Tuesday, January 31, 2012
A VOICE FROM THE PAST
But voicing this week.
I did not think that I would miss Sarah P but it is a welcome respite from one kind of bullshit to hear another which as it turns out was a lot more entertaining than these two liars. At least SP spoke her truth. Made no sense but that was the truth.
Animation: Palin Defends Newt (Actual Audio) from scottbateman on Vimeo.
Labels: Republican primary, republican whack jobs
REDEMPTION
Today's gay favorite film is on the 50 list. Not all of them are. I put some of my own favorites into the mix as well.
Chad Allen, an addict and homo, goes to rehab which turns out to be one of those places that support sobriety and, as it turns out, turns you into a heterosexual.
Unwittingly he goes because it is a place where his born again brother has paid for.
This film is really very good. It rings true. There is no ranting or preaching about any side but it is clear that all the male inmates have an itch which is not going get scratched here. Chad is no exception as he does get sober but not hetero. He falls for another guy who falls for him and mild drama ensues, enough to reveal the various issues, and there is a happy ending. How could there not be?
But this is the journey not the destination and we get very clear talk and acting. Nice in a small budget film like this.
The woman who is the christian force behind the place is actually very well handled. Not evil and even sympathetic.
I liked it a lot and would not mind seeing it again. A 4 out of Netflix5.
FOR THE BIRDS
We have always had a fountain out here. Three or four over fifteen years at the other house.
They always draw the birds. We live in the desert after all. Water is scarce.
At the old house, the fountain was outside the front door. You could stand inside the entryway and watch them frolic and congregate. Or chase each other away.
In this new place, they already had a big three tier fountain set up. Not too well, actually. It tips some. We were going to right it but that hasn't happened in a year and a half, sooooo, not likely.
The important thing is that I keep it going all the time so that we can attract birds who come to bathe.
The little top tier is like a bathtub for a lot of them. They climb right in and flop and beat their wings. Against the south light it is spectacular. Water flies in all directions.
The water comes up and gooses them. I think that they love it. Great fun.
The dining area is set up so that it looks right at the fountain so while eating, sitting, reading, whatever, there is a great sideshow at all times.
A lot of birds are only there for a drink but the ones who bathe. What a show.
There are humming birds and a wide variety of other birds we don't know. Yellow, red, blue. Plain brown.
The biggest who hog the space are the mocking birds and the doves.
There aren't many doves right now. They are sitting "ducks" for raptors. We find little bunches of feathers from time to time. The dangers of the watering hole.
Monday, January 30, 2012
EVERYONE KILLS THE THING HE LOVES
Today's gay film, not a favorite, widely despised, and mostly forgotten, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's
with Brad Davis.
Oddly, or not, I liked it.
It is a hash. Based on a novel by the queer prison poet Jean Genet, we see a young sailor, the object of everyone's desires but his own, traverse his homosexual yearnings through the people who hang out at a bar/bordello in Brest.
I am used to Genet's stuff so was not surprised at the focus on the criminal mind, the homoeroticism of crime and murder. The idea that love turns to hateful acts and hate attracts. It is a thug's paradigm.
Hot.
Amusing and always sexy so I guess that means that he is right. Or is he attractive to me because he is so transgressive? Probably.
There is a lot to look at here. It is a movie, after all. The sex is graphic and the thinking twisted.
Franco Nero also stars as an officer who is obsessed about the sailor.
Genet is interested in power games also.
This was Fassbinder's last film. Not by design. He just happened to die between this one and the next one. So it is not a final summing up but then again, maybe he knew he would kick and this is it.
It is a natural pairing. He and Genet. People are not happy about this as they wanted Fassbinder to have a final triumph of some kind.
I think, actually, that this is a sort of triumph in its way. It is scuzzy, perverse, set up as an obvious stage set and not at all looking like a film. It is a thumb in the eye of society and even his own fans.
Jeanne Moreau who plays the whore sings the song several times. "Everyone kills the thing he loves".
No one wants to hear or see that. BUt we do see it, several times.
I would like to see this again sometime with the few other films that were made of Genet's stuff.
On the sidebar, enter a bit about how Fassbinder, Genet and Brad Davis were all openly gay. A tri-umvirate of queerness. Davis is so sexy he melts the film.
Enough said. I am the only person in the world to give this a 5 out of Netflix5 because I do want to see it again.
This is a film clip, not a trailer. Deliciously gay content but definitely SFW.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
THE BIRDS
Today's gay favorite was the modern version of La Cage.
Same story. Almost the same basic script but augmented by Elaine May's peppering of smart lines.
Cast this time is Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane and Dianne Wiest. All great fun. Best change is Hank Azaria wonderfully as the fem houseboy. Perfect. Hispanic accent and all.
It is not fair to compare as in this case they have Americanized and put the whole show in South Beach.
But the heart is the same. Acting energy is much higher. American style. Most of the subtleties are swept aside by the antics. But that is a good thing. Different tone. Directed my Mike Nichols.
I have had enough though. I might see one of them again. Too soon to tell. In the meantime, a 4 out of Netflix5.
ON THE SPOT
There is no doubt in my mind that the US has teams of commandos in Iran as I type.
And everywhere else.
And this will expand.
Friends of SEALS families know that there is always something afoot. And now there will be even more.
All the stuff I learned in the military, now 50 years ago, is long gone.
I was in the Quartermaster Corps. Not the safest place to be as you had to be out there feeding the troops while they were firing on you. Unless, like me, you got an admin job running an officer's club in CONUS.
There is no feeding in the field that way. It is all EZpacks and god knows what.
Everything is micro-sized. Small units. Invisibility. No more landings on beaches.
More of this on its way.
US to send floating commando base to Mideast
Drones. Action teams. Covert missions. A war with no front.
What I learned is that you moved from place to place by long truck caravans and flew to the action by a huge cargo/troop train. Not now. The soldiers take a commercial flight to the area from where they deploy small missions from a base near the action.
Now, on water. Which is a lot better since they can't get to you and they can get to them. Very few of the bad guys have any air or sea abilities.
Most of our stuff is only seen incoming. Bam.
I had to learn how to fire an M1 rifle. Not very well, actually. I was better left at the OClub. Now it is all joy sticking and sattelite shit doing the guiding.
I couldn't even see through the peep sight on the rifle. These guys can see right down into the target's asshole.
Labels: military, technology
Saturday, January 28, 2012
DIAMONDS
Today is my 75th birthday. Diamonds.
I have a lot of calls and cards and happy birthdays face to face. Fifty? A hundred people? I went to a Meeting this morning.
A lot because I tell everyone it is my birthday and then they say that I don't look like it.
I don't.
It is a bit of a racket and it is a great experience. I have learned that if you don't tell people it is your birthday ON your birthday, every year, you won't get any wishes or attention. So I shout it out.
Besides, I say that I am the next year from about June on. So I have been "75" since then. In June 2012 I will be 76 in, well, maybe May.
But it won't have the buzz of 75. Somehow you need to be an aught or a five to get the most attention.
Of course after a certain age you get attention with every year. I am not there yet. I think you have to be at least 90 for that.
I am in pretty good shape. I have to hold onto the rail when I go downstairs. The knees. I dribble. The result of the radiation 15 years ago for my prostate. And age.
I may need cataract surgery sooner or later.
But let's not focus on those things. Although those are the only things, actually.
I go to the gym every morning and do an out of breath half hour on the bike. Weights on all the body parts, easy.
I am able to think clearly. A slight time delay like they do with live video. A blank spot in the mind film.
My attitude is optimistic and positive all of the time. Really!
I have the wisdom of older age. Knowing more when to mind my own business, be silent or let irritating stuff go.
I am never lonely or bored. Never ever bored.
Pretty good.
I am happy about my life and have no regrets. None.
Here we go. Another year ahead a day at a time. We have a President to re-elect. Lots of fun there.
SWISSSSSH
Today's favorite gay film was
The original one which I saw when it came out.
In those days, it made me uncomfortable because of the stereotypes involved but then I got over it.
When I was first out I didn't want anyone thinking I was obvious. How watching a movie of obvious queers would somehow make me fem is a bit mysterious but that was my bent (!) with thinking and feeling at first. Now, I may be obvious and don't care.
The film. They put the Robin Williams remake on the list but it is the same show so I am going to watch that one tomorrow.
The reason to see the original is that it is the original. I don't normally want to see remakes. But I will do it this time.
This is a farce and the people being mocked are the prudes and bigots. So no problem there. It is also about a gay marriage. Who have a kid.
All the usual issues there. Resolved by love.
It is great to watch this laid out so clearly in this film.
I suppose, for the record, that being a drag queen or transvestite is not a requirement for being gay as I once thought. In fact, not many gay men are effeminate and not all transvestites are gay.
See? I still have a touch of the old biases.
This is so good it gets a five. If for no other reason that I need to be reminded of my own intolerance. When I can just sit back and laugh and identify I do a lot better.
Friday, January 27, 2012
"AS LONG AS THER'S LOVE THERE'S HOPE"
Todays gay film was the Thai
Rak haeng Siam / The Love of Siam (2007)
All kinds of love in this but it centers on two young boys who, as best friends then adolescents feel strong homoerotic feelings for one another. Affection and more although they are unable to consummate their love in actual sexual form.
Parents and friends all in the throes of loving situations. They conflict. It is complicated.
Very nicely so and very sweet. Bittersweet at times.
I enjoyed this very much. There is not much cultural baggage to decode to get the story. It is pretty conventional western stuff very nicely acted and presented.
It is long. Maybe too long but I really did not mind the two and a half hours at all.
This is a strong 4 out of Netflix5. Maybe more. It takes some time to digest.
At first one thinks that this is just an other sad gay story but it is not. It is quite real and somehow OK that it ends as it does.
The line in the blog title is repeated throughout the film, one way or another. There is still hope for all of us because there is love.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
TIME CAPSULE
Today's gay film is the East German
This is the first gay film to be made in the People's Republic. The day it was released, the Berlin Wall came down. Out and down.
A teacher comes out and faces all the dilemmas and conflict that I personally remember. He has a previous history of gay action, relationships but pushes that down. He meets a girl and begins a serious affair with her. She becomes pregnant.
In the meantime, he meets the old flame and finds himself back in the bars where he finds a young man and both fall into infatuation.
The shit hits the fan. There is even a disapproving mother.
It is a fine film.
All the gay stuff rings very true. When he first goes to the bar, there is a party going on. Everyone in costume. Drag, butch, the whole thing. He is freaked out but stays. The atmosphere of the party is very intimidating but he stays. It being a German party it is even a bit more outré. Think Cabaret.
Many many faces are shown throughout the film of the full gamut of gay personas. In other words "people". An older man tells his experience as a gay man during the Hitler period. So we see a continuum. Back to that terrible time, to the time of the film. And we know the rest of the story until today.
It is of its time but never once does it look dated. To the extent that the world has changed, gay life and straight's reaction to it, is beside the point. This is where we come from. And it is universal.
And it is realistic. Love from the first date isn't enduring love. Everyone who looks liberated is not. The courage to change and be yourself is front and center.
This film is not on the favorite list. It has barely appeared here. But Netflix has it. I will give it a 4 out of Netfliix5.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
CUT
Today's film was a haircut.
Seven weeks. Too long. Time and hair.
Now we know. Six weeks would be fine.
He left it a bit longer. Good.
I am still a little uptight about the whole thing.
Too much going on.
If it were up to me I would hire him to come to the house and do it on the back patio. Not likely.
But it is OK.
I will stay with long hair for awhile.
No. This place doesn't look like a barber shop. It is a salon so I guess that it should not.
It is nicely decorated and you sit in a reception area with two long sofas. There are work stations. Nicely, neatly done. They can be moved around.
It is decorator colored. Chocolate brown and stuff.
Extremely neat.
And the magazines run to things like Details and Homme and so on.
When I was a kid they had the Saturday Evening Post and over in a corner away from the kids, a Police Gazette. Which was pretty good actually. Not racy and nothing about police. More magazine noir fiction and semi sensational news items. It looked like a Farmers Almanac. The had that too. And a lot of old newspapers.
I am going to stay with the Long Hair Program. The dresser is a good friend. Nice. That helps because I am still a bit intimidated with the salon culture and inmates.
Labels: hair
SOTU
I stayed up last night to watch and think about Obama's State of the Union address.
I liked it a lot.
Very practical in its way. He put up a lot of concrete proposals, some he can do himself, others will require Congress. I don't think any of those will see the light of day but perhaps he can wring out a few.
It was obviously a template for the campaign. Which is good.
He is going to make them vote against a lot of actions which will make them very unpopular. Head to head.
Good start.
All my lefty friends in the gym were very satisfied with him. First in a while.
Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
I am giving it up for the State of the Union message. The last one of this term. Four more to come.
C U Tomorrow.
Labels: Administration Obama, Barack Obama, Re-election of Barack Obama
FATHER, SON AND LOVER
Not all the same people. But three people coming to terms with their life together. And apart.
Gay favorite for a long time. But not on the list. On my list.
Australian "comic" Jack Thompson (father), the young Russell Crowe (son) and John Polson (lover).
The Dad is "gay friendly" almost to a fault. Nearly drives the lover away, he is so nice. We do expect a bit of friction.
Then Dad gets a girlfriend for awhile until she turns out to be gay averse. Homophobic. And the closeted lover gets thrown out of his parent's house.
A stew. Funny, upsetting, teary.
A wonderful sentimental situation comedy/drama by the writer director of Breaker Morant.
This film deals directly with coming out, obstacles of gay romance, parental support and all the rest. Deftly done and well active. It is already a 5 out of Netflix5 because I saw it before and wanted to see it again.
Monday, January 23, 2012
LOVE IN WAR
Today's Israeli film was number 34 in the gay favorite list.
One hour story of two officers in an army outpost who, in love, must hide their affair from others. Stress from the fact that one reports to the other. The CO committed to a military career. the subordinate leaves the unit soon.
And if that isn't enough there is a "hot ambush" to be carried out that night.
Almost in real time, this little film has a lot of punch. The love scenes are sweet. The banter by all the men in the outpost, a lot of fun to hear.
The ambush, not so much. This is a war movie after all.
I liked it. I have been afraid to watch it for a while and so this collection of gay films got me to see it and I am glad that I did.
This is a 3 out of Netflix5.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
BAIN PAIN
Mitt Romney Misery in a Word: Bain
It is interesting about Romney. His entire success was based, well first on his Dad' reputation and politics, then in his work at Bain. There are two Bains incidentally. I won't go into that. It is just another way to split the loot between one and the other. To be fair, one is consulting and the other is investment but they are still branches of the same roots.
They used to be clients of mine. Or our company.
I promised once never to reveal anything about a company I worked for and I never have.
But let me talk about the people. Bastards. To the core. Arrogant, impermeable to outside influence. Pricks.
Now others who worked with them may have a different take but they will have to speak up.
I learned long ago that the people in any organization and the culture there reflect the values and behavior of its management.
Introducing, Mitt the shit.
This probably has no relevance to his qualifications to run for office but it is a clue about personality and previous experience.
He is stuck. He has to offer his broad management experience as an asset and, as it happens, the asset is totally open to attack as predatory with the values of a bunch of pirates.
They were the consultants from hell for many clients' personnel.
Is this OK for a guy who wants to be president? Not in my book.
Anyway, it is all the money and finagling that made him successful that make up the millstone around his neck right now.
Never mind attacks from the Demos. His own party are after him on this.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. It is indelicate to talk about his religious faith but not about his faith in the capitalistic values he and his company had. And I am a happy capitalist. It is the values, Clyde.
Labels: Republican primary, Romney
ASKING AND TELLING
Today's Japanese film by Nagisa Ôshima was
A military academy in the Shogunate. New recruits are being screened. Two to be chosen on the basis of merit. One of the two is gay in a bit of flamboyance he wears white and has long hair. But oh, can that boy work the sticks/swords.
He is one of two chosen and right at the start the other recruit tries to seduce the gay one. And in a nice way if a bit assertive.
Thus begins a story that makes explicit the homoeroticism of all such military or martial art films.
He is accepted into the group yet his presence causes some problems which, in the end, only he can solve. And he does.
I enjoyed this film a great deal. It is not perfect and as some orientals look more alike than others to a round eye (the reverse is true) I was sometimes confused over who was/is who (whom?) but all that clears up nicely in the end.
the premise alone is very nice to see. It is not that he is homosexual that is a problem (he leans "that way" and more), it is the response to him that is what causes difficulty. Men are such fools when their dicks are concerned.
There is not a lot of fighting, but what there is turns out to be sudden and cruel. There is a lot of stick work. Nice. Balletic.
What about the gay guy? At one point he makes it very clear what his reason for enlisting is. He wants to kill people. Hardly an agenda that conflicts with the mission statement.
The translations are a bit clunky sometimes but overall the acting and the cinematography win. Very nice. A 4 out of Netflix5.
WINDBLOWN
Damage Widespread Following High Winds
For about four hours yesterday we got hurricane force winds, west to east, and a fairly serious sand/dust storm.
We only lost power for a few minutes but others might still be out.
The damage is pretty bad. I can headcount ten trees in our "walking park" at the library which are down and gone. Dead. This is the second or third serious blow in as many years and the plantation in the park is getting very thin. Windblown.
Many of these trees are mature and over watered. So they have shallow roots and just can't take it any more. The wood is punky and weak. Some pines, many desert willows. Brittle.
At our house we are all palm trees in the condo development so we have a lot of bark around. Sand. We have sand.
One of our umbrellas out front sailed into the neighbors courtyard. The leasers. They put it away so we couldn't see it and called the real estate guy that they had it. Keerist. John went all over looking and then saw the real estate guy who lives down the road a piece. Connect.
In the back, where I planted the nice poinsettia we got for christmas, there are a small pile or red leaves and a broken stump. I am just going to leave it as is and see what happens. They are very brittle.
Sand everywhere. I cleaned out the fountain first thing. Siphon and clean at the same time, sucking out sand as I went.
We are sure that this windy thing is new. There has always been wind at the desert but mostly "out there" and not so fierce. A sign of things to come?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
TIME CAPSULE
Today's Gay Favorite film was the classic
Ground breaking, controversial, gay in your face document of the closeted life.
And we haven't shut up since.
There were years I could not look at this film as it seemed politically incorrect and then not and now, finally, a great sigh of relief to see it, acknowledge it and identify with it as true now as it was true then.
Self hatred is timeless.
So is alcoholism.
I now see the toughness of the one couple's love for each other. I see the identification of one man, a visitor, of the universality of the problem of loving others.
I can laugh at the quips and jokes. And I can feel the angst of the lonely man keeping himself lonely by attacking others.
Not pleasant to see but it is the disease of the modern world.
In fact, now, the startling fact is that there are many age old lessons imbedded in this film.
Some hard, some not as hard as they seem and others coming to life before out eyes in a sweet way.
It is great to come back to it.
A 5 out of Netflix5.
Friday, January 20, 2012
OVER THE BUMP
I have made a call, received a few calls, listened to email and more or less figured out how to handle all the phoney stuff on my new cell phone.
The main trouble has been fat fingers. All thumbs. Hitting the wrong key.
I figure that I had to make, at least, this step into the new device world. The only key phone they had was more like a brick than a phone. Cream colored so, I suppose, the "old" could find it. Maybe it glowed in the dark. It looked like shit.
This one has too much stuff on it. I will remove a lot of it when I get settled.
For now, I am happy to be operable. The swiping and punching of virtual buttons will come with practice.
Labels: technology
CROOKED
Today's gay film is really a film for all people. Not on the best list. I grabbed it out of the "to see" bin and put it in this collection.
Echte Kerle / Regular Guys (1996)
A cop's girl friend throws him out and through a series of circumstances ends up staying the night with a kind stranger who he meets in a bar. It is a gay bar. He is very drunk. A blackout.
Waking up in the morning, he finds that he is in bed with another man. His homo-panic goes into high gear but the understanding gay man smooths it out and so the cop decides to stay for awhile. In the guest room.
From here we get into a convoluted crime scene, the cop is on a watch with two partners........and, keerist. It gets very complicated.
But the focus is on what becomes a friendship and even a courtship with the gay guy.
Everything in this is gentle and sweet and very human. It is a sort of farce but not in the manic style.
The cop has a best friend and a new female partner. Complicated.
I enjoyed this film very much. The gay straight byplay is right on the mark. Nicely done. It is a romance comedy with all flavors thrown in.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5. I think a one time pleasure as having seen it once, the plot mechanics might not work a second time.
DAMN, HE CAN SING TOO
Last night at the Apollo! He just sealed the (older) black vote.
Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama
Thursday, January 19, 2012
ON TRACK
Today's gay film was The Trip (2002)
This is an old favorite of ours. It is melodrama, it is a little cheesy and it is a little awkward here and there. It got bad reviews. But it resonated with us and a lot of other gay men who were in the closet.
This guy is so far in that he is a republican and straight. He writes an antihomo book but it is not published.
It only comes out after five years, long enough for him to meet and get connected with a militant gay activist who brings him out. They have a four year relationship and then, the evangelicals on the retreat, Anita Bryant and all, they bring the book out anonymously and someone turns him in as the author.
The relationship goes into the shitter and our republican gay man seeks shelter with an older man, the one who turns him in to get him, actually.
When he hears that his partner is sick with AIDS and in Mexico he goes to get him and bring him back home.
Yeh. It is very cheesy in the telling. I guess you have to see it.
A lot of these films that we will be seeing are targeted to a very typical gay audience and they become beloved in spite of themselves.
There are some very good pieces in this. Some funny, some angry. The span of time is from Stonewall to the Reagan administration. We see newsclips and there are some "real" people in it like David Mixner and old gay firebrand.
I liked it again and had forgotten enough to enjoy the "new" stuff. I lived during this period so it speaks quite specifically to guys like me. I too was homophobic in a weird way to keep people off my back and I was even, for about a year, a republican.
Have I ever told that story?
I was in lust for politics and when I moved to the suburbs I got involved in local politics. They happened to be GOP and I went along because I wanted to get involved in the business. Not the ideology.
Oh. The movie. It is a very dear momento for me. I will, no doubt, see it again.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
QUIET BROKEN
Did I say that nothing was happening?
All that went by the board today.
John wanted to get an iPhone which, for reasons which are a bit more than I can summarize here, involved switching services from Verizon to ATT.
So far, I am an innocent bystander.
Now add. My old phone won't work on ATT so I need a new one.
I fought, I wiggled, I swallowed hard but went along bravely proclaiming that I would be happy with a plain old vanilla keyboard phone. I don't do text. I don't take pictures. None of that. I am a dinosaur.
We went to Target which has an all in one operation for services and phones. Re-upped the ATT and that all went quite well.
They did not have a plain phone, well they had one in another store. I decided on the spot that I could use two things. One is a screen keyboard and maybe, possibly, some day I would like to text so there was a Samsung, no LGs, with a pullout keyboard and pictures. Not much more expensive. There is no logic to the pricing systems.
I got a short course on operations and away we went. An hour and a half. Not bad, in my experience. And the young man was nice and helpful and frank about better and worse options.
OK.
I got home. Started to set it up. No help in the fact that I was looking at John's iPhone setup instructions. When I figured that out, I got out the Samsung sheets.
I finally got that I had trouble with a security feature that requires pressing a button on the side to do any operation.
It was a mess.
I got in the car and went over to have him run me through some operations which he did. Nicely.
He had to call the ATT service but it worked out.
I set up my voice mail, setup the password, got a call and so on.
But it is rough rough rough. The push a button thing isn't quite right. A new behavior, easy enough.
The screen scrolling is OK but, it seems, very sensitive. I get a lot of shit I don't want. Solutions are there but they require fumbling.
My fingers are too big. Scroll on the left side or you will get a lot of stuff you don't want.
I was using my thumb. Not a great idea.
Awkward as hell. But I have the fundamentals.
Somehow I want to get through this learning curve. I have thirty days before the promise to exchange for the pushbuttons runs out.
I have seen people with this screen thing hold the phone out from their face and push the buttons carefully with the little finger extended and light taps being given to the "keys".
There is a whole lot of shit on this. Even apps.
All I know is that the service is less expensive than the Verizon, unexpected, and so far I have the basics sort of down.
I will have tomorrow to work out any more wrinkles.
It may take another trip back to Target and help from the guy to get me over the freakout period but that is OK. Sort of.
There is no use in looking back and asking why we did this. It is a better plan. The phones are going to work out. I may never text but if I feel like doing so it is easy to set it up and then I can fumple with the teeny keyboard.
I have come a long way today. I am not better off than before but I did my part to help John get an iPhone. Obviously I cannot help him with his problems but he has several friends who are just dying to show him how.
Labels: technology
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
SYNCHRONICITY
Look it up.
I have a friend who is all about this.
Any coincidence, any agreement between people who had been at odds, any anything that comes out the same at the same time is synchronous. Well, yeah. And not only that it has some cosmic significance. The ether. It is not religious though. It is like aligned planets or something.
It is like my cereal. All the brands that I eat, 6 in total, have run out this last week. Synchronicity.
If you think about it, this is beyond the odds. There are six brands, seven days. The boxes are of different weight. I measure the cereal out but I do it by volume not by weight as the boxes are measured. A few boxes are big a few more are small. And here, for the first time that i remember, they all run out at the same time.
Let me give you another example. When Booker and I walk every once in awhile, three dogs arrive at the same place at the same time.
Another, three guys want to use the same machine in the gym at the same time.
What does this mean?
My friend could tell you.
I have the answer to the last one, the one in the gym. What happened recently is that two of the three guys got into a fight and one was arrested. At the gym. Healthy bodies, healthy minds.
Of course, it also might mean that someone is using steroids. I wasn't there. Couldn't see the tell tale vascularity and frown lines. Crazy eyes.
I am writing about this, actually, because I have mostly only been writing about movies lately which most people may not give a shit about. First that it is just about the films I am seeing and not about me and mine.
But nothing else much is happening.
I am sick of politics although this morning, at the gym, one of my best political allies came back after a long leave of absence. We can catch up and then, perhaps, stimulated, I will be at it again.
While I am on politics, I think that Romney was forced to say he only paid 15% taxes from the debate last night. He had an awful, weaselly lame reaction lasts night. Like he has never even thought about it. That it would come up.
Today he had to heal the self inflicted wound.
It is amazing to me that with all the smart back room people at his disposal they evidently have not had a plan how to handle this.
Synchronicity.
The forces of nature converged and Mitt had to do something he was not really ready for.
He finally gets to be the primary winner, almost, and the campaign that did it for him also got his ass on the tax returns. Not the Demos.
I hope that they continue to be lame about this and many other things as time proceeds.
Labels: life
FAVORITE
Today's film was a favorite of all "the gays" but it is also one of my most favorite films. I have seen it several times and I read the book it is based on many times.
I am not sure why this film fascinates me so as it is diluted from the book but it captures the spirit and force of the original thoughts behind it.
It is character driven using the device of the main character's profession, a hustler. A very smart one. High price.
He has two roommates to cover his ass with the IRS and, as it happens, all three are in love with one another.
Powerful chemistry but not unrealistic at all.
Surprisingly or not, the main motif is a moral one. Many questions are raised and answered brightly. In fact, while it is a serious film about gay lives it is also very very funny. And sad as well.
This film earned a NYTimes Critics' Pick which is rare for a gay indie film. They made it in 18 days.
Young actors who are in the cream at the top of actors in the gay niche of film making. VERY GOOD!
An obvious five from the get go. Of the standard Netflixfive of course.
Monday, January 16, 2012
TITAN
You know, I have spent a lot of time disparaging Microsoft and Bill Gates. It is a MacThing to do. You know, pick sides, Mac vs. PC.
But when it comes to the real goods, Bill Gates walks the talk.
Look at this infographic.
Bill Gates has given away half his fortune, 28 Billion Dollars, since 2007, saving 6 million lives.
Had he not done this, he would, today, be the richest man in the world.
This is unparalleled in recent times. His inspiration of Warren Buffet to do the same, has doubled down the results.
Labels: humanitarian
MY STORY
Today's gay favorite film was
A married man, a doctor, finds himself acting on feelings for other men and quickly falling in love when he meets an openly gay man in his practice.
A timeless story.
But, for the first time presented fairly and squarely in a fully realized studio movie. With Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean, it was certainly seen by every gay man in America and for me, at the time, very disturbing to see. It brought up a lot of memories as I had gone through the same thing, except for being a doctor, just seven or eight years before.
The thing about this film is that it is totally well acted and accurate. No stereotypical characters. Loving wife. Brought out sexually by a secure gay man. And a good ending. No one dies. No one goes to prison. No neurotics. There is a lot of love all around in this. That doesn't mean it is all easy.
There had never been anything like this done before.
As far as I know, the stars did not suffer in their careers because they did this film.
I think that it was a tipping point in respect to gay life becoming recognized by many as legit and worthy of respect.
It is worth a five out of Netflix five.
Be sure to watch the trailer below. It has a setup just made to suit the times. And it worked.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
BISKEPTICAL
Today's movie was the 34th favorite "favorite gay movies" which requires its showing.
This is funny and a bit sentimental but depends on the sexual confusion of a straight guy with a gay roommate who says he is gay to get close to a fag hag who is involved with a gay roommate who, in fact is in love with the straight guy's roommate who is in love with him but we don't know that at the start of the film.
It is a farce, not too well played on a low budget but the guys are cute and all ends well and except for the bitchy fag hag who, in fact, is really straight and wants the original straight room mate but doesn't know it and so doesn't he and..................
Well, I liked it but not well enough to ever, ever see it again and that goes for its sequels too.
It has become something of a successful franchise with three or four films in the stable at last count.
Me? I can check it off on my list. Look, not all of these are going to be good. Actually, I would say it was "adequate". We are still grateful for crumbs thrown in our direction.
A 3 out of Netflix5. I liked a lot of it in spite of myself.
Oh. Eating out is not a reference to McDonald's.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
ROMNEY ON WRONG TRACK
And he knows it too. Listen to the crack in his voice when he makes this blatantly absurd statement.
Even Rudy knows.
Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama
ART ON RUN
Today's gay favorite is actually not on the list. I added it.
Derek Jarman, now gone, wrote and directed this film about an Italian Baroque artist about whom little is known. Except for his work and the shadows of scandal surrounding his affairs with a street tough and a whore. A triangle. Bisexual but very much on the gay side.
Look, there is no figuring out the plot as such. There are many sequences based on the artist painting his works from life models. Tableau vivants. He gets involved with politics and church, the same thing, and carries own in in a sinful way, meaning he doesn't do what they want. Finally, thrown into exile.
Sean Bean is the street tough who holds the show together. Early Tilda Swinton is the whore and Caravaggio is played by Nigel Terry with some nice work by Michael Gough as a cardinal who takes Caravaggio on as a child prodigy.
My take on this film is that they let Jarman do what he wanted as long as the bisexual element was emphasized. Jarman himself was a militant gay artist and film maker who always had a point. Here I think that it is that there are no rules in love and you live with the mess you make but, by all means, make the mess first and foremost.
The cinematography mimics Caravaggio's painting style which uses a sort of unreal light from one angle only which creates strangely life like effects in the paintings themselves even though they are against traditional technique and, in reality do not really look real even though they end up looking hyper real.
Much of the artistic stuff is implied but the light source is always artificial, a polished gold panel which is held to the models to get this weird effect.
So the film is visually stunning.
What goes on in it are the mental images of a dying man, the artist, at the end of his rope. So a lot of it is surreal and distorted. Certainly out of sequence. We have to fill it in and that is not really possible.
I put it in here because bisexuality does count as, at least partly, gay and because the homoeroticism is an inch thick no matter who is doing it.
Tilda Swinton's famous for her ability to pass for male and female but this pushes things too much. The film is subjective, not meant to be "real" or accurate. And Jarman is dead so he isn't going to tell us what is going on.
I liked it before and I liked it again and I will almost certainly see it again some day.
A 5 out of Netflix5 and a definite item in any gay film collection.
Here is also an unrelated film short about the tableau vivantes that are similarly in the film.
Friday, January 13, 2012
BAD BOYS!
I don't think I told you that our neighbor on the east has rented his condo to an older couple from Minnesota for two months.
We don't see a lot of them. Old couples from Minnesota are not notoriously noisy and bothersome.
We had the boys come over, two friends who help us out with the heavy lifting or climbing. Two Steves. Husbands.
They came to take down the holiday lights. We were very talky I guess.
But nothing different. They were here for 20 minutes, back patio, front courtyard, out to their car.
As they were headed to the car, the old lady came out all flustered and wanting to know what the noise was all about. I told her we were just noisy. Pretty simple actually. I didn't realize that she was scolding us. But she was.
It has been a long time since I was taken to task for too much noise. A disturbance.
What a great experience. I love being transgressive and I don't have much opportunity for it anymore.
We all laughed. She went inside.
What the fuck?
We do have people here a lot and they are frequently "loud" in a sort of non-loud way.
There will be no throttling in the sound department. Unless she calls the cops.
DOCUDRAMA
Today's gay interest film was
This film was a phenom when it came out. It was a movie about a real man, master artist David Hockney with his friends acting out a story which might or might not be true but was pretty close to what was happening to them. Psychodrama? Some of it seems so.
That Hockney was and is homosexual necessitated a pretty open telling and showing of who and what. The story is about Hockney's life in London and his longing to get away.
We see elements of his creation of the first California paintings. The talk is endless but interesting.
There is real live sex!
Most of the story revolves around the breakup of the relationship between Hockney's most famous model Peter Schlesinger. Who is in the film!
The whole enterprise is crazy good. Visual excitement with the paintings. His personality. And remember at the time of this film, thirty seven years ago, he was already famous or, certainly after this film, infamous.
"The gays" lined up outside the theater in Boston. Most saw it twice. I have seen it at least five times. It was better stoned, then. But today it is fascinating to see into gay lives at that time. Gay bohemia.
Wonderful wonderful. A five.
Today, Hockney is still a great innovator. One part of the story of this film is the end of his "people" paintings. Masterpieces that show all of his friends in some aspect of their lives. His "disappearance" is emblematic of the end of this part of his career. He still does portraiture but it is quite a different thing.
A 5! A five!
And if you get some insights from seeing it let me know because I am still trying to figure everything and everyone out.
Oh. Just for the record, the film was met by contempt and bafflement by the art and cinema world. Making it all the more gay and very special.
The trailer is sort of a goof. Satire on a tongue and cheek film.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
GAY FILMS
If you are just coming in to the blog, the reason that I am seeing all these gay films is that I stumbled on a list of the 50 most popular films that gay people listed on a poll.
Then I added some of my own to the list.
We are just beginning the list so this will last for awhile. 3-4 months. Did you know that there were so many gay films out there? And I didn't find them all by any means.
Labels: gay films
CULTURE CLASH
Today's favorite gay film was the Montreal made
This is a fun movie. A fiercely Italian family with a gay son who tries living in the closet and then comes out with dire results. The shit hits the fan with mom and dad. A sympathetic sister, most of the time, and a closety lover complicate things. Especially when the two mothers get together.
The one to watch in this film is our hero's Mom who goes through a finely tuned change of heart over a very long period of time.
The Dad is Paul Sorvino. Another kind of good.
No wars are won. Nothing bad happens. No one dies. Well not in the present day. And I figured out the Mambo part of the title just now. Oh!
It has a lot of laughs and a few appropriate tears.
It is farce after all.
The guys are pretty good looking and there is a sympathetic takedown of gay help hotlines.
I liked it a lot and I would be willing to see it again just to watch Mom.
A 4 out of Netflix5.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
I'M IN
And have been since they started the campaign last year.
I am delighted to see that my investment in the future has paid off already.
Guess Which Candidate Was the Most Organized in New Hampshire?
Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama
CHAOS/OASIS
Today's gay favorite film was
Also a NYTimes Critics' Pick.
This is a kind of Romeo and Juliet film only gay. And the warring families are the Palestinians and the Israelis.
Two men, improbably fall in love. All love incidentally is improbable. If it is not surprising to the nth degree, it is not love.
One is a Palestinian, the other Israeli.
They and their friends from a nice bubble of society and relationships and try to block out the ever present harsh reality of war and war time.
Sides.
There is an element of an anti-war film from the 70s here. Neo-hippies.
Innocent and in some denial.
It is not an easy film to watch. We want the young men to succeed, to endure despite the odds.
Heartbreaking and beautiful, I smoothed over the rough spots. A courageous film. The writer and director is an Israeli.
I would not really want to see it again. It is too hard.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
VETTED
Today's movietime was switched to veterinary time. Booker's 6 month checkup.
He is always such a good boy and, for this session, we were able to see Dr. Burbank, an old friend. He is away in the summer.
Normal everything.
Booker's weight was a little high, more the midpoint between his highest and lowest. 85 pounds. He is a big boy.
We decided to check the small "growth" on his one side and it was all fat. Lipoma. Not in an uncomfortable place. It will stay.
We had his ears checked because he does a kind of head shake when he does his UPS man bark.
No problems. Just part of the watchdog act.
So we got off scott free. Dog free.
We will be back in May for immunization. Rabies. No checkup.
His teeth will probably need a cleaning then too. 45 minutes. Mostly in the back.
We all had a good time. We LIKE Doctor Burbank.
Monday, January 09, 2012
GAY CON MAN
Today's gay favorite is a NYTimes Critics' Pick.
I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor
This is necessarily a Jim Carrey vehicle. It is unlikely anyone else could credibly play this true but incredible character, a brilliantly successful sociopath and serial liar.
McGregor's mild, blond and blue eyed innocent Phillip Morris is also a necessary counterweight to Carrey's carefully controlled zaniness.
That, then, is a setup for a story of a talented grifter who happens to be gay and a romance that, while improbable, seems totally right and romantic.
I don't want to focus on the gay aspect of the film as it is so carefully done that the transgressive parts of it fold into the whole. Although it seems to me they are kind of shoving it down the straight folks' throat, so to speak, when Carey and a new neighbor have at it in a beautifully photographed, high art porn quality fucking sequence.
I am a mixed Carrey fan. I have loved and hated his work. Now, he has calmed down and there is no overplaying the scene. He has his wrinkles and is still a total fox physically. He could and does stand up against the hottest. His first boyfriend is magnificent and he is a good match.
There is no stereotyping here. There is no gay baiting at all. I bet that it is totally clean with GLADD and the like, the PETAs of the gay rights movement.
And so on.
To be honest, there is no electricity between Carrey and McGregor at all. There is affection. There is a bit of "talk", men love "talk" but their heterosexuality is safe with their fans. There is nothing dangerous going on. There is a lot more passion with the new neighbor at the beginning of the film.
Did I mention that the film is suspenseful, funny, loving, sentimental and madly surprising as Carrey's capers continue to the end. Thrilling too.
And, they say over and over, it is all true. True true true.
It is a bit like the film Catch Me If You Can but way funnier and antic. And, well, gay!
I also like that they show his exwife as a supportive and involved adult who gets him and helps him when she can.
Everyone loves him.
I would gladly see this again making it a 4 out of Netflix5.
LOOT
I bet this is the reason that Newt doubled down on his candidacy last week. Perry too.
PAC Ads to Attack Romney as Predatory Capitalist
This is amusing. It used to be that being a predatory capitalist was a good thing. All the GOoPers sucked up to them. Passed their tax laws, set up or destroyed regulations they didn't like.
This is mean stuff. I had heard about the movie.
Adelson, the donor, has very deep pockets and he hates Romney's ass.
Let the fun begin.
The ticker tape on CNN said that Huntsman now had 17% in NH!
Mitt is getting it from both sides.
The Gingrich attacks don't start until South Carolina which is very soon.
Labels: Republican primary
Sunday, January 08, 2012
NOT A GAY DAY
Although Takeshi Kaneshiro is a sexy devil.
I had ordered all his films a while ago and this one was on "very long wait" for a very long time. Three months or more?
I finally got my turn and interrupted the gay favorite films for
Fayajo / Sleepless Town (1998)
This is a relentless chase through the complexities of a gang war in Chinese Tokyo.
It takes a while to catch on but once it gets going so does the movie.
Kaneshiro dominates the film which has many side paths. The arc is the gang battle and there are four flip flop endings. Just when you think it is tied up it unravels again.
Good clean fun and very watchable. The opening Steady-cam scene is loooooong and very cleverly done.
This is war but not full of fighting. More the plotting and the betrayals. In the end everyone gets what they deserve.
Kaneshiro is not a traditional hero here. He is a bad boy. Cool and, when necessary, brutal.
I liked it very much and would be willing to endure another "very long wait" to see it. A 4 out of Netflix5.
Tomorrow back to the gay favorites.
These are outtakes and "making of" scenes with the man.
Labels: films
NO, I AM TIRED
I got a chain email (at the bottom) from a guy we used to see in the Caribbean every year. He has stayed in touch via christmas card.
He doesn't know what I think or who I am. If he did he wouldn't have sent me this shit.
So, for once, I answered one of these things. And I hit "reply all". A big bunch of people.
Fifty.
Here it is.
Dear Lou
A bit of research on Snopes shows this. Incorrectly Attributed
So it isn't Cosby. The nasty sentiments of the letter still remain.
I am a lot younger than this guy, one year younger, and I am tired of hearing this kind of bullshit from people my age.
I have some questions.
Is this guy drawing social security? Does he participate in Medicare? Does he use the library? You get the idea. I am sure that he has lots of opportunities to get his part out of what he has "handed over".
Does he draw a military pension?
Does he drive on the Interstate?
And so on.
He was a Massachusetts State Senator. I am from MA. Senators do pretty well in perks and all the rest. Is there another pension involved? Who put the money out for that? All of us. And we had to put up with his crap as a result. And still do apparently.
A progressive tax is not "spreading the wealth". Not when you have the one percent paying lower taxes than most of the rest of us. He is blaming the wrong guys.
Work ethic? He was a State Senator for God's sake. Work? Come on.
And yeh, we know about those Islam guys. Pretty close to some of the Christian boys. Different strokes, different folks.
The guy is a bigot like the rest of them.
Do you know what a dog whistle is when it comes out of a politicians mouth? It is a signal to others like him that he is either a racist or a homophobe and is stirring up the gang. His letter is filled with them. Mostly the racist kind but I am pretty sure that he is one of the people that want to take away my gay right of marriage which I have exercised at no cost to him.
As for the thing about oil money, please. Who is driving the gas guzzlers? Us. Him? Get on the train of bus if you are so enraged.
And this guy hasn't heard the debate about global warming? Where does he live? Does he turn on his teevee. His own party (I assume which one) has nothing but debate about it. Go tell the Alaskans who are losing the tundra there is no debate.
I won't go on. This tiresome rant is not worth the electrons that it took to send it out.
I AM TIRED of this kind stuff. Innuendo and half truths. I won't comment on anyone's patriotism or good intentions but this kind of thing is poisonous and I am tired of it.
The thing for this guy and you and us is to get out and work for a better government. Give to your party. If you are 76 you have lots of time if not money. Go to work. Get out the vote. Be a good citizen. But let the propaganda and bitterness go.
Have a life. Resentment kills. It has no place in a democracy.
I am very happy to be an American and am proud of my country and its people. All of them. Even bitter wrong headed old men.
All best and have a happy New Year.
esrose
Here is the letter that got my goat.
Bill Cosby "I'm 76 and Tired"
I'm 76 . Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National
Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some serious
health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly
40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my
income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as
though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.
I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who
don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take
the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.
'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I
can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and
daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight
offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't
"believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning
teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the
genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and
Shari'a law tells them to I
‘m tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let
Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques
and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia , New Zealand ,
UK , America and Canada , while no one from these countries are allowed to
fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other
Arab country to teach love and tolerance
I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global
warming, which no one is allowed to debate.
I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help
support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ
rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses
or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?
I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all
parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful
mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting
caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.
I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and
actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination
or big-whatever for their problems.
I'm also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and
early 20's be-deck themselves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making
themselves un-employable and claiming money from the Government.
Yes, I'm damn tired.But I'm also glad to be 76.. Because, mostly, I'm not
going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for
my granddaughter and her children. Thank God I'm on the way out and not
on the way in.
There is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us
sends it on!
This is your chance to make a difference.
" I'm 76 and I'm tired. If you don't forward this you are part of the problem".
Labels: republican whack jobs
Saturday, January 07, 2012
MARYLAND "UNIONS"
Nationally, SEIU has been on record supporting marriage rights for gay couples since 2004. The service workers union was heavily involved in New York last year when that state passed a same-sex marriage bill.
In Maryland, labor leaders are hoping to build upon that momentum with a broader coalition. At a November convention, the AFL-CIO affiliates unanimously passed a resolution supporting passage of legislation that [Gov. Martin] O’Malley has pledged to sponsor this year.
Labels: gay marriage, gay rights
CAMPING OUT
Today's gay film favorite was
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
This film is probably not very good but it has long since superseded any close scrutiny from that particular angle. Ebert gave it only 2.5 stars out of 4.
I went, stoned and probably drunk, to see it when it came out. We all went for the spectacle which came by word and mouth. We did it as a group which most people did for a long time. It was an identity piece, particularly, at the beginning, a place you could go to the movies and be gay, with gays, to see gays on the screen (or at least bisexuals) cavort and overact and have a lot of fun.
Later it was taken up by the hip, the collegiate, the teens and probably way down the line there some of the bourgeois but probably not the evangelicals.
For some reason it always drew groups and if you were not in a "group" you could go to the midnight shows which still have not ended (see locations) and immediately bond with other people who had seen it over and over and were now reciting it along with the script but also adding "comments" and then acting out. Water sprayed during the rain scene and shouting out to the no necked narrator. We went to one or two of those. Got "rained" on.
The mockery of the movie was being mocked.
What more can I say? If you have never seen this let alone heard about it, you are so out in the hinterlands that it is irrelevant. I won't say that you are.
Why is this such a classic not only to "the gays" or the hip but to a lot of people who are, perhaps, otherwise conservative folks but want to let their hair down of a night in the movies.>
I do not know but there are academic papers galore by now. Theses. Perhaps books.
The stars emerged from the film with full blown careers. Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, who while not a luminary, has worked steadily and consistently ever since. Meatloaf! The star. Not the menu.
It is fascinating and I am not one to figure it out.
I was apprehensive about seeing it again. It was a bit tarted up on the disc, extras and some foofrew in the menu but otherwise clear, tuned up sound and a great experience. And get this. I saw it alone. Well, Booker was in the room. So my theory about being for groups is shot. But I have the collective memory of all the groups that I saw it with.
A huge 5 out of Netflix5.
Friday, January 06, 2012
REVOLUTIONS
Today's gay film was Bertolucci's
The Dreamers (2003) also a NYTimes Critics' Pick.
I added this favorite film to the gay mix. It was not in the gay preference poll. It is not even very explicitly gay although the interaction of three young people holed up in a Paris lux apartment are three-some sexual enough to make it an example of any sexual arrangement.
Its relevance to gay film is that Bertolucci makes many unheard of assertions against the code and the exhibition of what can only described as abnormal behavior. It was the first film in a long time to get an R-17, the old X. to its credit, the film pushes the envelope without ripping it apart. Abnormal becomes, well, not normal but certainly OK and part of growing up. Experiments.
On another level, the film is a celebration of cinema. The threesome sequesters itself from the outside world living for themselves and in honor of the cinema. They enact favorite scenes and we get snippets of the actual film. Very slick.
It also portrays the time of vast unrest in Paris and demonstrations which begin as a result of a firing of the curator of films at Cinémathèque Française.
In a small, more or less peaceful demonstration the cops go on a rampage and manage to tear apart the thin skin that has held students and other leftist elements in the system. The skin breaks and everything falls apart.
Outside the magic world of the apartment and the lives of the three young people, we begin to hear the noise of protest and battle. A brick through the window causes the three to wake up and find their way outside, into and part of the world.
It is a wonderful film and should be seen many times to "get" it all.
This is the third or fourth time for me. A full fledged 5 out of Netlix5.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
PRUNED
We are getting our patio trees trimmed this afternoon.
I had it done earlier last year, maybe October. Since family was coming early November I put it off.
Much to my dismay, the one tree, a palo verde, sheds minute leaflets about that time and we have been deluged with them in the last three or four weeks. The worse place for them is in the fountain. What a mess.
I had thought we might let it go another year but no. I asked the complex gardener to do it.
There is a weird clause in the HOA rules about using him. Technically it is not OK but if he comes after work and waits a suitable time, ten minutes, it is OK somehow.
Me, I say that if he is willing to take the heat I certainly am.
Another thing. Last year he asked 85 dollars and I gave him 100. Good will money. Just in case money. I want him on my side.
Today he asked 50! I questioned it on the upside and he misunderstood and said, "maybe 40. I explained. He laughed and said, "OK, you can pay me 55." I will give him 60.
And no matter what else happens, there will be more goddam little leaves.
The other tree, a California oleander, is just seedy, pods. It is messy looking.
NOTE! The vine on the house that bears big yellow poddy looking flowers is abloom. When we got here it seemed dead. Lack of water. It came back late and is probably going to have two crops of blooms this year.
ROMNEY AT SEA
Dana MIllbank has a great piece here about the "victory lap" Romney was supposed to have his first night in New Hampshire.
It did not happen. The victory lap. questioners and hecklers stole it.
Even John McCain could not help but mock him. McCain hates Romney but he also hates Gingrich and the latest aspirant, Santorum.
It is a great read.
Labels: prima
NEIGHBORHOOD
In the last year, our neighborhood became part of the program to divide the city into neighborhoods with associations set up to foster participation. It is a good idea and keeps people involved. When you set up a "neighborhood" you get a set of "blade signs" which go on top of the street sign, designating the Neighborhood. A bit of pride and a good beginning activity. John designed the blade sign in our old neighborhood. The Mesa.
When we got here there was no designated name or boundaries but in the last year that has been remedied.
Baristo offers plenty to see, do!
Nice.
Labels: condo
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
SKULLDUGGERY
Good news / bad news
Our Home Owners Association (HOA) had an election in December. Board of directors.
For the first time in living memory the East Side of our complex gained control of the board. Decidedly. Not close.
Within minutes there was upset. The incumbents could not believe it. Did not accept it.
We have a CPA who handles the whole process. The report is unmistakably the outcome. We have copies of the letters.
But, the secretary of the board who is not a member wrote the wrong results into the minutes and the old board, as its last act, accepted the secretary's wrong results which, surprise, surprise, re-elected all officers.
So the Board met and elected Board Officers.
And did other shit they had no authority to do.
Consternation on the part of the newly elected members. Major shit hitting the fan.
Somewhere in here "someone" told the CPA to destroy the ballots. They are gone.
The new members who do not trust the retained board lawyer are seeking alternative advice.
Now all of this is subject to very finely delineated regulations. It will all come out in the wash.
This has been going on a long timer. East vs. West, two separate tracts in the same complex, new versus old, leasing versus permanent owners, young versus old. There is plenty of division go go around.
We are in the east, we will support the proper election and, if necessary will give some money to it.
But, there is no way that either one of us is going to get involved in what is a high stress goat fuck. We are getting our popcorn out and watching the show.
Labels: condo, war and peace
CHOICES
Today's 50 favorite gay film was
Small fishing village, local guy falls in love with a visiting artist, lover dies when he falls into an undertow but reappears as a ghost. Only his lover is able to see or see him.
Local legend dictates that when someone dies they get a goodbye and a burial at sea by a loved one. Otherwise they float between life and death.
Since this can not happen, the body has not been found, yet, the dead lover stays on. Did I mention the fisherman is married?
But these kind of things have a way of not working out.
Ghost stories like this are commonplace in the movie business but the gay angle and the locale play a big part in telling a different story.
There is a big element of the closet consequences as well as the spiritual dilemmas that come up.
This is a drama, not a comedy. Very well told.
Holding on to a loved one after death has a lot to do with the way things turn out.
I liked it a lot and will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
HOMOCATHOLIC MELODRAMA
Today's Fifty Gay Favorites was
There is a lot going on in this picture.
At its center is a mock trial for a Bishop who falsely accused another boy at his school for murder and arson. There is a clever ruse to get the bishop to the prison in which the lifer is now interned and from there we go to a reenactment by other prisoners of the original "crime" and other events of the time.
The film turns from bare chapel courtroom to "real" outdoors scenes and then to an over the top fantasy story to back up the bare bones story we are seeing in the court.
It is a bit camp here and there but for some reason it retains our attention and adds fuel (as well as time) to the energy of the story and the courtroom drama.
At bottom, it is about a catholic boys school and the gay roots of the story.
For more you would have to see it. And, actually, believe it. The true test of a movie script is that it can be brought to its own life by the actors and the direction. At this level, with all the hoo hah the production succeeds admirably. Even when I didn't know what was going on, I liked it.
I saw it before and it was good to see it again. Everyone who counts is good looking and the ending is stunning. A 4 out of Netflix5.
LIVING
I was very touched by these photos.
What we can learn from old animals
In some ways these photos are sad. In another, one can feel a victory.
Some of the animals were abused. Most not.
There is not a lot to say about them. They speak through the wonderful work of Isha Lesko.
Here is a short film about Leskos' work.
Elderly Animals: Photographs by Isa Leshko from Mark & Angela Walley on Vimeo.
I think that I mostly feel the peace of these animals. It is an assurance.
I think, more and more, as I age I feel the peace more than anything. There are aches and pains and things that don't work as they did. If at all.
But I don't much focus on that. I feel the peace of surrender to it all and to see a design behind it. Nature's way. And I am part of it.
Another aspect of it is the patience. With life. With the inevitability of death which I am not afraid of.
I was a lot more fearful of death the younger I was. Now not so much.
I face people who are dying every day. A lot of them are very peaceful. Many not. I would choose the former.
Another thing that I see with most of these animals is a kind of serenity or even pleasure in life. As it is.
This sure hit the mark with me today.
Labels: life, spiritual life
Monday, January 02, 2012
END ZONED
Americans can make a fad about anything and once that happens, a website is sure to follow.
I am fascinated with this.
My latest discovery is
Football player, heavy christer, comes in toward the end of a game and performs miracles. Just like our lord and savior. Evidently. And in the spirit of the thing he drops to pray. The half kneel.
I know that you know all about this but I am writing for a few people who do not live in our christian country or, perhaps, as I, have no interest at all in the sport, or moreover, are repulsed by such behavior in public, reinforced at it is by his tiresome witnessing for the lord in post game interviews.
My interest is in the hilarious cult of "tebowing" in which people find the most amazing goddamned places to do the act and mostly, as far as I can tell, with a strong sense of irony and even mockery. To say nothing of irreligiosity.
Many are hilarious. All a lot of fun.
There are a shit load of them. I go to the site every day to keep up with the torrent of submissions.
Here is the man who started it all.
Labels: christist watch, fun, religion, sports
SIMMERING
Today's gayfilm was the Argentinian film by Marco Berger
This fine, slow moving romance is a favorite.
Two men dating the same girl on and off. One decides to seduce the other man to get him away from the girl. Odd, yes? But somehow director and cast, particularly the two men, weave a spell that lasts the full time of the film. Suspension of disbelief.
Early on, both seducer and seducee get caught up in the process and find themselves behaving like adolescents. Tongue tied, slow moving, but all on the down low. It is hard to see who is courting who.
This is a set up for farce but the farce never materializes.
Long slow takes. Pauses. Long pensive moments. The actors show us what is going on. Silence, faces, looks. Very nice. If you cannot tolerate mood pieces don't look at this film. If you love complex cinematography and time to get into a characters skin, under. Well both. It is really great.
My main wish for this is to actually understand the dialogue and not have to rely on what is clearly overly simplified titles. But the direction and acting counters that fault and it is the producer's fault, post production and all.
The two men are good looking but well within the range of normal twenty somethings. Thirties?
I do not think that you need to be gay to appreciate this film. There are no "in" jokes or dialogue because these guys are not "out". Even to themselves.
There is one problem which relates to the notion that you can change sexual preference in one's lifetime. But I believe that these two are at least bisexual to start with (there are enough clues to this) and have been lying low with no other guys to be attracted to. Loners, they become best friends and then, you will have to see what happens.
I gave this a 5 when I saw it before and it still holds up.
Labels: gay films
Sunday, January 01, 2012
FINISHED (FOR NOW)
On December 31st, I finished a year of work on the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Yeh. I can say that here because we are only anonymous at the public level and, finally, they tell us that this isn't public. The internet is mostly a closed system and not open ended like movies, radio, television and the rest.
OK. So I am in AA and have been sober for 32 years. You heard it here first.
Anyway, for the last year I have been working through The Steps, one a month. The nth time that I have done this except for the one a month part. Usually it takes as long as it takes, maybe a few months if that. I wanted more depth.Or something.
Living in the Step, meaning that I remain conscious of how that particular Step is applying to me a day at a time then journaling about it, sending the diary to my sponsor every week and, at the end of the month, meeting with him and talking about it. Then moving on to the next Step.
I had a great experience and I am glad that I did it. And I am glad that it is over. Well, the formal part. I still go to Meetings and work the Steps one way or another.
Anyway, I am done. I am a free man.
I have more time to blog and shit.
It wasn't that it took so much so much as that it took mental energy. Very worthwhile none the less.
So I hope that I can put some of that back into the blog. Not the spiritual part but more of my day and all.
Labels: recovery
OVER
Only the poinsettias remain. And the outside lights for which we will need help. Ladder climbers. Off limits for us.
I will be going through the cards after dinner so that they can go into the recycle.
Yes. I still keep track of who we send to and who sends to us. Or not.
We had a nice holiday all round. Quiet. No mass teevee events either. Nice.
The back east family is having their holiday together. Merry Christmas.
And happy New Year.
I was in bed by 830 with a slight worry that some asshole would set off fireworks at midnight. I woke up at 12 on the dot. No noise. I snuggled with Booker anyway and went to bed.
When I got up it was 2012 and pretty normal. I didn't see or hear of anything abnormal. We went for our normal Sunday walk.
No one was out. None this afternoon either. No traffic. I think everyone is in watching football. Maybe.
Somebody won something as a crepe papered car came through victoriously. Yellow and green. Otherwise, no signs.
Tomorrow, no mail. Again. Normal. Well not normal actually. It will be 7 or 8 years before we hit Sunday again.
I don't know which because this is a leap year.
General election.
A year that has to be better. For the world, I mean. Mine was just fine.
I gave the Obamas a shot of money to close out the year. Max out.
I stand a chance to have dinner with Barack and Michelle. A drawing. I sort of don't want to go if I win. But I will.
No more end of year stuff. I have to start the new calendars in the kitchen. The new Airedale one and the little calendar our health insurance broker sends which is just like the ones we got when I was a kid from Mr. Daniels next door. He was an insurance broker and a bank president. Clearly the One Percent of that time.
And as for the OWS folks, this year, I hope that they get off the demos and their asses and into the voting booth for my side and go to the hard work to make a change. Start a party. Run for office. Action. Work. They are past their due date.
A LONG TIME COMING updated and updated again--this film really shook me up--in a good way
Today's gay film was The Edge of Seventeen (1998)
This film has perfect pitch. It may be the 80s and this guy is seventeen but it is the same deal. Fundamentally, every gay man has the same coming out story.
It is the obligatory part of any social connection. We go over each other's stories and compare them, then do it again. They all have the same threads, internal and external. Even being a different age or doing it in a different decade, they are the same.
The difference is in how well the story is told. Personal awareness is usually left at the door. It is all externals. But this film skips no bases. I can identify with almost every aspect of the story. Sometimes painfully, others, joyfully.
I really liked this film. I was caught unawares by it. Another coming out film.
No. It is special. And in addition to a cast of fine young actors, it features Lea DeLaria who we "know" from Provincetown, as the ultimate lesbian mom and guide into what they used to call "the life". There are also some fine old fashioned queens who are supportive and great to watch helping the young get on with the part of gay life that surrounds the sexual part which, to be frank, only lasts a little while, part of the time.
I will see it again. And, perhaps, again.
Great sound track too and DeLaria sings at the end. Sells a song.
One more thing. This is the 80s so a lot of the coming out is in a bar. That is how we did it. Of course, I fell into that trap, drinking. But I got out. Miracle.
These days there are many more options for men to meet men and at least half the people around us think that we should be able to do that.
But the stuff is the same. Just more healthy places to get over the hurdles. And I am sure that they still play a lot of the Eurhythmics.
This was a NYTimes Critics' pick.
I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5.
Labels: gay films
MINICLIMATECHANGE
We are just back from the Sunday walk.
Fun.
Incredible light as the sun "moved down the mountain". Very clear.
We wait now for the sun because, for us, it is quite cold. Low 50s today.
And colder still before.
We are headed toward a ten degree warming trend, the usual January jump. All week, afternoon highs in the 70's. Good for business.
Normal enough.
But in the night, patches of frost. Killing for a lot of plants and trees.
Each year for the last three there has been increasingly more frost.
When we first came here in the 80s we had hoar frost on our car one morning and the innkeepers did not believe it. We took them out and showed it. They claimed they had never seen it before.
Now this is an old reaction of innkeepers everywhere. "It never happened before". A week of rain? "Never saw it before". And so on.
Now, I can say that in our first twelve years here we "never" had frost during the last hours but now it is routine.
I have a pretty good memory about frost in our old house, the plumbing was on the roof and so the pipes up there would freeze.
It happened the first year actually. But only once.
Another year we had snow and a lot of ground fog as it immediately sublimated to fog.
Each year there would be some dramatic cold day. And over the years, the frequency of these has increased. Now, since the first of December, it is routine for Booker and I to have "crunchy" grass when we go out to pee at 3AM.
And many days there is some new bush or plant that has had frost kill.
I know all the arguments for and against and if or whether there is fast moving climate change but I can see it very clearly here because of the extremes we normally experience day and night. Dramatic. Heightened reality.
Weather observations from the desert.
Not very scientific but still.
I know. It is supposed to be global "warming" but that is a bad description. The real description is worse: "climate change". In which everything gets more extreme, hots turn cold, colds turn hot, rain comes, rain goes. Winds howl. Frogs fall out of the sky. And faster than anyone thought.
Labels: climate change, weather
