CFF – Two Awards For Catalyst In 2008

“Renaissance Man Of The Year” and “Author With Most Anticipated New Release” from outré arts journal CFF

(Oh, and about that ‘new release’? I’m getting a bit impatient myself, thankyouverymuch…)

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It’s All Fun & Games Until…

(WARNING: POTENTIAL ANA “TRIGGER”!) :: O.K., if I told you who cut this video? Bet you guys wouldn’t believe me. Shit is DARK. :: What was intended as dark comedy ended up…well… :: Know this…1) No, anorexia isn’t “cool.” 2) Yes, I inhaled that entire effing can. My friend who shot the footage turned off the “auto-focus” option for whatever artsy-fartsy reason — NOT to blur footage so that I could “cheat.” As a result, I passed it off to someone else to edit. 3) Please don’t ask if this is auto-biographical, and/or to what degree. Take the message for what it is. (And what it is? What you get out of it…or what you don’t, conversely.)

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…And Suddenly, It’s Evening. The Gold Vs Petker Runway Show and Death-Dance Riot

crept up on me like a shadow.

One moment I’m in Iowa working with my comrades Dustin and Brian of Novice Industries; the next, I’m rushing to hair and make-up with my pal Aldo o’ the Vento. 

(DISCLAIMER: *Please note that when I sat down to write this entry, I intended to “hot-link” each and every applicable mention.  However, as one whom is technologically-challenged, reason had to over-rule that lofty notion upon realization that if I wanted to actually publish the &#$%ing blogature before Christmas, I was gonna have to Leave The Ideals To Plato.  In other words, feel free to zap me an email if I provided a broken link, or none at all where you’d like there to be. Scout’s honor: there was no Shade cast here with any deliberation!  Capiche?  Mmm-kay, back to business then; thanks…)

Aldo volunteered his services to help me out with door duty, which proved itself  much needed the moment we went from what was intended as a brief session of “helloing”–as pictured below, kicking off the evening with the lovely Jenelle Rensch, graphic design wiz (and incidentally the mastermind responsible for my CC logo in its final incarnation), Mr. Aldo Vento Himselfness, model and co-star with me in Matthew Mishory’s  film “Delphinum: A Childhood Portrait of Derek Jarman,” which is currently winding its way about the international film festival circuit (the world premiere of which was 5 September 2009, at the Portobello Film Festival in London):

and, you know, a familiar face, I suppose… shifting from Prancy, Postured, Poised–to 

Any semblance of order and ‘proper’ decorum

Tossed out the window like last week’s copy of Us Weekly when

AnnaLynne and  Rachel McCord showed up, with quite a posse in tow.

Image of AnnaLynne McCord and Clint Catalyst courtesy of

“Deeply Shallow: One Man’s Adventure in L.A.,” by Albert Domasin — located at

What’s Up With Albert (on Blogspot)

Bummer we couldn’t get her 12 year old brother past security, but…well, he’s 12.

(Even compared to my own track record, that’s 4 years before I began to hustle my way into clubs– And look how I turned out!)

A cautionary tale?  (Y/Y?)

As rabid “90210″ fanatics attempted to claw their way towards the living, breathing version of “Naomi” they recognized from their living rooms, I did my best to sneak the party of pretty-pretties into the inner sanctum: a seated area complete with really good ‘Goodie Bags’–sponsored by Janome sewing machines, Fiji water, Tarina Tarantino jewelry, Amtrak, Josie Cotton, and Sebastian Hair Care Products–

as well as the precise locale where soon enough, leather metallic fabric ∞ stitching nipped and tailored ∞ silkscreened paintings ∞ tricked-out hair with neon nets ∞ make-up more surreal than real world , and the spirit of unfettered creativity and unapologetic flamboyance

RULED. (And how!)

After all, why was everyone at the Social Club?

The MOST CORRECT RUNWAY DEBUT of the retina-shattering, cardiac arrest-inducing, sensory-overloading atelier extraordinaire

Jared Gold

rockin’ some ‘tude, with pop legend Josie Cotton (L) and me

(Is it obvious I’m  L-O-V-I-N-G  the custom jacket Jared created?)

Carelessly tossing any accusations of “obsequious” over the shoulder like the Latest!Fashion!Craze!– “Fashion is for those who have yet to understand ’style’”– here’s what it boils down to at the carnival’s end:  my first interaction with Mssr. Gold hearkens back to a bleak time in American history.  We met shortly after his 2001 debut in Manhattan on September the 10th, an inauspicious moment for anyone to premiere clothing design, as it transpired mere hours before the atrocity known as 9/11.

Eight years have passed in the interim, and still: the creative outpourings of this inimitable virtuoso never cease to amaze me.

That being said, it should come as no surprise that for his collaborative effort with visual artist

Joshua Petker

(pictured here with photographer Cyn Yen)

my expectations were anything but low.

Simply put, Mr.Petker’s paintings are most God, indeed.  Over the span of the last few years, I’ve admired his murky-canvased beauties from afar (and might have, well, you know …”peeked in” on a certain Cahuenga Blvd gallery show)– so when the opportunity presented itself this Christmas past, I was stoked to make his acquaintance and bear witness to a bit of the brainstorms and dark-clouded creative rumblings between these two masterminds.

Hence, please allow me to present

A preview before the Gold versus Petker mash-up, for those of who might not be acquainted with the work of this inventive gentleman:

from 2008,

two images pilfered from an interview in the art-blog equivalent of masticating a corpus callosum

FecalFace.com :

“[Petker's] work is like that girl you know will destroy you but somehow you just can’t resist.”

- Manuel Bello

(Entitled “Hunting For Witches,” this one SLAUGHTERS me…Slaughters me, Maing!)

(and above: from 2009, one of Petker’s most recent watercolors)

Fine art from a fine fellow…Petker has not only become one of my favorite contemporary artists, but he’s also just about one of the kindest dudes you could meet.  (And I say ‘dude,’ as he is very much one, indeed—but I mean that in the absolute best sense of the sports-obsessed, beer-swilling sense of the word.  I hope I’m communicating that effectively!?)

At any rate, speaking of ‘fine’—there was no shortage of squealing over Twilight’s hunkasaurus 

Kellan Lutz

among the crowd at the Gold versus Petker extravaganza.

Full disclosure: I’ve never seen Twilight , nor have I read any of the books.  Said another way?  I wasn’t aware Who He Is—but not to worry…it’s not as if frenetic whispering girls and paparazzi flashbulbs going pop! were in short supply.

Short of the long?  Mr. Lutz was a complete gentleman: there was none of the “Don’t You Know Who…” routine that’s as played-out as clunky monster boots.  (Seriously, kids?  Just. Don’t.)  Equal parts accessible any coy, Lutz maintained a genteel decorum I often refer to as From The School of ‘Leave-Them-Longing.’

A rare trait in today’s tabloid-congested society, unfortunately. With yellow journalism the norm rather than the exception, these days it’s as if the lump sum of  Tinseltown’s silver lining is tinged with rust.

I mean, let’s face it: once one is inundated with images of our ’stars’ being— well, — as flawed and human as the rest of us?  There’s a natural tendency for audience members to be less willing to accept Coleridge’s “Willing Suspension of Disbelief” in terms of an implausible premise.

However, the academic vernacular?  Hereby duly noted.  (Apologies for the yawnage, please.&.thanks!)

Instead, a shifting of gears to that hotness known as  AnnaLynne.  As for The CW’s “90210,” I did, in fact, see the two-hour premiere—though can’t say I remember much about the episode other than Cory Kennedy and Mark The Cobra Snake’s cameo appearance.

*Appearances? I’ve been staring at this blue screen far too long, I’m afraid.

Whatever the case, congrats to the duo—both of whom have graduated from their former status as ‘fixtures’ among L.A.’s nightlife to full-fledged international phenomenons quite successfully.

As for AnnaLynne, her role as Eden Lord in Nip/Tuck’s fifth season was no mere incident of (envision air quotes) scene-stealing; it nabbed the entire season. Seriously?  But seriously… Upon discovery of her 2009 win as “Greatest Break-Through Talent” at the Teen Choice Awards, my opine is succinct: well-deserved.

Oh yes…and since this is a city fueled by the mythic power of Celebrity,

It would be remiss to make no mention of rock icon Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins:

pictured here with the Cute-As-They-Come  Kim Bruder

More images await “beneath the cut…”

However, since both the event and amount of photos collected –cough!STOLEN cough!–is of epic proportions, I’ve decided to divvy the lot up into three parts: Before The Madness (on which your gaze is fixed at this moment), Petker’s Paintings In Stiletto Pumps (the catwalk-stalking and crowd-gawking), and Dance.Music.Sweat.Romance (the after-party).

That being stated, Please! Click Away– for More Gore Gore Gorgeousness…

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Scene Et Al

for “my best friends I’ve never met”:

“I just wanted to let you know that this is like, the only me… ”

“O.K., I don’t photoshop my pictures. I’m just pretty, and you’re probably really ugly.”