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Today's Danish film shows what happens when good works hit big money.

After The Wedding (2006)

A social worker in the field in India gets called back to visit his benefactor. It is time for grant renewal.

The donor is rich as Croesus and doesn't mind pushing things. The donor's wife happens to be the ex-girl friend of the social worker.

There are surprises for everyone. Even me and I had seen it before.

Mads Mikkelson is the do-gooder and familiar actors fill in the other roles.

This is a 5 out of Netflix5 because I have seen it a couple of times. Very good.

Labels: films

I wondered about this.

Run on a Ticket With Donald Trump? No, Thanks, Many Republicans Say

Of course this could be more propaganda from the "ultra liberal" New York Times but still.

I do not doubt it.

The plain fact is that Trump is an asshole.

He is nasty and arrogant.

And you know the rest.

Did you know that in Europe "trump" is slang for a fart?

Labels: Donald Trump

Tonight is the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.

Which reminds me of the 2011 Dinner where Obama took Trump apart.

Here is the back story.

The backstory behind Obama's legendary White House correspondents dinner takedown of Donald Trump

Could it happen again? Obama is actually one of the best comedians going. A strong sense of timing and a straight face.

Labels: Barack Obama, Donald Trump

Even The Onion finds the news so hilarious it simply reprints the press report.

Ted Cruz Names This Fuckin’ Lady—Remember Her?—As VP Pick

The world gone crazy.

Just watching the GOoPer Primary unfold makes my head spin.

Yesterday it was the Trumper having to cross a ditch to get past pickets here in Costa Mesa, just over the hill from us.

It is just one goddam thing after another.

A goat fuck.

While this article is from a satire magazine it hardly needs to be embellished.

I saw the press conference where this happens. Fiorina actually SINGS to the audience the way she sings to her granddaughters.

WTF?

I am thinking of just backing out of any further comment on this situation until the California Primary is over. I certainly will not cross party lines to vote in this horrendous spectacle.

I am laughing so hard I am crying.

Carly Fucking Fiorina.

Labels: Republican primary

Illegal medical procedures and stopped plumbing open this informative film.

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

Stephen Frears wrote and directed with great panache'.

Some hard shit goes down and I am sure that a lot of it is based on trued stories.

But it is not an exposé. More a chaste love story between a Doctor and a candidate for kidney donorship. A way to pay the way to the USA, land of plenty, streets of gold.

It is not a documentary but there is a lot of information processed; some grisly, some interesting, all enlightening.

Tight drama as well.

I have seen it before, maybe a few times. So it earns a Netflix5.

Labels: best films

Today's film is one more attempt to perfect the classic form of "road movie".

Various characters are met along the way and the protagonists, in this case two brothers search for their father who left them high and dry.

Xenia (2015)

A Greek language film with plenty going on including the brothers; one a cute twink with a sharp mouth, one butch with a very nice singing voice. Both are more or less gay erotic archetypes. And there is a gay uncle who is a flamer with a heart of gold.

Not to load all this in but any gay man will see the campy humor and the attitude throughout.

It is an odyssey of a sort and the fact that the missing Dad is a right wing politician with a blond wife and two kids will provide a nice end of the road payoff.

This is basically a comedy with serious raw material. And it is quite good. I enjoyed it and would not mind seeing it again. A 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

John Boehner is throwing off decades of party line talk.

He is letting loose on some of his old colleagues particularly the ugliest one who is running for President.

John Boehner Thinks Ted Cruz Is ‘Lucifer’ And A ‘Miserable Son Of A Bitch’

Hilarious.

The mud has just started flying.

Cruz, notably, has jumped the gun to name Carly Fiorina as his running mate for Veep.

Unorthodox. Tradition prescribes that the running mate is more often an old party standby who will play ball and be decorative.

Think Joe Biden.

Of course a few of those people have become President and didn't do too badly. Harry Truman comes to mind. A party hack from the word "go". A machine politician. He basically saved our bacon at the end of WWII.

It is amusing to watch this disarray in the GOP. They are suffering badly. It will take decades for them to recover from their Bushy phase.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

Labels: Republican primary, Ted Cruz

Today's film is very meta*.

What I mean by this is that there are layers to reality that both remind us that we are watching a reality and an artificiality at the same time.

Our Beloved Month of August

Miguel Gomes has designed a film about filming a group of people filming.

A lot of the DVD is watching Gomes chasing down these layers. Then, obviously, we do NOT see him editing the footage.

There is a love story at the center. A pretty good one. A Portuguese father watches over his daughter as a young touring musician takes her out for a date. Or whatever he thinks they are doing. We see the date, the idea of the father about what is happening. There is also a level of awareness that this is going on so that is another aspect of the same thing.

A kind of hall of mirrors.

When it is working this film is very good. Whenever it gets slowed I wanted to look at my watch or the viewer to see how much time until it was over.

Mixed reaction netting out to a 3 out of Netflix 5.

It is worth one's time but I would not want to watch it again because I am sure that I would "see" it differently and then that would be another level entirely.

Hall of mirrors.

*referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential.

Labels: films

Labels: Democratic primary, Republican primary

I was raised in the Methodist Church.

I even thought that I had a calling to be a preacher there.

Kid dreams.

But the spiritual aspect of religion has always had me be involved in one way or another.

I became an amateur church organist and played in several Methodist Churches even up to my time living in Plymouth Mass. On a wonderful old tracker organ in which the pipes are physically linked to the keyboard by a unique tracker system. Direct. Not electric valves.

I played a Hammond Organ. Several other kinds.

My mind wandered while the services went on. But I never thought that what they were calling sin had anything to do with me.

Then things changed. Somehow gay rights kicked the props out of a lot of church orthodoxy. It never occurred until then that there were actually homo members in the pews and hilariously or not, quite a number in the pulpit.

A hornets nest.

I ended up playing in an American Baptist Convention Church which was almost as liberal as the Unitarians. Our pastor went on vigils and marched against the war.

And then I dropped out.

My performance turned to management training. I didn't need the organ any more for my "look at me" needs.

This is a long story but I will get there.

Time went on and the Methodists turned right. More conservative all the time.

Now the battle has been joined. Ministers and Bishops are rebelling.

This Methodist Church Is Marrying Two Gay Men In An Act Of Civil Disobedience

Right in fucking North Carolina.

Amazing.

One more example of why it is so important to come out and demand equality.

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

Today's film with Christian Bale was a bummer.

Swing Kids (1993)

Not so good really. The music is canned from the classics, the kids dance a lot, budding Nazis act out, Christian, a teen in this, shows his charisma but he turns Nazi to save his own ass. Not a hero film. Probably not a good career move either.

Nothing to see here, I skipped.

A 2 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

Here it is in one huge non-issue.

The idea of banning "transgender" folks from restrooms.

I leave that open as to gender because, as it turns out, it is pretty hard to spot a transgender person. First some have "become" men and others "women". I only use the quotes to indicate the ending point of their search for gender identity.

Tempest in a Toilet.

Let's start with the bathroom itself.

That is a whole lot simpler.

There are many places that already have one bathroom for all. I go to a public meeting room three days a week. There are two bathrooms there. Each has a man and a woman on the sign. Gender various.

I go in and pee and a woman comes in to pee after me. Either order.

Just like home. One hole for all.

Most people do not have their own separate gender bathroom in their house. Do they? Maybe the crazy right does. Let's go into their homes and check them out. They like the policing idea.

OK. Right.

The next thing. I know a few transgender people. They are seldom "visible". You would not know!

I know one person who is in transition. We know because s/he was male and now is moving in the direction of being a female. That is the only reason we can tell. But the "look" is changing rapidly. She seems a bit tall but not really. That is my eye lying to me. And my memory. I have to remind myself of who s/he used to be. I do not know which bathroom s/he uses. It is none of my fucking business.

Honestly? When it is pretty clear that they are one-holers I have used a female designated toilet. Necessity requires. How many other men have? A lot. Be honest. Women too.

Yes. There is the issue of kids. What is the issue? Sending them into a public bathroom alone.

Here, the solution is to find a gender neutral toilet. I have had to take my kids in to pee. It is a little creepy to take a little girl into a mens room. Or for me to go into the Ladies to let her be "correct".

It is all horseshit really.

Sure, there are pedophiles but most of them are not using the toilet at McDonalds. They are lurking in the parks or playgrounds handing out lollypops.

Donald Trump, who manages and builds real estate has had the best answer to this. He said that it was a solution in search of a problem.

Not so his opponents. It is a tiresome feature of the GOoPer, many of them, that sex is a hot issue. Mostly embarrassing or blaming. It is the religious nut side of the GOoPer.

Oh well. Good for The Donald. If I was a Repub I would vote for him.

Labels: gender, GOoPers, republican whack jobs, transgender

It is unusual now to see a recent film that is all black and white.

But here we are with Miguel Gomes'

Tabu (2012)

I think the decision to go without color is a homage to past films and all I can say is that it is very satisfying to someone who grew up with these as the main diet.

That said, I can also report that the film itself is mesmerizing. The monotones? Whatever it is, it is hard to let go of. It is a bit long and I was shorter on time than usual so I planned to watch half today and half tomorrow. I watched it all today.

There are two stories and we have to work a bit to see the connection but it is not too hard to do so.

Another thing. It is a lovely film. There are serene moments that keep the heart stilled in their beauty. Rain. Forests. A crocodile!

Tabu is a mountain close by. But we all know what Freud had to say about "taboo"s

Totem and Taboo, so we would be derelict not to see the obvious connection. Savage natures abound.

This also has one of the hottest actors (to me) that I have seen. Carloto Cotta. Hubba hubba. And so on.

Jesus. I enjoyed this movie.

A 5 out of Netflix5 because I did see it before and unless I find some more films with Carloto Cotta I will see it again.

I should say that I am watching Gomes' films and that is how I came to it this time. Am I floundering here? Yes. Carlo.

Labels: films, gay films

Here it is 2016 and the anti-war activities of the 70s still resonate.

Today's film is about the ransacking of the FBI office in Media Pennsylvania.

1971 (2015)

Activists break into the Media Pennsylvania FBI office and steal documents which blatantly describe abuses by agents as directed by none other than J. Edgar Hoover.

There is nothing new here but the people involved are clear from any prosecution and therefore are free to talk for the first time about what happened.

For many, this is probably ancient history but it was during my time as a budding anti-warist.

It is well done, concise, clear. Families are shown to demonstrate the level of risk these people took.

I am enough of an old lefty to enjoy this. It is scandal porn. Nothing new for Nixon and his gang but I lived through it and I am happy to see it run out again for the next generations to see what can happen in the "land of the free".

This was the beginning of other more elaborate scandals involving the FBI and other government branches.

We know it could happen again but films like this will keep the experiences of this period green.

Labels: anti-war, documentary, films

It is no secret that I am a great admirer of Joe Biden.

I was so pleased to see this in the NYTimes today.

Biden Looks Back, Aspirations Intact

I still use my "Cup of Joe" coffee cup for my tooth brushes and, at night, my partials.

This might seem disrespectful but it is not. It is a way to keep Joe Biden in my life at a daily level with the mundane and common elements where he belongs.

He is still slugging.

The Clintons could do worse than try for Biden's support.

He has been good at keeping them guessing. His late announcement that he would not run threw them off their stride.

Joe is a Scranton boy. Tough. Resilient.

He has been through a lot but the lost of his son Beau did him in more than anything else could. Family man.

When he finally leaves the highest office he has served I will miss him. He is younger than me by seven years. A lad.

He has fought the good fight and has won. At least in my heart.

Labels: Joe Biden

Two days to see a wonderful film about life and happiness and, well, many other things.

Into The Wild (2007)

I had tears many times in this.

A boy is lost in a conventional family. A trust fund baby, he rejects his life and his family. He takes off to seek adventure by hiking to places where people do not ever go.

Sean Penn directed. Emil Herxch is the boy.

This is not fiction. It is based on John Krakauer's book.

Other actors bring the story close to the viewer. Marcia Gay Harden , William Hurt, Jena Malone, Brian Dierker, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart and Hal Holbrook.

Holbrook is the best because he has the whole thing in his eyes just like the kid.

A lot of the film was done around here. Up the mountain side, into the desert, the roads along Interstate 10. That is fun.

I think the geography is a little skewed but that does not hurt the film.

The fact that this is based on a real man and his real experience is sort of withheld until the end. We see the real guy. It is a stunning moment which I just ruined for you, eh?

Oh well.

I have seen this before and I will probably see it again so it is a 5 out of Netflix5. Not many of those come along.

Labels: best films, films

I am impressed that the transition of Administrations has already started.

In an Age of Terror, an Early Start on the Presidential Transition

There will be meetings between all the candidate's teams and the Administration to lay the ground for an orderly transition which, now, is inevitable. Term limits are just that and there will be on Obama Administration after this cycle ends.

The exercise is daunting. I can imagine the slog required by some very talented people to make the change invisible to those who would take advantage.

Of course, the permanent standing government, civil and military, will do most of this work. But at the heads of these groups will stand relatively ignorant political leaders who must be taught the details before any cracks can appear.

It is interesting that all the campaigns are sending someone except, so far, the Trump organization which continues to show very shallow underpinnings. A one man show. Scary.

Government is not a one-man show or, in our case, a one-woman show.

That is another problem incidentally. The generic "he" and "man" phrases are about to get turned on their ears.

Labels: democracy

Elizabeth has been the Queen of England most of my life.

Most of hers too, as it turns out.

She will be ninety soon. How time flies.

A Busy Queen Elizabeth II Pencils In a 90th Birthday

I learned a lot from reading this actually. It turns out that I did not know everything about her.

The reason for the hats and the vivid clothes is so people can see her, pick her out in the constant crowd.

I have some British friends who are less than impressed with the Royals. I can understand that. But Americans are suckers for royalty. Any kind.

And the old lady is the best kind.

She knows her place and it is back from the front lines. More than an adornment for the tourists, she is a necessary fixture in the house that has stood for centuries.

Our American fascination with her and them is based, I think, on a desire to be led, the chafe and discomfort of democracy. We would really like to have it over with. This election stuff. Give us a king or queen and forget all this two party system quadrennial anxiety.

But then look at England and the Empire. It still endures but in a very different state. We don't have much of an empire either for that matter.

Oh well. I guess we will have to trudge the road without the guiding hand of an all knowing birth ordained leader. When we wonder how and why dictators gain power we do not have to look far beyond that yearning.

Labels: royalty

I have been very lazy this week.

Well, compared to my usual routine.

It is nice to have visitors and it is nice when they leave. Good times ended sweetly are a good thing.

For an older guy, a little bit of extra busy-ness goes a long way.

The basic reality is that I like to loaf and I always have.

I also like to hew to my own routine and not have it change one bit.

Stubborn old fart.

So, I am settling in today. A Meeting, a film, a walk with the dog. Naps.

God I love naps.

But I always have. I attribute any success that I have had to naps. Even when I worked stand up training I would retreat to my room for a ten or twenty minute power nap.

If anyone asked me the secret of a long happy life I would have to include naps in the list.

I learned this from my Dad. Even then, he could go to his car at lunch and do a quickie. Me too.

I also work my awake times for quiet.

I get up before anyone else in the neighborhood and take Marcus out so he can pee. I look at the stars. Always different. I watch the wind. Yes. It can be done. Look at the trees and bushes.

Quiet. Goddam. It is the best way to spend a day. And if that can be alone that is good too.

Here are some nap tips so you can do the same thing. Longer life, happier times, sweet dreams. I like the 90 minute nap. I do it every morning at about ten. Of course, I have gotten up at three or four so it is really a mid day nap for me.

Labels: life

Today's movie is a combination road and buddy film.

Loin des homes / Free From Men (2015)

A Frenchman teaches Arab kids at a remote school. Trouble comes in the form of the Algerian war.

The teacher is "commanded" to take an Arab prisoner back to the central city. The guy is accused of murder of his cousin over a familial dispute.

The two set out and encounter many obstacles on their journey.

That is it. Based on a Camus short story, there is a bundle of moral and ethical issues to carry on the trip to be unbundled.

The teacher learns that his detachment from the life around him is just a form of avoidance. The man that he is taking back to jail learns that all Frenchmen are not evil. Much more. Nothing Camus wrote was really simple.

It is so simple that it is abundant with messages. Camus was promoting his philosophy so the dilemmas are not easily unraveled.

Viggo Mortensen is the teacher and Reda Kateb is the prisoner. Katab is a frequent presence in many films based on the Arab world. A star in that universe.

The relationship between the men is wonderful and as the road comes to an end there is a touching conclusion. Not a surprise so much as a sweet resolution of the problem they both face.

Labels: films

As for the Democrats, today's primary in New York will be a kind of "sorting hat" moment for some of them..

Three New Yorkers, sort of. If you can't win your home state, well, sorry.

This is a charming assessment of three near NY candidates in today's NYTimes.

Clinton vs. Sanders vs. Trump: Who Is the True New Yorker?

This is the kind of 'Inside baseball" journalism that I really like.

The answer, spoiler alert, is likely Trump although Sanders would win on accent. Too bad he has not lived in the State for many years.

If it were up to me, I would vote for Bernie. Here is my favorite campaign ad. It gives me the goose bumps.

But it hardly sings "New York, New York".

Labels: Bernie Sanders, Democratic primary

I am not a Republican.

I was once back when we first moved to Lower Bucks County Pennsylvania.

It was the only way to be even a minor player in local politics. I joined the local GOoPers in controlling the town and the lower County and got on the inside of it all where all the fun of politics is.

I have never gotten over it. I have always yearned to be a player. One way or another I kept my hand in and as I have mentioned ad-nauseum I still play the game with the local condo association.

My Dad got bitten by the bug and I caught it from him. I went with him on his forays into the Township trolling for votes. I stood with him on election day watching him work. He found himself through politics and so have I.

I have only run for office a few times. I have had a number of appointive positions. But always, always, always, I have been in the pool with all the other fish. Not a shark but maybe a pilot fish.

I had decided that this election cycle would be a bust. My last one and look at the layout. Almost pre-ordained nominees, stupid issues, a set of foregone conclusions.

But look now. Fun. From out of nowhere. And from the old fogies. The stuck in the mud GOP comes alive.

Potential G.O.P. Convention Fight Puts Older Hands in Sudden Demand

Stewart Spencer for fucks sake. A neighbor in Palm Desert. Charley Black.

Suddenly a contested convention means that all the old style politics of hands on, face to face, trading horses, courting favors are into play. The life blood of the old style democracy in action. Blood, sweat and tears.

It makes me so happy.

I am not a doom sayer so I will not say that this is my "last" election. My Dad did that for years. "Well, I think this will be my last car" or whatever. None of that.

But the fact is that this is probably my last one, the one that I am most likely to enjoy.

It is almost worth turning back to a Republican for it. A life time pivot.

But maybe the bleachers are a better bet.

I am sure not likely to get very excited about Ms. Clinton. I will be dutiful and pull the lever. But there is no juice in it.

Labels: politics, public life

Seymour Bernstein is the most famous artist I never heard of.

A concert pianist of great influence in the music world he is seldom heard outside the close confines of the New York City music club. This film by Ethan Hawke seeks to remedy this situation.

Seymour: an Introduction

As a kid who took lessons up to a point, I can see what I missed by quitting.

On the other hand Seymour Bernstein scaled great heights.

He primarily teaches in New York and we see him working with many young artists.

This is a great film and I would be more than willing to see it again sometimes. It is apparent that Seymour, as his music, never ages.

Labels: films, piano

World War II came to many people many different ways.

For me, in a quiet rural mountain town, it did not come until my Dad enlisted in the Navy. Then it was a serious matter.

He came home from the War but he was never the same. Touched in some way that none of us could understand.

Today's film is from another angle. A kid, Christian Bale, gets separated from his family during the invasion of Shanghai. His War was spent in a refugee camp run by the Japanese.

Empire of the Sun (1987)

Steven Spielberg's somewhat overblown film of the boy's experiences.

This was the first film I saw John Malcovich and, without realizing it, Ben Stiller.

It is pretty good but Spielberg overdoes. He cannot cut. He hangs on to long intervals with a kind of elbow nudge that is almost insulting. A form of "look at me" which is not attractive.

But I still enjoyed this movie. I watched in two sections because it is 2.5 hours long. Too much for me in one sitting.

Very entertaining for the most part. I have seen it before but it is still a 4 out of Netflix5. I might see it again if it passes my way.

The best thing was to see the start of Bale's career and to realize that he is charismatic in a way that few other child stars ever were. Of course, he has become a consummate actor and has given more than his share to our cinematic life.

Labels: best films, films

Today was the monthly condo board meeting.

I read my carefully prepared Financial Report. Carefully prepared by our professional management.

Then we proceeded to wade through the matters of concern for the last month and the month upcoming.

This would include the matter of hedge height, 6 or 8 feet tall. Enough to see the view but not be seen by adjoining units. The request for a new tree at 1125 which we deferred. The use of leaf blowers, a perennial issue for people who are annoyed as shit at the sound until they find out how much it would cost to have the gardeners rake by hand. Landscaping concerns, always the longest dreariest part of the meeting. A lot of "not in my yard" here. Or "I will cut the fucking bushes the way I want them even if they do not belong to me".

The issues around pool maintenance, the concerns about "illegal" outdoor lights installed by owners on association owned structure and so on.

There is an ongoing issue with one owner who is a nuisance (nude bathing, assault and battery and so on).

We discussed the use of the regulation tennis courts for a newish game called pickle ball. New striping or striping overlaying the tennis striping. I sit this one out. The mind boggles.

The best part was my report which showed our expenditures 20 dollars off the budgeted amount. Unheard of. A fluke. But one that I claim responsibility for. A hill climbed with out any effort on my part. Next month we could be going in the shitter because roof repairs come due. My moment in the sun.

That is about it.

We had a good turnout. 25-30 people. No one with pitchforks or torches.

I like doing this. It is interesting and I like my fellow members.

In fact, I like the owners who show up.

I make jokes which is appreciated. Not at anyone's expense. It just comes out. I am too old and have had too much experience to take any of this too seriously. Just enough.

I realized today that my Dad was always the Treasurer of things he was part of. The school board, the church. He was forever counting money at the house.

I do not do that today. It is all checks and bank accounts somewhere. Invisible.

Labels: condo

Some television archeology today with the story of the "famous" Buckley/Vidal debates.

The Best of Enemies (2015)

I suppose that I saw most of these. They occurred in the midst of the party conventions of 168. The stormiest election year of my life.

The film does pretty well at covering the history and the enmity between the arch conservative Willam F. Buckley and Gore Vidal.

Both were major league pricks and putting them together in the pit to debate one another was a masterstroke for ABC which had the ass end of election coverage and needed something with a jolt.

They got it.

The documentary is fun and insightful and not worth a second look if such an opportunity came along. Which is unlikely.

I would give it a 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, politics

The unspoken for many gay men:

Do I Sound Gay (2014)

No one, gay or straight, knows how they sound. Even if they have listened to themselves on tape or any other media.

Everything is filtered through ego and other stuff that bolixes up the brain.

That is my theory at least.

This film doesn't necessary answer the question really. The answer is self evident.

Most gay men sound gay unless they do not.

Something else is at work.

But it is not in the heart of this film to dig more deeply into the why of it.

What is in the film is pretty interesting though.

I cannot say that I have worried about this speech thing at all.

As a public speaker I was working in another direction. But I have had gay people come up to me and identify directly. So there is, at least, a tribal ring to it.

And it certainly changed after I came out.

I like this film. It asks interesting questions of interesting people. The usual suspects are there. Poor Dan Savage and George Takei must get bugged all the time for this kind of thing. And to their credit they do their job well.

There is nothing here that is going to have any of us, gay or straight, change our speech. Such a thing is not possible anyway. One can go to a speech therapist but it would seem that no one has managed to work the gay out of it.

There are a number of "straight sounding" men who are gay. Some of them can put on a camp voice. I can.

It depends on the company one keeps.

But the engaging idea is that even someone deeply imbedded in the corn belt with a bunch of hicks is likely to hear their own queer voice without and help from an outsider. No one knows why that is.

Or why it is that some of us do not.

Interesting. A 3 out of Netflix5. Good but not enough to see again.

Labels: films, gay films

There has been a lull in postings because real life has intervened.

Family visits are going on and some other stuff has needed attention.

In the meantime, my intentions are good and I will return to the "airwaves" in due course.

Labels: blogging

The growing maturity of Chinese gay film is admirable.

Today's film

Lan Yu (2001) is beautifully realized throughout. An ending is tacked on to make it, old style, more acceptable for the blue noses, but it is so transparently a plow for approval by the State that it goes down quite easily.

In actual fact, the State stayed out of it. The film was made illegally without prior approval but no bureaucrat stopped it or even blocked its export. That ending, I bet.

There is a lot of explicit gay sex in this film and there is nothing closeted about it.

An older man falls for a younger associate, they have an affair, the older man gets married to seal his reputation, years later the younger man shows up and the two re-unite.

That is a spoiler but since it is standard love story number 5 out of 13, no one will be surprised.

You will be surprised to see beautiful bodies in great gay action.

I will not buy this film because it is flawed by its politicization but it would be fun to see it again. A 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, gay films

There is hope for the GOP.

Paul Ryan, a Mirage Candidate, Wages a Parallel Campaign

Even I would vote for Paul Ryan. Not saying I would or will. I just would be very pleased to have the choice.

I hate the idea that Hillary Clinton would be President by default.

Any campaign involving Trump or even Cruz would be an embarrassment at best. Trump because he is a blatant asshole and Cruz because he lacks the time in the saddle to justify his aims.

Ryan, on the other hand, has experience. He knows how to be a professional politician rather than a vanity candidate. He is also a true Middle West Republican. A model for the sub-species.

And I have to say that he looks the part. That chin. He has an abundance of sex appeal which has always lurked as an important quality for a candidate. Yes, even Jimmy Earl Carter had some of it.

I believe in the Two Party System.

It is foundational to our success as a nation.

For one half of the System to break down badly would be bad for the country. It would also be bad for the Democratic Party which needs a loyal opposition.

So.

It is an interesting campaign year.

Labels: Republican primary

I have missed two days of postings!

Part of this is based on a real event. My husband took ill on a road trip with our daughter and I was preoccupied. (He is recovered and they are due back here any time).

The other reason is that basically, nothing much has happened that I wanted to talk about.

In the world of politics it is all about Trump who I believe has scant chance of every getting through the primaries. Why he has caused such a ruckus with everyone else is a puzzle to me.

His main talent does seem the ability to attract attention.

The Democrats are grinding away at an exercise which can only have one conclusion. It is my belief that the Bern was good but has served its purpose of scaring Hillary Clinton and awakening her campaign into a good training effect for the big time. Let the GOoPers wear themselves out.

It has also been a quiet time for everyone else. Could it be that is because the annual White Party just took place in Palm Springs? No. I didn't even know they were here until last night when some fairly mild and insipid fireworks went up for their last night at the Convention Center.

I sense a slow death to a disco beat for this production. Four-four time drumming them out the door.

The White Parties used to be quite something though. We went once in South Beach and failed to even get through the traffic. We were under motivated.

The family is back together today and that will help a lot and before long we will be back to a more normal pace of life and change a day at a time.

Properly fitted with the right meds, the husband seems to be in fine shape at least by phone.

Labels: life

Bill Clinton isn't taking any shit these days.

Bill Clinton Fires Back

Confronted with a contingent from "Black Lives Matter", he read their beads for them.

More delightfully, he used their protest signs as a script to shame them for their one sided points of view.

The happy warrior reborn.

Labels: Bill Clinton

When I was a kid, I read all the movie ads.

I was quite taken with the ad for

The More the Merrier (1943)

It had a ring to it and it stuck in my head.

I never saw the movie. Just the ad.

So, today, all is remedied.

I saw the film and was charmed. A lot of laughs, out loud. Jean Arthur, Joel McCrae, Charles Coburn. Great ensemble. Familiar faces.

I am glad that I finally got to see it.

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

Labels: films

Today, a classic.

One of the great Frank Capra films

You Can't Take It With You (1938)

I have probably seen this before, a long time ago.

It is quite worth seeing again. A lot of familiar actors and a great story. Up from the depression.

Lionel Barrymore resists his usual over acting as the wise father. This was just at the point he was beginning to lose the use of one leg. Sad to see. But he works over it and it becomes a prop!

No business like show business.

Others: Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Donald Meek, Mischa Auer, Spring Byington, and more. All given plenty of room to work their magic.

I have not paid much attention to the films of the late 30's, the post-depression period. Frank Capra was the king but there are many more. Maybe worth a walk down memory lane.

Labels: films

A postcard from Hawaii sets off the memory banks of two men who met as boys.

Hawaii (2014)

Marco Berger writes and directs a lovely story which has a quiet rhythm as two men meet again after years apart.

They are both gay, one a well known author. Another a working man, down on his luck.

One thing leads to another in this sweet and positive love story.

I rate it a 5 as I have seen it several times and still enjoy the film.

Labels: films, gay films

I am looking at some "old" Marco Berger films from Argentina.. Today,

Plan B (2009)

wherein two presumably straight guys find themselves smitten with one another.

Berger is a master of portraying sexual tension. Long looks, turned eyes, quiet moments. Two men who are trying to figure out why they like one another so much and what to do about it.

I know this situation all too well. It composed the second third of my life. The first a gay teen romantic, the second married but looking, now the third, out and married again, this time to a man.

The confusion of clashing feelings is shown beautifully. Berger takes his time. So do the men.

There is a bit of a red herring in that both men have a history with the same woman who apparently figures it out before they do. Nice touch and well played.

I like these Berger films very much. There will be two more next and two short films after that.

Labels: films, gay films

An unusual day today.

A friend was celebrating an anniversary this morning and so I went to be there for the event.

Normally I take Sunday off from everything. But there are exceptions.

Then we have some turmoil around the house because John is going off to North California (Yosemite) with our daughter Lisa. For a week.

Packing.

Marcus and I will keep bachelor hall. We plan to party a lot and stay up late.

Everything seemed a bit off kilter.

It is OK. I will have plenty of time on my hands starting tomorrow. I take him to the airport at 430 AM.

The weather remains super here. As usual. But sparkling so that the mountains are popping out at us.

There is often silica in the air which refracts some light and causes a misty look. None of that today.

We do not think about what the silica might do to our lungs.

It is OK. City living and smoking for many years have already done their work. No symptoms.

The sunsets are often dramatic. The air. The distance. Unimpeded light.

Labels: desert

There is nothing simple about coming of age, especially for the gay

Boy (2009)

a sparsely seen film and hardly reviewed except for the deep, almost thesis length analysis at the link.

Put simply, a young Philippino finds himself in a gay strip club while wandering the town.

Whether this is accidental or intentional is a little difficult to tell but it is hard to believe he would just blunder upon it.

That fuzziness is typical of this simple little film. There is a short lived love affair between the boy and a dancer. And then the dawn.

Don't look for too much in this. It is a sweet story and (spoiler) nothing bad happens even to the wonderful aquariums that the boy keeps for himself.

There is a lot of sex in the film. Pretty graphic but always tender.

I am a sucker for soft porn dressed up as art.

I will not buy this film but I would not mind seeing it again. A 4 out of Netflix5, to be generous. If you are not into young blooming gay men then you will have to go find a trucker fuck flick. This will not do it for you.

Labels: films, gay films

Today is our forty first anniversary as a couple.

John and I met sometime in April of 1975 and so we adopted this day as our time of meeting.

We were both just out of the closet and he answered an ad I had put in the alternate weekly personals.

We met on City Hall Plaza. I can still see him walking toward me on the huge brick courtyard. I knew it was him.

We didn't waste any time. The deal was to get acquainted at Peter's Plum, a bar right on the corner of the Plaza and we did. In about fifteen minutes.

We went back to my place six blocks away and the rest is history.

He still reminds me that I walked him through the dumpster basement entrance. The shortest distance between two points.

I will not go further on what happened at my place that day but I can say that I still remember most of the details.

It took us a long time to get over the suddenness of our attraction. It just didn't seem right to get hooked up so quickly.

A lot of men and a lot of time and a lot of turmoil led us to finally surrender to the inevitable.

There are all kinds of things I could say about this meeting. Fate? Desire? Good luck?

I do not question any of it.

Here we are, still together, on another coast doing as well as two old guys can do who do not feel old. Still living the dream.

Yes, a cliché, but a true one nonetheless.

Labels: anniversary

It is time that we give a boost to the introverts among us.

I am a member of that cohort.

Look at this article.

Four Labels Introverts Always Get Hit With

Boring, arrogant, unsure or unhappy. Well, have it your way. I am too introverted to discuss it.

Look. I hate parties. A group larger than 6 is not OK with me. Unless there is structure! Like a meeting. Or an event such as a marriage or a graduation.

But after the ceremony? Get me out of here.

If you want to talk to me get me alone somewhere or give me a call.

Or most importantly, have some reason for talking to you. I am not into mindless chatter or small talk.

I would guess that many of the bloggers who write for the web are introverts. I know that having the blog is far superior to talking to people about what I am up to or what I think. A perfect medium for isolating.

Out on the street, same thing although I can be social to an extent. I will not stand silent while you and I are at a bus stop. I will throw some bait into the water in an attempt to get a response from you. But it better be good or I will just umhum my way through whatever is left.

So that is all for today. I have to run back to my safe place.

It is too bad that we have to explain ourselves from time to time. And even more that the loudmouths don't get it.

OK.

I am going back into my own bowl now.