I heart my co-curator.

Simon Sheppard just posted this comment on some conservative's blog. I think I may swoon.

"As the guiding spirit behind Perverts Put Out!, let me point out that we rent a multi-disciplinary performance space (which may receive some fed funds, I have no idea, though I wish you guys would settle on whether to demonize the NEA or the stimulus package). Four or five times a year, we rent the space. Big deal. It's truly pathetic to see the GOP moralizers - fresh from tapping its foot in a Minneapolis restroom, patronizing the D.C. Madam, and hiking the Appalachian Trail - trying to reignite the culture wars. Jeez, you people are getting really desperate. What next? Accuse us of hiring illegal aliens to perform? And anyway, the clear implication of Fox's report was just plain untrue - PPO! receives not a dime of federal funds. Seems to me I remember something about bearing false witness in the Bible?"

He also posted a personal statement on the matter here. It made me giggle.

Spam Report: that's a new one

Bill Clinton just got name-checked in the subject line of this morning's batch of spam. ("Achieve Clinton's ardor", to be specific.)

OK, just one more, and then I'm getting some work done.

The thing that currently amuses me most about this kerfuffle is the unrelenting focus on this line from our July 25 blurb:

"Join your fellow pervs for some explicit, twisted fun!"

To me, this is just marketing speak, you know? But to conservative bloggers, apparently it reads like an invitation to an orgy: "they invite audience members to 'join' them for 'explicit, twisted fun'!!!" I am barely paraphrasing here.

Which just goes to show who really has the dirty mind.

P.S. all posts on this subject are now unlocked.

Perverts Put Out, Semi-Official And For The Record: Facts and Lies

As many of you know by now, Fox News is running a story referencing Perverts Put Out, the sex-themed spoken word event that has been around for over a decade now and that I currently co-curate with Simon Sheppard and Carol Queen. Fox News is insinuating that government stimulus funds were funneled through the National Endowment for the Arts to pay for the production of our show(s) and/or to pay our performers directly.

This is an out-and-out lie. And make no mistake, that lie is deliberate and intentional.

Perverts Put Out has never taken any government money. It has never paid its performers, either - because it has always been a benefit, first for the publisher Black Books, now for the Center for Sex and Culture. Our performers donate their time.

Perverts Put Out rents space from CounterPULSE a few times a year. CounterPULSE has, apparently, received funds from the NEA both recently and in the past, but to be honest, yesterday is the first time Simon, Carol, or I even knew about that.

Let us be clear: PPO merely rents from CounterPULSE. We give them money, not vice-versa.

But don't be surprised at this mistake. There are plenty more where that came from. The Fox News story didn't even bother to check the most basic of facts. Like, for example, we're not a weekly revue; we perform roughly four times a year. They obviously couldn't tell what sort of show we did, so they guessed (orgies, maybe) - for the record, we're primarily a spoken-word event. They didn't bother to contact Simon, Carol, or myself at all.

Funny that. If they had, they would have realized that there was no story here at all. But instead of killing a juicy if factually incorrect story about Perverted! Sex! In! San! Francisco! Funded! With! Your! Tax! Dollars!, they ran with the lies.

Consider this a needed corrective.

P.S. Action Item

At least one person has asked, "How can we help Perverts Put Out?"

Perverts Put Out doesn't really need any help in regards to this particular issue. It's not in any real danger, not directly anyway.

But if you want to show your support, here are some things you can do (in rough order of preference):

1. You can become a member of CounterPULSE!. Please! They deserve your support just as much as we do, if not more.
2. You can write a letter of support to the National Endowment for the Arts: 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20506, 202.682.5400, webmgr@arts.endow.gov.
3. You can write a letter to your congressperson.
4. You can write a letter to Fox News.
5. You can do all of the above.

Hope this helps.

P.S. look! a new tag!