Saturday, October 31, 2015
Where do I fit?
Iranians in Paris, looking for a foothold.
Nothing grandiose here. A large cast. Some infidelity. A small dry cleaning shop where Tahar Rahim either did or didn't have an affair with another guys wife.
The ex-husband has come back to finalize the divorce. Paperwork.
Around this a daughter who is left in the lurch and a son who belongs to the second Dad. And.......
Well, you have to be there and in the middle as this takes place. Nothing momentous. Nothing too serious. Some of it funny.
This is a movie movie where we are invited into a slice of life where, incidentally, there are some important moments but for the most part mundane things.
The kids are great here. Not the usual juvenile roles at all. Complex and very well acted even by the four year old boy.
I am wandering.
See the trailer. They do better. I am still caught up in it all and this is the second time for me. Maybe the third. I will keep coming I think.
Labels: films
Taking ourselves too seriously
The sensitivities of all people, me included, are due for a little toughening.
How have we gotten to this?
Halloween Costume Correctness on Campus: Feel Free to Be You, but Not Me
I grew up with cultural insensitivity. Hillbillies, being the brunt of others' humor themselves, swing free and wide with their humor both gross and polite.
I challenge anyone who does not emit a chuckle at a good ethnic joke.
Well, no. the humorless and austere, our new churches, have no fucking sense of humor least of all about themselves.
I love faggot jokes.
Q: How do 5 gay men walk? A: One Direction! Q: What do you call a gay drive by? A: "a fruit roll up." Q: Why can't gays drive faster than 68mph? A: Because at 69 they blow a rod. Q: What does a homo say to another gay going on vacation? A: Can I help you pack your shit? Q: Why are most politicans in the closet or gay? A: Because they can only mandate. Q: Why are gays happy that they have nutsacks A: Because they use them as mudflaps. Q: What do you call a homosexual dentist? A: Tooth fairy Q: Did you hear about the gay guy who got kicked off the golf course? A: He was playing with too many strokes. Q: Why is Katie Holmes divorcing Tom Cruise? A: Apparently he's been in A Few Good Men. Q: How do you fit three homosexuals on one barstool? A: Turn it upside-down!
source: http://www.jokes4us.com/dirtyjokes/gayjokes.html
You must have chuckled at least once. Good for you. I did.
That last one was in a movie I saw the other day. The barstool one.
What the fuck has happened to us?
As for the costumes, well, around here the sombrero would be taken as headgear for a special day and the serape would be used by mostly women as a "winter time" garment.
Sure, there is nothing funny about an epithet or hate filled speech but it is not the words.
Humor leavens the tension between those who are different from one another. Long live insensitivity.
Labels: gay culture, gay humor, homophobia
Follow the money
You know, as in a sing-along, follow the bouncing ball.
Bad news for the bushies today.
Influential Billionaire, Throws Support to Marco Rubio for President
I am an interested observer of this show. But I have to admit that of all the pigs in the poke, Rubio is by far the most attractive and if someone can put some lipstick on him he might appeal enough to be a break out candidate.
This will help a lot.
I was astonished to see the awkward performance of Jeb! in the debates. He was like a stick figure. All surface. Moving parts all apparent.
Trump, all bluster.
Carson, that smarmy look of the intelligent required to hob nob with the commoners.
But Rubio was alive. I didn't follow all he was saying and I know that he and I would disagree on a lot but who wants some numb-nuts on the other side.
This is my last election and I think it is going to be a mighty experience. The first woman? A Clinton? Against a young vibrant believer. Now that is something to see.
This is my olympics. As a fan of politics I can not ask for more than this.
And I like that someone who could put Hillary on her toes would be on the other side. She is quite adept at fending off idiots and Rubio is one of the very few that are genuinely smart and able.
And who said money can't buy elections? One of the most stupid ideas ever. Money drives the elections and the ability to get it and spend it well is one of the first demonstrations that a candidate would be good at governing. Budget constraint and leverage is an important skill and a campaign shows us some of the candidate's stuff in that area.
Labels: Republican primary
Friday, October 30, 2015
Toothsome
Todays film is a genré film with a twist.
And a turn.
Jim Jarmusch' vampire film
The beautiful Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinson and John Hurt provide historical context to what would otherwise be a simple blood tasting event.
Hurt is Christopher Marlowe and has lots of stories.
Swinson and Hiddleston have each other.
The important thing here is style. Color. Richness. And the talk.
The film takes place in Detroit, the failed modern metropolis.
Tired blood.
I like this film a lot and keep coming back to it from time to time. If for no other reason to see Swinson and Hiddleston go at it with each other. Otherwise not much happens. It is fun to see them do the deed from time to time.
A 5 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
Debatable
If you could not stand to watch the GOP debate, then here is a reasonable summary:
by Timothy Egan who uses the opportunity to find everyone's soft spot.
I was going to quote some of it but then I would be doing almost eight paragraphs and it is better to just cite the article itself.
His contention is that Bush is toast and that the others are undermining their own chances at the gold ring themselves. Self inflicted wounds.
This is an old GOoPer trait. It is not hard to make fun of them because they are so mockable in their most serious modes.
What amazes me is that there are still so many of them on board after three debates. Weren't these supposed to thin the herd?
The trouble is that there is no standout. No blatant reason to quit. And since everyone else in the candidate scrum is as vulnerable there is no easy path out the door.
The Jeb!s have muffed it. There early out and ahead assumptions turned out to be way off base.
Mom was probably right. The world has had enough Bushes.
Trump is stuck. But he is such an arrogant fuck with his slit eyes and raised nose (was there a bad smell in the house?) he seems too above it all to last. But he does have his numbers. Still.
Carson is a boring slug at the debates. Cerebral. Good for him that his troglodyte philosophy does not get much beyond his disdainful expression (do I really have to do this?). Kasich looks good and says good things but not loudly enough and without the "hook" that seems to be necessary in the Republican primaries. He is just the most experienced at governing and the most serious on policy issues. But he is way short of being a demagog which seems to be the thing that makes the booboisie interested. They like blood. And he is black. No one mentions that. But in the modern Republican Party blacks are still not welcome. And don't tell me about some old dusty Ed Brooke story. Our Senator Ed was about as black or less so than I am.
So here we are. Three debates and nothing is decided. I read that the networks are dismayed. It is lousy revenue to have such a mushy and boring slate.
Really, does Jeb really get across? He does need that exclamation point. He probably needs four: Jeb!!!!!. Can you fell the excitement?
One nit. The name Jeb is just two letters away from the hillbilly name Jed. I always think of that when I here the name. I am not going to say it again in this post.
Labels: GOoPers, Republican primary
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Black gold
There is nothing like and epic film or half epic to shake the dust off.
This is an old favorite.
with heartthrob Tahir Rahim and Anthony Banderas who used to be a heartthrob although he is still pretty good.
This is about the discovery of oil in the Arab desert and its impact on the people who live there.
Rahim is a western educated son of a Sheik so he gets to take over just as the scientific complications start. Banderas is a tool of the white man who wants to exploit the Arab.
And so on.
Wide desert sweeps, lots of horses, a few interesting sidelights like a marriage. Not much good happens in tents because you really cannot see it. Too dark.
There is a little love interest but mostly it is my man Rahim. I will not play all his films now just a few for fun.
It is in our collection but not because it is gay. It is just a cracking good epic movie to watch even on a computer screen.
It is an old fashioned "big picture" and succeeds for the most part.
Labels: films
Gang bang
I couldn't stay up for it, but I depend on Frank Bruni to bring me the goods.
Ben Carson and Donald Trump Lack Electricity in a Charged Debate
The point of this opinion piece is that the two GOP frontrunners got swallowed whole by the rest of the gang.
I saw excerpts this morning and have to agree that Carson and Trump got eclipsed but so did Jeb!.
In fact, they are were eclipsed by the questions, the format, the CNBC panel (who I know very well, a daily watcher) and the general rub of being on display.
One surprise to me is that Jeb! is very awkward in this setting. He is royalty and royalty does not like to rub elbows with the commoners.
His irritation at this was palpable.
Some others seem to have lost their way. Fiorina for one.
Trump is very smug. A strong feeling that this was all beneath him, a front runner. Carson more because of something he cannot help. He is a boring didact who has apparently never taken speaking lessons or, as often with doctors, not used to being questioned or doubted. Playing god comes with the knife.
It is all very interesting.
Another thing.
Some of them got into a posture that failed Palin and you would think they would have taken heed. Blaming the "main stream media" in those exact words is a failure script. And it has nothing to do with the media distorting them for saying it. The medium is us. No better nor worse. It is doing its job. Sure it is biased. So am I. Now, get over it and get back to business.
Any politician that does not know how to seduce and use the press positively has failed as a politician. It is the first responsibility. A required skill. These poor bastards don't have it. At all.
Well, maybe Kasich but he is a Trojan Horse sent in by the Democrats. A Republican liberal. Almost extinct.
One last thing. I saw that hapless christer or fake christer Mike Huckabee this morning. What a piece of work. He is fighting the Clintons. An old stance for an Arkansan. Jesus, Mike. Get a fucking grip. They are going to kick your party's ass whether she is the nominee or not. Mike Fuckabee.
Labels: 2015 election, GOoPers
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Into the desert
Two young men go into the desert in search of
and find a whole lot more.
Each other for example.
This is a nice "coming of age together" film. Two young friends, sharing a room in a distant place. A lot of mutual dependence in the situation.
It is very well done and, like a lot of gay themed films, it got lost somewhere on the way to DVD.
But here it is and it is quite enjoyable.
The young men are very nice to watch, just normal guys, and the "getting to know you" part is as fumbley as the real thing is.
Nothing too cool or smooth about it. But they stay with it and when they "have to" stay in a hotel overnight together, well, nature takes its course.
What is very nice about this film is that they become friends and then lovers. Sex does not enter until they have already become "partners". Formed a spiritual bond.
Incidentally, the title is a red herring. Spoiler alert. No one ever finds or uses peyote. Given the outcomes, it is probably better for them than if they did and now they do not need a drug to be happy.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Prisoner of love
The prison love story is an old genré in movies.
Now, we have a gay version of the old in and out. And a pretty good one too.
Love will find a way, sometimes.
And then again.
Look. It is going to be a weeper no matter how they do it.
But here we have good looking gay men being together in nice ways even when it is across the divider in the prison visitation room.
Everything is here. Just guys instead of a het couple.
More or less, this boils down to a Saturday afternoon melodrama. Good but not great.
A 3 out of Netflix5.
Always something new in politics
So here is another political conundrum.
Can a Seventh Day Adventist win an election, indeed a nomination?
We seem to have gone beyond the old religious tests.
Biden is a catholic, out and out. There was a time in my memory when that was a limiting factor. You could maybe make governor but to have a catholic president would be tantamount to putting the pope in the White House. (Yes, I know I dropped the caps on those words)
Now we are skirting along the edges of the "sects".
Ben Carson Puts Spotlight on Seventh-Day Adventists
I am sort of out of the game, religious testing. But as I recall, when I was a kid, the SDA were thought to be a bunch of weirdos. The congregation near me even had a minister with a club foot!
Where I grew up also was a bunch of hillbillies and prots who even thought the catholics were out of line.
I know. That is how I grew up. It is amazing that I made it out of there. But then you know that I remain an apostate if not a genuine non-partisan in the game of sects and denominations.
Or something.
I am interested in Carson. He is your anti-candidate. Soft spoken. Careful with his talk (to a point). Quiet. Serene. None of the hoopla.
Of course, his politics are something else. Another goddam right winger. But they do get more exotic all the time.
On the other hand, realistically, there is nothing exotic about the Seven Dayers. They get together on Saturday. Otherwise, not so much difference.
Labels: christers, religionists
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Swiss rights
At one time, homosexuality was illegal all over.
Country by country the laws were changed and today's film is about that revolution in Switzerland.
I thought the Swiss were all OK liberals.
Well the Swiss may be but some of their regulators were not. A point made here is that legality was limited by "regulation" not by law. A trick in the books.
As in many places, a group of gay rights pioneers managed to have this changed and we see one such group in this film.
Der Kreiss / The Circle (2014)
The story is told by two men who met during this time and through the technique of docudrama they relive the times and the experience.
Soon, such living witnesses will be gone. This film insures that some will still be heard and that history will not be ignored.
It is very well done. The two stars "fall in love" before our eyes. It is amazing. While the history plays out, we experience how it affects them directly.
A 5 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films, gay films, gay history, gay rights
Saturday, October 24, 2015
On the run
It is said that there are 13 basic plots for fiction.
So it is not surprising, if this is true, to have a strong sense of deja vu while seeing some movies or reading some books.
What is surprising is when the writer or the director or the actors lift you out of the mundane and turn the standard into a unique experience.
Today's film is supported in this way by the actors and the photography. But the story and general "stuff" is pretty similar to a lot of other films we have seen.
A escondidas / Hidden Away (2014)
is a genre film. The star crossed lovers from different backgrounds, done in by the system and, in this case, the immigration people.
It is not in the USA but in France and the illegal is a Moroccan. A nice boy just right for the French boy but it will not happen. There is no happy ending.
This rates a 3 out of 5 on the Netflix scale.
One gripe, the cover art, just like some paperbacks, does not match the story. Not a spoiler really but if you are waiting for the shirts off lying on the blanket head to head part it will not happen.
Ancient controversy
Look, I hate, fucking hate, Shakespeare.
I always have and, it appears, I always will.
It is wordy, prolix, filled with odd points of view and despite the scholars' and popularizers' claims to the contrary it is well nigh incomprehensible.
And here it all comes again.
Shakespeare in Modern English?
I know. I am swimming totally upstream here. I always have.
The deal is not so much about intelligibility although that is an issue. The issue is more that while he was certainly good at what he did (*if it was one him and not some other guy) it is one body of work from one particular time (yes I know about the historical plays that cover other periods) and it is b-o-r-i-n-g on the page. And usually dead on the stage.
Why is this? Because it can not carry its own weight. And myriad other reasons.
I know this is a losing battle for me. But I always get a lift when I find other eggheads who agree with me.
I suppose it is partly due to my innate rebelliousness and disgust with people who like things because they are supposed to. Pretension. Oneupmanship. And so on.
I will not convert anyone here. Merely confirm for the occasionally sympathetic reader that they are not alone.
There is someone else on this earth who has not bought into the prevailing "wisdom" and/or who cannot abide this Elizabethan horseshit.
Sorry, I can't stop. I have already revealed myself to some as a provincial. A dumb-ass.
And, so, fuck you too if you think so.
Hostile, huh?
Yup. That is right where "the Bard" takes me. Into the fight or flight syndrome.
I won't even mention the "thees and thous". Forsooth.
Labels: intellectuals
Friday, October 23, 2015
Soap
There are no stops left closed in today's film.
If you are so inclined, it is a weeper, a soap opera.
But there is nothing wrong with that if it is about two attractive men and is beautifully produced.
The themes are timeless and so is the script but since it takes place in Bangkok there are many locales that keep us interested as the two impossible lovers find a way to be together even if it is to share a tragic ending.
Yes. I know, that is a spoiler, but it is the only possible outcome in a love like this. Or loves.
I am not being cynical. Or perhaps I am, a little. I do not mind formula if it is well dressed and, if warranted, undressed. And that is what we have here. It has held up through several viewings and while the general contours are familiar, I am always surprised at the twists and turns I either missed on earlier viewings or perhaps forgot.
It is well worth seeing again which makes it a solid 5 out of Netflix5.
GOP flop sweat
If anyone doubts that the next presidential election is upon us, read this.
A Hearing, and a House, as Divided as the Country Watching It
You will learn a lot.
With a constant sheen of flop sweat on his brow, the inestimable Chairman Trey Gowdy attempted to push the noodle across the room so that it landed on Clinton's lap.
Unfortunately, she unmanned him early and he never quite recovered.
She was cool as a cucumber and even drew a good belly laugh at one point which pissed the GOoPers off. No one was out to have any fun here, goddammit.
Of course these are second or third stringers in the Republican game. Off the bench and over their heads.
She stayed sober and sane throughout, respecting even the most errant nonsense. Cool as a cucumber and nicely patient as seen in this photo.
At least that is how I see it.
Watch the video in the Times article to see a blow by blow.
Labels: Hillary Clinton, republican whack jobs
Movement
When talking about gay rights, we don't want to assume the work is all done.
But the tide has turned.
Mormons Say Duty to Law on Same-Sex Marriage Trumps Faith
These are the Mormons who have all but said that same sex love is counterfeit and the usual claptrap. Or craptrap. My spell check doesn't like the word I used.
We really do not want to cram it down anyone's throat. So to speak. But the law now says we have equal rights including marriage. The Supremes made it so.
And countless true Christians whose faith is inclusive and not based on damnation and hell have gone along with it. All that.
I have slowed down reporting on gay rights because they are becoming a matter of course. But the bigots still hang out every so often.
The Mormons have always been an immensely practical religion or set of beliefs about how one should conduct one's life. Here, a new lesson for the day. Actually the golden rule. You know, that doing to others thing?
Labels: gay marriage, gay rights
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Heavenly
Today's Spanish film is one of the few I have seen that celebrate bi-sexuality.
To that extent it is a rare bird, indeed.
El sexo de los ángeles / The Sex of Angels (2012)
It is also a film about a triangle, in this case two boys and one girl.
It is very good.
I have seen it a number of times and can testify to its hold on the viewer. It is hot; no doubt that helps. But, I think that it is quite realistic.
I had fantasies about threesomes for a long time. Perhaps still have a lingering yen.
We did try them out. The usual complaint about threes is that there is always one person left out. This is not my experience but it does add the probability of disfunction just because it is three different views of a situation.
In the end of this film we see that there is some conflict about priorities, three strong wills. But it is danced of as the ending of the film. I am not sure that they will be able to dance it off as time goes by but they are young and there are a lot of people in Barcelona who would probably be happy to step in. These are very good looking, sweet personalities. Easy to love.
A 5 out of Netflix5.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Settled
We have been waiting to see if Joe will run.
Joe Biden Will Not Run for President in 2016
I will keep his coffee cup active though. It holds my tooth brush and I look at him every day.
I consider Joe Biden a hero.
Labels: Joe Biden
Family ties
Gay people often have a sort of made up family.
Especially if they are cut adrift from their origins as many of us are.
As a result there are a lot of ties that get rearranged when a lover comes into the picture.
Actually, I suppose it isn't all that different but it seems so. Maybe it is that there is so little social support. Perhaps gay men do not automatically form familial relationships.
Maybe this is all bullshit and no one has any idea about anything.
In any case, today's film focuses on a man who meets someone and changes the balance of all his other relationships.
I may be the only person who owns the DVD and watches it from time to time. Except for Jay Brennan there doesn't seem to be that any careers came out of the film. The leading man is a dead ringer for Ben Baur who ended up playing a gay series, Hunting Season , with some success.
But it is good. And realistic. And bittersweet. The "holding" here is the holding of a lover, the holding of long time friends and the hold of place and situation.
Nicely done, part of our collection, a 3 out of Netflix5.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Four in one
The only way a DVD guy can see shorter films is to get an anthology.
Today, four films about gay men.
Cuatro Lunas / Four Moons (2014)
All Mexican films by one director, Sergio Tovar Velarde.
As far as I can tell, they are not intertwined although one or two characters seemed to slip over the borders of one film to another. Otherwise, they are quite different views of the process of coming out. Even with a veteran gay who finds that the way he is going needs to be revised. Or start over.
And, all in all, I counted as many as 8 men who are involved. Some because there are couples but others because they seem incidental then become major players.
It is all very interesting and worth serious attention. There is no fluff here. All up to a 5 out of Netflix5 if the had to stand on their own. Well, maybe a 4.
Good neighbors
Justin Trudeau and Liberal Party Prevail With Stunning Rout in Canada
This is a big deal.
He is a great guy. Watch the video.
And on top of everything else, he is a looker.
The Canadian system is parliamentary and has a lot of aspects that are not the same as our setup. But there is no doubt that the image of the head guy is very important.
The old PM was an old poop. And looked it.
Labels: canada
Monday, October 19, 2015
Visit
Two sons visited for the long weekend.
They do this once a year. Time for them to be together and time for us to be with them.
We had a great time.
Nothing special but being together. One night out to eat.
We are very fortunate indeed to have our family. And grateful they are willing to come such a long way to see us and spend some time.
I notice that they also get to spend some time with each other as well. Labels: family
Battle fatigue
No matter what you call it, there is a collateral damage from war that no one sees.
Now it is called some set of initials. PTSD. Post traumatic stress disorder.
It is still the same.
Today's film is about a young gay man who encounters a subject for a film project.
The "subject" turns out not only to be a real human being but also a member of a veteran's counseling group who is having a lot of difficulty.
The gayness is a sub-theme. A sort of closeted film. But it is obvious that the man's PTDS is related to the loss of a special friend in Iraq and a belief that he is responsible.
The film making soon takes a back seat to a unique relationship that we see grow and change in the film.
This is a hard movie to watch. It does not pull any punches.
The callow young man and the grizzled vet, all of thirty years old, is sweet and very nice to watch as it grows and then ends.
A 5 out of Netflix5. Not easy. Hard. Remember I told you before you went and saw it and got upset.
There are no reviews for this film as it went direct to DVD and no one wants to talk about it. But I will.
It was a colossal mistake to give this wonderful film this ironic name. It got buried in the ton of cartoon super hero films and got lost almost completely. I may be the only person to have bought the disc and actually watched the film.
No credit here just chance.
Labels: films, gay films, Iraq
Friday, October 16, 2015
Weather report
We are having an extended period of wet and not very nice weather.
Everyone here is bracing for a larger than normal el Nino but this is too early for that.
It is not cold. Just cooler. And cloudy and about to rain and every once in a while some big drops fall.
Not much to complain about but not true desert weather either.
Of course, that is the thing. Desert weather is not normal either in general or within various time periods.
It is nice to have some interruption in the norm.
Labels: weather
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Italian soap
There is something very operatic about much of Italian cinema.
Gay cinema even more so.
But in a good way. In fact, this film opens with scenes in an opera audience. A big tip off.
Il compleanno / David's Birthday (2009)
A luscious setting with luscious young men with a great plot. Very enjoyable. Basically soft porn but very good soft porn. That makes it into the category of erotica. But no more than any other tits and ass movie from Rome.
We have seen it before, a part of our collection.
And that is it for films for a few days. We have visitors and will be attentive to them rather than the celluloid.
Sons
Two sons today from back east.
Jet lag notwithstanding they are in good shape and plan to be here until Monday morning.
It is already nice to see them. The rest will be a bonus.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Standing by
It would seem a mistake for Biden to wait so long to declare himself.
I have been waiting. But now, I think, he has missed the window.
The trick would have been to let Hillary get hurt in the runup to the primaries and then step in as the guardian angel. Or something.
Hillary Clinton Debate Performance Chills Biden Movement
Even I would not think of tarnishing what was, apparently, a total win for Ms. Clinton. Articulate, clear, forceful. The ideal candidate for her party. An elder stateswoman.
Who has the energy and vitality to win. Look at that smile. Watch her work the crowd. See her bump Bernie around.
No room for Joe in this mixup it would seem.
But time is still on his side.
Perhaps he knows himself well enough and is making the right moves for himself.
He is of an age, as I am, an I can attest to a real diminishing of one's taste for battle. That is why they put old Generals in their own tent way back from the action.
And in the end, this is the NYTimes headline. An attention getter and an opinion swayer. This cannot be too great for the Biden fans. What Joe thinks is unknown. He is still holding his own council.
Labels: Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden
Pulp
Every once in a while a film comes along that wraps up every gay cliché in one and a half hours.
A kind of faggoty synopticon.
Is such a film.
Beginning to end. It has everything. The limp wrists, the bitchy asides, the carelessness about relationship, the self hatred, the vapidity of the bar life. Even romance ends up being the "butt end" of the wrong jokes.
Did I like it? Not much. Did I watch the whole thing. Yes.
Why?
Because these people know their audience. It lives just next door to the audience for soft and hard core porn. A lot of our libidos depend on looking and talking about sex.
Maybe the straights do the same. I know guys do. But not about each other. That is how gayness is different. The fellow cynic is also looking to get laid and is not a trustworthy partner for mockery. Too much is revealed about one's own attractions.
There is a term paper in this somewhere but I think it has already been written any number of times.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Planned ahead
Today's film is a frothy romantic muddle featuring handsome young gay men and all the fantasies you might want to have about them.
Two friends agree that if neither has found a mate in ten years then they will become partners. One of those "impossible" bets that end up more probable as time goes on.
This is gay equality come to its fruition. A Doris Day movie with two guys. But no Rock Hudson. More, these are handsome out young gay men who can play the parts assigned to them with some conviction and verve.
Nothing heavy. Nothing sad. Nothing but light comedy and some attractive people having a good life.
That is worth a 4 out of Netflix5. From our collection.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Young and different
Add this to the long list of coming out films by gay directors.
Everyone's story is different, yet very much the same.
Here the best friend turns out to be, gasp, straight.
Sommersturm / Summer Storm (2012)
This is very nicely done with a minimum of inflicted pain. Other than self inflicted. And a focus is the realization that one's special love for a best friend has some gay connotations which the friend is totally oblivious to.
We have all had this. The straight friend is very understanding and patient until we realize that wishing will not turn him in our direction. "That way".
The story is generic but the way of telling it is infinite and we, naturally, never get tired of hearing it. "Tell me about the time you came out".
One thing that makes this film so appealing is the absolute normality of the boys. There is one classically beautiful kid who ends up being the class sex pioneer but everyone else is pretty much like all of us.
A twist is that this is also about a rowing crew and a summer encampment for rowers where all these boys are together in one wooded place with tents and shit.
More fantasies come alive. Tent mates. I had this in the army. Same results. The het kids just don't get it.
Very nice. Touching at times.
Oh, and the hero is a nerdish kid that is not handsome or gifted. They had the courage to make a gay hero who is absolutely normal.
That there is a hunky queer crew in the same encampment with a friendly leader doesn't hurt though.
A 5 out of Netflix5 this film has everything. If you are straight, it is probably a 3.
Columbia the gem of the ocean
It would not be Columbus' Day without the annual contribution by Salvador Dali.
The Discovery of America.
I put this up every year. A tradition.
Back East, Columbus Day is a much bigger deal than here. The Italians see to it. A little like St.Patrick's Day only a different group.
I am "german". We do not have a day.
Not that we deserve one after all the hell we have caused in the last century.
Labels: America
Sunday, October 11, 2015
SIghting
Today's film features several "gifts".
First it is a teen film. Then it is a gay teen film. And third, one of the principals is a blind kid.
The story is not all that unique, a getting ahead yarn, but the idea of gay and blind is new.
As it turns out, the kid does very well, finds a good looking boyfriend and overcomes the light bullying that goes on around him.
It is all very gentle in
Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho / The Way He Looks (2014)
This got a lot of film festival attention as it should. It has just about everything.
Very nice.
Outward bound
Does this still exist?
Outward Bound I mean.
Yes. It does.
Now, down to business. I only pulled that title out of my ass for another purpose.
Today is National Coming Out Day!
It also happens to coincide with our officially sanctioned California Prop. 8 Marriage in 2008.
Happy anniversary to us.
Admittedly, we have several anniversaries. The first is April 1 when we met. Actually somewhere near that time. We chose the Fools Day date for obvious reasons.
I am not sure that we chose this date to marry because of the NCOD significance or not. I will ask my spouse. I know it had something to do with getting the family travel all aligned.
By the time we got married, or could get married, we had been together for almost 22 years.
Veterans.
As far as coming out is concerned, it has been a long steady process and now, I figure, no one I know thinks I am a heterosexual. My friends tell me that there could be no doubt. I exhibit all the "stuff".
It is funny but there is still a part of me, and I think many older gay men, that still fears being outed. We hid so long that it became second nature.
I could hardly pass today. Even if I wanted to. But there is still some lingering worry I might look gay. They drill this shit into you pretty early and it stays very late.
Labels: coming out, gay marriage
Saturday, October 10, 2015
More coming out
The universal gay theme is the coming out story.
I have said this a hundred times in this blog. And we never get tired of seeing it.
In today's film, which is quite sensuous and beautiful, a punch is pulled at the end suggesting that real life is not always a fantasy come true. Sometimes shit happens and things do not go well.
Well, the title is sort of a tip off. Rural Hungary and peasant ways. The don't much like the homo stuff around them.
Viharsarok / Land of Storms (2015)
Threesomes are also dealt with here. It gives some credence to the notion that there is always a man left out in these. That too in this film.
Two is company, three's a crowd.
So it takes some bad turns. It is still a wonderful film with plenty of highs and very few lows at all.
A Netflix3 out of 5 if it were in Netflix but it is in our collection so I can go see the good parts again if I want to!
Nobody knows nothing
I am a long time meditator.
I even went to school for it a couple of times.
Retreats in the woods. Very nice.
I never wandered to far from the Vipassinna methods. Sitting and focusing on breathing. No mantras. No other gimmicks. Just me and my breath.
I learned all the ins and outs and sometimes, against my wishes, was brought up against what I regard as the religious of far eastern culture. The bible thumpers.
I didn't let them spoil my experience. I just meditated them away.
I never wanted the guru-esque. At the time I was learning to sit there were a number of popular gurus. The Marahishi. Others.
I went with the Tibetans which had a boy priest at the "head" of it but no head and no "it". It was related to the Dalai Lama but not the same. I never quite got it.
The plain fact is that stopping. Stop!
Sitting. Sit.
Breathing. Breathe. In and out from below the belt. Through the nose or mouth does not matter.
Let the thoughts move through your head. Do not resist them. Let them be. Do not grab on to them.
At first you will be very grabby, but later, not so much.
This article is a good review of what is out there. You will not have to go far. Try for something close to the people at Webster Massachusetts. The Insight Meditation Society.
I have to admit I got there through a guru figure, Ram Dass, but he was more a friend than a guru. All he ever wanted to be. He lived in his Dad's apartment at Harbor Towers in Boston. High rise sitting.
This is pretty good but over wrought. He should sit and breathe a bit.
Can We End the Meditation Madness?.
Labels: meditation
Friday, October 09, 2015
Close to real life
Today's film is about the conflict between religious dogma and personal experience.
Not always a tight fit.
Especially when one discovers that he is gay and the rest of his immediate world is so not.
A rocky coast and nothing much to do, two boys find that they both like to play around and make love with one another.
Idyllic.
Until they realize that not everyone thinks so.
One mother is accepting, the other a religious bigot bitch who puts her son second to her supposed beliefs.
If this sounds as though I am bitter, it could be because this is my story.
One always loves his or her mother but some mothers are more fiercely dislikable than others. It makes it an uphill job.
But I didn't have the support of a boyfriend and his supportive family.
I am sorry to make this so personal but it gets pretty close to the way I was treated. And many other men and women who got marked as queer by the church, that bastion of love and acceptance.
Right bastards, a lot of them.
I, surprisingly, had my father. Who told me that they were indeed a "bunch of bastards" for a number of reasons and he stuck with me even as it took me many years to come out to him.
But that was me. Most gay men still feel their coming out stories to their toes and most of the gay films that are out reflect this. Here is another one. Not bad. Not great. The romantic interest is very high and the sex kind of chaste in a country church boy kind of way.
The incidentals are also nicely done. The straight girl confidant, the preacher who gets it but can't say so. It is OK that this is the case. No new ground broken but it is a timeless story.
It would rate a 3 out of Netflix5.
Thursday, October 08, 2015
Schadenfreude
Not much pleasure in watching these clownish bastards flounder.
If Republicans can't elect a House leader, how can Americans trust them to govern?
Well, that is just the point.
The ridiculous extremes configured in this article include getting Mitt Romney to be Speaker of the House! I guess the Peaker does not have to be a Rep.
Mitt! Is that the best they can come up with.
It has long been evident that there is no depth to the GOoPer bench in Congress or out.
This is a sad day and to gain pleasure from it is a sick response as we are them. They are us. This is to be representative government but our reps are mostly an embarrassment.
Labels: GOoPers
Night time mission
I just got back from a little walk down the street.
A neighbor who I do not know very well at all (nod hello, nod back) has had two different anti-Clinton bumper stickers on his car.
It is his right and privilege of course. And it has pissed me the fuck off for quite a while.
So I went and bought me a HILLARY bumper sticker (3 bucks from her site) as a retaliation.
This morning, in the dark of night, I walked down and affixed the HILLARY sticker to his car. Not too tight. Just enough.
We shall see what we shall see. I wonder how long it will take for him to figure it out.
Whatever the case, it is worth it.
I walked back to our condo feeling cleansed.
Now I have to say that I am really for Joe Biden but it will have to be Hill for now, for the joke.
Labels: Hillary Clinton
Wednesday, October 07, 2015
Saved
For about a half an hour today I was sure I had lost my mobile phone.
Well, for the first ten minutes, uncertain, then sure it was gone.
How could this happen?
What will I do.
My mind abandoned the search for finding all the trouble I would be in if it were lost.
Missed calls, coming and going, all those fucking phone numbers stored in it (and nowhere else) and, of course, the cost and inconvenience of going to ATT to get a new phone.
It is not an expensive phone as phones go. It is the bare minimum. Maybe not the cheapest but almost. It has no features. Not even a shitty camera.
And that is fine with me. If I have the phone. But if I do not, trouble city.
Well, after half an hour of running about, it turned up. Right next to the driver's seat, down in that tight little space between seats, where it fell out of my pocket.
I must remember to look there first. But I think the same thing happened before and in the same place but that did not register when the phone was "lost".
I do not like the dependency of this.
I do need the phone, as everyone does, for the basics. A few people who call me and I call them. Family. Messages.
Nothing big.
Until it disappeared down the seat crack.
Labels: phone
The fantasy
Many gay men fantasize about having a three way relationship.
Well, I know at least one who used to.
It is not unusual. Straight men will admit to the same. Men like it in multiples.
Today's film is about such a possibility. Very nicely done.
El Tercero / The Third One (2014)
A settled couple place a personal ad for someone to spend a night with them.
The rest is the story of the film. These are settled guys. Not tricksters. The young man is a student. Serious. In a nicely sweet way.
No one gets what they expect. Probably they get more. It is very nice. And easy.
This is the kind of effortless love story that we should be able to see all the time.
But do not get that chance very often.
A definite 5 out of Netrlix5 because we own it. A 4 if we were just doing the Netflix thing. That means I would like to see it again sometime.
Inside baseball
It is nice to know what's up with the Democratic primary.
Joe Biden: No Money, Weak Polls, but Still Clinton’s Toughest Rival
It is a stretch for a lot of professional Democrats but not for me.
I have always liked Biden over all the others. Once, even, over Obama.
I have a Cup of Joe cup in the bathroom holding my toothbrush.
If you ask me, I support Ms. Clinton. But if Biden got into the race, I would be one of those in the article who would drop her and run to Joe.
In a heartbeat.
It is a comparative thing.
Clinton sure beats all the GOoPers in my estimation.
Only Joe outclasses her in all respects.
I think that Biden is taking his time to decide for a lot of reasons. His son's death shook him to the core. I do believe that. On the other hand, I can see how he could turn that grief and pubiic concerns into a positive energy. It would take some care. But I am sure it could be done.
Labels: Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Good fluff
I have mentioned before that a perk of the gay revolution is to have as silly romantic comedies about being gay as the hets have for their own pleasure.
Today, a straight wedding gives a center to a set of gay romances. More than just the florist. More than just the planner. "The gays" get a central role.
There is not a lot of plot so I won't risk spoiling it.
Just fun and pleasant times. Some nice looking young men both gay and straight. Equal opportunity.
Monday, October 05, 2015
Into to the closet and out again
Italian families are good for coming out films because there is so much drama.
Even the language supports it. Opera is mostly in Italian for a good reason.
Comme non detto / Tell No one (2014)
This is a nice romantic comedy with all the pieces one would need for the formula.
The film does not want to break new ground. It is happy to be a little sappy and not original. So much the better to deliver the jokes and the nice boys who are happy together but not too sure their families will be happy with them.
Sunday, October 04, 2015
SSShhh
Quietly now!
It is actually quite cool today. Overcast. And the first day in a very long time where we are leaving the house open all day long with no AC.
Shhh.
Labels: weather
Beached
Today's film is probably allegorical or is it metaphorical?
I never figured out the difference.
In any case, the ocean serves as a big fat metaphor for unmanageability of life. And more, it being the sea. It can contain a lot of of flotsam and jetsam.
But just because it is untidy doesn't mean it is a bad film. Just a complicated film and one that needs some patience.
There are three parts dealing with the same people in the span of maybe 15 years. One of the characters grows up to be a dick and not to resemble his younger self (actor) in any way at all. A bit of a jolt.
This is not, incidentally, a surfing film. These are people who go into the water to body surf and later to be a life guard. It is serious business on one of the toughest beaches in the world to swim. Tide and current. See? A metaphor. Or maybe a simile? At least an allegory.
I don't mean to mock it but it is a bit pretentious here and there. The love scenes between the grown ups is pretty good. A lot of bodies in swim suits. Something for everyone.
I would give it a 4 out of Netflix5 if it was a NetflixDVD. But it is part of our collection.
I thought so
One more eco-belief drops by the wayside.
Oops. Not that. It would be litter.
I dutifully separate my trash.
Fortunately, here, we only have two barrels. Recycle and regular.
In fact, today is the day.
It isn't a big bother to do it. The cans are in the same spot, just throw in one or the other.
When I was a kid, we saved cans and other items for the war effort. Sorry the War Effort.
I found out then that none of it made it to the front or anywhere near it. But flattening cans and saving them made us feel more patriotic. Not a bad thing in and of itself.
I have been amused to see that on our trash day, Monday, they come for the bad trash (brown barrel) in the AM and then return for the good trash (blue barrel) in the PM.
It has occurred to me that maybe it is the same truck, the same dump, the same system once it gets picked up.
But it makes me feel good to recycle some of the stuff and it does raise consciousness about waste and all. Nothing wrong with that.
I also remember during WWII that we collected milkweed pods presumably for life jackets.
I will stay with the program though. Feeling holier than thou is a nice thing. Pride in performing empty acts. Damn close to religion, actually. Genuflect and wave the censer. Here comes the truck.
Labels: life
Saturday, October 03, 2015
Week end
End of the week.
It is a day of routine events. Of all the days, Saturday is the one that has fixed routines. A meeting, a friend picks up John, I watch a weekend movie and so on.
It is part of the permanent backbone of life.
There is no condo board meeting this weekend, only one Saturday a month. So I feel free.
It is all in my head of course. I don't do anything the other days either. Or, rather, I do not have to.
But since grade school, Saturdays have had a special menu status.
When I worked as a management trainer I would sometimes work on Sunday. Never on Saturday. If things were tough, perhaps I would travel home on a Saturday. Rarely.
Today, clam chowder and corn bread. The chowder is from a can (the only good one, Bar Harbor, and this time the corn bread is made by Ralph, my grocery store. He makes superb corn bread and even more top bakery items. So why do the hard work when Ralph can do a lot better?
The chowder/corn bread has an antecedent. In Boston, Durgin Park, the old fashioned restaurant, put the corn bread on the table. Superb. That is many years ago. 1954. It still resonates. Chowder and corn bread.
Labels: food
Love in a small town
John and I have long reflected on how small towns work around the ones who stay and the ones who go.
For some of us, there was no future and we had to leave. Others needed to stay and keep the town alive and well.
It seemed preordained.
Today's film is about a summer romance between two boys. One will leave, the other will stay. It is almost preordained. I remember this quality.
I didn't have the romance. I had the town.
There is an elegiac quality to the film. It is clear that the time together will end. Bitter sweet.
The photography, much of it close up, is beautiful. The boys are very composed and the "problem" of being gay is not evident. They just are. And they are accepting their lot as well as they can.
This is a 5 out of Netflix5.
Friday, October 02, 2015
Romcom
The evolution of gay rights has led to many unintended outcomes.
One of these is that "The Gays" can have the same romantic fluff movies as "The Straights". And none are the worst for it.
So, today, gay romantic fluff it is.
Enjoyable and non-consequential. No one hates anyone. Everyone wants to be in love. Sometimes with two people at the same time.
There are unexplained coincidences. An unbearable sister, the one fly in the ointment. And lots of naked or near naked mens. Lots of naked mens. Or nearly.
A 3 out of Netflix5.
Thursday, October 01, 2015
Going going gone
Today's film is a documentary about "new gays".
Meaning the ones that are slightly conflicted about leaving the "old gay culture" behind. Only to find the same culture on the other side. I mean, truly, just the falling in love with another guy and building a world around that. No gay culture at all. Other than the one these guys make.
Ir ia lovely and loving film. Features a go go dancer and a budding correspondent. The kid who did Were the World Mine
Well, he is an actor. This is all made up. But it doesn't feel that way which is part of its great charm.
Another 5 since it is out of our collection. By definition.
Post castigation
I ranted against Ben Carson for being ignorant, below.
Then I realized that I had no idea about how the Romans did the deed. With guys or not.
Of course, the answer is timeless and universal. There have always been homosexuals. It is just how society reacted to it that makes the cultures different.
Here is the Roman story.
Here as usual, the real discussion is about who is on top. Or the bottom.
Short answer, in Ancient Rome, both.
The Romans liked to do it and they did it many ways. One of the key elements was the idea of submission. Nothing new there. But in Rome there were castes and, if you remember from your homo-childhood fantasies, if any*, there were slaves.
You could do whatever you wanted to do with slaves and no one paid much attention.
The author Mary Renault made a mint of money with this whole idea. Gay sex and romance is rife in most of her quite successful novels.
I am happy to believe that there have always been gay people whether up or down or in or out. Even upside down.
Sometimes it takes a little longer to realize how this all works even for one's self. But once you get over the idea that it is anyone else's business, you can have a good time of it.
Incidentally, this is probably the first time that I have put an image of explicit sex in this blog. Just a note on this. I decided long ago that no one wants to see other people having it off. Not really. Unless you are a voyeur and there are a lot better media to get one's rocks off watching than a blog post.
This is not technically true. You can get aroused by anything anywhere but sometimes it is a bit like thinking of baseball scores while diddling on an internet picture. Now action videos, well........
* a copout here. I left room for never having any homo fantasies. Young or otherwise. When I am pretty sure that everyone has them at least through puberty and that they can be pretty hot.
Labels: gay history, gay marriage
