esrosedotblog

I got invaded by a virus.

And for a while, it raised all hell with my computer.

Things seem to be better now but for some reason, typing this blog is very slow.

Well, the typing isn't slow, the composition lags behind. What shows up on the screen.

Of course, some of this could be at Blogger.

Hard to tell.

For a day I was thinking of quitting the blog.

But now, I am having second thoughts.

A reaction to difficulty. Fight or flight. In this case flight.

But, my heart says "not so fast".

"You have done this for a very long time. Don't quit now."

So, here I am.

I had fun yesterday watching a DVD called Lunch which is simply a slightly edited video of a regular lunch of old television writers and stars. In their eighties.

Carl Reiner and Sid Caesar the exceptions, performers. Caesar sat at the head of the table.

The talk was great fun to listen to and, of course, to watch.

Caesar is still on his game and in reasonably good shape. Held his own and no one was giving him any edges. Quite wonderful. Brotherhood. I loved it.

Today, I watched the first half of Truffaut's's The Last Metro (1980) with Catherine Deneuve and Heinz Bennent with the young Gerard Depardieu.

A theater company shuts down during the occupation and the Director goes underground by living in the Basement.

I have seen it before. It is quite good.

It is the last of the Deneuve series that I have been watching and was still hard to get, a long wait, with Netflix.

So.

Here I am at the end of this post and the Blogger site is spinning along with my typing.

More proof that one should not give up. The world will catch up sooner or later.

In this case, during one blog post.

I am sorry to report that I missed two days of postings. A first I think.

Well, there was the time I quit doing this months and then couldn't stand it any more.

Besides, I have an excuse for Friday. We had a budget meeting for the condo association between the chair, the manager and me. While we were at it, we took a crack at a first draft budget for the next fiscal year.

Roadwork ahead.

We also hired a consultant to do the required assessment of value for our infrastructure.

The Association owns the shell, roofs, the open space.

We also have to deal with the real fact of the drought. Our grass is dying. But we are committed, indeed required to cut from the previous levels by 35% and we have done it. Favoring the bushes and trees. Let the grass go. No seeding this year. Bermuda can take it, we think. The rye is an annual.

In any case, we are good members of the community. Because we have to be, and we want to be.

The new frontier, gay dad comedies.

As a starter this one is very good. Beyond sitcom and into the area of warmth and love.

Birthday Cake (2013)

I enjoyed this film very much which, as far as I can tell, was its purpose.

Two gay men have a baby and plan a birthday party for her. She will be one.

The usual onlookers provide the laughs. A potential grand mom, the required bigot, many lovely people who surround the young family and very believable Dads who are certainly handsome but are at least two stages beyond the gay life as we have seen it depicted before.

There is not one sex scene in this. Very conventional. They do have a double bed. Lucy and Desi.

The jokes are fast and furious and while the usual fun is made of the tight ass bigots even they get a bit of love.

Oh, the birthday cake is for the kid and even the cake is hilarious. No spoken lines, but it does not need any.

I will buy this and watch it again. For sure.

A 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

I miss the creative signage of city life.

In moving to Palm Springs, there was a cost.

And our summers in Provincetown was the largest.

It is still a bit painful to watch this.

But I am happy with the choice. Memories are sweet too.

Labels: life

We have come around to happy/sad gay love stories again.

For a long time, the gays ended up in trouble or unhappy because the straight movie world needed it to happen that way. Social forces.

Then slowly but surely we evolved a style of gay story telling that told a happier truth and then even more so. Some films of recent years were exuberant about gay love as they should be.

Now, more films are returning to the darker ending. It is no longer required by the powers that be or the box office that "the gays" be happier than straights.

Today's film, French as it would happen, is of the newer kind. Tragic romance. But with a difference that things turn out not so good but we are willing to settle. Or something.

Hors les murs / Beyond the Walls (2012)

is the kind of film we would have seen in the 40's with John Garfield and Lana Turner. True love between a thug and a beauty then disruption as the thug faces jail. The lover must decide whether to wait or forget him. Prison visits do not work. They separate.

Finally, when the thug gets out of prison they reconnect. What will happen?

Well, with John and Lana there was a line that had to be toed very carefully. The Hayes Office and other censors would not allow true happiness. Someone was going to suffer. Maybe both of them.

And here we are with this film. Separated by prison the lovers reconnect. We get to see the result. I won't tell.

The film also depicts S&M consensual sex in a good way as well as "daddy/son" relationships. It carries a lot of baggage but does arrive at the destination.

Ah! How does it all turn out. Don't ask don't tell. Here we are full circle.

I would not mind seeing this again. The love scenes alone are worthwhile and the rest of it is very well done for what it is. Faint praise, I know. But still. I am glad that we have come around to have a film like this and for it to be OK to like it. Or not to like it. Or to not really be sure.

I will say no more. A 4 out of Netflix5 unless someone else in our house likes it enough to get it for our gay collection.

Labels: gay films

Someone stole my Ray-bans from the front seat of the convertible this morning.

I went to get a new pair.

The optician told me that they are highly theft able. This is born out by the fact that my replacements cost $200.

Another lesson. Leave nothing in a convertible that you can't handle losing.

In our case this would presently include a sunshield which is not going to be used for the season anyway. Also a canvas grocery bag for surprise store visits. And a couple other things. My husband's hat.

Actually, these things are under a platform which we fit over the back seats. Dog travel. They are invisible but steal-able if they open the door and look.

It isn't that I am trusting. I am just lazy and do not feel like packing my glasses up.

I like my new ones though. There are a thousand styles now but he had just the right one, fresh out of the showcase.

I am not picky.

Labels: life

Johnny Depp has become so much more than an idol or pretty face.

It has been coming for awhile but now he has transformed in this wonderful film.

Finding Neverland (2004)

The whole enterprise is infused with magic from beginning to end. This is the result of some very hard work. All the obstacles are so clear. Everyone knows the story. It has kids galore and worse, kid actors. It is soppy. It has the feels.

And here, at least for me, it all worked.

A little misty eyed, I see this as a complete film with just about everything one would want in less than two hours.

And Johnny Depp.

I have always loved him. In a good way.

He was never a sex symbol, no one's symbol. A true original.

This is a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

I like Jon Stewart even more than before.

Jon Stewart, Iraq War Critic, Runs a Program That Helps Veterans Enter TV

I like this and I like Jon Stewart. It all adds up.

It is a paradox of course. The very best kind.

“It was actually inspirational,” said Mr. Witmer, who went on to work at Fox News and then found a job as a “Daily Show” associate field segment producer. “We hear ‘Thank you for your service’ all the time, but here was concrete action, people working to really make a difference. And it changed lives. I’m proof of that.”

Labels: anti-war, veterans

Today's coming of age in Brazil film has many familiar characters.

There is the young man who is experiencing an identity crisis about his sexual orientation. There is his teddy bear. Yes. I had one of those that I talked to. (He is still with me. I do not talk to him any more.)

Animals (2012)

There is a good buddy with whom he shares most of what is going on with him, until he doesn't. There is a brother. There are other peripheral but important characters who circle around the young man. His supposed girl friend who is more friend than mate. A hot young man who seduces him or they each other. A wise teacher. And a couple of other ephemeral characters that are in most scenes and, we find at the end, are waiting for the finale.

I have the impression that some familiar actors pitched in to help the young director Marcal Fortran in his first endeavor. It is a nice surprise to see Martin Freeman and Javier Beltran.

Lush scenery. Great crowd scenes especially when panic grips a high school.

This film has problems. It has gaps. It asks us to accept some steep premise hills to climb. But I stayed with it and felt good at the end. Sort of. In the sense of admiring it and glad that I saw it.

A 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

When I was a kid, Memorial Day meant a lot.

For one thing there was a half day of school the day before or nearest which commenced with a short service around our flag pole and then a walk of over a mile to a nearby cemetery where we paid our respects to the war dead. And any one else.

This day had been Decoration Day which denoted the activity of cleaning up gravesites, A hard winter would have played hell with plants and grass and the like.

This was before the Monday designation so the day fell on the 30th of May. No matter what. Hotel reservations, long weekends notwithstanding.

I was a child of the Second World War and we did have our remembrance of the local dead. One kid. His mother was always at the memorialization. His cousins were in classes around mine. Jimmy Evans. Another kid, Blitz was the name, seemed to have no family. At least not around the flag and stuff.

My Dad had been on the Navy. Too old to be drafted he volunteered. He was a radar man on a ship, a Destroyer Escort going back and forth over the North Atlantic. Finally the Pacific. He never got over it. Dreams. Craziness. Battle fatigue, I suppose.

Wars were on our minds. We had just lived through the World War and then there was the Korean War. Yeh, I know, a police action but if you died in it the distinction is not too important.

For the holiday, they always had a firing squad at the graveyard. Then we went home. Incidentally, before they were pacified they were not Japanese. None of that. It took a long time to get over the hurt. My Dad never did, ever. The "nips" -- Nipponese.

It was all very somber. War was close. Near to our hearts.

It was also the time of our fear of the red menace.

I remember that as kids we turned quickly from war games with "Japs" (Germans was too touchy, most of us were close descendants of Germans). Which morphed into Koreans. The same thing we thought.

Flags were at half staff. People slowed down. Quiet lay over the land.

Now it is burgers and shit and who even thinks about "foreign wars"?

Labels: holidays

The Dude abides.

Probably for the tenth time. It never gets old.

Words fail.

Still a 5 out of Netflix5.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Labels: best films

Wonderful!

Ireland Votes to Approve Gay Marriage, Putting Country in Vanguard

Landslide. What is happening in the world? Sea changes.

There is a lot more to this than meets the eye. It is or used to be one of the most catholic countries.

And yet, when I lived in Boston, the kindest hearted people on the inside were the South Boston toughs.

So hard to figure out.

Oppressed people reach out to other oppressed people. The Irish have suffered long under the rule of others.

And they fight back.

This all gives me goosebumps. I have always had great hope for so called "gay rights" which are really fundamental human rights. Restoration.

Some of our greatest patriots were gay people who fought back the best way they could. Yes. And that is still true today.

Labels: gay rights, human rights

This is quite thrilling.

My favorite young gay director Xavier Dolan has won a special award.

Cannes Film Festival’s Crown Prince Xavier Dolan on Directing Oscar Winners at Age 26

Last year he won the award and this year he is on the jury with the big film folk.

The kid got his start doing underground-ish type films in Quebequois. How esoteric is that.

He is young, handsome and proudly gay.

Labels: films, gay films

I just ordered new checks on-line.

The automation of it is almost hilarious.

But not quite.

It just avoids being a complete pain in the ass and I think that is because they keep improving the queuing and the voice of the fake operator. It seems as though we are getting different people each time.

Another thing is that they have key-clicking sounds as you put in your answers.

I liked this one. It made me laugh. It is arhythmic in the same way my typing is.

Another breakthrough in the robotization of America.

Also, hilariously, the image comes from an article about a guy who was in customer service and talked in a robotic voice.

This is the kind of thing I run into when sailing along the web. Little side stories that are as interesting as the one I am working on.

I laughed a lot over this one. He got into big trouble but you have to hand it to him.

Well, I do.

I understand that customer service is a hellish job and the people who do it invent all kinds of ways to make it fun.

This is one of the great lessons I learned from training middle and up managers in large corporations. People's sense of humor and the ability to laugh is one of the great antidotes to shitty work.

Look. It is work. It is not meant to be fun. But if you can bring fun to it then more power to you. To coin a phrase.

My best workshops were the ones where we laughed a lot. I mean a lot. Even at the stuff I was teaching. Even at me!

Labels: computers, humor, training, work

Mike Leigh, a great director, has produced a marvelous film about another great artist.

I do not mean to put them on an equal plane but still, the approach to this life is often impressionistic and lets the viewer draw his own conclusions.

Bits and pieces form a whole as one of my favorite character actors gets a star turn. Timothy Spall is

Mr. Turner (2014)

Perhaps not realistically, I do not know. But he certainly gets to the heart of the man. The emotional core.

We see a lot of pictures. So many, the volume of the works is astounding. But I am told that this is how it was. Turner left the bulk to the British nation.

We see, in the end, a rich American making an offer he thinks Turner cannot refuse. But he does.

I really liked this film a lot. It has many twists and turns and is a bit messy. But that is life.

I have been waiting for Timothy Spall to get major recognition as an astute and talented actor and here it is, his breakout performance.

One of the things we hope for in any film about art and artists is that the film pay due attention to such things as color, composition and even the rhythm of a set or setting. Costumes in tune. This is a constant pleasure in this film. All hopes realized.

I will give this a 5 out of Netflix5 because I am committed to see it again sometime.

Labels: art, best films, films

It is very exciting to realize that in just a matter of weeks the first Presidential Debates will occur.

Gail Collins reports:

Time flies when you’re having fun. Memorial Day weekend, the Fourth of July and then, the next thing you know, it will be Aug. 6, the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and the date of the first Republican presidential debate. Less than 11 weeks away! True, 11 weeks is nearly twice the length of the entire national election schedule in the United Kingdom. But this is why we had the Revolutionary War. “It’s actually not early,” said a Republican National Committee spokeswoman. “Four years ago the debates started in May.” Think about that, people. This presidential campaign is slow getting started.

What is fun about it in addition to the event itself is that there can only be 10 (TEN) candidates in the debate. At last count there are "somewhere between 15 and 2,376" candidates". No one knows how many.

Here we show Fox' best guess and as they are unofficial house organ of the right, there opinion counts for something.

Fox likes to say "we report, you decide". How will they decide this, the Republicanos?

The GOopers are in a fix right now. There may be laughter about the Demos only having one candidate, sort of, and that it is a legacy thing. But there is something that says "stability" about that.

I am not sure if this rattle the Jebbie camp at all but it might just cause a bit of a stir. His message will not be clear, his momentum cannot even start. The legacy in this case is a bad one even among the Republicans. They haven't yet asked what we think of him.

We will maintain our silence on that subject today.

Labels: GOoPers, Republican primary, republican whack jobs

It is spreading.

In Early Vote Count, Ireland Appears Set to Legalize Gay Marriage: Ireland appeared poised to become the world’s first nation to approve same-sex marriage by a popular vote on Saturday, with early vote counts showing strong and broad support for a measure that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago in what had traditionally been a Roman Catholic stronghold. Not long after counting began at Dublin Castle, a government complex that was once the epicenter of British rule, the leader of the opposition, David Quinn, director of the Iona Institute, conceded the outcome in a tweet: “Congratulations to the Yes side. Well done.” Both proponents and opponents said the only remaining question was the size of the victory for approval. Ronan Mullen, an Irish senator and one of only a few politicians to oppose the measure, predicted the win would be “substantial.” The official results will be announced this afternoon. The referendum changes Ireland’s Constitution so that marriages between two people would be legal “without distinction as to their sex.”

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

I cannot resist any Mel Brooks film.

Even when other fans were disappointed, I laughed frequently and hard. There is one extended sequence where I was doubled over.

Robin Hood: Men in Tights

To say that it was lesser Mel is basically to damn with not very faint praise.

Or whatever.

This guy says that he is borrowing from himself. Well? What? Of fucking course.

I got it because of Cary Elwes but was pleased to see many comic actors and comedians show up in bits.

All funny.

I didn't much like Amy Yasbeck as Maid Marian but she is a girl and I am not likely to compare her favorably with the likes of Dom Deluise. She is outclassed.

I would imagine the hardest part of making this film would be to have all the comedians keep a lid on it.

I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5 as it is unlikely that I will want to see it again. Repetition stales the jokes.

But I am sure glad I did see it and if it popped up on the screen right now, I would watch it again.

Hilariously, this scene in the trailer is not in the film!

There is also a half hour making of film right at the end of the trailer.

The voiceover is by George Takei! I just got it on the second hearing. I am so pleased with myself.

Labels: films

More GOoPer malfeasance.

I suppose it is unfair that this all got exposed but he has put himself on the line for scrutiny.

A top GOP 2016 contender is 'living above his means'

Embarrassing but there it is.

Ambition is a bitch and I can see how priorities would get a little skewed.

I do not want a country that can only elect rich people. That is not the point. The issue is that his spending habits go against all the railing and ranting about other people. Welfare spongers and the like.

Like Fiorina who I have written about below, exposure to the big time is one of the first qualifiers for elective success and some just fail out of the box.

Living within one's means is a frequent tirade on the part of the wing nuts.

OK. Let's apply that equally, all around.

Rubio is an interesting guy but it might be a mistake to take him too seriously. A lot of these guys are gunning for something other than the nomination. Publicity. Notoriety. Groundwork for a serious later try for the position.

Or, maybe just the gabble of attention. That is a lot of what politics is about. Sure issues, but it takes people who need to be in the spotlight.

My own personal experience in politics was clearly about "look at me". I admit it. A lot of folks don't.

I got into a field, management training, where I did some good and managed to be in the limelight, three days at a time with captive audiences.

There is a buzz. And nothing wrong about it. Just make sure that the thing can be sustained. If it takes talent, have that. If it takes the support of a big organization, have that. If it takes money, well, you better have that too. I got paid for being a star. Politicians do too. A different paymaster but still.

Labels: money, politics, republican whack jobs

Not to kick her while she is down or running away.

I’d rather go to Iraq than work for Carly Fiorina again,”.

Probably not a problem.

That didn't take long.

Labels: republican whack jobs

Final film from Philip Garel today. Well final in the series of his films I decided to watch.

Not so hot. His Dad's project. Monica Belushi.

A lot of romantic crap.

I would never see this again. Hence, a 2 out of Netflix5. It would be a 1 but I stayed to the end. Foolishly. No one else liked it either. It was hard to find reviews but there are some on IMDb.

Labels: films

It seems that, once again, we have been snookered by the healthy diet people.

The Case for Drinking Whole Milk

Other than being the best for dunking cookies, that is.

There will soon be a conference in our house about this.

I am ready to go back almost immediately.

The hegemony of food faddists and nutrition addicts is over. Nazis for the most part. One set of principles, one belief.

I have been through so much of this shit.

I should know better.

There is a fundamental tension in all of this. The bias against undue processing runs head on into the bias against fat, or whatever.

Labels: food, nutrition

The 73 minutes of today's feature are as packed as a 90-120 feature would be.

Wonderful photography and gorgeous (southern) locations frame the beautiful relationship of two boys who will separate soon, one to go away to school, the other to stay home.

Everything works for the good in this sweet romance which pays little attention to so called "gay issues". They are alone to do what they wish. And they do.

It is a romance, not a bit salacious and quite realistic in the way such things go.

I am glad that they had enough courage to do this in a slightly shorter duration than standard. The story and the action come first.

It blooms then it is over just as everyone expects that it will be.

I have been trying to fit the word "elegiac" in here. So there it is. And again. Elegiac. I didn't know how to spell it.

I will buy this one. A 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

I am a meditator.

It is not my entire identity but it informs all of my identity. Think about it.

I have been sitting every day, mostly, for many years.

I am loathe to discuss the process because people want "tips ". There are no tips.

It is helpful to go to "meditation school" as I did. Vapassana particularly. Mostly about breath. No mantras. No heavy emphasis on body positions.

I was delighted to see this today.

It is what I do. More or less. Figure out your own variations.

I sit in a chair. My legs won't cross anymore. At least not so I can get through the pain.

Labels: meditation

In pursuit of my goal to see more of Cary Elwes, I watched some hokum today.

Lady Jane (1986)

Put together by the theatrical Trevor Nunn. Not necessarily a good transition.

It is a good story and the actors are very good when they are left alone. Helena Bonham Carter is Lady Jane and Patrick Stewart is brought in for a little gravity, the ponderous kind.

But as a costume drama it fails on several points. It is too long by at least half an hour. Long stretches of dreamy looks do not compensate although we do get to see enough of Cary Elwes to make some of it worthwhile. He is not a hunk but he is rather comely.

And when he is together with Bonham Carter they do manage to stir things up.

I would not want to see it again without some FF so it is a 3 out of Netflix5. There are other Elwes films coming along so we might get to see even more of him. This is the problem with too many costumes. It is so hard to take them off in a way that steams things up. Hence, it is naked or over dressed. The seduction is very limited.

Sorry. You did not sign up to hear about my Netflix movies as soft porn but in a case like this, the truth must out.

Also, it is a look at Elwes when he is very young. Dewy. Carter not so much so she has to work a little harder to make it all look like first love. She has clearly been around the course a few times.

This will get a 3 out of Netflix5. Check off the Cary box and move on.

One more thing. Why is Paramount films still using the shaky and blurred slide or promotional film insert that they have used for decades. The mountain now shakes a little while the stars run 'round. Time for a redo.

Labels: films

Courage and determination have marked the gay rights and gay marriage movements from the beginning.

Here are the first guys to get a license and to marry.

The Same-Sex Couple Who Got a Marriage License in 1971

In 1971, I was still pondering the decision I would make three years later to come out as a gay man.

These guys made it through the Federal Court system and got a one line rejection from the Supreme Court to hear their appeal.

They got married anyway, as many of us did eventually. John and I got married two times, maybe three. First was a commitment ceremony, then we had a real (defrocked) Methodist minister do it again.

Finally here in Palm Springs, in the first brief window before they took our legislated rights away again, we had our vows. Eventually when Prop 8 was passed on the ballot, we really really got married. A license and a certificate and all. They hang on the wall behind me.

I know. I know. A lot of people think that it doesn't matter. I am here to tell you that it does matter. A committed relationship is not the same as a marriage. You know, we have to conform to all the laws anyone else does. It is all in that one word. Marriage. And you don't have to right any more down. The recognition that all loving couples get through the system is a validation and a true acknowledgement that gender does not have to do with marriage. Love does.

I can still feel how it was when I looked at John and said "I do". Deep down inside. Full bore marriage. There is no other word for it that can carry the same weight.

Labels: gay marriage

It is the third Saturday of the month and, hence, the condo board meeting.

It went well as it almost always does. A good turnout. Happy owners.

We somehow manage to sail through any contentious issues with grace and dignity.

A lot of that has to do with history. A good board over time.

Also, affluence.

Not to be ignored.

We have a comparatively low fee structure. Not the lowest anymore since we bought one of the land leases, but pretty low.

We have a good management company doing the day to day.

Good neighbors, stable resale value and none of the problems that beset some associations such as neighbor fights. Not our province anyway. Fight on if you wish. And they know we will let them too as long as the general good does not suffer.

A good chairman. A great treasurer if I say so myself. And very importantly owners who show up at our meetings and do not fail to put in their ideas and words. We listen. They get to comment both before and after the meeting.

So on we go.

I am at the beginning of a budget cycle. The chair and I will prepare rough budget drafts for a special meeting in August (I think).

Then on to the next fiscal year.

My term is over at the end of this year but tradition is that, if I want, it can be evergreen and I can serve again.

I will probably do that.

Labels: condo

I used to travel the New York New Haven Line from Boston to New York.

It is called Amtrak now. Does that date me?

I had a "remember-when" after reading this.

Amtrak Train Possibly Hit Before Wreck

Mine was a rock through the window of the seat I was sitting in.

No damage done to me.

But I did learn that there were no safe havens from the world.

That is not meant as a dark assessment of a dangerous existence. It is just a realization that nothing is immune from some kind of intrusion.

But to live a life worried about it bends to the purpose that a lot of this stuff is done. To fuck people up. This exists. Nothing new. And to think or even want otherwise is quite foolish.

But I didn't quit sitting in the window seats. I might have changed sides from time to time but mostly to see the beautiful water views and more interesting back yards along the way.

Riding the train was always better than flying the shuttle. Always.

Labels: life, travel

So it will be death.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Sentenced To Death

We are so ambivalent about the death penalty that it is difficult to imagine that Tsarneev will ever get it done to him.

It will be a long drawn out process.

I am one of those people who can handle the death penalty without any cringing.

And I am not apologetic about it although I just erased a sentence that lied and said otherwise.

See? I am intimidated by what I think is public opinion. Our right to differ.

I suppose there can be an argument made that a life sentence would have been more humane. Really?

Do you have any idea what it is like in solitary or in a prison of hard core people?

Of course there is the thought that being a regular guy we could somehow make our way. Be likable.

So I get to root for both things. That he gets death and that he has a considerable time to think about it.

I suppose they will put him in solitary. He is obviously rape bait. Pretty hair. Big eyes. The perfect punk.

Where there is a will there is a way and I am relatively sure that somebody is going to have their way with him.

It is almost assured that the guards will see to that. Extra time in the showers with a friendly thug.

Labels: death, terrorism

For a glimpse of why one person came out and a clue to the rest of us.

As usual, there is a complex background for this decision.

Some people think because there are so many open gay people are around that the individual is sheltered and can feel comfortable going through this process.

I do not think this is the case. We are still less than ten percent. We do not want, initially, to be gay. Mostly.

That changes fast incidentally when we can have the good fortune to have our first gay experience.

For a gay man, there is nothing like this. I suppose straight men have similar awakenings but for a gay man it is a series of revelations that involve much more than the sex part. Which is so fantastic in and of itself it becomes well worth it to explore the rest of it, the culture, the fellowship, the life, as well.

Very smart. In the intelligence sense.

Labels: coming out, gay films

Today, a return to the sixties, Paris.

This movie never gets old for me.

The Dreamers (2003)

I have seen it a number of times. This time because it stars Louis Garrel. Part of my little Louis fest.

There is so much to see in this film by Bertolucci. It always changes some when I see it.

I also forget what happens. A constructive memory lapse that allows me to see it all from a fresh perspective.

A great film. Sure to be on the next "best" list for this century. At least the decade.

Labels: films

There are snow caps back on the mountains today.

It got cold last night.

And I have a cold, not much, enough to be apparent.

Actually the cooler weather is good for the head cold. Summer colds are the worst.

In any case these are temporary. It is not all that unusual to see snow up there in May.

It is a nice touch. Before the heat starts.

This photo is actually from Rancho Mirage or Palm Desert. Our house would be right around the corner to the left in the next valley.

Labels: Palm Springs, weather

Today's film covers the early days of the English traitors Burgess and McClean.

How they got started with each other and their beliefs which, as we now know, led to some major league spying for the Commies.

The film is more about their early relationship, gay liaisons at their public school. Meaning, in Britishese, private school. Eton I think.

It is a very good movie which I have seen several times. This time to see Cary Elwas who plays McClean.

This is a great film which I enjoy every time I see it. Filled with nuances and tip offs about what will happen later after this story concludes. Their best friend is already an avowed party member, A very young Colin Firth.

This was a career making film for all three young men.

It rates a 5 out of Netflix5 because I come back to it over and over.

Labels: best films, films

Busy day for Jeb Bush and a lot of coverage in this blog!

Jeb Bush now says, ‘I would not have gone into Iraq’

Waffling.

A Jebbie habit.

I am sure that Jeb is not watching me but I am surely watching him.

I am so glad we are starting 2016 early! I was beginning to think my political ranter was dead and dying. Or at least dried up.

These are the times that try GOoPer souls.

And, you heard it here first: John Bolton Announces He is Not Running for Presient

I had forgotten him. Hadn't everyone else?

Well, yes. Now.

My good god he has an ego on him as big as a house. Two houses. John Fucking Bolton.

Defender of the faith and ex-UN delegate.

Labels: bushies, Jeb Bush, republican whack jobs

Jeb Bush gets the treatment from Gail Collins today.

Wow! Jeb Bush is Awful

She was cutting him some slack, but now has pulled that slack back in.

The problem is not so much what Jeb thinks as that he is so foolish for saying it out loud.

We know that as a Bush he has to think like a Bush but now we can see that the built in patrician arrogance will play out in the foot in mouth area as well.

What is this all about? I think that my theory of privileged people is in operation here.

Privileged people have never been questioned closely about their behavior or their beliefs. For one thing, they do not allow themselves to be exposed to difference. They have a moat of their own which keeps them from the world as it is. And they are often tone deaf to regular people's reactions to current events.

Think of it. Politics is their family business. They have had a high degree of success at it. The success has brought a kind of arrogance of thought. They have come to believe themselves special.

And so on.

Ask Barbara Bush. She is an expert of the pitfalls of entitlement. Smug, yes. But smart.

Labels: bush. bushies, Jeb Bush

Jebbie is going to have a lot of trouble with his last name.

As his mother once said, the country has had enough Bushes. Barbara Bush, always outspoken, often right.

Brother’s Past Proves Tricky for Jeb Bush

I would think so.

The thing that surprises me is that like whack-a-mole, they are still trying. It must be in the genetic makeup.

Who are they trying to impress? Poppy? Barb?

There is a necessary strain of self entitlement in any politician. But with the bushies it runs deep.

More power to them. It is a spectacle. Our Borgias.

Labels: bushies, Jeb Bush

Today's film is a different kind of surfer movie.

Futuro Beach (2015)

A combo German and Brazilian film, the drama is believable and gay friendly. We get a good look at a different kind of beach world. A lot more primitive and scary for people who try the waves.

The love story in this is kept at a low pitch. No closets are involved but both men are loners and not ready to make quick friends. Time and tide.

I bought it because I couldn't rent it and who could pass by a gay surfer film?

Not me.

I am glad that I got it.

Labels: gay films

A pair of ravens have adopted our fountain as a stopping off spot and a place to get a drink.

Ravens are tough birds. They do not tolerate smaller birds and chase them away.

But, we believe in letting nature take its course and if there are to be ravens, then there will be ravens.

They are fascinating birds to watch. They wash their food. And leave bits and pieces near their fountain for later snacks.

I am ambivalent about the other birds but we weren't getting that many anyway. Around here, the population is sparse except during migration.

So black is the new bird costume.

Labels: birds

Today's film is one of my favorites.

One brother recovering from a lost love, another brother suffering over a love who just showed up and a father who seems to have seen it all but has not.

Christopher Honorés

Dans Paris (2006)

Romain Duris and Louis Garrel.

This is a fine film which I have seen several times. It is about family love, notably brotherly love. And more.

I don't want to gab on about it.

It is, by definition, a 5 out of Netflix5. As I have seen it over and over by choice.

Labels: films

The Garrel family has left a set of films in which they direct, star and show life in a family as it might be for them. Or for others around them. Or even our own.

Today it is son Louis Garell discovering that he is not so free of the sin of

Jealousy (2014).

For the Garrels, film is the family business and this one is hot off the presses. Or cameras. Their absorption with detail is obvious from the beginning.

What is particularly nice is the subtlety of it all.

People are nice enough. Loyal enough family members and friends. But right below the surface they really want the other for themselves or to be their best friend or lover or relative.

You don't have to worry about any of this. As usual with a film like this, you sit back and watch the people play out parts from your own life. A little distance is a good thing. But there is room for reflection.

This is worth seeing again so it is a 4 out of Netflix5.

And it is courageous enough to be filmed in black and white which makes it a lot more accessible somehow. And if you are old enough to remember when all serious fare was colorless, it will take you back nicely to a more satisfying time cinematically. Not nostalgia. With B&W we had to fill in the color and it made us more intimately engaged.

Labels: films

Especially if it is your own family member.

But it is a key provision that this gay family member is out and proud.

GOP Establishment Seeking To Tweak Party's 2016 Anti-gay Marriage Platform With Senator Rob Portman's Help

I am deeply skeptical about the GOP results but I know that once you know a gay person you are never the same again. So, more data to indicate we need to come out.

Labels: gay politics, GOP

Labels: Barack Obama

So the "impossible" happened today.

I got a virus on the computer and it pretty much froze it solid.

There was a number to call that appeared to be an Apple message and so I called it. Somehow the guy got me out of the virus or showed me how to do it on the machine (I do not remember how) and then as he was a going to make a sales pitch, I think, I just told him thanks and goodbye.

I immediately went to Norton who I have had before and bought their anti-virus program. Installed it.

It found a lot of bugs.

When I got the machine, the conventional wisdom was that the new Apple software was hit proof.

I guess that is no longer the case.

Norton found a lot of viri when it installed and has since caught two on their way into the machine.

At least that is what it says.

My idea is that the people who put the virus on were the people whose number I called. I don't know.

I had Norton before and was happy with it. It is not cheap but it is thorough. What is more it tells me, right up there in green, that each site is safe. I haven't found one that is not.

I suspect that I got it from one of those erotic male photo and video sites I sometimes peruse. I know the ones I already have, which are plenty, are safe. I think I will stay with them for now.

I will be careful henceforth.

Labels: computers

I can't believe I never watched this film.

The Princess Bride (1987)

But I am glad that I did now.

I liked it a lot. One of Rob Reiner's in early efforts.

All the fairy tale clichés are available, on display, in a loving way. No cynicism, no mocking.

The actors are all up to the task.

I am glad that I finally saw it.

Labels: films

There is a lot of discussion about whether bisexuality really exists.

In today's film, the question is not answered but it does show the possibilities with three attractive young people who happen to be attracted to each other. All at the same time. That last one is the rub so to speak. Timing is everything.

El sexo de los ángeles / Angels of Sex (2012)

I have seen this before. While it is a bit of a tangle it does show how threesomes or a particular threesome might develop. Beyond one's fantasies of course.

They make a convincing case. The people are attractive and open and, apparently, without jealousy or entitlement.

This is a very nice movie, sex aside if that is possible.

The people want the best for each other and they live in a supportive environment.

And we get to enjoy their happiness.

Not a bad deal.

My own quite limited experience with threesomes is that someone is likely to be on the outside looking in. Which is OK if they get off on it. Not if they do not. Today, that is us. Watching the fantasy play out.

I have seen this film before a couple of times (but do not own it) so it is a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

It has been a long time since I last skipped a blog day.

I am not sure what happened, actually. Just nothing to say, perhaps.

I watched a DVD that I have seen before and enjoyed very much. Unforgivable (2011), the last of the films directed by André Téchiné. It was good, I was happy with it. You might be too.

The weather here is still chilly. Supernaturally so.

I keep getting surprised when I go outside.

Maybe that is it. Cooler weather, slower pules.

Maybe I just needed a day off.

I will wait to see what today brings. But it is not a day off as you can see here.

Labels: life

One thing about Venice is there is a lot of water.

And we see it from every angle in André Téchiné's

Impardonnables / Unforgivable (2011)

Convoluted and multifaceted this film takes place on an island off Venice.

It is mostly about the complications of people being isolated together in one place. I think.

There is romance and youthful rebellion. A May December relationship. Various little side trips involving ex-cons.

I liked it. I have seen it before. Which earns it a 5 out of Netflix5.

What can I say. This is just my cup of tea. Water.

Labels: films

The fate of discarded children is not very pretty.

But today's film shows that there can be a kind of redemption for everyone who is involved in the lives of these kids.

Breathing

A kid in juvenile detention gets to go out on work rehabilitation and is assigned to a mortuary truck.

He gets to pick up bodies from a variety of situations and gets to see the other side of life. Death in its many forms.

He has company with the guys, veterans of the work, on the truck.

He learns the trade and a lot more as they take interest in him.

There is a lot of tough love going on here. Men who have no ready form of expression.

They gently begin to accept him and take him seriously. The first time.

As a pastime, to get away, he swims. One special swimming coach teaches him how to breathe. In the pool, in life. The breathing helps him to get in touch with himself.

This is a very quiet film. He watches things. We get to see them too. Slowly but surely we see him decide for himself what his future will be like. He does the work.

The other people are ready to boost him when he needs some help.

This is a great little film. The acting is first rate. I was taken in and treated well. As they treat each other.

A 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

We are still having cool weather and it is May.

This is not a bad thing. And it is probably not out of the norm. Just that for this year, there has been no onset of heavy heat for us.

It continues dry and there is no prospect of rain.

The condo grass is looking a lot browner and people are fussing but we won't turn on the spigots any time soon. A spot of night watering and that is it. 30% less. We hope. The results will be in when we get the bill.

In the house, we are saving on flushes and not doing much watering of the live plants out front.

We already put in fake bushes in the front section. And the evergreen grass.

It doesn't look bad and, as it becomes dryer, we look like heroes for not having any real grass at all.

Honestly not our intent but we will take a bow anyway.

And we are not planning on packing up and moving back east anytime soon either. We will stay with the plan.

Labels: drought

Being in a car with one other person for 3000 miles can be a trial.

When it is your Dad and you are taking him to Mecca is even more of a trip.

A voyage into the unknown.

Le Grande Voyage (2004)

Another film with Nicolas Cazale and the wonderful Mohamed Majd.

They do get there after many small and large trials.

I have seen this many times before and do not tire of it.

Cazale is great to watch in many ways. I like all of them.

Labels: films

I came a little late to hear this kind of music for real.

But it was still around through the Thirties.

The style of the videos is very much like the musical shorts that were still playing when I was a kid.

Many thanks to Kelvin for pointing this video out.

You can continue on your own if you like this one. Just watch the "next" that comes up at the end.

Labels: fun, music

The passage of time does not necessarily reveal new plot lines.

This conventional romantic drama from André Téchiné proves that durable stories can be told over and over again. Some say that there are only 13 original stories and all the rest are embellishments on these central ideas. I do not know what those 13 are.

Les Temps qui Changent /Changing Times (2004)

starring Catherine Deneuve and Gerard Depardieu shows that at least the one about first romance being the last romance is a durable one.

They disagree on how and when they first had a "relationship" but now that they meet in mid life it is a chance to do it over.

It is a serious and sometimes funny study of middle age and its impact on how to get along. For contrast there is a younger couple, actually couples as Deneuve's son is bisexual. He plays both sides of the street. This contrast between young and old is fun to watch.

It is a nice workmanlike film that kept me going to the end.

A 3 out of Netflix5.

I labeled it as a gay film since it does have a very sweet subplot for the son and his boyfriend with some nice pictures of them together at night.

Labels: films, gay films

Andre Techine has a way of taking real life situations and remolding them into fine film dramas.

The Girl on the Train (2009)

is such a film.

A girl makes up a story about being attacked by young men. Blacks and arabs.

It makes the tabloids and she gets to live in a spotlight that she cannot endure.

I got this for Catherine Deneuve who plays the well meaning mother of the girl.

It is an OK film but nothing special.

A 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

There is a cult, or used to be, around the work of Jean-Luc Godard.

I could never see it, so to speak.

But then I am not French, not avant-garde and do not have a history of worship at his shrine.

In a way, his newest and perhaps last film is not so hard to take.

It is only an hour and ten minutes long and it moves right along. It also has a great dog in it. I kept worrying that the dog would be hurt. Almost, once. But, no.

There are a lot of images here. They kept me hopping. Naked ladies and men, not too attractive naked. The dog. Very interesting in the same way that Marcus is interesting to watch. But this was not our family dog. Another breed.

There are a lot of images in saturated color. Godard must have discovered the various knobs and adjustment on a video camera. A new gadget to be plundered.

I am glad that I saw it but there is no chance I will see it again. And, honest, I fast forwarded when we got too interested in a running river.

A 2 out of Netflix5. Even though the skipping would make it a 1.*

* Just for a refresher course in my rating system. 5=I will see it again and even buy it; 4=Loved it but not enough to see it again; 3=Good average film fare; 2=Didn't like it much but sat through it all; 1=Stopped in the middle or skipped on FF a lot

Labels: films

California's water woes are fodder for a new discussion of priorities

The End of California?

Nope. He says. Not the end.

We came here 16 years ago to have the last chapter of our lives in a nice place. Like a lot of other people. Millions.

So, with the drought in place now 6-ish years, the wisdom of those moves is in question.

Egan supplies a lot of statistics and points his finger at agriculture. The wasteful expenditure of precious water for, say, almonds.

I know, in our small way, our condo association has already taken a grip on the problem. The crunching sound of my feet in the dry grass this morning is a good testament to this.

We will spend some money to turn some big grassy places into big small gravel places. A place for dogs to pee pee and people to walk that is permeable. I am not sure about the stench five years hence, but the sun is sanitizing to an amazing degree. A walk on hot gravel with one's bare feet will testify to that. Marcus will walk the edges.

And so on.

The drought and measures to take are already a part of every association meeting. The few people on the other side who were watering their little plot of grass with a hose have been chastened by neighborly disapproval. It is not even "their" grass. No one has any except inside the patio walls. Ours is fake. A little too green at first but now it is fading.

I still do a little watering every day. Not much. All desert plants. Soon, they may have to go too but not yet. We have already put some fake bushes, balls, inside the patio wall. Not bad. A little too green but wait.

We have a fountain that birds come to drink at. Gotta think of them.

So I am edging into drought thinking and acting. Small steps at a time. The bird drinks will be the very last to go and perhaps the little bit to stay. They don't drink much and the fountain which is recycled water babbles nicely.

Labels: drought

From time to time I need to see this film.

Army of Crime (2009)

This is the story of the French underground, or a small part of it, that succeeded in undermining Nazi rule during the WWII years.

I lived very comfortably in rural Pennsylvania.

My Dad went to his war in the Navy.

But nothing in my life could even begin to match the experience of these people.

What is good about this film is that it is not propagandized.

It shows actual French life in a small part of Paris and, it seems to me, does not embellish.

I am something of a student of these times. This film is a document which is very useful for me to keep the memory of it alive.

It happened once and it could happen again.

Labels: films

Even after years of retirement, there is still a buzz of delight when I get to Friday night.

Lifelong habits and attitudes tend to dig long furrows in the brain.

Part of it has to do with the fact that we still act as though a weekend is a special time.

I can't cite chapter and verse about this but, in addition to my best Meeting of the week, Saturday is a morning in which John is off to his activities with friend Jim and I am left home alone. With Marcus of course.

There are other times when this happens. Right now, actually. He is at a movie. The Avengers.

Not my cup of tea. And it is in a theater. I have not been to a real movie theater in many years.

I have covered this before. I do not like the smell of popcorn or people I do not know sitting inches from me.

I don't like the loud sounds or the previews.

There is nothing I miss.

God bless streaming and Netflix. They took me out of the cineplex.

Saturday mornings are not usually different than others. These are old tapes playing. In fact, I have not had a 9-5, M-F job since 1963 when I got into the consulting/training business.

Sunday is another matter entirely. We have a tradition of a threesome walk on Sunday mornings. I have been showing up for this less often lately. Trouble with my feet and once a day walking with Marcus has been enough. I still have the PM shift.

But all seems well now so perhaps I will join in and re-up for Sunday AM dog walking with John. We shall see.

Labels: life

Another film from Anddré Téchiné today.

Not his best. But good enough to stay with it.

Le lieu du crime / Scene of the Crime (1986)

The film stars Catherine Deneuve and, the stunner, Wadeck Stanczak. In a way, it doesn't matter what happens in the movie as long as Mr. Stanczak is on screen.

The plot is a little shaky but as it runs along, Téchiné holds us tight with close in shots of the actors and great use of the camera at night. Spooky. It is a genuine thriller.

One nice thing is the pacing of the film. Almost schoolbook. Quiet pastoral scenes, then boom. Nasty violent scenes are night. Chases.

I liked it enough to stay with it and hold on at the end as we see it resolve itself. A 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films