Brad Walsh

Pflotography

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

Ryan Pfluger is a really excellent photographer. I’ve been a fan of his work since before we even knew each other, so I was really excited when he suggested that Christian and I pose for him. I think he got something special out of us, and these photos have a permanent place in our home.

Bright on San Vicente

Tuesday, January 13th, 2009

We got home late yesterday from a weekend in LA, dropped our bags and passed right out. Christian was doing stuff for E! for the Golden Globes and I was… also there. We saw lots of friends and I took so many great photos in our suite at the London Hotel. There were so many great spots to shoot! Here’s the first of a few photo posts of friends; this is Mara Herbkersman and Sebastian Stenhøj, both actors.

I photographed Mara the last time I brought my lights to LA, and I loved the way those came out, too. She photographs so well. Sebastian, too, looks great in every shot. I guess that’s why their lives are spent being looked at! We only shot for about an hour this time but we got so many great images, I’m including a pretty big gallery here…

Christian swears that Topper is bigger than when we left him (three days ago). I contend that he is just fatter. This is going to be a busy week, and then at the end of it I have a weekend full of packing and discarding. Christian and I are moving in together in February. We already practically live together, but now it’s going to be for real. Life. In my face. Exciting.

Super Mario

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Before I lived in New York, back when he was plugging away at his first gossip blog PageSixSixSix, Perez Hilton posted a few very nice things about my music and made my little Ohio ass feel special. When I got here we became friends, and then he blew up into one of the biggest young celebrities in the world and moved to LA. He was in New York this week to promote his new book, and we did some photos in his suite at the Gansevoort Hotel.

Geneva assisted me, and Christian came along to try and pry some sensitive gossip. I’m still so proud of Perez for becoming such an extraordinary brand, and thankful for all the support he’s given me. It’s really amazing.

Here Comes Trouble

Friday, January 9th, 2009

Trouble Andrew makes great music. In my presence he’s been called the male Santogold, and the black Billy Idol. In reality he’s engaged to the former and melanin deficient. He was great to work with, especially since it was after a full day; we shot at Sarah’s apartment after his show at Mercury Lounge.

I’m starting to get sick, I think. Which is perfect timing because tomorrow Christian and I go to LA for a few days for some fun stuff. It’s Golden Globes weekend, he’s filming something for E!, and we’re going to see some friends. Even if it makes me sicker to be on 10 hours of airplane, I’ll be happy to escape the weather here in New York for just a little bit.

I Saw The Sign

Thursday, January 8th, 2009

A printed ad on the L train today, paid for and posted by the MTA: “Believe it or not. In 1986, the subway and bus fare was $1. That’s $1.86 in 2008 dollars. Today, 30-day Unlimited Ride MetroCard brings the fare down to $1.17. Believe it.” Next to another sign promising better service in 2015, no less. That’s six years from now, by the way.

First, get out of my face. Commanding me to “believe it” is not how you get me to listen to you. That’s how sixth graders end up with no friends. Second, in what alternate universe are you witnessing the average subway rider taking 70 trains in 30 days? Let me break this down:

$81 (the cost of a 30-day unlimited MetroCard) divided by the MTA’s purported ride breakdown value of $1.17 is about 70. Per 30 days. Most people who buy an unlimited card go to work 20 days a month (5 weekdays for each of 4 weeks – and with vacations and holidays, that is an estimate in the MTA’s favor). That’s one fare to work, including any transfers, and one fare back daily, totaling 40. That leaves about eight weekend days per month with which to use these remaining 30 supposed fares. Who spends every single Saturday and Sunday taking the subway 4 times? Even if you go out shopping every single free day of your life, that’s probably only going to add up to 2 fares per day, not 4, and that’s assuming you’re a shopaholic who can’t buy anything near where you live. This $1.17 business is beyond a stretch. Sure it’s possible, but it’s by far the exception. My guess is that the average commuter who buys an unlimited 30-day card gets about 50 uses out of it at best. Which, yes, is still worth the purchase because 50 rides at the standard $2 rate would add up to $100.

But then we get into the fact that the MTA wants to raise the unlimited card price to $105. The loud resistance to which, I assume, is why they put up the sign demanding we “believe” this lie they’re telling that it still costs very close to just $1 per ride. With the proposed fare hike, we’d be paying more than $2 per ride for the monumentally fucked up, unreliable, and overcrowded service (if you, like I, ever take anything other than the 6 train), and that’s if we were taking advantage of the “value” of the 30-day unlimited ride MetroCard. Isn’t gas less than $2 a gallon now? We’re going to pay more to take the subway than it costs to buy gas?

Plus, there’s that whole sore bruise that we subway-takers still have when we remember the shitfest MTA strike at Christmas in 2005. Remember that? That was that week when the MTA ruined our collective holiday because they wanted more money, when most of their salaries already far exceeded those of the riders. They also just recently raised it to $81 from $76 and $70 before that. Now $105? This is all still too fresh in our memories for the MTA to tell us we need to be paying another $24 more a month to stand in someone’s vomit, stuck between stations for half an hour.

I’ll Give You A Tip

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Lately I’m super tired of dealing with people who argue that “this isn’t their job” for far longer than it would take to actually do whatever minimal bullshit it is they are trying to get out of having to do. Is it just me or is every single Customer Service department at every company filled wall-to-wall with freaks and retards? Call a credit card company. Hey, a retard! Cable company. Betcha it’s a freak. Phone, gas, electric, FedEx, warehouse, shop, or department store; everyone is a total idiot. Is it because smart people get better jobs? Or is it because a Customer Service job is so thankless? Do they make too little money to be polite? Or are they all reformed convicts? I want a reality show about these people so that I can get some kind of a clue. I’m genuinely curious. I would love to know why everyone named Crystal treats me like I stabbed her baby. And don’t even get me started on checkout girls at the supermarket who make you take your stuff out of the bin, make you slide it closer to her, make you bag it yourself, and then stand silent when you say “thank you.” Six dollars for a bag of frozen broccoli and I have to bag it? Why don’t you just beat me over the head with it while you’re running this marathon? The girl at my supermarket has a tip jar, and I am not lying. A motherfucking tip jar. Are you sure you don’t have eight arms and Justin Timberlake on speed dial? Because you must be dreaming.

A few weeks ago Christian and I had dinner with two friends who were also on his season of Project Runway, Jack Mackenroth and Victorya Hong. Victorya suggested we have a New Year’s Eve party at our place, so we did and turned out to be a lot of fun. Jack and I made plans to do some photos, and yesterday he came over for that very reason. He’s a menswear designer and has done a lot of modeling in the past, so he knows what he’s doing! He and his friend Chris left and Christian and I watched a guest-directed episode of Xena that was absolutely terrible. And this is coming from someone who likes Xena.

America’s Next Topper Model

Monday, January 5th, 2009

It’s been a long journey. For some of you, it was more tumultuous than for others. We’ve seen you all become wiser, and we’ve seen you all grow. But when it comes to the pose, the photo, and the promise, there is only one clear winner tonight. Only one of you had the perfect snout to win the CoverDog challenge, and when the others tried to sabotage him on the wee-wee pad obstacle course, he just came out stronger (and needed a bath). This puppy can go from playful to seductive to pensive in just the click of a shutter. Some said he was too fat to be a model, but I say he’s just big in the belly because he’s won so many jerky treats for being such a good puppy. Anyone who disagrees can kiss my fat ass. The name I am about to call is America’s Next Top [Dog] Model. That name… is… Topper!

It wasn’t a tough decision; he’s pretty much perfect. Most of the rest of you will end up begging for kibble in the dog park but Topper will spend the next year shooting ads and resting on a designer pillow filled with goose feathers, sipping distilled water and tasting the finest wet meals that Purina has to offer. And if he wants to chew on a mouse, we will let him. He is America’s Next Topper Model, and with this title we unleash him onto the world!

The Stevens (Meisel and Klein) are already fighting over who gets to photograph his first editorial, but perhaps we will team them up for an unprecedented and groundbreaking All-Topper issue of L’Uomo Vogue. When that issue premieres, the streets of New York and Paris will resound with “Agyness who?”

2009: A Face Odyssey

Thursday, January 1st, 2009

Last night Christian and I had some of our friends over to ring in the new year, and what we thought would be sort of low key turned into tons of friends and a great time! I made pigs in a blanket and bacon-wrapped pear slices cooked in barbecue sauce… everyone had their respective fatty moment. We had cocktails and punch thanks to Three Olives — who sent us all of their flavors of vodka including everything from the usual fruit flavors to root beer and espresso — and at midnight we broke out the case of champagne!

It was so great to see everyone, and especially wonderful for old lazy-ass me, who, at the end of the night, was already home! I think we may have to do this New Year’s party again next year. Click through to see lots of photos of everyone! (more…)