Last night Hope asked me to go square dancing in this Village church basement to get over Count Lampreydusa. Of course I warned her the whole thing had the whiff of a no good closet-case on a power trip, even though he did sound like fun - such a polymath Hope said, talking about being with him made it sound like she was in an orgy. An orgy by Visconti?

Whoo, were we bad dancers! Kohei showed up straight from his flight in from Tokyo and got his first view of an American institution. The regulars were all just this side of Fellini. H whispered to me "They are all so ugly and they hate us!". Good thing the gorgeous McCormack sisters decided to drop me off after sushi dinner and not come in after all. Wonder if Tim stopped by with my CD of pics and to check out the Queer Quotient of the place. The band was good, for NYC lacks no musical talent. But nothing like the Appalachian hoedown at the Brooklyn Brewery last week, complete with Tommy Bledsoe and Rich Kirby doing the calling, fiddling and banjoing. The moonshine L and T brought me and all those southern hottie-transplants in Billyburg had helped of course.

This was way different but had a great time anyway. When we found finally ourselves being firmly expelled everytime we were taken into the group, much like an ameoba would reshape to regurgitate some distasteful, indigestible morsel, we knew it was time to go. Haven't laughed so hard in donkey's years. H said she almost peed her panties.

West 12 Street came alive as Kohei and I walked her to her stop: the Presbyterian HQ of old New York, their NYU pitched against Anglican Columbia; the expansion of the wealthy and the subsequent 8-street spacing of subway stops; a short and sharp critique of the historicity of "Gangs of New York"; a capsule-history of cast-iron buildings... Must remember to take her up on her offer of one of her famous walking tours of the city.

Kohei and I strolled over to Gramery Park and closed down A Farmer's Place discussing HDTV marketing here and our shoot Monday over hot mulled cider.

Another nice nice.