esrosedotblog

If you never thought much about Winnipeg, Canada, today's film will change your whole perspective on things.

I think that one purpose of documentaries is to make us look at something we would normally ignore or walk by or save to another time, meaning never.

My Winnipeg (2014)

is a combination love letter and documentary. Also, I suppose, a fantasy and a wish for a time that never was.

It drips of nostalgia.

In a nice way.

A beautiful film using archive footage and new material, Guy Maddin takes us along on a trip back home, a walk through the past.

Very nice. And you do not have to be a Canadian to enjoy this trip.

A 4 out of Netflix5. I would not mind seeing it again.

Labels: canada, documentary

No blogging does not mean "no life".

I have had a lot of correspondence to do and I haven't had anything to report.

In fact there is nothing to report now except that it is raining in Palm Springs, a rare enough occasion. We do need it.

I have watched some films but they have been Teen Wolf episodes. Not bad but nothing anyone else wants to hear. Believe me I have heard that enough to know.

It is their 6th season as far as I am concerned and like Big Bang Theory (the most popular series running) I am way behind the current run.

I suppose that I will catch up some day but in the meantime I wait for the DVD. We do not have a television. So I have to wait.

I also think it takes us longer to recover from a visit. Not the visitor, please note.

But the geriatric life is a routine one. And once the routine is disrupted there is a ripple effect that lasts for awhile.

And, nothing is back to normal. I have not resumed the daily gym visits and in fact will not.

I will be going Monday, Wednesday, Friday. A change not a wipe out.

As for today, I poked myself in the eye last night somehow and have a mildly scratched cornea which is already better than it was.

See? You did not want to know all this.

Labels: drought, life, weather

Never to late to send presents!

But it is not a big one like an "0" or a "5".

Just a kind of pedestrian "79".

But there is nothing everyday about that.

When I was younger, my cohort had a life expectancy of 73.

So I have beaten the odds, whatever they may be.

I have to report that none of the dire expectations that I had about old age have come true.

I am sentient. I am stable on my feet. I have a pretty good memory except for what you said five minutes ago. Wait a few more and I will remember that too.

I am in pretty good shape although it was a bit easier to decide to blow off the gym this week for a variety of reasons that would have not withstood scrutiny a while ago.

I promise to go back there Monday. I do.

There are no special plans that I know of. I asked specifically for a low profile day. Cake of course. Chocolate with vanilla icing.

I can still remember that was the routine when I was a kid.

For some reason the most vivid memory of a birthday is sitting at the head of the table in our first house with me in it and blowing out the candles. I can remember how the candles smelled, the icing tasted and for some reason I see it from another vantage point than my own.

I know it is not in the home movies I saw the other night. I do not think there is trauma involved.

Although it could be that it is 1945 and my Dad is not home from the Navy yet. Hard times.

All in all I have had a pretty good life. I have packed a lot of stuff in. So far.

I have not retired to the rocker yet. That used to be the fate of most guys in "the old days".

No one here will let me and we do not have one of those anyway.

Labels: birthdays, life

Today's film is a predictable re-run of the dilemma of the man who discovers he is gay after he is already married to a woman.

Although this premise is undermined by the admission of the character that he always had the gay feelings. Just buried them.

I can identify with that.

My story is conventional too.

Nothing new or dramatic in this movie and while it leans toward a bit of soap here and there it is a success at being charming and real at the same time. A touch of magical realism helps. But there should be more or none of it. It is whimsical but not very helpful to the story.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow (2013)

No new ground broken is not a bad thing. After all this is a timeless story. The man who tries to hide in a marriage closet.

Everone is nice in this film. No villains. Even the gorgon mothers are under control. But tradition is the villain if any and she is a hard motherfucker when it comes to gay men.

A 3 out of Neetflix5. I do not plan on buying it for my gay DVD collection.

Labels: films, gay films

I can remember when men could not bare their nipples on a beach.

Well, my Dad could not in our annual trip to Ocean Grove NJ which was a colony run by the Methodist Church.

So, I have lived during a period when men's nipples were banned from sight.

My dad loved having his shirt off.

The other night we had home movies from back then and the number of scenes with my Dad shirtless is quite surprising.

He was proud of his body and did not mind showing it.

I learned something from that.

Being gay and all, I suppose a therapist would have a field day with my Dad-reaction.

Go ahead. Be my guest.

When it comes to nipples, I am unrepentant.

Without getting too detailed about it I can attest to the fact that nipples are very sexually attractive and also part of my own erotic mechanics. I smile at the idea of "erotic mechanics". I just mdd it up.

Gay men really really like sach other's tits. Probably the same as straight men like women's breasts.

To see them is, of course, erotic. Even though the women in this video deny it.

Nevertheless, the exposure of the female nipple is about 60 years behind the male.

Tit rights have been a long time coming.

Watch the men leer in this. Men are pigs. But then so are some women I have known. Leering is part of the fun. Enjoying each others' bodies. And, if you get off on female breasts you can leer too.

For myself, I will get back to good old male pecs.

Oh! Another thing. This is from the New York Times!

The Times!! The maiden auntie of newspapers. "All the news that's fit to print".

The Times have/has changed, indeed.

Labels: sexuality

I think this could be about "the sins of the fathers".

Today's film, that is.

But I am not sure. There are many layers to

Le Confessional / The Confessional (1995)

More user reviews here

There are a lot of things going for this split story, two decades a generation apart if I can count right.

One of those "things going" is Lothaire Bluteau as a young man caught between the generations and his own desires for love.

There is a strong gay subtext which is nicely handled. He searches for a brother in a gay bathhouse. An overhead view of which is worth the price of admission. All those little rooms with wire tops. If you haven't been in one it is hard to describe. But people are coming and going and staying and wandering. We see it all from overhead.

There is a lot creativity in the film.

As for the plot, I am not sure I understand how it all comes together but I liked it anyway and will see it again. Perhaps on a second viewing it will unravel.

The men are good to look at. All types. If this makes it a gay film then so be it.

Kristin Scott Thomas has a very large "cameo" and it is always fun to see her.

This is certainly a 4 out of Netflix5 because I would not mind seeing it again. A five if I do. I bought the DVD already because it is not available anywhere other than Amazon Canada. No Netflix for this film. A rare occurrence.

I tracked it down through Amazon in Canada. News for a smug American: Canada has its own Amazon as well it should.

Oh. The film is in quebecois with English subtitles.

Labels: films, gay films

The Republicans are having some trouble with preserving "the brand".

Traditional GOoPers are not too pleased with the two aliens that have invaded their primary.

As Donald Trump and Ted Cruz Soar, G.O.P. Leaders’ Exasperation Grows

It is a little hard to imagine the traditional white collar country club republican being very happy with these upstarts. A smart talking New Yorker and a guy with a suspiciously hispanic name.

The Party that has always specialized in white bread candidates have some tough choices to make. And we have not even mentioned Sarah Palin. Back into the fight with all here embarrassing fervor.

It is a bit of a clown show. As predicted.

The fringe candidates are draining the swamp and the Party would like them to drop out so that the numbers could settle around the current poll leaders.

It will be interesting to see whether that happens.

In the mean time, relax and enjoy the circular firing squad.

Labels: GOoPers, Republican primary, Republicans

We had a long weekend visitor from Australia.

Son David has or is immigrating there to be with his wife Sharon and is making a swing back here to touch base at his work and with family.

It is a complicated process to become a citizen or to have a dual citizenship. But it is obviously worth the wait and the paperwork.

This took us off our routine for a few days which is welcome.

But getting back on track is a bit difficult.

As a start, I decided not to go back to the early gym this week.

After all, it is my birthday week as well.

Isn't that a good reason?

I do not know. But I do know that it is good to play hooky every once in awhile. The spell check did not want "hookey". There are still some surprises left in life.

Otherwise, things are pretty quiet. There are no meetings this week other than the usual. No special events except my birthday. That would be on Thursday.

Did I mention my birthday?

I will be 79. Or am. The start of my 80th year.

I am very pleased about that. Not just the fact that I am still alive but this long.

Most of us in my cohort are getting this time bonus. When I started out the life expectancy for me and my group was 72.

Hard work and clean living have raised the bar. The truth is that I did some heavy wear and tear but got through that.

Actually, I think our birth year group still have 73 as our time but I have pushed that out some.

So to celebrate, I am skipping the gym this week.

Kind of stupid huh?

One of the things that have kept me youthful and energetic and I drop a few days of it.

Don't worry, if you are. I am missing it already but I will stick to it until next Monday. Then, normal. Heading out in my 80th year. 79. Geez.

Labels: birthdays, visitors

I was touched by this when I read it today.

Of the People

The photos are wonderful and the common threads inspiring.

I hope that I am able to remain "a part of" for all of my life.

I tried separation, special interest. Very cold and lonely.

I like the collective, the group, the fellow feeling.

In my country I can find this right around the corner.

Labels: citizenship, patriotism, United Sates of America

Bernie Sanders is an upstart.

And that is much of his appeal.

For me, one thing, he is not a Clinton. Or any other establishment Democrat.

It is interesting that both major parties are infested with upstart candidates. Men, and women, who do not fit the party mold.

The case for Bernie Sanders: Is it time to get rid of the prevent defense?

Four compelling reasons that Sanders has a chance. And a good one.

The article is addressed to the Bernie leaners. I am one. And I am about to tip over.

For some reason, I cannot forget his ad. You can see it below or, what the hell, a first. Watch it here again.

Who can resist Simon and Garfunkle?

And now, Bernie Sanders. I love the smile.

Labels: Bernie Sanders

My early life is recorded, now indelibly, in home movies.

My Dad was a busy man with an 8mm movie camera.

My son Dave inherited all the films and has committed most or all of them to disc.

So, we watched them (again) last night.

Endless loops of life in those times. The kind that shows up on home movies. Birthdays, travel, mostly mugging by kids and adults. Responding to the whir of the camera.

The camera was a hand wound device with only a short filming period. So everything is blessedly short.

I do not cringe at the sight of my little self anymore. There were years when I left as the home movies came out. My Dad never lacked a reason to show them if there were more than 2 people assembled, including him.

But now, almost 60 years later, I do not cringe. I enjoy the memories. The movies make these things seem as only yesterday. Which in the mind, of course, it is.

And the mugging is not nearly as cringy as I remember it. We are a nice American family living a good life in the Fifties.

And my Dad. Such a handsome man. He had character and charisma. He was a little guy but packed with energy. He loved to star in his own films. I was often the cameraman. My Mom was a little too shaky with it and bored very quickly.

I even got through some of his deer hunting pictures. I used to hate them. Probably because I was not there. Not something that his son could do or wouldn't. I thought he was disappointed in me but decades later he said that he was not disappointed. Not really.

By that time I had done so many things to compensate for him, and for myself, that he could hardly complain.

My Dad is my hero. Is and was. There were the few years of rebellion but they did not last long. We loved each other very much. I knew that early enough to savor it for the rest of our lives together.

It is a real gift to see him there on film. I have my own copy now.

Well, it is on a chip or whatever you call those things plugged into the back of the computer.

Labels: life

There is a kind of pleasure, as I recall, in just surrendering to a blizzard.

Easy for me to say, but now, away from all that, I remember blizzards fondly.

It is essential, in a blizzard, to just surrender. To let go. Stay in bed. Don't even shovel. Let it play out. The wind is going to fill the shoveled places anyhow.

In Case of Blizzard Do Nothing

A cardinal rule, actually, for one's life and safety.

One year, though, we bucked the odds and faced into the wind.

We had planned a Caribbean vacation and goddam it we were going to go on it.

When the snow hit we saw what was happening soon enough to book a flight from Newark to Miami. The problem was how to get to Newark.

We found out that the trains had started running and so we trekked from our apartment at Charles River Park through Beacon Hill and on to South Station. No cabs of course.

Hoots and hollers as we went along. Snowed in people wondering "what the fuck?". The photo shows some folks who found other possibilities with snow on Beacon Hill those days.

As it happened, the train did leave and unlike today's blizzard, the areas south of Boston got cleaner and cleaner as we went along.

We made the plane in Newark and arrived at our resort late the next morning I think. People there were still stranded in Florida because the flights were still not going back north and the planes had gotten all jiggered around. But there was a room for us. And we stayed warm. By the time we had to go back to Boston, the snow was cleared away and beginning to melt.

That was the blizzard of 1979 I believe. John and I had been together just a short time and it was a major adventure for us.

Labels: weather

If this is what the Sanders campaign can do, well, I am with them.

This is superb in all respects.

Try not to be moved by it.

I love the energy between the two of them. Look at her smile.

I am liking this election more and more.

The Clintons could not come up with something like this if they paid a million dollars for it. The heart is not there.

Labels: Bernie Sanders, Democratic primary

Today's film is a nice romantic comedy with great acting and a reasonable payoff at the end.

Actually, a nice surprise ending.

Lucky Them (2013)

Toni Collette and Thomas Haden Church track down a "lost" rock star.

Collette is a gossip columnist in desperate need of a scoop before she is fired.

There is a tip about on the internet and she runs it down. Thomas Haden Church runs with her. He is a smitten rich guy and.......it makes no sense on the written page.

But it is a pretty good movie nonetheless. Fun to watch. A few good laughs. Improbably.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5. Not worth seeing it again but nice to see once.

Labels: films

Right in the middle of the Trump talk is this.

The One Weird Trait That Predicts Whether You’re a Trump Supporter

That would be "authoritarianism".

Not a new word in our culture.

There have been strains of it throughout my life time.

People who want to be told what to do. Followers who need leaders who spell it out and are willing to force their way upon the people.

I don't have much to say about it but it is something to think about.

Labels: Donal Trump

I had wondered what the evangelicals thought about hard living Donald Trump.

I see that they are in complete denial.

Evangelicals See Donald Trump as Man of Conviction, if Not Faith

Well, conviction passes I guess.

Three wives, a gold collar upbringing, all that. I don't have any problem with Trump's "faith" or anyone else's really. Unless they try to jam their faith into me. But it is pretty clear that it is a stretch to find Trump meets the usual evangelical test.

That is the thing about the Christers and bible thumpers. They are as crass and screwed up as everyone else. Inconsistent. I think the word I am reaching for is "hypocritical".

In fact, the only candidate who I know might pass their test would be the execrable Mike Huckabbee. A gold plated asshole and two faced bastard.

Sorry. I seem to have lost it there. Huckabee really pisses me off.

What this boils down to is that these "people of faith" are just another voter bloc and they know it.

When I was a kid, any preacher who spoke politics from the pulpit was seriously reprimanded for it. And this was the Methodists of that time which, amazingly, were among the more liberal denominations.

I would see people get up and leave at even the hint of a political opinion from the front of the church.

Times have changed.

I will admit that, as a gay man, I feel wounded by "the church" and church people. But I know that many if not most of them are not of that sort. Nevertheless I do not expect much from most "good christian folk". I usually take the other side of the road if I see them coming.

As for Trump, who the hell knows? He is a blowhard. Jesus had no comment on that as far as I know. He is rich as Croeus. Hard to walk through the eye of a needle on that one.

But this is not about Trump, trump trump trump. You have to admit it is a funny name if you repeat it often enough.

Labels: Donald Trump, GOoPers, Republicans

A kid on the outside of things, thinks about, something.

Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006)

bears the stamp of Gus Van Sant as a mentor and guide. Cam Archer debuts with something close to pedophilia and if I had known that it would be like this I would never have rented the film.

As it was, I endured about 15 minutes of pre-pubescent boys in various settings. Intense closeups, blurred vision shots, dialog from another scene than the one I am watching.

Some consider shit like this art. I consider it unwatchable and not worth my time.

A 1 out of Netflix5.

Not because it is a holiday but because we had a condo board meeting and there is other stuff as well.

I am sorry but I am one of the people who has no investment in MLK. Great guy, hero to many, but not on my radar.

I suppose that is racist or thought to be for some. But then that is the whole thing around MLK. There is no ignoring him. Or no being detached.

Well, I am.

Now is the time for me to say that I am not a racist.

Or that some of my best friends are black.

Or some such thing.

But it would be a lie.

In my time and place there has been no connection other than professional.

To say that race makes no difference to me is, in itself racist. I think.

I have gone far enough here.

From an early age I went with my Dad to the black community, such as it was, in my little rural town.

Then there was Mr. Morgan who drove a woody station wagon and ran the whole servant thing at the local ritzy hotel.

No one in my house ever used the n word. Ever.

But this was rural Pennsylvania. Appalachia. Without the hotel we would all have been white trash hillbillies but we didn't use those words either.

When I went to college the only brown skins were Indians. A little hard to take because of the culture but still OK.

So I am tone deaf.

That said, I live in Palm Springs California which is carefully curated to be lily white. I didn't do it but someone did and does.

There are no blacks in our condo complex either.

I don't know why I am going on about it.

I grew up and live in a racist society and I am not proud of it but that is how I have turned out.

Here, in California, the emphasis is on Mexican culture and that separation. White people keep thing pretty well controlled.

That will do for now.

I have no more to say on it.

I am not capable of a decent discussion of the issues or the scene.

Labels: holidays, race

The reality of the GOP primary is that it has narrowed but not decisively.

Remember the "Ten Little Indians". A childhood game played with toes or fingers. And an Agatha Christie mystery in which there are ten suspects.

It had to happen. Ten candidates on any side give me a headache. And everyone else.

The key question at the moment is "who is getting the more attention"?. At the moment, that would be Trump and Cruz.

I watch the dailies on CNBC, poll dailies.

Trump and Cruz are not jockeying. Cruz' rise is at the expense of the other non-Trumps.

Up to now the GOoPers have kept it impersonal. Now, not so much.

Donald Trump Gets Personal in Attacks on Ted Cruz at Tea Party Convention

Get out the popcorn.

They are still pretending that there are a lot of choice but as time goes on the light has gone off the others. Once they started the minor league debates, it was time to admit that the minors were also the losers.

I am surprised by Trump. I do like to watch him. He is a vivid performer. It is hard to see how much is real and how much is not. Like the hair. OK. I didn't want to go there. But God. How do you not go there with the hair.

Cruz is hard to listen to. It is his cadence. His voice. I would swear that he has a high voice but he really does not. It is midrange. It is how he pushes it.

I realize this is ad hominem but that is more than fair game in a Presidential election. After all, the "hominem" is trying to be the leader of the "free world". Which is actually an outdated term. But you know what I mean.

Ted Cruz has a kind of whining cadence. A shrewish sound. Trump is specific. He makes faces. He is endlessly entertaining. He also lets us know he is in on the joke.

I do not like either one of them. But it is finally getting entertaining, the Primary.

Labels: Donald Trump, Republican primary, Ted Cruz

I am not going to get a vote in the Republican Primary.

I wish I could, even as a spoiler.

But I could not even temporarily change my affiliation. My father would sway my hand. A lifelong Democrat and local political guy, there is no other party.

But I am restless. I am irritable. I am discontent. The Clintons are back and, as usual, Hillary is doing the things that piss people off. Unnecessarily.

They plot and twist and evade. They play politics where there is or should be no need.

Clinton Campaign Underestimated Sanders Strengths, Allies Say

They cannot see beyond their own entitled noses.

I am not a fan of Sanders either. I really do not go along with a lot of his "positions" and I do not much like to watch him talk or speak.

He gives me the creeps.

So, I have become part of the vast number of alienated Democrats.

I was a Joe Biden fan; aware that all the baggage Joe has or had would keep him from the throne.

But he got blindsided by life. He lost his son Beau Biden and he has not recovered. That smile is banked way down.

I see Obama holding him. Hugging him. But the happy warrior is not there now.

I still have my "cup of Joe" mug in the bathroom. It holds my toothbrushes so I see him every day.

I did buy a Hillary bumper sticker though. Four fucking dollars.

I used it to paste over an offensive anti-Clinton sticker a neighbor has/had on his car. He took the Hillary off then I started to peel the sticker itself. It is half off now. I work at it in the dark of night.

So I am combative. But I am not happy.

I am never happy when the Clintons are running things. They are a pox on our Party and I figure I will not see it put back together again in my lifetime.

Labels: Bernie Sanders, Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton

I can't stay far away from Beacon Hills/

Today's film was the first part of Season Five for Teen wolf which I am still crazy about.

Other than The Big Bang Theory, this is the only teevee show that I do not want to miss.

I will admit that I came for the bare torsos but stayed for the monsters and killers. The horror.

I love Dylan Obrien who has matured beautifully and even in a very limited role Parker Posey now is an adult and while hard to see as a teen any more commands the screen whenever he is on.

I also think that the monsters are better.

They range from hideous to rather normal with a very evil twinge here and there.

A lot of variety.

And the cast is good throughout.

I will stay to the end. If it ever happens.

Look, Posey will have to give up being a high school student soon enough. But perhaps not. Maybe Twenties Wolf would work.

Labels: teen wolf, television

An art forger has to be good at what he does.

Otherwise, no one will pay attention to him. There are scholars. There are institutions dedicated to uncovering fraud.

So it is amazing that one guy duped so many and, even more, amazingly, did it without getting a cent for it.

His trick is that he donated the paintings and, probably from greed and acquisition fever, no one really questioned it. They just took the works on.

But he fool a lot of "experts" which sort of shows that people just might want to be fooled sometimes.

So, no crime was committed.

All very interesting from all sides.

Hence today's film, a documentary

Art and Craft (2014)

It is too long and is padded out but it is still interesting. Hand on FF costs it some points. A 2 out of Netflix5. But it is interesting until it gets a bit flabby.

Every day, I see Trump advancing in the GOP polls for President.

I think to myself: How can this be happening? Are they going to allow this guy to run off with their Party? What happened to the sensible Republican in sensible shoes and a nice blue suit. The farmer. The blue collar guy who switched to the GOoPers a long time ago?

What is going on here?

Today, part of an answer and an affirmation that Trump will not, cannot happen.

Why I Will Never Vote for Donald Trump

The first and most obvious reason is that Trump has no experience running anything. He was a rich kid who has flunkies to run the show. He is a "personality". Something that these days does count for something but not much.

He has romped through and with his money to satisfy his ego. The world is a playground.

But watch him. Listen to him. He does not know shit.

He generalizes, he evades, he insults.

I suspect that he is also a gold plated prick.

But, what do I know? There is no one else for them. Well, there is, but they do not want him. Or her either.

Poor Jeb suffers from stooped shoulders and the look of a deer in the headlights. But at least he held elective office. So did Kasich. So did Christie. But for some reason the polls are not supporting them.

Today, Rubio, another fresh face has begun to push into Trump's lead but at the expense of other candidates. Not Trump.

The funny thing is that Trump's base is the "great unwashed" who he probably despises. But will manipulate if he can.

What an interesting election cycle!

Labels: Donald Trump, GOoPers

Today's film was sort of a sequel.

Les Invasions Barbers / The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

It goes hand in hand with The Decline of the American Empire

which I just saw the other day.

It is elegiac.

Which is to say that there are a lot of goodbyes.

It is not sad, sad but there will be tears.

These are great people caught in amber for our gratification.

They are us.

I am going to buy the two of these. That makes each of them a 5 out of Netflix5.

And not just because there are good guy gays in it.

Labels: films, gay films

Today's film is about mourning.

A gay man mourns his lover lost in an accident and the lover's mother shares the grief.

It is not an easy relationship.

But they stick with it.

And it is wonderful to see. Emotional yet fulfilling.

The film maker cares about our feelings and can be trusted to carry them to a good conclusion.

No spoilers here. It is just a loving film and love does not harm. It may hurt. But that is a different thing.

Lilting (2014)

And I should mention that some of the erotic scenes are as sexy as any I have seen. They are not by any means gratuitous. They show the depth of love between the two men. Shows not tells.

Very nice.

I will get this film for our own collection, hence a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

The Chinese have acquired one of the most popular gay male phone apps.

Grindr Sells Stake to Chinese Company

Over half the single gay men I know have Grindr on their phones.

Grindr serves the same purpose as the personal ads did in my day. A way to meet as many men as possible in as short a time as convenient. In the old days, we had to go to gay bars to look over the available guys. Then the personal ads showed up but they were frought.

Unsurprisingly many guys were not very honest in their self description.

30ish GWM seeks same for romantic nights and happy times. Love movies, candlelight and good talk. Swimmer's build, big dick and stamina in the sack desired--no fems no fatties no sm

Well, not really but you get the idea.

John and I met through a personal ad. I met a lot of guys that way. The rules were simple and probably the same today. Meet on neutral ground for a drink, nothing longer. Keep the next couple of hours open in case it worked out. Always always always let a friend know where you were and where you were going with bracketing phone calls.

Some of it was cruel. I once drove past a meeting spot and didn't like the looks of a guy and then never showed up. The same or similar happened to me.

I do not know if Grindr is different but there is the advantage of a quick response and an almost encyclopedic choice of the men available right now.

The old joke. "I'm not looking for Mr. Right, I want Mr. Right Now"

So, in a way, the more things change the more they stay the same.

You have to remember that it is men who use this thing. Who cruise. Who select. It is instinctive. The instinct to spread as much seed as possible is taken seriously. Straight men who may cluck at this have no fucking idea. Really.

But I digress.

The news here is really really that the Chinese have bought this. A Chinese company! The RED Chinese, the repressive society.

Well, it is no secret that the Chinese like their sex. Red hot. Quick and Red-dy. Actually that are not really "red" any more. If they ever were. That is an artifact of the cold war.

They have repressed gays though. Seriously. And still do. So it is hypocritical.

Wouldn't it be interesting if they were buying Grindr in a step toward world domination in the sex industry as a way to gain control over the masses?

Amusing. But in the scheme of things, we are talking about sex here. When the heat is on and the panting begins, gay or straight, ideology goes out the window. And if it doesn't it is a lousy lay and you never go back. I have had a few politicos in my bed. A long time ago. As a category they are a little too fond of the dialectic. Materialistic or not. Talk is a downer. A wilter. Cold water on the need to connect.

Grindr skips all of that. Right to the chase.

Labels: gay life, gay sex, internet

You gotta know I would do it if I lived there.

Labels: fun

Of course, at my age (moan moan) everything and nothing is a surprise.

We list an important member of our cohort today.

David Bowie Dies at 69; a Chameleon in Music, Art and Fashion

I feel surprised at the empty feeling, of loss, at his death.

The chorus of "Young Americans" is running through my mind.

Watch the video and stay for the next one too.*

*And if that isn't enough for you here are 17! videos in order of greatest hits. Look at him. The ch-ch-changes!

Labels: music, obituary

Un6il Pauline Kael came along, no one took movie criticism seriously.

I was certainly a fan of hers but her writing was dense and her ideas a bit difficult to handle.

I struggled.

The movies were supposed to defy criticism. Of course there was the word of mouth that said this is great or that stunk.

I worked in a movie theater from the age of 14 and saw everything. More or less.

Then college where my lunch money went for films and MIT had the film society which I attended regularly.

Yet, I never much took film criticism seriously beyond the plot outline which, actually, I didn't read anyway. Too many spoilers.

So when it came to criticism it was mostly past tense. What I should have liked and why. Interesting. But academic.

Then along came Roger Ebert. His reviews spoke to me. Is this because he was an alcoholic closeted gay man?

I doubt it, but maybe.

I would like to think that his criticism hit the right note. And I could depend on him.

Later Siskel, an actual enemy from another paper, joined him on a popular PBS television show and film criticism becomes fun.

According to today's movie, the two critics hated each other. Maybe a fun hatred but I do not think so.

Life Itself (2014)

I think that this is from the old saying that the joy of living was life itself. In this case, it certainly seems as though Ebert was a happy warrior.

Unhappily he contracted cancer of the jaw. Horrific.

There is way too much of this in the two hour film. I had enough. It clouded my view. A bid for pity? I think not. More outright exploitation of illness to underline a tragedy.

It basically ruins the film. Too much morbidity.

Ebert's tragedy was no different than anyone else's. He had a good life. He was a good guy. He married late and was happy. A woman with kids. He was as entertaining as a writer as any of the films he talked about. And he changed everyone's perspective when they saw a movie whether in a theater or teevee.

So, I liked it. The doc. But I would not want to see it again. A 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: biography, films

I grew up to believe that Republicans were the elite, moneyed foks who never got their hands dirty and believed that the working men or women were beneath their interests.

That seems to be no longer the case.

More and more working class people are attracted to the ideas that are repugnant to the traditional GOoPer.

This is mostly because of the defection of a segment of former Democrats who hate immigration, desire isolation and, frankly, have racist opinions.

I won't get into the racist part because many Republicans believe in the traditional party of Lincoln. Anything but racist.

But there is no denying that the conservatives do offer a home to the disaffected and the angry mob elements of the American system.

This article is interesting.

For Republicans, Mounting Fears of Lasting Split

Basically, the idea is that Trump and Cruz, both rampant nativist, racist demagogue types, if not the real thing, have hijacked a segment of the dependable wing of disgruntled working class people; that the rent in the party represented by the current primary rhetoric, will become permanent.

The party of John McCain and Lyndsey Graham on one side and the bigots and the ideologues on the other.

In my lifetime there have been many, well several, third party movements. Notably the George Wallace secession people from the Sixties. Those were democrats. Before that there were, in fact, an American nazi like movement. Now there are the anti-government people.

This anti-government gang now showing up in Oregon has only one way to gain power other than arms and insurrection. It is to get under the bigger tent of the GOP.

But that is not OK for them. Some tasseled loafer dude will be forever telling to take off their goddam cowboy hats and sit down. To clean up their act and be more authentically American instead of some kind of troglodyte.

It is not my problem.

But it does worry me in that I believe in the two party system and doubt the sustainability of a three or four party system.

There has always been room for the outlier in the American system, the lone dissenting voice. Even in Congress. But an entire movement which could wreck half the present system would threaten the basic understanding of our two party system. Undermine it. Slow it down worse than anything we have seen so far.

Look at the Congress now and picture more dissent than there is at this time.

And so on.

Get your popcorn out. The traditional Republican Party could be imploding. Just like the Democratic Party did when it got hijacked by the southern bigots many years ago. Can anyone remember Estes Kefauver? The dupe of the right? A nice guy who ended up the symbol of a racist faction who never drew another quiet breath afterward.

And so on.

Just give me my popcorn.

Labels: GOoPers, right wing whack jobs

Today, a movie that caused international incidents.

Or something.

A lot of turmoil over some politically incorrect shit no one cares about.

I suppose you could gripe about the stereotyping of Asians but in this case it is North Koreans. Ripe for the pickings.

The hue and cry about this film is amusing. And very suspect.

The Interview (2014)

in which James Franco and Seth Rogen seek, and happily get, an interview with the dictator killer eternal ruler of North Korea.

I don't think they even changed the guy's name.

I remember when it was OK to poke fun at totalitarian regimes.

Spike Jones had a hit during WWII called "In the Fuehrer's Face".

It was mean and nasty and very funny.

Satire about leaders everywhere has gone on for years.

But here, Rogen, the writer, hits a raw nerve I think.

A bit of fear that this fucking vulture Kim Il whatever his name is would be hurt and insulted. Would he rain down bombs on us because he was made fun of?

Let me say that the guy who plays Kim Il, a superb Randall Park, is just another guy. A straight dude worrying about being perceived as gay, addicted to ass kissing, and willing to party at the drop of a hat.

Is this disrespectful? And why would we be worried about how the NKs would feel about this? I do not know.

It seems to me that Rogen hit a nerve that needed to be hit. His movie got pulled from theaters and we got to see big time how corporate interest trumps artistic expression. Is this high art? Shit no. It is crude and, at times, stupid. But I have to say that I laughed more than I would normally for a comedy. I was with them and having a good time throughout.

Some people had trouble with the ending which I will not reveal. It is harsh and, in a comedy, very brutal. But then, that is the job of this kind of work. To reveal and shock most of all the viewer who smugly thinks he is unshakable or above the kind of thing evoked here.

That is my opinion and I am sticking to it.

I would not go out of my way to see this film again. Partly because all the jokes are now known. But I would not mind sitting and watching it again. That makes it a 4 out of Netflix5. And it pisses me off that the film lost its audience because of a bunch of number crunching cowards who over-reacted to it.

Labels: films

This is a Canadian film about five people who talk a lot.

And spend a weekend together.

It is a Canadian film and one has to know that Canadians refer to the United States as America.

It is useless to talk them into the proposition that they and we are North America and that they are Americans too.

Probably because American has become a slam in some circles.

This movie would be one of those circles.

It is a seven or more friends on a weekend together. Talking.

There is the know it all, the sybarite, the moralist and as usual the gay one who is sort of unhappy but not really as he has the ability to see through all the bullshit.

That power to see is not actually an asset as it involves seeing the truth and the truth about ones friends is not often something one wants to focus on.

Le déclin de l'empire américain / The Decline of the American Empire (1986)

I liked it. It is interesting and makes us think, or at least me, and I like Canadians.

This is actually a French Canadian film, in French, Quebecois and I suspect that all the other Canadians are lumped into the "Empire" as well.

I would not mind seeing it again. That makes it a surprising 4 on my 5 point esrose scale. Worth another look but I do not plan on buying it.

Labels: films, gay films

The world of the internet has let us have a wide variety of experiences we have never had before.

One of these broad areas is pornography.

There is a ton of soft and hard core stuff available. And then there are the fringes.

This is the subject of the James Franco produced film

Kink (2014)

Fetish films. Mostly BDSM, gay and straight. Produced by a group in San Francisco whose name says it all. Kink.com.

I am a customer of a couple of their sites.

Yup.

It is a fascinating tour of the place and the people and, to some extent, how it is done. Safely and consensually.

There is nothing prurient about watching the scenes being done. Maybe.

All I can say is that it was done way to soon and that I learned a whole lot that I did not know about the business, the art of porn and myself.

See, in the end of it, porn plays to the mind. And these people understand that very well.

I liked this. It is a 4 out of Netflix5. I would not mind seeing it again. I won't buy it because it is just bits and pieces of the films themselves and, as usual, talking about sex is kinda counterproductive.

Labels: films, gay films, pornography

I went to the ophthalmologist today.

The annual visit.

I am still bleary eyed and do not trust my tryttippping.

See?

No.

That is the point of it.

Eye drops.

They said four hours. Wrong.

Another rainy day. Another reason to crap out today on the blog and rest my eyes.

Labels: blogging, eyes

A lot of exclamation points in the blog today.

Rain! A lot of it. Pouring down very seriously. A lot of it is going off to drains but there is so much it has to have some effect on the long protracted drought.

The naysayers will moan that we need a lot more, which is true. But right now, there is enough out there to truncate the dog walk and send both of us back into the house soaked to skin.

Marcus likes it, sort of. At least he is a good soldier about it.

I am glad it is here.

This is the wettest month usually and that is a good start. Februarys are also prone to rain.

It is El Nino. A huge one. And if you do not know about it, hey, look it up.

Labels: desert, weather

There are definite signs for certain film directors.

If the film starts with the rumble and chitter of ambient crowd noise and the film is in stunning black and white and the textures of all surfaces, human and all others is stark, you are in Hernandez land.

He also likes long titles.

Mil nubes de paz cercan el cielo, amor, jamás acabarás de ser amor / A Thousand Clouds of Peace Cover the Sky (2004)

A male hustler turns out to be just a boy from the provinces looking for love. Cliché alerts light up here.

It is a shitty film really but I liked Hernendez' later work and so wanted his first movie.

It is all self indulgent. Totally showing off. Someone said "art porn". Yes.

And I loved it.

There are camera tricks, magic pans, hilarious editing (I actually believe some of it is an in-joke).

But it is also stunning. Beautiful. Well acted. The actors are clearly having a good time showing off.

There is a lot of dry humping, the gay kind, and the boy, as always, is beautiful.

What more can one ask of a rainy day?

I will surely see it again. It is in this way that a Netflix2 film can magically become a 5. Through the mere intervention of an avid Hernandez fan.

Now I have all his films on DVD.

Labels: films, gay films

I went to take my written drivers test today,

In California, people over 70 have to go in every five years to be "looked at".

It is not a cursory examination. There is an eye test right at the sign in.

Then on to a written test which is not easy.

If you want to have some fun, take the practice test(s) California DMV Practice Tests

I have been scheduled for a test today, the written one only, for about a month. In the last few days I have been shitting bullets over it.

I learned tha last time we did this that it should be taken seriously. As I recall, I flunked and had to go back another time.

So I have been stretched out the last few days. Not freaking but just at an edge. I suppose a good one.

This morning I got the old training morning heaves. The dry choking.

It has been a long time since I have had any of that.

Well, actually, it is always present in a light form.

As you probably know, I pray about stuff in my own way. So I took the advice that I hand out to people and sat with this and asked for help.

Not with the test. I do not think God delivers answers to which turns are illegal. But there is relief from "the bondage of self". And I got that.

By the time I got to the DMV I was cruising.

I went to the designated "appointment" line and there was one guy ahead of me. He turned and smiled (very cute) and then turned again and he had a familiar symbol on the back of his jacket. He has three years in the same Program.

Just what I needed. He was not there for a test just some paperwork as a limo driver and also to give me a bit of a jolt of knowing all was OK.

Even if I flunked it was OK.

But I did not. I passed. Got one wrong (you can "skip" three) and then was out of there. Less than half an hour door to door.

My new license will be in the mail and I am good for another five years.

Labels: aging, driving

I have high hopes for drama in the upcoming Presidential campaigns.

While the Republicans are stumbling along and weeding out (see Carson collapse this week) we are all waiting to see who will get to "up to" the Clinton machine.

Here is an interesting take, close to my own.

Here is a great article of chop licking in anticipation.

Should it be Trump v. Clinton in 2016, it will be great fun

Here is a sample.

Put it this way: should it be Trump v. Clinton in 2016, it will be great fun, because the Clintons will finally be up against someone as shameless and ambitious as they are. Trump has the reckless audacity to play the political game on the same hard terms as the Clintons have always played it. And that’s as hard and vicious as it may be played.

Hillary has made the mistake that a lot of women make. She is dealing the feminist card without thinking it through.

"It is a woman's turn" is, of course, horse shit.

It may be sad that women still play second string in politics or that only the women who act "like men" have any success. And so on. That is another discussion.

But for Hillary to say that it is a woman's turn as a reason for her nomination or election is pure sexism from the reverse side.

It is as lame as the idea that it was time for a black President. Yes, perhaps, and then a black man who qualified on many other levels came forward and won.

And, if you recall, beat the Clintons all to hell.

Labels: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton

Today, a documentary about the installation of the big rock at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art.

Levitated Mass (2014)

It is interesting enough but not something you just have to see.

It is a rock after all. Not even unique. It is from a quarry just over the hill from us in Riverside CA so that is interesting.

This is all in the category of what I think of as practical jokes played on the public by artists who are very skillful at turning the every-day into a special event.

There is nothing wrong with that. After all, an oil painting is also a fake thing. Not real. Just paint on canvas or something else.

There are centuries of debate here and I am poorly qualified to go much further.

Sadly, there was a small fault in the last part of the disc and I missed the end. Let me put it this way. I am not going to re-order the disc so I can see the last part of the film.

A 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, geology, museums

We are climbing out of the holiday hole, slowly and surely.

It was a nice period of time, nicely sandwiched between Fridays.

Not that this matters much any more, being retired and all. But somehow the power of the weekend still holds on tight.

We had a good time.

The phone calls were appreciated, the packages that came all arrived on time and with gratitude.

We listened, a bit, to the holiday songs.

And now it is over.

For many years I carried a lot of drama around this time of year but now, as I mellow out, the feelings have tempered and I can take it all calmly and, except for the occasional inconvenience, gently.

The tree is always nice to have and John scattered some of our decorations, the ones we have kept through two big moves.

There are still some things still in the garage. Couldn't let go of them and no room to put them.

Right out of the box, we are having the first day of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. John will attend. I gave up on it many years ago. Too many people and a headache quantity of movies in too short a time. The codger syndromes set in for me.

Now, I tret it as a nice period where we will skip family dinner a few days and I will listen to the plots and story lines as well as some of the dialog from films my husband has seen.

Not that this is a bad thing. It is pretty much the same as seeing friends who just went to Europe and can't wait to tell us all about it even though 90% of it is a "you had to be there" kind of experience.

I suppose I could also recite the plot of our days without him being here. Feeding the dog, the pleasure of frozen entree dinners, the quiet and aloneness.

But I will not. It is enough not to have to shoulder through the crowds, endure the asinine comments of people who feel a need to talk on line and the smell of popcorn. That awful fake butter smell.

I will stop here.

Life is good when you do not have to do anything you do not want to do any more. Especially for the ungregarious, the loners, the counter dependents who choose to be their own company.

Am I protesting too much?

Labels: films, holidays

Today's film is about the good old days that are still going on in Russia today.

By "good" I write ironically.

Non accettare i sogni dagli sconosciuti / Dreams From Strangers (2014)

has not been seen by many people and is not reviewed very much. Not at all, actually.

It is a spotty Italian film combining a fictional story with real life events with strange insertions of silent movie footage which seems to have a parallel but is not clear. Arty just short of pretentious, a bit too full of itself. Perhaps padding a shorter film to flesh it out as a feature.

It is a hash.

But a good one.

I enjoyed it greatly.

The love story between an Italian swimmer competing in Petersburg Russia and a translator is sweet and touching.

What happens is left to be seen in the film. It is a repeat of the same forces which repressed homosexuals in our own country for many decades.

Thugs. The system. All working to kick some queer ass.

I would be willing to see this again any time. A 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

Bob Dylan has been both in and out of favor with me.

I think there is a reason for that. He has swung all along the road from one lane to another and down another road again during his career.

Here, he breaks it down for us. I truly believe all the words he is saying here.

Grammys 2015: Transcript of Bob Dylan's MusiCares Person of Year speech

It is long but it is a virtual history of his work and the times he did that work in.

He has endured. He did not go out on drugs or alcohol. He has not killed himself for real or symbolically. He has just writ the songs and sung them.

I commend to you: Bob Dylan.

Labels: heroes, music