were still searching. When asked, I provided these... if there are repeats, it's because I have a day job and two damn months had past. Cut me some slack:

Pirate's Heart

Pirate's Pride

Pirate's Past

Treasured Love

Doubloons in my Pants

Parrot in my Past

The best part? I just found out Mom sent all my suggestions along to her editor. Yeah, including the 'tarded ones. Because she knows her editor is cool like that.

Anyway, they decided on a final title yesterday. The book will be called:

For the Love of a Pirate

I really like that one. I think it was her editors suggestion. My only regret? I didn't think of the perfect title until it was too late:

Brokeback Parrot

Sexy, no? Yes! Admit it, saying Brokeback Parrot is fun.

The New York Times' Triennial Article on New York Comedy Scene

...came out on Sunday. The annoyance I have for the New York Times policy of ignoring live comedy completely and then "discovering" it once every three years or so is tempered this time by the fact that this article profiles great shows (most of which I've done) and some of my very good friends (none of whom I've "done", in case you were wondering) who have lived in the side bar of this blog under "Friend of a Felber" since the earth was still cooling and dinos ruled the land.

The article is called: Seinfeld It Ain't
By WARREN ST. JOHN
Published: January 29, 2006

Check it out here.

So, after much research, I've decided that to get covered in the NYT the smart thing to do is DANCE. F comedy. Live dance gets covered every freakin' week. So let's see...

I'm taking off my shoes... I'm jumping up and down (to a mournful tune)...

Ah! The reporter is here! Gotta go!

Book Party Review

Last night I attended my pal Allison Castillo's book party at Caroline's to celebrate the release of her hilarious new book called, The Score : The Ultimate Quiz to Test Who He Is. And hilarious it is. In fact, when I write my review of it on Amazon it'll be so glowing you'll be blinded and I'll just seem like one of those fakers who write nice reviews because it's a friend's book and they begged you to do it -- but I assure you mine'll be entirely sincere.

There were passed O-durves such as sushi with three unidentifyable dipping sauces and mini-burgers with fries lovingly presented on a platter with orchids or something like. Most importantly there were free drinks, and we're not talking a gallon of Gallo and a cooler of Coors. No there was real alcohol including my favorite, Anyvodkathatdoesn'tcomeinaplasticbottle. I was tipping the bartender outrageously and I began to realize from his nervous looks that he thought I had the hots for him and was about to act on this. No dude, the passion you sensed was real, but it was for your rock hard... bottles of Stoli.

The best part (besides the free grub and alch, besides seeing many wonderful friends ((some of whom I hadn't seen in eons plus a dog's age)) and meeting Allison's awesome family) was that halfway through our giddy swilling and mingling, Allison went to the mic and proceeded to give a touching speech:

"OK you cheap comedian bastards. Buy the book. Buy the fucking book. Buy the fucking book. Walk over there, visit the nice Border's people and buy the fucking book. So what I'm saying is, buy the fucking book."

Without seeing how adorable the pint-sized Allison is, or knowing her delivery, it loses something. But it was, like everything she does, hilarious.

And of course, I bought the fucking book. You should too.

Just another one of those late night I'm-gonna-be-on-Monk-Friday-night emails

From our dear departed-from-NYC Sully comes news of his impending TV stardom. I think the last time I saw Sully on TV he was playing a manly Richard Simmons surrounded by babes on Conan. But as Paul is currently producing for PBS in the San Fran area, doing comedy at night, trying to work some magic for that movie I did that he directed, and mainly, sending out 5,000 baby photo emails daily, how did he fit this in? Simple; he's a dynamo. If you don't believe me, see below...

From: Paul Francis Sullivan
Date: January 26th 2006, 2:20AM
Subject: I'm on MONK this Friday (1/27)

Alright Susie
If you have TiVo or still program your VCR or can sit in front of the TV as it broadcasts (how quaint!) watch Monk on USA Network at 10 PM (East and Pacific) I will appear as a security guard and I have 5 lines.

The show's trailer is on the site...

http://www.usanetwork.com/series/monk/

If you look quickly, you see my hand and shoulder for a split second on the trailer. (A security guard in a powder blue shirt pointing in the background.)

Check it out, and hopefully enjoy the show beyond my quick appearance.

Something happening there, what it is aint exactly clear.

Dooce, the wonderfully well-written (though sometimes slightly creepy Truman Show-esque) sassy mommy blog (that launched a thousand crappy mommy blogs, and makes the other well-written mommy blogs jealous) is hinting there's some big news TK.

Here's my prediction: I think Heather's news is going to be huge. Probably the blogger-as-minor-celeb jump the shark moment. She'll be the subject of a Lifetime Original Movie, her blog will have offical sponsors (drawn by the tidal force of a big media ad sales team) and something else... the inevitable blogger book deal, yes, but also a column in Oprah magazine? A commercial for Volvo or the Nikkon D line or...?

Of course my Lifetime prediction is really only based on the fact that I've been telling people forever that if I worked at any women's network (I have in my past worked for both Lifetime and Oxygen, but had no give-money-to-people/make-decisions powers), I'd snap that woman up so fast the doll heads on Leta's toys would spin.

I've been saying it for years, actually. I've attempted to get companies I've worked for to advertise on her site. And when they didn't? Partly crazed, I placed my own ad on her site. It was a tax-deductible 76 bucks well spent. Her readership is loyal, they clicked. They clicked because my ad was quirky and sincere. But many many clicked just because they wanted to support this stranger who makes them cry everytime she posts a monthly baby update. Heck, I'm not into babies, but she got me a few times.

So why is this happening to her now and not then? My guess is the catalyst was the recent Glamour magazine article and spread. I didn't read it, but a whole lotta women across the country bought that magazine for the first time in a decade -- and I know that because they blogged about it.

So one person with power, who almost certainly never heard of Dooce (nor cried over her fabulously sappy posts) said, "Wow. I want THAT."

And THAT to them is a hot woman* who has a coveted demo lock, stock, and two smoking Elmos.

I wish her the best. I wish I had the power to have helped her (and cashed in on her) years ago. I can't wait to see if I've come close to being right. The only thing I hope it's not is a reality show. I can see an exec thinking, "Wow, she shares her everyday life and women go NUTS! So let's stick a camera in there and give them even more!" Her writing about her life is crafted, the actuality of her life is, like most lives, sorta dull.

But mainly, I hope she's able to keep her voice and to sell out gracefully. I mean, will she still be an advocate for how unfairly expensive health insurance is for regular Americans once she's got her own at-home CAT scan? I'm being absurd, but you get my drift.

*I think her looks are a big part of her success, and I don't mean that she's not entirely talented. I remember reading my first dooce post and enjoying it, whatever it was. But I clearly remember that afterwards I clicked on her profile and thought, "Whoa she's hot." And Thor forgive me, I'm a heterosexual, feminist, accept-your-bod type woman, but Heather's good looks (read: blonde streaks and cheekbones from her lack of a weight problem) is totally, absolutely the thing that made me come back to read more.

Felber's Frolics -- now with Advertising!

Last night I was invited into the esteemed Blogads network. Today marks the first day that Felber's Frolics is accepting ads.

Regular readers should know that advertiser dollars will not compromise the quality they have come to expect. I promise you that the tens of tens of dollars flowing in each year will not bias my laser-like coverage of the things I cover with my laser-like eye.


Mallowmars, mallowmars, eat 'em up -- YUM!

Some will say, "Susie, just because advertising on this blog will make one's penis longer and girth-ier is not enough. How do we know that your hilarious insightful content will not only remain hip, but that the advertising will also correctly, lovingly, and skillfully touch all the hot, insider showbiz types with large ta tas who regularly read your blog?"


Typical hot insider showbiz-type Frolics reader
Photo cred: Nichelle
Person who thought it was hilarious to add his finger to the photo: Basic cable's bad boy Liam McEneaney

To those some I say, never fear. I am an artist. I can't be bought. I will never actually endorse something an advertiser lists. No way. And paid placements won't interrupt the fl -


For the barking best deals, come on down to Joey's Puppy Mill!

ow of my writing.

The only thing the ads will do, is ensure I can afford to keep bringing you the finest content. So if you're one of the savvy advertisers who wants to reap the benefits of advertising on the hip-hopping-est blog in all the land, just look to the sidebar and click for rates.

But act now -- primo spaces are going fast!


"Don't be stupid, be a smarty, come and join the Nazi party!"

Felber's Billion Dollar Bully Blind Item

Schadenfreude is a German expression (from Schaden: damage, harm; and Freude: joy) meaning pleasure taken from someone else's misfortune or shameful joy.
wikipedia.org

Way back when you couldn't Google everyone and everything, I did a comic piece about my high school bully on a pal's comedy webzine. My brother Michael illustrated it and my talented pal Bob crafted it with neat features. It included an artists rendering of the time the bully threw a red slushie on me in the cafeteria. It was very pretty; it was very silly.

Years passed and the technology to find anyone and anything improved. But I had long since forgotten about this feature floating in cyberspace. Then a few people from high school found it, emailed me and said it was hilarious. See, he wasn't just my bully. This Long Island kid had been like an 80's teen movie villain come to life: a rich kid who was actively cruel to the poor, the freaky, the ugly. I knew he had tormented and upset other people a whole lot more than he ever bothered me. Because in Jr. High and High School I was a nerd, a drama freak, a marching band geek, a newspaper loser, a hippy chick -- but I was, comparatively, very secure in these roles. Good parenting? Naturally thick skin? I don't know, but the dude only made me cry once, which considering the effect he had on others, is impressive.

More time passed. A letter was left on my mother's doorstep from a private investigator in Queens who wanted to talk to me. He had also been calling for me. I, understandably, freaked out. The P.I. didn't say what his contact was about and the name of his firm was "Whitehall."

My mind ran wild. The name made me wonder if it was about my British man -- did he have a secret life? Or maybe it was about my high school friend whose father had been accused by the FBI of trying to sell nuclear materials to the highest bidder?* Or was, Thor forbid, someone I knew involved in a murder mystery?

None of the above; it was about the bully webzine piece. And I learned from talking to the P.I. that in the time since high school, my high school bully had apparently become one of Manhattan's biggest real estate moguls. A quick search revealed an article that showed he had recently raffled off large-ticket items, including an airplane, to attract tenants.

There's more to it, but it's for another time and place. In short, I quickly agreed to have the piece taken down as I didn't want to cause problems for my friend who owned the site, my mother had become scared by the P.I.'s harrassment and because I truly didn't hate the guy all these years later.

And yet, did the fact that he was a hot shot who controlled billions bother me? Nah, I never bought into the stuff about the meek inheriting the earth. But did I secretly hope that his wife left him for a gardener with a hunchback? Or that he'd lose all his money in some mega scandal of baroque proportions? You bet.

More years passed. I forgot all about him, only reminded when I happened to come across fawning articles that hailed him as the next Trump.

But today, in the shower I was thinking about the absurdity of the P.I. who came to my mother's home all those years ago, and for the first time ever it occurred to me that the P.I. had done that not to intimidate me, but because as I was in a sublet, he couldn't find an address with my name attached to it. I decided to Google the P.I. from Queens (couldn't find anything) and then, for the heck of it, the Billion Dollar Bully.

And so, when I discovered via a recent article that the Billion Dollar Bully was: no longer controlling billions, being sued for millions by members of his own family, being investigated by the DA for possible shady dealings, and that he had represented himself in court in one recent lawsuit because he, inhis own words, couldn't afford a lawyer...

What can I say?

Deus ex machina?

Maybe there is something to this meek-inheriting-the-earth jazz?

I don't know, but no, I'm not mentioning his name, or linking to the article. I learned after the incident that although I like my revenge like I like my borscht, and although the guy deserved even more than my silly Internet swipe, I have matured. It's not only bad karma, it's just not right to do the eye for an eye thang. Plus now, the dude's got enough problems and I truly find it in my heart to feel sorry for him.

Have I, via Google, finally found religion?

Nope, but I am a tad closer, that's for sure.


*True dat, and no, I'm not going into it.

LTO Link

Warren Miller fan? Well you better read my man's latest snowcentric article before it goes behind the FT subscription veil.

All stoked up for a season on the slopes
By Ed Holland
Published: January 21 2006

Hot, burning hot exclusive insider info: The above is running in England in a ski section and will also be running here, but in shorter form! WOW!

And you thought the Internet was only for accessing celebrity sex tapes...

Has your mom ever responded to a Gawker post that referenced her doing an erotic reading by posting on her own blog?

Mine has.

I must go out to Long Island tonight, the storied land that my people settled shortly after they sailed over from the old country on the Borshtflower... wish me luck.

Mom reading TONIGHT at Happy Ending Lounge

Ooooh... lookie dat cool lounge!

My mom is reading tonight at an "erotic reading series" produced by my pal RKB. Mom's totally worried her stuff isn't explicit enough to be included. Or that erotic authors might turn their noses up at romance. I've told her it's OK, they know and respect what romance is. Heck, quite a few of mom's romance writer friends have written erotic schtuff. I'm having dinner with her beforehand to calm her nerves, that is if I can leave work early enough to also get home and walk my dog and get down to Chinatown and find a place for her to park and find a place to eat near there and get it all done before 8PM. OK, so having time for dinner is probably a pipedream... but come on by and hear talented authors relay their own, aherm, pipedreams. It's a lovely lounge and I encourage y'all to come. It should be a hoot and a half.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
TONIGHT, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 18th
8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE
302 BROOME STREET (B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey)www.happyendinglounge.com
Admission: Free!

Stay warm this winter with the hottest and juiciest words in the city! January welcomes a stunning mix of performers, including romance novelist Edith Layton (Gypsy Lover), fiction writer Danyel Smith (Bliss), and erotic storytellers Iris N. Schwartz (Stirring Up a Storm) and Rob Stephenson (Best Gay Erotica), along with a naughty tale from host Rachel Kramer Bussel. Also: free candy and erotic book door prizes!In the Flesh is a new monthly reading series held the third Wednesday of every month at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by Village Voice sex columnist and acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to the down and dirty, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is a New York City-based author and editor. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a Contributing Editor and columnist for Penthouse and writes the Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have appeared in over 50 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited her own collections, including Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z 1 and 2. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Mediabistro.com, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, Time Out New York and Velvetpark.

Edith Layton is the author of over 30 novels, including Alas, My Love, The Return of the Earl, To Tempt a Bride, The Devil’s Bargain, and her latest, Gypsy Lover. She has received she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times, and excellent reviews, awards and commendations from Library Journal, Romance Readers Anonymous and The Romance Writers of America.

Iris N. Schwartz is a fiction writer, poet, and editor whose story, "Hedonics," is included in the anthology Stirring Up A Storm: Tales of the Sensual, the Sexual, and the Erotic. Her novella, The Fruits of Her Labors, is in That’s Amore! Her erotic fiction has also been anthologized in The Big Book of Hot Women’s Erotica 2004, Down and Dirty 2003, and elsewhere. She’s had poetry anthologized in An Eye For an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind: Poets on 9/11, and in the U.K.-based Listening to the Birth of Crystals. In addition, her writing has appeared in on-line and print publications such as Ducts Magazine, Erbacce, Ludlow Press, Pikeville Review, and Vernacular. Iris is Articles Editor for the Web site Littleviews.com. She has performed her work at many venues, including Bowery Poetry Club, Collective Unconscious, KGB Bar, and The Knitting Factory, as well as on WBAI, WBAR, WNYE, and WSTR radio stations, on-line, interactive TV, and cable TV.

Danyel Smith is a former ed-at-large for Time Inc. and a former ed-in-chief of Vibe. She writes around for Elle, Cosmo, Essence, wrote once (!) for the New Yorker, will show up in Rolling Stone sometimes, still reps in spirit for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and wrote concert/album reviews for the New York Times back in the day. Smith is the author of the San Francisco Chronicle-bestselling novel, More Like Wrestling, and she wrote the introduction for the New York Times-bestseller Tupac Shakur. Her second novel, Bliss, was published in July 2005.Rob Stephenson's writing appears over fifty publications Rob Stephenson's writing appears in over 50 publications online and in print including: Skin and Ink, Between the Palms, Blithe House Quarterly, BUTT, Dangerous Families, Problem Child, Best Gay Erotica, Best Bisexual Erotica, Tough Guys, and Perspectives on Evil and Human Wickedness. He is co-founder of the Erotic Authors Association.