Saturday, June 30, 2012
HEADS UP
Today's gay film was the fun and scary
This is a gay slasher film. Get it? Hell bent.
Halloween in West Hollywood and four (or more) roommates and friends go out to party. The night after two gay men got decapitated in a lovers lane location. We see the lover's lane thing and then follow the guys who start their night with a thrill stop at the murder site.
They decide to park there and walk over the wooded hill to Santa Monica Boulevard to the party.
OK.
From there on it is a familiar stalking, beheading, running, hiding series of slash events.
The guys are great to look at. If a bit naive, they are all prime. The fact that they are gay is actually incidental. The stalker, who we see in outline, wears a mask and is in the mood for Halloween as well.
What can I say? I fell for it all hook, line and sinker. There is even some romance in a parallel story line.
Low budget but remarkably well produced by slasher veterans much is made of what turns out to be, in the "making of" feature, not very much raw material. Lights and camera with a bit of special effects go a long way.
I enjoyed it very much.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
The horror is bookended with some pretty good soft porn. It makes the "worry" more acute.
One thing about the making of featurette. All the actors imply or say that they are straight and talk a bit about how it really isn't different to act gay. Including the kissing and caressing.
These guys are gay. I saw the "acting". Inspired.
I suppose it is a career thing but if you are in a slasher film you have already blown your serious credibility.
Friday, June 29, 2012
IN GEAR
FIRST
Today's gay film was
This film came out in 1974 just about the time that I did.
It was epic at the time and it is still one of the best gay relationship films ever made. It is factual, honest and realistic. Not all the same thing.
A gay man resigns as a monk and moves to NYC to start a life. He does OK and meets a man with whom he falls in love and they move in together. The expectations are not reciprocal. One wants to be less romantic and free to roam. An open relationship. The other, our hero, wants it all. Monogamous. It doesn't work very well.
Later our hero meets another man with whom he falls in love and this time learns from his lessons.
Bare bones, this.
But the gay life we see, the sex, the dynamics of the relationship are right on.
There is a lot to be seen and appreciated here.
John and I both saw the film. Not together. We had not met yet. But I am sure that it was quite influential on our own expectations and outlook. And its optimistic and happy tone encouraged us.
I am sure there had never been a film like this done before. Much of it goes beyond what we would see in many films today. The loving. The bar and bath scenes.
At the time it was near scandalous and the theater was swamped with a huge audience.
The film had a 25th anniversary edition on DVD and it got refurbished some.
I was so happy to see it again.
One other thing. It is a pre-HIV movie. No one knew what was coming. That alone makes it an historic document. Interspersed are scenes from gay pride in NYC. That is where our hero meets his second lover. An intentional context I am sure.
This is a sure 5 out of Netflix5.
The beach scene on the cover is a classic icon. The trailer is a little cheesy but I will show it anyway.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
TWO "VISIONS"
OR," ONE VISION AND ONE MEAN AND UGLY RANT"
What a small minded prick. No leadership skill at all. Even I could write a better response for the other side.
Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama, Romney
ROBERTS
I spent most of the morning reading about the Supremes' decision on the Affordable Care Act.
A lot of reflection on Roberts. His decision not to join the conservative thugs.
What is up with that?
I think several things.
One, he is not a thug. He has to be tired of being tarred with the same brush as his brethren. He is not a thug.
He has recently opined about polarizing. The left, the right.
He is an honest, perhaps old style Republican. That means he is open, perhaps the only Republican power, to compromise.
History tells us that many Justices tone it down once they are on the Court for awhile. Some even jump the fence or wander across the fuzzy lines that divide us.
It takes a while, I think, to realize that one is now a Supreme and not really accountable to anyone except the law and the Constitution. He can retire from the politics of it.
I see more of a human being in his persona.
As always, I am optimistic.
This is a turning point for the Court. There are at least two likely appointments by the next term President. Perhaps Roberts is looking forward to that. Maybe he thinks that it is Obama. I do too.
Count your chickens.
Line them up.
He has a legacy to think about.
I, for one, am glad to recognize him as one of the thinkers and the wise.
I am not alone in this.
Re-examination of Roberts' Legacy?
If Mr. Bush ends up ruing the day he chose Mr. Roberts to lead the court, he would not be the first former president to do so. Mr. Bush’s father appointed Justice David H. Souter, who ended up as a mainstay of the court’s liberal wing. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was said to have called his appointments of Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice William J. Brennan Jr. as two of his biggest mistakes.
Labels: Supreme Court
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
OREO RAINBOW
Nice they did this. They are taking some shit for it. Kraft/Oreo.
There are a lot of naysayers but then that has always been the case.
Hard to believe that we have come from Stonewall to this in such a short time.
In my lifetime.
When I was a young man it was a love that dared not say its name. Now, not. I am married to a man.
But there are still closets and still hate. The battles have been won and lost and we have moved a long way. Not far enough.
And so on.
I read this morning that the speed of change for gay rights has been a wonder to other activists. Thank God.
Labels: fun, gay liberation, gay rights
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
JAY BRANNAN'S FANTASY
Jay Brannan is a notable gay musician and actor (Short Bus) who does great videos and serious gay themes. Well, serious in that they are major productions and always very enjoyable.
There was no movie today. Just a visit to the dentist. But this fills the gap in nicely.
One other thing. While Jay is not handsome in any conventional sense he is very sexy and charismatic. It is hard to take our eyes off him.
He knows it.
Labels: gay culture, gay films
Monday, June 25, 2012
GREATNESS?
The Newsroom kinda got panned. But I did see this Jeff Daniel speech.
Pretty good I would say.
Labels: America, United Sates of America
HISTORY TODAY
Today's gay film was
A gay writer and artist meets an old man who turns out to have been a part of the Harlem Renaissance with Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Thurston and other luminaries.
This, at a time, when he is trying to find his own identity within the black and intellectual cultures.
Through an effective use of flashbacks, the two periods are compared and examined. Parallels are drawn. A lot happens.Some threads get lost. An affair with a white friend, presumably straight before they come together gets lost. But it is great to see develop.
This is a first film with a lot of a first film's ardor. It is chock full of ideas and theories. Sometimes, some threads get lost.
It would be nice to see a remake with a bit more experience at scene and story building.
The quality of the film making itself is first rate. The period stuff is really fun to watch. It was a fascinating time.
I will give this a 3 out of Netflix 5.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
MIXED BAG
Today's gay film was a series of shorts collected as Boys Life Six. There are no reviews.
Four films, one horror (quite effective), another just a small character piece. A doorman gets obsessed with a tenant in the building he works for. In another, a couple of young guys dance a slow seduction with each other. In the last, a film that I have seen before,a young man goes home to the family farm after being in the big city, finding romance and real partnership, maybe love, right where he started.
Shorts are fun because nothing requires a huge investment of time or even energy. You can always bail.
There is a tendency for critics to review the disc instead of the stories. As a watcher, I try to keep them from being "better than" one another and just take them as they come.
As far as I know there is absolutely no attempt on the part of the producers to make these films thematic or in any way related.
I suppose one would not find four horror films together in the Boys Life series but other than that, they are just there.
I liked all of them. I had seen the fourth, Heartland on the internet and watched it twice again. It is shown below.
The others were quite enjoyable.
A 3 out of Netflix5.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
WELL AT LEAST SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO CHAT DURING THE FLIGHT
Lena Pettersson, Swedish Woman, Reimbursed By Kenya Airways For Sitting Next To Dead Man
Labels: travel
TIME CAPSULE
Today's gay film was
Gay because Ginsberg is one of the indisputable fathers of gay liberation. And he was a very sexy dude. An affair with Neal Cassidy, some nips of Jack Kerouac and a life partner in Peter Orlovsky. All out in the open.
This film is teary in the nostalgia of it. And its relevance to now. Mostly First Amendment rights.
James Franco is a very credible Ginsberg. Very well done. Great. Thank you.
You have to see this movie not because it is gay in any way (not much really) but because it is what makes your life what it is today. Fighting the bastards of conformity and oppression.
Ginsberg was a great guy and oddly straight in many ways. Square. He had some success as an adman. I saw him once at Symphony Hall in Boston just walking around in the intermission. What a jolt.
They had a show of his personal photographs in Provincetown one summer. He wrote little captions on all of them. I think that they are available in his archives.
This film is a 5 out of Netflix5.
Friday, June 22, 2012
FIRST LOVE
Today's Favorite Gay Film Number Four!
Two boys in a council estate live next to each other and fall in love.
This is kitchen sink realism with a nice gloss.
The usual obstructions to coming out, staying a couple and finding a safe happy life are here and handled well by the guys and one of their moms.
This is very sweet and realistic. Love is first, sex secondary and the combination very powerful for both boys who grow before our eyes.
We have seen this several times. It is a Brit film and has no titles so there is a bit of a handicap there but still, it is a wonderful film with great visuals. The boys are magnificent.
A five from the start.
As you can see, others like it very much as well.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
HIGH ABOVE
Yesterday or today are the longest day of the year.
Franklin and I can look forward to after supper walks that get cooler and cooler and darker and darker.
Because we are behind the mountains on the west our day is already shorter than a lot of other people. But since there is no moisture in the air, when the sun is out we get the full radiation.
Of course the heat will continue all the way to September. But this is the first sign of a change for the "better".
Actually we like the heat or we wouldn't be here.
Here. Everything you wanted to know and more about the summer solstice.
Labels: astronomy, heat, seasons
SHORT CIRCUIT
I have been watching gay shorts.
Yesterday was a collection of Asian gay shorts which was half good. That means they were sexy or funny or well acted or all three. The others were cautionary. Not good endings. Bad sex, unfaithful partners and badly acted.
The best was a short takeoff of a council of ministers to the young emperor. All in sumptious traditional costumes. Even those funny hats.
There was contention until, at a break, one rep of one side of the advisory body took some action. He took the clerk who was also the historian of traditions back to his room and seduced him.
It was quite nice seeing all those formal clothes being removed slowly. Very erotic.
The upshot is that they become lovers and the clerk begins to throw the decisions to his boyfriend's side. Also an abstract film about cruising. Very little connecting but I think the point is that much of the tingle comes from the chase.
You cannot get this disc except through Netflix. TLA or Amazon do not carry it.
Today I watched the gay short films of Constantine Giannaris. They are actually an hour long. Not very positive. A lot of film school shenanigans.
I don't require affirmative endings from gay films anymore but I did think that we were over the obligatory bad punishing ending. Also there is a little too much bisexual activity. A gay with a non-gay but something is in the air anyway. He doesn't address the something or the self hatred. He lets it kill or maim. Stay away from this DVD.
Scenes from Giannaris "Vortex". It is only five minutes long. But it will seem like half an hour.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
THE DANCING GUY FINALE
You may remember my fascination with the "dancing guy" Matt Harding.
I have followed him through three around the world dancing videos and now he is done. The last one. And the best.
All of these, or most, are fans over the years that came out to work on the individual dances. What is new, is choreography! He has come a long way.
There is always a point, not the same often, where tears come and I choke up. All those people. So much happiness. Such a great idea brought to fruition.
Very goose pimply.
He finally grows up and has a marriage and a kid.
Now he has to get a job.
Note the one at MIT!
You can see all the previous videos here.
Labels: dance, dancing, fun. music
RUNNING THE ROAD
Suddenly road runners!
We have a family living nearby. A mom and a pop and at least one baby.
They are running all over our quarter of the complex.
I wonder if people are feeding them. Cat food is very good. Of course they will never leave if that is done so as more kids come they will not go out of the territory.
They are quite inquisitive and nearly fearless. Of course there are no predators except, perhaps, Booker. And they know all about him. They come in the yard and he barks at them. They fly, reluctantly, up to the garage roof and look down. They give him the rattle/buzz sound.
Soon I expect to see some Acme explosives come down at him.
I do not think that even a cat will take them on. They would not back down and their bill will do some serious damage. To say nothing of the spurs on their feet.
They are great fun to watch mostly, I think, because they watch us back. We are extremely interesting to them.
A great social contract.
FOR BETTER NOT FOR WORSE
Good news.
Americans Say They Are Better Off Since Obama Took Office
This even surprised me and I am the constant optimist.
It is interesting that some of the people who were interviewed talked about real gains but also that they were tired of gloom and doom and thought there should be a more positive, optimistic outlook which the Obamas surely have.
It was "Hope" wasn't it?
And it still is, apparently.
Labels: Re-election of Barack Obama
Monday, June 18, 2012
MY DAY
One temporary crown and a filling.
Before that a re-ordered day with a great session with a friend after a good AA Meeting.
Good prep for the mouth work.
And now, I am getting back into the orderly routine of my life.
Which does not include a film but does include a nice supper and some relaxing moments.
Who is this singing? Is it Clint Black? Not sure. in any case it is funny. And very good.
Labels: dental
Sunday, June 17, 2012
COMING TO
Today's Favorite Gay Film Number Three!
We are getting to the top of the list!
This is a complex but simply told story of a young man so buried in family drama that he cannot see that he has his own life to live and, for that matter, a gay life.
For relief he has surfing and surfing friends who lead him to a love affair which in turn leads to his opening up his life to more possibility.
This is a very favorite gay film which is mentioned in almost every list and was highly regarded in many festivals.
The cast is great. The scenes in San Pedro where the young man lives are the real thing.
It is disturbing and joyful at the same time. How do they do that?
I have seen it before and am happy to see it again. And again, most likely.
That makes it a 5 out of Netflix5.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
HAPPIER
Today's gay film was Wong Kar-wai's
with Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai.
I have seen this several times. The film is structured around a simple story of two men who cannot get it together for any length of time but keep trying until one meets another (mostly platonic) man and steps away from the conflict.
It is less a gay film than a film that happens to be gay. But it is two men doing man things to avoid intimacy so, well, I guess it is kinda gay.
The film is "experimental" in that it is not conventional in any way. Cinematography, structure and the like are all a bit out there but the story is simple if the people are not and the whole enterprise holds together quite successfully.
Wong Kar-wai is a great movie maker and I have seen all of his films that are available on DVD.
This film seems to turn the idea of happiness upside down. By no objective measure are these two guys happy. But they are in love. Very much so.
They are in Argentina. Away from home. They absorb the local culture. The tango is at the center of the relationship. See? That come and go and love and repel shit that those dancers do.
The centerpiece of the film is a tango by the two men in a rooming house kitchen. Hot. And they have just been fighting with each other.
I really like the complexity of this film. It is gritty and beautiful.
The third man who shows up is totally agreeable and happy. He is attracted to the nice member of the couple. There is hope here for a future. Some have hoped for a second film to show the next phase. Always leave them wanting more. A Wong Kar-wai specialty.
I am one of them.
This is a 5 out of Netflix5.
Labels: gay films
Friday, June 15, 2012
GOOPERS IN BRIEF
66% of Nevada Republicans support brothels, 20% support gay marriage #familyvalues: http://t.co/iCZM6To0— @ppppolls via web
Labels: republican whack jobs
PHENOM
Today's Favorite Gay Movie #5 was the sleeper hit
When this came out it got slammed as melodramatic, poorly scripted, unrealistic and so on.
But now that we know a lot more about Mormons and gays, it is prescient. It has gone on to be a Festival favorite, a DVD best seller and way high on the favorite list.
I think that the reason for this are the two stars and the evident emotion that all members of the cast feel. The script is very well drawn. A second viewing will show this more explicitly but it has its effect the first time because while things move past, they do register.
A hot gay man lives across from four Mormon missionaries one of whom is a closet case.
They meet and begin to alter each other's values and way of life.
They get caught making out by the other missionaries and our Mormon boy is sent home and, eventually, excommunicated and sent to a behavior modification facility. A lockup. Yes. They exist. In Utah.
But love will out. Very good. A lot of coincidences but what the hell.
The heart loves crossed wires.
A 5 out of Netflix5.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
HUMMER
I noticed more hummingbirds outside our study window. It faces north and there are not a lot of flowers out there. How come, the hummers?
Yesterday I got my answer. They have built a nest on our Paoli Soleri Arcosanti bells.
I am not sure if the nest will affect the tone of the bells, probably not, or whether a nest is sustainable on the narrow top. But it is holding so far.
I thought that I saw little bird bills looking over the top of the tiny nest.
Nice.
CONSUMERS REPORT
You might remember that, at the suggestion of my dental technician, I bought a water pik for the health of my gums.
I got a portable, rechargeable model which billed itself as a substitute for flossing.
Well, I went for that immediately. I took it up exclusively. It certainly worked for the gums. I would bleed a little for the first weeks. And I quit flossing.
The technician had said that one still needed to floss. I spent almost all my life as a non-flosser and only took it up the last three or four years because I had so much tooth grief.
Now, I decided, I could put the floss down and do it with water.
I went for my four month checkup the other day and did not tell them anything about it.
She remarked alsmost immediately about how much better my gums looked, much less tartar and so on. I told her about the water pik and then unloaded the big news, no flossing.
Quite and impact. I think that they still disapprove of not flossing but the results were there. No prompting at all and they cannot deny their own assessment of my "work" on my teeth since the last time.
Labels: dentist
TWO LIVES
Today's gay film was a documentary and a NYTimes Critics' Pick
Chris and Don: A Love Story (2007)
tells the story of Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy and their life together.
They met when there was a considerable age difference and Bachardy outlived Isherwood. He tells their story with some talking heads to add some perspective.
This is more a story of a unique pair of men who met almost by accident and then led a life that was anything but accidental. They meant to stay together no matter what. There are crises. The problem of the age difference. The usual problems for gay men particularly for out gay men who are a couple at that time. And prominent. Isherwood was famous. Bachardy became so as an artist.
They saw it through to the death and that is a particularly poignant part of the story.
On top of the story itself, the production is quite well done. Great rhythm and movement.
Fortunately for the directors of this documentary, the principals took a lot of pictures and movies of themselves and their friends. Generous use is made of them.
I saw this before and was surprised to find more to it than I did the first time. I particularly admired Bachardy a lot more than I did the first round. Or do admire him.
This is a 5 out of Netflix5 for sure. I would gladly see it again, maybe not today, but tomorrow would be OK.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
GAP
Another busy day. I did have one cancel this morning but another arrives in 15 minutes.
I went to the dentist yesterday.
It is not "look ma no cavities" for me today. One cavity to have a filling and another goddam crown. He will not be happy until he has all fake crockery in my mouth.
I have been out of his cash flow for quite a while so now, back in, I will be in favor. A nod, a hello. A tip of the hat from the big man as he walks the halls past his minion's doorways.
He is a nice guy and does great work and I begrudge him nothing. Happy to contribute.
I will get the crown started on Monday. The filliing as well.
Remember when I would wait weeks and months, even years, to get the work done?
On the way home, I went and set up a new pharmacy. My old one of many years duration was bought out by Walgreen which is OK and has worked fine. But, it seems, Walgreen and my insurance company no longer speak to each other. No end seen to this foreseen difficulty.
I don't use any prescription drugs, at least none that are on the list so that has been OK.
But now I am having the cataracts removed and they will need to send a script to someone for my drops and all. Expensive, I hear.
So off to the other small shop nearby. John goes there.
They were very nice and even have the on-line ordering. They will take care of any transfers. I have two. One uncovered monthly bottle and another salve that I use so seldom, I age it out every year. Make that two. Rashes.
It is very hot now. We are over the ups and downs. Nothing over 110 I think although the Volvo said 114 yesterday. I think it was the parking lot effect. I didn't look again after that.
So that is the update.
Time marches on.
Oh. The Dodgers signed Andre Etier for five years and 85 million dollars yesterday.
I am not a Dodger's fan but I am thinking of becoming an Etier follower. Actually, I am not a baseball fan either. But I will keep my eye on this one. Woof!
Labels: baseball, dentist, drugs, life
Monday, June 11, 2012
GAY GANG
Today's gay film was the Argentine
Plata quemada / Burnt Money (2000)
Great heist film. The wrinkle is that two of the gang members are gay lovers.
Known as "the twins" as many people don't get the relationship, they go on a bank robbery which fails and spend most of the film on the lam with two other guys on the team.
They have the money. But the quiet is brutal and eventually the members of the gang step out. And eventually get caught.
There is a Bonnie and Clyde level shootout and ambush.
The gay angle is played straight so to speak. Nothing much in the story is different at all but the relationship between the two men has ups and downs. One hears voices. It is all upside down from the regular gay guy motif.
The sexiest scenes, if you can stay for them, are at the end. Reconciliation, love and as they have burned their clothing to create heat to offset the tear gas, a beautiful love scene finish the film. Quite satisfying actually. They believe that they will be together after.
The stars are quite handsome and great actors.
It is an upside down genré busting show. Very reminiscent of Almodovar's La Ley del Deseo / The Law of Desire (1987) with Antonio Banderas.
I would gladly see it again. A 4 out of Netflix5.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
THE AVERAGE SWEDISH FAMILY
Today's movie was Gay Favorite Number 16 and a NYTimes Critics' Pick
This is a great movie. Four hankies and not because it is sad. Because it has great emotional integrity and is so convincing in what could have been a disaster film that it tugs at the heart the whole time. And it is very, very funny.
A gay couple decide to adopt a son and a paperwork slip sends them a 15 year juvenile delinquent instead of a 1.5 year old baby.
Problems ensue.
The have moved to one of those fake happy neighborhoods which is so Scandinavian you have to laugh. The looks on people's faces when they find their new neighbors are homos are priceless. But it is the neighborhood and a lot of love that heal what becomes a small set of disasters.
Nothing more can be said without spoilers.
Did I mention that one of the guys is the new town doctor?
This was a five and will be a five and I may buy the disc.
Saturday, June 09, 2012
LOVE
Today's gay film was
A Home at the End of the World (2004)
based on the book by Michael Cunningham and starring Colin Farrell.
Somehow this film eluded me or I eluded it.
It is a wonderful tale about lost love and found love.
It is less a gay film (there is a gay and a bisexual man in a three way relationship), than a film about sexuality and family. Brotherly love. Very big. Having a child love. All of it. And finding a place and way of expressing it.
The Farrell character is shown at three ages. All actors are phenomenal and quite amazingly alike.
The film also has Robin Wright Penn, Dallas Roberts and Sissy Spacek. Great.
This is a fiver out of Netflix5. You don't want to know much about it than that. Unique and wholly satisfying, this film delivers.
Friday, June 08, 2012
CROSSWALK
This is Gay Pride month all over and LA, of course, is no exception. Actually, North Hollywood or Boystown.
Here is a delightful embellishment the city provided for the parades and all that will be going on.
Labels: gay fun
MIDDLING
Today's gay film was another short series
Short compilations are always a mixed bag and these are about par for the course.
A celebrity kid who is gay, not really a gay film. A satire on easy target homophobes. Pope John Paul appears. A fantasy about a hitch-hiker meet up. Homophobe and bisexual exchange views about sex and more. A really neat one about how a closeted gay kid gets taken, by his dad, to a hooker to get "straightened out". The hooker susses the situation right away. Very nice.
And the most surprising is when a woman turns the tables on her boyfriend who wants her to do a trick with another woman for his enjoyment.
These are enjoyable and don't take a lot of energy. If you don't like them FF and you are into another one almost immediately. Like short stories.
I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5.
Thursday, June 07, 2012
BUSY DAY
A meeting this morning for an hour.
Then I had a setup call about my cataract operation.
I go for the pre-op on July 1st and then have the right eye done on July 18th. The second eye will be done two weeks later on August 1.
I am a little unclear about what and how I do while I only have one eye corrected with a new lens and the other uncorrected, But since this is a routine deal I am sure there is an answer.
By the middle of August when I have my "vacation" in San Diego, I will be done with it. I hope.
Later in the day we ran out of dogfood kibble and made a family run to PetSmart. Fun.
And, I had time to see a favorite gay film
This is a mind bender with one actor playing two roles or is it the same character in a different time zone?
In any case the attraction between the men, one Chinese, the other Swiss, is palpable.
Very touching and one cannot be sure why. I am going to get it and take another few looks. There is no way we would mine seeing the beautiful photography and the jumbled story elements any day and any time.
A 5 out of Netflix5.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
SO BIZZY
Two one on one meetings today.
An AM hour and a PM two hours and I am wiped.
That is longer than a movie.
And no movie. No nothing else. Just quiet, me.
Labels: life
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
CRAAZZY IN WISCONSIN
Voting is out a sight in Wisconsin's recall election. 119% turnout. They have same day registration.
The fever pitch is high. This is sort of a surrogate race for the General. GOTV and voter energy is very high in cities where Demos have strength.
The crazies are all out too.
Labels: republican whack jobs
THE EYES HAVE IT
As predicted at last year's exam, my cataracts are now ripe for removal.
They take the hardening lens out and replace it with an artificial one.
Both eyes. One at a time. A week apart.
My prognosis is pretty good. I trust Doctor Ho and her advice to get it done sooner rather than later. I need a new prescription now and will have to redo it much more frequently if no work is done.
I will probably need no glasses at all if I have one eye done for close and the other for distance. The lens that replaces is tailor made for me, more or less.
I could get both eyes for distance and use over the counter glasses for closeup.
Actually, she would wait until I have the first eye done to make that decision. After I have had a chance to "see" the effect of the new lens.
They do the ops about one day a month and June is filled, so probably July. They will call me.
I have been apprehensive about this on both sides. One side, I am just surgery averse and it is my eye(s) but one at a time eases my fear of any "accident". On the other side, I am apprehensive about letting it go too long and not being in good shape to have it done. Unlikely. More likely is that I will need this to pass my next driver's renewal test. This time was a bit touch and go.
They give the same anaesthesia that is used for a colonoscopy. I go out, the procedure takes ten minutes, and I am out from under and go home.
Convalescence is easier than in the past. This is not my father's cataract operation.
I will get a patch for three hours and be able to see by the end of the first day. It will take five days to be perfect. There is "no pain". Yeh. OK.
I won't be able to lift more than 30 pounds or bend at the waist. Detached retina worries for a week.
That is it. I am ready to go. A little squeamish but not much. My doctor says it is OK to do. He trusts the office that I go to.
I said that I wouldn't do it until I began to notice the problem. I am noticing it. My left eye has less vision than the right and there is a loss of clarity. Whatever that means, I can feel and see that.
No money involved. It is all covered by Medicare. If I had astigmatism I would have to get another lens to go without glasses at my own cost. But I have only a little of it.
We went over this at length. It feels right.
Dr. Ho calls me "my dear". That counts for something.
MORE IN LESS
Today's gay film was a compilation of international short gay films
All of these are "old" in the sense that the culture has changed so fast and also that there is more of a medical solution to AIDS.
Nevertheless the issues addressed are timeless and the films date well. If they don't then they are very good as a dose of history. Cultural and otherwise.>p>There are at least two black films. At that time there were no black homos. This myth is shattered.
Marlon Riggs' Anthem
Monday, June 04, 2012
PROPPED OUT
Did I mention that we have voted in the California Primary which is tomorrow?
Almost everyone here now votes by mail.
There were a lot of local candidates, many which I do not have adequate information about.
Judges, regional school administrators, water boards and the like. When I do not know who to go for, I vote against the incumbent. I just figure that in an imperfect world the guys who are in might well be out. Change is good.
We have a lot of non-partisan positions here so party is not a help.
In the big marquee races, Senator, it is pretty clear who to go for. Feinstein. Although I don't much like her positions there in the right center, much of the time, she beats the GOoPer all hollow.
The Representative is, again, whoever is not Mary Bono Mack. The rubber stamp Rep. Always was and always will be.
We have three Propositions. If in doubt, I always vote "no" on Props and I am always in doubt. It is hard to figure which special interests are trying to pull a fast one so I throw the rascal's Props out.
I differ from Kevin Drum who is voting for term limits.
I don't like term limits. Period. Sure, it allows power centers to collect but I don't much like government by newbie either. Look at the House of Representatives in DC.
We agree on popular vote managing of finances. Besides, pity the poor smoker for a change.
This is a continuation of the social engineering which I oppose.
And, oh yeah! We got to vote for Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States!
Labels: election
PUCK
Today's Favorite Gay Film # 8 was
It is also a NYTimes Critics' Pick.
A private boy's school puts on their version of A Midsummer's Night Dream with the class faggot as the star. Strange things happen as the play is rehearsed and somehow a magic potion suddenly turns many of the people in the school gay.
What a dream. At least in some cases.
This is a musical which is witty and wry and has a soul and a heart. It even treats its bullies kindly.
The cast is quite talented and while there are some clunkers here and there (tight indie budget) and the sound is sketchy in some parts (ambient with a bit of echo) the music on a different track comes through very nicely.
The boys in this are charming and love is emphasized rather than sex. Love can travel along many lines.
I have seen this before and enjoyed it even more this time. I think because I got the Shakespeare parts more clearly. I turned on the subtitles. That also sort of fixed the sound problem.
I will no doubt see this again. A 5 out of Netflix5.
Sunday, June 03, 2012
SIXTIES GAY
Today's Favorite Gay Film, Number 6, was
directed by Tom Ford and starring Colin FIrth. Adapted from a story by Christopher Isherwood.
This film is beautiful to watch, it is a Tom Ford life that we see played out by a widower whose life alone is no longer worth living.
His partner of many years, Mathew Goode, an architect, is killed suddenly in an auto accident. No AIDS in the 60s. Other deaths, other ways.
Ford is proud as are the actors (the "making of featurette) that this man and his friends are not distinguishable from a straight couple and then go on about how they are different. A kind of weird deceit to the film. I am not like straight people, neither are my lover and my friends.
While this is a kind of closety way of looking at things, that was actually the way gay life was lived in the 60s. It is just that the people that made this film are in the now.
Strange.
But the featurette is not a movie. The movie is very good, and sometimes hotly gay. A student of the single man and a wonderful hustler heat things up.
Colin Firth is great. The camera rests on him throughout the film and he supports the entire enterprise with his performance.
So, in balance it is a 5 out of Netflix5. Worth seeing again and again for the subtleties.
Saturday, June 02, 2012
OUT AND ABOUT
Today's gay film was the documentary
Twenty interviews with gay Americans.
There is no overstating the importance of this film on the lives of all gay people in this country.
It was shot for theater and then got broadcast on PBS. It has been restored now in this edition with interviews with the surviving members of the panel.
This is what this film did for me.
In 1977, I had been out a few years, I had met John and I had become active in the gay rights movement. But my footing was uncertain.
I was sort of connected to people most of whom were younger than I and engaged in the activities that I was involved with. John and I were not living together and our relationship was up and down. We had few models for how to proceed with our love, where it was going, how to live with it and each other.
Then this film showed up.
The individuals in this film were young and old. They just simply told about their lives. That was enough, in and of itself.
But they were encouraged to talk about their coming out, their lives since that event and what they saw for the future.
They talked about finding themselves and loving themselves as precusors to having relationships and being happy. They were, above all, themselves.
Something went through me. I saw it again. And again. These people, gay men and lesbians, had been relatively successful with their lives. They gave hope and confidence.
They also gave me a history. They had seen and had things happen to them that I would never see in my own life.
I watched the film about ten years ago and by that time I would have a story too. And now, the cycle has come around again.
My history counts for the next generation after me as they were templates for me.
There is a half hour re-interview with some of the principles on this disc. Wonderful.
This is a 5 out of Netflix5. I am so glad that I saw it again today.
Friday, June 01, 2012
THIS IS ABOUT US
We have been "out" a long time. It hasn't always been easy but it has never, actually, been difficult.
The benefits outweighed any harm.
There has always been support. So I join the boss in acknowledging all the non-gay people in my world for their love and commitment to being on our side in the long struggle for equality.
This is the gay month because it is the Stonewall month.
This video is remarkably clear. They must be going full HD.
Labels: gay history, gay rights
PHOTO POWER
40 Of The Most Powerful Pictures Ever Taken
I have seen many of these but not even a majority.
The iconic photo is part of our life, deeply imbedded. Some are never, ever forgotten.
One has some local power. Number 7, one of the the two guys giving the black power salute at the Olympics, John Carlos, was a teacher and guidance counsellor at Palm Springs High School for many years and currently runs an annual "challenge" for all kids to achieve physical skills with a field day to show the skills off.
Pretty powerful display all around. The "tank man" in Tiananmen Square looks so small.
Love the ladies getting married in New York.
They are great.
Labels: gay marriage, history
DOWN HOME
Today's favorite gay film number 9 was
Gay boy from the northwest country, the small town of Big Eden, goes to the big city and makes good as an artist. Sells to the Whitney!
When his grandad has a stroke he goes home and finds people who still love him including a heavily closeted ex and a Native American, silent and withdrawn, an INTROVERT who has the most serious crush on him ever.
Full of ego, he doesn't notice until slowly the dawn comes up and he gets that his ex should be an ex and the Indian guy might be worth drawing out.
This is a situation comedy with a few more tears then laughs but it is very good nonetheless. A gay favorite.
It is a woodsy locale and quite beautiful. Glacier National Park. Lots to see. Scenery. And the ex is pretty good too.
Eventually, things work out and love conquers all.
We saw this when it came out and, while it is not necessarily a favorite of mine, I like it enough to give it a 3 out of Netflix5. Maybe a 4.
Labels: gay films
