Read this: The Junket by Mike Albo

I highly recommend the new Kindle Singles essay "The Junket" by Mike Albo!



Mike Albo would have every reason to be bitter - he agreed to go on a junket that is only very thinly veiled in this piece, that was covered extensively in NYC media sites, which resulted in his losing his column in the paper he refers to here as The New York Paper. Instead, he uses this essay as an opportunity to look back at his life as a writer in New York and the things he's had to do to make a living. What makes this such compelling reading is that Albo uses the humor he brought to The Underminer but he is as much the target of his sharp wit as anyone else, although his other targets certainly come under much-deserved scrutiny.

This particular junket's destination wasn't revealed until they reached their destination. Albo writes, "I wasn't so psyched to go to Jamaica, where gay people are maimed and killed and the prime minister made a special point to declare that LGTB rights would never be recognized, but on the plane the organizers got us all psyched. 'Can you believe it? I can't hear you! Jamiaca! Woooo!'"

He weaves in the story of the junket with his various jobs in Manhattan media, from working at "the Death Star for magazines but gayer" and learning not only how to cover high fashion, but how to covet it. Ultimately, this is a story that would make perfect reading for anyone considering writing as a profession, because Albo shows that even at the highest levels, at the pinnacle--and his description of not only what he did at The New York Paper but how it felt, as well as his continuing reverence, though not unreserved, for it, is one of the high points of this piece--it is still a struggle to survive.

Albo juxtaposes all the swag his colleagues received at various other magazines as well as his efforts to make the right decision about the junket with the outcome, in which The Paper first absolved him of wrongdoing, then changed its mind once it came under more minute scrutiny. But whether or not you agree with their decision, this piece has plenty of other merits, because Albo is not using it to settle a score or argue that he was in the right. In fact, he never points fingers, or this would read much differently and more as a way to settle a score than to explore why it is that he writes.

He concludes with a question about New York City that I think almost anyone who's lived here has been forced to ask themselves: is it worth it? "I have forgone something lasting to continue my long-term relationship with the most exciting but unreliable boyfriend of all--New York City. Maybe it's time to break up with it, to emancipate myself from the teasing, taunting, sexy metropolis that has kept me within its grip my entire adult life. But how do I break up with a city? How long am I supposed to believe I can 'make it' here? Or does none of it matter because it's all about advertising?" Once again, my biggest takeaway was how much Albo wants to write, and will go to whatever lengths he can to do it, not for the money per se, but for the expression. What you think that expression is worth is what's explored here, but I can safely say this essay is worth the $1.99.

And when you're done with it, I highly recommend my favorite piece of his: a tribute to a Katell Keinig concert that will wipe the idea of swag or writing about cravats right out of your mind, because it's so beautiful (in Sean Manning's anthology The Show I'll Never Forget).

April 15 is Nerd Sex Night at In The Flesh

And, of course, tomorrow is the not-to-be-missed free Peeps, candy, cupcakes and chips BDSM Night, complete with giveaways of bondage cuffs and a flogger by Eden Fantasys, Kink Academy memberships, sex toys and more! 8-10 pm, free, 21+ and we are opening up the downstairs since I expect a major crowd.


In The Flesh logo by Molly Crabapple

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
NERD SEX NIGHT
April 15, 2010, 8 pm - 10 pm
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Between Forsyth & Eldridge. Look for the hot pink awning that says "XIE HE Health Club."
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://www.inthefleshreadingseries.com

Get geeky at Nerd Sex Night! Featuring Mike Albo (The Underminer), Emily Cavalier (blogger, Dangerously Enthusiastic), sexual health researcher Laura G. Duncan, erotica writer Emerald (reading her Apple store erotica "Shift Change" from Best Women's Erotica 2010), chef and food stylist Akiko Moorman, author Stephen Elliott (The Adderall Diaries). Hosted and curated by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Peep Show, Bottoms Up, The Mile High Club). Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa and chips and candy will be served.Hosted and curated by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2010, Bottoms Up, Spanked, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am). Free cupcakes by Baked by Melissa along with chips, candy and other snacks will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the country's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. The series was named Best Reading Series by New York Press in 2009. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Susie Bright, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Mike Daisey, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, Zane and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, NBC New York, New York Post, New York Observer, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Flavorwire, Fork in the Road, Gawker, Gothamist, Jezebel.com, Nerve.com, Serious Eats, Tasting Table and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth.

Mike Albo is a writer and performer who lives and loves in Brooklyn. His
second novel, (written with his longtime friend Virginia Heffernan) is the
cult humor classic, The Underminer: The Best Friend Who Casually Destroys
Your Life. His performances of the character have become internet hits and
can be found on Youtube like everything else in the world. His first novel,
the critically acclaimed Hornito, came out in 2000. Albo has written for
zillions of magazines and websites including New York Magazine, GQ, Details, and The Daily Beast. From 2007-2009 he was The Critical Shopper columnist
for the New York Times. He’s performed numerous solo shows including
“Spray,” “Please Everything Burst,” and “My Price Point” as well as with the
comedy trio Unitard. He is also a founding member of the legendary downtown
NYC naked glittery dance troupe, The Dazzle Dancers.
www.mikealbo.com



Rachel Kramer Bussel is an author, editor, blogger and reading series host. She is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations and a former sex columnist for The Village Voice. She’s edited over 30 anthologies, including the kink-themed Spanked, Bottoms Up, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma'am, He's on Top, She's on Top, Rubber Sex as well as Peep Show, The Mile High Club: Plane Sex Stories, Do Not Disturb: Hotel Sex Stories, Tasting Him, Tasting Her, and the non-fiction Best Sex Writing series. Her books won 3 2009 Independent Publisher Awards. Her writing been published in publications such as Clean Sheets, Cosmopolitan, The Daily Beast, Fresh Yarn, Huffington Post, Mediabistro, Newsday, New York Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Tango, The Village Voice, and Time Out New York, and in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006. Rachel conducts nationwide readings and erotic writing workshops. She has hosted In The Flesh since October 2005.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com


photo by Anya Garrett

Emily Cavalier is dangerously enthusiastic about life. She's a freelance food writer, and works full-time as a business development exec in the event/media industry. The New England native has called Fort Greene, Brooklyn home for the past three years and is deeply in love with her neighborhood and its people. When not at the office, out drinking cocktails or getting lost all over NYC, you can find Emily's writing at http://EmilyCavalier.com and on her food website about New York City's ethnic neighborhoods, http://MouthOfTheBorder.com.



Laura G. Duncan is a sexual health researcher, educator and writer currently
living in Brooklyn. Her research deals with issues of sexuality within medical education and primary care, focusing on health literacy and accessibility among underserved populations. In addition to her current work in clinical breast cancer research, she has worked with high schools students, health non profits and in a medical school as a Gynecological Teaching Associate.



Stephen Elliott is the author of seven books including The Adderall Diaries, Time Out New York's best book of 2009. He's written for Esquire, GQ, New York Times, and been anthologized in Best American Non-Required Reading 2005 & 2007, Best Sex Writing, and Best American Erotica.



Emerald has been a writer since age seven, though her repertoire did not begin to include erotica until her early twenties. Now in her early thirties, her erotic fiction has been published in anthologies edited by Violet Blue, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Jolie du Pre, and Alison Tyler as well as online at various erotic websites. She resides in suburban Maryland where she works as a webcam model and serves as an activist for reproductive freedom and sex workers' rights.
www.thegreenlightdistrict.org



Akiko Moorman is a New York chef, food stylist, and self-proclaimed nerd. She believes wholeheartedly that all projects, whether it be developing a new menu or finding out what felching means, begin with reading reference materials, interviewing experts, and when all else fails, using the Google machine. She deeply regrets searching for felching on the Google machine. She, however, regrets little else. Akiko graduated from Columbia University’s writing program, where one professor once described her work as, “for lack of a better word, very Tarantino-esque.”