I stopped by Steel for their Wednesday Brazilian night and ran into owner Russell, DJ Richie Rich. The room was very festive!!!

When I left Steel I headed to Hump at China White for their very popular Wednesdays. This week the theme was Fetish and also featured the Genre Magazine Cover model search. DJ FX turned it out and the crowd was having fun!! To see the entire picture gallery Click Here.

Last Thursday night was the opening of Voodoo Lounges new patio “Rodman’s Rehab.” The Patio came out beautiful, as all their renovations do. Seen there were hundreds of people including Daisy Deadpetals, Glitz Glamour, Poizon Ivy, Radio Personality Nikki Nite, and of course the man of the hour Dennis Rodman. Congrats to Wendy, Jimmy, Alan and all the owners management and staff of Voodoo Lounge!!!

I also stopped by Elements new Thursdays “2 Guys on a Mic, an Interactive Karaoke Experience” with Andy and Ricky. With great decorations, Shot specials and no cover, this is your Thursday night alternative!!

This year, at the 21^st Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, filmmakers and festival attendees will be able to enjoy a glass of fine wine, and make a toast to humanity, after festival films showcased November 6 – 12 at Sunrise Cinemas Las Riverfront theatres.   The Toast to Humanity Wine Lounge at Las Olas Riverfront will be conveniently located just a short walk from the theaters within the Sundance Festival Cafe. The Wine Lounge is sponsored by Toast to Humanity a 501c3 organization and cause-branding promotion that aligns corporations with charitable organizations.  Each vineyard represented in the Wine Lounge will don the Toast to Humanity Seal signifying that they are supporting humanitarian causes worldwide.   This year's charities include the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, A Child Is Missing and Magic Beans Horse Camp. The wine lounge also provides an opportunity to learn more about vineyards and their wines, as tasting notes and vineyard notes will be provided as well as copies of the organization’s Weekend Wine Watch, which appears monthly in USA Today. New initiatives are developed on a regular basis at Toast to Humanity. Brands featured at The Toast to Humanity Wine Lounge at Las Olas Riverwalk include Napa Valley’s Bourassa Vineyard’s, 2004 Sauvignon Blanc and 2005 Los Carneros Chardonnay, 2004 Odyssey Zinfandel, and 2004 Rhapsody Syrah.  Maison Sichel, Bordeaux, France Sirius red, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a small proportion of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Sirius white is mainly Semillon with some Sauvignon Blanc. This new blend, of regional Bordeaux, whose concept was developed in 1985, is now gaining popularity in the U.S.  Palm Bay Imports will also be presenting their Cavit Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir at the Wine Lounge. Cavit Wines are from the northern Italian province of Trentino and rate as America’s #1 Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir. The Toast to Humanity Wine Lounge will be open to festival Film Talent, FLIFF Members, Fast Pass Holders, Gallery One Hotel FLIFF Package holders and Sponsors.  To become a member, festival sponsor or to purchase a fast pass, visit www.FLIFF.com or call 954-525-3456 ext 103 for memberships and passes and ext 101 for sponsorships. Toast to Humanity’s mission is to effectively utilize cause-branding, to align corporations with social and charitable causes, resulting in increased consumer confidence and loyalty for their products. Their goal is to provide worthy charitable organizations the support needed to fulfill their mission of being compassionate stewards of humanitarian causes. Information on Toast to Humanity as well as some their partners will be available in the Toast to Humanity Wine Lounge or visit www.toasttohumanity.com. FESTIVAL TICKETS/DETAILS:  Tickets for films range between $5 and $10.  Events are priced separately.   For advance tickets, memberships, passes and a complete film schedule visit www.FLIFF.com or call 954-525-3456.

Pinellas County's tourism promotion agency got the green light last Wednesday to market the county specifically to Gay and Lesbian visitors. But advertisements won't promote the county as "gay friendly" as a consultant recommended in a controversial research report released in June. Instead, the ads in gay publications will carry the same "Florida's Beach" pitch used to attract Pinellas' core market: couples and families. Gay visitors choose the area for a relaxed getaway, not the nightlife of a Key West or South Beach, said Carole Ketterhagen, executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We're never going to pretend we're Key West," she said. "We're not looking at a totally different campaign. We're Florida's Beach and we're going to stay there." Still, the county's first attempt to target gay tourists caused discomfort for politicians on the Tourist Development Council. The panel decides how to spend revenues from the county's 5 percent

Pinellas County Florida is the home of Caladesi Beach, America's #2 Beach in 2006. The county is also home to Fort Desoto Park rated America's number one beach in 2005. Pinellas County offers 35 miles of white-sand beaches on eight major barrier islands.

resort room tax. "I don't think it's ... the role of government to target folks on sexual orientation or practice," said County Commission chairman Kenneth Welch. "Why can't we just be known as a friendly community?" In March, Community Marketing Inc. of San Francisco surveyed 1,730 gay and lesbian consumers and conducted focus groups to help develop a marketing strategy for Pinellas. The study found that two-thirds of respondents were familiar with the area but only 13 percent planned to visit in the next two years. That was far below those expecting to visit Florida destinations such as Key West (50 percent), Miami/South Beach (48 percent) and Fort Lauderdale (43 percent). All three South Florida cities aggressively market to gay tourists. The results also confirmed how attractive the gay market is to the travel business. Respondents had a median household income of $87,500 and took an average of six overnight trips in the past two years. Walter Klages, research consultant for the visitor’s bureau, wrote in a report summary that appealing to gays would require "a marketing effort to establish the branding ... for a 'Gay-Friendly St. Petersburg/Clearwater." His research firm recently asked local tourists as part of a regular survey how they would react to an influx of gay tourists in the area. "There is no negative effect," said Klages. St. Petersburg City Council chairman Bill Foster warned that changing the brand to attract gay visitors could hurt the area's image. "What do you want to look like and how do you want to be perceived in the world?" he asked. Welch criticized comments in the research report that suggested the county create clothing-optional and gay sections of the beach at Fort De Soto Park. Hotel representatives on the board strongly supported the marketing plan and said retreating from it would amount to discrimination. The bureau has similar "niche marketing" campaigns for African-American and Hispanic visitors. "I feel we've only gotten focused on gays and lesbian marketing," said Timothy Bogott of the Trade Winds Island Resorts in St. Pete Beach. "I don't want to be known as a county where we're opposed to any group." Gays make up about 5 percent of the national travel market, a significant segment that can't be ignored, said Peter Yesawich, chief executive of the Orlando-based travel marketing firm YPB&R. Targeting gays is "a very prudent business decision," he said. The council voted 6-1 to proceed with the gay marketing program but not support any "actions that are offensive or unlawful," including designating beach areas as clothing-optional or for gays. Welch cast the lone dissenting vote. About $40,000 will go into advertising in gay-oriented publications, about 2 percent of the total advertising budget this year, said Yesawich.

The world seems a little smaller now. It feels less filled with life and an open spirit of generosity. However, Willie left us with a lesson for living together. “We have got to learn to love others before we can love ourselves” William Leake, born April 12th 1961, became Willi Ninja, the well-known, well-respected, well-loved man. A New York native Willi graduated from bayside high school and went on to complete one year of studies at Queens College. He may have been educated there, but he learned wisdom and style through life’s experiences. As the mother of the house of Ninja, he helped many other young men when they needed assistance. As the son of Esther Leake, he was devoted to her. As a brilliant dancer, Willi Ninja was self-taught and self- motivated, leaving behind a distinctive style that will forever be synonymous with his name; Ninja made vogue dancing known throughout the world by consistently exposing it to others over many years. Ninja was not the first vogue dancer, nor the last, but he brought vogueing to a level of performing perfection that was memorable. He created a distinct Ninja style marked by its sharp attack and swirling turns. In Jennie Livingston’s 1990’s documentary about a gay vogue balls, “Paris is Burning,” the mother of the house of Ninja announced. “I want to go to the real Paris and make it burn.” Willi Ninja’s handsome androgyny appealed to everyone; tall, with incredibly broad shoulders, he could clasp his hands then sweep his arms over his head and behind his back in one smooth move. Inspired to dance by Fred Astaire, PBS’s Great Performances, Olympics Gymnastics, and the Apollo Motown shows, ninja noted: “nobody says you can’t learn.” Ninja taught voguing throughout Europe and in Japan. An eloquent spokesperson for gay house life, he appeared on talk shows and serious university panels about cultural life. Ninja broadened the scope and the audiences for voguing, moving it from the clubs to the concert stages when he performed in works by postmodern choreographer’s Karole Amitage, Doug Elkins, David Neuman & in his own choreography with his company. He had a long career teaching models how to walk and throw attitude, which he had learned by working in the fashion industry and doing runway modeling him self for such designers as Jean-Paul Gautier, Thierry Mugler and Zang Toi. He worked with the beautiful and famous, among them, Grace Jones, Iman, & Naomi Campbell. He also danced for Latin Salsa sensation, and close personal friend, La India. In 2004 Ninja opened his modeling agency, EON (elements of ninja). In addition to teaching and booking he arranged for the children of the house of Ninja to perform at fashion events, positioning the dancing back into the modeling world that had originally inspired it. In 1988 he made “Deep in Vogue” with Malcom Mclaren and then went to work with Dee-Lite and Queen Latifah. He has appeared in the films “Paris is Burning,” “House of Tres,” and the Peabody award winning “Everybody Dance Now!” and is featured in the upcoming (2007) documentary “Check Your Body at the Door,” by Sally Sommer. He is survived by his mother; they enjoyed a particularly close relationship and Willi was enormously proud of his mother and her accomplishments. He lovingly described her as “My best friend, my mother, my father, my sister & my brother.”