Honey, that wasn't "some guy".
That was Miss Understood!

Go to a doctor.

Too late, my "naughty business" has started to drip glitter and my pubic thatch is a very odd shade of blue!!! I'm a goner for sure

Oh I've had that.
It's nuthin'.

Just go to Petland and get some a that penny-cillin that they sell for the fish tanks.
It works fine on people too.
You just have to take a lot of it.

An' that way you don't have to be always botherin' the clinic ladies.

And, don't forget...

Friday June 1st, 8PM
The Verbal Abuse Relaunch
With Readings By Tom Spanbauer and Chi Chi Valenti
Rapture Café & Books
200 Avenue A (Between 12th & 13th Streets)
Free Admission

And, for everyone-- except Bonnie-- a full bar!

Bonnie's always got that flask of hers,
topped off with Tequiila mixed with a
little grape jelly.

Don't ask.

*

What a wonderful relaunch last night! Tom's reading was so moving and the audience was incredible. Thanks to everyone who turned out and braved the heat, and also merci beaucoup for the tremendous response to our bringing Verbal back. It is really inspiring.

Rapture Cafe was the perfect setting for this night - though it COULD have happened somewhere else, it wouldn't have been nearly as perfect and uplifting. Thanks to Hattie, Mr. Joe, superstar bartender keith and all the staff for your many kindnesses.

Long Live Rapture Cafe! Now, back to the slush pile..

Bravissima, Empress! There was magic in the balmy air last night, indeed. You were truly inspiring to watch: engaging, passionate, and commanding our stage.

Tom had all of us by the lumps in our throats with his reading. It was wonderful. We all but one of every copy of his book we could get our hands on.

I'm just amazed - it was the most gorgeous crowd I've ever witnessed come out to a reading. Long Live Verbal Abuse!

June Highlights At Rapture Café & Books

As we gear up for one of NYC's important celebrations, Gay Pride 2007, Rapture continues to celebrate the diversity--no matter what sexual persuasion it entails-- of Downtown Culture as well as its clientele. In June, we'll be offering events with a strong literary flavor, from our Reading For Filth series, curated by blogger-extraordinaire Dean Johnson every Wednesday this month, which will seek to redefine what is prurient, pornographic and downright lascivious, to independent authors with fresh new takes on both the classic detective genre and how we should be preparing the things we eat.

We are also proud to announce our June Legendary Pink Dot Sale, with 25% off List Price on all our LGBTand Q titles... that's quite a lot of savings!

Rapture's Air Conditioning is up and running, our bar is fully stocked, we've got salads, sandwiches, and iced coffees and teas, lemonade, and lots and lots of sweet surprises, including these...


Wed June 6th
Rapture Café & Dean Johnson Present:
Reading For Filth: Queer Writers Read About Queer Sex
Free Admission

Tonight we'll be kicking off Dean Johnson's weekly curatorial stint at Rapture with these amazing-- and filthy-- writers:

Mike Albo
Joey Arias
Hedda Lettuce
Dean Johnson

-----

Thursday June 7th, 7PM
Death By Chick-lit!
Free Admission

"Lola Somerville has a husband and a new apartment in Brooklyn, but what she really wants is for her novel to make a splash. Unfortunately it hasn't even made a ripple. Then at a book party, Lola finds her author friend Mimi McKee with her throat slashed. When the bodies of It-Girl writers begin to pile up, Lola starts asking dangerous questions: Are the murders connected? Am I next? If not, um, why not? "

Author Lynn Harris has a new book out-- "Death By Chick-Lit", published by Berkley, and perfect for summertime reading. We'll be celebrating tonight with a rousing round of a brand new drink called the Lola-politan, and you will be able to meet 'n greet the author in our own very mysterious atmosphere.

-----

Friday June 8th
Faerie Tea from 4:20 PM-7:11 PM
Huxley Vertical at 9PM

The Faeries are back! And they will be gathering over a cuppa tea or two to share the tea, and then...


"The 20's meet the 80's in a classy cocktail lounge. They chat, laugh, hit it off really well. Then they go back to his place for a few drinks. Of course, we all know what "a few drinks" at his place really means. Anyway, a few months later Huxley Vertical is born. Oh, and he never called her after that..."

Tonight, the incredible 20's-style act, Huxley Vertical Cabaret Noveau, who could very well be Ivor Novello's progeny, host a glamorous shin-dig to celebrate, well... the glamorous life, and we'll be celebrating ourselves with champagne cocktails all around!

-----

Saturday June 9th, 5-7 PM
Sandor Katz presents
Wild Fermentation!
Free Admission


We've long been advocates of natural and organically-grown foods, Fair Trade practices and the Slow-Food Movement here at Rapture and now a gentleman named Sandor Katz has piqued our interest in live-culture foods (which include some of the most ancient edibles known to humankind. Sandor Katz (aka Sandorkraut) is the author of Wild Fermentation (Chelsea Green, 2003) and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved (2006), and is totally committed to the spread of fermentation fervor. Tonight, he will be providing samples of some of these locally produced foods and teaching us all about fermentation in its many connotations.

-----

Sunday June 10th, 8PM
Pistol Pete Sturman
Free Admission

If you worship New Orleans the way that we do at Rapture-- from Filé Gumbo and po'boys to Marie Laveau, Poppy Z. Bright, and The Vampire Lestat-- then you must also love the duo Pistol Pete Sturman and Popgun Paul, whose song, "What If God Was a Homo", set the Religious "Right" on its ever-lovin' ear. Tonight, Pistol Pete, the lyricist of the duo who has been lauded for his brilliant wordplay ("On par with Seuss and Sondheim"-- Philadelphia Gay News) will be at Rapture in order to kick-off our own countdown to Gay Pride 2007.

-----

Tuesday June 12th, 8PM
Bowery Women: Poems
Free Admission

A different kind of poetry book...

What is your signature poem? This question was posed to 76 women poets who have delighted, inspired, and shocked audiences at the Bowery Poetry Club in NYC. And so was born Bowery Women: Poems, an anthology including such national treasures as Anne Waldman, Ana Castillo, Sapphire, and Marie Ponsot, Def Poetry Jam vets like Ishle Yi Park and Suheir Hammad, international slam winners, and emerging talents.

One poet, one poem, one photo. Each poet offers her greatest hit. In some cases, it is the one poem she's best known for, in others, it is the one most published or most often requested, and in still others, it's a personal favorite.

The works range from classic poems to free-flowing "slam" pieces to experimental forms. The poets, too, are diverse: multi-ethnic, teens to octogenarians, academics to drop-outs, urban to rural. The result-- an entertaining, challenging and stimulating survey of American women poets writing today.

The book is the third in the Bowery Books series, published by the non-profit Bowery Arts & Science, Ltd. in conjunction with YBK Publishing. Prior releases were Taylor Mead's A Simple Country Girl, and The Bowery Bartenders' Big Book of Poems.

“...lively, street-worthy collection of poetry…this multi-ethnic, multi-generational tome reads like a greatest hits collection of the words of the people.” Curve Magazine (Editor’s Pick)

“…a Book Garden of Earthly and Celestial Delights.”—J.O. Leclerc, Galatea Resurrects

-----

Wednesday June 13th
Rapture Café & Dean Johnson Present:
Reading For Filth: Queer Writers Read About Queer Sex
Free Admission

Amanda LePore
Cazwell
Jonny McGovern
Mr. Joe
Dean Johnson


-----

Thursday June 14th
The Naked Eye: A Mix Festival Fundraiser
8PM-Midnight
$20

Performances! Open Bar!
Hors D'oeuvres! Giveaways!
Featuring:
Brett Ryan's Porkestra
World Famous Bob
Circus Amok
Jenifer Miller

Not to mention Mix's 2nd annual...
Celebrity Camera Auction!

We've asked 150 celebrities and artists to shoot a disposable camera. Now we're auctioning them off - before they're developed! Bid on eBay to win the camera and unique mystery photos from your favorite star. Cameras by:

Norah Jones, Gregg Araki, Kathy Griffin, Neil Patrick Harris, Patricia Field, Casey Spooner, Scott Thompson, Harmony Korine, Daniela Sea, Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Joan Allen, Justin Bond, Peter Paige, John Cameron Mitchell, Jonathan Caouette , Slava Mogutin, Tracy Quan, Kenny Scharf, Mary Harron, Chan Marshall, Rose Troche, Meredith Monk, Bitch ...and many more.

Auction begins on eBay June 14 and continues through
the end of the month.

More info at:

http://www.mixnyc.org/

-----

Friday June 15th, 4:20-7:11 PM
Faerie T!

-----

Monday June 18th
Hypnodad!

Hypnodad has been doing "erotic hypnosis" events for over 20 years, has been featured at various GMSMA workshops, and he even has a PhD! Erotic hypnosis sounds kinda nasty, huh? Well, it's really not.... it's all in good fun, and strictly within the limits of the law. Remember, hypnotists cannot ever "make" you do what you do not really want to do. Now... you're getting sleepy...."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hatches,

Special Last-minute Booking:

Monday 6/11 at 8 PM is a very special party for the release of the new Scum Bag Fag Mag, entitled Dark Horse and devoted entirely to the "dark meat."

SBFM Site

Friday June 22nd
Faerie T
4:20-7:11 PM

Readings At Rapture
with Glenn Marla, Matthew Benedict, Jonny Tingle
and Bobby Miller
8:30 PM

Tonight, Rapture will present an evening of incredible GLBT writers and performers who make us PROUD to be in this business...

What would it be like for Tyra Banks to put on, not just a fat suit, but a Glenn Marla suit? To answer that question, Glenn Marla will perform an excerpt from the upcoming Hot Festival show at Dixon Place. Glenn was Miss LES 2006, and is NYC's hottest fat go-go dancer! Onstage Glenn explores, celebrates, and plays with gender, fat, and sex.

"...performance art that pushes the envelope without pushing the audience away."-- The Portland Phoenix
"An obese transvestite in tights..."-- The New York Times

Matthew Benedict- An amazing visual artist in his own right, Matthew is about to mount a retrospective of his artwork in Europe. But before he flies off, he will be sharing his visionary and electrically lyrical literary work tonight.

Jonny Tingle- Best known for his sexy vocal growl as a rock vocalist, Jonny will read from some very personal work that is both harrowing and inspiring.

Bobby Miller- Verbal Abuse legend and photographer will be in from Provincetown to perform some of his classic gay anthems just in time for Pride weekend.

Pride in the name of poets.

Rapture Café & Books Celebrates Pride, Porn, Painting, Plumes & Poetry...


The legend continues...
Pride Month's Legendary Pink Dots Sale has customers tickled pink with 25% off all LGBT (and yes, even Q) titles.

A stinkin' dollar never went so far...
Don't miss out on our burgeoning $1 Stinkin' Dollar Used Book Sale! Everything from Rolling Stones coffeetable books to Anne Rice hardcovers to back issues of BUTT Magazine - all items are one stinkin' dollar.

Bottoms up...
From pink dots to pink elephants: Rapture Cafe & Books introduces the happiest hours ever to hit Avenue A: 2-for-1 Happy Hour drinks from 12noon - 6pm! Try the Rapturita, the Arnold Palmer or just chill in the comfort of our air-conditioned boite with a cabernet.


Get on that bus, Mary...
Speaking of Pride, please join us at 200 Avenue A on Sunday morning to ride the DList Radio/Rapture Cafe Pride Bus to the parade on Sunday, June 24 at 9:30 am. Your driver-- the hardest working man in show business, Mr. Murray Hill-- will deliver us directly to the parade and down the parade route for a full day of Gay Gay Gay! Remember, the schoolbus will leave promptly at 10 AM and Mr. Hill will be working full Ralph Kramden Realness, so... "Bang, Zoom!!!"

Suggested Dress: D-List Private Picture Poses, Art Carney wifebeaters with sewer worker accessories, June Taylor Dancer glamour for femme queens, Marsha P. Johnson hats or Sylvia Rivera blouse/hotpants combinations with picket signs, disheveled schoolboy or schoolgirl effects, Peter Berlin realness for butch women.


And so, we proudly present these events to round out the month of June...

Wednesday June 20th, 6-10 PM
Plot 'Zine #2 'Headlines' Closing Party
Free Admission

Tonight's your last chance to view the group exhibition which celebrated the latest issue of Plot. The show includes work by Jack Waters, Peter Cramer, the Inbred Hybrid Collective and Leslie Lowe, as well as Walter Cessna's "Hot Child In the City." You can also pick up a copy of this soon-to-become-a-collector's-item 'zine too!


Wednesday June 20th, 8PM
Rapture Café & Dean Johnson Present:
Reading For Filth: Queer Writers Read About Queer Sex
Free Admission

Nobody loves a good dirty story more than scandalous performer/promoter Dean Johnson, who added "writer" to his list of talents when his sex-saturated blog exploded in popularity. Johnson has presented an entire series of standing-room-only literary salons for Gay Pride Month which feature some of NYC's most luminous personalities telling tales each week. Stop in for a cocktail and hear some good raunchy dirt being spilled by these speakers tonight:

John Cameron Mitchell
Taylor Mead
Frank DeCaro
Dean Johnson


-----

Art On Our Walls:
MEA CULPA (My Own Damn Fault)
Paintings By Ian Christiansen
June 21 - July 20
Opening Party: Thursday June 21st. 7PM (Free Admission)


Each month, the walls at Rapture Café & Books present a different artist's work for our neighbors' and customers' enjoyment. On June 21st we are proud to present the timely and techno-savvy work of the painter Ian Christiansen.

Ian Christiansen's newest work takes a cheeky look at his own personal demons, particularly in several pieces with "Evan 'n Dell", an angel-and-evil duo that emerged out of the artist's penchant for expressing his duality.

In Last Call, the artist's rendition of the Last Supper and his largest work to date, Ian places new "disciples" in the modern day, hedonistic, drama drenched locale of a Chelsea lounge. Nearly all of Ian's characters have slight fixations with modern gadgetry - namely cell phones and iPods, and reflect the artist's own personal disdain for these technoliogical "sins".

Ian Christiansen has designed character watches for Disney, and still freelance illustrates for them. He's designed everything from business logos to tattoos (several of which art walking around the east village at this moment), to childrens' books (of which he has his own in the works), to murals. His influences include Edward Hopper, Brian Froud, John Waterhouse and Drew Struzen.

-----

Thursday June 21st, 9PM
Shelly Mars presents
Real & Raw!

Tonight, Real & Raw pulls out all the stops with resident-provacateur Shelly Mars, author Cintra Wilson, performance art paver Penny Arcade, papi chulo drag king King Macha... and a fab after-party for Joe Jeffries' Drag Show Video Verité presented earlier this evening at Lincoln Center. It's the ultimate NYC Drag Show... on videotape!


-----

Friday June 22nd
Faerie T
4:20-7:11 PM
Readings At Rapture
with Glenn Marla, Matthew Benedict, Jonny Tingle
with special guest Bobby Miller
8:30 PM

Tonight, Rapture will present an evening of incredible GLBT writers and performers who make us PROUD to be in this business...

What would it be like for Tyra Banks to put on, not just a fat suit, but a Glenn Marla suit? To answer that question, Glenn Marla will perform an excerpt from the upcoming Hot Festival show at Dixon Place. Glenn was Miss LES 2006, and is NYC's hottest fat go-go dancer! Onstage Glenn explores, celebrates, and plays with gender, fat, and sex.

"...performance art that pushes the envelope without pushing the audience away."-- The Portland Phoenix
"An obese transvestite in tights..."-- The New York Times

Matthew Benedict- An amazing visual artist in his own right, Matthew is about to mount a retrospective of his artwork in Europe. But before he flies off, he will be sharing his visionary and electrically lyrical literary work tonight.

Jonny Tingle- Best known for his sexy vocal growl as a rock vocalist, Jonny will read from some very personal work that is both harrowing and inspiring.

And last, but certainly not least, one of Gay Poetry's living legends (as well as being a great photographer and a fierce hairdresser,) Bobby Miller (author of Benestrific Blonde, and Fabulous!) who now resides in Provincetown, will be by to read some of his greatest hits!


-----

Saturday June 23rd, 8PM
D-List Radio Live!
Free Admission

Pop Star Ben Jelen joins the cast of this outrageous radio show, taped LIVE tonight. The sexy Scotsman Jelen was just signed to Linda Perry's new label, and he'll be discussing being pop music's heir apparent, his falling out with the satanic Madonna, and what he thinks about his elevation to gay icon. I know we're all sure yellin' for Ben Jelen here at Rapture!
The evening features the outrageous talents of the World Famous *BOB*, advice Diva Robbyne Kaamil, Michael Musto, plus a special segment brought to you by Downtown drag mother Sweetie!


-----

Sunday June 24th
Gay Pride With Rapture
9:30 AM- 5PM

Gay Pride Sunday, with its Parade and accompanying celebrations, is always a festive day for all New Yorkers, and this year Rapture will be joining with D-List to cover the whole Parade route (see opening paragraphs.)
After traveling the length of the entire gruelling-but-gala march, we will be adjourning back to our home-base at 200 Avenue A for...

I Have A Dream, Girl!
2-4-1 Cocktails from 5 PM till All-Fall-Down
Free Admission

Join your hostess Linda James for a celebration of all things proud, with extremely cheap drinks and gay anthems from our iPod playlist... sit on our comfy sofas next to less-than life-sized photos of Amanda Lepore and Cazwell, while, somewhere around dusk, our own Mr. Joe will perform his (infamous) "I Have A Dream" based on the Late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's historic 1963 speech.

-----


Wednesday June 27th, 8PM
Rapture Café & Dean Johnson Present:
Reading For Filth: Queer Writers Read About Queer Sex
Free Admission

Nobody loves a good dirty story more than scandalous performer/promoter Dean Johnson, who added "writer" to his list of talents when his sex-saturated blog exploded in popularity. Johnson has presented an entire series of literary salons for Gay Pride Month which featured some of NYC's most luminous personalities telling tales each week. Stop in for a cocktail and hear some good raunchy dirt being spilled by these speakers for its final June installment:


Michael Musto
Wayne Hoffman
Aaron Hamburger
Dean Johnson


-----

Thursday June 28th, 7PM
Writing Workshop With Jennifer Blowdryer
Free Admission


Jennifer Blowdryer, assisted by our favorite Tell Tale Artist, Derrick-In-A-Dress, will be running a peer writing workshop at Rapture, the first two sessions will be June 28th, from 7pm to 9pm, and July 12th, from 7 to 9pm. You must bring in 5 copies of something you're currently working on, a maximum of 5 pages double spaced, and tell us what kind of feedback you're looking for. Prose, fiction or non fiction, is probably best, or part of a play. The first workshop you attend will be free, after that it'll be $10 - $20 sliding scale... as Ms. Blowdryer realizes that we're all broke sometimes.

Jennifer Blowdryer's books include, most recently, Good Advice for Young Trendy People of All Ages (Manic D Press), White Trash Debutante (Galhattan), The Laziest Secretary in the World (Parana Press/DC Comics). She was a frequent contributor to NY Press, and former columnist for Maximum Rock'n'Roll. She performs spoken word/story telling pretty constantly, and loves to meet new minds all over the country, even in Glendale, California. She's taught Satire at Marymount Manhattan College, as well as a bogus Learning Annex class on "How To Make Money with Your Own Adult Website" – she didn't know jack about the subject but was convinced she could teach almost anything. Recent anthology contributions include Nobody Passes, Bowery Women's Poetry Book, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead, and an upcoming book on fashion edited by Michelle Tea.


-----

Friday June 29th
Faerie T- 4:20 PM- 7:11PM
Lissa Moira's Pagan Poetry Party, 8PM
Free Admission
After our regular Faerie Tea, join Lissa Moira, performance poet and author of Before God Was Invented for an evening of Bacchanalian revelry with Apollonian overtones.

-----

Saturday June 30th, 7PM
Dance At Rapture:
Yves Musard's 'Repercussion'
Free Admission
Attention terpsichoreans! The acclaimed French-born, site-specific choreographer, Yves Musard, who has "defined his dances in relationship to urban and natural environments" returns to Rapture this evening to present a further foray into his work-in-progress, "Repercussion," a dance performance using sounds, movement and projected views. M. Musard will bring the outside in, linking the movement of nature, earth, sea and sky with the familiar concrete, brick and steel cityscape of Alphabet City.

Saturday June 30th, 8:30PM
Greg Walloch Ophira Eisenberg, and Jon Levin
Free Admission

Join Greg Walloch Ophira Eisenberg, and Jon Levin as they weave new monologues and tales. Stripped down and unplugged, the power of the work is simply the story...

Greg Walloch is a widely admired artist with a successful career despite his disability of cerebral palsy. He co-produced and starred in the concert/documentary film F**k The Disabled, and his solo show, White Disabled Talent, continues to tour worldwide.

"In the loveliest and most daring moments of his show, he breaks down the fourth wall and invites a stranger from the audience to dance... It's not often that the typically rough-and-tumble atmosphere of the comedy stage softens enough to allow such moments of delicate human tenderness." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times

"Beautiful... truly sublime." - Lily Tomlin

Ophira Eisenberg was selected by BackStage Magazine as one of "10 Standout Stand Ups Worth Watching" in their Spotlight on Comedy Issue.

Early July 2007 At Rapture...

We’re halfway through 2007. Rapture has been open for six months! The spirit of independence and our gratitude to YOU literally floods your favorite café/bar/bookstore/art gallery/performance space/film center here at 200 Avenue A. Lots to celebrate this summer, so let’s get to it...

CNN has already deemed this the “Summer of Terror!” While we feel we have enough drama right here in East Village without such screeching pronouncements, let’s just all shut off our TV’s, trot on over to Rapture, and chill with a nice glass of Chardonnay and a copy of Mama Lola: Voudou Priestess in Brooklyn. The nutjobs running the government and media coverage can kiss off! To celebrate independence in the most creative way we can come up with, we’ve chosen to use this space as a “depot for democracy” (although, “outpost of anarchy” may be more fittin'). As such, Rapture Café and Books is now your one-stop-shop where not only can you rage against the machine, you can do something about it. New York State Voter Registration cards are now available at the counter. Want to change this atrocity we call an Administration? Register to vote here at Rapture, and we will personally buy you a drink from the bar and mail in you completed Voter Registration card for you.

The Legendary Pink Dot Sale continues…

Frankly, during these lazy summer days, we just don’t feel like removing all those pink dots. Rapture staff consensus is that we’ll just continue to discount all items 25% when customers find the pink dot! It’s a good deal for you, and keeps us from working.

The “One Stinkin’ Dollar Used Book Sale” also continues. A Sue Grafton mystery? A used copy of Dan Mathews “Commited”? Just one dollar? Come in and find the best deal in town on “previously owned” items looking for a new home.

Celebrate Fourth of July with us as we kick off the First Annual Rapture Weenie Blast! It’s not unlike a Beer Blast; we’ll be tossing weenies and buns around all afternoon, and spreading ‘em just the way you like ‘em! So drop in and fill up with hot weenies and cold beer. And don’t forget: the most ridiculous Happy Hour ever to hit Avenue A continues…two-for-one well drinks from 12Noon to 6pm daily!

-----

Art On Our Walls:
MEA CULPA (My Own Damn Fault)
Paintings By Ian Christiansen
June 21 - July 20

Each month, the walls at Rapture Café & Books present a different artist's work for our neighbors' and customers' enjoyment. We are proud to present the timely and techno-savvy work of the painter Ian Christiansen.

Ian Christiansen's newest work takes a cheeky look at his own personal demons, particularly in several pieces with "Evan 'n Dell", an angel-and-evil duo that emerged out of the artist's penchant for expressing his duality.

In Last Call, the artist's rendition of the Last Supper and his largest work to date, Ian places new "disciples" in the modern day, hedonistic, drama drenched locale of a Chelsea lounge. Nearly all of Ian's characters have slight fixations with modern gadgetry - namely cell phones and iPods, and reflect the artist's own personal disdain for these technoliogical "sins".

Ian Christiansen has designed character watches for Disney, and still freelance illustrates for them. He's designed everything from business logos to tattoos (several of which art walking around the east village at this moment), to childrens' books (of which he has his own in the works), to murals. His influences include Edward Hopper, Brian Froud, John Waterhouse and Drew Struzen.

http://www.myspace.com/gossworks

----

Saturday, July 7, 8PM
D-List Radio Live!
Free Admission

BLAH BLAH BLAH…it’s a party on the radio hosted by our very own “Juggernaut of Barnyard Jocularity” Daniel Nardicio and advice diva Robynne Kaamil…

Previous guests have included a varied roster of luminaries from literary lions Michael Musto, Cintra Wilson, pop icons Ben Jelen and Margarita Pracatán to the crazed antics of dirt-covered go-go dancer/visual artist Gio Andrade, the technicolor soundscape artists Shimmerplanet and even a visit from a live goat from the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. Cloven-hooved or not, each Saturday evening's guests are bound to raise an eyebrow... or two!

http://www.eastvillageradio.com
http://www.dlist.com/dlist_radio.do

---


Monday, July 9, 8pm
“FEATURING…” hosted by Linda James
Free Admission

Tonight kicks off our weekly cinematic experiment hosted by our very own Trannie Store Detective and gal-about-town Linda James! You’ve seen her burn up the charts on Logo with Team Pimp; you’ve witnessed her shows each Saturday at Mr. Black. Now, Linda James owns Mondays at Rapture. In addition to a show-stopping, jaw-dropping, eye-popping number, tonight Linda will screen the first in a series of film and video bonanzas with the already-classic 1995 documentary "UNZIPPED", a behind-the-seams look at Isaac Mizrahi as he pulls together the high-stakes, high-drama runway for his 1994 fall collection. NOT to be missed!

http://www.myspace.com/lindajames

---

Tuesday, July 10, 4:20 – 7:11pm
Faerie Tea TUESDAYS

Calling all kweens and qings from heart circles the world over! Yes, faes, we’ve moved weekly Tea to Tuesday. Each week, Rapture hosts a collection of “witchever-the-way-the-wind-blows-‘em” faeries to dish the latest tea, to see and be seen, and hold some fierce court. Lately, we’ve seen faeries dropping in from as far away as Amsterdam (yoooooo-hooooooo Dee-tale!) to catch up and plug in to New York’s current of Radical Faerie ethereality. Oh, and did someone say Happy Hour?

---

Tuesday, July 10, 8:30pm
Bina Sharif: Excerpts from “A Month in the Café”
Free Admission

We are honored to present visual and performance artist Bina Sharif. She’s an important and bombastic voice in New York City’s performance pantheon; tonight, she graces our humble café with excerpts from her ongoing work in progress, “A Month in the Café.”

Bina Sharif has written and directed more than 20 plays, performed at Theater for The New City, Mabou Mines, ABC No Rio, and other venues. As actress, she has performed in her own works and in works by others, including "Epidog" by Lee Breuer. Other directors and producers Sharif has worked with include Fernando Arabal, Maria Irene Fornes, and Robert Patrick. She is the recipient of grants from Franklin Furnace, Theater for The New City, and the NYSCA. Her one-woman play "Afghan Woman" has been performed in the USA and in Pakistan.

In recent years Sharif's dramatic work has crosspollenated a prolific output of paintings in acrylic and other media on paper and canvas. These works, simultaneously global and intimate, are the visual mark of her daily journey through the turmoil and hope of living as a woman in Islam, an artist in America, and an American in the world of post September 11.

---

Wednesday, July 11, 8pm
“Ravaged by Romance”
Chris Tanner presents “Death” poems by Stephen Lott
Featuring Chris Tanner, Richard Spore, Agosto Muchado, Charles Lane, Brandon Olsen and Special Guests
Free Admission

In the fall of 2003, La Mama ETC presented the overwhelmingly popular production “Ravaged by Romance” that featured an all-star lineup of downtown celebrities (Dirty Martini, Flawless Sabrina, Brandon Olsen, Kelly Webb, Tigger, Derrick-in-a-Dress, D’arcy Drollinger) and was directed by New York City’s most provocative femme-fatale performance artiste Julie Atlas Muz. A musical extravaganza based on the poetry of the late Stephen Lott, “Ravaged” was hailed as the “event of the year” due to the combustible combination of Muz’s directorial vision; music by Lance Cruce, Armen Ra and Marc Dale; costumes by Robert Lehman, Becky Hubbert and Steven Menendez; and set design by Garry Hayes.

Tonight’s presentation features a number of those stars from that legendary production as they recite the lyrical Lott’s brilliant words – the scene takes place during a Victorian ladies’ chess tournament, the mice awaken in the garden and ask, “Should we die, or is it time to visit the princesses?”

In honor of tonight's presentation, up-and-coming fashion designer Kerin Rose will be in attendance to give away "tease-shirts" from her new line, A MORIR. Rapture will feature Ms. Rose's pieces this fall as an ongoing exhibition, ART ON OUR BODIES.


http://www.bmoca.org/flash/Tanner.htm
---

Thursday, July 12, 7-9pm
Writing Workshop With Jennifer Blowdryer
Free Admission


Jennifer Blowdryer, assisted by our favorite Tell Tale Artist, Derrick-In-A-Dress, will be continuing a peer writing workshop at Rapture. You must bring in 5 copies of something you're currently working on, a maximum of 5 pages double spaced, and tell us what kind of feedback you're looking for. Prose, fiction or non fiction, is probably best, or part of a play. The first workshop you attend will be free, after that it'll be $10 - $20 sliding scale... as Ms. Blowdryer realizes that we're all broke sometimes.


Jennifer Blowdryer's books include, most recently, Good Advice for Young Trendy People of All Ages (Manic D Press), White Trash Debutante (Galhattan), The Laziest Secretary in the World (Parana Press/DC Comics). She was a frequent contributor to NY Press, and former columnist for Maximum Rock'n'Roll. She performs spoken word/story telling pretty constantly, and loves to meet new minds all over the country, even in Glendale, California. She's taught Satire at Marymount Manhattan College, as well as a bogus Learning Annex class on "How To Make Money with Your Own Adult Website" – she didn't know jack about the subject but was convinced she could teach almost anything. Recent anthology contributions include Nobody Passes, Bowery Women's Poetry Book, How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead, and an upcoming book on fashion edited by Michelle Tea.



Jenniferblowdryer.com

-----

Monday, July 16, 8pm
“FEATURING…” hosted by Linda James
Free Admission

Picture it... Sicily, 1922... Tonight, Linda and the crew celebrate the birthday of Team Pimp "wrang-leader" Jonny McGovern with back-to-back episodes of the small screen-classic, Golden Girls. Expect shows galore-- onstage and off! Come dressed as Rose, Blanche, Dorothy or Sophia and enter the First Annual Rapture GG Look-Alike Contest! Cheesecake will be served.

http://www.myspace.com/lindajames
http://gaypimp.com/
-----

Tuesday July 17th, 8PM Sharp
FunFest!
Free Admission

We do love watching short films here at Rapture! Tonight, the people from FunFest! will be showing short, indie cinematic gems of all genres, speaking with the filmmakers themselves and encouraging much mingling with like-minded souls out for a good time.

For more info:
http://www.filmbasics.com/funfest/

-----

Coming Soon:

7/20 Big Skot's Birthday: Feast on an Art Show with a little "Appelmoes" for dessert.
7/29- TellTale Art #5 with Taylor Mac, Kevin Draine AKA "The Bitter Poet", Little Marvin, Sally Connors & Seaman and Queerfunkle

Plus... Rapture's First Fashion Wrestling Event

-----
Get Smart.
Rapture Café & Books

200 Avenue A (Between 12th & 13th Streets) NYC

212-228-1177

http://www.rapturecafe.com

Just wanted to do a *bump* for Linda James (not the first time...trust!).

Her incredible new Cinemania debuts tonight at Rapture FEATURING...a not-to-be-missed number by the lady of the house Ms. James, big open (air-conditioned) space, really high-tech surround sound. Tonight's kickoff FEATURE is UNZIPPED!

Free admission.

Hope to see you queens there in full runway.

Cold Drinks, Hot People At Rapture Café & Books.

Whether you’re ferrying to Fire Island, journeying to Jones Beach, basking in Battery Park or tanning in Tompkins, one thing we know that’s on everyone’s heat-stroked minds is “D.C. Madame” Deborah Jeane Palfrey’s just-released phone records! We’re huge fans of Ms. Palfrey and her now-defunct Pamela Martin & Associates agency; the girl has spunk (pun intended) in releasing these records in defiance of Washington politicos’ attempts to strangle her financially and even against “anonymous” death threats. We want to send our own personal cheerleading squad down to her to act as bodyguards! This week we made calls to several of the Manhattan phone numbers that appear on her phone records only to reach Tiffany’s, Bergdorf Goodman and Barney’s! You better werk, Miss Palfrey! The latest rumor is the appearance of numbers dialing into Halliburton during “death machine” Dick Cheney’s tenure. Please see www.deborahjeanepalfrey.com for the complete list.

Naturally, given the political fallout of this sexplosive scandal, we’ll have to vote in some virginal candidates pretty soon. Please note that New York State Voter Registration cards are available behind the counter at Rapture! Fill one out and we’ll even mail it for you…oh, and your first drink is on us.

Speaking of HOT, Rapture has just received the first shipment of San Francisco-based ‘zine HANDBOOK. This truly is the hottest quarterly we’ve seen fall off the truck. A bargain at just $6, this 8x6 quarterly ‘zine features black and white imagery of sexy alternative, non-conservative queer and straight men for all tastes. See the site at www.handbookmen.com, and hurry in to get the first copies in New York available only at Rapture.

Cool down, people. We have a fabulous new drinks menu featuring Rapture’s Rock Hard Pink Lemonade, the Orange Crush, the Rapture Rita, and the Miss James! Don’t forget the daily 2-4-1 Happy Hour from (yes) 12noon – 6pm…and, of course, for the more soberly-inclined, gorgeous Green Mint Tea with Honey courtesy of Zhena’s Gypsy Teas.

-----

Upcoming:

Monday, July 16. 8:30pm
FEATURING…Linda James
Free Admission

The weekly cinemania continues with a celebration of Gay Pimp and LOGO star Jonny McGovern’s birthday wishes for a Golden Girls Marathon! Oh, yes. Hosted, curated, and complete with a serious number by Rapture’s very own Linda James, with a golden iPod soundtrack by Baby K, Monday doesn’t get any hotter than Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia Realness, so dress... and the best-dressed Golden Girl gets a fab prize! Grab some cheesecake…oh, and that reminds me of story from when I was teenager growing up in St. Olaf. I was completely in love with Sven at the time…

-----
Tuesday, July 17, 4:20 – 7:11pm
Faerie Tea TUESDAYS

Calling all kweens and qings from heart circles the world over! Yes, faes, we’ve moved weekly Tea to Tuesday. Each week, Rapture hosts a collection of “witchever-the-way-the-wind-blows-‘em” faeries to dish the latest tea, to see and be seen, and hold some fierce court. Lately, we’ve seen faeries dropping in from as far away as Amsterdam (yoooooo-hooooooo Dee-tale!) to catch up and plug in to New York’s current of Radical Faerie ethereality. Oh, and did someone say Happy Hour?

-----

Tuesday July 17th, 8PM Sharp
FunFest!
Free Admission

We do love watching short films here at Rapture! Tonight, the people from FunFest! will be showing short, indie cinematic gems of all genres, speaking with the filmmakers themselves and encouraging much mingling with like-minded souls out for a good time.

For more info:
http://www.filmbasics.com/funfest/

-----

Thursday, July 19, 9pm
Rapture Café & Books Presents…
Jeremy Wade and Aldoux
Free Admission

We are thrilled to welcome dancer and vocalist Jeremy Wade back to Avenue A! Having relocated to Berlin to pursue breathtaking new artistic direction in the dance and music worlds, the internationally-beloved Wade returns to New York City for a brief stint, and tonight shares his vision with Rapture audiences; appearing with Wade are his creative partner Brendan Dougherty and electronic aural genius Loren Dempster; all are backed by fellow terpsichorean Miguel Gutierrez (also just in from a four-month stint gracing dance stages the world over) – together they form the aurally ethereality Mr. Wade calls Aldoux.

A graduate of Amsterdam’s School for New Dance Development, Wade’s moved to New York City in the late 1990’s and was notoriously known around town for his boundary-less go-go and bartending skills at Squeezebox and the Cock. The Bessie Award-winning Mr. Wade garnered wide acclaim for ecstatic dance pieces and gained residencies at the P.S. 122, the Kitchen and Dance Theater Workshop before flying off to Berlin last year.

www.myspace.com/aldouxband

-----

Friday, July 20, 8pm – 10pm
ART ON OUR WALLS: Scox a.k.a. Big Scot
Opening Night and Big Scot’s Birthday Party
Free Admission

Everyone in town knows uber-doorman and former Phish-fiend Big Scot. Last Spring he wowed audiences here at Rapture with the performance art couplet known as Appelmoes. Tonight, celebrate Big Scot’s birthday as we get rip-roarin’, chainsaw-smokin’, Rob Zombie’d out with two-4-one vodka drinks! He may just take the stage replete with motorcycle helmet as we honor the artistic side of this Maniac of Musical Mayhem by splattering our walls with his watercolors, including the gorgeous Windmill On Absinthe and Portrait of Buffalo. Who knew?

-----

Saturday, July 21, 8:30pm
DList Radio Live @ Rapture Café!
Free Admission

Pssssst…it’s a party on the radio hosted by our very own “Juggernaut of Barnyard Jocularity” Daniel Nardicio and advice diva Robynne Kaamil…

Previous guests have included a varied roster of luminaries from literary lions Michael Musto, Cintra Wilson, pop icons Ben Jelen and Margarita Pracatán to the crazed antics of dirt-covered go-go dancer/visual artist Gio Andrade, the technicolor soundscape artists Shimmerplanet and even a visit from a live goat from the Catskill Animal Sanctuary. Cloven-hooved or not, each Saturday evening's guests are bound to raise an eyebrow... or two!
www.eastvillageradio.com
www.dlist.com/dlist_radio.do

-----

FINALLY…please visit our gorgeous new website www.rapturecafe.com! On it you’ll find the latest Rapture News, Gallery of current art exhibitions, recommended Staff Reading, photo tour of past events (including photo tours by our House Photographer Mark Bailey), all things Rapture, and links to our favorite friends and associates. The site was patiently, lovingly, and most important cleanly designed by the Lombard-Fried Gallery’s Rick Robertson.

-----
Get Smart.
Rapture Café & Books

200 Avenue A (Between 12th & 13th Streets) NYC

212-228-1177

http://www.rapturecafe.com

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mr.joe,