Last week, Out There signaled our excitement about Remember Jerome, a group show in tribute to the late great queer "outsider artist" Jerome Caja coming up at Bucheon Gallery. We share some more tidbits on the show courtesy of organizer Michael Johnstone, one of the participating artists.

"The collection of over 20 Jerome Caja paintings are from the estate of well-known SF gay writer Paul Reed . Paul loved Jerome's work, especially his larger works, so there is a nice selection of bigger works included.

"We'll have a statement about Jerome by Julie Blankenship, the executive director of SF's unique nonprofit Visual Aid, which helps artists with all kinds of life-threatening illness to keep creating and showing their work. They provide vouchers every six months that artists can use to buy supplies to make their art.

"Of particular interest to me while we worked on this show was to include women. Denise Laws will show Polaroids with nail polish. Jocelyn Superstar aka Nicole Repack will have fantastic, glittering, iconic fake-fur and plastic elements from her slot-machine series. There will also be photographs by Jessica Tanzer, and intricate, dreamlike, manipulated imagery by Julie Blankenship.

"New works by other artists inspired by Jerome will be a time-bridging element of this show. I wanted a sense of sensory restoration to infuse it. Remembrance is a great thing, but it's nice to make room for new visions, with Jerome as the catalyst.

"As an aside, my own muse David Faulk aka Mrs. Vera will be in attendance at the opening, and some of his wearable creations will be on display. David is an accomplished painter and a brilliant costume-maker, much in the spirit of Jerome. Sadly, they never met. My photos of David (Mrs. Vera's Daybook Series) will be included.

"Phatima will do a performance that night. I'm going to have a box with paper and pens for people to write down any memories they care to share, and a card with the address of a Remember Jerome myspace page if they want to go online and swap stories and images." Oct. 6-27 at Bucheon Gallery, 389 Grove St., SF.

Facelift forward

In the Life, America's longest running (and three-time Emmy-nominated) national gay and lesbian newsmagazine, prepares to launch its 16th season premiere with a new look, new host, and a local angle. Amongst the segments is a profile of Marc Huestis' documentary Lulu Gets a Facelift, his vibrant portrait of Lulu, a local drag celeb and a queen "of a certain age" who goes in for a little nip-and-tuck.

Huestis and Lulu were interviewed when the film screened at the NYLG Film Fest. The doc has been making the rounds in fests around the world, garnering raves, including at the London LG Fest, where the venerated Times said it was the "best of this year's documentary offerings." In the Life airs on KQED 9 on Thurs., Oct 25, at 11 p.m., so why not give it a looky Lu? Our middle name is Public Television.

In our face

Now that Out There's fondest fan-, quasi-wet dream has come true, and a sweat-soaked shirt flung by Morrissey has come within inches of wetly thwacking our grizzled mug, we've finally recovered enough to recollect in tranquility. The Moz was in his element at the Fillmore, generous in sharing the Smiths songbook and putting out the charisma. He was clearly enjoying himself, as was the audience, though it was slightly surreal to hear others braying along to Moz lyrics OT knows by heart. "Some men here, they have a special interest in your career, they wanna help you to grow. Then siphon all your dough."

But it took a special type of obsessive (guilty as charged) to know all the lyrics to "Ganglord," a B-side to the CD single for "The Youngest Was the Most Loved." Morrissey and his band of young khakis totally sold the song. "Ganglord, there's a clock on the wall, making fun of us all. Ganglord, the clock on the wall makes a joke of us all. And I'm turning to you to save me!"

Brilliantly, the band segued from the twee keyboards bridge in "Life is a Pigsty" to the thunderous chords of "How Soon Is Now." It was a Mozian harmonic convergence.

Hayes e'en

Twas a happening Saturday night in Hayes Valley, with remnants of the Love Fest still stumbling about high, and the leather lads readying for their bacchanals, when OT and the Artist Formerly Known as Pepi stumbled upon a free outdoor screening of Greed, thrown up in light by old-fashioned reel-to-reel film projectors upon a temporary screen set up at Patricia's Green.

The 1924 silent, directed by Eric Von Stroheim , was location shot in Oakland and SF, and is known for its innovative use of natural interiors, including deep-focus shots of the street from the window of the still-standing turret-capped building at Hayes and Laguna Sts. A small but rapt audience sat or stood in the Green named for the late community activist Patricia Walkup , founder of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association. Live synthesizer keyboards accompanied the melodrama. The event was put together by San Francisco Arts Commission and Wowhaus , the artist team who gave us the Hayes Valley Historic Miniature Golf Extravaganza. Thanks for all the swell putt-putts, guys.

Christian corner

Award-winning gay young-adult-lit. author Alex Sanchez will be appearing at Books Inc. in the Castro on Wed., Oct 10, in support of his groundbreaking new novel, The God Box, about gay teens who are also active Christians. The new book by Sanchez, author of the acclaimed Rainbow Boys series, publishes on October 9 to coincide with National Coming Out Day.

The book is set in Texas, with a protagonist of Mexican heritage, and so has a multicultural dimension as well as its message of tolerance. The book takes on the so-called "ex-gay" movement when the hero goes to his pastor to talk about his gay feelings, and his pastor arranges a meeting for him with an ex-gay rep. Over the course of the story, the fallacy of the ex-gay idea, and indeed the sadness of the situation of gays who buy into it, is made plain.

Sanchez includes an extensive list of spiritual links on his website, alexsanchez.com, along with many other helpful resources for LGBT youth. The author plans to visit some churches, including the Cathedral of Hope UCC in Dallas, during his book tour, in addition to the usual bookstores.

Choice tube

Fresh TV zingers, served piping hot. Thanks, Strange de Jim!

Craig Ferguson: "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there are no gay people in Iran. Well, I could have told you that when he turned up in those shoes and that jacket."

Jon Stewart: "Listen to her! We have no homosexuals in the Republican Party, either. Just dudes who like to have sex with other men."

Jay Leno: "The Iranian president said there are no homosexuals in Iran. Today, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig volunteered to go over there on an ass-finding mission."

Dave Letterman: "According to Ahmadinejad, there are no homosexuals in Iran. I guess that explains the pathetic state of their musical theater."

Conan O'Brien: "Yesterday, the President of Iran said his country doesn't have problems with gay people because they don't have homosexuals in Iran. Although Ahmadinejad did admit that sometimes one Iranian will take another Iranian's penis hostage."

The Daily Show's Lewis Black on the new $5 bill with a big purple number in the corner: "So now the $5 bill is as gay as a $3 bill."

Leno: "Rudy Giuliani having a $9.11-a-head fundraiser is like Bill Clinton having a $69-a-head fundraiser."

Letterman: "This is a historic night: The entire balcony is filled with gay Iranians."

Leno: "A man in Croatia survived a lightning strike that hit his penis. Never mix Viagra with iron pills."

Letterman: "No gays in Iran. That's why you have to go all the way to Turkey for a facial."

Leno: "Brokeback Mountain is being turned into a Broadway musical. That may be too gay even for gay people."

Ferguson: "Tom Cruise sucked Brad Pitt's blood in Interview with the Vampire. Cruise read the script and said, 'You had me at sucked.'"