esrosedotblog

We have a new holiday tree this year.

Up early. It is a real artificial tree as opposed to a fake aluminum tree. That is to say that it aspires to sprucish reality and succeeds admirably.

It is seven and a half feet tall and not as wide as you might see in the wild which means that it just fits in a spacey kind of place between the big chair and where the old dog toy box used to live.

All lights installed. A blessing.

My earliest holiday memories are of my dad fighting the lights, my mom fighting my dad and me pouting because, well, you know, to a little gay boy there are never enough lights.

But I live with another gay boy now who had a similar experience and so there are plenty of lights on this baby.

It is really the best artificial tree I have ever seen.

It is also one of the first in the neighborhood.

Well, I do not know that.

John also put up some outside lights. Big lit icicles hanging from the bougainvillea near the garage door. All along the bottom as icicles would hang if they were really hanging there. Not on the fucking top!

So, we are not only doing it this year but we are doing it early.

If we lived in Japan we would be held to a higher standard. That is where the photo comes from. Gay Japanese maybe.

Certainly over the top. But in a kind of tasteful way.

Labels: holidays

I have always thought that going out with others on one day to shop is just another sign of mass insanity.

As it turns out, this year, the rest of the world may be catching on to my ideas.

Retail group: Black Friday weekend loses allure

I am not a lifetime agoraphobe. I am late onset.

Now, I don't shop at all except by mail. And the idea of going out while all the world is running around the stores is a nightmare.

It has not always been this way. I don't think that I was ever a Black Friday celebrant but I did enjoy going to the stores.

I used to go out and wander the length of Washington Street in Boston. In and out of Jordan Marsh, Filenes and all the other stores that were laid out along this grand promenade.

We lived about twenty minutes away for a quite a while and so it was easy. And then we moved. I think this is when it got to be less attractive. It was a little further to walk in to the place. A mile? There was the T and that was fun. But then it wore out.

I am not sure what happened. I know the street changed about the same time. In the old old days there was plenty going on besides retail. There were at least two newspapers along the row with hand made news bulletin boards outside. The original Radio Shack. Many many street vendors. Lots of theaters. Hordes of people. A carnival.

And one end anchored by the "combat zone", Boston's porn store neighborhood on one end and then a couple of blocks to the theater district. Legit theater. Everything you could want in a walk of about a mile.

Then slowly, it all deteriorated. People moved out of the city. Shopping malls grew in the suburbs. Taxes drove out the more interesting places to hang out.

And by the time we left Boston, it was a shade of its formal self.

I never got interested in malls. At all.

Now, we have a retail district and people go there but I lost the urge and it is not coming back.

The idea of going in for specials and fighting it out is just beyond my imagination of a good time.

But then wrestling has always been a spectator sport for me.

Labels: shopping

One more step today in a long trudge through eight seasons.

Well, not a trudge, really. More like a saunter. It is quite enjoyable. Overall a rated 5 out of Netflix5.

The Big Bang Theory has become a regular segment of my schedule for these few days.

No movies. Just Sheldon and Leonard and Penny plus the neighbors upstairs.

For those who have not yet seen this, better catch up!

You can be alone and have all the "ghosts" in your life come alive.

Especially in a car. Driving. The world is around you but you are still alone with the thoughts and phantasms that come in such a situation.

It is not like reflection it is more like a meditation. Focus is on another thing while everything comes pouring into the space available.

Such is the situation in the film

Locke (2014)

with Tom Hardy behind the wheel and on the phone throughout.

He is on the way to be with the woman with whom he had a one night stand. Who is now having his baby.

During the trip he talks to the woman, his boss, his friend at work, his boss and his wife who finds out what is going on during the ride.

There are moments when this all seems contrived but by the end it is quite real and totally absorbing.

I would not mind seeing it again. That makes it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

They still haven't figured out what to do with all the cranberries.

My last real job was with Ocean Spray, the cranberry company. I was the production planning manager which really masked the fact that I was the Operations Manager's hatchet man. Hard to explain. Just let it be said that I was probably a thorn in everyone's side.

While I was there I went to get some training (I was that bad I guess) at a company in Cambridge, became enthralled with that process and left the cranberries to become a consultant.

But those little red berries are still in my heart somewhere.

Cranberry Growers Search for Ways to Share Their Bounty

Yep. No one wants it any other way than with the turkey and, for some, as a stringent juice that wakes you up and also has some health claims to make. A bit dubious those but firm enough to allude to without labeling it actually.

The thing is that the berries are very tart. They need a lot of sugar. So they might be healthy but you have to load up with calories to use them. Or shudder and wince and shiver as you eat them naked.

The "industry" is quite interesting and totally American. They have managed to transport the culture to Scandinavia and a few other places that have boggy conditions and the cold weather frost production the berry needs to finish its maturity.

At least they have been able to make the juice and the jelly more than holiday treats. It is now a year long business. The dried fruit Craisins came about when I was there so many years ago. Not bad. Not good.

So, here we are. The peak season. You can get the berries fresh now which I think has a lot to do with how they are seen as a holiday food and not much else.

Labels: agriculture, life

Today's film is a second look.

50/50 (2011)

which I think refers to the chances of a guy with a brain tumor as well as the relationship that develops between him and his therapist.

Joseph Gordon Levitt is the cancer guy and Seth Rogen is his best friend. The kind of friend we would all want to have at our side. A combination of endless support and a very biting sense of humor. The black kind.

What I like about this is its lack of even a grain of sentimentality. There is no shirking from the fact that people are going to die. There is no backing off with a miracle cure or procedure to get us out of this terminal situation.

The players are all in tune. There is no false note. Angelica Huston is a mom who is unaccustomed to things not going her way. She is great.

Today's film is about that cinematic cliché, the lovable bad boy.

But it is not a comedy. It is a serious study of growing up in a tough world with some tough rules which are simply beyond reach.

L'enfant (The Child) (2005)

This French film is beautifully realized. There is no plot. There are no "characters" as such. It is a series of events which, in one way, are the inevitable outcome of growing up on the wrong side of things.

Jimmy has a good heart and wants to do the right thing. It eludes him.

The film lets us think, for awhile, that the child is a baby Jimmy's girl friend has just had. Is it his? If not then what does that mean for him. If so, then, the same question.

He has grown up in a world without consequences or, at least, without consequences that he cares about.

He is a likeable brat.

Jeremie Renier carries the film. He is on all the time. He is in constant closeups. He is brash, he is certain, he has a swagger. But then he does not.

This is well worth seeing again. I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

I went to the Doctor this morning for my triennial checkup.

Every four months. I have tried to get away with less but Doctor Jim is relentless.

Actually, it is always a pleasant visit. I like him a lot and there isn't a whole lot to discuss of a serious nature.

Today was the annual, the big one. So I had the cardiogram and other stuff. All the results are not in because I have to go for lab tests later this week.

In the last year I have been "dismissed" by a nephrologist and a urologist. This is after some treatment for trouble down there.

It is over.

The only current issues I have relate to old age. And not much of that. Jim said that I had the circulatory system of a middle aged man. Actually it is good for any age. A key factor apparently. He sees this with my feet which, other than being handsome, have nice rich veins and are pinkish.

If I wished for anything it would be to have a healthy circulatory system.

Labels: health, medical

The rapid collapse of Bill Cosby's reputation seems unprecedented to me.

Cosby was one of the first black actors to achieve some degree of national success independent of his race. Or, in spite of his race.

I don't know. It was played very well so that he came out all heroic.

I liked him as a comedian. Then I liked I Spy where he had an almost magical partnership with Robert Culp. Then it goes on from there and I sort of lost him.

Not because I knew anything of course. I just sort of got bored with him as a "character". That happens with television. And then I got tired of television. Still am.

Scandal is always juicy with lots of hindsight coming into play. The real jury is still out on how this will work for Costby but he already has had cancellations.

The other thing about it is the race card. It has been taken off the table so to speak.

This is, of course, unfair but somewhere someone is saying that he abused the well deserved reputation he had gained as a spokesman for, well what? Not his race certainly.

He was/is an entertainer. The black thing is there and part of the picture. Can't deny that.

But in the basic scheme of things this is what he will be remembered for.

Calling Out Bill Cosby’s Media Enablers, Including Myself

I love David Carr's candor.

I always have.

The fact is that Cosby has thrown himself to the wolves. He has done it singlehandedly. What a terrible way to end a career and to spend one's "golden years".

Labels: public life

Actually, I have belonged to this club most, well, all of my life.

An Open Letter from Introverts to Everyone Else

This is so me.

I really like that I live in a desert. Not many people come by. Most run out of water.

I am not a joiner. I really didn't like the results of my early efforts. Or rather the early efforts of the world to get me to mix.

You know, recess? That was hard.

I really never found much benefit from the random or planned social occasion.

I did have a big family all the better to insulate me from glad handing and invitations from the outside. Not many people are going to ask you to show up if you have five kids with you.

When I came out I had to let people know that it was a relative term. Out from being heterosexual which I was not and out from being in the closet which I was. Otherwise, not so much.

I still find myself to be the best company I know of. I do have friends and even belong to a group where most of them share the same feelings. We meet three times a week and work what we call Steps.

If I do anything on Thursday it must might be a visit to this place we all gather and have some fellowship with one another. But probably not. I will very likely, almost certainly have a normal day for me. Go to the gym, come home, be a good husband to a man who has to find his own social life and doesn't need a help mate to get along "out there".

I will nurture a turkey breast and as much regularness as I can cram in.

Did I mention football? Better I do not.

The best I can do is to listen to the open windows that Marcus and I will walk by on our afternoon walk.

Muffled sounds of cheering somewhere out there.

Labels: friends, holidays, Introvert

The ideas behind the Big Bang Theory are very well thought out. The cast brings those ideas to life.

The characters have a consistent world view, they are very well educated. They have great schtick (the actors actually). There is a strong sense of ensemble. Everyone feeds everyone else.

Mostly they do not talk down to the audience. They are easily identified types who happen to be physicists second and human first.

As a person trained as an engineer at MIT, I appreciate the room they provide for scientists and engineers to be well-liked. Good people first.

While they are stereotypical in a way, they are people who I would genuinely like to meet and be with. This is essential to any television success. Despite this, most of the tube people continually grind out silly cartoons of their idea of humanity.

Rant coming on.

Suffice to say that I cannot stand most television. Well, maybe documentaries.

The Big Bangers know about me somehow and seem dedicated to delivering a first class product for my benefit. I plan to see all eight seasons and keep on going.

I am in the second season and have completed the first three programs in the first disc.

Labels: television

I have passwords, nearly the same one for everything.

I think that a lot of the fuss about passwords is silly. Except for my money stuff none of my secrets is very important.

Here is a great article more for the stories that are in it, the personal ones, and oh my god the artwork. Beautiful. One great moving portrait for each person.

The Secret Life of Passwords.

I would not be hard to hack.

But you need a lot more than a password to get by most doors. ATMs need cards. They flop at the slightest error. "Go see a teller". And so on.

I am not about to print mine here. But I do think that a lot of the fuss is about constructing artificial importance for one's self.

Labels: computers, Self Absorption

Remember when all they could talk about was Benghazi?

Where are they now? The yakkers. The conspiracists. Even the heavily Republican House says it wasn't so.

Republican-led report debunks Benghazi theories and accusations

I gotta hand it to them. They stuck with the record and the facts and produced an adult, objective analysis of what happened there.

And this is from Fox on-line news. I deliberately went there for the article.

Do you even remember what it was about? Some rioters attacked and burned the consulate there. Libya. A fucking hothouse of terror and thugliness.

After that, it became the punchline of every GOP demagogue.

Sometimes politicians do the right thing and in this case the House GOP led committee is a good example.

Labels: terrorism

The GOoPers look like Democrats.

By this I mean that they have become a party of many disparate parts. All the kings horses and all the kings men will have to put Dumbty together again. They need a hero.

Let us count the ways they are divided.

Start with Jeb, the possible last of the Bushies but it is a deep bench. He is out of office and has been for awhile. And that was Florida. Enough said.

Then there is Christy. Still fat. There has not been a fat President since Taft. I don't mean to disparage. But the image is bad. And he is a loudmouth sure to get himself into trouble which, in fact, he already is. Have you seen him speak? A little sweaty.

I know. These are going to be Ad hominem comments but then this is politics. You put yourself out there. Brother of a dubious clan or fat. They have no policies.

Next? Mike Huckabee, a born again racist in the old mold. He used to be seen swinging to the center but now, not so much. Mike Fuckabee. Not much else to say. He draws on his cornpone accent and good ol' boy character. Slim chances among the Republican elite. Not our kind. Hickabee. Although, more and more the elite are the "not our kind" Republicans.

Rand Paul. Like father like son? A battle he may not be able to win. Oedipal stuff. Tagged with the sins of the old man. He is fighting hard to shake it though. Without shaking the inherent support for the family from the nut cases who got them started. Also, Rand is suspect by the elite. I, personally, think he might be the sexiest of them. The curly hair is an asset. To whom, I am not certain. He has worked very hard to get African-Americans behind him. But how many Afro-GOoPers are there?

Ted Cruz. Oh my god, Ted Cruz. What to say here? He is so far out in right field and is very not known. That is worse than being unknown. He sill suffer under the microscope.

Then there is the perennial. The Mittster. Mitt Romney. Would they dare to try it again? He is still out there beating the bushes. He has a name. There are some people down the street who still have the stickers on their car. Even the Obamas have taken theirs off. We don't have one anymore. But that one went with the car traded in.

So: Bush, Christy, Huckabee, Paul, Cruz, and Romney. I am not quaking in my boots yet.

Oh. Did I mention that we have Hillary running again? And Webb. He is thinking of challenging the Clinton machine.

We all have our shit about Hillary and nothing is inevitable in politics, but hands down she has to beat all those elephant people.

Labels: Republicans

We had no idea when we came here that California was so brown. It never occurred to me that so called "racial issues" could be about not blacks and whites but about browns and whites.

I say "browns" and "whites" because this better describes the basic issue. Color of skin is a divider, a sorter, a category maker.

There are not a lot of epithets. Color just is. If you are brown then you are not white. I know. This sounds stupid and at rock bottom it is. But it is a consideration of basic values and judgements.

When we got here I noticed that very few local people had tans. Worth noting. There are good reasons for this. The uv concentration in the desert is pretty high. But it also means that being paler has greater value than being brown. Tan.

This is only my theory. No studies on this one.

But now, there is a lot of data on the changing complexion of California which is thought by many to be the harbinger of national change.

Turmoil Over Immigration Status? California Has Lived It for Decades

Interesting and informative and, as far as I can tell, right on accurate.

You can't see it very clearly but we live right smack dab in one of the most orange areas. Over 15% brown. Tan. Hispanic maybe.

Most of the activities I engage in are mixed. I don't think about it. But be with people that do and it is apparent that it is on the minds of those who segregate themselves. Meaning the whites, the anglos, the pinks.

On the other hand, some people work hard to integrate themselves with what is really the original, the aboriginal, indigenous population. Some people have gone so far as to take up speaking spanglish which I would do if I was young enough but is somehow out of my reach.

The layers of class are stronger. The guys (and one woman occasionally) who clean our house are brown. So are all the gardeners we hire in the condo complex. When they say we have "lived it" out here they are right. But for the most part we don't do a lot about it. All I can do is be a good client to Sergio and the guys. A thoughtful employer when I am acting on the condo board. And never, never, never participate in a conversation that hinges on "those people". And, if possible, express my disagreement with such bullshit. My small part.

Labels: immigration

The immigration bill is a real spoiler for the Republicans who had the last two years all figured out.

They were going to stink things up for the Obama legacy and to hell with the country.

But then the Obamas drew and played the immigration card.

End of GOParty. I don't mean the Party party. I mean the big winner party they were starting to have after the November elections.

There is no way they come out of this is winners.

Labels: republican whack jobs

I was brought up with scrapple for breakfast or dinner.

This would correctly nail me as a Pennsylvania boy. Specifically in the northeastern part of the State.

It is the product of farming, notably farming where there are pigs.

I am also old enough to have a father who went out to attend pig slaughter at family farms to help out. And there was always a portion handed over for our use. All of the pig people made sausages and scrapple. It is a way to use "everything but the squeal" and also to break up the monotony of eating pork chops, loins, ribs, and all the rest which will taste the same bland way unless we are creative with it.

There is no acquired faste to it. I think.

We will find out tonight. See if a North Carolina boy can handle a northern version of the uses of pig leftovers. Chittlin's it ain't.

Labels: food, Pennsylvania

Today's movie was the first season episodes, three, I think, of The Office.

I didn't want to be missing anything.

I wasn't.

Labels: films, television

No movie yesterday.

Just good ol' Lewis Black with a lot of laughs. Sardonic laughter. The best kind.

sardonic: [sahr-don-ik] Spell Syllables Synonyms Examples Word Origin adjective 1. characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin.

Labels: films, fun, lewis black

Dolphins rule.

Labels: ocean

NB: Step Six="stopped".

Labels: automobiles, driving

One of my best clients has done the right thing.

Procter & Gamble Comes Out Strong For Same-Sex Marriage, Proves Inclusion Is Good Business

I forget the details but I was out there. They didn't seem to care.

I remember that I got a lot of positive support from certain people but the corporate backdrop was decidedly positive and I never felt out of place.

Of course, I never talked about it in a training but it was pretty clear to most people at the time and they were happy to be in on it.

I know for a fact that I trained a lot of gay men and women in the groups I led. Proudly.

Big companies, a lot of them, get a bad rap. This should not happen really. Dumb ideas about capitalism and all that obscure the fact of big companies in our economy and society and they can be and are a driving force for good.

I loved that the P&G-ers called it "the soap company". True enough. But Google the company and be amazed at how many companies are actually a part of the big picture.

Socially responsible. Personally supportive. I trained many of their trainers and remain friendly with a few of them today.

Labels: big business, coming out

This is fun.

People Magazine's sexiest man for this year.

Labels: fun, sex

Todays film is intimate, closeup, character driven and highly watchable.

Climates (2006)

A NYT Critic's Pick. No small feat for a relatively obscure Turkish film starring the director and his wife. Nuri Bilge Ceylan and his wife Ebru Ceylan.

The film is all mood and mild movement. The end of a marriage, tries at other connections. The closeups of the people are mesmerizing.

I will give this a 4 out of Netflix5 because I would be happy to see it again.

There is a lot of scenery in here. As I said, the seasons, the climates of Turkey. Which deserve being seen. Seaside, mountains, near desert, lush woods. They must love these places.

Labels: films

I am not partial to gimmick movies.

That is where plot and character are based on some gadget. This of course eliminates a lot of science fiction from my view.

So today's film is a surprise. It has a gimmick which is that anyone who wants one can get a wrist patch that shows the date of their meeting their one soul mate. It is a rather popular device but not completely. A few of our characters have never gotten one. The girl, is has one. The guy does not. Romance ensues.

It is pretty good and there is hardly anything that I can tell you about it that wouldn't be a spoiler as there are surprises from beginning to end.

TiMER (2009)

Yes, the conceit of caps and lower case which I do not think is involved in the story. Maybe I missed it.

Let me tell you one thing about this film that is outstanding. He is John Patrick Amedori as Mikey, the grocery clerk who she falls in love with without the timer telling her he is the one. He has eschewed wearing a timer, kind of a hippy. He is fantastic.

I will give this a 3 out of Netflix 5 because I would not want to see it again. It is permanently spoiled by knowing its tricks. Unless I simply moon over John Patrick Amedori but I can go look for another film he is in.

Labels: films

Today's film was a concert.

Hall and Oates Live at the Troubador (2008)

They opened the Troubador 35 years before and they return for the anniversary.

These are all the hits, all the ones we memorized.

It is as fresh as the first time around. At least to me.

I only look in on them from time to time. I worry that a steady diet will wear them out.

I do not want that to ever happen.

It is a thrill to watch them make the sounds live. I have seen them before. There is no other group that I am this interested in.

Chemistry.

Labels: music

I do not know much about killing oneself.

If I did I couldn't tell you about it. But that is what we have in this film. Purgatory. And it looks just like the Sonoran Desert where I live. Not the city part, the out-there part.

Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)

There has to be a kind of death wish behind making a movie like this. It is not going to have very wide appeal.

But it is very funny. Yes. Dark humor.

And Tom Waits who is his wry self shows up later in the film to push it all along. It works.

There is a lot of our upper desert which is recognizable to me. Places I have been and enjoyed a great deal. One curve around a hilly road made me giddy because I remember it as one of my dramatic sights. I screamed. SOL. When I drove around it and now in this film.

So there is a lot to this film that appealed to me.

I could not in all conscience give it a 4 although I would probably be willing to see it again. But I don't want to give anyone a bum steer. This is an acquired taste film. If you have not already developed a yen for dark humor, they give you a short while to develop one and then they grab hold of your throat and drag you into purgatory. Here you are. Love it or leave it. I stayed and had a good time because the ending ROCKZ!

Labels: films

Hey, I went to MIT.

I studied Food Technology and Food Science. I didn't practice in the field very long. I parlayed my training into work in production and management and then I was out of that entirely.

But I did learn a lot which I applied in my life. After all, eating is a big part of living. Eating well a pursuit worth investing in.

So, when it came out that there were problems with saturated fats and blood cholesterol and that there was a connection between high blood cholesterol and heart disease, obesity and other ills, I was ready to drink the Koolaid on the subject and acted accordingly in my diet and in my cooking.

I didn't go nuts actually. I simply became a conservative user of butter fat but usually used margarine. Saturated whatever. Sunflower, all the rest. Vegetable oils.

Then I ended up with a partner with chronic heart disease and the need to eat less fat became more serious.

Now, once again, the science has been overturned by new, credible, long term studies all over the world.

New study puts final nail in the “saturated fat causes heart disease” coffin

It is one of the longer living dietary scams, and not even the result of food faddists. Real deluded scientists.

I am not about to go out and buy lard and use it heavily. Fat is still fat. But the saturated bit is the nub of the question. Vegetable fats are pretty good for cooking. Better in many cases. But in daily diet, a dab of butter beats any "real" tasting margarine. Hydrogenated or otherwise.

And then there is bacon. Go for it. In moderation of course. This is not fat lib.

But a good marbled steak? Dig in. Go for it.

I will probably not change the cooking part. Butter is kind of lousy at frying and all. It burns and discolors. But on toast? GO go go.

Labels: diet

We had a condo Board meeting today. Right here at this pool.

It was a pretty good one too.

I am amazed at the lack of conflict when anything is discussed. And that includes the 20 plus owners who observe and stay for the full time, about two hours.

Some have questions or points to talk about. The pool maintenance, trimming of the trees (not until January, an elusive fact we keep repeating) and so on.

I think we do a pretty good job as do the full time professionals who we hire to do such things as landscaping and pool maintenance.

In a place like ours, the pool work is an important part of it all because it is our major amenity. That and the view. No one wants to lose their view. But they also do not want to have the trees near them pruned. Actually, there is no connection. We do not prune for the views and while a lot of people bought for their view we do not do anything in the interests of their sight lines.

We also discussed some local crime which we do not regulate. You gotta call the cops on your own. And, for keerist's sake don't leave valuables in your cars that are parked on the street because you filled your garage with unopened packing cases left over from your move.

And so on.

Some questions or comments require only a routine response. New people, same questions, same response.

We are on budget! Mostly because we are in the first month of the new fiscal year.

I am the Treasurer and I think that the Executive Committee did a good job of building this year's budget. But there is no amount of propaganda which will counter the fact that month by month we will be on budget or not.

It is important mostly because we set the fees on an annual basis. Monthly payments. Booklets are printed. It is a done deal until next September.

I still like the whole process a lot and enjoy it all. Even the bickering of which there is surprisingly little.

Labels: board meeting, condo

Neil LaBute makes movies about people with bad motives who think they are good. Or right.

Not that they are delusional. Just very egocentric and unable to see the person sitting, standing or lying next to them.

This doesn't make for very pleasant viewing although there is humor along with some of the pathos of a wasted life.

Today's film is no exception.

Some Girls (2013)

in which the girls do not let the shit happen or if they do they quickly clean it up, throw it out and tell the truth.

It is not a pleasant film at all. Not at all like a traditional romantic comedy although there is some humor mixed in with the grisly parts.

I liked it enough to be willing to see it again if someone tied me down to watch.

The embarrassment of watching lies in its truth. And, quite honestly, it is not about hetero relationships. Even "the gays" can identify with the self deception involved in Don Juanism.

But, as it turns out, it is worse than just shagging women. It is a sad betrayal of the whole business of guys and gals. The unspoken contract of decency.

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5

Oh. I think the title means that he is seeing "some girls" but, as it turns out, these are mature women who won't take his shit.

Labels: films

It is nice to see that the "west" is not bending over frontward or backward to kiss Putin's ass.

Putin plans to leave G20 early after West blasts Russia over Ukraine

So not, that he is picking up his marbles and going home early.

It was pretty clear that when Putin took over the helm, Russia would steer itself back into the waters of the old cold war days. Cold waters indeed.

He is a thug. And will behave thuggishly. That much we can depend on.

Forgive me. I am a child of the old days when the Russkies were the evil kingdom.

Look at those eyes. Would you trust this motherfucker for one instant?

I had no trouble finding this photo in Google Images. A lot of eye pics.

Labels: Putin, Russia

It is hard to remember that in a lot of places, gay men still go through the excruciating process of self discovery with no place to claim the place they have found.

A bit of history will show us that we are not really all that far from the time when all of us were faced with the choice about whether to "practice" our identity or to stay put, to be in the closet.

Today's film explores that dilemma again. Again, again, again. Some day this kind of film may be unnecessary but today it is still possible that some men will see this and take the leap that many of us did a long time ago.

Snails in the Rain (2013) is not a great film but it is an honest one.

An Israeli movie, it shows the local version of the universal dilemma. What do you do when you discover that you are gay in a straight culture?

This is not a good news coming out story. Actually two stories. Parallel. Sort of.

That is the problem. The resolution depends on a kind of gimmick with another closeted gay man who we do not know very well. Actually, the guy who is writing our hero anonymous love letters. We don't know a lot about him and should. I think.

I bought this because it is the only way I could see it but I will probably not watch it again. Although the eye candy is pretty compelling it doesn't save the day.

A 3 out of Netflix5 for this one.

The snails? I guess a metaphor shoved in at the end. Not very effectively.

Labels: films, gay films

I am back to watching The Big Bang Theory and am in the first episodes of the second season.

Don't try to keep score.

This is a character driven show. There is no plot. None.

Just jokes.

What a relief.

Labels: television

Where I live, this is a very big deal.

Obama Said to Plan Moves to Shield 5 Million Immigrants

It is something they are thinking about. But I can't help believing that it is a trial balloon. The NYT is practically a house organ of this administration. Is that with a capital? Administration. It ought to be.

I have no way of knowing who is legal and who is not around here. Which is fine with me. The border is porous as it ought to be. Like with Canada.

Although there will be a quick rejoinder to that one. Some believe that Canadians are like us and Mexicans are not.

I do not share that belief. Anymore than I make a distinction between French Canadians and the other kind. Anglo.

Of course there is a lot to do with vote counting here. But it is always about vote counting so why not.

I do know that families are split by the border. Not good.

One of the times I am most aware of the border is when I do interviews for MIT. Kids from Mexico are treated just the same way in our work but they are not the same. They fall under "international" which could be good for them in terms of quotas. Which no one admits to.

A lot of kids live on the other side of the border and come to school on this side. It is allowed. And not just in private school. Where there is a will there will be a way.

I knew nothing about any of this before I moved out here. It was an awakening.

I did not know that some so called white Americans are hostile to Mexican people. It is the same as blacks. They are called ugly names and thought to be dirty and prone to large families and other sins which when you think of it is a lot of uninformed hooey.

Of course, as a bleeding heart liberal I am probably supporting bad elements and betraying my roots.

Which happen to be German through and through. And hillbilly. As well as cunnerman. Don't ask about that last one. It is considered to be a euphemism for poor whites in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. It is based on the long ago family name of "Counterman" who were thought to be, well, you know, cunnermen. When I was a kid that was the local "nigger". Too bad for the cunnermen that had no blacks to pick on. And only one jewish family. I won't get into what they called that kid in school.

We all grow up with it. Sick prejudice based on race, ethnicity, income, and, in my instance, sexual orientation.

It is not hard to identify with a greaser when I am thought of as a fairy, a queer, a homo or a cocksucker. And by some members of my own family! Arthur R., where are you now? I still remember your nasty mouth.

It is all the same thing. The haters are always the same. And they are boring as hell too.

Labels: family, homophobia, immigration

The Second World War was not at all clean cut, two sides, either or.

Today's film focuses on a newspaper editor who refuses to go along with the neutrality of his country. All try to dissuade him, even the King.

No dice.

His personal life is not so clear cut. Two lovers and a wife. Busy man. And he had to meet those deadlines.

The Last Sentence (2012)

The film is in black and white and is of the old style of narration. Straight forward. But complicated situations.

I like WWII films because I grew up within it. This film is no exception. It is so good that I would gladly watch it again.

There are no troops in this war. It is a story of conscience.

Labels: films

I am a lot more interested in the doings of the Catholic Church than you might imagine.

Without getting into the faith side of it, the Church is a huge institution which umbrellas a lot of difference in what it believes, who gets to say what the beliefs are and how they are practiced.

For years, I worked with priest/managers who went to our programs and learned new skills for application back home. They made a lot of difference to the world around them.

Today some of those change makers are rising to the top.

U.S. Bishops Struggle to Follow Lead of Francis

The Church has historically been seen as conservative and hard on its reformers. And yet, the reformers are winning around the world.

Humans are inclined toward faith and spiritual ways of life. Where the Church can help this happen as an individual pilgrimage it is to cheered and supported.

I went to mass a lot when I was in college and then later on when I worked with priests who wanted to make changes, I was struck by the good works that these people were able to do.

Sure there is a lot to condemn.

But the spiritual Program that I follow suggests that we be "quick to see where religious people are right".

God knows we can get behind that and cheer the reformers no matter where they work to alleviate human suffering. We can also cheer the keepers of the institution who have kept the flame alive for so long in such an oppressively hierarchical structure, long ago antiquated, but still strong enough to hurt.

Labels: religion

I love little films that focus on people and do not rely much on situations or events.

This is the main attraction of

A Coffee in Berlin (2014)

with Tom Schilling and a number of delightful actors.

A guy loses his job and his Dad quits supporting him so, at a loss, he wanders the streets for one night. The film is about who he meets and what he sees.

It is a small film with a huge heart and a lot of humanity packed into an hour and 25 minutes.

In a way it is an anthology film, different stories, but really it is a big story about an aimless young man whose time on the loose has run out.

If we would be him, we can see many lessons and directions open up as he meets new people and spends some time with them.

I do not know if he gets the picture, his money is running out so he better, but I got a lot of material out of it.

One surprise in the film is the music. It is not an original score. Just small group jazz, a lot like Woody Allen would do. And it is always apt.

I also have never seen anyone light a cigarette by leaning over and sticking it in the toaster! Educational if I still smoked.

This is well worth seeing again. A 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

Today's movie was a cartoon version of the middle European intrigue genre replete with spies and double dealing.

Wes Anderson's

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

An unqualified delight. Stars, story, intrigue.

It is what is known as an anthology script, that is with the hotel as a device many different stories and characters can be explored.

Sometimes this format yields a trite mashup but not this film. Originality creeps under bedroom doors, across the front desk, in the pants of some of the spy types who inhabit the place and even in the costumes.

I liked it a lot and will see it again some day. That makes it a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

The phrase "christmas tree" arose in family conversation today.

A perennial event. The first naming, the first hint of broader issues, the first touching of raw and ancient nerves.

At one level I would like to be shut of the whole thing. Having survived 77 of these times, one would think that enough was enough.

But apparently not.

At best, I am ambivalent.

On one hand there are many happy memories of the day. Little kids and all. Lights. On the other are the collection of the grisly memories of special days gone awry, trees toppled, turkey burned and presents that didn't fit.

My parents had a talent to hear my wishes from Santa Claus and then, somehow, distort them into a kind of reality that rarely matched the thoughts.

I remember a set of skis which I did not want, would not try out (once on an icy hill, see, they don't work!) and so on.

When I came to be in charge of the holiday for my own family we had some good times and the tree was always just the best it could be. But there is something missing from the childhood experience, always.

Not the actual childhood experience but the unfulfilled original fantasy of the childhood experience. The sad taste of misunderstood expectations.

Now that I am older adult, no longer an active member of the fatherhood commitment to creating a happy holiday (we did a pretty good job I think) I am now graduated from the annual bustle. I will not do any shopping nor do I want any done for me, fat chance.

I seceded from the card committee last year. No more snowmen or manic search for "holiday cards, non denominational and non-religious.

It used to be that the first encounter with the holiday occurred on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Now it is the day after Halloween.

But that is to be expected. Modern times, warp speeds. All that.

There is no conclusion here. Only that it has begun. The good tidings. The cheer. The bah and the humbug.

Can I just wish you a happy holiday and let it go at that?

Labels: holidays

Today's "movie" was a television series.

The first disc of the second season of

The Big Bang Theory.

Once again, I marveled at the dialog which, coming from several nuclear scientists, is heavily laden with physics and math talk. The real thing.

This series does not talk down to its audience. In fact, the physics stuff is all right there on marker boards just for the viewing. Sometimes they are even solving problems at the break in or out.

One wonders if this is all accurate. It is.

David Salzberg PhD is the science advisor and it has to be a lot more than a touch and go job. My guess is that he helps write some of the scripts as well.

The characters do not merely tell jokes. They make jokes in character meaning that the humor is dunked in science.

I also realize that the humor is totally accessible to everyone regardless of background or education. A neat trick if you can do it.

The success of the series is unprecedented. Which says something about television watchers as well as the show itself. There is an audience for good television.

These guys have figured this out and are making a pile out of it. In the meantime we all get to have a good time. Broad band humor. The very best.

Labels: films, television

I am a long time wanna-be magician. Or illusionist. Or charlatan.

That last one is the preferred title of a magic guy I have watched since, well it seems like, infancy. Now here he is full blown and glowing in the New York Times Magazine today.

The Unbelievable Skepticism of The Amazing Randi

Randi was a favorite of Johnny Carson so he frequently appeared on that night-time show. Also a frequent repeater on Ed Sullivan.

He began with a magic act but became "disillusioned" when no matter how hard he tried to show people that the magic was actually explainable he quit that act and became a mentalist. Someone who can read minds and tell the future. Still fake but somehow more palatable in the doing.

Randi turned to being a scientific investigator of the magical and spiritual when he set up a foundation to prove that there was no such thing. He took it upon himself to begin unmasking other mind readers who unlike Randi still tried to manipulate and con people with their stuff.

He is still at it.

The interesting thing is that he still hopes to find someone who is truly psychic or able to read minds or do spiritual communicating. He still has not. And the pot has grown and grown over the years.

One of the best surprises in this article is to discover that Randi was/is gay! He had a partner for many years who was also his stage assistant. A younger man who got into some trouble because he was an illegal alien and no amount of magic would get him off. They eventually married which broke the hold the immigration people had over him. Happy endings.

Labels: biography, magic

Today and tomorrow I will be watching Season 2, Disc One of

The Big Bang Theory.

I am hopelessly addicted so this will continue nearly forever. In the meantime, consider taking it up.

Labels: films

This is Gay Pride Weekend in Palm Springs.

It is a bit of legerdemain that is cynically connected to the tourist season and nothing else.

This was always the traditional beginning of the time when snow birds returned and the tourist businesses recharged. Now it is boosted with an event.

For an easterner this is all bogus. We all know that what has become "pride weekend" began with Stonewall and the riots against the police there. It is followed by the first marches, the first direct actions, the first changes to hetero-hegemony in the laws and such.

And it all happened in June, godammit. To tie it to tourism is a sacrilege.

It used to be said that they did it because it is too hot in June. I call that bullshit.

More and more people live here in the summer and everyone knows that the temps in June are entirely comfortable. And so on. Don't get me started.

Well, I did get started. I will finish with this.

The concept of gay pride is a good beginning point to the whole thing and certainly there is still room for it in the remaining heterodominant world. But the battle is over. The war is still in the mop up phases.

I do not mind that younger gay men and women "do not appreciate" the efforts made on their behalf. Most of us really do not appreciate the efforts of our national revolutionaries who secured independence for our new country.

Disinterest is the motor that drives the future. And so be it.

I like to think of every day as a day that I do not kiss anyone's ass for anything. And if you don't like that fuck you.

Actually, I do not start the day with that thought.

I start with gratitude for my life and my partner and the freedom we enjoy. The freedom that our gay brothers and sisters fought for. And fucking won, goddamit. See? Still a touch of the animosity we all have toward the homophobes. Now mostly in the closet themselves. The secret little jokes and macho asides. It is no different than the racists.

They have to live with themselves. Conscious or otherwise. It does not matter. It is a lonely road for them.

Labels: gay culture, gay life, gay pride

Labels: republican whack jobs

The future may be a lot more like the present than we would want it to be.

In today's film, Guy Pierce has his car stolen in the outback. He wants it back. Along the way he picks up Robert Pattinson and they join forces for no apparent reason other than comradeship.

People are so alienated that any hookup seems to make sense. Also, it turns out there is a bit of history for Pattinson that increases his motivation.

That is a about it for the post apocalyptic film

The Rover (2014)

I liked it a lot. Like a lot of films made in Australia, the land is almost a character unto itself. There is not a lot that is needed to embellish the wildness and harshness of basic existence.

I found in the small amount I watched in the "making of" feature that a lot of the characters were people who lived right there. In this awful trailer park-sh kind of scrubby little settlement. Mid desert. Actually it looks a lot like the land all around us here.

I really really liked this film. I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5 as a promise to see it again.

Incidentally, the actors make this. Pierce has always been a favorite and he has aged quite well. Pattinson is new to me but I will be very happy to watch him again sometime. There is evidently no trace of being caste in a favorite television series. No star turns here. He is a twitchy, impulsive primitive here. Quite disturbing.

Labels: best films, films

It is interesting to watch everyone trying to pin the bi-election losses on Obama.

The last time I looked he was not running.

Oh, sure, there is some effect from the White House but by and large it is not him the people are pissed at. It is everyone. Him, Congress, the whole sorry mess. It is the American Way.

Actually, it is my opinion that things are pretty good. People's happiness doesn't really depend on conditions. More a mood.

I think that we all forget who cast the votes in the first place. Who voted these rascals in?

Well, I will stand up and be counted.

I voted Obama in and I would do it again tomorrow. And the day after.

He has had an ugly mess to preside over and he has done it with grace and dignity.

I do not even blame Boehner or McConnell.

They preside over two bodies composed with rascals and incompetents.

Once again, the American Way.

The process of election guarantees amateurism. But the customs are strong and the system resilient. We have survived it all before. Year after year and we will do it again.

They do not call a President in Obama's situation a "lame duck" for nothing. He is doubly hampered by the knowledge that whatever rewards or punishment he could deliver are not very big and they are temporary.

I think that this is a nice time to let the caretakers caretake and to have a quiet time of it before the next big brawl which will certainly involve the Clintons. And if you think that they are sticking it to Obama, wait until the anti-Clinton tide is released from its holding position. Mixed metaphor. Tides do not have holding positions. But you get my drift.

Labels: elections, obama

Images and music.

Visitors (2013)

Silent except for Philip Glass' music which is pretty listenable.

There is a trance like effect in watching this. Mostly human faces just looking back at us for about a minute, they say, although it seemed shorter.

At first, I found it kind of challenging to just watch and listen.

Nothing is said so our brain has to form its own reactions. Surprisingly this was not so much an inner voice but rather, a frame of reference. Identification with the faces. Kinship(s).

I liked it. I didn't squirm much after the first ten minutes. Getting into it is a bit like taking some medicine. It will be good for you. Once the results start kicking in then you want more. Oh. You mean like a drug? Well a little bit I think. But the film ends just about at the point I would have bailed out. Good timing.

The music is pretty tamed down Glass. Not hard to take. I had trouble figuring out who the film maker is here. Godfrey Reggio is credited but then a lot of other people are involved as well. This is the same gang that did Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Naqoyqatsi. A little far out but palatable. I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5 as I would not want to watch it again. I am going to get a coke. I need something that I can listen to. Fizzzzzzzzz.

Labels: films

I am surprisingly disconnected from the election.

Maybe I have lost my political thing.

I don't know. But I did find the results decidedly mixed. There can't be any GOoPers who are chortling over handing Obama his ass.

I suppose that more Republican in Congress presents a problem but really there has been a reasonably good bipartisan effort the last two years and while I see no love for Obama over there I don't worry too much about the future of the Republic.

In fact this is the way it is supposed to work, isn't it.

The people have spoken. It will take a little while to decode what it is that they have actually said. That is OK too.

Phil Mattingly is a hottie.

Labels: elections

Time travel films have a sameness which is hard to break through.

Looper (2012)

manages to break the mould.

Joseph Gordon Levitt jumps ahead 44 years and finds out what things will be like for him down the road.

One nice thing is that when he gets into the future he is Bruce Willis.

The mind bendiness of this film is a bit challenging but this is the third time through for me and I still find it rewarding to watch.

And I didn't take notes either.

I have seen this enough times to make it an unqualified 5 out of Netflix5.

When I check with JGL he says that I am still watching it now and then 44 years from now.

Good.

Labels: best films, films

To celebrate election day and to show that I can be bipartisan, here is a photo of Mitch McConnell voting today.

Labels: Republican primary, Republicans

When it comes to romantic comedies, "the gays" have a distinct advantage.

We have enough of a cynical edge to keep the mush off to the side until it is needed. We have enough sentiment all bottled up that when the right one appears we are ready to release it frequently and often. And we have enough distance from our emotions to watch what is happening, let it go to a conclusion and not be blocked by society or the moral watchdogs.

Most of all, we are able to laugh more then, well, some other people. Why indulge in reverse stereotypes.

I suppose that it also helps that we are starved for positive images of gay relationships and as a result of so many romantic comedies we are finding that we all can have healthy, enjoyable love with a lot of good humor on the side.

But that is all beside the point. Today's film was all of the good things we expect from a romantic comedy about us. It even includes the ending of a good relationship and the beginning of a better one. Pick and choose. Take it while you can. Comparison shop if you need to.

Love or Whatever (2012)

fits the bill. It has all the ingredients and even has two eligible and handsome dudes vying for the hand of a relatively plain looking but very eligible man. He is a professional! A therapist of all things.

I liked it a lot. I bought it to see it as it is not really the kind of film that has general appeal on Netflix. But if it was on there it would be above average and highly watchable, maybe several times. The main love scene is long and very good to look at. Also the final titles. So there is that advantage to other romcom films. Us gays just don't get much of a punch from watching a boy and girl frolicking in the surf. Sorry. But boys? All right!

Labels: films, gay films

Not really.

There have always been a lot of non-voters. They are often stupid, disengaged and lazy. Many of the reasons here are bullshit but there are some good points also.

But they are Americans who are expressing themselves just as well as I do when I vote.

So it is OK.

I guess.

The American way!

Labels: elections

I have been crazed trying to "sing" the theme from The Big Bang Theory in my head.

I knew I didn't have it right. Now I am sure. It is by The Barenaked Ladies!

Our whole universe was in a hot dense state, Then nearly fourteen billion years ago expansion started. Wait... The Earth began to cool, The autotrophs began to drool, Neanderthals developed tools, We built a wall (we built the pyramids), Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries, That all started with the big bang! BANG! "Since the dawn of man" is really not that long, As every galaxy was formed in less time than it takes to sing this song. A fraction of a second and the elements were made. The bipeds stood up straight, The dinosaurs all met their fate, They tried to leap but they were late And they all died (they froze their asses off) The oceans and Pangea See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya Set in motion by the same big bang! It all started with the big BANG! It's expanding ever outward but one day It will cause the stars to go the other way, Collapsing ever inward, we won't be here, it won't be heard Our best and brightest figure that it'll make an even bigger bang! Australopithecus would really have been sick of us Debating how we're here, they're catching deer (we're catching viruses) Religion or astronomy, Encarta, Deuteronomy It all started with the big bang! Music and mythology, Einstein and astrology It all started with the big bang! It all started with the big BANG!

There. Now you can have it too.

A voice from my past is stilled.

Tom Magliozzi, co-host of 'Car Talk' on NPR has passed away

The "Tappet Brothers" hosted a radio program on WBUR for many years. All about cars and their care.

You did not have to care about cars to enjoy listening to their banter. They were funny and covered a wide swath of culture. Talk. Talk. Talk.

Apparently a lot of people listened in and came to love these guys.

I think the thing about the show other than the personalities is that they helped us see that our unconscious love of our vehicles could be made plain and enjoyed and you didn't have to be a gear head.

In America, everyone has a car but very few know anything about them.

Tom and Ray fixed that. With great entertainment value.

Here is Tom's obituary in the NYTimes.

It keeps on running. Great fun.

Labels: radio

Today's film is a throwback.

Repression of gay people in Poland is the subject here. And this is the first known gay film produced in Poland!

In that respect it is a bit old fashioned but the story remains the same from decade to decade and country to country. It just took a bit longer for these folks to get there. Or here.

Płynące Wieżowce / Floating Skyscrapers (2103)

The film is very good. The production values are high and the story, universal, is easy to slip into and experience. It is a good movie.

The ending is a little sad as that reflects the times but the story is quite nice. Two men meet. They fall in love. Complications ensue, mostly the heterosexual set of the world around them.

I liked it, I bought it and so it is a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

I completed the first season of a great television series today.

The Bang Bang Theory

It is the only television series that I want to look at except for Teen Wolf.

I am sure there are others I would like but I can't do everything.

Besides, we do not have a television in the house.

The reasons I like this series is that it is smart and the cast is incredibly good. It is rare to find six "stars" to round out a series but they have managed this. Or is it five?

Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar.

Five

I am moving through the series slowly. I will watch all of them eventually. A friend has just completed this. I have a tendency to just drag it out because I will not want it to end.

Or I think that now.

Perhaps it wears out after time but I am told that is not the case.

In any event I plan to be in for the duration. A long one.

Labels: television

It is always a bit sad to end Daylight Savings Time.

On the other hand, the light returns to the morning when I get up early to go to the gym and we get to change our dog walk time from after dinner to late afternoon.

No ruts.

Well, ruts but not year round ones.

There are some strong arguments against doing this every year. There is a whole web site (and more) devoted to this. I think that it all depends on how one spends time. If you are an outdoors person then it is probably important to have a longer light time after work. If you work.

I find that since I retired many years ago (18 now) I don't give a shit one way or another.

I am up very early so benefit from the non DST and walk the dog later in the afternoon so benefit from that side.

I have left the battlefield if I was ever on it.

Labels: life, seasons

Time to see a favorite, "rating five", film today.

No point in the rating if I don't actually watch one again.

World's End (2013)

A British pub of the same name is the gathering place for five old drinking buddies.

They happen to arrive on the day that is actually the day the world ends.

Happiness ensues. Sort of.

This is a great movie and it stays just one step ahead of even a veteran watcher. It is full of life and so one's memory is not served well by its sheer cleverness. I could not remember it all including whether the world ends or not. Which is not the point. The journey is the destination. Just like the real world and its potential ending, ahem.

I just like this film a lot and plan to watch it again sometime. Which means that it is still a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: best films, films