The Lark Street BID is holding a little name-that-lark contest for its feathered mascot above. Personally, I think it should be “Petula Lark”, and if you agree please go to this page and vote on the right side. It’s a tight race, with only one day to go.
Is this really appropriate for the back of a restaurant’s lunch menu, catering to downtown Albany business workers? You know what, it probably is. Nevermind.
For me, it’s an odd choice. As a gay man, I can appreciate the leopard print boots, but the ample cleavage and tweaked/cold nipples… not so much. And certainly not at lunch. At first I thought it must be an advertisement for a night club or bar, not the Office Branch of Maiden Lane, but such are the times in which we live.
Who knows – maybe it will inspire a run on milk.
A confession: I am still a virgin, at least in regards to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Yes, it was playing in the background of one New Year’s Eve party I attended in high school, but after a few minutes my focus drifted elsewhere, so my cherry remains largely intact.
Until tonight. There’s a showing of the movie at the Palace Theater, and Andy and I will be in attendance. He’s done this before, a rare turnabout of our usual entertainment roles, and warns me that no seat is safe. So I will be in jeans, decked down as is my Halloween habit, and if I like it enough I’ll work up a costume for the next showing.
A good friend of mine, Jim Masters, will be presenting his first solo show at the Romaine Brooks Gallery this Friday, September 3, from 5 to 9 PM. This is also the 4th anniversary of 1st Friday Albany, so it is a doubly special occasion. Toss in the fact that musician Vinny d’Andrea (pictured below) will be performing at the gallery from 7 to 9 PM and you have an artistic triumvirate that is sure to result in an impressive evening of art, music, and some wonderful people.
Here is the story I had the pleasure of writing about Jim for Community:
During the few short years he’s been on the Albany gay scene, Jim Masters has quickly become an institution unto himself. Grandfatherly in deportment, kind and gentle in communication, and always ready with a smile or laugh, Jim is someone you simply enjoy being around (a lost art for so many today). He has devoted many hours to the Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Center, and in September he will premiere his first solo exhibition, “Rejoicing in Beauty Everywhere” at the Romaine Brooks Gallery.
I first met him when I started helping out at the Gallery, when he made it up and down the three flights of stairs carrying trays of cookies, bags of garbage, and any number of other items that had to be transported. More than the extra hand, it was his conversation and kindly whispers about the people I had yet to meet that won my heart. He never said a cruel word about anyone, though it was clear if something didn’t quite agree with him. He had a wealth of knowledge about the world, from years of traveling and teaching, and was ever-ready with an interesting tale or recounting of his journeys.
He is a born story-teller, as evidenced by the explanations that accompany his work. This time around, however, he’s doing much of the tale-telling through his artwork.
“My understanding is that human beings were doing art long before they were writing, and I believe they were probably singing before they were speaking, too,” Masters says. “Their art expressed their feelings about the world and the mysteries of the world. That’s what my photographic work is all about, too.”
From his early life in Kansas City, Missouri, to the majority of his adult life in Billings, Montana, he has amassed considerable wisdom and knowledge over almost 82 years of living, yet maintains a childlike wonder at the world. As he puts it, “I received no pressure from my parents to decide what I wanted to be or do when I grew up. I guess that’s why even today when I’m almost 82 years old, I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.”
Within those eight decades, Masters sought out art, and ended up living in a house full of artists. To this day he is surrounded by the artwork of his family.
“I was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1928. Kansas City was my home except for a stint in the USAF from 1950 to 1954, when I was in San Antonio, Texas, Syracuse, New York, and Anchorage, Alaska. In 1970 my wife, children, and I moved to Billings, Montana. That was the end of my life in Kansas City. My Dad was very good at cartooning, but in those days of the Great Depression he was so busy making a living that he never had the time or inclination to teach me to draw. When I was five years old the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art (now called the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) was opened not far from where I lived in Kansas City, Missouri. From the beginning it has always been a superb, world-class place to see art, and I visited it many, many times before 1970, when I moved to Montana. On Saturday mornings the Nelson Art Gallery had classes for children in various artistic and crafts activities. I still have a little Navaho-type rug that I wove in one of those classes. During the 55 years of my marriage I lived with artists—my wife and my three children. The walls in my house are decorated with their art work.”
It was his wife who may have taught Masters the most about art, and it was she who planted the seeds that resulted in his current show. “The art classes in school did not do much for me as far as helping me do any art that I felt very happy with,” he admits. “The main way I learned to do photography was working with my wife photographing here and there over the years.”
There is an ease and peace to his life, and a matter-of-fact analysis to his work. A collection spanning so many years is no mean feat, and Masters spent an exorbitant amount of time getting this one just the way he wants it. Fellow artists supported and offered advice along the way, encouraging him and helping him sort through what worked and what didn’t.
“The artist whom I’ve come to know best in recent years is Kevin Bruce. I’ve watched him paint and have seen the intensity of the creative process in his face and hands as he works. And I’ve talked with him about his own work and the work of many other artists. He’s a walking encyclopedia of art.”
That kind of openness and curiosity about others is the main part of Jim’s appeal. He will talk to anyone, and gets people to open up because he is so interested in the world around him. His views on society are refreshingly straight-forward and to-the-point. There is never any edge of cynicism and certainly no room for sarcasm; in the world of Masters that makes no sense. If there’s one thing for which I am most grateful to him, it may be that bit of inspiration. Whenever I’m with him, I get the feeling that he has somehow found the key to true happiness and contentment, and whereas I search for the where and how, he simply goes about his life not even seeming to worry about such matters. That’s the simplicity, and the grandness, of Jim Masters. Unlike some people who can’t move on, he doesn’t look at the past with any sense of regret or bitterness. He celebrates it for what it was, and looks ahead with promise at what is to come.
Jim Masters will be presenting his exhibition, “Rejoicing in Beauty Everywhere”, at the Romaine Brooks Gallery on Friday, September 3 2, 2010 from 5 to 9 PM as part of Albany’s 1st Friday Events. The Romaine Brooks Gallery is located on the third floor of the Capital District Gay & Lesbian Community Center at 332 Hudson Avenue, Albany, NY 12210.
My birthday started off in the best possible way – with breakfast at a diner. Since Andy doesn’t really like the morning meal, I rarely get to indulge in one of my favorite things to do, but since it was my birthday he had to oblige.
In this case it was Quintessence, that venerable Albany landmark that recently (or not-so-recently) re-opened in the hope of recapturing its former glory, and from most accounts it comes pretty close. The last time I was here was in the mid-90’s, with Suzie for a brunch or something if I recall. Not much has changed, which is why I wanted to revisit it.
There are few joys in the world as satisfying as a good diner breakfast. Something about it makes everything taste better. (Especially the toast - how do they get the toast to taste so good? And how come mine never approaches that melt-in-your-mouth magic? No matter how much butter I throw on it, it can’t compare.)
Even the simplest glasses of OJ and coffee become works of art in a proper diner.
And while they don’t serve eggs benedict on weekdays (even if it’s your birthday – though I didn’t tell them), a good ham and cheese omelette works just as well.
The side of potatoes was the only off-key note of the morning, tasting merely like, well, potatoes. Plain potatoes with nary a hint of spice or seasoning. (I’ve suddenly gone all Albany Jane on you.) Luckily, Andy’s French toast, and the few bites I was afforded of it, made up for this.
After breakfast, we headed back home for the lady to do our house appraisal. Yes, somehow it got scheduled on my birthday, but I could have cared less, for I was off shopping. For one day I got to do two of my most favorite things in the world – breakfast and shopping. I found a pair of deeply discounted Cole Haan suede shoes, so someone from up above was wishing me a Happy Birthday too.
After that, it was off to Amsterdam for a family dinner, including appearances from the cutest babies in the universe – my niece and nephew. Here is Emi Lu on my lap.
And here is the funniest baby Noah. (You should see his smile – it’s insane.)
And one more of Emi…
For their first few months, Noah was the easy-going, quieter one. Now their roles have reversed and he’s going everywhere, while Emi can sit still and contemplate. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.
As for me, I’m 35, married, with no children, and there’s not much more to say about it. I can’t complain – I still lead one of the most charmed lives of anyone I know, and I am very grateful for that. Now it’s time to dive into the next year.
One of my favorite things in the world is going out to eat with Andy. Well, anyone really, but especially Andy. (In fact, I think I may have enjoyed the search for a wedding restaurant in Boston more than anything I’ve done in the recent past, and I already have a number of restaurants lined up for our next visit.)
Last night I took him out to 677 Prime for an early anniversary present, something a little fancier than our Friday night plans (when we’ll return to where it all began). They are running a great special ($80 for a three course meal for two) through the end of July (Monday through Thursday only) and one of the entrée selections is lobster mac-and-cheese. I will do anything and go anywhere for this particular dish, so the fact that it’s part of a special is just a big meant-to-be bonus. Culinary destiny has smiled on us. (I won’t even get into the seven hour cherry pepper pork appetizer because I’m liable to drive back downtown and do it all over again.)
You should definitely check it out – it’s a true steal.
